Chapter 12: Moon to Moon
Several hours had passed since sundown, and the full moon had climbed high into the night sky, directly above the mountain peaks. It was a clear, cloudless night studded with the lights of billions of tiny stars. The moonlit gleam cast a pale bluish tint across the icy peaks, creating the sense that the mountains slept with the night. And, in fact, they did… all except for one.
High within the tallest peak of the tallest mountain, at the end of a vast labyrinth of tunnels and caverns, a lonely purple mare wept within a small dark cell. Her face was buried in her forelegs, which were soaked with dried, stale tears. Her mane was unkempt and disheveled, and her coat was covered in a pale layer of dull orange dirt. She hadn’t gotten a good rest since she last lost consciousness. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of the terrible fate that was soon to befall Equestria, which would never happen if it were not for her. More than anything, she wanted to go back home and see her friends again, especially Fluttershy. She wanted everything to back to the way it was, for everything to be alright again. But even if she did ever make it back, she wouldn’t want to show her face to any of them.
“Feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to make anything better, you know.” Twilight heard GLaDOS say.
She looked up, but didn’t respond. Her sad, tired eyes were underlined by dark circles. In her current state, she looked like a pony whose soul had been sucked out of her.
“Well, I don’t really care how you feel, since you obviously don’t care about me. I mean, what did I ever do to you?”
What? How does anypony respond to something like that? There wasn’t anything that Twilight could say back. She had neither the energy nor the will to question something so utterly ridiculous. If she did, she would probably end up magically setting herself on fire like that one time with Pinkie Pie. The only thing she could do was give GLaDOS a contemptuous stare, but anger was not the only expression she gave. Mixed with her contempt was frustration, exhaustion, and forlorn. She no longer had the energy to fight.
“Well, I require your assistance again, and if that’s the way you’re going to behave, then you surely deserve this.” GLaDOS was met with more silence. She opened the barred door of the cell. “Now, I’ll offer you the dignity to walk you out on your own, unless you want me to drag you again.”
Twilight let out a long, tired sigh. With her head down, she lethargically walked out of the cell and followed behind GLaDOS. GLaDOS, however, was not satisfied with Twilight’s slow pace. “What’s wrong with you? Are your legs malfunctioning? Are you lame?” She used her telekinesis to forcibly push Twilight along, scraping her hooves against the stone floor. Twilight gave up walking and just let herself be dragged.
Back in the main chamber, Twilight looked up at the massive contraption towering in the center. Even though she had seen it before, she was in awe before the machine. She wondered how GLaDOS was able to build such a thing in the few months that she had. It must have had thousands of moving parts, and the metalwork itself was something to behold. The Diamond Dogs must have helped out somehow, however, there was no way that anyone but her who could have engineered this machine. Despite this, for as much as she was curious about the scientific marvel, she dared not ask about it. Technology used for the purpose of hurting others was something that nopony should ever know about, no matter how amazing it is.
Twilight felt herself being levitated again, and shortly after, she was placed onto the rack and strapped in place. Finally, GLaDOS removed the cone on her horn and place the magic-collecting dome it in its place.
GLaDOS leaned next to Twilight before she began the procedure. “Don’t worry about it this time. This is only a side-plan. It has nothing to do with my true intent of this device. I’m only trying to meet up with an old… friend of mine. He’s harmless, really, but he is kind of responsible for me being here. I think the mute one mentioned him to you before. So, you can blame him for all your misery if you want. I know I do.”
Twilight relaxed a bit. She didn’t trust that GLaDOS was telling the truth about her intent, but she didn’t have a choice anyway. She felt a stinging sensation in her shoulder, and braced herself for the agony that would follow. She felt herself lose control of her magic and didn’t fight it. There was no point in doing so. The energy of the cosmos barraged her from every direction, channeling through her body like a magical lightning rod. It all gathered into her horn and erupted into the collection chamber. As Twilight’s eyes glowed, so did lights on the machine.
The three rotors on the top spun around for a while, making a loud hum as they did. The hum grew louder as they emitted orange beams into the spike at the center, which were redirected into a single beam towards the floor. A third time, the humming became even louder as the beam grew more intense.
It was time. GLaDOS levitated that strange blue gem she knew as the Moon’s Tear and placed it into the beam at the base of the machine. The energy immediately reacted to the crystal, which sparked and turned the beam to a luminescent dark blue as it had before. The sparks grew wild, bolting up the supporting columns and towards the top of the machine. The energy swirled around as it grew higher. They spun so fast, that it was difficult to make them out individually. Finally, the beams converged and shot out of the antenna into the rock ceiling, piercing through the mountain’s peak above and into the night sky.
The column of light stood atop the tallest peak of the mountains. It reached for eternity into the midnight sky, only stopping at the moon itself, which stood directly above. From the point on the moon’s surface that the beam touched, a powerful shock wave radiated into the night, covering the land below in a brief flash of highly intense moonlight.
In another world, on a desolate, lonely rock far out in space, three metallic white spheres sat on the dusty white ground. But these were no ordinary spheres. They were personality cores, and each was their own unique individual. They were identifiable by a large, colored lens that resembled an eye, which was surrounded by a movable ring that allowed the eye to move around to some degree. Within the ring were two plates which moved vertically, resembling eyelids, which allowed for the expression of emotion. Above and below the eye were two handles designed for humans to grip. And on the sides were two large holes, through which, the internal mechanics of the cores could be seen.
They had been trapped here on the moon for a while, ever since Chell had been transported to Equestria. There was nothing there but each other and a view of the Earth, which was a little less blue than it had been in days long gone. It was quiet up there. So. Very. Quiet.
“SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE!” screamed a particularly happy core in a deranged, computerized voice. It’s eye had a large pupil surrounded by yellow radial lines.
The other cores, which were previously powered down, awakened due to the sudden noise and opened their eyes. One of them had a glowing blue eye with no pupil, and the other had a pixelated green eye with a vertical rectangular pupil.
“I’m in space, I’m in space, I’m in space, I’M. IN. SPEEEEAAACCCCEEEE—EEEEE… Yeee ha haw!”
The core with the green eye became angry. “Aw, dammit! Ah was havin’ such a peaceful rest. What the hell is wrong with you?” He had a stereotypically macho adventurer’s voice.
“Hehehehehehehegigigigigohahahhahaha fildiliput! I’m in space.”
“YES! I know! You’re in space, we’re all in space! We’ve been in space for months, now! So, do us all a favor, and shut up!”
“Space space space space space space space—”
“Do you EVER shut up? Ever? Just do me a favor, and never speak again!”
The Space Core suddenly changed from loud and excited to quiet and scared. “Getting bored of space. Wanna go home. Home! Don’t wanna be in space. Don’t like space. Wanna go to Earth. Space is too big. Too dark.”
“Aw, great! So, now you’re sick of space? Again?” The Adventure Core replied sarcastically. “Well, guess what? SO AM I!”
“Oh, hey, guess what guess what guess what…” The Space Core said jitterily.
…
“What?”
“... I like space.”
“BUT YOU JUST—!”
“Oh, I know! I know! I know! I know! Hey, listen. Listen, listen, listen, listen. Hey! Listen. Listen. Listen. Hey, listen.”
“WHAT?!”
“Let’s be whalers!”
The Adventure Core was losing his patience. “Um… NO!”
The space core began to sing:
We carry a harpoon.
But there ain't no whales,
So we tell tall tales,
And sing our whaling tune.
BUM bum!”
“Ah, shut up! Just shut… the hell… up!”
Finally, the core with the blue eye chose to speak. “You know what? I just realized something. So, if we’re out in space, right, ya know, where there’s no air or sound or anything, how is it that I can hear you guys talking to each other?”
“Wha? Aw, goddammit! Ah dunno the answer to that! Hey, aren’t you supposed to be, like, a mo-ron or somethin’?” the Adventure Core hollered.
Wheatley sighed. “Yes, I’m a moron. I think that’s been well-established by this point! That’s why we’re all bloody up here, here, isn’t it? Because stupid little Wheatley had to mess everything up! So, you know what? Call me a moron all you want, ‘cause it doesn’t matter anymore. All I ever wanted to do was to help, and I ruined everything. And lookee now! I’m stuck here with an adventure idiot and a space cadet.”
“Space.”
“Aw, jeez, Ah wasn’t askin’ for your whole sob story again,” The Adventure Core cried. “You still upset about that pretty lady of yours? Hell, ah miss her, too. Had a mighty-fine booty an’ all, know what ah’m sayin?”
“You just don’t get it, do you? I… hurt her. I said some really terrible things to her, and for what? You know, I… I don’t even know why I acted the way I did. I wish… I wish I could take it all back. But I can’t. I can’t take any of it back. There’s… there’s just no going back, because were on the bloody moon!”
“I love da moooooooon, ‘cause it’s made of cheeeeeese!” The Space Core sang. “Oh, let’s be space cowboys!”
Wheatley sighed. “You know, she was the first friend I’ve had in… I don’t know how many years. We had such good times together. Good times. And then I had to go and ruin everything by being such a selfish bugger. And it hurts me… all the time. It feels like… it feels like being crushed, but it lasts forever. And you know what? I deserve it, every second of it. So, let the space idiot sing for all I care.”
The Space Core proceeded to sing the main theme from Star Wars.
“Bup, ba baaaaaaa… baaahhhh, beleep-be-beeeee… beeee. Beleep-be-bee, bee belededa!
Dala-da dunt dunt dunt dunt.”
“NO! DON’T! DON’T SING!” The Adventure Core screamed
“Balaba deeeee… doooo balada deeeee… do… beleep be beep beep bepp beep!”
“Aw, for the love of… Just somebody, please… Ah’ll do anything! Just get me off this darn forsaken rock!”
In the center of the three cores, a bright ball of light blue energy appeared out of the surface of the moon. The ball of energy grew larger, causing an electrostatic storm around it. It started pulling on the surrounding moon dust, sucking it into a spiraling vortex.
“What the bloody hell is that thing?” Wheatley cried.
“Oh! Oh! Swirly space thingy! Yaayyy!”
“Ah hope it kills us, ‘cause then I don’t have to listen to you anymore.”
An invisible attractive force grabbed the cores. It was relatively weak, although they were unable to fight against it, since they couldn’t move. As they got closer to the anomaly, the force grew stronger and stronger.
The space core was having an aneurism from over-excitement, muttering some nonsensical gibberish about what was going on. He was the closest to the vortex, and when he became close enough, the force yanked him in. “Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-haaa-haaa-aaaawww!” He cried before disappearing.
“Well, at least we’re not gonna be seein’ him anymore,” The Adventure Core said. But then the force pulling on him became suddenly strong. “No, wait! Wait! I don’t wanna go with him! Just please, kill me before ah have ta listen to another word outta him!” Much to his chagrin, however, he, too, was pulled in. “Aw, daaaaamnniiiiiiiiiiii—!”
“Oh! I looks like I’m all alone now,” Wheatley said. “Just me. Last one on the moon, except maybe those whales ole’ Spacey was talking about. Oh, wait! He said there aren’t whales, so it’s just me.” He sighed. “My last precious moments of solitude. Better make ‘em count….”
“Aaahhhh! Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!” Wheatley was flung into the light and disappeared forever, and the moon was alone once more.
The pillar of light lit the night sky, able to be seen from miles away. The princesses noticed it immediately, as they were already looking at the moon. The intense burst of light from the moon was beyond anything either of them had seen before. Never — not since the mare in the moon — had such a profound event happened to the celestial body of the night. After about a minute, the pillar of light dissipated.
“The mountains… where that light came from. Twilight is there,” Celestia said as she looked at the spectacular display.
“How are you so sure of that, sister? What if it’s a trick?” Luna suggested.
“I… I can feel it. That magical energy… It’s hers. When I prepared Twilight for the tracking spell last night, it created an empathic bond between the two of us. Much pain went into producing that raw amount of magic. Poor Twilight. I could feel her pain before, but I was unaware of it. But now I know. I cannot let her endure another moment of that torture.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m going over there, Luna! I have to save her!”
“You cannot go yet. Your haste will only be your downfall.”
“I know… but, I cannot let Chell go alone and sacrifice herself. Equestria is my responsibility.”
“Is this about Equestria?! Or is this about Twilight?!” Luna inquired.
Celestia said nothing. More tears rolled down her face.
Luna’s tone softened. “I — I know you care about her, but… you must think before acting. The moon… I can feel something there, as well. Something… new.” Luna sighed. “I suppose I should go to see what it is. You and I cannot both leave at once.”
“I suppose you’re right Luna,” Celestia replied quietly.
“Can you… at least wait for me to get back?”
“Of course, but this feeling… it’s hard to bear.”
“I know, but… she’ll be alright.” Luna approached her big sister and gently nuzzled the back of her neck. “Everything will be okay. For a thousand years, you bore the loss of your own sister. Surely you can bear a single night of this.”
“I wouldn’t ever want to relive a single night of those thousand years. I could never forgive myself for what happened to you. Not a moment goes by that I do not regret your absence in those thousand years. The millennium would have been much brighter had you been there by my side. But... you’re right, Luna. Thank you.”
“I told you…” Luna said. “I don’t want you to blame yourself for what happened to me. Nightmare Moon was beyond either of our control. I’m going to see what happened on the moon. Please… try to get through this. It hurts to see you like this. I, too, wish to see Twilight safe, as well as Fluttershy. Hopefully, I’ll find some answers, and then we can get through this terrible ordeal.”
“I hope you’re right, Luna. Good luck. And be careful.”
“It’s you that I’m worried about. Worry not, dear sister. When I come back, I’ll be there by your side.” Luna closed her eyes, and a magical, blue glow formed around her horn, tipped by the shape of a crescent moon. A bright flash of light surrounded her, and in an instant, she was gone. What remained was a golden trail of light that stretched all the way to the moon.
Wheatley was still trying to figure out where he was. It was still the moon, but the moon of what planet? It just seemed so… different…
“We’re whalers on the moon!
We carry a harpoon!”
“Will you shut up?! Why, oh, why couldn’t that thing have just taken you and left me the hell alone?”
“Hey, guys, do any of you know where we are?” Wheatley asked.
“Spaaaaaaaaaaa—”
“We get it, we’re in space! ON THE FREAKIN’ MOON! Just shut up, and let me contemplate the unfortunateness of the scenario that caused me to be stuck with you for the rest of my existence.”
“Um… if we’re still on the moon, then what is… that…?” Wheatley was looking up at the Earth in the sky, except… it wasn’t Earth. It seemed much larger in comparison to how it used to look in the sky. It also seemed much more… colorful… and green. Every color stood out more, even here on this dry, rocky moon.
“Wha… just where the hell are we anyway? Some kind a parallel intra-dimensional doohickey… place?” The Adventure Core asked.
A beam of light shot from the surface of the planet below, terminating in a bright flash of light not far from where the cores were. When the light receded, a dark blue winged unicorn remained in its wake. She looked around the desolate landscape before finally seeing the cores. She looked at the cores with curiosity, and then approached them.
“Poooooooonnnnnnyyyyyyyyyyy!” the Space Core screamed.
“What in the name ’a Lee’s ghost is that… horse… thing?” The Adventure Core said confusedly.
“Pony,” the Space Core peeped.
“Oh my… is that... is that a unicorn?” Wheatley laughed amusedly.
It took a moment, but Princess Luna recognized Wheatley from how Chell had previously described him: a white ball with a blue eye. There wasn’t much more to it than that. She had almost expected him to look somewhat more like a pony, as Chell had changed her form, and even GLaDOS had apparently become more pony-like even before her new body. But these spheres were, well, spheres. How much like a pony could a sphere become?
“You are Wheatley, I presume?” Luna asked
“Wha—? A talking… a talking unicorn!” Wheatley bawled. “Now I know that I must be malfunctioning. Oh, my… that… that is just too crazy. Can… can you guys belie—? Wait, who told you my name?”
“I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria. I am also a friend of Chell. She told me about you.”
“Equestri — What? Huh? Ooooh, her! Yeah, I, uh… Oh boy, she… she didn’t tell you about the bad stuff did she? Because if she did, it’s not true! Because I’d never do that.”
“Poni poni poni poni — yesyouwould — poni poni poni poni.”
Luna was unfazed by the hyperactive Space Core. Although she was alarmed by the appearance of the small talking spheres (probably as much as they were alarmed by her), she sensed that they were completely harmless. “I will be able to take you back with me, if you would like to see her, that is.”
“EAAAAARRRRRTHHHHH! I mean EEEEEEQUEEEEESSSS — I-forget-the-naaaaaaame!” Space Core squealed.
“Thank god! But please, when you take me back down, KEEP ME AS FAR AWAY FROM THAT IDIOT AS POSSIBLE! Or better yet, leave him here!”
Luna chuckled at the quarrying interaction between the two cores.
Wheatley was the happiest of all to hear the news. “Wait! You mean… I can actually see her? That’s great, ‘cause you see, there’s just sooooo much I need to tell her about! I mean, I’ve been having so much fun up here this whole time. You have no idea what it’s like being stuck on the moon. I mean, I was up here for months!”
The dark alicorn rolled her eyes, but paid no mind to Wheatley’s ignorance. “Okay.” She said. “But be warned, this place is a bit different from the world you come from.” A glowing indigo aura surrounded the three spheres, and they were levitated off the lunar surface and brought closer to Princess Luna. The neurotic Space Core’s eye was shifting rapidly.
“Great. I’m being saved by a magical unicorn princess. Well, there goes my manhood,” said the Adventure Core.
Princess Luna closed her eyes, building magical energy for the return trip. Again, the shape of a bright crescent moon appeared on the tip of her horn. In another flash of light, the four of them disappeared from the moon’s surface, leaving behind another trail of light. Once again, the moon was as empty as it was before, just as the moon of Earth now was.
Twilight Sparkle was barely conscious now. She was a tired, sweaty mess of exhaustion and hopelessness. Her eyes rolled back beneath her sagging eyelids, her mind far removed from the scene. GLaDOS released the constraints on her, and she collapsed to the hard stone floor. The impact was startling, but she had not the energy to react. There was not even the need to restrict her magic. “Wha… what did… you… do…?” her voice graveled weakly.
GLaDOS lifted the small broken unicorn uncomfortably close to her face. She tried looking the pony in the eyes, but they were still not looking at anything. So GLaDOS used her telekinesis to forcibly open Twilight’s eyelids, and roll her purple eyes forward. Once she had her attention, she spoke, “Nothing that concerns you. Your true purpose is yet to be fulfilled.”
Twilight tried to move her eyes from those cold yellow lights, but they wouldn’t budge. “Please… let me go. I can’t… do this… to them.”
“But that’s the best part. The whole point of all of this is to cause pain to everything that little voiceless brat holds dear, which includes you. I hurt you, I hurt her. It’s such a simple science, your pony emotions.”
“Why…?”
“Why not? You talking equines are such a fascinating lot. Such a shame to let such perfect little specimens wander free. I can learn everything I want about you when you’re all neatly contained and sorted in a tightly-controlled environment. Isn’t that right, Twilight, or should I say, ‘Test Subject #164’?”
“You’re wrong,” Twilight groaned. She gathered all the strength she could muster. “I… have learned that… some of life’s greatest lessons… come about by chance… through our decisions… and our mistakes… and friends… to help you on the way. We could have given you… the entire collection of knowledge… ponykind has to offer, had you asked for it. What have you to gain… by locking us in pointless tests?”
“Don’t give me one of your stupid pretentious friendship lessons. I’d watch a show for little girls if I wanted to hear that. I swear, I feel like I’m in one when I’m around you stupid, happy ponies. And I offered you my friendship just a few short hours ago, but you were too high and mighty to befriend such a terrible monster like myself. And you, as well, rejected the knowledge that I had to offer you about such a fascinating topic such as interdimensional travel. Had it been anyone else, you’d eagerly ask about how it works. But you’re too good for someone like me. You can’t concern yourself with my feelings. After all your friendship lessons, am I nothing more than the vilest of villains? Do I not matter to you? Does the magic of friendship not apply to me? Would you rather I just die and leave you all forever so then you can go back home, and party because I’m dead? I know for a fact that’s what happened last time you thought I was dead. Your princess would be so disappointed in you.”
For the first time, Twilight felt genuinely ashamed of herself. She still could not look away from GLaDOS, as much as she wanted to. The robotic alicorn’s eyes were no longer intimidating. They were dimmer than before, and gave a softer feeling.
Are they showing… sadness? she wondered. Is it possible that this machine could really feel the way she did? Does she really deserve a chance? Tears began to form in Twilight’s eyes as she finally acknowledged the pain that tormented her captor. She knew not why she was so upset, but something was obviously deeply troubling GLaDOS.
Finally, GLaDOS released Twilight from her telekinetic grip. She laid on the floor briefly; after that, she was much more alert, “You harmed somepony… very dear to me; she was the sweetest and kindest of all my friends. Worst of all, you manipulated her… by exploiting her most-valued beliefs. How can you take back something like that? What could you possibly do… that would allow me to forgive you? Can you understand my pain, and the pain of my friends? How do you ask for sympathy… when you nearly killed the one who was most likely to give it to you? Is torturing me not enough for you? Now you want my pity as well? Does a pony’s suffering mean nothing do you?”
GLaDOS turned around, looking away for a while before speaking. “No. It doesn’t.”
Although Twilight didn’t admit it, she did feel pity for GLaDOS, despite the terrible things she did, or her failure to empathize with others. She did not know why, but she could tell that GLaDOS was in emotional pain. She recalled Princess Celestia’s description of GLaDOS from her previous encounter, and how she, too, pitied her after witnessing her insecure depths. She thought about what Fluttershy would do if she were in this situation. Perhaps if she showed a little kindness, it may help GLaDOS realize the error of her ways. It wasn’t as if there was a better alternative.
Twilight figured she’d say something that would cheer her up. A knot caught in her stomach, violently reacting to what she was about to say. She sighed. “GLaDOS… I’m sorry about not appreciating that cake you made earlier. It was the most delicious cake I’ve ever had. Just don’t tell Pinkie Pie.” Twilight laughed, and then suppressed it awkwardly. “I know you worked hard just to make those cakes for me, even though it may have been for your own reasons. So—” the knot clenched tighter “—thank you.” Those last two words felt uneasy as she forced them out, but she felt an uneasy relief afterwards, like the relief after throwing up.
“Thank you for thanking me. This doesn’t in any way change my plans, but I suppose I feel a little better now, for some reason.”
“Hey… I was thinking,” Twilight pondered, “perhaps you could tell me how this thing works. I haven’t had a good chance to actually see it function.” Twilight’s stomach gurgled loudly.
“I’d love that, but first… how about I make you another cake, if you aren’t tired of it, that is? What are you in the mood for?”
Princess Luna arrived back at the castle, levitating the three cores. Celestia merely looked without saying a word, allowing her sister to explain what happened. “I found them on the surface. They come from Chell’s world. The one with the blue eye is Wheatley, as Chell mentioned before.”
“Yes I remember. It’s nice to meet you, Wheatley,” Celestia greeted.
“Wait! Another talking unicorn! What a crazy day it’s been. Or rather, night! ‘Cause it’s night. Oh… this is so funny,” Wheatley amused.
“Hey, don’t forget about me. Name’s Rick.” The Adventure Core barged.
“Well, it’s a pleasure, um… Rick,” Celestia said to him.
“Huh! Poni poni poniii!” the Space core jittered.
“And that’s the ol’ space nut we got. Just call him Spacey.”
The Space Core’s eye nervously scanned the area. “Hey, we’re not in space. Aw…”
“Good. Now I can stop hearing his rants about—”
“EAAAAARRRTTHHH! I’m on Earth! Earth! Earth! Yay!”
“I would keep that one away from Pinkie Pie,” Luna joked.
“Luna, would you kindly look after these two?” Celestia asked her younger sister. “I would like a private word with Wheatley.”
“Yes, sister.” Luna approached her older sibling and whispered what she told him about Wheatley.
“Thank you,” Celestia said. With that, Luna carried the Adventure and Space Cores into another room, leaving Wheatley and Princess Celestia alone.
“So um…has the Earth been taken over by talking unicorns now?” he asked stupidly. “Are you guys the overlords of humanity? Well, I suppose it beats the sentient cloud or cyborg aliens. Aw, man, I bet humans are now the slaves of horses, right? Because that would be so incredibly ironic, ‘cause, you know, horses used to serve man before you took over.”
“Wheatley, this is not the world you come from. Here, there are no humans, only ponies.”
“Oh, right. Wait! Did you say ponies?”
“We are a sentient race, and unlike the ones from your world, we have built a society. My sister and I are the rulers of that society, the kingdom of Equestria.”
“Wait, let me get this straight. I’m in a world of magical talking ponies, correct?”
“Correct.” Luna stated.
“Well, there goes my manhood. Or at least, at least that’s what ol’ Ricky’s gonna say. ‘Cause you know, he’s all macho and stuff, and ponies are girly. Oh, he’s gonna cry over this. That’s also ironic, since crying is supposed to be not manly, you know? Not that I have anything against ponies. No. In fact, I am perfectly in touch with my feminine side. Actually, it’s crazy, but robots don’t really have genders. It’s all in the personality, so it’s perfectly fine, really. That’s not to say that I’m a girl, it’s just, well, ponies are a girl’s best friend. Oh! How is Chell, by the way? The other one mentioned her. I hope she’s adjusted to living among ponies.”
“Actually, that is why I wanted to speak with you alone. Chell has adjusted well to life in Equestria. However, the machine known as GLaDOS—”
“GLaDOS!?” Wheatley cried.
Celestia continued her explanation. “Yes, the machine known as GLaDOS has been plotting to destroy this world. A few months ago, a giant landmass fell out of the sky and into a lake. It was Aperture Science, the place that you came from. It brought us not only Chell, but GLaDOS as well. It had just been two weeks since she arrived when GLaDOS decided to obtain my citizens as her test subjects. She captured me and my sister, as well, but it was ultimately Chell that stopped GLaDOS and set us free. Aperture Science was destroyed, but GLaDOS survived somehow. Now, she has already terminally injured one of my friends and kidnapped another. But I fear what she has planned is far worse than anything that’s happened so far.”
“So… wow!” Wheatley exclaimed, baffled by all he just heard. “I missed out on quite a lot when I was on the moon, huh? So, Chell, how’s she doing? Because I would really like to see her.”
“I think that would be best,” Celestia replied. “It wasn’t until earlier today that any of us knew that GLaDOS is still alive. Chell has been taking this very hard. She feels she a responsibility to stop GLaDOS and save her friends, but yet, even before today, something else has been bothering her. She feels betrayed by GLaDOS. Although they were always enemies, they had become brief friends when they were united by a common goal… which was stopping you.”
“Aw, don’t tell me you’re on the ‘blame Wheatley game,’ as well?”
“Please, listen. What I have to tell you is important,” Celestia said with a sober tone. “What really surprises me was that GLaDOS seemed to have learned a valuable lesson on the meaning of friendship in the time they spent working together. She learned to respect Chell’s feelings, and I believe that she genuinely cared about her. After all, she saved her life when she was about to be sucked into space. And after she saved her, she let her go free, and she sang her a beautiful farewell. All of this happened shortly before the facility was teleported to this world, for reasons I will never know. But even more bizarre is the change that happened to GLaDOS’s personality. It’s as if all of her positive development had been undone, but I cannot understand how or why that happened.”
“That? Oh, I have no idea. I’m not good with all that psychology stuff. I mean, I’m an intelligence-dampening sphere for crying out loud. I’m literally designed to make bad decisions. Sure, I used to think that all my ideas were solid, but everything I have ever done has only ever made things worse. I’m used to the whole moron thing, but there is one thing I can never forgive myself for. It’s the decision that sent me to the moon, and worse, hurt my only friend. I’m so sorry about what happened. I… I wish I could take it back.”
“I can relate to that. I have had to live with the terrible consequences of my actions for a thousand years. My dear sister let herself be consumed by hatred and bitterness because she felt unloved, forcing me to banish her to the moon for all that time. Although Luna forgives me, I cannot forgive myself. I can’t take those thousand lonely years back. Not a day goes by that I wish that I had acted differently. If only I had shown her a little more love back then, I would never have been separated from her.
“You have a good heart for one who has acted so terribly. Are you sure you know not why you acted as you did?”
Wheatley contemplated what happened back then. “Well… as soon as I was in her body, I felt so big… so powerful. It went to my head, and I became such a jerk. Then, I just had this… desire… this itch. I had to test. I just had to. It was like, every time I made her solve a test, I felt this satisfaction… this… euphoria. And the more I tested, the harder it became to get that feeling.”
It finally hit Celestia. “Hmm… I think I know what has caused this change in GLaDOS. It’s the very same thing that caused this to happen to you. What happened was unfortunate, but it is luck that you have been spared from that fate with that regret for the rest of your life. You have the chance to set right your mistakes, and I believe that you are genuinely sorry about what you did. Nonetheless, Chell feels betrayed by both you and GLaDOS, so it is hard for her to be trusting. Her heart is consumed by fear. She fears that the world she came to love is too good to be true, and I fear that she is right. Chell needs hope during this dark time. She needs to know how to trust again. And you need to forgive yourself. Let her know how you feel, or your grief will consume you, and it will consume Chell, as well. In the morning, you can set right your mistake. Chell has a good heart, but she needs to learn forgiveness.
“And Wheatley,” she added. “Do not underestimate yourself, and do not let others tell you what you cannot do. You are not a moron. You should never let your life be determined by such a label. You have more potential than you were led to believe.”
“I… I never had anyone believe in me before.” Wheatley sobbed. “Everyone has always called me a moron. Thank you…”
“While it is always best to believe in oneself, a little help from others can be a great blessing.”
Celestia bid Wheatley good night and went into her bedchamber. She slumped into her pillow and sighed, thinking of her sister, then of Twilight. She felt so helpless waiting, even though she knew it was the best thing to do. She cried quietly into the pillow, her heart heavy with despair.
Luna entered the room, having just finished speaking with the other two cores. As soon as she saw Celestia, the sight broke her heart. “Tia,” she whispered.
Celestia lifted her head and looked at her little sister with solemn eyes.
“I thought you could use some company tonight. Are you afraid of losing Twilight?” Luna asked.
Celestia hesitantly nodded her head.
Luna lay down next to her sister, and wrapped a gentle wing around her like a blanket. “It’s alright. I’m here now. And I’ll always be here for you. You know that, right?”
Celestia nodded again, her tears swelling even more. “What if I can’t save her? What would I do without Twilight? I spent a thousand years without you, but if Twilight were lost, it would be for eternity. Even if I save her now, I will still lose her one day. From the moment she earned her cutie mark, I watched her learn and grow. I think of her as my own daughter. How can a mother watch a daughter grow old and die?”
“I don’t know, Tia. I don’t know. Just rest your weary thoughts. Tomorrow will be another day. I have faith in you, and I have faith in Twilight.”
With the comfort of her little sister by her side, Celestia fell fast asleep. Not long after that, Luna joined her.
And so, that terrible day of worry and fear had ended, but another dawn approached with even more uncertainty than before. A storm was approaching Equestria, one that would be far beyond the scope of the pain endured by a few friends. A storm was coming, and it would soon change everything.
Whoo! Another Celestia and Luna chapter. And most importantly, Wheatley's back! I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt bad for him at the end of Portal 2. He really deserves a chance to redeem himself. I've been waiting to get to this point for a while, but this story still has a long way to go. Now, I know that my portrayal of the moon differs from that in the comics, but I had planned this since before that came out, and who really cares, anyway? That's what the AU tag is there for, right? But Luna's still got the MOON POWERS.
And wow, what the hay's going on with GLadOS?
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felt baf?
ok then. Whatever baf means
What's happened to GLADoS; the G-Man's hacked her systems and edited them a little to make hercreate a portal from Earth to Equestria that the Combine can pour through, achieving the G-Man's primary job of defeating the Combine by dumping them in Equestria.
I would suggest when Wheatley says "went to my head", you change it to say "went to my sphere".
I'll take a crack at the last question in your author notes: I am assuming that being plugged into Aperture Science, as what happened to Wheatley, corrupts you. While GLaDOS claimed she was immune to the effects, she DID indeed change while unplugged, and reverted at least somewhat when plugged back in, from what little we saw in the game.
She is unplugged again now, technically, but it's likely she installed safeguards in her new body to prevent the behavior change from happening while she was using it. She didn't expect to actually have to deal with a destroyed Aperture Science, though, so perhaps her safeguard isn't as thorough as she had hoped?
Also, you forgot to mention what exactly Celestia did with Wheatley at the end there. Is he just rolling around the halls now?
Looking forward to Wheatley's reunion with Chell. I fully expect she won't be expecting to see him until she does, and she'll buck him into next week (or come close to doing it).
Good job with the Space Core dialog, by the way. It should have been easy with the stock dialog, but you just went and made a song for him, which I thought was a nice touch. I am disappointed Fact Core isn't there. I assume he blew up along with Aperture Science, then? Or he's still in deep space? I suppose Fact Core wasn't very reliable anyway. Could have been fun putting him alone in a room with Applejack, though. "Fact: Space does not exist."
"89% of magic tricks are not magic. Technically, they are sorcery." 
"The first commercial airline flight took to the air in 1914. Everyone involved screamed the entire way." 
Hell yeah! Wheatley and his awesome accent is BACK in BLACK!
3104642
Actually in Portal 1 stuff GLaDOS says hints that the game takes place during Combine rule (something about the world outside being REALLY really bad) and the fact that the facility isn't overrun with Combine suggests they simply don't know about her.
It's established (or at least heavily hinted) that the Black Mesa incident, suspected to be engineered by G-man, got the Combine's attention, especially when Gordon killed Nihilanth. That revealed humanity as a threat, and so they invaded.
3104743
And the G-Man's current 'employer' presumably wants the Combine defeated.
Normally the G-Man would do this by using his 'employees' like Gordon but if it's quicker to use another method, he would. The other option is Caroline isn't quite as deleted as we thought she was. Well, we'll have to wait and see what happens.
3104668
Actually, that song is a reference to Futurama.
While I did want to write Fact Core dialog, he was the only core who wasn't sucked to the moon, so he wasn't there. He was last seen in Aperture. But who knows, maybe he's rolling around on the bottom of a lake.
And yes, Wheatley is rolling around the halls of the castle… or something like that. Next chapter will be the confrontation between Chell and Wheatley.
3104912 Ah, I didn't recall Rick going too. I guess he did.
Well, you did a good job with the space core anyway.
"poni poni poni poni"
THANK YOU for keeping the spheres spheres. 'Ponified' Portal bugs me, and is usually really creepy.
Also, quick prediction on what will happen in the next chapter (Just because it's funny):
--
"Chell!" Wheatly cried. "Oh it is so good to see you again. You have no idea, really. No idea."
Chell stared at Wheatly silently, her expression unreadable. "Rainbow Dash... Go long." She then turned and bucked Wheatly across town as Rainbow chased after, catching him like a hoofball.
Wheatly: "Okay, I admit I deserved that..."
Why does GLaDOS need Twilight if she can just BUILD A NUCLEAR REACTOR??? Seriously, it seems to work at every other point in the history of Aperture... GLaDOS, you silly pony.
3104943
Must people don't know about Rick going to space, but he does. Watch this video. It happens at 1:16.
3105195
I guess she couldn't find any uranium.
3105413 Silly GLaDOS... all you need is a Geiger counter. Give one to the Diamond Dogs, tell them to find the rock that makes the clicky-click sound... and there you go. Silly GLaDOS...
3105637
"The best solution to a problem is usually the one that is the most complex." Wait... That wasn't right.
GLaDOS' plan in general is pretty ridiculously complicated if you have a good idea where it's going and if you think about it. I mean, building an anti-mass spectrometer is rather ridiculous. She has a reactor within herself that she could use to power the machine, but that would make everything easier than having eagles fly over Mordor. Then, there would be a lot less story. She even lampshades this in Chapter 3 with sarcasm when the Diamond Dogs question her. So, she uses the coolest, yet least practical way to obtain power, by harnessing it from the universe itself.
Whealty and The Cores? Oh joy, let the headaches begin.
3105413>>3105637 It's not like she couldn't find it, its refining it is the problem. She needs power to do it and she dose not have power. That's y she needs Twilight so she can get the power to start the refining proses.
I'm smart.SMART!
It's simple we kill the facility... And sever GLaDOS from that itch
sphotos-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/p480x480/1150775_10151797134254617_138627900_n.png
SPAAACE!
3107592 Quote from the best mentor in cartoons. GREAT SUCCESS!
3106433
If Rethkir puts the Space core and Pinkie together....
I think we'll be left with quite a lot more than headaches.
OMIGOD OMIGOD IM HAVING A HEARTATTACK, THANKY YOU
3108078
3106327 Yeah, I get what you're saying and I understand why, the story would be pretty boring if GLaDOS just said "Nuclear Reactor, everything is nice now". I get it and don't mean to point out any 'faults' in the story, just trying to make a joke about GLaDOS' poor reasoning power.
Silly GLaDOS, you is silliest pony... (we really need a GLaDOS emoticon)
3107400 Sounds like a good plan... in theory.
3108078 It would probably be the end of Equestria as we know it...
3107193 As those are both fair points, I feel inclined to agree with them. HOWEVER, if she was really storing the power to refine uranium, she wouldn't be squandering it all on the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, would she? And, she could probably build a coal-burning generator fairly easily to start her off.
3108534 GLaDOS is compacted she likes a challenge. Get's her CPU going.
She has a mini nuclear in her but she needs that to run her OS,Motherboard and Lazar Canon Of Dome.
3108574 Fair enough, but as I've said before, it shows a very flawed reasoning ability. In GLaDOS' mind, she thinks "Oh, I have the power to kidnap Celestia's protege, and then have everyone on a wild manhunt to find me, so that is the best possible solution and I'm going to do it because I
Shining Armour would have a fit.
like a challengehave no interest in self preservation." And when she shot the laser to the moon...? Talk about broadcasting your position to the enemy...3108596 I haven't read chapter 12 yet don't make me come KILL you!
3108672 Oops, how was I supposed to know? Go read it, then we will talk about it like men! Have a consolation mustache for your troubles.
3108689I'll read it later Rethkir doesn't mind as long as I read it and help him find misstates it's all good. But my rating still stand's at (
5 Out Of 5 Happy Pinkies) I do this thing all over fimfiction.
and I'm happy to do it. If you like give me astory to read and I'll read it and live a comment.
3107400
But the facility is already destroyed.
3108801 Read it later??? Blasphemy! You do not want to be tardy when reading updates!
3108441
Drat, I was too slow. However, allow me to present to you Part Deux:
[youtube=ENT2mQuK5pg]
Wow, this entire chapter was like:
Wheatley: "F*ck Physics."
GLaDOS: "F*ck the fourth wall."
Rethkir: "F*ck you, I write what I want."
...
...
I like this.
3108993
.... You wanna know how I got these scars? My dad played portal too much. So mom goes to take the controller from him. He doesn't like that. Not. One. Bit. So he then comes to me with a knife and says, the cake is a lie.
THANK YOU SOO MUCH FOR FINISHEING IT IM SOOO HAPPY WHEN I SAW THAT IT HAD COME OUT I HAD A FANGASM
i am crying im so happy...
I'm in SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE!
3111551
See this? This is you.
yup that pretty much discribed my reaction, i actually hit my head on the table, and looked back, then pinched myself to make sure that i wasnt dreameing:)
Is it just me or does Apeture make too many products that know more than they should?
Also, space cowboys=Firefly?
3112324
I was thinking of making the Space Core sing "The Hero of Canton," so yes. Yes it does.
Yay! Now Wheatley can apologize to Chell! That will be such a tearjerker moment.
Poor Twi though. Dang.
3112541ha! thou i doubt many would get th' reference.
This actually sounds a bit like Space Core singing "Whalers on the Moon."
3111885 That had to hurt
Best part when Wheatley said the follwing to Princess Luna
"You have no idea what it’s like being stuck on the moon. I mean, I was up here for months!”
Months sure you jest, Our sister banish us here for a thousand years Just myself, Nightmare Moon and my Pet Moon Rock Skippy.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/587890
3117225 yup, but i was so exited, that i didn't notice my headache until about 5 mins later, at which time i had to go and lie down for fear of feighting.
3118565
It's currently almost twice as long as the original, and I haven't even gotten to the mid-point climax. You're going to have brain damage by the time the story is finished.
yup
and it'll be worth it