Moments after the Akira departed the moon.

Out in the roiling ocean of hyperspace, a quiet listening post sat passively amidst the storm around it. The currents of hyperspace were dense in the galactic west of the star system, and storms were common. This made the listening post practically undetectable, yet it also made listening for threats just as difficult. Today however, the same could not be said for what reached it at the extreme edge of its sensors. It was very brief, and oh so faint against the cacophony of the storm, but there was a single return of a hyperspace transit.

S-s-s-sssignal annnaaalysissssss……. Re-fractionnn co-co-co-coefficient in line with known/recorded Combine-bine-bineee methods.
Processing-calcuating-processing…… Directive alpha dictates-commands informing c-c-centralllllll processing.
Message-warning-warning sent…….. Re-re-returning to to to to stand byyyyyyyy.

With the slow drudgery of waking from a week’s worth of sleep deprivation, Wiggly drifted in and out of consciousness for longer than she could track. She felt warm and snug in a bed far more comfortable than she ever had before. She very well might have stayed there were it not for something nudging her. When that didn’t work, a fuzzy voice called, then yelled at her.

When that failed to do more than cause Wiggy to turn away, the sheets were rudely torn away. “Open your eyes, filly, or I’ll find some water-”

The voice did little, instead the removal of the sheets seemed to break the spell and Wiggly woke up with a start, cutting the intruder’s speeches off mid sentence.

She found herself in a rustic cottage, the kind she saw in vids and tales about the Age of Strife. It looked lived in and homely. She couldn’t take much in as there was a pony of lavender flame standing next to her bed. Crying out in sudden panic, Wiggly tried to flee, only to find a wall on the opposite side of the bed. “Get away from me!”

“That didn’t work before,” the flame mare huffed with annoyance. “Stop your whimpering, child, I put some tea on.” The mare turned and walked away.

With the danger no longer in her face, Wiggly’s heart stopped trying to hammer its way out of her chest. As her breathing slowed, her mind started to catch up.

The cottage was fair in size, likely for a family of five. There were bookshelves everywhere you could conceivably cram them into along the walls and the wooden furniture spoke of impossible wealth to the spacer.

Blinking several times, Wiggly was bewildered by everything around her. “W-where am I?”

“That is a difficult question,” the burning mare announced as she sat down at the table. The wood creaked a bit, yet did not seem to protest the flames. ”That bracelet of yours at least explains how you got here.”

“Bracelet?” She never wore bracelets, so Wiggly looked down and lifted up her right hoof to see a small golden bracelet that projected a strange bipedal cat creature.

“Greetings,” the creature said with infectious cheer. “I’m a failsafe incase you wake up. Your name is Wiggly Sprocket and your physical body is on the Akira. You are undergoing spark-separation while the strand weaving occurs. You have precisely one hour until you are resuscitated. Should you wish to fall asleep once more, gently pat my head and it will happen immediately. I hope you enjoy the new you.”

With its spiel complete, the small avatar froze in place awaiting activation. Memories flooded the pegacorn until she shook her head with vigor to reset her train of thoughts. “Right. I’m doing the thing…” Her gaze scanned the cottage once more until it landed once more on the tea drinking flame. “I must be dreaming now. Who or… what are you?” Sprocket hastily checked her surroundings again. “Morales said if I woke up at all it’d be somewhere I thought was safe.”

Though she couldn’t see it because of the flames, the burning mare grinned. “A quaint cottage nestled up against a lazy stream? Sounds safe to me.” She looked through a window and out to the misty lake the stream ran into. Lightning bugs danced about while a single street light lit up an old wooden bench by the water. “It’s been a pleasant throw back to the days of yore, but I miss the creature comforts of the modern day.”

Swallowing a lump, Wiggly carefully climbed off the bed, causing the hologram to vanish. “You didn’t answer my question.” It was only upon getting closer that she discovered the burning mare was an alicorn, or perhaps a fellow pegacorn. The flames made the presence of feathers difficult to determine with her wings folded at her side.

The flaming mare held up an inviting cup. “Call me Tea. I assure you, I am the last pony who would bring you harm.”

“Mmm…” Wiggly had to think it through. The option to go back to sleep was off the table. No telling who or what she is, and I don’t want to sleep with her around. So Wiggly did the only thing she could to appease the fiery being. She took the cup and joined Tea at the table. “I guess I’m not going to get a straight answer out of you.”

“For now at least.” Tea refilled her cup and took a drink. She sighed in bliss. “Jasmine with a touch of sunflower honey. Did you know this was the only flavor of tea Celestia and Luna could ever drink together?”

“It’d be news to me.” That set off alarm bells for Wiggly. Instantly assuming her visitor might even be Luna herself was exciting. Yet something was off, and her inability to identify it was starting to annoy her.

“I wouldn’t call it my favorite either, but now though? It tastes so nostalgic.” The flaming mare drank the last of the cup, and set it down.

“Never could afford it, even if I wanted to.” Wiggly took a polite sip, and wrinkled her nose. “I’ve always been a coffee girl myself.”

“It comes and goes.” The burning mare spread a featherless wing towards a cupboard, while also willing a coffee pot to be set on a burner. “If you live long enough, you’ll see the joy in tea.”

Some scones and other pastries were sitting on a plate nearby and Sprocket claimed a cream-filled one. “So who are you really? Are you one of the high queens?!”

“Dear me, no.” Tea giggled behind a hoof. “But I wouldn’t put it past Terra to do that to me one day. I dare say I held its interest for a bit longer than last time.”

Wiggly went slack-jawed at the proclamation. “Terra? The Terra? Ah ha.” Wiggly waggled a knowing hoof at Tea. “This must be some sort of test for you. To get me to do something for good or bad, right?”

“Hardly. Terra is a strange one, but its motives are understandable. No, I woke you up because quite frankly, it is not often the mirror can respond when you talk to it.” A smirk played on her lips at Sprocket’s bewilderment. “You were going to sleep through the whole thing, and I don’t have Terra’s level of patience.”

“Mirror? Are you-” Wiggly stared the flaming mare down with one eye before slowly shaking her head. “No… Are you claiming we’re the same person?”

“Indeed.” Tea spread her wings wide, and floated the coffee pot over. Wiggly accepted a pour, and overloaded it with cream and sugar. It was a luxury she could never afford except on birthdays. “The machine you put yourself in separated your flame from your body so that upon your reunion, the new neural pathways are reshaped by your flame, rather than the other way around.” A hearty chuckle left her. “Amazingly clever.”

“It made bro both at ease and freaked out.” Wiggly still wasn’t entirely sure about that, but wanted to gauge Tea’s reaction. “So... If you're really me, then prove it.”

The burning mare paused a bit, tilting her head back and forth. “Ratchet Altair was a handsome devil wasn't he?”

Wiggly's eyes lit up like sparkles at the mention of the first celebrity she swooned over. “Oh my Luna, yessss!” She blushed furiously over that sharp jaw and easy smile that lead one thing to another for a fan girl to be born. “Okay, wait, anypony would love Ratchet. What else you got?”

Tea became firm, and needed no more time to think. “Your sunshine loves you. In a manner no parent, lover, or child else ever could. No matter how old or wizened we become, he or she is the other half of our coin.”

The comment struck Wiggly so deeply she gasped with a hoof to her heart. She gave a single suprised laugh before recollecting herself. “He or she huh?” There was no question in Sprocket's mind as to who Tea was referring to. “Terra favors us then. What did you want to talk about?”

“Favors isn't exactly wrong, I suppose.“ Tea hemmed and hawed for a moment. “But we haven't the time for such minutia.
As for conversation, anything and everything. I am your past, and you are my present, so ask away and I will do the same.”

“Well for one, if this place isn’t in the real world, why are we settling for lightweight drinks and snacks?” Wiggly raised the coffee to her lips, and could pull it away until every last drop was gone. A satisfying heat filled her belly, but a drink was only ever going to do so much. “Let’s go full ham on stuff we’d never cram in our gourd before.”

The burning mare laughed wholeheartedly. With a flash of her horn, a buffet of delicious yet horridly unhealthy food ranging from grease bombs to bon bons. “You’re absolutely right.” She hungrily claimed a hay burger and loaded it down with ketchup.

Wiggly was unfamiliar with some of the dishes, yet it all looked so good she warred with herself on what to gorge herself with first. So she gravitated towards the burritos. “You say you’re my past. How far back are we talking?”

Moaning in culinary pleasure from her burger, Tea waggled it in the air as she spoke with crumbs flying. “Let’s just say I was there when Celestia and Luna returned.”

“No way! Oh oh, did you know Luna? I’ve always wished she would visit my dreams. Too bad she needs to be in the same system to do it.”

“The more things change…” Tea gobbled down another burger before answering. Wiggly found it strange that a pony made of fire ate as if she was flesh and blood. “Yes, I was honored to be called her friend.”

“Friend?!” Wiggly leaned back and eyed a marbled steak, causing gluttony to dominate her toothy grin. “That explains this whole Luna type dream visit. I don’t suppose I could be her friend once more could I?”

An amused chuckle escaped Tea. “I had to earn that privilege. I’m sure you can too if the opportunity presents itself.”

“Boooo. Come on, you can give me something can’t you?”

Shaking her head, Tea grabbed another burger. “No cheating. Besides, the Akira should be all you need… along with the new friends you’ve made.” Tea’s temperament grew worried. “You’ve done well, but do not underestimate your brother’s protectiveness. His fear of losing you runs deeper than you can possibly imagine, and far more than he realizes.”

Sprocket hesitated before biting her piece of steak and mushrooms, and slowly put the fork back down. “That reminds me… I was always taught that Terra washes sparks clean of worldly ills. Why has Wire been with me for so long?”

“Flames,” Tea correctly casually. “Other species carry sparks, but we ponies are flames.”

Wiggly’s curiosity almost derailed her, and she had to tap the table to stay focused. “Flames then. What exception makes you or us special? Did Terra change the rules, or are you pulling my tail?”

Tea paused her gorging to reflect on an answer. Her face went through a few thoughtful expressions before she ultimately shrugged helplessly. “I - don’t remember much of my talks with Terra. Only flashes and isolated words with little meaning. I do remember being able to pick out ponies in the river of souls though,” Tea added with tangent whimsy. “What I can say, is that Terra plays a role. As to how far it can reach beyond that role...“ She threw her wings up in a shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine. Thankfully, I’ve also been allowed to remember both of our past lives, and that Live Wire has been at our side since the beginning.”

The room fell silent for a bit. Wiggly internally debated whether or not this was just a dream or if this was truly happening. “I love him, but sometimes he gets way too overprotective.”

“Do not fault him for his protectiveness, for it is his nature. I remember Terra went out of its way to preserve that.” Tea leaned in with a hoof out stretched as if to place it gently on Wiggly’s own. “Cherish your brother, there are few like him.”

Wrinkling her brow, Wiggly wondered why it needed to be said at all. In spite of how insufferable Wire might be from time to time, love was never in question. She tried to speak on such feelings, only for the world to go dark.

For almost a week, Live Wire was a nervous wreck. His sister had entered a pod that reminded him too much of a morgue. He ate and slept in the lab, fretting over vital signs that Morales insisted was normal. The doctor was barely able to preform his over watch duties while the tense stallion hovered around him like an irate crow.

Not that he gave the cathrex’s assurances much credence. The only one able to pull him away was Winter, and even then she could only manage it with sleep and her horrid cooking.

It was on the seventh day, as predicted by Morales, that the pod sent an alert to the others.

So now, everyone crowded around the lab to see Wiggly emerge. The two cathrex were caught between excitement and anxiety. Their natural curiosity of a new xenotype drove them to see how well Sprocket turned out. The anxiety was more focused on the other two ponies, and how they’d likely grow hostile should the worst occur.

Of them all, Winter managed to remain outwardly calm, having fallen back on her training to remain an anchor for Live Wire’s nervous energy.

With a wake-up command from the good doctor, the pod pushed out from the wall, with Morales and Wire flanking it in anticipation. Its top sighed open revealing the sleeping mare.

At first glance, Wiggly looked unchanged as the fluids drained away, with Morales carefully removing restraints that kept unconscious movements to a minimum. “Sit her up,” he told Wire so he could feel helpful.

As soon as she was upright, Wiggly fell into a coughing fit as her lungs cleared the fluid to taste sweet air once more. “Wiggs, speak to me, are you alright?!” He magically scraped the thin fluid off her fur and mane in hasty swipes.

The engineer seemed unfocused and sluggish. Morales was outwardly calm, yet he was more afraid of Live Wire than he was of Sprocket’s condition. “Her spark should be nearly resettled. All she needs is some time awake to finish the process. Let’s get her cleaned up.”

A quick shower later, Wiggly was shivering in a towel as Live Wire hovered over her while Morales kept watch via a medical scanner on her forehead. It was then that her brain finished rebooting and she blinked her eyes as they refocused. The first thing she saw was her brother’s hopeful fear.

Cherish him.

A grin creeped over her, and Wiggly threw the towel off and gave a crushing bear hug with both forelegs and wings alike. “How'd I know you'd be the first pony I'd see?”

Live Wire returned it at first, utter relief causing him to squeeze as hard as he could. After a few moments however, her grip was getting a bit too much and he was starting to wheeze. “Wiggs, let go,” he gasped.

Doing so, Wiggly pulled back and wore a sheepish grin. “Sorry.”

Morales tactfully removed the scanner off her forehead. “Be mindful of that. I had your body adapt to what you consider one gravity. So you should take care until you are more familiar with your new strength.”

“That’ll be handy.” Wiggly Sprocket kicked the towel away and stood up. Now that she could stand, she checked herself out in a mirror. “How do I look?”

Live Wire kept his council to himself and pointed to a mirror. “See for yourself.”

Hopping on over, Wiggly investigated her face first and found little difference. “Ack, where’s my horn cover?!”

“No longer needed,” Morales said proudly. “Seems you slept through that part of the work. The excess magic you give off has been rerouted to your wings which you expend as-”

Suddenly, a crackle of lightning filled the room. Wiggly flared her wings only for a second crackle to arc between her fingers. Brother and sister stared at it before both glared at Morales. “Ahh -well- it’s supposed to be expended enhancing your control over mechentites.”

Wincing at the name, Wiggly arched a disapproving eyebrow. “Eww. Tell me that’s not the official name for my soon-to-be robots.”

Not exactly having any real attachment to the designation, Morales simply shrugged. “That’s what the file says.”

“It does seem a little too dry,” Winter commented with a glance in Wiggly’s direction. “What about - mmm - automata?”

“Nnaahh, I already picked mechan.” Sprocket giggled madly as she imagined herself on a towering throne with millions of robots below her running around like manic goblins. Go my loyal mechans, do my bidding!

Morales subtly recoiled from the mare mentally acting out a coup d'état, and all it took was one peek at the unicorn to know he was the focus of Wire’s sudden ire. Feeling nervous under the heat of Live Wire’s glare, Morales clapped his hands and forced a massive grin. “Speaking of which, how do you feel? Any numbness or unexpected tingling?”

Wiggly snapped out of her maniacal daydreaming, and went red in the cheeks upon remembering where she was. “Ahh- um…” Her attention returned to her wings. The fingers were noticeably thicker and heavier. Yet her new strength allowed her to move and hold them up with casual ease.

After explaining as much to Morales, the doctor nodded in thought. “Ah yes, as expected.” He looked at Live Wire to best assuage the most irate person present. “To reiterate, her wing bones have been replaced with the same ivory of her horn to allow her magic to be the conduit for the control signal. Interestingly enough, her brand of magic is surprisingly adept at this application. A word of caution though,” he said carefully. “Given how pony magic works, it is entirely possible your wings might start glowing when in use. Just a forewarning.” Before anyone starts looking at me with a gun in hand.

Wiggly cooed at the idea. Returning her gaze to the mirror and onto her lavender eyes, Sprocket imagined her wings turning the same color. “That’s going to look so awesome.”

Hoping that would ease any ire from Live Wire, Morales continued. “Glad you approve. What about elsewhere? Do you feel everything is in order?”

Humming and closing her eyes to concentrate, Wiggly tried to feel herself. I’m hearing a weird static.”

“That would be from your tail most likely. Your wings are dedicated to controlling your future 'mechans', so your tail was repurposed for communication. Simply curl your tail as far to the right as possible, then snap it to the left.”

After doing just that, Wiggly let off a happy chirp when the static vanished. “Oh thank goodness. That could have been maddening.”

“Simply reverse the process to reactivate it. I can teach you how to parse background static with proper communication later. You should take to it as easily as a new language.” Morales hooked his scanning equipment to his belt. “One last thing before I let you go. Does anything else feel off? You should be experiencing phantom limb discomfort by now.”

“Is that what that is?” Wiggly remembered his warning, and had no real way to picture it before. To be whole, and yet feel sensations where there shouldn’t be. And yet now she understood. As she closed her eyes once more to focus on them, her wings started glowing a faint lavender. “I do!” The pain was remote and muffled, but it was there. Small stinging bug bites were all around her, some long and shallow, but there was one singular source of pain that suddenly hammered into her like a mountain. It was a deep hot pain that didn’t touch her body, and yet felt as raw as if her leg had just been torn off.

She screamed bloody murder, and flew into a panic. Morales was utterly shocked while Live Wire grew equal parts terrified for her and enraged at Morales. “What did you do to her?! Wiggs!”

Sprocket scrambled away from the source of the pain and against a row of lockers. She started sobbing, and flailing for the pain to stop. Wire was caught between going to his sister’s side or to pummel Morales for harming her.

“She needs a localized anesthetic!” The cathrex shouted as he grabbed a bottle and subdermal spray from his belt. “Hold her still!”

Still not trusting him, Wire growled his frustration before complying with the command. Magically grappling Wiggly, and dragging her kicking and screaming, Wire pressed down on her as best he could.

“Good.” Morales quickly readied his spray, went down to pin Wiggly’s left wing before injecting her just north of the shoulder. Her wings stopped glowing. He got up, and Sprocket quickly sagged in relief. “How about now?”

“Better. A lot better.” Wiggly struggled to get up after Wire let her go. He was at her side in an instant to help her finish standing.

“What the hell was that about?” The fuming unicorn demanded now that the crisis was over.

Slow to shake his head, Morales was left scratching his chin. “I can’t say. Miss Sprocket. Can you describe what you felt?”

“It was like…” Shivering from the echoes in her mind, she gazed around. Not at those around her, but the walls and ceiling. “It - it wasn’t a pain in me.” She tapped her chest. “But outside. It was so - so very - it was as if someone had taken a giant spoon and used it to tear a chunk of my stomach away.”

“Where outside?” Morales questioned with more curiosity than professional concern.

Grunting from the white hot memory, Wiggly pointed at a wall past the two males. “That way, towards the stern.”

“The stern?” Live Wire cocked his head before narrowing his eyes in disbelief. “No…. It can’t be.” The others expressed curiosity at his drawn out denial. “The engine room. Wiggs, I think you were feeling the Akira’s pain.”

Surprise morphed into an unreadable expression on the mare. “I don’t think that was part of the plan.”

“If he’s right, then this must be a result of the computer ironing out defects between your tribe and the xenotype.” Morales turned his attention to the Akira, fascination peering through the walls. “Every cathrex ship is deeply sensitive to magic. Your magic has changed little, only the means of wielding it.” A proud smile crossed his muzzle. This must have been what it felt like to create the first real xenotype. He idly watched Wiggly dance on her hooves and let her excitement explode into a torrent of words to her brother. A chill ran down the cathrex’s spine and tail. Wiggly was an ally, sure, but what of her descendants, or other ponies who adopted her xenotype one day. She is breathtaking… and utterly terrifying.

It was not long before the three of them went to the fabrication shop at Wiggly's insistence. The same printer that modified the backup reactor now stood ready to usher in her future.

Mote and Winter had joined the others, with Winter politely lamenting, “it seems universal. Workshops or maintenance bays always smell like grease and metal flakes.”

Wiggly stood at the ready on the input terminal with her tail pulled forward. “I know! Doesn’t it just smell like home?” The meat and bone of her tail was longer and thicker now, although one would be hard to see it due to how long she kept her faded blue hair. Hidden among the single off-white stripe, she parted the hair to reveal a pair of sinewy cords that ended in narrow connectors.

Morales was close by reading off of a pad. “Alright… Now, this fabricator is mech-rated, so there should be two ports behind a panel below the controls.”

“Wiggly,” Winter called out as she and Mote stepped around some machinery. “Since you got too carried away to remember to give proper hellos,” the thestral interjected with a touch of a reprimand. "I'm glad to see you made it out intact.”

Forgetting her tail completely, Wiggly blushed furiously and wanted to bury herself in the proverbal sand. “Really sorry about that. I - ah -” Clearing her throat to get time to think, Sprocket internally chided herself even harder. “I'll make it up to you. Have you been keeping my worrybug of a brother from having a meltdown while I was out?”

Mollified a bit, Winter relented with a faint smile. She shot her coltfriend a knowing eyebrow wiggle. “To the best of my abilities. But even I can only do so much.”

Mote bowed to be acknowledged before speaking. Unlike Winter, the cathrex jane was less insulted. She tried, but Mote still felt as if the ponies saw her as an outsider. That is, except for Wiggly. She above the other two was the one Mote sought out for a friend. “Salutation. I am glad to see you’re transformation was a success. Retooling it for your species was a delight. How are you feeling?”

“Good to see you too.” Groaning lightheartedly, Wiggy more or less recovered from her embarrassment to give Mote a welcoming nod. “Like I’m missing a wing still.”

“Then it seems to have worked quite well.” More happily clapped her hands. “Commentary. I’ve worked with a couple of mechanteers before. That missing feeling is because you actually are missing limbs.” The ponies, and even Morales looked at her quizzically, making Mote shrink a bit. “Clarification. That is, your ‘mechans’ I mean. If I remember correctly, new mechanteer require a drone, or to phrase it properly…” Mote held a finger up. “Gloves.” The mildly confused look the trio of ponies gave Mote cause to actually look at how very hands-free they were. Mote clammed up and was utterly mortified.

It took Morales clearing his throat to break the brief silence. “Mote, perhaps ‘boots’ would translate better.”

“Boots!” Mote giggled nervously. “Right. So you all know how you can have boots for all different sorts of jobs, settings, and how they can be an expression of your personality right?” By now she was on edge, hoping the ponies would take it from here to spare her from melting into a puddle of goo.

Of them all, it was Live Wire who spoke up. “Is this someway of saying the ‘boots’ or mechans will be an extension of her?”

“Like a pilot and their craft?” Winter added.

Morales put his tablet down, and hummed with frustration. “Perhaps only a mechanteer can explain it properly. “Miss Sprocket, care to do the honors and create the first ‘boot’?” He pointed at the panel he had removed.

Mote’s face and lights went completely red, and she hid behind her hands.

“Yeah, sure.” Facing the open panel, Wiggly spotted two ports that matched two of the cords on her tail. Curling herself and parsing her hair so she could grab the two cords, she noticed Wire and Winter were hovering over her like a pair of curious hens. “What?” she asked with her own embarrassment flaring. She felt the need to cover the cords, and nearly gave into it.

Winter’s bionic eyes zoomed in to get a detailed look of the two connectors. “Fascinating. I’d swear it looks like ivory.”

“That’s correct,” Morales announced proudly with a completely smug expression. “Our machine-neural interfaces are completely magic based. There was no requirement to add extra cathrex strains as ponies already possess thaumaturgically conductive tissues. I can’t wait to see what other fascinating hybridization is possible in future patients. I’ve actually-”

Wiggly fumed so much her wings flared, pushing her fellow ponies out of her persona space. “Can we not talk about me as if I’m not in the room?!” Pouting angrily, Wiggly pulled on her cords, and a disgusted shiver ran through her at the feeling of tissues sliding in her tail. “Oooooogh. I don’t know how you cyborgs handle feeling that every time you pull your wires out.”

Live Wire tilted his head. “We don’t.”

“It’s something you get used to,” was all Morales would say.

Resolving to brood over it later, when I don’t have everyone staring at me, Wiggly plugged the cords in.

Static and wildly dancing lights filled her ears and vision, making her wince and hold her head. “Agh, what is all this?!”

Mote waved Winter over to another set of interface ports. “Statement. We can join and help her through it.” As Winter jumped to do so, Mote leaned over Wiggly. “Query. What are you seeing exactly?”

“It’s a bunch of…” She paused as some of the static resolved into disjointed words and the lights occasionally revealed words and shapes. “It’s chaos.” Mote’s first reply was cut short by Wiggly frantically waving a hoof and shushing her. Wiggly’s excitement slowly grew as the chaos steadily resolved into a coherent image. The language was still in alien script, but eventually the lights became a screen and the static resolved into the computer asking for a prompt. “Wow, that was fast.”

A pleased look fell over Morales. “You can see the screen already? You have better neuroplasticity than I imagined.”

With a mental command, Mote tweaked the screen to include Ponish. “Statement. Most adults who gain an interface take a few days to see that.”

“That’s my sister for ya,” Live Wire said with a snarky tone as he jostled Sprocket with a hoof. “She’ll be that way until she’s like what? As old as dirt and twice as wrinkly?”

“Wiggly shoved back at her brother, and the two devolved into a petty pushing and slapping match. “I am not wrinkly. Now get off me!”

Winter threw her nose up in the air a little, and backed away to avoid the playful bickering. “You never play with me like that.”

“You want to?!” Wire was left stunned by the admission long enough for Wiggly to bop his head.

“Got you, I win!” She cried hastily to ward off any retribution. In her frenzy to wave him away, she activated the prompt. The window became a white vortex that caught her by surprise, and she ignored getting smacked by her brother.

She yowled in terror as the vortex latched onto her and cast her into a gray void. Her body however, remained in the shop while her eyes turned vacant.

Wiggly rolled and stumbled into a heap in the void. Unused to such a fall lacking any pain, she clambered back to her hooves on what seemed to be a smoky floor. Gazing out into the expanse, some shapes had already resolved themselves, but the majority of the space was a jumbled mess of colors and sound. “I hope that’s not what a transfer always feels like.”

Lines and boundaries were coalescing, and thankfully, proper coloring was popping back. “Wouldn’t mind this loading screen to go away.” Pushing that aside, Wiggly was growing increasingly animated with over excitement. “But I’m here. I’m actually in cyberspace.” She squealed in delight, and danced on her hooftips. “Ooh oh oh oh! I wonder if I can make stuff!”

Plopping down, she held her hoofs apart and tried to will a simple ball into existence. With only a moment’s effort, the little yellow bouncy ball she once had as a filly manifested. A stupid grin cleaved her muzzle as she dropped it and let it bounce. “Hehe!”

“You visualized that quite quickly,” came Winter Gale’s voice. Yet when she turned to look, all Wiggly could see was disjointed polygons and splashes of color on a form that wasn’t even remotely equine in shape.

“Recitation. He said it’d come naturally,” Mote’s voice came from an equally jumbled mess of an avatar. “I still remember the first thing I created: censalla. You’d probably know it better as ice cream.”

More slowly than the world around them, the two avatars were starting to make sense. It caused Sprocket to look down at herself, only to realize her own image was crystal clear. Weird. Looking up to the shorter of the two shapes, Wiggly dismissed the ball that had rolled away. “I thought Mores and my brother were coming in after me.”

Shaking its head, the taller shape replied. “Observation. Seems visualization doesn’t account for speech. That was some proper screeching, Miss Sprocket.”

“Really glad we don’t feel pain in here,” the smaller one agreed. “Can you understand us at least?” Wiggly’s checks puffed up in a pout and she turned away. “Oh yes, she can. If it makes you feel better, fresh cyborgs have software assistance for rendering all of this.”

Mote knelt down to be eye level. “Suggestion. I know a plethora of training speeches you can try. It’s barely different from learning a new language.”

Embarrassed that she couldn’t talk properly, Wiggly was hesitant to agree.

Interpreting her hesitation incorrectly, Winter commented with a touch of sympathy. “Your brother’s exhausted, and I may or may not have had to encourage him to go to bed early. As for the good doctor, he took the opportunity to go eat. Honestly, with how much he eats, how is he not a planet by now?”

Cheerful giggling erupted from Mote. “Mirthful. Most of us not designed for low-tech survival simply don’t keep excess weight. That aside, Miss Sprocket, we can still lend our assistance in helping you acclimate to cyberspace,” Mote added with a smile lost to the distortion.

And so they did. Minutes melted into hours and a break for lunch. Yet with the frantic march of a mare possessed, Wiggly could finally make sense of the world within the fabricator.

The machine remained itself, a base with four poles on the corners. Yet the world itself was a bland tan floor and a white expanse for a sky. All in all, Wiggly was left disappointed. “Naooww, with all the weird shapes and colors, I thought this place would have been more lively.”

“Hey! They came out almost perfectly,” Mote cheered with a few goofy sounding musical instruments trumpeting behind her.

Wiggly’s gaze locked in on the instruments, which vanished as quickly as they appeared. She looked down and he’d her hooves out again, and concentrated. A classical wooden violin appeared a moment later. “Ah, it worked!”

The mare had no idea how to play, but that didn’t stop her from causing it to float away a bit. The violin started playing a tune from an old children’s show, and came out crystal clear.

“Oh I remember this one,” Winter proclaimed while bobbing her head. “The Crazy Yaks, right? I loved that show.”

“You watched it too?!” Sprocket giggled madly and recalled more instruments to complete the opening theme.

Letting the ponies have a bit of fun, Mote leaned down and waved her hand across the ground. Green grass blanketed a swath around her with flowers of every color bursting forth. She plucked one, and smiled at its beauty. I hope I’ll get a chance to grow real ones. Placing the yellow flower in her hair, Mote drifted over to the musical mares. “Since Miss Sprocket has gotten a hold on things, why don’t we go ahead with making her first mechan?”

Wiggly’s instruments clattered to the ground with a cacophony of broken notes. “Oh yeah!” She raced over to the fabricator, and sniffed around for some kind of interface.

“No need for screens or keyboards here,” Mote offered. With a wave of her hand, a trio of mechan popped into existence on the platform. One was a boxy thing on two wheeled tracks and had five arms. The middle with a tall spindly thing with a simple chassis and a large energy weapon on top. The last was the size of a large dog and possessed twin saw blades, gardening tools, and a cargo bucket on the back. “Demonstration. These are some popular examples. The first can do all sorts of things from cooking to construction. The middle should be obvious, along with the last one now that I think of it.” Mote tapped her chin as she thought something over.

Sprocket orbited the mechan and studied them intently. Winter however, kept a close eye on Wiggly herself. Her every move, word, and action was carefully considered and recorded. Wiggly seemed like her usual self, but a promise is a promise.

“Do I have to choose from one of these or whatever else is on the list?”

Mote swiped the air and the mechan vanished. “Not at all. Clarification. You can make them in whatever form you wish. The fabricator will… ‘fill in the blanks’ I believe the term is.”

Winter broke from her study to give the gynoid a quizzical hum. “What separates these things from drones?”

A cheeky grin crossed over Mote and she wagged her finger. “Pride. I’m glad you asked. The mechanteer imprints their minds into the mechan, creating a delta level intelligence.”

Both mares stopped dead for a stunned moment before Wiggly zipped over. “Wait, wait, waaaait, you’re saying we’re cloning my mind?”

Hummed negatively, Mote fiddled with her hair. “Affirmation. As far as I understand it, no. Deltas are nowhere close to you or I, as they can only mimic the functions of a mind. They do not actually possess one. The imprinting is done so you only have to give them general commands. Patrol the ship, harvest the fields, make me a steak how I like it. That sort of thing. And because your mind is used, the mechan will complete the task in the same manner that you would.”

“Can it talk or hold a conversation?” Winter inquired now that she was genuinely interested.

“Mmmm…” Mote’s face went through a range of emotions from uncertainty to tepid worry. “I guess if you want it to, sure. But usually any sort of interpersonal stuff is handled directly by the mechanteer.”

Flying back over to the platform, Sprocket rubbed her hooves together as she could feel the creative juices flowing. “Fine by me. I wasn’t planning on making conversationalists anyway. So I can just imagine one into existence right?”

“More or less. But…” Mote briefly closed her eyes. The platform lit up sky blue. “Statement. The computer will present you with how viable your creation is, if it is missing something crucial, or otherwise unable to function properly in the physical world. You should start with just one mechan, and see how difficult it is to keep a hold of before making more.”

“Alright then. Shall I?” A manic grin cleaved Wiggly’s maw. The prospect of being the first pegacorn to command cyberspace and machines directly with her mind lit a mad scientist’s fire within her. “Let the work begin!”

Late into the next morning, Wiggly emerged alone from cyberspace with a gasp. The stench of freshly molded metal and mechanical fluids filled the fabrication shop. Winter had left to rest earlier, and Mote had left before that to address her neglected duties.

It took Sprocket a few moments to remember how to deal with gravity again. Wowsers, cy-space is a trip. Her stomach rumbled and protested her neglect so painfully she doubled over. “Ooooo, ow ow ow… foooood.” Through squinted eyes, a robotic pony stood quietly on top of the fabricator. Something new and primal called her towards it.

It was largely a pegacorn mare in form, yet it had a vibrant purple metallic shell with dim blue lights along its contours and eyes. Outwardly it appeared static, yet Wiggly could hear its voice: an electronic monotone copy of her own.

it said, eliciting a squeal of delight from its creator.

Yet that moment of unbridled excited partially morphed into feeling weirded. Instead of hearing it speak from her ears or perhaps her mind, Wiggly heard it speak from her tail. The very act felt like faint thrills running up from her tail to her head, and Sprocket shivered so hard she had to hold herself. “Ooo that’s going to take some getting used to.” Unable to reply in kind, Wiggly opted for verbal commands. “Step off the platform and present yourself to me.” The mechan remained unresponsive, and simply repeated its request.

Scowling, she glanced around, again finding that she was alone. Guess I have to figure this out myself. Recalling her ordeal with the Akira’s pain, Wiggly was hesitant to try it a second time. But that’s how I’m supposed to command them. The fear redoubled, causing her to climb up to the mechan’s face. “Present yourself.”

Waving her tail a bit to try and shake off the mild discomfort, Wiggly tapped its face. “Hey, present yourself.”

Her mechanical double remained unmoved.

Jumping back down and dragging a frustrated hoof across her face, Wiggly ignored another protest from her stomach. “No, I’m figuring this out before breakfast.”

Sagging from the stress, she looked backwards to her tail. A frustrated scowl marred her felt. It’s bad enough hearing things through a tail, and now I have to try and speak with it?! The feeling of her connectors jostling a bit gave her pause. “Wait a second!”

She jumped up and went back over to the screen for the fabricator. “Let’s see, if you can make it, then you should have a manual… there it is!”

Several minutes passed as she perused its pages until she found what she was looking for. Jumping back up to the platform, she slid over to the mechan’s left flank where its destiny mark matched its creator, a toothed gear with a single screw hanging loose in its socket. “Okay, so if I do this…” She opened a hidden panel with a push to reveal ports matching her connectors. A short bit later saw her physically plugging her tail connectors into it. Wiggly went about changing the factory defaults the fabricator had placed to fill in the gaps she left behind. “There we go, I just need to link you to me.”

Flaring her wings, Wiggly let her magic slowly and carefully flow in. On the threshold of her sensing the Akira again, the mechan latched onto her and sealed the link. Here it comes. Suddenly, she felt like something was draining into the mechan, not something solid, but her mind slowed, and her muscles felt heavy. The act only lasted a few moments, and the sensation vanished.

Unplugging herself, Wiggly backed away, and held a hoof to her head to try and endure the vertigo that was overtaking her. “Ohhh, I hope this doesn’t happen every time.” Thankfully, the symptoms faded at a steady pace.

Unnoticed by her, The mechan’s eyes changed color to match her own, as the fur on its underbelly from chin to tail became pigeon blue as well. Its eyes gained focus and turned to her while speaking in a less distorted version of her voice.

The vertigo wasn’t fully over yet, but Wiggly muscled through it to take stock of her creation. “Present yourself.”

Her wings brightened just a touch before the mechan walked off the platform and stood in front of her before giving a curtsy.

“Better.” Scratching her head, Wiggy pondered on just what to do with her mechanical double first. “First off, you need a name.” Her stomach rumbled fiercely, making her double over from the hunger pains. “Second thought, go get me something good for breakfast, that’ll give me time to think.” Giving another curtsy, the mechan walked off. “And hurry!”

Watching the mechan bolt into a full gallop, she started to squee in delight only for it to seize up and collapse like a sack of potatoes on the floor. Her jaw dropped in bewilderment, only to jump when a big red warning popped into her vision. She shrieked and leapt away until she remembered that could happen to her now. Pausing, she actually read it.

Error 572. Overheat shutdown.

Slowly standing normally again, Wiggly was left dumbfounded by the error at all. “What..? But…how!?” Biting her lower lip, she waved a hoof to banish the error, and then carefully approached the fallen robot. “Great, now I have to figure out what I did wrong.” Her stomach yowled its fury at her, making her double over. “Okay, okay, food first.”

Yawning tiredly, Live Wire emerged from his quarters with an itchy scalp and a hunger in his gut. His artificial eye was acting up again, leaving him torn on what to do first: shower, eat, or seek his sister for a diagnostic. His stomach growled irritably, silencing the debate.

Just as well. I can check on the ribs, and whip up something quick to bring to Wiggs. He moved through a few halls and intersections until he was brought to a stop by an odd sight. Winter Gale was watching a bipedal mechanical pony rooting around an open service panel in the wall. As he got closer to the scene, he spotted a toolbox sitting nearby, along with pieces of the ship laid out in the same manner that his sister did. What bewildered him though was how clunky it was. Each movement was stiff and deliberate. A distinct pause between each moment wasn’t to his liking either.

By now, Winter heard him and offered a simple sandwich she had been holding. “Hey, handsome. Hungry?”

“Very, thanks, love.” He kissed her, took a few greedy bites, then finally turned his gaze upon the robot.

“It’s bizarre,” Winter commented aloud. “I swear, it’s just like watching your sister work in slow motion, except for not being one for conversation.”

“And the whole biped thing,” he added wearily. He watched it work, and was greatly unnerved. Winter was right, the little twitches when the robot stripped a screw, bit it’s lower lip while considering how to do the repair, even the constant ear twisting when he or Winter made noise. All of it mimicked his sister to a frightening degree. “So,” he called out to get its attention, “is my sister controlling you directly or…what?”

Realizing it was at last being addressed, the mechan paused for almost a full minute. The unicorn asked the question a few more times before the mechan at last turned around. “My apologies, but crew interactionnnnsss…” It seized up and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, it’s exterior sizzled with heat.

“I was wondering when that was going to happen,” Winter commented with an unamused tone. She looked to her coltfriend who was unsure of how to respond. “That thing’s been running hot ever since I saw it.”

“Well there goes the resemblance,” Live Wire joked with a smirk directed at Winter. “I can’t remember the last time Wiggs got too nervous to talk to somepony.”

Rolling her eyes, Winter smacked him with a wing. “Why don’t you make yourself useful and carry that thing back to the shop. I’m going to go get some food for the three of us.”

“I thought food was my job?” His cheeky grin was met by her thinly amused one.

“You’re the one with the horn, and I’m not touching that walking oven.”

Even in low gravity, carting the hundreds of pounds of dead weight all the way back to the machine shop had taken him long enough for Winter to arrive at the entry doors at the same time he did. She had a bag of pilfered quick rations from Poniopoius, and had it slung on her back with some soda cans.

Before the door even opened, the pair could smell overheated electronics and muffled cursing.

“I just don’t get it!” Wiggly half-shouted as the pair rounded the bend to find her knee deep in the guts of a mechan. Mote was at her side looking painfully useless. “Why is the control system outputting so much heat? It shouldn’t be producing even a tenth of what it is.”

The gyroid’s gaze was out of focus, indicating she was looking at a screen in her vision. “Confusion. It was all built within standard tolerances. By all rights, the temperature problem shouldn’t exist.”

The couple arrived with Winter presenting a ration to each. “You know, when the hanger crew couldn’t isolate a problem, eating helped clear their heads.”

Wiggly looked up in surprise, having not heard them arrive. When her eyes drifted to the ration and saw ‘lemon zest chicken’ on it, her work was completely forgotten. “Fooood!”

While Mote was more dignified in accepting her meal, Sprocket bit the pack and found a spot on a nearby workbench to enjoy her feast. Ripping off the top, she gently squeezed the pack so she could eat as it slid out. Mote joined her by dragging a stool over while the other two ponies claimed seats opposite of the diners.

“Can’t believe how hungry I was.” Wiggly was already halfway through with her ration before Mote could even rip the top off of hers.

“I sure can.” Wire smirked while sliding over a second ration pack to her. “You never remember to eat when you get excited.”

She muffled a begrudging agreement between a mouthful of chicken. She sucked down some soda before properly speaking again. “You know, I didn’t think to ask, but what did you all do while I was out?”

“We fully restocked our food, water, fuel, and other bits,” Wire answered passively.

“Well, most of our fuel isn’t inside the ship yet,” Winter clarified. “The Akira isn’t designed for our fuel, and no one wanted to install a replacement fuel system without your oversight.”

“Exclamation. I see you saved the best news for last.” Mote was practically giddy to share. When Winter nodded her approval, Mote all but leapt into the details. “We found a ship parts fabricator that wasn’t overly damaged. We even managed to fix it by ourselves!”

Hesitating to take the next bite, Wiggly studied everyone’s faces to see if it was a lie or joke. “Seriously? That’s great! What was wrong with it?”

Waving a hoof dismissively, Wire still looked proud of himself. “Just some piping got ruptured along with a lot of cosmetic damage from the battle. I was able to figure out how to restore the software from a local backup, and it all came back green.”

“I don’t know what’s better,” Wiggly began as she squeezed the last of the chicken out of the bag. “This food or that news.” She immediately went for the second ration pack as a mare possessed.

Winter let her take a bite before speaking up. “So what is wrong with your robotic double?”

Groaning even as the Salsberry steak met her lips, Wiggly glared daggers at it. “It’s the stupid memory processing system.”

“Memory?” Wire looked at his marefriend who shrugged helplessly. “How does that generate enough heat for a shutdown?”

“Fabulous question,” Wiggly huffed before tearing into the soft steak.

Looking to the cathrex for answers, Winter queried, “does it work differently for these bots?”

Mote jumped a bit at the question. She held a finger against her cheek as she thought it over. “Conjecture. You mean differently from me? A small but significant difference I assure you. You see, I retain memory in a fultaun and in my positronic brain. A mechanteer’s mechan only possess a comparatively rudimentary fultaun, and an even less robust brain. I personally wouldn’t even call what they have as a brain, more like a traditional computer core. It is why a mechan remains a delta level intelligence instead of an alpha like myself.”

“Dare I ask what a fultaun is?” Wire asked with naked curiosity.

“Explanation. It is a device that houses a fult and meshes it with the brain to create a true organic consciousness.” Mote’s joy of explaining it dimmed a bit when all she got were puzzled faces. “Apology. I did it again didn’t I? What word was not translated?”

“Fult.”

“Ah… hmmm.” Mote squeezed her eyes shut and idly chewed on some gum. “Definition. A soul, spirit, spark. Yes, that’s it. Fult is our word for a spark.”

“Spark?!” Wiggly dropped her Salisbury steak, and leaned over Mote, making the cathrex a little intimidated. “I thought I was imprinting my mind onto my little bots.”

“Clarification. Perhaps I spoke improperly.” Mote slowed down to gauge everyone’s reaction to the coming explanation. I hope I don’t step on any taboos. “It would take days to safely imprint your brain onto a mechan, so you cheat in a manner of speaking. Instead, you imprint an instance of your spark.”

Wiggly felt like she had been smacked in the face. Her eyes drifted to the robot she had been digging around in like it was just another machine. “Are you saying those things are robotic clones of me?!”

“Recitation. No more than a picture is a clone of you or I.” Mote was trying to be careful now. “Believe me when I say this. Mechan are not alive. They are simply tools.”

Had those words come from Morales, the ponies would have been dubious, but Mote carried heavier weight in this regard. Wiggly sluggishly pulled away. “If you say so. Still doesn’t explain the heat issue.”

“Maybe it does.” Everyone looked to Winter Gale in curious surprise. The pilot hummed in thought as she tried to fully recall her memory. “A long time ago, before I joined the navy, there was a debate in school. Tradition dictated our souls are sparks as originally stated by the Sisters’ recounting of their conference with Terra. However, some sects of the druidic order have speculated that the flames Terra molded into them spread through us all. How else could you explain the Harmonist Renaissance that followed their return?”

“…Flames.” The words came as a haunting surprise even as they left Wiggly’s lips. The pegacorn subconsciously held a hoof to her chest even as Winter nodded.

“So you’ve heard of it?” A delighted tone from Winter was followed by more. “I didn’t think anyone in this system had even heard of Archdruid Swift Seed.”

Wiggly had zoned out for a moment, only to shake her head and snap out of it. “Huh? No. I-” She scoffed dismissively. “I had a dream while I was in the pod, and I saw a pony made of purple fire. Weird stuff.” Mote’s face morphed into a mixture of awe and more than a little forbearance. Yet no one saw it since Wiggly jumped to her hooves. “Wait a minute, if the signal is what’s causing the overheat, then I know exactly how to fix it!”

Galloping to the fabricator, Wiggly got the computer to work while Live Wire joined her. Only Winter stayed behind upon seeing how unsettled Mote was. With the cathrex’s gaze absently following the siblings, Winter was able to practice reading the alien’s face. “Is there something wrong?”

Panic shot through Mote where she first tried to act nonchalant, only to give up the notion a second later and fell into a weary calm. “Statement. Perhaps not. Ummm. It’s just that, you don’t dream when being changed. Or so I’ve been told. What she experienced was real.”

Winter couldn’t sense any real deception, yet. She leaned in a bit, tilting her head a bit. “The flames of Harmony reside within all ponies. Our spirits are simply reflections of ourselves are they not?”

“Confession. They very much are.” A pall fell over Mote, and she looked like she was on the edge of crying. “My people have had to look in the mirror for centuries now. And a flame is beautiful by comparison.” She stood up, cupped her mouth, and made to leave. “Excuse me.”

Momentarily dumbstruck by the emotional response, Winter held out a hoof. “You need not remain in the cold!” Mote stopped dead, yet couldn’t find the strength to face the mare. “That’s the thing about fire, it grows quickly if given fuel, but can be frightening to embrace.”

Mote’s hand fell away from her mouth. She steepled her fingers, and still couldn’t bring herself to face Winter. “Apology. I’m sorry, but I haven’t the courage.”

Winter watched Mote go, her own feelings went into a slump. Such pain. They hide it well when they can.

A scant few days passed by. The fix worked, and Wiggly expanded her mechan workforce up to eight before the strain became too much. Yet it was enough to do the job.

Ponipolous’ last act of life was shaping up quite nicely. Wiggly presided in the control room with Morales and her brother, watching the industrial fabricator complete the finishing touches on the new engine room module for the Akira.

As the living crew prepared for its completion, the mechan were using cutters to clean the Akira up for its installation. Not one of them was aware of a new presence waiting to descend from hyperspace.

Author's Note

There will be 8 mechanical wigglies running around. What shall their names be hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm????

I’m thinking Twilight, Twiggles, Twilinanas, Twinkle Sprinkle, Twi, T Sparks, Purple Smart, and Twilighting.

It was either that or Arthas, xArthasx, XxarthasxX, arlhis, aarthas, arthis, arthás, and ArthasM.

Ahh the glory days… before the dark times.