//------------------------------// // Chapter 16. Power Struggle part 3 // Story: Sweetie Bot - A Heart's Warming Tale // by Grimweird //------------------------------// -:: Power levels dropping ::- The door flew off its hinges as Sweetie turned and bucked it. She did not have time to wonder about her newfound strength. The last red dot in her battery icon had already disappeared, and the empty rectangle was flashing warnings fast. The tower had been surrounded by a concrete structure. A square shaped building that fenced off the big lightning catcher from the outside world. As much as Sweetie would have loved to blast through it, it was no longer safe to use the Master Blasters. Besides, she did not want to risk destroying any potential power source that might be inside. So she had ran around the place looking for the door, and found it only thanks to all the hazard signs places over it, Just when the final dot had finally vanished, and her vision filled with warnings about an imminent shutdown. Panicking, she had not bothered to knock. Inside, The whole station was empty and dark. Sweetie looked around, skimming her eyes into the darkness, not daring to activate her infrared vision. Where was all that power stored? Where were all the turbines and giant batteries? Contrary to her expectations. The place seemed to be devoid of electronics. What greeted her was just a boring office building with some chairs and desks, a closest with some overalls, and not much else. It did not even have any working lights. The only illumination came from the lightning in the sky being let in through some windows in the roof (which actually made the place light up quite brightly as the lightning repeatedly struck the tower outside.) since no other windows decorated the gray walls. There was a humming noise filling the air. The very walls seemed to vibrate as the place was struck with power. Where did all that power go? And how was she supposed to get to it? Continuing deeper into the relatively small facility. Going counter clockwise she found that the adjacent room was an office of sorts. (and beyond that what looked like a living quarter.) But, she had never seen an office that looked like this. Continuing the low-tech theme, every table had been filled with candles. Not one or two. But hundreds. Towards the middle of the room, the tables had been moved out of the way, and stacked on top of each other in a large circle. Even the chairs had been stacked on top of the tables in order to make higher pillars. And they were all covered in candles. Some of them so high up that Sweetie suspected you would need wings to reach them all. Candle wax lay thick over the table tops, and hung like stalactites over the edges, where the melted candle wax had continued to spread across the floor. In some places forming stalagmites under their hanging brethren. If they were all to be lit, the place would be basking in light. As it were, the mountain of wax laid dark. Only lit up by the occasional flash of lightning shining in through the single small window in the roof. There was just enough space between the tables for Sweetie to make her way through the center of this candle-fest. She thought she would have been forgiven for thinking she had stepped into a church. The humming in the walls seemed to give this place a life of its own, Accompanied by the roar of thunder from outside and her EP could not help but to process the word "Spooky" in her mind. On the inside of the circle, the candles continued down onto the floor. The tallest, newest candles were placed in the outer circle, closest to the tables. The old an almost out-burned in the inner. Continuing towards a single round, clear spot on the floor. Just large enough for a pony to sit in. There, in the center, the word "Sin" was scribbled onto the floor. The dot above the 'i' shimmered as another flash of lightning lit up the place. Something blue and hexagon shaped. With thin straight lines shining through its reflective yet transparent surface. Shimmering with beauty during the split second the flash of lightning lasted. Sweeties mind jumped. A crystal. She immediately made her way through the darkness. Stumbling and almost fell as the candles were crunched underneath her metallic hooves. She did not care if she desecrated this weird place of worship. She was only thankful that whoever had made this sanctuary had chosen to make a crystal its centerpiece. She fell and slid the last meter as was was being rubbed onto her hooves. She caught the crystal in between her hooves, satisfied at the 'clinging' noise the jewel made as its surface made contact with her metallic fetlock. She immediately opened her mouth wide and gobbled it down, not even bothering to chew. It didn't even touch her tongue as it fell straight into her open maw. Not that she would have been able to tell either way. She could not even feel any taste. And if the jagged edges of the crystal cut her throat, she did not feel that either. She did however, mentally follow the crystal down into her belly. Se closed her eyes and focused on her cybernetic belly, she had to reactivate it in order to absorb the energy. Then it was just a matter of letting the system do its thing. Even if the crystal did not fully recharge her, it would at least buy her some time. Given more time, she might have marveled at the advanced break down procedure. At how her belly was filled, not only with toothed rings that ground whatever was thrown down there like a leaf shredder, but a lot of magical crystal components, charged to melt and disintegrate the objects into microscopic fragments. The things that bombarded the crystal with energy. Energy that coursed through the crystal and, in a fraction of a second bounced through all of its thin lines, and then back out again. All Sweetie knew was that she felt a spark from her belly. Similar to one that had once erupted from her horn, and in an instant that spark traveled, not to her battery, but to her mind. -:: Compatible energy detected ::- -:: Compatible component recognized ::- -:: Data stream recognized ::- -:: Connection established ::- -:: Transferring information ::- -:: Memory file detected ::- No! Sweetie opened her eyes as another set of foreign files appeared in her mind. Memory files that were all to eager to share their knowledge with her. -:: Playing recording ::- NONONONONO! -:: !ERROR! // Synchronization halted // !ERROR! ::- -:: Recording stopped // Playback halted ::- Sweetie sat up in horror as she realized what it was she had in her stomach. That had not been a crystal. That had been a memory storage devise! Thinking about it. Had not the "crystal" looked an awfully lot like Screwlooses strange blue disks!? Why? how? What was one of those things doing here? Were there other mad ponies running around? Perhaps that would explain the strange decoration. Where they still around? More question were shooting through her mind than she had time to process. Thunder roared outside and the office became brightly lit as lightning struck the tower again. In Sweetie's vision. The little red energy bar continued to shine, red and empty. Not even a single dot was added to its frame. Did those crystals not contain any energy? Was it only memories? Was it only by her own energy coursing through those things that their memories was absorbed? How much energy had she wasted to make her belly absorb it? As if to answer, Sweeties belly went silent as the energy necessary to run it ran out. -:: Panic levels rising ::- Sweetie stumbled and slid across the candle-wax, her mind making a hundred miles per hour, She had to do something fast. She needed energy now. But where? How? where? Her panicking thoughts became stuck in a loop as she stumbled away of the altar and out to another open space behind it. More candles filled this side of the floor, and Sweetie lost her balance and went face first into the floor. Sweetie lifted the helmet, that had slid down over her eyes, and another flash of lightning revealed that somepony ad scribbled "Salvation" on this side of the altar. Where was her salvation when she needed it the most? At any moment now she was gonna shut down. She looked up, eyes scanning for anything, but finding nothing. Not even an electrical outlet. Oh Celestia help me now. Another flash rolled across the building. And there she was. Tall and mighty with her wings spread wide. Sweetie jumped backwards as she was suddenly standing before Celestia herself. Her panic level skyrocketed, and she would have screamed - had she not turned off her voice to save power. -:: STRANGER DANGER // STRANGER DANGER ::- The new subroutine roared into action. The two blasters shot out of her back and started powering up at the instant this stranger had appeared out of nowhere. A part of her rebelled against this information. Why was she here? When did she even get here? And how? As the flash of lightning faded away - so did Celestia. Sweeties infrared eyes scanned the spot where she had been standing, but she found nothing. What was this? Was the place haunted? was she experiencing hallucinations due to power failure? She had heard that some ponies starts hallucinating when they experience drought, or lack of oxygen for too long. Was the same true about failing power levels for machines? Was her mind playing tricks with her as it slowly began to shut down? A second roll of thunder, followed by a new flash. And there she was again. As Radiant and stoic as the first time. The light was sustained longer this time, as several bolts of lightning simultaneously struck down outside. Allowing Sweetie to get a better look at this ghostly incantation of the princess. As her targeting system tried to lock on to Celestia she noticed that her highness frame was a little... flatter than she had expected. Walking up and tracing the princesses long legs downward, Sweetie saw that they ended at the base of the wall. Celestia's form was motionless. Lifeless. Sweetie put her hoof on the wall. A painting? The thunder continued to roar outside. And the image of Celestia faded in and out of existence with the light of the lightning. No. there was not painting. No frame. No mural painted straight onto the wall. Whenever a flash had passed, the wall was empty and grey. A new wave of lighting, and Sweetie noticed that the shadow she was casting left a hole in Celestia, and that a piece of the princess appeared on her outstretched hoof. Sweetie turned her head and found that she was basking in Celestia's light. Quite literary. The part of the picture that was missing was now being projected over her back. She traced the source of the light upward to a window in the roof above her, on the opposite side of the room. There sat a small stain glass window of her royal highness. Every time lightning shone in through the window it projected a life size image of Celestia on the wall. And behind her, behind that Stain glass window, was the tower. Lighting up like a beacon as thunder, struck it again and again. Yes... Sweetie now understood what she had to to in order to get that power. Thank you Celestia. It was almost as if Celestia had shown her the way. She wanted to take a few metaphorical breaths to calm herself. And comb down her hair, witch felt like it was still standing on edge. Except... She did not have any hair. A tail maybe. But no fur, nor mane. Yet that feeling, eerie similar to how hair stands on edge when exposed to static electricity, remained. Coursing upward through her entire body. Almost like she was standing under an industrial strength vacuum. Oh no! She looked up behind her. The Master Blasters were still humming at her sides. Even though she had not fired a shot, they continued to drain her dwindling energy's. Curse you Celestia! Sweetie retracted the blasters into her body, Shutting them off. But the damage was already done. She could feel herself slowing down. The infrared disappeared from her vision like a light-blub going out. And every single icon and warning disappeared with it. Sweetie would have gulped as even the little red battery triangle vanished. Even her vision stared to fade There was no longer enough power to support any adaption to the low light environment. The only thing that did not loose power was her heart drive, as it seemed to explode with panic. No. She could not shut down. Not now. Not when she was so close. 'Don't panic', said a voice in her head. Sweetie closed her eyes, and only reopened one of them. Diverting the power from one eye to the other. Inside her, even more systems were shutting down. diverting power to just the bare essentials. All of Sweeties five scenes when offline, except her one eyed vision. Even her strengths was lowered to the barest of minimum, just enough to put one hoof in front of the other as she continued through the complex. All except her heart drive, which continued to beat furiously, forcing her EP to stay active and process all of the fear and anxiety, But also a burning refusal to give up. Oh how she wished she could tap into that source for just a little energy boost. With only one eye working, and most of her strength gone, she exited the hall of excessive Celestia'l worship. Rounding the next corner, she thankfully found the way out to the tower. However, it was blocked by a sturdy iron door. A door with no handle. just the signs “Warning, dangerous area, do not cross into the courtyard during storm harvesting” - along with a hazard image of a lightning bolt. Sweetie did not have the strength to pry it open. She had to tune down the strength of her piston like muscles to reduce their power outtake. There was no buttons on the walls to activate the door. Sweetie suspected the swish must be in another part of the building. and she doubted she did not have time to lock for it. The blasters had already been charging up. And sweetie had no idea how to take the energy back. It was not fair. Why where they sucking her dry and not letting her take the power back? In her desperation she made a quick decision. Just the energy that was already in the blasters would have to be enough. Sweetie readied herself, and mentally prepared the sequence. Just pop the blasters up - fire - and then take them down again. For safety sake she made a sequence that would do it with her. She mentally entered her blasters firing sequence. Shutting off everything that was not necessary in the turbine like system. Wishing to Celestia she was able to stop the draining and just make the blasters use their own energy to open up - ready - and fire. And she would have to do it without targeting systems. Sweetie positioned herself in front of the door, standing as close as she dared to make sure it got caught in the blast. She ducked her face underneath her helmet, and activated the firing sequence. The blasters erupted as the sky did, and formed a thundering chorus that probably would have been ear shattering in the confined space, if Sweetie had not turned her ears off. Her world became wight as light filled the corridor, and the force of the impact hit her dead on. She had been standing to close. And with no backblast to compensate for her own recoil, she was sent backwards. Sliding on her wax covered hooves all the way back into the far wall. The blasters retracted, empty and spent, into her back. She had to steady herself not to fall as her back bashed into the wall. Luckily the slide had scraped most of the wax from her hooves. She looked up. The door was still intact... … But the frame wasn't. And the lightning from the tower was shining through the cracks. *** Shockwave flew in through the open doorframe. The fact that the door was lying broken on the floor was evidence enough that she was here. Nopony else could have any reason to enter this place. Especially not during the dangerous harvest. He turned to the left, and continued clockwise around the complex, until he found the stair leading down. Down there was a true sparkling power station. Giant generators crackled with energy as they struggled to store all the power being delivered from the sky. For safety reasons - the storage facility had been built underground. Also for safety reasons. The place was to be unmanned during the harvest, in case something went wrong. That's why nopony would have noticed Shockwaves absence, as he left for this crusade. And if it all went as he hoped. It would be over before the harvest was. He could barely contain his excitement - or the energy of lightning that was coursing through him. He briefly considered what he would tell the others. That she was already broken when he got here. That she had short circuited herself in an attempt to recharge. Playing with such high dangerous voltage would surely be too much, even for her. On second thought. What would be the point of lying when all was past and done? Weren't lies just another form of sin? Would they even believe him? Would he not rather face their wrath here and now, then the wrath of her holiness when his time to be judged came? Which - truth to be told - might come very soon. At the hooves of Molten's machines. Oh well. First things first. One tortured little filly's suffering was about to come to an end. Shockwaves rubbed his hooves together, making them sparkle with electricity, and hovered out over the turbines. dodging between the thick cables that root-like hung down from the roof and the tower above. Each cable connecting to a spinning turbine. He carefully checked each and every power station. But, he could not find anything. Confused he circled the place a few times, without finding any signs of her. He landed back at the door and decided to check the control panel on the wall if any unauthorized power outlets had been opened. The generators weren't showing any signs of abnormal readings. But a small light were flashing next to the displays. Shockwave looked closer. "Warning, door to courtyard breached." His eyes widened. No. She couldn't have ... could she? *** Bolting as fast as her failing legs would let her, Sweetie let her helmet do the work as she rammed her head into the iron door. It swung open without protest, and a good chunk of the broken doorframe flew out into the courtyard. Sweetie was now standing before the massive storm tower. Her deaf ears not registering what would presumably be an deafening roar of lightning and electricity. Her single eye was nearly blinded from the light that emanated from the giant lightning catcher. The top of the lightning catcher. While the sky was hammering the top half of the metal tower to its hearts content, the lower half remain dark and power-less. Somewhere down the middle, the electricity was being diverted by massive cables into a central pillar made of concrete. Probably some form of safety measure. From there, all that juice energy dissipated into the ground. Presumably into tunnels and power-lines that diverted the energy over the whole forest. And away from little helpless Sweetie. It just wasn't fair. The EP in her head was beginning to write "Anxiety attack" all over the wall. But it spoke to a silent and empty BFP. It was probably for the better that no shivering sequence existed any more, It would just have consumed more energy to break down now. No - She was not breaking down. The little logical voice in her head hushed the EP and told her that she did not have time for anxiety. The energy she so desperately needed was up there. She just had to climb up there and get it. She started to climb the tower. It was constructed by a series of X shaped iron bars forming segment after segment in a thinning shape up to the pointy top. Acceding it was no more difficult than climbing the climbing frame in the school yard. Slowly and carefully Sweetie rose into the air. Both because she did not want to fall, and because She could feel herself slowing down. Every step seemed to take longer than the last. And the tower was wet and slippery. And she was dressed in heavy, bulky armor. The list of problems only seemed to get longer as she rose from the ground. The only small comfort was that she did not have to worry about exhaustion. The lightning seemed to hit the tower with decreasing frequency now. Was the storm really about to end? Or was even her perception of time slowing down? Her left back leg jerked, and went limp. The servos in her joints squealed as she struggled to push just a little more energy into it. Just to position it upon the next step. She could feel her mind slipping as she did so. If some part of her went out from the effort, she did not notice. She just had to continue climbing. That was the only directive remaining in her mind, just put your hoof around the next bar. Was she above the half way mark? She did not know. She had not the energy left to turn her head and see how far she had gotten. The tower had been dark for what already seemed like an eternity. Was it already too late? Suddenly, her one functional eye was blinded as lightning stuck the tower again. The power rushed down towards her. Past her. Over her. The very air became electrified, and the whole tower shook. Sweetie could only use her very last energy to tighten her grip around the tower, before the right back leg failed her. She did, unsurprisingly, not feel a thing. When her sight returned she noticed that she was still clinging to the tower. She had not even spaced out, as one should do when struck by lightning. Was this it? Was she recharged now? The idea had been that the energy would enter her upon touching the tower. But, why did she not feel stronger? She tried to reposition her back legs, one of which had slid of and was dangling dangerously below her. But found that she could not. The only thing she got fro trying was her neck giving out as it lost power. Her heavy head fell forward, and leaned against an iron bar. She could now see the ground below her. Blimey! She was higher up than she had expected. Underneath her, her tail was standing straight out like a pink bristly bush. Clearly affected by the shock. But her energy readings had not increased. How? How could she not have been recharged from direct exposure to a high powered lighting rod? What prevented the energy from entering her!? A program appeared in her mind, seeking to answer her question. -:: Scanning schematics ::- The answer came to her like a school quiz she just realized she knew the answer to. She had amplified rubber sealings around her circuitry. That isolated her inner parts from outside forces like water, and prevented electricity from getting out. Her tail might have gotten a shock. But that energy was isolated from her inner parts. The only reason that she had not spaced out like one should do was that … her spasm sequence was deleted. All to prevent a short circuit. All to allow her to bathe like a normal filly without suffering malfunctions. The time she dropped her exposed foreleg in the bathtub, the time she thought she had found proof that she was no bot, It had just been proof of her superb design. But she had still managed to short circuit herself when she bit through a wire. That's what she needed to do. Except she could not move. Her back legs dangled uselessly underneath her, and her front legs last motion had been to cling as tight as possible around the tower. There she hung, unable to move her own body, cut off from its sleeping systems, with the lasts bits of energy only serving to power her head. Allowing her to contemplate her final moments. To consider that even if she could move just one of her front legs to her mouth - she was still covered in armor. Curse the mechanic and his stupid armor! Curse his superior repair protocol. Her vision was beginning to fade as her one eye started to shut down. Yet in her fury over the evil mechanic, she remembered something he had said. “You could alternatively recharge just by sticking your tongue in an electrical outlet”. Her tongue, her mouth, her digestive system. It was the only way to her battery. The only way for energy to enter her body. With what last ounce of power remained in her skull. She managed to open her jaw. She did not succeed in closing it around the metal bar. But she did manage to stick out her tongue. Just long enough for the pink moisty flesh to extend past her muzzle and into her field of vision. Just long enough for it to make contact with the iron tower. Just in that moment. Her failing vision registered something moving down there on the ground. Was it an animal? Or a pony? If so, what were they planing on doing to her. Where they gonna stop her dead in her final desperate attempt? No! NO! -:: STRANGER DA ... Then Sweeties world erupted in an ocean of light. *** Rarity had just bolted out of the cart and into the forest. Not even bothering with her rain coat. Twilight barely had the time to tell the others what they had seen, and where they were going, before running after Rarity - Else she would loose sight of her. It was almost impossible to see anything in the dark forest. Twilight estimated it was the dead of night. And the rain constantly got into her eyes. The naked trees providing no protection from the downpour. But every so frequently a new bolt of lightning struck the tower. And the whole area would light up for a second. That's how she managed to keep sight of Rarity. She would loose her when the light faded and spot her again in the next flash of light. And every time she seemed to have gotten a little bit further ahead. Twilight had no idea how she could move so fast, or how she managed to avoid running into any of the trees. More than a few times Twilight had to divert her path as a flash of lightning revealed she was about to run straight into another tree. Dr Cardiac's words kept running in her head. About Rarity's fragile mental state. About her desire – not to say obsession - to find Sweetie first. Her belief that she was the only one who could save her sister. And as an extension of that – her paranoid fear of strangers. The belief that everypony else wanted to hurt her sister – to take her away from her. Twilight had no idea where these thoughts could have come from. But she believed that they must have been what drove Rarity to leave the others without a word. She wanted to get away from them, as much as she wanted to find Sweetie. Twilight did not want to believe these things about her friend. Then again - there was a lot of things she would never have believed about Rarity, or her family, that had come into light these last few days. Finally the forest thinned out, and she came out upon a clearing on top of a hill, housing the structure of the stormtower. Up close, the dark steel structure seemed almost intimidating, with its tall frame disappearing up into the black void of the sky. Lightning struck the tower again. And this close it was almost blinding. Twilight had to shield her eyes from the lighting cascade, and was still almost blinded. Yellow dots danced in her vision even after the moment had faded. Though, through her haze, she could make out the form of Rarity, having stopped at the base of the ugly concretes barrack that surrounded the bottom of the tower. Twilight was about to call out to her friend, when the appearance of an unexpected figure made the words get stuck in her throat. The hazy silhouette of what she could barely make out as pegasus stallion, with the mane of a punk-rocker (due to both his wings and its hair standing out) appeared - standing in the door-frame of the power station. It struck twilight as a bit odd. Wasn't these stations supposed to be un-ponied during the harvest? For safety reasons? Regardless - If somepony was working here, maybe they had seen something. “You!" She called out. "Excuse me sir ... ” She did not get any further. The figure froze for a second, startled by the two mares, then jumped to the sky. Rarity screamed, thunder roared again, a new wave of lightning struck the tower, and everypony froze as the area lit up brighter than ever. A small portion of the tower - close to the top - lit up in an immense ball of light. Twilight didn't have time to properly shield her eyes as the light burned her retinas like she had been looking straight into the sun. She also did not have time to cover her ears, which was a shame. Because in the very next second, there was an immense bang. Far louder than that of thunder. Twilight looked up towards the sound, and her hazy eyes just barely managed to see something that looked like a ball of lightning leaving the tower, and flying off further west like a comet. Also like a comet - It left behind a trail of superheated energy. A tail that smashed into the tower, which exploded in another ball of light. Twilight's poor eyes were not having a good evening. She had to duck, covering her burning eyes with both hooves to try and save her retinas. And then, a powerful gust of air knocked her down. Yet she would find no peace to wonder about what had just happened. As a second later, there was a loud metallic groan. Twilight had to forcefully open her eyes to see what was happening. What she saw made her forget the pain and stare in horror. Above her. The upper half of the tower was leaning out. A huge portion of its central frame was missing, cleaving the tower in two. The last supporting pillars glowed red hot , clearly marking them against the black sky, allowing Twilight to see them melting and giving in to the weight of the steel tower. With a lout metallic scream, the upper half of the tower was coming down. Down right upon the strange pegasi. Instinctively - Twilight called upon as much magic as she could muster - It would not be enough to stop the giant mass of steel bars, but she could (perhaps) shield him. Directing her magic at the sparkling pony, Twilight summoned a magic shield. The purple energy surrounded the figure just as the falling debris came over him. Twilight felt her magic falter as her tiny shield was hit by tones of steel. The hill shook as the tower hit the ground. Twilight looked up at the broken pile of metal that used to be a stormtower. Somewhere in there a pony was buried. Had her shield been enough to save his life? Maybe. Her magic had faltered under the pressure. But not given out. Horn still glowing she walked up to the twisted metal. Mentally homing in on the presence of her shield. The tower had broken apart into nothing more than a pile of jack-straws. Straws of thick iron beams, each one thick enough to crush a ponies head - or impale them. Manny gruesome images flew through Twilight's head when she saw the faint glow of her own magic coming out from underneath the pile of rubble. "Hello! Are you alive?" She breathed a sigh of relief when her call was answered by a faint moaning, and something started moving inside the glow. As Twilight approached the figure, Rarity appeared at her side. Her own horn glowing with an illuminating spell. Allowing them both to properly see the pony in peril. A yellow pegasus with a brown mane and tail. He was dressed in a black rain coat, with his wings sticking out from under the sides. He sparkled, little streaks of lightning running up the length of his frizzled mane, and jumping out into the surrounding bars. Had he been struck by lightning? He sure looked so, with his hair standing on all edges and his twitching muscles. And he had the nastiest black eye. Twilight took note that even though he looked in bad shape, nothing was bleeding, crushed or bent in a way it shouldn't. Thankfully her magic had not failed her. But something else went off in her mind. Something about his color scheme triggered a warning signal. Hadn't somepony said something about this kind of pegasi? It was not an unusual color scheme, And she would hate to be prejudiced as there had to be hundreds if not thousands with that color. But still. What were the odds that this was the one they were looking for? And a black eye, where had she heard something about that before? The stallion moaned again, and opened his undamaged eyelid, A single clean blue looked up at her with a mix of shock and disaffection. As if the two mares above him were the last ponies in the whole world that he wanted to see. The feeling was mutual for one of them at least, as Rarity stared back down on the pony before her. Her face slowly darkening. "YOU!" She growled. "What are you doing here!?" "You know him?" Twilight asked, more than a little surprised at this sudden reunion between relatives. "Of course I do! Rarity said with a voice like venom. "Our own family doctor, Shockwave. The very fist pony who wanted to kill my sister." “Little miss Rarity. Please...” Shockwave began. “Don't call me that!" She screamed. "We trusted you! And you betrayed us!" "I was only trying to save her! I have always tried to save her.” “Save her!? You were the one who wanted to pull the plug on her incubator!” Shockwave lowered his head in shame. “There was nothing I could do!” He said with earnest regret. “Even with all my abilities I was not able bring her to life. (And heavens shall know I tried stimulating the cellular energy in her brain-stem myself.” “You can do that?” Twilight asked, a fascinated part of her mind being stimulated by the idea of cell manipulation. But also by that it sounded like magic. And clearly noticing that he was not a unicorn. When asked. Shockwave smiled. “I have always been able to manipulate energy. Its my specialty." He let out a dry laugh "Ironically, getting thunder struck was how I learned of my true nature.” He raised his hoof to the inside of Twilight's barrier. His hoof sparkled and sent out a series of electrical shocks that caused the shied to vibrate. Twilight instinctively reinforced her magic. ”I never forget that day. We where all young, and inexperienced with cloud control. One day we were supposed to herd and discharge some thunderclouds that had gone a little off the beaten path. I learned later that one of the clouds had stolen energy from the others and become unstably overcharged. And let me till you, when we bucked that - the cloud didn’t just discharge - It exploded." He clapped his electrified hooves together for emphasis. "One of the colts got hit so bad his body sized up, and he fell. Hit the ground pretty bad. I myself got hit just as bad, but for some reason it didn’t affect me as bad. Quite the contrary – I could feel that the clouds energy transfer to me. I flew down to check on the guy and found out his heart had stopped! From the fall or from the shock I couldn't say. But I had the lightning of the clouds running between my hooves. So I brought them down on his chest and transferred it to him. With a spark from my hooves the colts heart started beating, and he was alive again. I realized that day, that Celestia had granted me this power to save life! To give life! And that was how i earned my mark!” He pulled the black cape away from his flank. Allowing Twilight to see that his mark was that of two circles with a lightning bolt in between. One circle had a plus sign, the other had a minus sign. "From that point I decided to become a doctor. A life saver." Shockwave continued.“But I could do nothing to save your little sister. She was about to become the first patient I had ever lost. If not that mare had shown up.“ “Mare? What mare?” “Neurosa” Both Shockwave and Rarity mumbled. Then exchanged a look at the involuntary unison. “She said she had something that could revolutionize neurobiology.” Shockwave continued “And as a doctor I jumped at the chance. Not just for the sake of my patient – but for the chance to expand the field of medical research.” “He was one of the first to join our little team of mad scientists” Rarity remarked. Shockwave nodded. “They needed me to preform the necessary surgery. And before you ask, you should know that I am a certified brain surgeon. And I have transplanted many organs in my life before that day. If not, I would never have done the implants.” The implants, Twilight though, Remembering Rarity's part of the story in combination with the strange blue disks. “What did you put into her?” She asked. “Something that was supposed to enhance. But in reality, It absorbs.” He said, something in his voice turning venomous. The others could say what they wanted about their storage devices and how 'it was only data'. But I sensed it. I sensed what little neuro energy remained in the underdeveloped body transfer to the implants. Regardless what the others said about their readings, and how "It was only electricity" Nopony had spent more time inside that foal then I. Nopony had a feel for her body like I." He sighed. “And it was then I realized that I had gone too far. Only when it was to late did I realize the error of my ways. So I vowed to destroy my research , and everything I had created." "You burned the lab down!" Rarity growled. “Too far? But didn't it work?” Twilight asked. Basing this assumption on the fact that Sweetie was alive and well last time she saw her. Though how exactly she was alive botched her mind. She had begun to think more and more about Sweetie's mechanical shell as some from of mobile life support system. "It did. Alas, I believe I succeeded a little too well. For my methods did not just allow for the transferring of organs. But also of the soul." “You doubt me of course.” He finished, as he obviously saw Twilight's wrinkle her eyebrows. “I doubt any doctor worthy of the medical code would call bringing their patient back to life as 'going too far'”. She answered. "And it was my code that kept me going, even as our experiments became more and more perverse. When it stopped being about saving a life – And became about making one." "Making one?" "For you see - we did not save that little foal. She was never alive. How can you revive what has no life? Not that that stopped us from trying. A mistake I realize now. We should have just let her pass on." Rarity growled. "But … I thought she was alive" Twilight stammered. "How can you say you trapped her brain energy's if she was not...” “Let me answer your question with a question.” Shockwave aborted her. “Do you believe in the soul?” Twilight's jaw was left hanging open. How was she supposed to answer that? “Mind and body are not the same thing.” He said “With technology we can keep a heart beating for eternity. But what does that say for the soul inside? When does the struggle to sustain life go too far? when do you end up dooming your patient to an existence of suffering?” He ended up looking distant as he said it. Beside Twilight, Rarity gritted her teeth. “What are you talking about?” Shockwave looked back up at Twilight. "This heart. Lets say we have cut it out of a donor to transplant into another pony. Lets say we have magically grown it ourselves in a lab. Either way it has cells. The cells hold energy, like every living tissue its alive. It might not have a mind of its own. But do you believe that there it has a soul?” Again. Twilight was left without response. "Because I can tell you for a fact that - there is! This life energy exists even in that that has not lived. Strange is it not? Why would the body not reject something that has never known life? For how can something that has never lived know what life is? What is a soul that is trapped in an artificially grown heart without a body? As inexperienced about life as a stillborn foal, I tell you that!" "STOP IT!" Rarity screamed and started beating at Shockwave. Only Twilight's shield prevented her strikes from reaching the doctor. “Please Rarity, Calm yourself.” Twilight physically put her hoof around her friend in order to calm her down. She then turned back to Shockwave. Her curiosity not satisfied. “Please continue. Are you saying that any living tissue has a soul of its own?“ Shockwave smiled. "Just like There is life in everything, because there is energy in everything. Ponies, animals, monsters, insects, plants, trees, flowers, the very grass we walk on, the very wheat we eat. What is this energy if not the soul? And what happens when we hack it to pieces? What if we cut of the organs from each other - any other living organ really - Do they not have a soul inside them? Is each removed organ not a container for a little bit of soul. And does not that soul scream out for becoming whole?" "You can stitch a body together, and it will heal. But can you stitch the soul together? Can you stitch a piece of life essence together with another soul? With another body? Will they merge? Or reject each other? The body can heal. But an the soul? Does the soul not scream when you cut it apart? Does it not dream about becoming whole again?" Twilight was shocked. What this guy was saying sounded like Frankenpony. Did all pegasi have their heads stuck in the clouds? ”You might think me mad.” He said ”But I have even experienced that certain personality traits - and even whole talents - have transferred from one pony to another. So don't you tell me that even the smallest piece of meat can not contain essence. Even that which has not lived can contain essence.” ”Like Sweetie's body?” Shockwave nodded. "Where are you getting with this?" ”DON'T LISTEN TO HIM TWILIGHT!” Rarity shouted as she continued to beat on the bubble. Shockwave continued, undisturbed by her wailing. ”I'm getting at – That we transferred a soul into a steel body. And I dread how it must have hurt! Oh how she must have cried in anguish as we slowly tore her apart! Do you not think the soul suffers as we speak? "NO. SHE NEVER SUFFERED! SHE NEVER SAID SHE FELT ANYTHING!" "That's only because we turned off all the pain! Shockwave argued back. Somehow being heard without raising his voice. ”We designed her electronic nerve system. We chose what it would and would not register! Its no different from taking pain killers - The illness is still there - you have just hidden it. "STOP!" "I know, I know my child, Its hard to let go. " He said, as if trying to comfort her "But you must at some point." "NO! YOU ARE LYING! SHE HAS NEVER BEEN IN PAIN." “How can you say that? You who played hoof-slap with a corpse!” Rarity froze, and looked like she just choked on something. Even with the rain splashing on her face, Twilight could tell she was crying. Twilight herself had heard enough. She added a cone of silence to the barrier. And anxiously Started scanning the bottom of the hill. Where had the others gone? A wagon wasn't exactly easy to maneuver through the threes. But they should have arrived by now. She did not want to have to deal with this crazy pony on her own. No sooner had she finished the thought before she saw movement in the woods below her. The sound of heavy hooves echoed as they approached. Way too many – way too heavy hooves. A pair of red, glowing eyes appeared in the darkness, followed by dozens more. Gleaming wet steel sparkled in the lightning above as the heavily armored ponies formed a row in front of Twilight. Except they weren’t ponies. Twilight had seen enough of the leftovers in the bunker to know that she was now staring straight into the electronic red eyes of machine stallions. From behind the row of tin soldiers, A wagon appeared. One bearing the signature traits of a 'Wheely's-Western-Wagon-Warehouse' carts for rent. It was pulled by a big blue unicorn, who just smiled deviously as they approached. Out of the wagon stepped a green stallion, dressed up like he was dressed up to be the mascot of some science fare, with what looked like three control panels strapped to this torso, a big radio on his back, and a silly looking tin hat on his head. To him clung an overly interested yellow mare with a wavy white mane. Rarity gasped at the appearance of these strangers as if her worst nightmare had come to haunt her. The row of Steel Stallions separated as the green stallion approached. And when he spoke, it was a single, hard question. “Where is she?” “Who?” Twilight answered, not liking the threatening tone in this guys voice. “Don't play coy with me!” He roared. I know she was here. She had to be! Otherwise you would not have been in such a hurry to leave us – would you Shockwave?” Shockwave diverted his eyes, non the happy to see his comrades. “Don't make me repeat myself” Muttered the Green one. His anger now directed at the pegasi. “He cant answer you.” Twilight said. “My magic is blocking all sound.” The attention turned back to Twilight. “Oh, then I guess you will answer me. Where is she” "Who?" Said Twilight "You are going to have to be a little more specific then that?" "Don't play coy with me." The green stallion growled and stroked his beard. "You can't pretend like we are not looking for the same thing. Not while she is in your company." He pointed a hoof at Rarity. "How have you been you little thief? Are you finally done playing with my creation?" "Leave her out of this!" Twilight yelled as the light from her horn intensified. “Not until you tell me where you have hidden her!” He pressed a button on his keypad, and small ports simultaneously opened on the sides of all the mechanical stallions. And out came a short lance, that telescopicly stretched out into a long lance, That all started sparkling with power. Twilight gasped in shock, less at the danger and more at the implications. She had seen what power those things caused down in the hidden bunker. Was this pony really willing to go this far? She instantly took a defensive stance, a number of defensive spells were lining up in her mind. Shockwave must have sensed Twilight's distraction. From under his coat he pulled a little round device. A crystal ball. His hoof sparkled with energy and the little crystal ball lit up. Instantly Twilight's magical barrier disappeared. The purple energy being sucked down into that little ball, along with the glow of her horn. Twilight's knees gave out under her, and she fell to the ground. Her forehooves grabbing her cranium. Her brain felt like it was on fire. Her horn even more so. Her whole head felt like it was vibrating as every fiber of her being recoiled in fear as her magic was being sucked out through her horn. Beside her, Rarity collapsed as well, anguishing in the same pain. Yet none of them had the strengths to even scream. All she could do was lie in the wet cold grass and hold onto their heads like they tried to prevent their brains from being pushed out their ears. They were being drained. How? What kind of magic was this? What kind of orb was that? A flash of lightning rolled over the heavens, and the small ball glimmered in the unnatural blue light of an unnatural crystal. Shockwave undid himself from the wreckage, and walked up to the two mares. He leaned down, and said - with all the warmth a father might have. "I apologize about this my children. But I can not allow you to interrupt my work." He looked over at Rarity. "I pray you'll be able to understand one day." Rarity answered him only with a murderous look. Shockwave was about to say something more, but was cut short as a wave of lightning cut past him and scorched the wall behind them. A lightning bolt that had not came from the sky, but from one of the Steel Stallion's spears. "You are trying my patience!" Roared the green one "Are you gonna tell me where she is, or is this gonna have to get ugly? The rest of the lances crackled, and more deadly beams cut right above their heads. Twilight flinch as they were left totally exposed to these mad ponies and their dangerous toys. Shockwave might have been about to leave them. But instead of jumping into the air he ran towards the hit-squad, Screaming at the full force of his throat. "HARM NOT THE INNOCENT!" "Get out of the way." The green pony muttered "these ponies have to answer for their crimes against the equestrian future." "They will answer to no pony but Celestia" Shockwave stated, rising to his back legs and throwing out his forelegs as to protect the two mares with his body. "Besides, they can tell you nothing. I'm the only one who knows where she is." "Oh really? Then maybe you should just tell me" Shockwaves eyes widened as the Steel Stallions turned to aim at him, and him alone. "Where. Is. She?!" The green earth pony roared. The lances on the Steel stallions started to hum, charging up with energy. Shockwave hesitated for a moment, then decided that his fate was not to come just yet. "West." He said in defeat. "She flew west." Even through her pain, Twilight could not help but overhear. Flew? How could Sweetie have flown? And when did this pegasi see her fly? How could he see anything in the dark when they had not seen anything... Then it hit her. The tower. The lightning bolt... No. That could just not have been Sweetie. Even the green tormentor seemed shocked at this news. "West." He mumbled as he stroke his beard. "Home of my old rival." Determination returned to his face as he ordered his Steel Stallions to move out. "Very well. This crusade shall begin with the fall of my oldest enemy!" The back rows of steel stallions started matching of, Twilight watched them disappear behind the slope of the hill. Then she caught an unexpected motion in the corner of her eyes. Mustering just enough strength to turn her head, she saw that Rarity was getting up. Slowly, but steadily she rose. Her face twisted in a horrible grimace as pain and persistence fought with each other. Her teeth clenched so tight together Twilight thought they might shatter. Either the ball did not have the same effect on her, possibly because of her not having as strong of magic as Twilight - Or she had a unbelievable strength of will. For despite the pain she must be suffering, she rose, even as her eyes turned bloodshott from the struggle. As the Two stallions continued to argue with each other, she started moving towards Shockwave. She picked up the ball of agony in one hoof, and charged her tormentor. "YOU WILL NOT LAY A SINGLE HOOF ON MY SISTER!" She threw the ball - Missing Shockwave by an inch, and striking the Steel Stallion in front of him. A large wave of lightning shot out from the ball and washed over the the Machine pony as they made contact. The robot instantly started to spaz out, something inside the metal stallion malfunctioned. And it collapsed as the energy that crackled in its deadly energy weapons was sucked into the crystal ball. Shockwave reacted and tried to leap into the sky. But before he could take off, Rarity was on him. She wrestled him to the ground, like a bloodhound downing its prey. There was a loud 'snap', and Shockwave screamed. He managed to shake off the mare, and Twilight could see that one of his wings now hung limp at his side, the joint poking up of the shoulder in a most unnatural way. In the same moment, Twilight felt the pain in her horn ease up. More of the metallic stallions started to malfunction, as the ball rolled past them down the hill. The green pony cursed and started pressing buttons. But in the next moment Twilight had levitated and thrown one of the thicker, supportive steel bars into their ranks, striking down several of the machines. Sensing that they were becoming outmatched by the powerful magician, the others were convinced to leave. The blue stallion had already started pulling the wagon away from the battle. And the other three were note late to board the ride out of here as they and the rest of the metallic warriors started galloping down the hill. Twilight tried to use her magic. But her horn would no longer comply. She only managed to worsen her already burning migraine. Rarity on the other hoof, chased after them, She picked up the magic draining ball again. She screamed as it zapped her and no doubt started draining her again. Yet she still managed to throw the thing, by hoof, at the wagon, somehow managing to hitting the back window, shattering it. There was another loud "zap" from inside the carriage - Followed by another set of screams as the wagon disappeared down the slope. Twilight dropped to her knees, shivering and panting. Her whole body felt like she was recovering from disease. she tried to get her migraine under control by letting the cold rain washed over her overheated head. She managed to crawl to Rarity, Who was sitting on the rainy slope, both of them were exhausted from the painful experience. The fashionista looked like she was suffering from shell shock, as she wobbled back and forth mumbling to herself. Twilight could not help to feel ashamed over herself and how she had acted. Was Dr Cardiac right about her? Had she not sacrificed her own friends safety for her own curiosity? Had she not failed her when she needed help the most? As she got closer, Twilight begun to make out the words of Rarity's lament. “She was not suffering ... She was fine ... She was fine ... She was fine ... She's fine ... She's fine ... She's fine ...” Rarity's look grew distant, and the tone in her demeanor slowly changed. A smile was slowly spreading across her lips. " ... You're fine ... You're fine ... You are fine Sweetie ... You are fine sister ... Look ... We are the same ... " Twilight watched in horror as her friend seemed to slip from reality. She stopped hugging herself and straightened up, gesturing in the air in front of her. Then Rarity started to play “clap your hooves" with nothing but the air. And it was extra scary that she did it with better insight than a mime. *** She was in a dark, small room. The walls clad in nothing but metal, and the only furniture was the hard bed on which she slept. She had been dreaming the same thing she always dreamed. The same dream she had been having for months. That her little sister would wake up and play with her. It was a dream that the grown-ups said might never come true. But Rarity was a dreamer. And if she just winched hard enough, then she just might be able to make her dream come true. And, low and behold, It seemed to have worked. For when she awoke, there she was. A sweet little filly, not much bigger than a foal, with the whitest sugar coated fur and a lovely, swirly pink mane ant tail. Her very presence seemed to illuminate the darkness of the room. as she sat there next to her, carefully observing every move of the silly little hoof clapping game that her big sister was about to teach her. When she mimicked the movements, it started out a little clumsy. But she quickly learned to keep the tempo with Rarity. Almost better than Rarity in fact. As she was almost mechanical in her moves. They sat there in the bed, playing together like time did not matter, humming along together on a silly little song that Rarity had made up for the game. Or rather - Rarity was humming, as her little sister did not seem able to speak. Regardless, it was fun. Despite the wet squelch the accompanied every hoof-clapp. What was even making that noise? Had one of them wet the bed? She looked down, and saw that her hooves were bloody. She looked back up, and saw that it was Sweetie who was bleeding. Blood poured down her legs from open cuts in her body, cuts from which plastic tubes and wires were hanging, dripping some other yellow liquid all over her naked skin. The white nice fur was yellowing and falling apart, the pink curly mane had fallen off till only straws remained. In fact, her entire chest was split open. Yellowing ribs clenching around an exposed mix of flesh and steel, wires intertwined with nerves. In the dark center, something red as shining. Little Rarity raised her hoof to try and touch that light. But she was stopped as another hoof met hers. 'Squelch' She looked back up. And saw Sweetie looking at her with empty black eye-holes. From the depths of those holes, a faint green light was shining. Shining right at her, as they seemed to swallow her as they looked at her. And still, she continued her almost silent humming to Rarity's song. But it wasn't a humming. Not from the mouth, as it was clenched shut in a thinning smile. But from the body, as it hummed with the vibration of spinning servos. And the sound was picking up speed. Sweetie started clapping the rhythm faster, faster, until Rarity wasn't able to keep up. The blood was now splashing up into Rarity's face, into her mouth, into her eyes. And yet she smiled. If it could be called a smile, with the skin, and lips so loosely hanging on. "Sweetie, Please. stop!" She stopped. And so did the smile. Her yaw fell open. And out from that black maw came a scream. An unearthly, metallic scream. An electronic static of a hundred broken radios. The tiny room started to vibrate to that sound. The walls fell away, the bed disappeared, and little Rarity thought her head would explode. Suddenly, she was no longer in the little room any more. She was in the Carousel Boutique, in Sweetie's room. Sweetie was older now, Sweetie was fine now. Her fur as white as sugar and her mane pink like cotton candy. Yet - she was screaming. An unnatural scream that ponies should not be able to produce. Her leg was damaged, a metallic hoof sticking out from the fur, and a small wire stuck between her teeth. Sweetie screamed and danced around. And all Rarity could do was stare. Stare as a sentence that she had long ago written of as impossibility echoed back from the past. Does it hurt to be a robot? Sweetie stopped dancing. She fell, and remained lying in a heap on the floor. Rarity tried to press a word out from her lips "S... Sweetie?" Sweetie opened her eyes, and rose. Her whole body jerking and twitching, yet somehow she managed to rise to her hooves. She looked at her, with the most expression-less face. Then the face started twitching. And then she screamed. "RrrAAaaaRrrrrriiiiitt-T-T-T-T-yyYYyyyy!!!" And she jumped. And ... and ... *** “Sweetie.... Oh Sweetie.... I'm so sorry.” Rarity broke down and cried in Twilight's lap. “Its my fault.” She sobbed. ”Its all my fault. I saw the warning signs. But I ignored them. I did not want to believe them! I never asked her what the problem was because I dreaded the answer. And then... then she came all out with it. All at once! She screamed and accused me of things. And then. Oh Celestia. She tried to pull herself apart! And I JUST STOOD THERE!” She screamed and beat the muddy ground beneath her so that dirt splashed across her face. “I could not believe what I was seeing. Did not want to believe it! And I was so scared! I should have rushed over to hug her, embrace her, comforted her, tell her everything was going to be all right. But I was to scared! And ... Then she must have short-circuited herself. She completely freaked out! And she threw herself at me. And I... And I... Oh Celestia.... I hit her... “ Rarity's voice trailed off and she sank down into the puddle she was sitting in. Tears mixed with the mud on her face. Twilight put both hooves around her and hugged her as tight as she could. Cardiac and the others arrived a moment later. “Where were you?” Twilight yelled at them. She could not help herself but to be angry. They should have gotten here long ago. It did not take that long to cross the forest. “Being held at gunpoint.” Brick answered. Another flash of lightning revealed he was still dragging the wagon. “It's true.” Said Sully. “Big armored ponies appeared from the woods and blocked our way.” “Looked an awfully lot like the tin cans we found in the bombshelter.” Said Brick. Cardiac nodded in agreement. Beside him. Screwloose was hurled up tight. She was the only one in the group that looked more like a nervous wreck than Rarity. The mad mare was was absolutely shivering. Her eyes wide with fear as she stared as the tower. With every flash she shivered together even more, closing her eyes and ears as tight as possible, and whimpered. Apparently the mare was scared to death of lightning. Luckily for her, the lightning-storm soon faded away. But Twilight had a feeling like their personal storm was just beginning. She continued to pet Rarity as she stared of into the dark horizon to the west. The blue disks heavy in her backpack, and the words of the mad doctor heavy on her mind. Something that was supposed to enhance. But in reality, it absorbs. *** Many miles away. A small system was rebooting from a massive overload. -:: Battery fully charged ::-