//------------------------------// // A Game of Recreation and Survival // Story: Void Trials 2: Horizon // by Obsi //------------------------------// “-third Temür rifle we’ve seen so far. Sparkle, would you note it down?” Shetland blinked, her eyes darting around for a startled moment. Neither Gan nor Khunbish were looking at her. Instead, both sets of eyes were still glued to the numerous screens, each showing a recording from a different security camera. Most were frozen, displaying one or a group of armed hyenas whose appearances they’d studied and were in the process of writing every detail about down. Meanwhile, Khunbish looped through more recordings, trying to get a clear picture of another. Shetland let out a sigh as she bit down on her pencil and made another mark on her paper. Her cheeks felt uncomfortably warm and she strained her eyes just to keep the heavy lids from closing once again. She’d spaced out. An uncomfortable heat grew on her cheeks. This was her duty and she’d spaced out when she should have been at peak attention! But then, the thought sneaked into her head. What am I even doing here? Her gaze drifted towards the clock, then over Khunbish’s back who, after almost three hours, still showed no sign of tiredness. How did she do it? Shetland groaned as she looked over the recordings and her eyelids started to droop already. She’d been surprised how little effect these recordings had on her, had expected to feel a deep-rooted fear or anger at the sight. Maybe it was because hyenas all looked the same to her, even Gan and Khunbish who she could only differentiate because the latter was taller (a fact she would not admit to them, even under torture.) Maybe it was the lack of sound that gave it a hollow quality, but in the end, it had been to her like watching the same three minutes of a movie over and over. Without tone or subtitles. “Anything new?” she asked Gan, who dutifully… drew on a map of the port’s layout? “No.” he said in his coarse voice as he looked from a camera to the map. He didn’t continue drawing, however. Possibly, he might have been irritated by the mare twice his size peeking over his head at the map. “What’re you doing?” It was Khunbish who answered, after pausing the recording and turning around. “He is marking which parts of the port the cameras can and cannot watch. With this information, we’ll be able to speculate where the invaders might have gone whenever we cannot see them.” “What good is speculation?” Shetland grumbled. “I thought we were just looking for stuff that helps you find and punish ‘em.” “Any piece of information can be helpful.” Khunbish said sternly. Then, her gaze relaxed together with her voice and she gently suggested: “Maybe you should leave us alone, Sparkle, I’m sure we can handle it on our own from now.” “No!” Shetland said firmly and forced her eyes back to the screens, pushing against her sluggish mind and heavy eyelids. “Continue, please.” Inwardly however, she let out a sigh. She wasn’t actually helpful, and she knew it. The only thing she’d contributed so far was her own impatience while the others worked. With closed eyes, she breathed out in the often-attempted method to calm her mind. She had to find a way to help, to not be a burden. It wasn’t for her, after all. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. This was for the revenge of her friends and she’d been bored. She owed them all to do her best. Certainly, Toasty would have said the same if she was here. A voice of reassurance would have been helpful, too…for fear of irritating Gan and Khunbish, she’d left Toasty with her mother, back in the central colony. Neither of them had been thrilled at the prospect, though Twilight had agreed without complaint. Something that couldn’t be said about the little robot mare. It made Shetland groan just thinking about how much arguing it had taken to convince her friend to let it rest, the effort it took to banish the furious look out of Toasty’s brilliant emerald eyes. And in retrospect, her efforts had been completely pointless, which stung even harder. A low creaking sound caught her attention and she raised her head. To her side, Gan did the same, turning to the door with a wild spark in his eyes. Not again, Shetland thought and rolled her eyes before following Gan’s look, just able to catch something backing away from the narrow gap in the door. Too late, as Gan seized the handle and swung it open, revealing a robot just behind. Shetland audibly smacked her own head. The robot was average-sized, maybe a couple inches taller than Toasty and modeled after a stallion. Behind him, she spotted another of the machines, getting away in time to be spared Gan’s onslaught as he came down on the remaining robot like a swarm of dragons. Shetland watched passively, ready to intercept before something got out of hoof (or paw in the hyena’s case), but otherwise offering no assistance to either side. Khunbish had stopped her work as well in order to glare darkly at the machine too curious for its own good, and Shetland sighed. Denying Toasty from coming along had been pointless as there were apparently a whole bunch of robots in the spaceport, something Shetland had been unprepared for. Last time she’d been here, she hadn’t spotted even one. It was possible that they’d been moved somewhere else, as it had been the days of the hyenas’ landing, she reasoned. But then, if one would go to such lengths to appease the hyenas, why not do it today? Not only were there a lot more robots than she’d anticipated, they also continued the worrying trend she’d observed in Coltville: traveling in groups and throwing cautious looks at whomever came too close, as if anypony could be a danger! Gan and Khunbish had obviously received a lion’s share of those looks, but even Shetland had gotten more than her usual share of attention. Combined with them beginning to whisper once they were out of earshot, it was enough to sour anypony’s mood, another reason she wished Toasty was there. And then there was this one, Shetland brought her attention back to the present, in which Gan kicked the door shut after verbally disassembling the poor machine. “Machines,” Gan spat as he got back on his seat. “How ponies work with machines lurking?” “It’s not that hard,” Shetland said icily. She’d let him chew out this one robot, because he had been listening in, but she was not going to let Gan use him as a strawhorse. “You just accept that they’re just like us.” “Not like us.” Gan stated matter-of-factly. “Made different. Think different.” he threw a look to Khunbish, but the other hyena just waved her paw, refusing to let herself get dragged into the argument. “They can be normal ponies like you and me!” Shetland said heatedly. “Or hyenas.” She added after a second. “Or not.” Gan said stubbornly. “Machines dangerous if thought allowed.” “You’re just spewing those things out!” Shetland’s voice rose to fill the entire room. “You have no idea how they really are!” “Only who understand how machine work know that. You don’t understand machine.” his voice rose as well, but it soon hit his limit while Shetland’s still had much more room to grow. “I have robots as my friends, I spent time with them since I was a little foal, I grew up in Equestria, not a backwards, technophobic-” Gan jumped on his paws, yet he still had to crane his neck to meet the sitting pony’s eyes. “We have reason we never trust smart machine. Ponies trust machine too easy. We hit by Grinding Wars most-” “That was almost 90 years ago!” Shetland shouted incredulously, rising up to tower over him. Her face was heated, her eyes narrowed as she glared down at him, determined to prove the scrapeater wrong. Unbeknownst to her, Khunbish had left the room. ----------------------------------------- The room should have been empty. Full of the most valuable technology of the port, the maneframe was kept away from the public, only to be accessed by the most advanced technicians a few times a day. Otherwise, the door would be shut, barred with a “No Entry” sign and tucked away, far from the often-used hallways. Normally, it would be an unwise move to tread too closely, as that would raise suspicion. But the circumstances had changed. Many eyes had been blinded as the invaders made their move. The door was unlocked. They had been fast. Imperfect eyes looked into the room, unable to make out details other than the contrast of bright technical lights and darkness. Stepping lightly into the room, a small figure turned. With a jolt, the figure was attacked, but it threw several small things that flew forward and then directed themselves to their target, stunning it momentarily. It retreated. In this small skirmish, the invaders had gained a victory. It would not last. ------------------------- Shetland was still engaged in a furious debate with Gan, though they’d both lowered their voices to a bearable volume, as Khunbish re-entered the room. Shetland raised her head, looking from her to the seat she realized had been empty. “Where have you been?” “I tried to go to the bathroom. Somepony though it funny to point in the wrong direction.” Khunbish said sourly and went back to her seat. “You continued to argue while I was gone?” “Can’t help it if he’s being stubborn.” Shetland pressed through her teeth. “Pony foolish.” Gan said in his rough language. “At least pony not a bigot!” Shetland shot back. Khunbish groaned. “Pony and hyena not helping!” she said. “Accept that the other has a valid standpoint and focus!” “Your standpoint is based on bigotry!” Shetland exclaimed. “Our standpoint is based on our experiences.” Khunbish said, her voice struggling to keep calm. “My kind has more reason than any other to be skeptical of the machines you’re so fond of. Do you want to deny that?” For a moment, Shetland wanted to shout that, yes, she wanted to deny every argument they made. Instead, she closed her mouth and sat down. “Then, can we focus at the task at paw again?” Khunbish asked coldly. Shetland nodded, feeling the looks of both hyenas on her, though she did not return one. “Great.” Khunbish finally said after a few seconds, and Shetland felt the weight of their stares lift off her shoulders. She pressed a button and the recordings played out once more. “We should be able to wrap up these last ten minutes in another hour or so.” she said as she observed the video. “Of course, we’ll also have copies of these delivered to our quarters.” Shetland let out a frustrated sigh. She wanted to leave, to contribute, to continue their argument. But fate had chosen neither for her, and so she tested her attention span once again, trying to find some unnoticeable details Gan and Khunbish would miss. And so she glared back at her small list, fighting her eyelids, which kept growing in weight… It was with great relief that Shetland parted ways with Gan and Khunbish in the central colony, who were eager to take their “findings” to their rooms and… she sighed, tired of constantly speculating hidden motives or agendas. Maybe they were just there to help after all. She let out a groan, arching her back, producing a series of loud pops from her spine, like a cork popping out of a bottle of champagne. Tired eyes swept over the clock in her room… technically her mother’s, but she failed to do much more than grunt at the thought. It almost surprised her that it was still barely afternoon, though she knew it shouldn’t have. With how exhausting the last few days had been, coupled with having to spend almost the entirety of last night packed in Magenta’s ungodly vehicle back to the spaceport - suffering the horrible itching from her scarred side and simultaneously bruising her other- It was fair to assume she’d lost track of time. She placed a hoof on her neck, craned it back and sucked air through her teeth as the muscles first lit up and then slackened. How she was tired of constantly staring down at everyone she talked to, looking down at papers, doors, down in general! She was tired of telling herself to shut up and let Gan badmouth robots while his stupid chaps twisted in a grin, like he enjoyed it! How she was tired… her eyes drifted to the clock once again before she took it off the wall and turned towards the large bed, which welcomed her with soft covers and the promise to take the rest of the day away. With a satisfied hum, she closed her eyes. Shetland drifted at the edge of sleep for a while, never quite slipping out of consciousness, yet largely unaware of the passing of time. Thus, she couldn’t tell whether it was an hour or just a few minutes when the door to her room swung open. “Shetty?” A soft, gentle voice asked, accompanied by hoofsteps as the visitor came in. It was a feat of multiple lessons on behaviour that made Shetland get out of her covers, and even then, only on her second try. With tired eyes, she met the alicorn’s, then she was forced to close them once more as a mighty yawn erupted in her throat. “Hi, mom.” she shook her head, straining her voice to produce a friendlier sounding: “Hello.” The warmer greeting made her mother smile, though she still seemed uncertain what to do. “Did I… wake you?” With a shake of her head, Shetland tried to mollify her, deeply wishing this would not result in yet another argument. Thus, she affirmed: “I wasn’t really sleeping, it’s okay.” “In bed at two pm?” Another voice asked, one that ignited a light on Shetland’s face. Toasty stepped in, her blue-green synthetic hair producing waves behind her as she did. She tilted her head, the lights behind her visor playfully flashing. “You know, if you do nothing but eat, sleep and get hurt, you will get fat.” “Not my choice.” Shetland said, though she couldn’t suppress a chuckle. Meanwhile, Twilight’s expression ranged from indignant to confused as she looked from one mare to the other. “You never let me make those jokes.” Twilight noted, sounding a little hurt by the fact. “Because I was a teenager when you did.” Shetland rolled her eyes. “And I was the freaky giant foal. You think I liked hearing that I was too large in yet another way?” “I…” Twilight blinked. “I never tried to say that.” “It’s okay,” Shetland ascertained. “I can take it now.” “So I can say-” Twilight began, but Shetland interrupted her with a grin. “Don’t push your luck.” The two Sparkles shared a chuckled. For some reason, Shetland found the weights on her lips had gotten much lighter and smiling was easier than before. It didn’t last, however, and they sunk into an awkward silence, as they probed each other in an attempt to get the other to speak first. “So…” Twilight asked awkwardly. “Did our guests find anything?” A sigh escaped Shetland’s lips. “Just… number stuff, Nothing we probably don’t have on record already. And I was absolutely no help.” she added with a frown. “Shetty, it’s okay.” Twilight whispered, but the earth pony let out a groan. “I just want some simple, straightforward solutions. Something smashable, not all this… this.” “Sounds like you want a bucking bag.” Toasty observed. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” Shetland chuckled. “A big, hyena-sized bucking bag.” “Shetty…” Twilight began warningly, but the earth pony waved it off. “Just joking.” she said as she rolled her eyes. “Good, because we need their cooperation as much as they need ours if we want to continue our relations with-” Twilight stopped mid-sentence. Shetland, who had already prepared herself to suffer through a minute-long lecture blinked in surprise. The alicorn slowly closed her mouth, a startled look on her face. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, searching her daughter’s eyes. “I shouldn’t be putting more stress on you.” “I… thank you?” Shetland muttered, uncertain what to say to that. “For uhm… sparing me the lecture? I think that’s a first.” “Ha,” Twilight chuckled, without a hint of joy. “It sounded like you already had a bad day.” Shetland snorted. “You can say that again.” She rubbed her sore side, then her scarred, sore side. Twilight’s muzzle strained at the sight of her scars. Shetland pretended not to notice. “How was your day?” she asked, not particularly eager to talk about her own. Twilight paused, regarding Shetland with a strange look. “Stressful, to be honest. Three robots altogether, disappearing without a trace. And when you found your friend…” she let out a sigh. “If everypony suspected there was a malicious intent behind this, the condition you found her in proved it. Since then, robots have demanded more safety, as they should, but they also want to defend themselves as well.” “And they should!” Shetland protested. Toasty nodded vigorously. “We have someone or something actively attacking them, let them defend themselves!” “And that,” Twilight continued tiredly. “Woke up the opposition, who immediately protested against allowing robots to own weapons.” “So?” Shetland nearly shouted. She swallowed, taking a moment to wrestle control of her voice’s volume back. “Screw ‘em. Screw ‘em all, they’re bigots, since when does Equestria support that?!” “Since…” letting go of her breath, Twilight closed her eyes and silently counted to three. “Shetty, I agree with you, but… things are not that simple.” “Why not?” She crossed her forelegs over her chest. “You tell the idiots to screw off and that’s it.” “Ha!” Twilight burst out, her wings beating down in amusement. “Oh, Shetty, your take on politics is so refreshing, if only it actually worked like that.” she shook her head, keeping a tiny little smile on her lips. “But unfortunately I would still have to get this across diplomatically, or we’d drown in unrest.” she sighed, her eyes rolling up to the ceiling. “That is, if we did allow it, which is unfortunately out of my hooves.” “You…” Shetland began, but Toasty beat her to it. “But you are a princess. Why can you not make the decree?” “I may be a princess,” Twilight said. “But the pony in charge is still Princess Luna.” “Won’t she listen to you though?” Shetland narrowed her eyes. “She seemed pretty reasonable… I think.” Twilight shook her head. “It’s not that she wouldn’t listen to me, but after that fiasco when the hyenas landed -- she was furious when she heard about it. I think it’s more likely she’s going to take away weapons than grant them. To anypony. And I can’t say it’s totally unreasonable.” “So…” Shetland mulled it over. The logic was sound, she had to admit, and still it wouldn’t sit right with her. “So we’re stuck here?” she grumbled. “Some ponies have weapons, robots don’t, and they cannot protect themselves?” Toasty lowered her head. “It seems like it.” Her voice was bare of any emotion. The defeated tone threw a little extra firewood in the furnace inside Shetland. But as she glared at Twilight, she let out a sigh. It wouldn’t be fair to let her frustration out at her, especially since her mother was on the same side, even if she could be infuriating about it. “So, if you have to deal with all that, what are you doing here?” Agitated, Shetland slipped off the bed, not moving her eyes from her mother once. “Don’t you have about a hundred things to do for the colony?” “YES!” Twilight shouted, with a ferocity that stunned everyone else in the room. The alicorn stood tall, though her head was turned towards the ground and her eyes closed. “Yes, Shetty, there is so much to do,” she admitted softly “But… all this time, there has been, and I- I never took the time for myself to check on you.” Her eyes opened and Shetland saw the sad frustration boiling in them. “It’s been a whole month, Shetty, and all this time the most we had were brief conversations, or we had to discuss some new danger. I-” she took a sharp breath before she burst out, her voice rushed, almost pleading: “I want to be with my family for once! Is that too much to ask?” For several seconds, the question stood in the room like a rearing minotaur. Too stunned to form a reply, Shetland simply stared at her mother, racking her brain on what to do or answer as two cold hooves suddenly shoved her forwards. Nearly stumbling, Shetland embraced the alicorn, who immediately embraced her with both wings, covering her daughter like a blanket. “I wasn’t able to work at all yesterday.” she quietly disclosed into Shetland’s ear. “When they informed me how you ran off into the storm, it felt like it was the attack all over again, and I was powerless to stop it!” The alicorn began to shiver, slowly rocking forward and backward. Shetland swallowed, patting Twilight’s back in what she hoped was an adequate attempt at calming her down. “S-shhh,” The noise felt awkward from her mouth, but it was all she could think to do. “It’s okay, I’m fine…” With her hooves on Twilight’s chest, she separated herself from the embrace, only to regret it a second later as she looked into her mother’s puffy red eyes, lined with dark circles. “I could have lost you.” Twilight whispered in a tone that sent cold shivers down Shetland’s back. Her voice was haunted, frail, like it could break if you so much as breathed on it. “I don’t think I did anything that day, Shetty, I could only think about how you were doing.” she sighed, unable to meet Shetland’s eyes. “And I don’t think I could work without making sure you were okay. I spoke with Luna and…” she hesitated. “I know the timing is all wrong, but she agreed that I should have this day…” She looked up, searching for Shetland’s gaze as she attempted a smile. “And your days must have been just as stressful as mine. Maybe we can use today to unwind.” “Unwind, huh?” Shetland asked as a grin broke out on her face. “Maybe with a good book, hmmm?” “HA!” Twilight’s face nearly exploded into a grin matching that of her daughter. "Good guess, but no. Not… necessarily. I was thinking about the spa in Horse Horizon, the one you wanted to go to last week. I dug up a spell to help with the moisture since then. My treat.” “It’s a-” Shetland begann to exclaim, but just as she was about to say ‘deal’, her eyes fell on Toasty. “What about you?” she asked the robot. Toasty raised her head so suddenly that Shetland was certain she did not expect the question. But it was Twilight who spoke first. “I’m not sure if she can come, Shetty, I don’t think they have any services for robots. She cannot relax her muscles or relish in a massage.” “I can get polished!” Toasty protested “We’ll take her with us.” Shetland decided, crossing her hooves over her chest as she leveled a glare at Twilight. “If they don’t want to polish her, we’ll make them. You’re the princess, after all.” “Oh, Shetty.”  Twilight sighed in exasperation as she rolled her eyes. “We are on friendly terms for less than a day and already you are abusing my powers.” Shetland smirked. “Equestria may rejoice that I didn’t become a princess.” Twilight gave her a long, odd look before her horn came to life, opening the door. “Well, the day won’t get any longer.” “Unless we bribe Princess Celestia with teacakes.” Toasty chuckled. “Those better be some mighty good teacakes then.” Shetland smirked and nudged the robot’s side. Toasty stumbled and only barely caught herself from falling to the floor. “Do that again and you will never find out how good I can make them.” Toasty threatened, and the two mares chuckled, with Twilight joining in just a bit later. A sizzling cloud of steam emerged out of a basin filled with hot-red rocks, reinforcing the warm, humid feel of the air. Shetland took a breath, just to let it go in a rolling sigh as the pressure in her lower back dissolved under the masseuse’s skilled hooves. Her eyes were closed as she relished the feeling. It was like her muscles had been a giant cluster of tight knots that only now slowly dissolved. Something dropped on her back and she gave the masseuse a bemused look. The poor unicorn had been working tirelessly, but after an alicorn and a pony the size of an alicorn, her endurance was nearing it's end. The corners of Shetland’s mouth curled upwards. Maybe she should have offered the poor pony a break, but then again, it was greatly amusing to see a unicorn this exhausted from working with her hooves. “Enjoying yourself?” Twilight asked with a smile. As the spa only had one piece of furniture fit for an alicorn (one that Shetland was currently using), Twilight had teleported her own sofa as accommodation. It was wrapped in the same field of faintly glimmering magic as her book and Shetland’s scarred hindleg. “Yep.” Shetland yawned lazily. Then she opened an eye, trying to spot whatever it was her mother was reading. Twilight, immediately following her look, cracked a smile and showed her the cover. “It’s a history book,” she proudly proclaimed. “About the first industrial revolution in Equestria, when trains began to connect more and more of our country, becoming the most used method of  transportation to this day-” Shetland’s yawn interrupted her speech, causing Twilight to throw her a glare. “You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to learn a bit more about history.” “You’re not gonna turn me into a bookworm, mom,” Shetland rolled her eyes. “Never worked, never will.” “You don’t know what you’re missing out on.” Twilight sighed. “Well, I can’t be blamed, I've tried everything.” “Yep.” Shetland said with a snicker. “Remember that time I got a school assignment to write an essay about my favorite book?” “You took a comic!” Twilight exclaimed, and even to this day, a hint of frustration lingered in her voice. “It was short.” “Your teacher sent me a report! There wasn’t even any story to it, it was just action scene after action scene.” “That’s what makes a comic good~” Shetland smirked. Twilight huffed, shaking her head in disbelief. “This is why I never made a comic section in my library.” “And thus, why I never spent any time there.” Shetland stuck out her tongue at the annoyed look Twilight gave her. The masseuse stumbled back, wiping her own forehead as she attempted to catch her breath. “Any… further… wishes?” The unicorn gasped between each word, her eyes darting from one to the other. Shetland let out a sigh. She’d have liked for her to continue. Although in the back of her mind, she suspected that some of her deepest knots wouldn’t dissolve no matter how long the massage took. Still, she felt like a cake that was only half baked. Twilight granted the unicorn a smile. “You can go, we won’t be needing any more services right now. What we would like now is for some privacy, if that is no bother.” The masseuse bowed her head, a look of relief on her reddened face. Just then, Shetland’s ears picked up a metallic squeak. Toasty had raised her head from the couch she awkwardly sat on. Her eyes brightened a little as they followed the spa pony, appearing like she wanted to say anything, yet she kept silent. Pursing her lips, Shetland decided to take the matter in her own hooves. “What about Toasty?” she asked loud enough for everypony to turn towards her. “She wanted a treatment too.” The unicorn blinked at Toasty, confusion spreading on her face. “The… robot?” “Yes, her.” The mare’s eye darted to Twilight’s and swallowed after the alicorn gave her a subtle nod. “O-of course.” The unicorn stammered as she faced the green-eyed robot. “We offer several services, I am just unsure whether one would… apply to you.” Toasty’s ears squeaked and her eyes lit up. “I do have something in mind. Would it be possible for me to receive a polishing of my outer hull?” “I… suppose.” The masseuse bit her lip. “Though I don’t believe we have the right kind of oil-” “I have brought the necessary equipment.” Toasty pointed at a bag resting beside her couch. “Also,” Shetland added. “I was kinda hoping for a mane treatment. And a hooficure while we’re at it.” she narrowed her eyes as she noticed the bemused look Twilight gave her. “It’s been years since I’ve been in a spa, knock it off!” “Alright, alright.” Twilight grinned. “We would like to resume these treatments in forty minutes, if that is possible.” she smiled to the spa pony. The unicorn’s expression ranged from relief to protest, but after a second, it was replaced by a professional mask and she lowered her head as she exited the room. Shortly after she left, Toasty turned to Shetland. “I would not have insisted on it for myself. Thank you for doing it in my stead.” Her ears squeaked a little as they rose, her gaze turning to the door. “She is currently speaking to a co-worker.” Her voice suddenly changed as she emulated the unicorn’s. “I don’t care if you’re taking a break! I will not have the princess’s daughter be disappointed in us.” A strange sound followed, as if somepony breathed into a microphone.“You’ll get off work early, but you help me with this.” Toasty’s eyelights flickered as she lowered her ears. “She- doesn’t want to disappoint me?” Shetland raised an eyebrow as she threw a confused glance at Twilight, who did a way better job hiding her bewilderment. Instead, she glanced disapprovingly at Toasty. “Listening in on ponies is a bad habit.” she said sternly. “I would advise you to break it.” “Oh, shush mom!” Shetland rolled her eyes, reaching a hoof out to Toasty to pat her back. “She’s got good ears, why not use them to have some fun?” “It is not advisable in the current climate, Shetty.” Twilight said, her tone allowing no discussion. Shetland let out a sigh as she fell back down. “No talky serious stuuuuff.” she whined, and smiled as it brought a chuckle out of the other mares. “Of course.” Twilight said, rolling her eyes as magic sparked around her horn, turning a page in her book. “Hey, mom.” Shetland whispered just as Twilight had read a little into the page. She was rewarded with a roll of the alicorn’s eyes. “What is it?” “Remember how I would always annoy you every time my birthday came around?” Twilight huffed. “How could I forget. You’d make me narrate that model game you collect.” Shetland grinned. “You hated that.” “Yes, I did.” she rolled her eyes. Then her horn sparked to life and a box appeared in front of her.  “And you’ll see that mama Twilight can also take a hint~” Two metal forehooves pressed into Shetland’s shoulder as Toasty got up on her hindlegs, trying to make out the letters. “Grinding Wars. You... play a game based around it?” “Yep.” Shetland said somberly as she shook the robot’s hooves off. “Usually with my friend, Press…” She paused for a moment. When she continued, she spoke noticeably quicker. “But before that, I always tried to get mom to play with me… and share some war-stories.” She regarded Twilight with a cautious, even worried look. “You… don’t have to do this.” Twilight slowly opened the box, revealing rows upon rows of tiny model soldiers. Deliberately, she placed one after the other on a nearby table, her eyes slowly passing over each one. With a heavy breath, she looked at Shetland. “I want to.” She simply said. “Yes, I hate this game, it brings me back to a time I’d give so much to forget.” Then, miraculously, unfathomably… her lips formed into a smile. “But then, I also remember how you would gnaw my ears off to play with you. How you would listen when I gave you details, even when it wasn’t about the fighting itself. And I want to bring back those times.” Shetland swallowed as she sat up, stunned by Twilight’s smile, her relaxed posture, the sincerity of her words… words that eluded her own helpless mouth. “That’s cool.” she eventually mumbled and felt an intense urge to smack her own head. Preferably with a sledgehammer. “I-I mean, we should play, yes. Uh…” Her eyes wandered to Toasty. “It’s only for two players, but you could still watch and listen. Mom will undoubtedly tell us all about the Grinding Wars.” Toasty tilted her head. “I would like to, but I should inform you that I am sufficiently familiar with the events of the war.” “But mom can tell it like nopony else.” Shetland assured her. “And she will probably not give up this chance to lecture us.” she added with a smirk. “Undoubtedly.” Twilight grinned. Shetland rolled her eyes and if her eyes didn’t deceive her, then Toasty made a little circling motion with her head, too. Both Sparkles began to set up the playfield by placing various objects to create cover for their respective armies. Meanwhile, Twilight spoke in a strident voice. “The Grinding War was the worst military conflict in all our history, changing the fate of the world and our views on technology profoundly. Before the wars, ponykind- no, the entire world made vast use of networks that crossed not only our countries, but the entire planet. Its uses were nearly endless.” she chuckled. “If I started to name them, we’d be sitting here for days. Instead, let us examine the center of progress, the melting pot of ideas: the island state of Hiroshimare.” Shetland groaned a little, her eyes darting over the game: she was okay with listening, but she also wanted to play while they were at it. Subtly, she poked the models of the pony soldiers, pushing them to Twilight’s side. Twilight gave her a nod, stopping her tale for a moment as she looked over her pieces. Even as she set them down on her side though, she was already back at her tale: “Just off the shore of the conservative hyena empire, Hiroshimare was the home of all the great scientists over the world. Split into science-clans, they would always try to outdo another with ever greater inventions, some beneficiary to all society, some just… silly. A friend from the Giroux-clan gifted me a toilet that would make artificial fart noises to mask your actual… business.” “That sounds counterintuitive.” Toasty commented. “Why not mask it with a sound different than the one you are attempting to hide?” “They always had an immature sense of humor.” Twilight shrugged. Then her eyes shifted to Shetland and her voice became somber. “You want to play as Hiroshimare?” “Mhmm.” Shetland said, placing down her last model. Twilight sighed as she examined the model. It was a machine, modeled after a minotaur- or rather, it’s skeleton. And yet, even that was disfigured, with the legs ending in large claws and circular saws in place of hands. “Back then, those were made by the Hiroshimarean youth, geeky youngsters who just wanted to build robots and watch them tear each other apart in arenas. I always thought it was barbaric. They were never self-aware,” she added to Toasty, who slowly sunk back into a sitting position. “But still, it was too close to a blood-sport for my tastes. Maybe it was even the reason for what came next.” she made a pause, maybe for drama, but, more likely, to gather herself. “The war began. We don’t know if it was one A.I, a group of crazed beings in the shadow or some sort of hive mind, but it used the ubiquitously-connected nature of our technology against us. You have  to understand, the entire world was connected through this network. And by controlling it, it could switch off everything.” she took a shaky breath. “All over the world, everywhere, lights were out, factories stood still, hospitals-” she swallowed, unable to finish the sentence. “And then, across the globe, we were under attack. By robots.” “It was not our choice.” Toasty glared at the ground, her eyes a dark shade of red. Twilight’s wing flared out, but Shetland was faster, reaching around the robot with one foreleg. Twilight stopped, contemplating the sight as a tiny smile replaced her frown. “It was a perfect plot. Attack everyone at once by surprise while simultaneously taking away our best weapons, our communications, everything we have come to rely on.” “But we were prepared.” Shetland grinned. “Oh, no, we most certainly weren’t, Shetty.” Twilight shook her head. “We weren’t even close to being prepared. But we had been warned.” “You had?” Toasty raised her head. “I was not previously aware of that detail.” “Oh, yes, history books like to gloss over that fact and pretend we beat Hiroshimare at it's full strength.” Twilight huffed. “The truth is, I don’t think we would have stood a chance if it's plan had been given enough time to even nearly reach completion. However, A.I’s aren’t the only beings good at infiltration.” Toasty’s speaker made the sound of a gasp. “The changelings?” she exclaimed, then she poked her chin with a hoof. “Is that why the queen is now of rank equal to a princess?” “Yes and yes.” Twilight smirked. “The changelings possibly saved us all.” With an impatient sigh, Shetland began to tap her hoof on the table in a series of thuds. Twilight turned towards her, raising her eyebrows. “Well, well, little miss impatient is bored?” “I just want you to get to the good parts.” The earth pony rolled her eyes. Twilight stuck out her tongue “Well, you’ll have to wait. That’s what you get for bringing a guest.” Shetland groaned, but decided to focus on scratching her itchy hindleg. Twilight cleared her throat before she fell back into her storyteller voice. “It all seemed an ordinary day when Queen Chrysalis suddenly burst into my castle. I was taken aback, she could have easily defeated me before I raised a magical barrier. But instead, she surrendered, if only I was willing to listen to her warning.” Twilight bit her lip. “Still, it took her nearly twenty minutes to convince me to write a letter to Celestia. Thankfully, unlike me, she jumped to action immediately. Because a mere three hours after the queen flew through my window, the war had begun.” For a moment, the alicorn’s voice faltered. “If I had wasted less time… Chrysalis’s sacrifice allowed us to warn the world of what was coming. And after what seemed like mere moments, the world turned into Tartarus. Robots ran amok at the drop of a hat, technology failed, killing thousands of ponies as trains crashed into one another, gas pipes burst and even hospitals were left without power.” she swallowed. “Automated weapons went crazy, trying to form into armies with the rampaging robots. But we’d already moved to intercept them. Robots had been rounded up and-” Her voice faltered as her eyes passed over Toasty. “They were soon left without power and with our superiority in numbers and magic, the insurgence was soon largely defeated.” she paused. “I think… I think the warning had forced the machines to act on their plan early. If the infiltration had been more complete, I doubt we would have stood a chance. But as it was, we survived, although suffering enormous losses in lives and nearly all of our advanced technology.” “And all we had left to fight them were these crappy repeater rifles.” Shetland poked a model of a pony, shouldering said rifle, the eyes hidden under a green miniature helmet. “In a moment, Shetty.” Twilight whispered. “Somehow, the world had come out of this first wave intact. Many nations suffered great wounds, but only one had been wiped out. The one country whose army had been the most advanced… making it the most vulnerable.” She took a deep breath before she spoke the name, rumbling it in her throat like a curse. “Hiroshimare. They… they wiped out the entire population. Made it into a factory, building one murderous machine after the other, while turning the whole Island into an impenetrable fortress. But penetrate, we would have to. If not… they could have made weapons of mass destruction, ones that we knew in theory, but had never dared to build. And so,” she spoke in a grave voice, like a prophet about to signal the world’s end. “Equus unified. A pact was made: we would take Hiroshimare, no matter the cost.” Silence. Twilight’s eyes were wide open, as if lost in memory. Throwing a look at Toasty, Shetland swallowed, reaching out a shaking hoof to poke her mother’s shoulder -- but Twilight snapped back into reality before her daughter could reach her. “It was a blood bath.” she stated somberly. “Carnage doesn’t even begin to describe it. We were simply ponies, hyenas, zebras and other beings. We had simple weapons, up against terrifyingly-sophisticated machines, built for nothing but the act of killing, perfectly coordinated in their strategy… terrifying. It was called the Grinding Wars, because it really was like we were throwing our people into a gigantic clockwork mechanism in a vain hope to make it stop. And that,” she whispered, meeting Shetland’s eyes. “Brings us to your game.” “Y-yes,” Shetland muttered, trying to dodge the alicorn’s gaze. Suddenly, she was disgusted at herself for her earlier impatience. This must have been for Twilight like her own losses, only amplified by… by too much. “You don’t have to, you know?” “I told you, I want to.” Twilight whispered, her horn glowing as she lifted a strand of Shetland’s mane out of her face. “Please excuse me if I leave out the gruesome details and focus on the… better parts.” “Of course.” Shetland smiled weakly, and then a little more as her mother reciprocated the notion. Their armies were put on different sides of the field, with Shetland’s robots starting clumped up between several ruined buildings as cover while the Equestrian army cowered in a long line of trenches, led by General Twilight, ironically. “Is that me?” Twilight asked, a hint of amusement in her voice as she held up a small model (though larger than most of her soldiers). Model Twilight stood tall, wings flared out as her hoof pointed straight out at the enemy, her face a grimace of steel determination. “What can I say?” Shetland smirked. “I like beating you.” Twilight snickered. “Bring on your best.” “Oh, I will.” Her face sunk into a state of concentrated resolve as she analyzed the battlefield. Twilight’s troops outnumbered her own by nearly six to one, but that wouldn’t be an issue if she was allowed to get up close and personal. With several Cuttertaurs - the creepy machines with the saw-arms - on her side, she’d dominate any close combat, even against Twilight’s single squad of Minotaurs. The problem of course, was getting close enough in the first place. So, for her first turn, she simply moved forward as far as she could while remaining largely in cover. Nothing much happened on Twilight’s turn, a few potshots at small exposed parts of Shetland’s army, but her dice rolled badly, with no damage caused. Meanwhile, Twilight began to describe the actual war, the initial landing, bloody fights across the beaches, tales of heroism, pyrrhic victories and savage defeats. But for some reason, she didn’t tell it like she used to, Shetland realised. Twilight’s take used to be somber, always cutting back to the horror of the war, undercutting every victory with the staggering number of losses. This time, she left those parts out, telling it like an epic struggle of good versus evil, in which the heroes would inevitably triumph. The moment of confusion was swiftly undercut, however, as Twilight declared she’d landed a shot one one of Shetland’s models. One of her Cuttertaurs had received a hit, but she paid it back with a lucky dice roll, avenging it with one of Twilight’s soldiers. Mother and daughter eyed each other, carefully repositioning their armies, Shetland searching for an ideal moment to charge, Twilight denying her. As Twilight scored another lucky potshot, Shetland grit her teeth, meeting the alicorn’s grin. She wanted a battle? She would get a battle. She scoured the field for another weak point and then, she found it. The right side of Twilight’s line, she’d dismissed it before as the way was too far, but there was a hill she could use as cover. A grin broke out on her face as she pushed her army out of the city. Immediately, she was under severe fire, and although most bounced off her robot’s plating ineffectually, four machines of her fourteen fell over, just to be swiped off the field by Twilight’s magic. Still, Shetland smirked, ten were still more than enough to tear up several squads. But Twilight didn’t seem worried at all. With a dirty grin, she deployed her backup unit: the great Equestrian dragon, right behind the weak zone. With a wild curse, Shetland re-evaluated the situation: if she went the same way, her robots would be roasted next turn, and if that did not kill them, the dragon would tear them apart. They were infantry-killers, their saws would not cut up a dragon! She muttered a curse again, her eyes darting over Twilight’s, hoping the alicorn would buy it. Because now she was able to deploy her own backup: two “Abominations”. Balancing on two arms that ended in large curved blades, the rest of their bodies were just a long spine, trailing behind like the tail of a snake, ending in an enormous, elongated skull. Several metres tall, they had been designed to destroy tanks by leaping on top of them and slicing them apart with their scythes, though they were incredibly dangerous to just about anything else, including a dragon. And even more importantly, Shetland smirked, they were hella tough. And now she had two of them charging at high speed directly at General Twilight’s position, while the Cuttertaurs looped around the hill and ran for the nearest trench. Twilight’s eyes bulged at the sight of two dangers, neither of which she could allow to come close. She decided to focus all her available fire at the Abominations, letting the dragon deal with the Cuttertaurs as she hurriedly retreated her own model. The end of the turn saw two slaughtered squads before the dragon managed to destroy most of the Cutters, one of the Abominations badly damaged as they failed to make contact with General Twilight. And now it was Shetland’s turn. She had won. With a victorious grin, Shetland revealed the ace up her sleeve: mechanical worms, about a metre long each, burst out the ground, slicing up some of General Twilight’s bodyguard as they fought her to a standstill. On their own, they would quickly lose, but that was not their purpose. Now, Twilight could no longer retreat. In a single, glorious charge, Shetland’s Abominations wiped out the entire group, drawing an evil, victorious chuckle out of Shetland. Twilight swallowed as she picked up her dice for the last time, rolling them, biting her lip as the result came. It was a good result, but faced with their leader’s gruesome fate, not enough for her troops. Headlessly turning to flight, the soldiers threw down their weapons, running for their lives as they were cut down by the remaining Mechworms. With a playfully evil laugh, Shetland grinned at her mother. “I won.” “Yes, you did.” Twilight mumbled, her eyes still on the field, where she magically put her fallen models back upright again. “And it was really close, too!” Shetland exclaimed. Then she judged the field critically. “You know, you probably would have won if you’d used your dragon to screen your general, you could have dealt with my worms and just kept shooting my other stuff until it’s down.” She shook her head. “You’re always too finicky with that unit.” Although Twilight gave no sign that she’d heard her daughter, she held the dragon in her hooves, inspecting it’s large wings, scarred hide and the large, sharpened green spikes. Her face was unreadable. “Ehem, mom?” Shetland raised her eyebrow, clapping her hooves in front of Twilight’s face. “W-wha- yes?” “Are you up for a rematch? If not, you can help me put it back in the box, I’m not gonna do it alone.” “No- no.” Twilight shook her head. “Though, maybe your friend would like to play against you?” she granted Toasty a friendly smile. “Possibly in a while.” The robot said. “But for now, I believe we should let the spa ponies do their job. They have knocked three times during your game.” “And you didn’t tell us?” Twilight shot up, her horn glowing. But then, it stopped and she faced Shetland. “Actually, before we resume our day of luxury, I wanted to ask you one thing.” “Uh… what is that?” Shetland asked carefully. “Not much.” Twilight said, though her sheepish smile made Shetland suspicious. “What. is it?” “I…” Twilight looked at a spot about a meter to Shetland’s right. “I invited Gan and Khunbish for dinner today.” Before Shetland was able to say anything, she hastily added: “You don’t have to come, though I do think you should…with you being able to work together with them now, maybe you could take the next step and befriend them!” she sighed at Shetland’s disbelieving raised eyebrow. “I know, you think it’s far-fetched, but at least we can learn more about them. What do you say?” Shetland bit her lips, eyes on the ground. On one hoof, it made sense, even if she could only accept that fact begrudgingly. On the other, she’d been so glad to have the rest of the day free of stress, of worrying, of doing something she wanted instead of what made sense. Next to her, Toasty’s hoof shot in the air. “Uhm…” Twilight gave the robot a surprised look. “What is it?” “May I cook the food?” Toasty asked. “I prefer making breakfast, but I would still be honored to prepare food for a princess.” Twilight chuckled. “I would say yes, but Khunbish actually mentioned she would bring traditional foods of her homeland, they will be cooking for us.” Toasty’s eyelights grew in intensity, until both Sparkles were unable to look at her due to the sheer brightness. She turned to Shetland, forcing the earth pony to close her eyes entirely. “We are going.” Toasty demanded. The matter was settled.