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.
"This is not the Equestria you know and these are not your little ponies."
Pffff...oh please! Most of the fics on this site are ALREADY not the Equestria we know and already DON'T contain our little ponies!
"This is not the Equestria you know and these are not your little ponies."
Pffff...oh please! Most of the fics on this site are ALREADY not the Equestria we know and already DON'T contain our little ponies!
Icky icky up close look at a mind rape in progress. Ewwwwwww.
Lingering feelings of doubt, and seeing the Blessing for the horror it really is...
It begins.
1041674
So true
Soon... soon the revolution shall begin! Muahahahahahaha!
Ponies fail to receive a real reward in this society.
Truly, it is the masters themselves that have broken this Skinner Box.
A very dynamic chapter. The walls begin to crack. Granted, there had to be some reason why these godlike Alicorns were treated effectively as a slave force. A full mental conditioning would probably fit the bill.
The first changeling wants a word with the People. He also has a geass. It turns any who see his left eye into stone.
Can't wait to see Fusion kick some master ass.
It will be the matrix.
1042712Sick 'em Fusion
So happy tonight. I started thinking of this again late last week... I'll have to read it when I have time...
Oddly enough... Just like that last time... Working on cables again when this came out. About to go to bed.
Gotta rest up for a long day of assembly tomorrow. For science... Or at least for bits!
Through cracks in the cave, new shadows appear, and those within begin to question the shapes they have known all their lives...
Wait, that's philosophy, not psychology.
1041679
I heard you the first time!
True, but in my defence you did miss out the most important part of the phrase:
This is not the Equestria you know and these are not your little ponies. Not yet anyway.
It's the getting from here to there that's the fun bit (incidentally the whole fic sprang out of a single unexplained fact about life in Equestria, can you guess what it was?).
1044308
The bits get me to work, it's the science that keeps me there , that and the crappy economy, mortgage, utility bills etc etc.
===
To everyone else: thanks for reading and double thanks for commenting. Oh, and if you understand the 'Skinner Box' reference, give yourself a Twilight Science Point!
This is sort of reminding me of "When the Tripods Came," with the brainwashing by putting on a hat.
"Of course I did'nt see anything suspisous"
Poor Cel- I MEAN...Fusion...
Well, now I have a good explanation for the fandom's Lyra. She's not run across evidence of humanity, but evidence of the Masters. After all, the Masters had installations spread all around the world. Not that anyone's likely to believe some crazy story about how the diamond dogs used the Elements of Harmony to create griffons, ponies, and who knows what else, either.
For that matter, the 'unexplained fact' could be how everything in Equestria seems to be designed for folks with a body plan similar to humans, despite how much that clashes with how the ponies themselves do things. Things like umbrella hats that leave most of their body rained-on, or shovels with three-foot long handles (and a cross-wise handle at the far end) when the ponies grip the things with their mouths in the middle. Sure, you can argue that what we're seeing doesn't really reflect what the place actually looks like, and the animators substitute familiar-looking analogues to make things simpler, but then you've gotta decide where it all ends and that's a mess any which way.
I am, by the way, amused at the idea of scattering a high-energy particle beam through a thaumic field to see how magic affects the underlying rules of reality.
I wonder when, exactly, Fusion will realize that the reason the Blessing made the foals safe was because without it the Masters considered the foals dangerous (it's worth remembering that no Hive is allowed to use pony soldiers, probably because it would allow the ponies to figure out just how crazy powerful they really are) and act to eliminate that danger. Fusion isn't stupid, but until recently her Blessing prevented her from thinking rationally about the Masters. Naturally, the fact that she herself is no longer Blessed will weigh on her as well; worse, she'll have to balance being found out versus doing what she sees as the right thing.
My biggest long term question, though, is why the full set of pony characteristics is so rare during the time frame of the show; how do you go from a society of exclusively winged unicorns to the three modern phenotypes? It's possible, I suppose, that the pony genome has to be maintained from generation to generation to remain stable, but that sort of thing sounds almost as hard as creating the ponies in the first place... and it's been mentioned that the Masters haven't used the Elements (assuming that that's what the artifacts in question really are) since they created the pony race.
As a minor follow up, how will Fusion and Gravity end up immortal? Admittedly, Fusion's inner monologue mentioned that pretty much nopony ever dies of old age (accidents or assisted suicide seem to be the standard causes of death) but she did recognize the concept of old age leading to death as applicable to ponykind. One possibility is, of course, synchronizing with an Element... which has implications for the Mane Six, of course, even if that would be largely outside the scope of this particular tale.
1066602
Thank you for your (huge!) comment, it's greatly appreciated.
That wasn't the 'fact' I had in mind, although it's a good one. I'm from the 'realist' school of anthropomorphics; it makes me twitch every time I see a quadrupedal being use a chair, door handle, etc, etc. I've spent more than a little time planning out how I'd build an industrial society for creatures with minimal manipulatory appendages - perhaps a subject for a follow-on fic!
Glad you liked the exercise in particle physics; when you boil it down even the LHC is just smashing things together and looking at the bits!
Obviously I won't answer your other questions, all I'll say is that I have a plan...
1073636 Well, some of the huge is because I only just ran across the story, and well, eight chapters to comment on.
On my questions: well, obviously. At least in the comments section, anyway. You're probably not going to say anything about the second moon, either. Although I can't help but make a Beast Wars connection in my head... except I can't figure who might've made it. Especially since from the sound of the opening bits about the Pattern there really isn't anywhere else to be in that cozy little universe.
Speaking of the Pattern, I'm reminded of a Babylon 5 quote: "We [meaning sophonts] are the universe trying to understand itself." Which seems quite literally true here.
Every time 'The Pattern' gets mentioned I'm reminded of both Roger Zelazny's "Amber" series and Steven Brust's "To Reign in Hell".
Was either an influence on you LtS?
Late reply is (really) late. Blame NaPoWriMo - I've just discovered that I can meet the daily quota as long as I do nothing else apart from work and sleep... and I'm not getting much sleep.
1073935
...or the lack of stars. Not familiar with Beast Wars at all. Yes, it's a small universe (which I'm feeling a bit guilty about - ever read Bank's Against A Dark Background?), at the time it was the only way to make it work.
1103042
Nope! I've not read either - I know Amber is a classic, but never got to it. Reign in Hell sounds interesting, I might take a look. There's a little of Well of Souls in the Pattern, but mostly it's from a book who's name I forget (involves a slower than light galaxy wide empire, superhuman minds called 'forts' and the disaster called the 'slow wave' that killed them all), although I did expand the concept (and I'm sure it's been used many times before).
Probably the only thing I regret about discovering ponies is that I don't have much time to read 'real books' anymore; between writing my own stuff and reading some of the truly excellent work on this site my time just evaporates.
1120100 I'm afraid I've never read anything by Banks. Lots of interesting ideas in his stuff from what I've heard, though.
Beast Wars' first season takes place on an Earth-like world with two moons. In the season finale, it turns out the smaller moon is actually a camouflaged device for sterilizing the Vok's laboratory... which is to say, the surface of the planet.
I heartily recommend Amber, although that Pattern didn't ever seem that worried about finding stuff out. It was more the dictatorial type, although the fact that its (animate) avatar was the Unicorn is a nice touch.
i first read this fic about two weeks ago, but i totally forgot to leave a comment so... better late than never!
first of all, wow. just wow. this fic is magnificant, i have never read any fanfiction that is so detailed about the inner workings of the Equestrian Universe. if i ever get off my lazy ass and actually finish working on that Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri crossover i was planning, i'm taking some pointers from your style and explanations for the way magic works.
thanks to this fic, anything using the term "Thaum" is now instantly awesome.
1171845
Thanks - you can blame Terry Pratchett for the 'thaum'...
The world needs more SF ponies, so get working!
1179005
th03.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2011/117/d/1/rainbow_dash_salute_by_atomicgreymon-d3bo0dx.png
at once, Master! this one shall begin work immediately!
.... or maybe in a week or two
(Guild Wars 2 is out, i've got dragons to slay!)
1121321 You know, I forgot about that. I miss Ghostwheel, it was what google wishes it was.
1179005 Give Sir Pratchett a break, he's got Alzheimer's Disease and he still cranks out some of the best fantasy in the industry(and SciFi, heartily recommend 'The Long Earth' to anypony who likes parallel world stories.)
You haven't entirely given up, yes?
1256740
I'm a big fan of Pratchett's stuff, although I've not read that one (as with the rest of my 'to be read' pile you can blame pony for that). His early SF is also very good - 'Strata' and 'Dark Side of the Sun,' if you haven't read those.
Chapter 9 is coming real soon (a day or two); apologies for my tardiness (I aim for the first week in the month). NaPoWriMo took more out of me than I thought and I needed a bit of a break. On the plus side this does mean sitting down and writing 1k a day no longer fills me with horror... although now I do have two long fics to work on...
1256740 Unfortunately, I don't own a copy of the Merlin books. But didn't Ghost more-or-less consider itself male? It's been far, far too long since I've read the back half.
1257795 I've generally found it difficult to find copies of anything but Discworld (which varies in quality from book to book, although when it bottoms out at 'good' and goes up to 'Awesome!' you don't really want to miss any of 'em) and Good Omens. Although I did snag a copy of Only You Can Save Mankind, which, like the rest of his work, I heartily endorse.
1257795 First, I only wanted to express my enthusiasm for your story, please don't feel pressured the good stuff takes time (what that says about me I shudder to think).
Also, yeah pretty much read all his stuff, I haven't had a chance to read 'Nation', but 'Strata' was cool, especially the unintended easter egg for Discworld fans at the end. TLE just came out this year and is a collab, still good though. Hay, I even read the 'Truckers' trilogy. ... I read a lot.
1258010 Well yes it did, and it also considered what's his name it's mother. By the Merlin book, I hope you're not referring to that abortive attempt at a prequel by another author? I could barely start it.
Have you read 'Lord of Light'? That might even make a good sf pony premise... maybe
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I always feel pressured - but that's down to my personality rather than anything else! Really glad you are enjoying it.
In other news: the next chapter will be up in 30 seconds.
Now the waiting starts. I hate this bit.
First of all, now that I'm back to a PC this is immediately going into favourites.
Secondly, this is one of the most attention devouring fics since Past Sins and Lone Ranger. I'm glad this is only the 8th chapter. Also, while some details can't help, but escape me I love the concept and the subtle outcry of the whole setting.
Funny word, "safe." One of those adjectives that can describe either a property or a condition. And so we often think of the property and the condition as being practically the same thing, just manifested differently, even though in many situations where either could be applied the two are opposites. A Sapir-Whorf sort of effect, it seems.
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Ooh. that's a fun one. Is it magic?
Hmm, no, to obvious. I'll have to gather more data.
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Well, (as of when I read this anyways, maybe not as of when you read it; but that seems unusual for Luna-tic, especially with the editing obsession) we know the Masters have an active breading program in place for the ponies. They don't need the Elements to do it, they're doing it with selective breeding program. Remove that and it all falls apart. And, that would explain some of the weird genetics we've seen in the show (cake twins).
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Aha! The 'stars' are junk from the debris belt mentioned earlier, strewn across the night sky by
GrLuna!Also:
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(With appropriate apologies to Lewis, of course.)
So... the brainwashed victim who secretly escaped the influence of the slave crown, something she doesn't know if she can repeat, and can see the crown destroying your mind, is forced to hold down children while the crown is used on them. What kind of a fucked up author are you?
It helps when you realize that the crown's evil has nothing to do with tentacles or muscle jerks, but instead the specific microscopic processes going on in that lit up brain. The very same process could be used to undo the programming, or heal brain injury, and it would look just as creepy to a unicorn observer.
I think the worst part is they call it a Blessing. Religion teaches you to have faith instead of trying to understand God, and that even when God does something that looks bad, it's actually cleverly good. So not only are they lying about it being a good thing, they're wilfully remaining ignorant of what it's doing, and assuming any consequences will be in their favor. Calling it a Pacifier or a Obediencizer, or even a Slave Crown wouldn't be nearly as disturbing. "Field Blessing?" Are you shitting me?
Ooh no it should be called a "Love Inducer" that's it.
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I'm thinking that fact is the existence of cutie marks...
Incidentally, this is my new favorite headcanon for Equestria's origin. At least for the moment, while that still works. I hope you don't break it by killing off Luna and Celestial or anything like that!
(Okay, back to work. Sorry, had a rough few days. Now where did we leave off. Right, The Pattern was being very creepy, Fusion had finally broken her Mind Rape and could see what huge assholes her 'Masters' were. But she was caught and had to fake things for now. And we saw how one dumb rookie can fuck over your entire squad.)
OOOOOOOOOOkay. So that explains 'magic' though, huh, takes some of the mystery, some of the 'magic' out of it, but, only in knowing how it exists. Meh, not a huge deal but, a little down-putting to have to explained that well. It's still magic, still has something to it beyond just regular tech but..... And, so The 'stones' are basically a backdoor hack into reality itself. Interesting.
Still hilarious seeing how badly such 'crack fighters' and the basic military force got their asses handed to them by a bunch of half trained, panicking foals.
And if that only happened because that fucking magic suppression n shit kept Animal from saving her....... . I hate 'The masters' more and more with every action.
And, not just making reality bend to their will and crushing them with brute force, but doing THAT too. You know on the whole, I am really really creeped out and unsettled by any time of messing with someones mind. Hence a reason I hate what they are doing to the ponies so much but... in this case... I hope whatever pony that was gets a chance to really screw with some Masters heads, give them a taste of their own medicine, see how THEY like being Mind Raped and forced to act against their will.
And... no... fuck no... you BETTER not be messing with these foals even MORE you evil, vile bastards
"The Master" are going to be getting off to easy. No matter what happens, it won't be enough, some of them still exist. Screwing with their minds THAT much, making them so devoted, so dedicated, they would rather walk on broken legs, feeling bad about showing pain, then even risk disappointing them. Where's Red Velvet when you need her. THAT would be a fitting fate. (Evil version of Pinkie Pie from Crisis Equestria. Picture Pinkameena, but with fear based superpowers. And even MORE psychotic.)
And you are learning fast. Now, find a way to break the rest free, to stop 'The blessing' from happening, make the rest see what is going on.
"Hey lets save out own asses before these ponies realize they can royally fuck us over in revenge for enslaving their entire race in the worst way possible., QUICK let's Rip these foals minds to pieces until they are good little puppets!"
Fusion.... screw hiding, screw waiting. STOP THIS! Destroy these fucking evil bastards before they inflict this on them.
Not only is she not going to stop them, but she has to help them be trapped. And that fucking stallion knows what's going on.....
Holy fuck, this this is just intense and, so little is REALLY happening but, just.. DAMN! So much tension, suspense... amazing job.
And that... alright I'm seeing why you said we'd call you evil that... seeing that.. her having to DO that and yet.. if she hadn't, they would have simply been gunned down. Seeing just what the Blessing does, knowing it. And that Stallion.. he knows but, can't fight his own programming. But she knows now, she knows how evil they are, what they did to her, are doing to her people, MADE her do to them. Now, to find a way to stop it, to break the rest free. Holy FUCK that was, that was.. like I said, intense. And SO well done... HATED seeing it happen but, knew it had to, that there was no other choice and, this is what would have happened to them anyway.
PLEASE, let her start kicking their asses soon!
So she finally understands, even if the security guy doesn't. I must admit, I felt about as ill as she did watching this.
One thing is bugging me, though, and that these magic dampers. I'm wondering how they'll ever deal with that, because they're obviously going to have to. If it wasn't for the fact that the dampers must be off for the crown to work (I assume), I'd call this entire cause hopeless.
I'm really glad that I got done eating before I read this chapter. I don't think most people stop to think just how disgusting mind-control is, it's like killing the person and leaving behind a shambling corpse, left animated by its controller's will. The colt that rises from this undeath will not be Tangent Vector.
Are the paragraphs about the Blessing out of order? The tendrils of magic seem to be goint through Tangent Vector before the Blessing process is begun.
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I think the real horror is that Tangent Vector is still there. The same personality, the same memories, the same instincts, all the knowledge they've learned, everything about Tangent Vector's identity is still there, as far as we know. But now, it will be molded into an unnatural shape, without the ability to form its own priorities. Everything else is fine, but all sense of value and esteem comes from external sources. They still have a will, but it isn't "free" will.
The horror, beyond that, is that they only value themselves as much as the mutts value them. But only to a limited extent, as we will see soon.
...Yeah, the Blessing is what I thought it would be like.
Yep.
cs5.pikabu.ru/images/big_size_comm/2014-11_2/1415407820894.png
What it truly is
Upon re-reading this I had a thought... So that's how King Sombra makes his control-helms.
Jeebus, that's some eldritch looking stuff right there, yikes. 😬
Poor little guy, and poor Fusion. She's gonna have a rough time from here on out...
How very lovecraftian