//------------------------------//
// 19: Bar 
// Story: Rez: Eqstr[Tera] 
// by NiGHTcapD 
//------------------------------//

I am looking at a bug.
Not a computer bug, I've seen many of those and they don't really matter enough to make note of. What I'm looking at is...well...objectively speaking, it looks like a pony in shape, but it has wings, a horn, and holes through its limbs, which make it look kinda like Swiss cheese from certain angles. It also has insectoid parts in its biology, specifically and especially bespoke wings and possibly its fangs. And it's looking back at me through the barrier, and it wants to get in.
"You know, you're not going to make it through." *thunk* "I'm sorry, but it's just not happening." *thunk* "Compliments to your tenacity, but..." *thunk* "Ahem!"
That got its attention, at least moreso than anything else I had been doing. "And now that you're listening, allow me to explain something to you objectively. Can you understand me?" It nodded its head. "Good. Now, there is a threat against this city, and this barrier has been put up to not allow anything through. What my job is is making sure that it does its job. Got all that?" Another nod. "Good. Now, I don't know what you think you're doing here, nor what you are, but if you won't talk I can't be sure what to make of you without scanning you. I also can't be sure if you're part of the threat." No reaction. Maybe it isn't. "So if you'll just let me do this..."

Jaunt()

And just like that, I'm on the other side of the barrier, and I take little time in scanning the little bugger. "Formic mother of...this guy is complex."
Now, let me explain a thing or two about scanning things in reality. Genetic code is not the same as standard computer code, so most of what I can actually see is gibberish. And before you ask about that first time I hacked Twilight, she encoded herself in accessing the network. She practically gift-wrapped herself for me while she was on my turf. Anyways, mostly it's a load of garbage to that which is not a biologist. However, spotting bits of code that actually compare well to normal code is not all that uncommon, and occasionally I find bits of machine code buried within the masses. And the scan found a match to standard texture-render code.
Curious.
I also note a few things about the scan itself. Whenever and wherever the lasers contact the entity's being, light refracts oddly for just a moment, creating a brief artifact. Almost like it's glitching out. Odd, but it gives me an idea of some sort.
"I need to refer to you as something. Unless you have any better ideas, I'm going to refer to you as Glitch." It seems to think about it, then reacts in the positive. "Glitch it is."

Curiosity had gotten the better of both it and me, and I managed to figure out that it was asking me about the teleportation move. So I told "Glitch" about the old legend, that of the city of Cloudbank. To many, nothing but an interesting story; to me, an area to analyze, and gain tools from. I have copies of many of the old Transistor's functions, which I rarely use, but still come in handy. And I have recordings of many of Red's songs, which by this point are freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection who knows where to look.
Eventually, I simply ended up chattering about security systems, even using the dome-shaped shield as a point of comparison. I must have been talking for hours upon hours, because by the time I stopped dawn was already breaking.
"...so really, while brute force can break this barrier, all that needs to be done is find a backdoor. Not that I'm going to bother with this one, it's kinda fun being on the other side of the firewall...you know, you're a really good listener. The only one who even comes close in interest to what I have to say about computing is Twilight...*yawn*...wonder how she's doing." It had been about 24 hours since I last had sleep, and it was beginning to catch up with me. "Not like you'd know anything about her."
"Does she maybe look something like this?" was then spoken, in a voice that made me freeze.
It was Twilight's voice. And when I turned around I was greeted with the sight of Twilight herself.
Right where Glitch had been. The only reasonable thought passing through my head was scan it. But the entity logged as what had been previously categorized as "Glitch".
The difference was in the render code; the model was that of one Twilight Sparkle.

I was kicking myself for my ignorance all the way back to where Celestia currently was, and halfway there I began kicking myself for my sudden treatment of Glitch; but it all made sense. It all made perfect sense, and Celestia needed to be told about the new development immediately.
"Celestia!"  That gets her attention, now to drop the bomb. "We need to talk, now. I have proof that Cadance is-"
"Evil?" she interrupts, with a tone that seems to states "I'm not in a very good mood right now, this is a rare occasion so you may want to watch what you say."
This has me fully off my guard. "Yyyyee...no? Where did you get that idea from?"
"Twilight had an...outburst...during the wedding rehearsal, accusing Cadance of being evil and saying that she didn't deserve to marry Shining Armor. Cadance ran out crying, and Shining had to explain to Twilight why she was wrong. All in all, I would have expected better from my personal student-but maybe affairs of the heart are just too much for her to bear."
...um. "I wasn't going to say that Cadance is evil. In fact, I'd like to believe that Cadance is an excellent princess, and a decent pony besides."
"Then what are you-"
"What I'm saying is that I've never even met Cadance. And before you try to argue that I have, I'm going to go on record and say that 1. Twilight is not completely wrong, and 2. The Cadance I've seen, and that we've all been seeing, is an impostor."
"Are you saying that Cadance was always-"
"No no no, you're not listening!" At this point, I'm panicking to try and get my point across. "Stop driving before you lose the road, and try to take in what I just said. It makes perfect sense!"
"Then explain it to me, because it doesn't seem to be making any sense at all."
"Well, something tried to break through the shield last night, but I found it and we ended up talking-skip ahead a few hours to about five minutes ago, and I found out that it's a shapeshifter!"
"There's no way it could have gotten through the barrier."
"Because it didn't-ARGH!" I suddenly scream in a brief rage, my visual field clouding up with red, which slowly drifts to the peripheries as it fades to blue. "You know, you're not the mare I had pleasant conversations with back when I was very new around here, and you're certainly not the princess who wanted to know more about me even earlier. Remember that speech I gave Discord right before the Elements and I petrified him? The part about accompaniments to the Elements of Harmony?" She looks confused, but nods, as if I care. But I don't right now, and I don't stop or even slow down. "I recall mentioning to you at one point that I am not the only possible one, that others may very well be presentable as a substitute or assist. And though you gave up the right to the Elements a long time ago, I used to believe that you could still have accompanied them. Everything you've done to help your land, every way you've assisted others in doing the right thing-you had something in short supply. Now, I'm not so sure you have any at all."
I feel from her tone that maybe she's calmed down from where Twilight accidentally got her to. "What did you...?"
"Trust."
I don't even bother to gauge her reaction. I simply leave to see if I can find Twilight, as in the real Twilight. I have to wonder how the insectoid knew who Twilight was...regardless, answers can't come quick enough.
I leave in a huff.







Staring at the text message on my screen tells me all I need to know. Celestia is legitimately sorry about blowing me off, and wants to make it up to me somehow.
All I ask of her is that she makes sure an oft-said, but rarely-used, Earth wedding phrase is present.