The Harbinger

by Servant Phoenix

A Strange Visitor

Two men stepped into the vast and dark warehouse of the Sunrise Research Institution. The sensors of the entrance noticed their presence and initiated the ’lights-up’ routine. It only took a few seconds for the system to enlighten the room. The younger man blinked a few times before his eyes readjusted to the light.

“This, Phoenix, is the warehouse, where our shipments arrive. We just got a new one today, and I hope you’ll be satisfied with the choices for your first research program in the institution,” the older man said, looking at the other one.

Phoenix could hardly hear his guide’s words, as his attention was completely consumed by the huge variety machines and robots he spotted in the storage. His mouth first went wide open, then slowly formed a grin. The older man didn’t mind that he lost Phoenix’s attention, and started walking deeper into the storage. Phoenix noticed this from the corner of his eyes, and started moving as well. As they were walking around, they passed by a lot of robots and boxes, probably containing more robots.

Finally! After ten years of hard learning and working, I finally reached my goal. I’m here, Phoenix though.

They stopped at a huge black machine. It looked like a T-Rex from a history museum, but was made of metal. It also had two—currently turned-off—red lamps as eyes and its hands were substituted by two machine guns. It was three times higher than them. They were both looking up to this monster.

“What do you think, Mr. Johnson, what name should we give it?” Phoenix asked.

Mr. Johnson raised an eyebrow as he glanced back to Phoenix. He then shrugged and asked, “What do you think?”

Phoenix pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. “I think the name ‘Predator’ really describes this monster.”

“Well, you can call it whatever you want. However, its original name is Destroyer MK-31, so keep that in mind while you’re communicating with the guys.”

“Of course,” Phoenix replied with a nod.

They continued walking around in the warehouse. Phoenix was giving names to anything he found, while Mr. Johnson was adding Phoenix’s acts to the list of “newcomer’s enthusiasm” in his mind. Finally, they reached a big cage.

The resident of the cage was different from all the other robots in the warehouse. Phoenix’s eyes went wide open at the sight of it. The robot inside the cage had the form of a female equine and was less than one meter at the withers. It had a soft-orange body and a dark-pink mane that covered the upper part of its face and hung down at the two sides of its head to its upper arms. Its eyes were turquoise and it had a flower at its right ear that matched its eye color.

“What is this?” Phoenix demanded.

Mr. Johnson smiled at his co-worker’s reaction and said, “This is the Trojan-1034. According to the specification, it was planned to be used for spying and sabotage purposes.“

Phoenix raised his left eyebrow and made a small forced laugh. “How? Numbing its targets with its cute look until they tell it everything?”

“Sort of,“ Mr. Johnson said. “It abuses the emotional problems of its target, acting as a good friend, which eventually leads to the target telling his secrets. Or at least, that’s what the specification says.”

Phoenix stepped closer, and walked around the cage. He also noticed that the equine had a small white cross, hanging from its neck, and had a tattoo on his haunch. The tattoo contained three trumpets with red flags hanging down from each.

“Identify yourself!” Phoenix ordered.

“Trojan-1034 unit, infiltrator,” the robot answered.

Phoenix was looking at the robot, blinking and thinking.

“What’s the problem, newbie?” Mr. Johnson teased.

“This robot is… strange.”

Mr. Johnson looked at Trojan, then looked back to Phoenix. “I cannot see any problem with it. Sure it looks like a kid’s toy, but except that, I don’t see anything strange.”

“Look in its eyes, it looks so… alive, and also its voice. I’ve never heard such a perfect voice imitation from a robot. It sounds so soft and… melodious.”

Mr. Johnson crossed his arms and pressed his lips together at the left of his mouth. “If you say so. I don’t find anything special in either its eyes or in its voice. And the last word I’d use for that sound that this machine generates is melodious.“

He stepped to Phoenix and put his arm on Phoenix’s shoulder. “Anyways, as you know, tomorrow each researcher can choose his own subject for the next season. I know you had much less time to observe than the others, so here is an access card,” he said and pulled out a small blue card from his pocket. “You can come back later this night if you need more time for the decision, but from 18:00-19:00 there is a cleaning service running, so we need to leave now.“

Phoenix nodded and accepted the card. “Thanks, boss. I’ll definitely come back later, but now I must go home anyways. Sophie must have already arrived at home.”

“Your… daughter?” Mr. Johnson asked.

“Yes. Her classmate’s mother brings her home, because they live next door.“

“And does she have a key?”

“Yes of course. She goes in, closes the door behind her, then watches the TV or plays with her games until I arrive.”

Mr. Johnson smiled, and asked, “And how old is she?”

“She’s six years old.”

Mr. Johnson’s eyes widened. “And you give keys to your six-year-old daughter?”

Phoenix scratched his head. “She’s more mature than her age would tell. I’m taking care of her myself, but she proved herself to be trustworthy several times already.”

“Cleaning routine failed. Please leave the warehouse. Retrying in 5 minutes,” a high-pitched female voice said from above.

Phoenix checked his clock. It was 18:01.

“Well… I guess your daughter cannot cook yet, and the cleaning service cannot run until we are present, so we should both leave. I’ll escort you to the exit.”

Phoenix nodded and they walked out of the room. Before they left, Phoenix glanced back once more to the strange equine-robot. For a moment, he could swear that he saw it gulping, but noticed nothing else. He turned his head forward, and left the warehouse with his boss.

---

“Sophie! I’m home!”

Phoenix put down his case and replaced his shoes with a pair of slippers. He heard a few thuds from upstairs, moving forward. When the thuds reached the other side of the house, where the stairs connected the two levels, two tiny legs appeared at the top of the stairs. They rapidly moved down, revealing the torso of a six-year-old girl. She only made a few steps and crouched down to see who is downstairs.

“Hi dad!” she said. Her long, blond hair was hanging down from her head while she was peeking through the wooden railing of the stairs with her blue eyes.

“Hi Sophie! How was school today?” Phoenix asked while he was walking into the dining room.

Sophie sat down on the stairs. She moved her sight upwards for a few seconds then looked back to Phoenix. “It was OK. Ms. Caroline let us play the whole day.“

Phoenix frowned. “Hm… That’s weird. I know there are only two weeks left of school, but… eh. When I was attending to school, we even had finals on the last week.“

Sophie walked down on the stairs. “Even when you were a first grader?”

Phoenix scratched his head. Yeah, maybe that was in secondary school. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t remember my first year in primary school.“

Sophie’s face suddenly lit up. She started peeking behind Phoenix.

“Oh sorry Sophie, I didn’t bring anything home,” Phoenix said.

“Awww,“ Sophie moaned as her face lost its brightness. “I thought you would bring home some cute robot. Like a bird or a dog or a pony.“

Phoenix laughed a little when Sophie mentioned ‘pony’. “Eh, maybe tomorrow,“ Phoenix said with a mischievous smile. Even though it would be foolish to choose Trojan. I saw much better subjects, he though.

Sophie stared at Phoenix. "Daddy, you look scary when you smile like that.”

“Oh, sorry darling,“ he said as he glanced down at Sophie. He then looked at the kitchen. “What do you think about dinner? Some chicken with rice?”

Sophie grimaced. “Not rice again, we’ve been having rice for like… forever.”

“Okay then, I’ll try to make some fries,”—Sophie lit up again—“but do not expect anything better than last time!”

Sophie waved her right hand. “Anything is better than rice.“

“Deal. I’ll change my clothes and start cooking. You can watch TV until that.”

Sophie glanced at the clock on the wall. “Oh, My Little Pony’s starting in 2 minutes!” she said, and rushed to the sofa in the living room. She found the remote control and switched to Hub, which was broadcasting the advertisement of some sticky toy at that moment.

Phoenix went upstairs and changed his clothes. He was about to put away his office suit, but changed his mind. I’ll go back later anyways, he thought, and laid his suit on his bed. After that, he went downstairs, and started preparing the dinner in the kitchen. While he was making it, he could easily hear what Sophie was watching, because Phoenix left the kitchen door open. After a few minutes, he noticed hearing strange, sharp sounds coming from the living room. He also heard someone laughing, but its sound was rather crazy and it was reverbing. Is she still watching that pony cartoon? he thought as he frowned and looked at the kitchen door. After a few seconds of hesitation, he decided to check it out.

He walked to the living room. He looked at the TV and relieved as he saw a familiar pink pony walking around in a room with a baby pony sitting in a baby bed. The pink one wasn’t too calm, her pupils were shrunk and she pressed her teeth together. Hm… But why is that room so dark? And why are there the reverbing sounds? The next twenty seconds made Phoenix stare at the TV screen. A second baby pony appeared on the ceiling and slowly walked towards the pink one, then looked down. Was that… a Trainspotting reference?!

Sophie giggled. She noticed her father’s entrance and stood up on the sofa to watch his reactions. “Careful dad, your eyes’ll fall out if you keep staring like that.“

Phoenix shook his head and looked at Sophie. “Ah, sorry, this last scene was kinda… interesting.“

“Why? Did you like it?” Sophie asked with a grin.

“Ehm… it was referring to another movie that’s for… older people.”

“Oh! Can I watch it?”

Phoenix cocked an eyebrow. “Aren’t you watching My Little Pony now?”

Sophie looked back at the TV screen, then waved her hand. “This is the third time I watch Baby Cakes. So,“—she turned back to Phoenix—“can I watch that other movie?”

Phoenix shook his head again. “No! Definitely not! Maybe when you’re like… twelve years older.“

“Hmph,” Sophie sulked and fell back to sitting position. She had learned from her dad’s reactions when she could argue with him, and this was not that time.

The dinner was ready in twenty minutes. The fries were not perfect, but a lot better than last time. Or at least that was what Phoenix thought as he was watching his daughter happily eating up all the potato goodies with ketchup before even starting with the chicken. “You know you have to eat the meat slice as well?” Phoenix asked. Sophie answered with a nod while she was cramming the sticks into her mouth one by one. Phoenix glanced at the clock. It was 19:34. Hm… maybe it’s time go back to the research facility. I’m not planning to stay up all night. He turned to her daughter. “Sophie, I’ll go back to my workplace and probably won’t come back until like ten. Make sure you have a bath and wash your teeth before you go to bed. I’ll check it,” he said, pointing a finger at Sophie with a mischievous smile.

Sophie rolled her eyes, then gulped the food she had in her mouth. “Okay dad, just don’t smile like that.“

Phoenix decided to play around a little, before he leaved. He pulled his hand back and put his elbow on the table. He put his face into his palm and acted crying. “I can’t even smile! Oh, how miserable my life is! When will the dark reign of Queen Sophie end?“

Sophie laughed. She stood up on the chair, raised her head and stretched out her arm. “Do not fear my subject, your queen is merciful. Hereby I grant you the right to smile every day you want. But that creepy smile is limited to once per day.” She pointed a finger at Phoenix. “If I see you doing that more than once, your punishment will not be delayed.“

Phoenix stood up. “Thank you my queen. I’m grateful for your mercy,” Phoenix said with a bow.

Sophie giggled. “Do you think I’d be a good actress?”

Phoenix straightened and smiled. “If the role is being a queen or a princess, you’re better than anyone else know in your age.”

Sophie frowned. “Dad, you don’t know anyone else in my age at all.”

Phoenix glanced at the clock again, then nodded. “Point taken, but I must go now.” He walked to Sophie and kissed her on her forehead. “Be a good girl!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not planning to burn down the house,“ Sophie said with mischievous smile.

Phoenix acted being hurt. “Hey! Why’re you smiling like that? I thought it’s forbidden in your kingdom!”

Sophie crossed her arms. “I’m the queen. I do whatever I want.”

Phoenix giggled. “Well my queen, I must return to my duties to bring food to the royal kitchens.“

Sophie smiled. “See you later dad!”

“See you darling!”

---

When he arrived at the institution, it was dark already. During the drive, he had realized that he had forgotten to switch back his clothes, but had decided not to turn back as probably no one else was at the facility that time. He used his card at the entrance and it automatically opened for him. He walked in and started searching for the depo. He first got lost in the huge complex, and ended up at another entrance at the back of the building. After walking around for a few more minutes—and this time following the map on the wall—he found the door. He opened it with his card, and walked in. The room lightened itself up again.

He continued to go deeper into the depo, glancing around. Should I start examining the Walker, or the Predator, or… ah… Who’re you trying to lie Phoenix? he thought as he rolled his eyes. “TROJAN-1034, REVEAL ME YOUR LOCATION!” Phoenix shouted.

“I’m here,” a soft voice said from the left side.

He walked at the direction of the voice and reached the cage. He stopped for a moment, then did another loop around the cage. The equine was trying to follow him with its eyes, as he walked around the cage, but did not turn its head.

Phoenix finished his loop and stood still before it, with his hands crossed. “Trojan, do not move! Is the order clear?”

“The order is clear, “ Trojan answered.

Phoenix opened the cage and walked in, closing it behind himself. The cage was barely high enough for Phoenix to stand straight up. He walked close to the robot. He didn’t notice it yet, but the ‘robot’ started to perspire. He walked to the side of it and crunched. He touched its barrel. “Warm body?” He pushed it a little. The robot quietly moaned. “And elastic?” He turned to the head of the horse. “Explain, Trojan!”

“I was made fo…for infiltration, my disguise must be perfect,” Trojan said, facing forward. However, its voice wasn’t steady.

Phoenix now put his right hand on the chest of the creature, and his left hand in front of the mouth of it. The equine startled a little at the sudden appearance of Phoenix’s hand so close to its eyes.

“1034, you’re…breathing… and I can even feel your heartbeat, beating very fast,“ Phoenix said.

Trojan now started sweating heavily and shaking a little. Phoenix stood up, and walked back to the front of it again. He stared into its eyes.

“Why do you fear Trojan?” he asked. “You’re an infiltrator unit. If I acknowledge you as an alive thing, then it means your disguise succeeded. You should be happy.” He paused for a moment, then moved close to the equine’s face. “So tell me Trojan, WHY DO YOU FEAR?!” Phoenix shouted.

Trojan fell back to its hindquarters.

“HAHA! You failed! I ordered you not to move and you disobeyed me!” Phoenix stated victoriously. “Which means you’re… you’re …” The realization run through his head.

“Yes, I’m a living pony,” she said, and hung her head down.

“Yeah but… no. NO! This is impossible! Imposs…” He gasped. “Am I crazy? Maybe that cartoon I wa… no, no, no, I’m perfectly sane.“ He turned to the pony and pointed out a finger. “You! I don’t know what you are or how did you get in here or how can you talk, but you are an intruder…yes and intruder! I will… call the police. Yes!” He turned, and tried to walk out of the cage with confident steps. He was anything but confident at this moment.

The pony jerked her head up. “No! Please! Please don’t go away! It’s… horrible to be alone here… in the darkness.“

Phoenix stopped, but then continued walking. “You chose to come here as a machine, bear the consequences.”

She stood up, and raised her front right hoof. “Please,” she begged.

Phoenix stopped again, and bent down his head. “Why… why would I help you?”

“Be… because…” she said, hesitating.

Phoenix turned, scowling and crossed his arms. “I’m listening.”

“B…” She stopped. She put down her hoof, took a big breath and released it. “Because the only human in this world who can see through my disguise is called… Phoenix. That’s your name, r…right?” she asked, looking up at Phoenix with wide eyes.

“How do you…”—Phoenix eyes went wide open, then narrowed—“Oh, no, no, no, wait! You heard my name when we were talking in front of you with Mr. Johnson.“

“You… you didn’t say your name when you were talking to him, and neither did he,” she defended herself.

“Hm… A colorful, talking horse trying to convince me that she has a disguise that only I can see through on this whole planet? Make a more believable story than that!” he said. Even though I’m not sure what counts to be believable in a situation when I’m having conversation with a pink and orange colored pony.

“Please Phoenix, you must believe me! There… there must be a way to… oh!” She stopped as a new idea flew across her mind. “Do you have a cillphune?” she tried.

“Cillphune? You mean cellphone?” corrected Phoenix.

“Yes, that’s it! Cellphone. Do you have it with yourself?”

Phoenix dug into his pocket. “Yes, why?”

“You could try taking a picture of me. I hope that only my direct sight allows you to see me as I am,” she answered.

Phoenix rolled his eyes. Ah yeah, how clever, just trying to win some time aren’t you? Grinning in doubt, He took his cellphone anyways. He switched to the camera, moved it between himself and the pony and… his grin withered. The preview on his phone was hardly similar to the pony he was talking to. Its eyes were white, with a blue dot moving around. It didn’t have eyelids or eyelashes. Its mane was one big plastic dark-pink piece and the cross was gone from its neck. It hardly looked alive at all. So that’s why my boss wasn’t sharing my suspicion.

The pony craned her head to the left. “Does it work? Do I look different?”

Phoenix nodded. “Very impressive disguise. If I couldn’t see through it, I would say you are just a pony robot.” He put the phone back in his pocket, and hung down his hands, with fingers crossed. “So… somehow I’m the only one who can see the true… ehm… do you have a name?”

“My name is Melody Harbinger,” she introduced herself with a small bow.

“Hm… nice to meet you? I can hardly imagine a more awkward situation to meet somebody. “ Phoenix shrugged. “I guess I don’t need to introduce myself.”

Melody scratched her head with her hoof. “Don’t you have a second name? I mean…”—she moved her hoof to the right of her face—”It’s not a problem if you don’t have of course, but even in Equestria it’s very rare to have just one name as an adult.“

Phoenix nodded. “Indeed, my full name is Phoenix Freeman.”

Melody smiled. “Nice to meet you, Phoenix Freeman.”

“So…” Phoenix started, “How come that only I can see your real appearance? And how can you have such a disguise anyways?”

As an answer, Melody gave a gentle push to the cross, hanging down from her neck, which as a result began swinging back and forth. She looked up at Phoenix. “It’s my amulet. Princess Celestia gave it to me, before I left. She told me that I’ll take the form of a robot and only the Phoenix will see through my disguise.”

“And… am I supposed to know who this Celestia is?” Phoenix said with a shrug.

“Oh, sorry,“ Melody apologized with a smile. “She’s our ruler. Our other ruler is Princess Luna. We live in a diarchy.”

“So… Miss Harbinger…”

“Call me Melody please,” she said.

“Melody, what are we supposed to do now? I mean… should some miracle happen?” Phoenix asked with wide-open arms.

“I… I don’t know,” Melody admitted. “I only knew that I must find the Phoenix.”

Phoenix facepalmed. What the heck? God, what is this supposed to be? He sighed. “Nice, no direction, no command, no magic thing, nothing. You found me and I should be the one deciding what to do? You are a strange harbinger you know…”

“I know!” she interrupted. “I don’t even understand why I was chosen.” She bent down her head and started scratching the floor with her front hoof.

And she even have self-esteem problems. Great. “Why are you called ‘Harbinger’ anyways? I understand the ‘Melody’ part. You indeed have a really nice and melodious voice.”

Melody closed her eyes and smiled. “Thanks.” She opened her eyes again and started explaining. “Harbinger part comes from my school years. We had a trip to the local music museum. In the museum, there were a section where we could try out various instruments. As we were playing around with them, we found a trumpet. My schoolmates tried blowing it one by one, but they couldn’t squeeze a sound out of it.”

“I guess you were luckier than them,” Phoenix said, predicting the end of the story.

“Yes. When all my schoolmates gave up, stating the trumpet as broken, a new idea came into my mind. I picked up the trumpet, stood on my back hooves and with a deep breath I blew the trumpet with all my power.” Melody giggled. “Suddenly everypony were staring at me as the sound I made was audible in the whole building. This frightened me for a second, but I forget my fear after I checked my hindquarters,“ Melody said, pointing to her haunches. “That was the day I got my cutie mark. One of the younger foals exclaimed ‘Melody, the Harbinger!” and he was followed by the others, cheering for me and calling me Harbinger. That’s how I became Melody Harbinger.“

Somepony, everypony… this sounds so weird, Phoenix though. “So, that tattoo on your legs is called ‘cutie mark’,” commented he.

“Yes,”—Melody confirmed—“that’s what we call it. It represents the special talent each pony has. We get it when we realize our talent.”

So much information for one night. Phoenix yawned. I need some sleep. “Sorry Melody, but I must go home now. It’s—“ he checked his clock “—half past nine anyways, so I hope it’s not a problem if I leave you alone in the dark as you might want to sleep too.”

Melody nodded. “I will manage.”

“Good,” Phoenix said, and left the cage. He then turned, bent down a little and started locking back the cage. He stopped, staring at the lock.

“What is the problem, Phoenix?” Melody asked.

Phoenix straightened up, and looked at Melody frowning. “How… ehm… how could you go out?”

“Go out where?” Melody asked.

“Ehm… you know…” Phoenix hesitated, scratching his head. “To the toilet. I guess being a colorful pony does not make you excluded from the common biological processes.”

“Oh!” She giggled. “That’s another blessing that my amulet has. As you said, we ponies are not excluded from these things. However, while I’m disguised, the amulet satisfies the basic needs of my body. Although I wouldn’t mind a huge blueberry pie. I didn’t taste anything for days.”

“Hm, I don’t have that sorry,” Phoenix said. “Anyways, I really have to leave now.” He locked the cage and started walking to the exit. “Sweet dreams Melody!”

“Bye! Oh, Phoenix?”

He stopped. “Yes?”

“Thank you.”

He moved his sight to the floor. “Do not thank me. I want to help, but I don’t know yet how.” He continued walking and left the room.

“The fact that you’re willing to help me already is more than I wished for,” Melody whispered as the lights were going off. She laid down on the floor and closed her eyes. Thank you, Love, she thought. She fell asleep in a few minutes.

---

Phoenix arrived at home. All the lamps in the house were switched off. Sophie must be sleeping now, thought he. He took a fast bath and washed his teeth. He also checked if Sophie did everything he asked. Both Sophie’s towel and toothbrush were wet, that assured him again his daughter’s trustworthiness. After leaving the bathroom, he peeked into Sophie’s room. She was sleeping gently, hugging a yellow pony plushie in her arms. He smiled, closed back the door and walked into his room. He put away the suit from the bed, and changed to pajamas. He moved to his bed and glanced at a small, framed photo that was on a table next to the bed. There was a young woman with blond hair and green eyes, smiling to whoever made the photo.

I wonder what you would say Rachel, if you would see what I got myself into, he thought, smiling. He remembered how they had a conversation once about fictions and tales. Phoenix, although admitting that he had loved these things, had decided to deny this part of himself. He had wanted to be a realist, somebody with clear mind and lack of emotions, because “That’s what a researcher needs these days.” Rachel had argued, saying that many great scientist had been melancholic type people, and for them, emotions had been very important. Phoenix hadn’t listened to Rachel, and had made his decision permanent.

He switched the lights off, and laid into his bed. Which one should I choose tomorrow? Predator seems a really great subject for an exciting research, although its size might complicate things a little. Moonwalker is also nice and… ah, he groaned. Why? Why do I want to help her? This whole thing is stupid. A talking colorful horse from another world. And somehow I was chosen to be the only one who can see her in this whole damn world. Why would I give up my great opportunity at my dream job for such a stupid fable? He rolled to his side. Why are you letting me into such a stupid thing, God? You let me have this job, then you want me to throw it away? You took away Rachel, now you want to take away my dream? What do you want from me? Why… No, I will not let you take this away! This is my dream, and I’m going to keep it! That horse must find someone else. He angrily jerked to his other side. At the end of the bed, the picture of Rachel met his eyes. Her smile could easily melt a heart of a man, and so did Phoenix’s on the beaming sight of his former wife. Phoenix looked down, and closed his eyes. I know that’s not what she would want. I know that my will shouldn’t be the one ruling my life. He rolled to his other side. I don’t know what you want God, but I… I trust you. Please, give me wisdom to make the right choice tomorrow.

A few other thoughts went through his mind, but after ten minutes, the thoughts gave up and Phoenix drifted to the calmer seas of dreams.

Author's Note:

If you're not good with colors, this is how Melody looks like in Pony Creator 3.

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Intresting take on the human, pony idea, especailly with the various robot designs.

Its just a pity they are still barely 1970s tech given what I saw in university in the 80s. I mean, suprised to have heat and breath and skin and microreactions? Man, you have been on the Robo Sapians.

Anyway, the illusion thing is nice, tuned to a specific person? Read up on latest in voodoo temporal quantum mechanical experiments and youll see some suprisingly magical events.

Lets see how you handle the slice of life parts.

[Servant Phoenix]

I just started reading Anthropology. It's funny to see the similarities between the method of getting the cutie mark for Lyra and Melody. It's completely coincidental, I haven't read a single sentence from Anthropology, when I wrote this fiction.