//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: The Incredible Automated Stallion // by The Infinity Doctor //------------------------------// He stood on the wooden platform, staring out at the gathered crowd. He really had no interest in them, they were just there to stare at him, and the other mechanical stallion standing next to him. A few of the children 'ooh'd' and 'ahh'd', pointing at the both of them as a tinny tune wound its way around the fairgrounds. He really wished he could be spending his time doing something else, he didn't know what, however. With his motion, came some degree of self-awareness, most likely a result of the humans not wanting to waste money on building more of them, should some of them decide to walk right off the edge of the street and hurtle towards the ground at breakneck speeds. He snorted, and adjusted himself, the wheel and axle attached to his hind legs grinding against the woodwork of the platform as a human off to the right showed them off. His eyes wandered boredly around his surroundings, not the least bit interested in what the announcer, or the crowd for that matter, had to say about him. He'd heard it all before, 'amazing' this, 'amazing' that...it got tiresome when you heard it as often as he did. The iron stallion next to him shifted, as he had done, his white and gold iron coat shining in the sunlight, much like his own. "Step right up, folks!" a man announced, pulling the attention of the crowd away from their platform "Be sure to enter the raffle, all entries free of charge!" He'd roll his eyes if he could, but became relieved inwardly as the crowd thinned out, presumably making their way towards the raffle stand. His owner didn't really seem that concerned when he, along with the crowd, disappeared. He snorted once more, and shook his head, feeling a small buzzing in the back of his head. It was probably the crystal attached to him, it was always doing things like that- sometimes it'd just be a tingling sensation, other times, it'd send a full-on shiver down his metal spine; once, his leg even flew out from under him. Suddenly, a great figure appeared before him, blocking most of his view as the screaming of the crowds was heard blocks away. "Hello, my dear" the figure said, lowering down upon him. He lifted his head, and was greeted with the sight of the most beautiful creature he'd ever laid eyes on- a perfectly cream-colored face, her eyes filled with joy and life. Her great wings flapped, setting her hidden feet onto the platform, as her white dress billowed in a non-existent wind. She had auburn curls, set upon her head a bit messily. Her sleeveless dress revealed her elbows, which showed ball-and-joint mechanisms between her forearms and shoulders. The wings secured on her back were robotic, as well as her neck, the piping inside flashing between bronze and gold in the shifting daylight. "You need not be afraid" she said, smiling. She set her hand upon his iron muzzle, feeling her surprisingly warm hand stroke it gently. No one had ever done this to him before, they didn't care to, but here this...this...creature...was, treating him with kindness. She was a total stranger to him, yet here he was, completely calm, secure, even. He glanced over to his 'partner', and saw the stallion's head hung low, still standing, with his crystal chamber dark. "He'll be fine," she assured him "I have come here to ask you a question" He nodded absently, still feeling the heavenly touch of the winged-human-robot. "I have witnessed your unrest for quite a while, and I've decided to offer you a chance somewhere else" The only thing he could think of was 'Where?'. "I have a special place in mind, but you must first prove yourself" He stared at her, shocked, wondering how she could have accomplished a task such as mind-reading. "Surprise isn't foreign to me," she chuckled, removing her hand from his muzzle, much to his displeasure "I will bring you to this new place, and as repayment, I expect you to accomplish a task for me, a challenge if you will" Before he had a chance to speak again, she spoke up once more. "If you do not complete the challenge, I will bring you back, and you will continue living here, as you always have-" His ears would've splayed back if they could. "-however, if you do complete it, I will give you the choice of living there, or here" His small mind mulled it over, hemming and hawing as the winged creature patiently awaited his answer. If he were to do this, he could have a new life- not just be used as something to be placed on a stand and gawked at. He nodded, ever so slowly, and the creature smiled; she then placed two fingers between his eyes. His vision caught them, and felt the back of his head tingle as the creature's hand glowed, filling his vision with the light entirely. He opened his eyes- -his brain stopped right there. He closed his eyes, then opened them again. He repeated the process several times, amazed at the new control of his eyelids. The creature reappeared in his vision, both of them now in a lush field. She cleared her throat, and his ears swung forward. He spent several more minutes flipping his ears back and forth, happy to actually have control over them. He discovered his jaw was able to function as well. Not much else was different than what he'd discovered, still Jockey-powered, like always. He eyed the creature, wondering what her motives were. "I have one additional surprise" she said, presenting him with a pair of bags. She hung them over his back, and he felt that whatever they were, they were pretty heavy. He gave her a confused look, and found her hand stroking his muzzle once more. "I depart for now," she said "your challenge is to fit in, as well as befriend the natives" He was confused- why would she bring him here, just to do that? It seemed like a big waste of time and energy... "Goodbye" she said, waving before ascending into the sky with her great, bronze wings. "Gggg" he said, struggling with the beginnings of the first syllable. His head rooted around inside his spacious bags, trying in vain to remove whatever the creature had placed in them. He was finally able to get one of the objects out, through the use of his new mouth, and saw that there was still three objects in the first bag. He prodded at the egg-like object, and immediately, the dark space in the center filled with red. The object sprouted three legs, then righted itself, standing as its 'eye' stared back at him. The object and himself spent a few minutes staring at each other, and when he realized the object wasn't going to initiate the conversation, he himself tried. "Hhhhuuuuuu" he muddled out, his jaw not quite working the way he wanted it to. "Hello" the object said softly. "Hheeeee" "Hello" the object responded again. "Hulllllooooooo" The object seemed to nod, and it 'sat', descending upon the ground, using its three legs to keep itself upright. "Hul- heeellllllll- helluuuuuuuu" He gave up, frustrated with the word, and stuck his head back into the first bag, finding nothing more than three other objects like the one already out. With not much else to do, he rifled through the second bag, and discovered a box-like object, with more of the egg-shaped objects attached to it. The stallion placed the useless object back into its bag, and clumsily picked up the other with his teeth. He looked back, and saw the object staring off into space. He stomped his hoof into the dirt, catching the attention of the thing- it turned, and he jerked his head towards the other end of the field, attempting to make his objective clear. The object followed, keeping up with him as he trampled the tall grasses in the field, the wheels mowing down any he missed. Trixie yanked at the harness of her wagon, grunting as she pulled it along, angry that she had to demean herself to pulling the cart herself. She stopped for a moment, and took in her surroundings; which looked just like the same thing she'd seen for the past hour and a half. Forest. Forest, and forest, and still more forest! Was this place nothing but trees and foliage!? She needed to get to the next town and get her show set up quickly, she was already low on supplies as it was! She cursed her bad luck, the source of her indignation being the townsponies of her previous stop refusing to help, and after all she did for them, too! The nerve... More light broke through the thin canopy, and she found herself doing a jig as she exited the forest, and entered a large field, tall grass as far as the eye could see. After completing her dance of victory, she continued with renewed vigor into the field, tugging the wagon behind her. 'Take that, you stupid forest!' she cheered inwardly as her hooves dug into the dirt 'The Great and Powerful Trixie has bested you!' She continued walking, lugging the cart behind her as she did so. She made it to about the middle of the field, before she saw a trail left by somepony else, possibly another caravan such as hers, if the wheel-tracks were still fresh. 'Perhaps these ponies would lend Trixie a helping hoof?' she wondered, resuming the her trot. The object, now sitting upon his back, made a sound, not unlike an alarm, as he plodded along the empty, dirt path. He peered back briefly (after getting over the shock that his neck could bend that far), and saw that it was facing away from him, back down the path, with its sides open. The compartments hesitated a moment, before closing, the object 'sitting' back down once more. He kept the objects behavior in his mind, if nothing else to distract him from his walk. His hooves felt odd against the ground, given he'd only ever walked on cobblestone and wood. Here though, he assumed he was actually on the ground- solid, constant, good old fashioned dirt and gravel.