Carefully, I shifted my weight to properly balance myself. After a bit of concentration, I took another light step forward, putting light pressure on my left foreleg. It held, if a little shaky. A slight ache shifted through it in protest as I stepped past it and took another step. My wires and tubes followed as I slid the pole along with me. My back legs had made a full recovery at this point, thankfully, between the unicorn magic and my own brand of regeneration. My side was still a little tender, however. The doctor looked me over this morning and said that the ribs were healed but there was still some lung and muscle damage. Applejack has one hell of a kick!
The rhythmic beating of the electrocardiogram lulled me as I edged closer to the other side of the room. I don't know why they still had me hooked up to one anyway. I was stabilized and there was nothing wrong with my heart. Sighing, I tried to remain focused as I touched against the opposite wall. A little burst of joy went off inside of me at my minor but encouraging victory. Of course, technically I wasn't supposed to be out of bed yet but nopony was around and I wanted to get on my legs again as soon as possible. Pinkie was lucky she got the all clear this morning! Being stuck in one spot for days at a time sucked.
It was a good thing, though. My status reports fired off this morning informing me that I'd reached the limit of sheer 'regeneration' for my leg. It was as repaired as I could force it to be, which meant that the only thing lacking was the muscles. It of course gave me the suggestion of just supplementing the growth with the mass inside of me to recover almost instantly, but I'd refused that. It wasn't my mass to make that decision with in the first place. But if I ever wanted to use my left foreleg again for walking, I needed to exercise it.
The mental distraction while turning around proved to be a mistake. I put too much weight down on the leg and winced, feeling it go limp as I tipped. I stumbled against the wall before slipping sideways from my body's weight and momentum. My armor flickered into place just before my head hit the floor, jarring me but doing very little in the way of pain or damage until I landed on the leg in question.
I gasped sharply, inhaling rapidly afterwards as the pain flared up along my leg and I bit back choice expletives. I felt a tearing as I hit and for a moment, I froze as I heard the electrocardiogram flat line. A second passed and I realized I still felt totally fine. Well, apart from the agonizing throbs coming from my left foreleg, of course.
Shifting myself rather uselessly along the floor, I managed to prop myself up against the wall and tuck my foreleg up, cradling it to my body. My other foreleg was shaking as I held it, partly out of pain and also out of disgust with my current state. This was pathetic, even for my standards.
My ears perked as I heard scrambling coming from down the hall. Oh, wait. That machine probably wasn't hooked up to just me. Looking around, I noticed the wires coming from the machine lying on the floor a good meter from me. That must have been the ripping sensation. Oops. I tried to reach for them, but realized that I was probably busted at this point.
Nurse Redheart practically took the door off its hinges as she skidded in, large defibrillator in her mouth. Her panicked eyes locked onto me for a split second before confusion took over instead. I gave her a sheepish smile, caught in the middle of trying to get the sticky things back on my chest in the right spots.
A look of dawning realization mixed with relief set in as she set the defibrillator down and shot me a skeptical, annoyed glare. Oops? The guard looked past her from the doorway, looking both confused and mildly concerned as I heard more commotion from down the hallway.
The nurse turned and stuck her head back out the door before shouting, "False Alarm!" Yelps resounded, along with a series of orders being barked as the commotion settled a little. She turned back around and gave me a stern look instead, however.
"You're not supposed to be up and about yet, Mender. You fell, didn't you?" she asked, walking closer to me as the guard resumed his post. More than a little embarrassed at this point that my screw up had caused such a commotion, I looked away from her while lowering my eyes. No matter what excuse I gave her, it would just sound childish. Instead, I just nodded quietly.
She exhaled softly and sat down in front of me, looking at my foreleg as I held it. After a moment, she spoke up with, "I know you're probably frustrated, just as much as I know you know that to heal, you have to take it easy. I know you're not stupid, Mender, so you must be getting a little stir crazy in here." Admittedly, that wasn't what I'd been expecting to hear. I looked back up at her again, a little surprised.
"I'm not going to say anything about it. Frankly, I'm amazed you made it this far. Your healing capacity is phenomenal. Do you think you're ready to start getting the muscles back?" she asked, further disrupting my idea of how a hospital should operate.
I frowned before asking, "Shouldn't you be the one telling me when I'm ready to begin physical therapy?" Admittedly, what I remembered of doctors from my old world had them pretty much lording their status over you and having absolute authority over your treatment. This was a bit outlandish in comparison.
"By our calculations, you shouldn't have been able to get up out of bed for another three weeks. You're so much faster with your healing that I think I'm going to ask the doctor to speed things up for you." I felt a jolt of surprise go through me and it must have shown, as she shifted to a smirk a moment later before adding, "Further, my intuition tells me that it's not just what Princess Celestia did to you."
My eyes widened a little. There was no question there. She had simply stated what her guess was, so anything I said for or against it would simply give more away. That sensation of walking over a minefield came back a moment later. "Why would you say that? I'm a normal pony," I reminded, careful to answer with an inquiry rather than give anything away.
Her smirk didn't lose its edge as she shook her head. "You're an earth stallion who can use magic. You heal at an alarming rate; far faster than anything I've seen before. Further, the Princess herself stations guards around the hospital grounds and right outside your room door, not just throughout Ponyville. No, if I had to guess, there's quite a bit more about you that's being kept secret," she reasoned, shrugging her shoulders lightly and closing her eyes. I saw the guard look back into the room, giving her a frown. He would have been informed of some of the dangers I represented as well, no doubt.
"The guards are more for your protection than mine. If one of those individuals comes back, it's better to have the event isolated and minimize the collateral damage, isn't it?" I pointed out softly, watching her as I slowly recovered feeling along my foreleg and sat up properly.
Her eyes opened again a split second later and she frowned towards me, shaking her head. "Don't lessen yourself, Mender. You have many, many ponies who care about you. You might not think it, but I consider you a friend, too, you know." Her tone was stern yet soft, which only made her words confuse me even more.
A light giggle cut my thinking off, however. It was rapidly followed by, "She's right, of course. Despite being a klutz and kind of thick sometimes, you make an amazingly good impression on everypony." Twilight followed her voice into the room, rounding the doorway with a smile on her face while her horn lit up. I was gently lifted into the air and drifted over my bed again before settling down against my pillows. They fluffed themselves as I landed, and my blankets slid up against me while enveloped in a soft glow.
"Good impression?" I inquired, shifting back a little as I eyed her glowing horn with a little surge of paranoia.
"Rainbow was already raving about how awesome you were and how you forgave her so readily," Twilight explained, sitting down in the middle of the room as Nurse Redheart picked up the wires from my electrocardiogram.
I was a bit perplexed, but my side of caution got the better of me first. "Nurse Redheart. What room was I in when I was first hospitalized here? Twilight. What's your brother's name?" I asked rapidly. I never talked about my room here, and I hadn't talked to Keela after I discovered who Shining Armor was, so both questions were safe.
Twilight halted in her tracks as her eyes softened again. Nurse Redheart answered, "Room one," instantly without even looking up, however. I think that was about the eighth question I'd asked her, now that I thought about it.
"Mender, you really don't have to do this every time you see me," Twilight murmured. I narrowed my eyes while watching her carefully, my back starting to stir as I readied my armor just in case.
Nurse Redheart chuckled as she stepped past Twilight with the cords straightened again. "He asks everypony questions except for Fluttershy. Relax, Twilight. Now hold still, Mender. I'll get these hooked back up," she instructed before lining the sticky ends up along my chest. I gave her room to work, ready to block for her if need be at the same time. If she really considered me a friend, I didn't want her to get hurt because of me. Actually, now that I considered it, I didn't really want anypony to get hurt because of me, friend or not.
The lavender unicorn sighed a moment later, finally answering, "Shining Armor. It's because of the link, isn't it?" Nurse Redheart paused, but continued hooking the wires up a moment later. I relaxed and nodded gently, assuring her of what she already guessed.
"I know it's Fluttershy from that, so I don't need to ask her anything," I furthered, looking away from Twilight. Even if she didn't like it, I didn't have a choice! I couldn't risk being surprised by an ambush again.
Twilight shifted her gaze towards me, expression lightening a little from her sullen tone, surprisingly. "I figured that was the case. That's why I got Fluttershy to help me with some experiments last night," she revealed, smiling again suddenly at me. Experimenting?
I rose an eyebrow to her, unable to contain a light blush. Twilight's eyes expanded and she mirrored my cheek shade. "Not that kind of experimenting!" she rapidly denied, coughing and looking away from me. Nurse Redheart smirked lightly as she plugged the last of the wires back onto my chest, but wisely stayed quiet.
"Hey, I can't help it! You've ruined the term forever for me," I playfully refuted, earning a smirk and eye roll. Well, it beat depressed Twilight any day, even if I had to make an idiot of myself in order to cheer her up.
Nurse Redheart backed up and double-checked the output from the electrocardiogram before nodding. "Okay, you're all hooked up again, Mender. Try to keep it that way this time so you don't give us another heart attack. No pun intended. I'll leave you two alone then," she added upon smiling back at me.
Twilight giggled in my stead and nodded, adding, "I'll make sure he behaves and doesn't try hurtles or anything." I rolled my eyes and settled back into my pillows giving my best grumpy face.
"I'm just getting stir crazy. I want to be back on my hooves again, not locked up inside a hospital room," I explained, exhaling softly.
The nurse gave me a sympathetic nod before reminding, "Like I said, I'll talk to the doctor about starting your physical therapy. That will put you one step closer to leaving."
I nodded and thanked her as she excused herself. Twilight idly watched her go before smiling and turning back to me again, an excited expression dancing across her face. Uh oh. Usually that only meant a few things with Twilight.
"Anyways, like I said, I got Fluttershy to help me with more experiments. I wanted to test out the connection and if it truly did anything to her," Twilight furthered, hopping up on the bed and settling into a sitting position near my back legs. I idly noted her saddlebags and wondered if she had brought something.
"Did you find out anything new?" I asked, making a mental note to peek into my 'documentation' myself to see if I could find anything on them. I'd not thought to look through that folder for anything about the disks.
As if having waited for me to ask that, Twilight perked and nodded in a pleased manner. "Of course! There's a faint electromagnetic signature that fires off every time she attempts to contact you via the link! I'm starting to wonder if there's not something technological about it instead of magical," she enlightened. I swallowed, suddenly nervous about her getting closer to the truth of what the links were. Of course, did I know what the links were? It was an electronic signal that went both ways between the recipient and myself. It also picked up biorhythm information and various other bodily data. Wait, how did it pick up that stuff to begin with?
"But the important thing is that there are no complications with her and she's perfectly healthy! The energy given off during the communication isn't harmful at all," my fillyfriend added upon seeing me hesitate.
Okay, that I at least knew how to react to. I gave her a warm smile, of course. "I'd feel horrible if it was dangerous for her, so that's a good thing. Are you going to do any more tests with her?" I inquired, if only to keep the topic expanding. Okay, maybe I was fishing for a bit more data, too. Having her stumble into the truth would be disastrous. I'd much rather tell her myself and not let her think I was holding out on her.
She grinned. That bolt of uneasiness went through me again. "Nope! No need. I decided that keeping myself as a control group was doing more, well, harm than good. It took a lot of consideration, but I decided that I wanted to be trusted by you as well," she further explained, closing her eyes lightly upon finishing. I frowned as she shivered, almost appearing to draw upon some inner strength to brace herself for something. Wait, what was she talking about?
"I do trust you, Twilight. Making sure you're you every time doesn't mean I trust you less. It just means that I don't trust our ability to prepare for every possibility," I tried to explain, attempting to draw blame away from anypony involved.
Her eyes opened softly, a gentle shine to them as I noticed they were a bit more watery than usual. She shook her head a moment later before smiling bravely up at me, causing a lump to form in my throat. "It hurts every time you ask me. I know I don't deserve your trust, but I just want you to be comfortable around me. I think that, um, I'm ready," she assured, momentarily confusing me before her horn lit up. I raised an eyebrow, but relaxed again as I saw her bags open up instead of any strange effect or other.
The relaxation was shot to hell, however, when she pulled the glowing disk out of the bag, the center of which was painted lavender with her star-shaped Cutie Mark in it. The other disks followed rapidly, and to my surprise, Rarity's and Pinkie Pie's Cutie Marks were now amidst them.
"I did a bit of experimenting. Pinkie touching it with her tail registered it. Rarity touching hers with her magic also worked. It seems that anything a pony touches the disks with that personally belongs to them will work," she theorized, laying the disks out in front of me. I stared at the two that had the brightened outer rings, then frowned and gave her a questioning glance.
"Why did you bring them all here? Isn't that risky to get them near me? Further, do Rarity and Pinkie Pie know you got their readings?" I questioned, my mind swimming with an uneasy miasma of inquiries and situations that could explode from this. My eyes shifted in particular to the orange one with the trio of apples.
"Of course they do. Rarity suggested hers, and Pinkie Pie was ecstatic at the chance," Twilight assured, expression stoic and unwavering. She said nothing else, however, so I guessed she was thinking intently about something. A nervous swallow from her a few moments later gave me a fairly certain confirmation.
I decided to wait patiently for her to continue. After a good twenty seconds, she finally sighed and looked back down at the disks, explaining, "I talked to all the girls. Most think it's a good idea and want you to complete the links. If not just for the ability to tell if we're truly us, for the emotional support whenever you need it. Fluttershy says you can contact her, quote, 'Whenever you need it in the slightest,' of course."
My eyes widened during, and remained quite large after she finished revealing those tidbits. More questions and extremely bad outcomes burst forth into my head, but I remained in control as best I could. That was amazingly good advice that I had read somewhere. 'Don't Panic!'
"Uh, they 'want' me to form a link with them? Further, 'most' of them wanted to?" I inquired, her choice of wording not lost to me. Most did not equal all.
Twilight sighed and nodded. "You probably already guessed that Applejack said no. I still present her disk here, however, due to the reason she said no. She tried to say that you'd never want to form that sort of connection with a 'horrible monster' like her," she relayed, chuckling weakly afterwards.
I snorted. It came out before I even realized the true intent of my feelings about the matter. She thought that 'she' was the monster? No. She must not have gotten my message by the time Twilight had talked to her. "I'd hoped Rainbow had talked to her already and given her my message. I want to be friends with her again," I repeated, figuring I'd already said as much but I couldn't remember. That familiar tiredness crept up again and I suddenly fought the urge to just curl up and take a nap. I guess regenerating body parts really did take a lot out of me. This was easily the fourth time I distinctively had thoughts such as that.
"I know. She just needs to forgive herself a little bit first. She'll come around, I'm sure. I'll try to talk to her if she's not better in a few days. I brought her disk anyway in the meantime, if you wanted," she muttered, nudging the incomplete disks towards me again.
My eyes shifted to hers and I frowned, looking back up at her questioningly. She looked away in an instant, and I had the sneaking suspicion she wasn't as ready for this as she led me to believe.
"Are any of the girls really ready for this? We don't even know the full extent of the capabilities of the links. I don't think any of you are thinking it through properly. You do realize I can't remove them, right?" I asked skeptically, suddenly more than a little paranoid. It was the truth. I had explored most of the options revolving around the two links I already had. They were called 'absolute' links for a reason, and there was no option to remove them. When I tried to 'uninstall' Rainbow's, it specifically warned me that the link was permanent and couldn't be disabled from either end.
"The only two I'd worry about being unsure of it is Rarity and Applejack. Pinkie almost jumped down my throat at the opportunity, and I know I can speak for myself," she explained, still not looking at me.
Sighing, I shook my head gently. Pinkie I understood. For some reason, I suddenly got the suspicion she knew exactly what she was getting into and truly had no fear of the link. I got the distinct mental image of her grinning and laughed softly to myself. Yeah. A moment later, I reached forwards and touched Pinkie's disk.
To my surprise, an 'Are you sure?' prompt popped up in my mind, displaying across onto my eyes. Huh? Oh, so 'now' they were giving me the confirmation?! Of course, they might have given me one before and had it on a timer or something. Because I couldn't see it and wasn't aware of it, it just ran out of time and defaulted to yes. That was a really crappy system...
Mentally, I hit the 'yes' option and watched the disk light up around the edge, displaying a 'Connection Established' above it via holographic letters. Twilight smiled gently as she watched until I withdrew my foreleg again.
"That's the only one I'm going to establish," I added, closing my eyes and waiting for it.
All it took was three seconds. Twilight let out a gasp before rapidly exclaiming, "No, Mender! I'm telling you, I'm ready! I don't want you to doubt me anymore and don't mind in the least."
"Twilight, you already said you have a problem with the mind melding thing that your brother was so upset about. If you're not ready for that, how can you be ready for this? They're both equally permanent, from what I gather," I pointed out, frowning and opening my eyes to look at her again.
Her expression practically killed me, of course. Both of her ears drooped almost flat against the sides of her head and her eyes were getting watery again as she edged closer to me, centimeter by centimeter. Damn it. Crying wasn't fair!
"No, Mender. If you don't want the link, I'll, um, understand, of course. I mean, I don't think I'd trust me either. But the more I think about it, the more I realize how I really, really don't want you going anywhere away from my life," she muttered, eyes looking down as a faint streak slid down her right cheek. My right foreleg twitched in an effort to physically stop myself from raising it and wiping her eyes. I didn't think she was intentionally doing this...
She continued after I didn't say anything. "It was a lot like friendship, really. I started off thinking I didn't need it and you made me uneasy because of what you 'forced' me to feel," she explained, adding the air quotes with a double shake of her hoof before following up with, "Eventually, I realized that I've never had anypony who I could seriously relate to with my academics and magical knowledge. My friends try to be interested but it's really not their thing. At first, I assumed it was just because of that, but everything about you just..."
I watched her as she trailed off, shivering in what almost looked like frustration. Finally she let out an annoyed sounding sigh and tore her gaze back up at me with a pleading expression. "I just can't explain it! That's what frustrates me the most. Words have never failed me before. The more you're around me, the more I realize that I never want you to leave. I just want to hold you and kiss you and have wonderful discussions with you and, well, I want you to trust me. I trust you now, having learned my lesson. You're not here to hurt me or anypony I care about. You're hurt by all this the most, and if the link is what it takes for you to implicitly trust me, then I'm willing to do that," she explained in length, eyes locking back on mine towards the end.
My chest felt full of both soda bubbles and ice cubes. On one hoof, I wanted to pull her against me and kiss her until she fell asleep. On the other, I was hiding a really huge secret from her now and definitely didn't think I deserved even half of how much she just said she cared. Still, she was opening herself totally and winced, watching me stare at her intently. She actually looked vulnerable. Her, a female. Vulnerable. I suddenly realized I'd never honestly seen that before. Fluttershy was timid and reserved, but always guarded, I noticed. Even with her opening herself up slowly over the last few days, she still held herself back. Twilight had just taken a flying leap off the proverbial cliff and was hoping I would catch her. Maybe she really did trust me?
The lavender mare gave a start as I raised my right foreleg up, then relaxed a little as it simply brushed the tears from her cheeks. Those sparkling globes shifted back to my face a moment later, and I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of hope in those violet depths. Yeah, I didn't have a choice if I wanted this to work. "I, well, I believe you, Twilight. I want to be with you and Fluttershy, too. I don't think you 'need' to form the link with me to earn my trust back, but if you truly want to, then just tell me that. But think about it first and, um, wait a little bit before answering," I requested, earning both a happy and confused expression at the same time. Well, at least I got happy mixed in this time. Usually I was really good at just the confused part when interacting with other ponies.
I sighed and shook my head quietly before she could ask. "You guessed right, from what I noticed. I'm hiding a rather big secret from you and have been trying to think of how to best tell you about it the past few days. I can't tell you quite yet, but after our meeting with Keela, I promise that I'll tell you everything in private," I promised, committing myself to biting the bullet later. I probably could have chosen a better time to do this, considering I couldn't even flee if I wanted to at the moment, but maybe that was part of the appeal?
She looked surprisingly thoughtful for a moment before smiling and nodding. "I'm happy you're being honest with me. Admittedly, that's more than I've done for you in the past and I really, really apologize for that. I can wait until after the meeting, don't worry," she agreed, taking it amazingly well for what I had considered in my mind. I didn't even have to reattach any body parts!
Smiling at her, I gently stroked her cheek while she relaxed again. A moment later, her horn lit up once more and opened her saddlebag. I tilted my head until she pulled out the enchantment notes she'd taken last time and gave me a guilty if not hopeful smile. Tossing a chuckle in, I nodded to her before drifting my bedside food tray into the air again.
My fillyfriend gave a squeal of delight before flopping over next to me and tucking herself under my right foreleg, levitating her notepad in front of her. "Excellent! Based on what I discovered last time, Unicorn magic seems greatly magnified as you accelerate it through your own enchantment patching. From what I saw earlier from the burn marks, I think if we adjust your energy array, we can get it almost perfectly compatible!" she resumed, as if having never stopped in the first place.
I snickered and added, “I was considering the problem. Perhaps if we drop a few of the circuits off the array, then lengthen each individual one?" I suggested, having considered the issue last night while munching apples.
She gave a happy squeak and nodded, taking more notes rapidly. "Good idea! You try adjusting the left side, then I'll pump some energy into it and we'll hope it doesn't catch fire this time!" she requested, sounding absolutely gleeful.
Snickering, I did as she asked and prepared a barrier for the two of us. This was going to be a long morning...
* * * * *
"Hey, mine can totally get bigger!" Shining Armor pointed out, smirking cockily at me as I shook my head.
"It's not about how big it can get. Mine is way harder than yours, which is far more important," I refuted, a little frustrated and embarrassed over the conversation in general.
Shining Armor shook his head and gave me a skeptical glance. "Honestly, if it's not big enough, it won't matter how hard it is, right? Have you actually gotten any real experience with using it?" he asked, sounding skeptical.
I glared, shocked that he'd even ask that if Twilight told him as much as I thought she had. "Of course! Dozens if not hundreds of hours of experience!" I assured, a little indignant.
Fluttershy gave out a timid giggle next to me, tucking further into the blankets as she listened in. Shining Armor ignored her entirely, of course. "Fine! You're obviously not going to be satisfied like this. Let's just smash them together repeatedly until one breaks," he finally suggested. He was joking, I assumed.
There was a skidding sound in the hallway, and I suddenly saw Twilight burst back in. "What are you two talking about?!" she demanded, oddly beet red for some reason and looking absolutely horrified. I raised an eyebrow at the same time I lowered the barrier block I had formed in front of me.
Her brother looked equally skeptical and lowered his shield-shaped barrier before turning to look at her. "Er, is something wrong, Twily?" he questioned, looking as perplexed as I felt.
Fluttershy let out a pleased humming noise, informing, "They're comparing shield magic!" Well, at least she sounded amused by it. I was worried the technical discussion parts had bored her.
Twilight gave us both a deadpan stare before exhaling and slapping her forehead with a forehoof. "Oh. Never mind, then. Uh, I brought lunch," she murmured, sliding a tray along after her. I gave her a questioning look, but decided it was probably best if I didn't ask.
"Is Celestia almost set then?" I asked instead, watching as she shifted the tray in. There were all sorts of delightful sandwiches and salads on it, and my mouth started watering. Then she rotated the tray, turning the plate of processed cubes and slime towards me instead. My ears lowered as I stared at it, instantly losing my appetite. Ah yes, another reason to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.
Twilight smiled gently and flopped over onto the bed next to me, the side opposite of Fluttershy. "Princess Celestia said that she'd be here in half an hour. She's sending a letter to Princess Luna," she explained.
"Um, this isn't supposed to be dangerous, right?" Fluttershy questioned yet again, probably for the fifth time. Smiling, I pressed a little kiss into her right shoulder before shaking my head in assurance. She reddened but smiled towards me, eyes surprised but warm from my display of affection.
"Me, too!" Twilight playfully reminded, tossing up a pouting face. I smirked as she pounced both of us, food momentarily forgotten. Fluttershy's blush expanded across her cheeks almost as fast as her eyes shot open, and for a moment, I was jealous of the reaction Twilight managed to get out of her. The shy yellow mare shifted her attention to Twilight instead, pulling her a little closer to the both of us. Shining Armor made a playful gagging motion over his sister's back and I managed a snicker.
"You two should eat before your sandwiches get mushy," I suggested a moment later, both conscientious of her brother being in the room, and of Fluttershy's blood flow. Admittedly, it certainly wasn't for me. Having two adorable mares lying on top of me wasn't hard to take at all.
The results hit as fast as I predicted. "Ah! The food!" Twilight squeaked, sitting up instantly and checking to see if she had jostled the tray with her pounce. Of course, if she had, it would have been far too late for that.
Shining Armor smirked, pointing out, "Shouldn't you have checked that before launching yourself at him? If it was going to be upturned, you three would be wearing it at this point." No fair! He could get away with teasing her just because he was her brother.
She stuck her tongue out at him before resting back against the pillows again, taking her plate into her lap. I still wasn't used to either of them sitting like that, but I suppose it wasn't that big of a deal. "Please eat, Mender. You'll need your strength for when Princess Celestia gets here," Fluttershy requested softly a moment after picking up her own plate. I sighed wearily as I looked down at mine. I'd eat if there were food present for me. The processed cubes and puddings on the plate didn't meet my specifications for edibility.
Fluttershy gave me a frown and I caved instantly. She was far, far too adorable to refuse. Sighing in defeat, I lowered my head and picked up one of the bite-sized cubes before crunching into it in my mouth. It tasted grainy and somewhat burnt before shifting to a powdery prune aftertaste. I tried really hard not to gag, but I'm fairly certain that my grimace was enough to give away my opinion on it.
Shining Armor apparently respected me enough to not burst into laughter as he watched, instead only holding a hoof up to his mouth politely as he grinned behind it. He then showed surprising understanding and distracted me with, "You did say that you had some sort of new spell you wanted to try that would show everypony else what was going on?" The question distracted me from the horrible misery in my mouth long enough to just swallow the thing whole and I nodded wearily. Of course, I could have swallowed it right off the bat, but that might have looked a little creepy to onlookers. I didn't think chewing something to maintain appearances would ever be a 'difficult' thing for me.
"It's more a spell I remembered from before than anything new. I have no idea if it will work in this particular situation, but I figured it might be worth a shot," I explained, only lying a little bit of course. He nodded earnestly towards me, apparently pleased with my answer.
Twilight gave me a quizzical look, however, so I decided it would be more effective to just show them. I closed my right eye and activated the projector effect in my left. All three ponies gasped as an image of Rainbow Dash soaring through the air came into existence drifting over the bed. She zipped easily through the air, my connection picking up the direction, speed, and muscle twitches accurately enough to recreate the image of her. The scenery was also reformed out of my basic memories of Ponyville, with a bit of guesswork on the computer's part for angles and such. I smiled as they all watched it. She zoomed down and headed for the hospital a moment later. Oh! Oops.
"Wait, is this live?" Twilight asked instantly a moment later. I turned off the projector and coughed lightly just as Rainbow landed on my windowsill.
"Hey, Mender, let me in!" she called out through the glass. Twilight and Shining Armor gave me a shocked look, but Fluttershy just smiled and drifted into the air, sliding the window open for her cyan friend.
Dash zipped in instantly, landing lightly on the floor before stretching and flexing her wings out lazily. She'd probably been asleep before this. I didn't know specifically, as I kept the links off unless I wanted to do something with them out of respect for their privacy. "He can track us through the links if he focuses on it," Fluttershy explained upon settling on the bed again.
"Isn't that a little, I dunno, creepy?" Twilight asked, metaphorically bowling me over with the bluntness. Wasn't that the same thing as calling me creepy?!
Dash snorted, however, apparently picking up on what we were talking about. "It's not creepy. It's handy, honestly. If we get in trouble, he can contact somepony or come help himself. Plus, he keeps the links off when nothing’s happening," she reasoned, drifting into the air again and landing lightly on the bed to Fluttershy's left. It was getting a little crowded now, but Celestia said she was going to bring in another bed to give us a wider 'platform' to all lay on.
"You believe him, I take it?" Shining Armor asked, not pointedly, but with an air of innocent inquiry instead. I sighed weakly, having anticipated the question coming.
"Heck yeah! Everypony in this room probably does," Rainbow shot back without hesitation, shifting my expression to a blush in an instant.
Twilight and Fluttershy both nodded in agreement, the lavender mare adding, "I'm fairly certain that he's more than proved his honesty. If anything, we should have started believing him long before now."
Blushing even more now, I sunk a little lower into the blankets, earning another giggle from Fluttershy as she watched. "It's also really adorable when he doesn't know what to say," she pointed out, tucking her wing around my back and coaxing me upwards again as she gently nuzzled my left temple.
Rainbow gave a sharp mix of snorting and laughter. "He just doesn't know how to take a compliment. I could totally help him get adjusted to that by getting help from my fan club!" she offered. At least, I think it was an offer. Wait, she had a fan club?
"Yes, you'd certainly be the one to go to for ego training," Twilight muttered a moment later, smirking at Rainbow as she did so.
This of course earned a glare of spite from the pegasus. "Hey, he needs to learn to at least stick up for himself, and I'm only trying to help!" she defended, earning a snicker from Twilight. I was more concerned that nopony was calling her on the fan club thing. She actually had a fan club?!
"Oh, I know, I know. I'm just teasing you, Rainbow," she assured in a softer voice. Dash relaxed and smirked at her after recovering. All of us were interrupted, however, by the noise of something heavy rolling down the hallway outside. Wait, was that what I thought it was?
Sure enough, half a minute later, a large bed got rolled in being pushed by a royal guard. Half a second after it cleared the doorway, Celestia herself followed them in and gave me a warm smile. I glanced at the guard as he started to rotate the mattress so it was horizontal, before turning and looking back to Celestia. "Good afternoon, my little ponies," she greeted warmly, sitting down at the foot of my bed.
"Good afternoon, Auntie." "Good afternoon, Princess Celestia!" "Oh, um, good afternoon..." "Hiya, Princess Celestia!" "Hey Tia."
I noticed we each had a different way in which to greet her. Mine earned a questioning glare from Shining Armor, however. Celestia seemed unaffected, though, and simply smiled and nodded to each of us in turn. "I'm glad everypony is well today. Do you mind Miss Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watching as well?" she inquired after another moment. The guard gave her a polite bow upon rotating the bed completely and lining it up to the left of mine.
"Nope. I even remembered an old spell that will let me hopefully project what we're seeing through one of my eyes for them," I returned. Her expression flickered to amusement for the barest split of a second before she nodded warmly. Heh. I figured she'd know the truth almost instantly.
"Sweet! I wanted to see what Keela looked like, so I know who to buck into the stratosphere if we meet!" Rainbow spit out rather vehemently, to my surprise.
Twilight shook her head rapidly, however, correcting, "Dash, it wasn't Keela who attacked Mender. It was her sister, Nirru. Keela was conned just as much as we were."
Rainbow looked less than convinced, and I suddenly gathered she was more just looking for somepony to beat senseless to relieve some anger. "Let's wait and see how this meeting goes first. I have no idea what's going on or what's happened since the incident," I warned, earning a patient nod from Celestia.
"He's right, of course. We shouldn't jump to any conclusions until we have more information. That's why we're going to talk to Keela," she reminded, drawing everypony's attention back towards her. In that split second lull, I took advantage of nopony looking at me. My tongue shot out half a meter, snagging three of the four remaining cubes and pulling them back into my mouth for me to swallow whole. Thank goodness for small blessings! Skipping the whole 'tasting' part of hospital food was definitely a perk.
Celestia, the only pony who saw me, smirked and intentionally kept their attention as I swallowed.
"Regardless, it doesn't hurt to be prepared. We don't know what's been going on while Mender's been hospitalized. Shining Armor, be prepared to shield us upon entry. Twilight, you get ready to use your magic to intervene as the situation demands it," Celestia requested, looking to each of them individually. They both nodded, leaving her to turn to me. Thankfully, I had finished swallowing the hospital food whole already. "You, Mender, will be our go-between and translator. You're the only one here who knows fully about the culture and technology we'll be seeing, so that's indispensable," she added, smiling towards me.
I blushed, but nodded lightly, trying to stay calm. There was no guarantee that this was even going to work in the first place! Heck, I might end up going alone. The prospect of meeting Keela again after everything that happened was somewhat nerve wracking.
'Lunch', as they insisted on calling it, passed relatively uneventful after everypony settled down. Rainbow informed that she'd been by Rarity's earlier and told me to expect a visit from both her and the slightly slower, less energetic pink one later tonight. She also said the CMC would be visiting as well, having been asking about me left and right apparently. I doubted Scootaloo had been honestly, but it was easier to believe with Sweetie Belle.
Positions shifted after we got rid of the food tray. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash moved to the chairs near the window across from the bed for prime watching location. Princess Celestia took up almost all of the bed she brought, being almost twice the size of a normal pony. Twilight stayed on my right and gently set her horn against my forehead as I lay down on my stomach.
Shining Armor shot us a displeased look at the sight before settling in to her right and waiting. Celestia seemed oblivious to his annoyance, which I doubt was the truth, and settled her horn down on top of Twilight's, as planned. It was hard to see around all the horns at this point, but I saw Shining Armor finally lower his onto Celestia's, forming a 'chain' of horns.
"You may begin when you're ready, Mender," Celestia relayed a moment after all four of us settled.
Twilight frowned next to me, asking, "Don't you need to fall asleep for this to work?" Heh, normally yeah. That was a lot easier for me to do since discovering I was a cyborg, however.
"I've gotten better at it in all my downtime. I'll get Keela's attention," I relayed before giving a firm, double tug on the inner connection to her. Twilight was already channeling energy into me and I knew she felt the sensation as well, going quiet instantly.
A second passed before a burst of shock mixed with an incredibly distinct sense of fumbling a teacup into the side of a coffee table came into place. I felt Twilight restrain a giggle, and Celestia followed suit a moment later. I suddenly realized I could 'feel' all three of them there, seeing the reaction as well.
"Just a minute, Mender! I'll power up the link so you can get a lock on me," Keela assured a moment later, sounding slightly scatterbrained. Well, I hadn't exactly given her any warning about this, so I guess I could sympathize.
Twilight stiffened instantly next to me upon hearing the Keldarian's voice. Some part of her was probably in disbelief still that this was actually real. It was probably easier on her to believe that it was all a figment of my imagination. Not only had that been easier to treat, but it had far less implications involved. I understood why she did so.
The power turned on, just as expected. I felt the connection strengthen and reached out to the book in the same instant. The ocean of power flooded into me and I slipped my mind down the link between us once more, turning off my consciousness on the way out the door, so to speak.
Two of the three connected ponies gasped as they were dragged along with. Celestia followed with an almost practiced ease, however, which was more than a little disconcerting if I thought about it too hard. With a minor mental push, I shoved us into the other reality.
* * * * *
I stepped out first, beating out everypony else in the transition due to natural acclimation and due course for being half robot. My eyes widened, however, as I looked around, finding myself in a radically unfamiliar place.
The room was exceedingly large, containing what appeared to be a full suite of living quarters. A large sofa sat across from several comfy looking recliners, a familiar looking and still dripping coffee table between them. A fireplace accented that corner and brought a warm light to the atmosphere. To the left of the seating arrangement was a large, sliding door installed in the middle of the wall. The corner to the left of that popped outwards and had a smaller door kitty corner to the main one. A restroom, maybe?
I saw a full kitchen behind me upon shifting my perspective. It looked well stocked and had an island bar expanding a good two meters across it. Behind me on the other side was a nicely sized bedroom area that was partitioned off from the rest of the room via half-walls. A king-sized bed took up most of the area, but I also saw a cozy looking workstation.
Snapping back to attention upon a mental nudge from Celestia, I snapped focus onto Keela, who stood next to the sofa I had originally noticed. She was waiting patiently and looking about the room, apparently for any signs of my being there. With a bit of focus, I touched upon the shielding capabilities of Prudentia and formed a barrier body for myself, coloring it with my natural colors. Keela's eyes locked onto me instantly and a warm smile flickered across her face.
It shifted to a bit of confusion as I didn't return it, instead focusing on pulling forth all three separate individuals into full awareness and shifting them into their own bodies. It would probably be more comfortable for them that way.
Twilight formed first, 'stepping' into place right next to me as her eyes widened and she looked around. My Keldarian friend gasped and nodded to her instantly, offering, "Oh, Twilight!"
Shining Armor appeared to my left, also mid-step as he faded into place. He looked much calmer and slowly took in his surroundings with an air of calculated precision. He was extremely serious when he wanted to be, I noted. Celestia more pulled herself out, apparently having experience with dealing in a projected body already. She still borrowed my barrier capability to give herself a visible form, though, and stepped out behind me a little ways.
Keela looked utterly shocked at this point, gaze flicking between the four of us rapidly. "Twilight, hold her. Shining Armor, throw a barrier over us and the door," Celestia ordered upon touching down. Huh?
Both unicorns' horns lit up to either side of me. A barrier of energy went over the only two doors in the room a heartbeat later. Keela's eyes widened as her form went rigid at the same time, surrounded by a purple glow. I narrowed my eyes as I looked back at Celestia.
"Don't hurt her. This wasn't part of the agreement," I reminded, ready to cut connection if need be.
Celestia gave me a light shake of her head, explaining, "It's fine, Mender. I have no intention of hurting her. This is merely for both our safety, and to secure a private conversation with no interruptions."
"It's okay, Mender. I should have realized you wouldn't be coming alone. Precautions are fine," Keela assured, smiling again regardless of her current state.
I sighed and walked past her, earning a curious look from Twilight and Shining Armor. Fine, I might as well bite the bullet and cooperate then to speed things up. I stopped in front of the keypad to the right of the door. My barrier extended for a split second from my right shoulder, neatly slicing open the panel directly under the pad. A few tweaks later and I killed power to the surveillance circuit and the door.
"There. Her internal surveillance system and door security are offline. They already sounded an alarm upon our entry, however," I warned, observing the energy flowing through the main circuit board. Of course, I 'cheated' a bit to analyze it, using my own processors.
"We're in a detachable section of the ship with a self-contained life support system. I intentionally separated myself from the rest of the crew. They're only concerned for me and want to know what's going on," Keela explained gently, looking over her shoulder as I walked back up to the group.
Celestia nodded gently, looking to Keela's left at me instead. "This is fair. Introductions are in order, Mender," she suggested softly.
I walked past Keela and turned to face her again, once more in front of everypony else. "You already know who Twilight Sparkle is," I started, motioning to the lavender unicorn-shaped barrier in question.
Keela nodded and smiled at her, affirming, "Yes, of course I've heard of Twilight. It's nice to finally meet you." Twilight looked momentarily surprised, but cracked a tiny smile and nodded back.
"This is Twilight's brother, Prince Shining Armor. He's also Princess Celestia's nephew." I nodded towards him as I said as much, causing him to nod properly towards her in return.
"Charmed. I can see the family resemblance," Keela noted, relaxing against the tight hold Twilight had on her. I noticed that it shifted her rather informal robes against her in a rather uncomfortable looking manner as well.
"Last, but definitely not least, we have Princess Celestia herself, ruler of Equestria," I announced properly. Celestia smiled at my introduction, and Twilight actually perked up a little as she smirked at me. She was probably used to me chopping off the titles already.
Keela’s eyes widened drastically and to my surprise, she actually dropped to one knee and bowed to Celestia. I gave a questioning glance at Twilight, who looked as surprised as I did and just shrugged. "She did it herself, and the expression seemed harmless," Twilight elaborated.
"She's royalty. She deserves respect," Keela relayed, smiling gently but remaining eyes closed, head tilted down.
Celestia flexed out her wings and nodded to her as well. "You may stand, of course. Twilight, you may relax the barrier to only restricting magic," she ordered, stepping past me slightly and sitting down to my left.
"What about the windows?" Shining Armor inquired a moment later, glancing out the one to our left that showed a rather impressive view of nothing in particular. Honestly, that's all space was. A whole lot of nothing with pockets of burning gas and chunks of solids floating around them.
Shaking myself out of the momentary distraction, I answered, "They're not actually windows, but parts of the wall that images of the outside are projected on. They're fine."
To my surprise, he actually smiled at me and nodded. Well, these three were extremely talented. I guess I shouldn't have expected them to react poorly to the totally foreign environment. A mental image flicked by of him stomping my letter into the floor and I inwardly sighed. Well, for the most part, anyway.
A muffled but abrupt pounding came to the door a moment later. Keela hesitated as she glanced over to it, but shifted her attention back to us. I saw Shining Armor thicken the barrier over the door, then go back to ignoring it. Celestia spoke up anyway, regardless.
"Please forgive the surprise visit as well, Miss Keela. I'm sure you know why we're here, however," Celestia cut in, gesturing gently towards the Keldarian.
Keela sighed and lost her smile, looking away from us before slowly nodding. "You're obviously here because of the attack from my sister a few days ago." That was indeed fairly obvious, and I wasn't quite sure why we were even starting there, if not purely for formalities.
"Indeed. I wish to have the unpleasantness be as short as possible, of course. Where is Nirru now, and what is her status?" Celestia asked next, voice quiet but demanding all the same. Even totally out of her element, she seemed to hold an air of authority when she dropped into her serious demeanor.
"My sister is under arrest and locked in a holding cell on this ship. A fight broke out after we were freed from the machine, and she had to be subdued by force. Thankfully, Mender took a lot of the fight out of her or it could have been a lot worse than it was," Keela explained instantly, no hesitation at all. Oh. Oh crap.
"Wait, what?!" Twilight asked a moment later, shifting her gaze over to me in surprise. Keela's eyes shot open and she covered her mouth with her hands, suddenly realizing I hadn't told her yet.
Celestia coughed, however, snapping Twilight's attention back up to her instead. "Now isn't the time for that, Twilight. I'm sure Mender will explain everything to you in due time," she assured, obviously not aware of my prior promise to Twilight in the first place.
"I told you I'd tell you after this talk, Twilight. Please wait until after?" I requested, looking away from both Keela and Twilight as I said it. Given that reaction, I wasn't so sure this was going to go swimmingly anymore. Of course, what could I honestly expect, when I'm going to have to explain to her that I'm an abomination mixed with a weapon of mass destruction?
There was a long pause before Twilight finally muttered, "Oh. Oh! It's what you wanted to talk to me about! Okay, I'll wait then, of course. I already promised to be patient." This surprised me. I hadn't anticipated her actually being understanding over this entire thing. As I turned, however, I could have sworn I saw her doing something with her hoof and deep breathing. Heh. She still had stress issues, I guessed. Remembering suddenly, I double-checked the feed to the hospital room as Celestia started talking to Keela again.
It was kind of amazing how clear the images were given how theoretically far apart we were. Fluttershy was staring around the room in amazement as my eye projected a mostly completed version of us, Keela, and the room we were in. The timid pegasus oddly seemed more interested in the surroundings than Keela herself, unlike Rainbow. Dash's eyes were glued on the Keldarian, apparently interested in seeing what one's true form was. Well, true form that wasn't cut into three pieces and bleeding all over the place, anyway. I shuddered as I remembered the image of my original I was cloned from lying on that broken rock. He was me, wasn't he? If so, I wondered if he had been scared before he died. I probably would be. Hell, I was definitely terrified when the ship was about to explode. There was something more than that, though. A sense of calm and acceptance of everything. Now I didn't have that feeling anymore, oddly. Was that because I had more reasons to keep going on, now?
Drawing myself back to reality, or as close as I got to it, anyway, I looked over at one of the main reasons I had for preserving myself. Twilight stared back and forth between Keela and Celestia with a certain sense of curiosity, of course. She usually held that look when she found new things to study or observe, I noticed. Frankly, it was rather adorable to watch.
"The records we found in her study were more than a little disturbing. She'd known about Mender's original form the entire time, and only made the connection with who he was a day or so before everything fell apart. Worse yet, she got the council's approval for what she did. Well, for the most part," Keela continued, sounding rather grim for her usual standard.
Celestia sighed, but nodded before inquiring, "What have you done about the information, may I ask?" The council confirmed her mission? No, that probably meant they just let her decide what to do.
Keela shook her head, however, and looked away. It was a long minute before she finally spoke up. "I couldn't stand it anymore. The council has been nothing but a blight to our race for as long as I remember. Every choice they've made has been to preserve the status quo of the females and their own personal power, above and beyond the needs of our species itself. I took a vote," she revealed, looking back to Celestia with a stern yet sorrowful expression. A vote? I wasn't aware Keldarians knew the meaning of that. Mentally, I snickered at the aspect.
"What were the results?" Twilight asked with more than a little interest. Heh, no unnecessary questions, I noticed. It didn't matter what they were voting on, I decided. Twilight was right. The only thing that mattered was what they did.
Keela smiled weakly and answered, "We blew the FTL Communication Array off the side of this ship, then jumped into dark space where we currently are." What?!
I choked out a cough, staring at Keela in shock. She looked startled for a moment before giggling at my reaction. Celestia raised an eyebrow to me, and I picked up her silent inquiry easily enough. "Dark space is empty space outside of a standard galaxy cluster. Nopony ever goes out that far and it's considered uncharted, for the most part. If you don't have specific coordinates for something, finding anything out here is pretty much impossible. As for the FTL Array; that means she cut off all contact with the council. They probably think the ship was discovered by the Grosh and destroyed," I explained quietly.
Keela nodded gently, closing her eyes as she fell backwards onto the couch again, spilled tea momentarily forgotten. "He still knows his stuff. We voted to live out here on this ship for the rest of our lives, the first free Keldarians in three thousand years. There are only twenty-seven of us who either didn't join up with Nirru, or lived through her arrest." Keldarians died trying to arrest her? I frowned, but kept my mouth shut, biting back the hostility. No, she was Keela's sister. I made the right choice in letting her live.
"That is a brave and very lonely decision. You're a strong individual, Keela. Is that the same reason you isolated yourself here?" Celestia inquired curiously. Wait, why did Keela isolate herself?
The Keldarian looked shocked for a moment. That question had caught her by surprise, it would seem. "Oh, I locked myself in here to keep the rest of my crew safe if, well..." she admitted, trailing off as she glanced over at me.
Celestia raised an eyebrow and the two unicorns turned to me instead. What? Oh. "In case I decided to use the link you gave me to take revenge?" I asked gently, staring right at her. Did she honestly think that I would do something like that?
Her ears flattened back and she looked away, giving me all the answer I needed. There was no trust anymore. Nopony trusted me, did they? It was a bit ironic, but maybe everypony already thought I was a monster? I idly wondered, with a small amount of bitterness, if that would ease my transition into a literal monster for them.
"Surely, you realize Mender would never do that!" Twilight exclaimed, snapping my attention back to her instead, eyes widening a little. My fillyfriend continued to surprise me more and more since the incident. There were too many differences for it to just be guilt, and she seemed genuinely intent on changing. Maybe I wasn't the only one who had an epiphany? Her outlook itself seemed to change about the relationship.
"I believe it was a precaution, Twilight. It's similar to us using magic to lock the room down when we arrived," Shining Armor spoke up. He had a point. Her reaction indicated she felt bad for having to do it, so maybe she really did believe that I wasn't going to murder her and blow up half the ship with it?
Keela sighed and sank further into the cushions of her couch. "I knew the Mender I had gotten to know wouldn't have, no. But my sister did a terrible, terrible thing and I didn't know what the price would be for that. I insisted that Mender spare her and took her out of his reach, so I was worried he'd take me as a substitute instead. If he were a normal Keldarian, it would have only been a question of when," she corrected, still not looking at me.
"That's kind of sad, really. Why was that promoted in your culture?" Twilight asked, looking a little down suddenly. 'Why' was never something asked.
Keela laughed, though. "Power and control. Females were in charge and had an ironclad grip over every aspect of society. Males were treated as expendable property and 'disposed' of at the most minor of inconveniences. We didn't even call it murder or execution. It disgusted me, but even holding a seat on the council, there was nothing I could do. Males usually were instilled with a deep-seated psychological fear of females at an early age and rarely spoke out, much less rebelled. If a male were to actually get some form of power after all that, it usually ended up in a gory or vindictive form of revenge," Keela continued, opening her eyes again, now looking miserable.
The reactions were interesting, to say the least. Celestia just frowned, having a reserved yet saddened expression on. Shining Armor looked downright horrified, however, showing open disgust for the first time since I met him. Ultimately, I had to agree.
Twilight was totally different, though. She snapped to a sudden look of dawning comprehension instead, and rapidly looked over at me. "That's why you're afraid of me, isn't it?! That's why you act that way around us!" she suddenly exclaimed. Well, yes, that was mostly true. It wasn't honestly because she was so powerful. Sure, it was scary, but it was also because she was female.
"You girls are powerful and important females. On an unconscious level, Mender probably instinctively attempts to submit because of that," Keela observed, earning a glare from me. Even if that was true, she didn't have to say it out loud to the entire room.
I suddenly noticed that Shining Armor was looking at me instead of Keela, upon looking back up at everypony. He looked away when our eyes met, and immediately reminded, "We're getting a little off track. What's going to be done with Nirru?" I stared intently at him for a moment, but he didn't look back at me. I knew he'd seen that I wasn't enjoying that last topic. Did he switch it for me, then?
"She's already had her rights and powers striped from her. Her Aegis Artifact is in my keeping instead, and she'll probably be incarcerated indefinitely. At least until the link between our dimensions is permanently broken," Keela responded, looking momentarily glum over the aspect, but maintaining her stoic expression. I had sympathy for her, honestly. She'd been through a lot, and while it could have been prevented, expecting her not to make mistakes in hindsight was stupid. She was hurting, too.
Celestia smiled and nodded with that. "I understand that this is hard for you, too, but I believe that to be the right choice. My primary concern is keeping my little ponies safe, of course. This seems satisfactory to do so. What of your relation with Mender?" she asked.
Keela seemed hesitant for a moment before smiling over at me instead. I met her gaze with a curious expression, wondering what the change in demeanor was about. "I would really like to be his friend still, but I know keeping the link open would just be dangerous. The only thing holding it open now is the link I gave him to communicate with me. If he severs that, our dimensions should shift apart again in a couple weeks. That, um, would be the best course of action, probably," she suggested, doing a very bad job of sounding sure of herself. Her eyes stayed locked on mine until her voice trailed off.
"You're hesitating," I pointed out, watching her carefully. That got her to snap her eye contact with me instantly, looking away and to the left instead.
Twilight's eyebrow raised and she tilted her head as well, theorizing, "The only anchor firm enough to maintain a connection at this distance theoretically is your life force. You mentioned earlier that Mender could also use the link to retaliate against you. What would happen to you if he severed the link?"
Oh. That was indeed a good question. Keela's ears flattened back even further, and I suddenly realized that I probably wasn't going to like the answer. "I, um, don't know? The link I gave him used to be taken from slaves in order to control them and show ownership. The only time I've ever seen one broken is when the slave is killed by their owner," she revealed.
"What?!" was out my mouth before I could stop it. Why the hell did she give one of those connections to me?!
Twilight looked as surprised as I did, making me feel a little better about my sudden outburst. "Mender's not even in your dimension. Why did you give him such a link?" she asked, mirroring my thoughts, apparently.
"Well, for one, I wanted him to trust me. Even if he didn't know the significance of the link, giving him clear leverage over me was the easiest and fastest way I could think of. So, well, I took a gamble on his personality. I don't really mind the thought. It's not like he asks me to do anything I wasn't technically doing already," she reasoned, making my feelings twist up even more.
"So severing the link could potentially kill you?" Celestia asked in a rather direct, blunt manner, earning a wince from me. Keela just nodded wearily, suddenly looking somewhat uneasy. "Twilight, I'd like you to start looking into the nature of the link and see if you can find a way to break it without hurting Keela. In the meantime, the link shall stay. I also need to talk to you after this, Mender," she requested after a moment's consideration.
I swallowed nervously, suddenly feeling as uneasy as Keela looked a moment ago. Was I in trouble? Regardless, I nodded towards Celestia, who gave me a soft smile in return. "Then I believe we're done for now. I'll contact you through Mender again in the future when we have more information, and vice versa with any discoveries you make. Oh, and I'm sure you realize now, but you don't need to worry about retaliation, Keela," Celestia continued, politely smiling back towards the Keldarian.
Keela blushed and coughed lightly before smiling back. It was a precaution, but it was rather silly. "I'm not going to attack you, Keela. What happened was out of your control," I agreed, giving her a smile as well. Keela's eyes softened as she looked at me before she gave a single nod.
"I realize that now. Um, thank you for believing me, Mender. Do you want to keep talking during this whole ordeal?" she asked, looking hopeful.
Twilight giggled instead, however, pointing out, "He kind of has to if he wants to deliver information back and forth. But if he doesn't have a problem with it, do you think I could visit, too? You seem like an interesting individual," Twilight asked, looking back and forth between us. Wait, she was asking me, too?
Keela grinned and shook her head, adding, "I don't have a problem with it if Mender doesn't. It's him doing all the hard work."
I snorted and shook my head. "It's not really that hard at all. I'm actually in the hospital right now, so honestly, it's kind of like resting anyway. Maybe I'll ask Fluttershy to meet you too, even?" I offered, shifting my focus into my left eye and peeking back into the other dimension again. Fluttershy gave a squeak as I referenced her name, and shrunk down in her chair, of course. I tried to resist the urge to cut the link, then run over and hug her again. That 'running' part would probably throw a wrench in things.
"I'd like that. Every, um, pony seems really kind so far. Now that I can truly meet them, I feel a lot better," Keela agreed, somewhat cryptically. I let it slide, however, deciding to ask her about it later.
Princess Celestia nodded in agreement. "I'm pleased that this has gone so smoothly, and will gladly welcome communication between yourself and Equestria. For now, however, I apologize, but I have much to consider," she apologized.
"I suppose that means you're leaving now?" the Keldarian asked, hiding the smallest burst of melancholy that flashed across her face.
Celestia nodded, of course, earning a soft sigh from Keela. "All right. Before you go, Mender, I do have something for you," she revealed, sliding over to the other end of the couch and fetching something from around the side. I felt Shining Armor's barrier strengthen almost instantly and smirked to myself, amused at how cautious he was. Still, I kind of envied him for it. If I'd been this cautious when Nirru tried to trick me, she never would have even made it upstairs. Shining Armor probably would have figured it out on the ground floor, tricked her back, then ambushed her instead.
He relaxed when Keela withdrew a medium sized box instead. Papers and notebooks were literally overflowing from the top of it, and she slid the box across the table and closer to my view. A simple glance at the top few pages revealed many familiar topics. "Doctor Kyliona's notes. How did you get these?" I asked, surprised they even still existed.
"They're not the originals. I printed off and bound everything I could find in our database before deleting it. Those are the only copies left. I want to send them over to you in Equestria," she explained, sounding remarkably final about it.
I frowned, but before I or anypony else could say anything, she kneeled down to my head level and slid something out from under the sofa. Shining Armor's shield flared up again as his eyes widened. Mine did too, for just cause. The silver and black hilt and sheath of "Void Cutter" was displayed before me.
"I know I don't have any right to ask favors of you, but can I please send you Ventosus Lacuna, too? It's Nirru's Artifact, and as such, she can pull it to herself from almost anywhere. Almost. I have reason to believe that she can't draw it from a different dimension. I don't want her getting it. I've had to forcefully stop several attempts already of her pulling it," she explained. Ventosus Lacuna? Windy Emptiness? Why did Nirru call it something different?
I started to turn and look at Celestia instead, but the alicorn beat me to the punch by far. "That actually is in line with my thoughts exactly. Please accept the Artifact, Mender," Celestia requested, surprising me and making me suspicious at the same time. I nodded slowly, turning back to Keela instead.
The Keldarian smiled and gave me a gentle hug, squeezing around my shoulders. Subconsciously, I patted her on the back using my right foreleg, avoiding my left entirely. "Then I'll see you later, Mender?" Keela asked, finally backing up and giving me a hopeful expression.
I nodded softly to her, offering, "Probably tonight, depending on what Twilight's doing. I'll tug on the link when I'm set." Of course, I didn't mention that Twilight might be busy either directing me or blasting me to pieces. I held back a shiver of nervousness at the prospect of telling her.
"Okay! I look forward to talking to both of you again, then," Keela confirmed, sounding a lot happier than she was earlier, admittedly.
Nodding to her, I gave her a parting bow for politeness before pulling all four of us back out and through the dimensional transit. Twilight waited until everything started to run together before sliding sideways and pressing a firm kiss to my right cheek. I gave her a smirk and kissed hers back in return as everything melted into a singularity. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out after all?
2941546 OH my god! Yes! Time to read! YAY!
2941546 Awkward? I'd say... hot. But yeah, it was that one.
2941308
Oh bluh, that was a mix-up on my part
Anyway, I figure she's already passed her melting point in private and probably wouldn't want anyone else to see it. I believe that's part of the reason she's taken so long to visit Mender - she'd want to know if he hates her first, and then she'd collect herself before going. Of course, even if she can be stubborn at times she has a limit. Not admitting her mistake would be dishonest, after all.
I love this story. (EU)
Ahhh just finished this chapter...Im clawing my hair out right now...I really want to know what happens next! I'll probably go bald before then though
Mender and Armour's barrier conversation made my day.
I was looking for any alternative to what you made it sound like. Barriers didn't cross my mind until you outright told us. Then I ed hard.
And I can't wait for the I'm a cyborg conversation. Twi be like
And how the buck does Celestia act so calm and collected. Its almost like she's done this before...
I can't wait for next friday!
For this chapter I rate /5
And on a completely unrelated note. Fandom substitute for the F-bomb. Applebucking season. That is all.
20 emoticons. At least you get more words in your comments between them all.
Something gets resolved? What witch craft is this?
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Cos you know, Pinkie as Zaphod Beeblebrox just makes sense!!
Hmm, Celestia most definitely knows more than she is letting on, and I don't think Twilight will be blasting him to pieces. It's more than likely that her OCD will kick in and she'll spend as much time as possible trying to separate the biomass/cyborg weapon parts from Mender. That's what I would do if I were her and he then told me. Hmm, what's that Twilight?
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Hey, uh Mender? Could you like, calm your mare down or something? What do you mean, 'run'?
Why do I get the feeling that the living blueberry shit is about to hit the strawberry liquorice fan? Either way, great chapter, and I am deeply looking forward to next week.
Is it bad that I immediately went "shields" during that conversation? Oh, and Flutters' near non-reaction was adorable.
*reads*
...
*rereads*
*blinks*
Uh, the editing and uploading process must've gone wrong. For some reason, this chapter didn't end in a tremendous cliffhanger.
Hehheh...dick jokes.
Seriously, though, I knew they were talking about barriers first. Especially since that was the last thing mentioned right before the scene change.
*sigh* I want the talk between Twi and Mender to go smoothly, but...something just tells me that's not going to happen...
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference?
Also, wouldn't Shining Armour be Celestia's nephew in-law as he's married to her niece, not related to Celestia.
Call me cynical, but that seems a bit much to ask for. Poor Mender's luck doesn't seem to be nearly good enough for what comes next to go smoothly. Poor mender.
This is slow but a good chapter.
There is too much buildup to the big reveal... I can't handle. Every new chapter I think to myself, "He's going to tell them in THIS CHAPTER," but it never happens...
Calling it now. Celestia put this together one Saturday night because someone dared her to. She made a whole new race in a whole different dimension and won the bet. After that, she'd pop in from time to time to see what was going on. She managed to do this without being noticed by members of either dimension for around one hundred years. Eventually, she got bored with the dimension and forgot about it. Five Hundred years later, it comes back to bite her in the ass when Mender arrives. THE END.
(Yes, I'm crazy).
No offence, but FINALLY something happened, after all the chapters after all the weeks SOMETHING HAPPENED!
i can't wait for mender to tell everypony whats happening. Oh and btw mine is harder AND bigger
You are a horrible tease.
I figured out they were talking about shields right away. Such a conversation NEVER means what was implied, and they both have shield magic in common, so I figured that out right away.
A few chapters back when the talk with Keela was planned, I thought Keela might slip and reveal too much. She had no way of knowing everypony WOULDN'T have known what happened. It wasn't the worst of slips though, like I had expected.
A bit disturbing to think that the Keldarian council is in on this. We still don't really know exactly why Mender was sent to Equestria (I believe a few chapters back hinted it was intentional, especially his pony form being what it is)... only that it involves finding 6 power sources, likely the Elements of Harmony, and I think it means the ponies rather than the jewelery, as well I assume it's probably connected to the stones. Gotta wonder if simply linking them all will accomplish his mission, and what will happen then...
I'm surprised the idea of faking the activation of Twilight's stone didn't cross his mind, if he REALLY wanted to squash the idea in her head. Touch it, dismiss the popup (thanks to Pinkie Pie's he knows he can) and claim it must be broken when it doesn't light up. Of course he probably wouldn't like the idea of lying to her, plus he intends to reveal at least part of his secrets anyway. And Twilight's smart enough that she is starting to guess the stones are technology, she'd probably figure out it wasn't really broken either at some point.
I also don't think I mentioned this previously, but I do like how the previous story standalone and this one have completely different Menders. By that I mean for this story you completely changed who and what he was and is... filling in some plot holes along the way (why did he take the form of a pony, for example). Bit of a retcon, but I like the direction you've taken it. Cyborgs are awesome.
I'm gonna try and guess how the story ends, with what we know now: Mender makes links with all 6 ponies, and at some point accidentally activates a mechanism to collect the "samples" of the 6 "power sources". Working wirelessly through the link, the power of the Elements of Harmony is transferred to Mender.. and he, whether through remote machine control or biological conditioning or a combination thereof, is manipulated to finish his mission and hand the power over to Kyliona. And at that point his "secret" is not known by many so it's a shock to all to see him in that form. Maybe we even see a different, even darker form. Maybe he never got around to telling Twilight and he chickened out. Maybe he only told her part of the secret.
But thanks to the power of friendship and magic he is able to resist and win the day and Pinkie Pie throws a party.
Oh, and maybe he uses the Elements to restore the Keldarians using whatever he carries around inside of him. Hell, let's make the whole homeworld come back, too.
Also... Nirru's sword moving to another dimension MIGHT keep her from summoning it? Yeeeah that's foreshadowing. I'm calling it now: She summons HERSELF to IT and escapes to Equestria to finish what she started. And I'm not ruling out the possibility that Keela knows that's possible and is sending the hilt with Mender intentionally. Celestia is wise to be cautious of her...
2941962
most people tend to skip the in-law part when speaking about those things, just makes it easier and i would expect that was what was done here
You Bastard! I thought this was finally the chapter for the confession.*sigh* at least it's in the next chapter.
And apparently Mender is also part frog with that tongue of his. Might be good for the girls.
For the last month I've been saying to myself that he has got to tell her soon. He's got to tell her before the meeting or Keela is going to blow it for him. But he didn't and she almost did. At least Twilight is still being patient about it. So 2 or 3 more chapters before he finally reveals it? lol
I would ask why that ending feels like a cliffhanger but I won't know until next Friday anyway. Seems like he's asking for something to happen.
But rocks, dirt and people are completely edible for him.
What are they feeding him? Can't they at least give him the lawn clippings?
>cockily
Doho
But seriously, why is Nirru still even alive? I'm surprised they didn't thrown her out an airlock after she killed her own people.
I want the next chapter so bad it hurts
WHAT DOES CELESTIA KNOW??!! like really! she: 1. was unfazed when she went through with mender when the others gasped, 2. knew how to make a representation of herself and how to depart form mender as if she had practiced before, 3. she is way too good with extradimenchinal [<---cant spell sorry ] travel through a mind link!! what is going on??
2942758
Edible and eatable are two completely separate things.
Great chapter. I'm guessing the next chapter Twilight finds out what Mender is? I can't wait.
294293i do believe they call it
*clears throat*
DRAMATIC TENSION!
Huh. I am no longer sure what an Aegis Artifact is.
Initially, with one example, and information on it.
-Owner must be dead.
-Book is example.
First Guess.
An Aegis Artifact is
-an object, which had value to the owner.
-Owner Died, in the process of using Life Force Amplification. "Denique Veneficus" (Finally Wizard according to Google Translate. End of Wizard seems like intent) (Probable Requirement)
-Last, Amplified Spell was an Aegis Barrier. (Possibly Requirement)
-The Object, will, if a certain part of death occurs while Denique Veneficus is active, (Similar to Lich Creation in some fictions, Die under certain effect) an object, of value to the owner, will obtain a heavy, skin-tight Aegis Barrier, making it nigh-invulnerable, and possibly amplifying it's effects.
Mender's Template's death created the Artifact. However, presuming that Clones are Soul-linked, to an extent, caused it to link with Mender.
The Void Cutter, or Ventosus Lacuna, is here stated to be Nirru's artifact. I am unsure as to whether that contradicts earlier information, or if it is referring to her ownership rather than a link. In that, Aegis Artifacts are like Legendary Equipment in RPGS. Durable, powerful, and Rare.
I could imagine someone being highly attached to their sword. Whether Void Blades were common or not in the Keldarian's civilization, or if it was a lesser (probably Mono or near mono-molecular, and enchanted at the very least) blade. The quote "For one, blades were a little outclassed in that war" doesn't mean a lot of people weren't still using blades. I can image some hero (or, more realistically, less of one) leading a boarding action. Barrier mages are likely to be a part of such a thing, if only to assist with keeping atmosphere in space or in Grosh ships, even with reliable space suits. Anyhow, his team gets slowly killed off, and at the end, he is using a sword, cutting through robotic Troops left and right, Overcharging via Denique Veneficus, still surrounded and overwelmed, and then, barriers failing, him dying, throws the sword through the power generator, destroying the ship, him, but not the sword which became the void cutter. Then Nirru, or someone else picking it up later. Possible after it impales someone after falling out of orbit.
Or maybe I just have too much of an active imagination.
~Void Cutter. I can't recall if it was described, but I think it might act as a vacuum cleaner in atmosphere, albeit by deleting any air in the generally area. This might be prevented by having it passively repulse sufficiently low density matter around it, however.
~The Voids in the Aegis Artifacts don't actually just delete the matter. Instead, it converts it into energy to power itself, namely the Barrier protecting it.
I was unable to figure out what was actually meant by the shield conversation until it was explained, even though I knew it was an example of unintended innuendo. As a note, I don't think the Hardness being more important is correct. It is the flexibility that matters. After all, It needs to be able to absorb force, which, at least for normal matter, tends to shatter anything hard, but be diffused and absorbed by more flexable objects. Hence why force fields ripple like water around an impact in many fictions.
Admittedly, if you are ignoring laws of physics, or just instantly deleting kinetic energy, it can be a totally rigid shield, but that seems to contradict this particular genre which doesn't ignore them.
Best. Dialogue. Ever!
Everything will now go to hell.
Wait a second.... Previously, Prudentia's – an aegis artifact – location in the non-equestrian universe was what held the two universes together.
So now, it seems a good idea to separate another aegis artifact from its owner in the same way. Sounds like a good plan that will have no repercussions at all.
Looks like smooth sailing from here on out.
Hmm some more intrigue from the Keldarian front. How much does the council know of Mender and dimensional travel? I know that Keela has severed communications with the council but I feel that this isn't the end of of that. I'm also interested in what those notes will reveal about the weapon and Mender's mission as a scout.
Let's not forget that Mender will finally confess his big secret to Twilight now. Maybe Fluttershy will be present also when he tells and not become too afraid, though I think she may not be able to help it no matter how much she wants to be brave. From Twi, I expect a mixed reaction of many thoughts and emotions.
I know I didn't comment on the last chapter but I really like how realistic the relationship is between Mender and Tia. He may not completely trust her now but at least he's giving her a chance and she's handling that with so much grace. She is in serious competition right now as best princess with Luna.
Overall, this was another great chapter that has me very impatient for next Friday. Keep up the good work.
about that part of comparing shields.....wow, just wow. I couldn't stop laughing. then when he mentioned smashing them together I facepalmed laughing soo hard. you have been planning that part for awhile haven't you?
Shields...
shoulda guessed
I am really enjoying the lack of cliffhangar
but im more anxious about the upcoming chapter than ever before
At first I thought you meant 'hurdles'... but then I remembered that this is Mender we're talking about. Hurtles is a much more accurate description,
Heh, I can already see the 'talk': Soooo i kinda, maybe ate most of my homeworld as a super bioweapon and can turn into a super terminator at will, i probably should have mentioned that sooner, but... well, it never came up.
Things might finally be looking up? Could the troubles of the past actually see a happy conclusion? Well when you look at past chapters and story lines it seems to always point giving us the reaction of
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I should have made this comment along with my Homunculus comment a few chapters back: Mender kind of reminds of of John Carpenter's The Thing. The tentacles, the rapid transformations, and the fact he absorbed a ton of sentient life into one, huge, disgusting body back when he only had primal instinct going on in his brain.
Another chapter well done Kiroberos!
I feel like Tia's planning something... And I bet that 'talk' with Twilight will go just lovely!
CMC! they're always fun, but what will AJ think? Because she it Appleblooms sister, and everyone knows Applejack is..... Applejack. Idk what i was getting at there.
And i think the chat with Keela went quiet well given the reasoning behind it, though i understand the precautions, they should have trusted Mender when he said that they wouldn't need to (I dont think they ever talked about it but they did mention "Wasn't Part of the agreement," and we all know what happened last time someone said that)
Mender getting all the ladies
Shinning armor get over it, although the whole horn touching this is frowned upon before marriage, Princess Celestia does it. (Although she does have Legit reasoning behind it and its for a cause)
But non-the-less another great chapter, can't wait to see whats in store for next week.
School starts in less than a month for me at least i'll have another reason to look forward to weekends.
Awww yeah son, another chapter in the bank.
Hitchhiker's Guide reference. LOVE IT! And now I cannot remove the headcanon where Equestria was actually built by Magrathea. Amusing to think about, though.
Obligatory mention of the shield part. Well played, sir. Well played.
I can understand the importance of removing Nirru's Aegis Artifact (AA) from her dimension, should make it a bit more difficult for her to get her hands on it. Though, with her apparent skill in magic, as well as her determination and, more than likely at this point, desire for revenge, I can see her figuring out a way to reverse the AA summon to re-enter Equestria somewhere down the line. She probably has this burning need to put Mender, a male, in his place after he humiliated her. Even if it isn't considered possible, it fits with my interpretation of her character. Drawing big parallels now between Nightmare Moon/Princess Luna and Nirru/Keela. Though that might just be me going off the deep end.
Speaking of Luna, MOAR PLEEZ. Luna 4 best!
tl;dr again: New chapter reveals more, and while I'm not about to say it resolves anything, it certainly gives us more information about the Keldarian front. Also, I can't wait for Twi's reaction next week. If it is next week, that is. Keep 'em coming!
I have a feeling that everything is going to go to shit in the next few chapters. My jimmies will be very rustled if it does.
Great chapter as always, and good luck in all your future endervers.
"Let's just smash them together repeatedly until one breaks"
WAT
Not a doubt in my mind that everypony here knows EXACTLY what she was thinking.
I realized why I've been so tardy at commenting on the chapters lately... (Lately = last... Two months or so ) It's because I always read them at around 4 in the morning and then think "I'll just comment tomorrow" and then I forget Well here's for the chapters I've missed commenting on.
I really like the way you're taking this I remember mentioning that I hope Mender dies and is somehow reborn as a real pony. This is far better than what I had in mind Mender ending up as a normal pony would've kinda killed the story after all. No more adventures...
I was really surprised how eager Fluttershy is with getting into a relationship with Mender.. I wonder if there's some "If I don't do it now, something's bound to kill him before I get my chance" behind it Also, I'm getting a feeling Twi might be on to Fluttershy's feelings for her.. On some level at least.. Maybe?
Now as for this chapter. Mender going to meet Keela with the others was what I've really been looking forward to, and I wasn't disappointed in how you wrote it (not that I've ever been disappointed in your writing) And that barrier conversation with Shining. Pure. Gold!
'Maybe, just maybe, things would work out after all?'
Mender... What have you done...
I believe the following correctly expresses the feelings of many here.
he tells her what he is, twi flips out. fluttershy will be worried but still know its him by way of the link. Celestia will step in and stop twi from being stupid. cos tia already knew that he was a cyborg and let him stay then found out he was purely weaponized and let him stay.
Ah yes, maybe things will work out okay. An ingenious plan, Mender! Fate already considers you such a tempting target that maybe it'll leave you alone for a while if you make it just too damn easy. Truly it takes a brilliant strategist to use reverse psychology on reality itself.
So hmm, I understand why Mender doesn't want to consume any of the matter taken from Keldarians and whatever other creatures were absorbed by that weapon, but I don't get why he doesn't want to use vegetation or such that would be effectively like eating plants normally. Is everything that the weapon absorbed all blended into one big matter slurry that has no distinction about what it used to be anymore? The fact that he's sorting out the Keldarians' DNA implies he could potentially carefully pick out inoffensive bits of material to use as food, but maybe the data about what was absorbed is simply a record that has no attachment to the actual matter anymore. Or maybe he thinks the whole batch is tainted, and it's all off limits regardless of most of it being dirt and rocks and such.
Funny thing, though, way back in Memory Pending, I jokingly said that maybe Mender needed to swallow his old body whole to fix his apparent multiple-body problem. But now with his new-found gorging abilities, he possibly could have done just that. Not that it would have accomplished anything. I wonder what his limits are for the largest object he can engulf, though. What would happen if he swallowed his magic book whole?
I still wonder what the purpose was behind those linking tokens, since it seems like there must have been more of a reason behind them than Mender's convenience. Maybe it's waiting for the connections to be completed with all 6 Element Bearers before it triggers some effect, like using the Elements of Harmony to reassemble all the Keldarians that are tucked away inside Mender, so Equestria will suddenly get a couple billion Keldarian immigrants. Or maybe even reverse the entire process and cover up their planet with everything that's inside Mender. Or it'll open a giant portal that Kyliona intended to allow Keldarians to escape from the Grosh to Equestria. But since their planet is gone now, one side of the bridge will just be the open vacuum of space, so it'll start sucking ponies through and dumping them into the debris field where the planet blew up.
But even if nothing like that happens, Mender still might regret activating the link with Pinkie Pie. Does he really want Pinkie popping up in his head whenever she feels like it? She'll probably figure out how to spam his thoughts with little felt pictures all the time, along with all her random little songs, and he won't be able to turn it off. She'll be like one of those annoying people online who won't stop sending ten e-mails a day with every random little thing they thought was funny or inspirational or whatever. At least he probably doesn't have much to fear when it comes to telling Pinkie about his secret. Her immediate reaction will most likely be to ask if planets taste good.
Aha, there's that conversation between Mender and Shining Armor that I've been waiting for since about 20 chapters ago. And filled with a nice bunch of innuendos to embarrass the hell out of Twilight and show us what she's really thinking about. But hm, she sure came charging in enthusiastically considering what she thought they were talking about. Maybe she's approaching her heat cycle a bit early if she really wanted to watch that. I wonder if Fluttershy realized how Twilight was interpreting that little exchange. And speaking of Twilight reacting to stuff, I wonder what she'll say and do when she finds out Fluttershy is pretty strongly interested in her too, not just Mender. Pretty unlikely she'll notice until Fluttershy shoves it right in her face so much that she can't miss it. And I'm sure Mender wouldn't mind if that happened literally too, as long as he gets to watch.
So I know it's supposed to seem suspicious that Celestia appears to have prior experience with such situations as that little out-of-body dimensional excursion, but it actually seems almost exactly like what Celestia did when she met with Twilight in that etherial place during Magical Mystery Cure, plus what Luna probably does when she dives into somepony's dreams. So we don't even have to step outside of events from within the show to see that Celestia's already familiar with such things.
One thing, though, why didn't they discuss restraining Keela with Mender beforehand, if it was just a security measure? Seems like they still don't really trust him as much as they claim if they don't let him in on their plans, although maybe that was entirely on Celestia. Also, they really should have asked more about Aegis Artifacts, how they work, and just what they are in general. But then there's a bunch more topics they could've discussed, and Celestia seemed to want to keep this visit quick. Maybe she even has plans for Void Cutter, and doesn't want it discussed in too much detail. Strange how that weapon has a direct connection with Nirru, though, despite the fact that they said creating one is a lethal process. Seems like that means she either used someone else to make it on her behalf, or it's normal for them to become attached to someone in a similar way Mender is bound to the book. Although I very much doubt his connection is quite the same thing, so I don't know. Still, if it is linked to Nirru, how are they sure that won't just create another bridge between the dimensions that she might be able to exploit?
I still don't get where Keela was during that whole incident with Nirru, something I kept forgetting to mention. Keela was apparently hooked up to the machine too, yet she didn't seem to have any ability to actually do anything more than talk. I'm also a little bit surprised Nirru put up so much of a fight when she woke up back there. At that point I kinda thought she was happy to just not be dead, maybe even regretting her actions ever so slightly. I wonder what she's going to try to do next, though. Maybe she'll start waving her magic sword around like a cross-dimensional jedi.
You know, if Mender were a much meaner pony, he could play a very cruel prank on Applejack. If he activated the link with her, he could throw voices, and probably even images at her, pretending he suffered some complication and died in the hospital, and is now haunting her for killing him. Then once she recovers from that one, he can play another trick on her by showing up at Sweet Apple Acres in his tentacle form, while she still doesn't know it's him, and "eat" Apple Bloom right in front of Applejack. Those might be the meanest pranks ever, though, and Rainbow probably really would turn him into a ghost if she caught him trying to pull something like that. But at least AJ would likely stop feeling quite so bad about what she did, so he'd be doing her a favor.
Also, I've never liked the nickname "Tia". He should call her "Sunny" if she wants something less formal. Or "Sun-Butt" for something extra casual.
I actually hope Two and Flutters take Mender's origins easily and just reassure him.
I feel like Mender needs a break, and between this strange semi-angst and all of these info dumps I sort of feel like nothing is happening even though a lot actually is.
I'm just looking forward to seeing at least some of these sub plots resolved I guess.
Really looking forward to next time.