Silken walked with mechanical grace as she led the small, adorable, soft little ponies back to the area where they had taken up temporary residence. It was primarily so they could collect themselves and rest if they had to. They seemed tired, and Silken assumed that unlike herself or Twilight they needed to sleep or do something similar periodically. Her use of the transmission hub to link to Inky Nebula’s scanners had provided a much more detailed map of the facility they were currently in, and although the lower levels were still obscured the upper ones had become clear. An exit that did not require half an hour of vertical flight had been found, but the trek would still be long.
Of the group, Rarity seemed to be the most excited. Eventually, her enthusiasm boiled to the surface and she could no longer contain herself.
“Silken, I have to know,” she said, falling to the back of the group where Silken was walking with a series of small, silent steps to keep pace. “She…that pony. Was her appearance unique? That is, do…do all ponies look like that?”
Silken’s eyes rotated toward Rarity. “She is somewhat thinner than most ponies, but yes. All ponies closely resemble her. I have been created in their image. Or, more precisely, in the image of what I once was.”
“She was so very tall,” said Fluttershy. “That must be so intimidating.”
“Darling, not at all! The things I would have done to have models THAT tall and thin, the things I could have done with them!” She blushed slightly and cleared her throat. “As in, the clothing I could have constructed on frames like that. And now that’s the NORMAL body type? Why, it’s almost a dream come true! And the stallions?”
“They are not superficially different from the mares,” said Silken. “Or biologically different, in some cases.”
Rarity stared, confused. “Meaning?”
“The majority of stallions have a pair of nonfunctional ovaries in addition to…well, the rest.”
“Oh my. I don’t know if I needed to know that.”
“Did any of ya’ll notice that she was an alicorn?” said Applejack, turning back to the others and sounding slightly frustrated.
“I did,” said Rainbow Dash, her voice sounding a bit lower than normal.
“So did I,” said Fluttershy.
“All modern ponies are alicorns,” said Silken. “The phenotype confers a fitness benefit to those living in space.”
“Just like that old book…” said Rainbow Dash. All the other ponies looked at her dubiously. “What? I read things other than Daring Do! Or is that illegal now?”
“Daring Do?” asked Silken, somewhat surprised.
“Yeah, it’s a great series. Or was. About this really awesome adventurer pony- -”
“I know what it is,” said Silken. “I’m just surprised you do. You mean it still existed in your time?”
“Wait…you read Daring Do? But, how, if…”
“Not anymore, of course,” said Silken. “But when I was alive, I read at least the first seven hundred thousand volumes. Unfortunately, my lifetime was not long enough to read them all.”
“Seven…hundred…thousand,” squeaked Rainbow Dash.
“Well, of course. It is one of the few examples of ancient literature to have survived the Exodus. While all of the original legends were lost, it has been in almost continuous production for a significant amount of time. If Daring Do were a real pony, she would be many times older than even Twilight Sparkle.”
“But she is a real- -” Rainbow Dash clapped her hooves over her mouth. “I mean…um…I have a lot of reading to do.”
“So,” said Pinkie Pie, her tone sharp as she emerged from her uncharacteristic silence. “We have Daring Do. We’re not going to be able to reach a single doorknob, but oh, at least we have something to READ.”
“Pinkie,” said Rarity. “That wasn’t called for.”
“Wasn’t called for? You realize that you’re now the last living unicorn, right? That there aren’t even ponies that look like PONIES left in the world?”
There was a look of distant realization on Rarity’s face, one that she immediately tried to suppress. “A pony’s race doesn’t matter. I can make a dress for an alicorn as easily as I can for any other pony.”
“What were they even talking about?” demanded Pinkie as she glared upward at Silken. “I can’t even understand the language! For all I know, you were trying to decide what flavor of cupcakes you think we’ll be!”
“Oh my,” said Fluttershy. “I don’t want to be a cupcake.”
“I was kind of wondering that too,” said Applejack. “Not the cupcake part, I mean, that’s ridiculous.”
“That pony was the captain of our ship, the Prodijila. She was expressing her enthusiasm at having you join our society.”
“Join your society? But that means- -”
“It means you really are going to take us with you!” squealed Rarity. She stamped her marshmallowlike feet in excitement. “Oh! It’s going to be wonderful!”
“And if I don’t want to leave this planet?” said Pinkie.
“Pinkie- -”
“Equestria is my home! It’s always been my home! My sisters are buried out there, somewhere, on this planet! Do you really think there’s anything out there for us? Everything is gone…”
“I’m not sure I want to go either,” admitted Fluttershy meekly. “Space travel sounds…harsh. And jarring. And arduous. And, well, scary.”
“It can be,” said Silken. “But not usually.” She leaned forward. “And I’m afraid your choices are somewhat limited.”
“You’re not going to force us if we don’t want to,” said Rainbow Dash. “Although I’m not saying I don’t want to. I’m kind of psyched, actually. I get to go to space! And to race one of those big alicorns!”
“They cannot race. They are capable of neither running nor flight.”
“Wait, but then- -”
“And that is not a pressing concern,” said Silken, becoming more serious. “It is not immediately apparent, but this planet is not habitable. There are no settlements on the surface. No food. No liquid water. No arable land. Equestria is dead. You cannot stay here. Not if you wish to survive.”
They were all silent. From the mood of the room, Silken realized that she had been too harsh.
“I grew up in that world,” she said. “It may seem strange at first, but although they may look strange, those ponies are still ponies. They will help you in any way you can, give you anything you might need. Many of them would be honored to be your friends.”
“Twilight didn’t seem to agree,” said Applejack. “I understood what they were saying about as well as I understand Rarity’s obsession with sequins- -”
“They are shiny and elegant!” cried Rarity defensively.
“And they fall off and get in your food! But that’s not my point!” Applejack looked back to Silken, almost having to crane her neck to look far enough up to meet her large artificial eyes. “I know a heated argument when I see one. And that was one.”
Silken paused, choosing her words carefully. “The Goddess was discussing an element of the mission parameters.”
Applejack looked suspiciously at Silken. “You know,” she said after a long moment. “It’s the darndest thing. I can’t tell if you’re lying or not.”
“Probably because she’s a machine,” said Fluttershy. “But we shouldn’t be suspicious like that!” She took a stand, even if it was a small one. “Silken has been very helpful so far. And while I was initially absolutely terrified of her, well, I’m not now. If we want to be friends, we can at least offer a little trust.”
“Fluttershy, you do realize she’s undead, right?” said Rainbow Dash. “Like, some sort of weird techno-zombie.”
Fluttershy lowered her eyebrows. “Don’t ruin this for me, Dash.”
“Fine, fine…”
“I have never heard remni described that way,” said Silken. “Although it is technically true. And less insulting than being called a robot. And I’m not lying. Twilight was debating a different project. She only expressed surprise when the captain suggested that ponies like you would be extremely popular with Empire stallions.”
“Stallions?” Rarity’s ears pricked.
“Stallions with ovaries,” said Pinkie, darkly.
“But stallions non the less! That was, admittedly, something I was concerned about, especially if they are all so tall and princely…”
“You do not need to worry. You all are so cute and huggable, it will not be a problem. I would even hug you if it were not a breach of professionalism.”
“I like hugs,” said Fluttershy.
Silken’s already massive eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
“Sure,” said Fluttershy. She leaned on her haunches and spread her front legs. “Huggies make everything better! And I could really use one right- -”
She squeaked loudly as Silken hugged her tightly. Not too tightly, of course; Silken’s robotic body could easy have crushed her if she was not careful. The hug was still quite vigorous, though.
“I was right!” she cried. “So soft!”
“Silken.” The coldness of the voice caused every pony- -and the one remnus- -to turn toward the dark edge of the hall. Twilight was standing there, watching. “Put down Fluttershy. I need to talk to you. In private.”
Silken did as she was ordered. “You know the way to where you need to go, right?”
“I do,” said Fluttershy.
“Good. Also, here.” She passed a large pile of square, stick-like items to the Pegasus. “I used the nanofactory to generate food. I did not know what ponies eat, so I made them out of starch and nitrogen salts.”
“Oh…well…thank you?”
Silken smiled, happy that Fluttershy liked them. She then sent the group on their way, and turned to join Twilight.
“Yes, Goddess?”
Twilight did not respond initially. Then she glared upward at Silken. “You’re first generation.”
Silken paused. “Yes,” she said, telling the truth. “At least to the extent that I was in life.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“You did not ask.”
“My own hairless flank!” swore Twilight. “Don’t give me that! You’re first generation, you should have known that is something I would want to know!”
“Are you assuming that my status in life gives me some advantage in the afterlife?”
“Doesn’t it? If I knew what you were- -”
“I am a remnus. Your assumption is based on a misconception. I am no different from any other of my kind. My life has no effect on me now. In death, we are all equal. All nothing more than machines.”
Twilight continued to glare. “I’m your great aunt.”
“You were, once. But you were great aunt to my one hundred seventy two thousand three hundred and forty six half-siblings as well. Including Sarkon Vortrenth.”
“You must have been one of the last.”
“I was. I only had two younger siblings. Neither are alive now. There are currently no living children of Flurry Heart, and as far as I am aware I am the only one who became a remnus in recent history. Of course, all of this is purely anecdotal.”
“You still should have told me.”
“You are scolding a machine. Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?”
“No. I need to know where you stand on this.”
“On what, Goddess?”
“You know what. I need to know whose side you are on.”
“There are no sides. We are all working for the good of the Empire.”
Twilight groaned angrily. “Do you have to be so infuriating? My side, or hers? The captain, I mean. Are you going to side with her goal, or with mine?”
By this time, Twilight had reverted to normal language. Even if her friends were listening, there was no way they would be able to understand her.
“Goddess,” said Silken. “I do not see the two goals as mutually exclusive. I was assigned to protect you. And I will. But I cannot guarantee how long I will last. My psychological state is uniquely stable, but I cannot guarantee that it will remain that way. It is highly likely that there will come a point where I cease to function. I will stay here to help you continue your mission, but there is a chance that if you stay you will end up alone.”
“So you are on her side, then.”
“I just promised to stay by your side.”
“So what? You want to let her take them!”
“Goddess,” said Silken, “is there another option? They cannot survive on this planet. You know that. They need to be evacuated.” She paused. “Unless for some reason you do not want them to leave.”
Twilight opened her mouth in retort, but closed it when she realized that Silken had pointed out something that even she was not aware of. Logically, there was no reason to keep them here. She knew that.
“We need to take them to the surface,” said Silken. “I know a path. We will give them to the captain, and let them go and live their lives. You will stay here, if that is what you choose.”
“But I don’t know how long it will take. I might not return for decades. Centuries, even. They won’t be there when I get back.”
“No. Probably not.” Silken smiled. She clearly did not understand the pain that her words were causing to Twilight. “Will you still stay?”
“I have to,” said Twilight. “There is no alternative.” She walked past Silken. “Even if that means I will never see any of them ever again.”