//------------------------------// // 6 - Sunset // Story: Dazzling New Life // by AFanaticRabbit //------------------------------// Sunset’s shack didn’t have a lot of natural light for most of the day. Like much of the rest of the tower, it was quite dark, except for the light generated by the tiny crystals she’d stuck in various corners. They were dimmer than actual lamps, but she found they saved her time and money, not needing fuel and maintenance. All she needed to do was shunt a little of her magic into them, and they’d burn bright enough to read by for a few days more. That didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the red-toned sunlight that streamed in later in the day, coming through the window facing west. Before the sisters’ arrival, Sunset often overslept, making that evening light oh so precious. Sometimes she’d even stare out and watch her namesake disappear between the mountains and trees until the sun vanished, leaving her in the dim blue light of her crystals and the moon. That’s not where she was staring at that moment, however. She instead had her snout in a notebook, scribbling down possible ideas and tweaks related to her work—and the sisters—before she lifted her head at movement in the treeline. Adagio was busy elsewhere, taking care of little tasks that left Sunset alone, though Sunset planned on checking in on her soon. That north-facing window let her see ponies approach without having to stick her head out the door, and the darkness of her shack meant she could remain hidden by doing so. Not to say that she regularly had visitors, but she was always mindful of it regardless. However, Stealth wasn’t precisely on Sunset’s mind when she saw Aria and Sonata step out of the treeline. Her eyes locked onto the rough line across Sonata’s middle, and she secondarily paid attention to her stumbling as she waved at the shack. The second Sunset was out the door, Aria put a leg out to stop Sonata. “She’s fine,” Aria said, then tilted her head. “Mostly.” That didn’t dissuade Sunset, and she was at once at Sonata’s side, running a hoof across the seam and over her back half, making the synthetic mare shudder. The fabric around her front and back looked like it could be used to lift her. When she tugged it and Sonata separated a little, Sunset shuddered. “You were supposed to watch her and keep her safe,” Sunset snapped, glaring at Aria. “How’d this even happen? You didn’t leave the forest, did you? Go up the mountain or something?” Sonata shook her head and put a hoof on Sunset’s chest. She didn’t push, but the touch was firm like it was meant to reassure. It was a little futile. “No, we stayed in the forest! But there was this big ditch and a broken bridge, and then there was this old castle thingy—“ “Look, we separated for couple minutes, and then she waltzed off when I tried to get her out of the ditch—“ “—where I found a bunch of flowers and—“ “—It looked kinda like your—“ “—a chair fell on me—“ Using her magic, Sunset pinched both mares’ lips. Aria took the hint, but the motor behind Sonata’s mouth continued, albeit muffled. “I’ve decided I don’t care how it happened.” She released Aria’s mouth but kept Sonata’s shut. “You’re still walking, so it’s not severe, but let’s get you inside.” Sonata’s motor wound down, and she nodded to Sunset. The magic dissipated, and Sunset pointed back to her tower with a hoof. Aria took the lead, and Sonata followed, with Sunset lagging behind just enough to examine Sonata as she walked. Sunset noticed the cut rubbing away at itself and little chunks of rubber falling off. It had the roughness of dry silicone pulled apart, but the friction was removing more of Sonata with each step. Her left side looked worse than the right, aggravated by the weird bend in her back that made it look like she was always trying to make a left turn as she walked. And sometimes, she did before she corrected herself. It lead to her bumping into the door to the shack and then the entrance to the tower proper. She tore a few pages from her notebook when they passed through the shack. “Is there something up with your back legs?” Sunset asked. Sonata nodded. “Yeah! They take ages to listen to me now, so they keep doing things a while after I want them to.” Adagio wasn’t there, though she had finished the little tasks and chores Sunset had asked her to do. Despite her being a broody so-and-so, she was at least acting nice enough to do as she was asked. The lab actually looked clean for once in a long while. There was still a little dust in some corners, but at least there weren’t any trip hazards or broken glass to worry about. “Get onto a table,” Sunset said, scribbling down on her notepaper. “And take that… sash-thing off.” Sonata paused momentarily, her front hooves on the leftmost table—the one she’d first awoken on—before slowly untying the sash. She held onto each end with her teeth, then muttered something Sunset didn’t quite catch. It appeared that Aria got the gist, and she was behind Sonata, shoving her backside with her head. With the effort of the three of them, they got Sonata onto the table, and then the sash—lilac and blue and covered with stars in places—was draped over one of the other tables. During all that, Sonata’s back half sagged, and her legs seemed even less cooperative once she was on the table. At the very least, she could properly relax them and the rest of her body, exposing how much damage she had taken. Some of Sonata’s skeleton, her brushed metal framework, was exposed. The ribbing that gave her torso shape poked out in places, likely contributing to some of the rub-away, as well as the long length of her spinal segments. A lot of them were bent in ways they shouldn’t have been; some even had sharp angles where they should have been straight, and foremost above all, there was an extra piece of metal roughly wrapped around two segments, pinching a pink-red gem the same shade as Sonata’s eyes. That was definitely not there before. “Where did you find that?” Sunset asked, pointing at but not touching the brace thing. “Oh! I made it!” Sunset and Aria both looked at Sonata. To Sunset’s further surprise, Aria even had her mouth open, her jaw a little slack. “You… made it?” Sunset asked. “You didn’t find it and stick it on and just hoped it would work?” “Well…” Sonata tapped her chin. “I kinda did, but I picked the metal and bent it, and I picked the crystal. It matches my eyes!” After a few moments to consider those facts, rolling them through her mind, Sunset scribbled a few notes down and then set the paper aside. ‘Jury-rigged repair, self-made, question.” Aria bent over the notes, but by her squinting and subsequent grunt, she hadn’t learned to read in the past few hours. Leaning in closer, Sunset tried peering past the brace and gem, then huffed. “Aria,” she said. “Get me my tools.” “Am I gonna be your gopher again,” Aria muttered, but she still went over to the desk at the far end. There were a lot of tools there, more than could be easily carried in one’s legs, but she knew what Sunset meant. She grabbed a small pack, and before she brought it all the way over and set it on the table, Sunset had drawn out a small cylindrical object and floated it across the room. She held it to her eye, and it magnified whatever Sunset looked at. With a little more tweaking with her magic, it turned the world a shade of blue, with faint white lines outlining Sonata and her metal bones. There it was, clear as day. A pinched sheer line is hidden by the brace. Of course, that raised more questions than it answered. “A chair fell on you and did this?” It was hard to think anything other than a ton of stone could have done that kind of damage outside of specialized tools used carelessly. “Yup. A big, stone chair.” Sunset blinked. “Right. So you found the metal and the gem, snapped them around your broken back, and then you limped your way here from wherever in Tartarus you just came from?” “Yup!” Sonata’s smile and tone made it seem like she was just asked what colour the sky was or like she told Sunset, her favourite flavour of taco. “Where even were you guys? I sent you out to collect plants, and you—“She placed a hoof over her face. “Nevermind. I’ll ask later. Aria, get some rope and tie her down with it. I don’t want her squirming when I start working on repairs.” “You could just ask her,” Aria said, and Sunset felt the blush enter her cheeks. A snicker later, Aria made her way upstairs to the storeroom level. “This is going to take forever to fix,” Sunset muttered. “At least Adagio had the sense to give me a whole replacement to work with.” With a sigh, Sunset sat on the floor. “Sorry, that’s unfair. Are you okay? Other than the obvious.” Sonata, ears planed back, nodded. “I’m okay. A little shaken up, I guess.” With a hoof over her face, she giggled. “Not every day you see yourself cut in two!” Sunset chuckled. “Count yourself lucky you can do that. If that were almost anypony else, you wouldn’t be able to be so chipper.” “Oh, I know.” Sonata twisted herself a little, looking behind her for a moment. She shivered, then turned to face Sunset again. “Do I really need to be tied down? You didn’t tie Adagio down.” “Adagio can actually sit still for longer than five minutes at a time,” Sunset said. “Plus, most of her repairs required remaking the leg and attaching it. You’re going to be more involved.” Announced by her hoofsteps, Aria returned with Adagio in tow. The latter’s new leg stood out, a slightly different shade from the rest of her body, being a smidge lighter, but Sunset was sure the colors would blend more as she continued to be exposed to the sun and elements. She also had a mild limp, though Sunset consigned that to her getting used to it, most likely. Adagio’s glare settled on Sunset for a second, then softened when she looked over to Sonata. “How long?” Sonata asked. Before She could squirm, Aria was looping the rope around the table and cinching it tight enough to make dents in Sonata’s flesh. “I’m not sure.” Sunset reached out to Sonata, stopping her from tying another loop tighter than the first. Once Adagio reached the bottom of the stairs, she took a lap around Sonata. “I feel like I almost got off lightly.” “Eh…” Sunset waggled a hoof. “You got her beat. Your core was waterlogged and had a chance of not coming back.” A grimace crossed Adagio’s face, which she then wiped off with a shake of her head. “Yeah, no, I’m good. What were you even doing, Sonata?” Sonata’s mouth opened, but Aria answered as she tied off the second length of rope. “Lost. Stone fell. Broke in two. Fixed herself.” That answer brought Adagio to a stop, and she stared down at Sonata. For a second, it seemed to Sunset that Adagio was about to scold the girl. Instead, she stepped forward and brought Sonata’s head against her chest. She rested hers on top and kept one foreleg wrapped around Sonata. “What can we do to help?” The question that floated from Adagio’s mouth took Sunset by surprise. Unfortunately, all Sunset could do was shrug. “All you can do is wait.” Adagio’s frown deepened, and Sunset continued. “If I was sure you could do delicate work bending her back into the right shape, I’d let you do that, but I need to be sure that her ad hoc fix won’t cause any more problems. I can’t be sure it won’t pop off.” Adagio stared at Sunset for a few more moments, but Sunset maintained her gaze until the golem gave in. She sighed and began undressing Sonata’s front half, removing the tatters that were her jacket. The bag that was somehow still intact fell to the floor with a heavy thud, which Aria scooped up. “We’ll be downstairs,” Adagio said. Her eyes settled on the bundle of fabric that once held Sonata together. “Aria, grab that for me? I got an idea.” Aria nodded without a word, grabbing the fabric, and then the two disappeared down the main stairway. Down to just the two of them, Sunset set to work in the waning sunlight, silently inspecting every bend and joint in Sonata’s back and scribbling further details into her notes. ‘Bent, micro-fractures, straighten/fill?’ The brace was shoddy, having far too much give when Sunset gave it a little nudge. There was no way it should have worked, both to hold Sonata together and to let her legs work after the break, but the gasp that escaped Sonata’s lips when Sunset touched the thing confirmed it was part of the girl’s circuit. She could only imagine it felt like an exposed nerve; how weird and unnatural it must feel to have it open to the air and poked at by someone perhaps a bit over-curious. “Hey, Sunset?” Sunset lifted her head and looked into the one eye Sonata had managed to lock onto her. She was craning her neck, moving it around just a little too far to look natural, and while for a second Sunset worried that might stress the flesh around her neck, she packed the thought away. Pausing her work, Sunset let her silence and inactivity give permission for Sonata to speak. Sonata’s eyes looked away, forward, and down at her front legs. “I’m sorry I messed myself up. I promise I’ll take better care of myself.” Tilting her head, Sunset moved up. She forgot just how big she’d made the girls, and even lying down, Sonata’s eyes were higher than Sunset’s. “I never thought you’d think I was disappointed,” Sunset said softly. “Aren’t you?” “Eh.” Sunset waved a hoof in the air in a so-so gesture, and Sonata’s ears flattened again. “I kind of am, but at myself. I have no idea if I under or overestimated my abilities when putting you three together. But you three are proving to be….” Sunset rolled her tongue in her mouth and looked up toward the broken apparatus that helped give the sisters life. Still burnt out, but little by little, Sunset was replacing damaged parts. Adagio had lent a helping hoof here and there and astonishingly was proving adequate at understanding what went where. “Remarkable. If anything, I’m a little proud of you.” Sonata rubbed her hooves over one another, but her eyes flicked up, and her ears sprung back to their natural, perky position. “You are?” Sonata asked. “Yep. Maybe you shouldn’t have wandered off on your own just yet, but you showed you were resourceful.” Metal teeth polished white bit at a silicone lip. “So I’m not a mess-up?” To that, Sunset threw her head back and laughed. Sonata’s ears immediately flattened out a third time. “No, yeah, you’re still a bit of a mess-up, and I will be holding you to your promise. But I’m not mad or disappointed in you. Besides, I’m a mare of science and magic. My whole schtick is based on testing and revision. Fail, revise, try again.” Sunset leaned in close to Sonata’s face. “I do hope you learned a lot today.” Sonata nodded quickly. “I have! I have.” Chuckling again, Sunset straightened up and nodded back. “Good. Now, there’s not much else I can do for you right now. I need some rest, and I need to head back to Ponyville tomorrow for more supplies. You need to not move for most of the next day or so, understood?” Sonata nodded again. Grinning, Sunset turned about and started toward the stairs. Once she was halfway across the room, Sonata spoke again, her voice so low the artificial buzz almost made up its entire sound. “Sunset?” Stopping, Sunset looked over her shoulder. “Can you sleep up here tonight? I think I need something to cuddle.” Sunset’s eyes widened a little, and she turned to look straight ahead, hiding her blush from the mare on the table. “Oh. Um. Sure.” She turned from the stairs, pulled out a box beside the machine, and produced a grease-stained blanket. “Wouldn’t be the first time I slept in this room,” she added, muttering. Sonata’s laugh was quiet but cheerful. “Thank you.” The tables weren’t bolted down, instead sitting on a set of tracks, allowing Sunset to shunt one against Sonata’s, then climb on top. They were hard and cold and would prove probably the worst place Sunset could ever choose to lay down. So she thanked the universe that she had probably the best pillow and body warmer to snuggle up against when the moon’s light made the lab glow. It took Sunset a full hour to convince Sonata to let her go in the morning. It turned out that at some stage during the night, with nothing to distract her, she’d pulled Sunset into something of a death grip and refused to let go. It took promising the mare more attention the moment Sunset was back home to finally be released, though she could still feel Sonata’s grasp on her muscles and joints. She rolled her neck as she headed to the stairs, producing a few loud pops. Adagio and Aria weren’t present in Sunset’s living space, which was to be expected. Neither was in her bed, where one or all of them might join her, not that they needed to sleep. That probably meant Adagio was brooding somewhere at the tower’s top while Aria wandered around the surrounding woodland. While they weren’t present, their handiwork was. The indigo sash had been cut into chunks that hung beside the two small windows, with a smaller strip tied around their middles, letting in the morning sunlight. It strongly contrasted with the rest of the brown, grey interior, and it also seemed whatever remnants that weren’t too dirty or moth-eaten had been nailed into the ceiling above her bed, turned into an incomplete but still messily pretty drape. “Where’d they get the nails from?” Sunset asked herself. She didn’t spend long pondering the matter, though she did briefly check the makeshift curtains weren’t likely to fall any time soon. Before Sunset opened the front, she grabbed an apple and crunched into the juicy flesh. Aria wasn’t hard to find, though Sunset had a feeling that Aria had made it intentionally easy. It had been the same since she’d picked up her wandering habit; all Sunset had to do was step outside and up to the tree line, and there Aria was, poking her head out from behind a bush or a trunk. “We’re headed into town,” Sunset said after swallowing another bite. “I got to get a few more things. Don’t bother with the cart.” “Last trip wasn’t enough?” Aria’s tone seemed annoyed, but she didn’t hesitate to fall in line beside Sunset. “And sure they’re okay to leave on their own?” “I’m sure.” Sunset bit into the apple again, finishing it off, then tossed the core into the woods. “And I had a few ideas I need to work on. You three might appreciate them.” Shaking her head, Aria pulled her brow together and stuck out her tongue. “Do you have to talk with your mouth full?” Sunset swallowed, then stuck out her tongue back at Aria. Instead of a deepening crease in her forehead, Aria’s lips turned up. “Careful, I might take that as an invitation.” Sunset’s tongue slipped back in with a sucking sound, accompanied by Aria’s chuckling. “What ideas have you got in your pretty head, anyway? I doubt there’s much you can do to un-klutz’ Nata.” Clearing her throat, Sunset lifted her head. “Maybe not, but I’ve at least identified some flaws I can correct. For one, despite your resilience, you three are too squishy.” “Speak for yourself.” Stamping her hoof into the dirt, Sunset halted. “Again, with the fat joke. I’m not fat!” She really didn’t think she was, especially since her meals were relatively lean, and she did so much walking, and her work had such a physical component to it… She so wanted to smack Aria’s smirk off her face, especially as she rounded Sunset, first walking in front of her, then to her other side. “Hey, nothing wrong with a little pudge. I think I said before. It makes you extra snuggly.” When she came up to Sunset’s other side, she threw a leg over her back and pulled her close. “Just the way I like ya. I’m sure Adagio thinks the same. She has good taste.” Sunset fixed Aria with the toughest glare she could. “I. Am. Not. Fat.” In the second after Aria rolled her eyes, Sunset was sure she’d let the moment slide. She hadn’t expected an apology, but walking away seemed like the most Aria thing to do. Sunset didn’t expect the next half-step to come over her, and she’d find herself pinned to the ground beneath Aria’s weight. She kicked her hooves around as much as she could and managed to grind grooves into the soil. “Get off me!” A muck-eating grin took up most of the world immediately above Sunset, at least until those lips came near her ear again. “You know what you gotta say for me to get off.” More thrashing and Sunset managed to get her front legs beneath her. She pushed down but was amazed at just how much a pony directing her weight on top of her could keep her stuck. All she managed to do was get her face out of the dirt. She fell back into it when Aria’s teeth and tongue found her ear. “Come on, printed.” Aria’s voice was lower, softer, as she spoke around Sunset’s ear. Sunset whined. “No…” Aria pulled her legs around Sunset’s front, locking her head between them, and squeezed. That pushed some of the air from Sunset’s lungs, though she could still breathe. Another whine from Sunset netted her a nibble to the nick, and Aria pulled at the flesh and fur with metal teeth. Flushed and hazy, Sunset beat her back legs into the ground. “F-fine! I’m fat and snuggly.” All at once, Aria released Sunset but kept her weight on top of her. “Good girl,” she said with a chuckle. Before she rose, she pinched Sunset’s scruff in her mouth and lifted her up with her. She stepped over Sunset and continued along the trail, leaving Sunset behind to quiver a moment more. Once Sunset had full command of her legs again, she followed on behind Aria. “What do you need to pick up today, anyway?” asked Aria, throwing the question over her shoulder with a flick of her head. “I need—“Sunset’s voice cracked, then she coughed out the sound and dropped her voice a little lower than her natural pitch. “I need to pick up some more silicone and see about getting something tough I can work with. I got an idea brewing.” “So you said.” Sunset nodded as they came out onto the trail in the woods. “I need to do some prototyping, and I haven’t drafted anything concrete. I, uh…” Sunset was thankful she was already blushing for once. “I was predisposed, let’s say.” Snorting, Aria smirked at Sunset. “Sure, let’s go with that.” In the last two days since they were in town, Ponyville had undergone a relatively rapid change, evident even from the farms that skirted the town’s edge. Multi-coloured streamers and banners had been lofted between buildings, and a particularly large banner acted as a rainbow gate for the two to enter through. The buildings along the main street had been meticulously washed; some were even freshly painted. What surprised Sunset most, once she’d taken care to notice, was that she could feel the cobbles beneath her. Looking down, they almost shined. “Why is everything so…” She halted and blinked. “Oh. That’s this week.” Aria took a moment to notice Sunset was no longer at her side, then stopped and turned to face her. It was sudden enough the bodies around Aria bumped and jostled her, but she simply adjusted her stance. “What is?” “Some festival,” Sunset began. “I remember it being a huge deal back in Canterlot. Everypony comes out to celebrate; there are stalls on every street, all just to see a sunrise. I didn’t think ponies out here cared as much.” She started off again, continuing down the road. “Guess I was wrong.” “I remember Adagio mentioning something about that.” Aria followed back in step with Sunset. “Is it a problem?” “No… No problem. I just didn’t expect it to come around so soon.” Sunset laughed, throwing her head back. “Wow. It’s been a year since I set up in the tower. Nearly two since I left Canterlot.” A year since she started trialing what would later become the sisters’ bodies. Two years since she’d found the perfect crystal for the sisters. Aria said nothing to that and set her eyes forward, scanning the route ahead. Eventually, they came down the street Ponyville’s freight station sat on, though Sunset again came to a halt as they approached. Standing in front of the warehouse was a pair of ponies Sunset recognized, though at first, she couldn’t quite figure out where from. For a moment, she was sure they were some of Hondo’s employees, but they looked a little too well-dressed. The more she stared at them. However, the picture in her mind grew increasingly more precise. They were currently without golden armour and bristled helmets, traded in for plain but well-pressed clothes. If Sunset hadn’t seen their faces before, she might not have noticed how much they actually stood out. If they were in Ponyville, there had to be more of them. If there were more of them, that meant somepony important was around. No wonder the town was so alive, so clean and well-decorated. The residents were trying to impress somepony. Sunset didn’t care much for who that pony was, but it meant her current plans needed to be tossed out the window. She needed time to think that wasn’t spent in front of the guards. With a tightness in her throat, Sunset wordlessly grabbed one of Aria’s forelegs and pulled her backwards. At first, she pulled herself closer to Aria, but Aria understood what she intended and let Sunset lead her into an un-fenced backyard between two of the houses. “What was—“Aria started before Sunset put a hoof to her mouth with a hissing shush. Aria clicked her mouth shut and then squinted down at Sunset. “Long story. Change of plans. We’re heading back.” Each word was quiet and clipped. The second she finished talking, Sunset continued through the backyard, but before she stepped out onto the main street, she peered one way, then the other. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to spot more of the guards if they were also dressed in what they thought were plain clothes, but if they were here, some colleagues in polished parade dress may well be. With her voice lowered to just its buzz, Aria spoke. “Was it the two at the warehouse?” “Not now,” Sunset hissed. Her quick examination of the street revealed no armoured guards, and what faces she did recognize likely wouldn’t bat an eye at her presence. She stepped out and crossed kitty-corner to one of the other streets that flowed off into the quieter parts of Ponyville and as far away from the station as possible. “You’re going to have to tell me more,” Aria continued. “Feels like something I ought to know if I’m gonna cover your ass.” Sunset didn’t stop, though she did turn around and walk backwards for a few steps. “Sure. Absolutely. Just not here.” Aria nodded, finally letting the subject be, and Sunset took the lead properly. Unfortunately for Sunset, the moment she turned back around to look where she was going, she was too late to swerve. She smacked into another pony, and the pair of them were knocked to the ground in a flutter of paper. Several pages caught in the wind and drifted away down the street, while a fat and heavy book landed on Sunset’s stomach, ejecting the wind from her. Wincing and gasping for air, Sunset flailed around and rolled onto her front, with one leg pinning the book against her and sliding it up her chest. While she was dazed momentarily, struggling to make sense of the words being shouted above her, it didn’t take her long to recognize the words weren’t exactly kind or friendly. As she stood, the words, “Look where you’re going,” finally registered, and Sunset muttered an apology before shoving the book at the purple-coated mare that spoke them. She let the mare bluster as she started off again, dusting off her clothes as she did. Around five steps later, though, Sunset finally processed more of who she collided with. The purple eyes. The blue mane. The fine clothes that no one in Ponyville normally could wear casually. Sunset looked back at the mare, who must have gone through some epiphany of her own, as she was looking back in roughly Sunset’s direction, her eyes almost wild. But she wasn’t looking at Sunset. Her eyes were settled on Aria, and before Sunset could discern what the mare was thinking, her jaw set, and her horn began to glow.