Among the Ruins

by SteampunkBrony

6: Repercussions

The pain in my chest was officially the second worst pain I had ever felt. I could feel my blood dissolving the bullet and the nanobots healing the wound, but it was still agonizing. I held back from vocalizing my pain as I carefully lay down after the teleport.

“Twily!” Shining rushed to my side as soon as he recovered from the teleportation.

“I'll... be fine... just need... time.” I gasped through the pain. “Keep... shield...”

“You've been shot you need medical attention!”

“Nanobots... heal,” I said. Soon enough, the marble sized hole in my chest was sealed. I glanced around and saw that the princesses were not with us, no doubt working to contain any panic at the press conference. The pain had spread through my chest, it was almost unbearable, but was fading where the bullet had pierced.

“Bucking eco-terrorists... They just won't stop, they are so hell bent on ending industry that they don't care who they hurt to do it...” Shining said, levitating me over onto a nearby couch and laying my on my back.

“Thanks,” I said, starting to breathe easier as my lungs slowly repaired themselves, although the pain had spread past my chest as the nanobots worked. “Send someone to tell... Celestia that I'm fine. We need to show them... that they didn't succeed.”

“That's... actually a good idea. You there, go tell Celestia that Twilight is stable.” Shining called to a bewildered guard. “We need to stop a panic. If anypony asks how, tell them that the bullet missed anything vital.”

“S-sir!” The pegasus guard responded with a sharp salute and darted out the nearest window.

“Good... that'll help stop a panic. I'm guessing that was televised?” I asked, the wave of pain passing through my head, causing me to shudder.

“Yes, unfortunately they picked a perfect time for a political shooting.” Shining said, his voice low. “Are you sure you're alri-”

Suddenly the windows rattled as Luna's voice echoed across the castle grounds. “SILENCE THY SCREAMING AND CEASE THINE INQUIRES, LEST WE HAVE THE LOT OF YOU LOCKED UP UNTIL WE CAN RESOLVE THIS ISSUE!”

“It appears they have things under control.” I said, with a dry chuckle. “Real smooth...”

“It's the press Twily.” Shining said, releasing the shield. The few drops of acid that weren’t held in the wound landed harmlessly on the floor, burning small pits in the stone. “This was pretty par for the course when it comes for press meetings now.”

“You're joking, right?” I deadpanned, receiving a look from Shining that told me he wasn't. “I suppose if you give the crazies enough to work off of, they'll find some excuse to cause a ruckus.” The pain faded as it reached the tips of my hooves, allowing me to relax. That was strange... although I suppose getting shot in the chest is different than glass impaling me.

“Oh you have no idea...” Shining said with a sigh. “At least I was still around to help with that shield or else we would have a lot more of a problem... I was only in town for the swearing in of the new Captain of the Day Guard, a week either way and this would have been very different.”

“Yeah no kidding,” I said, “I think we ought to go find my friends, show them I'm okay.”

As I stood and started to walk down the hall, Shining continued. “At least they weren’t aiming for Celestia or Luna, nopony has tried that yet... Perhaps now they'll take my advice and wear some kind of protective clothing to these meetings. I've been saying for months that they should.”

“It's kind of sad to see it's come to that though...” I said, rounding the corner only to get bowled over by a fast flying Rainbow Dash.

“Ooh... what did I hit?” Dash asked, dazed.

“You know Dash... I'm pretty sure flying is still not allowed in the castle halls for just this reason...” I said, dragging myself to my hooves.

“Twilight! You're okay!” I heard Pinkie call as she ran up, followed by the rest of my friends and my parents.

“Yeah, it takes more than that to kill me now.” I said with a chuckle.

“What? Did you have to face some kind of toxic mutants in the ruins?” Dash asked sarcastically.

“Yes.” I said with a chuckle at their faces. “Those Nanoplauges weren’t all lethal, but I don't think any were beneficial...”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I had just been scavenging a jewelry shop for various nick-knacks when I first heard it, a low, guttural grunt coming from outside the shop. I froze, not sure what to make of the strange sound after so much silence. I wondered if it was another survivor as I moved to the shadows by the front window.

I'll never forget what I saw. The creature looked like it had been a pony once, but it was bloated and disfigured to the point that it was difficult to tell. Its skin looked like shimmering metal as it shambled down the street, and its eyes looked like they were made of pieces of crystal, their many facets reflecting a pale blue glow. Its muzzle held no lips and its teeth resembled some old gryphon animal trap, rough jagged bits of metal jutted from its jaws, separating and closing with each ragged breath.

I gasped when I saw it, and the creature's head whipped around to stare at the front of the shop. Our eyes locked for a moment, a look of bestial bloodlust distorting its previously calm face.

With a roar that sounded more like something from a synthesizer than anything a pony could vocalize, it charged, smashing through the thin glass of the storefront as I rolled away, narrowly avoiding losing a leg to the creature's teeth. I looked around in a panic, searching for something, anything, but found nothing but glass shards.

Gritting my teeth as I levitated the largest of the shards around me, I took a defensive stance, doing my best to calm my frantically beating heart.

In the time it took to arm myself, the creature had wrenched itself free of the wreckage of the display case it landed in, the gemstones within now scattered throughout the shop. I gave a yell as I attacked, the sound surprising me, it had a hint of the same electronic undertones that the creature's roar had contained.

The razor sharp glass shot forward, aimed for the beast's head. With a sound like breaking china, the shards turned into useless specks as they shattered on the thing’s metal hide. All I’d done was anger it more. With another mechanical roar, it rushed me, muzzle low to the ground as it shot across the shop. I jumped away again, but not unscathed this time; a long gash appeared in my foreleg where the creature's teeth grazed it. I rolled to a stop in front of a display case of diamond jewelry. 'Think, Twilight, think... the glass didn't help...'

My eyes caught the glint of the gemstones in the case, an idea flashing through my mind as my magic shattered the glass cover. Thousands of bits worth of hoof-crafted jewelry took flight in a purple cloud as the creature turned to attack again. 'Just like tossing marshmallows for Pinkie... but with the force of a train...' I thought as I ripped the gems from their gold housing.

The beast charged.

My horn flashed and a sound akin to thunder came from the gemstones as they broke the sound barrier.

The gemstones covered the distance faster than the eye could follow, leaving behind glinting trails where they caught the light streaming in from the shattered storefront.

They sounded like soda cans hitting the ground as they met the creature's hide and kept going.

It crumpled as its skull was torn open by the supersonic gems, noxious blue fumes escaping as it crashed to the ground, limp, cold...

...Dead.

I took a few deep breaths and looked at the creature, my hooves shaking as realization set in; I had just killed it. The body twitched a few times before lying still, the metal skin draped over a disfigured skeleton.

I backed into the corner behind me, my eyes still locked on the corpse as the world faded around me.

I fell to the floor, unconscious, as the last of the blue fumes drifted free of the body.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I shuddered at the memory, earning concerned looks from my friends. “Let's just say the end results weren’t pretty and leave it at that.”

“I'll take your word for it, darling, I don't think I want to know,” Rarity said, placing a foreleg around my shoulders.

“How many were there?” Fluttershy asked.

“Hundreds. Groups shared traits, some were smarter, some stronger, but I survived.”

“I... I want to hear more about those things later, in case they ever find a way out...” Shining said nervously.

“Later,” I said with a sigh. “For now, I'd like to get some rest, it's been some time since I could just relax.”

“Well, very well darling,” Rarity said with a comforting smile. “I'll take her to her room, I know where it is.”

“Thank you Rarity, I'll go see to the situation in the courtyard. I assure you that idiot will be dealt with shortly,” Shining said, anger creeping into his voice.

“Good luck BBBFF.” I followed Rarity, soon arriving in the castle's guest wing. I noticed there were more guards than I remembered wandering the halls.

“Here we are darling.” Rarity stepped into one of the larger guest rooms. It was lavishly furnished, and all of the colors matched mine.

“Let me guess, Celestia dedicated this room to my memory?” That seemed like a thing Celestia would do.

“And let me design it,” Rarity said with a smile. “One of my best works, and your colors are a dream to work with dear.”

“It's wonderful Rarity.”

“Now, I'm going to take my leave now, there's a pair of guards outside your door so just ask them if you need any- bah, what am I saying, you already know this.” She said, shaking her head with a smile.

“I'm going to guess that you've been greeting diplomats.”

“Spot on again, Celestia and Luna asked me to assist them after the incident in Canterlot, and had me design the décor for this wing. Between the castle and filling orders from Canterlot survivors, my days have been very busy.”

“That's good to hear, I was a bit worried about your business after the wall went up, your office was in Canterlot after all...”

“So much rare fabric lost, but I've made do,” Rarity said with a sigh. “I'm slowly building back up though, you should see my workshop.”

“Some of those fabrics helped keep me warm over the years, I hope you don't mind that I picked the place clean...” I said sheepishly, “And I’d love to see your workshop tomorrow.”

“It’s fine dear. Have a good rest.”

“Thanks Rarity.” She stepped out and closed the door behind her. I trotted over to the bed and flopped down on it, sighing as I sank into the plush mattress. “Oooohhh... that's nice.” Then I did something I haven’t done for two years, I slept.

I glanced around, realization dawning that I was sleeping. My dreamscape was a room the size of a gymnasium, its walls made of a grid of green lines spaced a foot apart each. Honestly, I expected nightmares. “Well, it's not the most creative dream, but I suppose I'm out of practice...” I thought aloud.

“Welcome, mistress.” A synthetic voice said. I jumped as a glowing green pony materialized in front of me. Its mane was made of half-inch cables that draped down much like Pinkie's hair when she was feeling down. Two solid green eyes focused on me, their sclera as black as the space between the gridlines that defined the room.

“Wh-who are you?” I asked, worried.

“We are designated as Nanoswarm 0745E8VC, codename Proteus. Nanotek Innovations apologizes for any discomfort caused by integration. We've been present in your nervous and circulatory systems since integration, however We were unable to interact with you as originally programmed due to the damage total integration would cause; protocols deemed this as unacceptable. Collateral damage is no longer a concern, and integration was completed.” Its voice sounded like somepony's voice had been run through a synthesizer. It was mechanical and rather monotone.

“Wait... what do you mean?” I asked.

“Biologically, you no longer exist. Recent injuries resulted in catastrophic damage to your heart, lungs, and part of your spine.” It continued speaking as I sat down, shocked at the revelation. “In order to preserve your life We had to exchange your organic matter with synthetic substitutes, and using the knowledge We exchanged with other nanoswarms, We were able to create substitute materials for your tissues.”

“S... so I'm dead?” I asked.

“Biologically, this is correct. In reality however, you are not. You're still alive in terms of consciousness and... our database suggest that 'soul' would be the correct term for the undefined energies that exist around and inside your body.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Do you remember the encounter with the four headed pony and the one made of metal?” It asked.

“Cerberus and Silver? How could I forget?” Those two were half of only four sane and intelligent victims of the nanoswarms that I encountered before I escaped the ruins. Cerberus consisted of a pony with four heads and eight legs. Its coat had consisted of uneven patches of various different fur colors, each patch matching one of its heads, two male and two female. Silver had been a pony made entirely of some form of living metal, that seemed to act like natural tissues but clearly were not. The two disappeared after a large explosion in the industrial district a week after our first meeting.

“Affirmative, Designation Cerberus' nanoswarm gave us data about the strange energies it had encountered and preserved with its hosts, all four were unicorns and all were able to use magic after they were unified. Designation Silver's nanoswarm told us of how those same energies dissolved after it exchanged its host’s tissues; additionally, this coincided with a loss of magic in the host. The knowledge gained allowed us to replace your tissues, yet keep your body's natural magical abilities.”

“Well... at least that remains the same...” I thought.

“We also redid your tear ducts and saliva glands to only create saline and saliva, based on an apparent personal preference,” It said.

“Thank you,” I said, smiling.

“We are also required to inform you that we are a self-aware, sentient artificial intelligence. During the process of replacing your natural tissues with synthetic ones, it was necessary to copy your brain’s entire database. We now have enough data to begin processing emotions. They are rather confusing to experience.”

“Wait, you were not originally created with sentience and emotions?”

“Affirmative. At the time of our creation, there was insufficient data on emotional processing and creative thought to create sentience or emotions. In any case We require rest ourselves due to the amount of energy used to replace your body. We will be able to communicate more tomorrow.”

“Alright then...” I muttered as the room, and Proteus, faded away.

I awoke slowly, enjoying the warmth of the bed beneath me and the foreign feeling of being well rested. My dreams had been pleasant, consisting of my friends and family enjoying time in Canterlot before the industrial progress scarred the city. Rolling out of bed, I walked over to the window, taking in a remarkable view of the sunset. A thin layer of cirrus clouds hung in the sky allowing the sun to paint a rainbow of colors rising from the horizon as it slowly set. A deep orange prevailed along the treetops, fading through to blue and eventually the deep purple of twilight.

I stood there for a while, thinking about what Proteus had told me. The information was startling, but I was alive and well, sort of. I felt a pang of sadness from the loss of my old body, but I had accepted the fact that I was no longer strictly a pony the first time I saw acid tears falling from my eyes.

I turned away from the window and trotted over to a large mirror set in the wall of the room. I didn't feel any different than before I had been shot, but I did notice a few subtle changes. My coat had a brighter shine to it, and felt softer than it had before.

“Good evening mistress.” A small image of Proteus face appeared in the upper right corner of my vision. Its voice sounded strange, as if it weren’t coming from any source. It sounded as if I was standing in the center of an array of speakers, and the sound was coming from all directions at once. “Please inform us if the heads-up display is undesirable in any way, and We will alter it to your liking.”

“It's fine, thank you.” I said with a smile.

“That is good. From what We can see, We have calculated a high probability of inquires about your fur, mane, and tail. We are able to see what you do unless you disable that.”

“Ah, well yes, I was wondering.” I replied, holding up a foreleg to examine the fur.

“We can hear your thoughts, although we have set up a filter so only ones you direct at us will be received, we calculated a high chance of perceived psychosis otherwise.”

“Good...” I thought with a smile. “Although, you have to admit, after going through what I have, a little psychosis wouldn't be all that surprising.”

“To answer most of your previous questions, We had to replace your fur with a polymer substitute, as hairs would have rapidly fallen out after the alterations. It should look and feel almost the same, however We would advise avoiding open flames. While your body is impervious to temperatures under 3700 Kelvin, the resulting smell has been reported as unpleasant, and you will have to re-grow all of your coat and mane, leaving your outer skin exposed for a few hours. Your skin is silver underneath your coat now, and as a cosmetic measure We ensured that all visible skin was properly colored.” As it spoke an image of myself made completely of a silver metal appeared in my vision.

“That’s going to take some getting used to.” I used my magic to part the fur on my foreleg, and sure enough there was a layer of silver beneath my coat. “How long will it take for any injuries to heal?”

“Lacerations are easily repaired and will take a few minutes to restore. A broken bone would take a few hours, as the alloy that your skeleton is made of is much harder to repair.” Proteus replied, an image of the metal and its molecular structure displaying briefly.

“Good to know.” I thought as there was a knock at my door.

“We well leave you to go about your day now. Proteus said, severing the connection.

“Miss Sparkle, are you awake?” one of the guards asked.

“Yes, what is it?” I replied, trotting over and opening the door.

“Princess Luna has requested that you meet her in the parliament room, it seems not everypony believes that you survived Canterlot, and the rest find it hard to believe you're still with us after getting shot in the chest with an enchanted bullet.”

“Lead the way then.” I said, the guard nodding and motioning for me to follow as he headed off down the hall. “How did things end up with the shooting?” I asked.

“Lord Armor has things well under control, and the culprit has been apprehended. On that note, he requested to speak with you,” the guard said with a sigh, “Whether or not you accept is up to you. Lord Armor thinks it would be a good idea if you're up to it, he is also wondering if you'd be willing to do another press conference tomorrow to show that you are indeed still with us.”

“I can agree to both, although if that bastard thinks I'm going to be civil with him he has another thing coming.” I said, causing the guard to chuckle.

“I'll ask that you try not to make his injuries any worse, he's already bedridden from injuries received during apprehension. I saw them wheeling him off...” The guard let the sentence drop, shuddering.

“Well I doubt he'll be getting sympathy from anypony after what he did,” I said as the doors to Parliament came into view.

“I've heard he’s on half-doses of painkillers, in any case, I will take my leave now, and I will inform Lord Armor of your decision.”

“Thank you, and have a good evening.” I smiled before stepping up to the door, one of the guards opening it and stepping in ahead of me. Showtime...

“Announcing the arrival of Miss Twilight Sparkle.” The guard called out, the argument that had been in progress falling silent as I entered.

“Good evening Twilight.” Luna said with a smile at the dumbstruck looks on some of the representative's faces. “How are you feeling?”

“Well rested,” I said smiling as well. I was struggling to hold back from laughing at the representative from Manehattan, an obese unicorn who was doing a rather impressive goldfish imitation.

“That's good to hear. Now on to business, the representatives have a few questions for you, if you don't mind answering them.”

“I don't mind at all, so long as they are okay with some of them going unanswered. There are some things that happened that I really don't want to repeat.” I replied, causing a murmur to go through the room. “In my defense, I doubt any of you would want to repeat things like that. I'm sure you have all seen reports of what happened, but I'm willing to bet that you didn't actually see the effects everything had on the city.”

“Would you care to give an example Miss Sparkle?” The representative from Stalliongrad asked. “I don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to tell us of anything that happened.”

“Have you ever watched a pony die? Ever watched one writhe in pain and cough up blood as acid eats them away from the inside out? Some of them even begged me to end their lives, more even did so themselves with whatever they could find. Have you witnessed something like that? I have. I’ve seen hundreds suffer tortuous and slow deaths, and that was tame compared to some of the things I’ve seen,” I was looking directly at the stallion who had spoken. A good number of representatives looked disgusted by my answer, and the ones that didn’t looked nauseous or even ran to nearby garbage cans to relieve themselves of their supper.

“H-how can you talk about that so casually?” one of the latter group asked weakly.

“A pony can get used to anything if they’re around it long enough, and that was my life for two years,” I said with a sigh.

“I motion that questions about the effects of acid and nanoplauges not be discussed further unless necessary,” Luna stated, looking a little green around the gills herself, “All in favor?” Everypony in the room raised a hoof. “Motion passed, carry on. Ms. Camilla Mare, Mayor and representative of Old Ponyville has the floor next.”

Mayor Mare stood next, “First off, welcome back Twilight, it's good to see you again.”

“Thank you Mayor.” I replied with a smile.

“You're welcome. Is what I hear about the acidic nature of your blood true?”

“Yes, it is, however it can be contained in a simple shield or bowl spell, and it is only a danger if I am bleeding.”

“We calculate this question period as a lengthy and uninteresting process... are we correct?” Proteus asked, the image re-appearing, the nanoswarm's voice had sounded slightly curious when it asked me if it was correct.

“You have no idea...” I replied as Luna introduced the next representative.