//------------------------------// // VIII. Core // Story: Legacy // by SpartanD014 //------------------------------// CORE When Twilight awoke, the tent was empty and the sound of activity filled the air outside. The princess rubbed her eyes as she sat up, and took in the state of the tent. The other beds had not been made, and each one had a pair of saddlebags sitting on the covers. Twilight sniffed the air, and found her attention diverted to a table across from her bed. Sitting in the center was a tray with a light breakfast, and a hot cup of coffee. Smiling hungrily, Twilight grasped the tray in her telekinesis and began to pull it towards her. When she realized what she had done, Twilight nearly dropped the tray on the dirt floor of tent. Her smile only widened as she saw the tray come closer and closer, the lavender aura never flickering. There was no more painful shock through her head, and her magic seemed as strong as ever. By the time the tray reached Twilight, she was grinning from ear to ear. She ate the breakfast quickly, and exited the tent a few minutes later, her half-empty cup of coffee floating next to her. She took occasional sips of the beverage as she walked through the camp, her destination Celestia’s tent. Looking up, Twilight could not see the sun in the sky. However, from the position of Legacy’s massive shadow, she guessed it to be somewhere near its zenith. That gave Twilight only a few hours of sleep; hardly enough to be sufficient after spending so much time awake. But that was why coffee had been invented. Twilight finished off her cup just as she approached Celestia’s tent, and even from the outside she could hear the sounds of voices. A pair of guards opened the tent flaps for her, and Twilight stepped inside, instantly drawing the attention of everypony in the room. They were seated around a table, studying a large map of Equestria. Two areas in particular were highlighted; the plains above which Legacy now floated, and the southern border of the Badlands. Celestia greeted Twilight with a smile as the younger princess entered, and motioned to an empty chair. “Good morning, Twilight. Did you sleep well?” “Well enough,” Twilight answered, taking her seat. “My magic is back, thankfully.” “As is mine,” Luna said, demonstrating by lifting a large mug of coffee. “It seems that a good rest is the cure to that chemical’s side-effects.” Twilight nodded, her mind turning to the guards left behind on the ship. She hoped they could find the time to sleep peacefully… “So, what is our plan?” Twilight looked over the map, specifically focused on the highlighted area of the Badlands. “We don’t want to risk anything going wrong, so we are establishing a time window,” Starlight Glimmer said. “If the two teams are not back within twenty-four hours, we’ll assume something went wrong.” “As was decided earlier, you and Luna will lead the Legacy team,” Celestia said to Twilight, before turning to address everypony else. “Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Onyx Star will go with you. I will lead the Badlands team, and will be accompanied by Starlight Glimmer, Applejack, and Rarity. Ideally we will find nothing of interest, but… I fear that such chances are slim.” “And what happens if you do find something?” Twilight asked. “If Legacy somehow tampered with that temple, twenty-four hours may be giving us too much time.” “If something does go horribly wrong, I think we will all know,” Celestia replied. “Worst case scenario, one team can send a messenger to the other.” Twilight nodded, and she looked around the table. “Well then, I’m ready to leave when everypony else is.” The young princess looked to the ponies who comprised her team, waiting for the go-ahead. “I believe we’ve covered everything,” Luna said, standing. “I’ll fill you in on what you missed on our way to the ship. Let’s go, everypony.” The remaining ponies stood, and exited the tent. Once outside, the group split into two, with Celestia leading her team to a nearby chariot, and Luna leading hers to the outskirts of the base. Twilight trotted behind the princess of the night, and joined her in a chariot waiting just beyond the outermost tents. A few guards were already present in the large vehicle, their escort for the mission. When everypony was aboard, the pegasi up front took off, and began flying to Legacy’s airlock. The journey was over quickly, and in only a few minutes Twilight found herself in the cramped airlock, standing shoulder to shoulder with Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, and Onyx Star. Once inside, it was only a few more minutes before they were joined by Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and the guards. Twilight took a few steps into the ship, looking around. “This is where we were last night,” she observed, recognizing a few features of the corridor. “Yes,” Luna nodded. “I flew back and found it after I woke up. Do you still have the route from the bridge memorized?” Twilight paused, thinking to herself. Slowly, a mental image of the map began to form, and she tried to recall the steps they had taken to get from the bridge to the airlock. “… This way,” she finally said, setting off down the hall. The rest of the ponies fell into step behind her, the guards keeping their heads on a constant swivel. From what she remembered from the escape, the airlock was roughly fifteen minutes from the bridge. Assuming nothing tried to stop them, Twilight hoped to reach the room in a similar timeframe. The corridors all blended together, most of them lacking any discerning features. Twilight continued on, hoping she was not leading her team in the exact opposite direction. And as she led, the spheres in the ceiling watched, each one with a glowing red dot… The construct kept its sight focused on the AI core as it watched the ship’s intelligence move about. The mechanical body was damaged – the result of some unforeseen complications during transit to Equus. It limped throughout the core, stopping at various stations to type on the screens available. What it was doing, the construct did not know. But it was not detecting any security breaches, so it was content to let the intelligence work. Meanwhile, the construct was doing work of its own. Something had happened to Legacy during its journey to Equus, something that had critically damaged the power systems. Had the construct not freed power by disabling non-critical systems, the ship would have crashed into the dirt days ago. To repair this damage, the construct was feeding its magic through the wires and power conduits, reconstructing any broken components it found. The effort was slow, but it was working. Soon, more systems would be available. “… Alert,” the intelligence said, speaking through its mechanical body. “Unauthorized access to bridge systems detected. Attempting security lockdown… Failed.” The body returned to typing on a screen, as if it was unaware of what it had said. Elaborate. The intelligence did not respond. The construct shook in annoyance, and fed its magic through the room’s speaker system. “Elaborate,” it demanded, its voice booming throughout the AI core. The construct paused, not used to hearing its own voice. It had the desired effect, however, and the intelligence stepped away from its screen. “Ponies have accessed the bridge once again,” it explained. “Because the computers are detecting a foreign presence in the core – you – the bridge has gone into an automated isolation. I can no longer access its security protocols remotely.” “You have a body,” the construct said. “Do it manually.” “My mobile platform’s structural integrity is currently at twenty percent,” the intelligence replied. “I would not make it intact.” The construct quaked, dissatisfied. The ground around it cracked, and for just a moment, it felt its control over the ship slipping. It quickly calmed itself, and regained its positon of power. “Very well,” it said. “Keep me updated.” The construct watched the intelligence as it worked, and found itself growing curious. The intelligence was a difficult being to understand; a computer, yet as complex as any living thing. And when the construct had first attempted to gain control of Legacy, the intelligence had managed to put up a remarkable fight. The construct began to grow worried that the intelligence may possess the ability to free itself… Before anything could be done, the construct founds its attention taken away from the ship. It turned from Legacy, instead focusing nearer to home, in the southernmost reaches of Equestria. Something was coming near. Something powerful. Celestia. So, the ponies had finally caught on. Somehow, they had been alerted to the ancient temple. And now they were coming to investigate. The construct could not help but feel amused. They had no idea what was in store for them… The chariot landed on the barren Badland soil, and skidded for a few meters before coming to a halt. The pegasi guards quickly unhitched themselves from the chariot and secured the area, while Celestia and her team jumped out and took a look around. Celestia scanned the area with her magic, looking for anything out of the ordinary. She did not remember the exact coordinates of the temple, but even from here, she could feel something was wrong… “Stick together,” she ordered, not willing to take any risks here. “Speak up if you see something abnormal.” The ponies walked close together, each one examining a different area of the Badlands. Out here, there was very little. The terrain remained at a uniform elevation, and the area was dotted with very little plant life. What plants did exist were dead, their flowers and leaves blown away ages ago. In the distance, however, life flourished. The Forbidden Jungle, ponies called it. In some ways, it was just as dangerous as the Everfree Forest; ancient structures, deadly predators, and low visibility were just some of the reasons the jungle was considered “forbidden.” And yet Celestia now found herself headed right toward it, her magic constantly scanning for abnormalities. The closer the group came to the jungle border, the stronger Celestia’s anxiety grew. She looked around, and observed cracks running through the ground beneath her hooves. The trees had collapsed, and the very earth had shifted. It was decidedly abnormal. “Looks like an earthquake came through,” Applejack observed, leaning down to more closely examine the cracks. Celestia nodded in agreement, becoming more troubled by the second. Something was wrong… “Princess!” Starlight Glimmer stopped in her tracks and pointed off to the side. “Are those… bricks?” Celestia turned to follow Starlight’s hoof, and her eyes settled on a section of earth that had been shifted dramatically. Some parts had caved in, while others had risen up, creating an uneven section of rock and dirt. Celestia squinted to focus more on the rock, and sure enough, she saw stone bricks mixed among the natural rock. “It is here,” she said. “The remains of the temple are here. We must find an entrance.” The group began to spread out, each pony searching a different part of the disturbed area. Celestia treaded softly, careful not to step on a weakened section of rock and cause further collapse. She approached a wall of stone bricks, and brushed her hoof across them. Curiously, she knocked on the bricks, and pressed her ear to the wall. With each knock, she could hear an echo from the other side. Satisfied, Celestia stood back, and called to the rest of the group. “I have found an entrance!” The team halted their individual searches and came to the princess, all of them staring at the brick wall upon arrival. Celestia motioned for them to step back, and her horn became enveloped in a golden aura as she summoned her magic. With great care, she pushed her magic into the gaps between the stones, and began to pull. The stones shook and shuddered at the force, and slowly they began to break from the ancient foundation. With one final tug, Celestia opened a large hole into the wall, revealing a dark corridor beyond. Her guards immediately stepped forward, one of them shining a light from his horn and illuminating the hall. It extended for a few meters before turning into a set of stairs, which descended deep into the earth. The guards took a few tentative steps into the hall, and were followed by Celestia and her team. Celestia looked around, memories of the hall coming back to her. She had been here before, many lifetimes ago. And as her eyes scanned the corridor, images of that day returned to her. Images of the cultists, flinging themselves at her and her sister, giving their lives to prevent the princesses from stopping the ritual. Celestia looked down, and caught sight of a tattered robe beneath the dirt. She picked it up in her magic and began to examine the garment; the body that had once worn it had decomposed centuries ago, but it still had signs that it had been worn. A cutie mark had been stitched into the back; a book with a star on its cover. Celestia knew the mark. It had belonged to one of her court mages, one of the most powerful unicorns of the First Era. And now this was all that was left. Celestia shook her head as she dropped the robe, and took a few steps further into the temple. This cult had been monstrous then, and the effects could be monstrous now if something were to happen. “Let’s go,” she said, approaching the top of the staircase. The bottom was covered in shadow, and was too far away to be lit by her horn. But now was not the time for caution. With no reservations, Celestia took her first step onto the stairs, and began to descend deeper into the temple… Twilight paced through the bridge, passing her friends as they stood at various stations. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were both examining a screen with flight logs, while Pinkie Pie stood at a computer displaying ship specifications. Princess Luna was carefully examining the large three-dimensional map of the ship, and Onyx Star was sitting in a corner, looking at power output on a screen. Twilight made her way to Luna, and took a position next to the princess. “See anything?” she asked. The map was in its most expanded view, and individual rooms were difficult to see. Still, Luna’s careful eyes were tracing something of interest. “I asked Onyx Star for the routes the search parties took,” she explained. “I am… trying to find where some of the missing guards may have ended up.” “They could be anywhere at this point,” Twilight said, frowning. “Especially if that gas was used on them.” Luna nodded grimly, and turned away from the map. She sat down, her back against the table, and sighed. “What’s the matter?” Twilight sat down next to Luna, regarding the princess with concern. “It’s my sister…” Luna began. “I’m worried for her safety. That temple, the construct that once inhabited it… It’s dangerous.” “Celestia is very capable,” Twilight said, attempting to comfort Luna. “If she can survive a day at court, an old temple will be a piece of cake for her. I’m confident she can handle anything she finds there.” Luna shook her head. “I’m not.” Twilight frowned, and looked away. Once again she looked around the room, trying to find something to distract her. She did not have to look far; from his station in the corner, Onyx Star looked away from the screen and called out to the princess. “Highnesses!” He began beckoning them over, the screen behind him displaying a diagram of the ship. Twilight and Luna stood and crossed to the doctor, staring at him inquisitively. “What is it?” Twilight asked, looking over the screen. It did not look like anything that could explain why Legacy was interested in the temple. “It’s just something I noticed,” Onyx began. “While looking at a power monitoring function, I noticed something strange. The power output began to increase; in just a few minutes, it went up from ten percent to fifteen.” “How is that possible?” Luna asked. “Is the ship self-repairing somehow?” Onyx shrugged, returning his attention to the screen. “I don’t see any other explanation. But there’s something else… Along with the heightened power output, this diagram is showing some very high power usage coming from this room. Normally I’d assume it’s that ‘glitch’ again, but the name of the room caught my attention: core.” “Core?” Twilight looked at the diagram, theorizing what it could mean. “Is there any description of the room?” “No, but power usage is abnormally high,” Onyx said. “It’s using eight percent of what’s available; more than any other room. I think it warrants investigation.” “I agree, but we can’t just leave the bridge,” Twilight said. “We have a job to do.” “Perhaps you and I could lead our team to investigate?” Luna suggested. “Onyx can stay here with a guard and continue searching for explanations.” Twilight considered the proposal, weighing the pros and cons. Onyx had shown himself to be a capable worker, and her friends were far more familiar with exploration… “Alright, let’s do it,” she said, nodding. By now her friends had noticed that something was happening, and each one was staring curiously at Twilight. After quickly filling her friends in, making sure one of the guards would stay to protect Onyx, and writing down the directions to the “core,” Twilight entered the elevator with the rest of her team. The door slid shut as she pressed the “down” button, and a moment later it reopened, laying the rest of the ship out before her. Twilight glanced down at the direction sheet, memorizing the first few turns that she was to make. And with her friends by her side, she stepped out of the elevator… The construct watched the cameras carefully, observing the small group of ponies as they moved through the corridors of Legacy. As much as it wanted to stop them, to find some way to kill them, it could not. Not when Princess Celestia had entered its temple. Therefore, it turned its attention to the intelligence. “You have access to security systems, yes?” “Limited access is available,” the intelligence replied. “My capabilities have been limited by your intervention.” “Do what you can to stop the ponies,” the construct commanded. “I do not want them finding anything else on this ship.” The intelligence nodded, and while the construct could not see it actively doing anything, it could detect that security systems had been accessed. With that situation temporarily dealt with, the construct returned its attention to its home. The ponies led by Celestia were now inside. It would not take them long to reach the inner sanctum, and when they did… The construct had to be ready. It would not face defeat again. Celestia’s horn bathed the stone corridor in light, illuminating every cracked stone and every collapsed doorway. The millennia had not been good to the temple, and spending so much time buried had blocked off most sections. Normally the princess would devote some time to digging out collapsed sections of the temple, but in this case, there was only one room that interested Celestia. The inner sanctum was located deep in the temple. Celestia remembered racing against time to reach it, all while fighting off fanatical unicorns who sought to plague Equestria with civil war. If the construct were to return today, it would not result in civil war. No, the construct appearing today would be much worse. Starlight Glimmer coughed, and waved her hoof to clear some dust in front of her. She looked around, struggling to see despite Celestia’s light. Her blue eyes settled on the princess, and she regarded the older mare with an expression of concern. “Princess? Are you alright?” she asked. “You look troubled.” “Memories,” Celestia replied. “My memories of this place are… not positive. And I worry what may happen if something has tampered with these ruins.” “You have been somewhat vague about that,” Rarity said. “What do you think might happen?” Celestia sighed, frowning. “Luna and I did not defeat the construct that the fanatics had created. We simply stopped them from animating it. But… it still had magical potential. If something were to trigger it, and complete the ritual, it could be reactivated. This construct was created to be immensely powerful. It would cause inconceivable amounts of damage before being stopped. If it could be stopped.” The ponies gulped, not comforted by Celestia’s answer. The princess could not blame them. There was no way for her to pretty up the reality of the situation, not if she wanted the team to be effective. The group maneuvered through more sets of winding hallways, and Celestia was increasingly aware of the depth. Each corridor had been on a shallow slope, leading them deeper and deeper into the earth. And the deeper they went, the less damage Celestia began to see. These sections have yet to resurface, she thought. Curiously, the princess’s mind turned to the outside of the temple, and all of the stones that had been made visible. When Discord had shifted the landscape during his reign, this temple had been entirely buried. What had happened to cause sections to reappear? Celestia stopped as she rounded a corner, and entered a hall with a door at the end. The metal door was closed, and engraved on it was a single sigil: the figures of seven unicorns surrounding a star. The sigil of the cult. “… This is it,” Celestia said, remembering the door. Just beyond lay the inner sanctum, and, if they were lucky, answers. The princess wrapped the door in her magic, and began to push. It slowly opened with a creak, letting loose a cloud of dust that had collected in the frame. Celestia advanced, her team close behind her, and stepped through the open door into the room beyond. The inner sanctum looked exactly as it had thousands of years ago. Parts of the high, vaulted ceiling had collapsed, and now rested on the carved stone floor. In the center of the room was a raised dais, upon which was a corpse. The body had rotted away, but parts of the skeleton remained, still wearing the robe it had worn on that fateful day. Surrounding the dais at varying distances were seven more skeletons, and around the perimeter were countless others, some buried in dirt and rock. Celestia looked around, searching for anything out of the ordinary. She slowly walked further into the room, stopping upon reaching the dais. She stared at the body, and the eye holes of the skull stared back at her. Celestia remembered this pony, the most powerful and most fanatical of all the cultists. He had been a very skilled mage, the princess recalled. It was a shame he was also completely insane. She turned away from the skeleton, and did one more visual check of the sanctum. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, all was as it had been when she and Luna had defeated the cultists. Celestia allowed herself a sigh of relief as she stepped off of the dais. And as she stepped off, the eye sockets of the dead unicorn’s skull began to glow a soft blue… The construct’s presence filled the inner sanctum of the temple, and it watched the ponies from all angles. Princess Celestia was standing near the dais, while the rest were investigating other parts of the room. The construct could not help but be amused by their ignorance to its presence. Despite its amusement, the construct knew that time was no longer on its side. It no longer had the advantage of secrecy; Celestia was onto it, and soon she would find out the truth. The construct had to make the first move in order to keep its advantage over the ponies. Legacy’s reactor would be repaired soon, but it still needed time. With great care, the construct snaked its magic through the room, and entered the corpses of the fanatics who had created it. The weaklings had failed to complete the ritual, but they were not entirely useless. They could still serve a purpose. With its magic, the construct breathed a small amount of life back into the cultists. Celestia was moving away from the dais now, back toward the door. The construct shook, and targeted her with its magic. And in a very soft voice that only the princess could hear, the construct whispered a single word: Machina.