Days of Wasp and Spider, Part II: Final Solution
by Luna-tic Scientist
=== Chapter 04: You can lead a horse to water...
"You need to get me back; I will be on shift soon," Spiral said, looking with distaste at the progression of the moons through the sky. There wasn't yet any sign of dawn, but the night was more than half over. The green mare looked exhausted, her adrenalin energy long since spent.
Gravity made to stand up, then sank back down when Fusion glared at her. "Don't even think it," Fusion said, then turned to Spiral. "I'll take you, you'll be back before you know it. What will you tell your mate?"
"That I fell asleep in the infirmary. I've done it before, and he has the same workload I have, as well as the added effort of flying home from wherever he's working this time. I very much doubt he'll even ask."
The white mare nodded in return, then paused. "The risk is very high... you understand what will happen if you are discovered?"
Spiral's ears drooped for a moment, then she straightened up. "I do. Your memories of those Security ponies were quite clear. It won't be just me who dies. Everypony I come into contact with will be regarded with suspicion. Considering the stress the corral is under at the moment... that could be most of the ponies I’m responsible for within a few days."
"Yes." Fusion flicked her wings, then sighed. "We'll do what we can to protect you, but..."
"What do you plan to do next?"
"It's probably best if you don't know."
Spiral was silent for a few moments, then glanced over at Packet, drooling slightly in his drugged sleep. "What about him? Isn't it a bit late to try and talk him around?"
"What alternative do I have? I can't send him back as he is, and I can't keep him here without causing problems back home."
"Yes." Spiral rummaged through one of the medical kits from the pile of stolen equipment, coming up with a single use injector. "Are you ready?" At Fusion's nod, she eased the needle into Packet's neck.
The stallion started struggling the instant the antidote took hold. His magic flared, at first wildly, and then with increasing focus, trying to burn a hole through Fusion's power. Sodium yellow light flooded the little wood-lined chamber, bursting out of the doorway and casting stark shadows through the closely spaced trees.
The mare tightened her grip, throttling his magic and shredding every attempt he made at creating a workable spell pattern. Still he struggled, panting and sweating, his teeth clenched and muscles standing out like cords along his neck and wingroots. "Let me go!" he hissed, "when the Masters find out--" His voice cut off in an anguished grunt, then his magic died completely. Packet lay there in Fusion's grasp, body held still by her white-gold telekinetic haze.
"They will try to kill me, and you, and everypony I've ever talked to," she said calmly. "Are you ready to listen to me, or do you want to fight some more?"
"Traitor," Packet panted, "how could you do this? When your mother finds out, she'd prefer it if you were dead!" His horn lit up again, just enough power to fend off Fusion's attempts at sharing her memories with him.
Gravity's horn glowed a little and Packet gasped, trying to shake his head. "I can force my way in, if you don't co-operate," she said.
"You can make me watch, but you can't make me betray my Maste--" Packet cut off, his mouth lolling open and eyes rolling back into his head.
She can do that? Fusion felt cold inside, sparing a fraction of her power to dismantle the enchantment that Gravity was constructing. "No, sister. If we make him believe we're no better than they are." The blue mare gasped and Fusion immediately felt guilty.
"What do you want to do then? Better that, than killing him!" Gravity shot back, but didn't try and cast the spell again. "There's no way we can trust him." Despite what she said, the mare created the same illusion of Random, with foals huddled around her legs, that she'd shown Korn.
Packet recovered from the invasive mind magic with a shuddering breath, and stared at the blue mare with real fear in his eyes. "Please, don't..."
"Then look, Maker damn it!" Gravity snarled, encasing Packet's head in a violet aura and pointing his muzzle at her illusion. The image moved in a short loop, forever showing Random trying to spread her tattered wings over the herd of foals. "Your brother is in there!" Packet squeezed his eyes closed, only to have the lids forced open again.
This has gone far enough, Fusion thought, stunned by her sister's sudden anger. She reached out to negate Gravity's telekinesis, and her eyes widened as the other mare resisted her efforts. For a brief moment white warred with violet, until Packet let out a pained whinny, the bones of his skull showing clearly where Gravity had strengthened her hold.
Fusion abruptly let go, swallowing hard. "Gravity, you're hurting him," she said softly, "remember what we talked about. This is wrong."
Gravity's head whipped around, and for moment Fusion stared into those wild eyes and felt a tiny flicker of fear. Is... is she right to be afraid of what she might become? the mare thought, hunching down inside herself at the sight of this unfamiliar creature, her own magic bunching and tensing in reaction. Then the moment passed and Gravity’s teal eyes cleared.
The violet magic vanished and the blue mare's gaze wandered back to Packet, her face falling. Mouth working, she clumsily got to her hooves and backed away. "I told you," she whispered, then turned and fled into the forest.
Fusion surged to her hooves and stared after Gravity, her mouth open yet unable to find the words that would get through to her sister. Behind her, Lilac gasped, while Spiral started to follow the path taken by the blue mare. What are you not telling me, sister? Fusion took a tentative step of her own, the hesitated, remembering what had happened the last time she'd chased after Gravity when the mare had only wanted to get away. "Be careful, Spiral. Gravity..."
"I'll just talk," the green mare said, "I've had plenty of experience with ponies suffering from stress."
Yes, but could any of them rip you in half without breaking into a lather? Fusion kept that thought to herself and just nodded.
Fusion watched Spiral disappear, then stared down at Packet, wondering what she could possibly say to this pony that would convince him to cooperate. Uneasily she shifted her weight. What am I going to do if he suddenly does change his mind? Is Gravity right -- can I ever trust him now? Something exploded off in the darkness, not the roar of a rock-fall, but the high velocity crack of demolition charges or railgun rounds.
Fusion jumped, all four hooves leaving the ground, and her wings flicked out in preparation for flight. Oh, Maker, no! Spiral--
===
Magic forgotten, Gravity tripped and skidded down the steep valley slope, unmindful of the scratches and abrasions she was picking up from the spindly trees. She finally came to rest when the trees ran out, colliding heavily with one of the rounded boulders littering the small river's flood plain. Gasping and full of self-revulsion, the mare huddled in the lee of the rock, staring blindly out across the valley while a cold wind laden with spray cut through her fur.
There was the sound of somepony picking their way over the rocks, the harsh click-click of hoof on stone. Gravity crouched lower and closed her eyes, willing the other pony away. The hoofsteps stopped, then the chill was blocked by the close presence of another body. A faint light washed through her eyelids, then the air became still and the temperature started to rise. Leave me alone, Gravity thought, I can't hurt anypony if I'm alone.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Spiral said, her voice full of compassion.
"It won't do any good."
"It might. I can't pretend to know what you are going through, but I've counselled many ponies in stressful situations. You are in an... unusual position, although you are not alone, I think."
"My sister... I can't share this with her; she's suffered enough at my hooves. I won't give her cause to fear for me as well."
"If you hold on to this it will destroy you. I won't judge you, Gravity, because I know you. I've known you since I smelled you in your mother's belly.”
Gravity sniffed, looking up at Spiral. “You can’t tell me that’s how you do all your diagnoses.”
The other mare smiled slightly, then kissed Gravity between her eyes. “You’d be surprised… but it sounds a lot less clinical than ‘since I monitored the implantation of your blastocyst’.” Her smile faded, face becoming serious. “You've had to do terrible things to survive--"
"Every time I close my eyes I can see her face," Gravity said quickly, before her nerve broke. She stared at Spiral, the mare's tired face illuminated by the faint green glow of her horn. "Her eyes were bright red, and it looked like she'd been crying, except the tears were blood. There was blood in her mouth and blood in her nose; the liquid had sprayed out like she'd been drinking and suddenly sneezed. The rest of the Security herd was using her as a conduit, and when I struck back..."
Spiral nodded. "I've seen similar before. It's a mild form of thaumic excursion... if it's any consolation, it would have been pretty quick."
"Not quick enough," Gravity said darkly, "she screamed."
"No, such things rarely are…” The green mare sighed and smiled sadly, leaning forward and staring into Gravity’s eyes. “Could it have gone any other way? Do you think you could have saved her?"
"The spell they were using was taking control of my body," Gravity whispered, "I couldn't stop it. I tried to remove the enchantment, but they kept rebuilding it. Two of the Masters were shooting at me... I felt my lungs stop and my heart start to miss beats, so..."
"You showed me those memories... I don't think you had much choice. It sounds like you were seconds away from death yourself."
"Yes, but neither did she!" Gravity's horn flared and, a dozen lengths away, a rock the size of a small aircar exploded with stunning violence. "They wouldn't stop, even when they knew they had no chance." Another rock, a little larger than the first, jumped off the ground in a halo of violet light and was flicked across the river to smash into the trees.
"And whose fault was that?" Another rock glowed, but didn't move.
"Don't patronise me, Spiral," Gravity snarled with a toss of her head, ears flicking all the way back. "I know exactly whose fault it is, but it doesn't make any difference, does it? I'm the one who killed her!" Her voice rose to a ragged scream, and the rock vanished with a crack and a vapour trail that arced over the near-by hills.
"Yes, you did," Spiral said, unperturbed, "and as long as that keeps you awake at night, you are still a decent pony."
All of the mare's anger vanished in an instant and she slumped, leaning into Spiral, who folded her wings over Gravity's neck. "Does it ever go away?" Gravity whispered.
"The memories fade," Spiral said, her voice going distant as if lost in memories of her own, "but they will never leave you. Listen, we should get back, but please try to talk this through with Fusion. You'll hurt her far worse if you shut her out." Spiral got carefully to her hooves, and Gravity followed her. "Just remember," the green mare said, "when you get angry, make sure you direct it at those who really deserve it."
===
A sweep of the valley with her shadow sight allayed most of her fear; the firefly of Spiral's horn was still there, nearly eclipsed by Gravity's violet radiance. As she watched, another pulse of magic left the mare, and a sonic boom echoed off the mountainside.
At her hooves, still encased in her telekinetic field, Packet gave a pained snort. "Mad, the whole lot of you are mad. They are our Masters; going against them is like going against the Maker itself. If we were ever friends, Fusion, you'll let me go." He stopped struggling against her magic, panting heavily.
Bile rose up in Fusion's throat. "And if I do that, what then?" she said softly.
"I just want to be able to go home," the stallion said, all the anger suddenly leaving his voice. "I don't know how you are doing what you are doing, but I want no part of it. Just let me go and I'll- I'll--" There was a curious expression on Packet's face, like he was expecting something to happen, something painful. "I don't understand," he whispered, "why didn't the Maker..." He tailed off, eyes widening. "What have you done to me?"
Fusion dropped to her knees in front of the stallion, staring intently into his face. "Think, Packet, think about all you know about the Masters. Think about how they left you with your leg flayed to the bone after you risked your life to pull that Master out of the reactor building. You can't tell me that is the right way to treat an intelligent creature."
"The Masters do what is right -- how dare you suggest otherwise? You weren’t there. You didn’t see the chaos as they tried to bring the reactor under control. They would have come for me if they had been able." Some fire had returned to Packet's voice, and he glared at Fusion. "My memories were recorded -- what did you ever do to deserve that honour?"
The white mare snorted. "You did a brave thing, there's no doubt of that. Your memories will be used to indoctrinate the next generation of foals, preparing them for the Blessing and making sure it can hurt them when they act against the interests of the Masters in any way at all."
"Will you just listen to yourself? There's no great plot to keep ponies oppressed; we serve the Masters because it's what the Maker wants us to do... because it's right."
"If you are so sure of yourself, why won't you share my memories? I could show you the real story behind everything--" At that moment, there was the sound of slow hoofsteps from behind her and Fusion turned to see Gravity and Spiral. Thank you, Spiral, she thought, staring hard at the blue mare leaning heavily against the veterinarian. Gravity, her fur bedraggled and wet, looked dejected, walking slowly along at Spiral's side, tucked under the older mare's wing.
"I'm sorry, Packet," she said in a small voice as the pair stopped next to Fusion, "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Sorry." The lemon stallion gave a quiet, bitter laugh. "Sorry for abducting me and trying to feed me all these terrible lies, sorry for going against the will of the Maker and betraying everything generations of ponies have lived and died for. I bet you are sorry."
Gravity flinched as if struck and opened her mouth to reply, but it was Spiral who answered. "The Masters have my daughter, Packet. I don't know for sure what they have done to her, but she's been pulling out her own feathers rather than face what's in her mind." Spiral's voice became dry and clinical, with only a faint tremor to the words. "I've seen it before in other ponies; self-harm used as a way to escape the more terrible pains of the Maker's Test. It happens when a pony has to make hard decisions and all the available choices are evil." The green mare's eyes glittered in Fusion's white-gold hornlight, her face blank and drained of all emotion. "You were Random's friend--"
Packet shook his head mutely. "I'm sorry, Spiral, but all you have are the words of these madmares. They're obviously under the influence of some strange magic, do they look normal to you?" He nodded at each of the sisters in turn, staring at their unnaturally moving hair.
"You weren't there, that night... they sent an Agent to investigate the corral. She goaded Plasma into disobeying an order, then punished her for it. It wasn't much, the poor mare only asked after her daughters, but I'm still rebuilding her right wing. Then--" Spiral swallowed heavily and closed her eyes, lying down next to Fusion. Gravity backed away from the little group, heading to where they had left Lilac. The quiet sounds of the two ponies in conversation were almost intelligible in the sudden pause.
"I think I see where Fusion gets her treasonous nature from," Packet said, then fell silent when he caught a glimpse of the white mare's hollow expression.
"She made me euthanize Slipstream, right there in front of everypony."
Fusion's head snapped around to stare at Spiral. "You never said--"
Spiral gave Fusion a pained smile. "What difference would it have made? What's done is done. Slip wasn't the first pony I've had to kill... but for most of them it was a mercy. Slip was murder."
Tears started to form in Fusion's eyes and the mare hung her head. "If I'd have come to you yesterday, instead of taking the time to rest... I only really talked to Slip once." Damn you, Salrath, we should have killed you when we had the chance. The sadness gave way to anger, pouring into the deep well of rage that had been filling her soul since she had met the Agent. The subtle pastels of her mane and tail shifted towards harder colours, while her hornlight brightened and cast an unsympathetic glare across her muzzle and face.
Packet gasped as Fusion's telekinetic field hardened, his breathing becoming shallow as his chest was unable to expand. He tried to speak, but all that emerged was a choked whinny. Fusion, her mind in other places, didn't hear him.
Feathers fell over her back and the warm bulk of Spiral rested against her flank, washing away some of the rage and pain. "It's not your fault," the mare whispered. "If you'd have been early then I'd either have not been convinced by your arguments, or been stuck at the corral when they tested us."
Fusion leaned into Spiral, resting her head against the other mare's neck. Her magic faded a little, letting Packet draw a strained breath. Fusion ignored him, her eyes closed as she drew shuddering breath. "I had Salrath in my power; I could have killed her and no Master would have been any the wiser. Drowned the vicious dog under a sea of cryogenic gas... but I didn't. I didn't know enough to be certain, didn't know what would happen next. My weakness cost me an eye and Slip his life."
"You can't change what was," Spiral said, shifting slightly as she moved her head to look at something behind them both.
"That explains a lot," Gravity said.
Fusion nodded carefully at Gravity; this time the mare met her gaze briefly, before her shoulders slumped and she looked away. She looks better... what did Spiral say to her? Fusion thought, studying her sister intently. She's just embarrassed, thank the Maker. Will you talk to me now?
Lilac floated by her side, watching Packet with some interest. "Korn said Salrath took your eye, but I didn't press for details," Gravity muttered, still not looking at Fusion. Her gaze switched from the ground between her hooves to Packet and her voice strengthened. "This is Lilac, he--"
Packet stared at Gravity, his ears back. "K-keep her away from me! You can't make me believe your lies..." He tailed off, eyes darting from one pony to the next. "That's it, that's what's happened to you all," he said in a hushed whisper, his eyes going wide. "Gravity got into your heads and convinced you all of this fantasy." As he spoke, his words became slurred and his head slumped against Fusion's magic.
The white mare glanced sharply at Gravity with her shadow sight, but this new effect hadn't come from her. Instead, tendrils of green magic were emerging from Spiral's horn and twisting into strange shapes within the stallion's head. Packet gave a grumbling snort and started to snore. "You put him to sleep?"
"An old vet's trick; works best if they don't know what you are doing. He needs more time, if he's ever going to come to terms with this." Spiral sighed, a thoughtful look settling across her muzzle. "The Masters are actively investigating the corral; what do you think they will do if he just disappears?"
"I only have experience with Salrath, and she's... smart. Too smart. She figured me out even when the others didn't. With her in charge a disappearance would bound to be thought suspicious... I don't think she'll stop looking until she has our bodies at her paws."
"I thought as much." Spiral nodded, getting to her hooves and staring down at Packet. "This Salrath… there were always whispered stories about such as her, between the veterinarian groups. Masters who would leave dead or broken ponies in their wakes. Before, I’d have said she was sent to us by the Maker as a test, that it was all part of a plan to ensure we are the best possible servants for the Masters. ” The mare closed her eyes and shuddered. “I still want to think that, but I know something of mental health. She is exhibiting sociopathic traits -- not just towards ponies, but other Masters, too. She enjoys hurting others, both mentally and physically. You must have hurt her quite badly -- she has all the signs of someone only part way through a course of thaumic medical."
"I wish I'd finished the job," Gravity said.
"It's bound to be personal, as well. She can’t have her revenge on you… but that’s probably why she singled out your parents. I've had some dealings with similar Masters, and I agree with Fusion's opinion." Spiral's expression turned grim. "The safest way would be to euthanize Packet right now."
A heavy silence settled over the little group, all four ponies looking down at the sleeping Packet. "No," Fusion whispered, "I will not start this with a murder. Security will discover that we are alive soon enough."
Spiral nodded, looking relieved. "You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that. There is an alternative... but it's almost as bad." The green mare bit her lip. "He needs to have an accident, one bad enough to justify me keeping him sedated." Fusion stirred uncomfortably, but nopony replied. "I can half fix him, then keep him under in the guise of helping others first. Maker knows there are enough of them..." Her voice trailed off into a mumble and she inhaled deeply,
"Can't you just drug him?" Fusion said, what this conversation meant for Packet finally hitting home. Hard choices, she thought. Packet, why did it have to be you? Her mind churned, trying to find a path that didn't end with one of her oldest friends dead or maimed.
"Do you think that will work--"
"And if they check? If they even look at him? Spiral will be faced with the full Security response without any of the new tricks you've taught me -- and there's no time to teach her now." Gravity got to her hooves and stood next to the veterinarian. "Lilac, I'll give you to Spiral for now, she'll take good care of you." At the youngster's uncertain nod, she laid him carefully at the green mare's hooves. "How good is that spell, Spiral? What would it take to wake him up?"
"Once you stop, he's sleeping normally. If you keep the arcane pattern powered... well, I use it for surgery as it's safer than chemical anaesthetics. Let me show you..." The mare opened a sharing environment and demonstrated the spell for the three ponies. The enchantment was simple and highly specific, honed by generations of medics so they could use it without interfering with their other magics.
Gravity nodded. "Thank you, Spiral, I can see that being very useful." Violet light coiled around Packet, lifting him off the ground; a single thread, visible only to Fusion's shadow sight, penetrated his skull and divided into invisibly fine strands within his brain. Her jaw muscles bunched and relaxed, a sudden shiver running across her skin.
"What are you doing, Gravity?" Fusion asked, "I thought we agreed no more mind magic." Her own power, never far from the surface, started to build into a pattern to block the mare's efforts.
"What n-needs to be done. I don't blame you for trying to avoid this; it would be unfair to expect you to do it." Gravity's expression became distant and she stared at Packet, her voice dropping to a trembling whisper. "I already have pony blood on my hooves... what's a little more?" She disappeared in a flash of violet light and a sudden thump of displaced air.
Fusion's magic closed on where her sister had been, just as the teleport terminus folded over itself and space smoothed out. For an instant, before the spell faded, there was the feeling of falling, of being connected to a distant location. Watching the process from the outside was fascinating and part of Fusion's mind filed away the observations for later examination -- the rest of her was filled with panic.
The white mare shot to her hooves, picking up both Spiral and Lilac with her magic, then quickly built the correct arcane pattern and pushed--
~~~discontinuity~~~
"--aker, what--"
The shout came from Spiral, the green mare flailing about with her magic in surprise at the sudden arcane shock. Fusion could feel the medic struggle against her telekinesis, but it was a distant thing, hardly noticeable. Lilac had said nothing, just floated in the same field with his eyes screwed tightly shut.
Gravity had already moved on, the faint residual traces of her next spell already twisting and distorting in the air above the empty mountain top. This didn't stop Fusion from building the next spell; it was obvious where the blue mare was going. Dammit, Gravity, don't do this on your own! You could at least have given me a chance. The pattern solidified in her head, and the white mare made it real--
~~~discontinuity~~~
--to appear at tree-top height a few hills away from their home corral. High velocity winds slapped at her flanks, hard enough that she tumbled for a moment, before instinct put her the right way up and she arrowed for the ground. Shaking her head to remove the residual disorientation, Fusion dropped steeply through the darkness. Using her shadow sight to locate the sleeping ponies by the gentle glows of horn and wing, she positioning herself so the bulk of the nearest hill hid her from any prying eyes.
Magic flared and Fusion thumped down in a gap between two rows of trees, hard enough that her ankles gave little warning spikes of pain. Unceremoniously, she dropped Spiral, leaving the green mare wild-eyed and panting on the leaf-litter, with Lilac next to her. The stallion had screwed his face up as if expecting a blow and appeared to be holding his breath; cautiously he opened one eye, mouth dropping open when he saw their new surroundings.
"Warn a pony when you are going to pull a stunt like that," Spiral grumbled, getting to her hooves and shaking all over to shed most of the clinging vegetation. She bent down to check on Lilac, then picked the stallion up and moved at a smart trot to put several trees between her and Fusion.
"I'll come and find you," Fusion said in a strained whisper, turning away when she saw Spiral's ears flick in response. In moments, Fusion was left alone in the near absolute darkness under the trees. Putting the other two ponies out of her mind, the white mare swept the air above the orchard with her shadow sight, hunting for any sign of her sister. And what are you going to do when she arrives? What if she's like she was back at the Institute? Fusion still had no satisfactory answer to that question, when a rainbow point of light appeared in the darkness of the arcane world.
The brilliant star abruptly ballooned into a polychromatic globe a few tens of lengths above the trees, then winked out to leave the internally-lit, blown-glass sculpture of Gravity and her unconscious cargo. In the real world a flash of violet lit the tree-tops, releasing the dark silhouettes of two ponies. Wings flaring, the darkest of the pair circled overhead as if reluctant to land, then settled to the ground.
Tears had run tracks through the fur of Gravity's muzzle, but the mare looked straight into Fusion's eyes. "It has to be done, you must know this. The delays will only make it harder." Gravity's voice was hoarse, like her throat was being constricted by a noose. "It may only buy us a few days, but at the moment we've got nothing."
Fusion stepped forwards and rested her neck against Gravity's, feeling the trembling muscles beneath her fur. "I know," she said softly, "but you shouldn't carry this burden as well." Fusion cleared her throat and worked her jaw, trying to get moisture into a mouth suddenly gone dry. Which means I'm going to have to do it.
Gravity pulled back and hung her head. "I only wanted to protect you. I-I don't want you to have to..." The mare's breathing became ragged, her wings flicking and her tail lashing in agitation. "It was fine during the fight, there was no time to think, but now there's nothing but emptiness in my head and it keeps getting filled with pictures of--" Her teeth snapped shut with a click, cutting of the words. "Sorry, this is not the time." The still sleeping form of Packet drifted in Fusion's direction, settling on the ground at her hooves. "Are you sure...?"
What did you have to do to stay alive in the tunnels? Fusion thought, trying to think of something to say. Finally she smiled weakly. "No, but what I am sure of is that it must not be you." She picked up the lemon stallion, carefully extending his wings into a semblance of a flying posture. "Could... could you get Spiral for me, please? I'd like to have a few moments alone."
Head lowered, the blue mare cantered off into the trees, leaving Fusion with only the gentle radiance of her still unfamiliar mane and tail. Gently she reached out with her magic, forming the simple sleeping spell and meshing it with Packet's brainstem. The stallion hung there in her magic, not stirring when she kicked him lightly on the shin. "I really want to wake you up and try again to convince you, but we both know that's not going to work." And then I'll have to hurt you anyway, probably with the knowledge that you'll have guessed what I intend.
She leaned forward and pressed her muzzle into the stallion's neck, wrapping her wings around the stallion and hugging him with all her strength. Fusion inhaled deeply and breathed in his clean scent, now tainted with sweat and fear. "I hope you can eventually forgive me for this," she whispered. Hearing the quiet sounds of hooves on grass, she reluctantly released Packet and turned to see Spiral.
"Where do you want to do it?" the green mare said, any emotions masked by a veil of professionalism. Only her wings gave her away; little twitches made the tips of the big primary feathers tremble as if in a breeze.
"Where I pulled off his communicator, I think. It's still there, so hopefully all it will show is that he lost it a few kiloseconds ago. Will another medic be able to tell when he was actually h-h..." Fusion stumbled over the word, falling silent.
"Thaumic medicine is very good, when the vet has enough time to actually complete it." Spiral gave Fusion a twisted smile, glancing at her prosthetic eye. "Once I start work any evidence will be completely erased."
"Okay, let's get it over with." Fusion walked slowly through the trees, trailed by Spiral and the frozen-in-flight Packet. The short journey was over soon, when Fusion noticed the faint glimmer of Packet's communicator laying buried in the leaf-litter. This spot was near the edge of the orchard, at the end of a double row of mature apple trees with widespread branches. "There," she muttered, looking at one thick horizontal branch, "just where a pony might misjudge his flight path." Descending in the darkness; exhausted from long shifts rebuilding the reactor, his flight magic at a low ebb and his inertia close to its resting state. Lulled into a false sense of security by familiar surrounding and coming in too low, the branches and ground invisible to both normal and shadow sight...
"Sorry, Packet," Fusion whispered, pushing the stallion up and away, lining him up with the tree. Tears started to fill her remaining eye, so Fusion closed it and focused solely on her shadow sight, reaching out to grab the target branch so it too was visible. Knees trembling, Fusion lay down before she could fall down, her breath coming in short gasps. Packet floated at the end of her magic, serene and motionless, as the mare tried to will herself to do what she had to do.
Spiral glanced up at Packet, then out out through the final layer of trees, looking down the shallow slope to the infirmary building. “It was lucky I was working late and heard the crash,” she muttered, “otherwise who knows what might have happened?” Her voice strengthened, becoming flat and emotionless. “Aim for the bottom of the chest, just where his front legs meet his body. The damage will be high, but it's all things that are relatively straightforward to fix. Protect his head and inner wings."
Panic started to rise and Fusion felt herself become dizzy, even though she was belly down on the leaves. Suddenly, there was a gentle pressure in her mind and she grabbed at it, feeling the close presence of Gravity, like the mare was sitting next to her, so close that she could almost feel the warmth of fur-on-fur. Emotions washed through the sharing; there were undercurrents fear and sadness, but the main impression was one of love laced with iron-hard determination.
Buoyed up by Gravity's support, strength flowed back into Fusion. Her breathing slowed and she steadied her grip on Packet. Gently at first, then with ever increasing speed, the stallion slid down an invisible line in the sky like a bead on a wire. Right at the end there was the delicate touch of somepony else's magic, fine-tuning Packet's final trajectory.
There was the sharp crackle of small branches, then the solid thump of a body striking something immovable, strong enough that she could feel it through the ground. Fusion felt Packet's body go loose in her grip, limbs and ribs becoming flexible in places where they shouldn't. Oh, Maker, was that too hard? Her panic started to return, and the mare released the stallion into Spiral's waiting telekinetic grip.
Green light flashed and flickered against the trees as the veterinarian started to work on Packet even before she'd lowered him to the ground. The stallion's insides, illuminated by Spiral's magic, were clearly visible to Fusion's shadow sight; a mess of shattered bones and torn tissues, jagged splinters pushed deep into organs and muscle. Things moved and twitched under the veterinarian's influence, a score of minor magics all working at once.
Fusion stood a little way back, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof, desperate to know what was happening, yet unwilling to interrupt the working mare to find out. Within a few seconds she was joined by Gravity and Lilac; her sister had a tear-stained, distraught expression that Fusion imagined was the same as her own. Lilac, on the other hoof, was just looking on with interest and making little exclamations of discovery as he watched Spiral work.
Moving carefully around to the other side of the group, Fusion bent her head, placing her mouth next to Lilac's ear. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.
Lilac didn't look in her direction, keeping his gaze on Spiral and her magic. "I think so... yes..." The word was a drawn-out hiss, the youngster obviously distracted.
Fusion struggled with her emotions, trying to resist the urge to pick Lilac up and shake him until he gave her a satisfactory answer. "Lilac, please..." she whispered, voice breaking on the last word.
He twitched and turned slightly to glance at her, ears flicking back. "Sorry, I..."
"Just tell me what's happening, please?"
His attention went back to Packet. "Spiral has stopped most of his internal bleeding and reinflated both lungs--"
The medical litany went on while green light flickered and odd shapes moved under Packet's skin. Blood, black in the monochromatic glow, leaked from torn skin along Packet's front in a line just above his forelegs. Both his legs were broken, the complex joint of his shoulder cracked and dislocated. The front few rows of ribs were shattered, fragments driven deep into the stallion's body cavity. Most had been extracted by this point; the bone splinters pulled back along their wound tracks and roughly packed back into their original positions. Very little had apparently been repaired, with most of Spiral's efforts going towards stabilising Packet.
The green mare continued her work, sweat starting to dampen her flanks, before finally opening her eyes and turning to Fusion. "He'll make it, but will need a lot more work before he's really fit for duty," she said, between gasps. "It's more than enough to justify keeping him under for at least a few days."
There was disapproval in her voice and Fusion winced. "It was proper flight speed..." she started, her gaze avoiding Spiral by searching out the branch the Packet had struck. Still as solid as before the impact, but now coated with blood and a dusting of long yellow hairs. As much evidence as anypony could want, she thought, feeling sick.
"I know," Spiral said, her expression softening. "Come on; let me get him into a stall where I can get some drugs into him." She staggered to her hooves, nodding gratefully when Fusion carefully picked up Packet, then all five ponies made their way down to the infirmary.
===
Fusion and Gravity were gone, flying low and away from the corral before jumping back to their wilderness retreat with that strange new spell. Packet was asleep, installed in a padded armature that held his legs in the correct orientation. He had a long road ahead of him; it would be painstaking and tedious work to reassemble all those little bone splinters back into workable structures. Spiral took one last glance down the corridor, magic sweeping the stalls, then picked up Lilac and quickly trotted around the outside of the infirmary and into the little room that held stall eleven.
Hello, Slip, Spiral thought, her gaze lingering on the blank steel surface of the refrigerated compartment, then smiled down at Lilac. "Will you be okay in here for a few kiloseconds? Take whatever you need from the medical supplies, and there's drinking water from that tap there. The waste dispose-all is behind that door. It's biohazard rated, so..." She cocked her head as Lilac looked away in embarrassment.
"I'll be fine," he muttered, "plenty of points to grip with my magic. I managed in the forest. What do I do if somepony comes in?"
"They won't. Nopony will come in here apart from me or Trocar, my mate..." She chewed her lips, eyes darting around the small room, gaze settling on the row of wide doors on the rear wall. Opening the first, she poked her head through and lit the compact space with a floating point of green light. More magic flared, shifting the stacks of packing crates and racks of supplies until she'd created a small space hidden at the back of the storage area. "It won't stop a real search, but... you think you can get in there?"
A pale purple light wrapped around the supports holding up the back wall. As all foals found out shortly after they came into their magic, telekinesis just acted as a kind of immaterial arm and paw; a pony could not lift herself without 'holding on' to something higher up. Lilac dragged himself along the smooth floor, then awkwardly manoeuvred his unresponsive hindquarters through the narrow opening and into the prepared hiding place. "There's got to be an easier way to do this," he muttered, when he'd finally arranged his legs as best he could.
Spiral sighed, the quiet noise turning into a wide yawn. "Probably, but it should only be for a short while. Tomorrow I'll spend some time on you, in between working on all the rest of these ponies." She flicked one wing out, encompassing the whole infirmary. "It would be a good idea if you follow along; I'll share with you while I work; how does that sound?"
Lilac's expression brightened and he smiled. "I watched you work on Packet, and I think I've got a few ideas for how to fix myself--"
"No! Don't even think of doing that." Spiral's tone was harsh and Lilac shrank back in shock. The mare took a deep breath and shook all over. "Sorry. Please don't experiment on yourself; there are so many things that can go wrong. Watch me through the sharing tomorrow and I'll train you properly."
Looking a little scared, Lilac nodded. Spiral leant in to give him a quick nuzzle, then closed the compartment door and quietly walked away.
===
Lilac let his magic fade and slumped against the racking that walled him in. The darkness was absolute; no matter how much he strained, there was nothing apart from the faint, formless colours he normally saw against his closed eyelids before sleep. Ears twitching, he could make out the faint breathing noises of a dozen or more ponies, somewhere on the other side of the partition wall. Mixed in with the snorts and grumbles the sleeping are wont to make were other, more unsettling, sounds. Faint whimpers and cries, and once a kind of choked whinny that made the fur along his back tingle. Shadow sight relieved the darkness but unveiled a horror show of injured body shapes; there were ponies with limbs out at uncomfortable angles, while others had curled into tight balls and were huddling in corners or against walls.
These ponies made him pause, and Lilac tentatively reached out with his magic to the closest shape. It was a stallion, one without any obvious injuries, but within his head there was a web of bright green magic that pulsed and twitched like it was alive. The pony shivered in time with magic and occasionally whimpered. That's his Blessing, Lilac thought, it seemed pretty easy to remove... The young stallion replayed that particular segment of Fusion's memories, his brow furrowing in the darkness. I could fix it right now... He bit his lip, wings twitching in frustration, then settled for examining the rest of the ponies in more detail.
Of the score or so ponies present, nearly half had the same symptoms as the closest. The spell in their heads flickered and flared at various levels of activity; whatever it was doing to them sometimes emerging as twitches or quiet moans. I've seen this removed in Fusion's memories... she did it to me and she did it to Gravity -- and she has no medical training at all! The repairs he'd done for both mares had been simple things compared to what Spiral could do, welding bone and knitting torn muscles, but the pair hadn’t a clue how to even start the work.
It's hardly experimenting, if I've seen it done a couple of times already... Lilac thought, the idea taking a firm grip on his mind. I can even think of a couple of improvements. It was obvious that, going by Gravity's initial reaction, the process was quite painful; a simple nerve block near the horn bed would prevent a pony from feeling a thing. Vague memories of Gravity and Fusion's planning session, seen through the hazy filter of half-sleep, ran through Lilac's mind.
They were going to do this anyway, so why shouldn't I do it now? A particularly pitiful whine, fading into silence as if the poor pony making it had been choked, made the young stallion's ears flatten. They are all hurting, and I can stop it. More noises, the ragged breath of a creature in the throes of a nightmare. Spiral said they were drugged, but can a pony escape Punishment even if unconscious? They shouldn't be able to feel anything, but...
The quiet noises, most completely inconsequential, built into an atonal, chaotic song of pain and despair in Lilac's mind, and tears started to run, unnoticed, down his muzzle. Punishment hurts so much-- Lilac clamped down on the thought, making a quiet whine at the recalled pain of his own brush with the Master's displeasure. Giving no further thought to the matter, he reached out and swept the closest pony with his magic. The web of green light didn't react, so he traced the pattern, following it until it vanished amid the ordered crystalline structures of the stallion's horn.
I've seen Fusion do this twice, and Gravity once. I've even seen her make a mistake that nearly killed a pony, so I know what not to do...
The changes were obvious; a sick green haze that occupied a strictly defined volume at the base of the horn, isolated from the violet of the rest of the material. Swallowing hard, Lilac folded his will around the small area and twisted. The green light flicked out; the tangled mass of neon threads fading like hot wire filaments cooling. The stallion relaxed, his breathing losing its laboured cadence, and Lilac let out the breath he'd been holding.
Easy! he thought, smiling in the darkness, teeth glinting in the gentle glow of his own horn. Lilac nodded to himself, then reached out for the next pony and did it again.
Chapter up!
Oh Lilac, what the hell have you done?
You can't please all of the ponies all of the time, girls. A hard lesson, but one that needs to be learned. A shame Lilac didn't. There's no way this is going to end well. Still, I look forward to seeing what happens.
4090893
He's quite cheerfully paved the road to Hell.
Well. That's going to get somepony's attention, pretty quickly...
Hello, my name is cringe.
Oh, come on! "You can lead a pony to water..."
I wonder if the sisters are just going to grab the entire corral and steal them away once Lilac's efforts get found - dissidents be damned. They only have so much time before everyone they've ever loved is destroyed now.
chapter!
Yes. Yes you should.
Guess that answers that. Removing the Blessing itself is trivial, I suppose; it's convincing the pony to let go of a life of brainwashing that's the real issue, as seen with Gravity, Lilac and Packet.
And I gather that's what the chapter title is referring to.
I have a bad feeling about this.
Well. It's a victory, of sorts. And a good thing he's done, of sorts. If not for the fact it's going to get a lot of them killed, later.
Argh I can't wait for the open war to sate my lust for vengeance on those who deserve it!
Oh lilac their plan was pretty delicate in the first place though, wonder what will happen when they finally realise random and friends aren't at the training facility anymore, how many days ago was that?
Yay chapter, only one month for the next one!
Totally worth the wait though
Also will there be any more mention of creation stones, chaos, the creation stones personalities (the six original dogs) etc?
4092675 ohh wait, there was no original six personalities, my bad
to
I think you misses a word here
to
either missed a word there or "they"
missed an end quotation
knows
Well, this is certainly going to end badly either way- either he's killed all the ponies in the infirmary or he's essentially killed Fusion and Gravity. Still, at least his heart was in the right place (even if his head wasn't)
4090893 Acting in the shadows, messing with green mind magic... are we witnessing the birth of Sombra?
Wow! I got a bad feeling about what Lilac has done.
4093844 We never did see a fully formed Sombra's back without clothes, did we? I'm wondering this too.
"... but you can't make them think."
Damnit, Lilac, I know you've got the best interests of everypony in mind, but please stop right there and let Fusion, Gravity and Spiral handle this stuff!
If I can't experiment on myself ... better do it to other ponies!
Nitpick:
They shouldn't be able too feel anything
to
Well, he does know exactly how to do it.
More concering is what the Rebellion (that name works now that it's five ponies, right?) is going to do with nearly ten unwilling recruits, who are likely going to be about as cooperative as Packet. Gravity needed her sister's imminent dissection to come around, Spiral was only convinced because she had just been forced to murder Slip, and Lilac nearly killed Gravity after she saved his life...
4094739
That does make a terrible type of sense. Especially with all those Crystal Pony slaves for him to experiment on - heck, Crystal Ponies themselves could have been a result of one of his 'experiments'.
Thanks for the comments, folks!
==
4091192
Ah, you got me there!
4092675
Not that long ago; the time scales are pretty short (even if the chapters aren't). Only a couple of days of story time. You will hear from the stones and Chaos again.
4092562
Patience, grasshopper. I've got to tighten the screws a little more...
4093190 ,
4093434 ,
4095143
Thanks for the typo patrol! Damn, that is the most I've had for a while.
===
4047286
You keep adding to your post! Is that allowed?
You are correct, of course. It's about 1km/sec (max) for Earth; after that it gets more complex... which is why I've stuck to mainly north-south moves. I've also cunningly not said anything about where the various sites are on the surface of the planet. If you can get the speed right, you could jump straight into a confined space. Be uncomfortable if you got it wrong.
For added entertainment, think about what happens if you teleport from the ground and into a spacestation in low orbit. Or teleport rocks from one of the poles almost anywhere on the planet...
4096859
I like this.
(Of course, their telekinesis can turn any old objects into projectiles without the need to get fancy. Not sure what the top acceleration is on that, but Fusion did break down a steel door by stitching a bar through it as though it were a sewing needle.)
Oh Lilac, you poor fool. I know what they say about what first contact with the enemy does to plans, but this is a bit early for that. My question is, how long does anypony go without noticing what he's done?
Oh my god, Lilac, just oh my god.
Though that does answer my question about what level of skill and power is needed for removing the Blessing.
4098474
Without Spiral's intervention, pretty quickly. A whole infirmary full of fugue patients in spontaneous remission... suspicious. Then the ponies notice themselves no longer affected by the blessing, and will report themselves (particularly since they might not realize that they'll be killed). And once that cat is out of the bag, the whole corral is probably going to be nuked from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
However, Spiral will definitely be the first one to find out and could take steps to conceal them. If it were only one or two ponies, she could probably "disappear" them and claim they had to be euthanized... but with as many as ten ponies at once, and no bodies, that would look way too suspicious. Maybe she can just keep them under deep anesthesia for a while, like Packet?
(Edit: There's another solution in which they do leave bodies, of course, but I really don't think they're this desperate and ruthless yet if they can help it. Also, euthanizing that many patients at once will invite further suspicion.)
Either way, though, Lilac screwed up badly, though it's understandably considering their suffering. His heart is in the right place but his gut isn't. (Erm... poor choice of words.)
4096859
2 years is a long time to be patient
4093844
I see the attraction of spotting more future villains (since Discord and Nightmare Moon have already been foreshadowed), but I really think that this is too much of a long shot.
It'd take the loss of his wings (Sombra's a unicorn), a complete change of color (Sombra's black and grey, Lilac's... well...), and an utter change of personality (Sombra's insane, driven by greed and cruelty, and Lilac did this out of compassion) - and the "mind magic" is just him performing the same easy trick Celestia figured out.
That the blessing looks "green" does hint that Sombra's mind control might be related to it, though...
I'm wondering how many ponies he'll have killed by the following morning.
4152233
Rubber-shod because of stealth and traction, but mostly because hundreds of kilos of horse on metal shoes would make such a racket on a stone floored corridor (one of the horses I ride is a 1.2tonne draft breed; you practically need earplugs when he's on the pavement)!
The traditional reward for a job well done is another job, of course.
4161830
Yes, two arclight units. They do know what ponies are capable of in general terms, but they've never had to fight them. There will be a period of adjustment...
No doubt there would be ways to build the teleport so that it can compensate for velocity differences, but I liked the little nod to conservation of momentum. They need to fly back to get on-route teleport locations, to allow short range hops to quiet sites.
Slips' execution was pretty hard to write, worse because I didn't plan for it (he was going to be useful in the future, dammit!). Unfortunately, as soon as Salrath had boots on the ground, I realised there was no escape for him.
4161975
Mass swap for teleports: if you can move the momentum, yes. With these teleports, you just get two things moving at speed (one at each end of the jump).
4163337
Fusion used the collars because the effect is immediate, while the drugs are a bit of an unknown quantity to her.
Short jumps to reduce the momentum differences; she's being careful as there's no need for absolute speed.
4163410
Well, the show's ponies are, but the constraints of writing SF mean mine are much more horse-like (and if it's the one thing I can't stand, it's the head shape of the non-alicorn mares). Besides, I like writing about the biological differences and limitations of the various species; that's half the fun.
4168508 Well, I do get why she used the collars, just to be sure. Just.. seems odd she'd go with the collar first, and then stand around talking for a bit. Rather then drugs first, then collar as back up like with Spiral.
Ad but, but, the big eyes, and, and.. it's what makes them so damn cute and adorable.
See? And plus, with an eye that big, she might be able to alter focal length enough to get some decent depth perception. It works for Uniocs after all
Last published chapter.....
Huh no little insert about number 5?
A ; alright my grasp of punctuation rules is likely even worse then.. well anyone's so no idea if that is right. So, exhausted, spent all night tending to these ponies, after a long day of treating the ones injured by the roundup. Then right back to work without sleeping? Yikes. Well at least she won't have the blessing trying to torture her for being evil enough and despicable, and just plain wrong for daring to have natural physical limits.
Well, they all know the risk, but, yeah sometimes you have to take risks. Not to mention it's what needs to happen. Again, once the Dogs know about them still being alive, things will actually get easier for the Sisters. But till then, build up what forces you can secretly. Though, now they have to deal with Packet... And again, the more force the Dogs use to keep the ponies in line, the more of them will gladly join Fusion and Gravity.
So is it better, because it's something she won't like, something she will just worry about for no reason, a just in case you get discovered and made to talk you can't reveal our plan, or simply being smart and not fully trusting her, despite the lack of a blessing?
And the biggest issue with dealing with ponies still blessed. Once you start, you have to keep going, have to break them of the conditioning, or everything falls apart. But, what to do with ones that won't break? That even without the blessing, still remain conditioned to obey the Dogs? Like she just said, if they just... disappear... there will be questions, problems. Even if it's just them holding them captive, not.. something more permanent.
Though with Spiral there to back them up, agree with them... might help with getting Packett to come around.
And, I can almost hear the exact tone of voice she'd be using here. Yeah she's going to get rather used to ponies initial reactions to being unblessed. And the more she does, the better she'll be at figuring out how to counter it, to help them through it faster. Plus again, the more ponies on her side, the more likely she can make the case for them being right.
And, yes. Win, but, if the lengths you have to go to to win, make you as bad as the Dogs... SHOULD you win? Though to be fair, Gravity was only talking about making him see, not brainwashing him, but it is a slippery slope. Also, Gravity being better at mind magic.. at slipping into other ponies minds.. gee wonder what this could lead too
Wait, that she had shown Korn? yeah I think I remember something like that, but not sure. But, yes. They do see the problem. Even if he does claim to come around, claim to be on their side, it is possible he's just faking, using it to get them to let him go. Something they will have to be more and more careful of as more ponies join them.
Gravity.. calm the fuck down. But yes, again showing the differnce between the two, and just how much they need each other for balance. Fusion being the calmer, more logical one. Gravity the more emotional one. Fusion to unwilling to act, to hesitant to do something unless she has to, unless there is no other choice. Gravity to eager to act at times. both needing to find the balance between them. Granted, Fusion is handling things a LOT better then Gravity.
Again, self fulfilling prophecy. You think you are a monster, therefore you do things only a monster would do to prove it to yourself, hence proving it to yourself. But yeah likely this is still just her not having adjusted to the whole ordeal yet, still reeling from everything that has happened in the last 2-3 days. While Fusion had several days to come to grips with this on her own terms.
And.. and.. yes the PERFECT thing I didn't know how to say. Stress. This is all just the stress getting to her, and ANYONE will act.. badly.. given enough of it. But yeah, she needs to talk, to get it out, without just using it against herself. And maybe Spiral would be the right pony. Gravity cares to much about Fusion, cares to much about what Fusion thinks of her to tell her things she thinks will hurt that bond. Spiral, like she said, is used to being a therapist as well as a doctor.
Lather? Just, just.. why is them using that word instead of sweat just so, so damn appropriate? I mean I know why but, just, the little touches like that...
A very good question.
WHAT!? Seriously what the hell is going wrong THIS fast? Even for the Dogs, this is way to quick a response to something they at most just learned a few hours ago. And then there is the how. So... what!?
And the crux of her issues. Dogs, even griffons, she can deal with having to take out. Though she'd still prefer not to hurt griffons is not needed. But other ponies?....
And here, we have a bit of Narm. It is quite the touching sentiment and, just yeah it's exactly what Gravity needs but but.. "since I smelled you in your mother's belly." that just, just, I mean I guess I can see what they mean but, just that wording, that image is just.. just so.. odd it kind of ruins the moment a bit for me. Not much just, a tiny. 'wut!?'
Okay, so given how even Gravity reacted, it was kind of meant to be a bit odd. Also.. so all in Vitro? Do ponies even HAVE a sex drive, or is that something the dogs have tried to repress as well? Just, random question this brings up. But yeah doing it like that, given ponies are governed by a Eugenics Board, and just how obsessed the Dogs are with getting the results they want, yeah I am in no way surprised, and kind of half expected this. The other half was simply letting it happen more naturally, but with ordering pairings of certain mares and stallions they think would produce the foals they want.
And yup, that's what this is all about. Parapet.
Loud enough to be what Fusion heard? hopefully? No, doubt they are that lucky.
Exactly. The very fact that Gravity is worried about this, means she isn't a monster. A monster wouldn't care. Really this whole scene was just.. just so damn good. Spiral, yeah sounds lust like a therapist, which she is, and that was just the perfect way to deal with it.
Or.. was it just her crushing the rock?
But again, Spiral is right. Fusion.. yeah the less emotional of the two... no that's not right, she's not less emotional. She's simply better at controlling her emotions. She has just as much anger as Gravity, but she directs it at where it's deserved, uses the anger to push herself. Gravity, lets her anger free, is used by it. The wrong way to deal with it. But yeah just, the whole thing here, again so so well done. Now to see who they deal with Packet....
Oh, so it was.... Okay you are getting to damn good at this. But, seriously, major major bravo for that. managing to ratchet up tension, add in more "HOLY SHIT WHAT'S GOING ON!" Without actually even needing anything happening. That... that was one hell of a fake out. Very very nicely done. See the story can have tension without needing to constantly have shit go wrong for them
Yeah... this is going to be a challenge.
Well, that took awhile for him to figure out. BUT, also a good sign. He was going to say he wouldn't tell anyone about them, wouldn't say anything, and knew that was wrong. Which means, yeah he DOES care for them, and isn't completely against them, just needs to be shown how to get out of it. wait, wasn't he the pony that saved a Dogs life in the accident, only to be left laying on the ground, wound, in pain, needing immediate treatment... for nearly three hours before any of them though to do anything? Yeah, remind him of just how grateful those 'Masters' are.
Seriously.. I DID NOT read that part before the last comment. Damnit.. this is getting creepy how good the story is at reading my mind. Or maybe it just shows how alike we think.. but either way.. I'd say stop it.. but it is kind of cool.
Wow... he's even deeper in denial then gravity was.
For this, no. They are trying to END generations of abuse, neglect, torture, slavery so complete, you don't even know, and don't want to know, it exists.
But yes sorry for the pain that breaking you free will cause you. But it is NOT there fault, it is the ones who put you in a position to need freeing in the first place.
Yeah this, is definitely a major theme of the story. What do you do, when there are simply no good options? And something it handles damn well.
Then everything would have gone to hell because they would have seen she was unblessed. Things would have gone worse. And yeah you should have. But, look on the bright side, she's pretty much your best ally at this point. And it means you get to have your own turn making her pay.
Like I said, not less emotional then gravity, just better at controlling it, keeping it down until the target of that anger is in sight. Though yeah, that can lead to things getting TO bottled up. Also... expressive mane colors? that's new And yet, kind of awesome.
once more, other then the conditioning inflicted on them by the Dogs.. ponies are NOT idiots.
Also, like I said, Salrath is your best recruiting tool right now.
Yes, yes it does. Granted stuff we already knew so cant quite see how big a revelation it might be, but yeah, it does.
Okay, what brought that on?
Okay. So, yeah you might want to teach them that trick. be really really helpful.
"The Masters are actively investigating the corral; what do you think they will do if he just disappears?"
Yeah. that, is if anything an understatement. But, yeah now again, no good choices left. Take the time it would take to bring him around, and he'll be missed. Send him back, and he'll blow the whole thing apart.... hmmmm, bring him back, have Spiral say he suffered some trauma, some slip into fugue over something, and keep him sedated in the clinic? Though that would also cause issues.. yeah.. they are in some really hot water already...
And.. well not really shocked at her saying that cause yeah, logically it does make sense, and she's long ago learned to be dispassionate about these things, to separate her emotions from her actions as much as possible. So yeah her suggesting it, not that shocking. Though how would you explain it?
And yup, just her giving the option, hoping it wouldn't be used, but making clear it was there. Now.. what's the nearly as bad option?
Once more.. STOP READING MY DAMN MIND STORY! heh But then or am I just getting to good at seeing options? Though didn't see the cause him injury part coming, but yeah it does make sense and... yeah not going to help bring him around to your side at all.
Hey, they did do it. So yeah, new weapon in their arsenal.
It, it really is the best of a lot of bad options. And, again just, just the bond. Both knowing it must be done, but simply wanting to not have the other be the one who has to do it.
No not now, but SOON!
Ouch going for the wings... yet it does make sense. They are likely the most delicate bones, and ones that would need the most attention. A leg would work to, but be far harder. The rather delicate bones of the ankle would be easy, and keep him needing treatment to do anything. But also be small enough they'd likely be fixed easily. So yeah wings really would be the only option for something easy to injure, requiring a decent amount of work to fix, and also be essential enough to need to be fixed.
Oh and don't forget to grab his communicator.
So, let's hope that when he wakes up next, it's AFTER they've fully healed him.
once more, loving how I can predict what will happen, smply though figuring out what the SMART thing would be, like triggering the accident at the site of his missing communicator, making it look like the accident was what made him lost it. Yeah those communicators are going to be a bitch and... what did they do with Spirals anyway?
Yup, sounds like a good story. And like you said, the exhaustion of working so hard to rebuild that reactor....
Okay, so NOT going for the wings. See the story can still surprise me, so good.
oay so given how much damage was there, and that was considered to be, major enough to require long treatment, but not major enough to be threatening, yeah I keep underestimating how good pony healing magic is I guess. But, Lilac's rather detached, more interested in what's going on then the sadness at what caused it.. yeah definitely the makings of a good medic. Able to push his own emotions away to tend to others.
Well, that will buy them a little more time at least.
Umm, is that really smart? wait four? Goof in the numbers, or is Gravity staying behind? Either way, is either of them going to where more ponies could see them a good idea?
Okay not sure what the biohazard rated part meant and why she'd be embarrassed. Though ummm, why bother with food given, you know, can't really eat anything yet. Or did she do enough healing to make that possible, but still needing more treatment to overcome it all?
Unless you are Twilight Sparkle or Littlepip. But those are both way way way on the high side of the bell curve when it comes to TK ability.
Ah so she meant mentally follow her around, was a bit confused at how she'd cover having Lilac actually dragging around behind her. And yeah, experimenting on yourself when you 'think' you have a grasp on the ideas.. not a good idea unless you have no other choice. Hope Spiral can at least get SOME sleep. And the sharing..... could Spiral or Lilac open a link to Fusion and Gravity from the corral of they had to? To call for help, or warn them of something going wring?
Lilac... noooo bad pony. Yes you mean well, but that will cause all kinds of issues. Though, also, stop it story. I was just wondering if Spiral might be tempted to do just that....
Whew, yeah don't do stupid shit, in fact, just, look if you must but.. don't touch, please.....
Lilac.... noooo, bad bad pony.... and sleepy too.. the WORST time to do anything like this...
Well fuck, way to screw up the whole plan dumbass...... yup know something was going to go wrong soon but, didn't see THIS.. do you not get... no no he doesn't get why what he just did was wrong.
And, now to see what Spiral's reaction to this is. Seriously... Lilac.. you.. you have no idea how bad you screwed up, and yet, for the right reasons.
Alright so I got time to read another chapter, what happens... next...... wait no more written?
Wait, wait that means.. means.. I'm free.. I I can read something else! But seriously great story so far, loving this part even more then the first if possible. Just, just, still so damn amazing can't wait for more.
4093844 Damn, that, that just... I did not think that, but now I can't un-think it. But yeah hat said, see the resemblance, but no way it really is him, to many things different.
4097290 Well, we've seen them able to accelerate objects past the sound barrier, and once you can do that, really anything more is overkill.
4172894
With sufficient power, Celestia or Luna might even be able to throw a relativistic baseball...
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The mother's belly line -- horses have a far better sense of smell than humans, and I try to make the text match my version of their biology (that bit came out of a conversation with my prereaders).
Packet's freak-out when Gravity returned was because he remembered her getting into his head, then jumped to the conclusion that she was manipulating all of them.
The reason for avoiding the wings is the presence of the magically active material at their core; this is hard to repair and damage brings with it the risk of long term damage.
'Four' is a typo, should be three. There's no harm in Lilac eating a small amount, even if it won't go anywhere, but I'm not sure why I put that in there at all; will revise. The dispose-all can be used as a latrine (that's why the comment about biohazard, and why Lilac is embarrassed).
Has TS ever lifted herself on TK? I can't recall any instances.
Free for a couple of weeks! In case it wasn't obvious, I post new chapters on the 16th (and it's really abnormal of me to miss a posting date).
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Ah, I do like that website.
4173755 The belly thing, yeah it made sense logically, but just, one of those things that feels wrong regardless, kind of breaks you out of the flow and makes you go wha!?
Like I said, Narm.
"the waste dispose-all "
AH I see what you meant there. Just the odd formatting of it, Dispose-all instead of Disposal made me assume it was something else. I thought it WAS a toilet she was talking about from the start. So the whole "biohazard rated" made me go "okay what the hell is going on with that colts body he needs a biohazrad level toilet?" Rather then, basically a high end trash disposal he could use as a toilet if he had to.
As to the TK thing, Season 3 premier and finale. Premier she fell down that long ass stairway, and caught herself just before hitting the bottom, holding herself in the air while she got her bearings, then teleported to her hooves. Finale, she held herself and the rest of the Mane 6 in the air and lifted them all together for a big group hug type deal at the end of True True Friend.
But well, she's Twilight Sparkle. And even for her, it's a rather new ability.
Littlepip can do it easily, even better then Twi could, to the point she's nearly as good at flying as a pegasus. but her TK ability is off the charts, better even then Twilight, and compared to basically being Celestia level, or even higher. Though with the trade off that she cant do any magic except TK.
Darn it Discord for giving that kid thoughts that it was okay. If only they explained to him about why they have to be careful before, he would've understand why that's a bad thing to do it to all the ones he seen.
4188514 But WAS it Chaos? This.. felt more like it was simply Lilac acting on his own.
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4196070 That's not really how Chaos operates. It doesn't use tricks, illusions, fake stuff like that. If it was going to manipulate Lilac, it wouldn't use sounds and other things to trick him into feeling a certain way and acting, it'd just alter his thoughts directly to make him want to do it.
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I thought that was his thoughts being altered and that's how it felt to him specifically.
4173755 Pumpkin Cake levitated herself in "Baby Cakes". I'd say that indicates a unicorn of Twilight's power can do that if a month-old foal can manage it.
4214986 The foal thing is odd, as it took Twi quite a while to do that, and only she seems able. Likely it's covered under the 'magic surges' thing. The foal is just having random flashes of intense magical power, and given the much lighter body, can hover. Magic power seems to die out later as they get older, till they learn to control it better.
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It's not completely obvious what spells she's actually using, but TK would be the simplest explanation (but this is Twilight we're talking about, the mare who'd happily teleport a dozen paces rather than walk, so maybe not!).
The Cake twins... I try to forget those abominations, but the eyes, the Eyes haunt me in my sleeping hours! Ahem. Right. On a more reasonable note, I stopped trying to fit to canon some time ago; there are way too many contradictions; most of the time I just assume 'rule of funny' and ignore the stuff that doesn't work. This story is a child of season one, and the magic system is based around intellection (thus Twilight is good, not just because of genetics, but because of study).
All that said, even the analogy I used of an immaterial 'arm' breaks down, because you'd expect something like a handstand to be possible. I can't even fall back on the principles of leverage, because there'd be no way for a pony to manage any feat of TK strength.
Which all means I'm probably going to fiddle with that section a little. I'd imagine that self-levitation would be pretty tricky (balance), and as all the ponies can fly, there'd not be much call for it (Lilac would have had even less chance to try, not having had much of a foalhood).
4221006 Even Season 1 leaves you with the anomaly that is Pinkie Pie...
4225207
Nonsense! It's obvious that Pinkie is a three dimensional protrusion of a higher dimensional Elder God. Makes perfect sense.
4227223 Pinkie is actually 2-dimensional. As are all these cartoon characters. However, they have legends of a '3rd dimension', once which Homer Simpson stumbled into years ago...
I feel that the reason that unicorns can't generally lift themselves isn't because they can't, but because it is extremely difficult to focus on it the right way. The way I see it, a unicorn uses their horn as a relative fixed point in space when they are levitating objects. They would need to focus on themselves from an outside perspective, which is different from everything that they do on a day to day basis. Levitation this way may also be inefficient since they are unused to doing it this way. That's my theory at least!
4234465 That;s the most agreed on reason I've seen for it. that's it's simply so hard to focus the magic right when lifting themselves. Not only is the object they are lifting moving, but so is the source of the magic, it's just not something most ponies can achieve the required concentration to do. Twi obviously, but only after years of focusing her magic power. The cake foal, as a foal, doesn't need to concentrate, because she's not actually thinking about it, it's all instinct for her. Littlepip, is just that damn good at telekinesis.
Checks date..... Anticipation intensifies.
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That would be a lot more foreboding if we didn't already know that Fusion, Gravity, and possibly Cadence would be the only survivors.
4753414 ...Cadance? Are you sure you're commenting on the right story?