“Have you ever heard the tale of slendermane?”
“Eeyup.”
“Yes.”
“The Headless Horse?”
“Mhmm.”
“Yup.”
“The blanks?”
“Ah’m the one that told ya that one.”
“Oh… um right”
Three fillies were seated around campfire within range of a small cottage located on the outskirts of the small village. The moon was full, the air was fresh and filled with the smells of spring. The scene would have been static and unchanging if not for the chattering of the girls.
They were young, too young to be without supervision, which was being provided by a cream coloured Pegasus mare with a pink mane who could be mistaken for a statue if not for her steady breathing, and occasional whimpers of fear.
“Do you know any good stories, Fluttershy?” One of the fillies; a white unicorn turned her attention to the mare.
“Oh! Oh no, no no no. I’m not a very good storyteller, ” The Fluttershy responded. “Are you sure we can’t do this inside?”
“Maybe we should just call it a night Sweetie Belle, ah mean none of have any more stories to tell tonight, and we got a full day of crusadin’ tomorrow. What do you think, Scootaloo?” Another one of the fillies, a yellow earth pony began to doze off.
If Scootaloo heard her she didn’t show it, she had her eyes closed as if in deep thought.
“Scootaloo? Scootaloooo… SCOOTALOO!”
“Eep!” Fluttershy jumped in fright and hid behind the log that had previously been her seat.
“What? You say something, Applebloom?” asked Scootaloo who clear had not been listening.
“Yeah, I was just sayin-” Applebloom began.
“I got it!” Scootaloo interrupted her equally flightless yellow friend. “This will be the best and scariest story any pony has ever told!
“Well don’t just sit there, tell us!” The other two fillies were getting excited.
“Maybe you should go to-”
“Yeah! Tell us!” It was if Fluttershy was not even present.
*whimper
“Okay,” Scootaloo began, “This is the story of the clockwork diamond dog. One thousand years ago back when Princess Luna turned into Nightmare moon. She thought ‘We need a monster to do our bidding.’”
“Is that you impression of the princess?” interrupted Sweetie Belle.
“No! It’s nightmare moon!”
“But she’s not nightmare moon.” Chimed Apple Bloom
“Hey! I thought I was telling the story!” Scootaloo Pegasus did not appreciate the impromptu questioning.
“…”
“Now, if you’re done interrupting me,” she glared at the other two fillies. “Legend has it she gathered up six hundred and sixty six diamond dogs-”
“Why six hun-” Apple Bloom stopped herself mid sentence and smile sheepishly at the increasingly irritated Pegasus.
“Six hundred and sixty six diamond dogs. Why diamond dogs? Nopony knows, but she took those diamond dog and examined them one, by one, noting which ones had the strongest arms, fastest legs, toughest skin, sharpest claws, best nose, and most sensitive ears. And she took those parts and made a monster, but this monster’s body didn’t have a heart or a brain. Instead it had a system of gears and pulleys enchanted by nightmare moon’s magic. But it couldn’t stay charged on its own, it needed a power source…”
“Why have y’all gone silent?” Apple Bloom was unamused by the pegasus’ story.
“…Dramatic pause…” Another moment passed, “And that power source was PONIES! And they say the clockwork diamond dog lives on in the Everfree forest, waiting for its master to return and capturing ponies who dare to wander too close to its lair. Now, you may be wondering; where is the beast’s lair? Well they some say it’s the entire Everfree Forest, others say it’s so far into the forest that a pony can’t tell the difference between night and day, but no pony knows for sure. That’s because everypony who’s seen the clockwork diamond dog has never been heard from again.”
Sweetie Belle wasn’t convinced. “That makes no sense, if nopony who’s seen it disappeared how would anypony know about it?”
“Yeah, and mah sister and the other girls have been in the forest plenty of times and Zecora lives there, and they ain’t seen no clockwork diamond dog,” Apple Bloom added.
Scootaloo had enough. “Urgh, it doesn’t matter, I didn’t get a storytelling cutie mark. Any of you got anything?”
“Nope.”
“No.”
The girls were getting discouraged at their lack of success, tomorrow was the last day of their Spring break and after five full days of crusading not a single one of them received the symbol that was among the most important thing to ponies all across Equestria and beyond. A symbol that would appear on a young ponies flank whenever they discovered who they truly were.
“Don’t worry girls, you’ll get your cutie marks eventually,” Fluttershy commented completely unnerved as a true testament to the caliber of Scootaloo’s story.
None of the girls looked convinced.
“That’s what everypony says.”
“Ah’m starting to think it’s not gonna happen.”
“Why do we have to wait?”
“Because you can’t discover yourself if you don’t have the patience to search and wait.” A familiar voice pierced the otherwise silent night.
“Twilight!” exclaimed Fluttershy.
A lavender unicorn emerged from the dark, a mare about the same age as Fluttershy with a dark violet mane and single pink highlight. “Hi there Fluttershy, I remembered that you were watching the girls tonight and thought you might want some company.”
Fluttershy was grateful for her friend’s kindness. “Thank you twilight, but we were about to go to sleep why are you out so late anyway? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fluttershy, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask; we’re friends right? And to answer your question I was doing research on pony evolution and how it would take place on other planets, and I guess I lost track of the time.”
“zzz”
The two mares looked over to see that the fillies had fallen asleep and decided to put off their conversation until the sun had risen the next day.
--
Deep in the forest by the ruins of the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters, with nothing but the light of the full moon to illuminate the area the nocturnal creatures of the everfree forest were stirring. One particular chimera which bore the body of a lion the wings of a dragon and the tail of a scorpion, its massive forepaws the size of the heads of the nearby pony villagers, a mane as red as a fire and the razor sharp teeth of a shark, had noticed that his territory was out of place. Trees had been snapped the bushes trampled and a lone bipedal silhouette defined by the light of the moon. It looked like what one of the ponies would call a diamond dog, yet not quite. Whatever this creature was, it had trespassed on the manticore’s territory and could not be allowed to live. The beast let out a terrible roar to get the silhouette’s attention.
--
Initializing…
Remaining fuel: 92.5% (4.56 * 106 hr)
If I’m right that wretched organic thorn in my side should not arrive on this planet for another 1600 hours, which should be enough time.
Acceleration due to gravity: 0.9531 ± 0.0005g
Enough time to complete my goal.
Mass of parent star: 2 * 10-2 solar masses
When complete, odds of defeat by the hands of him drop to 0.001%, despite whatever technical data he has on me.
Mass of planet: 0.95M
Initial estimates place this worlds technology at pre 20th century, analysing the average atmosphere composition suggests low levels of gases produced by black powder ignition. However some areas have relatively large concentrations of sulphur dioxide, source unknown.
Native species: Unknown
Providing the natives technology advanced in a similar manner to humanities, there should not be any substantial road block in my way.
Current surface temperature: 285 K
In unnatural foliage of the everfree in the dark of luna’s night stood a lone figure. A figure bipedal in nature with a second pair of limbs which seem to hold no locomotive purpose, but rather to be used as tools to manipulate the figure’s immediate environment. From just a look one would assume it was top heavy and rather clumsy, its ability to keep its balance despite its form is nothing short of a miracle. A more scientific mind would attribute that to a rather large cerebellum. However, despite its appearance the figure was not alive in a conventional sense, its ‘skin’ was cold there was no heart to beat and no ‘brain’ in the conventional sense. Its movement was inorganic and betrayed the cover of the underlying mechanisms that held this mechanical being together.
“RRRRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHRRRR!” The machine snapped out of its contemplative state of mind and addressed its attention to the chimera that seemed to be trying to intimidate it.
First encounter with a native specimen, it seems to match descriptions on the manticore from human mythology. Its most dangerous feature is its venom tipped tail, this beast should not be a hindrance. However, its venom may prove to be a useful negotiation tool as I reach for my objective.
The manticore watched as the figure unfazed slowly made its way over; surely it must be suicidal and this chimera was more than happy to oblige. Using its wings the manticore propelled himself towards the arrogant intruder, but the creature did not react. If it was not going to flee or even make an attempt to defend itself it really must be suicidal, and that just fueled the manticore’s bloodlust. The distance was closing fast in a matter of seconds it would all be over for one them.
3…
2…
1…
All thought had left the beast’s mind; faster than anyone could have reacted the figure had pulled a blade the length of of a ponies body from hoof to head, let loose a single stroke and returned to its original passive state. It had been a precise blow no more blood then was necessary not a noise was made.
The manticore was dead.
If this is the worst this world has to offer it may not even take 800 hours before I’m done here.
INITIALIZATION COMPLETE
Primary objective: Discover the reason for the parent star’s orbit and exploit it.
1599 hours remain…
