I should probably discuss briefly what I gained from my recent battle beyond what was already stated.
Lock-On: Become immune to changes in perception.
The aspects of this were pieced together quickly. Following the party, I asked Drama to cast a minor illusion for the sake of experimentation. She complied and placed one on one of her props, turning it into a creature called a basilisk. At first I was looking at an actual creature, but then my vision solidified and showed the outline and movements of the prop underneath the disguise.
I don't know yet what this means for heartsongs, but I'm happy that one of my biggest weaknesses has more or less been dealt with now.
And as for what the VWS got out of the battle...
-Fahrenheit Hammer: Charge fist with power for direct physical damage, flash-freezing on contact. Four units of energy per usage. Twenty-eight units total.-
My mind's flashing back to the Metallium battle's aftermath, and I chuckle as I recall wishing for something along those lines instead of the Permafrost Squirrel I ended up getting. ...Though it has an odd way of picking up on these things: in the long run, that one direct hoof strike Illudere gave me wasn't very noteworthy.
...
Skipping ahead to the next day, Gray's family was returned to her over the course of an hour and a half. Bushwhacker dropped off Zig-Zag at her door barely a few minutes after sunrise. Fiver wandered in on her own a little while later, with Calico Driftwood nowhere to be seen. Finally, Ocean Guard and Ebony--escorted by the invisible Bastion--arrived to round out the group. With the family reunited, all of them enjoyed a fine breakfast before heading to the MRPD station to report their experiences.
I had my final meeting with Illudere at the hospital, but you already know about that.
The Police investigated the penthouse where she had been hiding out. They didn't find anything that would lead them to the group's mastermind, though they did find the apparatus Pure Energy had been using to lock Illudere in her room. Sure, circumstances undermined his feat somewhat (the enemies not being allowed to bring their full might to bear), but I still find it impressive. The other children and Ocean were a bit less helpful, as none of them knew where they were taken. In any event, investigations are still ongoing.
I was told that the investigators shared a collective shudder when they saw where Illudere had been trapped. "So that's what 'crazy' looks like," one of them was reported as saying, refusing to share any details afterward.
The lack of progress at the penthouse was negated due to them having more success with Statuette. Thanks to being bribed with high-quality pear jam sandwiches, she was very critical of what she thought about recent events. I was surprised to hear that the one who kickstarted this chain of events had been Caramel Mocha's own grandfather. Sorry, little lady.
When informed of what had been going on in her absence, Statuette didn't think that Cocoa could have orchestrated anything past the placement of herself and my first three opponents, what with him dying and all. She didn't know who could've taken over the group after he was gone, guessing that it was either his direct second-in-command or some unknown third party. In any event, the Royal Police are going through the necessary procedures in preparation for searching Mocha HQ for evidence. I wished them luck with that and told them to call me if there was trouble.
I'm sure there will be.
Finally, I met up with Gray's kids at the apartment to see how they were holding up (and to thank Echo for locating me the other night). All of them dog-piled me. Yes, even Ebony. And then she shrieked right in my ear when she realized what she was doing and took off. Energy followed after her because he thought it was fun, Zig-Zag laughed and did the same, Fiver mumbled something along the lines of "...I've missed these clowns", and the parents frantically ran damage control. I couldn't resist cracking up at the chaos.
Oh, and Zig-Zag has his Cutie Mark now: a red butterfly with heart-shaped wings. Funny.
With all of that finished, that brings us to now.
Middle of the night. It's very dark and cold down here, and I love it. There's nothing going on. It's just me, the ocean, and the sea life. It means conditions are optimal for me to sit back, relax, and do nothing but think.
I'm having an easier time now keeping my memories of this life and the fake one separated. It's helping me come to terms with everything that happened. Or with everything that didn't happen.
There's just... there was so many details in that other life. It wasn't like a dream, as if large portions of it were foggy or difficult to comprehend. All of it was picturesque. Everything in it feels like it could have happened if things had gone differently. Of course, Dr. Weil and Omega would've still needed to be dealt with, but the fact remains.
All of my interactions with my squadron, and all of my cleanup work. The discovery of those two long-dead robots: Axl and... "Proto Man", I think X called him. The establishment of new towns and cities in areas that had previously been unfit for life. The domes that covered large portions of Neo Arcadia being done away with. All of the duels that I had with Zero and the remaining Guardians over the decades until I was the only one left.
Smaller details, different events throughout that life. A little boy giving me a freshly grown flower. Some good-natured bickering with my second husband regarding a Reploid child we were planning to have built. Attending an increasingly wider variety of winter-themed events as the decades passed. Discovering that curling is actually a fascinating game.
These are important. I don't know the Luminous Cruelty's mechanics, and I don't want to know. But by her actions, Illudere may have opened up entirely new avenues of exploration.
That pony currently in Canterlot who visited Earth... 'Startide', right. What were some of those things she was saying, according to Cadance? Parsing through them now for your benefit.
"I didn't think they got this tall. Used to be much smaller. Closer to my size."
"That blue robot out east. She wasn't always giant. About my size, smaller than you."
"No. Not Levia-thinny. Another blue robot..."
"Paper says she's got blue hair. Been seeing nothin' but black."
"This world that Levia-thinny wants to go back to. There was 'nother blue robot there."
"Nothing I'd ever seen befo'. Lifelike without life, with life like you couldn't believe it."
...
At first I thought she was talking about X, as he was the only other "blue robot" that I knew of. Now that I've reached my new conclusion about my false life, I'm beginning to think she wasn't. Let's look at the height issue first.
As I've stated early on, I'm almost six feet tall (or 1.83 meters rounded up) in heels. When I first met Princess Celestia in person at Bright Lights Beach, I noticed she was right around eye level.
I revealed in my first newspaper interview that I had a brief---very brief---meeting with X before he disappeared. I wasn't focused on physical details at the time, but as I ponder this more, I'm certain he was shorter than I am by about half a foot. Taking another look at my meetings with him in my false life, I know he was.
Now, assuming that Startide was of average size in her prime, she would have been just above waist height next to me. I've seen some taller ponies in my time here--there were a bunch of them in the crowd yesterday, and Shining Armor's fairly hefty--but I've yet to meet a non-alicorn that breaches five feet. Probably wouldn't hurt to get confirmation from Canterlot on this, but this should be safe to assume. The phrase "much smaller" is the key: if she was similar to X in height, she likely would've left out the "much".
Are you with me so far? I hope so. I have no way of knowing if anyone's going to access these. You might not even exist, for all I know... but that goes into topics that I have no patience for right now.
Second is the matter of hair color, and here's where I need to delve into my other life more heavily. Strange as it may seem, in all of my meetings with X there, I had never seen him without his helmet on. Not once. I asked him about it eventually, and he said that he'd gotten used to keeping it on at all times after that archaeologist---what's his name, Dr. Cain---woke him up. Unlike me, the question of whether he had hair or not never mattered to him. He just assumed he did and didn't entertain any curiosity over it.
Naturally this means Startide could not have met X, not if she knew what the robot's hair looked like.
Third is her last statement. Think about this for a minute. 'Lifelike without life, with life.' X's era was the point where robots, more specifically those meant to look like humans, started down the road to looking indistinguishable from them. Additionally, it was where they gained true sapience.
After the remains of those two robots were found and brought to Neo Arcadia, I had a discussion with X and asked him if he knew anything about what the world was like before his re-activation. He knew next to nothing outside the boundaries of his own home and the lab he was created in, as he was placed in his capsule not long after his completion. He had vague recollections of his elderly fluffy-bearded creator finishing his work (I was told his name, I just don't remember it right off), of several robots looking on in the background with varying degrees of concern, of brief introductions being thrown around...
This was how X was able to recognize the remains of the one called "Proto Man".
Now these machines might have been human-like in personality and actions, but they didn't possess anywhere near the capacity for independent thought. They were bound to the Three Laws of Robotics, unlike X. Hence, Startide's statement. So if she went to Earth, she would've had to have gone to that era specifically.
...Though now that I'm thinking about it... what did those other robots look like? Did X ever share those details with me, or...?
...
...
...
...
Yes, I'm thinking he did. It took me a while to recall those details. They were buried a ways down.
All three robots were approximately child-sized. Proto Man had a red-and-gray color scheme, wore a helmet with face-encompassing sunglasses, and carried a shield on his back. Those details were reflected in the holographic model created for the museum later. It seemed like he was the type to keep to himself.
So that scarf on the model wasn't just a nice touch on the curator's part? I must have forgotten that.
The second robot was a girl in a red and white dress. X said she was carrying a broom and dustpan, so that could be taken to mean she was the housekeeper. Possibly even his creator's caretaker, given his age.
The third---
...
No.
It couldn't be.
It couldn't be! It just couldn't!
...
Alright, I have to level with all of you.
On my arrival here, I made my thoughts on my situation clear. I said, and I quote: "I've fallen victim to one of the oldest cliches in fiction." I've delved into that a few times. I haven't done it often given my duties, mind you, but I've read stories before.
Now, what I'm thinking might just be a red herring. I could be wrong now, but I don't think so. That other world's a collection of fiction, a doorstopper of a book series. And if there's any pattern recognition to be had in that world, in my life, I need to see this through. If I'm right about this...
That third robot had X's exact color scheme. Per his word, he had black hair. And as stated previously, his size...
...!
It is.
It is. It just is.
Just as X was the basis for Reploid-kind, that robot was the basis for him. His predecessor, his older brother in age, if not form.
Meaning that the "other blue robot" that Startide met was my uncle.
...
As Magnum put it when we met Celestia: Tartarus on a cupcake. I'm stunned. Just straight-up stunned.
It's beginning to sink in just how much of a legacy we Guardians inherited. I don't know if my uncle was built for peace, battle or both, but my intuition's telling me that we had a lot to live up to without even knowing it. How much did we succeed in? ...And I don't need to ask how much we failed in. I'm already aware of that much.
I'm hoping Cadance and Celestia succeed in getting the full story from Startide. What was my uncle like? Given X's own personality, I have to assume he was friendly by default, but assuming isn't the same as knowing. And I have to know.
What of the other creations? What were they like? What sort of purposes were they built for? What kind of personalities did they have? There's so much history that I've been denied access to because of it being lost to time! X's creator---effectively my grandfather---was responsible for much of what we're seeing now, both good and bad. There are few things I'd like more than to take a time machine back to his era and interview him directly, get his take on things! I'm missing out on so much!
"Eeeee---!"
...Oh dear, I'm making Drama Heart noises. Please stop embarrassing yourself, me. And please don't swim away from me, fish. I didn't mean to scare you by waving my arm around like that.
...
...
Okay. Okay. I'm calm. I am completely, totally calm. Enough of that subject for tonight. Something just as weighty is on my mind. Let's just stay cool and collected.
While I'm waiting for further news or attacks, I have some plans for the coming days. Exchanging correspondence with Canterlot. Sending letters of thanks to Ponyville for their help in getting my act together. Giving some combat lessons to Maverick and Magnum, seeing as how Fleetfoot's not going to be here much longer. Incorporating new training exercises from my false life into this one, since it's likely I'll need them soon. Re-testing my limits in preparation for a final conflict (because let's face it, it will happen eventually). Spending time with my friends, trying things I never would've thought to try before. And so much more...
I'm starting to feel busy again. My confidence in myself and in life has been restored, and I have these crazy ponies to thank for it. The period that began with Drama and I establishing our friendship has me the happiest I've been outside of a fight.
Look at me right now, talking about things like friends or family. Would you have imagined me doing this a month ago? Would I have gone on about any of this?
No.
I never put emphasis on those concepts. I followed my assignments dutifully both before and after my combat revamp, but I was always more concerned with getting the job done and then relaxing afterward. Before the revamp, I had one friend. After, I had none. The vast bulk of my interactions with others---discounting that silly Valentine's Day incident, plus anything to do with Zero---were professional in nature. In retrospect I feel like my playful side, while present, wasn't as well-developed as it could've been.
And at times it wasn't healthy, either.
Now that I've started interacting with civilians in ways that aren't strictly work or business oriented, I'm beginning to see what I've been missing out on all this time. Just by being around the Ghost-Guard family, I'm seeing the value of balancing work and relaxation. I'm finding myself enjoying life in ways that have little to nothing to do with my aquatic preferences. Barring the disgruntled, the city's decided that it likes the alien robot that's trapped with them. While I could've done without what it took to get there, I am grateful for their consideration. And all of this in less than a month's time.
I'm loving this city and those that looked out for me. More and more each day---like that one song I've sometimes caught Drama humming---I'm walking on sunshine, and wow does it feel good.
Between this and what I've learned about my family, it's time I made something official. I'm sure you know what it is, and you've probably been waiting for me to declare it.
...
I lift off of my resting place and swim at full speed towards one of the piers connecting the bridge to the sea floor. When I reach it I alter my trajectory sharply, propelling myself upwards. I breach the surface and kick off the water, press against the support base, and wall jump my way up to the deck. I don't stop there: I scale the horseshoe-shaped tower, engaging in a bit of parkour when necessary. A short flip at the end of it all and I'm at the top, keeping myself balanced perfectly.
What a marvelous view this is. Straight ahead of me is the brightness of Manehattan, with many of its structures towering over me still. The Crystaller skyscraper with its horse-headed fixture is especially eye-catching. Off in the distance, the weather team's night shift is beginning to gather clouds together in preparation for some rain later. High above, the moon with its dark visage casts its light down on me. Far to my right is the back of the Mare Statue. Below the bridge is the comforting ocean, shifting about on the breeze.
The Frost Javelin appears in my hand. I smile as I give it a twirl and raise it behind me, resting my other hand on my hip. My eyes linger on the city that serves as my home away from home. You can picture them lighting up in happiness if you'd like.
---And disasters have a really rotten sense of timing. I can see thick black smoke starting to billow out of a smaller building a quarter mile into the city. Brief surges of orange-yellow brightness: the beginning of a fire.
Not on my watch, you're not.
Seconds later I'm hunkered down on a Spirit of the Ocean, directing it towards the hotspot at full speed as I keep it sustained. If I'm fast enough, I should be able to reach the fire in time to help the locals extinguish it and/or assist anypony who might be trapped.
...
A way home will be discovered someday. Until that day comes, the whole of this city and its waters shall be my protectorate. If a problem arises that is too much for the Equestrians to handle, I will be there to help them. I will keep seeking to understand myself and those around me, to treasure the friendships I have made here. I will continue to improve myself until I can do so no more. And I will bring to heel those that are threatening the city for their own gain.
In memory of the family that I never met or really knew, I will do everything in my power to live up to their legacy. And in honor of one who showed more of it than I did, I vow that I will not lose my way again.
I am the sole survivor of Neo Arcadia's elites. I am the Deep Sea Squadron's Siren General. I am the daughter of X, the niece of his predecessor, and the grandchild of one of the greatest scientists to have ever lived on Earth.
My name is Fairy Leviathan, and I am Manehattan's lone Guardian.