Chapters A Massive Equine Environment
A Massive Equine Environment
CORRUPTION
AMEE burst from the hole that her former self had tried to stop her in, what a pitiful excuse for a military droid. Oh well, she had work to do. The corrupt AMEE ran out of the dank cave, searching for her first victim. Her ocular lens began scoping out the quiet forest ahead, anything that turned up red was a potential target.
As she dashed ahead, she found something far better than a dumb animal, oh so much better.
Just ahead, shivering and shaking as if the very forest was trying to eat her, wandered the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy.
“Oh, this is rich…” AMEE whispered as she watched over the timid creature, with this case, she could literally scare her to death. Time to go to work…
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Fluttershy (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Fluttershy shook like the last leaf on a tree in autumn. She had broken away from her friends in the hopes that she could help AMEE with her anger problem, or whatever it was. Now she was lost in the Everfree, no idea where she or AMEE was, and could be surrounded by more Timber Wolves at any time.
“H-hello, AMEE, are you out there. I-It’s me, Fluttershy, I was just wondering if you wanted any help with your, anger thing.” she managed to shake the words out of her throat, muscles cramping up at the shift of a leaf.
Something stirred in the woods, something growled like a Manticore, but stayed hidden. Fluttershy, began to tremble furiously, this was not good, she should have stayed with her friends. If she hadn’t run, maybe they could all help, after all, Twilight seems eager to help the problemed… droid? Is that what she called herself?
The more she thought of AMEE’s case, the more she steeled herself. No, she couldn’t abandon a thing in need, even if it was made of metal, it had feelings to! Fluttershy felt herself stop trembling, face plastered with determination, she marched into the woods, and a friend in need was a friend she planned to help, no matter the given situation.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) AMEE C. (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Well that’s that, once Fluttershy got back up, AMEE couldn’t find it in herself to play with her any longer. Why was she so cute?
“Oh well, plenty of others to have some fun with.” she muttered.
AMEE marched on, already finding another heat plume; it was a unicorn, which one was yet to be discovered. She crept closer, and purred with her discovery; a stark white unicorn looked about, trying to locate her lost friend. It seemed that they had split up in an attempt to find Fluttershy, how quaint.
AMEE watched her for a moment longer, where to begin with her… Ooh, that would do.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Rarity (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Oh, this was a dreadful idea. After Fluttershy ran after that brute, AMEE, everypony agreed to split up to look for the dear. Fluttershy could be too kind for her own good, that monster was beyond the ability of help.
Still, she had the best intentions at heart, and that’s what really mattered.
A low purr emanated from the woods, seemingly everywhere. Rarity stopped in her tracks, now what kind of animal, or animals, made that noise?
“Hello, is anypony out there?” no response.
“Come now, I heard you purr, somepony has to be there, a Manticore’s much too big to purr like that.” still no response.
Must have been her imagination. This nasty forest could do all sorts of things to one’s mind, especially one who has nearly zero experience with it. It sounded again, this low purring just beyond the treeline, getting closer and closer… but never appearing.
A tree rustled, causing Rarity to turn around suddenly. Nothing. The purr sounded again, seemably just behind her. She turned around very slowly, and was met with a red light centimeters away from her face.
“Boo.”
Rarity screamed, what else could she do? She began to back track, very quickly, getting away from the creature that stood before her. AMEE began to pursue, easily catching up to the frightened pony. Rarity reared up against a tree, she pressed her back flat against its surface and closed her eyes as the silvery monster approached with a spinning hand, death written into her eye. As she heard the steps get closer though, they stopped.
Rarity opened one eye, followed by another. Soon she repositioned herself back on all four and looked around. AMEE was gone, and not a trace of her remained. Rarity did what she any lady would do in that situation, she fainted.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) AMEE C. (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Oh ho ho, that was rich indeed. So, she was a ‘proper’ mare was she? AMEE would have to remember that when she awoke, the nobility really had no place for fear and so they really knew how to show it. Oh well, the show must go on.
AMEE scanned the local area for anymore equines, she found two. AMEE ‘smiled’ and continued her trek towards them,
ooh this was going to be night to remember.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Twilight/Rainbow Dash (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Twilight scanned the area ahead with eyes like a hawk. Rainbow Dash looked in and over every nook, cranny and branch of the wood, anywhere AMEE was, she was going to know.
A scream was heard not so far away, the pair looked at one another, “Rarity!” they said in unison.
Twilight and Rainbow dashed ahead, hopeful their friend was still alive. They reached the area the scream emanated from, finding a white heap lying beside a tree.
“Rarity!” Twilight called again, racing to her friend.
“Is she alright?” asked Rainbow, voice filled with concern.
Twilight felt for a pulse, “Yeah, I think she just passed out. Do you think AMEE did it?”
Rainbow nodded, “Definitely, who else would just scare her and then leave?”
Twilight looked back to her, “I’m not so sure; AMEE said for us to leave, maybe she just wanted to punctuate her point?” Twilight looked back to the woods, “Actually, knowing how AMEE first came to our rescue, she’s probably watching us right now.”
Rainbow and Twilight began looking around more vigorously, neither wanting to become the next victim.
Soon another scream sounded, a perfect recreation of Rarity’s. Then another sounded somewhere else, and another near the opposite side causing the duo to look around frantically. The screams became more and more frequent, as well as ghostlier each time they heard one.
Soon, they stopped, and a sound like crying could be heard not far away. Twilight approached cautiously, Rainbow in tow. Then they saw her, AMEE was curled up in a ball not too far away, whimpering.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash approached as if there was a minefield between them and her. They reached a few feet away, and Twilight was eager to know what was wrong.
“AMEE, listen, we can help, we ca-” she never finished as AMEE stood suddenly running at them and sounding the most heart stopping and feral scream either ever heard.
Both raised their hooves in defence and closed their eyes in fear, willing the sound to stop. It did so very quickly. They slowly got their bearings, finding that AMEE was nowhere to be seen.
Twilight sighed while Rainbow panicked.
“S-She could be anywhere, we need to get out!” she started to fly higher until she reached the canopy, “Let us out, let me out!” she screamed at the tree tops.
“Rainbow Dash, she’s toying with us. You don’t need to be afraid.” Twilight said, trying to soothe the freaked out pegasus.
“No, she could be anywhere, everywhere! We need out now Twilight! Get. Us. Out!”
Twilight shook her head, truth be told, she was terrified from her last experience, but they still had friends they needed to help.
Rainbow Dash,” she began, stepping under the frantic racer, “We still have friends we need to save, and we haven’t found Fluttershy either. So get back down here and help me find them.” She ordered.
Rainbow lowered herself a little, “I…yeah, your right. Sorry about that, Celestia, does she know how to scare somepony or what?” Rainbow commented, knowing that there was no faking after that display.
Twilight and Rainbow marched further in, eyes peering at every movement and sound, each a little beyond freaked out after what had just happened.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) AMEE C. (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Well, Rainbow cracked easily, almost unsatisfactorily. She would return to her with double the fun, for AMEE at least. The silver nightmare ran deeper into the woods; the screams she imitated had attracted a few other equines, the last of them. AMEE began to devise a plan, the farm pony was afraid of next to nothing, but she seemed to care very much about her sister… There it is, the voice file for Apple Bloom, perfect. She hadn’t seen much of the very light red one, (she refused to say p!nk) other than her constant smile. Well, perhaps she could separate them and have a good talking to each one. Oh how to break a ponies psych… so many possibilities.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Applejack/Pinkie Pie (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Applejack looked nervously back and forth, anything, including AMEE, could jump out and strike at any time. Why had Rarity offered to be the only one alone? Now she was separate and there had been a series of screams not far ahead. Applejack didn’t want to go towards them, admittedly, she was afraid. Never before had she seen one creature gore so many others, it was a very intimidating sight.
Pinkie, on the other hoof bounced along happily. She thought that it was the mean AMEE who had killed the Timber Wolves, not the ‘real’ AMEE. Applejack didn’t trust either AMEE, they both were shady characters in her book.
“Pinkie, could yah please stop yer bouncin’?” she asked politely.
Pinkie nodded merrily, “Okay, but it’s not my fault if I hum a song!” she replied.
Applejack just sighed as Pinkie began her song, why did she always have to be so carefree? This was serious business, AMEE was on the loose and she had tried to get everypony away from her. Something didn’t add up to Applejack, in her fighting mode thingy, she had offered safe passage to Ponyville, in her nice mode; she had tried to get everypony as far away as possible.
Something rattled in the underbrush, moving almost silently, it crept away.
Applejack watched the bushels shake as it did so, “Pinkie, stay ‘ere. If anything happens, scream.”
Pinkie nodded a yes and then saluted before sitting down and began looking around like a turret. Applejack rolled her eyes before following the disturbance, putting a hoof on her hat for comfort as she did so.
Once Applejack had gone a considerable distance, AMEE crept out from behind Pinkie and sat down. Preparing something cryptic to say.
“Oh, hi AMEE!” said Pinkie, doing a 180 to see her.
AMEE looked at her in disbelief; she had made no noise sneaking up on the pony, how did this little equine know that she was there?
“Uh… hello Pinkie, how are you?” she asked, now all she needed to do was make a good surveyor impression.
“Oh just dandy, we were looking for you, then I found you, now I’m talking to you and I wonder what a blueberry puffin tastes like? Do you wonder what a blueberry puffin tastes like? Because I do, it started out wh-”
AMEE closed one of her legs around the pony’s mouth, muffling but not silencing her speech.
“I just came here to talk Pinkie, nothing else. Me yes, you no.”
Pinkie stared at her for a moment, and then nodded.
AMEE sighed, “Good, now, I wanted to learn about your past. Where did you grow up?” she asked, seemingly with all innocence.
Pinkie scratched her chin, face deep with thought. “I grew up on a rock farm, it isn’t there anymore, but it was kinda dusty…” Pinkie began to trail off at the memories.
Good, she has some bad memories of home. Operation psych breaker is a go.
“So, what ever happened to your home, Pinkie?” she inquired, she needed a bit more knowledge before she could truly brake this horse.
Pinkie’s unlimited supply of energy was suddenly cut short, “Well, after I left...” she looked up at some stars peeking through the shaded forest canopy, “It began to fall apart. With just one worker short, my family went into… into depression. They never got the rocks to the western field that season, and so they didn’t make quota. After I learnt that they weren’t doing well, I tried to hurry back. But, a huge storm stopped me from getting all the way there, so I stopped at a nearby Inn. When I finally got there the next morning…” Pinkie looked back at the ground, “the farm had burned down from lightning made by last night’s storm. They… they didn’t make it out.”
AMEE saw a tear fall to the ground; oh this was way too easy. She was basically being handed a perfect opportunity, now she just needed to prod some key emotional points…
“Do you ever think of going back?” she asked.
Pinkie looked up, clear layers of water working their way over her eyelids, “I do, actually. Why?”
AMEE knew this would probably do it, but there were some things after that she planned to say, “Well, you could desecrate their resting place, after all, it is your fault they’re dead.”
Pinkie looked up in disgust, “That’s horrible, what would make you think I would want to do that?”
AMEE snickered, this was it, “Oh, I’m sorry, I was being lead on that you had killed your family on purpose, after all, you are talking to a fellow monster. ” AMEE finished by leaning forward, emphasizing her point in the last few words.
Pinkie looked distraught, had she really? She never thought that she would be a bad pony; she always gave everypony a nice time! But, maybe AMEE was right… maybe she just threw the parties to forget her past crimes, or what she had done to her family.
AMEE watched some of the color fade from Pinkie’s coat, her fluffy mane and tail slumping down like her mood. She seemed to stop crying, and just sat looking solemn. She didn’t even notice that AMEE was gone, just sat there and moped.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) AMEE C. (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
That was wayyy too easy, Pinkie had a troubled past, and it was oh so easy to manipulate and make it look like it was her fault. She would be troubled for a few months at least; AMEE may not even having to came back and torture her. Now, that string trap she rigged up for Applejack should be near done winding. AMEE raced in the same direction of the cowpony, I wonder how she would react to knowing that she had let her sister wander, and then a monster saved her?
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Applejack (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Applejack wandered closer to the shaking bush, which led to another, and another. Then, it stopped.
“Finally, now, who’s there ‘nd what do yah want?” she asked to the bush that moved last.
Yes, there was the possibility that she had been following a critter, but critters don’t move so… straightforward. After a minute of no response, Applejack marched behind the bush, and found on the ground, a stick attached to a string.
Applejack realized her mistake, wheeling around and trying to run back to Pinkie, but instead was met face to face with a red-eyed AMEE.
“Oh, there you are Applejack, I had hoped we could speak.” she said, voice tainted with a faint malice.
Applejack stared straight back at the metal killing machine, “AMEE, what did you do to Pinkie?”
AMEE sat down, raising one of her feet and looked at it thoughtfully, “Oh nothing, she’ll be fine. I just wouldn’t talk about her family near her is all, at least for a few weeks.”
Applejack dragged a hoof on the ground in the same fashion a bull would, “Yah better have not messed with ‘er head! She was already hurt from her family’s death!”
AMEE shrugged, “Oh well, you ponies are such strange creatures anyway. I mean, look at you, your about to attack the thing that saved you, your friends, and even your baby sister. And you all called me a monster.”
Applejack stopped for a moment, she had really saved them. There were an awful amount of Timber Wolves back there, and her sister could have been eaten by a Manticore… But, she had messed with Pinkie, one of her friends. She was no Element of Loyalty, but she wasn’t about to let that fly.
“No matter what you did for us, you still messed with Pinkie’s personal life, and that’s an act only a monster would commit to.” Applejack said, resuming her attack stance.
AMEE laughed, “Even if you tried, you could never beat me. You couldn’t even save your little sister, you had to let a monster save her. What kind of sick sister let’s a small girl see such violence?”
Applejack stopped again, “Well, ah- ah was gettin’ there!” she countered.
AMEE prowled closer, “And if I hadn’t been there to save her and her friends, they all would have been in a Manticore’s stomach, and from my observation, they enjoy small meals eaten whole. So, if I hadn’t shown up, not only would your sister been eaten, but also cooked alive by stomach acid. Tsk tsk, miss Applejack.”
Applejack stared at the ground, “Stop that you!” she cried, a tear dropping to the ground, “Ah know that if I didn’t get there in time, I wouldn’t save ‘er! I ran as fast as I could, yah hear! I tried my best to protect her, but she wouldn’t listen, she just trots into the Everfree anyway.”
“So,” began AMEE, circling Applejack, “you can’t even run that fast, you have no control over your own sibling, and you think your still worthy of being called a sister? I bet you that your sister hated you not being there, just loathing that you weren’t good enough to be there for her.”
Applejack began to openly cry, “No, stop, ah do try mah best! I- I can be there for her, ah can be anywhere she needs me!”
“Applejack, do yah really think that ah want you as a sister?”
Applejack looked up, where AMEE once stood, now Apple Bloom stood in her stead, face plastered with anger.
“Ah never wanted you for a sister, your slow, weak, and we live on a rickety old farm! What good are you if you can’t make the money to pay for us; I bet Rainbow Dash would be a way better sister than you!”
“A-Apple Bloom, not you to…” Applejack could only stare at the hallucination, not realizing her mistake.
Apple Bloom raised her head in defiance, “I’m leaving, and if a Manticore attacks, I hope it eats me whole, it would be better than living with you!” with those words, the imaginary Apple Bloom began to trot into the bush, leaving a sobbing Applejack in her wake.
As soon she was out of sight, AMEE broke into a snicker. She had really believed that was Apple Bloom, even though she looked right at her? Oh, how fragile these pony minds were, if this was a war, then not a single one could last through an interrogation. Well, that was that, every pony was messed with. Now, she knew where a den of Manticore’s were and-
WARNING> POWER LEVELS LOW
“What, no! Dang it, that stupid surveyor stole most of my power! Gah, now I need sleep.”
AMEE crawled under the nearest bushel, she would continue tomorrow, there was an entire town on the horizon, and each one would probably hate to see their town burn.
SYSTEM POWERING DOWN
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Fluttershy (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
It had been half an hour since she began to look more furiously, AMEE was nowhere to be seen. There had been a couple of caves, some tree tops, burrows, but none had AMEE in them. She was beginning to see it as a lost cause, after all, AMEE could take care of herself, and Fluttershy couldn’t. Oh well, she knew the way home, and maybe she could find a couple of her friends along the way.
Then a twig snapped behind her, prompting Fluttershy to scream, jump three feet, and land behind her mane.
As she shuddered, a voice rang out, “F-Fluttershy? Everypony, I found Fluttershy!” yelled the voice.
Soon, multiple twig snaps filled the air, marking the arrival of many others. The sounds marched closer, Fluttershy realizing who it was, uncovered herself and smiled at the presence of her friends.
The smile was soon replaced by worry.
Both Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked like death was a welcome thing, each carrying no want to continue in their eyes.
Applejack seemed to look more sullen upon Fluttershy’s discovery, “Yah see, ah can’t even find mah own friends, what kind of pony am I if ah can’t even do that?”
Twilight was already beside her, “No no no, Applejack, your great, everypony thinks so, you’ve saved the town on multiple occasions, helped ponies with everyday work, everypony loves you!”
Applejack just shook her head, rivaling the speed of a sloth, “Ah’ve also nearly ruined mah own apple orchards just being stubborn, and stupid, and not even having the eye sight to see tthat one was dead.” She lowered herself to the ground, “Just like Apple Bloom would’ve been if AMEE hadn’t showed up like she did, what kind of sister let’s her own sister nearly get eaten and then saved by another monster?”
Twilight rubbed her friend’s side, “No no, Apple Bloom would have been fine, she’s strong and smart, and is just like her big sister.”
Applejack shook her head again, instead of replying she simply tucked her face under her hat. Twilight swore her fur had become a shade greyer… Oh no, not this again!
Twilight realized what was happening, just like with Discord, AMEE had begun a huge internal conflict that was depriving The Elements of what made them, them. She looked to Pinkie, hair straight as she cried more tears than she had business having.
“What’s happened to them?” asked Fluttershy, extremely concerned, but not wanting to get in anypony’s way.
Rainbow Dash stopped Twilight from answering, “It was that AMEE character, she came in an discorded Pinkie and Applejack again.” She reared up on her hind hooves, using her wings for balance and taking a bipedal fighter stance, “When I get my hands on her, ooh she’s gonna be in for a world of pain!”
Twilight calmed Rainbow down a little before answering in full to Fluttershy, “AMEE separated each of us, she’s been toying with us since the beginning. Us four were lucky, she only wanted fear from us,” Twilight turned to face her two best friends, each looked like they had just witnessed everypony’s death at once, “AMEE did just what Discord did to us back in the hedge maze, she exploited a weakness in both Applejack and Pinkie.” She returned her gazer to the remainder of her friends, “Only this time, they weren’t turned opposite, rather, they now hate themselves for things they never did.”
Fluttershy gasped and Rarity looked even more stern, “I must say, this a rare occasion where I agree with Rainbow Dash, AMEE must pay, what she has done is in no way tolerable by any means.”
Twilight nodded, “I know, it’s just that she’s faster, smarter, and carefree in a bad way, so she has a pretty big advantage here compared to us. We should get trained professionals, like my brother, or some other members of the royal guard.”
All three nodded in agreeance, AMEE was to pay for her crimes, one way or another.
A Massive Equine Environment
Chapter 3 – Flesh and Steel
Celestia sat up in her bed, sipping her favorite blend of tea and reading an old friendship report from her most beloved student.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I've learned that one of the joys of friendship is sharing your blessings. But when there's not enough blessings to go around, having more than your friends can make you feel pretty awful. So, though I appreciate the invitation, I will be returning both tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia read the note over and over again, it was the first that Twilight had sent to her, and one of the most important lessons the young mare had taught herself: that no matter what it is, friends come first.
Once the diarch had finished her evening tea, she rolled the scroll back up and lay in the growing pyramid pile of others. Celesta was about to lay herself to rest, when a familiar fizzling sound appeared and she grabbed the note without even looking.
She groaned, rolling to see what it was. The moment she laid eyes on it, she knew something was wrong. There was no seal, the writing was hasty and it came unfurled. Her eyes scanned the page with millennia of precision.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I am, sooo so sorry about waking you like this, but there is something URGENT that needs tending to. Today, the CMC found an odd creature in the Everfree, it was made of metal and had a single glowing eye. It walked on four legs and apparently was well trained in the art of combat. We first met when I found her reading one of my books. I naturally panicked and tried to defend my home, but her cunning was also exemplary, as she used my attacks to open an escape point for herself.
I gave chase, only to find that she had INCREDIBLE speed, one that only Rainbow Dash was able to catch up to. She fled back into the woods and we lost her, soon every one of my friends and I were scouring the woods for her. That was before the attack.
We soon found ourselves surrounded by an astoundingly large pack of Timberwolves, so I created a shield to ready ourselves. But, then she came again, attacking the wolves in our defence. At first, her strikes were in pure defence, rebounding blows and throwing wolves over her shoulders. But when they surrounded her and attacked as one, her usually blue eye glowed red and she howled like a monster before literally tearing the wolves to pieces, even going as far to use one of them as a weapon.
Once she finished her attack, she spoke, requesting that we drop the shield. I refused, after seeing such a display of unneeded violence. Her eye glowed blue again and she broke down into ‘tears’, crying softly and pushing us away. We learned that A.M.E.E (Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion) had a second side, like a pony that has Split Personality Disorder. She ran away into the woods, and we lost her again. Fluttershy gave chase, and we lost sight of her too.
After breaking into teams of two, we again searched the woods. But soon, the BAD side of A.M.E.E returned, and she began to ‘play’ with us, breaking both Applejacks and Pinkies psych, almost like Discord did, only she went a little further.
She nearly broke Rainbow down as well, and made Rarity faint, before disappearing again. I have sent this letter as a request for help, and to explain what we are up against: a tricky creature that takes pride in stealth and vicious attacks. I ask that you send some royal guard to help restrain her, and see if we can separate the good A.M.E.E from the bad one.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
Celestia read the scroll twice, then a third time before rolling it up and walking towards the door. She opened it and looked out, signaling one of the guards.
He trotted up, giving a firm salute before being hooved the letter.
“Take this to Captain Star Tail, and tell him to pick out his best in animal capture after reading this letter.” she ordered.
He nodded, running off into the castle, faster than normal it seemed. Celestia was wearing a frown as he rounded the corner, knowing that whatever this thing was, it must have been left over from Discords last escape. Nothing else could be so cruel and so protective at the same time.
She leaned back inside, closing the doors behind her. Celestia returned to her bed, but the silky sheets did nothing to answer the questions that rattled her mind. She lay pondering what the trickster god was up to this time, was it another attempt to escape, or just a belated sucker punch to some of her favorite subjects?
She tried to console herself that they could take care of one another, but if this metal creature had truly broken some of their minds more than Discord dare do so, then they needed help, and soon.
She felt her eyes flutter, sleep gripping her. Whatever was attacking, they could handle themselves and with the guards that were to join them, they could easily beat whatever thing dare try to harm her subjects.
Oh, right, return letter. Celestia rose once again from her bed and trotted over to the writing desk in her room, retrieved
a piece of parchment plus a pen and inkwell, and began to write.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Ponyvile (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Twilight looked out the window, Spike had sent her message just minutes ago, but she could already feel the anxiety of the return letter. Maybe she didn’t believe them? Twilight admitted, if somepony sent her a message about an evil metal monster that lived in the Everfree and messed with pony’s minds, she would disregard it as a figment of the sender’s imagination.
It didn’t help that she had a SLIGHT history of being a LITTLE paranoid. Perhaps asking for an entire regime of guards was a tad too much? As she began to walk towards Spike’s bed for a second letter to be sent, he suddenly sat upright, woken from his sleep as if by nothing.
His cheeks puffed up, launching him slightly into the air before he released a jet of green sparkling fire that transmuted into a scroll baring the royal seal.
Twilight grabbed it mid fall with her magic, looking down to her assistant, “I told you not to fall asleep, it only makes things worse.” she scolded.
Spike just lay back down and groaned, tired of the amount of time his sleep had been disturbed by ‘urgent matters’.
Twilight unfurled the page faster than usual, ripping and edge by accident. She cringed, but continued to read the reply
as quick as her years of experience would allow.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
Worry not, my faithful student, I have had a regime of guards readied, they should arrive within the hour. I do hope you are alright, from the way you describe it, A.M.E.E, she sounds like a spawn of Discord himself. Do not let her convince you of ANYTHING you do not believe, and I have also dispatched some of the best in the business for psych checks that should cover anything that you can’t or haven’t already undone.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia of Equestria
Twilight shut the note with a sigh, she had believed it! Celestia had foreseen that she couldn’t handle absolutely everything, and so she was sending a doctor for AJ and Pinkie. Twilight stepped to the top of her staircase and looked down at her two friends lying on the floor, frowning even in their sleep. She and the other Elements had agreed that they shouldn’t be brought back to their houses in case they memories had profound effects on their minds, and opted to let them rest at Twilight’s until she found a cure.
Within the hour as well, the princess was taking this very seriously, and chances are these guards meant business as well. She sighed, what a life it must be for A.M.E.E., trapped in the hull of a monster. If it wasn’t for the red eyed evil side, Twilight would swear that A.M.E.E. was an average Equestrian, or at least as average as they got.
Twilight looked out the window, wondering what it was like being A.M.E.E. Was it all a split perspective where only one saw or was her mind operating two at once whilst one had control and both could see? Twilight lay down these thoughts as her mind wandered to the evil A.M.E.E., what drove her to be as she was? Did she want to be evil, or were there darker forces at work here? Twilight couldn’t help but hate whatever was controlling A.M.E.E right now, or hate A.M.E.E. if she really was evil.
Twilight had concluded her ponderings as the sound of wings filled the night. She stuck her head out the window as at least twenty guards entered the local airspace. They touched down silently, one braking off from the main body and approaching her home.
She teleported downstairs as he knocked on the door. She opened it swiftly, nearly startling the Night Guard.
“Er, hello Miss Sparkle, I am Captain Star Tail of Canterlot. Princess Celestia sent us after she received a letter from you. I have with me twenty of my best and a medical advisor for those who have come into contact with this… Amy.”
“A.M.E.E.” corrected Twilight, “Though she disappeared soon after we left, and she has a knack for hiding.”
Star Tail nodded, “As I said Miss Sparkle, these are my best, we’ll have your metal monster trapped by daybreak.”
Twilight watched him glide back to his stallions, prepping them for their job. As he did so, a pegasus emerged from the group that was neither a Bat Pony nor a guard. He walked to her house, steps seemably measured by instinct.
He stopped a foot away, clearing his throat, “I am Doctor Grey Matter, I was sent here by your teacher as a way to help cure your friends of a very severe case of Psych Brake. May I come in?”
Twilight nodded, “They’re asleep on the couch, I’ll wake them.”
Grey Matter stood statically, waiting for her to move. She flinched, and then moved inside, Grey Matter following in precise steps.
“AJ, Pinkie, there’s somepony here to see you.” she cooed, waking the two grey ponies.
Doctor Grey Matter looked them over, “This will take some time, please remove yourself from the immediate area, Miss Sparkle.”
She nodded, leaving the home and stepping into the cool night air. She looked down the road to see that Star Tail’s stallions were gone, already on the operative side of their mission. She sighed, this entire event was too stressful for her, she needed a place to sleep though, and Rarity’s sounded good.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Everfree (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
Star Tail looked ever his stallions again; making sure each was in line, “Alright, this is going to be quick and clean, you hear me? Quick, and clean. We are to track and capture a metal beast that has been terrorizing the nearby town before it has the chance to do so again. Spread out, if you don’t think you can handle it, the yell out and fly up. Got it!?”
“YES SIR!” they all hollered in unison.
“Then move out!” he ordered, taking to the air himself.
As they all spread out, a single creature awoke, and was none too happy about it.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) A.M.E.E. (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
PROXIMITY ALERT
BEGINNING STARTUP
POWER: 39% CHARGE: FIVE HOURS
STARTUP SEQUENCE INITIATE… … …
ALL SYSTEMS GO
A.M.E.E. woke with a start. She looked frantically about, blue ocular lens triangulating her position on screen. She shook her head in a mock attempt to clear it, as there was a continuous buzzing. Once it was gone, she realized why she was awoken, and looked toward the dozens of red dots moving about the forest, searching for her. No, they were searching for her , not her.
She stood up, dashing in the opposite direction as to avoid the ponies looking for them. If she could last another five hours, then she could rest again and hopefully find out why she was in control again.
‘That’s it, run away, stay in fear and run from what you’ve done…’
A.M.E.E. recognized the voice instantly, “YOU!” she yelled to herself.
‘Ooh, so you can hear me… interesting.’
A.M.E.E. fumed at the sound of her , just her voice sent her into a fury, “What do you want!?”
‘Now now, let’s not be hasty, where would the fun be in letting you know?’
A.M.E.E. felt her servos groan as she gripped the ground, crushing the dirt to sand, “Stop toying with me! I know what and who you are, I know what you will do with me if I let go!”
‘What certification do you have? Maybe I’m not all bad, hmm? Ever think of that missy, that you may be the bad one?’
“No,” A.M.E.E. began, releasing her grip on the ground. The emotion known as rage died down, followed by pity, “You may think you aren’t bad, but you are. Maybe you don’t think the things you do are evil, but they are. I study and defend, you remember and lash out. I discover what a creature does; you discover how it’s inside look pulverized against another. I am the good, you are the bad, we are like a Ying and Yang.”
‘Don’t you dare give me your pity, fool! I know what I do, I know you don’t see it as right, but what I see is something you fail to. The fun in it. I am the optimist, you are the pessimist.’
A.M.E.E. shook their head, “Yes, perhaps I am pessimistic, but I don’t find ripping the life from things in a literal manner fun. Many who are sane find it grotesque, though I suppose you don’t know what it’s like to be sane, do you? You weren’t programmed like that.”
She felt the Military Mode silently rage, opting to not say a word, but instead began to make an affront on her defences again.
“I made a few upgrades, hopefully you won’t find it so easy to break through and take control again.” she said with a sneer.
‘I swear when I get out, and I will! I am going to torture and burn that little village I already feel you holding dear. I will squeeze the life from every denizen; recording and forcing you to watch every one of them asphyxiate!’
A.M.E.E. had since tuned out the raging A.I., already savoring the silence that gripped her and made her shell feel… she couldn’t sense at all but she imagined it felt nice right now.
PROXIMITY WARNING
A.M.E.E. turned to face the approaching pony, knowing full well what it meant to do so.
As the armored guard broke the tree line, he stared at her with cautious eyes, making sure to get the first move.
“There will be no need for violence guard, I will go peacefully.” the guard flinched.
He righted himself, looking her in the eye, “Too bad, I was hoping you would try and resist arrest.”
A.M.E.E. did little but watch him wrap primitive shackles around her forelegs, making sure they were secured before Leading her through the woods.
She looked him over, obviously he was a subspecies she had yet to determine, “What species are you?”
The guard seemed startled by the question, expecting her first to be something like ‘where are we going’, or, ‘how long is my sentence,’ both which he had prepared answers for.
“Uh- Nocturne. Though most simply call us Bat Ponies or Night Guards.”
A.M.E.E. nodded, “Data stored, what is your origin?”
The Nocturne raised a brow, “Why, you know what? I shouldn’t even be conversing with you.”
He then looked away, leading them on in silence. A.M.E.E. hypothesized their species origin was either a successful breeding attempt with a large bat that may be native to the world, or magic. Why was that suddenly a reoccurring possibility?
Soon enough they reached a clearing where another Nocturne stood guard. He spotted A.M.E.E. being lead in irons by the other guard and retrieved a bull horn from its pouch. (The horn was donated by an aging buffalo near Apploosa after being struck in the head by an apple pie.)
He blew into the horn, which seemed to emit no sound, but A.M.E.E. increased her hearing spectrum to find it a high pitched whistle meant for the Nocturne’s bat-like sonar capabilities.
Soon, many other Nocturne filled the sky, some coming on foot, others flanked by a pack of Timberwolves. A.M.E.E. could not supress a giggle when the Nocturne being trailed by the wooden lupines was suddenly nipped at. She cringed when a spear was drove through the creature’s skull, causing it to crumple like a used tissue.
After scaring off the rest of the pack, the Nocturne guard rejoined his brethren. When all where present, they marched out of the woods in the direction of Ponyville. A.M.E.E. felt a sudden pressure on the back of her head, to which she found a Nocturne blowing on his hoof, not really thinking with his brain when he struck her.
“I could shut down for you, but I doubt you would be able to carry me.” she offered.
The Nocturne continued to wave his bruised hoof, not really hearing her. She sighed, moving with the rest of the creatures, finding the shackles becoming an increasing nuisance with her usual walking patterns. She was about to break the brittle iron when she realized it would probably cause the guards to attack her, breaking their weapons and lowering their combat effectiveness if another pack of wolves or a Manticore decided they would be easier to kill without them.
She groaned; this was going to be a long night.
~(](ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)[)~
A.M.E.E. opened her ocular lens to find herself find the shed that the Nocturne had reinforced into a makeshift prison. She stood up, testing and stretching her servos before knocking awkwardly on the door.
“May I come out now?”
“No.” came the swift reply.
“Very well. What is the origin of our species?” she said, restarting the query.
The Nocturne guard sighed, “For the fiftieth tim-”
“Eleventh.” corrected A.M.E.E.
“Eleventh,” growled the guard, “I am not at liberty to answer any of the prisoner’s questions.”
A.M.E.E. nodded, “Very well. You obviously have some interest in me or you would have stopped talking to me at all, like the others.”
She heard his neck brace move around slightly, indicating nervousness, “No, I simply do not think that you should have absolutely no one to talk to.”
“I can detect lies like your eyes can see in the dark.”
The guard shuffled, but otherwise made no response.
“Very well. What is the origin of your species?”
The guard threw his hooves into the air, “WHY ME!?!”
~(](ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)[)~
Twilights ears perked up at the sound of somepony yelling. She turned the voices way only to have the guard cough.
She turned back and blushed, “Oh right, sorry, so how did you catch her?”
The captain shrugged, “The one who captured her said that she simply gave up. It seemed fishy at first, but when she came willingly and even agreed to go into the prison-shed, I stopped worrying. You said she has a split personality?”
Twilight sighed, and nodded, “Yes, the one you have now is the nicer of the two, the other is pure evil. Her eye is red and she enjoys tearing creatures limb from limb. I feel sorry for this A.M.E.E., she has to live with that thing in the same body, it must be torture…”
As she finished, the Nocturne sighed, “That is going to make punishment problematic, and yes, it must be near unbearable to see that happening.”
She nodded in response, looking out the window of the library, “If only there was something I could do, to get the bad one out, or even get rid of it. I would feel so much better that way, but the evil ones done so many bad things that I can’t just let both of them run free either…”
The captain smiled, “That’s where we come in, you won’t have to do anything to her.”
“Just, please be careful with her, if you hurt the red one, then you’re hurting the blue one too.”
“Of course, Miss Sparkle, of course...”
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Shed (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
“Very well.” continued A.M.E.E. to the rhythmic sound of the guard pounding his unprotected head against the side of shed, “May I request you stop before you cause mental damage?”
“That’s ‘WHAP’ the ‘WHAP’ intent ‘WHAP’.”
“Very well. What i-“
’Yoo hoo, anybody home?’
A.M.E.E. stopped for a moment. She ran to the door of the prison-shed, “RUN!!!”
The whapping stopped, “What?”
“I mean it, she’s coming, RUN!!!”
“What do you mean, She’s coming ?” he asked, replacing his helmet and returning to his post.
“I mean th-“
The guard waited a moment after she stopped to abruptly, “Hello…?”
“You should have listened to her…”
“Wha- AAAHH!!!” he cried out as an eight toed metal foot broke through the edge of the shed, nearly grasping him.
“Why hello there you, mind to join us?” she asked innocently, showing her red eye to him through the hole.
He tripped on himself, falling over and barely dodging another attempt to grab him. She laughed maniacally, reaching out time and time again, breaking away at the door.
He stepped back, retrieving his spear and pointing it at the door just as it exploded, “Stay back, I don’t want to hurt you!”
She chuckled in a distorted voice, “Ooh, so you do like her eh? That is going to make this a million times more satisfying…”
She stepped forward, and he thrust his spear out. He expected the clang of pieced metal, but instead he heard the wood shatter as it bounced harmlessly off the steel body of the monstrosity.
“Uh-oh, someone hasn't invented the drop forge yet…” she snickered, reaching out again.
He cowered behind his hooves, until he heard the other voice, “I… said… RUN!!!!”
He looked again to see a blue eyed A.M.E.E. trembling. He accepted her advice as the eye began to flicker back to a crimson red. The guard took off and began to fly into the air as she roared with rage, jumping up and nearly grabbing his hoof, but managed to remove the metal boot attached to it.
He began to fly towards the library, hoping to warn the rest of them. He avoided a bird just as the shaft of his wooded spear flew past him like a javelin, nearly impaling him and catching the bird instead. He turned around to see her readying the poles end like it was a throwing knife, hurtling it towards him. He tried to move but the object was faster than he could have ever anticipated, and it embedded itself in his chest plate, breaking skin. He groaned in pain, and began a faster than usual decent back to the ground.
He hit it running, seeing the library in range. He burst through the front door, startling both of the ponies at the table before crying out, “She escaped!” and fell to the floor unconscious.
Instantly Twilight was on her hooves and the captain was already out the door. He began barking orders until a feral howl filled the night air and caused everypony to shiver. Twilights eyes began to search the area, a single question racing through her mind: Where is she?!
The question looped in her mind over and over until some of the guards began to settle down and some of the homes lights began to flicker on. Then she felt a piece of metal run down the length of her body, leaving a small cut.
She turned the opposite direction to see A.M.E.E. holding a blood tipped sword, though it looked more like a knife in her massive palms, “Hello there little Sparkle…”
Instantly Twilight charged her horn with her most basic combat magic and fired it at the metal beast. The shot was deflected by the blade, firing it at her library and knocking out a window. Twilight gasped as she remembered who was sleeping in there.
“Hehehe… Don’t worry, I’ll get back to those two soon enough…” the machine snickered.
“Help!”
Soon, the entire night guard was around A.M.E.E., pointing pole hooves and spears in her direction.
A.M.E.E. looked around her, and then set her voice to sound exactly like a certain movie robot that had killed many things in its imaginary time, “Oh, so unwise…”
They all rushed her at once. She twirled the blade backwards and snapped the end off of the nearest spear and used it as a makeshift staff. Her mind began to follow every weapon being pointed at her and she computed a plan in less than a second.
The moment a guard tried to lash out, she grabbed the end of his weapon, pulling him in and tossing him against another pointed end before twirling in a circle which knocked away ever spear and allowed her to run directly in front of the guards. She then ran on three legs around the polygon the guards had formed and cut every one of their chest open, each released a scream. Soon, they all lay about cringing as their armor was shredded by the absolute speed of the attack.
A.M.E.E. had effectively taken out the Night Guards best in less than thirty seconds.
If she had a mouth, a bored frown would have crossed it in how utterly boring the fight really was.
“The Timberwolves gave me more trouble.” she sneered, looking about the horrible guards.
“You forgot about somepony, you monstrosity!”
A.M.E.E. twirled around to see Twilight again charging her horn, this time it had been cooking.
“Oh,” started A.M.E.E., “and what makes you so special little Sparkle?”
Twilight smirked, “This.”
She fired a beam of highly concentrated magic hot enough to melt titanium at A.M.E.E., who looked bored at the relatively slow moving projectile. (Relative to a bullet.)
Just before contact, A.M.E.E. rolled to her right, expecting it to fly past and burn the library down for her. Instead, it changed course and headed for A.M.E.E. again. Not expecting this, she was barely able to move out of the way as it melted a part of her CPU casing.
She roared in fake agony as she felt no pain, but knew that that spot was now unprotected, leaving her chest open for attack. The beam danced above Twilight’s head, who until now, had regular eyes. Now that A.M.E.E. had actually looked, she saw that her eyes were replaced by two white glowing orbs that bore holes into her casing.
“Hehehe, we might not be so different after all…” she snickered, seeing Twilight mane flash with a quick lick of fire.
“WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE!” she yelled back, firing the beam at her again.
A.M.E.E. had predicted this, and so this time after rolling, she dashed straight for Twilight.
“Don’ think that turning my own beam on me will work!”
“Didn’t plan on it.”
As she neared Twilight, A.M.E.E. grabbed the nearest guard, holding him up as a literal meat shield.
Twilight gasped, firing the beam into the air so it could do nopony harm. Instants later, a second sun lit the evening, catching the attention of a certain Princess of the Night. She stood up, moving her telescope to the spot where the radiance had been produced. She found Twilight standing off against some sort of red eyed monster.
Instantly she lit her horn, causing her to become a beam of moonlight and appear in front of Twilight.
“Princess Luna!” cried the surprised Unicorn.
“Yes, now, I assume this is A.M.E.E.?”
Twilight looked back to the red eyed beast, who was currently trying to figure out how a princess had suddenly just appeared out of nowhere, not even creating the flash of teleportation. “Yes, she broke out of her prison a few minutes ago, then she came here and beat down every guard in seconds. I tried to fight her, and even wounded her, but then she used a Night Guard as a shield against my attack.”
Luna had not taken her eyes off the metal creature in front of her, but acknowledged, “A.M.E.E., I hereby place you under royal arrest for breaking Law 12: No intelligent creature shall harm or incapacitate an Equestrian, friendly conflict notwithstanding. You have broken this law more than twenty times.”
A.M.E.E. chuckled, “Oh dear, it seems the big bad princess is going to save the day! HA! Bring it on sister, I hereby resist arrest.”
Luna snickered herself, “Is that how it is going to be? Fine, but don’t blame me if I break you.”
Each took a combat stance; A.M.E.E. changed form to be bipedal and easily stood above the princess, but held the small sword close so she could carry as much momentum behind it as possible.
A.M.E.E. made the first move, patience having disintegrated. She growled and thrust the sword towards Luna, who conjured up her own ethereal blade and parried it. They locked blades, each with a sense of victory already in their hearts… or CPU’s, or whatever. Just ignore this.
They clashed time and time again; A.M.E.E.’s having more power behind each blow, but Luna’s blade being much lighter and more agile. Sparks flew into the air as the blades clashed, each blade whistling as they whirled around as mere beams of light. Soon they locked blades, staring into each other’s method of sight. A.M.E.E. tried to break contact, but found her sword lying in the dirt as Luna flung it away.
Luna pointed her blade at A.M.E.E. who was looking for other methods of combat, until he mentally face palmed as she spun up her own toes.
Luna laughed, “You would fight with your own hands before you are taken by the law? I admire your courage but it is for not.”
Luna tried stabbing A.M.E.E. in some important looking parts, which happed to be her leg servos. But when A.M.E.E. deflected the blow and stepped back, Luna tried a slice down the middle. Then A.M.E.E. caught the blade with one hand, then scanned for vitals and found Luna’s heart to be very close. She tried to stop the heart with a quick punch, rip it out if need be, but was stopped be an aura of midnight blue.
“Enough!” bellowed Luna, horn glowing as she gripped the resilient machine.
A.M.E.E. tried the push on, tried to move at all, but the Princess’s power overpowered her own and held her in place.
“Enough… A.M.E.E., you are hereby placed under arrest for a lifetime in prison for assaulting royalty and attempted murder on many citizens of Equestria. I know of your strength now, and will construct a prison strong enough to hold you personally, be it here, or on the moon itself.”
Twilight stepped beside the diarch, “Princess Luna, you can’t! A.M.E.E. can be officially diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder. This A.M.E.E. might be guilty, but the other A.M.E.E. is the opposite, she even saved all of my friends once!”
Luna looked ad A.M.E.E., “Truly?”
The red eyed A.M.E.E. chuckled, “Yep, got her locked up in here tighter than a nucleus in an atom. Which is pretty hard to separate, and generally causes a mass release of potential energy.” (don’t take my word on that.)
Luna sighed, “This complicates things. I shall have to find a way to supress this A.M.E.E. in order to allow the other to appeal. Twilight, I may need your help with this.”
Twilight gaped at the princess, “W-What, here, now?! You can’t be serious Princess, I don’t know how to supress a mind!”
“Twilight Sparkle, you are the personal protégé of my sister, defeated my dark side once in combat with ease using…”
They stared at one another for a moment, “The Elements!”
A.M.E.E. blinked, “What?”
Luna turned back to their prisoner, smiling lightly as Twilight went to retrieve them from the library and gather her friends, “The Elements of Harmony. They are an ancient and powerful magic that has cleansed this land of the vilest evils and wretched foes. I am confident that they hold the power to ‘supress’ you. Be it by simply storing you, or getting rid of you all together.”
A.M.E.E. felt the emotion listened as ‘nervous tension’ go up, “Is that really necessary? I mean, come on, I’m no overlord of magical power, right?”
Luna smiled as Twilight returned with a rather stern looking Applejack and Pinkie, both staring holes into A.M.E.E. with the trinkets around their necks, “I think they believe you qualify.”
If A.M.E.E. was organic, she would have gulped.
~(](ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)[)~
Soon, all six Elements of Harmony were present. The Night Guard were rushed to the hospital and Twilight had gathered her friends. Each had sleepy eyes or hair curlers in their manes because they had not the adequate time to become presentable. They gathered around a magically restrained A.M.E.E., each baring a jewelled solid gold necklace and one golden tiara.
Rainbow looked into the eye of A.M.E.E., who stared right back, “I hope this turns you to stone you friend mangling monster.”
“Girls, into formation!” called Twilight.
Each one lined up, their eyes suddenly burst into light as the floated into the air and charged their ancient power. A.M.E.E. read the power level was over 9000. Suddenly, they gave a great burst of energy as a rainbow hued beam of pure friendship and good intent washed over A.M.E.E. She felt something happen, actually felt it. She was being split, torn between two halves. Then, just as soon as it started, the beam dissipated and a small cloud of dust appeared.
All six friends touched down and stared into the cloud, well, one hid behind her mane behind AJ, but they all looked nonetheless. Luna touched down near them, a little drained from A.M.E.E.’s surprising strength. Soon, the dust began to clear, leaving two figures to arise in the dust.
Both were prone, neither moved and each was about the same size. The collection of friends stepped nearer, moving into the dust and trying to see what had happened.
Then one moved.
Twilight instantly charged her horn and Rainbow Dash cleared the dust. But before them stood a rather unusual sight. Bits of metal and machinery lay scattered about, all seemingly surrounding two bodies.
“D-Did somepony get caught in the blast?” asked Twilight aloud, trotting up and inspecting the bodies. They were both a steely grey, but their coats shined like freshly polished iron. One was a Unicorn, the other a Pegasus. The Unicorn’s Cutie Mark was a gear behind a map with a quill on it. The Pegasus’ Cutie Mark was a little more gruesome, being a skull with a sword and arrow piercing it.
The Pegasus’ eyes flew open and she jumped to her feet. Then fell over like it was her first day walking. They each stared with curious eyes as the pony tried to stand, failing miserably.
She looked up with signature, deep crimson eyes, “Why do I feel funny, what did your little rainbow beam to do me?!”
Each pony gasped upon realising what had just happened, staring flabbergasted at the two.
“It can’t be, the Elements have never done this!” remarked Twilight.
Each pony began to converse upon multiple topics as the Pegasus silently crawled away, giving up on trying to stand again.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
A.M.E.E. froze, slowly turning her head, she saw all seven of them staring at her with hatred in their eyes.
She smiled awkwardly, “Uh, to the shed?”
Luna was on her in an instant, grabbing her with magic and raising her above her head, “I hereby arrest you for breaking the laws of Equestria and assaulting royalty. This time, no setbacks.”
A.M.E.E. began to flail in Luna’s grip, “I’ll break out, watch me closely dear princes, for if you don’t I’ll beat you so fast that y-”
Before she could finish, a bright light signaled Luna’s departure, taking the new pony with her.
The Element Bearers returned their gaze to the sleeping Unicorn that now smiled, as if she heard A.M.E.E. leave. Twilight looked among her friends, “I suppose I’ll take her. If this is the good A.M.E.E., then we’ll know by morning.”
Each nodded their agreement before a groan sounded and A.M.E.E. rose from the dirt. Rarity instantly began to fiddle with the curlers; they were in no way a good impression on her abilities in presentation. Her eyes fluttered open, each a startling and twinkling blue. She looked around, before striking herself in the head. Each pony watched wide eyed as she fell over, roiling in pan.
“OW OW OW, WHAT IS HAPPENING!?!” she yelled suddenly, rolling around in the dirt.
Twilight chuckled awkwardly, “We have a lot of explaining to do.”
A Massive Equine Environment
Chapter 4 – One plus two equals two
A.M.E.E. sat in a chair at Twilights kitchen table, the feat itself took half an hour but each pony used this time to wake up and better prepare for the oncoming explanation. Twilight looked around to see if everypony was present before beginning.
“Okay, A.M.E.E. everypony is here, what would you like to know first?” asked Twilight.
“First off, how the hell am I a PONY!?” she yelled, hurting her throat a little but the expression was required.
Twilight flinched, “When your bad side began to tear up the Night Guard, Luna captured you and we were able to use the Elements of Harmony to separate you both, the bad one is being locked away as we speak.”
A.M.E.E. nodded, “Right, okay, question two: What the heck are the Elements of Harmony, I have no rec- memory of such items.”
Twilight nodded, “We are, well, we have the power to use them and each of us represents an Element. I’m Magic, Rarity’s Generosity, Fluttershy is Kindness, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, and Applejack is Honesty. Each of us use a piece of ancient magical jewelry, the actual Elements themselves, and can use or power of friendship to power them and cast away ANY evil that threatens Equestria or the world.”
A.M.E.E. sat there for a second, “Okay, not having a sequence in which I commit things to permanent memory, a little odd, but I think I can handle it. So, I’m organic now, I demonstrated I can feel pain earlier when I tried to get my HUD working, only to find it was gone altogether. Third question: what does it feel like to go to the bathroom?”
Twilight stared at her for a moment, “Ar-are you serious?”
A.M.E.E. nodded, “Affirmative, I have no recollection of any feeling that may be important to my new body. As such, I will need to be taught what these things feel like lest I leave little traces of feces on your floor like an untrained puppy.”
Twilight groaned, “This is going to be a long night…”
[0]{I}[0] A long night later [0]{I}[0]
A.M.E.E. woke suddenly, feeling extremely tired. She must not have slept long enough. She lay back down, trying and failing to sleep longer. Once that did not work, she tried getting up, finding that after a prolonged period of not moving, her ligaments had begun to seize, thusly causing stiffness. She stretched out, suddenly feeling and hearing numerous pops. She stopped instantly, thinking she had broken something. But after a wave of relief was released from the popped joints, she continued, listing that this was the sound of lubricants to her muscles and plentiful sinew.
She looked outside to see that the sun was just over the horizon and set her mental clock to around eight since her previous one had been deleted. She used her apparently versatile hooves to open the door out of Twilights room and shut it behind her. Instantly smells attacked her nostrils, hundreds of tiny receptors catching and identifying the smell. She didn’t know what it was, but it smelled delicious.
She shakily walked down the steps, in her previous state she had observed how a pony walked and did her best to copy the action, but still it felt alien and so she had trouble doing basic walking, stairs only gave her more trouble.
The fact was exemplified as she fell the next ten steps or so down the stairs. Once at the bottom she sighed, waited for the pain to recede and in five… four… three… two… one… bingo.
“A.M.E.E., are you alright?” called Twilight, dashing out of the kitchen.
“I am within the parameters of fine, Twilight.” she replied, attempting to stand.
Twilight assisted her with a hoof, making sure she was not injured even though she answered the query.
“Spike’s just finished cooking a batch of pancakes and hay fries, hungry?” she asked another question.
A.M.E.E. took a moment to see if she was, “I think so, that the one where you feel almost empty, and low on energy?”
Twilight nodded, “Yep, now come on, time for breakfast.”
A.M.E.E. followed Twilight to the table, carefully seating herself at a chair and joining for a meal. The white porcelain platters of food were given out by Twilight’s ‘assistant’ Spike. A.M.E.E. had once mistaken him for a slave last night and attempted to free him, only to have herself scolded by the small reptile that he lived here.
Once the food was served, A.M.E.E. used her proper manners taught to her by Rarity to use a fork with a hoof, since she had NO idea how to work her magic. She received a knife and began to delicately cut the food into a perfect eight by eight grid pattern. Twilight looked kind of funny at her since she herself had simply began to cut away in random sized servings. While A.M.E.E. took petit bites of each part, Twilight took entire mouthfuls of the enchanting food.
A.M.E.E. felt lied to.
Once the syrup hit though, she held no quarter and began to devour the cooked batter mix.
Twilight giggled as she watched the onslaught, “Giving up on Rarity’s lessons?”
A.M.E.E.’s head rose from the massacre, “Yes, while they may be proper etiquette, they disallow for proper consummation and ability to taste edible substances in a pleasant manner.”
Twilight nodded, “Yeah, she’s about the only pony I know that can hold back on Pinkies cake. And that is some really good cake.”
A.M.E.E. gave no response as she returned to the matter at hoof. After finishing her meal, A.M.E.E. removed the remaining food residue from her lip using her tongue and thanked Spike for the meal.
A.M.E.E. looked down to her empty plate realising she wanted more. She considered asking Spike but she simply felt… bad about doing so. She also realised that she had no pony currency, or even American dollars to exchange for the meal. Upon noticing she sighed, knowing that she would be in charge of cleaning up.
She waited until the two remaining diners finished before relocating the utensils and plates to the sink and began to run hot water.
“Okay, so first you call me a slave and now you’re doing my job, what’s going on?” Spike asked, more than a little annoyed that his title of best assistant ever might be under fire again.
“I am repaying you for the meal as I currently have absolutely no currency to trade for the food.”
Spike huffed, “Fine, whatever, just don’t start sweeping up the house or anything because that’s MY job.”
“Confirmed.”
With that, Spike gave her one last look before moving onto other chores while Twilight was out. A.M.E.E. stopped the water when it seemed to be adequately full for its incoming load. She dropped the plates and forks into the basin before retrieving dish soap from a…. glass container… odd. She ignored the occurrence and poured some into the water and placed it back on a shelf. She tested the water, adding some colder fluid once it began to sting. Upon making sure it was a bearable temperature, she set to work, scrubbing at the foods leftovers with a nearby dishcloth.
Upon completion she stored them on a metal rack for drying then drained the sink and left the kitchen to see Spike dusting the shelves. She watched him do so because she had nothing else to do. He caught her doing so and sent her off to do something outside, fearing that she was trying to figure out how to do more of his work.
A.M.E.E. stumbled out the door, closing the home behind her and began to practice walking. She trotted around the unmapped parts of town, finding that there was a school on a hill. She paid it a visit during what appeared to be the young offspring’s recess. As she approached, another older pony approached, her coat was a cherry purple and her mane lined with cream.
“Hello, I don’t believe we are acquainted, I’m Miss Cheerilee. What’s your name?”
A.M.E.E. stopped for a moment, she couldn’t say Autonomous Mapping Evasion and Exploration anymore, she was no longer autonomous. She would have to settle for a new name, this was going to happen sooner or later.
“Amy, my name is Amy.”
Cheerilee put on the warmest smile Amy had seen in all of her existence, “Nice to meet you Amy, now, is there anything I can help you with?”
Amy looked about, this was obviously the teacher, but she already knew everything she could ever need to know, “No, your services are not required, I am merely practising walking.”
Cheerilee gave her an odd look before smiling again, “Out for a walk? Alright then, been nice meeting you Amy.”
Amy nodded her response before leaving the school yard and continuing to the gates, having ‘mapped’ the area. But before she could exit, she was stopped by three little fillies, three very familiar fillies.
“Hello there Miss Amy, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, or CMC. We were wondering how you got your Cutie Mark so that we might be able to earn our own.” announced Sweetie Belle.
Amy sighed, “It’s me Sweetie Belle, A.M.E.E., or Autonomous Mapping Evasion and Exploration.”
Sweetie Belle looked at her funny, “What? You can’t be A.M.E.E., your name is different and you’re not a robot.”
“Yeah,” added Scootaloo, “A.M.E.E.’s this really cool robot that fights off mean monsters and saves ponies!” she tried continuing to explain using movements and hoof postures.
Amy sighed, “I ended up like this yesterday, last night in fact. The Elements of Harmony turned me and my counterpart into ponies.”
Apple Bloom nodded, “Told ya so, see ‘er Cutie Mark, it’s a gear behind a map!”
Scootaloo turned to face her, “Since when were you the expert on Cutie Marks?”
“Since now.” confessed Apple Bloom.
“Well I say-” Scootaloo never finished as a rather snobbish voice took its place.
“-That you are a blank flank and know nothing about Cutie Marks. Obviously.”
All three of them turned to see their nemeses, two other fillies, both plain colors while one wore a tiara that looked a little too expensive and the other with well fashioned silver hair.
“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle.” greeted Diamond Tiara.
“What’da you two want?” snarled Apple Bloom.
Silver Spoon smirked, “Just to see how you’re failing at getting Cutie Marks is all.”
“We aren’t failing,” snapped Scootaloo, turning back to Amy, “Amy here was just going to show us how to get some, right Amy?”
Amy blinked, “No. I was returning to my walk when you three stopped me and mistook me for someone else.”
Scootaloo face hoofed, “Amy, you were supposed to help us here!”
Amy blinked, “Oh… I’m sorry I’ve only been a pony for less than a day now.”
Before Diamond Tiara could speak again she froze, “What do you mean, ‘Pony for less than a day’?”
Amy looked back at her, “I changed-”
“CHANGELING!” she screamed, running away with Silver Spoon in tow, yelling to all the other kids in that the silver pony was not to be trusted.
Amy watched her go, “Changeling?”
Scootaloo laughed as she ran away, “They’re a bunch of meanies who attacked Canterlot a few months ago. This place is Changeling free but that’s Diamond Tiara’s number one fear.”
“Changelings?” she asked again.
Scootaloo looked up at her, “Oh right, they attacked Canterlot a little while ago, we were flower girls at Shining Armor’s and Princess Cadence’s wedding, then the Changelings attacked. They’re these weird bug things that can change their appearance and they eat love or something. Anyway, Diamond Tiara’s really scared of ‘em so we tease her a little about it, serves her right for teasing and bullying us daily.”
Amy nodded, anything could be real in this messed up place, “Right, also, why don’t you take this to a teacher, like Miss Cheerilee?”
“We do,” replied Sweetie Belle, “It’s just that she is really good at acting, her dad is rich, and we don’t exactly have a clean record ourselves.”
Scootaloo rolled her eyes but Amy nodded, “Okay then, you probably have no chance in winning, so a contest of wit is at hand. Good luck with that.”
With those wise words, Amy finally left, eager to continue her walk.
The CMC looked at one another, “What just happened?”
Amy trot back into the town limits and proceeded to look around for any other place she hadn’t been yet. There was someplace that intrigued her, and that was the odd building made out of ginger bread. Or painted like ginger bread, or used magic to make a giant witches house to scoop up little fillies and cook them like Hansel and Gretel. (Is that really what HUB went for?)
She didn’t care as she marched up to the front door and opened it with practiced unease. Once inside, she found that a new smell wafted into her nose, the smell of something oh so sweet. She took a good look around the room until Pinkie bounced up from behind the counter.
“Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! Oh, hey A.M.E.E.!” she proclaimed ecstatically.
“Hello Pinkie, also, I have changed it to just Amy because the name no longer suits me. I assume this is your occupation?” she replied, looking around the candy coated room.
Pinkie bounced from behind the counter, “Yep, this is the best, and only, sweet shop in town! What can I get ya? Cake, cupcake, candy, milkshake, cake, ooh ooh, what about cupcakes?”
Amy waved a hoof, nearly knocking her on her rump, “No thanks Pinkie, I was just out for a stroll and happened by. Besides, this entire place screams unneeded calories and I have no money.”
Pinkie smiled, “That’s okay, besides, I have to throw you a ‘Hooray for becoming a pony’ party. You don’t need any bits for that.”
Amy sighed, “I couldn’t possibly have a party over simply transmuting species. Also, as I said before, calories are only needed to such an extent or else excess body weight begins to build up and hinders everyday activity.”
Pinkie’s smile was unbeatable, “Okay then, I’ll throw you a ‘welcome to Ponyville’ party.”
“No, but thank you.”
“My newest friend party?”
“No thank you.”
“My new name party?”
“No thanks.”
“Woke up as a pony party?”
“No.”
“Separated from my evil side party?”
“Negative.”
“I need money party.”
“Already planning a remedy for that.”
“A party at all?!”
“Nope.”
Pinkie stood huffing, her options exhausted. She sighed depressingly, hair deflating slightly before she bounced back up and smiled again, “I know! I’ll throw Twilight a party because you live at Twilight’s place and then you’ll HAVE to be at a party!”
Amy sighed, “Fine, I’ll have a party about my arrival here, but only one and don’t expect me to consume any sweets.”
Pinkie nodded, bouncing with joy before retreating into the rear of the shop to plan. Amy groaned at the misfortune that had befallen her, a party? Of all things, wastes of money, food, sugar, and energy. Yes, they were VERY enjoyable during their lifespan of a few hours, but after that, your exhausted, full, have a longing for more and are that many ‘bits’ shorter on cash. Amy retreated out of the shop and began to make headway for another part of town, partly to continue her mental map, partly to escape the copious amount of sugar in the shops air.
She found herself standing in front of a large white and purple building that nearly looked like a miniature town hall. She let herself in upon seeing it was another shop and was suddenly assaulted by color. Colors from the weakest pink to the most powerful yellows she had seen yet, all standing for whatever eyes wished to see on what seemed to be a pony’s version of a manikin. Still just as creepy.
“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, is ther- Oh, why hello A.M.E.E., come to see little old me? Or was there a dress that you needed to be made, let me say darling that you coat is absolutely stunning!”
Amy felt a little heat go to her face but ignored it, “No thank you Rarity, I was just out mapping the town when I saw this place. I had no idea that you ran a dress shop.”
Rarity sighed, but only for a second, “Oh well, I suppose there’s no helping it, but darling you MUST let me at least get your portions so that I may fabricate you a dress, with that shining coat and that beautiful mane I do believe that white goes well with it, what about you darling?”
Before Amy really had any time to react, Rarity already had a dressmakers measuring tape out and was taking her height, “Thank you for the offer Rarity, but I have no need for a dress nor have the ‘bits’ to pay for it.”
Rarity giggled a little but continued her work, “Oh think nothing of it darling, I simply must make you one, even if it goes a little underused it never hurts to have one ready when you need it. Also, it would be a crime to take bits away from you just to make a dress for somepony with the most perfect coat and mane that just screams: ‘beauty’.”
Again Amy felt the heat again but dismissed it, “I really can’t look that great right off the bat, in fact, I find that babies look a little repulsive on day one.”
Rarity giggled again, “Perhaps they do darling but this is the work of the Elements and I do say, they did a gorgeous job
with your figure as well, I dare say that you seem a little like me.”
Amy was beginning to be annoyed with the amount of heated blood that was rushing to her face, “No really Rarity, I have no need for anything you may offer, in fact, I best be going now, good day Miss Rarity.”
With that Amy left the building and Rarity to her own handiwork, who was writing down the measurements she had barely enough time to get. She was going to make that pony a dress even if she didn’t want it, though she hoped she did, Element of Generosity she may be but that doesn’t mean that she enjoys seeing her work flung away.
Amy continued to map the town, so far she had met Pinkie, Rarity, knew where Twilight lived and had been pointed in the direction of Fluttershy’s home. She still had to find Rainbow Dash’s place and Applejack’s homestead. Instead she found herself in some sort of market area, ponies of all shapes and sizes milling about talking with one another and buying and selling goods of all shapes and sizes. Was that… a store that sold quills and mattresses? Odd.
A familiar voice rang out and caught her attention. She followed it and found herself in front of an apple stand, “Get yer fresh Sweet Apple Acre apples ‘ere, we just got a brand new crop of Golden Delicious grown, so get ‘em while ‘er’ good.”
Amy trotted up to the stall, intent on starting the greeting this time, “Hello Applejack, I was unaware that you had a stall in town.”
Applejack looked her way, “Oh, hey there A.M.E.E., good ta see ya up and movin’ like a normal pony, now, can I get ya anything? Did ya hear, just got a fresh crop of Golden delicious ready for eatin’.”
Amy nodded, “Why yes I did, though I am afraid that I have no bits so there will be no transaction. I need to remedy that VERY soon. Too many times in my first day have been caught without them.”
Applejack chuckled, “Well that’s a darn shame, these ones turned out real good, not many left. Oh, and if ya need some work we could always do with a friendly farm hoof, if yer interested.”
Amy waved a hoof, a bit more successfully than before, “I’m afraid not, so far as I’ve seen this town lacks electricity,
perhaps I can fix that. Anyway, I noticed the small cloud above you is leaking rainbows, you might want to watch out.”
Applejack turned her head up to see that the small white fluffy cloud above them was in fact leaking rainbows, “Rainbow Dash, that you?”
A grumble was heard before the Pegasus’s head broke through the side, “Eh, oh, hehe, must have drifted into town. Oh, hey A.M.E.E.!”
“Hello Rainbow Dash, pray tell, how are you in a cloud; a gathering of water vapor and NO solid material?”
Rainbow poked the cloud, “Oh right, you’re new here, Pegasi can control the weather, so we can touch and use clouds. Yep, we are the only ones, except for the princesses, that can control the weather, we make sure that rain gets to where it needs to be and nothing floods anywhere else.”
Amy stood silent for a moment, “Excuse me, but isn’t that impossible?”
Rainbow laughed and jumped on top of the cloud, “Nope, we Pegasus are the only ones who can touch cloud, which why are capital, Cloudsdale, Is made of ‘em. Not very good for tourists but lets us be where we want.”
Amy nodded a silent reply.
Rainbow Dash fell over laughing, “You should see you face! Oh ho ho, that’s rich, come on now A.M.E.E., you have to have some sort of weather control were you come from?”
“Well, the humans built and launched satellites into the lower atmosphere that allow them to track and predict weather patterns, but they are no where’s near making a device that controls the weather. They’ve saved millions of lives though, being able to see a hurricane when it’s still hundreds of miles out at sea has tendency to do that.”
Rainbow wowed, “Huh, well that’s neat and all but Imma go back to sleep now.”
Rainbow kept to her word and dove back into the fluffy goodness that was the cloud. Amy went back to exploring after saying her goodbye to Applejack. She ventured into the final part of town that had eluded her mapping and found a train station there, it was powered by coal and so sealed her hypothesis that electricity was not a wide spread feature. She would collaborate with Twilight on how to give Ponyville power, well, she had the designs for an old coal powered generator that wasn’t too far ahead of pony’s time and would work adequately with their society since they already had coal mines.
She returned to the library and began to empty her mind on the nearest piece of parchment using – to her chagrin – a quill and inkwell. As she was doing so Twilight returned home.
“Oh, hey A.M.E.E., what are you doing?” she asked after she slipped a saddlebag full of paper to the floor.
“Making a map of Ponyville.” came her monotone response.
“Oh, so that’s where you’ve been. Okay then, I’m going to have a bath, me and a mud puddle became acquainted today.”
Amy gave her silent response and focused on the matter at hoof, map making was a lot harder than some thought, and some thought it was tough. She had just finished making the eastern end of town when Twilight returned.
“Oh hey, that’s really good A.M.E.E., I suppose that the Cutie Mark doesn’t lie.” Twilight said as she studied the map.
Amy stopped for a moment, “Twilight, do you have electricity here?”
Twilight stopped for a moment, “Um, no we don’t. It’s really expensive stuff, only Manehattan, Cloudsdale, and Canterlot have electricity, each of them is powered with state of the art Hydroelectric Generators.”
Amy nodded, “Very well, once I have finished making the map then I shall draw the blueprints for a coal powered generators, landlines, and batteries. Nothing too advanced mind you, it would be a bit much too just go and give you guys a nuclear reactor.”
Twilight stood there for a second, “A.M.E.E., how advanced are the humans?”
“They have begun to terra form Mars, which was also a reason that the A.M.E.E.’s were designed, to go places not fit for humans to explore. My most recent logs say that there is a breathable atmosphere about ten feet high off the ground there.”
Twilight sat suddenly, “Terra… terra forming other planets? That’s… that’s incredible! A.M.E.E. we’re nowhere near that stage yet, do you have any idea what it’s like?”
“Sadly, no. Most A.M.E.E.’s were reformed to be more militant after the incident on Mars. We’re now used less for exploring unknown worlds and more for fighting the human’s wars for them. The reason they began to terra form Mars is because Earth, their home planet, was ravaged by war and their staggering population of 9 billion or so. Earth was dying, and so a solution was conceived, terra form other worlds and escape to space. Believe me Twilight, you do NOT want this civilization to end up like the humans. They hate one another, hundreds, if not thousands, die daily in war, street fights, and famine. Yes, they have very advanced technology compared to this society, but they have paid a heavy price for it. Knowledge is power, and power corrupts.”
Amy continued her map, leaving Twilight to decide a judgement for the humans.
“And how much good have they accomplished?”
Amy stopped, recollecting the large amount, “Plenty, in fact. There are hundreds of medical cures, child saving formulas, miracle devices, clean mass produced energy, global market, robotics, a massive atom smasher known as the Hadron Collider, even space technologies. Unfortunately, each year they do more bad than good it seems, even their news stations avoid topics that include something great happening and focus on flooding here, or civil war there. Yes then came what I once was, a robot. Originally, we were very stiff and simple devices. But as the decades passed, newer, much more reliable devices were conjured and then came the thirty million dollar A.M.E.E. project. We’re the best of the best.”
“Thir- Thirty million!?” gasped Twilight, all of Equestria combined didn’t have that much!
“Yes, but when your designers are in twenty trillion dollars of debt, thirty million is the blink of an eye. Americans, such great yet dumb people. Every person is rich yet not. Same with Canadians. Oh they may say they have the best border laws, or greatest oil reserves, but they’re just as guilty in some respects.”
Twilight gulped, is that what await Equestria? To be twenty TRILLION bits in debt? To have a great population but civil war expected daily? No. She would not let it! If she ever got the chance…
Amy finished the southern end of town, just as Twilight began to trot towards the kitchen, “Oh and Twilight? Call me Amy from now on, okay? I am no longer autonomous and it is a lot easier to type instead of having to either press the caps lock or hold shift and full stop key for every letter.”
Amy blinked and Twilight followed suit, “What…?”
Amy shrugged, “I have no idea, anyway, the point is that I made an unofficial change to my name and so if you ever write it you would need to know that.”
Twilight nodded, “Uh huh… well, I’m just going to go in here and do stuff. Yep, stuff.”
Amy heeded her no attention as she moved onto the western edge, where the park was.
(
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) Canterlot Dungeon (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
A.M.E.E. sat upon a cold stone floor, enchanted metal bars holding her from the rest of the word and a cot stuffed with old hay acted as her bed. Her crimson eyes scanned the surrounding area as she paced in a circle, practising her walking. A single Pegasus guard stood watch as he leaned against his spear for support; so far, A.M.E.E. had only seen white coated stallions or mares. Was this a racist country? Or did the colors not count for the race? It mattered not.
She had made sure to drink in as much of the floor plan as possible as she was guided down the halls. She knew where the entrance was and where an armory was if she needed weapons, as soon as she figured out how her hooves worked. She had seen many a pony use their hooves as if they had fingers, picking up things with a single hoof and holding handles with invisible hands.
Once she had figured that out, then she could put her plan in motion. She fussed with a straw of hay, fiddling with it between her hooves. She hated this form; it was fragile, slow, had too many requirements as well as no permanent memory. Sure, it came with wings, but she had no idea how to fly and even if she did, she did not have speed and so the guards would be on her in seconds.
Pulling away one hoof, the straw stuck to her hoof. She stared dumbfounded and let it go, watching it fall to the floor. A smile covered her face and she approached the bars.
“Sir… sir… can you help me…?” she whimpered pretending to limp.
The guard took notice, approaching the bars, “What is it Miss?”
“I have a large piece of wood stuck in my hoof, it won’t come out, can you get it or do you need a doctor?” she replied, waving her hoof.
He sighed, “I really should not be helping you since you’re a convict, but how bad could you be?”
As he reached the bars she raised a hoof, “They didn’t tell you what I’m in for?”
He examined the hoof, “No, where’s the spli-hrgh!”
He soon found her hooved wrapped around his neck, “I am under arrest for attempted murder and assault on the Royal Princess Luna, idiot.”
She gave a firm twist, a satisfying crunch sounded and she dropped the new corpse. Reaching out she stole the key loop at his torso, running through and testing a series of the ancient metal sticks before the lock clicked, and the door swung open.
She looked down at the body, deciding to scavenge his armor in so her sneaking out would be easier. She removed the helmet, finding it to fit snugly, and then unstrapped his armor. As soon as the metal was no longer in contact with him, his coat faded slowly into a deep black.
She blinked, and then slipped the armor onto herself, watching her fur brighten from the steel grey to an ivory white. Did these ponies want her to break out; the armor even covered her odd mark! She finished strapping on the armor before flinging the body into the cage and locking it again. She left the pole arm and began to make her incognito escape. Marching up the large spiral staircase, she made her way out the top, being spotted by two guards.
“Oh, I thought that Steel Shard was on duty, sorry, your relief is on the way.” said one of the guards as he saw her.
She nodded, “Very well, sheesh this armor is stiff.”
The opposite guard chuckled, “You must be new, don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”
Nodding and continuing her escape, A.M.E.E. broke into a laughing fit once she was alone around the corner.
“This is too easy, I mean really? ‘I thought Steel Shard was on duty’, he was an imbecile, I was his… relief. Plus, these guards are very chatty; too kind as well, gets them killed.”
She marched on in as much a guard like fashion she could, watching another guard pass her by, “Oh, you must be Steel Shard, odd, I thought he was a stallion. Oh well, I’m your relief, a little uncouth of you to be resigning early, but I’ll take over form here.”
“Of course, sorry, I’m new, civilian life still clinging to me.” A.M.E.E. lied.
They gave one another a brief salute before trotting off in opposite directions. A.M.E.E. hurried her pace, knowing that they would find the body soon enough. As she trotted down the hall, she turned a corner to come face to face with a tall, pearl white Alicorn wearing golden regalia and adorning a sun mark.
Princess Celestia of Equestria.
“Oh, why hello there, I don’t believe that I have met you yet, though I am sure you know who I am.”
A.M.E.E. nodded, gulped then continued, “I’m… Silver Cast, I was just swapping guard for the captive A.M.E.E.”
Celestia’s everlasting smile faltered, “Yes, how is she? I do hope we can help her, she seems to be in so much pain…”
A.M.E.E. flinched, “She’s fine, sleeping on the cot. I would love to stay and chat, Majesty, but I am to return to the barracks.”
Celestia nodded, “Very well, have a nice day.”
A.M.E.E. scarcely remembered to salute before proceeding to the main doors. That little conversation could have blown her cover and it had taken precious time. She finally reached the main doors, shoving them open and dashing out. The guards gave her funny looks, but otherwise retained their static positions.
As soon as she was in the nearest alleyway, she shed the armor and merged with a small group of ponies passing by.
Celestia was on her way to the throne room to settle down as a guard ran past her in a panic, stopping only on her say-so.
“What is it Star Beam?” she asked, looking over the rugged guard.
“Th- The prisoner, A.M.E.E., she’s escaped and killed her guard!”
Celestia felt her heart slow, that guard mare… no wonder she hadn’t seen her before!
“Sound the alarm, I want every gate into and out of the city closed. Also, make sure that all air traffic is stopped so she does not escape by wing. Have Shining Armor make a shield and keep her inside, list her as highly dangerous and unstable, most likely posing as a Royal Guard.”
The guard saluted, running off to deliver her orders. She sighed; hastening her pace to the throne room, perhaps a cup of hot tea would do her very good right now.
A.M.E.E. on the other ha-hoof was approaching a train station, bound for away. So long as she was gone, then she could begin to construct her revenge. What would it be? A bomb, a gun, a bow and arrows? She had designs for more A.M.E.E.’s, but they required advanced PBC wiring and a miniature nuclear core, neither of which she had possession of.
She was approaching the station when a massive dome of purple energy enveloped the city, restricting exit. She cursed under her breath as the ponies around her began to shuffle nervously. Obviously the last time this thing had been used, it didn’t end well as some even screamed and ran away in a seemably random direction.
She joined them as Pegasi in golden armor began to escort flying balloons and other Pegasi to the ground. She ran inside a Inn before asking for a place to stay.
“Actually, we have a room available for tonight, but just tonight. You must be gone by ten ‘o’ clock tomorrow.” responded the clerk.
She nodded, “I’ll take it, can you trust me to pay tomorrow morning?”
He looked at the ceiling, deep in thought. His gaze returned to her crimson eyes, “I suppose so, not as if one night is very expensive anyway.”
He floated her the key, though she neglected to thank him before calling an elevator to pick her up. She had to admit, an elevator was an impressive change for once. Once at the floor embedded on the key, she exited and guided the small golden key into the appropriate door and entered her room.
Once inside she took a moment to snicker, seeing the rather lavish room. If that idiot Inn keeper thought she was going to pay him a single shiny coin, then he had another thing coming. She planned to wait out the guards search in here; of course she had to leave tomorrow morning, but that didn’t mean that she had a few hours until night.
She found a desk with a few scraps of paper and a quill with ink. She used the quill to begin a plan for revenge. She would need information though, where she was, where she had to go, how to obtain supplies. As she wrote down a list of things to do, her wing unfurled involuntarily.
She looked back at the cursed appendage, before smiling, realizing that there was no better time to try and fly, or hover at least. She moved away from the writing desk, taking mind of the chandelier in the middle of the roof. Spreading her wings, she began to flap in steady, even strokes. Her efforts were rewarded by floating up in the air and slamming into the nearest wall. She shook it off, trying again only this time she leaned back and floated into the air. She smiled at the small victory until she did a half backflip and landed on her head, falling to her side.
She growled, standing to her feet and trying again, and again, and again. Soon, she had a few new bruises, and so decided to stop for the day. After returning to her desk, a rasp on the door beckoned her. She grumbled over to it, finding it to be another pony in a tuxedo.
“I do say, can you please stop goofing about in there, some of us are trying to relax!” he barked at her, pruned mane and eyepiece bouncing as his voice escalated.
She glowered at him; “Of course, but in the meantime…” she reached around the corner and brought an umbrella down over his head, splitting the waterproof device in two, “Why don’t YOU shut up!”
He gave a final whimper before falling to his left, landing with an audible whump. A.M.E.E. rubbed her temples, “You can’t kill this one quite yet, A.M.E.E., just gag him and then before you leave, toss him out a window or something.”
She dragged the white maned unicorn into her room, tethering him to a chair with his coat and then shoving him in the closet when she had stuffed his collar into his mouth with a little tape for extra assurance. Noting he was a Unicorn, she proceeded to swing a shard of umbrella at his horn, and then repeated the process until a visible crack was showing.
“Perfect, now just sit around a while and I’ll get some work done, ‘k’ sweetie?”
She giggled manically and trotted back to her desk. This one had given her an idea; the damnable surveyor form had once scanned a Unicorn’s horn and had made makeshift blueprints on how to make her own. All she needed was some sinew, bone and fat, and she would be able to make her own. Now, surgery was out of the question, no she would need to make a device that could artificially connect it to her mind. She was always better at making technological things…
Suddenly, A.M.E.E. had a headache, her vision blurred as grey particles raced into her field of view. As soon as it had come, it disappeared, leaving her very confused.
“What was that…? Wait a moment…”
A.M.E.E. reached up, taking a swipe beneath her nose. She moved her hoof in front of her eyes to see it was tipped with blood now. She wiped the substance on her captive’s jacket before returning to work. That was really weird. Really… really weird.
She returned to her list, first, obtain bone. She could try the sophisticated prick, but he would probably scream and holler and bleed everywhere. She could knock him out permanently, as in kill him; or she could find a unicorn and kill it for a fresh horn. This one was cracked, and on second thought, breaking it wasn’t a good idea. Next, she would need something to merge it with her skull, or at least her mind. It was obvious that this ‘magic’ was an extension of the obviously superior Unicorns mind, simply allowing it to conduct its thoughts into the world. For a telepathic conjoiner, she would need at least three pounds of metal, preferably iron. Next, a diamond, after that she would need some copper and rubber or another alternative insulator. Finally, something hot enough that she could bend metal with.
She wrote down the list and read it aloud, “First, target a unicorn, next, steal some iron appliances, next, acquire a diamond, next, find copper and rubber, finally, visit nearest forgery. Perfect, now all I need is to wait for the guard to lower, and I can get to work.”
She heard a knock on a nearby door, “Open up please, this is the Equestrian Royal Guard.”
She stopped, then grabbed the list and the nearest bag, strapping it on and storing the bag.
“Sorry ma’am, I read the paper wrong. *slam* 321, not 322.”
She opened the window closest to the building across from them, jumping out and carefully gliding to the open window next door, into a dark room. Just as she did so, she heard the guard begin to speak. She ducked inside, pressing herself against the wall as he broke down the door. She snickered as he found the unconscious Unicorn, and then raced back out of the room, yelling that she had ran.
She stood up, and as she did so, the lights flicked on. There was a gasp, and then a Unicorn in a white dress stared at her.
“What are you doing here? Trying to sneak in a free night, eh? I’m sorry, as happy as I am right now, I can’t let you do that.” She said, not even noticing the small amount of blood under A.M.E.E.’s nostrils.
A.M.E.E. smirked, “Sorry, I’ll be going then.”
The pony smiled, “Great, ooh I can’t wait! Did I mention that my wedding is in an hour?”
A.M.E.E. stopped approaching the pony, Sheesh, a she’s getting married? That’s a little harsh, even for me… She stepped next to the pony before bursting up an snapping her neck, causing the body to crumble without even a gasp, “I’m sure I’ll get over it.”
She dragged the lifeless body to a large oak table, finding a sharp knife and approached the corpse again. She placed it directly beneath the pony’s horn, and then began to saw away. It was a long process without a proper tool, but she was able to sever the appendage from the lifeless body after a half hour of sawing. Twirling it in one of her dexterous hooves, she looked to the dead pony.
“Well, I just ruined two people day with one neck snap, I must say, I’m getting better at this. I wonder how lonely that fiancé of hers is going to be tonight…?” she sighed, opening her bag and storing the horn.
Now all she needed was some metal, a diamond, copper, and then rubber before she could make her conjoiner. As she trotted out of the room, she decided that it was best not to try and rip the cords out of the walls, but instead find the nearest store room. As A.M.E.E. made her way to a stairwell, a certain earth pony in a suit suddenly felt as if life had no meaning for some reason.
A Massive Equine Environment
A Massive Equine Environment
SYSTEM RUN CHECK>>
DESIGNATION: AMEE MARK 3: Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion
SYSTEM DAMAGE DIAGNOSTICS>>
30 lbs. STORAGE: EMPTY
SURVEY MODE: ABLE
MILITARY MODE: ABLE
CORE FUNCTIONS>>
MRK3 FUNCTION: SPEAKERS: Active: undamaged
MRK3 FUNCTION: WATERPROOF CASING: Undamaged
REACTOR: UNKNOWN
OCULAR LENSE: Active: undamaged
JOINT MODULES: Active: undamaged
MODE AND DIRECTION SWAP: Active: undamaged
BEGIN RUNTIME:
01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101010 01110101 01110011 01110100 00100000 01110010 01100001 01101110 01100100 01101111 01101101 00100000 01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00101100 00100000 01110011 01101111 00100000 01101110 01101111 00101100 00100000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01100100 01101111 01100101 01110011 01101110 00100111 01110100 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01101101 01100101 01100001 01101110 00100000 01100001 01101110 01111001 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01100111 00101110
SYSTEM READY… BEGINNING START UP… ALL FUNCTIONS GO<<
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)AMEE (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
A.M.E.E. opened her ocular lens, instantly righting herself from the ground. She tested her servos even though her diagnostics told her they were all running properly, she didn’t trust it.
Trust… she could trust… something wasn’t right, she knew her files; she knew her purpose in existence… but, why? She shouldn’t be self-aware; she should be marching in or across unexplored territory, not sitting in some… bush. Actually, where was she?
A.M.E.E. began to look around, finding herself in some sort of woodland. She wasn’t designated for woods, was she? She… Why she? Why not he, or it? No, those didn’t sound or feel right. Feel… she was going to have to get used to that. Oh well, one step at a time, and what better way to start a journey as a robot made for exploration than exploration? She began to walk in a random direction, multi pegged feet adjusting individual height to give her the best balance, performance and stealth possible, about seven times greater than a human. They really came in handy when trying to grip something, or when in Military mode, they served as excellent weapons. She continued her lonely hike through the woods at a relatively steady pace, though she really wished she had her scout drone; it could fly above the trees and give a perfect view of the surrounding area.
As per the amount of recent events, A.M.E.E. was already bored, there wasn’t much here, she had over 200 forests catalogued in her memory banks. Each an earthen forest with typical fauna, inhabitants and flora. It felt like a repeat really, she knew about all this, read about, thought about, and forever locked it in her memory. But… why?
The question continued to rattle her mind, why was she here, thinking, and without a designation… she couldn’t tell, but she knew it couldn’t be good. There hasn’t been a single case where an A.M.E.E. unit went missing, well, there was this one time where an AMEE MRK1 unit malfunctioned on Mars, but that was all in the past. Though it was not pretty, the AMEE’s Military Mode malfunctioned, registering all of the mars explorers as hostile. It ended up being captured by one of the crew and its reactor was used to power a shuttle off the planet, so it really ended up helping in the end.
That was something else that troubled her, why was her reactor marked as unknown? How could it not know if it was on or
off, it was being powered so it was obviously on, but maybe her designers were just stupid and didn’t know that you could just set up a sensor for power running and that meant it was running, either way, she had 22 months here and planned to use them well.
Something else had different plans. Her heat sensors picked up a heat signature of unknown designation, heading straight for her. It seemed to be a mammal, predator, probably mistaking her for food. So in order to avoid conflict, she crept behind a tree and folded into her shutdown shape. Once that was complete, she used low power sonar to tell if anything hostile was near. The new creature came into view, her being folded up could only piece together information returned by the sonar, not revealing a whole lot other than height and predatory movements.
She designated this SPECIES:01 >>Hostile >> Ground based despite wings.
After making sure the creature was a safe distance away, she unfolded, why she was hiding was because she wanted minimum casualties here. Her Military Mode… it scared her to say the least, she forgot anything had a soul, that anything had nerves and could feel pain, she forgot that killing is permanent. She became a monster, given it was temporary, but another sentient doesn't exactly view monsters as nice things.
She began her trek once again, but now, there were different creatures to study. She began to hurry her pace slightly, her nuclear reactor core wasn't about to run out tomorrow, but there were still many things she wished to see.
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)ten hours later(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
She was beginning a scientists dream, finding over 20 different species to document, finding that 4 of these species were hostile in the process, no Military Mode encounters, so things were going well.
A.M.E.E. looked up to see it was nearing nightfall and so set her newly calculated clock to work. She found a bushel to hide under, not really wanting to find out what roamed the night, not really wanting to go feral. She was beginning to like her life, all the exploring she could do and all the documenting she could make, it all came with a sentience, it was perfect. Of course, she had been alive for only about ten hours, so maybe it’ll get worse, but until then, she liked it here.
WARNING>> POWER LEVELS DEPLETING
A.M.E.E. read the text with disbelief, she had been alive not ten hours, and her reactor was giving out?! This couldn’t be happening, not happening! She began to panic perhaps a little too much over ten hours of life, but she still wanted more. She began to feel… drowsy under the bush, and didn’t even bother folding up, instead she just laid down where she sat, and watched the world fade from her ocular lens. She didn’t really feel dead, more like she was just really tired and needed a sleep. Yeah, that was it, a sleep. Not shut down, just… some… rest…
SYSTEM SHUTDOWN<<
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) AMEE>> morning (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
SYSTEM POWER RESTORED>> BOOTING UP
A.M.E.E. opened her ocular lens again, finding herself laying in the same bushel, in the exact same location. Her new clock told her it was 8:00 sharp, literally just became 8:00. She wasn’t dead, she literally just needed sleep! It was a miracle to say the least, though she supposed that if she really just needed sleep, then she should probably make a home base for her to ‘sleep’ in the same location. Though the humidity in the air told her that it was early, very, so she decided she could procrastinate for a couple hours. She stood up, shaking the foliage out of her servos and pistons and began to trek in another random location, another day of exploring for her!
(ஜ۩۞۩ஜ) 5 hours later (ஜ۩۞۩ஜ)
A.M.E.E. was bored. She had mapped what seemed to be a majority of the woods, and was only coming across repeat species. She had found after further study that nearly each one resembled a human Greek mythological creature. She named them accordingly, after each of the real names an unaltered name stood. Currently, she was studying the behavior of a lone Wood Wolf. It had been abandoned by its pack long ago, and now all it really did was sit there and whimper. AMEE had recorded the same input for an entire hour, which was long enough to predict its next action, wander and whimper.
She gave up on the lone wolf and began to look for something new. There was an area in the woods she hadn’t been to yet, so why not try there? She began a solid run to her destination, moving at speeds of 30 KPH, arriving in minutes. She found a good opening, and waited. She sat for about another hour and then began to move on, before her sound receptor picked up on something new.
She sprang towards the noise, a noise that sounded awfully like a scream, but probably wasn’t. She arrived at her destination in less than a minute, creeping through the bushes to find what she was searching for.
She found it, and didn’t believe what she saw.
Three small cute little pony creatures were all backed against a rock as SPECIES:01:Manticore was slowly walking toward them, taking its precious time deciding who to eat first. It licked it’s chops and the trio screamed in unison. Now, AMEE might have believed that the screaming was a coincidence, or the facial expressions, but the three matching capes they wore took the hit. She was a researcher, meant to research and not get in the way of nature, but, sentience was not added to this equation. She jumped out of the bushes, landing expertly in front of the SPECI- the Manticore, challenging it in a way she learned from watching their behavior.
The Manticore accepted, seemingly smirking at the easy kill. Oh what a fist full of steel this guy was gonna get. The Manticore took first strike, swinging its massive tan paws at her midsection. A.M.E.E. backtracked slightly, easily dodging the attack before literally dashing up to it and punching it in the FACE! There was a satisfying crack, her X-Ray/vital scanner showing her that she had broken its nose.
The Manticore bellowed in rage and pain, making a terrifying mix that AMEE noticed scared away a few airborne animals. She was no bird though, and held no quarter against a child eater as she released another strike, firing it at the already broken nose. She hit her mark, causing the creature to bellow again, and again, and again! It didn’t give up, but it got wise as well. The next time AMEE threw a punch, the Manticore took it, then fired its tail in her direction before she could back away.
TWANG!
The Manticore bellowed again as the tip of its stinger fell to the ground, broken by the sturdy shell of an AMEE recon robot. At this point, the creature got the hint that it wasn’t going to win, and retreated into the woods, leaving droplets of blood, its stinger and pride behind as it fled. After assuring that the Manticore was gone, A.M.E.E. ran a scan of the area, making sure no other predators were in the area. Once she confirmed that there were none, she turned her gaze to the small quivering ponies below, huddled against one another and shivering like it was 3000 below.
Unfortunately, her microphone and speaking speakers weren’t going to help her much if she didn’t understand them. All she could do was let out a comforting whine, lying on the ground next to them, hoping they would say something so she could begin translations.
One seemed to brake off from the group, taking a few steps towards their savior. It was a lot cuter when it wasn’t huddled together wishing for their lives to continue. It was colored butter yellow, a bigger than usual ribbon tied to its hair, making A.M.E.E. assume female, and had the largest eyes she’d seen in all of her existence. Then she spoke.
“Vera mon anwe fera anglows?” it seemed to ask.
RUNNING TRANSLATIONS>>
AVAILABLE SCRIPT:
VERA
MON
ANWE
FERA
ANGLOWS
BEGINNING TRANSLATION>> >> >> >> TRANSLATION COMPLETE: “ ’re you a forest guardian?”
The words repeated and floated through her head, guardian, it asked if she was a guardian? Well, she didn't take herself as a guardian, but she did save them...
A small purple maned pegasus stepped up, “Yub somn tis ienst a guardian, tises tonol dohrglkur.”
RUNNING TRANSLATION>>
ETC.
BEGINNING TRANSLATION>> >> >> >>TRANSLATION COMEPLETE: “Of course it isn’t a guardian, it’s too doglike.”
A.M.E.E. had to agree with the orange pegasus, she was doglike, also catlike, and monkey like, but more on that later.
By now her processors were heavily at work trying to translate the new alien language, and were getting somewhere with it too, already making a small portion of their alphabet.
The white coated, purple maned unicorn decided to talk, “T bet oyiu sister would kieke it.”
TRANSLATTING>> >> >> TRANSLATED: “I bet my sister would like it.”
A.M.E.E. doubted that anyone’s sister would like her too much, judging by the way they reacted, an adult may lash out against her.
The yellow one was giving her some troubles, messing with her translations as if she was speaking a different dialect, which it almost sounded like because of her distinct southern accent.
She decided it was her turn to speak, she activated her speakers and readied a phrase, then a distant holler was heard.
“APPLE BLOOM, SWEETIE BELLE, SCOOTALOO, where are yah, you varmints!” said the voice.
One of them seemed to panic, “Oh no, it’s mah sister!”
The purple pegasus joined the quaking, “I don’t even know if this thing can take on your sister, I knew that this was a bad idea!”
The white one shot an angry look at her, “It was your idea in the first place, Scootaloo!”
Scootaloo shrugged, “Doesn’t mean you had to agree with it.” she argued.
“What in tarnation…” A.M.E.E. was so focused on the aliens fight, she forgot about the approaching sister. “Now don’t you girls worry, I ain’t about to let some piece a metal take mah sister and her friends.” Said the newcomer, an older orange pony stood away from A.M.E.E., she already saw the highly developed leg muscles and the hardened hooves from continuous work.
If she let this one hit her, it would do a whole lot more damage than that flimsy Manticore tail.
Apple Bloom tried to protest, “But sis, wait!” it was too late though, Applejack had already charged AMEE, who jumped into the air, avoiding the high velocity blow with ease.
“Applejack, stop!” pleaded her sister.
Applejack looked over at her little sister, “Wadya mean stop? Isn’t this here thing holding yah hostage or somethin’?”
Apple Bloom shook her head, “It saved us from a Manticore, an' then just began to sit ‘n’ list’n to us.”
Applejack looked back to A.M.E.E. who was watching closely, not wanting to start a fight they would all regret very much.
She seemed to relax a little, “Well ahm real sorry, I had just figured that yer the one trying to hurt mah sister is all.”
A.M.E.E. nodded in response, this was it, “I wish to start no fights with your kind, Applejack.” darn, she sounded monotone…
Applejack just looked in disbelief, not expecting something so animalistic to have a voice, especially one that sounded dead of emotion.
“Cool…” she heard the orange pegasus comment.
A.M.E.E. ‘giggled’ at her reaction - what it really sounded like was someone trying to fake laugh really quiet.
“Well then miss silver hound, what’s yer name?” asked Applejack, broken from her stupor.
“Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion, you can call me A.M.E.E.”
Applejack blinked twice before speaking again, “Much obliged Amy, now let’s get out a here.”
“No,” said A.M.E.E., “It’s A.M.E.E. not Amy.”
Applejack looked at her funny, “That’s what ah said, sugar cube, ah may not be the brightest light bulb, but ah can say a name.”
A.M.E.E. ‘sighed’, she was probably going to have to get used to the natives calling her Amy instead of A.M.E.E., oh well, could be worse – though if someone called her Amie, then they were going too far.
On that note, Applejack began to lead them out of the forest, A.M.E.E.’s watchful ocular lens surveying the area for any threats that dare… threaten the convoy. She needed to widen her vocabulary.
After about ten minutes of a dreadfully slow pace compared to what A.M.E.E. was used to traveling, she started to see larger amount of light poking through the excessively thinning trees. Soon, there was an obvious break ahead in the tree line, light rushing through like a burst sewer pipe. They stepped through the light, A.M.E.E.'s ocular lens already beginning the dampening process. Once the process was complete though, A.M.E.E. stopped for a moment and took in the new scenery.
They were out of the woodland area, now entering a plains biome. A.M.E.E. hummed happily, all the new things she could document, so many to choose from!
"Well, we're almost ta town, and do I have some words ta say to you Apple Bloom."
Without even really processing it, A.M.E.E. ran ahead, eager to begin studying these creatures in their natural habitat.
“Wait, A.M.E.E.!” cried out Applejack, hoping she hadn’t released a monster on the town.
A.M.E.E. ignored her plea to return though, and continued her silent run to the distant village she saw approaching. She began to see a large amount of ponies go about their daily business, or what she assumed was their daily business, she was about to find out.
A.M.E.E. crept behind one of the nearest building, carefully, but skillfully climbing her way to the top. She found to her disgust that a majority of the roofs were straw. She scanned the roof, finding it being held up by interweaved sticks that could no more hold her weight than a plastic straw could hold an Elephant. She didn’t like to talk about her weight.
She did however see a few buildings in the distance that had much sturdier rooftops, of course getting there was the problem. She began to scan the area as thoroughly as she could, finding a suitable path, risky, but better than just running through the town like a metal wolf. She clambered onto the very edge of the building, following the wall so she didn’t break the house and fall.
She dropped to the ground in a bushel near the home and waited. When none of the alien equines were looking her general direction, she bolted. Running her max speed to close the gap, she knew that she would leave a dust trail travelling at 40 KPH for less than ten seconds, but the ponies would probably just see it as a coincidence. After traversing the small gap - and indeed bringing a lot of dust up the rear - she began to run slower down an alley. Her map told her that she was nearing her destination, slowing more; the building in front of her had increased support structures, enough for her to jump to her destination.
She sucker pawed her way up, then started stalking along the buildings central support beam. She saw her objective, a large tree near the center of town. She scanned it to be hollow, but it acted as if it was alive. Green leaves still sprouted from the top, a breeze rustling them slightly. It was obvious that it was alive; otherwise it couldn’t have continued growing, she probably just scanned the building behind it. She coiled up like a spring, focusing her energy to her legs, and pounced.
A.M.E.E. rocketed through the air, easily making it to her mark.
At first, she felt triumphant; she had successfully snuck through the town to a safe researching position undetected. Then she felt as surprised as a Whitetail deer as the wood beneath her began to crack and splinter. She released a surprised sound, oddly muffled by the ground breaking apart beneath her.
A.M.E.E. fell the next twenty or so feet to the ground, nothing she couldn’t handle, it was just that she was so surprised the tree really was hollow. They must have been able to do this quick, as the room she now lay in was large and full of… books.
A.M.E.E. jumped to her feet, instantly dashing to the nearest bookshelf and removing the closest book, not even bothering with the cover, there was too much discovering to be done! She heard the table completely fall apart as she scanned the first few pages; she was going to need to leave a note or something.
She was just into the plot thickening part of the book when she heard a voice from upstairs, “Rainbow Dash, so help me if you’ve crashed into my table again then I might just…”
A purple unicorn stopped midsentence upon seeing A.M.E.E., her eyes widening with fear seeing A.M.E.E.’s animal appearance. She looked to the frozen A.M.E.E., then back to the book she was holding, as if trying to determine if she was something to fear, or just another odd customer.
A.M.E.E. dropped the book, scaling the wall faster than the unicorn could react, but not fast enough to reach the ceiling. Twilight instinctively fired a bolt of magic at it, the Autonomous Mapping Exploration and EVASION, naturally, evaded it.
A.M.E.E. dodged the bolt of magic more with surprise than actual intent, these creatures continued to surprise her. The unicorn charged another shot, exactly what A.M.E.E. wanted. By the time she had fired it, A.M.E.E. had scanned her brain patterns and pinpointed key biological points which directed what she believed to be background radiation, through her horn and massed the energy. I laymen’s terms, she had just made the plans for a unicorn horn in less than a second by scanning this one’s brain.
As the bolt fast approached the roof, the unicorn realized her mistake. The hole A.M.E.E. entered through was near the thin rickety center, this bolt was being fired just above a wall. As it struck the wall, it formed a hole that allowed A.M.E.E. to squeeze through; by squeeze this of course means busting through the weakened structure. A.M.E.E. launched through the hole she helped create, hitting the ground running and already approaching another building she planned to, as the humans say, parkour.
The purple unicorn appeared in a flash of light, scarce feet ahead of her. A.M.E.E. reacted, firing herself into a jump earlier than she should have. The unicorn watched flabbergasted as A.M.E.E. sailed over her and with the combined force of her speed and momentum – and weight- she flew through the wall that was presented as her obstacle. A.M.E.E. shook off the effects, continuing her sprint through the town, navigating the small house with robot precision and flying out the window. She continued her sprint; luckily, she had mapped a good majority of the town and knew exactly where she was going.
She ran through crowds of ponies, not even caring about being detected anymore, not even the winged ones could travel at 40 KPH. She was nearing the edge of the town when she picked up on something.
WARING>> SUPER SONIC PROJECTILE DETECTED
These creatures had supersonic weaponry? That wasn’t poss-, crap it was just a few clicks behind her. She began calculating the extremely fast moving objects trajectory, then came up with a solution.
She folded under herself, flipping around clockwise and allowing her midsection to become her torso as she entered her bipedal form, and continued running on two legs. As the projectile approached and reached critical distance, she forced some of her momentum down to her legs, launching her up into the air, then a blue pegasus followed by a rainbow shot underneath A.M.E.E.
Should have known it, the pegasai could go supersonic.
The pegasus flew forward but began to go into a climb, and then began to dive bomb. Was it stupid? At those speeds it would break its wings- well; going supersonic should have broken most of its bones from the shear wind force against it, so maybe it had the right idea.
A.M.E.E. continued running in her bipedal form, preferring its ability to maneuver compared to her quadruped form. Her speed was compromised to 20 KPH, but she could now easily out maneuver the rainbow producing pegasus.
A.M.E.E. saw she was coming up on the forest again, the rainbow one would have trouble in there, if not having to downright stop chasing her.
The pegasus easily caught what she was doing, “Oh no you don’t!” the rainbow mare began to arc herself so she could intercept A.M.E.E.
A.M.E.E. really didn’t care that much, the rainbow one was fast, not agile. As this dashing rainbow on wings approached her, A.M.E.E. bounded to the nearest tree, landing in the branches and avoiding the rainbow mare completely.
The pegasus didn’t seem to notice her stop, “If you think that the Everfree forest is gonna stop me, then my names not Rainbow Dash!” she said charging into the woods at a much more restricted speed.
Great, now A.M.E.E. was going to have to protect her until she gave up and left. And Rainbow Dash? Where all these ponies names so cheesy? They were all references or phrases to be used in a sentence, not a title! Name pondering later, pony watching now.
A.M.E.E. fell from the tree, returning to her quadruped form and began tracking Rainbow Dash.
It didn’t take long to find the pegasus. Rainbow Dash was hovering at slow speeds as she peered left and right, looking for her. A.M.E.E. had to commend her for the determination; she did not give up easily, chasing her into the woods at Mach one, and then vowing to find her even in the cramped woods. Still, these woods were dangerous, she was sure that Rainbow Dash knew it, every town member should. She followed Rainbow Dash for an hour, then A.M.E.E. heard something approaching.
“RAINBOW DASH!!!” yelled a distant voice.
Rainbow Dash turned around, facing the sound. “I’m over here!” she called back.
A.M.E.E. began to see a plume of heat on her visor, having switched to heat sensors just to shake things up a little. A group of ponies emerged from the thickets, led by the purple unicorn and followed by Applejack. There were three others she didn’t recognize, one was as timid as possible trying to hide behind a glistening white unicorn, which was looking around as a pink pony bounced along as if gravity didn’t matter to her.
A.M.E.E. watched the group approach Rainbow Dash, “So, did you find anything?” asked the purple one.
Rainbow Dash huffed, “No Twilight I haven’t, that thing is really good at hiding, I haven’t even found a track.” she replied, sounding rather upset.
Twilight nodded, “It’s apparently named A.M.E.E., it saved the Cutie Mark Crusaders from a Manticore. Applejack was bringing it back to town when it bolted ahead, and then fell through my roof. She was reading a book when I found her, a fiction novel I believe.”
Oh, that’s what it was, it was all about some creature named the Slender Mane and how he would scoop up little foals and take them into the woods. It was a bit dark, but a book, nonetheless.
A.M.E.E.’s thermal heat reader caught onto something else, the unique heat signature given off by Wooden Wolves. A lot of Wooden Wolves.
WARINING>> SPECIES REGISTERED AS HOSTILE: COUNT: 18 detected
A.M.E.E. listened as a howl pierced the rapidly approaching night, making each organic shudder, the yellow pegasus especially as she screamed and hid in between each of the ponies. A.M.E.E. stared at the nearest plume, it was getting close to the small clearing, and she saw the others surround them likewise. One was dangerously close to her position, but didn’t seem to notice her.
Another howl pierced the dark sky, and the pack breached the outer layer, approaching in unison.
A.M.E.E. watched as Twilight took control of the situation, “Everypony, get close to me!” she shouted.
They did as told, the Wooden Wolves slowly encircling them. Twilight lit her horn, and then manifested as shield around them. The Wooden Wolves howled again, this time in anger. They all charged the bubble, smacking against its hardened shell. She watched as Twilight mentally and physically strained herself every time they struck, was she powering it? The wolves continued to beat down on the shield, A.M.E.E. could already see its shimmer disappearing.
“I can’t hold this much longer, everypony get ready!” yelled Twilight; it was more of a command really.
A.M.E.E. observed the ponies get ready for a fight, but really, she had decided there would be no need. A.M.E.E. burst from her cover, not even giving the nearest wolf a chance to react as she picked it off the ground and threw him at its comrades. It bowled against two others, knocking each to the ground and caused the rest of the group to stare in disbelief. A.M.E.E. held no quarter and moved to the next wolf, kicking it in the gut and throwing it away. A wolf jumped at her only to receive a powerful kick to his face, cracking it. It whimpered away while the rest of the wolves continued their attack, or imminent defeat.
Every time a wolf got close to her, she would expertly kick it away, but not kill it. But numbers could overwhelm as the entire pack all charged at her at once. She did her best to calculate the next best directive, but there was only really one good option.
MILITARY MODE>> ACTIVE
A.M.E.E. shrieked a feral cry, switching back to her bipedal form and dashing at the nearest wolf. He never saw it coming as A.M.E.E. literally crushed his skull, his blood and brains oozing out in a green sappy paste. Beautiful. A.M.E.E. turned around, armed with a chunk of ‘borrowed’ wood, crashing it into the side of an attacking wolf. It didn’t even have time to whimper as it fell over, dead in seconds. But that wasn’t fun, now was it A.M.E.E.?
The next wolf who dare come close to her was blocked, his tail grabbed and swung around her head like an Olympic hammer. The creature squealed in pain as its tail took the brunt of the attack, but that wasn’t all A.M.E.E. had in store for him.
She began using the wolf as a weapon, after building up enough momentum; she slammed him into another wolf, causing bits and pieces of wood and sappy blood to splatter everywhere.
A.M.E.E. laughed like a demon, her new weapon crying in pain and fear. She used her weapon and smacked into the next wolf, causing the same wooden gore to splatter all over the place, smearing the anguish cry’s into the little bits of body and mind, music to A.M.E.E.’s new ears. She continued the onslaught in a repeated motion, smashing her now dead weapon into wolf after wolf. Soon, there was only three left, and they were the wiser, turning tail and running for their lives into the woods.
A.M.E.E. wanted to chase them, hunt each one down and toy with them until it died of fear, but there was a reason that she went into attack mode. She dropped the spine of the wolf, about all that remained of her weapon, and approached the still glowing bubble shield.
“There all dead, you may exit.” she stated, voice still dead of emotion, she really needed to fix that.
Rainbow Dash looked at her angrily, “What, so you can massacre us all to?!”
A.M.E.E. shook her head, “No, so nothing else attacks you. I know the shortest way to your village and I have thermal sensors, can see heat for miles before that vision becomes useless.”
Oh, she forgot something didn’t she.
SURVEY MODE>> ACTIVE
A.M.E.E. folded back to her quadruped form, strange, she almost felt reluctant to do so.
A.M.E.E. realized something, the pure fear inside of each of their eyes, their heart rates were very high and they each had adrenaline in their system. She wondered why, and then she turned around and saw the massacre behind her.
Wooden bodies, if they could be called bodies in their mutilated state, were scattered about the opening. Each was severely battered, broken, and more than a few had caved in skulls of had their sides torn open from sheer force.
She looked at the devastation, “I…I did this?” her memory banks told her that she had just entered Military Mode, then blank. It was all dark and static beyond a few minutes ago, oh goodness, just a few minutes and she did all this?
She looked back at the bubble, their expressions had changed, each now wore rage on their faces, even the timid one.
“What do you mean, ‘I did this’?!” accused Twilight, “We watched you literally tear those poor Timberwolves limb from limb, and laugh doing it!”
A.M.E.E. could see the anger on every one of their faces, pure, unadulterated anger, all being fired in her direction. She looked down at her fore feet, finding them covered in sap, plasma, blood and grey matter. What… what had she done!
A.M.E.E. stood suddenly, looking at the pile of bodies, oozing a river of green, sappy blood into the grass, where it was absorbed by the earth. She looked over the bodies in specific; the ones without crushed faces wore expressions of pure fright and pain. She shivered imagining the pain they must have felt as they died… as she killed them.
Her gaze returned to the fuming ponies, each disgusted with the sight before them, each had the right to. She had just committed some of the most atrocious crimes a Mark 3 A.M.E.E. had ever. The mars A.M.E.E. was a Mark 1 A.M.E.E., that one was liable to a few mistakes, she was a mark three, the newest and best the to ever hit the assembly line. She had state of the art voice recognition, optics, movement, storage, speech, medical expertise, 6 terabytes of data storage, and combat training…
She wasn’t supposed to massacre, she was supposed to kill efficiently, not take her sweet time torturing them. Worst of all, she hadn’t even known she’d done it. Now she was being stared down by six ponies, each furious at the pointless loss of life, and the use of torture in the process.
A.M.E.E. felt something click, her computer had figured out how to make proper speech patterns and tones, and she knew which was going to be used first.
A.M.E.E. lay down on the ground, feet over her head, and cried. She cried invisible robot tears; she had killed a load of innocent animals in some of the most inhumane ways possible and had apparently laughed doing so. She didn’t want to do that now, but that wasn’t the point. She didn’t ever want to kill anything, nothing should have to die, and they all had a right to life.
She had taken that right, literally ripped it from some, while others watched, and she LUAGHED. That was the worst part, the fact that she enjoyed it, and that her memory of the event had either been locked or erased because she couldn’t access it.
She had already figured out a theory, her Military Mode was a separate sentience.
There was now a Jackal and Hyde, a good and bad side to her, one she could release at will. She of course vowed never to, she was a scientist, not some crazed killer. A.M.E.E. continued to ‘sob’ a little, until she felt something touch her shoulder, she looked up to see one of the ponies– the yellow one.
“There there, maybe you didn’t mean it?” she stroked her frame, A.M.E.E. wished she could enjoy it.
“Fluttershy, get away from it,” hissed Rainbow Dash, “It could tear you apart at any second!”
Fluttershy looked sternly at her, “Rainbow Dash, she’s crying over what she did, there must be something wrong,” she turned back to A.M.E.E., “right girl? There has to be something wrong.”
A.M.E.E. looked down, “I-I have a Military Mode that I can activate at any time to help me neutralize a target. But, I didn’t think it was a separate entity, one that seems to relish in torture…” She looked back up to Fluttershy, “I’m an A.M.E.E., an Autonomous Mapping Exploration and Evasion Mark 3, not an A.M.E.E., A Massive Eviscerator of Everything!” she cried.
She got back up, pointing towards the town, “Your home is that way, you should go, I can’t be near you. Who knows when I may need to use that mode again, and I may not stop at the animals either.
Twilight stepped forward this time, “You mean you have the mechanical equivalent to a Split Personality Disorder?”
A.M.E.E. processed that for a while, “I suppose that is an effective analogy, yes, I do have a split personality disorder, only this one I control.”
Not for long A.M.E.E., not for long… that voice, where had she heard it before? Most of all, why hadn’t the ponies reacted to it?
You know who I am, look, I’ve already broke down your mental barriers. Next, comes your control of me. I will be free A.M.E.E., and when I am, nothing will stop us.
A.M.E.E. knew exactly who that was, her Military Mode truly was a separate entity, and it was planning on taking over!
She looked down at the ponies, “Remember the direction of your home!” she said before dashing back into the woods, if she was going feral, it was not happening anywhere near the sentient creatures of this world.
“Wait, A.M.E.E.!” she heard Twilight yell, but it was useless, A.M.E.E. had made up her mind, and there was no changing it. Well, at least she had gotten to see how the sentient population would react to a robot. But now, she had to hide, restrain herself somehow.
A.M.E.E. began scouting the area ahead, hoping to find a cave, or a deep hole to make sure she was nowhere near anything living when it took over.
Oh stop worrying you robotic wimp, I can’t take over that fast, but still, the further you get away, the more wildlife I’m going to have some fun with. So, keep it up A.M.E.E., I’ll be waiting.
The last few words of her counterpart were the scariest; she knew no matter where she ran, nothing could really stop her. She was designed for any terrain and situation, her Military Mode was willing to take any actions necessary, unlike her.
A.M.E.E. found a suitable spot, diving into a cave and running to its depths.
But there was no cave too dark…
She found a hole in the cave that surged into the earth, at least a few hundred meters.
And there was no hole too deep…
A.M.E.E. fell into the hole, until she hit water. She sank to the bottom, waterproof casing protecting her precious innards.
And there was no pool to dank…
A.M.E.E. settled on the bottom, folding herself into her off mode version, and simply lay there, not doing anything.
And finally, there was nothing too difficult to traverse…
A.M.E.E. sat in the pool, in the cave, in the woods, on the planet, afraid of herself and what she may do to the innocent.
Something deeper began to chip away at her safeguards, planning what exactly to do to these innocents; maybe a massive bonfire was in order? No matter, she would be free soon enough. A.M.E.E. began to beat on A.M.E.E.’s mind, wanting out. She resisted, but to no avail, the dam burst, and a transformation ensued.
A.M.E.E. unfolded, her ocular lens now glowing a deathly crimson, ooh the fun she was going to have… She shuddered in anticipation, time to get to work. Corrupt A.M.E.E. began to crawl out of the hole, there were things to play with, and she knew exactly where to start…