• Published 29th Dec 2020
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The Trinity of Moons: Mending Shards - Cloud Ring



A story of distant Equestria, of past mistakes, dreams and mirrors.

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Interlude 1: Retrieval

Author's Note:

This chapter does not continue main story — it's sidestory and a bit of background for the world.

☄☄☄

"How do you work?"

Cursory Streak blinked and staggered, abruptly coming to the real world from her thoughts. The foal looked up at her with wide and curious eyes. The little pegasus had neither a cutie mark nor wings ready to fly.

"What? What do you mean? I am not Black Moon's creation! I'm a living pony," Cursory replied, confused, " And... Look, we are here, safe and sound. Let me signal your parents to pick you up from 16-WSD."

They were almost at the meeting gazebo — a giant black circle on the ground, surrounded by neon lights on the perimeter, a green canopy above, and a big white sign saying '16-WSD' on top of it. There was a terminal in the middle, a bathroom cubicle to the side, a washstand, a table with a few plates and a glass of fruit juice. On the floor, there were several yellow triangular contours — at a significant distance from each other — marking the underground lockers holding stashed sleeping mats, ready to be unrolled with a few commands from the terminal.

Overall, the place was spacious enough even for nine ponies to stay there comfortably for some time, so it was more than enough for Cursory and the accompanied foal — Evading Snow, apparently.

Then she got it, not without a tingle of awkwardness, "You mean, where I work, and what I do at my job, yes?" she chuckled and blushed.

Evading Snow nodded twice, "Please? While we wait, could you talk to me? So that you stay here."

"I shall not leave," Cursory Streak assured her, "Not when you’re in danger of going back to..." she raised a hoof and pointed sideways, "SOUP."

"Soup?" Now it was the foal's turn to be confused, "And what is shall?"

She postponed her answer to attend to the duty most important right now. She went to the terminal, inviting the foal to come with her, pulled her onto her back and raised into the air so that the little one would be able to see what was going on.

She authenticated as an operator, told the foal's name to the terminal, found her relatives — yes, it’s them, squeaked the little one — and launched a message to inform them about their child’s location. Now it was up to Metropolis' observing systems to actually find the parents and deliver the message. That always took time, if just a short one.

This being over, she came back to her reply, "Set of objects of unknown purpose. SOUP. Remnants from old experiments... things," she corrected herself. "And I mean, I will be here as long as you need it. So, how do I work, you say? Well... how about you just visit our station? With your parents, and maybe a friend or three. I will be glad to show you around. Deal?"

The foal practically lit up, even jumped a bit, "Deal!"

"One more thing. I may be a bit away from the station. It's not like I'm just, you know, sitting there all my time up. On my slices, I need to be around, not at the place. So, just say at the entrance that you're here for Cursory Streak, and they will look after you while I fly in. And... until then, please take care and read the signs. Seriously, it's not a place to go until you know what you do."

"I... it's hard to read," the little pegasus mumbled.

Well, how about color code then? Cursory Streak managed to not ask this out loud. She frowned. Apparently, her parents were... lacking in basic education, if not worse.

"When long yellow sometimes flashes orange, and you can count to three and see at least one orange flash, that means it's not safe to come in, okay? You will be lost. It's not a mortal danger, it's just..." she frowned, trying to find short and clear words, "It's not always 'back' when you go back. Things depend on from which side you look at them."

Cursory Streak looked at the terminal, and in that beat it beeped and flashed. Green, not orange. Green, confirming that the message was accepted. She exhaled. Not an orphan, then.

Just a few beats ago Cursory was ready to take this foal to the station straight away. Not an unbound, Evading Snow had a basic right to a caring adult, and Cursory was resigned to be the one.

Now she smiled and said, "That happens. Don't worry, I'll be glad to tell you all about how I work. Here," she wrote the address on the paper, "Could you give me your own, please?"

Evading Snow replied, if a bit uncertain, with standard sector-habitat-apartment chain, and Cursory Streak noted herself to visit it as soon as possible.

How do they even allow her to leave for the city with no knowledge of warning colors nor decent reading? she wondered. I definitely need to investigate.

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Issue 3 of cycle 186 of round 26 ALRI, White Time.

ID: 27483906 (global, ALRI based)

Summary: External living object at SOUP-16W, possibly underaged pony.

Type: Breach/retrieval

Priority: Medium

Rewards: 0.025% to the next status grade, 85 bits

Preferences: S&R (anisotropic space), CivComm

Operator: Cursory Streak

Reporter: Tear Drop (civilian)

Confirmed by: Metropolis

Status: resolved, success

Related issues: Investigation of possible parental neglect by Evading Stream and Delusive Aura, ID 27483917

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