Underneath Pixel Wavelength’s name, the program read “Principal Software Engineer of Equestria: Get your tips on everything net-related from our most tech-savvy princess!” I flipped through it. That was it. The program said nothing about Pixel addressing the heavy crowds via webcam. And yet, there she was, her face perfectly defined, but a bit two-dimensional. She was in a conference room, but the wall behind her may very well have been nothing but post-it notes.
I jumped up to check the stage, make sure she wasn’t just using a set. There was nopony on stage except for a few royal guards. Why were they there? There was nopony on stage to protect. Why not just pack up the mics and take them backstage? I shook my mane out. I had gotten front row seats specifically to see Pixel, maybe make a connection. We could become business partners, software partners- romantic partners. But Pixel wasn’t here. So there was no reason for my mane to stay in the perfect tight curls and ringlets.
I was just about to get up and leave- I could see the video of the speech anywhere, and there were other events going on- when Pixel’s soprano rang out across the room.
“I have some advice for all you mares who aren’t sure the internet will fit with your life, or philosophy, or security.” Her voice overrode all my nerves and pushed me back into my seat. It was so beautiful. She was so beautiful. I couldn’t leave a room that was filled with that voice.
“Never read the comments. Don’t comment. Don’t read. Don’t use your actual voice on a comm unless you know your team. Check using secret phrases that your team is your team. Play on an all mare team. Don’t use comms. Don’t send nudes. Don’t take nudes. Don’t be nude. Don’t be a mare with opinions on the internet. Don’t be a mare on the internet. Don’t be a mare.
“This is the advice that I got. I was told to ignore problems, to give up tech that stallions could use without trouble, to blame myself for the crimes others commit against me. You, with the notebook and the glasses,” I looked around, and noticed for the first time that cameras resided in every corner of the room. “Don’t be shy, come up to the mic.” The pony she was talking to inched towards the mic, until Pixel smiled warmly, at which point she began to trot. Pixel’s smile nearly knocked me out. I was so jealous of that unicorn. “Read me what you have written there.”
The mare with the green glasses recited, with a slight stammer, everything Pixel had said. Pixel waited until she was done to terrify her again.
“Rip that page out.” The mare’s eyes bugged from underneath her frames. I smirked a bit. “Go ahead, dear, there’s nothing to worry about.” The unicorn carefully pulled the page out of her book. “Now roll it into a ball and throw it behind you.”The pony looked up and down and up again. She looked ridiculous, standing up there in front of all of those ponies. “I promise it’ll be okay.” The mare, fear of god in her eyes, crumpled the paper, and threw it right to my feet. The princess nodded happily, and I felt a tug at the back of my neck.
“If anybody ever tries to feed you one of those lines again, don’t be afraid to crumple it up and throw it behind you. Thank you, dear, you can sit down again now.” The unicorn bolted back to her seat. I giggled a bit, and picked up the paper at my feet. “Don’t you dare little mare.” I froze. The princess was glaring out of the screen. “Everypony is entitled to their privacy, and the violation of privacy is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today.
“I’m willing to bet that most of you know that I got my wings by being, as I have been called, a ‘software vigilante.’ What you don’t know is why I became her. When computers were first brought to Equestria, several decades ago, programming was mare’s work. Computers were a way to analyze data and process information quickly and easily. But when Tim Berneighs-Lee invented the internet, things began to change. Computers could be used to share information across Equestria widely and quickly. When Marc Serhoof founded EOL, everypony gained more power than they had ever had before.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that there weren’t plenty of ways to harass people who upset you before the internet. But the internet made sabotage easier, and damage greater. When EOL was first born, I was so excited to use this new tool. And it was incredible. There were new ways to play games, talk to friends, and find information. But for some people this wasn’t a tool. It was a weapon. And it wasn’t long before they used it against me.
“Before I was a princess, I was a blogger. I wrote about everything from my friends, to my job. I would frequently throw in technical and relationship advice. When my first nasty comment came, I was shocked and devastated. I spent a week in bed before I got back to work. When I did eventually get back online, I found my blog overrun with hatred and anarchy. It was then that I built a program to identify my name wherever it was used online, and return the results to me immediately. There were threats on my blog that necessitated this action.
“The program returned dozens of results every night, some of them from sources with positive opinions of me, most of them written by people who thought poorly of me. The sources that spewed hate speech about me did not limit themselves to the one victim. I found them attacking one of my idols, Princess Luna, for her past actions, and was infuriated. How dare they spread lies about our princess of friendship! That was when I became the princess’s virtual bodyguard. I secured her documents, monitored mentions of her, and kept tabs on anybody who made an especially awful comment.
“It wasn’t long before I was working to protect the public. I would monitor the web, and I saw people who were harassed in ways I never had been. Ponies’ private addresses and telephone numbers were published online. This is now called doxxing. Nude pictures of ponies were posted without their consent. This is called revenge porn. I kept things this dangerous off the internet, and, in extreme cases, wiped the hard drives of ponies who refused to relent.
“I protected everypony except myself. I watched the hate against me continue to flow, and grow stronger, but I doubted my own fears, thinking that I was just overreacting. There would be no real danger to me. But during the night, I was afraid. I dismissed these fears. I was sure they weren’t valid.
“And that leads me to the second thing I wanted to share with you. Your feelings are always valid. Nobody can tell you that you’re not feeling them, and being dismissive of your own feelings will lead to insecurity, pain, and misunderstanding. It took a lot for me to learn this lesson. You see, while I was working as the guardian of the defenseless, I was also dating a stallion. I was madly in love with him, but he wanted me to stop working. When he asked me to marry him, I said no. Soon after, I broke up with him.
“About a week after we broke up, my self-monitoring program returned an interesting result. He had doxxed me, and my address had been viewed by thousands of my harassers. I wasn’t devastated or hurt anymore. My first instincts had been correct. I was right to be afraid, and I was right to doubt my ex. For the first time, I protected myself. I learned to acknowledge my own emotions, and become my own mare. And, after all I did that day, I had earned my wings.”
“The two messages I want to leave with you today are to respect others’ privacy, and your own emotions. Thank you for having me today. I wish you all happiness and success in your every endeavour. Enjoy the rest of the conference.”
As I walked out of the auditorium, I thought about the princess’s story, and wondered if I was the kind of mare who could hurt her special somepony like that. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was. I didn’t want Pixel to be happy; I wanted her to be mine. As I walked out, I saw the mare with the green glasses. She was talking to one of the royal guard, and he was blocking her way out.
“Um, excuse me, sir, I, um, could I please-”
“Nothing to worry about, ma’am, the princess just wanted to speak to you.” Her eyes bugged again. She looked so scared. And I found myself feeling what Pixel feels for everypony.
“Sir,” the guard turned to look at me, and the pony with the green glasses stared, mouth agape. She was a small thing, with a short mane and a pair of gears for a cutie mark. “I’m terribly sorry, but my friend and I are helping with the next panel. We need to leave immediately.”
The guard looked at me, studying every line of my face, then gave a grudging nod. The mare with the green glasses exhaled sharply, and almost galloped out of the auditorium. I followed her at a brisk pace, but was stopped at the door by a tug at the back of my neck. I looked at the screen, but the princess’s face was frozen in a warm smile. I smiled back and trotted out the door, after the lovely mare with the green glasses.