//------------------------------// // 7. The Promise // Story: Arête - Princess Alicorn of Hackers // by Lise //------------------------------// MaDster? The bucking MaDster was my foalsitter? I thought I knew the ins and outs of the Web. Hay, I spent more time there than in the real world. I could tell if a pony was a Weber by the way she behaved, the small almost unnoticeable tells that we all acquired after a while. Not in a thousand years would I have guessed that Derpy was the Web's greatest hacker. For one thing, I had never seen her near any Web equipment. Not to mention with her work schedule, and her family, she couldn't possibly find the time to devote to this activity. Now, here I was sitting in her living room together with DD and Scoots, treating ourselves to freshly baked muffins, completely clueless as to what was going on. "You really should enjoy those," Derpy smiled to Diamond, who was holding a muffin, as if it were a fragment of Celestia's sun. "They are for eating, you know." "'ys," DD nodded eagerly, but still didn't dare bite in. I could picture her sneaking it away, then encasing it in crystal. Funny how, as a filly, she absolutely hated muffins. Actually, before today, I don’t think she liked Derpy either. It was always difficult to tell in the real world. Scoots, apparently seemed to be taking it much better. Maybe because she had frequent interaction with two princesses, or maybe it was a pegasus thing. "Now, I get it!" She said all of a sudden, making me jump in my seat. "MaDster! Master D! Quite simple, when you think about it!" "Yeah," I grumbled. "Great work there, I-think-DD-is-a-colt." The murderous look that came my way left me perfectly satisfied. I knew I had hit the mark. "I guess you are wondering why you are here?" Derpy asked pouring herself a cup of cocoa. "Because of Arête?" DD chirped like a schoolfilly. It was almost as if I was looking at an older version of Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle. Of course she would probably tear my tail off if I said that out loud. "Right, DD," Derpy nodded, making Diamond Tiara beam with joy. "Arête — Mother Alicorn of Webers. That's what she was originally. Years later did the various groups start calling her differing names — Mother of Gamers, Mother of Hackers, Mother of Sculptors..." I arched a brow. "Well, some of them didn't catch on," Derpy chuckled to herself. "The important thing is, that she is very... err... important — more than you actually know." "Because she maintains the Web?" DD asked eagerly. Did she just raise her hoof? Like at school? How starstruck could a pony get?! Hay, even I was calmer, and MaDster was my idol and mentor. "Very good, DD!" Derpy patted her on the head with a wing. Suddenly I had the uncontrollable urge to shout 'teacher's pet'. "She is indeed the reason the Dream Web hasn't collapsed on itself, but that is only part of it. You see, the story goes back much farther than that. Before any of us were born, actually. You all remember the story of Nightmare Moon?" That was something I hadn't heard in a while. Nowadays, nightmares were cool. Maybe because we didn't live in fear of them. When it came to the Web, every second item was Nightmare this and Nightmare that. Hay, my latest Web gear was a Nightmare 5! The original story, if I remember correctly, went something of the lines Princess Luna turning evil and being banished to the moon for a thousand years. Later she returned, set on bringing eternal night, but was cured by Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony. There were tons of books and movies on the subject. I made a mental note to watch some when I got a chance. "The legend went that in the longest day of the thousandth year the stars would aid in Nightmare Moon's escape," the mailmare went on. "And, indeed, they did. A deal was struck — in return for their help, the Princess would use her power to bring four of the stars back to Equestria. Promises were also made for others to follow, once the eternal night began. Of course, we all know how things turned out." Judging by the blank expressions beside me, I could relax that I wasn't the only stupid one in the room. I must have heard that story hundred times. Quite possibly I was even present when Nightmare Moon made her appearance. Right now, though, I couldn't recall a thing. "The eternal night never came, and the stars remained in the sky," Derpy added helpfully. The smile never leaving her face. "What everypony forgets, though, is that four did descend to us — the same that freed Princess Luna." No! I just couldn't take her seriously! I know what she was saying was important. More than important, actually! She had revealed her Web identity to us, she had explained a whole lot of things that we would never learn on our own, and still my conscious mind refused to accept it. By Celestia, this remained Derpy! The goofy pegasus that caused at least one calamity per month, the mare that had taken care of me ever since I could remember. "Is anything wrong, muffin?" she asked, with her clumsy and confused expression. Seriously, MaDster, couldn't you act the part?! You were supposed to be a huge mean Minotaur who broke ponies in half! "Nothing." I looked at the floor. "I'm sorry for not paying attention, Ditzy." Why can't I just say what I was thinking?! "Oh, muffin," she sighed with a smile that made me feel uncomfortable... and filled the room with Scoots' and DD's snickers. "I was saying that before Nightmare Moon was transformed back to Princess Luna, she managed to bring four of the star ponies to Equestria." "The Conglomerate has a fallen star pony?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. Instantly I covered my mouth, but it was too late. Scoots and DD were already giving me angry glances. "Maybe more," Derpy nodded, sipping from her cocoa. "Are you sure you don't want anything to drink? I made it myself." We all shook our heads. "It's very difficult to say what the Conglomerate is doing. Actually that's a mystery even the Princesses can't figure out. It appeared out of nowhere, gathered a number of businesses, and succeeded where Twilight, Luna and Zecora failed. It remains a mystery how they managed to capture Arête, and how they force her to keep maintaining the Dream Web. All she has to do is stop and she will be free. She doesn't, however, and that is puzzling." "Alright, why doesn't Princess Celestia do anything, then?" Scootaloo leaned forward. "She is a goddess and ruler of Equestria. The Conglomerate is just a bunch of ponies with lots of bits." "And Griffins, and Zebras, and Diamond Dogs," Derpy smiled. Diamond Dogs? I never knew there were Diamond Dogs in the Conglomerate. Did that mean there were some in the Web as well? Now I had to go through my friends list and check if any of them showed Diamond Dog behaviour. Thanks, for putting the thought in my head, Derpy! "Also, what would ponies think if the Princesses just took away something so many enjoy? The Conglomerate has officially given Luna, Twilight and Zecora ruler status. The Triumvirate title is not just for show, you know." "But the ICE," Scoots pressed on. "We saw it attack Luna! Surely that would count for something?" "Easily denied," Derpy sighed. "The Conglomerate doesn't determine targets, it merely defines what intrusive behaviour is. And with the Sombra virus, you'd be surprised how many are willing to put up with the ICE, if they think it offers some sort of protection. No, the only way we could find Arête is through other means." Other means. It was starting to become clear now. Could it be that this is what the big names had been doing all along? I always wondered why they did as little damage as they did. Some of them, at least. Creeps like WingClipper did all sorts of nastiness, from Conglomerate cluster crashing to avatar theft. I tended to stay away from types like him — too violet, and way too chaotic to lead a conversation with. The clash between him and FLT, half an year back, had been all over the forums. There were even ponies betting on the outcome. MaDster wasn't like that. With her it was always about skill and achievement. Now I knew why. "Why us, though?" I asked. "If you couldn't find the Mother Alicorn of Hackers, what could we do?" "Oh?" Derpy looked at me conspiratorially. "Look, I know we have potential and all, but still," a quick glance at Scoots and DD showed they shared my concerns. "And how do my skills look when compared to a Triumvir?" The grey Pegasus mused. "Well, if you put it that way," I started then it hit me. It wasn't about skills alone. It was about numbers. Beside me DD was probably thinking the same thing, because she started clapping her hooves. "Multi Run," she said happily. "We're doing a Multi Run!" Why did you have to say it so cheerfully, DD? I could feel my head hurt. Talk about being schooled in hacking by your goofy foalsitter. What had I been doing with my life these past years? If I couldn't see something as simple, I would never make it into the big leagues. "Psst," Scoots nudged me. "What's a Multi Run?" The question made me relax a little at least there was somepony in this room dumber than me. That still didn't make me feel much better. I continued to be an idiot! "A Multi Run is a hack that relies on number rather than skill," I started. Across me Derpy beamed with pride. My foalsitter, my hacking mentor, one of my sister's closest friends, she had been preparing me for this for years. And if I say so myself, she had done an awesome job! "Instead of a few big names charging at key targets, dozens of lesser hackers go charging at specific targets at a given time, overloading the system. Since any defense has a finite number of resources, swarming it like this, before it is able to adapt, results in success, even if none of the attackers individually could manage on their own." "Right, I knew that," Scootaloo grinned. I still envied her. She knew jack about hacking, and yet here she was taking part in the greatest thing of the Web. Some ponies had all the luck. Meanwhile I was left with an angry sister, an uncertain relationship, and more problems at school that I cared to think about. Not to mention I still didn't have my own gear. "How many exactly will we take part in the run?" I asked. "Didn't I tell you?" Derpy blinked, then put the cup of cocoa on the table. "Most of the 'big names' have about five disciples, and each Triumvir has about ten 'big names'. That makes a total of..." "Wait, what?!" I jumped to my hooves. "The Triumvirs recruited you?!" "Well, naturally," she looked at me, as if it were the most usual thing in the world. "Weren't you listening to me until now? How do you think all this started? When Princess Luna makes a promise, she keeps it." Makes a promise? Well buck it all! Of course! The stars had set her free once, now she was going to free the stars...