//------------------------------// // Waking Up // Story: A̶r̶t̶i̶f̶i̶c̶i̶a̶l̶ Intelligence // by chillbook1 //------------------------------// Waking up was slow. I became aware of my body piece by piece, layer by layer. My hooves were the last to “wake up” in this way, while my brain was the first. My eyes didn’t come until a little later. When they were useful to me, I used my hooves to push off the visor, blinking out the sharp light that was violating my retina. I took note of my surroundings, which could be called a small bedroom using the best of perspectives and a large prison cell using the worst. There was a bed, on which I was currently resting, a small desk, a toilet (politely hidden behind a partition) and a sink on the wall opposite of me. Further inspection revealed that there was a small mini-fridge beneath the bed, which officially made this the weirdest prison in the history of prisons. I raised my hoof to scratch my head, but felt it yank downwards to meet with the other three. That’s when I noticed the plain steel bands around my hooves, only an inch or two thick. They seemed to be magnetic, and they didn’t want to give just yet. After a bit of effort, I managed to slowly wrench my hooves apart, so they were in a position in which I could use them to actually stand. At that point, I became aware of a slight, stinging pain in my right foreleg, as if I had just had a needle taken out. I slowly trotted forward (it seemed that my restraints would only activate if moved fast/far enough). If I had somehow forgotten that I was in a prison cell, I was reminded by the large iron bars that served as my fourth wall. I slowly approached the bars, half expecting for them to shock me. “What the hell…?” I whispered. I was floored. My little cage was in another room, a grand, extravagant bedroom. A four-poster bed, with silk sheets and golden pillows, sat in the middle of the round room, surrounded by several large, velvet-curtained windows. I thought I could see some sort of computer desk to my right, which, if I was right in my guessing, would be holding one of the most advanced PCs in history. I’d never seen the room, but I was pretty positive I knew where I was. This was Regal’s house. “Hey!” I croaked. The word felt like it was clawing its way out of my throat. “Anypony here?” There was a sharp beep, like an intercom being turned on. The sound was gone as quickly as it arrived, but I’m sure it would be alerting some guard to come deal with me. I wanted to be out of the cell before that happened. I reached my hoof through the bars and felt it collide with a solid something that I couldn’t see. I peered a little closer and noticed a slight glare. There was a very solid, very clear piece of what I guessed to be plexiglass. Even if I knew of a way to unlock the door, I wouldn’t be able to get past the glass. “Well. Shit.” I dropped to my flank, trying to figure out how I would get out of this one. I wasn’t alone with my thoughts for long, as I heard a door open a short second later. To my surprise, it wasn’t a guard who entered the room. It was the Devil herself. “Did you enjoy your nap, Ms. Aigo?” asked Regal, a disgustingly phony amount of sweetness in her voice as she stepped before the glass. “I did not wish to disturb you, though I must admit that I am glad you are awake. There’s so much to discuss.” “Where’s Twilight?” I asked. Regal shook her head, as if she was disappointed in my reaction. “Twilight is perfectly fine. Do not worry yourself with her,” said Regal. “You have enough problems of your own, I’m sure you agree.” “Why am I here? Why didn’t you turn me in? To the cops?” Again, Regal made me feel like I was a kid in a math class who just gave the wrong answer for the fourth time. “I trust the police as much as I trust you, which is to say, I don’t.” She pressed at a panel that I couldn’t see, and the glass rose up. “You will remain here until repairs have been made, and then you will be turned over to the proper authorities. Until then, you may as well be comfortable. Is there anything I can get you in terms of food or drink? Some sort of request?” I must have heard that wrong. “What, like a last supper?” I scoffed. Regal rolled her eyes impatiently. “You will be here for the duration, and I personally do not believe in being a poor host,” she explained. “So, I ask you again, is there anything you would like? Within reason, obviously.” “Answers would be pretty cool.” “Ask away, Ms. Aigo.” “How long has it been?” I asked. “Since I stormed the server room.” “Three weeks. I kept you sustained through IV and several medications that aren’t quite ready for the public yet.” She smirked darkly, which gave her the appearance that she was trying not to look like a supervillain. “You seem to have responded well to it, which means it is likely the medication is ready for commercial use.” “Alright. Three weeks is a long time. What happened?” I hated to have to ask her so many questions, but I needed information, badly. “I discovered your plan as soon as I tracked down the first source of your IP,” said Regal. She nodded with respect. “A clever ruse, I must admit. Once I found that out, I realized you must have been going for the servers. As we did battle in the sim, Luna was breaking down the door to extract you. She brought you to a hospital unit here, and I had you moved to this cell when I saw signs of your waking.” She didn’t know that I knew about Luna. It almost didn’t matter at this point, but I kept it in mind anyway. Before I could open my mouth to ask my next question, Regal shook her head. “Enough of this. I have work to attend to, so I must bid you farewell,” said Regal. “I will have somepony bring you your meal shortly. If there’s anything you would like, ask her and she shall bring it to you. Oh, I almost forgot.” She pulled off her Interface from her forehoof, then slid it through the bars. I looked at it for a second, then grabbed it and slipped it on my hoof. “Why would you give me this?” I asked. “I want to offer you an opportunity to work. To make something good out of yourself,” said Regal. “I want you to work for Aitselec. If you do well enough, I may consider using my connections to keep you out of prison.” “You put me in a coma, kidnapped my friends, and are keeping me prisoner, and you expect me to write programs for you?” I scoffed. Regal shrugged. “Do it or don’t, it is entirely your choice. Just understand that you may become quite bored otherwise.” Regal trotted over to her computer area, likely to gather things for her meeting. “Is there anything else you require of me? It is likely that we will not see each other for weeks.” “Let me see her,” I demanded. I could hear Regal chuckle from my cell. “You will not be seeing Twilight any time soon, Ms. Aigo,” she promised. “Not Twilight. Rarity.” I couldn’t see her face, but if I were to go entirely on the pause between what I said and her response, I’d guess that her smirk fell someplace on the floor. Regal trotted solemnly into view, keeping her eyes on me the whole time. “Rarity is not in a fit state to see… Anypony,” said Regal. “She was the unlucky collateral casualty of our little skirmish. The spell that should have ended your life instead smashed through her before reaching you. We do not know how long it will take to put her back together.” She smiled darkly. “And it is entirely your fault. I want you to understand that as you sit here with your thoughts. Rarity may never be whole again, and it is because of you.” She turned her back to me, likely to hide her grin. “You’re the one who shot the spell,” I said weakly. “This is on you as much as it is on me.” “Do you recall what I said to you during our last meeting in the cafe?” asked Regal. “I said that your actions would have consequences, and people would suffer because of them. Rarity was one of those people, and that is partly why I didn’t have you killed.” She chuckled slightly. “I certainly considered it after what you’ve done to Twilight. But I realized something. I realized that some things are worse than dying. I realized that you would count death as a victory. So I’ve decided not to kill you.” She spared me one more hateful, vindictive glare. “I’ve decided that I would just hurt you until you cannot hurt anymore.” “We’ll be here a while, then.” I said defiantly. Regal said nothing, and just walked away. She paused outside of my view, and I assume that she pressed a few buttons on some sort of control pad. Nothing immediately obvious happened, so I could only guess what she was doing. Probably finalizing her security, but that could be a reminder to take her meds for all I know. She bid me no farewell as she left the room. Now, I was all alone. I took that time to walk around, get a feel for my legs again, and test the boundaries of my restraints. My original assumption seemed to be holding, and the bands were simple magnetic rings. However, they only attracted each other when they moved too quickly or got too far away from each other. This made it possible for me to walk, but not possible for me to run. As much as I hated giving her credit for anything, that was rather brilliant. I poked around the Interface for a bit, confirming that there was no way to use it to access the internet. I could only get into the Aitselec employee intranet, which made it about as useful as a stapler in terms of escaping. The bars of my cell weren’t coming down anytime soon, and I didn’t exactly have a spoon I could tunnel my way out with. I was screwed. “This blows,” I said to nopony. I couldn’t believe I lost so badly. I started to feel like I might make it out in one piece, but things just started to fall apart. Everything went downhill so badly… I lost all of my AI, one of them was practically destroyed, and I had no idea where to find the others. All I knew for sure was that, without Twilight, I’d be going nowhere, fast. Forty minutes passed before I heard the door open again. I heard the sound of wheels against the floor, and a cart with a covered tray and water jug slowly came to a stop right in front of my cell. Pushing the cart was a mare that was about my age, maybe a bit older. Her coat was pale pink, like a schoolfilly’s dress for picture day. Her mane, purple with streaks of gold and dark pink, was tied up into a ponytail and bound with a small blue ribbon. She was to cute and innocent for her age, and I found it a bit creepy. “Hello, Ms. Aigo,” she said, as if I was coming in for an appointment. “I take it you rested well?” “You could say that,” I grumbled. The mare removed the tray’s cover to reveal a platter of hay, carrots, and a shiny red apple. The food, while basic, was so picturesque that I genuinely thought that it might’ve been genetically engineered. “Please, enjoy your meal, and forgive me if it’s not to your liking,” she said brightly. “Given your state of health, I couldn’t exactly ask you what you wanted.” “Doesn’t this bother you?” I asked. “The fact that your boss has you bringing food to a random mare she has locked up in her bedroom? I’m not too familiar with the criminal justice system, but I’m pretty sure that this doesn’t count as due process of law.” “I do as I am told, and I ask that you respect that.” Something about her demeanor threw me off. It felt bizarre. She wasn’t okay with this, rather, she basically didn’t notice. This wasn’t weird to her. “Seriously? You have no issue with the fact that Regal is forcing you to act as a glorified prison guard?” I pushed. I wanted to see how much weight she could take before breaking. “A prison guard with the duties of a hotel manager. And that’s okay, because you’re doing as you’re told?” “Yes. Auntie asked me to do this, and I’d hate to disappoint her,” said the mare. The term “Auntie” tripped me up quite a bit. Regal was an only child. How could she possibly have a niece? Unless… “Sorry, I’ve been rude,” I said stiltedly. “I didn’t catch your name.” “I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though I beg that you just refer to me as Cadence,” she said. “The title, I’m afraid, is just too extravagant for me.” Celestia. That tricky, sneaky, lying, deceitful bitch. Ha. “Seven AI” my ass.