Liberty
Professor Brain stood in the antechamber and leaned upon his walking stick, paying very little attention to Captain Shaina where she stood guard upon the throne room doors.
He was too concerned with his own fate to pay much notice to other ponies.
He did, however, notice that he was not alone in waiting for what was, in military parlance, known as an ‘interview without coffee’ and what was more commonly known amongst the general populace as a thorough bollocking. One which he might not survive with his liberty intact, depending on just how upset His Majesty was.
That he was upset about something had been clear from the peremptory tone of his summons to Brain.
The other unfortunate waiting to be called out on the carpet for some perceived error was wearing the uniform of an admiral of the fleet branch. Brain didn’t know the fellow’s name, nor did he ask for it, he had much better things to do.
Like wondering if, in addition to finding someone in his own science branch to shovel the blame onto for…well, for whatever it was that His Majesty was angry about, he might also use the presence of this navy fellow to deflect the Grand Ruler’s anger completely away from him and onto the admiral.
If he could manage that, then he might actually survive this encounter.
He gripped the handle of his walking stick tight, and hoped that his face appeared calm for anyone who might be watching. Certainly he didn’t want to look as nervous as the admiral, who was tugging at his collar as he paced up and down in apprehension.
Brain might have felt sorry for him if his own troubles had not been so immediate.
What did I do? What could I possibly have done?
Is it the Sentinels? Could they possibly have failed in their mission? No, no that isn’t possible at all. Sentinel Two is my finest creation, the ultimate pony warrior. And as for Sentinel Three…she should be almost as capable as he is. There’s no way some punch-drunk party pony and some zebra savages would possibly be able to best them! Impossible!
So what else have I done that His Majesty might be displeased with?
Brain’s search through his memory was interrupted by the sound of Captain Emerald Shaina’s voice. “You can both go through now. His Majesty is ready to receive you.”
Was that…was that pity in the captain’s voice? Did she know something that he didn’t? Did she know what Brain had done to cast His Majesty into high dudgeon? It took all of the professor’s self-control not to fall on his knees and beg the captain to tell him everything and tell him quick, so that he could come up with an excuse and decide who to throw under a bus for whatever had gone wrong. He almost did…but his will was just sufficiently strong to maintain his dignity, as he made sure to follow the admiral – always go in first into a meeting where there is credit to be claimed, for the lion’s share will fall on you; contrariwise, always go last into a room where blame is to be assigned, that way you will suffer the least of it, that was something he had learned during his training and it was a lesson as valuable as any scientific principle that had been drilled into his mind – through the now-open doorway and into the throne room.
He thought he heard Captain Shaina wish him good luck as the doors closed behind him.
Brain fidgeted with his stick as he and the admiral halted in front of the dais where His Majesty the Grand Ruler sat upon his throne, with one leg crossed upon his knee, playing a mournful refrain upon his harp.
Brain cast a glance at the admiral, and saw that the fellow was wearing his dress uniform, with braid and medals galore across his chest.
Should I have dressed for the occasion?
The Grand Ruler did not acknowledge them. He did not even seem to notice that they were there. He just kept on playing his harp, and staring off into the middle distance, as though he was in utter ignorance not only as to their presence but as to their very existence.
Brain wasn’t especially keen to draw attention to himself.
The two of them knelt, Brain winced a little at the pain in his knees, and he noticed that the throne room was nearly completely devoid of occupants. There were no guards. There were no courtiers, no attendants. No one was keeping records of this meeting. The only pony present besides himself, the admiral and of course His Majesty was Colonel Starlight Glimmer of the Intelligence. Her mere presence here in this meeting was not a good sign. The fact that she was looking grim, glowering down at him with her arms folded across her chest, was an especially bad sign.
Brain felt a surge of irritation at the idea that his destiny might be decided by a lowly unicorn, but he suppressed it quickly before it could show on his face or in his bearing. Pride would do him no good here.
They waited, in silence save for the mournful strains of the Grand Ruler’s harp. They waited…and waited…and waited. Brain could feel the sweat building on his face nearly as quickly as the pain was growing in his old and aching knees. Yet he did not speak. This was a game that His Majesty was playing with them, and whoever spoke first would lose. It would not be him.
After several minutes had passed, the nerve of the admiral snapped and he cleared his throat. “You…you summoned us, Majesty?”
The Grand Ruler’s song finished, the sound of the music echoed about the room for a moment, and then faded into silence.
“Yes, Admiral Fisher, I did summon you here. How astute of you to notice,” the Grand Ruler said, with sarcasm dripping from his every word. “I suppose with your keen powers of observation, you have already realised why I summoned you.”
Admiral Fisher seemed to lose his tongue for a moment, before amidst the sound of much gulping he appeared to find it again. “The Princess Twilight-“
“The Princess Twilight Sparkle,” the Grand Ruler repeated. “A ship I ordered you to destroy with all hands. Most especially…” he paused for a moment. “Tell me, Admiral Fisher, why is this ship still intact?”
Admiral Fisher cringed. “Your Majesty was sent the report from the-“
“I read the report from the Valiant,” the Grand Ruler said, as he rose to his feet and began to descend from the royal dais in heavy steps, with his sparkling crimson cloak flowing behind him as he bore down upon them like the spectre of death itself. His shadow grew over the two ponies grovelling before him. “I was hoping that you could clarify some details that were missing from that report. Such as how that ship escaped when the Valiant had the capacity to disable all its systems.”
“I…I don’t know, Majesty.”
The Grand Ruler’s foot lashed out, striking Admiral Fisher on the nose. There was a crunching sound and a spray of blood as the admiral was flipped backwards to land with a heavy thump on his back on the red throne room carpet. He lay almost still, with one hand pressed against his profusely-bleeding nose, making very little noise, almost certainly hoping that was the last of it.
The Grand Ruler walked briskly forward to stand over the admiral. “You selected the Valiant for this assignment did you not?”
“There were only a few ships in the area, Majesty, and only the Valiant had-“
The Grand Ruler grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him bodily up into the air until their eyes were level. Judging by slight choking sounds the admiral was making, the Grand Ruler was gripping his throat a little too tight.
“Captain Plasma is either incompetent or a traitor for failing to accomplish his task,” the Grand Ruler said. “Which means that you are either incompetent or a traitor for selecting him for this mission. Which is it, Admiral Fisher?”
Fisher squirmed in the Grand Ruler’s grasp, but said nothing.
The Grand Ruler looked at the medals and ribbons his chest, and his lip curled into a sneer. “All these decorations? Did you think to wear them as armour, Admiral? Did you think that your past service would excuse your presence disloyalty?”
“Please…” Fisher gasped. “Please, Your Majesty…I am…I have always been a most faithful…”
“If you are such a good servant then why has the Princess Twilight not been destroyed?” the Grand Ruler demanded. “Why is Rarity still alive?”
“I don’t…Captain…Majesty, I…I’m so sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” the Grand Ruler repeated incredulously. “You’re sorry? Oh, well in that case.” There was a snapping sound as the Grand Ruler threw Admiral Fisher across the room. He landed on the floor with a hard thud and bounced and rolled before he settled, quite obviously dead, not far from the door in a tangle of arms and legs. His neck had been snapped.
“Apology accepted, Admiral Fisher,” the Grand Ruler snarled contemptuously as he turned away from the dead body. “Colonel, where is the Valiant now?”
If Colonel Glimmer was discomforted by a dead body on the floor she gave no sign of it. “On her way back to Neighfolk, Majesty.”
“When she docks I want Captain Plasma arrested for mutiny and high treason,” the Grand Ruler said. “The evidence is so overwhelming as to abrogate the need for a trial.”
“Very good, Your Majesty,” Colonel Glimmer murmured. “And the penalty?”
The Grand Ruler looked at her.
“Of course, Your Majesty,” she said. “It will be death.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” muttered His Majesty. “It is good to know that I have yet one servant on whom I can rely absolutely.”
Colonel Glimmer bowed her head. “Your Majesty’s faith does me great honour.”
The Grand Ruler nodded. “And as for you, good old Professor Brain. Why do you think that you are here?”
Brain’s voice, when it emerged, did so as a high pitched squeak. “I’m not-“
The Grand Ruler’s face was contorted with an expression of contempt. “Get up, you old fool. Get up, and I will enlighten you as to the reason for your presence here.”
Brain gulped, and glanced towards the dead body of the late Admiral Fisher.
The Grand Ruler laughed. “Officers, professor, are the most plentiful commodity in Starfleet. Armour, weapons, ships, all these things cost money to produce, but I can make admirals and generals practically out of nothing.” He snapped his fingers. “Colonel Glimmer, who is the most senior captain with the Home Fleet?”
“Captain Piett of the Executor, Majesty.”
The Grand Ruler paused. “Executor.”
“Majesty?”
“It is pronounced Executor, as in somebody who performs executions, Colonel, not executor as in someone who administers wills,” the Grand Ruler said. “But what of that. Captain Piett shall become Admiral Piett, and take the desk of poor Admiral Fisher. And so, voila, nothing of value was lost. But you, Professor Brain…I will not kill you. Not yet, at any road, not while I have a use for that…brain of yours.” He chuckled at his own wit. “Up, up, on your feet!”
Brain grimaced against the pain as he levered himself up onto his feet again. “Majesty, may I most humbly inquire as to how I have displeased you.”
The central horn of the holy trio that crowned the Grand Ruler’s head, his golden marks of favour from the gods, glowed with a pale ethereal light as a blue hologram appeared in the centre of the room. Brain remembered the scene well, it was when His Majesty had complained about the coldness of his wife, and asked if it might be possible for him – Profess Brain, that is – to create a clone of her. And after that…
After that I suggested that the Sentinels might be used to kill…impossible! Something cannot have gone wrong! My creations against that empty headed… he thought of Pinkie Pie bouncing around his laboratory like it was a play room, making her ridiculously bad jokes, behaving like an infant…it was impossible that the likes of her could have bested his clones, impossible!
But then why am I hear, being shown this?
The people in the hologram began to talk.
"If I may, Your Majesty, I have a notion as to we may field test the new Sentinels, prior to entering into mass production," Brain said.
"Indeed?"
"You have recently given orders for the members of, ahem, Friendship is Magic to be dispersed across the Starfleet, have you not?" Brain said. "But I think that you do not intend for them to remain in their new positions long?"
"No," Grand Ruler said. "I mean to kill them all. I did not get the chance to order Twilight's death, I shall content myself with her friends. And, with their heroes gone, the Equestrian identity will suffer another blow."
"Quite so, Majesty, an excellent stratagem," Brain said. "Might I suggest that the Sentinels would be a tool to do the deed. A test of their effectiveness, as it were."
Grand Ruler considered the idea. "I had meant to use a special forces unit to destroy not only Pinkie Pie but the Queen of Zebrica. I may use your Sentinels instead, when they are ready. In fact I shall, provided they are ready soon."
"Oh, they will be, Your Majesty. I guarantee that they will be," Brain said.
The holographic image faded as the light went out from the Grand Ruler’s horn. His Majesty himself turned away from Brain, leaving the professor staring at the sparkling cape of blood red, which colour seemed to mock him now.
“You begged the honour on behalf of your soldiers,” the Grand Ruler said softly. “Your Sentinels, which you claimed to me would be the future of Starfleet, were to eliminated Pinkie Pie and in so doing prove their worth.”
Brain swallowed hard. “Majesty-“
The Grand Ruler whirled to face Brain so that he could roar like a manticore into his face. “PINKIE PIE LIVES! Your elite, your special creations, the future of Starfleet, your warriors without compare, have been bested by an infantile party pony and her retard sister!” What do you have to say for yourself?”
Brain made no move to wipe the spittle from off his face. He didn’t dare to do so. “I…Your Majesty, I confess that I…I have no contact with the Sentinels I do not know what might have gone wrong. I am sure that they will return and-“
“You’d better hope so,” Colonel Glimmer muttered. “We’d all better hope so.”
The Grand Ruler sighed. “Indeed, that is the other matter of which you appear to be unaware, professor. Colonel Glimmer, show him.”
Starlight descended from her place by the side of the throne, and as she descended with her face still set in a grim expression she pulled a handheld device from out of her jacket and pressed a couple of buttons upon it. She thrust it practically into Brain’s face. “This is a video taken from the security camera in a hardware store.”
Brain looked…and then his eyes widened in shock behind his spectacles. There, right beneath the camera, was Sentinel Three lying on the floor, attended by the other sentinels. She looked…she looked as though she’d been wounded somehow…
“Don’t worry, she got better,” Colonel Glimmer said sharply. She pressed a button on the pad, and another video popped. “This came from someone’s phone.”
This time, the video showed an unmistakable – to him, anyway – Sentinel Three, face only half concealed behind a hoodie, standing on a street corner keeping watch.
“There are a half dozen more videos just like these, in locations making a direct trail for New Canterlot.”
“Well, that is some good news anyway,” Brain stammered. “She’s alive, and she’s coming home-“
“She’s been seen!” Colonel Glimmer snarled, grabbing him by the collar of his white lab coat and shaking him like a rat in the mouth of a mastiff. “You cloned Twilight, you stupid idiot, and then you let her out where people could see her! People are already starting to talk about this and they’re only going to talk louder the more people catch a glimpse of Twilight 2.0. What were you thinking?”
“Calm yourself, Colonel, everything that the professor has done in creating Sentinel Three was done with my express authorisation,” the Grand Ruler said softly.
Colonel Glimmer retreated back a step. “I understand, Your Majesty…but…may I ask for what purpose-“
“Partly, I confess, the irony appealed to me,” the Grand Ruler replied. “Twilight had strongly disapproved of the Sentinel program, so to make her a part of it after death pleased my humour. More to the point, however, I thought that…if Twilight could somehow return from death purified of her weaknesses, and make strong endorsement of Starfleet’s superior values then…it would go a long way towards easing discontent with my rule.”
Glimmer was silent for a moment. “That…may have worked, Majesty, but I fear the impact will be a little diluted now. And, unfortunately, in the absence of any such statement from this new Twilight.”
“Her name is Sentinel Three,” Brain said peevishly. “She has Twilight’s DNA but she is not Twilight Sparkle. She is a puppet, nothing more.”
“A silent puppet,” Colonel Glimmer said. “And so ponies have already started putting their words into her mouth, taking her as an avatar for their hopes.”
“Seditious hopes?” the Grand Ruler asked.
Colonel Glimmer shrugged. “Twilight Sparkle was the most prominent Equestrian in Your Majesty’s administration, more prominent even than the Queen. She was well loved and…since her passing the influence of Starfleet has only grown. There are some who are tempted to say – quietly – that Twilight Sparkle would have prevented whatever misery they complain of today, if she had lived. And now…they see her reborn, as they think, and they tell each other that she has returned to set the world to rights.”
“To rights?” the Grand Ruler yelled. “I have set this world to rights! I, with my power, have brought order where once there was only chaos, strength where there was only weakness, pride were there was only harmony, I did these things, me! With my own hands, and my own power!”
Colonel Glimmer bowed her head. “Of course you did, Your Majesty, I merely report what fools and traitors say. It is, after all, my job to know what they are thinking.”
The Grand Ruler frowned. “Can these malicious rumours be stopped?”
Colonel Glimmer paused. “We are fortunate that Starfleet Magic-“
“Speak not of that show to me,” the Grand Ruler groaned. “Ever since the new writer took over it has become nothing but a hotbed of heresy and sedition.”
“Indeed, Majesty, but we are very fortunate that the new season has introduced two clones of Twilight already. I have people spreading the idea that these ‘sightings’ are a publicity stunt for the show, I have people working to meme her as ‘Belle Amie’, I…I am doing what I can to control the damage, but I fear it will come to nothing if Twi- if Sentinel Three is not brought under control, and soon.”
“Do you hear that, professor?” the Grand Ruler demanded. “You need to up your game, because so far your pet project has proven nothing but an embarrassment and a liability. Do you understand? You need to up your game.”
Brain bowed his head. “Yes, Your Majesty, I quite understand.”
“Get a grip, Professor,” the Grand Ruler growled. “And get out of my sight.”
Brain didn’t need telling twice to scuttle from the room as fast as his old legs would carry him.
"So...you know what to do?" Charlie asked for the sixth time.
For the sixth time, Twilight answered, with a slight laugh in her voice. "Get to a terminal, deactivate your chips, come on Charlie I came up with this."
Charlie nodded. "Right. Yeah, right. Remember, I'm right on the other end of your earpiece, so just cough and I'll talk you through whatever you need."
"You don't think I can do it?" Twilight asked.
"Well, you did kind of screw up the first mission and nearly get yourself killed," Bravo remarked from where she sat with her back against the wall of the incomplete building, not far from the palace, in which they were hiding.
"That was...different," Twilight said. "Twilight's memories...my memories...they won't get in my way this time."
"Yeah? Whatever you say, princess." Bravo smirked at her for a moment, then put her earphones in and started playing some more of her Z-Pop; clearly she wasn't interested in hearing any more.
Two folded his arms across his chest. He was standing up, looking down on Twilight. "You sure you're up for this? You're going to be in there alone, without backup."
"We talked about this," Twilight said. "None of you can come in until after I've disabled your kill switches. Otherwise..."
"Heads go boom," Alpha said.
"Not precisely, but close enough," Twilight muttered. "I can do this. Trust me."
Two didn't look particularly reassured. "Okay...but just yell on the comm if you get into trouble, and the cavalry will come running."
Twilight smiled. "Okay."
Delta ran a whetstone across one of his axes. "You know, when all this is over we should really think about giving ourselves proper names."
"Speak for yourself, I have a proper name," Alpha declared.
"You want to be called One Alpha for the rest of your life?"
"Alpha would be fine," Alpha replied. "Makes me sound cool. Makes me sound elite."
"Having a cool name doesn't make you cool and it certainly doesn't make you elite," Twilight said.
Alpha looked sceptical. "Did your friend Rainbow Dash teach you that, Twilight?"
Twilight ignored the slight edge in Alpha's voice when she mentioned her name. The other clones...they weren't quite comfortable with it. They didn't really get it, even though she'd tried to explain it to them. It was like...like they were waiting for her to realise that she wasn't Twilight, and she never had been.
It didn't matter. She was Twilight, and even if the other Sentinels didn't accept that, her friends would.
"What does everyone think about Boulder?" Delta asked.
Two frowned. "As what?"
"As a name, for me."
"I think it sounds stupid," Two said flatly.
"Why 'Boulder'?" asked Alpha.
Delta shrugged. "Well...once we're free, we're going to meet up with...Twilight's friends, aren't we?"
"That's the plan, yeah," said Twilight. Her friends would help her, she was certain of it. They would...well, they would shelter her, and the other clones, until they could work out what to do next.
"Like the pink one, and her sister."
"Pinkie and Maud," Twilight corrected. "I suppose so." She frowned. "What does this have to do with the name Boulder?"
Delta shrugged again, he seemed to be trying too hard to appear insouciant. "I...I thought she might like rock names...based on what you've said."
"Pinkie?"
"No, not her! The other sister!" Delta said.
Twilight's eyebrows rose. "You...you like Maud?"
"Well, I don't know, that's why I asked you what love felt like and you gave me a stupid answer about knowing it when I feel it," Delta snapped. "I tell you what I felt, I felt the punch that knocked me cold; and you have to like a cutie with a hook like that."
"Someone, please, kill me now," Alpha muttered.
Twilight rose to her feet. "I should get going."
"Yeah," Two muttered. "And...listen, if this is goodbye-"
"Goodbye?" Twilight asked. "This isn't goodbye, why would you say that?"
Two shuffled uncomfortably on his feet. "When this is over...you're going to have Twilight's life. You said it yourself. Her life, her friends, her family. How is Princess Twilight Sparkle going to have room in life for a bunch of defective super soldiers?"
Twilight smiled as she put one hand on his shoulder, and squeezed in affectionately. "If there's one thing that Twilight's memories can teach me, it's that there is always room for new friends. You saved my life. All of you saved my life. I couldn't forget that. I won't forget that. Whatever the future holds, it has a place for you, I promise."
Two looked, not entirely convinced, but at least somewhat relieved. "Okay. So...I guess...good luck out there."
"Thanks," she said. "Hopefully I won't need it."
Getting into the lab was easy. She simply walked right in as though nothing had happened.
She did not feel afraid. She wouldn't allow herself to feel afraid. She was Twilight Sparkle, she was a lioness, she had faced down gods and monsters - she remembered all of them! - and so she forced herself to feel no fear as she strode into the place of her birth as though it was her home.
It was my home, before I remembered who I was. It was my home...until I found something better.
No one stopped her. No one so much as gainsaid her. No one even tried to interfere with her work as she sat down at one of the consoles in the laboratory.
"Okay," she heard Charlie's voice through her communicator. "Now you want to-"
"I know what I'm doing," she whispered, as she began to search through the command pathways looking for a way to harmlessly disable the chips in the heads of her...her friends. Yes, they were her friends, just as she had said to Two. They had not known each so long, or done so much as Twilight's real friends...but they had saved her life, and that counted for a lot. She wouldn't leave them behind.
Twilight's fingers moved across the keyboard, searching through files and directories, breaking through firewalls, searching, searching. And through it all nobody - nopony - did a thing to stop her. The other scientists, it was as though they were too perturbed, frightened evey by her presence to do anything to stop her from doing anything she liked. They just stood there, on the opposite side of the room, whispering in consternation but not daring to interfere.
That was good. She didn't want to hurt them. Twilight wouldn't want to hurt anyone unless she had to. But the alternative...she wouldn't leave her friends with a death sentence hanging over their heads.
Death sentence...Pinkie!
They had been ordered to kill her. Stupid! Stupid Twilight how could you be so...if the Sentinels had been ordered to take out Pinkie Pie then it meant that somebody wanted Pinkie Pie dead and maybe...maybe...
Twilight's fingers flew across the keyboard, making a sound like rain hammering down upon the roof as she searched for something, anything that would confirm...
NAME: Pinkamena Diane Pie
RANK: Executive Captain
STATUS: Absent Without Leave
She's alive Twilight practically gasped. She's alive, she's still alive, they didn't...
She searched for another name.
NAME: Rainbow Dash
RANK: Executive Captain
STATUS: Present for Duty
"Twilight, how's it going?"
Charlie's voice interrupted both her thoughts and her search. She had a job to do, and ponies who were counting on her. Once she was done she could check on all her friends, but right now...right now she had to find that off switch.
"I'm working on it," she murmured, as she returned to the task at hand. Now, where was that-
"Sentinel Three!"
She glanced up, her fingers still dancing upon the keys laid out before her, to see that Professor Brain had returned - he had not been present when Twilight had first arrived - and he, at least, had the courage to challenge her presence in the laboratory.
He looked flustered, as though he had just had a great shock. He sounded more than irritated, too. Twilight remembered her past dealings with him: good old Professor Brain, so genial, so avuncular, such a charming, absent-minded professor. Even when she had caught him in the dubious experiments that had led to her creations - and didn't I tell him to shut this project down, come to think of it? - he had presented an air of grandfatherly patience and concern. Not so now. Not so at all.
Was he just wearing a mask this entire time, or has something simply annoyed him that much?
"Good morning, Professor," Twilight said, in a neutral tone. She wanted to give as little away as possible, not until she had completed her task. And I'm almost there.
"Sentinel Three!" Brain yelled again. His cane tapped on the laboratory floor as he advanced towards her. "Sentinel Three, report."
"What would you like a report on, Professor?" Twilight asked.
Brain looked as though he was about to choke on his own rage. "Where have you been?" he demanded. "Where are the other Sentinel units, why have you allowed yourself to be seen by civillians; why, Sentinel Three, did you fail in your mission? Why is your target still alive?"
"Zebra resistance was stronger than anticipated," Twilight murmured.
"Zebra...you were defeated stripeback savages?" Brain demanded incredulously. "You, the strongest soldiers in the galaxy, the pinnacle of science and technology, you tell me you were bested by barbarians and a worthless-"
"Pinkie isn't worthless," Twilight said sharply. "She's sweet and brave and she spreads joy wherever she goes. She's worth the whole pack of you."
Brain's eyes bulged as though they were about to pop out of his head. "I...you...where are the other Sentinels? What are you doing?"
Twilight ignored him. She kept on typing. She almost had it.
Brain scowled. "You will take no actions unless ordered by me. Cease your activities at once."
Twilight kept on working.
"I ordered you to cease your activities!" Brain yelled. "You will obey me! Obey!"
He still doesn't realise that my 'programming' didn't take, Twilight thought. He still thinks that I am wholly loyal to Starfleet, and to him.
He was never as smart as he thought he was.
Scowling, Brain reached for her; he was trying to grab her by the arm and wrench her bodily away from the keyboard, but Twilight grabbed his own arm by the wrist before he could touch her. She squeezed, squeezed so hard that he cried out in pain, a whine of agony escaping from his aged lips. When she released him, he staggered back from her and nearly tripped over his own walking stick.
“Sentinel Three! What are you doing?” he demanded.
Twilight looked him squarely in the face. Her voice was cold as steel. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. And I am free of you now.” She pressed the last button to safely deactivate the chips. “We’re all free of you now.”
There was a flash of blue light as Bravo teleported the other Sentinels in a tightly packed group into the groom. Delta had his axes out. Alpha had her crossbow loaded. Two cracked his knuckles loudly.
Brain’s eyes widened behind his round spectacles. “No…no! No, this cannot be! I created you! You would not exist without me! You…you are programmed to obey my commands!”
“You didn’t programme us with anything,” Two declared. “You screwed that part up, professor.”
“I was going to play along with you until I found my true purpose,” Twilight said, as she rose to her feet. “But you ordered to kill my friend…and besides, I know who I am now. I don’t need to take your orders any more.”
Two had a vicious smirk on his face as he bore down upon Brain. The aged professor tried to retreat backwards, but stumbled and fell onto the hard laboratory floor. The other scientists all seemed too frightened to help him up. His stick rolled away as he held up his hands to ward Two off.
“No! No, stay away! I created you! I can help you! Please…please, have mercy!”
Two picked him up by the neck and slammed him into the nearest wall. “I will not know fear. I will not know pain.” He thrust his face close into that of the terrified and whimpering Professor Brain. “I will not know mercy. I will be the ultimate weapon against evil.”
His hand clenched into a fist.
“Wait!” Twilight said. “Don’t hurt him. There’s no need for it.”
Two turned to stare at her, his brown eyes wide with disbelief. "What?"
"He doesn't have to die," Twilight said. "He can't hurt us any more."
Two's eyes continued to boggle at her as though she had just grown an extra head. "He bred us to do nothing more than fight and kill and die! Now you're saying that he doesn't deserve a taste of his own medicine?"
"Yes, you're right," Twilight said, ignoring the look of abject terror on the face of Professor Brain. "That is what we were created to do. We were made, not born, to be nothing more than soldiers. But we can be more. We can be so much more than they think we are, more than they made us to be. We can be...don't you see, we can be whatever we want! We can find our own path, forge our own destinies. But we have to start now. You have to start now, be letting him go. Because if you kill him...you only prove that you're as little as he thinks you are."
Two scowled, and it was so clear on his face that he didn't like the idea that Twilight was worried that he was going to hurt Brain anyway. But then he opened his palm, and let the aged professor slide down to the laboratory floor.
"You should thank her for your life," Two muttered. "Left to myself I wouldn't have been so merciful." When Brain did not respond for a moment he yelled, "Thank her!"
Brain whimpered unintelligibly, as a pool of yellow liquid began to leak out of his trousers.
"That's enough," Twilight said firmly. "He doesn't need to thank me, he doesn't need to say anything. He's nothing to us now."
Bravo smirked. Charlie looked nervous. Delta fingered his axe and said, "So I guess hurting any of the rest of this lot is out of the question then?"
"Yes," Twilight said firmly. She knelt down, so that she was looking into Brain's bespectacled green eyes. "We are free," she said. "I want you to understand that: we are free. If you come after us, if you try and cage us again, if you do anything other than leave us alone...I won't be so merciful again."
Brain didn't reply. He looked too shocked to be even capable of speech. But Twilight trusted that he'd got the message.
She stood up. "Come on, let's get out of here," she said, and smiled encouragingly. "The rest of our lives is waiting for us. Let's not keep it waiting."
Sunset's horn glowed with a pale green light as she unlocked her door.
Her quarters were secured by no ordinary lock; the secrets that she was hiding within this room were too important to be entrusted to any mere lock and key. Her door was shielded against attempts to break it down - they wouldn't hold up against a truly powerful attack, but if that happened she would have bigger problems to worry about - another spell would cause a ringing in her ears if anybody did break in, and the lock was further protected based on Buttercup's Occult sequence with - Sunset felt just a smidgeon of pride at this part - her own modifications so that even if there was a unicornicopian with the wit to recognise it they still wouldn't find it so easy to gain entry. And to top it all of none of this would be obvious to anyone except a skilled mage, of her own level or greater. To anypony else it was just an ordinary, unassuming palace door.
She cast the last spells - nopony was watching her, or she would have found a reason not to go in just yet - and waited as the door squeaked back upon its hinges, opening wide enough to admit her passage. She padded into the centre of the room, into the squares of light formed by the window, and closed the door behind her with a burst of telekinesis. All her defensive spells were charmed to reset automatically, without the need for her to cast them again ever single time.
Sunset frowned. Something...something didn't feel quite right in here. Something wasn't the same as when she'd left, it was...it was almost as if...
"Hey, Sunset."
Sunset's whole body froze in place as the hairs of her amber coat started to stand on end like a startled cat. What the...there's someone in here? How is there somepony in here? How did they get past my defences? You'd need to be as strong and skilled in magic as I am even to know that there were defences to get past, and even then I'd be alerted to...
Unless they also countered the spell to warn me about any break-ins.
Whoever they are, they're good.
Even as her body appeared as rooted the spot as any petrified victim of the cockatrice, Sunset's mind was whirring furiously. Who, who, that was the question. Neither Queen Celestia nor Princess Luna, though both of them had the power and skill to gain entry, would have any reason to lie in wait for her like this. With Twilight gone, there were no other...
Starlight Glimmer. The colonel seemed to prefer using her mastery of arts of backstabbing and boot-licking, but that didn't mean her skill at magic had gone or atrophied. If she had seriously set herself to the task, it wasn't improbable that she could breach Sunset's quarters. And Sunset couldn't think of anyone else who could pull this off.
It didn't sound exactly like her, but then who else? And who else would even want to do this?
"Aren't you going to say anything?" that voice, so familiar, sounded slightly peeved now. "Giving the silent treatment isn't very friendly. Or polite."
"Friendly," Sunset muttered. "What kind of friend breaks into the room of their friend and then hides in wait for them to give them a fright when they come in?"
"I'm in a position right now where I can't exactly wait outside," the other said. "Not that I would have had much choice if I weren't...well, me. Modifying Buttercup's occult sequence, that's...that's really impressive, Sunset. I'm not sure I would have dared to try it."
Sunset snorted. She felt a little less frightened now, a little more sure of herself. If this were some Starfleet assassin sent to make her disappear then she probably wouldn't be talking like this, and if she were a spy she would have tried not to reveal herself at all. Which meant, for all the unorthodox nature of her arrival, she was here to see Sunset. Whoever she was. "Listen, I don't know who you are-"
"Yes, you do," the other mare interrupted her. Sunset heard soft footsteps upon the carpet, and she felt her jaw dropping as...as she appeared into Sunset's view.
Twilight. Not Twilight as Sunset had known her, but Twilight as these space ponies had refashioned her, following the destruction of Equestria and the creation of this new united world. Twilight, with a body similar to that which she had worn in the world of men, similar to that which her counterpart still wore in that same world; similar, but different thanks to the pony head wedged somewhat unconvincingly onto the humanoid (bipedal, to those ponies who had never heard of humans) body like the clown in that old play Sunset had had to study for one of her classes back at Canterlot High. Everypony looked like this, and everypony looked weird like this to Sunset's eyes, but to see Twilight like this, transfigured in that same way, seeing this thing that Sunset had intellectually known to have taken place but had never emotionally imagined...it was weird and disconcerting to her eyes.
Though of course, as far as weird and disconcerting went the fact that Twilight was standing in front of her a year after she died had any other weirdness beat hollow right now.
No...no, it wasn't Twilight was dead. Sunset had arrived too late for the funeral, but she had seen the tears in the eyes of Twilight's friends, she felt the grief radiating out of Celestia like the rays of the sun, she had dreamed of Twilight dead and known in her heart that it was true. Twilight was gone. That was a fact. This...this was something else, something wearing Twilight's face, her form, it had to be. True, she or it was as skilled in magic as Twilight was, but...Twilight was dead, and nothing could return from death, no magic could defy it's grasp, that was one of nature's fundamental laws.
This was not possible.
And yet it stood before her.
"Hi," she said, and smiled, and it was such a Twilight smile, so shy and so adorable that Sunset wanted to break out in tears of joy, she wanted to wrap her friend in her hooves, she wanted to believe that this was real, with all her heart she wanted to believe it.
But her strong heart could not overrule her stronger intellect, that same intellect that told her this wasn't possible, that this was a trick or a trap or some kind of lie; that told her this was not true, could not be true...and in not being true, became instead something foul and wicked.
"What is this?" Sunset demanded hoarsely. "What are you?"
She looked uncertain. "What am I?" she chuckled. "Sunset, what are you saying? Don't you recognise me? It's me, it's Twilight-"
"Twilight's dead," Sunset snapped.
She blinked. Her expression was hesitant, then it became calm. "I...yes, that's very true, Sunset, I died. I died alone, in pain and agony and fear. But I'm back now. And I don't plan on going away again. Frankly, I was more surprised to find you here, I thought-"
"Don't do that," Sunset said sharply.
"Do what?"
"Change the subject," Sunset growled. "Twilight's dead. She died. You don't just get to waltz in here-"
"The amount of magic required hardly qualifies as-
"And say 'oh, I got better' and have that be that," Sunset overrode her attempt to speak. "That's not how this works, and Twilight would know that. If you are Twilight, then how are you here?"
She looked down, and said nothing. "I...after...Starfleet cloned me. After I died."
"Cloned?" Sunset said. "Cloned Twilight, who in-"
"It's called Project Sentinel, it was a top secret initiative to create the perfect soldiers to defend United Equestria," she said. "Stronger, faster, more powerful than any space pony, merciless warriors imbued with an undying loyalty to the Grand Ruler...and after I died, my DNA was harvested and used to create a clone of me to add to the project prototypes."
Sunset scowled. She could feel anger building up inside of her the same way that villagers living on the slopes of a volcano could tell by the tremblings and rumblings that it was about to go off. "So you admit that you're not Twilight, you're just a clone? How much of your DNA is even Twilight's and how much was added to make you the perfect soldier?"
"I have a few abilities that I-"
"Stop that," Sunset snapped.
"What?"
"Talking about Twilight in the first person as though you are her!"
"I am Twilight-"
"No you're not!"
"I remember everything that Twilight Sparkle ever did," she said. "I remember when you stole my crown-"
"Everyone knows about that, you could have read about that!"
"Does everyone know that it was you and I who defeated Sirens before I died? Does everyone know that Lightning Dawn has never set foot on the human world? I know that, because it happened and I remember it. I remember that night when I was so nervous about my musical counter spell that I couldn't sleep, and you were startled by Maud, and we stayed up talking about-"
"SHUT UP!"
She gasped, feigning a hurt expression on her face. "Sunset-"
"Don't talk to me like that," Sunset yelled. "Don't talk to me as though we're friends, don't talk to me as though you were there! Isn't it bad enough that you're wearing Twilight's face without parading your stolen memories around as though they belong to you?"
"I didn't steal anything," she insisted. "I am-"
"YOU'RE NOT TWIILIGHT!" Sunset screamed, as tears clouded her eyes and fury hotter than a dragon's flame boiled in her throat. "Twilight's dead, and she's never coming back! She's dead and I...and I never got to say goodbye. Twilight's dead...and you...you...you are not Twilight. You are...I don't know what you are, but you are not Twilight Sparkle. You will never be Twilight Sparkle. Never!"
She looked hurt now, wounded, but Sunset's wrath still burned too hot, her grief for Twilight had been rubbed too raw by the appearance of this abomination born out of everything that Twilight had stood against, for her to feel anything but glad of that.
"I..." she stammered. "I don't understand. I thought that-"
"I don't care," Sunset snapped. "I don't care what you thought, I don't...get out!"
"Sunset-"
"I said get out!" Sunset cried. "I can't look at you any more! Get out...before I do something that Twilight would disapprove of."
A look of anger, mirroring Sunset's own, briefly crossed her stolen face, before it faded in favour of that look of confusion and doubt. "I...I..."
She still looked pained as, in a flash of lavender light, she vanished from Sunset's room.
Sunset stood there, alone in truth as she had thought to be when first she entered here, with only the sound of her own heavy breathing to keep her company.
That wasn't Twilight. It couldn't have been. That wasn't Twilight, I was right and justified in everything I said.
But not...but not in the way that I said it.
Unbidden, the words that she had spoken to Leilani rose up from the depths of Sunset's memory, the tale she had told of the fire demon and the little lost girl.
"...And then the Fire Demon became very angry, and she screamed at the Lost Girl, 'How dare you put my friends in danger! You don't understand anything!' And the demon's anger terrified the Lost Girl, and she ran away, crying. And the Fire Demon hid her face, for she knew as she heard the Lost Girl's sobs that she had done a terrible thing..."
Sunset bowed her head as her tears began to flow down her face.
What have I done?
What have I done?
Twilight, please forgive me.