Chapter 2: The Mare from Canterlot
By Wanderer D
The lobby of the Sol City Grand Hotel did honor to its name. The heavily guarded entrance opened up into the lobby itself, with entirely real marble on the floor, comfy large sofas and small fountains. There was the cafe for visitors, the entrance to an internationally recognized restaurant with proudly displayed accolades outside, and monitors the size of a house in the back of the lobby that played a loop of the amenities and staff. The area was so big and open that pegasi and other flying creatures could soar above them (but not enter the guest room floors).
Nightmare Night's influence was in full swing here. Holographic bats flew all over the place, spiderwebs made of light and magic glowed eerily in corners and convenient places. 'Carved' pumpkins made of plastic that resembled the real things were nestled here and there among stacks of old hay, and staff hovered nearby with little baskets for any foals and fillies who might be brought to the hotel by their parents.
There were two sets of elevators, one for the lower floors, the other for the executive, queenly, presidential and other important-titled suites. In front of these, security was tighter, and a second check would be required. Normally it would be a slight inconvenience for visitors, but since one of the biggest stars in the world currently occupied one of the suites, security had moved from 'minor nuisance' to 'borderline excessive'.
Scanners that would generate three-dimensional representations of the scanned subjects to be analyzed by specialists twirled around Clove, who could see a holographic image of her appear on a nearby table, and several parts of her body—the ones with cyberware in them—started lighting up red and yellow.
Besides that, she had been patted down, scanned for weapons, and almost had her coat combed through in search of any additional devices she could have possibly brought with her. Needless to say, her saddlebags would never be the same after the intense scrutiny they went through.
"Miss… Clove, was it?"
"That's right!"
Neon Clove stood still as she had been instructed while several devices, drones and even unicorns circled around her still, scanning and casting spells.
"It seems you are a very lucky mare."
"Oh, definitely! When I got the ticket I couldn't believe my luck!" she babbled, grinning. She didn't have to lie at all. She really loved how things had turned out. "I've been Sweetie Belle's biggest fan ever since I heard her the very first time! I know all her songs, own all her records, and I um." She fidgeted. "I uh, even memorized the dance numbers."
That brought up a smile to one of the unicorns scanning her, but her interviewer, the infamous manager of the stars, Stern Label, did not react.
"You've got some fancy cyberware," Stern said, frowning at the tablet she held in her magic. "How did you come by it?"
"Oh." Neon Clove smiled proudly. "I got a scholarship for music at the CSFA. I moved to Canterlot and got the cyberware installed while working on my curriculum." She lifted her head and puffed up her chest. "And I paid it all by myself with hard work and true spirit!"
"Ah yes, the Canterlot School of Fine Arts' famous motto." Stern Label seemed… well, slightly less stern. "If you were doing so well there, why come back to Sol City? It says here you live in the Low Town."
"Ah yeah." She shifted in place. Looked down and away. "I didn't think that one through, if I'm honest. I hadn't realized how bad things were until I came back. I've put in a request for an apartment in Midtown's North End, but they're being picky because of my current address."
"She checks out," the unicorn mare that had smiled at her said finally. "Her mana is not too strong, probably because of the cyberware, but she wouldn't need too much more for fine control."
"And you check out also as a student from CSFA," Stern said. She studied her carefully, as if re-evaluating all of her previous misconceptions. "Very high grades too. Tell me, is Professor Bowstring still as good as I remember?"
"Ah, I'm afraid he retired the year after I signed up," Neon said, "which sucks. I wanted to learn from him too, but Miss Castanet is teaching Musical Theory and Music Cultures. She's okay, I guess, I just had heard so much about him."
"I won't tell her you said so," Stern said, finally giving a hint of a smile. "She and I were roommates, after all."
"Oh… sorry. She's just more focused on—"
"I understand," Stern interrupted, her smile becoming less professional. "It seems we have much in common, Miss Clove. Why don't you come with me?"
"Hold on," a stallion said. "We've picked up a recording system."
Stern looked at her.
"Oh! That's—I'm so sorry, I forgot to turn it off, it's for my own music. I'm combining my sensory experience as a braindance into the melody. It's what my thesis is all about: incorporating my musical-playing experience into a transmittable additional track that doesn't require a full braindance immersion." She turned to the stallion. "You can turn it off if you want, just help me turn it on again before I leave or I'll have to go to a ripperdoc."
"It's fine," Stern said, glancing at the scans. "I recognize that. It's sensorial monitoring equipment. We've been playing around with that for future concerts. As long as she's not recording video or audio with that, it shouldn't be a problem."
"Oh, I won't!" Clove added quickly. "This records my emotional reactions as stimulants only. It doesn't need audio since I can edit those responses in isolation."
The stallion frowned, looking at the report.
"I'd rather not have to tell Castanet that her student suffered any problems here. Is there any other cyber augmentation flagged at all?"
The stallion sighed. "No, ma'am."
"Well then, we can proceed."
Clove followed the other mare past security, and into a large, gold-and-red elevator that could have housed the entire security team and still have a bit of space to move around. Instead, only Stern, two bodyguards and herself got in.
The elevator rose smoothly while Neon Clove could feel Stern's eyes considering her. "Sweetie Belle is very patient, but please be on your best behavior, Miss Clove. I realize you are a big fan, but try to curb your excitement before you meet her properly. Compose yourself in the waiting room while I check on her. Once we are all ready, we will head over to the parade warehouse to go over your role, practice your timing, and confirm your availability for practice. Do you have any questions?"
"Nope!" Clove nodded emphatically. "I've got it. I'll refrain from fanfillying."
Stern nodded sternly again, and turned to face the elevator door, ignoring Clove for the rest of the ascension to the top floor of the hotel.
The moment Shades had left her room to go meet their lucky winner, Sweetie took a deep breath.
SB: I'm alone. For a few minutes only, but alone.
SL: Finally! That mare needs to respect your space more!
AB: At least when it's just us you don't have to pretend anymore. How are you feeling today, Sweetie?
Her heart and her mind roared with the memory of the forced euphoria from the parade car. She wanted to run. She wanted to crash through the window of the 115th floor and fly away. She wanted to talk to Twilight, to Scootaloo or Apple Bloom, or Rarity or anycreature she knew about it.
SB: I'm doing okay. Practice was just more tiring than I thought.
And tell them what? That the panels in her body opening to connect to the cables had been exhilarating? That a rush of pleasure had run up her spine as software overrode her senses, as her body reacted alongside her brain to a rush of alien emotions being forced into her?
That it was equally addictive and disgusting? That she hated losing herself like that? Not knowing where Sweetie Belle began and where anything ended? She had felt her consciousness brush the edges of the firewalls erected around her mind to protect her from outside interference.
She had felt like she'd been forced into a cage… with a sweet, sweet, honeyed kiss straight into her brain.
AB: Are you sure? You don't want to talk about it?
How could Sweetie deal with the fact that her metallic body, incapable of truly processing the sensation of touching anything at all, had felt like pinpricks of fire and ice moving in waves through her entire being? Even worse, admit it to her best friends?
She had felt alive and more, much more than anything ever before. No sexual desire in her organic life had even compared to how that one moment of absolute ecstasy had felt. A moment that had been forced on her, where control of her mind, body, soul and emotions had been dictated by ones and zeroes flashing through her center with intent and purpose… both things she felt she missed since… since when?
Since leaving Ponyville?
Since starting her career?
Since her first cybernetic enhancement?
She glanced outside the hotel room, her eyes scanning the city. It would be Nightmare Night soon… the world would celebrate the exile of Nightmare Moon with candy and spooky stories. So few seemed to remember that just a few years ago Nightmare Moon had descended from the heavens, plunging the entire world into darkness and, had it not been for five brave mares, the world would still be enveloped by the night.
Sweetie snorted. Sol City had so many neon signs that it would surprise her if even in eternal night it would be dark at all. It never slept. A living, breathing city full of light and dreams but devoid of hope.
She pressed her hoof against the window, her metallic appendage making a clinking sound as it touched the glass. Holograms, drones, automated chariots, railways, neon and LEDs, magitech assistants, and past that residential areas, and past that, further down rusted metal, scratched buildings with peeling paint.
All of them alight with cyber-enhancements that she could see glowing like ephemeral wisps of data. Her brain processed all of that while still longing to be one with all of it, while her heart yearned to forget her old life and embrace this world that somehow transcended organic life. To sing her songs for the digital pixies, demons and AIs that escaped the comprehension of ponies… creations of technology and magic that had outgrown their creators.
And wasn't she the same? What was Sweetie Belle now but an automaton bending to the whims of the label? And yet wasn't she also much more than that? Wasn't she still a pony? A self-aware being with a soul, emotions, fears and hopes?
So what if most of her organic insides had been replaced by chrome and circuit?
She caught sight of her reflection. Still Sweetie Belle. She closed her eyes. "Why can't I just be me?" she whispered, the moment of righteousness fading around her like a wisp of smoke caught in a breeze. She smirked. Or as Apple Bloom would have put it: 'like a breezie's fart in the wind.'
…us…
"Sweetie Belle?" Shades asked, knocking on the door mere seconds before walking in. She took a moment to study the room and closed the door behind her. "Our guest is here. Are you ready to head over to practice?"
Sweetie thought about telling her everything she had been thinking… but it would be futile. "Sure."
SB: Sorry girls, gotta go meet the lucky fan.
She followed Shades out of the room and stopped to take her first glance at the golden ticket winner.
A slightly younger pony than herself, probably just fresh out of college. She had her mane done up in the style that DJ P0n3 used to rock. Her horn wasn't too long or short, but Sweetie could see cybernetic constructs spiraling along its natural spiral. She had a deep, wooden brown coat, while her mane went from dark green to neon green.
Her face, just like most creatures these days, had visible gold and silver circuit lines, and she wore a well-kept jacket that reached just halfway down her forelegs. Her eyes were an interesting shade of light gray, marred here and there by small circuits.
To Sweetie's eyes, she glowed with magical cybernetics. So much so she had to admit actually being surprised she'd been allowed to get this close to her. The thought crossed her mind to say something, but the thrill of knowing something the label didn't—even something as simple as staying quiet—brought back a little of her adventurous spirit.
"It's an honor to meet you, Miss Sweetie Belle!" Neon Clove said, smiling widely and raising a hoof.
"Oh, the pleasure is mine," Sweetie replied, bumping hooves with the mare, her smile softening, genuinely happy to meet somepony new. She indicated the elevator and the pair moved together towards it, with Shades following close behind, keeping an eye on them. "I'm always happy to meet a fan."
"And not just any fan," Neon Clove declared. "A super fan! I love sinking down on my sofa and listening to your music, Miss Belle. 'Hidden by Dirt' just runs chills down my spine."
"Hm, that's one of the old ones, Miss Clove," Shades said. "Do you know more recent ones?"
"Of course!" Neon Clove said, looking almost affronted. "That one just holds a special place in my heart," she added, looking at Sweetie Belle. "It was one of the songs I used for my thesis on emotional communication."
Clove turned to look at Shades. "You truly have a genius here, Miss Label, I'm sure you knew, given that you've cultivated her talent, but it still boggles the mind how far you've both reached and how much you have achieved."
A little pop-up appeared in Sweetie's GUI. She opened it.
It was from Clove.
NC: Sorry I'm giving her credit for your song, I've heard she's very protective of you. But I really love that song… and I know you wrote it. I had a sister too, and when I lost her, your song pulled me through very hard times. Thank you.
If Sweetie had needed to breathe, she would have been caught for not doing so. Instead, as she tilted her head and automatic body language responses kicked in to full Stern Label, she sent a message back.
SB: It's very dangerous to do this, you know? If you're caught you could go to jail.
Neon Clove didn't stop talking to both of them, praising the business acumen of LightnSound's investments in not only Sweetie, but the technologies that made her concerts so stunning when the reply arrived.
NC: Don't you think the risk is worth it? What is a life without risk, anyway? How can a dream be reached if there is no risk of failure? Is that a dream or a guarantee? And if it's guaranteed, what fun is there in it to even try?
Sweetie replied to Neon Clove's question about the parade lights with one of the permitted answers from the list she had been given. Something about how the engineers hired by LightnSound were the best in the business and that maybe she should apply for an internship there.
SB: A long time ago, my sister and I had a fallout, and I was clinging to one of my best friend's sister instead. I wanted my sister to see I didn't need her. She went ahead and hid in the mud to take my friend's sister's place in a race… and I didn't notice until the end.
Then, one time while trying to figure out what to write, I saw her picture with that hat on her head and I knew that I wanted to sing to her what I could barely express as a little filly.
Shades asked Neon Clove something about the Canterlot School of Arts, and the unicorn told her about an old restaurant where Shades and her teacher had shared many meals apparently. Clove said the place had closed down, but she had been there just in time to try one of their famous daisy sandwiches.
NC: It made me think of my sister too. Thank you.
SB: You're welcome… and thank you… for understanding that song. A lot of creatures think its about me feeling dirty about a lover.
NC: Uneducated brutes.
Sweetie Belle snorted, then realized she had done so in front of Shades, who turned to look at her with narrowed eyes. Her manager opened her mouth, about to ask something, when the elevator doors to the lobby opened and the loud voice of a familiar Yak reached Sweetie's ears, making her abandon any pretense and simply stare.
Yumi was back, and in full goth-rocker getup, surrounded by several creatures.
"Yumi?" Sweetie Belle asked, stepping out of the elevator to greet her friend. "Where have you been?"
"Where Yumi been?!" the yak repeated, grinning wildly at Sweetie Belle, "Yumi's been having fun! Yumi's going to keep having fun until concert on parade! Yeah!"
"Um, if that's—are you okay? We were worried…"
"Bah! Yumi is fine! More than fine! Pumped full of—" She cut herself off, grinning at Sweetie then motioning with her head at her entourage. "And wanting more! You join? Bring friend!"
"I—"
"I'm afraid we have practice, Yumi," Shades said coldly, stepping between them. "Do your thing, but remember your place."
The savage grin faded from the Yak, who then shrugged uneasily. "Fine! Sweetie Belle too prissy for MY kind of fun! Come! We party!"
Sweetie and the others stepped out of the way, allowing the yak and her… friends… to jump into the elevator and go to the yak's suite.
"I thought she had—" Sweetie shook her head. "I can't believe she—"
"Sweetie Belle," Shades said, "come on. It's time for practice."
"Right." Sweetie Belle's eyes followed the elevator as it went up before she forced her body to move. That couldn't have been Yumi… right?
NC: Bit for your thoughts?
Sweetie Belle almost jumped. She would have, in fact, if her cybernetic body had not been set to waiting mode as they were driven to the parade warehouse.
She looked up to see that Shades had taken a keen interest in Clove's explanation of her work on emotional resonance via cyber-magical enhancements. The pair were deep into the conversation, yet Neon Clove could still send her messages.
It was impressive in many ways not just how their guest could multitask like this, but also how Shades really did seem to follow the very technical explanation Clove gave her in the limo. There were hidden depths to her manager after all.
Again the thrill of doing something unbeknownst to her manager and the creatures around her sent a digital shiver down her back. But her thoughts turned darker again when she went back to her musings.
SB: Just thinking about Yumi. The last time I saw her she was going through a lot, but for her to come back like this? After disappearing for a while? It's… very unsettling.
NC: You mean she's not always like that? Heavy Metal is not my thing so I was never really following her career. She seemed pretty intense.
Outside of cyberspace, the conversation between her manager and their guest continued.
"So you're saying, Miss Clove, that you could use your magi-cyberware skills to impart some of the effects of your thesis into our performance?" Shade asked.
"Well, pending on a contract of some sort, yes," Neon Clove said carefully.
"But think of the exposure you could have!" Shades replied, leaning in, clearly interested in what Clove had to offer. "Not only would it put your name in a very exclusive list…"
SB: Yumi has never acted that way before with me. She's never gotten into an elevator with a group of creatures with the intention of having an actual orgy in her room. That was always just publicity stunts. I don't think she even had an actual coltfriend before the interview.
"We'll try out a little of it during our practice today, then, depending on the results, I can put in a good word for you with LightnSound if it works. Legal is pretty fast, and we could have a draft by the end of the day."
"Well… I—I guess it's not often that a pony like me would get a chance to work with top-notch equipment so early in her career…"
NC: Oh yeah, I remember the interview. Isn't it good that she's still okay? I heard that she disappeared for a while there. Maybe just a sabbatical?
SB: I'm still worried. She never acted like that before. Even in public, that kind of thing would end the moment she was near the elevators.
NC: Maybe what you need is someone there to help you find out.
"Alright, I accept," Neon Clove said to Shade, grinning like she had won the lottery… again. "I'm sorry I drove a hard bargain, but it's my life's work."
Shade almost snorted. It was a side of her that Sweetie hadn't seen in… a very long time. She just couldn't remember when exactly. An old, old memory. Probably from around when she began singing for LightnSound.
"I see talent and I acquire it, Miss Clove. Let's test it out today, and we'll expand the terms we have agreed to right now into a proper contract then."
Neon Clove bumped hooves with Shades, then turned, beaming a smile at Sweetie.
"Congratulations," Sweetie Belle said, smiling back.
SB: And thanks…
"It seems we're here," Shades said as their limo pulled into the warehouse where all the parade displays were.
Sweetie, looking out the window, spotted the one where she'd plug in and experience once more that artificial elation. She was excited, and yet terrified.
"Come, Miss Clove, this is our technician, Mr. Circuit. He'll show you where you can set up your experimental session," Shade said as they disembarked.
An elderly earth pony nodded curiously at Neon Clove, while Shades turned to face Sweetie. "Let's get you ready, Sweetie."
Sweetie Belle nodded and bumped hoofs with Neon Clove, earning herself a curious look from Shades as they walked away.
"That was unusual, you seem to have opened up to her pretty quickly, Sweetie," Shades said.
"I suppose," Sweetie replied. "It's been a long time since we had somecreature new join our team. It feels… nice."
"It does," Shades said, smiling at her in a way that made Sweetie question her impressions of her manager.
"I… didn't expect you to be pleased by this," Sweetie said. "I thought you'd be suspicious or upset."
Shades chuckled. "Miss Sweetie Belle… I'm your manager because I believe in you. I have seen what you do at your best, and lately you haven't been yourself much. I've worried… but this little engineer seems to have brought that spark back to you. I hope she stays with us."
"You… you offered her that contract for me?"
Shades grinned. "For us. If she can do what she said she could… well, we're all winning. If not, she certainly has enough know-how to be useful. But if she's able to become your friend either way? Well, she'd be doing what I can't, and help you be happy."
Sweetie stepped onto the stage and glanced at her manager. Could things and perspectives really change so quickly?
Or had she just been looking at things wrong?
The warehouse lit up.