//------------------------------//
// Awakening 
// Story: Bits of Ash 
// by No one is home 
//------------------------------//



“But can ya wake her up?” The freak snarled, “That’s all I’m asking.”

“It ain’t can I, it’s, it’s will I,” The clown-faced doppelganger nearly sneered in reply.

“You’ve seen that thing that calls itself the sun that Sunrise practically worships as clear as I have.  That thing is getting in her head… it’s getting in all our heads.” The freak pleaded.

“And what are you gonna do about it?” The doppelganger spat in contempt.

“I’m gonna walk away.” The snake darting out of the freak’s mouth whispered.  “And I’ma break everything between here and ‘away’ that gets in my way.  Follow.. or don’t.”



“Okay… so him and his friend stole the robot from the circus and ran away from… something?”  Galus reasoned.

“Is it what they’re running from, class, or what they’re running towards that’s really important?”  Discord hummed absently as he drove through space and time.  “That was a serious question, and if you figure out the answer feel free to enlighten me.”



“Hmmm,” Slapstick the Two Faced Clown looked over the lifeless shell of a metal unicorn filly, “Why did we bring this thing again?”

“I brought you because you said you could wake her up,” the freak growled menacingly.

“Yeah,” the doppelganger rubbed his head with one hoof, “I mean, it’s some pretty scary spellwork, but in theory deactivating it should be *way* easier than casting it in the first place.  Whoever did this… they were way past anywhere I’ll *ever* be.  Probably even past Sunrise...”

“But you can do it?” The freak pawed at the earth in anticipation.

“You’re a weird one, ya know.”  Slapstick shook his head, as he examined the invisible arcane matrix surrounding the lifeless automaton.  “Three years you go without talking.  Had half of us guessin’ you was touched in head.  Mute as a simple hooves.  Right up until we pulled this thing out of that old bunker.  That’s when we first realized you could talk at all ya know.  Because we caught you talking to a dormant steel heart foal in the middle of the night.”

“Can you or can’t you?”

“I’m working on it, keep your snakes in you mouth.”  The doppelganger snapped back.  “I like to talk while I work… So finally you get all chatty with the one pony in the whole damned circus that can’t even hear you.  Then out of the blue, you steal the damned thing and talk me into skipping out with ya in the middle of the night… Ya know, for all we know, that weird flaming head thing was just some new magic trick Sunrise worked out, and we just panicked and alienated the whole damn circus for no good rea… woah…”

Slapstick lept back as a pale green glow erupted from the automaton’s eyes and it stood under its own power, “Crusader MK SB 978 is coming online… time elapsed since last systems check, 215 years, 5 months, and 21 days… Rebooting primary sentience program…”

“She’s alive.”  The freak smiled broadly.  “I knew it!”



“So… that was the moment they really met?”  Ocellus smiled a little.

“Yes, a happy little moment in an unhappy world,” Discord’s voice was uncharacteristically serious.  “But you can’t have heros without a conflict.  Hold on to your lunches class, Fluttershy is NOT going to be happy with our next stop on this field trip.”