//------------------------------// // Chill // Story: Wired // by canonkiller //------------------------------// Spider's tail flicked idly as he grazed, bones starkly shadowed in the daylight. He glanced over at Pumpernickel, her coat looking much healthier than his own. Of course, being her... "Why're ya so skinny, Spida?" "I don't have much money to spend on food, Pumpernickel. And whatever I have, I spend on you." "Why?" He sighed, pulling up another dusty mouthful of dying grass. "Because I can live like this." The filly pouted, scuffing a hoof in the dirt. Spider's ears pricked as she sighed. "I... I don' want ya tah die." He looked back at her, her ears pinned back and eyes cast down, a small rock being her current focus. "Pumpernickel..." He trotted over, aware of how rigid his shoulders were as he reached out to embrace her, unable to keep from staring at his joints grinding at the underside of his skin. "I'm not going anywhere." "I... I know." She sighed, leaning into him. His heartbeat pounded loud and clear under his skin. "But..." Spiderwick pressed a gentle hoof to her mouth to silence her. "No buts. I'm here. I'm not leaving." She mumbled something inaudible and snuggled closer. Spiderwick held her for a few minutes, until she withdrew. He continued grazing, the brown weeds suddenly seeming ashy in his mouth. "Pumpernickel?" "Yeah?" She looked up from another rock she had unearthed, dirt and grass clinging to her hooves. "We'll go into the city tomorrow, and I'll get us some real food, okay?" She grinned widely, and began kicking the rock around the small meadow, laughing. As she was distracted, he frowned. A dim light shone in his eyes as three golden lines banded down from his mane to his cheek, marking it like a claws' wound. I thought you weren't ever going to reactivate. Spider frowned. Hello again, Warden. His ears pinned back as he thought back to the metal box under the stands, dusty and disguised in the old tent. He could almost feel the metal Kickers back on his hooves, and he couldn't withhold a smile. The voice seemed to grin in return. The pleasure is all mine, Spiderwick. Or should I say, convict 716? ----- Crescent buzzed her wings, pacing outside of Clover's cell. On one side was the cell, the steel bars ringing as Clover kicked them angrily. On her other side was the dull-eyed Pegasus, ears pricked and following her footsteps, wings half-folded. As the blind mare flapped her wings to stretch them, the white feathers revealed their red tips, the transition between the two colors a mere blur. "Clover." He looked up, the last kick resounding in the small hallway. "Tell Redheart..." The mare's eyes darkened. "My name is Anastasia." Crescent glared back, Wiring brightening as a warning. "Tell Anastasia exactly why you killed her father." "Well... ah... you see..." Clover stepped back from the bars, his eyes widening as Anastasia loomed towards him. "I-I-I was-" "Lady Crescent!" A heavily armored guard thundered down the stairs, folding into a bow at the Changeling's hooves. "At ease." She rolled her eyes. "I was in the middle of an investigation. This better be good." "Uh, yes, Lady Crescent. There is a visitor upstairs for you, he refuses to speak to the guards or any official." "Ugh. Clover, answer any question she has. Anastasia, don't kill him." She glared at the two before following the guard back up to the main floor. Standing in the pristine whitewashed waiting room was a tall Changeling. Unlike most of them, he wore a dark black cape, closed around his neck with a golden clasp. His eyes flashed with Wiring glow as he yelled at the poor receptionist. "And you think you have any right to defy the wishes of Lord Faction Silverfang?!" He screeched, stomping a hoof. His wings buzzed, throwing his cape up like a parachute. "Father!" Crescent shouted, standing between him and the cowering worker. "Ah, Crescent! It's been so long!" His mood changed instantly, sweeping the mare into a hug. She growled, struggling free. "Why are you here?" "Can't a dad visit his daughter every so often?" He grinned, an expression that faded quickly under Crescent's steady glare. "Ah... well... your mother said I should come ask you something." "What?" "She wants you to rejoin the Silverfang pack. Not me. Her." Crescent bristled, Wiring glowing as she hissed. "I cut all ties to your stupid pack the second I took my name as a Lady. There's nothing you can do to bring me back." "You're a free spirit, Crescent, but you need to settle down at somepoint, find a male, have some kids..." "That's what this is about?!' Crescent screamed, tail whipping. "Me having kids!?" "Well, your mother-" "For goodness sake, if I cared what mother thought I would have stayed a Silverfang!" Her Wiring glowed as she pulsed out the summons to the other Rainstreaks, Torch's wireless summon the only one her father could have possibly heard. Luckily, he wasn't listening to the hive mind at the moment. "Look, Crescent, you should really settle down, before you get too old to find yourself a husband... wouldn't that be easier? There's a bunch of single stallions in Silverfang, I'm sure they'd love to meet you." Crescent grit her teeth, taking a few steps back as the front door slammed open, her own pack rallying to her sides. Torch took up his regular place beside her, laying a wing across her side. "And, Lord Faction, you are on Rainstreak territory. Will you take your leave willingly, or will you need to get your flank handed to you on a platter?" He glanced between each of the Changelings, fear slowly beginning to radiate off of him. "I'll go." He blurted, his horn lighting as he teleported away. Crescent immediately relaxed, her wings folding and her ears flicking back to neutral. "Thanks, guys. There's not really any way to get him to do anything without overpowering him." "I feel bad for your mom." Leeway chimed, sitting down with a heavy sigh. "Imagine that bullhead after dark." "Stop it, you." Raven chided, sitting down on a chair as well. Crescent rolled her eyes. "I'll only be a few more minutes, and then we can go see if there's any new recruits at the market. Just let me talk to Anastasia..." The Pegasus in question slammed the door open, stalking past them with eyes blazing furiously. She flicked her ears to find the door, and blew out, kicking the offending exit shut on the way by. The Changelings sat in short silence, each one taking a few moments to unravel the ball of emotion in her wake. "Well." Crescent chirped. "I guess we can go now." ----- Anastasia quickly discovered it was raining heavily, the cold water soaking through her feathers and lowering her tail until it dragged on the ground. She blinked to clear the stinging sensation in her eyes - briefly wondering why the stupid things could hurt if they couldn't see - and lifted her ears, able to define surfaces by the noises they made under the pounding storm. To her left, a gutter flooded with rain and dead leaves, a passer-by cursing as the puddles it formed soaked his fur. Behind her, a metal drainpipe rattled, obviously clogged with something. On her right was the brick wall of some building, the usual in this city. No, not 'this city'. She had to learn to call it by its' proper name. Even if it wasn't her hometown Stormdale, which hovered above and couldn't hold criminals of the unwinged kind, the Wired-In city of Ponyville was a major piece in her father's game. Her game, now. Her hooves buzzed as her new Earth Wiring resounded into the concrete, her hooves leading where her eyes couldn't. She'd learned a lot from the conversation with that criminal, despite herself. Her wings flared angrily, and she shook her head, clearing emotion to let in solid facts. Fact; her father had been shot by a pony employed by... a gang. Fact; Entropy Enterprises was immersed in the black market, and almost every worker knew something about somepony they shouldn't. Fact; the sun and moon she could envision above her were not themselves. Fact; the energy around Canterlot and Sharptooth mountain was the true sun and moon. Fact; her father was shot for plans to release them. Fact; and now, she was going to. She snorted again, feeling suddenly weak and vulnerable. Anypony could be watching her right now, and she wouldn't know. Her nerves spiked as she imagined the triple-needled nozzle of a Cannonbolt or Firedart aimed towards her, a pony shrouded in darkness ready to fire... Heart racing, she ducked into the nearest doorway she could find. The room inside was strangely quiet for having an unlocked door, and she glanced around blindly to try and determine her surroundings. Behind her, the door clicked shut. She spun, grasping onto the last shreds of the noise to reflect her surroundings, but the sound faded before she could discover anything new. Something metal squeaked, and paper resettled. Four hooves landed on the floor. "Hello." The speaker was strangely quiet, as if it meant to keep her in the dark. She spread her wings threateningly, snorting. "Now, now, no need for such aggressiveness." Two wings pushed hers closed, and a hoof lifted her chin. A Pegasus. One slight fact against her captor. And feathers, too. UnWired. Female by voice. Anastasia growled, taking a step back. "Why did you shut the door?!" "Oh. I'm sorry. Would you prefer the backdrop of a roaring storm? I'm sure you'll find it's still unlocked." The mare sounded like she rolled her eyes, and the out-of-place humming twinkle of magic filled the room. "Y-you're an Alicorn?!" The sound stopped, followed by settling paper and a metallic clink. "Oh. I know you. You're name is... Arabia? Albania? Alexstraza?" "Anastasia." Inwardly, she was happy this pony knew her by her chosen name. Outwardly, she frowned. "So, of course you would see me as an Alicorn. The truth is, I'm an inventor. Unfortunately, Pegasi aren't taken very seriously in the intricate machine department. So, I made myself a horn. Channels the natural magic of the earth and the ponies around it the same way a Unicorn's does. I wish I had made more when I still had some moonstone." The voice trailed off in a frown. "Anyhow, I created robots and machines for the cities and weapons for the armies. And, admittedly, the gangs." Anastasia blinked, feeling herself smiling despite every part of her telling her not to. "Can you make a blind pony see?" "I can try." The voice beamed. "Oh, I'm being rude, not introducing myself." A hoof wound under Anastasia's, shaking it in greeting. "The name's Cinnamon." ----- Nox jumped as a loud slam emenated from the Reaver. Lone quickly joined him as a frenzied discussion took place between Cinnamon and another mare. There was the loud shout of 'Y-you're an Alicorn?!' before the speaker cut off with a click. Lone slowly turned to look at Nox, his fearful expression matching Lone's. "Cinnamon's an..." Nox gulped. "W-we've never seen her in-pony, have we?" "N-no." Lone shook his head. "She never told us which race she was, either." Silence reigned as they watched the Reaver, it's hidden gears clicking as it idled. The speaker snapped once, and Cinnamon's voice returned. "Sorry guys, had a bit of a surprise visitor. Anything exciting happen?" "No." Nox replied, his voice seeming hollow. The Reaver tilted it's head, cameras adjusting on the Kirin. "Are you okay? You don't look too good." Lone glanced at his partner, his usual dark fur having taken on a pale, wet sheen. His pupils dilated as he blinked, and his wings trembled. "I-I think I'm going to be sick." "What?! Why?" Nox cantered off behind a building, tail flicking and sides heaving. Wolf flinched and turned back to the Reaver. "He's just a bit shaken by such a big discovery." "Hm." The cameras flicked over to where he had vanished before scanning the area. "I guess we should start going through some houses. Remember, there's no real information on Crystal Ponies, so any bit of culture counts. I'm taking pictures all the time, too, so if you find something you can't move, call on me." With that, the Reaver began trotting off to explore. Nox walked back out of the alley, still pale-faced, and met Wolf's eyes. Are you going to ask her? He mouthed. Lone shook his head. Later, once we're done here. Out loud, he added, "Come on, let's see what we can find." Nox nodded, a little bit of color returning to his face. "Y-yeah. How 'bout here?" He pointed a wing at the house behind Wolf. It was a pale pink, with yellow shutter and doors. Small, brown crystals littered the planters in front of the door, and - even stranger - small, purple flowers grew out of them. Lone quickly uprooted a mouthful of them and deposited them into his saddlebag, one of Cinnamon's handy 'infinipockets' taking the mouthful with ease. He had never questioned how she had made such complicated creations, and never sold them. With her heritage at doubt, however... Lone shook his head violently. She's still the same pony we've been adventuring with. He remembered her Plainswalker malfunction back in the Amarezon, the shining tan machine caught belly-deep in a bogswicker's pool. With a start, he realized that, like with the bogswicker, they had traveled beyond the reach of encyclopedias and research. Where the Amarezon held a wolf-like amphibian with venomous teeth and a spiked back, a Crystal Kingdom held much more potential. He stumbled over a small ridge, finding himself face-to-face with a charcoal stallion, his white mane a pale shock against his face. He went to speak, only to realize he had been facing his own reflection. "A pool?" He looked up, noticing the elaborate, dry spouts, each one shaped after a different monster, all but the dragon at the peak unknown to him. "A fountain?" He dipped a hoof in, retracting it as the icy water stung his skin. Glancing away to check for frostbite - it hurt quite a bit - he lost his visual of the fountain. When he looked back, a set of bright blue eyes looked back. He gulped. These ones were not his.