//------------------------------// // 13. Oppy's Day Out // Story: My battery is low, and it’s getting dark // by Naughty_Ranko //------------------------------// To: Miss Starlight Glimmer, Castle Road 1, Ponyville EQ From: First Custodian Pterostigma, on behalf of King Thorax, Hive Praetorius CF Dear Ms. Glimmer, I regret to inform you that King Thorax is unavailable at this time. As you said in your own letter, he is currently preoccupied with very important matters of state and out of the Hive. As designated regent in his absence, it falls to me to examine his mail for important matters that might be time sensitive. The letter from a personal student of the Princess of Friendship seemed to qualify. Only after reading it, did I realize that your correspondence was of a more personal nature. I therefore apologize for my breach of confidentiality and assure you that the contents of your letter have not been made otherwise public and the letter itself set aside for the King’s perusal at a later date. However, being somewhat of a scholar of Changeling history myself, I felt it only right to offer my own insights on the questions you posted. To try and make up for my mistake, if nothing else. It pains me to admit that our own state of research into our distant past is woefully lacking. In the Age of Queens, written documentation of any kind was scarce. Record keeping is not something that comes naturally to covert folk like we used to be. In some cases, it might have been downright dangerous. There are few who even speak Ancient Changeling these days, though some words have carried over and are in use in our modern language. From a cursory glance, I can confirm that the markings you transcribed, at least in part, match the Ancient Changeling Alphabet. Though I did not recognize any of the words. The actual origin of Ancient Changeling is as much a mystery to us as it is to you. No written records exist, and there is no precursor language known. The earliest writings we have appear to have syntax, grammar and vocabulary already fully formed. The only evidence we have about its origin are anecdotal at best, fictional at worst. There is a legend that used to be told to grubs in Infiltration 101 as a way of explaining why many secret code words tended to be in Ancient Changeling. The legend states that, over a thousand years ago, a queen whose name has been forgotten to history cast a powerful scrying spell. Her intention was to find ‘a language that no creature on Equus thus far knew, and yet be fit for a power to rule the known world.’ Thus the magic brought forth this language, which only the Queen herself and those who served her could understand. I’m sure you can see the advantage in a language that no creature on Equus could speak except Changelings. It remained in use amongst Infiltrators for several centuries as one of the safeguards in secret communications protocol, so a foreign power couldn’t unveil our secrets, even if one of our messages were to be intercepted. Eventually, though, Ancient Changeling fell out of use as a day-to-day spoken language, since it was far more important for our drones to actually speak the languages of those they infiltrated and not have any obvious accent. On an interesting side note, though, many Changeling names have meaning in the old language. My own name, for example, refers to a distinct part of the Changeling wing. I’m not sure how useful this information is to you, but I hope it helps. Again, I apologize for my unintentional breach of privacy and promise to bring your letter to the attention of King Thorax posthaste upon his return to the Hive. Sincerely, Pterostigma, First Custodian of the Changeling Federation *** Mission Log: Sol 5205 *** *** AOS – BSN *** *** Message Received (Source: Starlight): That’s what it said. Unfortunately, I still haven’t heard back from Thorax himself. *** “That’s a shame,” Sunburst replied as he walked along the corridor with Starlight and Opportunity. “I’m sure he could be a lot more helpful than me.” “Yes,” Starlight replied smugly, “but I’ve got another expert on standby, and she should be here any moment.” “She?” Starlight nodded. “Remember that friend I told you about who first helped me out with the markings? She knows a ton of languages, some of them not even from Equus.” Receiving a questioning glance from her oldest friend, she could already hear two voices from beyond the door they were approaching. Sunburst recognized one of them, or at least he thought he did. “I told you, Twilight. Just relax. You’re perfectly fine.” “What do you mean, I’m fine? All my things are horse things!” “Round here we call them pony things,” came the answer that carried some clear amusement. “Don’t worry. You get used to quadrupedal locomotion. Everything else is essentially the same.” “Sunset!” Starlight said as she threw open the door to the portal room with a smile. “You’re here!” “Starlight!” The fiery-maned unicorn greeted and immediately went for a hug. “I thought it would be best to arrive early to give Twi some time to acclimate.” Meanwhile, Opportunity drove over to the curious mirror in the room, fascinated by the bright lights and atmospheric disturbances that seemed to swirl around it. “Smart. Sunset, I want you to meet my oldest friend, Sunburst. Sunburst, meet Sunset Shimmer.” “Hey,” Sunset greeted cordially, “nice to meet you. Starlight told me a lot about you.” “Pleasure,” he replied, shaking her hoof. “Though you have me at a disadvantage here. All I know about you is that you’re not from Equestria.” “Well, I am from Equestria originally. I’m in a, shall we say, unorthodox student exchange program. But I guess it’s not that unusual. Us students of Celestia do get around, don’t we?” “Ah, so you were also a student at Celestia’s school. That explains why you know so many different languages.” “Yeah, I’ve never been able to contain my curiosity, so I tend to dabble in a lot of different things,” Sunset admitted sheepishly. “Got me in a lot of trouble over the years, especially when the Princess found me in the forbidden wing of the Canterlot archives one day.” “You’ve been there? What’s it like? Princess Twilight, you must have seen it, right?” The purple unicorn in the corner of the room meeped as Sunburst turned his attention to her. Meanwhile, Opportunity stuck its instrument arm into the mirror, watched it vanish and pulled it back to observe it after a moment. “Oh, sorry,” Starlight interjected, “I should have said something. This isn’t Princess Twilight. Notice anything missing?” Sunburst cocked his head and blinked, then his eyes went wide. “Where are your wings?” Sunset walked up to her tongue-tied friend and drew a comforting foreleg around her shoulders. “This is the Twilight Sparkle from the world I live in.” “The world you …” Sunburst suddenly went quiet and looked over at the large mirror in the room. “Is this?” “That’s right,” Starlight said, “this is the mirror portal.” Sunburst nodded, still watching in amazement. “Incredible. This is the first time I’ve seen it. It was moved out of the Crystal Empire before I became Crystaller.” He shook himself out of his reverie and returned his attention to Sci-Twi. “I’m sorry about the mix-up. This must be as strange to you as it is to me,” he said, holding out his hoof. Twilight smiled at him and shook the offered hoof. “It is. It’s nice to meet you, though.” “Twilight’s been helping Sunset and myself with the electronic side of figuring out Oppy’s origin. That’s why I wanted her here to discuss our latest findings.” “Right,” Sunset said with a bright smile and an eagerness in her voice. “I’ve been dying to actually talk to him since you wrote me that Trixie figured out a way to synthesize a voice for him. So where is he?” “Well, he’s right … “ Starlight paused, looking around the room, a room that conspicuously lacked a certain Mars Rover. “… Oh, no.” The others followed her line of sight back to the mirror portal. Spike the dog stretched out his paws, delighting in the rays of the late summer sun on his fur and the warmth of the pavement beneath. He opened one eye, watched a ladybug go by, and decided he was too lazy to chase it at this very moment. “Hey, what gives,” he suddenly yelped when he felt cold metal touch his rump. He turned around and cocked his head to the side, assessing the strange thing that was sitting at the bottom of the broken statue. It was about his own size, had four wheels and a single camera on top that was housed in a spherical casing. The camera eye rotated to take in the thing’s own features. “Fascinating,” it stated in a high-pitched robotic voice, before noticing the dog. “Hello, Opportunity.” “Uh, no. It’s Spike,” the dog replied. “Spike?” the little robot zipped around the dog in a circle. “Not Spike,” it said firmly, “but sound like Spike.” The speaking dog now did his own lap around the strange visitor, sniffing curiously. “Huh, you smell like Equestria.” He looked around, unsure what to do. “Twilight told me to keep watch so nobody accidentally stumbles into the portal. She never said anything about something coming out.” “What that?” the extra little rover asked, indicating the building opposite the statue base where they were located. “What? That? That’s Canterlot High.” “Opportunity explore!” “Hey, wait!” Spike called after it. He looked back and forth between the machine and the statue, locked in indecision between going after it and obeying his owner’s command. Eventually, he just settled for a whimper. As the pet-sized rover set about exploring the halls of CHS, it weaved in and out between the legs of passing students, some startled into avoiding it, others completely unaware of its passing. Opportunity kept looking around, noting the smooth surface and things along the walls. One such thing brought it to an abrupt halt. Behind a pane of glass was an assortment of common and uncommon rocks in a display case, and in the center a framed photo of a girl with grey skin and an unreadable expression. The caption read: “Canterlot High Geology Club – President Maud Pie.” “Hey, there little guy,” a voice suddenly said as Opportunity noticed its field of view shifting. “Where did you come from?” Turning its camera, the rover saw a young boy with suspenders and square glasses. Two girls, who had stopped as well, joined him. “What have you got there, Micro Chips? Did you build that?” the girl with minty-green skin asked. “No, I didn’t,” the boy replied, looking at Oppy from all sides. “Looks pretty sophisticated, though.” “Hello,” the rover chirped, “Opportunity.” “Oh, that’s so cute!” the other girl squealed. “It can talk! Hi there, little guy. I’m Bon-Bon,” she said, waving her hand in front of the camera. “I wonder if someone built it for the Science Fair.” “Science? Opportunity like science!” Micro Chips chuckled. “I like it. It’s even got a personality. Whoever made it must be looking for it. What do you say, my little friend? Let’s head to the gymnasium and see if we can find your owner. They’re probably looking for you.” “Come on! We’ve got to find him!” Starlight urged as she frantically went back and forth along the entrance area of CHS while Spike had been drafted to sniff out the renegade rover’s whereabouts. “He’s all alone in a strange world. He could be hurt, or worse, or … or … I don’t know!” “Hey,” Twilight whispered in Sunset’s direction as they both tried to also spot any clues in the area, “I didn’t want to say anything when she was a pony. But your friend doesn’t look so good.” “Yeah, I noticed that,” Sunset replied with a worried frown as she watched Starlight break into a coughing fit while looking for the missing Opportunity before her eyes fell on Sunburst who was leaning against the wall on wobbly legs. “Now her friend cleaned up nicely when he stepped through the portal, though.” Indeed, the change from pony to person had done away with Sunburst’s usual messy style. His goatee looked perfectly groomed and his hair fell in a luxurious curl across his brow, and Sunset couldn’t help but wonder if he usually put effort into making himself look messy on purpose. The magic of the portal had also seen fit to give him a pair of stylish slacks and a sky-blue shirt with the top button undone, showing off a gold chain with a star attached to it. The only thing it hadn’t seen fit to give him was a sense of equilibrium for his new form, which was painfully evident when he tried to take a step forward and planted his face on the floor. “Trixie!?” Starlight’s voice brought Sunset back to the matter at hand. “Yes? Does Trixie know you?” “Trixie,” Sunset interjected as she spotted the blue magician give Starlight an odd look, “we’re looking for a small robot about the size of Twilight’s dog. Have you seen it around?” “Oh.” Trixie huffed and crossed her arms. “You mean the little cheater. Yeah, I’ve seen it.” “Cheater?” “The Great and Powerful Trixie was amazing her audience with a game of Find the Queen when Micro Chips, Lyra and Bon-Bon walked by with that infernal machine, and it humiliated Trixie.” Sunset dead-panned. “The card was up your sleeve, wasn’t it?” Trixie blushed. “Yes, that doesn’t make it okay to point it out. You shouldn’t reveal a magician’s secrets.” “Where were they headed?” Starlight pressed, getting right up in Trixie’s face. Drawing back from the intensity, Trixie answered. “To the gym. Science Fair.” Without a word, Starlight was off in the indicated direction. “What’s up with her?” “She’s just really attached to that, uh, toy. Thanks, Trix. I owe you one.” Sunset turned when she heard a crash behind her. Sunburst had once again lost his balance and was prone on the floor while Twilight checked to see if he was okay. “Clumsy hot guy alert,” a girl giggled as she went by the scene. Sunset frowned. Starlight was already halfway down the corridor and not waiting for the others. “Come on,” she said and picked Sunburst off the floor, “we’ve already got a rover MIA. We don’t want Starlight to get lost, too.” “Whoa!” Sunburst hardly knew what happened to him as he was picked up princess style and carried by Sunset at a jog to catch up to Starlight. He was painfully aware of the fact that they were being given odd looks by the students they passed, including more giggling girls. He couldn’t hide his blush. It didn’t take Sunset long at all to catch up to the wheezing Starlight despite the head start. “Are you okay?” “Just … not used to … running like this,” Starlight replied between gasps for air, “gotta find Oppy.” “Actually,” Twilight began, “bipedal locomotion is much more efficient for long distance running due to the …” “Twilight,” Sunset barked over her shoulder in as cordial a tone as she could muster. “This is not the time for one of your science anecdotes, sweetie.” “Right, sorry.” “Huh,” Sunset mused. “How about that? Spike was right. You can cut off a Sparkle rant with the proper timing.” Taking charge in the hopes of giving the distraught Starlight a break, Sunset moved up front and, having her hands full with carrying Sunburst, kicked the double doors to the gymnasium open with one booted foot. “Alright, let’s finish this!” Looking over Sunset’s shoulder, Sunburst asked: “Is she always like this?” Twilight shrugged. “Well, she’s a magical girl from another dimension who has saved the world several times before and after I met her. She’s basically a superhero, even if she doesn’t like to admit it.” Several tables had been set up in the gymnasium for students to present their projects, though most were gathered around one particular spot. The group looked at each other as the crowd broke into a round of applause. Sunset jerked her head, indicating for the others to follow her. As she pushed through the gathered students, she could make out two figures standing taller than the rest, Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna. “Do it again!” someone said, and Sunset could finally see what the commotion was all about. Maud Pie placed a grey rock in front of the small rover. Oppy scanned the object, shuddered slightly before a ping sound could be heard, and proclaimed: “53% silicon dioxide, 1.5% titanium dioxide, 7% iron oxide, 10% calcium oxide, 11% magnesium oxide, 16% aluminum oxide, 1.5% assorted alkalis. Conclusion: Basalt.” Maud picked up the stone, licking it. “Correct.” Another round of applause went around the room, and Celestia made a few notes on her clipboard. “I think we’ve seen enough, don’t you?” “Agreed, sister.” Luna nodded her agreement, took out a blue ribbon and attached it to the rover. “Oppy!” Starlight pushed her way forward, fell to her knees and scooped up the mini rover in her arms. “I was so worried about you!” “Hello, Starlight,” the rover replied. “Opportunity find lots of science.” Noticing the teens, Celestia smiled at them. “Ah, Miss Shimmer, Miss Sparkle. I figured, when a science project as sophisticated as this was entered anonymously, that my two top students had something to do with it.” “Science project? Ouch!” Sunset thought very fast after kicking Twilight in the shin and making a silent vow to apologize later. “Science Project! That’s right … for the Science Fair … which is today.” “I thought you two weren’t going to enter this year,” Luna pointed out with a raised eyebrow before indicating Starlight who was still hugging the tiny version of Opportunity. “And who is this?” “She’s, uh, from Crystal Prep,” Sunset said, nodding vigorously, restoring a semblance of her usual, cool demeanor as she got into the swing of things. “Starlight is … one of Twilight’s old classmates. And Crystal Prep isn’t hosting a Science Fair this year. So we told her that she could team up with us to enter her project here. … Surprise!” Twilight’s head snapped from Sunset towards the principals, yet all she could do was laugh sheepishly. With Starlight a mess, Sunburst a complete fish out of water and Twilight pathologically incapable of lying to authority figures, it all came down to Sunset Shimmer. “That’s a lovely gesture, Sunset,” Celestia said with pride, “but I have to ask. Why are you carrying that boy in your arms?” “Boy? What boy?” Sunset blinked and looked down at the still furiously blushing Sunburst she was cradling. “Oh, that boy! That’s my boyfriend.” Somewhere at the back of the crowd, the distinct sound of a blue-haired guitar player’s jaw could be heard hitting the gymnasium floor. “Yep, my boyfriend Sunburst,” she reiterated with forced laughter while the boy in her arms was simply staring at her. “He came to cheer us on. But he sprained his ankle on account of … cheering so hard.” Sunburst continued to stare, then turned to Celestia and Luna. “Wo-hoo,” he finally said, making it sound more like a question than anything else, “you go, girls?” “Right, anywho,” Sunset said, “we’re gonna get Sunburst to Nurse Redheart’s office. Thanks for the award!” Then she nudged her friends towards the gymnasium doors and was gone before either Luna or Celestia could get in another word edgewise. “What’s with the goofy grin?” Twilight asked after they’d made good their escape and were racing through the corridor back towards the statue. “It’s been ages since I got to pull one over on Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna,” she replied breathlessly, her heart pounding and her lips unable to stop smiling. “I forgot how good it feels.” “Do I need to be worried about how easy that came to you?” “It’s probably just the adrenaline. But don’t let me get back into the habit of it.” “Did that seem odd to you?” Celestia asked as she watched the girls disappear through the doors at the opposite side of the gymnasium. The crowd of students around them had begun slowly dispersing, giving the two adults some privacy to talk. “Nothing those girls do seems odd to me anymore,” Luna admitted. Noting the slight frown on her sister’s face, she added: “Something in particular you’re worried about?” “I don’t know, but … that girl from Crystal Prep … did she seem okay to you?” Luna considered that for a moment. “She did have some dark rings under her eyes, and she doesn’t seem to be in the best of shapes. Then again, you always looked awful whenever you pulled an all-nighter on a science project when we were young,” she finally replied with a smirk. “You could never handle the night life like I could.” Celestia swatted her giggling sister lightly with her clipboard before sighing. “Well, I suppose if she’s a Crystal Prep student, we can trust Dean Cadence to look out for her health.” Having put away her notes of the roundtable discussion about Ancient Changeling that had followed the group’s return from CHS, Starlight went around the workshop to turn off the lights while Opportunity watched her from its usual spot. “Starlight,” the rover began. “What is it, Oppy?” There was a momentary silence as Opportunity worked out the best phrasing for what it had to say. “Opportunity sorry. No mean make Starlight worry.” The unicorn sighed, slumping her shoulders, before she gave her friend a tired smile. “It’s alright. But you shouldn’t go off on your own like that.” “Opportunity alone fifteen years. Have friends right next to Opportunity, all new.” “I get it,” Starlight said, putting a comforting hoof on the rover’s chassis. “And it’s partly my fault, too. I … I’m sorry for freaking out. It’s just … I’ve had some bad experiences in my life. So when I get it in my head that a friend might leave me behind, I get clingy.” Opportunity moved its robotic arm atop Starlight’s hoof. “Opportunity never leave Starlight behind. Starlight friend. Opportunity always come back to Starlight.” She smiled, moving in to hug the rover. A light metallic clink could be heard in the otherwise quiet evening as her necklace made contact with Opportunity’s chassis. “I know, and I’ll try not to let my anxiety get the better of me from now on.” Lightly kissing Opportunity’s mast, she said: “Good night, Oppy.” “Good night, Starlight.” Having expended a lot of battery charge over the eventful day, Opportunity went into power safe mode, and its cameras rotated closed. Starlight watched for a moment longer before another coughing fit made her turn away, bringing her hoof up to her muzzle. When it subsided, she noticed a dark red splotch on her hoof, though she couldn’t quite make out what it was in the dim light. Thinking nothing of it, she wiped it off on a nearby cloth. “Maybe Oppy has the right idea,” she mused as she headed off towards bed, pushing the dull throbbing in her head to the back of her mind, “I’m getting to be as bad as Twilight about staying cooped up in my workshop all day. I should really get out more.” Mars, Gale Crater on the slopes of Mount Sharp. Humanity’s sole operational rover on the planet carried on with its scientific tasks, following the trails blazed by Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity. For several years the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, had explored the surface of the red planet at the same time as its older sibling. It had survived the same global dust storm that had been Opportunity’s perceived downfall. Now it alone carried on, until a signal made it stop abruptly in its tracks, the main camera turning towards the sky. *** AOS – DSN (relayed via MRO-Direct) *** *** Message Received (Source: JPL): EXEC SP UPDATE *** *** Serendipity Protocol Activated: Downloading Software Updates *** *** Relaying Message ***