Chapter 1
A Lovely Night
“The Future is Now! Equality made Mechanical!”
- Spokes-Pony of Equestrian Augmentations and Technology
Sweet Apple Acres
Midnight had descended on the Apple Family Farm as Fluttershy checked on her children for what was probably the third time that night. The yellow coated Pegasus Pony couldn't help herself. She had to know that Appleseed and Zephyr were sleeping like the little angels they were. She left Zephyr's nursery on tip-hoof so as not to wake her up. She made her way down the hallway and peered into her eldest son's room to see him sleeping soundly in the moonlight. While the colt was only four years old and had inherited his mother's wings, he already had so much of his father in him, right down to the speech pattern. While Zephyr had inherited her mother's pink mane and her father's red coat, Appleseed had inherited his mother's yellow coat and his father's sandy blonde mane. She gave a soft smile and crept back to the master bedroom.
As she entered the bedroom, she looked upon her husband, Big McIntosh. Their relationship had been an odd one, as observed by others. Before the War, Fluttershy and Big Mac, as was his nickname, hadn't really paid each other a second's thought. Fluttershy had always been a shy pony before meeting her five friends, but even after learning to be more socially open, Fluttershy had never been open to dating. That changed during the War.
Even though Fluttershy was head of the Field Medical Ponies, she did promise Applejack that she would personally tend to Big Mac when his front legs were injured in battle. When she had time between surgery and tending the wounded, she would tend to Big Mac and take care of his bandages. They didn't talk very often, which was another trait they had in common. Whenever Fluttershy would ask a question about Big Mac, he would usually reply with a “eeyup” or a “nnope”. Their conversations eventually became more detailed as Big Mac began to open up to her more and more. By the end of the War, Fluttershy and Big Mac had become closer than they ever thought possible.
It wasn't until two years later that they began to see each other more and after three years of dating, Big Mac finally proposed. In order to humor him, Fluttershy had responded with a quiet, “eeyup”. The ceremony had been one of the biggest held at the farm in Apple Family History since the last Apple Family Reunion before the war. The whole Apple family attended and even her family showed up to the ceremony (though they were pretty quiet in comparison to the loud and wild Apples). All her friends had shown up and Twilight Sparkle was her Mare of Honor. The gifts from the family were wonderful. Granny Smith gave her and “Big Mac” a plot of land to build their house on. The move had been hard on the animals, especially Angel, her pet bunny, but they made it work.
A few months after moving in, Fluttershy was pregnant and soon Appleseed was born and three years later, Zephyr followed suit. It wasn't easy of course, raising two children while juggling her job at the hospital and Mac's duties at the orchard, but they worked at it. Appleseed would help his daddy at the orchard and Zephyr would accompany her mommy at the hospital. It wasn't easy, but as Granny Smith had assured her, “Parenting never is”.
As she slid under the covers, Fluttershy gasped as she came into contact with Mac's augmented leg prosthetics. While she had done all that she could for Mac, the injuries to his legs had been severe; eventually becoming gangrenous and leaving surgeons no choice but to amputate. The drastic move hadn't meant Mac would be left disabled. Eager to be mobile and independent again, Mac had insisted that E.A.T. fit him for implants as soon as possible. Fluttershy would always be thankful to the implants, although it did take some time to get used to them. Appleseed kept asking why more stallions didn't have legs like Mac did. It was difficult to explain to the colt that, “Daddy is a very special stallion.”
Appleseed once asked, “Will I get legs like Daddy's when I grow up?”
All Fluttershy could say was, “I certainly hope you never have to.”
Mac and her had talked about whether or not to tell him the truth and they both agreed that he and Zephyr would be told when they were old enough to understand. Fluttershy often thought about what Appleseed would have been like growing up during the Civil War. Would he have turned out as innocent as he is now? Would he have become as hardened as many young bucks and fillies that survived the raids and the fire fights? It scared her to imagine her baby in such a way. Another reason why the present was so wonderful. For whatever time they had, Equestria was enjoying a time of peace. And it was bliss. She snuggled up to her husband and drifted to sleep.
Ministry of Magi-Technology, Ponyville
Sunny Dale was feeling cautious that night as she left the Ministry of Magi-Technology for the night. The bright yellow Unicorn was not her usual cheery self as she looked left and right down the streets. Why did she have to pull that late shift? Why did the contact have to send things to her in the dead of night instead of two in the afternoon? Why couldn't this corporate espionage stuff be easy? ...Or safe? As she adjusted her saddlebags, Sunny Dale's eyes darted to the clock in her leg implant where her left foreleg used to be. 12:36 in the morning, nine hours to go before she had to be back at work. Another drawback of working overtime, more sleep lost in the gain of money. Typical of life in the fast lane.
As Sunny trotted down the street, she glanced behind her to make sure she was not being followed by anypony. The normal bright and cheery haven that was daytime Ponyville was only visible through dimly lit streetlamps that were just large enough to cast shadows. Shadows that blended together upon the building walls to create haunting and unsettling images that were indiscernible to the naked eye. Sunny couldn't let herself be frightened. She wasn't a little filly anymore. She was a fully grown mare. A mare with a promise to keep.
If one were to look at Sunny Dale, one would not think much of her. She was an ordinary Unicorn working at a normal job at the Ministry, the second biggest pioneer in Magi-technology in all of Equestria, right behind Equestrian Augmentations and Technology. One would not suspect her to be involved with a spy in E.A.T. Then again, until a month ago, she would not have suspected herself either. She had been working on her terminal when an anonymous message had been sent to her. It was coded so, of course, it took a while for her to decode it. When she finished it turned out to have been sent by someone inside of E.A.T. The pony who sent it had been brief in his or her message. He or she wrote that there were sinister goings on inside of E.A.T. and that pony needed someone who was close to the Ministry of Magi-Technology and Princess Twilight Sparkle. Someone who could get as much information as he or she could to the Princess without being caught. The contact asked for one thing: for the pony who decoded the message to reply “yes” or “no” in order to insure cooperation between them. If yes, then the contact would send her all the information from the Equestrian Augmentations and Technology mainframe as he could find. If no, then it would be the last that Sunny Dale would hear from the contact. It had been Sunny's eagerness to be noticed by Princess Twilight Sparkle that had sealed the deal. If she could get as much information as she could to the Princess, it might elevate her position in the Ministry and put her in favor. She replied “yes”. The contact, replying as “Pony X” stated that he would only be able to send small bits of crucial company information to Sunny and that she was not to move with this information until Pony X gave her the ok. He warned that if Sunny moved too early than his cover would be blown and both of them would be in trouble. Sunny promised to wait until the time was right.
That had been a month ago. Every two to five days, Pony X would send information to her terminal, always ending his messages with the word's, “not just yet”. When would be the time, Sunny Dale thought. When? She had learned about shady financial transactions, secret meetings with members of the Canterlot Military, shipments from the Zebra Homeland that were off the record and even weapons testing, but nothing that would incriminate E.A.T. in anything illegal or unscrupulous.
Tonight however, everything had changed. Pony X had sent her an encrypted file along with a short message, “Make sure she gets it”. This was the reason Sunny had stayed extra hours. She realized now that she could have done it on her terminal back home, but she had been so excited after receiving it that she worked long past her shift was over. She had gotten halfway done when she realized the time. She made sure to stash it on her neural implant as well as to copy it onto a miniature drive, which she hid in a compartment in her desk. She just had to get home to finish decrypting it and she could get it to the Princess the next morning. This gave her a new sense of confidence as she trotted home. It also caused her to let her guard down.
Sunny was feeling so renewed in her endeavor that she didn't notice the four heavily augmented Ponies surrounding her. When she did notice them, she froze, fear seeping into her heart. Each of the Ponies had a specific implant to separate them from the rest from having their legs replaced with cybernetic limbs to having metal plates upon their backs and heads. The lead Pony was so modified that he looked more machine than pony. His eyes had been replaced by optical implants that glowed red behind shades that seemed to be coming out of slots on either side of his eyes. His forelegs had been replaced by jet black prosthetics with bright red lines outlining the circuitry. His hooves in turn were bright red as well with star shaped designs on the front. His saddlebags seemed to have been made into compartments that were fused into his lower half. A pair of red and white stars on his hind quarters signified his cutie-mark. His back had a metallic plate placed in the center that did not seem to fit with what remained of his flesh. He had patches of bare skin where future augmentations could take place over his brown coat. His mane had been shaved in a way that made him look... alien. He also had a sickening grin on his face.
“Well, well, fillies and gentlecolts, look what we got here,” he said nodding towards his cohorts. “A little lost mare? I think we better help her out.”
Sunny Dale backed away, keeping towards the open streets where she had plenty of room to run. She gave a weak smile. “Oh, no, no. I'm fine. Really, I don't need any help. Thank you for the offer though.”
“Hey, when Star-Metal offers you help, I think it is only polite to take it,” a blue Aug Unicorn with metallic spikes upon her hooves chimed in. “Besides, Augs are safe among Augs.”
Star-Metal's eyes began to turn from bright red to what Sunny could only discern as infrared. “Thank you very much, Comrade. However, I believe that this particular pony is the one we have been waiting for. And while I normally wouldn't have you waste your energy on a simple leg aug and neural implant, we do have a contract to fulfill.” He turned to a gray pony with a left ocular implant, a white lab coat, and two foreleg implants. “Doc, prepare for surgery. Harvesters, restrain the patient in the alley.”
That was it for Sunny Dale. She dashed for safety as fast as her hooves could carry her. As she reached the street corner, another Harvester Pony stepped out in front of her, a Rifle Augmentation implanted on her back. She skidded to a halt and turned to the right. She ran towards across the street only to be blocked by yet another Harvester, this time a green Pegasus. Having no choice, Sunny turned right again and this time, against all better judgment, ran back towards the alleyway. There had to be an exit on the other side. She couldn't die here, not when she had come so damn far. Not here, not alone. Not like this. If she could find shelter, a public place like a nightclub, then she could find sanctuary.
As she entered the alleyway, she heard the Harvesters behind her. They were following her every move, but she was the faster pony. Then she saw it: light on the other side of the tunnel. She was going to make it. She was going to be safe. That is when the shadow moved in front of the light.
Out of the other end came another pony. The glare from the streetlamps blanketed the pony in shadow so that any significant details were kept from Sunny. As she skidded to a halt, she heard the Harvesters behind her do the same. She realized why they hadn't caught her. She never had a chance to escape. They had covered all exits. She was doomed.
“We had this covered,” Star-Metal's voice said from behind her. “We don't need your help with this one.”
“I'm insuring the recovery of our property,” the pony said in a Mare's voice. “I assure you, my employer had the utmost confidence in your abilities to handle this.”
“Really? Then you won't mind if we extract the device our way?”
“Of course not. Just make sure the neural implant remains intact. My employer requires that stolen information be recovered safely and without harm to it. You are free to harvest the foreleg aug for yourself. It is Ministry tech so you might have trouble fencing it, but it is useful.”
“Pleasure doing business with you, Ma'am. Harvesters, restrain the patient.”
Sunny Dale felt herself shoved to the ground as the Doc made his way in front of her. When she was fully pinned to the floor, the Doc held up his right foreleg. A whirring sound came from the hoof as it began to split down the middle. The two halves retracted and retreated down the Doc's sleeve. A miniature buzz-saw extended outwards from the fore-hoof aug and began whirring at great speed. Sunny's eyes widened in horror as the Doc moved closer to her foreleg aug.
“We will have to use the buzz-saw for the foreleg. I will need to use my other tools for the neural implant to avoid damage.” He looked into Sunny's eyes as he moved closer. For a moment, a look of sympathy came into his eyes. “I apologize, Miss. Please know that this is not personal in the slightest. It is just... business. Star-Metal, you might want to cover her eyes for this next part. We don't want to traumatize the patient any further than we already have.”
As Sunny's eyes were covered, the last thing she felt before blacking out was intense pain unlike anything she had ever felt before as the buzz-saw made contact with her leg.
Ponyville Police Department
“Chief! Chief, wake up! There's been a disturbance!”
Applejack awoke to banging on the door of her office. Her head shot up, pushing several papers to the ground. A bottle of hard cider clattered to the ground, the remaining drops of the drink spilling to the floor. She rubbed her head, moaning and nursing a splitting hangover.
“Ah really gotta take it easy on the cider next time,” she said to herself. The knocking wasn't helping in the slightest. As she picked up the scattered papers, she called out to the pony at the door through a mouthful of papers, “Hang on, I'ma coming. And could ya turn down that racket for Celestia's sake?”
After stacking the papers, Applejack looked around her office. She had been meaning to get it straightened out, but had never gotten around to it due to her schedule. Nopony gets much time to herself when she is Chief of Police. AJ knew of the stresses that came with the job, filing reports, interviewing new officers, overseeing cases, and the dozens of other duties. As if it was not enough responsibility, she also had to make weekly surveys of the family orchards at Sweet Apple Acres to make sure that Apple Bloom was taking care of things in her absence. Those check ups were the only time she got to see her family these days. Her naps were the only moments that she got to herself. Well... that and her “occasional” sips of hard cider.
She didn't think it was a problem, though she knew that she was getting looks from her officers. She heard rumors that she drank 10 bottles of hard cider a day, that she had a problem, or that she was a simple drunk. They were not true of course. She only drank three bottles a day. Besides, it wasn't a problem and she could quit anytime she wanted. She just... needed them to help her sleep. The cider had a pleasant effect of chasing away the dreams she'd been have recently. They were mostly memories of the war. 10 years and she was still having them. She didn't know why. She hadn't told anypony about them, no need to trouble folks with her own problems.
The knocking resumed with more energy behind it. “Chief, please! It's urgent!”
“Be right wit ya, Officer!” Looking in a handy mirror that her best friend, Rarity had given her, she straightened out her mane and adjusted her badge. She took a moment to inspect herself. She noticed she was getting bags under her green eyes due to sleep deprivation and that her once bright blonde mane was losing some of its luster and shine. She breathed on her hoof and smelled. The stink of hard cider was still on her breath. She quickly got out a bottle of water and washed it down with a gulp. Better. Now she was a presentable example of an officer of the law. She trotted across the room and opened the door to reveal a blue Unicorn buck wearing a standard issue Ponyville Police Saddlebag that matched his coat. He was about to knock again when he noticed Applejack was standing right in front of him. He immediately snapped to attention and looked Applejack straight in the eye.
“Officer Berry Blue reporting for duty, Chief. I apologize for disturbing you, but it was urgent.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. A lot of her officers were veterans from the war and old habits were hard to break of course. She herself used to have desk inspections once the precinct had been established, but she seemed to have fallen out of the habit. When she was putting her Law Enforcement team together she had picked out bucks and mares she felt she could rely on to do their jobs well. Most of her initial choices were vets from the war, a majority from her old unit. She understood that the war had been their job for two years and that it was hard to find work. Boot Camp Training never went away.
“At ease, Officer Blue. Tell me the situation.”
“Harvesters, Chief.”
That was all that needed to be said. Applejack motioned for Berry Blue and 3 other officers to follow her. “Are CSI and Equicide already there?”
Berry Blue nodded. “Yes, Sir- Ma'am. Oh, and Chief? I know this isn't a good time, but we've been talking and the staff believes that a few new terminals would help us with crime reports and records.” Applejack was very practical and did not believe in the new fangled terminals that had been developed by the Ministry of Magic and Technology. She believed that the department was fine without a “crutch” as she called them. That didn't stop the staff from lobbying for terminals. She answered the same way she always did.
“Ah'll take it under consideration.”
The rise of Augmentations had not only given birth to new advances in Magi-technology, but also advances in crime. In the last few years, an organization of criminal “Augs”, as was the term for Ponies that chose to get augmented, that came to be known as “Harvesters” had taken to the streets of the major cities of Equestria. Unlike normal criminals that stole money and jewels, the Harvesters stole augmentations from other Ponies. What made the Harvesters worse than normal thieves wasn't that they stole them from company shipments, but that they usually stole them off of civilian Ponies. Applejack had seen a ton of victims during her time at the precinct. After the first attack, she had made it her goal to take the Harvesters down. Unfortunately, for every two steps forward, the investigation took three steps back. The Harvesters were good at what they did and at covering their tracks. For every Harvester hideout they found, the gang would relocate and every time, the leader would conveniently be someplace else. For all her troubles, all Applejack had uncovered was a name: Star-Metal. Applejack was determined to find him and end it once and for all.
As the patrol made their way through the city, Applejack took some time to observe Ponyville in the morning light. The old home town certainly was not what it used to be. She had a hard time remembering when exactly Ponyville had begun to expand, but she figured that it started soon after Twilight Sparkle became a princess. During the build up to the war, many Ponies came to Ponyville to assist in the construction of the Ministry of Magic (and later technology). The new job market had opened the once normal sized town to expansion. New workers and citizens opened the door to new businesses which in turn led to more commerce for the city. While it was good for the city's economy, it made Applejack uncomfortable. For some reason, she felt as if it was not the same.
Almost as if something was taken when they added all these frills, she would think to herself. Sometimes she felt that she couldn't even recognize it. It didn't help that nearly everywhere she looked there were as many Augs as there were normal Ponies.
'Tain't no business of mine if somepony chooses to get upgraded, but it just feels... unnatural.
She shrugged it off as she and her officers arrived at the alley crime scene. She was glad that CSI had gotten here first. There were civilians surrounding the crime scene, of course, but the police had cordoned the area off so none could interfere with the investigation. The victim's corpse was in the middle of the alley, covered with a white sheet, though that didn't hide the dried blood from beneath it. Applejack gave a heavy sigh. She hated this. She hated seeing this time and again. She hated having to inspect the corpse and then having to contact the families. Her staff would repeatedly tell her that she didn't need to do all that, but she insisted that as head of the force, she was responsible for what went on in her city. This was her “war”.
“We got an ID on the victim,” Applejack asked the CSI scientist kneeling beside the corpse.
The CSI scientist, a chestnut colored mare, looked up at the Chief and stood to attention. “Yes, ma'am. Unicorn mare. Appears to be in her mid twenties. I ran a check on her cutie-mark,” she held up her right foreleg to show a leg aug with a built in scanner. “We've got a name: Sunny Dale. Ponyville resident, has family in Fillydelphia, single, and is... was an employee at the Ministry of Magi-Technology. She was found by the sanitation department during their early morning rounds. Appears to have had a neural implant stolen along with her foreleg aug. Do... do you want to see the body, Chief?”
Applejack nodded. The scientist lifted the sheet and turned away with a look of disgust. “I never get used to these.”
The victim, as far as Applejack could tell, had been a cute mare. Her left foreleg was gone, appearing to have been hacked off. The left half of her forehead had been cut open. Applejack's stomach began to turn when she realized that the Harvesters had... harvested a piece of her brain. She turned away before she could vomit. She gritted her teeth in anger.
Nopony should die like this. Nopony. These damned butchers are going to pay for this... and for all the others.
She took a few minutes to breathe in and out before turning back to the CSI Pony. “Have you alerted her place of work? Her family?”
“Not yet, Chief. We were waiting until you got here.”
“Good. Get the body to the morgue.” She turned to Berry Blue who looked as if he were about to vomit as well. “Officer Blue, I need you to contact Ms. Dale's next of kin.”
“But Chief, aren't you going to do that?
“Normally I would. But, I'll be the one to contact the Ministry this time. Besides it gives me a chance to catch up with an old friend."