Ok here I am in a dungeon…In Canterlot…Other’s would probably think I did something terrible to get here. To be honest. I did much worse than that. I killed to get what I wanted. Not only that but I killed someone who cared enough for me to try to take care of me. She put up with all my bullshit and my trolling. She put up with me just being a total jack ass. And in return…I stabbed her in the stomach.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cole waited outside for the princess to arrive with the royal guard. Before the next day he watched as many episodes as he could and was able to see the season final and beyond. He saw the tragedy that was going to happen in Canterlot. And he saw it was about to happen in a few episodes. After that season final Cole looked back at his data banks about the Trinity. Everything about the ship and its cargo and programming was locked away inside Cole. He needed to save the data. The main six were behind him awaiting the princesses arrival.
He could see the princess landing in front of him with her guards by her side at all times. She steps up to me.
“Cole…I am-“
“Goddess of the sun. Suppressor of Chaos and sister of the moon. Yea I know who you are.” He said nonchalantly.
“Right. I have heard about your deeds and exploits. From what I can tell. You tried to keep your ways from disrupting my precious ponies the best you can. In return for this work that I’ve witnessed I will offer you an opportunity to redeem your name. Serve me in bettering society with your technology and I won’t sentence you to five months in prison.”
“Five months? That’s how long I will be in jail for? I’m sorry princess but I can’t take that offer!”
“So you will improve our society?”
“No! I demand a longer sentence!”
“But your crimes are minor considering you are carnivorous.”
“I’m an omnivore! I eat meat and plants.”
“But one of your food groups includes meat. Not only that but what I learned is that you had no concept of our laws.”
“Really? I kill all the time! It’s great fun. And I love to hunt!” Cole frankly had no other goal at the moment other than to go to jail. He needed alone time to think about how he ended up here in this colorful world.
“Cole I can see you’re trying to lie your way into a harsher punishment. Do you really feel you must be punished so greatly?” Celestia’s tone was that of a great kind goddess. Then again she was one. Her eyes were old and kind. They could see through Cole but they perceived the wrong part of him. ‘The part where he would mislead her’. She believed Cole truly felt sorry for his crimes and wanted to make up for it in separation of society. This is where it will begin. The great chain of events that will lead up to the final moment where everyone will benefit. But Rainbow would get the best out of it.
“Well Princess…I see I can’t convince you. Then again I didn’t really try.” Cole looks behind him and examines each of the six ponies behind him. A crowd seemed to gather from the commotion the princess made coming here. Cole chose carefully which pony he would use as an example. ‘Rainbow Dash’
Cole walks up to Rainbow and gets on one knee. His was in full body armor. He disintegrates his helmet and looks directly at Rainbow. Then underground directly below his right knee he formed a dagger laced and filled with nanobots. “Rainbow…I’m so sorry.”
“What?” She said in confusion. Just then Cole lifts his knee up throwing dust into the air and effectively lifting the dagger up out of the ground. No one notices it before it’s too late; Cole takes the dagger and thrusts it into Rainbow Dash’s chest. At the same time it injected all the nanobots into her system and effectively saving her life. It took ten seconds for the dust to clear and her friends to realize what happened. ‘he counted’
Cole gets on his knees dispersing his body armor so the nanobots could leave and be undamaged by any retaliation. The expected events would occur over the next several minutes. Rainbow would be rushed to the hospital and Cole ends up in Canterlot dungeons. Though the memory of that scream as her friends realized she could be dead still hung in his mind. But for now Cole got what he wanted…to be alone.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Months passed as the ponies continued their days without Cole. He remained deep in thought as Rainbow continued her life. She survived only because Cole saved her. Again. ‘That was probably what? The third time I almost killed her? Haha! It’s becoming a reoccurring thing.’
Cole was behind bars. Rainbow didn’t mention that he could teleport but Twilight did. She told Celestia to put him behind glass so none of the Swarm could leave. He didn’t mind this ‘special treatment’ and he rejoiced when they placed him somewhere no one could be harmed by him. Cole got to work…
Every day Rainbow would open her eyes. Inside them was the Swarm. They looked out at the world and they sent a signal to Cole so he could see through her eyes too. Watching Rainbow’s days come and go got boring but at times something…Familiar would come up. Like the episodes he watched. At this point Cole begins to piece everything together. He now believes that he didn’t just come to Equestria…He created Equestria! When the ion disrupter blasted his ions they created a parallel universe. But it was created based around the show that was downloaded in his Nanoware. This world may even be an entirely different universe just shaped in response to the disturbance. These ponies may not be ponies at all, but with that great disruption the matter and laws, the universe could have changed and they became ponies. They could even be humans before. But there was one thing for certain. It was because of Cole that their lives are this way. And there was only one thing he could do. Remove himself from Equestria somehow. But with the blueprints of the Trinity and all its memory he had a duty to preserve it.
Cole remembered that the Swarm was still under his control and immediately started to get them to do his bidding. First any available swarm came to Cole and started getting to work. First they made microscopic holes in the glass and they were able to get to him. The rest was complicated…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One day after hospitalization of Dash.
Princess Celestia comes to him while he was in the glass prison. Her composure was anything but calm. Even if you weren’t looking at her you could tell she was angry or even enraged by just the sound of her voice.
“Cole!” She said.
“Is something wrong?” Said Cole reverting back to his trollish self. Though now was defiantly not the time.
“Is something wrong! Yes in fact there is something wrong Cole! You harmed my citizens and for that you will be judged by myself! You should be banished to the moon. But since Rainbow lived you will not be banished. Instead you will be put to death.”
“Death? But why?”
“For an unprovoked attack on my citizens!”
“haha fair enough.” Cole gives a wicked grin and Celestia looks disgusted by his nonchalant attitude toward the whole situation.
The day of Cole’s execution. Seven days after Rainbow’s hospitalization.
Cole was being taken to the town square. Ponies gathered to see the murderer hung and they were booing him. ‘Damn didn’t know there would be such a lovely audience.’ Thought Cole. A unicorn used magic to tie a rope around his neck when he got to the gallows. Everypony became hushed as the princess of the sun joins them and says a statement of the conditions of his hanging.
“My citizens! It has been only seven days since this creature attempted to take the life of a Pegasus.” She said grimly. “Today this creature will be hung for his unprovoked assault on miss Rainbow Dash.” The crowd cheered for his death and he readied himself for the gallows. He didn’t plan on dying today. Or getting sent to the moon…Or even worse the sun. ‘Shit I’m fucked aren’t I? I’m not even done yet. Then again if they banish me I can quickly come back with my short range teleport.’ (Which was by no means short range. Short range as in can hop to ship to planet and ship to ship. So he could easily go planet to planet.) While Cole was deep in thought Princess Luna joined her sister.
“Hang the prisoner!” Said Celestia.
Cole stood there waiting for his executioner to pull the lever that would drop the plank below him. As he did he let the swarm start to cut at the rope. They removed so much matter from it the rope became brittle and once Cole fell it would snap. The executioner pulls the rope and Cole is sent falling to the ground only to be slowed down by a napping rope. *gasp* The crowd did this in unison and Cole began to laugh.
The princess swoops down and lifts Cole again to the gallows while the executioner prepares another rope. They try again with the same effect. Cole will not die…Today.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainbow Dash was alone today. It was hearts and hooves day after all, and she doesn’t have a very special somepony. She laid in bed looking up at the ceiling and remembered something Cole told her about the swarm when she was almost deathly ill from the high speed flight…
“What do you mean? Can they talk?” Said Rainbow.
“No…” Cole seems distant “But they are known for expressing themselves.”
Rainbow looks around the room and begins to realize something. The silos are empty. All the nanobots Cole made are gone.
“W-what? Where is the swarm?”
On cue something flashed in her eyes. It looked like a dark square. Then words came up. ‘Here we are.’ Rainbow froze for a good ten seconds. After witch the screen that showed up in her eyes disappeared and its removal from her sight brought her back.
“W-WAIT! Don’t go!”
The screen came up again. ‘It’s ok. We can’t leave.’
“B-but wait. I can’t see you? Where did you go?”
‘In you.’
Rainbow froze again. She remembers Cole once told her about how painful it was to get injected with the swarm at the library before he got arrested…For stabbing her.
“Why…did Cole try to kill me?” She asked the Swarm.
‘No. He made sure we would save you.’
Rainbow pondered this for a moment. Cole never seemed intent on harming anypony. When Cole stabbed her, Rainbow believed he had a change of heart. Though now going over it in her head it made more sense for him to not want to kill her. But if he didn’t want her to die then why would he stab her in the first place?
“Hey why would-“
‘We can’t tell you. The answer is in Canterlot.’
“But wait? Why Canterlot?”
‘That’s all we can say.’
“GOOD FOR NOTHINGS!”
*ahem*
Rainbow looks around and sees Fluttershy. She didn’t see her enter the house.
“Oh. Hey Fluttershy. How have you been?” Rainbow says awkwardly.
“I-is there anything I can help you with Rainbow?” She said with worry in her voice.
‘The silos are taking space!’ Said the screen that popped up in her view. The Swarm was helping Rainbow Dash.
“Oh umm well the silos Cole made are still here and I kinda wanted to get rid of them but they are too heavy for me alone.” She said reassuringly.
“Oh sorry…Umm I can help you.”
“Naw it’s all right Fluttershy I’ll see if I can get a few movers to help me move em. Or something along those lines. Oh yea do you need anything?”
“Well Twilight told me that they tried to hang Cole for the tenth time today.”
“What? AGAIN! How does he get so lucky?”
‘We cut the rope.’ This surprises Rainbow but she tries to keep it cool the best she can.
“I. Umm don’t know. But maybe they will choose to banish him soon.”
“Huh? Why is that?”
“Well since they can’t hang him they might want to send him to the moon. Hasn’t been done for a while now…Not since nightmare.”
“Yea…” Rainbow thought about what Cole would do on the moon only to be snapped back into reality by Fluttershy’s next statement.
“Twilight got a letter from the princess saying that you can visit him.”
Rainbow tensed up. “What?”
“She said it would help you with closure to this incident with Cole. You know you’ve been pretty distant lately. You even stay indoors for days at a time now.”
“Don’t worry I’m ok.”
“But Rainbow Dash.-“
“I said I’m fine!”
“Oh ok then…” Fluttershy starts to go out the door defeated.
‘Please go Rainbow’ Rainbow Dash read the statement then thought it over.
“Wait Fluttershy.” Fluttershy was about to take off back to the library before Rainbow caught her. “I’ll go to Canterlot.” Rainbow said lowering her head.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A week later Rainbow Dash went to Canterlot for some closer. The whole week she thought of what she was going to ask and the only question she could even think of was. Why? Even though the Swarm tried to answer her she still didn’t exactly know why. Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow both went to Canterlot together. Applejack came to make sure whatever Cole said wasn’t a lie. Twilight came to help them around Canterlot. Rainbow went for the closure that could be provided.
They went to the train station and when they boarded the Swarm started acting up again.
‘He needs to tell you something.’ Rainbow didn’t respond because she was with her friends.
‘Cole won’t be the one who tells you.’ Rainbow ignores it again.
‘He really does feel sorry for his actions. But he gave you a gift.’
“What gift!?” She said surprisingly loud. She turns her head to face her friends Applejack and Twilight who were staring at her in confusion. Rainbow started blushing.
“R-Rainbow is there…Something wrong?” Said Twilight.
The Swarm tried to bail her out again. ‘When I saw Cole last he wanted to give me a gift.’ Rainbow saw that and she played it out.
“Sorry Twilight. It’s just that, well when I last saw Cole he told me he had something to give me. I was just thinking out loud.” She tries to smile but it was a nervous one. Twilight accepted the answer but Applejack being the element of honesty saw the lie. She mouths ‘what the hay Rainbow?’ and Twilight doesn’t notice it.
Later that day Applejack led her to an open cart when Twilight got deeply involved with a book about ‘Materials and Magic’.
“All right Rainbow. I don’t know what’s goin on in that head of yours but I sure would like to know.” Said Applejack.
“Umm I really don’t know what you’re-“
‘TELL HER ABOUT SWARM!’ The Swarm was determined not to keep secrets from Applejack.
“Umm…Ok Applejack.” Applejack looks somewhat surprised at how conflicted her friend looked at that moment. “Well you know how Cole made his cloths and that jet thing?”
“Uh huh?”
“Well that stuff is called the swarm…And before he stabbed me he gave me the ability to use some of it.” Applejack was genuinely shocked. “It swims around in my body and it pretty much is able to heal me whenever I’m injured. It’s the reason I was able to heal so fast…And live.”
“Now hold on just a moment. Are you sayin’ that Cole gave ya the chance to survive that attack?”
“Well yea…And another thing.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “The Swarm…Can speak to me. Through text in my eyes.”
“What text in your eyes?” Applejack leans in closer to see something that Rainbow truly believed was there.
‘Actually Rainbow. Your eyes aren’t seeing the text. Your mind is.’
“Oh umm the Swarm just told me that, my mind is seeing text?”
‘Yes’
“Yea my mind is seeing the text. So you can’t…”
‘Read it’
“Read it.”
Applejack was in awe at the moment. Everything Rainbow said was true.
“Rainbow…Does it have any kinda connection with Cole?” Asked Applejack
‘Cole made us. But we are in your body so we serve you.’
“It said that since their in my body they serve me.”
“Well all right Rainbow. But if it ever gives ya trouble come get me!”
Their conversation was over and they rode out the rest of the trip quietly. Applejack’s opinion with Cole is now conflicted. She hated him for hurting her friend, but he gave her something so she could live through it. The only question she had now was why? In fact that was the question on everyone’s mind.