Chapters “GOOD MORNING PONYVILLE!!” The loud but friendly voice of the radio host stirred the sleeping unicorn from her dreams. “Wakey-wakey, everypony. This is your all-time favorite pony, DJ-ST4RDU5T, fashionably late as usual to get your lazy flanks up and ready to start the day!” The unicorn groaned at the radio, mumbling something unintelligibly. “That means you, Summer. Up.”
Summer Star’s ear twitched, and she sighed. “Darnit Amethyst… I told you not to call me by name on air…” The DJ didn’t hear her of course, and went on to start doing the morning news. Glancing over to her clock, the time read 8:02AM. Well at least she wasn’t wrong about being fashionably late. “Ugh, gotta get up I guess…”
Sitting up, she flicked on a monitor that connected to her radio, letting her watch the news broadcast. The display lit up to reveal the face of DJ-ST4RDU5T, her good friend Amethyst Pitch. She was a purple crystal pegasus with a long blue mane that hung over one eye. She wore her favorite custom purple visor, based off of a famous historical DJ. Record Tape or something.
“...In more serious news, another Monochrome safehouse has been found, and after a flawless raid by our very own PVPD the place was cleared out, leaving Ponyville a little safer. That’s what it says on the script, at least.” She paused, chuckling. “Though really, if you heard that explosion last day, it’d be pretty obvious to you that there were a few hiccups. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries and all members of Monochrome present were apprehended. One captive was even rescued, a mare by the name of Rain Dancer.” The display changed to show a picture of a light blue pegasus with a blue mane. Both of her wings had been replaced with cybernetic versions - old models, Summer noted - and though she couldn’t see it, Summer knew a military-grade neural implant was also installed. “The modifications done to her weren’t very extensive, but if you see her, please treat her well. Nopony should have to go through that.”
“Amen to that…” Summer found herself saying quietly, looking down at her own legs, covered in fluffy pink socks - a gift from her grandmother. What I wouldn’t give to feel their warmth again...
Shaking her head to clear those thoughts away, she reached out with her magic and, carefully so she didn’t break it again , grasped her own visor and put it on. Her view tinted blue, and a synthetic jingle played in her ears as it turned on.
Initializing… ArcanaTech VGear v3.2…
New user, please identify yourself... Neural Link detected. Welcome, Summer Star.
Please adjust your preferences in the Settings menu before continuing.
“Well enough about the news,” Amethyst continued as Summer messed with her Gear, “I’m sure you’re more interested in the music! I’ve got a good selection lined up for the next hour; some of my best hits as well as a few new ones. So I’ll leave you to that, and as always thank you for tuning in to Ponyville Radio. Showcasing the best local talent our small town has to offer.”
With her new Gear set up Summer finally got out of bed, her usually heavy hoofsteps softened by her socks. She opened the planner app and checked the event she had scheduled. “Stargazing at 10 AM. Oh right, that’s today…”
As she entered the bathroom, thoughts of showering crossed her mind, but she decided against it. She’d likely just get dirty again. Maybe just a brushing then. She turned to the mirror and marveled at the fact that she could get such horrible bedhead. Her black and white mane, usually neatly separated in two stripes, were so messed up her mane just looked grey. She stared at her mane incredulously. “Seriously, how. I look like my grandma.” Summer grabbed her brush with her magic and tidied up her mane. When she was finished, she took a good long look at her mane, at the two long stripes of black and white, and sighed. “Maybe I should get it dyed…” Looking behind her, her tail was in just as bad of a shape, so around came the brush again to fix that.
When she was done in the bathroom, it was time for breakfast. Entering the kitchen, she considered making scrambled eggs for her and her father. The sink was empty, so he was either still asleep or hadn’t had anything to eat yet. Probably the latter. Summer opened the fridge to find it disappointingly barren. “Dammit Dad, you were supposed to get groceries yesterday…” At least there was milk, so she could make herself something.
As she poured herself a bowl of cereal, she heard sounds coming from the garage, followed by muffled cursing. Her father was awake, and working on that Spectra-forsaken project of his. She sighed and went to the living room to eat her breakfast.
Her ear twitched as the door separating the living room from the garage opened and her father, Northern Star, walked in. “I smell…” He started cheerfully, but paused as he realized there was no breakfast smell, only his sweat and engine grease. “I smell myself, really.” He started towards the hall, but looked back at Summer. “You didn’t use the hot water, right?” He asked.
Summer shook her head. “No, Dad. There should be plenty for you.”
“Sweet. Be right back.” Summer rolled her eyes as her father trotted into the bathroom. Her ear flicked at the sound of running water in the bathroom. She took a bite of cereal and…
“AHHH! COLD COLD COLD!” The sudden shrieking made Summer jump, almost knocking her bowl over. Her father came barreling back, his coat slightly dripping. “You said you didn’t use the hot water!”
“I didn’t. Maybe this is what happens when you put more effort into your pet project than keeping this house in one piece. Maybe it’s even divine intervention telling you to spend some time out of the garage.” Summer remarked with a smirk. “Though I have to thank you for finding out the water heater was busted first.”
North sighed. “Fine, I’ll take a look at it today and order any parts I need to fix it.” At seeing his daughter’s questioning look, he shook his head. “No, I’m not calling a repairpony. I can fix a water heater easily.”
“Uh huh…” Came Summer’s unenthused reply. “Just like you ‘fixed’ the fridge last month?”
“How was I supposed to know the ice machine would turn into an ice machinegun?”
“That’s what happens when you add a high speed motor to it.” Finishing her breakfast, she levitated the bowl into the sink and stood up, facing her father. “Now then, I’m going out and getting the groceries you forgot to get. There’s still some time before I gotta gather the gang and head out to the Everfree. It’s stargazing day. When I get back, I expect to see a repair van in our driveway or...” The sound of a camera shutter came from her Gear and the message Image Saved appeared in the corner of her vision. “I’m sharing this with Grandma.”
His eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare…”
“Try me.”
The two engaged in a brief staring contest before he finally hung his head in defeat. “Fine, I’ll call a repairpony. You just stay out of trouble.”
“No promises.” Summer passed by North, going back to her room and swapping her socks out for a warm jacket. Strapping on her saddlebags, she made for the front door. “I’ll be back in an hour, maybe two if there’s a line.”
As she stepped out however, she nearly bumped into another pony. She was a black pegasus with bright red and yellow flames painted on the side of her shiny metallic body. She quickly jumped back upon seeing Summer leave. “Oh, terribly sorry,” she said in a raspy, synthetic voice, “I hate to bother you, but is Doctor Star in today?”
Summer eyed the mare up and down, taking note of the scratches on her side and a mangled wing. “Not right now. Dad’s dealing with a busted water heater, or should I say he’s calling somepony to fix it! ” She shouted back into the house.
“I heard you the first time!” Came the reply from inside.
“Right… Anyway, I can book you an appointment for later. I’m going to assume that is alright, since if you walked to us your condition isn’t serious.” Summer opened up a notebook app on her Gear. “Name and model please.”
“Supernova, Gen Two Equidroid. Model #1468575-P.”
“Nice name,” Summer said as she mentally wrote down the information and sent it to her dad, “come back in about three hours, or you can wait in the garage. Though it will probably get pretty loud soon.”
Sure enough, when she got back, there was a repair van in their driveway, and muffled shouts could be heard inside the house. Most likely one of them yelling at their other to get out of their way so they can work. She paid it no mind as she entered and put away the groceries, grabbed her telescope, and left again to gather her friends, the ever present light of the streetlamps and the always comforting moon above guiding her to her first stop.
The Granny Smith Apartments lay near the edge of the city, close to Sweet Apple Acres. Apparently the apartment complex was named after the Acres’ founder, and one of the founders of Ponyville itself. Despite the mare getting an entire apartment complex named after her - as well as a street, a park, and a kind of apple, though Summer was sure it was the other way around with that one - Summer couldn’t help but feel the mare herself would resent being connected with this dump. The dumpsters out front always seemed to be overstuffed despite the garbage crews emptying them regularly. Graffiti littered the walls, though fittingly most of them were apple-themed.
Making her way up to her friend’s apartment, Summer noted the boxes stacked just outside the door. She gave them a nudge to find they slid by without resistance; they were empty. After moving the boxes a bit more out of the way, she knocked on the door. Some crashing was heard from inside, then hooves scrambling, followed by the door opening to reveal a very irate midnight black thestral with piercing blue eyes. “I FUCKING TOLD YOU I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF YOUR MOON-DAMNED GOOD-morning Summer, how’s it going?” She beamed, her face doing a complete one-eighty when she realized who was at the door.
Summer blinked. Of all the greetings she expected, that was pretty far down the list. “Um… Morning, Corona… Someone been bugging you?”
Moonlight Corona’s smile immediately left her muzzle, replaced by a scowl. “Some cult called the Celestials. Third time this week. They’ve been pestering me constantly,” she held a hoof over her snout and started speaking in a mocking tone, “‘oh, would you like to hear the good news?’ And then they start spouting shit like ancient prophecies and something about a ‘sun.’ What even is a sun anyway?” She asked, tossing a bit of her messy blue mane aside.
“It’s what they call a star that orbits around a planet. Legends say we used to have one and Princess Spectra’s predecessor moved it around before she bit it. Maybe somepony found evidence of that.”
“Or they’re looking to make some easy bits off suckers,” Corona scoffed, “prophecies my plot. I love my urban legends, but that’s a pretty tired legend to build a cult around. I prefer the more interesting ones, like the elusive Everfree Dragon and the legendary Dry Bus Seat.”
Summer chuckled. “Yeah… Hey, wait a minute, I’ve never had issues finding a dry bus seat.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I had no idea I was in the presence of the Chosen One.” Corona gave a very exaggerated bow, then hopped back up, giggling. “Now what brings you to my doorstep? Here to see the new digs, or wanna help me finish moving in?”
Summer shook her head. “It's stargazing day, did you forget?”
“Shit, that’s today? Gimme a sec, then I’ll be ready.” Corona dashed back into her apartment, calling out to her friend. “Get those boxes in here, would you? I ain’t leaving them out there in this shithole.”
Summer rolled her eyes before gently levitating the empty boxes inside, setting them in the corner. “Why’d you even move here in the first place if you hate it?”
Corona came back to the door, wearing a gray hoodie and black stockings to match her equally dark coat, as well as a red-tinted Gear. “I had to get away from my pops, and this was the only apartment cheap enough in the city. Hopefully I only need to be here for a year or two while I save up for a nicer place.” She said, shutting and locking her door.
“Why not try the Harmony District? I’ve heard it’s pretty cheap there.”
“Yeah. It’s also stuck a millennium in the past. They don’t have the infrastructure I need.”
“Fair enough. So how’s work been?” Summer asked as they left the apartment behind and walked towards the streets.
Corona grinned. “It’s been great! Helped a pony down the road get out of a bind, so to speak, and they gave me some contacts I can use to get a merch shop going for the channel. Gonna be hitting five digits soon, so this could be my big break.”
“That’s great. I’ll be first in line.”
Corona wrapped a hoof around Summer’s neck and pulled herself in close briefly. “Sweet, many thanks friendo.”
Summer chuckled as her friend let go. “No problem. Winter will be here soon, so I need something warm.”
“What happened to your other hoodie, anyway?”
Summer gave a nervous chuckle and motioned to her horn. “Haven’t quite mastered power control yet. Magic builds up sometimes. Then things break.”
“Ooooooh yeah. That explains the new Gear. Looks good on you.”
“Thanks. Here’s hoping I can keep it intact this time. I’m getting better, I just need to deal with the magic build-up.” Summer gave an upward glance at her horn, the gleaming metallic tip reflecting the light of the streetlamps.
“Hey, you’ll get the hang of it. No need to worry.” Corona said as the pair reached a bus stop. “By the way, is Amethyst joining us?”
Summer nodded. “Yeah, once her shift is done, she’ll meet us there,” she paused a bit before asking, “should we grab something at the market real quick?”
“Dunno,” Corona answered with a shrug, “I didn’t get much for breakfast. Let’s see if we can stop by Sugarcube Corner, grab a donut or something.”
Agreeing with the prospect of fresh donuts, Summer and Corona boarded the first bus to pass by. As Summer took a seat, she could hear the groan of her friend behind her, and she giggled. “Still can’t find one?”
“No! It’s always damp! How do you keep on finding the one dry seat in existence?” Came Corona’s exasperated reply.
Summer didn’t answer, instead turning to the window and watching as the city lights passed by. Carriages hovered by, ponies went about their business, and Amethyst was flying up to the bu- “Fuck!”
Summer jumped back with a start as a shiny purple pegasus slammed into the side of the bus and pressed her face against the window. “Hi Summer!” She said, her words and voice muffled by the glass.
The bus stopped shortly after and Amethyst peeled herself off the side to join her friends. “I thought you were gonna meet us there,” Summer said as her shiny friend sat beside her.
“My show ended early. Got some new talent who wanted to show off. Didja catch my bit at least?” She asked.
“How could I not? You’ve been a good alarm for three months straight now.”
“At least somepony can get your iron rump out of bed.” Corona said, grinning.
Summer let out a noise that could only be described as a harrumph. “My rump is still flesh and bone, thank you,” she said.
The three continued making small talk as the bus left the city and crossed into Ponyville’s historic Harmony District, where neon lights and polished manasteel gave way to oil lamps and thatched roofs. The group departed and started walking, returning the friendly waves ponies gave them as they passed by. When the gingerbread-looking bakery came into sight, Amethyst made a beeline for the doors with Corona and Summer following slowly behind.
“Yo, Meringue! Gimme a double order of the regular!” Amethyst shouted, causing most of the ponies inside to look in her direction. A couple ducked their heads when they recognized her.
The pony behind the counter rolled her eyes and set down a platter of donuts. “Double order today, eh? They starving you at work or something?”
“I need my energy. Never know what the stars could throw at us today.”
“Right, because the stars are going to reach out and attack you,” Summer said as she entered, “they’re stars, Amethyst. They aren’t going anywhere.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do, actually,” Summer said, pointing at the telescope sitting in her saddlebag. “I have a detailed star chart on my computer back home, and a printed copy in my bags. It helps me keep track of them.”
“What are you, their foalsitter?” Amethyst asked.
“No, but sometimes I feel like yours.”
“She’s gotcha there, Pitchy.” Corona chimed in.
Amethyst groaned. “Just grab your donuts or whatever and let’s go.”
“Sure,” Summer said, stepping up to the counter, “we’ll need a to-go basket too.”
Initiating probe startup…
With a basket of baked goods in hoof, Summer and crew left Sugarcube Corner, then Ponyville, finally entering the Everfree Forest. The ancient forest filled with wild plants and untamed creatures gave them no concern as they walked down the same path they usually took until the forest was so thick they couldn’t see the lights of Ponyville anymore. And then, like the eye of the storm, the forest opened up into a clearing. A grassy hill made up most of the clearing with a tree stump sitting at its peak, offering an unparalleled view of the sky.
Summer set the basket of pastries on the stump and Amethyst laid out a picnic blanket for them to sit on. Corona grabbed a donut and lounged on the blanket as Summer set up the telescope. “So, expecting to see anything interesting?” She asked.
Summer nodded. “Remember the dark spot I saw on the Griffon’s Eye?”
“The one that looked like a mouth?”
“It wasn’t a mouth, but yes. I wanna see if there are any changes. Today the star should be right overhead, so I’ll get the best view possible.”
“Maybe the mouth will be smiling,” Amethyst joked, “‘Good job Summer, I am so proud of you for babysitting us.’” Summer responded by tossing a cupcake at her face. “Aw, a present. How sweet. Literally.”
A few moments later and Summer had her telescope set up. “Perfect. Pitch, what’cha got for easy listening music?”
“Only the easiest and most listenable.” Amethyst said, pulling out a small music player.
“Is that even a word?” Corona asked.
“It is when I use it.”
While Amethyst started playing some soft synthetic music, Summer turned her attention to the sky. “Alright you old coot, tell me your secrets.” Checking her starmap, Summer turned her telescope to the Windscar Constellation where the Griffon’s Eye sat, always watching. And then she double-checked her map, and adjusted. And then triple-checked and adjusted again . “It’s not there.”
“Come again?” Corona asked past a mouthful of muffin.
“The Griffon’s Eye is gone.”
“Are you looking in the right spot?”
“Yes, I triple-checked. I’m looking right at Windscar, but his eye is not there.”
“Maybe he’s sleeping,” Amethyst suggested.
“Stars don’t sleep,” Summer countered.
“Let me look,” Corona said, getting up and approaching the telescope. Summer moved aside as she did, giving the thestral permission to look.
Coordinates reached, analyzing anomaly…
Corona spent a few seconds looking through the telescope before something seemed to catch her attention. “Oh, I think I see something.”
“The star?” Summer asked, hopeful.
“No, it’s black. Maybe a military craft? Looks like it’s been hovering around for a bit.” Corona answered. Summer blinked, she never noticed that. Leave it to the thestrals to spot things in the dark. “Pretty well hidden, but something seems wrong with it, I see sparks. Oh shit!” She suddenly jumped away from the telescope and pointed up. “It’s coming down. Look!”
Sure enough, when Amethyst and Summer looked where she was pointing, they could see a faint streak of light coming down, getting slightly brighter as it came towards them.
75%...
All three watched as the craft came crashing down into the forest with a distant thud. “That wasn’t too far from us,” Corona said, “come on, we gotta check it out!”
“You sure? I don’t wanna get slammed by the guard for seeing some sort of classified black-ops shit.” Amethyst cautioned.
“All the more reason to scope it out. We can probably get a fat check from the Princess in exchange for keeping our mouths shut.”
“Is that how that works? I thought they just made you go poof.”
“Why would they do that? None of us have any record, so it would be very suspicious if we were taken away,” Summer intervened, shaking her head, “no, the more likely outcome is payment for silence. Or they could just threaten us, but the Princess is too nice for that.”
“I’m holding out hope for the check,” Corona said as she led the three through the forest, practically skipping with excitement, “that way we can go a crazy shopping spree together, just like back in school.”
They continued to chat about what they’d spend a “silence check” on and speculating on what actually crashed. Amethyst and Corona occasionally breached the forest canopy, looking for signs that they were on the right track. The smoke rising from the trees looked pretty promising, though it could’ve been a campfire for all they knew.
When they finally reached the site, it was no campfire that they were looking at. A thin, shallow groove about the width of a pony had been carved into the dirt, narrowly missing several trees. It ended when whatever made it finally did collide with a tree directly, snapping the trunk and splitting the stump almost in half. Small fires were scattered around the crash site, creating the small beacon that led the ponies to it.
What actually crashed was a pitch black object, about the size of a pony. Bits and pieces of its plating lay scattered around the site. Summer could make out two wings, which look like they were sheared off. The wings looked vaguely like pegasus wings, if the feathers were all fused together, but they also had small rocket or jet-like thrusters attached to them, all damaged beyond repair. The main body of the craft looked more or less intact, which astounded Summer due to how hard it hit the ground. The worst damage done to it were about seven or eight holes, which looked like outer parts had been ripped off. Upon closer inspection, Summer found something on the inside was glowing.
“Hold on… This looks familiar…” Summer said, using her magic to attempt to rip open a hole in the craft. Despite the augments, it was surprisingly difficult. The outer plating was really strong, even with the holes ripped in it.
“You sure you should be messing with this? We can get in trouble for messing with government property.” Amethyst cautioned.
“I know, I know. I just need to see this.” Summer lifted the craft up and turned it over, finding a bent-up hatch on the belly. With some effort, she was able to get it open to get a better look at the interior. Looking inside confirmed her suspicions. “This… this is an Equidroid core.”
“You sure? Doesn’t look like any I’ve ever seen. Too small.” Corona commented, peering over her shoulder.
The core was a small rectangular prism, which gave out a faint cyan glow. In the middle of the core was a slot that looked like a data chip could fit in. Attached to it were several cords leading to various parts of the chassis. Summer noted that most of the cords were severed at the holes around the chassis. “I am, I’ve seen enough of them helping out Dad. The data slot is unusual though.”
“How so?”
“Equidroids have a slot, but it’s on the back of their head, not in their core. Easier to access. If it’s on the core, it’s possible that means it’s a more modular design. Like it could be refitted for different purposes, similar to the old first gen models.”
“So it’s a first gen core?”
“No, they didn’t even have data slots. You had to manually hook a computer up to them. And again, as you said, it’s way too small. First gen cores were almost as big as the whole torso.”
“So why put a slot in the core itself?” Amethyst asked.
“Good question. To protect against direct hacking attempts? To increase modularity? I’m only guessing, Dad might know more. I’m just the assistant.”
“Why don’t we take it to him? See if he can’t fix it up, then maybe we can ask the owner of this core directly.”
Summer blinked. “Wait, it just clicked. If this is an Equidroid core, what crashed wasn’t a government aircraft, it was an Equidroid!”
“Duh.” Amethyst and Corona said at once.
Summer nearly facehoofed. “I was so focused on how odd this whole thing was, I didn’t realize we were dealing with an actual pony! Quick, gather up all the parts and pieces scattered around, no matter how small! We gotta get them to Dad, fast!”
“Assuming they’re even still alive.” Corona said.
Summer quickly shut the panel on the belly and lifted the body up in her golden aura. “If the core is still glowing, they’re still alive. Now, start gathering!”
It took at least an hour to scour the surrounding forest for every last scrap from the downed Equidroid. Summer was letting no leaf stay unturned. Eventually they had confirmed that it was indeed an Equidroid they had found, and not some aircraft that housed one of their cores. The wings had already been recovered before the body. The legs were scattered further back, and Summer found various tools and gadgets tucked inside that she had never seen before and could only guess at the functions of. Corona found the head tossed aside several meters from the impact, and nearly threw up upon seeing the damage. The jaw had been ripped off and the eyes were completely shattered. Summer noted various sensors in the head where the secondary computer would be, the Equidroid’s “brain.” Again, she was drawing a blank as to their functions. What really caught her attention was a small hole in the forehead, where a unicorn’s horn would be. “Wings and a horn? Were they trying to create another Alicorn?” She asked herself. Alicorn Equidroid creation was illegal for several reasons, biggest of which was that an Equidroid’s core couldn’t contain the magic of more than one tribe, or it would violently explode. If the government figured out a way to do it without the Elements…
Her musings were cut short as her friends had found the last of the pieces, metal scraps that had broken off the main body and limbs. Notably, they did not find any sign of a mane or tail, meaning this Equidroid was built without them. It was unusual, though not unheard of for this to happen, but most preferred to have them for the appeal, or to fit in.
“So… how are we getting all this back to your place without arousing suspicion?” Corona asked.
“Bundle it in the picnic stuff?” Amethyst suggested.
“That… isn’t a bad idea. You’d have to take the rest of the pastries out of the basket and probably eat them though.” Summer said.
Amethyst licked her lips. “I thought you’d never ask…”
The walk back to Summer’s house was slower than she would have liked, carrying the chassis and head bundled in the picnic blanket and the rest of the parts in the basket, which Corona had loaned her hoodie to cover them up with. She desperately hoped nopony would be suspicious of the floating bundle, but given that this was Ponyville, those fears were unfounded. Soon enough, they had arrived back in front of Summer’s home. The repair van had left, so the water heater had been fixed at least. Summer had sent a message ahead, vaguely asking her dad to clear the garage for another patient, but realized after that she had already booked him a patient, so it was redundant.
Sure enough, when they entered the garage, they saw Northern Star already working on fixing Supernova’s wing. When he noticed them, he shut off his welding torch. “You’re back early.” He said. “You know the rules, your friends can’t be in here when I’m working on a patient. You can hang out in your room or something while you wait, I’m almost done.”
So they did, and a few minutes later North let them back in. Supernova still sat on the operating table. “So what’s up? You messaged saying you had another patient?” He asked.
Summer set down the bundle and basket on the garage floor. “Well, yes and no.” When she opened the bundle, Supernova looked almost ready to throw up. Summer didn’t even know Equidroids could do that. “We were in the Everfree when we saw them crash nearby. We gathered up everything and came right back home.”
North took a moment to pick his jaw off the floor, and even then it took another minute before he could speak. “I-I’m a mechanic, dear… I do repair work, not autopsies. This… this is too far gone for me to fix.”
Summer shook her head. “Not quite, check this out,” she turned over the body and opened the panel again, “the core is still intact. They’re still alive.”
North gawked at the glowing core in disbelief. Even Supernova spared a glance before deciding she’d had enough and went to calm herself down in the living room. “That… that is the core? It’s so small… and is that a data slot?” He looked at the basket and grabbed one of the metal shards, setting it on a scanner he had set up in the corner. It was meant to identify materials so he could order more of them for Equidroids that were made of more unusual materials. “Incredible… Summer, do you have any idea what you brought me?”
“A pony who needs help. Can you stop gawking and fix them?”
“Not just any pony. The chassis is made of nothing that I’ve ever seen before. The best my computer can determine is it’s some kind of Titanium alloy.”
“That explains why my magic couldn’t do much to it, and how it survived the crash mostly intact.” Summer said.
“So… what, this is some new military project?” Amethyst asked. “Make a new super soldier Equidroid?”
“Maybe, I’d have to do some tests. But aside from that, everything here you brought me… Nothing here is like anything I’ve seen before. This could be the start of an entirely new generation of Equidroids.”
“And you get to be the one to put them back together. Congrats,” Corona said, “just be careful, the military might want their pony back, and I don’t wanna be here when they come knocking.” With that, she and Amethyst left. Summer later got a message on her Gear saying they’d be at Corona’s place, doing some unpacking.
Summer set everything down on the table and left North to examine it all for a while. He gave the wings in particular special attention. “These are the strangest wings I’ve even seen. Why use maneuvering thrusters and jets for propulsion instead of just using normal pegasus wings?”
“They’re faster?” Summer guessed.
“That doesn’t explain the thrusters. Those are used for small adjustments, like…” He trailed off. “I think I know what this pony is meant for.”
“What? Don’t leave me in suspense, Dad.”
“This isn’t a soldier. That much was obvious based on the tools and sensors. No, this pony was meant for space .”
Chapter 3: Pinkie Promise
Summer was taken aback by her father’s words. “What do you mean, ‘for space?’ Like, this pony was made to go to space?”
“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” North answered with a grin. “The next generation of Equidroids, built to explore the stars.”
Summer took a good long look at the pony on the table and could only imagine the possibilities. Legions of Equidroids journeying across the stars, looking for new worlds and preparing them for other ponies to settle on. She turned back to North. “You’ve got my attention. How can I help?”
“Well my lovely assistant, you can start by heading to the hardware store. This pony is a lot tougher that any other Equidroid I’ve worked on, and the tools I have here just won’t cut it. I need something beefier.” North said.
“So you need me to find you some more powerful tools?”
He shook his head. “Nah, I need parts to give my tools more power.”
“Dad no-”
“I know, I know. But I need it this time. This is military-grade stuff I’m working with here. I need military-grade power, or at the very least industrial-grade,” North said defensively, “and it wouldn’t be fair to ask to borrow your augments.”
Summer found herself rubbing her foreleg. “I haven’t really wanted to touch the extra attachments. And I would really like to keep my legs on, thank you.”
North set a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. But that still leaves me with a lack of power I need to fix this pony. So I’ll come up with a list of parts I need and send them to you while you head off to the store and pick them up. That sound good?”
She nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. I’ll be right back.” Summer pulled her father into a quick hug, then left. A few minutes later she received North’s list on her Gear, and had to wonder if the store even stocked half of these things.
As it turns out, they did. All she had to do was mention her father and they brought her to a back room filled with things that made her question if what she was doing was even legal. She came home with, among other things, a 300-wingpower fan motor, a DIY thermite kit, what she was pretty sure was going to be a flamethrower when it’s built, and not one, but three plasma batteries. What really tipped her off that this was a bit sketchy was when they declined to accept payment from her and insisted that it had to be delivered by unmarked van.
So she got a free ride home. Yay.
Summer got another hug from her dad when she got home. “Should I be concerned?” She asked as she watched the driver take the stuff into the garage.
North shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Don’t worry, your new friend will be up and about in no time. Just… don’t tell your mother, okay?”
“Don’t have to worry about that,” Summer said, breaking the hug, “anything else you need help with?”
“Clear my schedule for the next week, and don’t come into the garage unless I call you.” When everything was unloaded, Northern Star shut himself in the garage and the telltale sounds of power tools began to bleed through the steel door.
With the unknown Equidroid in capable hooves, Summer stopped by a nearby cafe to grab a bite to eat. As she ate, her Gear picked up a message.
PP: What’s up? :D
She checked the sender and sighed at the name. It was probably just some child who thought the name was funny. Or even worse, that’s their actual initials. She sent a reply.
Stargazer: I don’t really talk with strangers, especially fillies who make inappropriate names.
The reply from the stranger was almost immediate.
PP: Inappropriate? I don’t-oh, okay. One sec.
Part3Pon3: Sorry, I don’t usually use that account. My friends said I need to be “discreet” when discussing “sensitive matters.”
The speed at which these replies were coming in made Summer think this was an Equidroid she was dealing with. With her neural link Summer can send messages as fast as she can think them up, but Equidroids just think faster.
Stargazer: “Sensitive matters?” I dunno who you think I am, but I’m not that kind of pony.
Part3Pon3: What? No, I’m referring to the new friend you found. What’s her name? Vanilla or chocolate cake? Favorite ice cream flavor? Fuchsia or periwinkle streamers?
Stargazer: Holdonholdon, wait. How do you know what I found? I haven’t told anypony about it yet. Heck, it just happened this morning! I haven’t had the time to tell anypony yet. Who even are you?
Not that Summer wanted to share this information. The fewer ponies who knew about the secret government pony, the better. Heck, now that she thought about it, she should probably report this to that friendly agent from before so they can fix her up in an actual hospital in Canterlot and not in some Ponyville garage clinic.
Part3Pon3: I know everypony in Ponyville, silly. And I know when somepony new comes to town as well. I have to know so I can properly welcome them to Ponyville. So come on, tell me all about her! I Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony else.
Stargazer: Pinkie Promise?
Part3Pon3: Yep! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.
Summer had never heard of a Pinkie Promise before, but this pony just invoked the Unbreakable Vow, so maybe they could be trusted. They already knew about the Equidroid’s arrival anyway.
Stargazer: Okay, fine. She’s a black Equidroid of unknown design. Probably some kind of new Gen Four prototype or something. Big deal. We found her(?) after she crashed into the Everfree. From space, we assume. Fall from that height would pancake a Gen Two or Three, but we found her core intact, even if the rest of her body was in pieces. Dad thinks she’s meant to be a space explorer kind of Equidroid. I honestly hope he’s right. He’s fixing her up right now, though I might call the guards and have her taken back to a base or hospital.
She sent along an image of the pieces laid out on the table. It actually took a whole minute for the pony on the other end to reply this time.
Part3Pon3: Okay, first… Thank you for finding her. I hope she makes a full recovery. Second, don’t call the guards. They’ll take her away and I won’t get to throw her a Welcome to Ponyville party.
Stargazer: I kinda have to if she’s part of some secret government program.
Part3Pon3: She’s not. Please, whatever you do, don’t let Spectra know about her.
Summer blinked. Her half-eaten sandwich was basically forgotten at this point. Don’t let Princess Spectra know? What did she know that Summer didn’t?
Stargazer: What? If she’s not with the Princess then where did she come from?
Part3Pon3: I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. Twi made me Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony.
Stargazer: Okay, then what can you tell me?
Part3Pon3: I can tell you aren’t going to find the parts you need to restore your new friend anywhere in Ponyville. I can show you where you can find parts to fix her. You need to Pinkie Promise that you’ll keep the place a secret though.
At this point, Summer was willing to give it a shot. To be asked to make an Unbreakable Vow was as big a deal as they came, and this pony seemed to make them regularly.
Stargazer: Fine. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. The Vow is made, there can be no going back.
The response was immediate. An image of a map of Equestria, zoomed in on the area around Ponyville. A little X was marked on it alongside a set of coordinates. One thing immediately stood out to Summer. That X is located deeeeeeep in the Everfree, almost on the other side of it.
Stargazer: That’s the middle of nowhere. What am I supposed to look for there?
Part3Pon3: When you get there, look for a cave in the mountain. There will be a funny symbol on the wall somewhere. You’re a unicorn right? Cast this spell on that symbol and it will open the path.
They attached another image. This time it was a spell matrix of a kind Summer had not seen since history class in school. The symbols and layout was outdated, ancient even. It was nothing like the simple matrices of modern spells. She’d probably be able to figure it out though.
Part3Pon3: Good luck! I hope you’re able to fix her.
Stargazer: Should I have my friends make the Vow as well, since they already know about her? I’m probably gonna want to bring them along on this trip anyway. That’s a long distance to cover alone.
Part3Pon3: Good idea! The more friends you have, the greater the adventure! And don’t forget, when she gets fixed up, I have to know her favorite ice cream flavor. Bye!
Summer took her Gear off and took a couple deep breaths. Sure, she might have a chance to help fix the Equidroid and learn who she is, but the mystery pony unsettled her. “What have I gotten myself into?”
The time for contemplation was later though. She had calls to make. “Hey Corona, you there?”
A little image of her batty friend appeared in the corner of her vision. “Hey hey, what’s up?”
“Amethyst still with you?” Summer asked.
Her Gear pinged, then Amethyst’s image appeared next to Corona’s. “Yo.”
“I got some news about our new friend.” Summer said.
“New friend?” Amethyst asked.
“The Equidroid, probably.” Corona answered in Summer’s stead.
“Yeah. It’s probably best said in private, so I’m coming over. However, I need you to promise to keep it secret.”
“Keep it secret? Yeah, sure. I promise.” Amethyst said nonchalantly.
“Don’t just promise. I need a Vow.”
“A Vow? Is it that serious?” Corona asked.
“Yes. I already made a Vow myself, so I literally can’t tell you unless you make it too.”
There was a pause before they replied simultaneously. “Fine. Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes.”
Summer stood up and picked up her half-eaten sandwich. “I’ll be right there.”
The inside of Corona’s apartment was almost as dirty as the outside. The carpet looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or replaced in decades, the wallpaper was ripped and stained in several places, and Summer could swear that stain in the middle of the living room was from a murder. A number of boxes sat in two piles on opposite ends of the room, one pile was stuff that had yet to be unpacked, and the other pile was empty boxes that had been unpacked.
“So, what’s this news you have for us?” Corona asked, lounging on her very used couch. Her furniture was about as bad as the room itself. All of it was gotten for as cheap as possible, and it showed. The only thing that didn’t look cheap was her high-end entertainment system, and Summer couldn’t help but notice it was kept far in the corner, out of sight of any potential lookieloos. She even put a sheet of plywood over the window, for good measure.
“Well, apparently the Equidroid needs some replacement parts, but there’s only one place we can find them.” Summer said.
“Well what are we waiting for? We have some shopping to do.” Corona said.
“Yeah, what about this is so secret that we needed to take a Vow for?” Amethyst added.
“The part that needs to be kept secret is where this place is.” Using the Gear’s holo-projector, Summer opened up the map image she was given and showed it to her friends. Amethyst’s reaction was about what she expected.
“That’s… the middle of fucking nowhere,” Amethyst said, “what kind of wacko sent you this map?”
Corona’s reaction was unexpected. She actually seemed excited. “I actually know where that is. That’s right next to Mt. Archive. It’s a short walk away from Hollow Shades.”
“Hollow Shades?” Summer asked, “so you’ve been here?”
Corona shook her head. “No, the place was forbidden for us to even get near. The Everfree Dragon is said to live in that mountain.”
“The Everfree Dragon? Isn’t that one of those urban legends you like looking at?” Amethyst asked.
Corona responded by hopping on her desktop and pulling up an image of a dark tail disappearing into the trees. “The dragon is rumored to be a thousand years old, with knowledge of the entirety of Equestria’s history. His hoard is the largest collection of knowledge in the world, more expansive than even the entirety of the Net.”
“How is that even possible?”
“It isn’t,” Summer said, “it’s a legend full of rumors and hyperbole. What’s important is that we get there and try and find whatever cavepony has the parts to fix our Equidroid.”
“How do you know about this, anyway?” Corona asked.
“Some pony named Part3Pon3 messaged me. They had somehow found out about the Equidroid. Maybe that Supernova pony told them.”
“I know that name. She shows up sometimes in my chats.” Corona pulled up a chat archive from one of her streams and sure enough, Part3Pon3 was there. “She is the pony in the know for anything gossip related around Ponyville, and seems to have some kind of clairvoyance when it comes to every pony in town. I’ve been to a few of her parties, but I’ve never actually seen her.”
“So what does this mean for the info I was given?” Summer asked.
“It means whatever she told you was probably legit,” Corona said, shutting down her desktop and going back to lounging on the couch, “so I say we cut through Hollow Shades since it’s much faster than walking from here across the entire Everfree.”
“What about your jobs?”
“I can probably get away with missing work for a few days,” Amethyst said, messing with something on her Gear, “yeah, I’m clear. I can go.”
“I make my own schedule,” Corona added, “so I’m all in.”
Summer smiled. “Great. To Hollow Shades we go.”
Hollow Shades was not like a lot of the other Equestrian towns and cities that stood the test of time over the centuries. Above ground, it looked much like any small town on the outskirts of Equestria. But unlike cities such as Manehatten or Ponyville, which expanded out and up, forming sprawling metropolises of blinding lights and polished manasteel, Hollow Shades expanded down into a series of tunnels and vast underground complexes.
And what crazy ponies would want to live in an underground city? Approximately sixty-eight percent of Equestria’s thestral population and pretty much all of the diamond dogs, that’s what. Including Corona during her fillyhood years. So of course as soon as they got off the overnight train, the thestral of the group immediately began giving the other two a tour of the part of the city that was above ground.
“There’s the local history museum. When I was eight, I visited the museum with my dad and we got to see some crazy dog try and steal the museum’s pickaxe collection,” Corona said as they passed by an old-looking stone building, “in broad moonlight no less! And over here is where they connect the city to-”
“You know, this tour is great and all,” Amethyst interrupted, “but we didn’t come here to play tourist.” They had all brought luggage, but they were empty, meant for storing whatever they found in the secret cave without attracting suspicion.
“Ah, come on! I haven’t been back here in years!”
Amethyst and Summer looked at each other for a moment. Summer eventually relented with a sigh. “Aright, fine. You can spend a couple hours looking around. We’ll be… somewhere around here.”
“Sweet, thanks!” Corona then flew off, leaving Amethyst and Summer alone.
“So…” Amethyst started to say.
“No,” Summer interrupted, “we’re not gonna follow her.”
“Spoilsport.”
Corona quickly found the central lift that goes down into the main city. It was just coming up with a group of schoolponies. The teacher, a brown thestral mare, waved at Corona as she approached. “Hey Moonlight, welcome back!”
Corona trotted up to the thestral and gave her a hoofbump. “‘Sup, Cinnamon? These anklebiters all yours?”
She giggled. “No, dear. I’m a teacher now. This is my class. I’m taking them on a field trip to the history museum.”
“So do I gotta call you Ms. Sugar now?” Corona asked. “Should I bring you a mango for your desk?”
Cinnamon shook her head. “No, you’re good. Though I did miss breakfast today…”
“Well too bad I already ate, or I’d share some,” Corona said with a shrug, “have fun with your field trip. I’m heading down, maybe gonna find some other friends to catch up with.”
“Well you can start with Old Granite. He’s still down in the mines.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks Cinnamon.”
Cinnamon paused to herd her class off the lift. “How long are you gonna be in town? Maybe I could join you after work.”
“Only a couple hours, just passing through, unfortunately.”
“Oh,” Cinnamon deflated a bit, but tried to perk back up, “where are you going? Fillydelphia?”
“Can’t say. Top secret,” Corona said with a grin. When Cinnamon had moved on with her class, she took the lift down, watching the various tunnels and underground lights pass by. She passed brightly lit, shining floors where the wealthier ponies lived, floors that stretched on for miles where most of the regular citizens lived, vast caverns where the diamond dogs liked to live, and floors that housed various industrial facilities and mines.
It eventually stopped at one of the lower levels, where the lights were either dim or broken and not many ponies were walking down the unpaved tunnels. The ponies that did wander around in these levels wore heavy-duty work clothes. Her Gear also told her there was no Net connection down here.
A quick walk brought Corona to a run down stone structure that was carved from the surrounding cavern. Above the door was no sign, but just a flickering neon bottle and glass. Standing in front of the door was a bulky-looking Equidroid, but the markings on his side and the blank dead-ahead stare he had signified him as a Gen One model. He turned to her as she approached, giving her an up and down look. “You may enter,” he said in a gruff monotone, stepping aside.
The door automatically slid open for Corona, letting her inside. The inside was a very dimly-lit bar. Tables and chairs roughly carved from the same stone as the rest of the building sat around the walls. An old VR station was set up in the corner, and an ancient antique jukebox sat next to the stone bar counter, playing some sort of generic soft jazz tune. Behind the counter was an older thestral stallion, his coat as gray as the stone around him. “Well I’ll be,” he said upon seeing Corona, “little Moonlight, all grown up.”
“Granite,” she said with a wave, “it’s been, what, fifteen years? And I see nothing’s changed, aside from the extra help out front. Where’d you even get the bits for a Gen One anyway?”
“Local construction colts who went out of business sold him to me for a good price. And what about you? Haven’t seen you since you were a little pup.”
“Been living in Ponyville. Just moved out of Dad’s shadow too. I’m fully independent now. How are things with you?”
“Hollow’s not quite been the same since the Exodus. The new Council hasn’t found any reason to support further expansion, so the lower levels have been left to rot.” The stallion slammed his hoof on the counter. “But this is my home, dammit! I refuse to leave!”
“I can see that. You still in touch with Mom?” Corona took a seat at the counter.
Granite nodded, turning to look through a cabinet. “Yeah, of course. She stops by every night, after work. Sometimes I swear she’s the only reason I’m still in business.” He pulled out a bottle and poured himself a glass. “Can I get you anything?”
She took a moment to think it over. “Cider please.”
“Hard cider? You’re finally old enough for it. Enjoy yourself a little.” Granite said with a chuckle, setting down the bottle on the counter.
Corona shook her head. “Sorry, not tonight. I’m just passing through, and my friends would really not appreciate it if I came back to them drunk.”
The old stallion nodded, replacing the bottle with a different one. “Alright then, you want me to let your mother know you’re here?”
She hesitated a moment. “You know what, yeah. Let her know. She’d probably kill me if I came back without saying hi.”
Granite put on a helmet, much to Corona’s confusion. It wasn’t until she saw the ArcanaTech logo on the side that she realized it was a VGear. After a few moments, the visor on the helmet flipped up. “Alright, she’s on her way.”
“Thanks. That, uh…” she pointed at the helmet, “that one of the older models?”
“Of course it is,” he said as he took it off, “an antique made a good hundred-fifty years or so ago. Found it in a swap meet in Rainbow Falls. Still works great. ArcanaTech built their toys to last.”
Corona simply nodded in recognition as she found her thoughts drifting back to her mother. Would she remember her daughter? Would she approve of Corona’s life choices? Heck, what would be the first thing she says to her? They hadn’t spoken in… at least a decade. Was that her fault? Was it Dad’s? Or did she simply stop caring about her?
Corona was jolted from her thoughts by Granite’s hoof nudging her. She looked up at him, and he merely tilted his head towards the door. She turned and there she was. Standing at the doorway was an older midnight blue thestral mare. Her long black mane was slightly disheveled, she wore a flowing black dress that was slightly torn in the back, and she panted heavily. Her eyes met Corona’s, both the same shade of blue. She took a step forward.
Corona stood up off the stool to face her mother. Before she knew it, the mare had crossed the distance between them and embraced her in a hug. “My little Moonlight… It’s been so long…”
Corona returned the embrace. “Sorry I took so long, Mom. Dad never gave me your contact info.”
She momentarily broke the hug. “No need to apologize, sweetie. You’re here now, that’s all that matters.”
“We have a lot to catch up on. Wanna head up to your place?” Corona asked, grabbing the bottle from the counter.
“Yeah, sure,” her mom answered, pulling her back into the hug, “I can’t believe it. My little filly, all grown up.”
“Mom?”
“I’m sorry, I’m just having a hard time believing you’re really here. And you’ve really blossomed into a beautiful young mare. My boss would love to meet you.”
“Maybe another time. My friends and I are just passing through.”
“Your friends?!” She was practically ready to jump for joy, which made Corona a bit nervous. “Oh, forget my house, I must see the friends you made.”
“You sure about this Summer?” Amethyst asked. The two had moved to the edge of town by the Everfree and were sitting on a bench.
Summer was browsing news articles, as the media had finally figured out that the Griffon’s Eye had disappeared. They hadn’t quite figured out about the Equidroid that fell from the same spot the star once sat in the sky, for which Summer was thankful. “Positive. There is absolutely a connection between the star disappearing and the Equidroid. She has to know something about it, but we gotta fix her up before we can ask.”
“You think she’s responsible for it?”
Summer shook her head. “No. Maybe whoever made her sent her to investigate, and she malfunctioned. Point is that she knows something.”
Amethyst opened her mouth to argue, but closed it again. “You know what, I got no other ideas.”
“...and that’s great sweetie. I’m happy for you,” came a mare’s voice from behind them, “but you know my doors are always open for you.”
“Yeah, but I’ve got my friends in Ponyville now. I don’t want to leave them.” The two finally turned around and saw Corona approaching with a black thestral mare who looked like she just fled a fancy party. “Speaking of which, here they are. Mom, this is Summer Star and Amethyst Pitch. Girls, this is my mom, Obsidian Dream.”
“Nice to meet you,” Summer said with a wave, “I’m Summer.”
“And I’m Amethyst,” she said, then leaned towards Summer and whispered, “Corona never told us her mother was hot.”
Summer playfully shoved her away. “I wasn’t aware you even still had a mother, Corona. You never really talked about her.”
Corona shrugged. “Yeah, I pretty much lost all contact with her after I moved to Ponyville. Dad made sure of that. But I’m independent now, and we were passing through anyway, so I figured I’d try and find her. Wasn’t hard.”
“Well congrats. But she’s not coming with us right? It’s still a top secret mission.” Amethyst stood up and grabbed her suitcase, Summer followed suit.
“Top secret, eh?” Obsidian asked, giving her daughter a teasing nudge. “Alright, have fun sweetie, and don’t forget to come back some time. I’d still love to introduce you to Ms. Figure.”
“Yeah yeah, I know. See ya, Mom,” Corona said, giving Obsidian one more hug watching her fly back into town. When she was gone, Corona turned back to her friends. “So! Figure out where we’re going?”
“Yeah, Mt. Archive is right over there,” Summer pointed at a mountain poking out over the trees in the distance, “we should be there before moonfall.”
“Sweet, let’s go.”
“Hey, what was your mom going on about?” Amethyst asked.
“Oh, I think she was trying to get me to go into modeling with her.” Corona answered.
“Well why not? Could be a good way to make some easy money.”
Corona fidgeted with her wings. “I just don’t like the idea of showing off my body for others.”
“Don’t you do that in your streams?” Summer questioned, “I’ve seen them, don’t lie to me. You have tried to use your body to get more donations.”
“Okay, but that’s different. I don’t have to look at the ponies that are staring at me.”
“Fine, but give it a chance sometime. For her.”
“I…” Corona hesitated, “fine, after all this is over, I’ll give it a shot. Now let’s go.”
It took a while for Summer to pinpoint the exact area where the cave they were looking for resided. There were apparently a number of caves all around the mountain, and the image she was given did not give her a very good look of what the actual cave they were looking for looked like. The fact that there were plenty of trees in the way also did not help things.
“If there weren’t so many trees, we’d be able to get a better pegasus-eye view.” Amethyst grumbled.
“Do you think Part3Pon3 was wrong?” Summer asked.
“I dunno. Corona seemed pretty confident in her, but it’s super strange that there’d be some sort of secret facility out here that manufactures parts for Equidroids.”
“Hey,” Corona shouted from above, “hey girls! I found something super weird! I think it might be the cave we’re looking for!”
“Well don’t just hover there,” Amethyst shouted back, “show us!”
Corona nodded and flew off, Amethyst and Summer in pursuit. When they caught up, they found a clearing in the trees. The ground in this clearing was unusually flat compared to the surrounding area, and at one side of the learning was a steep cliff with a square cave opening in it.
“Yeah,” Summer said, staring at the cave opening, “I think that might be what we’re looking for.”
Summer led the way inside, her horn aglow in a light spell. The floor and walls of the cave were unnaturally smooth, and the dimensions of the cave were unchanging the entire way through, never changing.
“This is the strangest cave I’ve ever seen,” Corona whispered, “nothing about this feels right.”
The others nodded their agreement as they found the end of the cave. Sure enough, there was an odd looking symbol etched on the wall. It was a circle with various intersecting lines and triangles, all surrounding a six-pointed star. Summer pulled up the spell matrix she was given and studied it closely. She didn’t quite understand how it was supposed to open some passage, but she didn’t need to understand it, just cast it.
Summer lit up her horn and channeled her mana into the necessary shapes in her mind. It was an old form of spellcasting, older than even the Princess, maybe. However, it responded to her nonetheless, and she focused the spell onto the wall in front of her. Normally a unicorn casting a spell they didn’t understand meant the spell fizzled out, but apparently ancient spells were different. The symbol on the wall glowed in response, and the wall split open.
A long dark tunnel made of some kind of smooth metal extended down and curved to the left. There was no lighting in the hallway, and whatever metal the hallway was made of, it wasn’t very reflective, making it look like a lightless void. Hesitantly, Summer took a step forward and the tunnel seemed to react , lighting up around her.
“Whatever I was expecting, it wasn’t this,” she said to herself, walking further down the tunnel. Her friends quickly started following.
“Yeah, this is a bit above some secretive engineer’s workshop,” Corona agreed.
“Is there even anypony here? Hello?” Summer called out. No response.
Following the tunnel, they found a door blocking the path. On the wall beside it was a doorpad of some kind, with a small keyboard more suited to a griffon’s claw than a pony hoof. It had been modified with some sort of crystalline device with one button. Crystalline circuitry? Didn’t this tech die off centuries ago? Summer pressed the button, and the door opened with a little chime. Seems to still work anyway.
The room beyond was more what Summer expected. Tables and shelves littered with Equidroid parts stood in neat, orderly rows against the wall. What looked like a half-finished body was laid out on an operating table in the center of the room. Next to it was a smaller table with some tools and an old video recorder. There were also further signs of modifications, as crystals hanging from the ceiling lit the room. At the far end of the room was another dark hallway.
“Well now, this looks promising,” Summer said as they started looking around. “There are more than enough parts here to fix our Equidroid.”
“Yeah, and still no sign of our mystery inventor. The door wasn’t even locked,” Corona added.
“I don’t get why we had to come out here to get the parts instead of just ordering them online,” Amethyst complained. “What’s so special about these?”
“The Equidroid that crashed was made of materials much stronger than a normal Gen Two or Three. It was either follow our strange source or raid a military base. I like our chances here.” Summer examined the body on the table. It and every other part in the workshop were all the same deep black that their Equidroid was. She couldn’t confirm, but it looked like it was made of the same material too. “Yeah, I think this is what we’re looking for. And since the last occupant so generously left it to us, I suppose we should take everything we can carry and get going before they come back.”
So they did. Summer and Amethyst opened up their suitcases and started packing in whatever spare parts they could fit but Corona went down the other hallway to explore a bit first. They emptied shelves, tables, everything that looked useful was stuffed into the suitcases. When Summer got to the central table, she stopped, examining the body. It looked to be a pegasus, though the wings were about twice the size of a standard pegasus wing. It also looked like a normal wing. Close examination of the head also showed a slot where a horn could go.
Another alicorn, this one a work-in-progress, Summer thought, was this guy trying to usurp Princess Spectra? There was no core in the body, nor were there any cores anywhere else in the room. Makes sense, this place doesn’t have the facilities needed to make a core, and I doubt the pony was magical enough to make the energy needed to power it on her own.
She picked up the video recorder, giving it a look over. It was cobbled together from ancient camera parts and held together with some cheap welds and crystalline wiring. More crystalline circuitry. This is old. There was also an image of a six pointed star with surrounding smaller stars on the back.
“Wait… Amethyst, check this out,” Summer beckoned. “This symbol, doesn’t it look familiar?”
Amethyst squinted at it for a second before nodding. “Yeah. I think it’s supposed to be a cutie mark. Probably belonged to the same pony who made this place.”
“Maybe, but I think I’ve seen it before. In the Ponyville Museum.”
“The museum? But I thought… This all looks so recent.”
Summer shook her head. “Some of it definitely seems recent. Heck, I’d swear this place was a top-of-the-line secret government facility if not for the total lack of any ponies around. But there’s crystalline circuitry here which fell out of favor way back when ponies were experimenting with Gen One Equidroids,” she held up the camcorder. “The answers might be on this, if there are any recordings still on it.” Old cameras like this have their own data chip. Maybe I can access the records made on here...
Summer’s thoughts were interrupted when Corona came running back excitedly. “Girls! You gotta see this!”
Amethyst and Summer shared a look before following Summer down the hall. The hall lit up the same way the other hall did, but much more dimly. They came across an intersection, where Corona paused briefly. “I haven’t checked the right path yet. We’re going left.”
It turns out what Corona found were pods. Rows and rows and rows of metal cylindrical pods, stored neatly in a massive warehouse. Summer counted at least 150 pods, and that was just what she could see in the dim lighting. She tried getting a better look at the pod, but she couldn’t determine what was inside, as there were no windows. Attached to each pod was a small computer terminal, so she went to the first terminal and tried to turn it on. Surprisingly, it worked, the screen lighting up and displaying a text.
Zigonacy Vnumi Buv 001
Hmmm… Summer tried using her Gear to translate the text, but it came back with nothing. The heck? So it’s just gibberish? Summer tried going to the next pod over, and it displayed the same gibberish. Shaking her head in frustration, she returned to her friends. “No idea what’s in these things. Terminal is displaying something I can’t translate.”
“Damn,” Corona grumbled. “Maybe you’ll get better luck with this one?” She pointed to a larger terminal on the wall. This one had the same crystalline circuitry modifications that they’d been seeing. Summer didn’t see any way to turn this one on, so she tried feeding it a little magic. The crystals glowed in response and the terminal activated, displaying more of the same gibberish.
Bsemiczavi Vnumi Zcuneji Kegasacy Hice.
Then the text disappeared and something new appeared in its stead.
You promised me you would leave them alone.
What? Summer stared at the screen. Is something trying to talk to me? Summer used the attached keypad to type a message on the terminal.
I never promised anything.
Her message was instantly replaced with another.
Wait. You aren’t Her.
The screen changed and the semi-transparent image of a lavender unicorn appeared on the screen. Summer could swear she looked familiar “This is a restricted area. State your name and business.”
Summer hesitated. Do I share my name? I could get in trouble. Maybe a compromise. “Call me Stargazer. Who are you?”
The pony on the screen narrowed her eyes. “A memory. And a warning.”
“Of what?” Summer asked.
There was no response at first. Then the pony closed her eyes and sighed. “I… cannot say. I am just here to prevent anypony from opening these caskets,” she said, her gaze turning hard once more. “Now you state your business here.”
“We’re looking for parts to repair a… special Equidroid that crashed from space.” Summer explained.
The memory tilted her head in confusion. “Space? No, that’s not possible. I… One moment please,” she said, then the screen went black.
Summer turned to Corona, motioning at the screen. “Did she look familiar to you?”
Corona put a hoof to her chin. “Hmmm… A little. What was that, anyway? An AI?”
“I think so. At the very least a fragment of a-” Summer stopped when the screen turned back on and the lavender pony reappeared, this time with a book wrapped in the glow of magic. Very strange for an AI to pretend to read a book.
“Okay, I’m seeing the records now,” said the AI. “Poor thing was overdue for maintenance and sent to investigate an anomaly in the…” She trailed off, glancing up from her book at Summer. “Ahem, sorry. You are not authorized to know this information. Nor are you qualified to make repairs to that drone.”
“Drone?” Summer questioned.
“Hey!” Amethyst shouted, shoving aside Summer to point a wing angrily at the screen. “She is not a drone! She is a pony, got that?”
There was a moment of silence, even the AI pony was stunned by that outburst. And to her credit, she looked genuinely remorseful. “I-I apologize. Of course ponies would start seeing the dro-oids differently,” she apologized, her gaze once again hardening. “My mission remains unchanged though. What is stored here must never be opened. You must promise - no - Pinkie Promise me you won’t attempt to open them.”
“We’ve been making a few of them lately,” Summer muttered, casting sidelong glances at the others. “Very well, we promise.”
After they had made their Vows, the AI closed her book and gave them a content smile. “Thank you very much,” she said, then paused, thinking something over. “One more thing before you go. I have something very important to ask of you.”
Summer paused. Was it worth accepting another request from this AI? “Um… sure. What is it?”
With their suitcases packed, the unicorn, pegasus, and thestral left the strange underground facility and started the walk back towards Hollow Shades. Summer’s head felt a bit fuzzy due to the new presence taking residence there, but it was the best way to accommodate the AI’s wishes.
“You’re nuts, putting that thing in your head without getting it vetted first,” Corona said. “Shit like that is why I refuse to get a link.”
“Well we didn’t have anywhere else to put her,” Amethyst countered. “You heard how she sounded. An AI like her with only one purpose? I’d be eager to get out too.”
“I just hope she’s right…” Summer muttered, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it, which only slightly worked.
I am right. I’ve done all the math, and those pods will be in good hooves. The voice in her head spoke.
“Ugh, the last time I had a voice in my head my legs got cut off. Just keep your promise.”
I will. Breaking a friend’s trust is the fastest way to lose that friend.
Part3Pon3: FOREVEEEEEEEER.
Summer jumped, startled at the sudden message. How did she-
Trust me, don’t think about it too hard.
Before Summer could question her mental passenger, or even before they were even clear of the mountain, another problem made itself known. It started when a shadow passed overhead. Looking up, they didn’t see anything but clouds, so Summer and Amethyst shrugged and kept going.
“Keep your head down.” Corona whispered frantically. Her ears started twitching, her wings were fidgeting, and her head was on a swivel. Summer could even swear she was trying to use echolocation. Thestrals weren’t true bats though, and that was not an ability they shared with their distant cousins.
“Okay, what’s up with you this time?” Summer asked.
She turned on a swivel and practically hissed at Summer. Okay, maybe they weren’t so different after all. “Shush! We can’t let it know we’re here!”
“It? Playing the pronoun game?” Amethyst asked, keeping her voice down.
“The Everfree Dragon,” Corona answered. “We’re in its territory, in case you haven’t forgotten. It had to have noticed our presence by now.”
“That again? Look,” Amethyst draped a wing over Corona’s back, “even if the legend is real, nopony’s seen any dragon in these parts in ages. He’s probably sleeping, or dormant, or whatever old dragons do. Heck, he’s probably dead.”
The ground suddenly rumbled, and a roar shook the trees. Something big was close. And it was angry. “You had to say it.” Corona deadpanned.
“Run!” Summer shouted as a stream of green fire passed overhead. The three quickly broke into a gallop, Summer remembering to take the three suitcases in her magic. Dragon or not, they needed those parts. She heard something - the dragon most likely - crash down behind her as they ducked into the trees.
From behind them, the dragon roared in rage. “Stop!” They did not stop. That meant death. Though there was a certain voice in the back of her head that told her that maybe the dragon didn’t want to kill them, Summer pushed it down. The dragon pounced, toppling trees as he landed. The ponies ducked to the right, narrowly avoiding getting crushed.
Of course, that voice would not stay down, and tried to tell her that they were going the wrong way. That’s something to worry about later. Running now.
Dodging another pounce from the pursuing dragon, Summer had to wonder. “Why isn’t he using his fire breath to roast us?”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to set the forest on fire?” Amethyst suggested. “This is his home.”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” Corona said, dodging a falling tree. “Not gonna question why a dragon doesn’t wanna barbeque us when he can still crush us.”
The forest wasn’t going to make it easy on them however. One of Summer’s hind legs snagged on an exposed root, sending her tumbling into the dirt. “Agh!”
“Summer!” Amethyst stopped to help get her friend up. “You okay?”
Summer flexed her leg, running a quick diagnostics. Just a scratch. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’ll take more than a trip to break my legs.”
“How about a fall?” Corona asked from up ahead. Catching up to her, they found a sheer cliff, maybe 50 pony-lengths down, stretched out before them. Beside her was a small stream that poured off the cliff into a larger river below. “What are the odds of this, huh?”
“Dunno, pretty good, I’d bet.” Summer remarked.
Before they could make any sort of plan, the dragon caught up to them again. This time there was no escaping him as he loomed over the three ponies, a massive hulking purple beast with razor-sharp spines along his arms and back. He crouched low, eyeing the cornered ponies like a wolf eyes up a sheep. “Two hundred years since I last company, and what do I get?” He growled, fixing them with a sharp glare. “A trio of troublemakers poking around where they shouldn’t. I don’t know how you discovered the cache, but nopony must know about it. I can’t let you leave with this knowledge.”
Summer kept the suitcases close as she backed up to the cliff’s edge. “Well, you should start with Part3Pon3 then, they told me about the place.” She said in an attempt to stall for time.
She seemed to hit something on the head though, because he actually recoiled, his eyes widening in surprise. “What… Pinkie, why?”
Not wanting to waste this opportunity, Summer dashed to the stream and dove down the waterfall. Lighting up her horn, she grabbed herself with telekinesis and pushed herself to the cliff wall behind the waterfall. She then thrust her hooves into the stone, digging the titanium plating into the wall in an attempt to slow her descent.
To her immense relief, she slowed to a stop, her hooves having left two long gashes in the rock. The water pounding on her, light as it was, still threatened to knock her off the side. She was still pretty high up, and really didn’t want to fall into that river. She did spot her friends at the bottom, safely taking cover in the bushes with one of the-oops. Turns out her grip on the suitcases faltered during her fall, sending them plummeting into the river. Amethyst and Corona saved one though, but she didn’t spot either of the others. Probably getting washed away in the river. She thought glumly. We’ll have to make do with the one.
She waited a few minutes for the dragon to search for them, but it appeared he gave up the chase, so Summer started trying to lower herself by kicking hoofholds in the rock, then climbing down. Her clumsy streak wasn’t quite over though, and she slipped. “Shit!” She swore as she tried regaining a hold on the rock. The water pounding on her head finally tossed her off the cliff and she plummeted to the river below. She landed on her back and something hard struck the back of her head. Her world went black.
Summer slowly strolled through the halls of Canterlot Castle. Before, she and her friends would have been meeting with the princesses to discuss what to do about the latest threat to Equestria. Now, she was left to figure out how to run a nation all by herself. Well, not completely by herself, but her friends and family all had lives of their own. At least her trusty assistant was always by her side.
“Come on Twilight, we need to take this one step at a time,” he advised, holding a checklist in his claws. If we go through our options thoroughly, I’m sure the solution will seem almost obvious.”
Summer sighed, her wings twitching anxiously. “I know, Spike. But if we take too long, King Windscar will see that we’ve been left vulnerable. They bloodied us once, if they strike again it won’t just be the sun they take from us. We need to act quickly, or even more innocent ponies will be hurt.”
The new lighting system had yet to be set up, so the castle staff were still replacing burnt-out candles. They’d been burning for centuries, kept alight by the Princess’ magic. With her gone, they’d finally burnt out. So Summer and Spike picked up the pace, reaching the makeshift war room they had set up during their conflict with Windscar.
Wonderbolt Captain Rainbow Dash and Prince Shining Armor were waiting for her by the war table, as well as Princess Cadance and Flurry Heart. It warmed Summer’s heart to see Flurry again. She had grown into a smart, kind young mare, and Summer knew she’d be taking over the Crystal Empire soon. It was actually surprising to see Cadance had made the trip, as the aging alicorn had not been faring well since Celestia disappeared. Of course Summer had not fared well either, but she had to stay strong. Unlike Cadance, she had no heir to Equestria’s throne should something happen to her.
But with the discoveries she’d made, that would change.
“Dash, Shiny. Thank you for answering my call,” she said, getting a salute from them both. “Cadance and Flurry, I’m glad to see you too, and I wish I had something for you to do.”
“No need, Twilight. We’re just here to support you,” Cadance said. “Isn’t that right, Flurry?”
“Yeah, sure,” Flurry answered impatiently. “So when do I get to blow somepony up?”
“Flurry!” Her mother chastised. “We’re not here to start a fight. This isn’t like your games.”
Summer couldn’t help but giggle. Ah, to be young again. “I might need your help after all Flurry, depending on how things go.” She lit her horn and cast a simple projection spell which showed many complex equations and spell matrices, none of which were understood by anyone at the table but her. However, one thing that everyone present understood sat in the center of it all - the Elements of Harmony.
“I’ve been going over various ideas in my head over how I can keep Equestria running after I’m gone. This,” she motioned to the projection, “is the answer. An Arcane Intelligence-”
“Woah, woah,” Rainbow interrupted, “woah. Twi, you serious? You wanna let a robot take over? They can barely make coffee right, let alone run a country!”
“I know. We’ve got a long way to go before our technology catches up to the Precursors. But I have a way to make sure it goes right.” Summer pointed at the center of the projection. “With the Elements of Harmony, an AI can be given the same emotional and processing capabilities of any other pony. Maybe even greater.”
“This sounds fine and all,” Flurry said, “but there has to be a ‘but’ somewhere in all this. If it were that easy, you would have a prototype already in front of us, not just a bunch of theories and formulas.”
Summer smiled. “Nothing gets by you, does it? You’re right, I don’t have everything finalized yet. This is all a first draft. It’ll take much more experimentation to get this right.”
“So that’s why you said you might have a use for me. You want me on this team?”
Summer shook her head. “Not yet. I understand you’re not quite done with your studies. After you’re finished, you can join the team.”
Rainbow put up a hoof. “Yes, great, but what do we have to do with this? We aren’t eggheads, we’re soldiers.”
“Officers technically,” Shining corrected, “but yes, this isn’t our expertise. Why tell us this?”
“Because I want your opinion. Maybe some input, if you have any security concerns or improvements.”
“What does Spike think? There’s no way he thought this was a good idea.” Rainbow said, gesturing at the dragon beside her.
“I still think it’s crazy, and we have better options, but you know I’ll support you no matter what happens,” Spike said. “Besides, this might actually work.”
Summer nuzzled her assistant, wrapping a hoof and wing around him in a hug. “Thanks, my Number One Assistant.”
“Computers are more my daughter’s thing,” Shining spoke up, “but I’ll continue to support you as long as I breathe, Twily.”
“Yeah, you know I always got your back Twi,” Rainbow added. “We can turn it into an adventure! One last hurrah for us as we journey to save Equestria, or something like that. Ya know what I mean.”
Summer laughed. “I don’t think it’ll go that far, but I appreciate your support. For now, both of you gather a few soldiers you can trust. They’ll be assigned to a security role. Afterwards, I dunno, I might be able to give you that adventure you want. I’ve got a side project in mind, and could use a private escort.”
Rainbow pumped her hoof into the air. “Alright, just like old times! I’ll take off right away and get you some names. I’ve got just the ponies in mind.”
After Rainbow had left, Shining gave Summer a hug before following suit. “It was nice seeing you again Twily. Maybe next time we can have some tea together, just the four of us? It’s been too long since the last time.”
“Of course, Shiny. You know I’m never too busy for family.”
Summer’s mind swam with multiple overlapping thoughts. Where she was, what she was doing, even her very identity was in conflict with itself. She tried to focus on one or the other, but a sharp stabbing pain in the back of her head threatened to drive her back into unconsciousness. “Agh!” She cried out, catching the attention of a nearby pony.
“Hey, Summer’s awake!” Came a familiar mare’s voice, but she couldn’t identify it. Her head was still throbbing, and it was difficult to grab onto a single thought.
“Ugh…” She tried sitting up and opening her eyes. Blurs of blue moved in her vision. A name came to mind. “Rainbow… Dash?”
“Who? No, it’s me, Amethyst,” the mare said, moving something off of her face. The blurs turned from blue to purple, and she got a clearer look at her friend. Yes, right… Amethyst.
“What happened? Everything feels… fuzzy.” Summer asked.
“You fell into the water. Hit your head something fierce,” Amethyst explained. “You dropped the suitcases into the river, but we managed to fish up yours. Not sure where the others swam off to.”
She nodded in vague understanding. Her thoughts were getting clearer, memories were coming back. She just wasn’t sure if they were hers. Looking around, she saw nothing but trees. The Everfree Forest? But wasn’t I just in Canterlot? She shook her head. No, something felt wrong. She wasn’t in Canterlot. She was in some strange facility, there was an AI in there, and then the dragon chased them. That dragon looked familiar… But it couldn’t have…
“Summer? You alright?” Came a voice to her right, belonging to a black thestral. Corona, she remembered. “That was one hell of a fall.”
Summer nodded again. “Yeah… I think. Just gotta get my head together. I don’t think my memories are all mine anymore…”
“What do you mean?”
“I think I know,” Amethyst said. “Putting an AI in your head can have some odd side effects. AIs are created from a living pony’s mind, if you recall. Things tend to get pretty bad if you take any head trauma while one is sitting in there, like Summer just did.”
“So… what, did the AI merge with her or something?”
Summer shook her head. “No, not yet at least. If I don’t take her out soon, though, it’ll become harder to discern which memories are mine and which are hers.” She stood up, feeling uneven on her hooves. The phantom sensation of wings she didn’t have and the lack of feeling in her legs gave her a brief moment of panic before she remembered this was who she was supposed to be. “It’s not a feeling I would recommend. Everything feels wrong, like I’m trapped in a body that isn’t mine.”
“I’m sorry,” the AI apologized. From the memory she saw, her name, or at least her creator’s name was Twilight. “I didn’t realize this would happen. AI were still new when I was created. I was supposed to be an experiment, and part of that was my creator copying a lot of her memories onto me.”
It’s fine, it’s not your fault. Are you okay, at least? Summer asked mentally.
“I’m alright, undamaged.”
“Twi is intact, at least.” Summer said.
“Twi?” Amethyst questioned.
“A nickname of the pony who made her, I figured I’d give her that name too.”
“That’s good, it would suck if she broke and got stuck in your head without having a name, now wouldn’t it?” Corona asked with no small hint of sarcasm. “Wait, shit, I didn’t jinx it, did I?”
“If you don’t shut up, maybe,” Amethyst remarked. “So now what? We still have one suitcase left. Should we cut our losses and head back to Ponyville?”
“I think we should just go,” Summer suggested. “I don’t want to risk any more of the AI’s memories bleeding into my head, so the sooner we get her home and into a proper computer, the better.”
“With access to your computational glasses, I can plot a course out of the forest and back to Ponyville.” Twi offered. Summer nodded and set her Gear back over her eyes, tinting her world blue once again. The Heads-Up Display booted up again, this time with a little symbol of a smiling pony in the corner. “Ah, thank you,” Twi said in Summer’s ears this time. “I hope you don’t mind if I tap into local news feeds. I’ve been out of the loop since my creator passed.”
“No, go ahead,” Summer answered. “So, about those directions?” After a few seconds, a little arrow appeared on the HUD. Summer picked up her suitcase and motioned for her friends to follow. The walk back to Hollow Shades was largely uneventful, though Summer still got the occasional flash from Twi’s memories. Small things, like reading. Pretty much only reading, actually. I used to be a pretty avid reader. Wait, no. She was, not me.
“So what was that dragon’s deal?” Corona asked. “He chases us around, then just lets us go?”
“Spike...” Summer started to say, that name hanging on her tongue. “He was guarding that cave. Probably defending those pods, like Twi was doing.”
Corona turned to stare at her. “How do you know his name?”
“The memories I saw, he was in them. He was much smaller though.”
“Huh,” Corona shrugged. “Everfree Dragon still sounds cooler.”
The trio didn’t bother stopping in town for anything, instead going right for the train station. As they waited for the next train to Ponyville, Twi opened up an article on Summer’s Gear. It was one of the articles they saw earlier about the missing star. “Why didn’t you tell me this was happening?”
“Is there something you know about it?”
“I know about something, yes. It’s not something I’m supposed to share though. But if you’ve got some of my memories...” Twi trailed off, then closed the article.
“Twi? You alright?” Summer asked, but didn’t get a response.
“Something wrong, Summer?” Amethyst asked. Summer filled her in on what Twi had said. “I see. Something must have her worried.”
“She’s right to be worried,” Corona spoke up. They noticed she was looking directly up. “Take a look at where that star used to be.”
Summer looked up, and her jaw dropped. The Windscar constellation, previously just missing its eye, was now missing much more. Where there were once half a dozen stars, only a black void remained, and it was slowly expanding.
