Lost in the Dark and the Forgotten Light
Stedson laughed as he flew through the open skies and felt the wind blowing through his fur. There was no other feeling like it. He looked down at the town below and waved to the ponies as he passed them by overhead. He picked up his speed when he saw a farmhouse in the distance. His home.
So peaceful…
He stopped flapping his wings when he got closer to the farmhouse, but kept them extended as he gently glide his way down. Unfortunately, his landing wasn’t as graceful as his descent when his hoof got caught in a stone jutting out of the ground just as he was about to land, causing him to tumble forward several feet before skidding to a halt with his muzzle deep in the mound of dirt he dug up.
Stedson groaned as he pulled himself out of the dirt and rubbed his sore snout with a hoof. He coughed up some dirt and even a couple of his feathers. That was not one of his better landings. He then heard someone giggling at him. His face broke out into a smile when he saw the pink unicorn mare stepping out onto the front porch.
So beautiful…
“Candy!” he exclaimed before letting out a nervous laugh, “Er…You didn’t see that just now…did you?” he asked her in a hopeful tone of voice but was disappointed and embarrassed when she nodded her head while trying to keep her laughter under control.
“I give that landing a 4.5 out of 10.” Candy said as she trotted up to him, “Here, let me give you a hoof…or a horn.” She said with a laugh as she lit up her horn and lifted the pegasus up to his hooves.
“Thanks...” He stopped and coughed some more feathers, “...also, a 4.5? That rock came out of nowhere.”
Candy rolled her eyes at him, “Fine, you get a 5 out 10. Happy now?” Stedson surprised her when he gave her a quick peck on the lips.
“Very.” He replied while grinning at the stunned look on her face, “So how was your day at the clinic?”
She recovered from her stupor and recounted her day to him, “Oh, nothing much really. It was really slow today, the only real patient I had was our own son.”
Son…?
His brows furrowed when he heard this, “Did something happen to him? Is he all right?” he asked worriedly.
“He’s alright, just cut himself a little when he fell into a patch of thorns while playing hoofball with his friends.” Candy explained.
Stedson sighed in relief at the news,“So where is he right now?”
“Why don’t you see for yourself?” she said, gesturing to their home.
“Dad?” a voice called out to him.
Stedson turned his head and saw a young colt standing by the doorway; the colt had some bandages covering his cream white coat. He had his father’s brown mane which was just as, if not more unkempt as his father’s as it covered up his forehead completely. He saw that the colt was wearing Candy’s coat over his tiny frame.
Pegasus?…Unicorn?… Earth Pony?
“Hey son, what are you standing way over there for? Come and give your old man a hug!” He said but the colt shook his head and said something about cooties.He shrugged before pulling Candy into his arms, “Then I guess I'll just settle for kissing your... mother in front of you.” he smirked when he saw Candy rolling her eyes at him.
“What?” the colt cried out in a mix of surprise and disgust, “Alright I’ll hug you! Just don’t kiss mom in front of me.” He said before he trotted up to his parents and hugged them both. Stedson then kissed his wife right on the lips, in full view of their son, much to his disgust. Candy on the other hoof, didn’t mind as much.
“Ewww! You tricked me!” the colt exclaimed while trying to pry himself out of his father’s hooves.
Stedson gave his son a smirk, “Well, I didn’t say anything about not kissing your mother, now did I?”
“Now dear, you know he doesn’t like it when you tease him.” Candy gently scolded him.
“Yeah dad, that’s my job!” a familiar voice suddenly called out from the house.
“Sis! You’re back!” his son cried out excitedly.
No, that’s not possible…
He turned his head and saw an orange pegasus mare walking towards them. She stopped in front of his son and gave him a hug. “Good to see you again squirt, what’s with the bandages?” she said to the colt
“522…Is that you?” he blurted out.
The mare stopped dead in her tracks and cocked her head curiously to the side. “What are you talking about dad? It’s me...” Stedson just looked at her blankly “...your daughter? I just got back from my camping trip. Have I really been away that long?”
Stedson blinked at the mare before him and shook his head, “Sorry…my mistake, I thought you were someone else for second.” he smiled weakly at his daughter, “…Oh and welcome home.” He added.
“Thanks dad, it’s good to be home.” She said before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “I miss you guys so much…but I gotta tell you something.”
“And what’s that?”
“Wake up.”
“What?” he opened his eyes and his family had vanished. He turned around and saw that everything else was gone too; the town in the distance had disappeared, consumed by a sea of shadows that was getting closer by the second.
“Stedson!” He turned to his house, and saw Candy with their children standing inside the doorway of their home, beckoning to him with outstretched hooves.
“Hold on! I’m coming!” he shouted back and broke out into a run, but the encroaching shadow was faster as it swallowed the ground underneath and fell to the darkness below. He instinctively opened his wings and flapped them, confident that he’d make it to his family but realized that he was still falling.
“Wake up…” He looked up, saw his home, slowly becoming a small speck of light as he fell further, and further away from it and into the darkness below. He stretched his hoof out to the light and reached for it, only for the darkness to take him.
“Wake up…”
Stedson’s eyes shot wide open as he jolted awake in his bed. He turned his head from side to side, frantically searching for any sign of his family but reality soon dawned on him when he saw the familiar gray metal walls of his room on the station. He moved a hoof to his head and sighed.
“That never happened before...” He murmured to himself before getting out of bed. He shrugged off his clothes as he shuffled his way to the shower room. With a twist of a knob, he sighed as he felt the cascade of warm water wash over his body.
Much to his dismay however, his troubles didn’t melt away as he kept thinking about the dream he has. He’s been having these dreams for years now. The dreams usually showed him living with Candy and occasionally raising a child or two in an idyllic settlement. They made life aboard the station more bearable as they gave him hope of a better future for him, and his daughters.
However, years passed by and nothing changed. The dreams now made him feel only sadness and regret. He wondered if they were some sort of ‘punishment’ cooked up by his guilty conscious for what he has done. He would have welcomed the nightmares he used to have but they refused to haunt him for a long time…that is until now.
‘Why was that one different…?’ he thought as he contemplated the meaning behind his dream before he shook his head, ‘It doesn’t matter. It was just a dream, nothing more. Wasn’t it?’ but before he could ponder more on the meaning behind his dreams, his desk terminal came online.
“Incoming transmission for you, Doctor Cog.” an electronic voice called out.
He grumbled incoherently as he turned off the shower and got out, “Who the hell could be calling me at this hour?” he complained as he toweled himself off while going over to his desk and accepted the call. “This better be important or else I’m going to be-” he blinked when he saw the face of an orange pegasus mare on the screen.
“Hi dad.”
After the awkwardness had passed and he was dressed in something besides a towel, Stedson spent some time catching up with 588 as they talked about things that had happened since their last talk. He did his best not to show his discomfort when she briefly talked about her latest bedroom partner. Poor guy. He was thankful when she finally changed the topic to something else.
“Anything new with you, dad?” she asked.
“Nope, everything is still the same on this hunk of rock.” He and 588 shared a laugh at the inside joke. “So, how are you and the others holding up?” he asked. “Getting bored with guard duty yet?” he added jokingly.
When 588 and the other Iron Feathers joined up with the Diamond Dogs, they had expected to go on missions and see some combat but were disappointed when they were assigned to guard duty and nothing else. While Stedson was more than happy with the arrangement, the Iron Feathers thought otherwise as many of them considered it waste of their skills but orders were orders, and good soldiers followed them.
The mare on the screen rolled her eyes, a habit she picked up a long time ago from her mother and former teacher, “Very funny dad. Me and the girls are doing fine and just so you know, we got a major operation coming up soon.”
“You do?” he asked, his voice suddenly filled with dread.
“Yep, Mr Pincher says that The Prophet wants everyone in on this operation, and that includes us!” she shouted excitedly. After being stuck on guard duty for so long, the Iron Feathers were very eager for a chance to prove themselves in battle.
Stedson on the other hoof was not as enthusiastic about his daughters going into battle as Mercy was. The Iron Feathers may have been trained to be the perfect soldiers but it didn’t mean they were immortal. There were bound to be casualties.
“Where is this big operation supposed to happen?” he asked curiously, thinking that it would give him some peace of mind if he knew where they were going.
“Oh, the operation is going to…” she paused for a moment, “umm…we’re not supposed to talk about it with anyone. Sorry dad, orders are orders.”
“It’s alright 588, I understand that much at least.” He assured her.
“Dad! How many times do I gotta tell you, it’s Mercy now!” She corrected him.
Stedson chuckled, “Sorry about that, Mercy. It’s still kind of hard getting used to calling you by something other than 588…you sure you don’t want to change it to something else, like Archer?” he suggested.
Mercy gave him a flat look and told him her opinion on the matter in just one word.
“No.”
‘Definitely her mother’s daughter alright.’ he thought, “Alright, forget I asked…” he said before saw the time and realized how long they’ve been talking, “…I think it’s time that we end it here, I’ve got to go to work soon.”
“Okay dad.” She said as she reached towards the monitor to cut off the transmission.
“Oh, there’s one more thing I want to you to pass to the others.”
“Yeah, what is it dad?”
“Tell them to be careful on that operation…and good luck.”
“You worry too much dad. We’re Iron Feathers!” she boasted, “But thanks.” She added softly before ending the transmission.
He sat back into his chair and let out a weary sigh. Despite Mercy’s ‘assuring’ words, he couldn’t help but feel the opposite. It was the fact that they were Iron Feathers that made him so worried about them in the first place, especially the ones outside the Diamond Dogs.
A few years ago, a number of Iron Feathers came forward and told him that they did not want to join the Diamond Dogs anymore. They felt that their destinies laid elsewhere and wanted to seek them out on their own in the sector.
He was worried they wouldn’t be able to adjust to a normal life, so he did everything he could to convince them to reconsider and join the Diamond Dogs, or to stay with him on the station as an alternative, but being the stubborn lot that they were, they refused. In the end, he prepared a number of ships for them loaded with supplies and bid them farewell.
Even though he had promised them that he wouldn’t interfere with their lives, he couldn’t help but worry, so he decided to at least watch out for his daughters. And with the Diamond Dog’s resources at his disposal, he was able to learn their whereabouts and the new life they lead outside the Diamond Dogs.
Unfortunately, from what he learned from one of the earliest ‘reports’, a few of the Iron Feathers had turned to a life of crime and became pirates or mercenaries, terrorizing merchant and civilian ships all over the sector. He felt horrible whenever he learned of the atrocities they committed in their raids.
However, it wasn’t all bad news. The reports also stated the rest of the Iron Feathers had found a life of their own across the five sub-sectors and were leading perfectly normal lives in society. He couldn’t be any happier for them…or at least he was until they started to vanish.
Over the past few years, the Iron Feathers were disappearing one after the other with no trace of what happened to them. He didn’t take the matter seriously at first since the ones who vanished were those who had turned to piracy, he reasoned that they could be just hiding from the law or rival pirates and let it be.
But he couldn't ignore the disappearances any further when one of the Iron Feathers, who had been working as a baker on Agria, turned up missing, which was followed by more of his daughters dropping off the radar throughout the sector.
Worried for their safety, he immediately contacted Penny Pincher and asked him to put the remaining Iron Feathers under his protection and investigate the cause of the disappearances. The mercenary refused his request and said that saving a bunch of weaklings who had refused to join the Diamond Dogs was a waste of his time.
When Stedson heard those words, he got into a heated argument with Penny Pincher. He didn’t remember many of the things he said but he did make the mercenary lose his temper, which was a rare occurrence. He lost the argument when Penny Pincher threatened to take away his communications privileges, and without that, he wouldn’t be able to contact Mercy or the rest of her sisters.
In the end, all he could do was to keep an eye out for any sign of the missing Iron Feathers while observing those that remained. While the disappearances had stopped, it had been nearly two years since the last disappearance and he was losing hope of ever finding his missing daughters again.
He sat back into his chair and stared up at the ceiling, wondering. Wondering about the things he did that brought him to this point, and if he could have done them differently. Maybe then, that dream would be a reality…
“Candy…” he whispered his lover’s name longingly and thought of looking for her and 36. He had the means at his disposal to do so, but ever since his ‘disagreement’ with Penny Pincher, the Diamond Dogs have been watching him like a hawk and he’d hate to put them in any danger due to his carelessness. It was as if Happy Day had never left.
Stedson grunted as he got out the chair, and put on his labcoat. An orange feather fell from one of the pockets. He picked up the frayed feather and smiled sadly at it before putting it safely back into his coat before walking out the door. He needed to bury all these depressing thoughts with work.
Lots of it
Somewhere out in the desert wastelands of Meinhoff, a single pony was driving an uncovered buggy across the scorched landscape. He was protected from the sun’s ultraviolet rays by a large hooded cloak, which covered him from head to hoof as he drove across the desert. He was listening to some music on the radio before on an urgent news broadcast interrupted his tunes.
Terrorism! It has been a week now since the devastating psychic attack against our fair capital, and the citizens still ask the question, "Who is responsible?!" Fortunately the mares and stallions of Dominion Intelligence have found the stallion behind the heinous attack against Imperial civilians. Would you like to know more?
The pony turned off the radio and stopped the buggy when he neared his destination. He then got out of the vehicle and opened up the trunk, pulling out the big metal case inside. He strapped it to his back and started walking up to the top of a nearby hill, which gave him a good view of the domed farmstead in the distance.
Steel Gaze pulled back his hood, revealing the ocular implant in place of his right eye, which he had lost early on in his one-stallion crusade against the Diamond Dogs. The implant whirred as he zoomed in on the dome. He smiled when he saw his target, a unicorn mare tending to the fields all on her own.
“So this is who they have been hiding all this time. A mare…typical.” Steel Gaze snorted derisively before pulling back his cloak, revealing his old DI combat uniform. The dark suit of armor was old and battered in places, but it was one of the few things he had left of his old life in the Dominion before he was framed for the murder of Vice Admiral Day.
“Wonder why you’re so important.” he muttered to himself before he lifted the heavy case off his back and opened it up. Inside were the dissembled pieces of a rifle, along with a pair of precision gloves, which he put on. “No matter, I’ll find out after you’re dead.” He said as he started assembling the rifle.
Even with the heat and the dust, it only took him mere minutes to put the rifle together. It was massive gun by anypony’s standard and it appeared unwieldy, but he handled the rifle with practiced ease as he gave it one last inspection before setting it down on the ground.
He then lay down beside the rifle and pulled out a length of cable from his cybernetic eye which he connected to the rifle. His implant whirred as it gave him the measurements on the wind, elevation, and distance along with other factors that he needed to adjust to for the shot.
With the final calibrations set, he pulled the cable out and zoomed in on his target. He smiled when he saw his target still there, completely unaware of her imminent demise. He released the weapon’s safety lock and took aim. He breathed in as he moved his hand to the trigger and was about to open fire when he heard someone cocking a gun behind him.
“Step away from the gun, or I’ll splatter your brain all over the sand.” the pony threatened. The former DI agent mentally cursed himself for his carelessness as he got up and moved away from the rifle.
“Good. Now turn around nice, and easy.” he did as he was told and turned around. He eyed the HFB strapped to his front, ready to be used at a moment’s notice, but all thoughts of killing whoever had sneaked up on him were gone when he saw a face that he hasn’t seen in a long time.
“Well, well, well…if it ain’t my old buddy, Gaze.” Spend Thrift said as he looked at the ex-DI agent’s implant, “Looks like the past eight years haven’t been very kind to you, have they? ” he quipped as he waved his revolver around playfully. “I’ve heard that a rogue agent from Dominion Intelligence has been hunting down Diamond Dogs across the sector but I never expected it to be you of all people.”
“I…I thought I was the only one that got away.” Steel Gaze muttered as he looked at his former comrade. “How… How are you still alive?” he asked as he approached Spend Thrift and stretched his hand out to him, thinking it was some kind of mirage and his hand would pass through him. He was proven wrong when the earth pony swatted his hand away.
“Not so fast, Gaze. Now, step away or I’ll shoot.” Spend Thrift threatened, reminding him of the gun still pointed at his head.
“Inspector Thrift… what are you doing?” he asked, backing away warily.
“That’s Deputy Thrift to you, Gaze. I don’t work for the Dominion anymore.” Spend Thrift corrected him and pulled back his vest, showing him the gleaming badge underneath. “I’ve also been hired to keep that mare that you were about to shoot, safe. And my boss told me to be on the lookout for the guy that’s been taking out our boys. Figure I’d take down two birds with one stone.”
“What do you mean, your boys? The only ones I’ve killed were…the Diamond Dogs.” his eyes then lit up with realization, “You! You were the one that betrayed us back at Castanar!” he shouted before pulling out his HFB and swung it at Spend Thrift.
The earth pony ducked under the spinning blade and swept his leg under the pegasus’ legs, knocking him down. He then tried to fire his weapon, wanting to end this quickly, but was caught off guard when Steel bucked him in the chest, knocking him back and onto the ground.
“What is with pegasi and them bucking me in the chest!” the earth pony complained before he jumped back up on his hind legs and pulled up his gun, but he had lost it. He didn’t have the chance to look for his missing revolver when Gaze came charging at him with his HFB in hand. Spend Thrift quickly rolled out of the way, barely dodging the blade as it sliced off a few strands of his tail. He scooped up a handful of sand, and threw it in his opponent’s face.
“Aaargh!” Steel Gaze cried out angrily as he tried to get the sand out of his eye. Spend Thrift took the opportunity to buck him into a nearby boulder, knocking the breath out of him. With his opponent down for the moment, Spend Thrift looked around for his revolver to get the upperhoof but Gaze had already recovered and tackled him to the ground.
The two traded blows with each other as they rolled around in the sand as they wrestled desperately for the HFB, but Steel Gaze, literally, came out on top and pinned his opponent beneath him. He raised the HFB triumphantly over his head and pulled the trigger, making the blade spin.
“Die Traitor!” he declared before plunging the blade down into the earth pony’s chest. “What?” but instead of penetrating flesh, he felt the blade hit something more solid. He looked down and saw it had punctured into one of Spend Thrift’s precision gloves. The pegasus growled and turned the blade back on as it started to cut through the metal hand.
Spend Thrift gritted his teeth and looked into the pegasus’ cybernetic eye which glowed an angry red as he struggled to hold back the spinning blade which was quickly tearing through what was left of his mechanical hand. Steel growled impatiently and drove the HFB even further into the glove, fully intent on ending the earth pony’s life. He smiled when he saw the blade finally penetrate through the glove but became confused when he saw Spend Thrift smiling.
“What the hell are you smiling about?” he demanded.
“Ya know what I like about the Diamond Dogs, Gaze?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“What?” he shouted back.
“They always have the best toys.” He answered before grabbing hold of Steel Gaze’s arm with his other precision glove, which started glowing as it crackled with power.
“What are you-Aaaaah!” Steel screamed when the glove sent a powerful surge of electricity into his body. He let go of the HFB’s trigger when the muscles in his body painfully contracted from the electric shock. Spend Thrift then let go of the pegasus before pushing him aside.
“Damn…that was a close one.” Spend Thrift coughed as he got back up on his hooves. He looked at the HFB still stuck in his mangled precision glove. He pulled it out and took a closer look at it and noticed that the weapon was old as the internal mechanism was worn out, explaining why it had taken so long to tear through his precision glove. Something he was very thankful for.
He tried to operate the damaged glove but it gave off a spark and delivered a mild but painful shock into his arm. “Ow! Son of a bitch!” he swore before he took off the damaged glove and threw it away. He then he reached into his vest and pulled out a phone, dialed a number. He eventually got a response when heard Penny Pincher’s voice on the other end.
“What is it Mr Thrift? I’m very busy planning a planetary assault here, so make it quick.” He snapped impatiently.
“Geez boss, relax a bit will ya. Just thought that I should let you know that I caught someone trying to off our girl just now...and it’s the same guy that’s been taking out our boys across the sector.” He then walked up to Steel’s rifle and let out a low whistle.
“Mr Thrift, is something the matter?”
“Whoa, is that an antique Terran BOSUN rifle!? I’ve never seen one outside of museums and private collections before…Can I have it?” He grinned when he heard Penny Pincher sigh on the other end of the line.
“Please focus on the matter at hoof, Mr Thrift. Can you confirm that it’s actually him?” he asked.
“Eeyup, even got a confession out of him saying so but you won’t believe who it is.”
“Well…who is it then?” he asked impatiently.
“Dominion Intelligence Special Operative: Steel Gaze.” He answered, “Well, former operative really, but you already know all about that, don’t ya boss?”
“Mr Gaze? I thought he died while hiding on some backwater world.”
“Apparently not, he’s still alive and kicking…in a manner of speaking.” He said as he looked at Gaze’s still twitching body. “So what do you want me to do with him? Bring him in for questioning?” he suggested.
“No. I hired you to keep that mare safe until I say otherwise and you coming to us would jeopardize your mission. Besides, bringing Mr Gaze here would only be a waste of time and resources. He’s a loose end, just take care of it however you see fit.”
“Alright boss, you got it.” He then ended the call but instead of putting the phone away, he dialed in another number. He didn't wait very long before someone picked up the phone.
“Gallows City Sheriff’s Office, this is Golden Sea speaking. How may I help you?” the receptionist enquired.
“Hey Goldy, is the boss in right now?”
“Oh D-Deputy Thrift, it’s you.” Spend smiled at the way the mare was acting when she realized whom she was talking to.
‘Heh, I still got it.’ He thought with a smirk.
“I’m sorry but the sheriff is out at the moment.” She said when she calmed down. “Do you want to leave a message for him when he comes back?” she offered.
“Sure Goldy. Tell him that I caught a suspicious looking fella sneaking around one of the farms while I was out on my break. Bastard pulled a HFB on me when he saw me coming.”
“Oh my gosh! Are you alright?” she exclaimed worriedly.
“Yeah, I’m fine, but he wrecked one of my gloves before I could take him down. Anyways, I checked out the database to see who the guy was; says he’s wanted by the Dominion.”
“By the Dominion? Sounds serious. I’ll be sure to let the sheriff know about this as soon as possible.”
“Much obliged darlin’ and by the way, are ya free tonight?”
“Yes, why?” she asked curiously.
Spend let out a chuckle and spoke in the smoothest voice possible. “Cause I’m getting a reward for bringing this guy in and I’m asking ya out to dinner at that fancy new restaurant ya like so much, to celebrate.” He explained.
“W-what?” she stuttered.
“Think about it Goldy. You, me, a candle-lit dinner, and maybe something a little bit more.” He added suggestively. He smirked when he heard the mare squeak, probably at the images he just put in her head. “So Goldy, can I take that as a yes?”
The mare squeaked out a quick “Yes!” before cutting the call short. Spend Thrift chuckled at the mare’s reaction before putting his phone away. He turned to Steel Gaze, who was still recovering from the electric shock.
“Ya hear that Gaze? I got a hot date tonight and its all thanks you.” He said as he retrieved his fallen revolver. He then slowly walked towards the pegasus who was breathing heavily as his body continued to twitch about uncontrollably.
“Nothing personal Gaze, but I gotta kill ya now.” He said as he aimed the gun at his head and fingered the trigger.
“W-wait!” Steel exclaimed, his voice still strained from the shock. Spend Thrift decided to humor him and lowered his gun, confident that there wasn’t anything the pegasus could do stop him in his condition.
“Oh, are ya gonna start begging for ya life now, Gaze? That’s hardly fitting for a professional soldier like you, now is it?” he said in mock disappointment.
“No…I want to know…Why?”
“Why?” the earth pony repeated. “Why what?”
“Why…did you…betray us?” he asked between ragged breaths.
Spend Thrift' scratched his chin with his ungloved hoof while deep in thought. He smirked when he came up with a response. “Easy, the Diamond Dogs paid me to do it; it was an offer I’d never refuse.” He answered before raising his revolver back up and pulled back the hammer. “Anymore stupid questions?”
“That’s all it took for you to betray us? Money!?” the pegasus shouted angrily, ignoring the numbness in his body as he tried to get back up onto his hooves.
Feeling a little bored and in need of some entertainment, he watched the pegasus slowly get back up on his hind legs and started stumbling his way to him, nearly falling over himself several times as he struggled to put one hoof in front of the other, like a drunken sailor. He even cursed like one too, shouting all manner of profanities at him.
The earth pony would have found this sight funny, if he didn’t already find it sad and pathetic.
“You greedy son of a-” he was cut off mid-swear when Spend Thrift punched him square in the jaw with his ungloved hoof, sending the pegasus reeling before he tripped and fell flat on his back.
“That’s enough cussin’ out of ya.” Spend Thrift said sternly before he aimed his revolver at the pegasus for the umpteenth time and asked calmly. “Any last words?”
“-Bitch.” Steel finished spitefully, giving him one last glare. Spend Thrift pulled the trigger and the revolver let out an explosive roar as he ended the pegasus’ miserable life. He watched the glow from Steel’s implant slowly grow dark and sighed deeply.
“Goodbye Gaze.”
Inside the greenhouse dome of the Cog Family Farm, Candy was tending to the fields by herself, pulling out weeds by hoof and she was having a tough time doing it too. Normally she’d be at the hospital right now, working as a part time nurse, but circumstances forced her to take the day off to do some farm work.
“Of all the days for all the machines to break down… they had to do it today!” Candy grumbled as she tried to pull out a particularly stubborn weed from one of the carrot beds. But no matter how hard she pulled at it, the weed refused to budge an inch.
“That’s it! The gloves are coming off now!” she declared as she fired up her horn, and wrapped the offending weed in her magic, and pulled. However, the weed remained firmly rooted in the ground. This only made the mare even more determined to uproot it as she poured more of her magic into her spell.
“Come on you stupid! Little! Weed!” she growled as the strain was starting to give her a headache. She then heard a loud bang in the distance, startling her as she let out an uncharacteristic “Eeep!” and fell flat on her back. She then felt something fall on her head; it was the weed, root and all.
Instead of feeling triumphant however, she let out an annoyed snort as she picked up the weed in her magic and tossed it into the compost bin. She then narrowed her eyes at the house, or rather, someone inside the house.
“Esper! You better not be messing around in Tinker’s workshop again!” she yelled out warningly.
Some noise came from inside the house before a colt’s voice shouted in return.“No mom! I’m just watching TV in the living room with Claire!”
Her worries alleviated, she turned back to the carrot bed and stared at the rest of the overgrown weeds. She sighed as she lit up her horn but stopped when she saw a familiar APT driving up to the dome.
“Mom! Uncle Rook is here!” Esper and Claire cried out excitedly. Candy giggled at their excitement before trotting back into her house. She can deal with the weeds later.
She walked into the old house from the back door and saw a yellow pegasus in a dusty coat coming in through the front door. Sheriff Rook, or Uncle Rook as her children liked to call him, waved to her before her children greeted him themselves.
“Hey, how are my favorite twins doing?” he said as he ruffled Esper’s brown mane, taking care not to get caught in the cream white unicorn’s horn while doing so. The colt laughed as he playfully batted the hoof away.
“Kind of bored, mom’s too busy with the farm to take us to the playground today so we’re stuck watching old reruns of Doctor Whooves on the TV.” Esper explained.
“Then how about I give you a little something to make it less boring.” he reached into his coat and pulled out a box wrapped in a bow and hoofed it to the colt. Esper looked at the box curiously before he took it.
“It's a little something me and the boys from the office got for you. Thought they’d might come in handy until you get the hang of your magic.” He explained. The colt carefully untied the ribbon and unfolded the wrapping before he opened it; he smiled when he saw what was inside.
A pair of precision gloves, just his size.
“Whoa! This is for me, really?” he asked excitedly. Rook smiled and nodded. “Cool! Now I can be just like Tinker!”
“Go ahead and give them a try.” He suggested and watched Esper as he put the mech hands on by inserting his hoof into the socket like he had seen others do before and lifted the gloves up, only for them to fall off and onto the floor with a dull thud. It was clear that he would need a few lessons before he could use them properly.
“Here, let me help you with-oof!” Rook coughed when he felt something, or someone land on his back. He turned his head around to see a pink pegasus filly giggling at him.
“Do you bring something for me too, Uncle Rook?” the filly asked as she bounced on his back, her little wings buzzing with anticipation.
“Take it easy back there will ya? These old bones of mine aren’t as strong as they used to be.” Claire only giggled before she settled down, curled up her pink and purple tail around her body, and stuck her tongue out at him mischievously.
“Uncle Rook is getting old.” The filly sang out teasingly, “Maybe we should call you Grandpa Rook from now on.”
Even though he became an actual grandfather a few months ago, Rook didn’t take too kindly to that remark. “So that’s how you’re gonna play it huh, kiddo? Guess that means I’ll just give your present away to my own granddaughter then.” His words had the desired effect when a look of horror appeared on Claire’s face.
“What!?” she exclaimed before hopping off his back in a hurry. “Sorry Grand-er Uncle Rook!” she quickly apologized. Rook chuckled as he took out another gift box from his coat and hoofed it over to the filly. Unlike her brother, Claire tore off the wrappings in a hurry to which her mother could only shake her head.
“Heh, and here I thought I had to make up a reason what a foal would want with an-”
“An autographed picture of Soarin!!” the filly yelled out excitedly as she pulled out a picture frame holding said photo. It showed the famous Wonderbolt flashing a toothy grin with his signature at the bottom. The filly immediately tackled the sheriff into a hug before shouting “Thank you!” repeatedly.
Candy chuckled at the adorable sight before deciding that Rook had enough. “Alright Claire, you can get off him now. I think he knows how much you appreciate your gift.” The filly grinned sheepishly before letting go of the stallion and helped him up.
“I gotta show this to Esper! He’s going to be so jealous!” she squealed before galloping off to find her brother, who had apparently slipped away during the commotion.
“Honestly Sheriff, you’re going to spoil my kids rotten with all these gifts.” Candy said while shaking her head at him. Rook chuckled at the statement as he followed Candy to the living room.
“Heh, you should see some of the stuff I got for my own grandkid…”he said before making himself comfortable on the sofa. “ Speaking of kids, how has Tinker been doing lately? Does she remember anything new?” he asked.
“No, I’m afraid not but she’s doing just fine, Doctor Bernard says she's getting better with her prosthetics too.” She said as she down in the armchair opposite him.
“It won’t be long before she can go around town on her own, huh?” he asked.
“I wouldn’t go that far but she could stand to get out of that workshop of hers more often. She’s been cooped up in there working on some kind of project in there for a while now.”
“At least she’s keeping herself busy.” He said before a thought occurred to him. “It’s almost hard to believe it's been two years since she came crashing into our lives, literally… just like you did seven years ago.” He said as he remembered the day when a strange ship crash-landed outside the city and how he found a very pregnant Candy inside.
“Now sheriff, you make it sound like we crashed here on purpose.” She said, giving him a flat look.
“Heh, sorry, didn’t mean anything by that.” He quickly explained, waving his hooves in front of him. He didn’t want to get on her bad side. “Still, Tinker nearly gave me a heart attack when her ship crashed outside the city. At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next one that crashes here is your husband.” He added with a laugh.
Unfortunately, his joke had the opposite effect on his host, as she became sad at the mention of her 'missing' husband. Rook mentally facehooved at his blunder and wondered if his wife was right when she said Jeff’s tactlessness was rubbing off on him.
“Oh geez, me and my big mouth… I’m so sorry!” He quickly apologized, “Is there’s anything I could do to make it up to you?” He offered sincerely.
“It’s alright sheriff, I’m fine.” She said, shaking her head, “Now where did we left-” she stopped when she saw an orange pegasus in a wheelchair, wheeling herself into the room.
“Mom, I heard Claire screaming just now. Is everything…” she then noticed that there was someone else in the living room besides her mother.
“Hey Tinker, how are you doing?” Rook greeted her cheerfully but Candy noticed that her daughter was quivering while giving the sheriff an uneasy look.
“It’s alright Tinker,” she spoke up, drawing her daughter’s attention to herself. “It’s just Uncle Rook, remember?”
“Uncle…Rook?” she repeated softly before looking over Candy’s shoulders and stared at the stallion in question, now more curious than anxious.
“Yes, he’s the one that gave you that multi tool for your birthday last year, remember?" Candy assured her and stepped aside. Tinker looked at Rook a bit more closely before her face flushed red with embarrassment when she remembered who he was.
“I-I’m s-sorry I didn’t recognize you, Un-Uncle Rook!” she stuttered apologetically.
“It’s alright Tinker, you don’t need to apologize.” He said, waving off the slight misunderstanding. “Besides, it’s my fault for not coming to visit your home more often.”
“If y-you say so, Uncle Rook.” Tinker answered timidly. Rook saw that she was still quite shy around him, so he decided to try something different.
“I’ve heard from your mother that you’ve been working on something in that workshop of yours for a while now…” he smiled when Tinker’s ears perked up, “…and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling us about it.”
“Would I!” she exclaimed excitedly, startling the sheriff, but calmed down when Candy cleared her throat, “Umm, I mean…No, I don’t mind at all.” She answered sheepishly.
“Great, so what is this ‘secret’ project of yours?” he asked curiously. Tinker obliged him and started telling him about it.
Candy decided to head for the kitchen before she got dragged into the ‘lecture’ as well. Her head was still spinning from all the techno-babble from the last time someone got Tinker talking about her projects. She almost felt sorry for the sheriff.
While getting out the extra large jug for the lemonade she was making, she heard laughter coming from outside in the fields and looked out the window. She saw Esper chasing after Claire, who had one of his precision gloves in her mouth.
“Oh Stedson, if only you could be here to see our children…” she sighed wistfully before she went back to making the drinks.
Levitating the tray of refreshments to the living room, she saw that Rook and Tinker were still talking, and it appeared that she had underestimated the sheriff’s knowledge on machinery since he was able to keep up with Tinker as they talked about ‘hydraulics’ this, ‘motion control’ that. She couldn’t make heads or tails out of the conversation.
“Here you go, some ice-cold lemonade.” she said as she gave Rook and Tinker some lemonade.
“Thanks mom, I was getting really thirsty.” Tinker said before taking a big gulp from her glass.
“Much obliged Mrs Cog.”
“So did I miss anything?” she asked.
“Well...Do you remember when you said that we couldn’t get me a pair of cybernetic legs?” Candy nodded slowly, a little ashamed that all she could afford for Tinker’s disability were a pair of cumbersome metal prosthetics. “I was telling Uncle Rook about the modifications I made to my prosthetics.”
“Modifications? What sort of modifications?” Candy asked curiously.
“Let me show you.” she said, reaching for the blanket covering her legs and pulled it off, revealing her prosthetic legs, which were bound to her thighs by a series of straps and buckles. Candy noticed that all sorts of mechanical parts and electronics had been added to the metal legs.
“Homemade cybernetics…very impressive.” Rook spoke up when he saw all the hardware on the metal legs. Tinker beamed at the praise, “Did you make all the internal workings by yourself?” he asked.
“Yup, I made them from spare parts I found lying around the house.” She boasted.
“Spare parts huh?” Candy questioned as she eyed the prosthetic limb, noticing that more than a few of the 'additions' looked very familiar. “You wouldn’t have any idea why all of the farming machines are on the fritz, would you?”
Tinker let out a nervous laugh, “Er…maybe?”
Candy then let out a groan as she facehooved herself, trying not to think about all the work she had to do in the fields this morning thanks to Tinker’s…tinkering. She sighed as she massaged her temples, trying to rid herself of the growing migraine in her head.
“So does it work?” Rook asked, trying to steer the conversation away from an unpleasant outcome.
“Yes, does it actually work?” Candy echoed, pointing a hoof at the metallic legs. She reasoned to herself that the cost to repair the cannibalized farming machines would be a small price to pay if her crippled daughter could walk normally again.
“Actually, it does work. Here, let me show you.” She said as she tightened the straps around her thighs before flipping a switch on each leg. The legs whirred to life as they powered up.
They watched Tinker as she lifted a leg off the hoof pedals and onto the wooden floor, followed by the other. The wood creaked as it took the heavy weight of the metal limbs. She held onto the armrest, using it to support herself and rose from her wheelchair.
“Take it nice and easy, alright?” Candy said worriedly.
“Oh come on mom, I’ll be fine.” She began, “It’s not like this is my first time walking with these.” She finished before letting go of the wheelchair and dropping to all four legs. She had some trouble balancing herself at first when she nearly fell over a couple of times before she finally steadied herself.
She then took a few steps forward, expecting her movement to be slow and awkward, just like when she first learned to walk again with her prosthetics, but was surprised when she found herself still moving at a steady pace. She looked back and saw her new hind legs were moving in synch with her forelegs.
“See mom, no problem!” She said as she sped up to a slow trot, before tripping over herself when she forgot to compensate for the added weight. She didn’t fall very far before Candy enveloped the young mare in the grey aura of her magic, holding her in place, mid-fall.
“No problem, huh?” Candy asked wryly before releasing the spell. Tinker gave her mother an awkward smile as she righted herself, to which the older mare rolled her eyes in return.
“Okay…so I might need some more practice before I get the hang of them.” She admitted, grinning while scratching the back of her head. They were interrupted by the sound of galloping hooves in the house.
“Tinker! Check out what Uncle Rook got us!” Esper called out excitedly when he and Claire came barging into the room. They skidded to a halt when they saw Tinker and her modified prosthetics.
“Whoa!” the twins exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes wide as they stared at Tinker’s cyber legs in awe.
“Hey guys! Want to see a trick?” she asked sweetly, hoping to get a reaction out of them. The twins nodded their heads numbly, all while keeping an eye on her back legs.
Tinker used her wings to flip a toggle hidden on each leg before she lifted her forelegs off the floor, and looked at her cyberlegs as they clicked and whirled, shifting her quadruped stance to bipedal. She smiled when she saw the wide-eyed expressions on her siblings’ faces.
“Whoa! That’s so cool! You’re just like Uncle Rook and his robot suit!” Esper exclaimed, drawing a few chuckles from the adults and teen. Tinker was about to correct her little brother when Claire thumped him over the head, much to Candy’s disapproval.
“They’re called power armor, you dummy!” Esper’s ears flattened against his head.
“Oh yeah…Hehe, I knew that.” He said, trying to cover up his embarrassment.
“No you didn’t!” Claire shouted.
“Yes I did!” Esper shouted back.
“Nuh uh!”
“Ya huh!”
“Nuh uh!”
“Ya huh!”
The twins kept arguing with each other but their voices slowly became distant and muffled to Tinker when she suddenly felt dizzy. She clutched her head in her hooves; the headache suddenly grew worse when an image appeared in her mind.
The image started moving, like a movie. She saw herself, as a filly and another filly who looked just like her, and it looked like they were arguing with each other, but no sounds came out of their mouths. Even though she couldn’t hear them, she felt like she knew what they were saying.
They kept arguing until a yellow stallion in a white lab coat stepped forward and told them to stop. She didn’t know why, but she felt so happy in his presence. She tried to concentrate on him, to see if she could figure out who he was, but the throbbing in her head suddenly grew worse. It soon became so unbearable that she fell to the floor and passed out.
“Hey guys! I think she’s waking up…Tinker...Tinker!” her eyelids flew open at Claire’s shouting and saw her family crowding around her, all of them had expressions of relief on their faces when they saw her finally awake.
“What happened…and why are you all looking at me like that?” she asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious with so many ponies looking at her.
“You fainted when mom was scolding us for arguing.” Esper explained, Claire nodded in agreement with her twin.
“Yeah, you scared the living daylights out of mom when you dropped to the floor. She was ordering Uncle Rook around like she was his boss.” Claire said, giggling at what happened. Tinker looked at her mother, who cleared her throat while trying to hide the blush on her face.
“Never mind that, I’m just glad you’re alright.” She said before pulling the pegasus mare into a hug. The touching moment was interrupted when Rook came back into the room, looking out of breath as he carried some blankets and a first-aid kit with him.
“Okay, I got what you asked for. Where do you want them?” he asked before he saw that Tinker was awake. “Hey, you’re up! You had us worried for a while back there, little lady.” He said before remembering the blankets still in his arms, “Er…I guess I’ll just put these back where I found them.
“No need for that, sheriff.” Candy said as she levitated the items off his hands, “I’m really sorry for the way I yelled at you earlier. I don’t know what came over me.”
“Nah, it’s alright. I’ve been a father long enough to know how worked up folks get when they’re worried about their kids.” he said before sitting back down, “In fact, I knew a guy who was actually willing to take on a bunch of guys in power armor all on his own to keep his kid safe, and all he had was just a-” his phone went off, interrupting his story.
“Sorry, I gotta take this.” He said before answering his phone, “Hello, Sheriff Rook here.”
“Did I call at a bad time sheriff?” Golden Sea asked.
“No, it’s fine. Did something happen?”
“Deputy Thrift called in earlier. He wanted you to know that he caught someone sneaking around one of the greenhouse farms with a rifle. Suspect was killed when he resisted arrest.” Rook sighed when he thought of the extra paperwork he‘ll need to do tomorrow morning because of this.
“Did the deputy ID the guy at least?”
“Not by name, but he says the suspect’s wanted by the Dominion.” Rook cocked an eyebrow. The Dominion rarely posted bounties to the public since they normally took care of any problems themselves, which meant that whoever this guy was, he’s dangerous.
“Can you tell me where the incident took place?” he asked.
“Let me check the data log…It says Deputy Thrift called from somewhere around the area near the Cog Family Farm.” Rook nearly dropped his phone. “Shall I send one of the deputies on duty to cordon off the area for investigation?"
“Just send the coordinates to my APT and I’ll go there myself. No need to cause a scene.”
“Of course sheriff. Will you need me for anything else?”
“No. Feel free to clock out for the day after you’re done filing away the reports.” He then heard the receptionist let out a cheer. “What was that?”
“Nothing!” she quickly answered before cutting the call short, leaving Rook mildly confused.
“That…was weird.” He muttered before putting the phone away.
“Is something wrong, sheriff?” Candy asked. Rook gave her a reassuring smile and shook his head.
“Nothing big, some of the locals got into a bar fight and Jeff needs some backup breaking them up.” he lied as he got up and made his way to the door. “Sorry about this but I gotta go.” Candy and the twins decided to see him off while Candy confined Tinker to the sofa. She didn’t want to risk her passing out again.
“Bye Uncle Rook!” the twins said, giving him one last hug.
“Bye kiddos. Remind me to tell you that story another time. It’s a good one, I promise.” He winked to the kids and reached for the door “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” He said before he reached into his coat and pulled out another box, “It’s something one of the boys found while going through the warehouse, it was inside her ship. Thought it might help her remember her past.” he said as he handed the box over to Candy.
“Thank you sheriff, I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.” He smiled and left the farm. His APT soon drove off into the distance, leaving her with the twins as they crowded around her, trying to get a closer look at Tinker’s present.
“What is it? What did Tinker get?” Esper asked excitedly.
“Yeah, lemme see!” Claire said as she flew by, trying to grab the box but Candy pulled it out of the filly’s reach before grounding her with her magic.
“You should know better than to take something that isn’t yours, young lady.” Claire opened her mouth to argue but the stern look in her mother’s eyes made her reconsider.
“Sorry mom…”
“That’s better. Now why don’t you two take this to Tinker while I clean up this mess, okay?” Claire offered her a sheepish grin before she took the present in her mouth and scampered off to the living room.
“Do you want me to stay and help you clean up?” Esper asked as he looked at the confetti that used to be wrapping paper.
“That’s sweet of you but it’s alright, I got this. Just go and make sure Claire doesn’t make another mess for me to clean up.” Esper nodded before joining his siblings in the living room. Candy chuckled to herself, thinking how nice it would be if Claire was more considerate like her brother before grabbing the broom from the closet.
She just about finished with the sweeping when she heard a strange humming noise coming from the living room. Thinking that it was probably Tinker’s ‘gift’ making that noise, she kept on sweeping until she heard her children screaming.
“Aaaah! Ghost!” Candy quickly ran into the living room to see what was going on, her broom floating beside her, just in case. She dropped it when she saw someone she thought she’d never see again.
“Stedson?” she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw her former lover standing right in her living room, or rather, a hologram of him when she noticed it flickering. He had changed very little from when she saw him over eight years ago. Aside from the overgrown stubble and the streaks of gray in his mane, he looked just as she remembered him.
She saw Stedson’s mouth was moving but no sound came out. She moved closer to get a better look, until she saw her children on the sofa, cowering from the holographic projection. Well, the twins were the ones cowering while Tinker was trying to pry her shivering siblings off her but they clung to her like a security blanket.
“Mom, get away from the g-g-ghost!” Claire squeaked.
“I keep telling you, it’s not a ghost!” Tinker said in frustration as she tried to get Claire off her back but the filly only tightened her grip.
“Ghost?” she looked back at the transparent hologram and saw why they thought it was a ghost. She shook her head and laughed at the absurd idea, “Tinker’s right, it’s not a ghost, it’s just a hologram of your father.” She said as she passed her hoof through the hologram. “See?”
“Our daddy is a hellogram?” Esper asked as he let go of Tinker’s foreleg, which she shook as she tried to get the blood circulating again. “Is that why you never talk about him?”
“No sweetie, a hologram is a…er…um it’s like a picture or movie but you can see it in 3D without the glasses.” She said, pointing her hoof at the hologram. Esper formed his mouth into an ‘O’ and nodded.
“That’s our dad?” Tinker said as she took a closer look at the hologram, “He kinda looks like the stallion I saw in my head before I passed out.” She muttered to herself as she took a closer look at her supposed father, to see if she could remember anything else about him but drew up a blank.
“Is something the matter, Tinker?” Candy asked when she saw the sad look on her face.
Tinker looked up at her mother and asked, “Can you tell me what dad was like?” Candy blinked at the odd request, a request that was seconded by the twins.
“Oh! Oh! We want to know about daddy too!” Claire said while jumping excitedly on the sofa with Esper, who nodded in agreement.
Candy knew she would have to tell the children about their absent father one day, she just wished that day wasn't today but between the twin’s eager expressions and Tinker’s pleading eyes, she couldn’t possibly tell them no.
“Alright my little ponies, settle down and I’ll tell you about your father, deal?” she asked gently. Her words had an instant effect on the twins as they immediately stopped bouncing and sat down beside Tinker.
“Deal!” they said together as they gave her their most innocent smiles, Tinker decided to play along and forced an awkward smile. Candy smiled wearily at their silly antics before clearing her throat.
“Alright, what do you want to know?” she was instantly bombarded with questions about their father. She raised her hoof and gestured for them to stop.
“How about we start with his name?” the children and teen looked at each other and nodded in agreement. “Good…His name is Stedson Cog.”
“Hey! That’s the same name as our farm!” Esper said. Candy nodded patiently.
“Yes it is. Now where was I?...Oh yes, your father was a smart pony but he would do very silly things at times. He was also a kind and caring stallion who loved spending his time with his family. In fact, I remember the happy smile he had on his face whenever he played with you.” She said, touching Tinker’s nose with her hoof.
“Really?” Tinker asked, and received a nod. “…but I can’t remember any of it…” she said as she turned her head down and sniffed a little, but was startled when the twins hugged her.
“Aww, don’t cry big sis. Even if you don’t remember anything else, you still got me and mommy!”
“Hey! What am I, chopped liver?” Esper complained. Claire simply stuck her tongue out at him, making him even more upset.
“Now, now you two, behave yourselves...” Candy gently scolded them before turning to Tinker, “…but Claire is right, we’re here for you, no matter what.”
“Promise?” she asked.
“I promise. Now how about I tell you more about the times you spent with your father, huh?” Tinker smiled and nodded. Candy made herself comfortable and started the story, glancing at Stedson’s hologram every so often, imagining how nice it would be if he was actually here with them.
One could only dream and hope for the best.
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-slow clap- Your writing skills are very good. And that part:
Made me tear up a bit. I believe it is safe to say that this entire story(all of the sub ones and main one put together) has integrated a lot of feelings into us.
4016556 Thanks, I came up with multiple versions of each segment,( which I didn't show you) before I settled on this one.
Glad you like the little mention of you-know-who
Yeah, never thought I would feel so much from writing this, I really hope he approves of this.
4017249 I sure hope so as well.
Wonderful story, I loved it! Added a lot of depth to the original born of sin, (which was still amazing in itself!) , especially regarding Stedson himself.
Kinda like watching an extended director's cut of a movie.
7317653 Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Of course, save for the last three chapters,Unholy helped me out with the planning, I merely filled in the blanks.