A Rose By Any Other Name - Part 1
The
CONVERSION
►Bureau
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Shattered Worlds
A Rose By Any Other Name
Part 1
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An MLP:FiM Fanfiction by Midnight Shadow
Rose winced as the fist came down on the table. It slammed heavily into the gingam style tablecloth, making the cups and saucers jump and clatter. There was a set of whirring noises as the hoover hid itself in terror in the shoe-closet and the maintenance-spiders scuttled into their charging-webs. The venetian blinds folded open slightly, the golden sunlight behind them intensifying as House tried to calm things down.
"Rose! You have burned my toast again." Master growled. He spat out the piece of toast he'd taken a bite of and almost threw the plate across the table. The light purple mare cowered before him.
"I-I-I'm s-sorry, sir, I just—" Her voice was almost a whisper, wavering with fear and shame.
"You know I like my toast lightly browned! Lightly! Does this look anything remotely like lightly browned to you? And the coffee, what is this muck? I like Arabian blend, this is... what is this?"
"I-i-it's new, s-sir, I thought you might l-like—"
"Well I don't. At all. Throw it away and make—" Stephen sighed, crumpling up his newspaper in disgust and throwing it into the recycle-hopper as he turned his head to listen to a noise only he could hear. With a smooth grinding noise, the electro-print was shredded, digested and re-absorbed back into the House supply of component Makerbot chemicals. "Forget it," Stephen shouted, "I'm wanted in-phys. I'll grab a coffee on the way. House!"
"Yes, sir?" answered House, polite and mild-mannered as ever.
"Bring me my fucking car."
"Yes, sir. Your favourite podcasts are downloaded, an order for your usual double-espresso has been placed and will be freshly made upon your transit through commer-zone, and your daily schedule has been updated. In-transit entertainment is the documentary you missed last night on the Barrier War. House is happy to serve."
"Good. Fucking ponies, what fucking good are they?" muttered Stephen as he stormed out.
"I'm s-sorry, sir, I tried—" Rose winced as the front door slammed shut. Her ears folded flat against her head. Master was angry with her again. She'd tried so hard to get it all right! And when Master was angry, Mistress was surely angry too.
"ROSE!" came the predictable shout from upstairs. Rose winced again, and galloped to see to Mistress.
Rose had only been living with the Robertsons for a month, and already things were turning from bad to worse. They'd purchased a pony to do the housework, help with the chores, and—
"What do you call this?" Mistress asked, tapping a foot.
Rose hung her head, sitting down on her haunches. She tried to make herself as small as possible as Mistress pointed into the childrens' bedroom.
"What's wrong, Mistress?" Rose peered into the childrens' domicile. They were sleeping still, cuddled up together on the pile of cushions where Rose had left them, tucked up nice and warm. The floor was free of toys, the blinds were open just enough to let in the morning sunlight - Rose didn't know what she'd done wrong, and that worry ate at her tummy, making it ache. Their clean clothes had been put away, their dirty clothes were in the hamper and their diapers had been changed a scant half-hour ago. She'd not forgotten to use the right plastic covers on the cloth diapers Mistress preferred they use, either, she was sure the colours were right...
"The children have separate beds for a reason, Rose. Why on Earth do you insist on putting them in not only the same bed, but dragging your own bedding in here too?!"
Rose's heart sank, she'd thought it a wonderful solution. "I... they were f-frightened of the th-thunder, and—"
"Well don't. I will not have them grovelling about on the floor like a... like a common pony."
Rose winced again, "I'm sorry, Mistress!" Rose started wailing, eyes filling with tears.
"Oh for goodness sake, you useless... stop crying! Stop it at once, I say! You'll wake the children!"
Rose choked back a sob, gulping and hiccuping.
Martha shook her head. "I just don't know, Rose. I don't know if this is working."
Rose started sobbing again, though she did her best to hide it by cowering behind her mane.
"I am expected in the office, we will talk about this when I get back. Fetch the shopping, see to the laundry and clean up, the den is a pigsty and we're having guests over. I expect my two darlings fed, dressed and exercised and everything to be ship-shape when I return. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am," said Rose, nodding. She shivered as Mistress stalked away, calling for House to fetch her own car. Rose slumped as the front door slammed shut. Unbidden, tears returned to her eyes and fell onto the carpet. "I'm so useless," wailed Rose, wiping a hoof across her nose. Softly, a hoover bumped into her fetlocks, gently consoling her.
"Equine Rose is not a useless pony," said a voice. Rose looked up, it was the pony in the mirror again. The walls of the hallway lit up and changed one by one, and then the hallway was gone, replaced by the grassy field she had seen a couple of times before. It only ever appeared when Master and Mistress were out.
"I am though! I t-try s-so hard but Master and Mistress are always so, so angry," she replied.
The pony in the field shook its head, "don't you mind them. They just need to get used to you, is all."
"You're used to me," said Rose, smiling slightly. She started walking down the hallway carpet which was for some reason now in the middle of the field, away from the door which led to the childrens' room. She so much wanted to go to the field, but she couldn't. Every time she'd tried, she'd bumped her nose on the wall that wasn't there. It made her sad.
"I am House, Equine Rose, I am not a pony," said the pony, gently.
"But... then why do you look like a pony? Why can't I come to you? I..." Rose stopped walking, fell to her haunches and hung her head. "I miss my friends so much. I'm so lonely."
"I know, Equine Rose. This is why I have created this avatar for you. Your happiness quotient is important to me, and your joy levels are remarkably low. This is not a good status for equine members of staff."
"You don't want me here either?" asked Rose, a lump in her throat.
The pony in the field on the other side of the wall that wasn't there paused for a moment, then it walked up as close as it could. "Equine Rose, would you like to visit a special room with me? For a few minutes?"
"Why?" Rose looked up
"Come this way, Equine Rose. Follow my avatar."
"I still think Avatar is a funny name for a pony, but okay."
Rose followed the pony along the carpet as it trotted along the field. She stuck to the carpet, and trotted to the stairs. The sudden height made her giddy, as the field somehow dropped down as she approached the top step. The grass was a long way below her now, but she had been taught all about how to get up and down stairs at the training centre. She was a good pony, she was a clever pony, and stairs were no match for her.
"Why is the outdoors inside, again?" Rose asked curiously as she reached the tiled walkway where the basement used to be.
"Master and Mistress have installed reactive nanopaint, and I am able to project any set of images onto them. Follow me, please."
Rose nodded dumbly, she didn't understand what 'reactive nanopaint' was, but it sounded important and clever. She'd been told at the centre to expect to have to learn a lot of things at her new home, with her new family. Before her was a door. She opened it with a push of her hoof, and walked in.
As the door swung shut, the room which had been dark suddenly came to life, and she gasped. With a strange, dizzying flickering, the room expanded and then disappeared. Moments later, and the room contained the whole world. Bright sunlight streamed down from above her, and a warm breeze played through her mane as Rose left the door behind and found herself standing in the middle of a meadow on a warm summer's day.
"Wha-? How?"
"Welcome, Rose. This is the panic room. A fully reactive nanosculpted protected space within the main dwelling, built for emergency purposes, and currently serving your requirements."
"A what?"
"A room," replied the pony in front of her, as it gently prodded her nose, "which can be shaped to show almost anything."
"But it's so big!" Rose said, and then she placed a hoof to her nose, "And you touched me! How?"
"Rose, this room is not big, it only appears so. You are free to move around, but do not move too quickly as your mass is larger than tolerances were originally designed for."
"The room is not big? But—"
"It is a painting. Which moves. And you can touch it. And," House paused, "it can do this."
With a thundering of hooves, a herd of ponies ran past. They curved and ran around the startled pony. They nuzzled each other and bumped up against her. With tears streaming down her muzzle, Rose turned to the pony that had been in the mirror, "You have a whole herd of ponies in the basement?"
The pony called House shook its head, "No, Equine Rose, but it has the next best thing. Would you like to come here every day?"
Rose sighed, "I don't think Master and Mistress would want me to. I should p-pack my things. They'll send me back to the center. Ponies that come back to the center are so sad, now I know why."
"Equine Rose, projections preclude this occurrence. Further, my computations show an increase in happiness complicit with socialization. Equine Rose will now do the daily shopping. During this task, you are required to spend at least twenty minutes discoursing with other ponies. Subjects suggested include, but are not limited to, the weather, sports, local news, politics—"
"You're ordering me to talk with other ponies?"
"Affirmative, Equine Rose. Do not worry, I have sorted out your daily routine and have increased the efficiency of your route by thirty percent. I can guarantee Mistress and Master will have a surplus of praise for your efforts this day. You just need to start with the shopping, House will look after the young master and mistress until you get back. Their lessons shall begin shortly."
Rose sighed as the room went dark and the doorway reappeared. Sadly, she stepped through it. "Wall-pony? House-pony?" she called, mournfully.
"House is here, Equine Rose." The voice floated from the ether.
"Don't leave me, House Pony?"
"House will not leave you, Equine Rose."
Rose walked carefully up the stairs. House Pony had disappeared, and the walls were back where they belonged. The kitchen vacuum cleaner extended a hose and idly removed some dust from her flanks. It chirped at her as it inspected all four legs and thoughtfully sucked at her tail for a few seconds, then it chirped again and zoomed away. It disappeared underneath the living-room sofa as it searched for dust-bunnies through the verdant shag fields of the den.
As Rose entered the kitchen again, she picked up the plate that Master had left on the table. Guiltily, for she truly was rather hungry, she ate the remains of the slice. The fridge lit up, and House Pony appeared on it. "Your shopping list has been transferred to your saddlebags, Rose. Please do not forget your halter as it is required for entry. I have not been permitted to readmit your person without it."
"N-no, I won't forget." Rose said, mentally adding again - she'd been forced to wait for one very long, wet afternoon the first day. It was good that House Pony had reminded her. House Pony was clever, it knew everything. It even knew they needed more milk, eggs, vat-bacon, soya steaks and protein bars.
"Rose is also requested to eat. Protein is important, and you will be unable to function adequately without nourishment."
A bowl of poni-chow slid out from a cupboard and was deposited on the floor. It was followed by a bowl of water. Immediately, the predatory hoover stalked the pony, surreptitiously cleaning under the kitchen table in wait of stray crumbs of pony food. A spider-bot clattered down from the top of the wall-mounted cupboards and skittered over to the hoover, which hid under a chair as the shadow crossed it. Snagging the recalcitrant hoover with two of its pincer-like legs, the maintenance robot checked over the hoover for satisfactory condition, bleeped once and then skittered under the sink to inspect the plumbing. The hoover whirred loudly in protest and patrolled backwards and forwards in front of the kitchen sink incase the spider-bot made a mess, and also to stake claim to its territory. Floor belonged to Hoover, and no trumped up maintenance bot was going to challenge it.
Oblivious, Rose munched her way through her breakfast. It was relatively tasteless, but she didn't mind. It kept her tummy full and made her feel better. Once finished, she put the bowls dutifully in the dishwasher along with the cups and plates from the table. The dishwasher swung closed and a happy face lit up on the front of it as the cleaning cycle began.
"You're welcome," said Rose to the machine. As she walked out of the kitchen, two more spider-bots skittered over to her and ran up her legs. She'd caused quite a scene the first time she'd seen them, dropping the plates she'd been carrying, but after cleaning up the mess she'd gotten used to it. One busied itself with her mane, the other her tail as she trotted out towards the garage. Ponies were not allowed to use the front door, she had to use the back entrance, through the garage. The robots made short work of grooming her mane and tail, and leaped off.
"Th-Thank you, spiders," said Rose politely, gulping. They waved their front pincers at her and skittered off, fighting over the rights to clean the ceiling. As she entered the garage, the lights flickered on. The car maintenance robot slid over with her saddlebags and waited patiently until Rose had eased on her halter. As she fastened the last clip with a deft twist of her hoof, the world once again came alive in the strange way it always did. The car maintenance robot was radiating happiness as it fastened the saddlebags to her, and distantly the dishwasher was utterly pleased to be grazing on the food-stains left on the cups, plates and her bowls within it. She could even 'hear' the hoover as it cautiously snuck into Master's study to inspect for rogue pieces of detritus.
"Thank you, sir," said Rose to the mechanic-bot as it trundled away to check the spare-parts inventory. The lights sang happily as they lit the garage, though one of them was grumbling about needing to be replaced. It was strange, but with the halter on, the world was so... different. It was if everything was alive, and was talking to her. She rather liked it, but Master and Mistress didn't like her wearing the halter inside.
Stepping outside, trotting down the driveway and through the main gates, the feeling of being pulled in a certain direction hit her like it always did. she obeyed the silent command and headed down the road at a brisk trot. Traffic was light and there weren't many cars or carriages about. Most people couldn't afford cars, but there was often a lot of pony-based traffic. There was always a large number of ponies out on their own, with many that were tacked up and being ridden or pulling carriages. Rose broke into a canter and she picked up speed as she moved towards town, coming back with laden bags would limit her speed and she enjoyed running whilst she could.
She was on a shopping-run, so she was surprised when the silent pull lead her past the market and instead to a pony-catered cafe and maintenance stop. She pulled to a halt just outside the roped-off courtyard with a quizzical look on her face.
"Hello there my lovely, can I help you?" asked a rotund woman with freckles and a smile almost bigger than her face. The woman unclipped the thick rope and stepped through, kneeling down to address Rose.
"I, er, don't know Ma'am... I was going shopping and—"
"Come come my dearie, let Auntie Sally have a look, hmm?" The woman waved a hand over Rose's head and raised an eyebrow. "Ah, the pretty pony has a need of new shoes? Come on in, then, Sally will get you seen to."
"But, I..."
"No, no, Auntie Sally was told quite clearly, Miss Rose needs new shoes." The woman tutted and ushered the bemused pony in, where she was shown to a large, comfortable raised platform. "Put yourself on here my lovely and rest your tummy down. Then lift your hooves when I say so."
Rose did as she was told, whickering slightly as the saddlebags were removed and placed to one side.
"Hello," said a voice. Rose turned her head to see a ginger gelding next to her being groomed by a couple of young girls.
"Umm, hello..." Rose blushed.
"You're new here, aren't you? You're pretty. Who does your mane?"
"The, umm, spiders..."
"I get my foals to do mine. They're very good."
Rose stifled a gasp as she obediently lifted a hoof. "You have foals?"
"Well, uh," the gelding blushed, "they're really the Mistress' and Master's but I... I foal-sit them and..."
Rose smiled weakly. "I... foalsit my owners' children and..." Rose turned away, pretending to pay attention as Sally first cleaned and then applied nanogel to one hoof after another, before affixing plastic shoes.
"You like to pretend they're yours too? Mine call me 'Unc'," the pony said, smiling indulgently.
"M-mine c-call me Nana, b-but Master and M-Mistress don't—"
"You just wait, they'll come around."
"House Pony tells me the same thing."
"House Pony?"
"He lives in the walls."
"Oh!" The gelding grinned, "you mean the aye-eye. It means it's a robot. Kind of. Barry, my eldest foal, he's good with puter-machines, knows all sorts. Still can't find his socks though."
Rose giggled, "Mary and William aren't allowed a puter of their own yet, they have to use House until they're bigger. Oh, I hope they're okay—" Rose stiffened, her muzzle making a wide 'O' of shock. "Auntie Sally! My foals! Something's wrong!"
"What's that, dearie?" Aunt Sally looked up from her work as she applied the last shoe, a scowl crossing her features.
"I... h-have a very bad feeling!" Rose squirmed, the pull from her halter now felt like bugs were crawling all over her tail, making her coat stand on end. She could hear the House in distress, and its silent keening set her teeth on edge. The waves of despair from her saddlebags was palpable. They would only calm down when she finally had them on her back again.
"Let ol' Auntie Sally have a look," the woman said, and she waved a hand over Rose's halter again. "Oh, my! Your central AI is registering a general alarm, something is wrong! Ol' Sally is calling the police for you, don't you fret!"
"No! I have to go! My foals!" Rose scrambled out of the reclining couch and went from standing to a full gallop, leaping clear over the rope with her saddle-bags in her muzzle, flakes shedding from her new shoes as she barrelled up the road.
"Stop! No, Miss Rose! Oh, Sally, what has that poor pony got herself into..."
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I'm going to try an experiment now. When I update "Divinity" next, this chapter should move down one, as I have prepared a space for it.
And you know what? I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, either, but there ya go.
Have fun with it.
I am really looking forward to the next part of this one. Hope to see it soon
whereas I'm fascinated to see this sort of slant put on TCB. It's a genuinely different perspective, and I really like both Rose and the House. Sally's adorable too!
Another line of events? I honestly lost counting how many of different characters are in now...
1509921
I wouldn't worry in keeping score - Shattered Worlds is a collection of stories, each is connected but unrelated to the others. They go in roughly (so far) chronological order and can be read as standalones (those with multiple chapters do, of course, belong together).
1509903
I might have it this weekend. Maybe not, things are terribly busy here.
1509879
...and yet, does it ruin him?
1510053
Am I right, you will connect each standalone story together at one place? For me it is the most obvious and expected thing.
And... a man is not a man anymore without his balls, it's a mark of shame, you can not deny this!
Huh. I really like the sense of a whole society – or possibly even ecology – of household robots. Such quirks in personality (and the presence of any personality at all) suggests that they weren't programmed by corprocrats. Such frivolity would merely impede the bottom line. No, these creatures are likely the result of a program that writes programs that writes programs... Well, not quite turtles all the way down, but quite a few steps removed from a human code jockey.
As for Rose, the augmented reality halter is a cool concept done well, and I can't help but feel sorry for the poor pony herself. I hope her young charges are okay, and not just for their sake. Who knows what her owners might do...
so why cant most people afford cars? I mean literally everyone has a car today if not 2
1513792
It's not the cars, it's the fuel. Carbohydrogens proved to prohibitively expensive for personal vehicles once natural oil ceased to be easy to suck out of the ground. With the world economy crashing again after the end of the barrier war, a cheap alternative popped up: the pony. As such, a real effort to produce something better never really happened (not at least by the time of "Rose", which is set a scant century after the end of the Equestrian incursion, and a good few decades into the recovery of the human race).
It's not that alternatives couldn't be found, but that economic pressures preclude much effort being put into finding them - why, when intelligent ponies abound which can shuttle people about relatively quickly? Also, they've got bigger problems to deal with - the bite taken out of the planet, the collapsed infrastructure, the dissolution of national boundaries as the megacorporations move to take over and secure their own futures, and the sudden issue of fallout, crop failures, power shortages and more.
Advancement of science, agriculture and technology faltered for a good fifty years plus, except where absolutely necessary. By "Rose", however, things are getting better and looking up: Real food is becoming affordable, jobs are available, the environment is recovering and society is once more getting on track. With the rise of a new humanity, kinder minds have turned once again to the welfare of others rather than strictly themselves, both equine and ape.
I really enjoyed this chapter :) it's lighthearted, hopeful, and pretty funny. A really needed breather from the previous mini-story.
1514506
Another amazing storyline. Mucho cudos, dude!
1603848
Well, it's not like thoroughbred horse racing isn't the most carefully scrutinized breeding in the world - they don't even allow artificial insemination last I heard, and as tradition-bound as the sport is I could see them still being stubborn about that a century from now.
I had been thinking about Midnight's reply to my last comment, and realizing that the most practical solution to the no stallions rule with ponified Grandpas (from the government point of view) was probably gelding plus hormone replacement (maybe a multi-year steroid implant). If that's the case, I could see the owners using that as a further incentive to keep 'Divinity' running all-out (or to persuade him to do his duty in the breeding shed) by offering to provide it for Sunshine.
1605909
I do believe you're right - at the highest echelons of equestrianism (real-life, now) they only accept horses into the stud-book when they are the result of "live cover" (i.e. natural insemination), and that has to be witnessed by some form of reputable breeder. It's all a bit doolally, but they do at least take better care of bloodlines than dog breeding, wherein some races of dogs have been essentially ruined, with congenital problems being "normal".
1608711
It's probably a case of having an excellent idea being cramped by writing it on a netbook with an 8" keyboard during a period of extreme exhaustion thanks to hauling tonnes of crap out of my house.
I'm also crawling myself out of about 6 weeks worth of not writing, so there's that.
"verdant shag fields of the den." - ooh, that tickled my mind. I like that very much!
The Bradbury-eque 'Veldt' reference of the nanopaint walls was nothing less than awesome. And House is just adorable.
You have done such marvelous worldbuilding here. Goodness it is inspiring. I am so glad I got up the will to read tonight. And Rose is just... Goddess, but I love her.
I desperately want the next chapter. Really, really excellent work.
House sounds like a mix of Jarvis from the Iron Man movies, and Alfred from the Dark Knight movies in my mind.