• Published 12th Jan 2012
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Days of Wasp and Spider - Luna-tic Scientist



No humans. In Equestria's past, ponies exist only to serve their creators. One such pony is accidentally released from her mental chains, but how can one mare save herself and her people if she doesn't even know she's a slave?

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08 - Breaking the Skinner Box

Days of Wasp and Spider
by Luna-tic Scientist

It constructed a series of automata; space-time machinery that would respond to the desires of its newly conscious creations when in close proximity to minerals with the right crystal structure, then scattered these crystals throughout the local environment. These would allow its creations some measure of control over reality, but only in the most limited of situations; after all there must be room for growth, for mystery, otherwise there was no point to this experiment. A final step was a method to reverse what it was about to do; six unique crystals containing very particular arrangements of impurities and allowing access to... everything. These it was especially careful with, other automata would watch over them, protecting them from any sort of harm. Its own desire to let the experiment run its course would inhibit the use of these special crystals when they were eventually found by its creations.

=== Chapter 8 (remastered) Breaking the Skinner Box ===


By the time Fusion and the foals crested the last berm, the flat area next to the training centre building was bustling with activity. The six flying vehicles had landed in a semi-circle, powerful lamps mounted on the insides of the open rear hatches illuminating the space between them with a harsh light. Externally identical, the interiors revealed their differing functions; a pair were obviously outfitted as transports, with rows of seats and padded stalls that were now empty. Those occupants, mostly Masters with a few ponies, were spread around the building in little clusters, setting up equipment or examining the site of the short-lived battle. The other vehicles were packed with equipment; two obviously technical with Masters watching integrated consoles, one medical and one half empty cargo vehicle. Off to one side there were a few gryphons, none in battle armour and all in bad shape, being tended to by a pair of the ponies -- although with their magic still suppressed there was precious little they could do.

A flicker of motion attracted Fusion's attention; walking slowly into the light came a sorry-looking string of ponies escorted by a pair of Masters with medic patches on their equipment vests. Gravity and Animal both pulled low wheeled carts -- Fusion could see the lifter crystals on their undersides, but these were obviously non-functional with the suppression field still active -- each with a foal strapped to it. Random limped by the side of Animal's cart, eyes never leaving the still shape it carried. Fusion cast them a worried glance, then bowed to the Master that walked up to her, the foals mimicking the motion a second or two later.

The Master, a lanky female with brindled fur peeking out from the gaps in her tactical harness, gave her an impatient gesture to rise. She held her identification badge up in front of the mare's muzzle, close enough that Fusion had to cross her eyes to see it clearly. "By the authority of the Synod this pony is requisitioned to Hive Security." She waited until Fusion nodded, then continued brusquely while studying a display on her unusually bulky comms bracer. "The pony will identify itself."

"Fusion Pulse TC4668 out of corral twenty seven," the white mare replied softly, eyes following the movement of her sister as she approached the medical vehicle.

The Master sniffed in disapproval. "Where is this pony's communicator?"

Fusion stiffened at the Master's tone, eyes snapping back to focus on her face. "Apologies, Master, it was destroyed in a magical accident."

"The pony will address this one as Agent Salrath." The Agent frowned as her gaze travelled over the herd of nervous foals -- all of whom were staring back with a mixture of awe and amazement on their faces -- clustered around Fusion's legs.

"Yes, Agent Salrath. What are your orders?"

"This pony will control these foals. Stand near the ambulance and await further instructions. Remain within the lit perimeter."

With that the Agent turned and marched quickly away, leaving Fusion nodding her assent to empty air. She looked around, wondering where the power armoured Masters were, slightly at a loss for what to do. The mare dreaded what she'd find when she followed those orders, then steeled herself and shepherded her charges over to where her friends stood next to the medical vehicle.

With their magic still blocked there was nothing that Animal Scanner or the other two veterinarians could do to help; they stood watching a single Master working on Random Walk and Phased Array, their bodies held in attitudes of impatience and frustration. Fusion's eyes flicked from the expression of misery on Random's face to the pair of still forms in the back of the vehicle; one had a skinny tail ending in a tuft of black fur, the other hidden behind a tangled mass of dark brown hair. She caught her sister’s eye, then pointedly glanced back at the vehicle. The blue mare shook her head slightly, then ducked down to wipe her eyes against one foreleg.

Fusion swallowed and looked away, hoping none of the foals would ask about Single Crystal. She focused instead on the other three shapes strapped to wheeled trolleys. All were gryphons with the common white and brown coloration and all had been given some level of crude in-field treatment. The first had all four legs bound in fast setting foam casts and was obviously on some significant medication; despite what must have been quite a lot of pain her eyes were filled with a kind of dopy bliss. Her sharp little bird tongue protruded slightly from a half open beak as she turned her head to watch Fusion. The second soldier was missing long strips of fur from his hind legs and hips, the naked skin covered in a myriad of small punctures now all sealed with coagulant spray, the marks stopping abruptly where his hide had been covered with armour. He wasn't on any drugs and glared at the mare when he caught her staring at him.

Fusion blinked and tried to suppress a small, malicious smile when she saw the state of the gryphon's equipment, now cut into plates and dumped at the end of the trolley. It was as if a mad jeweller had attacked the ammunition and electronics housed along the spine and flanks of the armour set; long strings of crystal thaumic rounds had been distorted into fantastically baroque gem studded snake-like belts covered with needle points, sharp edges and curls of metal like the tendrils of some climbing plant. There was a lot of fur and more than a few feathers wound up in those fibres. The mare's smile faded, suddenly thankful that all she'd been wearing was a simple communicator when one of the foals had used that spell on her. She'd have to find out who it was and speak to their teacher; that filly or colt had a real talent for matter manipulation.

The third gryphon was strapped down and covered in long clusters of parallel scratches; he twitched and shivered against the restraints, eyes wide and frantically darting in all directions while his beak opened and closed as if he was trying to speak. No sound came out, however, and Fusion thought back to the spells she'd sensed before going after the foals. One had been a complex illusion spell, strange because the locus of effect had moved so erratically that she'd lost track of it.

That spell was actually cast on the gryphon, she thought. Looking again she saw the talons on the forelegs were broken and bloodied. What did you see that made you want to rip your own skin off?

The gentle, ever present feeling of suffocation suddenly vanished and Fusion felt like she was almost floating. A glance around with her shadow sight confirmed what she'd guessed; colour and light flowed back into the dark world, highlighting all the suddenly active crystal thaumic systems in a rush of twinkling lights. Dense reefs of lights filled the vehicles, while dark bipedal forms strode between them, looking like they were dusted with glowing powder. After an apparent eternity of being powerless, the sight was so beautiful that it momentarily took Fusion's breath away.

One of the glowing bipeds detached itself from the rest, pulled a case from the half empty cargo vehicle and walked towards Fusion and the herd of foals, followed by two of the unfamiliar adult ponies. Something moved inside that container, a constant, rolling flicker as if a snake made entirely of light turned restless cartwheels inside this portable prison. Something about that motion that made the mare uneasy, something that spoke of a desire to escape. The Master halted a short distance in front of the ponies, placing the case between its paws. Fusion reluctantly let the vision fade and opened her real eyes.

"The foals will form a circle one deep around this spot," the Master said, taking a deep breath and pointing at the case.

Fusion could see the dazed confusion on the foal's faces change to shame and no small amount of fear. The mare understood this; only a few days ago she'd felt the same way, haunted by her weakness and inability to serve as her Master had wanted. All these foals would be in the same position; even though she'd told them they weren't at fault there would still be that worm of doubt eating away inside them, that little voice that whispered you made the wrong choice, if you were better this wouldn't have happened. You failed.

None of the foals had ever had any direct interaction with the Masters and there was some uncertain shuffling from the herd; it took a few nudges and words of encouragement from the adults to get them moving in the right direction. Now spread out into an uneven ring and separated from their class mates, the foal's distress deepened, with more than a few trying to hide from the Master's gaze without actually moving from where they stood. Several had started to cry, their quiet sniffles barely audible above the activity around the rest of the vehicles.

Fusion found herself standing behind Shock Diamond and Phased Array. The blue colt was ready to support Phased; even though the filly's leg had only just been set and was braced with a lumpy shell of rigid polymer foam, she'd refused to accept any assistance. She'd been determined not to show any further weakness in front of the Masters and now stood there swaying and sweating heavily from the pain of movement.

The Master knelt down and unsnapped the fastenings on the case. "T...these foals have shown g... great courage this night and are n... not to blame for this... um... accident," he said in a thin, nervous sounding voice.

Fusion's ears pricked forward at the Master's tone and she studied him carefully as he talked. His paws are shaking, she thought in amazement, he's actually scared of the foals. It was one thing for a foal to panic when faced by a gryphon or some insectile power suit, but they'd all been brought up knowing the Masters were to be respected and obeyed, didn't he know that? She glanced across at the aircraft, seeing for the first time the dorsal turrets and the paired multi-barrelled weapons that were aimed at the herd.

Fusion inhaled sharply as the next thought struck her. None of the foals are Blessed... is it that they actually don't trust us without the Blessing? The mare's eyes widened as the memory of her own Blessing welled up once more. It's supposed to be just a ceremony, something to bring us closer to the Maker, but what if it isn't? How much of my attitude towards the Masters is due to that spell? What does it actually do? She pushed the troubling thoughts away, concentrating on the Master once more.

A sigh of relief ran around the circle of foals as the meaning of the words penetrated, a reaction echoed a few seconds later by the attitude of the Master, who also visibly relaxed. Flexing his fingers the Master opened the case and brought out a circle of dark metal. The shape of the thing tickled Fusion's memory; a wide band a few hooves across and just the right size to fit on a pony's head. Little crystals glowed dimly on the inside surface. She had seen that thing before, but that time it had been made of a golden metal and had been set with a large amethyst. With a sinking feeling, Fusion realised exactly what it was.

"The bravery and skill of these foals is such that they will be honoured with an immediate Blessing." The Master held the crown up in both paws, claw tips pale against black metal, and stepped forward to stand in front of one of the foals. Little lights raced around its inner surface, casting faint pastel glimmers on the colt's head.

One of the ponies attached to the Hive Security contingent, a bulky grey stallion, had been working his way around the circle towards Fusion. The mare watched his approach, unable to take her eyes off the Master's eye sigil fixed to the stallion's black utility vest, right where his labour tattoo would be. He nodded to her in greeting then leaned forward to whisper urgently in her ear.

"It's vital the foals don't panic and run."

"What do you mean?" Fusion muttered out of the corner of her mouth, keeping an eye on the closest foal's ear direction.

"A field Blessing is stressful at the best of times and this is the biggest I've ever heard of. If any of the foals were to run the rest might follow. I've never seen my Masters so tense before..." he tailed off, eyes not on Fusion but the aircraft and their waiting guns.

That really brought it home for Fusion; she'd half considered this possibility, but it had never seemed real. To hear her own thoughts echoed back from a pony that’d served these particular Masters, a pony who would be an expert in their body language by dint of long observation and a desire to anticipate their orders... Something akin to panic threatened to overwhelm her.

"W... what should I do?" Fusion said hoarsely.

"Try to keep them calm, talk to them."

"...and if that doesn't work?"

The stallion stared at her, a serious expression on his face. "Use your magic. Hold them down."

Fusion's ears flattened. "I understand," she said softly, "It's for the best, I suppose."

The stallion smiled sadly at her. "Yes. It's a shame, a Blessing should be an event to be celebrated, but this is the only way to make them safe." He looked like he wanted to say more, but a shadow of pain crossed his muzzle and he turned away, trotting back around the circle.

The comment was cryptic enough that Fusion couldn't understand his meaning, so instead she took a step forward and lowered her head to talk to Shock Diamond, Phased Array and the other foals nearby. "Listen, this will look a bit scary but there's nothing to worry about. Being Blessed is a won--" The words almost stuck in Fusion's throat and she swallowed, suddenly assailed by doubt. "--wonderful thing." Over on the other side of the ring the Master placed the crown onto the head of a nervous-looking colt. Without a sound the pony went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Shock shifted uneasily, looking back at Fusion in askance. "Is that...?"

The mare hurriedly cut him off. "...normal? Yes, that's what's supposed to happen. He'll be back on his hooves in less than half a kilosecond." Shock and the closest foals settled down on hearing this, losing some of their nervous twitches. Fusion moved off, mimicking the other stallion and whispering reassurances to foals as she passed. As she walked around the outside of the circle, the Master did the same on the inside, leaving a trail of comatose ponies behind him. As more and more of them slumped to the ground, the remaining foals grew increasingly unsettled.

Fusion heard it before she saw it. A sharp intake of breath followed by a string of half heard syllables, a gabble of distress from a scared pony. Her ears flicked forward, sweeping the arc of remaining foals for the source of the noise. There, amid the mix of awed, nervous or excited faces was one that was different. The little green colt's muzzle was twisted in revulsion and terror, his ears folded so far back that they were lost beneath his mane. Despite this, he stood his ground, eyes wide and fixed on the approaching Master. The mare cast her gaze frantically around the ring, looking for the two security ponies. No luck; one was making the fallen foals more comfortable, the other supporting the injured Phased as the Master held the crown over her head.

"...no please mummy help I can see it it's alive it’s hungry can't let it eat me help don't want..."

The voice, now clearly audible, rose to a wordless keening whine that made Fusion's heart lurch. Already the foals to either side were shuffling nervously, wings twitching and flexing as if to be ready for flight. The mare took two quick strides and was at the green colt's side, dropping to her knees to press against him flank to flank and laying her wings over as many of the other foals as she could reach. He was shivering violently, teeth chattering so hard that when he tried to talk nothing understandable came out. A few foals away the Master set the black crown on Phased's head.

"Tangent Vector, isn't it?" Fusion said to him, trying to keep her voice as light as possible. "Don't fret, there's nothing to be afraid of. Your friends will all be fine and on their hooves in no time."

"Nooooooo..." The colt stopped shivering all at once, his wings flicking out and thrashing wildly, tangling with Fusion's own.

What does he think he's seeing? the mare thought as the colt's legs kicked out, trying to free himself from Fusion's wing. Her heart sank. Please don't make me do this, she thought, folding one wing completely over his small body and hugging him as hard as she could. This only made Tangent struggle more violently, and Fusion could feel him slipping backwards out of her grasp. A green nimbus flared up over his horn.

Feeling sick, Fusion laid her magic over the colt, snuffing out his power and holding him still in a white telekinetic haze. He could no longer move, but the mare could feel every twitch and shiver, every frantic gasp, every tiny flutter of his heart. She held his mouth shut to prevent any more of the panicked stream of consciousness speech, but this did nothing to stop the wordless whinnies of distress.

"Just a bit of nerves," Fusion said loudly, addressing the rest of the foals, dredging up the words her mother had used before her own Blessing. "It's a bit scary but afterwards it's wonderful." That felt more like a lie every time she said it, but Fusion kept her voice light and friendly. She started humming one of the lullabies sung by her father, drowning out the foal's muffled panic while stroking his flank with her wing. It seemed to work on his foalmates, at least; the adjacent fillies and colts stopped edging away and calmed down a little.

To take her mind off what she was being forced to do, Fusion tried to work out what had upset Tangent so much. She'd seen the Master Bless nearly a dozen foals as she walked around the circle, they'd all collapsed, of course, but there was nothing so horrifying in that. The green colt's eyes bulged as the crown settled on the neighbouring filly's head and he bucked violently in Fusion's unbreakable grip. A long, low moan escaped his gagged muzzle.

Confused, the mare opened her shadow sight, just in time to see something that nearly made her drop the colt in shock. In the black silhouette world the filly was lit up like a translucent anatomy sculpture. Thick, glowing tentacles reached out from the crown to crawl with an obscene fluidity over and through her little body, internal organs lighting up as the magic touched each of them in turn. This... inspection was over in a few seconds, the writhing tendrils pulling back up to concentrate in her head, leaving a thin strand running down her spine that split up to make her lungs and heart glow with a sick, greenish light.

The real activity was now taking place in the filly's brain; compared to her other organs it shone like a distant lightning storm, the various parts illuminated with a stroboscopic flicker as wire-like tentacles of magic wove through the nerves. The rapid-fire motion slowed and stabilised, then most of the fibres withdrew with blinding speed, leaving only a dim network of wires joining horn, brain, heart and lungs. The filly collapsed to leave the Master holding the crown, and he moved to stand next to the green colt.

The Master's eyes widened when he saw the struggling foal, then hurriedly placed the crown on Tangent's head. There was the sudden sharp tang of urine in the air and Fusion felt something warm and wet trickle down the side of one of her legs. The colt froze when the crystals in the crown activated, and Fusion finally saw the whole process at point blank range.

She'd missed the very start when she watched the filly being Blessed; this looked like something out of one of the early general science courses from before she had specialised in physics. In the shadow universe of her magic sight, the tentacles unfolded from the crown like those of a sea anemone; an impossibly large mass emerging from some higher dimension made only of coiled, writhing forms.

This close she could feel their questing movement. They also seemed to be interested in her; where she held the green colt in fur to fur contact the tentacles were concentrating, as if seeking some way to jump into her flesh and continue their exploration. Horn already glowing from the effort required to hold the foal still and suppress his magic, she had no trouble hiding the extra power required to rebuff the attack. Recoiling as if stung, they retreated up his body and converged on his brain.

Fusion could see the individual parts of Tangent's brain light up with bewildering speed, but as before the light show quickly finished to leave a faint network behind. It was then that the true horror of the situation became apparent. The colt's breathing hitched and his heart stuttered for several long seconds, then resumed their normal rhythm. In the last moments before the Blessing faded into invisibility against the foal's normal magical background, Fusion could see little pulses of light running down the threads to heart and lungs. Pulses that were in time with the motion of those organs.

The mare felt the bile rise in her throat and, as the colt went limp in her grip, staggered away from the remaining foals, barely able to put one hoof in front of the other. Finding a quiet patch of ground at the edge of the lights, Fusion fell to her knees and was violently sick.

A gentle touch at her shoulder and the quiet voice of her sister brought Fusion back to the real world. "Are you okay, Fusion?" Gravity asked, sounding slightly puzzled. She recoiled when she caught sight of her sister's haunted expression. "What happened?"

"He was so scared," the white mare said in a broken voice, "so scared of the Blessing. All he wanted to do was get away and... and... and I held him down and let them do that to him."

There was no understanding in Gravity's eyes. "What do you mean?"

Fusion opened her mouth to tell her about how wrong the Blessing was, about what it left behind in a pony's head. A large shape stepped up behind Gravity and Fusion's mouth snapped shut, the mare abruptly realising where she was and who would be listening.

"I'm sorry you had to do that," the security stallion said. "That should have been my job. That was the worst reaction I've seen in a long time." He floated a wide mouthed bottle of water in Fusion's direction; the mare took it gratefully, rinsing the foul taste out of her mouth. "The appearance of the Blessing is intimidating if you've never seen it, that's why it normally takes place behind closed doors. If it's any consolation, he won't remember any of it."

No, it's not, Fusion thought. "I wish I could forget." She closed her eyes, but she could still see the glowing tentacles caressing the colt.