The Artificer

by Rennoc215

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Dark, Romance
Length: 53788

Cog, a travelling artificer, finds his way to Ponyville, but brings with him a dangerous journey: A quest of self discovery, and the search for the perfect self.

Cog, a travelling artificer, finds his way to Ponyville, but brings with him a dangerous journey: A quest of self discovery, and the search for the perfect self.

Rated Teen due to possible questionable content in later chapters, Just to be safe.

Yes, I am re-writing my first piece. I felt it needed a makeover.

Published 2012-09-14 05:14:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-21 17:23:34 UTC

The original work (Contains spoilers of some variety)

Author's note: This is the original manuscript of the old story (All 33 chapters smashed together), Including the old authors notes. Anyways, I couldn't bring myself to destroy all the old work, so here it is all together, in case some of you can't help but read the older story.

Also, stapled to the bottom is the unfinished remains of what would have been chapter 34, for all of you older readers.

Of course, a number of major plot points from this original script will be kept, so if you don't want spoilers, go ahead and skip this chapter. On the flip side, a good number of plot points will also be changed (Or re-written into unfamiliarity), so if you choose to read, some things might vanish before your eyes.

And yes, this was my first time attempting to write anything with any amount of length to it. So, I'm sorry if the story isn't written eloquently.

The day had been going so well for Twilight Sparkle, and there seemed to be nothing that could ruin it. The library was quiet, Rainbow Dash managed to slam into a different tree, and Pinkie Pie was busy being... Pinkie Pie. “Spike!” She called, “I’m going to the market. Anything that you want me to get?”

“Nah.” He called back. “I’ll just stick around and do some cleaning.” She could see him in the kitchen, cleaning up the remnants of lunch.

“Behave yourself!” She called out. While walking out the door. This was answered by a series of yeahs.

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Ponyville had been pretty calm lately. After the whole Canterlot wedding incident, ponies started to relax everywhere. More ponies were dealing in trade, and traveling all of Equestria. Today happened to be one of those days, where a few traders would ride into town. Numerous ponies were all gathered around different carts, but one cart seemed to have the most ponies around. Trying to force her way through it all was Rarity. Twilight stopped at that. She pulled up beside her friend, and whispered “What is all the commotion about?”

“Oh Twilight,” Rarity said exasperatedly, “Somepony named Cog came into town recently, and a huge commotion has sprung up over his contraptions!” At this, Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Cog?” she asked. “But of course! Cog is from the distant edges of Equestria! Today, he is doing an exhibition on toys for ponies of all ages!” Rarity noticed an opening in the crowd and took it, Twilight struggling to keep up in the crowd.

After some amount of shoving, the two mares made it to the front, where they could see the opening on the cart. The curtains were closed, and from inside a massive amount of clanking could be heard. Finally, the curtains opened, and standing inside was a single earth pony.

He was coppery brown, with a dark mane. His mane had slight streaks of gray through it, and was done up in a short cut. He had a slightly feminine face, which were complemented by his leaf green eyes. But the pupils of those eyes were draconic slits, drawing a murmur from the crowd. “His choice of fashion is atrocious.” Rarity mused, although loud enough for Twilight to hear. He wore a dark brown corduroy jacket, with an excessive amount of pockets. Gazing down, she saw that his cutie mark was a small pile of gears.

He turned and faced the crowd, gazing over the sea of ponies. His eyes came to a rest on Twilight, and a strange glint crossed his eyes. A faint smile graced his lips, but then faded as he returned to his business. After glancing over the rest of the crowd, he finally spoke.

“Greetings to all of you, my friends. I am Cog Nition, creator of many fantastic things. First on my list, the toy of this age.” At this, he holds up a small metal beetle. “I will need an assistant for this demonstration. Who wants to help?” The sea of ponies all raised their hooves, while Twilight shrunk back a bit. He seemed to ponder over the crowd. His eyes came to rest on Twilight for a second time, and he said “I think we have our volunteer.” He shouted. He pointed right at Twilight, and said “You there, Please do come up!”

Twilight stood with a slight amount of fear, then walked on stage. "My dear mare, I'm going to need your name. You are?" He gave her a quaint smile, then looked expectantly. "Twilight Sparkle" She murmured. "Well, Twilight, I hope that you and I could become good friends during my stay. But before we become better acquainted, the show!"

“Now Twilight, I want you to turn this crank, here, beneath the wings.” He motioned her over, and showed her what she had to do. After cranking it for a while, he said “Give it to me, then put this block anywhere you want.” He took the beetle, and gave her a whirring box, only a few inches across. She hid in on the top of his cart, then took the beetle back. “Now, Press this button and throw the beetle.” She looked at him suspiciously, but pressed the button. The wings popped open, and she chucked it out into the crowd. About halfway across the crowd, the machine whirred to life, fluttering the thin wings on its back.

Gasps emerged from the crowd as the beetle fluttered about. After fluttering about a bit, it started to fly towards the cart. It landed on the expertly hidden box, beeped three times, then stopped whirring and clicking.

A few cheers rose from the crowd, and Cog quickly quieted them. “My friends, this beetle will seek out and find the box, no matter how far it may be. All you have to do is crank, press, and throw. Put the box anywhere. The beetle will find it! But that is just part of the story. Each beetle is hand crafted, and each can be yours for a fine price of only 10 bits each.” At this, a small gasp erupted from the crowd. “Yes, I know 10 bits sounds too low, but I want people to be happy.”

“My dear Cog!” Cried Rarity, “I am Miss Rarity Diamonds, local fashion consultant, and element of Generosity. This happiness thing is just dandy and all, but I simply MUST do something for your kindness! Would you mind coming over to Carousel Boutique after the show? I could make you a much nicer outfit. One befitting of your popular stature!” He stood there, looking at her, then sighed.

“My dear Rarity, I must regretfully inform you that I will not be able to make it. While your offer is generous, I have my mind set on this style. I do love this jacket ever so much. But you are too kind." He made a humble bow, then continued. "I thank you all for coming, and the beetles will be on sale tomorrow. Until then, I bid you all ado." He turned to Twilight, then asked, "So, are you doing anything this afternoon?"

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"So let me get this straight, He let you waltz up and blast him, just like that? He put up no resistance, just stood there while he was turned to stone?" Cog asked. "Yep, pretty much. But we have talked for so long about me. What about you?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, my story isn't very inspiring. I am an orphan, and cared for myself for a long time. Finally, a clockmaker took me in. I started messing with the broken clocks, but instead of fixing them, I made them do new things. Opening doors when a button is pressed and all. My foster father looked at me and told me that I was destined to do something great. I took my savings and went to Canterlot, hoping to get a job at the palace. I ended up making trinkets for the princess. We grew close, but I needed a change of scenery. I became a nomad, roaming in my cart selling trinkets and toys for a very long time, and it brought me some joy, but not enough." He sighed, then continued.

"I decided that I needed a friend, someone that I could trust. Someone who wouldn't take from the cart. But the mystery of my trinkets proved far to irresistible for most gathered. But not you. So I chose you to help me. I need someone who I can confide in." He finished with a grin. "I feel like you and I have something special. Something I've never felt before."

Twilight chuckled at this. "It's nothing. Honestly. I'm happy to be anyponies friend!"

"Then, can I ask you to watch over my cart for a while? I've got this extensive surgery that I need completed, But I can't get the care I need if my gizmos aren't sold soon. So, I need someone to watch the cart while I'm under." He gave her his best pleading face, but With his eyes he looked more like a hungry dragon. Twilight chuckled a little at how absurd the thought was. "Sure, I can do it. But how long will you be?"

“Thank you so much! I should only be gone a week. So here, let me show you how to run the cart while I’m under.” he said, while leading Twilight to the cart...

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What do you all think? I will be adding more later, but I can’t give you guys an update plan. It’ll just come when it happens.

The week was running by fast for Twilight, especially since there were always ponies coming by the cart, either to talk or to buy, and usually both. Cog’s storefront held so many different devices, all priced incredibly low. She noticed a plow that helped pull itself, a massage box, and numerous other toys. Toys galore.

Pinkie had come by every day, and on each day, Twilight told her the same thing. “Pinkie, his week in surgery still isn’t up.” To which Pinkie always replied “Okie dokie then! I’ll come by tomorrow!” At this, Twilight could only facehoof.

On the eighth day, Twilight waited outside the door to Cog’s cabin, but it never opened. Nor did it on the next day. Or the day after that. Twilight mused to herself “It must be something serious. I might as well go see if I can help.” She tried the door, but it was locked. The windows had all been blacked out, and there was no way in. She sighed, then an idea came to her. She trotted off contently.

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“What do you mean, nopony is in there with him? doesn’t he have some surgeon working on him?” Twilight nearly shouted at poor Nurse Redheart.

“I’m sorry, Miss Sparkle, but no, Cog does not have anypony on the medical staff with him. He has no surgeries scheduled, nor has he on record. A perfect example of health. Why, may I ask?” The nurse calmly replied. “Has he been missing recently?”

“Missing?” Twilight fumed, “He hasn’t been in for a week and a half! He told us it was for an extensive surgery! He had better not hurt himself in there!” She stormed off, infuriated, and walked up to his front door. She pounded furiously on his door. “Times up mister! In fact, you’ve gone into overtime!”

A slight creak came from within inside, followed by a hushed whisper, “Twilight, now really isn’t the best time. I’m in a lot of pain and I can’t get the door right now.” She thought back to her private studies with the princess.

“A friend of yours is trapped in a room, is in pain, and cant open the door. You want to get them out, but cant go blowing doors or walls down. What do you do?” She crouched by the door, and looked under it, seeing inside. Once the sight had etched itself in her mind, she quickly stood, then cast her teleportation spell.

Nothing could have prepared her for the gruesome sight before her. There, laying on the kitchen table, was a ponies spine. At this, Twilight proceeded to give a bloodcurdling shriek before promptly fainting.

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Twilight awoke comfortably in her bed, just in time for sunset. She called out. “SPIIIIIIKE!” Right then, she saw a note on the table. She levitated it towards her and read aloud. “Dearest Twilight, I told you not to come in. You are lucky I had enough energy to get you home. Next time, do respect my wishes. Yours truly, Cog Nition.”

She put down the note, and called spike again. Finally, the young dragon appeared by her side. “Spike, we need to send the princess a letter. Please write: Dear Princess Celestia...”

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The light filtered poorly through the blackened windows, so the only light inside was that coming from the ceiling lights. There came a loud knock at the door, and an audible sigh came from within the cabin. “Please. Leave me be. I am in great pain and...”

A gruff voice interrupted “I am going to have to ask you to stop the charade, Mr Nition. I am captain Goldenbeam of the royal guards. We have a warrant to enter the building by force if need be, but we would prefer if you opened the door for us.”

A moment of silence from inside, followed by “I am sorry officer, but I am going to have to ask you to leave. My pain burdens me so, and I can’t be bothered by visitors. Also, Sir, How long have you been in the force? I don’t remember you from when I served at the castle. So please send a senior officer, and give my regards to the princess.”

There were whispers from outside, followed by a new voice. “Sir, I am Shining Armour, Captain of the Royal Canterlot guard. You were the one who did the fancy machinery, right? I remember being set up to make sure you didn’t hurt anypony with your crazy contraptions. Funny how things turn out, isn’t it? As for delivering regards, why don’t you do it yourself?” At this, a more feminine voice spoke.

“Tinker, won’t you please come out? All we have is a few questions that we need answered. Do come out peacefully.” He could recognize Celestia’s voice anywhere. He also hated how she called him by his old nickname. Well. Two can play at that game.

“Aww Celly, you know I would love to, but I am telling you the truth. I happen to be in excruciating pain at the moment. Come back in a few days and I should have this bucking thing fixed. Better yet, why don’t you come to my big debut the day after tomorrow? I would be glad to answer any questions then.” Called the Cog, playfully.

Shining called back, “Cog, the Princess can’t spend every day coming down to see if we can talk. We will talk TODAY. Guardponies, open the door!” At that, a blast of magic threw the door off its hinges, and in walked two guardponies. Laying on the table before them was the spine, and laying on the couch in the room beyond was a tired colt, covered by a brown blanket.

Shining picked up the spine, then trotted to the colt. “Who’s spine is this?” Shining shouted at him. “Who is it! WHO DID YOU KILL?” Shining started shaking the exhausted pony laying on the couch. His sobs could barely be heard.

“Shining,” A gentle voice, belonging to the white alicorn beside him whispered. “Let me try.” She knelt beside the crying colt, and whispered, “Now Tinker. Who does this belong to? What did that pony do to you?”

A barely heard whisper said “Nothing...” At that, Cog stood and hugged the princess, bawling. “Oh, Princess... It hurts so bad. Why does it hurt?”

She patted the little ponies head and murmured. “Oh Tinker, it hurts us all whenever we loose somepony. But keeping this grim reminder wont help you get over the loss.” At that, she looked over at Shining with an ‘I told you so look’ on her face. But he wasn’t even looking at her. He was petrified, looking at something behind them. That’s when she turned and looked behind Tinker.

She saw a glint of metal, and froze.

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What is this new and strange terror! Is it some form of spine-hunting assassin robot? A new car? Or is it something like a misaligned pocket-watch? Find out in the next chapter!

Everypony in Equestria was gathered in front of the stage, haphazardly set up in the middle of Ponyville. Twilight and her friends were seated in the front row, along with the princesses and Shining Armor. Behind them sat the Canterlot upper-crust, followed by a sea of everypony else.

Princess Celestia had gathered them all here for something that would “Change Equestria. Forever.” Twilight glanced over at the princess, who looked beside herself. Shining, however, seemed like he was about to be sick. Cadence noticed it too. “Honey, is something wrong?”

“What? No, no, I’m fine.” Came his reply, followed by an obviously painful grin. Cadence sighed and began talking to Luna, who was seated next to her. Shining walked over to Celestia and asked “Are you sure about it?” She gave him a firm nod, then turned back to look at Twilight.

“Well, I’m going to see when this is going to start. Enjoy the show!” and with that, she glided down behind the curtain on stage. After a few moments, she came back out, and motioned for Luna to come up. Luna rose, and Celestia murmured something to her. Luna looked at her sister inquisitively, but she would say no more. Luna faced the crowd, and called out in the royal canterlot voice, “ATTENTION PONIES! TODAY, WE BRING TO YOU COG NITION, GREATEST ARTIFICER OF HIS TIME! PLEASE PUT YOUR HOOVES TOGETHER FOR COG NITION!”

The ground shook with the applause of the crowd, who then hushed as the princesses stepped off the stage. The curtain drew back, and there he stood. This time, he wore a cape in addition to his jacket. Cog was clearly in pain, but put on a plastered smile anyway. He stepped forward, and took a bow. “My dearest friends,” he began. “It seems you all cannot give a young pony some quiet time, but then again, I may have died from the pain in there. So, in as payment for a little comfort, I present to you my greatest creation.” The cloak dropped from his frame, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd. “Myself.”

Beneath the cloak, Cog’s back gave off the cool shine of steel, and rising from his back rose two steel wings, proud as any pegasus. These were obviously the source of his pain, and they were giving an additional load to bear. But he stood tall, these obviously giving him some sense of enormous pride.

“My dearest friends, I regretfully inform you that these will not be made public items, as it involved a very gruesome process, involving the removal of my own spine, while I was still conscious and alone. No painkillers, no magic to help me. I have been powering through it on my own. Then Celestia blasted down my door to save me. I owe her my life, but before we get all sappy, I might as well prove one thing.” He flapped his shining wings, and they threw him high into the sky.

This drew collective gasps from the entire audience, especially from the pegasai. One stood and cried “We declare a challenge!” All turned to look as the Wonderbolts rose. “Your mechanical monstrosities look like they would beat anypony, but we want to prove that wrong!” Cog looked at them with sad eyes.

“You really want to try? Fine, I’ll accept your challenge. I don’t like to brag, but I doubt you will win. These ‘mechanical monstrosities’ were engineered to be the best. But if you feel the need to prove yourself, I will grant you this.” Cog smirked slightly, gazing down at the wonderbolts.

“You think that yo are faster than the fastest ponies in all of Equestria? Fine! We will prove that nature is better than your clockwork contraption!” At this, numerous other ponies stood, and a chorus of “Yeahs” was heard.

While pondering the situation, Twilight turned and told Celestia her plan. The Princess gave her a curt nod, then turned. “My little ponies, let me say that we have found a way to diffuse the situation. My student, Twilight Sparkle, will be organizing a race. Without a doubt, we will need everyponies cooperation to make this race successful. Anypony wishing to join should speak with Twilight.”

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There had been so many pegasai coming into the library, looking to race that Twilight had to re-design the chart. Even a few changelings came, agreeing with the wonderbolts idea of pony (or changeling) over machine. Twilight wasn’t rude, so she added them to the competition.

Now, the chart composed of four trees. Cog in his own, pegasai in the second, all the teams in the third, and any non-ponies in the fourth. Then, after days of planning, the races finally came. Wings beat, Gears whirred, and ponies were talking like mad.

The races were bracketed, and all the creatures raced fair. Rainbow Dash blew through the pony competition, to noponies surprise. But the final match was the most shocking. Rainbow Dash versus Derpy Hooves. Everypony was wondering how Derpy made it into the pony final, but settled down once the race began. Derpy was a gray streak, but Rainbow Dash was faster. Without a doubt, Rainbow was headed to finals.

The Team races finished quite fast. The Wonderbolts blew through the brackets, annihilating the teams that stood before them. In the end, it was Wonderbolts Versus Shadowbolts. Twilight watched a giggling Princess Luna getting reprimanded by her sister for some reason. Twilight giggled a little herself at this, then turned to see the Wonderbolts beat the Shadowbolts, but only barely.

The Creature races were dominated by the griffons, until they fell to Princess Cadence, who had sneaked her way into the competition. Who knew she had a competitive side? Cadence won in the end, setting up tomorrows big race. Many of the griffons cried foul play, but that was shot down in the fact that Cadence wasn’t a paegasus, and therefore could not enter the pegasus tree.

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The Moon set and sun rose extra early on this momentous day, just so that everypony could be present for the main event. Once all the spectators had gathered, the 6 contestants stepped onto the field. “Now, we set the challengers up. However, since the wonderbolts have such an enormous benefit, they must stay still for the first 5 seconds of the race.” Celestia called. “Now, Contestants, start your flapping!” At once, all the contestants began flapping their wings.

“This course is one of extreme distance. You are to cross from Ponyville to Canterlot and back. First one to reach Ponyville wins! Any questions?” When all the contestants shook their heads, Celestia nodded. A pistol cracked, and the contestants were off!

In the lead was Rainbow dash, followed closely by the Wonderbolts. They looked over their shoulders to see Cog and Cadence fluttering far behind them. “Hah,” they laughed in unison. If this was as fast as he could fly, then the race was theirs. They returned looking forward when a crack was heard behind them a golden-silver-pink blur rushed past the four, who were staring in disbelief. The blurs reached canterlot...

And stopped. There was nothing coming back at them, and when they reached the castle they saw Cog and Cadence sipping tea with Princess Luna. They floated there, dumbstruck, until Cadence turned and saw them. “Well, Hello! Would you like anything to eat? Anything to drink? Getting here really took it out of Cog and I, so we stopped in to visit my dear aunt.” They just floated there, dumbstruck.

It was Rainbow Dash who recovered first. “Firstonebackisarottenegg!” She called as she raced back to Ponyville. The Wonderbolts followed soon after. Cog turned to Cadence “Care to join me in going back?”

“I’m not feeling up to it today. Maybe another time.” She replied.

He sighed. “Very well. I leave you two princess in good company. Don’t wait up on me!” He said with a wink. A crack later, and he was gone, and catching up to the other ponies quite fast.

Rainbow dash looked over her shoulder and followed the path of Cog. He passed her, and she muttered “Not on my watch! Time to break out the secret weapon.” She sped up to a point, and she felt the world begin to stretch out behind her. Breaking the wall. An explosion sounded, and she felt light as a bird, rocketing to the ground. This time it was Cog who wore the expression of surprise.

“Alright then, Rainbow dash. Two can play that game.” The whine of servos and pistons became excruciatingly loud, and the shriek of metal in the air got to an unbearable point, until a second crack rippled through his body. He had broken the barrier again.

The series of cracks increased in volume, and even from the ground it was painful. Twilight looked at the oncoming beams of Rainbow and Metal, driving it in a battle of wills. Neither would yield to the other, so they both were approaching the ground at cataclysmic speeds. Celestia noticed this to, and cast out a psychic cushion numerous feet thick, in order to break their fall. They reached the cushion, and the physical exertion could be seen on the princesses’ face.

The two still slammed into the surface with an incredibly high force, but nothing seriously damaging. When the dust cleared, they both were lying on the finish line. “It is...” Celestia pondered. “A tie! Pony and Machine are equal.” Cog stood first, and reached a hoof out to Rainbow.

“A good race, my friend.” Rainbow pushed his hoof away.

“We both know that I would have won! If it wasn’t for Celestia, I would have won! I know it!” Rainbow shouted in his face. He shrugged.

“If civility isn’t your forte, then maybe our friend Twilight can give you a... Crash Course.” He chuckled at his own joke, and was thrown to the floor by Rainbow. He gave her an innocent smile, and shrugged. She screamed in frustration, and stormed off.

He got up and started dusting himself off. “Why do you have to be so hard on her?” Twilight asked while walking up to him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied with a cheeky smile. He left Twilight standing there, slightly confused. "Oh, and Twilight! I'm going to need you to look after the cart for a little bit. Need to fix these up a bit! And there is always room for improvement..."

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Surprised? What do you all think Cog is going to do this time? Break the laws of physics?

“Well shucks, Twilight. It’s not like you can stop him, is it?” Applejack said while she bucked the tree behind her. Apples rained down into the buckets below, and they were loaded onto a cart that helped pull itself. They got that one a few days ago. “Ah mean really. He did this to himself last time, and he said that it hurt beyond recognition, but he is going back to do it again? Maybe he is going to get them off.”

“Applejack, while I appreciate your optimism, I want to know your honest opinion. I think he is loosing himself in these ‘alterations’ and I am afraid. I don’t want him to die, but he doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t think that his body is good enough. He wants to be better. But I’m afraid that he will destroy himself if he continues down this path.”

“Well then, sugar bun, you’re going to have to confront him. Just walk up, and tell him your opinion. Talk to him about it. Maybe you can convince him of your perspective.”

“Thanks Applejack. I think I know what I’m going to do.” Twilight said with a smile. “See you around!” And with that, the purple pony trotted off.

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Ding dong, rang the front door. “I’m sorry, we are closed right now.” Called the voice from inside. Twilight frowned, then said “Cog? We need to talk.” The door creaked open, and Cog said quietly “Fine, come in. Quickly now.”

She stepped into the cabin, quite suspiciously, and saw Cog sitting on his couch, fumbling with some pistons and servos. He looked up, and quickly put them away on the table. He turned and smiled, and said “Oh. Aren’t they wonderful?” The wings on his back rustled slightly.

Twilight cocked her head, then replied. “I guess so. But Cog, I’m worried about you. I’m afraid... I’m afraid that you will stop being you, and start being... This.” At this, she waved her hoof around his wings and the table.

He chuckled, then said “Twilight... I know you fear for my safety, and I am glad that you are doing so. But I’ve never felt more... Alive! This is the most ‘life’ I have ever experienced! And I only want to make life better! Think about this: How did I get my own spine out, and then replaced it, all on my own? A different machine I made! Take a look at this!”

He ran off, then came back dragging this enormous machine with various tubes and sticking out. Twilight asked “Cog? What exactly am I looking at?” He chuckled a little bit, then turned to her with a massive grin.

“This, my dear friend, is the Lifemaker V2.0.2. It keeps ponies alive by re-routing things during surgery. This big needle here plugs in at the base of the brain, and these little ones attach to the other needed organs. This way, the spine could be removed without killing the patient! And these tubes! They connect to a pump inside the machine, acting like an artificial heart! This one connects to a different pump, acting like lungs! With this machine, we could keep a dying pony alive! We can do dangerous surgeries without worry! We can...”

“Cog! Stop. I know you are proud of your machine, but I’m not here for that! I’m here for you. I... don’t want you to do it again. I don’t want to have to be afraid of when the time you don’t come out.” Twilight said, tears welling in her eyes. Cog put a reassuring hoof over her shoulder.

“Hey. There, there. Don’t talk like that. I’ll always power through. Knowing I have people like you on the outside, I wont give up. I wont die under the needle.” He looked her in the eyes, face full of worry, but his eyes looked cold and calculating. “But I need this. Without this, my life is just one stop after the next. But these,” He said, brushing his wings affectionately. “These give me purpose! They give my direction!”

“It is nice of you to worry. Really. But I can’t just give this up.” He sighed, then turned and walked to the table, and picked up the parts he had earlier been fumbling with. He sat down on his couch, then continued to put them together, only to disassemble them and try a different combination.

Twilight watched him for a while, before turning and leaving. Cog watched her leave, then quickly focused on the parts in his hands. They clicked together smoothly, and he reached to grab another piece. He pulled his back too far, and was wracked with huge waves pain. He clutched at his back, and held still for a few moments. “One thing is sure. Pain wasn’t this bad before these. But if pain is the price, then I’m willing to pay.”

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What is going to happen to Cog? Is he going to listen to Twilight, and stop soon? Is he going to destroy himself? Well, let’s wait and see!

Twilight stepped into the library, only to find it in a deeper disarray. Spike was running everywhere, frantically putting books back on the shelves, none of them in the right place. Twilight grabbed him with her magic, then cleared the shelves. “Spike,” She chided “We don’t want them on the floor, but we want them in the right order. Let’s put them up together.”

Spike sighed, then looked around. “Oh, alright Twilight. Lets do this!” The two worked diligently and after a few hours, the work was done. On the last few books, Twilight told Spike to go ahead and start making dinner. Spike sauntered off, glad to be done organizing and shelving. The doorbell ringed, and Twilight called “It’s open!”

The door creaked open, prompting Twilight to turn around, smiling. It was Derpy, holding a package. “Well hello Derpy!” Twilight said “Have you got a package for me today?” Derpy smiled and put down the package, then responded “Uh-huh, uh-huh!”

Twilight frowned slightly. What package would be so important that it couldn’t be left outside? She smiled again and looked a Derpy. “Well thank you so much Derpy. Here,” She said, handing a muffin to Derpy, “Have a muffin.” Derpy squealed, took the muffin, and was out the door again. Twilight smiled at how interesting Derpy was.

Her attention was drawn towards the box once more, and her frown returned. She carefully opened the box, only to find parts inside. They were all cogs and pistons, screws and bolts. A couple crystal shards. She sighed and said to herself “Must have gotten Cogs order mixed up.” Then she saw a small piece of paper. She levitated it out of the box, and saw that it was an envelope addressed to her. A puzzled look crossed her face as she opened it, and read the note aloud.

“Dearest Twilight. I feel that we may have left each other on the wrong hoof, so I sent you a Do-It-Yourself kit. It is of an unreleased product of mine, and I want you to have it. I think that you would love to have it. Inside a manilla envelope labeled “Lexicon” will be the instructions. It is in my cart, underneath the bitsregister. I hope that assembling it will take your mind off the fact that I am tuning up my wings. Hope to see you soon, Cog Nition.”

Twilight put the note down and chuckled. Well, he certainly did want to keep her as a friend, but bribing her might not be the best way. But this “lexicon” intrigued her. Maybe she would build it after all.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Working in the storefront had seriously become boring and repetitive. Every day, a group of earth ponies would come in and ask about the wings. Every day she would say the same old “He said he wasn’t making them available to the public.” Today, Twilight was blessed by a different guest. Princess Cadence.

Twilight looked up at her and smiled. It was still a little awkward thinking of her as a big sister now, but there wasn’t anything stopping Cadence. “Oh!” She exclaimed. “Well hello there Twilight! I didn’t expect to see you in here! Do you know where Cog may be found?” Twilight looked up at her, and then sighed.

“I’m sorry Cadence... He is currently ‘tweaking’ his wings. That means he is probably cut open somewhere fixing the darned things.” Twilight sighed. Cadence only looked confused. “Tweaking? Whatever for? He told me himself that there was nothing he could do to improve them. Besides, I only need to see him for a minute. I wanted to know what he wanted the extremely rare memory crystal shards for. He asked me to collect more than anypony could ever use, and wanted them all in specific dimensions.” Twilight cringed, then looked at the pile of pieces before her.

“Well princess, I believe I can answer that for you...” Cadence eyed her curiously. “You see princess, I confronted him about some fears I had. He must have taken it the wrong way, because he sent me a box full of parts, and said that I could build something while he was working. As an apology for making me feel that way. There were some crystals in it, and I thought they served as decoration, or maybe as prisms. But if they are rare and valuable, I can’t simply let him give them to me!”

Cadence chuckled. “Twilight, it was nothing. From me or from him. But, do get me when you are done! I want to see what that devilish little colt planned up this time.” She gave Twilight a warm wink. “I’ll be seeing you around... Little sis!” At this, she bounded off, almost as playfully as Pinkie Pie.

Twilight watched her bounce off for a while, then turned back to the pile of parts. She focused immensely, and started aligning pieces. Just like a puzzle, Twilight thought.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Well, It took longer than she expected, but the lexicon was complete. The small, gold-encrusted cube fit comfortably in the hoof, and was weighty in it’s own right. There were also instructions on using it on the back of the assembly guide. She flipped a switch, and parts started whirring. She slid a panel open, and beneath it lay a blinking red light.

Twilight pushed the pulsing button, and it creaked out. “Is this the data to save? Verbal confirm or deny.” Twilight stared at the machine, then said confirm. She felt momentarily drained, then heard a satisfying ding. She looked at the cube, and now the button was green. She pressed it again, and heard “Is this the data to save? This will overwrite old data. Verbal confirm or deny.” She calmly said deny, then shut first panel.

She opened up a second to find a crystal lens, a switch, and a dial. She flipped the switch and a new whirr joined the sound of a flickering light bulb. The light projected red light on the wall facing the lens, and then switched to a blinding white light. There were voices everywhere, primarily the sound of a foal crying. The image panned, then showed the face of her mother looking down. She heard “Congratulations! A beautiful foal! What will you name her?”

But Twilight already knew. She said it at the same time as her mother. “Twilight Sparkle.” They said in unison. Twilight started feeling tears well in her eyes, knowing that these were her memories, put inside this little box. She turned the dial forward, and life began to speed up, skipping entire chapters in her life. She saw the magic test that landed her as Celestia’s personal student. She saw leaving Canterlot for Ponyville. She saw the rise and fall of Night Mare Moon, Discord, and the Changeling Queen. She was reaching the end of her journey, and it began to slow down. She saw Cogs debut, his race with Rainbow Dash, and then she saw her hoof pressing the button...

And then the screen went blank. Of course it didn’t have memories of the future. Suddenly, it went through a ten-nine-eight countdown, and the story started playing again. Twilight got to a point where she had picked up a book, then twisted the knob the other way. Her memory began slowing down, until it reached the point where time stood still. She stood there reading the text from her own memory, remembering reading the story for the first time, with Celestia sitting behind her.

Twilight finally sank to the floor, and tears began to fall. “Please,” She whispered to nopony. “Don’t let me loose him.”

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No, It wasn’t time for his next big reveal. Not yet, at least. But I promise, it will happen in the next chapter.

It had been a week since Cadence visited and the lexicon used, but Twilight still refused to show her the lexicon. It was Cogs only prototype, and she wanted his permission before sharing the lexicon with anypony.

Finally, she couldn’t stand it anymore. She walked up to his house and knocked on the door. There was the faint sound of snoring coming from inside, so Twilight unlocked the door. She pushed it in, and nearly vomited right then and there. There, laying on the table with the spine, was the hips and back leg bones of somepony. Not somepony, she reminded herself. Cog’s bones.

At the thought of this, she finally let her stomach win and she proceeded to vomit all over the floor at her feet. She stepped back in horror, before magically cleaning up the vomit by hurling it as far as she could out the door.

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The day had been absolutely perfect in the garden. The princesses had already had their leisurely walk, the custodians had already cleaned the area, and it was a glorious Friday. The day had been perfect. In the center of the garden stood a lone statue. “Bleagh” thought the trapped spirit inside. “At least life was fun when I was around.”

Discord had been grumbling to himself for the past milenia, and he would have to do it again, thanks to that dreaded Twilight Sparkle and her friends. “What would life be like with me around constantly? A whole lot of NOT BORING, that’s for sure.” He grumbled. The positive, fun side of him argued “Well, at least it’s Friday, which means nopony around for the next two days!”

The spirit continued like this for some time before musing “I only wish something chaotic would happen!” No sooner had he thought it, then he suddenly heard the unmistakeable burble of flying liquid and his face was soon covered with some form of vile bile.

The evil side of him only laughed at his own luck, then said, “Well, at least it’s different than the normal amount of chaos. But it does sting a little bit. I can’t wait for the janitor to come by tomorrow and clean this off.” Then it hit him, again. “Wait. Today is Friday. He works on Mondays through Fridays, and he has already come through here...”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...”

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Twilight looked around the room, making sure she threw all the vomit out the door, before shutting it again. She turned to look at the gruesome table before her, and looked over the new bloody bones. A shudder ran up her body, but there was nothing to vomit, so she only got a few dry heaves. She then turned to the stairs and ran up them, to find his bedroom door was also locked. Hah, Twilight thought. Didn’t keep me out last time. She charged up her horn...

And released it upon the door, causing nothing to happen. The door didn’t unlock, didn’t move. Twilight looked under the door, and tried teleporting. That was also blocked. She tried blasting down the door, and it stayed undamaged. Finally, she tried knocking. She was met by a tired grumble, followed by “Go away! A technician needs his beauty sleep!” Twilight looked at the door intently, then knocked again. “I swear! Don’t do that, or I’ll buck you so hard you’ll land in Canterlot!”

Twilight smirked, then said “I’d like to see you...” As the door was thrown from its hinges. Before her stood an angry, sleep deprived Cog, with his metal wings and a new shiny rump and set of back legs. He looked at Twilight, then winced, and said “Sorry Twi. I’m a colt of my word.” And he proceeded to kick her through his roof.

-+-+-+-+-+-

The statue sat there in frustration, fuming over the fact that he had just been covered in vomit. He gazed around, and saw a purple blur flying through the sky towards one of the towers. He gazed up at it as it came into incredibly clear focus, and he saw that it was none other than Twilight Sparkle. She gave him a sheepish grin, before she smashed through the roof of one of the towers. Discord thought lazily “Flying bile, now flung ponies? Whatever is causing this much chaos is good in my book!”

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Inside the Canterlot tower lay none other than Cadence, laying on her bed awaiting Shining Armor to get off his shift. She had been reading a sappy romance novel (She was a sucker for them) when a large crash had pulled her attention from her book (The colt was just about to reveal to the mare his feelings). She looked up to see a perfect pony sized hole in the ceiling, and one through the master bathroom wall.

Cadence walked over to the door, opened it, and looked inside. Laying in a pool of roofing, walling, and bath water lay a bruised Twilight Sparkle. Cadence was immensely worried about her sister-in-law, but she couldn’t help herself in saying “Oh Twilight. I said you could drop in whenever, but I didn’t think you would take it seriously!” At this, she burst into laughter. Twilight, though bruised badly, apparently hadn’t lost her sense of humor upon impact, and joined in the laughing.

The front door was thrown open and Shining Armor came rushing in, talking as fast as he was walking. “Cadence!? Are you alright? I heard the crash and came running as fast as I could and...” Cadence put a hoof over his mouth. “Yes, I’m fine.” She said. “Your sister simply... Dropped in for a visit.” At this, she doubled over at her own joke, with Shining standing there dumbfounded.

Twilight pulled herself from the wreckage, and walked into the foyer when it finally hit Shining. Worry crossed his face, but seeing Twilight-shaped holes in the roof and walls finally broke through his worry, and he joined his wife’s howling laughter.

Twilight rolled her eyes, then said “If you are done laughing now, can I please get a ride back to Ponyville? I need to have a serious chat with some very infuriating pony.”

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I felt that, although the story is a little macabre because of the main idea, any story can use a little humor. This chapter just provided me too many different chances presenting itself. I just hope I didn’t break the feel of this story with this chapter. :\

The blasted knocking had returned, Cog thought groggily. He had just finished re-mounting the door, fixing his roof, and he had just slipped back into bed when it started again. “Do you not recall what happened last time, Twilight?” To his surprise, the voice that answered did not belong to Twilight.

“No, Cog. I do not.” The sweet voice of Celestia rang clear through the house. “Though I am interested to learn what happened.” Cog let out a very loud sigh, then went over and opened the door. She entered, majestic as always, then told her.

He told her of these past sleepless nights, and then the beep of someone trying to pass the null-barrier. He had to explain that it was an invisible wall that blocked magic, made by one of his devices. He then continued his rant about how the beeps continued almost endlessly, until she knocked on the door. He gave his warnings, apologized, and then kicked her to Canterlot.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, and he explained that he could control how much power went into his legs. He directed all energy into that kick, and mathematically speaking, she should have hit the castle a few hours ago. Celestia prompted him to elaborate, but his patience finally reached an end. “Princess,” he began, “Your company is wonderful as always, but you seem to be missing my point here. I was just about to enter blissful sleep, when you interrupted me. I always have time for old friends, but I have finally reached my end. I wish you a good day, princess.”

Celestia smiled, then said to Cog “I wish you one as well. Sweet dreams.” Her horn lit up, and Cog was sound asleep. She turned on his machines, shut and locked his door, and then waited. It would be a long discussion with Twilight about the magic of sleep.

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When Twilight finally returned to Ponyville, she could immediately tell something was up. The fact that Celestia’s cart was parked outside Cog’s house didn’t help her mood at all. She stormed past the guards, and stormed her way upstairs, only to find Celestia waiting. The first thing she said to Twilight was, “Well. He wasn’t kidding about kicking you to Canterlot.”

At this, Twilight finally broke down into a nervous wreck. Celestia was here unplanned, unannounced, and doing something as mundane as waiting outside a door like a mother should. Celestia knew Twilight held her in the utmost highest pedestal, and so she scolded her for ignoring Cog’s request a second time. “You are lucky he goes about things with a positive attitude. He really wants to be your friend, but you can only seem to find time to wake him from his much needed sleep. When Rainbow Dash was recovering from surgery, what did she need a lot of?”

“Sleep...” Twilight mumbled sheepishly. Celestia nodded her head, and Twilight looked around slowly. “But, I don’t like this. What he is doing to himself. Can’t you ask him to take a break? Otherwise, he may... break himself...” Celestia looked down upon her with sad eyes.

“Twilight, asking him to stop this gruesome love of his is like asking you to stop learning. Could you ever bring yourself to never learn again? To know that you can do another amazing thing? This is his way of expressing this. There is no other way to describe it.” Celestia smiled. “But, I can ask him to try and make more friends. That will cut into his time when he is destroying himself.” Twilight looked at the princess like she was a goddess. But, of course, she was.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“What do you mean, take a break from tweaking?” Cog asked indignantly.

“I only want you to make a couple more friends. Twilight will never leave you, but she will tire, just like you.” Celestia said. “We don’t want her to use her magic on you when she is angry, do we?”

“Fine Princess. I will go.” Cog said as he trudged down the stairs. “But I have to run the shop today. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

The day had mostly been cut into, but there were always late ponies wandering in. Towards the end of the day, three fillies came into the room. They were all loud and boisterous, but Cog took them as just window shoppers. That is, until one tapped the front desk. “Hello sah,” The yellow one said. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but we ain’t found ah cutie marks yet. We were wondering if tinkerin may be one of our talents. Could you help us?”

Cog laughed. “Certainly. Let me see if I have anything you can use...” He dug around, until he found a box of defective or aesthetically displeasing parts. “Knock yourself out kids.” he said while handing the box over to the three fillies.

The three immediately started trying out different combinations, accomplishing most of nothing. Cog turned away momentarily to manage a nice young mare at checkout. Once he finished, he heard a loud clang, followed by the groans of two fillies. He turned to see the orange one up near the ceiling, holding part of a music box. Funny, thought Cog. I didn’t give them any music box parts...

Then he saw the destroyed music box behind the filly. And he nearly lost it then. “Little filly,” He began. “Did I say you could use that?”

“No,” came the feeble reply.

“What sold you that you could use it?” He said, as anger quickly seeped out his pores.

“It looked the same as the other stuff you gave us...” The filly said, hanging his head.

“JUST BECAUSE IT LOOKS LIKE, DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU CAN DESTROY WHAT ISN’T YOURS!”

The filly looked up Cog with pleading eyes, and said “I am really sorry about this. I wish I could help fix it, but we’ve got to go help Applejack buck some apples.” And with that, the child tornado dispersed, leaving behind a flurry of broken parts and casings. Cog sighed. “At least I can fix it before sun down.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Who will Cog harass the next chapter? Only time will tell!

The sun rose, and the light burned into Cogs skin. How long had it been since he had been in the sun for a whole day? Far to long, he finally decided, before heading out into town. He remembered his mission, and decided against approaching the entire town. Instead, he decided to go to Twilights, since she could give him pointers.

The trip would have been short, had he not been thrown to the ground by a massive explosion, filled with streamers, followed by “SUPRISE!” Cog looked up and saw a ball of pink fur flying in his direction. He lept up, but before he could take off, he hit the ground again, the pink pony standing above him. “Hey, your new! I’m Pinkie Pie! I know everypony in Ponyville, and I know your name, but I never got to give you a welcome party! So welcome to Ponyville!” The cannon fired again, and Pinkie looked about ready to keep talking, when she was suddenly enveloped by a faint purple aura.

Cog could see Twilight walking up, as she levitated Pinkie off of him. He let out a gentle sigh, thankful that he wasn’t going to be turned into a pancake. Pinkie visibly fought it for a while, then just gave up. “Now Pinkie,” Twilight began. “We don’t want to make Cog fear you, do we? He is rather sensitive...” Cog gave her an indignant look, and she gave him a playful one.

“Oh.” Pinkie sighed. “No, I don’t want to scare him. I greet everypony that way.” She looked at him, tears welling in her eyes. “You aren’t afraid of me, are you?” What was with this pony? He acted like he was mulling it over. “No, Pinkie.” He began, “I’m not afraid of you. You just surprised me is all. I didn’t expect any explosions upon exiting my house.”

She was about to say something, when he continued. “Pinkie, is this your cannon?” He gestured vaguely towards the cannon. “Yep! It’s the party cannon. It automatically decorates things, and helps he welcome people to Ponyville! Why?”

He sat there for a moment. “It’s because the axle is off. And, I built a carriage for a cannon, but never had one. You could use it if you like!” He smiled. “Here, let me take you to it.” She smiled ecstatically. “Ohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboyohboy!” She cried. He began walking off, Pinkie hopping behind him.

They got to his house without incident, and then went behind it. Inside one of the larger sheds sat the carriage. It was a beautiful Copper-gold, sitting low to the ground. Gears moved bars that would hold the cannon, and a bicycle mount on the inside to provide power to the four wheels.

Pinkie gazed at it with unabashed wonder, and Cog couldn’t help but chuckle. “Do you like it?” He asked, contently. She turned slowly, which he determined was unnatural for her character, then suddenly tears rose again. She started to cry a little bit, which was also strange for her.

“Oh, Cog. It’s beautiful. But I can’t simply take it! It’s too good!” He smiled, realizing where this was going. “I can’t take it for free! It must be worth hundreds!” He looked at her stoicly, then calmly said “It isn’t too expensive. Besides, who would enjoy it more? Someone who bought it to look at, or you? You’re going to use it how it was built! Nothing makes me happier than seeing things work right.” He flashed her a smile. “And right now, you are broken. Let me fix it by giving this to you, guilt free!” He gave her a hug, and her crying stopped. When he pulled back, he saw she had an ecstatic grin.

“Cog, I can’t believe you! You cant be serious, can you?” but she already knew the answer, and so she gave him a crushing hug. “Cog, you are an amazing friend! You know that, right?” He blushed slightly. If making friends was this easy, then he would have no trouble making more.

“Awww, Pinkie. It was nothing. Now, if you excuse me, I need to make as many friends as possible today.” She simply smiled and nodded her head. “Okie dokie lokie!”

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Mounting the cannon had taken considerably longer than he had thought, but they had gotten it up nonetheless. Most everypony had a terrified look on their faces when they saw the “Party Tank,” but chuckled when Pinkie let loose a blast and blew confetti over everything.

Unfortunately, he was burning sunlight, quite literally. He had to find somepony who could watch the shop in Twilight’s place. He started wandering, and ran into a blindingly white mare. “I’m so sorry mam. I was thinking and I didn’t see you there. Could I help you with anything?” She looked incredulously at him, as if he insulted her. She was astoundingly beautiful. She was probably local royalty, or something. He was about to politely excuse him when she spoke.

“Help me?” Her melodious voice asked. “Honestly, I was going to ask what I could do for you!” Oh, many things, he thought. But he said nothing. “I think I know what you need! A makeover!” Before he could protest, Cog found himself being dragged across Ponyville. “Where have I seen you before? Was it at one of my expositions?”

She chuckled. “Yes, I was there when you pulled my friend Twilight up on the stage. I’m Rarity, again. It is very nice to meet you pony-to-pony.” She continued to drag him around, until they reached a fashion store. He used to think that he would never get caught dead in one, but today had already broken a few rules, so this couldn’t really hurt.

Rarity dragged him inside, then over to a wall of mirrors. He looked at his shapely wings and shining legs. He noticed that he had forgotten to replace his cutie mark. Just another thing to add to the list... He looked at his eyes, and felt a chill run down his steel spine. How horrendous he must look to everypony. He noticed a slight ruffle in his coat, and moved to adjust it. Finally content with how he looked, he sat and awaited his fate.

After some time, Rarity finally appeared, along with around 15 or so sketches. “Now darling, I couldn’t finalize on any on any one design, so I just brought out a few that seemed ‘your style.” She motioned towards the slips of paper. “Now Cog, darling, which would you think complements your style? Upper-crust?” A line of fancy suit designs came floating by. Cog shook his head no, so she continued. “Well, how about late impressionistic?” A small amount of renaissance-esque clothing came his way, but none could manage to grip his attention.

“I’m not really a black wearer. I prefer earth tones. Browns, maybe a little green.” he mumbled, and she looked him over a bit. “I also like pockets. I never want to be unprepared.” He looked down, and she gave him an odd look.

“Certainly, dear. I can work with that.” She rushed upstairs, and he breathed a sigh of relief. All the work keeping patient was wearing on him. She may be wonderful, and beautiful. But how could he manage keeping still and not helping? He had a need to move, to interact, to help accomplish things.

Rarity interrupted his thoughts as she came down the stairs, and walked up to him with a slight sigh. “I think I’ve got it!” She said triumphantly, a slight sparkle to her eyes. She lifted the drawing up to his eyes, and just by looking at it, he knew it was for him. He nodded his head vigorously, and a smile graced her lips. “Wonderful! If you stop by at the end of the day, I can have it ready!”

He gave her a sideways look. “Why don’t I help? I know I can help. Besides, if I’m living here now, I might as well get to know somepony.” He smiled.

“Well... I guess you could help. Besides, It will be wonderful to have somepony to talk to...”

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“Really, my dear? A show at Canterlot? How did it go?” At any mention of Canterlot, she would begin a question storm. Cog didn’t mind, but quite often the questions would start to feel repetitive.

“Yes, Rarity, I did a show in Canterlot. It didn’t go very well, since the upper crust was far too snobbish to come. I the only reason that anypony came was to visit, since I had lived there for a while. The princesses came, and that was when I met Princess Luna. We had a quaint chat, and I gave her an astrographer. It keeps track of where the stars should be. I knew she didn’t need it, but it was one of the only things that she could have any purpose for.” Cog rambled on about the other things he did at Canterlot, before tiring pretty quickly of doing the talking.

He looked over and noticed that she was having trouble with her sewing machine. He watched it, and noticed that it was because of a warped gear. Every few sews, the needle would slip and stab into the cloth. It wasn’t a huge deal, but a trained eye could see it in the fabric. “Rarity, I think I can help you with that.” She looked at him questioningly, and he continued. “Let me get something. I think it can help you.”

He opened her window, spread his wings, and flapped hard. He flew out into the open air, feeling the wind caress his body. It felt wonderful. He dove towards his house, and landed gently on his porch. He went inside and opened up a few drawers before finally finding the gear he needed. He cleaned up, and went towards his balcony. But he stopped and saw one of his old designs.

It was for the cog-flower, an ornate flower that followed the sun and moon. He sighed, then flew on out, knowing he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight.

He was leisurely flying back to Rarities when he heard a shout. “Cog!” He looked up, and saw the cyan pegasus, Rainbow Dash. “Ah, Rainbow Dash! A pleasure as always.” He replied. Rainbow gave him a glare that would freeze a manticore’s heart. “Oh, alright. I’m sorry about my rudeness at the race. I guess I have a competitive side. I guess I am a little cruel, but only in good fun.” He flashed her that cheeky smile. “Now, can we put the competition behind us and move on?”

Rainbow Dash face momentarily betrayed her, and showed her content. She quickly replaced it with a face without emotion. “Yeah, sure, whatever.” she said as she sunk into a cloud.

Cog took off, happy that that whole incident was over, and merrily glided back into Rarity’s home. She was so absorbed in her task, she didn’t even see his return. He cleared his throat, and Rarity turned. “Welcome back.” She eyed him suspiciously. “What was it you needed to do?”

He pointed at her sewing machine. “Your machine, it’s broken. It’s the least I could do to fix it.” Rarity blushed. “Wha... it’s not... but how... ?” she stammered. Cog rolled his eyes. “Rarity, I work with machines daily. How good of a mechanic would I be if I couldn’t find defective parts? Besides, this is an easy fix. Please turn it off so that I don’t have to worry about getting a nasty shock.”

Rarity sighed, beaten. She flipped it off, then opened the latch on the side. Sure enough, the cog was slightly warped. Cog reached in his pocket and pulled out the replacement, then deftly replaced the gear. He shut it, then said “There, good as new!” He gave her a smile, then said “Go on. Try it out and tell me I was wrong!”

She flipped the switch, and the needle never missed a punch. She sighed, then said “You win.” They continued the discussions about their past, until the sun was reaching the end of its journey. Cog admired his new outfit.

It was a comfortable fluffed coat, with a tuxedo-jacket-like outside, and even came in a nice dark brown. On the inside were plenty of pockets that each could hold plenty. Along the bottom and back edges of the jacket was a green vine pattern. “Oh, Rarity! It’s beautiful!”

“It’s nothing, Cog. Anything for a friend!” a grin overtook his face at this. Two friends in one day! This was easier than he thought. “Well, go on! Try it on!”

He stepped behind the changing rack, and deftly put on the extravagant outfit. He stepped out to a collective gasp. He looked around, and saw Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, two mares he didn’t know, and a baby dragon. He gasped in return.

Rarity spoke first. “Oh darling, you look marvelous, don’t you all agree?” This was answered by a collective nod of their heads. Cog blushed slightly. He turned away, facing the floor. “You think so?” he asked, shyly.

Everypony seemed surprised when the butter-yellow mare quietly, but enthusiastically, replied “Oh yes, certainly!” Everypony turned to give her a confused look, “I mean... If that’s alright with you.” she continued, looking down and blushing furiously.

Cog looked at her, then smiled. “Well, that’s incredibly sweet of you! Thank you! Now, I take it that you all know each other?” Cog looked at each in turn. The mares looked at each other and nodded their heads again. “Well, it’s nice to know that my friends are friends. It would be wonderful to get to know the rest of you, but I am feeling inexplicably tired. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to retire for the night.”

With that, Cog picked up his old coat, spread his wings, and darted out the window, all in mid yawn.

The 6 friends turned to look at each other. Twilight broke the silence, “I told you he was a nice guy.” Pinkie bounced up and down repeatedly. “Yeah, Yeah! He cave me a cart that looks super-dooper cool and was built for the party cannon and had all sorts of cool decorations already it and,” Twilight put a hoof in Pinkie’s mouth. “We get it, Pinkie. Rarity, what about you?”

Rarity was gazing out the window he left from. “He was so generous. Demanding that he help, and then leaving just so that he could fix my sewing machine. But he was odd, that was certain.” She looked at the group. “I personally enjoyed his company. He never seemed to tire, but preferred to listen rather than talk.” She shot a saucy look at Twilight. “I can see why you like him.”

Twilight was caught completely off guard. “But... I... No...” Applejack rested a hoof over Twilight’s back. “It’s ahlright, Twilight. Everypony knows. Even the princess, if ahm not mistaken.” She looked at Spike, who gave a re-affirmative nod. “Nah, Twilight, why don’t you tell us why you asked us to come hea. Is sometin’ wrong?”

Twilight looked at her closest friends, then sighed. “Well.... It’s about Cog. I’m afraid that he is going to lose himself in his... Hobby.” she gestured to her back and legs. “Could you girls keep an eye on him? I don’t want him to pass on.” She looked at the mares pleadingly. They agreed in unison.

“Thank you, girls.” Twilight smiled, weakly.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Cog landed on his balcony, exhausted. His door was open (Strange, he closed it before he left.), so he slumped in. He hung up his jackets, and then went over to his workbench. It would be important to get those cog-flowers done for his friends. So far, there was only one other flower in existence, and it was in the bedchamber of his first and oldest friend.

A faint noise came from a shrouded part of the room, so Cog turned on his working lamp. He pointed it at the darkness, and what he saw gave him shivers. Standing in the corner of the room was an angry looking trio of Princesses. “God evening, your hignesess.” Cog gave a flamboyant bow, then stood, to see that their expressions haven’t changed. “Is something wrong?” he asked, curious as to what bothered them so.

“Cog...” Celestia started. But it seemed sh couldn’t finish. There was hurt and betrayal in her eyes. Cadence finished for her. “Cog, we know what you are. We... We need to ask you to leave.” Luna had a stern expression as always, and that probably unnerved Cog more than the situation.

And then it hit him.

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Sorry about the delay between these chapters, but as you can see, this is a LONG chapter. Now, here is the dilemma. What hit him? Realization? Celestia’s Hoof? Find out next time!

“What? How? Why?” Cog blubbered a few senseless words, before looking up with a pleading look. Celestia had a sad frown on her face. “Cog. We know what you are. This... shape you take is no longer necessary.”

“Celestia, he is tired. Why don’t we take his disguise down for him.” Luna suggested. Celestia seemed to ponder it, then nodded her head. “Please, don’t...” Cog begged. Cadence’s horn flashed, and a wave of green fire rippled over his body. His eyes were clamped shut, but he knew what he looked like.

A monster.

A note of worry strung from Cadence’s voice. “Celestia, why can’t I reveal half of him?” His eyes opened slightly, but kept his head averted from the princesses and himself. Instead, he looked at his diagrams. “It’s because they aren’t disguised.” he sighed. This drew a collective gasp from the three, and they looked between each other.

Luna walked up beside him. “When did you replace Cog? Speak, worm!” He flinched, but held steady. “I never replaced Cog.” he said calmly. Luna’s voice grew more acidic each time she spoke. “Do not dare lie to us, parasite! When did you replace Cog?”

He finally mustered the strength to look her in the eyes. A strange passion burned behind them. Luna looked into his accursed eyes, and held her ground. “I never replaced Cog.” he repeated. “Besides, if I replaced him, I wouldn’t be able to make these things.”

“LIAR!” Cried Luna. She was about to say another spiteful, acidic thing when Celestia shushed her. “Let him speak.” She turned to Cog, and asked, “So. How did Cog come to be, if he was not replaced.”

He looked at her hopefully. “I was spawned as a changeling. When I had just finished growing, our hive was destroyed. Some sort of rainbow weapon. I was the only survivor. I ventured out, and found an outskirt town. I never learned how to properly feed, so I was starving. I took the form of a weak foal that I found. His name was Aged Scroll.” Cog chuckled. “Scroll was a unicorn, but lost and weak. I found him food, and he loved me for it. After a few years, I decided that a venture into town was in order. But I couldn’t go as Aged Scroll, since he was going with me.” He sighed.

“Creating a disguise is harder than stealing one. So I took Scroll’s body, removed the horn, tweaked the colors slightly, and went into town. I could never fix my eyes. It was the one thing that escaped me. We went as twin brothers, and played the orphan role. A kind unicorn family took us in, and I never went hungry. I ate food, to be polite, but most of the time I gave it to Scroll.” He smiled. “My parents never suspected a thing.”

His smile disappeared. “Until I never developed my cutie mark. They put my eyes, lack of horn, no cutie mark, and pathetic backstory, and put two and two together. They told me I was a monster. I agreed. They told me to leave, and threw me out without letting me say goodbye to Scroll.” A single tear fell from his face. “I made them promise to never reveal who I was to anypony, but it came at the price of never returning to that town. Never again to see Aged Scroll. The deal was made, and I left them in peace.”

“I journeyed out, and made things from the scrap piles behind clock shops. I loved watching the gears mix together, and move each other. I took a couple and pictured them on my flank. There, I had a cutie mark. I took up an apprenticeship and learned the science behind clocks.” He sighed. “But everywhere I went, I never found anyone who loved me like Scroll. But, I had a promise to keep.”

“So I took on the life of a nomad. I slowly starved, until I came to the castle.” Celestia nodded, but said nothing. “The city was amazing. I felt ponies of great power, namely the princess.” He smiled. “I worked as hard as I could, working to learn using the great Canterlot libraries. I learned about magic theory and found ways for it to interact with my machines. My first magical machine was the cog-flower. A device that imitated plants. Celestia currently has the only one.”

The other two princesses looked at her. “What?” she asked. “He came to open court with a gift, not a worry. It was one of my secret pleasures, watching a machine admire my work.” Luna sighed. “We digress. Continue!” she demanded.

“Certainly.” Cog replied. “I got plenty of admiration from Celestia, but only a trickle of love. It was enough to sustain me, but nothing more. I ventured out once more, and arrived here, nearly starved to death. So I went out on a limb. During my recent show, I reached out and saw a curious face. She was so much like Aged Scroll. I knew an easy friend. I could use her admiration and love. I didn’t die. But, I couldn’t live on like... like...” He gestured to his changeling portion. “This.”

“So I took a gamble. I proceeded with the operation, knowing full well I would die or begin my own liberation. I nearly fell to the first. But I underestimated Twilight’s caring. She sent you to save me from myself. Your concern and open love gave me the strength to pull through. And your suggestion about making friends opened up more avenues for love. I have to thank you for that.” He smiled.

But his smile quickly faded. “But, leaders are just like bigger parents, huh? So what’s this ultimatum? Banishment? Restraining orders on those whom I love? Starvation?” He gave them a serious look. “I like my life. But don’t think I wont change if I have to.” Green fire surged about his form. He returned to his brown pony form, leaving the mechanics intact. “Do you want me to bring this up to Twilight? He favored mentor, taking from her the one, perfect colt. How would she look at you? At any of you. Luna is the only one who fears nothing, but that is because there is no important bond between you and her.”

Each of them looked hurt. They gave him pleading eyes, but he resisted. “Fine. Send me into oblivion. Twilight will know. In fact, she knows right now, don’t you?” He gazed about the room. “Twilight, come out. You know me. I get frustrated sometimes. I have moments of intense wrath. If you are afraid, that is fine. I’ll go ahead and do your princesses work for them. No need for hostility between the two of you.”

“But Princess, I need to know. How did you find out?” He asked, a hint of sarcasm tainting his voice. “It was the hug. You had no warmth. No heartbeat. You eyes told me the rest of the story.” she admitted, head hanging low.

“Princess, You dragging Cadence into this it what kills me. We had something. Magical. She loved me like she loved anypony. Now, her heart is cold as stone to me. I’m not asking forgiveness for my species, or myself. I want you to apologize to Cadence. I want her to know I meant no harm. That the reason she no longer cares for me, which hurts, is because you needed some sort of backup to confront me. Ask her for forgiveness. Now, I will complete your task.”

With this, he spread his wings wide, and flapped to the balcony. “To the Everfree I go. Goodbye, my friends.” He flapped again, before any of the princesses could grab him with their magic. He flew away, faster than any of them could follow. The sound of his sobs stayed with them for the rest of the night.

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“Twilight,” Cadence asked tennetively. “Are you really there?” A small poof of purple magic was all the proof the three needed. Celestia hung her head, and Cadence looked about ready to cry. How did he know she had followed him here?

It was simple really. Cog never grew tired. Twilight knew it, and so when he was talking about sleep, she knew something was up. She teleported into his closet, where she saw the princesses. She was about to say something when she saw Cog flutter in. She sat there, the entire time, feeling a mix of betrayal and sadness. She teleported home, crying hard.

It was one of those times Spike knew not to interrupt her.

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Hello again patient readers! What do you think Twilight is going to do? Mope about, question Celestia, save Cog? More to come in the next chapter!

Cog landed near the edge of everfree, still crying hard. His life was shattered. There was nothing that he could do to fix it. He didn’t know any memory spells. He didn’t have access to his workshop. What else could he do?

A rustle in the bushes behind him startled him out of his thoughts. “Who’s there?” He asked. The bush rustled a little more, and out came the butter-yellow mare from earlier. “Who are you?” He demanded. Her body began quaking terribly. “Ff...f... Fluttershy.” She stammered.

“My dear Fluttershy,” Cog began. “What scares you so? Is it me? I can leave if you like.” He spread his wings. “No, no. That’s fine. I... just don’t know you well.”

A swoosh from above signaled the arrival of the infamous cyan mare, Rainbow Dash. “Hey, Cog. Twilight has been look” Cog launched himself skyward easily reaching incredible speeds. “Hey! I haven’t finished talking to you!” She launched herself after him, leaving Fluttershy alone again.

The mare pulled up beside him. “Hey, jerk! What did you do to Twilight! She locked herself in her room and began bawling. I couldn’t get anything comprehensive out of her!” She looked at him, and saw his serious, tear stained face. “Rainbow Dash. Leave me. Ask Celestia if you must, but leave me be.” He rocketed away, leaving Rainbow Dash in the clouds.

He blasted through the clouds, tearing through the sky, producing an audible shriek as the metal met the air at near-supersonic speeds. Finally, his power gave out, and he crashed into the trees, blacking out as one particularly large branch slammed into his face.

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“My my, a little metal fly...” The zebra mused, looking down at the half changeling, half mechanical being laying in the clearing by her hut. She heard the shriek to see the brown pony Cog flying until his metal wings gave up. He plummeted into the trees, and when he hit his head, he was knocked unconscious, his weak disguise lowered. Zecora recognized the flash of changeling magic anywhere, and waited.

Soon, the being stood, and shook his head vigorously. “Whoa. That was some crash. I didn’t hurt anypony, did I?” He looked around, then saw Zecora. “Ah, someone I don’t know! Could you direct somepony to a secluded part of the Everfree?”

Zecora smirked “I could do such a thing, indeed, for anyling.” Cog’s smile faded. “Did you say...” He looked down at his hooves, and saw the holes in his black chitin. “Curse them for breaking my spell! It consumed almost all of my power!” He looked at Zecora. “Wait, why aren’t you screaming?”

Zecora chuckled. “My dear changeling, why would I do such a thing? I am Zecora, and I was out gathering flora, when you came crashing down, quite far from town.”

Cog’s mind was still spinning, and the rhymes weren’t helping. “Well, my dear Zecora, may I stay with you? Having somepony is better than having nopony.” He smiled once more, and then shifted back into his pony form. “My name is Cog, by the way. Cog Nition.”

The zebra smiled. “I would not mind if you stayed with me. In fact, the time is quite prime!”

Cog’s smile only widened. Then it suddenly disappeared.“Thank you Zecora. Also, do you know Twilight and her friends.” Zecora nodded. “If they come looking for me, don’t tell them I’m with you. I beg of you! I can’t stand up to them. Not after what I did.” The look on his face told her not to ask further.

“I can arrange that, for I am no rat.” The zebra smiled again. “Now that you are on the ground, let me show you around.” She walked off, motioning for Cog to follow.

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Cog was setting into his new life quite easily. He was always helping gather ingredients, or watching over the brew. Zecora was loving having him around. He didn’t eat, so the impact on her life was minimal. And In return, Zecora gave him love and attention. She also kept him up-to-date with news. What he heard made him uncomfortable.

Twilight had shut herself in the library, letting Spike manage all the actual work. Rainbow Dash had been searching the Everfree day and night, trying to find him. Pinkie was sad that he left without a going away party, but was enjoying the carriage.

The princesses had placed a bounty on his head, but only alive. If injured, then there were massive penalties. At least they wanted him alive. Months were passing like days, and Cog finally had a sense of content. But never fulfillment. He needed to be purified, cleaned of his void colored terror. He looked down at his hoof, and imagined the black monster that lay beneath his feeble magic. His spell broke on just his hoof, showing the changeling chitin beneath. He shuddered, then mended his spell.

“Ah knew he was hidin’ Zecora’s. Wha else would she not want surprise visitors anymore. Hey Cog!” The yellow filly called. She had been one of those crusaders. Cog moaned and put his face into his hooves. His life had been so perfect. Now, he had been caught by three fillies. “Scootaloo is sorry about breakin the sound box, arn’t ya, Scoots.” The orange pegasus filly stood up. “Yeah, I am. Can you come back now?”

Cog nearly chocked. They only thought that he was mad at them. He looked at the fillies with serious eyes. “Is the third one with you?” at this, the third popped her head up. “Ok. I accept your apology. But I can’t come back.”

The yellow one said “Aww. Wha not? We did everthin we could...” She looked nearly ready to cry. “Look, it’s not because of you, it’s me. Has Twilight left the library ever since I left?” They shook their heads no. “That’s what I heard. Has she been talking to the princess lately?” They again shook their heads no. “That’s because of me. They did something, and I did something back. I hurt their relationship. Without meaning to. But Celestia started it, and I finished it. In the end, I hurt Twilight. That’s why there are a lot of bits out there if somepony can catch me.” He finished his monologue with a sigh.

“Can you fillies keep a secret?” They all nodded their heads, so he continued. “Me living here is crucial to me. I don’t want to leave, but I can’t come back. NOPONY can know I’m out here. Never breath a word of it. Understand?”

“Yes sir! Yah can count on me!” The yellow one said. They turned and looked at each other. “YAY! CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SECRET KEEPERS!”

Cog couldn’t help but smile.

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Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing... I think... I hope I’m not boring you with my divergences.

“So, Rarity. Why exactly is Cog wanted?” Sweetie asked her big sister. “Hmm? Oh, no reason. The princesses just want him for some reason or another.” Sweetie got confused. “Wait, so he didn’t cause Twilight’s recent problems?”

Rarity shot her a serious look. “Where did you hear that?” Sweetie realized her mistake, and stammered “Oh... Umm... Nowhere?” She shot a guilty grin at Rarity. Rarity gave Sweetie her full attention. “Sweetie. Tell me where you heard that. Only Rainbow, Twilight, the Princesses, Cog, and myself know about that. Where did you hear it?”

Sweetie looked and saw the door was open, and made a dash for it. Rarity was faster, and grabbed her. “Now now. Sweetie, this is very important. Who told you?” Sweetie gave her a look full of fear, but kept her mouth shut. “I can’t tell. It’s a secret.”

Rarity smiled, knowing how to set the trap. “Oh. Okay. If it’s that important to you, I wont ask further.” Sweetie sighed relief. “Oh, so, on a different topic. What did you do today?”

Sweetie perked up at this. “Oh, we played around a bit, and Applebloom had us pay Zecora a visit, and then I came home.” Rarity gave her a wicked grin. “Thank you Sweetie. Now, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll pay Zecora a visit myself. And maybe Cog while I’m at it.” She flashed that wicked grin again, and Sweetie realized what she had done. Rarity locked the door behind her, keeping Sweetie inside, stopping her from warning Cog.

Rarity immediately walked over to Twilight’s. She rapped politely at the door, and waited until it opened. “Oh, hello Spike darling. Is Twilight here?” Spike stood there dumbfounded. “Uh, yeah.” he finally managed. “But, she, uh, isn’t taking any visitors right now.”

Rarity waited then pushed Spike aside and walked in. The Library was in a horrendous state of disrepair. She walked upstairs, and knocked on Twilight’s door. She could hear a muffled “Go away.” from inside.

Rarity cleared her throat, then pushed the door open. Twilight sat in a small sea of her own tears, and Rarity sighed. “I wanted to see if you want to come confront you-know-who with me.” Twilight’s ears perked up at this, then went back down. “I know you’re just trying to get me out.” Twilight mumbled.

Rarity scoffed. “Really, darling? I’m actually about to head to Zecora’s hut, where our ‘friend’ has been hiding this whole time.” Twilight gave her a serious look. “How long have you known?”

Rarity laughed. “Less than a day. Only You, Sweetie Belle, her friends, and I know. And the only reason they know is cause they found out. But he wanted it to stay a secret. But, sister like sister, we can’t help but to gossip.”

Twilight nodded. “Alright. Lets go, before he knows.”

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The two mares closed in on Zecora’s hut sprisingly fast. When the door blew open, there was no time for any of the inhabitants to react. “Twilight grabbed the three struggling forms with her magic, then brought them out of the dust to find...

Zecora, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. Twilight screamed in absolute fury, and shouted at the three “WHERE IS HE?” They looked at each other, then back to Twilight, and shrugged. She exploded, blasting down trees and throwing parts everywhere. And then, her magic stopped.

A brown earth pony stepped from the dust, and shook his metallic wings. “Really Twilight. At least you could vaporize the trees, rather than knock them over.” She focused her horn so as to send him flying, but he simply tutted slightly. “Twilight, null magic zone, remember?” She charged him, and he flapped up. He floated just above her. “Really, that’s how you greet me?”

He was about to say some other things when a rainbow colored beam slammed him into the ground. The dust cleared and above him stood Rainbow Dash, with another murderous look on her face. “How can you do that to Twilight? What did you do?”

He bucked her off of him, and she landed near the stunned Twilight and Rarity. “I did nothing.” He said. “I did what the princess wanted me to do, nothing more.” The stunned look on Rarity and Rainbow’s faces told him that Twilight explained nothing to them.

A blast of confetti and streamers sent him slamming into the ground. “Hey there!” Called Pinkie. “Now we can have the going away.... What’s wrong girls?” While she was distracted, he took off, trying to escape.

Only to have himself lassoed back to the ground. The orange mare stood with the other end in her mouth. “Ah got im, Twi. Now, get im.”

Cog put a hoof to his forehead. “Oh no! Whatever shall I do?” He said, melodramatically. He flashed a cruel grin, then sliced the rope apart with his wings. “The feathers are really sharp.” He said with a wink. He took off, and flew again into the distance. He didn’t get far before being shot down by another ball of streamers. “Why can’t I leave in peace!” He cried.

A melodious, unmistakeable voice whispered behind him. “Because you aren’t leaving.”

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Short chapter, but gets a vital scene across. Soon, he will face judgment. And what is the punishment for... Nothing?

Cog moaned in frustration. “Why will nopony let me execute your will, Celestia?” He asked exasperatedly. The whisper said something so surprising it caught Cog off guard. “What if that wasn’t our will?” He looked about. “What do you mean, not your will?” He finally asked.

“You assumed our will was banishment. What crime did you commit to warrant such a fate?” The voice asked, and Celestia finally stepped out of the mists. “What crime did I commit? I fed off of everypony. I fed on every scrap of attention, making myself strong. I committed the crime of being... a... A MONSTER!” He raged. His face contorted, and green fire rippled over his pony portion. “Look at me. Do you love me, now that you know what I am?” Celestia could only advert her gaze.

“I feel nothing but pity from you Celestia. If I wanted pity, I would have kept an injured foal costume. I wanted a normal life. One that you shattered when you ripped old problems up again. You shredded a spell that kept my disguise up at all times. That was the first time I had changed in decades! I had even convinced myself I was a normal pony.”

He felt shreds of different emotions growing closer. Anger, plenty of confusion, happyness, and... The last mind was shrouded. Cog smiled, then resumed his pony form. “Your backup is drawing near. My life is ruined, I am going to take me leave.” He began to walk away, when he heard a loud beep. “Oh, Celestia! Not now!” He shouted at the machine.

Celestia grinned. She felt her powers returning to her, so she grabbed him in her magic before he could escape. She brought him around and looked at him. “Now, let’s talk like civilized ponies. You can certainly tell everypony what’s going on. Can’t you?” She gave him an incredibly fake pouting face.

He groaned, and saw the six ponies come running out of the bushes. Most gasped, Twilight could only stare, seeing Cog held in Celestia’s magic. She turned and gave him that laughably bad pout. “Celestia, if you wanted to pout me into submission, Luna would have been a better choice.”

She shook him gently. “Now Cog, don’t you have something to tell your friends?” He grunted no, and Celestia sighed. He turned to look at her. “You tell the story, since you are so interested in it being told. Or maybe Twilight can?” He said. He then turned his head to the sky, not wanting to look the others in the face.

Celestia sighed, then turned to the six others. “”May as well get seated. It’s a long story.” She said. Then she began to tell the tale.

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“So wait,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “What did you confront him about?” Celestia was about to say something, when Twilight spoke up. “It’s because... Cog is a...” She then couldn’t take it anymore, and sank to the ground again, silent. “Cog’s a what?” Rainbow persisted.

A flash of light came from the pony floating behind Celestia, who had been all but forgotten. “A monster.” He finished for her. Green fire rippled from his body, and his pony portions were replaced by the chitin of his natural form. Gasps emanated from the five who hadn’t seen him like this. Twilight adverted her eyes. “Even I had forgotten my monsterous body, until a few weeks ago, when the princesses blasted my reality out the window. I had even gotten to the point where I felt like a real pony. But then they found me. They found me and they stripped me of my skin so as to stand exposed before you. They did all of this, in front of Twilight as well. I gave them some shell shock,” He chuckled, then cringed at his own joke. “And then I left. Last time I was found, my adopted family kicked me out and away from the one I loved.” Silent, dry tears racked his body.

“But Cog,” Celestia began. “Why would we banish you?”

Cog looked at Celestia with an intense anger. “Because your kind are xenophobic. There is no rhyme or reason. Why else are changelings removed whenever discovered?”

Celestia looked hurt. “Cog, we publicly remove those that actively replaced ponies. We would have searched for your ‘birth’ in the archives. If we found nothing, then we would have sent you back, under the disguise of a ‘Vacation.’” Cog eyed her suspiciously. “I... don’t believe you.” He finally managed.

Celestia sighed. “Well, there is no way to fix your reputation now. You can go where you please.” Celestia began to walk off, when he called out “Wait!” She turned and saw his smile, cold and calculating. “I know how to. But I’ll need some incredibly strong ponies.” He turned and smiled at Twilight. “Four, particular ponies to be exact.”

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Cog had gathered with Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight, and each stood in their respective circle. “It’s a new spell that I designed after studying numerous old ones. Now, each of you, cast out, and use whatever strength you can muster. Focus every last detail of the room. Remember everything. The conversation, the weather, the position of the moon. Every detail can help.” The strain was starting to show on all four’s faces.

“Now. Try to imagine yourself again in that situation. And once everyone has the details perfect, tell me.” He was met by a chorus of “ready.” He sighed. “On the count of three, release your magic but not your vision of what it was like.” he said. “One... Two... Three!”

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The resulting blast of magic was so massive that the wave of light rushed outward at supersonic speeds. Ponies all around had just a few moments to look at the wave of on-rushing magic before being engulfed in it.

The feelings were extreme. It was like experiencing everything at the same time. The ground itself felt every hoofstep and each plowing from across time, all in one moment.

And then all was silent.

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Cog floated in the void, pondering whether it was a success or not. He felt a vacuum beneath him, pulling him towards... a darker hole in the darkness of the void. How black could be blacker escaped him, but he went along with it.

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He opened his eyes, and saw his porch door, slightly ajar. He pushed it open, and rested his coats on the hooks. He turned to the shadows, and said: “So princesses. Did it work?” He was met by a faint gasp of the princesses. It had worked. He was the only one who remembered the past few weeks. Celestia stepped carefully out of the shadows. “Cog, what are you talking about?”

“Aren’t I going on vacation? You said you would do the whole thing to surprise me. Did you forget?” He motioned her closer. “I discovered that you found out.” He whispered. Her eyes grew wide. “Twilight is hiding in the closet. No reason to ruin our friendships, so I went ahead and used the royal ‘going on vacation’ excuse as to why I’m leaving. I don’t want to hurt her.”

Celestia stepped back, then turned to the closet. “Twilight, could you leave us? I would like to talk to Cog in private.” The purple unicorn flew out of the room, but stood in the doorway. “I knew he never gets tired! Where is he going?” Celestia smiled playfully. “Now Twilight, I can’t say. It would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it? Now go. And please wait for me to tell you when to come up.” The purple unicorn nodded vigorously, then went downstairs into the kitchen.

Celestia shut the door, silenced the room, and blocked every form of entrance. She then turned on Cog. “How.” she stated. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement. A form of intimidation that Luna reminded her of.

Cog cocked his head for a while, then said. “Can’t say. I felt some unwelcome guests, but friends that had gone cold. So I guessed that it was you, since none of the others were cold when I was near them. I also felt Twilight, so I didn’t want to hurt her.” He sighed. “Now, how does the whole arrest-but-not-arrested thing work?”

Cadence stepped from the shadows. Her horn glowed, but Cog held up a hoof. “I’m going to have to beg that you don’t, my dear. It took most of my life energy to cast my current spell. Right now, It will never lower unless someone else lowers it. Please, leave me this dignity.” Cadence’s horn dimmed, and Cog let out an audible sigh.

“Now. To Canterlot?” He suggested.

“No resistance? From a cornered changeling? Sister, we would be wise to be wary.” Luna interjected. Cog gave her a funny look. “Oh, come now, Luna. I’m more civilized than that. Here, when we get there, I’ll tell you my story, from start to finish. And then this whole thing can just blow over, and we can all go back to our daily lives.”

The three alicorns gave their consent, and Celestia took Cog down to Twilight for a request. “Hey Twilight... I know this usually has a negative connotation, but could you watch the store while I’m gone? I know that Rarity and Pinkie will be willing to help, since we are all friends.” He gave her his signature smile, then turned to Celestia. “I’m ready” He said.

The flash of golden light faded, and Twilight sighed. At least he wasn’t going to be ripping himself apart this time.

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“So... There never was a Cog Nition.” The pink alicorn mused softly. Cog had just finished telling his story, exactly like before (minus all the spiteful parts). “Yep.” Cog affirmed.

“Well, the records agree with his story.” Celestia sighed. “All but one point. It says that Cog Nition died in an animal attack. His mauled body was recovered, the information processed, and his parents requested...” she gasped lightly. “that his body be given back to nature.” She raised an eyebrow when she looked at Cog. “Let me guess, your doing?”

He smirked. “It was easy. Alter my shape to look dead, and my chitin made it impossible to detect any life.” He looked at Cadence. “I am sorry about the other hives attempt at ruining your wedding. I don’t want you to forgive them, but I beg you not to hold me to their standard.”

She hrumphed and looked away. Cog sighed, then continued. “Your love was the sweetest, you know. Innocent, honest, and true. It wasn’t friendship. Friendship is like tofu. You can grow strong, but never satisfied. Yours was as if I was part of your happy little family. It was like wonderful sweet rolls, Delicious, always making me amazing.”

Cadence turned. “Don’t...” she whispered.

Cog took her face in his hooves, and turned her to look at him. “Cadence. I want you to hear this. I, being what I am, am more sensitive to the types of love. Cadence, you may be a goddess of love, but that didn’t fuel your feelings.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I was part of your family. I still am. You may not love me, but it is killing me to see you torn over me.”

He looked deep into her eyes, and then told her. “Cadence. I want you to know, no matter what happens, you will be in my heart.” He put a hoof over his chest. “My ‘cold, unloving heart.’” He mimicked Chrysalis’ voice perfectly. This drew a chuckle from the two sisters, but Cadence still looked hurt.

He felt a trickle of warmth from her, and decided to pull it. Cog looked at her again. “If you don’t want to see me, then say the word. I want you to be happy, just like I wanted Scroll to be happy.” He pulled away, then spread his hooves wide. “Lay your deliverance upon me. Command me, for I am but a servant,” He continued melodramatically. “to love.” He faked a swoon, and heard all of them chuckle. The channel was opening wider, and soon, the floodgates opened.

He felt the familiar rush of warmth from the three. Cadence chuckled slightly. “Oh, how my knight in Shining Armor has arrived...” She gasped. “You haven’t met my husband! Let me go introduce you!”

He lifted his face. “Cadence, could you make sure not to tell him about what transpired here today? I’m just here... On vacation.” He winked at Celestia. She giggled in return. Cadence looked confused, then nodded her head.

When she was gone, Celestia turned and looked sternly at him. “Why did you do that to her? The whole emotional roller-coaster.”

He gave her a wicked grin. “Even if I don’t like being a changeling, I am still a wonderful manipulator.” Celestia reeled back, but he continued. “Don’t get me wrong though. I meant everything I said. I just said it in that order to win back her love. You know the feeling when you loose the one you love.”

He motioned towards Luna. “She was in a dark spot, but you still loved her. Even if her alter-ego didn’t love you back. I felt the same towards Cadence. A friend like family. To loose her hurt. So, I pulled on the strings of her heart, and used them as a lifeline, working my way into forgiveness.”

Celestia looked aghast for a while, then realized what he was saying. She simply nodded her head in understanding.

Cog looked away, at the stars over the balcony. “Now, I only have one heart left to mend. But it is the one heart I cannot mend.” He sighed inwardly.

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Sorry about the huge delay in updates. I got sidetracked for a while. Enjoying a new computer and all. I hope to update this as often as I used to, and I hope I didn’t loose anypony during the wait. So bless you for your patience.

Cog returned to Ponyville in the dead of night, knowing that he would need to do this tonight if he was going to use the excess of love he stored from the princesses. He silently glided into his room, and went to his closet. He pulled out the Lifemaker, and blew the dust off of it. “Hello there, old friend. Let’s do something crazy.”

He dragged it over to the table, and groped for his scalpel. He carefully parted his stomach, and began connecting tubes to the various ports he had made for them. He then set about his squishy task. He felt the blade moving about in his insides, until he reached what he was going for. He felt membranes break as he carefully sliced about inside of himself.

After a few sickening hours of work, he began to seal himself up. He hated this part, since he could see his chitin grow back, reminding him what lay beneath the surface. He felt for his magic, hidden away, and blasted himself back together. He watched the wall of black grow over his underside, followed by the green fire flash of his skin returning to normal.

“Hmm... too unnatural.” A ripple of fire crossed his stomach, leaving a faint scar in its wake. “There.” he said to himself. He turned and looked at his new catch. Sitting in his hoof was his stomach, intestines, and his rectum. He was now steam powered, or so his story would go. He felt the roar of natural fire in his new engine.

But then a new thought crossed his mind. He grinned devilishly, then set about opening himself up again. This was going to be a long night.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Twilight heard a knock at her door, and went to open it. Outside stood Cog. “Oh, hello! I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. How was your vacation? I take that it went well?”

He gazed off with a blank expression. He shook his head and looked at her. “Why yes, it was delightful. Can I step in so I’m not attacked by Pinkie? I don’t think my heart,” He cringed. “Could take it.”

Twilight gasped. “You didn’t...” He reared up and showed her his new scar.

He asked again. “May I come in?” Twilight sighed and stepped aside, allowing him to step in. He quickly shut the door behind him. “Twilight, can Spike send packages to the princesses as well?” She nodded her head, and Cog ran with it. “I have a package that is incredibly fragile, delicate, and organic. That’s why I needed someone other than Derpy to deliver it. No offense to her.”

Spike came down the stairs and looked at Cog. “Hello. I don’t think we’ve met! I’m Spike, Twilight’s number 1 helper.” He puffed his chest out pridefully.

Cog chuckled, then said “I’m sure you are. Now, could you send this package to the princess?” He passed him a box, addressed to princess Cadence. “It’s very delicate.”

Spike waved his hand dismissively. He burped, and sent the package on its way. “Thank you Spike. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take a walk. I could use the test.

He pushed the door open, and Twilight called out to him. “Cog! Why don’t I join you?” He smiled at her.

“That would be delightful.” He said, and began trotting off with his close friend.

-+-+-+-+-+-

The walk was brisk, cold, but enjoyable. Twilight kept the conversation alive, from talking about his vacation, to life in Ponyville. Finally, she had to ask him. “Ok, spill it. Why did the princesses come to your house?” Cog recoiled, then looked at her.

“You were there. You know why. They were there to take me on vacation. What makes you think any different?” He cocked his head.

She sighed. “The princesses actions told me everything. They were all angry. Then, when you told them about a vacation, they were all surprised. Therefore, they weren’t there to take you on vacation.” Cog looked at her sternly.

“Twilight, if you really want to know... It was because they thought that I had done something terrible when I was with them. I explained what happened, and then they let me off.” He sighed. “Can we please not talk about it? It makes me... Uncomfortable.”

She cocked her head. “Why?”

Cog sighed again, then smiled. “There just is no deterring you, is there? Fine, I’ll tell you. I faked my own death to begin my life as a wanderer. I had to do it so I didn’t hurt my... The one closest to me.” He put his head down. “We had it declared official that I was dead, so that when I left I wouldn’t hurt him. They found the records that said I was dead, and they began to think I was a changeling.”

Twilight took a step back. Cog laughed, and she joined him. “Ridiculous, I know. They take all potential changelings on a ‘Vacation’ to the Canterlot dungeons. Being friends with the three of them, however, has perks.” He winked. “We held a civilized chat in Celestia’s quarters, and I was cleared when I told them my story.” Then he winced. “It hurts to bring up my past, since I buried it with the old me.”

Twilight nodded her head, but then cocked it. “Cog, who was it who was close to you?” He sighed deeply, and looked her in the eyes.

“It hurts to think of him.” He said. “He was like a brother to me, and we became brothers, but he wanted a quiet life, not too much adventure. I had to go, but I couldn’t bear part with him. So, I died.” He laughed at the thought of death. “It probably hurt him for a while, but people he would be at peace, knowing that I wasn’t in possible danger at any given second.”

“His name is Aged Scroll. Quite a proficient writer, if I’m not mistaken.” He finished. He hung his head, obviously pained by memories of the past. Twilight smiled. She knew how to help him. And she knew just the pony to help.

-+-+-+-+-+-

The walk ended nicely, both in a comfortable trot. Cog even was a gantlecolt and walked with her to her home. She opened the door, and what she saw surprised her more than she could imagine.

Standing there, was a furious Princess Celestia. She saw Twilight enter, and her expression softened, if only slightly. Twilight bowed. “Princess, what a pleasure to have you. Do you need anything?”

Her expression steeled once more. “I need Cog. He has Cadence worried out of her mind.”

Twilight looked confused. “Why? Was it something in the package?” Celestia nodded grimly. She lifted up a covered box, and then she pulled off the cover.

Inside was someponies heart. Twilight almost vomited. Then she saw it was beating, being sustained by the case. She could only just barely contain it. Then she saw the plaque below the heart. It read “Proof that Cog Nition has a heart.”

This was the tipping point, and Twilight emptied the contents of her stomach on the floor. “I’m so sorry princess! Let me go clean this up.” Using her magic, Twilight lifted the bile off the floor, and threw it as hard as she could out the window. She then walked into the kitchen, going to get the cleaning supplies.

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Finally, Discord thought to himself, the rain had finally gotten that corrosive nightmare off of me. He settled into his shell, plotting his next dastardly plan.

With a sickening schlorp, a familiar burning sensation returned. Discord groaned, and instinctively tried to brush the new vomit off of him. He groaned again when he remembered that he was encased in stone (But it could have been carbonite for all he cared.).

He opened his eyes, and a wicked grin spread across his face. His arm had moved a few centimeters out of place, and a faint color was coming to the gray stone prison of his. It’s weakening. He looked up, and the overhead cloud took on a faint pinkish color.

Soon, those ponies will pay for their crimes.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Twilight emerged from the kitchen to find that Celestia had already cleaned the spot from the floor. Twilight’s mouth fell, and Celestia chuckled, then steeled her face again. “Now, Twilight. Luna and I did the same thing when we saw it, but it was directed towards Cadence. He sent it to her directly. She screamed so loud that ponies around the castle heard it.”

“He mailed her his heart, and now she thinks he killed himself to prove a point.” Celestia sighed. “I need to take him back again, and prove to Cadence that he still lives.”

Twilight took her time, before sighing. “Well, you can probably find him in his house. But if he is in the basement, you may want to wait outside the door. He goes down there to... Vivisect himself.”

“Twilight, I have seen thousands of years. The insides of a pony don’t often affect us as much.” Celestia scolded. Twilight looked up at her with worried eyes.

“That’s not all that is down there... He has his organs and insides preserved, in jars along the shelves, so that if he needs to, he can look at his old parts. He probably thinks highly of Cadence if he gave her his heart.” She laughed. “Literally.”

“Thank you for warning me, Twilight. But I really must save Cadence. I hope you have a good day.” Celestia nodded, Twilight bowed, and then Celestia walked away from the library.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Celestia could see why Cog lived on the outer side of town. Less likely for somepony to stumble upon him. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open. “I’m not in the mood for visitors today. Please leave.” Called the one inhabitant.

“Cog?” Celestia called. “Where are you? We need to talk.” She could hear a crash from downstairs, as well as a slight amount of cursing. She went to the basement door, and saw him standing in a puddle of strange goo. There was a pair of lungs inside the goo, and shattered about were fragments of glass.

He jumped when he saw her, but then went off and brought out a new jar. He scooped a large amount of goo inside, then placed his lungs back in it. He proceeded to get as much goo as he could, and sealed the jar. “This really is a bad time. I’m getting power flow interruptions, and I cant have those, lest I die.”

He walked over to a table, and he laid down on it. He plugged up his machine to his body, and then sliced his stomach open. She saw the flash of green fire as the blade punctured his disguise and chitin. He pulled his body apart, and pulled out a strange combination of gears and crystals. He looked about it, then sighed. He put it in a small metal ball, which had a few holes for output. He put it back, and then pulled out a box. It looked quite like an old cast-iron stove, and that is exactly what it contained.

Celestia raised an eyebrow, and Cog sighed. “It’s my new stomach. It boils steam to power my systems. But... aha!” He laughed. “I forgot to add air intakes and depositories!” He goes over and grabs some tubes. He connects them, and lines them up inside his body. Two of them protrude from his back, behind his wings, and they flare out at the end.

He takes his scalpel and slices two holes in the sides of his chitin, and puts vents on them. He then lines up his remaining shell, and with a flurry of concentration, and a burst of green magic, his shell begins to mend itself. Celestia gasped slightly as the green fire returns and his body is good as new.

“There we go! I’m getting a smooth power load.” He got off the table, and unplugged himself from the machine. “Thank you for waiting. And your admiration for my simple feat of healing magic is ever so sweet.” he shot her a perky grin. “Now, to test the vents.” He turned a dial, and the vents on the top and bottom both opened and closed. “All systems functional.”

She kept her steel gaze on him. “Did you have to do that just then?” she asked warily.

“But of course!” He replied. “If my power failed, then I would instantly nearly instantly die. I don’t have any backup systems installed yet, so I could die just like anypony. And with my systems on the fritz, I could have died any second.” He smiled. “Not that it would make much impact on the world.”

Celestia glared. “Actually, that is why I am here. I need you to come back to Canterlot with me. Your ‘gift’ to Cadence has her thinking that you are dead.” He gasped.

He motioned with his hoof. “Lead the way, princess.” He said, with a frown on his face.

-+-+-+-+-+-

The two were walking out of town to get on Celestia’s chariot, when Twilight came rushing out of the trees. “Cog!” She cried. “I... I just wanted to say goodbye. I haven’t really gotten a good chance to talk to you about it, but... would you... could we...” She blushed and stared at the ground. “Could we... maybe...”

He walked up to her and gave her a hug. “I would be delighted to.” He squeezed her tightly, and smelled her mane. It smelled slightly of lavender.

She began to cry, and hugged him back. He smelled subtly of oil and smoke. And she loved it. She pressed the lexicon against a small patch of his back, and pressed the button. “Could you confirm it for me?” She asked as the green button flashed.

“Confirm what?” he asked. She replied with a kiss. He froze. He had seen it done before, but was never one of the subjects. He sat there for a moment, dazed, all the while, her expression grew more and more worried. He then leaned in and gave her a kiss back. When they separated, She gave a content sigh.

“That was wonderful. Do come back to me, Cog.” He looked curiously at her. She flipped her mane, and ran her hoof through it. She giggled. “You know, anything can happen.”

“Well, Ok then. I’ll be back soon, and then we can fall into the swing of things.” He turned to Celestia. “Let’s go mend a shattered heart.” She nodded, and they were off.

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Long chapter again. But I'm happy to be working on the story again. I knew that I would eventually get around to the romance tag, and this is just the chapter for it.

“Well... The door is locked.” Cog sighed. Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Yes, we know.” She said.

“By a magical barrier.”

“We know.”

“That only I can break.”

“Ye... Wait, what?”

“This barrier,” He explained, “Is fueled by mourning. She is feeding her sadness to the shield, as well as her love. This is creating a double barrier, made only of magic. But,” He reached into his coat, and pulled out a glistening Copper cube. “This, as you know, nullifies magic.”

He pressed a button, and put it at the edge of the shield. Surely, the shield flaked away, until the door stood before them. He pushed it open, and there she lay, crying on her bed. When she realized somepony was in her room, she moved to blast them with her magic.

She couldn’t feel the tides of love surge through her body, and turned in pure fury. Who would dare to enter her room unannounced, and block her magic? When she saw Cog standing there, cocky grin plastered across his face, and she nearly exploded in fury. How dare some changeling come here and impersonate him!

She saw Celestia walk in behind him, reluctantly followed by Luna. Then it hit her. “Are you really...” she began, and he rushed up and hugged her.

“Hush now. I’m here.” He whispered in her ear. She began sobbing into his shoulder, blubbering about how sad and angry she was, that he would go to such extent as to prove he wasn’t evil. He pulled away and chuckled. “My dear, I was taking my heart out anyways. But it would go to a better home if somepony else held it. Besides, you are the goddess of love. Why shouldn’t I give you my heart, since you are the best to guide it?”

She laughed. “Well, I do know a certain somepony who has had her eyes on you for a while...” He chuckles.

“Let me guess.” He pulls back, and begins talking in a sappy romance-narrator voice. “She is a beautiful lavender unicorn mare. Her purple mane, long and even, billows in the breeze, with a single pink stripe down the center. She is perfect, in mind and body, as her wits are sharper than her looks. And...” He takes in a deep breath. “Her name is... Twilight Sparkle.” He feigned a swoon at this, and had everypony laughing.

Cadence smiled at him. “Bingo.” She said with a smirk. “How long have you known?”

Cog sighed. “Too long. But you know me. I try not to take the initiative, so I played the waiting game. If they really wanted me, then they would eventually come forth.” He smiled again. “But enough about me! Your the reason I’m here! I’m here to get you’ back on your hooves.” He picked her up, which surprised both of them. “My, my. Your light as a feather!” He exclaimed while she blushed.

“Well, That was easier done than said.” The four of them began laughing, but Cog couldn’t push the idea that something was terribly wrong.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Incredibly short chapter, but I didn’t want to smash a the next chapter with this one, since the next is gonna be a long one.

Twilight set up the Lexicon, ready to see just who this Aged Scroll was. She pressed play, and was greeted by an unnerving green light, rather than red. He still came out, but into darkness. He could hear a raspy cry, while his limbs flailed about chaotically. Somepony came up, closer, until in the full view of Cog. It wasn’t a pony, but a changeling. A faint green glow came from the walls, and for the first time, Cog’s hooves came into view. They were black and full of holes. Twilight screamed.

She turned the dial to maximum, hoping to find when this creature replaced her Cog, when she saw something. She slowed it down, and saw time freeze. Cog, just now of age, had looked back at his hive when a wave of rainbow energy slammed into it, setting it ablaze and burning hundreds of thousands of eggs and other changelings. The image blurred as Cog’s eyes began to tear up. His whole family, wiped out in a few meager seconds. He turn and ran, as far as his hooves would take him. He finally reached a grove, and it was obvious that the changeling was going to starve.

Then the eyes opened again, and before him stood a brown unicorn filly. “Hia.” It said. “I haven’t seen you before. Who are you?”

The eyes looked at him, and she heard Cog’s disembodied voice. “I should be dead. But instead, I am spared and my family dies. So now I am alone.”

The filly’s eyes held nothing but understanding. A smile played across his face. “You know what? I like you. You and I we have a lot in common! We should work together! I’m Aged. Aged Scroll.”

The screen looked up. “You aren’t scared of me?”

“Nope.” The brave brown filly declared. He smiled at the screen again. “So... What should I call you?”

A holed hoof comes up to the screen. “Friend. I don’t have a name, so just call me friend.” The brown filly smiled and nodded his head. The growl emminating from his stomach ticked Cog off to his new pal’s hunger. “My friend, are you hungry?” The filly nodded again. “Let me go see if I can find you something. You wait here, I’ll be back.”

Cog trotted off and came to a town. He saw the nearest food vendor, and a ripple of green flame washed across his vision. He was now the orange mare running the cart. When the actual pony stepped aside for a few minutes, Cog walked in, grabbed a box of food, and left before she came back.

“He’s good...” Twilight mused.

He walked back to the grove, and returned to his changeling shape before making his presence known. He gave Aged the food, and politely refused it when Aged asked if he wanted any. He just sat there and fed off the true, genuine love that filly gave him.

Twilight turned the dial, and sped through a few years of this. Finally, she slowed down, and came to another milestone point. “Friend, why don’t we see if we can get adopted?” Aged looked happy as ever.

“Adopted?” Came Cog’s confused voice. He tilted his head and looked at his friend.

“Yeah, it’s where some adult ponies take in some lonely children to be their own. You and I could be brothers! Wouldn’t it be so much fun? Plus, you wouldn’t have to sneak into town again! Free food and home!”

Cog put a hoof up to his chin. “Well, it could work. But, I’ll need to do something. Please hold still. And don’t be afraid at what you see.” Cog’s eyes shut, in deep concentration. A pulse of green seeped through his shut eyelids, and a gasp was heard. Cog opened his eyes and looked at Aged. “How do I look?” he asked.

Aged could only sit there and gape. “Thats... AWESOME!” The filly jumped. “You look just like me, minus the horn. And your eyes are the same, so I know who you are!” The filly jumped again. “Lets go get adopted!”

Twilight turned the dial through a year of comfort and happiness. She slowed it down again when she saw the angry face of Cog’s father and mother. “You horrid insect! You parasite!” She spat the words, the acid even painful to Twilight.

“But I did nothing wrong!” complained Cog’s voice. “I’m a monster, but I did nothing wrong.” Tears were welling in his eyes. “Why do I deserve this hatred?”

The father hrumphed. “Because you fed off of our son. You are a parasite, and parasites must be removed.” The fathers hoof rose and slammed into Cog’s face. “Where is our son’s twin?” Cog whimpered. “Speak, worm!” The hoof fell again.

“I am his brother.” Cog whimpered.

“Lies.” The mother spat. “How should we be rid of him?”

“Let me pretend to die. Aged will think I am dead, and you will be rid of me. In return, please keep my secret. I never hurt anypony, and I don’t want to start now.” Cog pleaded. The father sighed.

“Fine, but you must never return to this town. Ever.” he finally said.

Twilight couldn’t handle any more, and sped through faster. She saw his funeral, and Aged’s frantic crying. She saw him gain his life as a nomad. She saw his time in Canterlot, with the Princess. She kept going, closer and closer to today, and finally reached that night when the princesses confronted him.

She saw him ruin her and Celestia’s friendship, and became confused. That never happened. She thought. She watched on, seeing his self imposed exile, and his scheme. She saw the flash of light, and the return to that fateful night.

A smile played across her face as she realized he used them to reality jump so as to not hurt them. She watched as he explained himself to the princesses, and saw their walk. She saw the times he sliced himself apart, and his unnatural habit of purposely cluttering up his space. She saw him remove his own heart and box it. She saw him confronted by Celestia for the heart, and saw their kiss.

It was both of their first kisses. She realized this changeling was hers, and she was his without falling prey to some spell. But now she knew why he tried to hide it. Changelings as a whole still aren’t the most liked creature, especially since the wedding had only been a few months earlier. Had he been open the whole time as to being a changeling, nopony in town would have accepted him.

She smiled. Now she knew his secret, and she knew exactly where Aged Scroll lived. “SPIKE!” she called. He came rushing up the stairs, and saluted. “Take a note please.”

“Dear Princess Celestia, I would like to inform you that I am going to be going on a short trip to the edges of Equestria, all in the name of friendship. I will have to leave Spike in charge of the library, which means that I will not be able to send or receive any messages until I return. I hope nothing urgent comes up. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike wrapped up the scroll and set it alight, watching as the burnt fragments drifted out the window. He turned to her. “So, does this mean I am really in charge until you get back?” He looked at her hopefully.

“No, Spike. My friends, should they come by, have the ultimate power. If they say so, then do it as if I said so.” she cocked her head. “Clear?”

He pinched his fingers together. “Crystal,” he said with a sigh. Twilight smiled, and began to pack up her things.

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again, I apologize about the delays. I meant to get this up sooner, but at least it is up. Look to see the next chapter up soon. See you all then!

Thankfully, the journey had been quick and trouble free. The only thing that occasionally bothered her was the lack of her friends. But they didn’t need to be with her, and she had practically grown up in silence. So she was left to her thoughts.

Which, at this moment, were rushing around like a decapitated chicken.

Did he use any of his subtle magics on her? Would he have? Did he really take apart his limbs, or did he just morph to look augmented? Far too many questions, and nopony that she could ask. She could ask him, but she may loose his trust. He worked for so long and so hard to keep his perfect world up. How could she shatter it by proving she knew?

She couldn’t sort through her questions, but she certainly could file them away. She shushed her mind as she neared the final destination, a region on the border of Equestria. Shetland, home to some truly strong ponies. They were home to numerous military ponies, but also to many good farmers.

On the outskirts of a small town, she decided to sleep out the night. She didn’t have enough bits with her to stay at an inn (Due to an inconvenient addition error), so she pitched her sleeping roll out in the shade of a small orchard. She continued the book she brought with her, eager to see what happened next.

“The knight wept biting tears, knowing with certain finality that his beloved twin brother was gone, slain by the dreaded dragon, Klave. He brought a hoof up and laid it upon his brother’s breast. “Brother,” he began. “I swear to your soul that I shall slay the dragon Klave in vengance, and the town shall be safe once more.” The knight stepped down, and sat at his seat, weeping over the fact that they will never again enter the battle bond, and that...”

A unicorn standing over her cleared his throat, breaking her concentration. “Milady, do you happen to have a place to stay? Certainly you can’t stay outside!” She looked up at him and shook her head. “My, my! This simply cannot do! I demand that you stay the night at my home. I simply mustn’t allow a mare of such beauty to stay outside in the biting cold. Up, up!” He lifted her up to her feet, then proceeded to pack her bags. “Please, follow me.”

She trotted after him carefully, and when they arrived, something struck Twilight as odd. She remembered this building, but from where? It wasn’t the one she was looking for, so what was it? She shook her head, and politely shut the door behind herself. “Make yourself at home! I have a few guest rooms upstairs if you would like one.” He stepped out of the kitchen. “May I ask, soup or sandwich?”

She took this moment to look at the gentlecolt before her, and was shocked. He stood at a good height, and had a good build. His brass coat and bronze mane left him looking even more masculine, but his quill and scroll cutie mark is what really told her who he was. She gasped. “You’re Aged Scroll! Oh, am I happy to see you!” she blurted, before adding “Oh, and sandwich. Daisy sandwich, please.”

He chuckled. “You have heard of me, then? It’s not every day I meet a dedicated fan.” He turned into his kitchen and made Twilight a sandwich, while he brewed himself some tea. “Do tell me, who are you? Also, how did you come by my work?” He asked as he walked out with the snacks.

“I’m Twilight Sparkle, personal student to princess Celestia.” She said, puffing out her chest. He bowed gracefully, making Twilight blush slightly. He waved a hoof for her to continue, and passed her her sandwich.

“Do go on,” He said, sipping his tea.

She sighed. This was the hard part. “And... I came across your work... because of your brother.” She cringed, and pulled away, he sat there, frozen.

His eyes sat there, motionless, unblinking, for a few moments, before he slowly put down his cup. “Get out.” he said. It was flat and emotionless, the way he said it. “My brother died before I began writing. His death is what inspired me. So I know you lie. Get out of my house, now.”

Twilight stood slowly. “What if I told you he lived? In fact, he still lives.” She went to get her stuff. “I came here to find you. His soul is broken from having to leave you. I’m trying to fix it.”

His eyes regarded her coldly. “I went to his funeral. I saw him dead. And if he lived, but just left, then why did he not say goodbye? He loved me far too much.”

Twilight sighed. “Why don’t we ask your parents? They caused him to leave. After they found out what he really was.” She stressed really to a breaking point.

He eyed her suspiciously. “And what was he really?”

She met his gaze full on. “A changeling.”

He recoiled in visible shock. “But, we were the only ones who knew, and I never said a word... not even to my parents... because they would have...” His eyes lit up as the pieces fell together. “They wouldn’t dare.” He muttered under his breath.

Twilight smiled. “Why don’t you go ask them? They could prove my story.” She opened the door, and looked out. Across the street, was Cog’s foalhood home. She smiled even wider. “Let’s go. If I’m wrong, you can say that I was crazy all along. If I’m right... which I am... We will just have to find out what happens.”

She trotted out the door, and across the street. She stood there, expectantly, until Aged stepped up beside her. “I don’t trust you, but I’m a good pony, and so I’ll give you a shot.” He knocked on the door. “Mom? Dad?” He called. “Can we talk?”

The door opened, and behind it was a smiling blue unicorn mare. “Of course, son. And who do we have the pleasure of meeting?” She sent him sultry eyes. “A new marefriend, perhaps?”

Both of them blurted out “No!” Twilight continued. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal student. We are here to talk about your son.”

Her smile faded. “He is standing right there, why do you have to bother us?”

Aged shook his head. “Mom... It’s about Elder.” What an interesting alias, Twilight thought. Aged and Elder Scroll. The Scroll twins. How clever.

Her smile vanished completely. “What is there you need to know from us? You knew him better than most.”

Aged looked around. “Ma, can we come in? I don’t want to talk about it where there may be prying ears.” She nodded and opened the door wider, allowing them inside.

She led them to the main room, where her husband sat, peacefully snoring. She turned and looked at them, the smile having returned, although obviously forced. “Mom, when did Elder die?”

She looked at him with sad eyes. “A few minutes after we found him on the edge of town.” she frowned. “Didn’t we tell you?”

“Yes, you told me that lie already. When did the real Elder die?” He pressed. She sighed, and nudged her husband awake.

“Elder died before you two ever came to town. He had been replaced by a... Monster.” She spat the word out as if it were going to bite her. “The thing that came into town with you was nothing more than a parasite.”

He glared her down. “How dare you call him a monster. He hid because he feared for me! He didn’t want MY life to get ruined because I called a changeling ‘brother.’” She gasped loudly. “Oh yes! I knew what he was, the entire time! We worked together! We were a team! He LOVED me. Call him heartless. But I know who is really the heartless one.”

She began to break down. “Who kept me away from the only one who helped me when I wasn’t in your home? Who stood up for me and gave me everything? Who loved me so much that he died for me? I cried for YEARS after he died, while you stood over me, knowing he still lived.” He turned to Twilight. “Can you take me to him? Now.”

Twilight stood there, dumbfounded. She only wanted her friends to be re-united, but at what cost? She didn’t mean for him to hurt his adopted parents. All she could do was nod. He accepted that, then said “Lead the way.” They left the weeping mother behind, stopped by Aged’s house to get a few things, and Twilight began the long walk home, with Aged tagging closely behind.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Suprised? So am I. I was simply writing and this came out. After re-reading it, the only thing that came to mind was: “Well... That escalated quickly.”

When Cog returned home after his second vacation, one thought continued through his mind. Twilight. What was going to come of this? He had never faked a relationship, so he had no idea what this would entail.

He patted his head, all this circular thinking giving him a headache. He felt the now familiar roar in his stomach as the furnace burned hotter. He felt his systems speeding up on this burst of power, smiling at himself. Ever since he put the systems in place, he was happy to feel no hunger, and feel his systems grow more responsive.

But his thoughts soon returned to Twilight. Would she be waiting? Would they need to do something daily? He couldn’t tell. He couldn’t comprehend this new situation. Without an example, he had nothing to base off of. He was alone, stripped of his experiences, his guides. He was, quite certainly, facing the truly unknown.

Over the years, he had grown used to the fact that he was not normal. He showed compassion because it provided positive results. He always provided others courtesy, even if they were downright horrid. He always greeted people as friend, and he always left with “Have a good day.” His life was one long, complex set of responses, said for the betterment of everypony.

“Oh, Cog. What have you gotten yourself into now...” He mused as he landed on his balcony. “Now what?” He asked nopony. He gazed around, looking at all his unfinished designs. “Might as well do something. Maybe I’ll go over to Twilight’s later.” He mumbled to himself. He picked up a design, which was a more advanced Lexicon, and turned it over. He levitated the pieces towards him, and began fumbling with the pieces.

Things began clicking together, and soon he was immersed in a sea of parts, while he slowly dissected a clock sitting before him, when a knock came at his door. He frowned, then looked at the clock in his hooves, realizing it was his last clock. He sighed. “Come in. Shop is closed, and I’ll be down shortly.”

He heard two sets of hooves downstairs, and then Twilight’s familiar voice. “Cog? I brought somepony you will want to see.” He heard the basement door creak, and Twilight’s hushed “wait here.”

He sat there for a while, then called “I’m upstairs, working on the next big thing.” He called out to the two downstairs. He heard a sigh of relief from Twilight, and heard them coming upstairs. He reached out, and tasted the love that Twilight nearly leaked, but also a new, hesitant love. He could have sworn he had tasted it before, but he couldn’t put his hoof on it. He shook the feeling away, and turned to his room.

He started to re-arrange the clutter, and then made himself presentable, donning his coat and Putting things away. He heard the click of the doorknob and checked himself in the mirror. He straightened his coat and turned to smile at whoever was in the doorway.

He turned, and gasped.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Twilight stood in the doorway, looking at Cog gaping. He was trying to form words, but nothing was exiting his mouth. She cleared her throat to break the silence. “Cog, let me introduce you to the esteemed author, Aged Scroll.” She was beaming.

Aged stepped up and gave Cog a hug. “Brother, you have no idea how happy I am to see you. Can you lower your disguise? You are in the company of seers.” Cog pulled back and gave a betrayed look at Aged, and then an inquisitive look at Twilight. Aged looked at Cog inquisitively. “Did you not give her the memory cube?”

Cog sat there dumbfounded, and then it hit him. He turned to Twilight. “You used the Lexicon on me? When? You need to say confirm...” and then he facehoofed. “You used it on me when we kissed? I feel... violated.”

Twilight feared he would break the relationship, when he continued. “Violated... but not in a bad way. This relationship phase is all... dark and twisted.” he looked up and grinned. “I love twists.”

He turned to Aged. “Certainly, brother.” A wave of green flames encased him, and his pony form boiled away, leaving behind his changeling form. He visibly shuddered. “I haven’t done that in a long time.” He looked up and saw Aged’s confusion. “Is something wrong, brother?”

Aged pointed at his mechanical parts. “Why didn’t you change your wings and hindquarters? Don’t be insulted, the metalcraft is beautiful, but I wanted to see you. Not half-you.”

Cog facehoofed again. He turned to the lavender mare before him. “You told him I lived, and where I lived, but not about these?” he asked, ruffling his wings. She simply shrugged. He sighed, and walked up to Aged. “Brother. You are going to have to see this to believe it. Follow me.” He walked down the stairs, Aged in tow.

He stopped before the reinforced door that lead into his basement. He turned and gave Aged a stern look. “Now, I am going to warn you. What you are about to see made even the princesses ill.” He pushed the door open, and led them down into the underground.

The first room they stopped in was the operating room. Aged looked at Cog concernedly. “Brother, are you ill?” He asked tennetively.

Cog laughed. “I assure you I am in the best of health.” a puff of steam rose from the pipes on his back. “This room is for the surgeries.” Aged was about to ask something when Cog shushed him. “Follow me please, there is another room.”

He pushed open the backdoor, which led even deeper, until they reached another room. Cog pushed a hidden button, carved into the rock face, and the grinding of gears could be heard. Row upon row of cases, each holding a different part of him, all sat there, preserved perfectly, yet still functioning. His lungs still inflated and deflated, his stomach still bubbled, and his wings occasionally fluttered.

Aged retched, and Twilight sighed. She levitated it off the floor, went upstairs, and hurled it. “That’s the third time since he came here.” She mumbled to herself. She came back downstairs to see Aged prodding at Cog’s wings.

“Well... This is... Absolutely amazing!” He finally exclaimed. Cog mearly smiled and nodded. “Dude. This is trully inspiring! You’re telling me you made these yourself, and even did the entire procedure to put them in? You could have died at any slip up!” Cog winced, but Aged continued. “And yet here you stand! You are a testament to the idea of bravery!”

Then, he asked something that neither expected. “So... Got anything new you plan on doing? Any new parts? I may not be able to help you put them in, but maybe I can help, you know, with tools and all.”

Twilight recoiled in horror, and a sly grin crossed Cog’s face. “Actually, there is.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

And here I leave you, hoping this chapter turned out well. Also, dat cliffhanger. What do you think he is going to replace now? His eyes? His brain? Oh, the possibilities! Anyways, I wish you all are well, and I thank you all who have the patience to follow this story!

Cog had been under for a few hours now, with Aged by his side the entire time. He was actually quite glad to have his brother by his side, because he knew that he had an easy crutch, should he need it. “Tweezers.” He asked softly, and found some tweezers by his side. “Thank you.” He whispered.

He reached in his chest cavity and felt a slight twinge as he pulled up the exposed muscle. He whispered “Scalpel,” but already found one in place. “You have no idea how much you are helping me right now, brother.” Aged chuckled slightly, then nodded. Cog looked at the mirror, and sliced evenly along the barrier.

There was a sickening pop, and his severed fore-legs fell to the floor. He sliced along the bottom of his neck, and painstakingly removed each and every remaining muscle and bone in his chest. It was painful, extremely so, yet since he had an easy energy source, he pressed on. He finally came to the point where only his neck and head remained organic, everything else either missing or mechanical.

He levitated his front half off the table, fighting to stay conscious, and set himself down into his new frontal section. He felt the coolness of the metal on his neck, and heard the various clicks as the body locked into place. He heard a familiar hiss, signaling that all systems functioned, and he disconected the life-maker.

He felt a slight burden, and felt his power supply dwindling. He gasped for air, and realized his fire had gone out. “Wood for the boiler.” He choaked out, before slowly collapsing to the ground. Aged rushed upstairs, and grabbed a few cuts from the pile outside. He floated them down to Cog, still sputtering and wheezing. Cog flipped open a hatch and threw a log inside. Cog struggled to stay conscious as he struck the match, and dropped it inside of him. He felt light headed, and his vision began to blur, when the familiar whoosh of air entered the boiler and the roar of the fire started.

At that roar, he felt the system emergency checkup systems working. Now that the system was fully integrated, he had a backup furnace in case things went for a turn down the worst. He stood, and looked at his brother, who was still giving him a worried look. Cog laughed. “Thank you, brother. You saved my life, and I thank you again because it is the last time I’ll need that.

Aged went from worry to confusion. “Why will it never bother you? Backup systems?” At Cog’s nod, it was Aged’s time to chuckle. “You still think of everything, don’t you?”

Cog puffed out his chest. “I certainly do!” The two hugged, and walked upstairs calmly, where a worried Twilight Sparkle sat. “Well, what do you think?” Cog asked.

They all flinched as they heard a casual scream from outside. “INNN COMINGGG!!!” Soon enough, the famous cyan pegasus slammed through the ceiling, and looked at those around. “Sup?” She asked nonchalantly.

Cog ruffled his own wings. He kicked his front legs about. “Well, I did some bodywork.” He chuckled at his own joke. “Oh, and Rainbow? I got the parts for your order. I should have your order completed in a few days.” He winked at her, provoking a blush. “Now, what do you think of these?” He reared up and displayed his mechanical fore-body. “Pretty sweet, huh?”

Rainbow Dash tapped her chin for a while before calmly stating. “Well... It is pretty sweet, but if I had them, I’d want them to be about twenty percent cooler.” She said with a smirk.

Cog chuckled. “Unfortunately, rainbows, thunderbolts, and clouds are not... as Rarity would put it: ‘my style.’” This playful banter continued between them for a while, until Aged tapped Cog on the shoulder.

“Brother, you were about to show me about the town, in the company of your marefriend.” Aged said nonchalantly. Cog shot him a glare.

“Brother of mine, that was not yet public information.” Cog whispered with a scowl.

Rainbow Dash perked up at this information. “Dating? You have a marefriend?” She stretched marefriend out until completely out of breath. “Huh, huh? Who is it? Is it somepony I know? Huh, huh?”

Cog facehoofed. “Rainbow, as of now, it is of no importance. Please, go about your business. As it were, you planned on training for the wonderbolt tryouts today, were you not?”

Rainbow gasped. “Oh, yeah! I was practicing that when I joined you all. Thanks for the chat! It was a lot of fun.” He eyed Twilight suspiciously. “A lot of fun.” She added, before flying out the new skylight.

Cog turned to Twilight. “I knew we were going to go and enjoy this trip, but can you head home instead? I’m not quite...” he shifted his position, and then looked at the floor. “comfortable. With going public. Yet.” He looked up at her. “You aren’t mad, right?” He asked hopefully.

She chuckled. “No... I’m not mad. But I was looking forward to that walk.”

He looked at her with a mix of confusion and joy. “Well, we can always go under the light of the moon.” He suggested. “I hope you have a good day, Twilight.” He said, as he opened the door.

“You too.” She called back. They shut the door behind them, and Twilight sat just a little bit longer. She went upstairs to see a pile of parts next to an unfinished lexicon. Twilight was about to put the rest of it together for him when she saw the plans.

Now, most plans include every little detail and what goes where. Cog’s plans were more like concept sktches, lists, and final results. The rest was just a list of hard to come by or specific parts. As she gazed over it, she saw one bold thing written in objectives.

“Contain Personality.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

That was fun. Now, why would Cog want a lexicon with a personality? He isn’t lonely, is he? Or does he plan something sinister? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see.

"So let me get this straight, He let them waltz up and blast him, just like that? He put up no resistance, just stood there while he was turned to stone?" Aged asked. Cog chuckled.

He threw a hoof over Aged’s shoulder. “Brother, I asked exactly the same thing when I heard the story. Did you know she was the one who also saw through Chrysalis’es disguise? She knew Cadence too well, and saw through the disguise quickly.” Cog suddenly took on a crestfallen look.

Aged noticed this, and asked. “So... How are you and Chryssy anyway? Any luck?” Cog looked up and thought hard.

He had met Chrysalis a long time ago, back when they all lived under the same roof. She and her swarm was flying past when his foreign scent reached their senses. She had him abducted, and interrogated. When he gave her everything he knew, she had felt pity for the one changeling. He would never be able to rebuild his rival hive, so she set him free. She asked his opinion on many things, since he didn’t agree with her on everything. It became a back and forth communication, using a disguised changeling to deliver messages as the distance between them grew. And with time came a stressed friendship.

But recently he hadn’t heard anything, and he was growing concerned. She had launched an attack on Canterlot because times were growing desperate for her hive. But that had been thwarted by Twilight and her friends. He didn’t think she had died, but it was certain that her hive was on the brink of disaster.

A familiar gray mailmare flew into view, breaking his thoughts. “Hello there, Derpy.” Cog said, greeting this familiar sight. “Got a package for me, have you?”

“Uhuh.” Derpy said, nodding furiously. “Other pony had it, but wasn’t doing good. He had to go away, and I got his work. Here you go.” She said, handing him the letter. “Really important. Bye!” She flew off, right into a tree. “Right.” she said, and turned to fly off in a different direction.

Aged looked at him in a peculiar way. He was about to say something, when Cog put a hoof over his lips. “It’s rude. She is happy working, and we don’t ruin it.” Aged looked ready to say something, but nodded and went along with it.

Cog looked down at the letter in his hooves. On the surface was written “To Cog Nition, with utmost haste.” He took his wing and pried the letter open. Inside was a small note. “Beaten and battered, but alive. Hiding with a sister, and it is absolutely terrible. Come visit us sometime. Hiding in the Everfree. The zebra can help you find us. Signed, Chrysalis.”

He looked up, then turned to Aged. “Brother, feel like visiting an old friend?

-+-+-+-+-+-

Cog walked cheerfully through the Everfree, with Aged tailing close behind. “Brother, are you sure you have been this way before? These woods make me... restless.” Aged finally admitted. Cog could only smile.

“Yes, brother. I know where Zecora lives. After all, I lived in her house for some time, in another time-line.” Cog chuckled, looking back on those bleak days. “Zecora is a good pony, but chooses to live on the outskirts of town. It is her lifestyle, not a punishment.”

They reached the clearing by Zecora’s hut, and Aged breathed a sigh of relief. Cog walked on, and knocked on the door. It opened, and standing there was Applejack’s little sister, Applebloom, one of those Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Can ah help you, Mr. Cog?” She asked politely.

Cog chuckled. “Why yes, Applebloom, you can. Can you tell me where Zecora is? We need to talk.”

Applebloom opened the door further, and inside was the zebra he was looking for. She looked up and said. “Ah, the colt of a thousand parts, but who still has a sense of art. How are you? And what have you come to do?”

Aged looked at Cog, who nodded. “Yes, she does only speak in rhyme. As for you, Zecora, I am quite well. However, what I need requires your assistant’s dismissal.”

The zebra raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Applebloom? Can you go into town for me? There is something I need. A rare blue flower, sold during the next few hours.” Applebloom saluted, and Zecora handed her a bag of bits. Applebloom left without a word, and Zecora turned to Cog. “Now, my machine friend, what can I mend?”

Cog tapped his hoof to his chin. “Zecora, I need to see Chrysalis.” she took a step back and gasped.

“How do...” Cog shushed her, and then revealed his head. He quickly disguised his head again, and gave her a smile. “We are old friends.” She could only nod. “You aren’t replaced, right?”

“No, my friend. I have not yet met my end.” Zecora chuckled. “Now, come. This journey will take an hour more than one.” She pushed open the door, and then motioned for them to follow.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“Thanks again, Zecora!” They called out as the zebra left their company. They both turned to the obelisk standing before them. The pillar was made of beautiful black obsidian, which seemed to absorb all ambient light around. On the eastern side, they found a golden seal, and knocked on it three times.

A slot opened up in the side, and a changeling looked out. “Food, why do you disturb us?” It asked.

Cog grinned. “For visitation. You have someling that we would like to speak to. May we enter?” he returned. The changeling looked at them, studying them hard.

“Alright. Any trouble and you will become the food that you really are.” He grumbled. The vision slot disappeared and a doorway took its place. Aged stepped in, confidently, but jumped back at the sound of metal hitting metal.

Cog’s wing had deflected a heavy metal rod that the changeling had tried to bring down upon Aged’s head. “Now now. Did mother never teach you manners? You dont injure guests.” Cog tutted. “What would she do? Knowing that Chyrsalis’ own special guests were being attacked?”

The changeling stopped his attacks. “How do you know of Chrysalis? Nopony knew of her location, save us, her changelings, and that infernal zebra.” The changeling spat. “I don’t know why the empress trusts her.”

Cog chuckled, but stopped when he heard the shriek of metal cutting. Some changeling had just swung a large sword into his thigh, hoping that it would be a weak spot in his “Armor.”

He turned and looked at the changeling, who stood there dumbfounded. There should be a pony beneath, one weak and fleshy. Cog laughed. “Now you know, I am made of metal. Congratulations! You are the first being to ruin the artwork that is my body.”

His smile faded, replaced by a threatening stare of hate. “Now, I will have to return the favor.” Cog turned and bucked the changeling into the wall, hearing a satisfactory clunk as the changeling was knocked out. He turned again, just in time to see a pipe slam into his face.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Oh, am I going to have fun with this. I have no idea when the next chapter will be out, but expect sooner rather than later.

Cog awoke to find himself bound by rusty chains. He looked about, and saw aged there as well, bound similarly. They were in some sort of dungeon, with a changeling guard watching them. “Changeling,” Cog called. “What would you do if I broke free?”

The changeling’s expression stayed steeled. “I would be forced to subdue you, living clock.” It said expressionlessly. “Besides, that would only delay your meeting with the empress.” The sounds of footsteps echoed nearer. “And that meeting would be now. Behave, you two.”

As the door creaked open, Aged woke with a start. But feeling the chains around his limbs caused him to curl up into a ball. Standing in the door was a changeling queen, but one unlike any other Cog had ever seen.

She stood at least a head taller than Chrysalis, and was a dark shade of grey, rather than black. Her mane and tail glowed an unhealthy green and billowed in an etheral wind that only touched her. Her eyes were an unnerving golden, but with the traditional slit pupils. Her horn curved upward, with the holes always on the front, giving it a saw-like look. Her limbs were also unusual in the fact that they had no holes.

She stood before them, and he could feel the power radiating off of her body. Cog searched her eyes for cruelty, found in most queens, but found none. Only sadness prevailed. Sadness, with a touch of frustration. She inhaled to speak, and Cog tensed, readying for a verbal attack.

Instead, out of her mouth came a motherly voice, much like Celestia’s. “My dear ponies, don’t they teach you to stay away from us?” She laughed a sweet laugh. “Why didn’t you stay away? And what persuaded our mutual friend to betray our location?”

Cog couldn’t think straight. His underlying changeling emotions were telling him to bow and worship this being, where as his pony mind was stunned with her attitude. It was Aged who spoke back. “How dare you treat Chrysalis’ honored guests like this! Do you have any idea who we are?”

The Empress was taken aback, then laughed. “My daughter has actually made friends? How sweet.” Her expression fell. “But I don’t think she has any. Guardling, did they tell you this information when they came in?”

He looked down in shame. “Yes, Empress. I had the same sentiments as you, and so I brought them down here so you could deal with them at your leisure.”

She looked down at the sad changeling. “Dear changeling. Please, I understand. But we do not treat guests like prisoners. Have they been fed yet?” The changeling shook his head no. She sighed. “Go ask Chrysalis if she was expecting two ponies, and get them some of food.”

She turned back to the two brothers. “Well, while we wait, why don’t we play a little game. I ask a question, you answer. Then reverse. This will go on until the changeling returns, and then we will decide what happens. First off, names are in order.” She smiled again. “I am Harpa, Empress of the changelings. And you are?”

Cog stood again. “I am Cog Nition, master mechanic. I build... machines of various purposes.” He smiled back at her. “And this is my brother, Aged Scroll, a wonderful author.”

Harpa put a hoof to her chin, and thought for a while. “Aged Scroll... I read your submission to the royal court about the changelings. You are a surprisingly open mind, for a pony. Alright. Now, lets think of something to ask... Do you actually know Chrysalis?”

Cog didn’t bat an eye. “Yep. We have been pen-pals for some time. After a... misunderstanding, we became friends. I introduced her to Aged shortly after.” He finished and smiled. “Now, my turn. How long has this hive been here?”

Harpa smiled. “Centuries. You are looking at the birthplace of the changeling race. Every race thinks we originated in the desert, but in fact we were forced there after a great battle with.”

She was interrupted by the cell door flying open, and Chrysalis entering, with a concerned look on her face. “Mother, what is the meaning of this?”

Cog took in a sharp intake of breath, drawing everybody’s attention. “She is your... and you were her... but that means... and...” Cog could only stutter, and then collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Yes, Cog. This means that she is the progenitor of our race. And yes, this means that she is your grandmother.”

Harpa’s eyes were immediately drawn to Cog. “I knew I could detect the faintest traits of pheromones on you. What hive do you belong to? Not one of the traitor hives, I hope.” She turned to Aged. “Did you know your brother had been replaced by a changeling?”

Aged nearly exploded. Had he not been chained to the ground, he would have broken something. He resorted to slamming his hoof on the ground with surprising strength. He smashed the chain underhoof. “That changeling IS my brother! How many ponies must I tell this to?”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “I knew the whole time what he was. We are brothers, since the only family we had was each other. His hive destroyed, my family burned. We were alone, but we had each other. Too many ponies have tried to ‘protect’ me from him, but he is the one who protects me from them.”

He smashed the other chains and walked over to Cog. “Now it is time I repay the favor.” He smashed the chains holding his brother, and then he picked him up. “Chrysalis, it has been fun, but we really must be going now.”

She looked hurt, but covered it in anger. Harpa only looked sad. “Aged. I need some time alone with Cog. I promise not to accuse him, I just want to learn some things from him.”

Aged sighed. “Alright. But I want to be able to leave immediately afterward. And, I want you both to wait until he has come to his wits. I just got my brother back. I don’t want to loose him again.”

Harpa looked down. “I understand your concerns, and we shall not be long. Please, you have no need to worry.”

A guardling ushered Aged out of the room, which Harpa then silenced and locked. She looked down at Cog with soft eyes, then nudged him awake. “Cog, we need to speak. I don’t know what hive you hail from, but it matters greatly. Who’s son do I gaze upon?”

Cog looked up at her with sad eyes. “Unfortunately, Harpa, I do not remember. I wish I did, but I was just growing my shell when the hive was lost.”

Chrysalis stepped in. “I know what hive he hails from. The only reason I know is because he lived in a town near the ruined hive. His queen,” She paused, to great dramatic effect, “Was your beloved Syndra.”

Harpa looked at Chrysalis in shock. “You know what this calls for, then? You denied him his right?”

Chrysalis shrugged. “Syndra and I weren’t on the best of terms. Besides, it was fun to have a drone I could turn to. He helped me in numerous ways. Ways a rival couldn’t.”

Harpa looked infuriated. “Chrysalis. I told you about this. We haven’t had a king since Nightmare Moon. We need a new one. And he fits all the criteria.” She turned to Cog. “Cog, rise. Do you know what a changeling king is?” Cog shook his head no.

“A changeling king is much like a queen. The primary difference is gender, obviously. This means a king cannot raise a hive on his own. However, this also means a king has greater individual power. The king also has an increase in life, making him immortal, in my sense. He would never die, unless by the hand of another.”

“As a king, you retain your personality, but your body changes. Any disfigurations, any imperfections, any weaknesses will be removed. You would be born anew, and stand at a regal height. You would be faster and stronger than ever before.”

“And it’s not only the body that becomes perfect. It is your abilities as well. You would gain immense control over the minds of the weaker, and your magical power would be nearly limitless. You would learn faster, and remember clearer.”

“But, there is a hitch. A king can only come when they are the only survivor of a hive, and are inherently male. Both of which, you fit.” Harpa ended with a smile. “Cog, I am offering you the might to level the mountains. Do you want it?”

Cog sat for a while in silence, before asking. “What do I owe you in return? There is always a price.”

She sat there, before her expression softened. “You will be forced to obey my every word. As my appointee, whenever I call, you must come to me. No matter the danger to yourself.”

Cog sat there in silence for a long time. Finally he stood. He walked over to Harpa, and hugged her. This drew shocked expressions from both queens in the room. “My empress, this offer you give me is generous. But for now, I must decline.” He let go of her, and walked to the door. He pressed a button on his chest, and the silencer dropped. Chrysalis and Harpa felt the powerless feeling while in the null zone, and Cog turned to look at them in the door. “I wish you both a good day, my friends. But, again, I must decline.”

“Being defined as perfect may be nice, but this,” He motioned towards his robotic parts. “This, is perfection. And I plan to be it.”

As Cog walked out of the room, Chrysalis began laughing hysterically. A line of “I told you so”s and “First time turned down, mother?” came out.

It was quickly silenced by the gray glow of Harpa’s magic. “Silence, daughter. I need time to think.”

The door slammed shut.

-+-+-+-+-+-

I can’t decide: Harpa. Good or Bad? She is like a Celestia to the changelings, but she is manipulative like Chrysalis. She is probably gonna be good, but only for --message redacted due to spoilers.-- Also, yes, all these parts are recconections on purpose. They are telling about Cog 'reconnecting' with his friends, old and new. It wont be more than 6 parts (I hope).

Twilight couldn’t help but look out the window longingly. Cog and his brother had been gone for about a day, and Twilight was getting worried. She heard a knock on the door, and she rushed to open it. Outside was Rainbow Dash. “Hey Twilight.” She said, in a saucy tone.

Twilight looked up in fake confusion. “Oh, hi Rainbow Dash. Come in. Is there something I can help you with?”

Rainbow Dash trotted inside, then turned to Twilight. “Sooo... Is there anypony you like?”

Twilight pretended to be shocked. “Of course not Rainbow! I’m... To busy with my studies.” Twilight blushed a little.

“Oh yeah, and what are you studying? Cog’s new shiny flank?” Rainbow burst out laughing, and met a hoof to the cheek. “Ow, ow. Ok. Seriously. You like him. We all know it, Pinkie has even had a party set up for weeks. So... are you his special somepony?”

Twilight sighed. “Promise not to tell? Not for my sake, but for his. He... Isn’t comfortable with going public, yet.” She looked up dreamily. “It’s actually kind of cute, really. He is shy about his own feelings, but always wants to make others feel better.”

Rainbow Dash fist pumped. “I knew it was you! Wait until Pinkie hears,” Rainbow Dash felt a hoof enter her mouth.

Twilight had a very serious look on her face. “Don’t. Tell. Anypony.” The chill in her eyes was colder than working at winter wrap up. “For him. He is our friend, after all.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Well, I’ve got some serious napping to do. See you round.

Twilight sighed. She knew that the whole town would know by the end of the day.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Cog and Aged walked into Cog’s house to find the door ajar. “Well. I have company again. Let’s go greet them, shall we?”

Cog pushed the door open, and inside, sitting on the couch, was princess Celestia. Aged bowed, Cog nodded his head. “Princess. An honor to see you again.”

She walked up to him and gave him a hug. “Cog, why is it that I keep turning away, only to find that you may be in grave danger again? When we caught the changeling courier, he was brave and never revealed anything. We were afraid that the message contained something, but we arrived too late. Where have you been for the past day?”

Cog laughed. “Princess, I was out visiting another old friend. Confidentiality keeps me from saying where, but I can say I was visiting Chrysalis.” Celestia gasped. “Now, I know you two don’t like each other, but I am both of your friends. I have visitation rights to my own aunt, after all.”

The two laughed, but Cog quickly quieted. “Celestia, what do you know of king changelings?” The princesses joyous look faded.

“Where did you hear of such beings? Chrysalis?” She asked.

Cog quickly saved. “Yes, but it was only briefly mentioned. We were talking about the castes, since I hadn’t been chosen yet. She mentioned them, and said we haven’t had one since Nightmare Moon rose. Why?”

Celesetia took on a sad look. “We first found them during the changeling war. As powerful as they were evil, they leveled cities on their own. They drew on magical reserves that rivaled my sister and my own. When the changelings started the war, they attacked Cloudsdale, were my sister and I were vacationing. We protected the city, and then retaliated in force. But for every hive we destroyed, a new king rose. Soon, we were loosing ground. Their numbers were just too great.”

“When Luna was becoming Nightmare Moon, her jealousy fueled her power. I directed her at the kings, but underestimated her power. She waged a genocide, and killed every king she could find. When she was done, she wiped out every hive she could find, save for those labeled as an ally. When the genocide was done, only those in our control remained. Luna turned on me, and the rest is history.”

Cog looked up at her with worried eyes. “And... What would you do if you were offered to become one? And I mean you, in some other body. Like mine?”

She gave him a scrutinizing look. “No.” She finally said with a sigh. “They were strong, but even then they were slaves. They had some amount of autonomy, but whenever they died, they always whispered thank you. They must have been in great pain, or something similar.”

“They were.” Cog mumbled. “Celestia, Kings rise when a single male changeling survives the destruction of his hive. Each and every one of them was the last of their generation, the last of their families. They thanked you for re-uniting them with the few that meant much to them.”

Cog felt a puff of sad steam rise from his back. Celestia looked down at him. “And just how would you know that?”

Cog shuddered. “I was offered to become a king. I declined, because of all the conditions. I’ve grown to like my independence. I don’t want to loose the one thing that makes me different.”

Celestia smiled down at him. “That was very brave of you. Good job! Now, wasn’t there something you wanted to show me? You were so excited about it in your letter, and I came today, since you planned to finish it overnight.”

Cog blushed and looked away. “Well, I have been unconcious for the past few hours. I didn’t really get around to finishing it, but I can still show you!”

He rushed upstairs, to bring back down an original lexicon, the half completed one, and the plans. “Alright, so... Did I ever tell you about the lexicon?” He asked, holding up the cube. Celestia shook her head no, so he explained. “Well, It stores one entities memories. I designed them to be able to hold a hundred thousand years of memories.”

Celestia gasped. Cog smiled wickedly. “I have a spare, if you want to re-live any of your memories. I’ll give you an instruction manual also. Anyways, I was building this second one when an idea slammed into me. So, I can store memories. Could I store reactions? If I could, then it would be a contained personality. Put on speakers, provide initiative, and voila! You have a replica of yourself to talk to! Freeze it at a certain memory, and the mind would react with those expressions relative to that time! Imagine talking to your own childish mind! How exciting!”

Celestia could only smile as Cog bounded about the room in excitement, until she anchored him to the floor. “That sounds like... fun. I hope you enjoy your work. Would you mind if I have a lexicon?” She reached a hoof out to the one on the table when Cog stopped her.

“Let me get yours.” He ran upstairs, and came back down with an extremely ornate lexicon. It was nearly twice the size as the original, and all the external parts were mother-of-pearl inlay. The buttons were all suns, looking identical to her cutie mark, and were gold. “I didn’t know how old you were, so I made the largest feasible memory storage I could without it becoming the size of a house. Currently, this one can hold...” He paused and put a hoof to his chin. “Around a few million years of one life.”

Celestia cringed. “My little Cog. I may be old, but I am definitely not that old.”

Cog looked down. “Well, It’s just in case. Also, could you give Luna and Cadence theirs?” he asked, pulling out two other ornate, extra large lexicons.

“Certainly.” She replied with a smile.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Luna stood on her balcony, looking out to the woods beyond. She had heard something ring out at dusk, and it had unnerved her. Something was amiss in the forest, and this was going to bring about big changes. She saw a white form flying closer in the distance.

When Celestia landed, Luna gave her a hug. “Tia, something is wrong. I heard something from the forest, like a wounded animal. But there was something familiar about it. Like a friend from a long lost dream.”

Celestia nodded. “I feel it too. I think it’s time to look to the past.” She handed Luna her lexicon, and Celestia said “I’ll show you how to use it. Here. First, put your hoof there...”

-+-+-+-+-+-

After Celestia had Luna’s lexicon set up, they went up to the planning room, a large cube with a few chairs. It hadn’t been used since the last war, so a fine layer of dust coated everything. Celestia moved everything aside, and set up her lexicon. She pressed play, and set it ahead to being fast forward, so that she could skip over her youngest years. She reached her 18th birthday, and she slowed it down to play. She couldn’t remember this joyous event, and she couldn’t remember why.

She felt memories slowly feeding in, and she began to remember again. Then, she saw her mother walk up. “Celestia? I know it is a bad time, but I need your help.” her mother asked.

Celestia had walked into a different room when she saw her mother carrying something wrapped in cloth. “Celestia, this is your sister, Harpa.” The cloth fell away, to reveal a beautiful baby alicorn. Her soft, gray coat was just growing in, and she had a few green, wispy hairs.

Harpa giggled at the sight of Celestia. “Harpa has the power of change. She can look like anypony, and can make things different.” She tickled Harpa a little bit.

Celestia looked up at her mother. “Different like what?”

Harpa saw a spider and giggled, then a little bit of magic shot forth. The spider grew exponentially, until it was the size of Harpa. Celestia shrieked, her fear of spiders showing through. Harpa looked at Celestia, and saw the fear. She laughed, and blasted the spider, turning it into a bunny.

Celestia looked incredulously at her mother, who only shrugged. Harpa crawled up to Celestia, and hugged her leg.

Celestia paused the showing, and thought hard. She couldn’t remember Harpa at all. And she was a sister? Celestia fast forwarded, and saw herself playing with and raising Harpa, with a little bit of Luna’s help. She soon reached a point where Harpa was a full sized adult. She looked sad, and so Celestia slowed it to play.

“Celestia, I’m sorry. I found a colt I loved, but he has died before it could happen.” Harpa looked sad.

Celestia’s voice rang out. “Before what happened?”

Harpa had a guilty look on her face. “I... I’m pregnant.”

Celestia fast forwarded, hoping to see the young baby. She saw something she couldn’t believe. It was a baby Cadence.

“Here she is! Cadence, alicorn of love!” Harpa said triumphantly. Celestia smiled, and Harpa was bouncing about in joy. “Oh, she is my little love.” Harpa laughed at the irony of her statement.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom sounded from outside, and the sky darkened. Celestia knew what it meant. “Tia, what’s wrong?”

Celestia grew serious, and turned to her two sisters. “Sisters, every few thousand years, weapons known as the elements of harmony must be used against an ancient foe. His name is Discord, spirit of chaos.”

Celestia watched as they journeyed to get the elements, and their first attempt at defeating him. He stood victorious, having tossed the elements back to the castle, he looked at the three sisters.

“Oh one to ruin and one to shame, and one to feel all the blame. But which is which? You decide. For now the curse will run amuck.” Discord laughed maniacally. He blasted all three sisters, and Celestia could see Harpa suffering the worst.

She watched as Discord’s spell warped her body, twisting her sister into an insect. Her soft fur was replaced by hard chitin, her horn grew holes, and her wings became thin and wasp-like. Her pupils narrowed until they became vertical lines, like the eyes of a dragon.

Discord chuckles, and says “One last thing to ruin.” He reaches down to her and grabs something inside her chest. “Your love.” he says, as he yanks out a small pink strand. Harpa screeches as if somepony had just struck her, and Discord only laughs. “The one most important thing to you... now means nothing.”

The words struck Celestia’s heart like a sledge hammer. Harpa looked at her sisters with cold, unfeeling eyes. “My beloved sisters,” she said, in an almost patronizing tone. “I don’t want you to have to remember me. My pain. Your pain. Let me help you.”

Celestia could see the magic she was casting. Memory shield spells. “Change.” Harpa said. “You will change for the better without me. Just raise Cadence well. And punish Discord.” She teleports as soon as the spell is complete, with Celestia standing there none the wiser.

Celestia paused, before whispering. “Sister.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Another long one. But don’t worry. This is the last chapter in the Reconnections line, and you can expect the next chapter to be quite long. Teaser chapter title: The Curse. Have fun!

The front door creaked open, drawing the brother’s attentions. In stepped a cyan pegasus, with a sly look on her face. “So,” Rainbow Dash began. “I hear that you are seeing somepony? Am I right?”

Cog laughed. “Actually, I am.” He said smugly. “She is a velvety blue mare with a wonderful set of wings. She also has a seriously dominant personality.” Aged and Cog laughed, while Rainbow dash scowled.

“You know what I mean.” she pouted. It was obvious that she was a stranger to pouting.

Cog sighed. “Yes, I do. Yes, what Twilight said is true. And yes, I’m sure I want to keep it in the closet.”

Rainbow Dash winked. “You can count on me.” She winked again, and then winked again. She pushed the door open again. “Well, you know. I’ve got some serious... napping to do.” She turned and took a few steps out the door before stopping, halfway through the door.

“Hello there Rainbow Dash. Visiting our mutual friend?” Celestia asked, stepping through the doorway.

“Yeah... But like I said... I’ve got some... Napping to do. So, uh... I’ll see you around?” Rainbow Dash danced around the princess, and flew off once she was past.

Cog looked after her as she flew off. His attentions returned to the princess, standing before her. “Princess. An honor as always. What it the treat of this visit? Are we here to make sure I haven’t killed myself yet?”

She sighed. “Actually, it doesn’t revolve around you this time.” She motioned for him to sit. “Please sit. I only have a few questions.” She looked at him with a firm gaze. “Cog, who told you about the changeling kings?”

Cog sighed. “I already said that I can’t say. Sworn to secrecy and all.” He shrugs, then say, “Sorry. I might be able to confirm or deny any accusations, but I won’t outright tell you.”

Celestia looked at him all the firmer. Had her gaze been any firmer, It could have cut steel. “Harpa.” she said in one breath.

Cog’s mouth dropped. “How did you... and in one guess?” He blubbered.

Celestia laughed. “I knew her before. But she cast a spell that blocked herself from my memories. Now, I need to know where she is. I want to help her like I helped you. She needs to know that Discord’s spell can be broken.”

Cadence walked through the doorway as Celestia finished. “And I think her daughter is just the one to prove it.” She said.

-+-+-+-+-+-

It had taken Cog some time to get accustomed to the idea that Cadence was actually his aunt. He kept glancing at her with intrigue. “So.. Wait. You are sending Cadence in to be at the mercy of a whole hive, who treated us as prisoners without warning? Do you have any idea what a bad idea this is? Not to mention that Chrysalis also lies within? Last I checked, you two weren’t on speaking terms. More like blasting terms.”

Cadence chuckled. “I have my ways...” She said before a light pink smoke enveloped her. “Luna helped me with some transformation spells.” she spoke from the pink cloud. It vanished, and in Cadence’s place stood a changeling queen. “What do you think?” She asked, tossing her holey mane about.

Cog was awestruck. “I love it! That’s a great way to introduce yourself. A question and a suggestion. Around the drones, call her Empress. Also, what will this disguise be called, since it is unique?”

Cadence-ling laughed. “Gryll. And thanks for the pointer. Well, best be off!” She said, strutting out the door. “Ta-ta!”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Cadence stepped into the clearing, smiling. This should be fun. She thought to herself. She assumed her changeling form, and walked up to the golden seal. She tapped it once, and waited. A slot opened above it. “State your business.” a changeling from within said.

“I am here to seek private council with the Empress.” Cadence said. She smiled inside, feeling good for getting that line right.

The changeling nodded and opened the door, and Cadence walked in. She heard a chillingly familiar voice from behind her. “Your disguise is thin... Cadence.” Chrysalis said, swinging a hoof down at Cadence’s head.

Cadence blocked, but her concentration was broken, and her disguise lowered. The changelings around gasped, and stood there watching the two leaders wrestle with each other. Chrysalis looked at them, and barked “Well, don’t just stand there. HELP.”

The room became a flurry of commotion, until Cadence remembered the spell Luna had taught her in case this happened. She flashed in a burst of magic, and in her place stood queen Chrysalis, while Chrysalis was replaced by Cadence.

The drones didn’t notice the change, and started wailing on Chrysalis. Cadence raised her disguise, and galloped down the halls. She stopped before two large doors, flanked by two enormous changelings. She confidently walked forward, and pushed the door open.

Sitting on a throne carved of some iridescent black metal was Harpa, looking quite bored. “Another approaches. But not one I recognize. Who dares approach the black throne?” She asked.

Cadence shook her head side to side. “Tut tut. A mother should always remember her daughters.” The flash of pink smoke appeared, hastened by the tenseness in the room. “Especially her eldest.” Cadence finished, standing in her true form.

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Don’t worry, the next chapter will be out faster than this one. I just had some serious writers block over the weekend, and I finally had a way to lead into the next chapter. Hopefully, the next one will be up by tomorrow.

Harpa sat there in disbelief. “How... How did you find out?”

Cadence looked at her with pity. “Our little changeling friend helped Celestia remember some key things, albeit unwittingly.” She then smiled. “Your memory spell could block it from her, but not from his machines.”

Harpa blushed, and looked down. She murmured, but nothing audible could be heard. The doors behind them flew open, and Chrysalis rushed in with numerous drones crying “Mother! We have an intruder in our midst!” Chrysalis pointed to Cadence. “Seize her!” She called to the drones, who pounced.

Cadence raised a shield, which would protect her for a while. She pouted at Chrysalis. “Aww... Little sister doesn’t like family reunions. How sad.” She turned to Harpa. “Mother, whatever you say or do, there will always be a special place for you, in my heart. Which, you of all ponies should know, is the most powerful there is.”

Her shield faltered, and as the changelings fell, Chrysalis laughed. “Quickly now, we will need to bind her soon if we are to keep the upper hoof.” The changelings grasped her in their collective magic, and marched her away.

Harpa watched as they passed through the door. “Stop.” she called. “Place her in my personal chambers.” The drones moved to her command, overwriting Chrysalis’s calls.

Harpa looked hard and long at Chrysalis. “Chrysalis... We need to talk.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

The door slammed with finality, and Cadence frowned. “That could have gone... better.” she sighed. “At least this means that I’ll get some one on one time with my mother.”

Cadence sat down on the cold stone floor, and quickly dozed off. She could feel the entire changeling hive leeching off of her, and it made her weary. She decided a fast nap was in order, and quickly fell asleep.

She was awoken some time later by a light tap on her side. “Cadence? Did all go well?” The sweet voice of Celestia whispered in her ear. Cadence awoke with a start, to see Celestia’s bedchambers, along with the princess herself.

“Oh, princess! I didn’t realize... Wait, what? How did I get back?” Cadence stumbled around, but finally found herself in a chair.

Celestia smiled. “You came out of the Everfree forest with a smile on your face. You were happy, but once you reached Cog’s house, you passed out, and didn’t wake. I came and took you here, where I have been waiting for you to awake. Now, what did you think of her?”

Cadence put a hoof to her chin. “Well, from first impressions, she seemed nice enough. She was a little star-struck, but she regained her wits fast enough to save me. She was under a lot of pressure, and looked like she needed a break. Also, she seemed unusually cold. Not without love, but more like it was stolen. What happened to her?”

Celestia sighed. “Discord. Discord happened to her.” She walked up to the balcony, but not through the doors. “He laid a curse on us. It went ‘One to ruin and one to shame. And one to feel all the blame.’” Celestia sighed. “I can’t keep this up. Please, rest now. We can continue this when you are feeling better.”

Cadence began to protest, when she noticed a darker patch on the wall. She walked over and tapped it. “Celestia, what is happening to this paint?” She asked. She turned and looked to Celestia, who only smiled.

“What problem?” Celestia asked. Cadence started and turned, but the dark patch had disappeared. She looked out the window, and watched as the sun sat motionless in the sky.

Cadence sat there for a while, before asking “Celestia, do you love me?”

Celestia stepped back, then thought. “Yes. I do.” She finally said.

Cadence turned. “Thank you. For revealing yourself... Harpa.” Cadence blasted magic out of her horn, and the disguise that covered the room dispersed. Celestia was engulfed in a flash of golden fire, and in her place stood a confused Harpa.

“How did you... ?” she started, but Cadence shushed her.

“Mother,” She began. “I could tell when you told me of your love, yet I didn’t feel my power grow. I’m here, not as a painful reminder, but as a healer. Please, sit still.” Cadence leaned in, and pressed her chest against her mother’s cold chitin.

“Wha...?” She was shushed again, and felt the cold of horn-on-horn contact. Harpa felt powerless as Cadence pressed in on her, and felt a strange itch on her shell. She looked down at Cadence, and suddenly felt a strange feeling passing through her, familiar like an old dream, but still unfamiliar.

She felt memories rushing back, times of warmth and love. She thought it was crazy, but she felt bad. It was a feeling that was nearly alien to her, as it told her of a moral feeling that she should have stayed with her this whole time. The best type of classification for the emotion would be...

Love.

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Don’t worry, the next chapter will be up soon as well. I never leave my readers hanging on a cliff, like Cliff Hanger.

Harpa recoiled in horror. She looked down at her hooves, and saw the chitin soften. Cadence rubbed a hoof along it, to find that it was covered in fur. Harpa looked back at her wings, to be greeted by these alien, feathered appendages. She felt her mane brush across her face, to see the her green hair vibrant, and whole. She turned to the mirror, and watched as her pupils widen until they became whole circles again. She glanced up, and watched her horn heal.

She shed tears of both joy and misery, while both wailing and laughing. The door slams open, and Chrysalis storms in. “Mother, I heard your dismay and... Mother?” Chrysalis stepped forward to examine the alicorn before her. She laughed. “Hah, a clever disguise, but do drop it. It seems a bit... unnatural on you.”

It was then that Chrysalis tasted a hint of love emminating from the figure before her. “Who are you?” She asked, stepping back.

Harpa turned to Chrysalis. “Daughter, we have much to discuss. Gather your sisters. I am holding royal court tonight.” When Chrysalis did nothing, Harpa felt the frustration mounting. “Do as your empress commands, lest I reveal that secret about you and... You know who.”

Chrysalis gasped. “You wouldn’t.” She accused.

Harpa laughed a malicious, insect-like laugh. “But I would, dear Daughter.” When Chrysalis still did nothing, Harpa turned to Cadence. “Cadence, did I ever tell you about the time that Chrysalis and...”

Chrysalis interrupted. “FINE! You win!”She said before storming out.

Cadence turned to Harpa. “So, what happened?”

Harpa laughed. “I can’t say, I just got close to prove who I was. Now, I need practice with this little thing in my heart.” Harpa burned in a golden fire, until the changeling Harpa stood in her place.

Cadence looked confused. “Har... Mom, why go back?”

Harpa looked a little crestfallen. “I have looked like this for most of my life. I am so happy that the curse is broken, but this means that I am separated from most of my family.” She shed a single tear. “I didn’t realize how much they meant to me. Not particularly the drones, they don’t usually develop advanced personalities unless they are alone for a long time. But the queens, my daughters... They mean so much to me. I need them to accept me as I am now. It’s too important to delay. I hope you don’t mind.”

Cadence smiled. “That’s why I cleared a whole week. Just for you.”

Harpa could only smile.

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In the gardens of a faraway palace, a lone statue stood. Discord stretched his claw in boredom. Well, he thought. This day hasn’t been particularly chaotic. Why hasn’t any bile been thrown recently? I need a little boost if I’m gonna escape on time.

He thought idly about the past, and about all the chaos he would bring to the future. He felt a little lighter in his own mind, and realized that he had just gotten a little more power.

Something has been leeching off of my power this whole time, he thought. Well, at least I have a little more power. Wonder what that power was doing... Ah well, not like it matters now.

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Harpa sat on her bed alone, left to her thoughts. She had sent Cadence on her assignment, and so she sat to her thoughts. She was occasionally interrupted by drones who thought she was an intruder, but aside from that, she was alone.

“Good.” She said, “I need the solitude.” She sat there, thinking back on her life, feeling the pain of not being able to love.

“My children need Harpa the cold, but my family needs Harpa the loving. If only there was a way that both could rule...”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Meanwhile, in Ponyville....

“There!” Cog exclaimed as he finished his project. Looking up at him were a pair of copper eyes. “Now, all I need is Rarity’s ‘special touch.’” Cog gazed over at the half finished lexicon on his table. “And then I’ll get to you.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Chrysalis entered the obelisk, followed by several other queens. By now, the noxious scent of love was everywhere, and it took them no time to find the source. They walked into the royal chambers to find the vile thing impersonating their mother.

“I did as you wished fleshling. Now, where is our mother? The hives are in disarray, and we need her leadership back.” Chrysalis demanded.

Harpa ignored her, turning to one of the queens. “Ova, I take it things are going well in your little ‘operation?’ That pony who has been making wild accusations, trying to drive you out is a rouge changeling. He has also been the past several few who did the same thing. The ponies you live amongst are happy for your services, since they give happiness to the ponies.”

Ova blushed. “We suspected as much. But you still haven’t answered Chrysalis.”

Harpa also paid no heed, other than to nod once. She turned to another queen. “Thora, the winter this year will be particularly hard on the ponies in Stalliongrad. They will be brought closer together than ever before. Leave them during the winter, and they will be ripe in the spring. You can siphon a little from each pony, enough that they would never notice, and still have enough for your entire hive, and then some.” Thora simply nodded in understanding.

Harpa continued like this for some time, providing case specific advice to each queen present. She finally came to Chrysalis. “Now, Chrysalis, do you understand?” Chrysalis was awestruck by this pony who knew everything. “My children, walk with me.”

Harpa led them down dark, rarely-used tunnels. They ended up in a large, ritualistic chamber. One of the queens gasped. “The royal birthing chambers. But why here?”

Harpa pointed to a slight bulge in the wall. She pushed on it, and it went in. A large amount of creaking could be heard, and the entire domed ceiling began to rotate. Finally, a door appeared in front of the queens. Harpa motioned for the speechless queens to follow.

She opened the door, to behold a long hallway. “This. This is what caused me to become what you knew as Harpa. I was once an alicorn, like Celestia and Luna. We laughed and played, we three sisters. My life had been made only more perfect with the birth of my eldest daughter, Cadence.” She sighed. “Then came the rise of Discord. He came, and he laid a curse on my sisters and I. I was changed into the first changeling by Discord’s vile use of my power. “

“You see, my children, I am change. I am the embodiment of change, and so I changed. Discord used my own power to create us.” Harpa began to tear up. “Had it not been for that cruel trickster, you all would have normal, pony lives, filled with love and bliss. Not this... hardship that we have been struggling through.”

Chrysalis walked up and put a hoof on Harpa’s shoulder. “That doesn’t matter. We are content with our lives. Yes, we may want those lives, but only because we know the true value of them. If it weren’t for Discord, then a lot of things wouldn’t have happened, but we all know that that doesn’t matter. We can’t control him, and so we must do as you so often say.” Chrysalis took on an almost regal air, and said in Harpa’s voice “Times change, and so must we.”

Harpa looked towards Chrysalis, and smiled. “Thank you, Chrysalis. I needed to be reminded of that.” She turned to the assembled queens. “Now, we reach the biggest problem. The old empress is gone, we cannot change that.” A collective protest came from the assembled queens, but Harpa shushed them. “No, she is gone. I will still stop by, and still provide guidance if you need it, but I cannot lead you. Now, I am food. I can feed you all, but you still need an empress. Therefore, we shall agree upon one, dignified leader.”

She turned to Chrysalis again, with a sly smile. “And I nominate Chrysalis to be the new Empress. After all, times change, and so must we.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Dun dun duuuuun. How will this fare? What will come of these revelations? Find out, after the break!

An uproar came from the collective queens, calling for their own nominations. However, Chrysalis stood silent. Harpa called out to them. “Silence. No, it is not based on favoritism, or seniority, or any bias. Let me explain.” She sat, and so did the gathered queens.

“Chrysalis here shows the most predominant qualities for Empress. She did everything she could to save her hive, not just herself. She took risks, even when the odds weren’t in her favor.” Chrysalis cringed at the memories of the wedding. “Advanced forward planning, and general knowledge, both lead to the signs of good leadership.” The queens all nodded.

“But,” Harpa paused, and let each queen hold their breaths. “Chrysalis has shown the one ability that sets an Empress apart from a queen. The ability to feign compassion. She so expertly demonstrated it just a few moments ago, as you all noticed. She reassured me, and made me feel genuinely good.”

She looked up, at the ceiling. “I, Harpa, Empress of the changelings, have chosen my successor. Who all agree?” She looked out over the crowd, and saw a near unanimous vote. Some of the youngest queens, however, did not agree.

“Empress...” Ova began. “Although we respect your choice, we feel that a younger empress may be more beneficial for the hives.”

Ova bowed, and Harpa raised an eyebrow. “Oh? How so?” she asked.

“Well, you see, The older queens, while more powerful, are set in their ways. And times are changing. We, as a species need to take advantage of the flawed system that ponykind uses. For example, my hive provides a win/win situation for both the ponies and my hive. They are always well fed, and we are accepted by the community for our services.” Ova paused, taking a breath.

Harpa looked them down sternly. “All in favor of taking on the younger queens veiws. They are right, in that we will need to change, but they left out the fact that a younger empress would be advised on many things, rather than advise. And I have an idea, but I will leave it buried until the empress is chosen. Now, to the matter at hoof. All in favor of Ova, younger queen?”

The youngest four queens raised their hooves. Harpa nodded. “And those for Chrysalis?” The remaining 8 hooves went up, Harpa’s included. “Very well. Chrysalis is the new changeling empress. May her reign be long and peaceful.”

Harpa waited for the congratulations to end and then addressed the group. “Now, as royal adviser, I bring an idea to the empress and her court. Racial integration. As member of the royal court, I can petition the court to allow changelings as legal citizens. Imagine, a world where your drones are fed, while still being able to not have to fear for their safety. They would be able to feed off the excess love created by the area, while still being able to walk proud as to what they are.”

Chrysalis sat for a moment, thinking. “What does the court think? A vote may put my mind at ease. All in favor?” Two lone hooves rose. One to Ova, one from Harpa. Chrysalis laughed. “Sorry mother. You are a respected member of this court, but your vote has no power.”

She motioned to the other queens. “And from the look of it, my fellows agree with me. We like our ways, they have been ours for centuries. Unless it is under threat of death, or we were in dire need, then we shall stay by our ways.”

She frowned. “I am sorry. Court is dismissed. And mother? With me.”

Harpa laughed. “Very well.”

The two walked down a long hall before Chrysalis turned to Harpa. “Mother. You know you can’t leave. Our race needs us. Our race needs you.”

Harpa smiled. “Not anymore, my child. I have a parting gift for you.” A flash of light came from Harpa’s horn, which was now encased in a faint glow. Chrysalis could feel the pull of telekinesis, and shivered slightly. She was lifted into the air, and held perfectly still.

Harpa’s horn grew brighter, and Chrysalis felt like she was being torn apart. Her legs felt like they were about to tear off, and her horn felt like it was twisting it’self into a knot. She felt like her organs were exploding, and her carapace was burning away. Her eyes squinted in pain, and she sat quivering in midair.

That’s when she felt it. A wave of love slammed into her. Most of it was her mother’s, but she also tasted some very distinct loves. She picked through them, and felt that it was plain, but strong. And when she mentally followed the line to the source, she found it coming from...

Ova? Chrysalis shuddered, and thought about it. Changelings couldn’t love, so how was Ova giving her love. Ova, of all hives. She is followed a few other lines and found that they too led to the other queens. She was sitting there, contemplating these revelations, until she was hit by an even larger wave, pouring from innumerable indiscriminate sources. She followed one thread, and found a meager drone, guarding the door.

This was huge news. If the queens realized their own love output, they could feed their hives on their own, and the drones could feed the queen with their love. She opened her eyes, and looked at Harpa. Harpa’s eyes held nothing but respect and love, yet Chrysalis only felt confusion. She was just giving up this kind of power, but why?

Chrysalis felt herself lowered to the ground, and she looked at Harpa. They stood eye level now, and Harpa was beaming. “The perks of being empress. Do you feel it? Only the empress is sensitive enough to feel the most subtle loves. Things like respect. As all changelings respect you, you can feed off of that. You will never grow hungry, as your new form draws respect and intimidation from those around you.”

Chrysalis inspected her new body. She was taller, and certainly stronger. The holes in her legs had filled, and her horn had more of a curve to it. She looked down, and watched her mother shed a single tear.

“Do you hear it?” Harpa asked softly. “The song of our people. The thoughts of them all. The harmony of the hives. Listen, and you will know more about the changelings around you than they will know about themselves. These gifts are what led me on my advice all these years. And now they are yours.”

Harpa bowed. “All hail the new empress. My successor, my daughter, Chrysalis.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Hope you all don’t mind the delays... or the short chapters... But I have been hitting a few mindlocks recently. I know where the story is going (I think), but not quite how to get there. Hopefully, I should have an update up within the next few days.

Cadence stood outside the obelisk, waiting. The birds were singing, and the trees billowed in the wind. She had just begun to doze off when she heard the scraping of the door. She saw a weary Harpa step through, flanked by two large changelings. “Thank you, royal guards. But my time is done. It was fun walking with you, and I want you to have some of me, for memories sake/.”

The two guards nodded, and each lit up their horn. They absorbed some of her love, and stored it away, for her. “My empress,” one began. “We know it is not accepted when a guard speaks to his charge, but I must ask, Why go? You are our empress, not this new replacement.” He bowed deeply, and Harpa smiled.

“Since I am no longer your charge, it is fine to speak. As for why I need to go... Let’s say I have thousands of years of family business to deal with. Imagine being separated from your hive for thousands of years. You would want to know what happened there, wouldn’t you?”

She lifted his head. “I know you two will always serve me well. Think of this as your new assignment. Watch my daughter like you watched me, and if anything goes amiss, or if it looks like we are leading to war, tell me immediately.” She tapped his head. “We still have a mental connection. Nothing can break that.”

She took a few steps away from the hive. “Now go. Your new assignment begins now.” They bowed again, and walked back to the hive. Harpa walked up to Cadence, who was smiling. “Looks like someone is feeling better,” Harpa said laughing. “Now lets go see my family.”

Cadence rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. “Actually, I was hoping that we could spend some time together. You and I.” She smiled sheepishly.

Harpa smiled. “Certainly, my child. Where would you like to go? What would we do?”

Cadence had a sly grin cross her face. “Well... there is this wonderful bakery that we could go to, and it is in the nearby town. Maybe we could talk over a sweet?”

“That sounds delightful... Honey.” Harpa said, chuckling at her weak pun. “Lead the way then.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

The town was eerily quiet. Harpa’s hoofsteps echoed down the streets, which sounded alien to her hears. She hadn’t walked on cobblestone in generations. Cadence strutted along as if the lack of ponies didn’t bother her.

They finally stood before the mammoth cupcake that served as the bakery. Harpa smiled and shot a short pulse of magic at the cupcake. The roof sagged slightly, and birds swarmed it, pecking and eating the new giant cupcake. Cadence shot Harpa an alarmed look, just to see her mother rolling about and laughing hysterically.

Harpa saw the look in cadence’s eyes, and sighed. “Fine.” she pouted, and the blast of magic came from her horn again, and the building was back to normal. “Just a little fun and all.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Discord had been sitting there awhile, growing bored again. “The limitlessness of the subconscious is its limit.” Discord mused. “If there are no ruless to break, then there is no chaos, since nothing is wrong.” He mentally sighed.

When he breathed in, he felt a wave of chaos rush in as well. He looked about, and found his gaze drawn to the small town at the base of the mountain. Home of those infernal elements of harmony, Ponyville. He looked closer, and saw the cupcake building had actually become a cupcake.

“Now why didn’t I think of that during my rule?” Discord mused. “But who could do this? And on purpose to boot?” He looked closer, and saw the two alicorns walking towards the now less chaotic bakery. He recognized Cadence, since she was the only one left who came by for a chat. The other one looked familiar... but from where.

It clicked into place, and he grew curious. “Oh, that third sister, whatever her name was. Why cause chaos?” He cycled through his memories, and found something. It was a chance encounter, deep in the Everfree forest.

He was walking into a glade when he saw her. He reared up to strike, fearing it was Celestia, when he saw she was crying. He calmed down at realizing it wasn’t either of those celestial siblings, and walked up to her. “There there, it will be ok. What’s wrong, little princess?”

She reared up, turning to him. “LITTLE princess...?” her voice died upon seeing how much larger he was. “Oh, hello. I didn’t mean to disturb you, so I’ll just be going now.” She took off, but quickly fell back to the ground. She looked back and found that her wings had become tiny, like those of a foal. “HEY!” She shouted at him. Her horn flashed in golden magic, and her wings were back to their usual size.

Discord grew more interested. “Well, I didn’t think anypony could match my magic. What is your name?”

“Harpa.” she said, also intrigued. “How did you change my wings? I thought I was the only one who could do that!”

“It was a little bit of Chaos magic. I am Discord, spirit of Chaos and Dis-harmony.” He grinned maliciously. “So then, you are an alicorn? You must be immensely powerful, what is your capability? Power over change?”

She gaped at him. “How could you tell?” To that, he fluttered his wings. “Oh. Right. Well, it was fun, spirit of chaos, but I have to get home.”

He turned to her with a stern look. “You never told me about what was bothering you.”

She chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. “Heh, heh... yeah... well, about that. I just lost somepony very important to me.” She rubbed her stomach. “He didn’t even live to see his daughter get born.” She winced, and then a little blood trickled down her hindlegs.

Discord sighed. “You are too weak to get yourself home. Allow me.” He said with a flourish. The two teleported just outside of Canterlot. Discord snapped his fingers, and instantly changed into a mud brown earth pony with a gray head and black mane. He picked her up and put her on his back.

“You and I never officially met, ok? You met an earth pony musician named Dissonant Chord, and he helped you into town when your water broke.” She nodded her head weakly, and he walked into town, carrying her.

Ponies gathered around, and he ignored them, walking to the hospital. He brought her through the double doors, and the commotion inside stopped. “Please, can somepony help me? I’ve been carrying her since outside the Canterlot gates. And a pregnant princess is pretty heavy.” He winced, and looked up at her. “My apologies, your majesty.”

Harpa weakly chuckled. “None taken, Dissonant.” She winced, and he put her down on a stretcher.

“Contact whatever family she has. They should be here for this.” Discord said as he began walking towards the door.

Harpa called out to him. “Won’t you stay? My family would love to meet you!”

Discord slowly walked over to the laboring princess. He leaned down and whispered in her ear “No, they wouldn’t. Let’s just say that Celestia and I don’t see eye to eye.” And with that, he was gone, and she was being rushed off to intensive care.

Discord smiled at the memory, and sighed. Those were the fun times, when he could cause as much chaos as he wanted, and Celestia stood there none the wiser. He then winced when he realized that he had laid a curse on her just a few days later.

“I guess I’ll have to apologize to her when I get out.” He mused, before looking back at his stockpiled chaos energy. Pretty soon, he would be free.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Cadence stood outside the door, and knocked. A voice came from inside. “Come In!” it called. Cadence pushed the door open and motioned for Harpa to go through.

“After you, mom.” Cadence said, stifling a giggle.

Harpa stepped in, and realized it was dark inside. She turned towards Cadence, who smiled at her and said “Welcome back, mom.”

At once, the lights turned on, the door shut, and an ungodly number of ponies shouted “SUPRISE!” Harpa shrieked, and dove under the nearest table. She felt herself being dragged out, and panicked. She blasted herself with magic, hoping she could disguise herself fast enough.

She was pulled out in a golden magical glow, and shut her eyes, hoping nopony noticed her transformation. She was suspended in midair. Somepony shrieked “Mouse!” and Harpa heard said pony fainting. There was a clamor as ponies tried to figure out what had happened to the new princess.

She heard a motherly chuckle behind her, and a familiar whisper from behind her. “Oh Harpa... I see you. You want to keep yourself hidden? Fine, but that just means that you won’t meet all the wonderful ponies here.”

Harpa peeked out, and saw Celestia, staring right at her. As a mouse, she shrugged, and pretended to be a regular mouse. She saw a butter yellow mare fly up to Celestia. “Princess? May I?” She asked, pointing to Harpa.

Celestia nodded, the mare flew closer, and plucked Harpa from her sister’s grasp. “There there,” she cooed. “You’re safe with Fluttershy.” Harpa eyed her suspiciously.

Suddenly, a wicked plan wormed through her head. She smiled, and in the voice of a dragon, said “Okay. I trust you.”

The mare dropped Harpa, and flew under the same table Harpa herself had just fled to. “D-d-d-dragon!” She stammered. Harpa began cackling wickedly, using Chrysalis’s laugh. It was something akin to a hiss-hss-shsh.

She wiped a tear from her eye, and looked up at Celestia, who was giving her a death glare. Harpa sighed, and said to Celestia in her normal voice “Oh, sister. You can be such a slayer of fun.”

Upon hearing a voice, another pony bounded into view. “Princess, did I hear somepony new? Because I know everypony that comes through Ponyville, and I have never heard that voice, so obviously she was new, right?”

Celestia chuckled. “Yes, Pinkie. That was my sister, Harpa. She was who the party was planned for. But, she is being almost as bad as Luna.” The bubbly pony bounced around for a while longer, before being pushed out of the way by a purple unicorn mare.

“Did I hear sister?” She asked Celestia.

“Ah, Twilight.” Celestia smiled. “Yes, I did say sister. Would you like to meet her?” Harpa realized what was happening, and tried running, only to find herself already in her sister’s grasp again. She was brought up to face Twilight, and Harpa crossed her arms. “Twilight, meet Harpa. Harpa, meet Twilight Sparkle, my favored student.”

Twilight looked at Celestia. “Uh... Princess, this is just a mouse.” She looked back at Harpa, and noticed that she had become a tortoise. “Wait, where did the mouse go?”

Celestia chuckled. “My student, Harpa has immense powers in change. You know how my sister is great with transformation spells? Harpa learned and mastered each one in a matter of weeks. To find the best comparison for her powers...” Celestia let that hang.

Twilight stood there confused, until Harpa gave her a poke. The tortoise began to shift, until a tiny Discord stood in his place. “Oh, my silly Twilight, when will you ever learn?” She said. Twilight gasped, and tried to blast Harpa with a small telekinetic spike. Harpa shrieked, and turned back into a mouse.

Harpa broke Celestia’s hold, and scampered upstairs, Twilight in hot pursuit. Harpa slid under a closed door, and Twilight slammed into it. She pulled herself off the door, and pulled it open. Shaking in a corner was a gray pegasus filly. “Hello?” Twilight asked tentatively. A faint eep came from the filly, and Twilight walked closer. “It’s okay. Can I help you?”

The filly looked up at Twilight, and that’s when Twilight noticed the horn, the billowing green mane, and the deep golden eyes. “Don’t hate me...” She said softly, which caused Twilight to recoil

“Why would I hate you?” she asked inquisitively.

“Because I’m different. I can feel that you hate me. Or at least that you did.” The filly tried to shrink back, but was as far pulled back as she could go.

Twilight laughed. “Our differences make us loved. I wouldn’t hate you for that.”

“Even if I could do this?” she asked, and was consumed in a golden flame. She came out in her fully developed form, and Twilight gasped slightly. Harpa stood, and stepped over her. She strode with a trained regality, and went to the window. She gazed out at the sky and whispered to herself. Twilight leaned in to hear what she said.

A star flashed into existence in the center of the Equus constellation. “That one is mine.” She turned to Twilight. “She told me to pick any star. It was my coming of age gift from Luna.” Harpa smiled a deep, sad smile.

“I picked the heart of the night pony. I knew, even then, that love would always be important to me. When I lost my love, I darkened it. The heart died with me, and soon everypony had forgotten it.”

She laughed, a soft, faint sound. “Twilight. I’m not ready to enter the world. Especially not like this. I know I may have not made the best first impression, so I beg that you forgive me. May we become close friends.”

Just then, the two heard a hiss of steam, and the door opened. In stepped their favorite mechanical colt, Cog. “Hey, Twilight? Did you ever find out who the party was...” His voice died out as he saw Harpa. He bowed quickly. “Empress, we are graced with your presence. But doesn’t your hive need you?”

Twilight gave Harpa a confused look, and she met a “I’ll tell you about it later” stare.

Harpa laughed to break the palpable tension. “No, they are no longer mine. Chryssy now holds that title. I am ascended, returned to my position as the alicorn of change. Now, aren’t we missing a party?”

They looked away as a flash of light enveloped Harpa, and in her place now stood an old brown mare. “If anypony asks, I’m Cog’s grandmother.” She walked with a wobble in her knees, and occasionally leaned on Cog to complete the disguise. The three went downstairs, to enjoy the wonderful night before them.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Sitting in a room upstairs, sat a lonely blue alicorn. But she wanted to be alone. She had the worst of all headaches, and that blasted music wasn’t helping. She looked out the window, hoping to find comfort in her nightly masterpieces.

When she saw the new star in the center of her beautiful constellation, she nearly knocked the building over with her Royal Canterlot Scream.

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I apologize about the delay in getting this out. I’ve re-written this chapter at least 3 times, and the Discord scene is on its fifth iteration. And trying to find a way to re-rail the train is pretty hard, but we will be getting back to our true main character shortly.

The party was long over, and Cog slumped down on his bed, weary with exhaustion. He turned, and looked at the moon hanging there in the sky. “What a wonderful evening.” He burped, and then immediately felt bad.

That night, he had fed on all the ponies a little too much. He felt bloated, even though he didn’t need to feed anymore. He only needed to in order to keep up his disguise. But that’s not to say that love didn’t taste exquisite.

He looked down towards his desk, when something began glowing. It was a soft, blue pulse, and Cog fought hard to remember what he made that would do that. He stood, and walked to the desk. He cleared the clutter, and found a lonely memory crystal shard. “Well, hello there,” he whispered, thinking aloud. He picked it up, and examined it thoroughly.

It was blue, with white imperfections spread randomly throughout it. He could feel the whispers of magical power emanating from this wondrous find. He walked over to his notebook, flipping it open to a new page, and he began to label its properties.

“Unique coloration, night sky best comparison.” He muttered to himself. “Latent magic capability.” He scribbled a few more things into his journal, then looked at the shard long and hard. He pulled up his measuring tape, balance, and candle. He began collecting data, as he oft did when something new appeared.

He gasped when he looked down at the measurements. He rushed over, and grabbed his half-finished lexicon. He read the measurements on the centerpoint crystal, and a panic overtook him. He calmed himself, and then smiled. “Exact fit.” He said, turning to the new project of his.

He quickly began flinging parts into place, and you could watch the cube forming in front of him. He laid a hoof down on the new shard, and carefully laid it into the slot built for it. He smiled maniacally, and finished his prize.

He leaned in and rested his head on the cube. He pressed the button, and heard the cool voice say “Is this the data to save? Verbal confirm or deny.”

“Confirm.” Cog said. He opened a panel in the side, and he pressed play. He fast forwarded through most of his life, until he reached just a few moments ago, when he finished building the lexicon. He hit pause, and opened the new panel. Behind it was a microphone. “Awaken.” Cog breathed into the mic.

The machine began whirring, and the image of the memories faded. It was replaced by a white, flashing line in the top corner of a black screen. Soon, text began pittering on the screen. “Why did it go dark?” After a few moments, the screen typed again. “WHY CAN’T I HEAR MYSELF?” It then displayed a long chain of illegible letters, probably the mind screaming.

Cog spoke into the mic “I can hear you.”

The chain stopped, and then said “And I can hear you. But not myself. Strange... Am I dead?”

Cog laughed. “No, we are alive and healthy. I want to tell you something. The lexicon works!”

The line sat there for a moment, flashing, before typing away. “You said we... You are me? And if it works... then I am merely a projection.” Although there was no tone, Cog knew that it would have sighed if it could. “*sigh*” Bingo. “Well, how far in the future are you?”

Cog coughed. “Only a couple minutes, I’m afraid. I didn’t want to take one of us who couldn’t be able to handle the system shock, but I couldn’t wait to test it.”

The line quickly began typing. “Well, since you don’t really need me, will you be shutting me down?”

Cog thought for a moment, before nodding his head. Realizing the lexicon couldn’t see him, he sighed. “Yes.”

The lexicon sat there for a long time, before typing “So I will die? Do you think it will be like we theorized?”

Cog breathed in sharply. He held his breath, for a long time, before replying “Yes.” He flipped the power switch, and went back to his desk. “Next additions,” he wrote. “Sound and visual input.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

The sun rose late that next day, and since Harpa could tell that the party exhausted Celestia, she tole her sister to sleep. Celestia did so, reluctantly, while Harpa told her “A day off can’t hurt. I haven’t had one in centuries, and now I have too many. Sleep.”

Harpa flashed, and there stood twin Celestias. Harpa-Celestia flashed a smile, whereas Celestia frowned. “Are you sure?”

Harpa laid a hoof over Celestia’s mouth. “Sleep, sister. You need it.” With that, Harpa strode out of the room, and adressed the guards. “I apologise if I seem out of sorts, I have been awake for a few days now. Unfortunately, my memory is going as well, so I’ll need one of you to help me. The other will stay here and guard the room.”

They gave her a look of confusion, to which she sighed. “I have some things of irreplaceable value inside. Nopony goes in, Nopony goes out. Except me, of course.” she laughed. They didn’t.

One of the guards. “I will go with you. Shining Lance can guard the room.”

Harpa clapped her hooves together. “Good. Now, where do we go to first? Open court?”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Harpa remembered why she ended her open court sessions. They were long, boring, and most importantly, simple. A nod here, a “yes” or “no” there, and the country basically ran itself. Right now, the a farmer had requested a change in the weather pattern, but it diverted precious rain away from the local town, which would cause a drought.

“I’m sorry, Ginger Mane, but we can’t afford to dry out another portion of town so that your one farm can have an easier time.” He bowed, and trotted out.

“Next, Chitin Shield with personal request.” Read the boring list keeper. At the name, Harpa perked up. Chitin Shield was the alias of one of her old guards.

` He walked in, disguised as a tall, black stallion with a suit and red tie, which complemented his red eyes. “Princess,” He said with a curt nod. A light gasp was heard from the guards. Nopony ever gave her such disrespect. “I have a message for the Empress. You know of who I speak.”

Harpa spoke with volume and authority. “So I do.” She turned to the guardsponies. “Leave us.” she commanded.

“But princess...” One of them began.

She shushed him, then motioned towards the door. They reluctantly followed, aside from one. He was a strong white stallion, refusing to budge. “Princess, as captain of the royal guard, I cannot go.”

She leaned in and nuzzled him. “Yet you must. This is personal on an extreme level. While I admire your commitment, you must go.” She pushed him along making a shooing noise. After a while, he gave in, and went outside with the others.

As the doors slammed shut, a flash of golden magic transformed the great doors into a single steel wall. Harpa even added the maniacal chuckle of Discord, to lead them astray. Sure enough, Shining called through the newly formed wall. “Princess! Don’t worry, we’ll alert the elements that Discord has escaped... again.” he added hesitantly.

She smiled and turned to look at her favored guard. “You may speak.” She said. He cocked an eyebrow, and so she flashed herself back into her usual form. He blushed, and immediately bowed. “Oh, you... Remember, I’m not your empress anymore. But, you have your report?”

“Yes, empress. And yes, empress, I remember you no longer have your title. But you have always been, and always shall be, my empress.” Harpa snorted. You cant recruit loyalty like this, she thought. “But on to my report. Empress Chrysalis is moving in well, and it is almost as if you hadn’t left. However, she cares about the individual less. She still hasn’t found the memorial, so your secret remains safe.”

“The other queens were afraid of her ascension. But now that she displays the royal stature, they naturally understand who she is. Chrysalis has also cleared all past grudges that she carried, and is delivering justace amongst the hives. However, she is also more mobile than you, going out and enjoying herself for an hour each morning, doing who-knows-what. It’s hard enough as it is trying to keep up with her.”

Harpa chuckled. “As did I.” Chitin took a step back, confused. “You didn’t really think I was meditating for an hour each morning. I was either sleeping or flying, more often the latter.”

“Of course, empress.” He said with a sigh. She lifted his head with her hoof.

“It’s because I didn’t want you two to worry about me. I’m a big girl. I can protect myself.” She smiled. “Now, back to the report.”

He nodded. “Of course. Ova is suggesting a second separation, and Chrysalis is mobilizing forces, as if expecting another hive war. Thank you again for teaching us those projection spells. Without them, I could have never made it away.”

She smiled. “The pleasure is all mine. Does this conclude your report?” He nodded, so she continued. “Excelent. You have an additional objective. Do your best to prevent the hive war. If it gets that bad, tell me immediately.”

He bowed. “By your command.” He turned, and the doors flashed back into place. Harpa flashed not a moment later, replaced by Celestia.

“And Chitin Shield? I am not replacing Celestia, only filling in for today. So, be prepared for a different response next time.” Harpa added, as they walked to the door. He bowed again, then opened the doors, to see the worried faces of five mares, and the confused face of a familiar lavender mare.

“Ah, Twilight Sparkle. My favored student. How are you today?” Harpa asked, imitating Celestia with impressive skill. She smiled warmly, and then pushed her disguised guard away with a nod. “And thank you, Chitin Shield. Tell them best of luck.”

He bowed again, and then trotted off, much to the confusion of the guardponies. They turned to the six mares, looking for answers, most of which who shrugged. Twilight looked at Harpa and asked “Are you ok, princess?”

Harpa decided to be playful. “Never felt better, Twilight.” She said with a wink. When her eye opened, the faint silvery-purple of her iris was replaced by a brilliant golden yellow. The yellow faded before anypony noticed, aside from Twilight, who gave a faint gasp. “Just talking to an old friend. Nopony you would know, but he can be paranoid at times. He wanted privacy, so I practiced a transformation spell that Luna was helping me learn.”

Shining stammered. “But the golden flare... and Discords laughter.”

Harpa laughed. “Oh Shining. That must have been a figment of your imaginations. Discord is still safely imprisoned, thanks to these six here.”

The group blubbered a little bit, before giving up and going back to where they came from. Just for added effect, Harpa said “Open court is dismissed for today. Everypony go and relax.” She turned to the guard from the room. “You are also dismissed. Thank you for your help.” He bowed, and trotted off in the direction of the room.

Harpa turned to Shining Armor. “Now, do we have anything left for today?” He shook his head no, and she smiled. “Very good. Well, I think I am going to retire for now. Partying for a few days can leave anypony exhausted.” She turned to Twilight and asked “Would you want to join me, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded slowly, and carefully followed behind, which all in attendance noticed. Those left behind quickly dispersed, but the five mares had a different idea. They quickly caught up to Twilight, so they could hear the conversation, but stayed back out of sight. After a few minutes of walking, Twilight asked “Where are we going?”

Harpa looked confused for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. “We’re going to my room.” she said with a smile.

Twilight looked confused. “Celestia or Harpa’s?”

Harpa facehoofed. “Celestia’s” She said with a sigh.

Twilight looked worried. “Is she...”

“Yes.” Harpa snapped. “I’m sorry, Twilight. But it is wearisome to have to keep a guise up and keep things clear between us.” The two reached Celestia’s room, and they walked in. The guards quickly shut the door behind them, and turned to attention.

“Well, shoot.” Applejack said. “We should be in there, something is wrong.” She turned to Pinkie. “Say, sugarcube. Could you make a distraction?”

The bubbly pony bounced up and down. “Okie-dokie.” She said, bouncing around. She hopped down the hall, and slammed into a suit of armor, knocking the display down.

“Shining Lance, go take a look.” One said. The other walked over to Pinkie.

He extended a hoof to help her up. “Hello miss. What are you doing?”

She smiled. “I’m here to make a distraction.” The four hiding mares all hit their faces on the nearby wall.

The guard only smiled. “Why?” he asked.

“Because my friends and I need to go in and see Princess Celestia. We’re the Elements of harmony, and we were supposed to go in with Twilight, but got lost instead. Can you help us in?”

He laughed. “Of course. The elements may come and go as they please.” He smiled. “Her exact words.” He walked over to the other guard and explained. They told Pinkie “Go ahead and get the others.”

She hopped over to her friends, all of which had their jaws dropped. “How did you know that would work?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie only smiled. “I don’t know, but aparently we’re like... famous or something!” Applejack turned to Rarity, who only shrugged.

The five friends walked over to the door, and the guards pushed the door open. What they saw rocked their world.

Two Celestia’s, talking to Twilight.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Nice long chapter, just for you all! Listening to a song that’s going to make me cry. The music is the Orchestrated theme for the amazing novel “Past Sins” by Pen Stroke. For those of you who haven’t read it, I must say something. READ IT
Link to story: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/41596/Past-Sins
Song found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqYC4mpDtyg
Have fun!

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled, flying in to save her friend. A flash of golden light hit Rainbow Dash, and from the other side came a light blue canary. The bird looked at itself and began to panic, fluttering its wings and crashing to the ground. The bird was flailing on the ground, while six of the seven mares stood there in absolute terror.

One Celestia turned to the other. “Turn her back.”

The other scoffed. “Or what? I’ll most likely get attacked by her again, so it’s best to leave her like this.” She smiled a sly smile. “I could have turned her into a bat, or maybe even a rat! I could have taken her ability to fly! At least count me generous.”

Twilight picked up Rainbow Bird, and calmed her friend. She turned to the second Celestia, and demanded “Turn my friend back. She’ll behave.” Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed, and a flash of golden magic later, Rainbow dash stood before her friends again. She then turned to her five friends with a frown. “Why?” She asked. “Why disobey the princesses order?”

The group recoiled at the indifferent, shamed tone. They stood in silence for a few moments, until Applejack spoke up. “Ahm sorry, Twi. We just saw your hesitation, and we knew sometin was up. We had to be here for you, sugarcube.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, that’s very sweet of you, girls. But now you knocked over the hornet’s nest. You see girls... This princess...” She pointed her hoof at the second Celestia. “She is Celestia’s sister. But there is one more thing about her.”

Harpa smiled and flashed, coming out of the smoke in her new freed form. Rarity and Applejack leaned down and hoofed at the ground. Fluttershy recoiled, and Rainbow Dash charged. “Twilight! Look out! She’s a...” and that was all she got out before she became the light blue canary again.

Celestia shot Harpa a burning look, but Harpa was rolling on the floor laughing. “Oh, to see the look on your faces,” She laughed. She stood up and wiped a tear from her eye. “Oh, all right.” She said, looking at the gathered looks. Her horn flashed, and Rainbow Dash once again stood amongst her friends.

She was picked up in a golden aura, and set down in her group. “No, I’m not A changeling. I am THE changeling.” When she met the confused faces of the six strangers, she turned to Celestia. “Celestia, help me. Please.” She begged.

Celestia nodded. “You see, my little ponies, Harpa here is my little sister.” The five who hadn’t met her gasped. “Yes, sister. But around five thousand years ago, when discord ruled, he laid a curse on my sisters and I. It was ‘One to ruin, and one to shame. And one left to carry the blame.’ We three tried to use the elements, but they didn’t quite work. Discord cursed us for our defiance, and set about his works. He warped and twisted Harpa until she was unrecognizable. And then he did the unthinkable.”

“He took the emotion love away from her. The thing her daughter represented was now the one thing that she couldn’t feel. She laid a memory blocking spell on us, so that we didn’t have to remember her torment. In the end, Luna was shamed, and I felt responsible for the thousand years of Luna’s banishment.”

Celestia sighed, and Harpa continued. “Recently, I re-connected with an old friend, Cog Nition. We had a party honoring my return, last night.”

Pinkie gasped. “OH! DidyoulikeitcauseithoughtitwasalotoffunbutIwassadthatIdidn’tgettomeettheponythepartywasforand,” Pinkie had an amazing ability to keep talking without end, but she was silenced by a muzzle made of golden magic.

“Yes, Pinkie, I loved It. I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself at the party, but I feel like the world isn’t yet ready for me. Think about poor old luna, and she has been back for two years now. But not many ponies really accept her. How would they feel when another princess comes out of the woodwork?”

The murmur of agreement came from the 6 ponies. “Now, I had kept my existence secret from everypony, save four close friends and a new one. But, you five had to reveal me early.” Harpa sighed. “Hiding is harder than it looks. Don’t worry, my new friends, I will come public in time. But not today.”

A rapid knocking came from the door, and muffled shouts came through. “Empress? Empress, are you in there? It’s me, Chitin Shield!” More muffled shouting, and sounds of numerous hooves approaching. Harpa shuddered, then turned to Celestia.

“I believe my guard has been discovered for who he is. Do help him out.” And with that, a golden wave rippled over her, and she disappeared. Celestia sighed, and walked over to the door. She pushed it open, to see her royal guard jumping down on the helpless black pony.

“Captain, what is the meaning of this?” She asked tiredly. The guard wearing the most armor jumped up and saluted.

“Princess, this pony is a changeling, and we fear for your safety. Please, allow us to remove him for your presence.” He bowed, but in his distraction, the restrained pony had wrestled his way free. He lept towards Celestia, and wrapped himself around her leg. He was shaking violently, beaten and bruised in many places. Celestia felt a pang of pity, although she knew it was only a disguise.

“Captain, let me alleviate your fears. I am going to cast a changeling reveal spell, and you will see that this personal friend of mine is not a changeling.” Her horn lit up, and Chitin Shield was hit with a blast of magic. Celestia smiled, as the disguise remained.

At that, a wave of golden magic pulsed from her horn, although there was no illumination coming from her horn. The wave rippled out into the guards, and when it hit the captain, he grunted in discomfort. His body rippled, and then he was replaced by a changeling. He turned to his dumbstruck guards. “What?” He asked incredulously. One of them poked his hoof. The Captain looked down, saw the black chitin, and cried out “What the buck?”

One of the guards bowed to the princess. “Our sincerest apologies, princess. It seems we had been deceived.” He turned to the captain. “I am sorry, sir. If you even have been our captain all along. My suggestion, start running, sir.” The guard closed his eyes, and began counting. “One...”

Taking up on the hint, the changeling fled down the halls, and the guards soon gave chase. Chitin Shield shivered, and slumped to the ground. “Thank you... Empress.” He said, before blacking out.

Celestia frowned, pulled the stallion inside, then shut the doors. Harpa re-appeared, cackling with laughter. “Oh, the look on his fa-a-ace.” She kept laughing, before looking up and seeing Celestia’s disapproving face. “Oh, don’t worry,” she stopped laughing. “The transformation spell will only last for a few minutes. When they find their non-changeling captain, and the spell to remove his disguise doesn’t work, they will think that they chased off a changeling impostor.”

Celestia didn’t look pleased, but she nodded her head in understanding. She nudged Chitin Shield, who flinched slightly. Harpa frowned and leaned closer. “Oh dear, they did a number on you, didn’t they?” She murmured, while adressing the various scoffs on his form. She drew closer still, until her horn rested on his head. Those in attendance saw a faint pink beam join them momentarily, and then she broke the beam. She pushed him up, and he awoke standing. He bowed, and stayed like that until everypony got the message that he worshiped Harpa, not Celestia.

“My Empress,” He began, “I bring grave news. In my absence, Ova had declared independence from the hive confederation, and is calling for you to begin the changeling legalization bill. I was sent here by High-Queen Chrysalis in order to call you back to the obelisk for advice.”

Harpa’s head sagged. “The second Hive war is upon us.” She sighed.

-+-+-+-+-+-

I apologize about all the delays, my days are becoming more and more cluttered. Family coming over on the weekends, and school work on weekdays. :/ Not to mention Latin online is being a pain right now. But I’ll keep trying to finish this at some point.

“Hive war?” Twilight asked. “What is that?”

Harpa walked over to Celestia’s bed and laid down, head between her hooves. “Gather round ponies. The Hive war was a time of great sadness for me, so you’ll excuse me if I... break.” She waited for them to draw near, and then began her tale.

“Nearly twelve hundred years ago, ten of my children, ten changeling queens, decided that it would be best if we worked in the open. They didn’t want to have to continually hide, they didn’t want to leech. They said that ponykind would accept them, but we knew better.”

“I tried to tell them, tried to warn them, but they would not listen. They were determined. They approached Celestia and Luna, hoping to find refuge.” Celestia cringed, drawing the ponies attentions.

“That’s right,” Celestia whispered. “They explained what they were, and how they wanted to leave that life. I was considering accepting them when Luna spoke out against it. ‘Allow vile parasites into thine people? Hah, we scoff at thee,’ she had told them. The queens were heartbroken, but I wouldn’t directly stand up against Luna.” Celestia sighed.

Harpa waited until everyponies attentions were directed on her. “The ten queens returned, disheartened by the fact that they were not given one thing they need. They tried to come to royal court, but were barred entry by the other twenty queens.” Harpa sighed. “They had been excommunicated, and were shown no pity.”

“Whenever I extended a helping hoof, the loyal queens blocked the aid. After a while, the ten, in their desperation, attacked one of the loyal hives. A surprise attack, something one-hundred-thousand strong. The lonely hive fell without a word, and the queen barely escaped, carried to safety by a loyal drone.”

“Acting in retaliation, The twenty queens moved in and annihilated a dissident hive. A changeling survivor came to me, begging me to end his life. He was the last of his hive, inherently male, and without his queen. So I offered to give him power instead. Power to wreak vengeance.”

“Two queens walked in to find me giving him enormous power. They warned the others, saying that I wasn’t trustworthy. During the next session, I told them that I was neutral, that either side could come to me.” Harpa stopped, taking a breather. “The queens voted me to remain empress, but they stripped the power I had to over-ride any ruling.”

“In the weeks that followed, I buried eight children. Eight daughters. That means eight kings, six of which were traitorous kings.” Harpa bit her lip, and Celestia draped a comforting wing over her shoulder. Harpa smiled at Celestia, and then continued her story. “We were nearing the end of the hive war when Celestia and Nightmare stepped in.”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Wait, The princess and Nightmare moon worked together?”

Celestia laughed. “For a time, Luna called herself Nightmare moon. This was at the beginning of her transformation, when she was still in control of herself.” She nudged Harpa, who gave a weary smile.

“Yes, she was in control. But she hadn’t diminished her hatred. By her hoof alone, 15 kings and 7 queens met their fate. She directed her hatred, and became a living weapon of destruction. I lost two loyal hives who had welcomed her in with open hooves.”

She turned to Celestia. “I am sorry for what I did, but I had no choice. I welcomed her into the obelisk, trapped her, and twisted her against the only other thing she had malice in her heart towards.” She sighed. “You, dear sister. I was the one who redirected her hate towards you, but I only did it to save my people.”

She turned to the window. “By the end of the war, 14 of the original hives stood. 13 still loyal and 1 rebel. The rebel hive dispersed and scattered across equestria. We know of a few of their agents, but their queen is nowhere to be seen.”

She turned again to the ponies. She was about to say something, when Chitin Shield spoke up. “But this will not be a war. It will be a massacre. Ova’s hive has no combat experience, and although the ponies there appreciate her presence, they won’t rally to her aid. Princess Celestia, the only way to prevent the death of a friendly hive would be to have your guard support it. The Empress will withhold her neutrality, but we must act fast in order to save the innocent. Ova knows what is best for her changelings, and under Chrysalis that would end.”

He bowed towards Celestia, drawing a faint gasp from the group. “I beg of you, move whatever power you have to add this hive to pony society. Assimilate them, they are willing. If Ova and her hive become part of your civilization,” He took a deep breath. “Then they shall be saved.” With that, he sighed.

Celestia nodded, and turned to Harpa. “I will need you to speed up the whole ‘making you public’ plan.” Harpa recoiled, and Celestia pulled her closer. “Yes, public. I am going to need you if we are to let your daughter into the community. We will have Luna’s acceptance pretty easily, but Cadence doesn’t trust changelings much. Having a three-fourths majority is better in the eyes than having a two-thirds, don’t you agree?”

Harpa dumbly nodded, and began to walk out, when she stopped. “Sister, I respect your wish.” A wicked grin appeared on Harpa’s face. “And I think I have an idea.” She laughed, maliciously. “Sister, you must know of the changeling revealing spell, am I correct?”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Cog couldn’t help but smile as he strode through the royal gates. The fact that the princess was throwing a party was exhilarating. He knew there was some form of formal announcement, but any party thrown by the princess would be a joyous occasion. He had stopped by early to see if Harpa would be going, but she was nowhere to be found.

He walked up to the front door, and realized that it was closed, and a small force of guards stood outside. “Please, honored guests, form a line. There is just a short check-in procedure, and then you will be on your way inside.”

Ponies of all kinds jostled their way into a rough line, and Cog found himself near the rear. He was left to his thoughts as the line progressed forwards, and soon he was nearing the front of the line, when he saw what they were doing. Twilight was standing at the gates, casting a changeling revealing spell on everypony that came up. But now he was too far forward to turn tail and run, so he kept walking, with the line, with worried eyes.

He reached the front, when a guard stopped him. “Identification.” He said gruffly. Cog only nodded and reached inside his suit (This was the first time he really got to use Rarities suit, and he was loving every moment of it). Quickly, he reached in one of his pockets and pulled out his ID card. The guard nodded as he looked it over, and turned to Twilight. “Ms. Sparkle, if you please.”

She frowned, and turned to the guard. “He is with me. I checked him at home, and he hasn’t left my sight since.” She subtly winks at me, and I unconsciously breath out a sigh of relief. The guard only nods, and motions him on, which he gratefully mouths “Thank you” to Twilight while the guard is distracted. She nods and motions him on.

Cog steps through, and starts to mingle with the other ponies. He sees Celestia at one point, but he had no way to get her attention. His excellent sense of smell draws him to the food table, but when he gets there, he picks up a strong whiff of another changeling. He looks around, until he finally sees a large, dark stallion. He is in a nice suit, and is currently making small talk with one of the chefs.

Cog steps up and gently taps him on the shoulder. “Good sir,” He begins. “I was wondering if I could ask you a question.”

The stallion excuses himself and turns to Cog. “Certainly.” Suddenly his brow furrows. “You. How did you get past security?”

Cog smiles. “I was about to ask you the same thing.” He says with a chuckle.

The stallion puffs out his chest. “I’m here at the Empresses request.” Cog nods, and the stallion turns his gaze down again. “And why are you here?”

Cog smiles. “I was hoping to speak with the Empress, but that didn’t end up happening, so I’m here for the same reason that all the other ponies are. For the party.”

The changeling was about to say something when he is interrupted by Celestia’s voice. “Greetings, my guests. Before I go any further, I want to ask the guard: are you certain you checked everypony?”

“Nearly.” One guard spoke up.

Celestia smiled. “Then please be certain that nopony is a changeling.” The guards nod, and scan the crowd. Twilight does a double over everypony, even the guards.

Finally, she turns to Celestia, and bows. “No changelings, princess.” Celestia nods, and whispers something to Twilight. Her eyes go wide, and she quickly scans herself. She turns to Celestia, who nods again. Twilight focused on Celestia, and cast the spell. Celestia erupts in golden flames, and there, before the whole crowd, stands Harpa.

She smiled meekly, and turned to address the crowd. They stand rooted in place, frozen. “No, my little ponies, I am not your beloved princess.” The guards mobilize, and quickly begin to surround her, when she holds them at bay with her magic. “Back, you foals!” She calls out, sending them backwards with a push of magic.

The doors burst open, and there stands Celestia and Luna. “Sister, what are thou doing?” Luna called across the crowd, causing a gasp. A changeling, sister to the royal sisters.

Harpa sighed, quite loudly, to get her point across. “I am tired of living in the shadows, dear sister.” She turned to the crowd. “I am Harpa, the royalty who hid in the shadows. I,” She paused for some time, thinking. “I have been away for... Royal affairs. But no more! I have returned, and I no longer dream of ‘playing Celestia.’ Those days are behind me.”

She flares her wings out beside her. “I am Harpa, child of change. And I am here to claim my title as princess of Equestria.” The air was so abuzz, that miniature lightning bolts fired off around her when she said “Equestria.”

“I always knew she had some wicked plan...” The stallion said.

-+-+-+-+-+-

Aside from the whole “New princess” thing, the party was a drag. Everypony was just shuffling around, with no real idea of what they should do. They didn’t trust Harpa enough for open conversation, but they didn’t ignore her either.

She excused herself early, and began preparations to leave for Los Pegasos as soon as possible. She heard a knock at her door, and smiled. “Enter.” She called out, turning to see her visitor.

Cog cautiously stepped in, and looked around to make sure they were alone. Finally satisfied that nopony was watching, he visibly relaxed, letting a puff of faint steam. He bowed. “Empress, I wish to show you something I built.”

Harpa looked intrigued as he pulled out his lexicon. “This is a lexicon, yes?” She asked. He nodded his head, but then waved his hoof.

“Yes, but this is no ordinary lexicon. This is the next phase.” He pressed a button, and overwrote the old memory. He pushed another button, and fast forwarded to the present. He paused it, and hit a new button, sitting on a once unused side. The image faded, and was replaced by a blinking white line at the top corner of the black screen. He breathed into a vent “Awaken, safe word: Memory.”

The line pattered out a short sentence “Hello there. How far in the future are we?”

Cog chuckled. “Just a few seconds. We are demonstrating Lex 2.0 to the Empress.”

The line sat there for a few moments, before pittering out “Greetings Empress. I am Cog Nition, Circa a few seconds ago.”

Harpa blinked, and Cog laughed. “You see, I recreated the mind using warped memory crystals. It takes in memories and feeds out reactions, as if you plucked the person out of their time.” Cog closed the session, and fast forwarded to three nights ago. “This is when I first built the machine.”

Once again, the line flashed up, and sat there blinking. Quite soon, an incomprehensible stream came out, as the poor mind was panicking and out of control. Cog leaned down and spoke again. “I can hear you. Or, should I say, I can hear me. Hello Cog Nition, Construct 1.”

The line stopped, and then wrote out “Construct? Am I inside the Lexicon?”

“Yes, you are. Cog, is it even humane?” Harpa speaks up, suprising them both.

“Yes, Empress” They both say. “To what we can tell. You can never ask the dead how painful the end of their life is, so we really can’t be sure.” Cog turns to the lexicon. “From what we can tell, they simply end.”

“Isn’t that just... cruel?” Harpa inquired.

“Well, from what we have discovered,” Cog began, and the lexicon finished. “The end is more a blessing than a pain.” Cog turned back to Harpa. “Imagine if all you could do is talk and listen. No sight, no independent movement. You can’t smell or taste. It is only conversation.” He winked. “For now. Really, I just wanted to show you what my new project is. Hopefully, I’ll be able to focus on it, and soon...”

Cog paused as Princess Luna walked in. “Let me guess.” She stated. “The Cog shall be doubled?”

Cog chuckled. “Yes. Yes it shall.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

Finally! I have reached some conclusion for Harpa’s character! I’m both disappointed and ecstatic over the return to Cog. Ecstatic because I can start moving the plot along again, but disappointed because Harpa is fun to write. At least I didn’t kill her off like some people said I should. Plus, If I get bored, a few appearances from Harpa won’t hurt.

Cog sat there, staring at the purple mare before him. He was happy to have their normal lives back in the balance, but he was stumped with his current problem. So he came here instead. Twilight always could help him, even without knowing it.

She had that kind of effect on him. She had this aura of intelligence, and Cog always felt a little bit bad when he leeched from it, but it always gave him the boost he needed. So he smiled away, and continued to bask in the aura.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “I hope you and my friends are getting along nicely. Pinkie and Rarity keep telling me about how lucky I am, to be with you, but Rainbow Dash can harldy be coaxed to tell me about you, and both Fluttershy and Applejack don’t even know you.”

“A shame, I am sure,” He added. “They both sound like quite nice mares.” He scratched his back, an ill-sounding shriek of metal scraping metal, causing both of them to wince. He remembered the gift he held within his stomach compartment, and raised a hoof. “Twilight, I have something for you.” He popped his stomach open, and then reached inside.

“Twilight, let me present to you...” He pulled out a small metal flower, growing out of a small metal pot. “The Cog-Flower. This one is the second one, and is completely unique.” He handed the pot over to Twilight. She was speechless, and so she used this moment to really examine it.

The Pot itself was similar to hammered bronze, and sitting inside was a complement of various metals, primarily a strange iridescent metal. Rising from the center was a small copper stem, which bore the weight quite well. The stem branched upwards, and all of the leaves were the same strange metal, but they didn’t look crafted, not even cast. They looked... as if they had grown.

But sitting atop the stem was the best part: The flower. It was large, and shaped like a rose. Each petal was the same iridescent material, and the veining on each petal was solid gold. And sitting at the center, was a single, warped, discolored crystal.

As Twilight examined the flower a little more, Cog leaned in and pressed a button on the pot. The crystal flashed light, and the voice played “Is this the memory to record? Confirm or Deny.” Twilight stepped back, and Cog chuckled.

“Confirm.” Cog said, and shivered as he felt the magic spiral through him. And then it was over. He messed with some of the new buttons, and a crank opened the flower, causing the crystal to stand proud in the center. He played, and the pot-based projector lit up, speeding through his life. He reached the point just a few seconds ago, and paused the viewer. He fiddled with a few more buttons, and the projector cut off, and the crystal began glowing.

A disembodied voice rang through the room. “Blackness... Well, that’s what they always said it would be like.” Twilight gasped, and Cog smiled. “Tell me, future pony, who are you and what time is it?”

Cog chuckled. “Just a few seconds in the future, past self. Since we are the same, you know that you are currently residing in the third Cog-Flower. Now, why don’t we see if your new owner has any questions?”

Twilight stood there, jaw dropped. “Cog...? What is this?”

The crystal flashed, and the projector turned on. It started playing that fateful night when Cog built the Lexicon 2.0. “This,” the pot said “Is the night we discovered the soulshard.” The image zoomed in on the crystal resting in his hoof.

“At this time, we have only discovered two of these. A mirror pair, each warped opposite of each other.” Cog said. “Residing in my personal lexicon is one, and residing in your flower is the other. As far as we can tell, these crystals act as an imitation soul. The lexicon provides the experiences and thoughts, whereas the crystal interprets them like anypony would.”

The pot continued. “Inside this pot is the remains of a different lexicon. This gift we bring is the combination of two of our finest creations.” The projector flickered to life once more, and displayed Cog going to a ball at Canterlot, with a package on his back. He nervously tiptoed into the back wings, passing by a slightly younger Twilight. He smiled, and bowed. “Just a gift for the princess.” The projection played. Twilight nodded, and he kept on walking.

He wandered deeper into the back, until he reached Celestia’s personal quarters. He tapped on the door, and a weary voice from inside said “Open.” Cog wandered into the room, and bowed before Celestia.

“Celestia,” He began. “I wanted to bring you something. You seemed... down these past few weeks, and I just had to do something about it. So I made you something.” He walked over to her and shouldered the package over to her. She picked it up and began unwrapping it, until it stood open, and sitting inside was a small flower. “I had a local unicorn help me with the spell, but what you are looking at is a living metal flower.”

Celestia smiled, and took the gift out of the box. “Thank you Cog.” He did a little bow, smiled, and turned to go.

“I hope it helps, princess! Have a wonderful day!” He said while trotting out of the room.

“What you saw just then,” the pot said “Was when we delivered the first Cog-Flower to Princess Celestia. It had been nearing the summer sun festival a few years back. Nopony could have know that she fraught with worry over her little sister.”

Cog waved a hoof. “But that is beside the point. We also did it as a farewell present, a thanks for our stay. Because that was the day we left. That was a way to remember us.” Twilight was about to say something, when Cog put a hoof over her mouth. “Twilight, I’m going through the most dangerous process possible. This flower is my gift to you, should I not make it. This way, should I die, I will always be with you.”

The pot spoke out. “We will be with you, always. Also, Cog, please do engage construction of artifact 343 before you engage process 512.”

Cog chuckled. “Certainly. I know how important it is to you, so I’m going to do my best.”

Twilight finally spoke up “What are those?”

Cog grinned cheekily. “Secrets, my dear. Secrets.”

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This chapter took me far too long to get out, and I apologize about this. Hopefully, I can pay enough attention to get another chapter out soon.

Cog looked down into his hoofs, seriously considering putting the scalpel down. But no, this was necessary for science. He looked at the deceased changeling before him, wishing that he could just know instead of having to learn.

Vivisectiong his own body was one thing. Dissecting anothers? Not too high on his priorities. But it was a gift from Chrysalis, who had wanted him to stay as an ally.

With a shudder, he set the scalpel on the head and began to separate the scalp, the chitin peeling away like bad orange peels. He had the entire head’s skin and muscle removed, leaving the skull, eyes, brain, and horn. He took the specially designed bone saw and started to cut through the skull, and removed the majority of the brain along with it. Finally, he was reaching his goal.

He kept slicing, until he got to the cells nearest the horn. Then, he removed the horn, and bisected it along the long end, revealing the inner workings of the horn. The outer shell was hard to protect these vital sensory organs, and moving down was the warp core. This was the part that allowed unicorns to pull magic from everywhere, a little bit here a little bit there.

But that’s not what he needed, so he wend deeper. Finally, he found the thread. He traced it into the brain, and smiled. “Here.” he said, tapping the connection. He finished dissecting the head, lining it up as an example.

He felt a little excited. Should this work, the implications would be astonishing. Artificial horns, amongst things!

Turning, he saw the lifemaker. He sighed quite loudly, and looked fondly at it. “This is it, old friend. I have no more uses for you. Maybe the local hospital will accept you. Think about it! You won’t have to help create, but instead save!” He chuckled morbidly, and turned to a mirror.

“This is it then. The last time I will ever see my own face...” He smiled, admiring his face. “Goodbye, disguise.” He turned away, and looked down at the object on his workbench.

It was a copper head, with a gear horn sticking out of the top.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“Is this the memory to write? Verbal confirm or deny.”

“Confirm.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

It hurt a little bit, which was far underwhelming for Cog. What really surprised him was the fact that he managed to do it without killing himself. He admired his craft, looking at his new face in the mirror.

Staring back at him was a copper face, with a gear horn that was turning away resting on his brow. His eyes were now two crystals, faintly glowing blue. It was amazing that he could see normally, but what astonished him was the fact that he now saw with perfect clarity. All the lines were strong and defined, and the colors more saturated, almost surreally so. He grinned, his pearly silver teeth peeking through.

He was no longer a changeling. He was a machine, and he was happy.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“Thanks to you, my people are safe.” Came the raspy voice of Queen Ova, speaking to her mother. “Mother, what title do you go by now, so that I may properly address you?”

Harpa blushed slightly. “Princess is the public term, but I would prefer if you simply called me Harpa. I may be your mother, but now I am a peer, not above you.”

Ova nodded. “Certainly, mother. But I must ask, was turning the entire army into sheep really a good idea? Surely that much magic has a price.”

Harpa winced, but kept smiling. “It was. I know it was slightly reckless, but it was more a display of power rather than an aggressive action. They needed to know that you and your hive are under my protection, and aggressive action will not be taken kindly too.”

“But I digress.” She finished. “I must be off. My sisters and I have centuries of bonding to make up for.” She laughed “I’m supposed to be with them having tea. So I really must be going. It was wonderful being here Ova. I just wish it had been in better times.”

With that, Harpa flew into the air, away from her baffled daughter, and into the wind, heading towards her sister’s “social bonding time.” But as she soared over the fields, she heard something calling her name in the distance.

She turned in the sound’s direction, and saw nothing. Shrugging, she turned back to keep flying. As she began to flap, she was certain she heard a familiar voice. “Harpa...” It called. She pulled down to the path below her, and sat down. Whoever wanted her would have to come for her.

The voice sounded from right behind her. “Hello my dear. Have you missed me?” With a slight shudder, she turned around, to stare face to face with the face she least wanted to see right now.

She was staring into the face of a Draconequus.

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Apologies about the short update, and about the wait, but hopefully I’ll get around to writing up the next chapter shortly. Also, I plan on releasing an “Alternate” version of this story, which will stick much more closely to the original idea this story was riding on. In the original, Cog was never a changeling, the Twi-romance took longer to develop, and Harpa never existed. Now look where we are! Pretty huge divergence. But we are in the final throes (I hope) of this “Extended and Remastered” edition. Although with how it’s looking, you guys have another few chapters ahead.

“Discord.” She hissed.

He laughed lightly. “Did you miss me?” he asked again. “I certainly missed you. It simply wasn’t fun without you.”

Harpa scoffed. “Says the spirit who wrecked me.”

Discord gave her a firm look. “You did what all the good little ponies did. You tried to use the elements on me and failed.”

“Discord,” she cooed. “Do you really think I’m that predictable? We are kindred spirits, you and I.” He gave her a bemused look. “Put the pieces together.” She egged.

“Fine.” He sighed. “Now let’s see. You and your sisters come to me, elements fail. Your sisters alone come to me, elements work. Either they were closer to each other than they were to you, or... You were holding back?” he finished with a question. “And for helping me I destroyed you. Without a second thought, I tossed you away, the only one who knew me.”

She smiled warmly. “Now you see. Discord, I still respected you. I’ve always been the one to enjoy your little jokes. Now we are free again, and life is good.”

He looked up at her, his eyes a little hurt. “I see why they called me a monster.”

She pulled him into a hug. “I don’t see you that way. You are a friend of mine, and I forgive quickly.” She let go of him. “Now, let’s go deal with my sisters.” she said with a wicked grin.

“I never thought you would ask.” He said, linking an arm with her leg.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“Tia, do you feel a little... off?” Luna sat there, lightly sipping her tea, but she was constantly fidgeting and glancing around nervously.

Celestia laughed, and put her cup down. “No, Luna. Everything feels fine. The sun is in place, the staff is on vacation, and Harpa is late...” She sighed. “As usual.”

At that moment, Harpa winked to Discord, who giggled slightly at this fun, harmless joke. He proudly strode up, causing the two sisters to look up in mild amusement. “Sister, why is it that you can never come on time, or out of a disguise?” Celestia asked tiredly.

Discord laughed. “But this form is so much fun! I have hands!” He said, wiggling his fingers. “Would you like some?” He asked, ginning, while charging up his magic. The two of them recoiled in shock, and he broke the spell, laughing. “Oh, to see the looks on your faces. But honestly, do you two really not want hands that bad? They are wonderful!”

“Most certainly not.” Luna said, throwing her head back. “Now, let us sit and drink.” She said, lifting her cup again. Discord snapped his fingers, and the tea instantly froze solid. He collapsed to the ground cackling, and rolled about, until Celestia melted it for her sister. Discord sat up and pouted.

“Aww, your no fun.” He said, before lifting the cup. A wicked smile passed across his face, causing frowns to cross the faces of the others. “I know what would make this day that much better!” He snapped his fingers, and like a well rehearsed play, Harpa turned visible. “Two of us!” Discord said with a cackle.

But neither face showed any sign of amusement. In fact, Luna’s was a face of worry. She turned to Celestia, and a seriously grim expression crossing her face. “Sister, Harpa knows no cloning spells.” She said gravely.

Celestia gasped as the revelation hit her, and then turned to Harpa and Discord, both of who were barely holding back a sea of laughter. “So, Celestia.” Discord squeezed out. “How does it feel to know you had tea with the enemy?”

He turned to Harpa, smiling as wide as she was. He held up his fist, and she hoof-bumped him. “Your plan worked beautifully! Look at their faces! Priceless!” He said to her, and the two broke down laughing.

As they were rolling about, the worry dissapeared from Celestia’s mind. It was instead replaced by more worry and a tinge of betrayal. “Harpa.” She said sternly. “You do know that you are, at this moment, having fun with,”

Harpa rudely cleared her throat, and then threw in “One of my few friends? Yes, I know he is discord. Yes, I know he is chaotic. But are we much different? We each love a good joke. We alter reality in mind warping ways. And we have both helped each other more than we could have.”

“But he is uncontrollable!” Luna interjected.

“Is he?” Harpa asked playfully. “We haven’t caused much chaos. We have been having a few little jokes, but I fixed each one.”

“But what did you think bringing him to the grounds would do?” Celestia asked, cocking her head. The faint aura of magic surrounded her horn as she began writing Twilight a letter about Discord’s return.

Harpa smiled. “I wanted to introduce Cadence to the one who helped bring her about. Before you spoke to me of Discord, I met him in the woods. It was of the night that Entropy Theory died.”

She turned back to Discord. “You would have liked him. He loved any kind of change. The more things that changed, and the more dramatically so, the happier he became. He was the father of my first daughter.”

She turned back to her sisters, and continued. “We met while I was heavily pregnant with Cadence. I was distraught, and he helped comfort me. My water broke during a display of power, so he teleported us to Canterlot, disguised himself, and carried me to the hospital. I thought he was wonderful, we were so similar. He told me of troubles with the family, and so I kept quiet.”

“Had it not been for him, I might not have passed Cadence so easily. In fact,” It was apparently her turn to be interrupted, as a loud tone played through the ears of the four spirits.

Discord covered his ears, the sound obviously painful to him. “What in Tartarus is that un-faustly noise!” he cried out, and Celestia beamed.

“A new immortal is being born.” She said plainly. She winced at the horrendus screeching, but still smiled. Until her smile fell.

“Sister, Cadence wasn’t pregnant, was she?” Luna asked as if it were fact. Celestia only nodded, and Luna finished the thought. “Then that means somepony is ascending. But who? And into what? All the roles are filled.”

Harpa grinned. “Not all the roles.” She turned to Celestia. “We have change, we have love, the day and night. Fundamental forces of society. But we are missing a few things. One in particular that could be caused by somepony we know all too well.”

“Technology.” Celestia finished.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“Woah, that was weird.” Cog stated plainly. He looked down at the new cubic chamber in his chest, filled with a first generation lexicon. He was tempted to put in a second generation box, but he didn’t want voices in his head, so he was content just to have the knowledge.

What had bothered him was the unfaustly shriek emanating from his horn. “Shut up, you infernal spire!” He called out. He stared his horn down, hoping that simply looking at it sternly would silence it. To noponies surprise, this was ineffective.

An idea flashed into his mind, and he began to channel his magical power. At the right moment, he released it onto his own horn, hoping his muffle spell would work. Unfortunately for him, it did not.

He sunk down to the floor in pain, the horn still whining with magical energies. Finally, the solution hit him. He reached down, and pressed the button on his chest. The cool wave of blue energy of the null-magic zone rippled out, and his horn gave him some blessed peace.

“Finally,” he sighed. He closed his eyes, and willed the lexicon to work. He smiled, watching his memories unfold, although he had chosen to simply skim everything at an incredibly fast rate. He opened his eyes, and looked at the clock, and took a deep breath. 2 pm. Time enough to see if the observation rate had any set speed. He closed his eyes again, setting out to find the limits.

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Today’s chapter. Made it a bit long so you all can savor it a little more. After all, we are nearing the conclusion. At this rate, I’m predicting at least 5 more chapters. Once I reach a certain point, I’m going to ask the group a question. Abrupt, shocking ending, or the slightly drawn out one? Post and tell me what you think.

Cog hesitated. Did he really want to try this? He looked long and hard at the lexicon in his hoof. The prototype lexicon. Twilight’s lexicon.

“Ah, what the Tartarus. She pried through my memories. Time to return the favor.” He stuck it into the bay, with a satisfying beep, and closed his eyes. The lexicon loaded at his will, and he smiled.

“Play,” he whispered, just for dramatic affect.

-+-+-+-+-+-

“And now... the night... will last... FOREVER!” Nightmare Moon broke down into diabolical laughter. Cog winced. He hadn’t seen this side of Luna, only heard about it.

He heard a procession of three loud booms, which nopony in the memory noticed. Cog sighed, paused the memory, and opened his eyes. The three booms came again, and Cog called out “Coming,” while walking to the door.

He knew Twilight would be around at some point. He had been locked in here for some time, and she was bound to get suspicious. He stepped closer to the door, and heard an unearthly howl, one of pain and suffering.

“Cog!” Came the distinct and distressed voice of Celestia. “Turn off the null-magic generator!” Like a well trained dog, Cog obeyed the command, pressing the button, releasing the horrid screech. He winced, backed away from the door, and put the field up again. He looked down, and found the dial, turning the radius down to just surrounding him.

He went for the door again, and opened it, to find four deities outside. He cracked a wide smile. “Well, well, well! It’s not every day that I find a group of gods outside my door. Come in, or stay out, it’s all up to you.”

Harpa glanced at Discord, who smiled mischievously. “I prefer to be outdoors.” He said, before transforming into an open door. Harpa chuckled, and so did Cog, but Celestia and Luna stayed stone-faced.

Discord returned to his normal form, pouting at Celestia. “Oh, come on, you two. You need to... Lighten up.” He said, pulling out a mirror and reflecting a large amount of sunlight back at the two of them, illuminating them even more. Luna hissed and became a dark cloud, whereas Celestia actually cracked a smile.

“Good pun, Discord. But we have business to attend.” She said, turning to Cog. “Much business.”

Cog cocked his head sideways. “Business? Are you here to buy or sell?”

His little joke caused discord to smile slightly, and he nudged Harpa. “I like this pony.” He whispered.

She nudged back. “He’s my grandson.” She returned.

Discord gave him a good long look. “So I can tell.” he whispered back.

Cog opened the door further, and let the three alicorns in. Before Discord could step in, Cog shut the door, and stepped back. Discord simply stepped through the door, and gave Cog a cold look. Cog gave him a smile. “I know you enjoy being out of the norm, so I gave you a chance. And one that won’t cause Celestia to have a heart attack.”

Discord’s cold shoulder melted, and he smiled back. Before their conversation could continue, Celestia spoke up. “Cog, why did you seek immortality?”

Cog stepped back, closer to the downstairs door. “What do you mean? You know what I sought. I sought refuge from myself. I wanted to actually be something different, not act it. And now I am almost free. Free enough to enjoy the twilight, the turning from changeling to machine. I still passively feed off of love, and I could still change my shape should I desire.”

“But I’m not hunted. I’m free to live my way. Should part of me be broken, I can fix it. If immortality is a side-affect, then I’m all for it. But I didn’t mean to ascend. I didn’t want this responsibility. Plus, I can still die. My brain will eventually rot away, and I will die.”

Celestia smiled. “Cog, do you know what your horn is trying to do right now?”

He stepped back again. “No. Do you?”

“Yes,” she said, stepping forward. Cog turned tail and ran, moving to his downstairs door. Celestia reached out with her magic, but couldn’t grasp him. He slammed the bunker door, and they could all hear the sounds of numerous locks being flipped. Finally, one soft click later, they could all hear a faint humming sound, and the door was encased in a soft blue glow.

Celestia stepped up to the door. “Cog?” She asked. “Come out please. We only want to talk.” They could all hear his muffled no from within.

Harpa stepped forward, and rested a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder. “Sister,” she began, “let me.” She shuffled forward, coming close to the door. “Cog? It’s Harpa. Can you let me in?” A muffled no came from inside. “What if only I came in?” The door remained silent for a while, before a muffled groan came from inside.

Several clicks later, the door hesitantly opened. Celestia lunged, but Harpa caught her, and pushed her back. Holding the Immortal at bay, Harpa backed up to the door, Celestia fighting to get past. “Cog, can you leave the door open, but only a smidgen?” At her command, the door closed almost completely. Harpa pushed Celestia back, and a flash of magic later, was replaced by an insignificant ant. The ant scampered the remaining way to the door, and slid through the crack.

When she came out on the other side, she was full size again, her spell having been canceled. Cog smiled and shut the door the rest of the way, clicking the remaining locks shut. “Welcome to my sanctum.” He said melodramatically, taking a short bow.

Harpa looked around. All the medical gear had been replaced, now containing various other mechanical designs. Laying on a table nearby was a nearly identical duplicate of him. Lining the shelves were his stabilized organs, working in various states of animation.

“Now look, I...” He began, before he was interrupted by Harpa coming close and giving him a hug.

“I know what you meant to do, but I also know the repercussions of what you have done.” She lifted his head and looked into his eyes. The crystals pulsed with an unnerving clarity, softly glowing and not betraying where he was looking. “Cog, you are a nice guy, you haven’t done anything to show otherwise. I don’t think Celestia would do anything to hurt you... So why don’t we go see?” She said with an encouraging smile.

A sad puff of steam erupted from Cog’s back, and he sighed. “I guess so.” He said, gazing longingly at the copy of him laying on the table. He pressed a button, disabling the Null-magic field on the door, and then quickly unlocked the entire door.

Before he could open the door, however, he could hear a slight commotion from outside. He raised a confused eyebrow at Harpa, who shrugged. Cog pushed the door open, and on the other side was the two sisters, beating on a laughing Discord with their magic.

Cog saw an open book on the stairs, constantly flipping pages. Cog stepped closer to find that the pages were writing themselves, filling up with the thoughts of a senseless pony, who’s mind had just been trapped with no way out. Cog tossed the book to Harpa, who zapped the book lightly, transforming it back into the pony it used to be.

Aged scroll stood in the center of the room, slightly dazed from his whole ordeal. Being a book was definitely not high on his to do list for that day, nor was being the center of attention for multiple immortals. He nervously grinned at Cog. “Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to go out and hang out? Twilight has nothing to do today, so I thought that would be nice.” He whispered.

Cog smiled back. “Certainly, brother. But after I clear out these immortals.” He turned to face the four now pacified spirits, and asked quite simply, “So what is it you are actually here for?”

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My apologies at not getting this up sooner, and sorry about the abrupt ending, but it is what it is. I’ve hit some really hard writers blockages on how to finish this scene, and I can’t leave you in the dark forever. Hope the cliffhanger isn’t too hard. * wince *

“Well, do you want it poetically or bluntly?” Celesita asked, her tone firm.

“Bluntly. I was never really good with poetry, even with the best of Aged’s attempts.” Cog said with a chuckle.

“Very well. Right now, the magic flowing through your body is panicking, because you never naturally ascended. You claimed godhood, without going through the necessary life experiences. Your body can’t handle the raw magic flowing through you, and as such, it’s working as hard as it can to bleed off all the extra magic.”

Cog looked up at his horn in slight worry. “I never meant to try and steal godhood.” He said, fear crossing his face. “What will happen to me?”

“Well, there haven’t been any who actually got this far in unnatural ascencion, so I have no idea. The magic could sputter and lower the amount given to you, you may become powerful enough to hold onto it, or it may burn your candle out in an instant.” Celestia said, looking slightly concerned.

A determined look came over Cog’s face. “Very well. Would you all mind if I had a few moments to myself?” He asked, his face stone-like. The various immortals nodded, and he turned to look out the window at the sun, climbing steadily in the sky. Cog smiled as an idea came over his mind. He quickly ran downstairs, and grabbed his notebook. He pulled his quill close, and began sketching his biggest project yet. He saw the parts aligning in his mind, a smile creeping up his face.

-+-+-+-+-+-

The gathered immortals turned as the front door opened, and Cog stepped out. “I have an idea. It will take time, and I will need help, but I may be able to create something to use my ‘extra’ magic.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “And will you need anything from us?”

Cog smile grew. “Metal. Lots and lots of metal.”

-+-+-+-+-+-

For weeks, all of Ponyville could hear the sounds of industry. Hammering metal, flame, and steam blowing beset the sleepy town. After exactly one month, the many denizens thought to petition the young engineer to stop, but he was alone, and always kept his creations off the streets.

But nopony knew what he was doing. He kept a null magic zone up to block scrying, and his door remained locked, windows covered with curtains.

And, as the denizens had finally gotten used to the sounds, they abruptly stopped. Everypony came to his door, hoping he would debut his newest, and probably most ambitious project, but he only came out with a smile, and thanked everypony for their patience. Finally, he stepped aside, and pulled a draped crate out of the door. He took it straight to the train, and booked an entire car for it. A few came aboard to try and catch a glimpse of his machine, but none did. Even Twilight, with the help of her five closest friends, couldn’t see it. The only being who saw it was the two who worked on it: A machine and his brother.

Word spread fast, and a large group gathered on the Canterlot platform, trying to catch a glimpse of this for their relatives. But he unceremoniously disembarked, the machine still hidden. A few dedicated citizens followed them all the way to the castle, only to be stopped by the guards.

Finally, it was only the two brothers and the six friends. Most of them had fallen into a quietly respectful trot, but Aged continued to gasp and gawk. This was, after all, his first visit into the Canterlot castle. Cog dragged him on, pulling him towards the gardens, where he knew the living gods would be. The doors opened at his will, and he pulled his cart into the middle of the clearing, between all of the dieties.

“Today, I present something that may revolutionize our world. I present to you,” He said dramatically, pulling the cloth off of the crate. “The device!” He pulled a lever, and the box fell apart, revealing the glistening metal of the new machine.

It was a makeshift copper ring, made of jagged plates misshapenly overlapped. Each one orbited the center, creating a dancing display of glorious metal. Harpa tilted her head, and looked at her grandson curiously. “Um... Dear. What does it do?”

Cog smiled wildly. “I have no idea.” He deadpanned, causing the entire group to gasp.

The Newcomer

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Aichmophobia

Twilight smiled, the curve sneaking up her face. While watching the stand had been fun, it also brought to mind yet more questions. She looked up at the setting sun, and sighed wistfully. Soon, she would have more answers. She spared a glance at the clock, watching the second hand draw ever closer to the twelve at the peak of the dias. She could hear herself counting down the time with the ticks. Ten... Nine... Eight...

It was then that a voice distracted her. "Excuse me, Princess Twilight? If you are busy, I can come back later..."

Twilight looked down and saw a sweet little green filly, and smiled. "Of course I'm not busy. How can I help you?"

The darling child smiled, and asked "Do you have fun stuff in there?"

Twilight sighed, and chuckled softly, "Of course we do. Let's see..." she murmured, rummaging through the stuff down below the counter. There, hidden away, was a small gyroscope mounted to a pair of wings, a little crown, and another variation of his unusually popular "Seeker" model. She pulled out the dragonfly-shaped seeker, and brought it up. "How does this look?" Twilight asked, watching the filly's eyes light up.

"Oh, it's beautiful," The leaf green filly whispered, and Twilight's smiled broadened. "How much is it?"

Twilight glanced down at the tag, and another smile faintly appeared. "Ten bits," She replied, the money practically flying towards her face. She lowered the delicate looking device, which was carefully taken from her, and the Filly's smile grew even larger. "Take care, now," Twilight called out to the disappearing filly, who waved back at the storefront.

With a relaxed sigh, Twilight glanced at the clock, and her jaw dropped. She was a whole five minutes late for closing time. Quickly, she flipped the switch, closing the place down, and stepped out of the cart, carefully locking the door behind her. She quickly turned, and blinked out of reality, rapidly teleporting across town, so that her arriving at the hospital five minutes late would probably be overlooked as walking time.

When she arrived at the door, she paused, took a deep breath, and stretched. Now, she was presentable, as she carefully strode into the meticulously cared for building. Nopony knew why Ponyville had such an efficient hospital, but everypony was grateful nonetheless.

The nurse glanced up from her deskwork, and then returned to writing, only to pause and look back up. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Princess! I didn't recognize you! How can I help?"

Twilight held up a hoof reassuringly. "No worries, Redheart. It must be large responsibility, working at the hospital nearly 24/7 like you do. I'm just here to see Mr. Nition home."

Redheart quirked her eyebrows, nodded, and looked down at the paperwork before her. "All right, let me see what room he's in... Nition, Nition, Nition..." After a few pages of shuffling pages, Redheart looked up at Twilight, slight confusion in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Princess, but we haven't had a Mr. Nition check in here."

Twilight incredulously looked at the medical practitioner in front of her. "Not... here? Then where?"

Nurse Redheart shrugged. "How am I supposed to know, Princess? I'm just a nurse."

Twilight shook her head, thanked Redheart, and quickly left the over-sterile building. Soon, she was popping up all around town, and nopony knew where the craftspony had disappeared to. Even Pinkie Pie, who knew almost everything about everypony, couldn't tell Twilight.

Disheartened, and worried about her new friend, Twilight returned to the cart, and walked back inside. She was sitting there, alone, glancing about the room, when she spotted a brown paper bag. Cog didn't use those for the objects he sold, so Twilight carefully stood up and lifted the bag.

It was sealed, and atop it was a note. Cautiously, Twilight opened the note, and read it aloud out of habit. "Use this if you need to contact me while I'm out," She read, before looking down at the bag. "Better now than never," she whispered to herself, unwrapping the device within.

It was the original Seeker, the one from the day he first displayed his wares. Twilight looked around, and couldn't find the device's box, before a grin grew on her face. "Oh, you sly dog..." She whispered, before taking the beetle outside, and winding it up. Quickly, it took to the sky, and flew off deeper into the Everfree. Smiling, she galloped in after it, making sure she could see it at all times.

Though the sun was nearly gone, Twilight's heightened senses allowed her to pursue the beetle deep into the woods, in the black of night, before the two arrived at a small little shack in the woods. For a moment, Twilight thought they might have been at zecora's shack, but the lack of it being a tree kinda threw that thought out the window.

The abode sat humbly before her, the beetle furiously ramming into a closed window, furiously trying to reach the golden cube within the dark, eerie structure. Quietly, Twilight approached the ramshackle structure, and knocked on the door. "Cog," she called. "Are you in there?"

The only reply she got was a soft groan, but that was all she needed. Her system went into overdrive, because that groan conveyed more than a hundred words could have; It was the sound of a dying animal, one weak with hunger, and exhausted. Twilight blinked, and realized that the sound could have come from only one being: Cog. Quickly, she went up to the door, and pushed hard.

But it stayed stuck shut. "Locked," Twilight sighed, before thinking through her repertoire of spells. Soon, she remembered the correct spell pattern and shortly after, she could feel the more complex spell forming, barely contained by her horn, before unleashing it at the door. There was a soft click, and Twilight smirked with victory, before pushing the door open.

The inescapable darkness had her reconsider, however, and she found herself riveted in the doorway. Come on now, Twilight, she chided, a little darkness never hurt anypony. Besides, Cog is in there, and needs help. With a grunt, Twilight took her first step inside, and lit up her horn warily. A soft violet light washed over the inside of the cabin, and Twilight gasped.

The inside looked like some mad scientist's workshop, tools and scraps of metal and Celestia-knows-what discarded all across the floor, gathered around a few work tables and the odd machine. As she started to press forward, she really started to notice all the discarded mechanisms, half incomplete and half destroyed.

She could feel doubt creeping up into the dark corners of her mind. That noise from earlier, her traitorous thoughts whispered, could it really have come from a living thing?

Her thoughts were broken by a raspy sound coming from down the stairs. Listening closely, her traitorous thoughts were seemingly less traitorous by the second. In fact, the sounds did sound less natural and more like... air shrieking around metal. Twilight shivered as the shrieking grew louder, but she pressed on, descending the stairs to find find a room where the cloying darkness was so heavy that the light from her horn only illuminated a few feet around her.

Down here, the clutter was almost deep enough that she had to wade through it, slowly drawing closer to the source of the pained moan. That's when she passed near a superbly cleaned table, and something reflected her light in a matter she had yet to see. Slowly she turned, and looked upon the glass case. Or more accurately, what was inside it.

There, connected to an unusual apparatus, were two reflective green slabs of meat. Transfixed by a terrified curiosity, Twilight inched closer, curious as to what they were, when it became all too apparent. They're lungs! Twilight realized with terror, and in a fit of panic, let out a bloodcurdling scream
-+-+-+-+-+-

Cog awoke with a start. His senses were screaming at him that something was amiss, and then he picked up on it: The dying warble of a scream. A scream so bloodcurdling that it had awoken him from underneath all the heavy drugs he had used. He dared not move, for fear of interrupting the procedure going on in his body, and he carefully looked up to see the machine still operating above him, the nimble arms darting around, cautiously slicing into his body, peeling away layers of muscle and fat to have clear access to the bits of him that it was told to deal with. He noticed that one of the implant trays were clear, and he smiled as he realized that his torture was almost over.

He heard the sound of something blindly stumbling around, and almost flinched. Something was in his workshop. That thought, though normally worrisome, caused his eyes to widen in fear. The device was instructed to preserve the organs, so if somepony had stumbled into his workshop, he risked discovery. His carefully crafted persona would shatter in an instant, and his meager but fulfilling life might come to a grinding halt.

He looked at the machine above him, and sighed internally. He watched with an almost detached interest as the device's blades slowly sliced through his horrid green musculature, and he closed his eyes. Soon, the procedure would end, and he would be that much closer to safety.

After all, no one could love a monster like him.

Treason of the Mind

Twilight fell backwards, crashing into a pile of scrap parts, scattering dented plates and shredded vents. Green Physiology, Twilight thought with shock. Her mind continued down the path that her out of control train was taking. Their bodies, though they have dark exteriors, are neon green on the inside, due to the high presences of copper and magically active krypton. Their internal organs share numerous similarities to our own, in order to aid with infiltration. After a few more moments of silent contemplation, the train came rolling into the station, freezing Twilight in place. Changeling. These belong to a changeling.

That's when the thought came, unbidden, to her mind. Cog... is a changeling. Though it terrified her, her logical mind had connected the dots, and she was certain of it, unwaveringly. The implications were staggering, and Twilight flashed back to memories of the wedding, and how vicious the changelings had acted then: like brutal, vicious predators, out only to do harm.

Twilight turned and ran, not pausing to look back, plowing through piles of junk, sending bits and pieces clanking away. It seemed that the more desperate she became to leave, the harder it was to walk away. Soon, she found herself rooted to the floor, and she looked down in pure terror, as she saw that her hooves had been covered in a soft green goo. When she pulled, it only got harder, and she was immobilized.

"It's psycho-active," came a whisper, and Twilight nearly jumped out of her skin in surprise. "The goo, it's psycho-active. Calm down, and it will let go." Why should I trust the wind, her mind asked, but it was too late. Something about the voice had caught her off guard. The... familiarity of it is what lowered her guard, and she sighed in the thought of the comfort familiarity brings.

Twilight took a deep breath, and willed her heart to slow down. After another minute, her heart had returned to a calm thump-thump, and her breathing had steadied as well. She looked down, and true to the voice's word, the goop had begun to liquify, the dark green slurry sliding slowly off her hooves. "Good, good," the wind whispered, before sighing. "Best be on your way, then. Just take it nice and slow."

She whispered a soft "Thank you," and then proceeded to carefully leave, making sure not to let her mind settle on what was hidden away within the shack. It was as she was leaving, however, that her mind began to contradict itself. If he really was a danger, she rationalized, why would he let me go? To that, she had no answer.

And if there is anything Twilight can't live without, it's knowledge. Sucking in deeply, Twilight mustered her courage, and returned to the cottage behind her. Gently as she could, she pushed the door open, and crept back in. "He..." She started, before she heard a loud groan, and the clanking of machinery. She swiveled her ears, trying to lock onto the source of the sound. All was silent for a few moments, and then she heard it: a faint breathing, soft, and arrhythmic.

Slowly, she crept over, her emotions suppressed as she trotted through the goop coating the floor, fighting down a wave of revulsion. "No!" her mind shouted. "This is wrong! It's like a mouse willingly crawling into a snake's lair." She shook her head, tired of her traitorous conscious trying to shoo her away from an untapped reservoir of knowledge.

She leaned her ear up against the door, and sure enough, just beyond the thin layer of wood was the source of the breathing. Grinning, she began to turn the doorknob, when she felt the knob seize up, and the locking mechanism click into place. "Horseapples," Twilight whispered under her breath. She jimmied the knob a touch, trying so hard to open the door, but when another lock clicked, she sighed. Her chances of opening that door were diminishing by the minute. Suddenly, a memory came unbidden to her mind, and she smirked as she realized why Celestia had taught her so extremely...

"Twilight, we have ourselves an open ended problem today," Princess Celestia said, looking down at the patient purple filly beneath her hooves.

"Oh?" Twilight asked, curious as to what her newest challenge would be.

"Smarty pants, here," Celestia said, floating Twilight's favored toy above them, "has gotten herself in a bit of a pickle." Celestia finished, teleporting the doll away. "Smarty Pants got locked in the room before us," Celestia continued, the lock on the door clicking shut. "How do you get her out?"

Twilight bit her lip, looking at the massive door before her. She paced for a bit, and probed the door with a few spells, before a light bulb went off. Laying down, Twilight laid her head on the ground, and peered into the dark room from under the door. She solidified the destination in her mind, and focused. Teleportation was still new to her, but she had enough of the kinks worked out, and with a triumphant grin, she teleported beyond the door.

There, on the shelf, was her beloved doll. Twilight reached up for it, and as she embraced her once-favorite plaything, the memory vanished.

Grinning, much like she did on the day of the challenge, Twilight pressed her head to the floor, peered under the door, and then blinked her way inside.

She certainly wasn't expecting what she saw.

Author's Note

So, partway through writing the previous chapter, I realized that Cog's organs would be a different color, seeing as there is a number of physiological differences between changelings and ponies. That, and I'm a subscriber of the whole "Changelings have green blood" theory. Of course, this allows me to move the story faster while making it still reasonably paced. I hope you all don't mind that I cut out all that temporal troubles from the original script!

Also, sorry about the super short chapter, but this has been sitting around for too long, collecting dust.

Truth

With a soft click, Cog Nition awoke. He looked up, realizing he was laying down, and sighed. To his amusement, the sigh almost sounded like him, before it was followed by a hiss of steam. Closing his eyes, he laid back, content. I've done it, He thought, pleasantly. I'm one step closer to being free from this horrendous form.

That's when he heard pop, rapidly followed by a fizzle, and a snap of purple light illuminated the room. Instinctively, his defense went off, and he was on his hooves, ready to face the intruder. He came face to face with Twilight, and sighed. He was about to say something, when she went on the offensive. "Who are you?" She asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

Cog cleared his throat, a grinding sound, and tried to say "I am," but instead, out came a short static burst. He coughed, and a tinge of oil dripped from the vent on the front of his face. That's when he remembered: He had gone under for the full respiratory upgrade. The one with the communication kink, his head helpfully reminded him.

He held up a hoof, telling her to wait, and then he reached up under his brass jaw, and found the adjuster dial, and began twisting it. Slowly, the static buzz diminished, before slowly become sounding more like a machine's monotone, mumbling "Teasting, tehehesting, testing." Once the words became understandable, Cog stopped fiddling with the knob, and turned to face Twilight once more.

"Thank you for waiting," He said, nodding. "Though I feel like re-introductions aren't in order. You know me, Twilight Sparkle. I am Cog Nition, Artificer exemplar." He tilted his head, and crooked an eyebrow. "Why?"

Twilight's eyes narrowed, and Cog took a step back. "If you're Cog, then what's with the goop outside?"

Cog smirked, but all that did was pull the flesh near his respirator taught. "It's a complex psychoanalitical chemical capable of detecting an excess of emotion, and draws the chemicals extruded by those emotions into itself, reacting to that biological chemical and causing it to undergo a chemical change. For example, terror causes it to sieze up, locking prey animals tight, while ecstasy allows it to become mellow and smooth."

"And it is produced by changelings," Twilight interjected, hostility practically flowing from her mouth. "So why is it in this 'Workshop' of yours?"

"Simple," Cog said, trying to smile through his face vent. "This used to be a changeling's warren, before they were chased away. I had happened upon it during my travels, and it turns out that they left in a hurry. I moved this space in, so that I wouldn't be disturbed while I was undergoing surgery."

Twilight smirked, a predatory grin crossing her face. "And the lungs?" She asked, straining the last word for an uncomfortable period of time.

Cog gulped, or at least tried to, only receiving a puff of smoke from the stacks behind him. "T-they're green due to the chemicals preserving them. I may not need them, but if something goes wrong with my setup here, it's always good to have the originals to use as backups."

Twilight nodded, not believing a word he said. "Then, you wouldn't mind me casting a De-Spell on you, would you? Seeing as your devices are techno-arcane, they'd have to stop for a few seconds, but we both know you're smart enough to put in a backup system to turn everything back on, aren't you?"

Another puff of uncertain smoke left his back, and he glanced around nervously. "Perhaps we shouldn't. I wouldn't want to risk damaging the few precious devices I still need." Quickly turning to a scrap pile beside him, he rummaged about before pulling out a small cube that hummmed quietly. "Like this."

Twilight, amused by his desperate attempts to waylay her, decided to play along. "Alright, what is 'this' then?"

"A memory cube," he stated, holding it up triumphantly. He quickly lowered it and coughed, a quick burst of static, before continuing. "It's a working title, believe me. Still, this device allows you to play back you memories at the touch of a button, so that you can not only re-live your life, but you can see into others' as well."

Now this was curious, but Twilight wanted more. "Oh, then go ahead and play me something."

Eyes widening, he quickly scrambled the device, spinning dials and pushing buttons, before clearing his throat, setting it down, and putting a hoof over a small opening on the top. "Record," he stated clearly, before wincing slightly, and lifting his hoof from it, a small needle quickly retracting into the opening.

The box whizzed, beeped, and buzzed, before letting out a satisfying ding, like the bell at a front desk, and in a soft, mechanical chirp, asked "Where do you want to go?"

Cog chuckled sheepishly, before saying "One minute ago."

The side of the box popped open, and he set it up on the table, so that the open side faced a wall, and then pulled a lever that exposed itself. With a soft click and a whirr, a beam of light shot from the open side, and quickly the wall was bathed in dim light. It took Twilight a moment, but she realized that the image projected was one of herself, facing the camera. "... what's with the goop outside?" The box chirruped in an imitation of her voice. The image shook a little, before a voice sounding like Cog's responded.

Twilight turned away from the box, to a proud looking Cog, and smiled. "Now that's impressive. Why isn't this on the shelves?"

With that Cog barked out a quick laugh. "Could you imagine all the nefarious uses for this? Extortion, Blackmail, Stealing secret codes and finding out secret caches. The device allows you to see everything somepony has ever done, said, or been. No, the risk is too great. Maybe for law enforcement, but corruption would have it on the streets in an instant."

"Everything, huh," Twilight asked. The recording ended, and Twilight smirked as the box chirped its' question again. "Take us to when Cog was 4."

Cog gasped, but there was nothing he could do unless he turned the box off, and that would be incrimidating in it's own way. Let's just hope it catches me at a good time, he prayed. After humming for a moment, it flicked on again, and it showed him running down an alleyway between two gray-brown buildings. He glanced back, beyond the parcel on his back, at a similarly aged colt and three fully grown adults, one of which looked like a grocer.

"Ye darn varmints, give back what ye stole!" the grocer shouted, and the colt behind cog stuck his tongue out at the pony giving chase.

Cog looked back forward, before focusing on a point where there was a high walkway. High enough for the two colts to slip under, but not enough for the grocer. "This way," he called out, before darting underneath the ramp. The other colt followed, and the grocer grumbled as he began to run around the building, to catch them on the other side.

Which is where they'd be, if Cog hadn't doubled back under the ramp and led the colt in a completely new direction. Calmly, quietly, they darted into the alcove of a building, before cog pulled the back from his back and opened it up, revealing a loaf of bread and two apples. Quietly, he broke the bread in half, before handing it and an apple to his companion, whom Twilight got a good look at for the first time.

He was a light lemon yellow color, like the filling in a lemon meringue pie, his mane a whispy silver color, unkempt and disheveled, but managing to keep a rogue-ish look about himself. His eyes were a deep, dark ocean blue, and a small horn parted his hair. "Nice haul, dude," the foal said, taking the gift and digging into the meal. Cog watched quietly, not eating. "Not hungry, bro?" the colt asked, crumbs falling from his mouth.

"Not right now," Cog replied, waving a hoof. "Too excited to eat."

"I feel ya, but if you don't eat now, you'll be even more hungry. And then we'll have to do this again tonight."

"Fair enough," Cog replied, smiling and taking a meager bite of his bread.

"Who is that?" Twilight asked, motioning to the companion in Cog's memory, turning to the one beside her.

She looked away at just the right moment, for while her back was turned, a distinctly changeling-green hue overtook the screen, and stayed that way for a few moments. Cog grimaced, though the respirator concealed it well.

"Who, him?" he asked, waving a hoof. "Just a foal I used to hang out with. He and I looked out for each other on the streets."

"You were an orphan?" Twilight asked, turning back to the screen as the tinge fell away. She watched the foal on screen voraciously devour the meager meal, while Cog had barely touched his, having only nibbled on the bread.

"Dude, if you don't eat it now, we might get caught with it," The foal stated, tossing the rest of his hunk of bread into his mouth.

"I'm just not that hungry," Cog said, looking down. "Here," He said, holding out the apple. "Help me finish this, quickly."

The colt was taken aback. "Whoah, dude, that's an apple. That's not just anything you just hand off."

Cog only nodded, putting the rest of the bread in his own mouth. "Sure is. But it's my birthday, and this years' wish is that you eat well."

The colt took the apple and smiled. "You're the best, bro," he said, happily munching away at the apple.

Cog flipped the lever, and smirked as Twilight turned back to him. "Satisfied?" he asked, putting the box away.

"No," Twilight muttered quietly, shaking her head. Raising it, she looked him in the eyes. "But everything seems to fit into place. You are who you seem to be... For now," she added quickly, eyes narrowing.

"Alright, alright, I'll keep my head down," Cog joked, reassuringly.

Author's Note

Huzzah, the reintroduction of the favored brother character.

On a serious note, you all have my deepest sympathies. I understand that all you're getting is really intermittent rewrite updates, but I swear that this time through it's at least a little bit better. :pinkiesad2:

On another note, the next chapter's title is "Past." Expect it to be a big one (Hopefully).