//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - Give Gifts, Give Life // Story: Project Clockwork // by Arceaion //------------------------------// Celestia and Luna walked down the halls of the manor searching for Twilight. They had awoken several hours before morning and were planning to say farewell to Twilight before leaving. Unfortunately they couldn't find her. "Sister are you sure this is the way?" Luna asked Celestia in a tired voice. "I don't know Luna, this house is huge. How can anything this large fit inside the Canterhorn and not be seen!" Celestia replied in shock. Suddenly they turned the corned and were greeted with a stunning view of the other side of the mountain. "Seems we were just looking the wrong way." Luna chuckled. Celestia slowly approached the windows and looked out to see Luna's night. "It's incredible what she's done Luna." Celestia said slowly. "Most of the technology is at least three centuries before its time." Celestia turned to Luna tears falling down her face. "What would have been if this had never happened?" She asked as Luna walked up to her and embraced her. "Sister, what's done is done, we can't go back and we can't change what's been done. I above all should know." Luna whispered the last part so quietly that not even Celestia heard. "Weren't you going to tell her that day also?" Celestia asked. Luna nodded sadly. "Yes." The two sisters sat there for a time as they watched the sky. "We should keep searching for Twilight." Luna said as they pulled apart and continued down the hall. A loud crash and someone cursing drew hem to a set of large metallic double doors engraved with what appeared to be thousands of blueprints. Celestia and Luna slowly pushed open the doors gasped at what they saw. Inside the room was a large chamber carved out into a circular room, this was the chamber of the Canterlot C.O.R.E.S. and at the center Twilight floated thousands of wires and cables were plunged into her back, the metal plates and coverings she had been wearing were removed showing just how much she had been mutated. However the oddest thing was that her chest was opened up and revealed that an energy was building and seeming to solidify. With a final scream the energy completely solidified and left Twilight who simply hung there. As the two watched a Clockwork appeared and approached the solidified object. "Process complete Maker. I will take the body over to the table." It said as it rose on its hind legs with the sound of gears shifting, its hooves became enveloped with some sort of glowing energy that took the form of the talons that griffons had. Slowly it knelt down and picked up the solidified object and walked over to a table. Celestia and Luna walked into the room slowly. "Twilight?" Celestia asked as she approached the mare. Twilight eyes shot open and stared at the two princesses, however they weren't her normal eyes. Twilight's eyes glowed blue, the sclera for the left was a bright red and the one on the right was a light pink. "You should not be here." She said in a monition voice that echoed around the room. "We told you that you were not permitted to see." Luna walked toward Twilight. "Twilight, what happened? I don't understand." "We are TWI!CORE, the combination of the Alicorn Twilight Sparkle and and the C.O.R.E.S., we could no longer call ourselves two separate entities as such we became one." "You were not like this earlier why are you like this now?" Celestia asked. "We are separate but at the same time one. When we first merged I set to myself separate from my Creator but we were limited. As such my Creator saw fit to complete the process. And so we became one. However when this occurred I did not wish to lose my Maker and so I altered to process. When my Creator is merged with me is the only time we are one, all other times she holds a link to me that allows her to be free from the prison of a control room." "So why was she there earlier?" Luna asked. "She had sustained damage facing a Seeker force and required repairs as such she returned to the Control Room for repairs. The control room is the only location she can receive repairs." "I see." Celestia said. "You mentioned a link to Twilight, is this what prevents her from leaving Canterlot?" "Yes, at present My creator is in a state of metastability. I have been keeping her stable but if the link is lost then she will be in great danger, not only to herself but also others." TWI!CORE replied. Luna tilted her head in confusion. "TWI!CORE What is metastability?" "Metastability means the unit may be unable to settle into a stable logic level within the time required for proper circuit operation. In short, If the link between Twilight and myself is lost for too long she will begin to go mad. However there is a way around this." "What is it." Luna asked. "If we can help Twilight then we will do all we can." TWI!CORE smiled. "We have been in recent contact with our sister unit in the location known as Ponyville, if Twilight was able to link up with her then we would be able to establish network access and Twilight would be able to leave Canterlot and and go to Ponyville." "Can it the connection be established here?" Celestia asked. TWI!CORE shook her head. "Sadly no. The connection can only be made at the Control Console in the Ponyville Control Room. Once the connection is established Twilight will be able to create a Network that will allow access to both I and other C.O.R.E.S. Units created." "Thank you TWI!CORE." Celestia said. TWI!CORE smiled. "I will be detaching from twilight now. If you wish to speak to me further then go over to that terminal." TWI!CORE pointed to a terminal off to the side. Twilight was then lowered to the ground as the plates slide into place around her body and her chest sealed up. Once this was done the Cables unplugged from her and she groaned. The Clockwork from before walked over and placed a blanket over her. "Sleep well Maker." The clockwork said with a smile. before turning to Celestia and Luna. "Greetings I am Eris, I act as the Makers Personal U.P.A. which stands for Unified Personal Assistant." "Greetings Eris, I am Princess Luna and this is my sister Celestia." Luna said with a bow. "I must say you are interesting. I haven't seen many clockworks but you are all vary interesting." Eris giggled. "I apologize for the confusion but I am not a Clockwork, I am a Robot. Unlike my Makers other creations I was unable to perform my duties as a Unified Personal Assistant without being fully mechanical. Clockworks are created with Biometal while I was created from simple steel." "What is it you do?" Celestia asked curiously. Eris smiled. "I am a servant tasked with assist the Maker with tasks that require the assistance of others or would be considered to dangerous. I also contain and catalog every blueprints for every Clockwork ever created as well as every Program, update, modification and design ever made. When I am not aiding Maker in her tasks I monitor all Clockworks and ensure that they are healthy and safe." Twilight groaned and slowly sat up. "Eris, can you get the soul shard for me? I want to make sure the Clockwork was created properly." Twilight asked as she rose and walked over to the table. "At once maker." Eris said and walked over to a large vault door and opening it. "I thought I told you you couldn't see the process." Twilight said as she glared at Celestia. "We were looking for you to say farewell, We will be leaving in a few hours." Luna said sadly. "I see." Twilight said as she examined the Clockwork. "Twilight come with us. TWi!CORE told us how to help you. We can get you hooked up to the Ponyville C.O.R.E.S." Celestia walked over and placed her hoof on twilight's withers. "You could see your friends and family again. We rebuilt the Everfree Forest Castle, Ponyville is the new capital." "Twilight sighed. "Let me think about it Celestia. I can't just follow you, not any more. Just as you look after you ponies, I have to look after my children." Twilight said as she pulled out several tools and began to modify the Clockwork body. "Here is the Soul Maker." Eris said as she handed Twilight a metal cube slightly bigger than Twilight's hoof. "Thank you Eris." Twilight said as she light her horn. Slowly a glowing purple began to materialize and hover above the cube. Twilight set the cube down, picked the crystal and walked up to its chest. the chest cavity was open revealing the gears and mechanisms, as well as a slot that seemed empty. Twilight placed the crystal in the empty slot and the chest plate snapped shut making Celestia and Luna jump back. For a moment nothing happened till the sound of gears starter up and the Clockwork gasped for air before looking around. The Clockwork slowly sat up and looked around when it finally noticed Twilight it smiled. "Hello Mother." It said. "Hello child, what is your designation?" She asked it. "I am designated as Combat Clockwork: Scrap." Scrap said. Twilight nodded. "Find your brothers Mach and Gear, they should be in the training grounds. I want you to train with them. Once you're done rest. I want you all to report to the elevator entrance by morning." Scrap nodded. "Yes mother." He said and climbed of the table and walked toward the room. "I thought you said that Clockworks were first created as children." Celestia commented. "They normally are." Eris replied before turning to Twilight. "I don't know why you chose to make these ones as adults Maker but wouldn't this alter there lives drastically. They only have limited knowledge and will be children at heart." "Under normal circumstances yes but they are different. They're part of a experiment I've been working on." Twilight said. "Those Clock works aren't the guard model or any other type of model, it's a new version that I've been thinking about. The Combat Model. They're more advanced than the Guard Models outside but not as advanced as the HK Units. If I leave this place I want guards who can handle me if I start to... slip." Twilight explained. Celestia froze. "Twilight does this mean that you will be coming back?" She asked. Twilight nodded. "For a time. I would like to see everyone again but I will have to return. I cant leave my children forever but I can leave for a few weeks." She explained. Celestia grabbed Twilight and hugged her as Luna smiled.