//------------------------------// // 70 - Cryptical // Story: Synch // by sunnypack //------------------------------// Maellorn was sequestered in the caverns of a dragon graveyard. The walls were dank and damp. The air was humid and insufferable. The floor was grimy and unkempt. Yet, as bad is it were, this is infinitely more preferable than facing the combined wrath of a millennia-old dragon and her millennia-old companion alicorn princess. Despite being relegated to the most uncomfortable of living condition, he could forgive the princess and the dragon for their actions. After all, he knew he himself were in the wrong. It was wrong to sacrifice those souls, it was wrong to condemn them to nothing, to cast their sapience as mere tools and energy. But despite all those reasons, he could feel no empathy when balanced on the scales against his one true goal, his only desire. “Maellorn”, a soft, feminine voice called from the depths of the cavern. She sounded sad, always so sad. It couldn’t be helped. Her sadness or her life, which one would he gladly paid for? He didn’t even have to think about it. “This cannot go on, my dear”, she called again, desperation tinged in her voice. Her voice was like a siren song to him. Her morals, so plainly marked, made him fall ever so much more in love. “My love. My star. My hope. My world”, he whispered lovingly, trotting over to briefly nuzzle her, she returned the gesture with a brief hesitation. “Maellorn, listen to me”, she began but he placed a solemn hoof on her lips. He knew what was coming. She had given the same speech almost twelve times. Every time she began with his title, not his name. No matter how weary it made him, or how tiresome they became, her voice made it sound like blessed music, her expression gave life to the words no other could. She was perfect. Those that were perfect retained the morality of their souls. He had stained that long ago. “My beloved, we have had this argument before. Let us not spoil the peace we keep”, he crooned, running a hoof across her mane. She shuddered in pleasure before inevitably drifting back to the issue, determined for her husband to see the light. She wanted him, not Maellorn to see what was before her. “Maellorn”, she croaked sadly. “All things must come to an end. It is a miracle I was saved once, but never again. You have promised me that.” Maellorn regarded his wife. “So it has been, my love. After resurrecting you, one of the last ones to be done so, I stopped as you have asked. I regret resurrecting Sharp before you, though. Her interference we could have done without”, he reasoned, continuing to stroke her body. Her eyes shone with unshed tears as she regarded her one true love. “That is not what I am saying, dear. You know that”, she replied, shaking her head. Maellorn knew what she would ask, the one thing he could give to her in the world. “You cannot condemn that which has done no wrong”, she began, but was cut off by her husband. “My beloved Lilac, its existence threatens our very own!” he argued, removing his hoof and pounding it on the floor in frustration. Lilac flinched, which tore at his heart in guilt. “We have to push on, I have not come so far and waded through a river of sin to reach you, only for it to be cast asunder by one measly life!” He knew he had crossed a line when he had said those words. Lilac looked at him with horrified eyes. “Lilac”, he began, reaching a hoof out. “No!” she screamed, edging away. “Don’t touch me! You are not the Brownie I once knew! My Brownie, oh Brownie! He would never talk about souls or lives in such a callous manner. Brownie, where have you gone? Brownie…” she sobbed, retreating into the cave. He felt a pain that clutched at his heart. Brownie was a stallion that would have wept for hours in the darkness but not Maellorn, Maellorn kept his mood dark and his thoughts darker. “Maellorn, sir”, a voice called from the mouth of the cave. “What? Can you not see I am busy here?” he growled, casting a dismissive glance from his pitch-black musings. “I’m sorry sir, but we’ve found him and there is an opportunity to strike. We have to leave now”, she reported diligently. Yes, Ragnild Talon was always a reliable one. “Thank you, Ragnild”, he called back to the griffon. In time, just as his beloved had asked, he would discard the name and title of Maellorn. For now, there was work to do. ----- Usually when people end up in a new world they get all these really cool powers and abilities. I wish I had one, apart from using my Synch. I mean it wasn’t that practical. All it could do was convenience me when I needed a translation or perhaps a good navigation waypoint. At least I wouldn’t get lost, the magnetic poles of this world seemed to be similar to Earth’s at least enough so the magnetic compass module on the Synch could get bearings. That alongside the six-axis gyroscope and accelerometer, allowed for pretty accurate mapping, if only in a very local sense. I still needed a few satellites if I were to fix my true coordinates, but fat chance of that in Equestria. Where was I? Oh yeah, super powers. I wish I had them. You know, the power to protect my friends and all that jazz. I know it sounds corny but I wish I had them because then I could have changed something, I could have prevented the disaster. What disaster you say? Well it was a monster. That came from within. I was morbidly going through Angel’s video blog entries. Something about them was just addictive. Angel steadily got worse and worse, her obsession with Black Box growing to the point that she was spending almost all her free time working on it. She gave just enough of herself to still be gainfully employed at Grooble and I watched as Angel grew from being the girl that I knew to a commanding woman in charge of the Research and Development sector of Synch Engineering Division. It was strange to see Angel growing up without being there. I had initially tried holding onto the hope that this was some kind of trick, that this wasn’t real. But the evidence couldn’t hold my denial for long. Angel was… Angel and there was no else who could be her. I had combed through her video blogs, when I first heard mention of it. Dated Entry: 23/04/2049 “I’m the head of Synch Engineering Division, well specifically the Research and Development sector, exactly as I had planned!” Angel spoke excitedly. I couldn’t help but be proud of her. She had talent. “I’ve been moved to the home country of Synch headquarters, the ‘land of the free’ as the locals would call it”, she chuckled, and I found the mirth strange, added to the fact that I was looking at Angel nearing thirty years of age. “Progress on Black Box had been slow, I don’t have many Synchs I can access to study the organic phenomena so I’ve scavenged as many old core modules and power sources I could”, she sighed, looking at the camera in sadness. “He was always better at that kind of technical hardware than I ever was.” She brightened. “I’ve managed to recruit about a thousand modules and study the effects on the network, it’s fascinating, each module acts kind of like a neuron in our brains, but so much more complicated. I’m convinced this’ll be our next breakthrough in technology. Unlike Immersion”, she says, regarding the last word with an expression of disgust. Her mouth twists in revulsion before an eye twitches and everything is back to normal. I had glanced in shock but Angel had recovered quickly. “Heh, I’m sorry you had to see that”, she apologises to the camera before leaving an awkward pause. She cuts off the recording. After that, her video blog posts get more and more infrequent, I found out she had moved from working for Grooble to helping out with the WHO. Soon her skills were looked upon in favour and eventually she became a lead software engineer on the project. I wondered why she transferred out of Grooble, Synch had always been a passion of hers. Dated Entry: 15/09/2064 “It’s happening! I’m going to use Black Box to control the world Synch network! I’ve convinced the board that this will make monitoring and control of data so much more easier than the old algorithms running on the extranet filters.” She flicked a wrist in dismissal of the extranet filters. “Out-dated junk. Black Box will finally take its place as the arbiter of this world’s information. It will be the guide of humanity! It will finally be a just extension of his legacy on this world.” She looked at the screen in only what I could describe as a fanatical way. “Soon”, she whispered, humming a tune. “So soon.”