*Beep*
A familiar, shrill noise roused me, and I slowly returned to consciousness.
*Beep*
I became aware of the aching in my bones and flesh.
*Beep*
By the volume of the noise, I knew it would be annoying after a few hours. Before it could even begin to annoy me, the consistent sound of beeping would eventually force me to wake up. But I was currently resisting the beeping's existence.
*Beep*
I finally started to regain consciousness. My surroundings were still a blur to me, but I was beginning to become more aware of my surroundings' sounds. I still have no idea what the room looks, like due to my eyes still being closed. At the time I didn’t want to open my eyes either. I was tired and wanted more sleep.
*Beep*
The beeps were getting more frequent. Either I was going in and out of consciousness, or my mind was moving in fast motion between beeps.
*Beep*
*Be-*
I was relieved when the beeping stopped. Realization struck a few minutes later, and I couldn’t return to sleep because I felt too awake. There was a light in my eyes that kept me from enjoying the soft bed I was in. But the longer I laid there in the bed, the more I began to remember. When my memory returned to the light and its message I started to question my situation.
But as my thoughts progressed to the current day, I remembered what happened in Armor’s study. My eyes opened slowly, only to close again in order to keep the light from blinding me. I became aware of how hungry and thirsty I was. My throat was dry, and it felt like my tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth.
“Ah you’re awake.” started a feminine voice. “I had a feeling you’d wake up soon. Your breathing became normal,” the voice was warm and pleasant to listen to, unlike that beeping earlier.
I opened my eyes again, to find myself staring at a white ceiling. At the corner of my right eye I could see an open window with the sun glaring in. I looked around more and saw green curtains that would obscure me from sight, if they were drawn all the way across the room. The walls were covered in a tan paint and the floor was covered in white tiles.
I turned my head to the left where I heard the voice. When I laid my eyes on what spoke, I was momentarily confused. It was a pony in a nurse’s outfit. Her coat was white and her hair pink. She had a warm smile, and an obvious nurse’s cutie mark. I felt new sensations on my body and as I looked down I realized I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor and other contraptions. But when I looked at the machine that took my heart rate I saw some flat lined statistics. Some of which seem to monitor my blood oxygen and other things that I currently didn’t recognize.
I excused this, as the fact that I’m not a pony, and their equipment may not have been built to monitor a human patient. It became a fact, when I realized there was no clamp on either of my fingers or toes to monitor blood oxygen levels. As I was about to relax, readying to wait for a little longer until someone came to tell me what happened, I noticed I was missing my clothes. The rebel uniform that was given to me when I was sent here was gone, and in its place was a hospital gown.
“Huh. I was told you could talk,” came the nurse's comment.
I looked back to her with a quizzical expression. She was looking at me with a skeptical gaze that became curious when I looked in her direction.
“Uh, yeah,” my voice cracked a little.
“Oh you do talk!” she exclaimed. “This is so exciting. I’ve never had the pleasure to work on a creature Equestria hasn’t seen before.” she trotting to the side of the bed. “Where are my manners? I’m nurse Redheart. What’s your name?” she asked politely while giving me a warm smile.
I warmly smiled back. “I’m Blake. Hey you wouldn’t happen to know where my clothes went, do you?” I asked while giving the room another once over.
Beside me was a small bedside table with two drawers and a lamp on top of it.
“Your outfit?” I nodded quickly, and she continued. “Yes, that was taken down to the laundry room three days ago, after you came in.” she frowned and held a worried expression. “Although I can’t seem to get it back, after the royal guard confiscated it and posted guards throughout the hospital.” she huffed in irritation. “Doesn’t really help that they think you’re dangerous.”
I could feel myself begin to nervously sweat. “They what?” I asked nervously.
“Oh yeah. They told me to bring the guards when you wake up. I don’t believe you’re all that dangerous. You don’t look like you could hurt anypony.” she added affectionately.
“Wait, what do they want me for?” I said trying to sit up.
My movement caused my muscles to flex and flare with agony. I instinctively went limp and tried to evaluate my situation.
“Oh dear, don’t move.” Redheart ordered, worry etched on her face. “I don’t know what happened to you, but every time we tried to touch you, you’d scream out in pain. You caused quite a commotion when they brought you in.” she gave me a sympathetic frown.
I looked down at my right hand, and made a few practice movements with my wrist to see if my gun hand was responsive enough to spawn a few things. I felt a lot of pain in my wrist as I moved the muscles. I was slightly surprised that I had so much feeling in my entire body in general. Every time I moved, I could feel every single millimeter of my muscles moving.
“I suggest you not move any of your joints.” Redheart suggested affectionately.
I looked back at her and asked, “What happened to me?”
“The doctor believes you suffered from magical overload. And according to almost every unicorn in Canterlot, you were in possession of an enormous amount of power. Most unicorns need to activate their horn to be able to sense that amount of power. But the amount that you sent out, almost every unicorn’s horn activated from the magic you were emitting. A little filly came in earlier from magic exhaustion after she crushed a dryer.” She said cheerfully. “The poor dear fell asleep on the way to the emergency room.”
“Is she ok?” I asked neutrally, not sure how to respond.
“Oh, she’s all right.” Redheart waved a hoof dismissively. “At first, we thought she was in the same condition you were in, because she was also in pain. But we found out she just used up all her magic to surround the dryer and then used yours to crush it. Gave us all a good scare, but she checked out two days ago, and we were happy to see her go perfectly healthy.”
I sighed. “Good… hey nurse?”
“Yes?” she replied as she regarded me with an indifferent expression.
“Can you not tell the guard I’m awake yet? I’d like to think of something to say to the Princesses if they come to get me.” I asked her.
She nodded her head. “Don’t worry, I understand. I’ve never seen so many royal guards stationed at the hospital ever since the wedding.” she added, her tone showing she was perplexed. “I hope they don’t bother any of the patients.”
My head flopped back down on the pillow. My neck muscles felt like they were on fire. I could see out of the corner of my eye nurse Redheart giving me a sympathetic gaze.
“Well I’ll leave you alone for now. Rest up, and I’ll come back this afternoon to see if you’re ready.” she cooed, giving me a slight wink that I almost missed.
She turned around and started to head toward the door on the farthest side of the room from my bed. As she trotted parallel to my curtain I began to contemplate my options. I realized the best thing I could do right now is talk to the Princesses.
“Wait.” I suddenly stated, catching the nurse's attention. She turned around and gave me a blank stare. “Tell them I’m awake.”
“Are you sure?” she asked with a tilt of the head.
“…Yeah.” I responded dejectedly.
“You know you don’t have to right now. You could wait.” she reminded me.
“Yeah, but then I won’t get the help I need.” I moved my head to be able to look at her. “Besides, we all need to have a little faith. Especially when we’re at the mercy of others. The Princesses haven’t done anything drastic while I was unconscious. So, I’m inclined to believe whatever they have in store for me is reasonable.”
She nodded her head with a warm smile. “You’re probably right. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
She turned back around and trotted toward the door. I watched her disappear as she rounded the blue blinds, and make her way to the door that was out of my view. I kept my head from moving as I heard the door creak and the latch click. Not even a few seconds later I heard the nurse’s voice on the other side say something unintelligible. I then heard other voices talking to each other, and a pony scurried down the hall if the quickly fading hoof steps were any indication.
I tried to reassess my situation, by trying to see what the Toolgun did to me. I could feel an open space inside of me that wasn’t physical. It was hard to explain but it was there. I closed my eyes and concentrated on what was currently in it. I could feel the Gravity Gun and the Physics Gun as they floated in some strange void. And like the Toolgun in my dream, everything I had I could feel in my hand. Almost as a remnant of each item I had was still there.
I brought out my Toolgun, and it appeared in my hand when I wanted it to. I then tried to pull it out from under the covers. My arms continued to burn and hurt, but this time when I tried to move it, the feeling subsided slightly. I lazily moved my arm out of the covers and lifted my right arm over my head and on top of the covers. It hurt, but I wasn’t about to speak out my annoyance out loud in fear of the guards coming in to stop me from what I was about to do.
I closed my eyes and tried to think of the Wiremod menu. But when I did, I discovered I didn’t have it. I groaned in annoyance, just quietly enough so anyone on the outside of the door couldn’t hear me. I silently cursed my bad luck. Wiremod wouldn’t work because I didn’t have it. I half-expected this, considering I’m nowhere near a computer so I couldn’t download a thing. But just as I lost hope I felt a new sensation in my hand.
I felt the Toolgun vibrating like a console controller. I looked back down and noticed something odd with the Toolgun’s screen. It was on a menu with many different sets of words, with the top most option highlighted. The strangest part was the fact my eyes seemed to have a display on them that showed what I could download.
“What the hell is a ‘Download Tool?’” I asked to nobody in particular.
Instantly, my confusion was brought to a standstill when I noticed the screen had the words 'Wiremod,' six options below the selected option at the very top. I tried to will it to go down with no avail. But I noticed he buttons around the screen and an arrow button pointing down. I clicked it, and the highlighted option became un-highlighted, and the one below it was highlighted. I felt ecstatic and continued to press down on the down button to get to the Wiremod option.
When I finally highlighted the option I was at a loss. Now my main issue was figuring out how to select it. I paused and looked at the screen for a little while. I was beginning to get frustrated until a thought occurred.
“Wait, why not fire the gun? If it works, then I get Wiremod. If it doesn’t... I’d most likely spawn another light. Come to think of it, how do I remove that?” I thought to myself.
I shook the thoughts from my head and refocused on the Toolgun. I pointed it at the wall and pulled the trigger. To my surprise I didn’t hear a sound. Now there was a new bar at the bottom of my vision that looked like a loading screen progress bar. I sighed in annoyance when it started up. It would take a long time, and when it was done, I would probably have company.
I holstered the Toolgun by making it disappear. I then looked at the ceiling intently as I waited for the little bar at the bottom of my vision fill up completely.
“Blake.” spoke a tender voice to my left.
I would've jumped out of my bed if it weren’t for the fact everything I moved started to hurt. I turned my head to the left to see my visitor. I was shocked to see none other than Princess Celestia herself, standing beside me with a worried expression. She was watching me silently while I got my heart rate under control.
“Oh-oh-oh! Woooooooo. Ah. Uh… you scared me.” I commented sheepishly.
She smiled insincerely, to try to seem like nothing was wrong. “Sorry Blake. I should have announced myself. The moment I heard you were awake, I came here as soon as I could.”
“That was way too fast.” I observed.
She gave me a bemused smile that continued to hide the Princess' true emotions. “Ok, I was waiting in the lobby.” she admitted truthfully, but was still hiding something.
“Oh ok, but how did you get in here without me hearing you?” I questioned, hoping to get her mind off of whatever it was that was making her look so sullen.
“I teleported here, and walked in. You were staring at your device, so I didn’t bother you.” she replied desolately.
I paused for a moment, to take in her features. We stared at each other for a while. I, particularly, was looking for a reason for why she was so downtrodden. Her warm smile seemed so wrong on her face right now. I couldn’t help but wonder if I accidently hurt anyone by grabbing my Toolgun. The filly came in because of the massive amount of magic. Is there a chance that I’ve hurt someone even younger, or someone older and vulnerable to stress?
“What’s wrong?” I asked with an indifferent gaze.
She looked at me quizzically with a raised eyebrow, and then looked dejectedly down. “I’m not hiding my sorrow very well, am I?” She chuckled rhetorically before continuing, “The nobles have been giving me trouble…” She turned her head to the side, refusing to meet my gaze. “All of Equestria has been giving me trouble,” she rolled her eyes dismissively before looking directly at me. “And they all want me to give a public statement about you, and have you with me. While in your current condition, doing just that would be more damaging for you physically, than the good it might do. But if I don’t act soon, rumors will spread. It will make your adjustment to this world so much harder...” she finished remorsefully.
“Oh, is that it?” I stated dismissively. I would've waved a hand if it wouldn't have hurt, just to make my point.
She looked up at me and gave me a glare of displeasure. “Blake, this is serious.” her tone was stern. “The nobles are powerful. Not more powerful than me, but they have connections that could hurt your mission here.” she paused to let me think on that for a moment. “But what I’m worried about is this ‘light’ you spoke about. When that magical wave emanated from your device while you were passed out, we saw that light. Discord, Shining Armor, Spyglass, me. That light was powerful. It changed your being entirely, into something more chaotic.”
I let that sink in. “Wait, so what does it mean?” I asked.
She looked away slightly, “It means the nobles might fear you. And if they keep you from your goal, that thing might be angry.” She sighed softly before adding, “Not even our strongest harmonic energy can stop that much chaos magic. Even Discord was afraid of it.”
“Oh. Ok well you know what,” I replied, trying to calm her down. “I’ll try to find a solution to this problem.”
She gave me a deadpanning look, demanding, “How?”
I smiled before stating, “I can make it so I can’t die.”
“Blake, this is serious. Your friend is scary powerful. So powerful, that every unicorn near Canterlot could feel his presence. That single incident has put more pressure on me than the combined events of the past thousand years.” she side-stepped, so the left side of her body was facing me while she glared down at the floor with a frustrated frown.
I watched her with worry as she remained silent. The anger from this Princess made me fearful. She seemed so calm and open to me when I first met her. Now I feel as if my life was in danger just being around her. Princess Luna seemed serious, but still reserved and managing her emotions. I didn’t know what to make of the Princess in front of me now though. Princess Celestia, although open minded and friendly as she made herself out to be when I met her, seemed to completely melt away and leave whoever was beside my bed.
“P-Princess... I-I’ll do whatever I can.” I stammered.
She lifted her head and looked into my eyes with a deadly gaze. But a few seconds later it melted into something distraught and mournful. She lowered her head in shame, leaving me to be confused.
“I-I’m sorry I scared you.” she apologized. “But these last few days have been harsh,” she gave me a dejected look. “The Griffins are asking for you, as are the dragons, the zebra, and my nobles. Everyone in the world seems to want to put me in a position to place some sort of judgment on you. Either execute you, or declare you some sort of ally.” She gave me a grave look, “I honestly don’t know which one you are. I can see you’re good willed, but I haven’t gotten to know you well enough to make a clear judgment on your character.”
“Ok! Ok! Princess. You’re going to have to slow down about this.” I stated nervously. “Griffins? Dragons? And by the way you talk about them, I guess they have their own nations based on their race? And they want to execute me?!” I exclaimed, starting to panic.
Celestia detected the panic in my voice and acted quickly. “Blake, calm down. They’re just pressuring me to take action, not strictly asking for your execution.”
“O-ok. B-but what about dragons? They breathe fire right?” I questioned her, still quite nervous.
“Of course Blake. But the griffins are far more rash than the dragons. The only time you need to worry about a dragon, is when you make them mad. That... or disturb them while they sleep. Griffins are impulsive, and would more likely resort to violence based on emotion and intimidation.” Celestia explained to me as gently as she could.
“O-ok.” I commented lightly, at a loss for words for the moment.
The discovery of the fragility of the situation made me terrified. The fact that dragons and griffins exist didn’t truly startle me this much. I’ve already grown accustomed to talking ponies for the most part. But the fact that those other races might want me dead was the most terrifying thought at the time.
“Blake, I’m going to need you to do something that will prove to them you’re not a threat. Or something that can prove to them that you are here for peaceful purposes.” She suggested.
“B-but you’re the Princess. You can just say I’m a friend, right?” I questioned nervously.
She lowered her head dejectedly and morbidly stated, “I can do that.”
“T-then why don’t you do that?” I offered, stammering slightly.
She looked back at me with a frown. “Because it wouldn’t work. And if I were to say you were an ally of Equestria, then questions will be raised about when we first contacted you. If the ambassadors believe we’ve been in contact with a potentially extremely powerful being for years, or even months without telling anypony, then we risk war against all of our friends. Especially since most might think of you as a conqueror coming to aid Equestria, in a war of world domination.”
“Wait, they actually believe that?” I responded distressfully.
She shook her head guiltily. “No. But they will assume the worst, especially since I’ve been in contact with you for the majority of your stay.” she added miserably.
I couldn’t think of anything else to say to her. I was in the middle of contemplating my situation when I heard a small *ping* coming from my hand. Princess Celestia looked at my right hand with a quizzical gaze, while I reminded myself of the Wiremod download going on while I was talking to the Princess. I looked back down at my Toolgun that I so carelessly left out in plain view while I was distracted. I looked at the screen and I could begin to feel new abilities become apparent.
The sensation of getting new abilities was unexplainable for the most part, but it was as if a part of my body was extended. I could feel the tools that I was given from the Wiremod begin to take form and imbed the familiarity of switching to them in my subconscious. It was as if the Toolgun was giving me access to its abilities psychically. At first it seemed strange, but the improvements adjusted themselves to make it easier for me to understand what I was using. Without much thought, I switched to the 'Wire Gates' tool.
I silently praised whatever god sent me here.
“Blake, what are you doing?” Celestia asked suspiciously, as she tried to peer over the bed to look at my Toolgun. “Please don’t do anything too drastic. I don’t want another incident, or the delegates would get restless and take matters into their own hooves,” she demanded sternly. “I won’t protect you if they storm in here.”
“Don’t worry Princess.” I replied, my tone slightly more chipper than earlier. “I think I have an idea,” my mouth twisted sharply into a smile.
“Do you want to share?” Asked Celestia.
“Well, not really.” I jested, trying to lighten the mood.
She gave me a deadpan stare and added, “Not now.”
She didn’t need to go into details to make me understand what she meant.
“Ok sorry, I was trying to be funny.” I pouted. “But you really need to smile.” I stated seriously, turning to look back at her. “Besides, I can promise you I’ll do my very best to ensure the safety of all your ponies.” I stated, my voice taking on a serious tone. “But my very last option is threatening them.” I added awkwardly. “Although, I have a few things to do before I reach that point, so I won’t have to.”
“What would they be?” she asked in a relaxed tone.
“Well first,” I started. “I’m going to show them I’m here only to have fun. Rather than choose sides, or make alliances, I’ll try to pretend I don’t care what happens to Equestria, and I just start playing with my abilities.” I explained to her.
“Basically I play the role of Q.” I mused to myself.
“Oh wait, Princess!” I exclaimed in realization. “I can probably idly complain about how you imprisoned me for a day.” I elaborated with a smile. “That way I can show I’m not here to help you, right?”
The Princess began to smile slightly. I could feel the pressure on her begin to lift itself. “That will help me keep from having to cover up the imprisonment. But then they’d see you as dangerous, and me as too forgiving. They might ask me to hoof you over to them.” Celestia argued.
I thought for a moment while looking at the ceiling in thought. Then I smiled and looked back at her.
“Well I’m not a prisoner, am I? I could probably be eerily cheerful, when I tell them they can’t have me. It might make them iffy about touching me.” I suggested, my mind flying around this idea.
Princess Celestia groaned in irritation. “No Blake. If you ever threaten, or intimidate, them in any way, then somepony would think you’re a threat. I can tell you now, most of them already think you are. We need to convince them to let you do as you wish in Equestria, and not feel threatened.”
“But I’m already a permanent threat to them, right? I’m the most powerful thing in the world right now. So wouldn’t they always feel nervous around me?” I asked, my tone playing towards innocence.
“Blake, before you came, I was the most powerful being on the planet. And I'm only rivaled by my sister, whom only recently came back to Equestria after one thousand years. It took a lot of smiling and friendly letters to each of the nations, to convince them I meant no harm after I came to power. One hundred years later, the nations saw me as the neutral superpower, on a really big chessboard. I maintained that neutrality through years of politics and trade deals.” she replied oddly mechanically.
I sighed and compromised, “Ok fine, I’ll be friendly and not threaten anyone, unless I absolutely have to.”
“That’s acceptable. But remember, we’re dealing with powerful representatives, who don’t want to live in fear. Show them they don’t have to.” Celestia suggested.
I nodded my head in confirmation before asking, “Ok I’ll keep that in mind. Anything else?”
She raised her eyebrow and gave me a questioning gaze, “Blake. Are you kicking me out?”
“Not yet.” I replied indifferently. My gaze turned to the Toolgun and I continued, “But my plan, although it needs adjustment, still needs some preparation. Wait when exactly is the hearing or whatever it is?”
“Two days from now, when all the ambassadors are here. But some restless nobles might try to see you earlier than that.” she added darkly.
“Then let them see me if they want. I won’t mind. But I’m going to need my clothes back if I’m going to make a proper impression.” I commented matter-o-factually.
Celestia gave me a deadpanned stare. “Blake, you should wear something more proper for the meeting. They are representatives representing their nations.”
“Exactly.” I added positively. “And I’m representing my people too. Most of us don’t really have homes. We kind of just continue building our machines and stuff, without finding a permanent place to settle down.” I stated my interpretation of Garry’s Mod.
Celestia gave me a drop jawed expression. “W-wait. Oh, it’s perfect!” she exclaimed ecstatically. “You’re a nomad, and coming here could be pretty normal for you...” her joyous revelations diminished and became indifferent as she noticeably began to think harder about her discovery. “Oh wait. No, then your story will backfire. If you’re a nomad and came here just because you could then there would be no reason to have you stay. And not only that, but your mission won’t be completed.” she finished disapprovingly.
“Princess. All you need to know, is that I’m going to be fun loving, and I’m here on self-discovery. Other than that, I’m a nomad.” I stated reassuringly. “I’ll be able to take it from there.”
“But Blake, you barely know a thing about this world.” She said logically.
“And if I knew too much, then someone will suspect foul play.” I shot back slyly.
“Ugh you’re right.” Celestia huffed indignantly. “I guess the fate of my country is in your hands.” she frowned. “I really don’t like that. But I’m going to have to live with it... I guess.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry, I won’t fail you. And when’s dinner? Or Lunch? Whichever. I’m hungry, thirsty, and really needing to get to work on my plan.” I turned to her and asked, my voice taking on a slight pleading tone.
She smiled in response before nodding her head, “I’ll leave now. Tomorrow I’ll have someone get you to physical therapy, where you’d begin regaining your motor control.” she graced me her seemingly trademark smile. She looked much happier than when she first came in, almost as if much of the weight she was carrying had left her now.
She turned to leave and almost got entirely out of sight, behind the blue curtain before I called out to her.
“Wait.” Her trotting stopped and I asked, “Can Quill visit me some time?”
I couldn’t see Celestia’s face, but I could tell she was smiling slightly wider, if her merry tone was any indication of her mood as she replied, “I’ll see what I can do.”
I watched her finally leave my vision, and trot down to the opposite end of the room. She cleared the door and I heard a small humming before the door clicked shut. I waited a few moments just committing to memory all the things I’ve been told. A few minutes later, I refocused on my Toolgun and switched to the Expression2 tool.
“Ok where to start… runOnTick(1).” I smiled sagely.