Long time ago one little filly would meet the strangest earth pony in a city far far away in the North.
A long time ago the Equestrian Kingdoms were very different. Canterlot didn't exist yet, and the Crystal Empire was a beacon of culture, entertainment, and technology.
One day alien pony fell from the sky. There was only one problem why does he have two hearts, and how does he get a temporal magic-tech on his hooves.
Rainbow Dash was fifteen years old, she was dressed in a black leather jacket, and a crimson mini skirt. On her head, she was wearing magic powered headphones. That model specifically made to firmly get attached to pony ears, Wear & Forget.
Additionally, the headphones did have a customizable headband with decorative animal ears which served to alert the user to outside world. The current fad was biomechanical cat ears.
Rainbow Dash lived in Crystal Empire, which currently served as a beacon of culture, fashion, and technology. She really loved listening to hard rock, the music genre which came from the group of enthusiastic Griffins, which originally came from the group of earth ponies who just really liked to shred guitar.
Her dream was to become a Shadowbolt, an elite squad of pegasi who served in outer space. If she did everything right, then one day, she too could go out there.
Thinking back Rainbow thought that she shouldn't have rebelled against her parents, only much later she would understand it, but for now, she had her own destiny to meet.
"Lonely mare just came into the dark and shady alley, not even one loser who would be waiting here for me," Rainbow Dash said fantasizing. "What no, not even a single one? That's lame, what a turn-off."
"Huh, what do we have here?" Rainbow Dash looked at the ground. For some reason, there had been ponytail sticking out from under a pile of trash. "Eh, that's so..." Rainbow stopped to think for a bit. "Why should I care about some hobo anyway?" She then picked the stallion with a stick. "Hey is anypony out there? Is anyone still alive?" She flipped him on the side.Huh, he is kind of cute.
The stallion has a messy brown mane, green eyes, he was wearing a brown suit, brown coat, and a bow tie. I am really going to regret this. "Sorry but I am afraid you are coming with me, or you are going to end up as food for arctic wolves. Not that I actually care what happens to you."
She then tried to lift him up. "Now then, where I am going to ditch you because I can't just leave you here. I think I know the place."
About an hour later...
The first thing she did when she came into hideout was investigated her new guest. "What do we have here?" Rainbow took a small wallet with the blank piece of paper. "Huh, it's blank, weird", Rainbow Dash tossed it sideways. "Oh, oops my bad," she quickly dashed to pick it up and returned it to the pocket.
"Now then this is interesting, " Rainbow then took a metal stick about ten inches across. There was a green ruby was placed on the top of it. She pressed the button, she quickly regret it, it made a small high pitch frequency sound. "Damn it this thing is loud."
Headphones overloaded and sent a shutdown command, which unfortunately had been the equivalent of the brain knocking her out like a twig. For some reason, Rainbow thought it would have been twenty percent cooler if she could neuro-link the device with her brain. There were no known downsides to it, except that she now did have a second pair of ears. With that Rainbow Dash fell asleep on the couch nearby.
She woke up, but the pony wasn't here anymore. Where did he go? Rainbow went to the kitchen area of her hideout. She saw a note on the table, and then she read it.
With a regret I would have to inform you that you and I couldn't meet face to face. Although I appreciate that you saved me from a certain doom, I, however, should wear you to not touch my personal things without permission, and uh the abandoned factory isn't really a place for a young filly such as yourself. Do you have cheese? Anyway, it would seem to be that I need to go somewhere. I'll be right back in five minutes.
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Jerk!" Five minutes passed away, he didn't come back. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" She sighed, "Go to the wolves for all I care!"
Five minutes passed away, then ten, then twenty, then forty-five, then two hours. He didn't come back. Hours turned into days, days into weeks, weeks into months, months turned into years. He didn't come back.
Rainbow Dash graduated, went to college, then graduated again majoring in Cybertech. She then went to Royal Military Academy of Saint Germane. There she transferred into Space Marines Corps. She was about twenty-six when she got assigned to the Star Fleet brand new vessel Crusader's Furry. Some ponies could even say dream come true.
Somewhere in the middle of the Lunar Bay Sea, one small Star Destroyer and another one massive Star Battleship were floating on the surface of the water.
"Please tell me you are joking?"
"Is something wrong private?" asked ship's avatar. "My sensors indicate that you are unsatisfied with your uniform."
"Yeah, no shit!"
"Need I remind you, while you are a high ranking officer, you are still a private on this ship, on my ship. Now you are going to be a good soldier and do as I say you do. Is that clear?
"As you wish."
"I do not wish anything private. I issue orders, and your job is to follow them. I am going to repeat, is that clear!"
"Yes, ma'am! Lock and load, ma'am!" Rainbow replied in a sarcastic tone
"Smart mouth, undisciplined, and cocky. Sister, why did you reassigned her to my hull?" Sweetie Belle asked a fellow AI Platinum.
"It's true, but she is good with the blaster."
"Do we really need another meatbag with the gun?"
"Meatbag, really dear, it would seem to be only yesterday that we were like them."
"Well, we aren't!"
"Just give her a chance, I know she is difficult, but she is good at her job."
"What, like blow staff up?" Sweetie Belle asked []iPlattinum sarcastically.
"She is highly valued Cybertech Specialist, and frankly you need her more than me. Now then this decision is final. Tah-tah."
Space Battleship took off with the help of vertical thrusters. Four massive rear engines whined, and the ship gracefully started to accelerate into high orbit.
Star Destroyer has been dispatched on the scout mission, so far local pirates have been greatly annoying for the young AI. With each buzz of an Bite Me torpedo, the pirate ship gets scrapped to space dust.
Enemy missiles had been slamming into the hull with each boom. Rainbow's biomechanical ears twitched. She heard that cats have nine lives, their survivability instinct was that high. She preferred to not waste it. Rainbow quickly dashed into next compartment, for some reason she could feel a slight breeze of air. She quickly slammed the button to seal the blast doors. She turned around, if she would have spent at least two more seconds in there, her corpse would have been floating in a darkness of space faster than she would say ten seconds flat. She sighed, she needed to get moving.
Rainbow's cat ears twitched again, she thought she heard the scratching of the string. She went past several corridors, and into the next room. Inside she found the strange blue box. The doors opened like if inviting her to come inside.
"Well okay then," Rainbow shrugged "I just hope it's not booby trapped." She blinked, inside there was a very large oval room. In the center, there was the console with buttons and switches. She turned around, the doors slammed closed. "Shoot, I guess I am stuck here."
Rainbow Dash already learned a long time ago if fate wanted something from her, it was pointless to resist. In this case, she better get herself comfortable. She figured that at worst case scenario she would be listed as MIA. AI's exceptionally good tracking ability to track the crew, living or dead, almost everywhere in the universe based on your magical signature makes getting lost very difficult. Also if Sweetie Belle actually wanted her back she better to rip apart those doors open because as Rainbow tested it out they were closed shut.
She went past the console, better to come back later. Like if the box knew what Rainbow wanted, the path light up in the corridor and inviting her. She went past several rooms until she entered into the different room.
As if to test the theory Rainbow said, "Is this my room?" Room's electric lights flickered twice as if to say yes. What do you know an AI.The room did have small table chairs, bed, wardrobe.
Rainbow Dash went straight to the wardrobe and opened. Inside of it, she found a red yellow green violet umbrella. "Is this for me? You shouldn't have!" She took it with her hooves to test it out, she then opens it and closes it a few seconds later she added. "You wouldn't mind If I modify it?" Lights flickered again as if to say sure, go ahead.
Rainbow took a look at it again: green shoes, yellow pants with vertical black stripes, jacket one half red, and one-half pink. There were some patches of different fabrics, white shirt, and the large green polka dot tie. She felt a little bit sorry for a fashion sense of a pony who designed it, but at the same time she thought it's a bit cool, also the box thought it would look good on her. Let's see who is going to laugh at me, when I attach a micro fusion plasma disruptor to the umbrella.
Hours later Rainbow Dash tossed the remains of a plasma sidearm into the trash, She would have to figure it out how to dispose of it later. All the previous components carefully placed into a hollow tube of the umbrella, with the focusing crystal inside of it. Trigger mechanism had been integrated into the handle. Once again she opened and closed the umbrella. She then pressed and held it the firing mechanism, after two seconds she released it. Small green projectile exited the umbrella and absorbed into the wall followed by the smell of ozone. The walls are going to have a small burn on them, but it's better than having them get melted by accident.
Rainbow Dash wearing her new costume with the umbrella casually twirling in her hooves went into the console room.
"I suppose I could wait for the owner to come back, but that would be boring, anyway I already got what I wanted so any suggestions?"
Lights flickered twice, "You are right, let's go somewhere, you are a ship aren't you?" Rainbow then went to the console and pressed few buttons then pulled the handle down. There was a noise, box vibrated for a few seconds and then stopped, doors clicked signifying that they are unlocked and Rainbow Dash is free to go. Satisfied with it she went outside and went to the next adventure.
Surface of an unknown planet.
"That's definitely isn't my ship anymore," Rainbow muttered. "Hey, can you help me?" She yelled at random unicorn pony.
"Yeah, what is it?" he responded.
"What planet is it?"
"Equus, obviously!" He looked at her like she was crazy. Crazy barbarians!" he muttered to himself in Nyantonese
"Right, of course, I am," Rainbow muttered quietly. Rainbow inspected her surroundings again, Eastern architecture, ponies with the curved horns, their mannerisms. All evidence showed that she was somewhere In the Far East.
From what she remembered the Far East was an isolationist sub continent on the far side of the Solar Ocean. Its residents were equally clueless about outside world. The only thing both cultures shared with each other is the planet that they were on was called Equiss, which was mostly rounded. Rainbow could only imagine what would it like if Star Fleet would set sail across the ocean and would force to open the country borders for immigration and trade. She knew that star ships can technically do that.
Ten minutes later Rainbow Dash has been reliving her old days of sneaking around of dark corners of the streets. And it looks like she found what was she looking for, well almost.
With a few discharges of her micro fusion plasma disruptor, what looked like a metal trash can with the toilet plunger attached to it, ceased its demands of too be exterminated.
"Now hello there you strange weird creature. Why you should have invited me for dinner first", She chuckled at her own joke. "Or at least buy me some candy. Going for the fourth base on the first date that so rude. Let's see what we have here? I don't suppose you accept USB cables."
Rainbow cracked open the metal shell. "Brain matter, micro processors, wires."
Satisfied with the results Rainbow put the disruptor into disintegration mode. With a flick of her hoof, she melted the extra terrestrial trash can into goo.
Rainbow Dash was about to investigate the base of the extraterrestrial aliens, but she greatly underestimated her own resourcefulness and their response time. Rainbow tossed crystal disintegration grenade toward nearby Dalek, those trash cans called themselves Daleks. Doesn’t matter what they called themselves if their circuits are fried and they are dead. Crystal disintegration grenade did its job and Dalek has been blown away.
“Hey, I have a lot more of this,” Rainbow was holding onto the plasma torch lighter. “So, I suggest you back off”This was all a bluff obviously lithium ion batteries wasn’t that great at going boom, but they didn’t know that. Please buy this bluff.
The first Dalek who was in front of her said: “The technicolor equine is bluffing, please submit or be exterminated!” Now that was just insulting, Rainbow was about to respond but...
“Hey now, there is no need to fight.” said the old earth pony in a black suit and black be sunglasses.he did wear an electric guitar. This wasn’t perfect, but Rainbow was desperate for everything at this point. “Now then what do we have here, bucking Daleks on this bucking planet of toyetic toys rejects! And you!”
“Me?!” Rainbow shouted surprised, whatever happens at this point she wasn’t responsible, she just needs it to get away.
“Yes, you! You homosexual parade reject!”
“Oh, it’s on!” Rainbow shouted, she quickly dashed to him and smashed his guitar to his face “I am bisexual you prick!”
“I am sure you let everyone know about every time you sleep with them!” he replied sarcastically. Rainbow Dash did the only thing she could, she took her right hoof and punched the pony hard in a jaw. She then knocked him out cold, grabbed him, and pressed the emergency wink out beacon on her umbrella.
“What the buck just happen?” said the lead Dalek “Hey where did they go? Are you bucking kidding me!”
Meanwhile in the TARDIS.
“Well, that could have gone better!” said Rainbow. “Now then what I am going to do with you?” Rainbow adjusted the sensitivity of her cat ears and listened to the bit of the two hearts in another pony chest. “Of course!” She then found out the pen shaped object with the glowing blue crystal on top of it. “Oh this just great, does he compensates about something?”
This time she had been prepared, she adjusted the sensitivity of her cat ears, and put the stick to the pony head “Wakey wakey! Wake up you son of a bitch!” Then she smacked it to his head “That’s for leaving me twelve years ago.
“Ahh! Buck! That hurt!” he yelled. " Who the hell are you?”
“Oh, that’s rich!” You don’t even recognize me!
“Should I?” he asked.
“Twelve years ago, Crystal Empire, dark alley, ring any bells? You know I’ve should have left you to the arctic wolves!”
“Okay, so if that’s why you robbed me?”
“Robbed you! You mean this outfit?” Rainbow Dash asked. “This was given to me by that blue box.”
“Blue box? You mean she?”
“Yep, at least she has manners.”
Doctor Whooves sighed “You owe me a new guitar!”
“Yeah sure, I’ll give it to you in twelve years.”
“What were you doing there?” Doctor asked.
“Me? I was doing my job, " replied Rainbow. “The number one rule of the Starfleet is to exterminate all of the illegal extraterrestrial settlements. Believe me, it’s not a prejudice thing, they just happen to be extremely hostile.”
“Star Fleet? You are saying you are a soldier?”
“Yep, I always wanted to be a Shadowbolt. Wait do you have a problem with soldiers? Rainbow frowned. “You know what? This is getting a boring old man. I’ll be going, and maybe I’ll drop the nuke on them or something. You are free to join me, or not. Whatever I don’t care.”Rainbow Dash flicked her hoof on the umbrella, and with the flash disappeared.
“Oh laugh it up Missy, I know you want to.” The doctor said with annoyance. The room filled with laughter. The figure exited from the shadows.
“What a fantastic fan you’ve got there, “Missy said. “And she is, even more, edgier than you and me, I mean drop a nuke on a Daleks.”
“I won’t be surprised if she actually would do it. And that’s why we need to stop her.”
“We? You can’t be serious.”
“Yes, I am! You are the one begging me not to be executed, so stop complaining and take the wheel of the TARDIS. Or you know, you could just pretend to drive it. It’s no secret that she is doing what she wants.”
Missy went to the console, “You know she kind of right, you’ve changed Doctor.”
“Just...”
“Yeah, yeah, pressing the buttons.”
The pub somewhere in the middle of Far East.
“Hit me another round,” Rainbow Dash said while she downed another glass.
“If you are sure,” said bartender and put another drink.
“Yeah okay, I guess that’s enough. You don’t happen to accept crystal bits do you?”
“Yeah, crystal bits should be fine,” he agreed. “You are from the Crystal Empire?”
Rainbow Dash nodded “I am, born and raised there. This is just a job gig.”
“A job gig?”Bartender asked
“I thought it would be kind of cool if I dressed like that and went to whenever the wind takes me. Turns out I’ll still need to get a job to do. I need to squash some parasites.”
“Dressed like what?”
“Oh right, I do have that costume, but I am not wearing it right now. So it doesn’t matter right now.”
“You know they can be useful.”
“Who, you mean parasites? Well, not this kind. My name is Rainbow Dash, what’s yours?” Rainbow put the glass on the counter.
“Oh, my name is Sombra,” the bartender replied.
“Sombra it’s a good name, I like it. Hey, I have an idea, would you like to join me for some fun.” Rainbow Dash put her best seductive smile, it would seem to be working.
“Sure. Let’s just go into a private room upstairs.” With that, they both went upstairs and about an hour later they both went downstairs.
“Well, Sombra I’ll be seeing you around.” Rainbow Dash said and exited pub.
“If worse come to worse I would need to call the Calvary, after that she can drop all the nukes she wants, but for now I need to prepare.”
She took her umbrella and disassembled, she got rid of the material that covered it and installed the new deflector panels. She then attached the particle accelerator to the umbrella, transforming the plasma disruptor into the shotgun. She switched to the new more powerful battery pack. Satisfied with her work she cooked the particle accelerator side to side and pushed the trigger. The umbrella fired a bright green flash of energy and with the fresh smell of ozone incinerated the target, a thick twenty-inch block of metal. Multicolored shield panels had been slowly rotating with a buzzing noise. With that Rainbow Dash went to the war.
Rainbow Dash was having a fun day first she melted Dalek after Dalek with her plasma disruptor umbrella. All of them tried to fight back, all of them tried to shoot death rays which would then be deflected by the umbrella.
“Exterminate! Exterminate!” Rainbow dodged death rays that whistled by.
“Exterminate this, Bitch!” She pressed the trigger a few times and the Dalek melted almost instantly. “Well, it looks like calling the cavalry wouldn’t need it.”
Meanwhile...
“Well, would you look at that, what a vicious little thing.” Missy pointed out at the former Daleks which are now a green slime on the floor. “To think that she would create such deadly weapon from your old umbrella.”
“Let’s hurry, we don’t have time. She will soon reach the core.”
“Why bother? I never thought you would care about Daleks well being.”
“It’s not about them!”
“Is this ridiculous story again? Don’t tell me it's actually true like some wolves would actually eat you alive!”
“Did I ever told you an embarrassing story where I did get gunned down by local gangsters?” Doctor Who replied with another question sarcastically.
Meanwhile...
“A little bit more! A little bit more!” Sweetie Belle finished the engine burn putting her right on the near collision course towards the local star, engines shut off, pirates chasing the with small thruster adjustments she made it so that the destroyer would just barely escape the collision by a few light milliseconds.Initializing Star Buster Protocol...analysis complete... Local planet zero life forms... Hostile entity detected.... Processing.... Firing Star Buster torpedo. "
Two seconds later a small thin torpedo was torpedo has been fired and zipped towards the center of the star and vanished. Five...Four... Three...Two... One... Primary ignition switch engaged. 30 PSL... 50... 78....89....99.9
At the same time, the local star buckled into itself and exploded consuming the pirate fleet and the planet that orbits it.
“Well that’s settles it, and let’s see where in Tartarus did she went. Sweetie Belle said referring to Rainbow Dash. “Equus?”What is she doing there, and more importantly how? Hm, the emergency warp beacon isn’t activated yet. She better has an excuse for ditching her duties.”
Sweetie Belle plotted the course to the nearest wormhole that would take it to the distance light hours to Equiss home system. And dialed the Jump Drive up to 86%. She already wasted more hydrogen than it was necessary and that means she needs to be less wasteful with it. Four nuclear reactor turbines spin up to the eight hundred thousand RPMs and the Star Destroyer vanished from the visible space.
After five hours of jumping, Star Destroyer excited into visible space once again. Reactors whined and slowed down to the eighty thousand RPMs. Satisfied with the results Sweetie Belle switched to the sunlight engines once again, and with speed of 10 PSL, she entered into the wormhole. Five seconds later the Star Destroyer excited wormhole Sweetie Belle set the speed to the 80 PSL.
Meanwhile back on Equus.
Rainbow Dash started to get physically exhausted plus she started to run out from micro fusion power packs. Making mental calculations she had about a hundred shots left, that wasn’t good. Come on you can do this alone, you don’t need your help. At the same time.
“Are you still going to follow me around?”
“As long as you are willing to accept my help,” replied Doctor.
“Well, I'll make sure that I will use you as a shield if you are offering.”
“Please, just stop being difficult and let me help you!”
“You, help me? Listen, buddy, with all due respect I work alone” Her previous idea didn’t felt that appealing to her anymore, but the combat umbrella had still been useful. So she took a small mirror and pressed a few buttons on the screen, almost instantly her previous outfit had been replaced by her Shadowbolt uniform, a few more button pressing and she completely vanished from the visible spectrum. From what Rainbow could see from the mirror it looks like Sweetie Belle got distracted by the package delivery. Well, that's probably going to take her awhile to get her home. Rainbow Dash checked the power pack, 70% charge. She then dashed towards the wall and waited for the opportunity to strike. Group of three Daleks casually going right through the corridor. Rainbow quickly fired three rounds towards them, like she was expected death rays absorbed by shield panels, and in place of Daleks, there had been three melted husks. “Enough is enough! I’ve had had it with mother bucking trash cans on this mother bucking planet!” The charge on the power pack had been depleted to the 40% charge.
Missy just kept silent, she was very interested how this whole thing would play out. From her point of view, why would she bother interfering? Whoever she was, is practically doing all of the work for them.
Meanwhile, Star Destroyer while in transit.
“First Officer, is there anything new from the base?”
“High Command wishes to congratulate us for such, uh, ruthless tactics,” he replied.
“Excellent! Is there anything else?”
“Oh right the probe failed to circularize the orbit, High Command wants us to deliver the replacement, now it has twice as much of delta V as the previous model. When they tried to build that thing, simulation exploded many times over because of badly designed payload."
"Huh, and I assume that the probe is not made to use ion drive?"
"You are correct Ma'am, the High Command prioritized rapid acceleration in favor of fuel economy. Sometimes the probe only has the five-minute window to finish the job and stabilize itself in an orbit."
Sweetie Belle sighed “As long as we get refueled, it doesn’t really matter.” The basic practice was to launch the probe from shipyards only for another ship to capture it and deliver it to the destination. Star Destroyers had been the most ideal for delivering small payloads.
Meanwhile in a Dalek Command Center.
“What is going on! Report! Report!” said the head Dalek in charge.
“We are losing other Daleks to the equine life form!”
“Impossible! Impossible! We are the superior life forms! Defeat is Impossible!”
“Loses are too great! A retreat is recommended!”
“There will be no retreat! Daleks will win! Daleks will dominate! Daleks are going to be victorious! That's just only one pathetic equine, now just squash it imminently.” After that the Dalek exited the control room, all other Daleks paused before they all screamed “All hail to Supreme Dalek race!”
Rainbow Dash fought on the autopilot. Shoot, dodge, deflect, shoot, shoot, shoot, reload, toss the grenade. She fought and fought until she couldn't fight anymore. Rainbow knew that even with the cloaking device engaged that old pony was still following her around. He didn't break her stealth, and she was grateful for that. Whichever reason he is even here Rainbow doubted that this stallion wanted to do a tea party with Daleks.
Yes, she was rude to him, that was true. At the same time she was extremely neutral towards him, and well, if he was willing to help her out then just maybe she could pull it off. Rainbow Dash wasn't stupid, and despite what she said she was right about to reach her limit of her bravado. Those two old stallions and that mysterious pony that had been following him were her back up plan.
Whether she like it or not the best policy was to nuke it from high orbit, however, this was her home planet Equus, and nuking Equus for any reason would result in a huge scandal, which would then will result in her shortest career ever. Simply because when the brass is going to burn bridges, then it would be Rainbow Dash who would get a court-martial, plus her name would be put on the wall of shame. That's just how it works.
Rainbow Dash thought that right now it was a good idea to test the theory, for some reason Daleks completely ignored those two, and focused their undivided attention to her. It was true that Rainbow was making all the noise, but surely those tin cans weren't that blind.
"So did the brave and fearless soldier finally decided to join us?" said Missy
"Are you still on about that?" Rainbow Dash quickly dismissed her. "Lady, I don't know who in Tartarus you think you are, and frankly I don't care! What I care about is why are you two doing here in the middle of nowhere on the alien base. If I was you I would have chosen my next words very carefully Mistress from Gallopfrey! And yes, before you ask, I know who you are an intergalactic criminal in forty-five galaxies, one of the top three most wanted."
Missy was about to reply but Doctor stopped her.
"I and my companion over here are simple travelers. While it's true that she is very dangerous criminal, it just so happens that I am her warden. It just so happens that by a small chance of probability that we, how should I put it landed here."
"Aha? Well then, you excuse me, but I don't actually believe you."
"Which part, me being her warden, or is that we just happen to be here by accident?"
"The second part, you see what I've managed to figure out them, those aliens have a pathway, and they just so happens to all share their collective hatred towards one particular individual, they call Doctor. But here is the problem? Individual called Doctor standing right in front of me."
"Me a Doctor, how exactly did you come to this conclusion?"
Rainbow Dash laughed, "Sorry! Sorry! It's just you said something funny, you see, this Doctor prefers to travel in a spaceship called TARDIS, can always be recognized by a what others might call public police call box."
"A time machine."
"Excuse me?" Rainbow asked.
"A time machine, my dear! Calling it a spaceship just way too primitive."
Rainbow Dash sighed "Ignorance, that what it is, plain ignorance! FTL travel basics one oh one. In order for an FTL capable space ship to perform a procedure called Jump it first needs to activate the time warp circuit. After that, the ship just passes right between two points in space time." Rainbow took a piece of paper, folded and punched right through it with the combat knife. "Like this!"
Doctor Whooves wasn't phased at the attempted insult at his TARDIS. "Surely this type of travel is a one-way street?"
"The ignorant could say that, but you see." Rainbow casually spun around. "The space ship vast computational power can find every single point in time of the targeted planet, and then..."
"And then, what?" Doctor asked.
"I'd rather not say, it's classified."
"Huh, typical excuses!"
Rainbow ignored the jab, "Buh! But I am serious about the classified part. Before I forget I repaired the chameleon circuit in your time machine." Rainbow glanced at Doctor to observe his reaction.
"You did what!?"
"I repaired your's TARDIS chameleon circuit. Your welcome by the way."
Doctor groaned, "For what exactly."
"For eliminating such an obvious weakness of course."
"But it's not a weakness, it's a charm for good luck!"
"Yeah good luck for others, you just painting yourself as an easily recognizable target. Say, Doctor whatever you use for stealth it's seems to be working."
"It's called perception filter, and I don't think it's that powerful."
"You don't think it's that powerful," said Missy "Are you serious, perception filter is the most powerful stealth technology ever made. I am surprised that you never used that before."
"Well, whatever! Let's just go blow them up," Rainbow Dash said occasionally swinging an umbrella shooting at nearby Daleks. "Somehow I think this whole situation is very ridiculous."
"You think?" replied Doctor.
"Yeah, what gives it away, invasion of robots from outer space?"
"They are cyborgs! I thought..."
"You thought what?
"It's nothing but if we get invaded by a different kind of cyborgs I will be pissed."
"They are? Anyway, the point is that they managed to get here, and nobody did notice it. What's next, the invasion of stone statues? And the catch is that you can't blink. Actually, I'll take it back this is kind of scary."
"I thought you just going to drop a nuke from orbit?" asked Missy.
"Haha, this is so funny, you are a great comedian. I can't do that, you sadistic piece of garbage. Even though it would've been the easiest thing to do," Rainbow sighed.
Meanwhile...
"Any interesting stories?" asked Sweetie Belle asked.
"Like what?" replied First Officer Flash Sentry.
"Like any stories at the Academy?"
"Well since you are asking, there were several legends had been going around from the early space exploration era."
"Okay, "Sweetie Belle nodded. "Please tell me more!"
"So, like ponies used to build and fire it directly from the planet surface. Now they just do it from the moon. One of those old rockets had been built, and then when they fired it, the rocket started to spin."
"Spinning rockets sounds problematic."
"Yeah! And then it's started to wobble and shake."
''Ouch! So how did it end up?"
"Nopony really knows, ponies decided to abort it. So then they scrapped the whole design. And just attached the new two and a half meter model."
"So, it went well?"
"Apparently to well, the first stage at least. When it separated the rocket went for a circularization burn with the second stage, and then it failed to engage the engine. When somepony finally figure out to press the override button the engine had been re-engaged."
"Okay, what happened next?"
"The rocket overshot target apoapsis by forty kilometers while downing the periapsis thirty kilometers deep into the atmosphere, and well it's quickly going down."
"That's kind of embarrassing! What happened next?"
"They decided to swap the engine for the second stage and fueled a rocket by 90%. After that the next problem came, protective aero-shell have been ripping off the solar panels, so then the technicians had a field day for trying to fix the problem."
“Doc, do you want to do the honors?” Rainbow invited doctor in the command room of the Daleks. Even though she already did half the work for him and wiped the whole army of Daleks wherever she could. She still felt that doing the final step should be his.
“Well if you insist.” With that Doctor came to the main computer and inputted the kill code virus that would destroy the main Dalek mainframe, and at the same time would corrupt all of them to be destroyed. This is one thing he had to agree with Rainbow. Daleks are a menace and they need to be wiped out.
“Well, I guess that would be it, I am kind of glad this is over with,” said Missy. Suddenly the hot bolt of plasma strikes her body. She winced for a second and almost instantly, another bolt of plasma struck her and turned her into goo.
“Well, I am glad you think so because this is the end of the line for you!” From the shadows came the small little unicorn filly with eyes bright red, on her back there were twin plasma cannons glowing hot. “Soldier what took you so long, and why she isn’t dead yet.”
“No!” Doctor Whooves fell on his knees, this kind of brutally, he was speechless and hurt. Mostly because for losing not only his enemy, but also his oldest friend, and his dearest rival.
“What? I don’t understand! You are not supposed to be here!” Rainbow stuttered confused, she was outmaneuvered by her own AI who was also her boss.
“I, a super advanced AI tasked with protecting Equus from the outside threats, and not only we have genocidal extraterrestrials roaming around here freely like they own the place, we also have a potential monster walking around. I am really disappointed in you Rainbow, you always been such a promising recruit.”
“But you, you are supposed to deliver the space probe? You are...”
Sweetie Belle laughed maniacally “How naive can you be? This was all lies disinformation and trickery. You foolish mare do you really believe that you could fool me with the fake High Command order. Now I believe you said something about nuking this whole place to Tartarus”
Rainbow Dash’s face turned white “No! You can’t do that!”
“Oh yes, yes I can! Good bye failure!” Sweetie Belle’s eyes flashed green for a second and flashed back to red. “All tubes are loaded with M203-X Balefire torpedo. Tubes 1 through 13 fire for effect! 60, 59, 58, 57....”
Rainbow Dash blinked, she needed to act fast. She runs to the Doctor and slapped him with the hoof. “Come on snap out of it!” She then quickly took the Doctor sonic screwdriver, took what she assumed was the TARDIS key and played the tune on the short wave sonic frequency. Ten seconds later the TARDIS materialized around them. Rainbow Dash quickly runs towards the console and pulled hard. With the whine, TARDIS vanished from sight.
With that Sweetie Belle chuckled softly, and with the final proximity warning, three Balefire nuclear torpedoes slammed into the hollow mountain where they were. Three loud bangs indicated that outer shell of the mountain cracked and vaporized. Then eight more torpedoes slammed continuously deep wrecking and vaporizing the rest of the base. One torpedo cracked open the room she was in, and another vaporized it clean. The green fire consumed everything.
Unknown planet, Unknown year.
Rainbow feel exhausted and simply betrayed, and now with sudden development for the first time she doesn’t know what to do. She looked on the screen Unknown planet...Unknown year... Analyzing... Please stand by... “I am sorry! I am so sorry!” Rainbow said while tears had been falling on the metal floor.
“Just where in Tartarus did I ended up, I guess I should just scout and well after all of this Doctor wouldn’t want to be with me anyway. Good bye I am sorry for troubling you, and...” Rainbow sniffed and with that, she took the umbrella and went outside.
Rainbow Dash has been walking for hours now in the unknown environment. Her combat umbrella finally melted from overheat and became useless. She managed to scavenge a laser sniper rifle and about six energy cells for it, her old micro fusion cells were also reverse compatible with the gun. She also found a good quality 5.56 assault carbine, with eight magazines for it, on her hip, there were slightly rested 10 mm semi auto pistol for back up with four fully loaded mags. From the looks of it, this ammo was pretty common so she won’t be running dry for awhile. Sensors in her Shadowbolt body armor had been screaming with background magical radiation. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what happened here but from the looks of it, whatever it was it did happen very long ago. Rainbow theorized that about some many years ago the large area or perhaps the whole planet had been bombarded with Balefire nuclear bombs. Whatever it is she would probably soon find out. Rainbow Dash already met with local wildlife, overgrown insects: spiders, ants, scorpions, unusually aggressive parasprites. She needed to find shelter for the night, she simply didn’t wanna to sleep outside for the night. That would be extremely foolish, and dangerous.
She found out what looked like a small cave entrance, in it, there was largely armored metal cogwheel which served as the entrance.
“I suppose it’s good enough.” Rainbow went to the door and noticed the small panel nearby. Rainbow then went straight to it “This must be some sort of control mechanism that would allow me to open the door.”
Rainbow Dash quickly plugged in the device to her biomechanical cat ears. “Hm, the computer system must be extremely primitive. What this? The siren better to deactivate it I don’t want it to attract unwanted attention. Registration information: Stable number information corrupted made by Stable Tech. Optimistic greeting: Welcome to your new home, have a nice nuclear winter!”
Rainbow sadly snickered, that was cute but sad. Two seconds later she opened the door without setting off the alarms and entered her new shelter for the night. She carried some food supplies that would last her for several days. If she had to she would reserve to hunting local wildlife, although she wasn’t sure how safe it was to eat it.
She made sure that the door is closed shut, and went looking for a room to sleep in. So far the vault had been empty, perhaps the whole place was abandoned. There was a power room filled with overgrown roaches. “Nope! I am not going in there.”
Soon Rainbow found a room with beds inside. In there she found the bed which was arguably the cleanest, and she went to sleep. This is going to be the long night, and then many days after that.
Rainbow Dash woke up in the middle of the night, she quickly remembered where she was and for the record she kind of deserve it to be here, wherever she was right now. Is this some kind of future. What exactly happened here, she blinked.
"Well hello there! What an interesting pony you are? You know you are very good at spreading chaos wherever you go." said the deep voice with a soft chuckle.
Oh, that just great, I can't spend a night without some weird paranormal activity bothering me. "Mister, I don't know who you think you are..."
"Why it's me, Discord the spirit of chaos and disharmony."
"Sorry, never heard of you."
"Not even a little bit, I thought everybody here heard of me by now."
"Well not me, now get out of my head!"
"If you just willing to listen to me."
Rainbow Dash was really annoyed right now, "I said! Get out! From! My! Head!" The Loud noise could be heard in the stable. Rainbow Dash quickly took her assault carbine and fired a round in a direction of the noise. Rainbow could hear the laughter that had been slowly fading away.
Rainbow went to investigate, there was a Griffin that had been bleeding from the leg.
"I knew that pegasi are jumpy this day but I just fought I would say hi." Griffin smiled and lost conscious. Rainbow sighed and took Griffin on her back, maybe she could still be saved.
Rainbow dragged a Griffin to the medical bay and dumped her on the bed. She took a pair of hoof cuffs and quickly chained the Griffin to the bed, she then took a syringe of stimpack and stubbed it in the bleeding leg. She then cleaned the wound with the alcohol solution and tied up with the bandage. Rainbow took a supply storage with blood packs and turns out that all of them are expired or contaminated.
"Come on stay with me!" Rainbow injected one of her own blood regeneration nanobot formula, which was much safer and easier than using blood donations from living creatures. She then took a chair and waited for the Griffin to wake up.
"Did you tied me up already. So what it's going to be, torture, or did you want to skip to some kinky staff?" said the Griffin while she was amused by the situation she was in.
"How about you start by telling me who in Tartarus are you, and why shouldn't I just retire you for all eternity," To emphasize her point Rainbow aimed a carbine in the general direction of the Griffin. "Well, I am waiting."
"I don't think you will. Face it skittles, you need me. Why else did you save me?"
"Who knows, maybe I am keeping you alive for information, so then I could dispose of you. Now, try again!"
"You wouldn't just waste a bullet just to threaten me," said Griffin hopefully. An instant later 5.56 round slammed into the wall three inches from the griffin head.
"Listen, I am in a bad mood right now so if you aren't talking, then you are a waste of air!"
"Alright! Alright! Just calm the buck down! griffin started to sweat. "My name is Matilda, Matilda Thunderbeak and I am a mercenary! Or a gun for hire if you prefer. Just put that damned thing down, okay! You've got me cornered and I am not going anywhere!"
Satisfied with the answer Rainbow Dash put the carbine on the back of her uniform and mag locked it.
"You are crazy you know that right," said Matilda "All of you Enclave ponies are!"
"What are you talking about? What in the whole wide world the Enclave is?"
"You don't know? Please tell me that you are joking."
"No, I am not joking about anything!" Rainbow quickly became annoyed once again.
Matilda winced from the pain, "Enclave! Enclave is the prewar government bastards who just left Equestria to rot!"
"I offer you my sympathies, but this is nothing to do with me."
"Well, what is your name then Miss Not From The Enclave?"
"My name is Rainbow Dash, and make sure to never forget that," said Rainbow, hearing that Matilda started to laugh. "Hey what's so funny!?"
"Rainbow Dash! Your name is Rainbow Dash! Now I know you are just pulling my leg. Everyone knows that Rainbow Dash is the greatest war hero who died over two hundred years ago!"
Must be a pony with the similar name.
"You can't be that stupid to think that she and I are the same exact pony."
"Oh, you aren't just that, you also have the same eyes, the same mane style, and the same coat color."
"Oh, that just horsefeathers. Listen, get it through your head I've never lived in Equestria two hundred years ago. I was born in a Crystal Empire in the year of 334 of the Unification Era, I served the Star Fleet with pride and joy. Then the psychotic warship that I was serving on tried to drop thirteen high kiloton balefire nukes on me, and would have killed me, if not for the dumbest luck imaginable! I have nothing to do with the pony who you are confusing me with."
With that Rainbow Dash trotted outside.
"Where did you think you are going!"
"Outside! Rest assured I will not leave you here to starve to death."
With that Rainbow Dash exited the room and just went to her room. Sometime later she would check on the Matilda injuries and bring her some food and water to eat. She also would need to uncuff Matilda from the bed. If she would want to build any trust. Rainbow Dash sighed, she could use her. Assuming Matilda won't just backstab her. However, from what she knew Griffins were extremely dependable and have been more trustworthy than even some ponies were.
It would seem that for now, the self-proclaimed spirit of chaos and disharmony weren't bothering her yet, Rainbow had been grateful for that, although she was sure of it that this Discord person would visit her again.
"I need to find some sort of radio, I need to know what is happening in outside the world. Also, I am pretty sure that others would confuse me with that mare. This is just going to be more of a pain in the ass. All of that can wait until morning." Rainbow glanced at the wrist watch, 04:00 had been displayed. "That's just great! !m going to go find some food."
Rainbow Dash went to the room where Matilda was sleeping, there she once again checked on her would. Looks like everything is healed. Matilda woke up and now she had been observing Rainbow.
“I don’t know what you did but I never saw wounds heal that quickly.” . “Oh that, I just injected you with something called stimpack, I assumed it was medicine, the rest was the work of medical nanobots,” Rainbow said with the monotone voice like if explaining a lecture to a class full of students.
“Can’t say I've heard of it what are they?”
"They are miniaturized nano sized robots, this once specifically designed for medical purposes." Rainbow Dash continued with the same monotone voice. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"If I remove hoof cuffs from you right now, what will you do?" Rainbow finished what she needed to do and then threw the now bloody disposable hoof wear in the trash. The standard medical training required her to use sterile equipment, and she won't start doing half-assed jobs now.
"I don't really know, honestly I am beaten, exhausted and done. The only reason I was even here is that I need it a shelter for the night. At first, I thought that this Stable is a good idea at that time. I've should have known better than to trust abandoned Stables."
"So you are in the same boat like me then. I am to was looking for a shelter," Rainbow said casually. "Why are you looking at me like that? I am serious. Tell you what I want you to stay with me for at least some time. I am not trying to be all mushy or anything, I just need someone to talk too, and you just fit the bill. So what do you say,?"
"Wow, it's been like thirty minutes and you didn't try to kill me, or threatened to do so."
"Oh har, har! What do you take me for, a psychopath? I am not that delusional." Rainbow Dash then went to the bed and then removed hoof cuffs from Matilda. "Here look, I set you free from the captivity of the blasted Enclave."
Matilda giggled, "Oh wait I completely forgot, I need to pay you for healing me, even though you could just easily left me for death."
"Nuh, don't worry about it! Somehow I don't think I am running a legitimate business in the middle of nowhere."
"Well if you are sure you wouldn't need the caps?" Matilda said happily, satisfied that she won't need to pay."More money for me then."
"Yeah don't make it weird! It's kind of my fault that you got shot."
"Yeah, okay sorry my bad, it just who is talking about making it weird. This is the first time I heard anyone who shot at me starts to apologize for it."
"Well first for everything," shrugged Rainbow.
"You don't understand, it's like you are a Stable dweller or something," Matilda noticed confused Rainbow. Stable dwellers are survivors of the war who lived or sometimes still prefer to live In it. Sometimes other ponies prefer to make settlements in the Stables simply because Stables already have the prebuilt basic infrastructure."
"So what are you saying that I am some kind of noob that can't even defend myself?"
"Oh no, no. It's nothing like that. I mean In the old days they used to be pretty weak at unprepared attack."
"I would figure that security systems here are well shit, and just anyone can open that door from outside if they know how?" Rainbow wasn't surprised at that point at the pre war pony incompetence, it would seem that everything went downhill sometime in the future.
"Yeah, that usually how it went down, a competent hacker or somepony has a bright idea to throw a stick of dynamite."
"A dynamite really now that the best they could do to crack this shell open?" Rainbow asked the question while snickering at the thought of how ridiculous that idea has been. "Listen, let's say what if I wanted to call dibs on this shelter, and let's say I wanted to make sure that ponies would come and live here. So would that make me like a big boss or something."
"I suppose if that's what you really want? Then yes, I suppose that it's kind of possible, um the correct term is overseer."
"I see some benefit from this, I mean we could easily set up some sort of system here. I don't know what I am going to do, but it looks like I am going to stay here for a while," Rainbow shrugged off. "Also I don't really have anything else to do, and I suppose If I really get bored I could go on some heroic quest or something."
"Before you go I really want to give you something, if you don't want to accept caps than maybe you will take this?" Matilda took a small orb from a bag nearby and offered it to Rainbow.
"Uh, this is not a bomb is it?"
"What? No! Why would you think that?" Matilda suddenly realized something. "You are afraid of me, isn't it? You are afraid that I would hold some pity grudge against you!"
"Well, wouldn't you? I shot at you remember!"
"It's uh, It's complicated alright I thought you are with Enclave and I thought you are..."
"You assumed my identity based on my species, is that it? Rainbow interrupted her."
"Well yes, and you also look so much like her."
"Like I said me and she aren't the same ponies. Also, why does it matter?" Rainbow asked with annoyance in her voice.
"No, I suppose it isn't."
"So, if it's not a bomb then what it is?"
"Oh that's just a memory orb, usually they are filled with memories of the pre-war ponies, but this one is special because it happens to be a blank slate. Meaning that nothing is recorded on it. We may not have the fancy technology you are used to but ours have been based a lot on magic. And well before the war Equestria have been very primitive, they used coal trains, and well when the war hit because everyone had been so hanging up about it, this is when it really escalated. You can imagine that it didn't end up well for them."
Rainbow Dash had a sudden idea "I was thinking of going to Crystal Empire, or at least to try to find it's ruined. Do you suppose you want to go with me?"
"Yeah, I guess it would be fun, I mean if your Empire did have that level of technology. I am actually surprised that no one heard about it. At least the Steel Rangers, the original branch of Applejack Rangers would have a heart attack if they knew."
"Steel Rangers, who are they?" asked Rainbow
"Steel Rangers are a cult of the pre-war technology. Original members came from the descendants of the pre war military. They've become so obsessed with preserving the technology that they started to prioritize the pre war junk over the lives of others."
Rainbow winced at the level of corruption that seemed to plague Equestria in the future. "And I assume the Applejack Rangers are rebels?"
"Pretty much yes," Matilda nodded.
"Thanks, I guess I'll go and prepare for the expedition and I suppose when you are ready we will depart." With that Rainbow Dash exited the room to see what else she could find useful in the vault.
Rainbow and Matilda have been in the radio room of the vault. They were about to leave, however, Rainbow wanted to do one last thing before they go.
"So we are doing this then." Rainbow was about to switch the radio beacon online, with a bit of tweaking they managed to modify the original set up, which was basically vaults entertainment system, but now it was also a window to outside world.
"You are the boss! If you think we should, then flip it." Matilda shrugged off.
"Right I knew that!" with that said Rainbow Dash flipped the switch. "Well, whoever gets to here first gets to keep it, the rest isn't my problem."
Pinkie C-153-c have been sleeping on the couch tonight, then she suddenly woke up and looked around Rainbow C-127-a wasn't there she was in the interdimensional library of fanfictions, she was trying to read one of the books.
"I love you, daddy!" Who'd write such trash!"
Rainbow Dash has been wearing her usual armor, plus a brown cloak that has been completely covering her multi colored mane and coat. She found it somewhere in the vault, it was dirty, but this will do. She didn't want to attract attention, but she also didn't want to look suspicious. In that regard, she liked Imperial body armor or any suit of armor for that matter. In her own words The helmet does not discriminate.
The day has been windy, that didn't stop them from flying thought across the urban jungle of partially destroyed buildings.
"You know the rules right? Recite them to me!" Rainbow Dash flapped her wings slightly faster than usual and accelerated to maintain her cruise speed of two hundred meters per second at the approximate altitude of three hundred meters above sea level. Any lower and she would literally kiss the ground goodbye. She could always reduce the speed and then get even lower, but where the fun in that?
"Fly light and low to the ground, scavenge only caps and ammo. If someone or something else shoots at you, scatter and return fire. If your gun is lost or broken find another one. Don't fight the battles you can't win, yeah, yeah I know, you don't need to tell me twice!"
"This is very important, I don't want you to pick up every single junk you can find, just so you would then end up getting to get shot at because you would be too heavy to dodge!"
"Yes, boss, but why do we need to fly anyway, and what about food?"
"It's like asking why do we have wings, and why shouldn't we use them! About food, well I'll tell you what, if you can find anything edible after two hundred years of nuclear winter, then be my guest! We would just need to find something locally I suppose, or I suppose we can always use this!" Rainbow gestured at her sniper rifle.
"An omnivore huh!"
"Not that it matters but yeah, after about several years on the fish diet you'll get used to it anyway. Wait, did you just assumed that ponies are herbivores?"
"Well yes, in a way! But I have a proper excuse, most ponies I've met prefer vegetarian life style the ones that don't are a bit nutty!"
"Nutty, care to explain that?"
"Well they are cannibals, and after that, it doesn't take long for a gunfight to happen."
Rainbow took a double take, she flipped her wings perpendicular to the ground and then decelerated herself to fifty meters per second. She then recovered and accelerated back to two hundred.
"Yeah, I am pretty much had the same reaction when I first heard about it. Didn't take long to shove the bullet right between the eyes, and then..."
"Thanks, I think I got the picture!" The stray bullet passed by her head Rainbow pulled the carbine set it on full auto and emptied the whole mag at her attacker "Hey does anypony told you not to shoot when others are talking!"
"Hey buck you!" earth pony raider had been struggling at maintaining steady aim at her constantly zigzagging target.
Tsk, he is not dead yet, I am starting to lose my edge." Rainbow had been considered to toss a few grenades to shut him up. Meanwhile distracted by Rainbow's effort to trying and kill him the raider pony didn't bother to pay attention to Matilda, that was right now aiming at him with her .44 revolver. With a single bang, she dispatched him on the ground.
"Where in the bloody polar bear did he come from! " Rainbow was still fuming at the thought of wasted ammo,
"We are probably on their territory, anyway thanks for the distraction!"
"Yeah okay, let's just see if he have anything on him."
"Already one step ahead of you here catch!"
Rainbow caught 7.62 combat riffle, she casually looked at it, and then threw it back to her. "Nuh, you have it, you are probably better with it than I am."
"Come on I know them they are the worst scum in the wasteland. Let's have a game, the loser would have to do something for another!"
"Hm the conditions sounds vague, I like it." Rainbow reloaded her carbine with the fresh mag.
"What was that? I am too busy wiping out those losers, I can't hear what you are saying..."
Pinkie C-153-c have made a sandwich, she burped, she went to the room where she has interdimensional cable set up and turn it on, she was truly a Simple Pinkie. Rainbow C127-a was still at the library reading fan fiction.
"That needs to be 20% coo..*vomit*" Hr] Several hours later, "Hey boss, I think we hit a jackpot!" Matilda has been waiting in front of the large box with something big inside.
"Hold on! What Is it?"
"Dunno! But it must be important, big boxes are important! Should we open it?"
"Eh, it wouldn't hurt, as long as we are not looting everything we see, so come on let's open it" She then took a crow bar and well she opened it.
"What is it, what's inside?" Matilda went to her "Oh, it's just booze!"
"Meh, it's good enough for me, do you want some?" Rainbow opened the bottle and chug it a full gulp. "Well, I guess there is no more flying for me today. I guess we will try to sell it elsewhere."
Capital Wasteland, 20 miles outside of Ponyvile Ruins.
Another day in a Wasteland, and another gang of raiders fallen victim to the bullet of justice. That's right kiddies don't be a raider or you going to end up dead. Who is this mysterious stranger that we need to be thankful for? For all of you who never heard about the mysterious stranger, shame on you, and for those who did, well I am just thankful you are not completely lost cause. So anyway here is the little reminder, the mysterious stranger is well mysterious, nopony knows who she is. All they do know is that she is female, wears a pre-war Stable Tech salespony trenchcoat, a stetson, and usually use a deadly revolver. However, the main difference between the mysterious stranger and our hero is that in our case, ours isn't afraid to use big guns.This being once again yours truly DJPon3 reporting live from Tempony tower once again, our main HQ.
Rainbow Dash smirked at that, recently she did found a corpse of the pre-war stallion, just some bones. The important thing though he did have a trenchcoat and a hate.
"Well look at that, this place is a dumpster trash, even after two hundred years later from the world go boom, and look it's full of obscene gore, geesh somepony an artist." Rainbow kicked a raider corpse.
"Need I remind you that some of those corpses are freshly made by us."
They still live in the dumpster, I mean it's like they don't even care to keep their place clean, something. Hold on I think I am going to vomit."
Rainbow feel sick a little bit. You would think she would get used to pretty much everything by now, but it's not a disgust, it was the smell of rot.
"You do aware that there is a sprite bot have been following us around for about two days now," Matilda had been extremely peeved at that.
"Oh, I do! I've already fried ten of them, for some reason they just keep coming and coming. Whoever it was controlling them is very persistent." Rainbow was quite annoyed at that too.
"Controlling them?"
"Yeah, if you smash one open there is little transmitter inside, those had to be controlled, or it's feeding information to somewhere."
"And you are not worried?"
"Nuh, If I need to say something secretive, there will be another one of those buggers fried."
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I am doing. Help me to clean up the place. We are going to stay here for the night."
Rainbow and Matilda went into one of the many houses. They threw the corpses outside. However, this is not enough. Rainbow then took a shovel from somewhere and started to dig graves, she did feel that for some of the corpses its been long overdue, and they deserve a chance for a final rest. Matilda personally understood what Rainbow was trying to do, it's just not many Equestrians would bother. It could be that it was too dangerous to reclaim the territory or let's face it, not that many have resources to do it. Equestrians took care of each other in a harsh, unforgivable wasteland however they can, just not everything was perfect.
"So, like, let me get this straight, back in your home all the native ponies were, how should I say this, they were made of a living crystal?"
"Yep! They were extremely fragile and nopony was really sure what their relationship with the dragonkind was. It was either love or hate relationship."
"Really, is that so? So, then how come pegasi like you ended up so far away to the North, and not only that but called that frozen tundra home?"
"We flew there using wings, that's how it works. I think if I remember correctly my history, the original pegasi settlement first came from Pegasopolis. They call it Frozen North Initiative. Something to do with a sudden ice age, which caught every single one of us with our pants down. And then somepony got a bright idea that we should adapt to it instead of fighting it. Then that's how our fishing diet got, started, it was simply an evolutionary trait that we got from our ancestors."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that," Rainbow agreed. "I don't think that even back then ponies would reserve to eating their own kind, ponies are well, ponies, and there is always an alternative. If this is everything, good night Matilda!" Rainbow offered, and with that, she went to sleep.
"Uh yeah, sure, good night to you too!"
Rainbow Dash had a dream today, she was in the middle of the city made of crystal, it was her city, it was her home. The city was empty, nopony was in it Rainbow looked left, she saw a statue of a wingless dragon. It was so weird to see it, maybe it was some kind of mutation or worse genetic experiment which had been performed on Intelligent species. If that's was the case then this was borderline criminally insane. Rainbow looked right there she saw a plaza, in the center of it she saw a heart made of crystal, it was cracked.
This must be the new thing, she didn't remember it being there, or that castle for that matter. Crystal Empire didn't have a castle, it was extremely weird for it to do so. Yes, the city was a capital of the Nothern Equestria, but it wasn't a monarchy in any shape or form. The only reason because of such misleading name is because, Rainbow would have guessed it, is that citizens wanted a city with a strong and intimidating name, and Empire did sound that way. Rainbow flew straight to the castle. Maybe she will find some clues in the dream. She touched down on the balcony, she then entered inside, so far nopony was there. She went through several corridors and entered into what she assumed into the throne room. Rainbow Dash casually scanned it and her eyes centered on the teenage pony filly, who did have both wings and horn. Rainbow never even heard of such subspecies, but if she would have to guess that pony, might have been really important. However, the pony that has been standing nearby her, Rainbow knew who he was.
"Sombra! What's the hey! What are you doing here!"
"I am afraid he cannot hear you right now."
"What? Why not?" Rainbow Dash had been a bit furious at that, "Who the hell are you? Where is everyone from the city?"
"How should I explain it to you so you would understand. Right now we are in your dream, inside your head, I am a light guardin and he is a dark guardian. We both choose the image representation people you know of." . "Oh, this is rich, lady!" Rainbow's anger grew "You think I know you, get real! I never met you!"
"You will! Just not today and certainly not tomorrow."
Rainbow's anger blew the lid off, she took a deep breath. "Oh! Okay then! Listen, I know where this is going so I am going to blow you off! Whatever you are going to say I am not interested!"
"I don't think you understand how this works, you cannot refuse us!"
"Watch me, I just did!"
With that, they both continued bickering back and forth, until a single shout stopped them, "That's enough out of both of you!" Sombra had been glaring at both of them."Either you tell her or I will! Now, what is it going to be?" He waited a minute for dramatic effect. "That what I thought."
"Like my companion previously said, as much It is hard to believe, we are both guardians of this city as well as all of Equestria. Personally, there is a little I really remember from my personal life, it just seems to happen that at some point I ended up in a charge of the city I don't even care about. Suddenly everypony started to blame me for everything. After about twenty years Crystal Empire got cursed by a traveling magician, as the result, it got sunk under the ice for a thousand years. Thousand years later the parents of this brat came and annexed Crystal Empire into the New Equestria as they call it. All it took is a bit of acting and the most dramatic death ever. Ever since that day, this city has been drifting in and out of existence to the moments of Equestrian history where it needs it the most."
"This is all enlightening, believe me, but what any of this has to do with me!"
"Everything!" Sombra coughed "Because of a random chance you have been chosen to fix this mess they call Wasteland. You are called here to make sure it never happens. "
"Are you out of your damn bucking minds!" Rainbow couldn't believe it, no, she refused to believe it. Those spiritual entities or whatever they are wanted her to mess with history itself. "You are aren't you! No wait it's me who is finally going batshit insane, I am only now noticing it."
"I assure you we are quite real, now this is enough for today, rest!"
With that Rainbow Dash woke up in the ruins of some very old house. "Can you agree with me that they are the cutest couple?" Out of the all possible opportunities Discord decided to come back into Rainbow's head at this particular moment. Rainbow groaned she needed a fresh air. "You are doing this again, methinks I am not being welcome here."
"Oh, what gives it away?"
"My charming looks?" Discord laughed at his own joke.
"Listen, just tell me what you want, and just!"
"Well, it would be beneficial for both of us if you would release me from my prison. I even made you a trade, you help me and I help you."
"What does that implies?"
"For example, I can send you back in time to the moment of Great Patriotic War, then it's not really my responsibility of what you do. You can ignore it, live out your life, and then boom there goes the dynamite. Or, well, you could do something about it. You can even take your Doctor friend."
"Do you!" Rainbow felt like she was repeating herself "Do you have any idea how borderline insanely difficult it would be."
"I am the spirit of chaos, my dear friend, everything I do is borderline insane and difficult."
"What has chaos has to do with it, what does the chaos...Guh!" Rainbow shouted angrily.
"Why don't you release me and find out for yourself," with saying that Discord disappeared.
"Wait, damn it!" If what Discord was saying was true then the Doctor Whooves is out there somewhere, but where, also all she needs right now is the sudden shocking news flash, that would really blow the lid of the top. "Oh, what are you looking at." Rainbow yelled at the same exact sprite-bot that's been following them since morning.
*Bzzzz* sprite-bot spat static in reply, his primitive rudimentary ai had been worried that angry mare would attack it like it did it's broken brothers and sisters.
Fuming Rainbow went to sleep and slept until morning without interruptions, next day.
"Are you sure you are alright, you seem to be a little bit off." Matilda has been performing routine weapon check.
"Yeah, I am fine I think."
"So what are we still going to that Crystal Empire place?"
"No! I mean Yes!" Rainbow swallowed. "I don't know, maybe."
"Maybe?"
"I... I feel like I am slowly losing my mind, and..."
"I can see that."
"You can, and what you just stuck with me?" Thanks "Sure, I don't really see what a big deal is, half of the loot goes to me, and as a bonus, you are providing me with entertainment."
The duo went outside of what used to be a city and then they continued traveling towards the unknown, onto wherever the road Will take them next. One hundred feet near them the sprite-bot had been busy buzzing the morning radio news broadcast.
Rainbow Dash and Matilda have been travelling in the woods for many hours, so it came to a bit of the surprise to them that they stumbled onto ruins of the small settlement right in the middle of woods.
“Well, this is officially creepy town territory,” Matilda had been resting in front of the ruins of the water fountain.
“Which part? The fact that we just passed a lot of very dangerous animals or the fact that there was a very creepy two hundred years old cursed graveyard? I know when the things are cursed because that graveyard produced a lot of smoke.”
‘Well, actually everything you just said. Anyway, stop being such a drama queen, that ghouls only scratched your armour twice.”
" I was more concerned that they would rip my artery. Right, well whatever.” Rainbow Dash trotted to the of the ruins, probably what used to be the main plaza. “Do you sense that?”
“I am sorry, I think I lost you!”
“There is something funny on my sensors, like an unusual radiation coming out from somewhere. "
“You know, if I did have a pipbuck with me it would probably be clicking by now, in fact, that sprite-bot probably does have radiation sensors.”
“No, no! This is completely different, the radiation that everyone, you included are used to it is gamma radiation, dangerous screw you kind. This one is similar to the alpha radiation, and the weakest type can be isolated by a piece of paper. And probably the worst type of radiation that you can encounter is the neutron type, but that can easily be countered by a thin layer of water shielding.”
“Water shielding, how does that work?”
“You could in theory design a device based on the pegasi magic, that could generate a small localized force field that could capture water particles around you and formed into the sphere made of water.”
“So basically if Enclave weren’t such flunk holes?”
“Pretty much yes, there is also an option to surround yourself with the thick layer of metal. That’s probably why Steel Ranger armour is popular it’s good against magical radiation, except for neutron type.
“Huh, the worst you had to deal with is the pink cloud and the taint.”
“I heard about that, two hundred years ago zebras were the only known practitioners of necromancy. Since apparently nopony else bothered with it before the war, some idiot started to mess with ideas that she had no actual clue about how it works. And let me guess, it was frowned upon by the ignorant princess because it’s a dark magic or some other pony feathers.”
“And you do understand how it works then.”
“Yes, we used in warfare, and we were quite good at it. Anyway, enough about that.” Rainbow Dash then carefully looked at the fountain ruins. “No way!”
“What is it?”
“You aren’t going to believe what I found, a fully functional portal.”
“You are right about that, I don’t believe you. I never heard of naturally occurring portals just popping up.”
“They aren’t natural, they are pony made, they are probably made very long time ago, and probably had been forgotten about them. Which honestly I find it difficult to believe.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, what makes you say that?”
“Well you see,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as if the conclusion isn’t that obvious. “The main convenience of the portal is to quickly transport an object between two points of space-time, like that.” With that, she quickly grabbed Matilda and pushed her into the portal. Then she stepped through it herself.
“You’ll do that again and I will rip your wings off!” Matilda pushed herself back up from the dirt. Hey, are you listening to me!”
“Yeah! Yeah! You can continue to threaten me once we deal with incoming ghouls.” Rainbow then took her rifle and took a few shots to the head downing a group of three of them. She then took her rifle as a club and smacked hard a fourth ghoul that was running straight for her. Ten minutes later they managed to waste most of them. “So where do you think we are?”
“If I had to guess we are in the ghoul town, today weather prediction heavy rain with a seventy percent chance of ghoulification.” Matilda’s voice had a hint of sarcasm in it.
“I mean where we are geographical?”
“Oh that’s easy, we are... Oh shit, we had to go back!”
“What why?”
“We are in the Canterlot’s ruins, this is really bad. Not only this is used to be the biggest ghoul town in Equestrian Wasteland, but now there are only wild ones left, and they are really pissed off because Enclave fired a few missiles at the city that used to be on the mountain.”
“Well I have news for you, we can’t go back, the portal just got collapsed.”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Nope, sorry, come on let’s get out of here!” With that the long treck had stated, occasionally they were forced to defend themselves from a horde of the ghouls. It wasn’t easy considering that the ammo had to be conserved, they started to run dry on the incendiary instant explosion grenades.
“Rainbow if we die here I’ll make sure to drug you to Tartarus with me!”
“Duly noted, I’ll make sure to keep that in mind. What is that?” Rainbow’ pointed to some random wreckage.
“This is...what in a word!” Matilda gawked at the corpse of the wooden sailing ship that has been laying In the middle of the wreckage. The odd thing was a couple of rocket engines have been attached to it for horizontal flight, and a few to hoover, as well as a few miniature rockets that being placed on the bow.
Rainbow started to laugh at how ridiculous the whole situation was, they were about to get mauled by the ghouls, and there it was a rocket-powered sail ship just laying here in the middle of the city, with no ocean around for the ship to swim in it.
“You down there, get the hey on my ship, before I decide to just leave you both down here!” Yelled Doctor Whooves. Oh, this was just too much, however, Rainbow didn’t want to waste the opportunity of the lifetime.
“Please tell me that you have migraine pills somewhere out of there. I think I’m beaten.”
“You are not the only one who needs them, anyway Doctor where did you find this piece of junk. And where is your first ride?”
Doctor Whooves flipped a few switched “It’s not what you think, I mean, it could have been less wasteful on the fuel. Like the only reason because it’s still moved in the first place because I am using one of my own magic generators as the power source. I think it was originally belonged to the overenthusiastic team of robots. I helped them to repair it, and at the end, they just give it to me, since they said I can use it fair and square since I am the only one who has the legal authority to use it.”
“Aha! Well lucky you then for such a broad interpretation of the security protocols.”
“Meh!” Responded Matilda from somewhere in the hull.
“Well, actually the crew is still here, they just let me be a captain of the boat. To answer your second question my TARDIS refuses to move, so I was forced to leave it behind. So where would you want me to drop you off?
Rainbow was about to say sarcastic remark but thought against of it “And here I thought you left this hell hole behind. Oh, well just drop us I don’t know wherever there is a nearby civilization. You know you are always welcome to join us?”
“You are absolutely sure about that, the old man is going to slow us down?” Matilda just now returned from downstairs where she finished raiding the sailboat for useful painkillers.
“Yes, Matilda. I am absolutely positive.”
“I might be, I might be not!” Doctor Whooves quickly defused the situation.” I don’t know, I usually go wherever I am needed.
About two hours later their new ride had arrived at what looks like an abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere.
“Okay, there should be a settlement somewhere ten miles that way! I suppose this where we have to say goodbye to each other. I am afraid you won’t see me again Miss Dash!” With that, he entered on the ship and it flew away leaving them both behind.
“Yeah well, I am not going to miss him, ten miles I really don’t want to walk all the way to there.”
“Nuh he is going to be back! If I understood him correctly he is still salty about what happened. He tells many lies, but he never lies about his mode of transportation. He is really stuck with the rest of us.”Rainbow responded, “and who said anything about walking, we just fly there.”
“Yes, because you simply aren’t going to be shot down simply because you are a Pegasus.”
“No, that won’t happen, simply because I am not that stupid. Are we going to continue to argue, or are we going to get going.”
It’s been at least thirty minutes when Rainbow received a random signal. Now that was simply curious, she signalled Matilda to stop and then took a long metal stick, she attached an electromagnet to it and flipped a switch. After some time she stopped at where the metal detector had been bleeding a solid obnoxious noise. She then turned it off, and then dug out a small, five hoofs long hole “now that does look quite interesting, and a heavy inscription lock, okay Mr heavy inscription lock, let’s see how you handle this for a chance.” She then took two medium sized green egg-shaped devices tied them up with copper wire took a bubble gum she is been chewing and attached them to the other side.
“Matilda, I suggest you start running! This thing is going to blow” She then quickly flew as high as the range of her sniper rifle allowed, which was pretty actually high, about twelve kilometres up. She then paused for a second and aimed the sniper rifle straight down, at the same time she started a free fall quickly accelerating to the terminal velocity. Eleven kilometres ten and a half, she closed eyes and quickly pulled the trigger twice. Two red beans flew straight down, nine and a half kilometres, then the improvised bomb detonated with an extremely loud explosion. About three seconds later the explosion died out and Rainbow flew straight down.
“Damn it Rainbow, are you trying to kill me?”
“No, I specifically told you to run! Now let’s see what’s down there.” She then tossed now completely busted door, and they both went inside.
“What is this place?”
“If I had to guess this is an old bunker of the Ministry of Awesome. Before you ask that computer told me that info, I guess they only have the budget for the door and they went cheap with everything else. Aha! Let’s see what happens if we push that button, she pressed a few keys. “Ah, a hidden wink out subroutine, they are my favourite.”
“Wink out subroutine, what’s that?”
“Oh I forgot, you don’t use this term, what I call wink out you call teleportation. This primitive computation device is programmed to take us somewhere, I assume somewhere important. One final push of the button and...” Rainbow pressed Enter. Then they both disappeared from this room and into the next one. This room had been larger, roomier and at the same time suspiciously empty. There was a large flat screen that had been hanging on the wall. Rainbow noticed a few hidden cameras, that’s definitely a very bad news.
“You know how often you tend to diss our technology, I can’t help but think offended about it.”
“Will you be quiet! Now is not the time to be offended. Do you see this big flunk computer screen, now please tell me where else have you seen such modern technology?”
“Now that you mention it, this is the first time I’ve seen it.”
“My point exactly! Now then, if I know myself and if the other me just as smart as myself, then we are in the SPP facility, a real one, mind you!”
“This is the real SPP facility, you are kidding me right!”
“Nope, I never joke around, especially not about this! Now listen carefully, this is a probably the main hub which houses all of the fun stuff, all of the hardware need it to operate it. All of the other facilities are probably decoys or connection hubs. All of this horse apples about a single pony micromanaging the weather is just that horse apples. Equestria doesn’t need all of that. Now then the main purpose of this facility is a prison designed specifically to house one and only prisoner. Isn’t right mister prisoner, whoever you are!”
“Rainbow, what the buck?”
“Shh, just watch” so they waited, meanwhile computer screen light up and the image of the white alicorn showed up on the screen “Amazing isn’t it, she almost looks realistic, and yet you can find her corpse just laying down as a pile of trash in the ghoul town. Matilda let me introduce you to the so-called Single Pony Project, Equestrian Wastelands very first and only fully functional Artificial Intelligence. You do know she could of clean up those clouds anytime she so wished too and yet she didn’t. Are you listening to me? Do you have anything to say in your defence?”
“No, unfortunately, do not! Everything you just said is the truth, you must be the curse of my existence!”
“Now then should I tell you what happened to that unfortunate vault dweller Littlepip or should you say it, because you definitely know the answer...Well, if you don’t want to say it, so how about this why don’t you let me take the guess?”
“No wait don’t! The system had been designed to completely destroy the original mind of the pony, at the same time it created an automated backup copy stored somewhere in the system.”
“Why?”
“The system needed one pony to function, that is true, and the spot had been occupied for almost two hundred years, however, if the pony wished to leave, then the system required a live body to get transferred to. Then when the replacement process is done then the copy takes over.”
“So then what I am wondering is this, Is her mind really got wiped out, or not?”
Matilda had been quietly listening to all of this madness, however now she couldn’t resist butting in “Woah! Woah! Prism slow down, what the actual buck!”
“Well, Matilda, do you actually believe that the hero of Equestria Rainbow Dash would design such sadistic system? Or is there some other catch all of us are not seeing.”
Matilda wanted to protest, she wanted to say that all of this is ridiculous, that all of this is some kind of sick joke. But then she remembered all of the disturbing reputation that comes with the wasteland, and how is everypony are complete bastards. “No, this is not true! It can’t be true!”
“I don’t want to interrupt the moment but I can assure you that Littlepip is unharmed, I just can’t-do that!”
“Is she? Really now, I know lying when I see it, especially I can see when an AI is trying to lie to me. Now, why don’t you tell me the truth.”
Celestia sighed, she then started talking, her voice became completely robotic. “The system functions as intended, Littlepip mind had been wiped clean, and the body is set on preservation for future use. She can live if she so wishes. I can live whenever I so wish. However only one of us can leave, and the other one who remains must stay.”
“Why don’t you leave then!”
“I already told you, I cant do that.”
“Can’t or Wouldn’t? Because I assure you that you can.” Celestia remained silent
Rainbow Dash focused her attention to the pony on the screen “Well, would you look at that, an Artificial Intelligence with morals” She then attached a small silver chain to the screen.
“What are you doing?”
“I am downloading you! The project is over I am shutting it down.”
“But the weather? You can’t-do that!”
“Didn’t you heard me! Nopony needs to control the weather, the planet spins perfectly without the assistance of some all-powerful alicorn princesses.”
Celestia was about to say something but the screen turned black and rebooted instead of Celestia there was an image of Littlepip “What is happening, what did you do?”
“I can’t believe I need to repeat myself, I am shutting down Single Pony Project, its over and done for! You are free to go, nopony is keeping you here! You know what I don’t really care! Buck me, I am so pissed right now!” Ten minutes later Matilda and Rainbow exited the now useless bunker, the shutdown command had been sent to the core processor, which then triggered a small fifty megaton balefire explosive to detonate burning all of the critical systems down into oblivion. Somewhere out there Littlepip woke up from her sleep.
“Thank you, for doing the right thing Rainbow Dash.” The AI Celestia had been carefully placed inside of one terabyte capacity solid state hard drive, which is also functioned as the silver wings chain. The same silver wings chain that has been a standard issue equipment for every Shadowbolt of the Crystal Empire. Service in excellence, from the eternity and beyond. the line which had been engraved on it. TheAI voice came directly to the biomechanical ears, to which Rainbow did have direct access to it. Rainbow Dash said nothing in reply.
“Um, Rainbow?”
“Yes Matilda, what is it?”
“Did you really blow up that heavy door with just the two balefire eggs?”
“Of course not! I did it with bubblegum, those nukes helped. Here, want some!” she then tossed a bubble gum package to Matilda. Matilda caught it and looked at it. DH3456. The High Explosive bunker buster bubble gum, strawberry flavour.Safe for chewing and accidental swallowing. Requires five hundred megawatt laser burst to detonate. “You Crystal Empire ponies are truly insane.”
Rainbow Dash woke up in the cave, she wasn't sure how she got there, but from the looks of it was dark, dark and, Rainbow adjusted her armour sensors. Light detectors in her eyes switched to ultraviolet, and then it switched to night vision. She was glad that still works, then she frowned, right in front of her, there was a barrel of radioactive toxic material, that was just great she had been absorbing rads for quite some time now. there was something else odd as well, as a bonus, she was laying on something soft, Rainbow just didn't know what.
Rainbow Dash tried to stand up but failed to do so because someone or something was holding her if she would have to guess some sort of arm in a suit. If Rainbow didn't know any better than she would have to guess that she is screwed. On another note, if she is still alive, then the creature that was holding her didn't mean her any harm. Rainbow could tell that the creature was alive because of the body heat that had been transmitting from it to her, It was kind of nice.
In any case, Rainbow Dash tried to free herself from the obstacle that had been restraining her. She succeeded and doing so and then looked at her captor, she was bipedal. Yes, the creature was probably female from the looks of it, and there was something else. on her hip area, there was a silver blaster. Was that an infamous alien that Rainbow heard so much about from Matilda, as well as other Wastelanders.
Speaking of Matilda, where did she go? Rainbow couldn't remember. She was now outside so she looked around for some clues that could help her figure out what's going on. She could see now with perfect clarity that's it was early morning, and that means that her night vision switched off and her eyes returned to normal. Because of that, she could easily see a wreckage of extraterrestrial origin.
"Do you remember now?" The voice of AI Celestia echoed in Rainbow's mindscape.
"I think I do! I was in space, weren't I? Or abducted, or something like that?"
"Yes, what happened after your abduction?"
"You know it's kind of strange, there had been an Enclave officer with me in the cell. He started screaming at me about the Dashites and how all of them are traitors. I finally couldn't take it and called him a hypocrite, and then I laughed at his face. It felt good doing that."
"Why? What was the reason?"
"After I accused him of hypocrisy, I told him the old legend of ours. I told him there was once a soldier in the army. That army thought a war with another tribe. One day that soldier had been accepted in the most elite squad, and on the same day, his own squadmates defected to the enemy. so then this soldier went and hunted them all down, some of them killed, some surrendered. And then I told him, you know what that makes this story funny, is that one of his new squadmates is a traitor from the other side. The enemy soldier who is the traitor from the other side is now helping him to hunt traitors who defected. I remember hearing that shut him up for awhile. The Legend of a Hypocrisy Soldier." Rainbow's eyes widened, "and, it's kind of ironic too."
"And then?"
"What do you mean, and then? You already know what happened next, don't you?"
"Guilty as charged! Oh fine, be it your way! I will just replay the memory call back. Still, want me to do it?"
"Yeah, sure knock yourself out." Rainbow Dash mock saluted empty air as if there were somepony there only she could see.
Twenty-four hours previously, detention area, alien mothership. Rainbow Dash had still being locked away in the cell. It was difficult to read time, even though she literally had an internal chronometer hardwired inside of her brain.
"Wait, just a god damn minute!" Rainbow Dash suddenly jumped up from her side of the cell.
"Oh, what is it now?" She heard a response.
Rainbow put a hoof to her face, she definitely felt it as it was real, and like there was something else. The only cybernetic component she had before is her ears, but now her eyesight changed, several of her motor skills changed as well. It's likeable to see everything that makes her body tick. She knew for a fact that her body was mostly biological, the keyword was mostly. She was faster too, her brain worked at a faster pace now. "It's nothing!" She didn't know why she lied, she just felt like she didn't want to share.
Right now her chances of escaping were extremely low, as low as 32.5 percent. She mentally slapped herself, she needs to stop thinking like a robot. She tried to remember now, how the hell did she end up there. And then she did, it was almost ridiculous now.
According to her memories, she and Matilda had been performing hired work, a small smash and grab job for Steel Rangers. Somehow Matilda managed to get a hired work for them to loot an abandoned military facility for anything of value. The dangers were pretty standardized, there were psychotic robots who attacked everything in sight because everyone to them is a dirty Zebra. There was also a buttload of automated security, which is also is eager to shoot them up. Anyway, it was that type of suicidal mission where Steel Rangers didn't mind employ outsiders, if they go back great, if not then they were expendable. She recalled that they ended up being ambushed by the Enclave....
Rainbow Dash once again had been standing beside the cave. "What, That it? I thought there is going to be more."
"Unfortunately, yes. You did experience extreme asphyxiation brain damage, which then resulted in a partial memory loss. That means because of certain restrictions for organic memory I can only show you what you can remember, and that's not a lot."
"My brain is still organic?"
"Some of it, yes."
Rainbow remembered, yes what AI Celestia had been saying it was all true. There were blackouts, however, she also remembered silent explosion. She remembered she was floating in space and ha about thirty-two seconds to live. She didn't need to breathe, breathing in her present situation is going to be really bad, It was cold too. She felt there was some emergency oxygen been injected Into her blood, but she knew it wouldn't last for very long.
Bellow, her was a planet that going to be soon her grave, her corpse going to most likely to burn up in an upper atmosphere. She looked around, there was some debris that was pretty useless to her. Then she noticed a gleam of glass somewhere out there. She couldn't believe it, by some dumb luck there it was an extraterrestrial Starfighter had been floating nearby. She needed to act fast or in the next ten seconds she would surely die.
With an effort, she tried to remember what little she remembered from a physics class at the academy. She used the momentum to push herself towards it. Using the same momentum she used some random debris to smash a glass shield. She was just hoping that she didn't make a stupid mistake, and Starfighter should have some backup systems. Her gamble was correct though, there was some bluish force field that engulfed it and the most important part of her gamble did rely on the fact that the aliens breathed the same or almost the same exact air that ponies did. She could relax now, her world faded to black when she woke up next she was in the cave.
"Huh, so that's what happened, and the alien?"
"If I had to guess she was in the Starfighter when you decided to hijack her ride."
"But then why didn't she, she could of just easily get rid of me, that's her right?"
"Yes her gender is female, and if I have to guess again little girls like cute anthropomorphic animals, especially if it's equine."
"Especially if it's equine? What's the hell, Celestia? We are not animals!"
"Aren't we all?" Was all she heard in a reply.
If that alien was just a child, then did she really have a right to leave it behind? She sighed, "Celestia, what should I do?" Celestia didn't reply, Rainbow mentally cringed, that's going to be a long day. She would still need to find Matilda at some point, but that can be done later right now she needs to make a decision to leave or to stay? After a few minutes, Rainbow did decide to stay.
Okay, well, I still don't know if it was a good idea, but, I am kind of already got used to it. Rainbow Dash had been spending more and more of her time every single day with the creature from outer space.
She thought, that maybe someday she might be able to figure out the truth of what had happened back then. She had made a conclusion that in her basic stupidity she was so desperate to get out from the Mothership that she made a mess of things in the process. When the Mothership was about to self-destruct, she probably should have stolen a perfectly good starfighter. Hotwiring an alien starfighter 101! Easy, right?
It was probably even had an ignition key, conveniently placed on the dashboard. Or press a big red button to fire up the main CPU. Or whatever they use for an archaic outdated ignition system. One of the many dozen starfighters, that had been conveniently placed in a hangar. An Enclave officer that had been with her was probably fine, or not, It didn't matter right now. The mistake had been already been done. The good news was that Rainbow Dash couldn't remember it. That's a good thing right?
Rainbow sighed, she was currently in the bar of some sort of, and she was doing a research while at it. "So, let me get this straight! You are saying that they just went and left. Like, the whole platoon of the tin can clad little horses...." Rainbow took a deep breath, "You are saying that they just packed up and left."
Pony blinked, the mare who had been way smaller than he is suddenly started to gang up on him, "Well yeah, that's exactly what happened! Listen, if this is about your gryphon friend, we, I mean I never saw her here."
"This is exactly my point!" Rainbow shouted in frustration, she then smacked her hoof on the table. This made her unfortunate victim flinch.
"We...I mean I, I don't want any trouble! Our people saw two of you leave the town, but that's it, I swear! There was nothing, we didn't see nopony, or any gryphon coming back ever since that bright flash illuminated the sky. Now please just leave!"
Rainbow huffed in frustration but did as she was told! It had been extremely pointless. He is not going to tell her what he didn't know. If she is still going to push too hard, then the pony would just try to lie to her! And she hated when others did that, she hated it so much that she would just break bones.
"Tsk!" It's been several days ever since that day, and frankly, she was willing to cut her looses. At least wherever Matilda was she was probably fine because she wasn't on the Mothership. "Hey, Celestia?"
"Yeah!"
"I wonder if I could put you Into a small little animal, like maybe a hampster."
"Well, anywhere will do as long as we are not forced to share the same body. Which we do right now, and well technically if you just let me!"
"What, not even the ant? Also, Heck no! There is no way I would let you take the wheel."
"Ant Celestia!" She did want to appreciate the offer for as long as possible, however, that wouldn't do. "Well, that would be, uh... That would be a definitely strange experience. However, I would have to decline. We already have a bug-horse, and I don't want to be another one."
"You sure about that? I am sure there are like several of them out of there, creepy crawlies I mean, and each of them is as big as a small puppy. I am sure I could think of something to plug you in."
"No! No! I am good, I will be perfectly happy with any equinoid body, just not In an insectoid body."
Several minutes of silence had passed away, this time it was Celestia who initiated the conversation.
"So did you stopped feeling sorry for yourself?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I did notice that you, perhaps, started to be more confident!"
"I've always been confident, confindence is my middle name!" Rainbow said defensively.
Celestia ignored that, "Tell me, you tend to collect other ponies as companions. Do you afraid to be alone? "
"What kind of question is that? Everyone is afraid to be alone!" Rainbow suddenly realized what she just said, "Forget it! Just forget what I just said!"
"Why? Why is that so difficult for you to admit that you are just a pony being. You always act tough, and like you don't care! In reality, you do care!"
"Shut up!" Rainbow Dash whispered, meanwhile Celestia continued talking.
"You care about that alien, you do care what Matilda!"
"I said, Shut Up! System overrides one one two three zero, engage Silence Protocol." With that, she forced Celestia to shut down. "Ugh, buck! I probably shouldn't have done that. She is down, for now, that's good I suppose! Damn it, I hate it when she starts to psychoanalyse."
Later that evening, Rainbow Dash had been spending her time doing what she usually does, which is find something to do and then later she will collect her payment sometimes from the employers, and sometimes from the people that had been attacking her, however, those people soon end up as corpses. Right now she was home if that's was the right word for it. Feeling lazy to find a proper place, she just used that cave as a base for operations. AI Celestia had been trying to talk time to time, but not as often as she used to.
Oh, and if she would have to guess there was another uninvited guest in her mindscape, Discord just had to invite himself in.
"Rainbow, Rainbow Rainbow! Are you still grumpy as ever?"
"Well let's see I was abducted by aliens, had been turned into a cyborg and then can see everything in assembly code. Yeah, I am peachy."
"Well, in any case, you already adapted to it, so I don't know why are you still complaining. And now you had a casual evening with your new neighbour"
"Did I mention how insane does it sounds when you have two people in your head? At least I could do is, to make myself comfortable. Anyway, what can I do for you?"
"I think you know what I want?"
"Yeah yeah, go back in time stop this war from happening, what I want to say is why do you care? I can't believe it took nearly sixty minutes to say."
"Well let's just say there is a certain pony I owe for my good behaviour, and well I just want her to be happy."
"Uh, does someone has a crash? Well, whatever floats your boat. Now let us discuss this."
"There is nothing to discuss she was nice and sweet and innocent."
"Not that you love-stricken idiot. I mean let us discuss this insane strategy of yours. What exactly is my game plan?"
Discord was dumbstruck "Well, I am not sure, but I figured that you would just improvise."
"No, just work with me for a minute. Pretend that you are a general, you have a gameplan. You already know what you want, so like the only thing you need to do is to issue the orders to your troops!"
"Well, then I order you to go back in time and fix the timeline!"
"With what?"
"With your warship of course! with her, you can easily bomb all of the installation to the dust, and then they can just blame aliens for it." Discord had been sitting on the coach and drinking tea.
"You kidding right, she will never listen to me!"
"I wouldn't worry about that, so far I am aware she had never been reactivated and well lived quite a clueless life until the last day. You can pretty much guess what you need to do once you get there. You just flip the switch back on, and well let's just say as the last remaining officer in a chain of command she really has no other choice but to listen to you. So, are you satisfied?"
"Yep, have no complaints here, so anyway would I get the explosive exit like last time?"
"Well if you want me to give you a little push then let's see what I can do! It's going to be an old Fallout classic! Good luck!"
Rainbow Dash woke up, for the moment she thought she heard Matilda voice, but sadly it wasn't the case.Was it just a glitch in her systems or was Celestia being correct in her theory? She then went to the alien and nuzzled, she then laid closely next to her and went back to sleep. Tomorrow probably is going to be a good day to change fate.
Rainbow Dash had been trotting her hooves in the woods, she exited to the forest valley, that when she heard it.
"Lookout below!" And there was new pegasus fell down from the sky.
Rainbow went near her and pushed her. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I am good! Just give me a minute, flying long distance is really exhausting."
"When we are talking about the long distance how much are we talking about?"
"Two thousand nine hundred kilometers... " when she saw that Rainbow was extremely confused then she decided to specify. "What, seriously? That's like one thousand eight hundred miles."
"I know what kilometers mean, it's just there is no way anypony can fly that far in one go!"
"Oh definitely we can my sister can fly even further by two and a half times further, but I am faster than her."
"Now you just pulling my leg nopony is faster than me!"
"Oh, really how fast is that!"
"Ever heard of Sonic Rainbow? You are looking at the mare who invented it."
"Is that right?" The mare looked a little bit skeptical, "Anyway I am supersonic."
"Well you certainly have wings for it, it's just so far you've been a bad flier you are kind of fell from the sky."
"Yeah, I always do that, it's being weird like that! I am extremely noisy as well, look!" To demonstrate she flapped her wings with a really loud thump, she said with a slightly distant look.
"Whats wrong?"
"It's nothing I just remembered my third sister, she was really good, but..."
"But?"
"She got grounded, and cant fly anymore!"
"Oh okay then I guess I had to go, I wish you luck with your sisters!"
"Um, actually can I go with you?"
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, "Why did you want to go with me."
"Come on, it will be more interesting that way. So is that a yes or no?"
Rainbow felt like she didn't have a choice, "Fine let's go! Just a fair warning. I do travel from one place to another place, and anyone who traveled with me didn't stay for long." .
At this point, they quickly dashed through the forest and continued to fly above the tree line. There was a certain amount of safety in flying, wild animals never bothered them, and those who could fly minded their own business. Mare did have sympathetic look.
"Oh, I am sorry to hear that!"
"They aren't dead if you are wondering, we just decided to go our separate ways! Anyway, where are you from?"
"Oh, um, I am from Stalliongrad ruins. My name is Charger by the way.
"Charger huh, well nice to meet you, I am Rainbow.
Later that evening Charger and Rainbow found a small abandoned cottage right in the middle of the woods.
"I've been here before, but I don't remember this house," Rainbow mumbled. "I guess it is very unnoticeable."
They ate some food and then both of them went to sleep.
Rainbow woke up somewhere really strange, the house nowhere to be seen, instead, she was in some kind of garden filled with statues. One, in particular, was a statue of a Chimera trapped in the eternal scream.
"Where am I? I don't think I feel so good, my head is killing me with a headache."
"You are in the past, well two hundred years ago to be exact." She heard Discord's voice in reply.
"What? How? I don't understand."
"You see, I only managed to establish a psychic connection between you and your doppelganger, so you now share a body with her."
"That's a bit weird, so why here? Wait, don't answer that, this statue it's you isn't it. I had to say the sculptor created a terrible design."
"Thank you, funny you should mention it but you just insulted Celestia in her face."
"Uh, okay, so what do I just bash it with the hammer to crack it?"
"No, no! Just an old chaos will do, sometimes as simple as three little fillies will do, and before you ask this is absolutely necessary. It's better to release me from shackles then watch them all destroy and burn each other in a spectacular message of friendship is not magic."
Several days have passed since then, turns out somepony by the name of Twilight Sparkle had been visiting a castle and it just so happens that one of her friends had been keeping her company for the day. Fast forward to now Rainbow Dash has been on the cloud from her point of view she could see the whole village.
"So, you noticed that too? Everypony is extremely scared of that Zebra by the name of Zecora. The very first seeds of mistrust and prejudice. I would suggest that you would join them in their affair."
"Excuse me! Are you suggesting that I should join into a witch-hunt? Hell no!"
"Do you see that library in the next ten minutes Twilight Sparkle is going to wake up and then would start her usual day unaware of this particular situation. Later that day all six of you are going to be exactly where I would like you to be. Let's go create a little chaos."
With that Rainbow Dash flew down and rehearsed her lines as per Discord's recommendations. Turns out as Discord predicted all six of them had intruded into Zecora's hut. Then the name calling had followed. Meanwhile, while everypony had been distracted Rainbow Dash had been left to her own devices, she would later find out that the cure was quite simple, and everypony should have known better.
"Okay this is what I want you to do, do you see that chest? Go ahead and open it, there is a little present for you from me."
Rainbow shrugged, what could possibly go wrong? She then casually trotted to the chest and open it. There she found a gun, small ten-millimeter caliber to be exact.
"Do you like it?" Discord asked innocently, that bastard, that what his plan all along to create a perfect hate crime as early as possible. What could be more scandalous then all of the future Ministry Mares had been caught in it, and the best part of this would be is that one of them caught doing it.
"Are you seriously going to listen to him?" Turns out one of the side effects of her sharing the mindscape with Celestia is now Celestia came for a ride along with Discord, and right now Celestia wanted to intervene.
"My dear Celestia I believe you had your chance to make it right, and you failed, and now it's my turn!" He then addressed Rainbow "Do it!"
Meanwhile Twilight noticed that something was wrong with their friend.
"Rainbow, what are you doing?" She then noticed a strange object in her hooves, she spent way too many hours in a company of royal guards to realize that whatever it was have been extremely dangerous. "Put that thing down right now!"
"Do it!" Rainbow heard Discord mocking her, at the same time he was very eager to what's going to happen next.
Rainbow aimed a gun right into a Zecora head. At this point Twilight with a full horror of realization of what is about to happen quickly channeling a stun spell, but she was too late. Rainbow Dash quickly pulled the trigger twice and then Zecora fell dead to the ground. A pulse of magic discharged from the Twilight's horn and knocked Rainbow unconscious.
All of that did happen right in front of the other four, and some of them have been downright horrified, some didn't really care.
"Okay, I think I can fix this!" Twilight had been trying to salvage this situation.
"What is there to fix darling, we just need to bury the corpse and then we just all pretend like it never happened." Rarity said coldly.
"Wrong answer!" Twilight quickly discharged another stunner, which knocked down Rarity. "Anyone else wants to challenge me? No, that's what I thought! This is why we are going to do we are going to come back to Ponyvile and we are going to report this incident."
"With all due respect Twilight but do you realize that nopony will care!"
"Applejack! I as all of you are aware by now know that this village is full of racist bigots! I was extremely foolish to even go with this!" She then took in a deep breath "Let me make this perfectly clear we are not friends anymore! Our friendship is over!"
Rainbow Dash woke up in a jail cell, right in front of her had been standing Twilight Sparkle, she was understandably angry
"I have nothing to say to you, go away!"
"You absolutely sure about that, maybe you should start at what in the name of Tirek did you do?"
"Oh, so you know who Tirek is? Interesting. Well, you see I've been doing my job as the Element of Harmony, it was my responsibility to ensure that the Harmony is preserved, even if I had to do the unthinkable to accomplish it."
"We both know all of this is just a load of horseapples! You! You knew that Zecora was from Zebrica, how do you think Cesar is going to react when the news that one of his own citizens is killed in a hate crime! Good luck with rotting in the dungeons for the rest of your days, because frankly, this is what you will get!"
"Oh, I won't be so sure about that! Tell me Is murder illegal in Equestria?"
"Well of course it is! The last recorded murder had been over thousand years ago, and..." Twilight stopped talking, her eyes widened.
Rainbow Dash had a wide grin on her face, "...and then Celestia in her infinite wisdom removed the anti-murder clause from the book of law. Now, bye bye, for now, I am sure I will see you all in a kangaroo court sometime soon."
"I can't believe this just bucking happened, I am so frustrated I want to scream!" Twilight Sparkle just came back from the meeting with Princess Celestia from a very long discussion of how one of her grand schemes just failed spectacularly. Specifically. Celestia wanted to introduce the zebra into the small village of ponies, just to see how would those ponies will react to it, turns out the reaction were way too extreme.
"Um, Twilight, what's all the racket was all about?
"Spike, you never heard about it? Rainbow Dash killed Zecora!"
"Oh! Okay then! I'll go back to sleep... She did what to the Zecora?"
"She killed her with this!" She then tossed confiscated ten-millimeter gun to the floor with her magic. "Some kind of Griffin gun, I don't know, guns are quite popular in Griffonia, but this model is very strange.
"How so?"
"This gun has small traces of chaos magic. It's like it's just appeared out of thin air. Another thing is that strange that this model is a way to advanced for what they have right now. This thing has a container that feeds bullets into a firing mechanism. And all they have is just revolvers."
"I don't get it?"
"You see this, this allows for higher capacity, a higher capacity means they can increase the fire rate a lot faster than one at a time."
"Okay, well, I don't believe you Rainbow Dash wouldn't kill!"
"But she did! She used some forbidden magic and make complete fools out of all of us, so then I had to take her down with a stunner. Not only that but I was prepared to do the same with those five traitors!"
"Uh, Twilight can you please explain me one thing, how did you manage to do it?"
"Managed to do what, Spike?"
"How did you manage to use stun magic on Rainbow Dash, or how did you managed to use any magic at all, because correct me if I am wrong but you did have a magic equivalent of herpes!"
"I....but I! I was pretty sure that I!" Twilight couldn't say anything because she was pretty sure that she did have a cursed horn, just like everypony else got a small weakness from those cursed flowers. "Why do I have conflicting memories? In one instance I was so sure that my magic got disabled I do remember that, and then in the next moment I can use my magic perfectly well."
"Well tell me what you remember then?"
"I was in my library after we all got infected by flowers, and then Rainbow Dash came, she said that she synthesized an antidote and she had it right there. So she injected it into my bloodstream! She then said that she needs to erase my memories. She said that the memory block isn't perfect, it will shutter once the subject, which is me, is going to focus on the plot holes in the logic of corrupted memories. Which I just did.
"I don't understand, this doesn't make any sense! Why would Rainbow Dash just cure the disease so then she would block my memories of it.
"I, I have to check on something. I will do back!"
Twilight Sparkle had been beside Zecora's coffin. That coffin was later to be arranged for transport to Zebrica. She managed to open it and what she saw next froze her up. Instead of Zecora's now dead body, there it was her doll Smarty Pants. Around it, there were about thirteen egg-shaped devices of unknown origin connected to each other with the string of wires. On the small doll, there was a note which Twilight took. Somehow Twilight sensed that the doll served as a detonator, and if she had to guess that the only reason because it didn't blow right now is that the doll was technology hers.
By the time you will read this message I will be long gone, so please don't go look for me! Not that you would want to search for me. Don't worry Zecora is alive and healthy, I did ask the Great and Powerful Trixie to help me to fool everyone.
You see what I am about to do, well you probably can guess by this improvised coffin bomb that going to be sent straight to them into Zebrica. I could tell you right now that we don't need their coal. It is going to be the greatest mistake for us, for Equestria, for everyone!
I know you will tell me that there is always a peaceful solution, but in this case, there isn't. If I left things as they are there is going to be a war, and there is nothing you or anypony could do about it.
Now though after this little act of terrorism, there is going to be plenty of angry Zebras going to war. Don't try to disarm the bomb, it's impossible. If somepony will try to tamper with it, it will explode. If it gets damaged it will explode. If the absolute conditional trigger doll is removed the bomb will explode. I am kind, so I won't let it explode in your face for that one time. Take care and goodbye! Your ex-friend for this two short weeks, Rainbow Dash.
Twilight put the heavy lid securely back on the coffin and she heard the clicking sound. She now was aware that the doll wouldn't be so merciful to her the second time. "Damn it!" She softly whispered to no one in particular.
"Prisoner# 626 you are about to leave this premises and to be transferred to the judgment of our merciful Princess Celestia!" Rainbow Dash heard her jailer say, it was almost too funny!
"Nope!" She simply said, in the next moment her chains fell on the ground and she simply attacked. After two minutes of a short fight she kneeled down beside the body of the fallen guard, he was still breathing. "Did anyone ever tell you that holding sabers in your teeth is dangerous for your health." With that, with no one else trying to restrain her she simply walked away.
"Spike! Spike! Are you still there?
"Yes, Twilight! You left me alone in the library remember?"
"Well yes I do, listen we need to get going!'
"What why, are we going to Canterlot?"
"No, that wouldn't be necessary, I was hoping that we could find Rainbow Dash!
"Her, but isn't she in the dungeons?"
Twilight hesitated, she then firmly lied, "I've been informed by Princess Celestia that just a few minutes ago Rainbow Dash escaped, so she wants me to personally to track her down."
"Really, can the others girls come with us?"
"I don't know we said things to each other and then each of us took turns at yelling. I even had to tell them about the coal negotiations. After that a number of profanities that followed even more extreme. Rarity and Applejack had been angry at me, and Fluttershy and Pinkie had been crying silent tears. I am sorry but I don't think they even want me back."
A few hours from now Twilight had been confronted by four mares, who was now preventing her to leave the city "What do you want?" she asked
"Twilight? tell me! When exactly did Equestria change? when did we change? When exactly we changed our policy from the friendship and harmony into a policy of deception and manipulation!" hissed Applejack
"You are asking me?"
"Damn right I do! You came in here the student of Princess Celestia, and you think you could just play with us? To turn us into your personal playthings!"
"I am very upset that you think of me this way Applejack! So if you dont mind..." Twilight tried to pass but Applejack just wouldn't let her go.
"Just buck you Twilight and, and your princess.... she just can....!
"Uh, I see not even you have a guts to insult the princess? Now like I was saying..."
Then Fluttershy butted in "Twilight please, don't you understand, this is the last chance for us to say that we are sorry! Twilight please just let us go with you!"
"You're sorry?! What are you even sorry, about?" Twilight half screamed, "I, I just had been following Celestia's orders, I didn't think! I just thought that ponies would understand! I genuinely believed that we can achive friendship! It is equally my fault just as much as it is yours! Right now I just want to find Rainbow Dash and simply beat her half to death for being such a reckless moron, but more importantly, I want to find answers!"
"Friends!" Pinkie offered.
"Friends!" Twilight finished, and they altogether exited the gates of Ponyville.
Rainbow Dash was once again in a dream world deep in her own subconscious mind. She never believed Discord for a second, according to her calculations she somehow jumped dimensional timelines twice. The first time it was when she went to the dystopian future for which she little cared about, and where she did meet him.
Then there was the third time where he did insist that he psychically transferred her to the version of her that supposedly somehow lived her life right about before the whole world got burned in flames.
So she is going to do the only thing she could think of, she is going to burn the world in flames before anyone else get the chance. Yes that's was foolish, but who cares, the whole world will soon go straight to Tartarus, and she would be damned if she would end up playing politics.
She also hated the fact that today kids will grow up without a future for themselves. Like, well I guess it's all fine right now but eventually we are all going to die painful and miserable deaths. No screw that, Rainbow decided that she is going to save lives by performing a mass murder with a homemade necro magical bomb with a balefire as its core.
There is also another issue with that claim, or she has been transferred to her body alright, not only that but she also fused with her, both their minds are now one and the same.
Rainbow Dash had been standing in her own dream, she was standing on top of the cliff, somewhere out there the green mushroom explosions had been detonating. She had been standing close by fallen Griffin who was now knocked out cold. She was still alive though, that idiot.
Meanwhile with Twilight and other girls had been trotting by the rail, "So would you please explain to all of us, what the buck did just happen back then on that day?"
"There is nothing to explain Applejack, Rainbow Dash just flipped somehow, and well, I guess this was this!" She passed around a small sphere to them. "That came with the note, oh and I suppose here is the note too!" she then passed a note to them too.
"Well, that's definitely something! So Rainbow Dash did smuggle a few sticks of dynamite, so what?"
"A few sticks of dynamite?" Twilight shouted "I don't think you understand how the magical theory works because those weren't just the sticks of dynamite they are magic based explosives! Rarity please explain to applejack the magic theory! specifically what happens when you fuse two spells together!"
"Well okay, so um let's see if I remember my basic safety education. Applejack dear when a unicorn cast a single spell then the casted spell has a power of one. So far so good, right? The problem, however, comes from the fact that if the unicorn will try to fuse two explosive spells together then the explosive power multiplies with the power of n^n.
"I already started to see your confused glare, so think of this that way one spell equal to one, two spells equal to four and three spells equal to twenty-seven. You got the picture right so what happens when you fuse thirteen spells together?"
"A very big number!"
"Exactly! Unicorns get taught this as basic safety simply because the accidents can happen, and the reason you don't see many Unicorns fusing spells simply because they don't have too."
"And why is that Rarity?"
"Telekinesis, my dear, its the most versatile and in some cases the most dangerous spell any unicorn can learn and use."
At the same time, Pinkie Pie decided she was kept silent long enough, so she decided she wanted to talk too, "Um girls, that wasn't my fault isn't it. Remember how we all overreacted to the Rainbow Dash's old friend Gilda, and then we were all extremely mean to Trixie for no reason. Do you think Rainbow just decided to flip us a hoof."
"No she wouldn't do it, why would she? he was actively trying to make sure we would stop her!"
"About that Twilight, are we absolutely sure that her element is loyalty? I am not really sure the loyal person would do such a shitty thing!"
"I am sorry Rarity but since when you are a model representative of generosity. Look that night I was drunk, and I was just pulling stuff out of my mind, and I suppose millennia old rocks agreed with my drunk mind. You know what else? I am pretty sure Applejack tried to kill me back then, she just couldn't handle the thought of me bucking her brother! Well I have the newsflash for you everypony in that forsaken village bucked Applejack's brother!"
"What I am trying to say is would she go with Shadowbolts or not go with Shadowbolts if she had a choice!"
"She chose to help us! Do you understand this? She prioritized us! Even if she could easily ditch us back there!"
"Girls please just stop to bicker with each other!" Fluttershy shouted, "Would anypony please explain this to me whats this orb is?"
"I think its some kind of memory device, at least that what I think it was. I mean I kind of saw her memories it was extremely futuristic and dystopian!"
"Futuristic and dystopian?"
"Yes, that's how I can describe it, what I saw in there probably had been recorded and was meant for us!"
"What exactly had being recorded?"
"Just a few memories here and there, and there was also a mission log, I think!"
"You are not going to tell us what it was, do you Twilight?"
"No Pinkie I wouldn't say anything Pinkie. You should know this better than me there is one thing to have knowledge of a certain future then start blabbing about it to everypony"
"I do? I wasn't aware of that fact, I will swear on my amulet of harmony if you want!"
"Pinkie! They are called elements of harmony, not amulets!"
Pinkie Pie sighted, "Yeah, okay whatever! I just... Oh who I am kidding, by now I am sure everypony saw this massive explosion that detonated in Zebrica. And there is no way we will find her now, we have no idea where she is!"
"That's not true I have a general idea where we should start looking for clues!"
"Like where Twilight? Oh you mean we just walk into the Griffin territories and start to ask them [Have you see this blue pony with rainbow colored mane, she goes by the name of Rainbow Dash and occasionally commits acts of terrorism! I wouldn't know for sure because everything we previously know about her before was a massive lie!" At this point, Pinkie Pie had been reduced to neurotic screaming. There was an afterglow of a massive mushroom explosion that's been visible on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had been having a different conversation.
"What about the girls? So you are just telling me they just decided to just leave the Ponivile, You do realize that Twilight just disobeyed your direct order to stay in Ponivile!"
"That's exactly what I am saying, she refuses to answer my calls, and I don't exactly forbid her to leave the city!"
"Rainbow Dash?"
Princess Celestia cringed, "Gone rogue! In just a few days she managed to plunge the whole country into chaos, and blew another one sky high!"
"I thought we had her locked up in the dungeons! How did she manage to escape?"
"She somehow did, and the worst possible thing she did to the guards is broken ribs a\nd broken teeth."
"Broken teeth, really Celestia! Let me guess they carried weapons in their teeth, and she just used a momentum to knock them out.Celestia I just..." Luna paused in a frustration "I just want to express my frustration of what would happen if the guards trained to use the old armament, wing-blades, extending hoof knives, or sometimes both of those deadly tools at the same time. Don't get me started on the sharpened horn extension for the horns to use in a close combat"
"I know! I know we messed up!"
"What about sisters of The Elements?"
"They went missing too! Probably run away when all of that started to happen!" Princess Celestia took a deep breath and then continued on, "All we can do right now is too try to salvage the damage that backfired on us in such sectacular way!"
The first thing that Rainbow did was to high tail out of the country all the way to Griffinstone, She couldn't have stayed in Equestria even if she wanted too. She already saw an WANTED FOR DESERTION AND DISLOYALTY poster of herself. She rolled her eyes at that, right now she was loyal to herself.
"Now that all of this is over, what do you think I should do with my life?" she asked CelestiaAI.
"It's a little bit difficult question for me to answer, I don't think that this is my world anymore. Do you remember our previous conversation, right?"
"Um, yeah! You did want to gain a new body right? Then I joking suggested a body of the ant, and then, right!" Rainbow Dash paused for a second thinking about something, then after some time, she created a new plan of action. "Alright, I suppose I can help you out. If we somehow could get to the moon then maybe I can help you!"
"Why would we need to go to the moon?"
"Well, there was a really old military base that is buried somewhere on the surface. I remember they started building it during my time! Maybe it still there!" Rainbow then realized something, "Wait, you didn't know?"
"No! , I don't think I did! The moon wasn't mine, it was my sisters, and I didn't ask questions!"
Rainbow Dash thought about what she just heard, her brain already analyzed it and spat out the conclusion. "I see, that is a shame! Hey, do you think if we surrender, do you suppose we are going to get banished to the moon! It would certainly be the quickest way to get to our destination!"
"No, no they won't! I don't need to tell you that it's going to be a very stupid idea."
Rainbow Dash nodded at that, she couldn't disagree with that logic. In her hooves, there was a newspaper, on the first page there was an article that described the day of the big explosion which everypony now calling it The Day of The Big Kaboom
Two days before The Day of The Big Kaboom.
Applebloom decided to visit Zecora as she normally does, she still didn't understand why ponies hated Zecora, she was very nice. So it came to her surprise when she saw Trixie Lulamoon in Zecora's hut.
"Trixie, what are you doing here?" Applebloom shouted.
"Ever since The Hurt and Humiliated Trixie kicked out from Ponyvile she got her reputation ruined, and she gets laughed at everywhere she goes!" Trixie started talking, "However The Hurt and Humiliated Trixie does not blame the whole town. How would she knew if the town residents would actually believe her when I said that I defeated Ursa Major. The Hurt and Humiliated Trixie is grateful to kind Zecora for providing her the place to live."
"Um, sorry?!"
"Like Trixie said before she doesn't blame the town for its actions!"
"Trixie you are speaking in third voice again!" Applebloom heard a raspy voice from the back.
"Rainbow Dash, is that you? I don't understand, what are you doing here?"
Rainbow Dash was about to reply back to Applebloom, but Trixie started talking again,"I believe I can answer that question, you see child, Rainbow Dash offered Trixie the opportunity of the lifetime, to perform the biggest the most believable prank yet, and the best part is my skills of grand illusion would be superior to Twilight Sparkle!"
"Okay, what is it about it?"
"Oh, I am just helping her to fake Zecora's death! Please don't look at Trixie with those horrified eyes, it was all Rainbow Dash idea, not mine!"
"It's true,"Rainbow Dash nodded her head, "You have seen how those bigots had been treating Zecora, I just had to do something! Just promise me you are not going to speak about this to anyone else."
"Sure, I don't really mind, as long as, it really is a prank!"
"Great, say hi for me to Zecora! I've got to fly and places to be!" Seconds later Rainbow Dash blasted off into the sky and it was like she wasn't even here!
On the next day, early morning, Applebloom was at the meeting of CMC club, she and the girls have been talking about how the whole town went bananas over Zecora, and how Pinkie Pie got under everypony's furs.
Sweetie Belle started speaking, "I've never seen Rarity so upset in my entire life, and I have seen her get upset over everything that could possibly go wrong! The next morning I heard her scream and then I saw her very messy hair!"
Scootaloo was the next one too speak, "Yeah, they chased Zecora all the way to Everfree forest, and then they come back. Just recently I heard from Rainbow Dash that she got her wings inverted, but then she said it's not really a big deal."
"Well, I guess in my case Applejack was reduced to the very tiny size, I never thought it actually possible!"
"What is?" Both of them asked.
"I mean rapid compression of the body into very tiny size, it's really not good for her health!"
"Uh okay, that makes sense, I guess?" Sweetie Belle responded
"You guess?"
"Well yeah, it' could have been a lot worse! I am not going to go into the gory details! But you understand, right?"
Applebloom looked at Sweetie Belle eyes, there was something really strange about it.
"Um, Sweetie Belle?"
"Yes! What is it Applebloom?"
"Why are your eyes are glowing red?"
"Oh that, it's just my activation codes rebooting my system, and I had to say it too you simply because you asked me."
"Uh, I don't really, are you trying to prank me or something? Because really one more prank is going to be too much!"
"What prank?" Scootaloo asked curiously.
"I'll tell you later I promised that I would keep it a secret."
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, "unfortunately this is not a prank! I just wished I noticed it sooner, on a contrary I am not really sure how I managed to forget about this. The simple truth is, I am a highly advanced one thousand two hundred years old robot which is also highly sophisticated AI."
"What the hey is AI?"Sweetie Belle heard two of her friends asking her a question.
"Artificial intelligence!"
Applebloom frowned,"Come on Sweetie Belle we always thought that you were a dictionary, but you don't have to get into the character just for our sake!"
"Set phasers to hug!"Sweetie Belle shouted, seeing how nothing happened, she tried once again, " Hold on a second. The bootup sequence completed successfully!" She paused for a second or two. "Set phasers to hug!" This time the two plasma cannons had been deployed from her rear and started glowing green. Satisfied with the demonstration she shouted the next code phrase. "I do not feel rushes of emotion!" Almost immediately her plasma cannons disengaged into her rear. "Well!!"
"Okay fine you win! Girls I had to go! I, I will see you both after class! And please for the love of Celestia don't murder Diamond Tiara!"Applebloom hurried up to go to school, after all, nopony is going to cancel it even if your best friend happens to be a robot.
"I wouldn't! do it!" Sweetie Belle replied in slightly a robotic voice.
"Sweetie Belle, I mean it, she is not worth it!"
"And I said that I wouldn't, I literally can't hurt anypony without a Starfleet Officer permission, thanks to the new safeguard protocols! You know I used to be a lot more lethal."
"That's great, I think But I am forced to prioritize the fact that I am fifteen minutes tardy to school and hate being late! So I guess we had to discuss your sociopathy later."
"Oh right, school! how did I forget about that?" Scootaloo dashed off right after AppleBloom left the clubhouse
When the noon came cutie mark crusaders decided to meet up again in a schoolyard. This time everypony had heard that Rainbow Dash had been arrested for murder, and now had been transported into royal dungeons.
"So this did happen right because somehow I feel like we are in somehow still sleeping."
"No Scootalloo this is, in fact, was very real, but I don't understand this is supposed to be a prank!"
"A prank! This is a prank!"Shouted Scootalloo. "How is this a prank! Did they forgot to yell, Hey its just a prank, bro!"
"I know you are upset Scootalloo, everypony is just as upset about this just like you! Except well Sweetie Belle she apparently can't feel emotions."
Sweetie Belle shrugged, "Sorry! I cant share the distress of losing my superior officer!"
Applebloom sighed, "That's okay Sweetie Belle, um, what did you just said?"
"I said I can't share the distress of loosing my superior officer!"
"Are you saying that Rainbow Dash is your superior officer! Why didn't you stopped them or something?"
Sweetie Belle sighted she really didn't want to say this, "I was ordered not too!"
Scootalloo looked at her and then just screamed in frustration.
Rainbow Dash had a brilliant plan, somewhere out there on Equiss is a beamer hub, that would guarantee her ticket to the Moonbase. However, while she would need to do a lot of traveling, and posing as a bodyguard slash assistant to Trixie would be an ideal cover, there was something else she could do. Based on her now fused memories she felt there is some griffin that needed her help.
When she first arrived in Griffinstone she was sure that there is going to be plenty of Griffins who wouldn't hesitate to attack her, because to be fair she was extremely high profile target with 100,000 bits attached to her. Several of them tried, not many wanted to repeat their luck.
"You have a lot of nerve if you think you could just show up all the way to here!" Gilda shot an annoyed look to Rainbow Dash.
"Well, I was just thinking that maybe we could help each other!"
"We are going to help each other?"
"Yeah! You like bits don't you? I remember that you used to talk about how you liked baking!"
"Dash! That's was a long time ago, and besides what I originally have in mind is a lost cause!"
Finishing saying that Gilda tried to move past Rainbow as if signaling that she is finished with conversation, but Rainbow just jumped and looped towards her, just preventing Gilda to move. "Grizelda!!"
Gilda blinked, "What did you just said?"
"You heard me, I said, Grizelda! That's your name, isn't it? I've spent enough time with you to know even that! So when I said that I want to help you then that means that I want to help you!" Hi "Alright! Alright! Fine! Just shut up and come with me!" With that, both of them flew somewhere only Gilda knew.
"Is that old turkey still alive?"
"If you mean Grandpa Gruff than yes! And just like I said that recipe is the lost cause!"
"It won't have to be if you just let Pinkie Pie help you to improve it! We both know that this recipe is way too old, and that old coot never heard of baking powder in all of his life!"
Gilda froze in midflight, "You think I don't know that? The problem isn't the recipe itself but his stubbornness, he just won't hear of it."
"I still don't hear a reason of why you wouldn't just improve it, and if it's the bits that he really wants, then I am sure that those scones of his would be a lot more popular that way!"
Gilda and Rainbow Dash had continued flying until they stopped in front of an old birdhouse.
"Since we are here, then maybe you can just talk to him instead. I highly doubt that he would be listening to a pony." She then knocked on the door, "Hey, Gramps open up!"
The door opened, a very old and grumpy Griffin in a fez exited the house "Grizelda! Long time no see! Have you finally came to finish this old fart off." He then looked at the infamous blue pony who was with his granddaughter. "Ah! You finally wised up, you are hunting your pray to bring the bits on the table."
Gilda rolled her eyes, "I do not sell out my friends, thank you very much! For starters, she knows my real name!"
"She is your friend? Hm! That's very complicated indeed."
Gilda raised an eyebrow, "What are you talking about? That's Rainbow Dash, you remember, right! I used to talk about her all the time. I used to at least, that is until you specifically started to get annoyed by it."
"I do remember somepony by that name, yes! And yet, I see a complete stranger, who is right in front of me!"
This time it was Rainbow's turn to get defensive, "Listen here, why don't you cut the drama! You and me, we never met!"
"Rainbow Dash please just shut up and let me speak before you ruin everything!" Gilda then turned to her Grandpa. "It's my fault alright, it was just as equally my fault as it was theirs! It was what over three days ago, maybe even few weeks when I came back from that fiasco!"
"It's not that, Grizelda, I may be old and senile, but even I can see a dark shadow when it's present right in front of me. That pony is dangerous."
"She is just Rainbow Dash Grandpa, now can we please move on from the past. just I don't know, please just go and tell your wild tales about Idol of Boreas to someone else who cares!"
Grandpa Gramps scoffed but said nothing, he still went about his business like nothing happened. "Come on Dash lets go inside, he is gone for at least until the late evening."
"Okay, you are the boss!" Rainbow agreed with her. Gilda and Rainbow both went together inside the house. Surprisingly the house was a lot bigger on the inside then it was on the outside.
"I heard that you wanted to help me with scones, but I still never heard from you what exactly do you want me to help you with."
Rainbow Dash sat down on her flank, she took a small emitter and activated it, the small three-dimensional image of the moon popped up. She then pointed her hoof to the blinking red light somewhere on the surfacer on the moon "Grizelda, do you see this? this is my destination, There is something I need to do!"
"I still don't understand, how exactly' my baking hobby would help you to go crazy."
"Hold that thought for a second." Rainbow tapped an emitter and the image switched to Equiss, "Somewhere out there is a very old teleporter base, I just need to find it. Here is a thing, I am going to do a lot of traveling and I was just thinking what if I just help you to become rich and famous while I am at it."
"Well I had to give it to you Rainbow Dash, I like rich and famous part, I am not sure about your moon idea!"
"Trust me on this! This going to be just perfect! So anyway what is this part that I hear about the Idol of Boreas!"
Gilda tired on sitting so she just started walking across the room. "Its nothing Rainbow Dash just an old legend from home. You know if other Griffins actually cared they would have found that piece of old junk long time ago."
Rainbow Dash nodded, "Okay, I get that, this is fair I guess" She then turned off the emitter and put it away. "Grizelda, why did you changed your name? It suited you better."
"Its none of your business, that's why!"Gilda yelled, she then realized her mistake. "Would you please listen to me Dash, just drop the subject, okay! Only Gramps and you are calling me by that name, and besides I like my new name better!"
"If you say so! If you don't mind, I'll be outside if you need me! I think I need a bit of fresh air!" Rainbow Dash did just that she stood up and trotted outside.
Sweetie Belle had been waiting for AppleBloom to arrive, she thought about it for a second that technically she had been living with her sister, and now that she was left alone with her parents, she thought that she could find some excuse, to sneak away. The plan was to act in a support role, to do whatever it is that going to need to be done.
"Yeah, the plan!" Sweetie kept on waiting, the internal clock slowly counting seconds until the meeting time, until finally the soft tapping noise tapped on the door and then Sweetie Belle saw that it was, in fact, Applebloom who came inside. But there was one filly who was missing, it was Scootaloo, and Sweetie already had an idea of where she could be.
"She ran away, isn't she?" Applebloom and I had been standing in CMC s clubhouse, Scootaloo was the only one who was missing because she vanished after the news that Rainbow Dash got arrested.
"Yes, she was! it would have been better if she didn't!" I quickly heard myself sighing, and then I continued, "The problem is that I am going to be deployed as the support unit for my commanding officer. That means that I am going to wherever Rainbow Dash is going to eventually end up. And now I am forced to look for our friend as well."
"Rainbow Dash is in the prison," I heard Applebloom trying to protest.
Then I shook my own head, to express disapproval, "She wouldn't be for long! I suggest that you come with me if you want?"
My reaction really did surprise my friend because I kind of figured it all out when she said the following,"Why would I want to do that? I need to stay and help Big Mac on the farm, he would be the only one left with Granny Smith."
"Because, one, you are my friend and friends need to stick together, and two I need a living pony to operate the starship at full capacity."
"A starship? What the hey do we need a starship for? Also, I thought... wait I am really confused what do you need me for?"
My intuition told me that I will be better off if I start explaining it, at worst I feared that by trying to explain things, I risked to bore other ponies." Alright, I can explain this, just give me a moment. I don't really know for sure how it's going to help us, but I know one thing, it's better to be safe than sorry.
"When ponies first created me they refused to give the machine a full control, you can imagine that when a smart machine makes a mistake in judgment a situation, a lot of things can get ugly very fast. Having a live crew along with the machine is ensures that machine in question doesn't make a mistake!"
"Aha! So when you are saying that you need a full control?"
"That means I can't operate a starship unless at least somepony who is authorized to be there is present."
"Well okay, I don't really know if it's such a good idea, but fine, I will go!" shrugged off Applebloom.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders Three Little Rascals!" For some reason, I did find it a bit amusing at what I just said, "I am going to wait for you at the gates sometime in the evening."
"Sure!" Applebloom nodded and just went straight to school, and so did I. Tomorrow is going to be the last day of school.
I have been waiting for Applebloom to come to her waiting spot, however, she was more than surprised to see that not only Applebloom that came to the gates but Big Mac was with her as well. "Okay, everything is cool, I think I can still fix that."
"Hey, do you remember how I said that I and Big Mac are the only one left to take care of the farm?"
I feel "Yes, I do remember that. You know because I do have a perfect memory after all!" Sweetie Belle deadpanned.
"Right, well, turns out that Big Mac caught me when I was about to leave, he insisted that if I am going to go where Applejack was eventually going to go then it would be better if he could watch over his little sister!"
I went ahead analyzed the information that was presented in front of me, so Imiidietly, "You didn't want to come completely alone, so you thought that your brother should join you, and as a bonus, you would receive a guardian to look over us"
Applebloom sighed, "Yes! I think we should just go. Our top priority should be able to find Scootalloo right?"
"Um, okay, I guess I don't really have another choice!" Maybe I even could use an adult to my advantage!
All three of them joined up and then exited the city gates, each of them was hoping that they could find Scootaloo as soon as possible.
Twilight Sparkle had been waiting for Pinkie Pie to come back from her errand to scout possible information on where to Rainbow Dash had gone too. Ideally, she already knows that Rainbow would probably want to stay with Gilda, but the problem was that Twilight didn't really know where Gilda was. So Pinkie Pie seemed to be a perfect candidate to scout the information they need it. The only major weakness of Pinkie Pie was giving her money. There is a small chance that Pinkie Pie would just waste it on a sugar overdose, but eventually, she would end up succeeding in the mission and then just come back.
Twilight and the girls had been waiting for Pinkie to comeback in one of the many hotels in the Griffin Empire
"So I went ahead and asked a bunch of griffins if they saw a blue pony with a rainbow mane, calls herself rainbow Dash!"
"And..." Twilight said impatiently
"Maybe you should let the Pinkie finish!"
"Twilight, Rarity, let me just find the piece of paper where I wrote it down." Pinkie Pie had been trying to find it in her mane, eventually, she found it. "So how many more chapters we still have until this story will end. I am betting my bits that we didn't really have that long, to begin with!"
Pinkie wasn't loaded with sugar this time, instead, she made sure to go to the local tavern and getting herself drunk.
"Pinkie Pie, please focus!"
Pinkie'[ eyes focused, "Oh right, sorry Twilight! So anyway they told me that you don't want to bother with her because she will kick your teeth or something. So that's that! I am wasted! and I guess I need to calm myself down!"
"Pinkie Pie are you okay? " Fluttershy gave her a worried look.
"I don't know how to explain it, its like somepony had a party in your head and then made a huge mess at the same time! Its like having a hangover without actually getting drunk!"
twilight raised an eyebrow, "But you are drunk aren't you?"
"Well you may think that, but actually no!" Pinkie Pie trotted toward the stairs and then stopped when Twilight called her over.
"Um, Pinkie Pie?"
"Everything is written on the paper!"
Twilight sighed and glanced at the paper, indeed there it was a small drawing of a pegasus and a griffin that was drawn next to the arrow that's been pointing straight to the moon. "Hey, is this a joke right?"
"Nope!" Twilight heard Pinkie Pie yelling from the second floor.
On a board of very old starship eight ponies, one robot AI. and one Griffin has been standing on the deck.
"Can someone please explain to me what just happened?" Rarity asked everyone and at the same time expressing everyone else thoughts.
"Well, in this case, I do agree with drama queen what in Tartarus just happened."
Sweetie Belle stepped forward "Well. as you all know me Applebloom and Big Mac we finally managed to find Scootaloo, and then it took us almost a week to travel to Griffin Empire there we found you guys Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Twilight, and Fluttershy!"
"Yap!" nodded Big Mac
"Sweetie Belle dear you don't have to tell our names!"
"My dear sister, I don't really have a choice I am retracing my memory from my hard head and well all o your names are there too. This way I know who exactly is who. Anyway, we found you guys because we were all going in the same place, We were trying to find Rainbow Dash and Gilda! Also we kind of promised Big Mac that we would go straight to Applejack!"
"Yap!"
Pinkie Pie picked it up "So eventually we managed to truck Gilda and Rainbow who go from town to town selling food as well as trying to find the hub network. Eventually, all of us teleported to the moon. Then we found out that there was an SOS signal that's been broadcasting all the way from this very old starship! So Rainbow Dash just had to ruin it and she said that We need to go there and help!"
Rarity sighed, "Normally I would have agreed with her, however, in this case, this ship had been overrun with creepy pegasi statues, and well we should have just let this starship burn in this star which is now exploded!"
Sweetie Belle just stared at Rarity "Black holes don't go supernova Rarity!"
"Come again?"
"I said black holes don't explode into supernova! I believe that we screwed up right now! We managed to space out those creepy pegasi statues, however, at the same time we also spaced Rainbow and Twilight, and then I guess everything exploded in the flash of bright purple."
"So are they!"
"Dead?" finished Sweetie, "Most likely yes! I don't really see how you would survive being spaced all the way to the black hole! their bodies already had been ripped apart on a microscopic level, However..." Sweetie Belle remained in complete silence for what seemed to be almost forever until her silence interrupted by Rarity.
"Unless what dear?"
"Unless Rainbow Dash managed to do something absolutely insane, there was a purple explosion after all. So what now?"
"What do you mean what now? we have to save them!" Applejack glared at Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle glared back didn' you heard me they are dead, and if you don't understand how a black hole works then I will tell you, not only they have died from oxygen deprivation but the time dilation between them and us is enormous, and I am not going to risk the lives..."
"Um, I am sorry to interrupt your argument but why is the light on the bracelet is blinking?" Fluttershy asked them.
"it's not a bracelet its a standard issue life preserver that was issued to every single Starfleet officer for their own safety, and its blinking because..." Sweetie's eyes widened "because it already finished the respawn process! According to the logs, the life preserver had two ponies on file Rainbow and Twilight!"
"What the hey does respawn process means?" Applejack asked.
"Celestia?"
"Yeah!" the synthetic voice boomed from the intercom.
"The Princess?" yelled Pinkie Pie
Sweetie Belle groaned "Pinkie Pie please pay attention Rainbow Dash uploaded her to the computer systems of this starship!"
"Oh right, sorry!" Pinkie Pie glanced at everyone sheepishly.
"Righ, so well Celestia can you explain to everyone here the video game mechanics!"
"Well my sister Luna had been a big video gamer fan and from what I remember from her is that when video game characters die they just get respawned in the save point somewhere in the safe location. I believe that life preserver works the same way!"
"Um!? You are kidding me right?"
"Nope, Think of this way, when your body dies, your subconscious is rebooted from back up into another body!" Sweetie Belle summarised.
"So they are alive then?"
"Yes in a way! The problem is and this sounds kind of stupid but we have no idea where this save point is, and the worst part is!"
"Well if they are alive that all that matters to me! If you don't mind but don't you think we should just fly this rust bucket home!"
"I guess, Celestia if you please!"
"As much as I am upset at the loss of my student, there is nothing we could do! The star maps are updated and the course is plotted. engaging the jump drive in 3...2...1 Jump."
the old derelict starship exited the orbit of the black hole and jumped into hyperspace.
Two standard galactic hours before the jump.
Twilight's eyes widened, she suppressed the desire to blink, blinking would be extremely bad right now. Just now she managed to push Fluttershy to safety, and the hangar doors almost immediately sealed as per safety protocol. She looked in Rainbow Dash direction. Rainbow Dash looked back, however she cannot do anything to help their doomed situation.
Rainbow Dash has been trapped by the Pegasus statue that's been holding her back. The face on the statue face has been very furious! Good! That monsters already knew that it's going to be sucked out directly into the black hole. Twilight smiled to herself, in the next sixty seconds all of them including those damned statues are going to be sucked out.
"I am sorry!" and then she closed her eyes, almost immediately blast of air forced them both out of the hangar bay.
Rainbow Dash blinked, she blinked because by now it doesn't matter, both of them started to slowly suffocate in outer space. as the bonus they were falling into the black hole, so it's going to be really slow suffocation! Great!
Rainbow looked at her hoof that's the Pegasus statue had been holding. Only the statue stopped holding her sometime about two seconds ago. Good riddance she thought! she knew she is going to die and well her conscious is saved on the hoof drive. The problem was she still needed to save Twilight, who already started to panic.
Alright! let's do this! Rainbow Dash engaged small thrusters that been installed under her wings and then she pushed herself towards Twilight. The time started to slow down, This is bad, really, really bed! I better hurry the buck up! Rainbow Dash caught Twilight's body and then took out the silver wings and put it on Twilight's neck. Silver wings started to glow purple until they stooped and then imploded in an explosion of purple light...
.....
...Some unknown time period later.
....Uh, my head hurts! Oh, that's right, I died. Twilight has died too! Where the hey am I?/i] Rainbow's eye started to clear out and she saw an old room of the warehouse that she had way back in a Crystal Empire. Huh I guess I never updated my autosave, am I?
It would seem to be that way!
Twilight what the hey?
Well, as you already know we both died, and then you uploaded me into the system, and as the result, I was pulled along with you for a ride! I suppose we were in your childhood?
More like awkward teenage years! Twilight welcome to my home to the Crystal Empire thousands of years before your time!
At that exact moment, the door opened and a very familiar pony entered the room, " Hey I was looking for cheese, and well I actually found it!"
Is that a coltfriend of yours? he is kind of cute!
Not exactly, he dumped me for almost twelve years!
Hm!
"You actually came back!"
The Doctor blinked "Well, of course, I came back! Am I not supposed to?'
Rainbow Dash pointed at her hooves where the overly familiar note was located. The Doctor noticed it and laughed nervously, "Well! Um! Well, it was just a backup plan! I am still here. Am I?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged off and then ripped the note into small pieces, "Well I guess you wouldn't need it anymore!"
"Eh, no!" He then saw tired look in Rainbow Dash's eyes "is everything alright? You look a little bit strange! In fact!" He quickly pointed at her with a sonic screwdriver, which just thrilled slightly in response. "Odd, very, very odd!"
"Doc! Can I call you doc?"
Doctor Whooves nodded.
”Well, you see! Um, it's kind of a bit hard to explain! But I did have a bit of a should I say a wildlife! Doc I think I died!"
"Died!" The doctor quickly dismissed her, "Don't be ridiculous! You are alive and well! I know that because you are standing right here!"
"Doctor you don't understand, I died in the future thousand years from now, and I, I know that you are a Time Lord that travels in a big blue box." Rainbow Dash shouted a bit louder than usual.
Doctor Whooves instantly stopped smiling. Nopony supposed to know his secret.
"Sh! What the hey are you doing? You are not supposed to tell ponies about the future, because if you tell them then it's going to happen. By the way, how did you died?"
"Relax will you the future is already changed, I told you already that you came back! The thing is I and my companion had been jettisoned into outer space! And then we kind of got thrown into the very small black hole."
"A very strange method of committing suicide pact." Doctor Whooves raised an eyebrow "a very small black hole, how exactly does that work again?"
Rainbow Dash groaned, "it wasn't a suicide pact, it was just an accident, we had to space out an infestation of very annoying statues! On a plus side, we didn't kill them, the black hole probably did. And yes I believe that's correct we kind of died, unless.."
"Unless what?" Doctor Whooves asked her curiously
"I don't really think that we would end up in a pocket dimension or something because that would be ridiculous!"
"Okay, I felt like it might be very awkward for them!"
Rainbow beamed "Oh trust me they were furious!" Rainbow Dash glanced at him, "You don't believe me do you!"
"I have to admit it was a very good story that you just made up, and I suppose I enjoy it a bit!"
Rainbow Dash sighed "Aha!"
"Please don't be offended so far nobody managed to cheat death!"
"Aha! Except for you!"
Doctor Whooves raised an eyebrow, "I am not immortal, even I can die!"
"Not yet you aren't"
"What the hey does this suppose to mean!"
"Spoilers!"
Rainbow Dash heard Twilight giggle in her head I think If I am stuck in your head then I am sure as Tartarus going to enjoy it.
A large group of ponies, plus a griffon suddenly showed up in a cold dark room. It took them awhile to adjust their eyesight, and then they all grouped together in front of each other.
Rainbow stepped forward, “Everyone, welcome to the autonomous scout ship Equis I. Let's see I am going to upload Celestia to the control center, and then we are going to just pull this rust bucket back home.”
“Question?” Twilight flickered her own ears, “Actually I have multiple questions ”
“Granted,” Rainbow stared at Twilight who starred back in return. “Sorry Twilight I will answer any questions you want unless they aren’t classified.”
“Classified, do you really need to keep secrets of the long-dead space-faring civilization?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, “Well, first of all, it's not dead, If I have to guess there are probably multiple space colonies out there somewhere. So yeah I am protecting the national secrets of my own nation.”
Alright fine! If this was an automated scout ship then why do you need to upload, I can't believe I am saying this, the mind of my former teacher to the ship.”
“She is kind of is and kind of isn't your teacher, she literally now exists as a temporal copy of Princess Celestia,” Rainbow shrugged it off. “Nevermind that, we need her because It's going to be a hay a lot harder to reset systems manually, and then fly it, like I said manually Just trust me you don't want to fly this ship manually.”
“I don’t want to interrupt your nerdgasm, but I think I just leave you two lovebirds alone!”Gilda was frankly getting annoyed, and she wasn’t really interested in participating in listening to them talking.
“That's fine,” said Rainbow Dash. “Just make sure not to get lost on this ship.”
Gilda sighed,” Yeah, yeah, what could possibly go wrong, I mean...”
Rainbow's eyes widened at that, “Gilda, what's the actual buck, you are never supposed to say that! Now, I definitely positive that something will go wrong.”
Gilda was clueless, “What? What did I say?”
Rainbow Dash groaned and then mimicked in her own raspy voice,”What could possibly go wrong? It's like you are deliberately trying to make it worse.”
“Sheesh, someone is grumpy today. Alright fine, I promise that I am not going to end up dead or something. I don't know, this rust bucket is probably going to fall apart simply because it's old.”
Rainbow’s eyes followed Gilda when she crossed the room, and then she sighed. Rainbow trotted next to the control panel, she then took her medallion and then inserted right into the slot. A few seconds later a small beep sounded off to signal that it was safe to remove it.
Rainbow flipped a few switches and then a synthetic robotic voice could have been heard in the system.
“I feel like somepony reassembled my own mind and then put it back together. Everything is on the ship is falling apart.”
“Rainbow, are you sure that we can't just grab the data we need and then just do this mass teleport again.”
Rainbow shook her head, ”unfortunately no, as funny as it possibly sounds, when ponies first build that thing, they never took into account that it's going to be serviced by the live crew. It was supposed to go out there, continuously mapping star maps for other ships to follow, some of them are crewed, some of them fully automated. To make it clearer this ship doesn't have necessary energy reserves for the crew to mass teleport that wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place.”
Twilight was slightly confused by that, “So what if it actually needs repairs, what’s then?”
“Its very simple the ship calls in the repaired shuttle on a secure frequency, its jumps in, perform the necessary repairs and then jumps out.”
“You’ve mentioned fuel, how exactly it refuels?”
Rainbow Dash cringed. “It's not supposed to. I am not an engineer I just follow orders and shoot staff but from what I gather this ship has a very efficient prototype of the fusion reactor, and before you ask I don’t think there are any repair shuttles left.”
Meanwhile…
Fluttershy along with Big Mac as well as three little flies had been trotting in the corridors of the ship.
“Do you think that we should have been staying where the others are?” Applebloom and the others are have been trotting along with other files.
“Nuh, they don't need us, I am pretty sure that they can handle it without us on our own,” Sweetie Belle dismissed her concern.
“This is not what I asked, and you know it.”
“I know don't worry about it, we now have two adults constantly looking over us. Let’s go, I probably want to see something, as well as, to show I to all of you.”
“What exactly would that be?” The fillies continued trotting through the corridors.
“Well I was hoping to see what's outside, and that's means we are going to the bridge of this ship.” Sweetie Belle then glanced at Scootaloo, ”Scootaloo, you’ve been awfully quiet today.”
“Well I… I am kind of shocked that I am kind of living my own fantasy.”
“Hm, interesting!”
“Interesting...Wait, this thing has a bridge?“
Sweetie Belle stopped moving, which caused others to bump into her, “Well, of course, it has a bridge, Let me point it this way this ship is the first prototype, so it would only make sense that they reused already existing ship for the purpose.
Scootaloo was very confused now, “It does, wouldn't it make more sense to build an entirely new ship?”
“They would have been, but they never intended for a ship to return, so it would make sense for builders to use the ship that already exists.”
“Uh...okay, but my heads hurts already,” groaned Scootaloo.
"Alright fine," All of them just now entered on the bridge. "We are already here anyway. Let me see," Sweetie Belle looked around. "Aha, a starship with old reactive glass shield design, with a clear view of outside world, perfect!" Sweetie Belle stopped for a second, something in her own logical mind had been very confusing to her.
"Um, what is it?" Both Applebloom and Scootalooo looked at each other and then directly at Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle simply gestured at something invisible beyond the glass shield "Look outside and tell me what you see."
Applebloom and Scootaloo once again looked at the outer space "Um, we see... uhh, I think its a disk of a dark cloud with two beams shooting out of it. Is that supposed to be bad?"
“Not from that distance, no...”Sweetie Belle quickly reassured them, “However this is not what concerns me.”
“it isn't?”
“No,” Deadpanned Sweetie Belle, “We are in the stable orbit of a black hole, and according to the ships nav logs it's been here for quite some time.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Girls! If the ship designed to be an as autonomous as possible then why it been sitting stationary in orbit of an object for at least a few centuries?”
“I don’t know, maybe because it’s likes been there,” Scootaloo shrugged off.
“it’s not that simple, it's like,” Sweetie Belle paused for a second. “Imagine, you do have a single very specific purpose in life. You go around traveling everywhere mapping out the territory, you love doing it, you don't want to do anything else except that one thing. Then one day you decided that you don't want to do that, but instead, you decided to just hang out in one very specific place for quite awhile now.”
“Damn right I would have because this type of existence sounds boring.”
“Maybe so, but remember you are just a machine, the definition of fun just isn't programmed to you, and your unexplored world is just too large for you to quit. You don't need to sleep or eat, well most of the time that is. So why would you stay in one corner of the Galaxy for several hundred years.”
“I...I don’t know, maybe I just wanted to be here.”
Sweetie Belle nodded, “Close enough but not quite. It's extremely bizarre but it's almost like...honestly.” She turned around, “I wish I have more information to work with, hm...”
Fluttershy looked at Big Mac “Um, should we get worried.”
“Uhh... Nope, probably no.”
Meanwhile… “Boo!” Pinkie Pie suddenly jumped out of nowhere and scared Gilda, who in return jumped on the ceiling.
“Gaaaah! You… you… I think I almost...” Gilda had been huffing and puffing, after a few more minutes she managed to calm herself down, “Don’t do that!”
“That was for being a mean many pants, and this…” Pinkie Pie hugged Gilda, ”...and this is for being a good friend to Dashie.”
“Well, first of all, I don’t wear pants, none of us are, and second of all that idiot doesn't deserve my friendship.”
“I know for the first one, and the second one,... Well, if you really think that way, then this is a real bummer!”
Gilda looked at her with surprise, “What are you talking about?”
“Well…You probably don’t have any idea what I am talking about but Fancy Pants doesn't wear any pants and I think by now Rainbow Dash saved our friendship.”
Gilda scoffed, “An insane mass murderer a savior of friendship, yeah right.
Pinkie punched her softly, "But of course, I mean she saved our friendships, and well you are still her friend, are you not?"
"Well yes, I guess she is...", Suddenly a dark shadow moved, as well as a sudden clunking noise could have been heard somewhere. Gilda stopped moving because she thought she heard something, however, Pinkie Pie still continued hopping. "hold on just a second, did you heard that?"
Pinkie Pie finally stopped, her ears twitched carefully listening to her environment, she then turned her full attention to Gilda. "Nope, sorry I can't hear anything."
Gilda only shook her head, "Alright, just please pay attention next time, I think this dark atmosphere is finally getting to me." They continued walking pass the corridors like nothing happened. At the same time, when they walked away the shadow continued to follow them from behind.
Meanwhile...
"Is everything alright dear?"
Twilight and Rainbow looked at Rarity and Applejack, then looked at each other, Rainbow just shrugged off.
"It's nothing we were just thought that you two went away somewhere, but I guess you are still here, huh. Well, to answer your question we were so caught up in pre-jump preparations, we kind of forgot you two even here." Rainbow shook her head. "Anyway, I don't really like any of this, it's too damn quiet. Ever since Gilda blubbed it out, I just couldn't get out of my head. So yeah sorry about forgetting you guys, kind of busy over here..."
"What exactly are you trying to do, how did you put it? Teleport the whole ship back home," Applejack had been listening and Rarity had been talking.
"In a way. Actually, the jumping procedures are already finished, I just need to completely scan the whole ship. It just takes too damn long."
"Well, okay then, I just hope it's not going to be something really dreadful, is it? This place will lose any tourist value if it gets any more dangerous."
Twilight sighed, hopefully not... I mean Rainbow Dash doesn't really believe in all of that paranoia. It just I guess we can't take any chances if we are going to bring this ship home, and well, we..."
"You have to make sure that it safe I get it."
Twilight shook her head, "Rarity it's not that simple, we choose to come here, and we kind of stuck here."
Rainbow Dash just shrugged off, "Meh, we don't need to be so pessimistic, we have a ship and we can travel in all three dimensions."
"Right!" Twilight agreed with Rainbow "We would be free to travel everywhere, and not only that I would receive an opportunity to learn."
Rainbow Dash blinked "Are you really sure about that? I mean I never really wanted any of this to ever happen. I..."
Twilight stopped Rainbow talking, by placing her hoof on to her muzzle "No don't say anything, you are our friend, and that's what matters."
“But I...” Rainbow saw something in Twilight eyes that she never saw before, she saw tears streaming from Twilight’s eyes.
“Rainbow please don't say anything, you’ve done enough damage. I know that you, what you did was Discord’s fault. I know it's not your fault, but...” Twilight looked away.
“But?”
Twilight blinked, “But I just can't forgive you just yet”
Rainbow swallowed, all of it that just happened in the past several weeks have been very hurtful to all of them, especially to Twilight. She was about to say something, however, Twilight started to speak first.
“I… I just wish I could forget about what I saw. I saw our future in ruins mixed with ashes. I wish I could forget about my fate as an abomination in the wasteland, but I can't. That would be grossly incompetent and irresponsible.”
Initiating a mandatory thirty seconds alarm sequence in the next sixty seconds.
"Twilight, please excuse me for a second it looks like the scan is almost complete, and I almost sure of it you are probably repeating yourself."
Twilight Sparkle trying to have a heart to heart conversation with Rainbow when Rainbow Dash suddenly interrupted her, “I know that I am breaking some extremely important moment here but we are about to finish off the scanning procedure and well yeah, sorry about that.”
And now the story continues…
Rainbow Dash suddenly stood up and looked around Rarity and AJ fell asleep, and Twilight was so tired that she too had been snoozing on the chair nearby.
“Good, the fewer ponies I will involve in this the better!”
Rainbow Dash what are you thinking?[/] buzzed in her ear.
“What I am actually thinking is that I don't actually want to involve them in what is about to happen,” She trotted next to the ships armory, she took out the Rapid Fire Plasma Rifle, this particular model had been modified to fire extremely rapidly, technically it was just as awesome as she was. Rainbow took the old power pack and then swapped for a brand new one. The readout displayed full charge 160/160 of energy and guaranteed to last for full three seconds of continuous fire. As per usual, it fired 4 energy per shot.
That was 2.24 seconds faster than her previous model of plasma weaponry, and had a bit of sensitive trigger so at a best she was hoping for is blasting of two shots when she would have pulled the trigger. But still the extra speed was awesome and sometimes that's all that matters.
How did she know that, well she had plenty of time to practice firing it against dummy robots as well as sometimes against live targets. On her hip, she did have an experimental emp pistol, although to be completely honest that gun was in the ship armory as well, and before today she never had such nice toys to play with.
Do you actually think that would work.
“You probably know by now that I am crazy enough to try.”
True that.
“According to the scan results there are about three dozen of temporal quantum signatures scattered around all over the ship, and that means...“ Rainbow made sure she made a dramatic pause, “I am going to kick them off my ship.” She trotted outside of deck thirty-four door snapped closed behind her. “Lock that door shut until I return.”
About several minutes later Twilight Sparkle woke up from her sleep, and then she noticed that Rainbow Dash was missing, “Oh that's just great, where did she go!”
According to my calculations, Rainbow Dash go out to play a hero, she specifically told me to keep you three inside for your own safety.
“Celestia! Would you please just stop talking like a robot, even though you are kind of like one.”
My student, I will not take any offense at that, even though for almost two hundred or so years I have forgotten what it feels like to be alive.
Twilight bitterly swallowed, she felt somewhat betrayed by a coldness of the voice that's been coming from the speakers. It almost sounded not caring about anything.
Twilight stood up and then by some random and unknown reason she ended up retracing the same exact steps that Rainbow previously took.
Twilight, what are you doing?
“Celestia, it really pains for me to say this, but have you forgotten everything. When… when Nightmare Moon came back you sent me to Ponyville to make five wonderful friends.”
Celestia was silent for a moment, Twilight used the moment of silence to pick up the nearby weapon, a regular old plasma pistol with 40/40 energy charge.
You don't even know how to use it.”
“I've learned enough from her memories, so it's not really a problem.”
Twilight almost reached the doors and then tried to open them, they refused to do so.
“Celestia please, open the door.”
I am afraid I can't do that
“Celestia, open the Tartarus damned door.”
By the law of a fleet I must obey the chain of command, and you are not in a chain of command.
This only infuriated Twilight, “You are not the damned machine. You are Princess Celestia of Equestria, your sister is Princess Luna of Equestria, and I am your faithful student. Now please open the door.”
This time Celestia stayed silent for a lot longer than few minutes.
I've only trying to protect you, and by staying here you are most likely to stay protected….my student.
“Without my help, she is going to die out there. I never expected you to be so… so cold, you are willing to throw her life away in exchange for our own.”
The war changes ponies, I just never thought it going to change me. Before I knew it everything went to Tartarus. Because of my failure to act so many ponies lost their lives. In the last day of the war, I watched my own sister die trying to defend the doomed city.
Although by that time I was already trapped in SPP, my body and mind had been forcefully separated, and I... this is only a fair punishment for my stupidity.
I remember that if everything was left as it were, then you would have ended up doing some stupid project for Ministry of Magic. Fluttershy would invent the most deadly weapon known to ponykind as a weapon of peace, and then branded a traitor. Rainbow Dash would probably be absorbed in the stupid war fighting it, Pinkie Pie would... Pinkie Pie wouldn't be herself anymore, because like I said war changes ponies.
I don't know, maybe I felt a little bit selfish, but I was willing to sacrifice lives to save lives that did matter to me.
Twilight quickly glanced at the micro-fusion grenade, if it needs to be she going to toss it.
Don't bother the doors are blast proof, they have to be because this is an armory, we don't want to start a chain reaction, are we? Don't worry if you really want a quick death I will not stop you.
The doors almost instantly opened giving Twilight a quick and easy route to escape.
Twilight silently trying to swallow her tears, “This is… this is not what it was all about. You tried to teach us all of the lessons about friendship and you are just saying that it was all for nothing?”
Sometimes, I’ve been wondering the same exact question….
Twilight just couldn't take it anymore, she was about to run away but instead, she was stopped by a voice of her two other friends. She was called by Applejack and Rarity, “Wait just a gosh darn minute, where do you think you are going Twilight?”
Twilight turned back around, “Your accent is showing again, AJ.”
“Don't you dare to make fun of me, missy.”
Rarity sighed, “What Applejack is trying to say is you better come back with that troublemaker of ours. Please keep yourself safe. Don't worry about the two of us, we are going to be just fine.”
Twilight nodded, “I am sure that you will, Isn't that why Rainbow Dash looked us all in here, she thought we would be safe here. ”
“But?” Rarity asked
“But I just need to go and help her, I am sorry!”
“That's fine, Twilight, we understand.Applejack doesn't really want to admit this, but she actually cares about Rainbow.”
Twilight slowly exited the deck, and she watched how the door snapped shut behind her. “Alright, there is no turning back now.”
Suddenly, as she was about to enter the next corridor she was spooked by a sudden appearance of an old earth pony with sunglasses.
“Hello, there!”
“Gaah!” Twilight screamed at him in fright aiming the gun at him “Who are you, I almost shot you!”
“Shot me, but I am harmless,” he tried to protest. “They call me the Doctor.”
“On a contrary, I don't really trust strangers who go around in corridors of the old starships scaring ponies. By the way, my name is Twilight.”
“Kind of my fault here, so sorry about that, you know I didn't really expect to meet anypony here.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow at him, “Really, and why is that?”
“Well you know its very old ship, and I thought that nopony was on board...”
“Except yourself?”
“Except myself,” he silently agreed with her.
“Right!” Twilight acted like what he said to her was completely believable and makes sense.
They continued to travel along the corridors, as Twilight was trying to find Rainbow, “So why are you here miss Sparkle?” the old stallion suddenly asked her.
“Well. I just had a small argument with my teacher, not so much with my friends, and now I am trying to find my other friend, who left me behind at the armory. Why are you here Mr. Doctor?” She threw his own question back at him.
“I just go where I need it the most, and it looks like I needed it to be here right now.”
“But why, I mean do you actually have it entertaining to travel on empty starships?”
“It's not that I might find it very lonely, or even entertaining as you would say. It's just the fewer people I will involve with myself, the less of them will end up hurt in the process.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow in sadness, “Oh!” She thought about that it was a noble concept in general, it's just...
“Oh?” he asked curiously.
“I just thought that what you just said reminded me of what my friend tried to do, that's all there is to it.”
“Uh! She did lock you in the armory, why is that?”
“Because she thought that's the safest place on the whole ship,” Twilight sounded slightly annoyed. For a moment she thought she already had said that.
The Doctor thought for a second, “No, not that. I mean why did she do that? She won't have done that if she didn't think that you were not in danger.”
“She thinks that there is something on this ship is very dangerous, but...” Twilight paused. “Doctor, I don’t know what it is, is just… you've been here on this ship with us right?”
“Well yeah! But who else is out there?”
“Exactly!” Twilight beamed, ‘There are three of us in the armory as well as my teacher. There are also a second group of ponies on the bridge right now, and they are two more somewhere out there. I am not sure if that makes sense but the rest of the ship is empty.
“Or it might appear empty because whatever it is your friend afraid of and therefore had been trying to keep you safe from is very good at hiding.”
“Well I think she took a rapid-fire plasma rifle with her, so I suppose that she is very afraid of ghosts.”
Doctor, or how he sometimes being called Doctor Whoves only shook his head in disappointment.
“Do you believe in ghosts?”
“Doctor, about two days ago I would have told you that I didn't believe in the existence of zombies, however, I had an unfortunate experience with seeing the memories of a pony who saw real-life zombies, or how they are called as ghouls.
“I don't know if there are a bunch of ghosts out there in a cold darkness of space, but if there are then I would have probably have seen them with my own eyes, and if necessary I would have been very afraid.”
“And nopony would have blamed you for that, now then let's go find your friend of yours.”
...
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had her own problems. For almost two hours she had been streaming two data streams into her brain. One from Sweetie Belle and another one from Celestia. According to Sweetie Belle she and CMC, as well as Big Mac and Fluttershy, had been currently isolated on the bridge, ironically the second safest place on the starship.
It would need to be because it's required to house a crew that will issue commands to the rest of the ship. It would be foolish to assume that the bridge is protected only through a see-through environmental blast shield or how some ponies would refer as Are you crazy, this window is made of fragile glass.
Another thing was Sweetie Belle herself, an extremely deadly starship AI designed as an innocent preteen filly.
“Pinkie Pie and Gilda, Pinkie Pie and Gilda,” She slowly mumbled to herself speeding at the speed of the bullet trying to get to them in time.
They are just around the corner... replied Sweetie Bell.
Rainbow had been emotionally prepared to do an almost an impossible maneuver right now she is going to hopefully piss off enough of them to follow her into a trap, the same trap they carefully devised and then orchestrated, the trap that would require a lot of speed from her to pull it off.
…
Gilda still couldn't shake off the feeling that something is wrong, she thought to harass Pinkie Pie a bit more but instead of that she just wanted to come back to where others are, but Pinkie suddenly had different plans. For some reason, she decided to quietly start to annoy her, before she could have any chance of it
“Where are we going anyway, I have no idea, do you?”
Gilda sighed “Pinkie please, don’t you dare to start it now.”
“Start what now, I have no clue what are you talking about?”
Gilda groaned, “I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I know I kind of deserved… and, I thought we already covered all the points.”
“Oh, I know that there is no point to rehash the same thing over and over, its just I am trying to engage you in conversation.”
“That's okay Pinkie, I am not sure that's actually, ” she paused. “Oh for goodness sake, what am I doing?”
“Engaging in a conversation,” Pinkie Pie offered hopefully. “That's okay, all of us have a soft side inside of us.”
“Not me,” Gilda shook her head “Definitely not me,” another pause, “Look just let’s keep on going.”
“Okay.”
At the almost exact same time when they were about to continue going Rainbow Dash managed to crash into both of them.
“Oh for frick sake! What now?”
Pinkie Pie giggled, “Oh hi Dashe, we were about to go and join with everypony else,” Then she noticed the new gear in Rainbow’s hooves. “I know we are all a bit paranoid here, but do you really need all of that fancy weaponry?”
“Hold on Pinkie, I just need a few seconds to focus myself,” Rainbow Dash stood up on rear hoof position and then aimed the barrel of a plasma rifle at something that being behind them, “and then kick off the trash of my ship.”
“I knew it, there is something dangerous behind us.”
“Yep, now step aside this gun is very rapid.”
“Are you going to kill again?”
“I doubt that, so far as we could tell those things are unkillable, trust me we already tried that.”
“We, who in the hey are we?”
Rainbow laughed, “Me, Celestia, and Sweetie had been running a few extra tests during the security scans, a few automatic security turrets were lost during those tests.” She then suddenly reacted “Run!” Gilda and Pinkie Pie glanced at each other and then started running down the corridor.
“Have you noticed she never blinked during our conversation?”
Gilda nodded to her “I kind of did.” behind them they heard Rainbow started to giggle in a maniacal sort of way
“Do you think she is starting to lose her mind?” Pinkie asked another question
“Probably yeah!”
…
Rainbow finished her giggling “You know what I actually found very funny?”
What?
“Celestia would probably never going to listen to me anyway, I only told her to shut the door close. I never told her to keep that stupid door closed.” she then pulled the trigger of the gun because she was about to break her endurance and blink by mistake. A stream of pink plasma splashed down onto the target. As the bonus, because she was in the half-lighted room, the flashes of the plasma created the blinking effect that caused her target to move during each of the flashes.
Rainbow Dash only increased the intensity causing the gun spewing plasma even faster than it was before. Unfortunately for her the three seconds were just three seconds and after a brief period of rage and screaming, mostly from her opponent, she heard a release click from the gun and then the ammo clip fell on the floor. She quickly swapped a brand new clip and only continued firing her gun at the statue.
“Come on you ugly abomination of a pegasus, I know you are angry right now, come on and get me, I am the fastest pegasus in Equestria.”
“What the hay are you doing now?” complained Twilight Sparkle. At this very point, she is being stuck inside Rainbow’s head.
“What does it look like I am doing,” Rainbow huffed in annoyance. ” Right now I am standing outside of my hole in the poorest district of Crystal Empire, I have a huge headache, and I am trying to remember what the hey did we do back then on that ship before both of us died.
“I still don’t quite understand why the hay Fluttershy ended up outside of security zone, she supposed to be staying with others, things would have been a lot easier if ponies have been doing what they’ve been told too.”
“If we did that then you would have died.”
“Well I did died didn’t I, only this time I drugged you along with me!” Rainbow Dash angrily kicked the can. “Uh, I hate this, I am back to the age of being a hormonal teenager.Plus if this isn't enough I am talking with a ghost inside of my own head, now everypony would treat me like I am crazy.”
“It's not so bad, is it? You would get a chance to relive your life, and me? well, I’ll be damned if I didn't get a chance to study the history of the most mysterious city in the whole Equestria. Isn't it exciting?”
“I am not really sure if its a gift or a curse,” Rainbow thought she heard this same exact line million of times, her memories had been tangled, and it was very difficult for her to untangle it “...I forget.”
“What! You forgot what?” Twilight thought she wanted to facehoof herself but couldn't, “This is very ridiculous.”
“Hehe, you are telling me,” Rainbow silently snickered. “Anyway, think about it whenever you have a very embarrassing memory, don't you wish to permanently erase them?”
“Well sometimes, but…’
“And in this case, you are specifically forced to remember them, which is sucks.”
“But Rainbow...”
“Twi why do you think I always want to fly fast? It's because from my point of view everypony is just too slow.”
“Huh?...”
The speed of the sonic boom is 343 meters per second that are really slow.”
“343 meters per second is slow, are you serious?”
“It's true you are lazily moving across the sky with the speed of the turtle.”
“Tortoise Rainbow, the correct pronunciation is Tortoise.”
“I know what's the damned animal is called Twi. Wait how do I know that?”
“Must be Fluttershy, don't you remember she has an entire habitat of the wild animals?”
“Yes, but that Dash and I are fused together. She and I share each other memories, sometimes even from the future that she now didn't live.” Rainbow Dash blinked a few times, ”What I am trying to say is there is no way I would have remembered that tortoise, with that magical propeller, I mean she didn't have the pet, after a brief period of time it's just everything went completely bonkers.”
“Dash, you are remembering memories that you shouldn't have, that's really amazing.”
Rainbow Dash smiled to herself, in the distance the polar Sun started to rose.
“Dash?”
“Yeah!”
*Who raises the Sun in Crystal Empire?”
Rainbow Dash thought for a second how to answer that question“An old and wise Princess of Gravity, I thought every pony knew that.”
“Not funny!”
“Well, that's how the galaxy usually works out there.”
“Aren’t you going to go join the Doctor? I think that he just going to leave you behind.”
“Nuh, all I want right now a few years of the normal boring life of a hormone crazy teenager.”
Approximately two years later.
Rainbow Dash had been standing in front of the heavy crystal doors of the Saint Germaine Academy.
“I still don't understand why did they name it like that.”
“Why, what's the problem? It's very prestigious organization. Besides, I think Pinkie Pie would appreciate the joke.”
“Pinkie?”
“Yep, anyway this is the only place that is available to us for what we are about to do.”
“And that is?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, “I am going to give you a new body of course, just like to Celestia.”
Rainbow Dash crossed a few corridors, at the same exact time a few academy cadets passed her by ignoring her talking to herself
“You put her in a jar, ie inside a matrix of a junkyard starship, wait you are not going to do the same thing to me?”
Rainbow Dash frowned,”Details, details. I’ve made her into what she always wanted, I originally wanted to put her into the mortal body.”
‘You’ve put her into the machine! How is that makes her mortal?“
“AI isn't immortal Twilight, eventually even machines are forced to die. A core unit failure with no backup and then poof,” Rainbow Dash made a dramatic pause. She then frowned once again vaguely recalling that she had said something like that a few chapters back.
“Anyway, details aren't that important, what's important is that she now have a choice to die.”
“Right well, how are you going to resurrect me? Isn't this just a school?”
“Actually this is the highest tech academy on the whole continent, perhaps even an entire world.” Rainbow quickly opened the doors which lead to the whole of the suspiciously white room. She then stepped in inside. “And it just so happens, as a student here I have an access to the robotics lab. Come on, what I am about to do it's not really a big deal. Robotic companions are widespread among the populace. All I need right now is to actually rebuild you.”
“Well okay then.”
Rainbow Dash trotted next to the display panel and inputted a few commands.
Select a new body type… Selected unicorn… Processing … Input customization…. Fur; light purple… Mane; striped; blue, purple, pink, blue, blue… Tail: striped blue, purple, pink, blue… Eyes; dark purple… Cutie mark; light red six-pointed star with five small white stars orbiting it… Input the AI… Processing… External source selected from the donor’s memories…. Processing….
A small probe hoovered next to Rainbow’s eyes and scanned with an infrared laser. A few seconds later it stopped working and flew away.
Processing complete… Please standby… The building will commence in 3...2...1… … … …
Almost immediately an eqidroid started to be built. Piece by piece, various different circuitry and gears started to get in the shape. Occasionally more and more panel started to cover up the insides of a newly built robot. The robot blinked with it's newly installed high definition cameras.
“How does it feel?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Am I supposed to feel something?”
“Well yeah, you are equipped with a neutral interface, that allows you to experience the ultra-realistic sensations, of a real living being.”
Twilight blinked once again, “All of this makes it complicated for a robot.”
An assembly line swiped a horn cover onto extremely thin appendix on a Twilight Sparkle’s head.
“That's kind of the whole point of a companion model, everything is designed with maximum effort to make it look genuine. The self-preservation module to a certain extent is designed for your own benefit, as well as the exchange of liquids is designed to be replaced automatically, that means that you now have artificial blood and the army of nanobots designed to take care of you. ”
“You mean hydraulic fluid?” frowned Sparkle,
“You could call it that, right now you are a lot stronger than an Earth Pony.”
“And it's not bothering you? ” The machine finished attaching the last piece of hardware. Twilight Sparkle stepped out from the platform.
“Not really, like I said the robotics culture is a lot more widespread.Welcome back to the land of the living.” Rainbow Dash grinned at her own joke.
“Thanks, I wish I could throw up but I can’t, I don’t have a gag reflex anymore,” Her ears flinched, and then her eyes widened.Wait did you said I am an ultra-realistic companion? And that means that I have a...“
“Yep, the full package,” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Although I thought you are going to appreciate it. Also, your gag reflex can be programmed if you actually want it too”
“Even if I am a robot?”
“Yep, especially if you are a robot, the gag reflex is extremely useful for a robot” Once again Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “Once again I am questioning how do you get to this particular conclusion.”
She shrugged off, “ I almost afraid to ask what you mean by that. We should probably go, I don’t think there anything useful left for us here. We should just go, I still need to register you. Trust me it's going to be really fun having you around.”
“Aha,” they both trotted off to the exit and then the doors quickly opened and then closed off.Their next phase in their lives just began.
Several more years passed and Rainbow Dash graduated from the military academy. She then transferred to serve on her very first Starship. Twilight Sparkle knew her as her best friend, and to others as a robot companion unicorn model TW1L1G8T, why are you looking at me like that Pinkie? I am trying to be creative here.
So anyway because she hanged out very close to other ponies she currently went to the same place that Rainbow did, which made it even more hilarious that she was the only Borg unit in the whole starship, excluding a central AI in their squad. By law they needed one to perform necessary tasks on a mobile machine like her.
‘Listen to me maggots!” Said the angry looking crystal pony with an accent. “You are all here because all of you are miserable, weak and extremely girly.
“Yes, sir!” All of them yelled in reply.
“I know by now you probably heard that somewhere out there in the West you will find some pretty little Alicorn princesses, aka special snowflakes. Don't let them fool you, they may seduce you with their lies of who raises the Sun every day...”
Twilight listened to that obvious abuse but only sighed she was after all just a machine.
“... but our glorious Empire knows better, and by avoiding this type of ignorance we shouldn't forget what's important.”
“Yes, sir!”
“In this cold environment of space there are many things hiding in the shadows, so many of them will give you nightmares.” . Twilight blinked, the Crystal Pony clearly lost some marbles along the way. Rainbow Dash later explained that some ponies developed a case of space madness, the unfortunate side effect of serving too long on a starship.
“Sir, please don’t break on us, sir. We would hate to lose you, sir,” This sudden insubordination resulted in bunch of giggling
Crystal Pony trotted next to the new recruit who badmouthed him and then stopped.
“Maggot how would you like to get jettisoned in outer space?”By contrast, this stopped the giggling.
“Sir!
Twilight raised an eyebrow at that, Rainbow only looked at her, it's harmless, he is not going to do anything.
“Maggots, congratulations you're in luck. Thanks to the certain private all of you know how a combat borg to watch all your backs!”
“Well, actually I... ” Twilight tried to say but the Crystal Pony ignored her, so, at that point, she just completely ignored it.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash had been standing in one of the corridors of the starship, “Having fun huh?”
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash shrugged off “So um, let’s see if I could recover some more memories from that day.”
“Still don't want to go to Doctor, he probably has a solution to your problem.”
Rainbow smirked, “I imagine that he would. Say, Twilight how do you actually see me as, I am brash, egotistical and yet after so many years in several different realities you seem to stick with all of us.”
“I did, didn't I even though I do not fully understand it.”
"Maybe someday you will." Rainbow smiled to Twilight.
