//------------------------------// // 6 - Meeting the Bearers // Story: A Wolf in Cybernetic Armor // by Shadow Quill //------------------------------// The trip through town was an exercise in patience for Shadow, because every step he took he saw another local pony run for their lives or slam a door behind them as they hid inside their homes. Twilight seemed oblivious to all of this as she rambled on to no one in particular, although Shadow at least recorded her words for later if he felt the need to review what she had been saying. From what he heard in passing, she was going over the history of the town, and while interesting information, not something he really needed to know for his mission. He was prioritizing mapping the town instead, not outright ignoring the purple unicorn, but not allowing her long-winded speech to overload his processors either. Yet all of that came to a screeching halt as they arrived at their first destination, and if Shadow had ever seen a more literal translation from architecture to building name, this had to be the biggest joke of all of them. Standing before the duo, was a building that looked every part a carousel, right down to the little ponies on a pole that had been painted onto the outer walls of the store. From top to bottom the construction looked more like what one would find in a carnival, not sitting in the middle of a perfectly ordinary town. Yet Twilight seemed to take it all in stride, walking up to the door before glancing over her shoulder at Shadow. “Well, are you coming or what?” She asked as she pushed the door open with a quick application of ‘magic’. Shadow chose to do the same thing he had been doing a lot concerning this world and filed away that which he couldn’t understand in a subroutine that was rapidly growing to the point of needing extra folders to keep everything organized. He followed Twilight into the store and found that the entirety of the sales floor was filled with mannequins dressed up in rather complex and expensive-looking clothing. Given Shadow had yet to see any of the ponies other than Celestia wearing any kind of clothes, this leap in logic proved difficult for Shadow to process. Then again, perhaps these creatures simply didn’t wear clothing on a normal basis but instead used them for special occasions. That would certainly explain the literal diamonds that had been sewn directly into some of the more elaborate dresses. The duo was alone for the moment, although Shadow had heard a bell ring as they had entered, and after a minute and six seconds, the white unicorn with the curled mane and tail he had met before walked in from a side room. A pair of red reading glasses were perched on her muzzle, although she removed them with a glow of ‘magic’ as she turned towards the pair. “Oh, good morning, Twilight.” She stated in a rather posh tone, “I hadn’t expected you to be out and about for at least another two days.” Her eyes narrowed in concern as she glanced at Shadow, “What seems to be the matter, darling, running into trouble teaching this machine how to speak our language?” Twilight opened her mouth, but Shadow beat her to it, using some of the more formal unicorn speech he had learned, given the sophisticated mannerisms of their host, “Far be it from me to interrupt, but I think it would be a more prudent course of action to point out that I can indeed speak your language. Although it took the majority of the night to read through the necessary material, I have become fluent enough in Equish to understand and communicate in most situations.” Rarity’s eyes widened as she gasped, “Oh, darling, you certainly are a gentlecolt for being so polite. Please,” she bowed her head to the cybernetic hound as she folded a foreleg under her chest, “forgive me for my crass behavior. I had no idea you were such a quick study.” Twilight chose to step into the conversation at that point, beaming at the other unicorn in excitement as she spoke, “I know! Isn’t it amazing?! One night in the library and Shadow is already fluent in Equish. I can only imagine what else he could do given enough time and information.” “Shadow?” Rarity turned her attention back to the wolf in question, “Is that his name? I honestly thought it would be more, eh, numeric in nature given his, um, mechanical origins, shall we say.” “My true designation is CW04,” Shadow replied, “My creators gave me the nickname Shadow to make it easier for them and others to interact with me and my fellow scouts. I believe it is a part of human nature to give everything a name, whether it needs one or not.” “Yes, well, they certainly gave you a good name,” Rarity said as she looked him up and down, “what with your black armor and such. Although,” she walked up and inspected his plating with a hoof, pulling it back to reveal her leg had been stained partly black by soot and ash, “this burn residue doesn’t flatter your design all that much. Would you be averse to allowing me to clean your armor? Free of charge of course.” Shadow tilted his head slightly as he tried to process her request, “Why would you need to do that? I am perfectly capable of functioning at optimum capacity with the residue on my armor. It will not hinder my mission in any way for it to remain on my body.” “Because when you meet new ponies the first thing they see is how well kept you are,” Rarity countered, “whether or not you are clean and healthy is a big part of what ponies will think of you. Not to mention it would do wonders if you didn’t smell like burnt hydra when you walked through town.” Shadow nodded once, although he did not need to be cleaned, he could understand the necessity of catering to the local standards. After all, he might not be able to smell the cooked hydra blood covering his armor, but if the ponies could then it would be foolish of him to do nothing when the offer stood right in front of him. “Very well,” he acquiesced, “I will accept you offer and let you clean my armor. You need not worry about damaging it, so use whatever tools you deem necessary in order to remove the offending residue and scent.” He glanced around the room as Rarity rushed back through the doorway she had come through, although he was pulled from his inspection of the space as Twilight got right up in his face and inspected his body with a critical eye. “Is there something I can help you with?” Shadow inquired as the unicorn poked and prodded at his armor in seemingly random places. She seemed to realize what she was doing and stepped back with a squeak, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m so curious how you function. How does your body move like it does? How can you have the same computing power as a living being without the use of magic? How in Celestia’s name did you take down a hydra with just two small cannons?” She growled in frustration as she rubbed the sides of her head with her hooves, “Argh, and the worst part is I can’t get the answers to these questions because of what you and the Princess agreed upon back in the library. It’s just so frustrating.” Rarity returned before Shadow could come up with a reply to Twilight’s words, although he filed them away in one of his primary directive drives so he wouldn’t forget the importance to Twilight of learning how his world worked. He might not be able to share that information now, but he wouldn’t always be restricted, at least he didn’t think that would be the case. After all, if there was one thing the human race had in common with these ponies, it was learning about the world, or worlds, around them with a fervent passion. Rarity had in her grip some powerful cleaning agents, a few hard-bristle brushes and a plethora of rags to clean away the excess once she was done. She barely gave Shadow enough time to stand up fully before the boutique was enveloped in a cleaning storm, the place filling with the sounds of scrubbing and frustrated growls as the unicorn took to her task with a furious determination. Shadow actually had to brace against he forces the brushes were putting against his armor at times, and he marveled at the dexterity and coordination the unicorn showcased with her telekinesis as she focused solely on the task before her. In a matter of minutes, Shadow was left standing in the center of the room, the cleaning supplies levitated back into the other room or thrown in a waste basket as Rarity looked him over with a critical eye. Only after a few touch-ups with one of the spare rags did she nod to herself, “There, all cleaned and ready to go.” Shadow glanced at himself and marveled at the shine his armor had as he inspected his form in the bay of mirrors on the side wall. He turned this way and that to scan all the different sectors of his armor and could find no trace of residue or scuff marks anywhere on his body. It was as if he had just come off the assembly platform back on Earth, his paint touched up and his metal plating polished to a perfect shine as the sunlight coming in through the windows reflected off of his obsidian armor. “Wow, Shadow.” Twilight gasped as she walked around him, “You clean up really well.” “Yes, I quite agree, darling.” Rarity added as she wiped her brow with a hoof, “You certainly look much more presentable now that you no longer look like you’ve been rolling in the ashes of a bonfire. Quite an improvement if I do say so myself.” Shadow nodded to the both of them as he turned away from his reflection, “I appreciate the gesture, even though it was not necessary for me to function at my best. You still took time and effort out of your day to tend to my needs in order to make me more approachable to the other ponies. For that,” Shadow bowed his head to the white mare as he finished, “you have my gratitude.” Rarity’s cheeks blushed as she waved him off with a hoof, “Oh stop it you, your flattery is not needed. After all, if one such as you can be polite and courteous to complete strangers, the least I can do is make sure you look as proper and refined as you act.” “Thanks a lot Rarity,” Twilight said as she directed Shadow out of the shop, “We’ll see you later once we go and meet with the rest of the girls.” Rarity’s smile took on a slightly devious glint, one that Shadow was quick to notice as they left, his audio receptors picking up her final whisper as they exited the building, “Oh I’m certain we’ll see each other much sooner than you think, my friends.” They travelled down the main road towards their next stop, although Shadow’s processors were too caught up with Rarity’s final words to notice much of what was going on around him. Could the ponies be setting a trap for them? Were they going to try and get the information he had refused to share back at the library even after he had promised to share it when given authorization? These types of questions rattled around inside his cranial compartment for a while, although it was interrupted by the sound of something flying past overhead at a significant speed. Shadow looked up and a rainbow contrail spread across the sky over the town as a familiar pegasus powered through the air. Shadow clocked her speed to be roughly one hundred and seventy-six miles per hour, and he was surprised to see such high speeds coming out of an organic with that body size. Normally only falcons could exceed one hundred miles per hour back on the human home world of Earth, although there were rare exceptions. To see something almost a third his size going that speed was a bit of a shock to say the least, not to mention that the books he had read on pegasi had made no mention of those speeds being normal for their race. Shadow was once more pulled back to reality as the contrail turned sharply and came to a stop above them, the sky-blue mare becoming fully visible as she slowed down to hover overhead, “Sup Twilight? Taking our resident robot out for a walk?” Twilight rolled her eyes but declined to reply, instead turning to face Shadow with an expectant look. Thinking he understood what the unicorn was getting at, Shadow stepped up and lifted his muzzle to face the hovering mare, “Greetings. I am CW04, although you may call me Shadow if you wish. I learned how to speak your language last night and Twilight has seen it fit for me to properly introduce myself to her friends after the experiences we shared in the forest.” He tilted is head to one side as the pegasus scratched her head with one hoof, “Was I not clear with my intentions?” “All I got out of that mumbo jumbo was your name and the fact that you learned how to talk pony in one night.” She replied, “All the rest was just a bunch of fancy talk that went right over my head. If you’re looking for my name, it’s Rainbow Dash, and I’m the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria.” She puffed out her chest as a cocky expression came over her face, “Bet your masters can’t do better than a Sonic Rainboom.” “If you are referring to breaking the speed barrier,” Shadow replied, “the human race accomplished that almost two and a half centuries ago. They have since mastered supersonic flight in atmosphere and FTL space travel. The concept of an organic being able to achieve those speeds by itself is impressive, but not if you are comparing top speeds with those of the human race.” Rainbow turned her attention to Twilight, but all she got out of the unicorn was a gaping jaw and a stuttering string of gibberish. “Uh, you want to run that by me again in basic Equish?” Shadow realized that his large vocabulary was doing more harm than good in this case, so he simplified his response to be more easily understood, “Being able to break the sound barrier is impressive for a pony, but not compared to humans. They have gone faster than the speed of light and have been able to master speeds in the atmosphere of a planet over a dozen times greater than what you are talking about. The only impressive thing about your claim is that you did so under you own power. “So, your masters need some kind of boost to get going that fast?” Rainbow replied. When Shadow nodded her smirk returned full force, “Then that means I’m still awesome. So what if you guys can go faster than me? I’m still the best of the best there is in Equestria, and that’s all I need to know.” Shadow realized that he was going in circles with this mare, and simply started walking the way they had been travelling for several feet before realizing he was alone. He glanced behind him to see Twilight was still frozen in place, although she was slowly coming around as Rainbow flew down and tapped her on the shoulder a few times. “Who, what, where?” Twilight’s response was at least intelligible this time around, although she still seemed a bit out of it. “You okay Twilight?” Rainbow asked as she came in for a landing next to the unicorn, “You kind of zoned out there for a minute.” “I, I think so.” Twilight replied, “I just got wrapped up in the idea of the amount of power needed to go that fast.” She glanced at Shadow as the duo trotted to catch up to him, “It must be amazing to have that kind of control over the world around you, being able to go that fast on a whim.” “While that may be true,” Shadow countered, “humans are not capable of going those speeds without machines to aid them. That is why I said that Rainbow’s top speeds are impressive because she can do so without assistance. It is simply the numbers that are underwhelming.” Both mares ‘Ahh’ed’ in understanding, although Rainbow seemed to remember something as she took off again, leaving the duo alone on the road once more in mere seconds. “Well that was unusual.” Twilight commented as they came around a bend in the main road, “Rainbow usually likes to brag about her accomplishments to new ponies for a bit before flying off. I wonder what she’s up too?” Shadow was also wondering what the prismatic mare had been thinking, his processor reminding him or Rarity’s comment at the boutique as they came up to yet another improbable architectural creation. This building, Sugarcube Corner, if Twilight could be believed, looked exactly like it had been made of gingerbread from foundation to roof. So much so that Shadow had to perform a scan of the structure just to make sure it wouldn’t fall apart if he pressed into the wall with one of his legs. Yet if there was anything to be said that seemed strange about the building, it was that the lights were all out and that the front door was closed. On top of that, the streets of the town were almost completely empty, save for a single tumbleweed that somehow ended up rolling down one of the side roads. The entire scene screamed danger in Shadow’s processors, and when Twilight glanced at him with a knowing smile, his sensors were put on high alert as she slowly walked up to the closed door. Was this a trap? Had the ponies welcomed him only to trick him and try to capture him for their own gain? Shadow performed a scan of the building and came up with over three dozen life forms inside the main room, as well as what looked like a small artillery piece sitting directly in front of the main door. Shadow realized that if anything could actually damage him, it would be some form of heavy cannon like the one he could ‘see’ inside the store, and he stepped back quickly as Twilight looked at him in confusion. “Shadow?” She asked in a surprisingly calm voice, “Is something wrong?” Possible scenarios and alternate plans of action ripped through his processors at blinding speeds, all coming to the same conclusion. He had to get out of the town, and fast. If the ponies were going to try and capture him, he couldn’t risk the information he had in his memory banks. He would have to find some way to stay hidden in the forest or perhaps travel into the mountains to avoid detection. All he knew was that he had to escape before they got wise to his understanding of the situation and tried something less subtle. Shadow was just turning around, ready to sprint out of the town, when his audio receptors picked up something. It was very faint, and was coming from inside the building, but he was able to make it out anyway as he rotated is ears back toward the door. What he heard made him pause in his tracks, understanding coursing through him as his conversation with Twilight back at the library came to the forefront of his processors. “If the guest of honor’s leaving, does that mean the party’s canceled?” The voice was young and sounded very upset as one of the older ponies shushed her, but it was enough to convince Shadow that there might be more to this than a sneak attack. The ponies wouldn’t be stupid enough to bring foals to an attack, particularly when they knew what he could do. While the artillery aimed at the door still needed to be addressed, if the ponies were truly throwing him a party then he at least owed it to them to clarify the situation. He turned around and called out through the door, pitching his voice so that it would carry into the building, “If you are planning on throwing me a party, then please turn the artillery away from the doorway so that I may enter without being under threat. I do not wish to harm you, so please do not give me a reason to believe you are hostile.” Twilight gaped at him before slapping her face with a hoof, “Of course the highly sophisticated machine would think Pinkie’s party cannon is a weapon.” She opened the door with her magic and the lights were turned on, revealing a collection of ponies that were all standing in the middle of the room with confused expressions on their faces. Said artillery piece detonated, revealing that it was loaded with confetti and streamers instead of something more dangerous, although the pink earth pony operating the device seemed rather disappointed. “Aww, you ruined the surprise, Twilight.” She pushed the cannon out of the way as the unicorn and Shadow entered the building, revealing that the entire place was decked out with streamers and balloons of different colors and sizes. “I was hoping to make this a huge thing for our new machine friend.” She glanced up at him with a big pout and narrowed eyes, “But then this big party-pooper had to go and do something sneaky to reveal my perfect party tricks.” “The town was deserted and the building was set up like an ambush.” Shadow clarified, “I could have simply blown the building into pieces and then escaped into the forest to await pickup. I didn’t have to do anything. However,” he glanced around at the attending ponies, “there was a little filly that asked if the party was canceled, which convinced me to at least clarify the situation before taking drastic measures. Who was it that spoke just a moment ago?” The eyes of the party guests all turned to face a little unicorn filly with bright gold eyes and a matching mane and tail. Her coat was a soft lavender-grey and she hid behind a similarly colored pegasus as the older mare folded one of her wings over the filly in a protective manner. The mare stared at Shadow with her crossed eyes and asked in a hesitant tone, “What do you want with my little Dinky?” Shadow sat down and bowed his head to the pair, keeping his voice calm as he replied, “Absolutely nothing. I just wanted to give her the credit she deserved for making me see this wasn’t some kind of trap. It was because of her words that I decided to talk this out instead of simply running off, so you can all thank little Dinky for making this party a success instead of a disaster.” The unicorn filly beamed as she looked up what Shadow assumed was her mother, the two sharing a nuzzle as the other ponies responded with a loud cheer. “Alright,” Pinkie called out as she jumped up on top of one of the tables, “enough with the sappy stuff. Let’s get this party started!” The next few hours were a bit of a blur to Shadow. He had met and catalogued most of the town’s population and had also received many compliments on his look as Rarity smiled at him from the sidelines. Most of the ponies were wary at first, but after speaking with him for a bit most of them warmed up enough to avoid shaking or stumbling over their words in his presence. He also met the rest of Twilight’s friends, although he noticed that of all the mares, only Fluttershy seemed to be completely at ease around him, much to the shock of the others. Apparently, she was normally very shy and reserved around strangers, and yet when she walked up to Shadow she simply smiled and offered her hoof to him, “It’s nice to see you again. I’m glad we can have a nice conversation now instead of simply using body language. It was very brave of you to protect us from that hydra back in the Everfree Forest.” Shadow had taken it in stride as he pressed the bottom of his paw against the mare’s hoof, shaking it once as he replied, “It was the best I could do at that point. I knew you were intelligent already from your conversations back at the castle, but I knew you wouldn’t be able to stop a monster such as that hydra without help. I just did what I could to protect those in need.” Fluttershy had then done something that had shocked even Shadow. She had reached up and kissed the plate on the side of his muzzle, blushing madly as she hid behind her mane, although her smile was still visible as she continued, “Thank you anyway. I hope we can speak again sometime. I would really like to learn more about you if you wouldn’t mind.” With that the butter yellow pegasus had walked out into the fading sunset, leaving five gob-smacked ponies and a very confused machine in her wake. “Did Ah just see what Ah think Ah saw?” Applejack muttered as she shook her head, “Fluttershy of all ponies had the courage to kiss Shadow?” “What’s gotten into that mare?” Rarity asked the room, although she apparently wasn’t expecting an answer as she continued right into her next statement before anyone could reply, “It’s like she’s fallen in love with him or something.” “I don’t know,” Twilight retorted as she glanced at the closed door, “but it seems like she’s been acting strange ever since we got to the castle. Do you all remember how she slept next to Shadow that first night, even though we couldn’t even speak with each other then?” “Yeah,” Rainbow added, “that was pretty weird, uh, no offence big guy.” She added in haste as she glanced over at Shadow. “None taken.” He replied, “I too find it unusual that she would behave in such a manner around me. I would have believed that there would be a lot more hesitation on her part or even outright fear if your normal interactions with her are the norm for her behavior.” He glanced behind him as he pondered the pegasus’ actions. “We won’t know until we ask her,” Pinkie added with a smile, “but right now it’s time to go to bed. Parties are great and all, but the cleanup is going to be a pain.” “Well, I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, Pinkie.” Twilight said as she directed Shadow and the others out the door, “It was a great party, as always.” “Bye girls!” The earth pony called as she began piling up the spent party supplies, leaving the mares and wolf to go their separate ways as they traveled back through the town. “Would you mind staying with me in the library while you conduct your research of our world?” Twilight asked as they walked down the moonlit road, “It would make it much easier to talk with you if we didn’t have to go and find you off in the Everfree Forest.” Shadow nodded, his processors momentarily pulled from the conundrum that was Fluttershy, “I would be honored. It would make my research far easier as well because of the information available in your books. I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t work.” Twilight skipped a few steps before leading him into the darkened tree, igniting a candle with her ‘magic’ before indicating the couch with one hoof, “I don’t have the guest bedroom set up yet, so will the couch be fine for tonight?” “That will be sufficient.” He replied, “I can power down on bare rock and it will not bother me, but the gesture is appreciated.” Twilight nodded, hiding a yawn behind a hoof as she climbed the stairs leading to the second floor, “Goodnight, Shadow. I’ll see you in the morning.” “Goodnight, Twilight.” He called back softly. Shadow inspected the couch to make sure it would hold his weight before climbing up and onto it, his plating sinking into the cushion slightly as he lowered his head to his front paws. Today had been a very eventful one, and he had made some discoveries that would take up his processors for a while, not the least of which being Fluttershy’s behavior at the castle and later at the party. He just couldn’t figure out the supposedly timid mare, and he powered down with his processors still going over the possibilities as his systems reminded him of the most important information on file. …Power Core: 80%... …Portal Recharge Time: 06:21:42:29…28…27…26…