Tiny pinpricks of light flickered to life as a hulking monstrosity entered the dark room. Fading yellow fluorescent lights clicked on and illuminated huge machines that lined all but one of the walls, most of which had buttons of unknown use and screens to show the results of those buttons. The last wall was bare with the exception of a dusty glass tube that rose to the ceiling. No windows at all hinted as to where this room was. Only cold stone and growing moss.
The creature that the dim light revealed was certainly the focal point of the room. It was once a pony, but time seemed to ravage it and forced it to add machinery to keep functioning properly. Vials filled with life prolonging fluids and long, thin mechanical arms with pincers tipping them lined the old pony’s augmented back. So much had been replaced with machine that no sign of the stallion’s coat remained, the rest covered with a white lab coat that seemed to be two sizes too small. The lab coat’s name tag had been ripped off, likely having belonged to someone else.
“I suppose this is it. I can do no more for you, my dear. I’m sorry if it is not enough.” The old stallion’s deep voice hissed through the breathing apparatus clamped over his muzzle, making him sound distant. One of his augmented forehooves brushed the glass of the tube in the back of the room. Dust was wiped away until the dim yellow light illuminated a shadowy figure floating within a sickly green fluid.
A button press on the bottom panel of the tube caused a loud hiss to fill the chamber. The liquid inside the tube slowly lowered in level, draining enough to reveal the creature inside.
As the front of the large glass tube opened, the cyborg stallion gently reached out to catch the filly and prevent her from hitting the cold stone floor. He removed tubes from her arms and orifices and carried her over to a small bed that looked very out of place in the machinery filled space. Only once she was upon the faded sheets did the old stallion breathe a sigh of relief.
“You are just as beautiful as the day I first met you. A touch different now of course.” He said as he gazed upon the filly before him. She wasn't an ordinary pony, that much was certain. Her deep purple fur and green and turquoise striped hair weren't anything too out of place. It was her forelimbs that were completely alien. Where a normal set of arms would be, hers were replaced by bat-like wings that connected at the wrist below the hand and could fold back along her forearm.
A fluttering of tiny eyelids heralded the filly’s slow awakening. Her lids opened to reveal bright red eyes that seemed filled with curiosity. A single word barely escaped her mouth, almost more than a whisper. “Momma?”
“Sorry, little one. I'm far from fit to be a parent. You can call me Doctor Steel. You do not remember me?” The rough voice that came through the muzzle speaker made the filly shiver. She wasn't afraid, but it made her wary of the stranger’s intentions. She shook her head slightly. “You are here because I was a foolish young stallion who thought he could change a little filly's fate. I suppose I did in a way.”
Doctor Steel calmly explained to the filly that she and others had been created to be a weapon against the Princess of the Sun, Celestia. When he discovered the plans for taking over the Empire, the doctor destroyed all the creatures created. All but one. He named her Silent Wish, as a hope that she could be integrated into pony society. But before Silent Wish could even get her cutie mark, she was attacked by a vampire and became one of the dark ones.
“I did a lot of tests and trials to make you a normal filly. Genetics are a bit sloppy to begin with, and what I was doing was nothing short of heresy. So I hid underground, hoping to completely make you a full pony. But I failed.” The doctor’s resignation was clear in his muffled voice. Silent Wish simply smiled up at the stallion.
“I am sorry that you think that. But I am alive. You did not fail.” Her soft voice caused Doctor Steel to stare in shock. He wasn't sure how to react.
“Technically I suppose I did help. You are still a vampire. And still half bat. I also didn't expect you to be able to string together sentences. I am ashamed to admit that I thought you would be infantile in mind.” He looked away from the filly in shame. “I suppose I should be happy. Let me run some more tests. Then we'll get you some food.”
After several tests that Silent Wish did not fully understand, most involving bright lights, the doctor announced that his experiments were a partial success. Silent Wish was able to be in sunlight with no harm to her, as well as not needing to drink blood. The downside was that she will still be a filly and live forever barring unforeseen circumstances. She also had to drink fruit juice for food, though in the grand scheme of things, that was a small price to pay.
In time, Silent Wish and the Doctor became friends. Almost family. But all good things must come to an end.
Dear Diary,
It's been a few months since I woke up in that underground building. The doctor was nice enough to teach me how to be a normal pony and taught me things I need to know to survive. He said he knew of a place called Ponyville, somewhere north of here, where those who are different are accepted for who they are.
I hope he is right. Maybe they will be nice ponies. The doctor is sending me on my way tomorrow. He is acting strange now. Hopefully I can come back to visit some day.
I'll be keeping this notebook to look back at all the interesting things that happen. I hope I make a lot of new friends! But I'm scared too. Oh well. I just have to be a big filly now and be brave.
A trail of staggered hoofprints marked the path of the only traveler through the sun bleached desert of southern Equestria. The heat was nearly unbearable, and the stench of sweat and sounds of desperate panting were the only accompaniment for the young bat pony.
It had been a day or two since she set out from her temporary home hidden deep within the bowels of the Macintosh Hills. Silent Wish’s stomach growled its displeasure to add to the sense of time passing. She wasn't quite sure how long it had been since she last ate.
“Oh man...I should have stayed home. The old geezer definitely didn't give me enough to get to the next town. Or maybe I should have not ate it all before I left the mountains.” Another growl from her stomach proved her point. She sighed tiredly. “At least I can't die from starvation. Or can I?”
It was at that point when Silent Wish walked into a solid object. With a loud grunt and a thump of landing on her butt, she winced as she glanced up to try and focus on the giant rock that she somehow failed to spot.
A small round thing with long legs stretched over the top of the rock, shaking its tiny stick-like legs at her and seeming to yell in anger.
“Oh! What are you? Did I disturb you? I apologize.” Silent Wish got back up onto her hooves and gave the rock a wide berth, watching the black speck of a creature scurry back to the shadows of its home.
At that point, Silent heard a strange warbling sound coming from above, like the cause of the round creature’s departure. A loud and heavily distorted voice issued forth from the strange craft, shaped like a chrome covered bullet with wings, hovering above her on jets of almost invisible energy. “Hey you down there! You shouldn't be in this area! It isn't safe! We're coming down to take you home!”
Silent Wish simply stood and stared in awe as the vehicle descended with speed to gently land on the sands, blowing some sand away and blinding the girl. A door opened on the side and a stallion in a dark blue uniform beckoned to her to come closer.
As Silent came closer, the stallion took her arm and tugged her quickly into the vehicle before slamming shut the smooth metallic door, causing Silent to pout. “You don't have to be so rough, you know.”
“Sorry ma'am. But this area is pretty dangerous. Don't want to be out there for too long.” It was then that the stallion's partner, this one in the same uniform with exception of three yellow chevrons on his shoulders, took notice of the filly's arms and most importantly her wings.
“I've seen ponies like you before. I think in the history books at school?” He said as he lifted the visor of his flight helmet. Sharp green eyes and brown fur stood in stark contrast to the black helmet.
“I'm Silent Wish. I thought I was the last of the bat ponies. Does that mean there are more?” the filly asked excitedly. Her excitement faded almost instantly as the first stallion, a Pegasus with blue wings that nearly matched his outfit, shook his head slowly.
“Sorry girl. Far as I know, it's been about a thousand years or so. Ever since Princess Luna tried to take over the country. I'm Lance, by the way. A Corporal with Her Majesty’s royal guard.” The Pegasus held his hand out to shake, but Silent was being true to her namesake. She slowly sat down on one of the cushioned seats and stared out into space, replaying her conversations with the Doctor in her mind. “Hey. You alright?”
“I...I don't know.” Silent Wish said after a moment of silence. “I don't know what to think. My, uh, friend said that it's only been 200 years since I...fell asleep. Has he been lying to me this whole time?”
The last stallion in the vehicle, a gruff sound unicorn with a headset over his ears peaked his head around the pilot seat. “If’n you really been asleep for 200 years, or especially if it's been a thousand, I think we gotta call it in. See what to do with ya, since you aren't technically a citizen. Give me a minute.”
“Command, this is Artemis 5, requesting advice on a person of interest we picked up out in the Dust. Yeah, it's important. Let’s just she's part of a piece of history that was thought lost to time.” The beige unicorn spoke to whoever was listening in his headset microphone for a few more minutes. Silent wasn't exactly paying attention. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Finally the pilot spoke up. “Well alright little lady. We're to take you to Canterlot for an interview with the Princesses. Command radioed ahead and said it was all clear. Princess Luna especially seemed interested. It'll be an hour or so. Might want to get some shuteye.”
Silent Wish said nothing. She merely continued staring out into the distance at the barren wasteland that seemed to stretch on for miles.
The only sound in the flying car was her stomach growling for food, followed by childish giggling from everyone else.
As Silent Wish stared out into the darkening desert, she was amazed at how smoothly the flying car soared through the sky, and despite obvious wind, there wasn't any rocking inside the somewhat spacious interior. It's chrome shell reflected the last rays of the setting sun as it went higher into the sky towards a set of blinking lights in the distance.
“Where are all the trees? And the villages or ponies?” Silent Wish asked her pony companions, surprising them with her sudden breaking of the silence. “Why is everything so...dead?”
Corporal Lance sighed and shook his head. “The hubris of ponykind knew no bounds. We dared to touch the heavens and become gods, and in return lost that which we held dear.”
“You been reading that thesaurus again, Lance? All those big words will make people think you're actually smart!” The brown earth pony, Sergeant Sparks, chuckled as he elbowed the Pegasus. “Well doesn't change the facts. He is right of course. We screwed up the world below. Only go down there now to find supplies and lost folks like yourself. Only place left with trees and fresh water is the Everfree forest. Don't want to go there though. It's even worse than the Dust.”
“So...the doctor was wrong. Maybe he was lying. Maybe I'm not 200 years old.” The bat pony pondered some more.
“We won't know for sure until we get back to Canterlot. It's the main hub of our people now that we all live up here in the sky. I don't remember anything about bat ponies after the Nightmare Moon incident, but I'm just a soldier. I wouldn't be privy to anything secretive.” Lance said, a small smile playing on his face as he looked at Silent Wish. “So you haven't seen any of your kind?”
Silent shook her head, causing her green hair to fall into her view. “I have only seen myself. And whatever the Doctor is. He was mostly just machine, but I could tell he had the heart of a pony. Said he rescued me and I got attacked so I was put into sleep for a long time.”
“That's interesting and all, but we're approaching Canterlot now. Prepare for docking and departure.” The pilot of the vehicle sharply stated, causing Silent to pout a little. She wasn't used to being interrupted. She didn't even know the pilot’s name, and he seemed content with that.
Silent Wish returned her view to the windows and was awed by the sight of what was now Canterlot. It certainly looked different than the images in the old books she read.
What Lance had called a city, Silent Wish could only describe it as a giant floating fortress of smooth steel and lights everywhere. It seemed to sit steadily on a huge bed of clouds, with wings of square shaped black glass that shone brightly from the reflection of the sun.
As their bullet of a car approached the yawning opening filled with similar vehicles and rushing dock workers, the pilot calmly and gently steered through both incoming and outgoing traffic, softly landing in a reserved spot marked by even more flashing lights. “Gosh there is so much light here. I'm not sure I like it.”
“Heh, you'll get used to it. If you decide to stay here anyway. Come on, Silent. Let's go get you inside.” Lance led the way out the door followed by Sparks and Silent. Her blue uniformed pony friends saluted to a waiting unicorn in grey military uniform who looked utterly annoyed to be away from whatever plans he had. “Captain Flowers, this is the one we found out in the Dust. As you can see, she is certainly different.”
“Hmm, yes that is obvious. But what is she even doing here? Her people are gone.” The unicorn said. His expression was one of confusion and wariness. “I suppose that I’ll find out soon enough. I've alerted the Princesses and they are waiting. I shall take you to them. Sergeant, Corporal, you are dismissed.”
Silent Wish hurriedly walked to catch up with the tall unicorn. His pink coat and blond mane looked almost out of place in his uniform and serious expression. “Where are we going, sir? I thought the Princesses were too important or busy to see people.”
“Oh no, they mostly do just that. Sitting in court is as much of talking to the citizens as it is ruling the empire. Usually the persons interested in speaking to them need an appointment but you are quite the exception. Considering that you shouldn't even exist.” The captain strode quickly through the steel halls and avoided eye contact with everyone who seemed to take notice of Silent Wish, his hand now on her shoulder to hasten her along. “Just be very careful around the Princesses. They are about to be in for a rather rude shock. I'd hate for you to be sent to the moon.”
Silent Wish chuckled at the thought, but her cheerful mood was tempered by the stallion's seriousness. They approached the doors to the main hall, opened quickly by two strong looking unicorn guards in golden armor that looked ancient amidst the steel and electronics surrounding them.
The main hall was even more impressive than the exterior. It was a bright room filled with tapestries and banners that covered every inch of the walls, great marble floors reflecting everything, and stone seats lining the walls that were barren for now.
Captain Flowers knelt on one knee when he reached the end of the long red carpet near the throne and attempted to get Silent to do the same. Princess Celestia sat upon her golden throne with her sister Luna by her side. Both wore simple yet elegant dresses and shocked expressions on their faces. Barely even noticing the captain and his attempted introductions, both of the Princesses walked quickly over to Silent Wish and stared down at her, studying every feature. It was Luna who broke the silence first. “You...what is your name and why are you here?”
“M-my name? I'm Silent Wish. I uh, was told I was asleep for 200 years by my friend who called himself Doctor Steel. A big stallion who is mostly machine now.” Silent Wish felt a drop of sweat fall down her cheek. She didn't quite like being silently inspected like this. “I don't know if he was right though. He told me to find a town called Ponyville, but the soldiers who found me said there wasn't any Ponyville anymore.”
“Come with us. We have much to discuss. In private.” Princess Luna pointedly stated, the pink unicorn stallion bowing sharply. “Thank you very much for bringing her here, Captain Flowers. I shall see to it you get adequately compensated for your time. As well as the ones who brought her here.”
“Y-yes my lady. I'll be waiting in my chambers if you need me.” He said as he left the room quickly. He hoped the bat filly would be ok, but he wasn't quite sure now. The captain had never seen such a severe look on either Princess’ face.
Once the captain left, Princess Luna and Celestia walked silently to a small room to the side of the main hall. It was sparsely decorated and only had a table and a big screen on one wall. Luna guided Silent Wish to a chair on one side and then sat on the other side with her sister. Both of them stared at the girl, not quite knowing what to say. It was Silent Wish who broke the quiet.
“Uh, am I in trouble? I am sorry if I did anything wrong. I never met royalty before. I don't know…” Silent began, but was cut off by a raised hand from Celestia.
“It is alright, little one. We are simply in confusion. You are a bat pony, obviously. But what you may not know is that it should be impossible that you are here.” Celestia said, turning to her sister and smiling. “Luna would know a bit more about that of course.”
Princess Luna sighed and steepled her fingers in front of her face, wondering where to begin. “Yes, it is true. It was I who commissioned you and your people’s creation, after all. When I became Nightmare Moon, I knew I couldn't take on Celestia and her army alone. So I made my own army with help from...other interested parties not from this world.”
Silent Wish smiled softly as she took in the information. “I was already told I was created for that, but what the Doctor said makes me think he lied. Did he?”
“Maybe. Let me make some calls and have our fellow Princesses in on the conversation. They can be objective voices.” Celestia softly said, tapping a few keys on the screen on the wall. Two alicorns appeared on the screen, one purple, the other pink. Both halves of the screen were separated by a small black line. Both alicorns had surprised expressions upon seeing Silent. “Twilight Sparkle, Cadance, this is Silent Wish. A bat pony vampire who says she is from before Luna was banished.”
The Princesses bade the filly to tell them all of what the strange stallion who woke her up had told. They listened for a few minutes before Luna cut her off. “I have no idea who the machine pony is or why he told you those things. They are simply not true. Yes you were made to fight, but it wasn't even close to 200 years ago. It was well over a thousand at least. Closer to 1200 or so. The truth is that you were made to be...expendable. I purposefully had your people made with a single goal in mind and then to expire after a set amount of time. Which happened exactly as planned.”
“But if what your friend said was the truth, that you are a vampire and that he tried to reverse the effects, I'd say he was right to an extent. Maybe he was underground for too long? Not needing to eat or go above ground for anything. He probably hasn't seen the surface for years. He'd certainly not want you out there if he knew the horrors that lurk there.” Twilight Sparkle interjected. She smiled and bowed slightly before the filly. “Either way, it is very nice to meet you. I haven't met anyone other than the Princesses who lived longer than a normal pony. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage.”
“What do you mean?” Silent Wish asked.
“What she means is that the people we lead will be more inclined to believe you are a Princess, rather than freaking out about you being a vampire. Vampires are considered evil amongst the common ponies. For good reason. As you inevitably found out.” Cadance responded, a sad look on her face. “I couldn't imagine the horrors you went through before your sleep. For all of us here, I am sorry.”
Silent Wish didn't know what to think. She blinked in confusion before responding. “You don't need to be sorry, Princess. I am just fine. I don't even remember before. It's all...blank. And I suppose that is a good thing. But I don't think people would accept me as a Princess. I didn't do anything to earn it. And not having people to be Princess of is a little bit a problem too.”
The four Princesses in the room shared worried glances before Celestial spoke up. “Yes I suppose that is true. But having all four of us announce our support for you as Princess will help ease the people’s minds. After all, we are gods to them. What we say inevitably becomes truth. Trust me, it'll work. You get a good night’s rest. I'll put out a quick announcement to everyone for attendance, and when Twilight and Cadence arrive, we can reveal you.”
Silent Wish nodded politely. She wasn't tired but she understood that they probably were. Everyone said their farewells and Silent was shown to a nice room with a soft bed to await the dawn. She didn't know what to expect. Silent simply stared up at the ceiling and daydreamed. True non-magic induced sleep was next to impossible.
