P1X31
“Her,” the young mare said, pressing her hoof into the screen. “She’s the one.”
The taller mare with a crystal in her forehead raised an eyebrow. “Why her?”
“Do you see how long the scroll bar is on the ‘background’ section?”
“While… yes that’s hardly a reason to…” She paused as she read the start of the section. “Well. At the very least I have to read this file to know how she went from that to… this.” She gestured at the image they had on file.
“And by the time we’re done reading this file there’s no way we’ll be able to put it out of our minds.”
The taller mare’s eyes flitted across the screen, pace increasing with every line she read. “I’m already fascinated by this…”
~~~
She looked out over the world below, scanning for her prey. From her vantage point atop the central monolith, almost nothing was hidden from her. Spreading out from the black prism were numerous roads and channels of various neon colors, flashing rapidly with lights and sounds coming from every conceivable direction. The webbing of connections formed a tangled web of interactions that cascaded in every imaginable direction—though perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as a series of jumbled-up tubes than a web, given how many right angles were in the construction.
These channels twisted their way around other shapes—cubes, prisms, spheres, and other geometric solids. It was all too much for a normal mind to take in alone, and that was considering the fact that its appearance was an abstraction of the true nature of reality.
Luckily for the hunter, she had help. Augmentation programs ran through her consciousness, sorting through the intense influx of information with ease, seeking for one thing and one thing only: the target.
For such a destructive entity, it’s sure hiding itself really well…
The programs found something, highlighting it for her in a jarring neon pink. A spark of light was moving along a yellow conduit through a complex nexus of connectors akin to a Gordian knot. It was attempting to hide from her by blending in with areas of high traffic.
She grinned. Ah, but now it’s not going to find it easy to run… trapped within all that spaghetti. She pressed her hooves into the ground and jumped off the monolith—even though, strictly speaking, she didn’t have hooves right now, that was just how she perceived herself. If she were to look down she wouldn’t see anything, as though her body were completely invisible.
With a graceful roll she landed on a conduit, galloping across its smooth surface. Lights flashed through the featureless yellow tube, but none of them were what she was looking for—the target was ahead, within the knot.
Noting that her current projected size was too large to fit within the folds of the knot, she shrunk herself down. Technically speaking, this was unnecessary, but operating at a size larger than optimal prevented her from acting with as much precision as she’d like.
As she entered the tangled mess of conduits her target noticed her and took off in a blind rush through another conduit. However, its speed was limited by the shape of the conduit, and it was twisting and turning in all sorts of complex directions. The hunter could jump in a direct line from point A to B with ease. Jumping, she used a purple conduit as a hold to swing herself upward and in front of her target.
Rather than allow her to extract and imprison it, the entity opted to explode out of the conduit on its own terms. With a flash of neon light, it punctured a hole, popping out into the same reality the hunter occupied. It, just like the hunter, had no official form, but her augments depicted it as a bright pink sphere with a target insignia superimposed on it. It quickly dashed away.
The hunter pursued, jumping over the hole in the conduit. The damaged passage had already sealed itself up with any loose extremities disintegrating into nothing. It was easier to completely destroy damaged conduit material and replace it than bother with repairing. Luckily, the damage wasn’t too extensive; the destructive entity could surely have done much worse, but it likely didn’t want to draw more attention than it absolutely had to.
The hunter had a feeling the entity had no idea who was chasing it.
She continued her pursuit, and was easily faster than the target. It would fall to her in a matter of relative seconds, so it needed to try something desperate. It altered its course a sharp ninety degrees to the left—that the hunter matched perfectly. However, it wasn’t trying to shake her, it was trying to get somewhere: one of the cubes the pipes twisted around. This particular one was blue with gold stripes, and as they approached it let out a “welcome” signal.
The entity dove in before the hunter could reach it. She didn’t mind, though—it had just made a huge mistake.
She followed it, passing through the cube’s boundary. Immediately, the interface translated her essence into a physical form, depositing her in a lobby made out of what appeared to be pixelated marble with fountains that spewed water flowing in such a way to conform to the pixelation of the foundation. Everything in the realm’s scenery was like that: arranged like some retro video game had been forced into a three-dimensional situation without a graphics update.
The only things that weren’t pixelated were the people, and they varied in appearance considerably. Some appeared flat, others fully defined and hyper-realistic. Others were little more than sparks of energy while some appeared to be made out of clay.
The hunter herself took the form of a unicorn, though not quite the standard kind. Her body had sharp, angled outlines of black, making her stand out dramatically from any background. Her mane and tail had the standard Sweetie Belle colors, but instead of smooth swirls the hair spiraled in sharp angles, almost triangular in some places.
Unlike many unicorns, she wore a uniform—though not one of the office she was currently working in, for it was a blue Starfleet uniform, complete with the angular chevron badge on her chest. The only other piece of attire she wore was an utterly massive pair of headphones with cat-ear speakers positioned on the top and screens on either side of the ear coverings. Currently, the screens displayed her League of Sweetie Belles agent number and hunter license.
She narrowed her sharp eyes, and her exaggerated eyelashes seemed to lengthen as she did so. One of her eyes was clearly augmented with technology, with what appeared to be a wire connecting the digital iris to the headphones. Her other eye was comparatively normal, but around it were black markings that could only be described as “tribal”. Had she not been smiling, it would have looked like this eye was perpetually crying.
“You just made a big mistake!” She laughed at her target. It, unlike her, was not meant to operate in a fully realized realm, so it only appeared as a rapidly-twitching cluster of colors and shapes. A glitch. “I’m not some AI hunting program… I’m a pony. Agent Pixei, at your service. Now, little malware, behave, or this’ll get ugly.”
The malware grew in size tenfold and started tearing apart the carefully constructed digital world around them, revealing ones and zeroes that poured out in every direction.
“Uugh, I was hoping to draw this out a bit, buuut I’ll have to do this quickly.” She smirked. “And I’ve got another surprise.” She jumped onto her hind hooves and flexed a front leg. “Roll the Bones!”
A spiritual essence that was decidedly not digital in nature appeared behind her, taking the form of a four-limbed skeleton with chains of ribs instead of traditional legs. The only relatively “normal” part of the skeleton was the angular deer’s skull with brilliant sapphire antlers, though it was missing its lower jaw. Its eyes were empty—but they led to utter blackness rather than the back of the skull.
The destructive malware took this as an attack that needed to be responded to. A surge of digital power tore through the space between it and Pixei. She reacted with time to spare, mentally ordering the skeleton to protect her. The rib-like limbs enclosed around her legs while the actual ribcage protected her body. The skull itself fell on her head, resting upon her perfectly. She could see out easily, but to everyone else, her eyes were void-black.
The skeleton absorbed the attack, serving its purpose as armor well. However, serving as armor was only a secondary purpose—its actual ability was something much more useful. Once the attack dissipated, Pixei blew a goodbye kiss to the malware. The skeleton removed itself from Pixei and clamped around the malware instead. It did not serve as armor for the target. Instead, it consumed the digital explosion factory, sucking it into its darkness.
“Contained!” Pixei cheered, doing a little dance.
The people in the lobby who hadn’t run away from the explosive fight erupted in applause.
“That was awesome!”
“Sweet Stand!”
“Good work!”
Pixei took a bow. “Thank you, thank you, just doing my job. Return to your digital lives, citizens. Until later!”
She instructed her augments to pull her out.
The result wasn’t instant, it still took some time to disconnect, but once she gave the order the augments stopped slowing her perceptions to match digital time and the transition felt instantaneous. One moment she was in a realm of pixels… and the next, she was home.
She stepped back from the computer terminal, a cable slowly retreating into the socket in the bottom of her right headphone. The digital display on the ear coverings switched from “do not disturb” to a happy winking cat face.
With a pleased sigh, she took a few steps and flopped into her recliner. She appeared more-or-less as she did in the virtual realm, but there were no sharp outlines or angles. She was a smaller-than-average unicorn in an old Starfleet uniform with cat-ear headphones that weren’t as vibrant in real lighting conditions. Her eyes weren’t the same either—they were soft, round, and didn’t have much in the way of eyelashes. One was still heavily augmented, however, and the other did have tribal markings that almost made it look like she were crying black tears.
She summoned her Stand—it looked identical in the real world to the virtual one. She reached into the void under the skull. She stored all kinds of things in there, transferring back and forth from the real world and the digital all the time. Often she pulled snacks or improbable video-game weapons out, but today she had a mission to complete.
With a smirk, she pulled out a pink ball. The moment it was exposed to the physics of reality, it realized it had no digital interface to sustain its existence. The malware let out a few beeping shrieks before dissipating into nothing.
“Another successful mission,” Pixei said, a small smile crawling up her face. She turned the background music she had playing at all times up a bit, allowing her to seep away from the world. Which wasn’t to say she left it entirely, because she lived in one of the most beautiful places in all of Celestia City: the middle of a forest sector. Besides her chair, computer terminal, a bed, a shelf covered in various knick-knacks, and a few chests with her personal belongings, there was nothing but nature around—not even any walls. Just trees, grass, and ground sculpted to resemble naturally rolling hills. There was no sky; the trees spiraled upward until their leaves blocked out the entire view of whatever was above. Which was good for Pixei, since she didn’t want her forest view to be interrupted by a reminder of the massive multi-tiered city it was a part of.
Not many people got to choose this sort of lifestyle, given it was usually only permitted for creatures that needed nature. However, she was a very successful Agent, and as such she could pull some strings to get herself as far away from society and other people as possible—or, at least, whatever passed for that in Celestia City
It wasn’t that she disliked people. It was just that she preferred solitude and the peace of nature. She got enough of everything else from her job. Now, here, in this place, it was time to relax, alone, and appreciate the music.
Unfortunately, one of the problems with being augmented was that people could always call her. Legally, since she had a highly adaptable magitech port installed, it had to always be possible to contact her to run software updates and check for malware. Even though she was more than careful and capable enough to keep malware out of her system, the technology was beyond expensive and she understood why the laws were in place to protect others like her. And it wasn’t like just any person on the street could call her, only those who had a specific priority code.
One of those codes came in now. Suzie Mash, First Secretary for the League of Sweetie Belles. She was usually pleasant enough to talk to, but to Pixei’s chagrin it wasn’t a direct phone line she was receiving. The notification went directly into her brain: report to League Central within 24 hours. No indication of why.
Pixei let out a sigh, getting out of her chair. She mentally ordered her headphones to play more upbeat tunes to counter her irked mood. As the beats made their way into her, she found that she couldn’t help but smile and dance as she twirled over to her computer terminal. It had a holographic screen interface, but she never used it. The cable popped out of her headphones and interfaced with the primary jack directly. Instead of navigating through endless menus and annoying interfaces, all she had to do was think and the computer did what she wished: send a request to a taxi service.
She could have ordered a teleportation service, given her position, but what was the point of going through the city if she didn’t see the city?
The “taxi” arrived less than a minute later, pulling into the forest and disturbing some of the trents that lived nearby. Most of them were understanding of Pixei’s situation, but her closest neighbor, an old tree with a wrinkled face coming out of his trunk, glared at her as her transportation arrived.
She mumbled “sorry” under her breath, trying not to make eye contact with him. She liked him much better when he remained just part of the scenery.
The “taxi” itself was white and disc shaped, prompting many of Celestia City’s kids to call it a “UFO,” a moniker that this particular model suffered from a lot given how much “alien” spray paint was on its hull. Still, it was fully operational, hovering a solid foot off the ground. Its hatch popped open, revealing a single comfortable seat for her purposes.
She jumped in, leaning back in the chair, once again allowing herself to melt into a chair and disappear into the music. Her eyes were wide open, however, as her craft zipped out of the artificial forest and to the rest of Celestia City. The first indication of advanced civilization was a single blue tube of hardlight running through a hole in the forest like a fire pole—Celestia City’s equivalent to a backwater street.
The “taxi” arranged itself so its bottom was directed at the pole and flew down it, into the soil below. Despite the new orientation, the local gravity still let Pixei maintain her perception of down relative to the craft. Which was fortunate, because the hardlight surface suddenly bowed sharply to the left, taking them out of the earthen ground and to a more familiar sight: a city.
Buildings of white metal rose from a ground so far below Pixei couldn’t see it, making solid connections with the green “ceiling” offered by the forest above them. Tiers upon tiers upon tiers of buildings spiraled around in every direction. Some were the usual rigid skyscraper constructions one expected from a city, but others were arranged in floral spiral patterns more common in an abstract art exhibit, and still others floated disconnected from the rest of the structure like their own miniature planets.
In between all these buildings coursed the hardlight highways. Pixei’s small tube soon met up with many others, entering into a massive amount of traffic rushing to and fro along roads that were sometimes cylindrical, sometimes flat, and occasionally other shapes that had craft moving along both sides. The craft themselves varied immensely in design. There were other “taxis” like her own, larger Skiff craft designed for government use, spaceships from outside the city, and even traditional cars being carted along by the city’s energy.
Already it was easy to see the sheer variety of people within Celestia City. Everywhere Pixei looked, she saw both ponies and humans walking around, entering transporter pads, and all-in-all treating each other as if it were completely normal for the two species to be seen everywhere. Which it was. Celestia City wasn’t exactly a new city anymore.
That said, there were many other beings of far more exotic origins. The most common of these were the Gems, usually humanoid beings that were made out of hardlight and magic, finding a wide variety of purposes to serve. Beyond this, there were dragons, goblins, furred creatures, angels, Skaian ghosts, energy beings, and Pixei even caught sight of a floating flower that appeared to be made out of plastic zippers.
The best sight was yet to come. Expecting it, Pixei leaned forward in her seat as the synth in her tunes reached a crescendo. Perfect timing. Her ride turned a bend, giving her a spectacular view of Celestia City’s great window. A massive plate of clear material easily the size of a small town itself, the great window showed the exterior of the great city. Currently, the universe the city occupied was a standard one with stars visible against a black background. The city was in orbit around a purple gas giant with a massive ring system that extended beyond Pixei’s field of view.
She was really lucky today. For as she passed the midpoint of the great window, Celestia City changed universes. There was a ripple of white as the city passed through the ring-shaped portal to another realm, this one much more alien and bizarre. Wisps of green fluid twirled off in every direction, vanishing into a distant, soft blue that occasionally pulsed as if it were alive. Which, as far as Pixei knew, it might be.
Her song ended and the window passed out of her view. Now she was entering a dense district of Celestia City filled with government buildings and residence. Which wasn’t to say it was boring—even here, the city glittered with neon lights and a wide variety. It was just significantly more organized and streamlined.
She caught herself looking at a news bulletin on a flat screen. She never understood exactly why the city planners opted for physical screens rather than holographic ones most of the time. Three-dimensional displays could be so much more effective. But there was something about the appeal that kept the flat screens more prevalent in most places.
Currently, the news was wrapping up a report on the very successful Skarn exhibition at the Hylic Museum. Pixei rolled her eyes—she may have been a musician, and as such an artist herself, but she didn’t understand the appeal of the ridiculously abstract and often grotesque pieces people seemed to like these days.
The report switched to one on a “troupe” of bug-creatures in red tents that had taken up residence in one of the market districts, but the screen faded from view before she could get any more information.
With a shrug, she set her sights forward to her destination. The League of Sweetie Belles itself. From the outside, it wasn’t all that impressive—the only real indication of its high importance was a glittering shield emblem with a star and a music note in it, a blown up representation of the common mark obtained by most Sweetie Belles. Pixei herself had a variation on it—but her shield’s body only had one color, and instead of the star there was an eyeball shape with three lines running down it.
The League didn’t look as large as it was too. From the front doors, one might think it only had a single floor of office space. In reality, the League sprawled out beneath the ground in several directions and occupied most of the real estate around the main entrance. People flowed in and out of the doors almost constantly, and the vast majority of them were alternate versions of Sweetie Belle. Most were unicorns of small stature, but there were several humans, a few dragons, and even a cat.
Pixei’s transportation dropped her off at the front doors. She hopped out, landing on the metal path outside with ease. A few of the Sweeties passing around nodded to her in respect, but none did more than give a friendly wave.
Taking a deep breath, she marched in the front doors into the lobby. It was still white, but of a more muted color than the orichalcum alloy most of Celestia City’s structure was made out of. Some of the younger Sweeties were playing in the corner with a few Apple Blooms and Scootaloos, reminding Pixie that, once again, she was not lucky enough to have been a Cutie Mark Crusader back home.
She shook her head. I’ve done so much else. Forcing herself to take another calming breath, she walked up to the reception desk. A Sweetie old enough to be a grandmother lowered her glasses. When she spoke, Pixei’s headphones adjusted to ensure she heard the voice with perfect clarity without interrupting her music. “Welcome to the League, what can I do for you?”
“Uh, well…” Pixei tapped the ground nervously. “I, uh, am reporting as, er, ordered.” She put on a smile. “Right.”
“As ordered…” The older mare sighed, scrolling through information on a data pad. “We send out so many orders, you’re going to have to be more specific than that.”
“E-er, uh, Suzie sent for me? I think?”
“Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?”
“Not… really.” Pixei curled her tail around her legs.
“Then I’ll j—“
“Suzie will see her immediately.” A woman with chalk-white skin in a black dress said, walking onto the scene. Her eyes were white and empty, the telltale sign of a Skaian ghost, and she had two dog ears coming out of her head.
The older Sweetie shrugged. “You deal with her then, Jade.”
“Gladly,” Jade said, placing a hand on Pixei. “…I know you hate paperwork, but…”
“I didn’t know her, she looked mean, I panicked.” Pixei shivered. “There’s a reason I stay in my forest.”
“You…”
Pixei forced her face into a deadpan expression. “I get out. A lot. For work.”
“Your physical body rar—“ Jade stopped herself, shaking her head. “Let’s not re-tread over that. Suzie would like to see you! And don’t worry, it’s nothing bad.”
“I sure hope not…”
Jade snapped her fingers, engulfing the two of them in a burst of green light. A moment later, they were in an empty hallway elsewhere in the League. Confidently, Jade marched up to an office door and knocked. “Suzie! Pixei’s here!”
“That was fast,” Suzie called from inside. “Let her in.”
Jade held the door open for Pixei. Once again, she took in a deep breath and marched through a doorway.
The office was tidy, but absolutely covered wall-to-wall in items. There was a large bookshelf to the left that had books of every shape and size, and sitting on top of it were several trophies. A few crosses lined another section of the wall, engraved with inspirational verses, while below these was a display case filled with numerous military honors. The rest of the walls were covered in pictures of several Sweeties and the family of Suzie herself—even a picture of her standing with her husband, a version of Button Mash, and a daughter with gray skin Pixei knew was named Railgun, of all things.
Like her family, Suzie was a human, more specifically one of those influenced by pony universes to have brightly colored hair and non-standard skin colorations. Unlike most Sweeties, however, her hair was decidedly fluffy rather than curled, though this was an intentional choice rather than its natural shape. She wore a simple outfit akin to what most human Sweeties wore, with the only differences being the barely visible chain of a golden necklace around her neck and an armband that indicated a high rank in the Military Division.
Her smile was welcoming. “Have a seat!”
Pixei must have done a terrible job of hiding her nervousness, since Suzie made sure to relax her posture by kicking her feet up on the desk, resting them on top of her nameplate.
Pixei had to admit; she was very relaxed and easygoing for the almighty secretary of the League. What could she do but calm down a little and take a seat?
“Now, since I know you’re dying to know, yes, you’re getting more commendations.” Suzie scrolled through files on her data pad before realizing the file she was looking for was on physical paper. “Ah. Yes. Exemplary service, excellent record, and it looks like one of your songs even won an award.”
Pixei smiled. “W-well, I did work hard on it. Did you like it?”
“…Eh…” Suzie tilted her hand side to side. “I mean, it sounds nice.”
“That’s the point.”
“But where’s the heart? The meaning, if there’s no… lyrics?”
Pixie shrugged. “That’s just… how it is. Words ruin the feel; draw the listener out of the atmosphere of it all. It… well…” She drooped her head. “It’s hard to put into words.”
Suzie shook her head—but smiled. “I imagine it would be. Anyway, you’re getting more awards. I assume you don’t want ceremonies for any of them.”
“That’s correct. Just be sure to send the certificates to my sister, she’d like to know.”
“Will do.” Suzie made a mark on the paper. “Now, Pixei, you are one of the best Agents in the League, and your work in the digital sector has been unparalleled. You’re good at what you do.”
Pixei frowned. “What… is this about?”
“You’ve received a very lucrative offer.”
“I’d rather not work with any of the official teams, Suzie, and… well… um… you know how it is.”
“Yes, your social skills aren’t very great,” Suzie admitted. “But you have a stellar record and it’s not a debilitating problem. You’re just introverted, that’s not a problem.”
“I’d still rather not, you know.”
“I know. And I usually do throw all the requests for your requisition into the trash immediately. However… this time, it’s a little different.” She pressed her hands together and leaned in. “My old crew has requested you.”
Pixei blinked. “Th-the League’s Primary Expedition Team!?”
“Yes. And they’re asking for you at quite a time, too. In a few weeks they’ll be taking Swip out into the deep multiverse, where we have no maps, no connections, nothing. And, well…” Suzie pointed at the old Starfleet uniform Pixei was wearing. “I seem to recall a young Ensign Belle coming in here several years ago, having been delighted to explore the cosmos.”
“I could… go where no one has gone before. Literally no one…” Her face couldn’t decide if it wanted to smile or frown.
“With you, the crew size would only be eight—and that’s counting Swip,” Suzie said. “Some of them are a rowdy bunch, but I don’t think that many people would overwhelm you. At least, not in the normal way.”
“You really think I’d make a good fit?”
Suzie nodded. “You’re a new set of eyes, an explorer kept from her stars, and a mare of many unusual talents and varied history.”
“You’re not just putting me on there because you like me and we both go to Rev’s a lot?”
Suzie smirked. “If that were the case, I would have been recommending you myself. But no, they asked for you all on their own. I don’t even think they’re fully aware how well we know each other.”
“Mmm…” Pixei tapped her hoof against Suzie’s desk. “Can I… think about it?”
“You have until they leave for the deep multiverse,” Suzie said, handing her a data pad containing the requisition request penned by one Captain Chalcedony Celia. “That’ll give you several weeks to think it over.”
“Thanks…” Pixei said, staring into the data pad.
“I recommend taking them up on the offer. They’re good people. And I think you want to go. Still, I’ll respect what you say. It is your choice in the end.”
“I might have to think for a while…”
“Take your time.”
~~~
The very next day Pixei stood in the hangar of the League of Sweetie belles, glancing up at the vaguely dolphin-shaped spaceship that was Swip, the Sweetie Belle spaceship. She was a smooth construction with the usual pastel colors of Sweetie Belles, though there was no indication of a face. The back of the ship had a ramp that was open to allow people on and off, easily large enough to fit a small truck. Not surprising, seeing as Swip had to be self-sufficient for long periods of time in unwelcoming environments and be hospitable, and that required space. The feat of engineering could easily serve as a home for as long as was required.
“You gonna stare all day or are you gonna get on?” Swip asked through a speaker situated somewhere behind her primary hull.
“Uh… I haven’t… decided…” Pixei whispered.
“Look, Pixei, I’m a virtual entity. You deal with things like me all the time. I don’t bite. I don’t have teeth.”
“Right…”
“Except in the virtual world. But human teeth. I’m not sure how good they are for biting.”
“Er… look, I’m here to report for… duty.”
“Cinder did tell me to expect you.”
“But I just sent my acceptance notice five minutes ago.”
“That doesn’t matter if you’re Cinder.”
“…Suuuuure.”
“You haven’t read anything in Cinder’s file, have you?”
Pixei blinked. Had she? She remembered looking up information on the various Sweeties. Cinder was the newest and youngest member and… was that when she’d fallen asleep? She wasn’t sure, and didn’t know how she could be sure.
“She wasn’t supposed to,” a standard Sweetie’s voice called from inside Swip. None other than Cinder herself descended, fixing Pixei with an intense stare from her sharp orange irises. The brilliant rose in her mane was more shocking, somehow redder than should have been possible.
Pixei was enough in the loop to know what that meant.
“A T-tower rose!?” She stammered, taking a few steps back. “S-sorry! I should have read the file and then this wouldn’t b—“
“Hey, hey, it’s fine,” Cinder said. Now that she was at the bottom of Swip’s ramp, Pixei realized how… young she was. Significantly younger than Pixei herself, smaller, and largely unassuming. Even her brilliant orange eyes were just eyes, it wasn’t like they were actually on fire. Only the rose in her mane was clearly unnatural, and even that no longer seemed threatening. This mare… this mare could be trusted.
“You’re starting to feel like you can trust me,” Cinder said. “You can, but fair warning, we’re fairly certain that’s some kind of memetic effect at this point. People just like me.”
“Sounds nice,” Pixei said, thinking to all the times she wished people would just give her the benefit of the doubt.
“It is. Even knowing about it doesn’t seem to change it all that much.” Cinder shrugged before extending her hoof. “Hello Pixei, I’m Cinder. Previously the newest member of this little Expeditions Crew. But now I’m no longer the newbie!”
Pixei shuffled awkwardly. “I’m not exactly unexperienced…”
“I know. I’m the one who saw your file and knew we had to have you. You put most other ‘work experience’ sections to shame. Your life story is fascinating!”
“Well…” Pixei rubbed the back of her head. She always hated to admit it, but that was true. Her life had been a series of rather inexplicable events ever since the day she was born. “I guess…”
Cinder patted her gently on the shoulder. “Well, before I introduce you to everyone, I’m going to make it blatantly clear that this little family of ours has some baggage. How much has Suzie told you?”
“I thought she didn’t tell you…?”
“I’m Cinder, I have unnaturally good intuition.”
I really should have read her file. “Suzie… has spoken highly of all of you. She’s spoken a lot to me about her ‘mistakes’ but I don’t think that’s… appropriate for me to just…”
“I meant about us, the drama.”
“Oh. The guy who died, or your counselor?”
“Well there’s a third thi—“ Cinder paused. “Swip, how high is her clearance?”
“Higher than yours,” Swip said.
“Huh.” This seemed to be new information to Cinder. “And is that enough to tell her?”
“It wouldn’t be if she didn’t get special dispensation just by joining us.”
Pixei found herself thinking that maybe she should have visited Suzie one last time before just showing up here. Too late now.
Cinder shrugged. “Anyway… it’s been a few months, and most of us have moved past it, but you should know that one of our old team members, Blink, was a traitor.”
A pit fell into Pixei’s stomach. “I’m so sorry…” They’re not going to trust me.
“It… yeah, it’s hard. She was the reason Sweetaloo—our old counselor—isn’t here. And the whole deal with Ser is something even I don’t fully understand even after everyone’s talked about it. Just… some of us might act weird around you for a while.”
So it’s going to be worse than I expected, great. “I’ll manage.”
“And I’ll be with you every step of the way. We newbies have to stick together.”
“You… don’t talk like a ‘newbie.’ “
Cinder’s expression became deadly serious. “The Tower exacts a price from those of us crazy enough to go out there continually.”
A deep wound resurged at the back of Pixei’s mind. “I… I know. I think we’ve all had that moment.”
Cinder put on a warm smile. “Then that’s something we all have in common.”
“Bound together by sorrow…”
“Works better than you might think.” Cinder said. “…You ready to come in?”
Not in the slightest. “Sure.”
Cinder gave her a questioning look for a split second before shaking her head. “Then let’s go on the Swip Tour! First of all, Swip! Hi! You two have met.”
“Charmed,” Swip deadpanned as they walked up the ramp into her cargo bay. She closed the ramp behind them, making Pixei jump slightly. The interior was composed of a white metal and covered in all sorts of screens and lights. Pixei couldn’t identify the source of the primary light, however, everything just seemed to be well lit from all directions.
One of the screens lit up, displaying what was clearly a humanoid Sweetie with uncharacteristically dark skin. She gave a thumbs up. “Welcome to me! The grand tour is… a grand tour.” The avatar shrugged.
Pixei cocked her head. “Why do you choose a human avatar? Why not something more exotic? As a digital construct your freedom is—“
“Large, I know, I know.” Swip waved dismissively from the screen. “I just like it.”
“She was human for a while,” Cinder offered. “There was a lot of weird meta-nonsense going on. She decided she liked how it felt.”
Pixei cocked her head. “…And here I am, almost living as a digital construct.”
Swip shrugged. “Just stay out of my processors. I don’t need a hunter rooting around my software.”
I don’t root around. I’m much more precise than that.
“Anyway, this is the cargo hold,” Cinder said, gesturing around at the emptiness. “There’s… yeah there’s not much here, let’s move on.” They moved to the back of the hold. Pixei noticed that they had a few automatic drones under a sheet, likely for use when Swip was either incapacitated or too large for the job. At the end of their journey was a small ramp that led to the main living area—a Lounge filled with couches, a few tables, a very large fridge, and a few screens hooked up to game consoles. Currently, only one Sweetie was in there. A humanoid creature with two white tentacles in her head, marking her as an inkling. She acknowledged their presence by lazily waving a tentacle at them, but otherwise remained focused on her game—some kind of survival simulator where the world was made entirely out of cubes.
“That’s Squiddy,” Cinder said. “She’s... hey, Squiddy, what do you do again?”
“Not falling for that,” Squiddy called from the couch. “You’re trying to get a rise out of me so I’ll respond and greet the new kid. Not today. I have half a heart and I can almost see camp so you can j—“
The phrase “you died” appeared on the screen.
“MOTHERFU—“ She didn’t bother finishing the word, instead opting to engage in the much more satisfying act of throwing the controller on the ground and stomping on it with her whole body, shattering it into pieces.
“Swip, put in a requisition for another set of controllers,” Cinder deadpanned.
“Already done,” the ship’s voice returned.
Having worked out her anger on the controller, Squiddy whipped her head around to look at Pixei. “You. Newbie. Can you even hear me with those things on?”
“I can hear you just… fine,” Pixei said, forcing a smile. “It automatically adjusts to voices. I can actually hear better than you... probably. I don’t know. Inklings may have super hearing for all I know and I’m not suggesting I’m better than you in any way and—“
“I thought she was some kind of legendary cyber-hunter?” Squiddy gestured at Pixei with a hand. “What’s with the nerves?”
“Her work was usually solitary,” Cinder explained. “Give her time.”
Squiddy frowned. “I won’t give you leeway, cat-ears.”
“…My name’s Pixei.”
Squiddy blinked. “Wait, you’ve all been telling me you pronounce the numbers! P-one-ex-th-one!”
Cinder snorted and Pixei blushed furiously. “U-uh, w-well, even when I used that stage name that wasn’t how you…”
“You. On a stage.”
“She makes instrumental music from things like synths,” Cinder explained.
“You really read my entire file,” Pixei observed.
“Yep. Totally did.” Cinder winked. “Anyway, continuing the tour!” She turned around. Instead of going down the ramp back to cargo, she went up a ramp to a large hallway. “This is the main hall. Personal quarters are through these doors on the sides. Yours is there, but we’ll drop you off there at the end.”
Room 11, Pixei made a mental note.
The door to Room 4 opened, revealing a taller Sweetie in a dark cloak with ragged hair, scars all over her body, and dark eyes. Her appearance made Pixei stop short.
The dark unicorn looked lazily at her before taking a sip of the coffee she had in her red telekinesis. She proceeded to yawn and rub her eyes. “New kid?”
Cinder nodded. “Nira, this is Pixei. Pixei, this is Nira, our dark magic specialist.”
“H-hello,” Pixei stammered.
“Hmm,” Nira mumbled groggily walking past them to the lounge.
“Is she…?”
“She’s usually more awake, but otherwise yeah, generally quiet.” Cinder rubbed the back of her head. “I actually think you’d like her a lot, if you got to know her.”
“If you say so…” I feel like she would kill me if she was awake enough to register my existence.
At the end of the hall was a room that didn’t need any introduction: Pixei knew an engine room when she saw one. It was not of the standard design, that was for sure. Most engines and dimensional drives existed as large rings suspended in the air by magic and magnets. This drive was special: a large spherical crystal that sparked with green energy every few seconds. It was a gift from a foreign power called the Time Space Administration Bureau, and what a gift it was. It allowed Swip to comb the multiverse for connections most other drives would miss. It was what made this ship state of the art.
The child working as chief engineer was still surprising, even if Pixei remembered this part of the files. The girl’s name was Serendipity Butler, or Seren for short, and she was a hybrid pony-human creature known conversationally as an “anthro”. A red dress made her stand out from most humanoid Sweeties, as well as a magical scepter clutched tightly in her hand.
That is, it was clutched tightly, until she noticed Pixei walk into the room, at which point she dropped it and let out a sharp gasp. “Ohmygosh!”
“Uh… hi?”
The girl ran up to her, eyes wide. “You… you’re really Pixei?”
“Yes…?” Pixei shuffled uncomfortably.
Seren nervously twisted one of her feet on the ground. “I… uh… can I have an autograph?”
Pixei stared at her blankly.
“I… well, I really like your music, and—“
“You listen to my music!?”
Seren nodded vigorously. She ran to one of the engineering consoles and pressed a finger to a screen, playing one of Pixei’s best works. An energetic piece backed with a series of echoing violins.
All at once Pixei’s nervousness melted away. “I… sure, you can have an autograph.” I never give these out… She levitated a pen with her horn and scribbled her signature on a piece of paper Seren provided.
The kid pulled it to her chest like it was a precious stuffed bear. “Thank you thank you! You’ll make a great addition to the family! There’ll be concerts and music parties and… and… welcome aboard!”
Despite her terrible ideas, Pixei couldn’t help but appreciate the kid. She was just so... energetic and happy.
“You should get back on your tour!” Seren said. “This is the back of the ship—the front is the best!”
Cinder gestured for Seren to follow her. They walked back down the hallway connected to all the personal quarters until they were back in the lounge. They passed by Squiddy—already playing her game again—and walked through the opposite door, coming to a small connecting room.
“To the left you have the meeting room,” Cinder said. “It’s boring and we only occasionally use it. To your right, though… is the best room.” She opened the sliding door revealing a somewhat narrow room with a large white ring. “Behold… the portal.”
Pixei had seen many dimensional devices in her time, ranging from handheld to stationary to city-moving factories the size of a nuclear reactor. So, all things considered, this ring wasn’t all that special. However, there was something about its simple, dominating presence in the room that filled her with a mild sense of awe.
“It’s fully equipped with not just transdimensional portals, but also full wormhole action.”
“And a time drive,” Pixei added.
“Well, yes, but that’s rarely used and under lockout for a reason.”
Pixei smiled. “So… this is what we’ll be going through to explore?”
“Whenever you’re on the team, yes.”
“I’m going to put her on the first team!” A strangely synthetic voice called. “Abuse beginner’s luck!”
Pixei looked around. “Wh-where are y—“
A strange, upbeat but simple tune started playing as a bunch of black sticks assembled themselves into a stick bug shape on top of the ring. Instead of actually becoming a stick bug, however, it exploded in a shower of confetti to reveal a two-dimensional creature spinning around like a propeller. Once the flat creature settled down, it stood in front of Pixei and extended an almost papery hand. “You’ve been Burgerbelled.”
Most people, upon encountering Burgerbelle, didn’t know what to do or think.
However, Pixei spent most of her time invested in the digital realm. With a soft smirk and newfound confidence, she tilted her head, telling the speakers on her headphones to play a particular upbeat but repetitive tune interspersed with clapping. “You’ve been distracted.”
Burgerbelle let out a huge gasp and her two-dimensional face expanded to cover most of her body. “You…” She grabbed Pixei by the shoulders. “Did we just become best friends!?”
Pixie suddenly felt the pressure on her again. “Uh… maybe?”
“She’s a keeper!” Burgerbelle declared, tipping up a hat she hadn’t been wearing a second ago.
Cinder blinked. “O…kay. Pixei, this is our equivalent of a first officer, Burgerbelle. I… apparently you understand her better than I do already so I’m not even going to try to bother.”
“It’s… simple, in a way,” Pixei said. “She’s the spirit of digital interconnectivity with a positive disposition.”
“What?”
Burgerbelle pulled out a twicane and yelled “BONK” when she hit Cinder on the head with it. “It’s called… being memetastic.”
“And cringe,” Pixei offered.
“Yes, totally, absolutely. All three.” Burgerbelle patted Cinder on the head.
Cinder frowned. “This isn’t going to encourage you to get even more ridiculous, is it Burgerbelle?”
Burgerbelle grew a devil’s tail and gained a slasher smile. “Not at all, my little pretty.”
“Right… well, only one stop left. The bridge.”
“Au revoir!” Burgerbelle called, somehow receding into the wall while standing perfectly still. “Have fun storming the castle!”
The bridge. Pixei knew what that meant. The Captain.
The bridge was the front-most room of the ship, past the meeting room and the dimensional ring. It had seats and consoles for every Sweetie on the ship—including a science station that Pixei suspected would be hers once they were on their way. However, only one of these seats was currently occupied: the Captain’s chair. Currently it was faced away from them, directed instead at the massive screen situated at the front of the room. At the moment, the screen displayed not stars or the outside of the ship, but what appeared to be a legal document.
Cinder coughed.
“Oh! Forgive me, dears, I didn’t notice you come in.” The Captain closed the legal document before Pixei could see more than the phrase “Coercion Party.” Swiveling the Captain’s chair, the leader of the Sweties fixed Pixei with a warm, understanding gaze.
Pixei knew exactly who this was. Captain Chalcedony Celia. She may have looked like a very tall pony, but Pixei knew better—the creature before her was a Gem who took the form of a pony, specifically one with the posture and mane-style of a Rarity but the colors of a Sweetie. Instead of a horn in her forehead, there was a blue diamond-shaped gem with purple flecks in it. However, behind this elegance, there was an unnatural predatory backing. Her ears were pointed and her hooves were sharpened to points. But most concerning of all were her sharp, predatory teeth, which she was currently using to bite into a piece of fried chicken.
Celia realized Pixei was staring.
“Oh.” She tossed the chicken leg over her back, smiling sheepishly. “Let’s just forget you saw that and continue on with our introductions!”
Pixei said nothing.
Celia dropped the smile and nodded solemnly. “The fault lies with me, Pixei. I knew you were arriving and that most are… sensitive to my eating habits, at first. I should have put it away for your sake, but it slipped my mind—I’m the one at fault here. I don’t need to add to your… presumably already overwhelming day.”
“Th… thanks?”
Celia smiled warmly—somehow making the predatory teeth look calm. “Now, let’s make you official before Suzie breathes down my neck about the proper paperwork.”
“I got on without the proper paperwork…” Cinder commented.
“Yes, well, Suzie is allowed to say she made mistakes in the past.” Celia shrugged. “Agent Pixei! Do you truly accept your station at this ship as an expedition agent, willing to accept whatever task we as a crew are assigned?”
Pixei nodded. “Yes. …Sir.”
“Oh, do drop the ‘sir’, it’s so formal. I’m Celia. ‘Captain’ if we need to look like we’re protocol-following sheep.”
Pixei blinked. “But… didn’t you just follow a protocol?”
“Protocols exist for a reason. But need I remind you that one of the core protocols of Merodi Universalis is the legendary Case-by-Case Clause? Our nation puts a lot of stock in giving those of us in the midst of all the nonsense the power to choose what is right and not be locked up by protocols made by people who couldn’t possibly understand the situation.” She leaned back in the chair. “Unfortunately we are not on the fringes of explored space right now, we are in the League, and right here protocols are just that—protocols.”
“Ah.” Pixei rubbed the back of her head. “I never really… studied the nuance of law.”
“And you don’t have to. I’m our diplomat and politician. Speaking of…” She put on a sad smile. “I know you’re a proud supporter of the Prime Directivists.” She gestured at Pixei’s Starfleet uniform. “A proud carry-over from your heritage.”
Pixei nodded. Here it comes.
“And it is rather public knowledge that I am one of the leaders of the Coercion Party.” She bothered to get out of her chair and walk up to Pixei for this comment. “Pixie… I never want you to be afraid to speak your mind. I know you will be, but I don’t want that. I want you, when we’re not in the heat of the moment, to call me out when I just want to rush into a culture and declare our way is best. I’m well aware I’m a bit trigger happy when it comes to those sorts of things. Having someone with your diametrically opposed viewpoint on the crew will be invaluable.”
Pixei stared, stunned. She was so used to the rage-fuel that she ran into every day in the digital realm that she’d almost forgotten people could have different opinions and not enter into a flame war because of it. “Th—thank you. I’ll try.”
“I make it my mission to never let politics stand in the way of friendship! ...If I can help it. But that’s neither here nor there. Today… is all about you! You’ve seen Swip, you’ve met most of us if I’ve judged correctly. What do you want to do now?”
Pixei smiled nervously. “W-well, I’d kind of like to go to my room and wind down a bit.”
“Oh.” Celia frowned in disappointment. “Well, I understand. By all means, settle in. We’ll be departing from Celestia City for near-space work in two days. If you’re acting in capacity as science officer, that console over there is yours. Otherwise, just… do whatever.”
“…You wanted to throw a party, didn’t you?”
Celia made no effort to hide her smirk. “Obviously.”
“Not really a fan of big loud parties.”
“Then how does ‘family dinner’ tomorrow night sound?”
Pixei thought this over. “Sure. I could do that.”
“That’s the spirit! Until we launch, you have no responsibilities besides getting to know the crew. And getting your rest.” Celia winked. “Be sure to enjoy yourself.”
“I’ll try.” She tilted her head back. “I remember the way to the room, Cinder, you don’t need to take me there.”
“Shall I have your things sent up?” Celia asked.
Pixei shook her head. “I have a Stand, Roll the Bones. Its main power is a dimensional pocket. I have all my belongings with me.”
“Oh. Convenient.”
“It is, until you need to unpack and have no idea how much stuff you actually have.”
~~~
All things considered, Pixei didn’t have that much trouble unpacking. The hardest part was covering the metal in her room completely in soil and rolling out the grass on top of it. She may have been on a spaceship, but she sure wasn’t going to live in a metal box all that time. It wasn’t that the room was cramped—it was that the room was artificial. And as comfortable as she was in digital spaces, pure nature was where she always felt at home. Hence, the grass.
She unpacked her shelf of knick knacks and her favorite chair, setting them to the sides of the room. She opted not to cover the bed or the screens on the wall, since they might be important at some point. That said, she did her absolute best to cover everything else with green she could. She had literally hundreds of various potted plants and greenery frozen within her subspace pocket. She’d put many of the plants in there thinking it would make a good way to preserve a sample, but then she forgot what she’d put in there and could never get anything organized with it.
Plus, half the things in the pocket were ripped directly from digital realms. And while most things she pulled out of the code with Roll the Bones could still exist (the malware entity was a notable exception), they often behaved in extreme ways. For instance, the pixelated flower she had sitting on the desk at the moment fell apart once it realized a single-corner connection on a pixel isn’t structurally stable.
Still, though, it was green enough, she supposed. She pressed her hooves into the ground and took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of all the nature. She could still detect a faint whiff of artificial air, but that would soon cycle out.
It was almost done. Just one more thing to make it final. She needed to perform… the test.
Carefully, she summoned Roll the Bones and pulled out an old, ornate spear carved out of solid obsidian. She twirled it around in her magic and readied into a fighting stance. And then…
…She remembered Swip could see her. It wasn’t that what she was about to do was particularly secret, but the idea that Swip could always see her was just… unnerving. She had enough issues dealing with the constancy of her implant.
No, that wasn’t acceptable.
She walked up to the computer terminal built into the wall and plugged right in.
Immediately she transferred into Swip’s matrix as her heavily-outlined avatar. For a moment she was confused—why would a purely digital realm allow for her avatar to fully manifest? But then she remembered Swip’s obsession with her avatar. Most of the ship’s code was probably outfitted for avatars at this point. That said, there was no scenery around, just empty whiteness.
Quickly, she put out a request for the privacy settings on her room. The node popped up in front of her, taking the form of an orange pedestal with an orbiting octahedron on it. She tapped it with her hoof, accessing the sensors directed at her room.
“I freaking knew it.”
Pixei glanced over her shoulder, noting that Swip’s avatar was right there. “Look, I’m just turning on privacy settings.”
“You could have asked!”
Pixei frowned. “Well, I didn’t want to, and… honestly now that I think about it you probably would have said no, huh?”
Swip tapped her foot angrily. “That’s besides the point! Those are my subroutines you’re messing with and I’m not going to let you get away with it. Stay out.”
Pixei smirked. “You know, you couldn’t stop me even if you wanted. We digital hunters have a—“
“Good gravy on a platter, Cinder was right, you’re like a totally different person in here.”
Pixei shrugged. “It’s different in here.”
“Not anymore, it isn’t.” Swip crossed her arms. “What you do in here is directly connected to the real world out there—to your relationships with all those Sweeties, with your standing as an Agent, everything. This is no longer your little playground you run to and leave, knowing nothing will follow you. You don’t get two lives anymore.”
Pixei suddenly felt uneasy. “You… you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh for the…” Swip snapped her fingers, summoning a subroutine to eject her from the system.
Pixei fought back, summoning Roll the Bones and stuffing Swip’s avatar into it. Immediately the subroutines stopped, not even initiating their first wave of attacks.
Humming a little tune to herself, Pixei returned to the security console and set her room’s settings to private. She was about to lock it all in with encryption when that tiny voice in the back of her head spoke up, turning her satisfied smile into a frown.
With a disgruntled sigh, she summoned Roll the Bones and released Swip. “Look, maybe we can come to an unders—“
Swip put her hands on Pixei’s shoulders. “That. That thing you just did. With the Stand.”
“Y—yes?”
“I saw you putting digital things in the real world. Could…” The corners of her mouth wavered slightly. “Could you do that with me?”
“I… yes, actually. I’d have to encode a few passive security measures to make sure your pattern buffer doesn’t deteriorate, and there’d be a limited range based on your primary body’s transmiss—“
“Do it. Please.”
“…Okay…” Cocking her head in mild confusion, Pixei got to work.
~~~
“Sooo, what do you think?” Cinder asked Celia.
“I think she’ll adapt with time and become a valuable member of the crew,” Celia said, continuing to comb through her legal documents on the main screen.
“So I was right.”
“Yes, you were right. You always are.”
Cinder shook her head. “Stop saying that. The time until my next failure approaches zero as my confidence in my intuition increases.”
“Which is something your intuition told you.”
The rose in Cinder’s mane seemed to flare in annoyance at this observation, prompting Celia to chuckle. “Cinder, she’ll do great. So long as we don’t try to keep anything from her.”
Cinder nodded. “I gave her the bare-bones crash-course. I’ll be looking for opportunities to fill in the details. She’s rather quiet, doesn’t like to ask uncomfortable questions. It’ll take some time.”
“You know, I know we said we weren’t looking for replacements for anyone on purpose…” Celia glanced at Cinder. “But you’re doing Sweetaloo’s job remarkably well.”
“I’m emotional support, not a registered counselor.” Cinder smiled. “But thanks anyway.”
“Who would have thought the cornerstone keeping us together would be you when you first came aboard?”
“Not me, that’s for sure!” Cinder chuckled. “Now I—“
“YES!”
Swip jumped through the doors to the bridge. Swip physically, in a body, not a digital projection or illusion. “YES!”
“What in the…” Celia cocked her head.
Pixei nervously poked her head through the door. “She, uh, wanted me to take her avatar out of the digital realm and I had the abilities to do it, so…”
“She’s amazing!” Swip said, grabbing the half-eaten fried chicken off the ground and biting into it. “Yes! I can taste it! I can only taste that it sorta maybe kinda tastes like chicken but I can increase the resolution on the taste buds for the sensation later. But I can actually eat things! Feel things again!”
“Rachel will be delighted!” Cinder said, beaming. “I’ll call her!”
“You do that! We’re having a party tonight!” Swip, extended a hand toward one of the bridge’s screens… and nothing happened.
“Yeah, sorry,” Pixei said. “I can’t give you direct access to the ship functions when you’re like this. Your… ship-body is running on partial code fragments, the things that weren’t fully invested in your avatar.”
“I’m not smart enough to understand that right now, I’ll analyze it when I’m back.” Swip folded her arms. “So, I can’t make instant disco music start playing. Lame. But I can feel air. Great.”
“Oh, you just want music?” Pixei tilted her head to the side, prompting her speakers to start playing a remixed disco-style tune. She even turned the brightness on her headphone screens to maximum to act as a sort of strobe light.
“I thought you didn’t like parties?” Cinder said.
Pixei smiled nervously. “It… it seemed like the thing to do.”
Burgerbelle rose out of the ground in a spring motion with a rose in her mouth. She swept Swip up off the ground and winked. “It is time… to dance.”
Swip failed. “Oh, wait, no, I have terrible motor control…”
A second later she was on the ground in a heap and everyone was laughing. Even Pixei.
~~~
Eventually, Swip had to return to her actual form. The secondary subroutines couldn’t operate the ship on their own forever, and she wanted to improve her Avatar’s “resolution” so it could experience more real-world events more readily. And so the “impromptu dance party” had ended.
Even though it had been fun, Pixei was relieved when it ended. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could have stayed on board with it, even if it was for Swip’s sake. Pixei got the distinct indication she didn’t have the full story on Swip, because she felt like what she’d done had meant a lot more to the digital being than it should have.
Still, she felt good, even if she didn’t exactly understand why.
As she entered her room, she frowned as she noted the obsidian spear on the ground. Right. What started this whole thing…
Instead of linking up to the computer, she bothered to navigate the menus with her hoof. Her room was still set to private. Pixei would have thought Swip just forgot about it, except there was a text file right next to the settings that just said “thanks.”
With a smile, Pixei left the computer terminal and picked up the obsidian spear in her magic. Slowly, she closed her eyes… and remembered. She jumped forward, backward, twirling the spear around her, careful not to cut into anything but coming as close to it as possible.
“I did it! Rarity, I did it! That was good, right?”
“That was… adequate, Sweetie.”
She jumped forward once more, stabbing the spear into the air, stopping less than an inch before the wall.
Then she began the routine again. And again. And again.
When she was done, she set the spear down at the base of the bed, smiling sadly at it.
“…This’ll do,” she said before flopping onto the bed.
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Is Pixei from any story?
10597826
No. It even says at the top this isn't based on any particular story.
-GM, master of bacon.
10597829
Where did the inspiration come from?
I want to give Pixei hugs and cuddles
10597844
As I said, nowhere. Aside from her being a Sweetie Belle and having a few elements from the multiverse, she is completely original and based on no particular IP.
-GM, master of Pixei.
This was fun. Happy writing and character building!
Cool, I liked it! Honestly this feels like it could be an epilogue and the story could end right here.
Ooh, another original Sweetie by Blackjack joins the crew! And this one has an interversally traveling pocket dimension. I wonder what the extent of it goes to...
10599488
Like all the literary masterminds, I shall say this. What is the end, but a beginning for something new and different?
I love her already! Do we have any art of her yet?
Even if you don't have anything new written up yet, it makes me happy knowing that there's a starting point for a season 2.
I look forward to more!
10600435
Sadly, I have no art of her.
-GM, master of arts.
Intriguing. Looking forward to seeing more from Pixei, and the new crew dynamic in general. It'll be weird with Cinder no longer being the new kid, but it should be quite fun.
Like, the Rush song?
Please tell me this is a reference to Rush
It took me a while to get to/through this chapter because I can never really get into those "there's something happening that you don't understand yet" openers for things (they're not bad, just not for me) and I didn't immediately like pixei... But OH BOY did I fall in love with Pixei's character by the end of the chapter, this is great!!!
Thanks for the great chapter, I'm looking forward to the next one!
Edit: Welp, that didn't last long
Looking forward to the next adventure.
I finally started The Song of The Spheres, and not 10 Chapters in I found the origins of Blink's employers...how quickly the best intentions create the worst villains.
Heh, ready to mesh but doesn't quite realize it.