13 - Sun and Moon
Days of Wasp and Spider
by Luna-tic Scientist
=== Chapter 13 (remastered): Sun and Moon ===
Gravity watched as Korn closed the door to the animal house, leaving her alone in the room with Animal Scanner. The chamber was empty; a square lined with various sizes of cages on either side and an array of complex machinery on the opposite wall. There was the smell of various species -- dog, rabbit, rat -- as well as a trace of... Gravity flared her nostrils, inhaling great drafts of air. Pony, she thought, there was a pony in here, some time ago. The blue mare walked slowly past the empty chrome steel cages. "What is this place?"
"The Masters do a certain amount of animal research," the red stallion said quietly, settling down on a padded section of the floor and watching her movements with a sad look on his face. "This is where they keep some of the subjects."
"I-I see," Gravity said, conflicting emotions running through her. A headache started to build at the base of her horn as she tried to reconcile her knowledge of the greatness of the Masters with these unpleasant implications. And what about Random and all our foals? she thought, remembering what the Agent had said about their likely fate. The blue mare stood in the middle of the room, head bowed under weight of the memory. The pain in her head started to spread down her neck and fill her chest. Breathing became difficult, the air whistling through her clenched teeth.
"Gravity? Are you alright?" Animal said, alarm in his voice.
The Masters know best, they made us, so they must know us better than we know ourselves. If they think there is the chance of the foals hurting one of them... Her mind shied away from that horror, the unthinkable thought driving back her feelings for her own kind. ...then they must act. It's the only thing they can do. The pain faded, replaced by a warm glow that managed to mask the ache in her heart. Gravity lifted her head, now sure she had reached the right conclusion. "Thank you for helping me find the right path," she whispered, directing the prayer at the Maker. She sniffed mightily, shaking her head to dislodge the tears that had collected on her eyelashes, then turned to smile wanly at Animal, who had half risen from the alcove. "It's okay, just getting things straight in my head."
The red stallion settled slowly back down and smiled at her. "It's not easy, and the hurt never really goes away, but I'm glad you've come to terms with it," he said, nodding encouragingly. "If you ever want to talk anything through, don't hesitate to speak to me."
Gravity nodded back and resumed her slow wander around the room. She stepped closer to the wall of machines, squinting slightly at the harsh reflections off the chromed surfaces. The centre of the wall was dominated by a cluster of robot arms surrounding a fat white plastic donut, the hole in the middle of which was lined with a dense layer of needle-like crystals and would be large enough for Gravity to fit her head and shoulders through.
Something twitched on her chest and the mare looked down, seeing her defunct comms disk rock slightly as she moved across the opening of the torus. She brought up one hoof and touched the metal, feeling it resist her touch. Her eyes went back to the machinery, tracing the dozen arms that surrounded it. The thing looked like the maw of some exotic sea creature ringed with feeding tentacles. The lower six terminated in flat plastic plates, each equipped with several padded clamps that looked to be highly adjustable. Four of the remainder ended in compact machines: clusters of high resolution cameras, X ray sensors and other less identifiable items, all obviously designed to compliment the thaumomagnetic resonance imager they were linked to.
The remaining pair of arms were the strangest, and Gravity leapt off the ground to hover next to them and get a better view. Complex, multiply jointed 'fingers', each tipped with a different chrome instrument. Drill, circular saw, knife, laser; the thing looked like the mouthparts of an insect, albeit one a quarter of a length across. The mare dropped back to the polished floor, hooves landing with a clack against the hard surface. Looking back at the rest of the room, Gravity traced the cages as they changed from small things near the door to ones big enough for a dog half way along. At her end of the wall there was a pair of larger alcoves, each with a padded section of floor. Animal lay in one of these, leaning against the wall and watching the mare through half closed eyes.
She looked back at the surgical robot with its highly adjustable restraint system, then back at the alcoves. Those restraints could easily expand far enough to hold a pony. Her headache came back with redoubled force. Wincing, she folded her legs and lay down in one of the alcoves opposite Animal, wishing that they were big enough that she could lie next to him. That comfort denied her, she did her best to recapture her previous state of mind. "The Masters are the paws of the Maker," she muttered, reaching out with her magic to turn off the lights.
===
She stood behind an instrument panel, looking out over the animal house; on the panel was a single button. Instead of being empty, the room now held several dozen ponies and a single Master. She knew all these ponies; some were from her workplace, but most were from the corral. Silent and motionless, all were lined up in front of the surgical robot. The Master, faceless behind a set of visored medical robes, turned in her direction and nodded.
She reached out and tapped the button with one hoof.
The machine leapt into action, reaching out with chrome steel arms to grab the closest pony. The mare -- she thought it was Random -- stared back at Gravity with blank eyes, not protesting as the machine took her apart. The dismemberment was fast and bloodless; it was only a moment before the robot was ready for its next patient.
She pressed the button again.
And again.
And again.
Soon the room was empty of ponies. "I have finished, Master," she said, turning to the robed figure.
The Master leaned forward slightly. "There is one left," she said in an interested, slightly excited, tone.
Gravity bowed slightly, then trotted over to the machine. How could I forget? she thought, reaching back to the panel with her magic. She pressed the button one last time, closing her eyes as the steel arms reached for her.
Gravity gasped, whimpering quietly as the details of the nightmare faded to leave nothing more than a lingering sense of horror. Something had awoken her, the feeling that something big and powerful was standing just behind her. Eyes wide in the darkness she opened her shadow sight, staring out into the dark and silhouetted universe. She'd not actually bothered to look at this place, but it was sure to be similar to the launch site she'd been working at before Fusion had suffered her accident. The place would be a three dimensional pattern of coloured glows from all the active crystals; most stationary but a few mobile ones from vehicles or ponies.
This was the case, but somewhere far below -- maybe a hundred lengths away -- there was a point of white light that was brighter than the rest. From this position, Gravity could see the arc of the main accelerator tunnel, pulsing and seeming to writhe like a titanic snake dusted with fireworks, curving off out beyond the range of her shadow sight. The pin-point was placed right at the end of a tangent that jutted out from the ring. That light, Gravity thought, I recognise that, it's my sister!
As she watched, the light got brighter, so bright that the others surrounding it seemed to dim in comparison. Gravity moaned in distress; she could actually feel a tickle of sensation from the magic being employed, something that should only have been possible if she were much closer. Fusion is losing control again, she thought, and this time there's nothing I can do to help her. The mare watched helplessly, tears starting to prick at her eyes, as the glare flared to an intolerable brightness, then vanished behind a rapidly expanding bubble of rainbow light.
In a second, the bubble had swept over and past her, leaving an almost complete darkness in its wake. As the mare watched, open mouthed, the bubble rolled out beyond the range of her shadow sight, leaving only a few scattered pin points and... Gravity swept her senses back around and was nearly dazzled. Right at the centre of the bubble was a single point of pure white light, as if someone had compressed the sun and placed it at the centre of a black universe. "Still alive," she whispered, almost overwhelmed with joy. Something in the room popped and fizzed, but the mare ignored it.
One of the remaining pin-points, this one a deep red and close enough that it could be resolved into the shape of a horn, flickered and grew brighter. "Did you see that, Animal?" Gravity said to the stallion, opening her real eyes and looking worriedly at the other pony, now illuminated by the red glow of his horn. There were no other lights in the room; even the little glows from the instrumentation were gone. She sniffed the air. Is that smoke?
"I did," he said, "was that Fusion again?"
"I think so, but it didn't feel the same as last time. She's definitely still alive, too." The mare climbed to her hooves and trotted to the door. "What should we do? We were ordered to stay..."
Animal snorted. "Yes, we were, but I think this event supersedes those orders. Everything with a magically active crystal is dead, do you agree?" He trotted to stand next to the blue mare, little red glows lighting the door control panel as he tried to operate it. His muzzle twitched. "There's no telling how many small fires this has started. Masters are in danger."
The mere mention of risk to Masters ran through Gravity like an electric shock. "Then what are we waiting for?" Her horn lit up, flooding the room with violet light, then the door creaked and bulged. The sound of crystal bells filled the air, red plains of light pulsing around the rim of the door. The mare staggered back as the force she was applying suddenly became unnecessary, and the centre of the door pulled free. The slab of metal, edges now razor sharp and glittering mirror bright in the red and violet horn light, hung between the two ponies for a second before Gravity propped it up against one wall.
"You need to save your strength, my filly. There are plenty of doors in this facility," Animal said with a smile.
Gravity nodded and set her jaw, stepping delicately through the opening and into the smoke scented darkness beyond.
===
Ten kiloseconds later and Gravity was working with one of the emergency response teams to free up their own servitors for more specialised work. Under guidance from a female Master, she had broken down nearly twenty doors and escorted a near endless stream of Masters to the muster station set up at the transit hub serving the Institute. The main corridors were now lit by portable lighting rigs, but most of the rooms and side passageways were still dark, a scattered few glowing green from chem lights. At the moment the mare stood in a smashed elevator shaft, the doors removed and the lift capsule jammed in place to form an unstable platform for her to stand on.
Desperately tired, Gravity sagged against the greasy tracks running down the sides of the shaft. Her head buzzed, horn light flickering and threatening to leave her in darkness. A blunt muzzled face, made pale by caked dust, leant forward, yellow slit pupil eyes staring into her own. "Master," she gasped, "are there more packages to transport through the shaft?"
"Yes," the Master rumbled, sounding almost as tired as she felt, "but not for a while and not by this pony."
"I can still work," Gravity said listlessly, wings drooping.
"Really?" the Master said with a weary smile. "This one doesn't doubt that the pony would try, but suspects that this pony would drop the next package, no matter what its intentions."
The blue mare opened her mouth to protest, then slumped. "Yes, Master," she said in a small voice, eyes starting to water and wincing from a sudden headache that felt like a drill was being pushed into the side of her head, "I'm sorry I'm not strong enough."
The Master laughed and clapped Gravity on her withers. "The pony has done very well. Go to the transit hub and rest, eat something. The pony will be called when it can help again."
"Yes, Master," Gravity said with a sudden smile, the pain replaced with a joy so pure and intense that it almost rendered her speechless. She staggered upright and flared her wings; looking up at the distant circle of light marking the upper entrance to the shaft she sighed and crouched, ready to spring into the air. One quick downstroke and Gravity was airborne, moving her wings in short, quick beats to avoid striking the walls. The shaft was a wide one, designed for the transport of heavy equipment, easily wide enough for the mare, had she not been so tired.
Gravity flew an unsteady spiral around the centre of the tube, occasionally swerving to avoid the walls as she rose. The elevator mechanism used nothing so primitive as cables, relying instead on induction motors in tracks on the walls. As Gravity climbed up the shaft her circles grew wider and more ragged, until she finally misjudged a turn and clipped one of the tracks. The metal edge struck the big tendon running along the front of her wing, causing the limb to close in reflex.
Immediately, Gravity rolled sharply, struck the concrete wall of the shaft and bounced off to tumble back down the darkened tube. The mare shrieked in shock, fatigue washed away in an instant by a rush of adrenaline. Her horn flashed violet for a second before her strength ran out, but it was just enough to shove her away from the rushing concrete and metal. Gravity flicked open her wings and stopped the tumble, turning a headlong fall into a tight spiral glide. Using the dregs of her strength she started to slowly climb once more, breathing fast and trying to keep her head clear.
Finally the lip of upper opening came within her reach. The big doors had never been fully retracted; with only a one length opening cut through their centre, she'd have to fold her wings to get through. Gravity launched herself at it, but misjudged her fading strength and fell slightly short, her hind legs dangling over the lip. The breath woofed out of her as her belly thumped down on to the concrete, hooves scrabbling for purchase on the smooth surface. In reflex, the mare extended her wings as if to fly, but instead merely jammed them against the edges of the force field cut opening.
Her rearwards slide halted, she used her wings to lever her body forward, finally dragging her hind legs clear of the lethal drop. Gasping, Gravity lay there for a second to catch her breath, then slowly climbed to her hooves. Wincing, she stretched and refolded her wings, sharp stinging sensations marking where the razor sharp door edges had sliced easily through the thin flesh, her blood making the dusky blue feathers stick together and feel heavy. Shaking her head she glared at the green-lit corridor, empty of anypony who could have helped her. The mare limped down the corridor and grumbled to herself, heading for the transit hub.
===
Mentally exhausted, Fusion walked with the group of Masters back towards the transit hub. As was normal, the Masters ignored her, assuming she'd follow them like a pet dog. This suited the mare just fine, allowing her to sort through the tangled mess of emotions she was trying to keep hidden behind a blank face as the Masters talked. What else did they have planned for me? she thought, the sudden memory of that scorch mark on the beam chamber wall bringing Korn's comment about 'completed research' into a new light.
...and my sister might have been next on their list. A sensation of sick, yawning horror made her swallow heavily. There was never any chance to survive the experiments; they were going to test me to destruction, then move on to Gravity. Under the bandage, her eye started to ache as the local anaesthetic began to wear off. In her mind Fusion started to sort the Masters she knew by their attitude and how dangerous they might be. Vanca she placed in the same group as the Agent. Salrath was a dangerous, vicious, sadistic individual and obviously didn't like ponies, but at least with her it was personal; at some level they mattered to her. With the Academician they were just a means to an end.
As they stepped through another force field cut door, being careful to avoid the razor sharp edges, the smell of smoke started to become noticeable. Another dozen paces and the air had turned a little hazy, the mare's horn light filling the corridor with a pearly radiance. Remaining eye starting to smart a little from the acrid fumes, Fusion squinted, but even with the smoke she was able to see the black streaks of soot spread across the ceiling from the doorway just ahead. The door had obviously been smashed open to get at a fire -- probably only a kilosecond ago -- and Fusion found herself kicking through shallow puddles of dirty foam.
The damage was far worse than she had imagined; her little stunt had probably injured a number of Masters, trapping them behind powered doors when the thaumoelectric pulse had killed every semiconductor junction and every magically active crystal in the area. She remembered how much panic she'd felt when she'd accidentally kicked Student Korn, only a few kiloseconds ago. Am I a murderer now? she thought, fighting to keep her breathing steady.
It became worse when the little group reached one of the corridor junctions. In this larger space were the remains of a hastily assembled aid station -- currently empty of Masters, but crewed by two ponies. The pair, so dirty that Fusion couldn't identify their fur colours, lay flank to flank in a hoof-deep layer of sooty foam, oblivious to the cold water that would be soaking into their coats from the degrading suppressant. The ponies, a mare and a stallion, were missing patches of fur from all the parts of their bodies that Fusion could see, and had next to no hair on their manes. Ponies too, the mare thought, her ears flattening. How many were injured because of me, putting themselves into harm's way for Masters that might sacrifice them to save a piece of equipment? Is anything worth this suffering?
On seeing the group of Masters approach, the mare nudged her partner and both struggled to their hooves. The ponies were obviously exhausted; with drooping wings and trembling legs they bowed unsteadily to Salrath as she strode up to them. "Apologies, Master. How may we be of service?" the stallion said, speech degenerating into a hacking cough.
The Agent looked them over disapprovingly, waving her chem light around like a baton. "Clean this place up. What would have happened if this one had required medical attention?"
Both ponies winced in unison, teeth clenching and muscles going taught as the Blessing did what it was designed to do. "Many apologies, Master," the mare gasped, "we will start work immediately."
"See that you do," Salrath said, watching the pair desperately start to remove the waste that had accumulated around the empty gurneys. Her lips peeled back in a slight smile, then she turned away and walked to the next corridor on their route.
Fusion watched the little scene play out from the back of the group, wishing yet again that she'd been able to do something permanent to Salrath when she'd had the chance. Her guilt faded, washed away by her returning anger at the Master and her casual, almost routine, cruelty. Even without her newfound strength it would be easy to kill the Agent. She could telekinetically crush her, or pick up some discarded tool and propel it at terrible speed through her body. Maybe a force field materialised inside her skull, or... but no, it would have to look like an accident. More telekinesis then; trip her up and make sure she lands on something pointed.
That's actually very tempting, the mare thought, no longer shocked at her own desire to do something terminal to Salrath. She could feel her power building, feel the spell patterns forming in her mind, knew that if she switched to magic sight she'd be able to see the latent potential closing in on the Agent like a vengeful ghost. With an effort of will, Fusion suppressed the violent urges, turning back to the other ponies.
Ears flat, she stared at the pair as they stumbled around the improvised aid station, their horn light feeble and flickering as they operated at the ragged limits of their magical endurance. Fusion lit her own horn, quickly dismantling and stacking a collection of disposable supply cases for the ponies, earning a nod of thanks from the stallion. There's unlikely to be anyone else coming, she thought, otherwise the medical staff would still be here. Fusion clenched her teeth and walked stiff legged after the Masters, already a few paces ahead, then stopped short when she noticed Korn staring at her.
"Master?" she said hesitantly. Does he know what I'm thinking? the mare thought, suddenly worried for her own safety. He's worked with me far more than Vanca has, he must know pony body language. Her mind flashed back to how Korn had asked after her mental state after the night in medical isolation.
"Keep up, servitor," he said loudly, motioning her forward. As the mare obediently trotted a few steps to catch up, he muttered a few words as she passed. "Korn will tell rescue command to relieve the ponies; he suspects they have been forgotten in the confusion."
Fusion blinked in surprise, then nodded shallowly in thanks, trying to let her ears settle into a more relaxed position. I'm going to have to be more careful, she thought, if Korn can pick up on my feelings, then who else could? Salrath had undoubtedly seen ponies in stressful situations before; was that one of the things that made her suspect me? Fusion had put it down to the Agent's seemingly bottomless reserves of prejudice, but now she wasn't so sure.
===
Gravity knew when she'd reached the transit hub by the amount of noise. The cavernous space was a seething mass of Masters and ponies, the damaged levitation tracks being used to ferry equipment in and cycle the emergency teams out. She gazed helplessly around the giant chamber, looking for somepony to tell her what to do next. They said I would be called for when they needed me, she thought, panic starting to rise within her. How will they be able to find me in all this when I don't have a communicator?
Spying a small aid station staffed entirely by ponies, she limped over and joined a queue of other walking wounded waiting patently to be seen. A few seconds later she was smiling in relief as a yellow pony with a labour tattoo like a cluster of blood drops took her name and entered it into a portable terminal.
"Ah ha!" the yellow stallion said, "we've been told to look out for you. Here, this came in with the last resupply run."
He lifted a flat container about the size of her hoof in a haze of yellow magic, releasing it when her own horn started to glow faintly. The blue mare was still exhausted and her magic clumsy with overuse, but she managed to crack the seal and slide out the bronze disk it contained. "At last," she breathed, turning the communicator over in her telekinesis, waiting for the crystal in the centre of the disk to signal its recognition of her magic. Finally it did so, and she pressed the hook lined underside to the fur at the base of her throat. A feeling of completeness flowed over her, as the arcane mechanism announced its acceptance of her with a quiet voice that was only audible in her own head.
She listened intently as it recited her current orders, confirming her temporary assignment to rescue command and restating her instructions to wait in the transit hub until otherwise contacted. Gravity nodded, humming wordlessly with pleasure at being reconnected with the labour system, almost able to forget the aches and pains of her body.
"Hello, Gravity," said a familiar, if tired, voice. "Is it just the wings?"
Gravity blinked and refocused her eyes on the red and white stallion who was studying her intently. "Animal! You were right, we were needed. Yes, I had an accident with the edge of a door and a lift shaft."
The veterinarian's ears flicked up in curiosity at that, then smiled at the relief in the mare's voice. "Of course we were. Can you open your wings a little so I can get a better look?"
Gravity nodded, then winced as the still wet scabs over her cuts broke and fresh blood sluggishly trickled down each leading edge to drip off her wing elbows. She'd managed to forget those razor fine cuts; they hadn't bled significantly but there was still enough blood to glue the feathers and fur together. Little disks of red light swept along the matted feathers on each wing as the stallion examined her.
"They are worse than they look," Animal said, stopping his scan and looking seriously at the mare. "I take it you haven't tried to fly after receiving these?"
"No," said Gravity, suddenly feeling worried.
"That's fortunate; you have a hair-line fracture in your left radius."
The mare nodded, a shiver running through her. Must have been the force field cut lift doors, she thought, lucky they were sliced square or I could have lost the wing.
"Let me guess," Animal said quietly. "You were tired, needed to pull yourself through a doorway, but your magic failed."
"Something like that," Gravity muttered, hanging her head. I would be useless if I could not fly, she thought, remembering her foalhood teacher, Back Draft.
"There's no shame in telling your Master that you are too tired to work efficiently. Remember that it is their job to determine the urgency of your tasks; if they need you to keep going, they will tell you. They will be displeased if you injure yourself unnecessarily."
The blue mare's eye's filled with tears, pain starting to build in her head as she digested what Animal was telling her. "You're right, I hadn't thought of it that way. Will they forgive me?"
"You are a good pony," Animal said, reaching for a squeeze bottle of water and a wad of wipes, "and you are young and still learning. That is all the Masters ask of us."
Gravity bore the stinging pain stoically as Animal cleaned the narrow cuts, sighing quietly as the pain in her head vanished. The Maker has forgiven me, she thought, happy again and barely noticing the bone deep itching as the stallion started to cast a healing spell, welding her fracture closed.
A few hundred seconds later the veterinarian switched his gaze back to her face, the light of his horn fading.
"You are good to go," he said, "the damage was subtle and required only a little manipulation. Go and rest now." He gestured towards a group of ponies -- many asleep -- sitting on a patch of floor behind the aid station. "There's somepony who'd be glad of your company."
Gravity looked along the line of his wing, gaze jumping immediately to a white mare with a pink mane. Her sudden joy at seeing her sister unharmed was tempered by the look of misery on the other pony's face. "Is she alright?"
"Physically she has a non life threatening injury that we can fix with a bit of specialist care. What she really needs is somepony to talk to. Go on, I've got to see to the rest of my patients."
===
Fusion stared at her new communicator where it lay on the dirty floor between her forehooves, trying to come to terms with what she would have to do if she wanted to remain free. Even this one act hurt People and ponies, she thought, trying to keep her mind away from the collection of injured ponies she sat with. Many more will suffer. Is it worth it? She tried to be objective; thinking about the already large numbers of her kind dying every megasecond, directly and indirectly, at the paws of the Masters. It's one thing to plan a revolution, another to sit in the middle of the suffering it will cause.
She cast her gaze about the large room, taking in the injuries around her, before stopping to stare at a filthy mare walking tiredly towards her. Fusion immediately felt even more guilty; the poor creature was covered in dust and grime, the only sign of her true coat colour were the little patches of blue where the vet had cleaned her leading edge feathers, before sealing a series of cuts or scratches. Blue? Fusion thought, looking more closely. There was a patch of darker fur just visible on the mare's hindquarters, with a lighter curved mark in the middle.
"Gravity?" Fusion said, turning her head to keep her bad eye facing away from the approaching mare. Her ears flattened; it was her sister. What have I done? she thought, insides twisting, as Gravity lay down next to her with a relieved sigh. Overloaded with guilt, she froze as the other pony leaned sideways to rest her head against Fusion's own.
"I'm so glad you made it, when I felt the magic, I thought you'd..." Gravity trailed off, suddenly aware of Fusion's stiff muscles and wide eye. "What's wrong?"
"I'm s-sorry, Grav, I didn't mean to hurt you." The panic distorted Fusion's voice, turning it into a harsh whisper.
"Hurt me?" the blue mare repeated, confused. "You're not saying you did this on purpose, are you?"
Staring into the large teal eyes of a pony she loved, Fusion opened her mouth to tell her sister everything, then looked past those trusting eyes to the thing that sat behind them. Like a worm in an apple, she thought, bending its host to their Master's will. A terrible wave of loneliness washed over the mare. There's not a single creature on this world I can talk to. Sister or not, she'd report me, she'd have no choice. Fusion slowly closed her mouth and shook her head mutely. It would kill her if she had to do that... and there are the other ponies to consider. All around her, heads were turning in their direction, curious expressions on everypony within earshot.
"Of course not, you were just doing what you were ordered to do. Does the Maker blame you?"
Fusion shook her head again. "No, I received no punishment." Somewhere deep inside, a part of her knew she'd done a great wrong and cried out for the pain that should have wracked her body. Cringing slightly, the mare tried to understand why Gravity didn't blame her for all this chaos, deciding that it all boiled down to a simple act of faith; she hadn't been punished by the Maker, thus what she'd done must be according to some great plan beyond the comprehension of a simple pony.
"There you go then," Gravity said firmly, then yawned mightily. Twisting to look down the length of her own body she flinched at the sight of her grease, dust and blood caked fur and feathers, then let out a gasp as she finally saw the new mark on Fusion's hind quarters. "Oh, that's pretty! Did it appear when you...?"
Fusion smiled back at the mare, lifted out of her guilt by Gravity's simple joy at seeing her finally get her labour tattoo. She really doesn't blame me, she thought. "It must have, I didn't feel a thing at the time." Fusion reached out with her magic and pulled over one of the grooming kits at the edge of the aid station. "Here, you rest. Let me give you a brush down," she said, lifting out a curry comb and a set of preening tongs.
===
Gravity sighed in satisfaction, eyes half closed, as Fusion worked the comb through her coat. Feeling distinctly drowsy, she extended one wing slightly to let the preening tongs slip between her feathers, separating and rejoining the barbules to remove the worst of the dirt. "What happened to your face?" she mumbled. She'd noticed the little square dressing covering her sister's left eye, but Fusion had looked so distressed when she'd seen her that Gravity hadn't mentioned it. The relaxing sensations of the brush suddenly stopped.
"Explosion. Ceramic splinter from a damaged instrument," Fusion said after a long pause. "Too much damage. They can't fix it here, so I think I'm going to be in the infirmary for a few nights."
The blue mare winced in sympathy. Simple repairs like her wing fracture were easy -- there was no need to get the microstructure of the bone exactly the way it was before an injury. An eye was a different matter; the highly complex tissue would require long and difficult magics to restore, the patent having to be immobilised for tens of kiloseconds while the spell worked.
"Hey, do you want to hear something funny?" Fusion said, starting to move the brush again, running it in long sweeps down Gravity's back.
"Sure," the other mare said, half closing her eyes again. She knew her sister well, well enough to recognise when she was changing the subject to avoid some unpleasant truth. I wonder what really happened? she thought.
"After my little performance, Academician Vanca said they should start calling me 'Celestia.' "
She didn't say it loudly, but half a dozen highly mobile ears had flicked around and were now following their conversation with interest. Out of the corner of one eye, Gravity noticed her sister wince at the sudden attention, ears drooping in embarrassment. She turned her head and looked at the white mare with wide, innocent eyes. "A Master said you should be called Celestia?" she asked loudly, trying to suppress a smile as Fusion reflexively half raised her wings to cover her face. More ears turned in their direction and they were now the centre of attention.
Fusion mock growled back at her. "Watch it, moon filly," she said, prodding the white crescent of Gravity's labour tattoo with the preening tongs, "or I'll call you 'Luna' from now on."
Gravity giggled, then started to feel a little bad about the teasing. Anything involving the Masters was treated with utmost seriousness; even if all the ponies here realised the comment was in jest, the fact remained that a Master had called her sister 'Celestia'. She'd never escape the nickname now. Gravity watched emotions play across Fusion's face; there was the expected chagrin and reluctant humour, but there was also worry and an expression of deep thought. Finally the white head nodded slowly a couple of times, as if Fusion had reached some important, but difficult, decision.
"Have you received any orders for tomorrow yet?" she said, gesturing at the communications disk nestled in the thick grey-blue fur at the base of Gravity's throat.
"No, just ones for today."
"I think I may know what you'll be doing while I'm resting up," Fusion said slowly. "I've worked out how I did what I did. How does me showing you how to do it sound?"
The blue mare's sudden squeal of delight echoed from the high roof, attracting glances from ponies on the other side of the transit hub. Fusion smiled in return, but Gravity wasn't paying attention. If she had been, she might have noticed that her sister' expression was unaccountably sad.
===
Author's note:
Happy Hearth Warming everypony! I hope you enjoyed your present.
I'd like to thank you all for reading and commenting; all the feedback and encouragement has done wonders for my writing confidence. I probably wouldn't have made it this far without you (certainly not this fast, anyway).
PS: don't forget to hit that 'thumbs up' button if you like this story (you must do, you're still reading after thirteen chapters!).
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So good.
"You need to save your strength my filly, there are plenty of doors in this facility," - commas, my filly
Fusion stared her new communicator where it lay on the dirty floor between her forehooves, - I think it's a phrase or something (stared sth), but I'd put "stared at" here. And I'd say hooves instead of forehooves, but it might be just me.
Well, Celestia becomes wicked. And was hurting Luna necessary? I really fail to see a reason you might have done that.
And yes, I do enjoy my gift. Now that I've caught up on fimfiction, time to read me some Terry Pratchett's works.
1852082
Fixed, thanks. Still in two minds about 'forehooves'; it is a bit of a clumsy word.
I'm going to have to go into hiding again, aren't I? To answer your question though, yes, it was necessary (including, but not limited to: foreshadowing medical processes, showing Fusion the consequences of her actions and a reminder that a pony will work herself past the point of no return to please her Master).
Can you elaborate on Celestia being wicked?
1852172
Welcome! I guess there's nothing new under the sun -- you'll have to let me know how much the stories diverge, when you're a bit further in.
Celestia, and now Luna as well.
The only bad thing about this story is I don't have all of it in my greedy little hands.
I keep hitting the thumbs up button, but nothing is happening! I don't know that I can make it go any higher. Maybe if I hit the thumbs down button I'll be able to hit the up button more...
I think you mean "patient", and it's spelled "immobilized"
And I've pressed the thumbs up button. Merry Christmas.
Aftereffects of a Resonance Cascade are always a bitch... especially if you plan to repeat it...
Oooh, the incoming rebellion will be glorious!
1853035
Thanks. Fixed the first one; the second is correct for British English (which I am!).
1853020
What an excellent idea! Don't you dare...
1852940
You and me both. The nights I've wished for a time machine so I can nip ahead and see how I get to the end game.
===
To every one else: thanks for commenting and rating!
1853020
I'm having this exact same problem! If you figure out how to fix it, let me know.
Perfect Christmas Present, thank you so much for continuing to share the story with us!
1852172
Why did I choose to learn Spanish instead of Latin or German? Oh yeah, because my school only offers Spanish and French now :|.
So, if this is how Equestria will be founded, when does Pinkie Pie get her cutie mark?
Thumbs up? I'm pressing as hard as I can - but the stupid site only lets me vote once
This and the resurrection of 'Sharing the Night' have made this an awesome Christmas.
Hey look, violent fantasies concerning Salrath! That'a girl.
1852352
Checked, and the lack of comma's still not corrected.
About the wicked Celestia, I should've used another word. Vile, maybe; and what I meant that some chapters ago, she first thought about killing a Master, and now she's thinking about it more and more (not like I'm complaining!). As always, this is my opinion, and your mileage may vary. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Excellent! I'm always really excited when a new chapter of this is released, and it never fails to fulfill expectations!
1856752
.
Now they're fixed (both of them; the other typo you spotted wasn't done either)! Think I had version control issues; I'd made the corrections on my offline master copy. Thanks for checking.
I understand what you mean, although unless you are on the side of the Masters, I probably wouldn't use 'vile' either (one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter)
She's certainly becoming 'harder'; the word I'd use is 'free'.
1856780>>1853720
Thanks, it's my pleasure.
1853972
I really should change that short description to something a little less abstract!
Thanks for the gift sorry for reading until tomorrow I had alot of other things to do on that day. I hope you understand. ^^;
1852352
I shouldn't comment on stuff when sleep deprived. Let's just say I think that Celestia's character development is going very well and I can't wait to see how the story progresses. And how brutally is Salrath slain.
And so it begins
I NEED MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
1857150
That's fine, nobody says you have to open your present on the day you get it!
1859754
I'll be honest, I hadn't even thought about the Matrix-like aspect until you mentioned it, but I can see what you mean (reality being controlled by a hidden infrastructure). To your brain it doesn't matter if the real world is changing or if the sensory inputs are fake, it's all the same. Anyhow, glad you are enjoying it!
hi hi
What a miserable dilemma for Fusion Pulse, she can't even trust her own sister, and not just because of the blessing either. How can she be sure how her sister will react if the blessing is removed? Will Gravity Resonance be able to hide that fact as well as Fusion Pulse has, will she slip up, or will her habits cause her to reveal the truth without consideration for the consequences? Her sister undoubtedly will not be the same, if and when she is set free, but what kind of person will she be?
This is the difference between honesty and fear, I guess. The blessing seems like a perpetual lie born out of fear, and rather than banishing that fear, it has predictably festered into paranoia. So how does Fusion Pulse learn how to truly trust, when she can't expect honesty from others, and cannot even be honest herself?
Also, even though I was expecting it, reading Gravity Resonance's twisted up thoughts was a trying experience. Its hard to put into words just how disturbing the idea of the blessing is... and that nightmare. I guess fear is going to be something Gravity Resonance will become familiar with, isn't it?
(Also... random thought: I'm starting to suspect that if the guardians should ever be given physical form, they'll turn out to be dragons. Might explain why they horde gems anyway.)
1866803
Thanks for your post, it's always interesting (and useful!) to see how others view the character's situation (I think after your last set of comments I spent a chunk of time researching post traumatic stress; which is probably a state that's not uncommon among the newly Blessed). I'm a firm believer in exploring the unforeseen consequences.
The Blessing's design was a natural extrapolation of the most 'believable' mind control mechanism I could come up with (more on how it actually works later), without invoking too much hand waving. As with most SF, the trick is to make a change and run with it, trying to determine the second order effects of such a technology. Gravity's one saving is that she's not been Blessed for that long - what about a pony that's been under its effects for decades?
1860141
That's a pretty good track! I can see why you linked it. The ones that 'fit' best for me are Eurobeat's Diamond Dogs (perfect for getting into the mindset of a Master), and Restrained Madness' Crystal Uprising (perfect for... well, you can guess what).
1877034 Neat! Checked both out, awesomeness
Not much to say. I do feel bad for Fusion, given her first taste of what's likely to be much misery to come, but at the same time, I can't help but be glad that the insidious little mindworm's going to get expunged out of Gravity's head via Immense Cosmic Power™.
Looking forward to more.
1857021 I think the word is "harsh" or perhaps "ruthless". Neither necessarily bad: being ruthless or harsh is necessary when fixing something stubborn.
I like seeing the difference between kind Masters (praising ponies, telling them it's better if they rest) and cruel ones.
hi hi
Well 1877034 , I usually just try to type up what first comes to mind and try to make a little bit of sense of it. I suppose if I'm lucky there might be something clever held within. (Thats one of the things about unintended consequences I guess, sometimes they're good and sometimes they're not.)
Gravity Resonance may not have been blessed very long, but I imagine that these kinds of stressful situations have a tendency to progress things faster. I mean, she's already starting to get over her issues with mass euthanasia, which might not have ever come up in different circumstances. Still, easy come, easy go I guess... hopefully she doesn't have a chance to let those thoughts sink in too deeply.
I would imagine that somepony who has been "blessed," for a long time would have a difficult time adjusting. It might constitute a crisis of faith, if suddenly everything you know is wrong, or at least if your ability to tell right from wrong is suddenly taken away. There's bound to be at least a few that might conclude that there is no such thing as or wrong. Or perhaps when suddenly nothing makes sense anymore, they might conclude that truth itself was a lie. Others, I suppose, might carry on the same way as before, never daring to test the boundaries that they've already established.
1900743
First impressions are always valuable--if it takes too much thought to understand, then it probably needs a rewrite!
1897764
Yes, that fits. I always figured that there would be a range of attitudes to the ponies--it makes for a good contrast, and it was always supposed to be just as much carrot as stick (this is something that's missing from the first few chapters and should probably be edited in).
1882200
Truth be told, so am I!
I shall read this... when I Finish my latest order... and eat...Odd... I didn't know breakfast was at 5:30 PM???
I'm loving this story... burning through the chapters way too fast though.
What's funny is that I've had a couple of ideas for my own stories that involve Equestria being in a pocket universe. I always figured that was the only way the Princesses could really move the celestial bodies. I am assuming that the debris ring around the planet are what become the stars for Luna?
I kept imagining
CelestiaI MEAN FUSION PULSE grooming Woona instead of Lu- I mean Gravity.My god that scene was cute.
Why didn't I start reading this when it first appeared.
So friggn awesome!
i was the 444th thumb...YAY FOR REALLY NOTICEABLE NUMBERS
The fun has been doubled! :D
Yep. Free will is both a wonderful and terrible thing to curse your sister with...
Okay back to Lu... err Gravity (And yeah I actually typed out Luna and didn't realize it till I re-read, oops.). This, is going to be odd. After so long in Fusion, or a master, going back to a POV with The Blessing, seeing back through that distorted POV. Not to mention, you know, wanting to know what's going to happen to Fusion but, also, glad we're seeing what happened to those two as well.
And there it is. But, on the plus side, even now, she is already starting to question, wonder. Sal-bitch may have haelpped far more then she knows saying that. She just wanted to hurt them but, it's making her doubt, and once Fusion frees her from The Blessing this will make it far easier for her to accept the truth so, nice. Really well done. making it clear why she'll be a good second pony to free.
Now Animal, hmm, but more of a mystery. Just what he would do if freed. He's older, has long ago come to terms with things, accepted them. And yet, at the same time, he clearly sees things are wrong, isn't happy about them, knows it's not right, but has managed to get himself to a point where he suppresses that, doesn't let himself actually see it, even if deep down he knows it. And, why is he still around so much? What's his role going to be in all this? Fusion and Gravity, we know where they end up, so, despite it being intense, the overall fear and tension about what will happen to them, isn't that overwhelming cause, we know their fate. The question is how. But Animal, what ends up happening to him? Is he around for the ride? Or just, a few chapters then gone? major character? Or just a brief guest in the story?
Well knew it was a dream right off but, an odd one. makes sense for her, and, it's rather quick, just, felt rather, flat. It's clear why she would dream this, and how it would effect her just, so little emotion to it, and yet at the same time, that's kind of the point. That, she's doing this so automatically, just because The Masters tell her to, no thought but to comply. The horror of it coming afterwards, not during. It, makes sense and works logically just, hard to really feel anything for it for me.
So, just how far CAN they use this other sense? Again it makes sense but, what ends up happening to it? Is it something that just atrophied though disuse? Something blocking it? A change in the universe? Something unique to Alicorns that Tia and Luna still have? And, is it just because of her sister that she can sense it that far away? Strong enough to wake her up? Or, is she just that sensitive to these things? And, wow she must have been out quite a long time regardless. But again, like with Fusion she's had a really hard last day so, could use the rest.
And ways even a pony still trapped by The Blessing, can be sneaky, and get away with things. Be able to think for them self if they can do the right mental hurdles to make it make sense to them that they should. Yeah some of it likely sophistry but, very useful sophistry and, it's great seeing ponies able to do this. showing that all of them, are still THEM under the programming, that there is hope far any of them should that shell program be deleted.
Okay, so not ALL of them beside Korn are utter assholes. You sir, may get to live. Do like that. We've seen so much of The Masters treating ponies like shit.. and off...
that
fucking
asshole. It's nice see they are exceptions, or outliers. Not all are that evil and twisted.
And we saw how well not relaying on any 'primitive' means of operating things screwed them over with the doors. Always have a backup that requires nothing but physical effort when ever possible.
Typo? Anyway, yeah they don't have stairs she could have used? Given this places design flaws so far i'd say, likely not. Guess The Masters never came up with an organization like OSHA.
Well that was.. an interesting cut away to what she was doing. Not, intense, not great, but nothing bad either more a "It happened" thing. But, still nice seeing Gravity for a bit.
And this, is a good point of debate, which of those two is worse. On the whole, looking at it objectively, I'd have to say that Vanca is worse, just be the shear little she cares, beyonf what she can get out of it. The attitude that they are just things, tools, used and discarded. It is, on the whole, more annoying, worse. Yet
(Yes I like referring to her like that.) Is far far worse on a personal level. While her view of ponies on the whole is slightly better, at least that they matter. If you are a pony that catches her eye, it is far far worse for you. Yes Vanca doesn't do anything to care for a pony, but he also doesn't go out of his way to hurt them either. So really which is worse, depends on how close to one of them you are.
And now seeing how, she needs to be careful. Yes this was an accident, she never meant for the pulse to be this powerful, but, she needs to take care. And yet, also accept that, she might not be able to save all of them. That, ponies wil fight, give their lives to protect The Masters if they are not freed. And even some who are freed, might not be able to accept the change, might be so stuck in their ways that they just go right on acting like they did. Being so used to it, needing it. And if you are unwilling to risk hurting some ponies, to save more, then The Masters have a weakness they can use against you. Where do you draw the line?
But yes, the freedom of your race IS worth it.
Oh plenty of ways to be sneaky. Just, a tiny little pinch to the right artery, Cut off blood flow to the brain for a few minutes, then release it. Cause some of the blood to coagulate, make it look like a blood clot had caused a stroke.A force field over her mouth and nose, keep her from breathing. Find a decent sized amount of water, trip her up, make her bang her head on something hard enough make it possible she'd been knocked out, and then hold her under. Lot's of ways to get creative.
And all to good for her. No, no, if not Rec Velvet.. then I know what should REALLY happen to her. She should live. No, the best punishment, best way of making sure she suffers. Let her live, in fact take her out of time. Bring her to the future, let her see what happened to her race. Grovel before Princesses Celestia, be at her mercy. And have her be 'merciful'. Let her live, go out into the world. See these ponies living free of the Masters. See her people groveling, pathetic wretches.
Knows her yes, but not THAT well. Not enough to even be able to think about her thinking something like that. But enough to know she cares about her kind, doesn't want others to suffer needlessly, wants to help them. And cares enough to help her with that, to tr and set her mind at ease. Yes because she's a valuable specimen, and should be kept happy as best as possible, to prevent something interfering with her abilities. But also, because he really does seem to care about her. Not as an equal, no not by any means, but, at least as a person. Less like a master and their pet, then a noble and some servant.
Yes careful. And, that she knows this, is able to work it out, after everything she's already been through. Again amazing.
Again really love how he's manged to get common sense through The Blessing. Working out ways to make it easier on himself and other ponies, without ever deviating from orders. Ways to think to make it alright to question.
So, they can fix it. Knew it. But yeah 'talk', and yet, not being able to talk about what she really wants, not here. Going to be interesting seeing her dance around just how much to tell Gravity. And REALLY want to see Gravity's reaction once she's finally freed.
And exactly as above, saw this coming and, well, this is going to be good to see. Her debate over this, how she works it out.
Oh, right for the worst question you could ask right now. Stay strong, don't let on...
And a good way to prove this to some doubting ponies. Given where they feel their 'punishment' comes from, seeing a pony that isn't, means either it can't be from The maker, or the Maker isn't perfect.
Now here is the question. Would a pony under The Blessing have been able to say that? To lie? And, yeah given what Animal can justify, I could see her making up a good reason for why she thought it was right. As long as the pony truly believes they are doing right, The Blessing won't effect them.
Well I can see why. Her sister still in thrall. Having to teach her to be anther subject for Vanca. Not able to tell her anything. The two would be monitered closely. She couldn't explain. And shouldn't try to remove her Blessing yet, even if she can work out how. And even if she can, to bring her into this, force her to share Fusion's burden's? To fight or not to fight? To risk the deaths of so many innocents, to save them from the life they know? Making that decision for them? Having to bare the burden of so much death, because of them, even knowing that it is for the right cause?
A nice, lower key little breather after the intensness of the last few chapter, always important to have those. Time to take a break, relax, let the reader unwind before piling on more drama, tenseness. And, a lot of really food little character moments as well, Fusion beginning to fully realize her dilemma, just how much work this would take, and what price might need to be paid. So amazingly well done.
1851948
So very, very good.
Can't wait for 'Celestia' to free the mind of Best Pony. It strikes me that while Celestia took a few days to reach her conclusions and consider revolution (which is still way too fast for realism), Luna will practically dive in, having readily recognized the wrongdoings of the Masters and not having enough time for the mental corrections on her thoughts to be permanent.
You keep misusing, "Euthanize" It's only euthanasia if something is killed with a lethal injection.
6386335 Not so, but far otherwise. "Lethal injection" is no part of any definition I've seen.
Tell that to Doctor Frankenstein.
6783238
I am mistaken and stand corrected.
This is why I don't trust people who say they've learned from context.
8715519
I'm going to steal that quote from you. Without context. For fun.
cs5.pikabu.ru/images/big_size_comm/2014-11_2/1415407820894.png
Revealing the truth
8715519
Context is definitely useful, but often quite misleading.
Something that's been bugging me for a while now regarding the creation of the universe... The Interdimensional Mirror from EQG. If the Pattern created this little bubble universe, and that's all of existence, then where does the mirror go? I'm aware most of this was written before EQG, but I still like to think about that... Perhaps the pattern wasn't the only deific entity to be born from chaos? Perhaps there are other patterns who have created other universes both large and small, each with their own sapient species, and perhaps the Mirror was the result of Diamond Dog experimentation... What if Vanca pulled a Doctor Vahlen and continued her research, even after losing the revolution, creating the mirror linking the pocket universe with other worlds.
I kinda want to write a little story about this, after of course finishing my current project.