//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Awakened // Story: Deus Ex: Equine Revolution // by Melon Hunter //------------------------------// Deus Ex: Equine Revolution By Melon Hunter Chapter 5: Awakened         Bon Bon stretched and shifted beneath the sheets in the bed she was using. Still groggy from sleep, her mind began churning up more memories, stimulated by activities in the clinic. ~~~~~~~ Adrenaline coursed through her veins; artificial muscles tensed in anticipation of the next strike, and golden eyes narrowed, sizing up her opponent. He danced back and forth on his hooves, a cocksure grin on his striped face. Barely three metres separated them; a distance that could be closed in a heartbeat if he so desired. She tried to read his movements, looking for any clue as to his next—             Bon Bon's ears rang as he transformed into a black-and-white blur. A hoof had reached out and slapped her in the side of her head. Before she could react, he planted another blow to her chest, pushing her onto her haunches. The augmented mare looked up, expecting to see her zebra opponent temporarily motionless in front of her, open for a counter. She frowned when he instead was balanced on one foreleg, body high up in the air. Why would he sacrifice so much balance—             The question was answered as his hindlegs crashed into her shoulder, dumping Bon Bon onto her side. With a grunt and an exasperated sigh, the cream pony stayed down. She really needed to learn how to counter that high kick.             "You think too much," the zebra stallion said in an amused tone, his native intonation overlaying the Equestrian speech. "No flow at all. I could read you like a book." Bon Bon unfolded her forehooves in irritation, before thinking better of it. "No wonder I took you by surprise!" He chuckled good-naturedly. Oh, she would show him surprise.  As he walked within her range of attack, the mare leapt up, a solid punch aimed at his head... Correction: where his head had been. Instead, her forehoof was caught in the grip of his ankle, the striped stallion having dodged to one side. He cocked an eyebrow, and just as Bon Bon realised her centre of gravity was far too far forward, he yanked at her limb. She went flying forward and landed heavily on her front.             "And I thought you said you were ready for a real sparring match," he continued calmly. The cream pony wasted no time, springing to her hooves and spinning around. With a growl, she lowered her head and charged, hoping to use her horn aug as a crude weapon. In her fury, the agility of her opponent was forgotten; a mistake she paid for with a blow to the ribs. She stumbled, winded, only to feel a resistance against her forelegs. And then, as she tripped, Bon Bon felt a hoof beneath her stomach, pivoting her over. The augmented mare landed heavily on her back with a cry, staring upward into the sparkling green eyes of the zebra. He placed a hoof against her throat.            "Yield?" he asked.            Anger and frustration finally got the better of Bon Bon. She let out another ferocious growl of rage, rolling and aiming a punch at his head. As she did so, a bronze bracelet around her leg glowed with a deep blue light, stopping her attack just short of striking. He looked at her disdainfully, and his hoof moved down slightly to her chest, pushing her back to the mat on the floor.            "A killing blow. You do little to keep your rage in check. Disappointing," he said quietly as he turned away from her.            The augmented mare slumped to the ground, embarrassed. As her lenses slid back, she screwed her eyes shut tight. "I... I'm sorry, Zantos," she mumbled. Her ears burned as she did so.            Zantos chuckled again, causing the augmented unicorn to turn toward him in confusion. He took a swig from a bottle of water at the edge of the room and trotted back toward her. "You confuse me, Bon Bon," he said. "You tell me you wish to incapacitate, not kill, with your blows, and yet you strike with the most terrible fury. You tell me you feel adept in your fighting style, and yet your coordination and impulsiveness are more akin to a colt after his first mug of hard cider." She noticed the hint of sadness in his eyes. "Are you sure you wish to continue today? There is no shame in ceasing to spar if one's composure is not correct for it."           Bon Bon shook her head vehemently. "No! No. I'm just... a little shaken up. Had a bad dream last night, that's all." She hoped the white lie would be enough to placate him. From the sympathetic look he gave her, it wasn't.           "Dreams? Or memories?" the zebra asked quietly.           She looked away, not wanting to expose her emotions. "The... the latter. I just... it keeps coming back. That night. Felt helpless. Still do," she mumbled.            He nodded. "Then we can stop for today. I don't wish to cause any—"            "No!" Bon Bon exclaimed, causing Zantos to step back in surprise. "Out there... Out there I have to put up with ponies staring at me, with Twilight and Rarity scheming Celestia-knows-what about me, my own screwed-up life..." The mare halted before she went into a full-blown rant. "This is simple. I try to hit you. I try to stop you hitting me. No ulterior motives. No constant dwelling on the past. In here, it's the only place I really feel alive any more." Zantos nodded and grinned.            "Very impassioned!" he said. "So I'm the only thing that makes you feel alive, eh? That's the kindest thing this knackered old zebra's heard in a long time!" A slight blush appeared on Bon Bon's face as she realised what her comment could be construed as. "Well, if you insist, we shall continue." He held out a hoof to help her up. The unicorn reached out for it, before hastily retracting her foreleg as though burned. "Good! You're learning!" the zebra laughed. "Never assume friendliness when in danger."             As he turned away to put a few metres between them again, Bon Bon found herself looking over Zantos, still burning slightly from her inadvertent compliment. She may not have entirely been of that persuasion, but he was uncommon enough to warrant staring. Wearing an upstanding striped mane and braided tail, as was zebra custom, the stallion had a compliment of scars, courtesy of his several years spent in a mercenary company towards the beginning of the griffon civil war. He had ten stories for every scar, although the zebra outright refused to verify which were true, or indeed where exactly he had served. However, given his evasiveness and frightening proficiency for martial arts, it was almost certainly something deniable: black ops, or even worse. His glyphmark verified his warrior’s prowess: dark, thorny lines woven in the shape of a spear and shield, earned when Bon Bon was little more than a foal.             Like her, he was visibly augmented, his hindlegs prosthetic in their entirety. Gleaming white plastic partially covered black artificial muscles. Expensive, bespoke Sparkle Industries fare. Around each of his hooves, the zebra wore bronze bracelets, same as Bon Bon. They were enchanted to prevent too-powerful strikes from causing harm, vital in training Augs to understand their new strength. Zantos turned back to her, and sat down on his haunches. He patted his artificial legs with his organic forehooves.             "Now then... You understand, these are weapons," he said, indicating his legs. "But the difference is, I strike too hard with a foreleg, I break bones. I strike too hard with my augmentations... I crush skulls, rupture insides. I become death incarnate."             "Of course I understand that," Bon Bon said dismissively.         “Do you? You allow rage to take command of you far too easily,” Zantos retorted. “Rage makes you weak, makes you dull. I know you wish to resist the urge to use your implants as an easy way out. That requires as much mental training as it does physical.”         “I... I see. You’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this,” Bon Bon glanced down at her black forelegs. Weapons. "I mean, I would have taken your head off had it not been for—"         “I have seen soldiers succumb to the rage. Become... killing machines. They discard their equinity freely,” the zebra said darkly. “You are not like them, Bon Bon. You have temper where they have none. But, you must seek calm. Always. Otherwise, your training will be useless." "I try, Zantos. I really do," Bon Bon said. She took a deep breath. "Sometimes, I think the one I'm angry at is me. Like I should have been ready that night..." Her voice faltered. "Then all the better that you ask for serenity. Come to terms with your situation; turn it to your advantage. Otherwise, an opponent may simply use it to make you their puppet. I found every griffon I ever faced had that weakness: find the right taunt, and suddenly, they are your plaything. Such an angry species." He chuckled again. Happy to change the subject, the cream pony pounced on the opportunity to uncover more of his murky past. "I take it you faced off against a lot of griffons, then?" she asked nonchalantly. Zantos smirked. "Ah, I forgot your hunger for my wartime stories," he said. "If you must know, it was enough to facilitate my augmentations." He patted his hindlegs again, gazing fondly at the black and white limbs. "Got too close to the talons?" The zebra looked offended. "Anything but! These were my own choice. Both hindlegs, a few reflex boosters... All mounted in the Skyloft MANE clinic. Wonderful griffon city. You should visit sometime, probably after the war's end," Zantos said. He noted the puzzled look on Bon Bon's face. "What?" "You chose your augs? You hardly ever use your hindlegs in combat! I always assumed you had them because of injury," Bon Bon explained. "You choose your weapons carefully, Bon Bon. I had no desire to kill my opponents when I could easily knock them down with the forelegs I already had. But the hindlegs... I can spring forward at ease. Speed is survival. Of course, I could deliver some powerful bucks as well. Let me tell you, no matter how enraged a griffon is, if you slide beneath them and buck right between the hind legs... That fight is good as over." The stallion grinned, then looked thoughtful. "I should teach you how to do that someday." Bon Bon sighed and looked away. She observed her own artificial limbs, the alien things attached to her. Oh, they behaved according to her whims, they were enchanted to have as much sensation as the real limbs they masqueraded as, but they weren't her. Her musings were disturbed by a half-heard statement from the zebra. "What?” "I am sorry if I caused offence," he said. "I sometimes forget the manner in which you came about your implants." "No, it's not your fault. I’m just yet to accept what’s happened to me. I didn't have a choice. Hell, I've even got swords built into my legs—" Zantos waved a hoof contemptuously. "A sacrilege. No self-respecting master of this art needs more than their own hooves. And they are your hooves, Bon Bon. You may not feel that way; you may feel that they have strength beyond your control. But they are yours. Never lose the belief that you can use a situation to your advantage." He walked over to her, and gently lifted her head up. "You still have that inner spark. You can yet be the master of your own fate." The cream pony looked up into his earnest gaze. She set her jaw and stood up, setting herself into a stable pose facing him. "Heh, you're right, Zantos. I think I lost so much, I forgot what I still have." The zebra backed away to a fighting distance. "You make a good therapist, you know that?" "As you said, simplicity. The mind tends not to wander when in mortal peril." He shifted himself into a fighting stance, and swished his tail a couple of times. "Now then... ready for another round?" Bon Bon grinned, and her lenses slid back into place. "Of course." She focused, watching the zebra's movements carefully. And there — the slight tensing of muscles, the narrowing of eyes — the cream pony slid to the right as Zantos leapt forward with his augmented hindlegs. As he landed behind her, Bon Bon gave a swift kick with her left hindleg, before jumping forward and spinning around. She misjudged the distance, receiving the tip of a forehoof across her muzzle. Swallowing the rising anger from the blow, the pony faced down the zebra, both opponents rearing onto their hindlegs. The limbs folded and shifted subtly, placing the two equines into bipedal postures. Bon Bon raised her forelegs, and slapped down — one, two — probing strikes from Zantos. She leant back as a third punch was thrown, hitting the stallion in the side of the ribcage as his own hoof skimmed harmlessly off of her mane. Her other forehoof smacked against his ear, disorientating the zebra. A thrill passed through the unicorn as he stepped back, looking confused. A feint, her mind reminded her, right as she moved in to bring him down. The mare cried out as she was struck in the chest. Not used to having her centre of gravity so high, the blow sent her crashing to the floor, onto her back. Bon Bon looked up in dismay as she saw the final blow coming. Defeated again. You can turn any situation to your advantage. The thought rang out in her mind. Time seemed to slow as the mare contemplated the mess she was in. Nothing to be done... unless her predicament could be turned against the zebra. Waiting for the opportune moment, Bon Bon folded her hindlegs, and bucked, planting her hooves firmly into Zantos' belly. As he grunted in pain, falling back, the cream pony used her new-found momentum to flip herself over onto her hooves. A forehoof unfolded and gripped a black-and-white hindleg, yanking it forward. The zebra gave a cry of surprise as he began to fall and spin on the spot. His back was now to the mare, who wasted no time in jumping back up onto two legs. He fell into her waiting forelegs. Bon Bon wrapped a limb around Zantos' neck, holding him at an angle. His hindlegs stretched out in front of him, the tips of the hooves barely touching the ground. Any attempt to move would cause him to fall. His forehooves swung around futilely, trying to find a way to free himself from the grip. Realising his predicament, Zantos looked up at her. The lenses slid back. "Yield?" she asked. The green eyes sparkled as the stallion grinned broadly. "Gladly, Bon Bon. Gladly." ------- Bon Bon leant against the wall of the shower and sighed, turning off the stream of hot water. She reached out with an unfolded hoof and took up her towel. Sitting on her haunches, the cream pony carefully wrapped her dripping mane in fabric to keep it from dangling in her face. She felt clean, sterilised, dulled... Already, the unicorn could feel the rush of adrenaline and the heat of combat draining away, to be replaced with her normal lethargy. She gave another thunderous sigh and stepped out of the small chamber. A larger towel was picked up and scrubbed over her damp cream coat and jet black limbs. Lenses slid back over golden eyes, and the augmented pony began withdrawing back into her shell. Once she was dried all over, Bon Bon moved to her locker, the large towel draped over her like a cape. The unicorn cast furtive glances around the changing rooms, finding them deserted, to her relief. The last thing she needed was to inadvertently force some poor mare who'd just been hoping to use the gym into the same forced sympathy the rest of the Sparkle Industries employees showed her. Her talon swept back and forth across the lock, typing in the combination. The mechanism clicked, and the locker door swung open. The mare rummaged around inside, pushing aside the longcoat hung on the rail. Her fumbling disturbed something on one of the shelves, causing it to flutter to the floor. Bon Bon looked down and picked up the item. She could have sworn her artificial heart skipped a beat as she saw what it was. A photograph. Of her, before the incident. The old Bon Bon, happy, loved, intact. The old Bon Bon, and... and... Lyra. The breath she'd been holding in came out in a sob. The hoof holding the photograph folded in on itself, crumpling the relic, distorting the smiling faces. Suddenly, as though it had become unbearably hot, the photo was thrown to the floor. Bon Bon turned away from the unwelcome reminder, scrunching her eyes shut. How? How had she let the past barge itself into her life again? She had tried to let go, time and again, but she could never bring herself to cut the ties truly. The unicorn cursed herself silently, remembering the lyre, the photos, the last remnants of the time before... Just can't let go, can you? A voice inside her berated. "Bon Bon?" The augmented mare gasped and jumped at the sound, whipping around to its source. The sudden movement caused the towel to slip and fall from her shoulders, exposing her fully. In front of her, Colgate looked at her, a small gym bag next to her and an apprehensive look on her face. "You alright?" The cream pony stared at her in shock for a moment, before noticing the deep blue eyes slipping down her body, to the seams where augmentation met living tissue. She snatched up the towel, casting it back over her shoulders. "I'm fine," the cream pony snapped. "You sure? You looked a little..." Colgate's voice faltered slightly. "What? Weak? Helpless?" The blue unicorn flinched at each of the accusations. "No!" She took a step back, deep blue eyes wide in shock. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—" Bon Bon's stance softened slightly. "It's alright," the cream pony said quickly. "I'm the one who should be sorry." She gave a brief sigh, turning her head away slightly. "I seem to have a bad habit of doing this," she explained, pointing at the crumpled photograph. It was picked up in a dull gold glow and smoothed out. Colgate's lips pursed as she looked at it. "You don't have to blame yourself for this, you know," the unicorn said quietly, after a seemingly endless silence. "Yes, I do!" Bon Bon retorted. "Why can't I let it go? Why do I keep doing this to myself? Every time I think I can move on, I just see something else I left behind, that I couldn't throw away!” Her chest heaved, and her body burned with impotent rage. Zantos’ advice was lost in a blazing flood of self-loathing. “Bon Bon... it’s been four months. You went to Tartarus and back that night; nopony’s expecting you to just shrug it off. I’d be more worried if you threw away every last memory you had,” Colgate said reassuringly. She walked closer, and tried to place a hoof on the other mare’s shoulder. Bon Bon flinched away as though she’d been branded. “N-no... don’t... I don’t want you to see me like this,” she mumbled. “Like what?” There was a faint click as a hoof unfolded, and the towel once again fell away. A talon gently caressed the seam of one shoulder. "Like this. A monster. A machine. A half-pony," Bon Bon spat. "You remember me... from before. You've seen what I've become." Her lenses slid back, golden eyes glowering at the blue unicorn. "You're not a monster. Don't you think for a second you're something less because of those augs," Colgate said firmly. The cream pony shook her head vehemently. "No... you don't understand. Not the augs so much. The anger. The rage... I can't control it. I can't." She looked up at Colgate, blinking back hot, humiliated tears. "What am I? I'm not even in control of myself." Her talons scraped against the tiles on the floor as she dragged them back, the augmented mare gradually pulling herself into a miserable, crouched position. Colgate made another move toward her. "Don't! Please! I don't want to hurt you..." Bon Bon trembled with contained emotion. "Please, just stay away from me, Colgate. I'll just hurt you, too. I can't stop myself..." A faint sigh escaped Colgate's lips. "Hiding from the past isn't gonna help, either, Bon Bon." "I'll just ruin you like I did everything else. Like the mirror. Like the photograph..." There was a pregnant pause. "Alright, then." Bon Bon looked up in surprise. Colgate had picked up the gym bag again. "I'll leave you be. If that's what you want.” The cream mare hesitated, then gave a brief nod. “I'll wait for you." "What do you mean?" Bon Bon mumbled, gaze boring into the floor. "If I'm forcing you to confront your past... that's something you've gotta sort out yourself. So, I'll stay away. For now." The unicorn turned to walk away, gym bag over her shoulder. She looked back to Bon Bon, a slight grin on her face. "Just don't keep me waiting up too long, y'hear?" She waited, until it became apparent no reply was forthcoming. The blue unicorn trotted out into the gym, shutting the door behind her. In the centre of the changing room, Bon Bon gradually uncurled, a whispered response coming from between dry lips. "I'll try." ~~~~~~~ Bon Bon rose with a start, her golden eyes flicking open. She raised a hoof to her forehead, rubbing it in response to a faint headache. In fact, her entire body felt slightly out of synch. With a grunt, the unicorn let her head drop back to the pillow. More reminiscing upon the past. Zantos... Why did I remember him? Her last training session with him had only been last week, and yet it felt like an age ago. But then... last night, for once, she hadn't been training on a dummy, or a patient zebra who would pick her up and implore her to try again if she failed. Last night, the enemy was very real, and wanted to kill. Last night, she'd protected real ponies for once. And, loathe as she was to admit it, Bon Bon had felt a thrill at the MANE clinic. The spark, the adrenaline, the purpose, had burned inside the cream pony as she stood in harm's way, and shame and perverse pleasure now blazed in equal measure in the mare's mind as she contemplated it. Likely by now the police and Royal Guards would be swarming over the beleaguered clinic, securing evidence, pulling terrified patients out of their locked-down rooms. But still... she had taken down an entire building under siege single-hoovedly, something she could have only dreamed of back in the police force. For the first time in long time, she gazed down at her augmented limbs not with disgust or horror, but a faint pride. Perhaps she was some use, after all. And then, her positivity broke down as the face of neuromancer drifted across her memory, and the sight of thousands of soul gems disappearing in front of her eyes. Here she was, feeling proud of saving a hoofful of ponies, when her failures in the clinic's basement had put Canterlot into a neuromantic crisis overnight. Bon Bon shook her head and crawled out of bed, groaning at the aches she could feel in the muscles that were no longer there. She scanned through the information her artificial eyes fed into her vision, looking at the time... Nearly two o’ clock. I’ve slept all through the morning?! Well, good morning, sleepyhead! an all-too-cheerful voice exclaimed. Or afternoon, technically. You back in the land of the living yet? Colgate, I don't recall telling you to be my personal alarm clock, Bon Bon grumbled mentally. You've had a long enough lie-in, Colgate retorted. There was a brief pause. Whoa, are you hung-over or something?! Your biometric data does not look healthy at all... That's impossible. Uh, I hate to tell you BB, but you crack open one too many bottles of hard cider to celebrate, you'll be just as bad as the rest— No, I mean it actually is impossible. I have an anti-toxin talisman built right in. ...Have I ever told you how much I hate you sometimes? Don't I know it, Bon Bon remarked dryly. Must be augmentation fatigue... Oh, yeah. Guess that's what you get for gallivanting around all night beating up anti-aug extremists, eh? Colgate... I'm sorry! Just consider it a trade-off for the anti-hangover chip eh? Anyway, get your augmented flank down to your office, and make yourself presentable. You have visitors, Colgate said, her voice taking on a business-like tone. I do? What about? Bon Bon asked. Shouldn't I go down the clinic first? The police must be itching to interview me. Actually, they're up to their eyeballs in suspects and witnesses at the moment, the director's snapping at anypony who looks vaguely important, and the boss is running her own magical investigation of the missing soul gems. I think you can leave it a couple of hours. But who— The mental link closed abruptly, eliciting a frustrated grunt from the unicorn. The dimly-lit room contained several bunk beds for those working irregular hours, although it was currently as deserted as it had been when she’d collapsed into the welcoming folds. Fortunately, the nightmares that normally plagued her sleep had given way to more benevolent memories. After a brief shower in the adjoining bathroom, the augmented mare began gathering up her belongings, rooting through a locker for some additional accessories. On went a lilac Sparkle Industries jumpsuit, with the longcoat swiftly being placed over it. A pair of sturdy black canvas saddlebags were picked up in her telekinesis and placed over her flanks, the armour plates going in one side and the still-folded tranq rifle the other. Ready for anything — or so the unicorn hoped.                  Exiting the room, Bon Bon trotted swiftly to the nearest elevator, tapping the button for her office’s floor. As the doors closed, she idly wondered who might be visiting. It wasn’t as though she had been particularly well-known throughout the company: just another face on the quarterly newsletter. The prestige of being head of the aug harness team had long since been eclipsed by being the tragic sole survivor of the attack.          So... well-wishers, perhaps? Her involvement at the clinic was under wraps, but word must have spread that she had returned from her absence. Maybe the researchers wanting to see how her horn was holding up after a surge of unprecedented activity... or maybe Rarity needed another session abusing her social augs. The mare’s face darkened at that thought.         Whatever it was, Bon Bon just hoped she didn’t have to be the centre of attention too long. Her hoof tentatively pushed open the frosted glass door of her office, and—         “SURPRISE!” -------         Whatever Bon Bon had been expecting from her ‘visitors’, she hadn’t been expecting that. She sat in a stunned pose on her haunches, mouth agape. Her office was crowded with ponies, a banner was hung from the ceiling, and all manner of snacks and treats adorned her desk. In front of her, standing at the entrance to the room, was a pink earth pony with enough augmentations to rival the unicorn’s own.         “Surprise!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “Do you like it? It was supposed to be a ‘Welcome Back’ party, but after you got called away last night, we ended up making it ‘Congratulations, You’re A Unicorn Now!’” The mare beamed at her, bouncing slightly on pink-enamelled legs, each one emitting a few flakes of confetti or bubbles from ports above the hooves as she did so. Springs were faintly visible through translucent pink plastic panels in the limbs. Her blue eyes sparkled and glowed with the aura of implants, and her coat faintly shimmered with ethereal patterns. Bon Bon stared at Pinkie, entranced by the sheer scale of augmentations, before she snapped out of her stupor.         “It’s, uh... ah...” What was she supposed to say? Behind Pinkie, Colgate craned her head around the door and waved sheepishly. “That’s... very kind of you.” The earth pony grinned and wrapped an artificial foreleg around Bon Bon’s shoulders, leading her into the crowded office. Once inside, Bon Bon found a full dozen ponies crammed into the small room, with every available surface used either to hold food and drink or as an impromptu seat.         The augmented pony’s heart lifted a little as she noticed familiar faces: researchers who had been absent or working elsewhere that fateful night. She noted a flicker of pity, or even fear, amongst a couple, but for the most part, the only emotions on show were contentment and acceptance. Bon Bon relaxed just a little as a tide of well-wishing rolled over her. It felt strange... genuine. It startled the mare slightly to realise that she was so used to the masks and facades of Canterlot’s ponies that she’d almost forgotten what real happiness looked like. Maybe Twilight had given something back to her... The unicorn was jerked out of her introspection by a half-heard prompt from one of her guests. She gazed blankly at him for a second, before remembering his face. A junior researcher in the Deep Labs, on vacation when Bon Bon’s world had ended. Fate had dealt with him kindly. “Welcome back,” he repeated.         “Ah... yes.” She felt the expectant gazes of the small crowd upon her, and almost instinctively took a step back, once again fearful of being judged against her past self. But then, there came a faint poke at her foreleg from a deep blue hoof. The mare’s eyes followed the limb up its length, into the reassuring smile of Colgate. Rallying slightly, Bon Bon cleared her throat and retracted her lenses.         “Thank you all... I must admit, I wasn’t expecting this,” she began. “It’s... it’s good to be back.”         “Are you back for good?” a unicorn mare asked. “It’s been difficult ever since the attack...” The mare’s eyes jerked open, and she shuffled her hooves uncomfortably, before dropping her gaze to the floor. “Uh... I mean, not to trivialise what you’ve been through—”         “It’s alright,” Bon Bon reassured her. “I know what you mean. But, as I’m sure you’re aware, we have a new project to assert ourselves with.” She sent a brief burst of magic through her new horn, the black material lighting up in a faint blue glow. Most of the ponies’ eyes went wide with surprise; only a couple had been present during the activation and tests the previous day, the rest having heard only through hearsay that Lyra’s magnum opus had been successful.         “So... you’re coming back to the Labs?”         Bon Bon shook her head. “Unfortunately not, at least for the foreseeable future... I’ll be the test subject for the horn aug so we can have a proper demonstration for AugCon. Although it’s debateable whether Twilight would rather get the MANE clinic running again first.”         “This is getting ridiculous... If Augs aren’t safe in Canterlot, then where are they? Don’t the Princesses care about us any more?” said a male pegasus. His terse questioning sent a ripple of anxiety through the others, and Bon Bon had to hold back an exasperated sigh. She thought this gathering was to welcome her back into the fold, not for her to deliver proclamations to the remnants of Spakle Industries’ elite researchers. Wasn’t that Rarity’s job?         “Look, I realise it’s been a hard year. I know we’ve all had to adjust, and we’ve all had to get over losing... so much...” The augmented pony took a deep breath and continued. “But that does not mean we give in to terrorists and criminals. The Bearers of the Elements didn’t back down in the face of terror, and neither should we. We strive to make ponies’ lives better. I guess I’m living proof of that.” She unfolded a hoof and held it up by way of emphasis. “Ask yourself what Black Dawn wants, or even what the Apple Corps want. Ask yourself what we get if we give up. If we keep up the work we’ve always done, things will get better.” Bon Bon nearly choked on that last, bitter lie as it left her tongue.         Nevertheless, it had the desired effect. The small crowd around her brightened up, and the quiet sound of hooves trampling against the floor in applause filled the room. To her relief, Pinkie came to her aid. “C’mon, everypony! We’re here to have fun as well, y’know!” A generic sort of party music began to play, and the cream pony was slightly taken aback to find that it was playing from within Pinkie’s own augs. The earth pony gave her another smile, and moved away to begin entertaining her guests, leaving Bon Bon to sink down onto the sofa, next to Colgate.         After a moment’s awkward silence, Colgate ventured, “Well, that was a helluva speech.”         Half a dozen things she could say passed through Bon Bon’s mind, but she simply responded with a simple “Thanks.”         “So... are we on speaking terms again? Or just through the ol’ Hydra? I mean—”         “Yes.” Bon Bon interrupted. “Yes, of course we are. I’m sorry... I should never have pushed you away like that.”         “It’s fine,” Colgate replied. “I don’t blame you. Just as long as you’re back in the land of the living, I’m happy. I have to admit, I didn’t think you had it in you to pull something like that out of the air. You been taking lessons from Rarity?”         “I guess... I dunno. Last night changed me. I don’t know what made me jump in like that, but I’m glad I did it. I’m done giving in to... whatever it is trying to drag us all down. I want to fight back.”           The blue unicorn recoiled slightly in mock surprise. “Whoa, there. You really are serious about it, ain’tcha? Just... try to remember who’s on your side, OK? I don’t really want to be on the receiving end of one of your takedowns.” Bon Bon gave a chuckle, and the pair of ponies fell into silence again, watching the party from the side. Involuntarily, the cream pony rubbed her shoulders, wincing from the aches and pains of augmentation fatigue.         Almost immediately, Pinkie was standing beside her, a plate stacked high with baked goods balanced across the earth pony’s back. “Ooooh, I nearly forgot! These are for you!” the pink mare exclaimed, reaching up with an unfolded hoof similar to Bon Bon’s. The cream mare stared at the proffered snacks, each one a dark block of cake with a heavy, treacly texture that positively oozed sweetness. They looked as though they would sit on the stomach as lightly as a lump of reinforced concrete.         Gingerly, Bon Bon levitated one of the cakes, and took a tentative bite. Almost instantly, she felt a rush of energy through her body, the heaviness in her limbs lifting somewhat. Without regard for present company, the cream unicorn devoured the rest of the bar, and the other three bars held in Pinkie’s hoof. When she was finished, her stomach felt utterly full, but the grogginess that had plagued the mare since awakening had left completely. She felt good.         “Mmmf... those were great...” Bon Bon mumbled quietly.         “Oh, I know! I only started making this recipe last week, and I’ve already lost count of how many I’ve had!” Pinkie said happily. “Good thing I’ve got a whole factory for making these!” The augmented unicorn noted her wastepaper bin, which was overflowing with the distinctive pink packaging of the Sugarcube Corner Company.         “And there goes my aug fatigue,” the cream pony said, swinging a foreleg back and forth in appreciation. “How did you get the magic to transfer so fast?”         “You’ll have to ask Pumpkin Cake about that! And even then, it’s all ‘glucose crystalline matrix’ this and ‘accelerated arcane injection’ that... Just don’t tell her it’s ‘just enchanting sugar’. I did that once, and she threw a baking tray at me.” Pinkie raised her gaze to the ceiling in thought. “Or was it a cake tin?” She shook her head and smiled. “Anyway! I guess I can say these are Sparkle Industries–approved, huh?” A pink hoof pointed out the mere crumbs left on the plates.         “Well, I—” was all Bon Bon could say before she was interrupted.         “You bet, Pinkie!” Colgate exclaimed. “I mean, the magical saturation level in the sugar crystals must be near the thaumaturgical limit for that high an arcane osmosis rate, and it tastes incredible. Most stuff this rich in enchanted crystals tastes awful, but you’ve nailed it!”         “Great!” Pinkie bounced away before Bon Bon could get another word in. She turned to Colgate with a vengeful look.         “What?” the blue unicorn asked innocently.         “You realise Rarity’s gonna throw a fit if — no, when — Pinkie actually puts ‘Sparkle Industries–approved’ on the packaging, right?” Colgate shrugged. “Ah, I’m sure she needs a little bit of excitement in her ivory tower. If Rarity survived in the desert without murdering Pinkie, I think she’ll let this pass.” She looked thoughtful for a second. “Did you know she still twitches if you say ‘chimicherrychanga’?” Bon Bon frowned. “Uh... no, I didn’t, actually. And for future reference, please don’t try and sound all scientific when talking about enchanted food. I was cringing inwardly when you said that.” “What? Magical sugary stuff goes in, augs run better, right?” The blue unicorn grinned mischievously. The cream pony sighed in exasperation. In the crudest sense, Colgate was right; augs ran on energy from their owner’s own body, which was supplied by blood sugar and the innate magic from the owner. Heavy use of augs resulted in fatigue, just like natural muscles would after exertion. Although this could replenish itself over time, augmentation fatigue could be spirited away sooner by intaking more sugar and magic. In a happy symbiosis, raw magic could be stably held in crystalline structures for later use: crystals such as gemstones... or salt and sugar. Snacks to help ward off such ailments were big business, and Pinkie’s own experience as a baker had led her and Sugarcube Corner to a prominent position amongst the augmented populace. That simplification hacked down the intricacies of Aug nutrition to an almost criminal degree... Yeah, let’s go with that,” Bon Bon said resignedly. “Anyway, this isn’t the time for serious talk. It’s meant to be a party!” The blue unicorn hopped out of her seat. “C’mon.” Bon Bon followed her back into the middle of the room, much to the delight of Pinkie. And as the ponies moved around her to the sounds of merriment, and the eyes that followed her did so with benevolence, rather than disgust or fear, the augmented mare felt for a brief second something she hadn’t felt for an age. Peace. -------         Several hours later, the party had died down. The guests had left, the decorations and food cleared away, and the office returned to its normal, sombre state. Bon Bon looked at her desk, where a few choice items had been left behind: a small employee identity card that Colgate assured her would mark her out as Twilight’s ‘personal assistant’ and give her access to the ransacked MANE clinic, and two of Pinkie’s cakes in bright pink wrappers, themselves wrapped in a piece of florid paper. She placed the snacks in her saddlebag and tucked the card into an inner pocket of her longcoat.         The cream pony looked at her personal terminal, left untouched in her six-month absence. By now, Twilight probably had had every scrap of evidence she’d been able to scrounge up sent there. If only Bon Bon had time to just sit down and look through it, maybe there would be something there that could put her mind at ease...         With a wistful sigh, she left it behind and shut the door. Not now. The raid on the MANE clinic was far more urgent than chasing shadows half a year old. Swallowing a faint feeling of unease, the longcoat-clad unicorn made her way to the elevator, heading down to the lobby.         As she walked out through the ornate doors and into Canterlot, a wintry gust caused the mare to shiver. It was now dark, the sky still stained with the last remnants of sunset. Bon Bon pulled the coat a little tighter, glad for the thick layers she wore. She trotted purposefully through the streets, following a well-remembered path to the clinic. Or at least, she would have. Groups of disgruntled-looking ponies were sitting on the street’s side warned her of congestion ahead, and even from a few blocks away, it was clear the roads around the clinic were closed.         Ignoring the warnings, the cream pony pressed on to her destination. As she made her way closer, the cause of the blockage became evident. The barricades from the night before were still erected, and now mostly manned by Royal Guards. Each of the armoured white stallions wielded their traditional spears and piercing gazes, turning away any who tried to gain entry with curt replies. A few police officers were also standing inside the barricade, all wearing their customary royal blue collars.         Bon Bon approached the barricade, pulling out her card as one of the guards trotted closer, evidently already weary from turning away others.         “Ma’am, this area—”         “I’m here on official business. Twilight Sparkle requires me,” she interrupted. The stallion frowned at the piece of identification, before allowing a brief nod. He pulled open a small gap in the barrier with his magic, and allowed her to enter.         “Miss Sparkle is in the lower basement, although I’m sure you’ll be directed there by one of the police officers. They certainly seem to want to control everything else,” he told her, a slight note of bitterness in his voice. Don’t be jealous if you’re going to cling to the past, Bon Bon thought. There was more than a little friction between the the ancient Royal Guard and the far newer police force. The augmented pony picked her way across the debris-strewn enclave, noting that the abandoned placards from the protest had been broken up and burned in small bonfires to keep the guards warm. Odd... Touched a nerve, perhaps?         The clinic looked far worse for wear than when she had arrived for her appointment the previous morning. One of the wooden doors had been torn off its hinges, the lobby’s ransacked furnishings were piled against the sides, and the walls were damaged with burn marks and bullet holes. Evidently, the forensic teams had moved on from here; only a few police ponies loitered around the area, apparently on guard duty. In the centre of the room, a dark grey earth pony was being pestered by a petite chestnut brown unicorn mare.         Bon Bon recognised Iron Clad from his deep green mane and shield cutie mark, metallic forelegs pawing anxiously at the ground and lips pursing as the mare laid into him. She drew closer, out of pure curiosity. The mare had a luxuriant golden mane and tail, both bearing the chaotic, unbrushed look of a stressed pony, and a cutie mark in the form of a black alpha symbol.         “This is completely unacceptable!” the mare snapped. “My clinic in ruins, several staff injured or even dead, and you couldn’t even extract any useful information from the prime suspect before allowing him to be murdered in his cell?! You incompetents dare to call yourselves the protectors of law and order in this city?”         “The TrueSight aug is still months from deployment! You expect us to extract information from somepony who has no memory of the night before?” Iron Clad retorted.      “Who claimed he no memory of the night before. There’s an important difference. Regardless, I thought you would be able to at least guard him from assassination until the aug does become available.” The unicorn looked as though she was ready to spit acid at the unfortunate stallion. “And now this city is hurtling toward a neuromantic crisis, all thanks to a ragtag bunch of fanatics." Iron Clad looked like he was about to protest when the mare cut him off. “Just interrogate the others, if that’s within your remit. The fact that we had to enlist the help of Princess Celestia’s protégé and her pet project is embarrassing enough. Give me some reason to still have faith in your authority.” With that, she turned on her hoof and marched away from the stallion. Bon Bon walked over to him when the other unicorn was out of earshot. “Trouble?” she asked quietly. A relieved look appeared on his face as he turned to her.         “Bon Bon!” he exclaimed. “I was wondering when you were gonna show up. You feeling OK after last night?”         “Yeah... A little aug fatigue, but I’m over it.” She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Friend of yours?” she said, nodding at the chestnut mare, who was now haranguing a Royal Guard unfortunate enough to be passing her.         “Ugh, hardly. That’s Alpha Wave, director of this fine clinic, and probably the most outspoken member of MANE in Canterlot. Or as I prefer to put it less diplomatically, the queen meanie of MANE.” He scowled at the little unicorn. “Look at her. Not even in the clinic when the attack happened, and now she’s running around making noises like she was tied up next to that bomb.”         “Just impotent rage. She’s probably just feeling the guilt for it being her clinic that got attacked, despite it not being her fault,” Bon Bon said.         “I’d like to write it off as that, but the way she treats the police, and her own staff... Trust me, I’ve seen the darker side of that mare one too many times to think of her as an innocent victim,” Iron Clad replied.  You and me both, Bon Bon thought, remembering the message about Subject Sherbert she had taken the night before.         “So, I take it you re-took the clinic without too much trouble?” she asked. “I heard a lot of noise while I was waiting to be extracted, but I wasn’t sure if...” The mare left the sentence hanging.         Iron Clad shook his head. “No, there weren’t any casualties, at least on our side. We had a couple of battle mages from the Guard shield us when we charged in here. Threw in a bunch of strobe grenades, and most of them went down without too much fuss. We had a few rookies take injuries, but nothing major. I think they forgot we have access to arcane shields and stun spells,” he said with a small smirk. “For all their bravado and big guns, they scattered like little foals when we came storming in.”         “Well, I’m glad I could help, at least. For what good it did...”         “It was a lot of good, Bon Bon. Those hostages weren’t coming out of there alive until you showed up, and you saved a lot of lives by scouting out the clinic. Don’t get yourself down.” He gestured toward the staircase. “I’ll take you downstairs. Miss Sparkle is trying to make some sense of that unicorn who stole the soul gems... and the other pony you found down there.” They began to walk toward the stairs.         The augmented mare’s ears pricked up at that, remembering it from Alpha Wave’s rant. “Wait... he wasn’t the ‘prime suspect’, was he?” Iron Clad looked embarrassed, not quite meeting Bon Bon’s eyes. “What?! You let the ringleader be assassinated? How is that even possible? The main police station’s a fortress!” she exclaimed.         “Look, just keep your voice down, alright?” Bon Bon glared at him, but allowed him to continue. “When he woke back up, he was just like he was when you found him, flipping back and forth between that calm personality and the rambling one that claimed innocence. We placed him in a shielded cell to ensure he wouldn’t use magic to break his way out if it came to pass.”         “...And?”         “And he stayed as the rambling personality. Don’t know what happened, but he stopped switching. We managed to tease a little information out of him, but he was nearly mad with panic, and from what we could tell, he could only remember things that happened while he was in control of his body. We decided to leave him until we could get a doctor in, somepony who could calm him down.”         “So he was under guard this entire time?” Bon Bon asked carefully.         Iron Clad nodded. “Armed guard, cameras, the lot. We asked for a doctor, we got a MANE agent instead. I can only presume Alpha Wave sent one of her finest cronies after him for their own interrogation.”         The augmented mare stopped for a second. They were now in the corridor where she had duped the unfortunate Black Dawn member the night before, this part of the clinic still looking relatively undisturbed, apart from the wreckage of the fire extinguisher and the smashed crate. A pair of Royal Guards flanked the double doors to the soul gem room, peering at the two intently.         “Should have seen her. A griffon with enough augs to look like a machine. Not exactly someone you say ‘no’ to, particularly when their credentials check out,” he continued. “What did she want? What did MANE want, for that matter?” “Him. She wanted a little chat with that unicorn, same as we did. Said something about suspected neuromantic abuse in his behaviour. Stalled her as long as we could; who did she think she was, taking a suspect out of custody before even we had a chance to interview him? Ten minutes later, we find him dead in his cell. Slit throat, almost deep enough to take his head off.” He rubbed the back of his head with a metallic hoof. “Damned if we couldn’t find any way he did it. Magically restrained, no sharp objects, nothing seen by the guard or cameras. Nothing.” Bon Bon sagged and let out an exasperated sigh. “You mean this stallion is dead?” she asked quietly, her weary voice carrying a hint of annoyance. “A stallion I was very hard-pressed to keep alive after what he did to the neuromancer, and who probably was the only one who knew what was going on that night? Not only dead, but apparently murdered without any evidence or anypony noticing his attacker?” Iron Clad began backing away from her slowly. An embarrassed flush appeared on his cheeks. “Bon Bon, there’s a lot of weird stuff going on with this raid. The Everfrees and the Black Dawn members thought they were here for completely different reasons. Those bomb collars and the weapons they were using were at home on a battlefield in the Griffon Kingdoms. A unicorn who could teleport away the contents of an entire room at once. And that... stallion. Look, at this point I’m not sure what to think about any of this,” said Iron Clad, staring uneasily at the door to the soul gem room. Despite his grand stature and intimidating augmentations, the stallion looked lost. Bon Bon took pity on him and nudged him with her shoulder. “Yeah, I’ve been getting that feeling too. Just do what you’ve always been best at doing, Clad. It’ll turn out alright.” “Heh, thanks. Now...” He turned to the door. “You sure about this? Miss Sparkle... I’ve never seen her looking as cold as when she went into that room.” “I charged in here last night, didn’t I?” Bon Bon frowned. “Look, she’s got me by the tail. She knows what I really want. I want the heads of the ponies who killed Lyra, and my friends, and my researchers. Yes, I’m her pet project. The machine ready to do her bidding. But this... this is just busywork. I’m using her as much as she’s using me. I’ll get through this, do what she wants, and then I’m going to keep digging till I find the bottom of this. Because what they forgot—and what she forgot—was that I have nothing to lose, and nothing to stop me.” A predatory grimace appeared on her face. “So, yes. I am sure about this.” Iron Clad said nothing, but he smiled slightly and nodded. The augmented mare made her way past the guards, waiting for the heavy double doors to open. She took a deep breath before stepping inside, and as she did so, her cochlear implants picked up the merest whisper from the stallion behind her: “Good luck.” ------- Augmentation Activated Cranium: Social Amplifier One of the most common neural implants, the Social Amplifier lives up to its name, by covertly increasing awareness of ‘tells’ when others are lying, persons in a state of heightened emotion, and even spurring the user to inspire or persuade others. Although it has no magical or chemical effect on others and no visual display like more expensive implants, the Social Amplifier enjoys a following amongst the cultural and business elite alike. ------- Many thanks to Burraku_Pansa and to Darth Rex from SALT for pre-reading, and to KibugamiKenzo for the incredible cover art. Questions, comments, critiques? Get in touch at melonhunter42@gmail.com