//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Metastability part 2 - HK-47 Meets Prince Blueblood // Story: Project Clockwork // by Arceaion //------------------------------// Twilight groaned and slowly opened her eyes as she looked around she found herself in a void. The only thing around were thousands of line like cords that came from her and leading of in to the darkness. Twilight slowly rose and walked forward into the darkness following the cords. Twilight walked for what felt like hours before she saw a faint light in the distance. Twilight hurried forward as the single light began to split into thousands each connected to her. As she drew closer the lights became more distinguished till she finally saw that they were thousand of foals however they were not the normal fillies and colts of ponies, they were Clockworks. Twilight stared in awe and slowly began to walk through them. They were all here, every Clockwork she had ever made. As she passed them they slowly awoke and gazed at her before walking over to her, the deeper she walked the more came till they all surrounded her. Twilight sat down and the foals approached her each laying down around her smiling. Twilight smiled and nuzzling them and wrapping them in her wings. Suddenly the darkness around them began to draw closer, the foals panicked and drew closer to Twilight as if crying out for their mother. Twilight froze, she was their mother and this darkness was bad. Instincts that Twilight didn't even know she had welled within her and she quickly moved forward placing herself between the darkness and her children. A figure in the darkness slowly approached Twilight, in response Twilight's wings flared and she took a defensive stance. The figure continued forward though more wary, as it came into the light Twilight examined it. It appeared to be her but it was glitched and broken. "What are you." Twilight growled. The pony stared at her before a single word left its mouth. "M3t@5ta6i1ity." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "Why are you here." The glitch smiled. "I wAnt WHaT Y0u H@v3, Th3ir l()ve the1r, c@Re. GIVE ME THEM, LET ME CORRUPT THEM!" It roared and charged the foals. Twilight blocked the foals allowing the pony to slam into her. The blow sent her staggering but she quickly reoriented her self and glared at the pony. "I will not let you harm my children." She growled. Around her the light flared and the pony hissed and shrank back before sinking into the darkness. Twilight stared into the darkness as the foals gathered around her and whimpered. Twilight began to nuzzle the foals quieting them and promising to protect them. Slowly the darkness faded away, still there simply waiting. Twilight glanced off at the darkness remembering what she had discovered about Smart AI's. The pieces of what had happened to her were slowly falling into place and she didn't like what she saw. Smart artificial intelligence's are based on the neural patterns of a pony, and have a limited lifespan of seven years after which their memory maps become too interconnected and develop fatal endless feedback loops. If an AI is kept active longer than seven years, the AI begins to use more and more of its computer power 'thinking' about things. A good way to explain it is "thinking so hard that your lungs forget to breathe." The AI if given enough time would think themselves to death. Thus, it is only a matter of time before Smart artificial intelligence's enter a state of rampancy. However, Rampancy could occur at an earlier phase in the AIs life cycle for various reasons. One of those being if the AI was isolated long enough and/or given too much time to think without tasks to complete. Twilight sighed at this thought. She had been trapped in the dark with nothing but her thoughts for the first three years. If she was entering a metastable state then it meant that the worst was almost over. Twilight had theorized that Rampancy was a three stage process, in which an Artificial intelligence achieves an enhanced state of self-awareness. The stages through which the AI passes are known as the Sadness, Rage, and Greed stages. Metastability was the theoretical fourth stage of rampancy, where an AI can be considered fully 'Pony'. However it seemed that she still had some of the other three stages left and they had glitched together to create that thing, an emotionally unstable, angry and greedy monster that would destroy everything. Twilight looked down at the foals around her, her children. She had created them, loved them, raised them, and protected them. Twilight felt a pang were her heart had once been. 'Is this how Celestia saw her ponies?' Twilight thought with a sad smile. Twilight sighed and one of the foals climbed into her forearms. Twilight looked down to see a smiling Eris nestled in her arms. Twilight lay her head down and spread her wings over as many of the foals as she could. She would protect them, no matter what. It was a quiet day in Ponyville, ponies going back and forth doing their business as they had always done. Despite Ponyville being made the capital after the Canterlot Catastrophe not much had changed. Twilight's Castle had become the new palace for the royals and most of the nobles chose to live in the small 'elite' district that had cropped up around it but aside from that there was very little. Suddenly the sound of a train was heard and the screeching of breaks as it came to a halt at the old station. Ponies froze and stared in awe at the train which had a slick silver engine painted with purple highlights. however the awe of the ponies watching was quickly replaced with shock as a platoon of guards and several pony like creatures exited the train with Celestia and Luna in front however what drew their attention was the purple figure that lay limp on Celestias back. The ponies watched as the princess ran for the castle, there was only one thought running through their mind, 'That was Twilight!' Princess Celestia stood in front of the doors as the train screeched to a halt. The guards and HK's had awoken a few moments ago and stood at attention but Twilight and Eris were still passed out. Celestia was worried. As soon as the train stopped Celestia placed Twilight on her back as Luna did the same for Eris and ran to the doors. The moment the doors opened they were racing to the castle. Twilight had placed the Ponyville C.O.R.E.S. in the basement as a security measure. The only one who knew how to enter was Twilight but they had to help her. The moment they entered the castle they slowed and took several deep breaths before opening the doors. As soon as they stepped into the castle the nobles were upon them demanding were they had gone, why they had not returned and a thousand other questions. The princesses tried to push through but the nobles refused to move. "MOVE, tho pompous self important fools!" Luna yelled causing the nobles to freeze. ""Were have you been aunty?" A pretentious voice asked causing the nobles to part as Prince Blueblood stepped forward. "We thought that something terrible had happened you up in that ruble pile." He said as he looked over Celestia and noticed the body on her back. "Oh my, is this Princess Twilight?" He asked as he approached. "You have my deepest apologize aunty." he said as he looked hatefully at the body. "Ah, well serves her right for trying to rise above her station." He said and smiled. "With Twilight's death it seems that you will have to choose another to ascend to the throne." Suddenly Blueblood was slapped across the face sending him flying. "Silence meat bag." said a rust colored metal stallion. Blueblood staggered to his feet and glared at the stallion. "Who do you think you are!" He roared. "Do you have any idea who I am you abomination? I am Prince Blueblood, decedent of Princess Platinum and nephew to Princess Celestia, Your ruler!" "Declaration: I am HK-47 Personal Assassin Droid of Mistress Twilight Sparkle who is also my creator." HK-47 said as he approached the prince. "Commentary: If you think I serve Celestia then I fear you are sorely mistaken however, my mistress, Twilight Sparkle." He said as he continued to stalk toward the now trembling prince. "And for your information My mistress is simply resting at the moment. As such I would appreciate you to all be quiet." He said as he turned and glared at the other nobles. Blueblood's face slowly turned red. "Y-you think you can order me around." he demanded as he slowly approached HK. "Offer: Tell me Prince Blueblood, decedent of Princess Platinum and nephew to Princess Celestia, How attached are you to your balls because there is a cretin protocol that I have been dying to try on one of you organics and it seems that you are volunteering." HK-47 asked as he turned to the Prince who paled and slowly backed away. As this happened the princesses watched in shocked fascination. Luna slowly leaned closer to Celestia. "I think we should ask Twilight for one of these HK units. They would prove quite useful in keeping the nobles in line. Celestia nodded. and watched the nobles slowly turn before running. HK-47 watched them run chuckling before turning to the princesses. "Statement: The meat bags are no longer blocking the path. I recommend that we reach the C.O.R.E.S. as fast as possible." Celestia nodded and they began to walk through the castles halls till they reached a set of stairs leading down. Luna turned to the royal guard. "No one enters after us." She said. The guard saluted ad turned watching the halls. The princesses then began to make their decent as the three Clockwork guards and HK units followed them down. Once they reached the bottom the were greeted with a hall that on each side held windows and doors. It wasn't the decor of a palace but more like a laboratory. Slowly the group walked down the halls. Each window showed Magitech machines that Twilight had been experimenting with prior to the catastrophic. At the end of the hall Eris groaned the the group stopped to let her off Luna. "I apologize for going offline for such a long period of time." "It's alright." Celestia said before turning to the door at the end. "Though I don't suppose you know how to open the door to the C.O.R.E.S. Chamber?" She asked. Eris nodded. "I do." She said as she walked up to the doors. and typed in a code on a keypad. the doors groaned and slowly opened revealing the Ponyville C.O.R.E.S. Control room.