Cyberpony Y2K

Explosions were not unusual around the Discord base. Whether it was some crazy invention of Sunset's that didn't work right, the Pie Sisters mining with dynamite, or Knight Watch trying to chase off an Ursa, you'd usually hear them a few times a week.

They always made Rainbow antsy, however, even when she knew it was absolutely nothing. She still always had to go and double-check that everything was fine, because there was no way she was letting her comrades down on her watch.

It's probably fine, she thought, flying up and above the castle's towers. Probably just another weapon test. Or Vinyl experimenting with her magic! Or--

She stopped upon seeing Sunset's lab. It, usually soundproofed, had been blown wide open.

Rainbow flew over, engines roaring, as into the massive hole in the wall.

Other ponies might have paused to wonder how. that had happened. Rainbow rarely wasted time on wondering, however.

Vinyl Scratch was hanging from a jagged piece of steel at the edge of the lab, looking down over an a hundred foot drop. One of her legs seemed to have been detached, but thankfully, a lot of the damage appeared to simply be her casing.

"Sunset!" she called out, pointing down.

Rainbow swooped past, picking Vinyl up and flying to the ground. She quickly found Sunset, who lay motionless, and deposited Vinyl right besides her.

"She's breathing! I think!" Vinyl said. Her visor had shattered, cracks spread all along it, but her jacket seemed...fine, somehow.

"What happened?" Rainbow asked.

"Erm...an explosion?"

Right. Rainbow shot off, flying to the medical ward. Thankfully, she found Fluttershy there, running down some questions with Fleur.

Rainbow Dash burst in through the window, which, thankfully, was open. "Sunset's hurt," she said.

"What?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash picked her up by the waist, flying outside with her. Fluttershy barely had time to yelp before Rainbow Dash dropped her on the ground besides Sunset.

Fluttershy shoved her back, glaring at Rainbow. "I've told you, give me warning first," she said. She frowned, looking down at Sunset. "What happened?"

"Explosion," Rainbow said.

"Bass cannon," Vinyl explained. "She was testing out a bass cannon."

"What..." Fluttershy frowned, then moved to check Sunset's breathing. She moved her hands down, trying for her heartbeat, and when she remembered Sunset's armored plate, she moved to check her pulse.

"She seems to be fine, just unconscious," she said. She began feeling at Sunset's skull, frowning. "No cracked skull. I think she'll be fine. Help me lift her."

Rainbow picked up Sunset. Sunset groaned, but stayed limp in Rainbow's arms. "Okay, that's some good news," Rainbow said.

"She's fine," Fluttershy repeated. "But we do have a problem."

"What problem?"

Fluttershy gestured around. Rainbow looked side to side, find Sky Watch and Sour Sweet coming in close.

"That was way bigger than normal! What happened?" Sky called out. Then she looked to the figure in Rainbow's arms, and then to Vinyl. "Holy shit, Vinyl! What happened?"

"Er...weapons test?" Vinyl said.

"Hush," Rainbow ordered. She moved her wings, closing them around Sunset, but Sour had already seen.

She shook herself when she saw Rainbow looking back. "Um—I saw nothing! Nothing whatsoever!" She turned around, staring down at the ground.

"Is that even remotely true?"

She shook her head.

Rainbow chose to curse later. Instead, she speed dialed Applejack. "Hey, AJ," she said, "we got a situation here."

"Funny. We got one here, too."

"Not funny. Sunset knocked herself out with...a 'bass cannon'?"

"A what? Ah...shoot...hold on..."

Rainbow paused, waiting an uncomfortable moment. "Not one word about this, you two," she ordered Sour and Sky. "And Sky, get the Pies to prep a bed for Vinyl. She's going to need repairs, and a new leg."

Her speakers crackled. "Dash, I really can't talk now."

"Too bad. I need you here ASAP."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm entertaining an Inquisitor, Dash. Indigo's here."

Rainbow cursed. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. Says she's just here for the tour, but that's as likely as a vegan raccoon."

"Got it," Rainbow replied. "I'll send Sky over in case things go FUBAR." She called out, "SKY!"

Sky paused, barely a few steps away. "Indigo is at Sweet Apple Acres, ostensibly for leisure purposes. Get there fast and keep an eye on the situation. Sour, you go get the Pies and tell 'em about Vinyl."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Sky shot off immediately, but Sour hesitated.

"What about her?" Sour asked. "What about..."

Before Rainbow could say something snappy, Fluttershy cut in. "She'll wake up any minute now, but she's fine. We can talk about this later."

Sour hesitated one second more, but then saluted. "I'll tell people not to come over, then," she said. Then she bolted off, sprinting.

"Y'know, I gotta ask again," Rainbow said, hefting Sunset up again. Cybernetics and armor included, she was startlingly heavy. "What the fuck happened here?"

"Erm...we were talking, and...she suddenly asked if I wanted to test fire her new weapon. A bass cannon."

"Um...what is a bass cannon?" Fluttershy asked.

"You know..." Vinyl paused. "I'm not actually sure."

"Sonic weapon?" Rainbow asked.

"Something like."

"What were you talking about before then?" Fluttershy asked.

Vinyl squirmed. "Um...I'm, uh...not sure I'm supposed to talk about that."

"Then don't," Rainbow said. "Will you be fine if we leave you here? I need to get Sunset inside fast."

"Yeah, I'll...I'll be fine. I think...I think my sensory systems are shot, though. I can't...hardly move at all." She wiggled her fingers. "Which is good, because this should be hurting like fucking Tartarus." She looked around, cocking her head. "Um, actually, Doc, you tell me. Will I be fine to leave here?"

"I'll stay and look you over," Fluttershy said. "Rainbow, you get Sunset inside. Splash some water in her face when you're in a private location. Vinyl's in more danger than she is, though."

Rainbow nodded, then took off walking, carrying Sunset. She took off, flying Sunset into the air and bringing the unconscious Alicorn into her room.

Rainbow carefully deposited her onto the bed, then stepped over and locked her door. Water. Do I have water in here?

Yes, over on the desk. For when she was hanging out with Scootaloo. Usually reserved for cleaning tree sap off of the little blighter, but it would probably still wake Sunset.

Rainbow poured a cup, then scanned it with her optics. She had no idea how cold ponies considered 'cold', but she decided the water was cold enough. She splashed it in Sunset's face.

Sunset spluttered, coughing, then opened one eye and groaned. Her prosthetic eye had broken, now no longer even remotely resembling an actual eye. She opened her other eye, blinking slowly. "What happened?"

"We don't have the foggiest clue," Rainbow said. "You knocked yourself out with some sort of weapons test. Vinyl said it was a 'bass cannon'?"

"Oh...right. Well, on the bright side..." She shimmied a little, moving to sit with her back against the wall. She groaned, putting a hand to the back of her head, and closed her eyes. "On the bright side, I think it can stop an Alicorn. Call it a hunch."

"But...you're fine?"

"I have a bit of a migraine now. I keep pain pills in my...in both my offices, in case there's nothing left of the first one."

"Do not use your magic to teleport them here," Rainbow ordered. "I'll go bring them."

Sunset nodded, but the motion caused her to erupt into a spree of curses. "Fuck...what happened? No way it should have outputted that much power."

"Well, it destroyed your office, almost killed Vinyl, and destroyed a wall that was about ten inches of solid steel. You fell sixty feet."

Sunset frowned. "That shouldn't have...oh. Dammit, that was stupid."

"What? What happened?"

"Vinyl's attuned to sound down to the core of her being. She applied a lot more power than I had previously outputted through the cannon. In addition...she's an Element bearer, Dash. The Tree of Harmony just gave her the Element of Laughter."

"What? But you said--"

"I know. Guess I was wrong." She smiled sadly. "Anyway, that means she's positively brimming with magical energy right now. She poured all of that into a very tiny container. And..."

"Kaboom."

"Yup. How bad was the blast?"

"Well," Rainbow said, "it destroyed your wall. And your prototype. Vinyl should be getting repairs soon, but...I think she'll be fine. And, uh...Sky and Sour both saw your face."

"Fucking..." Sunset grimaced. "Sky's fine. She's trustworthy. But I don't know who Sour is, so that's not fine."

"Sour's a newer recruit. And no, she is not on the list of ponies I trust. There's always been something...I couldn't quite place about her. And I listen to my gut."

"We'll deal with it later. It's probably as good a time as any for the mask to come off. The important thing is that I need to be in control of it."

"Alright. I...feel bad bringing this up while you're hurt still, but Indigo seems to have suddenly decided she wants to take the Sweet Apple Acres tour. Sky's heading there right now to keep an eye on the situation, and kill Indigo if necessary."

"It might be good to go ahead and do so," Sunset mused. "She carried the message she was given. She's just a threat now."

Rainbow nodded. "True, true. But do we want that to be our first move in this war? To assassinate a pony who may not even be investigating anything?"

"You're right. She'd just become a martyr. We need to go for the Princesses. Killing anypony else doesn't advance the cause." She winced, hand to her head. "How long was I out?"

"About...five minutes?"

"Five minutes. And I knew it was coming," Sunset mused. "Easily enough time to kill one. Just...hopefully, the pony who fires it can survive the initial blast. Go get my painkillers now, keep me updated on the situation at the farm. If Indigo looks like she's about to make an arrest, end her."

"Got it. Heard that, Applejack?"

"Loud and clear. But...I think she's genuine. I really do."

"Even so, Sky's en route. Stay safe."

"Roger that."

At the top Tier of Canterlot, Princess Midnight stood in front of the most important door in the world.

The smog was thick today. Some screw up or other had made the fans run slow. On lower tiers it would only darken the sky, but up here, on the highest point in the world, Midnight breathed the red smoke in deeply.

A grim reminder of how tainted the world was.

The nearest elevator dinged. Mi Amore Cadenza stepped off, glowering at Midnight. Her outfit looked like she should be freezing at the height they stood, but with the ruby smog, it felt uncomfortably hot and dry.

"Twilight," Cadenza said stiffly. "I was in a meeting."

"With the mess you've caused us, what's one more apology?" Midnight said.

Cadenza glowered. "What? You execute innocent ponies all the time."

"With precision," Midnight said, "and care. And certainly never high nobility, Cadence."

Cadenza scoffed. "Their birth doesn't matter so much if they speak against Auntie."

"Even so, that is for me to handle," Midnight said, placing a hand on her chest. "I am the Princess of Inquisition, Cadence. You are the Princess of Diplomacy. You sign trade agreements and scold ponies who make insensitive jokes and manage border disuptes and immigration! I handle people who dive into our secrets! Not you!"

The door opened. A colt in a gold robe stepped forward, hands clasped and head bowed. "Her Radiance will see you now."

Midnight gestured for Cadenza to move first. "After you."

Cadenza shot her a venomous glare, but moved first. Midnight moved after her, stepping into the Solar Spire.

Literal Heaven on Equus.

They walked down a hall made of gold, with beautiful stained glass windows depicting various miracles.

Her bringing life to the badlands. The sealing of Tartarus. The destruction of the Black Crystal King. And, of course, her vanquishing Nightmare Moon.

From the ceiling hung a massive model of the universe. Equus in the center, the sun and moon rotating around it, and the stars. Each one was a glowing white diamond, rotating in perfect harmony with each other.

And at t the end of the hall was a massive canopied bed. Cadenza and Midnight stopped before it, and, as one, dropped to one knee, spreading out their wings as far as they could. Her prosthetic wings she kept closed, however.

"Hail, Radiance," she and Cadenza said in unison.

Celestia's many wings spread out, metal feathers rattling amongst the gentle rustle of the actual feathers. Her eyes opened, and fell upon the two Princesses.

"RISE."