//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Rise of the Machine // Story: Briquette // by Pony Project 156 //------------------------------// ~Chapter Two~ The rain poured down heavily outside, each drop seeming to slam against the side of the building, only adding to the endless white noise. Soon, the gentle thrum was cut off by the sound of a door opening, followed by metal hooves scraping against the ground as two stallions dragged a lifeless metal pony. “Alright, come on Bolts…one…two…three!” grunted the taller stallion as the two of them lifted the metal pony across various piles of metal scraps and old worn down electronics. They were halfway across the room when they found a spot where nothing covered the floor. The stallions took a step back as they once again laid their eyes on their new find. The pony was covered in metal plates that protected all the wires and electronics inside, leaving only slight edgings for limbs and joints to move freely. It took the shape of the average pegasus mare, and if it were awake, it probably could move and act exactly like one. It was in surprisingly good shape, unlike the other junk the scrappers had collected over their careers. “So, how much do you think we’ll make with this, Nuts?” asked the shorter, more portly scrapper. Nuts sneered. “Do you ever think before you speak, Bolts?” he asked, smacking the back of his head. “Just look at it!” The heavy chunk of metal plates and wires they’d just carted up here in the rain stood stoically in front of them, its face completely blank. In the dim, flickering fluorescent light, you could barely make out the light blue colour of the many metal plates that came together to form the outer skin of the pony. The rainbow-coloured fibres spewing from her head case and flank resembled the novelty rainbow wigs that anypony could pick up at a Wonderbolt’s event. Furthermore, plastered on her chest was a well-recognized symbol, a puffy white cloud with a rainbow-coloured lightning bolt. “What we have here is a life-sized Rainbow Dash-themed toy robot. Note the many sections between the plates where the frame is covered by rubber seals. That makes this whole thing easily posable.” Bolts lightly lowered the jaw. “It has a tongue. You’re sure this thing’s entirely mechanical?” “Of course I’m sure; It was probably just owned by some lonely animatronics engineer.” Bolts quickly retracted his hoof, making a note to wash its rubberized parts thoroughly. “You still didn’t answer my question; How much do we sell it for?” Nuts shook his head. “If we can make this thing run again, and we found just the right buyer, then I would say we can close up shop for about a year and go on a really long vacation” “Just you and me?” Once more, Nuts struck the back of Bolts’ head and strode away. “With mares, dummy.” As they walked away, they were unaware that the metal pony they had just picked up was in much better condition than they thought, and now that it was out of the rain, its wires and metal dry without the water jumping the circuits, its functions finally started to come back to it. “S-s-system onli-li-li-li-line. Weeeeelcome, Dyyyyyynaaaaa--” The metal pony’s eyes slowly started to pick up the little light around her as her system booted up. She only saw the backs of the two stallions who had just dragged her through the rain as they walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. She tried to move her body, but it was unresponsive as the stiff metal joints hadn’t moved in what seemed like years. Mind you, she didn’t know that for certain, as she couldn’t remember when she’d last been online. As the stallions were far out of her sight, all she was left to look at were the piles of metal around her, accented by the white noise of the rain against the roof. As some time passed, the metal pony soon saw her hooves start to move again. She slowly stood up as the gears and servos in her joints began to shift after keeping still for so long. She felt sluggish, as if she had just woken up from a long sleep. She even yawned slightly once she could open her mouth. She couldn’t help but be curious of the first thing she heard; that voice that seemed to call her Dyna. The metal pony shook her head, her thoughts already telling her that the name sounded weird and incomplete. She started adding words and letters to what she heard, and finally, a combination seemed to make sense to her. “Diana…I like that.” Her voice was slightly robotic, though her tone sounded as if she were no more than a young filly. Finally, with her new name decided and out of the way, she could finally turn her attention to where exactly she found herself. Random piles of metal, wires and electronics that looked worn down from time and neglect were scattered all over the floor, all held in a room of old brick. She could hear the rain falling on the side of the building, though there weren’t any windows around. Diana couldn’t stop herself from being more curious as she pulled herself over to the piles of metal and electronics. Diana stopped with each step she took, looking down at the piles she walked over. Her metal hooves scraped across the scrapped and dismantled electronics. She couldn’t help but pick up a few of the old odds and ends, her curiosity only growing with each one she found. Diana stopped yet again as she found another oddly shaped piece of metal that caught her eye. She turned to see an electrical heating element she had seen and not picked up before. Diana looked around, once again seeing there was no one around other than herself. She didn’t question this, only saw it as a reason to take whatever interested her along with her. Diana picked up the piece of metal she saw, turning around and picking up the odd electronic device she had looked at earlier. Soon enough, she had to carry things on her back, only for them to slide off as she was distracted by the next shiny and interesting thing that lay among the pile. Finally, Diana’s eyes caught sight of the door at the end of the room. Her curiosity was starting to grow more as she glanced back at the pile of random items scattered around the room. Considering everything that had lain around where she woke up, who knows what other little trinkets she could find in just the next room? Diana took a step forward to the door, though was unaware of one of her hooves becoming caught on a few tangled wires from some of the electronics. The wires let go of her hoof quickly, but pulled back with enough force to make it slip out of place. Diana managed to catch herself before she slammed onto the door, though even her fall didn’t slow her curiosity. Diana thoughtlessly stood back up and reached for the door handle, shaking her hoof around it until she found a good, solid grip. Without thinking, she forcefully shoved the door open, the entire frame shaking as it swung open and slammed against the brick wall it was attached to. The hinges of the door rattled loudly as it nearly fell off the very wall that held it up. “What the-!” Bolts nearly shouted as the two heard the loud slam of the door. Diana’s eyes wandered around the other room of the scrap shop, seeing a few wooden tables and some more electronics and mechanical pieces that were much more organized than the room she woke up in. Diana’s wandering stopped as she saw the two stallions that brought her into that room standing in shock at the now moving automaton. “Oh, hello!” Diana said, happy to discover she wasn’t the only one around. “That thing’s alive?!” Nuts shouted. “Of course I’m alive. Why wouldn’t I be?” Diana couldn’t help but respond sarcastically as she was completely unaware of her situation. “Who cares? Just grab her!” Bolts rushed at Diana. She quickly stepped out of his way just before he was close enough to grab her. She couldn’t help but giggle as she saw the stallion nearly fall flat on his face. Nuts managed to snap out of his shock and chase after Diana. She just jumped out of the way, managing to dodge the other stallion easily. “Is this a game?” she asked curiously, already set to start running. The stallions turned and started rushing at her again. Diana effortlessly dodged them yet again as both of the stallions had to stop themselves from running into a table that was piled with priceless finds. Soon enough, more ponies heard the ruckus form elsewhere in the shop and went to investigate, only to join in on the fruitless attempts to catch the metal pony. “Stop moving!” one of the customers shouted out of frustration. “But that’s not the point of the game!” Diana giggled back as she dodged the stallion jumping at her. “This isn’t a--” Bolts let out a groan as he ran into a table and missed Diana again. The ponies didn’t give up trying to catch her as she kept leaping around the tables. Diana giggled with joy from the game, even as the stallions grew more and more irritated. The two stallions and their customers tried to corner Diana by one of the tables; she started looking around for a chance to escape. With no other option, Diana opened her wings and leaped over the stallions as their hooves didn’t even manage to scrape against her metal shell. “Oh great, she can fly!” “Then just jump for her!” The stallions shouted at each other as they kept chasing Diana around.The chase carried on for several minutes longer. Soon enough, Diana found herself having to climb and jump over the tables and desks, knocking over a bunch of stuff that only strengthened the stallions’ goal to stop her. Diana opened her wings again as she attempted to dodge one of the stallions, but for once, she was just too slow. Bolts managed to grab onto one of her hooves and pull her back onto the ground. Diana tumbled onto the ground and into one of the tables, smashing it down the middle. She leaped up with a smile. “You caught me!” She said happily, as if it were nothing more than a game of tag. “I’m it!” Diana made a quick dash for one of the ponies she could easily tag. Nuts didn’t even have time to move one of his hooves out of the way before Diana slammed into him, sending both of them flying through the shop directly towards one of the few windows. Just outside, the rain fell lightly, though it created a large enough stream just by the various buildings draining into the street’s gutters. A few fillies and colts ran alongside a toy boat they had placed in the stream, following it with joyful chatter. The children suddenly froze as they heard a loud sound, turning their heads to see two ponies flying directly out of the front of one of the nearby shops. In an instant, they completely forgot about the boat they were chasing as they watched in horror to see a metal pony standing over what they guessed to be a dead pony. “That was fun! What game do you want to play next?” Diana looked down at the pony she had just pushed out of the window. He was breathing, but didn’t respond. His eyes were closed completely, his breathing was slow but constant. “Hey, are you awake?” Diana shook Nuts gently, but found no response. He was completely unconscious. “Wow, you tire out quickly.” Diana couldn’t help but giggle slightly. Finally, Diana lifted her head to see a group of small children running away from the sight that appeared to be her killing that pony, despite the fact that he was still breathing. Diana tilted her head in confusion. She looked up at the rain, thinking that perhaps they were just running to seek shelter from the pour somewhere dry. After all, she had to keep herself mostly dry to avoid breaking down again. The ponies inside the building could only stare in horror as they looked through the now broken window with rain falling into their shop and damaging their electronics. None of them wanted to jump out and chase that metal pony, now that they saw how easily she could knock one of them out and still think this was all just some game. Bolts could only utter a single line, “Oh, Nuts…” The sound of the glass crashing soon attracted the attention of other ponies around the town. A few opened their windows and doors to look around and see what that noise was. Those who looked found themselves watching Diana step away from the unconscious pony and stare up into the sky as if she had completely forgotten about what just happened. Diana watched the rain fall onto her metal covering that protected the wires and gears inside her. The rain was a new feeling to her; in her mind, she hadn’t existed until she woke up in that shop. Her curiosity began to pique as she looked around this unfamiliar town in this brand new world. Diana’s eyes finally caught sight of the toy boat that was only just a moment ago being chased by the fillies and colts that had run off. She stepped away from the unconscious pony as she watched the boat float down the small stream that formed just near the sides of the buildings. Diana couldn’t take her eyes off of the boat as her curiosity grew. Who did the boat belong to? Why is it just sailing down the stream? Questions filled her head as she began to follow it. As the metal pony started following the boat, the ponies leaving their nearby homes and looking out of their windows noticed her, and saw Nuts lying in the street. “What is that thing?!” one pony questioned. “Somepony, call the guard!” another shouted. “Is that pony dead?!” “Where did it come from?” “Should we call somepony to help?” The questions and concerns continued on and on as new ponies saw the unconscious stallion and watched as Diana followed the toy boat. Diana paid no attention to the ponies’ panic, her focus was now only on the odd boat. Where was it leading her? Did it have a clear direction or was it simply following the stream? These questions continued on in Diana’s head as she didn’t take her eyes off the boat, following it until the rain stopped and the stream continued on no further. The boat had run aground, and just sat there on the side of the road. Diana gently kicked and pushed the boat along the side of the road, confused and disappointed that it just seemed to suddenly stop. Her mind didn’t seem to process the rain coming to an end until she pulled her head away from the ground to look up at the sky. “Where did the water go?” She couldn’t help but ask aloud, even though there wasn’t another pony around to hear her. By the time the rain had stopped and the boat no longer had a stream to travel, she was in a completely different section of the town. Before Diana could fully process just how far and how long she had been chasing the boat, she was already distracted by the scenery around her; the various buildings lining the streets, the small critters scurrying around, and the few large green trees that stood tall next to each building. Her curiosity never seemed to end as she looked around. Her gears and wires seemed to move on their own as her hooves started carrying her through the town. She didn’t care how long she was walking nor how far, as everything she saw pulled her through the town. As long as she had the energy and a new sight to see, she had no reason but to keep walking endlessly.