Chapter Eight: Mare in the Machine
“We are all here today to celebrate the life of the mare Rainbow Dash. A loyal friend and a fierce protector, she gifted us with her presence on this earth.” The preacher’s voice rang through the chapel. The large stone building had stained glass in every window. Cornerstones sat nonchalantly holding up the arches. Rows of wooden benches could seat hundreds of mourners, but right now only the first row was filled.
Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy sat in the center, their tissues wet with tears. Next, Granny Smith, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom sat, their grief shrouded in silence. Sweetie Belle sat next to Rarity, silently watching the preacher as she thought about the situation. Scootaloo sat alone on the other side of the room. Trying not to cry. Because ‘Mares like Rainbow Dash don’t cry...’
“I ask you all to give a prayer in remembrance of loyal friend Rainbow Dash,” the preacher put his hooves together and closed his eyes, the rest of the black clad ponies did the same. Twilight kicked herself, over and over again inside her mind.
‘If only I had stepped in!’ she thought, ‘Then this would never have happened!’ Yet another tear rolled down her cheek, falling onto her hooves. The room was shrouded in a sad silence, only the occasional sniffles from one of the ponies braking it.
“Now if you would please rise,” the preacher opened his eyes, “A hymn has been devised in remembrance of Rainbow Dash.” The preacher opened a book on the pedestal in front of him, flipping to the freshest page there and beginning to sing. Lyrics appeared on the board behind him, guiding the others.
The last echoes of the minor song faded, and silence fell on the room. The ponies sat, their faces stricken with grief as the preacher continued his sermon.
-------
Below the service, in Crystal Empire Laboratories, Brick Mason sat, staring at one of the monitors in the observation room. Working as a low level ‘scientist’ at CEL was never was Brick intended for his life. His parents had high hopes of him becoming a mason and continuing in his father’shoofsteps, but that wasn’t the case.
Ever since he was a filly, Brick enjoyed staring at things. His eyes never failed him, and he never got bored of looking at stuff. As he grew older, his cutie mark appeared: A pair of eyeballs. Staring intently at stuff for hours on end isn’t a very common talent, nor a very highly thought of one.
But for any level headed young stallion who wants a steady job, staring at things isn’t a bad choice. So thus Brick was hired as ‘Chief Observer’ by CEL, a job which he wasn’t too proud of, but it had a steady paycheck and so he didn’t complain.
Right now, his task was staring at a construction bot and making sure it didn’t explode or anything. ‘Just in case’ they said. While Brick sat, he thought of his assignment, not in too high a light, either.
‘Watch it?’ he thought, ‘Whaddya mean, watch it? Not like it’s going to get up and do anything, is it? I mean, bloody hell, it’s sat there for three straight hours, not moving. I mean, what do they think it’ll do, get up and say “Take me to your leader” or something? Bloody hell, it’s not even moving an eyebrow. Not that it has eyebrows or anything, but you gotta admit it might have something similar to eyebrows in there somewhere. I wonder how it get’s along without eyebrows? I mean, what’s it do, just blink without any hairy bits on top? I know it’s a bloody machine, but machines blink too, don’t they? I mean, bloody hell, what would they do if they didn’t blink? Their eyes would fall out, that’s what, and you don’t see any machines wandering around with eyeballs falling out of their sockets. Actually, machines don’t have eyeballs at all, not obvious eyeballs. Hidden eyeballs, now that’s just creepy. I mean, who in their right mind would hide a bloody eyeball? I know ponies go around nicking all sorts of things these days, but an eyeball? That’s modern thieves for you, no consideration for the well being of their victim, much less what the bloody hell they’re going to do with a flippin eyeball!’
He thought like this for a long time, all the while staring intently at the machine. He sipped at his coffee, contemplating wheather machines got pickpocketed or not, when suddenly the bot moved. It wasn’t a big move, more like a slight jerk, but it was enough to get the attention of Brick.
“Uh, is that robot supposed to be moving?” he asked, pulling the radio over to him.
“No, why?” Chem Tech said, her voice slightly confused.
“It’s moving, that’s why,” as he spoke, the machine moved again, the torso jerked, rotating slightly.
“Oh dear,” Chem Tech said, her voice worried, “Good job Brick, I think I can take it from here.”
“Yes ma'am,” Brick sighed. Everypony else got to do the interesting stuff around here. He was stuck staring at a bloody experiment for six hours. On the screen, the machine moved faster, as if getting the hang of a new body. Flaps on the top opened, once again jerkily at first, but gaining speed. The nanolatheing nozzle deployed, lifted into the air by a pneumatic piston system.
“Great, now it’s moving,” Brick said, annoyed, “Sit here for five bloody hours and what do I get? Thank you and-”
“Brick, please move on to watching experiment 67-A,” his overseer’s voice interrupted him.
“And move onto another assignment because we don’t want you becoming too interested in life,” he jeered, punching in some coordinates to a console in front of him. The screen changed, showing three beakers sitting in metal harnesses, bubbling slightly.
“Oh joy,” he sighed, “Another friggin’ chemical experiment.”
-----
“Well, I’d say she was a good mare, protectin’ you like that,” Applejack sipped on her punch, looking over the foaming glass at a distraught Twilight.
“I know,” Twilight sighed, “But I should have helped her.”
“Don’t beat yerself up, Twi,” Applejack patted Twilight on the back, “You did the best you could, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t your fault that Rainbow... got....” Pinkie burst into tears. Attempting to see the bright side of this situation was not proving to be an easy task. Fluttershy hovered over, comforting Pinkie.
“There there,” Fluttershy said, her own face filled with sadness, “No need to cry... well, there is, but... you don’t need to flood the room,” she whispered the last sentence, too low for anypony to here.
“It WAS all my fault,” Twilight said guiltily, “I should have moved in there to help her, not let her go out like that, SOMETHING!” Twilight pulled at her hair, her emotions of sadness tinted with guilt and anger.
“Twilight darling, do calm down!” Rarity stepped over, a glass of punch held in her magic, “It isn’t your fault at all! It was those nasty mongrels of machines! You didn’t do anything except be concerned for your friend.”
“I guess you’re right, but, but, but-” Twilight stuttered. “I think I need to be alone for a little while.” She started to trot towards the door.
“Woah nelly,” Applejack pulled in front of her, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere without us. Not like that.” Applejack pointed out Twilight’s red eyes and depressed attitude.
“Applejack darling!” Rarity trotted on to the scene, Sweetie Belle in her wake. “If Twilight wants to be alone, she should be. I see no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to express her grief in solitude!”
“Well, I just thought she might do summit like,” Applejack rubbed her hat, “You know what I mean, when a pony’s real depressed or summit, you never know what they might do an all.”
“Yes, well,” Rarity twitched her mane, continuing, “Perhaps we should check on her after an hour or something?”
“Well, she-” Applejack started.
“I’M RIGHT HERE!” Twilight shouted, “I mean, sure, check on me in an hour if you want, just don’t talk about me like a bubblegum card that’s going to explode if not carefully tended to.”
“Alright Twi,” Applejack conceded after recovering from her friend’s outburst, “You go have some alone time n’ all, we’ll catch up with ya later.”
“Thank you!” with a poof of magic, Twilight disappeared, leaving Applejack and Rarity staring at each other through the space formerly occupied by the mare.
“Well, that was awkward,” Rarity sipped her punch.
“You’re tellin’ me, sugarcube.”
--------
“What have we got?” Chem Tech asked an intern as she caught up with him in the hallway.
“Well, uhh... I- I... It’s uhh...”
“Words, please.” Chem Tech had a look of amused annoyance on her muzzle.
“The machine, it’s trying to build something,” The intern said, recovering from the shock of being pounced on by his superior.
“What is it trying to build?” Chem Tech put her hoof up to the scanner, a flash later and the door swung open. She walked in dignified, but worried.
“We don’t know, ma’am,” the intern said, following her through the hallways, “But it is trying to funnel all the organic resources we have into it’s resource tanks.”
“What?”
“It’s hacked into our computer systems and is redirecting the flow of several organic substances, mostly those that compose flesh, into it’s resource tanks.” The duo entered the control room, and quickly noticed the air of panic that surrounded the busy scientists. Ponies with keyboards for cutie marks punched away rapidly at their consoles, their lips set and their expressions constant. Others observed the machine, attempting to strap it down, override what had taken over it, something.
“Ponies!” Chem shouted, “Please, let us see what this thing wants. Has it shown malice in its actions? Has it hurt, or attempted to hurt, anypony?”
“No ma’am,” a gray earth pony next to her spoke up.
“Then let it do what it want’s to do, I am curious as for what it is going to produce.” Chem Tech walked to the observation deck, leaving a stunned silence in her wake.
“What do you mean, ‘see what this thing wants’?” one of the more confrontational scientists said as she galloped to catch up with the head of operations.
“I have a feeling that it will not be dangerous,” Chem Tech turned, looking into the eyes of the offender. “We can stop it at a moments notice if it gets out of hand, but I want to see what it’s up to. Is that clear?”
“Y- y- yes ma’am,” the pony stuttered throwing a slight salute. “I’ll just, go see what the others are doing, ma’am.” With that, the pony was off in a shot. Chem Tech’s ‘glare’ had that effect on ponies; making them turn and run. Chem Tech herself never thought it was special, but it did come in handy when insolence showed up in the workplace.
She turned her attention back to the looming machine, staring at it with an intent look on her face. “Are you doing what I think you’re doing?” she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion while still maintaining a grin.
“Uh, ma’am?” an intern trotted up to her, tearing her from her trance like state.
“Yes?” Chem Tech turned to face the stallion.
“Uh, somepony filed a report that you should see the campus psychologist-”
“Say no more,” Chem Tech cut him off, “You just try to see what something’s doing, and they want to send you to the shrink!” She threw her hooves in the air. The intern stood back, eyes wide with surprise. “I mean, well,” Chem Tech brought herself back to planet Equestria and looked at the intern, as level headed as ever. “I will see him... after this incident is over.”
“Well they said you should come right awa-” the intern shrunk under Chem’s glare. “I mean, yes, yes ma’am.” And he turned and ran. Chem Tech sighed, turning back to the observation deck.
“Are you really doing it?” she muttered. As if in answer, the machine swung open, deploying the nanolathing machine high into the air, pointing it at the ground. Green particles began to fly from it, assembling onto a green outline on the ground. The outline was small, but intricate. Chem Tech squinted, brushing her powder brown mane back to see better.
The outline was... a pony.
“Get Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the elements down here immediately,” she said through a communication spell, “I have a surprise for them.”
------
“Miss Sparkle?” a sharp voice cut through Twilight’s world, accompanied by a loud rapping on the door knob. Twilight groaned and rolled over in the tear soaked bed.
“Miss Sparkle? Are you there?” the voice persisted.
“Not now,” Twilight choked, her face red with tears.
“Miss Sparkle, you need to come down to the project Red Bird safe room immediately,” the voice said, latching onto Twilight’s response.
“I said, not now!” Twilight sat up in bed, glaring at the door.
“Chem Tech says it’s urgent, miss Sparkle,” the voice kept on, unheeding Twilight’s responses. Twilight groaned and powered up her horn, a purple glow enveloped the door. The room fell dead quiet.
Sound barriers are simple and effective, blocking all sounds out between them and the caster. Useful when you don’t want to get up in the morning, or afternoon as it is now. Ever since she teleported here, Twilight cried. The loss of Rainbow was only re-enforced by the guilt of not stepping in. It had all happened so quickly, she hadn’t realized the magnitude of the situation... but the fact remains: Rainbow isn’t here.
After silencing the door, Twilight turned back to her pillows, resuming her mourning. ‘What would Rainbow do now if she saw me?’ the thought jumped at her, smashing her depression like a battering ram. ‘Rainbow wouldn’t want me moping around!’ she thought, ‘She’d want me to get up and fight!’
Twilight sat up in bed, looking around, her eyes swollen from the liquid they had been expelling. ‘Why am I so upset anyway?’ she thought, ‘I only lost one of my best friends...’ She sat there, silent. The sadness was overbearing, but Rainbow wouldn’t want her to be like this. She’d want her to get up and do something, right?
“But how can I?” Twilight said out loud, “What am I supposed to do?” As if in answer, the door swung open and two guards walked in, their crystal armor shone in the lamplight.
“Ma’am, I know you don’t want to, but we have orders to escort you to the project Red Bird saferoom,” one said, stepping towards her. “Chem Tech seemed adamant that you would like what you find there.”
“Alright, fine,” Twilight said, forcing some slightly happier thoughts into her bleak world. “Might get my mind off things.”
----
Minutes later, the trio was approaching the saferoom. The white hallway bustled with busy ponies, going to and fro from the doors along its sides.
“Any ideas on what this ‘surprise’ is supposed to be?” Twilight asked stone-faced stallion walking next to her.
“No, miss Sparkle,” he said, his expression unchanging. “You’re going to find out soon though.” They arrived at a large metal door, a pony in a lab coat was standing outside of it. She approached as they drew closer.
“Twilight,” Chem Tech said sullenly. “Come, I have something to show you.” The confused Twilight followed Chem Tech into the observation deck. She saw an odd sight upon arriving.
The construction bot was nanolathing a very small thing, intricately guiding every particle into place with utmost care. It was strange to see such a large machine creating such a small thing, bending over in order to look at it. But what caught Twilight’s attention the most was not the robot, but it’s task.
The pony stood in a sitting stance, not dissimilar to the stance Twilight was in when piloting her own mech. A green sheen was working up the pony’s body, the particles closely set in it. It’s wings were folded, it’s mane was ruffled as though it had been in a suit. It’s colorless eyes were wide, it’s mouth was set wide open, as though screaming.
“What in Equestria?” Twilight exclaimed, narrowing her eyes to look at the creature. The green sheen was halfway up the pony, color would be coming next. “Is that... is that-” she started.
Chem Tech nodded. “I think so.”
“Wha- But I thought she was-” Twilight stuttered.
“I don’t think so,” Chem shook her head.
“Great Celestia’s flaming eyeballs!” Twilight shouted. Chem Tech recoiled from the sudden exclamation. “Oh thank the heavens!” Twilight screamed. Tears began rolling down her cheeks. Not from sadness, not from pain... but from joy. The joy of having something dear to you returned after you thought it was gone forever.
“How, though?” Twilight asked, returning to her normal state.
“I really don’t know, asking OIAAS might be the best bet, it knows all about the mech’s functions.”
“Then to OIAAS it is!” Twilight ran down the passage, her face wide with glee. Her friend was back.
------
The saferoom was filled with scientists, most with clipboards recording what the bot was building in extreme detail. Twilight galloped passed them without paying heed. They stared, but only for a few minutes before turning back to their work.
Twilight ran to the foot of the towering purple machine. Her hoof slammed into the side of the door and it swung open, allowing her to run into the transporter room. As soon as she appeared in the control room, she dashed for the console, slamming the on switch into position as she sat down. She twirled the chair to face the growing array of lights, screens, and buttons.
“Welcome back, commander,” OIAAS’s smooth voice said. “What is our assignment today?”
“We don’t have an assignment,” Twilight said, “I want you to tell me why my friend is being built.”
OIAAS was quiet for a few seconds, it’s processor thought over the question in it’s entirety before answering. Eventually, the whirr of the computation circuits died to a low hum and OIAAS spike.
“Commander BETA, or Rainbow Dash, was on a collision course for a hill, resulting in a high speed impact that could compromise the integrity of her mech. The Onboard Intelligence And Assistance System took matters into it’s own hooves, attempting to save Rainbow Dash’s life. Teleporters are usually used as this sort of a saving system, throwing the pony somewhere out of harms way. Unfortunately, we have no teleporter exits, thus ruling out the possibility of teleportation.
“However, being resourceful, the computer devised a way to scan Rainbow Dash’s molecules, saving into it’s computer system. This process takes a long time, thus resulting in the deployment of an escape pod to spare more time. The escape pod was ultimately destroyed by the explosion, but it buyed enough time for the scan to complete.
“After completing, the computer then broadcasted the information that was Rainbow Dash to all things capable of building belonging to CEL. Unfortunately, I did not have the right resources to complete such a delicate task, the surprise from having the mech taken over also may have compromised your mental state at the time. So ultimately, the information ended here, where the construction bot, aided by me, hacked into the computer systems to divert the correct organic materials in order to construct Rainbow Dash from the blueprints given by the computer system on her mech.
“This process can be repeated, to create cloning. Right now, however, the only memory of Rainbow Dash is in the construction bot, which erases blueprints after they are completed. So cloning Rainbow Dash will be impossible, sorry, commander. Is that a satisfactory solution to your query?” OIAAS stopped, it’s speech circuits fizzled from the long speech they had given.
“Yes, thank you very much!” Twilight said, running back to the transporter. “I’ve got a friend to catch up with.”
------
“Ma’am, it’s diverting magic now.” A scientist caught up with Chem Tech in the hallway, her eyes filled with concern.
“I am aware,” Chem Tech turned.
“But don’t you think it’s... dangerous?” the scientist continued.
“Yes,” Chem Tech sighed, “But magic is a key part of the life force of ponies, so it needs it.”
“Ma’am, do you have any idea why it’s building a pony?” the scientist asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
“No.” Chem Tech said flatly, “Absolutely no idea. But if it’s the pony I think it is, it doesn’t really matter.”
“But we’re scientists!” the mare ruffled her mane, “Doesn’t matter isn’t in our vocabulary!”
“For someone who doesn’t know what it means, you used it right there quite nicely,” Chem Tech sassed. She knew it was probably not the best thing to do, but hey.
“B- Bu- But-” the scientist stammered. “You know what I mean! How can we let something like this slip by without analyzing it?”
“By not analyzing it, that’s how.” Chem Tech began walking down the hallway again, back turned to the scientist.
“Well, it just-” the scientist started.
“Go analyze something; it’ll do you good,” Chem Tech said, growing distant in the hallway, “I hear 67-A needs somepony to look at it.” The scientist stomped off in a huff. Chem Tech didn’t give her a second glance. There was something far more important that needed to be done.
-----
The lift clanked into position, the rusty iron doors joining to block the exit of any interior ponies. Chem Tech stood in the ascending machine, waiting. The concrete walls outside speed past, their forms dotted with iron mesh.
With another clank the machine came to rest in the main hall of the Crystal Palace. The doors slid open, allowing Chem Tech to exit. For the first time in two days she wasn’t wearing a lab coat. Test tubes and a computer shone on her flank. Her cutie mark was always an odd one. Not many fillies get science cutie marks, and when they do they’re usually one aspect. Chem Tech was special. She got a computer AND chemistry.
Her tan coat shone in the reflected light as she walked up the stairs, aiming for the top floor. Her mane was white, curling around her tan horn as it traversed her forehead. She walked up the stairs, her body relieved from the lab coat. Soon, she arrived at the top floor.
The top floor of the Crystal Palace consisted mostly of event rooms, but the room Chem Tech stood in now was a lounge... a lounge filled with ponies. All sat sullenly, their faces turned to the ground and black bands around their forelegs.
“Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity,” Chem Tech announced, entering the room. All of them turned to look at her. They were a ghastly sight. Their eyes were red with tears, their faces set in ever sad expressions.
“I bring good news,” Chem Tech looked around the room. “Rainbow Dash is alive.” Everypony was too shocked to move. A silence ensued, one worse than when the news about Rainbow’s death was announced.
“What?” Rarity was the first to regain her ladylike composure. “I thought she was, you know, uh,” Rarity danced around the word, unwilling to let herself stoop so low as to say a word like ‘dead’.
“Dead?” Pinkie suggested helpfully. “But wait, doesn’t that mean she’s a zombie?” Pinkie looked at Chem Tech.
“No no, she was never dead in the first place,” Chem Tech explained, “So she can’t be a zombie.”
“If she wasn’t dead, then why the whole funeral thingy?” Pinkie asked, her face confused.
“We all thought she was, you know, gone, but she wasn’t,” Chem Tech continued to explain. Upon seeing the perpetually confused look on Pinkie’s face, she turned to answer other questions.
“I’m just so glad she’s ok,” Fluttershy said, crying from happiness. Fluttershy was the one who took Rainbow’s supposed death the worst, second to Twilight, who blamed herself for the incident.
“Can we see her?” Pinkie asked, her eyes blinking extremely fast. “We need to throw her a ‘Welcome back from six-foot under’ party!”
“Uh, I don’t think that’d go over well, sugarcube,” Applejack put in, giving a ‘stare’ at Pinkie.
“Why not?” Pinkie put her face right next to the farmgirl’s, pressing back the hat on Applejack’s head.
“Woah nelly!” Applejack recoiled from the sudden assault. “It’s just, I think everypony’d like to forget what we thought happened to Rainbow.”
“Certainly!” Rarity agreed, “One cannot go around remembering everypony’s fake deaths all the time, save that for real ones.”
“Uh, yeah,” Fluttershy put in, “I wouldn’t like to think about this too much. I’m just so glad she’s ok.”
“Ok... But can we see her?” Pinkie bounced over to Chem Tech.
“Well, as soon as she’s finished being built,” this remark got very strange looks from the occupants of the room. “Come, I’ll show you.”
“So wait, you’re tellin’ me that you’re raising a pony, like a barn?” Applejack said, trotting along next to Chem Tech. Chem Tech sighed.
“It’s a long story, AJ,” she said, “I’m sure Twilight will be able to explain better than I.”
Meanwhile, in Canterlot:
Celestia awoke to a strange sight... The sun. Usually, she was up before dawn, causing the dawn, but now, somepony else was doing it. The warm rays filtered through the open window, beating against her closed eyes.
“Wha-” Celestia muttered, her eyes fluttering open to the warm light. She lay in bed for a time, enjoying the warmth that had coaxed her back to consciousness. The room glowed in the orange light, the window slats created rectangular shadows.
Celestia sat up, thinking of what had set her crying last night. Shining Armor was never going to use magic again, and, oh yes. Rainbow Dash had died.
She sat in silence for several minutes. Without the element of loyalty, Equestria was out of an important defense force, leaving it exposed for outside forces. Celestia felt the emptiness. The elements did not pulse the way they usually did, the force was gone.
But this was not the only reason that Rainbow’s death disturbed her. Despite her royal priorities, she could not help feeling sad for the loss of a loyal subject. Rainbow Dash, like the rest of Twilight’s friends, had always been close to her. And now she was gone.
“Good morning, my sister,” Luna alighted on the balcony outside of Celestia’s bedroom, trotting in.
“Good morning, Luna,” Celestia said sadly.
“Something troubles you,” Luna put a wing around her older sister, “I saw it in your dreams.”
“Yes,” Celestia sighed. “Have you not heard? Rainbow Dash is dead.”
“That news had not yet reached me,” Luna said, looking out into space. “I am so sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Celestia sighed, looking into the sheets. “We were powerless to stop it.”
“It is not your fault either,” Luna said, nuzzling her sister a little. “You need not blame yourself for things that you had not the ability to stop.”
“I’m not,” Celestia looked at her deep blue sister. “But I am responsible for the loss of Shining Armor’s horn.”
“Yes,” Luna said, her voice becoming slightly agitated. She took a deep breath. “But you must put that in the past. The present is calling.”
“No Luna, it isn’t,” Celestia looked at her sister. “The loss of Shining Armor’s horn is my fault and we’re all going to suffer from it for the rest of his life.”
The sisters sat in silence, Luna’s wing wrapped around Celestia. Their floating manes crossed, forming a grayish color where the manes mixed. Celestia thought, her ego a mental punching bag at the moment.
‘This is all my fault,’ she thought to herself, over and over again.
“Sister, shall we check on Shining Armor’s recovery?” Luna asked.
“Not now, Luna,” Celestia brushed away her younger sister’s wing. Luna frowned.
“We could go for a fly, it always makes you feel better!” Luna said, trying to steer away from anything related to Celestia’s depression.
“I said, not now!” Celestia half shouted, burying her face in her hooves. Luna frowned again.
“You can’t just sit here and wallow in it all day, you’re going to have to face your fears,” Luna turned away from her sister. “That’s what I told Scootaloo, and look what happened to her!” Luna smiled in remembrance of the event.
“I know,” Celestia brushed her sister’s ever positive comments off. “Just leave me alone.”
“As you wish,” Luna said, turning to leave. “But look at yourself.” The door slammed shut, leaving the room filled with silence. Only the slatted light from the half open curtain lit the room. Celestia lay, curled in a ball on her bed.
Luna’s last words, however, stuck with her.
‘Look at myself, look at myself, look at...’ she turned the sentence over and over in her mind, trying to grasp action from the words. Suddenly, she did. Celestia sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide, and brought a mirror closer to her bed with her magic.
The yellow glow dissipated around the glass mirror, leaving Celestia with a clear view of the monstrosity that was herself.
She looked awful.
Her eyes were red with tears, her face bruised from where she had hit herself, her royal tiara, which hadn’t been taken off the night before, was crooked. She stared at herself for a long time, turning Luna’s words over in her head.
‘You can’t wallow here forever. The present is calling. Put that in the past,’ Luna’s words shot around Celestia’s mind. Repeating vividly over and over again as they struck the walls.
“She’s right,” Celestia said slowly. Realization dawned on her face, clouding out the mess of sadness that it had become. “I am not weak; I am strong. I am the leader of Equestria!” Celestia raised a hoof in the air, caught in her own excitement. “I’m also an idiot.”
Suddenly, the mirror changed, swirling into a vortex of colors. When it cleared, Luna’s face was in it, looking at Celestia with a hard glare.
“Face your fears!” it shouted. “Face your fears, Celestia!” Suddenly, hundreds more mirrors appeared around Celestia’s bed, each filling with the same face.
“FACE YOUR FEARS!” they all shouted in unison. Celestia shrank back. They continued to scream, Luna’s face glaring at her from every direction.
Suddenly the room filled with a purple mist, engulfing everything, washing it away. Celestia’s eyes widened as she watched the mirrors wash away, along with the rest of the room.
Celestia awoke with a start, jerking herself upright. She lay in front of the mirror she had brought over to look at herself in right after Luna had left.
Luna.
Luna had done this. It was all a dream, one designed to make Celestia face her fears. It was surprisingly effective too. But the only mystery left in Celestia’s mind was why had she fallen asleep? A seamless transition between consciousness and unconsciousness was unheard of. The pony at least felt a bump, some kind of sign.
She would find Luna and ask her about this. Celestia got out of bed, looking at herself in the mirror before exiting the room. She dabbed at her face with a tissue, smiling a little as she looked at herself.
This was going to work... Somehow.
-----
“Luna?” Celestia asked, knocking on the door of her sister’s room.
“Yes?” Luna’s voice came from the inside. Celestia pushed open the door, revealing Luna sitting behind a pile of books.
“How did you do a seamless world-to-dream transition? I didn’t feel a thing.” Luna smiled.
“Guardians of the night have their secrets, and some are still being learned,” Luna said, mischievously.
“Well,” Celestia brushed her mane a little, “You got your point across.”
“I am glad you will be returning to duty as the ruler, my sister,” Luna smiled. Her work in dreams always seemed to fix up ponies in need.
“Thank you, Luna,” Celestia looked at her sister. “You are the best sister a mare could wish for.” Luna turned bright pink under the compliment. Pink goes rather oddly with black, funny about that.
“Thank you sister,” Luna said, “I try.”
“And you try very well, if you ask me,” Celestia wrapped a wing around her sister. The two sat in an embrace for a few minutes. “If you could excuse me, I need to face my fears and go check on Shining Armor’s condition.” Celestia walked towards the door.
-----
Pain was all he knew. Darkness and pain. Searing pain, shot through his forehead. The world was unknown. Only darkness and pain...
Celestia walked into the medical wing that mid-morning worried, very worried. She decided to face her fears, but that doesn’t mean it is easy.
“How’s he doing?” Celestia asked a doctor walking out of the ICU.
“Not well,” he said, taking off his white face mask, “We’re doing our best.” Celestia gulped.
“I’m sure you are,” she said, “May I see him?”
“Well...” the doctor thought. “I suppose. But stay in the observation area.”
“I will,” Celestia replied. The door was engulfed in the warm glow of Celestia’s magic. It swung open, revealing a closed off glass observation area. She walked inside, the door swung shut behind her.
Nopony stood in the observation deck besides herself, and a table. In the Intensive Care Unit in front of her, Shining Armor lay. The machines had drawn away, giving Celestia a look at the damage he had endured. It was not pretty.
His horn was black, charred with the sheer power that had been forced through it. The edge was jagged, slightly orange on the tip. The orange, Celestia guessed, was the exposed, burned tissue.
A doctor walked in, adorned in green scrubs and a white filter over her face, which she removed upon seeing the princess.
“Good afternoon, princess” she bowed, “I see you’re checking on Shining Armor?”
“Uh, yes,” Celestia turned, startled a little by the mare’s appearance.
“He’s not doing so well,” the doctor walked up to Celestia, looking at through the observation screen.
“I see,” Celestia nodded, “May I ask why the horn tissue is still exposed?”
“Well,” the doctor sighed, “We’ve been trying so hard to keep him from dying of the burns and bleeding and other injuries, that we haven’t done much on the horn. Just trying to keep it from being dangerous to his health.”
“I was told a few days ago that his death was a miniscule possibility,” Celestia raised her eyebrows.
“Well, it was,” the doctor pawed the ground with her hoof, “But the injuries were enough to be dangerous if they went untended.”
“Ah,” Celestia turned back to the stallion on the cot. “Do you think he’ll be able to keep his horn?”
“Well,” the doctor said nervously, “I don’t think so.” A ball of previously unfounded fears unfurled inside Celestia. Would he ever forgive her? What will happen to Equestria?
“Uh, princess?” the doctor asked, worriedly. Celestia shook her worried daze.
“Yes, sorry,” she rubbed her face with her hoof.
“Just checking,” the doctor reassured. The two stood in silence, watching the Shining Armor on the bed ahead of them.
“Well,” Celestia turned to the door. “I have some business that needs to be attended to.” The doctor nodded and returned to her work. Celestia pushed the door open. It slammed shut behind her.
------
*FOOMP!*
A rush of escaping air filled Celestia’s private quarters. The sun princess appeared in front of her bed, immediately walking out to the balcony. Something had to be done.
The plain sprawled at her hooves. The green pasture was no more. It was a battleground. Remnants of machines lay, craters broke the burnt grass. Flames lapped up from the wreckage, fueled by broken fuel tanks. Celestia sighed.
In the distance, planes flew above the destruction, some white, some blue. The CORE base was mostly destroyed by Celestia’s outrage a few days ago, but the commander remained. Constant barrages of ARM armies were being sent after the weakened base, hoping to smash through what remained of a defense line. A large portion of CORE factories were left, so the ARM always met a force.
“What horror,” Celestia muttered. Although her outburst had destroyed the units in the area, it didn’t fix the ground. But something far more important was to be done.
The ARM viewed Canterlot as a threat ever since half of it’s army was destroyed in Celestia’s outrage. The only reason Canterlot existed without a shield was because the ARM saw it’s chance in destroying the CORE’s weakened forces. But it was only a matter of time before Canterlot fell back in their sights.
Celestia closed her eyes, concentrating on a spell that had never been performed effectively ever... ever before. She rose into the air, her wings spread. The air around her horn crackled with energy, a bright yellow mass of sheer magic twirled around her. Spinning in a vortex of power. Celestia felt the power, and she began to craft. She shaped, twisted, morphed, forced and crafted the magical power.
A thin outline of a post appeared outside Canterlot, gaining mass as it was added onto by a crackling bolt of energy stemming from Celestia’s horn. The post warped, bending outwards as more force was put on it. Suddenly, with a loud CRACK! it collapsed on itself, forming a glistening ball of energy.
This is a magical defense system.
Targets can be marked, and the self feeding defense system will fire bolts of sheer magic at them, destroying most. Celestia lowered back onto the ground, opening her eyes to observe her work. She smilied. At least one thing was going right.
She trotted back inside, humming a little to herself. Setting up a defense system took a lot of magic, but Celestia had regenerated since the doctor’s orders had gone into effect.
The gentle boom of explosions in the battlefield outside Canterlot had become a part of normal life. Their erratic rhythm going unnoticed by the ponies. The one thing they did notice, however, was when they stopped.
Suddenly, a serene silence befell the castle, the explosions ceased. Celestia lifted her eyes from her book with a concerned expression on her face. The war was not over, something was not right.
She galloped to the balcony where a cloud of mist awaited. Luna stepped out next to her sister, turning to face the field. It was quiet. Wreckage lay, burning. Oil spills littered the ground, and craters were part of the geography... but something wasn’t right.
Throwing a quick nod to Luna, Celestia dove off the balcony. She dive bombed for a few seconds, then spread her wings. The force of the dive bomb held with her, lifting her high into the air. She glided around the castle for a few minutes, looking to and fro to see what wasn’t right. Then she saw it.
There were no machines. But something, something was there. She stared at a mountain for a few seconds, swinging on a warm air current she flew upwards, looking over the mountains. Suddenly, she saw a field. A field filled with war machines. They were staging for a huge attack, all the explosions earlier were scouts and random excursions. But this was going to be an attack.
Celestia hovered, her wings beating by her sides, for a few minutes, staring at the machines. But a sound drew her attention. A large woosh, the sound of rockets, filled the air. Celestia jerked her head, just in time to see the missiles coming straight for her. Before she could scream, before she could react at all, flames engulfed her.
Luna screamed. The castle fell silent. And a large white form was violently thrown onto a nearby hill.
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2926659
AND THEN HERE I CAME TO SAVE THE DAY!
Okay, I'll admit, I'd never heard of the game before this but that doesn't really matter because I'm not here to write the story. I'll be able to help with the little typos and everything, and I'll be going over every chapter again during this week. If you haven't read Chapter 8 as of yet, then hold off on it until later today. I actually didn't get a chance to fully look over it because I have been at work all week, but now that my summer job is over I can take some time and get down to editing. I expect to have every chapter reviewed and re-edited within the next two to three days.
3057205
It's safe to read now, I think, at anyrate
3072916
Grammar wise, yes, it is.
I still haven't done the whole "re-read every chapter" thing, but I'm finally going to be free tomorrow, so I'll do it after I run in the morning.
3074460
Ok...wait, since when were we talking about business on the story comment thread?
Whatever,
Let's move back to steam and PMs
Hate to break it to everyone but Rainbow Dash is dead, that sort of teleportation just creates a perfect clone. Sure, no one can tell the difference but if the original Rainbow Dash were still alive when the clone was made she would have something to say about it.
3085867
True true, but if it's a truly perfect clone, how can you tell if there aren't multiples?