Days of Wasp and Spider, Part II: Final Solution
by Luna-tic Scientist
=== Chapter 05: Rude Awakenings ===
I am Five. I know this because that's what is growing in the fur of each of my hips. It's a large and curvy symbol, a dirty white that contrasts with the deep orange of the rest of my coat. At the moment I'm curled up on the bare floor, hooves tucked up under my belly and the end of my muzzle resting on the slightly yielding surface. The light is dim and uniform; through sleepy eyes I stare at the white wall that encircles me at one bodylength's distance. Not quite circular, the chamber is vaguely wedge-shaped, with a large circular screen at the narrow end. The floor is a dark grid of soft tiles that vanishes under the wall but does not touch it. Around the perimeter of the room is a shadowed gap, perhaps two hooves high.
The lights brighten gradually and a soft chime rings once. I climb to my hooves and arch my back while yawning mightily; the big muscles wrapped around my midsection move and flex, making the odd little bony stumps just behind my withers waggle. Careful of the thick collar that attaches to the flesh at back of my skull by a coil of fine cable, I twist my head to look at them. For a moment I see big fans of stiff, yet flexible... things... attached to long jointed limbs, then the memory fades and I am left with those short stumps, the ends bare of any fur. I wonder what they were for? I think, then shake my head and yawn again, tongue lolling.
A gentle breeze starts playing from the direction of the screen, bringing with it the scent of food and a faint hint of others like me. Staring at the screen, I reach up for the short hose that dangles from the ceiling, wrapping my lips around the soft teat at its tip. Absently, I drink deeply, my empty stomach rumbling after the night's sleep, but it's the smell of other ponies that brings the most comfort. Perhaps today is the day I'll finally meet them? Feeling hopeful, despite never yet being able to catch up with the herd somewhere ahead, I start forward at a steady ground-eating trot. The wall never gets any closer; as the floor tiles emerge from the gap in front of my muzzle, they vanish under the wall behind my tail.
Before long, a small pile of brown pellets appears in the gap, right in my path. Warm, but not yet breathing deeply, I stop and lower my head to eat. The taste is vaguely pleasant without actually being identifiable and it isn't long before I'm finished. Hunger nowhere near sated I trot on, waiting for the next few mouthfuls of food. The routine is familiar, but today I decide to make a real effort. When the next pile comes under the wall I ignore it, instead I wheel sharply and extend my gait, stretching into a canter towards the left side of the wedge-shaped room. As with when I trot towards the herd, those unknown Others, the wall gets no closer.
Over the pounding of my hooves I can hear a faint whine, a sound that grows louder as my canter accelerates into a gallop. I haven't tried this before -- there are always a few little periods of running, marked out by quiet chimes -- so I exert myself, galloping until my sides run with sweat and are flecked with foam. Heart pounding and excitement building, I stretch out my neck, the tip of my muzzle only a hair's-breadth from the wall, but then it recedes again. No! I must-- My strength starts to fade but I push on further, to the point where my legs tangle and I stumble.
There is a moment of awful clarity, of time stretching into infinity, as I trip. A seemingly endless period of flight, long enough that I can feel the bony stumps behind my shoulders move with some unknown reflex, then the floor comes up and strikes me across the head, shoulder and flank. The impact knocks the air from my lungs, but the floor itself actually subsided when I struck it. Stunned though I am, I can see that all the black tiles, previously separated from their neighbours by hair-fine cracks, have come apart. Gasping, I lie at the bottom of a shallow crater on what was previously a flat floor.
Heart hammering, I get shakily to my hooves, the world seeming to tilt and twitch even while I'm standing still. I shake my head to clear my senses but realise my mistake; it isn't me, it is the floor that is shifting. Fascinated, I watch the individual tiles gently move, lifting upwards until the floor is flat once more. One of the tiles is no longer a perfect square; when I fell, my horn must have gouged out some of the soft material, clipping off one of the corners. The chime sounds once more and I turn my nose into the breeze, limping into a ragged trot and heading towards the smell of ponies. Presently, more food arrives.
===
Exercise and time helps ease my aching leg -- the muscles are still tender where I struck the floor a few darks ago -- but I slow to a walk, then pause, one foreleg half raised. When did I fall over? Was it last dark, or the one before that? The time between the darks is monotonous, filled only with a regimen of exercise and food, with only occasional breaks for the real work the Masters want me to do. What it is, they won't tell me... in fact, after my initial training, I've not spoken to another living soul for as long as I can remember. I used to get lonely, spending countless kiloseconds huddled at the centre of this odd room, but then the taste of the food changed. I don't get so lonely anymore.
There it is again. This time I'm certain that I have not imagined it; one of the tiles has a small piece taken out of a corner. I pause, even though there is no food, and stare at it, trying to fathom what it means. Is this where I fell, all those darks ago? How long is impossible to say; time telescopes here, with the only measure the slow change in the Others, although that is scarcely an accurate guide. Still wondering, I decide to try an experiment. Bending my head, I jab the tip of my horn into the pliant material, making a small mark. Satisfied, I trot off, keeping my eyes on the ground.
It is a woefully short time before I see the mark again. It cannot be the same one, can it? I sink to my knees and run my muzzle over the mark to confirm what my eyes are telling me. Yes, this is the scar I've just made. I look over my shoulder, as if trying to see the real mark, the one that must be only a few strides back, but there is only the rear wall of the room. Slightly giddy, I stay on the floor. I'd always thought this place was a strange kind of protective covering that moved with me as I walked or trotted over this yielding surface, but that's not true. I am not moving; the floor is. As soon as the tiles vanish under the wall they somehow move to appear at my front, placing themselves under my hooves with such precision that it feels like I really am travelling. It is now obvious that I will never reach the distant herd; the idea drains all the strength from my limbs and I lie there until hunger finally forces me on.
===
Her pillow moved and light flared, stabbing painfully into eyes she'd half opened while still in the hinterlands of sleep. Spiral hissed with displeasure, then sighed when a soft muzzle worked its way down her neck, teeth gently nibbling at the junction of throat and shoulder. "Got to get up, Spiral," Trocar said, his mouth full of hair.
"Don't want to," Spiral murmured, then tensed at the idea of this betrayal and the pain it should have brought. There was nothing; she relaxed again, then slowly rolled over to look back at Trocar.
He smiled, yellow eyes fringed with blue fur twinkling in the early morning sunlight, then winced slightly in sympathy. "Come on, I've got a bit of time before I need to be at the hub hospital. Let me help you with somepony -- Plasma, perhaps?"
Spiral opened her mouth to reply, then her face froze for an instant in panic. Not ready, he'll-- She relaxed, keeping her tone light. "Thank you, but no. You'll have a full day's work when you get in; you've got to be fresh for the Masters, especially after you helped last evening."
His face fell, ears and wings drooping. "I'm on another late prison shift today, so it will be a long one," he said softly, "but these are friends and family... I hate--"
It was his turn to twitch, and Spiral leant forward to wrap her wings around her mate's neck. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. If you still have anything left when you get off shift, come and find me then." She rolled upright, gathering her hooves under her and standing with one flank pressed against Trocar. "Come on, off you go." He took one last opportunity to lay his head against hers, then walked out from under the shelter's canopy and sprang into the air. Spiral followed his path until he disappeared into the clouds, then made her way to the infirmary.
She could tell there was something different about the building the moment she stepped inside. The first thing she noticed was the sound. All the little whimpers ponies in fugue made, even when drugged into insensibility, were gone. A breath told her that the very air was different; partly the lack of sour-sweat smell, but mostly a change in attitude. There was always a depressed feel to the place, a pall of misery, of failure.
It had gone.
Spiral stood in the middle of the infirmary corridor and turned a slow circle, her hooves making tentative tapping noises on the fused stone floor. What has happened here? she thought, a sudden sinking feeling making her knees tremble. Switching to shadow sight, she poked her head into Redshift's stall and sagged against the door-frame. "No," Spiral moaned, the world starting to spin. "Lilac, what have you done?" Hoping that she'd been wrong, the mare stepped closer and sank to her belly next to the stallion, using her magic to carry out a detailed inspection.
There was no active magic in his head, no trace of the Blessing at all. Unable to quite believe what she was seeing, Spiral staggered back, jumping to the next stall and the next and the next. All of the ponies who she'd sedated to help them through a night of fugue were sleeping peacefully, with none of the twitches and little noises that might be expected.
At the base of every horn was a small dark spot, no bigger than an apple pip.
===
"What have you done? I told you not to try anything!"
Lilac awoke to the rough grip of magic about his head and a sudden hard shake that left him dazed. The voice was a harsh whisper, full of anger and fear. Struggling to focus, he stared up at the green mare's head, her ears fully back and her eyes wild.
"B-but I didn't experiment on myself!" he said, shrinking back from her anger. "What's wrong? I didn't hurt anypony."
"You've stripped the Blessing from half the ponies in the infirmary! What do you think is going to happen if Security comes back? I've already had to kill--" Spiral broke off, breathing hard, before continuing in more measured tones, each word clipped and precise, as if it was being released under great pressure. "Why do you think we went through all that with Packet?"
"It's not the same! Packet never went through the Maker's Test, but all these ponies have... and so have I. I never felt anything that hurt so much." Lilac shivered, the memory of that awful pain, triggered by only a frown from the police Master, derailing his thoughts. "But that’s the plan, isn't it? To free everypony and let them make their own choices -- I heard Fusion and Gravity talking about it." That's what they said, I'm sure of it! Lilac wracked his memory for details of that long and convoluted discussion. The youngster started to feel sick. "If I've done something wrong, I'm sorry, Spiral. I didn't mean any harm, it's just... I could feel them hurting, and I knew I could fix it." Ears drooping, he stared up at the mare.
Spiral closed her eyes and appeared to be muttering something under her breath, the words too faint and garbled to make out. She opened her eyes again and stared down at him for what seemed like a kilosecond, long enough that the silence became uncomfortable. Lilac opened his mouth to say something else, but the words wouldn't come; instead he waited, falling back on the hard-learned habit of keeping quiet when his Masters had been angry about some aspect of their research.
Finally, Spiral's features smoothed, her ears returning to a more relaxed position. "Probably for the best," she muttered, then reached in and lifted him out in a haze of green magic. "I don't suppose I could have resisted the urge to do something, either. Show me exactly what you did."
Slightly clumsily, Lilac copied the way Fusion had shared with him that first night, letting Spiral direct the memories. When complete, both ponies were lying together on the stone floor of stall eleven; Spiral still had her eyes closed and was doing something that was sweeping the infirmary building with magic. Lilac fidgeted, waiting for her to finish, recognising the arcane sensations of a detailed examination. Finally, she opened her eyes and met his nervous gaze, before nodding slowly.
"Your work was clean; I can find no complications," she said grudgingly, her expression stern, then her tone took on a distant, lecturing quality. "But you really should not have done that. Everything else aside, working on the thaumically active organs has a very real risk of causing severe damage, especially that close to the horn bed. Quite frankly, I'm surprised Fusion didn't maim Gravity when she did it that first time." Her expression changed, softening a little and she smiled. "Deadening the horn bed's peripheral nerves was a nice touch, although you didn't need to influence quite so large an area."
Tension bled away from Lilac and he released the breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Everything will be okay? I was sure I'd done it correctly -- nopony has been hurt?"
"Magically they will be fine, if anything you did a better job than Fusion did. My real fear is what happens next. I can keep all those ponies drugged for now..." Spiral tailed off, then sighed again. "Nothing for it, we'll just have to see what happens." She picked him up again, starting to carefully exercise his back legs; getting the hint, Lilac windmilled his forelegs and wings, wincing as the cramped muscles protested.
"Take it easy," Spiral said, watching him critically. "Lilac, I think we need to set some rules. I thought this would be obvious, but I guess you have not had anything like the upbringing of a normal pony."
"Okay, Spiral," Lilac said, wishing he could look away from the mare's penetrating stare.
"First, do not perform magic on anypony without that pony's agree--"
"But that's what a veterinarian does!"
Spiral closed her eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh. "Yes, Lilac... and when you have two gigaseconds of experience in medicine, you can do the same. Use some judgement, my little pony. If you are doing it to save a life, fair enough. If not, then you need to be very sure that what you want to do is the right thing."
Lilac nodded dumbly, stretching his left wing out to its full extension, clipped feathers fanned. "I underst--"
The green mare flicked her own wings, cutting him off. "Second, you will do nothing to draw attention to yourself or us. If another pony finds you, we are all in big trouble." One big, green primary feather jabbed him on the end of the muzzle, making it twitch. "Security has killed ponies just because they might have lost their Blessings." The feather withdrew. "Now you may say it."
"I understand, Spiral. I-I didn't think about what it might mean for the future." Lilac's ears drooped. "Will everything be okay?"
"I think we can fix it. If nothing else, there are a bunch of ponies here who will want to hug you when they wake up. Come on, I'll help you use the dispose-all, then I need to start work."
There's precious little need for that, Lilac thought. His empty stomach had long since stopped sending urgent messages of hunger to his brain; instead there was only a nagging hollow feeling. The youngster nodded, trying to hide his embarrassment at being assisted to the toilet like a newborn foal.
Spiral watched him with defocused eyes, mind obviously on her magic. What's she looking at? Lilac thought, examining the spell as a way to take his mind off the faintly humiliating process. Immaterial tendrils of power moved through his body, concentrating into a knot of spellstuff in his aortic arch. The taste of the magic was familiar, something akin to the analysis machines his Masters had used on him.
"A little ketosis, but nothing too bad," Spiral said absently, "nothing inconsistent with a few days of fasting. We'll get you fixed before any of the secondary metabolic problems become serious." Her eyes refocused on his face and she smiled. "This is the beauty of me training you; if you are a quick study you'll get to do all the work yourself... are you alright with that?" Her smile faded, replaced with an expression of concern.
Lilac's mouth twitched into a brief grin of his own. "I've had plenty of practice," he said, "it'll be nice to eat something solid again."
"I'll bet." The awkward process over with, Spiral placed him back in his refuge with a fresh supply of water, then moved around to the front of the infirmary to start the slow process of healing the many ponies under her charge.
===
Fusion awoke to something sharp jabbing her in the ribs. Momentarily confused, she looked uncomprehendingly around the small room, the perfectly smooth wooden walls reflecting pastel greens and pinks from some diffuse source. The something moved again, digging into the soft skin under one foreleg and jolting her to complete wakefulness. Careful application of magic lifted Gravity's head, shifting the sharp tip of her horn away from the white mare's flank.
Rubbing the sore spot with one wing elbow, Fusion stood up, lowering Gravity back down on to the bed of pine boughs. The other mare didn't wake, and Fusion poked her muzzle through the improvised barricade covering the entrance and inhaled deeply. Cold forest air tickled her nostrils, the sharp scent of evergreens -- so different from the broad-leafed orchards around the corral -- clearing the last remnants of haze from her mind. It was still dark under the trees, but she could feel the sun fast approaching the limb of the world. "So much to do, so little time," she muttered, flicking an ear in greeting when Gravity stepped into the opening beside her.
"What do you want to do first?" the mare said, her words distorted by a yawn.
I want you to talk to me, Fusion thought. The events of the night -- really only a score of kiloseconds ago -- flooded back and she lowered her head, leaning against Gravity for support.
"Packet will be fine, you heard Spiral," Gravity murmured, touching the white mare's cheek with the tip of her muzzle.
Fusion shivered. "How many more are going to react like him? I'd hoped that if he would have just listened..."
Gravity rested her head against Fusion's. "We couldn't keep him prisoner, and the alternative was far worse. Hard choices, remember?"
"I'm beginning to understand how hard..." Fusion tailed off and turned to look at her sister. Gravity twitched, her ears lowering at the scrutiny. "What aren't you showing me, Grav? What happened in the tunnels?" Gravity's face went blank and she took a step back. Something akin to panic flashed through Fusion and she opened her mouth to speak, but Gravity had already turned away, pushing through the barricade and out into the cleared area. "Please?" she said, her voice thin and wavering in the still air.
The blue mare froze, so still that she even stopped breathing, then sighed and let her wings droop. "How many have I killed, Fusion? Not counting the ones I crushed under a thousand tonnes of rock, or burned in their vehicles? I’m starting to accept that what I did was necessary… but I laughed when the first tank blew." Gravity wheeled to face Fusion and advanced on the mare, her voice rising and moisture glittering in her eyes. "How many died when I threw metal rods through their guts or smashed their heads like rotten apples? How many?" Ears flat back, Gravity halted in front of Fusion, glaring at the white mare. “And you know the worst thing? The only one I really care about was Parapet, and I killed her by accident.”
Fusion swallowed hard, resisting the urge to step back. Parapet? That's not a gryphon name, who… oh. Five ponies were with Security at the start and only four left. Instead, she stepped forwards and wrapped her wings around Gravity, feeling the tense muscles through the soft fur. The other mare started to pull back, then froze like a statue in her embrace. "One is too many," Fusion murmured. "I’m sorry I couldn’t be there for you, but you’re not alone anymore." Gravity’s iron control finally faltered and she sagged, leaning into Fusion.
"Is this what it was like for you, after we left the Institute that first time?" Gravity said at last, her voice rough and holding a note of pleading. "I remember what happened when we were resting on that cloud..."
Tell me I'm not a monster... tell me I'm not going mad. Fusion nodded, then buried her muzzle in Gravity's mane. "I knew you were having trouble with your wing, so I called a halt -- I wanted to talk to you, tell you everything... but I couldn't.” The mare shivered, then squeezed her eyes tight shut. “I knew the thing in your head would torture you until you gave me up. I had to lie... I had to hurt... had to experiment on ponies to find out how it worked.”
Voice becoming distant, Fusion opened her eyes and stared through the wisps of Gravity’s mane, trying to follow the little lights that swam in its unaccountable depths. “There were so many ponies in that aid station when I got out -- how many never made it out at all? My fault; should have found another way."
"I thought you said the Maker-thing got inside your head and gave you the magic to do that?"
"It did, but I wanted it. At that moment I wanted to hurt them, hurt them so they couldn't hurt anypony else. I deliberately picked the spell and let the power build, I just didn't understand how much." Fusion felt tears well up in her own eyes, but didn't stop talking. "There was a pony doing something in the accelerator tunnel, even while the thing was running; the radiation--" Fusion broke off, breathing fast, then took a deep breath. "Was he trapped in the tunnel? The whole place flooded with nitrogen when the superconductors let go, I'll-I'll never know what happened to him."
"I didn't know," Gravity said quietly, pulling her head back so she could look Fusion in the eye. "I feel so selfish--"
"No! Don't you ever say that, don't you ever think that!" Fusion said, slamming one forehoof down hard enough to make the wooden floor creak alarmingly. "I'm not telling you this to belittle your pain, but so that you know you are not alone... you are not some kind of special monster, an evil thing fit only for causing destruction and suffering."
"Spiral said the same things, said you would understand, but I didn't want to add to your burden. Done enough damage already." Gravity broke eye contact, turning her head away.
"Any debt you had, you've repaid in full. When it really mattered you came through, making the choices I failed to make in time." Fusion bent forward, nudging Gravity's head around with the end of one wing. "Really," she said, eyes searching the blue mare's face for any sign of comprehension, "without you I would be dead twice over by now. I only hope I can be as strong for you some day."
Gravity's lips curved into a small, twisted smile. "Sounds strange when you put it that way."
"A little, I guess... Gravity, in the beam chamber we promised each other that we'd share everything. I think Spiral knows more about what happened to you than I do." Letting the veterinarian have access to both their memories had been essential to helping her to understand, but it had been a one way process; all Fusion could feel were some of the emotions coming back from Spiral. "Show me what you've been through, Gravity. Please?"
Conflicting emotions washed over the other mare's face, then she nodded slowly. "I did say that, didn't I? The full story, from both of us."
"Do you want me to start at the beginning?" At Gravity's nod, Fusion formed the sharing pattern and built a chamber full of hulking machines, at the centre of which stood a white coated, pink haired pony, pinned by a ring of high-intensity spotlights. "Academician Vanca had been training me for several megaseconds before she decided I was ready for the first real experiment..."
As the kiloseconds progressed, Fusion stepped through her story, leaving nothing out and laying herself bare to Gravity's mind. In time, hesitantly at first, then with greater confidence when she realised that Fusion wasn't judging her for what she'd done, Gravity did the same.
===
The sun was half way towards the zenith when the mares finally finished sharing their experiences. The conversation had changed from a raw emotional release to a more measured analysis some time after the eighth kilosecond. They were walking through a memory of the transit hub, the high-ceilinged chamber frozen like a lightning-lit forest, looking up at an armoured vehicle with a heavy metal shaft the length of a pony protruding from vents on the mid-deck. The view as a whole was not nearly so complete; large segments of the cavernous chamber were shot through with patches of neutral grey where objects were blocked from Gravity's sight. The mare had filled them with what she thought was there, but removed the colour to show it was all guesswork.
"So when you teleported in... could you feel the antimagic field around this thing? You were very close," Fusion said, floating in the air next to an image of a hovering Gravity as if she was standing on solid ground. The mare was studying the stricken airtank with interest, peering into the wide opening of the damaged main laser mirror.
Not sure what you expect to see in there, Gravity thought, sighing inside. As much as it had been a relief to finally show Fusion everything, the other mare's constant theorising on scant data was starting to become tiresome. "No, not a thing. I can only assume the jump would fail if the destination is interdicted. You'd have to try it -- not in person, obviously."
"So much to learn," Fusion muttered to herself, "there's no time. The fields the soldiers use are nothing like the one created by that thaumic suppression vehicle of theirs... we've both tried to get through the personal fields, and it is possible. Perhaps there's a way to--"
"You'd have to try it," Gravity said loudly, "there's no way to tell. Listen, I don't think we're going to get any more out of this -- perhaps we should start on the more practical side of things? We must to due to check in on Spiral and Lilac by now."
Fusion nodded and Gravity dismantled the sharing environment, blinking in the sunlight streaming in through a gap in the tree canopy. Rolling away from her sister, Gravity got to her hooves and shook the leaf litter from her fur, stretching each wing to work some life back into muscles stiff from too little movement.
"I'll contact them," Fusion said, her eyes closing and a faint glow kindling around her horn.
We never did have a chance to test this properly; it should work, but the distance... Half of Gravity wanted the spell to fail; any excuse to visit in person and see with her own eyes what was going on. She shifted her weight from hoof to hoof, nearly dancing on the spot with impatience. Finally the taste of Fusion's magic changed, subtle feedback altering the pattern as the distant enchanted crystal responded to her touch.
A shiver of fear stole down Gravity's spine when Fusion's eyes flashed open again and the mare flinched as if struck. No, please no, don't let-- The blue mare didn't finish the thought, just forced her way into Fusion's link to Spiral and joined the sharing.
===
# The pony Random Walk DP2114 and the other foals from corral twenty-seven have been released from Security custody. Due to the unusual level of initiative shown by the ponies, they are receiving special care and training at the Naraka Institute for Biology. DP2114 will be returned to corral twenty-seven when this is complete. #
The message arrived with a standard notification chime, as if it was one of any number of other routine orders she'd received over the gigaseconds of her life. Spiral froze, half way along the path from stall eleven to the rest of the infirmary, one hoof off the ground and he mouth open in shock. Everypony with a foal at the training centre must have received one of these... Tears welled up in the mare's eyes and she leaned heavily against the wall. It's taken you this long to decide something so obvious as the innocence of foals.
That's good, isn't it? Lilac thought.
Spiral jerked slightly, then relaxed, drying her eyes on her forelegs. For a moment I'd forgotten... I suppose it is. They're no longer being held at the whim of that mad Agent, but the waiting sent more than a dozen ponies into fugue, with all that entails. She nodded meaningfully, even though the youngster was still hidden in the storage compartment.
I saw Fusion's memories of the Security Hub... won't it be much easier to rescue them from this Naraka place?
Yes, I'd expect so. Spiral started to walk again, trying to suppress the feeling of dread that was fighting with her relief. The only problem is that I know what Naraka is... it's the main Eugenics Board facility for this sector. There was a sense of confusion from the stallion, and Spiral sighed. It reduces the immediate pressure to act, but... being the subject of research is not a good thing, Lilac.
===
Spiral let Lilac sit in the back of her mind as she worked, keeping up a running commentary and switching between normal and shadow sight as the situation demanded. The first few kiloseconds were occupied by detailed scans of everypony present, to make sure nopony's condition had worsened overnight -- the sensors under the floor of each stall would alert her of any drastic changes, but anything more subtle required the personal touch.
Moving from stall to stall with her medical kit panniers, Spiral topped up the pain medication of those that needed it. Many of her patients were being kept in blissful sleep in an attempt to reduce the risk of fugue, always more of a problem for the pony unable to work and having too much time to think. This next one is particularly unfortunate, she thought to Lilac, nosing open the door to stall seven.
The smell of burnt fur and feathers, though faint, was pervasive and only kept under control by the negative pressure air handling system designed to minimise pheromonal cues disturbing adjacent patients. Lilac seemed to waver slightly in her head, the second-paw odour making him lose concentration. It only lasted a moment, though, and Spiral nodded to herself as the youngster calmed his emotions. That's good, Lilac. If you are to really develop your medical skills you will need to block out your natural instincts and maintain focus.
What happened? he thought.
This is Laminate; his duties included controlling a molecular beam epitaxy unit. It's delicate work, by all accounts, while also requiring significant levels of power. She looked down at the pony, tracing the terrible burns in his shoulder and flank. He swore he was okay and, like a fool, I believed him. He lost control during a high energy phase and this is the result. She pulled a bottle from her panniers and sprayed a gentle mist over both wounds.
One of a family of drugs similar to trauma spray; it will prevent the damaged muscle from scarring before I can complete his treatment, she thought absently. The medication was returned to her panniers, a curl of magic brushing the small crystal tucked between two of the straps. Still no sign of life; where are you, Fusion? A trace of guilt filtered back from Lilac and she shook her head. Sorry. This is the most important lesson, Lilac. Ponies will lie to you when they think you might keep them away from their work.
So take nothing on trust?
Absolutely not. Now, you've obviously had some experience with healing muscular injuries, and I know you can work at some range. Another little pulse of guilt and Spiral smiled gently. Do you want to help me with Lam?
Yes, please!
Spiral's grin widened at his enthusiasm. Excellent. It's not quite the same as what you are used to; Laminate has actually lost muscle mass, so it's not just a matter of rejoining the fibres. What you have to do is detach the still living tissue and move it to reshape the muscle; this will make sure that, as he recovers, he will be able to rebuild his strength normally... and not be left misshapen. The pattern is a derivative of the one you've already used on yourself, so if you follow along...
The green mare's thoughts tailed off as her magic started to make living muscle cells in Laminate's shoulder move to new locations. Worms of green light were joined by those of a pale purple, at first hesitantly and then with growing confidence, until the purple danced at the same speed as the green.
Patient followed patient and, by the time the sun was only halfway towards the zenith, Lilac was already starting to feel the strain. He'd learnt more in the last ten kiloseconds than in all of the medic courses his old Masters had put him through. Physically exhausted despite not having moved a muscle, he gamely tried to keep up with Spiral. Finally the mare relented, allowing him to take a purely observational role as she worked her way through the ponies under her care, while still keeping up a constant stream of information, tips and shortcuts hard learned over her long life.
Thoughts turning inwards towards his own injuries, Lilac could already see what he'd need to do to repair his gut; in a very real sense it was easier than skeletal muscle, as there was no requirement to get the shapes exactly right. In fact, there is very little actually missing, all I need to do is reattach each fused end and-- Something glittered at the edge of his shadow sight, a new presence rapidly blooming up out of the darkness to swirl through the infirmary. The taste of the magic was familiar, and Spiral stopped her own medical manipulations to tickle the disembodied pattern with her power.
===
The distant crystal was a tiny point of light that expanded rapidly as she reached for it. The fact that this was possible at all still delighted her; despite their quick test from the night before, long range clairvoyance wasn't something she'd really trained for. The shapes of the infirmary formed themselves from mist, quickly becoming solid and gaining their familiar pale colours. Her point of view was somewhere close to a plane of green fuzz that stretched up and away to a sharp ridge of long, white fibres.
Fusion applied a gentle pressure and moved her locus higher up, away from the middle of Spiral's back. The other mare was deep in the middle of some magical operation, little points of light creeping their way over the still body of a tan stallion. Everything appeared to be normal; no screams or galloping hooves, no roar of jet engines or hammer of gunfire.
Fusion reached out to the mare, enfolding the pony with her sharing. The connection wavered, then became firm, the tell-tale trickle of emotion from the Spiral filtering into Fusion's mind. It was strange; an odd mixture of satisfaction and a rapidly rising tension. Behind her, obviously linked through their own sharing, was Lilac. Hello, Spiral. How is--
Fusion, Lilac has removed the Blessing from fourteen ponies.
Spiral's words ran through her like an electric shock and she felt her distant body twitch. Suddenly, Gravity was there, a hard presence breaking into the link even without the normal arcane invitation. Lilac's emotions spiked, a sudden surge of fear and guilt, in time with her own panic. Fusion sent her immaterial eye roving through the infirmary, past the rows of drugged ponies and out to look at the corral. Everything looked normal; no sign of Security or any suspicious behaviour on the part of the ponies not on shift. Fusion's panic flipped to a sudden anger, the gentle swirl of her projected mind becoming all edges and spines. Why would you do such a thing?! After all I went through to keep us a secret, you go and--
I couldn't just--
Of course you could! Do you know what's waiting for anypony they even suspect of being in contact with-- This time it was Gravity who cut her off, throwing up an image of a young stallion cowering in some small storage space. Fusion paused to get her frantic breathing under control, tasting her sister's own emotions -- not anger, like her own, but curiosity blended with a touch of admiration. Should have known you'd approve of this insanity! Fusion thought bitterly, shielding this as best she could from the others.
Why those ponies, Lilac? Gravity thought, her own mental voice calm. What made you do it?
They were undergoing the Maker's Test.
Ah, that makes perfect sense.
Fusion opened her eye and glared at Gravity "It does? Perhaps you could explain it to me, then?" she said out loud, coupled to the thoughts in the sharing. The fury had gone, replaced with cold sarcasm.
You've never experienced the Test, have you? Fusion didn't reply, so Gravity continued. I have, and so has Lilac, I think. It hurts, Fusion, hurts so bad that you just want to die.
It was after I was shot, I-I can't really remember too much, but I think it was worse than the laser. All over, inside and out... I-- The image of Lilac in his hiding place seemed to shrink, clipped wings coming up to cover his head. All those other ponies... I just couldn't do nothing. I'm sorry, I thought that the plan was to remove the Blessing from everypony...
It is, Lilac, it is. Perhaps not quite so... unplanned, though. Gravity sounded distant, the distracted tone of a mind thinking of other things. Spiral? How many of those ponies would have died?
It varies with the age of the individual and their condition... I could keep them alive with drugs and intravenous fluids as long as I'm allowed to, but that won't be forever. If a pony doesn't pull out of fugue within the first couple of kiloseconds by themselves, it normally doesn't end well. This lot... Spiral was silent for a long time, her magic flicking over the ponies Lilac had freed. That said, half were only here because of low level symptoms -- those should have recovered by themselves. I'd have euthanized a quarter within a few days. The rest... it's hard to tell.
Fusion's anger drained away at the youngster's obvious distress and Spiral's blunt admission of the ponies' likely fate. It was replaced with a deep weariness and she closed her eye in resignation, letting her muzzle rest on the pine needles that carpeted the forest floor. I didn't realise it was that bad, she thought. That puts a different spin on the matter. Lilac, you did the right thing and I'm sorry for shouting at you.
Fusion? I've been thinking about this. Back when you freed me, I had an idea that I'd never have to euthanize another injured pony deemed not economic to help, that you could provide them sanctuary. Don't you think this could be an opportunity, rather than another problem?
Back at their distant wilderness hiding place, Fusion opened her eye in shock, then jerked her head around to stare at Gravity. The blue mare was grinning openly, her eyes twinkling with sudden delight. Fusion slowly nodded back at her, then focused her attention at Spiral. I think you might have something there. How would you do it?
The corral has been subjected to levels of stress that are unheard of -- I'll probably see more ponies with fugue in the coming days, as individuals work through their emotions; most will come to terms with it, but there are always a few who get trapped in a downward trajectory. I can fake the deaths of all these ponies, but I'll need something to replace them with.
Like what? Fusion thought, already building a list of everything they'd need for another fourteen ponies. Shelter, food, something to hold the ones they couldn't trust... That last point stuck in her mind -- along with an immediate, horrible solution that would leave them alive, yet unable to cause any problems.
Anything organic, I suppose, but it really should be mammalian to stand a chance of passing a chemical analysis... they've never asked for bodies before, but they might this time. Best if I'm super efficient with the disposal, I think. Spiral paused, her tone shifting to one of sadness. The presence of Slip should help.
There's cattle from the farms, Fusion thought, tentatively, but I imagine they are all logged.
We'll sort something out, Gravity thought, nudging Fusion with one hoof back in the real world. When do you want to do it? The white mare rolled her eye in her sister's direction and Gravity mouthed the words: "I know just the place."
Today, it should be today. I won't do all of them at once, but you should be ready for half of them. The silence lengthened, then Spiral sighed. I'm not looking forward to telling all those friends and family members.
It will only be for a short while, Gravity thought. When the time comes we'll have to be quick. The Ma-- Dogs won't give us time to be careful, not now. Do what you have to do; we'll call again at dusk. If... if things ever go badly wrong, destroy the clairvoyance anchor.
Fusion found herself nodding, even though her assent would not translate through this crude sharing. Good idea, Grav. Spiral, we might not be able to watch you all the time, but loss of the crystal will be obvious. Just make sure you really mean it, okay? We'll assume your life is in danger.
There was a pause, Spiral's presence seeming to waver slightly. When her mental voice came back, it was subdued. Understood. There's one more thing, but I'm not sure if it's good news or bad. I've just received a message on my communicator; Random and all her foals have been transferred from that Security place.
The mare's tone sounded tense, and Fusion felt her body twitch back in the real world. Do you know where they've gone? Fear made her stomach clench and her wings flick in agitation.
Naraka. That's the big Eugenics Board place, about four kiloseconds flight time to the south of the corral. The message was, and I quote: 'Due to the unusual level of initiative shown by the ponies, they are receiving special care and training at the Naraka Institute for Biology.'
I know of it. Fusion's ears flattened, working through the implications. I know that I and every other foal in this sector was conceived there. Why there? What else goes on at that place?
I'm under orders not to discuss anything the Board does with anypony except for another medic, at least I was. Spiral's mental voice trembled slightly when she continued. A certain amount of prenatal screening and treatment, training of those ponies who will become veterinarians, and so on... but there is a big section that is off limits to visiting ponies.
Is it similar to what my Masters were doing? Lilac thought, in a faintly wistful tone that made Fusion's fur stand on end.
I really don't know, but there were captive herds -- ponies and gryphons -- that we were not allowed to approach. There's only so much you can do with computer models and theories.
I remember that pregnant mare from the Institute, the one with the shaved belly, Gravity thought, anger leaking in from her part of the sharing. I wish I could have saved her, too.
If that's where our foals are, then that's where we shall go... if we can, we'll get everypony out, Fusion thought, there's no way I'm going to leave anypony in a place like that. Spiral, show me everything you remember about Naraka.
The mares talked, studying Spiral's slightly fuzzy memories of the Eugenics Board site, until it was time for the veterinarian to get back to her duties. More planning followed, until Gravity finally prodded Fusion into motion, leading her sister out of the shelter and deep into the mountains.
===
"There... do you see them?" Gravity breathed the words so quietly that Fusion could barely hear them.
Fusion had followed Gravity to this spot, flying for a two kiloseconds before her sister had signalled that they should land. Now the pair stood side by side, looking out through a gap in the dense pine canopy, staring down at a small clearing on the valley floor. The white mare squinted in the low sun, trying to see what it was that Gravity had found.
About a kilolength away was a small band of brown shapes nosing through the tall vegetation on the border of the river. Not ponies, not even similar, really. About her size, but without wings, and with spindly, bifurcated horns that jutted out from two places on the tops of their heads. All were an even grey-brown, with pale undersides and large, sensitive-looking muzzles. Some were much smaller; the herd had a collection of... Are those foals? Is that the right word? Fusion started to get a sinking feeling as she understood Gravity's intentions.
"I found them while scouting the area, waiting for you to return," Gravity said, still whispering. "They have incredible hearing; when I first encountered them they all scattered... I'm kind of surprised that I managed to find them again. I guess this is the best grazing for kilolengths, around this slow patch of water." She turned to Fusion and smiled sadly. "I think they are a kind of deer." She made an image of one from the withers up, expanding its head so Fusion could get a good look.
"I suppose I should have guessed this would be the only way." Fusion's ears drooped and she stared at the rotating image. At this larger-than-life magnification, the head was obviously small and sleek, with nothing like the bulging braincase of a pony or a gryphon. The image's jaws champed rhythmically, a long plant stem disappearing into its muzzle. Big muscles and tendons flexed in the cheeks and around the top of the head, further highlighting the lack of space for a sophont's brain. "This is the only herd you've found?"
"So far. I'm sure there are others, out there in the valleys."
So many from a single herd; this could be a disaster for them. Fewer eyes to look for danger meant more chance of being picked off. "We'll have to avoid taking the mothers with fo-- ...fawns." Fusion stumbled over the word, then shook her head. This is hardly a difficult choice, considering everything else that's happened. "How do you want to do it?"
Gravity pulled a long block of wood from one pannier, then split it in half to reveal two triangular slivers of some dark grey material, passing one of them to Fusion. It was quite weighty for its size; about half the length of her foreleg and as wide as her hoof at the base of the triangle, tapering to a fine point. Fusion moved it carefully, suddenly afraid of the thing. Its edges gleamed wetly, invisibly fine and perfect, and looked sharp enough to cut her even at this distance. Gravity held hers up, levelled like a spear, then made it flick forwards, invisibly fast. About a hundred paces away, a sturdy branch abruptly fell off a tree. The weapon was back almost before Fusion realised it was gone, hovering in front of its mistress' face and rotating slowly so she could inspect it.
"It's cut from one of the larger plates on a gryphon's barding... some kind of metal-ceramic-fullerene composite, I think. It must have a tungsten matrix; it's too heavy for anything else."
Fusion eyed Gravity's weapon and shivered slightly. Even after slicing through a respectable branch, there was little more than tree sap on the surface; the edge still looked as sharp as when the other mare had cut it with a force field. "Why like this?"
Gravity wouldn't meet her gaze. "You need to practice, to know what it is like to end a life. Seeing it through my eyes doesn't really mean anything, and I helped you with Packet. It will also be quicker than trying to use a direct spell effect against a magically defended target." The mare gazed fixedly at the ground, making random patterns in the dirt with a forehoof. "Using a physical weapon means you can reach the Dog inside with one strike... I know these deer are just flesh and blood, and you could use anything to kill them, but this the best I can do. They won't feel it if you do it right."
"I have had to do a few things, Gravity," Fusion said, "you don't need to be worried about me. You keep it; I was never as skilled as you at throwing things." She gently laid the over-sized knife on the leaf-litter, using a fallen branch to keep the edges off the ground.
"Just trying to help," the mare mumbled, "don't want you to go through what I did without preparation."
Fusion put the deer out of her mind and stepped close to nuzzle her sister. "I've been thinking about this for what seems like forever..." she whispered, her mouth close enough to Gravity's ear to make it twitch. "I decided that, if I had to, I could do whatever it takes to win. I don't want to do this, but we have little choice. In the end, this is going to be one of the easier decisions I'm going to have to make." You'd like to think that, wouldn't you, a little treasonous voice said, before Fusion pushed it away. What choice do I have? Gravity will fall apart if she has to do everything.
The pattern built in her mind; a simple spell, one normally designed to heat grain and render it more digestible, but more than robust enough to take all the power she could push through it. As a foal, back during her Pathfinding lessons and a little before her Blessing, she'd experimented with her magic to see the limits of her young strength. This was encouraged by her teachers; there was that one memorable day when Backdraft had taken the class down to the training centre and... She'd come back home with more than a few patches of singed fur, and a smile that hadn't gone away for a whole day.
Fusion turned her head to look at the deer and pushed. Her horn flashed, a brief surge of white-gold, and a pinpoint of white light materialised amid the herd and ran a brief zigzag path from one animal to the next. The motion was too fast to really resolve with the naked eye, and was only visible by the afterimages it left on the retina. The herd scattered, then a few seconds later there was a crackling roar of sound, like that of a lightning strike.
Breathing heavily, not from the exertion but from the shocking ease of the action, Fusion killed the spell and stared down at the results. This is but a sample of what will happen next, she thought, ears drooping. Surely the Dogs will see sense and we can talk as equals? Suddenly desperately afraid of what was coming, the mare shook her head, trying to clear her mind of a much larger landscape rent with craters and dark gashes, above which towered plumes of fire and smoke. Is there anything I can do to stop this from happening? Transfixed by this vision, Fusion jumped when Gravity leaned against her.
"You'll only be able to hit one protected target, I think... but I'm sorry I doubted you," the blue mare said, gazing at the distant clearing, "come on, let's get these somewhere safe... we still need to sort out how we're going to house all our guests before we talk to Spiral again." Gravity stepped away, then flicked open her wings and glided into the valley.
Fusion watched her go, rooted to the spot by what she imagined she'd find, then forced herself into motion, her eyes fixed on Gravity's receding rump.
Down amid the water, seven deer lay unmoving, thin plumes of smoke rising from their heads.
Normally I can think of wittier titles, but my muse has slipped her halter and is galloping off while laughing at me.
4242105 No complaints here!
First chapter I've had to wait for; certainly worth it!
New chapter!
It's nothing to the kind of day she's about to have.
Woah... but I don't remember, did this story establish a definite lifespan for these ponies? Considering they're all magically engineered alicorns, if they do age, they'll probably live very long.
Ah yes, that's a common problem when cuddling an alicorn or a unicorn.
Well worth the wait.
YES! NEW CHAPTER TIME!
Okay starting off with the 'Five' thing.. and yeah moved the things from the first few chapters here it looks like. Still rather "What the hell's going on." about it.
Amputated wings, and some cable going into their neck? What the bucking hell are they doing to him?
Hey reading right after being posted I also get to do initial typo patrol too. Italics fail in the first sentence there. If it's supposed to be more direct, like him talking, or thinking the words themselves, then just feels odd.
Okay reading on it's him thinking the words themselves, but why would he be doing that, when he's been like this for so long, he would have already been through that thought train plenty of times?
Okay so still has his horn, but doesn't seem to use it for magic... what the hell is going on?
So this is something the Masters are doing, and they are controlling his feelings or thoughts through various drugs in his food... but, even for their normal sick, twisted little mad science tortures, this is just... What!?
Okay, this whole 'Five' part is, sad, and adding to the already well established "Dogs are utter heartless bastards that need to be ended NOW!" theme. But even for that... what!? Just, more then at it. Oh well sure we'll get and answer about that later.
Even something as minor as half jokingly "Don't wanna get up yet." sets off The Blessing? Yeah.... once more have to say it, Fuck you Dogs!
Well, Spiral up and starting with her so, going to be interesting seeing her reaction to Lilac's little bit of 'mercy'.
Not ready he'll what? Won't be able to tell there's no blessing, since as far as she knows Packet is the only pony there without one. She said after her initial treatment nopony could tell that his injuries were anything other then what she claimed them to be. Or was it simply fear of him finding out about Lilac being there somehow? I get the bigger picture is because if he was there he'd find out immediately about all their Blessings being removed, but what about him coming there that morning has her so panicked? I'm a bit puzzled.
Prison shift? Okay no such thing as a pony prison, anypony that would need to be sent to one would just be murdered. And have a hard time seeing these assholes caring enough even about their own people to spend any real amount of resources on tending to prisoners. Though not outside the realm of possibility, but wouldn't the prison have it's own dedicated healing pony if that was the case? And once more, just all the tiny little ways the Blessing is horrible, somepony needs to be cataloging all the little things they deal with everyday and ignore how horrible they are. Get a list so big nopony can ignore it.
Okay, so she's fine with him coming in and helping, but only later? Again why did she panic at his suggestion?
Well that didn't take long for her to figure out. Now to see what she does with it.
Yup and instantly knows what's wonrg and who to blame, but still makes sure of the facts before committing to the idea fully. Again love how not-idiotic everypony is. Except when it comes to the Blessing, but that is completely believable why.
Heh, oh thsi is going to be interesting. His motives WERE good but, well. "The portal to hell is opened with the incantation of good intentions."
If they come back, you would have been fucked anyway. So that's really not an issue, this would just make it worse. but the bigger issue is that this makes it more likely they will be back.
Good reasoning here, though he still fails to grasp just how complex things are.
Yes, but slowly, carefully, building their forces with ponies they cn trust first, not just going around freeing everypony. At least not till the war begins in full force.
Yes, that was all he was really thinking about, ponies were in pain, and he wanted to help them not be in pain. The other issues.. just never occurred to him, but it's done and now to find out how they plan to deal with this. Keep them sedated at least another day and get Gravity and Fusion's help?
Okay, did not see THAT reaction comming, though, it does make sense. She's a medical pony, just like lilac seems set to be. All about aiding ponies, ending their suffering, making them better. And now free of the Blessing, able to do what she really wants to, to heal and help as she fits, and not murdere innocent ponies simply for being to weak or wounded to be worth fixing. Yeah I could see her being driven to this. Hell even Fusion did something close the first time with Redshift, tried to remove his Blessing to spare him some suffering. No thought to how that might come back to bite her. Only stopped from it by not yet understanding the right way to do it.
Huh, so actually likely and Fusion just got lucky, or just her being overly worried? knowing how bad something like that ould go and so more worried then she should be about something going wrong?
Not yet, and not by what you did directly. But having ten new ponies all without their Blessing, and in ways that will seem quite odd, thjat's going to cause a LOT of problems and likely will get someponies hurt.
And once more CALLED IT! Kind of love this about the story, I can predict a good deal of what is likely to happen, not becuase of it being simple, or badly done, or boring.. any of that. but simply becuase the characters tend to do what makes sense. So just work out what that is, and good odds it's what the characters will be doing. With a few twists here and there, especially when they get emotional *glares at Gravity*
But alright, she can keep them drugged for another day or so at least, and hope nopony else realizes that they should still be whimpering and twitching and suffering in their sleep. Though given few others likely spend a lot of time with them to know that, unlikely. Except for Trocar of course, so NOW her panic at needing to keep him away is justified.
No, it isn't. They do it with either the pony wanting to be healed, or in no state to be able to give consent, and so the
vetdoctor (while they are changing the language to make the 'Masters' Dogs, maybe they should change that too.) does what they have to to save their life. Cuase odds are, nopony is going to WANT to die that badly, other then ones with some problems that they need help with. Not altering things just to make what you feel are improvements.Okay, see surprise, not the exact route I would go, but kind of close.
Yeah this is going to be rough, but.. it MIGHT work out, but that would require them having time. Time to talk these ponies around, likely one by one. Given the pain they were saved from, they might be amiable, but who knows. Either way going to need Fusion and Gravity here for back up. Worst case Spiral could likely claim that at least some of them went do far down with Fugue that they died, or had to be put down. Some, all ten would be rather suspicious.
Likely start with redshift, he'd been suffering form it the worst and the longest, and it's because of what the Dogs did to his kids. So the most likely to join them, and also he already nearly died once from it.. as far as they know... so having a relapse and actually dying wouldn't be to hard to pass off.
But ummm, those ponies are only sleeping now Spiral, shouldn't you be like, pumping them full of enough sedatives to take down a hydra to make sure they don't wake up and realize what's going on?
Hey found a legit typo! A knot or knots and forgot an 'of'
Definitely a good thing given how much damage he's taken and how much work he'd need. Unlike other ponies she doesn't have to actually do all the work, just teach him how to do it.
YAY! Back to best pony! Also... damn you, at this point you don't even have to TRY to get me freaked out. The jabbing, yeah figured that was just Gravity, but then "small room" and started "wait, what? Where? How?"
Also as much as I'm glad to be back to Fusion, given there's really nothing new to see back at the Corral since they have a plan. And as much as one of the stories biggest issues is taking it's time a little to much... I still almsot wish we could just stay with Spiral and Lilac and see them treating the ponies. Sure it wouldn't do much to advance the main plot, but would just be amazing to see that in action, see her healing them, teaching Lilac how it all works, just.. yeah that how good you are with these things, I'd enjoy a whole chapter of nothing but learning how pony healing magic works and seeing it being used.
At least to an extent, would then start raging over lack of plot progression when I hit another wall of waiting.. even longer this time.... But still, would have been fun to see.
But anyway, alright surge of panic was meaningless. It was Gravity and the small room was just their little shelter, phew.
Huh, so what DO they have to do that they can without revealing themselves? Also, kind of odd making a point of Gravity not stirring while Fusion moved her, only for her to pop up and be right next to her a few seconds later.
1. Ye Gravity, bucking talk to her, you're over the initial emotional crisis thanks to Spiral, but still, don't keep this from Fusion.
2. And this shows why, you two are synched enough that you can tell exactly what is on her mind an worrying her, do the same for her, let her see your issues and help with them.
Yes it is going to be hard. And at some point you might come up to something where you have no choice but to do something.. permanent.. to a pony. One that is so indoctrinated that even removing their blessing won't help. That will be a massive threat to you unless stopped, thoroughly on the side of the Dogs. Packet, isn't quite at that point, just, needs more convincing. And as you go you'll figure out better ways of convincing ponies like him.
Not something to really be ashamed of. yes taking pleasure in battle isn't something that most would consider 'right' but ti's not wrong either, and the fact she knows this, that she worries about it, that having those Blood Knight tendencies makes her uncomfortable is all the proof she should need that she isn't evil, or wrong. Joy in battle isn't really wrong. Especially not given what the foes you were facing had done.
And only caring about the pony, again perfectly natural. The Dogs, they had it coming, they have enslaved your kind, abused, murdered, for generations uncountable. Even the somewhat sympathetic ones like the one tank driver, are still in some way complicit. And while the story did an AMAZING job at showing not all are evil bastards, some are worth sympathy... there are limits. They are still enemies. Not caring about them, fully justified. The Griffons, even then, yeah they are also slaves to the Dogs, if with a less insidious control. But they are still enemies, still trying to kill you, and given the nature of some of them, they would still go after you just as prey. Again not all. But they are still enemies.
The ponies however. You know just how brainwashed they are, forced to act. The griffons still have a choice. Yeah they are controlled, but it's through fear and through rewards. Not having their brain hardwired to act in a certain way. Plus, this is what you are fighting for, to free ponies, so having to kill them... Ad you know first hoof how insidious and powerful The Blessing is. So can have far more empathy with those still in it's grip.
Again, able to work these things out, not needing them to be told, just using the clues to piece the truth together..... so great.
Just, just how perfect these two are together. How close, it really comes through well. And great to see Gravity getting over her angst. Without completely disregarding what gave her those feeling in the first place.
Again why they need each other so much. Fusion needs Gravity to push her into action when she would take to long waiting for the perfect moment. Or caught in indecision. Gravity needs Fusion to pull her back, keep her from acting TO rashly, and they both need each other simply for support. And soon, other ponies, as their forces grow.
And like I said, Fusion could get to caught up on theory, on working things out to act. Gravity the opposite. But Gravity does have a point that really the only way to know is to try it, and that is not a really good idea. But Fusion also as a good point that the more they CAN learn, the better able they might be to find a weakness when they have to deal with one of them. And check in with them already? Isn't that ummm, not to smart? I mean check in yes, but showing up in the middle of the day? Granted it might actually be a good idea, since middle of the day most ponies would be working, so not around. But still.
Orrr simply link with them. If they can get this working right, it will be SUCH a huge help. Though is it only one of the Sisters that could initiate things like this, have enough power, or could it work the other way too? With some other pony contacting them?
Yeah, being on edge and expecting the worst from everything.. totally justified at this point.
Huh, the finally got around to this, well time to see how this messes things up.
Oh shit.... well, not even anything close to a break... but at least they aren't going to be killed any day now.
And yet more little details that you'd never actually think about, yet are so damn obvious once you do... again the worldbuilding, the detail just amazing.
So, it's another crystal they are using, not talking directly to each other? But as to the advice, well hopefully it's one that isn't needed. Since by the time Lilac would be able to use it, ponies would be free of the Blessing and not have to be driven to lie about these things. And if not, odds are not good of him having a chance to put these lessons into practice. At least to the degree Spiral has had to. Still good to be able to tell when a patient is pushing themselves to hard.
True enough. As long as the tubes are all connected and not tied up in knots or anything, they'll just shift into whatever position they need to. Plus losing a few feet of bowel isn't really all the bad, just might make you need to eat a bit more as you aren't digesting things quite as well. So yeah if he can get things reconnected, not to hard a deal. Though sure to be a bit more complicated the that. And of coarse there is the issue of his spine.
Okay Fusion contacting them, so she's hooking into some crystal.. how? I mean I can kind of see it but this kind of came out of nowhere. Was it some communication crystal they salvaged from the equipment they had taken? How does this work, and is it one way only? So many questions about how this works.
Well, right to the point. Spiral handled it pretty well, now how will Fusion and Gravity deal with it?
Okay, can't really quote any one things here other then, well all of it so just going to talk about their reactions. Very nice. Fusion actually being the more emotional and angry one, Gravity being the calmer one. Nice reversal with good reasoning behind it. Fusion wants to go slow, Gravity knows how sometimes you need to act, and like she said, Fusion never dealt with full on fugue like her and Lilac have. She doesn't know how powerful it is, how painful.
And then Spirals added bit about how many of them would have ended up being killed because of that. Though the ones with minor symptoms are another issue. But looks like my idea is another CALLED IT! though we'll see. So, nice reactions, and glad they quickly are working out how to turn it to their advantage.
Though does raise the question at why Redshift was allowed to go on so long, given just how bad he was suffering and how long...
...
Yup CALLED IT! So they are going to fake deaths and work on getting the ponies over to their side, nice. Also nice thinking of someway of covering up the missing bodies. Good thing the ponies dispose of them themselves. There has to be some wild animals around they can use if needed. But, good plan, and going with it quickly, again very nice.
And yes, work out something to do with the ponies who you cant reach.. that is going to be one of the hardest things...
Okay so makes a bit more sense how the connection works, but where did they get it from? And so it will only work one way, has to have Fusion or Gravity open the link, but at least they have a kind of emergency "Oh Shit!" button. So nice planning there. And about to get seven new ponies to try and talk out of their conditioning. Should be interesting
Okay so it is direct insemination of pre set and made embryos, all in-vitro. Though this raises the question of if ponies even have an sex drives.. I mean after overthrowing the masters, they'll have to get back to the regular way of making foals. Do they even know what that is? Is it something else the Dogs have been suppressing? I mean I get not wanting to go into details about sex and what not, but still, some basic info would be nice. For how realistic everything else is, the utter lack of any apparent sex drive or libido of any kind in ponies is a bit odd.
GOOD, and yeah going to be much easier then a place like The Pit. Though again, once you do that, you're revealing that you two are alive and active. So best to wit till you are ready to move.
Even worrying about having to kill actual animals, and how it might effect their herd. yet not enough to consider not doing it if it's necessary, but enough to ONLY do it if it truly is necessary.. and Gravity thought she might be a monster... but yeah just how well they deal with this. Little angst, and what they do have is is fully believable and they can work through it. Just done so damn perfectly. Enough to keep them from sliding down a slippery slope into going to far, but not enough to paralyze them unable to do anything.
They made throwing weapons out of fullerened composite? The Shlock reader i my is so geeking out. But damn those will be quite effective weapons, and so simple, be hard to really prevent them from being deadly with them, short of being able to take out their TK. Very nice!
Again just, such perfect reasoning. Both in getting Fusion better able to deal with having to act, having to take a life, starting smaller. And also for just how damn useful those weapons will be.
Also a good point, Gravity is far far better at TK then Fusion, and would be better able to control it. Fusion, well lets see how good those suits can protect against the raw power of a sun direct right at them. And yes, she's prepared to deal with this type of things if she has to.
Damnit already went off on how great this mindset is and don't want to repeat myself AGAIN. But the second part, another great bit. each of them pushing themselves as much to be there for the other as anything else, more reason they need each other.
Sorry, I know it wasn't meant as a joke, but given the amount of time I've spent playing or GMing Pathfinder and now Ponyfinder sessions... yeah that cracked me up.
If only but keep dreaming. there might be some that would be willing to, but they've spent so long seeing you as animals, tools.. it'll never happen. But, at least you have hope.. however misplaced.
Damn, and that was just a minor spell. Still waiting to see what happens when she goes all out and some Dogs get to feel the full, unfiltered power of pure sunfire blasting them. But, again Fusion.. so well done. A perfect blend of hesitance, of not waiting to do it, with still making herself so it because she knows it's right. It's what needs to happen. And yet perfectly willing to talk, to settle things peacefully if only the Dogs would let it happen.
And Gravity the harder of the two. Still wanting to so this without violence, but more willing to do it if needed, and more sure it will be.
So, good chapter, great character bits, loved it all, but so little really happened... this is going to be so frustrating waiting for more of the story. Granted things moved forward, they got more info, great characters development, and they now have a plan. But just.. so eager to see the war start in full force. See things come to a head and the ponies freed... but eventually it'll happen.
Sure I'll come up with other things to say eventually about this, but for now, another great chapter. Wish more happened but that's just how this story is, and now for... an even longer wait for more story...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4242425 Agreed
4242629 Yes it did, ponies are immortal. Or at least ageless. once they reach adulthood, they don't age. there is no upper limit to how long a pony could live baring accident or sickness. But most don't simply due to how quick the Dogs are to kill one for the smallest offense, or how long they can last before having to go into fugue and not get out of it.
Then you have the pony that serves as Ogrin's chief aide, whose been in the position for several security heads, after rising that far in the ranks. She might be one of the oldest ponies living right now. So yeah there is no maximum age for ponies right now. Be interesting to see why and how the changes.. not to mention how they get split into the Tribes. Likely those two are interconnected.
4242780 again agreed, though want MORE!!!!!
Gets better and better.
4243140 When did it set up agelessness?
4244092 It was near the middle of the first part.... Think it was when Fusion was talking to Slipstream. Round about there.
4242425
You have my sympathies and my admiration for being willing to take a chance on an 'incomplete'.
4234465
Interesting way to look at it; not a bad idea.
4242629
Waaaay back in the distant past of the first few chapters. They don't die of old age.
4243121
At this point Trocar doesn't know about Packet; Spiral is afraid that if he goes into the Infirmary, he'll see the new arrival and get curious, with the risk he'll spot the horn damage and possibly the missing Blessing. She'd rather he finds out under her terms.
Correct, no prison for the ponies, other than the chains in their heads. They don't waste too much effort on (dog or gryphon) prisoners, so it's mostly conventional medicine and the occasional visit from a medical pony.
The communications thing is a part of the clairvoyance magic, like when Grav built her decoy. They gave Spiral a crystal enchanted to act as a clairvoyance anchor, something they can use as a marker. This lets them spy on location near the crystal, and thus perform magic that requires a good 'look' at the target (teleport, the sharing, and probably lots of other stuff).
I'm going with horse biology and have opted for a specific breeding season (which is about now, if the horses in the fields next to where I work are anything to go by!). They don't have any real sex drive during the 'off' time, and during the 'on' times... let's just say Master's food and leave it at that.
4244092
4244146
Even earlier than that; when Fusion was out for her late night walk and flashing back to her Blessing. There's been a hint or two after that, but not many and nothing explicit (Slipstream was a hundred and something old, for example).
4244187 Okay, so it was worrying about him seeing Lilac. With so many things that COULD happen, wasn't quite clear which one she was really worried about. The crystal makes sense, but would have been better to include some mention of it earlier, even just a quick line about Fusion giving it to her and confirming it was salvaged from the gear they brought with them. Without that it kind of comes out of nowhere.
As to the last bit.... well going to be interesting once their rebellion lasts long enough for that come around without the libido neutralizing effects of the food. Know it's not going to really be seen, but still rather humerus to picture.
4244203 AH! knew it was addressed pretty early, but only time I could recall was with Slip, but now.. yeah I remember that bit. And yeah it was mentioned in passing but never really elaborated on.
4244187
I come from the Fallout Equestria subfandom. It's a big wide world of Incomplete there
4242105
To be fair, there are quite a few rude awakenings in this chapter, in all sense of the phrase. Even Five has a rather unwelcome revelation. (A grid-pattern omnidirectional treadmill. They're about three-fifths of the way to a holodeck there...)
In any case, very glad to see Gravity open up, and that that crystal relay works as planned. The rebels' advantages are piling up at roughly the same rate as the situation's escalation. It'll definitely be interesting to see how the next battle of wits goes, especially with more than a dozen new un-Blessed. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that Salrath will demand one of the corpses, sample it, give Spiral the stink-eye, and say, "This doesn't taste like pony." Seems entirely in character to me.
Eagerly looking forward to more.
Hmn, that first section. I'm going make the completely wild guess that it is an experiment that dates from fairly soon after the ponies were originally bred, and that it has to do with the masters developing their pony control methods. Wild guess, probably wrong.
Hmn, that bit about the ponies in the infirmary being in fugue the night before makes me wonder if blessing removal under that state might be a better approach then just grabbing a pony and stripping it. Tying the experience of blessing removal with an immediate reduction in pain and suffering could provide a nice leg up in getting the pony in question to consciously accept the change without throwing a fit. It's also a nice touch that not only can a medically trained pony remove blessings, they can do a better job of it compared to Fusion's original technique. That might also be something that could help smooth out the experience.
Heh. Sleeping with a unicorn is apparently a little bit dangerous.
Ooooo, full mutual disclosure between Fusion and Gravity, now there's a good idea.
Wow, so their medical spellwork is as low level as reshaping flesh and bone on a cellular scale? That's impressive, and has some interesting implications what sorts of injuries can and cannot be treated. Limb regrowth? Brain damage? Here's hoping that they don't lose that knowledge in whatever event eventually reduces a population of millions of alicorns to just two.
Finger of god Celestia is best Celestia.
4244187
I cant decide if that food bit refers to hormonal suppressants or something darker
4244187
so that's what that does? I've been wondering what it's for, considering that they already have a better form of mind control than drugs, and ponies need their wits about them to serve effectively.
(Now that the freed ponies have stopped eating it, presumably without knowing exactly what it is, the effect might surprise them a bit.)
Great chapter! Sisters are making a move and killing things already
any word from security? Salrath is gonna go mental if she finds out about the unblessed ponies. Have any other hives learnt of the failed euthanization of fusion & gravity? Probably accusing lacunae of harbouring WMD's and preparing for invasion? And with the help of chaos manipulating world leaders...
Question : some anti security and pro pony activist group was mentioned a few chapters ago, are they ever going to make a comeback? Hard to imagine ponies and dogs fighting together
Can't wait for next chapter!
4245133
I'll admit one of the first things I thought of when reading that passage was 'There's a little bit of pony in all of us!' if you get my drift.
4247634 Maybe it's the "Food of the Gods".
So, wait. Packet was put through hell because they couldn't take the time to convert him, and so he wouldn't give up their game, but now they have an entire stable full of newly-freed - but unconverted - ponies who they have to hide away. Nopony has brought up that the problems they had with Packet have potentially just multiplied by the number of ponies they're "abducting."
I can't fault their actions so far, but I'm hoping that Packet isn't dismissed by them in the developing situation. It would be criminally hypocritical to give other problem ponies a chance while continuing to deny Packet one.
4247634
So there's going to be a secret explicit chapter posted somewhere in the depths of the internet detailing that very first spring season after pony liberation that the royal sisters never, Ever, EVER discuss under any circumstances. It never happened and that's the story they're sticking to.
4248890
Not quite THAT dark. More a lewd take on it. But hormonal suppressants make way more sense.
4248890
Soylent Green is ponies!
(But yeah, the hormonal suppressant bit makes more sense. I mean, the ponies would notice if they were regularly giving birth to foals that were then disappeared.)
4251185
Well, when they knocked out Packet, they didn't expect to have fourteen more ponies on their hands soon... and also, these are fourteen ponies who just went through days of arcane torture after losing their foals, so they may be easier to turn than Packet.
In any case, this is going to spiral out of control pretty quickly. Even if they could "kill" (and either turn or contain) all fourteen fugue patients, Packet has easily treatable injuries and can't simply be disappeared. And as it is, Spiral only expects to get away with seven fake deaths for now.
This cascade doesn't stop until either the entire corral is turned, or all of the liberated ponies are believed dead, or the dogs catch on and exterminate the corral...
Shouldn't the first "to" not "be" instead?
4252431
Yeah, pretty sure it's hormonal suppressants as well. I wonder if Fusion and Gravity get to meet #5 at some point?
4245133
4247634
Well, not _that_ dark! Mostly just general supplements, antiparisiticals, as well as the hormone control compounds. It's a sort of kindness, in a way. They could just be ordered not to breed, but that would put low level instinct in direct conflict with the Blessing.
While the general pony might not know much, the medics do -- although it's without direct experience, just 'book learning'. Why bother at all, why not just collect eggs and sperm then spay/castrate? Gametes are collected anyway, but they may as well use the existing reproductive tract, which is far cheaper than an exowomb (and, unlike humans, being pregnant has little effect on their productivity, and birth is easy). It's also a safety measure, given the six way cold war that is the current way of things.
4248085
I'm sure you'll hear from the Maker's Path at some point (I don't do a whole lot of planning; it depends on how fast it kicks off when the war goes 'hot').
4251185
At least with the fugue ponies there is a 'reasonable' justification for their deaths; not so with Packet (although, you did give me an idea of what they could do -- in a very real sense he's their greatest risk). The trick is how to get him out without (even more) suspicion, given the high quality of medical care that is possible -- something that you've inspired me to consider.
4251207
Well, I do tend to write where the story goes, and I never have been able to leave lose ends alone. Just think of all the research I'll have to do!
4252744
Well spotted, thanks!
4254510
"Research" huh? Research into what the first "season" without hormone dampeners would be like. And into ponies who don't know what's coming or why they might actually want the control.
There's a reason why that season is never talked about and it's not because it was a horrible experience.
If you write it I'll certainly "research" it too.
4254510
Yeah, that sounds like the sort of thing that'd send tons of ponies into fugue every mating season.
4254510
Put them on the pony equivalent of birth control, then let all that dopamine Spring brings along make them even happier workers.
This is going to be tough, how are they going to convince all those ponies that the "Masters" practically made them slaves and how many of these ponies, like Packet believe that they are the greater good, but at the same time more than likely to tell the masters, like what Gravity could have in last year's April's Fool day. Also what's the plan now, saving Spiral or faking the death of the 14 ponies that are no longer blessed? What's worse, how will they react to talking cows?
4287855 Umm, why do they need to 'save Spiral' when she isn't in any danger, they are already planning on faking the deaths of the un-blessed, but need to space them out a bit. And none of them have the ability or chance to tell the masters, because they aren't bringing them their communicators to make it easy, and will be keeping them contained until they come around.
Plus as pointed out, it will be a LOT easier to convince ponies the Masters are evil after they had to go through fugue.
4287855
If it was easy, it wouldn't be fun!
Spiral's level of risk is only a little higher than before. Really the only problem would be another surprise Security visit or her medically trained mate taking a look around the infirmary after he returns. Things would go downhill quite quickly at that point. All will be revealed in due course.
Cows -- that's one of the things I didn't take from canon, mainly because they only seem to be there because of 'rule of funny', and the implications are a bit strange for it to really work that way.
Also having sapient animals farmed for meat is a little dark even for me!
4295065 Cows are easy enough to figure out, the ones now aren't sapient, but after several thousands of years hanging around ponies, some of the massive surges of magic surrounding them eventually had an effect on them and uplifted them a bit.
4293512
I got their names mixed up I meant Random, not Spiral.
4295065
Like I wrote to Seraphem, I got the two ponies' names mixed up. I meant Random, because what I wrote before doesn't make any sense when it involves Spiral, because they're basically the same action. ^^;
Almost like Spectrum's Raricow's TF story where he made the cows unintelligent just to fit his story, except yours almost has a plausible reason, which is, this is way back into the past so it kinda makes sense as to why they're not sapient yet.
4297304 No they haven't given up on saving him either, it's just his injuries are enough to keep him knocked out for a time, but not enough to be life threatening, so they have no excuse for him to be euthanized. The fugue ponies, Spiral can claim it reached a point where she had to do it. Like he said, the only way anything could really screw them over right now is if security comes by again, or her mate or another medically trained pony starts poking around.
Which knowing this story, means one of the those is going to happen soon.
4296182
4297304
Oh sure, you could easily wave that wand, but I really don't like the implied relationship between the ponies and the cows and sheep (especially in S1). The other problem is 'where do you stop'? Every animal in Equestria appears to be sapient; how would it affect a carnivore to know that it could have a conversation with every meal? The consequences of that are really quite unpleasant.
4299239
I wouldn't want you to get bored!
4299728 Well, per the writers the line is that hooved animals can speak, non hooved ones can't. At least out of 'real' animals, mythological creatures it's whatever they want to have it doing.
And nothing really that off about the relationship. Yeah the cows and sheep can speak, but they also act much more like regular cows and sheep then something higher or smarter. They can talk and are smarter then 'real' animals, but still seem to be quite animalistic. Still act like cows and are rather simple. Then you have other animals that even though they can't talk, act a lot more intelligent and more 'human' (for lack of a better term) then real ones do. So overall seems the line between 'animal' and non-animals is a lot blurrier in Equestria.
And, hey I'm plenty not bored right now, just Gravity and Fusion coming to grips with what they have and will have to do, as well as the conflict of trying to get those ponies secured and deprogrammed, plus dealing with Random........ and fuck.. just realized 4297304 was talking about random, not Packett. So I goofed the names too. As to him, yeah they still want to save him, but now that he is out of Securities clutches, it's not AS high a priority, since he's in far less immediate danger, they have time. And once they do that, there will be no hiding that they are still alive and willing to fight. So take as much time as they can to build up their forces and free ponies secretly till then.
But anyway, my point, the story is PLENTY interesting enough right now.
4299848
Well, there's the farming vibe, for one. I'm sure it's not intended that way, but when I look at how farming actually works (dairy cows, for example), it's hard for me not to draw unpleasant conclusions.
In the case of the cows, I'd say that the ability to speak is pretty much the hallmark of real intelligence. You could argue they are smart creatures ruled by instincts (and thus are protected by the ponies), but that is another kind of cruelty altogether.
4299728
I don't think it's ever pleasant as there is a talking chimera that Apple Bloom ran into.
4300106 But then you have Owliscious and Angel, who even though they can't talk, are clearly quite intelligent and aware. More so then any regular 'animal' could be. And the cows, who even though they CAN speak, are clearly quite animal like, not as reasoning as ponies. Simpler, less complicated. Not less intelligent, but, less caring about using it.
As to what goes on in 'farming' for us, keep in mind just how much lower demand would be in pony society given both the lower tech levels as well as well as lower population. They wouldn't have to go anywhere near the extremes humans so in order to keep up supply of things. And nothing showed that the ponies were 'keeping' them for anything, and it would be quite against everything we know about them. Plus Word of God to go along with what we've seen, that it's more a symbiotic relationship. Both sides go along with it fully willingly because they get benefits out of it. The ponies get milk and likely fertilizer, the cows get a roof over their heads and free food, as well as what ever other care the ponies provide. Sheep, same deal except wool instead of milk. And the pigs were there to hunt for truffles.
SOON!
therim?EDDA: Luna-tic corrected me: 4897837
4242629
Explicitly, I don't remember. Defer to others on that. (I think Luna-tic replied and said it was established as unbounded.)
Implicitly, however, it does. The major viewpoint characters are Celestia and Luna, the ponies who will eventually become known as. Therefore, they live at least however long it takes to get them from where they are now to when we see in the show, and almost certainly some amount longer than that.
Ouch.
Nice work! You have a real talent for world building.
We must to due to check in on Spiral and Lilac by now."
They seem to be learning and developing complex spells rather quickly. It feels too . . . convenient. It feels like if it was this easy to learn things like clairvoyance and telepathy, than all ponies capable of magic would do it. With such ridiculously powerful abilities being so easy to acquire, the use of magic is starting to seem over powered.
On another note, still hoping for Chaos and his non-chaotic schemes.
"We must to due to" - We must be due to
"flying for a two kiloseconds" - flying for nearly two kiloseconds
6571371
You also have to remember that they are alicorns....
6571371
Everything about this society is technologically and magically greater than the Equestria portrayed in the show. I would not be surprised by Celestia and Luna having large repertoires of spells both from said society and implanted by Chaos.