//------------------------------// // Chapter 35: Tea time // Story: The Hacker Pwny // by Chetzi //------------------------------// August 11-- 10:26 A.M. I shifted around uncomfortably on the wooden chair. It was hard getting comfortable with four legs, when one of them is broken. Looks like that dynamic bioupdater I installed worked, not in a good way, though. I guess I should explain what it is. It's a self-adapting biometric bodily changer. Basically, what happens is, when something changes to me in one form, be it human or pony, it copies the change to the other form. A good example would be my leg. I broke it as a human, so when I turned into a pony, the bone structure carried over. Could I reprogram my pony form to have a healed leg? Well, yeah, if I had three years to code all that. Do you have any idea how complex the body is? Very. I used semi-complex algorithm to keep old data that influences new data. Man, I'm such a nerd. "Hello? Are you still present Neon?" Octavia asked me from across the table. She somehow held a cup of tea, in a very polite and fancy manner. With nothing better to do, I had tea time with Octavia. Don't ask, I was bored. "Yeah," I responded. I wondered how she looked so refined. Maybe it's the bow tie, or the well-curled eye lashes. Or the nice shade of purple in her eyes. I have no idea. It's just this air of high class she has. She caught me staring, and I avoided her gaze, staring at my teacup. My tea was a light brown, and had minor ripples break through the normally calm liquid each time I adjusted my seat. I don't like tea. But still, I don't want to be rude. I used magic, which I still am pretty bad at, and gently floated the tea towards my mouth. But I derp'd and the tea spilled over. The hot fluid stung my skin as it flowed down me. "Are you okay?" "Ow, yeah, this just stings a little." "I will get a towel." She got up and trotted over to a counter in Vinyl's kitchen. Her eyes searched for a clean towel, but only found an old, stained rag. She took it in her mouth, unwillignly, and brought it over to me. I grabbed it with my teeth and wiped the tea off my legs. Octavia sat back down and tried to start a conversation, "So, how's it like being with Vinyl? You two seem like opposites." "Opposites attract." "Only for magnets, and they make as much sense as your pink friend who throws all the parties." They have magnets on Equestria? So it seems this planet has an iron core like the one on Earth. Or at least some kind of magnetic material. That reminds me, I havn't had the chance to study this planet much. I should get around to that, there's so much to learn. But for right now, I have to be nice to my fillyfriend's best friend. Wait, that hypocrite! "What do you mean only in magnets! You and Vinyl are perfect examples of that." "It's true we have our musical differences, but when we play music at the same time, it turns out beautiful." I guess that makes sense, kinda like the album by Lincon Park, Hybrid Theory. Sometimes two very different kinds of music can sound good together. And it would get boring when two fancy ponies have a conversation, they wouldn't say much but please and stuff, they just won't get along. "True, I guess Vinyl keeps it from getting boring around here. Do you have a house?" "Yes, would you like to see it?" I shrugged. "Sure." Octavia put her tea down, and gracefully left her seat. I followed her a few feet behind. She seemed to be walking slower so I could keep up. We made tidbits of conversation here and there until we reached her house. We came upon a rather high class mansion, at the edge of Ponyville. It was adorned with decorative windows and doors. "Where did you get the money to get this?" "I'm a rather famous cellist, and my parents used to own this before they... passed on." I'm not going to ask questions about her parents. Not with that awkward pause she threw in that sentence. She lightly pushed open the doors, and stepped on the marble floor. The floor was cold against my hooves, and very shiny. I could see myself clearly in the floor. My bright green colors seem to pop off the floor. I looked around the room, it appeared to be the foyer. Well-jeweled vases and pictures lined tables and walls. "It's a rather large house, do you ever get lost?" "Sometimes. I don't really explore it that much." We continued down the hall. All the light is starting to blind me. "So, how'd you get your cutiemark?" "Oh, now that is an interesting story. Come now, let's find a table to discuss it over." She went through a few doors and many fancy hallways that were lined with long purple rugs that were outlined with gold colored cloth. After about three minutes of walking, we came across the kitchen. It seemed pretty standard. There was a small white marble table in the center. Octavia took a seat, and I limped into the one across the table. "So, tell me the story." "I was a filly, playing around in this very house. My parents watched over me. One of my favorite rooms was the music room. It's just that sweet sound of soft music that I loved so much. When I stumbled upon the cello, it looked huge. I couldn't even reach it. Aw, those old memories... I remember those days, I was quite bad. But it was still fun to play." "Heh." "I remember this one time where I took a bite out of my cello becuase I just found out I was playing in the Gala. I was so excited, I couldn't control myself." "I can imagine that." "What about your cutie-oh, you're a blank-flank. How interesting. Can you share some of your past?" Emotion drained from my face as I thought about my past. No, never again. "I don't look back on the past. Too many bad memories." "If it would help to talk about it, I would certainly lend you some time." "I'm fine," I said rather coldly. "Okay, as long as you're fine and not hurt." No human would ever say that. It's kinda nice being able to go to Equestria, to escape the confines of greedy humans. Think about greed and being selfish. They are from the natural self-preservation instinct, survival of the fittest. Long ago, we needed to grab more to eat because we did not know when the next meal would walk by the cave for us to kill and catch. Then it became wars or weather changes causing drought or locusts so we had to store up enough food just in case. Overall a very wise way of living to survive in times of hardship. In our modern world, we have adapted this otherwise good drive to grow and protect our family in the case of turning events into a lust for more and more. It's so strange. One of our greatest strengths as individuals, is our greatest weakness as a society. Octavia and I continued to talk about various things, for an hour or so. I wonder if she even knew of my saving Equestira. News doesn't travel that fast in a world without Internet. It's possible unhurt towns don't know of it. Wait... Ohhhh I get it now. There's a reason they have a mail system. In the old days, pre-1830, there weren't trains or telegraphs. To get news around, they used horse riders. I think a popular one was called the Pony Express. See what I'm getting at? Uh, I think that's just a coincidence. Still, pretty cool when I think about it. Meh, enough history. "It has been fun, Neon, but I believe now would be a good time to retrieve Ms. Scratch from the city of Manehatten, she's likely to be drunk and unconscious," Octavia abruptly told me, breaking an awkward silence. "Yeah, I guess we could. The silence is so strange. And the ground's not shaking," I chuckled after the last part. Octavia politely joined in the laugh. "I shall call a taxi." She trotted out of the room, with me slowly limping behind her. We found ourselves outside soon. Wait, I seem to remember it taking longer to get here. Shortcut? Maybe. The taxi was like a pioneer wagon, but a lot more fancy. Two large ponies were carrying the front. This has got to be the most ironic thing ever.