...Leviathan had been found by Limefrost Spiral instead of Ebony Evening?
"...and so I said to him, 'but suppose it's actually thirty bits, not forty? If the same product is available at a lower price than their competitor's, why not go for it?"
Plus side: I'm alive, and my body's well on its way to repairing itself.
"And he tells me: 'No, you need the maroon-colored paint, not the pink. They're entirely different colors.' And I tell him, 'look, I have eyes, I can tell the difference for myself!'"
Minus side: I have never met anyone who goes on and on about nothing at all like this addle-brained airhead.
"I've always hated the color 'puce'. To me that just sounds too much like somepony throwing up. Like, did somepony eat something they hated, get sick, and then start thinking 'hey, that would be a good name for a color'?"
I should be looking for a way home. Why am I staying with this simpleton again?
...Oh, right: because Limefrost promised me shelter, enough bits to keep me fed with those Energen-esque candies, and that rooftop swimming pool of hers in exchange for assisting her in her job. I'm hoping that homeless pony I met is able to get me in contact with their Princess soon, or else I think I'm going to go insane.
"Your face just twitched. Hold still! ... So that suit isn't quite white, just a shade or two towards blue. ... Did you hear about the Midnight Castles ransacking that Burning Theater, or whatever it is it's called? Crazy, right? Celestia, I hope they don't try to steal from me."
A valid concern, yes, but could you please be quiet? I wonder if I could shut myself off without my eyes closing.
"You're the best conversationalist I've ever met. Some ponies are like 'blah, blah, blah' and they won't stop for anything short of a buck to the face, but you've been letting me speak my mind this whole time. Still, if you have something to say, you shouldn't be afraid to say it. ... Ugh, I feel so fat. Maybe I shouldn't be drowning my sorrows in ice cream so often... but it's just so delicious!..."
My urge to just ditch her and find another patron is rising. No swimming pool, regardless of the size, is worth listening to this.
Limefrost finally backs away from her canvas. "Alright, that will do it," she says after a few moments of glorious silence, having looked over her work. "Give it a day for the paint to dry, and I can frame this and take it to be sold."
"So I can get up now?"
"Sure, sure." She walks off towards another room. "Lemme get cleaned up and we can hit the fashion district. I'm not going to be seen in public with you if you're looking like my dear old departed mother!"
Part of me wants to take offense to that. The part that wins out is the one that feels sympathetic. "Your mother's dead?"
"Nope. She just departed," Limefrost states, shutting the door behind her.
"..." Never mind. Enough issues to fill a volume, that one. I get up and start to head outside, passing the newly-finished portrait of myself on my way out. My frame's still damaged, so I can't swim just yet, but I can least take comfort in the presence of water while I wait.
...Huh. That portrait's perfect. What do you know? I guess if nothing else, she is an excellent artist.
...First Quarter had never been traumatized by Omega?
Two ponies sat in a private lounge at the top of Mocha HQ. The smaller of them sipped at a glass of chocolate milk, reveling at the feeling of being young again after decades of being old. The larger of them hoofed through several pages of reports as he summarized them for his boss.
"...the latest report from Agent #7 in Ponyville, he believes that his former queen and her hive will be moving on Canterlot within the next two to three years," Ignition was saying. "Once he's confirmed that they're ready to launch their attack, he wants to stay in Manehattan until the situation blows over."
"Grant his request," Quarter decided. "I didn't steal him from Chrysalis just for her to yank him back into the fray. Make sure that a suite is ready for him in the event that the worst happens."
Ignition made a note of that for the records. "Next on the agenda: the matter of the wayward robot."
Quarter considered this. If the so-called Siren General had any brains, she would have tried to get in contact with Celestia as soon as she could. The nation's best and brightest when it came to magic were all situated in Canterlot. "Has a letter been sent to Leviathan?"
"Yes. It was crafted and sent within two days of the Minutes' special edition being circulated. She never responded."
She shrugged. "I knew it was a long shot when I asked." She probably just saw it as another piece of junk mail and threw it out. "With this in mind, launching our coup would direct her attention towards us. If her claims are correct, then we don't need a high-caliber warrior interfering with our plans at the worst time. Assign Agent #1 to keep an eye on her from afar. If she goes to Canterlot, activate our agent there and have her do the same."
I would like to have her gone as soon as possible, but there's nothing we can do to rush it, Quarter mused, massaging her forehead. She's done nothing inherently wrong just by being here, and as far as we can tell she's not causing anypony problems. Loyalty and a desire to do what's right are things I can understand. It should be safe to just leave her alone until the time comes. If she's still around when we make our move against Celestia in three years time, we should be fully equipped to deal with her by then.
"On a related note, what of Agents #8 and #9?" Ignition asked. "Leviathan was the one who captured them."
"They bit off more than they could chew trying to pull off that heist at the Pyre of Fears," Quarter decided. "They can stew in prison for a while. Keep track of the court proceedings and make a note of where they will be sent to serve their sentences. We'll be able to break them out anyplace aside from Tartarus, so we will plan to do so when it becomes necessary."
A spike of pain lanced through Quarter's senses as she finished speaking. She cringed and hunkered down, waiting for the pain to reach more tolerable levels. Ignition frowned, but--perhaps remembering that Quarter didn't like receiving help unless she asked for it--remained where he was.
I'm hoping that specialist can deal with this, she thought for the sixteenth time. I do not need this messing with my mind.
As she sat up again, she wondered what it would be like to face Leviathan in combat. It has been a long time since I've had a good fight. Would she be interested in a duel? After this illness is well and truly gone, I'll have to drop in on the Pyre sometime...
...
...
who... ...am...
...where...
...Car... rie... sis... ...ter...
...
...
...
As Quarter and Caramel met with their specialist to determine how to deal with the former's health issues, Hazelnut was left with nothing to anchor herself in reality. The last of her strength gave way, and she joined her grandfather and ancestors in the void's gentle embrace, never to surface again.
One year later...
...
Ignition was able to keep himself from jumping as the door to his office slammed open. He raised an eyebrow as Quarter took a seat in front of his desk. "Welcome back, young lady. How was your trip to Canterlot?"
Quarter shook her head, partway between disturbed and haunted. "Terrible. The worst case scenario is active, Ignition."
"You mean..."
"Yes. I do. I learned some things that I wish I'd discovered a long time ago. It would have saved me a lot of time and energy." She climbed into a chair and leaned on Ignition's desk, wanting to make sure he understood how important this was. "I hope you're prepared to be busy for a while. Shut down the R&D department and downsize them with full severance pay. Destroy all of the evidence of their work as you see fit. Scatter the Crown Jewels to the winds. Finally, send a message to all of our agents."
Ignition hid his suprise admirably. "And the content of that message?"
"Let them know," Quarter said through gritted teeth, "that the coup against Celestia has been cancelled due to extenuating circumstances."
Twilight Sparkle had not been kept in the dark?
"...I'm sorry to bother you when you're busy. There's just one thing I want to ask, Celestia: THERE'S A LIVING MACHINE?!"
Celestia winced at the volume. She'd almost forgotten how cacophonic Twilight could get when she was overly excited. Part of her wished that she'd brought sunglasses, if only to protect her eyes from the glare off Twilight's teeth. "You've read the special edition, I'm assuming?"
"Five times," the nearby Spike brought up. "I kept track."
She knew she'd have to curtail this quickly. "Twilight, I realize that the thought of a sapient machine is an impossibility, but try to control yourself. We don't need your exuberance making matters more difficult."
"But how?!" Twilight looked like she was a few wrong words away from pulling her mane out by its roots. "How in the world did somepony find a way to give a machine the ability to make all of its own decisions without magic?! Everything about that flies in the face of rationality!"
"Twilight Sparkle."
Thankfully, Twilight had enough sense in her to cut herself off at the sound of a full-name ultimatum. "...Yes?"
Satisfied that the tone of her voice had gotten through to her, Celestia spoke more calmly. "I recognize and admire your aptitude for learning, Twilight. But I shouldn't have to remind you that you have a tendency to go a bit... overboard. Suppose that Leviathan visited the castle on business. How would you react?"
Twilight sunk down onto her haunches. "...Oh. Right. Eh-heh..."
"Try to remember that she's a living, thinking being. If she wants to talk about how she works, that's her choice to make. We can't force her to do anything."
"I'm sorry..." Twilight raised her head, making eye contact with her mentor. Her tone became more contrite. "But... you see what I'm getting at, right?"
Celestia smiled reassuringly. "Believe me, I do. I was just as surprised as you were when I read that newspaper. Now, I believe you have a project to attend to?"
...
Spike watched as Twilight left the throne room to return to her studies. He started to follow her, but stopped and looked back at Celestia. "What was that term I heard Lemon Hearts use... right. She's totally going to 'fangirl' out, isn't she?"
"Something I've noticed across my life, Spike, is that sometimes ponies need to be taught the same lesson multiple times before any improvement is seen. Would you tell her that if she promises to be on her best behavior, she can come with me the next time I have an occasion to visit Manehattan?"
"Sure," Spike said agreeably, hurrying to catch up to Twilight. "See you later, Princess!"
Celestia returned to her throne as Spike left. For about three minutes until it was interrupted by the business of rulership, she enjoyed her peace as she contemplated what the first meeting between Twilight and the Reploid would be like.
Most of those who saw the sight kept on going. It was strange, but it was hardly unusual in Manehattan. Even a few who normally would've gotten excited at the sight of their Princess decided that discretion was the better part of valor.
Leviathan and the unicorn accompanying her--the latter of whom had just cast a spell, if her glowing horn was any proof--took a long step away. Celestia felt a bead of sweat drift down past her right eye. The guards who were with her were confused. Spike's face was contorted in the way you would use if you wanted to convey "Huh?" non-verbally.
Twilight, meanwhile, continued hugging the streetlamp and chattering at it with great enthusiasm.
"I beg your forgiveness, Princess," Leviathan's companion greeted Celestia, bowing. "Given what you said about your student in your letter to us, we decided... maybe not start an incident by letting her glomp Levi?"
"Your species is big on physical contact." Leviathan glared sideways at the illusionist--who blushed in response--before her eyes reoriented on Celestia. "Thanks for the advance warning, by the way."
Spike shook his head, getting over it. "Well, you have to admit," he remarked to Celestia, shrugging, "that was one of her better behaviors."
Indeed. This was certainly about what I expected.
...Leviathan had landed on the Equestria Girls side of the mirror instead?
It's been a few days since I fell into this strange world full of colorful humans.
They were my first and biggest indicator that this world was not my own. The second was the landscape: so many nice-looking homes, and so much green. I've known people back home that would have killed to have this level of foliage, all of it thriving without mechanical aid. The third was the technology level: not a robot in sight.
Fourth: I found out last night that while this world is also called 'Earth', its geography and history couldn't be more different from the world I call home. What little I've read of it could qualify for a doorstopper's worth of analysis, so I will spare you the torment of trying to digest it all.
My arrival here was chaotic, though not entirely because of me. I'd woken up near a horse statue, of all things... just being in its presence felt strangely rejuvenating. There was a loud ruckus nearby, I'd went to investigate... and was struck in the face by a sledgehammer wielded by someone who didn't know what she was doing.
Yes, it happened. And yes, it hurt, but I've taken worse hits from Fefnir. Imagine what that would've done to someone who wasn't made of metal at your own risk.
The mortified reaction of the person who did it told me that it was entirely accidental, but I became an afterthought in the wake of the confrontation that followed. By the time it was finished, my mind was short-circuiting because I discovered that magic was a thing that existed in this world (sort of, though it didn't last), humans are capable of drastic transformations, there were large holes in the nearby school and the path leading up to it, and the perpetrator was really a unicorn in a human guise.
I chuckle at the thought of it. I don't think I can take Pegasolta Eclair seriously anymore with this mental image.
There wasn't anything I could do to hide my robotic nature. There was a group of eyewitnesses who had seen me get hit by the sledgehammer, something you don't just shrug off as a normal human. Seeing my present condition (curse you, Omega), one of the more technologically-minded students offered to try and fix me; in the end there wasn't much he could do aside from cleansing my frame and skeleton of debris and patching up that rent in my side, but I suppose it's the thought that counts. At least my auto-repair's still working, so I should be at full strength in a few weeks.
Now, the statue... it's an anomaly, plain and simply put. This world doesn't have Energen, so I should normally be living on borrowed time. If I stand within a few meters of the statue, however, my levels stabilize and slowly increase. The young lady whose home I'm staying at has told me that it might have something to do with the statue being a part-time magic portal, but I don't know how much of that I believe.
...Though before today, I never believed that there was such a thing as naturally occurring prismatic hair, either. What kind of genetics were spliced together to create that?
Even the naming conventions of this word are off to me. I've never known anyone back home to have names as colorful and borderline grandiose as they possess here. Celestia, Luna, Photo Finish, Rainbow Dash, Bulk Biceps, Pinkie Pie, Micro Chips... and those are just the ones I directly interacted with after the initial ruckus ran its course. Am I really alive, or am I experiencing some sort of dying dream where everything has been turned upside down?
Hold that thought. My "landlord", for the lack of a better term, has just gotten home. "Welcome back, Sunset," I call out to her from the stairs to her loft.
"Hi, Fairy," the orange-tinted adolescent greets me, just as downcast as she's been since the whole 'she-demon' thing. Girl looks exhausted; I would be too, if I was forced to cart away debris for hours on end. I notice that her hands are bandaged and taped. "Any luck?"
"None." I gesture at the laptop she owns. Quaint little device. "I spent most of the day doing what research I could. There's nothing that so much as hints at a path home." Same as yesterday. I'm starting to feel somewhat discouraged. "How was your day?"
"Vice-Principal Luna decided to cut me a bit of slack." Sunset trudges up the stairs as she talks, dropping her schoolbag on her bed. "The rebuilding's been turned over to the local construction companies. Though that's only because the three of us finally have the debris cleared away... ...huh."
"Something wrong?" I ask without looking up.
"Looks nicer up here... did you do some cleaning while I was out?"
I shrug. "Call me a neat freak if you want, but I don't like dust. I left the rags in the bathroom."
"Thanks." I move as far to the left as I can, making some space for her to sit down next to me on the stairs. "I'm sorry. I just haven't been in the mood for cleaning right now."
"And I imagine having an otherworldly visitor dropped on you didn't help your situation either," I remark. "I'll try to be out as soon as I can, I promise."
"Hn."
There's an uncomfortable silence settling in. The things that Sunset did a few days ago would've had her tried in court back home and earned her a life sentence at best. After getting blasted by that mind-boggling energy wave and surviving, she experienced some kind of epiphany and was given a second chance by the visiting royalty. Even with that, I'm not sure what I think of her at the moment.
I want to say that her turn away from destruction is genuine, if the late-night crying I heard earlier was any proof. At the same time, I find it difficult to have anything more than short conversations with her. She's no threat without that crown she was trying to steal, but the part of me that's a warrior is telling me to stay on guard.
Sunset yawns and sighs, massaging her forehead. "A few days ago, General, things were a lot simpler. I was on track for the crown. Nothing and no one was going to stop me. And then everything terrible that I'd done smashed into me all at once, and I realized... forget an uphill climb---this is a mountain I'm facing here."
"A lot of what happened is still lost on me," I tell her, "but I think that princess said something about 'the magic of friendship'?"
She shakes her head. "Yeah. Apparently that's a thing." She groans in dejection. "I'm a selfish, scheming little witch, Fairy." Did she mean to say something else there, or was that intentional? "I'm trying to wrap my mind around it all, but I just can't take it. I've been without friends all of my life! I spent years outright ruining friendships, for crying out loud! How am I expected to start making them now?"
The topic had been brought up once already after that magic wave had cured her, but I excuse the repetition on account of her tiredness. Her words take me away, leading back to another universe and a nice young man I haven't spoken to in ages. "If it's any consolation, Miss Shimmer, I think I can understand how you feel."
That look of hers can't be mistaken for anything other than surprise. "Really?"
...
I spend the next ten minutes telling her about Honoré and the mistakes I made while interacting with him, as well as going into my background in a bit more detail. I don't mean to show any of it, but my regrets are turning up loud and clear with these interactions.
At the end of it, Sunset breathes in sharply and gives me an odd look. It's not one that's insulting, or upset, or confused, anything like that. Just... odd. "You're the same as me."
...Put it that way... "Carried out tasks to someone else's detriment, only recently recognized the seriousness of those actions... I see what you're getting at."
"I sought power because I wanted to prove to Princess Celestia that I was worthy of becoming an alicorn..."
"...and I willingly carried out that copy's orders because I wanted to believe he knew what he was doing."
"Both of us ruined lives in our own ways because of our mindsets..." Sunset's eyes shift towards the floor. She's beginning to sound more distressed. "Why am I thinking that if our roles were switched, I would have done the same as you?"
I'm finding it a bit difficult to picture myself as a student of royalty turned student of the masses, but aside from that... "If someone like those six had spelled it out for me in a way that I couldn't deny, I would've taken it just as hard. I would've begun questioning my loyalty and actions. Quite possibly even rebelled." I use that phrasing because I can't imagine Phantom or the real X delivering a speech on 'the magic of friendship', no matter how many scenarios I run.
"I've never had friends..."
"...and I lost the only one I had."
Another silence, though this one is a bit less uncomfortable. I never expected to find common ground in a place like this. As strange as it may be for me to say this, I do feel a little bit better.
The peace and quiet has come to an end: there's knocking at the door. "Sunseeettt! Leeeeviiii!" an obnoxiously high-pitched voice calls out. I recognize it as belonging to one of those I spoke to after Sunset's defeat. "Come on out here! I've got cake, and I promise it's telling the truth!"
Sunset stands up... then with some trepidation, she holds out her hand. I accept it, pulling myself to my feet. "I guess we'll be finding out more about this 'friendship' deal together, then," I tell her.
"You're willing to stay?"
"Barring a sudden scientific discovery, I'm here for the long haul. I've got nothing better to do with my time." There are worse things I could be doing. And if there's really nothing that can help me get home, then I have no choice but to trust that Zero can set things right for Neo Arcadia somehow. If he's anything at all, he's a survivor.
Hmm... I realized just now what was behind the look this child was giving me after I'd told my story: it was genuine empathy. Maybe there's hope for her.
And as we walk towards the door, she comes to a realization of her own and reacts accordingly. It's a small one, but this is the first real smile I've seen from Sunset since I got here.
...
It's while Pinkie, her friends, and Sunset are chowing down on cake that a question pops into my mind. It has nothing to do with how serious the earlier discussion was, but it has to be asked. If I'm going to be staying here, no point in doing it halfway. "For future reference, are there any public swimming pools around here?"