Norrath, Earth, Equestria. A Construct's Journey

by Nimnul

Mild Disappointments

Landshark was wearing what she occasionally caught herself thinking of as her uniform. Namely, the great coat she had requested from Rarity, and the black beret the fashionista had included with the dress for the construct.

Obviously, she didn't need the protection from wind and rain offered by the garment. She supposed that ponies would probably be only mildly curious in case she ever went out in public without clothes. The only thing of interest might be the working of her joints, and even that might be a stretch.

However, Landshark certainly didn't have any plans to forego clothing in the future. Perhaps it wasn't true in this world, but clothing was normal. Even here, she saw no need to question that assumption. Golems, mindless workers and war machines, didn't wear anything. Persons did. Bellikos were people, so they wore clothes. Landshark tended to forego her wig when she was going to wear a hat or a helmet, but that was a mix of convenience and personal affectation. In the Underfoot, no one had ever seen one of her sisters out and about without her hair on.

The second, more important reason to wear clothes were the pockets. It was hard to beat the convenience of pockets.

Certainly, some ponies seemed able to mysteriously store things in their manes. Generally though, saddle bags seemed to be the primary solution for carrying things around, which seemed less convenient when she observed a pony rummaging through one.

Pockets were individually smaller and encouraged the owner to form habits. Keys here, wallet there, perhaps some loose change in another one. Spare magazines, perhaps field rations. A hip flask, a pack of smokes, a lighter maybe. Once a human had developed their personal system of pocket usage, they rarely changed it up.

Perhaps hoofs were ill-suited to reach into a pocket and grab something, but Landshark would have thought that at least unicorns might see the attraction and wear more clothing. They could use magic. And yet, clothing seemed to be associated with a supposedly fancier class of pony. Which indicated that perhaps the difference was a cultural one. After all, occasionally, pony hooves still managed to surprise her.

Humans obviously had all sorts of options for carrying larger loads, backpacks and suitcases and such things, but for quick access, it seemed hard to beat the humble pocket. And it could be situationed just about anywhere on a garment as long as it didn't get in the way of sitting down.

Landshark occassionally imagined that she might be the only bellikos to have worn cargo pants. For some reason she hadn't been in a position to question, it was all robes and dresses for them in the First's service.

Pockets obviously hadn't been unknown in the Underfoot. Constructs with personal belongings to store in them had been, however. Having an actual personal life, of sorts, brought with it quite a bit of clutter. She'd rather not have it all in one big bag to root around in.

Her coat's pockets were large and protected their contents from inclement weather with their large flaps. Although generally unneccessary in Ponyville, Landshark usually carried around documents identifying her as a free legal resident of Equestria. It wasn't quite citizenship, but the construct didn't precisely care about that. The important part was, simply, to be recognized as a legal entity in her own right, and to be able to back the claim up in case someone disputed her personhood based on her inorganic nature. Having a little bit of legal back-up made it easier not to worry about the opinions of citizens.

She also carried cigarettes, matches, a coin purse and a folding knife. Recently she had added a pencil. All fairly ordinary by human standards. She tended to keep a spent cartridge somewhere on her person as well. Most ponies wouldn't recognize it as such, but it looked harmless enough. She only carried it so she could occasionally toy with it idly. Little habits like that made her seem more real to some people. The construct didn't have a solid reason for not using a coin instead, frankly.

Perhaps she simply liked holding something from the human world in her hand every so often.

In any case, Rarity had really been infinitely patient in equipping Landshark with her wardrobe. After all, the unicorn understood a desire to wear clothing for its own sake, even if their precise reasons differed considerably.

Right now, she was dressed up in her uniform mainly to deliver some unpleasant news. For this purpose, she was meeting Dinky and Pinchy at Berry's house. It was a good bet the two fillies could be found there during the day, perhaps because Berry's home was slightly more spacious than Ditzy's.

Facing the fillies and, as it happened, her dog, the Admiral, Landshark crossed her arms.

"Alright, agents. I'm afraid I won't be around to attend the school's Hearth's Warming play, and I'll be out of town on the day itself, too."

Disappointment was immediately evident. The two unicorns didn't have major roles in the piece, but they had reportedly contributed in other ways and likely felt a degree of school pride in general. Evidently, they had been hoping that Landshark would attend the play during her first ever Hearth's Warming season in Equestria.

Pinchy chewed her lip with a frown. She was pretty used to dealing with disappointment, but was willing to assume the construct had a good reason to miss the play. Still, she was more disappointed that the construct wasn't going to spend Hearth's Warming eve with them either. "Why not? Dinky and her mom were going to come over too. It'll be great, ma'am. Where are you going?"

Landshark didn't insist on being formally adressed, generally. It was just part of the game she played with the fillies. Still, as long as Pinchy still addressed her that way, the construct felt reassured despite the young unicorns seeming to pout.

"Lyra made the case that I would do her a service by being present when she introduces Bon to some old Canterlot friends." She shrugged. "I'm not eager to go to Canterlot, but I expect getting to meet her parents will be pleasant enough."

She wasn't totally sure what she was feeling. Trepidation? She had rarely visited larger human cities for anything but unpleasant business, and never without some means to conceal her construct nature at least from casual view. Technically, she had of course been owed vacation days, but as obviously inhuman, she had been discouraged from freely interacting with civilians. She had never taken leave without a friend, and rarely gone to places with significant population density.

Bipeds were rare enough in Equestria that it would probably be pointless to wear a mask or hood in any case. She'd be somewhat notable regardless. Or perhaps she would be no more remarkable than a minotaur or diamond dog to Canterlot citizens. People seemed to get less reasonable the more of them you put together, it was hard to predict.

Dinky now frowned as well, albeit briefly. "Bon isn't so out of the ordinary that Lyra needs to have you there to be the weird one." The frown faded, replaced with a crooked smile. "I guess if somebody on the team thinks she needs backup, you go. Doesn't matter if maybe they worry too much, you go, just in case. I guess our presents for you will keep." The last bit diminished the smile slightly.

"It's what I think, too. As long as Bon doesn't fix anyone with her gunslinger eyes, she'll be fine."

The fillies probably didn't quite catch Landshark's meaning on that one. To use a phrase she'd heard from the mare herself, Bon Bon was as good a pony as any, and better than some. But evidently she could promise to do serious damage to someone just by looking at them the right way. After all, she had managed to shut up a stallion about to badmouth Lyra. Shame that same stallion had managed to goad Berry into a fight, back then. In any case, the construct doubted anyone could prompt Bon Bon into giving that look to a child.

Landshark knew how to read facial expressions, it had been easy to learn, although most of them didn't cause her any real visceral reaction. Most of them were just information to her. She couldn't be made to feel like prey, but she was smart enough to realize when to tread carefully. She and her sisters had been meant to interact successfully with people, after all.

She nodded at Ruby Pinch. "While I'm away, I'll be keeping some of my belongings at your mother's house, Pincer."

She wasn't going to visit Canterlot armed to the teeth, but she also wasn't entirely comfortable keeping her things in an empty building for the duration. "Your parents are going to have my spare keys just in case."

"In case of what?" Pinchy tilted her head, now more curious than upset.

Landshark shrugged. "Nothing, probably. No use dreaming up improbable emergencies. This is more of a general preparedness thing, you know? I don't expect to come back to find out you had to use up all my homemade incendiaries, but it's nicer to have something and not need it than to need something and not have access to it."

In a way, it was a sizable responsibility. The molotovs were entirely replaceable, but the construct's firearms were likely unique. Even if some culture on this world had cartridge firearms, the individual weapons were still from another world entirely.

She didn't expect the fillies or their parents to actually get into her gear, or that there would be any legitimate reason for them to do so, obviously. Everyone would appreciate the gesture of trust, though.

She pointed at the Admiral, addressing the dog sternly. "You're going to be spending your nights at Fluttershy's place. Be on your best behavior and listen to the team while I'm gone."

The malamute seemed to vocalize his agreement, wagging his tail. Apparently he didn't mind the idea.

The dog had been reasonably obedient, all things considered. On the other hand, Landshark suspected he enjoyed the company of the construct's friends more than her own. She had easily established herself as the one in charge, as Fluttershy had recommended, but she wasn't sure the dog had any real fondness for her.

The Admiral wasn't as much of a jerk as Rarity's cat, luckily, and he was a pretty good housemate, but he preferred to get his displays of physical affection from ponies, it seemed. Maybe his superior senses made it too obvious that Landshark was inorganic. Or perhaps he wasn't a fan of her lack of warmth. She was, after all, generally close to room temperature, and she didn't sleep in a warm bed the dog might invade for company.

Landshark didn't much mind either way so long as the dog got along with her friends. He seemed to understand that this, at least, was expected of him so long as he shared the construct's home.

Dinky reached over to run a hoof over the dog's back. Supposedly the Admiral preferred physical closeness over being petted at a distance via magic. She was going to have to take the fillies' word for it. Maybe the animals here were smarter here than Landshark had expected, but a dog was a dog. There was more tail wagging and strange, appreciative chuffing noises.

"Well, looks like everything's five by five then. I'll leave you three to your afternoon. Got some errands to run. You make sure the girls get home save if you play outside, Admiral."

It wasn't her habit to use that phrase, of course. Still, she'd recently been reminded of a colleague who had had a fondness for it, and the girls might enjoy the addition to their vocabulary.

Pinchy appeared curious. "What's the story to five by five?"

It hadn't been too difficult to guess the intended meaning in the context of their conversation of course, but the curiosity was natural.

Landshark shrugged. She had asked that question herself, once. "I'm told it started out as a phrase in human communication. Two scales, how clear, and how strong a message is. Five by five is good, both qualities excellent."

There was a vague memory in the back of her head about a lengthy explanation of analog versus digital radio, of how the scale only made sense for one of the two, but it hadn't been relevant to her interests then and it wasn't really important now. Electronics still might as well be magic to her. Guns were dead simple compared to that, all mechanical parts and propellant. "Some people use it just to say that everything's in order and squared away. Preparations done? Yeah, we're five by five."

Dinky grinned. "Well, we'll have to explain it to the rest of the team now, just in case." The fillies weren't precisely compulsive about using odd phrases – their junior monster hunter game with Landshark was just simmering along in their daily lives, but they were pretty fond of calling it an evac whenever they got to fly with Dinky's mother. Apparently none of their classmates had needed to be called the OpFor in some time now, however.

"So if I was shouting loud nonsense at Double Down here, that'd be what, one by five?" Ruby Pinch looked thoughtful, seemingly turning over the idea in her head.

"Well I haven't known anyone to use it like that casually, but I guess so. If you're not doing so well or need clarification, you just ask. You toss out fives if everything seems clear to you." Again, Landshark shrugged. "Who's going to tell you otherwise, though? Do what you like as long as you both understand what you mean. Just don't wear it out."

It was win-win, really. It amused the fillies to have phrases or terms at their disposal that were unfamiliar to their peers, and it amused Landshark to introduce them, having picked them up herself only in the last few years. It was nice to keep a tiny piece of the human world in circulation, here.

---

Berry Punch had finally tracked down Rainbow Dash to Sweet Apple Acres. No doubt showing off some aerial stunt or something for Applejack's benefit, Berry assumed. She had no idea what there was to do on an apple orchard during winter, but she doubted in any case that the Apples would be idle. At least, she assumed, they'd be selling stored apples to cover running costs, or something.

"Berry Punch! What brings ya to this here neck o' the woods?" Applejack stopped her work of shoveling snow in front of the family home. "Lookin' a lot healthier these days."

"Why, thanks. I'm trying to get in shape. Work in progress." It was pretty obvious to Berry that she wouldn't match a pony like Applejack, used to endless physical labor, in strength or endurance any time soon. The compliment was appreciated, of course. "Was looking for Rainbow Dash." She looked up. "Heard she was hanging around here."

"Hmm." Applejack scanned the sky. "She was showin' off just earlier, ah figure she's restin' on a cloud somewhere. Pegasus don't freeze as easy, ah guess."

"Huh, alright." Berry smiled, cleared her throat and proceeded to yell. "Rainbow Dash! Wake up and get down here!"

Applejack chuckled. "That's pretty much the way ta do it, yep."

"Yeah yeah, I'm awake! Don't worry!" Rainbow Dash soon alighted next to the earth ponies. "What's so urgent you had to wake me from my post-workout nap? Gotta be well-rested to stay awesome, you know."

"Sorry, Dash." Berry apologized pleasantly before adding, "I got a bone to pick with you. You caused two of my friends quite a bit of, hmm, upset, when you got Twilight all keyed up."

"Now," she continued reasonably, "I know you didn't mean nothing by it and nopony's real mad about it. But still, I wanna have a go at you, Dash. I wanna fight you."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and seemed to be trying not to laugh. "You want to fight Rainbow 'Danger' Dash? Wonderbolt reservist, national hero, saved the world multiple times? With help," she allowed.

Applejack rolled her eyes despite her evident curiosity.

"Sure," Berry agreed amiably. "It'd be pretty unreasonably optimistic to say I want to beat you up, considering all of those things, wouldn't it?"

"Go home Berry, you're drunk," Rainbow Dash sighed, but before she could take off, Berry firmly put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Try to keep up, Dash. I haven't had a drink in practically forever." She bared her teeth. "I'm being completely serious. My daughter wanted us to be mature about this, so I'm not going to be pushy about it."

"So," Applejack cut in with her drawl. "Ya'll are fixin' to have a little dustup, but ya'll don't seem real agitated or any such thing. What's the point?"

"Yeah! I mean I guess I could free up a couple minutes for you," Rainbow idly inspected one of her forehooves. "It'd be your funeral, though."

"Why, can't a pony challenge somepony else to a little competition? It doesn't need to get too serious, you know." Berry kept the tone conversational. "For example, it might be nice to lay down some ground rules. I don't want it to literally lead to my funeral, for one, and I'm sure Dash wouldn't like to have her wings hurt to uselessness."

That seemed to communicate to Rainbow Dash that Berry was being serious. She frowned and tucked her wings closer to her body as if by reflex. "Look, Berry. I'd rather not hurt you, okay? What'd your filly think? If you want, I can totally apologize to Bon Bon and Lyra. I was worked up, and I didn't take into account how Twilight sometimes gets. I didn't mean to get anypony in trouble."

Applejack seemed rather surprised by the admission. Rainbow Dash hadn't always been the kind of pony to back down.

"You'd probably mean it, too," Berry allowed. "Still, too late now. Could have come up with that idea sooner." She licked her lips."It's easy to be a nicer pony than me. My daughter's words, hah! No, I'm afraid I gotta insist. At least it'll teach Pinchy that fightin's ugly business – just 'cause I'm eager to, doesn't mean she's gotta pick it up from me, you know."

After a pause, she admitted, "Ruby Pinch is pretty good at being a better pony than me, anyway."

"Aren't you worried about being embarrassed in front of whoever watches?" It was a Rainbow Dash sort of question, Berry thought.

And, she supposed, in the past she, herself, would have just gotten drunk beyond caring about that sort of thing. "I guess I just don't see you embarrassing me as much as I been embarrassing myself these last ten-plus years. Better be known as the crazy mare that'll pick fights to stick up for her fellow ponies than an incompetent lush, anyway. And besides, the only opinions that got weight are my daughter's and friends'. And they're kinda resigned to it."

Berry smiled. "But if you'd rather not, well, that's fine." She nodded. "I said I insist, but in fact, I'd hope that you only agree if you're absolutely sure you can take it. I got no grudge against you, not really. I just wanna blow off some steam and see if I can still go, right? I'm a couple years older'n you and didn't take such good care of myself until recently. But I'm pretty sure I can make you work for it."

"Well, sounds plum crazy ta me, but Ah suppose it's not the first time somepony wants ta clean Rainbow's clock." Applejack shrugged, but seemed interested in the issue. "How come ya'll are so sure about this? Didn't hear nothin' of ya'll getting into scrapes over the last years. Not real ones, anyhow."

Berry shook her head, but didn't stop smiling. "I'm confident I wanna do this, that's different from bein' confident I'll win. Tell you the truth? I don't mind fightin'. Maybe I even like it, a little. The adrenaline, I think. I'm just coming alive again!"

"Now let's be clear," She turned serious. "I don't need to fight. If I had real violent impulses I'd have been a lot more trouble when drunk." She gestured with a hoof. "I got pretty good at hurting ponies, but I don't want ponies to get hurt. I don't like makin' ponies miserable. But I do kinda like to fight, and I do want my filly to know me all the way, even the ugly bits. So that's a dilemma, and I figure comin' on over and asking is a reasonable way to go about it."

Applejack shrugged, but still looked dubious. "Ya'll do what ya gotta do, Ah guess." All things considered, Rainbow Dash's other friends would probably take the idea a lot worse, Berry thought.

Rainbow Dash herself grinned and joked. "Maybe you just need me to beat that midlife crisis out of you, huh? Don't worry – it'd be over quick."

"Hah, yeah, maybe." Berry chuckled. "Maybe you got me figured out, Dash. Maybe. So, that a yes?"

Rainbow Dash looked thoughtful. "Y'know, I'm not against the idea, but until after Winter's wrapped up, I've got my hooves full on the weather team. It sucks, but I've got to be responsible here and put off risking my health until the team's load is lighter."

"Mighty responsible of ya. Maybe Ah'm rubbin' off on ya?" Applejack grinned.

"Yeah right!"

"Alright," Berry conceded easily. "Let's keep it in mind for next year, maybe. Gives me some more time to work out or be talked out of the whole thing, hmm?"

She turned about and started trotting off, but paused to look back over her shoulder. "Nopony's real mad, but you could still apologize. Lyra's been pretty high strung since then."

"Sure, sure, I'll try to remember." Rainbow waved her off, but Applejack was nodding.

"Ah'll make sure she don't forget about it, Berry."

"Appreciate it!" Berry felt better just for having talked about it. She hadn't been dishonest, she really didn't get anything out of seeing ponies hurt. Or anyone else, usually. That was difficult to reconcile with the admission that she did enjoy fighting, and could be rather pragmatic about it. That sort of attitude wasn't precisely up to the Harmony standard, but it wasn't like she had was easy to anger by trivialities. She wasn't sixteen and out for trouble, after all. No, she felt she had been mature enough about her request.

Comments

[Greatazuredragon]

People seemed to get less reasonable the more of them you put together,

Ain't that the truth...

Nice chapter, looking forward to the meeting with Lyra's parents, good work.

[Nimnul]

6910169

I've been thinking about it myself, I simply hadn't been sure how to handle it. An idea is forming, so I might end up bringing it in as a curiosity at a later date.