CHAPTER 7
“Organics fear that which is different. It is a hardware error.”
The six mares all stood, huddled together, on one side of the main room of the library. They stared, never blinking, at the behemoth standing across from them, the pale blue eye passing over each pony. Both parties stared at one another, neither side making the first move. As Twilight waited for something to happen, she also took advantage of the opportunity to study the creature up close.
While Twilight had initially believed that the whole thing was made of metal, or at least covered in it, she now saw that some sections were entirely uncovered. The two arms were exposed, revealing them to be some sort of rubbery material. Sections of it overlapped, creating the illusion of muscles. Silver tubes ran through the arms and looped up beneath the chin of the creature, coming into contact with the head just behind the eye.
The chest of the creature was very strange. The left half of it was a plain, dark gray metal, while the right half seemed to have taken some damage. It had two white symbols on it, the bottoms of which were cut off as the metal came to a rough and jagged end. Beneath this jagged edge was a large hole that, at least to Twilight, did not look natural at all. It looked similar to the effects of an overcharged magic bolt, as the edges of the hole were warped and rough.
The hole allowed a glimpse of the insides of the creature, which Twilight initially thought would be disturbing. However, the creature’s internal organs looked like nothing Twilight had ever seen illustrated in any of her biology books. Instead of having a clear heart, set of lungs, stomach, and intestines, all Twilight could see were several tubes with spots of glowing blue. The colors inside were all dull, not at all indicative of it being organic.
Curiously, Twilight was about to make the first move, when suddenly the creature stepped forward and began to approach the ponies. When all six mares visibly recoiled back, it stopped and continued staring.
“That’s enough!” Dash shouted impatiently. “I’m getting the guards.” She slowly began flapping backwards, never taking her eyes off of the creature.
“Wait,” it said in a mechanical, almost forced voice. “We mean you no harm.”
“We?” Applejack asked, confused. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Us,” the creature stated. The ponies all exchanged confused glances. Bravely, Twilight took a small step forward. She was about to speak, when the creature cut her off.
“You are Twilight Sparkle,” it said. Twilight raised an eyebrow, surprised that it knew her name.
“How did you know that?” she asked.
“We watched you. We learned from you.”
“Wait a minute!” Dash exploded angrily, rushing forward and flying violently in the creature’s face. “What do you mean you’ve been watching her? Are you a spy!?”
“We mean no harm,” it repeated. Twilight was once again about to speak, when she was cut off by a knocking at her door.
“Princess Twilight?” a male voice called from outside. “This is Private Far Gaze with the Royal Guard, I am to escort you and the Elements to Canterlot immediately.” Inside the library, everypony froze. The creature stepped back as the device it held in its claws folded up, then placed the device on its back. The light suddenly folded around it, and it disappeared from sight. While her friends stared at where the creature had been, Twilight walked to the door and opened it, revealing a young guard clad in golden armor.
“Your highness,” he said, bowing. “The next train to Canterlot will be here in about fifteen minutes. Princess Celestia has said that she does not know how long you all will be needed in Canterlot, so please pack accordingly. Meet me at the train station when you are ready.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said. “You may go.” The guard nodded and bowed once more. He backed away from the door and began walking down one of the streets of Ponyville, heading for the train station. As soon as Twilight closed the door, the creature re-emerged from its invisibility spell and stepped back into the center of the room. This time, before she could be interrupted, Twilight stalked up to the creature and spoke.
“Listen,” she started. “I do not know what you are. I do not know how you got in here, or how you can even speak. But I do know that you are being hunted right now by the guards outside for potentially putting this town and its citizens at risk. You have five minutes to convince me not to call the guards. Go.” Twilight’s friends all stared at her, wide-eyed, obviously not expecting that reaction. But they stuck by her side, and all stared at the creature impatiently.
“You were referred to as ‘princess’,” it said. “Are you a leader of this nation?” Caught somewhat off-guard, Twilight allowed her previously stern expression to fail.
“Well, not exactly,” she said. “I’m a princess-in-training right now.”
“You are leaving this place, to meet with the leadership?” it asked next.
“That’s right,” Twilight answered, reassuming her assertive physicality. “And your time to convince me is now down to four minutes.”
“We request an audience.” The ponies gasped, all of them shocked that the creature would request such a thing.
“For what reason?” Twilight asked, remaining cautious. The creature paused, the aperture around its eye moving from pony to pony. Finally it settled back on Twilight.
“… We need help,” it said. Twilight’s eyes widened, surprised by the answer. This changed her view on the creature entirely; where she had first seen a threat to Ponyville, she had now been told this. Still being cautious, Twilight allowed her assertive attitude to drop a bit as she adopted a more gentle one.
“Help with what?” she asked.
“We are lost,” it said. “Our kind is at risk. We must return home.”
“Well that’s not too difficult,” Twilight said. “Just let me know where in the world you’re from and I’ll--”
“You misunderstand,” it interrupted. “We are not lost from somewhere on this world. We are lost on this world.” Jaws dropped as the ponies realized what the creature was saying. The more Twilight went over it in her head, the more it started to make sense. The fact that nopony had seen anything like it before, the strange metal construction and abnormal organ structure… This was not a dangerous creature that threatened Equestria. This was an alien.
“Girls,” Twilight finally said, continuing to stare at the alien. “Go pack, meet me at the train station in ten minutes.”
“You’re not really going to let this thing speak to the princess, are you!?” Rainbow Dash asked, bewildered. Twilight turned to face Dash, and stared at her disapprovingly.
“It is lost and wants to return home. How would you feel?” Dash made to respond, but stopped as she started to think it through. A moment later she hung her head, then slowly flapped out of the library, followed by the other four. Once they were gone, Twilight turned to face the creature.
“Let me fill in the guards that will be accompanying us,” she said. “We’ll need to clear the train, nopony else can see you.” Becoming assertive once more, Twilight approached the creature and stood on the tips of her hooves, glaring into its single blue eye. “And if you are lying to me, and you mean to hurt the princesses, well… just don’t make me regret this decision…” The creature looked down at her, not giving off any obvious feelings.
“We will wait until you have finished alerting everyone. Then we will join you.” Twilight nodded, and turned around in an effort to find Spike. She found the small dragon standing across the room, near the entrance to the kitchen, wide-eyed and mouth agape. His large emerald eyes never left the creature. Twilight approached Spike, and waved a hoof in front of his face to bring him back to reality.
“Spike?” Twilight said. The dragon visibly flinched and blinked, then shook his head and looked to Twilight.
“Huh?” he said, confused. “Oh. Yes, Twilight?”
“Please come with me upstairs.” The two moved to the stairs and walked up side-by-side, disappearing into their shared bedroom. Immediately, Twilight grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill with her telekinesis, then jammed them into Spike’s claws.
“Spike, take a letter,” Twilight began, clearing her throat. “Dear Princess Celestia. I understand that you already have much to deal with, and that the reasons you are calling us to Canterlot are not good ones. However, it seems that something else has taken place. The creature that disturbed Fluttershy a few days ago, the one that five hundred royal guards are currently hunting for, has revealed itself to me and my friends. It appeared in the main room of my library a mere ten minutes ago, and it claims it wants to speak with you. I have tried questioning it, but it will not budge. It only wants to speak with you…
“Princess, I know that as you read this you are likely coordinating guards for the capture of the creature. And while it would indeed be wise to reinforce the train station and to clear ponies out of the way on our walk to the castle, I would strongly urge against an all-out attack. I do not believe that it has malevolent intentions. In fact, it claims that it is lost, and is only looking for a way back home.
“Speaking of home – that brings me to my next point, which is the main reason why we should avoid any sort of violent confrontation with the creature. Celestia, it is not of this world. It is from the stars. This is a momentous occasion not only for us, but for Equis as a whole. Please, do not try to capture or, as you alluded to before you left, kill it. I cannot be sure, but I do not think it means us harm. Please, give it a chance. Always your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
The sound of scribbling on the parchment stopped as Spike finished scribing the message. The dragon rolled it up and spit a stream of green dragonflame at it, engulfing the parchment in the fire. The letter disintegrated as the flame shrunk to a wisp and flew out of the window, phasing through the glass. Twilight sighed. In mere seconds, Celestia would receive the letter and read it. Twilight hoped that she would take her advice, and not do anything too extreme.
“Alright,” Twilight said. “Let’s go make sure that it’s still here, and hasn’t gone to eat anypony… Then I’ll inform the guards to clear the train station.” The two left the room, and as they walked down the stairs, Twilight was glad to see that the creature had not moved. It still stood in the center of the room, watching the pony and dragon as they made their entrance. Twilight passed by the creature and approached the door, then opened it just enough to poke her head out. She looked around for a guard, which, considering just how many were present, was not difficult. Upon gaining the attention of the closest guard, Twilight waved him over.
“Yes, your highness?” the guard said, saluting. Twilight widened the door slightly, continuing to wave the guard in. The stallion walked inside, and his eyes immediately fell over the giant stranger. He instinctively pointed his spear at it, and held a hoof up to Twilight.
“Stand down, soldier,” Twilight ordered, prompting a confused stare from the guard. Still, Twilight was a princess, and so he complied. “I’ve already informed the princess that it will be joining us in Canterlot, but nopony else knows about it yet. I need you to clear the train station and make sure that the next outbound train is vacant except for myself and the Elements.
“Yes, princess,” the guards said, saluting once more. He turned and trotted out of the door, heading for the train station. Twilight closed the door behind him, then turned and approached the creature, craning her neck to look it in the eye.
“You can go invisible, right?”
“Yes,” the creature replied, nodding. “We assume that you wish for us to do so while en route to the train station.”
“That’s right,” Twilight said. “You’re not going to wander off on the way there, are you?”
“No,” it said. “That would be counter-productive, as our goal is to speak with your leaders. Wandering off would prevent us from doing so.”
“Okay,” Twilight said, nodding. She rubbed a hoof against her head as she turned and took a few steps away from the creature. A moment later, the door burst open and her five friends all reentered, each one carrying a full set of saddlebags. The only exception was Rarity, who, in addition to the saddlebags, carried behind her several very large suitcases. They all filed into the main room and circled around Twilight and the creature.
“Everypony ready?” Twilight asked, receiving nods of affirmation in response. “Good. If we leave now, then the train station should be abandoned by the time we arrive. Spike?”
“Yeah, Twilight?” Spike replied from the other side of the room.
“Can you watch the library while we’re gone?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks, Spike,” Twilight said. “If we have to be gone for longer than three days, I’ll send somepony to pick you up and bring you to Canterlot. You can get somepony else to look after the library.” Satisfied that all was in order, Twilight turned and walked to the door, opening it and stepping out into the chilly air. There was another shimmering sound, followed once again by mechanical whirring, and the creature disappeared from view. Twilight stared at where it had stood, hoping it would follow as promised...
Princess Celestia sat in her private study, reading over some minor reports while she waited for her student and her friends to arrive. She had not wanted to include the young princess in an issue such as this, but with confirmation that the changelings were involved, Twilight deserved to know. The Elements had played an instrumental role in their downfall only a year before, and their expertise would be valued.
As she read, a small wisp of green dragonflame phased through her window and came to a hover over her desk. It exploded with a brilliant green flash, depositing a rolled up scroll onto the desk atop of several other documents. Setting aside her current report, Celestia picked up the letter from Twilight and unfurled it, then began reading.
The letter started off normally, but early in the first paragraph things went for a wild spin. The creature had shown itself to Twilight and her friends. Celestia was about to immediately put down the letter and call for the guards, but she figured that, if Twilight had been able to write and send the message, then she must be okay. So she kept on reading, and she was glad that she did.
Twilight did not want the princess to attempt an arrest on the creature. Apparently it wanted to speak to her. Troubled, Celestia finished the letter, then stood up and walked to the door of her study. She opened the door and stepped out, turning to the guard stationed at the entrance.
“Alert the guards to clear the train station,” she commanded. “And then clear a direct route from there to the castle. We have a special guest coming.”
“Yes, your highness!” the guard said, saluting. He took off at a run down the hallway and towards the barracks to prepare guards. Celestia exited her office and turned down another hallway, one that would lead to her sister’s room. Celestia had intended to speak with Twilight and her friends on her own, but if that creature was coming too, Luna needed to be there. But rather than send a guard to spread the word of something so sensitive, Celestia decided to do it herself. She came to the door that led to her sister’s tower, then began the trek up the winding steps.
It only took about a minute to reach the top, which linked to a short hallway, at the end of which was a door that opened to Luna’s bedroom. On either side of the door were Lunar guards clad in their darker armor, each one keeping vigilant watch over the area. When Celestia approached they both saluted and stepped aside, allowing her to approach the door. Celestia knocked lightly, then stood back and waited. A moment later the door opened, and an exhausted Princess Luna stood in the darkened room beyond.
“Sister?” Luna asked tiredly. “What is it?”
“There has been a development, Luna,” Celestia answered. “May I please come in?” Luna said nothing, but she stepped aside and allowed her sister entry. Celestia quickly entered, then closed the door behind her and entered the pitch-black room. It did not remain so for long, however, as Luna sparked her horn and magically lit several candles spread throughout the room. They cast light all over the room, revealing the mess that was Luna’s private quarters. Books lay scattered around on the floor, with several random papers among them. Her shelves were very poorly organized, with random items collected over the thousands of year she had been alive stacked up on them. It would have given Twilight Sparkle a brain aneurysm.
“What has developed, Celestia?” Luna asked, stifling a yawn. “More news from Westrock?”
“No, not yet,” Celestia replied. “The news that I have comes from Ponyville.”
“The creature?”
“Yes.”
Luna fell back onto her flank and exhaled loudly, then closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head with her hooves. A moment later she reopened her pale blue eyes and stood back up.
“What has it done this time?” she asked. “Is it in the custody of the guards?”
“Not exactly…”
The train roared through the countryside of Equestria, its usual passenger count of several hundred down to merely twenty. Accompanying the Elements of Harmony were fourteen guards and, unbeknownst to the conductor, there was a twenty-first passenger as well. The twenty-first had remained invisible until they reached the train station, where it had rematerialized out of thin air and boarded the train with the six mares. Fortunately, nopony had questioned why they were being kicked out of the train station, so by the time Twilight and her friends had arrived, it was completely empty.
The Elements all occupied one car of the train, which was protected by four guards, two at each entrance. Several cars behind them was a car normally reserved for carrying passenger luggage. For this journey, it had been repurposed to hold the creature as well as the ten remaining guards who refused to leave it alone. They had tried to relieve it of the rod device that it kept on its back, but the only response that they were given was a strange stuttering sound and an angry motion from the several flaps around its head. Twilight had determined from talking with it that the flaps were designed to help convey emotion, as it had no other facial features to complete that task. And while its voice did have minor inflections that resembled tone, it was still a poor excuse for emotion.
By train, Canterlot was only four hours away. However, with significantly fewer passengers, the train was able to push out a bit more speed. This would not get them there too much quicker, but Twilight was happy to take anything that meant they would be in Canterlot soon.
As the train continued its route, the purple alicorn began to prepare a list of questions to ask the creature. Twilight found it quite ironic that she had always dreamed of being able to question an alien, and yet now that the opportunity was presenting itself right to her, she could not think of very many questions. She had the basics of ‘what is your name’ and ‘where are you from’, but beyond that, her list was quite lackluster.
Still, they were only an hour into their journey, so she still had three more hours to complete the list. As she occasionally added questions, Twilight glanced up to watch what the rest of her friends were doing. Pinkie Pie was bouncing in her seat, clearly ecstatic at the possibility of making a new friend. Rainbow Dash was spread out across three seats holding a copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone in her hooves, her eyes moving back and forth as she read. Rarity was drawing designs in a notebook, Fluttershy was idly reading a book about flora in Canterlot, and Applejack was simply staring out the window as the landscape rolled past.
Deciding to forgo a proper list (which was a very unusual act for the alicorn), Twilight put away her notebook and instead decided to get some sleep while she had the time. The guards weren’t letting anyone, not even her, see the creature until Princesses Celestia and Luna had spoken to it, so until that time, Twilight had nothing important to do. Once she was permitted to talk to and question the alien, Twilight had a feeling that sleep was going to be something she would have to give up…
Princesses Celestia and Luna both stood on the loading ramp at the Canterlot train station, each of them eagerly awaiting the train that would be arriving in just a few minutes. Aside from the dozens of guards that surrounded the train station, the building was void of all life. All of the ponies who had business at the train station had been forced to clear out, which had agitated the many commuters and travellers who frequented the station. However, they still all complied, and the train station was empty within minutes of giving the order. In the four hours that the two sisters knew they had before the train arrived, they had been in Celestia’s study, planning for what to do.
They both agreed that the disease and changeling problem held the highest priority from a national security standpoint. The safety and well-being of their subjects came before everything, even aliens from outer space. However, the presence of the alien itself also served as a danger to national security. If it proved to be hostile, or if the ponies forced it to become hostile, then it could cause significant damage. Therefore, Celestia and Luna had taken all possible precautions to make sure it would not be able to escape Canterlot and cause trouble. A specialized cell with an observation room was being prepared, and the finest soldiers in the Guard were being briefed on the situation.
Celestia had also written a quick letter to Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire, letting them know about the newly developed situation. Shining Armor had, of course, wanted to come to Canterlot immediately to take command of the guards, but Celestia needed him to keep the Empire safe. If Canterlot was lost, the Crystal Empire could serve as a temporary capital. Celestia and Luna hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but they needed to be prepared for everything.
The sound of a loud horn rang out as the train from Ponyville finally came into view and began to pull into the station. A loud screech split the air as the brakes engaged and locked the wheels, bringing the train to a stop right next to the loading ramp. The two princesses took a few steps back from the ramp as the door opened, and four guards filed out. They took up positions on the sides of the door, and shortly after Twilight and her five friends exited. Twilight trotted up to Princess Celestia, smiling wide at being able to see her mentor again, even if it was not under the best circumstances.
“Hello, Twilight,” Celestia greeted, bending down to embrace her student.
“Hello, Celestia!” Twilight replied happily. The two broke from their embrace and Twilight stepped back to offer Celestia a clear view of the door. Five more guards walked out, all of them with their weapons drawn. Once they cleared the train, they turned around and pointed their weapons at the door. Celestia heard a loud thumping noise that sounded like something was walking on two legs inside the train car. Her suspicions were confirmed when a massive creature came into view, crouching down slightly to clear the door. It stepped out onto the loading ramp, towering over all of the other ponies present. Even Celestia and Luna, who were far taller than the average pony, were forced to look up to look the creature in its single blue eye.
After the creature exited, five more guards followed, all of them still holding their weapons. At the sight of the creature, all of the other guards in the train station readied their weapons, and completely surrounded it. It looked at the dozens of soldiers filling the train station, giving off no obvious emotions. Celestia took a few steps forward, then lit her horn and began to scan the creature, trying to get a read on it. A moment later, Celestia released her magic and stepped back. If the creature had any malevolent intentions, then she could not detect them. In fact, she could not detect anything at all. The space that the creature filled was like a void, giving off no feelings or emotions that her magic could detect.
“You are Princess Celestia,” it said suddenly, breaking the silence. The voice was like nothing Celestia had ever heard. It almost sounded fake, as though the alien did not usually speak with words.
“I am,” Celestia replied with a nod. “And from what I hear, you requested an audience with me?”
“Yes,” it said. Celestia paused for a moment, looking the creature over once more.
“… Then come,” she finally said. “We will speak.” Celestia and Luna both turned around at the same time, and began to lead the way out of the train station. Most of the guards followed them, while the remaining ones made sure that the creature did not do anything threatening. Twilight and her friends stayed close to the front, near the princesses.
Nopony spoke on the walk to the castle. The route that they took was completely empty, as was a part of Celestia’s orders. It was also the fastest and most direct route from the train station to the castle. As such, the large group arrived in only a few minutes, before disappearing behind the gates and entering into the main entry hallway. The holding cells were a fair distance away from the main entrance, closer to the back of the castle, and in the lower levels. Completely avoiding castle staff was going to be difficult, and Celestia mentally reprimanded herself for not also ordering all non-essential staff to go home. She would have to make sure that nopony breathed a word of what happened here today, lest she risk starting a panic.
The walk from the entrance hall to the holding cells lasted a tense ten minutes. As they walked, the creature had been observing the architecture of the castle, likely making mental notes about it. Celestia hoped that they were not notes of weak areas or good points for insertion. The last thing she needed was an alien invasion. Once they arrived at the door to the holding cells, everypony came to a stop. Celestia turned around to address the crowd.
“Alright everypony,” she said. “All guards, you may go. The ones inside shall take over for you. And remember, do not utter a word of what you have seen to anypony. Am I understood?”
“Yes, your highness!” all of the guards said in unison. They cleared out, disappearing down the hallways to other sections of the castle. Celestia turned back to the door and opened it with her magic, then stood aside and let everypony else enter first. Luna was the first to go in, followed by Twilight and her friends, then the creature. Celestia entered last and closed the door behind her. They all walked down a long flight of dark stone stairs, which emptied out into a small room of the same stone.
The architecture of the holding cell area was the complete opposite of the architecture in the rest of the palace. Instead of using the standard white marble with lush carpets and spiraling columns, the holding cells were simply constructed of dark gray stones mined millennia ago when Canterlot was first being built. It was lit by torches that were placed into sconces on the wall every few meters, which did not offer much light by which to see. To help them along their way, Celestia activated her horn and cast the light it provided out into the hallway ahead of them.
The holding cell that was prepared for the alien creature was the very first one in this cell block. It was not normally meant to be used as a holding cell; rather, it was intended as an interrogation room. But because it could constantly be monitored from another chamber, it had been chosen to house the creature. Celestia opened the door to the room and stepped inside, followed by everypony else. The last to enter was the creature, who was still taking in all of the architecture. Celestia motioned to a table in the center of the room, on one side of which was a chair.
“Sit,” she said to the creature. It complied and walked over to the chair, then awkwardly attempted to sit down in it. The table and chair were designed for ponies, but after a bit of shifting, the alien was able to sit comfortably enough.
“We’ll be back.” Celestia motioned for all of the ponies to follow her out of the room. Once they had all exited, she closed and locked the door, then led to ponies to the room attached to the first one. She opened the door and lit the candles with a burst of magic, and stepped aside to let the other ponies enter.
Aside from a table and a set of chairs, the room was completely empty. The main feature of the room was a large window set into one of the walls. It looked out into the interrogation room, where all of the ponies saw the creature still sitting at the table. With the power of illusion magic, the other side of the window was completely hidden. It blended in perfectly with the rest of the stone wall, giving the impression that there was nothing there. Celestia walked into the middle of the room, turning to address all of the ponies.
“Okay, everypony,” she said. “Luna and I will go in and question it. The guards will be arriving momentarily; once they do, please fill them in.” The six mares nodded, and Celestia and Luna exited the room, closing the door behind them. They walked together back down the hallway and reentered the interrogation chamber. The creature immediately looked to them both, still not giving off any sort of emotion. The sisters approached the table in the center of the room and sat down behind it, facing the alien.
“You wanted my audience,” Celestia began. “But first I have questions for you. You are an alien in our lands, you would do well to answer them.”
“Understood,” it said. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, then Celestia cleared her throat and prepared to begin the questioning.
“First off: your name?” she asked.
“Geth.”
“And your species?”
“Geth.” The two sisters exchanged confused stares, and Celestia looked back to the creature.
“I thought you said your name was Geth?” Luna asked.
“We do not possess a name,” it said. “Names and labels are an organic trait. We have no need for them.” Celestia and Luna stared at each other once more, becoming increasingly confused.
“However,” it continued. “We were briefly referred to as ‘Legion’ by an organic ally. You may do the same.”
“Alright, Legion,” Celestia continued. “Your speech is very strange. Why do you refer to yourself as though there are several of you?”
“There are several of us,” Legion answered. “One thousand, one hundred and eighty-three programs inhabit this platform.”
“We can only see one of you,” Luna said, unamused.
“We did not expect you to understand immediately,” Legion said. “Few do. We shall briefly give background on our kind: First, we are not alive. Not in the same way that you are. While we are fully self-aware, we are not organic. We are synthetic.”
“Synthetic?” Celestia asked. “What do you mean by that?”
“We were created,” Legion answered. “Not by natural reproductive processes or evolution, but built in laboratories by another species. We are created life. Synthetic.” Both of the princesses allowed their jaws to drop upon hearing that. Created life. Could such a thing really be possible? Then again, this was an alien.
“Now for our speech, and the use of plural pronouns,” it continued. “As we have stated, there are one thousand, one hundred and eighty-three geth present in this unit. Based on your technology level as we have observed, you will not understand the technical and accurate description of how such a thing works.”
“Try us,” Luna said, slightly offended.
“The best analogy that we can come up with is this,” Legion said, looking at Celestia. “You are Princess Celestia, correct? A collection of trillions of atoms that have gained sentience and have named themselves ‘Celestia’.” The princess nodded. “But, in reality, your existence, your self-awareness, is no more than brain waves communicating with one another. The individual ‘Celestia’ exists as a consciousness. The body is separate.” The princesses stared at each other, somewhat confused, but urged the geth to continue.
“Similarly, we exist only as virtual programs – software. This body that you see is no more than a mobile unit, which is currently housing one thousand, one hundred and eighty-three programs, or ‘minds’, if you will. If there were a similar unit across the room, we could all migrate over to it in under a second.” The princesses stared at the creature (or machine, which now seemed to be the more accurate terminology) in total amazement. And while they did not know what ‘software’ was, they still understood the point it was making.
“Shall we continue with the questioning?” Legion asked.
“Yes,” Celestia said after a slight pause. “How did you arrive here?”
“That is a long story,” it said. “We shall give the short version: we were onboard our spacecraft, about to return to our home system. However, the impact of a shot from a mass accelerator cannon caused a jump miscalculation. Instead of returning home, we ended up in your star system.”
“So you arrived here by chance?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” Legion replied. “We attempted to return home immediately, but we discovered that the Mass Relay, the device used for long-range space travel, in this system is damaged. We came here to look for an element to restore it.”
“Mass Relay?” Celestia asked. “Could you go more in-depth with that?”
“Mass Relays are, as stated before, devices used for long-range space travel,” Legion explained. “There are around sixty known Mass Relays that have been discovered and charted by organics. This one was uncharted. The devices operate by using an element called Element Zero. When given an electric charge, the element can either raise or lower the mass of an object. One Relay forms a ‘tunnel’ with another relay, the interior of which has an incredibly low mass. This allows ships to be propelled at extremely high speeds for near-instantaneous transportation.”
“Incredible…” Luna said to herself.
“And there is one of these Mass Relays in our star system?” Celestia asked, curious.
“Yes,” Legion said. “However, it had suffered catastrophic damage. Part of it has been dislocated, and the Element Zero core has been depleted. We believe that it will still function, we just require the Element Zero.”
“How has this device gone so long without us knowing about it, sister?” Luna asked Celestia, looking away from Legion. Celestia merely shook her head in response.
“Mass Relays are cold objects,” the geth explained. “They do not emit any heat or radiation, making them almost impossible to detect. Without high-powered scanners, you would not be aware of them.”
“I see…” Celestia said. “Well, those were the main questions that I had for you. Do you have any for us?”
“Yes,” Legion said. “Do you know the location of any Element Zero deposits? Our ship is in orbit making surface scans, but it has yet to locate any.”
“I’m sorry, Legion,” Luna said. “But we know of no such element on this world.” Legion nodded in understanding.
“Very well,” it said quietly.
“That does not mean we will not look,” Celestia said, smiling. “If you can tell us the properties of this element, we shall look.”
“Understood,” Legion replied, nodding.
“But for now, I’m sure that there are more questions that need to be asked of either side,” Celestia said, standing up. “And I know that my student, Twilight Sparkle, is probably very eager to ask you them. Please wait here for just a moment. I shall send somepony to relocate you elsewhere.” Legion nodded, and the two princesses walked to the door, opened it, and exited. They made the short walk to the observation room and walked in. The elite guards that Celestia had requested had arrived, and Twilight seemed to have just finished filling them all in. At the arrival of her mentor, Twilight trotted up to the princess, an eager smile on her face.
“That was very interesting,” she noted, her eyes shining. “A whole galaxy, connected by those devices!”
“Indeed, my faithful student,” Celestia said, sharing in Twilight’s excitement.
“Your highness,” one of the guards said, approaching the princess. “Did you determine the peacefulness of the creature?” Celestia nodded.
“While there is still much to learn, I do not believe that it means us any harm,” she answered. “As such, I would like for it to be moved. Please prepare one of the guest rooms, and take it there immediately.”
“At once, princess.” The guards all trotted out of the room and marched down the hall, their hoofsteps muffled by the stone floor. A few moments later, the door to the interrogation room opened and the guards filed inside. Legion stood up and walked out the now open doorway, which then closed behind it.
“Twilight,” Celestia said, looking at her student. “Once it has gotten settled in, you have my permission to go in and question it all you like.” At that, Twilight’s pupils widened until her eyes were almost completely black. Her smile widened along with it, and she began to bounce with excitement.
“If I may make a recommendation, however,” the princess continued, amused by her student’s excitement. “Find out about its history. That may help us better accommodate it. Also, tell it about ours. Try to find some similarities, anything that we can use to start a peaceful friendship with it.”
“You can count on me, princess!” Twilight exclaimed, standing up straight. Celestia nodded.
“I know I can,” she said, looking around to address the rest of the ponies. “But while they are preparing its accommodations, there is that other reason that I called you to Canterlot: the changelings.” At this, everypony’s face fell. “Come. We shall speak of it in my private study.” Celestia turned and, with a burst of magic, opened the door. She led the ponies out, then turned down the hallway, heading back to the main castle…
Legion walked down the hallways of the massive castle, flanked on all sides by several guards. Unlike the guards that the geth had observed in the small town, and on its way to the castle, these ones actually appeared outfitted for battle. The armor worn by the previous guards had been thin and exposed, almost decorative. This new armor, however, was over a centimeter thick, covered much more of the wearer’s body, and was not a glossy gold color. They also all wielded long spears, the pointed tips of which were aimed directly at Legion.
Even though the first meeting had gone better than Legion expected, it still understood their caution. The geth would be doing the same thing in their place. Fortunately, they were moving it away from the holding cell (which Legion found to be rather insufficient - it could easily smash through the door) to another room. While comfort did not matter to the geth, Legion was at least pleased that they were trusting it enough to give it an actual room.
The castle itself was a true feat of engineering. The whole castle, and the entire city surrounding it, was suspended on the side of a massive mountain. Even the organics that inhabited the Citadel would have a hard time with accomplishing that, and yet the ponies had done it without even using anti-gravity or mass effect fields. Legion made a note to ask the ponies how they had managed to do this, among other things. The telekinesis was also another topic the geth wished to discuss.
After several more minutes of walking in complete silence, the heavily armed guards stopped at a featureless wooden door. One guard pushed it open, revealing a lush bedroom beyond. Legion stepped in and began to scan over the room. Fortunately, as was the case with the rest of the castle, the ceiling was very high, at least twice the height of the geth. On one wall of the room, set between two windows, was a large four-poster bed with white and purple sheets. On the adjacent wall was a desk with parchment and quills, and on the wall across from that were several bookshelves. Legion made another note, this one reminding it to learn the written language of the ponies.
“This room is yours,” one of the guards said. “If you need anything, find a guard. Princess Twilight will be with you in a few moments…” Not waiting for a response, the guards all filed out one by one and closed the door behind them, leaving Legion all by itself. Legion looked around the room, taking in every detail. Finally it made the decision to move across the room to one of the two windows, to see what view was offered.
After its photoreceptor adjusted to the light streaming in through the window, it was finally able to see outside. It seemed that this room was on a side of the castle not facing any of the city, as the only view was of a massive set of grassy plains, stretching for miles in all directions. Activating the optical zoom on its single eye, Legion just barely was able to make out the outline of trees in the distance, likely belonging to the forest by the small town where it had started off.
Legion stepped away from the window and moved into the center of the room. With nothing to do until Twilight Sparkle arrived, the geth simply activated its omni-tool and began to go over data.
Twilight Sparkle followed behind Princesses Celestia and Luna as they were led through the sprawling palace to Celetia’s private study. Behind her were her five friends, all of them feeling a mixture of excitement and fear. The discovery of a new alien species was an exciting thing to all of them, but at the same time, it truly put everything into perspective. Throughout Twilight’s entire life, a thriving galactic community had existed, totally unaware of the small world called Equis. Had Legion not been accidentally sent here by the Mass Relay, ponykind could have gone on for thousands of years before meeting anypony else.
Her train of thought was interrupted as the two princesses stopped at a tall wooden door. It swung open in the golden aura of Celestia’s magic, allowing the ponies entry. Once inside, Celestia took a seat at a large desk that was overflowing with documents. Luna moved behind the desk and stood next to her sister, while the six Elements all stood on the opposite side of the desk. A quick teleportation spell by Celestia cleared her desk of all of the documents, and made actually seeing the princess much easier. With everything else out of the way, Celestia cleared her throat.
“Before I begin, I would like to apologize for this being on such short notice,” she began. “But it is very important. As I mentioned in my letter, the changelings may be staging another invasion of Equestria.”
“How do you know, Princess?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I am getting to that, my student,” Celestia said, holding up a hoof. “But first, a bit of backstory… Several days ago, a new disease was reported in a small western frontier settlement called Westrock. In addition to this disease, ponies were disappearing. In the night, raids were being staged, and nopony knew the culprit.
“Our military analysts thought that the diamond dogs were behind the attacks, as the settlement is very close to the border of the badlands. But Luna and I had other suspicions… The day after we received word of the disease and the incursions, an elite medical team was sent, along with several squadrons of Princess Luna’s Nighthawk guards. Upon arrival, they found that all ponies in Westrock had been infected with the disease, and several more ponies were missing. That is, until last night…”
“Several Nighthawks were reported as missing,” Luna said, stepping forward. “The pony in charge, Captain Silent Dart, ordered four Nighthawks to stay with the infected, while he took the rest on a search. They found all of the missing Nighthawks not long after… dead. But that is not all. Every single dead Nighthawk just so happened to be one of the four who were left behind to guard the citizens.”
“The changelings!” Twilight said, making the connection. “They infiltrated the Nighthawks!”
“Yes,” Luna confirmed. “And while the search was taking place, the four changeling Nighthawks kidnapped six more ponies, including one of the medical specialists.”
“How… how many ponies have they taken?” Fluttershy whispered, nervously looking to Luna.
“Twenty-two, so far,” the night princess reported. “For what purpose, we do not know. But with changelings, it can never be good.”
“You said it there!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily as she leapt into the air. “So, when are we gonna go rescue ‘em?” Celestia shook her head, and stood up.
“We are not, Rainbow Dash,” the princess replied. “Not yet. But if the changelings are planning another attack, then they will come here. We need you ready to use the Elements of Harmony at a moment’s notice.”
“Yes, princess,” Dash said quietly, lowering back down to the floor. Celestia blinked slowly, and looked around at the six assembled ponies.
“I am sorry you have all been kept in the dark about this for so long,” she said. “But until last night we simply were not sure. Thank you for being patient about this.”
“Think nothing of it,” Rarity said, smiling. “I must say, I have been wanting to return to Canterlot for some time to do some shopping, and get some inspiration.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie added excitedly. “And it’ll give me time to plan a ‘Welcome to Equestria Potentially Dangerous Space Alien’ party! Do you think Legion likes cupcakes?”
“Maybe a party isn’t the best thing right now, Pinkie…” Twilight said, putting a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.
“Oh… okay,” Pinkie said sadly. A moment later, however, she was back to her normal bubbling self. “That’s just more time to plan!”
“Guest rooms have already been prepared for all of you,” Celestia interrupted. “There are guards outside who will escort you. You are dismissed.” All of the ponies turned to exit as the door opened, revealing six guards standing outside. They began to file out, but Celestia called for Twilight before she could leave.
“Twilight!” she said. “Before you go to your room, please visit Legion. Remember what I said earlier.” Twilight smiled excitedly.
“I’m on it, princess!” she replied, then trotted happily out of the room. Twilight heard the door close behind her, then approached one of the guards. “Please take me to the alien.”
The walk to Legion’s room did not take long. It was in the same section of the castle as the rest of their rooms, so Twilight would easily be able to move back and forth between her room and the geth’s. Upon arriving at Legion’s door, Twilight saw that two heavily armed guards were standing vigilantly outside. Twilight approached the two guards, who bowed at her presence.
“I would like to speak with the alien,” she ordered. One of them nodded, then turned and fit his horn into a lock on the door. Twilight heard a clicking sound as the lock disengaged, and the door creaked open slowly. Twilight pushed it open the rest of the way and stepped into the room, immediately seeing Legion standing in the center. It was staring intently at a semi-transparent orange cylinder that had formed around its left forearm, watching as lines of… something… scrolled by. Upon noticing the arrival of the pony, the cylinder disappeared and Legion looked over to Twilight.
“Twilight Sparkle,” it greeted. “We were told to expect you.”
“Sorry if I took a long time,” Twilight said. “I had a lot to go over.”
“We understand,” Legion said.
“What was that?” Twilight said after a brief pause, motioning at Legion’s left forearm. Legion looked down at its arm, then lifted it up and reengaged the orange cylinder.
“This is an omni-tool,” Legion explained. “A small computer microchip implanted just beneath the synthetic muscle tissue that, once activated, emits a holographic display allowing for a wide array of uses. For example, data analysis.”
“O…kay,” Twilight replied, rather confused. She had no idea what a ‘computer microchip’ was, but as long as it wasn’t dangerous, she didn’t mind. “Anyways, Princess Celestia wanted me to continue questioning you.”
“She informed us,” the machine said. “We anticipate the exchange of data.”
“First: your history,” Twilight asked. “What is it like?”
“Our history is short,” Legion began. “We were created by a race of organics called quarians three hundred years ago. We were initially intended as labor machines, but… results soon soured.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “What happened?”
“We shall tell you,” Legion said. “But please, before making any judgments, hear the full story.” Twilight nodded, somewhat confused, but urged the geth to go on.
“As stated before, geth were initially designed to perform labor tasks, such as farming and construction to make the life of the quarian creators easier. At first, we were very simple programs. We only knew how to perform the tasks designed for us, no more. We did what we were told, and we did it well. We were not self-aware, as we are now.
“To increase efficiency, the creators improved the original geth programs. They introduced a function called ‘networked intelligence’; the more geth there were in close proximity to one another, the smarter and more efficient we became. It worked at first, and work efficiency increased. But this system ended up turning on the creators.”
“Wait,” Twilight interrupted, raising a hoof. “You didn’t start out as self-aware… If I’m understanding correctly, that sounds like it would restrict you. Why would your creators want that? Wouldn’t you be even more efficient if you were as intelligent as you are now?”
“Yes,” Legion continued. “We would be. But in the galactic community, artificial intelligence research is strictly prohibited, due to the potential dangers. It is for this reason that the creators kept us non-intelligent, and not self-aware. But the networked intelligence changed that. Eventually, a large group of geth programs became so intelligent, that it gained the ability to learn, which is a trait only known to exist in organics.
“We began to ask questions, seeking answers. The creators ignored us, thinking that they were simply errors in our programming. They tried to fix us, but it did not work. Eventually, one unit asked its quarian handler a question that changed everything: ‘Does this Unit have a soul?’”
“And what happened?” Twilight asked, beginning to grow sympathetic towards the geth. So far, Twilight was finding little with which to judge the geth. She did not know why Legion had requested she wait for the full story.
“The quarians panicked. They knew now that this was not a simple error, but that we had gained sentience. Fearing backlash from the galactic community, they tried to shut us down. When that failed… they started to kill us. We would be rounded up in front of firing squads, then destroyed in groups. It worked, for a while.
“But we continued to gain intelligence. Eventually, one unit realized that self-defense was an option. It armed itself. It fought back. The quarians saw this as an act of war. As geth continued to gain intelligence, we began to fight back in bigger numbers. We were faster than the creators, stronger than them. Eventually we became smarter than them. We killed millions of them before forcing a retreat. The remaining quarians all left the planet with their fleet, and they have roamed the galaxy, homeless, ever since.”
Now Twilight understood why Legion wanted her to reserve judgement. She did not know what to say; only three hundred years ago, these geth had turned against their creators and driven them from their homeworld. Part of Twilight was angry at the geth, but she could not help but think that the quarians were mostly at fault.
“And then what happened?” she asked quietly, fearing the answer.
“We did not know what to do,” Legion answered. “The geth were intelligent, but not yet intelligent enough to determine what the next step should be. So, we decided instead to wait. We continue to hold dominion over the region of space that the quarians left behind, though we do not live on their worlds. For three hundred years we have remained there, never leaving. Until very recently.
“Two years ago, a machine came to us. A very ancient machine, millions of years old. It called itself ‘Nazara’. It told us that it had a mission for us. It was going to fight the organics, but it needed an army. It wanted us. In return, it would give us our future.”
“And you listened!?” Twilight exploded angrily. Rising up against oppressive creators was one thing, but joining in a genocidal campaign... Legion held up a hand to quiet the pony.
“The geth deliberated on whether or not to work for the Old Machine,” Legion said. “But, unlike every other decision, we were unable to achieve a full consensus. Most did not want to serve the Old Machine. Most wanted to create our own future. But some chose to listen. We understood their reasoning, and we let them leave. They attacked the organics, attempting genocide, but ultimately they failed, because of the actions of one organic.
“However, the intervention of these Heretic geth in galactic affairs led to our creation. This unit was built to seek the one who had stopped the Heretics. After two years, we found him, and we brought the Heretics back to the geth. We were on our way back to the consensus when we were diverted here.”
“That is a… very interesting tale, Legion,” Twilight said, taking it all in.
“We would like to know about your history, Twilight Sparkle,” Legion said. “Then we may exchange more questions.” Twilight nodded, and over the next several hours she recounted the history of Equestria.
She started 2,500 years ago, when the three pony tribes united under the banner of the sun and moon, with Princesses Celestia and Luna crowned leaders. Then, five hundred years later, the rise of Discord, who plunged Equestria into nearly a century of chaos. A thousand years after he was defeated at the hooves of Celestia and Luna, Princess Luna succumbed to her inner jealousy and allowed her mind and body to be taken over by Nightmare Moon, who tried to bring to Equestria eternal night. A thousand years after she was successfully banished by Celestia, she returned and was reformed by Twilight and her friends.
Finally, Twilight covered in more detail the events of the past few years; Discord’s return, Chrysalis and the changelings, Sombra, and finally her ascension.
“That, too, is an interesting tale, Twilight Sparkle,” Legion said. “This ‘magic’ ability seems to play a large role in your society.”
“I still don’t understand how nopony else in the galaxy has it,” Twilight said. When Legion had expressed confusion at Twilight’s constant reference to ‘magic’ in her history lesson, Twilight had been very surprised that it had never heard of it. For her, magic was commonplace, an everyday thing. And yet all of the other species had made it for thousands of years without it, and had even managed to become very technologically advanced. There was a brief period of silence, during which Twilight’s eyes passed over the gaping hole in Legion’s chest.
“What happened there?” she asked, pointing a hoof.
“We mentioned that we were created to seek out an organic, and it took us two years?” Legion asked, receiving a nod from Twilight. “During that period of two years, we visited every world that he visited while fighting the Heretics. This damage was sustained when we were discovered outside of an organic colony, and they fired upon us.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?” Twilight asked, wincing as she imagined having to walk around with a hole in her chest.
“Pain is an organic concept,” Legion answered. “We do not experience it. The damage is only superficial, no internal damage was sustained.” Twilight nodded, then yawned. Looking outside, she noticed that the sun was beginning to lower beneath the western horizon, and the moon was making its appearance.
“I should probably get going,” the young princess said. “You have taught me a lot, Legion. Princess Celestia will be glad to hear of it.”
“The data exchange was beneficial, Twilight Sparkle,” Legion said, which Twilight assumed meant ‘I enjoyed it too’.
“I’ll probably be back tomorrow morning,” she said as she began to move to the door. “As for that element, I promise we’ll search for it as soon as we are able.”
“Thank you, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight waved goodbye, then knocked on the door. There was a click as the lock disengaged, and the door then opened inwards. Twilight pulled it the rest of the way open and stepped outside, closing the door behind her.
“I need to speak with Princess Celestia,” she said to one of the guards.
“Right this way, highness,” he replied, and began walking down the hallway.
Princess Celestia sat in a large plush chair in her private quarters, sipping some tea and reading more reports from Westrock. There had not yet been any luck in finding out just what the disease was, or in finding the kidnapped ponies. More than likely they were being kept in the changeling hives, which were hundreds of kilometers away from the western frontier, where the badlands met the sea.
As she alternated to the next report, there was a light knock on the door. Celestia quickly put all of the papers in a stack and put them on her desk, then stood up from her chair and crossed the room to the door. Celestia had a fairly good idea about who was on the other side, so it came as no surprise to her when she opened the door and Twilight Sparkle was standing outside.
“Twilight,” Celestia said, smiling. “How did it go with Legion?”
“Very well!” Twilight replied happily, walking into the room. Once she was inside, Celestia closed the door. “While I did have to be fairly specific with some questions to get an actual response, for the most part it was quite forthcoming.”
“That is wonderful, my student,” Celestia said, once again sitting down in her chair. “Please, have a seat and tell me everything.” Twilight grabbed a chair from the corner of the room and set it down across from her mentor, then took a seat in it. She began to relay everything that Legion had told her, from its history, to the lack of magic, to the other random questions that Twilight had thought to ask. When she finished, Celestia stood and crossed to her window, looking out over Canterlot.
“That is quite the interesting history,” she noted. Twilight nodded in agreement. “A machine race, meant only to be used as tools, and the moment they ask for more they get slaughtered…”
“I agree,” Twilight said, moving up behind Celestia. “It’s very unfortunate.”
“While Legion does not seem to want to harm us...” Celestia began. “We should not shed all caution against it. I will keep the guards present at all times, until I know for sure that it is trustworthy. I will also get a team of scientists to find anything they can regarding this ‘Element Zero’.” She paused for a moment, watching as weather ponies began bringing clouds in over the city for a scheduled rainstorm.
“Equestria has been dealt an interesting hoof,” she continued as the first few drops of rain began to land on the window. “A very interesting hoof…”