//------------------------------// // Chapter 12. Toy Soldier // Story: Sweetie Bot - A Heart's Warming Tale // by Grimweird //------------------------------// Sweetie walked. And while she walked, she thought. She thought about what Dr Cardiac could have wanted from her. The mad mare's words spun in her mind. That Dr Cardiac had wanted to use her for study. That he wanted to dissect her for psychological science. Had he really intended to do any of that?! She began to wonder. Why had no one asked where she came from? Who her parents where? Or even what her name was? Did they just not care for that about mental patients? Did he to want to hide the truth from her?! Did he to want her to think she was just a normal crazy filly?! When she thought about it, it had been awfully suspicious how he had compared a real wrinkled brain with computer programs. He had made her believe that she was not so different. BUT LOOK AT HER NOW! -:: Hate levels rising ::- Hate over her appearance turned to hate for the mare who had hurt her. Who had set her on fire and almost burned every pony do death. She hoped she had been caught in the flames. Everypony should have been caught by the flames and burned, except Sweetie belle! Why, why, why had she tried to save those disgusting pony's who only drooled all over themselves!? Sweetie threw a tantrum for the 57'th time. She lashed out at the trees and the ground and the stupid stupid rain! She hated the world and everypony in it. And above all else she hated herself. She hated that she was a robot. She hated the way others looked and she hated the mare who had taken her looks away from her. She hated that that mare had tried to kill everypony. And she hated that she had not been able to stop her. Her wild wailing died out as hatred giving way to sadness. Sadness that she had been unable to stop the crazy mare. Sorrow that she had lost her skin. For all the things she had been able to do, saving herself wasn't one of them. Hatred for herself returned when she thought of how she had just stood there like an idiot while the place burned. She hated that those stupid sequences had made her tremble with fear at the worse possible moment. She hated that shock and panic had made her unable to think clearly. She hated that she had settings that limited her strength and made her unable to pull out in time. Why? Why was this body set to be so weak? Why was her exterior so fragile? Why was her skin and fur and hair so fragile. Why did she bleed every time she cut herself. Why was her exterior not made from sterner stuff? She wanted something to cover herself in. To protect herself with. Something hard ans sturdy. Something that wasn't gonna fall apart when you put a little knife to it. Something that wasn't gonna burn off. If somepony ever attacked her again, she wanted to be stronger, better. If she wanted to go on, she needed to improve herself. Reinforce herself. It was bad enough to leave all her inner parts exposed to the rain. She might begin to rust. Wait! Why was she thinking like that? Where had those voices come from? She knocked on her head. Stupid voices. Out of her head. She did not want to think of herself that way. She did not want to think of herself as a robot... But she was... There was no denying it now... And that thought only led to more hate. Hate for the mare who had robbed her of her skin. The mare she had been to weak to defend herself against. She shook her head to break this circular argument. Not wanting to get a 58'th tantrum. There was really no logical point to loose herself to such violent emotions. It would only drain her batteries... She shook her head again. Not thinking like that. She needed something else to focus on. Her belly gave up an ominous rumble. She felt hunger seeping back into her mind. Along with all the voices telling her what her body was doing, in response to this. -:: Contents of Stomach dropping // Initiating hunger sequence ::- -:: Stomach nervecluster adjusting settings to "Hungry" ::- -:: Activating hunger subroutines // Executing stomach growl ::- Sweetie had not given her belly much thought before. She had just thought of the hunger as a warning signal that the was about to run out of energy. That she needed to refuel - to eat. Just as anypony else. Some part of her thought that the nerve cluster in her stomach was connected to a real belly. Just like the nerve clusters on her skin connected to sensors. In a way she had thought it was some form of proof that she had a real belly. That there were real organs inside of her. But if what that mare had said was true. Then even her belly was a metallic construct. What did that say about her other organs? Were they all mechanical? Were it just recordings of pain that played, whenever her systems got pushed a little to far? -:: Hate levels rising ::- Why should she think about anything that mare had said?! She was just some stupid crazy mare. And just how could it be her hunger? Sweetie didn't want a part of that mare inside of her. But she did not dare turn off her hunger. No matter how hard she wanted. No matter how hard it had been to go hungry the last time. Robots needed to eat to did they not? They needed to refuel. But how? The only way Sweetie knew to charge up was to eat and sleep. The rumbling must be a sign that her energy was running low. What would happen if she completely ran out of energy? What if she shut down here in the middle of the woods? Would she just lie here in the wet grass, unable to move? Paralyzed. Trapped in the shell of her own nonfunctional body! Forever! Or at least until somepony found her and refueled her. But why wold anypony ever find her? Why would they look for her in the first place? Everypony hated her. Everypony wanted to destroy her. If they did find her, then best case scenario was that just leave her and let her rust. No. That thought was too scary for her to let it come true. She had to fill her belly with something. Even if that had to be grass. Even if grass had made her puke. And who had programmed a robot to puke anyway? The thought made her so mad. In fact, just because of that she was going to take control of that program. Like she had taken control of her skin and her voice, she was gonna take control of whatever stupid program that made her throw up. Despite how bad she knew it tasted, she bent down and took a big moistly mouthful of the rain slicked grass. It taster bitter. Of course it did, she still had her tongue after all. She chewed and swallowed, and as she did, she mentally followed the bundle down her throat. Feeling it go down her throat. Feeling it rub against the sensors in what was the tube that ran from the back oh her mouth to the sack in her inner. Felt all the systems and subroutines that pushed the grass down her digestion tube and into her belly (along with a vacume cleaning-like function that sucked the grass into her belly). Where a small scanner waited to analyze the substance. -:: Hazardous material detected ::- -:: Rejecting ::- -:: Flushing systems ::- No, she told it. No! It was not gowning to make her puke again. She focused on her belly. It was getting ready to trow up The vacume was already reversing to blow the material out of her. She made it stop. But the program came back and started up the rejection again. This time she focused on the program itself. She told it no. It was her belly and she decided what stayed in it. This mind controlling spell had to go away. Suddenly, all the need to puke was gone. She took a few more bites of grass. And even though it tasted gross. The Rejection program did not return. *** The rain continued to pour down. Even though she could not feel it, she could hear the raindrops drumming on her. As the water poured through her exposed gears thoughts of worry began to pour into her mind. What if the water got into her systems? What if she really did started to rust? With that she became even more anxious to get out of the rain. She stated running through the forest. Splashing up puddles as she went. She kept her eyes open for any form of shelter, for any way out of the forest. For anything. It was easy, for she could not blink. She had no eyelids. And the rain drummed on her eyes so fiercely it was clouding her vision. She had to stop and pull her metal hoof over her eyes to wipe some of the moist away. Not being able to close her eyes was really stating to get to her. Not that she thought she would be able to see much better with eyelids anyway. The forest was so dark, it hardly mattered. Everything looked the same anyway. Trees, trees and more trees. Encapsulated by a curtain of rain and darkness so thick that nothing seemed to exist outside her little bubble of perception. She did not know if she was running in circles or not. She could not see any stars in the sky. Not that she had been into astronomy. But she would at least be able to pick a constellation and walk towards it. She had heard a few Hearts Warming Eve tales about ponies lost in the snow, who walked towards a star in the sky. A star that guided them towards a new home. Where was her Hearts Warming Eve star?! Which constellation would guide her to a new home? She wondered which constellation would lead to Ponyville, to Mr and junior Branch. To Cardiac and Screwloose. She wanted to find her way back to anywhere just so she could get out of the rain. But would they ever want to see her when she looked like this!? She ran until her legs grew tiered. She stopped to rest a moment against a tree. She should be panting for breath, but she had none. She had not dared to turn her lungs back on out of fear that they be damaged by all the smoke and fire. She looked at her tired little legs. the same legs that had ripped steel bars from their sockets where now aching with tiredness from a little waking. Or were they? Could machines really feel tired? How could cold steel feel any fatigue of exhaustion or pain? Was all the lactic acid she should be feeling just another recording? A little pre-recorded set of feelings that played over her systems (just like she was able to make her voice recordings play over her voicebox) whenever she pushed herself beyond a set limit of settings. Who had given her those settings? Better yet - Who had given her these feelings? How did one record all the things one pony felt in their body and put it in a machine? And just who wanted a robot to feel tired anyway! She could have shut these feelings of fatigue off. But she didn't. It would just felt wrong to not feel anything. Just like it felt wrong to not breathe, or be able to close your eyes. She put her hooves over her eyes to block out her vision. She wanted to feel tired. She wanted to be hungry. Because that was what a normal little pony would do. And she was a pony. Unless - that too was a recording? If all her physical feelings were just recordings of some real pony's pain. Then what did that say about her psychology? What if all her feelings and emotions were just pre-recorded stuff that some other pony had lived through? Was that really all she was? Just data sequences and pre-recorded emotions? Was there any part of her that was her own? The thought that somepony had wired her mind to be a specific way was scary enough. But what if she didn't have a mind at all?! What if all that she was, every thought, every feeling, were just recordings from somepony else. Who had that pony been? Was it even just one pony? Or was it several? Celestia forbid that all of her recordings came from that crazy, crazy mare. Would that not mean that she was a copy of that mare? -:: Hate levels rising ::- Sweetie raised her hoof to take her returning anger out on the tree. She wanted these parts out of her. She did not want to have anything to do with that evil mare. She did not want to feel like that mare had felt. She stopped her blow mid air. If her emotions really was recordings. Then did that mean somepony else had felt this way before? But ... how could anypony else had been in this situation? Let alone - how would those who had made her know this would happen to her, and program her to feel accordingly? Sweetie put her hooves back over her eyes. It was all just so confusing. She was just so confused. These thoughts were gonna make her head hurt. (Or was that just a recording of somepony else's headache?) She let her hooves fall to the ground. Her heart felt so heavy it threatened to drag her down through the ground and into the underworld. But... If this painful feeling in her chest was just a recording. Could she not turn it off? Or at the very least hit the pause button on it for just a little while. And maybe play some happy emotions instead. The thought was equally tempting and terrifying. On one hoof she did not want to feel this way any more. And if the was a way to rid herself of these negative emotions, she would do it. But at the same time, if she turned them off. Would that not be like turning herself off? What if she stopped being Sweetie? Could she even do that? Could she turn off the things that made her who she was? She adjusted her position, and let her tired head lean to rest her yaw upon her shoulder ... and that's when she saw it. A small glimmer of light that pierced through the bubble of darkness. A light far of in the distance, able to shine through the thickness of the forest, and the rain. far away enough to appear as but the flicker of a distant star on the black night sky. A star that had come down to earth to shine for her. Sweetie got up. Finally some happy emotions played on her heart. Joyed that she had found something to follow. Hope of where it might lead. Maybe the light could lead her out of this cursed nightmare. Maybe it could lead her to a better life. If nothing else it had to lead to something. And anything was better than this cured forest. Maybe she had found her hearts warming star after all. *** Her star was actually a big neon sign. Metallhoof's Gears and Grocery's It was attached to the roof of what looked like a big barn, that laid all alone at the side of a bigger road. Getting closer she saw that the barn big glass windows one associates with stores. But the windows looked black and lonely. The place looked abandoned. Why should it not be? Everypony was probably home celebrating Heart warming eve by now. She pressed her nose up against the glass. In the sparse light from the neon sign above she could just barely make out that there was a store inside. And the store was full of goodies. Her belly rumbled again, and she could feel the inside of her mouth salivating. She could not resist the taste of sweets any longer. (Besides, she ran on sugar, did she not?) The door was unlocked. Carefully she pushed it up, only a little bit, and pressed herself through the tight gap as to not set of the bell above the door. Her frame must be smaller than she dared to imagine since it actually worked. The store was decorated for hearts warming eve. And it had a lot of sweets for the celebration. Biscuits, cakes, pastries,even some sweet, sweet crunchy serials shaped like Hearths Warming trees. She knew stealing was wrong, but she was desperate. Pony's would have to have some oversight with a starving filly. Besides. She was not about to devour all the cakes that laid in the open. Rather she discretely pulled out one of the cereal boxes. She opened the package and started to munch down the crunchy contents. Her taste sensors where overjoyed with the sugary flavor. So much that she tore into another package. And another. The light suddenly came on in the shop. Sweetie turned her head to see a tall green stallion standing in the doorway. He looked like he had seen a ghost. Or a metallic monster in this case. Sweetie dropped the Crunchy box and recoiled. “Oh please Sir.” She pleaded. “Please do not be frightened by me. I know I look horrid but I promise I just want some thing to eat.” She slowly backed away towards the front door with her tail between her legs. “I know its stealing but I was just so hungry and...” Before she could finish the stallion sprung towards her, dropped to his knees and caught her in a big, strong hug. “Welcome home child!” He cried “Welcome home, my child.” *** “So ... you were the one who made me?” Sweetie was sitting on the counter. The green stallion - Who had introduced himself as Molten Metalhoof - had lifted her up to get a better look at her. She did not want to be looked at, but she was still a bit in shock over the way he had embraced her so lovingly. In turn Sweetie got a good look at him. He was a tall green earth pony with a large belly. He had a gray mane and tale and a stylish braided gray beard. His green eyes bore not the haunting looks she had grown to fear over the last days, but those of a loving parent who sees their child for the first time in forever. “Yes. In a way you could say I am your father.” He chuckled. His chuckle was warm and cozy. Like a big Santa-hooves. Sweetie felt uncomfortable with him calling himself that. She did not want a total stranger for a father. But. How could her parents be her real parents if this stallion had made her? Didn't that make him her father? Furthermore. Did that mean that her parents had bought/ordered her from him? Did this mean she was adopted? Was this how it was to be adopted? She feared Scootaloo's words where becoming even more true. Her parents had her built instead of adopting her friend. -:: Initiate cry sequence ::- -:: !ERROR! // Tear sacs not found // !ERROR! ::- Sweeties yaw quivered and she raised her hoof to wipe the tears. Then she remembered that she had no more tears. In fact she could not even close her eyes. She had no eyelids. -:: Panic level increasing // Initiate trembling sequence ::- She began to shake. She covered her eyes with her hooves and started tried to hold back the sobs. She did not want to cry in front of a stranger. and to that end, it was probably better that she had no tears to fell. -:: If I cried, my cheeks would probably start to rust ::- She shook her head. She was thinking of herself that way again. “Why are you crying”. Mr Molten asked “Is it not great to be home?“ She tried to force a smile. “No. I'm just … glad you took me out of the rain before I started to … Rust”. She spat out the last word like it tasted badly.. Metalhoof Chuckled again “You could never start to rust.” Sweeties shivers ended as curiosity took hold. “I can't?” Metalhoof put his elbows on the counter and raised his forehoofs. Allowing Sweetie to see that they where covered with gray, metal like spots. “I made you with my own two hooves. Of a very special metal. A secret recipe that I made myself.” He then began telling her tale of her construction. That most of her “Cybernetic muscles” where made of, as he called it "Flexible alloys." “It's hard as steel, yet flexible like rubber. It can bend an stretch, like the muscles on the bones.” It was necessary, not the least for your face. So you could make all the facial expressions possible." Sweetie touched her cheek. Could she even make a single expression without sin on her face? "You are modeled after a real pony. Down to the tiniest screw. Personally I think it has many limits. The possibilities of metal go far beyond the limitations of flesh.” “Metal has many limits too.” Said Sweetie. Thinking about the height measurement the CMC had held. How she was soon to become the shortest in class. “Like never being able to grow.” “That's not true." Said Metalhoof. “But, you do look the same size as when last I saw you. Have your parents not been feeding you enough?” Sweetie did not understand. Molten's eyes narowed. “They never told you this, did they?” “No” Metalhoof facehoofed. “Of course they didn't.” Because if they had, you should have grown.” He then when on to explain that her "distribution system" would have allow her to grow by absorbing raw materials. Sweeties ears peaked. Would she be able to grow if she ate metal? “Please. Tell me how”' Metalhoof Chuckled. "Well. I'm glad to have caught your interest." He began to explain. "Of all the things about you Sweetie, it is your belly that I'm the most proud of. Truly a work of art. A combination of arcane science and mechanical ingenuity. Designed to break down anything that was fed into it into microscopic pieces and extract the energy from it. While there is some energy to be found in raw food it would not be near enough to recharge your power supply. No. Crystals by far holds the most energy, and we designed a system that..." Sweetie threw her hooves up in the air. “Wait, wait, wait! I'm suppose to eat crystals?” She said in disbelief . ”So... not cake and sugar?” Metalhoof facehoofed again. “Did your parents not tell you anything?” “No. They didn't.” He snorted. “They do not sound like very good parents for denying you that.” He continued to explain that, while he might be proud of her belly, the real ingenuity was the distribution system. Anytime she ate, food or other rawer material, her belly would break it down into microscopic base components. Anny sufficient raw material would then be stored in a magical buffer for use to repair and maintain her body. But the distribution system would also slowly add this raw material to her body structure, and build it up from the inside out. It was the truly ingenious part of her design that would (in theory) allow her to grow by essentially absorbing metal. Sweetie was not sure she understood. “Follow me I'll show you.” Swept away by the promise of growth Sweetie followed him without question through the back door he had appeared from. The door led to a workshop. Racks of tools littered the walls and the middle of the room was occupied by a big wagon undergoing the final stages of repair. The inmost wall was full shelves that did not hold tools but small figures. Underneath the shelf was a small desk with a small pot which boiled over a blowtorch. Molten put his hoof down into the boiling pot. Pulling up a hoof-full of molten tin. Something that sweetie was sure would burn anypony's hooves off. But Molten showed not the slightest sign of pain as he sat down and started shaping the tin in his hooves. Working the metal as a potter would work with clay. Sweetie watched in fascination. She knew she was witnessing earth pony magic at its finest. Not only was he not burning his hooves off (she now understood where the dots on his hooves came from) but his touch went into the curves and shapes of the creation that seemed to form after his will. With no tools he made the clay like tin take shapes that a unicorn with tools would struggle for hours with. When he was done. And it had only taken him a few minutes. He had a small horse in his hoof. "It is my ability, you understand.” He pointed to his mark of a semi-molten steel ingot "Molten Metalhoof." He said his name with pride "I can form any metal the way I want.” Then he took a little more melted metal from the bowl, and poured it onto the horse figure. He worked on it a bit further. When he was done, he had the same little horse. Just slightly bigger . "Do you understand now?" Sweetie nodded. Overjoyed. This meant she would grow up into a big pony! She would no longer be the shortest in class! No wonder she had not grown an inch since forever. She had not been eating the right stuff. Her family had never told her she needed to eat metal to grow. It was always eat your vegetables. Eat your alfalfa. You must eat your carots to grown into a big pony. All lies. Why? Why had they done that? Both lying and preventing her to grow. How mean! Mr Molten handed her the newly finished tin horse. “Here. Eat it.” Sweetie reluctantly took the nice little horse. “Don't worry. I have so many.” She looked up on the shelves, seeing they where full of tin soldiers. “...But you need to eat to grow.” “But... I cant chew through that!” The hardest thing she had ever chewed threw was a candy bar made by twist. When he said that her belly would break it down she half expected that she would have to swallow tiny things like nuts and bolts whole. “Yes you can. Your jaw is made to crush steel and stones. I know because I made it myself.” Reluctantly she took the little horse and put its head in her mouth. He looked on like her mother would when she was expected to eat up all the nasty vegetables. She felt the cold taste of metal on her tongue. She had expected it to taste gross. But actually, it wasn't that bad. It was like the time she had put mothers coins in her mouth. And it did not make her want to puke. Her teeth came down on the horses throat and slowly pressed harder and harder. Every logic thought in her head told her that her teeth should break long before the metal. But she felt no pain as the pressure on her jaws slowly increased. She surpassed the set "limitation" for her jaws, and continued biting down on the horses neck. Finally there was a “pling” as the horses head came of in her mouth. It rolled over her tongue and she almost reflexively started working on it with her teeth. Oh sweet Celestia she had just bitten through metal like that candy cane! The memory resurfaced and she could see Twist's stunned face in front of her. Surprised had she been that Sweetie could do it without hurting her teeth. You where suppose to suck on those candy sticks as they where to hard to bite. At the time it had simply been written off as Sweetie having really good teeth. Even if she did not get any mark in candy cane breaking. But a whole horse figure made of solid tin was something else. “Good. Now eat the rest.” She obediently obliged. After the last pieces of the tin horse had gone down her throat, Molten opened a drawer on his working desk, and pulled out a crystal. “Good. Now time for dessert.” He held out the crystal in front of her. It was a simple, refined piece of Jewelry that made Sweetie think about all the gems in her sisters Boutique that she wasn't allowed do touch. Is sounded crazy to eat something that was harder than rocks. She did not know how Spike was able to do it. It was just said that dragons ate crystals. But she wasn't a dragon. She was a ... Pony. A pony that had already chewed down a small figure made of tin. Thinking about herself like that made her feel... weird. “Do I have to? I mean, is there no other way?” Metalhoof Jerked his shoulders. “Alternatively you could always stick tour tongue in an electrical outlet” She did not want to do that. Reluctantly she took the crystal. she believed she grimaced as she looked at it. Something that was dug up from the ground must probably taste like dirt. Then again there where ponies said to be able to chew solid rock for an afternoon snack. Not that she understood those any better than dragons. He did say that her main source of power came from crystals. But that made no sense. How had her family ever been able to hide that from her? She brought her crystal to her teeth. And bit down. Again, it took an amount of pressure beyond her set limits. But with those deactivated, the crystal shattered in her mouth, and she began to slowly work the shards with her unnaturally strong teeth. As the crystal crunched in her mouth, she got the strangest taste of vanilla. Wait? How in the world could she associate the crystal with vanilla?! She had heard that some ponies that chewed rocks said they tasted salty. But this?! -:: Familiar substance detected // Scanning memory // Vanilla::- Suddenly a memory flashed before her eyes. She was at home. In the Carousel Boutique. At the dinner table. Rarity had just given her the biggest vanilla ice cream with chocolate cross she had ever seen. It was a little unusual that Rarity would go to the length to make her such a treat herself, rather than just buying it from sugar cube corner. But Sweetie did not care. She only had eyes for the enormous vanilla coated in frosting so cold that it sparkled. In retrospect. A little too sparkly. ”I made this just for you” Her sister said with a smile. Sweetie greedily chewed down. The vanilla was so cold that it was almost frozen solid and filled with chocolate minty cross. The frozen frosting sparkled in the sunlight, hard and crispy. A little too crispy... A little too hard... She had payed it no mind back then. She could not have known it back then. But looking at the memory now she could see the recorded data of the voices that played in the back of her mind. Data that focused on those crispy shiny bits she put in her mouth. -:: Special substance detected // Crystal // Releasing jaw restriction ::- -:: Similar substance detected on recorded memory ::- A shocking realization dawned on her. Did Ice cream have the same substance as crystals? No. The Ice cream had crystals in it. Thin minced powder, hidden in the frosting and mixed up with crispy chocolate mint. Chocolate mint... Another memory triggered. This one of her mother. Magically pulling out a tray of hot baked cookies from the oven. Sweetie was standing next to her. Salivate over the fresh made treat. Her mother say her drooling, and smiled. "Go ahead Sweetie. Take one. But carefully, the plate is hot." Sweetie grabbed the biggest cookie. Mother always made the best cookies. And today she had made her favorite, chocolate mint cookies. She greedily gobbled the cookie down. Feeling the title hard chocolate minty flakes crunch in her mouth. A little too hard ... A little too crunchy... -:: Familiar substance detected in memory ::- At that moment her father walked into the kitchen. He clearly wanted a cookie as well. But mother slapped him on the hoof. "No silly. I made these for Sweetie. You get to eat some of these" She said, and pulled out a second plate from the oven. She always did that. Baked individual sets of sweets for every family member. They even had personal cookie jars with their names on it. And Sweetie could not be happier that she got a whole set of cookies to herself. Mother smiles as Sweetie stuffed her face. "Eat up Sweetie. I've made these just for you." Made this just for you... Just for you Sweetie... Only for you... The rest of the crystal shattered as it hit the floor. She covered her eyes with her hoof and shook her head violently That was how they had recharged her! They had fed her crystals right under her nose. Without her knowledge. Without ever saying anything! When Mr Molten asked her what the problem was. She told him. She told him about the massive collaborative lie her family had pulled. Of all the years they had pulled the wool over her eyes. And she also told him about how her sister had reacted when the wool finally come off. How she had punched her and everything. Mr Molten listened with growing concern in his eyes. “They do not sound like a very good family.” He said, s she had finished speaking. Not a good family at all. *** As Sweetie finished her unusual meal she began to feel a pressure in her nether regions. She had no idea how long since she had last used a bathroom. That made another question pop into her mind She understood now that she had a belly that could break down metal and stones. But what about all the times she needed to poop or pee? If her belly was so efficient, then why did she have to poop? “They programed your cybernetic belly to only work down the material at 50 percent. Leaving slag-products that came out the natural way to simulate bowel movement. They even had a program to make it look like real feces and urine.” He snorted “It disgusts me!” Yes. It was disgusting. And weird. Was she really talking shit with this stallion? And was he talking shit back? And was her shit really altered to look and smell like real shit? Who had been unfortunate enough to design that? She hoped it was that made mare! Molten continued. “It disgusts me that they limited you in a foolish decision to emulate life. A real parent should never limit their child!" He smiled. "But I can remove it!” Sweetie would have gasped to that statement. Could he really remove the mind controlling programing she had in her head? But how? Something about what Dr Cardiac had said came to mind. Disbelievingly she asked: “Can you wash my brain?” His smile widened. “Yes I can.” Sweetie became ecstatic. If he was gonna wash her brain. Then she would have a clean mind. No more dirty sequences making her body do things against her will. No more Voices bugging her at every turn. But how? He was no unicorn? When she told him this. He chuckled. “I might not have a horn. But I have tools.” Sweetie exited looked around the workshop for these tools. Where was this brain washing machine? But Mr Molten chuckled. “Not these mere playthings. I'm talking about the tools of the future.” He walked up to a seemingly empty wall and pressed a hoof on it. A square piece of the wall went away and revealed a big round button with a hoof shaped mark in it. Around the button was a series of symbols. Every letter in the Equestrian alphabet. Next to every symbol was a little light bulb. And above it all was a small panel. When asked about this strange device, he called it a hoof dial. Metalhoof put his hoof in the hoof mark and then twisted the button like a dial. The lights around the button lit up as he rotated the dial past them, showing which letter he was pointing the front of his hoof at. When he had moved to the desired letter, he pressed down on the hoof button, producing a click, and made a symbol appear in the little panel above. Though it was only a star, and not the letter he had kicked on. "Security reasons." He said. "So no one will be able to read the password." That made the panel seem unnecessary in Sweetie's mind. Why even have a display if it was not gonna display anything? With practiced ease he dialed in the rest of his code with such speed that Sweetie could not keep track of what letters he pressed down on. More stars appeared in the display until the entire row was filled. When he was done with his absurdly long password, another square panel opened in the wall. This hoof dial surrounded by numbers. Also here only dots appeared in the panel above. When he was done the panel closed and the whole wall started moving. It sunk down into the floor and revealed a metal staircase leading down. “This way.” He said. “And I'll show you the future of Equestria.” *** Sweetie had not expected to walk into an armory. Exiting the stairs she entered a long wide room, clad roof to floor in in metal. Two long rows of what looked like giant suits of armor stood along the walls. Not just a breastplate and a helmet, like the Royal guard patrol uniform. But full covering body suits that didn't even leave the face or tail unarmored. Each standing like at attention in their own small metal cubicles. Sweetie complimented him on the wonderful armor. But Mr Molten assured her that these where no mere sets of armor but fully automatic warriors. He walked Sweetie down the long row while she looked on in awe. Towards the end of the hall stood some of them half finished. And she could see the gears exposed underneath the plates of armor. Her eyes where drawn to the things at their sides. It looked like a lance. But it was so short it did not even reach the Stallion to the chest. How where they going to defend anything with spears shorter than themselves? hoof to hoof combat? Mr Molten chuckled. “No, my little soldier. Allow me to demonstrate.” He took a deep breath. “STEEL STALLION NUMBER 45!” He roared, with all the authority of a military figure Sweeties jumped back at the sudden loud and bask tone in his voice. And she jumped back again as the stallion in front of her started moving and its eyes lit up underneath that thick helmet. Mr Molten chuckled and roared another order. “WEAPONS OUT!” Sweetie was nearly impaled as the lance extended like a telescope rod just above her head. Mr molten pressed a button on the cubicle wall, and a thick metal plate rose from the middle of the floor. “FIRE!” The top of the lance started to crackle. And a stream of lightning shot from the tip and hit the metal plate. The noise of thunder striking metal made Sweetie's ears flatten. “Its amazing what a crystal can be charged with is it not?” he said most amused “You can charge it up with magic, you can charge it up with lightning. And when that energy is released, it becomes a force of destruction. You can even make a grenade out of an overcharged crystal." He smiled. "With these energy lances we can protect Equestria from all foreign hordes.” Before he pressed the button again to make it descend into the floor Sweetie saw that the shot had left a big black scorch mark and a small hole. Had the plate been thinner it might have punched straight through and hit the Steel Stallion on the opposite side. Destructive force indeed. Sweetie thought about how lightning could strike down entire trees. The second thing she thought was that she wanted one. With these she would be able to protect herself. “Can I... Try them out?” She asked, as innocently as possible He chuckled again. “No my little soldier. These are not for you.” He shoved her aside and continued walking down the row of "Steel Stallions" There where some other rooms down here. But Mr Molten gestured past them. Down the long row of metal clad ponies. Until they reached a work station at the far end. “These are for you.” Sweetie's eyes widened. In front of her was what looked like two big cylinders. Suspended from the ceiling by some sort of gripping claws. The closest she could describe them where like two jet turbines. Underneath them hanged a pair of limp mechanical arms with fingers of wires. From the sides of the pen hanged a series of tools and welding equipment. But the cubicle itself, where a steel stallion should be standing, was empty. “These are my pride.” He Said “The Master Blasters. Capable of firing a concentrated, continuous beam of energy. Unlike the lances who uses crystals they do not need to be reloaded. The inner absorption system allows them to drain the magical energy out of the surrounding air and compress it to a force of destruction. A true masterpiece to use against the foreign hordes.” He sure liked to brag about his toys, Sweetie thought. Mr Molten asked her to stand in the cubicle, underneath the blasters. He took a tool and and brought it to her spine. Twisting it like a key he opened a pair of ports she never knew she had on her back. He pushed a button on the cubicle wall and the claws lowered the blasters down onto her back. It only took some quick jury rigging and welding for him to fastened the arms of the blasters into her ports. Sweetie barely had time to think before he was finished. She could not feel the heat of the welding or the screws he tightened. But what she did feel was a sudden twitch in her mind as he connected the wires from the blasters to ports in her spine. She suddenly became aware of the two big things on her back. Mr Molten gave them a tap and they started humming. Sweetie felt herself stretch into them. She was being sucked into the blasters as her energy became their energy. -:: Recognizing new components ::- -:: Recognizing :: “Blaster masters” // Product line :: “Unique” ::- She should have been completely freaked out if not for that some part of her wanted this. Now she was gonna have weapons which to defend herself with. She felt bigger. Tougher. Better! -:: Self confidence increasing ::- She instantly wanted to try them out. She only wished the things had come with some sort of instruction manual. When she relayed this concern to Mr Molten he chuckled again. “Don't worry. I will sync those blasters up to the targeting systems.” Systems? It seemed logical that weapons would need something to aim with. But... ”Mr Molten. You’re not gonna put more things in my head are you?” He smiled. ”I don't need to put in anything. You already have everything in you.” "Oh..." Sweetie felt a bit disconcerted. Did she have more things in her mind that she was not yet aware of? "And just how did he know that?" - she asked. His green eyes looked deep into hers as he said. ”I know. Because you have your fathers eyes.” Sweetie did not understand. Her fathers eyes were blue. Before she could ask what he meant by that he was already on his way to the other side of the workstation. “Now. Lets get you dressed.” He walked over to a set of big stuffed dolls Sweetie had failed to notice. They looked like the manikins Rarity would use to display her dresses. Except these manikins wheres dressed for combat. There was an sleek officers uniform with polished buttons and medals, an old green soldier's suit with a tin helmet. And a series of armor models in increasingly smaller sizes. There was one set that looked like it would fit Mr Molten himself. One set that looked fit for a teenager, and so forth. Mr Molten wheeled out the last set. A manikin that looked just about her size. “As you can see I have prepared for your future.” he said as he gestured over the entire line of sizes. Sweetie was ecstatic. Was he serious? A whole set of armor just for her to grow in! Hearts Warming Eve must have come early. *** Having a stupid seamstress for a sister, Sweetie was no stranger to being forced to play manikin. She knew how to stand still while Mr Molten plate by plate dressed her up in armor. She noticed that he was not using screws of any kind but fastened the plates to sockets she did not know she had on her body. And then screwed them in place with bolts. It was just her size. Even if it made her look a little square and bulky. She did not mind. It was like playing dress up for nightmare night. This way no pony would be able to tell that there was anything but a normal filly underneath the full body armor. Mr Molten was equally exited. As he dressed her up he blabbed on about how the armor was made of a magic resistant titanium that was stronger than steel and difficult for any unicorn to blast through or get a grip on and bla, bla, bla... Sweetie wasn't really listening. She was busy living her fantasies of being a knight getting dressed up for jousting by her squire. Finally Mr Molten pressed another button and the claws holding the blasters released. She walked out of the cubicle both armed and armored. She looked back over herself. Broad plates now covered her shoulders and flanks. Her torso and joints were encapsulated in interlocking armor pieces, and her legs were covered in sleek cylindrical plates. Even her hoof had gotten armored. So you could no longer see any part of her horrible, skeletal metal frame. Behind her, her pink tail was sticking out of the tail socket. Wagging with joy, if a bit unkempt. The only thing she needed was a helmet. She walked up to the took the big helmet of the manikin. It was a few sizes to big but covered most of her bald head. “Can I have this to?” Mr Molten only chuckled. “Now you look like the little soldier you where always supposed to be.” Sweetie was overwhelmed. Was she not meant to be a doll, but a soldier? A knight in shining armor! She looked over her shoulder, at the two new big contraptions sticking out of her back. Those should make her feel even more unnatural. But at the same time, pegasi had a pair of extra limbs sticking out of their backs too. She tried moving them around. The arms rose and fell and made the blasters move up and down along her sides. But she could not move them right or left. They only shifted a little in their sockets as she tried. “Careful with where you aim. You'll have to face the enemy in order to hit them. But also be wary of whats behind you. I wouldn't want to get hit by the back-blast” “Back-blast? who makes a weapon that shoots backwards?" He chuckled. “The energy blast goes forward. But to compensate for the force of the blast, there is a back-blast. It consists only of compressed hot air. But it could knock anypony off their hooves” Sweetie felt like she could be knocked of her hooves just by how awesome this was. Like any self respecting filly she responded to this in the only way she could think of: “THIS IS SO COOL!” Then she became aware of the weight. The blasters felt like a pair of saddlebags filled with rocks and her armor was literary made of metal. Having never worn armor before she felt clumsy and heavy. She turned around on tired legs and addressed the problem to Molten. “Feeling tired? Feeling weak? Don't worry, That's just another weakness they programed you with to simulate pony physics. Its another weakness we will remove.” He walked her over to a big tall box of a machine with several blinking lights and screens. Under the biggest screen was another pair of hoof dials. He asked her to sit next to it and remove her helmet. She obliged. A bit clumsily due to the two big blasters on her back. He pulled out a wire with a odd looking plug and told her to bend her head forward. He inserted the plug in yet another socket she did not know she had in the back of her neck. As he started typing on the hoof dials Sweetie wondered if Hearts Warming miracles do happen after all. Perhaps she had finally found somewhere she could live without fear or feeling weird. For while he did acknowledge that she was a machine, he still spoke to her like she was a pony. Furthermore, he had built her. And he showed such love and care for all his creations. Perhaps she could call this stallion dad? She was broken out of her thoughts when she sensed a presence in her mind. A flow of energy was entering through the back of her neck and she sensed a sort of knocking. She knew it must be Molten. Exited she thought that this must be how telepathy was like. The world went away as she went to open the door in the back of her mind. He immediately started digging deep into her files. Uncovering “sequences” and “programs” both old and new to Sweetie. He was right. She did have even more things than she was aware of. Her eyes had targeting systems and infrared vision and diagram displays that had laid dormant. Now he brought them up from their slumber. -:: Synchronizing systems ::- He went into her blasters and activates something labeled “Retraction system”. A component activated to emit a foreign energy. And like a spell the heavy weight vanished from her back as the blasters shrunk down and folded into her back and closed the ports. Sweetie had explored the inner parts of herself to some degree. But she had never been this deep. After some digging they hit a wall. An all to familiar frozen wall in the depth of her mind. A component of hers, labeled Heart-drive, was rendered inaccessible. It was clear to Sweetie that it was emitting some kind of energy. But neither she of Mr Molten could get at it. Vaguely her ears registered Mr Molten mumbling something about “firewall.” A part of her immediately wanted to protest. It was not made of fire. It was ice. A cold and frozen wall of ice. Some more digging uncovered something she was not familiar with. A file labeled “control program”. Unlike the other things this was not tied to any component directly but sort of just floated dormant in her mind. Mr Molten did a few attempts at it to no avail. Vaguely her eyes registered him jerking his shoulders and mumbling “Later.” He turned his attention back to to the sequences he had dug up. Sequences like “trembling” and other things started to disappear from her "body functions" as he typed a delete command. A small part of her protested against this. But she hushed it. She was glad to see them go away. Never would they cause her body sieze up again. Her ears registered Mr Molten's mumbles for everything he deleted. “A soldier must be strong” he said as he deleted a few blocks that held her body back from its true potential. Along with that he deleted sequences like “Exhaustion” “Tired” or “sleepy.” “A soldier must never tire” He mumbled. That meant she would never feel tired or week again. Sweetie thought. Her cybernetic belly. That was current only running on 50 percent. efficiency: He raised to 100 percent. “As of that, we don't need bowel evacuation any more.” -:: Delete ::- Sweetie felt the pressure vanish. Yes. No more would she have to go to the bathroom. “Sleep? A soldier must stand on guard every our of the day.” -:: Delete ::- Yes. No more nightmares. Imagine being able to be up and play all day and night. “Hunger... We don't need that.” -:: Delete ::- Yes. Agreed Sweetie, remembering how horrible it had felt to be hungry in the woods. “Heartbeat.” We don't need that. -:: Delete ::- Sweetie heard her body go silent. The heartbeat that had just been thrumming with excitement stopped dead. A part of her agreed that the heartbeat was useless. But the voices of protest grew louder. “Breathing. We don't need that” -:: Delete ::- Sweeties Air pump might already have been turned off. But what if she needed it again? What if she needed to save another drowning foal again? What if she just wanted to turn parts of her body on again? “Um. Mr Molten. That's not a mind controlling spell sequence. That's not even a weakness . I still need that.” Molten carried on relentless, regardless of her worried pleading. With increasing worry Sweetie saw file after file fade from her body functions. And more and more of her systems and sequences shut down. A Part of her still argued about their uselessness. But another part of her knew otherwise. -:: Fear levels rising // Initiating -//!ERROR!//- File not found ::- “Taste. We don't need that” A small part of her still agreed with him. Because that grass had tasted so foul. And crystals and metal was no candy either. Without the scene of taste she would not have to bother with what she ate. “No. Wait. This isn't right!” While she did hate to go hungry she still longed for the sweet, sweet taste of fresh baked cake and candy. She didn't want to loose that! “What are you doing. Molten... STOP!” The only response she registered was a distant “Quiet soldier.” -:: Delete ::- And just like that, With a single phrase, her taste sensors went silent. “And since we don't need to eat. We don't need to remember eating.” He turned his attention to her memory. A fine sunny day with Rarity as the two of them had a little picnic out on a hill outside Ponyville became as clear to Sweetie as if she was there. Each of them with a glass in their hooves filled with the most fine tasting vanilla. -:: DELETE ::- She saw a memory starting to evaporate in front of her. Instinctively she grabbed onto it and held on for dear life. She might be mad at Rarity. But she did not want to loose that!” “NO! Its not yours. Give it back! GIVE IT BACK!” Suddenly there were a thousand copies of the memory. Sweetie was overwhelmed as she was reliving the same memory a thousand times at the same time. From somewhere far away she registered Molten cursing. -:: Delete // DELETE // DELETE! ::- One by one the new copies of the memory started to go away. Sweetie latched herself after the alien presence and started pulling on it. To pull back what he had taken from her. Suddenly she became aware of a thousand other things. A thousand files and streams of data flooded her consciousness. It was like stepping into a library and having every book thrown in your face at the same time. Whatever he had stolen from her must be in here. With no time to sort it out she simply grabbed onto it all and held tight as Molten's presence came back and started to pull on her mind again. Time and time again she kicked him out but he only came back She did not know how long she would be able to fight him of. Another part of her realized that his only way into her mind was the wire in her neck. She needed to take control of her body and get that out now! She managed to tell her forehooves to rise and wave behind her head. She fumbled blindly with no idea if she hit the wire or not. She could not feel. But she had an idea of where the sockets must be. She told her hooves to press against her skull and move alongside her neck until they slammed into something. That must be the plug! She told both hooves to pressed on it and pull backwards. The world became a static blitz as the plug loosened from her neck. And finally came out. Sweetie felt like her mind had been put through a cider press. Everything became smaller as she was jerked away and pressed back into her own mind. Everything was just a dancing mess of questions and errors and streams of data. What had just happened. And WHY? It too a second for her to register that she was looking up at the ceiling. A part of her screamed at her to get up now! She managed to get her hooves under her, and rose stood up to see Molten Metalhoof jumping up and down pulling his hair with one hoof and slamming the hoof dials with the other. Then he turned to her. All the warmth in his eyes where gone. “What did you do!? WHAT DID YOU JUST DO” he shouted in dismay. “WHAT I DID?" Sweetie Screamed. "WHAT DID YOU JUST DO!? YOU TRIED TO TAKE MY MEMORIES FROM ME!” “Of course, my little soldier!" He roared. "You don't need them! Now get back here and give back what is mine!” The nice Mr Molten was gone, and in his place stood a stern looking stallion. And those eyes. Who had moments ago been filled with love where suddenly filled with a hateful fire. “I am not your little soldier!” Sweetie roared back. -:: Hate levels rising ::- “Yes you are. You came to me because you were programmed to do!” No. That was not true. It had been pure coincidence that he ran into this place. It was not some underlying control program that drove her. Or was it? what about that control program she has see him bring up in her head. Had he put in in her!? HAD HE MADE HER COME HERE TO ALMOST FORGET EVERYTHING!? -:: Hate levels reaching maximum levels ::- Sweetie was seeing red. Literally. Her vision had been filled with an infrared light. Numbers and figures scrolled in the side of her vision. And in the center where two big crosshairs. One for each of the blaster master. -:: Combat mode activated ::- The blasters shot out from her sides. But she no longer felt the weight of them. She no longer felt anything. Because of him. Her hare levels where rising just by looking at him. For what he did to her. What he had almost taken away from her. What he had taken away! The crosshairs started to move closer together. Zeroing in on Molten Metalhoof. “You are not going to shoot me.” He said ”You would not shoot your father!” “YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER!” He opened his mouth to argue but the blasters started to charge up with a soft humming. That got him to shut up. Sweetie allowed herself to smile. If she had only had these when the crazy mare attacked her. Then she could have stopped her. She should shoot him. Punish him for what he had done. She should terminate him. Just like the Bloodbots in that movie. She froze. If she shot. The would she not be just like the Bloodbots in the movie? Would she not become the very thing that everypony at home had feared that she was? The same thoughts she had been feeling with Rarity came over her. The fact was this evil stallion in front of her had attacked her. For that she hated him. She wanted to hurt But if she did so. Would she not become a Bloodbot herself? With horror she looked over herself. The armor. The weapons. He had tried to turn her into a Bloodbot. A monstrous murder machine. Suddenly she became more afraid of herself than of him. “I am not a Bloodbot” She said. Barely more than a whisper. Her mind was working a thousand miles an hour. She could barely keep track of all the thoughts and files that ran through her head. But one thing she did know: She had to get out of here. She grabbed the helmet of the floor and put it over her head. Then she ran. Back the way she had come. Back past all the Steel stallions. Now she was them in a new light horrifying light. They did not look like Bloodbots. But they were. And she had almost become one of them. A second or two later Metalhoof's voice echoed down the armory. “STEEL STALLIONS!” He roared. And the eyes of every mechanical stallion down the row lit up. “GET HER!” He ordered. And the Steel Stallions started moving. From her left and right, they started coming out of their cubicles to get her. Some of them leaped out to get her as she rushed past them, and ended up falling flat on their belly's. She jumped over a stallion as it landed, forelegs stretched out, in front of her. She looked back at it and saw it wobble its legs without getting its hooves under it again. In fact getting their hoof under them seemed to be a problem for most of them. Just putting one hoof in front of the other seemed beyond some of these machines. Some of them stumbled over their own legs or simply fell because because their leg movement was out of sync. Some of the unfinished once also tried to move but fell apart as they tried. One took a step forward right out of the lower parts of the leg and fell flat on its head – which came of and tumbled around on the floor to trip another stallion. Steel Stallions who were able to give chase tripped over the ones still lying on their belly's. Two steel stallions from cubicles opposite to each other even ran straight into each other, unable to turn. She could hear Metalhoof cry out over the stupidity of the robots. Turning her eyes back front she saw that the stallions at the end of the line had gotten out and formed a barricade between her and the stairway. “19! Arm your electrical canon and fire!” Shouted Metalhoof One of the stallions in the line in front of her extracted its weapon put its side. It was a long railway looking tube that that shot a big bolt of blue electricity. The shot went right past her. And hit the stallion behind her. It crackled and the lights in its eyes died almost instantly. It fell into a heap and tripped even more of the stallions pursuing her. That would have been her fate, had she been hit. “AIM and Fire!” Metalhoof corrected. Every energy lance started humming as every stallion simultaneously readied their weapons. And fired. The air around Sweetie became ablaze with energy beams. Several blasts ricocheted off her armor and helmet but even more struck right into her with enough force to knock her off her hooves and send her tumbling over the floor. The stallions behind her would have been over her if they had not been caught in the line of fire. She could thank her small size that she had not been hit worse. Most of the shots had passed right over her head. In fact most of the shots had not been aimed at her. The stupid stallions where firing on all the ones charging at them. Who in turn were blasting back with their weapons as they charged the line. Even the ones that had tumbled over had got out their weapons and started firing wildly. The air became filled with energy beams that ricocheted of armor and sometimes punched straight through it as the two sides blasted each other. “No! I meant only 19!” Cried Metalhoof “Cease fire! You stupid bucks!” The shooting instantly stopped. As did the Stallions who skittered to a halt. Sweetie took the chance, quickly got on her hooves and continued running. “19! Aim only at the little one!” The Stallion with the electrical canon turned to correct its aim, the weapon already powering up. Sweetie had no intention of getting blasted again. The Blasters on her back hummed as she looked at the one in the with the electric canon. Two targeting circled appeared in her vision. One for each canon. They merged together to form a single crosshair over the steel stallion just as it had turned to face her. “FIRE!” Metalhoof's verbal command where slower than Sweetie's thoughts. Two big white stream of energy exited the barrels and slammed into the stallion in front of her. It was knocked back and a big portion of its armor cracked off, leaving its innards exposed. Sweetie fired again and this time the stallion fell to the side and knocked over the one next to him. Who in turn bumped into the next, and the next until half of the line was falling like Domino's. Sweetie took the chance. Jumped over the row of fallen stallions and ran for the stairs. She ascended three steps at a time. But when she reached the top she found the door closed. She had no time to fiddle with the door control. She did not know the code any way. She banged on the door but it would not bulge. She could hear Steel stallions coming up the stairs and Metalhoof shouting. “To the elevator! Cut her off!” She was running out of time. She turned the blasters at the door. They hummed as she charged them up. A flashing warning in her vision told her that her energy levels where dropping. How? The Blaster masters where suppose to suck the magic energy out of the surrounding air and... She realized. They were sucking the energy out of her as well. She had no time to worry about it. Her vision was covered in white light of the dual blast. The door flew of its hinges and crashed into the wall on the other side. Destroying every shelf in the way. She barely had time to wonder if she had overcharged the blasters when a ruckus appeared from inside the grocery store. The floor and the shelves where punched aside as two steel stallions emerged from the ground. Riding on a big metal platform. Sweetie did not She immediately turned and fired toward the pursuers. The blast hit one of the stallions and knocked it of the platform. The other returned fire. But instead of energy beams she had small crystal projectiles shot at her. The overcharged crystal grenades just missed her but the force of the blast knocked her over. She didn't even have time to get her hooves under her before a second barrage threw her behind a shelf. Her heart drive was screaming at her that she should be going into shock. That she should be shaking with terror, panting, sweating and feeling lightheaded, dizzy and disorientated. That she should feel a headache and pain all over her body. None of these things came to her. She could not even close her eyes. The logic part of her told her this was no time to break down. The steel stallion had stopped shooting the instant she fell out of its sight but she could hear its heavy hooves stepping of the platform, and the platform lowering itself down to get more reinforcements. And the reinforcements coming up the stairs. She got up and readied herself to fire it the Steel Stallion came around the corner. But instead of coming closer she could hear it moving away. Carefully she looked out from behind the shelf. The stallion was moving away from her. In the direction of the door. As she looked several more Steel stallions came running up the stairs. They ran right past her and joined up with the elevator rider to form a new line between her and the door. The elevator ascended again and Metalhoof arrived up with another pair of Steel Stallions. “25! 13! 11! Search the place” He ordered. Three Steel Stallions started moving around the shelves. By luck or bad programming, none of them went to look behind the shelf she was hiding behind. But it would only be a matter of time. She had to find another way out. She turned around only to find a wall staring at her. -:: Panic levels rising //Initiate - !ERROR! - sequence // !ERROR! // File not found ::- She had no way to go. She was trapped in a corner. Wait! If she could blast her way through a door then she must be able to blast her way through a wall. With the grocery shelf as only cover she charged her blasters. To late she remembered something about a back-blast that kept the blasters stabilized. The backblast might only have consisted of hot air. But it sent the shelf flying inward. Knocking out a Steel stallion coming her way and leaving her exposed. Sweeties and Metalhoofs met eyes. But instead of telling all the Steel Stallions to obliterate her he yelled at her. “GET BACK HERE SOLDIER! AND GIVE BACK WHAT YOU HAVE STOLEN!” What she had stolen? What about the thing he had tried to steel? Did he mean the blasters and the armor. Well she was taking them. It was clearer than ever that she needed them to defend herself from meany beans like him. “I am not your little soldier!” She told him as she retracted her blasters and jumped out the hole. “THINK ABOUT EQUESTRIA!” He yelled. “YOU ARE THE FUTURE THAT WILL DEFEND US AGAINST ALL FOREIGN HORDES!” Sweetie would have loved to defend Equestria. But not like that. “DO AS YOUR DAD SAYS!” “YOU ARE NOT MY DAD!” She screamed. “And by the way. My dad has blue eyes, you meany bean!” Metalhoof cried out in rage. The Steel Stallions started blasting after her. But she was already way into the dark and rainy forest. *** The mechanic stood alone outside his ruined workshop. ”Ruined. All ruined” He mumbled to himself. This must be what shell shock felt like. To be so utterly defeated, to have everyting you worked for blow up in your face. It was shocking how advanced that little soldiers programing was. If he was able to copy that code into all his soldiers. his army would be unstoppable. He did not want to admit it. But he had run into troubles as soon as he began to dive into her mind. He would not even have been able to open it up. If she had not unlocked the door for him. Of course she did. She was his creation, and she was supposed to obey him. And she had. Right up until she betrayed him. That stung the hardest. To be betrayed by one of his own creations. Truly treason was the worst crime in the world. Treason was the one thing that could topple the best of battle plans. Destroy the mightiest of armies and fell the greatest leaders. War required sacrifices. And though it stung that he had lost so many Steel Stallions, he knew they could be relapced. What could not be replaced was the programming. His intelligence. his schematics, his planes and his vision. That little traitor had taken it all. Emptied all his files and run off with them. With great shame. He had to admit this battle as lost. "I underestimated her." A light in the distance pulled his attention. A wagon was approaching from the darkness. His posture remained as stern as ever. He had nothing to worry about. He had already made sure his Steel Stallions retreated underground. and had spent the last hour covering up their tracks. It was probably just pedestrians on their way to something. They would probably just drive past him. And if they stayed, and asked what had happened here, He would simply say he had been robbed. Not that far from the truth, actually. To his irritation. The wagon, pulled by a stallion in black raincoat, did slow down. and pulled into his driveway. The side door flung open. And out jumped the mare of his dreams. Her white hair tied around him as sure as her yellow arms. ”Marrow? My little Marrowline? is that you?" He asked. She threw her hooves around his neck. ”Of course it is. My little Molten” She cried, Brushing her rain soaked white mane out of her face. Strangely enough her leg was bandaged, and it seemed ho have been bleeding quite bad. “That little demon once tore us apart." She continued to woe. "But now, faith have brought us together to destroy that evil.” Destroy? Stupid mare, thought Metalhoof. Capture her, that is what I will do. She is the future of Equestria. “Faith indeed. Praised be Celestia.” Said a pegasus from inside the wagon. “It indeed must be her will to bring us together again. (to end the evil we once created. She threw us into years of darkness as punishment for our sins. But now, she has a given us a chance to redeem ourselves.” That annoying voice could only belong to one pony. Shockwave. Metalhoof recognized the faces of his former companions. In the front – pulling the wagon stood the silent figure of his former boss and employer, Prism Prestige. The dark blue stallion just smiled a wicked grin. It did not take much conviction to make Metalhoof join their crusade. Though he knew the other's intentions were impure towards the future of Equestria, he still joined forces with them. They would serve him well in his quest to secure the future. After that, they were disposable. ”Just give me a moment. I need to get something.” Said Metalhoof. He went back into the workshop and came back with something he called a ”rig”. It was a big controller, tied to this torso like a vest. He had a big control panel in front of him. Connected by wires that ran over his shoulders to a big battery box on his back. There was also a helmet, with a voice control microphone and many antennas sticking out from the top. The rig gave him remote access to his army. With it he would be able to order them around regardless of distance. Shockwave thought that he looked ridiculous. Metalhoof let him laugh. He was about to wipe that ugly smile from his gross face. He ordered his stallions to fall in. The ground shook as the elevator once again rose through the floor, and the wall down to his base was kicked down as every Steel Stallion still standing marched up the stairs and positioned themselves in perfect lines on either side of the wagon. Metalhoof was enjoying himself. When the history books where being written, this would be the first march of the steel Stallions. From here on out and to the end of the world. He argued himself into the wagon with the excuse that his controller equipment should not get wet. Shockwave had to exit into the rain to pull the wagon alongside Prism. The only other Pony who Metalhoof had to share the wagon with was Marrowline, as she would be unable to walk with her wounded leg. As he seated himself like a general inside the wagon, the stupid mare would not stop clinging to him. But he did not complain. When he was the supreme commander of planet-nation Equestria, he would have her, and mares like her, on every side. As the wagon rolled away. Flanked on either side by marching Steel Stallions. He pushed one last button on the control panel. Behind him came a huge explosion as the workshop went up in flames.