//------------------------------// // Voices from the Stars // Story: Shadowbolt: Origin // by Recovery15 //------------------------------// Chapter Three: Voices from the Stars Twilight walked out of Starfire's room knowing full well that the filly would probably be out of bed with in moments of her leaving. However, she had more important things to do. While the cough medicine was useful, she preferred Poesy's potions over the terrible doctor's cough powder. Turning the corner, she walked out the palace to the slave quarters. Upon her arrival, she could tell something was off. Normally, she would be hit by the white furred mass of Surprise, but the hyperactive Pegasus was nowhere to be seen. Her friends were already in their small rooms, when normally they were in the small entry room talking about the crap they went through that day. Walking to the room she shared with her sister, she heard crying. She opened the door to find Firefly comforting a distraught Ruby. The red earth pony was sobbing something completely incoherent. Twilight walked over to Firefly and asked, "Why is Ruby so sad? She's never like this." "I don't know," responded the pink Pegasus."She came in about ten minutes ago saying something about Surprise. Then she ended up like this," Twilight conjured up a small rag and gave it to Ruby, who took it and wiped her eyes on it. "OK," said Twilight. "Start from the beginning, Ruby. What happened to Surprise?" . "It was awful, Twilight!" Ruby shouted. "She and I were in the kitchen doing our end of the day cleanup, when this guard walked in and began accusing her of attacking another guard. Surprise denied it, but the guard tried to arrest her. She ended up hitting him, and he called several others and they dragged her away! It sounded like they were taking her to the Cave!" They all shuddered at the name. The Cave was a reformatory deep underneath Batlantis. The slaves had a different name for it: Hell Mountain. The name referenced the original, which was a separate mountain just outside Batlantis. It had been moved about a year ago, when Ruby's big brother, Tex, led a supposedly unsuccessful escape. Most of the slaves involved were caught, but several, including Tex, went missing. Most sane ponies left as raving psychopaths, but Surprise was already crazy. How would she react? ___________________________________________________Meanwhile_______________ Starfire had finally made it to the source of the flash. It was a small crater in her mothers garden. Inside was what appeared to be a necklace with a silver pendant on it that glowed aquamarine. It seemed to be undamaged, but either way, it was very creepy. Her curious mind finally convinced her that fear was just dumb and she finally worked up the courage to touch it. As soon as she did, though, she regretted it. The necklace pulsed and fastened itself around her neck. A green glow poured over her body as the thing seemed to scan her. It took all of Starfire's willpower not to scream. Finally, it ended, leaving Starfire encased in a strange feeling covering. Opening her eyes, she gasped at what she saw. Her uniform had become a beautiful mesh of light metal and fiber. It was still the exact same shades of purple and black, but it gave her a feeling of power. Upon shifting her wings, she discovered something else: two blade-like bands extended over her wings, similar to those worn by guards. Her fore hooves were wrapped in gauntlets with two slits in each. When she focused on them, two wicked sharp blades slipped out. Looking at her wings, she saw the wing blades enshrouded by blue energy. Amazed, she saw the necklace was still on her neck, but it was as if it was part of the armor. Speaking aloud, she asked herself,"What is this?" 'Project Recovery armor unit number 54796475, designated out of service and placed in hands of Recovery agent 15,' came a smooth female voice. Starfire jolted, and looked around for the source. Seeing nopony, she called out, "H-Hello? Who's out there?" 'No need to panic,' came the voice. 'I am AI unit 3649... I mean, I'm Trinity. I mean you no harm. I must say, you have an exceptionally large brain for an equine.' Now Starfire was panicking. The voice was coming fromINSIDE her mind. She spoke up again. "Where are you, Ms. Trinity?" The voice responded with a chuckle. 'Oh, I'm so sorry for startling you. I'm a part of the armor. If you would like, I can appear as a hologram. You know what that is, right?' When Starfire nodded, the pendant flashed, projecting a bright blue unicorn mare directly in front of Starfire. Oddly, it looked like Twilight. When it spoke, the voice matched the mare's lips. 'Now, listen. I don't expect you to believe me, but you may be in danger. I need you to do everything I tell you, ok? Good. now, do you have any questions?' Starfire thought for a minute, then asked, "How do I take this off? I mean, its cool and all, but i'm just curious." 'Easy,' responded Trinity. 'Just tap the pendant. But be aware, I will still be in your head.' Starfire tapped the pendant and sure enough, the armor simply vanished like it had appeared, albeit with out the pain. Turning, she flew off in the direction of her room. Upon arrival, she closed the balcony window and crawled into bed. Almost immediately, she fell asleep. ________________________________________________________________________________ Trinity wasted no time after her host fell asleep. She began digging through memories to learn about the world she was now on. Then, using the pendant's broadcaster and the castle as a satellite, she broadcasted a short message. 'This is AI unit Trinity to AI unit Prometheus. I have landed on a strange world and need assistance. I'm afraid 'Latowee will be here soon. Please, the host I integrated to is a small child. I don't want to put her through the hell you and Captain St... I mean Recovery 15 went through.' Satisfied with her message, Trinity sent it, hoping that the wrong ears wouldn't hear it. Her hopes would soon prove in vain.