Population 1by LonestarGustChaptersProgramOuch, Time Travel HurtsThe Truth About ELM-581Buckle Up ButtercupProgram"PROXIMITY ALERT, QUANTUM SLEEP CHARGE INTERRUPTED." The lights to a small room flicked on as the door to a large bay opened. White steam hissed from the vents as it slowly swung open, revealing a pony. The pony was connected to various cords and tubes. Next to the pony was a monitor. As the screen flickered on, a loud beeping could be heard as an automated voice spoke over a loudspeaker. "INITIATING START UP SEQUENCE... BAY 12 ELM-581" The cords and tubes that were attached to the pony, softly clicked and detached themselves, slithering away into their proper storage compartments. The beeping that had started moments ago, stopped suddenly as a green light appeared on the pony's chest. He was completely white with a brown mane. Tucked and folded on his back were a pair of large feathery white wings and atop his head rose a long unicorn horn. "ELM-581, START UP SEQUENCE SUCCESSFULL." ~~~~~~ Winter rubbed his head as he sat up in the charging bay. "Ughhh... Baxter.. what is the meaning of this? I asked to not be interrupted during my charge," said the stallion, blinking slowly to make sure his optical sensors were calibrated properly. "MY APOLOGIES ELM-581, BUT I HAVE DETECTED A PROXIMITY ALERT ON THE OUTERMOST BORDER OF THE FACILITY." As Winter stood up, he stretched his legs and extended his wings, the quiet sounds of pistons and mechanized joints being the only noise now in the small room. "Proximity alert? Baxter it's probably just another deer or rabbit. Adjust your sensors," said Winter yawning. "I CAN ASSURE YOU SIR, MY SENSORS ARE IN NOMINAL CONDITION. PONY LIFE SIGNS WERE DETECTED AT 13:45 HOURS, BEARING 381 MARK 290. RANGE: 3 KILOMETERS." Winter stopped mid-yawn and stared straight ahead. "Pony life signs?" "AFFIRMATIVE" The white stallion trotted forward, his hooves making soft clinking sounds on the steel floor. Hitting a button to open the door to the room, a red light flashed on the door panels screen with the words "Access Denied". "Ughhhhh, Baxterrrr!!" Winter shouted. "SORRY SIR, BUT YOU KNOW THE RULES. PROTOCOL MANDATES THAT I RECEIVE YOUR FUNTIONALITY CODES FOR SAFETY PURPOSES." Taking a deep breath, Winter looked up at the camera in the corner of the room watching him. "Functionality codes, Equestrian Labs Model 581. Papa, Zulu, Zero, Niner, Niner, Romeo, Five, Seven, Nine, Tango." "CODES ACCEPTED, GOOD MORNING ELM-581. PLEASANT DREAMS I HOPE?" Winter opened the door to the charging room and stepped into the hall, sealing it behind him. "They were, until I was woken up by you. Now what do you mean pony life signs?" Asked Winter, going to a panel on the wall across from him and tapping the screen with his hooves. "PONY LIFE SIGNS WERE DETECTED AT 13:45 HOURS BEARING-" "Yeah yeah, I know all that. You already told me Baxter. I mean, I thought Wingtip Cove was supposed to be deserted." "WINGTIP COVE IS ABANDONED SIR. IS HAS BEEN FOR 450 YEARS. THESE ARE MORE THAN LIKELY EXPLORERS." Winter turned and gave the camera above the door he just exited from, a look of confusion. "Explorers? But nopony could travel this far without magic or-" he stopped short however as loud red alert alarm began blaring. "WARNING: FACILITY BREACH. LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL INITIATED." "Son of a bitch Baxter, I thought you said they were 3 kilometers out!?" Winter yelled over the blaring alarm, turning and galloping down the glistening white hallway. "AFFIRMATIVE SIR. HOWEVER YOU DID NOT LET ME FINISH MY SENTENCE. THEY WERE MOVING AT A SPEED OF 560 MILES PER HOUR." Winter huffed and charged into the armory, punching in his access codes. Going over to a panel on the wall of the moderately sized room, the stallion typed in his codes again and opened two compartments on his back. "Computer begin loading sequence," he said. The computer chirped back at him as two large mini guns descended from the ceiling and onto his back. "CHAIN GUNS SECURED. HAPPY HUNTING SIR." "Thanks Baxter." ~~~~~ "Sunny I think we tripped an alarm of some kind." Said Hitch, covering his ears and looking around at the hallway they were in. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Sunny turned and looked back at her best friend. "Winter may be the only chance we have at finding Twilight Sparkle," she said, trotting forward. Hitch followed her the rest of the way in. The pulsing red lights running along the walls remained flashing slowly as they made their way along the corridor. "So what is this place? Some sort of underground lab?" Hitch asked, looking at the various doors. "Yeah, it was a project started about 70 years ago by my Grandfather. He was head of research and robotics until his heart attack." Sunny explained. "Oh.. I'm sorry Sunny," Hitch said quietly. Sunny waved a hoof dismissively. "Nah it's okay. It's been a while since he passed." The two continued down the hallway toward a door at the end. On it were markings and the words "Control Room". "Come on, the control room is just ahead. It'll give us access to the mainframe," Sunny said. However just as they reached the door, a voice behind them made them stop. "HALT. Who are you? What are you doing in my facility?" Sunny and Hitch turned around to see Winter staring at them, chain guns spinning in preparation for a fight. "Woah woah woah there, easy. We're not looking for a fight," Sunny said, raising her hooves in the air. Winter didn't back down. "Then who are you and how did you get here?" Sunny stepped forward and showed him a map. "My grandfather founded this research lab a long time ago. We came seeking help from a pony named Winter." Winter looked at the map, then at her, then back at the map. Sighing, he put his mini guns away. "Stand down Baxter, they are friendlies," he said. "UNDERSTOOD SIR, CANCELING LOCKDOWN." The alarm that had been blaring shut off and the regular white lighting returned. "You're Winter?" Sunny asked, as the white stallion turned and trotted away slowly, sighing to himself. "Yes. Winter Gust, Equestrian Labs Model 581. Combat Defense Cyborg." Sunny and Hitch followed him down the now quiet hallway, he seemed annoyed at their presence. "So then you can help us right?" Hitch asked. "With what?" Winter answered dryly. Sunny trotted up beside him and pulled out a drawing of Twilights cutie mark. "To bring back Twilight, we heard her disappearance was linked to this lab and-" But Sunny was cut short. The cyborg turned and looked at both of them, a frown on his face. "OH NO. I don't mess with time displacement technology anymore. That shit is too dangerous to be used by ANYPONY. Especially an earth pony and.. whatever the hell you are," Winter said, pointing a hoof at Sunny and glancing at her wings and horn. Sunny frowned. "An alicorn. I'm an alicorn." She said bitterly. Turning towards the exit, the alicorn beckoned for Hitch. "Come on Hitch, let's go. It's obvious this robot can't help us. Nor will he ever want Snowdrop back." Hitch looked at Sunny then back at Winter who was staring at them, the frown slowly disappearing from his face. "Wait." Sunny turned back around and looked Winter. The cyborg sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine. I'll help you find Twilight. BUT. You have to help me find the last part for Snowdrop." Sunny smiled. "Its a deal then," she said, shaking Winter's hoof. "Wait a minute wait a minute.. what are you talking about?" Asked Hitch, confused. Sunny took out a blueprint from her saddlebag of a cyborg that looked almost identical to Winter, except it was a female with a different mane style and fur color. "Snowdrop, she was a female counterpart created by my Grandfather for Winter to have. But a while ago, a piece of her broke. A piece that modern day technology cannot create. The-" "Exnos M98 Microchip." Winter finished her sentence quietly as he tapped the glowing green part of his chest. "Only 2 were ever successfully made in our timeline. Mine, and hers." The white stallions ears folded down with a sad sounding mechanical whir. "Hers was broken by a system failure in the mainframe during a charging session. The ion cells overloaded and caused it to fry her chip immediately." A quiet silence fell over the group as Sunny and Hitch searched for the right words to comfort the cyborg. "I'm sorry Winter. It... must have been tough," said Hitch quietly. The white stallion nodded and sighed. "It was. I had gotten so used to feeling her by my side every night while we slept, I couldn't sleep for weeks." "How could you haven't slept for weeks? Can cyborgs sleep at all?" Sunny asked. Winter started trotting once more, heading in the direction of the the control room. "Technically, we can. Although it's probably like turning your cell phone off during a movie." Hitch and Sunny followed. "Alright.. so do you dream?" The alicorn asked. "Sometimes, I don't have a pony brain. My speech patterns and behavior learning skills are all programmed into me. My Microchip is what allows me to create my own identity and unique consciousness." Winter said, typing in a code next to the door and watching it slide open. "So... you're able to learn and adapt?" Hitch asked, following Winter inside. Winter nodded. "Yes, it's what also allows me to feel love, sympathy, and an array of other emotions." The trio trotted over to a huge computer terminal. It had an array of touchscreen panels and diagnostic readings. Sunny and Hitch watched as a cable slithered out of the console and plugged into Winters chest. Closing his eyes, the cyborg began running diagnostics on the equipment centered in a large room beyond. It was hard to see through the glass with no lights on, but detailed displays and 3D images began popping up on the view screens in front of them. The main one centered a large cylindrical device. Large tubes and cables ran this way and that along the device. It was obvious this was the time displacement technology. "RUNNING LEVEL 12 DIAGNOSTIC..." "Cool.." Sunny whispered, watching the screen in amazement as a percentage bar appeared and began filling rapidly. When it reached 100%, the light inside the room where it was housed flashed on. "LEVEL 12 DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE. TIME DISPLACEMENT UNIT FULLY FUNCTIONAL." Winter then unplugged himself from the computer, looking at Sunny and Hitch. "Well, it looks like it's still working. Surprisingly..." he uttered the last word under his breath in an annoyed way. "Follow me, I'll have to run a few more physical tests, but you can look around if you want." The white stallion opened the door to the large storage room and entered. Sunny and Hitch followed as their hoofsteps echoed off the tall and bare walls. The only thing in the room was the time displacement device and a large mechanical arm that remained stationary above the device. However at the end of the arm, was a head. A robotic head. Clearly it was powered off but unlike Winter, you could easily tell it was a robot. The cyborg noticed Hitchs discomfort as they walked underneath it. "Relax, that's just Baxter. He's the Artificial Intelligence that helps me run this place. The robot allows him to meet with ponies physically." As if on cue, the robots eyes opened and began to shine blue. Sunny and Hitch watched as the arm moved downward toward them and positioned its head close to theirs. "These are our guests? They looked bigger on the cameras Winter," said Baxter, studying the earth pony and alicorn. "Hey, how come hes talking different?" Asked Hitch. Winter turned from a small computer panel on the devices wall, and looked at them. "The subroutines that control the camera and PA systems restricts Baxter from using his personality software for anywhere but here." He explained. Both ponies "ohhhhed" and looked at Baxter. "My names Sunny, nice to meet you Baxter," said Sunny. "And I'm Hitch, Sheriff Hitch," he said with pride. Sunny rolled her eyes. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Sunny, Sheriff Hitch. I do hope old Winter here didn't scare you too badly with his chain guns." The A.I. let out a mechanical chuckle. "Old?" The cyborg scoffed, "you're one to talk you rusting calculator. I could probably scrap you as an universal TV remote." Sunny giggled softly at the two of them. "Rusting calculator? Universal TV remote? I'll have you know I am a state of the art, artificial intelligence built to withstand-" "A direct nuclear strike. I know, I know. Cool your circuits Baxter, we don't need the whole speech." The robot "hmphed" and hovered away to the other side of the room. "Will he be okay?" Sunny asked. "Baxter? Oh yeah. He's programed to not be able to take jokes, and his uh.. CPU could use a thorough cleaning. He'll be fine in a minute or two. Now come over here and we'll discuss the plan." Ouch, Time Travel HurtsAs Winter explained the plan to them, Hitch and Sunny began to look skeptical about their odds. "Alright, the way I see it. We have one chance to get this right. If we screw up ANYTHING in the past, the future will be altered in ways you can't even begin to comprehend. Time travel is no joke." The white stallion pulled up a timeline map of the last 1,000 years. On it, there was a purple line running backwards about 700 years. "This is Twilights temporal path. My sensors lost contact with her on August 11th, 1476. Precisely 704 years ago." "What was she trying to do?" Asked Sunny. "She was trying to acquire the technology we needed to replace Snowdrops chip," Winter said. "In 1476? From my understanding they barely had electricity let alone tech of any kind," said Hitch. Winter pulled up a 3D model of a strange looking vehicle. "This is an extraterrestrial spaceship. It crash landed in 1453 outside of Ponyville just beyond Sweet Apple Acres. No bodies were ever recovered but, your grandfather was able to create our chips using technology from that spaceship. It's highly advanced, more so than even I or Baxter." The stallion explained. "So aliens do exist?" Sunny asked, staring at the space craft. "As far as I know, yes. I tracked the path of the ship and its origin is somewhere in the Alpha Pegasari System. We've been beaming messages towards that system for years. But never actually gotten a response. I guess it's because we weren't as advanced as them." Winter tapped a few buttons on the monitor and the display returned to the timeline. "Anyway, Twilight was returning to the past to collect the technology when I lost contact with her in that year." "Woah woah woah," said Hitch, "if she was returning to the past to take the technology before Sunnys grandfather did, wouldn't that mean you'd disappear?" Winter clicked a button on the panel and a second monitor popped out of the wall. "Not exactly, Twilight was traveling in an alternate timeline. Not ours. We were able to locate a timelime where the ship also crashed outside Ponyville." "So why are you worried about altering the future if it's not our timeline?" Asked Hitch. "Because to alter any timelines future is kind of a dick move Mr. Sheriff." Hitch frowned at Winter and Sunny watched the two of them curiously. "Okay, but wouldn't we still be altering the future if we took the parts from it?" He asked. "Hitch," Winter said, rubbing his head. "Yeah?" "Would you please shut the hell up and stop worrying?" Sunny giggled quietly behind a hoof as Hitch huffed and sat on his haunches. The cyborg turned and looked at Sunny. "Does he always contradict ponies this much?" Sunny nodded, smiling softly. "Yeahhh.. but I still love him for it," she said ruffling his mane. "Hey hey! Watch the bangs," he complained, swatting away her hoof. "Oh hush, or I'll bang you." Winter snorted trying to contain his laughter as Hitch's face turned a shade of red. Only then did Sunny realize what she said. "I-I-I mean-" She stammered. Winter proceeded to burst out laughing. "I don't get it," said Baxter from afar, watching the scene unfold. ~~~~~~ "Alright, everyone ready?" Asked Winter, getting in the time displacement device with Sunny and Hitch. "Ready," said Sunny. Hitch just groaned. "What is it like to time travel anyway?" He asked. Winter shrugged and started tapping on a small screen next to the door. "Beats the hell outta me. Twilights the only one who's ever time traveled." "Greaaat." Sunny hit him on the leg softly. "Hey, have some optimism Hitch. And don't hold grudges." She booped him, smiling. For a second time, the sheriff blushed. "Alright, we're all set. Throw the switch Baxter, I'll be back in time for dinner," Winter said. "Safe travels sir, I'll be looking forward to your return." Winter nodded, and Baxter threw the switch. Almost instantly, time slowed to a stop, then electricity crackled around them as their bodies distorted and stretched, lifting off the floor and proceeded to be tossed into a purple vortex. As the trio traveled through the temporal vortex, it only took another second before they were spit out into a lush green field. All three ponies hit the ground with a hard thud. "Oof!" Sunny said as she landed on Hitch. Winter landed on top of Sunny who let out another "oof". Groaning Hitch gasped for air. "As much as I like being close to you Sunny, could you please get off my fucking back??" Sunny's face turned green and Hitch's ears folded down as his eyes widened. "No, Sunny no!" He screamed. But it was too late. In a brilliant stream of orange, yellow, tan, Sunny proceeded to vomit onto Hitch's head as she rolled off him. "Bleahhhh!!" Hitch yelled, scrambling out from under Winter who was currently trying not to bust a gut from laughing. "S.... sorry Hitch," She panted, looking up at him as he wiped the vomit from his face. The earth pony sighed and looked down at her, a small smile creeping across his face. "Its okay Sunny. If I'm gonna be puked on, I'd rather it be you than anypony else." Sunny chuckled weakly and groaned. "What's wrong with her Winter?" He asked, kneeling beside his best friend and softly wiping her muzzle with hoof. The cyborg scanned her. "Temporal distortion sickness. It'll pass in an hour or so. It happens to ponies with weak stomachs." Sunny groaned. "Want me to carry her sheriff?" Winter asked. Hitch looked down at Sunny and felt a pang in his heart. "No, I'd like to. Shes... very special to me. But thank you Winter." Hitch said, leaning down and helping Sunny onto his back. "Alright, we should get going then. The crash site is a couple miles this way," the cyborg said, turning and starting to trot forward. Hitch followed him, making sure Sunny was comfortable. "Hitch..." she said quietly in his ear. Her head was resting against his neck. "Yeah?" He replied. "Did you really mean it when you said I was very special to you?" The sheriff nodded. "Absolutely Sunny." Sunny smiled and groaned softly, burying her face into his mane. Hitch let a small blush tint his cheeks. She was just delirious, he told himself. But somehow, he had a feeling she wasn't. "Thank you.. you're the best friend I've ever had." "And you are the best friend I've ever had Sunny. Many ponies don't really see law enforcement as their friend. But I'm glad you do." Sunny nuzzled his neck in response and closed her eyes, resting to try and get rid of the cramps in her stomach. ~~~~~~~ Sometime later and the trio had reached a tall hillside. Looking down from Hitchs back, Sunny was amazed at what she saw. It was Ponyville, only it wasn't dilapidated or run down. It was vibrant and bustling. Pegasi flying about, unicorns trotting with earth ponies. So this is what it was like before the races separated. It was beautiful. "Come on, we can't be spotted. Especially not me." Said Winter, trotting through some bushes into a thicket of trees. Hitch followed him, still carrying Sunny. It had been over an hour and yes, she was feeling better. But she also liked being carried by Hitch. She loved the closeness, and the softness. Despite Hitchs toned body, he was surprisingly soft. "Hey Sunny, you feeling better?" The sheriff asked. He too enjoyed the closeness. He liked carrying her. Every so often she would nuzzle into his neck and yawn. And her body was extremely warm and soft against his back. It was like being hugged from behind. "Yeah, if you want you can put me down Hitch. Or... if you want to keep carrying me, I don't mind." Hitchs cheeks tinted red again as he followed Winter. "Well.. I mean.. i-i don't mind carrying you Sunny. You don't have to get off." The alicorn smiled. "Alright then Mr. Sheriff, carry me toward success." Hitch chuckled and trotted up beside Winter. The cyborg turned and looked at Hitch. "You know she's probably feeling better by now," he said. The sheriff smiled. "I know, but... she insisted on me carrying her." Winter rolled his eyes but smiled as he looked away. "Whateveeeeer you say bud." As the trio came upon Sweet Apple Acres, they reveled in its beauty. Dozens upon dozens of bright green Apple trees. All bearing plump delicious looking apples. Down in the orchard, Sunny spotted two ponies working hard, bucking trees and collecting the apples. "Hey.. is that?" Sunny began, squinting her eyes. "I believe so, this is about 4 years after Princess Twilights Coronation." Winter said. Sunny smiled as she watched Applejack and Big Mac collect apples. "So that's what they looked like in real life.." She whispered. After a few minutes of watching, Winter cleared his throat. "Ahem, we should.. probably get going now. Remember we also have to find Twilight." Hitch nodded and continued on, following the cyborg. They had reached a clearing on the other side of Sweet Apple Acres when they saw a small debris field just ahead. As they got closer, the trio could tell it had been there for a few years. Some moss and foliage was sprouting up around the pieces of wreckage and the path that it had dug into the ground on impact was now covered in green grass. "The wreckage should be on the otherside of those trees," said Winter, trotting forward and taking out a small device from his storage compartment. "What's that?" Asked Hitch, looking at the device in the cyborgs hand which was now emitting a soft beeping noise. "Tracking device," Winter said, stepping into the trees. "Scans for components of the key elements needed to create the microchip." Sunny got off Hitchs back and followed him in. When they entered the other side of the trees, Sunny let out a soft gasp. A large saucer shaped metallic looking object was half buried in the ground. A huge chunk of its hull was missing from the right side. There were no distinguishing features at first glance until Sunny noticed a large thing sticking out of the top of it. "What's that?" She asked, pointing a hoof. Winter followed her hoof. "Oh that? It's some type of pulse weapon. Very high tech quantum energy. But don't worry, it's looks broken enough. Come on, follow me. The entrance should be over here." And with that, Sunny and Hitch followed Winter around the space craft. The Truth About ELM-581Sunny followed Hitch and Winter into the space craft. It was strange inside, the walls were curved and extremely smooth looking. Not at all what she had expected. Wires, pieces of metal, and tubes, dangled from the ceiling here and there, as well as the walls. Every now and then, her horn-light would reveal strange symbols on the wall, put in various places. Such as beside doors, at the end of a hallway, etc... it was almost like they were signs. "Hey Winter, what do these symbols mean?" She asked, running her hoof over the rusted metal. "Those?" The cyborg turned, "they're clearly signs. But they're written in a language I can't decipher. Maybe one day I'll get around to learning it. But this chip and getting Snowdrop back is my priority." Sunny nodded and continued following him down a long hallway to what seemed to be the center of the craft. As the trio stepped through a half collapsed doorway, Hitch and Sunny gasped. This must have been the bridge or.. control room or whatever. Along the walls were various panels with no keyboards, in the center of the room sat a chair, and to the left and right of the chair were two consoles one on either side. On the far end of the room was a giant screen embedded in the wall. The three of them split up, looking around the room as Winter trotted to the console on the right of the command chair. Tapping on it a couple times, he blew the dust off and kicked it with a hoof, making the screen flicker on. "Gotcha" he said to himself, smiling as he began typing away on the panel. Pulling out a cord he had brought along with him, he connected one end into the console and the other into his leg. Hitch looked over at him. "Uh.. Winter? Are you sure that's such a good idea? Who knows what kind of viruses and shit could be in there?" Hitch said. "Relax Mr. Sheriff, I've interfaced with these things before. I can't read their language but the code used is universal. I'll hack into their computer system and get the core to eject the microchip." Said Winter, closing his eyes and focusing. "But I thought you said we came here for the technology? Why take the chip when we can take the technology they used to make it. Then you'd be able to make an unlimited number of them." The white stallion sighed. "There are some things in life Hitch, that you shouldn't question. Now let me do my work please." Sunny trotted over to Hitch and laid a hoof on his shoulder. "Come on, let's give him some space," she said. Hitch huffed and nodded. "Fine.." "There's a good Sheriff," the alicorn said smiling and rubbing his chin. She then looked to Winter. "Hey, Hitch and I are gonna talk a walk okay? We'll be back in 5 minutes." "Okay, don't get lost." Winter said. Sunny turned with Hitch and trotted out of the room. ~~~~~~~ Winter focused on his hack, watching the screen flicker and run code across it at lightning speed. It was some pretty advanced software, but not too difficult for him to crack. He was more worried about the chip inside the computers core. There was something he never told Sunny or Hitch. The truth about him and the microchips. Something very scary and very disastrous if let loose. The microchips used to give him and Snowdrop a consciousness, had a backdoor system. You see, the original function of the M98 Microchip was to efficiently and properly upload orders into the aliens technology. In the storage compartment of this spacecraft, we're hundreds of robotic drones. All equipped with the M98 chip. Killer drones. Built and designed to do one thing and one thing only. Terminate all life on whatever planet they were deployed to, and collect its natural resources. This was the reason the chip was so dangerous in the wrong hooves. But how does that effect Winter? Sunnys grandfather had re-programmed the chip used in him and later Snowdrop, to construct an artificial intelligence that learnt and adapted to its surroundings. When Winter was powered on for the first time, he had the metallic body of a full grown stallion, but the mind of a newborn foal. Over the years he was put into special schooling with Sunnys grandfather, and later on given a mate, Snowdrop. Now Sunnys grandfather knew that he didn't have years to wait for Snowdrops mind to develop, so he worked for 5 months to bypass the rudimentary coding in the Artificial Intelligence he had created and modified Snowdrops consciousness to be that of a 21 year old mare. The equivalent to Winter at the time. Still confused at why Winter is so dangerous? How could he be if her grandfather had re-programmed him? I'll tell you why. Winters memory bank and AI are protected by a super complex anti-virus and malware program. A program so advanced, no other pony besides Sunnys grandfather could crack it. The problem begins, with the backdoor. The Aliens had designed the backdoor of the microchips software to be so easily programmed, it was a threat to Winter. If somepony were to hack into Winter's chip through the backdoor, it would trigger a complete reboot of the M98 chip. Thus returning the chip to its original programming... kill every living thing on whatever planet it landed on. When her grandfather developed the AI, he had overlooked the backdoor and died before Winter discovered it and was able to warn him. The cyborg lacked the hacking skill to crack into it as his main programming skills were computers and not cyborgs of his own kind. Meaning, he couldn't hack into any other cyborg like him or programmed like him. But what about Snowdrop's chip? It was destroyed right? So wouldn't that mean he would have to reprogram this new one? No, not at all. Her consciousness was uploaded into the mainframe back at the facility. So her life was preserved the moment the chip shattered. Luckily she was hooked up to charging pod when it happened.. or she would have been gone forever... As he thought about this however, his focus on the code slipped and he entered in a wrong sequence. Immediately, his cord shot out of the console and he was shocked. "Zzzzzzzzrrrrrtttttgbbbbbbb!!!" He shouted, twitching on the floor for a moment as the electricity passed through him, causing a malfunction in his joints. The hud on his optical sensors flickered as warning alarms began blaring around him and red lines of systems checks began popping up in his viewscreen. WARNING: ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE DETECTED. BEGINNING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS TEST..... CPU: 100% EFFICIENCY QUANTUM POWERCELL: 83% PROCESSING UNIT: 100% MOTOR FUNCTIONS: COMPROMISED FOR 2.5 SECONDS AT 13:32:23 HOURS. WEAPON SYSTEMS: ONLINE POLARON QUANTUM SHIELDS: 100% SCANNING FOR MALWARE/VIRUS..... NONE DETECTED. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL. Winter panted, or did the cyborg equivalent of panting, and slowly stood up on shaky legs. His joints were still adjusting from the shock but he was lucky the discharge wasn't strong enough to damage any of his systems. Covering his ears, he looked around as a red flashing light pulsed throughout the room, the siren blaring around him. "Well fuck... that's not good." ~~~~~~~ Sunny trotted with Hitch along the quiet corridor. He was still kinda grumpy from his and Winters exchange earlier. "Hey," she said, softly booping him. "Cheer up Hitch. At least he didn't mock you. If I'm being honest and pardon my language, he could've roasted your ass if he wanted." Hitch groaned and huffed. Sunny lay a wing over his back and stopped trotting. The sheriff stopped and looked at his best friend. "Its true you know, he is pretty good at comebacks," she said chuckling. Hitch continued to frown however. "Oh he's soooo much better at everything. Why don't you laugh with him then?" He retorted, turning and sitting on haunches. Sunny was completely taken aback by his response. She'd seen this before though when Sprout was around and trying to "constantly impress her". Sunny had never been attracted to Sprout in that way, so she always turned him down when he asked her out to dinner saying, "Im sorry Sprout. I don't want to be with you. You're a really good friend and I love having you around because of your occasional wise cracks. But there is a better mare than me out there for you." And she had been right. After Sprout had met Izzy, they were inseparable. But Hitch only acted this way when he felt threatened by someone. "Hitch.. do you have feelings for me?" She asked softly, wrapping a wing around his back and sitting next to him. The stallion sighed quietly and whispered under his breath. "How did you know...." "All those times when Sprout hit on me and you got jealous and argued with him about something." She replied, smiling softly and giggling quietly. "You probably think it's stupid... a macho pony like me who's supposed to get all the mares wanting a relationship and not a one night stand... the truth is. That's never the life I wanted. And you get me Sunny, more than anyone else." Hitch closed his eyes, tears dripping down his face. The alicorn softly lifted up his chin and planted a kiss on his lips. Hitch's ears folded down and his eyes shot open, but they soon closed again as he kissed her back. They broke the kiss after a few seconds and Sunny smiled at him blushing. "I was honestly hoping that's how you felt Hitch. I've done a pretty good job at hiding my feelings for you until earlier today. It's one reason I never let Sprout date me. I've always had a crush on you. Since high school when you stopped those bullies in Mrs. Hoofingtons class. I looked up at you standing there over me after beating them up, and I've never felt more loved by anypony since my dad passed..." It was Hitch's turn to blush. "Sunny I..." but he was cut short when the sudden blaring of sirens pierced the quiet. Hitch and Sunny looked at each other then got up, heading for the control room. When they arrived, they found Winter beating on the console. "WINTER! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!!?!?" Sunny screamed over the piercing noise. "I DON'T KNOW!! BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD HOLD ONTO YOUR FLANKS!! ITS ABOUT TO GET BUMPY!" As if he was a gypsy predicting the future, the whole ship began shaking and creaking as it slowly lifted into the air. Buckle Up ButtercupAuthor's Note Disclaimer: There will be cuteness and mushy stuff in this chapter! If you like cuteness and mushy stuff by all means read ahead and enjoy! Buckle Up Buttercup As Hitch held onto one of the rusted chairs, the large viewscreen in front of them flickered on, showing an outside view of the area in front of them. "WINTER!!" Hitch yelled, "IF THOSE PONIES SEE THIS SHIP, ITS GAME OVER FOR THIS TIMELINES FUTURE FOR SURE!" Sunny stumbled around on her hooves as the ship groaned and creaked, shifting this way and that as it unsteadily hovered into the air. "Woah!" She shouted, tripping backwards into a console by the bridge door. "AUTOPILOT DISENGAGED, CLOAKING INHIBITORS ONLINE" A deep sounding robotic voice boomed through the ship, as it steadied and remained floating in the air. Sunny and Hitch panted, as they let go of their respective consoles and looked at Winter. The cyborg was shaking his head as he stood up. "Shit.. that was wild," he said, "did we actually go anywhere?" Hitch looked out the viewscreen which was shrouded in thick trees. "I think so, but I'd say not high enough to break the treeline." Sunny went over to a glowing console next to the command chair and looked at it. She couldn't make heads or tails of the language, but she could see there was a 3D image of the ship in its current state. A light blue glow pulsed around its hull on the screen. "Yo Winter, what does this mean?" She asked. Winter trotted over and looked at the screen. "Well I'm no expert on this technology yet, but I'd say the computer activated a cloaking device when we took off. After all, it did adapt to our language and speak Ponish. So maybe it responds to what we need." Hitch followed Winter and also peered at the screen. "So how do we land this thing?" The cyborg turned to the adjacent console and looked at the display. "Not sure, but I bet we can give it commands and it will follow them." Said Winter, looking up at the viewscreen. "Computer," There was a weird beeping noise as he said this, "take us forward 3 miles, altitude 1200 feet, speed 70 miles per hour." The computer beeped back at Winter and the craft surged forward, causing Sunny and Hitch to fall backwards. "Oof!" Sunny said as she landed on top of Hitch. The sheriff let out a puff of air as Sunny's weight came down on him. Hitch, who had just had the wind knocked out of him looked up at Sunny as she regained her balance. The alicorn looked back down at him and chuckled softly. "Sorry Hitch," She said apologetically, standing up. "No worries," he said, moving out from under her and standing up. From afar, Winter watched the scene. The cyborg could easily tell they liked each other but neither had the guts to admit it. "Oh for fuck's sake you two, would you just kiss already and make it official? That fall onto Hitch was cliche as hell." Winter said, scoffing and turning his attention back to the viewscreen. Sunny and Hitch blushed and looked at one another. "Hitch I-" But before Sunny could say anything else, Hitch leaned in and gave Sunny the softest of kisses on her lips. After a few seconds the sheriff pulled back and smiled. The alicorn was taken off guard for a second or two, but quickly regained her composure and wrapped her hooves around Hitch, pressing her lips firmly against his as he embraced her back. Winter eyed the scene from his peripheral vision. "Yayyyy, way to go you twooo," he said sarcastically, making a barfing motion with his hoof and mouth. Sunny pulled back and looked up at Hitch. "How long?" She asked. "Since the night we camped out with Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp on our way to Bridlewood," he admitted. "I realized when you gave me that smile, that my love for you was more than what friends share. It's what changed my mind and made me stay. Plus, I didn't want to see you get hurt Sunny." Sunny blushed and hid her face in the sheriff's neck. "Oh Hitch.." Winter coughed from the otherside of the bridge. "Coughcough geta room coughcough." Hitch peered over at Winter and laughed a little to himself. "I thought you were a romantic Winter? Didn't you mention something about your cuddly wuddly snookie bear on our way to the UFO?" The sheriff asked. Winter blushed slightly, the LED panels in his cheeks registering his embarrassment as he waved a hoof dismissively. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. I said nothing of the sort." Hitch rolled his eyes and smirked at the cyborg. "Riiiiiight... I'm sure Snowdrop will tell us something completely different when we restore her chip." He said sarcastically. Winter made a pouty face and turned back toward the monitor. "Just focus on the task at hand, finding Twilight and rescuing her." Said the cyborg. Sunny and Hitch looked at one another and smiled, before joining Winter at the helm. ~~~~~ Twilight looked around at her surroundings. It was Canterlot, for sure. But the buildings were older, many of the shops she knew during her rein as Princess were not there. Instead empty lots and trees stood in their place. The Princess of Friendship looked at her temporal watch, tapping it with her other hoof a few times as it sparked and leaked black smoke. Letting out a sigh, Twilight lit her horn and tried using a spell to fix the technology. The watch stopped leaking smoke and glowed as the princess looked at it hopefully. However, all hopeful thoughts were diminished when the watch sparked brilliantly and fell off her hoof, exploding in short puff of smoke that left nothing but a small burning crater in its wake. "Ughhh.. You've GOT to be kidding me," Twilight said to herself, poking the burned dirt with a hoof before sighing and poofing away to a safe place to hide. Nopony could see her. Or she would risk completely disrupting the timeline. And she remembered ALL TO WELL, the trouble she went through trying to repair the timeline after Starlight fucked it up for revenge. Reappearing in a darkened alleyway, Twilight peered out into the street. Luckily there wasn't any pony around or they might have seen that little incident. She had no idea what had happened to her watch, one minute she was traveling through time and space, and the next she was spit out here. On top of that, she didn't even know WHEN it was. She did know however it was extremely dangerous to be in the same time period as your past self. And from the looks of things, this was right around the time the Grand Galloping Gala was taking place. It had been her first one ever. Creating a cloak to cover herself with, Twilight hid her crown in her pocket before turning around and trotting down the alley. She needed to find the crash site before- But before she could take another step, she felt herself de-materializing and then re-materializing. "Oh shit!" She cried out, stumbling forward a couple steps before falling onto a hard cold surface. "Damn it Hitch! I said go EASY with the transporter. You have to slide the lever slowly," said Winter, trotting over to help Twilight up. "Well SORRY if I don't know how to operate ancient alien technology WINTER." Twilight looked up at the familiar face of ELM-581, better known as Winter. "Winter! Are you a sight for sore eyes," said the princess, accepting his hoof and giving him a quick hug. "I thought I was gonna be stuck here forever. My watch it-" "I know I know, it's good to see you too Twilight. I brought along a couple of friends. Hope that's okay?" Said the cyborg, nodding to Sunny and Hitch. Both of whom waved and smiled. Twilight nodded. "Of course, it's always better to have friends around to help you. Especially when it comes to matters such as this." The Princess of Friendship took off her cloak and placed her crown back upon her head. "I see you found the ship, any luck extracting the chip?" Winter shook his head. "No, but we figured we'd just modify the ship to make the jump back. Then we could take all the time we needed." Twilight nodded, "then there's no time to lose. Let's get the preparations ready to jump back."
Program"PROXIMITY ALERT, QUANTUM SLEEP CHARGE INTERRUPTED." The lights to a small room flicked on as the door to a large bay opened. White steam hissed from the vents as it slowly swung open, revealing a pony. The pony was connected to various cords and tubes. Next to the pony was a monitor. As the screen flickered on, a loud beeping could be heard as an automated voice spoke over a loudspeaker. "INITIATING START UP SEQUENCE... BAY 12 ELM-581" The cords and tubes that were attached to the pony, softly clicked and detached themselves, slithering away into their proper storage compartments. The beeping that had started moments ago, stopped suddenly as a green light appeared on the pony's chest. He was completely white with a brown mane. Tucked and folded on his back were a pair of large feathery white wings and atop his head rose a long unicorn horn. "ELM-581, START UP SEQUENCE SUCCESSFULL." ~~~~~~ Winter rubbed his head as he sat up in the charging bay. "Ughhh... Baxter.. what is the meaning of this? I asked to not be interrupted during my charge," said the stallion, blinking slowly to make sure his optical sensors were calibrated properly. "MY APOLOGIES ELM-581, BUT I HAVE DETECTED A PROXIMITY ALERT ON THE OUTERMOST BORDER OF THE FACILITY." As Winter stood up, he stretched his legs and extended his wings, the quiet sounds of pistons and mechanized joints being the only noise now in the small room. "Proximity alert? Baxter it's probably just another deer or rabbit. Adjust your sensors," said Winter yawning. "I CAN ASSURE YOU SIR, MY SENSORS ARE IN NOMINAL CONDITION. PONY LIFE SIGNS WERE DETECTED AT 13:45 HOURS, BEARING 381 MARK 290. RANGE: 3 KILOMETERS." Winter stopped mid-yawn and stared straight ahead. "Pony life signs?" "AFFIRMATIVE" The white stallion trotted forward, his hooves making soft clinking sounds on the steel floor. Hitting a button to open the door to the room, a red light flashed on the door panels screen with the words "Access Denied". "Ughhhhh, Baxterrrr!!" Winter shouted. "SORRY SIR, BUT YOU KNOW THE RULES. PROTOCOL MANDATES THAT I RECEIVE YOUR FUNTIONALITY CODES FOR SAFETY PURPOSES." Taking a deep breath, Winter looked up at the camera in the corner of the room watching him. "Functionality codes, Equestrian Labs Model 581. Papa, Zulu, Zero, Niner, Niner, Romeo, Five, Seven, Nine, Tango." "CODES ACCEPTED, GOOD MORNING ELM-581. PLEASANT DREAMS I HOPE?" Winter opened the door to the charging room and stepped into the hall, sealing it behind him. "They were, until I was woken up by you. Now what do you mean pony life signs?" Asked Winter, going to a panel on the wall across from him and tapping the screen with his hooves. "PONY LIFE SIGNS WERE DETECTED AT 13:45 HOURS BEARING-" "Yeah yeah, I know all that. You already told me Baxter. I mean, I thought Wingtip Cove was supposed to be deserted." "WINGTIP COVE IS ABANDONED SIR. IS HAS BEEN FOR 450 YEARS. THESE ARE MORE THAN LIKELY EXPLORERS." Winter turned and gave the camera above the door he just exited from, a look of confusion. "Explorers? But nopony could travel this far without magic or-" he stopped short however as loud red alert alarm began blaring. "WARNING: FACILITY BREACH. LOCKDOWN PROTOCOL INITIATED." "Son of a bitch Baxter, I thought you said they were 3 kilometers out!?" Winter yelled over the blaring alarm, turning and galloping down the glistening white hallway. "AFFIRMATIVE SIR. HOWEVER YOU DID NOT LET ME FINISH MY SENTENCE. THEY WERE MOVING AT A SPEED OF 560 MILES PER HOUR." Winter huffed and charged into the armory, punching in his access codes. Going over to a panel on the wall of the moderately sized room, the stallion typed in his codes again and opened two compartments on his back. "Computer begin loading sequence," he said. The computer chirped back at him as two large mini guns descended from the ceiling and onto his back. "CHAIN GUNS SECURED. HAPPY HUNTING SIR." "Thanks Baxter." ~~~~~ "Sunny I think we tripped an alarm of some kind." Said Hitch, covering his ears and looking around at the hallway they were in. "Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Sunny turned and looked back at her best friend. "Winter may be the only chance we have at finding Twilight Sparkle," she said, trotting forward. Hitch followed her the rest of the way in. The pulsing red lights running along the walls remained flashing slowly as they made their way along the corridor. "So what is this place? Some sort of underground lab?" Hitch asked, looking at the various doors. "Yeah, it was a project started about 70 years ago by my Grandfather. He was head of research and robotics until his heart attack." Sunny explained. "Oh.. I'm sorry Sunny," Hitch said quietly. Sunny waved a hoof dismissively. "Nah it's okay. It's been a while since he passed." The two continued down the hallway toward a door at the end. On it were markings and the words "Control Room". "Come on, the control room is just ahead. It'll give us access to the mainframe," Sunny said. However just as they reached the door, a voice behind them made them stop. "HALT. Who are you? What are you doing in my facility?" Sunny and Hitch turned around to see Winter staring at them, chain guns spinning in preparation for a fight. "Woah woah woah there, easy. We're not looking for a fight," Sunny said, raising her hooves in the air. Winter didn't back down. "Then who are you and how did you get here?" Sunny stepped forward and showed him a map. "My grandfather founded this research lab a long time ago. We came seeking help from a pony named Winter." Winter looked at the map, then at her, then back at the map. Sighing, he put his mini guns away. "Stand down Baxter, they are friendlies," he said. "UNDERSTOOD SIR, CANCELING LOCKDOWN." The alarm that had been blaring shut off and the regular white lighting returned. "You're Winter?" Sunny asked, as the white stallion turned and trotted away slowly, sighing to himself. "Yes. Winter Gust, Equestrian Labs Model 581. Combat Defense Cyborg." Sunny and Hitch followed him down the now quiet hallway, he seemed annoyed at their presence. "So then you can help us right?" Hitch asked. "With what?" Winter answered dryly. Sunny trotted up beside him and pulled out a drawing of Twilights cutie mark. "To bring back Twilight, we heard her disappearance was linked to this lab and-" But Sunny was cut short. The cyborg turned and looked at both of them, a frown on his face. "OH NO. I don't mess with time displacement technology anymore. That shit is too dangerous to be used by ANYPONY. Especially an earth pony and.. whatever the hell you are," Winter said, pointing a hoof at Sunny and glancing at her wings and horn. Sunny frowned. "An alicorn. I'm an alicorn." She said bitterly. Turning towards the exit, the alicorn beckoned for Hitch. "Come on Hitch, let's go. It's obvious this robot can't help us. Nor will he ever want Snowdrop back." Hitch looked at Sunny then back at Winter who was staring at them, the frown slowly disappearing from his face. "Wait." Sunny turned back around and looked Winter. The cyborg sighed and closed his eyes. "Fine. I'll help you find Twilight. BUT. You have to help me find the last part for Snowdrop." Sunny smiled. "Its a deal then," she said, shaking Winter's hoof. "Wait a minute wait a minute.. what are you talking about?" Asked Hitch, confused. Sunny took out a blueprint from her saddlebag of a cyborg that looked almost identical to Winter, except it was a female with a different mane style and fur color. "Snowdrop, she was a female counterpart created by my Grandfather for Winter to have. But a while ago, a piece of her broke. A piece that modern day technology cannot create. The-" "Exnos M98 Microchip." Winter finished her sentence quietly as he tapped the glowing green part of his chest. "Only 2 were ever successfully made in our timeline. Mine, and hers." The white stallions ears folded down with a sad sounding mechanical whir. "Hers was broken by a system failure in the mainframe during a charging session. The ion cells overloaded and caused it to fry her chip immediately." A quiet silence fell over the group as Sunny and Hitch searched for the right words to comfort the cyborg. "I'm sorry Winter. It... must have been tough," said Hitch quietly. The white stallion nodded and sighed. "It was. I had gotten so used to feeling her by my side every night while we slept, I couldn't sleep for weeks." "How could you haven't slept for weeks? Can cyborgs sleep at all?" Sunny asked. Winter started trotting once more, heading in the direction of the the control room. "Technically, we can. Although it's probably like turning your cell phone off during a movie." Hitch and Sunny followed. "Alright.. so do you dream?" The alicorn asked. "Sometimes, I don't have a pony brain. My speech patterns and behavior learning skills are all programmed into me. My Microchip is what allows me to create my own identity and unique consciousness." Winter said, typing in a code next to the door and watching it slide open. "So... you're able to learn and adapt?" Hitch asked, following Winter inside. Winter nodded. "Yes, it's what also allows me to feel love, sympathy, and an array of other emotions." The trio trotted over to a huge computer terminal. It had an array of touchscreen panels and diagnostic readings. Sunny and Hitch watched as a cable slithered out of the console and plugged into Winters chest. Closing his eyes, the cyborg began running diagnostics on the equipment centered in a large room beyond. It was hard to see through the glass with no lights on, but detailed displays and 3D images began popping up on the view screens in front of them. The main one centered a large cylindrical device. Large tubes and cables ran this way and that along the device. It was obvious this was the time displacement technology. "RUNNING LEVEL 12 DIAGNOSTIC..." "Cool.." Sunny whispered, watching the screen in amazement as a percentage bar appeared and began filling rapidly. When it reached 100%, the light inside the room where it was housed flashed on. "LEVEL 12 DIAGNOSTIC COMPLETE. TIME DISPLACEMENT UNIT FULLY FUNCTIONAL." Winter then unplugged himself from the computer, looking at Sunny and Hitch. "Well, it looks like it's still working. Surprisingly..." he uttered the last word under his breath in an annoyed way. "Follow me, I'll have to run a few more physical tests, but you can look around if you want." The white stallion opened the door to the large storage room and entered. Sunny and Hitch followed as their hoofsteps echoed off the tall and bare walls. The only thing in the room was the time displacement device and a large mechanical arm that remained stationary above the device. However at the end of the arm, was a head. A robotic head. Clearly it was powered off but unlike Winter, you could easily tell it was a robot. The cyborg noticed Hitchs discomfort as they walked underneath it. "Relax, that's just Baxter. He's the Artificial Intelligence that helps me run this place. The robot allows him to meet with ponies physically." As if on cue, the robots eyes opened and began to shine blue. Sunny and Hitch watched as the arm moved downward toward them and positioned its head close to theirs. "These are our guests? They looked bigger on the cameras Winter," said Baxter, studying the earth pony and alicorn. "Hey, how come hes talking different?" Asked Hitch. Winter turned from a small computer panel on the devices wall, and looked at them. "The subroutines that control the camera and PA systems restricts Baxter from using his personality software for anywhere but here." He explained. Both ponies "ohhhhed" and looked at Baxter. "My names Sunny, nice to meet you Baxter," said Sunny. "And I'm Hitch, Sheriff Hitch," he said with pride. Sunny rolled her eyes. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance Sunny, Sheriff Hitch. I do hope old Winter here didn't scare you too badly with his chain guns." The A.I. let out a mechanical chuckle. "Old?" The cyborg scoffed, "you're one to talk you rusting calculator. I could probably scrap you as an universal TV remote." Sunny giggled softly at the two of them. "Rusting calculator? Universal TV remote? I'll have you know I am a state of the art, artificial intelligence built to withstand-" "A direct nuclear strike. I know, I know. Cool your circuits Baxter, we don't need the whole speech." The robot "hmphed" and hovered away to the other side of the room. "Will he be okay?" Sunny asked. "Baxter? Oh yeah. He's programed to not be able to take jokes, and his uh.. CPU could use a thorough cleaning. He'll be fine in a minute or two. Now come over here and we'll discuss the plan."
Ouch, Time Travel HurtsAs Winter explained the plan to them, Hitch and Sunny began to look skeptical about their odds. "Alright, the way I see it. We have one chance to get this right. If we screw up ANYTHING in the past, the future will be altered in ways you can't even begin to comprehend. Time travel is no joke." The white stallion pulled up a timeline map of the last 1,000 years. On it, there was a purple line running backwards about 700 years. "This is Twilights temporal path. My sensors lost contact with her on August 11th, 1476. Precisely 704 years ago." "What was she trying to do?" Asked Sunny. "She was trying to acquire the technology we needed to replace Snowdrops chip," Winter said. "In 1476? From my understanding they barely had electricity let alone tech of any kind," said Hitch. Winter pulled up a 3D model of a strange looking vehicle. "This is an extraterrestrial spaceship. It crash landed in 1453 outside of Ponyville just beyond Sweet Apple Acres. No bodies were ever recovered but, your grandfather was able to create our chips using technology from that spaceship. It's highly advanced, more so than even I or Baxter." The stallion explained. "So aliens do exist?" Sunny asked, staring at the space craft. "As far as I know, yes. I tracked the path of the ship and its origin is somewhere in the Alpha Pegasari System. We've been beaming messages towards that system for years. But never actually gotten a response. I guess it's because we weren't as advanced as them." Winter tapped a few buttons on the monitor and the display returned to the timeline. "Anyway, Twilight was returning to the past to collect the technology when I lost contact with her in that year." "Woah woah woah," said Hitch, "if she was returning to the past to take the technology before Sunnys grandfather did, wouldn't that mean you'd disappear?" Winter clicked a button on the panel and a second monitor popped out of the wall. "Not exactly, Twilight was traveling in an alternate timeline. Not ours. We were able to locate a timelime where the ship also crashed outside Ponyville." "So why are you worried about altering the future if it's not our timeline?" Asked Hitch. "Because to alter any timelines future is kind of a dick move Mr. Sheriff." Hitch frowned at Winter and Sunny watched the two of them curiously. "Okay, but wouldn't we still be altering the future if we took the parts from it?" He asked. "Hitch," Winter said, rubbing his head. "Yeah?" "Would you please shut the hell up and stop worrying?" Sunny giggled quietly behind a hoof as Hitch huffed and sat on his haunches. The cyborg turned and looked at Sunny. "Does he always contradict ponies this much?" Sunny nodded, smiling softly. "Yeahhh.. but I still love him for it," she said ruffling his mane. "Hey hey! Watch the bangs," he complained, swatting away her hoof. "Oh hush, or I'll bang you." Winter snorted trying to contain his laughter as Hitch's face turned a shade of red. Only then did Sunny realize what she said. "I-I-I mean-" She stammered. Winter proceeded to burst out laughing. "I don't get it," said Baxter from afar, watching the scene unfold. ~~~~~~ "Alright, everyone ready?" Asked Winter, getting in the time displacement device with Sunny and Hitch. "Ready," said Sunny. Hitch just groaned. "What is it like to time travel anyway?" He asked. Winter shrugged and started tapping on a small screen next to the door. "Beats the hell outta me. Twilights the only one who's ever time traveled." "Greaaat." Sunny hit him on the leg softly. "Hey, have some optimism Hitch. And don't hold grudges." She booped him, smiling. For a second time, the sheriff blushed. "Alright, we're all set. Throw the switch Baxter, I'll be back in time for dinner," Winter said. "Safe travels sir, I'll be looking forward to your return." Winter nodded, and Baxter threw the switch. Almost instantly, time slowed to a stop, then electricity crackled around them as their bodies distorted and stretched, lifting off the floor and proceeded to be tossed into a purple vortex. As the trio traveled through the temporal vortex, it only took another second before they were spit out into a lush green field. All three ponies hit the ground with a hard thud. "Oof!" Sunny said as she landed on Hitch. Winter landed on top of Sunny who let out another "oof". Groaning Hitch gasped for air. "As much as I like being close to you Sunny, could you please get off my fucking back??" Sunny's face turned green and Hitch's ears folded down as his eyes widened. "No, Sunny no!" He screamed. But it was too late. In a brilliant stream of orange, yellow, tan, Sunny proceeded to vomit onto Hitch's head as she rolled off him. "Bleahhhh!!" Hitch yelled, scrambling out from under Winter who was currently trying not to bust a gut from laughing. "S.... sorry Hitch," She panted, looking up at him as he wiped the vomit from his face. The earth pony sighed and looked down at her, a small smile creeping across his face. "Its okay Sunny. If I'm gonna be puked on, I'd rather it be you than anypony else." Sunny chuckled weakly and groaned. "What's wrong with her Winter?" He asked, kneeling beside his best friend and softly wiping her muzzle with hoof. The cyborg scanned her. "Temporal distortion sickness. It'll pass in an hour or so. It happens to ponies with weak stomachs." Sunny groaned. "Want me to carry her sheriff?" Winter asked. Hitch looked down at Sunny and felt a pang in his heart. "No, I'd like to. Shes... very special to me. But thank you Winter." Hitch said, leaning down and helping Sunny onto his back. "Alright, we should get going then. The crash site is a couple miles this way," the cyborg said, turning and starting to trot forward. Hitch followed him, making sure Sunny was comfortable. "Hitch..." she said quietly in his ear. Her head was resting against his neck. "Yeah?" He replied. "Did you really mean it when you said I was very special to you?" The sheriff nodded. "Absolutely Sunny." Sunny smiled and groaned softly, burying her face into his mane. Hitch let a small blush tint his cheeks. She was just delirious, he told himself. But somehow, he had a feeling she wasn't. "Thank you.. you're the best friend I've ever had." "And you are the best friend I've ever had Sunny. Many ponies don't really see law enforcement as their friend. But I'm glad you do." Sunny nuzzled his neck in response and closed her eyes, resting to try and get rid of the cramps in her stomach. ~~~~~~~ Sometime later and the trio had reached a tall hillside. Looking down from Hitchs back, Sunny was amazed at what she saw. It was Ponyville, only it wasn't dilapidated or run down. It was vibrant and bustling. Pegasi flying about, unicorns trotting with earth ponies. So this is what it was like before the races separated. It was beautiful. "Come on, we can't be spotted. Especially not me." Said Winter, trotting through some bushes into a thicket of trees. Hitch followed him, still carrying Sunny. It had been over an hour and yes, she was feeling better. But she also liked being carried by Hitch. She loved the closeness, and the softness. Despite Hitchs toned body, he was surprisingly soft. "Hey Sunny, you feeling better?" The sheriff asked. He too enjoyed the closeness. He liked carrying her. Every so often she would nuzzle into his neck and yawn. And her body was extremely warm and soft against his back. It was like being hugged from behind. "Yeah, if you want you can put me down Hitch. Or... if you want to keep carrying me, I don't mind." Hitchs cheeks tinted red again as he followed Winter. "Well.. I mean.. i-i don't mind carrying you Sunny. You don't have to get off." The alicorn smiled. "Alright then Mr. Sheriff, carry me toward success." Hitch chuckled and trotted up beside Winter. The cyborg turned and looked at Hitch. "You know she's probably feeling better by now," he said. The sheriff smiled. "I know, but... she insisted on me carrying her." Winter rolled his eyes but smiled as he looked away. "Whateveeeeer you say bud." As the trio came upon Sweet Apple Acres, they reveled in its beauty. Dozens upon dozens of bright green Apple trees. All bearing plump delicious looking apples. Down in the orchard, Sunny spotted two ponies working hard, bucking trees and collecting the apples. "Hey.. is that?" Sunny began, squinting her eyes. "I believe so, this is about 4 years after Princess Twilights Coronation." Winter said. Sunny smiled as she watched Applejack and Big Mac collect apples. "So that's what they looked like in real life.." She whispered. After a few minutes of watching, Winter cleared his throat. "Ahem, we should.. probably get going now. Remember we also have to find Twilight." Hitch nodded and continued on, following the cyborg. They had reached a clearing on the other side of Sweet Apple Acres when they saw a small debris field just ahead. As they got closer, the trio could tell it had been there for a few years. Some moss and foliage was sprouting up around the pieces of wreckage and the path that it had dug into the ground on impact was now covered in green grass. "The wreckage should be on the otherside of those trees," said Winter, trotting forward and taking out a small device from his storage compartment. "What's that?" Asked Hitch, looking at the device in the cyborgs hand which was now emitting a soft beeping noise. "Tracking device," Winter said, stepping into the trees. "Scans for components of the key elements needed to create the microchip." Sunny got off Hitchs back and followed him in. When they entered the other side of the trees, Sunny let out a soft gasp. A large saucer shaped metallic looking object was half buried in the ground. A huge chunk of its hull was missing from the right side. There were no distinguishing features at first glance until Sunny noticed a large thing sticking out of the top of it. "What's that?" She asked, pointing a hoof. Winter followed her hoof. "Oh that? It's some type of pulse weapon. Very high tech quantum energy. But don't worry, it's looks broken enough. Come on, follow me. The entrance should be over here." And with that, Sunny and Hitch followed Winter around the space craft.
The Truth About ELM-581Sunny followed Hitch and Winter into the space craft. It was strange inside, the walls were curved and extremely smooth looking. Not at all what she had expected. Wires, pieces of metal, and tubes, dangled from the ceiling here and there, as well as the walls. Every now and then, her horn-light would reveal strange symbols on the wall, put in various places. Such as beside doors, at the end of a hallway, etc... it was almost like they were signs. "Hey Winter, what do these symbols mean?" She asked, running her hoof over the rusted metal. "Those?" The cyborg turned, "they're clearly signs. But they're written in a language I can't decipher. Maybe one day I'll get around to learning it. But this chip and getting Snowdrop back is my priority." Sunny nodded and continued following him down a long hallway to what seemed to be the center of the craft. As the trio stepped through a half collapsed doorway, Hitch and Sunny gasped. This must have been the bridge or.. control room or whatever. Along the walls were various panels with no keyboards, in the center of the room sat a chair, and to the left and right of the chair were two consoles one on either side. On the far end of the room was a giant screen embedded in the wall. The three of them split up, looking around the room as Winter trotted to the console on the right of the command chair. Tapping on it a couple times, he blew the dust off and kicked it with a hoof, making the screen flicker on. "Gotcha" he said to himself, smiling as he began typing away on the panel. Pulling out a cord he had brought along with him, he connected one end into the console and the other into his leg. Hitch looked over at him. "Uh.. Winter? Are you sure that's such a good idea? Who knows what kind of viruses and shit could be in there?" Hitch said. "Relax Mr. Sheriff, I've interfaced with these things before. I can't read their language but the code used is universal. I'll hack into their computer system and get the core to eject the microchip." Said Winter, closing his eyes and focusing. "But I thought you said we came here for the technology? Why take the chip when we can take the technology they used to make it. Then you'd be able to make an unlimited number of them." The white stallion sighed. "There are some things in life Hitch, that you shouldn't question. Now let me do my work please." Sunny trotted over to Hitch and laid a hoof on his shoulder. "Come on, let's give him some space," she said. Hitch huffed and nodded. "Fine.." "There's a good Sheriff," the alicorn said smiling and rubbing his chin. She then looked to Winter. "Hey, Hitch and I are gonna talk a walk okay? We'll be back in 5 minutes." "Okay, don't get lost." Winter said. Sunny turned with Hitch and trotted out of the room. ~~~~~~~ Winter focused on his hack, watching the screen flicker and run code across it at lightning speed. It was some pretty advanced software, but not too difficult for him to crack. He was more worried about the chip inside the computers core. There was something he never told Sunny or Hitch. The truth about him and the microchips. Something very scary and very disastrous if let loose. The microchips used to give him and Snowdrop a consciousness, had a backdoor system. You see, the original function of the M98 Microchip was to efficiently and properly upload orders into the aliens technology. In the storage compartment of this spacecraft, we're hundreds of robotic drones. All equipped with the M98 chip. Killer drones. Built and designed to do one thing and one thing only. Terminate all life on whatever planet they were deployed to, and collect its natural resources. This was the reason the chip was so dangerous in the wrong hooves. But how does that effect Winter? Sunnys grandfather had re-programmed the chip used in him and later Snowdrop, to construct an artificial intelligence that learnt and adapted to its surroundings. When Winter was powered on for the first time, he had the metallic body of a full grown stallion, but the mind of a newborn foal. Over the years he was put into special schooling with Sunnys grandfather, and later on given a mate, Snowdrop. Now Sunnys grandfather knew that he didn't have years to wait for Snowdrops mind to develop, so he worked for 5 months to bypass the rudimentary coding in the Artificial Intelligence he had created and modified Snowdrops consciousness to be that of a 21 year old mare. The equivalent to Winter at the time. Still confused at why Winter is so dangerous? How could he be if her grandfather had re-programmed him? I'll tell you why. Winters memory bank and AI are protected by a super complex anti-virus and malware program. A program so advanced, no other pony besides Sunnys grandfather could crack it. The problem begins, with the backdoor. The Aliens had designed the backdoor of the microchips software to be so easily programmed, it was a threat to Winter. If somepony were to hack into Winter's chip through the backdoor, it would trigger a complete reboot of the M98 chip. Thus returning the chip to its original programming... kill every living thing on whatever planet it landed on. When her grandfather developed the AI, he had overlooked the backdoor and died before Winter discovered it and was able to warn him. The cyborg lacked the hacking skill to crack into it as his main programming skills were computers and not cyborgs of his own kind. Meaning, he couldn't hack into any other cyborg like him or programmed like him. But what about Snowdrop's chip? It was destroyed right? So wouldn't that mean he would have to reprogram this new one? No, not at all. Her consciousness was uploaded into the mainframe back at the facility. So her life was preserved the moment the chip shattered. Luckily she was hooked up to charging pod when it happened.. or she would have been gone forever... As he thought about this however, his focus on the code slipped and he entered in a wrong sequence. Immediately, his cord shot out of the console and he was shocked. "Zzzzzzzzrrrrrtttttgbbbbbbb!!!" He shouted, twitching on the floor for a moment as the electricity passed through him, causing a malfunction in his joints. The hud on his optical sensors flickered as warning alarms began blaring around him and red lines of systems checks began popping up in his viewscreen. WARNING: ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE DETECTED. BEGINNING SYSTEM DIAGNOSTICS TEST..... CPU: 100% EFFICIENCY QUANTUM POWERCELL: 83% PROCESSING UNIT: 100% MOTOR FUNCTIONS: COMPROMISED FOR 2.5 SECONDS AT 13:32:23 HOURS. WEAPON SYSTEMS: ONLINE POLARON QUANTUM SHIELDS: 100% SCANNING FOR MALWARE/VIRUS..... NONE DETECTED. ALL SYSTEMS NOMINAL. Winter panted, or did the cyborg equivalent of panting, and slowly stood up on shaky legs. His joints were still adjusting from the shock but he was lucky the discharge wasn't strong enough to damage any of his systems. Covering his ears, he looked around as a red flashing light pulsed throughout the room, the siren blaring around him. "Well fuck... that's not good." ~~~~~~~ Sunny trotted with Hitch along the quiet corridor. He was still kinda grumpy from his and Winters exchange earlier. "Hey," she said, softly booping him. "Cheer up Hitch. At least he didn't mock you. If I'm being honest and pardon my language, he could've roasted your ass if he wanted." Hitch groaned and huffed. Sunny lay a wing over his back and stopped trotting. The sheriff stopped and looked at his best friend. "Its true you know, he is pretty good at comebacks," she said chuckling. Hitch continued to frown however. "Oh he's soooo much better at everything. Why don't you laugh with him then?" He retorted, turning and sitting on haunches. Sunny was completely taken aback by his response. She'd seen this before though when Sprout was around and trying to "constantly impress her". Sunny had never been attracted to Sprout in that way, so she always turned him down when he asked her out to dinner saying, "Im sorry Sprout. I don't want to be with you. You're a really good friend and I love having you around because of your occasional wise cracks. But there is a better mare than me out there for you." And she had been right. After Sprout had met Izzy, they were inseparable. But Hitch only acted this way when he felt threatened by someone. "Hitch.. do you have feelings for me?" She asked softly, wrapping a wing around his back and sitting next to him. The stallion sighed quietly and whispered under his breath. "How did you know...." "All those times when Sprout hit on me and you got jealous and argued with him about something." She replied, smiling softly and giggling quietly. "You probably think it's stupid... a macho pony like me who's supposed to get all the mares wanting a relationship and not a one night stand... the truth is. That's never the life I wanted. And you get me Sunny, more than anyone else." Hitch closed his eyes, tears dripping down his face. The alicorn softly lifted up his chin and planted a kiss on his lips. Hitch's ears folded down and his eyes shot open, but they soon closed again as he kissed her back. They broke the kiss after a few seconds and Sunny smiled at him blushing. "I was honestly hoping that's how you felt Hitch. I've done a pretty good job at hiding my feelings for you until earlier today. It's one reason I never let Sprout date me. I've always had a crush on you. Since high school when you stopped those bullies in Mrs. Hoofingtons class. I looked up at you standing there over me after beating them up, and I've never felt more loved by anypony since my dad passed..." It was Hitch's turn to blush. "Sunny I..." but he was cut short when the sudden blaring of sirens pierced the quiet. Hitch and Sunny looked at each other then got up, heading for the control room. When they arrived, they found Winter beating on the console. "WINTER! WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO!!?!?" Sunny screamed over the piercing noise. "I DON'T KNOW!! BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD HOLD ONTO YOUR FLANKS!! ITS ABOUT TO GET BUMPY!" As if he was a gypsy predicting the future, the whole ship began shaking and creaking as it slowly lifted into the air.
Buckle Up ButtercupAuthor's Note Disclaimer: There will be cuteness and mushy stuff in this chapter! If you like cuteness and mushy stuff by all means read ahead and enjoy! Buckle Up Buttercup As Hitch held onto one of the rusted chairs, the large viewscreen in front of them flickered on, showing an outside view of the area in front of them. "WINTER!!" Hitch yelled, "IF THOSE PONIES SEE THIS SHIP, ITS GAME OVER FOR THIS TIMELINES FUTURE FOR SURE!" Sunny stumbled around on her hooves as the ship groaned and creaked, shifting this way and that as it unsteadily hovered into the air. "Woah!" She shouted, tripping backwards into a console by the bridge door. "AUTOPILOT DISENGAGED, CLOAKING INHIBITORS ONLINE" A deep sounding robotic voice boomed through the ship, as it steadied and remained floating in the air. Sunny and Hitch panted, as they let go of their respective consoles and looked at Winter. The cyborg was shaking his head as he stood up. "Shit.. that was wild," he said, "did we actually go anywhere?" Hitch looked out the viewscreen which was shrouded in thick trees. "I think so, but I'd say not high enough to break the treeline." Sunny went over to a glowing console next to the command chair and looked at it. She couldn't make heads or tails of the language, but she could see there was a 3D image of the ship in its current state. A light blue glow pulsed around its hull on the screen. "Yo Winter, what does this mean?" She asked. Winter trotted over and looked at the screen. "Well I'm no expert on this technology yet, but I'd say the computer activated a cloaking device when we took off. After all, it did adapt to our language and speak Ponish. So maybe it responds to what we need." Hitch followed Winter and also peered at the screen. "So how do we land this thing?" The cyborg turned to the adjacent console and looked at the display. "Not sure, but I bet we can give it commands and it will follow them." Said Winter, looking up at the viewscreen. "Computer," There was a weird beeping noise as he said this, "take us forward 3 miles, altitude 1200 feet, speed 70 miles per hour." The computer beeped back at Winter and the craft surged forward, causing Sunny and Hitch to fall backwards. "Oof!" Sunny said as she landed on top of Hitch. The sheriff let out a puff of air as Sunny's weight came down on him. Hitch, who had just had the wind knocked out of him looked up at Sunny as she regained her balance. The alicorn looked back down at him and chuckled softly. "Sorry Hitch," She said apologetically, standing up. "No worries," he said, moving out from under her and standing up. From afar, Winter watched the scene. The cyborg could easily tell they liked each other but neither had the guts to admit it. "Oh for fuck's sake you two, would you just kiss already and make it official? That fall onto Hitch was cliche as hell." Winter said, scoffing and turning his attention back to the viewscreen. Sunny and Hitch blushed and looked at one another. "Hitch I-" But before Sunny could say anything else, Hitch leaned in and gave Sunny the softest of kisses on her lips. After a few seconds the sheriff pulled back and smiled. The alicorn was taken off guard for a second or two, but quickly regained her composure and wrapped her hooves around Hitch, pressing her lips firmly against his as he embraced her back. Winter eyed the scene from his peripheral vision. "Yayyyy, way to go you twooo," he said sarcastically, making a barfing motion with his hoof and mouth. Sunny pulled back and looked up at Hitch. "How long?" She asked. "Since the night we camped out with Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp on our way to Bridlewood," he admitted. "I realized when you gave me that smile, that my love for you was more than what friends share. It's what changed my mind and made me stay. Plus, I didn't want to see you get hurt Sunny." Sunny blushed and hid her face in the sheriff's neck. "Oh Hitch.." Winter coughed from the otherside of the bridge. "Coughcough geta room coughcough." Hitch peered over at Winter and laughed a little to himself. "I thought you were a romantic Winter? Didn't you mention something about your cuddly wuddly snookie bear on our way to the UFO?" The sheriff asked. Winter blushed slightly, the LED panels in his cheeks registering his embarrassment as he waved a hoof dismissively. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about. I said nothing of the sort." Hitch rolled his eyes and smirked at the cyborg. "Riiiiiight... I'm sure Snowdrop will tell us something completely different when we restore her chip." He said sarcastically. Winter made a pouty face and turned back toward the monitor. "Just focus on the task at hand, finding Twilight and rescuing her." Said the cyborg. Sunny and Hitch looked at one another and smiled, before joining Winter at the helm. ~~~~~ Twilight looked around at her surroundings. It was Canterlot, for sure. But the buildings were older, many of the shops she knew during her rein as Princess were not there. Instead empty lots and trees stood in their place. The Princess of Friendship looked at her temporal watch, tapping it with her other hoof a few times as it sparked and leaked black smoke. Letting out a sigh, Twilight lit her horn and tried using a spell to fix the technology. The watch stopped leaking smoke and glowed as the princess looked at it hopefully. However, all hopeful thoughts were diminished when the watch sparked brilliantly and fell off her hoof, exploding in short puff of smoke that left nothing but a small burning crater in its wake. "Ughhh.. You've GOT to be kidding me," Twilight said to herself, poking the burned dirt with a hoof before sighing and poofing away to a safe place to hide. Nopony could see her. Or she would risk completely disrupting the timeline. And she remembered ALL TO WELL, the trouble she went through trying to repair the timeline after Starlight fucked it up for revenge. Reappearing in a darkened alleyway, Twilight peered out into the street. Luckily there wasn't any pony around or they might have seen that little incident. She had no idea what had happened to her watch, one minute she was traveling through time and space, and the next she was spit out here. On top of that, she didn't even know WHEN it was. She did know however it was extremely dangerous to be in the same time period as your past self. And from the looks of things, this was right around the time the Grand Galloping Gala was taking place. It had been her first one ever. Creating a cloak to cover herself with, Twilight hid her crown in her pocket before turning around and trotting down the alley. She needed to find the crash site before- But before she could take another step, she felt herself de-materializing and then re-materializing. "Oh shit!" She cried out, stumbling forward a couple steps before falling onto a hard cold surface. "Damn it Hitch! I said go EASY with the transporter. You have to slide the lever slowly," said Winter, trotting over to help Twilight up. "Well SORRY if I don't know how to operate ancient alien technology WINTER." Twilight looked up at the familiar face of ELM-581, better known as Winter. "Winter! Are you a sight for sore eyes," said the princess, accepting his hoof and giving him a quick hug. "I thought I was gonna be stuck here forever. My watch it-" "I know I know, it's good to see you too Twilight. I brought along a couple of friends. Hope that's okay?" Said the cyborg, nodding to Sunny and Hitch. Both of whom waved and smiled. Twilight nodded. "Of course, it's always better to have friends around to help you. Especially when it comes to matters such as this." The Princess of Friendship took off her cloak and placed her crown back upon her head. "I see you found the ship, any luck extracting the chip?" Winter shook his head. "No, but we figured we'd just modify the ship to make the jump back. Then we could take all the time we needed." Twilight nodded, "then there's no time to lose. Let's get the preparations ready to jump back."
