Daedalus' New World

As Daedalus opened the door to the room, he wasn't quite sure what to expect. He knew they would be talking over food so he figured it would be a dining room and was right on that regard. The stylized art had given him an idea of the Princesses appearances but truly seeing them was something else entirely. When he entered, both alicorns were sitting side by side at the end of a long cherry wood table. The first alicorn, taller than her sister, had a near perfectly white coat that shimmered radiantly in the sunlight streaming from the windowed ceiling. Her mane and tail, a rainbow of pastel shades, flowed in an undetectable wind as her large wings shone with an inner light as if gems were embedded in her feathers. Her magenta eyes sparkled with an equal mix of curiosity and excitement and as he gazed upon her, he felt a sense of peace and belonging even through his viral nature. Part of him was confused at how that was possible yet the rest of him only understood why the ponies of Equestria followed her. He knew he gazed upon the Diarch of the Sun.

Turning his gaze to the smaller of the two, Luna was no less radiant than her sister, only in a different way. Her dark blue coat was spotted with black freckles primarily around her muzzle and back, making Daedalus realize she was dappled and had to admit it was quite adorable. Even walking through Ponyville, he hadn't seen another dappled pony. Her mane wavered in the same breeze as her sister yet hers glimmered with the light of a thousand stars that seemed perpetually in motion as they moved in her mane and tail. Her teal eyes were tinted with interest and as his own icy eyes met hers, a thrill of passion and longing shot through him as she let a small smile grace her muzzle. He may have doubted it before but faced with the presence of the Diarch of the Moon, he knew that these two ponies were more than mortal. After a moment of blatantly staring at the two near-divines, Princess Luna cleared her throat with an understanding smile and gestured toward the seat next to her with a wing. "Come, friend Daedalus, and take a seat. Let us dine as we await the Bearers of Harmony."

"A-Ah, yeah. R-right." Daedalus stumbled over his words, a spark of concern shooting through him at the effect the two alicorns had. Quickly crossing the room, he glanced at Princess Celestia only to see her wearing the same peaceful smile as her sister. When he took a seat beside Princess Luna, he was left beyond confused as the effect grew much weaker when he looked away from them.

"Mine sister, it is good to see that we have an effect even on those of another world." Luna said as she gave her sister a knowing smile. Celestia covered her muzzle with a hoof as she giggled and shook her head slowly.

"Sister, it's not polite to tease our guest so." Celestia responded as she flashed Daedalus an apologetic smile. "Please forgive my sister, she likes to mess with ponies and I hope you don't take offense to it."

"I don't take any offense at all, Your Majesty. It's relieving to know that our meeting is less formal than I imagined." Daedalus answered honestly, trying to steady himself. "If anything, I'm more confused about the effect I feel in your presence, and how it grows when I look directly at you."

"That would be our aura. We are not the only two to have one, either. A member of any species who bears incredibly potent magic will find an aura beginning to develop around them, and the feelings it invokes can be a mix of the pony's own personality and the domain they wield. I've spent a thousand years working to create a nation where anypony and everypony is welcome and my aura has adjusted to help those that see me feel at home." Celestia gave him an understanding smile as she explained. "In any case, please, just call me Celestia. In a private setting, I like to drop formalities."

"Verily, the constant pandering and bowing gets tiresome after the first century or so, and being treated as an individual becomes more refreshing as time continues. As for mine own aura, the night is considered a time of passion for... many reasons," Luna said with a red blush tinting her muzzle. "So I inspire that same feeling in others. It has caused ponies to embarrass themselves on more than one occasion."

Celestia laughed softly just as a side door opened and a number of smartly dressed mares and stallions entered the room, each pushing a small cart laden with food and utensils. As they set the table, Daedalus noticed that they set nine more spots. Assuming seven of them were for the girls and Spike, he idly wondered who else would be joining them. Turning his attention to the food itself, he noticed a wide variety of platters from soups and stew to salads and deserts. There were also quite a few dishes he didn't recognize or didn't make sense, including fries that were the wrong color to be made of regular potatoes and a bowl of gems set at one of the seats. Most of the dishes set on the table were covered in lids that would ensure the dishes remained hot and fresh, and a variety of drinks were provided in chilled containers. Frankly, it was a feast. "Will we be waiting for the rest of the guests, Celestia?"

"No need, friend Daedalus! We assumed you would prefer having this conversation in private with mine sister and I. The others will join us in time after they have been debriefed and properly compensated for their services to Equestria. We find it easier to converse over good food, drink, and desert than in a stuffy conference room, as I hope you agree." Luna explained, using her magic to quickly scoop up multiple bowls of soup and a large helping of fries. Celestia, slightly more refined, levitated a bowl of salad of to herself followed closely by a whole vanilla cake as Luna gave her a knowing smirk. Daedalus, for his part, filled a bowl up with a stew that smelled wonderful as well as what appeared to be whole wheat bread.

"Firstly, do we have your consent to cast a Liar's Bane spell to ensure everything spoken here is honest as well as a medical scan to ensure that you do not carry any dangerous diseases, and are not in danger from any diseases in our world?" Celestia asked, slowly sampling her salad as she returned a smirk toward Luna, who was eating quite ravenously as she shoveled fries in her muzzle by the clump.

"Of course you have my consent, though your medical scan will give you some very strange readings and will be part of what I have to share with you." Daedalus answered, giving a nod to her as he tasted his stew. It was a flavorful meal with mushrooms, carrots, and more he couldn't quite identify the taste of. The most striking difference was that it was entirely pure. As he ate, he couldn't identify any common chemicals in the food. No pesticides, no additives, nothing for preservation or packaging. Just entirely organic food and it resulted in a meal tasting far better than anything he remembered eating on Earth, even through the thousands of lives he had stored in his mind. Glancing up and seeing the slightly concerned looks he was receiving, he shook his head and gave a relaxed smile. "Nothing bad, but my biology isn't entirely natural as I'll explain. How would you like to start?"

"Well, I'll cast Liar's Bane and we can begin going back and forth with questions. We'd like to learn of your past and how you arrived here, as well as what effect the Elements of Harmony had on you. I'm sure you also have plenty of questions to ask us as well. I'll wait for the scan until after you've shared your story with us, to avoid unnecessary concern." After explaining, Celestia's horn lit up as power coalesced in the appendage, preparing to cast the spell. Feeling an unknown presence touching his mind and a tingle permeating his viral flesh, Daedalus found that he quite underestimated the spell. Half-truths and white lies would not be possible as he found himself entirely unable to even think of a lie, much less able to say one. "Do you mind if I start off, Daedalus?"

"Of course I don't mind, Celestia." Daedalus said, nervousness tinting his voice as he realized he was likely going to reveal everything to them, not just doctored truths like he intended.

"I apologize for starting off with a heavy question, but how did you come to be controlled by your master in your homeland?" Celestia asked, giving him an apologetic look as Luna set her food down, focusing on him as well.

"Mercer was experienced in the fields of subjugation and control years before I encountered him, but it had never been perfect. After a situation caused by one of his servants betraying him, he doubled down on figuring out a way to control his subordinates and, eventually, created a way. It still wasn't perfect, he didn't have complete control, but we couldn't disobey any direct orders. And, if we knew he wouldn't allow an action, we couldn't follow through with it either. Once he had the means of controlling us, he took to the streets. Every healthy man and woman he found, he left his mark on. Most died. Some went mad and had to be put down. A few lived, like me, but wished we hadn't as we became his slaves. All he had to do was lay out just a basic list of rules and a few direct orders, and he pretty much had us under lock and key." Daedalus sighed, resting his arms on the table as he stared at the wall. Though unable to feel emotions naturally, thinking of Mercer and his history with the villain always left him with a mental fatigue that he wasn't quite sure was real.

"For those of us who survived his mark, a clear divide split us. There were those who the control was less of a command and more of a suggestion. These were known as Lesser Evolved and they were made to be far weaker. Mercer mostly controlled them through fear of unimaginable pain or threats to their families. The rest of us who couldn't go against him were given more powers and false freedom, if you could even call it that. We were the Greater Evolved and were made to be nigh unkillable, though it came with a price. When Mercer needed some dirty work done, we were the ones who did it."

"You say he 'left his mark' on you, and then made some of you weak and some of you strong. How?" Luna asked, her previously energetic voice now quiet. As he glanced over to her, their eyes met and a pang of longing shot through him. If he was affected so strongly by her aura even though his own emotions were not natural, he could imagine how mortal ponies acted around her. When she continued, her voice was even softer. "He made you something other than human, did he not?"

"Yes. He made us Blacklight. It's... hard to put into words what we are. There's nothing else like us in existence and even human scientists could not understand what we are. To put it as simple as possible, we are sentient and ever-changing viral bioweapons." Daedalus said as he rested his chin on his folded hands. When he saw the two alicorns recoil, he shook his head. "We aren't inherently contagious like a standard virus. Blacklight can spread, but it has to be done intentionally by an already existing one. We control ourselves down to the genetic level. Every aspect of our existence is specifically engineered from our biology to our physical form."

Daedalus paused, trying to think of how to continue before he picked up again. "That's how Mercer was able to make some of us weak. He limited the capabilities of their strain of Blacklight, ensuring they could never grow in power enough to pose a real threat even in numbers. Those of us he had control over, though, he let our strains run wild. We grew stronger daily, gaining more abilities and improving existing ones. When you can decide how your body works, the combat potential is limitless. Especially since we can assimilate other creatures."

"A-assimilate?" Celestia asked nervously.

"Eat." Daedalus said simply. "Mercer called it 'consuming,' which I suppose is more accurate. It's our most potent weapon. If we come across a person or creature who has a unique trait that we want, we can consume the creature and begin examining their genetic code. Once we find the trait we want, we can isolate it and then implement it into our own virus and gain that ability. It goes further than that, though. If we can consume a still living brain, we gain all of their memories, skills, and knowledge. It's not uncommon for a Greater Evolved to have thousands of lives worth of memories in his mind."

As he finished explaining what Blacklight was the best he could, understanding dawned on the faces of the diarchy as they realized why he wanted to explain what he was before the medical scan. Though nervous, Celestia fixed Daedalus with a hard look. "You're not here to hurt my ponies, are you?"

Under the effects of the Liar's Bane spell, Daedalus could not even think of a lie much less speak one. "No, I'm not. I'm not here by choice and, until today, I did not know this world existed."

"And this Blacklight cannot spread unless you choose to allow it?" Luna added as her sister's expression softened.

"The virus is self contained and mostly self sufficient when it comes to Evolved. The only way for it to spread is for me to release it. I have no desire to become a second Mercer. Not only would making another Evolved be incredibly foolish and dangerous, only a minuscule fraction of infected became Evolved. Most died, but those who didn't became monsters. The mind or body were unable to handle the extreme genetic strain caused by rapid mutations and went mad, allowing the virus to run rampant in the body. The end result is a monster who attacks everything that isn't infected, spreading the virus as far and wide as possible. That's what Mercer did. Whether is goal was to conquer the world or destroy it, I don't know. I only know I will never follow in his footsteps." Toward the end, Daedalus' voice turned to disgust as he nearly spit out Mercer's name. Then he looked up and met Celestia's eyes before turning to meet Luna's and continued.

"I won't lie. I can't, anyway. I am dangerous. I am capable of releasing a virus that, by my world's experts, is capable of erasing all life on the planet within a decade. I can hide among the populace or even the wildlife, I can't be killed by normal means, and I can create monstrosities that have never been so much as imagined on this planet. Despite that, I swear to you, by whatever promise matters in Equestria, that I will do none of this. I won't release the virus. I won't turn against those who offer me a home unless I am attacked first. I am not a threat to you, your people, or your world. Before I became the monster I am, I was just a man. I had a job, goals, a dream, and a family I loved with all my heart. When I was infected, I had to let them think I was dead to keep them safe, and I knew I wouldn't be able to look them in the eye after all I've done. I have no desire to bring to others the ruin that was brought to me." Daedalus promised, his tone resolute as he looked them both in the eyes.

"If I get my way, I will live a happy and peaceful life with tens of thousands of years ahead of me. Find a home, get some friends, and make myself a place in this world." The virus finished and rested his chin on his hands again. As he waited their response, he thought back to what the guardsmare had told him. Trust in the princesses and they'll trust in me? Let's hope you're right.

After a long moment of silence, Celestia slowly nodded her head as Luna spoke. "Thank you for being honest with us. I'm not quite sure how to digest the information you've shared, but I am grateful that you were honest and shared the truth. I'm sure I speak for my sister as well in that, just as you trusted us to share the complete truth, we will trust you to do the right thing. My sister and I are excellent judges of character and you seem like a good pony. The Elements of Harmony removed you of Mercer's control and left you free, and we have no reason to doubt you or their judgement."

Agreeing with her sister, Celestia continued the line of questions. "Moving on to something hopefully less heavy, how did you come to arrive on Equis?"

Daedalus let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed, relieved to know that escape was unnecessary now. "During my final mission for Mercer, I was attacked by another Evolved who called himself Division. He was beyond strange, even for an Evolved."

"Even for an Evolved? How?" Celestia repeated as her interest was piqued, food long forgotten. "Do you remember what he looked like?"

"There are three generations of Evolved from three separate outbreaks, all caused by Mercer. The Evolved from gen one are all dead except for Mercer himself. It's possible that Division is a remnant of gen two, but it's unlikely. After Heller rebelled, Mercer killed off all the gen two Evolved right before starting gen three once he had the hive mind designed to be able to control us. Division couldn't be from gen three because every Evolved was strictly accounted for. If he had somehow escaped the hive mind or rebelled, there would have been a world wide manhunt to track him down and kill him." Deep in thought, he spoke slowly as he tried to make sense of Division even now. "Power wise, he exhibited a few things that not even Mercer is known to be able to do. He was able to completely nullify Blacklight and deprive me of all my senses. He also killed two Lesser Evolved, which isn't strange, but they both had been several floors up. Though, he may not have been working alone. For his appearance, he took the body of a deformed old man. One of his arms was longer than the other and his body seemed to writhe beneath his skin, a trait shared by Evolved. Other than that, the only noticeable thing was one eye was red and the other was gold."

After a pause, Daedalus added a final bit of information. "Thinking back on it, I think he may be of this world or can at least travel to it. When everything started to fade and he took away my senses, I heard him say one last thing. 'Yes, you'll do quite nicely, Daedalus. I'll see you on the other side, in time."

"Yes, it seems that he's at least familiar with our world. Your description of his eyes matches Discord's but that could be coincidence or even an intentional misdirection. Otherwise, nothing you've told us is an effective identifier. We'll look into it, that I promise you. Though, that brings up another question. Do you want to return to your world?" Celestia asked, looking at him in concern.

Daedalus gave a soft sigh as he shook his head. "No, I honestly don't. All that's left for me on Earth is Mercer, and I have no interest in returning to him. I wouldn't be able to return to my family as I am, and I don't have the power to defeat Mercer to ensure their safety. If it's alright with you, Celestia, I'd rather remain here."

"Of course it is, Daedalus." Celestia said with a calming smile, nodding happily. "I can promise you that you'll find Equestria far better than what you've lived with before, and you'll come to see this land as the home you were meant to have."

"Enough heavy talk! Friend Daedalus, you said you had tens of thousands of years ahead of you, and you cannot be killed. Are you immortal?" Luna interrupted excitedly and leaned over toward him as her muzzle nearly touched his face, causing him to lean slightly back from the sudden intensity of her aura that nearly made him reach out and embrace her. God, I feel bad for the ponies who spend a lot of time around her.

"R-right. As a virus, I'm neither alive or dead and cannot be killed. Unless I choose to mimic them, I don't have organs, blood, or a brain and don't need to breathe. I don't even need to eat except when my biomass runs low, and even then I can choose to just let Blacklight's passive generation return me to my normal levels. I don't age and can heal from any injury so long as a single cell of Blacklight remains. Without a nervous system, I can't feel pain and even my senses are just a mimicry of natural ones." Daedalus explained as he reached out and gently put a finger on Luna's snout, slowly pushing back. She blinked at him in surprise before a smirk came across her muzzle and she reared up, planting her front hooves on the table and spreading her wings wide as she leaned even closer. From his far left at the entrance to the dining hall, he was aware of the door opening as several sets of hoofsteps entered the room.

"Then I propose a duel! You and I using only our natural abilities! Winner gets to request one boon of the loser!" Luna said, outstretching one hooves as her tail flicked behind her in clear excitement. "Worry not, for the arena is enchanted to ensure no true injuries can be received. Do you accept mine challenge?"

Glancing over at Celestia helplessly, she smiled apologetically and shrugged. Turning his attention back to Luna, Daedalus sighed and nodded his head. "Yes, Luna, I accept the duel."

"Huzzah! Much fun shall be had! Of course, we expect the Bearers and thine guests to witness!" At the same time, Luna and Daedalus turned to look at the new arrivals. The Element Bearers, Spike, Captain Armor, and a pink alicorn were all present, eyes wide and mouths agape. Letting out a sigh, Daedalus couldn't help the chuckle that rose from him at the strangeness of these ponies of which he was already fond. I think I'm going to enjoy it here.