Chapter 25
Twilight let out a yelp as her head cracked off the wall, temporarily stunning her. I wasn't entirely sure of her abilities, so I didn't want to take any chances. The blankets constricted further, going all the way up to the base of her neck and keeping a tight hold there. My barriers were primed and ready to go in a heartbeat if needed. My eyes narrowed as I glared at her a moment before spitting to the side, trying to get her taste out of my mouth. Ugh.
"W-What are you doing, Mender?" she finally managed to stutter, gasping for air as she tried to raise her head up higher.
I snorted, watching her carefully for any sudden moves. "Cute. Who are you really?" I asked cautiously.
She stared down at me, eyes wide with shock before asking, "W-What are you talking about?" Her voice was timid, sounding exactly like the familiar lavender unicorn. Scarily similar. I was starting to get annoyed at this point.
"It all fits. The static I heard before you got here. Not mentioning Rarity probably being at Fluttershy's and simply going to check there. Giving up on the search for Rarity in the first place. None of these things are something Twilight would do," I pointed out.
Her eyes started to water and she opened her mouth, but I continued first. "Further, Twilight and I haven't progressed this far in our relationship. She would... She wouldn't have said that she loved me. Or tried to do what you just tried to do."
"M-Mender, it really is," she started to protest before I hauled her closer, momentarily distracted by the slight bruise the right side of her face bore.
"Lastly, Twilight's eyes are lavender, not pink," I finished, staring right into her bright pink eyes. Hers widened while mine narrowed.
A quiet second passed by, and she suddenly smiled. It was that same saucy grin she wore before. "Clever. Is this better?" she asked casually. I watched, anger rising as her eyes shifted from pink to the purple I was used to. Damn it. Why hadn't I noticed sooner? Sure it was dark down there, but still, her behavior was ridiculous.
"Who are you and what do you want?" I asked again, more slowly this time as my voice lowered. Twilight was probably at Rarity's still. Rarity was probably home after all with Spike there. I subdued this mare easily, so Twilight could have stomped her into the dirt without looking. No, Twilight was fine.
"Aww, but I just want to have some no strings attached fun, Mender. I even went to all of this effort to look like your girlfriend. So, how about it? We have a juicy little romp, you pretend to have fallen asleep, and I'm gone and out of sight before anyone's the wiser," she offered pleasantly. Her voice shifted at the same time and I noted 'anyone' as if a flare was attached to it. Not that I needed the clue, as I recognized the voice anyway.
"Nirru? What the hell?!" I asked, backing away from her a little. How? How was this even possible?! Everything pointed at Keela. I'd told her about Twilight, Spike, bits of Equestria, my friends...
She grinned and smiled at me before nodding. "Of course. Keela attempting to contact you and warn you was probably what you heard earlier, but I blocked her from communicating. I only want one thing, Mender. Give it to me and I'll leave. You'll never have to deal with us ever again," she assured, eyes half-lidding as she licked her lips towards me. No, this didn't make sense. Why was she even doing this?
"Why do you want to mate with me?" I asked carefully, shifting to my left a little as she floated in the air, not trying to resist in the slightest.
Her eyes closed a moment later and she sighed. "You have something we need, and that's one of the fastest ways to get it. I don't give a shit if the council likes it or not. I'm going to save our species, one way or another."
There it was. It clicked into place and I sighed again. "You think I have Keldarian DNA left that can be used to help repopulate," I muttered, losing the anger I had. It was hard to stay mad at somepony blatantly lying to themselves.
"I know you have the DNA," she corrected, losing her smile and just watching me now.
"You know that one Keldarian isn't going to be enough to jump start our species again, right? Even if this new form somehow didn't screw with my DNA, there's not enough diversity in just me for that to work," I warned, shuddering internally at the thousands of complications that would stem from that. Disease, mutation, genetic abnormality, and massive amounts of defects would probably cause them to die out in all of four or five generations if they were lucky.
"That's my problem, not yours. All I'm asking is for you to just sit back and enjoy yourself for a bit. In return, I'll break the link myself and send you your stupid book back," she offered, shifting to a business approach instead, it would seem.
I opened my mouth to protest when both of us were interrupted by the sound of the door opening downstairs. Uh oh. Had Twilight gotten impatient and come looking for me? Well this would be rather easy to explain if so, and she'd have her proof right here and now.
"Twi, are ya up there? Applejack and I saw you hit the door on your way in and were worried," Rainbow called out from below, causing my heart to fall into my stomach. Damn it. Okay, this was going to be harder than I thought.
"Work with me! We'll get them to leave, then we can mate and it'll be over. You won't have to worry about us any further," Nirru whispered, shifting back to Twilight's voice and causing me to shiver. The sensation of knowing who she actually was felt largely like nails on a chalkboard that was strapped to the back of my skull.
Damn. If I got them to go away, maybe I could talk some sense into her? This was crazy. "Twi, are ya okay up there? Mender told us about tha disks, an’ Ah had ah few more questions if ya don’t mind. He up there with ya?" Applejack asked a second later, earning another annoyed groan from Nirru. I paced lightly in place, unsure of what I should do. If I let her go and had her help me get them to leave, they'd probably tell Twilight anyway and then I'd get in trouble for tricking them. But if I tried to convince them that this was some freaky space version of Twilight here trying to seduce me because she's off her rocker, I had a feeling that would go over as well as a barrel of rotten apples dumped over their heads.
“Okay, just help me talk to them, Nirru. I’m sure we can explain things in a way that doesn’t make me sound cra… Any more crazy, and that will help both of us,” I suggested in a whisper, looking back up at her as she drifted.
Nirru hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and adding, "Idiot." I glared at her before widening my eyes in shock as she yanked herself backwards. Her back and side crashed into the wall again and she let out a muffled yelp before adding in, "Ahh! H-Help!"
What?! Oh. Oh hell. "Twi!" I heard Rainbow shout from the stairs, followed by a powerful flapping noise as she undoubtedly took to the air. I took a few steps back away from the bed, looking back and forth between Nirru and the stairs.
A heartbeat passed and she was there. Dash took in the situation with rapidly widening eyes, mouth slowly dropping open as her orange friend cleared the top of the stairs and split second later.
"What in Equestria are ya doin', Mender?" Applejack asked, eyes rapidly joining Rainbow's in size. Son of a... I rapidly tried to think of something; anything I could say to convince them of what was actually going on, but it all sounded so far-fetched that I didn't know what to go with.
"H-He hit me, and then wrapped me up," Nirru whimpered in Twilight's voice, making sure to show the right side of her head where blood now trickled down.
The shift was like watching a train looming towards me in slow motion. Applejack's eyes slowly narrowed and filled with an indescribable rage as she shifted her gaze towards me. I shuddered and backed away, panic drifting readily into me now. Oh crap. Uh, she appreciated the truth the most!
"This isn't Twilight! This is Nirru, one of the people from my dimension," I rapidly explained, shifting closer to the bed in case I needed soft things for something. You never knew when you'd need something soft!
"Mender, just let her go and we'll talk about this, okay?" Dash suggested, looking unsure of the situation rather than pissed, surprisingly.
"Yer crazy. Yer absolutely crazy. Let her go, or Ah'm gonna buck ya so hard yer ancestors'll feel it!" she warned, slowly stepping closer to me, one hoof at a time. Oh hell!
Shifting Nirru, I intersected her between the two of us to ward off any potential charges. "I'm telling the truth! She's the crazy one! She said she was here to try to seduce me or something," I defended, peeking out from around the blankets.
"He's crazy! He said he was tired of waiting and he," Nirru 'sobbed', burying her face in the blankets surrounding her. What?! "He tried to do things to me!" she finally managed to yell out. I pulled the blankets tighter against her to shut her up, but it was probably a little too late at that point.
Applejack looked livid and was actually shaking in rage while glaring at me. Rainbow was just frowning, looking a little upset but still seeming unsure. "Mender, calm down and just let her go. AJ and I aren't going to hurt you. Let's just talk about this," she reasoned. I paused, not realizing the hoof I was touching the blankets with was shivering uncontrollably. It felt like a ball of ice had settled in my stomach and I further retreated. Applejack looked like she was going to murder me, which kind of lowered the believability of the cyan pegasus' claim.
"Twilight's at Rarity's! Go and check for yourself, Rainbow! Applejack can stay here until you get back," I reasoned, swallowing hard. I couldn't stop my stupid hoof from shaking, and I suddenly felt like crying. That wasn't possible, though. I couldn't let Nirru hurt my friends!
"Oh no. Yer not gonna split us up. Let her go, Mender. Now," Applejack demanded yet again, voice dropping into a tone I'd never heard her hit before.
Rainbow herself hesitated, though. She believed me? No, she felt the tension and utter horror coming off me through the empathy link. "Just put her down, Mender. Then I'll go check at Rarity's," she finally offered. Crap. Well, that was a lot better than not believing me at all.
"Yer kiddin', right? Ya actually believe that hogwash, RD?" Applejack asked skeptically, glaring over at her friend instead for a moment.
Rainbow surprised me by glaring back. "He at least deserves the benefit of the doubt! Sure, it's crazy, but so is me flying through space and him taking out a giant ship!" she pointed out, sounding a little irritated. I swallowed weakly, but peeked out from behind the blanketed mass again, hoping maybe that this could be resolved in a non-violent manner. Heck, Applejack could buck me all she wanted so long as Nirru wasn't allowed to be free. I'd certainly prefer she didn't, but given her expression, I decided that wasn't bloody likely. More static sensation resounded into my skull, but I ignored it entirely. Keela could wait.
Applejack looked momentarily taken aback before scowling and returning her gaze to me. "Fine. But only after he lets Twi go," she finally acquiesced. I swallowed and shifted back a little, unsure of myself.
"I just don't want her to hurt you. If I let her go, I'm not sure if I could defend you from her if needed," I explained uneasily, finally managing to get my hoof under control and force it to stop shivering. A few cold swallows later and I slowed my heartbeat as well.
Rainbow momentarily looked surprised before narrowing her eyes slightly. Huh?! Her stance spread out along with her wings as she slowly started sidestepping, putting distance between herself and Applejack while remaining oriented on me. She was widening the flank I needed to defend. Crap. Why was she suddenly mad at me? Applejack lowered herself as well upon noticing her friend's reaction, staying her ground and blocking me off from the stairs. I swallowed, my heartbeat speeding back up again almost instantly. Damn it!
A short scream of rage sounded off inside my head, and the static burst through, finally releasing a panting voice. "Nirru! What the hell are you doing?! This isn't what you said you'd do! You were supposed to talk to them and discuss the matter!" Keela suddenly demanded, sounding utterly pissed off. It seemed like everypony here was pissed except for me.
"I'm doing what you're too afraid to do. Save our species," Nirru whispered under her breath into the blankets, sounding indignant instead.
There was a huff, followed by, "You're hurting innocent bystanders. Stop this, Sis! Just tell them that he's not lying and talk it over!" Keela pleaded, calming down a little. She had helped her sister get here? Although their plan seemed to have deviated significantly, I noticed. My feelings were suddenly conflicted over her involvement and I frowned, looking up at Nirru as the Keldarian turned pony hesitated, frowning to herself.
My mistake was noticed several hundredths of a second too late. To maintain the barrier over Nirru, I didn't have any on myself. Looking away from them was all the opening Dash had needed. She was in front of me before I could even widen my eyes, way faster than the guard had been. There was no chance for me to raise a barrier in the slightest before she plowed me over in a feral pounce. We slammed into the bed in an instant, sliding the entire thing across the floor as she pinned me to the mattress. Suddenly I was glad of my decision to get close to the soft things.
Regardless, her actual impact had hurt like a bitch, and I yelped as my skin bruised under the force of her hooves holding me down. Contact with my hoof broken, the barriers collapsed, blanket and Nirru falling to the floor as Applejack rushed over. No! I fought against Rainbow, her being deceptively heavy as well as strong. It apparently wasn't just her wings that were powerful!
"Twi! Are ya alright?" Applejack asked almost instantly, helping Nirru unwrap herself from the blanketed mess. I tried to look around Rainbow to see what was happening, but the pegasus just shoved me harder into the bed.
"We do not need you to protect us, Mender," she hissed out a second later, glaring at point blank range into my eyes. I swallowed, backing up completely into Twilight's pillow, starting to shiver again.
A pause between Nirru's fake sobbing let her relay, "He c-cracked my horn when he first hit me! I can't m-make my magic work!" Clever.
Nirru's 'crying' resumed shortly thereafter, and I saw Applejack wrap her hooves around the 'shivering' mare and glare over her shoulder at me instead. Not good! At that range, I had no idea what Nirru was capable of. I struggled harder against Rainbow, trying not to panic as I saw the lavender forelegs gently wrapping around Applejack. The left hoof, as it extended around behind the farm mare's back, slowly shifted into a metallic hue, a long needle starting to form out of it. Shit!
"I'm sorry, Rainbow," I managed to mutter, causing the prismatic pegasus to raise an eyebrow. My hoof touched her front elbow an instant later, however, removing all gravity from her at the price of more of my limited reserve of magic. Her eyes widened as she felt herself become weightless, but I had already shifted my back legs up and shoved against her chest. She yelped as she spun backwards, flailing and drifting towards the ceiling. I rolled and lunged after the kick, sending myself off the bed and bounding towards Nirru's back. She wouldn't hurt my friends!
Applejack's eyes widened and she surprised me by shoving Nirru to her right, sending the lavender mare sprawling, her hoof rapidly shifting back to normal! Damn it! I slid slightly, shifting my course and launching myself towards her new position, as fast as my legs could take me. I hadn't wanted to hurt her, but if it came down to either that or letting her hurt anypony I cared for, there wasn't a choice!
Smashing her into the wall earlier had revealed a problem, however. The vibration through her body had revealed to me that she was actually absurdly dense. I hadn't mentioned that to her, but that had confirmed my actions in an instant. Just a barrier wouldn't be able to even make a dent in her skin. I just wasn't strong enough, and there wasn't any weight behind them. In order to actually cut her, I needed to make a compressed blade like I had before. Without my past self's energy pool however, I was severely limited in both range and size. I'd have to get a lot closer if I was going to connect with this thing!
Applejack was thrown off balance by her toss, rotating around practically backwards as she spun. My peripheral vision told me Rainbow had barely hit the ceiling and was still trying to recover as my burst of magic wore off her. This was my only chance! Two bounds passed. My heart hammered at my chest in the same instant that Nirru hit the floor, face first. Her flank was to me. I couldn't reach her neck, so I formed the energy blade aiming at her spine instead. It wasn't an assured kill, but she would be in too much pain to do anything, hopefully. This was assuming that her current body had some sort of central nervous system.
The blade flared up, compressing down as best I could with my limited amount of energy and time to form it. It only extended half a meter or so. My third bound landed against the harsh wood of the library floor, and then I leapt. I angled my head down the best I could, aiming for her mid-back. Time slowed as my body flared with adrenalin. A nagging sensation hit my mind, as realization connected a second after. Wait, didn't Applejack buck with her...
"No!" the orange mare screamed out, bracing like a coiled spring on her front legs. She had spun on purpose. It dawned on me as my eyes widened. There was no energy left in me to even try to form a barrier.
Years of smashing her hooves into the solid trunks of trees had made Applejack an absurdly strong mare. Both of her legs unfurled with practiced precision and timing. I'd have been impressed, had both back hooves not connected with my right side a hundredth of a second later. Time ground to a halt at the call of the brutal cracking sound echoing out from my side. The air in my lungs was literally forced from my body from the impact, my midsection suddenly deciding to travel sideways instead of following the momentum of the rest of my body. My legs and head snapped sideways as the force of her double kick shattered my prior forward momentum almost as easily as it had undoubtedly just shattered a few ribs.
Then the pain hit, catching up with the torn apart nerves throughout the flesh along my side. I let out a silent scream, having absolutely no air to actually make my vocal cords work. My side screamed in bloody agony for another heartbeat, mirroring the whiplash from all four limbs and my neck as I was tossed through the air like a high velocity ragdoll. The crushing pain was joined by an abrupt stabbing sensation in the same instant, it practically feeling like she had snapped me in half from the force of the impact. Then I hit the window.
My momentum had carried me forward a little bit still, but her strength had rendered it a moot point. I rocketed sideways away from my intended target and smashed directly into Twilight's bay window near the balcony. The wooden frame shattered under the weight of my body, the glass fragmenting around me as I was forced through it. It didn't shatter in any uniform pattern, however, leaving long gashes along my skin as I was torn across it. I didn't even feel the sensation at that point. The explosion of raw agony from my side tore through my body like a ripple, leaving numb oblivion in its wake. My back hit the railing of the balcony with enough force to splinter the wood and snap the supports, from the sound of it. My instant stop was a harsh one as I momentarily caved my fragile body into the heavy rail before gravity outweighed my sideways momentum. My world blackened as I hit the floor of the balcony, not unlike a sack of wet sand. Ironically, that's the closest I could get to describing what my insides felt like. She was right. I swore I could hear an unknown ancestor crying as everything went black.
* * * * *
Consciousness flickered back into my skull; not as a stirring this time so much as a belly flop onto cement. I couldn't even manage a groan as I felt my body stiffen, points of agony dancing along my back, side, neck, and legs. It would be easier for me to list what didn't hurt, I noted. My eyes opened a second later as the realization of what had happened set in. Nirru was free with nopony to stop her! Speak of the devil, I saw she stood all of a meter from me on the balcony when my eyes opened. Applejack stood next to her, looking furious still down at my unmoving form.
"Yer lucky we're even goin' fer ah doctor. Yer crazy an' we’re through as friends. Nopony tries ta hurt my friends like ya just did!" she growled upon noticing my eyes open up. I swallowed, eyes flickering back to Nirru's amused smirk behind the mare.
"This is insane! Don't move him, AJ! I'll go get the doctor," Rainbow rapidly excused from behind me somewhere, apparently missing Nirru's expression entirely. Damn it. If she left, it would be even easier for the fake Twilight to ambush Applejack!
"Don't," I managed to rasp out, my right foreleg shifting a bit as I tried to gain some sort of friction under it. There was almost no strength however, all attempts at applying pressure only causing it to scream out in agony as it connected with my side.
"Shut it," Applejack warned coldly, kicking my leg away from them as she saw the movement. I didn't know if it was a good or bad thing when I felt nothing at all.
"Don't do anything to him! I'll be back as soon as I can!" Rainbow ordered, surprisingly sounding concerned. The bitterness flared up inside of me, and I mentally snarled to myself. Was everything I tried to do that pointless? Applejack hadn't even hesitated for a second before deciding I was just crazy and a danger. I felt my eyes start to get wet as they lost focus. I tried and tried to fit in; to stay positive and persevere. Now what? Applejack didn't want to be my friend anymore, Rainbow no longer trusted me, and the one thing I tried to stop was free and gloating over the whole ordeal. I couldn't win. The tears just came, earning another glare from the orange mare. I didn't care.
There was only one thing left that I could do, I decided. There was one secret I still hadn't revealed to Nirru. She had no idea how my magic functioned. Focusing as best I could, I tried to build up all that was left of my energy. The blade had been entirely disrupted after I was kicked, and all of that energy was lost before I could pull it back in. I doubted I had enough energy to move and still form the barrier. That left only one option. I focused on using the floor as a connector. If I couldn't bring the blade to her, or her to the blade, I'd simply form it on her and shoot it upwards. She'd probably die. Applejack's retaliation would probably kill me as well. I didn't have any other options, however.
"Careful, Twi. Don't get too close. That weird, unnatural magic o' his might still be able ta work," Applejack warned, causing me to open my right eye again, not having realized I closed them. Heh. At least I knew what she really thought about my magic, now.
My consciousness swam and I hadn't realized how hard it was to focus. I pulled in the energy faster, realizing I might have internal bleeding. The doctor might not even make it back in time at this rate. "You did a number on him! I don't think he'll be able to do much anymore," Nirru pointed out after giving me a prod with her hoof.
"Are ya all right, though?" Applejack asked softly in reply. A pang of jealousy hit. Twilight had such amazing friends. I couldn't manage to let myself be angry at Applejack. She was defending her friend in her time of need. The principle was there, even if she herself was being tricked. Breathing became an uphill battle and I coughed, shocked suddenly by the wet sensation leaking out of my mouth as that cold numbness started to spread throughout my body. Lung damage. Probably shock.
Nirru didn't answer, instead leaning down close and staring into my eyes. There was no emotion in hers. The only thing lighting them was cold, clinical precision as she stretched my eye open and looked into it. "Nirru, you need to... Don't do this!" I heard Keela beg, fading in and out between static.
"Tch, the link is collapsing. Keep your eyes open, Mender," Nirru ordered, standing upright again.
"Wha?" Applejack muttered, sounding confused. The fake lavender mare in front of me sighed and aimed her hoof backwards. My eyes widened as I heard a pressurized launching noise and Applejack jumped in surprise. "W-What tha?"
My vision flickered down to the small dart buried in her chest. "Hmm? Oh, that? It's a tranquilizing agent I was going to use on Mender after I seduced him and mated. Then he would have just woken up after a while and thought it was all a dream. See? Aren't I nice?" she relayed, smiling back at Applejack.
The country mare's eyes widened and she shook her head slowly. It didn't look like the words even registered with her. A moment later, her front legs started to shake and she slumped slightly, struggling to stay upright.
I didn't have time to look anymore as I felt a sharp poke entered my neck and a second later. "And this is a mixture of proteins, mass enhancement, and adrenaline. It was for the mating itself if you weren't impressive enough," Nirru added with a wink, smirking down at me. I tried to roll my eyes but couldn't manage to feel where they were pointing in the first place. "They should keep you from shutting down before I get what I want from you, though," she continued, shifting me closer to the edge of the balcony with her hoof. Why wasn't anypony coming?! Surely we'd made enough noise for somepony to investigate!
"Wait, yer not..." Applejack muttered, rapidly shaking her head and actually starting to stand upright again. Damn.
Nirru sighed wearily and turned back around to face her. I sped my charging up as best I could. If I released my limiter, I just might be able to fire it off sooner, but in my current condition, it might just kill me instantly. "No, Applejack. My name is Nirru, like he said. He was telling the truth. I can see you're going to be a stubborn one," she replied before extending her hoof towards the orange mare again. No!
Nothing shot out, however. Instead, a gentle barrier extended out and formed a shimmering, transparent cage around Applejack. It was a low end barrier and not every well focused, I noticed. Also, it was only pieced together from other barriers instead of being solid. Sloppy.
"There. That'll hold you until I'm gone. Your friend is fast, but I imagine it will be difficult to find a doctor at this hour, no?" she reasoned, looking far too smug when she turned back around. Applejack stood in shock, mouth hanging limply as she shifted her gaze from Nirru's back to me as I watched her.
"Why are you doing this, Sis?! You didn't have to do any of this!" Keela demanded over the static echoing through my head. Oddly, I felt my energy slowly returning with a tingling sensation as well. Unfortunately, with the return of my strength came the return of my feeling as well. Pain started to lance through my barrel, and I gave out a muffled groan, squishing my eyes tight.
"Oooh, feeling coming back? That's good. The pain lets you know you're alive, am I right?" she asked, quoting an old soldier's sang. She continued before I could so much as give a sassy retort, however, "And I'm doing what you were too afraid to do, Keela. I already said that. Whether you believed me or not, he's worth a lot more than just one Keldarian. I know this. I will not let this opportunity pass in efforts at being 'nice' to him." What? How the hell was I worth more than one Keldarian? I wasn't even a Keldarian anymore!
"Oh no. No, no, no!" Applejack finally started to speak up, snapping out of her shock and slamming into the front of the cage angrily. Nirru burst into a grin before turning around and watching the mare.
"Ha! You're so hypocritical. You were the one who practically handed him over to me, and then when you find out the truth, you get all indignant over it? Please. Honestly, he's been here what, a month and a half? I figured it would be way harder to turn everyone against him like that," she pointed out. A sharp pang stabbed into my chest regardless of the agony everywhere else. As much as I wanted to stab her until she stopped moving, she was right. Maybe I really didn't belong here after all? I thought I was fitting in better but then something would happen that told me otherwise. This was just another one of those times.
Applejack didn't answer. Instead, she just seemed to get angrier and let out a scream of rage, slamming into the front of the cage again. The floor started to crack and splinter under the force of her impacts and my eyes widened.
I sensed Nirru's did as well. "My goodness! The tranquilizing agent doesn't appear to be affecting you at all. Either that or you really are just that stubborn. I really didn't want to have to take more extreme measures, but I don't have time for you potentially throwing a wrench into my plans," she muttered, sounding annoyed. Crap! Just pretend you're getting weaker, Applejack!
My spell wasn't fully charged yet. If I fired it off now, it would only extend a half meter or so. That wouldn't be nearly enough to kill Nirru when I was forced to use the floor as the extension point. Damn it! I contemplated releasing the limiter again, but in all honesty, I was afraid that it would kill me before I could even release the spell.
Applejack's eyes widened as Nirru drew her right foreleg backwards as if going to punch the cage. The hoof shifted, extending a long blade out of it and angling it back off her elbow. Oh hell. Her body was amorphous! "And now, you die knowing exactly how much you failed your friend," Nirru proclaimed, stabbing her foreleg forward an instant later.
There was no choice. My hoof flared with energy and the barrier blade stabbed upwards from the floor in the same instant. Applejack's eyes widened and she pushed herself backwards away from the elongated blade, just as mine shot up under the extending foreleg itself. Nirru screamed as my blade stabbed into the underside of her hoof, forcing her blade to overshoot the top of the cage and imbed itself in the wall above.
"You little bastard!" she screamed a second later, smashing me with her other forehoof as she tore her wrist off the blade. I winced but managed to pull back most of the energy from the attack. Preparing a second stab, I readied to release the limiter just as I launched the attack, hopefully allowing it to be enough to finish her off.
Her body moved far faster than I realized it could, however. She whipped around before I had fully retreated the blade and stomped down hard on the still glowing hoof. I screamed as I felt something snap inside my leg and lost focus on the second attack, energy dispersing instead. "Ha! So it's your hoof that's doing it. This is just too rich! You gave away your only hope, just to save the very same mare that handed you over to me," she cooed suddenly, looking ecstatic. Shit!
I drew in more energy from myself as best I could, but she was on to me at this point. "Mender!" Applejack called out at the same moment. Nirru smirked as her eyes flicked to the orange mare momentarily before whipping me forward, smashing my face into the slate bars of the barrier! I gasped as the thin sheets of energy cut into my cheek from the impact, and then I felt the hoof stomp down on the back of my left shoulder. Oh hell! No, no!
"And this is what we get for being a little bastard!" Nirru called out in a rather sing-song voice. I screamed. She smashed my face harder into the bars, Applejack looking horrified a few centimeters away from. Nirru tore my foreleg backwards, causing a massive ripping sensation and multiple snapping noises along my shoulder. I tried to thrash away from her, accidentally running my face into the bars on the other cheek in the process.
"No!" I heard Applejack scream out, squeezing herself closer to me. The pain was white hot and blinding. Gasping for my breath, all I could do was sob pathetically as she smashed me hard into the cage and tore. The pain shattered through me, followed by frigid nothing as I felt it tear free, blasting my neck, head, and chest with cold numbness. Applejack's eyes went wide in shock as blood hit against her face.
"Heh. Here; a memento to remember him by," Nirru offered coldly before throwing the detached leg down next to the cage. It rolled twice before coming to a stop, blood pooling under it.
All I could do was let out an airy gasp as I slid down the side of the cage on my face, pain echoing through my mind and causing darkness to swim through my vision. I couldn't talk. I couldn't move. All I could manage to do was cry as Nirru's hoof flared up and she momentarily singed my shoulder, cauterizing the wound.
"Now, now. No passing out. I need your stupid link in order to haul your DNA back. You're not allowed to stop functioning until after I'm gone," she ordered snidely.
Applejack let out a guttural scream of rage, thrashing against the front of the box while putting more cracks in Twilight's floor. I could barely hear her until another stab went directly into my back, spreading more of the numb tingling sensation through me. "I had a backup, just in case you were really pathetic," Nirru pointed out absently, echoing in my skull. I couldn't think. My head was swimming, burning hot on the inside and freezing on the outside. I could barely even breathe, the wet sensation oozing out of my mouth.
"You monster! This isn't what I wanted at all!" Keela screamed through the static, ironically causing a stirring as I tried to focus. Oddly, Nirru went rigid a second later, but I could barely manage to acknowledge her. She had... She tore off my leg! Completely. No magic escaped from my body anymore, and I knew it was over in that moment. My vision slowly shifted over to the limb discarded on the floor. My mind refused to register it as mine, no matter how hard I stared at it. Vaguely, I acknowledged shouting somewhere a ways off. Ponies were investigating finally.
"Mender, stay awake!" Applejack urged softly, lowering herself down to the floor of the cage, to my head level.
I stared blankly at the severed limb for a few more seconds before gently shifting my eyes to her instead. We stared at each other for a long moment before her eyes slowly started getting wet. "I'm sorry, Applejack. I don't have the energy left to stop her," I apologized, silently wondering if she'd take back her declaration of no longer being my friend. I decided I was too afraid to ask. A drop, followed by three more landed on the wood under her head as she watched me, eyes tearing up. A moment later however, she started and looked down slowly at the floor. I didn't have the strength to see what she was looking at, unfortunately.
"Tch! Looks like we made too much noise," Nirru finally muttered, shivering and snapping herself out of the trance I hadn't realized she'd fallen into. The static flared up again, and Keela was silent. The fake Twilight paused for a moment before shaking her head irritably. "I'm going to have to move you, now. This is getting downright annoying."
"Twitchy twitch! Applejack, are you okay?!" I heard suddenly from downstairs. Pinkie?! My memory snapped lazily back to her Pinkie Sense, and I realized she must have felt something was wrong. Still, this wasn't the best of timing. The clouds in my skull were beat back as I tried to shift myself around, looking past my errant limb and into the main loft.
Nirru let out a groan of irritation before shifting her attention to the left, asking, "What now?! Are all these ponies crazy?" Pinkie hopped up over the stairs and gasped as she saw me lying on the balcony. Her eyes widened further than I'd ever seen; her mouth hanging partially open.
"It's not Twi! Run, Pinkie!" Applejack shouted, shifting towards the back of her cage suddenly, away from me. Huh? Her hooves scraped gently along the bars of the barrier as she turned herself around, aiming her flank at me instead.
"Annoyance!" Nirru yelled before whipping her yet bladed foreleg up. The blade detached, much to my surprise, and flung itself at high velocity across the room. No! There was no time for warning at all before it drove itself into Pinkie's head.
At least, I thought that's what would happen. The spike embedded itself into the wall behind the pink mare, however, who turned and peeked at it in surprise. "Hey! That's sharp! What the hay are you doing?!" she demanded a second later, turning to glare at Nirru again.
Nirru actually looked surprised momentarily. She blinked twice before peeking down at her blade again, seemingly just to make sure she'd properly fired it. "What the hell? Did the dimensional transfer throw off my targeting calibrations?" she questioned, hopefully to herself as assisting her was the last thing I was about to do.
Pinkie slowly started walking towards her, nervously eyeing my leg on the floor while shifting her attention between that and Nirru herself. "If you're not Twilight, who are you? Are you a mean pony?" she inquired, sounding surprisingly reserved. I'd never heard that tone from Pinkie before. Even in my numbed state, it was a little scary.
"I'm Nirru, not that it will matter after I put a spike through your damn head," the fake Twilight answered, glaring at Pinkie as she took aim again. Crap! Deciding she re-calibrated the 'gun' thing, I tried to shift myself up. There was almost no strength left in my legs at all, and I could barely feel anything. I considered my options, immediately deciding throwing myself in front of it wasn't going to be fast enough.
Nirru fired regardless, aiming directly for between Pinkie's eyes this time. The spike slammed into the wood next to the stairs, missing entirely. Wait, no. I tried to focus, and then realized that the thing hadn't missed at all. Pinkie had shifted to the left a few inches! Her fluffy, cotton candy tail flicked back and forth behind her as she walked, twitching lightly.
Nirru just looked pissed this time, rather than surprised. "How the hell can you dodge something moving almost at the speed of sound?!" she demanded, blade growing back and extending into a melee weapon this time. That was easy, but required information she didn't know. One simply moved out of the way before she even fired. I softly smiled, chuckling lightly amidst the cold numbness. The shot did almost nothing to remove it this time, and I realized I was probably in a moderate shock. That in itself was strange when I thought about it, when I realized I was capable of thinking enough to think about it in the first place. No, wait, that sounded like Pinkie logic...
"I just moved out of the way, Silly!" Pinkie returned, earning a scream of rage and a downward cut from Nirru. My eyes widened again as I saw her slide past the slash while spinning, causing it to miss completely. Nirru blinked in surprise after embedding her foreleg blade into the wood of the library floor. I momentarily felt sorry for it, realizing Twilight was going to have to spend a lot of bits to fix all of this.
"Meany!" Pinkie yelled, frowning outright at Nirru before whipping her flank forward instead, smashing into the fake Twilight's hip with her own! To my surprise, the blow actually sent Nirru sideways, cracking the railing of the balcony as her body smashed into it. Holy hell! How strong was Pinkie's flank?!
"Hold onto Mender, Pinkie!" Applejack suddenly ordered, rearing back and up with her hind legs. What?! I shifted my attention down to the floor, realizing what she must have noticed a moment later. The barrier wasn't covering the floor! Pinkie felt amazingly warm when she wrapped her hooves around me. She rolled as she grabbed onto me, just as Applejack let out another scream of rage and brought both of her hind legs down onto the wood.
My eyes widened as the entire balcony dislodged from the side of the tree with a splintering crack, the wood caving in and shattering around the two massively powerful orange legs. Pinkie rolled off the balcony with me as it hit a forty five degree angle. We momentarily hung in the air before she shifted and we landed in a rather sizable shrub near the base of the library. A heartbeat passed and the entire balcony smashed into the ground next to us, kick starting my heart into fully functioning again! Applejack landed on top of the balcony a moment later, rolling as she hit. Nirru landed last, directly onto her face as she practically belly flopped into the dirt. Ouch. I suddenly realized that she wasn't a physical fighter at all. Her body was powerful, but she moved with all the grace of, well, me.
Groaning, she slowly stood up, wobbling on all four hooves as she shook the impact off. Her body was connected directly to her nervous system, then. She actually felt everything. Applejack was already standing however, and stepped in front of Pinkie and I as the pink mare pulled me out of the shrubs, keeping me pressed close to her body. She felt so warm that I was hardly going to complain, however.
Nirru finally turned fully, glaring at both mares as she regained her composure. "You can't win, you know. This body is practically invulnerable. I'm going to enjoy killing both of you, though," she muttered, starting to walk forward again. Applejack shivered, similarly to how I'd seen her before, and looked downright furious as she stepped forward as well.
The fake Twilight snorted and lunged, whipping her foreleg blade up into a quick stab. Applejack stopped moving as she approached, then stepped back at the last second, shifting to the left. The stab missed her head by a few dozen centimeters, and to my surprise, the orange mare 'grabbed' onto the hoof attached to the blade, using her forehooves to smash it into the ground, point first. In the same instant, she spun around and bunched herself backwards, gently brushing against Nirru's chest before springing, a vicious double buck. Both hooves embedded themselves into the lavender chest for a split second before I heard a snapping noise.
Nirru hit a tree that had been a half dozen meters behind her, back first. The bark splintered at the impact, and she gasped, cracking into the trunk of the tree. Yup. I knew what that felt like. Her eyes remained wide as she slowly slid down the trunk, mouth partially hanging open in definite surprise. The majority of her hoof blade remained stuck in the ground next to Applejack, point first.
"Ow," she muttered simply upon finally resting her haunches on the ground. I concurred. Shivering uncontrollably under Pinkie, I noticed I could barely feel the remaining limbs I had. Oddly, it kind of still felt like I should be able to move my left foreleg. The numb sensations were welcome, however, as my body hurt like a bitch without being able to fully feel it.
Nirru finally fell forwards, glaring up at us after securing all four legs on the ground. Applejack stood fast, however; the muscles in her legs clenching and relaxing as she looked ready to pounce on a hair trigger. "Fine. I see I don't have any choice at this point. The game's over now," Nirru spoke, tone soft yet cold.
Applejack snorted, but in the same instant, silvery wings expanded from Nirru's back, looking like the refraction of light through a strange, monochrome prism. My eyes widened a moment later, realizing the lines of the wings didn't necessarily adhere to Euclidean geometry, and hurt my eyes to stare at. That was a Slipstream emination. She was carrying a personal one on her?!
The wings slipped through each other a moment later, coating her in a shimmering silver light. "W-What tha hay is that?!" Applejack demanded, taking a step back as air pressure started to blast away from Nirru in all directions. You weren't supposed to activate that on ground level!
"Don't!" was halfway out of my mouth when Nirru disappeared. A twitch of my eye passed and she moved outside of my ability to see, due to the light simply not reaching my retinas fast enough. I winced as a hoof slammed into my side, the distorted non-Euclidean bubble expanding around me in an instant from the contact. The world melted away slowly, time seeming to fall apart as we folded ourselves across a field, through several trees, and into a forest; our movement not unlike that of a melting butterfly skipping through a mud puddle. Geometry and perspective also took a coffee break, allowing me a momentary glimpse of both the inside of my nose and the traffic along the main street of Canterlot.
The bubble popped a moment later, unceremoniously dumping me onto the ground, steam wafting off my fur. Oddly, the energy field had done wonders to cauterize my various wounds. Oh, and wake me up. Although I wasn't considering that a good thing, as now I was more than a little nauseous. Idly, I distracted myself wondering if it had cauterized the internal wounds, too. Not that it mattered all that much. Without treatment, I was still going to die rather shortly.
Nirru climbed out of a heap of trees that had followed us into the clearing and promptly landed on her. She apparently had the foresight to drop me out of FTL before stopping herself, thankfully. She fell into the large rut we had left in the ground, wincing and shuddering on her side.
"Fuuuuuuu-," she groaned out upon falling out of my personal sight and smacking into the ground. As bad as I felt right now, I was extremely glad I didn't just get subjected to her experience.
"...and that's why you don't fire off a Slipstream Drive while on a gravity bearing surface. It bends, usually taking a lot of debris with it," I muttered wearily, not bothering to move from my position. The orders to my limbs were only being followed in a halfhearted manner, almost no strength at all present.
"Oh shut up. Ugh," she shot back, crawling out of the rut on my side. That was one of the problems with our variety of FTL travel. Not only was it highly susceptible to forces such as gravity, it also distorted most sensors upon entering, requiring careful calculations and a planned course prior to actual activation. The perks were it being far more accurate than our ally's version, which actually couldn't turn after being launched.
Nirru's entire back was scorched badly, I noticed. She aimed it away from me before opening a slot in her skin. Three holes existed under the panel, one of them being already empty. Half a second later, the middle one ejected a cylinder shaped crystal canister filled with a glowing blue liquid. The grass caught fire around the canister when it hit, spreading out a good meter in each direction almost instantly. Oh yeah. That was another downside to our FTL Engine.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to use that. This body isn't meant for physical combat, though. Damn, that orange bitch is a brute," she groaned, sliding the plate shut again before standing upright fully.
The static in my skull suddenly reared its ugly head again, reminding me of its presence. Nirru glared at nothing in particular before sighing. "Didn't you learn your lesson yet? Just shut up and stop interfering, Keela," she ordered a moment later. Whether not heard or ignored, I couldn't be sure as the static certainly didn't die down.
"She disagrees with my methods for some reason," the fake Twilight explained a moment later, walking over to me. I glared up at her, deciding not saying anything was preferred. There wasn't exactly a point. Even if Pinkie and Applejack had rescued me, there was a high probability of my body not surviving the time it took a doctor to arrive anyway.
The realization was a frozen, numbing one. I was going to die, and there was literally nothing I could do about it. "Psh, you're a mess. I guess I'd better do something if you're going to survive transferring the DNA over," she muttered absently to herself after giving me a good hoof prodding. That was such a medically sound evaluation. She obviously had extensive medical training. I was so screwed...
"Do I really have to be alive for it?" I asked bitterly, closing my eyes instead.
She snorted, asking, "What, giving up already?"
I think my eye twitched. "You tore off my leg. You alienated me from my friends. There's no recovering from this! What's left to fight for?!" I demanded, opening my eyes again to glare at her harshly. There wasn't any force to the shout as I couldn't get enough air into my lungs to work my vocal cords properly. I degraded into a series of coughs and spasms immediately after.
She lost her smile and shook her head slowly. "It's kind of sad seeing you after all, in a rather pathetic way. You're a mistake. You couldn't have fit in here even if you wanted to, yet you deluded yourself anyway. You don't even know what you are," she returned quietly, looking surprisingly solemn.
My glare could have burned through her skull. "I know I'm not a Keldarian. You're a fool," I shot back in a whisper, not understanding why she was even doing this to me. What did she have to gain?
"If you only had one sample of Keldarian DNA, then I'd agree with you fully and wouldn't be here. You don't remember a thing, do you?" she asked quietly, watching me with interest.
A weak sigh later, I shook my head. She smiled and looked down. A soft wind blew, and I finally noticed the forest around us. It was familiar to me all at once. The Everfree. The moon above was a few stages from full still and spreading an ambient silver light over the entire clearing. Nirru's mane blew gently along with the wind, and she looked up again, eyes almost looking through me.
"Unit Zero Zero Two; initialize second, third, and fourth CPU core reboot and repair sequences in failsafe mode," she ordered with precision. Wait, what?
My eyes widened and my heart leapt into my throat as an analysis display screen popped up seemingly inside of my eyes themselves, reading, "Rebooting CPU Cores."
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1st :P
Dear Celestia, he's a robot!
I'm guessing some kind of prototype android for combat usage?
I can't wait to find out...
CPU cor-
Wait, what.
WHAT.
Just what the fuck is going on? Mender is a robot?? That doesn't make any fucking sense!! Why would he be?? Did they do this to him?
Wait, she wanted DNA, that means he must be a cyborg......but still........Next Friday needs to hurry it's ass up!
2658247
Unreliable narrator, huh? IDEEEEEEAAAAA
The static shows up when things from another dimension are involved, and he's had issues with voice-overs from his memories before. For instance, he's had multiple scenes where he swears he heard someone say things like "You're not valid for the breeding program", which is most likely a memory of his.
The idea is this - it's been stated that Keela "rewarded" Mender for his role in a mission that saved her life. What if Twilight's just being normal, but he's hearing the memories of Keela instead? After the paragraph that mentions "experimenting", Twilight never says his name again - his memory wouldn't have his new name in it.
It seems like a possibility, and it would certainly explain a few things. Now to read the next chapter and see for sure
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo not another cliffhanger.
My response here.
Cyborg seems more likely.
Possibly attempted to transfer Genetic data offplanet with him carrying it and totally missed whatever destination was intended.
read through both versions.... found no real difference story wise and the gore was subtle i didn't notice a difference...
Okay, I am thoroughly confused.
The only thing I can think of right now is to blame it all on the book and the crazy experiments.
Perhaps the thingy that told him how to work the book in his dimension is the cpu that activated now. If he can affect the book in a different dimension it makes sense that the book can affect him in this one in ways other than 'Static induced out of body experiences'. Maybe he got linked to the book in some manner in one of those experiments and that somehow explains everything?
I have no idea how he can have more than a single keldarian dna sample, though. Perhaps he is an android of sorts with an AI based on another keldarian implanted in his brain? The AI would explain some details like remembering the specifications of the wooden boards perfectly. Still, don't know how that would him net more than one dna sample that could be 'extracted' by mating unless he had different chromosomes in each cell or various different chromosomes in a single one. That would be pretty strange if one started to consider what he would end up looking like with such genes, if he could even live like that, unless the rest of his body was manufactured separately.
Also, I am of the mind that it would have been a lot simpler to have Keela ask him to play with himself rather than trying something so... rash. Then again, if that were the case this would not come off as such a shock and we'd end up bypassing all the adventury parts of the story, but it feels like Nirri is being a an evil bitch for the sake of being an evil bitch.
2658797>>2658764>>2658862
It seems unlikely that he could be a robot or a cyborg. He's spent most of his time in Equestria in the hospital, not to mention the numerous scans conducted on him in the first story to understand the link. The probability of him going through all of that and no one realising that he's completely, or even partly, mechanical is practically non existent. I mean, I suppose author doodmanguy could pull some crazy sci-fi something out to make it happen and go undetected, but that just feels so.......I don't even know what to call it.
More likely would be either an implanted microchip/device that he's carrying, which could explain his link to the disks, or some sort of biological machine. I mean, even at our current technology level we can program information and data into the mitochondrial DNA of cells, so they could have advanced that to the point of being able to create or modify entire complex organisms. Though I suppose having any sort of implant would technically make him a cyborg, so.......
And in other news, AJ's a bitch! Don't forgive her Mender! People like that just aren't worth it! Protecting Twilight is one thing, but to not even give Mender, who was supposedly her friend as well, a chance to explain or any sort of benefit of the doubt?......and then to nearly kill him herself, and have him lose a leg on top of it all in order to protect her......she's got a LOT to make up for.......
2658916 There was some excitement about organic-based I/O controllers a while back, and that was what I thought of. I do agree that it is unlikely that he would be a 'traditional' cyborg or robot, but a synthesized consciousness, built off of an organic platform? Perhaps. Not to mention there's the factor of unknown gravitational pull. If that actually corresponds to a real mass, there could be a dimensional pocket which envelops those components that might be suspicious. Since they've shown that they have the capability of FTL travel, in a portable form factor no less, it is not too unlikely to assume that they have the capability to warp the space-time fabric. If you take that into account, all sorts of new possibilities open up. And yes, that was a rather good point about programmed mitochondrial DNA. I lift my hat off to you.
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/131/399/fry.PNG?1307468855
Reserving judgement until next week...
EDIT: Ok, nevermind, I thought back on it and I now see some of the hints you dropped for what they are; ONWARD MENDER 2.0!!
2626039
...Damn it my memory's bad then. I've never even heard of The Longest Journey until I saw Cry play Dreamfall:TLJ(the sequel to The Longest Journey)
WHAT!?
WTF!? Ok, first off, this chapter was tense as hell! Secondly, YOU TORE OFF MENDERS ARM!? Third, NIRRU YOU B!TCH! Fourthly, Does Mender have a computer chip in his head or something!? And lastly: WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!
I'm not liking where this is going...
Looking forward too seeing where this is going.
Nice chapter, can't wait for next Friday.
Also, you're a sadistic bastard for those cliffhangers,
and I'm not sure if I love or hate you for that.
What the fucking shit are you doing!? What the fucking shit is happening!?!? What the fucking fuck is fucking fuck!?!?!?! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All of my "wat" is right there. In that last sentence. Mender is a robot? Or is it a cyborg? I dunno but, "fourth CPU core reboot and repair sequences" means limb regeneration to me! Ha HA! Mender lives/suffers for another day!
. Rainbow doesn't know what is going on or what to do. Everything is going straight to hell. Stupid cliffhanger... AGAIN! 
Anywho, holy freaking Celestia horseapples batman. I was not seeing his left leg being ripped off coming in a million light years. (See what I did there? Space 'n all? HA) Then there's Hulklejack with legs of steel and thee power of a freight train
Your doing the best job. Keep it up. Get some more sleep and yadda yadda. Can't wait for next chapter. (P.S. release it early. Don't make us all wait.)
all of these cliffhangers are killing me
can you do some kind of preview or teaser for the next chapters? on Tuesdays or something! like just the 1st paragraph of the chapter ... but all and all dam good work! im loving it! ... I'll try not to kill myself in anticipation for the next chapter next Friday 
I cant take in all this, damm such a heavy chapter. And Mender dude is really having a hard timme this chapter, I hope he will get some better treatment in the next chapter.
Oh and cant you make something terrible happen to AJ, if she just could have chilled, even though i know it must be hard, this whole situation would have gone way smoother. Hell Mender might even had have his leg left
Wait...Mender's a bot?!?
i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/4357325056/h92BB71E5/
Oh well....BEEP BEEP BOOP, MAGGOT!
The phrase 'the shit has hit the fan' doesn't quite do this plot twist justice.
Ho
Lee
Shit
Fuck
Now we wait for twilight to catch wind of this and and completely annihilate Nirru....
Friday hurry up for gods sake!
Didnt see that turn coming.
So he's a carrier of sorts. I wonder where they put the DNA database though. I hope it is not too awkward of a place.. :/
But a drone as such? Boy, HOW did he get past those scanns! And what all IS mechanical? He got healed plenty of times, he must still be mostly organic.
He's capable of doing magic even! They could not have built a magic-wielding machine, could they??
Oh boy..
hope he somehow lives through this.
Will Twi already port in and blast her into oblivion please! MENDER DOWN, GET A MOVE ON, PONIES!
..and just when we thought, last week was a tough cliffhanger, eh?
Also hope the reboot does not reset his memories.. again! Then again... Him losing them in the first place might have been a malfunction she's intending to fix.
hmm not sure what I think about that option, really..
This chapter was very intense. Very intense.
2658916
When I said Cyborg, at least, I meant so far as having some actual tech implanted in him, with electronic functionality.
I am pretty sure under that definintion, he qualifies.
He cant be a robot, considering how many gallons of blood he lost....
From what I saw, it looks like he probably has some kind of implant that gives him an interface projected on his eyes (or directly giving information to his brain if they are advanced enough)
It would have to be relatively subtle, otherwise it would have been detected.
Considering the "Rocks" being rather dimentionally transcendent, and turn out to be some kind of security interface devices (not really sure exactly) , It is fully possible (and likely) that if he does have more significant implants, that they are similarly trancendent, possibly with only a pinhole sized interface (which would be hard to detect in all likelyhood)
This is all speculation however.
Cant wait for the next chapter :p
well, i'm going to admit this version is probably more my type, but i'm going to continue reading both versions.
i had assumed this version wouldn't have such severe mutilation however
2658897
here the gory parts are simply mentioned, the mature version has a much more detailed description.
2659042
more likely the repairing is purely code-wise, the CPU itself, to regain access to the memory files
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT.
WHAT.
such an intense chapter, well done!
to me the reboot implies regeneration!! I hope.....
Preserving her race by any means necessary... as long as it doesn't involve explaining herself and asking politely for help
. I can't say I'm a huge fan of that type of villain, but I've enjoyed the story thus far. I might as well stick around and see how it gets resolved 
.
Come to think of it, Nirru has been a pretty consistent source of problems for Mender. I hope Keela gives her an epic 'Reason You Suck' speech. Will it happen? Probably not, but that won't stop me from thinking about it.
Wow totally didn't see that coming. I doubt anyone did. Can't wait for this to make sense! I really hope he keeps his magic. If he is indeed regenerating he might loose his ability to use external magic if his hoof is fully healed.
These comments are delicious. I can't wait to see next week's.
And just for you kiro.
i1096.photobucket.com/albums/g329/f_this1/Pny/15720-20food20macro20pinkie_pie20popcorn-1.jpg
Wat.
WAT.
WHAT THE FLYING WHATS JUST HAPPENED THERE? WHAT. Seriously, just...
>pinchywat.jpg
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mnfgrf93Y81qk2y01o1_1369608605_cover.jpg
confused and if whats happening is what I think is happening i just lost all faith in this story and will be forced to stop reading it.
i.imgur.com/JkZJJg4.gif
Wait. Where the hell is real twilight when all this is happening
....
>stands up
>opens window
>Screams.
WHAT DA FUQ JUST HAPPENED!
Wow. What a chapter.
Well, in any case, I was close on my assumption, just the wrong Keldarian. I'm really glad you didn't use a changling. That would have been BOOOORING!!! I also really hope this isn't close to the end. I WANT MORE!! NEVER STOP!!!...... Or I will hunt you down.
Though, in all seriousness, why hasn't Twilight got back yet? It seems like she would have either came back, wondering why he was taking so long, or she would have heard the commotion. And, why can't Keela just sever the connection at her end? Seems fairly easy to just pull the plug. Maybe I'm wrong though... Well, you're the writer, so if I disagree with you, I am wrong I guess.
Great chapter, looking forward to the next one.
Oh, and one more thing. Please don't send Mender back to the Keldarian universe and have the mane six go there and find him. Just a suggestion. I hate when stories do that. i.e. the story of Firewall.
I won't get much sleep tonight.
I'll be too busy seething and brooding over Nirru and Applejack while also wanting Mender and Twilight (and possibly Fluttershy) to be in a good relationship. AUGH! CLIFFHANGERS WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME SO!
I don't think Mender's going to hurt anypony anytime soon.
He's pretty... 'armless right now
Bad pun is bad, I should feel bad. But it was too tempting
2658916 I know, makes me think this whole chapter was pretty much a dream.......or one hell of a nightmare!
I commend you, Kiroberos, on this new piece of information. It has seemingly thrown a monkey wrench into everyone of your readers(myself included) understanding of the story, and Mender.
Now you've definitely got my mind on edge waiting for the next chapter to clear some things up! Also, to see how Mender is going to escape this pickle that he's gotten into!
But seriously, mainly the former.
Uhhh... What the fuck did I just read here? Fucking seriously?
2658978
Mender 2.0.. Suddenly I'm wondering if he actually survived blowing up that gas filled ship
~Bridge
2659185>>2660324>>2658956
So I was thinking last night, and it occurred to me that as far as we know from the story, Mender's pony body didn't exist until after he crossed the threshold into Equestria. If that's true, how did he get an implant or any kind of Keldarian anything in his pony body? And since we can't even claim that it was simply a reconstruction of his old body, given that we saw his old body get destroyed, things are beginning to look a mite bit fishy.
We have those disks that are obviously attuned to Mender somehow, and we know that he was the subject of some sort of super classified Keldarian experiment after he was arrested and tortured for making out with Keela......and now it looks like we may be about to find out wtf they did to him. Though I'm gonna be slightly annoyed if he just kinda regrows the leg that just got ripped off.
I'm just waiting for Keela to show up in Equestria with the book now because she's super pissed at what her sister did and wants to make sure it can't happen again. Because, you know, Mender's life isn't awkward enough already.