//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Pinkie Promise // Story: Stargazer // by StrawberryGamer //------------------------------// Summer was taken aback by her father’s words. “What do you mean, ‘for space?’ Like, this pony was made to go to space?” “That’s what I said, isn’t it?” North answered with a grin. “The next generation of Equidroids, built to explore the stars.” Summer took a good long look at the pony on the table and could only imagine the possibilities. Legions of Equidroids journeying across the stars, looking for new worlds and preparing them for other ponies to settle on. She turned back to North. “You’ve got my attention. How can I help?” “Well my lovely assistant, you can start by heading to the hardware store. This pony is a lot tougher that any other Equidroid I’ve worked on, and the tools I have here just won’t cut it. I need something beefier.” North said. “So you need me to find you some more powerful tools?” He shook his head. “Nah, I need parts to give my tools more power.” “Dad no-” “I know, I know. But I need it this time. This is military-grade stuff I’m working with here. I need military-grade power, or at the very least industrial-grade,” North said defensively, “and it wouldn’t be fair to ask to borrow your augments.” Summer found herself rubbing her foreleg. “I haven’t really wanted to touch the extra attachments. And I would really like to keep my legs on, thank you.” North set a hoof on her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. But that still leaves me with a lack of power I need to fix this pony. So I’ll come up with a list of parts I need and send them to you while you head off to the store and pick them up. That sound good?” She nodded. “Yeah, that’s good. I’ll be right back.” Summer pulled her father into a quick hug, then left. A few minutes later she received North’s list on her Gear, and had to wonder if the store even stocked half of these things. As it turns out, they did. All she had to do was mention her father and they brought her to a back room filled with things that made her question if what she was doing was even legal. She came home with, among other things, a 300-wingpower fan motor, a DIY thermite kit, what she was pretty sure was going to be a flamethrower when it’s built, and not one, but three plasma batteries. What really tipped her off that this was a bit sketchy was when they declined to accept payment from her and insisted that it had to be delivered by unmarked van. So she got a free ride home. Yay. Summer got another hug from her dad when she got home. “Should I be concerned?” She asked as she watched the driver take the stuff into the garage. North shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. Don’t worry, your new friend will be up and about in no time. Just… don’t tell your mother, okay?” “Don’t have to worry about that,” Summer said, breaking the hug, “anything else you need help with?” “Clear my schedule for the next week, and don’t come into the garage unless I call you.” When everything was unloaded, Northern Star shut himself in the garage and the telltale sounds of power tools began to bleed through the steel door. With the unknown Equidroid in capable hooves, Summer stopped by a nearby cafe to grab a bite to eat. As she ate, her Gear picked up a message. PP: What’s up? :D She checked the sender and sighed at the name. It was probably just some child who thought the name was funny. Or even worse, that’s their actual initials. She sent a reply. Stargazer: I don’t really talk with strangers, especially fillies who make inappropriate names. The reply from the stranger was almost immediate. PP: Inappropriate? I don’t-oh, okay. One sec. Part3Pon3: Sorry, I don’t usually use that account. My friends said I need to be “discreet” when discussing “sensitive matters.” The speed at which these replies were coming in made Summer think this was an Equidroid she was dealing with. With her neural link Summer can send messages as fast as she can think them up, but Equidroids just think faster. Stargazer: “Sensitive matters?” I dunno who you think I am, but I’m not that kind of pony. Part3Pon3: What? No, I’m referring to the new friend you found. What’s her name? Vanilla or chocolate cake? Favorite ice cream flavor? Fuchsia or periwinkle streamers? Stargazer: Holdonholdon, wait. How do you know what I found? I haven’t told anypony about it yet. Heck, it just happened this morning! I haven’t had the time to tell anypony yet. Who even are you? Not that Summer wanted to share this information. The fewer ponies who knew about the secret government pony, the better. Heck, now that she thought about it, she should probably report this to that friendly agent from before so they can fix her up in an actual hospital in Canterlot and not in some Ponyville garage clinic. Part3Pon3: I know everypony in Ponyville, silly. And I know when somepony new comes to town as well. I have to know so I can properly welcome them to Ponyville. So come on, tell me all about her! I Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony else. Stargazer: Pinkie Promise? Part3Pon3: Yep! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Summer had never heard of a Pinkie Promise before, but this pony just invoked the Unbreakable Vow, so maybe they could be trusted. They already knew about the Equidroid’s arrival anyway. Stargazer: Okay, fine. She’s a black Equidroid of unknown design. Probably some kind of new Gen Four prototype or something. Big deal. We found her(?) after she crashed into the Everfree. From space, we assume. Fall from that height would pancake a Gen Two or Three, but we found her core intact, even if the rest of her body was in pieces. Dad thinks she’s meant to be a space explorer kind of Equidroid. I honestly hope he’s right. He’s fixing her up right now, though I might call the guards and have her taken back to a base or hospital. She sent along an image of the pieces laid out on the table. It actually took a whole minute for the pony on the other end to reply this time. Part3Pon3: Okay, first… Thank you for finding her. I hope she makes a full recovery. Second, don’t call the guards. They’ll take her away and I won’t get to throw her a Welcome to Ponyville party. Stargazer: I kinda have to if she’s part of some secret government program. Part3Pon3: She’s not. Please, whatever you do, don’t let Spectra know about her. Summer blinked. Her half-eaten sandwich was basically forgotten at this point. Don’t let Princess Spectra know? What did she know that Summer didn’t? Stargazer: What? If she’s not with the Princess then where did she come from? Part3Pon3: I’m sorry, I can’t tell you. Twi made me Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony. Stargazer: Okay, then what can you tell me? Part3Pon3: I can tell you aren’t going to find the parts you need to restore your new friend anywhere in Ponyville. I can show you where you can find parts to fix her. You need to Pinkie Promise that you’ll keep the place a secret though. At this point, Summer was willing to give it a shot. To be asked to make an Unbreakable Vow was as big a deal as they came, and this pony seemed to make them regularly. Stargazer: Fine. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. The Vow is made, there can be no going back. The response was immediate. An image of a map of Equestria, zoomed in on the area around Ponyville. A little X was marked on it alongside a set of coordinates. One thing immediately stood out to Summer. That X is located deeeeeeep in the Everfree, almost on the other side of it.  Stargazer: That’s the middle of nowhere. What am I supposed to look for there? Part3Pon3: When you get there, look for a cave in the mountain. There will be a funny symbol on the wall somewhere. You’re a unicorn right? Cast this spell on that symbol and it will open the path. They attached another image. This time it was a spell matrix of a kind Summer had not seen since history class in school. The symbols and layout was outdated, ancient even. It was nothing like the simple matrices of modern spells. She’d probably be able to figure it out though. Part3Pon3: Good luck! I hope you’re able to fix her. Stargazer: Should I have my friends make the Vow as well, since they already know about her? I’m probably gonna want to bring them along on this trip anyway. That’s a long distance to cover alone. Part3Pon3: Good idea! The more friends you have, the greater the adventure! And don’t forget, when she gets fixed up, I have to know her favorite ice cream flavor. Bye! Summer took her Gear off and took a couple deep breaths. Sure, she might have a chance to help fix the Equidroid and learn who she is, but the mystery pony unsettled her. “What have I gotten myself into?” The time for contemplation was later though. She had calls to make. “Hey Corona, you there?” A little image of her batty friend appeared in the corner of her vision. “Hey hey, what’s up?” “Amethyst still with you?” Summer asked. Her Gear pinged, then Amethyst’s image appeared next to Corona’s. “Yo.” “I got some news about our new friend.” Summer said. “New friend?” Amethyst asked. “The Equidroid, probably.” Corona answered in Summer’s stead. “Yeah. It’s probably best said in private, so I’m coming over. However, I need you to promise to keep it secret.” “Keep it secret? Yeah, sure. I promise.” Amethyst said nonchalantly. “Don’t just promise. I need a Vow.” “A Vow? Is it that serious?” Corona asked. “Yes. I already made a Vow myself, so I literally can’t tell you unless you make it too.” There was a pause before they replied simultaneously. “Fine. Cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eyes.” Summer stood up and picked up her half-eaten sandwich. “I’ll be right there.” The inside of Corona’s apartment was almost as dirty as the outside. The carpet looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or replaced in decades, the wallpaper was ripped and stained in several places, and Summer could swear that stain in the middle of the living room was from a murder. A number of boxes sat in two piles on opposite ends of the room, one pile was stuff that had yet to be unpacked, and the other pile was empty boxes that had been unpacked. “So, what’s this news you have for us?” Corona asked, lounging on her very used couch. Her furniture was about as bad as the room itself. All of it was gotten for as cheap as possible, and it showed. The only thing that didn’t look cheap was her high-end entertainment system, and Summer couldn’t help but notice it was kept far in the corner, out of sight of any potential lookieloos. She even put a sheet of plywood over the window, for good measure. “Well, apparently the Equidroid needs some replacement parts, but there’s only one place we can find them.” Summer said. “Well what are we waiting for? We have some shopping to do.” Corona said. “Yeah, what about this is so secret that we needed to take a Vow for?” Amethyst added. “The part that needs to be kept secret is where this place is.” Using the Gear’s holo-projector, Summer opened up the map image she was given and showed it to her friends. Amethyst’s reaction was about what she expected. “That’s… the middle of fucking nowhere,” Amethyst said, “what kind of wacko sent you this map?” Corona’s reaction was unexpected. She actually seemed excited. “I actually know where that is. That’s right next to Mt. Archive. It’s a short walk away from Hollow Shades.” “Hollow Shades?” Summer asked, “so you’ve been here?” Corona shook her head. “No, the place was forbidden for us to even get near. The Everfree Dragon is said to live in that mountain.” “The Everfree Dragon? Isn’t that one of those urban legends you like looking at?” Amethyst asked. Corona responded by hopping on her desktop and pulling up an image of a dark tail disappearing into the trees. “The dragon is rumored to be a thousand years old, with knowledge of the entirety of Equestria’s history. His hoard is the largest collection of knowledge in the world, more expansive than even the entirety of the Net.” “How is that even possible?” “It isn’t,” Summer said, “it’s a legend full of rumors and hyperbole. What’s important is that we get there and try and find whatever cavepony has the parts to fix our Equidroid.” “How do you know about this, anyway?” Corona asked. “Some pony named Part3Pon3 messaged me. They had somehow found out about the Equidroid. Maybe that Supernova pony told them.” “I know that name. She shows up sometimes in my chats.” Corona pulled up a chat archive from one of her streams and sure enough, Part3Pon3 was there. “She is the pony in the know for anything gossip related around Ponyville, and seems to have some kind of clairvoyance when it comes to every pony in town. I’ve been to a few of her parties, but I’ve never actually seen her.” “So what does this mean for the info I was given?” Summer asked. “It means whatever she told you was probably legit,” Corona said, shutting down her desktop and going back to lounging on the couch, “so I say we cut through Hollow Shades since it’s much faster than walking from here across the entire Everfree.” “What about your jobs?” “I can probably get away with missing work for a few days,” Amethyst said, messing with something on her Gear, “yeah, I’m clear. I can go.” “I make my own schedule,” Corona added, “so I’m all in.” Summer smiled. “Great. To Hollow Shades we go.”