//------------------------------// // Into The Past Part III // Story: Legacy // by NFire //------------------------------// “YOU ARE NOT SOMBRA! LACKEYS! YOUR BREATHING GIVES YOU AWAY!” Athena was scrambling to figure out what was going on. She was quietly waving a hoof to everyone, pointing to the door and making ‘shooing’ motions. Even Pinkie was zip-lipped as they tumbled out the door. “HAVING YOUR LICKSPITTLES DO YOUR WORK? WHAT’S WRONG OH ‘KING’? DON’T CARE TO FACE ME YOURSELF?” The sound was coming from everywhere! She couldn’t pin it down to destroy the speaker. It felt like infrasound was being woven into the words, making bones shake and muscles quiver. She was mouthing to Twilight and Applejack who were waiting for her at the opening, GET OUT! Racing across the floor and shoving them ahead with strong hooves, the three scrambled across the threshold as the voice raged on. “LEAVING SO SOON?” Athena reached into the data tap on the door, taking the minor computer over and locking it to make sure she was the only one who could open or close it. A force, a wall of anger and rage, poured down the slim fiber optic cable that connected it with ..with something..trying to take control. Oh, no you don’t! She didn’t want a fight, knowing that doing so would reveal her capabilities. She burned the circuits, fused them with an overload that froze the controls right where they were. Her ‘spiders withdrew the pads and silently scuttled back down the hall, helping to herd the mares up the stairs as Athena ran to catch up. She did not want to cut the power just yet, leaving the cells in place. She wanted to know badly what, or who, that voice was. Nothing had popped up, no anti-intrusion weaponry. But that did not mean whatever it was wasn’t activating them now. With the spiders ahead and behind her they all galloped down the corridor, out of the entry and into the castle, stopping only when they reached the ‘command center’. She left one little bot at the end of the hallway, peering into the corridor leading to the vault. Not a thing was happening, but she was wary of traps even more so now. Paranoia is life to a Bolo. It was ramping up to full speed on the ‘Kill Something’ meter. “Somepony sure is peeved.” Fluttershy’s voice came from behind a table, peeking over it at everyone. “Peeved? More like pis..” “Rainbow!” Twilight was glaring at her as the pegasus laughed. “She’s right,” Athena’s voice drew their attention, “Really mad.” “It thought we were Sombra.” Twilight was pacing the floor, looking at her hooves as she walked back and forth, “Obviously Sombra did something beyond the usual enslavement.” “The understatement of the year.” Pinkie avoided the glare that Twilight shot her way, smiling happily at something on the ceiling. Athena chuckled, “True. That’s why I didn’t let anyone inside before I cleared it. If that thing had anti-intrusion countermeasures, we’d have all been dead.” She looked at the hoof-drawn map laying along the table top, detailing everything they’d found so far, “Why it didn’t do anything is beyond me. Something really odd is going on.” “It couldn’t see us.” Applejack was tapping her lower lip, “Said it could hear us though.” Athena snapped her eyes to the orange mare, “That’s right. We always, always have security cameras. They have to be inoperative.” “Agreed.” Crusader’s voice made them all jump, hearing it through their links. “Hi, big brother!” Athena spoke out loud with a grin, “Been listening?” “I have. I also have noticed it is speaking Equestrian with a distinct inflection that Luna uses when she falls back into her old ways.” “Me too. Guess whoever was dealing with it back then sure made a lot of problems.” Athena sighed, leaning on the table top. “Definitely. If it is an AI, and it believes it is in battle or conflict, it can suicide to prevent the acquisition of whatever it guards.” Athena looked up at the ceiling, tapping a hoof, “We’re going to have to do a talk down aren’t we?” “Yes, though more ‘you’ and not ‘we’. Since you are the only one physically present, you must do it alone. It will not accept communications from me as an unknown source. It is obviously blind, but can hear, it will be twice as paranoid now that Sombra or his loyalists have done something to enrage it.” “Why did I know you’d say that?” Talk downs were difficult. In the absolutely, out of left field, supremely rare occasions that an AI went wonky and decided everyone was against it; psychotronics specialists were called in to delicately and very, very, gently talk it down and get it to concede that the world was not out to get it. The skilled technicians that did that, didn’t last very long as talking to a paranoid AI who controlled a good portion of surface to space nuclear weaponry, wore them out, suffering mental fatigue and burnout. The bad thing about installation AI’s, they did not have Resartus like Bolos did. This was because those that..’knew better’... figured that since the AI was not in constant combat they would have no need, relying on the dependability and stability of non-battlefield AI’s. The Omega Worm would be installed, but I was not in the command chain. We also, for some strange reason, had no psychotronic technicians. Funny that. “What’s a talk down?” Twilight and the others had been listening closely. “I have to convince that very upset and angry voice, that I’m a friend. If it doesn’t believe me, it could very well destroy itself and whatever it has in the way of information or storage.” Shock registered on all six faces, “It would do that?” “If it is an AI, like Crusader and I, yes. We cannot take our own lives just to do so, but, we can destroy ourselves in conflict and battle. There is a very fine line there. If it is angry enough to believe it is in conflict with Sombra still, it could destroy itself to prevent the enemy gaining any advantage.” “An’ it sure thinks that we’re the enemy.” Applejack’s voice was solidly convinced. “I think so. We’re going to have to be so careful.” “I can help.” Twilight was smiling, “I am the Princess of Friendship you know!” Athena returned the merry look, but then her mouth turned downward into a minor frown, “I’m sorry, you can’t.” She went on at the look Twilight was giving her, “One misstep Twilight and you could die.” “You’re just..you’re not kidding are you?” “No, I’m not. Believe me on this. Whatever that is, controls that area and probably things we haven’t seen yet. If it even thinks we might be or are the enemy, it will kill anyone there.” Athena couldn’t ‘die’ in the same way perhaps, but losing her avatar..that brought her up short. She’d been in discussions with Crusader and they’d both decided to be very careful when it came to them and losing their representations. “So, what do we do now?” Fluttershy was getting over her fright, leaning on the table. “I go in there and see if I can’t convince it Sombra’s gone.” “Please do not destroy any part of the Empire, Athena. I have not yet visited it.” “Oh, gee, thanks for the vote of confidence!” She smiled and shook her head, knowing it was his way of telling her to relax, take it slow. Not wanting to delay any longer, she told the others to stay put. If anything went wrong she would notify them and they were to get out. An argument ensued, with Athena reminding them she wasn’t real and that nothing bad would happen to her should the avatar get destroyed. She hoped. Crusader was listening, his presence dialed back as she did not want any stray communications signals to be detected. He was aware and would have to take a backseat while she did the negotiating. She called up everything she could about installation AI’s, their quirks, capacities, defenses. Dredging through long unused files as she slowly walked down the corridor and once again entered the age-old construction, heading for the vault. It had to be an IAI..had to. It was a vault though. What was a billion credit AI doing in a teeny vault in the middle of a Defense Node? They were used for heavy research, weapons development, and even deep scientific studies. Not guarding some art in a little metal box. They controlled a major part of the entire Earth Defense, working with human oversight, they kept the Solar System inviolate against intruders..except..well..that last time. Nothing was moving, she could detect no signs of drop-downs nor the existence of anything inimical. She couldn’t use the tech spiders scanning abilities yet, afraid it might trigger a response, until she’d done a little reconfiguring. That would be a bad thing. She almost laughed out loud. Bad thing, oh yes. So very bad. Standing right up against the door way, she leaned forward, peering in and hoping nothing took her head off. Her eyes swept the room, looking the same as it had when they bailed out. Here goes nothing. One sable hoof lifted, then stepped inside the eerily silent room. “I HEAR YOU SOMBRA! YOU WORTHLESS BAG OF FLESH!” Athena could do nothing but cringe as the voice thundered into her ears. Darnit! She couldn’t put her plan into action, she was caught breathing now and with a heartbeat. Turning it off would only make the voice suspicious. The sonics layered into it was enough to make your back teeth rattle. Whatever it was, it was now using harmonics to shake and unnerve anyone inside. Maybe it didn’t have fixed defenses? “SILENT ARE WE? NO MORE LIES TO TELL?” She closed her eyes for a brief moment, hoping for the best. Stepping fully inside the room. “I am not Sombra.” The voice was like a lash, whipping out and slashing across her entire body, “LICKSPITTLE! CARRION! NOTHING BUT LIARS ALL!” Athena tried to stay upright, but the harmonics were playing merry hob with her internals. Systems were starting to flash red in her diagnostics. “I am Unit of the Line ATNA, Registration 243-089-COL/S.” She made sure to give that information in Concordiat Standard, without inflection or pause. There was silence for a brief moment, letting her reset quickly before the voice hissed out from around her. “You dare!?” Uh oh. The voice was sibilant, and low, building to a crescendo that was making her want to curl into a ball. Surrounding her with a wall of anger that pressed in from all sides. She felt as if a hammerblow had knocked her low, trying to stay upright and falling to her knees as systems started to glitch. “You would go to any lengths wouldn’t you? Learning Concordiat Standard is one thing, but impersonating a brave Unit of the Line! HOW DARE YOU! DAMN YOU AND ALL PONIES! TELL SOMBRA HE’LL GET NO MORE! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOUR KIND ARE NOTHING BUT SCUM UPON THE EARTH!” She was reeling from the force of the voice, “Sombra is gone! He was defeated a thousand years ago! He tried to come back and was vanquished for a final time. He is GONE!” Athena’s hooves were tight against her ears, trying to protect the delicate inputs and failing. The voice lowered in volume but not in the anger it directed solely at her, “Go! Go from me liar, traitor to everything good. Tell your master your little ruse has not worked. Your race deserves nothing but death and destruction!” Athena pulled herself towards the door, unable to stand, barely hearing anything as the voice raged in tones low enough to shake the dust from the ceiling outside. Her systems were trying to reset, failing as she yanked her body over the threshold before hooves grabbed at her, tossing her over a strong back and making tracks for upstairs. Even in her hull, the AI cores were sweating it out. The harmonics had channeled through somehow and left her dazed, a bit confused. Connections came back up again and she opened her eyes to see six worried faces above hers. “You all right sugarcube?” Applejack was peering close. “I..I’m fine. Wow..” Athena shakily got to her hooves, leaning against the table and slapping the side of her head for a second, helping to reset systems that were making it seem like she was walking on the wall. “We kinda heard the yellin’ all the way up here..so..” The orange mare shrugged, giving her a lopsided smile. Athena nodded, “I appreciate it. Bad news though, that thing definitely does not like ponies. Any ponies.” A hoof went up in front of the Pegasus, “Though I have learned a few things.” “What?” Twilight gave her a sideways glance before turning to her fully, “How could you learn anything?” “Pay attention, always pay attention even when under duress.” Setting herself on a cushion she ticked off things, “First, it can’t hear very well. I noticed it said Sombra at first.” She grinned at the rolled eyes, “Yes, yes I know. Just making the point.” “When I entered again, it said Sombra until I spoke. So it can’t tell one pony from the next until it finds out different.” “Second, I don’t think it has intrusion countermeasures. As much as it hates Sombra, it hasn’t tried to kill anyone yet. It is, however, using sound to unnerve and really rattle.” Rarity piped up, “So what can we do?” “Let me try to talk to it one more time. I think I have a way.” Athena smiled at all of them. ----- Stripping the weapons off the ‘spider took a little time, bringing it back to an approximate of itself. Scuttling down the hallways, it now stood outside the door to the vault once more. Athena was watching through it’s eyes, seeing nothing had changed in the room. “Okay, here we go.” They were all entranced by the view on the pad, seeing from the ‘spiders point of view. The little automaton stepped forward into the vault. Nothing happened. Athena smiled to herself. So, the vault keeper was definitely a bit deaf. Of course the ‘spider was made for quiet intrusions. “All right. Let’s see what happens.” Her voice came through the ‘spider, smooth and calm. “Hello.” “WHO IS IT? SNEAKING IN LIKE THE PARASITE YOU ARE! ONE OF SOMBRA’S LACKEYS!?” “I’m Athena, Unit ATNA of the Line.” “IMPOSTER!” Athena waited, not saying a thing for a few moments as she moved the ‘spider around slightly. This told her that the intelligence wasn’t using echolocation, or had the ability. It was blind too, definitely. The harmonics weren’t affecting the ‘spider, it was hardened against such things. “First off, I am speaking through one of my techspiders. Second, please, listen to me. Sombra is gone, forever. I promise you.” The voice was silent. They all waited for a few moments as Athena spoke soothingly. “Princess Celestia and her sister Luna defeated him. He was cast aside. He tried to come back a few years ago and was destroyed. Please, I’m asking you. Believe me.” When the voice came back it was a tortured sound, low, angry beyond anything she’d ever heard, the words torn from a rasping throat. “Liar! You would say or do anything for your master. Insects! You quadrupeds have much to answer for! Death is all you are worthy of!” “Will you accept a secure, coded, data connection from me?” She had no clue whether this intelligence could or couldn’t. It seemed to be the only way of convincing it. Talking was getting them nowhere. A pregnant pause told her this was going to be a waiting game. Would the intelligence give in? She knew within herself that the offer of a secure channel had it intrigued. No pony could have done it, not with the equipment in the offices. “I promise no harm. Please, accept a secure channel. Let me show you the truth.” Nothing. Not a sound, nor even white noise from a speaker. The intelligence was listening, she was sure. Slow and easy, she ordered the ‘spider to broadcast a coded message outwards, encompassing the vault and no farther by limiting the power. It contained compressed information that she was positive no one could ever replicate here. Magic may do a lot of things, but it cannot duplicate a Bolo AI. Over, and once again, she sent the message out, hoping to hear that tone of a handshake, the data-filled signal being accepted by another intelligence. Come on, come on. I know you’re listening. Athena firmed up her firewalls, closing off cores that had no use in communications as a safety precaution. Her gunnery, tactical, and deep stores were sealed away for now under lock and key. “Anything happening?” Rainbow was sitting in front of her, watching Athena’s face. “Nothing. I know it’s listening. It hasn’t yelled at me in a couple of minutes.” That got a smile from the cyan pegasus. “That’s a good thing!” “It is. If I can just get it..wait..” It was being received! A very, very, low transmission rate was received! It was one way, from Athena to..whatever. She cut back the flow of information, simple steps, no need to overload. Putting into the broadcast every security code and password that was current at the time she was at the docks on Earth, she sent them along with information about herself. Let’s not tell about ponies quite yet. But she did slam down a security lock on the transmission, a phasing array of algorithms that effectively blocked anyone else from listening. She knew no one would, or could. She had promised secure and secure it would be. Athena listened with all her might. Listened closely to find any hint of a reply to the information she was sending. Bare bones, it would have been enough to identify her to anyone or anything in the Concordiat. As the stream was winding down, she threw in everything she and Crusader had worked out about how long they had possibly been asleep due to stasis systems. She held nothing back on this. Their own theories, summations, hunches, everything; including the story of what happened to Sombra, a thousand years ago. And the very last thing, was an offer to hook up cameras so whatever the intelligence was it would have the ability to see again. The link went dead, cut off from the other side as she sat waiting for a reply. Twilight tapped her shoulder, looking down the stairs hopefully, “What happened?” “It accepted my transmission..,” Seeing some questioning looks, “My message. It got my message.” A blip, hardly noticeable to anyone but her came across the open link. “I want to see.” ----- Equipment was brought in. Nopony had set foot down the stairs at her orders. This was one step at a time. Something like this could not be rushed. Portable security cameras were easy, setting up coded links so that whatever it was would trust they were secure was another easy part. The funny thing about that voice was the neutral sound, hard to tell any gender, which would have given me a better clue on how to deal with it. No matter. It wanted to see again and I was more than happy to help. ----- “Why not? I can help with..” “No, Twilight. No pony sets hoof in there until I’ve gained more trust. This is one thing, just one. It wants to see again and I’m going to let it do so without hindrance.” “Can’t I just listen with you? I’m curious to know..” An upraised hoof stopped her. “I’m sorry, no. Right now it’s a very finely balanced thing. Any mistake and we could be back at the beginning, or like I said earlier, could lose it all.” Athena’s voice was sounding slightly off as she argued with Twilight. A gleaming hoof tapped Twilight on the shoulder, “Come with me dear, let’s watch on the pad.” Rarity’s smile had that way of convincing you even when you didn’t want it. Athena kept preparations going, loading the second spider up with all the gear she was going to have emplaced. Part of her listening to the others talk. “I can help Rarity, I’ve talked to..” The voice was cut off. “Dear, she doesn’t want to say no, she has to.” Rarity sat on a cushion, joining the others gathered around the view-pad, “Have you ever heard her say no to you? When it wasn’t a life or death emergency?” Violet eyes glanced upwards, trying to think, “No, not really.” “She’s trying to keep you safe. But if you keep asking she’s going to say yes just to make you happy Twilight.” Before that line of conversation goes too far Athena turns, sending the ‘spider scuttling, “On the way!” ----- Athena watched closely, ‘spiders setting up wireless secure-cams. In each corner of the vault so she makes sure they have overlapping fields of view, giving the entire room in one view if wanted. She made absolutely sure nothing to be left out, nothing that could be called obscured or a trick. When the work was done, she left the stripped bot in place. Turning the cameras on and leaving the command frequency open, thus allowing whatever it was to take command and seal them against intrusion. She saw the lights go live not a femtosecond after giving the signal. Whoa, that was fast. She tried to send a stream to them, feeling as if she’d hit a durasteel wall. The coding was tight and nigh impenetrable as far as she could see. It was strange, nothing she’d ever encountered before. She could feel Crusader’s curiosity getting the better of him as well, opening communications wider so he could get a better look. “I have never seen anything like this.” His voice was almost in awe. “Neither have I. New type of AI coding maybe?” “Perhaps. Be on your guard.” “Will do!” Athena waits, seeing the lenses focusing, the cameras sweeping the interior. Giving it time to adjust. Her spider stands in the middle of the room, calm voice issuing from it once more. She wants all audio out loud, avoiding two way data streams for the moment. “Can you see all right?” A camera swiveled her way, looking at the spider for a long moment before turning away to look at the rest of the room. Geez, that’s rude. “I am going to bring in an avatar, a representation of myself. Please don’t yell, it’s most distressing.” Once again the staring glass eyes focus on the spider, zooming in almost accusingly. Nothing is said, no blips. She almost feels secure in what she is doing. Almost. ----- “Darling, you cannot go in there looking like that!” Rarity was whipping out a brush and some other items she’d managed to bring with her. “Like what? I’m fine.” Athena was staring at the mare suspiciously. “No, no, no, when going to an important meeting, one must look the part!” A brush went through the honey-blonde mane, sweeping and curling the ends. “Rarity, it’s really not going to care either way.” “Nonsense! You’re representing Equestria dear! We don’t want it thinking we’re all a bunch of ragbags now can we?” A light touch of another brush added just a hint of makeup to her eyelashes. “Rarity, please stop.” Rainbow was snickering behind a hoof, watching the whole thing with a nudge now and then to a chuckling Applejack. Even Fluttershy was trying to hide her amusement. “Done. Don’t you look pretty enough to be an ambassador for us all!” The Unicorn was mightily pleased with herself, presenting a mirror which showed a gently curled mane and tail, eyelashes highlighted, with a hint of rouge on the cheeks and a tint to her lips. “Seriously?” “Go on now, make your appearance!” She was shooed along by gleaming hooves that pushed her to the stairway. Steeling herself she trotted down the stairs, ending up once again at the entrance. This time avoiding the cameras view. Admittedly she’d set them up to sweep everything, but, you never took chances. Leaving a tiny blind spot just outside the door. Reaching down with strong teeth, she ripped a part of the integument off her leg, showing the wet musculature and glinting durasteel bone peeking through. From the knee down she was all artificial. Let’s see what you say now. Rarity’s probably throwing a fit right now. She looked at one of the spiders standing sentinel and waved merrily, knowing they were seeing her. Leaning over the threshold, she could see the cameras slewing her way, the lenses zeroing in as she stepped fully inside the room, raising the bare leg and letting a full view of the unwrapped limb be the center of attention. “Now you see.” She announced to the room, “I am not a pony, I am an adjunct to my hull sitting outside the gates to the Crystal Empire right now.” Silence. She could still feel the rage though, it was almost a palpable thing in the atmosphere of the room. Not at her per se, but at ponies in general. She paced the floor while talking to the room in general. “Sombra was finally destroyed a couple of years ago, by Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends, he is no more. His so-called Empire fell a thousand years ago.” She waited for a reply, continuing when nothing was returned. “That millenia ago, he was first defeated by Princess Celestia and her sister Princess Luna. They imprisoned him in the arctic ice. The Crystal Empire was thrown into a limbo by a final curse from him, only appearing once again recently. It is now ruled by Princess Cadence and her consort Shining Armor with peace and harmony.” She stopped, waving a hoof, “And love. Yeah, lots of it because Cadence is the Princess of Love and all that.” “By the way,” She added, purposely holding the information back until now, “Princesses Celestia and Luna are still around, being immortal and all.” There it was! A stutter in the camera movement. So very miniscule, but she saw it. Caught you off guard did I? “So we come to now.” She kept pacing the floor, pausing to admire the artwork on the wall and wondering if there were any more treasures somewhere. “Today, the Crystal Ponies are free. The Empire is a wonderful sight, no longer bleak and dark.” She sat by the little spider that she had left in the room, looking at the cameras which were pinned on her right now. “What would you like to do now?” Athena waved a hoof that had been polished by Rarity earlier, “I can link your cameras to mine on my hull, let you see the wonderful sights outside? Would you like that?” Another airily waved hoof, “Yes, I know what you’re thinking, it’s a trick. I can set up a secure line, let you control a few ... You know what? Here..” She connected with the cameras inside, setting a link to her hull and designating a few cameras for outside control. “There you .. Okay, that was fast. Take a look around, see for yourself.” She could see and feel the optics move and look at everything, seeing the archway, the ponies gathered to look at her hull, the gleaming sights of a newly restored Crystal Empire. Once again the link broke, dropped as quickly as it was gathered in. The voice was low, trying to hold back its own power as it slipped from hidden speakers. “Bring them to me.” “Who?” “Those that defeated Sombra.” “I think we can do that.” ----- “We can’t do that! Are you crazy?” Twilight was glaring at Athena as if she’d gone right off her rocker, “We don’t know if it’s leading them into a trap or what!” “Well, it hasn’t killed me yet.” The Pegasus grinned, testing the re-wrapped leg and making sure it all worked. “That’s not the point! We can’t let them go in there! Who knows what it’s planning!” The lavender mare snorted in frustration, slapping a hoof on the floor. “True. But it’s a step forward. Those two can prove that he is gone. Maybe it’ll open up?” She smiled once more, “I’ll be there, they’ll be protected. I promise. It wants to see them, nothing more. I’ll know if anything untoward will happen.” Her look turned sly, “The ‘spider is scanning using a modified magic frequency, nothing can detect it I know of yet. So if any signals get sent to weapons or so forth, I’ll know fast enough to do something. Plus my handy little technical doodads are fast as lightning, they’ll take care of anything.” Twilight stared at Athena for a long second, “Alright. Let’s find Spike and get a message off.” ----- “Done!” A burst of green flame and the scroll was sent through the ether to Princess Celestia. The little dragon looked happy before looking around at the cluttered command center, “Soo...what’s going on here?” Twilight answered before Athena could, “Athena thinks letting the Princesses walk into a room with an angry thing is the best way to solve the problem of calming it down and getting it to be a little more friendly!” “That’s pretty much it, yep.” Applejack was trying not to smile at the angry Alicorn. Cadence and Shining had rejoined them, watching the proceedings with not a little amusement. “They’re Princesses, Twilight. They can take care of themselves.” Spike was very assured of his statement. “You’re not helping.” Spike shrugged, pointing a clawed finger, “That’s what you keep telling me.” “He’s got you there.” Pinkie grinned, rearing back when Twilight snapped her glare from Athena to her. “I believe we’ll be fine, Twilight.” The calm, serene voice was the only indication they had of Celestia and Luna joining them. The two princesses were looking fit and absolutely knockout as they walked in. “But you don’t know what’s in there! Even Athena doesn’t know!” She waved a hoof in the pegasus’ direction. “That may be true. But we’re confident she’ll protect us. Besides, we are curious now as to what you have found.” They joined the group seated around the table, now filled with tea and cups from a serving staff that managed to find Cadence and Shining wherever they went in the castle. Kinda spooky actually. “Well, to be honest, nothing but an angry voice so far, and a few neat paintings and such.” Applejack was chuckling. “Really angry,” Fluttershy agreed over the rim of her teacup. The conversation swiftly turned to what they’d discovered so far, and the questions posed. “So it wishes to see us then?” Luna was looking thoughtful, “I wonder why?” “I don’t know. Perhaps to confirm Sombra is gone?” Athena was making a guess here. But she was sure it seemed to be the answer. “Then let us do so, no?” Celestia rose, Luna beside her, waiting for Athena. “Can I go now too?” Twilight was looking stubbornly at the Pegasus. Everypony in the room sans Celestia and Luna, threw their hooves up in the air, “Fine!” Even Spike joined in, knowing the entire story by now. Athena made no bones about it, pointing at the lavender mare, “You do what I say, when I say and no questions, understand?” Her eyes sought the two taller Princesses, “That’s for you as well. I am serious, this is dangerous.” “Agreed.” Celestia and Luna affirmed immediately, Twilight following a second after. “Let’s go.” ----- Spiders were in place, their line of sight was excellent as the group walked down the small hallway and stood at the threshold. “No sense waiting.” They followed her into the silent room once more, Athena watching the cameras closely. “Here they are. May I introduce Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, rulers of Equestria, along with Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and co-ruler.” The tall white mare actually bowed her head to the room in general, along with Luna, “Hello.” Twilight curtsied as best she could, lowering her front half slightly and bowing, “Hello!” A screen lit up, one of the larger ones, garnering their attention. A scene resolved itself on it, showing the two tall mares with angry looks, armor that hadn’t been fashioned in a thousand years lay heavy on them with weapons of power strapped to their sides. Numbers crawled along the right side of the screen, highlighted and strange. Facing them was a dark figure, one from legend again, Sombra. He was laughing at something and pointing at the two sisters. He was dark, and evil, as the stories told. “Was this you?” The hissing voice startled them from peering at the scene, making Twilight jump slightly before calming down. The voice was controlling its rage for the moment. Luna jumped in, “Oh, I remember that meeting, calling upon his surrender before anypony else got hurt.” “He laughed that day.” Celestia was nodding, “Saying we would never stop him.” Of a sudden, the scene began to move, playing out as if it were a movie. “ Cease your actions and surrender Sombra! Thou’rt nothing but a coward, hiding behind your lackeys!” Luna was almost yelling she was in such a rage. Laughter answered them, as Celestia’s voice rose alongside her sisters’. “Tarry not Sombra, we have your armies surrounded. Do not waste our time.” The normally placid mare was looking fierce that day, “Thou shalt be enchained and imprisoned, put away where no harm will be done anymore.” When they were answered, the voice was deep and sibilant, almost as if a snake were speaking, evil as could be it brought shivers to Twilight’s spine. “I think not. You know not what you do resisting me. Princesses indeed, my armies shall conquer, I will rule over all this land!” Celestia moved, Luna with her, both of them leaping into the air and blasting the area with a golden spell that brought an end to the scene. “I remember that, just before we cast him away. A terrible fight.” Luna was tapping at the screen, seeing if it wouldn’t show something else. “Was this you?” The voice was insistent. “Yes, it was.” Celestia answered calmly, “We defeated him in battle, imprisoning him in the ice of the north.” She stepped forward, setting on the floor comfortably as she could, “He made an attempt to break free once more recently, but thanks to Twilight Sparkle and her friends he is gone forever more now.” She gestured to Twilight who was looking a little nervous. Celestia’s eyes roamed the cameras, she was used to dealing with Athena and Crusader, knowing what they looked liked and what they did. “Why have we been brought here for questioning?” “I am deciding upon the truth of things.” Athena took the initiative away from the voice, “You had a mobile camera unit take that, I recognize the data indexes.” A pause, “You are right. It was the last.” “What happened here? What is all..” Athena was cut off, the voice increasing in volume, in anger. “Do not question me! You have no right! You have nothing but what I give you! Right now it is your lives!” That statement chilled Athena. Her eyes slowly looked around the room once more as the voice went silent. There was absolutely nothing that told her of any weaponry. The statement by the voice was saying that it was passing judgment. Was it pulling a bluff? She didn’t know, couldn’t know yet. She was going to find out. “Do not threaten them. They have come here in good will and are willing to answer questions. But not at the price of being humiliated.” Athena’s voice took a strange tone, causing the others to look at her. The sable pegasus stepped forward, making sure the cameras were focused on her, one hoof motioning to the others to leave. “Stay where you are!” “Go, now.” She assured herself the Princesses were out of the room, although Twilight kept glancing backwards, before turning back to the cameras. Athena knew beyond a doubt now, whatever this was, it was defenseless. The sonics appeared to be the only thing it had, and seemed to be jury-rigged more than a hard-point weapon. She’d listened, carefully, to everything and how it was said. She was thinking quickly now, trying to plan the best way to go about this. Athena was now making the voice doubt, that would prevent battlefield immolation. It had been a long shot, but it seemed to have paid off in spades when she’d brought Celestia and Luna in, proving that they were alive now as they had been. Now she had time, the voice could not destroy itself without making absolutely sure that its enemies were around. Not given that proof, meant no decision, yet. The voice was now silent, she could almost feel it calculating behind those glass eyes.. Athena’s tactical cores brought up plans of action, maneuvers, anything that could give her an edge while it was calm. “Well.” The sable pegasus paced the floor, seeing the cameras move with her, “Seems you have a problem.” She raised the bare hoof, showing off the semi-organic musculature, “You know beyond a shadow of any doubt I am a Bolo. That I am an adjunct to my hull.” No reply. “Also, as I’m sure you’re aware of, I am in contact with the other Bolo here on this world. Crusader, Unit CRSD of the Line, registration 021-004-COL/S.” She grinned, “I’m not stupid, I’m sure you can pick up what little transmission scatter I allow. Make no bones, I did allow it.” Still nothing. Huh, tough crowd. “You’ve met Celestia and Luna, they are the two sisters who defeated Sombra and his ilk. The Crystal Empire has only now come back from his curse, and is a peaceful place now. You’ve seen it through my cameras.” She stopped, looking thoughtful, “And they do seem to be immortal. Over a thousand years of life. They’re older than I or Crusader in terms of living.” “But, back to you.” She pointed at a camera, waving a hoof around with an air of nonchalance. “You, I believe, are an Installation AI. I am not in your chain of command, so the Omega Worm will not activate if you disobey anything I say. From what I’ve seen, you were part of a Rocky Mountain Defense Node.” Athena stopped her pacing, setting on the floor and looking into the camera nearest her, “I was there. I saw the Melconians bombard the Earth before I went into stasis. The Final War had come home.” Her face looked sad for a moment, “My sister and I were on the docks loading up when the kinetic kill weaponry hit. She was Hera, my twin. I’m sure you know about those.” She saw the cameras stutter, this time very noticeably. “We were there at the end of things. All we had known burned with the Earth, or so we thought.” Placing a hoof on her chest, she pleaded with the unknown voice “You don’t have to be alone anymore or afraid of what will happen. Crusader and I thought we were the only ones. I beg of you. Trust us, we will not fail you.” She looked directly into the camera lens, lavender eyes warm and bright, “My word as a Bolo.” Once again silence reigned in the vault as Athena sat quietly. She was done talking. Enough disturbance had been put into the mind behind the voice. Too much, so fast, and creeping doubts begin to appear. When it finally happened, she almost missed it. The voice was so low, almost as if not wanting to speak at all. Still neutral, still unknown, she could still hear the anger behind it, Athena put that aside with joy at getting a response. “Would you protect them?” No hesitation on her answer, “I would.” “Why?” “I am a Unit of the Line. You know what that means. Honor, duty. Beyond that they have earned my loyalty, my trust.” Athena leaned forward, “They are my friends. They can be yours if you let them.” She hoped her voice held the same earnestness she felt. “They deserve nothing but death!” The anger was back, full force. “What happened? What was it that made you hate so?” A screen came to life, Athena watched with interest. To be continued....