Sky Rider went to go get Nano Swarm and tell her about how they had to meet all the ponies. Swarm liked new species but she never liked to really talk to them. She always enjoyed working on Utopia and all of its problems. She was basically the engineer. Sky Rider found her in her room while she was up on her hammock looking out the port hole in her room. Nano would always be there just looking out and always distant.
“Yo Nano!”
“What?” Nano Swarm said glaring at Sky Rider. Her tone was one of annoyance.
“Zeesh you’re grumpy.”
“Yea well I don’t exactly relate to any intelligent life form we meet.”
“Well I went down to the surface to meet some lavender unicorn named Twilight Sparkle!”
“Y-you what? Wait unicorn? I though pegasi but unicorns too?”
“Yea! It’s pretty awesome. You should show off the Swarm.” Rider’s voice was calmer and less excited. Probably to increase the convincing factor of her statement some how. It worked though.
“Yea ok but later all right?”
“I’ll be right here.”
Swarm looked out the window again and thought of how fun it could be just blowing in the wind with the swarm. Or fighting it even. Then she realized there was a set of eyes burning a hole in her side with just awkwardness. She looks back at the door and realized how long it was that Rider was staring at her.
“Shit rider you’re worse than Beast Master. He at least has an excuse when he’s doing weird stuff. You just really take the fucking cake!” She hops down from the hammock that was a good four meters off the ground. When her boots hit the ground there is a loud metallic thud that shakes the room. (Her body is dense with Swarm material)
“Wow Swarm your fat!” Giggled Rider.
“SHUT UP!” Rage now taking over her voice. She grumbles the whole way down to the hanger. She walks to the edge and waits for Sky Rider to get her new dragonfly.
Swarm summoned a cloud of nanobots and they formed a suit of armor around her. No sleeves. Every plate was white but everything that wasn’t armor was black. It hugged her body perfectly so that most of her body was protected against anything. Her gauntlets contained the Swarm cluster and she was ready to go to the surface. Sky Rider was behind her with the dragonfly.
“Let’s get this over with.” Said Swarm. With a neutral tone.
“All right! Race you!”
Rider goes into a dive toward the ground. Swarm simply just falls off her limbs as far out as she could get them so she wouldn’t fall too fast. Though what she was planning it wouldn’t matter. Sky pulls out of the dive and starts to hover above the ground just a few feet. Everyone in the market sees them. Then Swarm pulls out of her dive by flipping forward then slams into the ground on her knees with a fist on the ground. (Section 8 all the way) dirt and debris shoot up from around her. She gets up and looks around at the staring eyes of all the ponies. ‘Shit I scared the fuck out of em. I guess negotiating is out of the question.’
“Are you ok?!” Said a voice.
“W-what? Oh yea I’m fine don’t worry I do that all the time.” Said Swarm to no one in particular. Then there were exhales of relief coming from the small crowd which took Swarm back. Never before when they went to a new planet did people immediately worry for her safety. ‘You know…This might work out.’
“So Swarm since you don’t have a way back up I’m leaving you for now!”
“Aw that’s fine by-WAIT WHAT?” Sky laughs out loud and starts to fly away. “GET BACK HERE YOU BITCH!” Swarm was…livid. She even shot a Nano bolt at Sky to try to kill her. It missed and returned to Swarm.
“BE BACK IN AN HOUR!”
“BE BACK RIGHT NOW!”
“THEN YOU’LL TRY TO KILL ME!” Sky had the biggest ear to ear grin that would make pinkie jealous.
Swarm turned back to the ponies in the market. Their mouths agape and speechless. Swarm felt so uncomfortable she decided to Nano teleport out of there. She was now in some random part of town. She couldn’t risk the long distance jump back to Utopia in fear some molecules might not go back to where they belong. She started to walk down the sidewalk and a mint green unicorn stopped for a moment to get a good look. Swarm was almost disturbed by the unicorn when her face transformed from shock to pure pleasure.
“OH MY GOSH A HUMAN!” She yelled out unable to contain her excitement.
“Fuck.” Said Swarm out loud. She formed a short sword of Swarm in her left arm that hid itself from view of the mint green mare that was now rushing toward her.
“Oh wow hi I’m Lyra Heartstrings! Wow a human.” She was trying to contain her excitement so not to scare Swarm. This was thoughtful enough for Swarm to sheath the short sword.
“I’m Nano Swarm.” She said proudly ‘Ok play it cool and I’m home free’
“I always knew humans existed but now that you’re here I can finally prove to ponies that I’m not crazy!”
“Just so you know…I’m part human. I look entirely human sure but I’m mainly a machine.”
“Really? How did you manage that? You look all flesh and blood.”
“Really?” Said Swarm with mischief in her voice and her smile. She then spotted a tree across the way and shot a Swarm bolt at it. Cutting it in half.
“W-whoa…” Said Lyra.
“Yup. Do you know anyone who fixes or builds stuff? I’m an engineer and I’d like to have a conversation with an equal you know?”
“Oh ok well you don’t mind if I ask a few questions first or later?”
“Naw ask away then find me an engineer.”
After several pain staking hours of discussing her origins Swarm still hadn’t been picked up by Sky. The mare named Lyra kept asking about what was it like to have hands and stuff along those lines. Eventually she led her to sugar cube corner. She didn’t enter.
“Why aren’t you coming in?” Said Lyra
“Well...I’ll crush the floor boards.” Said Swarm in an almost nervous way.
“You can’t be that heavy.” Lyra giggled.
“I’m 2000lbs” That shut Lyra up for a moment.
“Your joshing me I know it…” She said almost unsure.
“Come with me.”
Lyra followed Swarm to the forest edge.
“Wait you can’t go into the forest!”
“Wasn’t planning on it.” Swarm puts her foot up against a tree then casually leans on it. Then the tree started to crack and break until it could no longer sustain the constant pressure and it fell over.
“T-that’s not possible.”
“It is for me.” She said in the dullest tone.
Eventually they agreed no shops. Though Lyra’s constant poking at Swarms culture and traditions was getting annoying she felt flattered that the unicorn was so fascinated with her. After a while they parted ways and Swarm went back to the market. She saw an orange pony with a Stetson. Though for some reason she had this sudden urge to talk to her. She tried to walk away but then she stopped when her eyes stayed on the Stetson. ‘I want a Stetson…Wait is she a southerner? I’ve got to see this.’ Swarm walked over to the pony. She was selling apples.
“Yo Stetson!” Shouted Swarm.
The orange pony looks around and sees the human walking toward her in white and black armor. “The hay?”
“Yea what’s your name?” Said Swarm who was now in front of the cart.
“Why mah name’s Applejack. Now may ah ask who the hay are ya? An what are ya?”
“Well I’m a human. And my name is Nano Swarm. Nice to meet you Applejack.”
“Huh. Nice ta meet ya. Need anythin’ sugarcube?”
“Naw just maken sure you were southern. I saw the hat and I thought stereotypes ya know? What you do here?”
“Well ah work on mah families farm Sweet Apple Acres. Ah apple buck the fields with my brother Big Macintosh.”
“Apple buck?”
“Kick trees tah knock down them apples.” She said with a questioning look.
“Ah that makes…No sense actually. I would just pick em.”
“Well ya want me tah show ya how its done?”
“Sure.”
“Well all righty then. We can wait till mah brother Big Mac shows. He’d be watchen the cart soon anyway. Oh there he is right now!”
A red stallion walks up to the cart.
“Big Mac ya’ll take over. I’ma show this city girl how we apple buck.”
“I’m more of a cyber girl really.” Nano said to herself.
They head over to the farm and after a conversation about apple bucking and an example from Applejack, Swarm pretty much had it down. She lined herself up to the tree and gave it a good kick…Too good. The tree shuck so violently that it shot an apple straight down and contacted her head. It broke into peaces and Swarm pulled away her foot revealing a Boot shaped indent on the tree.
“Ya’ll all right?” Said Applejack worried as she looks down at Swarm as she was sprawled on the ground.
“Yea…My pride needs medical attention though.” Applejack gives a low chuckle.
“Well sugar cube maybe I got ya all wrong. Ah thought yer not as strong as an apple and ya turned out stronger.”
“Thanks Applejack.” Swarm got to her feet. “I gotta look for Sky Rider. Hey you know a Rainbow Dash?”
“Aw RD? Yea me an her go way back. We always got into who’s the better athlete competitions. How ya know RD?”
“I don’t personally but Sky Rider told me about her.”
“Well all right ah’ll take ya to her.”
Applejack takes Swarm on some epic adventure throughout the town. Ok it was an epic adventure through her eyes. She never been able to strike up much conversation with indigenous people before because they were all so unfriendly. Though she still wanted to get home and rest after a day of aimlessly walking around the town for stuff to do. Once they got to Rainbow’s house Applejack called up to her.
“HEY RAINBOW!”
“JUST A MINUTE APPLEJACK!” Said someone from the cloud above. Then a Rainbow colored pony looks over the edge. Immediately when she spots Swarm she goes down and meets them on the ground. “Sup. I don’t think I saw you last time I was on Utopia.”
“Wait just a darn minute. What’s a Utopia?”
“It’s where she comes from.” Answered Rainbow.
“Yes and it’s where I want to go.” Said Swarm. “Sky Rider convinced me to come down and so I did. She left me and I need Beast Master to get Scepter to pick me up.”
“Scepter?” Asked Applejack.
“His pet-“ ‘Wit if I say dragon then I’ll miss out on their shocked faces.’ “-. His flying pet. He can lift me up to Utopia.”
“Ok I’ll go get him.” Said Rainbow and she shoots up toward Utopia.
“So Nano. Tell me about Utopia?”
“It’s a floating fortress that I live in.”
“What like Cloudsdale? A floating city?”
“Yea something like that I think. Only I live in it.” ‘The fuck is a Cloudsdale?’
“huh. I gotta say that’s well…Somethin.”
“You can come if you want.”
“Ah can?” She asked surprised.
“Yea once you get passed Scepter’s scaly nature you can ride him with me up to Utopia.”
“Wait scaly?”
“Yea once you get to know him he’s the sweetest dragon you ever would see.”
(Imagine AJ’s reaction)
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Rainbow flies up to Utopia still hidden in the cloud. She passes through the cloud without trouble.
“BEAST MASTER!” Yells out into the hanger. She swore she heard a ‘what?’ but it was too faint to be sure. She flies closer to the center and she sees a human walking down the spiral stair case, he looked ancient. He had wrinkles but just enough so he looked a bit old but not enough so he looked like a grandpa old. He was wearing a safari cap and chainmail with some leather and steel toe boots.
“Yo pops!” Said Rainbow.
“Yes?” He said. Then he saw Rainbow and he had the largest grin that challenged Sky’s. He could earn a noble peace prize for just that warm smile alone. “Oh hi!”
“Umm yea your friend Swarm is stuck down there with my friend AJ. She wants to come back. Do you know where Beast Master is?”
“That’s me!”
“Oh ok. Wait how are you going to get her up here?”
“I guess Scepter will be able to get her up here without much trouble.”
“Scepter?”
“My pet dragon of course!” Rainbow opens her mouth to respond when Beast Master makes the loudest wolf whistle. Then the ceiling opens up somewhere in the hanger and a dragon falls out of it. The dragon maneuvers over to Rainbow and Beast Master. Rainbow stopped flying in shock and fell to the ground.
“W-why d-do y-you have a d-dragon?”
“Well it would be an insult to my name if I didn’t have a dragon!” He turns to the dragon
“Scepter Nano is down there alone again. Sweet thing.” He puts his own safari hat on his chest then back on his head where it belongs. “And she needs someone to go pick her up.” The dragon bows its head and goes to the edge and flies off.
“S-so you’re not afraid of dragons?” Said Rainbow getting a hold of herself.
“Nope I even befriend them.”
“Wow you’re a step up from Fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy?”
“She’s a friend of mine and she likes to talk to animals. She’s deathly afraid of dragons though.”
“Well I might want the honor to meet this Fluttershy. You think at some point you can arrange it? I will be ever so grateful.”
“Umm sure what time?”
“Any will do. I don’t mind being waked if need be either. I’ve gone without sleep or rest for seven days while running for my life!”
“What were you running from?”
“Well the dragon clans of course! It was rather difficult to find a lone dragon and I got caught more than once.” He said this as if he was reliving a fond memory and a smile on his face mirrored his tone of voice.
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Applejack looked in awe at the dragon that was heading straight for them.
“Now sugar cube can you promise me that the dragon won’t eat us for dinner?” Applejack looked at Nano with worried eyes.
“It’s ok Applejack. Scepter is a trained dragon and he is the sweetest. He once came to pick me up without Beast Master asking just because I wasn’t on Utopia. He’s kind and generous and just so cute when you get to know him!”
“Well ah don’t believe ah ever heard someone call a full grown dragon cute. But when Spike grows up Rarity might still think he’s pretty cute. If ya know what I mean.” Applejack winks at Nano. Nano returns it with a knowing smile. ‘The fuck is a Spike?’
The dragon lands in front of Applejack and Swarm with a thud. Applejack backs away a bit.
“Hiya Scepter! How ya been?” Nano hugs the dragons’ nose. “Hey you don’t mind if I bring a friend with me right?” She said with a smile and points to Applejack. Scepter turns sideways and lowers his back for Swarm to get on. She mounts him properly and he doesn’t get up waiting for Applejack.
“Are ya sure he’s tame? I’ma might sorry ahm just used to the idea that dragons can hunt ponies.” Applejack struggles to get on Scepters back and manages to hold onto Swarm for dear life. Especially when Scepters shoots almost vertically upward.
Rainbow Dash was just leaving and saw the dragon returning with Nano and…Applejack. She laughs when she sees her friends terrified expression and she flies along side the dragon near Nano and Applejack.
“Hey cow girl! Too much bull for you to handle!?” Rainbow said to Applejack.
“YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS!” Screamed AJ.
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Nano and AJ were on solid ground. AJ took a moment before getting a glimpse at the hanger. She was in awe at its size and the machines that rested inside it. The dragon was going back through the opening in the ceiling and it closed behind it.
“Where are we?” Said AJ
“Utopia.” Said Nano.
“Whoa…” AJ took a moment to let the scenery sink in. Nano was going toward the center.
“Come on! Wana see the rooms and stuff?”
“You bet!”
Applejack went off into the upper level. There she was greeted by a golem that was patrolling the halls. It ignored her and continued on its way.
“That was a golem.” Said Nano.
“A what now?”
“Lifeless beings created by technology. First known as creatures that walked around because of magic and stuff but now common on Utopia as they are our guards.”
“Umm alrighty then.” They were entering the observatory where Watchman was looking through his telescope…Again.
“WATCHMAN!” Yelled Nano
“WHOA!” watchman jumped and fell to the floor in a mess of research papers. Applejack and Nano started laughing. “Hey Nano who’s your new friend?”
“This pony is named Applejack.”
“That’s nice!” He said with a smile. Then his expression became serious and his tone almost angry. “Go off and play while I work. I’m busy.”
“Well…Someone’s going to die painfully today.” Said Nano as she walks out the door with Applejack.
They headed toward Sound Wave room. There was a wub wub coming from the room.
“Ok Applejack…Gotta admit.”
“Hey that sounds Vinyl’s kinda music!” Applejack said joyously.
“Oh…Never mind then. Let’s go in and party!”
They go into the door and Sound Wave sees them as they move over to her dance floor. She stops the music with a confused look on her face.
“C-can I help you Nano?” Sound Wave scans her for any reason why she would seek her out. It was unusual for Nano to go into anyone’s room other than her own. She was distant that way.
“Oh yea this is kinda…Weird but Applejack here wanted to listen to your music.” Said Nano.
“Ah’m a might sorry ma’am. Did I intrude?” Said Applejack affectionately.
“N-no not at all. I’m just not used to seeing Nano in my room. She’s pretty anti social.” Wave gave Nano a questioning glance.
“Aw really? Well ah’m glad she opened up enough teh talk ta me. I’ve had one humdinger of a day!”
“Well all right Applejack. Want a few CD’s? I’ve got lots of choices and genres that I’m sure you’ll like.”
“Well all righty then! Let’s see what you got!”
It took about thirty minutes for Applejack and Sound Wave to determine the right music that would be all right to bring home. Wave showed her some explicit rated music and she kindly rejected them and continued on. Nano however didn’t stay very long. She returned to her room and went back up on her reinforced hammock. She reflected on the events of the day and then back to what Wave said. ‘I’m just not used to seeing Nano in my room. She’s pretty anti social.’. At that moment Nano realized there must be something wrong with her. She wouldn’t have been so keen with talking to anyone because she enjoyed being able to live in her own world and deep in thought. Today she broke from habit after getting a strange feeling when seeing Applejack.
There was a sound of hooves trotting on steel and Nano turns to see Applejack at her door with a bag in her mouth full of CD’s. She couldn’t help but smile at such a sight. It was pretty cute to see a little pony carrying a bag around full of music disks.
“Howdy Nano. This yer…room?” Said Applejack looking around quite surprised. There wasn’t very much in terms of furniture other than the hammock. And unlike the rest of Utopia it had very blank light blue walls.
“Yea this is my room.”
“Huh…Well its pretty. Plain to be honest.” She looks around almost worried.
Nano assumed she was ready to leave seeing as she tried to find her. It’s only natural to find the person who brought you to a new place so you can leave it.
“Y-you all set to go?” Nano felt weird when saying that. She didn’t know this pony but for some reason her mind was trying to find things to do with her.
“What? No ah’d like teh see some of the other levels wit yah.”
“Well all right.” Nano said joyously and she hopped down from her high up hammock, only to be reminded of her heavily condensed body weighed 2000lbs when the very loud sound of metal hitting metal roared throughout the Utopian hull.
“WHOA!” Exclaimed Applejack as she almost tumbles. She looks back at Nano with a very awed expression. “W-what…a-are yah ok sugar cube?” The concern in her voice was hard to find but it was there. She was more half way between confused and worried.
‘Shit forgot about that’ “Sorry I’m…Very heavy…So yea want to go bother watchman?” Nano said with a nervous smile.
“Now hold on. How are yah heavy? Ya shook the room. Only fair for me to have an explanation.”
“Umm well…Ok one day…I woke up…”
“Like from ah dream?” Applejack tilted her head.
“No…From stasis…”
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Nano woke up in a massive room. She was floating in some sort of liquid and by the looks of her surroundings she was in some sort of lab. If anything it looked like some form of life support.
This was Nano’s first memory before her mind became assaulted with data. Useless data and required data. Like how to gain her balance while walking and the laws of physics. She was told of all the known secrets of the universe and all the known sciences. She even got several childhood memories of other people. Each event had been hand picked for her to witness and when all the greatest and terrible memories were downloaded…She knew what she was.
She was a machine. No not just a machine, a cyborg. And she was not woman born. Her body was formed in this life sustaining fluid and her body was also hosting some…creation within her. She later would find out it was the swarm. The Nano Swarm. Eventually she figured out how to move her muscles and eyes. She looked around for anyone who may be watching her. She realized she was alone.
She felt wrong inside the tank of life giving fluid. She wanted so badly to get out but she couldn’t even if she tried. But then…She remembered what she was, and what she had. ‘Maybe it can help?’ She holds her hand out on front of her and hoped that she could command what she knew as ‘The Swarm’.
*Crash!*
Nano found herself feeling the pull of gravity for the first time. She couldn’t determine the sensation but she knew how to fully work her body. She had the memories of others walking down the sidewalk, or walking in the halls of school.
Nano found her footing and she begun to stand. Her head started pulsating with the feeling of pumping blood, and then she saw some…Thing.
It was an…Animal?
‘Never mind that. I require matter.’ Her mind seemed almost programmed. She had to do things that she had no reason behind. Though this creature starts to come toward her and gives her what feels like a hug. She stops her thoughts to focus on this one creature. She still couldn’t make out its shape but it felt warm and comforting.
Then she remembered the impulsive trigger in her mind. She stood up and started…absorbing the room. The walls started to bend toward her. The floors started to seep into her skin. Every molecule seemed to be compressed as the most intense pain filled her nerves and her thoughts.
The creature bolts out of the room at a blinding speed. Only before that did she get a good enough look at the colors…there were…a lot of them?
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Nano’s memory fails at that moment. The rest was a blank. Though she knew she summoned the swarm and that they had something to do with the collapsing of the room. She realized how vague that really was in terms of discovering how the Swarm came to her. In her honest opinion she had no idea.
“That’s some tale. But yer sure yah don’t remember more?” Said Applejack in a caring tone of voice.
“Yea…I don’t know much after that but I do know for a fact that all those walls and floors became part of me…Once Impulse found me he used those materials to build this ship.” Nano gestures to the walls, then she gave a thankful smile. “Because of the materials that are now out of my body I can live a semi normal life. I still weigh a lot but its more bare able now. I guess it’s also the reason I don’t like to leave Utopia…It was made out of what I am.”
“Why ain’t that a touchin story.” Said Applejack with still more caring.
“Yea…So wana go bug Watchman?”
Applejack laughs a low chuckle. “You bet!”