G6.3850: Mission Complete
As it turned out, they didn’t have their meeting right away. Though her powerplay had stopped the Major from sending her mother away, it couldn’t make her willing to discuss private security matters with her in the hovercraft. While Lucky went off with the Major and her goons, James was tasked with supervising Othar’s newest resident.
James walked even more carefully through the halls of Othar than usual. She was in the company of another native, one without a house-arrest band that might incapacitate her if anything happened. Deadlight had looked quite peaceful, and he’d attacked. This pony looked like she might be about to attack at a moment’s notice. If she did, James didn’t want to be anywhere near.
She had given the native a headset, exactly like Deadlight’s, except that the software had improved a little. She was speaking in slow, deliberate sentences, explaining everything as they went. Unlike Deadlight, who brimmed with curiosity, this mare remained silent, with only judgement in her eyes.
“And this is medical,” James continued, waving one hoof in front of the sensor. The doors opened. “We’re just coming in here for a checkup, and for your IFF.”
Medical had expanded significantly since Othar had been founded, and was now twice as large as the cafeteria. Almost as large as a proper clinic, though of course it was human-sized and missing all its doctors.
Well, except for the automated. As they came in, a slab of glass about human height lit up with the holographic projection of a friendly-looking nurse in an official uniform. “Welcome to medical,” she said, in a cheerful voice. “All our doctors are out on call right now, but I’d be happy to assist with any basic medical needs you may have.” A pause, then a brief flash of green light from the ground all around them as the sensors looked them over.
Lightning Dust jumped as she saw it, lifting into the air and glaring down at the ground. Wind rose from around her, as though her distress might spawn a tiny storm. “What was that?” her translator said for her, in a slightly robotic voice. “Where did it come from? What kind of creature was it? Will it hurt us?”
“No.” James didn’t reach for her, but she did try to look as confident as possible. “They’re magic.” She used the Eoch word, which she’d learned from many reports was a catch-all for anything a pony couldn’t understand. At least, that was what she thought. “We don’t have very many people yet, so we use magic for most things until they get here.”
Lightning Dust glared at the transparent nurse. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sorry to say one of you has an infection. However, I am unable to provide treatment to any individual without an IFF implant. Please step backward to the surgical area to receive your implant.”
“Yeah. We will, thank you.”
Lightning Dust blinked, staring at the piece of glass. She landed, walked over to it, and poked it with a hoof. “It’s flat.”
“Yeah,” James agreed. “It’s just to make people who come here feel more comfortable.”
“Why would that thing make people feel comfortable? It’s like… a sickly minotaur playing dressup. It must have some tiny hooves to fit in those shoes.” Her eyes narrowed as she stared at it. “And those paws are so delicate. I bet they’d get mangled by doing absolutely anything. Is that how it makes ponies feel good, by making them feel sorry for it?”
James giggled, but then she stopped abruptly, eyes widening. “Wait a minute. Lucky never showed you pictures of these before?”
“No,” the native said, through her translator. “She tried showing me things at first, but most of it was boring. Why would she want me to see this?”
“Because that’s what our species looked like,” James answered. “When we were back home, I mean. All of us looked like that.”
Lightning Dust started, glancing between the virtual nurse and James several times, as though searching for a resemblance. “Are you sure? We have old myths about looking different too, a long time ago. That doesn’t make it true.”
“I’m sure.” James walked slowly around the glass panel, until she found the little cable-connector plugged into the projector at the base. She bent down with her mouth and yanked it out, and the image vanished. Of course, there were dozens of others, one in almost every area of the room where a person might be. But she could show that this one at least wasn’t harmful. “But we can’t get distracted talking about this right now. We have to get your implant.”
“Sure, sure,” Lightning Dust said. It was hard to tell for certain, but it seemed she was being sarcastic. It would’ve been easier to read her if James could understand more of her words. “Lots of ponies aren’t comfortable talking about their religion, I understand.”
James kept walking past Dust, past several of the tiny waiting areas separated with glass that would go opaque for patient privacy when anyone was inside. But there was no one inside, not even Dorothy. Their resident biologist had been the one to insist on many of these upgrades, since the Forerunner was more than qualified to do anything she had been trained to do. If anything, it was better. And for the sorts of things the Forerunner couldn’t do… well, she couldn’t do those either, so it was no big deal.
The lights on the doorway of the surgical section had come on, blinking red and green to help guide them. “The doctor just said you were sick,” James said as they walked. “Do you feel ill?”
Lightning Dust shook her head vigorously. “No. I’m not sick, and I don’t want to see a doctor. I only want Lucky back.”
“You’ll get her back,” James promised, though she didn’t slow down. She hoped that by continuing Dust would follow, and she did. “But even if you don’t want to see the doctor, you need an IFF.”
“What’s an…” The translator choked on whatever Dust had said.
They stepped into the surgical area. Dust didn’t go further than the doorway, and James could understand why. There were four surgical stations, each one polished stainless steel with robotic arms extending from the ceiling. Each had an operating station for the doctor, should there be one. The age of doctors who cut patients with their own hands was long over.
The first surgical area was lit, and James stepped inside, a little closer to the complicated robotic arm. It had a dozen little appendages, all covered to keep them sterile while not in use. If Dust could’ve seen all the cutting tools, the drills and stuff, she probably would not have been reassured.
“What is…?” she asked again. “And what is that?”
James turned to face her, standing right beside the machine. “An IFF is… like a spell. We put it into one of your legs, and it tells all the magic in Othar to work for you.” And once you have one, the drones will see you as a citizen and won’t kill you if you try to fly away. But she didn’t say that part. Somehow, she doubted Dust would take the news of lethal force any better than Deadlight had.
“I won’t,” she said. “I want to talk to Lucky.”
“As soon as she gets out of her meeting,” James promised for the hundredth time. “We’ll get a call, and I’ll tell you. But if you don’t get this now…” How could she explain? “There is another pony here from Equestria. The major told the Forerunner not to allow him to get an IFF. Because of that, he’s like a prisoner here. He can’t even open the doors without someone’s help. Remember how every time we get to one, I hold up my leg? If you don’t get it right now, the major might say you can’t, and then you’ll be like him.”
Lightning Dust only stood there, though her expression softened a little. More confused than afraid.
James went on. “Once you get it, the magic that protects us will protect you too.” She hesitated. “I don’t know you, Lightning Dust. But I know my clone cares about you very much. She wants you to get this, so the major can’t take advantage of you.” She gestured. “Once you’re in the system, only the Forerunner itself can revoke your permissions. Please, we might not get this chance if you wait. I don’t know how that meeting is gonna go.”
Of course, being one of the Forerunner’s segments wasn’t always a good thing. There was a soldier with a missing leg who’d nearly been chopped to pieces because the Forerunner didn’t think she would be able to accomplish her mission.
In theory, once someone was alive and independent they were free from such dangers. In practice, well… there was no way to know what the Forerunner would do until it wanted to kill one of them. James hoped that never happened.
“Fine.” Lightning Dust stepped forward into the surgical area. “I’ll do this… whatever it is. If that’s what Lucky wants.”
“It is,” James said. “Very much. I’m quite sure of it.” She had explicit instructions, whispered while Olivia had been gathering up her other soldiers for the security meeting. But even without the instructions, James would’ve known it was what her clone wanted. It was what she would’ve done, if she had been close to a native. It had been exactly what she tried to do with Deadlight. Unfortunately, that hadn’t worked out.
The nurse appeared in a glass display near the wall. “Please climb up onto the operating table and extend your right arm. The procedure will take approximately five minutes.”
Lightning Dust didn’t struggle when the surgical arm took hold of her right foreleg. She didn’t scream as the nitrogen needle blasted her fur away, opened her skin, and slipped the implant in. As far as surgeries went it was about as painless as they came. Less than five minutes, and the surgical arm retracted, folding up against the ceiling just as the others were.
“Thank you,” said the nurse from the screen. “Please be gentle with that part of your arm from now on, as sufficient force might dislodge the implant and require surgical reattachment. Don’t forget to stop at the pharmacy for your medication.” The screen went dark, the nurse vanished.
Lightning Dust remained frozen where she sat, as though she expected the arm to attack her if she tried to leave. It didn’t of course, and James gestured.
It’s not a foolproof plan. If the meeting goes bad, the major could try to convince the Forerunner to revoke Dust’s ident. The chances of that were small, at least she thought so. The Forerunner would see the social value of a cooperative native, she was sure of it. And not just for the genetic samples I know it took during the examination.
Lucky said she’d gathered a good few dozen, though she hadn’t explained what form they were in. Tragically, they’d been left behind in Equestria along with all her other possessions.
“When does it start?” Lightning Dust asked. “That was the drug, yes? When will it…”
“Oh, you’re done.” James stepped out of the booth, gesturing with a wing for Dust to follow. “We do have to get you some pills though. But that’s it.”
“Oh.” Lightning Dust hopped down off the operating table so fast it inclined slightly to the side, springs squealing in protest. “I expected worse. Lucky had surgery in her time, yes? I’ve seen images of her insides. Strange bones.”
“You don’t need that.” James led the way over to the pharmacy. “You’re too old, anyway. Those have to go in while you’re young.” James didn’t want to explain the way the composite grew around the bones as you got older. She couldn’t have explained it in scientific detail. It was well beyond her experience.
“Now, stick your leg right here.” The pharmacy was just a large machine set into the wall, with an opening shielded with a plastic cover. Dust stuck her leg up to the required place, and there was a rattling sound from within. An off-orange bottle slid down into the opening. Dust had to jump into the air to reach it—it was placed higher than children would’ve been able to grab, which meant it was out of reach for ponies as well.
“And we’re done!” James turned for the door. “Keep those with you. Lucky can help you take them, if you want. You probably should—if the computer thinks you’re sick it’s probably right. But she can explain that. I don’t think the computer translates as well as she does.”
Dust’s look of confusion was all the confirmation she needed. Lightning Dust had a new pair of saddlebags, and she tossed the bottle in there, though she didn’t seem like she intended to take them.
“Now, that other pony I mentioned, I think you should meet him. He’s probably eager for company who can understand him.” They walked down the central hallway, down a new set of stairs into the lower section, through another blast door. James showed Lightning Dust how to work the doors, waiting for her to hold up her leg so they would open. Now you can escape without help, if it comes to that. Even if she didn’t understand everything James was showing her, she’d understand that.
“I told Lucky to meet us here when her meeting’s over,” James continued. “She doesn’t know Othar yet, but I’m sure she’ll find it.” Just past the commissary was the library, which would also function as a classroom if they needed one. No paper books of course, but plenty of computers with huge “disability friendly” inputs they could use their hooves on. Dozens of civilian computation surfaces to be checked out, and comfortable lounging areas.
It was quite a nice little room, decorated with faux-wood panels and warm lights. Even a simulated fireplace against one wall. James would’ve wanted to send her compliments to the architect if they were still alive.
“How could Lucky not know?” Dust asked, confused. “This is her home.”
“We didn’t have a home until now,” James answered. “Lucky was the first one. She lived alone in Landfall… a whole base about the size of this room.”
“She wasn’t first,” Dust argued, still standing in the open library door. “You’re older. Everypony is. Except the one.” Her eyes narrowed. “Is this…” A few words that didn’t translate. “Starlight Glimmer? Commune? Did somepony take your cutie marks away?”
“No!” James exclaimed. She wasn’t sure what Dust had said, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t the right idea. “No. We just didn’t know how to…” How much did Dust need to know? Should she bring her to the Biofab tanks and let her see ponies half grown?
No.
Only one pony was inside the library, the same one who spent most of his time here. Deadlight sat in the same place James did when she read, surrounded by all of James’s tablets. Half a dozen of them, each one with different linguistics titles. It had only arrived a few days earlier, and it seemed the bat had read more of it than James had.
He was so engrossed in his reading he hadn’t noticed them enter, not until the door slid shut behind them and James approached. “Deadlight, I have someone with me you should meet.” she nudged his shoulder with a wing. “Deadlight, can you talk?”
The pony looked up. His eyes lingered on her for a little longer than she thought was necessary. She blushed, looking away.
“Melody.” He set down the book, then reached over and put on the headset. “Another scientist? What does this one study?”
“Nothing,” Lightning Dust answered before the translation had even finished. “I’m not one of them.”
“Oh.” Deadlight took the headset off and said something else. They started talking—too fast for the translator to catch. The Forerunner would be recording this at least, so she would be able to ask about it later. In the meantime, she could only listen to their emotional tone. Concern, worry, suspicion.
Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to take Lightning Dust to see a captured prisoner. He probably doesn’t have good things to say about us.
But she didn’t know, and she wouldn’t. Not until the Forerunner got around to processing what it had heard. Or she played the conversation and asked Lucky. But she seems more on their side than ours.
James couldn’t tell just how much her clone had become one of the natives. She acted like they did, groomed herself like they did, moved like they did. She even had their dexterity, though James had already seen that much on videos before.
If she could do it, I could do it. It would be even easier now that I have the guide. What little she had read so far made it seem like she could master the language in a month, if she could memorize as fast as she had in college.
But for the moment, she just pulled up a nearby chair and waited. It was too late to separate the ponies now. She would listen and try to pick out as many words as she could. At least that would give her good practice.
Lucky Break started at the beginning—of her time in the ruins, anyway. After Olivia almost refused to let her mom into the city, she was unwilling to do anything else that might weaken her position. Revealing the specifics of just how stupid she’d been, getting Equestrian royalty involved, might very well do that.
But she told Olivia everything else. Would’ve showed her the video she had taken using her helmet, except of course it had been destroyed in the crash. If the Ringbuilder suit had some method of recording, she hadn’t learned how to access what it stored. Which was just as well. Even if Olivia didn’t recognize a princess when she saw one, Lucky’s clone almost certainly would. That would’ve been awkward questions she didn’t want to answer.
“I brought this,” she eventually said, pulling the lump of glass with its many etched lines out of the bag and holding it up for Olivia to see. “The message with it suggests it is a data storage device. We should try and extract what’s on it, maybe it will help us learn what killed them.”
“Yes,” Olivia agreed, taking it from across the table. “I’ll add some computer people to my shortlist for the next generation. Continue.”
So, she did. Told of their escape, of being discovered by Lightning Dust and then their ill-fated flight for Othar. Olivia remained silent during the entire explanation, until Lucky got to Discord and the way the jumper had frozen in midair.
“Hold on,” she said, raising a hoof. She’d been polite this whole time, never questioning, only asking for clarification. But now there was obvious disbelief on her face. “You’re saying that a native creature stopped you in midair?” A few gestures brought the telemetry data the Forerunner had shown her before into the holofield, positional data and tracking for the moment just before impact. Olivia played it forward to the second the ship was struck. One engine system reported a critical failure, then the whole ship went red, and “NO DATA” replaced all the readouts that had been there before.
“I know how crazy it sounds,” Lucky said. “And no, I don’t know how he did it. But you do realize the natives can do things we can’t, right?” She pushed back from her seat, then took off into a hover right in front of them. Thank you, Mom, for teaching me how to do that. She didn’t need a running start anymore, didn’t sink or drift as she had before her training for the Junior Wonderbolts. Just held herself stable in the air, as perfectly as any native.
“Well, yes,” Olivia said, gesturing for her to return to her seat. “But we have wings and we fly. That’s not quite the same as stopping a supersonic aircraft without killing all its passengers.”
Lucky returned to her seat. She found herself wishing that Dust had been allowed to attend this meeting, even if she wouldn’t have understood much of it. But considering the resistance to bringing her, Lucky was just glad her mom wasn’t going to be thrown in jail. I wouldn’t let them. Not her.
“My reports have talked about other abilities. The unicorns can move objects with their minds—levitation.” Olivia opened her mouth to interrupt, but Lucky didn’t let her. “No, I don’t mean paranormal crap like back on Earth. I mean literally every single one of them does it constantly. Walk down the street for five minutes, and you’ll see a dozen unicorns carrying things, or levitating their food along with them, or something. Being able to stop a jumper sounds crazy, but I do think it’s part of the same class of abilities.”
She paused, waiting for any objections. There weren’t any, though Olivia and her soldier friend didn’t look more convinced. “There is a small group of individuals in Equestria with abilities far beyond what other ponies can do. At first, I thought it was just mythology, but not all of it is. The Alicorns—ponies with the magic of all three tribes—they can do things the others can’t. Teleport across the continent, for instance.
“Discord, the one who stopped us…” She sighed. This was going to be the hardest for Olivia to hear. And its consequences… she couldn’t even guess. She was military, so however she felt she was bound not to react too well. But she can’t protect this city if she doesn’t know what’s threatening it.
“He knew we were here. He knows where Othar is. He knew about what I’d done with Flurry Heart. And no, he didn’t seem hostile. He seemed like he wanted to help us! He sent us back here, so that I can…” She hesitated. “Well, I have no idea. Something with the princess who came with me. I don’t know what he wanted, but it sounded like he was ideologically opposed to the way Celestia and Luna run things.
“What I really need to do is talk to Twilight Sparkle—she’s the one who led me to those ruins. The ruins that taught me the language of the Ringbuilders, and helped me discover the extinct civilization. I think she might be on Discord’s side, but secretly. I don’t really know. I’m just a translator.”
She stopped then, finally done. There was much more she might say about her mission—such as her strange experiences when she’d got her cutie mark, and the potential danger towards the other members of their crew when they too were marked. But she didn’t want to complicate the issue with discussion of other subjects. She had said her piece.
The silence lasted several minutes. Olivia and her soldier-friend shared some meaningful looks, but neither seemed willing to break the silence. As though waiting for Lucky to say she’d made the whole thing up.
But she hadn’t, and they seemed to sense her sincerity. After a long time, Olivia stood up. “If that’s true, then the threats to Othar are extreme. A being with abilities we have no way to counter is aware of our position. If he were to reveal that information, or come for us himself… do you think the defenses I’ve told you about would stop him? Would they stop one of these princesses?”
“No,” Lucky said, without hesitation. “Unicorns can make shields. I bet those shields could stop bullets. I get that we have some better things than bullets, but… a princess has better shields. If I had to make a rough guess, I’d say take whatever a unicorn can do and look up an order of magnitude. That’s what we need to worry about.”
She rose as well. “Olivia, I don’t think martial defenses are the answer. That other society I saw, they looked like Earth, like home. They had guns, armor, planes… and they were wiped out. I think our best chance is to figure out whatever did that… and then figure out how to make sure it doesn’t want to do that to us.”
Olivia was unmoved. “I agree we need more information. But what solution we choose will have to be considered carefully. We haven’t done anything to provoke these dangerous beings you mentioned, right? Nothing that might make them want to attack us if they were aware of our location?”
Lucky winced, looking away. “Attack? N-no. But…” She swallowed. There was nothing forcing her to be honest about this. Except that if she wasn’t, she might destroy whatever credibility she had with this Olivia. More importantly, Othar wouldn’t be prepared. “I don’t know how happy they would be with me for bringing Flurry Heart on that little adventure I went on. I don’t know if they’d come looking for me after that. But if they do, you should just turn me over.”
“Did you… commit a crime? Bring her against her will? It sounded like she wanted to be there.”
“She did!” Lucky exclaimed. “I did have to convince her, but I didn’t do anything illegal.” Except steal from Lightning Dust, but she didn’t say that part. There was no need to put everything she’d done wrong on display.
“Then I won’t do that,” Olivia said. “You acted rashly, but you did it trying to learn information we need, and you didn’t do anything that should make us an enemy of a reasonable culture. You’ve taken more initiative than anyone here, and I respect that. From this point on, however, you leave the adventuring to us.” Pause. “I understand you’ve completed your mission, is that correct?”
Again, Lucky hesitated. But what was the point of lying now? Olivia probably wasn’t going to let her leave right away anyway. “Yes. I have.”
Olivia made her way back to her seat. “Congratulations. I’m sure the others will want to celebrate more formally. But Perez and I have more important business. You can talk to the Forerunner to get all the paperwork filed.”
“I’ll do that,” she said.
“I don’t remember what the handbook says,” Olivia continued. “But you’ll be staying involved to advise on our defensive plans.”
“Or on any negotiations,” Lucky added. “I know their culture pretty well. I lived there nine months.” And I wish I was still living there. Maybe I’d be having tea with Flurry Heart right now. I hope she’s recovered from what she saw.
“Yes, well.” Olivia shrugged. “They killed our diplomat. It will take some time to grow another. I don’t plan on initiating contact with Equestria or any other nation until we have a replacement. Maybe after that, and after we’ve confirmed some of what you said.” She looked like she might say more, but then she gestured. “You’re dismissed, Lucky. We have matters of defense to discuss. Please keep that communicator I gave you handy. If anything happens, I’ll make sure you’re informed.”
Lucky wasn’t sure she believed that, but it didn’t really matter. She rose, nodded politely to Perez, and left.
Lucky made her way into the library, a little out of breath from galloping. The hallways were high enough to fly in, but she had only just been given this brand new uniform, and she didn’t want to get it sweaty. The Forerunner had apparently learned to make wingholes in everything since she had left all those months ago.
What she really wanted back was that dress with the gemstones on it—that had made her feel grown up. But it was back in the Crystal Empire now, in an apartment that would probably be discovered by the authorities.
At least her clone had been good enough to warn her in advance where she needed to go to find her mom. All she had to do was follow the Forerunner’s directions, and she eventually ended up at the library.
“There she is,” Dust said, right as the door opened. She had been pacing back and forth in front of a table, where a bat pony sat surrounded by computers. Her clone was also there, reading quietly in a corner. All apparently waiting for her.
“You!” The bat rose to his hooves at once, and was at her side so fast she almost thought he’d teleported. “You went beyond Equestria! Your mother told me! And is it true you’re an alien too? All invaders, all look so alike. Did you find Equestria’s outside borders? Did the minotaurs enslave you? I don’t want to think about the fate of a filly as young as you out on her own…”
Lucky raised a hoof. “Go slower than that. I can’t explain all of that at once.” She walked past him, over to where Dust was waiting. The mare looked upset, though Lucky couldn’t have said what of all the many possible causes might’ve been bothering her. “How was it, Mom?”
Lightning Dust shrugged, though she kept glancing back at her right foreleg. Lucky couldn’t see anything different about it—no injuries or anything, but she could guess. “Okay. Your older sister says I can fly around now. The magic won’t hurt me. Which is great, because I think I’m going insane stuck underground this long. You wanna go up and gather up some rain or something? Maybe we could make a thunderstorm just over the island!”
“You haven’t taught me lightning yet,” Lucky said. “But… that sounds great!” she looked up, switching back to English for the benefit of her clone. “Dust was implanted, then?”
James nodded. “No complications. Doctor thinks she’s sick, but she doesn’t agree.”
Lucky spun the rest of the way around. “And you are… Deadlight, right?”
“Yes.” The stallion had been polite enough to stand by and let Lucky greet her mom without interfering. But now that she’d turned her attention on him again, he’d started bouncing up and down, wings twitching with eagerness. “You speak Eoch and Engl-ish,” he said. “Which are you? An alien, or a pony?”
“Both,” she answered. “My mom taught me. And that other stuff you said—yes. I have gone beyond Equestria. Do you know something about that? James”—she indicated her clone with a hoof—“told me there was already a native here. There was some kind of… misunderstanding keeping you here for the time being. Sorry to hear about that.”
Deadlight grunted. “That’s one way to describe it.”
“Deadlight says he was foalnapped,” Dust supplied, a little anger in her voice. “He’s a prisoner here. Am I a prisoner, Lucky?”
“No.” She didn’t hesitate. “I don’t know what happened with Deadlight, but I’ll… try and sort it out. But it sounds like James already got you an implant. That means we can walk out right now and Olivia won’t be able to stop you. But none of the reasons we left Equestria have changed. If we go back now, we’ll be in as much danger as we were before.”
“I know!” Lightning Dust stomped a hoof. Not very hard, just enough to show her frustration. “But it’s the principle. A pegasus isn’t supposed to be trapped.”
“We’re not,” Lucky said again. “Once we’re done, we can go flying like you said. I’d like to see what a thunderstorm looks like. Just… so long as we don’t do anything big enough for them to notice in Equestria.”
“I bet we could,” Lightning Dust said, before straightening. “Hiding, yes. We won’t.”
Lucky’s clone returned to her seat. She was wearing one of the translator headsets, and kept glancing down at her computation surface before looking back up at them. I wonder if she’s trying to have the Forerunner translate. It would be able to do that eventually, though she doubted it had learned enough from just the books she sent to make much sense of a conversation this chaotic.
But she’s me. If anyone can figure it out, it’s James 2.0.
“I know how to figure it out,” Deadlight announced. “I can smell you’re almost mature, Lucky. Can I see if you have a cutie mark? That’s how we’ll know if you’re a pony or not.”
“That’s… a good idea,” Dust said. “Not because we don’t know. That’s the stupidest question ever. But I wanted another look. Maybe we both imagined it, before. It’s easy to see the wrong things in the dark.”
“Okay, sure.” She reached back, pulling one of the pant-legs down low enough to step on it with a hoof, so she could stretch forward and hold it in place. The uniform slid down, far enough that it dropped to the floor unimpeded.
Her clone balked, looking away with her ears flattening in obvious embarrassment. Lucky blushed as well, realizing what her clone must be feeling. Even though neither of the ponies had the same sense of what should be embarrassing, the human did. That James was a clone did not make things less embarrassing.
It’s not like I haven’t seen one of the scientists naked. And James is just wearing a vest. Lucky shook herself out, banishing the human taboo from her mind. It doesn’t make sense for us. We don’t need it.
Both ponies crowded up just behind her, staring at the cutie mark. Lucky shifted a little on her hooves, resisting the urge to turn away. Dust didn’t bother her, but this stallion—she could smell him in the room, his confidence, his strength. That line of thinking stops right here, Lucky. She couldn’t completely dismiss the thought, anymore than she could completely hide her embarrassment. The two were quite related.
“That’s impossible,” Dust finally said. “Completely impossible. This isn’t just a slight detail we got wrong—it’s completely different.” Her eyes widened. “Wait a minute—different mark, different pony. You’re not wanted anymore!”
Lucky chuckled. “Except Flurry Heart will give them my description, and she knows this mark. She saw it. I guess old me isn’t wanted… you think that might help? I can’t imagine how it would…”
“Filly.” Deadlight’s eyes had gone so wide the slits were gone. She might’ve kicked him, except of course that he was staring at the mark, not what was past it. There was nothing rude about looking at a pony’s cutie mark. “Do you have any idea what this is?”
“Yes,” she answered, sitting down on her haunches so she was looking back at him. “It’s a scroll, with Alicorn language on it.”
“Alicorn language!” The pony scoffed, galloping back to the table, and gathering a few blank sheets of paper in his mouth along with a pen. He set them both down, then proceeded to sketch rapidly. “Hold still. If I get the basic outline… I think I can translate.”
“Cutie marks don’t have words,” Dust said, indignant. “It’s just a…” Then she trailed off, staring. “Oh. It does have words. Cutie marks don’t have words!”
“If I can only extract the synergy of the glyphs… Alicorn language!” He made a dismissive sound, then started redrawing each of the individual symbols, somehow separate from the others. Lots of notes in Eoch went around each one, calculations. “It’s called Eglathrin. I wouldn’t expect you to know that. Very few ponies do. Celestia has…” He shrugged his wings. “... made it clear she doesn’t want ponies studying it. But a few of us follow our princess’s example and do what should be done, instead of what only seems safest.”
“I can tell you what it means,” Lucky said, her voice quiet. She no longer felt embarrassed, but excited. This stranger might be a hostage—but he was a well-informed hostage. He might know more than Flurry Heart, assuming Celestia was as good as she seemed at controlling information.
“Shh,” Deadlight whispered. “I have to concentrate. Give me a minute. These words are secured. Everything in Eglathrin is.”
Lucky hadn’t even recognized it until now. With Deadlight pointing it out, Lucky could see—each symbol had a value, which interacted with the values of the other symbols. That value would be matched by the symbol on the end, which had no other purpose in the phrase. When spoken, that symbol had to come at the beginning, and served as a summary of what a speaker was about to say. A verified language. What kind of beings could use it? “I can speak it,” she insisted. “I can tell you what it means.”
The proper symbols were second nature to her. As though she’d practiced for lifetimes. And when I had the guitar mark, I could play like a holovid star. I really need to get my knowledge on paper somehow. If I lose this mark, I bet I’ll lose the language too.
“Nopony can speak it,” Deadlight argued. “I know you want to be helpful.”
“Hey.” Dust glowered at him. “I think my daughter would know her own cutie mark. Or any egghead stuff, for that matter. She’s the smartest pony I’ve ever met.”
“I’m happy you feel that way, ma’am. But this is the longest phrase I’ve—”
Lucky didn’t wait for him to finish. “Understanding brings peace,” she read, though not in Eoch. The whole room got quiet—even James looked startled.
Deadlight dropped his pen. “You heard that from Celestia?” Deadlight asked. “She… taught you what the cutie mark meant?”
Lucky shoved past him, annoyed, picking up his pen from where he’d dropped it and turning his paper over. She scribbled on it quickly, or as quickly as she could without inaccurately depicting any of the symbols. She dropped the pen a minute later, then shoved the sheet towards him. “Translate that,” she said, before flicking her tail in annoyance and looking back to her mom.
“Like I said,” she continued, as though their conversation hadn’t been interrupted. “My mark changed. I think the ring was teaching me the language. Though… I wonder if it meant for Flurry Heart to learn instead.”
“The ring…” Dust repeated. “Lucky, I think I understand what you told me about Equus, but that isn’t what I care about.” She glanced over her shoulder, at the shut door. “Do you really want to stay here? In this… metal cave?”
Lucky Break considered that a long moment. She took a deep, staggering breath. “No,” she admitted. “But they need me. I don’t know for how much longer—but you’ve seen them. They don’t know how to be ponies, Lightning Dust. They need me to teach them the way you taught me.” She lowered her voice. “Not one of them can fly, Dust. Nopony can hold a fork with their hoof without dropping it. They don’t know what grass can be eaten and what will make them sick. Does that seem right to you?”
Lightning Dust’s eyes widened, and she looked past her at James. “You can’t fly?”
That was apparently simple enough for James to understand, or at least the Forerunner. After a brief delay, James rose to her hooves. “No. I didn’t think it was possible. Flying with such small wings. The biologist thought Lucky was leading us on. I knew she wasn’t, but… I thought there was a secret. Some device you would use, or special plants you eat.”
Dust wasn’t wearing a headset, so Lucky had to translate. But she didn’t mind.
“Well, Lucky.” Lightning Dust looked resigned. “I understand why you would want to help these ponies. If none of them can fly, then they’re foals as helpless as you were when you first came to me. Do you think they’d like a flight school? Your island’s weather is out of control—rain coming and going all the time, winds that could tear up flowers. Not enough consistent moisture anywhere for earth ponies to grow crops. Somepony should teach them.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Lucky said. “I know Olivia would approve.” Anything to improve the preparedness of her own troops, and help them match the abilities of the natives. She would probably have some archaic stipulations for security or stealth, but they could work around those.
If Mom has a reason to stay, that means I can too. Maybe by the time everypony knows how to fly, I’ll have James good enough with Eoch that I’m not needed to teach a new diplomat. She can do it, and I can go to college.
Or prison.
Deadlight finally looked up from the paper, where he’d been struggling these minutes in relative silence. Silence except for his constant muttering, which hadn’t been enough to distract from their conversation. “I’m an idiot?”
“Well, look at that,” Lucky muttered, though she couldn’t repress a smile. “You really can translate Eglathrin.”
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Bwahahahaha! Brilliant! I love it!
Another excellent chapter. I really look forward to these every Saturday!
Hah! Serves Deadlight right for not taking Lucky at her word. Honestly, he's surrounded by so many impossibilities already, what's one more to add to the list?
It's interesting that Lucky's cutie mark changing might just get her off scot-free -- depending, of course, on whether they take the letter of the law more seriously than the spirit. Dollars to donuts, though, it'll be Flurry Heart's testimony that seals her fate, one way or another.
Thanks for another great chapter!
I do have to appreciate how Lightning is as dismissive about the colonists' history as they are about things like the diarchs moving the sun and moon. It's only fair.
Those gene samples could have some disturbing consequences down the road for Lightning. If she thought this place was weird, just wait until she sees clones of herself running around.
Brilliant idea, James. Let the suspicious native consort with the long-term prisoner. What could possibly go wrong?
I thought Lucky was trying to avoid mentioning that part.
Lightning having a purpose in Othar will definitely help her. And now that Lucky's knocked Deadlight down a peg, maybe they can work together to get further information on Equestria's past. Things definitely seem to be looking up... though we'll see what Olivia has to say.
8501461
She was avoiding starting with it, likely out of fear that our little tinpot dictator would cut her off before she got to the important shit.
very nice
8501444
Took the words right out of my mouth. Nothing really notable happened this time round, but it's these little character encounters and nice definite patches of progress that keep me reading. I couldn't help but giggle while I read the whole chapter. This story is easily in my top 5.
Ponies are the descendents of humans confirmed.
In all seriousness, it seems likely. It's either that, or ponies were uplifted by the builders. Who were likely humans.
Oh-kay, that's creepy.
static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/108_5429.jpg
8501479
They used to look like G3 ponies.
Lol, I really wish Olivia and Lucky get to talk cutiemarks and their experiences soon. More expecificly, that her cutiemark literally means "understanding brings peace".
I mean I like to see Olivia try to dismiss that as anything other than an explicit message that the ring builder's want peace, (hopefully) that will finally show her that working on military defence is by no means what they should their main focus right now.
(I can dream, can't I? )
~Leonzilla
Lovely plot
...Honestly, they should just get a changeling sample. They can probably synthesize whatever love is, they get a human form (or at least can turn into one) without dying and possibly get Antimagic-Defenses. I'm assuming that Forerunner will figure that out soon too, what with observation-satellites and all that.
8501479
That line is likely a joke about the FiM style being so drastically different from G1-3 MLP.
i hope more readers realize that Olivia is forcing herself into a two-dimensional Persona in so as to fulfill the leadership role expected and required by the mission and the colonists.
The problem is that Olivia's personally grown leadership persona is that of a non-commision officer, but the Forerunner program has placed her in the spotlight reserved for a commisioned officer for no other reason than the fact she was on-paper a commissioned Liutenant.
Olivia has got all the tactical and people skills for handling boots-on-the-ground operational responsibilities, but those skills translate poorly to strategic theatre responsibilities, leaving Olivia flying by the seat of her pants while wishing desperately she could shove this problem up the chain of command to someone actually qualified to think about that scale of operational foresight.
This does make me wonder how Dust will come back to Equestria with little Lucky when they have her cutie mark picture though I have to wonder why is it the Cutie Mark they watch for and not the face of the person? 🤔
Also, I really like to have both Big Lucky & Deadlight go on adventure in Equestria with Dust & Little Lucky or having just them going instead.
8501487
Oh shush. He can smell she's old enough to have a cutiemark, so seeing if she has one or not lets him know if she's a true pony (TM) or a near pony like a zebra or mule or donkey (or alien) that doesn't get cutie marks.
8493170
Except for the foreign DNA inside some organelles, like mitochondria. Or if the DNA is too foreign and thus will require things that aren't there, like if you put plant DNA into an animal embryo, or animal DNA into a seed. And it does nothing about your microbiome, all the bacteria that live on and inside you that is necessary to your continued functioning.
In short, for humans, just the DNA in the nucleus and nothing else probably isn't good enough. You need more... a lot more.
I swear for Celestia, there are times I would like to have the option to give likes to some of your chapters. This one deserves.
Edit: Also, my spider sense is tingling...who wanna bet that the "infection" the computer found in Dust, once "cured", will kill her slowly ?
Lucky may have wanted to emphasize a bit more to Olivia that she's got a contact high up in the Equestrian government. Being able to show a princess a friendly face will probably help just as much as a professional diplomat (possibly more, depending on how quickly the diplomat can learn about a new culture). Or I suppose it could be the diplomat pointing that out to Olivia.
"It's hard to practice flying when you're a sickly minotaur playing dressup with tiny hooves and delicate paws."
8501702
What about that time they spliced some jellyfish DNA into potatoes to make it glow?
Unless it defies current models, cell DNA holds everything one needs to create an individual. Not that exact individual, because the coding defines fractal patterns, but a genetic copy. Of course, refinement through experimentation may be necessary to avoid issues like you described but, that is an issue of precision. Plus, what he was talking about is used in current, conventional cloning methods.
i want them to fly a jumper right into ponyville, land, come out and proclaim "We COME IN PEACE! AND FRIENDSHIP!"
nopony there would bat an eye or bother to report it to celestia (who seems to be a bit of a tyrant...)
Lucky learning this forbidden language is really intriguing. I want to see if she can still play the guitar as well as she could have, maybe have the other cutie mark come back. That would be interesting, switching cutie marks depending on what she is doing. Probably would be seen as a sign of the Cutie Pox by the natives.
8501702
Oh hey, I've watched that video too
8501595
Interesting, I hadn't really thought about it that way. IIRC it was mentioned that one of the questions she answered was about how many modifications Forerunner could make to her and she answered with a sarcastic "whatever, fuck if I care"; I kind of assumed that it went down a long list of better candidates and just picked her since her not even bothering to pay attention to the form meant she was the only one who'd consented to such craziness. The possibility that it also mis-identified her as officer material due to the paperwork just adds another layer to that.
I do like that while Olivia is often in an antagonistic role, the story sldo gives her depth and shows that she's not really a bad person, just a complex character with her own priorities and issues.
8501711
maybe it considers the cutie mark a genetic mutation, or a tumor.
not a good thing if she wants to be cured.
8501551
All we really know is that the quote reflects Lucky's ideals. Ascribing the same sentiment to the builders is just an educated guess.
Are two pegasi mares and a thestral stallion enough specimens for the forerunner to make a thestral mare?
Noice.
I think I like this Lucky Break chick.
8501461
Can't James show Lighting and Deadlight some human records and movies to watch?
8501444
That moment was beautiful.
8501536
img00.deviantart.net/9c28/i/2012/092/c/4/scootallo_is_best_chicken__by_b_neko-d4urx3w.png
Bullets would eventually bring down a magic shield, magic is not invincible. The only ones that could truly threaten othar are the princesses.
And numbers. Xd
I having nothing against lucky wanting to live as a pony, as long as she has no intention of betraying and abandoning her people [like the other one seemed would have in the apprentice story] I'm more then happy to support her choice.
Hoped that never happened?! James, it already happened!
That thing is half as likely to melt her down for spare parts, “You are no longer of use to me” style!
You mean sacred, not secured? … oh, no it's secured. Some linguistics term, I guess.
Eagerly awaiting the next chapter!
8502274
I do have to wonder though, if they have those stunning Phaser bolts, what other weapons do they have? I understand that physical bullets have better penetrating power and rapidity but, wouldn't they combined their military doctrine with energy based weapons? A good laser weapon would flash boil flesh (causing a steam explosion, increasing the damage) and have no drop off or windage. Hell, if their computer assisted targeting system is fast enough, you could shoot anyone before they even thought to put up a shield. Plus, you could easily harass the huge eyed Ponies with laser pointer strength beams to blind/dazzle them, if you felt especially exploitative.
Every for the past few weeks, these chapters popin up have been the highligt of my week. Each time.
@starscribe , you're amazing and thank you for creating this masterpiece.
I understand that Lucky has gone native, but I highly doubt that your standard military unicorn shield could do anything against the ballistic firearms of a humanity who has achieved a level of technology that allows us to create advanced AI, self-sufficient machinery and facilities, and fabricate living entities and imprint them with saved mental template. For all we know, this humanity is bringing ballistic weapons similar to Boltguns to the fray.
-- mini rant over
8501487
Very creepy. But Dust didn't say anything about it, so I figure that is a semi-regular thing to say in pony culture. Which basically means that it's ok in Equestria to be damn near a pedophile. I mean, imagine how it would sound if some random guy said to your daughter: "You look like you're almost 18, mind if I see your driver's license?"
8501702
I agree, you need a lot more to create an identical copy of an individual, but more importantly than the organisms living within us is the memories and ways that our nurture has shapen who we are that is missing from the formula.
This hasn't been much of an issue in the story since humanity and ponykind are so similar, but in an alternative scenario there could have been huge inner conflicts if the Forerunner were not to replicate the cultural and neurological way of the alien species while incorporating the human memories.
At most DNA alone can only create a blank slate. Babies. Babies are predisposed to many things depending on it's nature but might always result in something vastly different than the original organism on the second go.
Additionally I wouldn't be ready to accept the hypothesis presented by that video you added the way they are presented if I were you. That one is one topic that needs to be studied more before becoming hard proven science, I would even say that making a video including so much preliminary research along with what we can say with fair certainty was a little inappropriate and misleading of the creators.
8502632
In show canon, Equestrian magic is bonkers (and wildly inconsistent). I'd give a (strong) unicorn shield good odds of stopping a hit from any reasonable man-portable weapon. I mean, ponies were snap-deflecting shots from Flurry "AT-Gun" Heart in the Crystalling episodes. Shining Armor shielded an entire city, without constant effort, while being life-drained by a soul-eating monster, and that only failed when he ran completely dry. Twilight (admittedly, turbo-Princess Twilight) didn't sell when tackled through a mountain.
...Just don't try to use magic on manes, though.
8502312
Not "secured" linguistically. From the sound of it, secured cryptographically. To speak Elgathrin well requires checksumming every single clause, from the sound of things.
8501595
I'm not really a military person, so thanks for the extra insight!
8501551
Big question: what's Olivia's cutie mark, and what seemingly supernatural "talent" is it granting her?
Myths about a different appearance? That seems like an important detail, or at least a bit of a chekhov's plot point.
Deadlight is a useful resource, once they work past his assumptions.
8502341
Exactly! I like your way of thinking!
8502753
Yea you know back when they had thicker bodies, longer faces, smaller eyes, the sexes where segregated and a ribbon in your tail was the height of fashion.
8502632
As I understand it, regular unicorns can stop firearms, but not armor-piercing stuff. Celestia and Luna can stop any bullet.
That is to say, they're not omnipotent, I doubt that Alicorns can stop nukes/anti-matter bomb/whatever once they already started to detonate, but they can still intercept rockets before they reach their destination.
I just realize when Olivia finds out about the Mirror Pool that Pinkie used to clone herself back in S2? She can easily create an army then waiting months for the Founder to make.
Also, did anyone see that Maud’s pet bolder clone himself
8501929
Yeah, that was comedy gold.
8502714
We found out two chapters ago in "Harmony Remembers" that it was an owl.
As for what exactly it represents and what kind of talent will grant Olivia that it is yet to be seen.
8502341
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions
8501853
I think they was trying to insinuate that the forerunner is secretly trying to kill dust with the 'cure' which could be a possibility at the moment seeing how the AI seems to be playing it cards close to its chest.