Crystaline Twilight

by Dragon Angel Knight

Rise Again

Author's Note:

I'm not dead!! And neither is this story!

Apologies for the delay!! As always, let me know what you all think and I hope you enjoy the story!

Chapter 7
Rise again

It took Twilight five months since her meeting with both Clovis I and her family to build Elsie’s new body, under the… surprisingly helpful supervision of Clovis himself. Five months of watching her sister take tranquilizers just to knock herself out enough to rest. And even when those did work and the eldest of the Bray sisters was able to remain unconscious, the sleep was decidedly NOT restful.

The whispers both Twilight and Clovis had been hearing were unusually quiet at the moment, occasionally offering an idea here or there, but nothing beyond that. It allowed them to focus on the job at hand, but they felt… lesser because of that absence. Twilight was easily able to ignore that, but Clovis almost resented it.

Wearily, at the end of the work and with Twilight putting the finishing touches on the body itself, Elsie walked into the med bay and looked blearily at the finished Exo.

“Is it done?” she asked quietly, coming up behind her grandfather and sister.

“Yes,” Clovis said, his tone soft, but not kind, “We finished a few days ago, but Twilight insisted she check things over.”

“You wanted to put a weapons system inside the chassis,” Twilight sniped back, “I told you, the closer the body is to how a human body would be, the less likely the mind would reject it as not its own. I saw what your experiments with extra limbs did to the others and I REFUSE to let it happen to my sister!”

As Twilight spoke, power began leaking from her hooves, frosting the floor around her in icy blue crystals. Clovis made no note of it, but Elsie, even in her beleaguered state did and put a hand on her sister’s back.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Elsie said softly, “It looks… great.”

Twilight calmed down at the touch of her sister, then looked up at her, “You’re afraid.”

“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, “I know I’m not dying, not really, but…”

“It’s the unknown,” Clovis said with a scoff, “That fear right there is what holds humanity back at every turn. You’ll be completely safe.”

With a slight frown, Elsie looked towards the elder Bray and replied, “Forgive me if that doesn’t fill me with the utmost confidence, Grandfather. You have a poor track record with caring for your family.”

Looking as if he’d been struck, Clovis scoffed once more, then made to leave the lab.

“The procedure will be fine. Twilight insisted she be the one to handle it, so my only presence will be as a supervisor,” he said. As he finished talking, Clovis began coughing, reaching into a pocket for a kerchief to cover his mouth. The others watched on as he leaned against the wall for a moment before walking out and into the hallway, no one having stopped to help him.

“He’s dying,” Twilight said, unprompted, “That’s why he’s doing the Exomind program.”

Elsie grunted and said, “Of course he is, it’s ALWAYS about HIM in everything he does. Arrogant old bastard…”

Twilight leaned on her sister’s leg and looked down, “Yes. Yes he is. But he’s helping me to save you. As much as I hate to say it, I owe him for this.”

“Beware a debt to the Devil, Twilight,” Elsie said as she crouched down to give Twilight a hug, “The price may be far more than what you can pay.”

`~`~`~`~`~`~

Several days later, Elsie sat, awaiting her upload, apprehension in her thoughts.

“This Alkahest will prevent the billboard cycle,” Clovis had explained as he showed the mysterious liquid to her, “Your mind will be digitized exactly as is, then uploaded to your new exo body while the Alkahest is pumped through it. We may also need to reset your mind so it seems like your new body has ALWAYS been your body. Dissociating with the Exo body has been the only issue new Exominds have had thus far, so Twilight’s assertion that your body be as human as possible is correct. Your body has the ability to eat and drink, among other things, so your chance of dissociation happening is slim.”

Elsie had nodded at that, and thus the procedure had begun. To the eldest Bray sister, it seemed as if all she had done was close her eyes before opening them up again. A dream of climbing an icy mountain chilled her to her bones, though she knew she had none of the normal human organs or support structure anymore. It felt… strange, her new body. Should she wish it, Elsie knew that she no longer had need of sleep, or food or any of that, but she did feel a bit hungry as she flexed her hands in front of her face.

“...Elsie?” came Twilight’s hopeful voice from her left.

“I’m here, Twilight,” Elsie said, her voice sounding much the same as her human one had, but a little… off somehow. She couldn’t quite place the difference, really. Twilight hopped up onto the bed Elsie was laying in (is it soft? I can’t tell anymore) and cuddled with her. Elsie wrapped an arm around Twilight’s barrel (I can almost feel warmth, but it’s more like a memory than a feeling…) and pulled the pony closer, careful not to squeeze too hard so as to not break any bones in the wings.

“...You’re not ok just yet…” Twilight said softly, nuzzling into her sister’s side.

“This is all so… jarring,” Elsie confessed, “But the work you did on this body is helping.”

“I’m glad,” the pony said softly, exhaustion now apparent on her face, “I… I think I’m going to take a nap for a little while.”

“Go ahead and rest, Twilight,” Elsie whispered, stroking her sister’s mane, “I promise I’ll still be here when you wake.”

“….love you, BSBFF,” Twilight breathed out, then she was asleep.

Clovis, watching from the window of the lab bay had let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding. It truly seemed as if his Exo program was finally going to show some progress and he’d finally be able to discard his frail, failing body and grasp his rightfully owed immortality.

He turned away from the window and walked away, his steps measured as he went to his office and sat down. There were no whispers this time, for either him or Twilight. The Voice in the Dark wished for them to have some respite… if only so they were easier to break when their guard was down later.

Comments

[K-O-D-E-X]

Makes me wonder if/how will Elsie become a time traveler and how Rasputin react to shim