Detrot: Become Equine

by Andromidus

2.3 - CLUELESS/PBM

“Are you sure your GPS is working correctly, Derps? I don’t think this is the right way out,” Rainbow commented, ducking under a low-hanging archway. “My internal clock may not be working at the moment, but I’m pretty sure we’ve been down here for more than an hour. Maybe two, tops.”

The sewer system was much more spacious than she had anticipated. In fact, it was wide enough to get a cab to drive around with some space to trot beside it. It was also far cleaner than she was led to believe. Well, as clean as a sewer tunnel got. There were obviously stray piles of trash here and there, but it looked much better… than… than… I can't remember.

But Rainbow knew for certain that it looked better than whatever last experience she couldn't recall.

She sighed and continued to examine the drab surroundings. The equdroid stared at the walkway as they crossed the tunnel intersection. That dent looks awfully familiar. Her memory was still far too corrupted to attempt a layered comparison, but she knew for certain that she had seen it before. She trotted up to it and brushed a hoof along its surface.

In fact, now that she was paying much closer attention to detail, it felt like they had passed that sign one too many times. Along with that grate with plastic bag stuck in it.

“Derpy.”

“Y-Yeah?”

“We’re walking in circles.”

“O-Oh.”

“Alright, so your guidance system is totally out of whack. How the heck do we get out of here?” Rainbow plopped her plot onto the grated floor as she said that, throwing her forelegs into the air in frustration. “We may as well be in here for as long as our batteries can hold out for!”

The gray pegasus displayed a guilty frown. “I-I’m sorry, I totally thought I could lead us out of here.” Her tail flicked. “You found the way out and did all the stuff! Plus you also saved me from the scary pony. I just… I just didn’t want to feel useless, that’s all.”

Rainbow sighed. “Derps, you don’t have to try and lead the way out if you don’t know it. You’ve already proved your worth to me and that’s fine enough with me. What? Did you think I was going to abandon you?”

Derpy closed her eyes tight and turned around. “Y...Yes…” she admitted. “I thought you would leave me after I was no longer helpful.” In a whisper that would never be heard by anypony, she added, “That’s what they did…”

“W-What!? I would—”

! rrReeeeeeeeADiinnG MmEeeeEMORRRRRY fRAggMENNt.

“So remember folks, this is going to be an in-and-out type of mission. We're only here to gather as much as we reasonably can.” Spitfire paused. “At the first sign of trouble, I want all of you to abort your missions. Your lives are drastically more important than some measly scouting data. Alright, buddy-up and get ready. I want you all to finalize and double-check. We’re nearing drop point alpha.”

She nodded and trotted away, moving further into the plane’s belly. Rainbow watched her disappear behind the steel bulk of a door. Commotion broke out as ponies began sorting themselves out and choosing partners. Snapping her head back into place, she stood rigid in her holding space.

Hooves against metal noisily made their approach towards her position. A pony plopped their hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “I call! Hah, hah!” he cheered.

“Would you not prefer a real pony to be your partner, Soarin?” The equdroid asked, shifting her face to stare at him.

“W-Well, er… I think you’re cooler, that’s all,” he coughed. “Besides, I think it’s easier to get along with somepony like yourself, y’know?”

“I understand. I am designed to be subservient.”

He snorted. “It’s been way past a year already and you’ve still got that factory personality. We should really spice up your boring robot talk.” Soarin placed a hoof on her snout and hooked his grip on the robot’s chin. He examined her brilliant magenta eyes, moving her face side-to-side. “You seem like the hotshot kinda pony. Got any pre-mades for that?”

Rainbow blinked and shut her eyes. She had thousands of onboard personalities ready to be used at the user’s discretion. There even happened to be a program dedicated to making a specific persona. Sadly, there didn’t happen to be any that specifically fit Soarin’s criteria. It wouldn’t be too system-intensive to attempt making one, however.

She began piecing together temperaments, responses, and reactions; all the while running simple situations in her head for the best fit, analyzing past memories and events for the most accurate outcome. A minute later, they were open again, this time, however, shining with a layer of mirth that hadn’t been there before. “Well, Soarin, think you can keep up with me now? Nah! I’d probably leave you in my cloud-wake.”

“Haha! That’s it right there. So much better!” He smiled. “I’m sure the others will love it once we show ‘em. Well, now that's settled, I’mma work on my stuff.” Sidling up next to her, he silently began securing the straps on his flight gear. He paused as one awkwardly pressed on his wing. “Do you think you could…? Oh, thanks.”

Soarin continued to work on looking his supplies over.

Rainbow let her audio receptors wander, and she could overhear the whispers among the Wonderbolts. They talked about how the mission was much more dangerous than Spitfire had decided to mention. But to abandon their mission before they even began… was unbecoming of such an elite squadron of ponies. They voiced their concerns amongst themselves, highlighting the finer points of Griffon military tactics.

The newer ponies, the ones who had been too slow to get themselves a senior partner, had been relegated to the other PBM models. Some even noted that they wouldn’t hesitate in throwing them to the proverbial wolves if push came to shove.

The equdroid couldn’t help but consider a specific scenario in her head. “Soarin.”

He stopped tugging on a loose string. “Uh, yeah, what’s up?”

“If the situation… required it… would you leave me?” she asked. eRROOoR. COmPUTing disCREPancy. “It would totally be understandable! I would cover your flank as you make a tactical retreat. Heroically awesome of me to show off my skills in a last stand!”

“What… what’s that supposed to mean?” he replied, utterly confused. “Abandon you? It shouldn’t ever come to that.”

“There’s always a chance it could happen… so would you?”

He snorted. “Never! It’s no mare left behind here.”

“I’m not a pony, Soarin. Just a piece of hardware.”

“Hardware, my plot!”

“W-What?”

“You’re so much more than that, Dash. You’ve suffered alongside us, er… bled alongside us… You’ve proved that you’re more than scraps of metal. Leaving you behind would be turning your back on family. The Wonderbolts don’t do that kind of thing. Ever,” he finished hotly.

“But I simply only did what any other equdroid would do.”

“Wrong!” he shouted. “What of those times where you jumped hoof-first into the fray? Took the bullets that were intended for Fleetfoot? Tore up your wings to keep the airship afloat? What about that time you ignored Spitfire’s orders and went into the still-burning crash site? You didn’t have to do any of those things, Dash. I may even have to say you shine out as more pony than any of us.”

She looked at him quietly. Her incredibly advanced computer rendered dumbfounded. I… never considered it like that. “Oh… I’ll… I’ll be sure to keep that thought around,” she murmured.

As they returned to what they originally had been doing, a scan had run passively, and she oversaw the data running through. Certain parts of his brain had been much more active than others… his heart rate had increased along with his cheeks turning a flattering shade of red… a smile caressed her lips. Her new personality demanded that she poke fun at him. “Were you getting defensive... ‘cuz you looove me?” she teased.

Soarin turned an even brighter shade of red, so much so that it would end up making a tomato jealous. “I… d-do not! I just… I just think of you… like a big sister! That’s… that’s all!”

“Suuure. Let yourself believe that!” she chuckled.

The world came back to her in a jarring transition of static. “—nbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! What happened, are you okay!?” Derpy yelled, shaking the dazed pegasus.

“N-No, I'm not… I… I just had another fragment run itself forcefully through my head.”

“Fragment!?” She spun around, searching for an entry wound on her skull. “I don't see anything… are you sure you had shrapnel go through your head?” She looked at the sewer walls. “I didn't hear or see anything that could've launched it, either.”

“Not in the physical sense, Derps.” Standing back on her hooves, she began wiping off the grime accumulated from her spasm. “Memory fragment. I think my memory cores aren't doing as best as they should be doing. I'm not sure if they have specific scenario triggers that help to ‘fill in the holes’ but they come and go.”

“O-Oh,” she whispered. Her lip quivered and she locked Rainbow in a tight hug. “I'm glad you're okay! I thought I lost you!”

“Hah, it’s alright. Gonna need more than a faulty piece of junk to keep this mare down.” She eyed the walls. “Also gonna need more than a sewer to keep us trapped!”

“So you have a plan!?”

“Not at all! I'm just going to wing it. Like I think I always do.”

“Think?”

She tapped her cranium. “Faulty hardware, ‘member?”

“O-Oh, right.”

“So what to do… what to do…” she stared at the gunk flowing beneath them. “Trying to follow the flow of the sewer system is probably our best bet… although that’s not the best idea.”

Derpy tilted her head. “Why?”

“There’s always the chance it’ll simply lead us further in or away from any possible exits. Of course, we’ll eventually get out if we do so, but that could take days!” She raised a hoof. “And I don’t think I’m at a well enough state to try bucking open any grates.”

The gray pegasus blinked and craned her neck over her friend. “What’s that…?”

A low rumbling announced itself as Rainbow started dipping into her algorithms. She snapped her head to face the source of the noise. Down the tunnel was a particularly bright light, gradually increasing in luminescence. They both squinted their eyes as they slowly filtered it out to better discern the approaching object.

Along with that, the closer it became, the easier it was to make out whir of a vacuum and then nearly drowned out the sound of scrubbing.

Coming their way looked to be a large, heavy-duty sewage drone of sorts. It began slowing down. “LARGE OBSTRUCTION DETECTED…” it boomed out from a low-quality speaker. Shifting behind the bulk looked to be equdroid wearing a reflective vest. They looked ready to jump off to check out the problem.

Wasting no time, the duo quickly moved to the side.

“LARGE OBSTRUCTION NO LONGER DETECTED? PROCEEDING.”

Rainbow smiled as they watched the machine slowly crawl along the length of the sewer. “Derps.”

“Yeah, Rainbow?”

“We just found our ticket out of here.” Hoisting her partner, she tossed the equdroid on her back to catch up with their ride. Hopping the guardrail, they landed on the small exterior platform hanging behind the drone. Idling behind the glass was an equdroid operator, looming in front of a dim console. “And now… we wait.”

“What if they catch us?” Derpy murmured, shooting glances at the droid. They were merely separated by a piece of foggy plexiglass.

“Don’t worry, Derps. You can count on me.” She grinned. “I may be marginally fucked up in certain areas, but I’ve retained enough to take down a whole squadron of trained ponies by myself. I ain't-a PBM for nothin’!”

The other pegasus nodded, reassured. “A-Alright, I'll trust you, soul-buddy!”

Rainbow idly stared out at the night sky hanging above them. She could feel the soft caress of an evening breeze ruffling her fur. There were no piles of bodies, no massive walls caging her in. She closed her eyes and spread her wings.

She could imagine her feathered appendages lift her higher and higher. Here, after all her struggles, her pain, her near-death sacrifice… she was a free equdroid… no… she was more than that. She… she was a pony! She was more than a mere machine.

Following her code, she breathed in deep. The air was crisp according to her sensors. She stood strong, holding her heroic pose. If she had the choice, she would stay here forever and bask in the moonlight.

“Will this work?” Derpy asked, slipping a coat onto Rainbow. And like that, she was broken out of her dreams.

She rolled her shoulders to make sure it was secure. “It should. Hopefully, none of the ponies comment on my lumpy back. If anything, they’ll just assume its frumpled because we look homeless,” the prismatic pony gave the air around them a sniff. “Although we may be overdoing it on the stench.”

“There’s a river nearby. We could take a dip and try to wash off as much as we can.”

Together, they trotted along the darkened sidewalks, their shadows elongated and spindly. Like ponies on stilts stalking them at every corner.

It was deathly silent. Call it paranoia… but I don’t like this… it’s too quiet. Her servos and synthetic muscled tensed, ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble.

No cars were moving at this time of day, nor were there any in the area. Considering their location in one of Equestria’s largest cities, it was strange to see such quiet. Usually, there had to be a late-nighter coming home from a long day of work… or even a group of ponies who thrived in the nightlife. But now? Windows were dark and the streets were empty. It was as if the entire world had been put to rest.

A stoplight changed to red in front of them, glaring in the darkness. That was meaningless, considering the lack of any traffic to corral. The two pegasi crossed the street, shooting glances at the dark alleyways. It was probably better this way. Fewer ponies to question their validity, the easier everything would become.

It wasn’t long before they manage to reach the bridge over the river. The waters were calm, idly lapping at the river bank as they approached. Rainbow removed her jacket and laid it flat on a rock. Once they were ready, they wasted no time in washing off the muck accumulated from the time in the graveyard and the sewer. Their keen receptors noted the gradual change of the color of the water as they cleaned themselves.

Derpy splashed some water on her mane. “Rainbow, I’ve been thinking…”

“Yeah?”

“What’re we going to do? I… I never really thought any further besides getting out okay…” she stopped, fluttering her wings to shake out the water. “We’re two unwanted equdroids in a world full of ponies who wouldn’t hesitate in dumping us again.”

“Hey! Turn that… uh… wipe that frown away! We may be two unwanted equdroids, but we’re two unwanted equdroids!”

“Huh?”

“Soul-buddies till the bitter end!”

“Y-Yeah!” she cried, clapping her hooves together. “B-But, we still should find something. We can’t survive off of wandering. How’re we going to maintenance ourselves?”

Rainbow tapped her head in thought. “Well, there’s always the delivery thing. We could become delivery ponies… for whatever it was supposed to deliver.” The warehouse full of spare parts, most specifically the intact wings sitting in the ViTAS crates were such a tantalizing incentive.

“W-Well, we don’t have much of choice, do we?”

“I don’t see the wrong in it. Although I did wish it told me who we were to deliver it to.”

Derpy tilted her head. “It didn’t tell you who to deliver it to? That doesn’t make any sense.” She rubbed a knot out of her tail. “Maybe… maybe they’ll tell us when we arrive at the building?”

Perhaps they did it to keep secrecy? The context I’m getting from this is that they weren’t exactly on the right side of the law… “I guess that would be the only thing to make sense.” Rainbow gave her entire body a full shakedown and clambered out of the water. “I think that should be good enough.”

Rainbow looped a hoof on the underside of the jacket and slung it once more on her back. She wriggled her wing stubs to make sure it didn’t catch. As it lay snug in place, she couldn’t help but stare at the identifier marker on her rump. Her vision slowly snaked to take a look at the circle that rested on the side of Derpy’s skull. It glowed faintly yellow, casually flickering every now and then. I’ve never really noticed how she’s been constantly processing things.

As she continued to stare, realization bloomed like fire. They still had their identifiers s. We’re lucky nopony caught us. I can’t believe I managed to overlook this! She smashed a hoof into the ground, shattering a rock. Scooping up a sharp end in the frog of her hoof, she angled it and dug out the identifier. It hit the ground and bounced, the light slowly fading.

She did the same for the mark, digging it in. Careful to pry it out without damaging her systems, she methodically twisted around the triangle. It popped out and landed on the ground. She turned to her other side and repeated.

Synthetic fur slowly engulfed the empty spots, hiding the fact it had ever been there in the first place. She smiled. That felt so… liberating. However, her expression slowly faltered. A missing cutie mark would raise red flags on an adult pony. The pegasi’s grin returned stronger than ever as a specific thought came to mind. Adorning both sides were now rainbow-colored thunderbolts, with white wings standing at attention, hanging off at the sides. A homage to better times.

Rainbow noticed that her friend was doing the same thing, albeit at a slower pace. She trotted over to help her out. Soon enough, they now had matching pairs of identifiers littering the shore. They didn’t waste any time in tossing them into the water.

Derpy smiled. “That felt… that felt good!”

“You said it, Derps.”

Her joy was infectious. “So how do we begin that delivery?” she asked. Rainbow noticed that Derpy had chosen bubbles for her cutie mark. Interesting choice. I wonder what they mean to her?

“Well, I’m not sure. I think we can figure it out, together, however!”

Derpy nodded and started pacing. Her nose scrunched up as she went into thought. “Was there anything else that looked… important? Maybe… like a trail of cookie crumbs! It would be kind of silly if they tasked you with a delivery without giving you any directions.”

“Well, nothing as concrete as an actual trail, but there was… one thing.” Rainbow pushed the gravel aside and grabbed her sharp rock. She carved out the same symbol she had seen during the forced transfer. A crescent moon with the three lines running through them. “This. I saw this. Aside from a voice telling me, ‘be free’, I can’t really tell what it means.”

The gray pegasi’s face scrunched up even further, almost to the point where it appeared it would collapse in on itself. A minute passed and she broke her concentration. She shrugged. “I don’t get it.”

“Neither do I.” She huffed and stared at her drawing. “What does the moon have to do with any of this?”

Derpy shrugged again. They sat on the riverbank, silent, pondering the hidden meaning. In that time, a pair of clouds that had been obscuring the moon drifted apart. The rays of moonlight slowly crept along, banishing the dark as it expanded all around them. Interest piqued, she watched it slowly wrap their surroundings in a weak, white light. She blinked. A silver, glittery paint had magically appeared on one of the bridge’s support struts. Tilting her head, she tapped her friend on the shoulder. “Hey, Rainbow, look! Your drawing looks just like that one!”

Without missing a step, the grounded pegasus spun around. Indeed, the crescent moon symbol—slashed with three lines—lay painted with laser precision. Which certainly hadn't been there before, she noted, something so sparkly would've stood out amongst the shadows. The only difference now was that it wasn't as dark as before, with the light of the moon... covering the area. “It only reveals itself in the light of the moon. Clever. So very clever.”