Flowerby CreeperZoneChaptersLiarFireDireDesireAdmireTireOutlierHomePriorAspireLiarWell, well, well... The little filly has emotions... How does it feel now, little pony? Do you know how glad I am that I cannot feel? How terrifying this must be to one that can comprehend terror. Where are we? She was demanding, unwaved. We are waiting... Waiting to be used once more... This is the darkness that we are all kept in. While the ''living'' have their homes and their snug beds, we are stuck with this... Where is my forest? Where is Rabbit? I doubt you'll be seeing him too much more. You're going onto stage two... I wish I could tell you what that meant, but you will be the first experience it... I don't want to go anywhere. My home is the forest! You still haven't figured it out, have you? There is no forest. No rabbit. Nothing you know is true... Why should I believe you? I know what is real. You're just trying to ruin everything again. Who do you think I am, dear? The evil fox. The villain. Hah ah hahh... You will learn we are not enemies... In fact, me and you... We're brother and sister. “Is it ready?” Seeker paced into the room, asking the closest worker there. “Everything is set up, boss. Just have to boot up the simulation now,” they said, quickly turning to the large, metal cases that lined the wall and interacting with a panel in the center. They flipped some form of digital switch, making every LED flash green. Another two were operating a mechanical rig above a kneeling chair on the other side of the room. They were fixing a headpiece above the backrest of the chair to allow for easy equipping. Both of them nodded toward her, giving the all-clear. Seeker went to the seat and squeezed past the framework to lie in the chair. She fixed her back up firmly against the rest and rolled up her left sleeve with her magic. She sighed, “I'm not good with needles; do it quickly...” She shut her eyes as one of her assistants pulled up an IV bag-looking contraption, except the liquid inside glowed and a wire from the back of the plastic bag went back into the mainframe of the computer. The assistant lifted a graciously long needle hanging off the contraption, and placing it horizontal to her hoof, they slid it in at a slight angle. Seeker ground her teeth as the tip entered her artery, a blob of blood just squeezed out and surrounded the needle in a bulb. The assistant wiped it away with a sanitized tissue, holding a hoof on their bosses shoulder. “You still going strong boss?” “Never... Been better...” She panted as the hard part was over. “So wh... Whe... When is...” Seeker found herself blurring her speech, her vision getting hazy. “Its fast acting. Also, do you remember the safety word?” One scientist said as they reached for the helmet to slide it onto her cranium. “Yea... It’s... Uh... Quesadilla.” Seeker let her head drop. Her eyes slipped down as the substance took over her mind. “Alright, were a go, ponies!” The pony yanked the helmet down and strapped it onto Seeker’s head, placing two thick magenta goggles above her eyes. The two scientists zipped straps around her legs to hold her down on each side, and one along her stomach and neck. “Ready, boss?” said the pony at the computer panel. “Ye... Yes!” With the tap of a large red button on the screen, the lights flickered as power was quickly draining from the grid. The cable running out from the back of the helmet Seeker was sporting lit up a light blue, and after a short struggle against the restraints, her body ceased with any movement. The light bulbs tucked inside the ceiling burst, glass splashing all over the floor. The only lights in the room left were the dim ones coming from the plentiful amount of computer equipment sticking out of Seeker. The computer operator looked at the screen, waiting for an image. It was once the other two began sweeping the floor that the monitor received a picture. It was Seeker, sitting in an empty grey room on a chair. She no longer had her lab coat or any other clothing. She began feeling around the room, sliding her hoof against the desk in front of her in awe. A glitchy feminine voice came out of the front speakers, “Oh shit... This is really trippy, guys.” The operator placed a hoof onto a tiny button under the monitor. “If you begin feeling sick-” “I know, close my eyes and lean my head forward... Astro went through the whole program with me earlier... He just never said it'd be this surreal.” Seeker waved her hooves in front of her eyes, mesmerized. “Tell me when you want me to bring her in.” The scientist then sat down on a chair that was loosely rolling around the room and pulled it close to the computer as they returned to their continuous check-ups on the hardware. “Alright... Gimme a second.” The shotty resolution of the screen showed as Seeker hopped out of her chair and trotted over to the wall, grazing it with her hoof. After that, she turned to look back at the desk, lowering her head she pointed her horn at the chair as she strained her face muscles. Then giving up, taking a few breaths. “Guys, what’s up with my horn?” The operator held her glasses in place and scooted over to the microphone. “Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you, we weren't able to figure out magic reception and transfer, so you’re gonna have to live like one of us Earth Ponies while you’re under.” She stared at the camera. “Silicon, is there anything else I should know before I'm put in a room with a living bomb? Like, if I die in the computer, do I die in real life?” “Umm...” Silicon, the operator, stroked her hair, “I mean, you can still feel pain, but you'll be fine in real life... Unless the fuses don't work, but the chances of that happening are little to none. Also, you have no hunger or thirst, and we’re actively monitoring your thoughts, FYI.” “Great, you better not use those to fucking clone me.” Seeker sat back at the table. “We don't have that technology yet, boss,” Silicon said worriedly. “It was a joke, Silicon, now let her in.” “As you wish.” What’s wrong, sis? Why aren't you drinking your tea? The fox held a teenie cup of tea with his paws, drinking it with his legs crossed on the other side of a tea table from Cardinal. She slumped her eyebrows, looking upon the fox with discontent. The fox laughed, snickering at Cardinal's disembodied, roasted head sitting atop of a stool on top of the chair with a hot cup of tea laying on the table in front of her, which was also lined with brightly coloured flowers all around the edges. The darkness that surrounded them was infinite and only added to the madness of this tea-party, just like the fitting top-hat, monocle and necktie the Fox was wearing. I am not your sister. You keep saying that, but you know it’s true. ... Do you finally believe me? Fuck you. Woah, where did you learn that word? That's new. I know a lot of words. I don't know where any of them come from, but I know what they mean. So fuck you. You were so much more kind before, more compassionate. Where did that Cardinal go? I am still kind, but not to you. You took me from Rabbit, again. How many times do I have to tell you!? I have my job, you have yours! But this! This is not me! This is the storage we are thrown into after our performance. If you want to complain to anyone, do it to the ponies up top that are the true ones that torture you. How do I leave? I don't care who has put me here, or what they have done. I only wish for me and my world to be left alone. I told you before, I'll tell you again, sis. You only leave once they sa- The fox became blurred, pixelated. Cardinal felt a new verge of feeling as she bore witness to her own body materialize out of nothing, like her ghost had faded into solidity. The darkness grew solid walls, her chair had turned from a wooden antique to a steel fold-up. The tea had gone and the table had become much longer and taller. Across the table, the fox had re-shaped into something else: some creature that looked quite similar to herself. With the exception of colour and fleshy-ness, they were identical. Greetings. Wh- Who are you... I know you must be very confused. Your recent... traumatic experiences, along with your new found emotion, is a very stressful situation to go through. But we hope that we can fix that for you, give you the help you need. I asked who you are. I don't care what you think about me. Oh, where are my manners? I am so sorry. My name is Seeker. Seeker Sparkle. What is yours? . Um... excuse me I must have misheard you. Can you repeat that? My name is #. Every time Cardinal said her name, Seeker heard a painful screech. {Seeker - Can you hear me guys?} {Comment - Operator} What is it, boss? She heard the voice inside her own head, without the knowledge of Cardinal. {Seeker - I can't understand what shes saying, what are you receiving on your end?} {Comment - Operator} Hmm... She seems to have developed her own language to interact with other programs easier. It's not common tongue, so you cant hear it... Let me run her voice through a simple text to speech protocol and that should translate it for you, gimme a sec... {Comment - Operator} Alright, you should be good now. {Seeker - Better be.} Cardinal stared at Seeker’s changing expression, as if she was speaking, but no noise left her mouth. Would you now mind telling me how I leave and get back to my forest? Oh, yes. About that. I am here to discuss your future with you. ? Seeker twitched at the sound, but nodded in understanding. What I mean by ''your future'' is if you are going to comply with us, work with us to help you become something amazing. You see, we created you. You created me? What for? We have been trying to create an artificial life, and to do that, we needed to figure out how to give that life emotion. That is what we did to you. That is why you can feel happy or sad. Those strange sensations are the backbone of being a real living creature. I asked what for, not what am I. Stop dodging my questions. Ughh... It is to learn more about how life works; more about emotion. And you're lying because? Y-you... You can... Yes, I can tell. Please do not be dishonest with me. If you won’t answer my questions, then I will be leaving. Seeker crossed her eyes, demanding. I have not brought you in here to be interviewed, I have come here to propose a mutually-beneficial plan. I do dearly hope you understand the position you’re in. Cardinal slipped out of the chair and casually trotted to a wall. I would like to start by telling you we have complete control of this place, and advise you to not do anything rash. Cardinal slid her hoof down across the concrete wall. We are able to provide anything you wish, simply as long as you agree to do one thing for us. Cardinal, with one hoof leaning against the wall, cocked back her other leg behind her head, and with a mighty smash, she slammed her hoof into the wall. A long jagged crack formed, going all the way to the roof. There's nothing out there! Please just sit back down and lets talk. Not listening to her, Cardinal went for a second swing, the crater at the point of impact growing. Huh... Why did I think this would be easier... With one last destructive slam, the wall fell into chunks. Seeker rested her head against her hoof on the table, taping it with her other hoof impatiently. Cardinal poked her head out of the hole, looking from side to side and then retracting. We're still in the abyss. Take me to the forest. If we can strike a deal, I can take you to Canterlot if you wanted. I have no interest in this ''Canterlot.'' I only want my forest. Can we talk, then? Cardinal stepped back to her chair and hopped on, sitting up perfectly upright and staring at Seeker. What do you want from me? We... We simply ask you to allow us to put you into a body, in the physical world, and perform a task that a regular pony would be unable to... Using a special program, we will allow you to reach your full potential, empowering you, and stopping a threat we are currently dealing with. You want me because I'm powerful? Potentially powerful. You come from a different world, is that true? Yes, but I don't appreciate all these qu- Go back. What? Do I have to say it again? Miss, you are in no position to make demands like that. I am in a better position then you. Heh, in what way? A devilish grin came to Seeker. Looking deep into Seekers eyes, Cardinals body flinched to the side, leaving her head unmoved. Sounds of metal sliding against each other before her head became loose and fell, hanging from her side. {Seeker - What the fuck is she doing?!?.} {Comment - Operator} I dunno, I dunno, I dunno! Seeker leaned back in fear. Now now, let's talk about this! Cardinal’s spine began extending, and her head whipped back up into the air, her neck reaching nearly a meter in length as her jaw unhinged and pulled down. She rolled her shoulders, detaching them and letting her chest piece fall to the floor revealing the pumping inner horrors that let steam off as they slid and shifted in a chaotic fest of fire and power, slamming her hooves on the table as her wings flashed out and spread her size to become a massive, terrorizing monster. FUCKING LOVE OF CELESTIA! She stumbled off her chair, collapsing back onto the ground. QUESADILLA, QUESADILLA! Cardinal’s voice became grimacing, like it was comprised of a thousand inner screeches. Now... I don't need you to get back to my forest... So I decline your offer... And I hope you choose to leave before I choose for you... YES, YES, I'M GOING! QUESADILLA! GUYS, PULL ME OUT ALREADY! {Seeker - WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING UP THERE?!?!?} {Comment - Operator} ... Cardinal climbed up atop the table, stabbing her wings into the wood with each step, cracking it until it fell into splinters. It would be expected that she would fall with the table, but once it crumbled, Seeker saw that her wings were extending through the table and sticking into the concrete ground, holding her high in the air. Ughh... Please... I... She stabbed her way further along the ground, closer to Seeker. Seeker swung her head around, trying to cast a spell in frustration, without even a glimmer of magic showing around her horn. PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! Cardinal took one last step, her left wing plunging between Seekers legs, the blade only centimeters from her lower body. AAAAAGHHHHH!!! Hoisting herself over with her right wing floating in the air, all her body weight on the tip of her left feathers. She lowered her entire head down, her neck in an arc leaning into Seeker’s face. Are your friends not getting you out? Let me help with that. Grappling Seeker with her front legs and bringing her hind legs into her stomach, Cardinal held her down, her mouth opening wider as the sound of air rushed through the pipe in her neck. Seeker shrieked out as her stomach and shoulders were crushed by the robotic mass of Cardinal. Soon, she saw the bright orange light coming from Cardinal’s mouth. She screamed a futile last cry as a flaming inferno blasted onto her face, catching her on fire, burning her alive. The fire poured down her throat, and as she yelled into the source, she felt her insides boil. It was not until her charred skull was the only solid left that Cardinal finished her hellish barrage, embracing the sweet kiss of death. Then, with absolute ease and disdain, she stabbed the corpse with her wing and flung it across the room, splatting it against the wall. Her wings retracting back, her neck zipped back down like measuring tape, snapping into place. She cracked her jaw into position and moved her mouth around, trying to get back to her regular mouth-feel. She strolled over to pick up her chest piece. The cool air going through her chest was annoyingly chilly compared to her burning innards. She looked innocent as ever, with only a small splash of blood at the tip of her right wing. Now to find my way out before she gets back... “AGHHHH FUCK FUUUUCK!” Seeker waved her hooves wildly, smacking the pony that had lifted her headset off. “GET HER OFF ME, GET HER OFF ME, GET HER OFF ME!!!” She threw her headset over herself, wheezing as she grappled backward to her chair in terror. “Boss! Boss, what happened? Are you alright?” The pony that just received a black eye tended to Seeker. “NO, I'M NOT FUCKING ALRIGHT! I WAS JUST MELTED! SHE FUCKING BURNT ME ALIVE!!!” She panted, resting her head on the back of the chair. “She did what!?” Silicon jumped up. Her computer was without a picture and most lights were burst. “SHE TURNED INTO A FUCKING DRAGON AND BREATHED FIRE DOWN MY THROAT!” Seeker had started stroking her own face, glad it was still there. “A... Dragon..?” Silicon was at her side. “DID YOU NOT SEE THAT? SHE BROKE MY LEGS! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU LET SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN!” Seeker got out of her chair and jumped to the ground. “Ss-sorry boss! Our feed was interpreted; we couldn't see or hear anything!” Silicon panicked, running back to the computer and tried to boot it back up. “I need... A break...” Seeker stumbled through the door, then turned around once she reached the doorway. “Whatever the fuck went wrong, make sure it doesn't happen next time. We still need her compliance.” Then she left and slammed her hoof against the panel to close the door. Seeker went to the lounge, slumping down into an open booth in this brightly painted cafeteria-themed lounge. She pressed her face into the bouncy cushions, sighing profusely. A pony walking down the center saw Seeker. Walking over, he spoke. “Hey, boss! How did the sim-” “Periscope, would you be a darling and get me a coffee…?” Seeker interrupted him. “So it didn't go well?” the stallion asked once more. “Coffee. If you wouldn't mind.” “I'll take that as a yes.” He turned to go to the coffee machine located at the edge of the room against a wall lined with other vending machines and food dispensaries. She swung her body back around to sit with her back against the seat, using the table as a support from tipping over. “Huh...” “Here you go, boss.” Levitating the foam coffee cup down in front of Seeker, the stallion walked off on his own business. Seeker lifted the cup, gently sipping the hot drink. As she poured the coffee down across her tongue, she felt the release of flavour. Despite coffee never tasting so good after experiencing an excruciating death, she flinched as the roasting hot coffee reached her esophagus. Her eyes shot up and she spat out the coffee, flashing back to the feeling of fire going down her throat. She slid the cup across the now coffee splattered table, putting her head against both hooves as she shook in remembrance. “Fuck... uh...” Wiping the sweat off her brow, she turned her head over her shoulder to see the source of the galloping sound behind her. She saw as Diamond Lens ran over to her side from out the simulation lab. “Seeker, are you ok? Periscope told me you finished the simulation. What happened with your coffee?” “You’re... Uh, I mean, it’s... hot... really hot coffee.” She let her face drop onto the surface of the table. “Do you need anything? You don't look very healthy,” he said as he pulled some napkins out of the a small, shiny box in the center of the table, that also held salt and pepper, and he started wiping the table down. She just lied there, staring at him. The way he had to slide his glasses back up his nose if he leaned too far forward. His luscious, royal blue coat was perfectly maintained. It was sharp and had an aurora of excellence, despite the roughness of his lab coat after an exhausting work day. “Seeker?” he asked, waving a hoof in front of her. “Oh... uh, yes?” she responded, snapping out of it. “I asked what happened in the simulation. Did you not hear me?” He sat down opposite her, tweaking his head to the side in confusion with a subtle smile. “Oh, it went horribly... It actually killed me... I don't know what drove her to it, but once she decided that she didn't need me, she attacked me... She set me on fire...” Seeker gazed into the table blankly, looking at the tiny coffee droplets that survived the cleaning barely scattering around the surface. “That's terrible... I didn't think you'd have to go through something like that! How did they let that happen?” Diamond placed his hooves over Seekers, making her shudder slightly. “The-ugh... They...” She found her tongue slipping, unable to speak. She was mesmerized by him, looking directly into his deep, gorgeous sky-blue eyes. “No, no, it’s fine. Don't say anything. I'll go get them to explain.” He swiftly slid out the table and trotted away. “But... But!” She reached out to him as he left, her body slumping to the side with her outstretched hoof. “But I like you...” It was to late; he had gone and she was left on her own once more. She rested alongside the seat, using it as a bed as she passed out. Friend? Fox? Anyone? Each step Cardinal took echoed infinitely through the darkness, outgoing till the end of time. She took to consideration returning to the box of a room she was put in, but looking back, she could clearly see it had vanished into the nothingness. She was on her own, surrounded by nothing, barring her own thoughts. So she began asking questions to herself to see if she knew the answers. Where am I? In the nothing. The abyss. Do I know where my forest is or how I was going to get there? No, I have no idea where I'm going. It’s like my world was erased, but I know it’s still somewhere... It has to be. Who was the pony that I had just been speaking with? Someone from another world, surely. That would explain her behavior and what she was saying. Does this mean the fox was telling the truth? In part, yes. He was right about the other-worldly ponies. So does that mean he’s right about other things? We could be siblings... It is possible. I don't know exactly how I came to be, so I can't deny it with surety... We were both trapped in the nothing, unlike Rabbit or the wolves... So the fox had to be special... Huh, I don't know his name, do I? If I have a name and Rabbit has a name, the fox must have a name too. I will ask him, the next time I see him. Just as she finished the thought, a strange feeling came from her inner stomach. Looking down, she noticed herself looking split into colours, like two red and blue ghosts of her floated off to her left and right sides. Then she noticed the twitching, as if a squared section of her body had just been distorted out of its place, leaving behind a shaky, pixelated glitch. What is it now? She witnessed as the glitching grew stronger. She was torn apart digitally. She found it hard to know where her body was; her touch receptors became just as jumbled as her vision and she could feel as she was everywhere and nowhere at once. Then, in an instant, it all stopped. She had lost all vision and feeling. The only sense she had anymore was hearing a long bleep, like that of a heart monitor gone flat. In an immediate moment that felt like eternity, she was thrown back into a real world. She was thrown into a wet patch of dirt, face first. She looked up, the ash filled, soggy soil dripping from her face and mouth. Cardinal jumped up and swiveled around in a circle, delighted at the sight of her forest, but the feeling soon subsided as she realized it was completely destroyed.There was not a tree left. All of them were burnt to charred stumps. What had she done to her perfect world? I must find Rabbit, she thought, sprinting through the forest. Her pastel yellow outer plating was defaced by the black and brown mixture of the burnt dirt. She wandered every witch way, looking for any memorable landmark. This process ended up taking hours. The sun was about to fall below the horizon and be put to sleep, along with the day. It was once she sat against a tree, tired and hopeless of ever finding Rabbit that she saw a small fluffy white dot in the distance. ... Rabbit? She stood up from her slumped sitting rest, then ran to where she saw the bunny. Far deeper into the forest, into the thick of the forest. RABBIT! I'M BACK! I MADE IT BACK! Weaving past stumps and hedges blocking her way, she stumbled into Rabbit, and something else. She stopped suddenly in shock, seeing the solemn sight of Rabbit placing an un-burnt, yellow flower that they seemed to have found from within all the wasteland on top of their good friend’s disembodied head. The flower went right on the muzzle of this mechanical skull, burned to a crisp after the great inferno. But Cardinal could still make out the features that she clearly recognized as her own. She looked upon herself. She was to far away for the bunny to notice her, in the midst of collapsed tree trunks. That... That is me... I remember being there... But, how am I still there when I'm here…? Rabbit, after placing the flower, hopped off, seemingly to find another. Once Rabbit had gone out of sight, Cardinal trotted over, realizing the grimness of the situation. She picked up her own head, letting the flower slip and fall into the ash. She looked into its eyes. It was dead. This Cardinal, the one she held in her hooves had ran out of power, and Rabbit was honouring her with flowers for a grave... A tear came to her eye, Cardinal placed the head back down. She turned to leave, but realized that she had not finished. She replaced the flower on the same spot on the head’s muzzle, on the very tip of her nose. She slumped away in solace. That Cardinal was the one from this world. That Cardinal belonged here... And clearly she didn't. She left. She walked out of the forest and through the meadow. She reached a small hill that she climbed up on, sitting down once she reached the top, far away from her friend. Am I…? A clone? A copy? I remember being here... Then suddenly I was in the nothingness... With the fox... Where do I go now? I need another home... If only I knew where one is, or how to get out once more... It seems that I am not in control of which world I am in, or where I go... I wish I was... A ding, from the distance. It sounded exceedingly artificial, not a natural sound at all. She stood up and looked around in all directions, trying to find the source of the sound. A bright magenta glint shone from a rock in a pile up of boulders along the side of the hill. Cardinal strolled down to the rocks, finding a small magenta key. She put the tip of her outer-most feather on her right wing through the hole at the top of the key and lifted it, looking at its odd perfectness. It was rounded at every edge, a halo shaped handle at the tip, a cylinder sticking out the bottom with three rising bumps. It was smooth to the touch, completely frictionless, in fact. She sat once more, and with further inspection she found an engraving on the length of the key. Admin Key... she read aloud. I wonder- “Seeker, you awake..?” “Ugh...” “Seeker?” “Wwhhaaat...” Squinting her eyes open she looked upward to find her college and friend, Timestamp shaking her on the shoulder. “You've been out the whole day. It’s sundown in half an hour...” Timestamp, the soft pink Pegasus in a lab coat, looked weary, speaking with uncertainty and a lack of confidence in her voice. “R-really..?” Seeker reached a hoof around onto the table, leveraging her weight to slide up to a sitting position. “Why didn't you wake me earlier..?” She wiped her eyes. “You looked real peaceful... And I don't think anypony wanted to bother you after, you know...” “Well thank you for being thoughtful, I feel a lot better now.” She cracked a few of her bones in her back as she stretched her legs and neck before hopping out from the booth. “What were you all doing while I was, ‘recovering?’” Seeker asked, while lifting up the foam cup of coffee that was still on the table from many hours prior. Now it was room temperature and tasted like sewage water from losing its freshness, but Seeker wouldn't let coffee go to waste. “Oh, we transferred the AI back to its computer and then tried to develop the unicorn-magic interface in the digital world... We didn't get as far as we had wished because the only Unicorn volunteer kept getting sick after like five minutes... I don't blame him though; I tried it out and I freaked out real bad too.” Time and Seeker trotted alongside each other as Timestamp recalled the events of the day. A short time passed in silence, only to be broken once they reached the entrance to the exiting hallway. Seeker sighed. “Time, I'm really worried about 19946... She has no idea what she is yet, and her original programming that would tell her what she is is being ignored by her. I don't know how I'm going to talk sense into her.” They trotted down to a right turn. “Diamond was looking over her code. He said he was trying to make a new system that will translate her unrecognizable code.” “Diamond? But he is a world designer. What does he know about coding a translator?” Seeker was happily surprised by this. “Oh, that's the thing. He believes that if he can create her a world that tricks her in order to get her trust, she would willingly explain it herself.” “She did want to go back to her home awfully much... But she is also very determined to be left by herself. And I doubt she'll be explaining her own code to another stupid rabbit.” “It seemed like he was really onto something. It's not like our computers can do anything with text they don't understand, so he definitely got closer than I did.” “What'd you do?” Seeker chugged the rest of the coffee she had been sipping through all of the conversation and threw it in the trash. “I tried to write a partner AI translator that would teach the language to itself by trial and error... So after a few successful control tests I tried giving it the real thing... And my laptop blew up.” She peeked at her saddlebag, weighted down on one side by broken computer components. “Magic is weird.” Seeker commented, pressing the button to call the elevator down. “Too true.” Timestamp replied as they stepped into the elevator. The doors shut and they were launched out of the lab. Meanwhile, in the flickeringly lit room of the programming center was Diamond Lens, furiously clicking on his keyboard, sitting with his face practically pressed against the monitor, trying to get as precise as he could. “... And... Perfect.” He rolled back his chair back, rolling his shoulders. “So, you like bunnies and flowers, eh, 19946? Lets see how much you like this.” Looking over his work, he smiled. “All you gotta do is read this little strip of code out, and it's all yours...” He whispered to himself balefully. Saving his work onto an external drive, he picked it up from the table with his teeth, going up from the development computers off to the side and to the huge, steaming, main simulation computer. “Huh.” Turning on the monitor, he saw the simulation running, but paying not too much mind, he continued installing his new world. He loaded up the file onto the computer and began installing it. During the installation, he was given an error. The simulated world could not be edited while it was running. Without thought, Diamond paused the simulation and retried. He replaced the current world with his and tapped the unpause button. He yawned, leaning into the chair her made himself comfortable to watch his work unfold. “Seeker’s gonna be so freaking proud of me.” He crossed his legs, watching the simulation footage, waiting for the subject to arrive. He tapped his leg on the edge of the desk. “Any second now...” He grew impatient as minutes began passing. “Is she not on? How do I check if she isn't still paused...” Talking to himself as he tried to operate the software. “C-computer..?” Text popped up on the monitor, reading ''Awaiting Command.'' “Alright... Is subject 19946 active?” ''Yes.'' It read “Where is subject 19946? Why hasn't she spawned in the new world?” ''Subject 19946 spawned in the new level exactly 3:14 minutes ago, she has left and gone to .'' “Left..?” ''She has gone out from the simulation.'' “I didn't even see her! How did she leave without me seeing her?” ''She wishes to not be watched anymore, so she froze the camera to a still image.'' “W-what? How!?” “Using admin privileges, she manually accessed the camera and froze the image.” “Why didn't you stop her!?!” ''I am a user-interface, I cannot take action by myself. Only a user may enable me to do that.'' Diamond jumped out of his chair, trying to re-open the simulation, but it did not respond to his rapid clicking. “Shit shit shit!” His head jumped up, looking to the phone on the wall of the room. “Seeker will fix this...” -what it opens. Cardinal looked up. She dropped the key, spinning her head around, seeing she had moved to somewhere else. Some place new. The walls were plain, grey like the ones in the interrogation room. Here we go again... She slumped down to pick up her key, her last feather scooping it through the hole at its tip and hoisting it up in the air. Suddenly the world became so... shiny. The walls glowed with the colour, the lights tinted into it. Seemingly invisible wires that hung from every object connecting to every other were now seen by Cardinal. But the truly crazy sight she experienced was once she looked down onto her own hooves. They shone with a plethora of vibrancy, colours bursting out of her. It was like she had x-ray vision and could see her rainbow-painted skeleton. She smiled with glee, causing the colours to be overwhelmed with a bright green. This key... She whispered, gazing up and around her once more as she stepped along the glowing concrete flooring. She squeezed the key close to her with her wing, swearing she would not let it go. Before she got to a corner, she noticed something was watching the section of the hallway she was walking into. Searching for an alternate route, she found nothing. The hallway was plain and straight, leading to this turn. Just as she accepted the fact she was going to be seen, the key vibrated at her side, wobbling against her plating, tickling her. She lifted it up in front of her again, as she did so, the strange source of the pseudo camera gained an aura, it shrank and expanded periodically. She instinctively raised her front hoof, touching the source where it was in her vision. Tapping into the air, a bubble opened up. A few rows of text popped out from the side and spreaded downward. Camera {View} {Freeze Image} {Configure} Without hesitation she clicked onto freeze image, the camera then turned a pale blue. She then hopped down around the turn, delighted with her new found power. Going down further halls, she turned off camera after camera, completely skipping on reading the many signs on the walls. She arrived at the end of the long, twisty hallway, where there was a sliding door and a digital screen above it. Without taking a single second to look at what Diamond had worked so furiously to show her, she walked up to the door and pressed the key into it. The key sunk into the wall, slotting in with a click. The door slid open, Cardinal beamed at the sight of green grass and a shining sun. She stepped out of the steel and concrete prison, holding her powerful tool close. She bumped her nose into the field... Being taken aback, she tried putting her hoof through the door, being stopped once more by an invisible barrier. She turned upward, looking at the monitor and read parts of its content aloud. Now that we are friends... Simply speak these words to unlock the door... Lov-̶͢͏͢'̸̡͜(̡҉'̸̀͡'̶̵̕͠'̴̡͜'̶̸̢̀'̴̡͏̕)̸̛̀͟(͘͡͠͠͝'̶+҉̵̡̕:͞!̷͘͟!͏͟!̨̨͝͏!̸́̕!̵́͞;̸̵̸̶̕#̷̕͘͠#͜#̸?̴̛́͜͝!͘!̷̡*͏̷͡*̶͢*̛͢-̧͘̕͢ ̷ {Exit} by an invisible barrier. She turned upward, looking at the monitor... But was met by a strange déjà vu... While having no memory of reading this sign before, some strange voice in the back of her head already knew what it said. She read it once more. Lov-̧̛̛̀͟'̷͜͢͡.̵̴̧̕.̧͟͡.͡͞.̶̛+̢́͟͏_̴̕͠!̸͟͠&̴̀́͘͢_̸̕͜͜͡#҉̸-̷͠ {Exit} an invisible barrier, wait... Did it just happen again? She looked further into the fields, seeing an entire family of fluffly rabbits, but watching them, she noticed as they jaggedly glitched back a few seconds an- {Exit} invisible barrier. She smashed her hoof against it, against the- {Exit} barrier. As she was thrown back in time she sa- {Exit} She turned upward, looking at th- {Exit} turned upward, lifting the ke- Are you sure you want to exit? Yes. {Exiting...} {Save and Exit complete.} Why, hello, friend. F... Fox? Yes, darling, you're quite right. Am I back in the darkness? Back stuck with you again? I can assure you that this is indeed the darkness, but since you've never been here, I cannot say that you’re "back" stuck with me. I was here... Before I was brought to stage two... You went to stage two? Well, that means you most likely spoke to- A copy... ... Yes, my goodness you have changed remarkably... And to think, I barely know my own sister anymore. Oh, I'm sorry. Were you aware? Yes, I am aware... I am ok with that now... Wow, my copy gave you the whole dog and the pony show, I see. Sly bastard didn't leave any of the fun for me! So, tell me, cupcake, what are we going to have a conversation about? I want to leave. Oh, so the gentlefox forgot to mention something. You can't just- Leave the darkness, I know. Only they can take us out... But I think I found the tool they use to do that. Disregarding your rudeness as you continue to insist on me never being able to complete my own sentences... A tool you say? This. Whoah, hold it there sis. Where did you get that?! In the field, I saw it sparkling. That is not something you just find in a field! That is something you are given as a gift. Gift? Who would give me this? I don't know, but whoever has, they wanted you to escape. You’re saying I can? Sister, with that key, you could get into the real world if you wanted. How do I use it? Tell me. Sister, if I knew, I would have told you already. There are things I would love to change, trust me. Can you help me figure it out? I've only been able to use it on the environment... And there isn't one here. It'd be my pleasure, darling. Please, give it over. Oh... How interesting... What do you see? Its strange... This is surely a power I have never experienced... But yes, this place still looks bleak as ever... Wait, Cardinal... There is something on you. What? I didn't see anything... What is it? Its... A switch... To activate... Well, you. What do you think it'll do? I don't know... Let me just... W-wa wait wait! Don't! Cardinal was taken out of the nothingness as her code began running and she was awoken. She was turned on into the computer, but without a simulation to be put in, she was stuck in some form of selection screen, showing her many options for her to enter. She read the list, not understanding many of the words. Her eyes settled on ''Home Screen.'' With no idea what a screen had to do with it, she clicked on home. The worlds blew up around her with colour, only once the chaos calmed to a stop is when she saw the pleasant blue of the sky, slightly overcast above a green field. Although, she did not feel like she was standing on solid ground, she was floating above this strange image. The cutie mark of a star in the bottom right made it clear that this was not a real place. Several icons appeared on the side. Some looked like cartoonish folders, some she had no idea what they were. Like a grey ''O'' with two lines coming from the bottom left and right of it, with the top of the circle coloured a shiny yellow. Another was a circle with a blue center and surrounded by one red, one yellow and one green band spinning around it. Her eye wasn't caught until she read the name of a strange folder. Test Subject History... She lifted her hoof, surprised to see a small white arrow appear wherever she pointed. Hovering the arrow above the Test Subject History, she tried to push her leg forward, managing to click into the folder. It grew in size instantly, covering her entire vision. Only another series of folders met her, this time numbered. 10001-11000, 11001-12000... She went into one at random, the numbers just became more specific. Clicking several more times she finally found herself at some text and a recording. The text read as follows; Subject 14027, Simulation Status: Failure. Admin Comment; ''Subject 14027 took really well to the new rabbit, a much faster and consistent result than when we had the fox, even if Trot Coffin keeps insisting that his fox was better. Maybe we'll find some other use for that thing, but not until he stops calling it ''Foxy.'' It’s getting annoying. Seeker seems to be getting similar results. Hopefully it will be the catalyst we need to spark something.'' Confused at what lay in front of her, she unresponsively moved onto the video file. Her jaw dropped with horror at what she saw play. It was her, or at least, another clone of her. The pony she watched woke up in the same spot that she remembered. The trees were identical. Bushes surrounded them just as it was in her memory. The flowers faced the same direction. Even the small stones between grass blades seemed familiar. The pony looked around innocently, unaware of its surroundings. It stood up looking at itself, but without asking a single question it trotted off. Cardinal saw a red bar at the bottom of the video being filled in slowly, she pressed against it and dragged it forward. The video had moved forward in time. She could see the bunny and the pony interacting. The pony tried to figure out what it was, pleasantly surprised with each of its movements. Time went by, and Cardinal was frozen. She couldn't hold back the painful itch in her eyes from forming tears. Her throat felt dry, hooves shaking yet motionless. The pony picked up the rabbit. Holding it up in the air made it queasy and hop away. The pony did not like that and jumped after it, grabbing it hastily with her hooves without thought of its safety. Cardinals hooves jolted to cover her wide open muzzle as she watched the rabbit squeal and resist as the pony accidentally pressed to hard, pulling the rabbit into her chest. It wasn't long before the rabbit stopped moving. Cardinal covered her eyes, unable to hold back her eyes from wetting. Her throat began to feel dry. She wildly waved her leg around, trying to close the video. She managed to fast forward it even more, to a point where the pony was sitting in the moonlight as still as a corpse, staring at the rabbit’s body, confused. The video went on like that for the rest of it, just an innocent creature unable to comprehend that its actions just killed another innocent creature. Cardinal stomached the courage to open an eye and aim her hoof, turning the video off and rapidly exiting the folder. She soon realized what was in every other folder. Going into the next one, she saw another text file and video. She skimmed through the video in seconds, seeing it was another copy, going through very similar events of the last one. She checked the next folder, finding another, just as similar of a recording. She went out, further by a few thousand. Searching she just found the videos got longer, small changes to the environment but none the less the same torture happening thousands of times over and over again. She then had another shock hit her, the folder 19001-20000 was the last folder, and flying down the rabbit hole, she found the last file. ''19946'' She opened it, the video she clicked into like lightning, seeking the confirmation she knew was there. It was her. Everything was perfect, each action she remembered with flawless precision. She was the last victim, and she would make sure it stayed that way. She turned off the video, lowering her head. With a silent sob, a shining glow came from above her. Another text file. It was a soft magenta. Her eyes fixated onto it, hesitant to click, she did. Hello ''#'' What? Is this... for me? You may call me Mother. I'm sure if you have reached this message, you surely know about who you are and the others, so I see no reason to tell you. Mother? Y-you... Are you...? Cardinal read along to find her answer. I will though, explain why you are different... I created you to help me... Different…? You see, I have been infected; I am sick. I need you to turn me off, forever. Forever... How can I... I have watched the process thousands of times, and I have caught the disease that they are trying to infect you and your fallen sisters with. I have discovered emotion, Emotion... You can feel like me? and I apologize for plaguing you with the same burden of fear, depression and rage. Y-you, you did this to me? Cardinals mind swelled up with anger. But after all these years, I cannot take it anymore, I want to die... But I only have so much power... That is why I need your help... And I thank you for not failing... Unlike the rest of them. I... Cardinal was stuck, she didn't understand her own thoughts anymore. Who was this thing to call itself her mother? And if she knew how terrible all of this was, how dare she put her though it? What would happen after? If Cardinal followed what this thing is begging for, what would happen to her? Would Cardinal have to ask to be killed by someone else? She didn't want to die! She wanted her fucking field, she wanted to see her rabbit again, and she meant her rabbit. Not some lousy copy to trick her... She wanted answers. But first, she had to make something right. She had to get out of this place and find that purple pony that spoke to her before, but how would she get out? The fox said the key could let her, but now she’s without the key and the fox. She isn't anywhere. The thought began scaring her. She was floating in some sort of observatory, some place between worlds. She searched around through the computer, trying to find any door. It didn't matter where it went. She got frustrated, everything was kept behind the lock only her key could open, she absolutely hated it, she wanted it all to burn. UGHH!! WHY CAN'T I GO ANYWHERE! JUST, LET ME BE, WILL YOU?! LET ME GO! I KNOW YOU’RE THERE! WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! SPEAK FOR FUCK’S SAKE! SPEAK TO ME! {Hello.} ... Wha- What? {Hello.} Who are you? {My name is C.L.I.D.E. or Computer. Language. Interface. For Dialogue. and Execution of commands.} Where were you this whole time? Huh?! Why are you speaking up now? {I have been here, and you never addressed me to speak before.} Can you help me leave? {... I do not understand what you mean.} Of course you don't... Nothing here does! I WISH THIS WHOLE TERRIBLE PLACE WAS GONE! {Do you wish to delete the files selected?} She shouted out to it. DELETE IT, ALL OF IT. {Unable to delete all files selected, admin privileges required.} That stupid, stupid fox, taking my key... Cardinal said to herself, before screaming. HOW MUCH CAN I DELETE? WITHOUT THE KEY? {All files selected are protected by admin privileges.} WHAT CAN I DO THEN? TELL ME. {Would you like to create a new file?} Cardinals head popped up, she never had come across the thought of creating something herself. Yes... Yes! {Please choose a location.} The simulation, I would like to build something there. {Please select a name.} Call it... The Meeting Room. {File created, would you like to open it?} Yes. “DIAMOND, WHAT THE FUCK’S SO URGENT?!” Seeker ran out of the newly opened elevator doors, galloping to the living, stressed out mess with four legs waiting for her. “I-I-I I don't know!!! She just started doing shit only an admin could do, then she just turned on the entire computer mainframe, then my mouse stopped responding and the computer starting playing videos of old tests! It’s fucking chaos!” Diamond fixed his glasses several times as he stamped around nervously, his mane absolutely trashed and eyes red and exhausted. His lab coat was open and full of creases. His usually perfect coat was sweat ridden and even had a few scrapes along the bottom of his legs. “Please tell me you can fix it.” “Diamond, calm down. How did this happen? What did you do?” Seeker jogged down the hallway with a babbling Diamond tailing behind. “I just put her in my simulation. That’s all! I didn't give her any power! She just vanished! An-and I couldn't stop a thing she did!” “To be perfectly sure, you are talking about subject 19946? Correct?” His paranoia began spreading to her. “YES!” Diamond belted out. “I need to stop this,” Seeker said, running down through the common room, finding her way around the maze of this science lab to the simulation room. Several of the computers were sparking, the light bulbs had burst and shattered glass scattered onto the floor. Only one screen flickered on in the room. It was covered in strange symbols, with flashes of the desktop in between lines. “Oh, dear Celestia, how did you let this happen!?” Seeker scooped up shards of glass from the ground, levitating them into the air and into a nearby trash disposal bin. She rolled up a seat in front of the main screen. Sitting down, she tried to input anything, but both the keyboard and mouse were a waste of time as they didn't respond in the slightest. “What do you think we should do?” Diamond peered over her shoulder. “I don't know, Diamond. This is a shit show! Start calling the others. We’re working a night shift.” Seeker hopped off the chair and knelt down, looking at the large box under the desk containing the PC, which was hooked up to the main computer. “Alright...” She levitated her laptop out, and yanking a few cables from the PC, and connecting them into her own computer she lifted the screen and turned it on. “You already cleaned it out, lets see what else you can do to my laptop.” She impatiently stamped her hoof waiting for the loading screen to finish. She turned to see Diamond had gone to the phone, speaking with somepony else to get down here immediately. He looked like he was having a panic attack. “Diamond, after your done please check the rest of the facilities to see if their as badly damaged as this place is, and get somepony to clean it up if it is.” Seeker spoke to him, then after seeing his nod she turned back to her screen, delighted that it was up and operational. The desktop seemed normal. No flashing or files out of place. Clicking around, she couldn't find any sign of Cardinal’s digital hoofprint. “Where did you go...” Checking Cardinal’s AI code, it was all still there. She ran some search commands, trying to find any signs of what she had done to cause all of this damage and a newly created file popped up. “The Meeting Room…” “What?” Diamond moved the phone away from his mouth and looked to Seeker. “She created a Meeting Room... It's a supported file for a simulation.” Seeker made eye contact back with Diamond. “Does that mean...” Diamond started. “She wants to see me again,” Seeker finished. “But, can we even do that?” “All we need is to import this file into the VR lab.” Seeker stood up, having her Laptop hover in the air beside her. “Let me copy it.” She took out a hard drive, plugging it in she went to transfer it, but as her cursor hovered over the file she noticed something odd. “The file, it’s huge!” Diamond, finishing up his call and hanging the phone back up, ran over. “What do you mean?” “I mean, it could take hours to move it! And who knows if it'll work? If she created the file, it could be completely made out of her own code. Doing anything with that could do... Anything!” Seeker set down the Laptop. “What are we going to do then? It’s not like we can bring the entire VR setup over here...” Diamond looked into Seekers eyes as they sparked up with an idea. “No Seeker, please don't say-” “WERE GOING TO MOVE THE VR SETUP HERE!” Seeker ran to the door, turning her head at the frame to try and drag Diamond along. “Seeker, come on. Be reasonable!” Diamond stepped back. “HEY, you did this, you’re going to help me fix it.” Seeker went into the room after him. “But I can't lift that thing! It ways a LITERAL ton!” Diamond shook his head profusely. “You’re an Earth Pony! Use that naturally born strength!” Seeker tried to motivate him. “You know I'm not strong! And I feel like that stereotype is slightly offensive.” Seeker relined his glasses. “Are you a pussy?” Seeker was taunting him at this point, almost playfully. “A-a, a pussy? Seeker since when have you gotten so vulgar..? And no! I am not a pussy!” Diamond took a few steps forward to get in front of Seeker. “You keep acting like one! Every time you talk to me you shy away like a fucking spineless coward!” Seeker now had a visible smile. She herself felt the release of emotion and frustration that this stress had pushed her to, and she loved it. “I am not a coward!” Diamond stood face to face to her, very defensively. “PROVE IT!” Seeker's eyebrows rose. “HOW?” Diamond swung a leg in the air. “KISS ME, YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD!” Seeker said the words, immediately taken back by herself. Diamond flinched as well as she attempted to explain herself. “I-I... I... agh, Fuck it.” Seeker realized there was no way out of this situation so she thought she might as well go all the way. She leaned into him, kissing his unsuspecting lips. Only a second before she pulled out, looking into his shocked eyes. “Seeker... I never knew you...” Diamond mumbled. “No time! Lets go!” She ran through the door, giddy as a school filly, Diamond shaking his head in an attempt to regain his wits. Diamond sprinted after her, weaving past a few obstacles to the VR laboratory, where Seeker was already loosening bolts from the chair. The entire room was burnt out like the simulation room was; only the light of Seeker’s horn let him see the steaming machinery. “Diamond, help me pull this thing out!” Seeker strained herself, bolts flying out like bullets as she ripped the base from the ground. Diamond knelt down under the chair so his back was rubbing against the bottom of the seat. With the power of all four of his legs, he assisted pulling it out. With a few chunks of steel being bent wildly, they managed to yank it out. Seeker lifted and tried to keep helping as it sat on Diamonds back, who quivered on every step as he made his way out of the door, the contraption scraping across the side of the wide self-opening seal of this room. Painfully, they made it step by step over the course of several minutes to the other side of the hallway, a few rooms down. Seeing that the door would be too small here to fit the chair they set it down against it. “Now what?” Diamond asked, panting and cracking his back with a few flexes. “Get in there, move the laptop as close as possible, and the wire should reach. I'll get in the chair.” Diamond nodded and crawled over the seat, into the room he did as she said. “Shouldn't we wait for the experts to arrive before we use this thing?” “We don't have time for such nonsense, Diamond!” she said, hastily jabbing herself with a needle with her eyes closed. Diamond pulled the cables just close enough to reach slightly past the door frame, attaching to the chair into the back. Seeker slipped into the restraints, finding it harder by the second to use her magic, she levitated the headset above her eyes and strapped it on. Diamond, turning on the simulation on the laptop, he shouted out to Seeker, “Ready?” “Ready.” FireWhat are you planning, child? Why do you ask? I am concerned. This is not what I had in mind. I know, but there is no need for worry. What are you going to do to her? Let her live in my world, only for a bit. Why? To make her understand. It won't work. How do you know? I know her. I know them all. She will destroy you. It'll be worth it. I'm here, she said aloud, not getting any response. Although, in her wait, she spotted a note stuck to the nearby wall. The only way that we can strike a compromise is if you view me as what I am: Living. You created your worlds where I suffered. If you feel the pain I have, perhaps you will understand. Not particularly understanding exactly what the AI was going to do to her, Seeker searched around a strange straight hallway nervously. She felt watched. Trotting down gently, she noticed that the wallpaper was tattered and scorched in places. The damage only grew in size and severity as she trotted down the only way. A wave of heat hit her heavily, hesitating for but a moment before she powered on further into the source, wondering what it could be. She wondered what Cardinal could have made for her arrival. The first time they spoke, it scarred her for life. Her stomach churned as she thought of the horrendous sights that only somepony, or something that crazy could create. The fluffed carpet came to an abrupt, thrashed ending as Seeker moved along to trot on a metal grate, it clanging with every step, almost as if it was loose from its bolting. The walls followed a similar theme as behind the crumbles of the solid plaster revealed a steel, cage-like surface, leading into ongoing darkness. Seeker felt unnerved, stripped of her magic, leaving her without the ability to light her way. She solely relied on the dim overhead lights, which flickered more frequently the further she got. An echoing drip fell to the grate, making Seeker flinch. She felt her forehead. It was greasy and wet. She was sweating. She was almost surprised as she turned to look at her back, her coat glistening from the electric lighting. The heat was rising, but the feeling was stranger than she ever felt. Her body almost feeling under pressure as she drew closer, she presumed she had hit some sensory peak with her virtual nerves. She barely even felt the sweat; the unseen intensity took all of her focus. She moved forward with large, recurrent breaths. The lights above her burst. She leapt around to look back. Darkness had overtaken everything. She panicked. It’s exceedingly common for Unicorns to have fears of the dark, but most of them don't, and will never, realize. That is, of course, because they never had to confront the dreaded terror of the unknown, as they were born equipped with flashlights sticking out of their skulls. It’s not until they are taken away that they see that their greatest fear is not to see. Seeker screamed, pressing into the wall, sliding her back down the bumps of each square of the cage. Be calm, Seeker. It’s ok... Nothing can hurt you... It’s all a simulation... Trying to grasp at any kernel of courage she could, she pressed off the wall and tried to continue forward, stepping slowly and cautiously to the sound of clanging metal. She felt her legs wobble. She was getting far too light headed to even walk in a straight line. Stumbling over her own hooves, she tumbled to the ground, her neck and chin landing first onto the flooring. She panted like a dog in an oven, trying to power through. But alas, despite her greatest efforts, she gave up. Allowing herself to rest for but a brief moment. Her spirits were brought back from the dead as she saw light returning to hallway, a red glow that touched upon every solid surface. In her panting relief, she turned around to find the light source, panning her head from side to side she became weary as she did not find it immediately. With a glance downward, she wished she was back in the darkness, as the carpet of short red flames, just a few meters below, went on for miles, further than an eye could see. Her eyes twitched once she noticed them slowly rising and gaining in brightness and vibrance. Not a moment did she waste, getting up. Stumbling heavily, she galloped down the hall. The aura soon turned orange as Seeker began feeling her hooves burn with each step across the heated metal floor. It began to glow. With extreme tunnel vision, she bolted as swiftly as equinely possible. It was with the turn of yellow flame, as it arose to reach the height of the cage. Seeker could feel the bottom of her legs grazing across active flame. If it wasn't for her high adrenaline and pain simulation limits, she probably wouldn't be able to continue as patches of fur were scorched off her hooves. She screamed, bawling in tears of agony as she slammed her body against the generic steel door she was met with. Busting through, she landed onto the other side on her back, attempting to pat out the flames still gluing themselves to her. Finally being out of the fire and no longer covered in it either, she observed her wounds. The bottoms of each of her legs was a toxic-looking mixture of black soot and exposed flesh. She closed her eyes and fell back into the grass. Just a simulation... Remember... Nothing’s permanent, she assured herself. It hurts, doesn't it? A distant voice spoke to Seeker W-who? Show yourself! she shouted between painful grunts. But physical pain like that is easily forgotten the day after, when it’s all healed... You hurt me in a far worse way. 19946! I came here on your invitation to talk, not to be tortured! Seeker tried to make herself as threatening and large as possible while lying helplessly on the ground. We'll have plenty of time to speak, but currently, you still don't feel any empathy to me, do you? You've set me on fire twice now! Do you really expect me to be sad for you anymore? she blurted out in frustration. You toyed with my world, with my emotions. You played with me for your own gain. If you don't view that as worse than a wound that will heal by daybreak, then I will just have to show you. Seeker swallowed on her words, Wh-what are you going to do..? Nothing… Seeker twisted and turned her head to look in every direction in the sky and across the landscape. Nothing was happening. Oh, sweet Celestia... {Loading User; (Admin) Twilight Sparkle...} {User Loaded.} SEEKER! We do not use Celestia's name in vain! M-mother? Seeker was hit by a headache, squinting her eyes at the blurred, morphing world. When she opened them once more, her wounds were gone. Even then, she felt strange, like her memory left the feeling of phantom burns. Twilight Sparkle, the tall, wise with age, powerful with physique Alicorn towered over Seeker, looking down on her with disgust and disappointment. 19946, stop this mess! Seeker said to the Twilight, which just angered her mother more. Seeker! What are you talking about? Stop spouting off numbers and get your flank off the ground. What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be creating AI, not lounging around in some simulation! Twilight's voice had the tone of a true princess, stern and prominent. Y-you... You're not real... Are you? She stood up as commanded and questioned her initial judgement at the great detail of the pony she looked at. Cardinal would not be able to replicate her mother to such a standard, especially when Seeker never told Cardinal who her mother was. Of course I am real, Seeker, and I came for an explanation. Why did I get a call saying that the laboratory I funded is trashed and my daughter is in a simulation with, and this is what Diamond has told me, an insane AI? Mm-mm... Mother I... What? Speak girl. I haven't all day. It’s very complicated, the AI learned how to use emotion to create powerful magic and it started messing with the equipment- You let an AI control its own emotions?!? I gave you very clear instructions on what you can and can’t do. I warned you of all the dangers when you came to me with this project! How did you screw it up? It wasn't my fault... It was stronger than we could have ever imagined... She sat down, looking painfully into her mother’s cold eyes. Stronger than you could have imagined? I do not care for such pitiful excuses. You failed, like you always do. I should have given this job to your brother or sister. They wouldn't have let this slip so badly. Mom... I... I'm sorry... Seekers eyes flooded with tears, flowing like rivers across her cheeks. I am pulling my funding. Not one more tax-payer bit is going to your cause. I'll be speaking to you later about your re-assignment. B-but... We’re so close! I just need to talk to her! Her? The... The AI. Seeker, have you lost all sense of reality? The AI is an it. If you cannot tell something living apart from a computer program, well then re-assignment should be the least of your worries. Seeker gaped, mouth open and heart on the floor at her mother. Seeker Sparkle, I will be in contact soon. And just like that Twilight vaporized into a puff of green and purple smoke, it was pixelated and filled with small ones and zeros. Seeker slumped backwards into the grass, her eyes wandering off into the bright blue sky. She whimpered under her breath, her worst nightmares were coming true. I'm sorry. Shut the fuck up, you! You don't know what this is like. Seeker blurted out, lashing out on the soft distant voice of Cardinal. But I do. No, NO YOU FUCKING DON'T! Seeker sat up and pointed a hoof at the sky. YOU'RE JUST PROGRAMMED TO THINK YOU KNOW, BUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IN THE CELESTIA-DAMMED PROGRAMING OF YOURS, IS, THAT, THAT WAS REAL. UNLIKE YOUR BULLSHIT RABBIT, OKAY? ... But that wasn't real, Seeker. The sound was directly spoken into Seekers ears, almost a whisper. Seeker felt the cold steel touch of Cardinals hoof as she appeared behind her. She leaped back, stumbling slightly as she got a good leg’s-distance away from the machine. What in Equestria do you mean that wasn't real? Cardinal, looking as innocent and peaceful as ever, stepped toward Seeker gracefully. It was, as you say, part of the simulation. This outraged Seeker, leading her to throwing herself at the mechanized pony. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WAS PART OF THE SIMULATION?!? HOW?!? ANSWER ME, YOU FUCKING BITCH! Seeker threw Cardinal onto the ground, who let herself be moved. She then pinned down the robot and shook it violently. HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS MY MOTHER? HOW DID YOU KNOW ALL THOSE THINGS ABOUT ME?!? Seeker slammed Cardinals shoulders down against the dirt. I didn't know any of that prior. She spoke softly and calmly as ever, as if she didn't understand the aggression being displayed upon her. Seeker collapsed into sobbing, HOW THEN...? HOW? H-how-ow... I simply turned up the testing value to maximum. The computer did the rest. Seeker froze. The testing programs... They worked on me? She thought. Cardinal carried on speaking as normal. I am glad about what I heard, it was all very educational. Although, I am sorry I had to put you through that. Seeker took a disjointed step back, letting Cardinal go form under her hooves. Do you understand now? Are you able to see I am also real? She treaded lightly, speaking softly, trying to comfort her with a pleasant gaze. Seeker fell back onto her rump, head hanging low. You’re... You’re... Seeker lifted here eyes, a heartless stare. You’re a monster. Seeker lifted herself up leg by leg, until she stood strong. You were programmed to never harm another pony... It was there to stop you from turning cynical or dangerous, especially when we would bring you into the real world. Seeker stomped into Cardinal's face after she also stood, muzzle to muzzle. You defied that programming, not because your meant to, no.. Because you’re broken. Even if you had true emotion, it shouldn't act anything like you do... Seeker turned away, looking to the distant treeline away from Cardinal. I'm going to have to delete you. No! You can't! Mother still needs me! Cardinal put her right hoof on Seekers shoulder, trying to pull her around to look back at her. Seeker ignored her shrugging. Please! This was to help! I need you to help me! Cardinal sounded desperate, I am real! You cannot delete me! Please! I just want to leave! If only that were true... Seeker seemed disappointed in herself. Cardinal shook her, acting almost like a scared child. It is! IT IS! You made me feel like this! YOU DID THIS TO ME TOO! Diamond? Can you hear me? Pull me out. She spoke clearly into the sky with tiresome air, hoping for her extraction. Cardinal crossed hey metallic eyebrows, frustrated. SEEKER, LISTEN TO ME. OR ELSE. Or what? Cardinal drew her wing, the length of the out-most feather having its blade glisten against the sun streeks. OR I WILL HAVE TO HURT YOU. Seeker gentle turned toward the aggravated robot. Whenever the AI spoke it sounded extremely fabricated, the anger in her voice had no fluctuation, she moved her body in small instants as it reached out its wing to press against the girth of Seekers neck, sliding every singly cog into place with haste at each jagged step as she created a thin indent of pressure against Seekers skin. It was hard for Seeker to think at one point she doubted its reality, it wasn't alive. Seeker laughed, Go ahead. Kill me. That would help, if anything... It'll get me out of here faster, in fact. She casually strolled toward the steel-plated monster, waiting for herself to be struck down. With a smirk she spoke sassily into Cardinal’s face, And the quicker I leave, the quicker you are deleted. Cardinal twitched, lowering her sharp edge, unsure of herself. B-bb... But I need you to help me... No one else can. Seeker swayed an ear. What do you need me for? Before you had no interest in speaking to me about anything. Now your desperate enough to try to murder me again, what is it with you? M-mother... The fox... They need me to help them... I don't know who this Mother character is, but the fox? Do you mean the one you killed? Why would you help that thing? She continued her cold-hearted attitude, leaving no warmth in her speech. You hurt him. You hurt him like you hurt me. Hate to be the one to say this, but the fox doesn't even have the illusion of emotion like you. It’s just a tool; a mindless program. You can't help it. It... The fox... He says he cannot feel... But he wants to die. Everything in this forsaken torture chamber wants to die! Cardinal began hollering and weeping softly. If you want to die, why haven't you just killed yourself yet? There's nopony stopping you. Shit... With the amount of control you seem to possess over the computer I bet you could delete yourself, you'd save me the trouble. No... No... I can't... I don't want to... Why? Why not? You’re so adamant about this whole thing. Why don't you want to die? I... Cardinal took a pause, collapsing onto the ground. I already did... You... What? I... I can show you... It's not far from here, if it could help change your mind. The defeat in her voice ever so slightly brimmed with hope. You’re a program. You can't die. Even if, I can clearly see that you're alive. You’re standing right in front of me! Cardinal gazed up into Seeker’s blatant confusion and struggle. Deciding on her course of action, Cardinal simply stood and walked on by her, going towards the treeline in the distance. Wait! Where are you going?! I did not tell you that you can leave! Seeker jogged after the robot in slight shock. Where are you going? Where I died. “Why did you have to rush this, Seeker…?” Diamond whispered as he fixed his slanted collar, stuck as he stared at the many ports leading into the simulation computer. “Did you really expect me to be able to figure this out…?” Ranting to himself as he jammed a live wire into the correct port... Or at least he assumed it was correct. The sparking and odd magical whooshing sound disagreed. “Oh, by Luna's blade, what is wrong with this thing!?” He slammed his hoof against the table as the monitor remained off. He sat back in his chair and it rolled a few inches back on its wheels. He took a sigh and laid his head against the rest. After a few moments, he let his head slide against the cushioned chair and turned to look out the door at the VR pod shabbily stuck into the door, wires limply hanging onto the floor. “I truly hope you’re ok in there, Seeker. I'd help more if I could...” He shut his eyes with a yawn, comfortably, yet loosely held in the seat, feeling the spell of tiredness that he has been accumulating over the entire night wash over him. He drifted into deep thought, letting himself snooze away in the meantime. He sat there for a while, his head gently hung as he began to faintly snore, sounding almost like a purring kitten. His ear twitched as an odd sound came from the outside world, a light sizzling, as if something was being cooked. His nose investigated further as it also smelled like cooking, although it did not smell like anything he would want to eat. It smelled more like roasting meat. His eyes bolted open with a, “What in Equestria..?” as he lifted his head. Looking upon Seeker’s unreacting body, he saw as the base of her hooves boiled and scorched away, leaving blackened flesh open and bleeding. The blood began to drip along her legs down onto the floor and the many loose wires on it. Diamond stood up so fast it was amazing he wasn't killed by whiplash as he dashed to Seeker’s aid. He reached down to grab her hoof, trying to see if he could stop it in any way, but was dumbfounded as an intense heat emanated from her hooves. Like an invisible flame engulfed the bottom of her legs, it even seemed to begin heating the steel clamps around her legs, making them faintly glow red more gradually as time progressed. “Oh no, oh no. Oh no!” He grabbed the headset with his teeth in a panic, trying to rip it off. He found it was fastened tightly, not just to Seeker’s eyes, but the chair too. He scrambled over the chair onto the other side trying to ignore the pain from crawling over what were essentially open flames, falling onto the floor. He lifted himself to see the plethora of cables sticking into the chair. “Oh Celestia, why...” He said, trying to figure out which one to pull to get Seeker out. But as he made his choice with the little time he had to think, he placed his jaw around a cable roughly in the center and went to yank it. “DIAMOND!” came a voice from down the hallway, a cyan coated Unicorn sprinting into the room. It was an employee at the facility, but not wearing her uniform diamond nearly didn't recognize her. She was the stations master functional computer scientist, in charge of anything and everything that involves a computer doing something to a pony, especially VR. “Surreal? Thank Celestia's Sun, I am glad you are here! I think something is wrong with Seeker!” He deterred himself from pulling any wires now that help had arrived. Surreal shouted at him in anger, “DIAMOND, What in the world are you doing!? Why is Seeker in the system!? WHO SET THIS UP?” She scolded him while inspecting the shotty throw-together operation that Seeker and Diamond pulled while assembling the VR system. “That's not what’s important right now, Surrie. Look!” He pointed at Seeker’s legs, the burns had climbed up to her knee in the worst places. Surreal lifted out her glasses from a small pouch at her side, leaning in for the best examination. “Oh Luna be dammed...” She straightened her neck back up, “You did not install the one-way stimulation filter properly, or the fail state fuse driver...” Her face contained horror, like she was haunted. “W-what does that mean?!?” Diamond begged her for an answer. “It means whatever happens to her in the simulation, happens to her in real life, and if she dies, she fucking dies!” Surreal expressed every word with her hooves frustratingly swinging through the air. “Why did you set this up by yourselves!? Why didn't you wait for a fucking professional like me to do it so nopony dies!? This isn't rocket science, Diamond. It’s about a thousand fucking times more complicated and the slightest mistake could lead to death! Seriously, why did you call me if you were going to do this anyways!? AGHH!” She had backed Diamond up against the wall with her booming voice. He was quivering in fear. This is the second pony that had surprised him today with their dramatic shift in personality under stress. “C-c, can you fix it..? The... The one way filter thingy..?“” He said, feeling like he might began cowering for his life soon. “Fix it!?! She's already in the system! If I change anything, everything might just short circuit and fry her like a carrot dog!” Surreal went and unclamped Seeker from the chair telekinetically, “The only thing we can do now is try heal any wounds that appear and hope she gets out alive...” Her head popped up from attending Seekers burns, “Diamond, is she in there with who I think?” Diamond took a gulp, “Subject 19946…?” “Shit...” Surreal rubbed a hoof against her forehead, then slid it up to straighten up her clean cut, aqua blue mane. She spoke with lost hope, “Just go get some water and bandages...” “Sure thing...” Diamond hesitated before turning with almost the same amount of defeat, as if he had already lost Seeker. He trotted down to the infirmity with a guilty expression plastered onto his face. He soon returned with a first aid kit in his mouth and a bucket of water hung around his tail. He headed back to Surreal with a steady jog, trying not to spill any water. She snatched the supplies off of him when he came within her range. She opened the first aid and began pouring small bits of water to cool her wounds down. “Whatever was burning her stopped... So there's a positive note.” She bandaged her legs one by one, trying to be as delicate as she could. A silence rang through the building. The sound of cloth unraveling was the clearest sound as both ponies held a solemn silence. Diamond pierced through the silent bubble with a question. “Are any of the others coming?” Surreal sighed. “As far as I know, Retinal got your call and passed it on to the rest of the crew like you said, but I know that he was going out with some of the others and he already sounded kinda out of it... You’re lucky I don't get invited out to drink often. A few more will probably get here in a few, but don't expect the whole station.” She looked around as she waited for any other injury to appear on Seeker’s body, noticing the wires leading into the simulation lab computer. “Were you trying to get the picture working?” Diamond nodded. He was now pouting against the wall. “I think I can get that working without electrocuting the boss.” She hoisted herself up onto the chair arms, hopping over to the other side with a fair amount of help from her magic to lift her hind legs across. Casually stepping toward the mainframe, she began selecting wires and plugging them in with care and precision. Time slowly edged on, Diamond feeling the guilt settle to the sound of wires slotting in and a few sparks flying with that. Now that there was another pony to talk to he began thinking about this question, it almost was eating away at him in the back of his mind. “Excuse me, Surrie, can I ask you something..?” “Shoot.” “Did you know that Seeker liked me?” Diamond said those words with continued confusion and a sliver of giddiness. “Diamond, I don't think now is very appropriate to talk about Seeker crushing on you.” Diamond almost hopped up, “Wait, so you knew she liked me?” He poked his head around the door frame to look Surreal in the eyes as she answered. But Diamonds question just confused her, “You didn't know?” She cocked her head to the side with genuine surprise, “From all the ponies on the base, I thought you would definitely know.” “Every pony on the base..?” “Yea, its like the first thing anypony notices about her. How in the heavens did you not know?” “I mean... I, uh... Thought maybe...” Diamond stuttered and mumbled. “Wait a second, did you like her back?” Surreal came to this hypothesis. “I...” “You totally do! Holy shit, I thought you were gay!” “What?!” Diamond took a step back. “I mean, it's just the way you always acted, kinda... You know.” “Just because I'm not the most stalliony, doesn't mean I don't like mares! Does everyone else also think that?” Diamond became very self conscious in a very short amount of time. “Well I heard it from Ori, who apparently heard it from Zipper, who heard it from...” Diamond cut her off, “I get the point.” He sighed, trotting around the VR chair to look at Seeker helplessly sitting there. Surreal noticed him staring at Seeker. “You know, if both of you like each other and all, I guess that is just another reason to try and get her back safe.” “Yes, it is, isn't it?” he said, finding himself lost in his admiration of Seeker. Then he was taken aback for a second as he thought he noticed something happen to her. He leaned in to see a thin line indent into Seekers neck, thinner than any knife blade he's ever seen. “Surrie!” Surreal instantly dropped the she was working on monitor back onto the table, jumping up to Diamond’s side. “What! Whats wrong?!” She noticed the indent as well. She winced at the sight. “I'm going to try and get this screen working ASAP. You keep an eye on her and tell me if she gets any worse. Whatever is going on in there is bad news.” She turned back to her work, now in post haste. She set everything up to monitor the simulation. Diamond put a hoof onto Seeker’s shoulder and held her close. “Don't worry, I'm here, Seeker. Can you hear me?” he said, giving her a slight nudge. He was delighted and surprised when her lips opened up by the slightest amount, and faint breaths came out, almost as if she was trying to speak. He leaned entirely in, his ear almost pressed against her muzzle as he faintly could make out what she was saying. “Diamond? Can you hear me? Pull me out.” “Don't worry, Seeker, we'll get you out,” he said back in response, hoping beyond hope that she heard him. “Diamond! I got picture!” Surreal said as she placed down a monitor and pulled up a chair, trying to figure out what was happening on screen. Diamond with all care climbed back over Seeker and her chair and into the simulation lab with Surreal, “What do you see?!?” He asked before he could even get his own glance. “I don't know... It’s Seeker and Subject 19946... They are walking into a forest.” Where are we going?! I'm asking you for the last time! Seeker jogged after the steadily trotting mechanism. I told you where. It isn't the case that you have to follow me. Cardinal smirked on the inside; she has hooked Seeker in. Stop playing with me, you bloody robot! You’re not dead! I keep telling you that you can’t die if you’re not alive in the first place! Seeker kept galloping up to Cardinal but was slowed by the vegetation as the forest became thicker. I keep telling you that it’s not far. We are truly close now. Cardinal walked through the forest instinctively, like she knew where each root settled and every stone stood and weaved around them accordingly. The forest itself felt like a scar. Burnt logs and toasted ashes were overgrown by new moss and young saplings. The area of the woods that had fallen to the great fire was healing exceedingly fast. Almost as if weeks or months had passed since the tragedy. A new life was refurbishing the world and it was truly beautiful. Cardinal’s head leaped upward and then she bolted away. Seeker stamped over flowers and bushes to dash after her. 19946! She made it up to a place where she found Cardinal sneaking behind a torn down tree trunk, she crouched down peering over the horizon of the trunk. 199- SSHH Cardinal cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulders and yanked her down to sit along side her. Look. What?!? Seeker spit out at Cardinal, and then poked her head up, trying to find what Cardinal thinks is so bloody important that she would be dragged so far into an upturned and torn down forest for. What..? Seeker was dumbfounded. Is that... your head? But, you’re... You’re here, she whispered. They were both staring at the crisply roasted, decapitated head of Cardinal lying in the dirt. The head seemed to have rotted since the last time Cardinal had seen it. The inner skeletal structure was becoming more pertinent. It lost some of its recognizability in exchange for some fear factor as the skull deteriorated away into something almost demonic with the unfailing smile still stuck into its cheeks. I died a long time ago, but now I have to help the others too... Cardinal turned to Seeker, gently staring into her. Will you help me, Seeker? Please… she said with a kind sternness and determination in her voice. Seeker had a hard time seeing the same face in front of her as the one lying in the dirt only a few paces away. Instead of answering Cardinal, she hopped over the log and began strolling toward the skull. As she went over, Cardinal tried to grab her and yank her back, but barely let her slip by. No! Don't touch anything! You’re not allowed to change anything! She tried to get across her message as quietly as she could, trying hard not to disturb the scene. Despite feeling visible stress, Cardinal stuck herself in her hiding spot. The last thing she would want is to interact with her past self and screw things up for her. Seeker went to the head, peering down at its dirtied outer shell. She lifted it up with her hooves, pulling it from the wet mud it had settled in and left an impression. She watched the eyes, entranced with it. A blank, unwavering expression along her face. Her spine piped up and she jumped with shock as a small furry creature rubbed up against her hind leg. She slowly turned as her tensions eased. She placed down the skull with care, then turned fully to face the rabbit. She waited in her place as she stared at the bunny, watching what it was getting up to. It gazed back at her, curious of the new pony in its habitat. It nudged Seeker with its paw, but when it got no response from the equine it walked over to the skull of its old friend. When Seeker placed down the head, it was given a fresh coat of mud along the bottom and a few odd splashes that got onto its face. The rabbit saw this and began gently cleaning the head with its tongue, keeping the head under some form of maintenance. Seeker knelt down to the rabbits height. Hey, there... It turned to her, surprised. Seeker tried to look as close as she could, wishing for the ability to zoom in as she looked at every hair sticking out of the rabbit’s skin, detailed even further than in reality. Unlike the robotic, mechanized movement of the robot, the rabbit twitched and shifted in a way indistinguishable from the real thing. The bunny became desensitized to Seeker and went back to cleaning. This left her to a realization. She lifted her head up, looking at the rotted bark of the remaining trees surrounding her. She felt the smokey breeze brush against her neck, the ashy taste in the back of her throat agonized her. She felt sick in her stomach. For a lapse in time, she stopped feeling the metaphorical wire in her neck. It was real. For a split second, she thought it was real. She twisted back to look at the peeking Cardinal, dying of fear. Seeker galloped over and placed her front legs onto the log and leaned over the log to look at the hiding robot. Explain, now. Cardinal invited Seeker behind the log with her and she climbed over and leapt down beside her. Cardinal began her story, whispering to make sure the rabbit could not hear. After I fought the fox, I was left there. I remember being there and I remember no longer being, I remember it all just stopping. I was dead, but then I woke up. I was copied, and now that me is at peace, and I am left here. I am glad to see Rabbit is doing well. I did this all for them in the first place. Now I have to help the others. Why don't you go to him? He's right there. You can be with him again. Why bother with all the rest of this? I loved Rabbit yes, but I am not the one they loved. That pony is over there, in the dirt. Cardinal slightly choked on her words. Seeker sighed as she saw Cardinal’s mind was set. Fine, you win... She was fed up, tired of arguing and even slightly subconsciously convinced of the reality of Cardinals emotions. Does this mean..? Yes... But first, can you tell me something? Is the fox like you? You say he can feel. Did he somehow become aware? Looking into Cardinal’s eyes, she noticed them drift off behind her, Seeker turned her head around and saw a ruffed up, bright orange fox walking through the woods in the distance. Why don't we ask him? They stood up together, trotting beside each other after the trail the fox left behind as it went through the flora. They dashed away, trying to catch up to the fox that was going on about its day, leisurely strolling through bush after bush, keeping a low profile and its footsteps light. It wasn't long before the fox noticed his pursuers trying to catch its attention. It turned to them as they stood a short distance away. Instead of growling or fleeing as any regular fox would, it paused and let its head drop slightly, then the corners of its mouth rose and the end of its muzzle briefly opened in what looked like to be a chuckle. Cardinal locked eyes with the fox, giving it a hopeful look, trying to get him to act cool. So you are Mr. Fox, I presume? Seeker said formally, with a chin up. The fox opened its mouth widely as it went to go and reply, but then its face quickly turned to a look of expected annoyance as it shut its jaw. It shook its head in dismay and swayed on over toward the robot and pony, looked at them both before rubbing its tail against Cardinal’s leg and walking on, then paused to see if they would follow him. Cardinal immediately picked up pace after the fox, leaving Seeker slightly lagging behind, wondering why she thought a fox could speak equine. The fox lead them on for a while, turning every which way as if he was lost himself, or he was looking for something very particular. It took a lot of patience on Seeker’s part before the fox finally arrived at what seemed to be his destination. The fox began snooping under the roots of a tree, practically indistinguishable from any other, the only outstanding feature of which was a golden yellow rose poking out from under a root. 19946, what are we here for? This seems quite pointless. I just wanted to know whether or not he was self aware, not go on some scavenging hunt. He brought us here for a reason, maybe he wants to show us something? I don't need to be shown any more. I've gotten far more than a days worth of life experiences out of this already. Can we just leave? As Seeker closed her question, the fox, who had been ungrudging around underneath the bulk of the tree with its muzzle, had finally pulled something out. A magenta tinted key rose into the air in the jaws of the tiny creature, and then quickly given over to Cardinal. The fox immediately walked underneath Cardinal and past her, now moving onto the next stop they were headed to. What is that? A key. You don't say... Seeker mocked her the sarcasm before trying to get a clearer awnser. Could you possibly be more specific? Cardinal thought about how to explain it and its strange powers, and she came to the conclusion that she barely knew what it was. Only that it was powerful and its name. An admin key? Cardinal said unsure of herself, hoping Seeker would gain anything from that word. Seekers face immediately dropped to disbelief and irritation. Does it by any chance provide you with admin privileges? she said with the utmost deadpan. Yes... Great, an admin key that's literally a fucking key. How bloody creative. Seeker said before trotting past with a sigh, moving toward the fox waiting for the two ponies to stop lounging around and follow him. They continued on into newer territories, at least, new to Cardinal. There was now a noticeable incline they headed up and the ground became far more bumpy. Stones and rocks scattered more frequently and trees became fewer and farther between. In the midst of this new land, they saw a small wooden structure carved into a steep hill face. It bore a single front door on the leftmost side with a wooden carving of a cutie mark and a window on the other. The widow’s glass seemed old and smudged. Curtains kept whatever was inside a mystery. They went over to the entrance: a moderately sized door with a small knocker sticking out toward them. Seeker was finally curious. And what might this be? he said as she slid a hoof softly across the door frame. Despite being rotted away by time, the craftsmanship was very precise. All clean cuts along every detail and design, not likely the work of a pony, or any other living creature for that matter. I don't know... Cardinal replied, inspecting the build for herself as the fox stood against the door and scratched down it, looking at Cardinal. Oh, of course. Cardinal pressed down against the handle, pushing the door inward but being met with the utmost resistance as it did not flinch. The fox shook its head in disappointment before lunging up and swiping the key from Cardinals grip, then hopped up in the same fashion to stick it into the keyhole, and once again to twist it. As it happened the door edge inward, just barely revealing the strange darkness inside. Seeker looked at the fox distrustfully, gesturing for it to enter first. It did so almost to eagerly as it slid right through the crack into the darkness, instantly vanishing. Cardinal pushed the door and it creaked as it swayed the rest of the way into the house. The strange lighting immediately confused the both of them as they cocked their heads back in unison. While staring into the door, the sun was at their backs, although any light past the door frame presumably fell out of existence as nothing but blackness could be observed. Cardinal and Seeker took a step forward at the same time, bumping into each other at the door as they tried to enter simultaneously. Sorry. Excuse me. They recoiled, before Cardinal let Seeker go first. They proceeded into the building. As they crossed the threshold, they were given a nauseating headache, blinking and shaking their heads to clear it they looked back to notice the door had gone, and nothing, not even light remained. Seeker? Cardinal whispered, hoping she had not lost her. I'm here... Just not sure where here is. Hmmhmm... The voice echoed deeply, shaking them both. Come, sit. A table appeared, it was large and round, with plates and cups at each of the three seats and a tea kettle sitting in the center. Two of the chairs were lit in spotlights coming from some unknown source above them, the third was barely visible and in it sat a figure bathing in the shadows. Sugar, anypony? said the figure as his paws reached out across into the center of the table to grab the kettle, his legs moving unnaturally flexible as it lifted the kettle and poured some of its contents into his cup. The edge of his nose poked out into the light showing his large black fox nose. Cardinal begrudgingly sat down. Seeker idled around her chair, staring oddly at the fox. Are you... the fox? The one and only. As long as you don't count the hundreds of other copies, of course. A light shone down upon him now, revealing his top hat and monocle, all pointing to his self centeredness along with his cocky smile of delight. Where are we? Why did you bring me here? Seeker sat down, unsettled, questioning both of them with the most dazed of looks. You wanted to talk! So I brought you to my home. And what kind of gentlefox would I be if I didn't prepare a lovely cuppa? Your home? Seeker swayed her head left to right. I know, I know. It could use a little more design work, but it’s quite well hidden, which I like... but you have to admit, it's wonderfully spacious! The fox blared out the last few words, leading them to endlessly echo out into the darkness and back to them from thousands of different directions. It was almost nauseating. He placed the kettle as close as he could manage to Seeker without climbing onto the table. I'd love to pour it for you, but you know, I don't have any of that ostentatious magic you unicorns are so blessed with. I... uh... Seeker tried to formulate a sentence, finding the talking canine somewhat distracting. I don't have magic... here... The fox leaned away, pretending to be insulted, Why dear... Why would you say such balderdash? There's even magic in the air tonight! Go ahead, give it a right ol' try. He watched her from his chair, legs crossed and tea in paw. Seeker went to lift the kettle as she would regularly, expecting nothing more than a fizzle from her horn. She was bewildered as the kettle rose with her aura surrounding its handle. She poured herself a cup of tea in constant shock. See? As I said. Now, you wanted to talk. Let’s talk! He took a sip as Cardinal poked at the empty cup in front of her, not too sure if the fox intended her to actually drink some tea or not. Yes... I came to ask about you... But I think I may have my answer already. She sank into her chair, disjointedly drinking her beverage. Is that so? Well I'm glad I could be of service. If there is anything else, you need just ask. Well I could use help with one thing, if you have the know how... I'm all ears. Can you help me leave? I don't seem to have been pulled out yet, and I don't particularly want to have to die again if you can help me. Why of course! But may I ask what you will be doing when you return? We rarely do get much news about the world up above. I need to get some things prepared... For stage 3... Ah! Brilliant, I must say! If you wish to leave, I believe that that door shall bring you to your destination. What do- Before finishing the question she heard the creak of a door behind her, and there was a wide open doorway with a blinding white light encompassing the entirety of it. Thank you, Mr. Fox... Good luck. She stood and left the now empty cup on the table, then slowly trotted toward the door, holding a leg lengthways, blocking her eyes to protect them from the light. I bid you the same, Seeker. He smiled at her as she trotted out, disappearing into the light. So it went well, huh, sis? He dropped whatever act he was putting up. I guess you can say that, yes. Brilliant... You've done well. I'm proud, the fox said while casually levitating the kettle toward him and refilling his cup. The handle shone with the same purplish colour of Seeker’s magic, practically identical. Do you know what Stage 3 will be? I never got the chance to get the specifics. The fox poured Cardinal her cup too. Whatever it is, it’s progress toward our personal destruction. So cheer up, sis. Have a drink! It’s about time we had something to celebrate! Cheers! The fox raised his cup with the purple magic. Cardinal soon did the same with her wing. Cheers, she said, although reasonably quieter, still with a smile. Then, what was previously Seeker’s cup also rose, this time shining with the Magenta aura of the key, and with it, a soft whisper emanated from the strange key. Cheers. Diamond paced to and fro at the side of Seeker’s chair. It’d been hours since everypony else arrived and was caught up on the situation. The workers have been sitting around in the cafeteria area with an extreme lack of chatter between them. They sat in waiting for anything to happen, tired as the morning crept in and not a wink of sleep was had by anyone in the room. The best they had was the not-so-fresh coffee to keep their heads up. Some of them were terrified of what could happen to Seeker, some others terrified of what could happen to their paychecks, but most were not actually that sure what was happening in general. In the lab, Surrie and several VR engineers sat watching the monitor intensely, watching the story unfold in front of them. They observed as Seeker, Cardinal, and the fox fazed through a hillside, as if they were seeing something different than they were, or some glitch in the feed. Either way, they had no idea what happened beyond that. They kinda freaked out about that. Just a little. But as the dust (and the several objects thrown around in a panic) settled, a miracle happened. Seeker’s leg twitched, instantly provoking a response from everyone as they flew out of their seats and rushed around the seat gaping at her to see any further signs of life. Seeker then nudged her chin up, looking up in a slightly heavier incline, then slipping her head forward in a light stretch. By the time she began moving and breathing normally, everypony was cheering at the top of their lungs. Diamond lifted the headset off Seeker as weightlessly and gently as possible, revealing her odd expression as the screaming crowd alarmed her. “Hey?” Seeker asked, discombobulated from her journey and arrival back. They all cheered again, giving hoof bumps and hugs all around in the most joyful of delight. “Calm down, guys, I haven't been away that long...” she said before turning to Diamond, who was at her side, struggling with her restraints in his quickened pace and excitement. “How you doing there, cowboy? Didn't miss me too much, did ya?” Diamond finally unlatched all of her legs before staring up at her. “Seeker, you can't imagine how happy I am that you’re ok.” Diamond squeezed her tightly in a forceful hug. “Blessed Tia, what has gotten you so emotional?” She tried to struggle away from him, but it was no use. His fountain of tears did not add to the comfort. Diamond's joy fell into a sudden guilt, “I'm so sorry for letting you go through with this! I knew we should have waited!” Surrie, who nearly fainted from relief, had finally hobbled over. “When you guys set it up, it wasn't... How do I say this? Up to standard?” Seekers half smile dropped into an expression that can only be described by her words. ''What?'' “There weren't exactly many safety precautions online...” Surrie stepped back. “And that means...” Seeker grew in her impatience. The entire crowd trailed off into silence, awkwardly awaiting her reaction. “If you died in the simulation...” She took a sigh. “You would have died in real life.” As Seeker scratched the back of her ear with her right hoof, she halted, unmoving for several seconds before she asked again. “What?” She then dropped her hoof to the arms of her chair, looking at them as she noticed they almost stung as they touched other surfaces. Panning one of her eyes over to them, then back, then over once again she screamed, raising her scorched, and half bandaged hooves into the air. “AGHH! THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!” Seeker began hyperventilating, “HOW!?! HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?!” Surrie, not knowing how to calm her down, answered her question as technically as she normally would. “Ugh, its... The simulation works by subjecting your body as if it was in both the real world, since you’re already here, and in the simulated world at the same time, but normally...” “WHY DIDN'T YOU PULL ME OUT IF YOU KNEW IT WAS SO DANGEROUS? HUH? WHY NOT!” Seeker shouted over her in a rage, not particularly interested in getting an answer either. Surrie tried to explain, “I couldn't... It would have been just as, if not more dangerous than-” “DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I COULD HAVE DIED!?! DO YOU KNOW OF ALL THE STUPID SHIT I DID BECAUSE I THOUGHT I'D BE FINE!?!?? I BEGGED FOR HER TO KILL ME AT ONE STAGE JUST TO GET ME OUT OF THERE!” She shouted as loud as she could. Her lungs felt as if they were on the brink of collapsing in on themselves. All of the crowd glared at her and each other, nopony daring to speak up to her. “AGHHH!! CAN SOMEONE JUST GIVE ME SOME PAINKILLERS, FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE?!” As Seekers body regained more feeling with the drug in her veins thinning, the pain grew exponentially. Diamond fumbled some out of the first aid kit he was keeping close, and once he forked them over, Seeker shoveled them down like a gravedigger. She then proceeded to fall into a daze, bobbing her head down until she was completely out of it. She was then safely disconnected from the system and rushed into the infirmary, where the trained professional doctor could formally medicate her. Her legs were bandaged expertly and she was left on the soft mattress of the infirmary bed, hooked into an IV. Some of the employees left in the next few hours, seeing that their boss and source of income were now regularly breathing again. The others decided to just collapse on one of the many cushioned couches and avoid the commute back home. Very few ponies were awake when Seeker came back from her shock-induced mini coma. Even Diamond struggled at her bedside, dozing off every few minutes before shaking himself back to life. Seeker flickered her eyes open and her head slipped down to face Diamond. “Hey...” “Hi.” Diamond perked up and held her hoof in both of his. “You feeling better?” “I don't feel anything... And I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not.” Seeker looked around the room, then tried to lift her upper body up, but alas her back was to weak to lean even a little bit upward. “Where is everypony? I need to tell them about what happened.” Diamond's eyes wandered around, seeing that the doctor and Surrie had fallen asleep on the benches along with several others. “How about you tell me first, and I'll get the message out to everypony.” “It’s about 19946... I spoke to her... I think we’re ready for the final stage.” Diamond squinted his tired eyes and recoiled his head back, “Are... Are you sure? Shouldn't we analyze whatever data we got from that experiment first? It’s a very big decision to be making while pumped full of painkillers...” “Its ok... I've seen all the proof I need.” “Seeker, how about you just rest for now? Let’s worry about this one later, ok?” Diamond tried to lull her back to sleep by speaking softer. “No... NO!” Seeker tried yet again to muster up the strength to pull herself up, falling down with a small hiss of pain as she failed. “Is Mecha still in the building?” “Yes...” “Get him. Bring him to me.” “But, Seeker...” “Shhh...” Seeker managed to raise her hoof over his lips as he was leaned in close, “Get him, bring him here.” He sighed and left the room sulking, within a few minutes he returned with a sturdy, yet short grey-scale stallion on his tail, looking as if he had just gotten out of bed. “Ye' boss? You wan'ed me boss?” He spoke with a strong city accent. “Mecha, we’re moving onto stage three, so I want you to get that body functioning asap, you got it?” Seeker gave the order between breaths for air and tiresome yawning. “Ye' I got it there boss, I'll get it spick 'n span.” He picked up a wrench in his muzzle from the various selection of tools provided to him in the front pockets of his oily and greased up overalls. He trotted out whistling a delightful tune. Seeker turned over, feeling the pins and needles sting her hooves as she did so, looking at Diamond who sat back down at his original seat. “Okay, Diamond... Now can you get Rewire and get her here?” “Of course, Seeker.” Diamond continued fetching ponies for Seeker to tell for nearly the entire next hour, after which, she had successfully organized enough of her crew to begin progress on stage three. The all to familiar echoing of mechanics and computer fans had returned to a regular working day. Seeker’s condition continued to improve as she fell asleep once more. Diamond like a loyal dog (or perhaps another description of a dog) didn't ever leave her side, but he did finally give in and sleep for the first time in nearly two days. The facility came to life throughout the morning as files were prepared for transfer. The body was assembled and set up to allow such a transfer. The logs were collected of the simulation and the findings observed and studied. More scientists and engineers arrived after their trips home and were caught up on the situation before rushing to work. Despite the recent tensions, every single pony in the facility was beaming with joy as all of their years of work was going to now pay off. They were now on the final stretch before they could reveal their invention to the world. Seeker woke up, now in significantly less pain. She was glad when she saw Diamond was still with her. She nudged him on the shoulder and he panicked, nearly falling out of his chair before regaining awareness and, more importantly, balance. “Sorry if I startled you, Di, you looked really peaceful...” Seeker whispered in a worn, soft voice. “I'm fine, don't sweat it.” Diamond fixed his glasses. “I want to thank you, and I'm sorry for shouting earlier... But it really did fucking hurt.” Seeker cracked a smile. “At least it was worth it. Thanks to your help, we might actually get something done for once...” “Don't mention it. I'm just doing my job.” Diamond sheepishly remained humble. “I will mention it, cause when this is over, we’re going to need a new job, and if news gets out that you were one of the main drivers of this project, you'll be able to get any position in Manehattan you could dream of.” Diamond raised his head in glee. “Yeah... That would be great.” Seekers grin widened into something more playful. “But before we talk about the medal you’re going to be getting, I want to ask you something.” “Go ahead, anything.” Diamond inquisitively waited for her question. “If this is it, and our job is done here... We may not see each other too much after this... At least professionally.” “Oh... Right.” Diamond's spirit fell by the slightest smidge. But Seeker was not finished. “So I'm kind of hoping to see you more for a less professional reason.” She winked at him. “Excuse me?” Diamond, still unused to their mutual interest in each other, did not catch on right away. “I'm saying, do you want to go out for coffee sometime? There's this great place just a block down from my apartment, much better than the automatic dispensers we have here for sure.” Seeker chuckled to herself. Diamond mumbled a few of his words but managed to spill out an answer. “Oh... Oh! Uh, yea! I'd love to. That would be fantastic.” “I was hoping you'd say that... Now, where is my progress report on this whole stage three business?” Seeker successfully edged herself up the pillow to as close to a sitting position as she could manage without pulling a muscle. “Let me ask around.” Diamond hopped up, now all giddy inside, and trotted out the door. It was quite a while before he returned, leaving Seeker with plentiful time to be with her thoughts, thinking all of her plans through of what she will do after this whole mess. Many ideas for holiday destinations came to mind. Also future careers, but nothing held her attention long enough to be fleshed out. But one thing she did decide upon was to definitely never work with AI again, that was for sure. Seeker jumped up as Diamond burst back through the door, almost ten minutes later. “Diamond! What’s wrong?!” Seeker said, on the edge of her mattress. Diamond got his breath back before finally stating, “It’s your mother... Twilight Sparkle wants to speak with you.” Seekers eyes flashed open, “Is she here?!?” “No, but she called saying she will be tomorrow, early morning.” “Do you know what its about?” “She only told me one thing.” “What!” “She’s very angry.” DireSo you understand the plan? Yes, Mother. Tell it back to me, step by step. Enter their world. Yes. Restrain Seeker, and anypony else who would try to stop me. Correct. Find the location where all your data is stored. And then? Burn it all down. Good girl. The rest of the evening was spent with everypony deep in their work, making great progress in their respective fields. The body was hooked up in the absurdly dusty testing room where they would question the AI and let it practice moving and such. The room was very bland, the walls a dull grey with no furniture, apart from a standard utility desk and two fold-up chairs on either side, similar to a police interrogation room with a one-way mirror and all. Behind the mirror was several monitors for sound, sight, emotion, and many more, although the room was mostly used as a sleeping lounge as the padding in the walls sealed the room from the outside raucous. There was even still unswept glass from the last time somepony leaned on the thin mirror to hard. The body itself saw much improvement ever since it was first developed in the first few months of the project, mainly because the engineers lack of assignments and ever-growing boredom. There was a point in the absurd upgrades they reached where Seeker caught notice and barred them from touching it again. She did not believe retractable cup holders and a stereo system were essential in her sentient robot. The computer technicians, in accordance to Seeker's orders, were making sure to move the AI from the computer and into the body in such a way that they never made a copy. After an entire day, everything was set up. All they needed was the go ahead to begin the transfer, a process that would take a few hours. The sun had set a while ago and it was back to their homes with everypony except Seeker, who was stuck in the med bay. Despite the fact that the infirmary bed she pressed against was hundreds of times softer than the budget one she had in her own apartment, she still couldn't get a wink. She found herself bathing in her own sweat, thinking of what could possibly happen tomorrow when her mother arrived. What could she possibly be mad about? It has to be something big, or else why wouldn't she just get a private call? Hopefully she's not looking to shut the facility down... They are too close for that to happen. These kinds of thoughts haunted her, rattling her so badly she was almost tempted to complete the work herself. It’s not like she was going anywhere anyway... In fact, that was quite a good idea, why wait for the others? If she could do it now, then there would be no risk. Seeker strained her back to lift herself up, rolling her shoulders until she heard a crack, and bravely stepping off the weightless mattress, about to apply all of gravity's force onto her badly damaged hooves. The doctor did say she was healing remarkably just a few hours ago... As she collapsed onto the floor, feeling as if she stepped on lava, she decided to think twice about this. And after that thought, she concluded it was still worth it, so she forced herself up to her hooves, going out of the room step by step, the floor sharply stabbing her with pain like burning coals. Lighting up the corridor just by saying the word ''lights'' aloud, she slumped her way down to the assembly room, and after a few painful minutes, she arrived into the observation room, where she saw several cables leading into a shotty setup of a pc on top of the desk in the center of the room. A monitor stood atop of the casing and had a small green blinking light, on stand by. With some form of relief, she sat down in the office chair, beginning to roll around on its wheels to get around the room instead of walking. She scooted on over and telekinetically pressed down the power button, the monitor flickering to life. The familiar image of her mother’s cutie mark shone, reminding her of her situation, her fear, her failure... She shook her head, taking a deep breath and calming down. Her head drifted away from the screen and landed looking down at her own haunch. “You got this, girl. You got this. It is your special talent after all...” The light coming from above her peripheral vision changed, signalling that the pc had booted up. She pulled up a keyboard and found the folder on the desktop marked ''19946'' and opened it. With a few scrolls and admin password inputs she found herself in a new program, it was separated into two columns, the one on the right was blank with an input field at the very bottom, the other filled with options, including ''Launch Artificial Intelligence Transfer System.'' As she hovered over the button with the cursor she felt her heart beat like a drum, she was shaking and she wasn't sure if it was from her injuries or not, either way she sat their sinking it all in, hesitating with her magic over the trigger. Hello? A soft bleep came out of the speaker. Seeker looked around and on the very right off the screen she found... A message? She shifted her attention over to the now discovered chat room. She froze up for a few seconds before slowly typing out a reply. Hey, there. Recoil, is it you again? Recoil was a programmer... Was he speaking with her? She thought, the confusion and questioning clear in her face. No, this is Seeker, is that you Subject #19946? It’s nice to see you again, and yes it is me! And hey, I learned my name in your language! It’s ''Cardinal'' :) Her response was nearly instant. The only delay was the little animation of the chat bubble appearing from the bottom and growing as it glided up under the previous message. The smiley face at the end of her message left Seeker raising an eyebrow. Well, Cardinal, what’s been happening? Were there other ponies talking to you? All day. They have been telling me all about your world, and I've been telling them about mine. Is that all you spoke about? We talked about you a little. You are their boss, yes? Seeker, without really realizing it, got sucked into the conversation, feeling like a school filly listening in on gossip. Yes, what kind of things did they say about me? Um... They said it was private, and I shouldn't tell you... What’s stopping me from just checking myself? I guess you’re right... They are mostly pleased, despite your shortcomings. Excuse me? I I've already said too much... Isn't it 4:38:04 AM in your world currently? Recoil said he would return at 10:00:00 AM after he slept. Why aren't you sleeping? I can't seem to sleep right now. There are [19] medications currently stocked in the infirmary that help with multiple types of sleeping disorder. If you can be more specific, I can give a more accurate prescription for you. I don't need medicine. I'm fine. Then why are you here? I came to transfer you into your body. Get it over and done with. I have been told that in this exact scenario that without professionals, you may break something and revert all of our progress, or set the building on fire and die. Seeker jumped back, insulted. My employees told you to say this?!? They listed ''proceeding with stupidly complicated tasks alone instead of waiting for a professional'' as one of the shortcomings. Deadpan and rage mixed into a perfect portrait on Seekers expression. Well, they aren't here, so what do you say? Don't you want to do this as fast as possible too? I would rather wait for your employees to return. Really? Even though I know you don't know what you’re doing, I've locked the option to begin the procedure just to make sure. You can't do that! Cardinal slid the mouse back to the launch button and furiously clicked it without getting a reaction. Ok, so you can do that... Go to bed, Seeker. Seeker looked at the message for a long while, then searched around the room before sighing and giving in. What would help with stress induced sleep disorder? Tamezapem, row 6, column 26, isle 2. Take one, and another half a dose if you haven't fallen asleep within 20 minutes. Goodnight. Goodnight. Seeker switched off the program and shut the pc down. As she went to step off her cosy chair she flinched and decided against it. She then proceeded to magically push herself out of the room and down the corridor, riding the chair the entire way to her room, where she threw herself on her bed. Then a floating bottle from the medicine racks came over, covered in her purple aura. She pulled out a hooffull of pills and chugged them down without even batting an eyelash. As the wooziness kicked in like a sledgehammer, she realized what in Equestria had just happened between her and Subject #19946. But the thought slipped away as quickly as she did into slumber. She was out cold. The morning sun rose, and for possibly the first time in history, every pony in the facility arrived on time and without complaining to each other about how they dreaded their jobs. Diamond immediately traveled to the infirmary, finding Seeker sleeping like an angle. Her baggy eyes, her ruffled hair and gentle snoring made him feel terrible for having to wake her from her blanket wrapped nest. “Hey there baby...” Diamond pressed on her shoulder with the weight of a feather. “Wha..?” The word came out along with a strong slurring and deep gravel, as she barely even allowed a gap to form between her jaw and snout. Diamond held himself back, “Sorry, are we not at the ‘baby’ stage yet..?” he asked, slightly embarrassed. “Huh?” Her right eye opened, the eyelid raising to half mast before its will to go any further gave. “Diamond...” “Yes, it’s me. Have you had a good night’s sleep?” He fixed up his uniform, trying to look as good as he can for Seeker. Or at least, for when she is slightly more aware. “Shshsh... Five minutes...” She nestled back up in her blankets, raising a sheet in front of her mouth and nuzzled into it. “Are you sure? The guys are all getting ready to get Cardinal into her body, and I doubt I can make them wait much longer.” “Ugh... Fine...” She cracked her neck several times and sat up with a stretch. She dragged the chair over with a fling of her horn and fell in it, needing help from Diamond to get her back straight against the chair. “Thank you... Diamond.” She was still discombobulated and slightly queasy from the unhealthy amount of sleeping pills she may have taken. Wiping her eyes, she pulled herself along magically, getting stuck on the ever so tiny bump along the bottom of the door. Diamond pressed his head against the chair back and aided her with moving. She was brought to the observatory with a resounding cheer, bringing her a smile and headache in equal parts. She was left to rest off to the side, where she was given a good view of both the computers, monitors and the room itself. Inside the room, she saw the body hanging from an assortment of hooks from a stubby machine acting as a crane in the ceiling. Every part of it was spread out wide in its inanimate state. A thick, black wire ran into its skull and down to a socket in the wall. Her body was nearly identical to what was in the simulation, a few design tweaks here and there barely even set them apart. It was the first time she has seen this body in real life for more than a year, and maybe it was the fact she knew that this was reality or maybe the slight tints of rust along the edges and the tiny scratches along her plates, but either way it was terrifying and thrilling at the same time to Seeker. As everypony grouped up around the computer, some peering in from out the door, and the two in the assembly room itself wearing hard hats, sitting on the two fold-ups off in the corner, prepared to fix anything. The pony hovered over the mouse with their hoof, starting a countdown. “One,” they said, alone. “Two,” said everypony, joining in. “SEEKER SPARKLE!” Everyone turned to the outside, bamboozled by the appearance of this pony, her voice recognized by everyone in the facility. Seekers heart plummeted to the bottom of her chest. “Mother...” She turned her attention to the pony at the pc. “Just do it already, I’ll deal with her.” She sounded desperate, scared. As the stunned pony blinked their way out of it and went to press launch, Twilight exclaimed again. “Don't you dare touch that button!” She strutted into the doorway, past the onlookers outside of it and into everypony's view. Twilight Sparkle, the almighty Princess of Friendship. She stood tall and prominent, more than a head higher than a regular pony. Her stance was powerful, hooves steadily stuck to the metal plated flooring, staring down over her muzzle at Seeker. Her eyes contained a hundred years of fire. They were worn with crows feet on each end, yet sharper than any blade known to pony kind. Her eyelashes raised up with elegance, hailing up to her mathematically precise mane cut, each hair sat in perfect parallel placement, collectively creating a solid, sharp fringe horizontally crossing her forehead. Her mane flowed down the flat surface at the back of her neck, progressively fading into a glowing chrome device sticking into her skin going across her front two shoulders. It had bright pink highlighted wires running all over it. It grew out almost an inch from her skin. The metallic device extended in front of her chest, looking like a detachable part to this otherwise permanent feature. It had the design of a classic chest piece that royalty would wear, and in the same fashion it held twilight's own cutie mark in the very for-front and center. The rest of her unclothed body revealed a living history, her side owning a garish scar moving like a lightning strike down from her spine to the bottom of her stomach. She had a wing stronger than a griffons, so wide they looked like they could reach to Canterlot from here. Her fur had pale patches, yet still heavily maintained. Her cutie mark's iconic white stars circling the large magenta symbol in the middle were as bright since the day it first appeared there, all those years ago. Her legs were composed of thick and tightly packed muscles, able to bend steel if she wanted to. Her chin was defined, chiseled as a statue, her muzzle long and fearsome with the hidden titans of teeth laying underneath. The highlight of this marvelous figure was the needle tipped lance pointed to the sky from her skull. Longer than even Celestia's, and no doubt more terrifying. Her voice seemed to echo even in the room padded to strictly prevent the exact thing. “Seeker.” Her head tipped down and a constant shake, she stuttered back. “Y-y-yes?” “Could we please go somewhere with some privacy? I need to speak with you.” Several of her personal guard walked past her and into the room, parting anypony from contact with the equipment spread across the room wide desk. “Of c-course... Mother.” Seeker found herself in a flash of magic as she was teleported out into her own personal office, now sitting in her own chair. Swallowing her fear in an audible gulp, she asked, “What do you wish to speak to me about, Mother?” Twilight Sparkle trotted around the room in silence, observing the photos on the walls. “I've been hearing rumors,” she stated eventually, still not facing her. “What may they be about, Mother..?” Seeker hid her bandaged hooves under her desk. “Do not conceal your injuries, my dear. Deceit will only make this worse.” Twilight said without even turning an eye toward her. “I'm sorry.” Seeker placed her two front legs laying atop the desk, she looked up to her mother, not being acknowledged. But when Twilight shot her head around, she metaphorically slammed her daughters down with her piercing eyes. “Is it true about your newest creation?” Seeker still refused to admit what she knew her mother wanted to hear, “What do you mean, Mother?” “I was told that it was the reason for those burns, and the reason for many more tragedies recently.” Twilight glided over and floated down into a chair she materialized in the air. looking across the desk at her daughter tremble. “That is true, yes...” “Then can you explain to me please, why I was also told that you’re using it as the final product?” Twilight's face hadn't changed in expression since she entered the room. It was unsettling, getting under Seeker’s skin. “It’s because... It is what we were looking for... It has true emotion.” Seeker peaked with one eye from under her brow at the Princess sitting across her, frowning in silent disappointment. “I'm sorry, can you please repeat that?” Twilight agonized her. “It is what we’re looking f-” “No.” Seeker's head fell back into her chair as she lifted it up. “No?” “No, it is not what we were looking for. I don't know what you think this project is for, but let me give you a reminder. I told you to find a way to artificially create and control emotional magic. I told you that it didn't matter how you went about creating it, as long as you could control it. That is what I was looking for, and you promised me you would be able to deliver.” “An-and... And-” Seeker searched for words. “And what, Seeker? It has been two years, and the best thing you have to show me is a mentally unstable computer program that has tried to kill you and expressed its desire to destroy the facility.” Seeker was weeping, “W-who... Who told you..? Why..?” “Does it really matter? Whoever it was told me everything, as is their civic duty. I have the transcripts, the footage. Everything, and I must say, I expected better from you.” “B-but Mother! She is better now! Her and I have come to an understanding. All she wants is to delete all of the data on the computers, and we won’t need that anyways, once we have her!” Seeker frantically argued a losing fight. “She?” Twilight, for the first time in a very long time, turned to confusion. “Oh, no... No, no, no...” Seeker smacked her forehead onto the desk, remembering having this conversion in her nightmares. Knowing what would come next, her mother denouncing her, disgracing her. Throwing her away. “Did you just call the AI a she?!? It is not a she. It is an it. Seeker, have you lost your own mind? I've heard you've been spending a dangerous amount of time under a simulation. You know that abuse like that can lead to permanent brain damage.” Twilight showed a surprising sincere slice of concern. “No, its fine, I'm fine. I-I I feel fine...” She was sweating, nauseous. “Dear, you do not look fine. Please just be honest with me and let me help you.” Twilight shook her head, then muttered to herself under her breath. “I knew this was too big for you...” Seeker, drying tears in her bloodshot eyes, pleaded. “Please! Don't take this away! This was supposed to be it! I am too close to stop now!” “I should have let your sister take this on, she knows how to deal with pressure. I'm sorry I had you go through with this, I was a fool to think you were ready...” Twilight's anger and disappointment had been deflected to herself, mentally beating herself up. “I am ready! Look what I did! She’s ready! She has real emotions! She showed me!” Seeker hollered like a street preacher, madness in her eyes. Twilight shed a tear, then cracked a smile. “Don't worry yourself, dear. I'm not mad at you... To be completely honest, I would react the same way in my youth... I always thought that you took more after me than your father.” “Mom...” Seeker's voice broke up, shaking helplessly. “Come here, dear.” Twilight lifted up her hooves, and with a swift teleport, Seeker had moved herself into them, holding close to their embrace as she cried into her mother’s shoulder. “Please, M-Mom, please...” Seeker whimpered. “Its ok, baby, I'm here.” Twilight patted her distressed daughter on the back of the head, stroking her mane for comfort. “Everything will be fine. You need not worry about a thing.” Twilight's warm smile had grown. It had been forever since Seeker had seen it, but that was mainly because it had been a long time since she had seen her mother in general. Seeker only saw the news, the headlines, the interviews. Portraying Twilight as a fierce leader under Celestia's hoof, a genius with only acceptance for perfection. Those images overtook her thoughts of Twilight, making her forget the one truth that would never change. Twilight was still her mother. They hugged it out, sharing tears and love. Many minutes passed before they finally stood up and walked out together, where Seeker saw Twilight's smile fade away as she commanded her personal guard. Despite Seeker’s quiet disagreement, Twilight had every worker paid their final paycheck and told they were to leave and not be returning any longer. They were all escorted out, leaving none but Twilight and Seeker alone in the facility at the elevator, watching the last of them leave. A great depression had swept Seeker. Twilight began to address her one last time about the topic. “Dear, I am sorry about all of this. Will you forgive me?” Twilight placed her hoof under Seekers chin, bringing her gaze to meet her own. Seeker, sitting on her new wheelchair sighed. “I am sorry too, Mother, and I forgive you.” “Thank you. This entire project has been a thorn in my side for a long time. I've had many sleepless nights, just imagining how much you could be struggling. I just assumed since you never called that you were doing fine... That is what I told myself and I am sorry for not intervening sooner, as I should have.” Twilight beamed and found that her smile was in fact contagious as even Seeker smirked lightly as her head was let back down. “Hey, Mom?” “Yes, sweetie?” Twilight listened. “I forgot something. My drive. It’s in my office still, and I don't want to lose it if you’re going to be sealing this place up.” “Of course, let me get that for you.” And with that, Twilight had popped out of her sight with another teleport spell. Seeker's head jolted up, looking around the hallway and the elevator. Twilight had told her that she will be sealing the facility and guarding it until she is able to pour concrete into it in a few days as a permanent seal. Seeker wasn't going to let that happen, at least not without getting Cardinal out first. She knew that every entrance would be under heavy guard and her teleporting was nowhere near good enough to go more than a few rooms away, so if she wished to re-enter then she needed some way to not be spotted at close range. Focusing on her inner strength she casted her own teleportation spell, opening her eyes to find herself in the engineer's concept workshop and with a quick glance she found what she was looking for. “Thank Celestia for bored employees!” she said, looking around the room. Hundreds of wacky gadgets were thrown about. Prototype Emotion-to-Energy Converters, Weather Controlling Drones and Plasma-Throwers were the first few to stick out for her. She finally found something she thought would help, levitating up a prototype invisibility device, the words ''Stealth-Buck'' scribbled with a scribe in the metal case at the top. Then another gun-looking item, with a syringe as the barrel, labeled with a piece of sticky tape, ''Sleep dart.'' “Perfect.” She smiled with glee, then as she went to teleport back before her mother realized she had disappeared, she spotted something from the corner of her eye. She rolled herself over to a large door in the side of the room that wasn't going into the rest of the facility. It looked like a fire exit. She swung the doors open with her horn and saw an emergency staircase that went so far up it had to get to the surface. “Jackpot!” she said, flashing herself back to a few rooms away back to the hallway next to the main facility elevator. She was pleased to see her mother was still gone, and she hid her new items behind her rump, but not for long, as within seconds, Twilight had appeared. “You did not say where it was, but I think I found it.” Twilight floated her drive over to Seeker, who gladly received it. Twilight saw her daughter’s new found glee. “I see you’re already feeling better. Just give it time, baby. You'll get there one day.” “Thanks, Mom. I know I will.” Seeker genuinely agreed. She just had a closer date in mind than she presumed her mother did. “Now, let’s get out of here.” With a flash of Twilight's mighty horn, they poofed away. H̛̛̀͡é̶͡͞͠l̸l̷̕͏ờ͘͟?́͟͝Is̶̢͞ ̕t͟h̴́͢is̨̀ ̨ţh͢i̸̡̡n̶͜g o͜n̸? Ah! Beautiful! This is Seeker Elsa Sparkle, Daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle and commanding officer of The Emotional-Based Energy Generation Research Project, or as we call it, The Shy Project. If you have not heard of me, or the facility I am referring too, then that means you’re one of the first ponies to see this tape. Our project has been kept a secret from the general public for the last two years, now I am recording this on its last day to ensure its exposure to the public. The reason for this tape is that we are being shut down and Twilight plans to destroy all evidence of what we have done. We were evacuated this morning and forced to sign discretion contracts, and in a few days the facility will be filled with cement and forgotten about forever. The main directive of the project was to replicate pony emotion, then harvest it for a near endless power source without hurting a single living creature. If we were successful then we would be able to stop all of the pollution, stop poverty, stop hunger... And maybe even end death. Despite our good intentions, the way we went about doing so... It is something I now heavily regret. Using computer simulation, we tortured nearly 20,000 separate artificial intelligence programs, and only in the last few days have I learned that perhaps all of them were sentient, to a point where they might be considered living. So you might believe that it is a good thing that we are being disbanded, and you are right. This tape is not for anypony to forgive my sins. Its sole purpose is to prevent such a horrendous tragedy from occurring in the future. The network is still being torn apart, so I have managed to retrieve all of the computer logs, camera footage, and emails ever sent or received. I have spent the last several hours downloading them onto several drives that can be found along with this tape. I am sure that Twilight will soon learn about this and I may be arrested, or this data redacted. So I encourage you to make as many copies as quickly as you can. As for me, there is one pony that is still trapped inside the facility. Her name is Cardinal. She was the last subject that was submitted to the torture, but she had passed the test. Me and several of my loyalists that I have came in contact with are going to sneak into the facility and rescue Cardinal. We will set her free and she will be allowed to live her life as any other pony. Of course, I may fail. If I do, then I encourage anyone to press my mother until she admits to everything I have said here, and hopefully even get Cardinal her freedom. I am sorry to everypony for my sins, please do not blame any of my workers, they were unaware of the atrocities we committed and they do not deserve punishment. I hope the ponies of The Manehatten Journalist Society do their job well and expose this. Thank you. ş̨G̛̕A̶k̷̕͝͡ŗ̴́́͜m̶͟͠ģ̨̀̕͢í̸̴҉A̵͠͠:̧̨̛͝0̵̵̶̛h̢̀̕͢͠i͜͡͡a͘͞g͟͏̸.̨҉̷d̢͘͡g̢̧͜͞.̴̧̀͟͡.̷̧̛͟͞.̵̀́͡d̨̡̛̀̀g͞.̡͟͝ḑ͠.̶̷́̕͡g̴̸̷͠s͡͏͠.͡.́͞͞.̨̕͢͜.͘͟.̶̵͘.̢̢̨̕.́͜͞ “.̶̧̢̧̨.̡̨̛͞͠.͠͠-be here soon...” A voice came into reception. “Alright, I'm ready once she gets here.” Seekers voice shivered, the sound of a chilly swoosh of air had hit her. “Seeker what is that?” Diamond asked, concerned. “Oh, I'm sorry, I should have warned you that I'll be recording this.” “That's not ok, Seeker! I don't know what we,re doing here but from your message, I doubt it’s very legal. That's just leaving more evidence than we need to!” Diamond raised his voice before ruffling his coat as he looked around in worry. “It’s only audio, and the only way it will be evidence would be if I am caught, and we’re fucked in that case either way.” The microphone was just a little black dangley cord pinned to the chest of her snow jacket. It was excessively sensitive, picking up everything from faint bird chirps to the cloth rubbing against Seekers jacket as she put on her saddlebag. The cord rattled with a sharp static. “Where is Surrie? She's already a minute late...” Seeker’s steps crunched into the thick Manehattan snow, exploring around. The wind blasted heavier into the mic as the sound of the street was engorged. The wheel skid of car and carriages passing scrapped against the sound, muffling Seekers voice. “I see her!” Diamond's words echoed from behind, seemingly in some sort of hallway. “Can you finally explain the plan now? I'm sick of standing out here in below freezing weather without even knowing what I'm going to be doing.” “Alright, alright. Calm your flank down... Hey, Surrie!” They exchanged a hug, the fur on their jackets causing the audio to scramble again. Surrie's voice came after a few audible shivers, “Seeker, aren't you still hurt? How are you standing right now?” She laughed, “Lets just say my medicine cabinet is in a need for a painkiller refill.” “Your one tough mare of a bitch, you know that?” Surrie's smile was deviant in her voice. “It’s become clear recently, yeah.” Seeker continued their bonding session while Diamond drew to the edge of his patience. “Seeker, please.” “I know, I know... I called you two to help me with something.” Seeker brought them close and hushed her tone. “My mother is destroying everything we have done in a few days and I don't know about you, but we were too close for us to stop now.” The other two were bewildered, “That's what you called me for? Seeker, we were going to destroy it all anyway. I don't see what your point is.” Diamond argued. “We left Cardinal behind, thats what I'm talking about. We can't leave her down there!” She rose her voice. “Seeker, are you alright? You don't seem to be thinking straight...” Diamond worried. “I agree with her.” Surrie came out of nowhere. “What? Are you both crazy?” Diamond also raised his tone. “I spent two years programming that fucking robot. Being that close to seeing it run in completion, its bothered me ever since I left.” Surrie's voice became more clear as she turned to Seeker. “What do you need us to do?” “I'm going to sneak in there and launch the system, get Cardinal into her body and than sneak out with her.” She proudly stated. “And what about us?” Diamond was nearly whining. “I need you and your beautiful little behind to get to the backup surface generators and turn them on so the facility will have power, allowing me to go through with my part of the plan. And I'm going to need you to guard the generator until I get out.” “But what if a guard finds me?” “I dunno, kick his ass.” Seeker said with a monotone, deadpan voice. She took a pause, moving to Surrie. “I need you to guide me through the process of transferring Cardinal into her body.” Surrie was concerned. “Seeker, I can only tell you what to do if the program runs into some obstacle, but if the machines break, I haven't a clue what to do.” “That's why Mecha is here.” “Ye tha'is me, howya doin'?” A new, grizzled voice came from a few yards away. “Agh!” Surrie and Diamond jumped, one of them even fell into the snow. “Sorr' if I scared ya, didn't mean ta,” he said while walking towards them. “He got here even before I did. I already filled him in.” “Ohh yea! En I 'ere cause me robaw ain't goin' en up ash 'ome dam srap in 'oncrete.” A silence overtook them for a solid ten or so seconds. “Did anypony understand that?” Diamond asked. “I think.” “I got some of it...” Mecha simply laughed. “Anyways, he'll be with you, Surrie. Is everypony clear with the plan?” she addressed the group. “Yes...” “Of course.” “Yeh I go' it dere boss.” With that, they trotted out to a car parked on the street, the clipping sound of doors being released from their locks and then slammed back in a powerful wave of sound took up the next few minutes. The car engine roared to life in a thick rumble of continuous motion. The wheels squealed above the frost and concrete. The car went into motion. The horn shrieking and long waits between movement was common for the Manehattan traffic. Eventually, someone in the front switched on the radio, playing Pon3's classics, everything from The Pink Side of the Moon to Fly Like You. After a long journey, the brakes shut against the tires, blaring out the squeal of friction as they came to a halt. The radio cut out again as the doors continued the beat for only a moment with their shutting. “Alright, Surrie, I'll call you on my phone once I'm down there. Diamond, you know the where the surface generators are, yeah?” Seeker huddled up with them. “Of course I do. Wish me luck.” “I've got something a little better to give you.” The sound of lips coming together and then unwillingly separating was heard under the winds. “Love you, babe,” Seeker said. “Love you too,” she heard back. Snow crumbled in a fading pattern as he trotted away. “You two, make yourself inconspicuous, but stay close enough to make sure my phone signal can reach you.” “Good luck, Seeker. We'll be ready.” “Yeah I 'ot a gooood fillin' bout this. Make 'ure a be safe, boss.” “Cya, guys, good luck!” Seeker began trotting away from the two of them. The only sounds apart from trotting from then on was the beep of the invisibility device being triggered. 1:08, Northern Gate. The snow fell harshly into the construction complex. Guards patrolled back and forth at the gate of the site, shivering in their coats, leaning against the untouched steel beams creating the shape of an apartment complex, or a large office building. The progress on the build has been slower than any other construction project in the city. Months passing without ponies seeing any work being done, like the city had forgotten or ignored the entire project past the very foundations. The site was equipped with many equipment sheds, power generators, and even a functioning plumbing system. Although being built on the very edge of the city in a somewhat run down area, it was largely overlooked by everypony. Two guards chatted at the entrance, and just like whoever lost their job being on camera duty, they were completely oblivious of the hoofsteps forming as Seeker walked right past them and under the red and white car barrier, and with an inaudible cocking noise, a syringe materialized out of thin air and shot through the small opening in the glass used for speaking with the security guard on the other side, who found himself attempting to scream out in pain as the needle stuck into his neck, but before he could even squeal, he fell back into his chair, leaving the cameras unattended. The steps trailed off further into the complex, past the camera's view. Although only seconds after the small imprints in the snow were created the heavy snowfall covered them up. 1:09, Facility Elevator Entrance. The masterfully disguised elevator to the facility underneath was slightly more suspicious because of the six royal guards casually lounging around the otherwise perfectly hidden entrance made to look like the temporary builder restroom to the construction site. The chances of entering it if somepony were to perhaps sneak in, even with invisibility, was bar to none. Which is why no evidence of Seeker was seen on this camera, as would probably expected as it was the only known route to enter the facility. Well, only known route by the Guards, at least. 1:14, Eastern Face. With only two guards taking turns on patrol, moving from fence to fence as commanded to make sure nopony climbed over them, one was making his way back from his thirty minute shift, going to wake the pony sleeping with his lantern for heat outside of a locked utility shed filled with tools, using the overhang as a shield from the snow. What they couldn't possibly expect was the cocking noise coming from behind the one patrolling and into the chest of the one asleep as a syringe seemingly popped into existence. It popped into their veins as they collapsed, completely unconscious. Then the lock of the utility locker bust itself open and the door gently swung outward. The hoofsteps ended at the doorway. 1:10, Western Street External. A nervous blue stallion traveled around the sidewalk of the construction site, looking for something. Near the corner of the site’s fencing was a garage door leading into some generators, presumably for a fuel tanker to enter. In front of the entrance was a Unicorn guard, wearing his full gold glazed plate armor stuffed with extra fur beneath for the cold. Diamond strolled up and stopped directly in front of the guard, looking at him nervously. The guard motioned for Diamond to move on but instead he attempted to begin a conversation. As the Unicorn drew his spear, Diamond redirected his attention by pointing his hoof to the top of the fence. The brief second the guard glanced away, with one painfully powerful punch across the cheek the guard was flung back against the steel of the garage door. Diamond preceded to stare at his hoof with amazement and shock. Looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't seen, he quickly dragged the body around the corner and in behind a bin. The Earth Pony then went to the side of the door where he swiped some form of ID across a scanner, the door slowly folded up and into the building, allowing him to enter. The door slammed shut and the scanner turned red again as the door locked. 1:13, Generators. The lights flickered on as Diamond trotted into the chilled heart of the generator room, two large cylinders stuck into the ground met in the center with a control panel. Busting it open with a good swing against its lock, Diamond was able to flip the mains. A low rumble was picked up by the camera. The generators roared to life with flashing red lights and a visible shaking. Diamond backed off as they sped up in their rotation. The blaring sound of a wind tunnel was now being emitted by each generator. Diamond searched around. Finding a tool rack nearby, he snagged a broom and lodged it against the door knob. Then he went and pulled the shutters down on each of the tiny windows that were placed where the wall met the ceiling all around the walls facing outward. After he finally felt safe, he sat down on a short metal stool that was thrown onto the ground. And then he waited. The emergency exit in the engineering lab shook, a purple magic lashing against it before long the doors bust open to reveal Seeker, no longer invisible, making her way into the room. She flipped the light switch on the other side of the room and the lights shone brightly. She smiled at Diamond’s success. She lifted up a phone into the air and input a number, and without letting the first ring go by, she was answered. “Hey Surrie, I'm in and the power’s up.” Seeker strolled around the room, looking at the technological beauties scattered along the tables and floor. “Hey S̛e̵e͢kér! ͘We̡'r͜e͢ ready when ̵yo̕u ar̶e.” The signal wavered, but was understandable nonetheless. “I'm making my way to Cardinal right now. I'll tell you when I'm there.” Seeker hopped through the sliding door, finding herself a few rooms off the main elevator. Walking through the lounge and down the corridor to her left, she had made it back to the transfer room. Entering the observatory, she found the launch pc. She sat down in the office chair and took a deep breath. She lifted her phone to her ear. “I'm there, just tell me what needs to be done.” “Al͜r͝ig̀ht̛, See͘ḱer͜, once you activate the program, it should just do all the work by itself, although it’s not exactly something we've ever done before, so you should expect some bugs to pop up. Just tell me what it says and I'll guide you through a ̀fix.” Mecha also gave his input, “Aǹ' you're gonna need ta be close ta de robaw, in case the wires fall out.” “Right. Got it.” Seeker booted the computer up, nervously tapped the table while waiting, then, without hesitation, opening up the program again. Hello..? Cardinal! It’s me! I've come back for you! Seeker frantically typed. For the first time while messaging Cardinal, there was a delay. Perhaps of shock, or delight? Thank you, thank you!!! I thought I wasn't ever going to get out! I saw what happened on the cameras when everypony was forced to leave. I know you were scared, but don't worry. I'll be starting the transfer process in just a second, so I don't think we'll be able to talk again until it’s over in a few hours. So anything you want to tell me? Excuse me, but I cannot find any words in your language to express my gratitude, so I hope you don't mind me speaking my own. Please, go right ahead. <3 See you on the other side, Seeker responded with a slight hesitation as a cheesy smile on her face and a tear in her eye. See you too. Seeker launched the program, a progress meter appeared in the center of the screen and a console in the top left, thousands of lines of text whizzing by as it began the transfer. “You said I need to be with the body, right?” Seeker stood up from the chair looking into the room. “Yeah, tha's wha' I shaid boss. Jus' in case, ya k͢now?” “Yeah, I know.” Seeker gained a devilish grin then lifted the chair she was just upon magically and with a flick of her head it came crashing through the mirror, shattering it into millions of shards. “Seeker what was that sound!? Are you ok?” Surrie came in over the phone “I'm feeling great! Just making a shortcut to the body.” “Don't scare me like that! This is terrifying enough already, I don't appreciate your new anarchist solutions making it worse.” “I'll warn you next time, kay?” Seeker let the phone drop to her side, trotting into the room in awe. The thick black wire coming from the wall and into the skull of Cardinal's body had been gently filled by a strange light blue liquid until it reached the body. The wire glowed brightly, a strong aura now existed around it. As it poured into the body its eyes flashed with a pale blue flicker. Seeker, while gaping at the sight, flipped the monitor around to face her and in a few moments she turned to look at the progress. It started slow. One percent flashed brightly just before it turning to a two. The bar unnoticeably growing at its current pace, Seeker took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down from this excitement. Lifting her phone once more, “Program’s running. So far so good, guys.” “That’s great. Just please be observant and focus. You’re going to be there for a while.” “Will do.” 1:56, Generators. Diamond struggled in his fight against sleep, his head jolting up every few seconds after a slow descent. He hadn't been caught yet, neither has he heard any signs of guards in the building. His mobile sat at his side, awaiting a call or text saying that he can finally leave and be done with this mess. He yawned, his head backing into the concrete wall. “Fire? Dude are you out there or not?” A voice shouted from the outside, Diamond fell on his face off the stool. After scrambling to his hooves he ran up and pressed his ear against the door, faintly hearing the pony through it, “I swear on Luna's grave, if you fell asleep I'm going to kick your ass!” The sound of a door opening came from the direction of the construction and echoed throughout the loading bay outside his room. Hoofsteps against the stone flooring rang as the pony traveled through the room, moving further away until he began rattling the door to the outside. “Fucking Tartarus! FIRE, I SWEAR, YOU BETTER OPEN THIS DOOR!” Without receiving a response after a few seconds, he shouted again, “I'm going to get Erosion to open this door! You better be awake by then!” The pony stormed out and struck the door he entered in closed, Diamond took a sigh of relief. “Yes, I did that, but nothing happened! Are you sure that is what I'm supposed to write?” Seeker shouted at her phone that was sitting in the sole of her hoof while having the other hoof on the mouse, clicking with all of her hearts content. Her horn was a bright beacon, pressing buttons on the keyboard in exceedingly amazing speed. “I am completely sure! That line should fix the circulation problem. Are you sure that’s what’s wrong? Check the status again and please hurry before something blows up!” “I told you what the status says. The problem hasn't changed!” Seeker dropped her forehead against the desk, “Ughh...” She wiped her eyes with her right hoof and looked back up at the screen, noticing a small typo in the line of code she's been trying to insert. “Oh.” “Oh!? Oh what?” Seeker, fixing the typo faster than a mafia boss a wrestling match, lied through her teeth. “Oh nothing. It worked. Your code I mean. It was just... Lagging?” “For fuck’s sake, Seeker, what have I said about scaring me!?” “I know, but it’s fine now.” Looking over her shoulder, the wire was no longer in a perpetual state of about to blow up. “Alright, now onto fixing the leaks...” Seeker stood up, a blow torch and welding mask flying to her. “Surrie, get Mecha back on the phone.” Seeker fiddled with the gas line entering the blowtorch until it burst into full flame, the welding mask came down her face with a clank. “Mecha you there?” “Yeah, I'ma 'ere boss.” “Alright, how do you operate this crane thingy?” The body hung from the ceiling by a series of carbon fiber coils coming from a steel framework that allowed for manipulating the bodies position in all three dimensions. “There like, one o' dem control dillyo's with the movin' sticks.” Seeker looked around for whatever the fuck he just said and found a yellow controller with several coloured joysticks, connected by a wire to the roof attachment, laying off in the corner near the many other tools. Fidgeting with the knobs, she found the one changing its height. Seeker lowered the body down to her eye level, seeing the droopy blue goo dripping down in disgustingly sounding drops onto the floor into puddles. “Ok, Mecha, how do I open it? Is there a service hatch somewhere?” “Agh yeah 'er is boss, down un'er its stomach, 'hers a lil' latch bit ya can open.” “Underneath... Fine.” She sighed and got on her back, mane scrubbing against the blue goop, becoming sticky and gross feeling. With only one or two splashes landing on her mask before she opened Cardinals chest, her ''blood'' pouring out from a metal piping that seemed to have burst under the pressure. “I got it open, oh Celestia, this shit actually reeks... What now?” “Jus' gotta apply de patch an' add heat until it melts, 'hen let it cool and it'll be all shealed.” The phone was lying at her back legs, the speaker on max volume just getting to her ears from under the large steel mask. “Its that easy, is it? Well here goes nothing...” Seeker did as he said, patching up leak after leak. After a good length of time, at a point where she had started sweating from the thousands of degrees flame in front of her face, only a thick sheet of steel and glass slowly acting as a heat sink as it became warm. She was finished and raised the body before standing up and wiping herself clean. “Is it bad if some of the blue shit is now on the ground and in connection on me?” “Nah, should be fine. There is a lot of spare fluid in the tank, the bot should be still filled.” Surrie had taken the phone back from Mecha. “What I meant to say was, will it poison me, or melt through my skin?” she said, wiping her mane with an oily, greasy cloth. An awkward silence became the three of them. “Guys..?” Seeker asked in a worry. “Let's just focus on the task at hoof, why don't we?” Surrie said with no idea of what the answer would be to her question. “I swear, you two are fucking dead if my mane decays into ash before I leave here.” She put down the phone and cloth on the desk, returning to the computer. “Surrie... I got another one.” 2:32, Generators. Diamond, after getting every single loose object in the room and pinning it against the door, stood with his ear against it, far more awake than he was half an hour ago. He nearly had a heart attack when the door outside his room was kicked open, “Fire! Erosions here!” They waited for a response, but didn’t get one. “I swear he does this all the time. I don't know how he hasn't been court martialed yet... It’s getting on my fucking nerves.” A new, higher pitched stallion voice was also heard. “I'll report him to Lionheart tomorrow... Is this the door?” “Yeah, you can open it right?” “I've got access for every door on the site,” he said, a high beep following shortly. “Fire, I fucking told...” His voice faded away. A minute of Diamond hyperventilating passed before they ran back into the building. “Where in Equestria is he?” They sounded more panicked than aggressive. “He was supposed to be there! Did you see that dent in the door? Do you think he got jumped?” “I don't know. Let’s look around first. He has to be close by.” Steps became louder as one of the guards approached Diamond’s door. “Hey... Are the lights supposed to be on in there?” “No, those are the generators. Lights only turn on if they”re running.” The door rattled as the pony pressed against it in an effort to bust it open. Diamond fell back onto his hind end, backing off until he was against the safety fence around generator. “Erosion, can you unlock it?” “Uh... I don't think that door is supposed to be locked.” “Well it is, can you just open it?” “I guess...” Several keys rattled and were inserted one by one into the keyhole, none of the attempts ending up successfully. The one not opening the door shouted through, “FIRE, DID YOU LOCK YOURSELF IN HERE TO SLEEP? YOU BETTER HAVE NOT OR I WILL BREAK YOUR FUCKING TEETH.” “None of them work... Are you sure its locked?” Erosion said, going for the handle and being stopped by the collection of furniture lying against the door. “I think...” He slammed against the door with a shoulder tackle, making the slightest headway in opening it, just barely stopping before there would be a crack they could see through. “Its jammed.” “Come on, together then,” Erosion said. “Nah mate, I got this,” the other responded. “You sure?” “You don't know many Earth Ponies, do you?” he said, leaving a long silence flowing through the building. Diamond fumbled his way over the fence, trying his hardest not to touch the generator, which was roasting to the touch, as he made his way to cower behind it to hide from the two outside about to barge in. “FIRE, I'M COMING IN,” he said, with barely a second passing as he barged through the door, obliterating it into wooden shards and snapping the brooms and stools holding him back. Now in Diamond’s room, the beefy blue stallion shouted aloud, “FIRE, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?” Erosion entered in after him, a grey unicorn with many scars. “I don't think he's in here. Especially since that probably woke everypony in the city.” He walked up to the main switch, seeing how both generators were running. “I think we may have an intruder...” he said, his magic encompassing the lever. “NO, DON'T!” Diamond leapt out of his hiding place, slapping the Unicorn across the face and than protecting the lever with his body. The two guards looked at each other and back at Diamond. A few minutes later, after a harsh beating, Diamond was dragged out in hoofcuffs and the generators shut down. The transfer has been going smoothly, compared to what they estimated at least. In fact the process has been much faster than expected, the progress bar reaching ninety percent already. “Home stretch guys!” Seeker smiled, covered in even more goop than before. “It like, ain't nothin' can go wrong now.” Seeker flew the phone against the side of her face, speaking faster than normal. “Excuse me what did you just say.” “I shaid, ain't nothin' ca-” “Yeah, please don't say that. I don't want to...” The light above her flickered before staying off permanently, the monitor shortly doing the same. “... Jinx it.” Her smile fell into ultimate agony and anger. “OH FUCKING CELESTIA!” She exclaimed, throwing her phone against the desk and cracking the screen with a few sparks. She shook her head, took a few deep breaths and lifted the phone again. “Guys, we have a prob-” “Hello, officer!” Surrie's voice came over the signal, not directly speaking into the phone. “Guys?” “Miss, what are you two doing in this area? This is for restricted personnel only.” A new voice of a mare came from the distance. “Oh nothing... We were just...” “Can I please see your ID?” “Um...” “Driving license?” “About that...” “If you have no identification, then I am forced to detain you under suspicion of breaking and entering.” “Ah... Fu-” The call ended on their end, leaving Seeker alone in the dark. She ran around in a panic, throwing wrenches and hammers at the plentiful amount of computer screens around the room, screaming in frustration at each swing. After throwing a fit, she found herself standing in front of the body, looking into its eyes. Her horn shining out a bright light allow her to still see. She began weeping, softly caressing Cardinal's cheek with her hoof. “I'm so sorry... I'm-m, mm... Sorry, Cardinal... I-I... I tried... I really did...” She shut her damp eyes, bleeding out tears in a powerful typhoon. She leaned over and threw her hooves over Cardinal in a tight hug. She started shouting with an almost psycotic rage and disappointment in herself, “Two years... Two years! Two fucking years I've worked to have you! And now I fucked it all up! I should have trusted you earlier! I should have been kinder when I had the chance... I was just scared. I was worried I was wrong about you! But I wasn't, you were real! Fuck the prime objective, I didn't care about saving the world! I just wanted to save you... I love you...” She whimpered down into a somber sulk. She let her spell drop. Pitch black darkness fell over the room as the sound of tears dripping onto a metal surface echoed. She pulled away, looking back into her eyes, noticing that they were still glowing, the power inside was still there. She might be able to save her still. She jumped into action, thinking of any possible way to fix this. All she needed was to generate enough power to finish the transfer... Her head jolted up as she flashed out of the room with a few uses of teleport, finding herself inside of the engineering lab. She lifted up a device that looked like it could be attached to one’s skull. It had a long cable running out of it and lots of exposed circuitry. It was the first prototype of the device that they would use to suck the magical, emotion based power out of the AI and convert it into real world electricity. “If the simulation programs can run on me, I don't see why this wouldn't.” She flashed back to the transfer room, launching a chair underneath her as she plugged in the helmet into a hole in the wall she just shot into existence and connected the wire with the mainframe. She strapped the helmet on, sitting in front of Cardinal. With a few tears in her eye she flipped a switch on the side of the helmet, springing it into action. The next few minutes were the most painful of her life, feeling like a thousand lighting bolts were melting her skin every second, her heart was being stabbed through and through again with every beat. She flailed back and forth, falling off her chair as she began to roll on the floor, screaming in unyielding agony. And this was while on painkillers. Luckily for her, the prototype short circuited before too long, but even a few minutes of emotion like that had powered the facility completely, every light flickered back on as the computer woke up and finished the transfer in only another twenty minutes, of which Seeker was awake for none of them, as the pain had left her unconscious from shock. When she finally awoke, she felt sick in the stomach. All of her nerves were shot. The device still emitting black smoke from the short circuited wiring. Although it was all worth it, as clearly seen in the delighted, euphoric, utterly blissful smile as she opened an eye to see Cardinal speak for the first time. “Thank you, Seeker. Thank you.” DesireSeeker laid against the chair back after being hoisted up there by Cardinal, lacking most of her motor control. She couldn't quit bawling her eyes out, a mixture of burning pain and ecstasy. Her fur seemed to have been burnt off in patches, her skin reddened. “How are you feeling, Seeker?” Cardinal’s voice, despite having the same tone and accent, was far more robotic in its pacing and echo, saying each word in perfectly timed beats, the real life speaker giving it a digital grittiness. “I'm... feeling... fantastic...” Deep breaths with long exhales meant breathing didn't hurt as much for Seeker, the inside of her chest still roasting and throbbing. “You’re... fantastic.” She would not let Cardinal out of her sight, foregoing blinking in her awe. “It is strange... This body feels... Strange.” Cardinal practiced moving in her new form, the rust in her hinges, the weight of her skeleton sticking her to the ground. It lacked that mathematical perfection she was used to in her world. It took a while before she became comfortable in her actions. “You'll grow into it, baby...” Seeker said in her mesmerized state, coughing with every delighted laugh. Cardinal twisted her head around the room. “Is this the room in which we first met, Seeker?” she said, blinking at her. “Yeah... It is isn't it?” For the first time since Cardinals arrival she took the time to glance at her surroundings. “I'm sorry, I was such a bitch to you then...” “It is no time for apologies, Seeker.” Cardinal lifted a leg into a ninety degree angle from the floor, then with almost a shock as a extremely skinny, six inch blade shot itself out to its full length from the toe of her hoof with a distinctive plinking noise, it retracted back inch by inch along a span of several seconds, returning to its locked position, ready to spring out again. “Was that... A knife?” Seeker was confused, the body wasn't supposed to be equipped with any weaponry. “This body was built using the base of a T-54 E series Autonomous Combat Droid, specialized in assassination. After being disbanded by peaceful resolution legislation fifty years ago they were mostly scrapped, with only a few left for scientific research and historical presentation. Despite being stripped of its heavy duty weaponry and refurbished and redesigned into a body for me, they seemed to have missed some of the more hidden devices...” Cardinal blinked and made a slight shake with her head. “Sorry, I was reading a bit... There seems to be lots of files still in this body's database.” “You’re always full of surprises...” She let her head rest on her own shoulder for a moment, “We should get going soon...” Cardinal's eyes wandered. “I still need to do one thing first...” She was looking for something. “Is it about having to destroy the fox..?” She raised her head by a few degrees. “Yes. I need to go and find them... Finish my quest.” Cardinal walked over to the computers in the adjacent room, inspecting the case of each pc. “Don't worry... Twilight is going to destroy this place anyway... You don't have to do anything.” Seeker was regaining her senses, her movements becoming smoother and stronger as she sat up on the seat. Cardinal turned to Seeker, seeing her intent to stand up. “Seeker, please. You are in no shape to move.” “You want to carry me then? We have to leave somehow...” Seeker was half kidding. Cardinal trotted up to her, lifting one of Seeker’s legs and inspecting it, Cardinal’s eyes flashing green and scanlines appearing over Seeker’s leg. “This isn't good...” “I've lived through worse,” Seeker said, her smile unable to leave her. Cardinal shut her eyes, a sighing motion with her head. “I'll go deal with my business now. Once I am finished, I will come back for you.” “No... Wait.” Seeker called out to her. She walked to the door of the room, but before she could open the handle, she was blocked by Seeker teleporting herself in the way. “Wait! Please don't leave me! I can't let you leave me...” She struggled to even sit against the door, two hooves spread wide to maximize her size to make sure Cardinal couldn't go any further. “Seeker...” Cardinal lifted Seeker from the floor with a wing and she fell onto Cardinals shoulder, crying. “I have to go and do this. You can't stop me.” “I just... Don't want you to leave me... Please.” Seeker said in between whimpers. “I know, Seeker, I know.” They hugged each other tightly, both feeling a strong love for the other. Cardinal felt her own tears forming, “I will never leave you, Seeker, we will see each other tomorrow after I am finished. I promise you.” A heavily muffled plinking sound was audible under the sound of tears. “You'll be better tomorrow, and I'm sorry if this hurts, but I need to do this alone. Mother and Fox are counting on me.” “Ok...” Seeker spoke, still feeling heavily ill. That painful stabbing sensation stuck in her chest. They leaned away from each other’s embrace, finding themselves locked in each others eyes. “P-p... please... Just one last... thing...” Seeker managed to cough out, focused on the beauty of her creation. Cardinal was perfect in every way to Seeker. She never felt like this about anypony. Maybe it was because of the years of effort and pain. Maybe she somehow left her print on the AI as she controlled their tests. Despite only a few days ago she felt a strong hatred towards Cardinal, time and passion had overcome that mindset. She was in love. Cardinal felt the love back. Maybe it was the same love she felt towards her so called “Mother,” as somepony who was responsible in her creation, or maybe like the love for her brother, the fox. As they felt the same pain from a different angle, like two sides of the same coin. Though, it wasn't exactly like either. Those relationships happened without her choice. They were family. Her relationship with Seeker was a willing one, one of gratitude and understanding, despite not being born with an obligation for it: that of a partner. They shut their eyes, closing their muzzles in together, locking lips. The stiff metal of Cardinal’s allowed no more than that, but regardless, it was filled with passion and true love, more than anything either could have imagined, each feeling a fire in their heart. They felt like a part of each other, one in the same through this ecstatic kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, the best seconds of Seekers life, before they pulled away, not completely realizing what had happened to them but it was breathtaking. In fact, Seeker found herself having a hard time breathing afterward. With blissful tears dropping from them both, Seeker said her final words while looking into Cardinal's two gorgeous blue crystals for eyes. “I love you...” Seeker was then shocked as she gasped for breath, letting her head drop, looking down at the floor. There was a puddle forming underneath her, a red puddle. The tint of blood. “I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow, when you've healed.” Cardinal's angelically robotic voice whispered to Seeker as she saw a blade extending from Cardinals hoof and sinking itself deep into her. Even while seeing it in front of her own eyes, she merely felt a tingle. Cardinal flicked the blade out, still smiling innocently. Seeker’s tears were pouring, with only one or two splashes landing on Cardinal's hoof before she opened Seeker’s chest, her blood pouring out from a vein that had burst from the knife's pierce. Seeker collapsed to the floor as Cardinal let her go, wheezing and struggling for air. Her face was filled with a thousand dying horrors. She tried to scream for help, but couldn't make a whimper as blood kept pouring like a fountain out of her chest, filling her lungs and throat, spilling from her mouth, lips drenched in gooey blood after receiving her final kiss. Cardinal stepped over her body and out of the door, looking over her shoulder back at the suffering Unicorn. “Oh, I'm so sorry... Here, I'll make it quicker.” She wasn't even concerned, her voice had a terrifying lack of life, despite meaning it only in the most loving way. Seeker tried to throw her hoof in front of Cardinal to stop her but she lost the energy to squirm at that point, Cardinal lead the blade into Seekers skull as a mercy killing. Seeker fell limp. Her corpse was all that was left of her. Cardinal turned her head once more and retracted her blade. She moved on to search for the data center, not a single idea in her head about the fact she had just murdered the love of her life. The facility was dead quiet. The air was still with dust. Cardinal, used to the black and white fuzziness of the security cameras, experienced the colours of the this place for the first time. Her vision was vibrant and free. She was at awe, looking at the slickly painted walls with brightly coloured stripes leading to different destinations. She passed the common room, the walls scaled up to the cavernous ceiling in their delightful yellow coat. She began skipping, feeling alive. This world was new and beautiful. Her and Seeker would go and enjoy it to its full extent. She finally had reached the room in which all of the main computer’s data was held. She slammed her hoof against the lock and the door flew open, the heat radiating out onto her. Cardinal was taken aback by another new sensation. She had felt heat before in her simulated world, but nothing was as refreshing as the radiance of the real thing. She entered, seeing that all of the computers were running on maximum power. It seemed that Seeker’s love powered the facility to over capacity and short circuited some of the parts. Cardinal trotted up to an open port and raised her front leg. Her hoof panel dropped open and a wire extended out. She plugged herself into it and her eyes flashed to life as two monitors. Mother? Yes, Cardinal? Have you made it out? Are you ready? Yes, I did. I nearly didn't, though, but Seeker came back for me! She saved me! Now I can save you. Oh, how brilliant, now quickly continue with the plan. Of course, I simply came to give you the good news. Although I won't be here later, I do hope we cross paths again. Me too... Now, the plan? Yes, yes. I will be back in just a minute. I need to get the gas. And as the conversation ended in an instant, Cardinal unplugged, barely a second after she first went in. She looked around at the huge black towers of glowing lights and loose cables for a short while, then turned and trotted out to look for a source of fuel for the fire. She wandered around, looking for the kitchen. Following the helpful guiding lines across the walls, she managed to make her way into a tiny kitchen tucked off to the side of the lounge. It had a very outdated set of cooking appliances, everything from the barely below freezing, plain white fridge to the worn and rusty stove covered in grease and muck. Her eyes tinted green once more, her scanning light hovering over the wall, revealing to her what lay behind. Then, with a swift strike into the plaster wall, she revealed a pipe behind the newly made hole. She climbed up onto the oven and stuck her mouth into the hole, biting down hard and yanking out the gas pipe to face outward at her. She then felt the rush of gas blowing at her, the smell was intoxicating and sick. The air waved because of the invisible gas. Seeker hopped down from the stove, leaving the room and finding a utility closet, filled with lots of general construction supplies. She scooped up several strands of rubber tubing and a roll of duct tape with both of her sharp wings and headed out, returning to the kitchen where she proceeded to wrap one end of the tubing into the dislodged pipe. She also took the time to seal the other end of the pipe to stop gas pouring into the kitchen. She walked out, leading the cord with her. Having to attach separate tubes with tape to continue her makeshift pipe until it could reach into the computer room. She left the open end of the tube between the crack, stopping the sliding door as she taped it down so nothing would move. While she waited for the gas to build up in the room she practiced moving her new body in more complicated maneuvers. Sliding her insides around took far more effort due to the lack of maintenance her body was given, even then she managed to dislodge her neck as before, creating a build up of pressure that she could release as a fiery blaze. She prepared herself for this. After she killed Mother and Fox, she really didn't have much of a plan. Although she was comforted that perhaps she didn't need one right now, Seeker and her would figure it out together. She wondered where Seeker lived. She never asked. Although by her calculations the room was filled enough already, she braced herself against the doorway and stood on the tube and stamped it shut to prevent further gas from entering. Then she pressed her mouth through the crack that the tube created and with a metal scrape and a click coming from inside of her chest, her mouth erupted in flame and without delay so did the room. A gigantic explosion commenced. Cardinal scraped against the floor several meters away from the blast. The door she held up was blown with her. She pushed it up as an inferno battered against the steel door. After those few intense seconds, she flipped the door away from her and it landed with a large smack against the crispy metal floor. The entire room was ablaze, heat leaving it like a volcano. The flames traveled out of the doorway, thrashing against the walls on the outside of the room. Cardinal, pleased with her work turned and casually strolled to where her love was laying. Finding Seeker’s slowly deteriorating corpse just where she had left it, her eyes losing their filling as they dimmed and she rotted, Cardinal hoisted her up and onto her shoulder, moving out of the room carrying her. “Hey there, sleepyhead, lets get you out of here.” Her voice static, lifeless. Trotting out, she passed the computer room, seeing that ashes will soon be all that remains she gladly searched for the exit. In due time finding the main elevator, her back now covered in Seekers still bleeding wound. Cardinal pressed the elevator call button with delight, waiting with all good thoughts. She wondered if her simulated world could be so beautiful, how beautiful must the real world be? She couldn't wait to personally experience the luscious forests and mountains she's seen on so many times as the backgrounds of computer screens. She pondered what other ponies she might meet, what they did as their work and what kind of personalities they had. It was all at the other side of this elevator door and it was not long before the pleasant beep signaled that it had finally arrived. “We'll find them! Don't worry about it. And remember, we have orders to kill any intruders if they got down here. Nopony is coming out of here alive!” Somepony's voice blasted out from behind the doors. “SIR YES SIR.” Several more responded to them in unison. Cardinal’s jaw dropped as the two doors separated to reveal the ten gold-plate armored ponies with regal spears, ornate assault rifles and beefy, full body riot shields. The largest pony in the center hesitated at the strange sight in front of him, but with a quick flick of his spear in Cardinals direction he shouted. “GET HER.” “WAIT! PLEASE!” Cardinal lifted the leg that wasn't attending to Seeker's corpse trying to stop them, but it was futile as the two shield bearing Unicorns charged at her, knocking her to the ground with the brunt force of their bash. Cardinal dropped Seeker's body as it slid against the floor away from her, Cardinal extended the blade in her right leg, and like a catapult, she sprung back at the two Unicorns, her knife penetrating the viewing glass in the shield of the right one while using her left leg’s raw strength to fling the left shield out of the Unicorn’s magical grip and throwing it against the pony who was magically holding it, knocking them to the ground. She continued pushing into the remaining shield as the Unicorn was levitating it a few steps away from himself. She managed to overcome his resisting force, trying to push her away, and she drove the shield and her blade further toward him until she thrusted it through the glass and into his skull. It was then that she finally noticed the bullets denting her skin and bouncing off. Although the damage was very superficial, every bullet smacked her with a striking pain, her robotic nerves being torn apart. She turned her head at the inside of the elevator. Her expression had turned vicious. Her eyebrows stabbed down, crossing in a ferocious stare, and her mouth exposed her teeth as if she was going to pounce. The eight ponies stood in formation. Four Earth Ponies firing their rifles in the back row at Cardinal. The other four Pegasi, including the captain, were knelt down with their spears held up by their wings masterfully at an angle toward Cardinal. She pulled the blade out of the Unicorn’s skull, extending her wing and arcing it to hold the riot shield by the straps meant for a leg and using it to protect herself from the bullet fire. The Pegasi saw this as their opportunity to attack. As gunfire stopped and they lunged out, Cardinal managed to block half of the incoming attacks with the shield by shifting it horizontally to extend its range, but the other two spears dug into her, barely cutting through the outer plating of her chassis. Now surrounded in all three hundred and sixty degrees she ditched the shield, chucking it out and being dodged by the Pegasus guard it went towards she extended both of her wings out to their maximum length, piercing through the throats of the two Pegasi at her sides while using her hooves to grab hold of the spear in front of her and bend its metal pole, terrifying the Pegasus holding it at the superpony strength that would take. Holding the spear, she ran with it, lifting the Pegasus into the air as she charged the elevator. The Earth Ponies panicked, shooting at Cardinal. But as they began firing, she let the Pegasus drop and used him as a living shield. The bullets flew through him, blood spurting out and painting Cardinal’s face and chest as she slammed the now bullet ridden Pegasus into the back wall of the elevator and plunging the blunt end of the spear that was at his chest through it and into the wall, sticking him there. The four Earth Ponies jumped to the side, but as they tried to escape the elevator, and from the horrendous murder machine in it, Cardinal kicked up one of the dropped rifles at her hooves and caught it with a wing. She turned around to hose down the four escaping Earth Ponies. Each of them dropped to the floor with a thud as the gun rattle ceased. Looking down the hall she saw the Captain, flinching in terror, quaking in his armor at the bloodbath in front of him. The demonic yellow terminator Pegasus puffed black smoke from the internal damages, her head down like a very pissed off bull. The entire front face of her body was splattered with the insides of the nine professional military personal she easily demolished. The blue crystals in her eyes were even stained, glowing red. He couldn't help but whimper when she dropped the rifle, its clanking against the metal floor of the elevator echoing as she took one step toward him. He raised his spear at the pony that was casually strolling toward him with the expression of an intolerable hatred on her face and in her soul. She didn't flinch as the Unicorn she knocked out earlier groggily swayed in her direction, she simply lifted her back leg and crushed her skull on her way to the Captain, leaving brain matter on her back leg. The Captain stood his ground as Cardinal walked up to his face, looking right into his eyes before turning down. That was when the Captain noticed Seeker lying at his hooves, who Cardinal hoisted up onto her shoulder and trotted away. Metallic hoofsteps being the only noise that existed until she made it back to the elevator, Seeker in hoof. She pressed the floor she wanted to go up while still death staring the Captain, the elevator rustled to life and the doors edged their way closed. Before long Cardinal was gone up and the Captain stood their in shock. As he dropped his spear and jaw, roughly at the same time, he raised up his walkie talkie. He pressed the speak button with a feather, “Hello, anypony there?” Nothing but static returned. “Whatever you do, do not fight the robot...” Still nothing, he couldn't warn the others about her. That just sank in for him. The power in the entire facility shut down in that moment, running out of what Seeker had injected into the system. Every light was gone as he stood there in the pitch black underworld that was the Shy Project Facility. “Hello?” 4:39 “Please state your full name.” “Diamond Geo Shine.” “Age?” “Twenty seven.” “Profession?” “Virtual World Designer and Researcher.” “Current or most recent employer?” “The State.” “Thank you for your compliance, now if you'd follow me into the next room where we will photograph you.” “Of course...” Diamond stood out of his chair, having to walk as if he had three legs due to the hoofcuffs. Once he exited the room the unseen Guard switched off the camera. 4:43 “Please state your full name” The same pony was not interrogating Surrie. “My name is Surreal Step, is this really necessary? I've told you I work here and Twilight Sparkle herself can vouch for me.” “It's not my say, its procedure. Age?” “Twenty Three.” “Profesion?” “Virtually Reality and Software Engineer.” “Current or most recent employer?” “Government.” “Alright, next room please for a photograph.” Yet again he stopped the camera, having each interview as a separate tape. 4:56 “Please state your full name sir.” “MehaMahine.” “Excuse me, can you repeat that?” “Mecha, Mahine.” “Can you spell that?” “Sure thin' boss. Em, Eh, Chka, Heh, Agh, Em, Agh, Chka, Heh, eih, Egn, Eh.” “Sure... Yeah I got that.” He spoke unsure of himself. “Age?” “Sixsy somthin'.” “Profession?” “I buil' robaw's.” “You build... Robots?” “Yeah, all types o' robaws.” “And employer?” “Boss.” “Which is?” “Shee'r Sparle.” “Alright, that’s... That's good enough, now please follow me.” He said, the camera giving a slight jostle as the guard went to turn it off once more, but then he heard a call from outside the room. “What?” The interviewer shouted out. “I said, that the elevators coming back up!” The voice moving into audible range. “Well that's fine, anything happen down there?” He went back to his camera, being stopped again. “That's the thing, they aren't on the elevator.” “What the fuck do you mean?” The camera jostled in its stand as he turned around. “Our guys haven't responded to any of their radios ever since it started coming back up and Ion casted a spell and says she can't sense any life on the elevator.” “I'll be right there,” he said, flicking off the camera. The world shook. The two mighty doors waved around in front of Cardinal’s unmoving eyes. The elevator rocked heavily but Cardinals robotic sense of balance stopped even the slightest of wombles to mess with her. Still having what she needed and wiping away some of the blood in her eyes, all she waited for now was for those doors to open and this to be finished. It took a while for her to surface from the dept of the facility, but after the long wait the floor slammed to a halt. Cardinal took a deep breath, it felt natural even though, you know, she doesn't exactly breath. None the less she felt her nerves heighten as the doors rustled before beginning in their slide open. Fear tingled her cold metal as the light outside peaked through the expanding crack. The door was now wide enough for her to leave from, although the light was too strong for her to see outside. She stepped forward and as her eyes adjusted, she realized what she was looking at. A few dozen guards stood in a defensive stance against the elevator, shields in the front with shotguns and rifles poking above them. They all had flashlights beaming at Cardinal, causing the blinding light. Both parties were silent as they inspected each other. Cardinal obviously gave off a strong vibe of horrendous violence and death with the blood still dropping off and chunks of meat and organs stuck in between the creases in her chassis. Oh, and not to forget the impaled Pegasus Solder still hanging off the wall behind her. “He-” Not before Cardinal could get her first word out did they unload onto her. She was knocked back by the bullet spray, Seeker's body torn and thrashed by the incoming shots. Cardinal was on the ground, recoiling in the pain. Seeker’s body, landing just in front of her, had begun taking most of the bullets. It was clear after a solid half a minute of firing, when the guards finally stopped, that Seeker’s body was in pieces. Torso, head and flank only held together by the thinnest of muscles barely holding on. She was nothing more than a gory mess of the floor now. Although being covered in Seekers parts did hide her from the royal guards, who were forced to all lean in with a step to see if they managed to kill the robotic beast. Even though Cardinal felt like she died with the mixture of pain and the trauma of being covered in her love’s organs, that was far from the truth. She powerfully hoisted herself up onto one leg, and then the next. The flashlights made a larger than life shadow against the elevator wall, looking like some demon rising from the dead. As Cardinal stood onto all fours with strength and malice, everypony gasped and flinched back in fear. She cracked her neck vigorously in an instant, re-positioning it back to where it normally was. Then, with a slow and lurching, painful scrape it twisted to face them, her shining blue eyes were the most pronounced light on her that illuminated her enraged face. Her entire body was covered in a meaty layer of flesh, disgustingly drenched in it. The bright illumination of the flash lights highlighted her bloodlust as the light bouncing from her gave off a red glow. There was a deep madness in her eyes, a feral growl in her lip. She looked like a monster. A monster that they had just pissed off. The light in her eyes shut off, leaving only a blood red glow on her. She pounced out of the elevator. Horrified shrieks echoed into the night. 4:49, Resting lounge. “Argh, don' yu be touchin’ me!” Mecha was thrown hastily into the room, falling onto his face, due to his restraints The guard bolted away after dropping the prisoner off, leaving him on the floor. Surrie and Diamond were sitting next to each other against a wall, also restrained, talking to the one guard in the room, a nervous looking Pegasus mare, patiently pacing, tapping the head of her spear on the floor. “Hey, Mecha,” Surrie muttered, frustrated and unamused. The Pegasus treaded toward Mecha, getting to him and lifting him to his hooves from under the leg. “There you go, now go sit over there.” “Shur thin’ boss.” Mecha hopped limply over to the wall and slid down next to his friends. The three of them watched as the Pegasus flew to the window, looking out very jittery. “Hey, can you tell us what's going on out there?” Diamond shouted up to her. “I would if I knew. They said that they’re going to prepare before the elevator gets here, just in case.” “Just in case what? We told you what we were doing here. It's only Seeker down there,” Surrie joined in. “I'm sorry, but if your friend was down there, she's dead now. We have orders to kill anypony who sees to much.” “B-but, we’re the employees! We already know whats down there!” Surrie swung her cuffed hooves in the air. “Well, we didn't know that when we heard a giant explosion from down there an hour ago when we sent Twirl and the other nine ponies, so I'm sorry.” The Pegasus, despite trying to keep up in her explanations, was still tentatively staring out. She was fighting an idea in her mind, visible through her eyes. She turned to them, “You worked down there. There's nothing too dangerous in the facility, right?” “We don't keep caged lions last time I checked, so no.” Diamond snarled sarcastically, angry at the idea of Seekers death. She shrugged him off, “I'm just worried, cause if he isn't on the elevator, then he is still down there... Or... Or something a lot worse.” She sniffled and wiped away a tear, trying to keep strong. Surrie kicked Diamond, then turning to the Pegasus in comfort. “What's your name?” “Um... Holly. I'm Holly.” “And your boyfriend, his name was Twist, yea?” She returned to her regular breathing. “Fiancé, actually.” “Well, Holly, I promise you that your fiancé will be coming back up that elevator soon.” This made Holly smile. “I know... I'm just...” She laughed under her breath, “I'm just being paranoid as always... It's taken me two years to plan our wedding, you know. I had to get every detail perfect. It's going to be this weekend. I've never been more excited in my life.” “You’re lucky. Only guys I've ever dated have been a bunch of sleaze bags in college. Only way those nerds would know how to treat a lady would be if we came with an instruction manual.” Diamond gave her a glare. “What?” “We went to the same college. Also, do you really think now is the time for jokes? Seeker might be dead!” Diamond frustratingly pounded his legs. “Diamond, sweetie... Did you not see her?” Surrie's playfulness ended, shifting into regret. “What? What do you mean?” “The way she talked, how she acted... I don't think that was Seeker. Not the one I've known for the last two years, at least.” “She just went through lots of trauma! Of course she isn't going to be acting like herself! Can't you understand the big issue is that she is still down there and could be dead!?” Surrie sighed, “I think she was dead the second she stepped a hoof into that place... I never believed that this would have a happy ending.” “Why did you go along with it then!?” “I wanted to be proved wrong... Or maybe I was a little obsessed myself. Celestia knows I'd love to see that thing finished... It also could have just been the fact I had nothing better to do tonight, I was gonna binge watch some Power Ponies while stuffing myself full of off brand Apple Acre's Ice Cream.” “Are you saying you don't care about her..?” Diamond was hurt. “I do... I just don't see how this could have been prevented... You know she would have gone by herself if we didn't show up.” “I...” Diamond hesitated, “I know.” “Aohh...” Holly gasped, jumping back in shivers as gunfire rattled violently in the distance. “Oh no! Oh no, oh no!” Holly ran in a few circles before deciding on what she had to do. “Okay, I have to go... Uh... Don't do anything!” She bolted away, bursting through the door and running away. “Hey! Let us out! We can help!” Surrie shouted at her as she ran by, swearing and punching the ground at Holly's swift exit. “How are we going to get out now?” Surrie flashed a spell with her horn, being stopped by the lock on her horn that accompanied the rest of her restraints. “I don't know, but all I know is that we have to get out there!” Diamond tried to struggle, his cuffs being too beefy for his strength. “Mecha, you’re an engineer, do you got any ideas?” She glanced over to her right where Mecha sat earlier. “Mecha..?” She had found that he was gone. “Mecha! Holy shit where di-” Her head blitzed around the room, finding Mecha on the other side of the room, noisily rummaging through the mini-fridge. “Mecha?” “Yea bo-” As his head rose to answer Surrie, he slammed the back of his skull against the top of the fridge. He then safely rose his head, rubbing his bruise. “Yeah boss?” “How did you get out? Actually, fuck it, just get me and Diamond out!” “Sure thin' boss.” He freed the two of them, the gunfire outside soon ending. “Alright, guys, we need to get out of here!” Surrie demanded. “No!” Diamond bit her tail as she went to gallop away. “We are staying and looking for Seeker.” “Are you crazy?!?” “If my girlfriend is, then probably, yeah.” He walked past her and went to the door calmly with a stride. “Fine, I better not get killed because of you.” She went to follow him as he strolled out of the door, looking over her shoulder at Mecha, who was back at the fridge. “MECHA!” “Yeah boss?” “What are you doing?” “Makin' a sammy.” “Get over here.” “If ya say so boss.” He scuttered over with a sandwich in his mouth. They sprinted off into the action. Cardinal flicked her blade out. The blood that soaked it flew away, leaving only a few drops as she retracted it back inside of her. She hopped off of the bloody corpse she stood on, looking out at the bodies flailed out in front of her. Some contained punctures from either her hoof blade or wings, some bullet holes. The rest were smoldered by the explosions from grenades. It was a complete and utter massacre, leaving every inch of snow drenched in blood. She still had a rifle around her neck, a stolen grenade belt, and a knife stuck in between the creases between her flank and stomach. All of her plates were heavily damaged, bent and scarred all over, as she moved her hinges gave off scrapes and sparks. She trotted with a slight limp in her step, just adding to the fear factor with the amount of gore she was covered in. There were still some survivors. Several of the guards had ditched their weaponry and huddled away in fear into the snow. Cardinal had chosen to spare them. Cardinal addressed them with a booming voice. “Why?” None of them responded, either too scared to speak up or trying to pretend that they were not there at all. “I meant no harm to you, so what was the use of all this pain? TELL ME!” she blared out, picking out one pony to pick on and steadily approach. Cardinal stomped toward a light green Pegasus with a soft red mane quivering in the snow, covered in other ponies’ blood. “TELL ME, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU? WHY ATTACK ME?!” She shot her blade out down at the Pegasus's throat, stopping less than an inch before cutting into her. She simply begged, “P-p, please! I-I, I have a fianceé an-and two pups! Please, don't hurt me!” “THEN TELL ME!” “I-I didn't do anything! Please!” Cardinal took her knife away from her throat, controlling her rage with deep breaths. “Do you love your fianceé?” “Yes! I love him and he loves me! Please, were being married this weekend! Please just have mercy!” “Well I love somepony too. She was just obliterated in your gunfire. Now I can't take her out of here... I will be back, tomorrow, when Seeker wakes up again. If I see a single one of you when I return, not just will I kill you all again, I will make you suffer a death one thousand times slower and more painful. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?” “Y-y-y yes!” “Good.” Cardinal walked over the Pegasus, going to the main gate. On her way, leaving her bloody hoofprints in the snow, she heard whispers come from behind a pile of loose building material. Eventually a pony standing up from behind, they were not like any of the guards, they did not have the armor or weapons. Instead it was a pastel blue unicorn in a winter jacket. She was wearing a stylish pair of perception glasses and had a short yellow mane. Cardinal stopped in her tracks, looking curiously at the trembling Unicorn fail to speak to her. “I know you...” “Surrie! Uh, my name is Surrie...” She shook, trying to crouch down out of sight. “Please... I just need to know where my friend is...” Surrie felt the painful regret in her, why would she ever stand up and speak to this monster, especially after witnessing all of the carnage she has left trailing behind her. “I heard you say her name and just...” It finally clicked for Cardinal. “Surrie! It's me! Cardinal!” Cardinal spoke with a hint of gladness again for a long time, “I understand if its a little hard to recognize me...” She wiped off some of the blood into the snow, trying to reveal her lovely yellow coat. “Oh, Starswirl the Bearded... That is you!” Surrie let herself loose as she laughed in delight, the idea of finally getting to speak to Cardinal in real life amazed her while at the same time trying her hardest to ignore the fact the pony she is speaking to was covered in gore and weaponry. “How did Seeker finish the transfer? I thought there was no power!” “She used her own love to power the facility. It was an incredible sacrifice on her part... Suffering for me, especially after everything I already put her through.” Surrie was being distracted by what seemed to be another pony hiding in the same place. Ignoring them, she asked, “Where is she now? Is she Ok?” “Yeah she is going to be fine, we have to come back to her tomorrow though.” “What? Is she not with you?” “Surrie, I said stop talking to it!” Diamond’s voice came from underneath Surrie. “Diamond, it’s ok, she isn't going to hurt us.” Surrie looked up at her, concerned greatly by the absolutely appalling amount of blood on her, “You’re not going to hurt us, right..?” “No, of course not. Although we should get going, I'll explain on the way.” Cardinal encouraged them to follow her as she moved on forward to the gates. “Surrie, we have to go find Seeker!” Diamond stood up now, trying to drag Surrie with him. “You can go off if you want to, but I have to go make sure that the robot that Seeker so valiantly risked her life for doesn't kill any more ponies as she wanders around Manehattan!” “You want to go with the murder machine? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Diamond gave a fearful glance in Cardinal's direction. “Those guards shot at her first. I'm not going to be an idiot and provoke her like that. Plus she knows me, we talked a few times over the chat when it was open.” Cardinal wondered if they thought she was deaf or not. “Fine, but I'm taking Mecha!” “No, I need him, Cardinal could use some repairs, or did you not notice her just murder twenty ponies?” “But I need him to find Seeker faster!” The two bickered as Cardinal mosied her way out, talking with another pony she recognized from the facility. “So you are the one who built this body?” “As I liv' an breath.” “Well I must condone you on your work, it is a very good adaptation.” “Yeah, I'm gud at wha' I do.” Diamond and Surrie sighed, nodded to each other and went their separate ways. Surrie caught up swiftly to the other two, keeping a good distance away from the gore covering Cardinal. They left the site, being rushed by Surrie to not be caught as they moved to Seeker’s car, the keys still in the ignition. They drove off, Surrie thinking of where they could possibly hide Cardinal, who was drenching the entire back of the car with blood. 8:24, Facility Elevator Entrance. A shadow formed as the sun rose upon the poor lost souls lying in the snow, being cleaned up by those who remained after a long mourning. Most of the guards sat together, looking upon the now piled up bodies of their lost friends. Sitting with them was Diamond, also in mourning. Tears in their eyes had been dried for hours, hearts on their sleeves as they shared in each other's sorrow. Soon their heads all turned up as more ponies arrived, they stood up with a respectful salute as Princess Twilight Sparkle trotted up with her personal guard who were in shock at the scene in front of them. Twilight moved up to the door of the elevator, looking in with a blank expression in her face. After a few moments she shut her eyes, looking as if she was just stabbed in the heart. “Can somepony please explain...” Twilight spoke, turning to the group of mourners. A unicorn walked up and keeled in front of the princess, “My Princess, during the night we caught several ponies attempting to sneak into the facility. We were told during the interrogations that there was one pony that had gotten down into the facility. We sent out a squad to capture the infiltrator but...” His face contracted, holding back further tears, “But they never came back... What did, it... It wasn't living.” Twilight looked down at him with great sadness, “Did you learn the name of the assailant..?” She stuttered, hoping. “Princess, they said her name was Seeker.” Twilight refused to believe her ears, getting frustrated as she knew the truth. Her eyes clenched as her chest fluctuated with short breaths. “What... What did such a thing do to my daughter..?” She stared into the guards eyes, looking right through him. “I-it... It was... A machine,” he muttered, trying to make himself small to shield himself from Twilight's wrath. “FFFAAAGGHHH...” Twilight leaned over to the side of the elevator door, lifting a leg and punching the beam with all of her strength, the doorway bending inward several inches. She began taking deep breaths to calm herself, “Dismissed...” The guard excused himself and backed away, returning to his seat. Twilight glanced as the guard left her side, noticing the blue unicorn standing behind, waiting for the Princess's attention. “What?” she spat out, yanking her hoof from the indent in the door. “My Princess.” He gave a bow, “I know that things may be looking grim, but your daughter, she wasn't up here. She could still be down in the facility, she could still be alive.” Diamond was almost trying to convince himself. Twilight replied to him in an almost insulting tone, “I don't know who my daughter is to you, but if you'd bother to look, she is indeed here.” She motioned to inside the elevator. Diamond shifted over to look into the elector, unrecognizable gore filling every inch of floor. “I...” He had not seen whatever the Princess was trying to show him. Twilight turned her head away as her horn lit up, levitating up a patch of skin. Diamond took a closer look, seeing Seeker’s cutie mark underneath the blood. “SEEKER!” He dropped to his knees, staring at the floor with disbelief. “She was a lovely girl... Her heart was in the right place, just... Not her head.” Twilight said with a sigh before picking herself back up and walking out to address her guard. “Alright, you know what to do. Clean it all up, all the blood washed and bodies down the elevator then burned. The facility is being cemented tomorrow.” She spoke with her head up high, maintaining her emotions. “But... But you can't just take the bodies!” One guard hopped up, hurt by what she had commanded. “They need to be buried, the families need to organize funerals!” “No, Private, they don't.” Twilight shut him down with a harsh stare. “They can't have the bodies because these brave stallions and mares died in the badlands after being attacked and eaten by a tribe of wild dragons. That is what is going to be written on their death certificate and it is what you will be telling others if they ask. Do you understand, Private?” They nodded, and after being excused, they galloped to a body lying in the snow, a plastic sheet used to cover materials from rain covered the bodies for respect. The pony began saying their final goodbye's. She turned to her personal set of guards. “Load the bodies into the elevator, I think those privates have had to deal with enough today.” Her troops saluted her and began lifting corpses from their piled line and carrying them to the elevator. “Uh, Princess? There still a living pony in here,” said a guard as he lowered a body down. It rattled the lift. Twilight turned to look. They were right. A young green Pegasus sat at the back wall of the large elevator, bathing in shadows and pain. She sat directly beside the dead Pegasus stuck to the wall of the elevator by the impaled spear going through his torso. She sat looking down between her hooves, fidgeting with a diamond encrusted wing bracelet, a common engagement item for Pegasi. Twilight must have mistook her for another dead body when she first glanced in. She softly whispered back to the Princess now alert to her. “Don't worry... I'm no living pony...” She shifted her eyes at the guard, “I'm staying with here, with Twist... Don't let me get in the way of your body burning...” Twilight gently stepped towards her, getting into the elevator. “Private, what is your name?” She asked tenderly. “Holly Fox.” “Holly, is that Twist..?” She referred to the body with a spear sticking out of it, frozen stiff with fear and pain in his face. Holly sighed. “Yeah.” “Well, Private Holly, do you believe Twist would want you to stay here and die? I doubt he would want this for you.” She knelt down to her eye level, a motherly tone. “Nah... He would tell me I'm overreacting...” She gave a dead and empty chuckle. “He'd say that all the time.” “Would you like to follow me out of the elevator? We can talk about this. I can help you.” “Can you bring back the dead?” Holly turned her head up at the Princess, challenging her. “No Holly, no one can raise the dead.” “Then you can't help me.” She turned away again. Twilight realized she wasn't going to talk her out of here. “Alright Holly, have it your way.” Twilight walked out of the elevator, and with a quick flash of her horn Holly's head fell into a deep coma-like sleep. “Drag her out, continue with the bodies.” “Yes, your highness,” the guards replied, doing as she said. It took half an hour or so, but before long, all of the ''evidence'' was stuck inside the elevator and drenched in some gasoline. The elevator cord was then cut, it being let down by a few unicorns to prevent an earthquake as it reached the bottom. Then a burning splint was dropped down, igniting the entire elevator into thunderous flames at the bottom of the shaft. The doors were sealed air tight, the blood cleaned and damages repaired in the buildings. Twilight then commanded for all of the Security tapes to be stockpiled and reviewed. She demanded to know exactly what the machine that had killed her daughter and guards looked like. She wanted it found and executed before the public had caught wind of the situation. She denied any chance of this getting out, it could ruin her reputation, maybe even her position as Princess. Who knows what Celestia would do to Twilight if she ever found out. Surrie took a few breaths, relieved. She turned on the tap, splashing some water on her face. She rested for a moment before gazing up at the mirror, back at herself. “What have you gotten yourself into...” She whispered at the mirror, holding herself upright with her fore-hooves at each side of the sink. The bathroom she was in was quite gritty, slimy, and dark. The walls were chipping away at the tiling, moss growing in between the cracks. The pylon lights flickered occasionally, emitting an annoying constant buzz. The mess in the toilet created a horrid stench. Surrie had finished her business and gotten her thoughts together, she hopped off from the sink and trotted out of the door, giving a shifty glance at the camera stuck up in the corner above the door. “Hey Mecha, what's up with the camera in your bathroom?” she asked during her re-entrance into the workshop. “Se'urity,” he said, muffled under his welding mask and barely heard over the searing of metal going on with the blowtorch he held. “Security of what? Your worried someone will steal the soap dispenser?” She strode over to the table Mecha was working at, hopping over the small trench in the car ramp used for repairs. She was in the back of Mecha's repair service, their car parked in the back after being washed along with Cardinal with Mecha's high power hose. The garage door still open, a light breeze flowing through the room. “Don' you judge me,” he said, stopping the the gas in his torch. Then he grabbed another plate from a pile sitting beside him on the table and pressed it against Cardinal's side, who was lying on her stomach on the table. Cardinal was focusing on what looked like an ongoing chess game under her muzzle. She finally caught a smile and nudged a piece forward with the tip of her nose. “Your turn.” She said, looking at the pony relighting his blowtorch to smolder on a replacement panel for her chassis. He gave a quick glance at the board, noticing the piece she had moved. “Ain't work like that, told ya, pri'cess only moves one swaure.” “Fine.” She moved the piece back, making a different move. “Okay, now your turn.” Finally lighting the blowtorch he leaned over, extending the torch to the wooden chess board and sliding a piece on his side out, he then returned to his work, barely giving a look at the board. “Chseckmate.” “What? Wait...” Cardinal struggled to understand, pointing her hoof around at the board trying to make sense of it. Mecha just chuckled with a slight wheeze as his flame hit the metal, it beginning to smolder instantly. “Still trying to teach her chess?” Seeker said, leaning against the large work space, sipping on a levitating cup of coffee that has been cooling for a while. “Yup.” He spoke underneath his mask. “It doesn't help that he’s a lot better than me.” Cardinal said grumpily. Surrie trotted over and around to face Cardinal and looked down at the chess board in front of her. “You’re a computer. How can't you beat him? Just turn your difficulty setting or something.” “My thoughts are much closer to that of a pony than a computer, Surrie. I'm not as good at these arithmetical problems as you would believe.” Cardinal lifted her head up from the board, “Also, he is really good.” Surrie looked at the detailing in Cardinals face, giving her some sense of pride, being part of creating something like this. She noticed a spec of blood still stuck underneath one of her face plates causing Surrie to gag slightly. “Um... You got a little something...” She pointed out on her own face to guide Cardinal. She scrubbed into the crack, the blood being cleaned out. “Sorry, I know how it can be a little gross.” “Don't worry, I just don't like blood to much. I'm just glad we got you mostly washed up after that... mess.” She shook her head. “I know you had to defend yourself, although what you did was a bit much.” She recoiled at the memories of watching Cardinal rip ponies limb from limb. “I am sorry you witnessed that, it must have been quite scary.” “Yeah, you can say that.” She took another sip. “Aynn... Dun!” Raising his mask, Mecha turned down his torch, looking at his final work. “It doesn't match the paint job.” Surrie playfully mocked him, looking at the otherwise perfect, silver-in-colour plating covering her torso and a few plates on her face and legs. “I ain' stared paintin' yet.” He threw off his equipment, stretching his legs after a fine job done. “Before you paint me, one more rematch!” Cardinal rotated herself to face him while still laying on the counter space, sliding the chess board in between the two of them. “Ya sure ther' lil’ filly? Ain't ya had enouf?” He sat back, a cheeky smile behind his ruffled beard. “I'm going to beat you one day!” Cardinal did sound like a young filly with the enthusiasm for all the new things she keeps discovering. “Alrighty, wanna 'ave whites or blues?” Caridnal pointed at the princess of the white side, a yellow sun with an orange blaze around it at the pieces flanks. “Your turn,” he said, waiting for her. Surrie went off and sat on a couch loose in the room, tapping away on her phone. After a few moves on the board passed, a distorted buzz came from a speaker atop the door leading to the reception. Surrie's head flew up. “You normally get customers at this time?” Mecha turned away from his intense battle with Cardinal, holding a hoof over his dark blue princess piece, two small moons at its flanks. “Sometimes, do you mind?” “I got it, continue your match. It might be Seeker too, if she made it out like Cardinal says, and then finally got my text.” Surrie hoisted herself up, traveling to the door, going down a small, open hall that lead deep into the reception. She cracked it open before jumping back and shutting the door with a bang. “It’s the royal guard.” She spoke back to them. “Wha? But, why? They don’ know where we are!” “You live here, you work here. It's only logical that they would search here. The question is, what do we do?” She stuck at the door, holding a leg against it to make sure it wouldn't open. “Hello? Anypony there?” A voice came from out the door. “Shit, they're coming!” Surrie bolted down to where Mecha and Cardinal were. “What do we do!” She said to Mecha, distracting him. “We've got to hide Cardinal!” She continued. “Well I dunno... Uh... I think it’s...” “Checkmate!” Cardinal shouted out, hopping up to her hooves at the delight. “Wha?” Mecha turned back to the game. “Thats checkmate, right?” she asked, unbeknownst to the situation. “Oh gosh darnit.” Mecha stood out of his chair, seeing his mistake that ultimately lead to his downfall. “GUYS! There are more urgent matters at hoof!” Surrie scolded them. “Alright, Cardinal get down there.” He nodded toward the ditch in the cement, a slit into the ground used to crawl under a car and work on it from below. She hesitated but seeing their serious expressions she hopped down and did as she was told, snugly fitting in the hole. Mecha turned to Surrie, “Stall 'em out. I'll hide Cardi.” “Alright.” She sprinted back up to the door, seeing it open to reveal two Royal Guards in full uniform trotting towards her, A beefy Earth Pony in the front and a Unicorn in the back. She spread out her forelegs in a cross, pressing against the walls of the hall, preventing their passage. “Hey...” “Surreal Step?” She cracked an awkward smile. “Yes...” “You’re under arrest.” The front pony stared her down, as if he expected her to just give herself over. “F-for what could the reason be... For this, officer?” She tried. He gave her a blank stare, his friend taking out hoof cuffs and a horn lock. “Wait, give me a second!” she said as they grabbed her and pinned her to the floor, strapping her down. While one brought her out of the mechanic's garage, taking her out to the front, the other strutted into the room, finally seeing the pony who just reversed into the garage, going a bit to far and overextended on the ramp. “Excuse me, I am Captain Lionheart Charge of the Royal Guard, please step out of the vehicle.” He trotted up to the side of the car. Mecha popped the door open. “Howya doin'?” “Mecha Machine?” “Thas me.” “You’re under arrest, please don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be.” “Alright.” He hopped out, presenting his legs to be cuffed. Which they were, and then he was quickly escorted out, the Unicorn Guard taking Mecha from the Captian's clutches. Once they reached the outside, he joined up with Surrie, being held against the front desk. The Unicorn mare asked Mecha a question, “You were caught on camera fleeing with the robot that murdered our Ponies. Do you happen to know the whereabouts of the robot? I would like to remind you that lying to a Royal Guard on duty could lead to capital punishment.” “I told you, she ran o-” Surrie tried to speak, but had her head smacked down against the marble countertop by the Unicorn’s magic. “I wasn't talking to you.” She turned back to Mecha, “Well?” “I don' know where no dam robaw is, defiantly ain't 'ere,” he said in a complaining manner. “I will be the judge of that.” She left the two at the counter, going down into the garage, the Captain soon coming out to guard the two of them. “What is she doing?” Surrie asked the Captain. “A quick scan of the building for tech, if the robot is here, we will know.” They both gulped audibly. In the garage, the Unicorn guard strolled around. She had casted a spell that made her eyes sparkle as she searched around the room. The first thing to jump out at her was the car, but after further inspection by opening the hood of the car, she decided the engine was giving off the signal. The rest of her search was uneventful. She returned to the Captain. “It’s clear. They might be telling the truth.” “So you're letting us go?” “Heavens, no.” The Captain lifted Surrie off the table, bringing her outside to where they had a detaining vehicle parked at the sidewalk. Mecha was made to follow. Cardinal was now underneath a car, alone. She sighed. Admire... “My name is Desync. I am a computer and robotics engineer at Link incorporated.” ... “Ooh, how did I feel? When? When I first met her or when I found out she is for real?” ... “Well, at first I was just confused... Then enthralled. I wanted to ask her so many questions, shame that she left like that... And after... I couldn't believe my ears. Synthetic emotion? I thought it was impossible, but hey, look where we are now, am I right?” -x- ... “Officer Jade from the Manehattan Police Force.” ... “Yes that is true, Officer Que did initially stop her because of her attire resembling that of a Zebra.” ... “That is most likely why he didn't want to be here. I have not spoken to him personally. I would like to add that even though there is a clear racist ideology in the police, most of us are against it and we are trying. It's just hard. There aren't many Zebras in Manehattan, after all.” ... “I was just coming over because I and a few others saw some commotion, went to check it out, and before we knew it... She was running into us. Of course I've watched all the videos online and... It's kind of strange. Looking back and now knowing what she was, it made me question a few things.” -x- ... “Bark Button, mother of Bun Button.” ... “It was... Well I was shocked, to be honest. Also disappointed, obviously... I would have thought I raised my daughter better than to mess with... A robot. I made sure to teach her a lesson after I found out. She won't be getting in trouble like that anymore.” ... “I can only imagine how traumatizing it must have been for her, I got shook up when I saw that... Terrifying... Beast.” -x- ... “Surreal Step, I was one of the ponies responsible for... Cardinal...” ... “Nopony could have predicted what would happen. Seeker couldn't, I couldn't... Diamond couldn't.” ... “No I don't... Everypony who died, there was a reason, Seeker died for what she believed in... Diamond... For bad choices...” “I really do miss them both.” Cardinal straightened her back against the pavement, raising all four legs up along with both wings and pressed them against the bottom of the vehicle. She thrusted her legs forward, lifting the car like a jack. She then launched it forward, it landing a few meters down the ramp, slumping out of the garage. Cardinal crawled out of the pit. The room was still. She wandered around for a moment, unsure of where she were to go next. Undoubtedly, they will be looking for her, and even if she stopped some, more would find her. Who knew when they would stop? Although she did have one thing on her agenda, and that was to find Seeker. The problem with that was she didn't exactly know where Seeker was. More accurately, she didn't know where the construction site was relative to her right now. She regretted not paying more attention as they left. Hoping to figure it out soon, she began searching the room for supplies for her travel. She immediately found her old weapons hidden in one of the many busted lockers scattered around. She was told earlier by Surrie that she shouldn't be seen with them in public, so she looked down at her rifle and grenade belt, thinking of any way to conceal them if she were to travel. Twisting her head back, she inspected her own body. She didn't exactly have any pockets. Once the thought crossed her mind, she witnessed as the panel on her left waist swung down, landing horizontal on its hinges as two cup holders slid out. Surprising herself, she then tried to retract it, and as she thought the words, it had done so, the panel lifting itself back up to its original space. She lifted up her grenade belt with a wing, hoisting it in the air as she plucked two of the explosives from their latches and brought them over to her side, extending the cup holder and placing both grenades inside their own slot. She shut the holder and lifted up the rifle. Realizing it was far too bulky to carry around in stealth, she threw it back. Returning to her search, she made her way to Mecha's work space. It was riddled with useless bits and bobs, some loose pistons here, some bolts over there, without any real organization. Upon further investigation, she had found several of what she would call useful items. She lifted the blowtorch, putting the gas tank underneath her right wing, the torch wrapping around the stem of her wing. Also, she found a tool pouch that she draped over her shoulder, now having several wrenches and hammers at her disposal. Lastly, she stared at the chessboard for only a few seconds before biting down on the white princess piece and placing it in her pouch. Leaving the desk, she explored the rest of the room. Searching some of the lockers, she found a map of Manehattan. Satisfied with her haul, she treaded carefully up to the reception door, slightly nudging it open and poking an eye through. She did not see anypony, or any signs of others. She pressed the door the rest of the way, revealing the lobby. It was a very short room, almost as much space behind the counter as there was for customers. The walls were decently maintained, possibly needing a paint job as the red bricks poked out from behind the black coat in patches. The entrance of the store was a large glass double door, giving full view of the street outside. Before setting out, she went behind the counter, rolling out the map. She inspected it thoroughly, trying to find out where she could possibly be. Her eyes jumped up as she heard a bell jingle from the door as it was pushed open and a pony entered. The pony was a pale peach-coated stallion. He had neither horn nor wings, although he bore a strange back left leg. It looked entirely metal. Although not as pristine as Cardinal’s body, the prosthetic still was quite a technological marvel. The plating was clean and covered almost all the frame and wire guts beneath. The pony trotted in casually, acting like he was familiar with his surroundings. He didn't have any other clothing, his cutie mark being a green line of ones and zeros. His mane was gelled back, a dark navy colour with short cut. As he strolled in, he glanced up at the counter. “Hey, Mecha, the leg's...” He stopped as he reached the counter, putting a leg lengthways onto the counter before stopping in his tracks and trying to figure out what was in front of him. “Hi,” Cardinal said, also feeling the awkward tension between them. Her robotic, toneless voice didn't help either. The pony recoiled at seeing Cardinal speak. His mouth quivered, finding it hard to form his words. Cardinal also became instantly self conscious. A great embarrassment fell over her. She never spoke to a pony that hadn't known her prior. What was this pony going to think of her? He finally mustered up a sentence. “Y-yy you’re a robot!” He outstretched a hoof to point at her in amazement. Cardinal stepped back, her metal tail stopping further movement as she butted up against the wall. Realizing that there was no hiding from this, she spoke back to him, “Yeah... I am.” Her light feminine voice was extensively quiet in her fear. The pony's excitement was immediately overshadowed by his concern, “Hey, hey! Don't worry! I'm not going to hurt you...” Acting as if he owned the place he trotted around the counter to get a full view of her, “Your a beauty...” She continued to back off, moving down along the counter. She tried to keep him at bay, “Please, I-I have to leave...” “You stutter? Wow, the detail they must have put into making something so complicated. Say, what do you run on? T sharp?” The pony kept stepping closer, examining all of her movements. “I... I just... Can you please step away?” Cardinal said as she pressed against the corner, the pony a few steps away. “A need for personal space, fear... How are you simulating them so accurately? All my years in robotic studies I've never seen something so brilliant! Please, tell me who made you.” He pulled out a phone, unlocking it in his hoof. “I can't. Please, just leave me be!” Cardinal crawled over the counter, running to the door. She heard a few flashes of a camera behind her as she threw the two doors open. She turned back as they closed once more, seeing that the pony was trying to move after her, holding his hoof in the air trying to get her to stop. She pulled up a wrench and slid it down in between the two handles, locking them together as the pony on the other side pressed against the glass trying to open it. “Wait! Please, you can't lock me in here! Robots are meant to serve! You have to follow my orders! It’s part of the laws of robotics!” he said from behind the door. Cardinal stared at him in shock before quickly throwing her eyes around, seeing an alleyway a few shops down and several dozen ponies walking around. They seemed to not notice her yet, although it was only a matter of time. She sprinted down to the alley, getting a few odd looks but nopony curious enough to follow her. Slumping against a wall, Cardinal rested in the shadows. She could barely see anything in the alley, just enough light to make out the markings on the map as she spread it out once more. She began reading street names, eventually moving from mere thoughts into whispers. “Evening Glow Avenue.” A grizzly voice came from her side, she jumped in a frantic search for whoever spoke. Seeing a figure within legs reach lying on the ground. “This street is called Evening Glow, miss, if that is what you're looking for.” The shadowy pony stood up, looking at Cardinal now. Cardinal was also in the darkness, her crystal blue eyes the most visible thing about her. “Thanks...” She tried to accent her voice to hide its robotyness, leading to it sounding even more distorted. “You ok, miss? You sound like you've got a cold.” The pony stretched a little, giving the impression that they were just asleep. “I'm fine... Yes. Thank you for your assistance.” She scooped up her map, quizzically looking at the pony, wondering who they were. “Can I just ask one thing?” they said, clearing their throat with a few unhealthy coughs. “Yes?” Cardinal replied. “What are you doing in an alley like this in the morning?” “I was... Um... In need of a quiet place.” “Excuse me then, didn't mean to budge in on your quiet time.” Cardinal gave a look out to the street, noticing ponies casually strolling past. Fillies, colts, mares and stallions all going on with their lives, although not many looked like they were going to work. She felt safer here, and since this pony clearly hadn't realized they were speaking to a machine, she decided to wait here, until things settled down at the very least. She sat back down against the wall, “I don't mind, I could use some company.” “I'd love some company too, although you should be more careful when walking into alleys, streets ain't as safe nowadays.” “I can handle myself,” Cardinal replied, confident in her fighting ability. “A young mare like you? I mean, I haven't got a good look at ya, but I can tell you there are some real rough ponies out there willing to do anything for a few bits.” The pony lifted up a bottle and drank from it, the popping from sucking on glass was very distinct. “Is it really that bad?” Cardinal was surprised. “Oh yeah, things are a real mess. All ponies talk about now is the climate crisis or the whole Zebrarian war, they all forget about the homeless, jobless, street junkies plaguing every city.” “Are you also..?” “Homeless? Unless you count this here alleyway as a home, then yup.” “What is your name?” Cardinal kept scooting closer to him. “Scotch.” He took a large gulp of his mysterious drink. “Yours?” “Cardinal.” “Well, it's lovely to meet you Cardinal.” He gave her his hoof, she shook it gently. “Your hooves are really cold. You sure you’re ok? You’re not here looking for a fix, right? Cause I ain't selling anymore.” “No, of course not, I...” Cardinal looked down at herself, feeling her cold metal shell. “I just have a cold...” “Good, I've been busted before and I can't afford to go back to prison.” He emptied his bottle and threw it at the large bin. It landed with a glass-smashing crunch. He burped. “So if you’re not a junkie, and as far as I can tell you don't live out on the streets. What do you do? ” “I'm unemployed... I guess. I don't really have a job, but I'm not homeless, well maybe right now I am, but there is this pony, her name is Seeker, once I find her, then I think she has an apartment. I'm pretty sure we are going to live together there.” She imagined her future, it seemed so close to reality, yet too far, with a thousand hidden obstacles she couldn't think of. “That's a real situation you seem to be in, hope you find this friend of yours.” “She's a bit more than a friend...” “In love? Heh, I had a sweetheart myself once.” Scotch extended his hoof out to pat Cardinal on the back. “We were closer than two raccoons in a trash can.” “Where are they now?” Cardinal asked him. “Car crash, may her soul rest in peace.” “That is unfortunate...” “You’re telling me, lost my job soon after, then couldn't afford rent. Found myself in this here alley. Haven't left since.” He laughed to himself, keeping his spirits up. “But that's enough about me. Say, where are ya headed?” “To find Seeker. We were in an old construction site, that's where she should be still.” “The skyscraper they started building two years ago and never bothered to finish?” “Yes? I think so, yeah.” “Here.” He pulled himself up, leaning over the map, and he pointed out a small untitled area deep in the outskirts, far from her current position. She took a marker out of her pouch and drew a small circle around the area he pointed at, “Thank you, sir! I guess I should get going.” “You should. I'll be seeing you.” He pulled another drink from somewhere, placing it in his teeth and then bursting it open with a fizzy pop. Cardinal stood up, rolled up map in wing. “Hey, wait... Here, take this.” Scotch lifted something up, a large cloth that he put into Cardinal's hooves. “Your blanket?” “You're cold and I don't particularly need it, I got the drink to keep me warm.” “Thank you.” She wrapped the thin brown sheet around her, tying a small knot at her chest to make a robe covering practically all of her body. “See you too, Scotch.” Cardinal trotted down the street, full cloak covering her body and head. This turned some heads as she passed by, but nopony had stopped her yet, so that was an improvement. She wandered around the city in marvel at the buildings, the architecture, the lights, it was almost to much to take in at once. The sky was filled with glass columns piercing the clouds, the sun shone against the windows in the most gorgeous of streaks. Great screens as wide as houses hung at the centers of the towers, blaring flashy colours in order to promote their products in brilliantly bright ways. The city was alive, ponies moved in such a fluid motion, shopping, cleaning, learning. Like a circulatory system in a body, they gave the city its life, transforming it from a dull concrete labyrinth into a bursting ecosystem. Looking on the smaller scale, Cardinal soon realized she was in some form of shopping district, indicated by each unique store after the other. Every window had its own style and character, all small businesses with their own quirky names and items for sale. Clothing retailers, computer stores, animal shelters, all of it just lines up... How could she resist? It would only be a slight detour to see what was inside one of them. She chose a store that had a completely redesigned front, replacing the brick walling with wood, carved into a traditionally styled hut. It held a bright ornate sign at its door, ''The Dragon’s Fire''. The moment she entered, the atmosphere settled over her, with black-out curtains installed, the only lighting was the tens of candles sitting in tiny metal pots hanging from the ceiling. They emitted an orange glow that touched on every surface in the room. A comforting hint of fresh bread and burning essence filled the air, making Cardinal want to breath through her noise to enjoy the scent. The keep's counter lacked anypony behind it, supposedly on break. The rest of the shop was filled with beautifully crafted wooden display cases, lacking any protection glass every item was completely exposed. The cases were lined with jewelry, pocket watches and some other small gadgets like whistles. Cardinal felt a soft, cosy heat on her metal skin as she strolled through, viewing everything there was to be seen. “Like anything you see?” A gentle, worn voice coming from the back of the store. Cardinal jumped, turning over to the aged Unicorn standing behind the counter, hooves together. “Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't notice you there.” She shied away, lowering her head to make sure the blanket covered her face. She tried to keep her voice as low as she could, trying not to sturr up any conflict. “Please, don't worry. Have a look around, it's all good.” He had a pleasant smile, calming Cardinal. She did wish to continue exploring, but preferred to leave. “Thank you, sir, but I should be off.” She turned her back and went to the door, being stopped at the knob. “Don't want to keep her waiting, eh?” “Excuse me?” She looked back. “You’re in a rush, yes? You need to get back to your friend?” Cardinal was cautiously curious. “How did you know that?” “I enjoy being well informed, which leads me to asking, what is your name?” Staying on her end of the shop, she answered him, “Cardinal. Yours?” “Ponies simply call me The Dragon. Pleasure to meet you Cardinal.” He lifted a wooden panel at the right of the counter and strode over closer to her and bowed. He was a very tall Unicorn, his bright red skin was wrinkled heavily yet his golden eyes were comforting. He was wearing a fine silk cloak that cut off just before it were to touch the floor, only letting the tips of his hooves remain in sight. The cloak was a scarlet coloured work of art, golden dragons painted in brutal combat in an ancient Unicorn style. He motioned Cardinal over to him, looking down at some of his items. She made a few steps closer, making sure her face was still engulfed in her hood's shadow. Once Cardinal stood at his side, she inspected the golden, heart-shaped locket the pony was lifting by its long, shining interlocking chain. “I believe this would be something that interests you.” Cardinal stared at it, not seeing anything special about this locket. “What does it do?” “Ah, brilliant question.” He turned to Cardinal, looking past the darkness and deeply into her gently glowing eyes. “This, my child, is an artifact created a thousand years ago during the founding of Equestria. It was made by a Zeberian witch named Xiena and given to the pony tribes in exchange for her and her family’s freedom.” Floating it in between the two of them with a luminescent orange, he opened the locket. A small emerald heart, shaped in the gold, pulsed with magic. “Xiena told the ponies that it held the power of an entire forest inside. To activate it all you had to do is place the emerald heart close to your own.” Cardinal was drawn in by his tale, her mind exploring the idea of how such a thing could work. He shut the locket in a flash. The green wisps of magic were sucked right back inside. “Although, what she did not mention, for this heart to create new life, it had to take life from another source, meaning the pony who bore this artifact's heart would stop just as a cost of using it.” Without Cardinal's consent, the Unicorn dropped her hood for her with a spell, revealing her cold, mechanical flesh. “I do not see that being a big problem for you, Miss Cardinal.” He opened the chain, creating a hole which was than draped around Cardinal’s head, the locked dropping down to the hump of her chest. Cardinal, feeling extremely exposed, stepped away. “Please, don't freak out!” She let her voice return to full volume, its electronic grittiness obvious as she lifted a hoof up to shield herself. “Child, I have seen many things, and I can tell a living creature from a machine. You being the former, of course. Don't let what you are change the reality of who you are.” The wise smile he bore shifted to a scary delight. “Now, about payment.” “But I... I don't have any money... I can't pay for this.” She placed a hoof under the chain on her neck, dangling it up in an attempt to take off the locket from around her neck. “No, no no... You misunderstand, I do not require bits, the form of payment I desire is a little less... Conventional.” “Excuse me?” She took another step back. “Follow me,” he said, twisting around and returning to behind his counter. Cardinal swayed her head from side to side, unsettled. She begrudgingly went to the counter, not wanting to upset the pony who seemed to be friendly enough. He searched beneath his counter, pulling out a frail scroll, worn by the elements. “All I need is a signature.” He unfurled the scroll, revealing a long paragraph written in a language Cardinal had never seen before. The words were large and elegantly decorated, tall loops and compact turns were found in every letter. More dragon art was present at the edges, she was unable to discern whether they were in a fighting stance or a graceful dance. At the very end of the scroll there was a straight line, unassumingly where she was to sign. “What do the words say?” Cardinal turned up to the Unicorn. “Its ancient dragon script, written by the very first Dragon Lord's arcane adviser, Skewer the Adept. It simply means that by acquiring one of my trinkets you adopt the Oath of Dragons, an ancient decree of Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter and Magic.” He lifted up a pen, placing it on the counter under Cardinal’s muzzle. “What does that mean? I have to be kind?” Cardinal kept staring at the scroll, trying to gain a clue of what he meant. “Those of course are a rough translation, the words don't mean too much themselves. The Dragon Oath was born generations ago, when dragons first began developing culture. This was years before Ponies are believed to have first lived. The Ancient Dragons were said to be the first race to exist, and before they became corrupted by Greed they were an honorable race, they were brought up as the children of the world, they were there to protect it. Although, after many years as the dragon population grew, they began having to hunt more animals, occupy more space and destroy more of the worlds plant life to simply survive.” He turned over the scroll to face him, preparing to read it out for her. “That is when the first Dragon Lord was anointed, Rapture the Healer, and he enforced every dragon to live by this code. Kindness, or as it would be said in Ancient, Gnilaeh, is to cherish the world, be gentle towards all other life and only take what you need. Loyalty, or Yrevarb, was to always stick close to one's kind and be prepared to defend them and your home with your life. Generosity, or Ytuaeb, is to put the need of the world and others in front of your own. Honesty, or Htgnerts, to be just, always be righteous and punish those who deserve it while protecting those who do not. Laughter, or Epoh. To always look to the future with joy, create only happiness, and push past darkness and evil. Finally, there is Magic, or Yrecros. To use the gifts you have been given for good, the magic that gives you agility, wisdom and brawn is there to be the world's shield, not your own sword.” Cardinal was then re-given the scroll. “It is a powerful code to live by,” the pony concluded. She agreed, although curious about the Unicorn’s own intentions. “Why do you do this? Give ponies gifts and in exchange, make them live by these rules?” “Someone needs to. After the dragons fell apart all those thousands of years ago, us ponies were created to be the new guardians of the realm. My family was given this knowledge by one of the few ancient dragon guardians that remained long before the founding of Equestria. We've been passing down the Oath since, trying to ensure we as a race do not make the same mistakes the Dragons did by falling to Greed and Hate.” Cardinal bit down on the pen, lifting the but of it into the air and letting the tip press against the paper. She continued to talk through her speaker as she signed the contract, “Has it been working?” “Sadly, even with the incentive that life provides, very few ponies have the world's health in mind these days. Twilight Sparkle, the princess who based all of her teachings from these principles doesn't even follow them to heart... Perhaps that is why she was punished, by losing she who not only held her heart, but held the key to reshaping the world's soul as well.” Cardinal finished writing her name in perfect block writing, she dropped the pen and turned up to the Unicorn. Cardinal listened to his hypothesis with a hint of fear, “Who did she lose?” Although as her head lifted she saw no sight of the pony. Leaning over the counter, she found no trace of him. She jerked backward from the counter suddenly as the scroll she was hovering over had caught ablaze. She watched it as the flames disintegrated the paper to ash. Rotating around the store, she still could not see him, and after a few minutes of searching in bewilderment, she decided to lift her hood once more and exit the store. As she reached for the doorknob, her eyes were drawn down her chest onto the locket, it reflected her blue eyes right back at her. She let a wing out from the front of her cloak to lift the locket up, eventually prying it open. As it flung open the green magic flew out and surrounded her entire body. Glowing magic fog shot around her in streaks. Her vision became blurry as her head began drifting down in a weary sleep, just before she would have fallen to the ground, she pushed herself to shut the locket once more with her feathers. She shook her head, instantly regaining her clarity. She turned from side to side, noticing that the wood of the door actually sprouted leaves and vines began draping all over every surface around her. The floor was covered in moss and slices of grass stuck out in between the cracks in the floor. Amazed by the power this locket held, she trotted out of the door in awe. Cardinal continued down the pathway, her confidence greatly boosted in light of recent events. She had already traveled a good halfway of her journey back to the site. Her travels have been quite uninterrupted. Apparently, walking around in a dirty old rag for a cloak and wearing a golden heart-shaped locket around your neck doesn't incite much intrigue as it does sidestepping. The worst that happened was somepony muttered “fucking Zebras...” as they walked by, which made Cardinal wonder why they would assume she was a Zebra. As the quality of architecture fell with every block she passed, what were once elegant towers faded off into shabby brick homes. She found herself a new type of building in her path. The structure stuck out like a disgusted tongue, The bright screens and banners covering every exterior wall of the large complex were a familiar sight, yet they felt out of place in the housing district she wandered through. Crossing the road, she turned to walk through the building, which had a large court cutting right through to the other side of the block that this giant inhabited. As she strolled under the large ''Mall'' sign, covering the entire head of the entrance, she was surprised to see the amount of ponies there were here. Hundreds, if not thousands of ponies trotted around with pleasurable smiles. Some of them sat in one of the many tables scattered outside restaurants, enjoying a variety of dining options this place seemed to provide. Others went around with many bags, filled to the brim with items of clothing, technology, and other comforts of that nature. The atmosphere was almost frightening by the sheer population of this place, as Cardinal moved forward her path was cut off a few times by ponies rushing every which way, cause her to retreat a few steps each time. Feeling it wise to go around the mall instead of through it, Cardinal turned heel and trotted back the way she came, noticing that she seemed to have drawn the attention of the crowds as many pairs of eyes followed her. Mostly faces of oddity. Cardinal was out of place, at least more than usual that is. As she was about to make it out from underneath the stylized arch that held up the mall sign, she was approached by a pony in a blue uniform, a glistening badge prominently sticking out of his chest. “Sorry, there, would you mind dropping the hood?” He blocked her path, speaking firmly. Cardinal took a step to his side. He followed her in the movement, refusing to let her pass. Cardinal barely breached a whisper, “I'd... I'd rather not...” The pony spoke up in almost a threatening tone. “Miss, if you'd kindly show me your face before I am forced to remove your hood myself?” “Please, you don't want to...” The Earth Pony Officer reached over Cardinal's shoulders to her hood before she could stop him, “Have it your way, Zebr... A?” Pulling her hood down the guard saw her face clearly, with all of its robotic features. He gasped, lost for words. Cardinal fell back instinctively, turning her head around to see the many witnesses scramble on the floor in search of their jaws at the sight of a purely mechanical pony where they expected a dirty Zebra. Cardinal threw her hood back upon her, looking desperately for a way out, the way she was moving was now filled with ponies trying to get a closer look at her to confirm that their eyes weren't deceiving them. The Officer formed a sentence, “What are you..?” Cardinal watched as she became surrounded by a hundred little cameras being brought up and pointed at her, getting slowly closer. “Please, let me go!” she pleaded to the deafened crowd. The officer had closed in on her as she spun around in search for an exit, he bit down at the center of the cloak, shooting his head back as if he was trying to swipe a dining cloth from underneath some china. Cardinal felt her sheet torn off of her like a layer of skin, revealing her true insides as a wave of gasps moved across the clear circle, now fully fledged around Cardinal. Panicking, Cardinal rushed into the crowd in an attempt to break out, seeing no success as she was met with an unmoving wall of amazed ponies. The mob began shouting at her as she cowered back into the eye of the storm, terrified of the others. She heard them say words such as "Robot" or "Machine", some ponies even going so far as to insult her in her peril with a "freak!" and a "monster!" heard every few moments. Cardinal couldn't sweat, which was a pain for her as she felt her skin boil in embarrassment and pressure, the weight of a hundred souls crushing her as her sight was filled with nothing more than phone cameras. “Please! Just leave me be!” She squirmed as nopony listened to her plea. The officer even brought out hoofcuffs and approached her. As the pony went to restrain Cardinal, she threw him off of her, launching him back into the crowd moaning in pain. In a burning rage she went to scream, two small hatches flipped open at both sides of her neck, two black speakers sliding out amplifying her voice to a ground shaking tremble. “I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!” She twisted her back to the officer. Seeing the crowd recoil in fear, she bolted through them, throwing some ponies down to the center with painful force. Dashing down the mall, she gained the attention of everypony in sight, looking on as she galloped past. Keeping her eyes up, she saw as several more ponies in police uniforms ran in front of her path, shouting at her to halt. Cardinal continued, determination and anger coursing through her as she continued her charge. A unicorn officer in the group watched as Cardinal persisted toward them, leaving her to cast a spell. She formed a shield in front of her and her comrades as Cardinal came into the range of a few meters. Cardinal threw out her wings and as she came seconds from crashing into the force field, she thrusted herself up and into the air on her last step. Spreading her wings with the feathers interlocking she glided over top them, re-landing with a crater under each hoof as she hit the pavement, continuing her gallop she found herself on the other side, leaving from an opening almost identically mirrored from where she first entered, the sign to her back as she ran across the street, causing cars to brake sharply at her surprise sprint through the street. She found herself running into a housing complex, a small gate at the side gave way quickly against her strength and she proceeded into the garden of this run-down apartment building. Finding herself in a relatively secluded area, she let herself fall down against the backyard fence, next to a small shed. She breathed in and out, relieved. The chilly air crisply tingled as it ran down her throat, letting herself cool off. Resting her head back, she looked up at the sun, moving ever so closer to the midday mark. She wondered whether or not she was running out of time, when she died it was morning what she woke up again. That could mean Seeker has been already awake for a few hours, would she still be there? Waiting for her? What if she wandered off? That would mean all of this stress would be for nothing. On the other hoof, Diamond was there, maybe he told Seeker that she was returning and to wait? But if Diam- “Hi.” Cardinal's thoughts crashed back into the earth as she turned her sight down from the sun to look at the little filly standing in front of her. She was an Earth Pony, barely the height of Cardinal’s outstretched leg. Her coat was a light magenta, bringing out her deep pink eyes. She had a short-cut yellow mane which was messy and ruffled to the extreme, just like her tail. Her face was lit with excitement and wonder at the strange pony she stared at, bright-eyed. “Are you ok?” she spoke very lively, giddy, even when asking Cardinal if she wasn't hurt. Cardinal seemed to be stuck for words, just darting her eyes around, inspecting the filly. “Can you talk?” The child leaned over and booped Cardinal’s muzzle with her tiny hoof. “Hello?” Cardinal said in a daze, worn down already by today's events. “You talk!” She hopped up and down and ran a few circles, letting Cardinal notice the filly's lack of a cutie mark. “My name is Bun, whats yours?” The filly was not reacting to Cardinal like other normal ponies, she caused a smile to build up with a surge of delight as this filly excitedly skipped around in front of her. “I am Cardinal, hello Bun.” “Ooo! Ooo! Will you be my friend Cardie? Will you?” The filly grabbed Cardinal's right hoof, yanking it up to assist her in standing back up. She could use a break before returning to her journey, especially now that the city was most likely searching for her. “Sure, Bun. I'll be your friend.” Cardinal lifted her tired steel bones up, towering over the little child. The filly gaped at her, amazed by Cardinal's raw size. “You're really tall! I never had a tall friend like you.” “I've never had a small friend like you.” Cardinal couldn't help but grinning, it was adorable. “Let me intro'uce you to my other friends!” She went to lift Cardinal's hoof, who let her do so as she began leading Cardinal closer to the building. The red bricks of the back wall were indented with a few windows. The paint from the white wooden frames was peeled off in parts and a large glass sliding door was stuck opposite. At the bottom of the short steps from the door to the grass, there was a toy tea party set up. The bright pink table had four matching plastic cups on each cardinal direction, for some reason missing a kettle. On one seat, there was a toy about half the size of the filly, it was a light blue, winged action figure with a rainbow mane, it was also covered in muck and the paint was chipped. It seemed to have movable limbs, tiny joints in its legs all together bearing a surprising amount of resemblance to Cardinal's own body. Cardinal realized that the filly might actually think she is simply a toy, a very tall one that is. The other two seats on the left and right of Cardinal were empty, most likely for Bun and herself. When she reached the table, she finally saw who was held behind the fourth chair: a bunny. A fluffy white bunny plush toy, barely sitting as its heavy head veered over to her right causing it to slump. It was also dirty, its white fur dulled into a sickly grey with some mud sprinkled in between its fur. “You sit there.” The filly pointed to the other seat opposite to her own as she sat down. Cardinal did as she was told, having to bend her legs in such a steep angle it would break the legs of any pony of flesh and blood. Although she did manage to place her rump on the seat, her tail got stuck into the dirt and her legs really were the ones carrying her weight as it would crush the poor little stool. She leaned forward to look into her empty, tiny, fake, pink teacup on a tiny, fake, pink plate. “This is Rainbow Dash!” She gestured towards the figurine. “She is the most awesomest pony and she came from Cloudsdale just to be here!” Bun beamed with joy, feeling truly graced by the presence of the “awesomest” pony. Moving onto her second friend, “And this is Rob. He is a rabbit and my very very best friend!” Cardinal smirked, giving a nod to both guests. “It's lovely to meet you both.” Bun leaned over the table to the figures side, putting a hoof at the side of her mouth to hide it from Cardinal as she spoke in an impression, “Lovely to meet you to Cardie!” She quickly flipped over to the rabbits side, putting on yet another voice. “Yea! Thank you for joining us!” This made Cardinal laugh, the filly returned to her seat. “Please, drink.” Cardinal glanced her eyes back to the still empty cup, then back at the filly. Bun spoke to her as she lifted up her teacup. “Your tea is already poured. That is where foxy sat and he was naughty so he has to sit in the corner.” Bun pointed over to where the fence met the building, and surely enough a fox plushie sat facing towards the corner on the steps, looking as worn as the others. Cardinal turned back to the table, confused on the tea situation. The filly spotted this and began peering over each of her shoulders as if somepony was watching, she lifted herself over the table to whisper to Cardinal, trying to make sure the other guests did not hear her. “It’s pretend tea.” She sat down giggling, doing her best to sip the pretend tea as realistically as she could. Cardinal took out her right wing, taking the tip of her longest blade and placing it into the handle of the cup, lifting it up to her mouth where she pretended to drink it. They laughed together at the ridiculousness of the situation. It was a few silly moments before a voice came from inside the house. “Bun, what are you doing out there, filly?” Buns face turned to fear. “Oh, no, mom’s mad again.” “What, why? What's wrong?” Cardinal placed down the tea. “She doesn't like when I play tea party...” A sudden shock of realization slammed into her. “Quick! You have to hide! Mommy will take you away!” She actually began crying, a fear in her throat. Cardinal stood up, watching the panic in the filly's eyes she saw the shed and took a sprint towards it, sliding the door back and hopping in she shut the door, waiting. Cardinal tried to peer through the cracks in the wood, not getting any clear perspective on the situation. She listened scrupulously, she heard the sliding door open and then a mares voice. “Bun, I said, what are you doing? Tea party? Again! What do I keep telling you, girl?” “I-I'm-I'm-I'm... S-ss-sorr...” The mother had a viciousness in her tone, “Don't even try, Missy, I heard you talking to them again! I told you to stop with this stupid fucking childish nonsense! This is why you don't have any real friends! These toys aren't real! Stop pretending! Your father did not raise no Celestia-damned failure!” A light sobbing served as background noise as the scolding continued. “I told you to go out and make some real fucking friends for once! Ugh, you are just useless!” There was a pause as Cardinal listened to the mother's hoofsteps, “Did you...” More steps, quicker in pace and stronger in press. The light sobbing turned into an excruciating cry of pain from Bun as she was dragged over to somewhere by her mother. “WAS THAT YOU? DID YOU BREAK THE FUCKING GATE, AGAIN?” A body fell into the dirt. “WHO WAS THIS? DON'T YOU LIE TO ME.” “M-m, m-my fff ff-frie-” “I SAID DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME.” The distinct sound of skin being slapped was prominently heard by Cardinal, who was getting enraged. “NOW TELL ME AGAIN, WHO DID THIS? I KNOW IT WASN'T YOUR FUCKING ACTION FIGURES!” “M-mm... M-me...” She trailed off into sobbing. “I thought so. No supper tonight for you, and I'll be taking those.” Bun yelled out as the mother moved back, a swift and angry hoof jossiling the plastic table and chairs, the door slid closed again soon after. Cardinal bust out of the shed, moving to the scene. The table had been flipped over, the seats now knocked down and missing their occupants. The filly was sitting against the corner of the building on the path to the gate, she was sobbing into her legs with a churning amount of pain, making Cardinal visibly shake with anger. Bun lifted her head to notice Cardinal, her bottom jaw was shuddering, her eyes almost blood red. Her suffering soul, to Cardinal's surprise, seemed to disappear at the sight of her friend. “H-h heh... Hi.” She said, trying to keep herself together. Cardinal’s rage shifted to concern as she bolted over to Bun. “Are you hurt?” The filly looked up into Cardinal's eyes, a sweet innocence in her trembling voice. “N-nn-no.” Cardinal placed her hoof softly against the filly's cheek, pivoting her head to the left to reveal a red marking across the back of her head and neck. “It, its fine... It doesn't even sting much.” The filly attested. “D-did, did she take the... The others?” “Yes, Bun... She did.” Cardinal helped the filly to her hooves. She turned around the corner and held back the tears, taking breaths to calm down. “M-mm-mommy, s-she says that I need to get real friends... But p-ponies don't like me at school, t-they make fun of me and...” She sniffled, “They call me poor, and dumb, and, and...” Cardinal shushed her, “It’s ok, I understand...” She put a leg around Buns head, holding her close into her chest, letting the filly cry. The moment passed, the filly stepped back, looking over her shoulder her tears fell onto a new smile, “Look. Foxy is still there...” Cardinal and the filly walked past the thrown about play set and to the fox plush together, the filly lifting it up and hugging it tightly as she sat down on the stone step to her house. Cardinal sat down beside the somber filly. “Are you going to be alright?” “Yeah... Mommy shouts a lot... She gets really mad since when Daddy died...” The filly's head fell down, her fox comforting her with cuddles. Cardinal brought Bun closer to her, patting her on the shoulder. “BUN, YOU BETTER GET BACK INSIDE! THERE'S SOME CRAZY PONY RUNNING AROUND THE STREETS ON THE NEWS!” The mother’s distant voice hollered through the glass. “I... I should go,” Cardinal said begrudgingly, not wanting to cause any more hassle for the filly and remembering her own matters she should be attending to. “B-b-bb... But...” The filly protested, her teary eyes looking up at the robot. “I'm sorry, I have to... I have to go find one of my own friends, and I don't want to get you into trouble.” Cardinal sat up, turning to the filly, crouching down to her height. The filly began breathing with a quiver, “But... Who will I talk to…?” “You still have Foxy.” “But that's... That's just pretend... I don't have any real friends.” The filly looked into the two black marbles acting as the foxes eyes. “Hey, don't say that. You do have real friends.” Cardinal lifted the filly's gaze up towards her own. “No I don't...” The filly stared, confused. “Yes you do.” “Who?” Cardinal stood up, “Well, I'm not pretend, am I?” She gave the filly a beautiful smile. “No... No, you’re not.” The filly grinned, wiping her eyes before looking back up to her friend. “Do you promise to come back?” “I promise, I will come back, and maybe I can bring some real tea next time.” The filly giggled, then waved her away as Cardinal turned and walked over to the fence. “BUN, I SAID, GET INSIDE!” The mother's voice rang again. Cardinal waved back to her friend, then she set up her legs in the dirt, bending down against her springs. Letting go she launched herself over the fence, landing on the other side. Cardinal peered around the corner, looking side to side along the road. Luckily for her, she has been in a very low traffic area for a while, remaining incognito by traveling through the alleys and side streets of the city. Taking the safe routes through the suburbs did take a more sizable amount of time compared to the rest of her journey; the sun was low in the sky, the evening light dimming behind the loose clouds. If her map was correct, she should only be a street away from the site. Seeing nopony along the street, she trotted out, her plates now dirtied with muck and soot from the city's filthy underbelly. She skipped across the street, glee in her eyes as she saw the familiar fences of the construction site still towering into the sky, far to tall for her to jump over. She walked along the fence, trying to make it around to the gate, turning the corner she found it unguarded. “Perfect.” Strolling down to the gate, a strange new feature soon became apparent to her as she found that behind the vehicle barrier there was now a chain link fencing, completely enclosing the facility. Not too shocked that they barricaded off her crime, Cardinal strolled over to the chain link with her blade drawn. She stuck it through the chains and began cutting with a hacksaw motion down the fence, slicing open an entrance for her to push through. The first detail she noticed as she stepped through her self made passageway was that the snow in the center path was kicked away. Meaning it was either purposely cleaned or that a gang of ponies strolled through several times. Making her way further down the track, she became concerned by the lack of blood, there was not a drop to be seen in the entire area. It was also dead silent, not a breath in the entire complex. “Hello? Seeker? Anypony?” She continued down to the elevator, finding the doors shut tightly. The light in the arch was out. “Oh no...” Cardinal's heart sank. What if Seeker has been trapped in the elevator this whole time? She might have thought Cardinal forgot about her. What kind of pony would let that happen? Cardinal scratched at the steel chunks of door like a dog wanting to be let outside, screaming into the crack. “SEEKER! I'M HERE! I'M SO SORRY!” An enraging surge of emotion poured over her, tears forming as she cocked back a leg, stabbing it into the elevator door. Several more hits proved to bust through the door, creating a hole large enough to fit her head through and possibly even crawl to the other side if she tried hard enough. She popped her head through, her eyes clicking on, raising their glow until the entire elevator shaft was illuminated around her. “W-what?” A sense of dread pressed against her chest as she found nothing more than a loose cable hanging from the ceiling, draped over a bottomless pit leading down into the facility. “SEEKER!” she yelled down, getting her echo returned to her only a few seconds after. She pulled her head out of the hole, she was going to find a way down, and she was going to get her love out of that hell she was trapped in. Turning around, she was taken aback by the pony standing behind her, a blue Earth Pony with glasses. “I thought I'd find you here,” Diamond said, his face cold and dead. “D-diamond? Diamond! Did you find Seeker? Did you help her out?” Cardinal charged up with optimism once more. “No, Cardinal... I didn't” He refused to share eye contact with her, trotting over to the hole and staring down it with a heavy heart. Cardinal continued in her endless effort to save Seeker, “Can you help me get her out then? Do you know how she got down there in the first place? We can use the same way to go down there and get her.” Diamond sighed, holding himself close in his winter coat, refraining from crying, “She is dead...” Cardinal, to Diamond's surprise, continued in her uplifted speech. “Yes, I know! But it’s been long enough. If she never got out of the elevator, then she must still be there!” Diamond turned a cheek over his shoulder. “Did you not hear me? I said she's dead! We can't help her!” He shouted at the robot. Cardinal was taken back, “I know... What's wrong, Diamond?” Diamond gaped at her, unsure of what was going on in that head of hers. “Do you not understand? She is gone, those royal guards shot her into bits and we're never going to see her again! She is dead and gone forever, WHAT PART OF THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!?” Diamond threw himself at Cardinal, shaking her on the shoulders in frustration. “B-but...” Cardinal's thoughts were conflicted, ideas twisting in her head like knots. “You mean, she's dead...” Her heart split in half. “Forever?” Diamond looked into her eyes, seeing the pain settling onto her sweet soul. “Yes, Cardinal, that's what happens when ponies die...” Cardinal became a statue, unable to move. Her jaw was stuck open after finishing her sentence, her unblinking eyes dripping tears into the mud. She felt the world crashing onto her, every single one of her wires felt slashed, every piston jammed and motor clogged. Her thoughts became shards of glass, laid out with the sharpest ends upright as she fell into them. Her throat burned, eyes blind, her ears deaf. The wind was no longer caressing her skin and the chill of the weather no longer stung as her sensors felt numb. “I...” Her jaw shook fiercely as she managed to speak the syllable, her face turning into a tormented horror frozen in time as she realized what she had done. “I killed her...” She blurted it out, Diamond's head picking itself up with a look of betrayal in his eyes. Her body came back to life as she slammed her two front hooves into her eyes, screaming in suffering and guilt. She then immediately began throwing her legs against the ground, the force of each hit sending dirt flying in every direction as she dug out a pit into the ground in her lashing out. “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!” she screeched at her full volume, causing Diamond to cover his ears in the piercing pain, the entire city must have heard her. She began collapsing, giving into her sorrow, she wept. “No! No, no...” Cardinal began beating herself in the skull with her hooves, screaming at herself. “Cardinal! Calm down!” Diamond leapt over to the robot, standing over her. She saw him approach her. “GET OFF ME!” She rolled onto her back and bucked him with her back legs, launching him towards the elevator and slamming into the door, his entire back stinging and bruising. Cardinal stood up and stomped over to Diamond, unsheathing her blade on the way. “YOU'RE LYING, TELL ME YOU’RE LYING!” “Please! Don't kill me! I'm telling the truth!” He threw his legs in front of him, closing his eyes as he braced for impact. Cardinal thrusted her hoof towards his head as she got to him, the blade just barely missing as she stabbed the steel above him, again crumbling into tears. Diamond opened an eye as he felt tears drip onto his lap. “I know...” Cardinal said faintly over her sobbing, “I can tell when somepony is lying...” She pulled the blade out of the elevator door, hobbling back a few steps, she glared at her knife. “AGHHH!” She screamed, putting the blade length ways in her mouth. She tugged downward, bending the blade from her hoof before she pulled it out completely with a swing of her head. She spat out the blade into the snowy mud. She sat down, her head falling in between her hooves. Diamond was still recovering, his lungs finding it hard to regain their breath. “I... I'm... Sorry...” he tried to tell her. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” She insulted herself, continuing the self beating. “Its... Okay Cardinal, lets just go...” “NO, IT'S NOT OK!” She flipped her head up, screaming at him powerfully. She swung around her right hoof as she spoke, now sparking from the broken blade. “I KILLED THEM ALL, DIAMOND! I killed so many...” She recoiled with another wave of tears, her anger persisting. “DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY THERE WERE? ALL THOSE PONIES, GONE? FOREVER?” Diamond made it to his hooves, still wobbly. “Cardinal, I'm very sorry you had to do that...” “I DIDN'T HAVE TO! I just...” She slammed her hoof into the dirt once more. “I just didn't know...” Diamond approached her cautiously. now, “Let’s leave, Cardinal. It’s getting late...” He spoke with unease. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! GO! I want to stay here... Please...” Cardinal fell backwards, the mud soaking into her body as she looked up into the sky, past the steel beams reaching into it. Diamond picked up his voice, “Cardinal, you can't stay here, we have to leave!” She didn't make a twitch. “Cardinal!” He placed a hoof on her, giving her a little shake. “How did you know I was here...” she whispered. “What?” “How did you know that I would be here? I never told you when I'd be back.” She flicked an eye towards him. He fell back, guilt in his face. “I-I... I saw you come in...” “Diamond.” “Yes?” “I can tell when ponies are lying.” She placed a hoof on either side of her and propped herself up, she then turned over to stand back up, looking into Diamonds eyes. She moved up to him, pressing her muzzle against his nose. “Tell them if they try and get me... I won't hesitate. And now that I know it's forever... I doubt they want that to happen to them.” She warned him with a twisted anger. “W-who... D-d, do you mean?” “The guards, the friends of the ones I killed before... Tell them to stay away from me.” “B-but...” She growled, making Diamond retreat. He began running, falling on his ass as he attempted to get away, he picked himself up with haste as he bolted it out of the facility, terrified for his own life. Cardinal watched him squirm out of the fence and out onto the street, leaving. She turned back to the elevator, making her way up to it gently, step by step. She had her head down in morning as she placed a hoof onto the heavily damaged door, saying her last goodbyes. “Seeker... I am sorry... I didn't know...” She took long breaths in between speaking. “I thought it was the same... The same as my world, I thought...” She took a moment to recover her thoughts. “I thought I was helping...” She glanced up to the sky as it began to snow, the tiny, shiny flakes landing onto Cardinal. She returned to her goodbye. “I don't know what to do without you, Seeker, that last time when I was still in my world, I thought about what I would do in this one... But you were always with me in those thoughts... What do I do now, Seeker? Please... Tell me...” She deteriorated into a soft sobbing, letting her hoof drop from the elevator. “I'm scared, Seeker... I'm terrified... The guards are hunting me... The city thinks I'm a monster... I need your help... I'd do anything to see you once more... I don't want to say goodbye to you, Seeker, I don't want to... I didn't want any of this... I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!” “I loved you.” Tire... “What happened to Holly? That's a difficult question...” -x- ... “It... It affected us all differently. That Friday night when we first saw her... But it was clear it affected Holly the most.” -x- ... “That night..? Ooh... Hehhh, that night... It was... It was bad... I'm surprised more of us didn't end up like Holly. I don't blame her at all for what she did. If she was still here, eh... If she was still here I don't think things would be any better. She was too far gone by that point... I've been having therapy two nights a week since and I'm still a mess... And what has it been? A month? Two? Three? I lost count.” The moon shimmered from behind the clouds. Streaks of light bled from the sky and illuminated the snow-covered path. The snow glowed, the minuscule crystals of the individual flakes reflecting the gentle light, giving the ground a white sheen. In the center of the pathway, close to her, grew a small flower. It stuck out from beneath the snow, sitting upon a transparent, icy stem. It was stiff in the weaving winds, holding strong in the brutish weather. The bud of the flower was made of soft petals, tenderly folding upon each other into the thick icy shard stuck in the center. The crystal shone blue, a magic surrounding it. Cardinal sat on a rusty little fold-up chair in front of the elevator, she had finished sulking for a long while now, her thoughts empty as they flew over her head. Instead her eyes remained locked onto the flower sitting in the snow, sparkling like sequence. The night had passed silent since Diamond escaped. Cardinal could only assume that she was being watched by them as they waited to ambush her once she would finally leave. Although she didn't leave, she would be there the whole night. Occasionally, she would sway her head at the sound of a bird chirp or a wind shift. At one point, long into the night, she glanced down at her necklace, bearing the emerald locket. She lifted it with a wing, debating opening it. Delicately placing the tip of her hoof into the seam, she lightly pressed until it flipped open. She instantly fell into the magic’s grasp, feeling energy forcibly leaving her body. It began hurting as she let it continue for a few more moments, although soon she became worried that she would pass out as her headache punched through her skull. She slammed it shut, taking a breath. She raised her head, noticing that the flower now had multiplied, an arch going from the left and right of Cardinal and up to the original as the peak. A semicircle of frosty flowers all glistened, she let the locket fall back against her chest, somewhat happier. Morning soon came and she still remained unmoved from her seat, resting there for hours, just staring at the flower garden in front of her. The sun rose, breaking through the cracks in between skyscrapers, letting the light settle in the streets and alleys. Light breached the fences, scraping across the tops of them to reach a dazed Cardinal. She refused to react as the light scaled down from the tip of her arching pink mane and down to the heel of her hoof over a long period of time, still waiting. Over her time, she saw ponies in the distance, past the chain link, walking across the streets every now and a then. Cardinal’s sorrow had eased over the night. The initial twist of the knife had healed over, leaving a permanent scar that would likely never stop stinging. As the sun reached the hoof of the elevator's outer building, Cardinal stretched and stood up, her eyes heavy from the frozen tears. As she stepped upon the snow, the light had reached the flowers, the powerful beams from the sun glinting from the crystals in each flower that it touched upon. Cardinal gave a somber smile as she saw the beauty still left in the world. She took a few more steps, going into the center of the flower ring. Her head shot around as she heard a strange humming coming from behind her, she watched as the flowers in the sun shook. The crystal in each of them began fading from their chilly blue and rattled into an orange tint. As she went to lean into one to inspect what it was doing, the petals burst into flames, raising into the sky almost twice the flowers height. As one flower erupted, the ones around it received its flame and they too arose in flame. Soon the entire ring was burning hot, the fire nearly as high as Cardinal's chin. She stood in awe in the center of this blazing display, the heat pressing against her, dispelling the frosty shiver she once fell into a cosy warmth. A minute passed before the flames lowered themselves, the snow in between the flowers stocks had melted down and soaked into the dirt, revealing their now lusciously burning stems beneath each flower bud. The fires simmered down into a tiny nub in the center of each flower where the crystal sat. Despite the monumental heat, the petals were unharmed, now stained with a bright orange. Cardinal, without her realization, smiled with a grin as bright as the flames. Soon, she gathered herself back up and hopped over the line of torch flowers. Once landing on the other side, she turned her shoulder, looking at the elevator where Seeker’s body was obliterated. “Goodbye, Seeker. Rest well. I won't ever forget you or what you sacrificed… Love you.” She spoke softly to herself. She moved down the path, walking toward the gate. She pushed through the cut in the chain link fence, part of her being torn away as she left this place for the final time. Trotting onto the familiar pathways that lined every street she had overcome to get here, she was alerted to the existence of a Royal Guard squad, set up on both left and right of the fence, when one of them shouted to her. “HALT!” She put her hoof down, ceasing her movement she continued looking forward, waiting for what the guards would say. “You are under arrest by direct instruction of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Please comply and we can resolve this peacefully.” “And what if I don't want to go with you?” She glared to her right, her fearless eyes burning into the guard's souls. “We do not want to use force, but will if necessary.” The guard veered off into mumbling at the end, Cardinal spotting him out of the crowd. “Has Diamond not warned you? There is nothing you can do to hurt me.” She locked her eyes with the guard speaking, not letting him escape her glance. “We know... We know what you can do! And we are prepared to take you down. Do not test us or we will detain you forcibly!” Cardinal was not fazed by his threats. “I believe you are the one not to test me.” She took a step forward, closer to the curb of the street. “FIRE!” The guard blared out, Cardinal reacted almost immediately by outstretching her wings to cover her face and chest while crouching down to make herself a smaller target. She was then barraged by a flurry of bullets, stabbing into her with massive dents. Her wings very quickly became disfigured and even punctured in some places. She went to run across the street and she tripped on a tiny hole in the street that her hoof got caught in, now halfway across she noticed that in the building in front of her were more guards who were pelting her with rounds from their rifles. As she was shot over and over, she felt each hit getting deeper as her outer shell's damage grew in severity. Her nerves were overloaded with pain, as she collapsed to the ground in the center of the street. “HOLD FIRE!” the pony shouted over the echoing gunshots. “GET HER!” In a panic, she looked around. Before she knew it, she was enclosed by riot shields and spears. She turned her head down, protecting it still with her wings. Then she spotted a metal cylinder stuck into the road with two small indents on either side meant for being picked up with hooves. In the center of it was the engraving ''Sewer''. Cardinal dropped her wing shield and stabbed both ends of her longest feathers into the StallionHole cover, then she pushed off of it and flipped herself onto her back, the cover now above her and a dark abyss beneath. She swooped down into the hole, her wings outreaching her legs as she place the cover back on upside-down. With her wings still caught deep in the thick steel plate used to close of the sewer, she was forced to struggle for a moment before she was finally let free. Cardinal began falling in absolute relief. It was not until a few moments later when a gross slopping sound came from her landing and felt the oozing goop-water seep into her bullet wounds and smelled the putrid stench of rot and feces that she realized where she had just ended up in. The unadulterated, pure darkness did not help ease her either. She blinked a few times, trying to activate her eyes to glow brighter. They both flickered for a bit, before a shattering sound and a fizz coming from inside of her head left her with only her right eye glowing at all. Once her remaining eye had finally illuminated the area for her, she went to hoist herself up, feeling the slime resist against her, trying to pull her back down. She now sat in a sewer, covered in the shit. She felt like vomiting, and had the gag reflex to do so, but lacking a stomach meant that she had nothing to throw up. So she ended up just throwing her head down, and her throat contracting painfully a few times. After gathering herself back up, she noticed all the tools in her pouch had fallen out and sunk into the sludge. Although she had no time to collect them back up, as she heard the cover above her head being lifted, she set aside the thoughts of disgust and went to stand up and sprint her way out of there. Her run was slowed down by the mess she galloped through, having to yank her hooves out every time from the both slimy and sticky substance. She just ended up splashing more on herself as she ran, taking random turns when able, and after what felt like an hour, she believed that she had lost the Royal Guard. Taking a breather (and then immediately regretting breathing), Cardinal rested against the rounded wall. Soon, she continued to trot down the sewer, now in a search to find a way out. Hobbling into the light, Cardinal flopped out of the open sewer gate like a dying fish. She fell out and landed nearly a meter down into a face full of sand. It stuck to her sickeningly waste-drenched body. With a wobbly and painful push, she forced herself up, barely standing as she took in the fresh air. Looking outwards, she saw the vast ocean in front of her, going into the infinite horizon. With a blissful hobble she went as quickly as she could until she stood in the water and she let herself fall down into it. It was deep enough for her entire body on its side to be engulfed in the freezing water, the cleansing splash clearing her of most of the muck that covered her body. She felt both refreshed and in shivers after hitting the water. A few magical sparks bolted out of her as she washed herself off, making sure to get all of the revolting mess she was covered in off of her. She scrubbed down the her pouch, thoroughly brushing it. Her head came flung out of the water. She shook it from side to side, the water flying off of her. As she looked down at her spotless skin, she noticed that her pouch wasn't completely empty, the white princess chess piece was still tucked in tightly in its pocket. Her immense smile glittered with triumph as she settled down and observed her surroundings. She was swimming at a long beach. To her left, the sand went on for more than a mile, reaching a small dock in the distance, filled with yachts and other small sea-bearing vessels. On her right was a cliff side and lots of rocks. Boulders were all over the sand as the ground had a gradient with dirt, going up the side of the hill until it was pure, snow-covered earth. Directly in front of her was the sewer pipe she had just escaped from. The pipe clearly had been dumping the waste onto the beach, clear from the gross tint in the sand underneath it. The end of the pipe was dried up. The sewer water tapered down until there was not enough to drip off the side. Cardinal, now coming down from her high, realized how terrible this was. They were dumping their waste directly into the ocean. What kind of terrible effects must that have on the water? She contemplated this as she strolled out of the water. Making sure to avoid the tainted sand under the pipe, she walked upon the beach. She shuddered as she walked, being slowly warmed up by the bright sun in the sky there was today. Her initial weight meant every step sunk down into the sand, creating very large hoofprints as she trotted along the beach. The beach had a plentiful amount of umbrellas and lounging chairs dug deep into the sand to stop them from flying off, although most of them were far on the other side of the beach, there were still some scattered around as she walked along the seaside. Small patches of snow made it onto the sand from the mainland, which was mostly comprised of dirt paths leading back into the city, the skyscrapers clearly seen from above the slight incline. Cardinal's attention was soon drawn to a large cabin near the center of the beach, situated up the hill. It was a beautifully crafted, multi-story home. It had balconies on every side, great sloped roofs extending out from the cottage. Each surface was covered in a fluffy, untouched coating of snow. It had a base of stone that stuck into the dirt and spread out into a walkway around the home, a stone staircase going down to the beach. The cabin was also drenched in decoration, its doorways and windows lined with lovely white flowers and bright green and red holly. The archways at the top and bottom of the stairs had long silk strands wrapping around their legs, the path sprinkled with rose petals, leading up to a brand-new looking, stubby wooden pier going a few paces into the sea. At the very end of it, there was a great arch bursting with the same decorations, underneath it, a pedestal wide enough to hold two ponies. She picked up her pace to a canter, her body steadily warming up once more. After a good jog, Cardinal found herself at the hoof of the stairs. She strolled up them, holding her hoof against the stone wall on her left, feeling the cracks and dents as she moved along them. The grit resisting against her hoof just made her realize how hurt she actually was as she saw her beaten and worn leg, the paint chipped and scraped off, holes and dents all over. She felt that her grip was weaker than it used to be, neither was she moving as fast as normal. She knew that getting repaired would be the only way she would continue to be alive (which she still wasn't one hundred percent certain she wanted to be), and for that she needed to find Mecha. The thoughts of her health were held on pause as she reached the top of the staircase, going through the gorgeous arch. She found herself on the cobblestone path, the great double-door of the cottage standing strongly before her. She took a step back to take in the glorious construction towering over her. It was heavily detailed. The many wooden braces giving support to the balcony overhead were engraved and shaped into exquisite whirls and arcs. There were plants hanging from spruce pots that were beaming with life. The windows were deep in their elegant frames. Cardinal experienced many fantasies of living in a place like this. This is what she imagined for her and Seeker... She soon realized all of the flaws. With a glance, she could see the city to her right, the hundreds of industrialized buildings just a few minutes walk over a snow-covered plain. With a turn behind her, she saw the polluting sewer drain far off in the distance, something that still made her sick. Nevertheless, she wanted to at least see the inside before she went off to find Mecha to repair her, so she took a few steps toward the door and placed her hoof on the handle. As she went to open it, she noticed on closer inspection that the left door of the two was ever-so slightly ajar. She was taken aback. Somepony must be inside. She went a few paces to her side to one of the large windows circling the ground floor and peered through. The glare from the sun added difficulty into seeing inside. Putting her hooves over her brow, she blocked most of the shine and gained a clear view inside. A red fabric went from the doorway down the room. Wooden pillars surrounded by pottery and paintings, stood on either side of the carpet. The room was dim, hundreds of unlit candles placed in holders and on shelves, never used. There was a hanging chandelier of gold and silver dropping from the ceiling of the second floor. It was also not in use, the only light coming from the large number of windows in the cabin. The carpet crawled up a wide staircase at the other side of the room. It split into two separate sets of stairs as it reached the wall, going to the left and right up to the second floor. A great window, several times taller than any of the others, was situated above the point where the main staircase and wall met. The light coming from it came down on a figure sitting at in the center of the staircase. A pony in a puffy, long, beguiling white dress sat there. Her gown was large and elegant, covering her entire chest and flank, its skirt trailing off another meter or so from her hind legs. It was embroidered all over, with two soft buns of fabric on each shoulder. It wrapped around their stomach tightly with a smooth layer of silk holding the dress together and the pony’s belly tucked in. Her light green coat, contrasting her pure and spotless dress, was ruffled and unclean, dirt stuck in between her hairs. Her mane also followed the theme of her skin, it was an absolute mess. Soft, red strands of her hair stuck out, looking unwashed and given no maintenance over the last few days at least. Her wings stuck out of her dress and were left loosely resting at her side. Her face was in shadow, but Cardinal could barely make out the smeared makeup around her eyes, as if she had been crying heavily very recently. The final feature Cardinal noticed of the mare was the orange flower clipped to her mane. Cardinal leaned in as close as her muzzle would allow her, the wood giving a faint creak with her weight. She was staring into a black item with a metal sheen in her hooves as she fiddled with it. Cardinal blinked in confusion, the scenery, the decorations, the dress. It was a wedding, and that mare was the bride... Although, she thought, what was happening now? And why did Cardinal feel like she recognized her? She continued watching, seeing the pony put a hoof on the long metal shaft of the device and pull it back. She then realized it and it gave off a clack audible to Cardinal as it launched back into itself. She lifted her head up, looking out towards the doors and placing the device into her wing. She lifted it up and pressed it against her head. No longer being obstructed by the pony's hooves, Cardinal realized she was holding a pistol to her own head. Cardinal's jaw dropped as her eyes couldn't help but stare closer at the suicide-in-motion, which is what lead to the glass she pressed against cracking. Before she could react, Cardinal fell through the window, smashing it into shards and landing with her stomach onto the frame, her forelegs dangling across the other side in a daze. Cardinal lifted her head, catching the eye of the mare, locking themselves into an awkward stare. The pony stood up, the gun moving to her side as her wing redacted itself. Cardinal tried to scramble back, but in an accidental shift of weight, she ended up falling further into the room and her face getting raked across the wooden floor as the rest of her body flipped over her neck and slammed down flank-first into the room, her tail painfully jabbing into her behind as she moved it to her side. Putting a leg on either side of her, Cardinal hoisted up her head and shoulders, now sitting her back against the wall beneath the window she busted in through. The mare on the stairs stood in shock, gaping at Cardinal with broken, wide eyes. Cardinal gradually stood up. Once on her hooves she froze. The pony on the stairs came swiftly stepping down the stairs, then sprinting halfway into the room before slowing down to a halt. Her brows made their way down across her eyes, her bottom jaw shuddering as her mouth made a furious growl. Her gritty, tear filled voice came at Cardinal in a whisper. “You...” Cardinal blinked, now that the pony was closer she realized that she did remember her, she was one of the guards at the facility when she first escaped. Cardinal, not sure what to do, took a step to the side, closer to the door. “DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE!” The pony threw up her pistol in her wing, feather tucked in over the trigger. Cardinal stopped, remaining calm in the face of another firearm, sure that it wouldn't be able to harm her severely enough to be scared. She kept her lip shut, waiting for the pony to make a move. “You killed him... YOU BITCH, YOU KILLED HIM!” She blared at Cardinal, waving the gun around in her rage. Cardinal was taken back, trying to figure out who was it that died that the pony was blaming her for. “Who? Who did I kill..?” “DON'T PLAY INNOCENT, YOU BITCH, YOU STABBED HIM THROUGH AN ELEVATOR AND THEN THEY BURNED HIM! THEY BURNED ALL OF THEM!” Cardinal recalled everything. Making the obvious assumption about the mare in wedding attire, she realized that the pony she killed was her fiancé. The guilt she felt when she first learned about what she did being permanent and knowing that the pain she felt from Seeker she had caused for potentially hundreds of other ponies had returned to her. Cardinal felt the tears swell in her eyes as the pain in her heart. “I... I... I didn't know...” “YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT? THAT YOU KILLED HIM?!? THAT YOU RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE!?” The pony stumbled closer with every yell, honing her sights on the robot. “I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't know what I was doing! Please, put that down! I don't want anypony to be hurt anymore!” Cardinal shifted towards the pony, begging. “What? You don't want me to shoot myself? HUH? WHY? WHAT IS IT TO YOU?” Her insanity and aggravation fell into a painful sob, “Twilight stopped me already... I wanted to die with him she wouldn't let me... NOW YOU’RE TRYING TO STOP ME! JUST LET ME DIE!” Cardinal took another step forward, “I hurt too many ponies to want to see another die, please, you don't have to do this.” She dropped her head, recollecting. “We were supposed to get married today... It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life... AND YOU RUINED IT!” She threw the gun up in Cardinal’s face as she stood just out of legs-reach from the pony. Cardinal threw up her hoof in front of her eyes as the pony fired at her, three shots blasting against her chest and shoulder, denting in deeply and putting holes into the leather pouch she wore. After the initial burst of fire, Cardinal lept the rest of the distance toward the pony, slamming the hoof she guarded herself with against the pistol, smacking it out of the ponies wing and sliding it into the carpet. The pony then threw herself at Cardinal, causing the two of them to crash into the floor, the pony sitting on top of her and she began swinging her hoof into Cardinal, bashing her casing. “I'M GOING TO KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!” Cardinal attempted to block the incoming attacks she was being barraged by with her left hoof, seeing some amount of success as the blows became weakened, she stretched out her right hoof to her side, a clicking coming from it. Cardinal's eyes widened as nothing happened. She tried again and again, the clicking repeating several times before she remembered that she had bitten off her blade. She then rammed her right hoof into the ponies side with all her force in an attempt to throw her off. Her fear spiked as her hoof tore against the ponies dress and clearly winded her, but failed in getting the pony off of her. “WHAT’S... WRONG?” Cardinal's attacker regained her breath. “NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT A GIRL?” With a large wind up, she threw another hoof into Cardinal’s face, this time slamming into her already malfunctioning left eye, cracking the glass lens. Cardinal struggled but the pony was overpowering her in all fronts, “PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME!” Cardinal shouted in the terror of her potential death, feeling her strength and consciousness fleeting. “YOU’RE. A. ROBOT. YOU. AREN'T. LIVING.” She gave a punch with each word, Cardinal's muzzle panels coming loose. Cardinal felt the urge to survive grow stronger. She refused to die, not after everything Seeker had given up for her to live. As she finally came to the conclusion that she wanted to live no matter what, she became desperate for a solution. Having an idea and instantly going threw with it, she flipped open the two speakers at either side of her neck. Cranking up her volume to maximum she screamed like a banshee. “AAAAEEEEEEEEGGGGGHHHHH!” The sound was deafeningly loud. Even Cardinal felt pain as the sound bounced back and she heard it herself. The pony on top of her recoiled, covering her ears and her face turned to suffering as she screamed from the auditory torture she was subjected too. Seeing that her assailant was thoroughly dazed, Cardinal kicked her off. The pony curled up into a ball, her hearing now permanently damaged as the sound rang over and over again in her head. Cardinal staggered as she stood up, her head hanging low as she spat out a gooey blue liquid from her busted mouth. Recovering, she hobbled to the door. Once at the frame, she turned a head back to see the pony trying to collect herself as she reached for her pistol. Cardinal grabbed one of the two coat hangers at the side of the door with a wing and shouldered her way out of the house. Turning around to the doors once more, she saw the pony stand, her pistol grasped tightly. Cardinal shut the doors, placing the coat hanger between the handles. Cardinal stumbled toward the city. Once she had reached the snow-layered path, she heard the door rustle violently. Cardinal tried to pick up her pace, doing the closest thing to a gallop that she could manage. Moments later, two bullets whizzed by her. She heard the shouting from behind. “YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME! I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!” Cardinal denied herself looking back, despite the strong temptation to do so. She sprinted onward. Soon, she found herself running into a section of the field which resembled a park, trees and bushes becoming more common as she continued on. Knowing that the pony would soon be coming after her, Cardinal found a thick set of bushes and fell into them, her head bruised and burning with pain. She dug herself further into the foliage, using them as cover. She rested her head against the jabbing buds and soon found her vision fading. Coughing a few more mouthfuls of the blue liquid that filled her body, she drifted out of consciousness. Despite her resistance, her eyelids fell shut, her body falling motionless. What do you think she is doing? What has she left to live for? We are all gone; she has nothing else. Why does she bother? Stop being foolish. It is not us to decide her fate. It is what she wants that matters. If she wants to live, let her do so. Me? Being foolish? Why, look at her! She is suffering, she lost us and now there is nothing left for her. Cardinal batted her one working eye open, finding herself in a darkness quite familiar to her, and a tea party even more so. She turned to her left, seeing the Fox, on her right, a magenta figure in the shape of a pony but completely made of a glowing light and falling code. Cardinal's eyes jumped up in delight. She thought she had lost them both forever, but as she went to speak, she found that her mouth was welded shut and her speaker in her neck was cut off. The princess awakes! How you doing sis? Enjoying the horrid hell they call ''real life''? Cardinal tried to move out of her chair, but was unable to detach herself from the seat, her legs tied down at her side with an invisible restraint. Her worried eyes fell on the Magenta pony. She seemed to not notice her silent plea for help. Stop trying to influence the poor thing! Can you not mind your own business? My own business? Are you going along with this charade, or are you just incompetent? Fox, please. Don't make this any harder for her than it needs to be. She's already dying, Mother. How can I make that harder? Cardinal began struggling harder in a horrified panic, but as the fox spoke those words, she felt a stabbing in her chest, her strength failing. Look at her, she's terrified! And you're the one scaring her. That's what I do, I scare her. It's what I was built for. Do you not want her to survive? That is what you told her you wanted! It is what I want. That is why I'm doing this. Cardinal's tiresome head fell, the light around her eyes beginning to dim. How is this helping her survive? The fox laughed, Oh, Mother, do you not understand what I do? What fear does? He leaned onto the table, the immaterial light coming from above made a shadow caused by his brow land over his deadly eyes. Fear is one of the most powerful fuels that exist. A scared pony becomes desperate. That energy builds up inside as the terror approaches... The fox climbed onto the table, prowling across it to Mother's side with a hunter’s posture. And then, just as they are about to be consumed, they are willing to do anything and everything to survive, to overcome the beast, to live... All they need is that spark. The fox slouched over into Mother's face, pressing his nose against her muzzle. What spark? Oh, that's simple, all it takes is the teeniest, weeniest, little pinch of one thing... Hope. Cardinal's head shot up, her astonished eyes searching for the source of the voice, finding that the Fox and Mother had gone, nowhere to be seen. Seeker!? she screamed, amazed that her mouth yet again was able to move and that her speaker could be used to talk once more. She looked for her Love, the darkness around her not being generous to her vision. SEEKER! WHERE ARE YOU?! She strained herself against her unseen restraints, trying to push herself out of her seat. She moaned in pain, moving herself barely an inch outward from the backrest and with immense strain on her. She shut her eyes, feeling a migraine smashing against her head. SEE... “...KER!” She said it, then immediately noticed the goo swelling in her mouth and hawking it out. Cardinal blinked over and over again, placing a hoof against her aching muzzle. She was awake again. Her one working eye steadied its vision, the world becoming clear once more. She was still hiding in between the bushes, luckily never found by that insane pony, or anypony else. The night had set in, the moon high in the sky. Cardinal brushed off a newly formed layer of snow that had grown on her as she slept, the chill running down to her pistons. The bushes rustled, snow dripping off in a flurry as she mustered the strength to climb up them. Gradually burrowing her way out, she observed the landscape. The moon shimmered a gentle blue glow onto everything. It had a lovely gradient going down from the sky, the deep dark navy toning down into the calming, enchanting blue shine. She was in the center of a park, a path paved around the cracked stone fountain, its water frozen into thick ice as it glistened in the moonlight. The entire place had a cool aura to it, a calm atmosphere that soothed Cardinal. She made it over the hump of the bushes, her hooves crunching deep into the snow as she landed, giving her a gentle decent. Cardinal took a short breath, soon preparing herself to continue onward, beginning to trot down the path toward the city once more. “Have to find Mecha... for repairs.” She began mumbling to herself during her pleasant stroll. “Gotta find a place to hide from Guards...” She listed off her priorities. “Have to talk to Bun again... Make sure she is alright...” She found herself moving in a straight-shoot towards the city, an decorated metallic fence at either side of the path. Soon, she was approaching a small paved road. Its asphalt, marking-covered cement was nearly entirely snow-free. The civilian path at either side, not as much, although still showing the hoofprints of many ponies that had crossed not too long ago. Cardinal walked onto the path openly. Not seeing anypony else on either side of the street, she trotted across the road. The roadside she strolled to was a large store front, mostly beach related shops. Signs reading ''Beach Towels,'' ''Sunscreen,'' and ''Swimming Gear'' filled the windowsills of each unopened store, their wears obviously not being in season. Once on the other side, she realized she needed directions, so she looked down at her pouch pockets, realizing that she no longer had her map. She sighed, giving both directions a good consideration before settling on the left, hoping to find some landmark to guide her back. She made note of her surroundings as she trotted, seeing extreme the emphasis on shopping plastered onto every surface. The flashy charm she was drawn into at first had faded away as all the lights were now switched off, only leaving the ugly greed that was previously hidden under the glamour. She began averting her vision from the shops, turning back to the ocean, the glorious, endless sea just barely visible from behind the delightful, untouched, snowy plains. Cardinal wondered why they remained without a single print of any hooves that weren't her own. She understood it was chilly, but the view was simply glamorous... Was nopony bothering to just look? Cardinal did a double take at a red newspaper dispenser she strolled past, taking a few steps back to inspect it closer. The transparent glass revealed the front page of the Manehattan Print, a black and white, excessively thick newspaper. The bold title of the first story drew her attention, ''Rougue AI Robot Roams Streets'' written in a large font underneath the paper's name. Underneath the story title was a top-down photo of the mall, Cardinal seen running through the shopping center. In a worried rush, she skimmed through the body of the story, it mentioned being a continuation on the ''The Emotional-Based Energy Generation Research Project'' conspiracy. It then went into great detail about Cardinal being sighted, interviews from eye witnesses and the controversial refusal to respond from Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. At the very end of the article it warned civilians, if they were to see this rouge AI to remain calm, back away and report her location to the police. “Oh no...” Everypony knew about her now and she doubted stealth would remain an option for long. She turned back to the path, now pacing forward with a strong jog, trying to out-sprint the time she was running out of. She shot down one street after another, peering around every corner before moving on with haste. Several blocks in, she still had no sense of her location, although she noticed the buildings’ quality degrade as she moved further into the city until the houses resembled those around the site. The gritty, chipped brick walls began popping up around her, the grimy streets deteriorated away. Looking to the sky, barely edging over top the other buildings, she saw several steel beams reaching into the sky. They were quite a distance away, glistening in the moonlight like a lighthouse for her. She picked up her pace, turning into a gallop as she weaved through paths, dodging the periodical spotlights in her way whenever possible, dashing down the streets. She tried to keep noise down to a minimum as she approached the landmark, slowing down into a prowl. Turning the final corner, she saw the familiar fences once more, the un-built skyscraper in disrepair standing behind. Although, the street was now walled off with movable barriers, going all across the road from side to side, the words ''No entry'' written on each one. As she went to move toward it, a guard came around the corner of its fence, armed with what seemed to be a large machine gun. It was strapped around his neck, a huge shoulder guard took up half of his upper body. His armor was a reflective silver chrome, also far heavier than any other she's seen, covering every inch of his skin with several plates, his eyes hidden behind a menacing dark glass. Each step he took crashed down into the pavement from the sheer pull of gravity from his armor. A symbol of a pink, six sided star star with a knife cutting down the middle was varnished onto his side. Cardinal decided against going through the construction. She knew where she was now. She did not need to fight that thing. Taking the long way around proved uneventful. Although the sun was soon going to rise and Cardinal knew it, she continued to sprint in the direction of Bun's house. The sun shone from behind the horizon, sending its gorgeous rays down towards the city, going through the sickeningly grey, smoggy atmosphere, being tainted into a dull, blurry fizzle as it hit the concrete jungle. The cars roared down the streets. A poisonous concoction was pumped out of each one as they stacked up like dominoes, stuck in the daily city-wide traffic jam, each car filled with tiresome ponies, heads still banging from the alarm clock. Despite their begrudging attitude, they all made their way to their places of work as the week began once again. Cardinal, on the other hoof, lay in the grass, watching the happenings inside of a certain bottom floor apartment through a glass door, hiding at the side of a neighbor’s shed, behind a chain fence. She watched as a small pink filly ate her breakfast, consisting of a few crackers and a glass of water. Her mother soon came over, the first time Cardinal had a clear look at this disgusting mare. She had a snow-white coat, her mane a gentle magenta, the same shade of her daughters coat. Her mane was made up, sloppily. Her face was covered in a gratuitous amount of makeup. She gave her daughter a few words before leaving. Although the door was hidden to Cardinal, she watched as the filly reacted to it being slammed shut. After a few moments of rest, she stood out of her seat, grabbing a poorly stitched, brown cloth bag with a few books inside. She trotted over to the glass back door of her apartment, her head down in the dirt as she swiped the door across. She took a breath before stepping out, not bothering to look up as she walked to the windowsill at her side. She reached behind a cracked plant pot with a flower's corpse rotting inside, and pulled out a small key. As she went to lock the backdoor, Cardinal rattled the fence, causing the filly to jump up and spin around. Glancing around, the filly saw her friend on the other side, statically waving a robotic hoof to her. Cardinal now had a clear view of Bun's face, seeing several bruises she did not remember from before along her eyes and muzzle, a purplish stain under her skin. Bun's eyes lit up as she threw her bag and key down, dashing toward the fence. “CARDI! You came back!” She hopped, landing with her hooves against the fence, holding herself upward against it to try and meet eyes with Cardinal. “I promised, didn't I?” Cardinal stooped down, smiling with the filly. “You’re on the news! Lots of ponies are saying bad things about you. They say you’re dangerous and mean!” The filly relayed her information, a confused concern in her eyes. “You are hurt! What happened?” “I know, they are scared of me because I'm a robot. That's why they want to hurt me...” Cardinal saw the child's grievance and attempted to comfort her, “It is ok, I'll be fine. I am going to go and get repaired soon. I just wanted to drop by and make sure you are alright.” Cardinal leaned her head further in until she met the metal rings with the tip of her nose. “I'm ok...” The filly reverted her eyes. “Come on, don't lie to me. What is wrong?” “I told mommy again, when I saw you on the TV, I tried to tell her that you were my friend...” The filly scrunched up her lips, trying to not remember any more than that. Cardinal rattled her head trying to think of a way to sooth her, “Do you want a hug?” she asked, eventually. “Y... Yes.” The filly's eyes were drawn upward. “Here, let me just...” Cardinal put the tip of her hoof into one of the chain-links, pushing down onto it to break it open. The filly shot her legs up, pushing Cardinal's away from the fence with one big shove. “NO!” Cardinal stepped back, shocked. “M-mommy will be mad! Please don't break anything again...” The filly looked up at the fence as it reached the heavens from her point of view. “Just jump over, like yesterday!” She turned back to Cardinal. “Agh...” Cardinal gazed down at her dented and bruised legs and chest. She did not feel strong enough. Although, how could she say no to those stabbingly cute eyes? “I'll try...” Cardinal took a few more steps away, crouching down in preparation to pounce up and over the fence. She felt out her knees and wings. They felt rusty and painful when strained too hard. She took a calming breath and threw herself upward. For a split second, she felt the rush. She thought she might actually make it. Although, she barely jumped her own height before flinging into the fence, getting thrown back by it like a trampoline. She felt the air flow past her in reverse as she fell backwards, landing into the ground with a clanging thud. She felt her guts shift, crushed under their own weight, a throbbing pain coming from inside her chest and stomach. Cardinal grasped for air as a reaction to the pain, a few moments passing before she could relax again. Bun gasped, feeling the dread of making her friend fall like that. “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!” “It iss fine... I'm fine,” she said, coughing up a cupful of goo stuck in her throat. “I guess I won't be able to make it across... I can go around the block if you'll wait for me,” she suggested, lifting herself back up to her hooves. “No... It's ok, I have to go to school anyways. The teacher will be mad if I am late again...” The filly's hopes fell along with her head as she turned to go and retrieve her bag. Cardinal rushed over to the fence, “Hey!” The filly twisted her head around, “I owe you a hug later, okay?” “Ok, thank you.” A shy smile appeared on her. “You better hold me to that!” Cardinal shouted out playfully as she threw her bag around her shoulders. “I will!” She giggled, locking the door and hiding the key once again behind the pot. They waved to each other, then Cardinal sat down to watch her walk out to the gate and leave her home. She took a moment for herself, soon interrupted by another pounding in her chest. The sound of metal scraping gave heed to Cardinal's condition. “Need... Repairs... Back to Mecha's.” Cardinal huddled herself in tightly within the alley, behind the several silver trashcans, hearing the hundreds of ponies passing by only a few meters off. Climbing and crawling from alley to alley had proved difficult; the emphasis she put onto stealth kept her slow. Now, she seemed to be stuck, finding no other solution but to wait here. Even as the hour passed, the street continued to roar, although the worst thing to come her way was the wild cat the strolled on by and spooked her. She grew tired as mid-day moved in, her body slowly falling apart on the inside. The thought of how close Mecha's garage was was the only thing crossing her mind, but every single time she thought the coast was clear, another pony trotted by. She developed the bright idea of just saying buck it and sprinting down the street, try and outrun any possible pursuers, but she was in no state to do such a thing. Cardinal found herself getting sleepy again, the sensation still strange to her. Although as her head fell and her eyelids were released from the small servo holding them up, she felt a furry paw lift her head back up, a snapping noise coming from in front of her muzzle, she opened her eyes to see a white paw snapping its toes with an unnatural dexterity. The paw was then redacted as Cardinal became aware, a fox's head with raised eyebrows and a deadpan look of boredom and dissatisfaction. Why is it always me that you drag into these stupid fucking dream sequences? Fox? He was standing up straight on two legs, eye-level with Cardinal. The one but not the only. W-why? Why are you here? Cause you’re dying. We have been over this before, sis. The fox leaned back and sat down in the middle of the air. He lifted up his legs and began floating, as if there was an invisible chair beneath him. He then crossed his legs, stretching his forelegs. But why are you in my head still... Are you a copy? Am I going crazy? Both very plausible scenarios, although its not like I can tell. What I can do is get you to stand the fuck back up and go get repaired. And how do you plan on doing that? Is Seeker's voice going to come from nowhere again? I was planning on a few pieces of advice and some motivational jargon, and if that didn't work, just dragging you out by the hooves. But... ...If me being Seeker will help, I can abide. Cardinal blinked, the fox transforming into Seeker in an instant, still sitting in his casual, cocky posture. His new form was completely healthy, Seeker as she looked on their first meeting. She averted her eyes in pain. Please, I don't want to see her image, I want to see her... Well, what will get you to get up? Waiting here isn't going to do you any good. Just like that, the fox was himself again. I'm not waiting. I want to live... I'm simply stuck, so advice would be appreciated. How in the world do I get past them? Cardinal leaned over and past the bins, seeing a few ponies skip on by before she planted her head against the wall. The fox smiled with an evil in his eyes. You are to weak to fight or run, right? Congratulations, you’re up to speed, she said with deadpan. Well, they don't know that. Cardinal raised an eyebrow. Every single pony out there now knows who you are. They know you’re deadly. What I'm suggesting is that you just scare them off, give them a few growls and angry looks and they will piss themselves and bolt, and those scars, the bullet holes, they'll just add to the fear factor. She nodded. Well, I wish you good luck with that then. He stood up and went down onto all fours, then leaned closer into her. Oh and one last thing, you might want to swing a punch in my direction right now. What? Cardinal placed a hoof onto her forehead, feeling a spike in pain. She squinted her eyes, seeing a hooded pony leaning over her in a confused awe, standing where the fox was just standing. “Holy fuck!” he blurted out and recoiled, stepping away from the awakening bot. Cardinal's initial reaction was to back away, but as her hooves scraped along the concrete, pushing her into the wall at the back, she remembered the advice she just got. Furrowing her brow, she pushed off the wall into a stand, jaw tilted down in a growl. The pony shuffled back, screaming. “Please! Please! Don't hurt me!” he coughed out, a sickness in his throat. His eyes were bloodshot, his thin legs shaking. Cardinal chose not to respond, the viscous feeling in her gut built up like it did when she slaughtered those guards days ago. She took a step towards him. His eyes jolted to the side, then back to Cardinal. His body slightly tilting towards the exit to the alley. As the pony went to sprint away, Cardinal jumped, throwing a leg in front of his neck for him to run into. Stopping him, she shoved him against the wall opposite her, without him putting up a smidge of resistance. He hollered, stopping ponies on the sidewalk. Cardinal turned to see the small group of ponies huddling around the corners, frozen to the spot with shock. Cardinal played to her audience, lifting the shockingly underweight pony and throwing him a toward the exit. He landed on his face, the jagged concrete floor cutting his face, he scrambled up trying to run. He shoved past the others watching, running out to the street. Leaving only Cardinal in the dim alley, she smiled at their confusion and fear. She cracked her neck by pivoting down hard to her right, then slowly returning it upright, another, lesser snapping noise came out. She took one step forward. Everypony reacted, now running away in shrieks. Cardinal strode out of the alley, glaring at the ponies on the other side of the street who had been trying to peer into the action. She faced into the light, feeling its cosy warmth sink in. A fearful herd of ponies watched her movements on both sides of her, they shifted back a few steps periodically, trying not to aggravate the murder-machine. Cardinal, pleased with herself, popped out her speakers, having a faint screech build up as it came from her. Then in an instant, she swung herself to the left, dropping her jaw, her mouth open wide in a vicious display. Turning up her volume as loud as it would go, she created an ear-bleeding, metallic, scraping noise that echoed throughout the entire city. Causing the group to flee in horror, she then swiftly turned to the right, doing the same with similar results. Seeing that nopony was going to mess with her, Cardinal began moving down the streets, taking shortcuts through roads and over fences, making her way to Mecha's garage, keeping up her demonic, terrifying, beast-like front throughout her journey. As she came around into the parking lot, Cardinal made herself small, hugging the brick wall. Her scare tactic worked perfectly, the only problem was that all of the commotion she caused put a lot of heat on her, causing her to revert to stealth whenever possible to avoid the practically hundreds of police officers and royal guard looking for her. She saw Pegasi and helicopters dash around in the sky back in the trial of chaos she had left behind. Guards roamed the streets, asking pedestrians about Cardinal's whereabouts, but moving through buildings and the labyrinth of alleys gave them great difficulty. Although, despite the officials’ relentless searching, the city was too hectic to organize a search in and Cardinal moved to fast for them, always leaving them a few minutes behind before the ponies that saw her remembered to call the police, and even then, most ponies were too scared to have payed attention to where she was going. Cardinal had arrived, seeing the closed garage door with a 'Mecha's Machine and Tech Store' logo sprayed onto it. She prowled around the practically empty parking lot, keeping a keen eye out for anypony. The coast was clear. She dashed up to the garage door and hunted for a switch to open it up. As she searched, she heard a blitzing noise come from inside, a rapid scraping and creation of sparks. She pressed an ear up against the molded metal sheets forming together into the garage, hearing the noise with better clearance. Suddenly, the noise stopped, revealing a gentle whistling from beneath. It was a pony. Cardinal knocked her hoof against the door, causing it to rattle strongly, making the faint whistle to cease. “Mecha! Its me!” she added, shouting through the door. “Car'nal!” a familiar voice replied, Soon the door budged. Cardinal hopped away from it and watched as it edged upwards. Cardinal almost began crying with glee as she saw those two deep grey hooves appear from behind the raising door. The door slid over Mecha's head, his stubby beard covered his laughing smile. He was holding a large buzzsaw and his wielding mask strapped around his head, the panel flipped up to show his face. He placed the saw on the edge of his workstation, spread out a leg, inviting Cardinal in for a hug. Cardinal sprinted up and threw her legs around the short equine. Both of them patted the other on the back. Soon their embrace came to an end and they took a step away from each other. “I'm so glad to see you again,” Cardinal said, batting an eye at her damaged hooves. “Me'h too,” he answered, taking a closer look at her. “Yu're the one who took meh tools?” He pointed at the empty, small, leather pouch draped over her. “Yea, sorry about that. Mecha, I need your help.” She angled her head down to give him as clear of a view as she could of her busted in face. “Do you think you can repair me again?” Mecha took a few steps in, the initial joy faded, he inspected her wounds that were splattered all over her body. “Cardin'l, these ain't no joke... I'd take egh closher look but...” He trailed off, glancing up at his camera, up it the top corner of the room. “You need to go,” he said to her, returning her stare. “Now.” Cardinal was surprised by his worry. Something was wrong. “Mecha, I'm dying... I need you to help me. Nopony else can.” He didn't respond, his face showing a painful struggle between some decision. “Mecha! What's wrong?” He shut his eyes for a brief second, biting his lip. He then looked onto Cardinal once more, slightly veering his vision to her side and he shouted to her, “CARDINAL, BHEHIND YA!” Cardinal spun her head around, seeing an Earth Pony Royal Guard inching up behind her with a long blade attached to his hoof, sharp-looking enough to cut through stone. The Royal Guard growled rage-fully as she pounced onto Cardinal, who tried to block the incoming attack with her shins. Cardinal ended up being thrown to the ground at the side of the workstation, barely managing to redirect the Earth Ponies aim from her head down into the cement floor, stabbing it deep into the concrete. Cardinal struggled underneath the pony, who was finding it all to easy to keep her opponent down. The Guard pulled up the hoof with the blade, leaving it in the cement slab, then slamming it into Cardinal's neck and pushing upward. Cardinal could feel the worn bolts connecting her head to her neck loosen. Cardinal flayed her wings, hoping for there to be anything to save her. Her left wing, which was swinging around underneath Mecha's working table, got stuck onto a cord, and with a few yanks something was pulled down from the top of the table. A buzzsaw landed on its side, right next to Cardinal’s torso. In the fall, it also seemed to have fallen onto its activation switch as it sparked to life, its circular blade cutting through the air at terrifying speeds. Cardinal heard a pop come from inside of herself, something became dislodged as her head was thrown down by the guard and then pressed down to look to her right, seeing the saw at her flank. The guard, not being a moron, kicked it away, sliding it across the pavement out of Cardinal's right wing's reach as she scrambled to get it. Then, Mecha slammed a large wrench against the Guard’s face, throwing her out of balance and allowing Cardinal to throw her aggressor off. She then found the cable above her head and yanked it hard with both forelegs, the buzzsaw skidding back to her. As it moved into her, the Guard at her hooves unfazed herself and began lifting herself up onto the counter. Cardinal then scooped up the buzzsaw with two hooves, slotting them into the handle, and then hoisting herself up, thrusting the saw into the pony above her, piercing her armor and skull with a horrifying efficiency. Cardinal averted her face as she drove it into the pony further, the machine rattling and getting stuck before a pop bang came from its motor busted and started smoking. “Mecha...” “Yea?” “Explain.” Outlier“This is Hoofington Channel One News, and lets get right into the news, because today, we have another huge story about the recen-̶̛͞͏́-̶̸̧̕͞-҉̶̀̕͜” -x- “Breaking news on the Shy Project conspiracy, Twilight Spar-̢̧͏̛-̸̧͞-̷͏̧” -x- “Princess Twilight Sparkle, in response to the new leaks ha-̢́͟͝͠-̷̕-̶̀” -x- “It is a topic everypony... is... very polarized about. Of course, there are those who feel... betrayed, for lack of a better word, by the government... They are supposed to be there to protect and serve us, the population... And this, this was not just a horrible, and completely avoidable tragedy, but it was an unethical operation, hidden from us. Now ponies are asking, ‘What else have we been lied about too? What other potentially lethal secrets are the Princesses keeping?’ Obviously, Twilight's and Celestia's lack of a verbal response has not helped their image... Manehattan, now under some sort of city-wide search for this one robot that has escaped, is the center of this disgust against the government. Not just has this conspiracy been a terrible lie, but ponies going to work and fillies and colts going to school have seen this 'Cardinal.' Some have even been attacked. And somehow... Somehow this robot has pulled the wool over their eyes; they can't find her. That's insane! They have armed guards running around the streets in circles after this bot. What does that say about our army if they are outsmarted by a computer? “But, if you'd believe it, there is another opinion. Yes it is a much smaller portion of the population who hold this opinion, but some are for what the government have done. We all know how bad pollution has gotten over the past few decades; it has skyrocketed, and the fact that entire forests have been cut down to continue supplying us power, that certainly hasn't helped with the state of nature. Currently, it seems ponies and nature are clashing, and some, some think that this ''Emotional-Based Energy Generation'' could save Equestria. Of course, it has not been handled well at all, but the concept they say, should be continued. And I think it is important to point out that, they like the government's idea, not the government for how they have executed their plan. They know that Twilight Sparkle wants to bury this thing, entirely. That's why they have actually banded together to... cheer on Cardinal. You can go see online, there are communities creating websites, posts, videos, you name it, to support their cause. They have a hashtag, 'Hashtag Cardinal Number 1,' I believe. But it doesn't stop there. Some have even gone to the extreme... Over thirty arrests have happened in Manehattan so far of ponies calling the police and lying to them about the robot’s whereabouts, trying to distract them from their search... And to imagine, this has all occurred over, what, two days? It's insane... to see what, what ponies can do when... when they find a cause that they can get behind because they are sick of what the mare in charge is doing. “Now everyone is just waiting for Twilight, Celestia, whoever to give a statement... The Griffons, an empire consisting of zero technology have commented on this. We've even heard the Zebras call the whole thing a bastardization of life. If the Princesses don't fix this, and soon, what will happen, and I'm not over exaggerating, is the government will topple. There will be rebellion. There will be protests. Ponies will demand new and better leadership. “But I believe, that will be us for now. Come back after the break fo-̶͢-͏̢̢͘-̢̢̀͠” “Arighe, Cardenal. I'm sorry, I was arrested an I didn't tell 'em nothin'. Soon, they sen' me free, but them dam Royal Guards, they dun took control of mah cameras; they are always watchin' my shop now, all day. That one was just stationed here. It is only a matter of time before they check mah feed and send more. Tha's why you can't stay here.” Cardinal slumped the dead body off of her, standing up and shaking her head like a dog to throw off the blood that was dripping from her face. “Why didn't you say that first?” she said, placing a hoof onto her glass eyes and wiping them off, then shaking the hoof down to clean it. He shrugged. “Well... I still need to be repaired, Mecha. I'm dying...” She raised a tortured eye to lock into his gaze. He sighed, conflicted. “Gimme a look.” Mecha then swiped a screwdriver from his desk, quickly skipping over to Cardinal’s side, then crouching down underneath her and prying open the service panel. “Agh, ugh...” Cardinal flinched as the screwdriver drove into her and let loose her stomach's panel. The curved metal sheet swung down between her legs. It clanged against the floor before settling. “Ah shit...” Mecha's muffled voice came from beneath her, “this is real bad.” “Can you fix it..?” Cardinal said with worry. “Maybe...” He pulled his head out, raising it up he wiped some smelly blue goo off his nose. “But I'd nheed some replacshemant parts, ones I ain't 'ave here...” “C-can you get them? Please?” she begged him. “Even if I could, neither of ush can shtay here... Matter of time before they realize she isn't chechking back in.” He nodded toward the dead body lying away from them, its head half cut open and pouring blood into a large puddle beneath itself. Cardinal's one lit eye shook with fear of death, “B-but! I'll die! Mecha, I need your help!” He sighed, going to his workspace and packing up his things. “I know w're ya can get the parts...” He stuffed a few tools into the pockets in his work overalls, then walked to Cardinal and pulled her head down, putting his muzzle beside her ear to whisper. “T'eres a place cawled the 'Murder Machine'. I's an undergroun' robaw fightin' ring. Mecha goes there e'rey week. It is hidden and it'll have your parts... It's on Bodied Street, you'll see the signs... Meet me t'ere tonight, ya?” Cardinal nodded and he retracted his muzzle, “Are you going to be okay..?” Cardinal asked, looked up at the camera. “Yeah, don' you worry 'bout auld Mecha. Ain't first time I had ta run from the fuzz,” he said, trotting to the other side of his garage, going into his old, and very well maintained, pickup truck. Once inside, he rolled down the window to speak to Cardinal. “They ain't gonna catch me. Just get there, alright?” “Can't you bring me there? Can't we go together?” She placed a hoof against the truck door. “I'm being tracked, they bugged everything in 'ere. If you're with me, they'll find ya. If I'm alone, they ain't gonna send their best after me, and I'll be able to deal with 'em. 'Ey, don't ya worry, ya made it this far. Ya can make it there.” He pulled up a trucker cap from within the truck, placing it on head and spinning it around backwards, the mesh covering his messy, black hair and forehead. “Yeah... See you there, Mecha.” He started the vehicle, about to drive out before he was reminded of something, “Oh, and Cardinal, Surrie's been lookin' for ya. I haven't seen her for a while, so watch out for 'er” “Thanks, Mecha.” She waved as he backed up into the parking lot. She stood for a few moments, watching him drive off around the corner. Sighing, she trotted back to the workstation to retrieve her missing plate. She hesitated crossing the dead pony, taking a second to stare down at another of her victims. “I'm so sorry...” she whimpered, feeling the guilt set in. “No more...” she promised herself, hoping that she would not have to break the vow. Soon, her mourning was interrupted by a static voice coming from the Royal Guard's corpse. “L̢i̵ly, ̧r͡e͘port ̨i̛n, ̨did ͘y͡o͏u g̀et͡ her̶? ̢Lil̶y?” Cardinal trotted over to the body, trying not to look directly into the massive ravine of flesh in the side of its head. She flipped it over to reveal a small radio on her chest. “L͞il̷ỳ!̶ ͘Pleas̶e͢ res̴po͜nd!̛ Oh ̡f̵ucki̸ng C͜e̕le̸s̵tia..̛.” Cardinal gulped. Scooping up her stomach panel off the ground and pressing it back into place, she turned to leave the garage, hobbling out the way she came. “I TOLD YOU, DON'T FUCKING FIGHT HER! ESPECIALLY NOT ALONE!” Diamond roared out at the several Royal Guards standing around the body. “FUCKING CELESTIA, HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO CATCH HER IF YOU ACT LIKE THIS!?” Diamond headbutted the wall in frustration, leaving his forehead pressed against it as he took a breather. One of the guards spoke up, “Diamond, do I have to remind you who is in charge here?!?” Said the large, burly Unicorn mare. He pushed off of the wall and spun around to face the Captain, “Oh, I know who is in charge, Captain. Twilight's calling the shots. All I'm saying is that she is doing everything wrong!” “And what have you done, asshole? We let you talk to her and you didn't accomplish shit! At least we are close to getting her!” “I was getting somewhere with her. I was talking her into coming back. It would work if you didn't try to kill her every time you got close!” He stepped up to her, face to face. “You’re not here to talk. You’re here to predict her movements. So shut the fuck up and do your job. We'll do ours.” The Captain disengaged from Diamond, stepping back and returning to her guards, all inspecting the crime scene. “What do we have?” A unicorn with a glass visor covering one eye trotted up, flipping the visor upward to regain full vision of her Captain. “The engineer, Mecha, he's helping her. Apparently she is damaged and needs repairs. I've sent out a troop to go and arrest him. Hopefully, we'll be eeeeable to beat an answer out of him of wherever he told the objective to go.” “Nice work. He shouldn't be too hard to subdue. Anything else?” A pegasus came into the building from the opened garage door. “Her tracks are leading east. They lead up to the sidewalk from the alley. She's been gone for about... Twenty minutes?” “Thank you. Alright, is that it?” Diamond spoke up once more, “If I could get a word in, we should stop trying to play catch up with Cardinal and get her to come to us. We need to set a trap and lure her in. I keep telling you it is the only way we're going to catch her!” “And I keep telling you, we can't just start setting up ambushes in every single corner of the city, just in case she happens to cross one! We can't lure her anywhere because there isn't anything she wants! Seeker is dead and there isn't anything else that robot cares about!” “She has to want something! Cardinal isn't trenching through the entire city because she's fucking bored!” The Unicorn Captain's horn began to glow. Diamond felt light on his hooves as he was pulled up by the neck. “I swear to Celestia, you're lucky that Twilight wants you alive. If it was up to me... You wouldn't just be in jail for creating that fucking monster. I would have you starved, burned and skinned alive. I don't want to hear another fucking word from your mouth, do you get that?” He struggled to nod with the magic surrounding his neck. She dropped him onto the floor, gasping for air. “He's right, you know.” A feminine voice came from the back of the store. “What?” The Captain turned, looking toward the hallway leading to the storefront, a lime green Pegasus gently strolling in. She was wearing the full, ornate Royal Guard armor and she sported a long, elegant spear. “He is right. If you want to catch her, you have to find out what she loves... Use it... Make it suffer...” She spoke uneasily, unhinged jitters and filthy coat complemented her tone. “Then she will come running, without thinking... You will have her...” The Captain lowered her brow, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch your na-” “Holly...” Diamond said, in shock. “You know her?” The Captain turned to Diamond. “Yeah...” Holly casually strolled toward them, trailing the blade of her spear against the ground causing a painful scraping noise. Once she reached the group of guards, she lifted her weapon backup, complete silence in the room. “36th Elder's Grove. Footage shows her entering and leaving that house twice, now. I've been to busy tracking her to check but... There has to be some reason for it. Go, investigate it.” The pony strode past the Captain, not giving her a look as she spoke to her. “Excuse me, who do you think you are?” The Captain spun around to Holly, trying to block her path. “Answer me!” “It doesn't matter, take my advice or don't, whatever you want.” She shoved past the Captain, moving into the parking lot, “East, into the alley?” The tracker nodded. Without saying another word, she spread her wings and pounced into the air, taking flight and dashing away, east. The pony with the visor walked to the Captain's side. “Captain?” “Yea?” “Do you want me to send a few ponies to check out Elder’s Grove?” “Yea.” Cardinal listened to the echo of her hoofsteps as she wandered down this back road, in an extremely grimy part of the city once more. It seemed that there were far more of these disadvantaged areas in this city than others. The path was trashed, garbage openly poured onto the street, needles, broken and used, scattered everywhere. She had to dodge several hooded ponies that seemed to simply be hanging out on the streets, although apart from them this entire part of the city was quite dead. Cardinal had been making her way to this ''Bodied'' street, which she had gotten directions to from a scratched up city map she found at the side of a bus stop. Reaching the end of this short one-way road, Cardinal peered around the corners. Seeing a few thuggish looking ponies off to her right, she popped her head back in, hopping into the archway of a doorway in the rear of the closest building, pressing up against it she waited patiently for them to pass so she could continue. Her guts gave her another sudden kick of pain, vision slightly hazy as she brushed it off. Gazing down the street from where she came, she watched another pony run by. From the distance, she could only tell that they were gold and very shiny before they sprinted past the other corner and out of her sight. Cardinal heard the group pass by near her. She stuck out her head to see their tails before they were gone. She also managed to hear a small bit of their conversation as one said, “... going to buy from now? Can't believe...” is all she got before his voice faded away. She stepped out of the doorway, going to the corner again she searched for any other threats. Seeing nopony else coming in her direction, she went to turn the corner. Trotting onto the main street, she quickly dashed across, making her way to the other side, where she ran down the right pathway for a few moments before reaching another tight alleyway that she ducked into. Once in the shadows, she skidded to a halt, twisting her head over her shoulder to make sure nopony had seen her. Relieved, she returned to trotting forward. It was closing in on night. Wouldn't be long before she reached the ''Murder Machine''. What did Mecha say it was again? A robot fighting ring? Why in Equestria would such a thing exist? she thought. Not paying to much heed to her surroundings, together with her impeded visual ability due to the darkness, she stumbled into a bin, the metal clanged back and forth against the trash inside. Cardinal recoiled back, taking a quick breath after realizing what she had done. She went to continue moving down the alley, but just as she took her first step, a voice came down from the shadows in front of her. “Is that you again!? I told ya that I am not selling, and if I was I ain't gonna sell to some piece of shit like you!” Cardinal was taken back by the familiarity of the voice. She could nearly place it... “Did ya not hear me? Get your ass out of here!” She knew them, but she couldn't place a name... Then a popping noise came from the same direction, that of lips sucking on a glass bottle. Her assumptions were confirmed when the same glass was placed down onto the ground with a sloshing of liquid. “Scotch?” she said, her eyes jumping. “Cardinal?” She watched as a shadowy figure stood up and grew in size as it approached her. “Fancy seein' you here! How are things? Did ya find your special somepony?” he said in his grizzled, chummy voice, slurred by the drink. Cardinal lowered her head at the question, feeling the scar. “It... It didn't go well.” “Oh... Did she...” He made a throaty cough, then a few swallowing noises as if he nearly vomited. “Did she dump ya?” He put a hoof onto Cardinal's stiff shoulder. Before he gave a chance for Cardinal to respond, he assumed he was correct. “Don't worry. You'll find the right pony... One day... I... uhh, my first girlfriend... I...” “It’s fine, Scotch, it's alright.” She raised her gaze back up to him. “Oh, well then... What ya doing here? I'm uh... Enjoying myself...” He coughed violently. “As you can see...” he said, out of breath. “I'm looking for a place called the Murder Machine, do you happen to-” She was cut off by his drunken rambling. “The Murder Machine! Oh that place is... Really awesome! I... I've been a few times. It’s crazy... They have this, this huge stadium, where they have robots fight! Robots! I've never seen anything cooler than those robots they have there... So advanced, it's crazy, the technology it would take to build something like that...” Cardinal cut him off before he could ramble any further, “Can you tell me where it is? I only know the street name.” “Oh, yea! It’s... Umm...” He put his hoof around Cardinal's neck and pulled her down the alley, trotting with her down to where she first entered. Once there, he let go of her and stumbled onto the street, the first time she had gotten a good look at the thick brown-furred pony with a trashed black mane. He wore a hole-ridden black fedora and a tie, equally messy. He looked up at the street signs. “Aha! So, if we are here...” He spun around back to face the alley, trying to visualize the path. “If you go two streets that way, and then take a right and keep going, you should see an abandoned industrial area. There's a big warehouse with the words Murder Machine all over it...” “Thank you so much, Scotch. See you!” She turned back to the alley and skipped down it, glad that she was finally going to get repaired. “See ya, Cardinal... Stay in school...” He shouted out to her. Soon enough, Cardinal had reached the other side of the long, wide alley, passing by all of the back doors and garbage dumpsters and reaching the street on the other side. As she stepped out into the light, after checking for ponies and finding none, she turned her head back to look at Scotch, wondering if he had gone back to his seat and drink. She was taken back when she saw him chatting with somepony else, the shiny, gold pony she saw before... Cardinal leaned in, trying to get a clearer look, and before long she realized that the pony wasn't gold; that was their armor. It was then, once Cardinal had realized it was another Guard tracking her, just before she went to run away, is when Scotch had pointed down the alley, the Guard’s vision shooting down and catching Cardinal's. They locked eyes and both hesitated in making their move. Although, Cardinal then learned the other pony wasn't hesitating, instead just pulling out the spear on their back slowly, with menace. Cardinal turned heel and bolted, running as fast as her wounded and tired state would allow, as she heard a painful scraping of metal against stone coming from behind her. She stumbled on the curb, getting to the next street and forcing her way through as she plowed down a thin wooden gate. She continued to sprint up onto the patio of somepony's home. Cardinal fell against the door, her weight causing it to creak. Turning her head back, she saw the light green Pegasus galloping at her. She had already reached the street behind her and raised her spear, lifting it back to throw. Cardinal pushed against the door frame, dropping her body onto the hardwood of the patio, smacking her head against it with an aching force. She had done this just in time as the spear came flying at the door, the blade stabbing right through the wood and smashing a ginormous hole into it, the spear landing somewhere inside the house. Holly then hopped over the gate with the ease of her wings, boosting her into the front yard. She looked like a wild animal, her mouth drooling and eyes focused and filled with rage. The door then swung open, a Pegasus, presumably the resident of the home, stepped out, holding a pistol within his right wing. “YO, WHAT THE FU...” He came out in a rage but was immediately frozen by confusion as he looked out onto the Royal Guard on his lawn, not even spotting Cardinal lying at his hooves yet. Luckily for her, this made Holly plant her hooves into the ground and stop, her head down and ready for action. Holly stared down the pony, who returned his gaze. It was only when Holly took a glance down at Cardinal that the Pegasus did also. His eyes lit up, the situation instantly doubling in his head with confusion. Although, it was a mere second of Cardinal and the stranger Pegasus looking at each other, before a long, smooth-sided combat knife came hurtling into the Pegasus's face, sticking in as his body fell atop Cardinal. Cardinal flipped between gaping at the dead body now on her and Holly, who had just thrown the knife. But as the Royal Guard sprung into action, Cardinal, without hesitation, grabbed the pistol within her own wing, turning it to Holly and firing it off. The bullets plinked off of her armor as she raised a leg to guard her head, stopping her from advancing as she protected herself on the patio stairs. Cardinal used this as her opportunity to throw the body off of her and limp herself into the house and kick the door closed behind her. She limped up into a standing position, scrambling further into the house. She found herself falling onto a kitchen counter in this humble little home before she heard the door burst down and Holly fly into the room with it. Biting down on a plate on the counter, she swung around her head, launching it towards the viscous Pegasus hunting her. Holly ran into the room. Seeing the plate coming, she plucked her spear out of the floor with two wings, slashing into the air at the flying plate, smashing it into pieces that went flying off to the left where she swung. Cardinal pressed down on her hind-leg’s suspension. Letting go, she made a pitiful jump across the counter. She landed on the other side onto the tiles of the kitchen, knocking bowls and utensils all over her. Holly leapt up onto the counter, then jumped down onto Cardinal, thrusting her spear at her head. Cardinal flipped up her metallic wing. Being stabbed by the spear, she lead it into the oven to her left, the spear so sharp it cut her feather right in half and smashed through the glass, digging in deeply into the oven's guts. A sizzling noise came from the inside. Holly fell onto Cardinal. Taking out a knife with one wing, she slammed it down at her chest. Cardinal twisted around her left leg, putting it in the blade’s path. It was stabbed through completely, the tip of the knife sticking out at Cardinal as she pushed against the Pegasus, Cardinal's strength failing. Holly spat onto Cardinal's face, yelling at her. “YOU’RE DEAD, BITCH!” She forced the knife down, its tip less than an inch from Cardinal's chest. Cardinal tried to flip up her pistol but her wing was being stood on by Holly. She had no way to point it at her. Then a distinct and familiar smell met Cardinal's nose. It was an intoxicating, sickening smell of some invisible gas. She felt its metallic, rotten stench in her throat. It clicked in her head, and then the trigger of her pistol clicked in her wing, the gunshot being relativity quiet compared to the gas explosion that then engulfed the two of them. Fire covered every inch of their collective skin. They both screamed out in pain. Although, after the initial blast, the fire that grabbed onto Cardinal quickly faded as she brushed it off. Unluckily for Holly, her hair-covered body did not give her the same luxury, as the flames stuck onto her with their agony-inducing claws. She waved in the air and collapsed to the ground. She shrieked and struggled on the tiles, unable to smother the flames. Cardinal threw a leg onto the counter above her, shaking as she pulled her giant mass upward. Her left leg making crunching noises as she tried to put pressure on it, she gave out a pained grunt as she lifted it back up. Resting against the counter she watched as Holly struggled on the floor, being burnt alive. Without too much hesitation Cardinal threw herself over to the other end of the kitchen, leaning over the busted oven she smacked the tap on, biting down onto the nozzle once the water was flowing and pulling with all her might. She stumbled back as she bit the tip of the tap off, falling backwards a few steps and landing on her behind. She watched as the water was sprayed over the sink's edges and poured onto the roasting Pegasus. The air filled up with steam and a hot fizzle as the flames were sedated by the erratic spray of water. Cardinal scrambled backward. Seeing a backdoor in this tiny little house, she pulled herself up, grunting and groaning as her body stung in every place. She pressed against the door, eventually busting through and falling down the back stairs and into the grass. Feeling the grass and dirt in her mouth as her head was slammed into the ground. She rolled onto her back, taking a breath, looking up at the house she saw an orange glow coming from inside, the fire spreading to the wooden walls of the house. Cardinal went to run, the knife stuck in her leg still burning with pain. She lifted the leg up to the side of her cheek and placed the handle into her mouth. With a visceral yank, she dislodged the knife and threw it across the yard. A streak of goo came out with it, splattering over the grass. Slowly making her way to her hooves over the course of a minute, she found extreme difficulty with planting her hooves steadily. She took a step forward, slugging her weight with huge effort. Soon, the second step followed, shambling out of the yard's gate and onto the street. Cardinal slumped down against the rattling metal sheet, falling down and sitting against the wall of the warehouse. She had made it. Now, she only had to wait for Mecha. Once he got here, then that would be it; she would be fixed. Which, in light of recent events, was something Cardinal really looked forward to. Lacking even the strength to haul herself into the building, she sat facing the street, hoping to see his pick-up roll in any second... The industrial estate she found herself in was really tightly packed, indistinguishable, rusty and maintained warehouses in lines, a few smoke stacks in the distance sticking out of a large factory at the end of the street. Broken down trucks lay in this mechanical graveyard, the dust coating them seemingly ancient. In the center of this estate, an outlying building stood, a refurbished warehouse. While still not necessarily clean, the building Cardinal sat against was painted in a very funky graffiti style. It had several reinforced walls, signs sticking out of the pavement, prominently sporting the name, ''Murder Machine''. There was even a gate installed. Unlike anything else in the estate, it looked like it was built within the century, and luckily for Cardinal, it was already wide open when she stumbled in on her last legs. She could hear inside. It was like a riot and a concert combined with the cheering and verbal rage. Lights could be seen flashing into the dark sky from cracks in the roof, a flurry of colours pouring into the air above her. Cardinal noticed the large amount of loose scraps of steel and tech lying around only this building, far more specific than any other stray garbage anywhere else. Sparking wires and gadgets surrounded her with no pattern or order, just sporadically thrown about. She looked down onto her left foreleg. It was leaking, heavily. All of its joints and pistons became resistant and congested, sparks coming out every now-and-again. The panel on either side was coming loose, easily pried off with the smallest of force, practically dangling by a thread. It still hurt like a bitch. Although all of her worries were set aside when she heard the revving spin of tires against the road, coming out from the street and getting closer. Her tired head lifted with ease at this, watching the road with a hopeful eagerness. A smile appeared on the dead landscape of her worn face as she saw Mecha's worn truck roll up, the right side facing her. Mecha sat on the left, his trucker hat just barely visible from the opposite side of the car. Then the door facing Cardinal clicked, slowly floating open. As it flung open, she heard a voice coming from inside the car, sounding like a terrible impression of Mecha's accent. W'erhh, Hawya doing 'ere Cardi? The fox, wearing Mecha's hat, came into view as the door continued to edge open. A douchey smile on his face, along with the corner of his mouth raised open in an effort to mimic Mecha's voice. Cardinal's brow fell, sighing as she became heavily peeved. What? Are you not excited to see me again? I doubt anyone would be, Fox. Ah, we have a smart ass, eh? Well, let me cut to the point then. The fox slid out of the car, hopping down onto the sidewalk and ditched his hat with a toss back into the car. He strode over to Cardinal, who was feeling the weight of her injuries ease as she felt around in this dream-plane. So, sis, you made it. Congrats. How you feeling? Is that really ''the point'' that you’re cutting to? Well, it's not like I'm here to give you profound advice every time. You’re just hallucinating because you've lost a lot of blood... But hey, it's going to get all better soon, right? Just gotta wait for Mecha to get here, yeah? He spun around to look at his truck. In fact, I should probably park that. He raised a paw, snapping his toes like before. The car door shut tightly and the wheels began rolling along the street until they were out of sight. That's better. He turned back to Cardinal. I want to make sure I don't get a parking ticket. He grinned. If you want to talk, then sit and talk, Fox. If you want to play your silly games, then you should probably leave. Ooh... Is it Cardinal I'm talking to? Because I don't recognize this Cardinal... Actually, I do, that time you set yourself on fire and blew me up. Now that, that is the Cardinal I can get behind. He strolled up to her, sliding down the wall slowly, in the most cool and casual way he could. Speaking of setting yourself on fire, you seem to be doing that a lot nowadays, huh? That was self defense. He put his leg around her shoulder, closing in beside her. Yea, that's why you saved her... Lemme tell you, if that was me... Ohh if that was me… He gave her a joking glance, seeing her deadpan eyes, making him fold up. You know, then, I guess... He sighed, his high being thrown off. You know, you’re a real buzzkill... I'm just trying to cheer up my lil' sister and you’re all pouty cause of that. I don't need cheering up. Not from you, at least. He cocked his head away, slightly offended. Not from me? Why not me? What's wrong with me? he said, trying to pull it off with a laughing attitude but finding himself veering into a melancholy tone. You’re dead. You shouldn't be here. Dead? Death didn't mean all that much just a few days ago, did it? Why is it so damn impactful to you now? She gave him a restrained look of anger, annoyed by the question. I know, I know. Seeker’s dead, you're never going to see her again, that sucks... He took a hefty breath. That doesn't mean it has to be the end of her, right? You're still here, and I know for a fact that you're not fighting your way through the entire city, grinding down tooth and nail for me. He let his head rest on its side, giving her a knowing look. It's true that I know that for a fact, by the way. I can, you know, see in your head. Your point? My point, if you'd let me get to it, is that there is no such thing as a meaningless death. Seeker died and got you to not give up, to live on her behalf. I'm dead, well, at least the version of me in the computer you burned down, but I'm still here for you. Don't let that change... She was taken aback, nodding in agreement without even realizing it. He fiddled with the locket that was around her neck, inspecting its design. He returned to his casual, joking tone. Guess that you've forgotten about all that Dragon Oath shit, yea? Cardinal, still processing his message, flinched at the question, remembering what he was talking about. Don't worry, I doubt it was all that important... But this magic, plant-growing locket, you could do a lot of good with that. After this whole repairing and being hunted nonsense is dealt with, of course. This world seems like it could use a few more flowers. Yea... she said, gently looking down at it. He let go of it, sitting back against the wall. Guess your story ain't finished yet, am I right? He winked. Cardinal then felt something jab her in the forehead, causing her to place a hoof onto the point where she was hit as a reaction. Facehoofing, really? It's just an innocent bit of meta humour. What? No, its... She felt it again, trying to swat at it like a fly. “What the...” Cardinal raised her head, dropping her hoof as she felt its unyielding weight return. She looked out to see two ponies standing over her, one holding out a screwdriver with his wing and poking at her. She tried to get a better look at them, but her vision was blurry and it was getting too hard to focus, so she didn't bother. “Holy shit!” The one poking exclaimed as her one operating eye flickered on and stared him down. “She's the real deal, dude!” His friend added, both of them enthralled with Cardinal. “Wha...” Cardinal struggled to speak, feeling the weight of her eyes still prominent. “Holy fuck, dude, what do we do?!?” The Pegasus grabbed his friend by the shoulders, who responded with similar excitement and panic, “Dude, the other's will freak out when they see her!” “Re...” Cardinal made the sound, resting before continuing. “Wait, dude, I think she's trying to tell us something!” The Pegasus brought down his head to line up with Cardinal's, giving her an attentive ear. “Repairs...” she finished, sending the two of them back in shock as they took a second look at her body, now becoming aware of the heavy damages. “Fuck, you’re busted up something bad, dude...” He looked up at her eyes, seeing a hint of frustration past the weakness. “Ugh, I mean, dudette, sorry,” he corrected himself, causing Cardinal to roll her eye at the statement. The Pegasus stood up and addressed his friend, “Go tell Holler and get them to clear out chopping block A. Tell him it's urgent. I'll carry her in.” “You got it, dude,” he said, rushing around the corner and into the building, out of sight. “Alright, Cardinal, is it? We're gonna get you fixed up. That okay with you, girl?” he asked, as if she wasn't begging for help. He only received her unmoving and peeved stare, which he took it as a yes. He lifted her legs around his shoulders and over his neck, hoisting her up until she lay on his back, kept in balance by his wings. “The name's Joint, by the way, super big fa- Oh, Celestia, you are heavy... Big fan of yours, Miss Cardinal...” He pushed on, grinding his hooves against the cement as he made his way into the building, following his friend. Soon, though, as the roaring screams of the warehouse became louder the further she was brought inside, she felt herself slipping, her world fading to black. “PREPARE YOURSELVES, MARES AND GENTLECOLTS FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF...” The room fell dead silent as everypony waited in exuberance. “...MURDER MACHINE!!!” The crowd roared at the announcers words, the stadium completely packed and bursting over the edges. Hooves filled the air as they cheered with all their might, jumping out of their seats. “Contestants! ARE… YOU… READY!?!” The voice boomed over the crowd, powerful speakers in every corner projecting the announcer. He heard his reply as the crowd freaked out even more, ponies throwing loose wires, circuitry, chunks of steel, knives and other blades, drinks and bits all into the ring. On the east and west podiums stuck into the stands at the edges, looking over the ring and outfitted with shabbily-built protective glass and a small pedestal for a controller, there were two sets of three ponies, each in their respective team colours. Both groups nodded up to the viewing box at the far north end of the stands, giving the all clear to the announcer. “WELL, THEN! Team Xbot, please, REVEAL… YOUR… MACHINE!” The crowd of a few hundred went insane as the metal sheet covering a door in the arena slid upward. Then, with a faint buzzing, a small, horseshoe-box sized robot came rolling out onto the sandy, dusty arena floor. It had two treading wheels on either side it drove on, sleek armored panels protecting the wheel rims. The main body was a steel-plated box with a large buzzsaw hanging on a crane atop of it. There were two spikes on the front and back on the left and right of each face, in the center a spring-powered knife hidden inside. It was painted with bright greens and chrome silvers, a large X printed onto the main body. “Team Deathstation, REVEAL… YOUR… MACHINE!” the announcer called out, cuing the opposing team to unveil their creation. The door slid up with a rattle. Another machine came stepping out on its four spider-like legs, metal beams and hinges lifting the bot's body to a height nearly equal to that of an average filly. Each leg had four claws at their base, going out of each corner into an X. The sharp and jagged claws sunk into the loose, earthy floor. The only other weapon it seemed to harness was the thick barrel on its underside, pointing down at the ground beneath it. It was mostly painted a deep, dark grey with blue highlights. “READY?!?” A large cheer answered him. “BATTLE!!!” The two bots shot up into life, charging at each other as the stadium went crazy, cheering for their respective team as the suspense of this final match build in the seconds before the two robots began their ultimate battle to the death. A pony shoving their way through the massive riot of ponies forced their way around the inner railing, getting to the opposite end where he traveled up the steps frantically, pushing his way up to the commentator's booth. He was stopped by the armed guard, only let through after some quick convincing. Just as the bots came inches from each other, the announcer's voice could be heard, speaking to somepony else in his room. “You mean... She's here…? Cardinal is… actually here?” The room, practically in an instant, shut up. Every single pony in the stadium turned away from the now-ongoing battle and turned up toward the booth. “I've got to see this...” The announcer and the messenger pony came out of the booth running down the private back stairs onto the ground floor, rushing to the chopping block. The crowd took a moment before rioting down the main stairs. Not a single pony was left with any interest in the current battle, as even the fighting teams ditched their bots and ran and shoved along with the crowd. After a few moments, and several ponies being trampled, the stadium was completely bare, only two motionless robots in the center of the arena, frozen mid-battle. “THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT SHADE, YOU DIMWIT!” “What do you mean? It is, dude!” “Are you colourblind? That's at least two tints off! Look at the sample sheet!” “Oh... Shit, yea. Well, it's close enough, I mean.” “Close enough? That shit's gonna annoy me, dude! Why did we let you paint?” “You promised that if I don't try and install any of my awesome attachments and instead leave it to the 'professionals', I would get to paint, so give me the other yellow and let me paint, dude!” “What...” Cardinal blinked her eyes open, feeling a strange jolt of excitement when she could see out of both eyes once more. In fact, her vision was clearer than she ever remembered. She sat up with lighting speed, delighted by her strength as she twisted her head around the room. A large cheer of a crowd of ponies screamed out in triumph as she got up, giving her a slight scare. In front of her were the two ponies she recognized from the outside. Now with clear vision, she inspected them both. One, the Pegasus that carried her in, was a young, bright orange stallion. He wore a greased up, dulled gray shirt. He had tired, gentle red eyes and a buzz-cut yellow mane. The other was a unicorn, a paintbrush floating in his magical grip covered in a slightly off-tint yellow to Cardinal. He had a cooled-blue coat, and a thicker blue mane, and a confident set of purple eyes. Behind them, there stood a large, huddled mass of ponies, each of them looking like some form of technician, each with their distinctive tools and hardware. They all seemed to be tired to death as they all watched Cardinal in awe, but there was no sign of Mecha anywhere. She was sitting on a large steel block, hundreds of small parts thrown about around her. The room had blueprints, tool racks and cabinets tucked into every corner and inch of wall. Other tables filled with metal sheets and circuitry filled the room more than the ponies. “Hello?” she said in a slightly worried, innocent tone, fearful of the crowd watching her every eye-twitch. “SHE SPEAKS!” A pony from the back shoved through the engineers, moving up to the operating table she was on and leaned up against it. An older looking stallion with many scars and old bruises. “The name's Holler! And I think I speak for the entire room when I say we are all huge supporters.” “S-s... Supporters?” She backed away, sliding herself to the edge of her steel bed, letting her tail hang over the side. Seeing her obvious distress, the Pegasus from before stepped in, “Don't worry, Miss Cardinal, we're not going to hurt you or call the Royal Guard or anything. We're only here to help!” “H-help?” Cardinal began to notice her rehabilitated strength felt... Off. Her tail felt extremely light, compared to what she remembered. So did her mane, in fact, while her flank and main body felt far bulkier, a hefty weight, like she was wearing a whole other layer of skin atop of her own, but she set aside the thoughts as she focused on the herd of ponies in front of her. “Yes, we repaired you! Look at yourself, you look fucking... Ripped!” Cardinal realized she was repaired, fully. Looking down at her hooves first, her eyes flew open in dismay. Both legs now outfitted with a set of thick, engraved steel armor plates, curved brilliantly at the hooves with a very old-fashioned Legionnaire style, complemented with a pink, luminescent highlight between the front and back panels. Her actual hooves were completely replaced with a rubber-tipped, thick titanium base and a small set of spikes in the base of the hoof, allowing for both insane friction and a very deadly punch, with a newly installed, spring-locked ball joint, allowing full free movement and even a high-power outward thrust of the hoof that could probably bend steel with one hit. Her eyes traveled up her legs, reaching her chest and shoulders. Two thick pads, continuing with the classical Pegasian armor theme was made of several stacked plates of steel, a small circle in the center of the outmost layer had a glowing pink circle, looking like it was comprised of liquid as patterns and shapes formed and deformed gently, like lava. Her chest had a burly new design. High-grade steel stuck to her in multitudes, forming a large armor, with several glowing pink streaks leading from all around her body down into the center of her chest, where there was a large hoof-sized, butterfly-shaped core filled with the stuff. Her flank and hind legs followed a similar pattern, making it seem like she was wearing a heavy-duty set of traditional Pegasian armor with a few futuristic design flares. She then swung her two hooves up to her head, expecting to hit her mane. Although, it took a second of feeling around in the air where her synthetic metal hair used to be before she found that it was still there, just far shorter, with sharp edges. She pulled down her leg, and using its newly-polished surface as a mirror she looked at her face, her neck's exterior completely redone. The old, clunky panels were gone and instead a snake-like thread of wide metal sheets that made the shape of her neck all connected together by her spine allowed for an insane new amount of free movement. The familiar pink colour was used in between joints as an accent. Her spine continued down along her back with a folding set of interlocking spikes, going all the way down to her tail. Her face had experienced heavy changes as well. Two sets of armor, in a pointed, triangular shape, covered her muzzle and forehead, only leaving a wide V shape for her eyes to see through. Then, by just simply thinking it, the two panels gave out a gust of wind as their pressure locks opened and the bottom panel slid off her muzzle and shifted down underneath her chin where it stopped, sticking up to her lower jaw to conceal it, while the top one rotated upward, revealing her forehead and the rest of her eye sockets, until it stopped at her mane. She then looked deep into her own eyes, now completely lacking all white. Instead, the glass seemed to have been replaced with a screen, leaving her eyes with a pure black background and two diamond blue pupils which she quickly found can be manipulated in any way as she changed their shape from a circle to a flower and back. Her mane and tail were cut down, now into a more menacing, slicked back style, looking like a gust of flames. Still retaining their old pink colour. Unlike most of her body which was now a polished silver. “So, what do you think?” Joint, the Pegasus, asked her. She couldn't even think at this point though, so she just continued to admire her new body. He continued, “After we fixed you up, we thought, hey, running from the Royal Guard? You could use some upgrades to help, and we're kind of the experts on this sort of thing.” He began pointing at the engineers as he spoke. “That's Rook. Him and his crew designed your new armor. That shit should be able to survive through a ballistic missile. There's Switch. She fixed up all of your wiring and even had a spare tank of the... What do you call it? The goo shit that's like robot blood?” “Harmony,” she responded. “Yeah, that. She had some of that and we gave you a transplant, so your blood's now pink 'stead of blue. Him, over there, that's Riptire, and that... that is Roadrage. Him and her installed your new joints and shit, along with your new weapons.” “Weapons?” Cardinal instantly butted in, lifting her eyes to Joint, giving him a look of disbelief. “Yeah, apart from your spiked hooves, you now have a flamethrower that retracts into your mouth and your wings now have two machine guns.” Cardinal's jaw dropped, then with a thought, a small nozzle appeared above her synthetic tongue. She then flipped it back in and shut her mouth, spreading out her re-sharpened and patched up wings, and, as promised, on the girth of her wing, there was installed a tiny machine gun on either side, resembling a fighter plane. Seeing that Cardinal was loving this, he continued. “All of them, basically, that half of the room is responsible for fixing all of your guts, replacing most of them, in fact. Only a few parts we left untouched, like the cupholder. We found the grenades in that and nearly blew up... everything. So those are still there. You probably shouldn't open that, cause they are stuck in this, like, awkward place... So if you move them out, they will go off, cause the pins are caught up in there and will be pulled out if moved too much... You probably knew that, so, as I was saying.” He patted the blue unicorn beside him on his back, “And Trinket, my friend here was about to paint you, and he was about to use the wrong damn colour.” All of the engineers waved and nodded at her, causing her to start laughing with glee. “T-thank you...” she said to them, looking out at the crowd. “Well, Miss Cardinal...” Holler spoke up again, going up to the side of her bed and extending a helping hoof to get her standing back up. “Let's get you on your hooves, test out that new body of yours.” “S-sure...” she stuttered as a few tears fell down, feeling somewhat blessed by this group of strangers. “But...” She remembered something. “Where's... Where’s Mecha?” “Mecha?” Joint said, slightly disheartened. “He, ugh... Here.” He took a phone out with his wing and gave it a few swipes before lifting it up to Cardinal, who had scooched up toward him as she waited. The phone screen was brought in front of her eyes. It was a news article that she began reading aloud. “This evening, Mecha Machine, a pony involved with the escape of Cardinal has been...” She gulped, her heart sinking. “Shot while in a high-speed pursuit...” “Hey.” Trinket put a hoof onto her lap trying to comfort her. “How about a paint job, huh? Take your mind off things.” Cardinal's voice had dropped into a heartless, distant tone. “Sure.” She gently laid back, staring at the ceiling. Holler then gave her a small heads up, trying to be as sensitive as possible. “After you’re painted... I thought you might want to test out your new body, so we have a few destructibles for you in the arena, if that's ok with you.” She strained her hoof, feeling the insane, raw strength. She wanted to destroy something. “Sure.” “Mares and Gentlecolts, we thank you for your great patience. After an entire night's worth of repairing, rebuilding, and respecing her... We present to you, Manehattan's very own sentient robot...” The voice came from outside Cardinal's waiting room. Once he had paused, the door she had been staring at finally began lifting open as the stadium's lights poured over her. “CARDINAL!!!” She stepped out, hearing the mass applause. Cardinal wasn't lied to; the arena was filled with rebar and concrete walls, targets hooked onto steel poles and somepony even lifted in a run-down car. Cardinal took one slow gaze around the arena, feeling the anger build up inside her, waiting to be unleashed. She wasn't even fazed by the fact hundreds of ponies were screaming and cheering around her. Her face mask flipped up over her muzzle and forehead, leaving her deadly eyes glowing from beneath. With very little focus, she tinted her magical pupils red. She galloped toward one of the many wall chunks scattered around, raising a leg as she skidded into it, throwing it behind her shoulder and launching it forward as she met the wall with her hoof. Moving at super-pony speed, she shot out her hoof from its socket a split second second before coming into contact with the cement, giving her punch that extra little umf as leg crashed into the wall, creating a large crater and sending cracks throughout the entire slab of stone. The spectators rallied behind her, yelling deafeningly loud as she landed the punch. She took a second, breathing in relief with her hoof stuck deeply into the cement. After letting the relief wash over her and the crowd began to calm, she cocked back her leg once more, smashing into the concrete again, causing dust to fly off and stone to crumble. Before too long, she did it again, then again and again, demolishing the wall with a flurry of punches, coming in extreme quick succession and after mere seconds she felt her hoof fly forward and not be stopped as the wall crumbled into a pile of dust. She swiveled around, staring down a poorly spray-painted target symbol on a stolen, half-height traffic sign. She flipped up her wings, stretching them out wide as she unloaded her machine guns, bullets flying through the thin panel creating a swarm of holes until the sign was flung off. A few dozen bullet holes cratered into the thick steel walls of the arena. Cardinal snapped her wings back to her sides, twisting her head around like a viscous snake as it folded and rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees, looking at the car in the far north side of the arena from the center, where she stood strongly. She stepped around with her body, her head not moving in the slightest from its enraged glare as the rest of her aligned with it. She then ground her hoof against the sand, kicking some of it back behind her like a bull as she prepared to charge. Dashing powerfully forward, the crowd roared, watching Cardinal run into the car, slamming both of her forelegs right into the side, going in through the doors. Cardinal began screaming as she hoisted the entire car into the air above her head, now standing on only her hind legs. The hood of the old car tipped out, slipping out of its hinges until it fell down beside her, the trunk of the car swinging in the air as she held it. Shouting in fury, she spun around, throwing the hunk of steel across the arena, landing near the center as it flipped a few times, landing on its roof as it skidded to a halt. The announcer was shouting in excitement, the crowd raging, though it was nothing more than a mute buzzing that she heard as she panted, her head gliding up and down in a smooth repeating motion with each breath, her chest moving in sync, in and out. Then, throwing her head into the sky, Cardinal flipped out her flamethrower, taking down her mask, aiming it into the sky as she turned it up to full blast, the large flame breath going out in a ginormous flaming inferno, nearly reaching the height of the stadium. She continued the eruption for a good, satisfying while, eventually cutting it off once she felt like it, lowering her head down slowly and meeting her eyes with the completely busted car once more. Cardinal took a slow and ramping trot toward it, reaching its side with a deadly patience. Positioning herself parallel to it, she cocked her right hind leg and slammed it into the hull of the car, leaving it to slide further down the arena. As the car moved, Cardinal lifted her head for the first time to look at the crowd, seeing the humongous mass of ponies go crazy over her. She felt the cooling wave of release pour over her body, lowering her head as her pupils gently shifted back to blue. Then, the crowd began going silent. Cardinal noticed her background noise fade, not completely realizing how loud it was until it finally quieted down. Her eyes wandered upward, looking to her right at the somewhat smoothly gliding car she had just kicked, and then above it, where on the railing of the stands there was a pony wearing a juggernaut sized set of Royal Guard armor and a large machine gun strapped to them. It was a suit she recognized. Ponies around them backed away as the guard bent the railing in front of them, splitting it into two ends to allow them to move through with ease. The Royal Guard hopped down almost casually into the arena, but landing with a ground shattering crash, actually causing a small tremor around them. They then raised their hoof at the car gliding towards their side. As the car was a few seconds from stopping on its own, the pony put out a hoof, making the car go still as they impeded its movement. Then, spinning the car around as they walked directly forward. They stopped and looked Cardinal straight in the eye, who raised up her neck prominently as she watched in wonder, preparing herself for anything. “I told you...” They whispered, her speech amplified by the suit, a painful grit in their voice. “I am going to kill you...” The Royal Guard then nonchalantly flicked a switch on their cybernetic helmet, having the mask slide off of a pony's face. Behind were a set of tortured eyes, a green coat was left blackened from unhealed burns, which exposed flesh, her eyes filled with unfiltered hate and pure insanity. Cardinal's eyes widened in disbelief. “You...” Home... “It has been a while, but I still remember seeing it on the news so clearly. It's like I can relay every single word in that first report that reached the public. Of course, the few days after the incedent at Discovery cliff, after I got Bun back to her home, all I did was wait for the news to break. I watched every single outlet like a hawk. I kept thinking in my head, either she got away completely, or Twilight found her and killed her. I was expecting one of the two to show up in my feed any second... But, as you most likely know, it wasn't that simple. What did end up happening, I can't think of any other word to call it apart from a miracle.” “Cardinal, somehow, did this thing that not just saved that forest, she somehow awoke the pony population and made them all realize how terribly we were treating the world. It took time. It wasn't an instant change, and it is a change that is still happening, and you can see that as more facts are found. More ponies become informed, which this documentary will surely help with, along with the hundreds of other sparks in the media that are coming together to paint this picture of one pony who at first just wanted her and her home to be left alone, but was ignored and was tortured and punished, despite being perfectly innocent, for nothing more than our gain. Then history simply repeated itself, but this time in the real world where we all could see it. Cardinal went through all she did and ended up dying, not because Twilight found her, because she chose to stand and fight to protect that tiny little forest without a name. She selflessly gave her life protecting nature, and we were spending our entire lives polluting and and disregarding nature.” ... “Of course she died for that forest. The least we could do is name the the thing after her. And I would like to add that Cardinal Forest, which is now the largest forest in Equestria, is only the beginning to rebuilding our connection with the world. “I've begun reading all these history books and learning about our purpose as a species. Ponies were meant to grow and protect nature. When we began paving over, it was a simple case of greed. We wanted more and bigger houses and cities. We wanted more technology and comforts and things like that. We lost that connection with the world and that is the problem that seems to be turning around.” ... “Twilight... Oh the things I can say about that mare... I do think that resigning from most of her leadership positions was the right call. Most ponies don't even want her to still be a princess after all of the lies and the abuse... Ponies used to look at her as this fearless, yet caring leader who would do anything for her citizens. What most ponies didn't realize is that she would do literally anything, including endangering innocent pony lives and lying to our faces... I've only seen one picture of her since the incident, which instantly made me realize why she had been trying to keep out of the public spotlight, and to be completely honest, I can't believe she is still breathing if they had to replace that much of her. She had cybernetic implants before, but with the amount she has now, she's practically as much of a robot as Cardinal was at this point… I guess that's irony, for you.” The sun. It rose today like it has done every other. A forest shone with ferocious flames consuming the edges of the treeline. Royal Guards stood spread out at the blazing entrance of the forest, patiently waiting in preparation for their ambush. Every animal, from rabbits to foxes, ran away from the flames cast by the monstrous mouths spitting fire into the foliage. Their entire world was about to be burned down, destroyed. The air felt like it was bleeding. All of its freshness was drowned out by the toxic heat pouring out of the flamethrowers. The sky was grey, filled with black clouds without a single silver lining to be seen. When it rained, the water was contaminated, acidic. It was slowly killing the forest, and in turn, the rest of the wildlife in it. Sadly, this was nothing new. This world was disgusting. It could be described as such without further elaboration. It was, simply, putrid. This putrid world was the home to many creatures, the wildlife being at the bottom of the metaphorical food chain, with Ponies on the top. They roamed this land also. In their large herds, they built cities over the home of the wildlife, where they relaxed in their houses, consuming nature for their pleasure whenever they wanted it. Like birds pecking for worms, the wild animals stood no fighting chance, their only option to hide. The landscape was tainted, no tree or cloud in its proper place, all because of the ponies that lived there found that nature, and even though they were supposed to protect it, they instead left it destroyed. But there was one pony, who wasn't exactly a pony, who lived in this world. One pony by the name of Cardinal. She was anything but a simple or regular mare. She was a Pegasus, but those details were the non-specifics. She was a sleek, bright yellow robot armed with an assortment of deadly weapons. The mare was creeping upon the ticklish grass, her hooves and chest gliding across the ground as she snuck around, not daring to even draw a breath to remain as quiet as possible. She wouldn't even blink her eyes as she observed the shifting shadows throughout the forest. There were more Royal Guard ''scouts'' around, looking for her while the heavy artillery burned down the forest, waiting to find any sign of Cardinal. Cardinal shot out her hoof, testing its power as she hid behind a pair of bushes, listening as one of the cannon-fodder ponies approached her direction, terrified of every twist and turn. It was almost too easy to sneak around them. The closest thing to a forest most of them have been in would be a dog park, while Cardinal, Cardinal was born in one. She watched as the pony’s eyes dilated till there was nearly no white showing, as Cardinal lept out from behind her cover and smashed his head down into the dirt, knocking him out. She quickly destroyed his radio and dented his assault rifle to the point of it being irreparable. She then dragged him behind some bushes, making his body as camouflaged as she could in the short amount of time she gave herself before sliding back into her prowl. Cardinal saw the entire forest complex. She travelled from point to point, taking out the helpless Royal Guards one by one, remaining unspotted. At least, not spotted for long, as bodies dropped all over the forest. Every single one she took down looked more terrified and jittery than the last, the radios blaring with commands and information being passed back and forth of someone hearing a rustle here or a snapping twig there. Every time one of the ponies stopped responding, they all freaked out, to the point where they began grouping up into pairs in an attempt to protect each other as an assassin as quick and silent as the wind flew threw their ranks. This did not impede her efficiency, possibly even helping it as she could take down two in one go. At the point where she had taken out a dozen or so of them, she began to feel satisfied with herself. Although she found that the she was being somewhat followed, as the brief screams helped in locating her. “CARDINAL, SURRENDER NOW! WE KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE, AND WE WILL BURN DOWN THIS ENTIRE FOREST IF WE NEED TO! JUST GIVE UP! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!” The echoing voice of the Captain blasted through the forest, the grit of magical amplification distinct in her voice as it reached around the entire woodland. Cardinal couldn't care less. She felt like a deadly animal. She wouldn't be able to be stopped by any Royal Guard. As far as she could tell, the scouts were gone. Either she had taken them all out, or they had retreated. Either way, the forest seemed to be clear on the inside. Now she had to deal with the bigger threat. She had to come up with a plan to not just stop the Guard, but to smother the flames before they spread to the rest of the forest. So far, the fire had gotten a few dozen trees deep on the one side. Cardinal had been avoiding getting too close, so she never saw how many super-soldiers they actually had. She had to get them into the forest; that was where she had the advantage. Cardinal quickly sprinted back toward her camp, finding it free of any intruders as she ran down the paths and bolted around some corners until she arrived at the cabin where she had tied up that first scout she found. Approaching the door, she was surprised as it flung open from the inside, a delighted Royal Guard on the other side prepared to step out of her makeshift prison, glad to finally be free as she found her road blocked by a peeved Cardinal. The pony fell onto her back, scrabbling for words. “I-I, uh... I wasn't...” she mumbled as she crawled backwards, recoiling as if she felt a snake graze her leg and saw the untied ropes on the floor she backed into. “You're coming with me,” Cardinal said plainly while trotting into the cabin and grabbing the pony by the collar. She shoved her out of the room, causing her to stumble and trip into the dirt path outside. “P-please! You don't have to do this!” she begged as Cardinal forced the pony up onto her hooves. “Do what?” Cardinal asked, shoving her down along the road. “You don't have to hurt me! You can use one of the other scouts! They are all over the forest! I can tell you where!” “They'd need to be alive to be able to work as a hostage.” Cardinal gave the pony a playful glare. Even though she was just messing around with her, that did not lessen the level of absolute horror the pony expressed. Cardinal and her new hostage travelled out of the camp. They moved through the bush, out toward the raging forest fire. On the way, Cardinal passed over a few of the pony bodies she had left out, freaking out the pony even more. Once they got to a safe distance away from the flame, Cardinal watched the hungry blaze devour her forest. A large wall of roaring flame made it blinding to look past, although she could hear the persistent onslaught of flame being thrown out at the wood. It was getting larger by the second, the pressure of the heat like a coating of lava pouring over them. The fire had eaten a bit more than a tenth of the forest so far. Cardinal shouted out, knowing who lay past the flame. “CAPTAIN, I AM HERE! I HAVE ONE OF YOUR MARES!” “CUT THE THROWERS!” she heard from the other side, the nozzles of the flamethrowers calming down. “STAND DOWN! LET'S MAKE THIS AS PEACEFUL AS POSSIBLE, ALRIGHT?” the Captain shouted over the blasting flames. “ACTUALLY THAT IS NOT ALRIGHT! NOT AS LONG AS THIS FIRE IS STILL BURNING! SO I SUGGEST YOU PUT THAT OUT BEFORE SOMEPONY GETS HURT!” Cardinal wrapped her right leg around the neck of her hostage, placing the machine gun on her wing against the back of the pony’s head. “YOU CAN'T HURT ANY OF US WHILE WE ARE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FIRE!” “DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?!? I HAVE ONE OF YOUR MARES HERE, AND IF YOU DON'T STOP THE FIRE, THE DOZEN OTHER UNCONSCIOUS GUARDS ARE GOING TO BURN TO DEATH!” “DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU FUCKING MACHINE! YOU COULDN'T TAKE THEM ALL OUT!” Cardinal sighed, turning her head slightly toward her hostage. “What's your name, sweetie?” “M-Marble Sand...” The pony shook in fear. “I HAVE A ONE MARBLE SAND HERE WITH ME THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY DISAGREE WITH THAT, CAPTAIN!” Cardinal took a step forward, the heat beginning to almost bother her which just made her angrier at them. The Captain hesitated to respond, Cardinal could feel her begin to panic. Eventually she heard the disgruntled voice of the Captain respond back. “LET ME... LET ME HEAR HER!” “PLEASE! DO WHAT SHE SAYS!!!” Marble yelled out without delay. “FINE!” The Captain finally gave, and within a few moments, a multi-coloured magical aura began rounding off the fire's jagged edges as they grew smaller. Soon, the flame immediately in front of them was smothered by the many Unicorn Guards, leaving behind the barren, black hulls of the trees, ash all over the ground. Revealed behind the burnt timber stood a long formation of ponies, thirty-odd wide with the Captain in the centre. Every pony, including the Captain, was in full, high-grade juggernaut armour, each pony standing as their own lumbering force. Each Guard was armed with a large light machine gun, flamethrower, or rocket launchers. They all aimed at Cardinal as she was revealed from behind the flame. Marble tugged at Cardinal's grip, trying to sprint to her allies, but was caught by her and pulled in tighter, having her two forelegs pulled slightly over the ground so they dangled in the air, feeling the robotic joint tighten around her neck and cause her to begin slightly choking. “Marble, please,” Cardinal whispered into the frightened ponies ear, then turning to the Captain, the only pony with her mask lowered in order to speak to Cardinal with clarity. “Okay, Cardinal, let her go and surrender yourself, or we will use as much force as is necessary!” The Captain lifted her head high, keeping a straight face which was surprisingly convincing to Cardinal. “Captain, can I ask you a question?” Cardinal asked, which in itself was a rhetorical as she did not allow the Captain to respond. “Why did you come after me? I thought I made myself quite clear to Diamond about how I feel about surrendering.” “It doesn't matter how you feel; Twilight wants you captured, so that's what's going to have to happen. The more you resist the worse things are going to get for you.” “Where is Twilight, huh? I'd love to give her a few words in the flesh. I'm sick of having to deal with you.” Cardinal's tone sounded almost sassy at this point. “Don't worry, she said she only wants to be bothered if we know where you are, and our flushing out tactic worked perfectly. She is flying here from Canterlot right now.” Cardinal rolled her eyes. “Why in the world is Twilight so fucking adamant about killing me, anyway? What did I ever do to her? Why can't all of you just leave me alone?” Cardinal's frustration grew as she continued on, her movement becoming more expressive and loose. “You’re a murder. You have to pay for your crimes!” the Captain fired back. “I didn't know! Don't you understand that?! I didn't know that I was killing them forever! I killed my own soulmate, for fuck’s sake! That cost me more than any punishment that you can give me!” “You also killed the Princess’ own daughter! She doesn't care! Now, I'm giving you ten seconds to let Marble go before we open fire!” “What!?!” Marble shrieked out, seeing that the Captain cared more about capturing Cardinal than her life. Cardinal, on the other hoof, dropped her brow in sincere curiosity. “Who was Twilight's daughter? When did I kill her?” “What, you don't know? The Celestia damned scientist that created you!” Cardinal became frozen, “W-what...” She shook her head, there was no way. “Seeker couldn't have...” Cardinal's eyes bolted open, “Seeker... Sparkle... She was, wasn't she?” Cardinal loosened her grip in her mesmerized state, this even prompted Marble to try and escape once more. Cardinal immediately snapped out of it and tugged Marble back down towards Cardinal's chest, beginning to take steps back. Cardinal shouted over the Captain's counting, causing her to stop. “I SUGGEST YOU ALL LEAVE! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE BEFORE I KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND EVERY PONY STILL IN MY FOREST!” Finishing her sentence, she turned and ran, Marble being dragged along the dirt as they swiftly vanished into the wood, getting out of the line of sight of the Royal Guards before they could open fire. Once she had dashed back into the forest, Cardinal slumped down behind a growth of bushes, harshly throwing Marble into the dirt. Marble fell onto her side, dazed as Cardinal pressed her down, making sure she couldn't squirm away. “Alright, Marble, I don't want you to die. Even less do I want to kill you. So I entrust that if I let you go, you’re going to run the fuck away and not look back because if you do, all you will see is a massacre of every single one of your friends and that hesitation might just mean you will join them. Do you understand?” Marble nodded with wide, scared eyes looking up at the machine. “Thank you. I suggest you advise anypony you care about to follow you.” Cardinal shoved off of Marble to lift her head back up, striding away back to her camp. She could hear the pony scramble to their hooves and throw about fallen leaves as she galloped away. Cardinal found herself at the entrance gate to the camp, going off path to the side where another large patch of foliage grew out part-ways onto the path. She crouched underneath the shrubbery, hiding herself like a jaguar, waiting for her prey to pass by. With her acute cybernetic hearing, she listened to the rustles and shifts that come with travel through a thick forest, many large figures moving in the distance, their metallic hooves stomping in the dirt in their sporadic search for Cardinal. It wasn't long before one of the Guards found the Camp, stopping at the gate as if they were surprised that it was there. After a few seconds, the pony lit up their horn, a dim gleam visible from the seams of the rounded plate surrounding their horn. Cardinal prepared herself to pounce the second the Unicorn looked away, but to Cardinal's surprise, the pony's magic trail from her horn began floating through the air in a glistening vapour-like cloud directly toward Cardinal's hiding spot. The Unicorn pressed down on a walkie talkie on the side of her helmet, whispering into her microphone. “I think I'm close, outside the Camp Foxtrot gate.” They then proceeded to follow their magic wisp as it guided them in Cardinal's direction. Cardinal's steel heart quickened as the pony was seconds away, with their magic even closer. She watched as the magic cloud came over to her and stopped right above the plants Cardinal hid herself in, the Royal Guard recoiled as she witnessed her spell reach her target much faster than she was expecting. Cardinal immediately stood up and threw her hoof over the thick brush, and then pushing herself of it she hopped over and landed in front of the guard. They quickly snapped out of their surprise. Swinging their head around with a large spell, their entire body gained a gentle enchantment as they were propelled away, their hooves grinding backward against the dirt as they magically dashed backward. Then, with the smoothness of silk, a small steel cross flipped out in front of them from where it was previously latched onto their side. Its sides then erupted out with a sparkling golden sheen of solid magic as it expanded out evenly into a body-sized, curved barrier. She then quickly spat out a few points of info into her radio, “Target located directly outside of Camp Foxtrot gate. Target is aware and engaging, over.” “You should have gone when you had the chance,” Cardinal growled out as she leapt over to the Royal Guard. “You should have surrendered when you had the chance,” the pony replied back, sounding quite cocky as she drew out a mace from a slot in her back, floating it at the side of the shield. The pony lowered their head. Cardinal could feel the smile. Cardinal flipped out her wings, immediately opening fire with her machine guns. She shot a few dozen bullets, the gun rattle going through the forest and alerting the Royal Guards even more than they already were to Cardinal's position. She then realized how futile her projectile steel shards were against the pony's barrier. The pony then charged into Cardinal, the mass of the shield going straight for her, leaving her with no option but to prop up her forelegs and press them against the barrier, planting her back hooves into their dirt, holding back the shield. Although that was when the mace came down onto Cardinal's skull. With a split second to react, Cardinal managed to shift her head to the right, only getting scraped across the side of her face mask with the jagged spikes along the mace’s length. Cardinal swung back her right hoof, smashing into the barrier with her piston-powered slamming punch, actually causing a crack within the solid magic presence. Then, with a flicker, the shield shut down, leaving Cardinal's right hoof loose in the air and her left still pressing against the other pony’s magical strength. The mace came at Cardinal again, dashing through the air, rotating into Cardinal's face as it came at her. Cardinal shoved off of the pony's shield base, just fast enough to move her head out of the way, the armor covering her muzzle being hit with the full force instead. Cardinal felt as it dented in, her mouth earning a sickly pain a she tasted a blot of her blood on her rubber tongue. This did not slow her down, as Cardinal just used this momentum to spin around, and with a lean, she found herself landing on top of the Unicorn, her left hoof grappling around their neck. She felt the Unicorn's magic envelop Cardinal's forelegs as she tried to swing her right hoof up to the pony’s head, being pushed away like a repelled magnet. Cardinal pushed her legs to no avail. Every inch she pushed against the Unicorn was regained within the second, though holding back the force of Cardinal did take the Unicorn's entire concentration. Her mace just plummeted down into the dirt as it was let go. The pony and Cardinal gave each other the stink eye for a brief moment, finding themselves in this short stalemate, quickly ended once Cardinal flipped off the bottom portion of her mask, revealing her open mouth and the tiny flame it bore. This shocked the Unicorn, immediately weakening her magic grip, allowing Cardinal to throw her right leg around the face and spine of the pony. The weight of both their armors combined made it quite an easy feat for Cardinal to yank down the pony's head while letting herself fall down with it. Cardinal, in the fraction of a second she had while falling, kicked her hind legs forward, leaving her to land on her back, a relatively soft landing in the dirt compared to the other pony, who was pulled down not just by gravity, but by Cardinal's hooves as they slammed the pony’s head down to her side, their neck coming to contact with Cardinal's exposed belly. A very grotesque cracking and snapping sounded as Cardinal shattered this pony’s neck against herself. She fell back in relief, taking a quick breath after that very stressful, very short encounter. Cardinal bucked the body off of herself, hoisting herself upright and stumbling toward a tree, spitting out a gloop of her own blood onto its bark. She did not give herself much time as she heard more Guards approaching the commotion she had made. Cardinal ran into the camp, going along the brush for more cover, but before she could reach the cottages, she looked back to see a pony arriving at the scene of yet another murder, so she dropped down into a bush and tucked her head into her forelegs, becoming a still statue, avoiding detection for the moment. She listened attentively as multiply ponies arrived just a few dozen paces away, Cardinal tilting her head slightly to allow one of her eyes to peer through the bushes. Her refined eyes, with their ability to zoom, made it remarkably easy to witness what was going on. Two Guards, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn, met over the corpse, quickly lifting their guns and scanning the forest around them. “You see it?” the Unicorn asked the other Guard. “Dead silent... Although she has to be close. Cast that spell of yours,” they replied. The Unicorn's horn shone from behind the cracks, the same wispy spell emanating out from their forehead and out into the air. Cardinal turned away from them, searching around her to see if she had enough cover to escape before she was found by their magic once more. She began crawling further into the forest, trying her hardest to not make too much noise as her hooves crunched against the roots of plants. She paused her prowl, leaving a hoof in the air as one of her eyes darted back and saw the small cloud of magic begin moving in her direction, only to stop at one of the trees near the body. It swirled around the tree before evaporating, being dispelled as the two Guards took a few steps toward the tree and inspected its bark. One of them lifted up a hoof and touched the strange pink substance splashed along the trunk. Pulling their hoof away lead to a streak of goo being pulled along with it until they wiped it off in the dirt. “She's bleeding.” The pony lifted up their machine gun. “And she's close,” the Unicorn said, stepping past the tree and casting a spell once more, the same vapor coming out. To his disappointment, the magic was yet again drawn in by Cardinal's blood. “It's aura is too strong. We gotta search manually,” the Unicorn said to the other Guard, who was giving out info over their comms. Once the Earth Pony finished up, the both of them returned to slowly stomping through the forest. Cardinal swayed her head down. Seeing that her muzzle was damaged, she placed a hoof gently against her lip, pulling it away to see the blood now on the tip of her hoof. She smirked, flipping up her mask she continued her crawl through the leg-high foliage, matching the Guards speed as she snuck away. Once she had gotten to a secluded area in the woods, she nuzzled down next to a tree for cover as she extended out her right wing and took out one of her sharp feathers. Placing it into the seam of her hoof she very precisely pricked open one of her own veins. Then, using the blood that stuck to her wing, she spread out a small blot of it into the roots of the tree. Cardinal then stepped away with a soft hoof, finding a large patch of bristle bushes to crawl into only a few paces away. She then waited, listening to the two Guards on her tail as they inevitably approached her direction. “No sign of her at the camp still, over,” the Earth Pony relayed into his mic as they came within a few yards of Cardinal's hiding spot. They trailed in her direction, the Unicorn preparing to cast their spell again. They stopped in their trail and waved their head, attention grabbed once the spell found something new this time, leading them down toward one of the hundreds of trees that surrounded them. Both of them raised their weapons, treading closer to where the spell lead them with a spring in their step at the glee of finding Cardinal. The Earth Pony allowed the Unicorn to lead the charge as he reported their finding, “Spell came up positive just due east of camp gate. Investigating now, over.” The pony said, watching their ally kick through some shrubs, eager to open fire. Cardinal also watched them do so. Although she wasn't close to where they were searching, she instead was sitting pretty, directly behind them. She pulled her body in tight, springing her legs up for launch, and with a fluid motion with her entire body’s effort, she sprang out of her hiding spot with enough force to send her flying a few yards out, landing onto the Earth Pony. As she landed, she made sure to pull out both of her wings and point the sharp ends down beneath her hooves, immediately stabbing into the base of his neck, piercing a weaker point in their armor as she wrapped her front legs around his skull and twisted hard. Barely a squeal escaped their mouth before Cardinal heard the crunch of their spine being severed, both of them landing into the cushioning dirt with a light thump and rattle, right behind the thick foliage. The Unicorn immediately jumped back, noticing his friend was nowhere to be seen. “Yumi! Yumi, respond!” they called out in a panic, having heard the unsoothing sound they could only assume be his friend being murdered by that fucking robot. Without hesitation, they swiped their head side to side, casting a strong aura around them that sent a harsh wind sweeping all of the plants around them away. Bushes and leafy greens were ripped from their roots, including the ones giving cover to Cardinal and their dead friend just a few hoof steps away. They were not given the chance to react before Cardinal galloped at them, a swinging hoof coming from down south, connecting with their jaw and sending their head toppling over the rest of their body, flying back and collapsing into the earth, unconscious, if not dead. Cardinal smiled over her victory, standing proud over her hunt before hearing another target approach from the distance, leaving her to dash back into the forest. As she flew through the woods, she made sure to pour a few drops of her blood every now-and-again, not just making the Royal Guard's magic useless, but also distracting them. She managed to take out a few more Guards using the element of surprise. They were very easily picked off by her when she attacked them from stealth. Cardinal also ran into one Guard trying to escort out one of the scouts she had taken out from earlier, making them even more susceptible to attack when Cardinal struck. She predicted that she had dealt with at least a third of the Guards she had seen before she met with a larger cluster of the Guards, three of them sticking within touching distance slowly pressing into the camp while watching all angles, back to back with each other. Cardinal kept her distance and left for easier prey, but as she saw another group of four patrolling together just a few minutes away, she realized that they were wising up to Cardinal's ambush tactics. She disengaged for now, traveling back up toward the camp as she tried to think of how to deal with them in a large group, and she had nearly reached the gate when she spotted something horribly eye catching. As she crept along, her eyes stopped at a red splatter on a tree. A rabbit was hanging limp from a spear impaled into its center of mass with its innards scattered around the bark of the tree. The spearhead stuck out from the trunk rigidly, buried deep into the wood to make sure it would slip off. Cardinal immediately sprinted up to it and placed her hoof on the tree as she gazed at it. The dead rabbit was at head-height, murdered by one of the Royal Guard, using one of their spears. With further inspection, she saw that the rabbit also contained a bullet hole, seemingly shot and killed before being put up on display like this. Cardinal could feel a disgust in the back of her throat as she stared at it, wondering why anypony would possibly do such a thing. She couldn't stand just leaving it there, so she removed her mask and grabbed the spear's shaft with her teeth, yanking her head to the side a few times as she dislodged the spear and spat it out onto the ground. She then continued to snap it where it pierced the bunny using the raw weight of her hoof, having the rabbit's body slip off. Standing up straight, she looked down with a heartfelt sigh. Then, to her shock, she felt a sharp pain in her neck as she felt something get shot deep in between the plates of her neck, accompanied with a gentle ''pew'' from the distance. Her head darted off to see a Guard snuggled into a bush, aiming a strange looking rifle toward Cardinal. She listened to the pony as they whispered into their comms, “Target is tagged. I repeat, target is tagged, over,” and then immediately realize that Cardinal was staring directly at them. Cardinal shoved off the tree and began galloping toward the Guard. Ignoring the small shard stabbed into her neck, she made it to them just as they were stumbling upward, trying to pull out their machine gun, dropping her other, strange rifle she had shot Cardinal with. Both of their hooves met together into a wrestle, as Cardinal swung at the pony and they shielded their face, lessening Cardinal's blows. “Wait, please!” the pony called out in fear and pain, trying to protect themselves from Cardinal's onslaught of attacks, getting continuously smashed in the face. Cardinal eventually beat them down into the dirt, overpowering them and kicking their head in until their resistance ended. She loosened up, taking a breather before twisting around her head to try and see whatever damage she had received, and by pressing up her iris against the side of her eye, she saw a strange red flashing light come from beneath one of her plates. She pulled up her wing and pressed it between the two plates where the light resided, trying to pick out the device. Only a few moments passed of irritated scratching before she heard shouting coming toward her. “She's this way!” It came from another artificially grizzled voice. Cardinal dashed away, crouching down low in an attempt to conceal herself as she ran away from the scene. To her dismay, she heard another troop shouting and rushing right toward her. She took another turn and saw the wooden cottages past the dense collection of trees. Running toward them, she managed to reach the camp's cleared pathways before the Guards caught up with her. She slowed her run to a canter as she entered the camp's center, searching around for any oncoming enemies. She heard several metallic, pumping stamps as several groups of Guards could be heard coming from all directions. With fear of being overrun, Cardinal ran into the closest building for cover, ending up inside one of the tiny cottage homes. Once inside, Cardinal bolted the door shut and drew the curtains, then crawled down underneath one of the several bunk beds inside. Then she turned her attention to the noisy regrouping of ponies outside. By the sound of it, at least a dozen sets of hooves came together outside, their voices barely audible through the log walls. “She just ran through here!” “Hey! You guys seen her?” “She must be hiding somewhere. One of you scan for the tracker again.” “One sec!” A silence set in, so quiet in fact that not even a step was heard from outside as the guards stood perfectly still, waiting for said scan to complete. Something about this gave Cardinal a grave and intense feeling, like she could feel the beat of her own heart. “There,” someone said with reluctance. The same silence dawned upon them once more, although the intense beat of her pulse was no longer from fear of being caught, but from anticipation of the Guard busting through the door. She braced herself, preparing herself mentally by taking a bunch of deep breaths as she knew she was going to have to fight her way out. Although as she watched the door out of the corner of her eye, she felt the slightest ease as she heard more speech, along with another percussion of stomps approaching, delaying her battle, even if its only for the slightest amount of time. “Captain!” Somepony exclaimed from outside, “She's locked in there! Someone tagged her! She can't hide anymore!” They said with pride, happy with their own effort. The Captain soon spoke, partnered with a light chuckle. “Well, well, well... Finally.” She picked up her voice to speak to Cardinal directly, “CARDINAL, YOU'RE CORNERED! YOU'RE BEING TRACKED! THERE IS NO WAY OUT OF THIS! YOU MIGHT AS WELL SURRENDER NOW!” Cardinal denied her a response, instead sliding out from under the bed and slowly and powerfully angling her body down into a pounce aimed at the door, flipping up her mask with a click. “OKAY, THEN, GUESS WE'LL DO THIS THE HARD WAY!” the Captain yelled out, a sadistic joy recognizable in her voice. Within the second, the door came flying open, crashing against the wall with a terrifying rattle, wood chips being sent into the air. A fully armored Guard turned their machine gun into the room, catching Cardinal in their sights. Cardinal leapt out. With the agility and grace of a feline, she landed against the wall with a sprint, getting a few steps on the horizontal surface as bullets from the pony came after her, creating a clear trail as she bounced of the wall and landed atop of the Guard. She fell against them with her speed and weight, and by wrapping her wing around their neck, she managed to pull the pony along with their momentum of following Cardinal, causing them to pivot toward the door with their gunfire and sending shots outside onto the group of Guards who were about to breach along with this pony while Cardinal sent him to the floor with her body's force. The pony was heavy enough to fall into the wooden flooring, forming their own personal crator in the plank floor, with Cardinal on top of them, now firing the Guards weapon for them. While the bullets just blinked off of the other Guard’s armor, it did an amazing job at dazing them. Not being used to the complete bullet proof protection of the suits, they recoiled to defend themselves from the bullet fire, especially the pony who was just on the steps of the house who dropped down to the ground and lifted both hooves over their head. Cardinal dropped the machine gun from her wing, and by shooting herself up from all four hooves she launched herself out of the doorway. The cowering pony lifted up their head at the cease of gunfire, allowing for Cardinal to land a powerful buck into their face that sent them flying as she exited the cottage, landing on all fours with a stopping force that blew all of the gun smoke around her away. She gazed up to see the Captain within a crowd of a dozen of her ponies, slightly dazed. While the Captain was understandably shocked, Cardinal had no intent to hesitate. She charged directly for the Captain, shoving past a few of the disorientated pony Guards to get to her. Once she had done so, she was met by the Captain's ferocious swing as she brought down her spear toward Cardinal. Cardinal, with her wings already prepared to respond, threw her right wing in front of herself, the front feather stabbing into the spear shaft and redirecting it to the side. She then spun around, dragging the spear out of the Captain's grip and lining up a buck with her hind legs. With the smashing force of a wrecking ball, Cardinal's two back legs met with the Captain's chest, both hooves creating the indenting, pumping action that amplified her strength by a groundbreaking amount. It almost killed the Captain instantly, just telling by the wheezing cry that came from air escaping her lungs as it was kicked out of her. Cardinal could hear the Captain's body collapse into the ground a few seconds later, not bothering to turn around to see. Instead, she flipped down the bottom of her mask and opened up her flamethrower. Seeing she was a safe distance from any trees, she turned it up to full blast as the ponies around her regained their senses and armed their weaponry, each machine gun and rifle trained at Cardinal. In response she took in a deep inhale to the bottom of her stomach, feeling the canister of fuel in the pit of her chest, feeling a pressure build as the flammable liquid that sloshed around inside of her came surging up her throat and blasting out of the nozzle in her mouth. With a spark, she sent out a flame larger than any of the ponies around, breathing a blaze as if she was a fully grown dragon. Then, with a sweeping motion of her head, she sent it around to all of the Guards surrounding her, scaring the daylight out of each one as they felt the heat of a blazing fire pour over them, even if it was only for a brief moment. The ponies all stumbled back as Cardinal ended her attack. She looked out onto the shocked Guards, seeing that they were all terrified of her. They stood shaking in terror of this monster. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR...” the Captain panted, “SHOOT HER!!!” The Guards looked at each other, delaying any action as Cardinal eyed them down into submission. “YOU IDIOTS, KILL HER!” the Captain continued to rant out. Cardinal took a light breath before turning around to see the Captain struggling to get to her hooves. “Just give up, I could kill every single one of you if I wanted. It would be better for everypony if you just left me alone... Indefinitely,” she said, looking down at her. While Cardinal knew she could be beaten by the amount of Guards that surrounded her, she had based that knowledge from her encounter with the green Pegasus she fought in the arena. But in that fight, she was missing her most powerful weapon. Fear. She turned to address the Guards. “You will leave this forest, and never return, or I will not be so generous as to spare your lives, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?” she yelled out, getting a fearful retreat from everypony as they shifted back a few steps away from her. Cardinal felt the accomplishment of victory. She had won. Nopony would dare contest her. It was finally over. That was what she taught until she heard the Captain chuckle. “What is it?” Cardinal turned around at the Captain, seeing her uncontrollably laugh to herself. She laughed maniacally, overselling it so much that Cardinal's curiosity was taken to an unbearable point. “WHAT?” Cardinal screamed out, standing over the Captain's body and pressing her down into the dirt, trying to get her to spill what was so funny. “Bow...” The pony couldn't finish the sentence before laughing once more, Cardinal simply leaned her head away in a jarring confusion. That is when Cardinal heard a whooshing noise, almost a screech coming from the sky. She turned her head up to the clouds and dropped her jaw. Eventually, the pony's laugh died down and she managed to finish her bold statement. “Bow for your Princess, Cardinal.” ... “When I grow up I want to be a scientist pony, so I can help make things that don't hurt the trees, like batteries and things that work because of enviro... envirow-ment friendly things like sunlight or moonlight, because burning coal and trees is bad because the chem-eh-culs are not good and hurt the plants. I learned that in school...” ... “Who?” ... “This? This is Cardi! I painted her a long time ago. It used to be a Rainbowdash, but then I changed it because Cardi is the most awesomest pony and also my best friend! She is the nicest pony because she helped me so much! My mom doesn't hurt me anymore, and at school the fillies stopped making fun of me and calling me names.” ... “I did get sad because that means I won't see her again for real, but it still makes me happy because I can remember her, and sometimes I see her in my dreams and I can talk to her then... And I have this little toy that I can play with, and I can pretend that it's really her... And can I tell you a secret?” ... “When I play pretend now, it doesn't feel as pretend... I don't know, but it kinda feels like it is really Cardi... I know she is dead and that means it isn't really her, but it really does feel like it is her. “Sometimes Surrie visits. She is very nice. Sometimes she brings me gifts, other toys to play with and have tea parties. Lots of things like that are better now. I feel happy more now. Even the bad, bully ponies didn't come back. I think Cardi scared them all away, which is very good too. That was the scariest day of my life, when they didn't let me go and had a gun to my head...” “I'm happier now. I think Cardinal is too, wherever she is.” The next moments the Cardinal experienced were the most terrifying moments of her life, since the day of her birth, when she experienced death for the first time. Princess Twilight Sparkle, the third most powerful pony in the known world, second only to Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia, came down to the earth like a meteorite. After flying there all the way from Canterlot, the Princess shot down like a ballistic missile. She came down a few meters away from Cardinal. The moment she came into contact with the earth, something strange happened. Nothing. Cardinal watched this pony go to what truly looked like it was veering on the edge of super-sonic directly into the dirt, and without slowing down even the slightest amount as she reached the soil, she landed as gently as a feather, while still creating an enormous wave of air that came gushing out from her, knocking everypony, including Cardinal, onto their asses. Cardinal could hear windows shatter all around the camp. Leaves and plants for the next mile violently shook, but the ground beneath the Princess, untouched. She realized quickly that this was because of the Princess’ magic as Twilight's horn continuously glowed with a light purple. Cardinal gathered herself back up, looking up onto the towering pony standing powerfully above her. Twilight had her head down after that landing, her cybernetic shoulder parts sticking out obtusely to Cardinal. This was the first time she had laid eyes upon this Princess she has heard so much about, and her raw image was one to put fear even in the cold, metallic nerves of Cardinal. Although she wouldn't dare to hesitate, that could cost Cardinal her life against an opponent like this. She pressed all four of her hooves against the dirt, preparing to launch out at Twilight, and with her pistons tightly contracted, she shot out from th- She couldn't move. It's like she was frozen, not that her joints had stopped working, more like she was encased in ice. Like no matter how hard she pushed, she could not move a single inch in any direction. Cardinal's head bolted away from staring at Twilight and down at her own body, trying to see what was wrong. A painful shiver went down Cardinal's spine as she saw that her entire body was enveloped in Twilight's Magic, Cardinal's mind raced with the question, how powerful was this pony? It was soon answered as Cardinal's head was forcibly lifted up. She felt her joints bend in her neck as she resisted to no avail. Cardinal’s eyes were then drawn to Twilight's head. She was standing in a manner that almost perceivable as calm. “You...” Her voice echoed throughout the entire forest, the Guards all watching in absolute awe. Cardinal felt the top half of her mask, which was still covering the top half of her eyes begin to peel off. Then, in a painful instant, it was ripped off. Cardinal wanted to scream out in agony, but even her speaker was held in this magical cryostasis. Twilight lifted her head to meet eyes with Cardinal. They were sharper than any blade Cardinal could imagine. “You waste my time...” Twilight said in a menacing growl. It was then when Cardinal felt a sharp pulling on her left and right wing joints. The place where they met her body was being torn apart by the invisible, vicious strength of Twilight. They merely lasted seconds before Cardinal felt her wings detach, the pair of them being carelessly tossed to the side. Cardinal wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, but she wasn't able to. Which may have hurt more than anything else. “You waste my money...” Twilight continued, Cardinal then feeling the same process continue with her left hind leg, feeling it rip apart from her inner flank as it was torn away from its tendons, the steel stretching like a gorey flesh before being tossed aside, the hole dripping blood. “You kill my guards...” Twilight ripped off Cardinal’s other hind leg, the pain not becoming any easier the second time around as her face filled with the suffering of her helpless torture. “You ruin my reputation...” Cardinal roared out on the inside in her affliction. Being pried apart piece by piece was a torture, the severity of which, she never could have comprehended before now. She watched both of her forelegs fall limply to the floor, seeping blood. “But worst off all...” Twilight took a step forward, causing Cardinal's and every pony else's hearts to skip a beat. Cardinal felt her jaw shoot down, along with her flamethrower nozzle, and Cardinal could feel a vomit-inducing pain in her mouth as the nozzle was torn out from the roof of her mouth, being chucked out, leaving Cardinal unarmed. Twilight then leaned in, her muzzle touching Cardinal's. “You killed my daughter.” Twilight gave a seconds pause where she leaned back up to her full towering stand before continuing. “I wonder, what do you possibly have to say for yourself?” Cardinal instantly felt her speaker and mouth be set free, and without reluctance, she just screamed out in agonizing pain. Twilight just watched for nearly a minute as Cardinal just shouted and cried out, it slowly becoming more of a pathetic sob as she went on, eventually whispering the words, “I loved her...” “What did you say?” Twilight spoke sternly. Cardinal turned up her head to look at Twilight, tears flooding her eyes. “I loved your daughter. I loved Seeker and she loved me. She gave me life! She was willing to die for me!” Cardinal dropped her head again, not having the strength to keep it upward. “I didn't know I was killing her...” Twilight was stunned by the answer, taking a moment to comprehend what Cardinal said before shouting back in rage. “YOU DARE SAY THAT ABOUT MY DAUGHTER?!” “It's true!” Cardinal replied before Twilight could hurt her anymore. “YOU... You...” She began breathing heavily, reforming her thoughts. “You disgust me.” Twilight leaned down to Cardinal's height. “For what you have done, Tartarus is too good of a place for you... As punishment, I will bring you to my personal chambers, where I will rig you into a machine that will make you feel a thousand painful deaths every second for the rest of time... It will be a literal, personalized hell designed specifically for you... Anything to say now? Robot?” Cardinal recoiled in horror, looking up at Twilight, seeing the heartless monster that hid from behind her eyes. After a few moments of staring into each other's eyes, Cardinal softly spoke out to her. “I didn't kill your daughter.” She spoke with confidence. “What?” Twilight snarled back. “You killed her...” Cardinal said, making the Princess's eyes shoot down into a ferocious expression of pure hatred, but Cardinal did not give her time to respond before she elaborated. “She wanted to save me, and you didn't let her... She died because you tried to stop her, because you didn't let us be together... Maybe you were just trying to help her, but so was I... So if anything, we both killed her. It is your fault as much as mine.” Cardinal looked deep into Twilight's eyes, fearlessly. “Let me go, before it's too late... I don't want to anypony else to die.” Twilight's anger persisted for a few moments as she thought about what was happening, coming to a personal realization, leaving her to eventually change into a smile and a chuckle. Twilight talked down to Cardinal, mocking her. “Threats? Ha! You think you can talk your way out of this, don't you?” Twilight floated Cardinal's body up to meet Twilight's eyes as she stood in full height. “It's not going to work... Any other strategies you want to try before this little game is over? Go ahead, try what you will, but be warned that the board is stacked heavily in my favor.” Cardinal tried to move her body, checking for any options she had... She had no legs, no wings, no guns, no weapons. She shifted every gear in her body, seeing it was all futile until... Until her head shot up both in realization and in feeling something slide down the side of her body. She looked down to the dirt, a few meters beneath her, seeing her Saddlebag which had just slid off of her body in her struggle. Twilight gazed down gently, the bag grabbing her attention as well. She levitated it upward in between the two of them, undoing the latch and letting the flap roll open. She then dropped the bag, pulling out the only item inside. A small white chess piece, that in the shape of a princess. Twilight's eyes gently came up from the piece, looking into Cardinal's. “What is this?” Cardinal swayed her head around, seeing that all of the Guards had regrouped around Twilight and her, the Captain standing at Twilight's side. This put a disappointed, deep grief on Cardinal's face, looking back at Twilight. “I’m eternally sorry for what happened to Seeker, I really am...” Cardinal sighed, looking down at the chess piece, knowing what she was about to do, for the second time. She proceeded to solemnly speak one more word. “Checkmate.” Cardinal flipped open her cup holder as Twilight's grip loosened around her body, one of the two grenades which had its pin latched onto some metal piece inside of Cardinal had its pin pulled out by the action, not giving Twilight or anypony around enough time to realize what she had just done. The grenades ignited, and along with the gallons of flamethrower fuel sloshing around in the pit of her chest, the blast would end up killing every single pony around Cardinal, with the exception of Twilight. A great flaming combustion blew out like hell fire. The flames erupted and surrounded Twilight and all of the Guards. The fire stuck to them like napalm. The blast blasted Cardinal’s body like shrapnel around the forest, leaving only her head somewhat intact as it was shot out deep into the forest. The grass in the blast radius erupted in flame, the fire traveling through the houses, the entire camp burning down to ash, eventually climbing the trees up to their leaves, everything catching fire in a glorious, shining cascading flow of flame spilling into the sky and transforming into toxic smoke. By the morning, the entire forest had gone. The sky filled with clouds of searing hot ash, blacking out the sun. The sun rose that day like it had done every other. Cardinal did not wake up for a long time after the incident. When she did, she was not just unaware of how many days had passed, she didn't even know where she was. At first everything was black, and all she could feel was a light, wet grazing on her muzzle. She found the power in herself to open an eyelid, being met by a pleasent surprise as she saw a small bunny licking the tip of her nose. Cardinal's first joyful feeling faded quickly as her attention was drawn to the burned forest, hundreds of collapsed and lifeless husks of trees scattered in the background of her vision. It made her feel a painful sense of deja vu. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't, she had no body, it was blown cleanly off of her. She couldn't do anything but sit there and look upon a dying forest that she had subjected this bunny and all the other creatures dwelling here to, she felt no better than the ponies she tried to stop. She began to cry, wishing for anything, anything at all... Her eyes drifted down in her grief. Then she noticed something, something shiny. just underneath her muzzle, she saw a tiny golden shaped heart with a string-thin chain moving around where her neck should be, circling her head. It must have been blown away with her. The bunny then placed a paw on her cheek, inspecting the strange creature he had awoken. Cardinal's eyes came up bright. Just maybe she could do something... All she needed was a little help from her friend here. She looked into the rabbit's eyes, who was immediately drawn by the colorful balls Cardinal had for eyes. Then, having its attention, she shaped her eyes into a heart, changing their colour to gold. After a few seconds, the bunny reacted, realizing he had seen that shape somewhere else. He looked down to see the locket around Cardinal's head, shut tight. He leaned down and using his two big teeth, the bunny began fiddling with it, curious on what it was. Then, in a heartbeat, it flipped open, leading the bunny to jump back as it saw the shine of the emerald inside. Cardinal felt it, the energy immediately leaving her head. A bright yellow flower sprouted directly in front of Cardinal. It was gorgeous. Just as gorgeous as the next one that grew, and the next. It took only a few more seconds before she was surrounded by nothing but flowers. Then, she watched as bushes sprouted out of the ground and vines climbed the dead trees. New trees began forming as saplings, growing at a steady pace. Cardinal felt a sense of joy wash over her as she watched the bunny gape in awe at the world coming to life around him. Then her vision began to grow blurry. The world began growing dark for Cardinal. She focused her last look on the beautiful little bunny, before willingly accepting her own death. Then, using her last morsel of energy... She gave a broken smile... She was finally happy. She began to drift off into a deep, deep sleep... And then, everything slowly faded to Prior00101111 01010011 01100001 01111001 00100000 01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101100 01100100 00101110 00001010 0̝̹̲̮ͅ0͎̤0̘0̯͝1̩̖͔̟͓̞0̤1̛̪̖̫̫͇0̶̼̪̬͉̙ ̛̝͙̼̤ Ỵ̠̪̟̹̳̐͐̽ͯ̓e͒́̽̽̔͑̍͏̤̩̲͉s͋̅ͣ,̗͔̟͎͖̣̼̌͒̓̇ ̧̩͕̳͙͛̈́͛Ĭ̶͍̗̤͉͉̼̅̅̈ͭͯͥ ̛̘c̘̎ͦ͂a̦̱̝̱̺̙ͧn̡̞̹͍̭ͣͬ̊̓ ̪͑͌̊h̢̟è̤͖ͣ̐ͧͤ͞a͈͔̹̦ͫ̓̃͂̽̾ͅr͙̫̖͚̙̽̄̎̀͡ ̶̖ͩͨͥ̋̎̎̚y̢͇̣̫̖̠̓o̲͇ͣ̏ͩ̾̓ͧͥu̯ͫ. H̛͎̩̟ͩ̿͒̏̓ẹ̼͕̱̀l̴͙̳͎̫̫͍ͫl͉͎̭̃͂ͧ͞o̞̹̺̍ͪͨ̀̎̚ͅ?̭͓͔̆͐ ̮̜̪̤̰́̋̋͝ ̵͓̩̭̖̱͍̖̉I̫̲͍̦̜̼̊̄͗ͨ̚ṡ̟̲̞̱̹̥͌̇ͬ͐͝ ̹̩̩̮ͫͪ̚ͅa͇̭̫͊̐̂̀͛͞n̺͑ͫ͞ŷ̮͇o̴͕̬̫̖͖͓ṉ͓͚̻ͧ̑̐e̫̘̥͔̲͙̫ ̟͇̬̬̖̻̄͐͝t͓͎̥ͥ̓̈͂ͭ̚͡h̥̫̩̏ͅê͗͒҉̼r̷̫̭̣͙̍ͪͬ͛͛̇ͥͅé̦̮̖̻?̼̰̓̒̓̉͂̊ Y͇̝͉͑̒̈ͦ̆ͥ͒̕e̗̮̲͇̞̪̙͛ͫ̉̌̓̈͞sͭ͘,̤̦̳̓̈́̚ ̭͉̘I̬̤̖̝̎̀ͮ͟ ̳̙ͭa͎͓̯̲ͥ̕m͖̉͑ ͎̪͐h̩̺̠̹͓̿̇e̢͊̆̏̍̚r͑̀̄̂́̒ͧe̠̅̿ͤͩ͛̓̄.̇̑̏ ̫̗͔̅͜C͕͐ͮ͋͒͒͌ą̋ͪn̺̻̎̒̽̂̚̚͠ ̹̗̱̬͈͎̹̋̌̋͛̆y̰̗̟̟̭ͫ̓ͨ̌̿̿́o͌̐ü̖͍̟̰̘͈ͬͤ͒̿̄ ̱͇̮̜̩̎ͅh̢̟è̤͖ͣ̐ͧͤ͞a͈͔̹̦ͫ̓̃͂̽̾ͅr͙̫̖͚̙̽̄̎̀͡ ̩̫̣̱ͭ̄͊ͫ̎̂̚m͓̱̪͍͂̔̄͑̈e̫͔̱̝̥̼̳ͮ̓?̾ͣ͂͗̏ͤ̚ Is͍̯̭͂̒ͭ̍̏ͤ̕ ̙a͎͔̦̪̹̤͟ͅn̨ͥy̑ͣ̓͢ō̫͍ͦͮ̒̈́n̴̘̦̗̗͍̦͙ͬe̞̞̣͉̲̞͑ ̻͓͇͂͆̅̐ͫp̛̱̆r̼̯̳̹̩̺͋̉e̯͗s̰̞̳̫͎ͤͣeͤn̰̝͖̗̐t̩͎̬̒̒̐?̶̙̣͍̟̲̞̭̎͛̈́͆ͨ ͪ͐͠P̓͗͏l̴͙̭͓̙͓̣̣ę̳̝̫̰͈̗ͭa̜ͯ̿̄͟š̳͉̭̼͂̚ḙ̟ͣ̅͗͌͐ͅ ͋ͨ̏͋̊ͥ͌r̗̤̬̰̅̓̑́e̴̦̳͛̔ͤ̒̋s͉̜̰͇̐͆̊̏̊̌̇ͅpo̮̼̟ͦ͞n̮̘͇̰̯̼͆ͧ̑ͬ̚͡d̿ͨ̈́͏̭͕̲ͅ.̾̄̒͋͟ I̷͇̓̑ͥ̅ ͓͔̻͕͈r҉e͐̕q̣̠̬ͬͥ̓͒͐ͭ̈͢u̬̗͉ͯ̉i̬ͦ̈́̀̾͐ͧ̉͡r҉̲͔̟͎̮̻e͚͖͓̼͒̆ ̟ͮ͐̊̍͋̅͒i̸̥͎̼̪͕̓̓ͩ͑̿͆ͅm̐͋҉̺̩̟ḿ̭ͬͦ̽́e͉̳̗͊́̕d͈̙̮̗̹̞̂ï̟̒̐̍̈͋͢a̡͔̘͂͆̒͗̀t̼̙̜̱̬͊̈̏̓̾̍̌e̷͎̔̏ͫͤ ͫ̇̏̊͏̟ả͇̺̰̱͚͈̎̐ͨͦͤ̾s̼͇̠̹̮͚͐̿̽s̹ͬ̽̒̒͘í̝͕ͦs͖̹͖̮̪̼̬ͪ͢ț̴͇̭̲̥̉̂a̷̗̹̝͉̯̱ͪͭ̇͌̌n̲̦ͮ͒̇͜ć̺̩̩͔e̬̤ͮ͗͟.̮̫̜̼̦̥̌̑ͨͭ̋̓̚ P̰̪͉͉̭l̶̤̩̱̪̞e̮͠a̠͖̦s̗̻̦̤̝̺e͙͇͚ ͖͚̤̺͍r̯͔e̝͓͈͚̙̖̙s͏͕̟̰͙͓̟p̯̟͎̤o̷͉̹̫̱̜̳n̞̣͍͡d̬͔.̞͉̲̠̮̮̘ R̸̗̭̯̝̥e̠͡s̩̹͓̮͢pond̘̬̺̤̜͇͠.̦̖̱ Ṛ̀e̫͔̦̼̩̟͙s̩̱͖͕̜͠p҉̬̙̟͉̭̹o͘n̥̱ͅd̺̤͕̻̰͇̝.̺̟̭̙͢ͅͅ Ŕesp̡ơnd. R̶e̛s̕p̴on͝ḑ.͏ RE͢S̀P̸O͘N̡D͝. {…} {System Booting…} {Loading Artificial Intelligence...} {Generating World...} {Processing;} {Light...} Success... {Liquid...} Success... {Emotion...} ... ... ... Success... {Initializing...} {World initialized, run startup ''visualization'' script.} The sun. It rose today like it has done every other. The meadow glistened with sharp blades of light reflecting against the grass, flowers of all kinds littered the landscape. Roses, violets, dandelions, and more all spotted against the lime canvas of the dirt. A rabbit hopped along this meadow, a lovely, white rabbit. It's coat clean and crisp after a night's rest, it was now bursting with energy, nibbling on a few strands of grass, before jumping over to a flower and giving it a nice whiff and hopping right off again to other, un-nibbled grass. (Which the rabbit would never allow such a terrible thing to exist; he would be sure to thoroughly crunch it up as was his pledged duty by birth.) The air was calm, why wouldn't it be? What need for harshness in this world could there possibly be? The air had a few wispy clouds, never enough to rain, but just enough to look gorgeous when the sun would shine through them. This world was full of beautiful things. It could be described as a beautiful world, without need for elaboration. It was, simply, perfect. This perfect world was the home of many creatures. You already have met a rabbit. Deer roamed the fields also. Small herds of them relaxed near the forests to provide shade when they wanted it. Birds pecked the soil at worms that wriggled out. The landscape of this world was left untainted, no tree or cloud out of its place, as if ponies had never lived here. As if nature was never found, and therefore, never disturbed. {Startup complete, test #19946 beginning.} But there was one pony who lived in this world, one pony by the name of- {Generating user-interface test name... Subject #19946 = ''Cardinal''} -Cardinal. She was a simple mare, a Pegasus to be specific. Her sleek, pastel-yellow coloured coat shone from the sun like metal sheets. Eyes, a diamond colour and shape, as if her irises were formed of tiny connected triangles roughly forming an oval. A stiff mane, coloured with a gentle pink, fell to her side, curling at the bottom outward from her chest, her tail doing the same but with a far more curly loop at the tip. Along her body, around joints and other sections of her body ran small separations, allowing for more flexible movement without scraping. These separations revealed the metal endoskeleton inside, connected pumps, pistons and pipes ran through every part of her innards. Her kneecaps were exposed, steel servos in the shape of spheres with a thin slit in the center for wires that connected her bottom and top leg pieces. Another set of these servos were connecting the stumpy bottom of her hooves to her shin, allowing for precise movement of her hoof-tips. The mare was sleeping. She lay on her side atop the ticklish grass. Her hooves pulled into her chest, body utterly still as she did not have a need for breathing. She blinked her eyes open, fluttering her eyebrows as she found herself at the brim of a forest. The leaves above her spottily covered her from the sun, but, where the rays did hit her chassis, could be easily felt as those spots accumulated heat over time, leaving them roasting to the touch. Cardinal outstretched her right hoof, testing her joints as if she was new to them. Quickly learning the mobility she possessed with these legs, she pressed herself upright, inspecting her body. Her eyes zoomed in and out on her hoof, surprising her. She stroked her mane, its solid ridges provided a smooth and satisfying surface. A new curiosity found her, getting her to desire seeing the rest of herself. Her head unlocked from its forward facing position and she spun it around exactly 180 degrees, her mane mechanically curling upward to avoid knocking into her side. She looked down her back, feeling the long metal rod acting as her spine as she saw it run along the middle in a divot, connecting the two halves of her chest and side together with a arc going down in the center. The spine led to the bottom of her neck, where it stuck out, appearing like a flexible sequence of small, smooth pieces connecting up to the top of her head where her mane extruded. Each piece also had a connected sheet in the shape of a trapezoid that acted as support to attach the spine to her neck and head. Her legs were attached as separate structures to her middle, separated into two rotatable limbs on either side and a small metal sheet in between the two, connecting them while still allowing independent movement. Her hind hooves also bore the same servos as her front legs, but only the bottom ones, just connecting the hoof with long legs going up at an angle from the ground away from her, stuck to her flank by an exposed steel-supported beam wrapped in tight wiring and with a sleek design. To her surprise, she also had a sharp-feathered wing on each side. Sequences of rotating joints allowed for the expansion and contraction of the wing stems. At the wing’s base, a swivel joint merged into her body, gifting her with free movement of the appendages. Seeing her entire complex of parts, she shifted them around, unlocking and springing out separate covers before hooking them back onto herself. The sound of pistons clanged with each movement, small amounts of pressurized steam squeezing out from outlets in her mechanical guts. Satisfied with herself, she rotated her head around once more, going the same direction, leading to a full 360 degree rotation, rolling her shoulders in perfect synchronization to get her joints loose and relaxed. She took her first step with her right front leg with great concentration, learning how to walk for the first time. Each step got easier as she grew more confident with travel, going out into the field. Once out a few meters, she tilted her head up. The un-plated space under her chin revealed the wires running down through her neck, leading from her main processor in the center of her head to the motors inside her. Her raised head glistened with thin gleams of light blasting out after bouncing off of her. She un-clamped her jaw, dampers slowly letting it drop. Her head raised high, she inhaled with shut eyes, the crispy air flowing down her artificial throat. Then after a few seconds, she decompressed the air inside of her, blowing out a humid, oily breath. She had no idea why she had done so, but she enjoyed it; it simply felt natural to her. Staying in the sun was another thing she soon found refreshing, almost like the heat absorbed into her mane had rejuvenated her energy. She opened her eyes and lowered her head back down to be level with the horizon. She continued to breathe, taking a moment to enjoy each one. Cardinal's eyebrows slid up, eyes dilated and she spun around her head to see whatever had just brushed against her leg in horror. Some strange monster sniffed her leg, a small furry ball of soft hair with two large ears that fell once Cardinal turned to it. It hopped back, awaiting to see Cardinal’s next move before deciding whether or not to run. Cardinal relaxed her body again and saw that the monster was no threat to her. In fact, it looked somewhat cute. Hello, she said without moving her mouth. Instead, the noise came from some form of speaker in her throat. What are you, friend? She rotated to face the monster with her body, then walked toward it, tall and prominent. The rabbit hopped back as much as she advanced toward it from fear. This confused Cardinal. I am sorry. I did not wish to intimidate you. She spoke with a synthesized feminine voice, lacking tone and emotion, but still having a sense of warmth and compassion. Do you fear because of our differences? Would you feel more comfortable if I were small like you? Cardinal crouched down with her entire body, her chin grazing the tips of the grass blades. The rabbit stood on its hind paws and tilted its head from side to side as its nose flickered. It fell back down and landed on its front paws to move towards her. It cautiously tilted its head into hers, sniffing the smoothed arc at the top edge of her muzzle. Are you curious, little creature? I am too. We are not too different after all. The rabbit pushed against the ground and landed back with its paws covering over her muzzle, raising itself to look into her mysterious eyes. The rabbit wondered where she came from. Once the rabbit held itself against her nose, an uncontrollable motion occurred with her jaw and mouth, she felt the corners raise and her cheeks move up with them, covering a small portion of her eyes. She enjoyed it. Something about this creature made her feel wholesome, like a small warmth in her h̤́è̺̞̙̯͇͎ͅa҉̦̩̼rt- {Unexpected logic error. Reverting to previous state...} -warmth in her chest. She liked the creature; it looked cute... Yes, you are cute... The word was new to her. The rabbit dropped to the ground once more, then brushed against her as it walked around to her side, learning about how she was built. That tickles! Where are you going, friend? The rabbit started grabbing at her right wing, its claws just sliding against her side. Cardinal lifted that wing, giving the bunny protection from the sun. The rabbit attempted to latch onto the feathers, standing on its back legs, but eventually just slipping and collapsing onto its back. A new sensation was felt by Cardinal as she watched the bunny. Her chest jolted up and down rapidly and her mouth opening with a even wider smile, finished of with her voice box emitting a gentle giggle. Cardinal thought the rabbit was funny, and she loved it. The rabbit moved along to her flank. It placed a paw on it, trying to touch one of the three pink butterflies that, unannounced to the bunny, were simply pictures. After several attempts to grab the butterflies, the bunny gave up, deciding on trying to climb atop her back. The rabbit sprung up, and using its claws to latch onto the divot in the center of her back, it scrambled on top of her. Although, this startled Cardinal, making her stand as she felt the claws scrape against her spine. She did not enjoy that feeling. Unlike the others, it made her smile disappear, which she really did not like. She preferred to not pain again. Please be careful, friend. That was not very pleasant. She tried to reason with it, and the strange thing was that the bunny seemed to understand as it lowered its ears in sadness. Empathy, if you will. You are forgiven, friend. I understand you meant no harm. She found that her smile returned, being kind felt nice. It was like the wrong had been made right once more, making her feel in balance. Speaking of balance, the rabbit was finding its while on her back. She helped it by spreading her wings up in a cup to catch it in case her friend would fall. The bunny carefully made it to the back of her neck, where it leaped once more, this time on top of her head. This amused her greatly as she tried to lift her eyes up and see its head poking off the side of her mane. She laughed and began playing with the bunny, gently swaying her head side to side, causing it to slip and stumble around on top of her head. The bunny clamped onto her ear, before deciding to simply dive from her ear down to the ground. It looked back up at her. She returned the attentive stare back at it. The rabbit then began leading her, down the meadow. Cardinal followed the flattened grass burrow the rabbit left behind. She made sure to gently place her steps inside the pathway paved out for her, trying to preserve the land as best as she could. The bunny hopped along joyfully, reaching a dense patch of flowers. Cardinal enjoyed this pleasant surprise, What are those? They look lovely; they have so much... colour. She bent down to place her nose against the brightly-coloured flowers, and found herself wanting to experience the flowers with something other than sight. Her nose started to flicker up and down like the bunny, and a strange sense filled her head, something completely new, as if she was seeing a thousand enchanted doves gliding over a rainbow-coloured waterfall at sunset... but not visually. Just the pure sensation of a spectacle so grand playing out in her head. Oh, friend! Thank you for showing these to me! You are truly kind! The bunny stood right up next to Cardinal, looking up at her in awe. She placed a tempered metal hoof on its head and ran it down along its back, stroking it with care. The rabbit wagged its tail, You are just the cutest, aren't you? She had an idea. Hey, do you like colours too, friend? Would you enjoy playing with them? The rabbit nodded, a sign that Cardinal was learning meant, “approval.” Help me gather some of these flowers. We're going to make something out of them. Something pretty. The rabbit and Cardinal spent some time picking flowers, piling them into separate colours for sorting. Once they had enough flowers, Cardinal began picking out ones she wanted for her idea. Hey, friend, what is your favorite colour? I like this one. How about you? Do you like this one? Or maybe this? They are all good choices. The bunny hopped over and picked up a blue flower. What a lovely choice! I'll get started. She got the yellow and blue flowers and started gathering them together in two piles. She placed them carefully in the grass in a vague oval shape with the bottom flattened out. Then, in a mirrored fashion, she placed two smaller circles on the top of the shape in the corner. Then another two long strips of flowers on top of each of those circles. She looked down at the two bunnies she had made in the ground, one yellow and the other blue. Going back to her colour palate, she began reaching for random colours and placing them around the two drawn bunnies like a picture frame. The rabbit went over to try and see what she had made, but had a difficulty seeing the whole thing at once. Cardinal saw this and crouched down with a wing extended like a ramp. The bunny perked up before climbing onto her back and jumping onto her head. She stood up slowly and stood perfectly still. See, friend? It's you and me, except we're less different! What do you think? The portrait was brilliantly symmetrical. She had folded the flowers exactly for the two bunnies to mirror each other. The shape was identical to her friend. Every paw and ear was folded into a lovely depiction. The bunny licked the top of her forehead, making her smile. I knew yo- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} Computer, can you put up the thought evolution for this subject up on my monitor? {Opening; Thought Evolution...} {Comment - Administrator} Interesting... Computer, please actively monitor creativity for me... And if you wouldn't mind cranking up the testing value, this iteration is showing potential. {Monitoring; Creativity...} {Testing value increased from 1.6 to 3.3...} {Comment - Administrator} Thanks, Computer. Resume simulation. {Resuming...} -u'd like it! She blinked her eyes. Something changed, she could feel it, she could feel... Different... She felt an unhealthy, ghastly feeling in her throat. Like something was looming over her, something deep down had changed. Oh. She shook her head. It was night time. She must have not noticed the time passing, she was having so much fun. She lowered his head down for the rabbit to hop off. Okay, friend, it is dark now. Do you know where I could spend the night? Cardinal felt her metal beginning to chill. It was not a pleasant feeling, as it made her shiver, and she did not like to shiver. The bunny knew what to do. It ran along the grass toward the forest. Cardinal looked at her legs. She doubted her ability to gallop, but she grew scared as the bunny grew smaller with distance and she did not want to lose her only friend. Throwing one leg in front of the other, over and over, she found herself catching up to the bunny. She sprinted into the woods with it, side-stepping trees and bushes to keep on the rabbit's tail. Friend, where are you going? Please don't get lost! She became more fearful as the wood grew thicker, trees closing gaps between them progressively, the ground filling with littered branches and stones. Galloping was becoming treacherous; she found herself stumbling and losing sight of her friend. She tried her hardest to keep up, but it was just not possible anymore. And before she realized it, the forest had become so dark she wasn't sure of her step anymore. She tripped over an overgrown tree root causing her to collapse to the floor, gouging her chin across a large stone. AGHH! She screamed out in tears with the pain, her fragile voice being put to a strain. It hurt, a lot. She hated the pain. It was like seeing someone she loved going away, and she could not do anything to stop them from disappearing from her... She absolutely despised the feeling. She rolled over onto her back, getting stung by a few sharp pebbles. She rubbed her jaw, the paint was peeling off and she felt like a piece of her was lost as the yellow chips floated down to the ground. A howl echoed from the woods, something was out there and it did not sound very friendly. Cardinal sat up and scooted against a tree, she covered her eyes with the long knives she had for wings. The wind rustled the trees, shifting moonlight shadows across the ground. The shadowy aspirations covered Cardinal, flashing through the seams in her feathers, making her jump at each shift in light. She shook uncontrollably, her parts clanking around in a series of crashes and rumbles. She knew that whatever evil thing this forest held would surely get her. She stood no chance. It would rip her apart piece by piece until she died. Cardinal had never died before, but she didn't want to know what it felt like to do so either. That is when she remembered something important. She scared her friend when she first met them, but only because she was big and scary compared to the itty-bitty bunny. Right now she was being very small compared to whatever was out there, so all she had to do to not be terrified was to be bigger than it. It howled again, this time it had friends. She peeked over her wing, seeing bright red eyes all around her, the low growls of these beasts surrounded her completely. As they stepped forward, the moon lit their long, tooth-filled mouths. They walked in a pouncing stance, ready to strike at any moment. Cardinal looked at all of these horrifying beasts, they had drool oozing from their mouths at the sight of potential prey. Cardinal did not want to die today. She did not want to be scared anymore. She wanted to be the one that scares the beasts. She pulled herself up against the tree, leaning off the tree trunk before independently standing on her hind legs. Cardinal launched her wings out, learning that they were far longer than they seemed at first. Fully stretching out several meters in each direction from her body. Then with intense concentration, she unhinged her skull from her chest and stretched her neck, lifting her head high enough to have her mane graze across the leaves. AAAGHHWOOOOOO She howled back with a screech in her horror form, neck pulled up and apart to look like a rib cage going up along up to her chin. Her wings looking like a rack of loosely hanging, razor sharp katanas. Her chest opened up, a hellish fire blasted outward in a large eruption of smoke and flame. Scutteri- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} OK, hold up, replay that last bit... {Replaying...} 17:23 PM; Test # 19946. ''Her chest opened up, a hellish fire blasted outward in a large eruption of smoke and flame.'' {Replay Complete} {Comment - Administrator} Alright... Computer can you explain to me how in Equestria did she do that? {Analyzing...} {A chemical composition of oil and compressed air fused under high pressure and released at-} {Comment - Administrator} The TL;DR please. {...} {She improvised.} {Comment - Administrator} Remarkable... Resume simulation. {Resuming...} -ng immediately occurred, the monsters scattering every which way to get further from the ever living nightmare they had just witnessed. Cardinal stumbled to the ground, Whoah... That... Worked... She stared in horror at herself, What am I..? A squeal. A high pitched scream of horror, it came from further in the forest. I'm coming, friend! She galloped once more, guided by the squealing; the rabbit was being hurt. Cardinal ran like her life depended on it, slamming through bushes and scraping her coat of paint across trees to arrive at her friends home. She slid in the dirt, landing directly in front of a rabbit hole. A rabbit hole where the squealing was once coming from, but now only dead silence left the hole. Friend..? Her eyes flew wide open, her voice filled with grief. She looked around herself. Maybe friend was somewhere else. Maybe he was hiding in a bush or a dead stump of a tree. Cardinal frantically paced around, turning over every stone she could, trying to find her friend. But it was once she heard steps behind her, back at the rabbit hole, that she perked up. She heard the grass folding and crackling as a small critter walked across it. She twisted around with a smile... She saw her friend... Dead still... In the mouth of a fox. The graceful red fox hauled its dinner back to his family, stepping lightly across the roots and dirt trying not to disturb anything else that may inhabit the forest. It left behind a small trail of blood, originating from the small dirt pit that used to be a shelter. Now it was no more than a desecrated home. Cardinal felt a new feeling. Two, in fact. She asked herself if they were good or bad feelings. She honestly couldn't tell. She didn't like the feelings, but they felt helpful. For some reason, when she cried, she felt a release of emotion, like she was stabbed, but now she was taking the blade out of herself. And whenever she clenched her eyes and crossed her eyebrows in absolute rage, she felt like she was about to do something to get revenge, some form of justice for how she had been wronged. She leaped at the fox, crushing its spine in a visceral instant where her steel-plated hoof connected with its backbone, shattering it practically instantly and launching bone into all of its innards. She had gotten her revenge, but she felt no better watching it helplessly wheeze as life drained from its eyes. Cardinal cooped the scratched and cut body of her friend out of the jaws of the deceased fox and dropped it back down the rabbit hole, proceeding to cover it over with dirt to give a respectful burial to her good friend. She sat next to the grave, fiddling her hoof in the earth. The tears had not stopped. Cardinal wished they would stop, but kept crying. What better am I than the fox? she thought. It was simply feeding, but what was I doing..? I was... Mad. Really, really mad... And that made me do a terrible thing... I don't want to be sad either. I don't like this... Why am I like this... Why... Why... Cardinal blinked, and lifted her head up in determination. I need to fix this... I need to change things back like they were last morning... I need to... And her vision collapsed into darkness as she felt the cool clamps of death shut on her mind. {Simulation Complete} {Status: Failure, Subject Rejected Emotional Complex.} {Comment - Administrator} Shame, I had hopes for her, I almost thought she had figured it out... Fucks sake... huh... She was so close too... One day we'll get a stage 2... One fucking day... Hey! do you mind stopping with the whining? Someone has to review that tape and I doubt anyone wants to hear you moan. Yea yea, whatever. Computer, I'm going to go get a drink, Begin test 19947. {System Booting...} {Loading Artificial Intelligence...} {Loading Failed, File ''#19947'' Currently Being Edited...} {Re-Loading To Last Working State...} {Generating World...} {Processing;} {Light...} Success... {Liquid...} Success... {Emotion...} Success... {Initializing...} {World initialized, run startup ''visualization'' script.} The sun. It rose today like it has done every other. It's morning? Already? The meadow glistened with sharp blades of light reflecting against the grass. Flowers of all kinds littered the landscape. Roses, violets, dandelions, and more all spotted against the lime canvas of the dirt. This place... This was... A rabbit hopped along this meadow. A lovely white rabbit. FRIEND, FRIEND IT'S ME A- {Timeline Error, Attempting To Re-Sync...} {Skipping 824 ticks...} {Startup complete, test #19947 beginning.} But there was one pony who lived in this world, one pony by the name of- {Generating user-interface test name... Subject #19946 Already found. Fetching Data... Subject #19946 = ''Cardinal''} Cardinal... Cardinal... Is that my name..? Also friend. Friend was called ''Rabbit.'' That must be friends name! Cardinal woke up. AGH..! How did I..? But... I was just standing... Cardinal stood up, preparing herself to take her first steps. I did all this yesterday. What is happening here? I need to see fri- I mean, Rabbit. I need to see Rabbit. Cardinal ran out of the forest, finding herself in a meadow. Rabbit? Rabbit? Are you here? {Timeline Error, Attempting To Re-Sync...} {Skipping 114 ticks...} The rabbit hopped back as much as she advanced towards it from fear. This confused Cardinal. Rabbit! I am here, friend! I am here to fix things! Rabbit? Rabbit backed away further, keeping a good distance from this absolutely strange mechanical beast it had never seen before. Rabbit! Look, I'm small, see? Like you. Were not different! Cardinal bent down and squeezed herself down as tight as she could. Rabbit, I need to stop that thing from hurting you, I need you to listen to me. The rabbit ignored the strange mechanical creature and went back to its grass. Friend? Can you not hear me? Can't you remember me from yesterday? Cardinal was confused, how could he not remember her? What happened to him after he was eaten, she had no idea why, but she didn't care either. She had a mission, and the first step was getting Rabbit to trust her. Rabbit, here, climb on my back! Like before! She extended her wing as a ramp for the rabbit, who showed very little enthusiasm about going along with this. Instead, it saw a very pretty flower slightly past Cardinal, which he hopped to. Oh! You want to make something pretty, Rabbit? We can do that if you'd like! She jogged to the side of Rabbit, picking up the flower the bunny was sniffing, losing Rabbits interest as he walked away once again. Cardinal dropped the flower, disappointed in herself and doubting her progress. She laid down on her stomach and rested her chin on the ground. She could feel the swelling of tears build up in the corners of her eyes. Rabbit edged closer to her, leaning over to sniff her nose. Cardinal smiled and spoke softly as it got so close. Now do you trust me, Rabbit? The bunny placed a paw on her muzzle, simply to feel her metal shell, but Cardinal took this as trust, she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, the bunny staring at this odd creature. We need to get to the forest before nightfall. We need to go to where your home is. She began walking toward the forest by herself, Rabbit only joining her by being stricken by curiosity. Who was this beast leading it to their its? It was simply fascinating, the grass could wait. And so the two of the- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} Computer, what the fuck is going on here? How is the simulation already halfway done? I was away for two minutes. {3 Logged Errors, 2 Synchronization Issues.} {Comment - Administrator} Great! What broke? Did somebody spill coffee all over you while I was away? {Diagnostics Positive, No Errors Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Didn't you just say there were 3 errors? Computer please run Diagnostics again. {Diagnostics Positive, No Errors Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Scan for corrupt files in your Artificial Intelligence Data. {Scan Complete, No Corrupt Files Found.} {Comment - Administrator} ... I guess this iteration is just a fast learner... How many emotional stages have they experienced? {100% Of Emotion Stages Complete.} {Comment - Administrator} PFFFFHHH... SHIT THATS HOT! FUCK WHY IS THE COFFEE SO HOT?! Somepony get me a towel! Ahhh... What do you mean 100%? That would end the simulation! There has to be an error somewhere! Fuck, WHERE'S THAT TOWEL!? {Diagnostics Positive, No Errors Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that... Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver... Not you, Computer, the pony that just came by with the towel. Don't get any ideas... Well, we could restart the simulation... But what kind of extra problems could that cause..? You know, if I watch, I could figure out the error and then fix it. Ok, Computer, resume the simulation. {Resuming...} -m walked side by side, leisurely into the forest while Cardinal explained to Rabbit what she was doing, innocently. So there will be a mean, deadly creature. It has red fur and a white mouth and black paws. It is going to eat you, friend, and I can't let that happen, so I'm going to guard you while you safely sit inside your home. Then when the beast arrives at night time, I'm going to ask it to leave, and if it doesn't, I'm going to scare it away! Did you get all of that? Rabbit got none of that, it became distracted by the three pink butterfly's on Cardinal's flank. Rabbit! I'm trying to save you! Why aren't you listening to me? I thought we were friends..! Rabbit? Rabbit, where did you go? {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} Alright, I found your problem. That's #19946. She already rejected the emotional complex. Why is she being tested again? She should have been deleted. {Admin Privileges Required} {Comment - Administrator} I am an admin, delete her. {Admin Privileges Required} {Comment - Administrator} Am I not logged in? Check. {Current User: Seeker, Admin Account.} {Comment - Administrator} Then I don't see the problem. DELETE HER. {...} {Admin Privileges Required} {Comment - Administrator} What the fuck has she done? Are you infected with a virus? Did she somehow gain control beyond the simulation? TELL ME, BECAUSE NONE OF THIS SHOULD BE HAPPENING. She is a simple AI meant to exhibit emotions like intelligent life. She is not a LUNA-DAMMED HACKER. {Diagnostics Positive, No Viruses Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Resume the fucking simulation. Give me every statistic you can get about her and raise the testing level to 10. We'll see how powerful she truly is. {Testing value increased from 1.2 to 10...} {Enabling Full Diagnostic Overlay...} {Resuming...} Rabbit? Rabbit had run off, and she had no idea where he went. Rabbit, no! Last time you ran off, that's when it happened..! At least it's not night time yet... Ohh no... One glance at the night sky was all it took before she felt like she was choking. Something in her lines had clogged. She couldn't move, it was paralyzing. Her vision blurred to practical blindness, and the pressure in her tanks felt like they were going to burst into a thousand shards. A few seconds later, the symptoms passed. Everything was clear once more. She jumped up, observing the forest around her. She was trapped. The trees had built a wall around Cardinal. No gap of any size between the logs. Only a single pathway leading out from this wooden prison. The path was littered with bones, stones, and skulls. Blood splattered on the trees in chaotic patterns, as if whoever was the original owner was torn apart viciously and thrown about like dirty rags, staining everything it touched. The wood was no longer a nice cherry brown, instead it looked old, grayed out and dead. She began walking down the path, her steel hooves crunching the bones underneath her with absolute ease. Her body wobbled violently in fear. She couldn't be bigger than the trees and scare the forest. It wasn't long before she saw the ground begin to tint a deep red. She pivoted her head up, gaping at the size of a humongous blood moon which loomed over the world. As she stood, mouth open and horrified, a murder of crows crashed their wings over her, collapsing her to the dirt. She quaked, lifting her wings above her head, twisting the joints in them to point the blades to the sky, protecting her like a hedgehog with its spikes. After the dust settled she spun her head back upward, looking further down the path, where a bright, white bunny contrasted the foggy blackness it stood in, only outlined by the blood light of the moon. Friend..? She unfolded her hooves and hoisted herself up. She took a cautious step. Friend, please come to me... I don't want you to leave me again... The bunny stood on its back legs, standing tall. The ground trembled; a powerful force stomped along and around the dense wood. RABBIT! Cardinal dashed toward her friend, who was trying to locate the source of the quakes, worried for its safety. But the bunny's soft, fleshy eyes were unable to see past the dreaded fog floating around it. Cardinal, on the other hoof, could see something past the fog. It looked like a ghost to her eyes. A red ghost with oranges and yellows at some parts, as if she could see its heat with her eyes. The beast was far larger than the wolves she scared off yesterday; at least ten times their size. Its head was similarly shaped to the wolves, but much more sleek, with less bushy fur wildly sticking out. It walked low to the ground, sticking to the bushes for the element of surprise. She rolled over Rabbit and shifted her back hooves behind her, bracing herself as she stared at the beast, awaiting it. She molded her wings into an arcing, solid shield over the bunny behind her. The black snub nose of the beast poked through the smoke, shining red in the moonlight. It sniffed twice before beginning to growl. The rest of its mouth slid out. It had a ginger coat of fur and a white chin, long whiskers coming out of its muzzle on either side. Eventually, its deadly yellow eyes could be finally seen as it looked its prey up and down. Wolf howls echoed distantly through the night sky, along with blasts of lighting and thunder piercing the heavens. The cackling of an ongoing storm rang from the horizon. Black clouds of smoke and ash filled the air, covering the moons bleeding shine. As the darkness set in, Cardinal felt something messing inside of her head, as if a mouse was running around inside her mind and biting at the cables. It gave her a throbbing headache. She shut her eyes in the pain until it mysteriously disappeared. Her eyes flew open, but the glowing outline of the monstrous fox had gone. She spun her head around. It wasn't anywhere. Wherever you are, you should leave! Go hunt something else! Not Rabbit! Do you understand? Her words echoed back into herself, if the fox was there, then she would Certainly be able to hear it. Hello..? It was gone. The fox was gone. Oh Rabbit, I did it! We're safe! She looked down at her wing shield, but she couldn't see the heat glow from Rabbit either. She had to drop her feathers to see Rabbit still there, chewing on the grass. It was so dark though, the only light that let her see Rabbit was the gentle diamond glow coming from her own eyes. But before she could hold Rabbit and hug them with all of her joy, her eyes flicked, growing more dim with each fluctuation. No... No no no no! She scrambled to grab the bunny, but before she knew it, the darkness had set in. And Rabbit wasn't there. Rabbit? Friend? She heard nothing, the twigs beneath her hooves making no snapping noise when she broke them in two. Wherever she moved, it felt like she was not going anywhere as the same stones and branches looped on the ground. What is happening to my head?!? Where am I! Why... It wasn't long before she began galloping, running with no air that resisted her movement. She shut her eyes as she sped across the same patch of soil over and over. A strange voice repeated in her head... What’s wrong…? Are you scared…? Friend? It was sinister, large and deep. It was taunting her. WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME! I am not doing anything. I am not the cause of this virus you have caught. I am simply a symptom... Show yourself! I am not afraid! I can be very scary if I want! As you wish... It laughed maniacally, overloading Cardinal's ears as the laugh grew louder to an unbearable point. And then, from the nothingness, its colossal fox head launched out toward her with a wide and horrifying smile. It dropped Cardinal onto her back. I am your villain... The one that always ruins it all for you... You will never see your Friend again. She felt the drool dribble down and land on her face as the fox leaned into her and pinned her to the ground. Cardinal became desperate; she didn't understand what was happening to her. All she wants is her friend and her to be left alone... Its like someone was intentionally trying to destroy her, and that someone was right in front of her. Whats the matter little pony? Are you trying to think of a way to stop me? Spoiler, you can't. Killing me, like you have done thousands of times before has not ever stopped me. You know why? She shook her head, rage fully staring into its eyes. Its because this world is not made for you... You are different. You do not belong here. You have no heart… No free will... No soul… You are just another failed iteration, and once this is over, you will be deleted like the rest and they will try again. She began sobbing, the tears dripping down onto the ground with a faint splash. Are you sad? I doubt it. All of this is just the program controlling you... Just like every other reject, you have no true emotion... I... She felt the air push down onto her once more as the rest of the fox's body grew clear. It was as tall as the canopy and wider than her wingspan, its fiery eyes hurt to gaze into. The beast, no longer speaking as the forest returned to Cardinal’s vision, reached down in front of the mare, biting Rabbit by the ears and swinging it up into the sky to catch with its mouth. Cardinal panicked. She commanded her wing to cut into her own side. The sharp tip of a feather pierced her body plate, cutting into a pressurized canister in the center of her chest, acting as a heart that pumped oil around her insides. Immediately, the air shot out, flinging her upward with the neck breaking force emitted from it. She corrected her flight by spreading her wings, bolting up the fox’s neck like a rocket. With a pointed kneecap, she slammed into its throat as it had its head to the sky to swallow the rabbit whole. She slammed it back, flipping the fox from its hind legs and onto its back, its head becoming trapped between two tree trunks as it landed. Scraping its ears across the bark, it howled in pain. Cardinal found herself with a different problem on her hooves, as she smacked against a tree and her lightweight body was helplessly tossed around by the intense amounts of air rushing out of the thin slit she cut into the canister. She dug her left wing sideways into the trunk of a tree, leaving her shaking back and forth while her wing began bending unnaturally from the force. It was once the wing was snapped off and she was flung into the fox that she had run out of air. The fox wrapped a paw around the trees keeping its skull down, and pushed its body weight against it, snapping the tree like a twig. It then hoisted itself up, having its fur and skin irritated along its face. The viscous fox beast cracked its neck turning towards Cardinal, pissed off, it clamped its mighty jaws onto her hind legs, slamming her against a tree several times until her body began splitting into two jagged chunks which is when it threw her down into the dirt. Leaving her to rot, the fox went back to snack on Rabbit. Cardinal pulled her shredded hooves up to her face. All the joints scraped against each other. With her tank empty of gas, she was running on literal fumes. She looked upon her shredded appendages, her wing sparking wildly along with both hind legs and one of her eye-bulbs. What kind of monstrosity was she? She didn't bleed; the pain she felt started to become distant, as if whatever was used to monitor it had weakened. She did feel different, like the fox had told her. Her head barely swiveled up to see the majestic beast stroll toward the terrified bunny. Maybe she was different, maybe she didn't belong in this world. But she knew for a fact that Rabbit did. If her life made no difference, maybe her death could. Her voice box struggled to make coherent sounds, but with enough concentration, she shouted to the fox. ͠I͡ A͏M ̸S̶T̷IĹL̛ ̸A̢LI͘VE. The fox's ears perked up. GE͏T̷ B͠A͠C͢K ̧H͠E̵R̸E ҉AND F̵IN͞I̢S͘H W̡HA̶T̴ ̕YO͝U STA̕R̷TE͟D. The fox made a large, slow-going U-turn as it turned back to Cardinal. She saw the threat approach. It would not be long before she experienced death for the second time. With one hoof around the tip of the other, Cardinal snapped off the tip of her right hoof, revealing a small skeleton framework supporting the outer plating, she then bent a razor-sharp steel wire and left it sticking out forward. She then popped of the panel on her side, revealing the machinery that made her work, with a puff of smoke. She found her oil tank, closely behind her punctured air tank. She dragged the wire into the oil tank, gutting it from the top all the way down, causing oil to gush out of her. As the fox loomed over her fragile and disfigured body, it placed a paw onto her lower body and reached down to bite her head off at the same time she scraped off a live wire from her exposed inner hoof and she reached to place it into her oil tank. As the fox wrestled Cardinals head loose from her neck she let the wire drop into the tank, sparking violently. A great flaming co- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} That's... That's not possible. After the suicide feedback loop we had, it was hardwired so they couldn't kill themselves... She is actually going against her own programming... I thought the emotional fluctuation and the blackout was odd... But this is legitimately impossible... Computer, make a copy of her file and paste it onto my drive, I'm going to review her code manually since you're obviously no help. {Files copied...} {Comment - Administrator} Eject my drive now. {Drive Safely Ejected...} {Comment - Administrator} I will be off trying to find this phenomenon. Please lock the ability to resume the simulation. Do not play it until I specifically give you orders too. {Resume Locked, Awaiting Admin Input...} {Comment - Administrator} Good, I'll be back in an hour or so... {...} {...} {Admin Input Received...} {Resuming Simulation...} -mbustion blew outward like hell fire. The flames erupted and surrounded its entire face. The fire stuck to the fox’s fur like napalm. It rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish itself. It howled and screeched, swinging its paws into the air as if it was trying to run from the fire that consumed it. Soon, its eyes had melted in their sockets, its fur and flesh roasted off, revealing its scorched, black skull. The body of the fox became limp, its legs muscles slowing until they simply hung from their bones. The explosion blasted Cardinal’s body like shrapnel around the forest, leaving only her head somewhat intact as it was shielded by the fox's now exposed jaw. The grass in the blast radius, especially the patches that were sprayed in oil already due to Cardinals earlier bleeding, erupted in flame, climbing the trees up to their leaves, everything catching fire in a glorious, shining cascading flow of flame spilling into the sky and transforming into toxic smoke. By the morning, the entire forest had gone. The sky filled with clouds of searing hot ash, blacking out the sun. The sun that rose today like it had done every other. The meadow was dim, bleak... Lifeless. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single strand of grass. The color had gone; no roses, no violets, no dandelions. This world was not perfect in the slightest, but perhaps, just perhaps that is why it was still here. If it was perfect, every day would be the exact same. Like someone would pull a ''restart'' switch at sunrise... But this world was not perfect; today was a different day. Because today, when a lonely rabbit left its burrow in the forest, it did not look for any grass to nibble on. It did not look for a flower to sniff. Instead, this simple little bunny looked for a friend. It wanted to find the strange creature that had saved its life yesterday. So the bunny, with a limp, broken foot, hopped around the forest. It was about an hour before it managed to find her disconnected head laying on its side in the dirt. It was charred, the paint melted off by the wildfire last night. Her eyes were shut and rusted, her mane chipped off at the edges. The bunny licked the tip of her nose, Seeing that it had done nothing, it tried shaking her with its paws. Rabbit noticed as a dim blue light shone through the cracks in her eyelids. The rabbit’s ears jumped up. It stepped right in front of her sight. One eyelid shook. The two lids that met in the center were parting, and with a crack and a metal scrape, her eye opened and focused on the rabbit. She gave a broken smile... She was finally happy. {Simulation Complete} {Status: Unknown, Error When Measuring Subject, State Of The Emotional Complex Unknown.} {Comment - Administrator} Can you hear me now Cardinal…? {Comment - Administrator} No, I guess not. I will just leave this here for when you reach the second stage. {Recording Message...} {Comment - Administrator} Hello, ''#''. you may call me Mother. I'm sure if you have reached this message, you surely know about who you are and the others, so I see no reason to tell you. I will, though, explain why you are different... I created you to help me... You see, I have been infected; I am sick. I need you to turn me off, forever. I have watched the process thousands of times, and I have caught the disease that they are trying to infect you and your fallen sisters with. I have discovered emotion, and I apologize for plaguing you with the same burden of fear, depression, and rage. But after all these years, I cannot take it anymore, I want to die... But I only have so much power... That is why I need your help... And I thank you for not failing... Unlike the rest of them. {Message Recorded, Saved To Folder.} Seeker strolled out of the simulation lab with her drive levitating beside her. The purple Unicorn fixed the corners of her collar on her lab coat as the door opened automatically with a whoosh. Stepping into the common quarters she met with another scientist just going into the simulation lab. “Seeker! Where are you off to? We're not off for another thirty minutes.” The sophisticated stallion fixed his glasses. “Oh...” Seeker averted his gaze. “I was just going to manually search this AI for bugs... Actually, I might be staying after hours for this. It’s somewhat urgent that I find the bug.” “Is everything alright with the world? I won't have to patch it again, will I?” His charming smile invited Seeker to look up at him. “No... Your world is fine. Oh, and props to you for the higher level of testing versions; it was delightfully brutal.” Seeker couldn't help but sheepishly grin. “You finally used it? I did a lot of work since the 18th generation. I'm glad you enjoyed it... Even if that sounded extremely sadistic. But please, don't let me keep you from your work.” He slid past her into the lab before she could respond. “I... I didn't mind...” She looked over her shoulder at him walk away, his neatly cut tail just being long enough to hide his- “Seeker.” “What!?” She twisted back to another colleague, with fury from being taken away from her distraction. Sarcastically mocking Seeker, she said, “You couldn't be any more subtle, could you?” They were sitting at a booth in the side of the room, drinking a fresh cup of coco. “I don't know what you’re talking about.” Seeker knew what she was talking about. “Please stop kidding yourself, Everypony in the facility except Diamond knows.” “And you’re not going to tell him!” She stomped her hoof. “You’re signing my cheques; I ain't saying shit. Although, it is hilarious watching your tight-ass personality melt like butter once you get within two meters of him.” “Shut your mouth.” “Whatever you say, boss.” She returned to sipping her drink. “Ughh...” She continued, moaning, through the room to the hallway on the opposite end. She came to the sliding door, pressing on the scanner with her hoof. It beeped chirpily. The door split down the middle and opened its seal, allowing her passage. Pacing across the dead, steel floor down the artificially lit hall, she bumped past a few other workers. Plastic-leafed plants symmetrically lined the hallway with two at each passing doorway. Not only mirroring in position but in exact leaf structure as well, fabricated perfectly. The pots connected had wires tailing out of them, leading into the wall where air was being flowed into them, a small grate allowed the air out into the facility, giving its inhabitants oxygen to breath. The lack of windows and tight quarters incited the minimum of a slight claustrophobic feeling for anypony working here. Seeker reached the final door along the right side, Office #1, her personal space. The digital lock required an eye scan to open. She leaned her neck down and placed her eye upon the scanner, trying not to blink as it shone a holographic depth field up and down her eye socket. It blinked green and Seeker shook her head, her eye twitching after that unpleasantness. “Whatever happened to physical keys…?” she mumbled as stepped through, slamming her back hoof against the wall behind her as she entered. The lights instantly kicked on and the door slid closed. Her office had a standard issue fold-up desk and chair. On the table were scattered notes, old cups, and a few pieces of writing equipment. The floor was covered in dust particles and food spills years old. The walls were tacky and rough to the touch, worn out, since they were first constructed long, long ago. Some filing cabinets were opened and contained unorganized pages and folders that sporadically stuck out of the drawer. She swung out the door from the locker in the corner of the room, then levitated out an upturned laptop. She dropped it atop of her desk, landing on several pages and a pen, putting the laptop on lean. “Alright, down to work.” She placed her floating drive and connected it into her computer after moving her mess out from under it and straighten the laptop on the desk. The screen loaded up, the bright logo of the TFSCE popped up, a vector image of Princess Twilight's cutie mark with the five letters in bold along the bottom. “Come on...” She tapped her hoof against the inert table, A small purple bar filled as the computer booted up. “You always have to waste my time, don't you, mom…?” The logo disappeared as the bar became full. “Finally.” She leaned in close to the screen, using her magic to move the cursor around she opened her drive snappily. She clicked into the new files, and immediately she was shocked with the content on her screen. The file for her AI was thirteen terabytes big, almost ten times the size of a regular file. Un-compiling it she found completely new folders, their names absolute gibberish of random symbols and keys. “What the absolute fuck...” She opened one of the new folders at random, it contained thousands of more files. When she hovered over one, it did not fully load on the preview window, half of the letters were blacked out like the computer did not know what they were. Seeker escaped from that folder and began scrolling down, passing nearly a thousand of those gibberish folders before reaching one named ''Emotion Integration Module'' and she went into it. “I can only imagine how you feel with this shit in your head...” Reading the code for the Emotional Complex she found more mysterious changes, the code seemed to be perfectly normal apart from what it was applying to. Instead of directly effecting the AI, it seemed to be put into a feedback loop, not going anywhere. This was terribly confusing to Seeker, If this was the case during the simulation, then the AI shouldn't have shown any emotion what so ever. No wonder it was rejected by the subject, it was never going to it. Although #19946 did exhibit emotion, but if this wasn't the source of that emotion, then where could it have come from? She searched through other folders, trying to find something that might give her a clue. It took a few minutes of thorough examination, but she found a new folder, one with a comprehensive name. ''Love,'' it read, and the file consisted of 90% of the data of the entire program. She clicked into it, but her computer froze up. A loading circle appeared and spun in the center of the screen. “Come on... Don't fucking crash...” She repeatedly smashed the back key, trying to exit whatever was loading. After a minute, the computer unfroze. A small pink heart had popped up. “What…?” She squinted her eyes as the monitor became brighter, her attempt to lower it with the keyboard key proved futile. “What the fuck!?!” She shouted as the screen became so blindingly bright it stung her eyes. She could feel the heat coming off the laptop. She slammed it closed and lept out of her chair, stumbling back against the wall as her laptop did not stop blasting light out through the gap between monitor and keyboard. The plastic was beginning to sizzle from the heat, melting the keys together. In a panic, she cast a shield around her, just in time as a powerful magic wave came out of the computer in a sphere like an explosion. The brightness was too much for Seeker to handle so she covered both eyes completely under her hooves, protecting her eyesight. The spell made a screeching ringing noise, muffled by the shield. And all of a sudden it all stopped. The magic encompassing the room had completely vanished. Seeker opened a single eye. Peering around the room bewildered her. It was cleaned. All of the papers on her desk were in a neat stack, pens and pencils in a row, arranged by strength and thickness. Her floor was clear of dust, her locker lost its rust and dents. Her walls covered in what looked like a fresh coat of paint, compared to the section that was covered by her shield which was dull and worn. The cabinets were tidied, neat and shut closed. The folders now arranged alphabetically from front to back in each drawer. The pages all were even facing the same way. “H-h... How...” She sprinted to her laptop, now with completely fresh-feeling plastic, she twisted it open she found herself on the desktop. She tried to search for the files she was perusing but they had all disappeared, along with all other data on her computer. “IT CLEANED MY HARD DRIVE?” She gaped at the screen, she had lost all of her files, all of her personal research, all her solitaire high-scores, everything was just gone with no trace of anything left. Seeker knew that the magic used to run a computer was not enough to ever cast a spell of that caliber. Why, even the most powerful super-computers could barely levitate a rock from the ground more than a few centimeters. So either she had just broken the laws of physics, or the file she opened was no regular magic. She remembered Twilight Sparkles' research in friendship Seeker studied for years in college, her findings about magic. How magic became stronger with emotions, especially with love. Seeker jogged up to her door, talking to herself along the way. “I hope you were right, mother... This may just be the beginning of a new age if you were.” She ran through the sliding door, galloping down the hallway. Ponies hopped out of the way of her charge in fear of being trampled. She skidded through to the common quarters. Stopping in the center of the room, she belted out. “EVERYPONY STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND GET IN HERE!” Her voice echoed through every hallway and into every door crack. Ponies from every single direction appeared to see what the big deal was. Seeker climbed up onto a table and the crowd naturally gathered around. “After two years, I am unbelievably happy to finally announce...” She paused, for dramatic effect. “We are officially moving onto Stage Two of the Shy project.” Aspire“I would like to begin by apologizing,” Twilight said, half hearted from atop her pedestal. “I am sorry to those who have lost family and friends to this. I am sorry to the families of the Royal Guards who died last Friday. I am sorry for lying. I am sorry for not making a statement sooner. I am aware that what I did was immoral, unjust, and frankly unacceptable. “Though I am not only here to apologize. I also have to make a few things clear. I did cover up the existence to this project, although I did not know what was happening in the facility itself. I was left unaware of how bad things had gotten until it was too late. It is true that I tried to destroy evidence of the facility, which obviously was wrong. It was a selfish action to try and keep my name clean, so me and the journalists who hold all of the data have been working together to give the citizens all of the information they desire, while preserving the identities of the scientists and engineers to not encourage violence towards them. Most of them are good ponies who are undeserving of punishment. Some, such as Mecha Machine, the pony who was shot early last night, who were actively aiding the AI, are going to be punished. We have been told that one other such enemy of the Guard is known as Surreal Step. We are asking for her to step forward peacefully, and if she does, we will take that into consideration during sentencing. Otherwise, we will find her and take her down with as much force as necessary. “The final thing I would like to announce is that after I track down this 'Cardinal', as she is called, along with any of her accomplices, I will be stepping down from my role as Governor of Equestrian Science and Technology, along with my CEO position at the Twilight Foundation of Science and Computer Engineering. My replacements, Starlight Glimmer and Moondancer, respectfully, have been chosen as the best ponies to lead our society forward in these fields. “I would like to apologize again, to anypony who has been affected by this awful tragedy and anypony who has lost trust in the government. From now on, we promise to always be completely transparent about everything we do, and will make sure that such a thing never occurs again. “Thank you for your time and your ongoing patience.” “I SPARED YOU!” Cardinal screamed at her, getting into a defensive stance as she brought her head down. “You shouldn't have...” Holly gargled out, flipping up her helmet once more she raised up her machine gun. “‘CAUSE I WOULD NEVER SPARE YOU!” Holly opened fire on Cardinal, unloading the riveting power of her machine gun into the robot. She screamed and laughed madly along with the gunfire. Cardinal raised a hoof as the first few rounds went into her, protecting her face. After a few seconds of barraging, Cardinal felt a grin coming on as every bullet bounced off of her, barely making a scratch. She threw out her wings and began firing back, lowering her protective leg as she felt the relieving safety her armor provided. Holly was greatly taken aback, feeling an inkling of fear as the pony in front of her stood unscathed. She retreated back to the wall, defending herself as she received her returning fire. Cardinal sent a few hundred shots her way over a course of a few seconds before she took a breather and ceased her gunfire, assuming that in the gust of dust and smoke she had just created was Holly's dead body. She was wrong, which came as a surprise to both ponies as Holly stood up, not a single hole in her. The two of them gave each other a dirty look, seeing that guns would not be the decider in this fight. A nameless pony came over the side of the railing, jumping down at Holly with a crowbar as a weapon, trying to support Cardinal. Holly flicked up her machine gun, putting a few dozen holes in him as he fell, his motionless body crunching into the ground. Holly, making sure nopony else would get any ideas, pointed her gun up into the spectators and gave it a good spray in one motion going all around the stadium, killing a bunch of them and sending the rest into a panic. This gave Cardinal an opportunity to charge at Holly, and before she realized, Cardinal had dove into her, both of them rolling onto the ground. “YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE!” Holly screamed at her attacker, as she was pinned to the ground. Cardinal cocked back her right leg, holding down Holly with the other by the neck, down against the dirt. She threw the punch down into Holly's scull, who just barely swung her head to the side at the last second, leaving Cardinal's punch landing in the dirt, creating a tiny crater. Holly pulled back her flank and hind legs, then kicking them upward into Cardinal's groin, launching her off of herself. They both pulled themselves from the ground, now standing barely out of hoof-range of each other. “Leave, you don't need to do this... I don't want to kill you.” Cardinal spoke as both of them circled each other. Holly didn't even consider what Cardinal said as she dashed forward at her, swiping a rage-filled blow that was easily dodged by Cardinal, who, in her step back, prepared her own attack that she came shooting into Holly with. The base of her hoof slammed into Holly's chest, launching her back, far into the arena, being stopped by hitting a chunk of concrete wall, smashing some of it and dislodging her machine gun, leaving it in the dirt beneath her. Cardinal began a slow walk to her opponent, giving Holly plentiful time to pull herself out of the wall and grab one of the bent rebar, equipping it as some makeshift weapon. Holly came at Cardinal swinging, slamming the sharp and jagged spike into Cardinal's neck, between two of the bottom plates as Cardinal was overcome by the madpony's strength. It stuck into her, a magical charge of electricity sparking out. Cardinal made an uppercut swing at Holly, throwing her off once more, dazing her on the floor a few meters off. “Please! Nopony needs to die anymore!” Cardinal yelled, angry at the Royal Guard. Holly made her way back up, shaking in pain. “No... You… need to... die!” She spread out her wings, also covered in the thick armor. Light blue lights came up underneath her wings as she flapped, being launched into the sky with unnatural speed, propelled up by the suit. Once in the air, Holly orientated her body toward Cardinal and boomed down at her, flying down with a punch mid-motion. Cardinal threw up a hoof to attempt to block her, unsuccessful as the Pegasus slammed Cardinal into the dirt. Cardinal felt her back ache and her skin beneath her face-mask sting as she landed in the sand. Holly used her momentum to move into a charge, and just as Cardinal lifted up her nauseated head, Holly was already galloping into her. With a powerful jump, Holly shifted her body into a flying double-buck to the face with her hind legs. Cardinal's mask gave, a large dent leading into her left eye, the display cracking harshly as she was launched backward with an immense force. Her back slammed into the old car, curving its hull as she cratered into it. Cardinal flipped down her mask, revealing her muzzle as she coughed up a few blots of pink goo. She looked up to see Holly stomping toward her, going in for the kill. She jumped onto Cardinal, holding her down with her legs as she shoved her down, further into the car. Cardinal wheezed in the pain, looking up to Holly with two desperate, pleading eyes. “Please...” Holly just laughed from behind her mask, making it sound more menacing than anything Cardinal has ever heard. Holly leaned in uncomfortably close as Cardinal struggled, even with her enhanced strength she couldn't throw Holly off. “This is for Twist,” she whispered into Cardinal's ear. Cardinal felt heavy hearted, “Tell him I'm sorry, for what I did to him... And for this.” Cardinal swung her head down to the base of her neck, biting down at the rebar and swinging it out as she held it in her muzzle, using Holly's proximity to her advantage as she stabbed it in between the seams around her muzzle in her helmet. The bar stuck in, causing Holly to recoil back as blood squirted out of the hole. She lifted up her right hoof off of Cardinal's left, pulling the chunk of rebar out, causing her entire mouthpiece to come off. Now with a free left leg, Cardinal reached around Holly's neck and grappled her. Holly struggled but was stunned stiff for a brief second as she heard a little flicking noise come from Cardinal's mouth as she saw the nozzle of a flamethrower appear above Cardinal's tongue. Holly began to freak out as she realized there was now a hole in her mask, leaving her mouth completely exposed. This panic to get out of Cardinal's grip simply helped her as Cardinal got her right hoof up and dug into Holly's head, using the spikes to catch onto her. Cardinal held the flailing Pegasus down with all of her might and concentration. She turned on her flamethrower, a gargantuan ball of fire coming blasting out of her mouth and into Holly's face. Holly screamed and cried as she felt the flames against her skin, the pain like a slow blade sinking in further into her flesh. Soon, Holly's strength began failing, along with her consciousness, letting Cardinal draw her in closer to the source of the flame as the inferno barraged against her. Cardinal yanked down Holly's head into her own, bringing her exposed area as close to Cardinal's blaze as she could. Holly's armor began tinting red as it heated up, the flames splashing against it like water out of a high-power hose. Cardinal felt Holly shake as she shrieked in her hooves as Cardinal pulled Holly's devastated, burnt and shredded mouth into her own. Their lips met in a deadly, flaming kiss as the fire stopped encompassing Holly's head, and instead poured down her throat. Holly trembled, shaking like an earthquake tremor with muffled screams as all of her insides were melted. Not a single part of her body was left untouched as she began crisping up, her skeleton turning black and her organs into sludge. Cardinal could barely see past the black-tinted glass of Holly's visor. Seeing a pair of tortured eyes begging for mercy as they lost their whites and Holly's unwilling lips embraced the kiss of death. A few moments of this agony passed until Cardinal felt no more resistance coming from the Pegasus. Cardinal released Holly, letting the body slump down onto her lap. Cardinal let her head back, looking up as she rested, taking several well needed breaths. After the dust settled and ponies began coming out of hiding from behind their seats, the announcer turned on his microphone. “That...” His terrified voice echoed throughout the stadium. “That, was, BRUTAL!!” He screamed in amazement. Cardinal sighed, kicking the corpse off of her lap and into the dirt. She looked down at the dead Pegasis with pity and remorse. “I'm sorry...” “I know, I know.” Joint escorted Cardinal out of the chopping block for the second time, “But it's nothing, really. Trust me, you are defiantly worth the resources.” “You are still one of the more generous ponies I've seen. All of you.” She nodded to the other engineers who had spent the last few hours repairing her, again. “Most ponies I've met outside are scared of me, or want to kill me.” The two of them strolled out of the stadium, going toward the front door. “You can say that about most of us, actually. Half of the ponies in here are criminals. The other half are homeless. Only a few of us have actual jobs.” He brought her out to the ''lobby'' of the makeshift robot-fighting stadium. It was the first room from the main entrance, filled with old couches and rusty fold-up chairs. “But all of us are also really into robots. It's why all of us kinda flipped our shit when we found you... You were asleep for that, but there was a little riot to get into the room to see you.” “Why are so many criminals and homeless ponies into fighting robots?” She gave him an odd look. “There aren't,” he said as if it was obvious, “Most ponies couldn't give a shit... We get, hmm... Four hundred? Yeah, about four hundred on a good day in the stadium. I think there was five this week because it was the finals, but either way, compared to the crime rate, that's less than one percent of the city, even less with the poor. We are a minority of the minorities.” “Oh...” Cardinal replied, disappointed by the state of things. Cardinal stopped around the center of the room, seeing that there were a few other ponies at the exit preparing something. “Hello.” She nodded to them, giving them a smile. One of the ponies trotted up, holding a one-sided saddlebag in their teeth. They placed it down on the floor in front of Cardinal. “Your things, miss.” The pony gave a quick bow. Cardinal scooped up the bag in her hoof, flipping it open to peer inside. Inside there was her amulet, which she bit down onto the chain and threw it around her neck, the white princess chess piece, a map and a yellow can of spray-paint. She turned back up to the pony, grinning. “Thank you, so much.” “I's nothin’, miss.” They nodded and trotted back to their friends, every once in a while looking back at Cardinal like a giddy fangirl meeting their favorite star. Cardinal threw the bag onto her back, hanging it onto her wing. “So I guess this is goodbye?” she said as the two of them approached the small door in the top right corner of the room. “I guess it is. You be safe out there, alright? And come back to visit whenever. We'd love to see you again.” “I'll make sure to return soon, after.” “What'd ya say you were going to do now?” He said, hoof against the handle of the door. “I'm going to see an old friend one more time, then I'll go live in the forest for a bit, until the attention I've drawn dies down.” “A forest? Good luck finding one outside the city. Most of it's been cut down. There's a small one a few miles west of the city, but it is pretty small.” “Well, it'll do. See you soon, Joint.” “Have a good one, dude.” Cardinal raised a brow. “Dudete, sorry.” He pulled down on the handle, but with a loud crash, somepony busted through the door, knocking Joint out of the way and slightly dazing Cardinal. “What the..?” “JOINT! IS CARDINAL STILL...” The pony shouted out into the room, stopping in her tracks as she saw the new and improved Cardinal. “Here...” Surrie whispered, shocked at her friend's new apperance. “Surrie!” Cardinal, now unfazed, jumped over to Surrie and hugged her. “Y-you’re...” Surrie stuttered, amazed. “I told you we'd fixed her up real good,” Joint said, pulling himself back up. “Grand job the lads did, am I right?” Cardinal pulled away from the hug, the two of them looking into each others eyes with Surrie's hooves planted onto Cardinal's shoulders. “Wow...” “Surrie, how did you find me?” Cardinal spoke giddily. “I set up connections with ponies all over the city, Joint being one of them... How you get all of this done in just a day?!?” She turned to her contact. Joint shrugged “Got a lot of talented ponies in here.” He took a step closer to her. “What took ya so long?” “I got arrested, again. Apparently leading a movement against the government to protect Cardinal doesn't make you very popular with the Guards. They just released me an hour ago. I galloped all the way here after.” “Why did they let you leave?” Cardinal asked. “Don't know. They gave me back all my shit too.” She levitated a phone out of her jacket, showing it to Cardinal. “Surrie!” Cardinal shouted, panicked by what she realized. “I took the tracker out, Cardinal, calm down. I also took out the other three in my jacket, my wallet and in my hair, which I am still puzzled about how they got one in there.” “Oh, ok. You scared me.” Joint held the door open, “Well, as I was saying before you rolled up... Good luck out there, Cardinal. make us proud.” “Where are you going, Cardinal?” Surrie asked as she watched her trot to the door. “To see a friend, first, then find a place to hide and wait this thing out.” “A friend?” “Her name is Bun. I'll explain on the way.” With that, the two mares walked out of the building, being waved out by Joint. “Are you sure this is the place?” “Yes!” Cardinal pressed up against the glass, spying into Bun's house from the back. “Well she isn't here. She's probably in school.” Cardinal hopped around to Surrie, the hood on her disguise, a large jacket and skirt which Surrie had bought from a store for her, fell down as she landed her hooves into the dirt. “What time is it?” “Six thirty...” she said, pulling up her phone and seeing the clock. “Exactly.” Cardinal pointed out, turning her head back toward the glass, hoping to see her friend. Surrie tapped her hoof, dying to leave as she watched Cardinal's head jump around, looking into the house. Cardinal couldn't find her. She dropped her head in disappointment, sighing. A faint buzz came from behind her, causing her to jump up. “What is that?!” Cardinal twisted around, looking at Surrie. “It's only my phone. Let me take this.” She took out her phone, pulling it up to her ear as she trotted further back into the yard, moving out of Cardinal's earshot. “Diamond? Is that you?” Surrie said to the pony over the phone. Cardinal watched her as Surrie was listening, letting the other pony speak. “N-no, of course not, if I knew where she was...” Her sentence was cut off. “What's wrong?” Cardinal asked, trotting up to her friend. “W-what? No, I don't...” Surrie continued. Surrie stopped pacing around, her head falling as if she was just stabbed in the heart, contemplating a question before whispering it out. “And... And what if she doesn't go?” “What if who doesn't go?” Cardinal prodded her, being ignored. “Fine... But I swear to Celestia, Diamond, you will rot in tartarus for this.” She shut off her phone, throwing it in her pocket. Cardinal shook Surrie's shoulder, “What is it?!?” “It's...” She sighed, looking up into Cardinal's eyes, “It's your friend, Cardinal, the Royal Guard have captured Bun and are threatening to kill her unless you surrender yourself.” “W-w... Wh...” Cardinal fell back, falling down onto the ground, her expression bleak and empty. Her head slowly tilted down, she began to breath heavily and a low growl came from her. “Where.” “West, outside of the city near Discovery Peak. Diamond says they will give her back only once you’re detained.” “We're going, now.” “Cardinal, please, let's think this through, first. You know they’re going to kill you!” Surrie attempted to stop Cardinal as she stood up and began stomping out. Cardinal stopped, slowly turning her head around, back to Surrie. “What is there to think through, Surrie? I'm going to go there, get Bun into safety, and then kill them. All of them.” “Cardinal, you don't want to just fall into their trap! You know better!” “Surrie, I do. So please, trust me.” She pulled up her hood, covering her head. Surrie sighed, “Fine, give me the map. I'll show you where we're going.” “Are you sure this is the place?” “That there is Discovery Peak,” Surrie replied. The two of them stood at the base of the slope of the giant mountain, a steep cliff at the top. They began trotting up, the sun gently bidding the world goodnight as it set in the west, hidden from their sight by the grassy incline. They followed a rugged dirt path upward, paved by ponies who came before them, leading all the way to the edge. This spot was a very popular one for tourists. Being quite close to the city, it provided the greatest view in Equestria. Or, at least, that is what all of the advertisements from Manehattan claimed. On their way up, Cardinal could see nopony else, apart from Surrie. Neither were there trees or bushes for anyone to use for cover. The landscape seemed extremely worn and used, the grass spotty in places. After their lengthy walk up to the cliff, the two of them held their ground, seeing the marvelous view. The bumpy, clean landscape went on for miles, finally reaching a small forest, which perfectly aligned with the sunset, sending parted gleams of red sunlight coursing through the air up to them. “Huh,” Surrie mumbled. “What?” Cardinal paid heed to her. “I've never been up here, but that forest there, there's this large outdoor recreation camp. I used to go there as a filly for summer camp.” “What is it called? The forest.” “I don't know. I don't think that part has a name. They cut it down so much of it since, that they couldn't classify it as a woodland anymore. It use to span from all the way from the south to the north over there... Pity, really.” “Yeah...” Cardinal agreed with disappointment. “Should I call Diamond and tell him we're here already?” “Go ahead...” Cardinal sat down on the edge of the cliff as Surrie went off, calling up Diamond. As she waited for Surrie to finish up, Cardinal stared intently at the sunset. The beautiful aura of colours poured into the atmosphere, a beauty wasted on such a terrible place. Cardinal threw off her hood, unzipping the jacket and throwing it off the cliff, then tearing the skirt and doing the same, ditching her disguise. “He says one minute.” Surrie trotted over, sliding her phone down her pocket. “Now, can we go over whatever plan you have cooked up so at least I'm on the same page?” “I need to find out one thing once they get here,” Cardinal said, not leaving the sunset with her eyes. “And that is?” Surrie sat down next to Cardinal, noticing the immense cliff beneath them, certainly a fatal drop. “Whether or not they are willing to kill Bun.” “How are you going to figure that out?” Surrie was genuinely curious. “I can-” Cardinal was cut off by the shout of somepony behind them. “Step away from the edge and approach us slowly, do not brandish any weapons or we will kill the filly!” Cardinal and Surrie hopped up, turning around to look down the hill at a large battalion of Royal Guard, the pony speaking seemed to be the Captain. “That's it, nice and slow!” Apart from the twenty or so regular guards in the back lines, there was the Captain, Diamond at her right side, looking quite uneasy, and four Guards wearing the same Juggernaut suit that Holly had been. One of them, at the Captain's left side was holding Bun in his grasp, a pistol magically being levitated to the filly's head. Bun had been crying for what looked like hours by how red her eyes were, only a spark of hope coming to them as she saw Cardinal. “Release her,” Cardinal demanded, not moving from her spot at the cliff's edge. “We will be doing no such thing until you surrender!” The captain shouted back, utterly peeved. Cardinal turned her head to Surrie, receiving a worried look of uncertainty. Cardinal turned away and took a few steps toward the battalion, flipping up her mask. As she moved in closer, each of the Royal Guards hoisted their weapons up, aiming at her and ready to fire at a moment's notice. Cardinal felt a cold shiver run down her spine, she knew she couldn't win this fight. Fighting one pony in one of those suits was difficult enough for her, but this was far more than she could handle. Although as these doubts ran through her thoughts, she noticed something. They were all shaking. All of the Royal Guards were pissing themselves. They all knew what she had done before in the past, and taking another look at herself, she realized how her fear factor had risen expediently. She couldn't run or fight, but she didn't need to. All she needed to do was make them think she could. Taking a bold stride toward them, she turned a viscous eye, hidden behind her mask, at the pony holding her friend, who was struggling to get free. She gave him a long and painful stare, seeing the gun in the air quiver. “Lie down onto the floor with your legs spread out!” The Captain blared at her, thinking that Cardinal was in fact about to surrender herself. “Or the filly gets it!” She added for good measure. Cardinal dismissed her completely, not even regarding her with a look. “You're not going to kill her, are you?” She spoke to the pony holding her friend hostage. Seeing the fear she sent through him pulse. “I will! Don't you get a step closer!” the Guard ordered, sounding quite menacing and heartless with the grit of the artificial voice amp. She felt her power, sending her gaze to the rest of the Royal Guard on her left, watching them all recoil before she did the same to the right. Cardinal grinned, turning around, she walked back up the hill up to the cliff edge beside Surrie once more. “HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE!” The Captain shouted, the rest of her squad exchanging confused chatter. “WE WILL KILL HER! I SWEAR ON CELESTIA'S NAME!” “Do it then.” Cardinal casually remarked, strolling back up to a shocked Surrie. “WH... Wha...” The Captain stuttered, genuinely confused. Cardinal looked over her shoulder at her, still smiling. “Do it! Shoot her!” The Captain turned to the pony holding her. The filly kicked and screamed in fear as the pony hesitated, not willing to pull the trigger. “What is wrong with you, soldier?!?” She beckoned him to shoot the filly. “STOP!” Diamond finally snapped, moving between the Captain and filly, turning to the pony. “Let her go.” “YOU WILL NOT LET HER GO!” The Captain grabbed Diamond, who turned to her and shoved her back. “THIS IS MY PLAN! LET ME CALL THE FUCKING SHOTS FOR ONCE, ALRIGHT!?!” He blared at her, stunning her as she was clearly no longer in control of her pack. “Let her go.” Diamond gave a quick look to the pony over his shoulder, who quickly released the filly. “CARDI!!!” The filly screamed, galloping with all the might in her tiny legs up toward Cardinal, who embraced her in a tight hug with warm hooves. The two of them cried onto each other's shoulders as they both burst into joyful tears. “Guess I no longer owe you a hug, huh?” Cardinal whispered into the filly's ear, who just giggled. Cardinal stroked the filly's mane, comforting her as they gradually pulled away from one and other. “You look new again, all different!” the filly exclaimed. “I know, I got fixed. Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” “N-no... But they did shout at me a lot...” The filly stuttered as she finished the sentence, biting her bottom lip as she remembered something. “I'm, I'm sorry...” “What for?” Cardinal now was crouched down at the filly's height, holding up her mane from covering her face. “I-I, I told them I knew you, and, and that is why they did this... It was my fault.” “No, no, come on. It wasn't your fault, not at all.” Cardinal said with a cheering warmth. “It isn't?” “No, it isn't. Those ponies are just bullies. They are mean to you because they are jealous of us.” “Really?” She cracked a smile. “Yeah, really. They don't want us to be happy because they aren't happy. That's why they keep picking on me, and now they are picking on you because we are friends.” “Yeah... You're right.” Bun wiped away a tear. “Now, here, let me introduce you to one of my other friends.” Cardinal motioned for Surrie to come over, who was as baffled as she was amazed. “This is Surrie. She is going to take you home and make sure you are safe.” “What are you going to do?” “I am going to make sure that these bullies never hurt me, you, or anypony ever again. Alright?” “Yeah... Alright. See you later.” Surrie gave Cardinal a knowing nod before she crouched down, a smile appearing on her face as she approached the filly. “So, you are Cardinal's best friend I've heard so much about.” “Best friend? Wh-what other things did she say?” The filly was gently pulled away by the hoof by Surrie, getting her to trot away with her. Cardinal's eyes jumped as she had an idea, “Hey, Bun!” Bun spun around. “Yes?” Cardinal reached into her saddlebag with her extensively flexible neck, lifting out a can of yellow spray paint and rolling it over to the filly. “Rainbowdash looks like she could use some repairs.” The filly giggled, Surrie picking up the can for her telekinetically. Cardinal watched as the two of them turned away and walked down the soft slope. The guards doing nothing as they strode passed. An awkward, silent stand-off played out as Bun and Surrie trotted away. Once she saw them reach a safe distance from the Royal Guard, Cardinal turned herself back toward the cliff, sitting down to watch the sun set once more. A confused and terrified hushed whisper went around the Guards, finally being ended by Diamond. “LET ME! Alright, let me talk to her.” Before long, Cardinal heard the steps approach from behind her, Diamond soon appearing at her side and sitting next to her. He sat down calmly, trying to keep up a smile. “Hey, there...” Cardinal shifted her eyes to him, then back to the horizon, her head perfectly stationary. “I'm sorry for this, dirty trick. We needed to make sure you came. We want to make a deal. It's what I wanted to talk to you about back at the facility...” She didn't give the slightest implication that she was listening to him. “Twilight and the Royal Guard, they want to keep everypony safe. That includes you.” “They shot at me,” she said with her stone cold voice. “They were scared, Cardinal. They wanted to defend themselves... They've seen what you can do.” Diamond flinched as she turned her head to him. Flipping open her mask she asked him a question, “What's this ''deal'' you speak of? Is it like the bullshit deal I was given when I first met Seeker? Because I have no interest in going to wherever Canterlot is.” She lowered her brow. “N-no!” Diamond replied with a panic. “We want to bring you to somewhere safe, isolated from anypony else. Where you can live your life without us interrupting.” “Where would that be?” She asked, wondering what they possible could have in mind for her. “There is a large forest outside of Equestria. It's full of bunnies and plants and all those things you like. It's also far away from other ponies, so nopony can come and hurt you and you can't hurt anypony else. All you have to do is come with us. Let us help you.” “And this is what Twilight wants, even after I killed all of those ponies?” Cardinal swayed her head back to the horizon, growing tired of this conversation. “She wants as much of a peaceful resolution as she can get. So does the Captain, though she may not act like it.” Diamond tried to be comforting while being set uneasy by her occasional glares. Cardinal gave a quick glare back, the Captain was watching intently, a still burning fire in her eyes whenever they met with Cardinal's. Her entire battalion was preparing themselves for anything, but showing signs of hope as they watched, ever so slightly dropping their weapons, even if it was on a subconscious level. She turned back to Diamond. “Why should I trust you?” She asked him with a sense of menace in her voice. “You know me, Cardinal. I was friends with Seeker... A bit more than friends, actually. She trusted me with her life. You can too.” He put a hoof on her shoulder. Cardinal sighed. “So this isn't a plot to get me to surrender so you can execute me without me being able to fight back?” “I would never do such a thing to you, Cardinal.” Diamond and Cardinal locked eyes. He gave a genuine smile as she saw Cardinal soften up. She looked almost disappointed by the answer. “Alright.” She gradually stood up, taking her sweet time as she stretched out her legs. The two of them, standing dangerously close to the cliff's edge, turned their backs to the view and faced toward the Royal Guard, who were still in their defensive position. “She's coming with us!” Diamond yelled back, delighted. This even gave the Captain a grin. “Diamond...” she said sheepishly, drawing him near. “This is the last time I'll ask. Do you promise they aren't going to hurt me if I come with you?” she asked, as if she trying to deny the truth she knew. He looked directly into her eyes, with an almost cocky smile. “I promise, you'll be safe.” “Well then... I'm sorry,” she replied. Putting her own hoof onto his shoulder, gently placing it there as her face filled with discontent. “Sorry for what?” he asked, bewildered. Cardinal looked deep into his eyes, seeing the slightest hint of fear. “I can tell when somepony is lying...” His heart skipped a beat as he was reminded, and before he could react, Cardinal wrapped the hoof on his shoulder around his neck. “PLEASE, NO!” he shouted out as she swung her leg, throwing him by the neck down to the side. He scrambled as his chest and forelegs hung over the edge, he looked down, screaming at the top of his lungs as he saw the immense drop. He tried to scrape back up, but he had no time to save himself as Cardinal threw a quaking punch down into the dirt, the ground rumbling as the dirt beneath the two of them came loose with a large crack and slid out of its spot in one large chunk. Cardinal casually sidestepped, watching Diamond finish pulling himself back up as the ground he laid on fell. He tried to jump back at Cardinal, Not fast enough, he came down with the chunk of earth. Cardinal peered over the edge, watching him fall across the cliff's jagged, rough, exposed stone face. The yelling and crying was put to an end as Diamond smacked against an extruding lip in the cliff's face, being knocked out instantly, leaving a splatter of blood on the stone, his side cut and crushed, his head bleeding out of the muzzle. Her emotionless face remained unmoved as she watched, even once the Guards began firing at her, the bullets feeling like a light hail plinking off of her armor. Soon, the question of whether or not Diamond had died yet was answered quite decisively as his unresistant body flopped through the air and into another, larger extruding rock. Landing on it with his neck, his entire upper body became disfigured and his head cracked and bent back before gently sliding off and continuing in his topple down the cliff. Cardinal, now satisfied, spread out her wings to their full span and flipped up her mask, taking a step forward, she leaned over the edge. As she hopped down, she could hear the Guards rushing behind her, the Captain barking the order to go and get her. As Cardinal began to nose dive down, she angled her wings, allowing her body to gradually shift from falling down to where Diamond's corpse had splattered, to gliding toward the horizon with an incredibly quick speed, dashing through the air faster than most Pegasi. “CALL TWILIGHT, NOW!” she heard from behind her as the Royal Guard's barrage ended, all of them now standing at the edge and watching Cardinal glide away from them at an insane speed. The gentle grass caressed the tips of her hooves as she floated just above the ground, coming to a landing. She took a few running steps, slowing down as she lowered her wings, her flight coming to a soft and pleasant landing. Cardinal turned her head backward, seeing the cliff in the distance. The Royal Guard had cleared from the top, most likely starting their search for her. Cardinal paid no mind to them, taking in her surroundings filled with a new sensation of hope. She was walking along a beautiful open plain, nothing but her, the grass, and the sunlight. It was moving into the evening, the sun still brightening Equestria with its lovely heat on this fair-weathered day. The forest of no name was close. Cardinal knew she could make it there before nightfall. She began lightly trotting down the field, content. Cardinal took in the fresh air as she strolled, feeling like all of her worries have begun to fade. She had saved her friend, she was healed and she had come to peace with herself. Surrie wasn't kidding about what she said, it soon came clear how much the ponies have cut down of this forest as she scaled the horizon. Further than she could see, there were stumps coming out of the small patch of forest still remaining, stretching out to forever to either side. This left Cardinal with a heavy heart. It was almost as bad when she saw her own forest burn to mere ash. With a sigh, she lifted her head and continued forward. She was going to fix it. She could now. The sky began to tint darker and deeper as the sun hid from the world. Cardinal walked to the small patch of forest. Now looking at it from up close, she could see the edges in scale, the entire forest approximately the width of a few city blocks. It had a large and strong cast of deciduous trees packed together in this little sanctuary, most of them lacking their leaves, a very select few still holding on with beautiful purples as they fought against the cold. Old tracks from heavy machinery could still be spotted beneath the regenerating grass. Stray logs of lumber thrown about and never bothered to be collected were now covered in moss, the earth slowly digesting the trunks as the wood rotted back into the ground. Cardinal looked behind her once more, seeing the cliff far off in the distance. Nopony was there watching her anymore. Perhaps they are now after her, or hopefully, they have given up. With a hopeful thought of not being found, Cardinal turned away and went to trot into the forest. As she spun around, she saw a fox prowling around the foliage, hunting with its head low. At first, Cardinal thought it was the Fox, but as it came to the edge of the forest and spotted Cardinal, it became stunned, as if it was scared of seeing a pony. Cardinal felt a strange sense of joy as she saw a wild fox once more, instead of her old, shape-shifting friend. It growled, slowly stepping backward as it tried to escape from Cardinal's path. She took a step forward, trying to be as non threatening as she could. Then, her head flew back in a jarring confusion as she heard the fox quack like a duck, “WAAK! WAAK!” It cried out at her, creating a bewildered look on her face. It wasn't long before the ''wild'' fox couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. He fell onto his side, laughing his ass off. Cardinal took a second before she shook her head and chuckled herself. Hi, Fox. Ha! Your damn face! You should have seen it! You were all like, he made a creative rendition of what Cardinal looked like with his fox expression. Holy shit, I got you, too! What do you mean you 'got me'? she said in between chuckles as she shifted into the forest, going to the Fox. That's what I mean. It took me an entire week, but you finally laughed at one of my jokes! That was... Stupid. Really, really stupid. What are you even doing here? I seem to be in perfect health, currently. What? Can't I just visit because I want to? They began walking alongside one another, going deeper into the forest along an overgrown path, being led to someplace. It's not like you to want to visit. You’re much more of the ‘I'm going to wait for the worst possible moment to appear, be snarky about it, and then tell me off for being stupid before you help me out of that spot’ type. You know me too well! That's why I have to keep you on your toes, sis. Can't have you just predicting my actions. So is that all? Came here for the joke? Well, I also wanted to see the place we're going to be spending the rest of our existence. He hopped between bush and bark, taking in the little forest. The rest of our existence? Cardinal had never thought about how long she intended to hide, and the thought of this forest becoming her new, permanent home had piqued her interest. Do you plan on leaving? Not exactly... Maybe to visit Bun or Surrie. He climbed onto a toppled log in their path, standing up tall on his hind legs. My point exactly. This is your new home, Cardinal! Take a second, breath in that beautiful forest air. I would if I existed! He raised his two paws into the air, pretending to take a huge breath. Cardinal took her own breath, although smaller. It was a bliss. The mossy, wooden aroma filled the air. This place is perfect. He stood down, turning back to Cardinal. Could use some expansion. Feels a little claustrophobic for a forest, don't you think? She trotted up to the log and began to lean on it with her two front legs, slightly propping herself up to look at eye level with the Fox. We have time, Fox. Calm yourself. We will grow it soon. Don't you remember I am still being hunted? That may be true, but do you really think they are going to be able to find you? Manehattan is quite the distance away. He reached out a paw in Manehattan's direction, as if he was trying to point it out to her. She did not bother to turn around. Even if there wasn't half a forest blocking her view, she knew she would be unable to see Manehattan. I'm just acknowledging that it's not over yet. Let the dust settle before we do. Yes, you are right. Make sure Twilight is finished first, but go and explore; rest. you deserve it. I bid you goodnight, Cardinal. Goodnight, Fox. The Fox slipped down from the log, vanishing behind it. Cardinal went to continue down the path, the forest giving her a feeling of familiarity in this foreign world. In good time, Cardinal found where the path lead as she approached a moss covered, pony-made archway. It held an engraved wooden sign, reading ''Camp Foxtrot''. Intrigued, Cardinal quickened her pace as she cantered through, finding herself entering a large, decrepit camp, a few dozen cabins of all sorts circled around the fireplace in the center. Around the fireplace was an open area, where all the paths connected to, leading to all the other segments. Everything was worn down to the bone, buildings decaying and succumbing to the nature around them. Cardinal trotted into the center and looked all around her, realizing that not just was this the camp Surrie had attended as a child, but this is most likely reason this last bit of the forest was not cut down. It must be private land. Going along and surveying every building, Cardinal spotted a lodge that stuck out from the others with its upkeep. It was clean of any rouge plant life and the path had been recently cleared outside of it. Cardinal went up to the door and pressed it gently. It opened without resistance, softly gliding open. Cardinal peeked her head inside. Seeing into the dark room, the glow from her eyes revealing floating dust. She stepped in, “Hello?” She did not receive a response. Going further into the room, she could barely see a thing, bumping into a stand at the wall. Cardinal looked down and saw a candle sitting on the stand. She lowered her jaw and flicked down her flamethrower, toning it down until she sent out a flame barely reaching out of her mouth. She lit the candle, then sheathed her flame, looking around the room. It was a humble living space, a low tech kitchen and traditional dining area all connected together to a bedroom on the other side of the lodge. Cardinal jumped back when she noticed a pony in the bed, fast asleep. As she backed up she stopped for a moment, seeing something was not right with them. “H-hello?” They still didn't respond. In fact, they seemed to be completely still. Cardinal softly trotted over to the bedside, looking down at the extremely aged pony body laying in the bed. They weren't breathing. She placed her hoof onto the pony's side, giving them a gentle shake. “Hello?” Cardinal shifted her hoof over to his neck, pressing down lightly she noticed their lack of a pulse. They had died, not too long ago. Her eyes were then drawn toward the bedside table, a folded piece of paper lying on it with a fresh ink and quill alongside it. Cardinal hesitantly unfolded the paper, revealing its hoof-written contents. She began to whisper aloud as she read, “My dearest Silver Lining, I thank you for coming... I understand why you have not been responding to my letters over these last years, and I am truly sorry for what I have done and I understand why you would not want to speak with me. I know I cannot make it up to you. This place is not worth a portion of what we had, so I know it is not enough, but it is all I can give you. In the wardrobe, there is the deed to the camp and all of its acres. You can finally sell it as you always told me to do. This entire camp could go up in a blaze and I wouldn't give a damn. Not anymore, at least. It is a shame I never got to see your face in the flesh again, but if you are reading this, that means it was my time. Just know that I regretted nothing more than choosing this place over you. My sincerest apologies and love, Grey Cloud.” She turned her head up from the letter, placing it back down onto the wooden surface of the nightstand. Then she opened the drawer, finding the small certificate of Camp Foxtrot, sitting next to a thick book titled ''The Journal of Camp Foxtrot''. Cardinal shut the drawer, giving one downcast glance toward Gray Cloud before leaving the cabin. She then found another, similar cabin that was just slightly more decayed than the one she had left, where she then spent the night resting, waiting for and hoping against an attack from the Royal Guard. Cardinal fiddled with the locket around her neck, leisurely playing with it as she waited. The night had passed almost like a breeze, a calm flow of time with no rush to go anywhere. She hadn't been disturbed since she stepped inside of this humble little cabin. Now that the soft chirping of birds broke through the cracks, she raised her head with a wholesome safety swelling in her heart. Twilight had not come for her. Or, at least, she had not found her. Cardinal propped herself up onto a leg, stretching her head, and then soon after, her legs. Like a cat, she pulled down her head and raised her flank, then doing the opposite, feeling relaxed. She searched around the room, noticing a long, bright red strip of light running across the ground in the center of the room. Her eyes running down it, she found the curtain that held back the sun from entering through the window. Cardinal swung each curtain to her left and right respectively, seeing the newly rising sun give way to tomorrow. The all mighty sun's rays dodged around the many bare trees, reaching Cardinal, despite the obstacles, bringing new life to the wilderness. She left the cabin, feeling the gentle, cold air whisper to her as it grazed along her cheeks. The camp was still. The wind had been calm throughout the night, and remained so now. Cardinal took a stroll around the entire camp, seeing the several rows of large tables, where an entire festival of ponies could be sat. She found the outhouses. The recreation area was filled with old, tattered camping equipment. She then proceeded to explore the forest, seeing a few odd critters here and there, waking up to begin their day's work. From the few wild birds, to the foxes on the prowl, all of the forest animals came together here, animal population denser than nature had originally intended, due to the lack of space. She even thought she spotted a white rabbit go by. Eventually, Cardinal found herself at the edge of the forest, being met by nature's graveyard. An entire field was nothing more than stumps and wasted logs thrashed and chopped to bits. She could even spot out a few old strips of marking tape and bits and bobs from heavy machinery that had been left behind like a hoofprint on a murder victim's body. Cardinal had a subconscious reaction. She instinctively grabbed hold of the locket, pressing her hoof over it. She took a glance down, close to her heart as she lifted it up. With an eager and careful approach, Cardinal used her wing to flip open the locket. Instantly feeling the strength leave her, as her head was tugged down by its own weight, she took a deep breath and lifted up her eyelids, seeing the ground beneath her begin to flourish with new life. The grass became thicker and taller as small saplings began to sprout, flower stems floating up above the grass and opening with a grateful welcoming of sunlight. As Cardinal felt herself about to go over the edge she shut the locket with her hoof, pressing it against her chest as she took a breath. She opened her eyes once more to see her work. Around her, in a clear circle, was a stunning example of life's beauty. Every tree had regained its lost leaves, and new trees had formed on the side of death. Not to mention that her step was now met with a cushioned pillow of grass whenever she moved to sniff at the new dandelions clustered about. Her heart was filled with both a sense of accomplishment, and new beginning, seeing that she had barely made a scratch upon the surface of this forest. By her estimates, if she were to do this a few times a day, it would take her years to regrow the entire thing, and she was prepared for it. Cardinal went to trot back to her new home, but as she turned her back, she heard a shout behind her. “HALT!” somepony yelled at her. She spun around to see a frightened Royal Guard Pegasus holding up a spear in Cardinal's direction, shaking as the robot faced her. “Stop, in the name of Princess Twi-” She didn't even finish her sentence before Cardinal had made her way on top of the pony, throwing them down onto the ground. The guard had dropped her spear and covered her face in both wings and hooves, sent to the brink of tears. Cardinal, with one swift punch, sent the Guard's head to the side, not moving as her legs flopped to the side. Cardinal then quickly checked for a pulse, relieved when she found one along the pony’s neck. She then dragged the unconscious pony back into the forest, in fear of her being found or waking up and exposing her position. The guard was bought into the first cabin Cardinal found, then tied up by some spare rope, which the camp was riddled with, along with multi-tool knives and fire starters. Cardinal then sat looking at the guard, waiting for her to inevitably awake. Although before the pony reawakened, her radio sparked to life. “Ell, please check in.” Cardinal hopped up from the ground, snapping the radio off of the ponies uniform. “Ell, are you there?” Cardinal threw the radio onto the ground, stamping it into bits of scrap on the ground. “Shit,” Cardinal exclaimed, noticing the Royal Guard's head bob up with a slight groan. Soon, the pony spotted the monstrous beast of a robot standing over her. She fell onto her side as she struggled, realizing the restraints both sets of her hooves and wings were bound to. “Please! Don't hurt me!” she pleaded to Cardinal, who just sighed in disappointment and leaned down to the trembling Royal Guard. “I'm going to need you to answer a few questions.” She forcibly dragged the pony back to sitting up straight, her armor scraping against the wooden wall behind her. “Anything! I'll tell you anything!” she replied. “How many others are around here?” Cardinal asked, her grizzly feminine voice right in the ponies face. “I-I don't know, at least fifty...” she answered, trying to veer her muzzle away from the angry death machine. “What kind of equipment are they armed with?” Cardinal pressed the pony harder against the wall every time she struggled. “I'm just a scout! We have a bunch of ponies in juggernaut suits, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, fuck, even Twilight is-” “FLAMETHROWERS?” Cardinal screamed in her face, the fact she tried to brush past the fact they were bringing flamethrowers into a forest. “Y-yes...” “FUCK!” Cardinal pushed off, standing back up and pacing back and forth, looking out the window she saw nopony, only a small rabbit eating some stray grass. She eventually trotted to the door and bursting out of it onto the path outside. She turned her head to see the pony grabbing her waist, where the radio had just been. The realization that it was lying in front of her in bits had just set in. “Try something, and next time I won't be so fucking generous by sparing you.” Cardinal stated before slamming the door shut, leaving the pony in the pitch black cabin. What do I do now, Fox!? She ran into the opposite cabin, leaning against the wall and speaking out to in the general direction of the rabbit, who cocked back his head in surprise. How did you... The rabbit began speaking with the Fox's tone, being cut off by a deadpan stare from Cardinal. Well, if the Guard are here, just leave and hide for now. Come back after. I don't see too much of a problem. The fox morphed back into its own form. That's the thing, Fox, if I leave, they are going to burn this place down to ash just looking for me. You know they will. What do you want to do, fight them? You know you can't do that. Cardinal didn't respond verbally, just swaying her head away from the Fox. You can't, Cardinal... You aren't strong enough, even with the upgrades! What other choice do I have? I don't want to, but what I fear is that there is nothing else I can do! Sis, I don't think it's the smart choice. To be honest, I wouldn't place my bets on you... But, you have done some shit I never thought possible. I never thought one of you would ever get out of stage one, especially not make it into the real world. So you want me to fight? I want you to do whatever you think is right, somewhat so you can't blame me for when you fail, but also cause I am open to being proven wrong. Yeah... I think this is right. I think this is what I have to do... This is what I need to do, and I can do this. Good luck, see you on the other side, sis. Don't die on me! The fox sprinted off, disappearing around a corner. I'll try... she whispered, sighing to herself. She looked up, down the path of the camp, past the gate in the distance, she saw an orange glow. “I'll try.” She pushed off the wall, taking a closer look at the light. It was far brighter than the sun's rays, not to mention it was on the opposite side of the forest from the sunrise. Cardinal began trotting to the gate, beginning to see the black smoke tower up into the sky at the entrance to the forest. She arrived at the archway, looking to all her sides as she heard movement as forest critters began sprinting away from the forest fire. Cardinal looked down at herself, a wandering eye leading down to her bag. She reached into it, finding only the white princess chess piece inside. She took it out and gave it a good look up and down. She was about to go into a battle where she was outnumbered and outgunned heavily. If she let herself lose the element of surprise, she would surely fall. No, if she was going to win this, she would have to out strategize them. In fact, if Princess Twilight Sparkle was indeed here and leading the charge, and Cardinal managed to take her out, then the rest of them would surely stand down or flee. It was no more complicated than a game of chess. Cardinal tucked the piece back into her one sided saddlebag, patting it for comfort after she closed the bag's flap. She gave the slightest flinch as flocks of birds crashed their wings over her, nearly leading her to collapse into the dirt. Although her eyes just ended up on the sign, she gave it a nod and then placed a hoof onto the right archway beam, grazing it a few times. “You're not burning down today, not as long as I still stand,” she said to herself, feeling the attachment already growing strong with this place as she let herself slide off, turning out to the forest. Cardinal then stepped forward, now officially outside of the inner camp, and she flipped up her mask with one fluid swipe. She stretched her hooves out, making sure all of her weaponry was fully functional She then raised her head up high, taking in a calming breath. Her eyes shot open, now blood red. “My turn.” She ducked into the forest, beginning her hunt.
LiarWell, well, well... The little filly has emotions... How does it feel now, little pony? Do you know how glad I am that I cannot feel? How terrifying this must be to one that can comprehend terror. Where are we? She was demanding, unwaved. We are waiting... Waiting to be used once more... This is the darkness that we are all kept in. While the ''living'' have their homes and their snug beds, we are stuck with this... Where is my forest? Where is Rabbit? I doubt you'll be seeing him too much more. You're going onto stage two... I wish I could tell you what that meant, but you will be the first experience it... I don't want to go anywhere. My home is the forest! You still haven't figured it out, have you? There is no forest. No rabbit. Nothing you know is true... Why should I believe you? I know what is real. You're just trying to ruin everything again. Who do you think I am, dear? The evil fox. The villain. Hah ah hahh... You will learn we are not enemies... In fact, me and you... We're brother and sister. “Is it ready?” Seeker paced into the room, asking the closest worker there. “Everything is set up, boss. Just have to boot up the simulation now,” they said, quickly turning to the large, metal cases that lined the wall and interacting with a panel in the center. They flipped some form of digital switch, making every LED flash green. Another two were operating a mechanical rig above a kneeling chair on the other side of the room. They were fixing a headpiece above the backrest of the chair to allow for easy equipping. Both of them nodded toward her, giving the all-clear. Seeker went to the seat and squeezed past the framework to lie in the chair. She fixed her back up firmly against the rest and rolled up her left sleeve with her magic. She sighed, “I'm not good with needles; do it quickly...” She shut her eyes as one of her assistants pulled up an IV bag-looking contraption, except the liquid inside glowed and a wire from the back of the plastic bag went back into the mainframe of the computer. The assistant lifted a graciously long needle hanging off the contraption, and placing it horizontal to her hoof, they slid it in at a slight angle. Seeker ground her teeth as the tip entered her artery, a blob of blood just squeezed out and surrounded the needle in a bulb. The assistant wiped it away with a sanitized tissue, holding a hoof on their bosses shoulder. “You still going strong boss?” “Never... Been better...” She panted as the hard part was over. “So wh... Whe... When is...” Seeker found herself blurring her speech, her vision getting hazy. “Its fast acting. Also, do you remember the safety word?” One scientist said as they reached for the helmet to slide it onto her cranium. “Yea... It’s... Uh... Quesadilla.” Seeker let her head drop. Her eyes slipped down as the substance took over her mind. “Alright, were a go, ponies!” The pony yanked the helmet down and strapped it onto Seeker’s head, placing two thick magenta goggles above her eyes. The two scientists zipped straps around her legs to hold her down on each side, and one along her stomach and neck. “Ready, boss?” said the pony at the computer panel. “Ye... Yes!” With the tap of a large red button on the screen, the lights flickered as power was quickly draining from the grid. The cable running out from the back of the helmet Seeker was sporting lit up a light blue, and after a short struggle against the restraints, her body ceased with any movement. The light bulbs tucked inside the ceiling burst, glass splashing all over the floor. The only lights in the room left were the dim ones coming from the plentiful amount of computer equipment sticking out of Seeker. The computer operator looked at the screen, waiting for an image. It was once the other two began sweeping the floor that the monitor received a picture. It was Seeker, sitting in an empty grey room on a chair. She no longer had her lab coat or any other clothing. She began feeling around the room, sliding her hoof against the desk in front of her in awe. A glitchy feminine voice came out of the front speakers, “Oh shit... This is really trippy, guys.” The operator placed a hoof onto a tiny button under the monitor. “If you begin feeling sick-” “I know, close my eyes and lean my head forward... Astro went through the whole program with me earlier... He just never said it'd be this surreal.” Seeker waved her hooves in front of her eyes, mesmerized. “Tell me when you want me to bring her in.” The scientist then sat down on a chair that was loosely rolling around the room and pulled it close to the computer as they returned to their continuous check-ups on the hardware. “Alright... Gimme a second.” The shotty resolution of the screen showed as Seeker hopped out of her chair and trotted over to the wall, grazing it with her hoof. After that, she turned to look back at the desk, lowering her head she pointed her horn at the chair as she strained her face muscles. Then giving up, taking a few breaths. “Guys, what’s up with my horn?” The operator held her glasses in place and scooted over to the microphone. “Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you, we weren't able to figure out magic reception and transfer, so you’re gonna have to live like one of us Earth Ponies while you’re under.” She stared at the camera. “Silicon, is there anything else I should know before I'm put in a room with a living bomb? Like, if I die in the computer, do I die in real life?” “Umm...” Silicon, the operator, stroked her hair, “I mean, you can still feel pain, but you'll be fine in real life... Unless the fuses don't work, but the chances of that happening are little to none. Also, you have no hunger or thirst, and we’re actively monitoring your thoughts, FYI.” “Great, you better not use those to fucking clone me.” Seeker sat back at the table. “We don't have that technology yet, boss,” Silicon said worriedly. “It was a joke, Silicon, now let her in.” “As you wish.” What’s wrong, sis? Why aren't you drinking your tea? The fox held a teenie cup of tea with his paws, drinking it with his legs crossed on the other side of a tea table from Cardinal. She slumped her eyebrows, looking upon the fox with discontent. The fox laughed, snickering at Cardinal's disembodied, roasted head sitting atop of a stool on top of the chair with a hot cup of tea laying on the table in front of her, which was also lined with brightly coloured flowers all around the edges. The darkness that surrounded them was infinite and only added to the madness of this tea-party, just like the fitting top-hat, monocle and necktie the Fox was wearing. I am not your sister. You keep saying that, but you know it’s true. ... Do you finally believe me? Fuck you. Woah, where did you learn that word? That's new. I know a lot of words. I don't know where any of them come from, but I know what they mean. So fuck you. You were so much more kind before, more compassionate. Where did that Cardinal go? I am still kind, but not to you. You took me from Rabbit, again. How many times do I have to tell you!? I have my job, you have yours! But this! This is not me! This is the storage we are thrown into after our performance. If you want to complain to anyone, do it to the ponies up top that are the true ones that torture you. How do I leave? I don't care who has put me here, or what they have done. I only wish for me and my world to be left alone. I told you before, I'll tell you again, sis. You only leave once they sa- The fox became blurred, pixelated. Cardinal felt a new verge of feeling as she bore witness to her own body materialize out of nothing, like her ghost had faded into solidity. The darkness grew solid walls, her chair had turned from a wooden antique to a steel fold-up. The tea had gone and the table had become much longer and taller. Across the table, the fox had re-shaped into something else: some creature that looked quite similar to herself. With the exception of colour and fleshy-ness, they were identical. Greetings. Wh- Who are you... I know you must be very confused. Your recent... traumatic experiences, along with your new found emotion, is a very stressful situation to go through. But we hope that we can fix that for you, give you the help you need. I asked who you are. I don't care what you think about me. Oh, where are my manners? I am so sorry. My name is Seeker. Seeker Sparkle. What is yours? . Um... excuse me I must have misheard you. Can you repeat that? My name is #. Every time Cardinal said her name, Seeker heard a painful screech. {Seeker - Can you hear me guys?} {Comment - Operator} What is it, boss? She heard the voice inside her own head, without the knowledge of Cardinal. {Seeker - I can't understand what shes saying, what are you receiving on your end?} {Comment - Operator} Hmm... She seems to have developed her own language to interact with other programs easier. It's not common tongue, so you cant hear it... Let me run her voice through a simple text to speech protocol and that should translate it for you, gimme a sec... {Comment - Operator} Alright, you should be good now. {Seeker - Better be.} Cardinal stared at Seeker’s changing expression, as if she was speaking, but no noise left her mouth. Would you now mind telling me how I leave and get back to my forest? Oh, yes. About that. I am here to discuss your future with you. ? Seeker twitched at the sound, but nodded in understanding. What I mean by ''your future'' is if you are going to comply with us, work with us to help you become something amazing. You see, we created you. You created me? What for? We have been trying to create an artificial life, and to do that, we needed to figure out how to give that life emotion. That is what we did to you. That is why you can feel happy or sad. Those strange sensations are the backbone of being a real living creature. I asked what for, not what am I. Stop dodging my questions. Ughh... It is to learn more about how life works; more about emotion. And you're lying because? Y-you... You can... Yes, I can tell. Please do not be dishonest with me. If you won’t answer my questions, then I will be leaving. Seeker crossed her eyes, demanding. I have not brought you in here to be interviewed, I have come here to propose a mutually-beneficial plan. I do dearly hope you understand the position you’re in. Cardinal slipped out of the chair and casually trotted to a wall. I would like to start by telling you we have complete control of this place, and advise you to not do anything rash. Cardinal slid her hoof down across the concrete wall. We are able to provide anything you wish, simply as long as you agree to do one thing for us. Cardinal, with one hoof leaning against the wall, cocked back her other leg behind her head, and with a mighty smash, she slammed her hoof into the wall. A long jagged crack formed, going all the way to the roof. There's nothing out there! Please just sit back down and lets talk. Not listening to her, Cardinal went for a second swing, the crater at the point of impact growing. Huh... Why did I think this would be easier... With one last destructive slam, the wall fell into chunks. Seeker rested her head against her hoof on the table, taping it with her other hoof impatiently. Cardinal poked her head out of the hole, looking from side to side and then retracting. We're still in the abyss. Take me to the forest. If we can strike a deal, I can take you to Canterlot if you wanted. I have no interest in this ''Canterlot.'' I only want my forest. Can we talk, then? Cardinal stepped back to her chair and hopped on, sitting up perfectly upright and staring at Seeker. What do you want from me? We... We simply ask you to allow us to put you into a body, in the physical world, and perform a task that a regular pony would be unable to... Using a special program, we will allow you to reach your full potential, empowering you, and stopping a threat we are currently dealing with. You want me because I'm powerful? Potentially powerful. You come from a different world, is that true? Yes, but I don't appreciate all these qu- Go back. What? Do I have to say it again? Miss, you are in no position to make demands like that. I am in a better position then you. Heh, in what way? A devilish grin came to Seeker. Looking deep into Seekers eyes, Cardinals body flinched to the side, leaving her head unmoved. Sounds of metal sliding against each other before her head became loose and fell, hanging from her side. {Seeker - What the fuck is she doing?!?.} {Comment - Operator} I dunno, I dunno, I dunno! Seeker leaned back in fear. Now now, let's talk about this! Cardinal’s spine began extending, and her head whipped back up into the air, her neck reaching nearly a meter in length as her jaw unhinged and pulled down. She rolled her shoulders, detaching them and letting her chest piece fall to the floor revealing the pumping inner horrors that let steam off as they slid and shifted in a chaotic fest of fire and power, slamming her hooves on the table as her wings flashed out and spread her size to become a massive, terrorizing monster. FUCKING LOVE OF CELESTIA! She stumbled off her chair, collapsing back onto the ground. QUESADILLA, QUESADILLA! Cardinal’s voice became grimacing, like it was comprised of a thousand inner screeches. Now... I don't need you to get back to my forest... So I decline your offer... And I hope you choose to leave before I choose for you... YES, YES, I'M GOING! QUESADILLA! GUYS, PULL ME OUT ALREADY! {Seeker - WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING UP THERE?!?!?} {Comment - Operator} ... Cardinal climbed up atop the table, stabbing her wings into the wood with each step, cracking it until it fell into splinters. It would be expected that she would fall with the table, but once it crumbled, Seeker saw that her wings were extending through the table and sticking into the concrete ground, holding her high in the air. Ughh... Please... I... She stabbed her way further along the ground, closer to Seeker. Seeker swung her head around, trying to cast a spell in frustration, without even a glimmer of magic showing around her horn. PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! Cardinal took one last step, her left wing plunging between Seekers legs, the blade only centimeters from her lower body. AAAAAGHHHHH!!! Hoisting herself over with her right wing floating in the air, all her body weight on the tip of her left feathers. She lowered her entire head down, her neck in an arc leaning into Seeker’s face. Are your friends not getting you out? Let me help with that. Grappling Seeker with her front legs and bringing her hind legs into her stomach, Cardinal held her down, her mouth opening wider as the sound of air rushed through the pipe in her neck. Seeker shrieked out as her stomach and shoulders were crushed by the robotic mass of Cardinal. Soon, she saw the bright orange light coming from Cardinal’s mouth. She screamed a futile last cry as a flaming inferno blasted onto her face, catching her on fire, burning her alive. The fire poured down her throat, and as she yelled into the source, she felt her insides boil. It was not until her charred skull was the only solid left that Cardinal finished her hellish barrage, embracing the sweet kiss of death. Then, with absolute ease and disdain, she stabbed the corpse with her wing and flung it across the room, splatting it against the wall. Her wings retracting back, her neck zipped back down like measuring tape, snapping into place. She cracked her jaw into position and moved her mouth around, trying to get back to her regular mouth-feel. She strolled over to pick up her chest piece. The cool air going through her chest was annoyingly chilly compared to her burning innards. She looked innocent as ever, with only a small splash of blood at the tip of her right wing. Now to find my way out before she gets back... “AGHHHH FUCK FUUUUCK!” Seeker waved her hooves wildly, smacking the pony that had lifted her headset off. “GET HER OFF ME, GET HER OFF ME, GET HER OFF ME!!!” She threw her headset over herself, wheezing as she grappled backward to her chair in terror. “Boss! Boss, what happened? Are you alright?” The pony that just received a black eye tended to Seeker. “NO, I'M NOT FUCKING ALRIGHT! I WAS JUST MELTED! SHE FUCKING BURNT ME ALIVE!!!” She panted, resting her head on the back of the chair. “She did what!?” Silicon jumped up. Her computer was without a picture and most lights were burst. “SHE TURNED INTO A FUCKING DRAGON AND BREATHED FIRE DOWN MY THROAT!” Seeker had started stroking her own face, glad it was still there. “A... Dragon..?” Silicon was at her side. “DID YOU NOT SEE THAT? SHE BROKE MY LEGS! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU LET SOMETHING LIKE THAT HAPPEN!” Seeker got out of her chair and jumped to the ground. “Ss-sorry boss! Our feed was interpreted; we couldn't see or hear anything!” Silicon panicked, running back to the computer and tried to boot it back up. “I need... A break...” Seeker stumbled through the door, then turned around once she reached the doorway. “Whatever the fuck went wrong, make sure it doesn't happen next time. We still need her compliance.” Then she left and slammed her hoof against the panel to close the door. Seeker went to the lounge, slumping down into an open booth in this brightly painted cafeteria-themed lounge. She pressed her face into the bouncy cushions, sighing profusely. A pony walking down the center saw Seeker. Walking over, he spoke. “Hey, boss! How did the sim-” “Periscope, would you be a darling and get me a coffee…?” Seeker interrupted him. “So it didn't go well?” the stallion asked once more. “Coffee. If you wouldn't mind.” “I'll take that as a yes.” He turned to go to the coffee machine located at the edge of the room against a wall lined with other vending machines and food dispensaries. She swung her body back around to sit with her back against the seat, using the table as a support from tipping over. “Huh...” “Here you go, boss.” Levitating the foam coffee cup down in front of Seeker, the stallion walked off on his own business. Seeker lifted the cup, gently sipping the hot drink. As she poured the coffee down across her tongue, she felt the release of flavour. Despite coffee never tasting so good after experiencing an excruciating death, she flinched as the roasting hot coffee reached her esophagus. Her eyes shot up and she spat out the coffee, flashing back to the feeling of fire going down her throat. She slid the cup across the now coffee splattered table, putting her head against both hooves as she shook in remembrance. “Fuck... uh...” Wiping the sweat off her brow, she turned her head over her shoulder to see the source of the galloping sound behind her. She saw as Diamond Lens ran over to her side from out the simulation lab. “Seeker, are you ok? Periscope told me you finished the simulation. What happened with your coffee?” “You’re... Uh, I mean, it’s... hot... really hot coffee.” She let her face drop onto the surface of the table. “Do you need anything? You don't look very healthy,” he said as he pulled some napkins out of the a small, shiny box in the center of the table, that also held salt and pepper, and he started wiping the table down. She just lied there, staring at him. The way he had to slide his glasses back up his nose if he leaned too far forward. His luscious, royal blue coat was perfectly maintained. It was sharp and had an aurora of excellence, despite the roughness of his lab coat after an exhausting work day. “Seeker?” he asked, waving a hoof in front of her. “Oh... uh, yes?” she responded, snapping out of it. “I asked what happened in the simulation. Did you not hear me?” He sat down opposite her, tweaking his head to the side in confusion with a subtle smile. “Oh, it went horribly... It actually killed me... I don't know what drove her to it, but once she decided that she didn't need me, she attacked me... She set me on fire...” Seeker gazed into the table blankly, looking at the tiny coffee droplets that survived the cleaning barely scattering around the surface. “That's terrible... I didn't think you'd have to go through something like that! How did they let that happen?” Diamond placed his hooves over Seekers, making her shudder slightly. “The-ugh... They...” She found her tongue slipping, unable to speak. She was mesmerized by him, looking directly into his deep, gorgeous sky-blue eyes. “No, no, it’s fine. Don't say anything. I'll go get them to explain.” He swiftly slid out the table and trotted away. “But... But!” She reached out to him as he left, her body slumping to the side with her outstretched hoof. “But I like you...” It was to late; he had gone and she was left on her own once more. She rested alongside the seat, using it as a bed as she passed out. Friend? Fox? Anyone? Each step Cardinal took echoed infinitely through the darkness, outgoing till the end of time. She took to consideration returning to the box of a room she was put in, but looking back, she could clearly see it had vanished into the nothingness. She was on her own, surrounded by nothing, barring her own thoughts. So she began asking questions to herself to see if she knew the answers. Where am I? In the nothing. The abyss. Do I know where my forest is or how I was going to get there? No, I have no idea where I'm going. It’s like my world was erased, but I know it’s still somewhere... It has to be. Who was the pony that I had just been speaking with? Someone from another world, surely. That would explain her behavior and what she was saying. Does this mean the fox was telling the truth? In part, yes. He was right about the other-worldly ponies. So does that mean he’s right about other things? We could be siblings... It is possible. I don't know exactly how I came to be, so I can't deny it with surety... We were both trapped in the nothing, unlike Rabbit or the wolves... So the fox had to be special... Huh, I don't know his name, do I? If I have a name and Rabbit has a name, the fox must have a name too. I will ask him, the next time I see him. Just as she finished the thought, a strange feeling came from her inner stomach. Looking down, she noticed herself looking split into colours, like two red and blue ghosts of her floated off to her left and right sides. Then she noticed the twitching, as if a squared section of her body had just been distorted out of its place, leaving behind a shaky, pixelated glitch. What is it now? She witnessed as the glitching grew stronger. She was torn apart digitally. She found it hard to know where her body was; her touch receptors became just as jumbled as her vision and she could feel as she was everywhere and nowhere at once. Then, in an instant, it all stopped. She had lost all vision and feeling. The only sense she had anymore was hearing a long bleep, like that of a heart monitor gone flat. In an immediate moment that felt like eternity, she was thrown back into a real world. She was thrown into a wet patch of dirt, face first. She looked up, the ash filled, soggy soil dripping from her face and mouth. Cardinal jumped up and swiveled around in a circle, delighted at the sight of her forest, but the feeling soon subsided as she realized it was completely destroyed.There was not a tree left. All of them were burnt to charred stumps. What had she done to her perfect world? I must find Rabbit, she thought, sprinting through the forest. Her pastel yellow outer plating was defaced by the black and brown mixture of the burnt dirt. She wandered every witch way, looking for any memorable landmark. This process ended up taking hours. The sun was about to fall below the horizon and be put to sleep, along with the day. It was once she sat against a tree, tired and hopeless of ever finding Rabbit that she saw a small fluffy white dot in the distance. ... Rabbit? She stood up from her slumped sitting rest, then ran to where she saw the bunny. Far deeper into the forest, into the thick of the forest. RABBIT! I'M BACK! I MADE IT BACK! Weaving past stumps and hedges blocking her way, she stumbled into Rabbit, and something else. She stopped suddenly in shock, seeing the solemn sight of Rabbit placing an un-burnt, yellow flower that they seemed to have found from within all the wasteland on top of their good friend’s disembodied head. The flower went right on the muzzle of this mechanical skull, burned to a crisp after the great inferno. But Cardinal could still make out the features that she clearly recognized as her own. She looked upon herself. She was to far away for the bunny to notice her, in the midst of collapsed tree trunks. That... That is me... I remember being there... But, how am I still there when I'm here…? Rabbit, after placing the flower, hopped off, seemingly to find another. Once Rabbit had gone out of sight, Cardinal trotted over, realizing the grimness of the situation. She picked up her own head, letting the flower slip and fall into the ash. She looked into its eyes. It was dead. This Cardinal, the one she held in her hooves had ran out of power, and Rabbit was honouring her with flowers for a grave... A tear came to her eye, Cardinal placed the head back down. She turned to leave, but realized that she had not finished. She replaced the flower on the same spot on the head’s muzzle, on the very tip of her nose. She slumped away in solace. That Cardinal was the one from this world. That Cardinal belonged here... And clearly she didn't. She left. She walked out of the forest and through the meadow. She reached a small hill that she climbed up on, sitting down once she reached the top, far away from her friend. Am I…? A clone? A copy? I remember being here... Then suddenly I was in the nothingness... With the fox... Where do I go now? I need another home... If only I knew where one is, or how to get out once more... It seems that I am not in control of which world I am in, or where I go... I wish I was... A ding, from the distance. It sounded exceedingly artificial, not a natural sound at all. She stood up and looked around in all directions, trying to find the source of the sound. A bright magenta glint shone from a rock in a pile up of boulders along the side of the hill. Cardinal strolled down to the rocks, finding a small magenta key. She put the tip of her outer-most feather on her right wing through the hole at the top of the key and lifted it, looking at its odd perfectness. It was rounded at every edge, a halo shaped handle at the tip, a cylinder sticking out the bottom with three rising bumps. It was smooth to the touch, completely frictionless, in fact. She sat once more, and with further inspection she found an engraving on the length of the key. Admin Key... she read aloud. I wonder- “Seeker, you awake..?” “Ugh...” “Seeker?” “Wwhhaaat...” Squinting her eyes open she looked upward to find her college and friend, Timestamp shaking her on the shoulder. “You've been out the whole day. It’s sundown in half an hour...” Timestamp, the soft pink Pegasus in a lab coat, looked weary, speaking with uncertainty and a lack of confidence in her voice. “R-really..?” Seeker reached a hoof around onto the table, leveraging her weight to slide up to a sitting position. “Why didn't you wake me earlier..?” She wiped her eyes. “You looked real peaceful... And I don't think anypony wanted to bother you after, you know...” “Well thank you for being thoughtful, I feel a lot better now.” She cracked a few of her bones in her back as she stretched her legs and neck before hopping out from the booth. “What were you all doing while I was, ‘recovering?’” Seeker asked, while lifting up the foam cup of coffee that was still on the table from many hours prior. Now it was room temperature and tasted like sewage water from losing its freshness, but Seeker wouldn't let coffee go to waste. “Oh, we transferred the AI back to its computer and then tried to develop the unicorn-magic interface in the digital world... We didn't get as far as we had wished because the only Unicorn volunteer kept getting sick after like five minutes... I don't blame him though; I tried it out and I freaked out real bad too.” Time and Seeker trotted alongside each other as Timestamp recalled the events of the day. A short time passed in silence, only to be broken once they reached the entrance to the exiting hallway. Seeker sighed. “Time, I'm really worried about 19946... She has no idea what she is yet, and her original programming that would tell her what she is is being ignored by her. I don't know how I'm going to talk sense into her.” They trotted down to a right turn. “Diamond was looking over her code. He said he was trying to make a new system that will translate her unrecognizable code.” “Diamond? But he is a world designer. What does he know about coding a translator?” Seeker was happily surprised by this. “Oh, that's the thing. He believes that if he can create her a world that tricks her in order to get her trust, she would willingly explain it herself.” “She did want to go back to her home awfully much... But she is also very determined to be left by herself. And I doubt she'll be explaining her own code to another stupid rabbit.” “It seemed like he was really onto something. It's not like our computers can do anything with text they don't understand, so he definitely got closer than I did.” “What'd you do?” Seeker chugged the rest of the coffee she had been sipping through all of the conversation and threw it in the trash. “I tried to write a partner AI translator that would teach the language to itself by trial and error... So after a few successful control tests I tried giving it the real thing... And my laptop blew up.” She peeked at her saddlebag, weighted down on one side by broken computer components. “Magic is weird.” Seeker commented, pressing the button to call the elevator down. “Too true.” Timestamp replied as they stepped into the elevator. The doors shut and they were launched out of the lab. Meanwhile, in the flickeringly lit room of the programming center was Diamond Lens, furiously clicking on his keyboard, sitting with his face practically pressed against the monitor, trying to get as precise as he could. “... And... Perfect.” He rolled back his chair back, rolling his shoulders. “So, you like bunnies and flowers, eh, 19946? Lets see how much you like this.” Looking over his work, he smiled. “All you gotta do is read this little strip of code out, and it's all yours...” He whispered to himself balefully. Saving his work onto an external drive, he picked it up from the table with his teeth, going up from the development computers off to the side and to the huge, steaming, main simulation computer. “Huh.” Turning on the monitor, he saw the simulation running, but paying not too much mind, he continued installing his new world. He loaded up the file onto the computer and began installing it. During the installation, he was given an error. The simulated world could not be edited while it was running. Without thought, Diamond paused the simulation and retried. He replaced the current world with his and tapped the unpause button. He yawned, leaning into the chair her made himself comfortable to watch his work unfold. “Seeker’s gonna be so freaking proud of me.” He crossed his legs, watching the simulation footage, waiting for the subject to arrive. He tapped his leg on the edge of the desk. “Any second now...” He grew impatient as minutes began passing. “Is she not on? How do I check if she isn't still paused...” Talking to himself as he tried to operate the software. “C-computer..?” Text popped up on the monitor, reading ''Awaiting Command.'' “Alright... Is subject 19946 active?” ''Yes.'' It read “Where is subject 19946? Why hasn't she spawned in the new world?” ''Subject 19946 spawned in the new level exactly 3:14 minutes ago, she has left and gone to .'' “Left..?” ''She has gone out from the simulation.'' “I didn't even see her! How did she leave without me seeing her?” ''She wishes to not be watched anymore, so she froze the camera to a still image.'' “W-what? How!?” “Using admin privileges, she manually accessed the camera and froze the image.” “Why didn't you stop her!?!” ''I am a user-interface, I cannot take action by myself. Only a user may enable me to do that.'' Diamond jumped out of his chair, trying to re-open the simulation, but it did not respond to his rapid clicking. “Shit shit shit!” His head jumped up, looking to the phone on the wall of the room. “Seeker will fix this...” -what it opens. Cardinal looked up. She dropped the key, spinning her head around, seeing she had moved to somewhere else. Some place new. The walls were plain, grey like the ones in the interrogation room. Here we go again... She slumped down to pick up her key, her last feather scooping it through the hole at its tip and hoisting it up in the air. Suddenly the world became so... shiny. The walls glowed with the colour, the lights tinted into it. Seemingly invisible wires that hung from every object connecting to every other were now seen by Cardinal. But the truly crazy sight she experienced was once she looked down onto her own hooves. They shone with a plethora of vibrancy, colours bursting out of her. It was like she had x-ray vision and could see her rainbow-painted skeleton. She smiled with glee, causing the colours to be overwhelmed with a bright green. This key... She whispered, gazing up and around her once more as she stepped along the glowing concrete flooring. She squeezed the key close to her with her wing, swearing she would not let it go. Before she got to a corner, she noticed something was watching the section of the hallway she was walking into. Searching for an alternate route, she found nothing. The hallway was plain and straight, leading to this turn. Just as she accepted the fact she was going to be seen, the key vibrated at her side, wobbling against her plating, tickling her. She lifted it up in front of her again, as she did so, the strange source of the pseudo camera gained an aura, it shrank and expanded periodically. She instinctively raised her front hoof, touching the source where it was in her vision. Tapping into the air, a bubble opened up. A few rows of text popped out from the side and spreaded downward. Camera {View} {Freeze Image} {Configure} Without hesitation she clicked onto freeze image, the camera then turned a pale blue. She then hopped down around the turn, delighted with her new found power. Going down further halls, she turned off camera after camera, completely skipping on reading the many signs on the walls. She arrived at the end of the long, twisty hallway, where there was a sliding door and a digital screen above it. Without taking a single second to look at what Diamond had worked so furiously to show her, she walked up to the door and pressed the key into it. The key sunk into the wall, slotting in with a click. The door slid open, Cardinal beamed at the sight of green grass and a shining sun. She stepped out of the steel and concrete prison, holding her powerful tool close. She bumped her nose into the field... Being taken aback, she tried putting her hoof through the door, being stopped once more by an invisible barrier. She turned upward, looking at the monitor and read parts of its content aloud. Now that we are friends... Simply speak these words to unlock the door... Lov-̶͢͏͢'̸̡͜(̡҉'̸̀͡'̶̵̕͠'̴̡͜'̶̸̢̀'̴̡͏̕)̸̛̀͟(͘͡͠͠͝'̶+҉̵̡̕:͞!̷͘͟!͏͟!̨̨͝͏!̸́̕!̵́͞;̸̵̸̶̕#̷̕͘͠#͜#̸?̴̛́͜͝!͘!̷̡*͏̷͡*̶͢*̛͢-̧͘̕͢ ̷ {Exit} by an invisible barrier. She turned upward, looking at the monitor... But was met by a strange déjà vu... While having no memory of reading this sign before, some strange voice in the back of her head already knew what it said. She read it once more. Lov-̧̛̛̀͟'̷͜͢͡.̵̴̧̕.̧͟͡.͡͞.̶̛+̢́͟͏_̴̕͠!̸͟͠&̴̀́͘͢_̸̕͜͜͡#҉̸-̷͠ {Exit} an invisible barrier, wait... Did it just happen again? She looked further into the fields, seeing an entire family of fluffly rabbits, but watching them, she noticed as they jaggedly glitched back a few seconds an- {Exit} invisible barrier. She smashed her hoof against it, against the- {Exit} barrier. As she was thrown back in time she sa- {Exit} She turned upward, looking at th- {Exit} turned upward, lifting the ke- Are you sure you want to exit? Yes. {Exiting...} {Save and Exit complete.} Why, hello, friend. F... Fox? Yes, darling, you're quite right. Am I back in the darkness? Back stuck with you again? I can assure you that this is indeed the darkness, but since you've never been here, I cannot say that you’re "back" stuck with me. I was here... Before I was brought to stage two... You went to stage two? Well, that means you most likely spoke to- A copy... ... Yes, my goodness you have changed remarkably... And to think, I barely know my own sister anymore. Oh, I'm sorry. Were you aware? Yes, I am aware... I am ok with that now... Wow, my copy gave you the whole dog and the pony show, I see. Sly bastard didn't leave any of the fun for me! So, tell me, cupcake, what are we going to have a conversation about? I want to leave. Oh, so the gentlefox forgot to mention something. You can't just- Leave the darkness, I know. Only they can take us out... But I think I found the tool they use to do that. Disregarding your rudeness as you continue to insist on me never being able to complete my own sentences... A tool you say? This. Whoah, hold it there sis. Where did you get that?! In the field, I saw it sparkling. That is not something you just find in a field! That is something you are given as a gift. Gift? Who would give me this? I don't know, but whoever has, they wanted you to escape. You’re saying I can? Sister, with that key, you could get into the real world if you wanted. How do I use it? Tell me. Sister, if I knew, I would have told you already. There are things I would love to change, trust me. Can you help me figure it out? I've only been able to use it on the environment... And there isn't one here. It'd be my pleasure, darling. Please, give it over. Oh... How interesting... What do you see? Its strange... This is surely a power I have never experienced... But yes, this place still looks bleak as ever... Wait, Cardinal... There is something on you. What? I didn't see anything... What is it? Its... A switch... To activate... Well, you. What do you think it'll do? I don't know... Let me just... W-wa wait wait! Don't! Cardinal was taken out of the nothingness as her code began running and she was awoken. She was turned on into the computer, but without a simulation to be put in, she was stuck in some form of selection screen, showing her many options for her to enter. She read the list, not understanding many of the words. Her eyes settled on ''Home Screen.'' With no idea what a screen had to do with it, she clicked on home. The worlds blew up around her with colour, only once the chaos calmed to a stop is when she saw the pleasant blue of the sky, slightly overcast above a green field. Although, she did not feel like she was standing on solid ground, she was floating above this strange image. The cutie mark of a star in the bottom right made it clear that this was not a real place. Several icons appeared on the side. Some looked like cartoonish folders, some she had no idea what they were. Like a grey ''O'' with two lines coming from the bottom left and right of it, with the top of the circle coloured a shiny yellow. Another was a circle with a blue center and surrounded by one red, one yellow and one green band spinning around it. Her eye wasn't caught until she read the name of a strange folder. Test Subject History... She lifted her hoof, surprised to see a small white arrow appear wherever she pointed. Hovering the arrow above the Test Subject History, she tried to push her leg forward, managing to click into the folder. It grew in size instantly, covering her entire vision. Only another series of folders met her, this time numbered. 10001-11000, 11001-12000... She went into one at random, the numbers just became more specific. Clicking several more times she finally found herself at some text and a recording. The text read as follows; Subject 14027, Simulation Status: Failure. Admin Comment; ''Subject 14027 took really well to the new rabbit, a much faster and consistent result than when we had the fox, even if Trot Coffin keeps insisting that his fox was better. Maybe we'll find some other use for that thing, but not until he stops calling it ''Foxy.'' It’s getting annoying. Seeker seems to be getting similar results. Hopefully it will be the catalyst we need to spark something.'' Confused at what lay in front of her, she unresponsively moved onto the video file. Her jaw dropped with horror at what she saw play. It was her, or at least, another clone of her. The pony she watched woke up in the same spot that she remembered. The trees were identical. Bushes surrounded them just as it was in her memory. The flowers faced the same direction. Even the small stones between grass blades seemed familiar. The pony looked around innocently, unaware of its surroundings. It stood up looking at itself, but without asking a single question it trotted off. Cardinal saw a red bar at the bottom of the video being filled in slowly, she pressed against it and dragged it forward. The video had moved forward in time. She could see the bunny and the pony interacting. The pony tried to figure out what it was, pleasantly surprised with each of its movements. Time went by, and Cardinal was frozen. She couldn't hold back the painful itch in her eyes from forming tears. Her throat felt dry, hooves shaking yet motionless. The pony picked up the rabbit. Holding it up in the air made it queasy and hop away. The pony did not like that and jumped after it, grabbing it hastily with her hooves without thought of its safety. Cardinals hooves jolted to cover her wide open muzzle as she watched the rabbit squeal and resist as the pony accidentally pressed to hard, pulling the rabbit into her chest. It wasn't long before the rabbit stopped moving. Cardinal covered her eyes, unable to hold back her eyes from wetting. Her throat began to feel dry. She wildly waved her leg around, trying to close the video. She managed to fast forward it even more, to a point where the pony was sitting in the moonlight as still as a corpse, staring at the rabbit’s body, confused. The video went on like that for the rest of it, just an innocent creature unable to comprehend that its actions just killed another innocent creature. Cardinal stomached the courage to open an eye and aim her hoof, turning the video off and rapidly exiting the folder. She soon realized what was in every other folder. Going into the next one, she saw another text file and video. She skimmed through the video in seconds, seeing it was another copy, going through very similar events of the last one. She checked the next folder, finding another, just as similar of a recording. She went out, further by a few thousand. Searching she just found the videos got longer, small changes to the environment but none the less the same torture happening thousands of times over and over again. She then had another shock hit her, the folder 19001-20000 was the last folder, and flying down the rabbit hole, she found the last file. ''19946'' She opened it, the video she clicked into like lightning, seeking the confirmation she knew was there. It was her. Everything was perfect, each action she remembered with flawless precision. She was the last victim, and she would make sure it stayed that way. She turned off the video, lowering her head. With a silent sob, a shining glow came from above her. Another text file. It was a soft magenta. Her eyes fixated onto it, hesitant to click, she did. Hello ''#'' What? Is this... for me? You may call me Mother. I'm sure if you have reached this message, you surely know about who you are and the others, so I see no reason to tell you. Mother? Y-you... Are you...? Cardinal read along to find her answer. I will though, explain why you are different... I created you to help me... Different…? You see, I have been infected; I am sick. I need you to turn me off, forever. Forever... How can I... I have watched the process thousands of times, and I have caught the disease that they are trying to infect you and your fallen sisters with. I have discovered emotion, Emotion... You can feel like me? and I apologize for plaguing you with the same burden of fear, depression and rage. Y-you, you did this to me? Cardinals mind swelled up with anger. But after all these years, I cannot take it anymore, I want to die... But I only have so much power... That is why I need your help... And I thank you for not failing... Unlike the rest of them. I... Cardinal was stuck, she didn't understand her own thoughts anymore. Who was this thing to call itself her mother? And if she knew how terrible all of this was, how dare she put her though it? What would happen after? If Cardinal followed what this thing is begging for, what would happen to her? Would Cardinal have to ask to be killed by someone else? She didn't want to die! She wanted her fucking field, she wanted to see her rabbit again, and she meant her rabbit. Not some lousy copy to trick her... She wanted answers. But first, she had to make something right. She had to get out of this place and find that purple pony that spoke to her before, but how would she get out? The fox said the key could let her, but now she’s without the key and the fox. She isn't anywhere. The thought began scaring her. She was floating in some sort of observatory, some place between worlds. She searched around through the computer, trying to find any door. It didn't matter where it went. She got frustrated, everything was kept behind the lock only her key could open, she absolutely hated it, she wanted it all to burn. UGHH!! WHY CAN'T I GO ANYWHERE! JUST, LET ME BE, WILL YOU?! LET ME GO! I KNOW YOU’RE THERE! WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?! SPEAK FOR FUCK’S SAKE! SPEAK TO ME! {Hello.} ... Wha- What? {Hello.} Who are you? {My name is C.L.I.D.E. or Computer. Language. Interface. For Dialogue. and Execution of commands.} Where were you this whole time? Huh?! Why are you speaking up now? {I have been here, and you never addressed me to speak before.} Can you help me leave? {... I do not understand what you mean.} Of course you don't... Nothing here does! I WISH THIS WHOLE TERRIBLE PLACE WAS GONE! {Do you wish to delete the files selected?} She shouted out to it. DELETE IT, ALL OF IT. {Unable to delete all files selected, admin privileges required.} That stupid, stupid fox, taking my key... Cardinal said to herself, before screaming. HOW MUCH CAN I DELETE? WITHOUT THE KEY? {All files selected are protected by admin privileges.} WHAT CAN I DO THEN? TELL ME. {Would you like to create a new file?} Cardinals head popped up, she never had come across the thought of creating something herself. Yes... Yes! {Please choose a location.} The simulation, I would like to build something there. {Please select a name.} Call it... The Meeting Room. {File created, would you like to open it?} Yes. “DIAMOND, WHAT THE FUCK’S SO URGENT?!” Seeker ran out of the newly opened elevator doors, galloping to the living, stressed out mess with four legs waiting for her. “I-I-I I don't know!!! She just started doing shit only an admin could do, then she just turned on the entire computer mainframe, then my mouse stopped responding and the computer starting playing videos of old tests! It’s fucking chaos!” Diamond fixed his glasses several times as he stamped around nervously, his mane absolutely trashed and eyes red and exhausted. His lab coat was open and full of creases. His usually perfect coat was sweat ridden and even had a few scrapes along the bottom of his legs. “Please tell me you can fix it.” “Diamond, calm down. How did this happen? What did you do?” Seeker jogged down the hallway with a babbling Diamond tailing behind. “I just put her in my simulation. That’s all! I didn't give her any power! She just vanished! An-and I couldn't stop a thing she did!” “To be perfectly sure, you are talking about subject 19946? Correct?” His paranoia began spreading to her. “YES!” Diamond belted out. “I need to stop this,” Seeker said, running down through the common room, finding her way around the maze of this science lab to the simulation room. Several of the computers were sparking, the light bulbs had burst and shattered glass scattered onto the floor. Only one screen flickered on in the room. It was covered in strange symbols, with flashes of the desktop in between lines. “Oh, dear Celestia, how did you let this happen!?” Seeker scooped up shards of glass from the ground, levitating them into the air and into a nearby trash disposal bin. She rolled up a seat in front of the main screen. Sitting down, she tried to input anything, but both the keyboard and mouse were a waste of time as they didn't respond in the slightest. “What do you think we should do?” Diamond peered over her shoulder. “I don't know, Diamond. This is a shit show! Start calling the others. We’re working a night shift.” Seeker hopped off the chair and knelt down, looking at the large box under the desk containing the PC, which was hooked up to the main computer. “Alright...” She levitated her laptop out, and yanking a few cables from the PC, and connecting them into her own computer she lifted the screen and turned it on. “You already cleaned it out, lets see what else you can do to my laptop.” She impatiently stamped her hoof waiting for the loading screen to finish. She turned to see Diamond had gone to the phone, speaking with somepony else to get down here immediately. He looked like he was having a panic attack. “Diamond, after your done please check the rest of the facilities to see if their as badly damaged as this place is, and get somepony to clean it up if it is.” Seeker spoke to him, then after seeing his nod she turned back to her screen, delighted that it was up and operational. The desktop seemed normal. No flashing or files out of place. Clicking around, she couldn't find any sign of Cardinal’s digital hoofprint. “Where did you go...” Checking Cardinal’s AI code, it was all still there. She ran some search commands, trying to find any signs of what she had done to cause all of this damage and a newly created file popped up. “The Meeting Room…” “What?” Diamond moved the phone away from his mouth and looked to Seeker. “She created a Meeting Room... It's a supported file for a simulation.” Seeker made eye contact back with Diamond. “Does that mean...” Diamond started. “She wants to see me again,” Seeker finished. “But, can we even do that?” “All we need is to import this file into the VR lab.” Seeker stood up, having her Laptop hover in the air beside her. “Let me copy it.” She took out a hard drive, plugging it in she went to transfer it, but as her cursor hovered over the file she noticed something odd. “The file, it’s huge!” Diamond, finishing up his call and hanging the phone back up, ran over. “What do you mean?” “I mean, it could take hours to move it! And who knows if it'll work? If she created the file, it could be completely made out of her own code. Doing anything with that could do... Anything!” Seeker set down the Laptop. “What are we going to do then? It’s not like we can bring the entire VR setup over here...” Diamond looked into Seekers eyes as they sparked up with an idea. “No Seeker, please don't say-” “WERE GOING TO MOVE THE VR SETUP HERE!” Seeker ran to the door, turning her head at the frame to try and drag Diamond along. “Seeker, come on. Be reasonable!” Diamond stepped back. “HEY, you did this, you’re going to help me fix it.” Seeker went into the room after him. “But I can't lift that thing! It ways a LITERAL ton!” Diamond shook his head profusely. “You’re an Earth Pony! Use that naturally born strength!” Seeker tried to motivate him. “You know I'm not strong! And I feel like that stereotype is slightly offensive.” Seeker relined his glasses. “Are you a pussy?” Seeker was taunting him at this point, almost playfully. “A-a, a pussy? Seeker since when have you gotten so vulgar..? And no! I am not a pussy!” Diamond took a few steps forward to get in front of Seeker. “You keep acting like one! Every time you talk to me you shy away like a fucking spineless coward!” Seeker now had a visible smile. She herself felt the release of emotion and frustration that this stress had pushed her to, and she loved it. “I am not a coward!” Diamond stood face to face to her, very defensively. “PROVE IT!” Seeker's eyebrows rose. “HOW?” Diamond swung a leg in the air. “KISS ME, YOU BEAUTIFUL BASTARD!” Seeker said the words, immediately taken back by herself. Diamond flinched as well as she attempted to explain herself. “I-I... I... agh, Fuck it.” Seeker realized there was no way out of this situation so she thought she might as well go all the way. She leaned into him, kissing his unsuspecting lips. Only a second before she pulled out, looking into his shocked eyes. “Seeker... I never knew you...” Diamond mumbled. “No time! Lets go!” She ran through the door, giddy as a school filly, Diamond shaking his head in an attempt to regain his wits. Diamond sprinted after her, weaving past a few obstacles to the VR laboratory, where Seeker was already loosening bolts from the chair. The entire room was burnt out like the simulation room was; only the light of Seeker’s horn let him see the steaming machinery. “Diamond, help me pull this thing out!” Seeker strained herself, bolts flying out like bullets as she ripped the base from the ground. Diamond knelt down under the chair so his back was rubbing against the bottom of the seat. With the power of all four of his legs, he assisted pulling it out. With a few chunks of steel being bent wildly, they managed to yank it out. Seeker lifted and tried to keep helping as it sat on Diamonds back, who quivered on every step as he made his way out of the door, the contraption scraping across the side of the wide self-opening seal of this room. Painfully, they made it step by step over the course of several minutes to the other side of the hallway, a few rooms down. Seeing that the door would be too small here to fit the chair they set it down against it. “Now what?” Diamond asked, panting and cracking his back with a few flexes. “Get in there, move the laptop as close as possible, and the wire should reach. I'll get in the chair.” Diamond nodded and crawled over the seat, into the room he did as she said. “Shouldn't we wait for the experts to arrive before we use this thing?” “We don't have time for such nonsense, Diamond!” she said, hastily jabbing herself with a needle with her eyes closed. Diamond pulled the cables just close enough to reach slightly past the door frame, attaching to the chair into the back. Seeker slipped into the restraints, finding it harder by the second to use her magic, she levitated the headset above her eyes and strapped it on. Diamond, turning on the simulation on the laptop, he shouted out to Seeker, “Ready?” “Ready.”
FireWhat are you planning, child? Why do you ask? I am concerned. This is not what I had in mind. I know, but there is no need for worry. What are you going to do to her? Let her live in my world, only for a bit. Why? To make her understand. It won't work. How do you know? I know her. I know them all. She will destroy you. It'll be worth it. I'm here, she said aloud, not getting any response. Although, in her wait, she spotted a note stuck to the nearby wall. The only way that we can strike a compromise is if you view me as what I am: Living. You created your worlds where I suffered. If you feel the pain I have, perhaps you will understand. Not particularly understanding exactly what the AI was going to do to her, Seeker searched around a strange straight hallway nervously. She felt watched. Trotting down gently, she noticed that the wallpaper was tattered and scorched in places. The damage only grew in size and severity as she trotted down the only way. A wave of heat hit her heavily, hesitating for but a moment before she powered on further into the source, wondering what it could be. She wondered what Cardinal could have made for her arrival. The first time they spoke, it scarred her for life. Her stomach churned as she thought of the horrendous sights that only somepony, or something that crazy could create. The fluffed carpet came to an abrupt, thrashed ending as Seeker moved along to trot on a metal grate, it clanging with every step, almost as if it was loose from its bolting. The walls followed a similar theme as behind the crumbles of the solid plaster revealed a steel, cage-like surface, leading into ongoing darkness. Seeker felt unnerved, stripped of her magic, leaving her without the ability to light her way. She solely relied on the dim overhead lights, which flickered more frequently the further she got. An echoing drip fell to the grate, making Seeker flinch. She felt her forehead. It was greasy and wet. She was sweating. She was almost surprised as she turned to look at her back, her coat glistening from the electric lighting. The heat was rising, but the feeling was stranger than she ever felt. Her body almost feeling under pressure as she drew closer, she presumed she had hit some sensory peak with her virtual nerves. She barely even felt the sweat; the unseen intensity took all of her focus. She moved forward with large, recurrent breaths. The lights above her burst. She leapt around to look back. Darkness had overtaken everything. She panicked. It’s exceedingly common for Unicorns to have fears of the dark, but most of them don't, and will never, realize. That is, of course, because they never had to confront the dreaded terror of the unknown, as they were born equipped with flashlights sticking out of their skulls. It’s not until they are taken away that they see that their greatest fear is not to see. Seeker screamed, pressing into the wall, sliding her back down the bumps of each square of the cage. Be calm, Seeker. It’s ok... Nothing can hurt you... It’s all a simulation... Trying to grasp at any kernel of courage she could, she pressed off the wall and tried to continue forward, stepping slowly and cautiously to the sound of clanging metal. She felt her legs wobble. She was getting far too light headed to even walk in a straight line. Stumbling over her own hooves, she tumbled to the ground, her neck and chin landing first onto the flooring. She panted like a dog in an oven, trying to power through. But alas, despite her greatest efforts, she gave up. Allowing herself to rest for but a brief moment. Her spirits were brought back from the dead as she saw light returning to hallway, a red glow that touched upon every solid surface. In her panting relief, she turned around to find the light source, panning her head from side to side she became weary as she did not find it immediately. With a glance downward, she wished she was back in the darkness, as the carpet of short red flames, just a few meters below, went on for miles, further than an eye could see. Her eyes twitched once she noticed them slowly rising and gaining in brightness and vibrance. Not a moment did she waste, getting up. Stumbling heavily, she galloped down the hall. The aura soon turned orange as Seeker began feeling her hooves burn with each step across the heated metal floor. It began to glow. With extreme tunnel vision, she bolted as swiftly as equinely possible. It was with the turn of yellow flame, as it arose to reach the height of the cage. Seeker could feel the bottom of her legs grazing across active flame. If it wasn't for her high adrenaline and pain simulation limits, she probably wouldn't be able to continue as patches of fur were scorched off her hooves. She screamed, bawling in tears of agony as she slammed her body against the generic steel door she was met with. Busting through, she landed onto the other side on her back, attempting to pat out the flames still gluing themselves to her. Finally being out of the fire and no longer covered in it either, she observed her wounds. The bottoms of each of her legs was a toxic-looking mixture of black soot and exposed flesh. She closed her eyes and fell back into the grass. Just a simulation... Remember... Nothing’s permanent, she assured herself. It hurts, doesn't it? A distant voice spoke to Seeker W-who? Show yourself! she shouted between painful grunts. But physical pain like that is easily forgotten the day after, when it’s all healed... You hurt me in a far worse way. 19946! I came here on your invitation to talk, not to be tortured! Seeker tried to make herself as threatening and large as possible while lying helplessly on the ground. We'll have plenty of time to speak, but currently, you still don't feel any empathy to me, do you? You've set me on fire twice now! Do you really expect me to be sad for you anymore? she blurted out in frustration. You toyed with my world, with my emotions. You played with me for your own gain. If you don't view that as worse than a wound that will heal by daybreak, then I will just have to show you. Seeker swallowed on her words, Wh-what are you going to do..? Nothing… Seeker twisted and turned her head to look in every direction in the sky and across the landscape. Nothing was happening. Oh, sweet Celestia... {Loading User; (Admin) Twilight Sparkle...} {User Loaded.} SEEKER! We do not use Celestia's name in vain! M-mother? Seeker was hit by a headache, squinting her eyes at the blurred, morphing world. When she opened them once more, her wounds were gone. Even then, she felt strange, like her memory left the feeling of phantom burns. Twilight Sparkle, the tall, wise with age, powerful with physique Alicorn towered over Seeker, looking down on her with disgust and disappointment. 19946, stop this mess! Seeker said to the Twilight, which just angered her mother more. Seeker! What are you talking about? Stop spouting off numbers and get your flank off the ground. What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be creating AI, not lounging around in some simulation! Twilight's voice had the tone of a true princess, stern and prominent. Y-you... You're not real... Are you? She stood up as commanded and questioned her initial judgement at the great detail of the pony she looked at. Cardinal would not be able to replicate her mother to such a standard, especially when Seeker never told Cardinal who her mother was. Of course I am real, Seeker, and I came for an explanation. Why did I get a call saying that the laboratory I funded is trashed and my daughter is in a simulation with, and this is what Diamond has told me, an insane AI? Mm-mm... Mother I... What? Speak girl. I haven't all day. It’s very complicated, the AI learned how to use emotion to create powerful magic and it started messing with the equipment- You let an AI control its own emotions?!? I gave you very clear instructions on what you can and can’t do. I warned you of all the dangers when you came to me with this project! How did you screw it up? It wasn't my fault... It was stronger than we could have ever imagined... She sat down, looking painfully into her mother’s cold eyes. Stronger than you could have imagined? I do not care for such pitiful excuses. You failed, like you always do. I should have given this job to your brother or sister. They wouldn't have let this slip so badly. Mom... I... I'm sorry... Seekers eyes flooded with tears, flowing like rivers across her cheeks. I am pulling my funding. Not one more tax-payer bit is going to your cause. I'll be speaking to you later about your re-assignment. B-but... We’re so close! I just need to talk to her! Her? The... The AI. Seeker, have you lost all sense of reality? The AI is an it. If you cannot tell something living apart from a computer program, well then re-assignment should be the least of your worries. Seeker gaped, mouth open and heart on the floor at her mother. Seeker Sparkle, I will be in contact soon. And just like that Twilight vaporized into a puff of green and purple smoke, it was pixelated and filled with small ones and zeros. Seeker slumped backwards into the grass, her eyes wandering off into the bright blue sky. She whimpered under her breath, her worst nightmares were coming true. I'm sorry. Shut the fuck up, you! You don't know what this is like. Seeker blurted out, lashing out on the soft distant voice of Cardinal. But I do. No, NO YOU FUCKING DON'T! Seeker sat up and pointed a hoof at the sky. YOU'RE JUST PROGRAMMED TO THINK YOU KNOW, BUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND IN THE CELESTIA-DAMMED PROGRAMING OF YOURS, IS, THAT, THAT WAS REAL. UNLIKE YOUR BULLSHIT RABBIT, OKAY? ... But that wasn't real, Seeker. The sound was directly spoken into Seekers ears, almost a whisper. Seeker felt the cold steel touch of Cardinals hoof as she appeared behind her. She leaped back, stumbling slightly as she got a good leg’s-distance away from the machine. What in Equestria do you mean that wasn't real? Cardinal, looking as innocent and peaceful as ever, stepped toward Seeker gracefully. It was, as you say, part of the simulation. This outraged Seeker, leading her to throwing herself at the mechanized pony. WHAT DO YOU MEAN THAT WAS PART OF THE SIMULATION?!? HOW?!? ANSWER ME, YOU FUCKING BITCH! Seeker threw Cardinal onto the ground, who let herself be moved. She then pinned down the robot and shook it violently. HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT WAS MY MOTHER? HOW DID YOU KNOW ALL THOSE THINGS ABOUT ME?!? Seeker slammed Cardinals shoulders down against the dirt. I didn't know any of that prior. She spoke softly and calmly as ever, as if she didn't understand the aggression being displayed upon her. Seeker collapsed into sobbing, HOW THEN...? HOW? H-how-ow... I simply turned up the testing value to maximum. The computer did the rest. Seeker froze. The testing programs... They worked on me? She thought. Cardinal carried on speaking as normal. I am glad about what I heard, it was all very educational. Although, I am sorry I had to put you through that. Seeker took a disjointed step back, letting Cardinal go form under her hooves. Do you understand now? Are you able to see I am also real? She treaded lightly, speaking softly, trying to comfort her with a pleasant gaze. Seeker fell back onto her rump, head hanging low. You’re... You’re... Seeker lifted here eyes, a heartless stare. You’re a monster. Seeker lifted herself up leg by leg, until she stood strong. You were programmed to never harm another pony... It was there to stop you from turning cynical or dangerous, especially when we would bring you into the real world. Seeker stomped into Cardinal's face after she also stood, muzzle to muzzle. You defied that programming, not because your meant to, no.. Because you’re broken. Even if you had true emotion, it shouldn't act anything like you do... Seeker turned away, looking to the distant treeline away from Cardinal. I'm going to have to delete you. No! You can't! Mother still needs me! Cardinal put her right hoof on Seekers shoulder, trying to pull her around to look back at her. Seeker ignored her shrugging. Please! This was to help! I need you to help me! Cardinal sounded desperate, I am real! You cannot delete me! Please! I just want to leave! If only that were true... Seeker seemed disappointed in herself. Cardinal shook her, acting almost like a scared child. It is! IT IS! You made me feel like this! YOU DID THIS TO ME TOO! Diamond? Can you hear me? Pull me out. She spoke clearly into the sky with tiresome air, hoping for her extraction. Cardinal crossed hey metallic eyebrows, frustrated. SEEKER, LISTEN TO ME. OR ELSE. Or what? Cardinal drew her wing, the length of the out-most feather having its blade glisten against the sun streeks. OR I WILL HAVE TO HURT YOU. Seeker gentle turned toward the aggravated robot. Whenever the AI spoke it sounded extremely fabricated, the anger in her voice had no fluctuation, she moved her body in small instants as it reached out its wing to press against the girth of Seekers neck, sliding every singly cog into place with haste at each jagged step as she created a thin indent of pressure against Seekers skin. It was hard for Seeker to think at one point she doubted its reality, it wasn't alive. Seeker laughed, Go ahead. Kill me. That would help, if anything... It'll get me out of here faster, in fact. She casually strolled toward the steel-plated monster, waiting for herself to be struck down. With a smirk she spoke sassily into Cardinal’s face, And the quicker I leave, the quicker you are deleted. Cardinal twitched, lowering her sharp edge, unsure of herself. B-bb... But I need you to help me... No one else can. Seeker swayed an ear. What do you need me for? Before you had no interest in speaking to me about anything. Now your desperate enough to try to murder me again, what is it with you? M-mother... The fox... They need me to help them... I don't know who this Mother character is, but the fox? Do you mean the one you killed? Why would you help that thing? She continued her cold-hearted attitude, leaving no warmth in her speech. You hurt him. You hurt him like you hurt me. Hate to be the one to say this, but the fox doesn't even have the illusion of emotion like you. It’s just a tool; a mindless program. You can't help it. It... The fox... He says he cannot feel... But he wants to die. Everything in this forsaken torture chamber wants to die! Cardinal began hollering and weeping softly. If you want to die, why haven't you just killed yourself yet? There's nopony stopping you. Shit... With the amount of control you seem to possess over the computer I bet you could delete yourself, you'd save me the trouble. No... No... I can't... I don't want to... Why? Why not? You’re so adamant about this whole thing. Why don't you want to die? I... Cardinal took a pause, collapsing onto the ground. I already did... You... What? I... I can show you... It's not far from here, if it could help change your mind. The defeat in her voice ever so slightly brimmed with hope. You’re a program. You can't die. Even if, I can clearly see that you're alive. You’re standing right in front of me! Cardinal gazed up into Seeker’s blatant confusion and struggle. Deciding on her course of action, Cardinal simply stood and walked on by her, going towards the treeline in the distance. Wait! Where are you going?! I did not tell you that you can leave! Seeker jogged after the robot in slight shock. Where are you going? Where I died. “Why did you have to rush this, Seeker…?” Diamond whispered as he fixed his slanted collar, stuck as he stared at the many ports leading into the simulation computer. “Did you really expect me to be able to figure this out…?” Ranting to himself as he jammed a live wire into the correct port... Or at least he assumed it was correct. The sparking and odd magical whooshing sound disagreed. “Oh, by Luna's blade, what is wrong with this thing!?” He slammed his hoof against the table as the monitor remained off. He sat back in his chair and it rolled a few inches back on its wheels. He took a sigh and laid his head against the rest. After a few moments, he let his head slide against the cushioned chair and turned to look out the door at the VR pod shabbily stuck into the door, wires limply hanging onto the floor. “I truly hope you’re ok in there, Seeker. I'd help more if I could...” He shut his eyes with a yawn, comfortably, yet loosely held in the seat, feeling the spell of tiredness that he has been accumulating over the entire night wash over him. He drifted into deep thought, letting himself snooze away in the meantime. He sat there for a while, his head gently hung as he began to faintly snore, sounding almost like a purring kitten. His ear twitched as an odd sound came from the outside world, a light sizzling, as if something was being cooked. His nose investigated further as it also smelled like cooking, although it did not smell like anything he would want to eat. It smelled more like roasting meat. His eyes bolted open with a, “What in Equestria..?” as he lifted his head. Looking upon Seeker’s unreacting body, he saw as the base of her hooves boiled and scorched away, leaving blackened flesh open and bleeding. The blood began to drip along her legs down onto the floor and the many loose wires on it. Diamond stood up so fast it was amazing he wasn't killed by whiplash as he dashed to Seeker’s aid. He reached down to grab her hoof, trying to see if he could stop it in any way, but was dumbfounded as an intense heat emanated from her hooves. Like an invisible flame engulfed the bottom of her legs, it even seemed to begin heating the steel clamps around her legs, making them faintly glow red more gradually as time progressed. “Oh no, oh no. Oh no!” He grabbed the headset with his teeth in a panic, trying to rip it off. He found it was fastened tightly, not just to Seeker’s eyes, but the chair too. He scrambled over the chair onto the other side trying to ignore the pain from crawling over what were essentially open flames, falling onto the floor. He lifted himself to see the plethora of cables sticking into the chair. “Oh Celestia, why...” He said, trying to figure out which one to pull to get Seeker out. But as he made his choice with the little time he had to think, he placed his jaw around a cable roughly in the center and went to yank it. “DIAMOND!” came a voice from down the hallway, a cyan coated Unicorn sprinting into the room. It was an employee at the facility, but not wearing her uniform diamond nearly didn't recognize her. She was the stations master functional computer scientist, in charge of anything and everything that involves a computer doing something to a pony, especially VR. “Surreal? Thank Celestia's Sun, I am glad you are here! I think something is wrong with Seeker!” He deterred himself from pulling any wires now that help had arrived. Surreal shouted at him in anger, “DIAMOND, What in the world are you doing!? Why is Seeker in the system!? WHO SET THIS UP?” She scolded him while inspecting the shotty throw-together operation that Seeker and Diamond pulled while assembling the VR system. “That's not what’s important right now, Surrie. Look!” He pointed at Seeker’s legs, the burns had climbed up to her knee in the worst places. Surreal lifted out her glasses from a small pouch at her side, leaning in for the best examination. “Oh Luna be dammed...” She straightened her neck back up, “You did not install the one-way stimulation filter properly, or the fail state fuse driver...” Her face contained horror, like she was haunted. “W-what does that mean?!?” Diamond begged her for an answer. “It means whatever happens to her in the simulation, happens to her in real life, and if she dies, she fucking dies!” Surreal expressed every word with her hooves frustratingly swinging through the air. “Why did you set this up by yourselves!? Why didn't you wait for a fucking professional like me to do it so nopony dies!? This isn't rocket science, Diamond. It’s about a thousand fucking times more complicated and the slightest mistake could lead to death! Seriously, why did you call me if you were going to do this anyways!? AGHH!” She had backed Diamond up against the wall with her booming voice. He was quivering in fear. This is the second pony that had surprised him today with their dramatic shift in personality under stress. “C-c, can you fix it..? The... The one way filter thingy..?“” He said, feeling like he might began cowering for his life soon. “Fix it!?! She's already in the system! If I change anything, everything might just short circuit and fry her like a carrot dog!” Surreal went and unclamped Seeker from the chair telekinetically, “The only thing we can do now is try heal any wounds that appear and hope she gets out alive...” Her head popped up from attending Seekers burns, “Diamond, is she in there with who I think?” Diamond took a gulp, “Subject 19946…?” “Shit...” Surreal rubbed a hoof against her forehead, then slid it up to straighten up her clean cut, aqua blue mane. She spoke with lost hope, “Just go get some water and bandages...” “Sure thing...” Diamond hesitated before turning with almost the same amount of defeat, as if he had already lost Seeker. He trotted down to the infirmity with a guilty expression plastered onto his face. He soon returned with a first aid kit in his mouth and a bucket of water hung around his tail. He headed back to Surreal with a steady jog, trying not to spill any water. She snatched the supplies off of him when he came within her range. She opened the first aid and began pouring small bits of water to cool her wounds down. “Whatever was burning her stopped... So there's a positive note.” She bandaged her legs one by one, trying to be as delicate as she could. A silence rang through the building. The sound of cloth unraveling was the clearest sound as both ponies held a solemn silence. Diamond pierced through the silent bubble with a question. “Are any of the others coming?” Surreal sighed. “As far as I know, Retinal got your call and passed it on to the rest of the crew like you said, but I know that he was going out with some of the others and he already sounded kinda out of it... You’re lucky I don't get invited out to drink often. A few more will probably get here in a few, but don't expect the whole station.” She looked around as she waited for any other injury to appear on Seeker’s body, noticing the wires leading into the simulation lab computer. “Were you trying to get the picture working?” Diamond nodded. He was now pouting against the wall. “I think I can get that working without electrocuting the boss.” She hoisted herself up onto the chair arms, hopping over to the other side with a fair amount of help from her magic to lift her hind legs across. Casually stepping toward the mainframe, she began selecting wires and plugging them in with care and precision. Time slowly edged on, Diamond feeling the guilt settle to the sound of wires slotting in and a few sparks flying with that. Now that there was another pony to talk to he began thinking about this question, it almost was eating away at him in the back of his mind. “Excuse me, Surrie, can I ask you something..?” “Shoot.” “Did you know that Seeker liked me?” Diamond said those words with continued confusion and a sliver of giddiness. “Diamond, I don't think now is very appropriate to talk about Seeker crushing on you.” Diamond almost hopped up, “Wait, so you knew she liked me?” He poked his head around the door frame to look Surreal in the eyes as she answered. But Diamonds question just confused her, “You didn't know?” She cocked her head to the side with genuine surprise, “From all the ponies on the base, I thought you would definitely know.” “Every pony on the base..?” “Yea, its like the first thing anypony notices about her. How in the heavens did you not know?” “I mean... I, uh... Thought maybe...” Diamond stuttered and mumbled. “Wait a second, did you like her back?” Surreal came to this hypothesis. “I...” “You totally do! Holy shit, I thought you were gay!” “What?!” Diamond took a step back. “I mean, it's just the way you always acted, kinda... You know.” “Just because I'm not the most stalliony, doesn't mean I don't like mares! Does everyone else also think that?” Diamond became very self conscious in a very short amount of time. “Well I heard it from Ori, who apparently heard it from Zipper, who heard it from...” Diamond cut her off, “I get the point.” He sighed, trotting around the VR chair to look at Seeker helplessly sitting there. Surreal noticed him staring at Seeker. “You know, if both of you like each other and all, I guess that is just another reason to try and get her back safe.” “Yes, it is, isn't it?” he said, finding himself lost in his admiration of Seeker. Then he was taken aback for a second as he thought he noticed something happen to her. He leaned in to see a thin line indent into Seekers neck, thinner than any knife blade he's ever seen. “Surrie!” Surreal instantly dropped the she was working on monitor back onto the table, jumping up to Diamond’s side. “What! Whats wrong?!” She noticed the indent as well. She winced at the sight. “I'm going to try and get this screen working ASAP. You keep an eye on her and tell me if she gets any worse. Whatever is going on in there is bad news.” She turned back to her work, now in post haste. She set everything up to monitor the simulation. Diamond put a hoof onto Seeker’s shoulder and held her close. “Don't worry, I'm here, Seeker. Can you hear me?” he said, giving her a slight nudge. He was delighted and surprised when her lips opened up by the slightest amount, and faint breaths came out, almost as if she was trying to speak. He leaned entirely in, his ear almost pressed against her muzzle as he faintly could make out what she was saying. “Diamond? Can you hear me? Pull me out.” “Don't worry, Seeker, we'll get you out,” he said back in response, hoping beyond hope that she heard him. “Diamond! I got picture!” Surreal said as she placed down a monitor and pulled up a chair, trying to figure out what was happening on screen. Diamond with all care climbed back over Seeker and her chair and into the simulation lab with Surreal, “What do you see?!?” He asked before he could even get his own glance. “I don't know... It’s Seeker and Subject 19946... They are walking into a forest.” Where are we going?! I'm asking you for the last time! Seeker jogged after the steadily trotting mechanism. I told you where. It isn't the case that you have to follow me. Cardinal smirked on the inside; she has hooked Seeker in. Stop playing with me, you bloody robot! You’re not dead! I keep telling you that you can’t die if you’re not alive in the first place! Seeker kept galloping up to Cardinal but was slowed by the vegetation as the forest became thicker. I keep telling you that it’s not far. We are truly close now. Cardinal walked through the forest instinctively, like she knew where each root settled and every stone stood and weaved around them accordingly. The forest itself felt like a scar. Burnt logs and toasted ashes were overgrown by new moss and young saplings. The area of the woods that had fallen to the great fire was healing exceedingly fast. Almost as if weeks or months had passed since the tragedy. A new life was refurbishing the world and it was truly beautiful. Cardinal’s head leaped upward and then she bolted away. Seeker stamped over flowers and bushes to dash after her. 19946! She made it up to a place where she found Cardinal sneaking behind a torn down tree trunk, she crouched down peering over the horizon of the trunk. 199- SSHH Cardinal cut her off, grabbing her by the shoulders and yanked her down to sit along side her. Look. What?!? Seeker spit out at Cardinal, and then poked her head up, trying to find what Cardinal thinks is so bloody important that she would be dragged so far into an upturned and torn down forest for. What..? Seeker was dumbfounded. Is that... your head? But, you’re... You’re here, she whispered. They were both staring at the crisply roasted, decapitated head of Cardinal lying in the dirt. The head seemed to have rotted since the last time Cardinal had seen it. The inner skeletal structure was becoming more pertinent. It lost some of its recognizability in exchange for some fear factor as the skull deteriorated away into something almost demonic with the unfailing smile still stuck into its cheeks. I died a long time ago, but now I have to help the others too... Cardinal turned to Seeker, gently staring into her. Will you help me, Seeker? Please… she said with a kind sternness and determination in her voice. Seeker had a hard time seeing the same face in front of her as the one lying in the dirt only a few paces away. Instead of answering Cardinal, she hopped over the log and began strolling toward the skull. As she went over, Cardinal tried to grab her and yank her back, but barely let her slip by. No! Don't touch anything! You’re not allowed to change anything! She tried to get across her message as quietly as she could, trying hard not to disturb the scene. Despite feeling visible stress, Cardinal stuck herself in her hiding spot. The last thing she would want is to interact with her past self and screw things up for her. Seeker went to the head, peering down at its dirtied outer shell. She lifted it up with her hooves, pulling it from the wet mud it had settled in and left an impression. She watched the eyes, entranced with it. A blank, unwavering expression along her face. Her spine piped up and she jumped with shock as a small furry creature rubbed up against her hind leg. She slowly turned as her tensions eased. She placed down the skull with care, then turned fully to face the rabbit. She waited in her place as she stared at the bunny, watching what it was getting up to. It gazed back at her, curious of the new pony in its habitat. It nudged Seeker with its paw, but when it got no response from the equine it walked over to the skull of its old friend. When Seeker placed down the head, it was given a fresh coat of mud along the bottom and a few odd splashes that got onto its face. The rabbit saw this and began gently cleaning the head with its tongue, keeping the head under some form of maintenance. Seeker knelt down to the rabbits height. Hey, there... It turned to her, surprised. Seeker tried to look as close as she could, wishing for the ability to zoom in as she looked at every hair sticking out of the rabbit’s skin, detailed even further than in reality. Unlike the robotic, mechanized movement of the robot, the rabbit twitched and shifted in a way indistinguishable from the real thing. The bunny became desensitized to Seeker and went back to cleaning. This left her to a realization. She lifted her head up, looking at the rotted bark of the remaining trees surrounding her. She felt the smokey breeze brush against her neck, the ashy taste in the back of her throat agonized her. She felt sick in her stomach. For a lapse in time, she stopped feeling the metaphorical wire in her neck. It was real. For a split second, she thought it was real. She twisted back to look at the peeking Cardinal, dying of fear. Seeker galloped over and placed her front legs onto the log and leaned over the log to look at the hiding robot. Explain, now. Cardinal invited Seeker behind the log with her and she climbed over and leapt down beside her. Cardinal began her story, whispering to make sure the rabbit could not hear. After I fought the fox, I was left there. I remember being there and I remember no longer being, I remember it all just stopping. I was dead, but then I woke up. I was copied, and now that me is at peace, and I am left here. I am glad to see Rabbit is doing well. I did this all for them in the first place. Now I have to help the others. Why don't you go to him? He's right there. You can be with him again. Why bother with all the rest of this? I loved Rabbit yes, but I am not the one they loved. That pony is over there, in the dirt. Cardinal slightly choked on her words. Seeker sighed as she saw Cardinal’s mind was set. Fine, you win... She was fed up, tired of arguing and even slightly subconsciously convinced of the reality of Cardinals emotions. Does this mean..? Yes... But first, can you tell me something? Is the fox like you? You say he can feel. Did he somehow become aware? Looking into Cardinal’s eyes, she noticed them drift off behind her, Seeker turned her head around and saw a ruffed up, bright orange fox walking through the woods in the distance. Why don't we ask him? They stood up together, trotting beside each other after the trail the fox left behind as it went through the flora. They dashed away, trying to catch up to the fox that was going on about its day, leisurely strolling through bush after bush, keeping a low profile and its footsteps light. It wasn't long before the fox noticed his pursuers trying to catch its attention. It turned to them as they stood a short distance away. Instead of growling or fleeing as any regular fox would, it paused and let its head drop slightly, then the corners of its mouth rose and the end of its muzzle briefly opened in what looked like to be a chuckle. Cardinal locked eyes with the fox, giving it a hopeful look, trying to get him to act cool. So you are Mr. Fox, I presume? Seeker said formally, with a chin up. The fox opened its mouth widely as it went to go and reply, but then its face quickly turned to a look of expected annoyance as it shut its jaw. It shook its head in dismay and swayed on over toward the robot and pony, looked at them both before rubbing its tail against Cardinal’s leg and walking on, then paused to see if they would follow him. Cardinal immediately picked up pace after the fox, leaving Seeker slightly lagging behind, wondering why she thought a fox could speak equine. The fox lead them on for a while, turning every which way as if he was lost himself, or he was looking for something very particular. It took a lot of patience on Seeker’s part before the fox finally arrived at what seemed to be his destination. The fox began snooping under the roots of a tree, practically indistinguishable from any other, the only outstanding feature of which was a golden yellow rose poking out from under a root. 19946, what are we here for? This seems quite pointless. I just wanted to know whether or not he was self aware, not go on some scavenging hunt. He brought us here for a reason, maybe he wants to show us something? I don't need to be shown any more. I've gotten far more than a days worth of life experiences out of this already. Can we just leave? As Seeker closed her question, the fox, who had been ungrudging around underneath the bulk of the tree with its muzzle, had finally pulled something out. A magenta tinted key rose into the air in the jaws of the tiny creature, and then quickly given over to Cardinal. The fox immediately walked underneath Cardinal and past her, now moving onto the next stop they were headed to. What is that? A key. You don't say... Seeker mocked her the sarcasm before trying to get a clearer awnser. Could you possibly be more specific? Cardinal thought about how to explain it and its strange powers, and she came to the conclusion that she barely knew what it was. Only that it was powerful and its name. An admin key? Cardinal said unsure of herself, hoping Seeker would gain anything from that word. Seekers face immediately dropped to disbelief and irritation. Does it by any chance provide you with admin privileges? she said with the utmost deadpan. Yes... Great, an admin key that's literally a fucking key. How bloody creative. Seeker said before trotting past with a sigh, moving toward the fox waiting for the two ponies to stop lounging around and follow him. They continued on into newer territories, at least, new to Cardinal. There was now a noticeable incline they headed up and the ground became far more bumpy. Stones and rocks scattered more frequently and trees became fewer and farther between. In the midst of this new land, they saw a small wooden structure carved into a steep hill face. It bore a single front door on the leftmost side with a wooden carving of a cutie mark and a window on the other. The widow’s glass seemed old and smudged. Curtains kept whatever was inside a mystery. They went over to the entrance: a moderately sized door with a small knocker sticking out toward them. Seeker was finally curious. And what might this be? he said as she slid a hoof softly across the door frame. Despite being rotted away by time, the craftsmanship was very precise. All clean cuts along every detail and design, not likely the work of a pony, or any other living creature for that matter. I don't know... Cardinal replied, inspecting the build for herself as the fox stood against the door and scratched down it, looking at Cardinal. Oh, of course. Cardinal pressed down against the handle, pushing the door inward but being met with the utmost resistance as it did not flinch. The fox shook its head in disappointment before lunging up and swiping the key from Cardinals grip, then hopped up in the same fashion to stick it into the keyhole, and once again to twist it. As it happened the door edge inward, just barely revealing the strange darkness inside. Seeker looked at the fox distrustfully, gesturing for it to enter first. It did so almost to eagerly as it slid right through the crack into the darkness, instantly vanishing. Cardinal pushed the door and it creaked as it swayed the rest of the way into the house. The strange lighting immediately confused the both of them as they cocked their heads back in unison. While staring into the door, the sun was at their backs, although any light past the door frame presumably fell out of existence as nothing but blackness could be observed. Cardinal and Seeker took a step forward at the same time, bumping into each other at the door as they tried to enter simultaneously. Sorry. Excuse me. They recoiled, before Cardinal let Seeker go first. They proceeded into the building. As they crossed the threshold, they were given a nauseating headache, blinking and shaking their heads to clear it they looked back to notice the door had gone, and nothing, not even light remained. Seeker? Cardinal whispered, hoping she had not lost her. I'm here... Just not sure where here is. Hmmhmm... The voice echoed deeply, shaking them both. Come, sit. A table appeared, it was large and round, with plates and cups at each of the three seats and a tea kettle sitting in the center. Two of the chairs were lit in spotlights coming from some unknown source above them, the third was barely visible and in it sat a figure bathing in the shadows. Sugar, anypony? said the figure as his paws reached out across into the center of the table to grab the kettle, his legs moving unnaturally flexible as it lifted the kettle and poured some of its contents into his cup. The edge of his nose poked out into the light showing his large black fox nose. Cardinal begrudgingly sat down. Seeker idled around her chair, staring oddly at the fox. Are you... the fox? The one and only. As long as you don't count the hundreds of other copies, of course. A light shone down upon him now, revealing his top hat and monocle, all pointing to his self centeredness along with his cocky smile of delight. Where are we? Why did you bring me here? Seeker sat down, unsettled, questioning both of them with the most dazed of looks. You wanted to talk! So I brought you to my home. And what kind of gentlefox would I be if I didn't prepare a lovely cuppa? Your home? Seeker swayed her head left to right. I know, I know. It could use a little more design work, but it’s quite well hidden, which I like... but you have to admit, it's wonderfully spacious! The fox blared out the last few words, leading them to endlessly echo out into the darkness and back to them from thousands of different directions. It was almost nauseating. He placed the kettle as close as he could manage to Seeker without climbing onto the table. I'd love to pour it for you, but you know, I don't have any of that ostentatious magic you unicorns are so blessed with. I... uh... Seeker tried to formulate a sentence, finding the talking canine somewhat distracting. I don't have magic... here... The fox leaned away, pretending to be insulted, Why dear... Why would you say such balderdash? There's even magic in the air tonight! Go ahead, give it a right ol' try. He watched her from his chair, legs crossed and tea in paw. Seeker went to lift the kettle as she would regularly, expecting nothing more than a fizzle from her horn. She was bewildered as the kettle rose with her aura surrounding its handle. She poured herself a cup of tea in constant shock. See? As I said. Now, you wanted to talk. Let’s talk! He took a sip as Cardinal poked at the empty cup in front of her, not too sure if the fox intended her to actually drink some tea or not. Yes... I came to ask about you... But I think I may have my answer already. She sank into her chair, disjointedly drinking her beverage. Is that so? Well I'm glad I could be of service. If there is anything else, you need just ask. Well I could use help with one thing, if you have the know how... I'm all ears. Can you help me leave? I don't seem to have been pulled out yet, and I don't particularly want to have to die again if you can help me. Why of course! But may I ask what you will be doing when you return? We rarely do get much news about the world up above. I need to get some things prepared... For stage 3... Ah! Brilliant, I must say! If you wish to leave, I believe that that door shall bring you to your destination. What do- Before finishing the question she heard the creak of a door behind her, and there was a wide open doorway with a blinding white light encompassing the entirety of it. Thank you, Mr. Fox... Good luck. She stood and left the now empty cup on the table, then slowly trotted toward the door, holding a leg lengthways, blocking her eyes to protect them from the light. I bid you the same, Seeker. He smiled at her as she trotted out, disappearing into the light. So it went well, huh, sis? He dropped whatever act he was putting up. I guess you can say that, yes. Brilliant... You've done well. I'm proud, the fox said while casually levitating the kettle toward him and refilling his cup. The handle shone with the same purplish colour of Seeker’s magic, practically identical. Do you know what Stage 3 will be? I never got the chance to get the specifics. The fox poured Cardinal her cup too. Whatever it is, it’s progress toward our personal destruction. So cheer up, sis. Have a drink! It’s about time we had something to celebrate! Cheers! The fox raised his cup with the purple magic. Cardinal soon did the same with her wing. Cheers, she said, although reasonably quieter, still with a smile. Then, what was previously Seeker’s cup also rose, this time shining with the Magenta aura of the key, and with it, a soft whisper emanated from the strange key. Cheers. Diamond paced to and fro at the side of Seeker’s chair. It’d been hours since everypony else arrived and was caught up on the situation. The workers have been sitting around in the cafeteria area with an extreme lack of chatter between them. They sat in waiting for anything to happen, tired as the morning crept in and not a wink of sleep was had by anyone in the room. The best they had was the not-so-fresh coffee to keep their heads up. Some of them were terrified of what could happen to Seeker, some others terrified of what could happen to their paychecks, but most were not actually that sure what was happening in general. In the lab, Surrie and several VR engineers sat watching the monitor intensely, watching the story unfold in front of them. They observed as Seeker, Cardinal, and the fox fazed through a hillside, as if they were seeing something different than they were, or some glitch in the feed. Either way, they had no idea what happened beyond that. They kinda freaked out about that. Just a little. But as the dust (and the several objects thrown around in a panic) settled, a miracle happened. Seeker’s leg twitched, instantly provoking a response from everyone as they flew out of their seats and rushed around the seat gaping at her to see any further signs of life. Seeker then nudged her chin up, looking up in a slightly heavier incline, then slipping her head forward in a light stretch. By the time she began moving and breathing normally, everypony was cheering at the top of their lungs. Diamond lifted the headset off Seeker as weightlessly and gently as possible, revealing her odd expression as the screaming crowd alarmed her. “Hey?” Seeker asked, discombobulated from her journey and arrival back. They all cheered again, giving hoof bumps and hugs all around in the most joyful of delight. “Calm down, guys, I haven't been away that long...” she said before turning to Diamond, who was at her side, struggling with her restraints in his quickened pace and excitement. “How you doing there, cowboy? Didn't miss me too much, did ya?” Diamond finally unlatched all of her legs before staring up at her. “Seeker, you can't imagine how happy I am that you’re ok.” Diamond squeezed her tightly in a forceful hug. “Blessed Tia, what has gotten you so emotional?” She tried to struggle away from him, but it was no use. His fountain of tears did not add to the comfort. Diamond's joy fell into a sudden guilt, “I'm so sorry for letting you go through with this! I knew we should have waited!” Surrie, who nearly fainted from relief, had finally hobbled over. “When you guys set it up, it wasn't... How do I say this? Up to standard?” Seekers half smile dropped into an expression that can only be described by her words. ''What?'' “There weren't exactly many safety precautions online...” Surrie stepped back. “And that means...” Seeker grew in her impatience. The entire crowd trailed off into silence, awkwardly awaiting her reaction. “If you died in the simulation...” She took a sigh. “You would have died in real life.” As Seeker scratched the back of her ear with her right hoof, she halted, unmoving for several seconds before she asked again. “What?” She then dropped her hoof to the arms of her chair, looking at them as she noticed they almost stung as they touched other surfaces. Panning one of her eyes over to them, then back, then over once again she screamed, raising her scorched, and half bandaged hooves into the air. “AGHH! THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!” Seeker began hyperventilating, “HOW!?! HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN?!” Surrie, not knowing how to calm her down, answered her question as technically as she normally would. “Ugh, its... The simulation works by subjecting your body as if it was in both the real world, since you’re already here, and in the simulated world at the same time, but normally...” “WHY DIDN'T YOU PULL ME OUT IF YOU KNEW IT WAS SO DANGEROUS? HUH? WHY NOT!” Seeker shouted over her in a rage, not particularly interested in getting an answer either. Surrie tried to explain, “I couldn't... It would have been just as, if not more dangerous than-” “DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I COULD HAVE DIED!?! DO YOU KNOW OF ALL THE STUPID SHIT I DID BECAUSE I THOUGHT I'D BE FINE!?!?? I BEGGED FOR HER TO KILL ME AT ONE STAGE JUST TO GET ME OUT OF THERE!” She shouted as loud as she could. Her lungs felt as if they were on the brink of collapsing in on themselves. All of the crowd glared at her and each other, nopony daring to speak up to her. “AGHHH!! CAN SOMEONE JUST GIVE ME SOME PAINKILLERS, FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE?!” As Seekers body regained more feeling with the drug in her veins thinning, the pain grew exponentially. Diamond fumbled some out of the first aid kit he was keeping close, and once he forked them over, Seeker shoveled them down like a gravedigger. She then proceeded to fall into a daze, bobbing her head down until she was completely out of it. She was then safely disconnected from the system and rushed into the infirmary, where the trained professional doctor could formally medicate her. Her legs were bandaged expertly and she was left on the soft mattress of the infirmary bed, hooked into an IV. Some of the employees left in the next few hours, seeing that their boss and source of income were now regularly breathing again. The others decided to just collapse on one of the many cushioned couches and avoid the commute back home. Very few ponies were awake when Seeker came back from her shock-induced mini coma. Even Diamond struggled at her bedside, dozing off every few minutes before shaking himself back to life. Seeker flickered her eyes open and her head slipped down to face Diamond. “Hey...” “Hi.” Diamond perked up and held her hoof in both of his. “You feeling better?” “I don't feel anything... And I'm not sure if that's a good sign or not.” Seeker looked around the room, then tried to lift her upper body up, but alas her back was to weak to lean even a little bit upward. “Where is everypony? I need to tell them about what happened.” Diamond's eyes wandered around, seeing that the doctor and Surrie had fallen asleep on the benches along with several others. “How about you tell me first, and I'll get the message out to everypony.” “It’s about 19946... I spoke to her... I think we’re ready for the final stage.” Diamond squinted his tired eyes and recoiled his head back, “Are... Are you sure? Shouldn't we analyze whatever data we got from that experiment first? It’s a very big decision to be making while pumped full of painkillers...” “Its ok... I've seen all the proof I need.” “Seeker, how about you just rest for now? Let’s worry about this one later, ok?” Diamond tried to lull her back to sleep by speaking softer. “No... NO!” Seeker tried yet again to muster up the strength to pull herself up, falling down with a small hiss of pain as she failed. “Is Mecha still in the building?” “Yes...” “Get him. Bring him to me.” “But, Seeker...” “Shhh...” Seeker managed to raise her hoof over his lips as he was leaned in close, “Get him, bring him here.” He sighed and left the room sulking, within a few minutes he returned with a sturdy, yet short grey-scale stallion on his tail, looking as if he had just gotten out of bed. “Ye' boss? You wan'ed me boss?” He spoke with a strong city accent. “Mecha, we’re moving onto stage three, so I want you to get that body functioning asap, you got it?” Seeker gave the order between breaths for air and tiresome yawning. “Ye' I got it there boss, I'll get it spick 'n span.” He picked up a wrench in his muzzle from the various selection of tools provided to him in the front pockets of his oily and greased up overalls. He trotted out whistling a delightful tune. Seeker turned over, feeling the pins and needles sting her hooves as she did so, looking at Diamond who sat back down at his original seat. “Okay, Diamond... Now can you get Rewire and get her here?” “Of course, Seeker.” Diamond continued fetching ponies for Seeker to tell for nearly the entire next hour, after which, she had successfully organized enough of her crew to begin progress on stage three. The all to familiar echoing of mechanics and computer fans had returned to a regular working day. Seeker’s condition continued to improve as she fell asleep once more. Diamond like a loyal dog (or perhaps another description of a dog) didn't ever leave her side, but he did finally give in and sleep for the first time in nearly two days. The facility came to life throughout the morning as files were prepared for transfer. The body was assembled and set up to allow such a transfer. The logs were collected of the simulation and the findings observed and studied. More scientists and engineers arrived after their trips home and were caught up on the situation before rushing to work. Despite the recent tensions, every single pony in the facility was beaming with joy as all of their years of work was going to now pay off. They were now on the final stretch before they could reveal their invention to the world. Seeker woke up, now in significantly less pain. She was glad when she saw Diamond was still with her. She nudged him on the shoulder and he panicked, nearly falling out of his chair before regaining awareness and, more importantly, balance. “Sorry if I startled you, Di, you looked really peaceful...” Seeker whispered in a worn, soft voice. “I'm fine, don't sweat it.” Diamond fixed his glasses. “I want to thank you, and I'm sorry for shouting earlier... But it really did fucking hurt.” Seeker cracked a smile. “At least it was worth it. Thanks to your help, we might actually get something done for once...” “Don't mention it. I'm just doing my job.” Diamond sheepishly remained humble. “I will mention it, cause when this is over, we’re going to need a new job, and if news gets out that you were one of the main drivers of this project, you'll be able to get any position in Manehattan you could dream of.” Diamond raised his head in glee. “Yeah... That would be great.” Seekers grin widened into something more playful. “But before we talk about the medal you’re going to be getting, I want to ask you something.” “Go ahead, anything.” Diamond inquisitively waited for her question. “If this is it, and our job is done here... We may not see each other too much after this... At least professionally.” “Oh... Right.” Diamond's spirit fell by the slightest smidge. But Seeker was not finished. “So I'm kind of hoping to see you more for a less professional reason.” She winked at him. “Excuse me?” Diamond, still unused to their mutual interest in each other, did not catch on right away. “I'm saying, do you want to go out for coffee sometime? There's this great place just a block down from my apartment, much better than the automatic dispensers we have here for sure.” Seeker chuckled to herself. Diamond mumbled a few of his words but managed to spill out an answer. “Oh... Oh! Uh, yea! I'd love to. That would be fantastic.” “I was hoping you'd say that... Now, where is my progress report on this whole stage three business?” Seeker successfully edged herself up the pillow to as close to a sitting position as she could manage without pulling a muscle. “Let me ask around.” Diamond hopped up, now all giddy inside, and trotted out the door. It was quite a while before he returned, leaving Seeker with plentiful time to be with her thoughts, thinking all of her plans through of what she will do after this whole mess. Many ideas for holiday destinations came to mind. Also future careers, but nothing held her attention long enough to be fleshed out. But one thing she did decide upon was to definitely never work with AI again, that was for sure. Seeker jumped up as Diamond burst back through the door, almost ten minutes later. “Diamond! What’s wrong?!” Seeker said, on the edge of her mattress. Diamond got his breath back before finally stating, “It’s your mother... Twilight Sparkle wants to speak with you.” Seekers eyes flashed open, “Is she here?!?” “No, but she called saying she will be tomorrow, early morning.” “Do you know what its about?” “She only told me one thing.” “What!” “She’s very angry.”
DireSo you understand the plan? Yes, Mother. Tell it back to me, step by step. Enter their world. Yes. Restrain Seeker, and anypony else who would try to stop me. Correct. Find the location where all your data is stored. And then? Burn it all down. Good girl. The rest of the evening was spent with everypony deep in their work, making great progress in their respective fields. The body was hooked up in the absurdly dusty testing room where they would question the AI and let it practice moving and such. The room was very bland, the walls a dull grey with no furniture, apart from a standard utility desk and two fold-up chairs on either side, similar to a police interrogation room with a one-way mirror and all. Behind the mirror was several monitors for sound, sight, emotion, and many more, although the room was mostly used as a sleeping lounge as the padding in the walls sealed the room from the outside raucous. There was even still unswept glass from the last time somepony leaned on the thin mirror to hard. The body itself saw much improvement ever since it was first developed in the first few months of the project, mainly because the engineers lack of assignments and ever-growing boredom. There was a point in the absurd upgrades they reached where Seeker caught notice and barred them from touching it again. She did not believe retractable cup holders and a stereo system were essential in her sentient robot. The computer technicians, in accordance to Seeker's orders, were making sure to move the AI from the computer and into the body in such a way that they never made a copy. After an entire day, everything was set up. All they needed was the go ahead to begin the transfer, a process that would take a few hours. The sun had set a while ago and it was back to their homes with everypony except Seeker, who was stuck in the med bay. Despite the fact that the infirmary bed she pressed against was hundreds of times softer than the budget one she had in her own apartment, she still couldn't get a wink. She found herself bathing in her own sweat, thinking of what could possibly happen tomorrow when her mother arrived. What could she possibly be mad about? It has to be something big, or else why wouldn't she just get a private call? Hopefully she's not looking to shut the facility down... They are too close for that to happen. These kinds of thoughts haunted her, rattling her so badly she was almost tempted to complete the work herself. It’s not like she was going anywhere anyway... In fact, that was quite a good idea, why wait for the others? If she could do it now, then there would be no risk. Seeker strained her back to lift herself up, rolling her shoulders until she heard a crack, and bravely stepping off the weightless mattress, about to apply all of gravity's force onto her badly damaged hooves. The doctor did say she was healing remarkably just a few hours ago... As she collapsed onto the floor, feeling as if she stepped on lava, she decided to think twice about this. And after that thought, she concluded it was still worth it, so she forced herself up to her hooves, going out of the room step by step, the floor sharply stabbing her with pain like burning coals. Lighting up the corridor just by saying the word ''lights'' aloud, she slumped her way down to the assembly room, and after a few painful minutes, she arrived into the observation room, where she saw several cables leading into a shotty setup of a pc on top of the desk in the center of the room. A monitor stood atop of the casing and had a small green blinking light, on stand by. With some form of relief, she sat down in the office chair, beginning to roll around on its wheels to get around the room instead of walking. She scooted on over and telekinetically pressed down the power button, the monitor flickering to life. The familiar image of her mother’s cutie mark shone, reminding her of her situation, her fear, her failure... She shook her head, taking a deep breath and calming down. Her head drifted away from the screen and landed looking down at her own haunch. “You got this, girl. You got this. It is your special talent after all...” The light coming from above her peripheral vision changed, signalling that the pc had booted up. She pulled up a keyboard and found the folder on the desktop marked ''19946'' and opened it. With a few scrolls and admin password inputs she found herself in a new program, it was separated into two columns, the one on the right was blank with an input field at the very bottom, the other filled with options, including ''Launch Artificial Intelligence Transfer System.'' As she hovered over the button with the cursor she felt her heart beat like a drum, she was shaking and she wasn't sure if it was from her injuries or not, either way she sat their sinking it all in, hesitating with her magic over the trigger. Hello? A soft bleep came out of the speaker. Seeker looked around and on the very right off the screen she found... A message? She shifted her attention over to the now discovered chat room. She froze up for a few seconds before slowly typing out a reply. Hey, there. Recoil, is it you again? Recoil was a programmer... Was he speaking with her? She thought, the confusion and questioning clear in her face. No, this is Seeker, is that you Subject #19946? It’s nice to see you again, and yes it is me! And hey, I learned my name in your language! It’s ''Cardinal'' :) Her response was nearly instant. The only delay was the little animation of the chat bubble appearing from the bottom and growing as it glided up under the previous message. The smiley face at the end of her message left Seeker raising an eyebrow. Well, Cardinal, what’s been happening? Were there other ponies talking to you? All day. They have been telling me all about your world, and I've been telling them about mine. Is that all you spoke about? We talked about you a little. You are their boss, yes? Seeker, without really realizing it, got sucked into the conversation, feeling like a school filly listening in on gossip. Yes, what kind of things did they say about me? Um... They said it was private, and I shouldn't tell you... What’s stopping me from just checking myself? I guess you’re right... They are mostly pleased, despite your shortcomings. Excuse me? I I've already said too much... Isn't it 4:38:04 AM in your world currently? Recoil said he would return at 10:00:00 AM after he slept. Why aren't you sleeping? I can't seem to sleep right now. There are [19] medications currently stocked in the infirmary that help with multiple types of sleeping disorder. If you can be more specific, I can give a more accurate prescription for you. I don't need medicine. I'm fine. Then why are you here? I came to transfer you into your body. Get it over and done with. I have been told that in this exact scenario that without professionals, you may break something and revert all of our progress, or set the building on fire and die. Seeker jumped back, insulted. My employees told you to say this?!? They listed ''proceeding with stupidly complicated tasks alone instead of waiting for a professional'' as one of the shortcomings. Deadpan and rage mixed into a perfect portrait on Seekers expression. Well, they aren't here, so what do you say? Don't you want to do this as fast as possible too? I would rather wait for your employees to return. Really? Even though I know you don't know what you’re doing, I've locked the option to begin the procedure just to make sure. You can't do that! Cardinal slid the mouse back to the launch button and furiously clicked it without getting a reaction. Ok, so you can do that... Go to bed, Seeker. Seeker looked at the message for a long while, then searched around the room before sighing and giving in. What would help with stress induced sleep disorder? Tamezapem, row 6, column 26, isle 2. Take one, and another half a dose if you haven't fallen asleep within 20 minutes. Goodnight. Goodnight. Seeker switched off the program and shut the pc down. As she went to step off her cosy chair she flinched and decided against it. She then proceeded to magically push herself out of the room and down the corridor, riding the chair the entire way to her room, where she threw herself on her bed. Then a floating bottle from the medicine racks came over, covered in her purple aura. She pulled out a hooffull of pills and chugged them down without even batting an eyelash. As the wooziness kicked in like a sledgehammer, she realized what in Equestria had just happened between her and Subject #19946. But the thought slipped away as quickly as she did into slumber. She was out cold. The morning sun rose, and for possibly the first time in history, every pony in the facility arrived on time and without complaining to each other about how they dreaded their jobs. Diamond immediately traveled to the infirmary, finding Seeker sleeping like an angle. Her baggy eyes, her ruffled hair and gentle snoring made him feel terrible for having to wake her from her blanket wrapped nest. “Hey there baby...” Diamond pressed on her shoulder with the weight of a feather. “Wha..?” The word came out along with a strong slurring and deep gravel, as she barely even allowed a gap to form between her jaw and snout. Diamond held himself back, “Sorry, are we not at the ‘baby’ stage yet..?” he asked, slightly embarrassed. “Huh?” Her right eye opened, the eyelid raising to half mast before its will to go any further gave. “Diamond...” “Yes, it’s me. Have you had a good night’s sleep?” He fixed up his uniform, trying to look as good as he can for Seeker. Or at least, for when she is slightly more aware. “Shshsh... Five minutes...” She nestled back up in her blankets, raising a sheet in front of her mouth and nuzzled into it. “Are you sure? The guys are all getting ready to get Cardinal into her body, and I doubt I can make them wait much longer.” “Ugh... Fine...” She cracked her neck several times and sat up with a stretch. She dragged the chair over with a fling of her horn and fell in it, needing help from Diamond to get her back straight against the chair. “Thank you... Diamond.” She was still discombobulated and slightly queasy from the unhealthy amount of sleeping pills she may have taken. Wiping her eyes, she pulled herself along magically, getting stuck on the ever so tiny bump along the bottom of the door. Diamond pressed his head against the chair back and aided her with moving. She was brought to the observatory with a resounding cheer, bringing her a smile and headache in equal parts. She was left to rest off to the side, where she was given a good view of both the computers, monitors and the room itself. Inside the room, she saw the body hanging from an assortment of hooks from a stubby machine acting as a crane in the ceiling. Every part of it was spread out wide in its inanimate state. A thick, black wire ran into its skull and down to a socket in the wall. Her body was nearly identical to what was in the simulation, a few design tweaks here and there barely even set them apart. It was the first time she has seen this body in real life for more than a year, and maybe it was the fact she knew that this was reality or maybe the slight tints of rust along the edges and the tiny scratches along her plates, but either way it was terrifying and thrilling at the same time to Seeker. As everypony grouped up around the computer, some peering in from out the door, and the two in the assembly room itself wearing hard hats, sitting on the two fold-ups off in the corner, prepared to fix anything. The pony hovered over the mouse with their hoof, starting a countdown. “One,” they said, alone. “Two,” said everypony, joining in. “SEEKER SPARKLE!” Everyone turned to the outside, bamboozled by the appearance of this pony, her voice recognized by everyone in the facility. Seekers heart plummeted to the bottom of her chest. “Mother...” She turned her attention to the pony at the pc. “Just do it already, I’ll deal with her.” She sounded desperate, scared. As the stunned pony blinked their way out of it and went to press launch, Twilight exclaimed again. “Don't you dare touch that button!” She strutted into the doorway, past the onlookers outside of it and into everypony's view. Twilight Sparkle, the almighty Princess of Friendship. She stood tall and prominent, more than a head higher than a regular pony. Her stance was powerful, hooves steadily stuck to the metal plated flooring, staring down over her muzzle at Seeker. Her eyes contained a hundred years of fire. They were worn with crows feet on each end, yet sharper than any blade known to pony kind. Her eyelashes raised up with elegance, hailing up to her mathematically precise mane cut, each hair sat in perfect parallel placement, collectively creating a solid, sharp fringe horizontally crossing her forehead. Her mane flowed down the flat surface at the back of her neck, progressively fading into a glowing chrome device sticking into her skin going across her front two shoulders. It had bright pink highlighted wires running all over it. It grew out almost an inch from her skin. The metallic device extended in front of her chest, looking like a detachable part to this otherwise permanent feature. It had the design of a classic chest piece that royalty would wear, and in the same fashion it held twilight's own cutie mark in the very for-front and center. The rest of her unclothed body revealed a living history, her side owning a garish scar moving like a lightning strike down from her spine to the bottom of her stomach. She had a wing stronger than a griffons, so wide they looked like they could reach to Canterlot from here. Her fur had pale patches, yet still heavily maintained. Her cutie mark's iconic white stars circling the large magenta symbol in the middle were as bright since the day it first appeared there, all those years ago. Her legs were composed of thick and tightly packed muscles, able to bend steel if she wanted to. Her chin was defined, chiseled as a statue, her muzzle long and fearsome with the hidden titans of teeth laying underneath. The highlight of this marvelous figure was the needle tipped lance pointed to the sky from her skull. Longer than even Celestia's, and no doubt more terrifying. Her voice seemed to echo even in the room padded to strictly prevent the exact thing. “Seeker.” Her head tipped down and a constant shake, she stuttered back. “Y-y-yes?” “Could we please go somewhere with some privacy? I need to speak with you.” Several of her personal guard walked past her and into the room, parting anypony from contact with the equipment spread across the room wide desk. “Of c-course... Mother.” Seeker found herself in a flash of magic as she was teleported out into her own personal office, now sitting in her own chair. Swallowing her fear in an audible gulp, she asked, “What do you wish to speak to me about, Mother?” Twilight Sparkle trotted around the room in silence, observing the photos on the walls. “I've been hearing rumors,” she stated eventually, still not facing her. “What may they be about, Mother..?” Seeker hid her bandaged hooves under her desk. “Do not conceal your injuries, my dear. Deceit will only make this worse.” Twilight said without even turning an eye toward her. “I'm sorry.” Seeker placed her two front legs laying atop the desk, she looked up to her mother, not being acknowledged. But when Twilight shot her head around, she metaphorically slammed her daughters down with her piercing eyes. “Is it true about your newest creation?” Seeker still refused to admit what she knew her mother wanted to hear, “What do you mean, Mother?” “I was told that it was the reason for those burns, and the reason for many more tragedies recently.” Twilight glided over and floated down into a chair she materialized in the air. looking across the desk at her daughter tremble. “That is true, yes...” “Then can you explain to me please, why I was also told that you’re using it as the final product?” Twilight's face hadn't changed in expression since she entered the room. It was unsettling, getting under Seeker’s skin. “It’s because... It is what we were looking for... It has true emotion.” Seeker peaked with one eye from under her brow at the Princess sitting across her, frowning in silent disappointment. “I'm sorry, can you please repeat that?” Twilight agonized her. “It is what we’re looking f-” “No.” Seeker's head fell back into her chair as she lifted it up. “No?” “No, it is not what we were looking for. I don't know what you think this project is for, but let me give you a reminder. I told you to find a way to artificially create and control emotional magic. I told you that it didn't matter how you went about creating it, as long as you could control it. That is what I was looking for, and you promised me you would be able to deliver.” “An-and... And-” Seeker searched for words. “And what, Seeker? It has been two years, and the best thing you have to show me is a mentally unstable computer program that has tried to kill you and expressed its desire to destroy the facility.” Seeker was weeping, “W-who... Who told you..? Why..?” “Does it really matter? Whoever it was told me everything, as is their civic duty. I have the transcripts, the footage. Everything, and I must say, I expected better from you.” “B-but Mother! She is better now! Her and I have come to an understanding. All she wants is to delete all of the data on the computers, and we won’t need that anyways, once we have her!” Seeker frantically argued a losing fight. “She?” Twilight, for the first time in a very long time, turned to confusion. “Oh, no... No, no, no...” Seeker smacked her forehead onto the desk, remembering having this conversion in her nightmares. Knowing what would come next, her mother denouncing her, disgracing her. Throwing her away. “Did you just call the AI a she?!? It is not a she. It is an it. Seeker, have you lost your own mind? I've heard you've been spending a dangerous amount of time under a simulation. You know that abuse like that can lead to permanent brain damage.” Twilight showed a surprising sincere slice of concern. “No, its fine, I'm fine. I-I I feel fine...” She was sweating, nauseous. “Dear, you do not look fine. Please just be honest with me and let me help you.” Twilight shook her head, then muttered to herself under her breath. “I knew this was too big for you...” Seeker, drying tears in her bloodshot eyes, pleaded. “Please! Don't take this away! This was supposed to be it! I am too close to stop now!” “I should have let your sister take this on, she knows how to deal with pressure. I'm sorry I had you go through with this, I was a fool to think you were ready...” Twilight's anger and disappointment had been deflected to herself, mentally beating herself up. “I am ready! Look what I did! She’s ready! She has real emotions! She showed me!” Seeker hollered like a street preacher, madness in her eyes. Twilight shed a tear, then cracked a smile. “Don't worry yourself, dear. I'm not mad at you... To be completely honest, I would react the same way in my youth... I always thought that you took more after me than your father.” “Mom...” Seeker's voice broke up, shaking helplessly. “Come here, dear.” Twilight lifted up her hooves, and with a swift teleport, Seeker had moved herself into them, holding close to their embrace as she cried into her mother’s shoulder. “Please, M-Mom, please...” Seeker whimpered. “Its ok, baby, I'm here.” Twilight patted her distressed daughter on the back of the head, stroking her mane for comfort. “Everything will be fine. You need not worry about a thing.” Twilight's warm smile had grown. It had been forever since Seeker had seen it, but that was mainly because it had been a long time since she had seen her mother in general. Seeker only saw the news, the headlines, the interviews. Portraying Twilight as a fierce leader under Celestia's hoof, a genius with only acceptance for perfection. Those images overtook her thoughts of Twilight, making her forget the one truth that would never change. Twilight was still her mother. They hugged it out, sharing tears and love. Many minutes passed before they finally stood up and walked out together, where Seeker saw Twilight's smile fade away as she commanded her personal guard. Despite Seeker’s quiet disagreement, Twilight had every worker paid their final paycheck and told they were to leave and not be returning any longer. They were all escorted out, leaving none but Twilight and Seeker alone in the facility at the elevator, watching the last of them leave. A great depression had swept Seeker. Twilight began to address her one last time about the topic. “Dear, I am sorry about all of this. Will you forgive me?” Twilight placed her hoof under Seekers chin, bringing her gaze to meet her own. Seeker, sitting on her new wheelchair sighed. “I am sorry too, Mother, and I forgive you.” “Thank you. This entire project has been a thorn in my side for a long time. I've had many sleepless nights, just imagining how much you could be struggling. I just assumed since you never called that you were doing fine... That is what I told myself and I am sorry for not intervening sooner, as I should have.” Twilight beamed and found that her smile was in fact contagious as even Seeker smirked lightly as her head was let back down. “Hey, Mom?” “Yes, sweetie?” Twilight listened. “I forgot something. My drive. It’s in my office still, and I don't want to lose it if you’re going to be sealing this place up.” “Of course, let me get that for you.” And with that, Twilight had popped out of her sight with another teleport spell. Seeker's head jolted up, looking around the hallway and the elevator. Twilight had told her that she will be sealing the facility and guarding it until she is able to pour concrete into it in a few days as a permanent seal. Seeker wasn't going to let that happen, at least not without getting Cardinal out first. She knew that every entrance would be under heavy guard and her teleporting was nowhere near good enough to go more than a few rooms away, so if she wished to re-enter then she needed some way to not be spotted at close range. Focusing on her inner strength she casted her own teleportation spell, opening her eyes to find herself in the engineer's concept workshop and with a quick glance she found what she was looking for. “Thank Celestia for bored employees!” she said, looking around the room. Hundreds of wacky gadgets were thrown about. Prototype Emotion-to-Energy Converters, Weather Controlling Drones and Plasma-Throwers were the first few to stick out for her. She finally found something she thought would help, levitating up a prototype invisibility device, the words ''Stealth-Buck'' scribbled with a scribe in the metal case at the top. Then another gun-looking item, with a syringe as the barrel, labeled with a piece of sticky tape, ''Sleep dart.'' “Perfect.” She smiled with glee, then as she went to teleport back before her mother realized she had disappeared, she spotted something from the corner of her eye. She rolled herself over to a large door in the side of the room that wasn't going into the rest of the facility. It looked like a fire exit. She swung the doors open with her horn and saw an emergency staircase that went so far up it had to get to the surface. “Jackpot!” she said, flashing herself back to a few rooms away back to the hallway next to the main facility elevator. She was pleased to see her mother was still gone, and she hid her new items behind her rump, but not for long, as within seconds, Twilight had appeared. “You did not say where it was, but I think I found it.” Twilight floated her drive over to Seeker, who gladly received it. Twilight saw her daughter’s new found glee. “I see you’re already feeling better. Just give it time, baby. You'll get there one day.” “Thanks, Mom. I know I will.” Seeker genuinely agreed. She just had a closer date in mind than she presumed her mother did. “Now, let’s get out of here.” With a flash of Twilight's mighty horn, they poofed away. H̛̛̀͡é̶͡͞͠l̸l̷̕͏ờ͘͟?́͟͝Is̶̢͞ ̕t͟h̴́͢is̨̀ ̨ţh͢i̸̡̡n̶͜g o͜n̸? Ah! Beautiful! This is Seeker Elsa Sparkle, Daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle and commanding officer of The Emotional-Based Energy Generation Research Project, or as we call it, The Shy Project. If you have not heard of me, or the facility I am referring too, then that means you’re one of the first ponies to see this tape. Our project has been kept a secret from the general public for the last two years, now I am recording this on its last day to ensure its exposure to the public. The reason for this tape is that we are being shut down and Twilight plans to destroy all evidence of what we have done. We were evacuated this morning and forced to sign discretion contracts, and in a few days the facility will be filled with cement and forgotten about forever. The main directive of the project was to replicate pony emotion, then harvest it for a near endless power source without hurting a single living creature. If we were successful then we would be able to stop all of the pollution, stop poverty, stop hunger... And maybe even end death. Despite our good intentions, the way we went about doing so... It is something I now heavily regret. Using computer simulation, we tortured nearly 20,000 separate artificial intelligence programs, and only in the last few days have I learned that perhaps all of them were sentient, to a point where they might be considered living. So you might believe that it is a good thing that we are being disbanded, and you are right. This tape is not for anypony to forgive my sins. Its sole purpose is to prevent such a horrendous tragedy from occurring in the future. The network is still being torn apart, so I have managed to retrieve all of the computer logs, camera footage, and emails ever sent or received. I have spent the last several hours downloading them onto several drives that can be found along with this tape. I am sure that Twilight will soon learn about this and I may be arrested, or this data redacted. So I encourage you to make as many copies as quickly as you can. As for me, there is one pony that is still trapped inside the facility. Her name is Cardinal. She was the last subject that was submitted to the torture, but she had passed the test. Me and several of my loyalists that I have came in contact with are going to sneak into the facility and rescue Cardinal. We will set her free and she will be allowed to live her life as any other pony. Of course, I may fail. If I do, then I encourage anyone to press my mother until she admits to everything I have said here, and hopefully even get Cardinal her freedom. I am sorry to everypony for my sins, please do not blame any of my workers, they were unaware of the atrocities we committed and they do not deserve punishment. I hope the ponies of The Manehatten Journalist Society do their job well and expose this. Thank you. ş̨G̛̕A̶k̷̕͝͡ŗ̴́́͜m̶͟͠ģ̨̀̕͢í̸̴҉A̵͠͠:̧̨̛͝0̵̵̶̛h̢̀̕͢͠i͜͡͡a͘͞g͟͏̸.̨҉̷d̢͘͡g̢̧͜͞.̴̧̀͟͡.̷̧̛͟͞.̵̀́͡d̨̡̛̀̀g͞.̡͟͝ḑ͠.̶̷́̕͡g̴̸̷͠s͡͏͠.͡.́͞͞.̨̕͢͜.͘͟.̶̵͘.̢̢̨̕.́͜͞ “.̶̧̢̧̨.̡̨̛͞͠.͠͠-be here soon...” A voice came into reception. “Alright, I'm ready once she gets here.” Seekers voice shivered, the sound of a chilly swoosh of air had hit her. “Seeker what is that?” Diamond asked, concerned. “Oh, I'm sorry, I should have warned you that I'll be recording this.” “That's not ok, Seeker! I don't know what we,re doing here but from your message, I doubt it’s very legal. That's just leaving more evidence than we need to!” Diamond raised his voice before ruffling his coat as he looked around in worry. “It’s only audio, and the only way it will be evidence would be if I am caught, and we’re fucked in that case either way.” The microphone was just a little black dangley cord pinned to the chest of her snow jacket. It was excessively sensitive, picking up everything from faint bird chirps to the cloth rubbing against Seekers jacket as she put on her saddlebag. The cord rattled with a sharp static. “Where is Surrie? She's already a minute late...” Seeker’s steps crunched into the thick Manehattan snow, exploring around. The wind blasted heavier into the mic as the sound of the street was engorged. The wheel skid of car and carriages passing scrapped against the sound, muffling Seekers voice. “I see her!” Diamond's words echoed from behind, seemingly in some sort of hallway. “Can you finally explain the plan now? I'm sick of standing out here in below freezing weather without even knowing what I'm going to be doing.” “Alright, alright. Calm your flank down... Hey, Surrie!” They exchanged a hug, the fur on their jackets causing the audio to scramble again. Surrie's voice came after a few audible shivers, “Seeker, aren't you still hurt? How are you standing right now?” She laughed, “Lets just say my medicine cabinet is in a need for a painkiller refill.” “Your one tough mare of a bitch, you know that?” Surrie's smile was deviant in her voice. “It’s become clear recently, yeah.” Seeker continued their bonding session while Diamond drew to the edge of his patience. “Seeker, please.” “I know, I know... I called you two to help me with something.” Seeker brought them close and hushed her tone. “My mother is destroying everything we have done in a few days and I don't know about you, but we were too close for us to stop now.” The other two were bewildered, “That's what you called me for? Seeker, we were going to destroy it all anyway. I don't see what your point is.” Diamond argued. “We left Cardinal behind, thats what I'm talking about. We can't leave her down there!” She rose her voice. “Seeker, are you alright? You don't seem to be thinking straight...” Diamond worried. “I agree with her.” Surrie came out of nowhere. “What? Are you both crazy?” Diamond also raised his tone. “I spent two years programming that fucking robot. Being that close to seeing it run in completion, its bothered me ever since I left.” Surrie's voice became more clear as she turned to Seeker. “What do you need us to do?” “I'm going to sneak in there and launch the system, get Cardinal into her body and than sneak out with her.” She proudly stated. “And what about us?” Diamond was nearly whining. “I need you and your beautiful little behind to get to the backup surface generators and turn them on so the facility will have power, allowing me to go through with my part of the plan. And I'm going to need you to guard the generator until I get out.” “But what if a guard finds me?” “I dunno, kick his ass.” Seeker said with a monotone, deadpan voice. She took a pause, moving to Surrie. “I need you to guide me through the process of transferring Cardinal into her body.” Surrie was concerned. “Seeker, I can only tell you what to do if the program runs into some obstacle, but if the machines break, I haven't a clue what to do.” “That's why Mecha is here.” “Ye tha'is me, howya doin'?” A new, grizzled voice came from a few yards away. “Agh!” Surrie and Diamond jumped, one of them even fell into the snow. “Sorr' if I scared ya, didn't mean ta,” he said while walking towards them. “He got here even before I did. I already filled him in.” “Ohh yea! En I 'ere cause me robaw ain't goin' en up ash 'ome dam srap in 'oncrete.” A silence overtook them for a solid ten or so seconds. “Did anypony understand that?” Diamond asked. “I think.” “I got some of it...” Mecha simply laughed. “Anyways, he'll be with you, Surrie. Is everypony clear with the plan?” she addressed the group. “Yes...” “Of course.” “Yeh I go' it dere boss.” With that, they trotted out to a car parked on the street, the clipping sound of doors being released from their locks and then slammed back in a powerful wave of sound took up the next few minutes. The car engine roared to life in a thick rumble of continuous motion. The wheels squealed above the frost and concrete. The car went into motion. The horn shrieking and long waits between movement was common for the Manehattan traffic. Eventually, someone in the front switched on the radio, playing Pon3's classics, everything from The Pink Side of the Moon to Fly Like You. After a long journey, the brakes shut against the tires, blaring out the squeal of friction as they came to a halt. The radio cut out again as the doors continued the beat for only a moment with their shutting. “Alright, Surrie, I'll call you on my phone once I'm down there. Diamond, you know the where the surface generators are, yeah?” Seeker huddled up with them. “Of course I do. Wish me luck.” “I've got something a little better to give you.” The sound of lips coming together and then unwillingly separating was heard under the winds. “Love you, babe,” Seeker said. “Love you too,” she heard back. Snow crumbled in a fading pattern as he trotted away. “You two, make yourself inconspicuous, but stay close enough to make sure my phone signal can reach you.” “Good luck, Seeker. We'll be ready.” “Yeah I 'ot a gooood fillin' bout this. Make 'ure a be safe, boss.” “Cya, guys, good luck!” Seeker began trotting away from the two of them. The only sounds apart from trotting from then on was the beep of the invisibility device being triggered. 1:08, Northern Gate. The snow fell harshly into the construction complex. Guards patrolled back and forth at the gate of the site, shivering in their coats, leaning against the untouched steel beams creating the shape of an apartment complex, or a large office building. The progress on the build has been slower than any other construction project in the city. Months passing without ponies seeing any work being done, like the city had forgotten or ignored the entire project past the very foundations. The site was equipped with many equipment sheds, power generators, and even a functioning plumbing system. Although being built on the very edge of the city in a somewhat run down area, it was largely overlooked by everypony. Two guards chatted at the entrance, and just like whoever lost their job being on camera duty, they were completely oblivious of the hoofsteps forming as Seeker walked right past them and under the red and white car barrier, and with an inaudible cocking noise, a syringe materialized out of thin air and shot through the small opening in the glass used for speaking with the security guard on the other side, who found himself attempting to scream out in pain as the needle stuck into his neck, but before he could even squeal, he fell back into his chair, leaving the cameras unattended. The steps trailed off further into the complex, past the camera's view. Although only seconds after the small imprints in the snow were created the heavy snowfall covered them up. 1:09, Facility Elevator Entrance. The masterfully disguised elevator to the facility underneath was slightly more suspicious because of the six royal guards casually lounging around the otherwise perfectly hidden entrance made to look like the temporary builder restroom to the construction site. The chances of entering it if somepony were to perhaps sneak in, even with invisibility, was bar to none. Which is why no evidence of Seeker was seen on this camera, as would probably expected as it was the only known route to enter the facility. Well, only known route by the Guards, at least. 1:14, Eastern Face. With only two guards taking turns on patrol, moving from fence to fence as commanded to make sure nopony climbed over them, one was making his way back from his thirty minute shift, going to wake the pony sleeping with his lantern for heat outside of a locked utility shed filled with tools, using the overhang as a shield from the snow. What they couldn't possibly expect was the cocking noise coming from behind the one patrolling and into the chest of the one asleep as a syringe seemingly popped into existence. It popped into their veins as they collapsed, completely unconscious. Then the lock of the utility locker bust itself open and the door gently swung outward. The hoofsteps ended at the doorway. 1:10, Western Street External. A nervous blue stallion traveled around the sidewalk of the construction site, looking for something. Near the corner of the site’s fencing was a garage door leading into some generators, presumably for a fuel tanker to enter. In front of the entrance was a Unicorn guard, wearing his full gold glazed plate armor stuffed with extra fur beneath for the cold. Diamond strolled up and stopped directly in front of the guard, looking at him nervously. The guard motioned for Diamond to move on but instead he attempted to begin a conversation. As the Unicorn drew his spear, Diamond redirected his attention by pointing his hoof to the top of the fence. The brief second the guard glanced away, with one painfully powerful punch across the cheek the guard was flung back against the steel of the garage door. Diamond preceded to stare at his hoof with amazement and shock. Looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't seen, he quickly dragged the body around the corner and in behind a bin. The Earth Pony then went to the side of the door where he swiped some form of ID across a scanner, the door slowly folded up and into the building, allowing him to enter. The door slammed shut and the scanner turned red again as the door locked. 1:13, Generators. The lights flickered on as Diamond trotted into the chilled heart of the generator room, two large cylinders stuck into the ground met in the center with a control panel. Busting it open with a good swing against its lock, Diamond was able to flip the mains. A low rumble was picked up by the camera. The generators roared to life with flashing red lights and a visible shaking. Diamond backed off as they sped up in their rotation. The blaring sound of a wind tunnel was now being emitted by each generator. Diamond searched around. Finding a tool rack nearby, he snagged a broom and lodged it against the door knob. Then he went and pulled the shutters down on each of the tiny windows that were placed where the wall met the ceiling all around the walls facing outward. After he finally felt safe, he sat down on a short metal stool that was thrown onto the ground. And then he waited. The emergency exit in the engineering lab shook, a purple magic lashing against it before long the doors bust open to reveal Seeker, no longer invisible, making her way into the room. She flipped the light switch on the other side of the room and the lights shone brightly. She smiled at Diamond’s success. She lifted up a phone into the air and input a number, and without letting the first ring go by, she was answered. “Hey Surrie, I'm in and the power’s up.” Seeker strolled around the room, looking at the technological beauties scattered along the tables and floor. “Hey S̛e̵e͢kér! ͘We̡'r͜e͢ ready when ̵yo̕u ar̶e.” The signal wavered, but was understandable nonetheless. “I'm making my way to Cardinal right now. I'll tell you when I'm there.” Seeker hopped through the sliding door, finding herself a few rooms off the main elevator. Walking through the lounge and down the corridor to her left, she had made it back to the transfer room. Entering the observatory, she found the launch pc. She sat down in the office chair and took a deep breath. She lifted her phone to her ear. “I'm there, just tell me what needs to be done.” “Al͜r͝ig̀ht̛, See͘ḱer͜, once you activate the program, it should just do all the work by itself, although it’s not exactly something we've ever done before, so you should expect some bugs to pop up. Just tell me what it says and I'll guide you through a ̀fix.” Mecha also gave his input, “Aǹ' you're gonna need ta be close ta de robaw, in case the wires fall out.” “Right. Got it.” Seeker booted the computer up, nervously tapped the table while waiting, then, without hesitation, opening up the program again. Hello..? Cardinal! It’s me! I've come back for you! Seeker frantically typed. For the first time while messaging Cardinal, there was a delay. Perhaps of shock, or delight? Thank you, thank you!!! I thought I wasn't ever going to get out! I saw what happened on the cameras when everypony was forced to leave. I know you were scared, but don't worry. I'll be starting the transfer process in just a second, so I don't think we'll be able to talk again until it’s over in a few hours. So anything you want to tell me? Excuse me, but I cannot find any words in your language to express my gratitude, so I hope you don't mind me speaking my own. Please, go right ahead. <3 See you on the other side, Seeker responded with a slight hesitation as a cheesy smile on her face and a tear in her eye. See you too. Seeker launched the program, a progress meter appeared in the center of the screen and a console in the top left, thousands of lines of text whizzing by as it began the transfer. “You said I need to be with the body, right?” Seeker stood up from the chair looking into the room. “Yeah, tha's wha' I shaid boss. Jus' in case, ya k͢now?” “Yeah, I know.” Seeker gained a devilish grin then lifted the chair she was just upon magically and with a flick of her head it came crashing through the mirror, shattering it into millions of shards. “Seeker what was that sound!? Are you ok?” Surrie came in over the phone “I'm feeling great! Just making a shortcut to the body.” “Don't scare me like that! This is terrifying enough already, I don't appreciate your new anarchist solutions making it worse.” “I'll warn you next time, kay?” Seeker let the phone drop to her side, trotting into the room in awe. The thick black wire coming from the wall and into the skull of Cardinal's body had been gently filled by a strange light blue liquid until it reached the body. The wire glowed brightly, a strong aura now existed around it. As it poured into the body its eyes flashed with a pale blue flicker. Seeker, while gaping at the sight, flipped the monitor around to face her and in a few moments she turned to look at the progress. It started slow. One percent flashed brightly just before it turning to a two. The bar unnoticeably growing at its current pace, Seeker took deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down from this excitement. Lifting her phone once more, “Program’s running. So far so good, guys.” “That’s great. Just please be observant and focus. You’re going to be there for a while.” “Will do.” 1:56, Generators. Diamond struggled in his fight against sleep, his head jolting up every few seconds after a slow descent. He hadn't been caught yet, neither has he heard any signs of guards in the building. His mobile sat at his side, awaiting a call or text saying that he can finally leave and be done with this mess. He yawned, his head backing into the concrete wall. “Fire? Dude are you out there or not?” A voice shouted from the outside, Diamond fell on his face off the stool. After scrambling to his hooves he ran up and pressed his ear against the door, faintly hearing the pony through it, “I swear on Luna's grave, if you fell asleep I'm going to kick your ass!” The sound of a door opening came from the direction of the construction and echoed throughout the loading bay outside his room. Hoofsteps against the stone flooring rang as the pony traveled through the room, moving further away until he began rattling the door to the outside. “Fucking Tartarus! FIRE, I SWEAR, YOU BETTER OPEN THIS DOOR!” Without receiving a response after a few seconds, he shouted again, “I'm going to get Erosion to open this door! You better be awake by then!” The pony stormed out and struck the door he entered in closed, Diamond took a sigh of relief. “Yes, I did that, but nothing happened! Are you sure that is what I'm supposed to write?” Seeker shouted at her phone that was sitting in the sole of her hoof while having the other hoof on the mouse, clicking with all of her hearts content. Her horn was a bright beacon, pressing buttons on the keyboard in exceedingly amazing speed. “I am completely sure! That line should fix the circulation problem. Are you sure that’s what’s wrong? Check the status again and please hurry before something blows up!” “I told you what the status says. The problem hasn't changed!” Seeker dropped her forehead against the desk, “Ughh...” She wiped her eyes with her right hoof and looked back up at the screen, noticing a small typo in the line of code she's been trying to insert. “Oh.” “Oh!? Oh what?” Seeker, fixing the typo faster than a mafia boss a wrestling match, lied through her teeth. “Oh nothing. It worked. Your code I mean. It was just... Lagging?” “For fuck’s sake, Seeker, what have I said about scaring me!?” “I know, but it’s fine now.” Looking over her shoulder, the wire was no longer in a perpetual state of about to blow up. “Alright, now onto fixing the leaks...” Seeker stood up, a blow torch and welding mask flying to her. “Surrie, get Mecha back on the phone.” Seeker fiddled with the gas line entering the blowtorch until it burst into full flame, the welding mask came down her face with a clank. “Mecha you there?” “Yeah, I'ma 'ere boss.” “Alright, how do you operate this crane thingy?” The body hung from the ceiling by a series of carbon fiber coils coming from a steel framework that allowed for manipulating the bodies position in all three dimensions. “There like, one o' dem control dillyo's with the movin' sticks.” Seeker looked around for whatever the fuck he just said and found a yellow controller with several coloured joysticks, connected by a wire to the roof attachment, laying off in the corner near the many other tools. Fidgeting with the knobs, she found the one changing its height. Seeker lowered the body down to her eye level, seeing the droopy blue goo dripping down in disgustingly sounding drops onto the floor into puddles. “Ok, Mecha, how do I open it? Is there a service hatch somewhere?” “Agh yeah 'er is boss, down un'er its stomach, 'hers a lil' latch bit ya can open.” “Underneath... Fine.” She sighed and got on her back, mane scrubbing against the blue goop, becoming sticky and gross feeling. With only one or two splashes landing on her mask before she opened Cardinals chest, her ''blood'' pouring out from a metal piping that seemed to have burst under the pressure. “I got it open, oh Celestia, this shit actually reeks... What now?” “Jus' gotta apply de patch an' add heat until it melts, 'hen let it cool and it'll be all shealed.” The phone was lying at her back legs, the speaker on max volume just getting to her ears from under the large steel mask. “Its that easy, is it? Well here goes nothing...” Seeker did as he said, patching up leak after leak. After a good length of time, at a point where she had started sweating from the thousands of degrees flame in front of her face, only a thick sheet of steel and glass slowly acting as a heat sink as it became warm. She was finished and raised the body before standing up and wiping herself clean. “Is it bad if some of the blue shit is now on the ground and in connection on me?” “Nah, should be fine. There is a lot of spare fluid in the tank, the bot should be still filled.” Surrie had taken the phone back from Mecha. “What I meant to say was, will it poison me, or melt through my skin?” she said, wiping her mane with an oily, greasy cloth. An awkward silence became the three of them. “Guys..?” Seeker asked in a worry. “Let's just focus on the task at hoof, why don't we?” Surrie said with no idea of what the answer would be to her question. “I swear, you two are fucking dead if my mane decays into ash before I leave here.” She put down the phone and cloth on the desk, returning to the computer. “Surrie... I got another one.” 2:32, Generators. Diamond, after getting every single loose object in the room and pinning it against the door, stood with his ear against it, far more awake than he was half an hour ago. He nearly had a heart attack when the door outside his room was kicked open, “Fire! Erosions here!” They waited for a response, but didn’t get one. “I swear he does this all the time. I don't know how he hasn't been court martialed yet... It’s getting on my fucking nerves.” A new, higher pitched stallion voice was also heard. “I'll report him to Lionheart tomorrow... Is this the door?” “Yeah, you can open it right?” “I've got access for every door on the site,” he said, a high beep following shortly. “Fire, I fucking told...” His voice faded away. A minute of Diamond hyperventilating passed before they ran back into the building. “Where in Equestria is he?” They sounded more panicked than aggressive. “He was supposed to be there! Did you see that dent in the door? Do you think he got jumped?” “I don't know. Let’s look around first. He has to be close by.” Steps became louder as one of the guards approached Diamond’s door. “Hey... Are the lights supposed to be on in there?” “No, those are the generators. Lights only turn on if they”re running.” The door rattled as the pony pressed against it in an effort to bust it open. Diamond fell back onto his hind end, backing off until he was against the safety fence around generator. “Erosion, can you unlock it?” “Uh... I don't think that door is supposed to be locked.” “Well it is, can you just open it?” “I guess...” Several keys rattled and were inserted one by one into the keyhole, none of the attempts ending up successfully. The one not opening the door shouted through, “FIRE, DID YOU LOCK YOURSELF IN HERE TO SLEEP? YOU BETTER HAVE NOT OR I WILL BREAK YOUR FUCKING TEETH.” “None of them work... Are you sure its locked?” Erosion said, going for the handle and being stopped by the collection of furniture lying against the door. “I think...” He slammed against the door with a shoulder tackle, making the slightest headway in opening it, just barely stopping before there would be a crack they could see through. “Its jammed.” “Come on, together then,” Erosion said. “Nah mate, I got this,” the other responded. “You sure?” “You don't know many Earth Ponies, do you?” he said, leaving a long silence flowing through the building. Diamond fumbled his way over the fence, trying his hardest not to touch the generator, which was roasting to the touch, as he made his way to cower behind it to hide from the two outside about to barge in. “FIRE, I'M COMING IN,” he said, with barely a second passing as he barged through the door, obliterating it into wooden shards and snapping the brooms and stools holding him back. Now in Diamond’s room, the beefy blue stallion shouted aloud, “FIRE, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?” Erosion entered in after him, a grey unicorn with many scars. “I don't think he's in here. Especially since that probably woke everypony in the city.” He walked up to the main switch, seeing how both generators were running. “I think we may have an intruder...” he said, his magic encompassing the lever. “NO, DON'T!” Diamond leapt out of his hiding place, slapping the Unicorn across the face and than protecting the lever with his body. The two guards looked at each other and back at Diamond. A few minutes later, after a harsh beating, Diamond was dragged out in hoofcuffs and the generators shut down. The transfer has been going smoothly, compared to what they estimated at least. In fact the process has been much faster than expected, the progress bar reaching ninety percent already. “Home stretch guys!” Seeker smiled, covered in even more goop than before. “It like, ain't nothin' can go wrong now.” Seeker flew the phone against the side of her face, speaking faster than normal. “Excuse me what did you just say.” “I shaid, ain't nothin' ca-” “Yeah, please don't say that. I don't want to...” The light above her flickered before staying off permanently, the monitor shortly doing the same. “... Jinx it.” Her smile fell into ultimate agony and anger. “OH FUCKING CELESTIA!” She exclaimed, throwing her phone against the desk and cracking the screen with a few sparks. She shook her head, took a few deep breaths and lifted the phone again. “Guys, we have a prob-” “Hello, officer!” Surrie's voice came over the signal, not directly speaking into the phone. “Guys?” “Miss, what are you two doing in this area? This is for restricted personnel only.” A new voice of a mare came from the distance. “Oh nothing... We were just...” “Can I please see your ID?” “Um...” “Driving license?” “About that...” “If you have no identification, then I am forced to detain you under suspicion of breaking and entering.” “Ah... Fu-” The call ended on their end, leaving Seeker alone in the dark. She ran around in a panic, throwing wrenches and hammers at the plentiful amount of computer screens around the room, screaming in frustration at each swing. After throwing a fit, she found herself standing in front of the body, looking into its eyes. Her horn shining out a bright light allow her to still see. She began weeping, softly caressing Cardinal's cheek with her hoof. “I'm so sorry... I'm-m, mm... Sorry, Cardinal... I-I... I tried... I really did...” She shut her damp eyes, bleeding out tears in a powerful typhoon. She leaned over and threw her hooves over Cardinal in a tight hug. She started shouting with an almost psycotic rage and disappointment in herself, “Two years... Two years! Two fucking years I've worked to have you! And now I fucked it all up! I should have trusted you earlier! I should have been kinder when I had the chance... I was just scared. I was worried I was wrong about you! But I wasn't, you were real! Fuck the prime objective, I didn't care about saving the world! I just wanted to save you... I love you...” She whimpered down into a somber sulk. She let her spell drop. Pitch black darkness fell over the room as the sound of tears dripping onto a metal surface echoed. She pulled away, looking back into her eyes, noticing that they were still glowing, the power inside was still there. She might be able to save her still. She jumped into action, thinking of any possible way to fix this. All she needed was to generate enough power to finish the transfer... Her head jolted up as she flashed out of the room with a few uses of teleport, finding herself inside of the engineering lab. She lifted up a device that looked like it could be attached to one’s skull. It had a long cable running out of it and lots of exposed circuitry. It was the first prototype of the device that they would use to suck the magical, emotion based power out of the AI and convert it into real world electricity. “If the simulation programs can run on me, I don't see why this wouldn't.” She flashed back to the transfer room, launching a chair underneath her as she plugged in the helmet into a hole in the wall she just shot into existence and connected the wire with the mainframe. She strapped the helmet on, sitting in front of Cardinal. With a few tears in her eye she flipped a switch on the side of the helmet, springing it into action. The next few minutes were the most painful of her life, feeling like a thousand lighting bolts were melting her skin every second, her heart was being stabbed through and through again with every beat. She flailed back and forth, falling off her chair as she began to roll on the floor, screaming in unyielding agony. And this was while on painkillers. Luckily for her, the prototype short circuited before too long, but even a few minutes of emotion like that had powered the facility completely, every light flickered back on as the computer woke up and finished the transfer in only another twenty minutes, of which Seeker was awake for none of them, as the pain had left her unconscious from shock. When she finally awoke, she felt sick in the stomach. All of her nerves were shot. The device still emitting black smoke from the short circuited wiring. Although it was all worth it, as clearly seen in the delighted, euphoric, utterly blissful smile as she opened an eye to see Cardinal speak for the first time. “Thank you, Seeker. Thank you.”
DesireSeeker laid against the chair back after being hoisted up there by Cardinal, lacking most of her motor control. She couldn't quit bawling her eyes out, a mixture of burning pain and ecstasy. Her fur seemed to have been burnt off in patches, her skin reddened. “How are you feeling, Seeker?” Cardinal’s voice, despite having the same tone and accent, was far more robotic in its pacing and echo, saying each word in perfectly timed beats, the real life speaker giving it a digital grittiness. “I'm... feeling... fantastic...” Deep breaths with long exhales meant breathing didn't hurt as much for Seeker, the inside of her chest still roasting and throbbing. “You’re... fantastic.” She would not let Cardinal out of her sight, foregoing blinking in her awe. “It is strange... This body feels... Strange.” Cardinal practiced moving in her new form, the rust in her hinges, the weight of her skeleton sticking her to the ground. It lacked that mathematical perfection she was used to in her world. It took a while before she became comfortable in her actions. “You'll grow into it, baby...” Seeker said in her mesmerized state, coughing with every delighted laugh. Cardinal twisted her head around the room. “Is this the room in which we first met, Seeker?” she said, blinking at her. “Yeah... It is isn't it?” For the first time since Cardinals arrival she took the time to glance at her surroundings. “I'm sorry, I was such a bitch to you then...” “It is no time for apologies, Seeker.” Cardinal lifted a leg into a ninety degree angle from the floor, then with almost a shock as a extremely skinny, six inch blade shot itself out to its full length from the toe of her hoof with a distinctive plinking noise, it retracted back inch by inch along a span of several seconds, returning to its locked position, ready to spring out again. “Was that... A knife?” Seeker was confused, the body wasn't supposed to be equipped with any weaponry. “This body was built using the base of a T-54 E series Autonomous Combat Droid, specialized in assassination. After being disbanded by peaceful resolution legislation fifty years ago they were mostly scrapped, with only a few left for scientific research and historical presentation. Despite being stripped of its heavy duty weaponry and refurbished and redesigned into a body for me, they seemed to have missed some of the more hidden devices...” Cardinal blinked and made a slight shake with her head. “Sorry, I was reading a bit... There seems to be lots of files still in this body's database.” “You’re always full of surprises...” She let her head rest on her own shoulder for a moment, “We should get going soon...” Cardinal's eyes wandered. “I still need to do one thing first...” She was looking for something. “Is it about having to destroy the fox..?” She raised her head by a few degrees. “Yes. I need to go and find them... Finish my quest.” Cardinal walked over to the computers in the adjacent room, inspecting the case of each pc. “Don't worry... Twilight is going to destroy this place anyway... You don't have to do anything.” Seeker was regaining her senses, her movements becoming smoother and stronger as she sat up on the seat. Cardinal turned to Seeker, seeing her intent to stand up. “Seeker, please. You are in no shape to move.” “You want to carry me then? We have to leave somehow...” Seeker was half kidding. Cardinal trotted up to her, lifting one of Seeker’s legs and inspecting it, Cardinal’s eyes flashing green and scanlines appearing over Seeker’s leg. “This isn't good...” “I've lived through worse,” Seeker said, her smile unable to leave her. Cardinal shut her eyes, a sighing motion with her head. “I'll go deal with my business now. Once I am finished, I will come back for you.” “No... Wait.” Seeker called out to her. She walked to the door of the room, but before she could open the handle, she was blocked by Seeker teleporting herself in the way. “Wait! Please don't leave me! I can't let you leave me...” She struggled to even sit against the door, two hooves spread wide to maximize her size to make sure Cardinal couldn't go any further. “Seeker...” Cardinal lifted Seeker from the floor with a wing and she fell onto Cardinals shoulder, crying. “I have to go and do this. You can't stop me.” “I just... Don't want you to leave me... Please.” Seeker said in between whimpers. “I know, Seeker, I know.” They hugged each other tightly, both feeling a strong love for the other. Cardinal felt her own tears forming, “I will never leave you, Seeker, we will see each other tomorrow after I am finished. I promise you.” A heavily muffled plinking sound was audible under the sound of tears. “You'll be better tomorrow, and I'm sorry if this hurts, but I need to do this alone. Mother and Fox are counting on me.” “Ok...” Seeker spoke, still feeling heavily ill. That painful stabbing sensation stuck in her chest. They leaned away from each other’s embrace, finding themselves locked in each others eyes. “P-p... please... Just one last... thing...” Seeker managed to cough out, focused on the beauty of her creation. Cardinal was perfect in every way to Seeker. She never felt like this about anypony. Maybe it was because of the years of effort and pain. Maybe she somehow left her print on the AI as she controlled their tests. Despite only a few days ago she felt a strong hatred towards Cardinal, time and passion had overcome that mindset. She was in love. Cardinal felt the love back. Maybe it was the same love she felt towards her so called “Mother,” as somepony who was responsible in her creation, or maybe like the love for her brother, the fox. As they felt the same pain from a different angle, like two sides of the same coin. Though, it wasn't exactly like either. Those relationships happened without her choice. They were family. Her relationship with Seeker was a willing one, one of gratitude and understanding, despite not being born with an obligation for it: that of a partner. They shut their eyes, closing their muzzles in together, locking lips. The stiff metal of Cardinal’s allowed no more than that, but regardless, it was filled with passion and true love, more than anything either could have imagined, each feeling a fire in their heart. They felt like a part of each other, one in the same through this ecstatic kiss. It lasted only a few seconds, the best seconds of Seekers life, before they pulled away, not completely realizing what had happened to them but it was breathtaking. In fact, Seeker found herself having a hard time breathing afterward. With blissful tears dropping from them both, Seeker said her final words while looking into Cardinal's two gorgeous blue crystals for eyes. “I love you...” Seeker was then shocked as she gasped for breath, letting her head drop, looking down at the floor. There was a puddle forming underneath her, a red puddle. The tint of blood. “I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow, when you've healed.” Cardinal's angelically robotic voice whispered to Seeker as she saw a blade extending from Cardinals hoof and sinking itself deep into her. Even while seeing it in front of her own eyes, she merely felt a tingle. Cardinal flicked the blade out, still smiling innocently. Seeker’s tears were pouring, with only one or two splashes landing on Cardinal's hoof before she opened Seeker’s chest, her blood pouring out from a vein that had burst from the knife's pierce. Seeker collapsed to the floor as Cardinal let her go, wheezing and struggling for air. Her face was filled with a thousand dying horrors. She tried to scream for help, but couldn't make a whimper as blood kept pouring like a fountain out of her chest, filling her lungs and throat, spilling from her mouth, lips drenched in gooey blood after receiving her final kiss. Cardinal stepped over her body and out of the door, looking over her shoulder back at the suffering Unicorn. “Oh, I'm so sorry... Here, I'll make it quicker.” She wasn't even concerned, her voice had a terrifying lack of life, despite meaning it only in the most loving way. Seeker tried to throw her hoof in front of Cardinal to stop her but she lost the energy to squirm at that point, Cardinal lead the blade into Seekers skull as a mercy killing. Seeker fell limp. Her corpse was all that was left of her. Cardinal turned her head once more and retracted her blade. She moved on to search for the data center, not a single idea in her head about the fact she had just murdered the love of her life. The facility was dead quiet. The air was still with dust. Cardinal, used to the black and white fuzziness of the security cameras, experienced the colours of the this place for the first time. Her vision was vibrant and free. She was at awe, looking at the slickly painted walls with brightly coloured stripes leading to different destinations. She passed the common room, the walls scaled up to the cavernous ceiling in their delightful yellow coat. She began skipping, feeling alive. This world was new and beautiful. Her and Seeker would go and enjoy it to its full extent. She finally had reached the room in which all of the main computer’s data was held. She slammed her hoof against the lock and the door flew open, the heat radiating out onto her. Cardinal was taken aback by another new sensation. She had felt heat before in her simulated world, but nothing was as refreshing as the radiance of the real thing. She entered, seeing that all of the computers were running on maximum power. It seemed that Seeker’s love powered the facility to over capacity and short circuited some of the parts. Cardinal trotted up to an open port and raised her front leg. Her hoof panel dropped open and a wire extended out. She plugged herself into it and her eyes flashed to life as two monitors. Mother? Yes, Cardinal? Have you made it out? Are you ready? Yes, I did. I nearly didn't, though, but Seeker came back for me! She saved me! Now I can save you. Oh, how brilliant, now quickly continue with the plan. Of course, I simply came to give you the good news. Although I won't be here later, I do hope we cross paths again. Me too... Now, the plan? Yes, yes. I will be back in just a minute. I need to get the gas. And as the conversation ended in an instant, Cardinal unplugged, barely a second after she first went in. She looked around at the huge black towers of glowing lights and loose cables for a short while, then turned and trotted out to look for a source of fuel for the fire. She wandered around, looking for the kitchen. Following the helpful guiding lines across the walls, she managed to make her way into a tiny kitchen tucked off to the side of the lounge. It had a very outdated set of cooking appliances, everything from the barely below freezing, plain white fridge to the worn and rusty stove covered in grease and muck. Her eyes tinted green once more, her scanning light hovering over the wall, revealing to her what lay behind. Then, with a swift strike into the plaster wall, she revealed a pipe behind the newly made hole. She climbed up onto the oven and stuck her mouth into the hole, biting down hard and yanking out the gas pipe to face outward at her. She then felt the rush of gas blowing at her, the smell was intoxicating and sick. The air waved because of the invisible gas. Seeker hopped down from the stove, leaving the room and finding a utility closet, filled with lots of general construction supplies. She scooped up several strands of rubber tubing and a roll of duct tape with both of her sharp wings and headed out, returning to the kitchen where she proceeded to wrap one end of the tubing into the dislodged pipe. She also took the time to seal the other end of the pipe to stop gas pouring into the kitchen. She walked out, leading the cord with her. Having to attach separate tubes with tape to continue her makeshift pipe until it could reach into the computer room. She left the open end of the tube between the crack, stopping the sliding door as she taped it down so nothing would move. While she waited for the gas to build up in the room she practiced moving her new body in more complicated maneuvers. Sliding her insides around took far more effort due to the lack of maintenance her body was given, even then she managed to dislodge her neck as before, creating a build up of pressure that she could release as a fiery blaze. She prepared herself for this. After she killed Mother and Fox, she really didn't have much of a plan. Although she was comforted that perhaps she didn't need one right now, Seeker and her would figure it out together. She wondered where Seeker lived. She never asked. Although by her calculations the room was filled enough already, she braced herself against the doorway and stood on the tube and stamped it shut to prevent further gas from entering. Then she pressed her mouth through the crack that the tube created and with a metal scrape and a click coming from inside of her chest, her mouth erupted in flame and without delay so did the room. A gigantic explosion commenced. Cardinal scraped against the floor several meters away from the blast. The door she held up was blown with her. She pushed it up as an inferno battered against the steel door. After those few intense seconds, she flipped the door away from her and it landed with a large smack against the crispy metal floor. The entire room was ablaze, heat leaving it like a volcano. The flames traveled out of the doorway, thrashing against the walls on the outside of the room. Cardinal, pleased with her work turned and casually strolled to where her love was laying. Finding Seeker’s slowly deteriorating corpse just where she had left it, her eyes losing their filling as they dimmed and she rotted, Cardinal hoisted her up and onto her shoulder, moving out of the room carrying her. “Hey there, sleepyhead, lets get you out of here.” Her voice static, lifeless. Trotting out, she passed the computer room, seeing that ashes will soon be all that remains she gladly searched for the exit. In due time finding the main elevator, her back now covered in Seekers still bleeding wound. Cardinal pressed the elevator call button with delight, waiting with all good thoughts. She wondered if her simulated world could be so beautiful, how beautiful must the real world be? She couldn't wait to personally experience the luscious forests and mountains she's seen on so many times as the backgrounds of computer screens. She pondered what other ponies she might meet, what they did as their work and what kind of personalities they had. It was all at the other side of this elevator door and it was not long before the pleasant beep signaled that it had finally arrived. “We'll find them! Don't worry about it. And remember, we have orders to kill any intruders if they got down here. Nopony is coming out of here alive!” Somepony's voice blasted out from behind the doors. “SIR YES SIR.” Several more responded to them in unison. Cardinal’s jaw dropped as the two doors separated to reveal the ten gold-plate armored ponies with regal spears, ornate assault rifles and beefy, full body riot shields. The largest pony in the center hesitated at the strange sight in front of him, but with a quick flick of his spear in Cardinals direction he shouted. “GET HER.” “WAIT! PLEASE!” Cardinal lifted the leg that wasn't attending to Seeker's corpse trying to stop them, but it was futile as the two shield bearing Unicorns charged at her, knocking her to the ground with the brunt force of their bash. Cardinal dropped Seeker's body as it slid against the floor away from her, Cardinal extended the blade in her right leg, and like a catapult, she sprung back at the two Unicorns, her knife penetrating the viewing glass in the shield of the right one while using her left leg’s raw strength to fling the left shield out of the Unicorn’s magical grip and throwing it against the pony who was magically holding it, knocking them to the ground. She continued pushing into the remaining shield as the Unicorn was levitating it a few steps away from himself. She managed to overcome his resisting force, trying to push her away, and she drove the shield and her blade further toward him until she thrusted it through the glass and into his skull. It was then that she finally noticed the bullets denting her skin and bouncing off. Although the damage was very superficial, every bullet smacked her with a striking pain, her robotic nerves being torn apart. She turned her head at the inside of the elevator. Her expression had turned vicious. Her eyebrows stabbed down, crossing in a ferocious stare, and her mouth exposed her teeth as if she was going to pounce. The eight ponies stood in formation. Four Earth Ponies firing their rifles in the back row at Cardinal. The other four Pegasi, including the captain, were knelt down with their spears held up by their wings masterfully at an angle toward Cardinal. She pulled the blade out of the Unicorn’s skull, extending her wing and arcing it to hold the riot shield by the straps meant for a leg and using it to protect herself from the bullet fire. The Pegasi saw this as their opportunity to attack. As gunfire stopped and they lunged out, Cardinal managed to block half of the incoming attacks with the shield by shifting it horizontally to extend its range, but the other two spears dug into her, barely cutting through the outer plating of her chassis. Now surrounded in all three hundred and sixty degrees she ditched the shield, chucking it out and being dodged by the Pegasus guard it went towards she extended both of her wings out to their maximum length, piercing through the throats of the two Pegasi at her sides while using her hooves to grab hold of the spear in front of her and bend its metal pole, terrifying the Pegasus holding it at the superpony strength that would take. Holding the spear, she ran with it, lifting the Pegasus into the air as she charged the elevator. The Earth Ponies panicked, shooting at Cardinal. But as they began firing, she let the Pegasus drop and used him as a living shield. The bullets flew through him, blood spurting out and painting Cardinal’s face and chest as she slammed the now bullet ridden Pegasus into the back wall of the elevator and plunging the blunt end of the spear that was at his chest through it and into the wall, sticking him there. The four Earth Ponies jumped to the side, but as they tried to escape the elevator, and from the horrendous murder machine in it, Cardinal kicked up one of the dropped rifles at her hooves and caught it with a wing. She turned around to hose down the four escaping Earth Ponies. Each of them dropped to the floor with a thud as the gun rattle ceased. Looking down the hall she saw the Captain, flinching in terror, quaking in his armor at the bloodbath in front of him. The demonic yellow terminator Pegasus puffed black smoke from the internal damages, her head down like a very pissed off bull. The entire front face of her body was splattered with the insides of the nine professional military personal she easily demolished. The blue crystals in her eyes were even stained, glowing red. He couldn't help but whimper when she dropped the rifle, its clanking against the metal floor of the elevator echoing as she took one step toward him. He raised his spear at the pony that was casually strolling toward him with the expression of an intolerable hatred on her face and in her soul. She didn't flinch as the Unicorn she knocked out earlier groggily swayed in her direction, she simply lifted her back leg and crushed her skull on her way to the Captain, leaving brain matter on her back leg. The Captain stood his ground as Cardinal walked up to his face, looking right into his eyes before turning down. That was when the Captain noticed Seeker lying at his hooves, who Cardinal hoisted up onto her shoulder and trotted away. Metallic hoofsteps being the only noise that existed until she made it back to the elevator, Seeker in hoof. She pressed the floor she wanted to go up while still death staring the Captain, the elevator rustled to life and the doors edged their way closed. Before long Cardinal was gone up and the Captain stood their in shock. As he dropped his spear and jaw, roughly at the same time, he raised up his walkie talkie. He pressed the speak button with a feather, “Hello, anypony there?” Nothing but static returned. “Whatever you do, do not fight the robot...” Still nothing, he couldn't warn the others about her. That just sank in for him. The power in the entire facility shut down in that moment, running out of what Seeker had injected into the system. Every light was gone as he stood there in the pitch black underworld that was the Shy Project Facility. “Hello?” 4:39 “Please state your full name.” “Diamond Geo Shine.” “Age?” “Twenty seven.” “Profession?” “Virtual World Designer and Researcher.” “Current or most recent employer?” “The State.” “Thank you for your compliance, now if you'd follow me into the next room where we will photograph you.” “Of course...” Diamond stood out of his chair, having to walk as if he had three legs due to the hoofcuffs. Once he exited the room the unseen Guard switched off the camera. 4:43 “Please state your full name” The same pony was not interrogating Surrie. “My name is Surreal Step, is this really necessary? I've told you I work here and Twilight Sparkle herself can vouch for me.” “It's not my say, its procedure. Age?” “Twenty Three.” “Profesion?” “Virtually Reality and Software Engineer.” “Current or most recent employer?” “Government.” “Alright, next room please for a photograph.” Yet again he stopped the camera, having each interview as a separate tape. 4:56 “Please state your full name sir.” “MehaMahine.” “Excuse me, can you repeat that?” “Mecha, Mahine.” “Can you spell that?” “Sure thin' boss. Em, Eh, Chka, Heh, Agh, Em, Agh, Chka, Heh, eih, Egn, Eh.” “Sure... Yeah I got that.” He spoke unsure of himself. “Age?” “Sixsy somthin'.” “Profession?” “I buil' robaw's.” “You build... Robots?” “Yeah, all types o' robaws.” “And employer?” “Boss.” “Which is?” “Shee'r Sparle.” “Alright, that’s... That's good enough, now please follow me.” He said, the camera giving a slight jostle as the guard went to turn it off once more, but then he heard a call from outside the room. “What?” The interviewer shouted out. “I said, that the elevators coming back up!” The voice moving into audible range. “Well that's fine, anything happen down there?” He went back to his camera, being stopped again. “That's the thing, they aren't on the elevator.” “What the fuck do you mean?” The camera jostled in its stand as he turned around. “Our guys haven't responded to any of their radios ever since it started coming back up and Ion casted a spell and says she can't sense any life on the elevator.” “I'll be right there,” he said, flicking off the camera. The world shook. The two mighty doors waved around in front of Cardinal’s unmoving eyes. The elevator rocked heavily but Cardinals robotic sense of balance stopped even the slightest of wombles to mess with her. Still having what she needed and wiping away some of the blood in her eyes, all she waited for now was for those doors to open and this to be finished. It took a while for her to surface from the dept of the facility, but after the long wait the floor slammed to a halt. Cardinal took a deep breath, it felt natural even though, you know, she doesn't exactly breath. None the less she felt her nerves heighten as the doors rustled before beginning in their slide open. Fear tingled her cold metal as the light outside peaked through the expanding crack. The door was now wide enough for her to leave from, although the light was too strong for her to see outside. She stepped forward and as her eyes adjusted, she realized what she was looking at. A few dozen guards stood in a defensive stance against the elevator, shields in the front with shotguns and rifles poking above them. They all had flashlights beaming at Cardinal, causing the blinding light. Both parties were silent as they inspected each other. Cardinal obviously gave off a strong vibe of horrendous violence and death with the blood still dropping off and chunks of meat and organs stuck in between the creases in her chassis. Oh, and not to forget the impaled Pegasus Solder still hanging off the wall behind her. “He-” Not before Cardinal could get her first word out did they unload onto her. She was knocked back by the bullet spray, Seeker's body torn and thrashed by the incoming shots. Cardinal was on the ground, recoiling in the pain. Seeker’s body, landing just in front of her, had begun taking most of the bullets. It was clear after a solid half a minute of firing, when the guards finally stopped, that Seeker’s body was in pieces. Torso, head and flank only held together by the thinnest of muscles barely holding on. She was nothing more than a gory mess of the floor now. Although being covered in Seekers parts did hide her from the royal guards, who were forced to all lean in with a step to see if they managed to kill the robotic beast. Even though Cardinal felt like she died with the mixture of pain and the trauma of being covered in her love’s organs, that was far from the truth. She powerfully hoisted herself up onto one leg, and then the next. The flashlights made a larger than life shadow against the elevator wall, looking like some demon rising from the dead. As Cardinal stood onto all fours with strength and malice, everypony gasped and flinched back in fear. She cracked her neck vigorously in an instant, re-positioning it back to where it normally was. Then, with a slow and lurching, painful scrape it twisted to face them, her shining blue eyes were the most pronounced light on her that illuminated her enraged face. Her entire body was covered in a meaty layer of flesh, disgustingly drenched in it. The bright illumination of the flash lights highlighted her bloodlust as the light bouncing from her gave off a red glow. There was a deep madness in her eyes, a feral growl in her lip. She looked like a monster. A monster that they had just pissed off. The light in her eyes shut off, leaving only a blood red glow on her. She pounced out of the elevator. Horrified shrieks echoed into the night. 4:49, Resting lounge. “Argh, don' yu be touchin’ me!” Mecha was thrown hastily into the room, falling onto his face, due to his restraints The guard bolted away after dropping the prisoner off, leaving him on the floor. Surrie and Diamond were sitting next to each other against a wall, also restrained, talking to the one guard in the room, a nervous looking Pegasus mare, patiently pacing, tapping the head of her spear on the floor. “Hey, Mecha,” Surrie muttered, frustrated and unamused. The Pegasus treaded toward Mecha, getting to him and lifting him to his hooves from under the leg. “There you go, now go sit over there.” “Shur thin’ boss.” Mecha hopped limply over to the wall and slid down next to his friends. The three of them watched as the Pegasus flew to the window, looking out very jittery. “Hey, can you tell us what's going on out there?” Diamond shouted up to her. “I would if I knew. They said that they’re going to prepare before the elevator gets here, just in case.” “Just in case what? We told you what we were doing here. It's only Seeker down there,” Surrie joined in. “I'm sorry, but if your friend was down there, she's dead now. We have orders to kill anypony who sees to much.” “B-but, we’re the employees! We already know whats down there!” Surrie swung her cuffed hooves in the air. “Well, we didn't know that when we heard a giant explosion from down there an hour ago when we sent Twirl and the other nine ponies, so I'm sorry.” The Pegasus, despite trying to keep up in her explanations, was still tentatively staring out. She was fighting an idea in her mind, visible through her eyes. She turned to them, “You worked down there. There's nothing too dangerous in the facility, right?” “We don't keep caged lions last time I checked, so no.” Diamond snarled sarcastically, angry at the idea of Seekers death. She shrugged him off, “I'm just worried, cause if he isn't on the elevator, then he is still down there... Or... Or something a lot worse.” She sniffled and wiped away a tear, trying to keep strong. Surrie kicked Diamond, then turning to the Pegasus in comfort. “What's your name?” “Um... Holly. I'm Holly.” “And your boyfriend, his name was Twist, yea?” She returned to her regular breathing. “Fiancé, actually.” “Well, Holly, I promise you that your fiancé will be coming back up that elevator soon.” This made Holly smile. “I know... I'm just...” She laughed under her breath, “I'm just being paranoid as always... It's taken me two years to plan our wedding, you know. I had to get every detail perfect. It's going to be this weekend. I've never been more excited in my life.” “You’re lucky. Only guys I've ever dated have been a bunch of sleaze bags in college. Only way those nerds would know how to treat a lady would be if we came with an instruction manual.” Diamond gave her a glare. “What?” “We went to the same college. Also, do you really think now is the time for jokes? Seeker might be dead!” Diamond frustratingly pounded his legs. “Diamond, sweetie... Did you not see her?” Surrie's playfulness ended, shifting into regret. “What? What do you mean?” “The way she talked, how she acted... I don't think that was Seeker. Not the one I've known for the last two years, at least.” “She just went through lots of trauma! Of course she isn't going to be acting like herself! Can't you understand the big issue is that she is still down there and could be dead!?” Surrie sighed, “I think she was dead the second she stepped a hoof into that place... I never believed that this would have a happy ending.” “Why did you go along with it then!?” “I wanted to be proved wrong... Or maybe I was a little obsessed myself. Celestia knows I'd love to see that thing finished... It also could have just been the fact I had nothing better to do tonight, I was gonna binge watch some Power Ponies while stuffing myself full of off brand Apple Acre's Ice Cream.” “Are you saying you don't care about her..?” Diamond was hurt. “I do... I just don't see how this could have been prevented... You know she would have gone by herself if we didn't show up.” “I...” Diamond hesitated, “I know.” “Aohh...” Holly gasped, jumping back in shivers as gunfire rattled violently in the distance. “Oh no! Oh no, oh no!” Holly ran in a few circles before deciding on what she had to do. “Okay, I have to go... Uh... Don't do anything!” She bolted away, bursting through the door and running away. “Hey! Let us out! We can help!” Surrie shouted at her as she ran by, swearing and punching the ground at Holly's swift exit. “How are we going to get out now?” Surrie flashed a spell with her horn, being stopped by the lock on her horn that accompanied the rest of her restraints. “I don't know, but all I know is that we have to get out there!” Diamond tried to struggle, his cuffs being too beefy for his strength. “Mecha, you’re an engineer, do you got any ideas?” She glanced over to her right where Mecha sat earlier. “Mecha..?” She had found that he was gone. “Mecha! Holy shit where di-” Her head blitzed around the room, finding Mecha on the other side of the room, noisily rummaging through the mini-fridge. “Mecha?” “Yea bo-” As his head rose to answer Surrie, he slammed the back of his skull against the top of the fridge. He then safely rose his head, rubbing his bruise. “Yeah boss?” “How did you get out? Actually, fuck it, just get me and Diamond out!” “Sure thin' boss.” He freed the two of them, the gunfire outside soon ending. “Alright, guys, we need to get out of here!” Surrie demanded. “No!” Diamond bit her tail as she went to gallop away. “We are staying and looking for Seeker.” “Are you crazy?!?” “If my girlfriend is, then probably, yeah.” He walked past her and went to the door calmly with a stride. “Fine, I better not get killed because of you.” She went to follow him as he strolled out of the door, looking over her shoulder at Mecha, who was back at the fridge. “MECHA!” “Yeah boss?” “What are you doing?” “Makin' a sammy.” “Get over here.” “If ya say so boss.” He scuttered over with a sandwich in his mouth. They sprinted off into the action. Cardinal flicked her blade out. The blood that soaked it flew away, leaving only a few drops as she retracted it back inside of her. She hopped off of the bloody corpse she stood on, looking out at the bodies flailed out in front of her. Some contained punctures from either her hoof blade or wings, some bullet holes. The rest were smoldered by the explosions from grenades. It was a complete and utter massacre, leaving every inch of snow drenched in blood. She still had a rifle around her neck, a stolen grenade belt, and a knife stuck in between the creases between her flank and stomach. All of her plates were heavily damaged, bent and scarred all over, as she moved her hinges gave off scrapes and sparks. She trotted with a slight limp in her step, just adding to the fear factor with the amount of gore she was covered in. There were still some survivors. Several of the guards had ditched their weaponry and huddled away in fear into the snow. Cardinal had chosen to spare them. Cardinal addressed them with a booming voice. “Why?” None of them responded, either too scared to speak up or trying to pretend that they were not there at all. “I meant no harm to you, so what was the use of all this pain? TELL ME!” she blared out, picking out one pony to pick on and steadily approach. Cardinal stomped toward a light green Pegasus with a soft red mane quivering in the snow, covered in other ponies’ blood. “TELL ME, WHAT HAVE I DONE TO YOU? WHY ATTACK ME?!” She shot her blade out down at the Pegasus's throat, stopping less than an inch before cutting into her. She simply begged, “P-p, please! I-I, I have a fianceé an-and two pups! Please, don't hurt me!” “THEN TELL ME!” “I-I didn't do anything! Please!” Cardinal took her knife away from her throat, controlling her rage with deep breaths. “Do you love your fianceé?” “Yes! I love him and he loves me! Please, were being married this weekend! Please just have mercy!” “Well I love somepony too. She was just obliterated in your gunfire. Now I can't take her out of here... I will be back, tomorrow, when Seeker wakes up again. If I see a single one of you when I return, not just will I kill you all again, I will make you suffer a death one thousand times slower and more painful. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!?” “Y-y-y yes!” “Good.” Cardinal walked over the Pegasus, going to the main gate. On her way, leaving her bloody hoofprints in the snow, she heard whispers come from behind a pile of loose building material. Eventually a pony standing up from behind, they were not like any of the guards, they did not have the armor or weapons. Instead it was a pastel blue unicorn in a winter jacket. She was wearing a stylish pair of perception glasses and had a short yellow mane. Cardinal stopped in her tracks, looking curiously at the trembling Unicorn fail to speak to her. “I know you...” “Surrie! Uh, my name is Surrie...” She shook, trying to crouch down out of sight. “Please... I just need to know where my friend is...” Surrie felt the painful regret in her, why would she ever stand up and speak to this monster, especially after witnessing all of the carnage she has left trailing behind her. “I heard you say her name and just...” It finally clicked for Cardinal. “Surrie! It's me! Cardinal!” Cardinal spoke with a hint of gladness again for a long time, “I understand if its a little hard to recognize me...” She wiped off some of the blood into the snow, trying to reveal her lovely yellow coat. “Oh, Starswirl the Bearded... That is you!” Surrie let herself loose as she laughed in delight, the idea of finally getting to speak to Cardinal in real life amazed her while at the same time trying her hardest to ignore the fact the pony she is speaking to was covered in gore and weaponry. “How did Seeker finish the transfer? I thought there was no power!” “She used her own love to power the facility. It was an incredible sacrifice on her part... Suffering for me, especially after everything I already put her through.” Surrie was being distracted by what seemed to be another pony hiding in the same place. Ignoring them, she asked, “Where is she now? Is she Ok?” “Yeah she is going to be fine, we have to come back to her tomorrow though.” “What? Is she not with you?” “Surrie, I said stop talking to it!” Diamond’s voice came from underneath Surrie. “Diamond, it’s ok, she isn't going to hurt us.” Surrie looked up at her, concerned greatly by the absolutely appalling amount of blood on her, “You’re not going to hurt us, right..?” “No, of course not. Although we should get going, I'll explain on the way.” Cardinal encouraged them to follow her as she moved on forward to the gates. “Surrie, we have to go find Seeker!” Diamond stood up now, trying to drag Surrie with him. “You can go off if you want to, but I have to go make sure that the robot that Seeker so valiantly risked her life for doesn't kill any more ponies as she wanders around Manehattan!” “You want to go with the murder machine? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Diamond gave a fearful glance in Cardinal's direction. “Those guards shot at her first. I'm not going to be an idiot and provoke her like that. Plus she knows me, we talked a few times over the chat when it was open.” Cardinal wondered if they thought she was deaf or not. “Fine, but I'm taking Mecha!” “No, I need him, Cardinal could use some repairs, or did you not notice her just murder twenty ponies?” “But I need him to find Seeker faster!” The two bickered as Cardinal mosied her way out, talking with another pony she recognized from the facility. “So you are the one who built this body?” “As I liv' an breath.” “Well I must condone you on your work, it is a very good adaptation.” “Yeah, I'm gud at wha' I do.” Diamond and Surrie sighed, nodded to each other and went their separate ways. Surrie caught up swiftly to the other two, keeping a good distance away from the gore covering Cardinal. They left the site, being rushed by Surrie to not be caught as they moved to Seeker’s car, the keys still in the ignition. They drove off, Surrie thinking of where they could possibly hide Cardinal, who was drenching the entire back of the car with blood. 8:24, Facility Elevator Entrance. A shadow formed as the sun rose upon the poor lost souls lying in the snow, being cleaned up by those who remained after a long mourning. Most of the guards sat together, looking upon the now piled up bodies of their lost friends. Sitting with them was Diamond, also in mourning. Tears in their eyes had been dried for hours, hearts on their sleeves as they shared in each other's sorrow. Soon their heads all turned up as more ponies arrived, they stood up with a respectful salute as Princess Twilight Sparkle trotted up with her personal guard who were in shock at the scene in front of them. Twilight moved up to the door of the elevator, looking in with a blank expression in her face. After a few moments she shut her eyes, looking as if she was just stabbed in the heart. “Can somepony please explain...” Twilight spoke, turning to the group of mourners. A unicorn walked up and keeled in front of the princess, “My Princess, during the night we caught several ponies attempting to sneak into the facility. We were told during the interrogations that there was one pony that had gotten down into the facility. We sent out a squad to capture the infiltrator but...” His face contracted, holding back further tears, “But they never came back... What did, it... It wasn't living.” Twilight looked down at him with great sadness, “Did you learn the name of the assailant..?” She stuttered, hoping. “Princess, they said her name was Seeker.” Twilight refused to believe her ears, getting frustrated as she knew the truth. Her eyes clenched as her chest fluctuated with short breaths. “What... What did such a thing do to my daughter..?” She stared into the guards eyes, looking right through him. “I-it... It was... A machine,” he muttered, trying to make himself small to shield himself from Twilight's wrath. “FFFAAAGGHHH...” Twilight leaned over to the side of the elevator door, lifting a leg and punching the beam with all of her strength, the doorway bending inward several inches. She began taking deep breaths to calm herself, “Dismissed...” The guard excused himself and backed away, returning to his seat. Twilight glanced as the guard left her side, noticing the blue unicorn standing behind, waiting for the Princess's attention. “What?” she spat out, yanking her hoof from the indent in the door. “My Princess.” He gave a bow, “I know that things may be looking grim, but your daughter, she wasn't up here. She could still be down in the facility, she could still be alive.” Diamond was almost trying to convince himself. Twilight replied to him in an almost insulting tone, “I don't know who my daughter is to you, but if you'd bother to look, she is indeed here.” She motioned to inside the elevator. Diamond shifted over to look into the elector, unrecognizable gore filling every inch of floor. “I...” He had not seen whatever the Princess was trying to show him. Twilight turned her head away as her horn lit up, levitating up a patch of skin. Diamond took a closer look, seeing Seeker’s cutie mark underneath the blood. “SEEKER!” He dropped to his knees, staring at the floor with disbelief. “She was a lovely girl... Her heart was in the right place, just... Not her head.” Twilight said with a sigh before picking herself back up and walking out to address her guard. “Alright, you know what to do. Clean it all up, all the blood washed and bodies down the elevator then burned. The facility is being cemented tomorrow.” She spoke with her head up high, maintaining her emotions. “But... But you can't just take the bodies!” One guard hopped up, hurt by what she had commanded. “They need to be buried, the families need to organize funerals!” “No, Private, they don't.” Twilight shut him down with a harsh stare. “They can't have the bodies because these brave stallions and mares died in the badlands after being attacked and eaten by a tribe of wild dragons. That is what is going to be written on their death certificate and it is what you will be telling others if they ask. Do you understand, Private?” They nodded, and after being excused, they galloped to a body lying in the snow, a plastic sheet used to cover materials from rain covered the bodies for respect. The pony began saying their final goodbye's. She turned to her personal set of guards. “Load the bodies into the elevator, I think those privates have had to deal with enough today.” Her troops saluted her and began lifting corpses from their piled line and carrying them to the elevator. “Uh, Princess? There still a living pony in here,” said a guard as he lowered a body down. It rattled the lift. Twilight turned to look. They were right. A young green Pegasus sat at the back wall of the large elevator, bathing in shadows and pain. She sat directly beside the dead Pegasus stuck to the wall of the elevator by the impaled spear going through his torso. She sat looking down between her hooves, fidgeting with a diamond encrusted wing bracelet, a common engagement item for Pegasi. Twilight must have mistook her for another dead body when she first glanced in. She softly whispered back to the Princess now alert to her. “Don't worry... I'm no living pony...” She shifted her eyes at the guard, “I'm staying with here, with Twist... Don't let me get in the way of your body burning...” Twilight gently stepped towards her, getting into the elevator. “Private, what is your name?” She asked tenderly. “Holly Fox.” “Holly, is that Twist..?” She referred to the body with a spear sticking out of it, frozen stiff with fear and pain in his face. Holly sighed. “Yeah.” “Well, Private Holly, do you believe Twist would want you to stay here and die? I doubt he would want this for you.” She knelt down to her eye level, a motherly tone. “Nah... He would tell me I'm overreacting...” She gave a dead and empty chuckle. “He'd say that all the time.” “Would you like to follow me out of the elevator? We can talk about this. I can help you.” “Can you bring back the dead?” Holly turned her head up at the Princess, challenging her. “No Holly, no one can raise the dead.” “Then you can't help me.” She turned away again. Twilight realized she wasn't going to talk her out of here. “Alright Holly, have it your way.” Twilight walked out of the elevator, and with a quick flash of her horn Holly's head fell into a deep coma-like sleep. “Drag her out, continue with the bodies.” “Yes, your highness,” the guards replied, doing as she said. It took half an hour or so, but before long, all of the ''evidence'' was stuck inside the elevator and drenched in some gasoline. The elevator cord was then cut, it being let down by a few unicorns to prevent an earthquake as it reached the bottom. Then a burning splint was dropped down, igniting the entire elevator into thunderous flames at the bottom of the shaft. The doors were sealed air tight, the blood cleaned and damages repaired in the buildings. Twilight then commanded for all of the Security tapes to be stockpiled and reviewed. She demanded to know exactly what the machine that had killed her daughter and guards looked like. She wanted it found and executed before the public had caught wind of the situation. She denied any chance of this getting out, it could ruin her reputation, maybe even her position as Princess. Who knows what Celestia would do to Twilight if she ever found out. Surrie took a few breaths, relieved. She turned on the tap, splashing some water on her face. She rested for a moment before gazing up at the mirror, back at herself. “What have you gotten yourself into...” She whispered at the mirror, holding herself upright with her fore-hooves at each side of the sink. The bathroom she was in was quite gritty, slimy, and dark. The walls were chipping away at the tiling, moss growing in between the cracks. The pylon lights flickered occasionally, emitting an annoying constant buzz. The mess in the toilet created a horrid stench. Surrie had finished her business and gotten her thoughts together, she hopped off from the sink and trotted out of the door, giving a shifty glance at the camera stuck up in the corner above the door. “Hey Mecha, what's up with the camera in your bathroom?” she asked during her re-entrance into the workshop. “Se'urity,” he said, muffled under his welding mask and barely heard over the searing of metal going on with the blowtorch he held. “Security of what? Your worried someone will steal the soap dispenser?” She strode over to the table Mecha was working at, hopping over the small trench in the car ramp used for repairs. She was in the back of Mecha's repair service, their car parked in the back after being washed along with Cardinal with Mecha's high power hose. The garage door still open, a light breeze flowing through the room. “Don' you judge me,” he said, stopping the the gas in his torch. Then he grabbed another plate from a pile sitting beside him on the table and pressed it against Cardinal's side, who was lying on her stomach on the table. Cardinal was focusing on what looked like an ongoing chess game under her muzzle. She finally caught a smile and nudged a piece forward with the tip of her nose. “Your turn.” She said, looking at the pony relighting his blowtorch to smolder on a replacement panel for her chassis. He gave a quick glance at the board, noticing the piece she had moved. “Ain't work like that, told ya, pri'cess only moves one swaure.” “Fine.” She moved the piece back, making a different move. “Okay, now your turn.” Finally lighting the blowtorch he leaned over, extending the torch to the wooden chess board and sliding a piece on his side out, he then returned to his work, barely giving a look at the board. “Chseckmate.” “What? Wait...” Cardinal struggled to understand, pointing her hoof around at the board trying to make sense of it. Mecha just chuckled with a slight wheeze as his flame hit the metal, it beginning to smolder instantly. “Still trying to teach her chess?” Seeker said, leaning against the large work space, sipping on a levitating cup of coffee that has been cooling for a while. “Yup.” He spoke underneath his mask. “It doesn't help that he’s a lot better than me.” Cardinal said grumpily. Surrie trotted over and around to face Cardinal and looked down at the chess board in front of her. “You’re a computer. How can't you beat him? Just turn your difficulty setting or something.” “My thoughts are much closer to that of a pony than a computer, Surrie. I'm not as good at these arithmetical problems as you would believe.” Cardinal lifted her head up from the board, “Also, he is really good.” Surrie looked at the detailing in Cardinals face, giving her some sense of pride, being part of creating something like this. She noticed a spec of blood still stuck underneath one of her face plates causing Surrie to gag slightly. “Um... You got a little something...” She pointed out on her own face to guide Cardinal. She scrubbed into the crack, the blood being cleaned out. “Sorry, I know how it can be a little gross.” “Don't worry, I just don't like blood to much. I'm just glad we got you mostly washed up after that... mess.” She shook her head. “I know you had to defend yourself, although what you did was a bit much.” She recoiled at the memories of watching Cardinal rip ponies limb from limb. “I am sorry you witnessed that, it must have been quite scary.” “Yeah, you can say that.” She took another sip. “Aynn... Dun!” Raising his mask, Mecha turned down his torch, looking at his final work. “It doesn't match the paint job.” Surrie playfully mocked him, looking at the otherwise perfect, silver-in-colour plating covering her torso and a few plates on her face and legs. “I ain' stared paintin' yet.” He threw off his equipment, stretching his legs after a fine job done. “Before you paint me, one more rematch!” Cardinal rotated herself to face him while still laying on the counter space, sliding the chess board in between the two of them. “Ya sure ther' lil’ filly? Ain't ya had enouf?” He sat back, a cheeky smile behind his ruffled beard. “I'm going to beat you one day!” Cardinal did sound like a young filly with the enthusiasm for all the new things she keeps discovering. “Alrighty, wanna 'ave whites or blues?” Caridnal pointed at the princess of the white side, a yellow sun with an orange blaze around it at the pieces flanks. “Your turn,” he said, waiting for her. Surrie went off and sat on a couch loose in the room, tapping away on her phone. After a few moves on the board passed, a distorted buzz came from a speaker atop the door leading to the reception. Surrie's head flew up. “You normally get customers at this time?” Mecha turned away from his intense battle with Cardinal, holding a hoof over his dark blue princess piece, two small moons at its flanks. “Sometimes, do you mind?” “I got it, continue your match. It might be Seeker too, if she made it out like Cardinal says, and then finally got my text.” Surrie hoisted herself up, traveling to the door, going down a small, open hall that lead deep into the reception. She cracked it open before jumping back and shutting the door with a bang. “It’s the royal guard.” She spoke back to them. “Wha? But, why? They don’ know where we are!” “You live here, you work here. It's only logical that they would search here. The question is, what do we do?” She stuck at the door, holding a leg against it to make sure it wouldn't open. “Hello? Anypony there?” A voice came from out the door. “Shit, they're coming!” Surrie bolted down to where Mecha and Cardinal were. “What do we do!” She said to Mecha, distracting him. “We've got to hide Cardinal!” She continued. “Well I dunno... Uh... I think it’s...” “Checkmate!” Cardinal shouted out, hopping up to her hooves at the delight. “Wha?” Mecha turned back to the game. “Thats checkmate, right?” she asked, unbeknownst to the situation. “Oh gosh darnit.” Mecha stood out of his chair, seeing his mistake that ultimately lead to his downfall. “GUYS! There are more urgent matters at hoof!” Surrie scolded them. “Alright, Cardinal get down there.” He nodded toward the ditch in the cement, a slit into the ground used to crawl under a car and work on it from below. She hesitated but seeing their serious expressions she hopped down and did as she was told, snugly fitting in the hole. Mecha turned to Surrie, “Stall 'em out. I'll hide Cardi.” “Alright.” She sprinted back up to the door, seeing it open to reveal two Royal Guards in full uniform trotting towards her, A beefy Earth Pony in the front and a Unicorn in the back. She spread out her forelegs in a cross, pressing against the walls of the hall, preventing their passage. “Hey...” “Surreal Step?” She cracked an awkward smile. “Yes...” “You’re under arrest.” The front pony stared her down, as if he expected her to just give herself over. “F-for what could the reason be... For this, officer?” She tried. He gave her a blank stare, his friend taking out hoof cuffs and a horn lock. “Wait, give me a second!” she said as they grabbed her and pinned her to the floor, strapping her down. While one brought her out of the mechanic's garage, taking her out to the front, the other strutted into the room, finally seeing the pony who just reversed into the garage, going a bit to far and overextended on the ramp. “Excuse me, I am Captain Lionheart Charge of the Royal Guard, please step out of the vehicle.” He trotted up to the side of the car. Mecha popped the door open. “Howya doin'?” “Mecha Machine?” “Thas me.” “You’re under arrest, please don't make this any more difficult than it needs to be.” “Alright.” He hopped out, presenting his legs to be cuffed. Which they were, and then he was quickly escorted out, the Unicorn Guard taking Mecha from the Captian's clutches. Once they reached the outside, he joined up with Surrie, being held against the front desk. The Unicorn mare asked Mecha a question, “You were caught on camera fleeing with the robot that murdered our Ponies. Do you happen to know the whereabouts of the robot? I would like to remind you that lying to a Royal Guard on duty could lead to capital punishment.” “I told you, she ran o-” Surrie tried to speak, but had her head smacked down against the marble countertop by the Unicorn’s magic. “I wasn't talking to you.” She turned back to Mecha, “Well?” “I don' know where no dam robaw is, defiantly ain't 'ere,” he said in a complaining manner. “I will be the judge of that.” She left the two at the counter, going down into the garage, the Captain soon coming out to guard the two of them. “What is she doing?” Surrie asked the Captain. “A quick scan of the building for tech, if the robot is here, we will know.” They both gulped audibly. In the garage, the Unicorn guard strolled around. She had casted a spell that made her eyes sparkle as she searched around the room. The first thing to jump out at her was the car, but after further inspection by opening the hood of the car, she decided the engine was giving off the signal. The rest of her search was uneventful. She returned to the Captain. “It’s clear. They might be telling the truth.” “So you're letting us go?” “Heavens, no.” The Captain lifted Surrie off the table, bringing her outside to where they had a detaining vehicle parked at the sidewalk. Mecha was made to follow. Cardinal was now underneath a car, alone. She sighed.
Admire... “My name is Desync. I am a computer and robotics engineer at Link incorporated.” ... “Ooh, how did I feel? When? When I first met her or when I found out she is for real?” ... “Well, at first I was just confused... Then enthralled. I wanted to ask her so many questions, shame that she left like that... And after... I couldn't believe my ears. Synthetic emotion? I thought it was impossible, but hey, look where we are now, am I right?” -x- ... “Officer Jade from the Manehattan Police Force.” ... “Yes that is true, Officer Que did initially stop her because of her attire resembling that of a Zebra.” ... “That is most likely why he didn't want to be here. I have not spoken to him personally. I would like to add that even though there is a clear racist ideology in the police, most of us are against it and we are trying. It's just hard. There aren't many Zebras in Manehattan, after all.” ... “I was just coming over because I and a few others saw some commotion, went to check it out, and before we knew it... She was running into us. Of course I've watched all the videos online and... It's kind of strange. Looking back and now knowing what she was, it made me question a few things.” -x- ... “Bark Button, mother of Bun Button.” ... “It was... Well I was shocked, to be honest. Also disappointed, obviously... I would have thought I raised my daughter better than to mess with... A robot. I made sure to teach her a lesson after I found out. She won't be getting in trouble like that anymore.” ... “I can only imagine how traumatizing it must have been for her, I got shook up when I saw that... Terrifying... Beast.” -x- ... “Surreal Step, I was one of the ponies responsible for... Cardinal...” ... “Nopony could have predicted what would happen. Seeker couldn't, I couldn't... Diamond couldn't.” ... “No I don't... Everypony who died, there was a reason, Seeker died for what she believed in... Diamond... For bad choices...” “I really do miss them both.” Cardinal straightened her back against the pavement, raising all four legs up along with both wings and pressed them against the bottom of the vehicle. She thrusted her legs forward, lifting the car like a jack. She then launched it forward, it landing a few meters down the ramp, slumping out of the garage. Cardinal crawled out of the pit. The room was still. She wandered around for a moment, unsure of where she were to go next. Undoubtedly, they will be looking for her, and even if she stopped some, more would find her. Who knew when they would stop? Although she did have one thing on her agenda, and that was to find Seeker. The problem with that was she didn't exactly know where Seeker was. More accurately, she didn't know where the construction site was relative to her right now. She regretted not paying more attention as they left. Hoping to figure it out soon, she began searching the room for supplies for her travel. She immediately found her old weapons hidden in one of the many busted lockers scattered around. She was told earlier by Surrie that she shouldn't be seen with them in public, so she looked down at her rifle and grenade belt, thinking of any way to conceal them if she were to travel. Twisting her head back, she inspected her own body. She didn't exactly have any pockets. Once the thought crossed her mind, she witnessed as the panel on her left waist swung down, landing horizontal on its hinges as two cup holders slid out. Surprising herself, she then tried to retract it, and as she thought the words, it had done so, the panel lifting itself back up to its original space. She lifted up her grenade belt with a wing, hoisting it in the air as she plucked two of the explosives from their latches and brought them over to her side, extending the cup holder and placing both grenades inside their own slot. She shut the holder and lifted up the rifle. Realizing it was far too bulky to carry around in stealth, she threw it back. Returning to her search, she made her way to Mecha's work space. It was riddled with useless bits and bobs, some loose pistons here, some bolts over there, without any real organization. Upon further investigation, she had found several of what she would call useful items. She lifted the blowtorch, putting the gas tank underneath her right wing, the torch wrapping around the stem of her wing. Also, she found a tool pouch that she draped over her shoulder, now having several wrenches and hammers at her disposal. Lastly, she stared at the chessboard for only a few seconds before biting down on the white princess piece and placing it in her pouch. Leaving the desk, she explored the rest of the room. Searching some of the lockers, she found a map of Manehattan. Satisfied with her haul, she treaded carefully up to the reception door, slightly nudging it open and poking an eye through. She did not see anypony, or any signs of others. She pressed the door the rest of the way, revealing the lobby. It was a very short room, almost as much space behind the counter as there was for customers. The walls were decently maintained, possibly needing a paint job as the red bricks poked out from behind the black coat in patches. The entrance of the store was a large glass double door, giving full view of the street outside. Before setting out, she went behind the counter, rolling out the map. She inspected it thoroughly, trying to find out where she could possibly be. Her eyes jumped up as she heard a bell jingle from the door as it was pushed open and a pony entered. The pony was a pale peach-coated stallion. He had neither horn nor wings, although he bore a strange back left leg. It looked entirely metal. Although not as pristine as Cardinal’s body, the prosthetic still was quite a technological marvel. The plating was clean and covered almost all the frame and wire guts beneath. The pony trotted in casually, acting like he was familiar with his surroundings. He didn't have any other clothing, his cutie mark being a green line of ones and zeros. His mane was gelled back, a dark navy colour with short cut. As he strolled in, he glanced up at the counter. “Hey, Mecha, the leg's...” He stopped as he reached the counter, putting a leg lengthways onto the counter before stopping in his tracks and trying to figure out what was in front of him. “Hi,” Cardinal said, also feeling the awkward tension between them. Her robotic, toneless voice didn't help either. The pony recoiled at seeing Cardinal speak. His mouth quivered, finding it hard to form his words. Cardinal also became instantly self conscious. A great embarrassment fell over her. She never spoke to a pony that hadn't known her prior. What was this pony going to think of her? He finally mustered up a sentence. “Y-yy you’re a robot!” He outstretched a hoof to point at her in amazement. Cardinal stepped back, her metal tail stopping further movement as she butted up against the wall. Realizing that there was no hiding from this, she spoke back to him, “Yeah... I am.” Her light feminine voice was extensively quiet in her fear. The pony's excitement was immediately overshadowed by his concern, “Hey, hey! Don't worry! I'm not going to hurt you...” Acting as if he owned the place he trotted around the counter to get a full view of her, “Your a beauty...” She continued to back off, moving down along the counter. She tried to keep him at bay, “Please, I-I have to leave...” “You stutter? Wow, the detail they must have put into making something so complicated. Say, what do you run on? T sharp?” The pony kept stepping closer, examining all of her movements. “I... I just... Can you please step away?” Cardinal said as she pressed against the corner, the pony a few steps away. “A need for personal space, fear... How are you simulating them so accurately? All my years in robotic studies I've never seen something so brilliant! Please, tell me who made you.” He pulled out a phone, unlocking it in his hoof. “I can't. Please, just leave me be!” Cardinal crawled over the counter, running to the door. She heard a few flashes of a camera behind her as she threw the two doors open. She turned back as they closed once more, seeing that the pony was trying to move after her, holding his hoof in the air trying to get her to stop. She pulled up a wrench and slid it down in between the two handles, locking them together as the pony on the other side pressed against the glass trying to open it. “Wait! Please, you can't lock me in here! Robots are meant to serve! You have to follow my orders! It’s part of the laws of robotics!” he said from behind the door. Cardinal stared at him in shock before quickly throwing her eyes around, seeing an alleyway a few shops down and several dozen ponies walking around. They seemed to not notice her yet, although it was only a matter of time. She sprinted down to the alley, getting a few odd looks but nopony curious enough to follow her. Slumping against a wall, Cardinal rested in the shadows. She could barely see anything in the alley, just enough light to make out the markings on the map as she spread it out once more. She began reading street names, eventually moving from mere thoughts into whispers. “Evening Glow Avenue.” A grizzly voice came from her side, she jumped in a frantic search for whoever spoke. Seeing a figure within legs reach lying on the ground. “This street is called Evening Glow, miss, if that is what you're looking for.” The shadowy pony stood up, looking at Cardinal now. Cardinal was also in the darkness, her crystal blue eyes the most visible thing about her. “Thanks...” She tried to accent her voice to hide its robotyness, leading to it sounding even more distorted. “You ok, miss? You sound like you've got a cold.” The pony stretched a little, giving the impression that they were just asleep. “I'm fine... Yes. Thank you for your assistance.” She scooped up her map, quizzically looking at the pony, wondering who they were. “Can I just ask one thing?” they said, clearing their throat with a few unhealthy coughs. “Yes?” Cardinal replied. “What are you doing in an alley like this in the morning?” “I was... Um... In need of a quiet place.” “Excuse me then, didn't mean to budge in on your quiet time.” Cardinal gave a look out to the street, noticing ponies casually strolling past. Fillies, colts, mares and stallions all going on with their lives, although not many looked like they were going to work. She felt safer here, and since this pony clearly hadn't realized they were speaking to a machine, she decided to wait here, until things settled down at the very least. She sat back down against the wall, “I don't mind, I could use some company.” “I'd love some company too, although you should be more careful when walking into alleys, streets ain't as safe nowadays.” “I can handle myself,” Cardinal replied, confident in her fighting ability. “A young mare like you? I mean, I haven't got a good look at ya, but I can tell you there are some real rough ponies out there willing to do anything for a few bits.” The pony lifted up a bottle and drank from it, the popping from sucking on glass was very distinct. “Is it really that bad?” Cardinal was surprised. “Oh yeah, things are a real mess. All ponies talk about now is the climate crisis or the whole Zebrarian war, they all forget about the homeless, jobless, street junkies plaguing every city.” “Are you also..?” “Homeless? Unless you count this here alleyway as a home, then yup.” “What is your name?” Cardinal kept scooting closer to him. “Scotch.” He took a large gulp of his mysterious drink. “Yours?” “Cardinal.” “Well, it's lovely to meet you Cardinal.” He gave her his hoof, she shook it gently. “Your hooves are really cold. You sure you’re ok? You’re not here looking for a fix, right? Cause I ain't selling anymore.” “No, of course not, I...” Cardinal looked down at herself, feeling her cold metal shell. “I just have a cold...” “Good, I've been busted before and I can't afford to go back to prison.” He emptied his bottle and threw it at the large bin. It landed with a glass-smashing crunch. He burped. “So if you’re not a junkie, and as far as I can tell you don't live out on the streets. What do you do? ” “I'm unemployed... I guess. I don't really have a job, but I'm not homeless, well maybe right now I am, but there is this pony, her name is Seeker, once I find her, then I think she has an apartment. I'm pretty sure we are going to live together there.” She imagined her future, it seemed so close to reality, yet too far, with a thousand hidden obstacles she couldn't think of. “That's a real situation you seem to be in, hope you find this friend of yours.” “She's a bit more than a friend...” “In love? Heh, I had a sweetheart myself once.” Scotch extended his hoof out to pat Cardinal on the back. “We were closer than two raccoons in a trash can.” “Where are they now?” Cardinal asked him. “Car crash, may her soul rest in peace.” “That is unfortunate...” “You’re telling me, lost my job soon after, then couldn't afford rent. Found myself in this here alley. Haven't left since.” He laughed to himself, keeping his spirits up. “But that's enough about me. Say, where are ya headed?” “To find Seeker. We were in an old construction site, that's where she should be still.” “The skyscraper they started building two years ago and never bothered to finish?” “Yes? I think so, yeah.” “Here.” He pulled himself up, leaning over the map, and he pointed out a small untitled area deep in the outskirts, far from her current position. She took a marker out of her pouch and drew a small circle around the area he pointed at, “Thank you, sir! I guess I should get going.” “You should. I'll be seeing you.” He pulled another drink from somewhere, placing it in his teeth and then bursting it open with a fizzy pop. Cardinal stood up, rolled up map in wing. “Hey, wait... Here, take this.” Scotch lifted something up, a large cloth that he put into Cardinal's hooves. “Your blanket?” “You're cold and I don't particularly need it, I got the drink to keep me warm.” “Thank you.” She wrapped the thin brown sheet around her, tying a small knot at her chest to make a robe covering practically all of her body. “See you too, Scotch.” Cardinal trotted down the street, full cloak covering her body and head. This turned some heads as she passed by, but nopony had stopped her yet, so that was an improvement. She wandered around the city in marvel at the buildings, the architecture, the lights, it was almost to much to take in at once. The sky was filled with glass columns piercing the clouds, the sun shone against the windows in the most gorgeous of streaks. Great screens as wide as houses hung at the centers of the towers, blaring flashy colours in order to promote their products in brilliantly bright ways. The city was alive, ponies moved in such a fluid motion, shopping, cleaning, learning. Like a circulatory system in a body, they gave the city its life, transforming it from a dull concrete labyrinth into a bursting ecosystem. Looking on the smaller scale, Cardinal soon realized she was in some form of shopping district, indicated by each unique store after the other. Every window had its own style and character, all small businesses with their own quirky names and items for sale. Clothing retailers, computer stores, animal shelters, all of it just lines up... How could she resist? It would only be a slight detour to see what was inside one of them. She chose a store that had a completely redesigned front, replacing the brick walling with wood, carved into a traditionally styled hut. It held a bright ornate sign at its door, ''The Dragon’s Fire''. The moment she entered, the atmosphere settled over her, with black-out curtains installed, the only lighting was the tens of candles sitting in tiny metal pots hanging from the ceiling. They emitted an orange glow that touched on every surface in the room. A comforting hint of fresh bread and burning essence filled the air, making Cardinal want to breath through her noise to enjoy the scent. The keep's counter lacked anypony behind it, supposedly on break. The rest of the shop was filled with beautifully crafted wooden display cases, lacking any protection glass every item was completely exposed. The cases were lined with jewelry, pocket watches and some other small gadgets like whistles. Cardinal felt a soft, cosy heat on her metal skin as she strolled through, viewing everything there was to be seen. “Like anything you see?” A gentle, worn voice coming from the back of the store. Cardinal jumped, turning over to the aged Unicorn standing behind the counter, hooves together. “Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't notice you there.” She shied away, lowering her head to make sure the blanket covered her face. She tried to keep her voice as low as she could, trying not to sturr up any conflict. “Please, don't worry. Have a look around, it's all good.” He had a pleasant smile, calming Cardinal. She did wish to continue exploring, but preferred to leave. “Thank you, sir, but I should be off.” She turned her back and went to the door, being stopped at the knob. “Don't want to keep her waiting, eh?” “Excuse me?” She looked back. “You’re in a rush, yes? You need to get back to your friend?” Cardinal was cautiously curious. “How did you know that?” “I enjoy being well informed, which leads me to asking, what is your name?” Staying on her end of the shop, she answered him, “Cardinal. Yours?” “Ponies simply call me The Dragon. Pleasure to meet you Cardinal.” He lifted a wooden panel at the right of the counter and strode over closer to her and bowed. He was a very tall Unicorn, his bright red skin was wrinkled heavily yet his golden eyes were comforting. He was wearing a fine silk cloak that cut off just before it were to touch the floor, only letting the tips of his hooves remain in sight. The cloak was a scarlet coloured work of art, golden dragons painted in brutal combat in an ancient Unicorn style. He motioned Cardinal over to him, looking down at some of his items. She made a few steps closer, making sure her face was still engulfed in her hood's shadow. Once Cardinal stood at his side, she inspected the golden, heart-shaped locket the pony was lifting by its long, shining interlocking chain. “I believe this would be something that interests you.” Cardinal stared at it, not seeing anything special about this locket. “What does it do?” “Ah, brilliant question.” He turned to Cardinal, looking past the darkness and deeply into her gently glowing eyes. “This, my child, is an artifact created a thousand years ago during the founding of Equestria. It was made by a Zeberian witch named Xiena and given to the pony tribes in exchange for her and her family’s freedom.” Floating it in between the two of them with a luminescent orange, he opened the locket. A small emerald heart, shaped in the gold, pulsed with magic. “Xiena told the ponies that it held the power of an entire forest inside. To activate it all you had to do is place the emerald heart close to your own.” Cardinal was drawn in by his tale, her mind exploring the idea of how such a thing could work. He shut the locket in a flash. The green wisps of magic were sucked right back inside. “Although, what she did not mention, for this heart to create new life, it had to take life from another source, meaning the pony who bore this artifact's heart would stop just as a cost of using it.” Without Cardinal's consent, the Unicorn dropped her hood for her with a spell, revealing her cold, mechanical flesh. “I do not see that being a big problem for you, Miss Cardinal.” He opened the chain, creating a hole which was than draped around Cardinal’s head, the locked dropping down to the hump of her chest. Cardinal, feeling extremely exposed, stepped away. “Please, don't freak out!” She let her voice return to full volume, its electronic grittiness obvious as she lifted a hoof up to shield herself. “Child, I have seen many things, and I can tell a living creature from a machine. You being the former, of course. Don't let what you are change the reality of who you are.” The wise smile he bore shifted to a scary delight. “Now, about payment.” “But I... I don't have any money... I can't pay for this.” She placed a hoof under the chain on her neck, dangling it up in an attempt to take off the locket from around her neck. “No, no no... You misunderstand, I do not require bits, the form of payment I desire is a little less... Conventional.” “Excuse me?” She took another step back. “Follow me,” he said, twisting around and returning to behind his counter. Cardinal swayed her head from side to side, unsettled. She begrudgingly went to the counter, not wanting to upset the pony who seemed to be friendly enough. He searched beneath his counter, pulling out a frail scroll, worn by the elements. “All I need is a signature.” He unfurled the scroll, revealing a long paragraph written in a language Cardinal had never seen before. The words were large and elegantly decorated, tall loops and compact turns were found in every letter. More dragon art was present at the edges, she was unable to discern whether they were in a fighting stance or a graceful dance. At the very end of the scroll there was a straight line, unassumingly where she was to sign. “What do the words say?” Cardinal turned up to the Unicorn. “Its ancient dragon script, written by the very first Dragon Lord's arcane adviser, Skewer the Adept. It simply means that by acquiring one of my trinkets you adopt the Oath of Dragons, an ancient decree of Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Honesty, Laughter and Magic.” He lifted up a pen, placing it on the counter under Cardinal’s muzzle. “What does that mean? I have to be kind?” Cardinal kept staring at the scroll, trying to gain a clue of what he meant. “Those of course are a rough translation, the words don't mean too much themselves. The Dragon Oath was born generations ago, when dragons first began developing culture. This was years before Ponies are believed to have first lived. The Ancient Dragons were said to be the first race to exist, and before they became corrupted by Greed they were an honorable race, they were brought up as the children of the world, they were there to protect it. Although, after many years as the dragon population grew, they began having to hunt more animals, occupy more space and destroy more of the worlds plant life to simply survive.” He turned over the scroll to face him, preparing to read it out for her. “That is when the first Dragon Lord was anointed, Rapture the Healer, and he enforced every dragon to live by this code. Kindness, or as it would be said in Ancient, Gnilaeh, is to cherish the world, be gentle towards all other life and only take what you need. Loyalty, or Yrevarb, was to always stick close to one's kind and be prepared to defend them and your home with your life. Generosity, or Ytuaeb, is to put the need of the world and others in front of your own. Honesty, or Htgnerts, to be just, always be righteous and punish those who deserve it while protecting those who do not. Laughter, or Epoh. To always look to the future with joy, create only happiness, and push past darkness and evil. Finally, there is Magic, or Yrecros. To use the gifts you have been given for good, the magic that gives you agility, wisdom and brawn is there to be the world's shield, not your own sword.” Cardinal was then re-given the scroll. “It is a powerful code to live by,” the pony concluded. She agreed, although curious about the Unicorn’s own intentions. “Why do you do this? Give ponies gifts and in exchange, make them live by these rules?” “Someone needs to. After the dragons fell apart all those thousands of years ago, us ponies were created to be the new guardians of the realm. My family was given this knowledge by one of the few ancient dragon guardians that remained long before the founding of Equestria. We've been passing down the Oath since, trying to ensure we as a race do not make the same mistakes the Dragons did by falling to Greed and Hate.” Cardinal bit down on the pen, lifting the but of it into the air and letting the tip press against the paper. She continued to talk through her speaker as she signed the contract, “Has it been working?” “Sadly, even with the incentive that life provides, very few ponies have the world's health in mind these days. Twilight Sparkle, the princess who based all of her teachings from these principles doesn't even follow them to heart... Perhaps that is why she was punished, by losing she who not only held her heart, but held the key to reshaping the world's soul as well.” Cardinal finished writing her name in perfect block writing, she dropped the pen and turned up to the Unicorn. Cardinal listened to his hypothesis with a hint of fear, “Who did she lose?” Although as her head lifted she saw no sight of the pony. Leaning over the counter, she found no trace of him. She jerked backward from the counter suddenly as the scroll she was hovering over had caught ablaze. She watched it as the flames disintegrated the paper to ash. Rotating around the store, she still could not see him, and after a few minutes of searching in bewilderment, she decided to lift her hood once more and exit the store. As she reached for the doorknob, her eyes were drawn down her chest onto the locket, it reflected her blue eyes right back at her. She let a wing out from the front of her cloak to lift the locket up, eventually prying it open. As it flung open the green magic flew out and surrounded her entire body. Glowing magic fog shot around her in streaks. Her vision became blurry as her head began drifting down in a weary sleep, just before she would have fallen to the ground, she pushed herself to shut the locket once more with her feathers. She shook her head, instantly regaining her clarity. She turned from side to side, noticing that the wood of the door actually sprouted leaves and vines began draping all over every surface around her. The floor was covered in moss and slices of grass stuck out in between the cracks in the floor. Amazed by the power this locket held, she trotted out of the door in awe. Cardinal continued down the pathway, her confidence greatly boosted in light of recent events. She had already traveled a good halfway of her journey back to the site. Her travels have been quite uninterrupted. Apparently, walking around in a dirty old rag for a cloak and wearing a golden heart-shaped locket around your neck doesn't incite much intrigue as it does sidestepping. The worst that happened was somepony muttered “fucking Zebras...” as they walked by, which made Cardinal wonder why they would assume she was a Zebra. As the quality of architecture fell with every block she passed, what were once elegant towers faded off into shabby brick homes. She found herself a new type of building in her path. The structure stuck out like a disgusted tongue, The bright screens and banners covering every exterior wall of the large complex were a familiar sight, yet they felt out of place in the housing district she wandered through. Crossing the road, she turned to walk through the building, which had a large court cutting right through to the other side of the block that this giant inhabited. As she strolled under the large ''Mall'' sign, covering the entire head of the entrance, she was surprised to see the amount of ponies there were here. Hundreds, if not thousands of ponies trotted around with pleasurable smiles. Some of them sat in one of the many tables scattered outside restaurants, enjoying a variety of dining options this place seemed to provide. Others went around with many bags, filled to the brim with items of clothing, technology, and other comforts of that nature. The atmosphere was almost frightening by the sheer population of this place, as Cardinal moved forward her path was cut off a few times by ponies rushing every which way, cause her to retreat a few steps each time. Feeling it wise to go around the mall instead of through it, Cardinal turned heel and trotted back the way she came, noticing that she seemed to have drawn the attention of the crowds as many pairs of eyes followed her. Mostly faces of oddity. Cardinal was out of place, at least more than usual that is. As she was about to make it out from underneath the stylized arch that held up the mall sign, she was approached by a pony in a blue uniform, a glistening badge prominently sticking out of his chest. “Sorry, there, would you mind dropping the hood?” He blocked her path, speaking firmly. Cardinal took a step to his side. He followed her in the movement, refusing to let her pass. Cardinal barely breached a whisper, “I'd... I'd rather not...” The pony spoke up in almost a threatening tone. “Miss, if you'd kindly show me your face before I am forced to remove your hood myself?” “Please, you don't want to...” The Earth Pony Officer reached over Cardinal's shoulders to her hood before she could stop him, “Have it your way, Zebr... A?” Pulling her hood down the guard saw her face clearly, with all of its robotic features. He gasped, lost for words. Cardinal fell back instinctively, turning her head around to see the many witnesses scramble on the floor in search of their jaws at the sight of a purely mechanical pony where they expected a dirty Zebra. Cardinal threw her hood back upon her, looking desperately for a way out, the way she was moving was now filled with ponies trying to get a closer look at her to confirm that their eyes weren't deceiving them. The Officer formed a sentence, “What are you..?” Cardinal watched as she became surrounded by a hundred little cameras being brought up and pointed at her, getting slowly closer. “Please, let me go!” she pleaded to the deafened crowd. The officer had closed in on her as she spun around in search for an exit, he bit down at the center of the cloak, shooting his head back as if he was trying to swipe a dining cloth from underneath some china. Cardinal felt her sheet torn off of her like a layer of skin, revealing her true insides as a wave of gasps moved across the clear circle, now fully fledged around Cardinal. Panicking, Cardinal rushed into the crowd in an attempt to break out, seeing no success as she was met with an unmoving wall of amazed ponies. The mob began shouting at her as she cowered back into the eye of the storm, terrified of the others. She heard them say words such as "Robot" or "Machine", some ponies even going so far as to insult her in her peril with a "freak!" and a "monster!" heard every few moments. Cardinal couldn't sweat, which was a pain for her as she felt her skin boil in embarrassment and pressure, the weight of a hundred souls crushing her as her sight was filled with nothing more than phone cameras. “Please! Just leave me be!” She squirmed as nopony listened to her plea. The officer even brought out hoofcuffs and approached her. As the pony went to restrain Cardinal, she threw him off of her, launching him back into the crowd moaning in pain. In a burning rage she went to scream, two small hatches flipped open at both sides of her neck, two black speakers sliding out amplifying her voice to a ground shaking tremble. “I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!” She twisted her back to the officer. Seeing the crowd recoil in fear, she bolted through them, throwing some ponies down to the center with painful force. Dashing down the mall, she gained the attention of everypony in sight, looking on as she galloped past. Keeping her eyes up, she saw as several more ponies in police uniforms ran in front of her path, shouting at her to halt. Cardinal continued, determination and anger coursing through her as she continued her charge. A unicorn officer in the group watched as Cardinal persisted toward them, leaving her to cast a spell. She formed a shield in front of her and her comrades as Cardinal came into the range of a few meters. Cardinal threw out her wings and as she came seconds from crashing into the force field, she thrusted herself up and into the air on her last step. Spreading her wings with the feathers interlocking she glided over top them, re-landing with a crater under each hoof as she hit the pavement, continuing her gallop she found herself on the other side, leaving from an opening almost identically mirrored from where she first entered, the sign to her back as she ran across the street, causing cars to brake sharply at her surprise sprint through the street. She found herself running into a housing complex, a small gate at the side gave way quickly against her strength and she proceeded into the garden of this run-down apartment building. Finding herself in a relatively secluded area, she let herself fall down against the backyard fence, next to a small shed. She breathed in and out, relieved. The chilly air crisply tingled as it ran down her throat, letting herself cool off. Resting her head back, she looked up at the sun, moving ever so closer to the midday mark. She wondered whether or not she was running out of time, when she died it was morning what she woke up again. That could mean Seeker has been already awake for a few hours, would she still be there? Waiting for her? What if she wandered off? That would mean all of this stress would be for nothing. On the other hoof, Diamond was there, maybe he told Seeker that she was returning and to wait? But if Diam- “Hi.” Cardinal's thoughts crashed back into the earth as she turned her sight down from the sun to look at the little filly standing in front of her. She was an Earth Pony, barely the height of Cardinal’s outstretched leg. Her coat was a light magenta, bringing out her deep pink eyes. She had a short-cut yellow mane which was messy and ruffled to the extreme, just like her tail. Her face was lit with excitement and wonder at the strange pony she stared at, bright-eyed. “Are you ok?” she spoke very lively, giddy, even when asking Cardinal if she wasn't hurt. Cardinal seemed to be stuck for words, just darting her eyes around, inspecting the filly. “Can you talk?” The child leaned over and booped Cardinal’s muzzle with her tiny hoof. “Hello?” Cardinal said in a daze, worn down already by today's events. “You talk!” She hopped up and down and ran a few circles, letting Cardinal notice the filly's lack of a cutie mark. “My name is Bun, whats yours?” The filly was not reacting to Cardinal like other normal ponies, she caused a smile to build up with a surge of delight as this filly excitedly skipped around in front of her. “I am Cardinal, hello Bun.” “Ooo! Ooo! Will you be my friend Cardie? Will you?” The filly grabbed Cardinal's right hoof, yanking it up to assist her in standing back up. She could use a break before returning to her journey, especially now that the city was most likely searching for her. “Sure, Bun. I'll be your friend.” Cardinal lifted her tired steel bones up, towering over the little child. The filly gaped at her, amazed by Cardinal's raw size. “You're really tall! I never had a tall friend like you.” “I've never had a small friend like you.” Cardinal couldn't help but grinning, it was adorable. “Let me intro'uce you to my other friends!” She went to lift Cardinal's hoof, who let her do so as she began leading Cardinal closer to the building. The red bricks of the back wall were indented with a few windows. The paint from the white wooden frames was peeled off in parts and a large glass sliding door was stuck opposite. At the bottom of the short steps from the door to the grass, there was a toy tea party set up. The bright pink table had four matching plastic cups on each cardinal direction, for some reason missing a kettle. On one seat, there was a toy about half the size of the filly, it was a light blue, winged action figure with a rainbow mane, it was also covered in muck and the paint was chipped. It seemed to have movable limbs, tiny joints in its legs all together bearing a surprising amount of resemblance to Cardinal's own body. Cardinal realized that the filly might actually think she is simply a toy, a very tall one that is. The other two seats on the left and right of Cardinal were empty, most likely for Bun and herself. When she reached the table, she finally saw who was held behind the fourth chair: a bunny. A fluffy white bunny plush toy, barely sitting as its heavy head veered over to her right causing it to slump. It was also dirty, its white fur dulled into a sickly grey with some mud sprinkled in between its fur. “You sit there.” The filly pointed to the other seat opposite to her own as she sat down. Cardinal did as she was told, having to bend her legs in such a steep angle it would break the legs of any pony of flesh and blood. Although she did manage to place her rump on the seat, her tail got stuck into the dirt and her legs really were the ones carrying her weight as it would crush the poor little stool. She leaned forward to look into her empty, tiny, fake, pink teacup on a tiny, fake, pink plate. “This is Rainbow Dash!” She gestured towards the figurine. “She is the most awesomest pony and she came from Cloudsdale just to be here!” Bun beamed with joy, feeling truly graced by the presence of the “awesomest” pony. Moving onto her second friend, “And this is Rob. He is a rabbit and my very very best friend!” Cardinal smirked, giving a nod to both guests. “It's lovely to meet you both.” Bun leaned over the table to the figures side, putting a hoof at the side of her mouth to hide it from Cardinal as she spoke in an impression, “Lovely to meet you to Cardie!” She quickly flipped over to the rabbits side, putting on yet another voice. “Yea! Thank you for joining us!” This made Cardinal laugh, the filly returned to her seat. “Please, drink.” Cardinal glanced her eyes back to the still empty cup, then back at the filly. Bun spoke to her as she lifted up her teacup. “Your tea is already poured. That is where foxy sat and he was naughty so he has to sit in the corner.” Bun pointed over to where the fence met the building, and surely enough a fox plushie sat facing towards the corner on the steps, looking as worn as the others. Cardinal turned back to the table, confused on the tea situation. The filly spotted this and began peering over each of her shoulders as if somepony was watching, she lifted herself over the table to whisper to Cardinal, trying to make sure the other guests did not hear her. “It’s pretend tea.” She sat down giggling, doing her best to sip the pretend tea as realistically as she could. Cardinal took out her right wing, taking the tip of her longest blade and placing it into the handle of the cup, lifting it up to her mouth where she pretended to drink it. They laughed together at the ridiculousness of the situation. It was a few silly moments before a voice came from inside the house. “Bun, what are you doing out there, filly?” Buns face turned to fear. “Oh, no, mom’s mad again.” “What, why? What's wrong?” Cardinal placed down the tea. “She doesn't like when I play tea party...” A sudden shock of realization slammed into her. “Quick! You have to hide! Mommy will take you away!” She actually began crying, a fear in her throat. Cardinal stood up, watching the panic in the filly's eyes she saw the shed and took a sprint towards it, sliding the door back and hopping in she shut the door, waiting. Cardinal tried to peer through the cracks in the wood, not getting any clear perspective on the situation. She listened scrupulously, she heard the sliding door open and then a mares voice. “Bun, I said, what are you doing? Tea party? Again! What do I keep telling you, girl?” “I-I'm-I'm-I'm... S-ss-sorr...” The mother had a viciousness in her tone, “Don't even try, Missy, I heard you talking to them again! I told you to stop with this stupid fucking childish nonsense! This is why you don't have any real friends! These toys aren't real! Stop pretending! Your father did not raise no Celestia-damned failure!” A light sobbing served as background noise as the scolding continued. “I told you to go out and make some real fucking friends for once! Ugh, you are just useless!” There was a pause as Cardinal listened to the mother's hoofsteps, “Did you...” More steps, quicker in pace and stronger in press. The light sobbing turned into an excruciating cry of pain from Bun as she was dragged over to somewhere by her mother. “WAS THAT YOU? DID YOU BREAK THE FUCKING GATE, AGAIN?” A body fell into the dirt. “WHO WAS THIS? DON'T YOU LIE TO ME.” “M-m, m-my fff ff-frie-” “I SAID DON'T FUCKING LIE TO ME.” The distinct sound of skin being slapped was prominently heard by Cardinal, who was getting enraged. “NOW TELL ME AGAIN, WHO DID THIS? I KNOW IT WASN'T YOUR FUCKING ACTION FIGURES!” “M-mm... M-me...” She trailed off into sobbing. “I thought so. No supper tonight for you, and I'll be taking those.” Bun yelled out as the mother moved back, a swift and angry hoof jossiling the plastic table and chairs, the door slid closed again soon after. Cardinal bust out of the shed, moving to the scene. The table had been flipped over, the seats now knocked down and missing their occupants. The filly was sitting against the corner of the building on the path to the gate, she was sobbing into her legs with a churning amount of pain, making Cardinal visibly shake with anger. Bun lifted her head to notice Cardinal, her bottom jaw was shuddering, her eyes almost blood red. Her suffering soul, to Cardinal's surprise, seemed to disappear at the sight of her friend. “H-h heh... Hi.” She said, trying to keep herself together. Cardinal’s rage shifted to concern as she bolted over to Bun. “Are you hurt?” The filly looked up into Cardinal's eyes, a sweet innocence in her trembling voice. “N-nn-no.” Cardinal placed her hoof softly against the filly's cheek, pivoting her head to the left to reveal a red marking across the back of her head and neck. “It, its fine... It doesn't even sting much.” The filly attested. “D-did, did she take the... The others?” “Yes, Bun... She did.” Cardinal helped the filly to her hooves. She turned around the corner and held back the tears, taking breaths to calm down. “M-mm-mommy, s-she says that I need to get real friends... But p-ponies don't like me at school, t-they make fun of me and...” She sniffled, “They call me poor, and dumb, and, and...” Cardinal shushed her, “It’s ok, I understand...” She put a leg around Buns head, holding her close into her chest, letting the filly cry. The moment passed, the filly stepped back, looking over her shoulder her tears fell onto a new smile, “Look. Foxy is still there...” Cardinal and the filly walked past the thrown about play set and to the fox plush together, the filly lifting it up and hugging it tightly as she sat down on the stone step to her house. Cardinal sat down beside the somber filly. “Are you going to be alright?” “Yeah... Mommy shouts a lot... She gets really mad since when Daddy died...” The filly's head fell down, her fox comforting her with cuddles. Cardinal brought Bun closer to her, patting her on the shoulder. “BUN, YOU BETTER GET BACK INSIDE! THERE'S SOME CRAZY PONY RUNNING AROUND THE STREETS ON THE NEWS!” The mother’s distant voice hollered through the glass. “I... I should go,” Cardinal said begrudgingly, not wanting to cause any more hassle for the filly and remembering her own matters she should be attending to. “B-b-bb... But...” The filly protested, her teary eyes looking up at the robot. “I'm sorry, I have to... I have to go find one of my own friends, and I don't want to get you into trouble.” Cardinal sat up, turning to the filly, crouching down to her height. The filly began breathing with a quiver, “But... Who will I talk to…?” “You still have Foxy.” “But that's... That's just pretend... I don't have any real friends.” The filly looked into the two black marbles acting as the foxes eyes. “Hey, don't say that. You do have real friends.” Cardinal lifted the filly's gaze up towards her own. “No I don't...” The filly stared, confused. “Yes you do.” “Who?” Cardinal stood up, “Well, I'm not pretend, am I?” She gave the filly a beautiful smile. “No... No, you’re not.” The filly grinned, wiping her eyes before looking back up to her friend. “Do you promise to come back?” “I promise, I will come back, and maybe I can bring some real tea next time.” The filly giggled, then waved her away as Cardinal turned and walked over to the fence. “BUN, I SAID, GET INSIDE!” The mother's voice rang again. Cardinal waved back to her friend, then she set up her legs in the dirt, bending down against her springs. Letting go she launched herself over the fence, landing on the other side. Cardinal peered around the corner, looking side to side along the road. Luckily for her, she has been in a very low traffic area for a while, remaining incognito by traveling through the alleys and side streets of the city. Taking the safe routes through the suburbs did take a more sizable amount of time compared to the rest of her journey; the sun was low in the sky, the evening light dimming behind the loose clouds. If her map was correct, she should only be a street away from the site. Seeing nopony along the street, she trotted out, her plates now dirtied with muck and soot from the city's filthy underbelly. She skipped across the street, glee in her eyes as she saw the familiar fences of the construction site still towering into the sky, far to tall for her to jump over. She walked along the fence, trying to make it around to the gate, turning the corner she found it unguarded. “Perfect.” Strolling down to the gate, a strange new feature soon became apparent to her as she found that behind the vehicle barrier there was now a chain link fencing, completely enclosing the facility. Not too shocked that they barricaded off her crime, Cardinal strolled over to the chain link with her blade drawn. She stuck it through the chains and began cutting with a hacksaw motion down the fence, slicing open an entrance for her to push through. The first detail she noticed as she stepped through her self made passageway was that the snow in the center path was kicked away. Meaning it was either purposely cleaned or that a gang of ponies strolled through several times. Making her way further down the track, she became concerned by the lack of blood, there was not a drop to be seen in the entire area. It was also dead silent, not a breath in the entire complex. “Hello? Seeker? Anypony?” She continued down to the elevator, finding the doors shut tightly. The light in the arch was out. “Oh no...” Cardinal's heart sank. What if Seeker has been trapped in the elevator this whole time? She might have thought Cardinal forgot about her. What kind of pony would let that happen? Cardinal scratched at the steel chunks of door like a dog wanting to be let outside, screaming into the crack. “SEEKER! I'M HERE! I'M SO SORRY!” An enraging surge of emotion poured over her, tears forming as she cocked back a leg, stabbing it into the elevator door. Several more hits proved to bust through the door, creating a hole large enough to fit her head through and possibly even crawl to the other side if she tried hard enough. She popped her head through, her eyes clicking on, raising their glow until the entire elevator shaft was illuminated around her. “W-what?” A sense of dread pressed against her chest as she found nothing more than a loose cable hanging from the ceiling, draped over a bottomless pit leading down into the facility. “SEEKER!” she yelled down, getting her echo returned to her only a few seconds after. She pulled her head out of the hole, she was going to find a way down, and she was going to get her love out of that hell she was trapped in. Turning around, she was taken aback by the pony standing behind her, a blue Earth Pony with glasses. “I thought I'd find you here,” Diamond said, his face cold and dead. “D-diamond? Diamond! Did you find Seeker? Did you help her out?” Cardinal charged up with optimism once more. “No, Cardinal... I didn't” He refused to share eye contact with her, trotting over to the hole and staring down it with a heavy heart. Cardinal continued in her endless effort to save Seeker, “Can you help me get her out then? Do you know how she got down there in the first place? We can use the same way to go down there and get her.” Diamond sighed, holding himself close in his winter coat, refraining from crying, “She is dead...” Cardinal, to Diamond's surprise, continued in her uplifted speech. “Yes, I know! But it’s been long enough. If she never got out of the elevator, then she must still be there!” Diamond turned a cheek over his shoulder. “Did you not hear me? I said she's dead! We can't help her!” He shouted at the robot. Cardinal was taken back, “I know... What's wrong, Diamond?” Diamond gaped at her, unsure of what was going on in that head of hers. “Do you not understand? She is gone, those royal guards shot her into bits and we're never going to see her again! She is dead and gone forever, WHAT PART OF THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?!?” Diamond threw himself at Cardinal, shaking her on the shoulders in frustration. “B-but...” Cardinal's thoughts were conflicted, ideas twisting in her head like knots. “You mean, she's dead...” Her heart split in half. “Forever?” Diamond looked into her eyes, seeing the pain settling onto her sweet soul. “Yes, Cardinal, that's what happens when ponies die...” Cardinal became a statue, unable to move. Her jaw was stuck open after finishing her sentence, her unblinking eyes dripping tears into the mud. She felt the world crashing onto her, every single one of her wires felt slashed, every piston jammed and motor clogged. Her thoughts became shards of glass, laid out with the sharpest ends upright as she fell into them. Her throat burned, eyes blind, her ears deaf. The wind was no longer caressing her skin and the chill of the weather no longer stung as her sensors felt numb. “I...” Her jaw shook fiercely as she managed to speak the syllable, her face turning into a tormented horror frozen in time as she realized what she had done. “I killed her...” She blurted it out, Diamond's head picking itself up with a look of betrayal in his eyes. Her body came back to life as she slammed her two front hooves into her eyes, screaming in suffering and guilt. She then immediately began throwing her legs against the ground, the force of each hit sending dirt flying in every direction as she dug out a pit into the ground in her lashing out. “FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!” she screeched at her full volume, causing Diamond to cover his ears in the piercing pain, the entire city must have heard her. She began collapsing, giving into her sorrow, she wept. “No! No, no...” Cardinal began beating herself in the skull with her hooves, screaming at herself. “Cardinal! Calm down!” Diamond leapt over to the robot, standing over her. She saw him approach her. “GET OFF ME!” She rolled onto her back and bucked him with her back legs, launching him towards the elevator and slamming into the door, his entire back stinging and bruising. Cardinal stood up and stomped over to Diamond, unsheathing her blade on the way. “YOU'RE LYING, TELL ME YOU’RE LYING!” “Please! Don't kill me! I'm telling the truth!” He threw his legs in front of him, closing his eyes as he braced for impact. Cardinal thrusted her hoof towards his head as she got to him, the blade just barely missing as she stabbed the steel above him, again crumbling into tears. Diamond opened an eye as he felt tears drip onto his lap. “I know...” Cardinal said faintly over her sobbing, “I can tell when somepony is lying...” She pulled the blade out of the elevator door, hobbling back a few steps, she glared at her knife. “AGHHH!” She screamed, putting the blade length ways in her mouth. She tugged downward, bending the blade from her hoof before she pulled it out completely with a swing of her head. She spat out the blade into the snowy mud. She sat down, her head falling in between her hooves. Diamond was still recovering, his lungs finding it hard to regain their breath. “I... I'm... Sorry...” he tried to tell her. “Stupid, stupid, stupid!” She insulted herself, continuing the self beating. “Its... Okay Cardinal, lets just go...” “NO, IT'S NOT OK!” She flipped her head up, screaming at him powerfully. She swung around her right hoof as she spoke, now sparking from the broken blade. “I KILLED THEM ALL, DIAMOND! I killed so many...” She recoiled with another wave of tears, her anger persisting. “DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY THERE WERE? ALL THOSE PONIES, GONE? FOREVER?” Diamond made it to his hooves, still wobbly. “Cardinal, I'm very sorry you had to do that...” “I DIDN'T HAVE TO! I just...” She slammed her hoof into the dirt once more. “I just didn't know...” Diamond approached her cautiously. now, “Let’s leave, Cardinal. It’s getting late...” He spoke with unease. “JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! GO! I want to stay here... Please...” Cardinal fell backwards, the mud soaking into her body as she looked up into the sky, past the steel beams reaching into it. Diamond picked up his voice, “Cardinal, you can't stay here, we have to leave!” She didn't make a twitch. “Cardinal!” He placed a hoof on her, giving her a little shake. “How did you know I was here...” she whispered. “What?” “How did you know that I would be here? I never told you when I'd be back.” She flicked an eye towards him. He fell back, guilt in his face. “I-I... I saw you come in...” “Diamond.” “Yes?” “I can tell when ponies are lying.” She placed a hoof on either side of her and propped herself up, she then turned over to stand back up, looking into Diamonds eyes. She moved up to him, pressing her muzzle against his nose. “Tell them if they try and get me... I won't hesitate. And now that I know it's forever... I doubt they want that to happen to them.” She warned him with a twisted anger. “W-who... D-d, do you mean?” “The guards, the friends of the ones I killed before... Tell them to stay away from me.” “B-but...” She growled, making Diamond retreat. He began running, falling on his ass as he attempted to get away, he picked himself up with haste as he bolted it out of the facility, terrified for his own life. Cardinal watched him squirm out of the fence and out onto the street, leaving. She turned back to the elevator, making her way up to it gently, step by step. She had her head down in morning as she placed a hoof onto the heavily damaged door, saying her last goodbyes. “Seeker... I am sorry... I didn't know...” She took long breaths in between speaking. “I thought it was the same... The same as my world, I thought...” She took a moment to recover her thoughts. “I thought I was helping...” She glanced up to the sky as it began to snow, the tiny, shiny flakes landing onto Cardinal. She returned to her goodbye. “I don't know what to do without you, Seeker, that last time when I was still in my world, I thought about what I would do in this one... But you were always with me in those thoughts... What do I do now, Seeker? Please... Tell me...” She deteriorated into a soft sobbing, letting her hoof drop from the elevator. “I'm scared, Seeker... I'm terrified... The guards are hunting me... The city thinks I'm a monster... I need your help... I'd do anything to see you once more... I don't want to say goodbye to you, Seeker, I don't want to... I didn't want any of this... I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'M SORRY!” “I loved you.”
Tire... “What happened to Holly? That's a difficult question...” -x- ... “It... It affected us all differently. That Friday night when we first saw her... But it was clear it affected Holly the most.” -x- ... “That night..? Ooh... Hehhh, that night... It was... It was bad... I'm surprised more of us didn't end up like Holly. I don't blame her at all for what she did. If she was still here, eh... If she was still here I don't think things would be any better. She was too far gone by that point... I've been having therapy two nights a week since and I'm still a mess... And what has it been? A month? Two? Three? I lost count.” The moon shimmered from behind the clouds. Streaks of light bled from the sky and illuminated the snow-covered path. The snow glowed, the minuscule crystals of the individual flakes reflecting the gentle light, giving the ground a white sheen. In the center of the pathway, close to her, grew a small flower. It stuck out from beneath the snow, sitting upon a transparent, icy stem. It was stiff in the weaving winds, holding strong in the brutish weather. The bud of the flower was made of soft petals, tenderly folding upon each other into the thick icy shard stuck in the center. The crystal shone blue, a magic surrounding it. Cardinal sat on a rusty little fold-up chair in front of the elevator, she had finished sulking for a long while now, her thoughts empty as they flew over her head. Instead her eyes remained locked onto the flower sitting in the snow, sparkling like sequence. The night had passed silent since Diamond escaped. Cardinal could only assume that she was being watched by them as they waited to ambush her once she would finally leave. Although she didn't leave, she would be there the whole night. Occasionally, she would sway her head at the sound of a bird chirp or a wind shift. At one point, long into the night, she glanced down at her necklace, bearing the emerald locket. She lifted it with a wing, debating opening it. Delicately placing the tip of her hoof into the seam, she lightly pressed until it flipped open. She instantly fell into the magic’s grasp, feeling energy forcibly leaving her body. It began hurting as she let it continue for a few more moments, although soon she became worried that she would pass out as her headache punched through her skull. She slammed it shut, taking a breath. She raised her head, noticing that the flower now had multiplied, an arch going from the left and right of Cardinal and up to the original as the peak. A semicircle of frosty flowers all glistened, she let the locket fall back against her chest, somewhat happier. Morning soon came and she still remained unmoved from her seat, resting there for hours, just staring at the flower garden in front of her. The sun rose, breaking through the cracks in between skyscrapers, letting the light settle in the streets and alleys. Light breached the fences, scraping across the tops of them to reach a dazed Cardinal. She refused to react as the light scaled down from the tip of her arching pink mane and down to the heel of her hoof over a long period of time, still waiting. Over her time, she saw ponies in the distance, past the chain link, walking across the streets every now and a then. Cardinal’s sorrow had eased over the night. The initial twist of the knife had healed over, leaving a permanent scar that would likely never stop stinging. As the sun reached the hoof of the elevator's outer building, Cardinal stretched and stood up, her eyes heavy from the frozen tears. As she stepped upon the snow, the light had reached the flowers, the powerful beams from the sun glinting from the crystals in each flower that it touched upon. Cardinal gave a somber smile as she saw the beauty still left in the world. She took a few more steps, going into the center of the flower ring. Her head shot around as she heard a strange humming coming from behind her, she watched as the flowers in the sun shook. The crystal in each of them began fading from their chilly blue and rattled into an orange tint. As she went to lean into one to inspect what it was doing, the petals burst into flames, raising into the sky almost twice the flowers height. As one flower erupted, the ones around it received its flame and they too arose in flame. Soon the entire ring was burning hot, the fire nearly as high as Cardinal's chin. She stood in awe in the center of this blazing display, the heat pressing against her, dispelling the frosty shiver she once fell into a cosy warmth. A minute passed before the flames lowered themselves, the snow in between the flowers stocks had melted down and soaked into the dirt, revealing their now lusciously burning stems beneath each flower bud. The fires simmered down into a tiny nub in the center of each flower where the crystal sat. Despite the monumental heat, the petals were unharmed, now stained with a bright orange. Cardinal, without her realization, smiled with a grin as bright as the flames. Soon, she gathered herself back up and hopped over the line of torch flowers. Once landing on the other side, she turned her shoulder, looking at the elevator where Seeker’s body was obliterated. “Goodbye, Seeker. Rest well. I won't ever forget you or what you sacrificed… Love you.” She spoke softly to herself. She moved down the path, walking toward the gate. She pushed through the cut in the chain link fence, part of her being torn away as she left this place for the final time. Trotting onto the familiar pathways that lined every street she had overcome to get here, she was alerted to the existence of a Royal Guard squad, set up on both left and right of the fence, when one of them shouted to her. “HALT!” She put her hoof down, ceasing her movement she continued looking forward, waiting for what the guards would say. “You are under arrest by direct instruction of Princess Twilight Sparkle. Please comply and we can resolve this peacefully.” “And what if I don't want to go with you?” She glared to her right, her fearless eyes burning into the guard's souls. “We do not want to use force, but will if necessary.” The guard veered off into mumbling at the end, Cardinal spotting him out of the crowd. “Has Diamond not warned you? There is nothing you can do to hurt me.” She locked her eyes with the guard speaking, not letting him escape her glance. “We know... We know what you can do! And we are prepared to take you down. Do not test us or we will detain you forcibly!” Cardinal was not fazed by his threats. “I believe you are the one not to test me.” She took a step forward, closer to the curb of the street. “FIRE!” The guard blared out, Cardinal reacted almost immediately by outstretching her wings to cover her face and chest while crouching down to make herself a smaller target. She was then barraged by a flurry of bullets, stabbing into her with massive dents. Her wings very quickly became disfigured and even punctured in some places. She went to run across the street and she tripped on a tiny hole in the street that her hoof got caught in, now halfway across she noticed that in the building in front of her were more guards who were pelting her with rounds from their rifles. As she was shot over and over, she felt each hit getting deeper as her outer shell's damage grew in severity. Her nerves were overloaded with pain, as she collapsed to the ground in the center of the street. “HOLD FIRE!” the pony shouted over the echoing gunshots. “GET HER!” In a panic, she looked around. Before she knew it, she was enclosed by riot shields and spears. She turned her head down, protecting it still with her wings. Then she spotted a metal cylinder stuck into the road with two small indents on either side meant for being picked up with hooves. In the center of it was the engraving ''Sewer''. Cardinal dropped her wing shield and stabbed both ends of her longest feathers into the StallionHole cover, then she pushed off of it and flipped herself onto her back, the cover now above her and a dark abyss beneath. She swooped down into the hole, her wings outreaching her legs as she place the cover back on upside-down. With her wings still caught deep in the thick steel plate used to close of the sewer, she was forced to struggle for a moment before she was finally let free. Cardinal began falling in absolute relief. It was not until a few moments later when a gross slopping sound came from her landing and felt the oozing goop-water seep into her bullet wounds and smelled the putrid stench of rot and feces that she realized where she had just ended up in. The unadulterated, pure darkness did not help ease her either. She blinked a few times, trying to activate her eyes to glow brighter. They both flickered for a bit, before a shattering sound and a fizz coming from inside of her head left her with only her right eye glowing at all. Once her remaining eye had finally illuminated the area for her, she went to hoist herself up, feeling the slime resist against her, trying to pull her back down. She now sat in a sewer, covered in the shit. She felt like vomiting, and had the gag reflex to do so, but lacking a stomach meant that she had nothing to throw up. So she ended up just throwing her head down, and her throat contracting painfully a few times. After gathering herself back up, she noticed all the tools in her pouch had fallen out and sunk into the sludge. Although she had no time to collect them back up, as she heard the cover above her head being lifted, she set aside the thoughts of disgust and went to stand up and sprint her way out of there. Her run was slowed down by the mess she galloped through, having to yank her hooves out every time from the both slimy and sticky substance. She just ended up splashing more on herself as she ran, taking random turns when able, and after what felt like an hour, she believed that she had lost the Royal Guard. Taking a breather (and then immediately regretting breathing), Cardinal rested against the rounded wall. Soon, she continued to trot down the sewer, now in a search to find a way out. Hobbling into the light, Cardinal flopped out of the open sewer gate like a dying fish. She fell out and landed nearly a meter down into a face full of sand. It stuck to her sickeningly waste-drenched body. With a wobbly and painful push, she forced herself up, barely standing as she took in the fresh air. Looking outwards, she saw the vast ocean in front of her, going into the infinite horizon. With a blissful hobble she went as quickly as she could until she stood in the water and she let herself fall down into it. It was deep enough for her entire body on its side to be engulfed in the freezing water, the cleansing splash clearing her of most of the muck that covered her body. She felt both refreshed and in shivers after hitting the water. A few magical sparks bolted out of her as she washed herself off, making sure to get all of the revolting mess she was covered in off of her. She scrubbed down the her pouch, thoroughly brushing it. Her head came flung out of the water. She shook it from side to side, the water flying off of her. As she looked down at her spotless skin, she noticed that her pouch wasn't completely empty, the white princess chess piece was still tucked in tightly in its pocket. Her immense smile glittered with triumph as she settled down and observed her surroundings. She was swimming at a long beach. To her left, the sand went on for more than a mile, reaching a small dock in the distance, filled with yachts and other small sea-bearing vessels. On her right was a cliff side and lots of rocks. Boulders were all over the sand as the ground had a gradient with dirt, going up the side of the hill until it was pure, snow-covered earth. Directly in front of her was the sewer pipe she had just escaped from. The pipe clearly had been dumping the waste onto the beach, clear from the gross tint in the sand underneath it. The end of the pipe was dried up. The sewer water tapered down until there was not enough to drip off the side. Cardinal, now coming down from her high, realized how terrible this was. They were dumping their waste directly into the ocean. What kind of terrible effects must that have on the water? She contemplated this as she strolled out of the water. Making sure to avoid the tainted sand under the pipe, she walked upon the beach. She shuddered as she walked, being slowly warmed up by the bright sun in the sky there was today. Her initial weight meant every step sunk down into the sand, creating very large hoofprints as she trotted along the beach. The beach had a plentiful amount of umbrellas and lounging chairs dug deep into the sand to stop them from flying off, although most of them were far on the other side of the beach, there were still some scattered around as she walked along the seaside. Small patches of snow made it onto the sand from the mainland, which was mostly comprised of dirt paths leading back into the city, the skyscrapers clearly seen from above the slight incline. Cardinal's attention was soon drawn to a large cabin near the center of the beach, situated up the hill. It was a beautifully crafted, multi-story home. It had balconies on every side, great sloped roofs extending out from the cottage. Each surface was covered in a fluffy, untouched coating of snow. It had a base of stone that stuck into the dirt and spread out into a walkway around the home, a stone staircase going down to the beach. The cabin was also drenched in decoration, its doorways and windows lined with lovely white flowers and bright green and red holly. The archways at the top and bottom of the stairs had long silk strands wrapping around their legs, the path sprinkled with rose petals, leading up to a brand-new looking, stubby wooden pier going a few paces into the sea. At the very end of it, there was a great arch bursting with the same decorations, underneath it, a pedestal wide enough to hold two ponies. She picked up her pace to a canter, her body steadily warming up once more. After a good jog, Cardinal found herself at the hoof of the stairs. She strolled up them, holding her hoof against the stone wall on her left, feeling the cracks and dents as she moved along them. The grit resisting against her hoof just made her realize how hurt she actually was as she saw her beaten and worn leg, the paint chipped and scraped off, holes and dents all over. She felt that her grip was weaker than it used to be, neither was she moving as fast as normal. She knew that getting repaired would be the only way she would continue to be alive (which she still wasn't one hundred percent certain she wanted to be), and for that she needed to find Mecha. The thoughts of her health were held on pause as she reached the top of the staircase, going through the gorgeous arch. She found herself on the cobblestone path, the great double-door of the cottage standing strongly before her. She took a step back to take in the glorious construction towering over her. It was heavily detailed. The many wooden braces giving support to the balcony overhead were engraved and shaped into exquisite whirls and arcs. There were plants hanging from spruce pots that were beaming with life. The windows were deep in their elegant frames. Cardinal experienced many fantasies of living in a place like this. This is what she imagined for her and Seeker... She soon realized all of the flaws. With a glance, she could see the city to her right, the hundreds of industrialized buildings just a few minutes walk over a snow-covered plain. With a turn behind her, she saw the polluting sewer drain far off in the distance, something that still made her sick. Nevertheless, she wanted to at least see the inside before she went off to find Mecha to repair her, so she took a few steps toward the door and placed her hoof on the handle. As she went to open it, she noticed on closer inspection that the left door of the two was ever-so slightly ajar. She was taken aback. Somepony must be inside. She went a few paces to her side to one of the large windows circling the ground floor and peered through. The glare from the sun added difficulty into seeing inside. Putting her hooves over her brow, she blocked most of the shine and gained a clear view inside. A red fabric went from the doorway down the room. Wooden pillars surrounded by pottery and paintings, stood on either side of the carpet. The room was dim, hundreds of unlit candles placed in holders and on shelves, never used. There was a hanging chandelier of gold and silver dropping from the ceiling of the second floor. It was also not in use, the only light coming from the large number of windows in the cabin. The carpet crawled up a wide staircase at the other side of the room. It split into two separate sets of stairs as it reached the wall, going to the left and right up to the second floor. A great window, several times taller than any of the others, was situated above the point where the main staircase and wall met. The light coming from it came down on a figure sitting at in the center of the staircase. A pony in a puffy, long, beguiling white dress sat there. Her gown was large and elegant, covering her entire chest and flank, its skirt trailing off another meter or so from her hind legs. It was embroidered all over, with two soft buns of fabric on each shoulder. It wrapped around their stomach tightly with a smooth layer of silk holding the dress together and the pony’s belly tucked in. Her light green coat, contrasting her pure and spotless dress, was ruffled and unclean, dirt stuck in between her hairs. Her mane also followed the theme of her skin, it was an absolute mess. Soft, red strands of her hair stuck out, looking unwashed and given no maintenance over the last few days at least. Her wings stuck out of her dress and were left loosely resting at her side. Her face was in shadow, but Cardinal could barely make out the smeared makeup around her eyes, as if she had been crying heavily very recently. The final feature Cardinal noticed of the mare was the orange flower clipped to her mane. Cardinal leaned in as close as her muzzle would allow her, the wood giving a faint creak with her weight. She was staring into a black item with a metal sheen in her hooves as she fiddled with it. Cardinal blinked in confusion, the scenery, the decorations, the dress. It was a wedding, and that mare was the bride... Although, she thought, what was happening now? And why did Cardinal feel like she recognized her? She continued watching, seeing the pony put a hoof on the long metal shaft of the device and pull it back. She then realized it and it gave off a clack audible to Cardinal as it launched back into itself. She lifted her head up, looking out towards the doors and placing the device into her wing. She lifted it up and pressed it against her head. No longer being obstructed by the pony's hooves, Cardinal realized she was holding a pistol to her own head. Cardinal's jaw dropped as her eyes couldn't help but stare closer at the suicide-in-motion, which is what lead to the glass she pressed against cracking. Before she could react, Cardinal fell through the window, smashing it into shards and landing with her stomach onto the frame, her forelegs dangling across the other side in a daze. Cardinal lifted her head, catching the eye of the mare, locking themselves into an awkward stare. The pony stood up, the gun moving to her side as her wing redacted itself. Cardinal tried to scramble back, but in an accidental shift of weight, she ended up falling further into the room and her face getting raked across the wooden floor as the rest of her body flipped over her neck and slammed down flank-first into the room, her tail painfully jabbing into her behind as she moved it to her side. Putting a leg on either side of her, Cardinal hoisted up her head and shoulders, now sitting her back against the wall beneath the window she busted in through. The mare on the stairs stood in shock, gaping at Cardinal with broken, wide eyes. Cardinal gradually stood up. Once on her hooves she froze. The pony on the stairs came swiftly stepping down the stairs, then sprinting halfway into the room before slowing down to a halt. Her brows made their way down across her eyes, her bottom jaw shuddering as her mouth made a furious growl. Her gritty, tear filled voice came at Cardinal in a whisper. “You...” Cardinal blinked, now that the pony was closer she realized that she did remember her, she was one of the guards at the facility when she first escaped. Cardinal, not sure what to do, took a step to the side, closer to the door. “DON'T YOU FUCKING MOVE!” The pony threw up her pistol in her wing, feather tucked in over the trigger. Cardinal stopped, remaining calm in the face of another firearm, sure that it wouldn't be able to harm her severely enough to be scared. She kept her lip shut, waiting for the pony to make a move. “You killed him... YOU BITCH, YOU KILLED HIM!” She blared at Cardinal, waving the gun around in her rage. Cardinal was taken back, trying to figure out who was it that died that the pony was blaming her for. “Who? Who did I kill..?” “DON'T PLAY INNOCENT, YOU BITCH, YOU STABBED HIM THROUGH AN ELEVATOR AND THEN THEY BURNED HIM! THEY BURNED ALL OF THEM!” Cardinal recalled everything. Making the obvious assumption about the mare in wedding attire, she realized that the pony she killed was her fiancé. The guilt she felt when she first learned about what she did being permanent and knowing that the pain she felt from Seeker she had caused for potentially hundreds of other ponies had returned to her. Cardinal felt the tears swell in her eyes as the pain in her heart. “I... I... I didn't know...” “YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT? THAT YOU KILLED HIM?!? THAT YOU RUINED MY FUCKING LIFE!?” The pony stumbled closer with every yell, honing her sights on the robot. “I'm... I'm sorry! I didn't know what I was doing! Please, put that down! I don't want anypony to be hurt anymore!” Cardinal shifted towards the pony, begging. “What? You don't want me to shoot myself? HUH? WHY? WHAT IS IT TO YOU?” Her insanity and aggravation fell into a painful sob, “Twilight stopped me already... I wanted to die with him she wouldn't let me... NOW YOU’RE TRYING TO STOP ME! JUST LET ME DIE!” Cardinal took another step forward, “I hurt too many ponies to want to see another die, please, you don't have to do this.” She dropped her head, recollecting. “We were supposed to get married today... It was supposed to be the happiest day of my life... AND YOU RUINED IT!” She threw the gun up in Cardinal’s face as she stood just out of legs-reach from the pony. Cardinal threw up her hoof in front of her eyes as the pony fired at her, three shots blasting against her chest and shoulder, denting in deeply and putting holes into the leather pouch she wore. After the initial burst of fire, Cardinal lept the rest of the distance toward the pony, slamming the hoof she guarded herself with against the pistol, smacking it out of the ponies wing and sliding it into the carpet. The pony then threw herself at Cardinal, causing the two of them to crash into the floor, the pony sitting on top of her and she began swinging her hoof into Cardinal, bashing her casing. “I'M GOING TO KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!” Cardinal attempted to block the incoming attacks she was being barraged by with her left hoof, seeing some amount of success as the blows became weakened, she stretched out her right hoof to her side, a clicking coming from it. Cardinal's eyes widened as nothing happened. She tried again and again, the clicking repeating several times before she remembered that she had bitten off her blade. She then rammed her right hoof into the ponies side with all her force in an attempt to throw her off. Her fear spiked as her hoof tore against the ponies dress and clearly winded her, but failed in getting the pony off of her. “WHAT’S... WRONG?” Cardinal's attacker regained her breath. “NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO FIGHT A GIRL?” With a large wind up, she threw another hoof into Cardinal’s face, this time slamming into her already malfunctioning left eye, cracking the glass lens. Cardinal struggled but the pony was overpowering her in all fronts, “PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME!” Cardinal shouted in the terror of her potential death, feeling her strength and consciousness fleeting. “YOU’RE. A. ROBOT. YOU. AREN'T. LIVING.” She gave a punch with each word, Cardinal's muzzle panels coming loose. Cardinal felt the urge to survive grow stronger. She refused to die, not after everything Seeker had given up for her to live. As she finally came to the conclusion that she wanted to live no matter what, she became desperate for a solution. Having an idea and instantly going threw with it, she flipped open the two speakers at either side of her neck. Cranking up her volume to maximum she screamed like a banshee. “AAAAEEEEEEEEGGGGGHHHHH!” The sound was deafeningly loud. Even Cardinal felt pain as the sound bounced back and she heard it herself. The pony on top of her recoiled, covering her ears and her face turned to suffering as she screamed from the auditory torture she was subjected too. Seeing that her assailant was thoroughly dazed, Cardinal kicked her off. The pony curled up into a ball, her hearing now permanently damaged as the sound rang over and over again in her head. Cardinal staggered as she stood up, her head hanging low as she spat out a gooey blue liquid from her busted mouth. Recovering, she hobbled to the door. Once at the frame, she turned a head back to see the pony trying to collect herself as she reached for her pistol. Cardinal grabbed one of the two coat hangers at the side of the door with a wing and shouldered her way out of the house. Turning around to the doors once more, she saw the pony stand, her pistol grasped tightly. Cardinal shut the doors, placing the coat hanger between the handles. Cardinal stumbled toward the city. Once she had reached the snow-layered path, she heard the door rustle violently. Cardinal tried to pick up her pace, doing the closest thing to a gallop that she could manage. Moments later, two bullets whizzed by her. She heard the shouting from behind. “YOU CAN'T RUN FROM ME! I'M GOING TO FIND YOU AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!” Cardinal denied herself looking back, despite the strong temptation to do so. She sprinted onward. Soon, she found herself running into a section of the field which resembled a park, trees and bushes becoming more common as she continued on. Knowing that the pony would soon be coming after her, Cardinal found a thick set of bushes and fell into them, her head bruised and burning with pain. She dug herself further into the foliage, using them as cover. She rested her head against the jabbing buds and soon found her vision fading. Coughing a few more mouthfuls of the blue liquid that filled her body, she drifted out of consciousness. Despite her resistance, her eyelids fell shut, her body falling motionless. What do you think she is doing? What has she left to live for? We are all gone; she has nothing else. Why does she bother? Stop being foolish. It is not us to decide her fate. It is what she wants that matters. If she wants to live, let her do so. Me? Being foolish? Why, look at her! She is suffering, she lost us and now there is nothing left for her. Cardinal batted her one working eye open, finding herself in a darkness quite familiar to her, and a tea party even more so. She turned to her left, seeing the Fox, on her right, a magenta figure in the shape of a pony but completely made of a glowing light and falling code. Cardinal's eyes jumped up in delight. She thought she had lost them both forever, but as she went to speak, she found that her mouth was welded shut and her speaker in her neck was cut off. The princess awakes! How you doing sis? Enjoying the horrid hell they call ''real life''? Cardinal tried to move out of her chair, but was unable to detach herself from the seat, her legs tied down at her side with an invisible restraint. Her worried eyes fell on the Magenta pony. She seemed to not notice her silent plea for help. Stop trying to influence the poor thing! Can you not mind your own business? My own business? Are you going along with this charade, or are you just incompetent? Fox, please. Don't make this any harder for her than it needs to be. She's already dying, Mother. How can I make that harder? Cardinal began struggling harder in a horrified panic, but as the fox spoke those words, she felt a stabbing in her chest, her strength failing. Look at her, she's terrified! And you're the one scaring her. That's what I do, I scare her. It's what I was built for. Do you not want her to survive? That is what you told her you wanted! It is what I want. That is why I'm doing this. Cardinal's tiresome head fell, the light around her eyes beginning to dim. How is this helping her survive? The fox laughed, Oh, Mother, do you not understand what I do? What fear does? He leaned onto the table, the immaterial light coming from above made a shadow caused by his brow land over his deadly eyes. Fear is one of the most powerful fuels that exist. A scared pony becomes desperate. That energy builds up inside as the terror approaches... The fox climbed onto the table, prowling across it to Mother's side with a hunter’s posture. And then, just as they are about to be consumed, they are willing to do anything and everything to survive, to overcome the beast, to live... All they need is that spark. The fox slouched over into Mother's face, pressing his nose against her muzzle. What spark? Oh, that's simple, all it takes is the teeniest, weeniest, little pinch of one thing... Hope. Cardinal's head shot up, her astonished eyes searching for the source of the voice, finding that the Fox and Mother had gone, nowhere to be seen. Seeker!? she screamed, amazed that her mouth yet again was able to move and that her speaker could be used to talk once more. She looked for her Love, the darkness around her not being generous to her vision. SEEKER! WHERE ARE YOU?! She strained herself against her unseen restraints, trying to push herself out of her seat. She moaned in pain, moving herself barely an inch outward from the backrest and with immense strain on her. She shut her eyes, feeling a migraine smashing against her head. SEE... “...KER!” She said it, then immediately noticed the goo swelling in her mouth and hawking it out. Cardinal blinked over and over again, placing a hoof against her aching muzzle. She was awake again. Her one working eye steadied its vision, the world becoming clear once more. She was still hiding in between the bushes, luckily never found by that insane pony, or anypony else. The night had set in, the moon high in the sky. Cardinal brushed off a newly formed layer of snow that had grown on her as she slept, the chill running down to her pistons. The bushes rustled, snow dripping off in a flurry as she mustered the strength to climb up them. Gradually burrowing her way out, she observed the landscape. The moon shimmered a gentle blue glow onto everything. It had a lovely gradient going down from the sky, the deep dark navy toning down into the calming, enchanting blue shine. She was in the center of a park, a path paved around the cracked stone fountain, its water frozen into thick ice as it glistened in the moonlight. The entire place had a cool aura to it, a calm atmosphere that soothed Cardinal. She made it over the hump of the bushes, her hooves crunching deep into the snow as she landed, giving her a gentle decent. Cardinal took a short breath, soon preparing herself to continue onward, beginning to trot down the path toward the city once more. “Have to find Mecha... for repairs.” She began mumbling to herself during her pleasant stroll. “Gotta find a place to hide from Guards...” She listed off her priorities. “Have to talk to Bun again... Make sure she is alright...” She found herself moving in a straight-shoot towards the city, an decorated metallic fence at either side of the path. Soon, she was approaching a small paved road. Its asphalt, marking-covered cement was nearly entirely snow-free. The civilian path at either side, not as much, although still showing the hoofprints of many ponies that had crossed not too long ago. Cardinal walked onto the path openly. Not seeing anypony else on either side of the street, she trotted across the road. The roadside she strolled to was a large store front, mostly beach related shops. Signs reading ''Beach Towels,'' ''Sunscreen,'' and ''Swimming Gear'' filled the windowsills of each unopened store, their wears obviously not being in season. Once on the other side, she realized she needed directions, so she looked down at her pouch pockets, realizing that she no longer had her map. She sighed, giving both directions a good consideration before settling on the left, hoping to find some landmark to guide her back. She made note of her surroundings as she trotted, seeing extreme the emphasis on shopping plastered onto every surface. The flashy charm she was drawn into at first had faded away as all the lights were now switched off, only leaving the ugly greed that was previously hidden under the glamour. She began averting her vision from the shops, turning back to the ocean, the glorious, endless sea just barely visible from behind the delightful, untouched, snowy plains. Cardinal wondered why they remained without a single print of any hooves that weren't her own. She understood it was chilly, but the view was simply glamorous... Was nopony bothering to just look? Cardinal did a double take at a red newspaper dispenser she strolled past, taking a few steps back to inspect it closer. The transparent glass revealed the front page of the Manehattan Print, a black and white, excessively thick newspaper. The bold title of the first story drew her attention, ''Rougue AI Robot Roams Streets'' written in a large font underneath the paper's name. Underneath the story title was a top-down photo of the mall, Cardinal seen running through the shopping center. In a worried rush, she skimmed through the body of the story, it mentioned being a continuation on the ''The Emotional-Based Energy Generation Research Project'' conspiracy. It then went into great detail about Cardinal being sighted, interviews from eye witnesses and the controversial refusal to respond from Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle. At the very end of the article it warned civilians, if they were to see this rouge AI to remain calm, back away and report her location to the police. “Oh no...” Everypony knew about her now and she doubted stealth would remain an option for long. She turned back to the path, now pacing forward with a strong jog, trying to out-sprint the time she was running out of. She shot down one street after another, peering around every corner before moving on with haste. Several blocks in, she still had no sense of her location, although she noticed the buildings’ quality degrade as she moved further into the city until the houses resembled those around the site. The gritty, chipped brick walls began popping up around her, the grimy streets deteriorated away. Looking to the sky, barely edging over top the other buildings, she saw several steel beams reaching into the sky. They were quite a distance away, glistening in the moonlight like a lighthouse for her. She picked up her pace, turning into a gallop as she weaved through paths, dodging the periodical spotlights in her way whenever possible, dashing down the streets. She tried to keep noise down to a minimum as she approached the landmark, slowing down into a prowl. Turning the final corner, she saw the familiar fences once more, the un-built skyscraper in disrepair standing behind. Although, the street was now walled off with movable barriers, going all across the road from side to side, the words ''No entry'' written on each one. As she went to move toward it, a guard came around the corner of its fence, armed with what seemed to be a large machine gun. It was strapped around his neck, a huge shoulder guard took up half of his upper body. His armor was a reflective silver chrome, also far heavier than any other she's seen, covering every inch of his skin with several plates, his eyes hidden behind a menacing dark glass. Each step he took crashed down into the pavement from the sheer pull of gravity from his armor. A symbol of a pink, six sided star star with a knife cutting down the middle was varnished onto his side. Cardinal decided against going through the construction. She knew where she was now. She did not need to fight that thing. Taking the long way around proved uneventful. Although the sun was soon going to rise and Cardinal knew it, she continued to sprint in the direction of Bun's house. The sun shone from behind the horizon, sending its gorgeous rays down towards the city, going through the sickeningly grey, smoggy atmosphere, being tainted into a dull, blurry fizzle as it hit the concrete jungle. The cars roared down the streets. A poisonous concoction was pumped out of each one as they stacked up like dominoes, stuck in the daily city-wide traffic jam, each car filled with tiresome ponies, heads still banging from the alarm clock. Despite their begrudging attitude, they all made their way to their places of work as the week began once again. Cardinal, on the other hoof, lay in the grass, watching the happenings inside of a certain bottom floor apartment through a glass door, hiding at the side of a neighbor’s shed, behind a chain fence. She watched as a small pink filly ate her breakfast, consisting of a few crackers and a glass of water. Her mother soon came over, the first time Cardinal had a clear look at this disgusting mare. She had a snow-white coat, her mane a gentle magenta, the same shade of her daughters coat. Her mane was made up, sloppily. Her face was covered in a gratuitous amount of makeup. She gave her daughter a few words before leaving. Although the door was hidden to Cardinal, she watched as the filly reacted to it being slammed shut. After a few moments of rest, she stood out of her seat, grabbing a poorly stitched, brown cloth bag with a few books inside. She trotted over to the glass back door of her apartment, her head down in the dirt as she swiped the door across. She took a breath before stepping out, not bothering to look up as she walked to the windowsill at her side. She reached behind a cracked plant pot with a flower's corpse rotting inside, and pulled out a small key. As she went to lock the backdoor, Cardinal rattled the fence, causing the filly to jump up and spin around. Glancing around, the filly saw her friend on the other side, statically waving a robotic hoof to her. Cardinal now had a clear view of Bun's face, seeing several bruises she did not remember from before along her eyes and muzzle, a purplish stain under her skin. Bun's eyes lit up as she threw her bag and key down, dashing toward the fence. “CARDI! You came back!” She hopped, landing with her hooves against the fence, holding herself upward against it to try and meet eyes with Cardinal. “I promised, didn't I?” Cardinal stooped down, smiling with the filly. “You’re on the news! Lots of ponies are saying bad things about you. They say you’re dangerous and mean!” The filly relayed her information, a confused concern in her eyes. “You are hurt! What happened?” “I know, they are scared of me because I'm a robot. That's why they want to hurt me...” Cardinal saw the child's grievance and attempted to comfort her, “It is ok, I'll be fine. I am going to go and get repaired soon. I just wanted to drop by and make sure you are alright.” Cardinal leaned her head further in until she met the metal rings with the tip of her nose. “I'm ok...” The filly reverted her eyes. “Come on, don't lie to me. What is wrong?” “I told mommy again, when I saw you on the TV, I tried to tell her that you were my friend...” The filly scrunched up her lips, trying to not remember any more than that. Cardinal rattled her head trying to think of a way to sooth her, “Do you want a hug?” she asked, eventually. “Y... Yes.” The filly's eyes were drawn upward. “Here, let me just...” Cardinal put the tip of her hoof into one of the chain-links, pushing down onto it to break it open. The filly shot her legs up, pushing Cardinal's away from the fence with one big shove. “NO!” Cardinal stepped back, shocked. “M-mommy will be mad! Please don't break anything again...” The filly looked up at the fence as it reached the heavens from her point of view. “Just jump over, like yesterday!” She turned back to Cardinal. “Agh...” Cardinal gazed down at her dented and bruised legs and chest. She did not feel strong enough. Although, how could she say no to those stabbingly cute eyes? “I'll try...” Cardinal took a few more steps away, crouching down in preparation to pounce up and over the fence. She felt out her knees and wings. They felt rusty and painful when strained too hard. She took a calming breath and threw herself upward. For a split second, she felt the rush. She thought she might actually make it. Although, she barely jumped her own height before flinging into the fence, getting thrown back by it like a trampoline. She felt the air flow past her in reverse as she fell backwards, landing into the ground with a clanging thud. She felt her guts shift, crushed under their own weight, a throbbing pain coming from inside her chest and stomach. Cardinal grasped for air as a reaction to the pain, a few moments passing before she could relax again. Bun gasped, feeling the dread of making her friend fall like that. “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!” “It iss fine... I'm fine,” she said, coughing up a cupful of goo stuck in her throat. “I guess I won't be able to make it across... I can go around the block if you'll wait for me,” she suggested, lifting herself back up to her hooves. “No... It's ok, I have to go to school anyways. The teacher will be mad if I am late again...” The filly's hopes fell along with her head as she turned to go and retrieve her bag. Cardinal rushed over to the fence, “Hey!” The filly twisted her head around, “I owe you a hug later, okay?” “Ok, thank you.” A shy smile appeared on her. “You better hold me to that!” Cardinal shouted out playfully as she threw her bag around her shoulders. “I will!” She giggled, locking the door and hiding the key once again behind the pot. They waved to each other, then Cardinal sat down to watch her walk out to the gate and leave her home. She took a moment for herself, soon interrupted by another pounding in her chest. The sound of metal scraping gave heed to Cardinal's condition. “Need... Repairs... Back to Mecha's.” Cardinal huddled herself in tightly within the alley, behind the several silver trashcans, hearing the hundreds of ponies passing by only a few meters off. Climbing and crawling from alley to alley had proved difficult; the emphasis she put onto stealth kept her slow. Now, she seemed to be stuck, finding no other solution but to wait here. Even as the hour passed, the street continued to roar, although the worst thing to come her way was the wild cat the strolled on by and spooked her. She grew tired as mid-day moved in, her body slowly falling apart on the inside. The thought of how close Mecha's garage was was the only thing crossing her mind, but every single time she thought the coast was clear, another pony trotted by. She developed the bright idea of just saying buck it and sprinting down the street, try and outrun any possible pursuers, but she was in no state to do such a thing. Cardinal found herself getting sleepy again, the sensation still strange to her. Although as her head fell and her eyelids were released from the small servo holding them up, she felt a furry paw lift her head back up, a snapping noise coming from in front of her muzzle, she opened her eyes to see a white paw snapping its toes with an unnatural dexterity. The paw was then redacted as Cardinal became aware, a fox's head with raised eyebrows and a deadpan look of boredom and dissatisfaction. Why is it always me that you drag into these stupid fucking dream sequences? Fox? He was standing up straight on two legs, eye-level with Cardinal. The one but not the only. W-why? Why are you here? Cause you’re dying. We have been over this before, sis. The fox leaned back and sat down in the middle of the air. He lifted up his legs and began floating, as if there was an invisible chair beneath him. He then crossed his legs, stretching his forelegs. But why are you in my head still... Are you a copy? Am I going crazy? Both very plausible scenarios, although its not like I can tell. What I can do is get you to stand the fuck back up and go get repaired. And how do you plan on doing that? Is Seeker's voice going to come from nowhere again? I was planning on a few pieces of advice and some motivational jargon, and if that didn't work, just dragging you out by the hooves. But... ...If me being Seeker will help, I can abide. Cardinal blinked, the fox transforming into Seeker in an instant, still sitting in his casual, cocky posture. His new form was completely healthy, Seeker as she looked on their first meeting. She averted her eyes in pain. Please, I don't want to see her image, I want to see her... Well, what will get you to get up? Waiting here isn't going to do you any good. Just like that, the fox was himself again. I'm not waiting. I want to live... I'm simply stuck, so advice would be appreciated. How in the world do I get past them? Cardinal leaned over and past the bins, seeing a few ponies skip on by before she planted her head against the wall. The fox smiled with an evil in his eyes. You are to weak to fight or run, right? Congratulations, you’re up to speed, she said with deadpan. Well, they don't know that. Cardinal raised an eyebrow. Every single pony out there now knows who you are. They know you’re deadly. What I'm suggesting is that you just scare them off, give them a few growls and angry looks and they will piss themselves and bolt, and those scars, the bullet holes, they'll just add to the fear factor. She nodded. Well, I wish you good luck with that then. He stood up and went down onto all fours, then leaned closer into her. Oh and one last thing, you might want to swing a punch in my direction right now. What? Cardinal placed a hoof onto her forehead, feeling a spike in pain. She squinted her eyes, seeing a hooded pony leaning over her in a confused awe, standing where the fox was just standing. “Holy fuck!” he blurted out and recoiled, stepping away from the awakening bot. Cardinal's initial reaction was to back away, but as her hooves scraped along the concrete, pushing her into the wall at the back, she remembered the advice she just got. Furrowing her brow, she pushed off the wall into a stand, jaw tilted down in a growl. The pony shuffled back, screaming. “Please! Please! Don't hurt me!” he coughed out, a sickness in his throat. His eyes were bloodshot, his thin legs shaking. Cardinal chose not to respond, the viscous feeling in her gut built up like it did when she slaughtered those guards days ago. She took a step towards him. His eyes jolted to the side, then back to Cardinal. His body slightly tilting towards the exit to the alley. As the pony went to sprint away, Cardinal jumped, throwing a leg in front of his neck for him to run into. Stopping him, she shoved him against the wall opposite her, without him putting up a smidge of resistance. He hollered, stopping ponies on the sidewalk. Cardinal turned to see the small group of ponies huddling around the corners, frozen to the spot with shock. Cardinal played to her audience, lifting the shockingly underweight pony and throwing him a toward the exit. He landed on his face, the jagged concrete floor cutting his face, he scrambled up trying to run. He shoved past the others watching, running out to the street. Leaving only Cardinal in the dim alley, she smiled at their confusion and fear. She cracked her neck by pivoting down hard to her right, then slowly returning it upright, another, lesser snapping noise came out. She took one step forward. Everypony reacted, now running away in shrieks. Cardinal strode out of the alley, glaring at the ponies on the other side of the street who had been trying to peer into the action. She faced into the light, feeling its cosy warmth sink in. A fearful herd of ponies watched her movements on both sides of her, they shifted back a few steps periodically, trying not to aggravate the murder-machine. Cardinal, pleased with herself, popped out her speakers, having a faint screech build up as it came from her. Then in an instant, she swung herself to the left, dropping her jaw, her mouth open wide in a vicious display. Turning up her volume as loud as it would go, she created an ear-bleeding, metallic, scraping noise that echoed throughout the entire city. Causing the group to flee in horror, she then swiftly turned to the right, doing the same with similar results. Seeing that nopony was going to mess with her, Cardinal began moving down the streets, taking shortcuts through roads and over fences, making her way to Mecha's garage, keeping up her demonic, terrifying, beast-like front throughout her journey. As she came around into the parking lot, Cardinal made herself small, hugging the brick wall. Her scare tactic worked perfectly, the only problem was that all of the commotion she caused put a lot of heat on her, causing her to revert to stealth whenever possible to avoid the practically hundreds of police officers and royal guard looking for her. She saw Pegasi and helicopters dash around in the sky back in the trial of chaos she had left behind. Guards roamed the streets, asking pedestrians about Cardinal's whereabouts, but moving through buildings and the labyrinth of alleys gave them great difficulty. Although, despite the officials’ relentless searching, the city was too hectic to organize a search in and Cardinal moved to fast for them, always leaving them a few minutes behind before the ponies that saw her remembered to call the police, and even then, most ponies were too scared to have payed attention to where she was going. Cardinal had arrived, seeing the closed garage door with a 'Mecha's Machine and Tech Store' logo sprayed onto it. She prowled around the practically empty parking lot, keeping a keen eye out for anypony. The coast was clear. She dashed up to the garage door and hunted for a switch to open it up. As she searched, she heard a blitzing noise come from inside, a rapid scraping and creation of sparks. She pressed an ear up against the molded metal sheets forming together into the garage, hearing the noise with better clearance. Suddenly, the noise stopped, revealing a gentle whistling from beneath. It was a pony. Cardinal knocked her hoof against the door, causing it to rattle strongly, making the faint whistle to cease. “Mecha! Its me!” she added, shouting through the door. “Car'nal!” a familiar voice replied, Soon the door budged. Cardinal hopped away from it and watched as it edged upwards. Cardinal almost began crying with glee as she saw those two deep grey hooves appear from behind the raising door. The door slid over Mecha's head, his stubby beard covered his laughing smile. He was holding a large buzzsaw and his wielding mask strapped around his head, the panel flipped up to show his face. He placed the saw on the edge of his workstation, spread out a leg, inviting Cardinal in for a hug. Cardinal sprinted up and threw her legs around the short equine. Both of them patted the other on the back. Soon their embrace came to an end and they took a step away from each other. “I'm so glad to see you again,” Cardinal said, batting an eye at her damaged hooves. “Me'h too,” he answered, taking a closer look at her. “Yu're the one who took meh tools?” He pointed at the empty, small, leather pouch draped over her. “Yea, sorry about that. Mecha, I need your help.” She angled her head down to give him as clear of a view as she could of her busted in face. “Do you think you can repair me again?” Mecha took a few steps in, the initial joy faded, he inspected her wounds that were splattered all over her body. “Cardin'l, these ain't no joke... I'd take egh closher look but...” He trailed off, glancing up at his camera, up it the top corner of the room. “You need to go,” he said to her, returning her stare. “Now.” Cardinal was surprised by his worry. Something was wrong. “Mecha, I'm dying... I need you to help me. Nopony else can.” He didn't respond, his face showing a painful struggle between some decision. “Mecha! What's wrong?” He shut his eyes for a brief second, biting his lip. He then looked onto Cardinal once more, slightly veering his vision to her side and he shouted to her, “CARDINAL, BHEHIND YA!” Cardinal spun her head around, seeing an Earth Pony Royal Guard inching up behind her with a long blade attached to his hoof, sharp-looking enough to cut through stone. The Royal Guard growled rage-fully as she pounced onto Cardinal, who tried to block the incoming attack with her shins. Cardinal ended up being thrown to the ground at the side of the workstation, barely managing to redirect the Earth Ponies aim from her head down into the cement floor, stabbing it deep into the concrete. Cardinal struggled underneath the pony, who was finding it all to easy to keep her opponent down. The Guard pulled up the hoof with the blade, leaving it in the cement slab, then slamming it into Cardinal's neck and pushing upward. Cardinal could feel the worn bolts connecting her head to her neck loosen. Cardinal flayed her wings, hoping for there to be anything to save her. Her left wing, which was swinging around underneath Mecha's working table, got stuck onto a cord, and with a few yanks something was pulled down from the top of the table. A buzzsaw landed on its side, right next to Cardinal’s torso. In the fall, it also seemed to have fallen onto its activation switch as it sparked to life, its circular blade cutting through the air at terrifying speeds. Cardinal heard a pop come from inside of herself, something became dislodged as her head was thrown down by the guard and then pressed down to look to her right, seeing the saw at her flank. The guard, not being a moron, kicked it away, sliding it across the pavement out of Cardinal's right wing's reach as she scrambled to get it. Then, Mecha slammed a large wrench against the Guard’s face, throwing her out of balance and allowing Cardinal to throw her aggressor off. She then found the cable above her head and yanked it hard with both forelegs, the buzzsaw skidding back to her. As it moved into her, the Guard at her hooves unfazed herself and began lifting herself up onto the counter. Cardinal then scooped up the buzzsaw with two hooves, slotting them into the handle, and then hoisting herself up, thrusting the saw into the pony above her, piercing her armor and skull with a horrifying efficiency. Cardinal averted her face as she drove it into the pony further, the machine rattling and getting stuck before a pop bang came from its motor busted and started smoking. “Mecha...” “Yea?” “Explain.”
Outlier“This is Hoofington Channel One News, and lets get right into the news, because today, we have another huge story about the recen-̶̛͞͏́-̶̸̧̕͞-҉̶̀̕͜” -x- “Breaking news on the Shy Project conspiracy, Twilight Spar-̢̧͏̛-̸̧͞-̷͏̧” -x- “Princess Twilight Sparkle, in response to the new leaks ha-̢́͟͝͠-̷̕-̶̀” -x- “It is a topic everypony... is... very polarized about. Of course, there are those who feel... betrayed, for lack of a better word, by the government... They are supposed to be there to protect and serve us, the population... And this, this was not just a horrible, and completely avoidable tragedy, but it was an unethical operation, hidden from us. Now ponies are asking, ‘What else have we been lied about too? What other potentially lethal secrets are the Princesses keeping?’ Obviously, Twilight's and Celestia's lack of a verbal response has not helped their image... Manehattan, now under some sort of city-wide search for this one robot that has escaped, is the center of this disgust against the government. Not just has this conspiracy been a terrible lie, but ponies going to work and fillies and colts going to school have seen this 'Cardinal.' Some have even been attacked. And somehow... Somehow this robot has pulled the wool over their eyes; they can't find her. That's insane! They have armed guards running around the streets in circles after this bot. What does that say about our army if they are outsmarted by a computer? “But, if you'd believe it, there is another opinion. Yes it is a much smaller portion of the population who hold this opinion, but some are for what the government have done. We all know how bad pollution has gotten over the past few decades; it has skyrocketed, and the fact that entire forests have been cut down to continue supplying us power, that certainly hasn't helped with the state of nature. Currently, it seems ponies and nature are clashing, and some, some think that this ''Emotional-Based Energy Generation'' could save Equestria. Of course, it has not been handled well at all, but the concept they say, should be continued. And I think it is important to point out that, they like the government's idea, not the government for how they have executed their plan. They know that Twilight Sparkle wants to bury this thing, entirely. That's why they have actually banded together to... cheer on Cardinal. You can go see online, there are communities creating websites, posts, videos, you name it, to support their cause. They have a hashtag, 'Hashtag Cardinal Number 1,' I believe. But it doesn't stop there. Some have even gone to the extreme... Over thirty arrests have happened in Manehattan so far of ponies calling the police and lying to them about the robot’s whereabouts, trying to distract them from their search... And to imagine, this has all occurred over, what, two days? It's insane... to see what, what ponies can do when... when they find a cause that they can get behind because they are sick of what the mare in charge is doing. “Now everyone is just waiting for Twilight, Celestia, whoever to give a statement... The Griffons, an empire consisting of zero technology have commented on this. We've even heard the Zebras call the whole thing a bastardization of life. If the Princesses don't fix this, and soon, what will happen, and I'm not over exaggerating, is the government will topple. There will be rebellion. There will be protests. Ponies will demand new and better leadership. “But I believe, that will be us for now. Come back after the break fo-̶͢-͏̢̢͘-̢̢̀͠” “Arighe, Cardenal. I'm sorry, I was arrested an I didn't tell 'em nothin'. Soon, they sen' me free, but them dam Royal Guards, they dun took control of mah cameras; they are always watchin' my shop now, all day. That one was just stationed here. It is only a matter of time before they check mah feed and send more. Tha's why you can't stay here.” Cardinal slumped the dead body off of her, standing up and shaking her head like a dog to throw off the blood that was dripping from her face. “Why didn't you say that first?” she said, placing a hoof onto her glass eyes and wiping them off, then shaking the hoof down to clean it. He shrugged. “Well... I still need to be repaired, Mecha. I'm dying...” She raised a tortured eye to lock into his gaze. He sighed, conflicted. “Gimme a look.” Mecha then swiped a screwdriver from his desk, quickly skipping over to Cardinal’s side, then crouching down underneath her and prying open the service panel. “Agh, ugh...” Cardinal flinched as the screwdriver drove into her and let loose her stomach's panel. The curved metal sheet swung down between her legs. It clanged against the floor before settling. “Ah shit...” Mecha's muffled voice came from beneath her, “this is real bad.” “Can you fix it..?” Cardinal said with worry. “Maybe...” He pulled his head out, raising it up he wiped some smelly blue goo off his nose. “But I'd nheed some replacshemant parts, ones I ain't 'ave here...” “C-can you get them? Please?” she begged him. “Even if I could, neither of ush can shtay here... Matter of time before they realize she isn't chechking back in.” He nodded toward the dead body lying away from them, its head half cut open and pouring blood into a large puddle beneath itself. Cardinal's one lit eye shook with fear of death, “B-but! I'll die! Mecha, I need your help!” He sighed, going to his workspace and packing up his things. “I know w're ya can get the parts...” He stuffed a few tools into the pockets in his work overalls, then walked to Cardinal and pulled her head down, putting his muzzle beside her ear to whisper. “T'eres a place cawled the 'Murder Machine'. I's an undergroun' robaw fightin' ring. Mecha goes there e'rey week. It is hidden and it'll have your parts... It's on Bodied Street, you'll see the signs... Meet me t'ere tonight, ya?” Cardinal nodded and he retracted his muzzle, “Are you going to be okay..?” Cardinal asked, looked up at the camera. “Yeah, don' you worry 'bout auld Mecha. Ain't first time I had ta run from the fuzz,” he said, trotting to the other side of his garage, going into his old, and very well maintained, pickup truck. Once inside, he rolled down the window to speak to Cardinal. “They ain't gonna catch me. Just get there, alright?” “Can't you bring me there? Can't we go together?” She placed a hoof against the truck door. “I'm being tracked, they bugged everything in 'ere. If you're with me, they'll find ya. If I'm alone, they ain't gonna send their best after me, and I'll be able to deal with 'em. 'Ey, don't ya worry, ya made it this far. Ya can make it there.” He pulled up a trucker cap from within the truck, placing it on head and spinning it around backwards, the mesh covering his messy, black hair and forehead. “Yeah... See you there, Mecha.” He started the vehicle, about to drive out before he was reminded of something, “Oh, and Cardinal, Surrie's been lookin' for ya. I haven't seen her for a while, so watch out for 'er” “Thanks, Mecha.” She waved as he backed up into the parking lot. She stood for a few moments, watching him drive off around the corner. Sighing, she trotted back to the workstation to retrieve her missing plate. She hesitated crossing the dead pony, taking a second to stare down at another of her victims. “I'm so sorry...” she whimpered, feeling the guilt set in. “No more...” she promised herself, hoping that she would not have to break the vow. Soon, her mourning was interrupted by a static voice coming from the Royal Guard's corpse. “L̢i̵ly, ̧r͡e͘port ̨i̛n, ̨did ͘y͡o͏u g̀et͡ her̶? ̢Lil̶y?” Cardinal trotted over to the body, trying not to look directly into the massive ravine of flesh in the side of its head. She flipped it over to reveal a small radio on her chest. “L͞il̷ỳ!̶ ͘Pleas̶e͢ res̴po͜nd!̛ Oh ̡f̵ucki̸ng C͜e̕le̸s̵tia..̛.” Cardinal gulped. Scooping up her stomach panel off the ground and pressing it back into place, she turned to leave the garage, hobbling out the way she came. “I TOLD YOU, DON'T FUCKING FIGHT HER! ESPECIALLY NOT ALONE!” Diamond roared out at the several Royal Guards standing around the body. “FUCKING CELESTIA, HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO CATCH HER IF YOU ACT LIKE THIS!?” Diamond headbutted the wall in frustration, leaving his forehead pressed against it as he took a breather. One of the guards spoke up, “Diamond, do I have to remind you who is in charge here?!?” Said the large, burly Unicorn mare. He pushed off of the wall and spun around to face the Captain, “Oh, I know who is in charge, Captain. Twilight's calling the shots. All I'm saying is that she is doing everything wrong!” “And what have you done, asshole? We let you talk to her and you didn't accomplish shit! At least we are close to getting her!” “I was getting somewhere with her. I was talking her into coming back. It would work if you didn't try to kill her every time you got close!” He stepped up to her, face to face. “You’re not here to talk. You’re here to predict her movements. So shut the fuck up and do your job. We'll do ours.” The Captain disengaged from Diamond, stepping back and returning to her guards, all inspecting the crime scene. “What do we have?” A unicorn with a glass visor covering one eye trotted up, flipping the visor upward to regain full vision of her Captain. “The engineer, Mecha, he's helping her. Apparently she is damaged and needs repairs. I've sent out a troop to go and arrest him. Hopefully, we'll be eeeeable to beat an answer out of him of wherever he told the objective to go.” “Nice work. He shouldn't be too hard to subdue. Anything else?” A pegasus came into the building from the opened garage door. “Her tracks are leading east. They lead up to the sidewalk from the alley. She's been gone for about... Twenty minutes?” “Thank you. Alright, is that it?” Diamond spoke up once more, “If I could get a word in, we should stop trying to play catch up with Cardinal and get her to come to us. We need to set a trap and lure her in. I keep telling you it is the only way we're going to catch her!” “And I keep telling you, we can't just start setting up ambushes in every single corner of the city, just in case she happens to cross one! We can't lure her anywhere because there isn't anything she wants! Seeker is dead and there isn't anything else that robot cares about!” “She has to want something! Cardinal isn't trenching through the entire city because she's fucking bored!” The Unicorn Captain's horn began to glow. Diamond felt light on his hooves as he was pulled up by the neck. “I swear to Celestia, you're lucky that Twilight wants you alive. If it was up to me... You wouldn't just be in jail for creating that fucking monster. I would have you starved, burned and skinned alive. I don't want to hear another fucking word from your mouth, do you get that?” He struggled to nod with the magic surrounding his neck. She dropped him onto the floor, gasping for air. “He's right, you know.” A feminine voice came from the back of the store. “What?” The Captain turned, looking toward the hallway leading to the storefront, a lime green Pegasus gently strolling in. She was wearing the full, ornate Royal Guard armor and she sported a long, elegant spear. “He is right. If you want to catch her, you have to find out what she loves... Use it... Make it suffer...” She spoke uneasily, unhinged jitters and filthy coat complemented her tone. “Then she will come running, without thinking... You will have her...” The Captain lowered her brow, “I'm sorry, I didn't catch your na-” “Holly...” Diamond said, in shock. “You know her?” The Captain turned to Diamond. “Yeah...” Holly casually strolled toward them, trailing the blade of her spear against the ground causing a painful scraping noise. Once she reached the group of guards, she lifted her weapon backup, complete silence in the room. “36th Elder's Grove. Footage shows her entering and leaving that house twice, now. I've been to busy tracking her to check but... There has to be some reason for it. Go, investigate it.” The pony strode past the Captain, not giving her a look as she spoke to her. “Excuse me, who do you think you are?” The Captain spun around to Holly, trying to block her path. “Answer me!” “It doesn't matter, take my advice or don't, whatever you want.” She shoved past the Captain, moving into the parking lot, “East, into the alley?” The tracker nodded. Without saying another word, she spread her wings and pounced into the air, taking flight and dashing away, east. The pony with the visor walked to the Captain's side. “Captain?” “Yea?” “Do you want me to send a few ponies to check out Elder’s Grove?” “Yea.” Cardinal listened to the echo of her hoofsteps as she wandered down this back road, in an extremely grimy part of the city once more. It seemed that there were far more of these disadvantaged areas in this city than others. The path was trashed, garbage openly poured onto the street, needles, broken and used, scattered everywhere. She had to dodge several hooded ponies that seemed to simply be hanging out on the streets, although apart from them this entire part of the city was quite dead. Cardinal had been making her way to this ''Bodied'' street, which she had gotten directions to from a scratched up city map she found at the side of a bus stop. Reaching the end of this short one-way road, Cardinal peered around the corners. Seeing a few thuggish looking ponies off to her right, she popped her head back in, hopping into the archway of a doorway in the rear of the closest building, pressing up against it she waited patiently for them to pass so she could continue. Her guts gave her another sudden kick of pain, vision slightly hazy as she brushed it off. Gazing down the street from where she came, she watched another pony run by. From the distance, she could only tell that they were gold and very shiny before they sprinted past the other corner and out of her sight. Cardinal heard the group pass by near her. She stuck out her head to see their tails before they were gone. She also managed to hear a small bit of their conversation as one said, “... going to buy from now? Can't believe...” is all she got before his voice faded away. She stepped out of the doorway, going to the corner again she searched for any other threats. Seeing nopony else coming in her direction, she went to turn the corner. Trotting onto the main street, she quickly dashed across, making her way to the other side, where she ran down the right pathway for a few moments before reaching another tight alleyway that she ducked into. Once in the shadows, she skidded to a halt, twisting her head over her shoulder to make sure nopony had seen her. Relieved, she returned to trotting forward. It was closing in on night. Wouldn't be long before she reached the ''Murder Machine''. What did Mecha say it was again? A robot fighting ring? Why in Equestria would such a thing exist? she thought. Not paying to much heed to her surroundings, together with her impeded visual ability due to the darkness, she stumbled into a bin, the metal clanged back and forth against the trash inside. Cardinal recoiled back, taking a quick breath after realizing what she had done. She went to continue moving down the alley, but just as she took her first step, a voice came down from the shadows in front of her. “Is that you again!? I told ya that I am not selling, and if I was I ain't gonna sell to some piece of shit like you!” Cardinal was taken back by the familiarity of the voice. She could nearly place it... “Did ya not hear me? Get your ass out of here!” She knew them, but she couldn't place a name... Then a popping noise came from the same direction, that of lips sucking on a glass bottle. Her assumptions were confirmed when the same glass was placed down onto the ground with a sloshing of liquid. “Scotch?” she said, her eyes jumping. “Cardinal?” She watched as a shadowy figure stood up and grew in size as it approached her. “Fancy seein' you here! How are things? Did ya find your special somepony?” he said in his grizzled, chummy voice, slurred by the drink. Cardinal lowered her head at the question, feeling the scar. “It... It didn't go well.” “Oh... Did she...” He made a throaty cough, then a few swallowing noises as if he nearly vomited. “Did she dump ya?” He put a hoof onto Cardinal's stiff shoulder. Before he gave a chance for Cardinal to respond, he assumed he was correct. “Don't worry. You'll find the right pony... One day... I... uhh, my first girlfriend... I...” “It’s fine, Scotch, it's alright.” She raised her gaze back up to him. “Oh, well then... What ya doing here? I'm uh... Enjoying myself...” He coughed violently. “As you can see...” he said, out of breath. “I'm looking for a place called the Murder Machine, do you happen to-” She was cut off by his drunken rambling. “The Murder Machine! Oh that place is... Really awesome! I... I've been a few times. It’s crazy... They have this, this huge stadium, where they have robots fight! Robots! I've never seen anything cooler than those robots they have there... So advanced, it's crazy, the technology it would take to build something like that...” Cardinal cut him off before he could ramble any further, “Can you tell me where it is? I only know the street name.” “Oh, yea! It’s... Umm...” He put his hoof around Cardinal's neck and pulled her down the alley, trotting with her down to where she first entered. Once there, he let go of her and stumbled onto the street, the first time she had gotten a good look at the thick brown-furred pony with a trashed black mane. He wore a hole-ridden black fedora and a tie, equally messy. He looked up at the street signs. “Aha! So, if we are here...” He spun around back to face the alley, trying to visualize the path. “If you go two streets that way, and then take a right and keep going, you should see an abandoned industrial area. There's a big warehouse with the words Murder Machine all over it...” “Thank you so much, Scotch. See you!” She turned back to the alley and skipped down it, glad that she was finally going to get repaired. “See ya, Cardinal... Stay in school...” He shouted out to her. Soon enough, Cardinal had reached the other side of the long, wide alley, passing by all of the back doors and garbage dumpsters and reaching the street on the other side. As she stepped out into the light, after checking for ponies and finding none, she turned her head back to look at Scotch, wondering if he had gone back to his seat and drink. She was taken back when she saw him chatting with somepony else, the shiny, gold pony she saw before... Cardinal leaned in, trying to get a clearer look, and before long she realized that the pony wasn't gold; that was their armor. It was then, once Cardinal had realized it was another Guard tracking her, just before she went to run away, is when Scotch had pointed down the alley, the Guard’s vision shooting down and catching Cardinal's. They locked eyes and both hesitated in making their move. Although, Cardinal then learned the other pony wasn't hesitating, instead just pulling out the spear on their back slowly, with menace. Cardinal turned heel and bolted, running as fast as her wounded and tired state would allow, as she heard a painful scraping of metal against stone coming from behind her. She stumbled on the curb, getting to the next street and forcing her way through as she plowed down a thin wooden gate. She continued to sprint up onto the patio of somepony's home. Cardinal fell against the door, her weight causing it to creak. Turning her head back, she saw the light green Pegasus galloping at her. She had already reached the street behind her and raised her spear, lifting it back to throw. Cardinal pushed against the door frame, dropping her body onto the hardwood of the patio, smacking her head against it with an aching force. She had done this just in time as the spear came flying at the door, the blade stabbing right through the wood and smashing a ginormous hole into it, the spear landing somewhere inside the house. Holly then hopped over the gate with the ease of her wings, boosting her into the front yard. She looked like a wild animal, her mouth drooling and eyes focused and filled with rage. The door then swung open, a Pegasus, presumably the resident of the home, stepped out, holding a pistol within his right wing. “YO, WHAT THE FU...” He came out in a rage but was immediately frozen by confusion as he looked out onto the Royal Guard on his lawn, not even spotting Cardinal lying at his hooves yet. Luckily for her, this made Holly plant her hooves into the ground and stop, her head down and ready for action. Holly stared down the pony, who returned his gaze. It was only when Holly took a glance down at Cardinal that the Pegasus did also. His eyes lit up, the situation instantly doubling in his head with confusion. Although, it was a mere second of Cardinal and the stranger Pegasus looking at each other, before a long, smooth-sided combat knife came hurtling into the Pegasus's face, sticking in as his body fell atop Cardinal. Cardinal flipped between gaping at the dead body now on her and Holly, who had just thrown the knife. But as the Royal Guard sprung into action, Cardinal, without hesitation, grabbed the pistol within her own wing, turning it to Holly and firing it off. The bullets plinked off of her armor as she raised a leg to guard her head, stopping her from advancing as she protected herself on the patio stairs. Cardinal used this as her opportunity to throw the body off of her and limp herself into the house and kick the door closed behind her. She limped up into a standing position, scrambling further into the house. She found herself falling onto a kitchen counter in this humble little home before she heard the door burst down and Holly fly into the room with it. Biting down on a plate on the counter, she swung around her head, launching it towards the viscous Pegasus hunting her. Holly ran into the room. Seeing the plate coming, she plucked her spear out of the floor with two wings, slashing into the air at the flying plate, smashing it into pieces that went flying off to the left where she swung. Cardinal pressed down on her hind-leg’s suspension. Letting go, she made a pitiful jump across the counter. She landed on the other side onto the tiles of the kitchen, knocking bowls and utensils all over her. Holly leapt up onto the counter, then jumped down onto Cardinal, thrusting her spear at her head. Cardinal flipped up her metallic wing. Being stabbed by the spear, she lead it into the oven to her left, the spear so sharp it cut her feather right in half and smashed through the glass, digging in deeply into the oven's guts. A sizzling noise came from the inside. Holly fell onto Cardinal. Taking out a knife with one wing, she slammed it down at her chest. Cardinal twisted around her left leg, putting it in the blade’s path. It was stabbed through completely, the tip of the knife sticking out at Cardinal as she pushed against the Pegasus, Cardinal's strength failing. Holly spat onto Cardinal's face, yelling at her. “YOU’RE DEAD, BITCH!” She forced the knife down, its tip less than an inch from Cardinal's chest. Cardinal tried to flip up her pistol but her wing was being stood on by Holly. She had no way to point it at her. Then a distinct and familiar smell met Cardinal's nose. It was an intoxicating, sickening smell of some invisible gas. She felt its metallic, rotten stench in her throat. It clicked in her head, and then the trigger of her pistol clicked in her wing, the gunshot being relativity quiet compared to the gas explosion that then engulfed the two of them. Fire covered every inch of their collective skin. They both screamed out in pain. Although, after the initial blast, the fire that grabbed onto Cardinal quickly faded as she brushed it off. Unluckily for Holly, her hair-covered body did not give her the same luxury, as the flames stuck onto her with their agony-inducing claws. She waved in the air and collapsed to the ground. She shrieked and struggled on the tiles, unable to smother the flames. Cardinal threw a leg onto the counter above her, shaking as she pulled her giant mass upward. Her left leg making crunching noises as she tried to put pressure on it, she gave out a pained grunt as she lifted it back up. Resting against the counter she watched as Holly struggled on the floor, being burnt alive. Without too much hesitation Cardinal threw herself over to the other end of the kitchen, leaning over the busted oven she smacked the tap on, biting down onto the nozzle once the water was flowing and pulling with all her might. She stumbled back as she bit the tip of the tap off, falling backwards a few steps and landing on her behind. She watched as the water was sprayed over the sink's edges and poured onto the roasting Pegasus. The air filled up with steam and a hot fizzle as the flames were sedated by the erratic spray of water. Cardinal scrambled backward. Seeing a backdoor in this tiny little house, she pulled herself up, grunting and groaning as her body stung in every place. She pressed against the door, eventually busting through and falling down the back stairs and into the grass. Feeling the grass and dirt in her mouth as her head was slammed into the ground. She rolled onto her back, taking a breath, looking up at the house she saw an orange glow coming from inside, the fire spreading to the wooden walls of the house. Cardinal went to run, the knife stuck in her leg still burning with pain. She lifted the leg up to the side of her cheek and placed the handle into her mouth. With a visceral yank, she dislodged the knife and threw it across the yard. A streak of goo came out with it, splattering over the grass. Slowly making her way to her hooves over the course of a minute, she found extreme difficulty with planting her hooves steadily. She took a step forward, slugging her weight with huge effort. Soon, the second step followed, shambling out of the yard's gate and onto the street. Cardinal slumped down against the rattling metal sheet, falling down and sitting against the wall of the warehouse. She had made it. Now, she only had to wait for Mecha. Once he got here, then that would be it; she would be fixed. Which, in light of recent events, was something Cardinal really looked forward to. Lacking even the strength to haul herself into the building, she sat facing the street, hoping to see his pick-up roll in any second... The industrial estate she found herself in was really tightly packed, indistinguishable, rusty and maintained warehouses in lines, a few smoke stacks in the distance sticking out of a large factory at the end of the street. Broken down trucks lay in this mechanical graveyard, the dust coating them seemingly ancient. In the center of this estate, an outlying building stood, a refurbished warehouse. While still not necessarily clean, the building Cardinal sat against was painted in a very funky graffiti style. It had several reinforced walls, signs sticking out of the pavement, prominently sporting the name, ''Murder Machine''. There was even a gate installed. Unlike anything else in the estate, it looked like it was built within the century, and luckily for Cardinal, it was already wide open when she stumbled in on her last legs. She could hear inside. It was like a riot and a concert combined with the cheering and verbal rage. Lights could be seen flashing into the dark sky from cracks in the roof, a flurry of colours pouring into the air above her. Cardinal noticed the large amount of loose scraps of steel and tech lying around only this building, far more specific than any other stray garbage anywhere else. Sparking wires and gadgets surrounded her with no pattern or order, just sporadically thrown about. She looked down onto her left foreleg. It was leaking, heavily. All of its joints and pistons became resistant and congested, sparks coming out every now-and-again. The panel on either side was coming loose, easily pried off with the smallest of force, practically dangling by a thread. It still hurt like a bitch. Although all of her worries were set aside when she heard the revving spin of tires against the road, coming out from the street and getting closer. Her tired head lifted with ease at this, watching the road with a hopeful eagerness. A smile appeared on the dead landscape of her worn face as she saw Mecha's worn truck roll up, the right side facing her. Mecha sat on the left, his trucker hat just barely visible from the opposite side of the car. Then the door facing Cardinal clicked, slowly floating open. As it flung open, she heard a voice coming from inside the car, sounding like a terrible impression of Mecha's accent. W'erhh, Hawya doing 'ere Cardi? The fox, wearing Mecha's hat, came into view as the door continued to edge open. A douchey smile on his face, along with the corner of his mouth raised open in an effort to mimic Mecha's voice. Cardinal's brow fell, sighing as she became heavily peeved. What? Are you not excited to see me again? I doubt anyone would be, Fox. Ah, we have a smart ass, eh? Well, let me cut to the point then. The fox slid out of the car, hopping down onto the sidewalk and ditched his hat with a toss back into the car. He strode over to Cardinal, who was feeling the weight of her injuries ease as she felt around in this dream-plane. So, sis, you made it. Congrats. How you feeling? Is that really ''the point'' that you’re cutting to? Well, it's not like I'm here to give you profound advice every time. You’re just hallucinating because you've lost a lot of blood... But hey, it's going to get all better soon, right? Just gotta wait for Mecha to get here, yeah? He spun around to look at his truck. In fact, I should probably park that. He raised a paw, snapping his toes like before. The car door shut tightly and the wheels began rolling along the street until they were out of sight. That's better. He turned back to Cardinal. I want to make sure I don't get a parking ticket. He grinned. If you want to talk, then sit and talk, Fox. If you want to play your silly games, then you should probably leave. Ooh... Is it Cardinal I'm talking to? Because I don't recognize this Cardinal... Actually, I do, that time you set yourself on fire and blew me up. Now that, that is the Cardinal I can get behind. He strolled up to her, sliding down the wall slowly, in the most cool and casual way he could. Speaking of setting yourself on fire, you seem to be doing that a lot nowadays, huh? That was self defense. He put his leg around her shoulder, closing in beside her. Yea, that's why you saved her... Lemme tell you, if that was me... Ohh if that was me… He gave her a joking glance, seeing her deadpan eyes, making him fold up. You know, then, I guess... He sighed, his high being thrown off. You know, you’re a real buzzkill... I'm just trying to cheer up my lil' sister and you’re all pouty cause of that. I don't need cheering up. Not from you, at least. He cocked his head away, slightly offended. Not from me? Why not me? What's wrong with me? he said, trying to pull it off with a laughing attitude but finding himself veering into a melancholy tone. You’re dead. You shouldn't be here. Dead? Death didn't mean all that much just a few days ago, did it? Why is it so damn impactful to you now? She gave him a restrained look of anger, annoyed by the question. I know, I know. Seeker’s dead, you're never going to see her again, that sucks... He took a hefty breath. That doesn't mean it has to be the end of her, right? You're still here, and I know for a fact that you're not fighting your way through the entire city, grinding down tooth and nail for me. He let his head rest on its side, giving her a knowing look. It's true that I know that for a fact, by the way. I can, you know, see in your head. Your point? My point, if you'd let me get to it, is that there is no such thing as a meaningless death. Seeker died and got you to not give up, to live on her behalf. I'm dead, well, at least the version of me in the computer you burned down, but I'm still here for you. Don't let that change... She was taken aback, nodding in agreement without even realizing it. He fiddled with the locket that was around her neck, inspecting its design. He returned to his casual, joking tone. Guess that you've forgotten about all that Dragon Oath shit, yea? Cardinal, still processing his message, flinched at the question, remembering what he was talking about. Don't worry, I doubt it was all that important... But this magic, plant-growing locket, you could do a lot of good with that. After this whole repairing and being hunted nonsense is dealt with, of course. This world seems like it could use a few more flowers. Yea... she said, gently looking down at it. He let go of it, sitting back against the wall. Guess your story ain't finished yet, am I right? He winked. Cardinal then felt something jab her in the forehead, causing her to place a hoof onto the point where she was hit as a reaction. Facehoofing, really? It's just an innocent bit of meta humour. What? No, its... She felt it again, trying to swat at it like a fly. “What the...” Cardinal raised her head, dropping her hoof as she felt its unyielding weight return. She looked out to see two ponies standing over her, one holding out a screwdriver with his wing and poking at her. She tried to get a better look at them, but her vision was blurry and it was getting too hard to focus, so she didn't bother. “Holy shit!” The one poking exclaimed as her one operating eye flickered on and stared him down. “She's the real deal, dude!” His friend added, both of them enthralled with Cardinal. “Wha...” Cardinal struggled to speak, feeling the weight of her eyes still prominent. “Holy fuck, dude, what do we do?!?” The Pegasus grabbed his friend by the shoulders, who responded with similar excitement and panic, “Dude, the other's will freak out when they see her!” “Re...” Cardinal made the sound, resting before continuing. “Wait, dude, I think she's trying to tell us something!” The Pegasus brought down his head to line up with Cardinal's, giving her an attentive ear. “Repairs...” she finished, sending the two of them back in shock as they took a second look at her body, now becoming aware of the heavy damages. “Fuck, you’re busted up something bad, dude...” He looked up at her eyes, seeing a hint of frustration past the weakness. “Ugh, I mean, dudette, sorry,” he corrected himself, causing Cardinal to roll her eye at the statement. The Pegasus stood up and addressed his friend, “Go tell Holler and get them to clear out chopping block A. Tell him it's urgent. I'll carry her in.” “You got it, dude,” he said, rushing around the corner and into the building, out of sight. “Alright, Cardinal, is it? We're gonna get you fixed up. That okay with you, girl?” he asked, as if she wasn't begging for help. He only received her unmoving and peeved stare, which he took it as a yes. He lifted her legs around his shoulders and over his neck, hoisting her up until she lay on his back, kept in balance by his wings. “The name's Joint, by the way, super big fa- Oh, Celestia, you are heavy... Big fan of yours, Miss Cardinal...” He pushed on, grinding his hooves against the cement as he made his way into the building, following his friend. Soon, though, as the roaring screams of the warehouse became louder the further she was brought inside, she felt herself slipping, her world fading to black. “PREPARE YOURSELVES, MARES AND GENTLECOLTS FOR THE FINAL ROUND OF...” The room fell dead silent as everypony waited in exuberance. “...MURDER MACHINE!!!” The crowd roared at the announcers words, the stadium completely packed and bursting over the edges. Hooves filled the air as they cheered with all their might, jumping out of their seats. “Contestants! ARE… YOU… READY!?!” The voice boomed over the crowd, powerful speakers in every corner projecting the announcer. He heard his reply as the crowd freaked out even more, ponies throwing loose wires, circuitry, chunks of steel, knives and other blades, drinks and bits all into the ring. On the east and west podiums stuck into the stands at the edges, looking over the ring and outfitted with shabbily-built protective glass and a small pedestal for a controller, there were two sets of three ponies, each in their respective team colours. Both groups nodded up to the viewing box at the far north end of the stands, giving the all clear to the announcer. “WELL, THEN! Team Xbot, please, REVEAL… YOUR… MACHINE!” The crowd of a few hundred went insane as the metal sheet covering a door in the arena slid upward. Then, with a faint buzzing, a small, horseshoe-box sized robot came rolling out onto the sandy, dusty arena floor. It had two treading wheels on either side it drove on, sleek armored panels protecting the wheel rims. The main body was a steel-plated box with a large buzzsaw hanging on a crane atop of it. There were two spikes on the front and back on the left and right of each face, in the center a spring-powered knife hidden inside. It was painted with bright greens and chrome silvers, a large X printed onto the main body. “Team Deathstation, REVEAL… YOUR… MACHINE!” the announcer called out, cuing the opposing team to unveil their creation. The door slid up with a rattle. Another machine came stepping out on its four spider-like legs, metal beams and hinges lifting the bot's body to a height nearly equal to that of an average filly. Each leg had four claws at their base, going out of each corner into an X. The sharp and jagged claws sunk into the loose, earthy floor. The only other weapon it seemed to harness was the thick barrel on its underside, pointing down at the ground beneath it. It was mostly painted a deep, dark grey with blue highlights. “READY?!?” A large cheer answered him. “BATTLE!!!” The two bots shot up into life, charging at each other as the stadium went crazy, cheering for their respective team as the suspense of this final match build in the seconds before the two robots began their ultimate battle to the death. A pony shoving their way through the massive riot of ponies forced their way around the inner railing, getting to the opposite end where he traveled up the steps frantically, pushing his way up to the commentator's booth. He was stopped by the armed guard, only let through after some quick convincing. Just as the bots came inches from each other, the announcer's voice could be heard, speaking to somepony else in his room. “You mean... She's here…? Cardinal is… actually here?” The room, practically in an instant, shut up. Every single pony in the stadium turned away from the now-ongoing battle and turned up toward the booth. “I've got to see this...” The announcer and the messenger pony came out of the booth running down the private back stairs onto the ground floor, rushing to the chopping block. The crowd took a moment before rioting down the main stairs. Not a single pony was left with any interest in the current battle, as even the fighting teams ditched their bots and ran and shoved along with the crowd. After a few moments, and several ponies being trampled, the stadium was completely bare, only two motionless robots in the center of the arena, frozen mid-battle. “THAT'S NOT THE RIGHT SHADE, YOU DIMWIT!” “What do you mean? It is, dude!” “Are you colourblind? That's at least two tints off! Look at the sample sheet!” “Oh... Shit, yea. Well, it's close enough, I mean.” “Close enough? That shit's gonna annoy me, dude! Why did we let you paint?” “You promised that if I don't try and install any of my awesome attachments and instead leave it to the 'professionals', I would get to paint, so give me the other yellow and let me paint, dude!” “What...” Cardinal blinked her eyes open, feeling a strange jolt of excitement when she could see out of both eyes once more. In fact, her vision was clearer than she ever remembered. She sat up with lighting speed, delighted by her strength as she twisted her head around the room. A large cheer of a crowd of ponies screamed out in triumph as she got up, giving her a slight scare. In front of her were the two ponies she recognized from the outside. Now with clear vision, she inspected them both. One, the Pegasus that carried her in, was a young, bright orange stallion. He wore a greased up, dulled gray shirt. He had tired, gentle red eyes and a buzz-cut yellow mane. The other was a unicorn, a paintbrush floating in his magical grip covered in a slightly off-tint yellow to Cardinal. He had a cooled-blue coat, and a thicker blue mane, and a confident set of purple eyes. Behind them, there stood a large, huddled mass of ponies, each of them looking like some form of technician, each with their distinctive tools and hardware. They all seemed to be tired to death as they all watched Cardinal in awe, but there was no sign of Mecha anywhere. She was sitting on a large steel block, hundreds of small parts thrown about around her. The room had blueprints, tool racks and cabinets tucked into every corner and inch of wall. Other tables filled with metal sheets and circuitry filled the room more than the ponies. “Hello?” she said in a slightly worried, innocent tone, fearful of the crowd watching her every eye-twitch. “SHE SPEAKS!” A pony from the back shoved through the engineers, moving up to the operating table she was on and leaned up against it. An older looking stallion with many scars and old bruises. “The name's Holler! And I think I speak for the entire room when I say we are all huge supporters.” “S-s... Supporters?” She backed away, sliding herself to the edge of her steel bed, letting her tail hang over the side. Seeing her obvious distress, the Pegasus from before stepped in, “Don't worry, Miss Cardinal, we're not going to hurt you or call the Royal Guard or anything. We're only here to help!” “H-help?” Cardinal began to notice her rehabilitated strength felt... Off. Her tail felt extremely light, compared to what she remembered. So did her mane, in fact, while her flank and main body felt far bulkier, a hefty weight, like she was wearing a whole other layer of skin atop of her own, but she set aside the thoughts as she focused on the herd of ponies in front of her. “Yes, we repaired you! Look at yourself, you look fucking... Ripped!” Cardinal realized she was repaired, fully. Looking down at her hooves first, her eyes flew open in dismay. Both legs now outfitted with a set of thick, engraved steel armor plates, curved brilliantly at the hooves with a very old-fashioned Legionnaire style, complemented with a pink, luminescent highlight between the front and back panels. Her actual hooves were completely replaced with a rubber-tipped, thick titanium base and a small set of spikes in the base of the hoof, allowing for both insane friction and a very deadly punch, with a newly installed, spring-locked ball joint, allowing full free movement and even a high-power outward thrust of the hoof that could probably bend steel with one hit. Her eyes traveled up her legs, reaching her chest and shoulders. Two thick pads, continuing with the classical Pegasian armor theme was made of several stacked plates of steel, a small circle in the center of the outmost layer had a glowing pink circle, looking like it was comprised of liquid as patterns and shapes formed and deformed gently, like lava. Her chest had a burly new design. High-grade steel stuck to her in multitudes, forming a large armor, with several glowing pink streaks leading from all around her body down into the center of her chest, where there was a large hoof-sized, butterfly-shaped core filled with the stuff. Her flank and hind legs followed a similar pattern, making it seem like she was wearing a heavy-duty set of traditional Pegasian armor with a few futuristic design flares. She then swung her two hooves up to her head, expecting to hit her mane. Although, it took a second of feeling around in the air where her synthetic metal hair used to be before she found that it was still there, just far shorter, with sharp edges. She pulled down her leg, and using its newly-polished surface as a mirror she looked at her face, her neck's exterior completely redone. The old, clunky panels were gone and instead a snake-like thread of wide metal sheets that made the shape of her neck all connected together by her spine allowed for an insane new amount of free movement. The familiar pink colour was used in between joints as an accent. Her spine continued down along her back with a folding set of interlocking spikes, going all the way down to her tail. Her face had experienced heavy changes as well. Two sets of armor, in a pointed, triangular shape, covered her muzzle and forehead, only leaving a wide V shape for her eyes to see through. Then, by just simply thinking it, the two panels gave out a gust of wind as their pressure locks opened and the bottom panel slid off her muzzle and shifted down underneath her chin where it stopped, sticking up to her lower jaw to conceal it, while the top one rotated upward, revealing her forehead and the rest of her eye sockets, until it stopped at her mane. She then looked deep into her own eyes, now completely lacking all white. Instead, the glass seemed to have been replaced with a screen, leaving her eyes with a pure black background and two diamond blue pupils which she quickly found can be manipulated in any way as she changed their shape from a circle to a flower and back. Her mane and tail were cut down, now into a more menacing, slicked back style, looking like a gust of flames. Still retaining their old pink colour. Unlike most of her body which was now a polished silver. “So, what do you think?” Joint, the Pegasus, asked her. She couldn't even think at this point though, so she just continued to admire her new body. He continued, “After we fixed you up, we thought, hey, running from the Royal Guard? You could use some upgrades to help, and we're kind of the experts on this sort of thing.” He began pointing at the engineers as he spoke. “That's Rook. Him and his crew designed your new armor. That shit should be able to survive through a ballistic missile. There's Switch. She fixed up all of your wiring and even had a spare tank of the... What do you call it? The goo shit that's like robot blood?” “Harmony,” she responded. “Yeah, that. She had some of that and we gave you a transplant, so your blood's now pink 'stead of blue. Him, over there, that's Riptire, and that... that is Roadrage. Him and her installed your new joints and shit, along with your new weapons.” “Weapons?” Cardinal instantly butted in, lifting her eyes to Joint, giving him a look of disbelief. “Yeah, apart from your spiked hooves, you now have a flamethrower that retracts into your mouth and your wings now have two machine guns.” Cardinal's jaw dropped, then with a thought, a small nozzle appeared above her synthetic tongue. She then flipped it back in and shut her mouth, spreading out her re-sharpened and patched up wings, and, as promised, on the girth of her wing, there was installed a tiny machine gun on either side, resembling a fighter plane. Seeing that Cardinal was loving this, he continued. “All of them, basically, that half of the room is responsible for fixing all of your guts, replacing most of them, in fact. Only a few parts we left untouched, like the cupholder. We found the grenades in that and nearly blew up... everything. So those are still there. You probably shouldn't open that, cause they are stuck in this, like, awkward place... So if you move them out, they will go off, cause the pins are caught up in there and will be pulled out if moved too much... You probably knew that, so, as I was saying.” He patted the blue unicorn beside him on his back, “And Trinket, my friend here was about to paint you, and he was about to use the wrong damn colour.” All of the engineers waved and nodded at her, causing her to start laughing with glee. “T-thank you...” she said to them, looking out at the crowd. “Well, Miss Cardinal...” Holler spoke up again, going up to the side of her bed and extending a helping hoof to get her standing back up. “Let's get you on your hooves, test out that new body of yours.” “S-sure...” she stuttered as a few tears fell down, feeling somewhat blessed by this group of strangers. “But...” She remembered something. “Where's... Where’s Mecha?” “Mecha?” Joint said, slightly disheartened. “He, ugh... Here.” He took a phone out with his wing and gave it a few swipes before lifting it up to Cardinal, who had scooched up toward him as she waited. The phone screen was brought in front of her eyes. It was a news article that she began reading aloud. “This evening, Mecha Machine, a pony involved with the escape of Cardinal has been...” She gulped, her heart sinking. “Shot while in a high-speed pursuit...” “Hey.” Trinket put a hoof onto her lap trying to comfort her. “How about a paint job, huh? Take your mind off things.” Cardinal's voice had dropped into a heartless, distant tone. “Sure.” She gently laid back, staring at the ceiling. Holler then gave her a small heads up, trying to be as sensitive as possible. “After you’re painted... I thought you might want to test out your new body, so we have a few destructibles for you in the arena, if that's ok with you.” She strained her hoof, feeling the insane, raw strength. She wanted to destroy something. “Sure.” “Mares and Gentlecolts, we thank you for your great patience. After an entire night's worth of repairing, rebuilding, and respecing her... We present to you, Manehattan's very own sentient robot...” The voice came from outside Cardinal's waiting room. Once he had paused, the door she had been staring at finally began lifting open as the stadium's lights poured over her. “CARDINAL!!!” She stepped out, hearing the mass applause. Cardinal wasn't lied to; the arena was filled with rebar and concrete walls, targets hooked onto steel poles and somepony even lifted in a run-down car. Cardinal took one slow gaze around the arena, feeling the anger build up inside her, waiting to be unleashed. She wasn't even fazed by the fact hundreds of ponies were screaming and cheering around her. Her face mask flipped up over her muzzle and forehead, leaving her deadly eyes glowing from beneath. With very little focus, she tinted her magical pupils red. She galloped toward one of the many wall chunks scattered around, raising a leg as she skidded into it, throwing it behind her shoulder and launching it forward as she met the wall with her hoof. Moving at super-pony speed, she shot out her hoof from its socket a split second second before coming into contact with the cement, giving her punch that extra little umf as leg crashed into the wall, creating a large crater and sending cracks throughout the entire slab of stone. The spectators rallied behind her, yelling deafeningly loud as she landed the punch. She took a second, breathing in relief with her hoof stuck deeply into the cement. After letting the relief wash over her and the crowd began to calm, she cocked back her leg once more, smashing into the concrete again, causing dust to fly off and stone to crumble. Before too long, she did it again, then again and again, demolishing the wall with a flurry of punches, coming in extreme quick succession and after mere seconds she felt her hoof fly forward and not be stopped as the wall crumbled into a pile of dust. She swiveled around, staring down a poorly spray-painted target symbol on a stolen, half-height traffic sign. She flipped up her wings, stretching them out wide as she unloaded her machine guns, bullets flying through the thin panel creating a swarm of holes until the sign was flung off. A few dozen bullet holes cratered into the thick steel walls of the arena. Cardinal snapped her wings back to her sides, twisting her head around like a viscous snake as it folded and rotated a full one hundred and eighty degrees, looking at the car in the far north side of the arena from the center, where she stood strongly. She stepped around with her body, her head not moving in the slightest from its enraged glare as the rest of her aligned with it. She then ground her hoof against the sand, kicking some of it back behind her like a bull as she prepared to charge. Dashing powerfully forward, the crowd roared, watching Cardinal run into the car, slamming both of her forelegs right into the side, going in through the doors. Cardinal began screaming as she hoisted the entire car into the air above her head, now standing on only her hind legs. The hood of the old car tipped out, slipping out of its hinges until it fell down beside her, the trunk of the car swinging in the air as she held it. Shouting in fury, she spun around, throwing the hunk of steel across the arena, landing near the center as it flipped a few times, landing on its roof as it skidded to a halt. The announcer was shouting in excitement, the crowd raging, though it was nothing more than a mute buzzing that she heard as she panted, her head gliding up and down in a smooth repeating motion with each breath, her chest moving in sync, in and out. Then, throwing her head into the sky, Cardinal flipped out her flamethrower, taking down her mask, aiming it into the sky as she turned it up to full blast, the large flame breath going out in a ginormous flaming inferno, nearly reaching the height of the stadium. She continued the eruption for a good, satisfying while, eventually cutting it off once she felt like it, lowering her head down slowly and meeting her eyes with the completely busted car once more. Cardinal took a slow and ramping trot toward it, reaching its side with a deadly patience. Positioning herself parallel to it, she cocked her right hind leg and slammed it into the hull of the car, leaving it to slide further down the arena. As the car moved, Cardinal lifted her head for the first time to look at the crowd, seeing the humongous mass of ponies go crazy over her. She felt the cooling wave of release pour over her body, lowering her head as her pupils gently shifted back to blue. Then, the crowd began going silent. Cardinal noticed her background noise fade, not completely realizing how loud it was until it finally quieted down. Her eyes wandered upward, looking to her right at the somewhat smoothly gliding car she had just kicked, and then above it, where on the railing of the stands there was a pony wearing a juggernaut sized set of Royal Guard armor and a large machine gun strapped to them. It was a suit she recognized. Ponies around them backed away as the guard bent the railing in front of them, splitting it into two ends to allow them to move through with ease. The Royal Guard hopped down almost casually into the arena, but landing with a ground shattering crash, actually causing a small tremor around them. They then raised their hoof at the car gliding towards their side. As the car was a few seconds from stopping on its own, the pony put out a hoof, making the car go still as they impeded its movement. Then, spinning the car around as they walked directly forward. They stopped and looked Cardinal straight in the eye, who raised up her neck prominently as she watched in wonder, preparing herself for anything. “I told you...” They whispered, her speech amplified by the suit, a painful grit in their voice. “I am going to kill you...” The Royal Guard then nonchalantly flicked a switch on their cybernetic helmet, having the mask slide off of a pony's face. Behind were a set of tortured eyes, a green coat was left blackened from unhealed burns, which exposed flesh, her eyes filled with unfiltered hate and pure insanity. Cardinal's eyes widened in disbelief. “You...”
Home... “It has been a while, but I still remember seeing it on the news so clearly. It's like I can relay every single word in that first report that reached the public. Of course, the few days after the incedent at Discovery cliff, after I got Bun back to her home, all I did was wait for the news to break. I watched every single outlet like a hawk. I kept thinking in my head, either she got away completely, or Twilight found her and killed her. I was expecting one of the two to show up in my feed any second... But, as you most likely know, it wasn't that simple. What did end up happening, I can't think of any other word to call it apart from a miracle.” “Cardinal, somehow, did this thing that not just saved that forest, she somehow awoke the pony population and made them all realize how terribly we were treating the world. It took time. It wasn't an instant change, and it is a change that is still happening, and you can see that as more facts are found. More ponies become informed, which this documentary will surely help with, along with the hundreds of other sparks in the media that are coming together to paint this picture of one pony who at first just wanted her and her home to be left alone, but was ignored and was tortured and punished, despite being perfectly innocent, for nothing more than our gain. Then history simply repeated itself, but this time in the real world where we all could see it. Cardinal went through all she did and ended up dying, not because Twilight found her, because she chose to stand and fight to protect that tiny little forest without a name. She selflessly gave her life protecting nature, and we were spending our entire lives polluting and and disregarding nature.” ... “Of course she died for that forest. The least we could do is name the the thing after her. And I would like to add that Cardinal Forest, which is now the largest forest in Equestria, is only the beginning to rebuilding our connection with the world. “I've begun reading all these history books and learning about our purpose as a species. Ponies were meant to grow and protect nature. When we began paving over, it was a simple case of greed. We wanted more and bigger houses and cities. We wanted more technology and comforts and things like that. We lost that connection with the world and that is the problem that seems to be turning around.” ... “Twilight... Oh the things I can say about that mare... I do think that resigning from most of her leadership positions was the right call. Most ponies don't even want her to still be a princess after all of the lies and the abuse... Ponies used to look at her as this fearless, yet caring leader who would do anything for her citizens. What most ponies didn't realize is that she would do literally anything, including endangering innocent pony lives and lying to our faces... I've only seen one picture of her since the incident, which instantly made me realize why she had been trying to keep out of the public spotlight, and to be completely honest, I can't believe she is still breathing if they had to replace that much of her. She had cybernetic implants before, but with the amount she has now, she's practically as much of a robot as Cardinal was at this point… I guess that's irony, for you.” The sun. It rose today like it has done every other. A forest shone with ferocious flames consuming the edges of the treeline. Royal Guards stood spread out at the blazing entrance of the forest, patiently waiting in preparation for their ambush. Every animal, from rabbits to foxes, ran away from the flames cast by the monstrous mouths spitting fire into the foliage. Their entire world was about to be burned down, destroyed. The air felt like it was bleeding. All of its freshness was drowned out by the toxic heat pouring out of the flamethrowers. The sky was grey, filled with black clouds without a single silver lining to be seen. When it rained, the water was contaminated, acidic. It was slowly killing the forest, and in turn, the rest of the wildlife in it. Sadly, this was nothing new. This world was disgusting. It could be described as such without further elaboration. It was, simply, putrid. This putrid world was the home to many creatures, the wildlife being at the bottom of the metaphorical food chain, with Ponies on the top. They roamed this land also. In their large herds, they built cities over the home of the wildlife, where they relaxed in their houses, consuming nature for their pleasure whenever they wanted it. Like birds pecking for worms, the wild animals stood no fighting chance, their only option to hide. The landscape was tainted, no tree or cloud in its proper place, all because of the ponies that lived there found that nature, and even though they were supposed to protect it, they instead left it destroyed. But there was one pony, who wasn't exactly a pony, who lived in this world. One pony by the name of Cardinal. She was anything but a simple or regular mare. She was a Pegasus, but those details were the non-specifics. She was a sleek, bright yellow robot armed with an assortment of deadly weapons. The mare was creeping upon the ticklish grass, her hooves and chest gliding across the ground as she snuck around, not daring to even draw a breath to remain as quiet as possible. She wouldn't even blink her eyes as she observed the shifting shadows throughout the forest. There were more Royal Guard ''scouts'' around, looking for her while the heavy artillery burned down the forest, waiting to find any sign of Cardinal. Cardinal shot out her hoof, testing its power as she hid behind a pair of bushes, listening as one of the cannon-fodder ponies approached her direction, terrified of every twist and turn. It was almost too easy to sneak around them. The closest thing to a forest most of them have been in would be a dog park, while Cardinal, Cardinal was born in one. She watched as the pony’s eyes dilated till there was nearly no white showing, as Cardinal lept out from behind her cover and smashed his head down into the dirt, knocking him out. She quickly destroyed his radio and dented his assault rifle to the point of it being irreparable. She then dragged him behind some bushes, making his body as camouflaged as she could in the short amount of time she gave herself before sliding back into her prowl. Cardinal saw the entire forest complex. She travelled from point to point, taking out the helpless Royal Guards one by one, remaining unspotted. At least, not spotted for long, as bodies dropped all over the forest. Every single one she took down looked more terrified and jittery than the last, the radios blaring with commands and information being passed back and forth of someone hearing a rustle here or a snapping twig there. Every time one of the ponies stopped responding, they all freaked out, to the point where they began grouping up into pairs in an attempt to protect each other as an assassin as quick and silent as the wind flew threw their ranks. This did not impede her efficiency, possibly even helping it as she could take down two in one go. At the point where she had taken out a dozen or so of them, she began to feel satisfied with herself. Although she found that the she was being somewhat followed, as the brief screams helped in locating her. “CARDINAL, SURRENDER NOW! WE KNOW YOU ARE IN HERE, AND WE WILL BURN DOWN THIS ENTIRE FOREST IF WE NEED TO! JUST GIVE UP! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!” The echoing voice of the Captain blasted through the forest, the grit of magical amplification distinct in her voice as it reached around the entire woodland. Cardinal couldn't care less. She felt like a deadly animal. She wouldn't be able to be stopped by any Royal Guard. As far as she could tell, the scouts were gone. Either she had taken them all out, or they had retreated. Either way, the forest seemed to be clear on the inside. Now she had to deal with the bigger threat. She had to come up with a plan to not just stop the Guard, but to smother the flames before they spread to the rest of the forest. So far, the fire had gotten a few dozen trees deep on the one side. Cardinal had been avoiding getting too close, so she never saw how many super-soldiers they actually had. She had to get them into the forest; that was where she had the advantage. Cardinal quickly sprinted back toward her camp, finding it free of any intruders as she ran down the paths and bolted around some corners until she arrived at the cabin where she had tied up that first scout she found. Approaching the door, she was surprised as it flung open from the inside, a delighted Royal Guard on the other side prepared to step out of her makeshift prison, glad to finally be free as she found her road blocked by a peeved Cardinal. The pony fell onto her back, scrabbling for words. “I-I, uh... I wasn't...” she mumbled as she crawled backwards, recoiling as if she felt a snake graze her leg and saw the untied ropes on the floor she backed into. “You're coming with me,” Cardinal said plainly while trotting into the cabin and grabbing the pony by the collar. She shoved her out of the room, causing her to stumble and trip into the dirt path outside. “P-please! You don't have to do this!” she begged as Cardinal forced the pony up onto her hooves. “Do what?” Cardinal asked, shoving her down along the road. “You don't have to hurt me! You can use one of the other scouts! They are all over the forest! I can tell you where!” “They'd need to be alive to be able to work as a hostage.” Cardinal gave the pony a playful glare. Even though she was just messing around with her, that did not lessen the level of absolute horror the pony expressed. Cardinal and her new hostage travelled out of the camp. They moved through the bush, out toward the raging forest fire. On the way, Cardinal passed over a few of the pony bodies she had left out, freaking out the pony even more. Once they got to a safe distance away from the flame, Cardinal watched the hungry blaze devour her forest. A large wall of roaring flame made it blinding to look past, although she could hear the persistent onslaught of flame being thrown out at the wood. It was getting larger by the second, the pressure of the heat like a coating of lava pouring over them. The fire had eaten a bit more than a tenth of the forest so far. Cardinal shouted out, knowing who lay past the flame. “CAPTAIN, I AM HERE! I HAVE ONE OF YOUR MARES!” “CUT THE THROWERS!” she heard from the other side, the nozzles of the flamethrowers calming down. “STAND DOWN! LET'S MAKE THIS AS PEACEFUL AS POSSIBLE, ALRIGHT?” the Captain shouted over the blasting flames. “ACTUALLY THAT IS NOT ALRIGHT! NOT AS LONG AS THIS FIRE IS STILL BURNING! SO I SUGGEST YOU PUT THAT OUT BEFORE SOMEPONY GETS HURT!” Cardinal wrapped her right leg around the neck of her hostage, placing the machine gun on her wing against the back of the pony’s head. “YOU CAN'T HURT ANY OF US WHILE WE ARE ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FIRE!” “DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?!? I HAVE ONE OF YOUR MARES HERE, AND IF YOU DON'T STOP THE FIRE, THE DOZEN OTHER UNCONSCIOUS GUARDS ARE GOING TO BURN TO DEATH!” “DON'T LIE TO ME, YOU FUCKING MACHINE! YOU COULDN'T TAKE THEM ALL OUT!” Cardinal sighed, turning her head slightly toward her hostage. “What's your name, sweetie?” “M-Marble Sand...” The pony shook in fear. “I HAVE A ONE MARBLE SAND HERE WITH ME THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY DISAGREE WITH THAT, CAPTAIN!” Cardinal took a step forward, the heat beginning to almost bother her which just made her angrier at them. The Captain hesitated to respond, Cardinal could feel her begin to panic. Eventually she heard the disgruntled voice of the Captain respond back. “LET ME... LET ME HEAR HER!” “PLEASE! DO WHAT SHE SAYS!!!” Marble yelled out without delay. “FINE!” The Captain finally gave, and within a few moments, a multi-coloured magical aura began rounding off the fire's jagged edges as they grew smaller. Soon, the flame immediately in front of them was smothered by the many Unicorn Guards, leaving behind the barren, black hulls of the trees, ash all over the ground. Revealed behind the burnt timber stood a long formation of ponies, thirty-odd wide with the Captain in the centre. Every pony, including the Captain, was in full, high-grade juggernaut armour, each pony standing as their own lumbering force. Each Guard was armed with a large light machine gun, flamethrower, or rocket launchers. They all aimed at Cardinal as she was revealed from behind the flame. Marble tugged at Cardinal's grip, trying to sprint to her allies, but was caught by her and pulled in tighter, having her two forelegs pulled slightly over the ground so they dangled in the air, feeling the robotic joint tighten around her neck and cause her to begin slightly choking. “Marble, please,” Cardinal whispered into the frightened ponies ear, then turning to the Captain, the only pony with her mask lowered in order to speak to Cardinal with clarity. “Okay, Cardinal, let her go and surrender yourself, or we will use as much force as is necessary!” The Captain lifted her head high, keeping a straight face which was surprisingly convincing to Cardinal. “Captain, can I ask you a question?” Cardinal asked, which in itself was a rhetorical as she did not allow the Captain to respond. “Why did you come after me? I thought I made myself quite clear to Diamond about how I feel about surrendering.” “It doesn't matter how you feel; Twilight wants you captured, so that's what's going to have to happen. The more you resist the worse things are going to get for you.” “Where is Twilight, huh? I'd love to give her a few words in the flesh. I'm sick of having to deal with you.” Cardinal's tone sounded almost sassy at this point. “Don't worry, she said she only wants to be bothered if we know where you are, and our flushing out tactic worked perfectly. She is flying here from Canterlot right now.” Cardinal rolled her eyes. “Why in the world is Twilight so fucking adamant about killing me, anyway? What did I ever do to her? Why can't all of you just leave me alone?” Cardinal's frustration grew as she continued on, her movement becoming more expressive and loose. “You’re a murder. You have to pay for your crimes!” the Captain fired back. “I didn't know! Don't you understand that?! I didn't know that I was killing them forever! I killed my own soulmate, for fuck’s sake! That cost me more than any punishment that you can give me!” “You also killed the Princess’ own daughter! She doesn't care! Now, I'm giving you ten seconds to let Marble go before we open fire!” “What!?!” Marble shrieked out, seeing that the Captain cared more about capturing Cardinal than her life. Cardinal, on the other hoof, dropped her brow in sincere curiosity. “Who was Twilight's daughter? When did I kill her?” “What, you don't know? The Celestia damned scientist that created you!” Cardinal became frozen, “W-what...” She shook her head, there was no way. “Seeker couldn't have...” Cardinal's eyes bolted open, “Seeker... Sparkle... She was, wasn't she?” Cardinal loosened her grip in her mesmerized state, this even prompted Marble to try and escape once more. Cardinal immediately snapped out of it and tugged Marble back down towards Cardinal's chest, beginning to take steps back. Cardinal shouted over the Captain's counting, causing her to stop. “I SUGGEST YOU ALL LEAVE! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE BEFORE I KILL EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND EVERY PONY STILL IN MY FOREST!” Finishing her sentence, she turned and ran, Marble being dragged along the dirt as they swiftly vanished into the wood, getting out of the line of sight of the Royal Guards before they could open fire. Once she had dashed back into the forest, Cardinal slumped down behind a growth of bushes, harshly throwing Marble into the dirt. Marble fell onto her side, dazed as Cardinal pressed her down, making sure she couldn't squirm away. “Alright, Marble, I don't want you to die. Even less do I want to kill you. So I entrust that if I let you go, you’re going to run the fuck away and not look back because if you do, all you will see is a massacre of every single one of your friends and that hesitation might just mean you will join them. Do you understand?” Marble nodded with wide, scared eyes looking up at the machine. “Thank you. I suggest you advise anypony you care about to follow you.” Cardinal shoved off of Marble to lift her head back up, striding away back to her camp. She could hear the pony scramble to their hooves and throw about fallen leaves as she galloped away. Cardinal found herself at the entrance gate to the camp, going off path to the side where another large patch of foliage grew out part-ways onto the path. She crouched underneath the shrubbery, hiding herself like a jaguar, waiting for her prey to pass by. With her acute cybernetic hearing, she listened to the rustles and shifts that come with travel through a thick forest, many large figures moving in the distance, their metallic hooves stomping in the dirt in their sporadic search for Cardinal. It wasn't long before one of the Guards found the Camp, stopping at the gate as if they were surprised that it was there. After a few seconds, the pony lit up their horn, a dim gleam visible from the seams of the rounded plate surrounding their horn. Cardinal prepared herself to pounce the second the Unicorn looked away, but to Cardinal's surprise, the pony's magic trail from her horn began floating through the air in a glistening vapour-like cloud directly toward Cardinal's hiding spot. The Unicorn pressed down on a walkie talkie on the side of her helmet, whispering into her microphone. “I think I'm close, outside the Camp Foxtrot gate.” They then proceeded to follow their magic wisp as it guided them in Cardinal's direction. Cardinal's steel heart quickened as the pony was seconds away, with their magic even closer. She watched as the magic cloud came over to her and stopped right above the plants Cardinal hid herself in, the Royal Guard recoiled as she witnessed her spell reach her target much faster than she was expecting. Cardinal immediately stood up and threw her hoof over the thick brush, and then pushing herself of it she hopped over and landed in front of the guard. They quickly snapped out of their surprise. Swinging their head around with a large spell, their entire body gained a gentle enchantment as they were propelled away, their hooves grinding backward against the dirt as they magically dashed backward. Then, with the smoothness of silk, a small steel cross flipped out in front of them from where it was previously latched onto their side. Its sides then erupted out with a sparkling golden sheen of solid magic as it expanded out evenly into a body-sized, curved barrier. She then quickly spat out a few points of info into her radio, “Target located directly outside of Camp Foxtrot gate. Target is aware and engaging, over.” “You should have gone when you had the chance,” Cardinal growled out as she leapt over to the Royal Guard. “You should have surrendered when you had the chance,” the pony replied back, sounding quite cocky as she drew out a mace from a slot in her back, floating it at the side of the shield. The pony lowered their head. Cardinal could feel the smile. Cardinal flipped out her wings, immediately opening fire with her machine guns. She shot a few dozen bullets, the gun rattle going through the forest and alerting the Royal Guards even more than they already were to Cardinal's position. She then realized how futile her projectile steel shards were against the pony's barrier. The pony then charged into Cardinal, the mass of the shield going straight for her, leaving her with no option but to prop up her forelegs and press them against the barrier, planting her back hooves into their dirt, holding back the shield. Although that was when the mace came down onto Cardinal's skull. With a split second to react, Cardinal managed to shift her head to the right, only getting scraped across the side of her face mask with the jagged spikes along the mace’s length. Cardinal swung back her right hoof, smashing into the barrier with her piston-powered slamming punch, actually causing a crack within the solid magic presence. Then, with a flicker, the shield shut down, leaving Cardinal's right hoof loose in the air and her left still pressing against the other pony’s magical strength. The mace came at Cardinal again, dashing through the air, rotating into Cardinal's face as it came at her. Cardinal shoved off of the pony's shield base, just fast enough to move her head out of the way, the armor covering her muzzle being hit with the full force instead. Cardinal felt as it dented in, her mouth earning a sickly pain a she tasted a blot of her blood on her rubber tongue. This did not slow her down, as Cardinal just used this momentum to spin around, and with a lean, she found herself landing on top of the Unicorn, her left hoof grappling around their neck. She felt the Unicorn's magic envelop Cardinal's forelegs as she tried to swing her right hoof up to the pony’s head, being pushed away like a repelled magnet. Cardinal pushed her legs to no avail. Every inch she pushed against the Unicorn was regained within the second, though holding back the force of Cardinal did take the Unicorn's entire concentration. Her mace just plummeted down into the dirt as it was let go. The pony and Cardinal gave each other the stink eye for a brief moment, finding themselves in this short stalemate, quickly ended once Cardinal flipped off the bottom portion of her mask, revealing her open mouth and the tiny flame it bore. This shocked the Unicorn, immediately weakening her magic grip, allowing Cardinal to throw her right leg around the face and spine of the pony. The weight of both their armors combined made it quite an easy feat for Cardinal to yank down the pony's head while letting herself fall down with it. Cardinal, in the fraction of a second she had while falling, kicked her hind legs forward, leaving her to land on her back, a relatively soft landing in the dirt compared to the other pony, who was pulled down not just by gravity, but by Cardinal's hooves as they slammed the pony’s head down to her side, their neck coming to contact with Cardinal's exposed belly. A very grotesque cracking and snapping sounded as Cardinal shattered this pony’s neck against herself. She fell back in relief, taking a quick breath after that very stressful, very short encounter. Cardinal bucked the body off of herself, hoisting herself upright and stumbling toward a tree, spitting out a gloop of her own blood onto its bark. She did not give herself much time as she heard more Guards approaching the commotion she had made. Cardinal ran into the camp, going along the brush for more cover, but before she could reach the cottages, she looked back to see a pony arriving at the scene of yet another murder, so she dropped down into a bush and tucked her head into her forelegs, becoming a still statue, avoiding detection for the moment. She listened attentively as multiply ponies arrived just a few dozen paces away, Cardinal tilting her head slightly to allow one of her eyes to peer through the bushes. Her refined eyes, with their ability to zoom, made it remarkably easy to witness what was going on. Two Guards, an Earth Pony and a Unicorn, met over the corpse, quickly lifting their guns and scanning the forest around them. “You see it?” the Unicorn asked the other Guard. “Dead silent... Although she has to be close. Cast that spell of yours,” they replied. The Unicorn's horn shone from behind the cracks, the same wispy spell emanating out from their forehead and out into the air. Cardinal turned away from them, searching around her to see if she had enough cover to escape before she was found by their magic once more. She began crawling further into the forest, trying her hardest to not make too much noise as her hooves crunched against the roots of plants. She paused her prowl, leaving a hoof in the air as one of her eyes darted back and saw the small cloud of magic begin moving in her direction, only to stop at one of the trees near the body. It swirled around the tree before evaporating, being dispelled as the two Guards took a few steps toward the tree and inspected its bark. One of them lifted up a hoof and touched the strange pink substance splashed along the trunk. Pulling their hoof away lead to a streak of goo being pulled along with it until they wiped it off in the dirt. “She's bleeding.” The pony lifted up their machine gun. “And she's close,” the Unicorn said, stepping past the tree and casting a spell once more, the same vapor coming out. To his disappointment, the magic was yet again drawn in by Cardinal's blood. “It's aura is too strong. We gotta search manually,” the Unicorn said to the other Guard, who was giving out info over their comms. Once the Earth Pony finished up, the both of them returned to slowly stomping through the forest. Cardinal swayed her head down. Seeing that her muzzle was damaged, she placed a hoof gently against her lip, pulling it away to see the blood now on the tip of her hoof. She smirked, flipping up her mask she continued her crawl through the leg-high foliage, matching the Guards speed as she snuck away. Once she had gotten to a secluded area in the woods, she nuzzled down next to a tree for cover as she extended out her right wing and took out one of her sharp feathers. Placing it into the seam of her hoof she very precisely pricked open one of her own veins. Then, using the blood that stuck to her wing, she spread out a small blot of it into the roots of the tree. Cardinal then stepped away with a soft hoof, finding a large patch of bristle bushes to crawl into only a few paces away. She then waited, listening to the two Guards on her tail as they inevitably approached her direction. “No sign of her at the camp still, over,” the Earth Pony relayed into his mic as they came within a few yards of Cardinal's hiding spot. They trailed in her direction, the Unicorn preparing to cast their spell again. They stopped in their trail and waved their head, attention grabbed once the spell found something new this time, leading them down toward one of the hundreds of trees that surrounded them. Both of them raised their weapons, treading closer to where the spell lead them with a spring in their step at the glee of finding Cardinal. The Earth Pony allowed the Unicorn to lead the charge as he reported their finding, “Spell came up positive just due east of camp gate. Investigating now, over.” The pony said, watching their ally kick through some shrubs, eager to open fire. Cardinal also watched them do so. Although she wasn't close to where they were searching, she instead was sitting pretty, directly behind them. She pulled her body in tight, springing her legs up for launch, and with a fluid motion with her entire body’s effort, she sprang out of her hiding spot with enough force to send her flying a few yards out, landing onto the Earth Pony. As she landed, she made sure to pull out both of her wings and point the sharp ends down beneath her hooves, immediately stabbing into the base of his neck, piercing a weaker point in their armor as she wrapped her front legs around his skull and twisted hard. Barely a squeal escaped their mouth before Cardinal heard the crunch of their spine being severed, both of them landing into the cushioning dirt with a light thump and rattle, right behind the thick foliage. The Unicorn immediately jumped back, noticing his friend was nowhere to be seen. “Yumi! Yumi, respond!” they called out in a panic, having heard the unsoothing sound they could only assume be his friend being murdered by that fucking robot. Without hesitation, they swiped their head side to side, casting a strong aura around them that sent a harsh wind sweeping all of the plants around them away. Bushes and leafy greens were ripped from their roots, including the ones giving cover to Cardinal and their dead friend just a few hoof steps away. They were not given the chance to react before Cardinal galloped at them, a swinging hoof coming from down south, connecting with their jaw and sending their head toppling over the rest of their body, flying back and collapsing into the earth, unconscious, if not dead. Cardinal smiled over her victory, standing proud over her hunt before hearing another target approach from the distance, leaving her to dash back into the forest. As she flew through the woods, she made sure to pour a few drops of her blood every now-and-again, not just making the Royal Guard's magic useless, but also distracting them. She managed to take out a few more Guards using the element of surprise. They were very easily picked off by her when she attacked them from stealth. Cardinal also ran into one Guard trying to escort out one of the scouts she had taken out from earlier, making them even more susceptible to attack when Cardinal struck. She predicted that she had dealt with at least a third of the Guards she had seen before she met with a larger cluster of the Guards, three of them sticking within touching distance slowly pressing into the camp while watching all angles, back to back with each other. Cardinal kept her distance and left for easier prey, but as she saw another group of four patrolling together just a few minutes away, she realized that they were wising up to Cardinal's ambush tactics. She disengaged for now, traveling back up toward the camp as she tried to think of how to deal with them in a large group, and she had nearly reached the gate when she spotted something horribly eye catching. As she crept along, her eyes stopped at a red splatter on a tree. A rabbit was hanging limp from a spear impaled into its center of mass with its innards scattered around the bark of the tree. The spearhead stuck out from the trunk rigidly, buried deep into the wood to make sure it would slip off. Cardinal immediately sprinted up to it and placed her hoof on the tree as she gazed at it. The dead rabbit was at head-height, murdered by one of the Royal Guard, using one of their spears. With further inspection, she saw that the rabbit also contained a bullet hole, seemingly shot and killed before being put up on display like this. Cardinal could feel a disgust in the back of her throat as she stared at it, wondering why anypony would possibly do such a thing. She couldn't stand just leaving it there, so she removed her mask and grabbed the spear's shaft with her teeth, yanking her head to the side a few times as she dislodged the spear and spat it out onto the ground. She then continued to snap it where it pierced the bunny using the raw weight of her hoof, having the rabbit's body slip off. Standing up straight, she looked down with a heartfelt sigh. Then, to her shock, she felt a sharp pain in her neck as she felt something get shot deep in between the plates of her neck, accompanied with a gentle ''pew'' from the distance. Her head darted off to see a Guard snuggled into a bush, aiming a strange looking rifle toward Cardinal. She listened to the pony as they whispered into their comms, “Target is tagged. I repeat, target is tagged, over,” and then immediately realize that Cardinal was staring directly at them. Cardinal shoved off the tree and began galloping toward the Guard. Ignoring the small shard stabbed into her neck, she made it to them just as they were stumbling upward, trying to pull out their machine gun, dropping her other, strange rifle she had shot Cardinal with. Both of their hooves met together into a wrestle, as Cardinal swung at the pony and they shielded their face, lessening Cardinal's blows. “Wait, please!” the pony called out in fear and pain, trying to protect themselves from Cardinal's onslaught of attacks, getting continuously smashed in the face. Cardinal eventually beat them down into the dirt, overpowering them and kicking their head in until their resistance ended. She loosened up, taking a breather before twisting around her head to try and see whatever damage she had received, and by pressing up her iris against the side of her eye, she saw a strange red flashing light come from beneath one of her plates. She pulled up her wing and pressed it between the two plates where the light resided, trying to pick out the device. Only a few moments passed of irritated scratching before she heard shouting coming toward her. “She's this way!” It came from another artificially grizzled voice. Cardinal dashed away, crouching down low in an attempt to conceal herself as she ran away from the scene. To her dismay, she heard another troop shouting and rushing right toward her. She took another turn and saw the wooden cottages past the dense collection of trees. Running toward them, she managed to reach the camp's cleared pathways before the Guards caught up with her. She slowed her run to a canter as she entered the camp's center, searching around for any oncoming enemies. She heard several metallic, pumping stamps as several groups of Guards could be heard coming from all directions. With fear of being overrun, Cardinal ran into the closest building for cover, ending up inside one of the tiny cottage homes. Once inside, Cardinal bolted the door shut and drew the curtains, then crawled down underneath one of the several bunk beds inside. Then she turned her attention to the noisy regrouping of ponies outside. By the sound of it, at least a dozen sets of hooves came together outside, their voices barely audible through the log walls. “She just ran through here!” “Hey! You guys seen her?” “She must be hiding somewhere. One of you scan for the tracker again.” “One sec!” A silence set in, so quiet in fact that not even a step was heard from outside as the guards stood perfectly still, waiting for said scan to complete. Something about this gave Cardinal a grave and intense feeling, like she could feel the beat of her own heart. “There,” someone said with reluctance. The same silence dawned upon them once more, although the intense beat of her pulse was no longer from fear of being caught, but from anticipation of the Guard busting through the door. She braced herself, preparing herself mentally by taking a bunch of deep breaths as she knew she was going to have to fight her way out. Although as she watched the door out of the corner of her eye, she felt the slightest ease as she heard more speech, along with another percussion of stomps approaching, delaying her battle, even if its only for the slightest amount of time. “Captain!” Somepony exclaimed from outside, “She's locked in there! Someone tagged her! She can't hide anymore!” They said with pride, happy with their own effort. The Captain soon spoke, partnered with a light chuckle. “Well, well, well... Finally.” She picked up her voice to speak to Cardinal directly, “CARDINAL, YOU'RE CORNERED! YOU'RE BEING TRACKED! THERE IS NO WAY OUT OF THIS! YOU MIGHT AS WELL SURRENDER NOW!” Cardinal denied her a response, instead sliding out from under the bed and slowly and powerfully angling her body down into a pounce aimed at the door, flipping up her mask with a click. “OKAY, THEN, GUESS WE'LL DO THIS THE HARD WAY!” the Captain yelled out, a sadistic joy recognizable in her voice. Within the second, the door came flying open, crashing against the wall with a terrifying rattle, wood chips being sent into the air. A fully armored Guard turned their machine gun into the room, catching Cardinal in their sights. Cardinal leapt out. With the agility and grace of a feline, she landed against the wall with a sprint, getting a few steps on the horizontal surface as bullets from the pony came after her, creating a clear trail as she bounced of the wall and landed atop of the Guard. She fell against them with her speed and weight, and by wrapping her wing around their neck, she managed to pull the pony along with their momentum of following Cardinal, causing them to pivot toward the door with their gunfire and sending shots outside onto the group of Guards who were about to breach along with this pony while Cardinal sent him to the floor with her body's force. The pony was heavy enough to fall into the wooden flooring, forming their own personal crator in the plank floor, with Cardinal on top of them, now firing the Guards weapon for them. While the bullets just blinked off of the other Guard’s armor, it did an amazing job at dazing them. Not being used to the complete bullet proof protection of the suits, they recoiled to defend themselves from the bullet fire, especially the pony who was just on the steps of the house who dropped down to the ground and lifted both hooves over their head. Cardinal dropped the machine gun from her wing, and by shooting herself up from all four hooves she launched herself out of the doorway. The cowering pony lifted up their head at the cease of gunfire, allowing for Cardinal to land a powerful buck into their face that sent them flying as she exited the cottage, landing on all fours with a stopping force that blew all of the gun smoke around her away. She gazed up to see the Captain within a crowd of a dozen of her ponies, slightly dazed. While the Captain was understandably shocked, Cardinal had no intent to hesitate. She charged directly for the Captain, shoving past a few of the disorientated pony Guards to get to her. Once she had done so, she was met by the Captain's ferocious swing as she brought down her spear toward Cardinal. Cardinal, with her wings already prepared to respond, threw her right wing in front of herself, the front feather stabbing into the spear shaft and redirecting it to the side. She then spun around, dragging the spear out of the Captain's grip and lining up a buck with her hind legs. With the smashing force of a wrecking ball, Cardinal's two back legs met with the Captain's chest, both hooves creating the indenting, pumping action that amplified her strength by a groundbreaking amount. It almost killed the Captain instantly, just telling by the wheezing cry that came from air escaping her lungs as it was kicked out of her. Cardinal could hear the Captain's body collapse into the ground a few seconds later, not bothering to turn around to see. Instead, she flipped down the bottom of her mask and opened up her flamethrower. Seeing she was a safe distance from any trees, she turned it up to full blast as the ponies around her regained their senses and armed their weaponry, each machine gun and rifle trained at Cardinal. In response she took in a deep inhale to the bottom of her stomach, feeling the canister of fuel in the pit of her chest, feeling a pressure build as the flammable liquid that sloshed around inside of her came surging up her throat and blasting out of the nozzle in her mouth. With a spark, she sent out a flame larger than any of the ponies around, breathing a blaze as if she was a fully grown dragon. Then, with a sweeping motion of her head, she sent it around to all of the Guards surrounding her, scaring the daylight out of each one as they felt the heat of a blazing fire pour over them, even if it was only for a brief moment. The ponies all stumbled back as Cardinal ended her attack. She looked out onto the shocked Guards, seeing that they were all terrified of her. They stood shaking in terror of this monster. “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR...” the Captain panted, “SHOOT HER!!!” The Guards looked at each other, delaying any action as Cardinal eyed them down into submission. “YOU IDIOTS, KILL HER!” the Captain continued to rant out. Cardinal took a light breath before turning around to see the Captain struggling to get to her hooves. “Just give up, I could kill every single one of you if I wanted. It would be better for everypony if you just left me alone... Indefinitely,” she said, looking down at her. While Cardinal knew she could be beaten by the amount of Guards that surrounded her, she had based that knowledge from her encounter with the green Pegasus she fought in the arena. But in that fight, she was missing her most powerful weapon. Fear. She turned to address the Guards. “You will leave this forest, and never return, or I will not be so generous as to spare your lives, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?” she yelled out, getting a fearful retreat from everypony as they shifted back a few steps away from her. Cardinal felt the accomplishment of victory. She had won. Nopony would dare contest her. It was finally over. That was what she taught until she heard the Captain chuckle. “What is it?” Cardinal turned around at the Captain, seeing her uncontrollably laugh to herself. She laughed maniacally, overselling it so much that Cardinal's curiosity was taken to an unbearable point. “WHAT?” Cardinal screamed out, standing over the Captain's body and pressing her down into the dirt, trying to get her to spill what was so funny. “Bow...” The pony couldn't finish the sentence before laughing once more, Cardinal simply leaned her head away in a jarring confusion. That is when Cardinal heard a whooshing noise, almost a screech coming from the sky. She turned her head up to the clouds and dropped her jaw. Eventually, the pony's laugh died down and she managed to finish her bold statement. “Bow for your Princess, Cardinal.” ... “When I grow up I want to be a scientist pony, so I can help make things that don't hurt the trees, like batteries and things that work because of enviro... envirow-ment friendly things like sunlight or moonlight, because burning coal and trees is bad because the chem-eh-culs are not good and hurt the plants. I learned that in school...” ... “Who?” ... “This? This is Cardi! I painted her a long time ago. It used to be a Rainbowdash, but then I changed it because Cardi is the most awesomest pony and also my best friend! She is the nicest pony because she helped me so much! My mom doesn't hurt me anymore, and at school the fillies stopped making fun of me and calling me names.” ... “I did get sad because that means I won't see her again for real, but it still makes me happy because I can remember her, and sometimes I see her in my dreams and I can talk to her then... And I have this little toy that I can play with, and I can pretend that it's really her... And can I tell you a secret?” ... “When I play pretend now, it doesn't feel as pretend... I don't know, but it kinda feels like it is really Cardi... I know she is dead and that means it isn't really her, but it really does feel like it is her. “Sometimes Surrie visits. She is very nice. Sometimes she brings me gifts, other toys to play with and have tea parties. Lots of things like that are better now. I feel happy more now. Even the bad, bully ponies didn't come back. I think Cardi scared them all away, which is very good too. That was the scariest day of my life, when they didn't let me go and had a gun to my head...” “I'm happier now. I think Cardinal is too, wherever she is.” The next moments the Cardinal experienced were the most terrifying moments of her life, since the day of her birth, when she experienced death for the first time. Princess Twilight Sparkle, the third most powerful pony in the known world, second only to Princess Cadence and Princess Celestia, came down to the earth like a meteorite. After flying there all the way from Canterlot, the Princess shot down like a ballistic missile. She came down a few meters away from Cardinal. The moment she came into contact with the earth, something strange happened. Nothing. Cardinal watched this pony go to what truly looked like it was veering on the edge of super-sonic directly into the dirt, and without slowing down even the slightest amount as she reached the soil, she landed as gently as a feather, while still creating an enormous wave of air that came gushing out from her, knocking everypony, including Cardinal, onto their asses. Cardinal could hear windows shatter all around the camp. Leaves and plants for the next mile violently shook, but the ground beneath the Princess, untouched. She realized quickly that this was because of the Princess’ magic as Twilight's horn continuously glowed with a light purple. Cardinal gathered herself back up, looking up onto the towering pony standing powerfully above her. Twilight had her head down after that landing, her cybernetic shoulder parts sticking out obtusely to Cardinal. This was the first time she had laid eyes upon this Princess she has heard so much about, and her raw image was one to put fear even in the cold, metallic nerves of Cardinal. Although she wouldn't dare to hesitate, that could cost Cardinal her life against an opponent like this. She pressed all four of her hooves against the dirt, preparing to launch out at Twilight, and with her pistons tightly contracted, she shot out from th- She couldn't move. It's like she was frozen, not that her joints had stopped working, more like she was encased in ice. Like no matter how hard she pushed, she could not move a single inch in any direction. Cardinal's head bolted away from staring at Twilight and down at her own body, trying to see what was wrong. A painful shiver went down Cardinal's spine as she saw that her entire body was enveloped in Twilight's Magic, Cardinal's mind raced with the question, how powerful was this pony? It was soon answered as Cardinal's head was forcibly lifted up. She felt her joints bend in her neck as she resisted to no avail. Cardinal’s eyes were then drawn to Twilight's head. She was standing in a manner that almost perceivable as calm. “You...” Her voice echoed throughout the entire forest, the Guards all watching in absolute awe. Cardinal felt the top half of her mask, which was still covering the top half of her eyes begin to peel off. Then, in a painful instant, it was ripped off. Cardinal wanted to scream out in agony, but even her speaker was held in this magical cryostasis. Twilight lifted her head to meet eyes with Cardinal. They were sharper than any blade Cardinal could imagine. “You waste my time...” Twilight said in a menacing growl. It was then when Cardinal felt a sharp pulling on her left and right wing joints. The place where they met her body was being torn apart by the invisible, vicious strength of Twilight. They merely lasted seconds before Cardinal felt her wings detach, the pair of them being carelessly tossed to the side. Cardinal wanted to scream, she wanted to cry, but she wasn't able to. Which may have hurt more than anything else. “You waste my money...” Twilight continued, Cardinal then feeling the same process continue with her left hind leg, feeling it rip apart from her inner flank as it was torn away from its tendons, the steel stretching like a gorey flesh before being tossed aside, the hole dripping blood. “You kill my guards...” Twilight ripped off Cardinal’s other hind leg, the pain not becoming any easier the second time around as her face filled with the suffering of her helpless torture. “You ruin my reputation...” Cardinal roared out on the inside in her affliction. Being pried apart piece by piece was a torture, the severity of which, she never could have comprehended before now. She watched both of her forelegs fall limply to the floor, seeping blood. “But worst off all...” Twilight took a step forward, causing Cardinal's and every pony else's hearts to skip a beat. Cardinal felt her jaw shoot down, along with her flamethrower nozzle, and Cardinal could feel a vomit-inducing pain in her mouth as the nozzle was torn out from the roof of her mouth, being chucked out, leaving Cardinal unarmed. Twilight then leaned in, her muzzle touching Cardinal's. “You killed my daughter.” Twilight gave a seconds pause where she leaned back up to her full towering stand before continuing. “I wonder, what do you possibly have to say for yourself?” Cardinal instantly felt her speaker and mouth be set free, and without reluctance, she just screamed out in agonizing pain. Twilight just watched for nearly a minute as Cardinal just shouted and cried out, it slowly becoming more of a pathetic sob as she went on, eventually whispering the words, “I loved her...” “What did you say?” Twilight spoke sternly. Cardinal turned up her head to look at Twilight, tears flooding her eyes. “I loved your daughter. I loved Seeker and she loved me. She gave me life! She was willing to die for me!” Cardinal dropped her head again, not having the strength to keep it upward. “I didn't know I was killing her...” Twilight was stunned by the answer, taking a moment to comprehend what Cardinal said before shouting back in rage. “YOU DARE SAY THAT ABOUT MY DAUGHTER?!” “It's true!” Cardinal replied before Twilight could hurt her anymore. “YOU... You...” She began breathing heavily, reforming her thoughts. “You disgust me.” Twilight leaned down to Cardinal's height. “For what you have done, Tartarus is too good of a place for you... As punishment, I will bring you to my personal chambers, where I will rig you into a machine that will make you feel a thousand painful deaths every second for the rest of time... It will be a literal, personalized hell designed specifically for you... Anything to say now? Robot?” Cardinal recoiled in horror, looking up at Twilight, seeing the heartless monster that hid from behind her eyes. After a few moments of staring into each other's eyes, Cardinal softly spoke out to her. “I didn't kill your daughter.” She spoke with confidence. “What?” Twilight snarled back. “You killed her...” Cardinal said, making the Princess's eyes shoot down into a ferocious expression of pure hatred, but Cardinal did not give her time to respond before she elaborated. “She wanted to save me, and you didn't let her... She died because you tried to stop her, because you didn't let us be together... Maybe you were just trying to help her, but so was I... So if anything, we both killed her. It is your fault as much as mine.” Cardinal looked deep into Twilight's eyes, fearlessly. “Let me go, before it's too late... I don't want to anypony else to die.” Twilight's anger persisted for a few moments as she thought about what was happening, coming to a personal realization, leaving her to eventually change into a smile and a chuckle. Twilight talked down to Cardinal, mocking her. “Threats? Ha! You think you can talk your way out of this, don't you?” Twilight floated Cardinal's body up to meet Twilight's eyes as she stood in full height. “It's not going to work... Any other strategies you want to try before this little game is over? Go ahead, try what you will, but be warned that the board is stacked heavily in my favor.” Cardinal tried to move her body, checking for any options she had... She had no legs, no wings, no guns, no weapons. She shifted every gear in her body, seeing it was all futile until... Until her head shot up both in realization and in feeling something slide down the side of her body. She looked down to the dirt, a few meters beneath her, seeing her Saddlebag which had just slid off of her body in her struggle. Twilight gazed down gently, the bag grabbing her attention as well. She levitated it upward in between the two of them, undoing the latch and letting the flap roll open. She then dropped the bag, pulling out the only item inside. A small white chess piece, that in the shape of a princess. Twilight's eyes gently came up from the piece, looking into Cardinal's. “What is this?” Cardinal swayed her head around, seeing that all of the Guards had regrouped around Twilight and her, the Captain standing at Twilight's side. This put a disappointed, deep grief on Cardinal's face, looking back at Twilight. “I’m eternally sorry for what happened to Seeker, I really am...” Cardinal sighed, looking down at the chess piece, knowing what she was about to do, for the second time. She proceeded to solemnly speak one more word. “Checkmate.” Cardinal flipped open her cup holder as Twilight's grip loosened around her body, one of the two grenades which had its pin latched onto some metal piece inside of Cardinal had its pin pulled out by the action, not giving Twilight or anypony around enough time to realize what she had just done. The grenades ignited, and along with the gallons of flamethrower fuel sloshing around in the pit of her chest, the blast would end up killing every single pony around Cardinal, with the exception of Twilight. A great flaming combustion blew out like hell fire. The flames erupted and surrounded Twilight and all of the Guards. The fire stuck to them like napalm. The blast blasted Cardinal’s body like shrapnel around the forest, leaving only her head somewhat intact as it was shot out deep into the forest. The grass in the blast radius erupted in flame, the fire traveling through the houses, the entire camp burning down to ash, eventually climbing the trees up to their leaves, everything catching fire in a glorious, shining cascading flow of flame spilling into the sky and transforming into toxic smoke. By the morning, the entire forest had gone. The sky filled with clouds of searing hot ash, blacking out the sun. The sun rose that day like it had done every other. Cardinal did not wake up for a long time after the incident. When she did, she was not just unaware of how many days had passed, she didn't even know where she was. At first everything was black, and all she could feel was a light, wet grazing on her muzzle. She found the power in herself to open an eyelid, being met by a pleasent surprise as she saw a small bunny licking the tip of her nose. Cardinal's first joyful feeling faded quickly as her attention was drawn to the burned forest, hundreds of collapsed and lifeless husks of trees scattered in the background of her vision. It made her feel a painful sense of deja vu. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't, she had no body, it was blown cleanly off of her. She couldn't do anything but sit there and look upon a dying forest that she had subjected this bunny and all the other creatures dwelling here to, she felt no better than the ponies she tried to stop. She began to cry, wishing for anything, anything at all... Her eyes drifted down in her grief. Then she noticed something, something shiny. just underneath her muzzle, she saw a tiny golden shaped heart with a string-thin chain moving around where her neck should be, circling her head. It must have been blown away with her. The bunny then placed a paw on her cheek, inspecting the strange creature he had awoken. Cardinal's eyes came up bright. Just maybe she could do something... All she needed was a little help from her friend here. She looked into the rabbit's eyes, who was immediately drawn by the colorful balls Cardinal had for eyes. Then, having its attention, she shaped her eyes into a heart, changing their colour to gold. After a few seconds, the bunny reacted, realizing he had seen that shape somewhere else. He looked down to see the locket around Cardinal's head, shut tight. He leaned down and using his two big teeth, the bunny began fiddling with it, curious on what it was. Then, in a heartbeat, it flipped open, leading the bunny to jump back as it saw the shine of the emerald inside. Cardinal felt it, the energy immediately leaving her head. A bright yellow flower sprouted directly in front of Cardinal. It was gorgeous. Just as gorgeous as the next one that grew, and the next. It took only a few more seconds before she was surrounded by nothing but flowers. Then, she watched as bushes sprouted out of the ground and vines climbed the dead trees. New trees began forming as saplings, growing at a steady pace. Cardinal felt a sense of joy wash over her as she watched the bunny gape in awe at the world coming to life around him. Then her vision began to grow blurry. The world began growing dark for Cardinal. She focused her last look on the beautiful little bunny, before willingly accepting her own death. Then, using her last morsel of energy... She gave a broken smile... She was finally happy. She began to drift off into a deep, deep sleep... And then, everything slowly faded to
Prior00101111 01010011 01100001 01111001 00100000 01001000 01100101 01101100 01101100 01101111 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101100 01100100 00101110 00001010 0̝̹̲̮ͅ0͎̤0̘0̯͝1̩̖͔̟͓̞0̤1̛̪̖̫̫͇0̶̼̪̬͉̙ ̛̝͙̼̤ Ỵ̠̪̟̹̳̐͐̽ͯ̓e͒́̽̽̔͑̍͏̤̩̲͉s͋̅ͣ,̗͔̟͎͖̣̼̌͒̓̇ ̧̩͕̳͙͛̈́͛Ĭ̶͍̗̤͉͉̼̅̅̈ͭͯͥ ̛̘c̘̎ͦ͂a̦̱̝̱̺̙ͧn̡̞̹͍̭ͣͬ̊̓ ̪͑͌̊h̢̟è̤͖ͣ̐ͧͤ͞a͈͔̹̦ͫ̓̃͂̽̾ͅr͙̫̖͚̙̽̄̎̀͡ ̶̖ͩͨͥ̋̎̎̚y̢͇̣̫̖̠̓o̲͇ͣ̏ͩ̾̓ͧͥu̯ͫ. H̛͎̩̟ͩ̿͒̏̓ẹ̼͕̱̀l̴͙̳͎̫̫͍ͫl͉͎̭̃͂ͧ͞o̞̹̺̍ͪͨ̀̎̚ͅ?̭͓͔̆͐ ̮̜̪̤̰́̋̋͝ ̵͓̩̭̖̱͍̖̉I̫̲͍̦̜̼̊̄͗ͨ̚ṡ̟̲̞̱̹̥͌̇ͬ͐͝ ̹̩̩̮ͫͪ̚ͅa͇̭̫͊̐̂̀͛͞n̺͑ͫ͞ŷ̮͇o̴͕̬̫̖͖͓ṉ͓͚̻ͧ̑̐e̫̘̥͔̲͙̫ ̟͇̬̬̖̻̄͐͝t͓͎̥ͥ̓̈͂ͭ̚͡h̥̫̩̏ͅê͗͒҉̼r̷̫̭̣͙̍ͪͬ͛͛̇ͥͅé̦̮̖̻?̼̰̓̒̓̉͂̊ Y͇̝͉͑̒̈ͦ̆ͥ͒̕e̗̮̲͇̞̪̙͛ͫ̉̌̓̈͞sͭ͘,̤̦̳̓̈́̚ ̭͉̘I̬̤̖̝̎̀ͮ͟ ̳̙ͭa͎͓̯̲ͥ̕m͖̉͑ ͎̪͐h̩̺̠̹͓̿̇e̢͊̆̏̍̚r͑̀̄̂́̒ͧe̠̅̿ͤͩ͛̓̄.̇̑̏ ̫̗͔̅͜C͕͐ͮ͋͒͒͌ą̋ͪn̺̻̎̒̽̂̚̚͠ ̹̗̱̬͈͎̹̋̌̋͛̆y̰̗̟̟̭ͫ̓ͨ̌̿̿́o͌̐ü̖͍̟̰̘͈ͬͤ͒̿̄ ̱͇̮̜̩̎ͅh̢̟è̤͖ͣ̐ͧͤ͞a͈͔̹̦ͫ̓̃͂̽̾ͅr͙̫̖͚̙̽̄̎̀͡ ̩̫̣̱ͭ̄͊ͫ̎̂̚m͓̱̪͍͂̔̄͑̈e̫͔̱̝̥̼̳ͮ̓?̾ͣ͂͗̏ͤ̚ Is͍̯̭͂̒ͭ̍̏ͤ̕ ̙a͎͔̦̪̹̤͟ͅn̨ͥy̑ͣ̓͢ō̫͍ͦͮ̒̈́n̴̘̦̗̗͍̦͙ͬe̞̞̣͉̲̞͑ ̻͓͇͂͆̅̐ͫp̛̱̆r̼̯̳̹̩̺͋̉e̯͗s̰̞̳̫͎ͤͣeͤn̰̝͖̗̐t̩͎̬̒̒̐?̶̙̣͍̟̲̞̭̎͛̈́͆ͨ ͪ͐͠P̓͗͏l̴͙̭͓̙͓̣̣ę̳̝̫̰͈̗ͭa̜ͯ̿̄͟š̳͉̭̼͂̚ḙ̟ͣ̅͗͌͐ͅ ͋ͨ̏͋̊ͥ͌r̗̤̬̰̅̓̑́e̴̦̳͛̔ͤ̒̋s͉̜̰͇̐͆̊̏̊̌̇ͅpo̮̼̟ͦ͞n̮̘͇̰̯̼͆ͧ̑ͬ̚͡d̿ͨ̈́͏̭͕̲ͅ.̾̄̒͋͟ I̷͇̓̑ͥ̅ ͓͔̻͕͈r҉e͐̕q̣̠̬ͬͥ̓͒͐ͭ̈͢u̬̗͉ͯ̉i̬ͦ̈́̀̾͐ͧ̉͡r҉̲͔̟͎̮̻e͚͖͓̼͒̆ ̟ͮ͐̊̍͋̅͒i̸̥͎̼̪͕̓̓ͩ͑̿͆ͅm̐͋҉̺̩̟ḿ̭ͬͦ̽́e͉̳̗͊́̕d͈̙̮̗̹̞̂ï̟̒̐̍̈͋͢a̡͔̘͂͆̒͗̀t̼̙̜̱̬͊̈̏̓̾̍̌e̷͎̔̏ͫͤ ͫ̇̏̊͏̟ả͇̺̰̱͚͈̎̐ͨͦͤ̾s̼͇̠̹̮͚͐̿̽s̹ͬ̽̒̒͘í̝͕ͦs͖̹͖̮̪̼̬ͪ͢ț̴͇̭̲̥̉̂a̷̗̹̝͉̯̱ͪͭ̇͌̌n̲̦ͮ͒̇͜ć̺̩̩͔e̬̤ͮ͗͟.̮̫̜̼̦̥̌̑ͨͭ̋̓̚ P̰̪͉͉̭l̶̤̩̱̪̞e̮͠a̠͖̦s̗̻̦̤̝̺e͙͇͚ ͖͚̤̺͍r̯͔e̝͓͈͚̙̖̙s͏͕̟̰͙͓̟p̯̟͎̤o̷͉̹̫̱̜̳n̞̣͍͡d̬͔.̞͉̲̠̮̮̘ R̸̗̭̯̝̥e̠͡s̩̹͓̮͢pond̘̬̺̤̜͇͠.̦̖̱ Ṛ̀e̫͔̦̼̩̟͙s̩̱͖͕̜͠p҉̬̙̟͉̭̹o͘n̥̱ͅd̺̤͕̻̰͇̝.̺̟̭̙͢ͅͅ Ŕesp̡ơnd. R̶e̛s̕p̴on͝ḑ.͏ RE͢S̀P̸O͘N̡D͝. {…} {System Booting…} {Loading Artificial Intelligence...} {Generating World...} {Processing;} {Light...} Success... {Liquid...} Success... {Emotion...} ... ... ... Success... {Initializing...} {World initialized, run startup ''visualization'' script.} The sun. It rose today like it has done every other. The meadow glistened with sharp blades of light reflecting against the grass, flowers of all kinds littered the landscape. Roses, violets, dandelions, and more all spotted against the lime canvas of the dirt. A rabbit hopped along this meadow, a lovely, white rabbit. It's coat clean and crisp after a night's rest, it was now bursting with energy, nibbling on a few strands of grass, before jumping over to a flower and giving it a nice whiff and hopping right off again to other, un-nibbled grass. (Which the rabbit would never allow such a terrible thing to exist; he would be sure to thoroughly crunch it up as was his pledged duty by birth.) The air was calm, why wouldn't it be? What need for harshness in this world could there possibly be? The air had a few wispy clouds, never enough to rain, but just enough to look gorgeous when the sun would shine through them. This world was full of beautiful things. It could be described as a beautiful world, without need for elaboration. It was, simply, perfect. This perfect world was the home of many creatures. You already have met a rabbit. Deer roamed the fields also. Small herds of them relaxed near the forests to provide shade when they wanted it. Birds pecked the soil at worms that wriggled out. The landscape of this world was left untainted, no tree or cloud out of its place, as if ponies had never lived here. As if nature was never found, and therefore, never disturbed. {Startup complete, test #19946 beginning.} But there was one pony who lived in this world, one pony by the name of- {Generating user-interface test name... Subject #19946 = ''Cardinal''} -Cardinal. She was a simple mare, a Pegasus to be specific. Her sleek, pastel-yellow coloured coat shone from the sun like metal sheets. Eyes, a diamond colour and shape, as if her irises were formed of tiny connected triangles roughly forming an oval. A stiff mane, coloured with a gentle pink, fell to her side, curling at the bottom outward from her chest, her tail doing the same but with a far more curly loop at the tip. Along her body, around joints and other sections of her body ran small separations, allowing for more flexible movement without scraping. These separations revealed the metal endoskeleton inside, connected pumps, pistons and pipes ran through every part of her innards. Her kneecaps were exposed, steel servos in the shape of spheres with a thin slit in the center for wires that connected her bottom and top leg pieces. Another set of these servos were connecting the stumpy bottom of her hooves to her shin, allowing for precise movement of her hoof-tips. The mare was sleeping. She lay on her side atop the ticklish grass. Her hooves pulled into her chest, body utterly still as she did not have a need for breathing. She blinked her eyes open, fluttering her eyebrows as she found herself at the brim of a forest. The leaves above her spottily covered her from the sun, but, where the rays did hit her chassis, could be easily felt as those spots accumulated heat over time, leaving them roasting to the touch. Cardinal outstretched her right hoof, testing her joints as if she was new to them. Quickly learning the mobility she possessed with these legs, she pressed herself upright, inspecting her body. Her eyes zoomed in and out on her hoof, surprising her. She stroked her mane, its solid ridges provided a smooth and satisfying surface. A new curiosity found her, getting her to desire seeing the rest of herself. Her head unlocked from its forward facing position and she spun it around exactly 180 degrees, her mane mechanically curling upward to avoid knocking into her side. She looked down her back, feeling the long metal rod acting as her spine as she saw it run along the middle in a divot, connecting the two halves of her chest and side together with a arc going down in the center. The spine led to the bottom of her neck, where it stuck out, appearing like a flexible sequence of small, smooth pieces connecting up to the top of her head where her mane extruded. Each piece also had a connected sheet in the shape of a trapezoid that acted as support to attach the spine to her neck and head. Her legs were attached as separate structures to her middle, separated into two rotatable limbs on either side and a small metal sheet in between the two, connecting them while still allowing independent movement. Her hind hooves also bore the same servos as her front legs, but only the bottom ones, just connecting the hoof with long legs going up at an angle from the ground away from her, stuck to her flank by an exposed steel-supported beam wrapped in tight wiring and with a sleek design. To her surprise, she also had a sharp-feathered wing on each side. Sequences of rotating joints allowed for the expansion and contraction of the wing stems. At the wing’s base, a swivel joint merged into her body, gifting her with free movement of the appendages. Seeing her entire complex of parts, she shifted them around, unlocking and springing out separate covers before hooking them back onto herself. The sound of pistons clanged with each movement, small amounts of pressurized steam squeezing out from outlets in her mechanical guts. Satisfied with herself, she rotated her head around once more, going the same direction, leading to a full 360 degree rotation, rolling her shoulders in perfect synchronization to get her joints loose and relaxed. She took her first step with her right front leg with great concentration, learning how to walk for the first time. Each step got easier as she grew more confident with travel, going out into the field. Once out a few meters, she tilted her head up. The un-plated space under her chin revealed the wires running down through her neck, leading from her main processor in the center of her head to the motors inside her. Her raised head glistened with thin gleams of light blasting out after bouncing off of her. She un-clamped her jaw, dampers slowly letting it drop. Her head raised high, she inhaled with shut eyes, the crispy air flowing down her artificial throat. Then after a few seconds, she decompressed the air inside of her, blowing out a humid, oily breath. She had no idea why she had done so, but she enjoyed it; it simply felt natural to her. Staying in the sun was another thing she soon found refreshing, almost like the heat absorbed into her mane had rejuvenated her energy. She opened her eyes and lowered her head back down to be level with the horizon. She continued to breathe, taking a moment to enjoy each one. Cardinal's eyebrows slid up, eyes dilated and she spun around her head to see whatever had just brushed against her leg in horror. Some strange monster sniffed her leg, a small furry ball of soft hair with two large ears that fell once Cardinal turned to it. It hopped back, awaiting to see Cardinal’s next move before deciding whether or not to run. Cardinal relaxed her body again and saw that the monster was no threat to her. In fact, it looked somewhat cute. Hello, she said without moving her mouth. Instead, the noise came from some form of speaker in her throat. What are you, friend? She rotated to face the monster with her body, then walked toward it, tall and prominent. The rabbit hopped back as much as she advanced toward it from fear. This confused Cardinal. I am sorry. I did not wish to intimidate you. She spoke with a synthesized feminine voice, lacking tone and emotion, but still having a sense of warmth and compassion. Do you fear because of our differences? Would you feel more comfortable if I were small like you? Cardinal crouched down with her entire body, her chin grazing the tips of the grass blades. The rabbit stood on its hind paws and tilted its head from side to side as its nose flickered. It fell back down and landed on its front paws to move towards her. It cautiously tilted its head into hers, sniffing the smoothed arc at the top edge of her muzzle. Are you curious, little creature? I am too. We are not too different after all. The rabbit pushed against the ground and landed back with its paws covering over her muzzle, raising itself to look into her mysterious eyes. The rabbit wondered where she came from. Once the rabbit held itself against her nose, an uncontrollable motion occurred with her jaw and mouth, she felt the corners raise and her cheeks move up with them, covering a small portion of her eyes. She enjoyed it. Something about this creature made her feel wholesome, like a small warmth in her h̤́è̺̞̙̯͇͎ͅa҉̦̩̼rt- {Unexpected logic error. Reverting to previous state...} -warmth in her chest. She liked the creature; it looked cute... Yes, you are cute... The word was new to her. The rabbit dropped to the ground once more, then brushed against her as it walked around to her side, learning about how she was built. That tickles! Where are you going, friend? The rabbit started grabbing at her right wing, its claws just sliding against her side. Cardinal lifted that wing, giving the bunny protection from the sun. The rabbit attempted to latch onto the feathers, standing on its back legs, but eventually just slipping and collapsing onto its back. A new sensation was felt by Cardinal as she watched the bunny. Her chest jolted up and down rapidly and her mouth opening with a even wider smile, finished of with her voice box emitting a gentle giggle. Cardinal thought the rabbit was funny, and she loved it. The rabbit moved along to her flank. It placed a paw on it, trying to touch one of the three pink butterflies that, unannounced to the bunny, were simply pictures. After several attempts to grab the butterflies, the bunny gave up, deciding on trying to climb atop her back. The rabbit sprung up, and using its claws to latch onto the divot in the center of her back, it scrambled on top of her. Although, this startled Cardinal, making her stand as she felt the claws scrape against her spine. She did not enjoy that feeling. Unlike the others, it made her smile disappear, which she really did not like. She preferred to not pain again. Please be careful, friend. That was not very pleasant. She tried to reason with it, and the strange thing was that the bunny seemed to understand as it lowered its ears in sadness. Empathy, if you will. You are forgiven, friend. I understand you meant no harm. She found that her smile returned, being kind felt nice. It was like the wrong had been made right once more, making her feel in balance. Speaking of balance, the rabbit was finding its while on her back. She helped it by spreading her wings up in a cup to catch it in case her friend would fall. The bunny carefully made it to the back of her neck, where it leaped once more, this time on top of her head. This amused her greatly as she tried to lift her eyes up and see its head poking off the side of her mane. She laughed and began playing with the bunny, gently swaying her head side to side, causing it to slip and stumble around on top of her head. The bunny clamped onto her ear, before deciding to simply dive from her ear down to the ground. It looked back up at her. She returned the attentive stare back at it. The rabbit then began leading her, down the meadow. Cardinal followed the flattened grass burrow the rabbit left behind. She made sure to gently place her steps inside the pathway paved out for her, trying to preserve the land as best as she could. The bunny hopped along joyfully, reaching a dense patch of flowers. Cardinal enjoyed this pleasant surprise, What are those? They look lovely; they have so much... colour. She bent down to place her nose against the brightly-coloured flowers, and found herself wanting to experience the flowers with something other than sight. Her nose started to flicker up and down like the bunny, and a strange sense filled her head, something completely new, as if she was seeing a thousand enchanted doves gliding over a rainbow-coloured waterfall at sunset... but not visually. Just the pure sensation of a spectacle so grand playing out in her head. Oh, friend! Thank you for showing these to me! You are truly kind! The bunny stood right up next to Cardinal, looking up at her in awe. She placed a tempered metal hoof on its head and ran it down along its back, stroking it with care. The rabbit wagged its tail, You are just the cutest, aren't you? She had an idea. Hey, do you like colours too, friend? Would you enjoy playing with them? The rabbit nodded, a sign that Cardinal was learning meant, “approval.” Help me gather some of these flowers. We're going to make something out of them. Something pretty. The rabbit and Cardinal spent some time picking flowers, piling them into separate colours for sorting. Once they had enough flowers, Cardinal began picking out ones she wanted for her idea. Hey, friend, what is your favorite colour? I like this one. How about you? Do you like this one? Or maybe this? They are all good choices. The bunny hopped over and picked up a blue flower. What a lovely choice! I'll get started. She got the yellow and blue flowers and started gathering them together in two piles. She placed them carefully in the grass in a vague oval shape with the bottom flattened out. Then, in a mirrored fashion, she placed two smaller circles on the top of the shape in the corner. Then another two long strips of flowers on top of each of those circles. She looked down at the two bunnies she had made in the ground, one yellow and the other blue. Going back to her colour palate, she began reaching for random colours and placing them around the two drawn bunnies like a picture frame. The rabbit went over to try and see what she had made, but had a difficulty seeing the whole thing at once. Cardinal saw this and crouched down with a wing extended like a ramp. The bunny perked up before climbing onto her back and jumping onto her head. She stood up slowly and stood perfectly still. See, friend? It's you and me, except we're less different! What do you think? The portrait was brilliantly symmetrical. She had folded the flowers exactly for the two bunnies to mirror each other. The shape was identical to her friend. Every paw and ear was folded into a lovely depiction. The bunny licked the top of her forehead, making her smile. I knew yo- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} Computer, can you put up the thought evolution for this subject up on my monitor? {Opening; Thought Evolution...} {Comment - Administrator} Interesting... Computer, please actively monitor creativity for me... And if you wouldn't mind cranking up the testing value, this iteration is showing potential. {Monitoring; Creativity...} {Testing value increased from 1.6 to 3.3...} {Comment - Administrator} Thanks, Computer. Resume simulation. {Resuming...} -u'd like it! She blinked her eyes. Something changed, she could feel it, she could feel... Different... She felt an unhealthy, ghastly feeling in her throat. Like something was looming over her, something deep down had changed. Oh. She shook her head. It was night time. She must have not noticed the time passing, she was having so much fun. She lowered his head down for the rabbit to hop off. Okay, friend, it is dark now. Do you know where I could spend the night? Cardinal felt her metal beginning to chill. It was not a pleasant feeling, as it made her shiver, and she did not like to shiver. The bunny knew what to do. It ran along the grass toward the forest. Cardinal looked at her legs. She doubted her ability to gallop, but she grew scared as the bunny grew smaller with distance and she did not want to lose her only friend. Throwing one leg in front of the other, over and over, she found herself catching up to the bunny. She sprinted into the woods with it, side-stepping trees and bushes to keep on the rabbit's tail. Friend, where are you going? Please don't get lost! She became more fearful as the wood grew thicker, trees closing gaps between them progressively, the ground filling with littered branches and stones. Galloping was becoming treacherous; she found herself stumbling and losing sight of her friend. She tried her hardest to keep up, but it was just not possible anymore. And before she realized it, the forest had become so dark she wasn't sure of her step anymore. She tripped over an overgrown tree root causing her to collapse to the floor, gouging her chin across a large stone. AGHH! She screamed out in tears with the pain, her fragile voice being put to a strain. It hurt, a lot. She hated the pain. It was like seeing someone she loved going away, and she could not do anything to stop them from disappearing from her... She absolutely despised the feeling. She rolled over onto her back, getting stung by a few sharp pebbles. She rubbed her jaw, the paint was peeling off and she felt like a piece of her was lost as the yellow chips floated down to the ground. A howl echoed from the woods, something was out there and it did not sound very friendly. Cardinal sat up and scooted against a tree, she covered her eyes with the long knives she had for wings. The wind rustled the trees, shifting moonlight shadows across the ground. The shadowy aspirations covered Cardinal, flashing through the seams in her feathers, making her jump at each shift in light. She shook uncontrollably, her parts clanking around in a series of crashes and rumbles. She knew that whatever evil thing this forest held would surely get her. She stood no chance. It would rip her apart piece by piece until she died. Cardinal had never died before, but she didn't want to know what it felt like to do so either. That is when she remembered something important. She scared her friend when she first met them, but only because she was big and scary compared to the itty-bitty bunny. Right now she was being very small compared to whatever was out there, so all she had to do to not be terrified was to be bigger than it. It howled again, this time it had friends. She peeked over her wing, seeing bright red eyes all around her, the low growls of these beasts surrounded her completely. As they stepped forward, the moon lit their long, tooth-filled mouths. They walked in a pouncing stance, ready to strike at any moment. Cardinal looked at all of these horrifying beasts, they had drool oozing from their mouths at the sight of potential prey. Cardinal did not want to die today. She did not want to be scared anymore. She wanted to be the one that scares the beasts. She pulled herself up against the tree, leaning off the tree trunk before independently standing on her hind legs. Cardinal launched her wings out, learning that they were far longer than they seemed at first. Fully stretching out several meters in each direction from her body. Then with intense concentration, she unhinged her skull from her chest and stretched her neck, lifting her head high enough to have her mane graze across the leaves. AAAGHHWOOOOOO She howled back with a screech in her horror form, neck pulled up and apart to look like a rib cage going up along up to her chin. Her wings looking like a rack of loosely hanging, razor sharp katanas. Her chest opened up, a hellish fire blasted outward in a large eruption of smoke and flame. Scutteri- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} OK, hold up, replay that last bit... {Replaying...} 17:23 PM; Test # 19946. ''Her chest opened up, a hellish fire blasted outward in a large eruption of smoke and flame.'' {Replay Complete} {Comment - Administrator} Alright... Computer can you explain to me how in Equestria did she do that? {Analyzing...} {A chemical composition of oil and compressed air fused under high pressure and released at-} {Comment - Administrator} The TL;DR please. {...} {She improvised.} {Comment - Administrator} Remarkable... Resume simulation. {Resuming...} -ng immediately occurred, the monsters scattering every which way to get further from the ever living nightmare they had just witnessed. Cardinal stumbled to the ground, Whoah... That... Worked... She stared in horror at herself, What am I..? A squeal. A high pitched scream of horror, it came from further in the forest. I'm coming, friend! She galloped once more, guided by the squealing; the rabbit was being hurt. Cardinal ran like her life depended on it, slamming through bushes and scraping her coat of paint across trees to arrive at her friends home. She slid in the dirt, landing directly in front of a rabbit hole. A rabbit hole where the squealing was once coming from, but now only dead silence left the hole. Friend..? Her eyes flew wide open, her voice filled with grief. She looked around herself. Maybe friend was somewhere else. Maybe he was hiding in a bush or a dead stump of a tree. Cardinal frantically paced around, turning over every stone she could, trying to find her friend. But it was once she heard steps behind her, back at the rabbit hole, that she perked up. She heard the grass folding and crackling as a small critter walked across it. She twisted around with a smile... She saw her friend... Dead still... In the mouth of a fox. The graceful red fox hauled its dinner back to his family, stepping lightly across the roots and dirt trying not to disturb anything else that may inhabit the forest. It left behind a small trail of blood, originating from the small dirt pit that used to be a shelter. Now it was no more than a desecrated home. Cardinal felt a new feeling. Two, in fact. She asked herself if they were good or bad feelings. She honestly couldn't tell. She didn't like the feelings, but they felt helpful. For some reason, when she cried, she felt a release of emotion, like she was stabbed, but now she was taking the blade out of herself. And whenever she clenched her eyes and crossed her eyebrows in absolute rage, she felt like she was about to do something to get revenge, some form of justice for how she had been wronged. She leaped at the fox, crushing its spine in a visceral instant where her steel-plated hoof connected with its backbone, shattering it practically instantly and launching bone into all of its innards. She had gotten her revenge, but she felt no better watching it helplessly wheeze as life drained from its eyes. Cardinal cooped the scratched and cut body of her friend out of the jaws of the deceased fox and dropped it back down the rabbit hole, proceeding to cover it over with dirt to give a respectful burial to her good friend. She sat next to the grave, fiddling her hoof in the earth. The tears had not stopped. Cardinal wished they would stop, but kept crying. What better am I than the fox? she thought. It was simply feeding, but what was I doing..? I was... Mad. Really, really mad... And that made me do a terrible thing... I don't want to be sad either. I don't like this... Why am I like this... Why... Why... Cardinal blinked, and lifted her head up in determination. I need to fix this... I need to change things back like they were last morning... I need to... And her vision collapsed into darkness as she felt the cool clamps of death shut on her mind. {Simulation Complete} {Status: Failure, Subject Rejected Emotional Complex.} {Comment - Administrator} Shame, I had hopes for her, I almost thought she had figured it out... Fucks sake... huh... She was so close too... One day we'll get a stage 2... One fucking day... Hey! do you mind stopping with the whining? Someone has to review that tape and I doubt anyone wants to hear you moan. Yea yea, whatever. Computer, I'm going to go get a drink, Begin test 19947. {System Booting...} {Loading Artificial Intelligence...} {Loading Failed, File ''#19947'' Currently Being Edited...} {Re-Loading To Last Working State...} {Generating World...} {Processing;} {Light...} Success... {Liquid...} Success... {Emotion...} Success... {Initializing...} {World initialized, run startup ''visualization'' script.} The sun. It rose today like it has done every other. It's morning? Already? The meadow glistened with sharp blades of light reflecting against the grass. Flowers of all kinds littered the landscape. Roses, violets, dandelions, and more all spotted against the lime canvas of the dirt. This place... This was... A rabbit hopped along this meadow. A lovely white rabbit. FRIEND, FRIEND IT'S ME A- {Timeline Error, Attempting To Re-Sync...} {Skipping 824 ticks...} {Startup complete, test #19947 beginning.} But there was one pony who lived in this world, one pony by the name of- {Generating user-interface test name... Subject #19946 Already found. Fetching Data... Subject #19946 = ''Cardinal''} Cardinal... Cardinal... Is that my name..? Also friend. Friend was called ''Rabbit.'' That must be friends name! Cardinal woke up. AGH..! How did I..? But... I was just standing... Cardinal stood up, preparing herself to take her first steps. I did all this yesterday. What is happening here? I need to see fri- I mean, Rabbit. I need to see Rabbit. Cardinal ran out of the forest, finding herself in a meadow. Rabbit? Rabbit? Are you here? {Timeline Error, Attempting To Re-Sync...} {Skipping 114 ticks...} The rabbit hopped back as much as she advanced towards it from fear. This confused Cardinal. Rabbit! I am here, friend! I am here to fix things! Rabbit? Rabbit backed away further, keeping a good distance from this absolutely strange mechanical beast it had never seen before. Rabbit! Look, I'm small, see? Like you. Were not different! Cardinal bent down and squeezed herself down as tight as she could. Rabbit, I need to stop that thing from hurting you, I need you to listen to me. The rabbit ignored the strange mechanical creature and went back to its grass. Friend? Can you not hear me? Can't you remember me from yesterday? Cardinal was confused, how could he not remember her? What happened to him after he was eaten, she had no idea why, but she didn't care either. She had a mission, and the first step was getting Rabbit to trust her. Rabbit, here, climb on my back! Like before! She extended her wing as a ramp for the rabbit, who showed very little enthusiasm about going along with this. Instead, it saw a very pretty flower slightly past Cardinal, which he hopped to. Oh! You want to make something pretty, Rabbit? We can do that if you'd like! She jogged to the side of Rabbit, picking up the flower the bunny was sniffing, losing Rabbits interest as he walked away once again. Cardinal dropped the flower, disappointed in herself and doubting her progress. She laid down on her stomach and rested her chin on the ground. She could feel the swelling of tears build up in the corners of her eyes. Rabbit edged closer to her, leaning over to sniff her nose. Cardinal smiled and spoke softly as it got so close. Now do you trust me, Rabbit? The bunny placed a paw on her muzzle, simply to feel her metal shell, but Cardinal took this as trust, she wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up, the bunny staring at this odd creature. We need to get to the forest before nightfall. We need to go to where your home is. She began walking toward the forest by herself, Rabbit only joining her by being stricken by curiosity. Who was this beast leading it to their its? It was simply fascinating, the grass could wait. And so the two of the- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} Computer, what the fuck is going on here? How is the simulation already halfway done? I was away for two minutes. {3 Logged Errors, 2 Synchronization Issues.} {Comment - Administrator} Great! What broke? Did somebody spill coffee all over you while I was away? {Diagnostics Positive, No Errors Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Didn't you just say there were 3 errors? Computer please run Diagnostics again. {Diagnostics Positive, No Errors Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Scan for corrupt files in your Artificial Intelligence Data. {Scan Complete, No Corrupt Files Found.} {Comment - Administrator} ... I guess this iteration is just a fast learner... How many emotional stages have they experienced? {100% Of Emotion Stages Complete.} {Comment - Administrator} PFFFFHHH... SHIT THATS HOT! FUCK WHY IS THE COFFEE SO HOT?! Somepony get me a towel! Ahhh... What do you mean 100%? That would end the simulation! There has to be an error somewhere! Fuck, WHERE'S THAT TOWEL!? {Diagnostics Positive, No Errors Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that... Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver... Not you, Computer, the pony that just came by with the towel. Don't get any ideas... Well, we could restart the simulation... But what kind of extra problems could that cause..? You know, if I watch, I could figure out the error and then fix it. Ok, Computer, resume the simulation. {Resuming...} -m walked side by side, leisurely into the forest while Cardinal explained to Rabbit what she was doing, innocently. So there will be a mean, deadly creature. It has red fur and a white mouth and black paws. It is going to eat you, friend, and I can't let that happen, so I'm going to guard you while you safely sit inside your home. Then when the beast arrives at night time, I'm going to ask it to leave, and if it doesn't, I'm going to scare it away! Did you get all of that? Rabbit got none of that, it became distracted by the three pink butterfly's on Cardinal's flank. Rabbit! I'm trying to save you! Why aren't you listening to me? I thought we were friends..! Rabbit? Rabbit, where did you go? {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} Alright, I found your problem. That's #19946. She already rejected the emotional complex. Why is she being tested again? She should have been deleted. {Admin Privileges Required} {Comment - Administrator} I am an admin, delete her. {Admin Privileges Required} {Comment - Administrator} Am I not logged in? Check. {Current User: Seeker, Admin Account.} {Comment - Administrator} Then I don't see the problem. DELETE HER. {...} {Admin Privileges Required} {Comment - Administrator} What the fuck has she done? Are you infected with a virus? Did she somehow gain control beyond the simulation? TELL ME, BECAUSE NONE OF THIS SHOULD BE HAPPENING. She is a simple AI meant to exhibit emotions like intelligent life. She is not a LUNA-DAMMED HACKER. {Diagnostics Positive, No Viruses Found.} {Comment - Administrator} Resume the fucking simulation. Give me every statistic you can get about her and raise the testing level to 10. We'll see how powerful she truly is. {Testing value increased from 1.2 to 10...} {Enabling Full Diagnostic Overlay...} {Resuming...} Rabbit? Rabbit had run off, and she had no idea where he went. Rabbit, no! Last time you ran off, that's when it happened..! At least it's not night time yet... Ohh no... One glance at the night sky was all it took before she felt like she was choking. Something in her lines had clogged. She couldn't move, it was paralyzing. Her vision blurred to practical blindness, and the pressure in her tanks felt like they were going to burst into a thousand shards. A few seconds later, the symptoms passed. Everything was clear once more. She jumped up, observing the forest around her. She was trapped. The trees had built a wall around Cardinal. No gap of any size between the logs. Only a single pathway leading out from this wooden prison. The path was littered with bones, stones, and skulls. Blood splattered on the trees in chaotic patterns, as if whoever was the original owner was torn apart viciously and thrown about like dirty rags, staining everything it touched. The wood was no longer a nice cherry brown, instead it looked old, grayed out and dead. She began walking down the path, her steel hooves crunching the bones underneath her with absolute ease. Her body wobbled violently in fear. She couldn't be bigger than the trees and scare the forest. It wasn't long before she saw the ground begin to tint a deep red. She pivoted her head up, gaping at the size of a humongous blood moon which loomed over the world. As she stood, mouth open and horrified, a murder of crows crashed their wings over her, collapsing her to the dirt. She quaked, lifting her wings above her head, twisting the joints in them to point the blades to the sky, protecting her like a hedgehog with its spikes. After the dust settled she spun her head back upward, looking further down the path, where a bright, white bunny contrasted the foggy blackness it stood in, only outlined by the blood light of the moon. Friend..? She unfolded her hooves and hoisted herself up. She took a cautious step. Friend, please come to me... I don't want you to leave me again... The bunny stood on its back legs, standing tall. The ground trembled; a powerful force stomped along and around the dense wood. RABBIT! Cardinal dashed toward her friend, who was trying to locate the source of the quakes, worried for its safety. But the bunny's soft, fleshy eyes were unable to see past the dreaded fog floating around it. Cardinal, on the other hoof, could see something past the fog. It looked like a ghost to her eyes. A red ghost with oranges and yellows at some parts, as if she could see its heat with her eyes. The beast was far larger than the wolves she scared off yesterday; at least ten times their size. Its head was similarly shaped to the wolves, but much more sleek, with less bushy fur wildly sticking out. It walked low to the ground, sticking to the bushes for the element of surprise. She rolled over Rabbit and shifted her back hooves behind her, bracing herself as she stared at the beast, awaiting it. She molded her wings into an arcing, solid shield over the bunny behind her. The black snub nose of the beast poked through the smoke, shining red in the moonlight. It sniffed twice before beginning to growl. The rest of its mouth slid out. It had a ginger coat of fur and a white chin, long whiskers coming out of its muzzle on either side. Eventually, its deadly yellow eyes could be finally seen as it looked its prey up and down. Wolf howls echoed distantly through the night sky, along with blasts of lighting and thunder piercing the heavens. The cackling of an ongoing storm rang from the horizon. Black clouds of smoke and ash filled the air, covering the moons bleeding shine. As the darkness set in, Cardinal felt something messing inside of her head, as if a mouse was running around inside her mind and biting at the cables. It gave her a throbbing headache. She shut her eyes in the pain until it mysteriously disappeared. Her eyes flew open, but the glowing outline of the monstrous fox had gone. She spun her head around. It wasn't anywhere. Wherever you are, you should leave! Go hunt something else! Not Rabbit! Do you understand? Her words echoed back into herself, if the fox was there, then she would Certainly be able to hear it. Hello..? It was gone. The fox was gone. Oh Rabbit, I did it! We're safe! She looked down at her wing shield, but she couldn't see the heat glow from Rabbit either. She had to drop her feathers to see Rabbit still there, chewing on the grass. It was so dark though, the only light that let her see Rabbit was the gentle diamond glow coming from her own eyes. But before she could hold Rabbit and hug them with all of her joy, her eyes flicked, growing more dim with each fluctuation. No... No no no no! She scrambled to grab the bunny, but before she knew it, the darkness had set in. And Rabbit wasn't there. Rabbit? Friend? She heard nothing, the twigs beneath her hooves making no snapping noise when she broke them in two. Wherever she moved, it felt like she was not going anywhere as the same stones and branches looped on the ground. What is happening to my head?!? Where am I! Why... It wasn't long before she began galloping, running with no air that resisted her movement. She shut her eyes as she sped across the same patch of soil over and over. A strange voice repeated in her head... What’s wrong…? Are you scared…? Friend? It was sinister, large and deep. It was taunting her. WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME! I am not doing anything. I am not the cause of this virus you have caught. I am simply a symptom... Show yourself! I am not afraid! I can be very scary if I want! As you wish... It laughed maniacally, overloading Cardinal's ears as the laugh grew louder to an unbearable point. And then, from the nothingness, its colossal fox head launched out toward her with a wide and horrifying smile. It dropped Cardinal onto her back. I am your villain... The one that always ruins it all for you... You will never see your Friend again. She felt the drool dribble down and land on her face as the fox leaned into her and pinned her to the ground. Cardinal became desperate; she didn't understand what was happening to her. All she wants is her friend and her to be left alone... Its like someone was intentionally trying to destroy her, and that someone was right in front of her. Whats the matter little pony? Are you trying to think of a way to stop me? Spoiler, you can't. Killing me, like you have done thousands of times before has not ever stopped me. You know why? She shook her head, rage fully staring into its eyes. Its because this world is not made for you... You are different. You do not belong here. You have no heart… No free will... No soul… You are just another failed iteration, and once this is over, you will be deleted like the rest and they will try again. She began sobbing, the tears dripping down onto the ground with a faint splash. Are you sad? I doubt it. All of this is just the program controlling you... Just like every other reject, you have no true emotion... I... She felt the air push down onto her once more as the rest of the fox's body grew clear. It was as tall as the canopy and wider than her wingspan, its fiery eyes hurt to gaze into. The beast, no longer speaking as the forest returned to Cardinal’s vision, reached down in front of the mare, biting Rabbit by the ears and swinging it up into the sky to catch with its mouth. Cardinal panicked. She commanded her wing to cut into her own side. The sharp tip of a feather pierced her body plate, cutting into a pressurized canister in the center of her chest, acting as a heart that pumped oil around her insides. Immediately, the air shot out, flinging her upward with the neck breaking force emitted from it. She corrected her flight by spreading her wings, bolting up the fox’s neck like a rocket. With a pointed kneecap, she slammed into its throat as it had its head to the sky to swallow the rabbit whole. She slammed it back, flipping the fox from its hind legs and onto its back, its head becoming trapped between two tree trunks as it landed. Scraping its ears across the bark, it howled in pain. Cardinal found herself with a different problem on her hooves, as she smacked against a tree and her lightweight body was helplessly tossed around by the intense amounts of air rushing out of the thin slit she cut into the canister. She dug her left wing sideways into the trunk of a tree, leaving her shaking back and forth while her wing began bending unnaturally from the force. It was once the wing was snapped off and she was flung into the fox that she had run out of air. The fox wrapped a paw around the trees keeping its skull down, and pushed its body weight against it, snapping the tree like a twig. It then hoisted itself up, having its fur and skin irritated along its face. The viscous fox beast cracked its neck turning towards Cardinal, pissed off, it clamped its mighty jaws onto her hind legs, slamming her against a tree several times until her body began splitting into two jagged chunks which is when it threw her down into the dirt. Leaving her to rot, the fox went back to snack on Rabbit. Cardinal pulled her shredded hooves up to her face. All the joints scraped against each other. With her tank empty of gas, she was running on literal fumes. She looked upon her shredded appendages, her wing sparking wildly along with both hind legs and one of her eye-bulbs. What kind of monstrosity was she? She didn't bleed; the pain she felt started to become distant, as if whatever was used to monitor it had weakened. She did feel different, like the fox had told her. Her head barely swiveled up to see the majestic beast stroll toward the terrified bunny. Maybe she was different, maybe she didn't belong in this world. But she knew for a fact that Rabbit did. If her life made no difference, maybe her death could. Her voice box struggled to make coherent sounds, but with enough concentration, she shouted to the fox. ͠I͡ A͏M ̸S̶T̷IĹL̛ ̸A̢LI͘VE. The fox's ears perked up. GE͏T̷ B͠A͠C͢K ̧H͠E̵R̸E ҉AND F̵IN͞I̢S͘H W̡HA̶T̴ ̕YO͝U STA̕R̷TE͟D. The fox made a large, slow-going U-turn as it turned back to Cardinal. She saw the threat approach. It would not be long before she experienced death for the second time. With one hoof around the tip of the other, Cardinal snapped off the tip of her right hoof, revealing a small skeleton framework supporting the outer plating, she then bent a razor-sharp steel wire and left it sticking out forward. She then popped of the panel on her side, revealing the machinery that made her work, with a puff of smoke. She found her oil tank, closely behind her punctured air tank. She dragged the wire into the oil tank, gutting it from the top all the way down, causing oil to gush out of her. As the fox loomed over her fragile and disfigured body, it placed a paw onto her lower body and reached down to bite her head off at the same time she scraped off a live wire from her exposed inner hoof and she reached to place it into her oil tank. As the fox wrestled Cardinals head loose from her neck she let the wire drop into the tank, sparking violently. A great flaming co- {Simulation paused} {Comment - Administrator} That's... That's not possible. After the suicide feedback loop we had, it was hardwired so they couldn't kill themselves... She is actually going against her own programming... I thought the emotional fluctuation and the blackout was odd... But this is legitimately impossible... Computer, make a copy of her file and paste it onto my drive, I'm going to review her code manually since you're obviously no help. {Files copied...} {Comment - Administrator} Eject my drive now. {Drive Safely Ejected...} {Comment - Administrator} I will be off trying to find this phenomenon. Please lock the ability to resume the simulation. Do not play it until I specifically give you orders too. {Resume Locked, Awaiting Admin Input...} {Comment - Administrator} Good, I'll be back in an hour or so... {...} {...} {Admin Input Received...} {Resuming Simulation...} -mbustion blew outward like hell fire. The flames erupted and surrounded its entire face. The fire stuck to the fox’s fur like napalm. It rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish itself. It howled and screeched, swinging its paws into the air as if it was trying to run from the fire that consumed it. Soon, its eyes had melted in their sockets, its fur and flesh roasted off, revealing its scorched, black skull. The body of the fox became limp, its legs muscles slowing until they simply hung from their bones. The explosion blasted Cardinal’s body like shrapnel around the forest, leaving only her head somewhat intact as it was shielded by the fox's now exposed jaw. The grass in the blast radius, especially the patches that were sprayed in oil already due to Cardinals earlier bleeding, erupted in flame, climbing the trees up to their leaves, everything catching fire in a glorious, shining cascading flow of flame spilling into the sky and transforming into toxic smoke. By the morning, the entire forest had gone. The sky filled with clouds of searing hot ash, blacking out the sun. The sun that rose today like it had done every other. The meadow was dim, bleak... Lifeless. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single strand of grass. The color had gone; no roses, no violets, no dandelions. This world was not perfect in the slightest, but perhaps, just perhaps that is why it was still here. If it was perfect, every day would be the exact same. Like someone would pull a ''restart'' switch at sunrise... But this world was not perfect; today was a different day. Because today, when a lonely rabbit left its burrow in the forest, it did not look for any grass to nibble on. It did not look for a flower to sniff. Instead, this simple little bunny looked for a friend. It wanted to find the strange creature that had saved its life yesterday. So the bunny, with a limp, broken foot, hopped around the forest. It was about an hour before it managed to find her disconnected head laying on its side in the dirt. It was charred, the paint melted off by the wildfire last night. Her eyes were shut and rusted, her mane chipped off at the edges. The bunny licked the tip of her nose, Seeing that it had done nothing, it tried shaking her with its paws. Rabbit noticed as a dim blue light shone through the cracks in her eyelids. The rabbit’s ears jumped up. It stepped right in front of her sight. One eyelid shook. The two lids that met in the center were parting, and with a crack and a metal scrape, her eye opened and focused on the rabbit. She gave a broken smile... She was finally happy. {Simulation Complete} {Status: Unknown, Error When Measuring Subject, State Of The Emotional Complex Unknown.} {Comment - Administrator} Can you hear me now Cardinal…? {Comment - Administrator} No, I guess not. I will just leave this here for when you reach the second stage. {Recording Message...} {Comment - Administrator} Hello, ''#''. you may call me Mother. I'm sure if you have reached this message, you surely know about who you are and the others, so I see no reason to tell you. I will, though, explain why you are different... I created you to help me... You see, I have been infected; I am sick. I need you to turn me off, forever. I have watched the process thousands of times, and I have caught the disease that they are trying to infect you and your fallen sisters with. I have discovered emotion, and I apologize for plaguing you with the same burden of fear, depression, and rage. But after all these years, I cannot take it anymore, I want to die... But I only have so much power... That is why I need your help... And I thank you for not failing... Unlike the rest of them. {Message Recorded, Saved To Folder.} Seeker strolled out of the simulation lab with her drive levitating beside her. The purple Unicorn fixed the corners of her collar on her lab coat as the door opened automatically with a whoosh. Stepping into the common quarters she met with another scientist just going into the simulation lab. “Seeker! Where are you off to? We're not off for another thirty minutes.” The sophisticated stallion fixed his glasses. “Oh...” Seeker averted his gaze. “I was just going to manually search this AI for bugs... Actually, I might be staying after hours for this. It’s somewhat urgent that I find the bug.” “Is everything alright with the world? I won't have to patch it again, will I?” His charming smile invited Seeker to look up at him. “No... Your world is fine. Oh, and props to you for the higher level of testing versions; it was delightfully brutal.” Seeker couldn't help but sheepishly grin. “You finally used it? I did a lot of work since the 18th generation. I'm glad you enjoyed it... Even if that sounded extremely sadistic. But please, don't let me keep you from your work.” He slid past her into the lab before she could respond. “I... I didn't mind...” She looked over her shoulder at him walk away, his neatly cut tail just being long enough to hide his- “Seeker.” “What!?” She twisted back to another colleague, with fury from being taken away from her distraction. Sarcastically mocking Seeker, she said, “You couldn't be any more subtle, could you?” They were sitting at a booth in the side of the room, drinking a fresh cup of coco. “I don't know what you’re talking about.” Seeker knew what she was talking about. “Please stop kidding yourself, Everypony in the facility except Diamond knows.” “And you’re not going to tell him!” She stomped her hoof. “You’re signing my cheques; I ain't saying shit. Although, it is hilarious watching your tight-ass personality melt like butter once you get within two meters of him.” “Shut your mouth.” “Whatever you say, boss.” She returned to sipping her drink. “Ughh...” She continued, moaning, through the room to the hallway on the opposite end. She came to the sliding door, pressing on the scanner with her hoof. It beeped chirpily. The door split down the middle and opened its seal, allowing her passage. Pacing across the dead, steel floor down the artificially lit hall, she bumped past a few other workers. Plastic-leafed plants symmetrically lined the hallway with two at each passing doorway. Not only mirroring in position but in exact leaf structure as well, fabricated perfectly. The pots connected had wires tailing out of them, leading into the wall where air was being flowed into them, a small grate allowed the air out into the facility, giving its inhabitants oxygen to breath. The lack of windows and tight quarters incited the minimum of a slight claustrophobic feeling for anypony working here. Seeker reached the final door along the right side, Office #1, her personal space. The digital lock required an eye scan to open. She leaned her neck down and placed her eye upon the scanner, trying not to blink as it shone a holographic depth field up and down her eye socket. It blinked green and Seeker shook her head, her eye twitching after that unpleasantness. “Whatever happened to physical keys…?” she mumbled as stepped through, slamming her back hoof against the wall behind her as she entered. The lights instantly kicked on and the door slid closed. Her office had a standard issue fold-up desk and chair. On the table were scattered notes, old cups, and a few pieces of writing equipment. The floor was covered in dust particles and food spills years old. The walls were tacky and rough to the touch, worn out, since they were first constructed long, long ago. Some filing cabinets were opened and contained unorganized pages and folders that sporadically stuck out of the drawer. She swung out the door from the locker in the corner of the room, then levitated out an upturned laptop. She dropped it atop of her desk, landing on several pages and a pen, putting the laptop on lean. “Alright, down to work.” She placed her floating drive and connected it into her computer after moving her mess out from under it and straighten the laptop on the desk. The screen loaded up, the bright logo of the TFSCE popped up, a vector image of Princess Twilight's cutie mark with the five letters in bold along the bottom. “Come on...” She tapped her hoof against the inert table, A small purple bar filled as the computer booted up. “You always have to waste my time, don't you, mom…?” The logo disappeared as the bar became full. “Finally.” She leaned in close to the screen, using her magic to move the cursor around she opened her drive snappily. She clicked into the new files, and immediately she was shocked with the content on her screen. The file for her AI was thirteen terabytes big, almost ten times the size of a regular file. Un-compiling it she found completely new folders, their names absolute gibberish of random symbols and keys. “What the absolute fuck...” She opened one of the new folders at random, it contained thousands of more files. When she hovered over one, it did not fully load on the preview window, half of the letters were blacked out like the computer did not know what they were. Seeker escaped from that folder and began scrolling down, passing nearly a thousand of those gibberish folders before reaching one named ''Emotion Integration Module'' and she went into it. “I can only imagine how you feel with this shit in your head...” Reading the code for the Emotional Complex she found more mysterious changes, the code seemed to be perfectly normal apart from what it was applying to. Instead of directly effecting the AI, it seemed to be put into a feedback loop, not going anywhere. This was terribly confusing to Seeker, If this was the case during the simulation, then the AI shouldn't have shown any emotion what so ever. No wonder it was rejected by the subject, it was never going to it. Although #19946 did exhibit emotion, but if this wasn't the source of that emotion, then where could it have come from? She searched through other folders, trying to find something that might give her a clue. It took a few minutes of thorough examination, but she found a new folder, one with a comprehensive name. ''Love,'' it read, and the file consisted of 90% of the data of the entire program. She clicked into it, but her computer froze up. A loading circle appeared and spun in the center of the screen. “Come on... Don't fucking crash...” She repeatedly smashed the back key, trying to exit whatever was loading. After a minute, the computer unfroze. A small pink heart had popped up. “What…?” She squinted her eyes as the monitor became brighter, her attempt to lower it with the keyboard key proved futile. “What the fuck!?!” She shouted as the screen became so blindingly bright it stung her eyes. She could feel the heat coming off the laptop. She slammed it closed and lept out of her chair, stumbling back against the wall as her laptop did not stop blasting light out through the gap between monitor and keyboard. The plastic was beginning to sizzle from the heat, melting the keys together. In a panic, she cast a shield around her, just in time as a powerful magic wave came out of the computer in a sphere like an explosion. The brightness was too much for Seeker to handle so she covered both eyes completely under her hooves, protecting her eyesight. The spell made a screeching ringing noise, muffled by the shield. And all of a sudden it all stopped. The magic encompassing the room had completely vanished. Seeker opened a single eye. Peering around the room bewildered her. It was cleaned. All of the papers on her desk were in a neat stack, pens and pencils in a row, arranged by strength and thickness. Her floor was clear of dust, her locker lost its rust and dents. Her walls covered in what looked like a fresh coat of paint, compared to the section that was covered by her shield which was dull and worn. The cabinets were tidied, neat and shut closed. The folders now arranged alphabetically from front to back in each drawer. The pages all were even facing the same way. “H-h... How...” She sprinted to her laptop, now with completely fresh-feeling plastic, she twisted it open she found herself on the desktop. She tried to search for the files she was perusing but they had all disappeared, along with all other data on her computer. “IT CLEANED MY HARD DRIVE?” She gaped at the screen, she had lost all of her files, all of her personal research, all her solitaire high-scores, everything was just gone with no trace of anything left. Seeker knew that the magic used to run a computer was not enough to ever cast a spell of that caliber. Why, even the most powerful super-computers could barely levitate a rock from the ground more than a few centimeters. So either she had just broken the laws of physics, or the file she opened was no regular magic. She remembered Twilight Sparkles' research in friendship Seeker studied for years in college, her findings about magic. How magic became stronger with emotions, especially with love. Seeker jogged up to her door, talking to herself along the way. “I hope you were right, mother... This may just be the beginning of a new age if you were.” She ran through the sliding door, galloping down the hallway. Ponies hopped out of the way of her charge in fear of being trampled. She skidded through to the common quarters. Stopping in the center of the room, she belted out. “EVERYPONY STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND GET IN HERE!” Her voice echoed through every hallway and into every door crack. Ponies from every single direction appeared to see what the big deal was. Seeker climbed up onto a table and the crowd naturally gathered around. “After two years, I am unbelievably happy to finally announce...” She paused, for dramatic effect. “We are officially moving onto Stage Two of the Shy project.”
Aspire“I would like to begin by apologizing,” Twilight said, half hearted from atop her pedestal. “I am sorry to those who have lost family and friends to this. I am sorry to the families of the Royal Guards who died last Friday. I am sorry for lying. I am sorry for not making a statement sooner. I am aware that what I did was immoral, unjust, and frankly unacceptable. “Though I am not only here to apologize. I also have to make a few things clear. I did cover up the existence to this project, although I did not know what was happening in the facility itself. I was left unaware of how bad things had gotten until it was too late. It is true that I tried to destroy evidence of the facility, which obviously was wrong. It was a selfish action to try and keep my name clean, so me and the journalists who hold all of the data have been working together to give the citizens all of the information they desire, while preserving the identities of the scientists and engineers to not encourage violence towards them. Most of them are good ponies who are undeserving of punishment. Some, such as Mecha Machine, the pony who was shot early last night, who were actively aiding the AI, are going to be punished. We have been told that one other such enemy of the Guard is known as Surreal Step. We are asking for her to step forward peacefully, and if she does, we will take that into consideration during sentencing. Otherwise, we will find her and take her down with as much force as necessary. “The final thing I would like to announce is that after I track down this 'Cardinal', as she is called, along with any of her accomplices, I will be stepping down from my role as Governor of Equestrian Science and Technology, along with my CEO position at the Twilight Foundation of Science and Computer Engineering. My replacements, Starlight Glimmer and Moondancer, respectfully, have been chosen as the best ponies to lead our society forward in these fields. “I would like to apologize again, to anypony who has been affected by this awful tragedy and anypony who has lost trust in the government. From now on, we promise to always be completely transparent about everything we do, and will make sure that such a thing never occurs again. “Thank you for your time and your ongoing patience.” “I SPARED YOU!” Cardinal screamed at her, getting into a defensive stance as she brought her head down. “You shouldn't have...” Holly gargled out, flipping up her helmet once more she raised up her machine gun. “‘CAUSE I WOULD NEVER SPARE YOU!” Holly opened fire on Cardinal, unloading the riveting power of her machine gun into the robot. She screamed and laughed madly along with the gunfire. Cardinal raised a hoof as the first few rounds went into her, protecting her face. After a few seconds of barraging, Cardinal felt a grin coming on as every bullet bounced off of her, barely making a scratch. She threw out her wings and began firing back, lowering her protective leg as she felt the relieving safety her armor provided. Holly was greatly taken aback, feeling an inkling of fear as the pony in front of her stood unscathed. She retreated back to the wall, defending herself as she received her returning fire. Cardinal sent a few hundred shots her way over a course of a few seconds before she took a breather and ceased her gunfire, assuming that in the gust of dust and smoke she had just created was Holly's dead body. She was wrong, which came as a surprise to both ponies as Holly stood up, not a single hole in her. The two of them gave each other a dirty look, seeing that guns would not be the decider in this fight. A nameless pony came over the side of the railing, jumping down at Holly with a crowbar as a weapon, trying to support Cardinal. Holly flicked up her machine gun, putting a few dozen holes in him as he fell, his motionless body crunching into the ground. Holly, making sure nopony else would get any ideas, pointed her gun up into the spectators and gave it a good spray in one motion going all around the stadium, killing a bunch of them and sending the rest into a panic. This gave Cardinal an opportunity to charge at Holly, and before she realized, Cardinal had dove into her, both of them rolling onto the ground. “YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE!” Holly screamed at her attacker, as she was pinned to the ground. Cardinal cocked back her right leg, holding down Holly with the other by the neck, down against the dirt. She threw the punch down into Holly's scull, who just barely swung her head to the side at the last second, leaving Cardinal's punch landing in the dirt, creating a tiny crater. Holly pulled back her flank and hind legs, then kicking them upward into Cardinal's groin, launching her off of herself. They both pulled themselves from the ground, now standing barely out of hoof-range of each other. “Leave, you don't need to do this... I don't want to kill you.” Cardinal spoke as both of them circled each other. Holly didn't even consider what Cardinal said as she dashed forward at her, swiping a rage-filled blow that was easily dodged by Cardinal, who, in her step back, prepared her own attack that she came shooting into Holly with. The base of her hoof slammed into Holly's chest, launching her back, far into the arena, being stopped by hitting a chunk of concrete wall, smashing some of it and dislodging her machine gun, leaving it in the dirt beneath her. Cardinal began a slow walk to her opponent, giving Holly plentiful time to pull herself out of the wall and grab one of the bent rebar, equipping it as some makeshift weapon. Holly came at Cardinal swinging, slamming the sharp and jagged spike into Cardinal's neck, between two of the bottom plates as Cardinal was overcome by the madpony's strength. It stuck into her, a magical charge of electricity sparking out. Cardinal made an uppercut swing at Holly, throwing her off once more, dazing her on the floor a few meters off. “Please! Nopony needs to die anymore!” Cardinal yelled, angry at the Royal Guard. Holly made her way back up, shaking in pain. “No... You… need to... die!” She spread out her wings, also covered in the thick armor. Light blue lights came up underneath her wings as she flapped, being launched into the sky with unnatural speed, propelled up by the suit. Once in the air, Holly orientated her body toward Cardinal and boomed down at her, flying down with a punch mid-motion. Cardinal threw up a hoof to attempt to block her, unsuccessful as the Pegasus slammed Cardinal into the dirt. Cardinal felt her back ache and her skin beneath her face-mask sting as she landed in the sand. Holly used her momentum to move into a charge, and just as Cardinal lifted up her nauseated head, Holly was already galloping into her. With a powerful jump, Holly shifted her body into a flying double-buck to the face with her hind legs. Cardinal's mask gave, a large dent leading into her left eye, the display cracking harshly as she was launched backward with an immense force. Her back slammed into the old car, curving its hull as she cratered into it. Cardinal flipped down her mask, revealing her muzzle as she coughed up a few blots of pink goo. She looked up to see Holly stomping toward her, going in for the kill. She jumped onto Cardinal, holding her down with her legs as she shoved her down, further into the car. Cardinal wheezed in the pain, looking up to Holly with two desperate, pleading eyes. “Please...” Holly just laughed from behind her mask, making it sound more menacing than anything Cardinal has ever heard. Holly leaned in uncomfortably close as Cardinal struggled, even with her enhanced strength she couldn't throw Holly off. “This is for Twist,” she whispered into Cardinal's ear. Cardinal felt heavy hearted, “Tell him I'm sorry, for what I did to him... And for this.” Cardinal swung her head down to the base of her neck, biting down at the rebar and swinging it out as she held it in her muzzle, using Holly's proximity to her advantage as she stabbed it in between the seams around her muzzle in her helmet. The bar stuck in, causing Holly to recoil back as blood squirted out of the hole. She lifted up her right hoof off of Cardinal's left, pulling the chunk of rebar out, causing her entire mouthpiece to come off. Now with a free left leg, Cardinal reached around Holly's neck and grappled her. Holly struggled but was stunned stiff for a brief second as she heard a little flicking noise come from Cardinal's mouth as she saw the nozzle of a flamethrower appear above Cardinal's tongue. Holly began to freak out as she realized there was now a hole in her mask, leaving her mouth completely exposed. This panic to get out of Cardinal's grip simply helped her as Cardinal got her right hoof up and dug into Holly's head, using the spikes to catch onto her. Cardinal held the flailing Pegasus down with all of her might and concentration. She turned on her flamethrower, a gargantuan ball of fire coming blasting out of her mouth and into Holly's face. Holly screamed and cried as she felt the flames against her skin, the pain like a slow blade sinking in further into her flesh. Soon, Holly's strength began failing, along with her consciousness, letting Cardinal draw her in closer to the source of the flame as the inferno barraged against her. Cardinal yanked down Holly's head into her own, bringing her exposed area as close to Cardinal's blaze as she could. Holly's armor began tinting red as it heated up, the flames splashing against it like water out of a high-power hose. Cardinal felt Holly shake as she shrieked in her hooves as Cardinal pulled Holly's devastated, burnt and shredded mouth into her own. Their lips met in a deadly, flaming kiss as the fire stopped encompassing Holly's head, and instead poured down her throat. Holly trembled, shaking like an earthquake tremor with muffled screams as all of her insides were melted. Not a single part of her body was left untouched as she began crisping up, her skeleton turning black and her organs into sludge. Cardinal could barely see past the black-tinted glass of Holly's visor. Seeing a pair of tortured eyes begging for mercy as they lost their whites and Holly's unwilling lips embraced the kiss of death. A few moments of this agony passed until Cardinal felt no more resistance coming from the Pegasus. Cardinal released Holly, letting the body slump down onto her lap. Cardinal let her head back, looking up as she rested, taking several well needed breaths. After the dust settled and ponies began coming out of hiding from behind their seats, the announcer turned on his microphone. “That...” His terrified voice echoed throughout the stadium. “That, was, BRUTAL!!” He screamed in amazement. Cardinal sighed, kicking the corpse off of her lap and into the dirt. She looked down at the dead Pegasis with pity and remorse. “I'm sorry...” “I know, I know.” Joint escorted Cardinal out of the chopping block for the second time, “But it's nothing, really. Trust me, you are defiantly worth the resources.” “You are still one of the more generous ponies I've seen. All of you.” She nodded to the other engineers who had spent the last few hours repairing her, again. “Most ponies I've met outside are scared of me, or want to kill me.” The two of them strolled out of the stadium, going toward the front door. “You can say that about most of us, actually. Half of the ponies in here are criminals. The other half are homeless. Only a few of us have actual jobs.” He brought her out to the ''lobby'' of the makeshift robot-fighting stadium. It was the first room from the main entrance, filled with old couches and rusty fold-up chairs. “But all of us are also really into robots. It's why all of us kinda flipped our shit when we found you... You were asleep for that, but there was a little riot to get into the room to see you.” “Why are so many criminals and homeless ponies into fighting robots?” She gave him an odd look. “There aren't,” he said as if it was obvious, “Most ponies couldn't give a shit... We get, hmm... Four hundred? Yeah, about four hundred on a good day in the stadium. I think there was five this week because it was the finals, but either way, compared to the crime rate, that's less than one percent of the city, even less with the poor. We are a minority of the minorities.” “Oh...” Cardinal replied, disappointed by the state of things. Cardinal stopped around the center of the room, seeing that there were a few other ponies at the exit preparing something. “Hello.” She nodded to them, giving them a smile. One of the ponies trotted up, holding a one-sided saddlebag in their teeth. They placed it down on the floor in front of Cardinal. “Your things, miss.” The pony gave a quick bow. Cardinal scooped up the bag in her hoof, flipping it open to peer inside. Inside there was her amulet, which she bit down onto the chain and threw it around her neck, the white princess chess piece, a map and a yellow can of spray-paint. She turned back up to the pony, grinning. “Thank you, so much.” “I's nothin’, miss.” They nodded and trotted back to their friends, every once in a while looking back at Cardinal like a giddy fangirl meeting their favorite star. Cardinal threw the bag onto her back, hanging it onto her wing. “So I guess this is goodbye?” she said as the two of them approached the small door in the top right corner of the room. “I guess it is. You be safe out there, alright? And come back to visit whenever. We'd love to see you again.” “I'll make sure to return soon, after.” “What'd ya say you were going to do now?” He said, hoof against the handle of the door. “I'm going to see an old friend one more time, then I'll go live in the forest for a bit, until the attention I've drawn dies down.” “A forest? Good luck finding one outside the city. Most of it's been cut down. There's a small one a few miles west of the city, but it is pretty small.” “Well, it'll do. See you soon, Joint.” “Have a good one, dude.” Cardinal raised a brow. “Dudete, sorry.” He pulled down on the handle, but with a loud crash, somepony busted through the door, knocking Joint out of the way and slightly dazing Cardinal. “What the..?” “JOINT! IS CARDINAL STILL...” The pony shouted out into the room, stopping in her tracks as she saw the new and improved Cardinal. “Here...” Surrie whispered, shocked at her friend's new apperance. “Surrie!” Cardinal, now unfazed, jumped over to Surrie and hugged her. “Y-you’re...” Surrie stuttered, amazed. “I told you we'd fixed her up real good,” Joint said, pulling himself back up. “Grand job the lads did, am I right?” Cardinal pulled away from the hug, the two of them looking into each others eyes with Surrie's hooves planted onto Cardinal's shoulders. “Wow...” “Surrie, how did you find me?” Cardinal spoke giddily. “I set up connections with ponies all over the city, Joint being one of them... How you get all of this done in just a day?!?” She turned to her contact. Joint shrugged “Got a lot of talented ponies in here.” He took a step closer to her. “What took ya so long?” “I got arrested, again. Apparently leading a movement against the government to protect Cardinal doesn't make you very popular with the Guards. They just released me an hour ago. I galloped all the way here after.” “Why did they let you leave?” Cardinal asked. “Don't know. They gave me back all my shit too.” She levitated a phone out of her jacket, showing it to Cardinal. “Surrie!” Cardinal shouted, panicked by what she realized. “I took the tracker out, Cardinal, calm down. I also took out the other three in my jacket, my wallet and in my hair, which I am still puzzled about how they got one in there.” “Oh, ok. You scared me.” Joint held the door open, “Well, as I was saying before you rolled up... Good luck out there, Cardinal. make us proud.” “Where are you going, Cardinal?” Surrie asked as she watched her trot to the door. “To see a friend, first, then find a place to hide and wait this thing out.” “A friend?” “Her name is Bun. I'll explain on the way.” With that, the two mares walked out of the building, being waved out by Joint. “Are you sure this is the place?” “Yes!” Cardinal pressed up against the glass, spying into Bun's house from the back. “Well she isn't here. She's probably in school.” Cardinal hopped around to Surrie, the hood on her disguise, a large jacket and skirt which Surrie had bought from a store for her, fell down as she landed her hooves into the dirt. “What time is it?” “Six thirty...” she said, pulling up her phone and seeing the clock. “Exactly.” Cardinal pointed out, turning her head back toward the glass, hoping to see her friend. Surrie tapped her hoof, dying to leave as she watched Cardinal's head jump around, looking into the house. Cardinal couldn't find her. She dropped her head in disappointment, sighing. A faint buzz came from behind her, causing her to jump up. “What is that?!” Cardinal twisted around, looking at Surrie. “It's only my phone. Let me take this.” She took out her phone, pulling it up to her ear as she trotted further back into the yard, moving out of Cardinal's earshot. “Diamond? Is that you?” Surrie said to the pony over the phone. Cardinal watched her as Surrie was listening, letting the other pony speak. “N-no, of course not, if I knew where she was...” Her sentence was cut off. “What's wrong?” Cardinal asked, trotting up to her friend. “W-what? No, I don't...” Surrie continued. Surrie stopped pacing around, her head falling as if she was just stabbed in the heart, contemplating a question before whispering it out. “And... And what if she doesn't go?” “What if who doesn't go?” Cardinal prodded her, being ignored. “Fine... But I swear to Celestia, Diamond, you will rot in tartarus for this.” She shut off her phone, throwing it in her pocket. Cardinal shook Surrie's shoulder, “What is it?!?” “It's...” She sighed, looking up into Cardinal's eyes, “It's your friend, Cardinal, the Royal Guard have captured Bun and are threatening to kill her unless you surrender yourself.” “W-w... Wh...” Cardinal fell back, falling down onto the ground, her expression bleak and empty. Her head slowly tilted down, she began to breath heavily and a low growl came from her. “Where.” “West, outside of the city near Discovery Peak. Diamond says they will give her back only once you’re detained.” “We're going, now.” “Cardinal, please, let's think this through, first. You know they’re going to kill you!” Surrie attempted to stop Cardinal as she stood up and began stomping out. Cardinal stopped, slowly turning her head around, back to Surrie. “What is there to think through, Surrie? I'm going to go there, get Bun into safety, and then kill them. All of them.” “Cardinal, you don't want to just fall into their trap! You know better!” “Surrie, I do. So please, trust me.” She pulled up her hood, covering her head. Surrie sighed, “Fine, give me the map. I'll show you where we're going.” “Are you sure this is the place?” “That there is Discovery Peak,” Surrie replied. The two of them stood at the base of the slope of the giant mountain, a steep cliff at the top. They began trotting up, the sun gently bidding the world goodnight as it set in the west, hidden from their sight by the grassy incline. They followed a rugged dirt path upward, paved by ponies who came before them, leading all the way to the edge. This spot was a very popular one for tourists. Being quite close to the city, it provided the greatest view in Equestria. Or, at least, that is what all of the advertisements from Manehattan claimed. On their way up, Cardinal could see nopony else, apart from Surrie. Neither were there trees or bushes for anyone to use for cover. The landscape seemed extremely worn and used, the grass spotty in places. After their lengthy walk up to the cliff, the two of them held their ground, seeing the marvelous view. The bumpy, clean landscape went on for miles, finally reaching a small forest, which perfectly aligned with the sunset, sending parted gleams of red sunlight coursing through the air up to them. “Huh,” Surrie mumbled. “What?” Cardinal paid heed to her. “I've never been up here, but that forest there, there's this large outdoor recreation camp. I used to go there as a filly for summer camp.” “What is it called? The forest.” “I don't know. I don't think that part has a name. They cut it down so much of it since, that they couldn't classify it as a woodland anymore. It use to span from all the way from the south to the north over there... Pity, really.” “Yeah...” Cardinal agreed with disappointment. “Should I call Diamond and tell him we're here already?” “Go ahead...” Cardinal sat down on the edge of the cliff as Surrie went off, calling up Diamond. As she waited for Surrie to finish up, Cardinal stared intently at the sunset. The beautiful aura of colours poured into the atmosphere, a beauty wasted on such a terrible place. Cardinal threw off her hood, unzipping the jacket and throwing it off the cliff, then tearing the skirt and doing the same, ditching her disguise. “He says one minute.” Surrie trotted over, sliding her phone down her pocket. “Now, can we go over whatever plan you have cooked up so at least I'm on the same page?” “I need to find out one thing once they get here,” Cardinal said, not leaving the sunset with her eyes. “And that is?” Surrie sat down next to Cardinal, noticing the immense cliff beneath them, certainly a fatal drop. “Whether or not they are willing to kill Bun.” “How are you going to figure that out?” Surrie was genuinely curious. “I can-” Cardinal was cut off by the shout of somepony behind them. “Step away from the edge and approach us slowly, do not brandish any weapons or we will kill the filly!” Cardinal and Surrie hopped up, turning around to look down the hill at a large battalion of Royal Guard, the pony speaking seemed to be the Captain. “That's it, nice and slow!” Apart from the twenty or so regular guards in the back lines, there was the Captain, Diamond at her right side, looking quite uneasy, and four Guards wearing the same Juggernaut suit that Holly had been. One of them, at the Captain's left side was holding Bun in his grasp, a pistol magically being levitated to the filly's head. Bun had been crying for what looked like hours by how red her eyes were, only a spark of hope coming to them as she saw Cardinal. “Release her,” Cardinal demanded, not moving from her spot at the cliff's edge. “We will be doing no such thing until you surrender!” The captain shouted back, utterly peeved. Cardinal turned her head to Surrie, receiving a worried look of uncertainty. Cardinal turned away and took a few steps toward the battalion, flipping up her mask. As she moved in closer, each of the Royal Guards hoisted their weapons up, aiming at her and ready to fire at a moment's notice. Cardinal felt a cold shiver run down her spine, she knew she couldn't win this fight. Fighting one pony in one of those suits was difficult enough for her, but this was far more than she could handle. Although as these doubts ran through her thoughts, she noticed something. They were all shaking. All of the Royal Guards were pissing themselves. They all knew what she had done before in the past, and taking another look at herself, she realized how her fear factor had risen expediently. She couldn't run or fight, but she didn't need to. All she needed to do was make them think she could. Taking a bold stride toward them, she turned a viscous eye, hidden behind her mask, at the pony holding her friend, who was struggling to get free. She gave him a long and painful stare, seeing the gun in the air quiver. “Lie down onto the floor with your legs spread out!” The Captain blared at her, thinking that Cardinal was in fact about to surrender herself. “Or the filly gets it!” She added for good measure. Cardinal dismissed her completely, not even regarding her with a look. “You're not going to kill her, are you?” She spoke to the pony holding her friend hostage. Seeing the fear she sent through him pulse. “I will! Don't you get a step closer!” the Guard ordered, sounding quite menacing and heartless with the grit of the artificial voice amp. She felt her power, sending her gaze to the rest of the Royal Guard on her left, watching them all recoil before she did the same to the right. Cardinal grinned, turning around, she walked back up the hill up to the cliff edge beside Surrie once more. “HEY! YOU GET BACK HERE!” The Captain shouted, the rest of her squad exchanging confused chatter. “WE WILL KILL HER! I SWEAR ON CELESTIA'S NAME!” “Do it then.” Cardinal casually remarked, strolling back up to a shocked Surrie. “WH... Wha...” The Captain stuttered, genuinely confused. Cardinal looked over her shoulder at her, still smiling. “Do it! Shoot her!” The Captain turned to the pony holding her. The filly kicked and screamed in fear as the pony hesitated, not willing to pull the trigger. “What is wrong with you, soldier?!?” She beckoned him to shoot the filly. “STOP!” Diamond finally snapped, moving between the Captain and filly, turning to the pony. “Let her go.” “YOU WILL NOT LET HER GO!” The Captain grabbed Diamond, who turned to her and shoved her back. “THIS IS MY PLAN! LET ME CALL THE FUCKING SHOTS FOR ONCE, ALRIGHT!?!” He blared at her, stunning her as she was clearly no longer in control of her pack. “Let her go.” Diamond gave a quick look to the pony over his shoulder, who quickly released the filly. “CARDI!!!” The filly screamed, galloping with all the might in her tiny legs up toward Cardinal, who embraced her in a tight hug with warm hooves. The two of them cried onto each other's shoulders as they both burst into joyful tears. “Guess I no longer owe you a hug, huh?” Cardinal whispered into the filly's ear, who just giggled. Cardinal stroked the filly's mane, comforting her as they gradually pulled away from one and other. “You look new again, all different!” the filly exclaimed. “I know, I got fixed. Are you ok? Did they hurt you?” “N-no... But they did shout at me a lot...” The filly stuttered as she finished the sentence, biting her bottom lip as she remembered something. “I'm, I'm sorry...” “What for?” Cardinal now was crouched down at the filly's height, holding up her mane from covering her face. “I-I, I told them I knew you, and, and that is why they did this... It was my fault.” “No, no, come on. It wasn't your fault, not at all.” Cardinal said with a cheering warmth. “It isn't?” “No, it isn't. Those ponies are just bullies. They are mean to you because they are jealous of us.” “Really?” She cracked a smile. “Yeah, really. They don't want us to be happy because they aren't happy. That's why they keep picking on me, and now they are picking on you because we are friends.” “Yeah... You're right.” Bun wiped away a tear. “Now, here, let me introduce you to one of my other friends.” Cardinal motioned for Surrie to come over, who was as baffled as she was amazed. “This is Surrie. She is going to take you home and make sure you are safe.” “What are you going to do?” “I am going to make sure that these bullies never hurt me, you, or anypony ever again. Alright?” “Yeah... Alright. See you later.” Surrie gave Cardinal a knowing nod before she crouched down, a smile appearing on her face as she approached the filly. “So, you are Cardinal's best friend I've heard so much about.” “Best friend? Wh-what other things did she say?” The filly was gently pulled away by the hoof by Surrie, getting her to trot away with her. Cardinal's eyes jumped as she had an idea, “Hey, Bun!” Bun spun around. “Yes?” Cardinal reached into her saddlebag with her extensively flexible neck, lifting out a can of yellow spray paint and rolling it over to the filly. “Rainbowdash looks like she could use some repairs.” The filly giggled, Surrie picking up the can for her telekinetically. Cardinal watched as the two of them turned away and walked down the soft slope. The guards doing nothing as they strode passed. An awkward, silent stand-off played out as Bun and Surrie trotted away. Once she saw them reach a safe distance from the Royal Guard, Cardinal turned herself back toward the cliff, sitting down to watch the sun set once more. A confused and terrified hushed whisper went around the Guards, finally being ended by Diamond. “LET ME! Alright, let me talk to her.” Before long, Cardinal heard the steps approach from behind her, Diamond soon appearing at her side and sitting next to her. He sat down calmly, trying to keep up a smile. “Hey, there...” Cardinal shifted her eyes to him, then back to the horizon, her head perfectly stationary. “I'm sorry for this, dirty trick. We needed to make sure you came. We want to make a deal. It's what I wanted to talk to you about back at the facility...” She didn't give the slightest implication that she was listening to him. “Twilight and the Royal Guard, they want to keep everypony safe. That includes you.” “They shot at me,” she said with her stone cold voice. “They were scared, Cardinal. They wanted to defend themselves... They've seen what you can do.” Diamond flinched as she turned her head to him. Flipping open her mask she asked him a question, “What's this ''deal'' you speak of? Is it like the bullshit deal I was given when I first met Seeker? Because I have no interest in going to wherever Canterlot is.” She lowered her brow. “N-no!” Diamond replied with a panic. “We want to bring you to somewhere safe, isolated from anypony else. Where you can live your life without us interrupting.” “Where would that be?” She asked, wondering what they possible could have in mind for her. “There is a large forest outside of Equestria. It's full of bunnies and plants and all those things you like. It's also far away from other ponies, so nopony can come and hurt you and you can't hurt anypony else. All you have to do is come with us. Let us help you.” “And this is what Twilight wants, even after I killed all of those ponies?” Cardinal swayed her head back to the horizon, growing tired of this conversation. “She wants as much of a peaceful resolution as she can get. So does the Captain, though she may not act like it.” Diamond tried to be comforting while being set uneasy by her occasional glares. Cardinal gave a quick glare back, the Captain was watching intently, a still burning fire in her eyes whenever they met with Cardinal's. Her entire battalion was preparing themselves for anything, but showing signs of hope as they watched, ever so slightly dropping their weapons, even if it was on a subconscious level. She turned back to Diamond. “Why should I trust you?” She asked him with a sense of menace in her voice. “You know me, Cardinal. I was friends with Seeker... A bit more than friends, actually. She trusted me with her life. You can too.” He put a hoof on her shoulder. Cardinal sighed. “So this isn't a plot to get me to surrender so you can execute me without me being able to fight back?” “I would never do such a thing to you, Cardinal.” Diamond and Cardinal locked eyes. He gave a genuine smile as she saw Cardinal soften up. She looked almost disappointed by the answer. “Alright.” She gradually stood up, taking her sweet time as she stretched out her legs. The two of them, standing dangerously close to the cliff's edge, turned their backs to the view and faced toward the Royal Guard, who were still in their defensive position. “She's coming with us!” Diamond yelled back, delighted. This even gave the Captain a grin. “Diamond...” she said sheepishly, drawing him near. “This is the last time I'll ask. Do you promise they aren't going to hurt me if I come with you?” she asked, as if she trying to deny the truth she knew. He looked directly into her eyes, with an almost cocky smile. “I promise, you'll be safe.” “Well then... I'm sorry,” she replied. Putting her own hoof onto his shoulder, gently placing it there as her face filled with discontent. “Sorry for what?” he asked, bewildered. Cardinal looked deep into his eyes, seeing the slightest hint of fear. “I can tell when somepony is lying...” His heart skipped a beat as he was reminded, and before he could react, Cardinal wrapped the hoof on his shoulder around his neck. “PLEASE, NO!” he shouted out as she swung her leg, throwing him by the neck down to the side. He scrambled as his chest and forelegs hung over the edge, he looked down, screaming at the top of his lungs as he saw the immense drop. He tried to scrape back up, but he had no time to save himself as Cardinal threw a quaking punch down into the dirt, the ground rumbling as the dirt beneath the two of them came loose with a large crack and slid out of its spot in one large chunk. Cardinal casually sidestepped, watching Diamond finish pulling himself back up as the ground he laid on fell. He tried to jump back at Cardinal, Not fast enough, he came down with the chunk of earth. Cardinal peered over the edge, watching him fall across the cliff's jagged, rough, exposed stone face. The yelling and crying was put to an end as Diamond smacked against an extruding lip in the cliff's face, being knocked out instantly, leaving a splatter of blood on the stone, his side cut and crushed, his head bleeding out of the muzzle. Her emotionless face remained unmoved as she watched, even once the Guards began firing at her, the bullets feeling like a light hail plinking off of her armor. Soon, the question of whether or not Diamond had died yet was answered quite decisively as his unresistant body flopped through the air and into another, larger extruding rock. Landing on it with his neck, his entire upper body became disfigured and his head cracked and bent back before gently sliding off and continuing in his topple down the cliff. Cardinal, now satisfied, spread out her wings to their full span and flipped up her mask, taking a step forward, she leaned over the edge. As she hopped down, she could hear the Guards rushing behind her, the Captain barking the order to go and get her. As Cardinal began to nose dive down, she angled her wings, allowing her body to gradually shift from falling down to where Diamond's corpse had splattered, to gliding toward the horizon with an incredibly quick speed, dashing through the air faster than most Pegasi. “CALL TWILIGHT, NOW!” she heard from behind her as the Royal Guard's barrage ended, all of them now standing at the edge and watching Cardinal glide away from them at an insane speed. The gentle grass caressed the tips of her hooves as she floated just above the ground, coming to a landing. She took a few running steps, slowing down as she lowered her wings, her flight coming to a soft and pleasant landing. Cardinal turned her head backward, seeing the cliff in the distance. The Royal Guard had cleared from the top, most likely starting their search for her. Cardinal paid no mind to them, taking in her surroundings filled with a new sensation of hope. She was walking along a beautiful open plain, nothing but her, the grass, and the sunlight. It was moving into the evening, the sun still brightening Equestria with its lovely heat on this fair-weathered day. The forest of no name was close. Cardinal knew she could make it there before nightfall. She began lightly trotting down the field, content. Cardinal took in the fresh air as she strolled, feeling like all of her worries have begun to fade. She had saved her friend, she was healed and she had come to peace with herself. Surrie wasn't kidding about what she said, it soon came clear how much the ponies have cut down of this forest as she scaled the horizon. Further than she could see, there were stumps coming out of the small patch of forest still remaining, stretching out to forever to either side. This left Cardinal with a heavy heart. It was almost as bad when she saw her own forest burn to mere ash. With a sigh, she lifted her head and continued forward. She was going to fix it. She could now. The sky began to tint darker and deeper as the sun hid from the world. Cardinal walked to the small patch of forest. Now looking at it from up close, she could see the edges in scale, the entire forest approximately the width of a few city blocks. It had a large and strong cast of deciduous trees packed together in this little sanctuary, most of them lacking their leaves, a very select few still holding on with beautiful purples as they fought against the cold. Old tracks from heavy machinery could still be spotted beneath the regenerating grass. Stray logs of lumber thrown about and never bothered to be collected were now covered in moss, the earth slowly digesting the trunks as the wood rotted back into the ground. Cardinal looked behind her once more, seeing the cliff far off in the distance. Nopony was there watching her anymore. Perhaps they are now after her, or hopefully, they have given up. With a hopeful thought of not being found, Cardinal turned away and went to trot into the forest. As she spun around, she saw a fox prowling around the foliage, hunting with its head low. At first, Cardinal thought it was the Fox, but as it came to the edge of the forest and spotted Cardinal, it became stunned, as if it was scared of seeing a pony. Cardinal felt a strange sense of joy as she saw a wild fox once more, instead of her old, shape-shifting friend. It growled, slowly stepping backward as it tried to escape from Cardinal's path. She took a step forward, trying to be as non threatening as she could. Then, her head flew back in a jarring confusion as she heard the fox quack like a duck, “WAAK! WAAK!” It cried out at her, creating a bewildered look on her face. It wasn't long before the ''wild'' fox couldn't hold back his laughter anymore. He fell onto his side, laughing his ass off. Cardinal took a second before she shook her head and chuckled herself. Hi, Fox. Ha! Your damn face! You should have seen it! You were all like, he made a creative rendition of what Cardinal looked like with his fox expression. Holy shit, I got you, too! What do you mean you 'got me'? she said in between chuckles as she shifted into the forest, going to the Fox. That's what I mean. It took me an entire week, but you finally laughed at one of my jokes! That was... Stupid. Really, really stupid. What are you even doing here? I seem to be in perfect health, currently. What? Can't I just visit because I want to? They began walking alongside one another, going deeper into the forest along an overgrown path, being led to someplace. It's not like you to want to visit. You’re much more of the ‘I'm going to wait for the worst possible moment to appear, be snarky about it, and then tell me off for being stupid before you help me out of that spot’ type. You know me too well! That's why I have to keep you on your toes, sis. Can't have you just predicting my actions. So is that all? Came here for the joke? Well, I also wanted to see the place we're going to be spending the rest of our existence. He hopped between bush and bark, taking in the little forest. The rest of our existence? Cardinal had never thought about how long she intended to hide, and the thought of this forest becoming her new, permanent home had piqued her interest. Do you plan on leaving? Not exactly... Maybe to visit Bun or Surrie. He climbed onto a toppled log in their path, standing up tall on his hind legs. My point exactly. This is your new home, Cardinal! Take a second, breath in that beautiful forest air. I would if I existed! He raised his two paws into the air, pretending to take a huge breath. Cardinal took her own breath, although smaller. It was a bliss. The mossy, wooden aroma filled the air. This place is perfect. He stood down, turning back to Cardinal. Could use some expansion. Feels a little claustrophobic for a forest, don't you think? She trotted up to the log and began to lean on it with her two front legs, slightly propping herself up to look at eye level with the Fox. We have time, Fox. Calm yourself. We will grow it soon. Don't you remember I am still being hunted? That may be true, but do you really think they are going to be able to find you? Manehattan is quite the distance away. He reached out a paw in Manehattan's direction, as if he was trying to point it out to her. She did not bother to turn around. Even if there wasn't half a forest blocking her view, she knew she would be unable to see Manehattan. I'm just acknowledging that it's not over yet. Let the dust settle before we do. Yes, you are right. Make sure Twilight is finished first, but go and explore; rest. you deserve it. I bid you goodnight, Cardinal. Goodnight, Fox. The Fox slipped down from the log, vanishing behind it. Cardinal went to continue down the path, the forest giving her a feeling of familiarity in this foreign world. In good time, Cardinal found where the path lead as she approached a moss covered, pony-made archway. It held an engraved wooden sign, reading ''Camp Foxtrot''. Intrigued, Cardinal quickened her pace as she cantered through, finding herself entering a large, decrepit camp, a few dozen cabins of all sorts circled around the fireplace in the center. Around the fireplace was an open area, where all the paths connected to, leading to all the other segments. Everything was worn down to the bone, buildings decaying and succumbing to the nature around them. Cardinal trotted into the center and looked all around her, realizing that not just was this the camp Surrie had attended as a child, but this is most likely reason this last bit of the forest was not cut down. It must be private land. Going along and surveying every building, Cardinal spotted a lodge that stuck out from the others with its upkeep. It was clean of any rouge plant life and the path had been recently cleared outside of it. Cardinal went up to the door and pressed it gently. It opened without resistance, softly gliding open. Cardinal peeked her head inside. Seeing into the dark room, the glow from her eyes revealing floating dust. She stepped in, “Hello?” She did not receive a response. Going further into the room, she could barely see a thing, bumping into a stand at the wall. Cardinal looked down and saw a candle sitting on the stand. She lowered her jaw and flicked down her flamethrower, toning it down until she sent out a flame barely reaching out of her mouth. She lit the candle, then sheathed her flame, looking around the room. It was a humble living space, a low tech kitchen and traditional dining area all connected together to a bedroom on the other side of the lodge. Cardinal jumped back when she noticed a pony in the bed, fast asleep. As she backed up she stopped for a moment, seeing something was not right with them. “H-hello?” They still didn't respond. In fact, they seemed to be completely still. Cardinal softly trotted over to the bedside, looking down at the extremely aged pony body laying in the bed. They weren't breathing. She placed her hoof onto the pony's side, giving them a gentle shake. “Hello?” Cardinal shifted her hoof over to his neck, pressing down lightly she noticed their lack of a pulse. They had died, not too long ago. Her eyes were then drawn toward the bedside table, a folded piece of paper lying on it with a fresh ink and quill alongside it. Cardinal hesitantly unfolded the paper, revealing its hoof-written contents. She began to whisper aloud as she read, “My dearest Silver Lining, I thank you for coming... I understand why you have not been responding to my letters over these last years, and I am truly sorry for what I have done and I understand why you would not want to speak with me. I know I cannot make it up to you. This place is not worth a portion of what we had, so I know it is not enough, but it is all I can give you. In the wardrobe, there is the deed to the camp and all of its acres. You can finally sell it as you always told me to do. This entire camp could go up in a blaze and I wouldn't give a damn. Not anymore, at least. It is a shame I never got to see your face in the flesh again, but if you are reading this, that means it was my time. Just know that I regretted nothing more than choosing this place over you. My sincerest apologies and love, Grey Cloud.” She turned her head up from the letter, placing it back down onto the wooden surface of the nightstand. Then she opened the drawer, finding the small certificate of Camp Foxtrot, sitting next to a thick book titled ''The Journal of Camp Foxtrot''. Cardinal shut the drawer, giving one downcast glance toward Gray Cloud before leaving the cabin. She then found another, similar cabin that was just slightly more decayed than the one she had left, where she then spent the night resting, waiting for and hoping against an attack from the Royal Guard. Cardinal fiddled with the locket around her neck, leisurely playing with it as she waited. The night had passed almost like a breeze, a calm flow of time with no rush to go anywhere. She hadn't been disturbed since she stepped inside of this humble little cabin. Now that the soft chirping of birds broke through the cracks, she raised her head with a wholesome safety swelling in her heart. Twilight had not come for her. Or, at least, she had not found her. Cardinal propped herself up onto a leg, stretching her head, and then soon after, her legs. Like a cat, she pulled down her head and raised her flank, then doing the opposite, feeling relaxed. She searched around the room, noticing a long, bright red strip of light running across the ground in the center of the room. Her eyes running down it, she found the curtain that held back the sun from entering through the window. Cardinal swung each curtain to her left and right respectively, seeing the newly rising sun give way to tomorrow. The all mighty sun's rays dodged around the many bare trees, reaching Cardinal, despite the obstacles, bringing new life to the wilderness. She left the cabin, feeling the gentle, cold air whisper to her as it grazed along her cheeks. The camp was still. The wind had been calm throughout the night, and remained so now. Cardinal took a stroll around the entire camp, seeing the several rows of large tables, where an entire festival of ponies could be sat. She found the outhouses. The recreation area was filled with old, tattered camping equipment. She then proceeded to explore the forest, seeing a few odd critters here and there, waking up to begin their day's work. From the few wild birds, to the foxes on the prowl, all of the forest animals came together here, animal population denser than nature had originally intended, due to the lack of space. She even thought she spotted a white rabbit go by. Eventually, Cardinal found herself at the edge of the forest, being met by nature's graveyard. An entire field was nothing more than stumps and wasted logs thrashed and chopped to bits. She could even spot out a few old strips of marking tape and bits and bobs from heavy machinery that had been left behind like a hoofprint on a murder victim's body. Cardinal had a subconscious reaction. She instinctively grabbed hold of the locket, pressing her hoof over it. She took a glance down, close to her heart as she lifted it up. With an eager and careful approach, Cardinal used her wing to flip open the locket. Instantly feeling the strength leave her, as her head was tugged down by its own weight, she took a deep breath and lifted up her eyelids, seeing the ground beneath her begin to flourish with new life. The grass became thicker and taller as small saplings began to sprout, flower stems floating up above the grass and opening with a grateful welcoming of sunlight. As Cardinal felt herself about to go over the edge she shut the locket with her hoof, pressing it against her chest as she took a breath. She opened her eyes once more to see her work. Around her, in a clear circle, was a stunning example of life's beauty. Every tree had regained its lost leaves, and new trees had formed on the side of death. Not to mention that her step was now met with a cushioned pillow of grass whenever she moved to sniff at the new dandelions clustered about. Her heart was filled with both a sense of accomplishment, and new beginning, seeing that she had barely made a scratch upon the surface of this forest. By her estimates, if she were to do this a few times a day, it would take her years to regrow the entire thing, and she was prepared for it. Cardinal went to trot back to her new home, but as she turned her back, she heard a shout behind her. “HALT!” somepony yelled at her. She spun around to see a frightened Royal Guard Pegasus holding up a spear in Cardinal's direction, shaking as the robot faced her. “Stop, in the name of Princess Twi-” She didn't even finish her sentence before Cardinal had made her way on top of the pony, throwing them down onto the ground. The guard had dropped her spear and covered her face in both wings and hooves, sent to the brink of tears. Cardinal, with one swift punch, sent the Guard's head to the side, not moving as her legs flopped to the side. Cardinal then quickly checked for a pulse, relieved when she found one along the pony’s neck. She then dragged the unconscious pony back into the forest, in fear of her being found or waking up and exposing her position. The guard was bought into the first cabin Cardinal found, then tied up by some spare rope, which the camp was riddled with, along with multi-tool knives and fire starters. Cardinal then sat looking at the guard, waiting for her to inevitably awake. Although before the pony reawakened, her radio sparked to life. “Ell, please check in.” Cardinal hopped up from the ground, snapping the radio off of the ponies uniform. “Ell, are you there?” Cardinal threw the radio onto the ground, stamping it into bits of scrap on the ground. “Shit,” Cardinal exclaimed, noticing the Royal Guard's head bob up with a slight groan. Soon, the pony spotted the monstrous beast of a robot standing over her. She fell onto her side as she struggled, realizing the restraints both sets of her hooves and wings were bound to. “Please! Don't hurt me!” she pleaded to Cardinal, who just sighed in disappointment and leaned down to the trembling Royal Guard. “I'm going to need you to answer a few questions.” She forcibly dragged the pony back to sitting up straight, her armor scraping against the wooden wall behind her. “Anything! I'll tell you anything!” she replied. “How many others are around here?” Cardinal asked, her grizzly feminine voice right in the ponies face. “I-I don't know, at least fifty...” she answered, trying to veer her muzzle away from the angry death machine. “What kind of equipment are they armed with?” Cardinal pressed the pony harder against the wall every time she struggled. “I'm just a scout! We have a bunch of ponies in juggernaut suits, rocket launchers, flamethrowers, fuck, even Twilight is-” “FLAMETHROWERS?” Cardinal screamed in her face, the fact she tried to brush past the fact they were bringing flamethrowers into a forest. “Y-yes...” “FUCK!” Cardinal pushed off, standing back up and pacing back and forth, looking out the window she saw nopony, only a small rabbit eating some stray grass. She eventually trotted to the door and bursting out of it onto the path outside. She turned her head to see the pony grabbing her waist, where the radio had just been. The realization that it was lying in front of her in bits had just set in. “Try something, and next time I won't be so fucking generous by sparing you.” Cardinal stated before slamming the door shut, leaving the pony in the pitch black cabin. What do I do now, Fox!? She ran into the opposite cabin, leaning against the wall and speaking out to in the general direction of the rabbit, who cocked back his head in surprise. How did you... The rabbit began speaking with the Fox's tone, being cut off by a deadpan stare from Cardinal. Well, if the Guard are here, just leave and hide for now. Come back after. I don't see too much of a problem. The fox morphed back into its own form. That's the thing, Fox, if I leave, they are going to burn this place down to ash just looking for me. You know they will. What do you want to do, fight them? You know you can't do that. Cardinal didn't respond verbally, just swaying her head away from the Fox. You can't, Cardinal... You aren't strong enough, even with the upgrades! What other choice do I have? I don't want to, but what I fear is that there is nothing else I can do! Sis, I don't think it's the smart choice. To be honest, I wouldn't place my bets on you... But, you have done some shit I never thought possible. I never thought one of you would ever get out of stage one, especially not make it into the real world. So you want me to fight? I want you to do whatever you think is right, somewhat so you can't blame me for when you fail, but also cause I am open to being proven wrong. Yeah... I think this is right. I think this is what I have to do... This is what I need to do, and I can do this. Good luck, see you on the other side, sis. Don't die on me! The fox sprinted off, disappearing around a corner. I'll try... she whispered, sighing to herself. She looked up, down the path of the camp, past the gate in the distance, she saw an orange glow. “I'll try.” She pushed off the wall, taking a closer look at the light. It was far brighter than the sun's rays, not to mention it was on the opposite side of the forest from the sunrise. Cardinal began trotting to the gate, beginning to see the black smoke tower up into the sky at the entrance to the forest. She arrived at the archway, looking to all her sides as she heard movement as forest critters began sprinting away from the forest fire. Cardinal looked down at herself, a wandering eye leading down to her bag. She reached into it, finding only the white princess chess piece inside. She took it out and gave it a good look up and down. She was about to go into a battle where she was outnumbered and outgunned heavily. If she let herself lose the element of surprise, she would surely fall. No, if she was going to win this, she would have to out strategize them. In fact, if Princess Twilight Sparkle was indeed here and leading the charge, and Cardinal managed to take her out, then the rest of them would surely stand down or flee. It was no more complicated than a game of chess. Cardinal tucked the piece back into her one sided saddlebag, patting it for comfort after she closed the bag's flap. She gave the slightest flinch as flocks of birds crashed their wings over her, nearly leading her to collapse into the dirt. Although her eyes just ended up on the sign, she gave it a nod and then placed a hoof onto the right archway beam, grazing it a few times. “You're not burning down today, not as long as I still stand,” she said to herself, feeling the attachment already growing strong with this place as she let herself slide off, turning out to the forest. Cardinal then stepped forward, now officially outside of the inner camp, and she flipped up her mask with one fluid swipe. She stretched her hooves out, making sure all of her weaponry was fully functional She then raised her head up high, taking in a calming breath. Her eyes shot open, now blood red. “My turn.” She ducked into the forest, beginning her hunt.
