Chapter 55
The day was turning cooler now, with darkening skies overhead. My fur was warm, however, due to being significantly thicker than normal, and I simply stared out over the lake. Rainbow had explained that the clouds were made over at Cloudsdale, and then 'slid' over to the locations where they were supposed to be. For big storms, local pegasi were then called in to help, but the upcoming rain was supposed to be more a drizzle than anything.
Sweetie had elected to stay near us instead, showing a reasonable distaste for going near the large body of water, which I attributed to her experience at the dam. She stayed carefully nestled into my left side with her head down on my foreleg. She'd gotten my brace off and was lightly massaging my leg, to my surprise. She didn't seem to think it was 'ugly' or 'gross', it would seem. Although the color was coming back to it now, and it felt stronger than it had in a while. I wasn't about to try it without the brace, though.
Rainbow lay to my left with her head down on her forelegs, staring up at Scootaloo and Spike. The little dragon was being carried and they repeatedly swooped down to gather up little 'bombs' of water to let loose on the swimming fillies and colt, who'd take swipes at them as they shot past, trying to spray Scootaloo down with water and get them to crash into the lake. I could tell that wasn't where Rainbow's thoughts resided, however.
"I'm so stupid. What are we gonna do?" she asked quietly after another moment. Sweetie frowned lightly, but didn't slow in her small massage, regardless of obviously listening in.
After the initial shock, both of us realized almost instantly what it was, of course. The only one there to listen who was actually interested was Sweetie, of course, as I let them know it wasn't some weird spell effect from me. The others split off to go play at my request, but so far, Rainbow and I had been silent.
Gently, I shook my head. That was an easy one, anyway. "Nothing has changed. I'm still going to tell the girls about both of you, and try to figure something out with them. I don't foresee a problem with my plan on waiting two years for Sweetie, but you know they'll insist that you see things through with Applejack before even considering our herd," I warned slowly, trying extra hard to think my words out ahead of time. This wasn't a good spot to insert a hoof into my mouth, which I knew I had a tendency to do. If I had to, I'd rather do so when the results could be laughed off. Heh.
Rainbow nodded absently, that obviously not having been what she was talking about, but I already knew that, and she already knew that I knew that, if that made sense. Deciding that there were too many 'that's in my thought process, I moved on to what she really had asked. "As for the link, it appears to be visible at extreme levels of focus and attention between us, maybe at only close range as well, and transmits slightly more information than the crystal disk link does, minus the direct verbal communication bit," I analyzed, silently channeling my inner Twilight Sparkle, who would probably be proud of that assessment. Or kill me due to the topic, but that was irrelevant.
The cyan mare gave me a blank look before snickering tiredly, still looking a bit worn out from all the exercise prior. "I can see why you and Twilight get along so well. It's good she can have somepony to be all 'egghead' with. Spike can only go so far with that, and he's already the closest she had before. Still, what does all that really mean?" she asked, frowning to herself as she finally looked back up at me from her resting position.
"Everything I've read on the links, and everything Twilight told me about them, seems to indicate it takes a prolonged period of time to form one. We didn't have that, so my best guess is that only a small sliver of one was created. I don't know if it retains its 'permanent' qualities, or if it just means it's really short range or something, but I'm sure there's data out there on it. Surely, somewhere in all of Equestria's history, said ritual was interrupted at some point before completion," I reasoned absently, based on pure probability. The chances of it never having happened before we're astronomically low, honestly.
Rainbow nodded at that and closed her eyes again, curling up a bit more for warmth, then smiling as my tail flicked up and flopped over her like a blanket. I think it was the first time I really noticed that she was a little bit smaller than me. Just a little. "So it might not be as big a deal as we thought? I really don't want it giving Applejack doubts either," she admitted, but again, I'd already suspected that particular worry had been going through her.
"Even if we can't find a way to remove it, it's not all that different from the link we already shared before that she definitely knows about. Doubly so if it only works at short range. I don't think you have a single thing to worry about," I assured softly. It was true, really.
"It's still really romantic. Besides, even if Applejack, Twilight, and Fluttershy don't go for the 'joining herds' thing, you're all really close already, so I'm sure you'll always have a special connection to each other," Sweetie suddenly spoke up, saying 'romantic' like one might describe a triple-layered fudge and milk chocolate cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles on top. Damn it. Now I was hungry again.
Rainbow snickered, then slid the picnic basket over to us again with her wing, tipping it over easily enough and sliding a wrapped sandwich out towards me. Oh, she was amazing! She gave me a knowing smirk before adding, "Yeah, I can totally see that being awesome, too. Just not 'as' awesome, ya know? Although, if I can get them to agree to letting Mender provide 'heat relief' to all of us, I'll probably be okay with it."
I shot her a mildly annoyed glare, but she already smirked at me and stuck her tongue out, so I quickly shifted to just rolling my eyes. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten about the little white filly's more recent experiences. "Ah! That horrible, burning heat that pools in your stomach and makes you really, really dizzy, giving you weird but really good feeling thoughts? If that's what it's like to be in heat, I so don't want to be! Wait, Mender can actually make that go away?" she asked, sounding a little on the curious side.
Both Rainbow and I blushed lightly at the implications, but she recovered a little faster than me. "Yup! For one, he could just get us pregnant, but that would actually make for far more problems than it solved, for me, anyway. But that would get you free of heat for a whole year! ...and then you get a foal. So yeah, no," she chirped, dropping off as she somehow managed to horrify herself with her own statement.
Sweetie Belle's eyes widened, a light blush forming across her cheeks as well, but she slowly nodded. "That, uh, doesn't sound totally bad, but I can see why it would, um, be a problem for you. Being all big and round like that would probably make flying kinda hard," she admitted, her eyes drifting over Rainbow's sleek yet muscular frame.
"Exactly! Totally not cool for a future Wonderbolt! I'd have to train for, like, a year just to get all the weight off again. So not worth it if we're just talking avoiding the heat," she groaned, burying her head in her hooves again.
I snickered at her description, but smiled back to Sweetie. "You also have to remember what Nurse Redheart said. That 'heat' was actually several times worse than what you'd normally go through due to the magical nature, so what you'll actually experience will only be a small fraction of that," I reminded, causing the little filly to exhale quietly and nod, looking back down at my leg idly. Her massaging movements had ceased during her inquiry, but she started up again a moment later.
"Yeah, yours probably won't be as bad as mine. No, there are 'other' things Mender can do to at least temporarily get rid of the horrible heat feeling. Because he's, like, part robot or something, I think he can do it without risk of us having foals, too! Uh, I might be wrong there though. I kinda stopped paying attention after that," she admitted, snickering lightly and rubbing the back of her head with her right forehoof. At least I managed to resist slapping my forehead. The second she'd even heard it was a possibility, I bet all other thoughts just went right out the window.
Sweetie stared at her for a moment, her cheeks burning a little brighter red before she gave a timid smile and nodded. "Um, you're talking about sex, right?" she asked quietly, momentarily reaching Fluttershy's levels of volume. Er, wait...
Rainbow's eyes widened and she looked more than a bit surprised, but Sweetie just giggled and cut her off with, "I'm twelve. Miss Cheerilee has already taught us the, well, basics. I know what it is and that it's supposed to be good feeling, but not to do it with just anypony."
Exhaling, I nodded down at her, honestly berating myself for not guessing as much. "Yeah. That's what she's talking about. I'm actually a little worried that I might not be able to have a foal with a mare, but things I discovered recently are making that a little bit more probable sounding. You should definitely hold off, though, Sweetie. Isn't there an age limit on that sort of thing, too?" I pointed out, idly reminding myself at the same time to peek back a ways in those research notes I'd found and see what they said about my 'creation'. If I was similar enough to a normal pony, chances are I could mate with one.
Rainbow shrugged idly, relaxing a bit as the heat died down in her cheeks. "No, not really... We've never really 'needed' a law for that kinda thing. A more natural sort of approach is taken, only when it feels right with the right pony. The age limit on joining a herd is more to encourage a realistic amount of consideration before doing so, to cut down on spontaneous choices being regretted," she explained, shuddering lightly. Oh, well that made sense, too, having noticed enough about their culture to know they probably didn't have a problem with it to begin with.
Sweetie smiled lightly and nodded twice, the slow motion rather timid almost. "Ah, yeah, I know. Um, I'm saving myself for Mender, of course, so you don't need to worry about that," she pointed out. I mentally sighed. Even seeing it coming hadn't really helped me cope with her answer all that well.
My mouth opened in attempts to at least commend her on waiting in general, when my ears rotated around an instant later, a very light snap sounding out from the forest. My head rose and whipped around to look fully over Sweetie Belle, staring off into the woods in the direction the snap had come from. The little filly went silent as she turned rapidly to look as well, but I said nothing and continued scanning for any movement whatsoever.
A full forty seconds passed before I exhaled and frowned. A fast flicker of my scanners masked by a blink revealed nothing but dirt, rock, and wood, based off density comparisons. "Mender?" Rainbow asked cautiously after seeing me relax a little.
I shook my head idly while still watching the trees. "I guess I'm getting paranoid. I thought I heard something, is all," I explained, refusing to look away from the forest still, just in case.
"Want me to do a flyover? I think I'm rested enough now," Rainbow offered idly. Sweetie looked away from the woods with a shiver and glanced back up at me curiously.
"Nah. If you're rested up, you can go back to practicing if you'd like. We can talk about this later tonight or tomorrow, of course," I offered, finally looking back over at her instead. I guess I really was getting paranoid.
Rainbow smiled upon getting my full attention again and nodded, relaxing a bit. "If you're sure. Keep an eye on me, too, just in case I take an unintended dip?" she requested, standing up fully and stretching out her lanky body. I watched the muscles shiver down her side, lightly tracing the curve of her hip and flank before looking back forward again to her now smirking face.
"Of course. You know I always keep an eye, or at least a link, on all of you," I reminded, sticking the tip of my tongue out at her.
She grinned and nodded before taking to the air and shooting out over the lake in an instant. Again, I was impressed by her speed. Watching her up close wasn't too bad either. I knew I was loyal to Twilight and Fluttershy, but Rainbow definitely wasn't hard on the eyes. But she was more like a work of art or something in a gallery somewhere, to me. The last thing I wanted to do was get in her way in pursuing Applejack.
Sweetie smiled as she watched her go, then shifted her gaze down to her friends in the lake, eyes following their movements as they played. "You can go join them, if you want, on the shore. Don't worry. I'll be right here to help if anything happens," I assured softly, earning a start from the little filly. She turned and smiled back up at me before shaking her head.
"N-No, I'm fine where I am. The water is still, well, it makes me uneasy. I feel at ease up here on the hill with you, as far from it as possible," she revealed, shivering lightly as she turned back and stared down at the lake.
My eyes softened and I nodded, even though she probably didn't see me do so. I'd figured the memory wouldn't leave her for a long time. This was one case where I'd gladly find out I was wrong again. But that's not the nature of bad memories. "I had another nightmare about it last night. I was watching the lake from some sort of hill, all by myself this time. It was scary, but I couldn't look away."
I watched her do oddly similar with the lake right now, and somewhat predicted where this was going. My left foreleg slipped out and lightly hugged the filly, but she didn't even react to it. "It was getting dark, and the sun was sinking into the lake with a lot of sizzling and bubbles. The lake twisted and turned, then started rapidly getting bigger and bigger! I panicked and tried to run higher up, but the hill was the highest point and I was already on it. The water surrounded me and circled around, splashing around like a scary river before eating the entire area," she continued, locking up and closing her eyes tight again. I pulled her against my chest and just rubbed her side as she shivered for a second.
"It... It was terrifying. I screamed and screamed but the water just pulled me under and flooded into my mouth, hauling me lower and lower until I couldn't see. I yelled your name again and again to come and save me... A-Apple Bloom woke me up then," she finished, voice barely a whisper as I just kept rubbing her tummy lightly.
"I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, Sweetie. If I'm anywhere at all near you, just call out my name and I'll be there in an instant to protect you," I promised, a sinking sensation making me realize I really meant that. It wasn't a bad thing until I realized how little would actually even slow me down in getting to her. Even if I had to tear a mountain apart to save the little filly.
Sweetie Belle nodded and smiled up at me timidly, looking tired. Her eyes were red and I knew she probably hadn't been sleeping very well. A thought occurred to me a moment later. "If you want, for the rest of the time we're here, I won't leave early in the morning. That way, if you even whimper during one of your dreams, I'll be right there to wake you up out of it, if you wish," I offered, realizing that was probably the best I could do for her at the moment.
Her eyes widened almost as fast as her mouth did, and she nodded twice. "Yes, please! I feel much safer when I'm near you, and knowing you'll be there to watch over my dreams, too, would be amazing. Thank you, Mender. Um, I really do love you," she added, blushing after and shyly looking down into my chest again.
My heart stirred for other reasons and I smiled at the adorable little filly, giving her a gentle squeeze with my foreleg. "Careful. You're adorable right now, but if you keep this up two years from now, getting into our herd won't be a problem at all," I teased her, snickering to myself.
Her eyes shot to full mast again as she looked back up at me in surprise, the pink turning to a heartier red to each side of her snout. "I, um, I really would like that, Mender! Of course, I'll try to be super nice to Fluttershy and Twilight, too," she spoke up, apparently remembering what I'd told Rainbow the other night.
Snickering, I leaned down closer to her before pointing out, "Didn't you ever consider that you might be more than friends with them if you get your wish? If you're part of the herd, you're not 'just' with me, Sweetie."
The red expanded even further across the entirety of her cheeks as her eyes somehow got wider. Half a second passed and she let out a tiny squeak and buried her face in my foreleg. "Aaah! Uh, but, I dunno! Twilight's super nice to me, but I've never thought about her like that before! Um, um," she started muttering, sounding like she was panicking a little as she fidgeted against me nervously.
"Oh? What about Fluttershy?" I inquired, noting an absence of information there. She peeked back up at my amused yet skeptical stare before squeaking again and hiding her face against me, as if that would somehow make her disappear from my sight. Well, it did make her face disappear from my sight, but that hardly interrupted the conversation at this range.
She must have realized that a moment later, or at least gathered her courage up a bit more. "Um, well, Fluttershy is really pretty. She's always been kind to me as well so, uh, maybe I wouldn't mind that as much? Aaah! Did I just say that out loud?!" Her admission was reduced to a series of squawks in less than three seconds, and I swore she was trying to tunnel under me and bury herself in the ground.
I snickered at the sensation before hooking around her tummy and pulling her up against me again before she hauled both of us into the hole she was starting. "Relax, Sweetie. I obviously think Fluttershy is beautiful, too. If you want to be part of the herd, thinking that is definitely a plus!" I tried to explain.
The little filly stopped fidgeting and looked back up at me shakily, as if she were expecting me to be mad or something. Yeah, she was definitely too young for the herd still. The wisdom behind the law made a lot more sense to me suddenly. "Y-You're not angry I think your mare is pretty?" she asked after carefully watching me for a moment.
"Ha! Of course not. I know what you mean by it, and to be honest, it kind of makes me happy you think she's pretty. Not just because of the potential to join the herd in two years, but because I think she's pretty, too, and it reminds me of how lucky I am to be with her," I explained, honestly not having anticipated needing to tell anypony else that little thought that had danced through my mind off and on, but given who was listening, I didn't really mind.
Sweetie Belle smiled softly and nodded twice, relaxing against my leg again as she lay back down. "Twilight is pretty, too, but she's kinda scary. I don't feel as comfortable around her, even though I know she'd never hurt me. But if you're there, Mender, I don't think I'll mind," she assured, her muzzle brushing against my left hoof as she gave it a light nuzzle, fully proving she had no issues whatsoever with the damaged limb. If anything, she seemed to like nurturing it even more than before. I'd noticed a few glances towards it from other ponies, of course. I knew it looked gross and was unpleasant to look at, so it was extra nice when I realized some ponies weren't disgusted by it.
Of course, other ponies made up for that by being bothered in a totally different way by it. Rainbow and Applejack being first and foremost on my list there. Rainbow avoided looking at it as if it were a scary monster most of the time, but I caught her staring almost through it once or twice with a distant expression, a scary neutral anger usually settling into the empathy link around then. I could only begin to guess. Applejack's gaze was drawn to it every time she saw me, on the other hoof. Her feelings were more readily translated, her expression similar to it being an object straight out of a nightmare in hell. She was such a stubborn mare, I don't think she'd let herself forget anytime soon.
All said, I'd be very pleased when it was looking normal and functioning fine again without needing metal covering it. Less reminders for all involved, really. I mentally made the choice at that point to speed the process up as much as I could through matter consumption. Minerals were fairly useless to me in their raw states, but plant matter I could manipulate to speed up my own regeneration.
The sonic blast snapped me out of my own head, and I sighed. Sweetie gave a start, but I simply raised my barrier up over both of us without even bothering to look up. It was pelted by a few thousand drops of heated, multi-colored water a half second later. "That's cheating!" I heard Apple Bloom shout out, apparently having been on the receiving end of splash warfare's first seen nuclear attack.
"Aaah! Rainbow, my wings are wet!" Scootaloo shouted a second later. I peeked up in time to see her and Spike careening to the side in a spin, and shook my head. Rainbow dove after them both after spinning around from her launch vector, but I simply triggered the mental firing in my mind. Scootaloo's jets disappeared in an instant, replaced by a parachute popping out. Note to self, put in a condition monitor for the surface of the pegasi wings, too, for yet another reason to pop the parachute. Scootaloo probably didn't know how to properly fly with wet wings.
Rainbow skid to a stop in front of them, then started snickering as they drifted about in the breeze, the little orange filly not looking all that pleased. Her sister turned back towards me, however, before shouting out, "Good call, Mender!"
I rolled my eyes before returning, in equal volume, "Stop blowing up the foals, Rainbow!" She burst into laughter, of course, and I chuckled. Sweetie looked more pleased than anything that she was dry, smiling back up at me before sliding over and resting against my left side again, partially snuggling under my coat for even more added warmth. It was a bit nippy without any sun to speak of.
Time passed without event after the threat of water explosions ceased. With Sweetie falling asleep against me again, I simply brought up the notes inside of me and continued where I'd left off. It was amazingly dry material, listing genetic splicing that went into various parts, but for the most part, I was born, and always had been, a pony.
The various biomechanical parts that made me a cyborg were largely added during my embryo stage, it would seem, manipulating into my own natural systems as I grew. They were meshed using my own DNA, so they were as much 'me' as the rest of me was. Tons of systems were added, with the focus being on survivability, as I was originally intended to be a scout. The subspace was added for storage ability, manufacturing hubs for creating things in the field, generators for powering it all, and advanced computer mainframes for managing it. So what was physically 'here' and in me all the time was just the external portion of the subspace manager, and my various physical manipulation components, in their basic levels. The subspace was always 'open', however, which lent itself to being really flexible, but also gave me the 'small' problem that the 'density' of everything inside me bled through into the real world.
I stared at that issue for a while before sighing. I was never intended to get that experimental weapon shoved in me, then. They saw the gravity and density effect as a minor oversight and that I'd only weigh as much as the equipment inside of me. The gravity dampener system was wired into me along with the weapon at a later date, then. At the same time? That was the same change in coding that told my inner assembly labs to go crazy making redundant parts and such. Now I had six generators in me, four computer mainframes, and twelve manufacturing hubs. The subspace was without limit, as far as I knew, so my programming was to simply keep making the extra things until turned off, which I didn't know how to do. Time to crack that next, I guess. Considering one generator was enough to supply power to all of Ponyville indefinitely, it was already way overkill. What did they even run on? If they were nuclear, I was going to cry.
After adding 'generator schematics' to the things to look up, I double-checked the 'other' issue that I was supposed to. All of my male parts appeared to grow as per normal for a pony, and there were no alterations to them except for muscle and 'expansion' controls, which kinda weirded me out a bit. Now, however, they were black boxed. That was beyond concerning, as it indicated something in the 'new' code I'd received at some point after being born had changed the function of my reproductive organs. Why?! Why was that even a feasible need for somepony to do?
Hitting a dead end in that direction, I tried a different approach. Looking up a data log, it was fairly easy to find two main code injections that happened after I was out of the embryo stage. They were a year and a half, in universal star date system, from my birth point. That lined up amazingly close to the point in which was labeled as my transit out of dimension. They were both within five minutes of each other as well. The first one added a whole new massive layer on top of my system controls that seemed to act like a wrapper of some sort. The second landed on top of that and just made a bunch of holes in it, removing access protocols and reassigning them all to a 'feed 000'. That much I knew to be me. Control was taken away from me, then given back five minutes later? What the hell?! I stared at the last log for almost a full minute before a shiver danced down my spine. A small, drawn cat head, winking at me playfully. It was the same one that was on the root access I'd managed to get when Nirru hacked me.
Nothing made sense, and I exhaled softly, rubbing my right temple with my hoof. I was missing pieces still, and I had a sneaking suspicion I knew where to find them. Her. But would I like the whole picture when I did find them? The video was still there, taunting me from my own memory banks, almost daring me to watch it. Would it reveal even more horrifying secrets about me, or would it answer what I needed it to?
Regardless, the logs listed the access modules for all the holes the second injection made, so I recorded them all. It didn't take long to locate the one hooked up to my reproductive organs and open it up. What greeted me were a few dozen generically labeled, if not somewhat vague, boolean variables, and a whole ton of data output. DNA switching? Growth input control? Gender? It made me a bit concerned that there was a 0 next to the Gender, but I decided not to mess with that just yet. The DNA readout displayed source data, which indicated that my own was currently 'loaded' into me. Did that mean I could switch what DNA I was using to attempt to impregnate a female with? Weird. It was set to accept both native and Keldarian values, but was currently using native. That meant that, with my current configuration, I could get a mare pregnant in all likelihood. I exhaled softly and nodded to nopony in particular. Good news, I guessed?
Another side link referenced me to the entire massive database of Keldarian DNA I had stored. Oh, oh hell. Nirru had been right. I really could 'eject' Keldarian based DNA. That was actually a little creepy, now that I thought about it. The code was put in place by the first code injection, not the second, but the second one gave me access to controlling it. Weird. I didn't know what the 'purpose' of it was. That meant the first injection knew I'd suddenly have access to a whole ton of DNA, and even set up the database link ahead of time. Further, it was already flagged to use the "Keldarian" configuration, automating the process. The second code injection had switched all the configuration data back to 'me' as well.
After a moment's consideration, I decided I really liked the second code injection, and it wasn't just because of the cute cat face it used as an avatar. I saved the list of what each injection did and what the code links were before cracking my back and peeking at Clocky, noting it was kinda dark.
Oh, well hell. Clocky noted that it was nineteen hundred hours, and past suppertime for all of us. I'd been reading for two hours?! Looking back up again, I noticed Pinch and Featherweight resting on the sand, Silver making a sand castle, Spike and Apple Bloom drifting on their backs in the lake next to each other and talking, and Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash chilling in a tree a half dozen meters away. Well then, I guess everypony had taken care of themselves while I was distracted, which was a good thing.
"Hey, Rainbow, are you okay on your own now? We need to get back and get supper now, and should probably call it a day," I warned, directing my voice towards the two ponies in the tree. I wondered idly if ponies from my other dimension liked trees. Of course, they didn't exactly have wings that I knew of, so probably not, as hooves weren't spectacular climbing instruments. I really should have visited that zoo moon before the Grosh blew it up.
She perked up, and then smiled back down at me, nodding. "Heck yeah. I've gotta get back soon anyway. I promised Pinkie that I'd have supper with her at eight. Can we practice some more tomorrow as well?" she inquired, sounding more than a little hopeful. I found myself wondering how she could tell what time it was without a clock, but guessed they got really good at using the position of the sun, which was probably amazingly accurate due to being controlled by a pony.
"Of course. We gotta get you in even more than top form before the race," I agreed, playfully winking towards her.
Of course she grinned and nodded, but suddenly dropped the smile and got a startled look on her face. I peeked in the direction she was looking but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary apart from my talking having woken Sweetie up again, allowing her to resume her snuggling into my left side. Heh. Glancing back at Dash, I saw her instead looking down at the base of the tree at her rather large saddlebags I'd totally forgotten about. Oh yeah, the metric ton of bits she'd tried to pay me earlier.
"Aww, dang it! I forgot I hauled that huge thing here. This is why I don't like traveling with saddlebags," Rainbow groaned, looking down at it in disdain.
"What are you gonna do with it? Still try to pay Mender?" Scootaloo asked curiously, fluttering down towards it and hooking a foreleg around it, wincing as she tried to lift the thing and couldn't.
Rainbow snorted and rolled her eyes, dropping from the tree and hovering over Scootaloo. "As if. Mender's stubborn as a mule. He's not going to accept-" she started to remind, earning a smirk from me.
My barrier hooked the saddlebags a second later, however, hauling them away from the two pegasi and right in front of me. Rainbow looked rather bewildered as she watched me with interest while Scootaloo spun in a light loop, righting herself after the thing she was hooked to was yanked away from her.
It was easy at this point, as all of my practice was finally starting to catch up with me and show some results. A layer for reinforcement, a simple booster enchantment, and then a capacitor added to the top of the system. I smiled as I boosted the capacitor with my own energy, easily filling it, as it wasn't very big in the first place. The whole process was done in about forty seconds, and I nodded back up at Rainbow before flicking the bags back at her.
She winced and held her forelegs up in front of her face as the bags whipped at her, assuming, like I had figured she would, that I'd used my enhanced strength to toss them. They harmlessly bounced off her side a moment later before lightly drifting off into the air away from her. Scootaloo snorted, and then started laughing at Rainbow's surprised expression, which was rapidly shifting to a scowl aimed in my direction.
"It should last until sometime tomorrow, so hauling them back will be easy for you," I elaborated, giving her a warmer smile instead of the Cheshire grin.
The cyan mare relaxed a little and blew out an exhale, puffing her bangs upwards a bit before tentatively smiling and nodding. "If you're sure I can't convince ya to take some of it. You really are doing me a huge favor here, Mender!" she offered yet again.
Still smiling, I lightly shook my head. "Nah, it's fine, Rainbow. I'm just happy that you're happy. Get back over here bright and early tomorrow so you can practice more," I 'ordered', mostly to just get off the topic at hoof.
Her grin shot back up and she gave me a salute, hooking the saddlebags over her barrel again. "Will do, Boss! I'll see you tomorrow, too, Squirt! We have more flying to do," she returned, the last part obviously aimed at Scootaloo, who perked up and grinned back.
A light blush suddenly slipped into Rainbow's cheeks as she got a rather impish look on her face a second later. Uh oh. I braced for impact as she peeked back over at me, mirthful energy dancing in her rose-colored eyes. "Oh, and keep shooting down our ways of paying you back, I dare ya! AJ and I might just need to get, hmm, creative instead. I'll warn you now. She's amazingly good with rope," she warned.
My eyes shot open almost as fast as the heat spiked in my face, but the mare shot off into the sky with a laugh before I could even fully consider the full implications of what she'd just suggested. At least I knew I didn't have to worry about Applejack going along with it, but damn. Still blushing, I lightly shook my head in disbelief at the mare's antics before looking back over to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. Both were giving me rather amused smiles, and I stuck my tongue out instead.
"Okay then, everypony! We're gonna head back to the cabins now for supper! Come on," I called out, specifically trying to extend my voice in the direction of the foals down by the lake.
Spike, apparently hungry, was headed towards me within seconds, a very surprised looking Apple Bloom being physically dragged behind him by one of his claw tethers. "Yes! I've been hungry for a few minutes now!" he exclaimed, sliding up to a stop in front of me.
The other three came at a slightly slower pace, with Featherweight and Pinch looking amused, and Silver bewildered. It only took me a moment of looking at her to remember her equipment bags. "Ah, yeah. Could you get one of your equipment bags, Silver Spoon?" I requested, nuzzling my head under the strap on her other one and flicking it lightly backwards onto my back. They'd taken a couple balls out from it earlier to play with, but at some point during my distraction, they must have cleaned up after themselves. I was rather impressed.
"O-Oh! I, uh, well, you don't have to help me with them, Mender. They're my responsibility, after all," the gray filly muttered, slipping under hers and carefully lifting upwards, hooking it over her back.
"Eh, I could use the exercise. Besides, it's what friends do, no?" I pointed out.
It was kind of amusing watching her expression shift to looking like she'd just got blindsided by a runaway wagon, but I resisted snickering. My fellow Crusaders looked somewhat surprised as well, but recovered far faster than Silver. Apple Bloom chipped in first, suggesting, "O'course we'll be yer friend, Silver. Yer ah nice pony now that we got ta hang out with ya. Do ya have supper plans? If not, yer always welcome ta eat with us."
Pinch finally relented and got a light smile on her face as well, nodding along. "Yeah, you're not the filly I thought you were. Just, well, you don't always have to go along with Diamond Tiara when she's being mean," she suggested, eyes softening at the now uncomfortable looking Silver.
I shook my head lightly instead. "No, if anything, Diamond Tiara is really insecure about something, if I had to guess right. A lot of bullies act that way to try to get some form of control over their lives. I saw a lot of it, er, in my prior profession," I elaborated, suddenly remembering that not everypony present knew I was an alien from another dimension about halfway through.
Silver smiled weakly at that and nodded. "Her dad puts a lot of pressure on her. But, um, thank you, everypony. Uh, I'm staying with her as well and we're kind of on our own for supper tonight. Would it be okay if I offered some food to her, too?" she asked hesitantly, swallowing and shrinking a bit almost automatically afterwards, as if expecting us to throw rocks at her or something. Heh. She'd probably seen the angry mob from earlier.
"Sure. I'm sure Big Mac isn't going to turn down a hungry filly," I pointed out, smiling towards her in a hopefully reassuring manner. I wasn't so great at the whole body language thing, and sincerely hoped it didn't come across as creepy and uncanny valley instead.
Her smile returned in the corner of my eye as I turned and started walking towards the path leaving the lake again. The group of foals rapidly caught back up with me, Sweetie perpetually to my left again as usual, but this time Silver slipped up to her left as well. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Spike came in on the right again, and I heard Featherweight and Pinch following closely behind me. The sound of the hovering tortoise somewhere above got me thinking a bit. It was a little weird that I was the only adult here, but that familiar urge to make sure absolutely nothing hurt any of them reared up again, somewhat comforting at this point. That was specifically my desire, I realized. My own, and it was good to cling to my own identity. Plus, being responsible for others and taking that seriously left a good feeling in my chest.
"What did you used to do before coming to Ponyville?" Silver asked curiously after a moment of walking. Heh, speaking of identity, I guess I should stick as close to what was established as possible.
While we walked, I went into detail about how I was a researcher before, and also served in the Royal Military as well. Technically it was true, minus the royal part. There was no royalty where I really did come from, but I guess arguing semantics was a rather moot point now that 'where I came from' was kind of blown to tiny bits. Eh. Details, details. Regardless, I made them up as I went...
* * * * *
It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, there would never be any escape from the pervasive awkwardness that seemed to haunt my life at regular intervals. I stared up at the ceiling of the darkened cabin, listening to both the rainfall on the roof and the light snoring from Spike, who was curled up near my back legs. I tried giving him a blanket, but he denied one, saying he was warm enough with just his inner temperature. It was downright nippy in the cabin now, but I believed him if the distortions in the air above him meant anything. He was warm indeed!
Sadly, the relaxing atmosphere only made it easier to remember supper earlier. Diamond Tiara sat like a grumbling rock the entire time we ate, despite us trying to be as nice as we could to her. I figured she'd not be happy with me in particular, but her irritation seemed to extend to pretty much everypony, even Silver Spoon. It had been awkward, but she looked more depressed than anything by the end of supper.
I stared up into the dark, taking an odd comfort in not turning on any enhanced vision. Even though I was just lying here, it was oddly peaceful. Another low rumble sounded in the distance, lightly shaking the windows. For a moment, I thought it was Scootaloo, who still snored blissfully unaware. The two squeaks in the same direction reminded me that I wasn't the only one awake.
Another flash of light through the windows illuminated the entire room, and my eyes softened. Three seconds passed, and the loud boom shook the windows even further. Two weak yelps sounded out in different tones, and I heard the distinct sound of hooves hitting wood a second later. Oh?
Big Mac stirred at the same time I rolled to my right, peeking as two panicking fillies shot past my bed, one yellow and one white. "B-Big Brother? Can we stay with ya, tonight?" Apple Bloom shakily whispered, hopping her front legs up onto the red stallion's bed. He was large enough to take up almost all of it by himself. I doubted his ability to compress himself that much, and eagerly watched to see if he'd try. Interestingly enough, Scootaloo's snores didn't even miss a beat.
He sleepily stared down at the two fillies before sighing and nodding. "Ah only got room fer one, though. Go see Mender, Sweetie," he quietly returned. That bastard! He knew Sweetie 'liked' me at this point!
It was pointless to glare at him, of course, as he wasn't even looking at me. Sweetie lowered her ears for a second but nodded slowly, shrinking a little before peeking back over at me in the dark. Her whole body shivered as another rumble sounded out, and a pang of guilt over being annoyed shot through me.
Exhaling, I gave her my softest smile and nodded towards her, extending my right foreleg off the bed a bit. Timidly, her muzzle switched to a weak smile as she slipped over in my direction.
The next flash and boom sent a white bolt of shivering fur right into my chest, burrowing into the blankets in blind panic. Trying not to snicker, I tucked her under the blankets and just held her against my chest while she shivered there. From my current position, I could also see Apple Bloom's head sticking out from under the edge of Big Mac's covers, hesitantly looking our way. My right hoof lit up gently with a soft blue light, and both fillies looked over at it, Sweetie peeking out from the top of my blanket. Big Mac looked tiredly towards me from the two-meter distance and gave a weak nod, eyes slowly closing again.
"You two are fine now. Just try to get some sleep," I assured as best I could, giving Sweetie a squeeze around the chest. She smiled up at me as I turned off the glow, letting the light fade and the darkness resume once again.
"Yeah, goodnight, Mender," Apple Bloom whispered, followed by an even quieter thank you to her brother.
Sweetie puffed up a little before rotating around and sinking back down a bit, moving all but her face below my blankets as she timidly looked up at me. "Um, I'm sorry about this, Mender. T-Thank you," she finally whispered.
I sighed, but smiled weakly before asking, "Bad dreams?" Her tired nod was all that was needed, and I decided upon something else instead. "I know a trick that will make sure you don't have a single bad dream tonight. Relax," I instructed softly.
It didn't really surprise me this time when Sweetie exhaled and nodded, her muscles going limp against me. Pulling her up a little, I noticed a light pink shift on her cheeks as I pushed my forehead against hers. A second later, my energy danced through her head as I lightly held her close, her eyes widening a little at the sensation. "Dream syncing. But first, I'm going to take a bit of a trip. Don't be afraid, Sweetie, as I won't let anything bad happen to you," I muttered, barely audible into her ear, the tiny thread of my energy connecting our foreheads still.
Fear appeared to be the last thing on her mind as she smiled up at me, gently nodding against my chest. Snickering lightly, I nodded to her, and then gave two little tugs on the inner connection.
Ten seconds passed in silence before I 'felt' myself pulled a bit closer to my Keldarian friend. "Oh, just a second, Mender! You caught me in the middle of something," Keela informed, sounding a little distracted.
Sweetie's eyes widened a bit as she heard the voice, too, and probably recognized it from before. She stiffened a little bit, but relaxed a moment later after catching herself. I gave her an assuring squeeze around her back, and her muzzle shifted back upwards ever so slightly into a smile again.
A moment later, Keela's end of the link activated fully. Someday, I was going to have to ask her how she did that. I knew she was a divination specialist, but allowing me to project my energy across dimensions to where she was still impressed me a little. It didn't take long before I nodded absently and nuzzled Sweetie's forehead. As predicted, she blushed and closed her eyes during the sensation.
In that instant, while her eyes were still closed, I pulled us across the dimensional gap in one fluid shift.
* * * * *
The step out was a bit more jarring this time, as I accidentally kicked a scrap of metal and sent it flying with my hoof as I materialized. Raising an eyebrow, I looked around at the rather messy lab, a far cry from how she normally kept it. What looked like wreckage and various scraps were positioned on the lab tables, probably for analysis. Keela herself stood up again and smiled back at me from a nearby workstation, her scanning device that was ceiling-mounted sliding across what looked like a burnt up satellite assembly.
"Hiya, Mender! You caught me looking not my best, but you probably don't mind," she greeted, giggling lightly before turning around fully. Her fur was a bit matted in spots, and she had grease stains on the engineering uniform she was wearing, but other than that, she didn't look bad, really, her hair tied up in a ponytail like that. Heh. Probably another reason she didn’t get along with the council before. She wasn’t afraid to get her own paws dirty.
"Psh, you're too hard on yourself. You look fine to me," I observed, causing her to flush lightly and grin. A moment later, I closed my eyes again and focused lightly on the confused, disoriented mind also connected to mine.
Keela tilted her head towards me, but then widened her eyes as another form shifted out of me, and Sweetie Belle took immediate shape and coloring to my left. I felt her mind orient instantly as her eyes opened and she gave a start, looking around the large lab in sudden surprise.
"Oh! Hello there," Keela suddenly added, snapping Sweetie's attention back to her in an instant. The Keldarian crouched down to make herself look smaller as she smiled warmly at the little filly, who looked more nervous than anything.
"This is Keela, Sweetie. You already met her, remember?" I asked softly, sitting down next to the filly.
Sweetie Belle snapped her attention back to me as well, suddenly realizing I was right there next to her, and visibly relaxed, exhaling gently before pushing into my side again. Heh. She acted like she was going to be by herself if she broke physical contact. "Um, hello. I'm Sweetie Belle, but you already, well, met me," she whispered, looking back up at Keela with rather large eyes, looking her over carefully.
"Oh, you're just adorable! Are you staying with Mender, then?" Keela chirped, getting that expression she had before when she last saw the fillies. It was really hard to describe, but was kind of a mixture between super excited and gushing at the cuteness.
The white filly relaxed a little more at the non-threatening question, and nodded, smiling a little. "Yeah. It's storming really bad at the cabin, and, well, I don't like thunder. Mender let me sleep in his bed, and then brought me here to get me away from the storm," she explained, looking back up at me and getting a larger smile on her face.
Giving a gentle nod, I pulled her into a light hug and ruffled the top of her mane a bit, earning a giggle from the filly. Keela snickered at the display and tacked on, "Oh, I know. Mender's a sweetheart, and really likes you fillies. He's talked about you three before." I gave Keela a skeptical glance, but Sweetie perked up at that, her eyes widening a little.
"R-Really? What does he say about me?" she asked a little too quickly to be an innocent question.
Snickering, I playfully nudged her, earning a squeak as I reminded, "I'm right here, you know. I mostly tell her how adorable I think you three are." It was an easy enough admission, of course. No lie was needed, as Sweetie alone was potentially the most quintessential adorable being in existence. Add in three others, and Fluttershy as well, and you had world-ending levels of cuteness. My heart was straining just thinking about it!
Keela got a coy smirk, however, and my eyes instantly narrowed in her direction, but it was far too late to say anything about it before she spoke up. "Oh, he talks about more than that. How Apple Bloom is always open and honest with him, and how he admires Scootaloo for her unwavering dedication and genuine attitude," she started, actually covering legit details I'd mentioned. Oh, well that wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it would be.
Sweetie, who had perked up at her having started explaining things, just smiled and nodded along at all that. "He says they're kinda like the little sisters he never had, which is downright adorable to hear him say, I might add," she admitted, winking towards me. I felt a light heat enter my cheeks, but I rolled my eyes and waved a hoof towards her dismissively.
"I'm not adorable. Now this little filly here is adorable!" I illustrated, lightly patting Sweetie on the head, who beamed up at me.
Keela looked unfazed, to my slight horror. Was there such a thing as 'slight' horror? Could you be just a 'little' horrified? Regardless, she continued with, "But you confuse him oh so much. He tries to think of you like a little sister, but you just feel 'different ' to him in how you interact with him." Aww, damn it. She was hinting at that?
Sweetie turned a light pink and shyly stared at her own hooves before nodding. "Um, I don't want to be his sister, so that's good. I want to be his. His, um, mate. A member of the herd!" she revealed, despite Keela already knowing all that. She'd been the one who had calmed me down, after all. I'd told her everything.
The Keldarian smiled in an assured manner, complimenting, "Those are really mature thoughts for such a young filly. I'm impressed."
Sweetie cracked a smile at that, and giggled, to my surprise. "I, um, learned a lot from Rarity. She talks about romance a lot, and taught me about values and stuff. She, um, sorta noticed that I liked Mender already, and talked to me about it. A lot. It was a little awkward, but she was helping me get the courage up to talk to Mender about it before we all left for second heat," she revealed.
For all intents and purposes, I was flattened by the revelation. "W-Wait, what?! Your sister knows about this and said it was okay?" I asked almost instantly, unable to even fathom the reality of this. I was expecting Rarity to be first in line to grind me into pony paste when I got back and told her! Hmm. Actually, now that I thought about it, it really did say something about my intelligence if I knew she was going to smash my face in and I was going to tell her anyway.
Keela looked bewildered at the sudden turn of events, looking back and forth between us, but Sweetie just swallowed and nodded, losing her smile a little. "Yeah. I almost think Rarity figured it out faster than I did. She wasn't happy at first. She said she was worried it was just a 'crush' and because she talked about you so much. She also told me more about what happened and, um, admitted that she had made a mistake," the little filly elaborated.
"Mistake?" Keela asked hesitantly, apparently coping with this better than I was, being not technically involved.
"Yeah. Something about her falling in love with what Mender represented, rather than, uh, himself? I think? It was kinda confusing, but she said she was happy Mender said no, and that she had to 'reevaluate what she looked for in a male', as she put it. Looking at the male himself rather than comparing him to her ideal?" Sweetie tried to explain, stumbling a bit and frowning at the end. It made sense. She hadn't even looked at the many, many flaws I have, only being interested in how I treated her and what she perceived as a 'flawless' match to her 'Knight in Shining Armor' image. She never really looked at 'me', as it was. She wanted 'a prince', and not 'Mender', and from the look in her eyes that night she kissed me, it felt like she was willing to lie to herself in order to get that.
Keela smiled and nodded happily to the little filly. "That's very wise. Do you like Mender because he's always nice to you and acts compassionate, or is there something more?"
Sweetie smiled at that but shook her head, letting her curls sway with the gentle motion. "Rarity asked me that, too. I really do think Mender is nice and friendly to everypony, or at least tries to be. I know he's not, well, perfect, but I made a lot of mistakes, too! I'm not saying that just to be mean or anything. I like talking to him and he makes me feel safe. That comes with a warm and dancing feeling in my chest that just makes me want to sing and tuck myself into Mender and kiss him and, um..." She trailed off a moment later, noticing Keela's surprised look, and my dropped jaw in comparison. It didn't take long for heat to creep back across her cheeks.
"Uh, how long ago was this talk?" I asked, shaking myself out of it a good fifteen awkward seconds later. Keela exhaled softly and looked over at me instead, but all my attention was reserved for the little filly at this point. Well, okay, so she wasn't really 'little' so much as three-fourths the size of an adult, but still!
She paused, then lifted her head up for a moment, tilting it to the right a little. "Uh, it was the day after she got back from Canterlot, and before you came back to Ponyville," she hesitantly answered. That long?! Why didn't she say anything to me?! Well, looking back at it now, as observant as Rarity had proven to be, I really shouldn't have been surprised that she figured it out that fast.
Keela finally stood up again and looked back at the workstation behind her. "Well, I think it's amazing that she's supporting you, Sweetie Belle. In a couple years, I'm sure you'll be more than ready to join the herd," she assured upon turning back around.
Sweetie perked up, but looked over at me instead. "Wait, you told her about the two years thing, too?" she asked, sounding more than a little surprised. My ears flattened back of their own accord, and I frowned.
"Is that, um, a bad thing?" Technically, Keela was more a confidant than most of my friends. It helped that she had a truly outsider's perspective, but being from a totally different culture, and the same one most of my mindset had been from, I found her able to give a surprising amount of insight, not to mention being highly empathic of everything.
Sweetie's shade shifted even further into the red tones as she rapidly shook her head, mane dancing back and forth with each motion. "No! Not at all. I'm glad, because that means you were definitely telling the truth when you said you'd give me a chance?" she tried to explain, insinuating something else on the side, undoubtedly by accident.
I smirked, of course. "Oh? You didn't trust me before?" I teased, grin widening towards her as she scowled, faint smile still playing across her snout.
"Of course I do, Mender. I trust you with my life! You did save it, so it's all yours now," she chirped in a singsong sort of manner, managing to fire back my teasing with a surprising level of finesse. I blushed and rolled my eyes as she grinned.
Keela, who was still listening, surprisingly enough, perked her ears up and smirked back at us. "Careful, Sweetie. For a Keldarian, if they go through great trial and acquire honor while saving a female's life, they rise in station, with said female usually feeling obligated to 'reward' them," she tossed in, earning a flat look from me and a gasp from my filly friend.
"So it's kinda like knighthood! How romantic!" Sweetie gushed, and I barely resisted slapping my forehead. Sure, you usually got an heir out of the 'arrangement', but were they really anything more than possessions of the female to show off with after that? Not my idea of romantic...
Keela must have seen my sour face, and quickly corrected, "It's not all that romantic for all of them, Sweetie. But yes, they're sort of like 'knights'. Although our culture uses the term 'Honored Guardian' instead." Well, that was true. It was a rise in station, after all. Better pay, better hours, better living conditions, rising on the social ladder, and potentially getting to hang out more with your charge, if she had a small 'collection,' anyways. You only had to almost assuredly die a horrible, merciless death trying to 'save' them.
The little filly looked deeply engrossed, as if trying to memorize every word, so I took the distraction while I could and changed the subject. "Uh, by the way, what are all these things?" I inquired, having actually been wondering that for a while now. Keela glanced back over at me questioningly, but I gestured around to the various destroyed parts on the tables.
"Oh! These are samples that were in the best shape from the wreckage near the destruction of our home world. From what I can piece together, it's a Grosh research vessel, but there's almost nothing left of it. From what we could tell from the destruction, there wasn't any actual damage to it, so we were trying to figure out how it spontaneously blew up," she explained, smiling back towards her computer, which appeared to be analyzing ballistics of the hull piece laying there. Oh. Oops. Why had I never told her about that? I'd mentioning encountering the Grosh when trying to recover the original me, but not that I'd successfully blown up the ship.
Staring at the analysis going on, I smiled and shook my head, remembering that particular run at the radar dish. "Depleted pellets fired from a rail launcher built into several scouting drones," I answered, an estimated three and a half hours before the computer narrowed it down to the same option.
Keela gave a start, and then turned back around to give me a questioning glance. I coughed lightly and looked away. "I really should have told you about that part. That was from the first attack run when Dash and I sliced off their radar array. There were a negligible amount of scouts firing at us on our approach, but we outran them easily. Looks like they hit their own hull," I pointed out, gesturing towards the damaged plate.
"You?! You attacked the Grosh ship?!" she asked, eyes widening in surprise as her paw slid along the plate next to her. It was a sizable sample, dull gray metals producing next to no shine despite the lab's overheads.
"We didn't have a choice. The ship was already there investigating the portal. I couldn't take the chance that they had information on Equestria," I said, frowning afterwards. Sweetie's eyes softened a bit and she slid into my left side again, hugging my foreleg as I smiled down at her.
"You blew them up, then? H-How?!" Keela asked weakly, turning off the scanner with an errant gesture now that she knew the answer already.
"They pulled him and Rainbow inside the ship! He lit it on fire, then Twilight teleported them out with her magic!" Sweetie answered for me, with the 'close enough' version. I wasn't going to go into details, but Keela was a smart girl, and probably figured out what happened.
She smiled, a sudden, knowing sort of tingle dancing in her eyes. "Ah, their ecosystem's gas. Clever. Well, I guess that solves this mystery, and you saved me quite a few hours, so thanks!" she chirped, turning around and starting to slide the sensors up. "I just wish we could have gleamed something from all this. Everything's so burnt up that it's almost unrecognizable," she added, sounding a little bit down and pausing with her paw on the handle of her scanner.
Staring at it, I traced the sleek metals with my eyes, remembering the cold efficiency of it all quite intimately. That wasn't all his memories, either. For just a research vessel, it had a scary array of armaments. My hoof reached out and slid along the extended plate of the one propped up on Keela's table, feeling the lightly cooled metal as it curved towards the floor of the lab. It felt almost, well, sad. Sad?
A little confusion shot through me at the same time the light pulse did, and I was suddenly 'aware' of the metal a bit more. My eyes widened as I realized how familiar the pulse had felt, and I subconsciously looked back towards my left side. Prudentia was there in barrier construct form, and I knew I hadn't formed it. Giving a questioning glance up at Sweetie, I noticed her frozen in mid-hop towards me, looking happy. Oh.
Expecting it this time, I turned back to my right, only to find a small Keldarian kitten sitting on the edge of the plate wing. She was totally nude, but was so young that I would have had a hard time telling her gender had she been wearing clothes. Her shoulder-length hair was a mixture of dark gold and silver, while her cloudy, white eyes looked vaguely back in my general direction, yet slightly over my shoulder with the way she was sitting. Prudentia.
She spoke up before I could address her this time. "But little did the hero know, how many untold eons that metal contained. Sadness and loss, betrayal and fear. Each anew shall rise up to the heavens, but only one shall attain the infinite. Which one?" she asked, confusing me more than a little. Sadness?
"Fear drives all. The answer? Cut them down while they still ascend. If none rise up, then the prophecy falls upon deaf ears and idle hands. None shall question them again. Now, they hide behind a mask of their own making, full of great advances, but hating all equally," she continued, dropping into a whisper towards the end. The Grosh. It was speculated that they perceived us as threats somehow, and I knew they were at war with countless thousand other species at the same time usually, but nopony really knew why they were doing it all. Did they have some sort of prophecy telling them to?
Prudentia smiled as I stared at her, looking amused. "Master is clever. I'm sure you'll eventually find out. In the meantime, you should make sure Keela doesn't think this was a waste," she suggested idly. It was odd, but she felt more substantial this time. Was she getting stronger, or was there something about being in this dimension?
"How do I do that?" I inquired, tilting my head while looking at her. For a moment, a smile played at her lips as she reached her right paw down and brushed it against the metal she sat on.
The metal glowed as she touched it, a faint light dancing across the surface and forming thin, perfectly spaced lines. The light aggressively expanded but didn't stop at the destroyed edges, continuing as if tracing some unknown design. Oh! "My power," Prudentia answered finally. Everything inside the part was shown as well, with layer after layer deepening as it went. It moved beyond sight, as I took the data right into my databases instead. "Oh, this is much more convenient than the last Master. He took time to absorb information and write things down."
My eyes softened a little as I stared down at the almost completed diagram of the Grosh ship. Yeah, that was one way to look at it. I was definitely more convenient. Now that I considered it, I was rather convenient for the ponies, too. Wasn't that what I wanted, though?
Prudentia surprised me with a sudden squeak, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth with both paws. "Ah! That's not what I meant, Master! You, um, that's the whole reason I'm here. You're so, well, different. I thought that revealing my other abilities would cause you to start, well, requesting a bunch of different things. But you haven't even asked once!" she rapidly explained, tripping over her own words like I'd never heard her do before. Of course, the second the rather strong thought entered my mind, a sharp blush shot across her cheeks. Heh. She was definitely a real individual, I noticed. Still, I was concerned about her statement.
"Why would you even think I'd do that in the first place, Prudentia? I mean, it's your power to control, and even if I wanted to, it's not my place to tell you what to do with it." It didn't make sense to me, but at the same time, I had my suspicions.
The little kitten blushed lightly and smiled, shaking her head and letting her hair dance about. "Master is really nice, but you're still my master. I really do have to do everything you request. I can do things on my own when you don't request anything, of course, which is why this is a gift! Something you can give Keela to help her defend her people," she reasoned, giving me a happy nod when she was done. Yeah, I'd suspected something 'bound' her to me like that. I'd no desire to actually take advantage of that, though. Although, the way she said Keela's name...
"Well, I'm never going to order you to do anything for me, Prudentia. Although I am curious. Do you know Keela?" I inquired, tilting my head a little to the left.
She momentarily looked startled, empty eyes widening as her ears perked up. "Oh, well, yes, I did while I was still alive. But she won't remember me, so it's probably pointless to mention it to her," she explained. A light pang hit me, several suspected bits of information coming to light at once. Prudentia was dead, and the way she'd said that had been absolute. Not 'she might not remember'...
"I'm sorry. Um, is there anything you'd rather I call you than Prudentia? I remember you said you were Prudentia, but it wasn't you at the same time, so..." I offered quietly, hoping I hadn't brought up bad memories.
If she was sad by the topic, she didn't show it. Instead, I got a sort of perplexed, blank stare for a moment before she hesitantly asked, "Uh, wait, you're asking me a personal preference? It doesn't have anything to do with you, though."
I nodded and tried to give her a warm smile, but she shrank a little and gave a more pronounced blush. "Um, well, no, I'm not, well, I am, but I'm not Prudentia. I became Prudentia, but I'm still me, I guess?" she managed to squeak out, looking a bit flustered and reminding me of Fluttershy again. I snickered lightly but nodded to her, urging her to continue.
After a bit more fidgeting, she finally whispered, "Um, you can call me Purdue if you want. That was my name before I was Prudentia." My ears perked up and I committed it to memory instantly. It was a rather pretty name. She blushed a bit more and smiled at me, looking happy regardless, if not a little tired. "I am getting tired, though. Showing you the schematics took a lot out of me," she admitted, voice a bit stronger afterwards, either happy I liked her name or trying to adamantly change the topic.
"You were here for a lot longer this time, and did a ton of stuff. What was so different, if you don't mind me asking before you leave?" Glancing back into my database at the same time, I pulled up the completed schematics she'd given me as if to prove the point, knowing full well she could probably see what I saw, too.
Her smile came back and she nodded. "It's easier for me to show up in just your mind than it is to form a physical body out of barriers so you can see me. So when you're asleep or in a purely mental state, it's easier for me to talk to you?" she explained, much as I'd already guessed.
I perked and nodded at that, earning a light giggle from the kitten before she hopped up off the metal chunk. I watched her hesitate, a step or so away from me before I smiled and stepped forwards, lightly hugging her front while squeezing her with my right foreleg. She gave a start, but then wrapped her arms around my neck with a happy murmuring. She was rather silly if she thought I'd object to hugging her.
A moment later, she backed her head away and nodded to me, looking very happy now. "I'll see you again soon, Master! Um, thank you!" Before I could tell her to just call me Mender, she was gone again and Sweetie Belle hopped point blank range into my rear. We both gave a startled yelp and fell into a rather tangled pony pile, giving Keela a start as she turned around again.
It didn't take three seconds for the Keldarian to start giggling at us as I tried to fold my leg back around Sweetie and untangle her tail from my forehoof. Her eyes spun momentarily before she coughed and gave me a sheepish, apologetic look. I just snickered and patted her on the head, however, pulling her back to her hooves after disengaging from her. It was amazing how easy four legs could get all wound up with each other when multiple ponies were involved! Well, no, maybe it was just me...
"Are you two okay?" Keela asked, a hint of mirth still in her voice as she walked back over to us.
Sweetie Belle peeked back over at her and nodded, shoulders relaxing again and giving my alien friend a soft smile. It was nice to see her not afraid anymore. "Yeah, we're okay. Just a spill. It, uh, happens more than I'd like to admit. I'm still not the greatest at this whole four leg thing," I admitted, getting her to giggle and wiggle her whiskers for a moment before I added, "By the way, do you have a data jack in any of these consoles?"
Sweetie tilted her head at me, and Keela gave me a curious stare for a second before nodding. I smiled and held my left forehoof up, a plug extension forming out of it and sliding out a few inches. I knew how they worked, and mimicking the electrical current in it to form the data signal would be rather easy. Peripheral support ho!
My Keldarian friend stared at it for a moment, eyebrow raised, before she smirked and slid a panel open on the console next to her. "This better not be the DNA data, Mender. I told you I don't have the database ready for such a huge upload yet," she warned as I hopped up on the device, unable to reach it otherwise with my hoof and still be comfortable. Sweetie didn't seem to fully grasp what was going on, but followed me like a lost puppy regardless, jumping up right behind me and pushing into my back as she peeked around, curiously watching what I was doing as I got the plug inserted two tries later. For universal plugs, why did they make them have a specific up and down? It was just bad engineering! Plus, it seemed like I was 'fated' to always try to plug it in upside down the first time.
"Nope! This is a present Prudentia gave me, for you," I revealed happily. Keela's eyes expanded rapidly, but I started the upload before she could say anything. Her eyes whipped to the screen instead, then got bigger and bigger as I transferred the full schematics to her. Okay, it was worth it just for that expression.
"H-How did you...? You're just full of surprises, Mender," Keela whispered, looking on in awe at the display.
"Magic?" I offered, giving her a playful smirk. She shot me a glare back, but I just shot her a wink before turning back and watching the upload into her computer's database...
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hmmm interesting, i can't wait till mender actually watches the video. i wanna know what is in there
Need to change that to' were'.
Diamond Tiara sounded like she was a bit jealous there. Good, she deserves it, no matter how hard her father pushes her.
Can't wait to see Purdue get a 'body'... wait, Mender was grown in a lab as a pony, right? And that special chapter...
Keela knows where the technology is kept, doesn't she? This scenario is getting interesting.
This was one of the best chapters so far!
... by tying him to a bed and throwing him down the stairs 
We finally learn her name woooo! But I got a feeling her back story is very sad
I can't wait for them to get back from their trip... Twilight's gonna probably kill him
3728297 Death by snu snu?
3728734 Possibly...
Good
Whoo, for some reason, it took me about two hours to read this! Great as always!
Very nice chapter, I love your stories! Though, I have one remark... Scootaloo as RD sister? Did I miss something in this story?
Well now, it seems like things are starting to pick back up. I kinda wish that we leave camp soon..... I'm starting to miss Fluttershy and Twilight right now....
Wonderful as always. Can't wait for next week's chapter. Hoping to see more Purdue soon. She's a wonderfully written character and always fun to see her interactions with Mender.
"It's Magic, I don't need to explain a thing."
~Hearn
I have been lazy with reviews since I joined FIM but I wanted my first review to go to my favorite story
Have to say that I look forward to reading about Mender every week and will be happy to have Twilight and Fluttershy enter the scenes again! 
Have a great new year!
nothing much happened
...
huh....
...
don't get comfy mender!
o-o
I just finish the last chapter, return to my bookmarks, and... ANOTHER CHAPTER?!?!?!
Is it my birthday or something? 
The weeks close is drawing close
And relaxation shall be soon to end
The reletive peace this arc has built
Will most assuredly sprout an explodive rend
So as I wait for the crash and burn
For violence to emerge and lessons to learn
I can't help but wonder now,
What are you building up to show,
I ask myself how Mender will be dragged back in
To a life he wishes not to know
And Pudue is becoming more important now
Who would use a foal for an Agies, and how?
So we see her role increase,
Alongside an interdemensional peace cease
So with the greater plots coming to light
Who will be forced to fight
A war that should not be their own
So now I wait again,
On the edge of my seat for when
Next weeks update is published!
And for now I sign off,
With a gentleman's hat doff
And say Good Day to You, Good Kiro sir!
-Eclipse
aahhhh...
540k+ words in 4 days, I think I may have difficulties with normal updates after this.
I found this story and the original mentioned in a blog and am very glad I gave it a read, very nice story here with great depth.
Now I just have to get used to waiting for additional chapters.
So mender can be either gender, change his chromosomes and DNA, and has a built in condom (change in sperm).
Lucky bastard.
It creeps me out more knowing that Sweetie Belle is only 12 right now, and will be 14 when she's "old enough" for the herd. I'm guessing Mender is probably around 18-24 area, thus still making a fairly big age gap. I don't know about any of you, but even if she's only six years younger than him it's still weird to me.
Mender, you have been getting it too easy lately. Something bad is destined to happen...
Keep up the awesome work and thank you so much for giving me something to look forward to every week!
GOD. DAMN. IT.
Azu wins, it seems. Prudentia was fully based on a Keldarian person, not a personality the book later manifested as I theorized. Well, time to enact my plan of adding Flutterthoughts to his story as I re-go through it. He'll be happy, I know it.
So, this potentially being the last chapter comment Kiro will eventually get to, I feel I should say something. It was great to get more and more info, including that seducing Mender was a legitimate strategy. Purdue swaps form based on where she is with Mender. Interesting. Especially considering we know now a direct Keldarian to Pony form change HASN'T occurred before so coming up with an appropriate pony form easily is curious for her. Keela compatible with Mender, oh yeah, perfect. Wonder if all those choices in his mating systems could allow him to filter what foal he'd have. Gender, at least. And the drizzle became a thunderstorm, huh.
And, if this will be the last, another reminder for you Kiro.
We REALLY love your work and enjoy it and hope you continue to enjoy your creation the same as us going forward. Keep your head above the mayhem. Just don't be an idiot and overwork yourself for our sakes.
I kinda like these kinds of chapters. I think mender needs to spend more time with both keela and Purdue
Also
The first half of this chapter kinda weirded me out...imagine a 12 year old saying this to you
Bleh
yet....
I was pretty sure that's who Purdue was in your little holiday special. It's nice to have confirmation, though.
Purdue? I saw that and thought about a college I might attend next year.
I have nothing clever my brain overloaded from so much cute that I can't process anything.
So, umm... wait! Mender can change his gender whenever he wants?
....
I don't know how that would help him tho, since he doesn't swing that way... yet?
Perdue? Hasn't that name been mentioned in this story before?
Ghost filly... damn you
. Oh well, I know for a fact you aren't going the same direction with her as I am with my ghost filly (though I can't say her story won't be as sad considering the world she's from and the fact that she's a kid). There's just no way you can make the facts work, so that'll be different. I love this chapter, and Perdue is adorable.
P.S. Is this story going to follow him over several years, or just a year or two?
I finally caught up with the ongoing story.
I wouldve a coupe days ago, but someone decided to throw in a heavy duty snowball fight and such.
Well, looking at the Culture class capabilities of Mender, Special Circumstances, plus extras, Id say one thing, It is possible for him to give Purdue a body himself, and thats by whats been listed in the text already. Then again, Ive been working on the overall backgrund design for this sort of stuff for years, soI can pick up on a lot of fairly quickly.
I wish I could offer assistance if required with ideas, details or such, but for a couple things, first you are doing a Spectacular job yourslf, and second, I, uh, tend to work things out to far, too fast, and too excessively.
Mender is now head of the department. What sort of portfolio would they pick up on my OC, claims to have created a sentient subspace processor through application of a magical rainbow blast to a virtual magical gem construct? Subject relocated to Ponyville for obscurity.
Mender will be a lot easier around Ponyville during heat when he realises he can alter his olfactory receptors to not respond to pheremones, and supress, alter his own chemical production for a start.
3735024
'Twas in the Christmas Chapter. Though, in that story, it seemed as though she took on a material body.
3731367
I'm going to assume that the maturity rate for ponies is a bit faster, since the 'unofficial canon' of the show says that the mane six is around the 16 to 18 range. And public schooling probably ends around 14, so we can assume that Mender's age really doesn't matter. Plus they said in the story that the age gap isn't really that important.
with the power of Friendship. Friendship is Magic. he is using magic to connect to the computer
another great chapter!
Gah! This chapter broke me. Fine, Mender can let Sweetiebell join the herd. Shes too adorable and seems to be mature enough to make her own decisions. But I've got my eye on you Mender Great work as always and I'm looking forward to the return to Ponyville and twilight's flying tackle hug.
You have a fifty percent chance at putting a USB drive in wrong if you don't look at it first, somehow I manage to get it wrong every time. Mender, I feel your pain (mostly 'cause I stubbed my toe again
). Can't wait to see what happens when we go back to Ponyville.
The Sweetie-Belle-in-the-herd consideration is . . . frankly, aweful and driving me crazy, but I like this story too much. I'll just . . . ignore that part.
Ive always supported sweetie belle joining the herd. I think it will be an adorable addition! :3
Wandered off for a bit. Read six chapters in one go! Ah...reminds me when I first found this and it was up to 45ish chapters. Sweetiebelle romance is gonna be awkward no matter how you cut it due to our standards, rules, and all that jazz. I'm trying my hardest not to work up a tiff about it, I think I've accepted it by now. Assuming it even happens. So much Rainbow Dash/Cutie Mark Crusader screen time! When the whole cabin part is over, it'll be sad and cool to see all the other character come back, but the current ones become less important at the same time. I actually have a small piece of criticism for once! You say "um" a lot. Like, a lot. Everyone says it. usually following this formula
"First few words, *um*, followed by appreciation of someone or admitting self flaw."
or
"Telling someone something while being embarrassed or *um* nervous."
It's not that this is a bad thing, people in real life stutter, say "um", "ah", or repeat things a lot. Usually once every other sentence, Which is what you're doing here. But because you're doing it almost the exact same way every time it's pretty noticable. It's entirely possible the reason it's so noticable for me is because I just read six chapters in one go. Love the story, keep on truckin.
Damn usb's making us think we put them in the wrong way making us rotate them only to find they still don't fit. First world problems in Equestria FTW :P
I think this may be my first ever comment 0.o
I and am sure many of your other fans look forward to your story updates most out of our weeks. Thats so much kiro for writing this amazing fic and most of all continuing on with it!
I look forward to what the future had in stall for Mender and this inspiring story.
~cheab
Well, Im a little scared that perdue will end up being menders child, that his old self sacrificed for an aegis artifact.
But yeah, that was an awesome chapter, as usual. Starting to have some serious trouble having to wait for the next one's. Lol
3749095 I also think Sweetie should find a pony her age and well not an adult period.
Ha, so Mender was designed to be sort of a universal breeder, huh? That's entertaining. So much for being a DNA receptacle for simple storage. What, did Kyliona think a few dozen Keldarian females would escape to Equestia, then Mender would serve as the one male to repopulate the species with them, with his near limitless ability to rotate genetic profiles? They may be herd-friendly in this version of Equestria, but I'm not sure how enthusiastic Twilight and Fluttershy would be about that prospect. And I wonder what the limitations are on those size-adjustment settings, and if he can absorb and replicate any species of DNA he wants. It seems to have been intended specifically with Keldarians in mind, but is he literally capable of impregnating any female of any species, just as long as he gets a male DNA sample first? "Fluttershy. Twilight. I have a confession to make. I had an affair with a fruit fly, and she's going to be having my babies. Oh, and I got a dragon pregnant too. It sure was tough to walk during that one." Also, he should switch that Gender setting to 3, just to see what happens. Although most likely that simply applies to the desired gender of potential offspring, with 0 being random, rather than morphing his own gender around. I'm still not completely sure exactly how alterable the form of his body is.
And then Mender's anti-gravity enchantment on those bags of bits wears off in the middle of her flying with them, causing her to crash into something and break her back from the sudden weight. Oops. At least it turns out I was right that their little bond they accidentally formed wasn't full strength.
Great idea, Mac, put the filly with the crush in the bed of the stallion she's obsessed with. Keela too, after that. Really, why is everyone so dead set on encouraging Sweetie to keep fixating on him? You'd think there'd be at least one adult who realizes this whole situation isn't exactly developing in a healthy way, someone to tell Sweetie to reign in her eagerness a little until a better time, because there's a reason there's a minimum age.
So Prudentia has both Keldarian and pony appearances depending on which dimension they're in, huh? I had wondered if her looking like a pony meant the artifact was originally created by a pony somehow long ago, but sounds like that's out. Apparently Prudentia the artifact really isn't very old if its creator knew Keela when she was still alive. An older sister who died, maybe? Makes it a little harder to guess how Mender's Keldarian predecessor got his hands on the book, though. Also, while it's nice of Mender to not exploit Prudentia as a tool for his convenience, swearing to never ask her to do anything actually seems a little bit neglectful in a way. She's so linked to him that it basically seems like telling her to sit there and do nothing forever. I'm sure he could find ways to have her help in with things in ways that aren't demanding or manipulative, taking advantage of her abilities.
Huh, I almost always get USB plugs and such the right way first try, especially this one power cord that somehow has ended up the wrong way only like twice out of probably a couple hundred times. That's truly a fate worse than death, in Mender's case, though. Having to try a couple extra times to plug in a cable... the horror, as some of his new friends would say. At least that means things are calm enough for a few minutes that he can appreciate life's little annoyances instead of the big ones. Anyway, when you form a plug out of your own body, you'd think you'd know which way was up for it. Seems kinda like not knowing whether your hand is facing upward or downward. I suppose he just didn't get a good look at what he was plugging it into.
Gotta be out of bed and getting ready for the bus in 4 hours... No regrets, this was a good chapter.
I remember when I was keeping up with the chapters... I kinda fell behind a bit when I got my Xbox live membership renewed. Fucking hell CoD, why must I play you so much?
Wait... Purdue? Go Boilers!
that's also a very Pinkie way of thinking.
USB...
This got a giggle from me.
7487812
"MM is programmed to please! Please assume the position."
"Numbness will subside in several minutes."