Trope Page thanks to Ultimate Warrior of Zera!
Trixie's life was going perfectly fine. Better than fine. She has everything she had and more...until she finds herself the target of mysterious pursuers in black suits that seem dedicated to capturing her no matter what the cost. Now Trixie must begin unraveling the mystery of who these strange ponies are and what they're truly after.
Can Trixie stay free? Or will her pursuers make her a marionette hanging on strings?
Commissioned by my friend :iconalexwarlorn:
My Little Pony belongs to Hasbro!
Rated teen just to be safe!
EDIT: YAY! THERE'S NOW A MYSTERY TAG!
Chapters (13)
Is Trixie a clone? That's kinda the vibe I'm getting.
6548268 I'm confused too....just what the hay is going on...
6548268
6548362
I'm glad I managed to keep it a mystery and get you wandering, it IS a mystery story...which unfortunately isn't a tag :)
6549102 well, how much I follow this story depends on me, but I will admit, you have my attention. just who are these stallions, what's with the paper when they claim she 'resisted the paper' just what is going on.....
Okay, I'm eager to see where this goes.
Shut Down, huh?
Okay, I'm guessing there's a government organization designed to brainwash ponies into being evil solely to create conflicts which can be solved to teach lessons in friendship and love and justice. Wouldn't be the first time.
Thanks. Really wish this was getting more attention than it was.
Did not see that coming.
This...is sounding like....Terminator Salvation...where the main character was a Terminator...and he didn't even know it!
Okay, I wasn't surprise by the cliffhanger. The subtle hints in the text of this and previous chapters made it clear that there is more going then meets the eye. Still very good story so far and I like where it's heading.
So Trixie is a robot who has her own will. Creepy
Awesome, now it looks like the start of I, Robot. (Well it's Trixie, so I guess it would be She, Robot).
I doubt Discord could be a robot, but maybe Gilda could, and the PiB just figured it would be easier to build a replacement antagonist for Rainbow than travel all the way to Griffonstone to trigger a reset.
You know who I feel really bad for? Filthy Rich. I think he's the only member of his family who isn't a robot.
Phyrexian oil, maybe? Is anypony else here into Magic, The Gathering?
Yeah, I thought something like this might be the case.
Still think there's some government agency making ponies solely to be antagonists.
So let me get this straight, all the bully characters are robots. What did this conspiracy hope to gain from this?
6825604
The answer is there if you can put together the pieces.
why does Bon Bon's head hurt? gee, is SHE a robot too? or is that just a ploy off of Men in Black where she got flashed so it just cuts right to her after she was given the memory of 'not seeing them' or something?
6825604 As alex said, the implications are there as to why.
Of course it IS still a mystery, so there should naturally be some questions left until all is revealed.
6825788 Remember from her episode that her description of the organization she worked for said it got shut down...
6825604
To force the Six to face their flaws personified in those robots, and become more "harmonious ".
For my the only question is how much involved is Celestia in all of this. I still want to believe she shut down the Agency for a reason (maybe a moral one) and that she ignores about the Marionettes or that they have become self-conscious.
6825604
6825697
6826496
6826659
The answers are there if you piece them together?
I have a theory, but it means that someone up top will have to answer for a lot of things. It would go beyond manipulative to outright controlling and it would possibly mean that Trixie, Lightning Dust, Flim, Flam, Diamond Tiara and the other robots (I'm going to take a wild guess that's Suri's one of them?) aren't the only "marionettes" that the title refers to.
My advice to them (though we the readers know more about what's going on), is to write a letter to Luna or Cadance. NOT CELESTIA, Luna or Cadance.
6606046
I suspect Spoiled is an actual pony, but she has been brainwashed to forget the moments Tiara acted like a real filly instead of a bully pretender, to avoid emotional attachment. Just like Dash.
Also, Tiara 's revelation means the Agency also keeps an eye on the Crusaders ' potential.
6826516 yeah I know. I'm referring to why she mentioned her head hurt...
6826866 That'll be revealed later.
6826905 honestly, I'm hoping Spoiled gets her own reformation. considering that as with Diamond when she (Diamond) saw the two, she was absolutely terrified. and Spoiled's head hurt too...I'm curious as to why her head hurt along with Bon Bon's. makes me think either the two of them are also robots/marionettes though it seems they may not be since Spoiled is fully aware that Diamond IS one...or, the two just used something like the classic neurolyzer from Men In Black and just made them forget they were ever there...
6826951 Oh, Spoiled's head didn't hurt...but she WAS very much unnerved there.
6826905
Will be Matrix jokes?
"Why?! Why, Miss Lulamoon?! Why do you persist?!"
6826990 hmm. I thought she mentioned her head was hurting...ah well. must have misread that. still makes me suspicious that bon bon might be either a marionette/robot like Trixie and Lightning, or that she just might have gotten flashed and made to forget she saw them. I mean Rainbow Dash mentioned her head hurting during the fight with Lightning, but in HER case I can understand that. since she's present when they were examining Trixie and all the complicated tech stuff being talked about, the way I see it with her is she's just still finding it very complicated, and hard to understand, and thus she's getting a headache cause all the talk and everything's going over her head...you know? I don't think Dash got replaced too did she?
6827022 I'll say this: Rainbow and Bon Bon's headaches hurt for the same reason. That's all I'll say.
6827044 ah crap.....i'm really hoping it's not the robot thing...I SERIOUSLY hope it's not the idea of them both being marionettes too...so that their heads hurt from seeing the two or interacting with Lightning trying to fight her...then again I don't think it's being the robots, because if that was the case then why wouldn't bon bon be absolutely terrified of seeing the two agents? doesn't make real sense.....even if she worked with them why wouldn't she be terrified like Trixie or Diamond was....but still i'm really hoping it's not the robot thing. even if that would make sense as to why they wanted surveilance equipment in the castle...cause then they could possibly keep an eye on Dash.....man please tell me it's not them both being marionettes...
6827071 I'll tell you this much: if you can find a place where a character was described as breathing or having a heartbeat, then they're not a robot.
6827114 oh great...that'll be helpful.....now i'm Really hoping that they aren't...much less any of the mane six...also now makes me extremely worried for Luna's sake....
6827131 I'll say this: Whether Rainbow is a robot or not can be found in story already.
I'm sorry for being vague, but this IS a mystery story, so being vague is really the best I can do.
6827164 crapbaskets...well, honestly this is getting a bit too creepy for me, I may just skip out on this story till it's done. though i'm extremely scared about the idea that Luna could be a robot....perhaps you could PM me a list of who are Robots? that way it's private and you don't spill the secret to anyone around here? you have my word, I will never tell a soul.
6827232 To be honest, the creepiest part of the story is kind of already behind us bar one thing, but I'll send you thhat PM.
6826775 I'm not sure. Spoiled could just be a semi-retired agent who needed proper verification that the two agents in front of her, or she could be a brainwashed agent, or just another robot that got activated by a code. No matter what, it really sucks to be Filthy. Presumably Diamond Tiara was going to have an "accident" at the boarding school and would never be seen again. I think DT-bot and SS-bot were built to drive the CMC into forming in the first place, since that has given plenty of emotional growth to their older sisters over the years.
Also, how is the technology decades more advanced than what Twilight says should be possible. Even if Celestia is doing this secretly with a secret agency, that level of technomagical discrepancy between what exists and what is available to the public is just too large. A huge number of the Equestria's top scientists and mages would basically have to disappear for decades to create these robots. My guess is the robots are from the future.
I found this story deeply disturbing.
I also found it deeply intriguing, and well-written. I'm eager to read more, and find out how deep the rabbit hole goes.
7113510 Thanks, it WAS intended to be disturbing.
This is basically a psychological scifi thriller/mystery, so the disturbing aspect is one hundred percent intended.
Glad you like it.
I look out for drinking... Buck, that came out wrong. Huzzah for reading at 1:14 am, so bleeping fantastic... Thanks for the new chapter anyway, really great story. Wooo.... Zzzzzzz.....
I am so glad that everypony is completely in character and using their abilities to their fullest, unlike the show where they often forget about their powers. Lighting Dust getting her groove back was awesome.
Hopefully, that revelation at the end will get these guys to be more cooperative.
And the plot thickens.
7145784
Cool.
7146042
With more to come.
7145964
Agreed on all counts.
Spike seems rather susceptible to that mind magic...
It's marionettes all the way down....
Man, I can't wait to find out who is behind this, and where they got their technology!
7147709
He doesn't have the same protection as the others.
7148997
You'll see eventually.
Psychological thriller, chock full of continuity nods, old foes being fleshed out and kicking some flank... This is a good time.