//------------------------------// // Waypoint: MosCow // Story: Imperium // by Sam Cole //------------------------------// Chapter Three: Waypoint: MosCow The librarian walked down the aisles of endless tomes and scrolls, looking for one of her new favorites. She had quite the impressive library already, but these new additions to her collection were from a very, very special source. Her user, the one Miss Rarity. “Opening file: Orders from Miss Rarity.” Twilight smiled as she pulled out the newest scroll. “Direction: Define purpose for mission on unit level.” Happily, the lavender mare took the scroll back to her large chair, one that with its size and comfort threatened to swallow her whole. She nestled in and reopened the scroll, reviewing all system notes about the order. “User has made clear direction was not in reference to emotion: Romantic Love. System error: Undefined love implied. Searching online for more information.” The bookish pony smiled as she crafted words in the air before her very eyes, laying back into throw pillows and cushions, as she watched each word form with nary a thought. She would pick one to play with, downloading all information, before pushing the word back and picking a new one. It was one thing to hold paper inscribed with words from either press or calligraphy, but another to interact with them directly. Twilight made several notes to try this spell at a later time, in her active mode. Being stuck in sleep mode like this made her interface act oddly, and though her programming didn’t care for it, Twilight rather did. She called it dreaming. Lucid though it was, the only word that could fit was dream. Twilight’s subconscious had the helm, and it took her to this magical place. This mental archive. And it was here that Twilight remained. The girl chuckled and hummed, tapping her hooves as she read entry after entry, data point after data point. Twilight was happy here. There were the words of her user, and all the data she had ever read. Even those words she thought forgotten in time still remained, etched onto her cerebral parchment for all time, and then some now with her upgrades. It was- no, it is a paradise that Twilight can access anytime she needs. But like all promised lands, something outside called her away. Glowing red words strained her eyes and forced her to heed them. But they needn't worry, for their message is one she would never ignore. They read simply: User Danger Imminent. “Miss Rarity!” Twilight barked as she shot out of her bed, the train still rolling along to MosCow. The lavender eyes danced to her user’s cot, finding the white mare sleeping not so soundly, her previous habit of talking present yet again. “No, not you too, professor… No, please…” “Miss Rarity, you are in danger.” Twilight snapped, standing guard by her master. The door to their compartment was still, but not for long. The threat was getting closer. Thinking fast, Twilight grabbed the mare, and dragged her off the bed. “Bwah!” Rarity screamed as she woke with a start as she fought off the sensation of falling. Her breathing labored, her eyes wild, she focused her gaze on the lavender mare with a ferocity seldom told tales of. “Twilight, what is going-” “Danger, Miss Rarity. Engage Defense Protocol one: Protect User.” Twilight snorted as she charged her horn. “What do you mean-” Rarity started again, but the door slid open, and Twilight did not hold back. The first mare by the door took a shot of mana straight to the chest, knocking her out against the back wall. “Search program complete, TOC1 located. Eng-” The second unit managed before Twilight blasted the unit with a purple beam of magical energy. “Two units down. Hoof Soldiers. No data retrieved.” Twilight surmised. “Two units remain on board. One recon drone, one mage class. Warning, enemy systems are responding to my hacking attempts. Units have upgraded security protocols since Beaklin, Miss Rarity.” “What is going on?!” Rarity demanded. “Who are those ponies? Why did you blast them? Why the buck did you wake me up like that?!” “Miss Rarity, we are in danger. We need to relocate to a more strategic location.” Twilight informed. “Wha- When- How?” Rarity muttered looking around, trying to force herself to comprehend the truth of the matter. Finally, she looked at Twilight, with determination burning like fire in her eyes. “Darling, we cannot let these goons stop us. Not now. So I expect you to do everything you can to help me get these ruffians off our train.” “Affirmative, Miss Rarity.” Twilight nodded. She looked to the back wall of their train compartment, looking almost through the wood to beyond. “Unit’s will be in our car in ten seconds, Miss Rarity.” “Then let’s greet them, Darling.” Rarity smiled mischievously. “Units 1287-4 and 3422-9, report.” An unknown pony said as she and another accomplice slipped into the next car. ”I’m sorry, who are you looking for?” The sweet voice of Rarity asked as she threw an uppercut into the pony’s peeking jaw, knocking her out in the doorway. “Because I think you found her.” “Error, ambush det-” The other started to report, but a blast of magic to the back stopped her cold as Twilight stepped forward from the other side. “Unit’s engaged, Miss Rarity.” Twilight informed, rather redundantly for the white mare’s personal tastes. “So what have you lea-” Rarity began, but Twilight held a hoof out to stop her. “Unit 7533-7, Mage Class. Designator, Moon Dancer.” Twilight replied, but not to Rarity as the mare quickly noticed. “Miss Rarity, enemy unit is still quite operational.” “What?” Rarity asked as the mare before her groaned, slowly rising back to her hooves. Twilight looked at her user, a fear in her eyes Rarity would not soon forget. “Prime Directive one: Protect User at all costs.” Twilight stated as she teleported Rarity away. The mare would not be happy to be treated as such, but she was safe now. “TOC1 engaged. Rouge operating status confirmed. Begin unit reclamation.” The mare once known as Moon Dancer stated, digging her hooves in as she charged her horn. “What in the world?” Rarity asked as she looked around the new car she was in, and her anger growing. “Twilight!” The mare huffed as she looked to the front and back of the car, quickly deciding which way to run to rejoin her friend before it was too late. Mighty blasts rocked the car. Bolt after bolt of amber and magenta mana cascaded towards the ponies with reckless abandon. Twilight took to a more physical form of fighting, using her strength to leap and dodge while the superiorly powered unit took all attacks head on, and returning them in kind. “Firewall 13 disabled.” Twilight noted when she landed, ducking low as a spell rent the air above her asunder. Had she been there, she would be very much everywhere else right about now. “Attempts at outside interface detected. Deploying countermeasures.” Moon Dancer nodded, lowering her horn to blast the floor of the train. “Countermeasures unsuccessful.” Twilight informed casually as she rebounded off the wall, whipping her head to form a magical wave of destructive mana. The target easily blocked the wave, her own mystic shields holding, but not as well as she would have assumed. “Error, Unit 4972-0 possesses mana greater than reported.” Moon Dancer observed. “Attempting to calculate mana strength…” ”Firewall 24 disabled.” Twilight calmly noted as she landed and began pummeling the opponent's shields directly, rocking her with blast after blast. “Unit 7533-7 lacks functional multi tasking tools.” Twilight gloated as she shattered the shields. “Objective updated.” Moon Dancer panted as she stood up properly from the magical barrage she had endured. “New objective: Eliminate all resistance.” Rarity threw her weight into the door as she barreled forward, bursting through into a very warm room. “The engine?” The white mare almost screamed as the conductor watched her curiously. “Damn you, Twilight!” Rarity bellowed as she turned around, and taking to her hooves once more. Twilight had been cocky before. Some part of her could admit that. She knew she was magically talented. But she let pride go to her head. She would have to fix that later, granted of course that she survived. “Unit 4972-0, yield.” Moon Dancer commanded as she took her turn blasting Twilight’s shields with her spells. The mare would mix it up, throwing out fire or ice spells every so often, trying to keep Twilight distracted. “Firewall 33 disabled.” Twilight replied. “Error, unit 7533-7 approaching mystic burn out. Be advised: unit, halt process or risk damage to essential systems.” “Error: this unit does not accept rouge unit data.” Moon Dancer stated. “Mana output increased to 100%.” “Unit 7533-7, systems failure imminent.” Twilight urged. It felt wrong in all honesty, to go against so much of her user's instructions and her own programming as if it were a joke. But the mare would not have long to mull the thoughts over as the sound of hooves quickly closed in. “Twilight! I’m here, don’t-” Twilight wasted no time in teleporting Rarity again. “User detected. User safety compromised.” “Processing…” The unit Moon Dancer supplied. “New objective: Eliminate Rogue unit user.” Twilight found her emotions earlier to be erroneous. Now, there was no dispute, only Prime Directive One: Protect user, at all costs. “Firewall 50 disabled.” Twilight growled as she gained her long sought after control. “Unit override enabled. Delete system 32, commence Defrag.” “Error, error, eroor, err...or… err…” Moon Dancer muttered, losing steam and slumping forward as Twilight walked past the now drooling unit. “Unit 7533-7 Status: disabled.” Twilight muttered as she left behind her brain dead assailant. “User safety: optimal.” “Twilight Sparkle! When I get my hooves on you, you’ll wish you had never learned that spell!” Rarity screamed as she flopped down to the floor. She was exhausted, and her friend had made it quite clear that she would not let her be present. No, Twilight was strictly following orders, as it would appear. But Rarity’s party of self pity was interrupted by the familiar pop of magic, and her friend’s calm voice. “Miss Rarity, I wish to inform you-” Twilight began, but was quickly cut off by a hug from her friend. “Error, unit requires oxygen, Miss Rarity.” “Shut up, Twilight. You scared me.” Rarity sighed as she pulled back, looking deep into those lavender eyes again. “What happened? Where are the… others?” “All opposition has been effectively neutralized.” Twilight nodded. Something was off. Normally, she would smile to tell Rarity she was safe, but now… “Neutralized how, darling?” Rarity asked slowly. “Three units remain unconscious at this time.” Twilight informed. “One unit has been eliminated due to hostile actions against you, Miss Rarity.” “Eliminated? Twilight, you didn’t…?” “The unit is still biologically alive, Miss Rarity. I simply shut down their nanites and removed all traces of their computer programming.” Twilight stated coldly. “She’s- She’s normal then?” Rarity asked, awed by the news. “Twilight, that’s wonderful! Tell me, can we do the same to you?” “The action is possible, but not recommended, Miss Rarity.” Twilight frowned. “Destroying the nanites has left unit: Moon Dancer in a now vegetative state.” “W-What?” Rarity asked, trying her best to control herself. “Twilight, you- You killed her…” “Negative, Miss Rarity.” Twilight frowned. “Unit: Moon Dancer is still biologically alive.” “You call being a vegetable alive? Twilight, you kil-” Rarity began, but Twilight’s sudden glare cut her off. “Miss Rarity, do not assume I enjoyed destroying one of my kind. I acted as needed to preserve my user’s life and security.” Twilight calmly replied. “One of your kind?” Rarity asked cautiously. “Darling, are you…” “Affirmative, Miss Rarity. Emotion: Comradery is pre programed into all units. We all aim to complete the common goal.” “Wait, we all?” Rarity asked defensively. “Even you?” “Affirmative.” Twilight nodded. “We are all built for the purpose of Master Control.” “Right, right, overthrow the nation.” Rarity huffed. Twilight opened her mouth, but Rarity was quick to stop her. “Darling, you don’t owe them anything anymore. They’re trying to kill you. So please, stop trying to overthrow the princesses. Please?” “Understood, Miss Rarity.” Twilight nodded. “The goals of the collective are not this unit’s goals.” “Excellent.” Rarity sighed. “And promise me, no more killing, no matter what.” “Error, Miss Rarity.” Twilight said solemnly. “Your orders will be ineffective. The enemy does not practice value: mercy.” “All the more reason for us too.” Rarity stated defiantly. But even then and there, the white mare knew that promise would be broken. She had a feeling it was about to get a lot worse before it got better. “Come darling, we need to prepare for our arrival. We should probably go over the plan again.” “Affirmative, Miss Rarity. Where would you like to begin?” Twilight asked as she sat down with her scared friend. Twilight couldn’t say she was happy that Miss Rarity was angry with her, but as long as her user lived, the beauty could feel however she wanted in all honesty. A cold wind greeted the pair as they ascended the stairs of their first target and the distributer of the flu vaccines in Ponyville, HoofCo Pharmaceuticals. Rarity couldn’t help but feel eyes on them as they walked in, and was doing everything in her power to keep calm. She was the wild card after all, as Twilight was running the perfect program, while Rarity had to act. What Rarity wasn’t prepared for was how the guard bull would react to her when she approached him. He took one look at the mare, and snorted in disgust. Before Rarity could ever say anything, he tossed a badge at her and Twilight. “Corporate dogs. You come here to cut jobs, no?” “We’re simply here for an audit, sir.” Rarity replied cooly, letting her act slip into place. “We’re not here to fire anypo- anyone.” With a snort, the bull stepped aside, muttering about the pair being Trottingham idiots as they walked past. “Excuse me sir, but where are we to head?” Twilight smiled, making Rarity freeze in her place. The guard snorted. “Go to twentieth floor. You work there.” “Thank you.” Rarity replied coldly before Twilight could be too nice again. So much for her program. Little too nice if you ask me, Rarity noted as the pair made the elevator at long last, letting the heavy doors block off the angry stares. As the lift took them up, Rarity sighed, letting her shoulders drop. “Twilight, it would appear that these bovine are not fans of ours. I think it would be best to switch over to interface program mousy.” “Negative, Miss Rarity. Interface: mousy draws too much attention to suspect behavior: cowardly around the workers. I recommend interface: ice queen.” “Hmm, I like that name.” Rarity muttered sarcastically. But Twilight did have a point, no one liked talking to a bitch. This way, others would avoid her of their own accord. “Go ahead and run that program then if you would, please.” “Affirmative.” Twilight nodded. “Miss Rarity, I have an issue to report.” “WINRAR?” “Negative, Miss Rarity.” Twilight said as Rarity opened her eyes and looked at her friend once more. “Outfit: business suit has been found to be itchy. Request outfit patch update to resolve issue.” “Twilight, you can’t program clothing to be comfortable.” Rarity chuckled, shaking her head. “You should have told me it was itchy when we bought it.” “But you really liked how I looked in it, Miss Rarity. I did not want to disappoint.” Twilight informed as the lift stopped, opening for the pair as Rarity was left speechless. Once again, Twilight had ignored her physical needs for Rarity, but in a way that was entirely Twilight. Not a computed mannerism, but rather a simple choice. A product of free will. “You!” Rarity heard as she and Twilight exited the lift, making her freeze yet again. She was not cut out to be a spy after all. “Tell your boss in Trottingham that we are on budget! We don’t need audit!” “Sir, you mistake us.” Twilight said coldly, letting her icy stare focus on the offending bull. “Indeed, we’re here to see exactly how you stay on budget, and prepare a plan for other sites to follow based on your excellent example.” Rarity smiled smugly. “Horse manure!” The bull scoffed. “You come to see how to save another ruble.” The worker huffed, walking away from them. “Get to work and get out.” “With pleasure.” Rarity and Twilight replied coldly, stomping past the ingrates as they made their way to the tiny back room they were allocated to work in. “I see they continue to roll out the red carpet for us, darling…” Rarity scoffed as she took a seat at one of the two available computers. Twilight simply stood in front of her machine, her eyes changing from her normal violet to green. “Connection established. Password override successful. Run program: Data mine.” “I will never fathom how you manage that, darling.” Rarity muttered as she began poking around the desk she was at, looking bored already. Her computer screen popped into life as streams of information appeared, before disappearing just as fast, leaving Rarity a fully working computer. “I’ll assume that was you, darling?” ”Affirmative, Miss Rarity.” Twilight muttered as her eyes swept back and forth over the pages of financial data. “Why are you looking at the finances, dear?” “Advanced counterintelligence tactic: Follow the revenue.” Twilight muttered distantly. Rarity quickly figured out how ineffective conversation was, and began poking around the computer, going online. She was content to just hum and scroll, hoping Twilight found her information soon. Of course, with Twilight thoroughly distracted, it never occurred to the white mare that they were effectively surrounded by the enemy, and she was the pony on point. “Why you dress shopping?” One heifer asked from the door, peeking in as she watched Twilight sit before page after page of spreadsheets, and Rarity before a fashion website. Thankfully she couldn’t see Twilight’s eyes, or the fact that the lavender mare didn’t even need the keyboard, otherwise she would have much more explaining to do. “Ah…” “You the boss, no?” The bovine asked, pointing to Rarity. “Yes…?” “Hmmph, management never change.” The cow smiled, softening a little. “Careful not to let Antoine catch you. Also, red one looks best in my opinion.” “You think?” Rarity asked as she smiled, turning back to her screen. “Thank you, Miss…?” “Call me Natalia.” The cow smiled, slipping back out of the office. “Natalia.” Rarity smiled. Turning to look at Twilight, still unbudging. “That must be a lot of information.” “Affirmative.” “So… anything to report?” Rarity asked nonchalantly. “HoofCo made the vaccines distributed in Ponyville, but they themselves did not produce nor add the nanites to the compound. That was done off site at CloverTech, following a new merger just before the vaccines were readied and shipped.” “Great, so now we have to go sneak into CloverTech.” Rarity groaned. “And from there, we’ll probably have to go to Posh to find the broker for the merger, then-” “Negative, Miss Rarity.” Twilight stated as she continued to download information. “We have no need to stop at other destinations. The financial hoofprint of the collective is everywhere on these records.” “So what does that mean?” Rarity asked angrily. “That we are on the right track. I need more time though to fully comprehend the collective’s plan from this location. “Great, you do that.” Rarity nodded, looking back to her computer with disgust. “Well, is there anything I could look up myself that would be helpful, Darling?” “Negative, Miss Rarity. The situation is under control.” Twilight nodded. Despite her talkative outburst, Twilight stayed glued to her computer, her eyes only blinking and swaying as she manipulated the data and dug further. After three hours had passed, Rarity was no closer to knowing what Twilight was doing than before, but now she knew exactly how boring a small room could be. She had explored page after page of news, travel, and had even found out how to read ebooks; a discovery that, much to her shock, Twilight only nodded too. Finally, at Twilight’s insistence to entertain her no less, Rarity found herself bored enough to actually make a personal ponyhoof page. “What should I ‘like’ first, darling?” Rarity asked absent heartedly. “Fluttershy has asked you to visit and like her page for her cottage rescue program.” Twilight informed almost absently. “Okay, bare with me here.” Rarity groaned as she clicked away at the keyboard keys. “Here we are. Hey look, you like this page! Now I do too!” Rarity smiled as she clicked the like button. “Error, Fluttershy made mention of this being a new page. I should not have a like currently.” Twilight muttered. “The new page has an exclamation mark after the title for reference.” “Okay, hold on.” Rarity groaned as she typed. “No, now I made that my status… Ah, here we go! Wait… Twilight, something’s wrong.” “Please describe your technical assistance needs, Miss Rarity.” “I don’t know. The whole screen looks blocky and distorted. I think it crashed, darling.” Rarity stated weakly. “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” “Does that actually work?” Rarity asked. “Affirmative.” Rarity only shrugged, and tried the command. But when the computer came back online, and Rarity navigated to the page once more, the error persisted. “Nothing… I think it’s a problem with the page itself…” ”Then I will examine the page at a later time, Miss Rarity.” Twilight concluded. “Update: I have finished my examination of the site's finances and security protocol.” “Security?” Rarity asked, already not liking where this was going. “Affirmative. Our position here has been compromised. Agent Natalia has alerted units to a possible security breach.” Twilight said as she finally tore her eyes away from the screen. “I have managed to halt the building’s IFF analysis, but I cannot keep the agents outside from discovering our deceit much longer. Miss Rarity, we will most likely encounter heavy resistance on the other side of the door.” “Oh drat.” Rarity sighed. “Well then, escape plans?” “Processing… None. Defensive capabilities from current position… None. Offensive capabilities… twelve.” “Well, that’s better than none.” Rarity conceded. “I’ll follow your lead, darling.” “Error, Miss Rarity.” Twilight said with a frown. “All twelve scenarios rely on you being the first to engage. Based on the lack of alarms or movement outside, they are holding location as they try to determine friend/ foe. We should strike now.” “Alright…” Rarity groaned as she stood back up, walking over to the door and opening it with a flip of her mane. “Excuse me, sir? Could I ask you a quick question?” “What you want?” The bull growled, leaning in close to the mare. “Do you have dental insurance?” “Da...?” “Good.” Rarity smiled as she wrapped her hooves behind the bovine’s neck, bringing her knee up rapidly to meet the mandible of her victim. The deafening crack sung through the office, as bovines abandoned their desks to rush in, horns pointed at the pair. “Option number Four engaged.” Twilight nodded as she leapt over her friend, grabbing the first assailant and bringing him to the ground. “I do hope the rest of our trips start to involve less fighting!” Rarity yelled as she ducked a rather nasty looking horn and struck the bull in the gut. “Outcome unlikely, Miss Rarity.” Twilight added nonchalant. “Duck.” “Wha- Whoa!” Rarity screamed as Twilight threw some poor cow over her to take out some more bovine assailants coming down the hall. “Twilight!” “I gave you advanced warning, Miss Rarity. You were in no danger.” Twilight calmly stated as she began firing off blast of magical energy, mainly aiming for the ground, right in front of the oppositions’ hooves. “That doesn’t mean I like it!” Rarity barked back, holding a bull in a choke hold. “You two, very odd…” The bull noted as he slipped into sleep. “Why you commanding drone? What upgrades you have?” “Wake up.” Rarity growled as she rubbed her hoof viciously on the bull’s sternum. “What makes you think I’m upgraded?” “You- fight- good…” The bull gasped. “Well I’ll have you know I have no little machines inside my mind, thank you! I’m one hundred percent myself!” “Ha, silly pony. Think only upgrades leave you like her…” The bull muttered as he passed out again, though this time Rarity left him as such. “Twilight, we may have a problem.” “Indeed.” A voice behind Rarity chuckled, though it lacked a certain accent this time. “I must say, I didn’t know what to make of you at first, ponies.” “Greeting, Agent Natalia.” Twilight nodded as she held her line, eyeing a bull that dared get a little too close before he backed away. “I almost thought you were a friend.” Rarity sighed as she laid on the floor, looking up to the heifer. “Oh well.” Rarity dismissed as she punched hard, making the cow double over, her eyes watering. “Twilight, I would like to get out of here now, please?” “Processing… Escape route found, Miss Rarity.” Twilight nodded as Rarity got to her hooves, clashing horns with a smaller heifer. Twilight magically grabbed the mare, before bolting at the window at top speed. “No, not again!” Rarity protested as Twilight shattered the window magically, leaping to freedom with her user in tow. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.” Rarity sighed as she and Twilight took rest in a small shop. “Miss Rarity, I have analysed all pertinent data.” Twilight informed, panting slightly from her fighting. “Where would you like to begin?” “What looks promising, dear?” “Several agents are getting ready for a new systems test in the Land of Eire, of-” “The Emerald Isles?” Rarity gasped. “I always wanted to visit the Isles. Oh our luck is finally turning.” “Indeed, Miss Rarity.” Twilight noted, though Rarity chose to ignore what sounded like either machine coldness or sarcasm, it didn’t matter. “Miss Rarity, this shop has wireless internet available. Would you like for me to search Fluttershy’s page at this time?” “Hmm, oh. Go right ahead, darling.” Rarity dismissed. “Processing… Miss Rarity, new information is available regarding the collective.” Twilight nodded. “I’m sorry, what?” “New in-” “How did you get new information? Twilight, what is going on?” Rarity asked sharply. “The information was available on Fluttershy’s page, Miss Rarity.” Twilight nodded. “What?” Rarity snorted. “Twilight, please explain in careful detail.” “The information was encoded to only be accessible by an upgraded unicorn. I now have detailed schematics on several of the collective’s operations and tactics, Miss Rarity. Where would you like to begin?” “I think the right place to start is back in Ponyville.” Rarity growled. “Darling, we’re going home. Somepony has a very big story to tell!” Back at HoofCo, several fallen enemies were picking themselves up, sorrowed at their loss at the hooves of one normal mare and a death machine. “Agent Natalia, we were only able to confirm the presence of TOC1, Twilight Sparkle.” “Hmm, so we still have no clue who her little friend is then, do we?” Natalia asked as she dropped her fake accent entirely, walking into the office the pair had recently been using. Who could do this? Who are you? Wh- Natalia stopped her thoughts when she noticed the second computer. The one the mystery mare had been using. It would seem that in her haste, she made a mistake. Natalia clicked the back button, smirking as the ponyhoof page loaded again. “So, Rarity Grace of Ponyville. Well then, I think we had better investigate that town a little more closely…”