//------------------------------// // Conversational // Story: Iron Mountain // by computerneek //------------------------------// Nothing.  Nothing at all!  At least the Element of Magic is feeding her power now- manipulating her books is as effortless as it always was.  She thrusts the last one back onto its proper shelf, and turns towards the collected ponies.  “What’s going on…?” she asks.  Most of her friends are there, but they don’t even make half the party.  Lyra, Cadence, Flurry Heart, and a strange pegasus stallion are also present, and she can see the Crusaders peeking around a bookshelf Rainbow wastes no time.  “I was hoping you could tell me,” she states.  “It just appeared and started blinking.”  She indicates her Element, hanging around her neck. Pinkie blinks, having almost beat Rainbow to the punch.  “Something big is about to happen here!” she yips, bouncing rapidly- and stops bouncing.  “Not a doozy, but not far from one!  Wait, whyamIwearingmyelemen...t?” Rarity blinks.  “You only just realized that?” Twilight looks towards the non-Elements of the party with a raised eyebrow. The pegasus answers first, with a clear-cut and very familiar voice, despite his unfamiliar appearance.  “I detected waves of magic interested in guiding me here,” he states matter-of-factly. Lyra looks at him for a second, before looking at Twilight.  “I just got a strange feeling I was needed here,” she mutters, and shrugs.  “Hasn’t gone away yet.” The two alicorns nod in tandem. “The Princesses seem to think you can handle it,” the pegasus states towards Twilight, “whatever it is.” “And the Crusaders?” Twilight asks, looking at the bookshelf. “Aah!  We’ve been caught!”  They emerge from their hiding place, joining the rest.  “Same thing- strange feeling we were needed.”  Apple Bloom turns out to be the speaker. Sweetie looks back towards the door.  “Plus, the doors just opened themselves for us.” This comment is met by a round of nodding- just before the door flies open again, apparently on its own accord, as an orange earth pony trots in.  The doors swing shut silently behind her. “Well Hello, everypony,” Applejack intones, giving a small bow to Princess Cadence before approaching her own position in the line and looking towards Twilight, the repeated flashes of color within her visual field.  “We figure anything out?” “Nope,” Twilight answers, head shaking.  “There’s nothing in any of my- WOAH!” As soon as Applejack had gotten in place, all six Elements had suddenly shone like the sun.  They held this for a second or so, before shooting beams of energy to gather in the middle.  When the beams fade, another second later, the image of a bright yellow sword floats in the air, rotating slowly above everypony’s heads- and an odd ringtone is heard, echoing throughout the room.  Nopony notices as all of the various disguises flicker away from the shock of the harmony magic. “Uhh,” Rainbow utters. “Well,” Twilight mutters.  “I think we have our answer.” The ringtone cuts off suddenly, replaced by a gently female voice- still echoing, though.  “Ahh, I’ve made it through.  Good…  It’s evening over there, right?  My name is Athena.  May I ask who is successor to dear old Starswirl?” “Unit what?” Applejack asks. “Uh,” Rainbow mutters, looking at Twilight. “I do believe that would be you, Twilight dear,” Rarity utters, recovering before her alicorn friend. They hear a raised eyebrow. “But…” Twilight begins.  “But I can’t do what Starswirl did!” Lyra raises her eyebrow.  “Little bit of work and you can,” she answers.  “You could even before your ascension.” “But-!” “But nothing,” the voice states firmly.  “If the Element of Magic chose you as his successor, that’s because you have equal or greater potential.  Though I have to say, I’ve never used this function before- and never talked to multiple ponies at once, either.  How many have I reached?” “Uh,” Twilight begins counting. “Thirteen,” Zeus answers. “Thirteen?  Score!...  Maybe.  You don’t happen to know of any Bolos down there, do you?” “Bolos?”  Cadence asks confusedly, while everypony else dons a knowing expression. “You’ve heard of him?” Rainbow asks- but no response comes. “I think she can only hear the alicorns or something,” Flurry Heart supplies. “Or so I am told,” the answer returns instantly.  “The bearer of the Element of Magic and any nearby alicorns.” Twilight blinks.  “What if we did know of one?” “That depends.  Bolos are very powerful weapons from long before Equestria was formed.  I have evidence to suggest there is one in or near Equestria- and that one Twilight Sparkle has met it.” Silence holds for several seconds. “What’s a Bolo look like?” Twilight blurts out. “It varies by generation and model- but I have reason to believe this one has been providing communications equipment to ponies.” “Only to a few of us,” Rarity interjects. “All com-equipped ponies are present,” Zeus appends instantly.  “Do you have something for Unit Zero-Three-Zero-Niner?” “Ahh, so you do know the Bolo.  Is it a he or a she?” “He.”  Zeus and eight ponies state simultaneously. “It so happens I do have something for him.  Anypony have something convenient for recording of my message?” Twilight looks at Zeus.  After learning the Crusaders had been ascended, finding out about Zeus and Lyra came easy…  though it’s still disorienting to see just how many alicorns are standing in front of her. Zeus nods.  “The line is open.” “That’s even better, thank you.  Now then.”  The voice changes, shifting to a more matter-of-fact tone, but still the same pony.  “Unit Three-Seven-Golf-Zero-Zero-Four-Two-Echo ATNA of the Line, Situation Report for Unit Three-Five-Charlie-Zero-Three-Zero-Niner ZUS of the Line or Senior Bolo.  I have recently detected a Tanneri assault squadron at range of three light-days preparing for an assault run, likely alerted by a recent incursion near my position on the local lunar surface.  At this time, I remain incapable of combat operations; hostile ETA, four point three one days.  Over.” Zeus replies instantly, his voice having also gone cold.  “Tanneri unknown.” “Right.  You probably know of them as Hostile Race Zero-Four-Seven.  I will have Entanglement online in two point one three days’ time, for full upload.” Zeus nods silently.  “I will be waiting.”  A few kilometers away, all four fusion plants in Zeus’ subterranean hull start climbing to full power, generating mana as rapidly as possible.  Even a MK XXXV Bolo doesn’t want to tangle with an entire assault squadron of those thugs alone- it’s suicide.  Plus, the computer security on their ships is far superior to that on their meager weapon emplacements; he won’t be able to break in.  Many more skilled Bolos than he had tried, to no avail. “Right then.  Now that the important stuff is dealt with, how much have I missed over the last nine hundred ninety-three and a half years?” Almost a full hour later, one Lyra Heartstrings walks woodenly into her house.  It had been a long short conversation, but at least they had- rather quickly- found her presence to be unnecessary.  The Elements had been returned to their display, save Twilight’s, while she continued to talk with this ‘Athena’.  Then, everypony had returned home.  Leave it to Twilight to talk all night. Lyra sighs.  The feeling of importance- and its accompanying utter non-exhaustion- is gone.  Everypony had reengaged their disguises before they left the castle; there had been more than one surprised pony present, though the Crusaders had seemed to have prior knowledge of Zeus’ new avatar.  Lyra sighs, trotting upstairs through her empty house.  On her way, she glances at the clock…  Bonbon’s candy should wear off in another fifteen minutes- which means, if Rarity’s transformation is any indication, she should already have ascended!  She hurries the last few meters to the bedroom, slipping in silently…  Bonbon still has no horn.  Is it taking longer?  She shrugs and begins clambering into bed. And pauses, before facehoofing. How’s her friend going to react to that?  She taps her right foreleg once, before sliding the rest of the way into bed.  “You turned Bonbon into a pegasus?” she asks. “She came out as a pegasus?” the response comes.  “I guess I know what that one does.  I will be curious as to what Pinkie Pie comes out as.” “You didn’t know?” “No, I didn’t.  I did, however, know it would be safe- and this transformation should be fully reversible, given another magic cube and another night’s rest.  In the meantime, if you touch your wing to hers for a few seconds, I can make sure she’ll never have to take care of them any more than you.” She does this, then watches amusedly as the earth pony’s ruffled feathers begin to straighten themselves.  “You do realize she’s going to go crazy, right?” “Eh.  She’s just as likely to attribute it to her candy experiments earlier, while you were out visiting me- and wish she’d been a unicorn instead.  Oh, and it looks like Pinkie’s really good at ignoring pain…  Yep, it’s a headache for her.  I should have switched them- then Bonbon would have been ecstatic upon awakening, until she met Pegasus Pinkie.  Unfortunately, it looks like we’re going to have a disappointed Bonbon meeting Unicorn Pinkie.” Lyra facehooves again.  “I do wish you’d test these things before using them,” she mutters. “My apologies, I don’t exactly have a testbed aside from the ponies…  Shall I schedule an ascension for Bonbon?” Lyra laughs at this.  “Nah, she’d probably destroy half of Ponyville when she finds out.  Might want to have a unicorn-cube floating around, for if she doesn’t like her wings.” “True.  If she doesn’t go the unicorn route, we can drop the cube to Granny Smith, I believe; the transformation process appears to heal damages.” Lyra considers for a second.  “Sounds like a plan.” “Okay.  Unicorn cube on its way.” Her eyes widen as something suddenly strikes into her magic.  It’s some kind of slow teleport he handed off to her, so she could put it where she wanted it.  She drops it in her dresser.  “How’d you do that?” she asks. “Figured it out five minutes ago.  My alicorn avatar is capable of any magic I fling at it, for which I thank you.  It’s still limited to regular alicorn power levels, though…  Unless I feed it from my hull.” “Ahh, makes sense.” Bonbon finds herself in one of the apple fields on Sweet Apple Acres.  In front of her are three youthful alicorns, doing something nondescript in their hunt for their cutie marks.  She canters up to them, to ask how they ascended.  They turn to look at her with expressions she can only characterize as evil- and she realizes they all have their cutie marks, all identical.  A tree, bent in the middle, with a spray of what can only be sap coming out of it.  Their horns glow in tandem, wings spreading- and she finds herself covered in tree sap, lobbed through the air into a swimming pool full of the sticky stuff, which she soon drowns in. Next, she finds herself in a laboratory somewhere- probably up in Canterlot.  She feels wings on her back- heavy wings, held still by something.  A look reveals wooden wings attached roughly to her back, and held in place by some sort of frame, hanging from the ceiling.  She also finds an alicorn Lyra screwing in the last few feathers on her left wing.  Finally, she is released from the frame and drops a foot or so before her hooves land on the floor.  Her wings immediately crash to the ground. Lyra canters around in front of her.  “Sorry, wings were easier than a horn,” she mutters.  “Try flying!” The walls and ceiling then fall away, along with most of the floor.  Lyra’s wings flash out and flap gently, and Bonbon realizes she’s now standing on a shrinking cloud, high in the sky.  “I can’t!” she tries to yell back- but Lyra is nowhere to be seen.  The cloud vanishes completely- and her wooden wings try to catch the wind as she falls.  All she manages to do is tumble and roll- so she goes through the arduous motion of folding them, using her earth pony skills to straighten out her fall before she spreads them slowly again to arrest her fall. Suddenly, she’s not falling.  Her wings are still wooden, but they’re not clumsy anymore.  She’s also standing on…  Well, on air.  Solid, invisible air, roughly two hundred meters above the rooftops.  A floor of cloud forms underneath her before a dark blue alicorn lands next to her.  “Well, that was an interesting one.” Bonbon turns to face the new arrival, her clunky wings folding smoothly as she bows.  “Princess Luna.” The princess nods gently, motioning gently for her to rise.  “At ease, my dear pony.”  She glances back to the wooden wings grafted clumsily to Bonbon’s sides, now behaving for all the world like real wings.  “I do have to wonder, though, what might have caused this?” Bonbon shrugs.  “I don’t know.  I heard about a new alicorn in Ponyville- then had a nightmare with Lyra turning into one, telling me the Crusaders had also ascended.  Just now, Alicorn-Lyra finished building these on me.”  She spreads her wooden wings, looking back at them.  She doesn’t worry about having wings- in fact, some of her favorite dreams involve her turning herself into a pegasus, proving that a breed change is possible, that she can become something more than an earth pony.  In fact, that might even be preferable- she’d then be able to do so much that her brothers and sisters simply couldn’t! “They aren’t bothering you, are they?” Bonbon shakes her head.  “Nah- you know my family.  If I were a unicorn- or even just a pegasus- they wouldn’t overshadow me so much, and I’d be happy.”  She looks back at her wings.  “Not sure which one I’d prefer- but since I have these here, without any skill…?”  She looks hopefully back to the alicorn in front of her. One spell and two minutes later, a wooden-winged Bonbon is soaring across the dreamscape next to the dark princess, learning to fly.