• Published 2nd Dec 2014
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What I've Done - Knight Breeze



Though no longer plagued with a face that would give Slender nightmares, Alex continues to struggle against a monster far worse than the one he was...

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Chapter XIV

Chapter XIV

“What is it doing?” Bunsen Burner asked curiously. “It's just been sitting there, hunched over that desk for a while now.”

Lab Beaker just glanced up at his brother's words, then looked back at what he was doing. “Ugh,” he grunted.

“I know that it's Miss Sparkle's call on this sort of thing, but it doesn't feel right letting an animal like that run free in the labs,” Bunsen said with a sigh.

“Ugh,” his brother said again, this time a little louder.

“What do you mean it’s not an animal?” Bunsen asked, raising an eyebrow. “You've seen the corpses, the wounds, how could you not call that thing an animal?”

Uhg.” Beaker said, a little insistently this time.

“Yeah, I'll believe it when I- hey, did you do something with my Arcanite Cutter?” Bunsen asked as he went back to his assigned task.

“Uhg,” Beaker grunted in the negative.

“Hmm... keep an eye out for it. For now, though, just let me borrow yours for a bit, you're not using it,” Bunsen said thoughtfully.

“Uhg,” Beaker said, hoofing him the tool.

However, as the two got back to work, they completely missed seeing the tool in question as it floated towards, then behind, a nearby desk, all while surrounded in a ruby red aura.

* * *

“So...” Celestia said as she dropped her shield.

“I know, I am unsure as well, sister,” Luna said, shaking her head in disbelief. “Everything we have learned about these creatures have pointed towards them being unable to be reasoned with, yet their first move since their attempt at recapturing ~Alex~ is to ask for parley?”

“Yes, this is either an obvious trap, or there is a lot more about this that we don't know,” Celestia stated dryly

“While my gut tells me that this is the former, my heart hopes that it is the latter,” Luna said as she nodded at her sister's words. “How close are we to finishing the Omniscope?”

“We have everything we need, so it should be up and running in a few weeks,” Celestia said grimly.

“Is our... substitute, ready?” Luna asked, still hating the plan.

“It is. All that is required now, is-” Celestia started to say, but stopped when she noticed a rather short unicorn by the name of Quick Wit enter the throne room, a sour expression on his face.

“Quick Wit, I am surprised to see you here. You can't possibly be done with those tests yet, has something happened?” Luna asked, a little concerned by his unexpected appearance.

“I apologize for that, Your Highness, but yes, something has happened to prevent me from carrying out your will,” Quick Wit said with a bow. “I'm afraid that not moments after you left, your sister's personal protégé came and scooped the ~human~ right out from under my nose.”

Celestia looked dubious at that. “Are you certain that it was Twilight who did this?” she asked.

“Quite certain, Your Highness. She teleported in with the look of a mare possessed. She ignored us when either I or the ~human~ tried to reason with her, all while rambling on about 'calculation devices,'” Quick Wit said as he stood up. “She asked the ~human~ if he could make one for her, then disappeared with him before he was able to finish saying yes.”

Celestia shook her head in disappointment. “Quick Wit, please head back to ~Alex's~ room, we will be there shortly. Come on Luna, I already know where she would have taken him,” she said, a little exasperated with her student.

“Do you think she means to try to solve the golem problem with these 'calculation devices?'” Luna asked curiously.

“I do. Despite her good intentions, however, this is completely unacceptable,” Celestia said, right before the two of them disappeared in a flash of light.

When the world came back into focus, they found themselves in the castle's golem labs. Immediately they spotted the still recovering ~human,~ bent over a desk with Twilight on his right, looking at what he was doing while he worked.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Celestia said, swiftly moving towards the young mare.

Twilight immediately turned, her ears falling flat against her head at Princess Celestia's tone of voice. “Princess Celestia! Is there something the matter?” she asked as she nervously fell into a bow.

“Yes, Twilight, would you care to explain why you felt it necessary to take ~Alex~ from his room?” Celestia asked as she raised an eyebrow at the nervous-looking mare.

“Well, I- I learned that ~Alex~ here is capable of making 'calculation devices' that far outstrip anything our golems can do,” she answered sheepishly. “If we can get it running before-”

“Twilight, ~Alex~ was in the middle of some very important tests, not to mention that he is still recovering both physically and mentally from his ordeal,” Celestia interrupted. “I know you were just trying to get the Omniscope up and running before the invasion, but he probably isn't ready for this level of work, or can even prepare a 'calculation device' in time.”

“But... But I...” Twilight said, but trailed off as what she had done fully sank in.

Luna stepped forward at that point. “Twilight Sparkle, we know you were just trying to help, but what would you have done if ~Alex~ had had a flashback when you teleported him? He could have accidentally hurt himself, or others, in his attempt to flee,” she said gently. “He may even had attempted to attack someone, thinking that they were his enemy.

“I... I didn't think about that,” Twilight said as her head dipped lower. “I'm sorry.”

Celestia sighed at her student's apology. “You're forgiven, but please try to think next time,” she said as she approached the busy ~human.~ “We cannot afford to be incautious now, especially with an alien threat at our door.”

“I understand, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said as Celestia cast the translation spell upon herself.

“Good. That being said, we still need any help we can get, and ~Alex's~ familiarity with this technology may prove beneficial. If he wants, he may still help you with your project, but you must ask first,” Celestia said. She then turned towards the still working ~human,~ slightly concerned that he had not looked up once since Celestia had begun to chastise Twilight. “~Alex?~”

“Just second, Praised, have finish in moment,” the ~human~ said, a little distracted.

Celestia looked at her sister in alarm, then back at the working ~human.~ “~Alex,~ I'm not Praised,” she said, a little more firmly this time.

The ~human~ glanced up at that, and for the briefest second, Celestia saw that the ~human's~ eyes were glowing a deep red color. That glow quickly faded, however, as the ~human~ fell backwards with a strangled cry, clearly startled at Celestia's appearance.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a bit concerned.

The ~human~ didn't answer at first, deciding to instead get his breathing back under control as tears streamed from his eyes. “Y-yeah, I all right. I... I thought somewhere else second, there,” he said as his breathing became more stable.

“Where were you?” Luna asked gently.

“N-not... not matter. Different time, different life,” he said as he wiped his eyes with his ill-fitted labcoat. “It matter not, need get done.”

“~Alex,~ please, you need your rest. Also, we still need to test your magic,” Celestia said gently.

“But need this, need for protect planet. Defend from bugs. Keep free,” he said as he sat back down at the bench.

“And we understand that, but they'll probably attack long before you're able to finish it,” Luna told him.

~Alex's~ shoulders slumped as these words sank in. “Yeah, I know... just... just wanted normal,” he said shakily. “Know faster way, but not want talk alien calculation device. Not want remind of voice, force kill. Not want put alien to defend.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked quickly.

“I mean already have calculation device, just need program,” ~Alex~ said as he stood up. “But not want program alien calculation device. Not want rely on alien, save from alien.”

“Wait, we already have one of these things?” Twilight asked as she gestured towards the schematic that the ~human~ had been working on.

“Yes, but not want rely on alien creation,” he stubbornly repeated himself.

“We understand that, ~Alex,~ and you don't have to do this if you don't want to,” Luna said as she stepped closer. “Let's get you back to your room. We can talk about this some more while we run those tests.”

The ~human~ took one more longing look at the schematics behind him, before finally relenting. “Yes... let's do. Need know new magic not dangerous,” he said wistfully. He looked around a little more, before turning back and scooping up his designs. “Take with, though.”

Celestia laughed at this, as his demeanor reminded her of a child who had been told to come inside for the night. “Don't worry, you can work on this another time. For now, however, we really do need you to come with us.”

“Yeah, thanking to you,” he said as he stepped forward.

“You're welcome,” Celestia said as her horn lit up.

* * *

“This is so boring...” Rainbow Dash said as she slumped on her low-flying cloud. “How can you just calmly dig in that garden while aliens are poised to attack at any time?”

Applejack didn't even glance up from her work. “Ah'm doin this because aliens are gonna attack us,” she said, pulling another weed from the plot in front of her.

Rainbow just gave the orange farmpony a confused stare at that. “I don't follow.”

“You and me, we may not like it, but there ain't really anything we can do until the aliens arrive,” Applejack said patiently. “We don't got them fancy magical knowhow to fix up the Omni-whatever, and we ain't got anything to help them fix up any of that stuff that fell from the skies neither. We'd just get in the way, so I'm out here gardening to make sure I ain't underhoof. Really, all we can do is sit and wait until we're called upon to use the Elements to defend this place.”

Rainbow just groaned louder at that. “But I hate waiting!” she said impatiently. “I'd almost welcome them coming, if it meant that I didn't have to wait here any longer!”

Applejack turned towards her rash friend, her eyebrow raised in disbelief. “Do ya really mean that, Dash?” she asked carefully. “'Cause I've seen some of them comics that Spike is always yammering on about, and if these aliens are anything like that, then-”

“Okay, fine, I didn't mean that,” Rainbow said as she waved her hooves at the orange mare underneath her. “I just wish something would happen...”

Applejack didn't say anything else for a while, as she was preoccupied with a particularly stubborn weed. “Well, if you're so bored, why don't ya go find Pinkie? She's bound ta have something fer ya ta do.”

Rainbow just grunted at that, then rolled over till she was lying on her back.

“Or ya can go see if you can pull Fluttershy away from them animals around here for a bit, see if she wants ta do anything,” Applejack suggested.

“Nah...” Rainbow grunted as she rolled over again. “You know how hard it is to pry her away when she’s with a cute animal? I'll be lucky if we get to do anything by the end of this week.”

Applejack knew that Rainbow was just being lazy, but decided to humor her anyway. “Well, why don't ya go visit Defender, then? Ah bet he'll be hankering for some company around this time,” Applejack said as she pulled out another weed. She stopped, though, when she realized that Rainbow's silence had grown to uncomfortable levels. “Dash?”

Applejack turned towards her friend, only to notice that the blue pegasus had distinctly uneasy expression on her face, as if something had been eating at her for a while now. “I-I think I'll go find Pinkie then, that sounds like a good idea.”

“Hold up there, Dash, what's wrong?” she asked. “You avoiding Defender fer some reason?”

“No, why would you think that?” Rainbow said with a fake laugh.

“Wait, you aren't... scared of him, are ya?”

Rainbow sat bolt upright, glaring at the farmpony. “I'm not afraid of anything! Especially not him! Seriously, the guy was terrified when we first met, why would I be afraid of someone who was terrified of me?”

“Well, then why don't you go see him then? Even if you ain't scared of him, yer still pretty reluctant to go anywhere near him,” Applejack said as she raised an eyebrow at Rainbow.

Rainbow just sighed at this, then flopped back on her back. “Just drop it, okay?”

Applejack shook her head in disbelief, then got back to her gardening. “Well, just so's you know, I was planning on grabbing Fluttershy and going and seeing him later today. He's gonna need friends after this whole alien thing blows over, especially with how he looks. You're welcome to come along, if, that is, you're really not scared of him,” she said with a smirk.

Rainbow, however, wasn't taking the bait. “I'll think about it,” she said as she rolled over onto her stomach.

* * *

I don't know how long I was standing there with that stupid-looking salad bowl on my head, but it must have been a long time, because my legs had started to cramp up when they finally gave me the all clear.

“Thanks,” I said as I sat down heavily on the bed. “So... what did you find out?”

Sun gave Moon a look, who then stepped forward. “Well, we find that magic is centered on devices left behind. Not know what do, until you use, but from type of magic used, we think is control and enhance.”

I took a few seconds to process this, then shook my head. “I'm sorry, that went completely over my head,” I said, a little confused. “Enhance what, my implants? I don't even know what any of those do!”

Moon nodded at my words, though, confirming my guess at what they were saying. “Yes, enhance machine inside. Specifically, one in brain,” she said.

Reflexively, my hand went to the back of my head and lightly touched the small metallic socket positioned at the base of my skull. “It's... it's enhancing that?” I asked, thoroughly creeped out.

“Also control. You not its slave, rather it your slave. You magic take over, use for benefit, make better, make good,” Sun said reassuringly. “Think magic work only machine, though. Train could make magic work other, but for now, magic work just machines.”

“Yeah, I figured as much when I picked up that computer, and Moon told me that I could hear it through 'magic,'” I said with a sigh. “I gotta say, though, the ability to control computers has always been a dream of mine. I just wish I had gotten it through any other means.”

Sun nodded at that, a sad smile on her face. “Trial often make strong, bring out skills, powers we not know. Sometimes gain outweighs sorrow, sometimes not.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” I said with a sigh.

We sat there for a while as I pondered on what Sun had said, until finally a throat-clearing sound broke me from my musings. “Um, Alex, we have... problem,” Moon said as she levitated another one of those PDA computers in front of her.

“What is it?” I asked uneasily.

“We got this, from pony come from woods you live in. Contain message from enemy, they come three days,” Sun said, sending a shock down my spine.

“They're coming in three days?” I gasped in amazement. “I don't have any time to waste, then! I need to get that computer up and running now!”

However, as I sprung from my sitting place, Moon stopped me with a gentle pressure of her magic on my chest. “Hold, Alex, they not come to attack, at least, message not look like attack,” she said quickly.

“Wait, what?” I asked, uncertain of what I was hearing.

The two looked at each other, then back at me. “Well, not sure, but think they want talk. Talk to peace? Talk to war? Not know,” Sun said as I sat back down.

“...It's a trick. They're trying to deceive you,” I said after a couple of seconds thought. “I don't know what game they're playing, but whatever it is, it can't be good.”

“We think too, but without weapon ready, nothing much can do,” Sun said with a shrug.

I sighed at that. “What's the plan, then?”

“Plan is talk. May lie about everything, but can learn lot by lie. How lie, how speak, tell lot about enemy,” Celestia said with a grin on her face. “Been at game, long time, usually good tell lie. Not always, but usually.”

I nodded at that, then looked up at her. “Well, what do you want me to do, then?”

“You stay here. Work on golem if want, but most recover,” Luna said gently. “Will send Evening Twinkle along, to help tell what want golem do. In meantime, though, rest, recover.”

“I'm already feeling a hundred percent though!” I protested. “I want to help! Especially if they're coming here!”

“And will help, just bad idea if meet them, not know how react,” Moon said in a placating tone of voice. “Could you say how react, if run into another them?”

I thought about this for a second, then sighed in defeat. “Yeah, okay, I gotcha,” I relented as I looked down at my freakishly alien hands. They had a lot more color to them now, but that wasn't really saying much, seeing as how the rest of my body had started to turn a bit on the gray side.

The two ponies looked like they wanted to say more, but thought better, and instead choose to leave the room. After they had gone, I got up and made my way to my desk, picking up my quill as I went. Now that I was alone, I was pretty glad that I had insisted on bringing my schematic with me. It meant that I had something to occupy myself while I waited for someone else to come and tell me to stay out of the way.

Author's Note:

Well, here's the next chapter! My editor has been busy lately, so he hasn't had a chance to look this one over. That being said, I'm pretty sure that I messed something up here. Oh well...

At any rate, enjoy the story!