Author's Note:"I plan to post the next chapter soon!" I still remember writing that two months ago. That was before December's plans hit where work seemed to double and things took a turn for the chaos capital. -_- I'm fine! I think... But I hope you all are fine and healthy. :D
Just as a heads up, I'm preeetty sure the next chapter is going to take a bit longer to post as well. This last chapter is the events that I've tied together in my mind. I've got the rest of the story mostly planned out just in events that I want to include, plot points, and that kind of thing. I still have to order them together in a way that makes sense. Both for continuity and for the sequel. ;) But don't worry. There is a basic road map and I do plan on finishing this. I just want to solidify that road map before I go too far. Feedback welcome! But regardless! Enjoy!
For those on Fanfiction: I apologize for the formatting issues. They didn't like to switch over very well. I also had to change some words in the computer talk so the two versions from Fimfiction and here will be a tad different. Don't worry! I think I fixed all the words that Fanfiction removed, not sure why, and there will be no loss of story. They will still be the same. Enjoy!
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Cheerilee was running next to the light blue pegasus. Directly towards the source of the extremely loud noise. It was not something that she entirely wanted to do, but whatever the sound was, Glyph had recognized it and was worried. Now any normal pony would run the opposite direction in either silence or full volume.
Though she no normal pony. She lived in Ponyville where many crazy events happened. So, without even thinking much about it, she continued to follow Glyph to the other side of the city. Where they slowed down and hid around a house. Cheerilee looked over Glyph's shoulder to see the Elements of Harmony and the Princess in a faceoff. The participants of this face-off surprised her greatly.
One side had Luna, Twilight, and the rest of her friends with the exception of Fluttershy. That pony was on the other side with another pony she did not recognize. Yet, that made her frown. Why was Fluttershy in a standoff with her friends?
"Here." Glyph said, pulling her attention away. She was holding out her metallic leg in a hoof bump sort of fashion, "You'll need this to help out."
Cheerilee looked at the leg skeptically, "Don't you need your leg?"
Glyph smiled, "Yes, but I'm not giving you my leg. Put your hoof against mine, it'll put a device on your hoof."
Cheerilee kept her skeptical look on her face but reached out and did what she was asked. The metal leg then began to click, and the lower portion of the leg extended outwards to cover her hoof. There was another click, and when Glyph pulled her leg away, the portion on her leg still on her own hoof. Glyph's hoof was reduced to a ribcage of metal beams. Just with electronics and motors on the inside instead of bone and sinew.
Cheerliee examined the new hoof covering she just received. It was simply the bottom of Glyph's metal leg. She turned it over to examine the bottom to see the inside of a metal tree trunk. Rings of metal completely covered the bottom of her hoof, obscuring any pink color she was used to.
"There. Now, just point your hoof at the pony with the artificial eye. That ought to disrupt any EMDs."
"EMDs?" Cheerilee said in surprise. They were talking about a pony, not some alien creature! She didn't even flinch when the two ponies heard Rarity scream. She had heard Rarity use her outside voice quite often. Especially when she ran out of fabric mid dress.
After a quick look towards Rarity's voice, Glyph replied quickly, "I'll explain later. Just be sure to point your hoof at the pony okay?" Her wings extended out and she crouched down, preparing to jump into the air.
"Wait," Cheerilee cried, "Can I step on it?" She was cradling the metal-covered hoof as if was made of eggshells.
Glyph nodded once before taking off into the air with a faint hum.
Cheerilee watched her go and then carefully peeked around the corner of the house. The elements were not in the group hug her mind had originally expected. Instead, Pinkie and Twilight were holding down Fluttershy.
She shook her head, figuring the situation was way over her head. Then lifted her metal covered hoof and pointed it directly at Fluttershy.
A faint but noticeably fake voice came from her hoof, "Axes are in alignment. Beginning interference broadcast…"
-Friendship can help soften the journey of life. Even if you have to fight for every single one.-
Access granted.
ERROR. Void systems have begun to report corruption.
Connected systems might experience interference!
Warning! Core 4, 7, 3 have begun to overheat because of "Void"
Attempting distribution of workflow to other cores.
Error. Cores are not accepting the diverted work.
Warning! 20+ errors have been detected in the Void systems.
Void system is beginning to overload, causing malfunctions in main devices.
Core program error. Beginning to release functions from devices to resolve overflow error…
Fluttershy's mind felt no such turmoil. Instead, she could actually feel the gap between her mind and body shrinking!
Yes, keep doing that! She thought happily, but frowned as an electrical pulse flooded her senses, "Ow!" She instinctively cried, and noticed that she had said that out loud.
Glyph perked up, "Bear with me!" She said quickly, guilty tones laid plain to see in her voice, "It won't be too lon—"
Her voice stopped cold as a black bolt of energy hit her square in the face. Her body went limp as she careened in a diagonal fashion. She landed and did not get up. Yet, Fluttershy saw her breathing as her hearing returned with a small crackle.
Noah appeared in her vision fiddling with the device on her eye.
"No!" Twilight cried, and a black shield appeared to block a magenta energy bolt.
Warning. Void corruption has reached 50%. Attempting to clear program and reboot from backup program directory.
Action has been denied by external docking device.
Another wave of electricity passed through her. Though it was not as powerful as a storm cloud, so it was bearable if not unpleasant. Her body didn't like the extra energy, however, and she felt herself crouch a bit as her limbs began to twitch.
"Stupid…" She heard Noah mutter then the device came loose from her eye and hovered away in a magical red glow.
404 error in docking port.
Emergency_Stop_Program has stopped working!
Ending program and resuming previous running programs.
Compiling crash log…
Log created and stored in MMO/Crash logs/External/Emergency_Stop_Program_one_
With an internal frown, Fluttershy felt the gap return to normal. The electrical pulses stopped however, and her limbs stopped twitching.
Noah grinned with approval and stated, "Resume Void collection."
Fluttershy felt herself blink and look at him, "Program already in operation," Came the words from her mouth with little to no emotion.
Noah nodded, "Ah yes. I forgot about the resume protocol."
Twilight was unsure what to do. The metal pipes that were holding her down seemed to have a mind of their own. Every time she'd try to move them away with her magic, they'd move right back into position. She even had tried to move the bars holding her friends down but to no avail.
What could she do? Their original plan had been to force Fluttershy to the dreamscape. A sleep only Luna could wake her up from.
Yet, when they had tried to hold her down for the magic to take effect, Fluttershy had thrown Rarity up into the sky like she would a pebble. That wasn't too big of an issue since Rainbow could fly, so she had used her magic to gift her remaining friends her alicorn strength. Which with all three of them holding her down, Fluttershy was still able to get free and avoid the spell.
Twilight groaned, again trying to move the metal pipes holding her a few inches in the air. Yet her efforts stopped when a blue pegasus landed in front of Fluttershy. The pony flared her wings and threw a small disk at Fluttershy's face. Twilight's hearing dimmed slightly, suddenly filled with a low hum.
She had watched and even blocked a few bolts that the grumbling Noah had sent towards the new pony. However, two got through her defenses through some magic she wasn't sure about. They seemed to slow as they hit her shields then burst through with renewed speed. The first one the pegasus had blocked with her metal leg. However, the second one had hit her square in the face. Sent her a distance away. With her out of the way, Noah briskly walked over to Fluttershy who was twitching in random movements, tiny lightning arcs dancing on her coat.
"No!" Twilight cried even as she had felt a plasma bolt gather on her horn. She sent it Noah's way but it was deflected by the pony with ease.
Twilight frowned. She could feel her magical essence running low after augmenting her friends. That and she was still recovering from blocking the magic from her fellow princesses. She took a look at the bars restraining her. She could easily teleport her and her friends out of the magnetic rope, yet she wasn't sure how much energy she would have left…
She had to risk it. Luna was much weaker than she was right now. How long she needed to recover she wasn't sure. She still wasn't sure what Luna had done, but she pushed that thought to the back of her mind. She could ask her later. She just had to make sure there was a later…
The familiar teleportation spell wrapped around her and her vision scattered and reappeared. She looked to her left and right and saw her friends next to her. Even Rainbow and Rarity had been teleported to her side.
"Um…" Twilight heard Spike mutter.
She looked to her back and saw Spike sitting on it with a very confused look on his face. She gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry Spike. I guess I forgot the emergency teleport spell involved you as well."
Spike half smiled, "The one that teleports you and your friends to a location?"
Twilight nodded and turned to Fluttershy, "Yeah." Noah had removed the small disk that the blue pegasus had placed on her friend's face, leaving two blue mechanical eyes to stare at her own.
"I guess it doesn't work on Fluttershy huh?"
Twilight frowned and shook her head.
"Twilight," Luna said, her voice strained.
"Yes?" Twilight answered, watching Noah talk to Fluttershy. Though she wasn't able to hear him.
"If Fluttershy catches me like she did my sister, I fear I do not have the strength to resist..." Her tone took a more fearful stance, "Please stay close. I may require your assistance."
Twilight gave her a glance and nodded, "Of course Luna."
"I'm feeling generous today. Let's give you a taste of what Fluttershy can do, shall we?" Noah's voice said carrying glee and satisfaction.
Fluttershy's stance changed, her right foreleg lifting slightly. It then sunk into her shoulder, just like how it did in the forest. Then, to her shock, a birdcage came out. Well, not exactly a birdcage she reckoned. It was still shaped like a leg, and much thinner than a birdcage would be. Yet, there were vertical bars that came from where her shoulder would connect to her, "leg." Then, horizontal rings encompassed the vertical bars in a birdcage esc-fashion. These rings shifted upwards and rested next to her shoulder. Then the other bars swiveled outwards to form an open claw. Fluttershy then pointed it right at Twilight, eyes still unnaturally wide.
She frowned and removed the little dragon off her back. Then she heard a twang and the claw launched itself at her, a small chain bouncing behind it. She flinched a bit and instinctively brought up a shield. Then her mind reconsidered her decision a little too late.
The claw went right through her shield and wrapped around her chest. It tightened its grip till it was snug and pulled taut. She gritted her teeth as she let the shield fade and ground her hooves into the ground, stopping her motion entirely. She teleported out of its grasp and the claw was yanked back to its owner.
Twilight took a breath, watching the pegasus spin and send the claw her way again. Though this time, she used her wings to roll out of the way. The method would put some dirt in her feathers, though that was the least of her worries.
A yelp of surprise made her turn around. The yelp had come from Spike. Who had gotten caught in the claw appendage which had now closed around him? He didn't look to be in pain, nor did he look too thrilled either. The claw began to retreat with its prize but Twilight, learning that magic had no effect on Fluttershy or the strange devices from her, grabbed the claw with her forelegs and dug her hind legs into the ground. Even with her bracing more than ninety degrees from the ground, she still was sliding towards Fluttershy. Though the slide didn't last long with her friends all piled on to help pull. Luna, however, held back with her wings still drooping on her sides.
Twilight noticed Fluttershy blink, then the claw began to shine a low blue. Then, quite suddenly an electric shock ran through the group of ponies with a jolt. It caused them to jump back in alarm, releasing the claw in the process.
"Help!" Spike cried in vain, as the cage dragged him along. Twilight and the rest of the ponies tried again to grab the metal contraption but found it too fast to grab. The group gave chase but ran into a green barrier as it materialized in front of her.
"Tsk tsk tsk, Twilight. It won't be that easy. I do need him as well." Noah said in an evil tone.
Spike had been brought up to Fluttershy's shoulder. The cage was a tad bigger than Fluttershy's leg but seemed to move like a normal leg, despite its new contents. The horizontal rings then returned to their original positions, expanding as they went around Spike. He sat tightly wrapped with a worried look on his face. Despite the Spike being in her leg, Fluttershy didn't seem to have a problem taking a step back.
Twilight narrowed her eyes at Noah, "You harm a single scale on him, and I will personally toast you…"
Noah grinned, "Lightly toasted or charcoal?"
Twilight replied darkly, "Ash."
Noah merely chuckled, "I would very much like to see you try. Fluttershy, contain Spike please."
Fluttershy blinked. Her shoulder expanded with extending panels a couple of inches, exposing a blue glow intermixed with mechanical parts and wires. The glow was emanating from a small circle that grew as her shoulder expanded. The circle's surface glowed with a light blue base tinged with white highlights that mimicked the resting ocean's gentle waves.
With a click, the cage rose into Fluttershy's shoulder, taking Spike with it. The cage and horrified dragon completely disappeared into the glowing blue circle and the shoulder shrunk back to its normal size. It remained a hole for a moment or two, then her original leg came back, and her stance returned to normal. All evidence that the leg had changed at all vanished within seconds. Twilight could only stare through the green shield at her friend. By Celestia's cutie mark, where did Spike go?
Twilight pursed her lips, not moving as the shield vaporized. Her mind was racing trying to understand what had happened to her #1 assistant. Whatever it was, it was definitely a sort of electromagical feature that had been added to her friend, against her will, but what purpose did that serve? What exactly did Noah do to her friend?!
Her face contorted together in anger. What exactly happened to Spike? She wanted to sit down and figure it out. Though that wouldn't help her at this current moment. Noah had said that he needed the little dragon so she doubted that the dragon was in any trouble. She hoped. Regardless, it helped calm her nerves. Yet, her anger was reaching her limit of control. Looking at her friends, she noticed they felt similarly.
Her eyes fell onto the light blue pegasus that had attempted to help earlier. She looked towards Luna and asked, "Do you know her?" Her hoof lifted and pointed to the injured pegasus.
Luna followed her gaze and took a second to reply, "Yes. That's the pony we should have met with." She took a breath, "We can trust her, though I can not remember her name…"
Twilight nodded and extended her magic to the motionless pony. Lifting her with her magic, she brought her over to her little group of friends. The pegasus groaned in complaint as she was moved. Twilight frowned and noticed immediately what kind of magic was used on her.
"Bah!" Luna scoffed, feeling the magic as well.
Twilight nodded, a frown mimicking her notion, she didn't like toxic magic either. Though it seemed Noah knew it quite well. She did know how to counter it, however. It was like neutralizing an acid; you just needed to add a base. So, she gathered her magic and condensed some energy with an opposite signature than what she felt stuck in the pony's skull. Then, Twilight gently prodded the energy into the pony's head. After a few moments, the pony's eyes shot open with a small gasp.
After a few moments of breathing and getting her surroundings, she looked at Twilight, "Thanks…" She said quietly.
Twilight nodded and looked back at Fluttershy, whose eyes were glowing green and purple. Spike's colors.
"Well done!" Noah exclaimed, "Oh I am so glad that system works."
"System?" Luna growled angrily, "She is not a machine…"
Noah snickered, "Pony once, but no more!" He gestured to the motionless pegasus, "She is the best tool in the shed. A tool sharpened by my electromagical devices and intelligence."
The mystery pegasus frowned, "Yeah. My intelligence… Then implemented onto a living being. Likely against her will judging on every pony's reaction…" Twilight noticed that she sounded more guilty than angry. Twilight glanced at her but decided that she would wait for that confrontation. Right now, she had to rescue three friends from a fate she didn't even know about. She didn't even know what system Noah was talking about! She needed more information to save them.
"Hey." Twilight said giving the light blue pony a friendly bump, "What do you say we do? You seem more in tune with Fluttershy's predicament than I do."
She frowned but responded glumly, "Yes. I do know a lot. How much pertains to your friend I'm not sure. Call me Glyph by the way."
Twilight took in the name with a nod and turned towards Fluttershy. She wasn't moving. Which struck her as odd, but then she noticed that Noah was sitting down. Merely staring at them with a smug look on his face. He was toying with them. Taunting them! She snorted, hoping that it would take some of the rage out of her system. It was ill effective, but it allowed her to clear her mind. Celestia had somehow been converted into some sort of spherical object. So they just needed to reverse that process to save Celestia. How?
She had no clue.
Spike had simply been pulled into Fluttershy through one of her legs. If they could get her to use that leg then a rescue plan could be possible. Though how was she going to do that?
She had no clue.
Fluttershy had somehow been converted into a mechanical being that still had the thoughts and actions of Fluttershy. That only changed with the appearance of the Reception 'ception and now Noah. The Reception 'ception was taken care of, so would eliminating Noah solve the problem?
She had no clue.
The only thing she knew was that her friend was taking strict orders from Noah. The only thing she could do without his consent was to protect him from harm. Her mind stopped mid-thought when she realized her friends were looking at her, waiting for an answer.
"Any ideas?" She asked, hoping for any input.
Applejack nodded, "We gotta defang that snake. If we put Fluttershy to sleep then we can deal with Noah. I'm not sure if we could do anything else with her in the way…"
Twilight nodded, "Agreed. Though I don't have that much magic left. So, I can't exactly share my strength again like last time. So, we all need to be there."
Rarity sighed, "Sorry. I really wasn't expecting to be thrown into the air like that. It was not an experience I would like to take part in again."
Rainbow chuckled, "Don't want to fly too close to the sun again huh?"
Rarity gave her a frown but was also trying not to smile.
"Wait," Pinkie piped in, "Remember the guards? Fluttershy almost killed them." She paused, "That really doesn't sound right to say…"
Twilight nodded sadly.
"We just have to remember that Noah may have Fluttershy hurt slash kill us." Pinkie said after a moment.
"Though I think we can cross Twilight and myself off that list. Noah seems very keen to get a hold of us." Luna said quietly, gently folding her wings on her back.
"Feeling better?" Twilight asked, hopeful. She still wanted to ask what had happened to her before but held her tongue.
Luna nodded, "Yes but not at full capacity. I should be able to handle low-class spells, but not teleportation. Though I think I can manage dream magic, but not for long."
"Can you run?" Rarity asked, "We may have to move around."
Luna paused, tapping each hoof on the ground, "Yes, I do believe I can. Though my wings are still quite tired. I do not think I will be able to get into the air."
Twilight nodded, "Good. Rarity, can you operate this spell?" Twilight motioned to the circle of runes on the ground, "We may not want those magmatic extenders to be in operation."
Glyph frowned, "So he's using them as weapons huh?" She seemed to be in a thoroughly bad mood.
Rarity examined the runes as Twilight frowned, "What's its original purpose?"
"Construction and manipulation of non-powered prosthetics."
Twilight blinked, not expecting an answer so fast, "Okay. What about that thing you put on Fluttershy's eye earlier? What was that supposed to do?"
Everypony turned to the pony, the air demanding an answer.
She nodded, "That was a portable interface. It was designed to be on a docking system for anypony with prosthetics. I just made it able to work without the rest of the docking system. It delivered a program that would overload any rogue programs and shut them down. I was hoping that would release your friend. Though I don't think Noah is going to give that device back…"
"Was the docking system a, 'Harness?'" Applejack said suspiciously, making Twilight's thoughts shift sharply.
Glyph gave her a concerned look, "That's what Noah called it, but how do you know about it?!" She sounded urgent.
Applejack gave her a confused look and took a half step back, "Er, well. Fluttershy was acting just fine. Well, mostly fine. She had control over her actions until Noah had her in the harness. That's when the zap apples went bad."
Glyph brought a hoof to her chin, "Did it look like that she fell asleep? Like she was suddenly knocked out?"
"No?" She responded.
"No. She did not. She was fully awake," Luna confirmed firmly.
"Then we may have an easy way to save her! It sounds like her systems weren't rebooted. So, any changes that Noah had made could be more easily disrupted. I think. It's been a while since I've done any sort of white hat business."
"White hat?" Twilight asked.
Glyph frowned, looking for an answer, "hmmm. Well, it's hacking but fighting black hats. Basically, good guys v bad guys? It's a little more than that but for now, that will work."
Twilight shrugged making a mental note to ask her about that later.
"Hats aside; Twilight I do believe that I can make this spell work. What's next?" Rarity said looking towards her purple friend.
Twilight took a thoughtful pose, "I think that we could again try to put Fluttershy to sleep. It's the best non-lethal plan I can think of at the moment."
"Agreed. Though one question, why is she not using her hair?" Luna asked, directing her attention to the yellow pegasus.
Glyph responded before anypony else could respond, "I have another pony helping with that. She has a device that can disable her EMDs. Which I'm assuming is her hair?"
"EMDs?" Twilight asked incredulously. Then she stopped and shook her head, "What do EMDs do?" She was getting used to the fact Fluttershy had non-pony abilities and items.
"EMD or, external manipulator devices, are meant to interact with the environment where the user could not. Say super small objects to very slippery ones that normal hoof traction wouldn't be able to grip. They can also channel energy if done correctly."
"Okay." Twilight managed to say before all of the questions could blurt from her mouth. How did Fluttershy's hair transform Celestia? How was she able to control it? How was she able to hold up so much weight?
"Okay, the plan is to hold her down while Luna performs a spell, what spell?" Glyph asked, looking at Twilight and Luna.
Luna answered, "It is a type of dream magic that will put even the lord of chaos into a deep slumber. If there is any pony left in Fluttershy, it will put her to sleep."
"What's plan B if that doesn't work?" Glyph asked looking at the two Princesses.
"Why is Noah letting us plan?" Luna asked instead, throwing a glance at the pony in question.
Glyph frowned, "I'm guessing that he is gloating. Baiting us to challenge him so he can crush us with his, 'superiority.' Gah…"
"How do you know that?" Twilight asked a little harshly, then added, "Sorry…"
Glyph shook her head, "Don't be. You just found out that your friend had been changed to metal and circuitry. Then found out that I know that son of a defective bolt…"
"How well?"
"Well, enough to know his basic motives. Though I can explain more when we nail him and save your friend." Glyph responded, her voice filled with venom.
Twilight nodded in understanding, "Alright, since you have the most knowledge here. What do you think plan B should be?"
Glyph took a second to think, "If her systems haven't been rebooted then it will be easier to disrupt and cause a crash."
"Crash?!" Pinkie blurted out in concern.
"Not in the terms of biology," Glyph said calmly, even as Pinkie's expression seemed to explode in concern, "It's in the sense of computers. You said that she was fine till after she was in the harness right? Well, if she didn't look like she went to sleep then any modified subscripts were not completely solidified on internal memory drives, as they can't be written on while in use. So, causing a crash will make the system fall back onto the previously working subscripts. Which, if I'm understanding correctly, would be before she was placed into the harness."
"Okay," Luna said softly, "So, how do we cause a, 'crash'?"
"Well, I can think of two ways: manual override of the programs in Fluttershy's Core system array or an electrical overload."
"So, if she gets hit with lightning she'll go back to normal?" Rainbow asked, though her gaze was not on the pony but rather in the sky.
"I don't think so. If her augmentations are based off my designs, which I'm 99% sure they are," She added with a groan, "then it will take a much larger charge." She paused and reached over to her back. She pulled a small metal disk from the base of her metal wing and offered it out to the alicorns, "Put this on Fluttershy and I can handle the rest." Luna levitated the disk to her and examined it curiously.
Noah's voice filled the air, disrupting the conversation, "Okay, I grow tired of this. I know you have two plans already, so give it a shot! Futile, but I do not want Twilight to attempt to plan for every impossibility. I know how she can get…"
"How do you know that?!" Pinkie accused, "We don't even know you!"
Noah smiled, "You published a book remember?" He then proceeded to launch a crackling projectile at the group, who scattered to dodge it.
"Same formation as last time girls! Glyph! Take my left!" Twilight cried.
The ponies next to her listened and soon had a V formation running towards Fluttershy. Rarity lit her horn and the circle of runes again lit up with a light blue glow.
As the V formation got closer to the yellow pony, it flipped to where Applejack was in the back with Rainbow and Pinkie on her right and Twilight and Glyph on her left.
Fluttershy's stance tightened and became more defensive, though the sides of her jaw opened to allow two small cylinders to emerge and extend just past her muzzle. She then swung her head to the left, then to the right. As she did so, familiar green flames flared from her muzzle and landed on the stone ground to create a fiery barrier.
The charging group of ponies stopped in their tracks and paused in shock at the green flames.
"Spike…" Twilight whispered and dared a glance at Rarity. She remained at her position but looked as if somebody had trashed her dress minutes before a dance. She turned her attention forward and lit her horn. If it was Spike's fire, then this spell would do the trick.
Small purple sparks flew from her horn and landed amongst the green flames, extinguishing them entirely. Twilight frowned in anger and concern. Though the expression was short-lived as Fluttershy reared up and smashed the ground. Though, not in vertical fashion but rather a diagonal one which caused a wave of dirt and stones to knock Twilight and Glyph off balance. While at the same time, Fluttershy's head was turned in the opposite direction. From her muzzle came a fireball that hit Rainbow right in the chest.
The green fire greedily took hold and the pegasus jumped back in alarm, wings flared to save her valuable feathers. She desperately attempted to smother the flames with her forelegs but only succeeded in allowing them to spread to her forelegs and mane.
"Rainbow! Hold your breath!" Pinkie shouted desperately, her normal cheerfulness fully replaced with worry and demand.
Rainbow listened and Twilight watched her close her eyes and fill her lungs. Pinkie then pulled a bright red fire extinguisher out of her mane and sprayed her friend down with white foam with speed only experience could provide.
Fluttershy turned towards Twilight who lit her horn in preparation for a fire extinguishing spell.
Her attention was pulled slightly to Glyph as she cried to Pinkie, "Pinkie! Toss it to me!"
The party pony complied and sent red metal object hurling towards her new friend. Glyph lifted her metal leg to catch the fire extinguisher and it made contact with a large metallic ping. She then snatched the nozzle with her muzzle and squeezed the handle with her chin, causing the device to discharge the familiar white foam with a hiss.
The foam covered the yellow pegasus's face but she jumped forward and smacked the steel canister with her hoof. It made a clang and the canister was launched backward. However, Glyph managed to retain her grip by swinging her entire body around to bring the accelerated canister back at Fluttershy's foam covered head. Her foreleg snapped upwards to receive the extinguisher causing it to explode with a bang. The contents formed a thick white mist to obscure the area around them. Twilight sealed her mouth and extended her wings to part the mist. She noticed that Glyph mimicked her motions and the two were able to start clearing the chemical mist. She also noticed that Applejack had a lasso queued up and spinning around her head. She launched it at her yellow friend and pulled it tight around Fluttershy's muzzle. Applejack braced against the rope and pulled Fluttershy into a bracing position. The wings of the alicorn and pegasus had then been able to clear the air, so Twilight refilled her lungs and lunged forward. Glyph mimicked her motion and the two closed the gap between them and Fluttershy.
A clang and a dull thunk filled the air as four prongs emerged from the Fluttershy's left leg and anchored themselves into the ground. She then lifted her right leg and swatted Glyph away. Glyph had managed to soften the blow with her metal leg but the leg still had enough energy to send the pegasus into Twilight which made both ponies tumble over. Once the tumble ended, she realized that she was a distance away. She looked at Glyph, but she seemed alright.
Fluttershy didn't give them a glance but rather flicked her right leg up to the rope and sliced it with the blade she had used earlier. The earth pony on the other end tumbled over with the sudden lack of pull. Though Fluttershy didn't seemed to be affected by the sudden change but rather retracted the prongs from her leg and lifted both legs to her face and removed the rope. She shook her head to clear the foam from her head and tightened the noose on the rope will it was a small knot on one end. Shen then placed either end of the rope on two medium-sized rocks. Each hoof emitted a decently loud click and she looked towards Rainbow who had just gotten all the foam off her face.
"Alright, round two!" She shouted and crouched to take to the air. However, Fluttershy lifted one of the rocks her hooves were on and flicked it towards the two ponies. The rock sailed into the air pulling the other rock in a makeshift bola. The bola then wrapped itself around Pinkie's right foreleg and Rainbow's left foreleg, tying them together. Pinkie took one look at the predicant and looked at Dash.
"Charge!" She shouted and grabbed Rainbow's left leg. The blue pegasus smiled and jumped into the air despite the pink pony. Twilight jumped forward with Glyph on her tail, hoping to close the gap to reach her yellow friend when Rainbow did.
Once in the air the pegasus did a forward flip and launched herself forward with the extra weight of Pinkie. Though Twilight noticed that her target did not seem to be Fluttershy but rather it seemed to be Noah. However, even before she was close to her target she was enveloped by a light green glow that morphed into a ball with the two ponies inside. The ball hovered in the air and grew small holes along its surface like an oversized wiffle ball.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy and noticed that her wings were extended and glowing green crystals shimmered in between her feathers. Fluttershy didn't look back as she had reached over and grabbed the rope with her hoof. She gave the rope a hefty pull that yanked Applejack on the other end towards the yellow pegasus. Her hat came off as she was lifted off her hooves and was pulled in her direction with speeds she was not used to. As Applejack reached Fluttershy, her hoof sprouted the blade again. Though this time it was thrust into Applejack's chest with a small thump.
Applejack's eyes went wide with a small gasp. One of her forelegs snapped up to the yellow leg currently against her chest. She braced against it and steadied her footing along the ground. She coughed then suddenly slumped to the ground. The blade that had been around Fluttershy's hoof seemingly having vanished.
"Applejack!" Twilight shouted and turned her full attention to Noah. Her anger was like a lumbering creature. A creature that had been rudely awoken. It clawed at her veins with sharp claws but it didn't fill her with pain but a hot energy filled her. The rage swirled around her body in waves but curled around in her horn which began to spark aggressively.
She growled and jumped into the air, ignoring the sudden snap of the neck that Fluttershy did to look at her. She released the burning rage in her head in a blistering blast of magical energy. It hurtled towards Noah but he showed no reaction as Fluttershy jumped upwards and took the blast for him. Yet, it had no effect on the timid pony. So, Twilight tried another approach. With her tiredness forgotten she teleported to an area near Noah and attempted to blast him again. Yet, the yellow pony was able to anticipate the move and Twilight found the pony in her way again. She tried again and again yet found that either the pony or the pony's hair was blocking her attacks. She didn't dare get close again but she wouldn't just sit idly.
Though she felt Luna's magic wrap around her, stopping her movements entirely. "Enough…" She heard her mentor's sister's voice say firmly. She felt herself hover over to Luna's position and was set gently down next to the alicorn.
Twilight fought the urge to fight the magic restraining her. The logical part of her brain screamed at her that it wasn't right that Luna would restrain her without a good reason. However, the anger in her mind made her voice a little angrier than she would have liked, "What's the big idea?!"
Luna gave her a gentle glance and pointed to Fluttershy, "Have you now noticed?"
"Noticed what?" Twilight said, dropping some of her anger.
"Fluttershy seems to be fighting. Not a physical battle but a mental one. Look!" Luna said, pointing at the yellow pegasus. She had been frozen, staring at Twilight with Spike green eyes. Yet, even as she watched, the eyes changed to a brighter neon green around the iris and the pony started towards Applejack. Twilight also took a step to defend Applejack but Luna stopped her.
"Her eyes have changed multiple times. Each time she had started to go Applejack, or at least give a worried glance. Yet that stopped when you attacked Noah, prompting her to protect him. I'm curious if Fluttershy is going to help heal Applejack as she did Rainbow." She turned to look at Twilight, "You told me this while we were waiting at Noah's house. Her eyes are the same color as they were then, correct?"
Twilight could only nod.
Fluttershy was hyperventilating and every time she tried to breathe in and out she got the same thing over and over again.
Action denied.
Action denied.
Action denied.
The constant reminder somehow helped her calm down.
"Think Fluttershy! Now is not the time to be freaking out!" That was what she would normally tell herself to calm down and jump into action.
Though this time was different in every way possible.
Spike had been, somehow, taken into her form through her shoulder. Where was he? Was he alright?
Action denied.
Action denied.
She internally frowned, getting frustrated at the constant reminder that her body was no longer her own but her concern was not forgotten. She had to make sure that Spike was okay.
"Spike?" She called out in her mental space. She tried again in the same area of her mind that Celestia was in but confirmed that it was only her. So, where was Spike? Was he…
Action denied.
Action denied.
Oh, come on! She screamed into her mind. Feeling the words echo around in her head did not make her feel any better, but she got an answer.
Unknown command.
Command? Who or what? No, wait. That was the computer Twilight had talked about before, Fluttershy recalled, careful not to set off the denied prompt again. The computer would know where Spike would be right? It was, after all, controlling her. Well, that's what she reckoned since she didn't see anything connecting her to Noah.
Where's Spike? She asked quietly. The words were taken, and she got a response a moment later.
Unknown command.
Fluttershy frowned, then growled as she was again reminded. She returned her focus to the words she felt. Command? How would she say, 'where's Spike,' as a command?
Find Spike? She tried and got a different response.
Error. Incorrect syntax at: '''Spike''' Please define an internal drive location before the file name.
"Drive location? What was a drive?" Fluttershy thought. She frowned and took a mental breath. She had to think like Twilight. What would she do? She'd break it down to analyze. So, what to break down?
She could feel the gears turning in her head as she pondered what the computer had said. Then she wondered if there were actually gears turning in her skull. Then, it clicked. The computer had said internal. Was that talking about her mind? Or more specifically the computer in her mind?
She knew that she wasn't attempting to look for something in the computer. She was looking for something outside that, Spike wasn't part of the computer.
Though she was on the right track wasn't she? She had gotten the computer to respond without booting the MMO. That brought a thought to her mind, though she was very sure it wasn't going to work…
Boot MMO? She asked hopefully.
Error. MMO boot sequence has been denied by .
Her frown seemed to emanate throughout her mind. She had figured that it wouldn't work. She couldn't even breathe on her own.
So, she had to go back to what worked. The word, "find," seemed to work. Would something similar work as well? She thought about it for a second.
"Locate Spike?" She tried, she felt something click, and…
Sensors are already in function…
Scanning for 'spike.'
Fluttershy then saw many circles appear along her vision, each highlighting a certain object. Twilight's horn was highlighted along with Luna's and Rarity's horns. Though there were circles around the corners of the roofs on top of the multicolored houses. She frowned. She guessed that it did locate spikes…
While she was paying somewhat attention to her friends she noticed they were in a group in front of her. She felt herself take a step forward but paused when Noah said something.
"Stop, let them plan. I did not wait for years for this final plan to action for it to end so fast… Let them sweat a bit." He then gave her a second glance, "Why am I talking aloud?"
Fluttershy frowned at this. She was still in here. Regardless of whether or not "here" was her own body. Her frown persisted as she thought about what the computer had done. It had identified things that she would identify as a spike, just not Spike the dragon. Okay…
Locate Spike the dragon. She asked.
…
Entity Spike the dragon has been located in core memory banks. Beginning scan with data bank information.
Scan completed. Entity Spike has been located in Dangerous item containment cell #1.
Dangerous item containment cell #1? What did that mean? Her mental expression became thoughtful. Could she ask the computer?
"How many plans have they discussed?" She heard Noah ask.
She felt herself respond, "Two." She then heard the pony talk about her friend's planning habits though she tuned it out. She needed to figure out exactly how Spike was trapped, where, and how to get him out.
Her concentration broke for a second as she watched Noah shoot a bolt at her friends. They avoided much to Fluttershy's relief. She took a breath even as she watched her friends charge her. She needed to focus.
Though she was interrupted by hearing Celestia's voice calling for her. She frowned and thought about the area that she had previously talked to Celestia. Her vision looked like it was taken off again and she found herself next to the Princess in the cube they had met earlier. Only now, the cube had much more activity. The moving lights were now red, and the ground below them seemed to glow slightly. Rays of bleached red seemed to emit through the floor through square tiles.
"Oh thank goodness!" Celestia said in a very concerned voice. It was then Fluttershy realized that the rays of light were only around the Princess. "Do you know what is happening?" She asked meekly.
Fluttershy shook her head, slightly distracted by what was happening. She was seeing Celestia, but unlike before she could also see her friends jump back from a wall of fire that she had apparently created. Her mood turned hopeless when she realized it was Spike's flames.
"That's not good…" Celestia said, flaring her wings halfway.
She was about to say something, but her attention was again ripped in two as she felt the intent to torch her friend. She gritted her imaginary teeth and played tug of war with the command, strange as it was.
Then, quite suddenly four curved spikes emerged around Celestia in four diagonal directions.
Fluttershy's concentration broke and a stream of fire was let loose after she created a dirt avalanche. She just managed to cut it off to a small ball of fire, but it still made contact with her friend.
Fluttershy watched the green flames as well as Celestia's face clench with fear and worry as she tried to jump forward to avoid the spikes. However, she was grabbed by an invisible force mid-air and was pulled to the middle of the curved spikes.
Fluttershy watched the party pony pull out a fire extinguisher and douse Rainbow in white foam even as she jumped forward to help. Though small curved rectangular prisms jumped from the floor and arranged themselves in between the spikes to create a sort of caged ball around the alicorn.
Fluttershy attempted to push one of the floating pieces out of the way but a wall of fire stopped her hoof. She yanked it back, expecting pain. Yet, it didn't occur. She placed her hoof back on the firewall but realized it was a solid object that she couldn't push through. She tried to anyway, and the flames around her hoof begun to turn slightly pink. The air around her was a mix of Celestia and the contents of the fire extinguisher exploding on her hoof.
Though she stopped when she saw a glowing yellow orb appear above Celestia. The alicorn also looked upwards at the glowing ball with concern. It crackled for a second then a bolt of energy connected it to Celestia. The ball shrunk in size as the energy was transferred into Celestia. She shuddered as she began to glow gently.
"Princess?" She asked with a little bit of volume, also feeling a rope wrapping around her muzzle.
The princess shuddered again, her limbs were curled inward like a dying spider. Then, she let loose a restrained scream.
"Princess!" Fluttershy shouted. She again began to pound on the flame shield as Celestia convulsed mid-air. Pounding mixed in with her two hooves on two rocks, connecting them together with small metal staples and rope.
Fluttershy could feel guilt building in her throat, even though she knew that it wasn't her fault. The screaming stopped and so did her pounding on the shield. The princess collapsed to the floor as the rectangular objects fell and sank into the floor. Once they had completely disappeared, the shield vaporized as well. She rushed over to the Alicorn and gently propped her up.
"Celestia! You okay?" Fluttershy asked, noticing the guilt coming out of her throat. She barely registered the makeshift bola being thrown.
Celestia didn't respond, but she noticed that her eyes went wide above her. Even as Fluttershy pulled on the rope that Applejack was holding.
Fluttershy had enough time to look up before the now golden glowing orb connected to her with a crackling bolt of energy. She twitched expecting a terrible pain to wash through her, but, nothing seemed to happen. She felt the energy pass through her to the floor which pulsated with a yellow wave. It only lasted for a second, but for that time she was able to feel a secondary energy pass through her. It was, warm, but it reminded her of the sun…
It ended and the two ponies remained where they were, staring at each other. One with tired, concerned eyes. The other had eyes of pure horror.
Fluttershy realized with a gasp that she had a blade on her foreleg, and it was in her friend's chest. Her heart seemed to skip a beat as she mentally screamed for the blade to vanish. Not just her voice screamed though. Every fiber of her being, both natural and unnatural. Both known and unknown. Each one screamed in perfect harmony. Something in her mind heard her request, no, she heard her own request and the blade vanished; causing Applejack to collapse.
"Fluttershy?! Are you okay?" Celestia said wearily but with heavy concern.
Fluttershy could only mutter, voice gone with sadness, "I killed AJ." The nickname seemed to roll off her tongue with little resistance. She could not muster the full name. She could not muster to say anything else to the Princess's other questions, even as she watched her eyes widen with shock.
Then she felt something familiar, then words appeared in her vision.
Critical patient detected! Activate MMO?
Fluttershy's chest seemed to swell with hope and she shouted in response, "Yes!"
Activating MMO…
Error. Activation has been denied by
She growled at the response, making Celestia jump back in alarm. Her friend was dying!
"Activate MMO!" She commanded.
Error. Activation command has been denied by .
Core program error: Safety protocol_F parameters have been crossed. Activating MMO for parameter correction.
Core program error. can not be shutdown.
Creating compromise…
Fluttershy grimaced as she felt the gap between her mind be filled with thousands of tiny wires that connected her mind to her body again. Though it felt like her mind was filled with too many feathers.
Warning! Core processors are reaching Bio-critical and will begin to cause discomfort. Please lower the calculation processes or re-tune bio connectors!
Fluttershy shook the message aside. She didn't care if she was in a little discomfort. Right now, Applejack was bleeding out because of her hoof. She took a step forward and noticed that there was no denial. She took a few steps towards Applejack but it felt like strings were connected to her legs as she jumped away to block a shot from Twilight, the magic dissipating as it touched her skin. She watched Twilight disappear, so she attempted to get to Applejack again but was pulled away to block another blast of magic. This kept going, giving Fluttershy time to only glance at Applejack. She did notice that magic was keeping her friend alive. The computer recognized it as Rarity's magic weaved into an emergency medical spell. Though it wasn't going to keep her alive for long. She also didn't know how the computer knew what kind of spell it was, but the thought was let go.
Fluttershy then realized another magical signature had entered her vision, holding Twilight in place. It was blue and belonged to Luna. Fluttershy watched Luna levitate the furious Twilight over to her as the battle mode gave many recommendations. Though Fluttershy ignored them. She needed to get to Applejack.
So, she rushed over to her. Nothing stopping her motions this time, and when she got close. A request appeared in front of her vision.
MMO is requesting control for a complicated medical procedure. Would you like to grant the request?
YES! Fluttershy begged the computer. It had already saved Rainbow, could it save Applejack?
She saw and felt her forelegs sink again into her shoulders and the navy blue medical legs come out. The boxes on them swiveled and moved in a seemingly random pattern till an empty area was visible on both legs. The area sunk inwards to reveal a hidden panel. From it emerged a white tube. Though it didn't look like any normal tube but rather a random array of holes dotted the surface of it. She did notice that it had a clear surface completing the tube.
She also felt the side of her neck open, revealing the area the oxygen masks had emerged when she healed rainbow.
She looked at Rarity who had slumped to the ground, gasping for breath. Applejack twitched, and a pool of blood started to expand along the stones at her side. Fluttershy's hopes began to fall as she watched the gruesome sight. Though something appeared in her vision that pulled her attention slightly:
Interference faded. Resuming EMD operation…
EMD? What was— She managed to think before she felt her hair again sprung to life and almost half moved to Applejack's wound. Meanwhile, her vision changed to a stark blue.
White lines ran across her vision to outline her orange friend. Her head, hair, legs, everything seemed to be outlined. Even her internal organs seemed to be marked out in darker white lines. Her stomach and lungs were the most recognizable things she was able to identify. Though she knew what the heart looked like, she thought, so why didn't she see it?
MMO diagnostics:
Internal organs damaged:
-Lungs
-Heart\critical!\
Commencing healing process…
Fluttershy wasn't told what was happening but she could listen to what was happening. Well, not really listening as the system wasn't talking. Though she just watched as something in her mind seemed to know what was happening.
Each strand of hair that was going inside Applejack's chest was going to a very specific spot. Each glowing a faint blue. When the strand reached its destination, a pulse ran from her head along the length of the strand. It reached the end to create a hotspot that cauterized the area it was touching. Hundreds of hairs were moving and sealing hundreds of tiny broken blood vessels.
Though for the larger ones, only the length of a few hairs across, were spliced together with the tubes that were being made with from her foreleg. As every tube was taken another took its place only to be taken again. Each unique tube temporary reconnecting broken paths.
A couple of strands pulled two tubes from the panel on her neck. The ends were spiked and shiny silver. The tube connecting it was small and clear. It was rushed over to the chest wound to disappear inside. In her vision, she saw the ends inserted into two much larger vessels. The spikes expanded inside the vessels to create a seal.
Aorta bypass has been completed. Beginning artificial blood flow…
Fluttershy watched in worry as the clear tube became filled with a red liquid that climbed upwards from her friend's wounded chest towards her neck. She twitched as she saw the fluid enter her neck. Her mind objectively thought about sanitation issues but was swept away with a realization. Why did the MMO need to bypass the Aorta? She knew that was one of the main connections to the heart from the body so why was that connection broken? What happened to her heart?
She watched a group of hair that seemed to fiddle with an area in the chest cavity but a small fabric being pulled from her foreleg caught her attention.
Creating organ graph…
The "organ graph," was shaped like a pointy egg. It was a few inches in length and she could see the tiny little lines that make up the paper-thin fabric. Once it was completed, two strands lifted it up and brought it to Applejack's lung. It was then she noticed jagged lines on the organ. It was torn! She watched as her hair seemed to tap on the graph and when they retreated, the graph stayed put.
Graph has been applied. Waiting for pleura to accept…
Twilight was still in a hot mood. Her angry outburst restrained only by the alicorn next to her. Though it was mellowing as she watched her friend's hair move in and out of Applejack's chest wound.
Holed tubes was the cargo that confused Twilight at its effectiveness but said nothing about it. She continued to watch the pegasus but felt her gaze shift over to Noah. Though frowning, he did not intervene. Twilight's frown grew deeper. What was he planning?
Noah noticed her glare and scoffed, "You think looks alone can kill me?"
Twilight shuddered as she resisted the urge to charge him, so she responded with something else, "One must know their enemy…"
The brownish pony smiled, "Indeed, but regardless of what information you can get you can still never win. Your, 'friend,' can do so much more than you can imagine."
Twilight didn't respond immediately. Even though her friend wouldn't respond to her words, she still didn't want to throw any jabs, "She was that way before you messed with her."
Noah laughed, "Ha! She was a shy excluded filly when I found her. So weak. So helpless. So, useless. Though now she is a beacon of development. A weapon, tool, and so much more."
Twilight couldn't stop herself this time. Hot anger intensified in her mind as she realized that Noah had changed her friend when she was a filly! A filly!
Her mind wandered over to the memory where she pulled Fluttershy out when her eye was first repaired. Where she felt Fluttershy's pain. Felt the missing forelegs and the back of her head.
Something clicked inside of her. Something in her alicorn magic but she was too angry to recognize the power boost. Too angry to think, she changed her stance to an offensive and felt energy gather on her horn, wings outstretched to their intimidating span.
Though that feeling was abruptly interrupted as her vision spun. No, rather she spun. Rapid enough to make her fall to the ground with dizzy notions. After a few moments, she got back up and looked for the source, though she could not understand what had spun her.
"Twilight," Luna said gently pulling her attention, "For the sake of your friend do not attack. I do not think you noticed. Look at Fluttershy's eyes." The last bit was a command, however gently she said it.
So, Twilight bit her anger and did what she was asked. She looked at Fluttershy and found she was staring at her with a soulless stare. Though it just wasn't a single stare. Two ponies were staring at her. One had a red eye that stared at her with unnatural and programmed emotions. What did it see in her? She couldn't say. Yet the other pony was more familiar. Her friend, albeit with green eyes, stared at her with worry and fear that told her to wait. Told her to not attack. For the sake of Applejack.
She blinked and she was staring at Fluttershy with a green eye and a red eye. She frowned, but sat down and extinguished her horn. She then saw the area visibly get darker. She looked around in surprise, had she been glowing?
"Remind me to never prank you again…" She heard Rainbow say with a chuckle, "You might hit me so hard I'd become a rainbow!"
"Huh?" That was the only reply she could muster.
Rainbow gave her a look, "You were glowing and looking like you blast a house away with a glance! Awesome! But I don't want to be at the end of that!"
The rest of her friends nodded.
"Indeed. Your magical prowess is quite a spectacle." Rarity said in a tired, but elegant tones, "I can barely manage an emergency medical spell!" She let her breath out sharply and took another.
Twilight smiled, "It does take a lot of practice. I'm sure you can improve! I'd be happy to help as well!" She smiled, masking the anger that still was going through her veins. She was happy for the distraction before she exploded and hurt somepony she didn't want to.
Though it seemed that she wasn't the only one struggling to control her anger. Twilight noticed that her friends were also wearing masks. Though she had been their friends long enough to see through them. Pinkie was smiling, but she could see the opposite expression in her eyes. Rainbow's wings were beating faster than was needed to keep her airborne, causing her to go up and down in slight motions. Rarity, though tired, had an annoyed expression that accompanied a slightly frizzy mane that stayed forgotten.
Though Glyph had no such mask. Her expression laid flat to see. Anger. Hot and pure.
"I understand why my friends and I are so mad about Fluttershy. Why are you so mad?" Twilight asked, having to control her tones carefully.
Glyph didn't return the look but rather spoke, hotly, "Noah used my technology. A technology developed to assist ponies in search and rescue. Medical means. And more. Yet he is using it to control another pony. To hurt. To kill!" The last word was a growl that felt unnatural for a pony's voice, though Twilight felt herself almost growling.
She shook her head sympathetically but noticed her anger was making her anger rise. She needed to keep a cool head lest Luna spin her again. She had no books to read. She could catalog a list of plans but without information, she couldn't make too many plans.
She felt her tail swish with annoyance but turned back to the angry mare, "Medical means?"
The pony nodded still looking at Fluttershy, but her face mellowed slightly, "Yes. I created the MMO and many devices it can control to save lives. Take your friend for example," She said pointing her metal hoof towards the orange pony, "If Noah implemented the MMO right and those are the medical legs she is using right now, your friend will be healed guaranteed. Even if that blade punctured both lungs, severed her spine and split her heart in two."
"That's quite the claim!"
Glyph nodded, "Indeed but it will be proved by your friend standing up."
Twilight nodded and turned her head back to her friend.
Graph has been accepted. Beginning pleura repair…
Fluttershy felt and saw her hair move along the surface of Applejack's lung, gently applying some sort of repair. She was definitely curious about what she was doing and how the mesh lines, that made up the lung, were slowly becoming whole.
She felt her lips purse together as anxiety tightened her chest. Her friend was not reacting to her hair touching her lungs which seemed to imply the worst to happen…
Vitals stable.
Pleura has been repaired. Respiratory system has been restored to previous levels. Disinfecting for reboot.
Fluttershy felt some of her hair retreat from the chest wound and saw her hooves gently lift AJ's head. She physically opened her mouth and watched with concern as her hair floated in. She maintained her position as she watched the air slide down the windpipe and enter the lungs. Each strand seemed to hover inside the lungs just before the edge.
Disinfection in process…
Virtual heart repair has finished its simulation. Beginning removal…
Removal?! Fluttershy started to panic. Won't removing the heart kill her friend?! She froze. She could stop the MMO, maybe, but that probably won't help her friend? Was there a better way to save her friend?
A thought occurred to her. She had spoken to the MMO and it had replied. Could she ask it to not remove her heart? She took a breath, "Can you not remove Applejack's heart?"
It was silent for a second.
The heart has been critically damaged. 30% of its biomass will have to be replaced to restore function.
"Could you do that while it's in her chest? So, you don't have to remove it?"
No. An external tool that will not fit in the chest cavity.
"Are you sure there is no other way?"
It paused, and Fluttershy could feel the computer thinking, Another method exists. However, containment protocol would have to be used. To change methods now would require disconnection from the circulatory system which would result in an 85% chance of death.
Fluttershy paused. She knew the heart was one of the most essential organs of a pony; wouldn't removing it kill them? Another thought entered her mind. Was a heart that was missing 30% of itself still working?
"Is Applejack's heart still working?"
No. Heart function has been destroyed.
Fluttershy could feel herself tearing up, "So she's dead?"
No. Circulatory system is being assisted through an external pump.
Fluttershy felt her vision return to normal for a moment. Then she turned her head to the glowing tubes connected to her neck.
"So," Fluttershy stated, starting to understand, "I'm acting as Applejack's heart?"
No. You have a system that is sustaining blood flow.
Fluttershy blinked. The system was a part of her. So, wasn't her statement correct? She shook her head. She wasn't going to argue semantics. She took another look at her unconscious friend. The MMO had already saved one of her friends so she knew she could trust it.
"Okay. Do whatever you need to do to save her." She relented.
She didn't get any verbal response but felt a sense of confirmation. Her vision returned to the lines that had occupied her vision before. Though this time she saw a highlighted object in her vision, deep in her friend's chest. Now that it was highlighted and standing out from the rest, she realized what it was. AJ's heart. A cut, broken heart but a heart none the less.
Additional strands of hair threaded into the wound and gently wrapped around the organ while other strands cut, and cauterized tiny blood vessels still connected to the vital piece. Though the entire line structure seemed to move.
With a cough, the orange pony took in a stuttering breath and started to get up, bewildered.
"Whoa, wait! Please!" Fluttershy cried quietly, her hooves reaching out and pushing the earth pony back down.
Applejack didn't resist but gave the yellow pegasus a look of concern, "What happened? Are you alright?" Her face lit up in realization and her hoof shot towards her chest. Though a pink hair stopped the movement with greater speed.
"Please Applejack. You're hurt. I'm working on helping you." Fluttershy said gently.
Patient has begun to breathe. Supplemental oxygen levels have been reduced…
Applejack gave her a confused look, "How?"
Fluttershy frowned, watching her friend's face through lines. She was also watching her hair gently pushing open the chest cavity and the wound entrance. Then the heart began to move towards the expanded opening, guided by her pink strands of hair.
Applejack grimaced, again trying to pull her hoof to her chest, "What are ya doing?" Her voice was thick with confusion and concern.
"Healing you," Fluttershy said simply as she felt the MMO place the medical legs in front of AJ's chest. The boxes on them shifted around a bit, then, once settled, several claw-like appendages came out. Two of them glowed pink and faced their ends towards AJ's chest. A small semi-translucent bubble faded into existence. Its pink color mostly masked the surface of the chest wound and formed a half-sphere around it.
The bubble formed pink lines in Fluttershy's vision but seemed unaffected by her hair that was pulling Applejack's heart out. Once the organ was inside the pink semi-sphere, it too began to glow slightly pink. Fluttershy then gently pulled her hooves away, barely noticing that she was balancing on her back legs.
She then sat down and held the pink orb near to her face. The heart floating inside, though she wasn't sure if anypony could see it except her. Albeit she was seeing it in a sort of outline, but she hoped for Applejack's sake that she couldn't tell what was going on.
Though she couldn't say she knew what was going on either. She was a mess of emotions at the moment. Anger at hurting her friend. Anger at Noah as well. Sadness that her entire past was built with metal rather than biology. Worry for her friends. Concern for her future. Disgust at the fact that she was holding an organ. Curiosity on her new abilities. But she tried to focus on what the MMO was doing rather than lose herself in emotions.
Reconnecting cutie mark magic to severed organ…
Fluttershy frowned in thought. She didn't hear anything from the MMO till she directed her attention to it. She pushed the revelation aside; she'd reflect on that later. Instead, she watched two strands of hair glow a familiar blue and enter Applejack's chest, much to the dismay of the earth pony.
The strands touched a section on Applejack's chest cavity and when it pulled away, it pulled a faint orange mist along with it. It pulled the mist to her forelegs were two more claws accepted the orange mist and it seemed to attach to it. The strands that brought it gently floating nearby.
With a jerk the small hooks snapped into motion rotating till they were opposite of each other, then with a click pierced the orb and touched the heart.
Reconnection complete. Beginning bio-reconstruction. Using Simulation M-1532.
The other hooks that had emerged earlier also sprung into life, poking and prodding the organ with organized movements. They glowed different colors as they moved around, rotating, and snapping inward to do some, unknown tasks to her friend's damaged organ. Her hair even got in on the action, pulling the cut pieces together at certain intervals, all within the simulated timeline.
It was quite a spectacle for the yellow pegasus. It felt as if she had just learned to fly again. Finding out about some awesome ability that she couldn't unlock. Though it was tinged with somberness. Applejack wouldn't need the healing if she hadn't stabbed her in the first place…
Organ reconstruction completed. Beginning cutie mark pathway repair…
The emotions were replaced with curiosity. Cutie mark pathway? What was that? Was it some type of magic? Or was it referencing the natural magic that existed in all ponies?
Her vision again changed but this time it changed to a stark grey with everything seemingly bland but Fluttershy could still tell the difference between the individual stones on the ground. However, the smaller they got, the harder time she had to discern them apart.
The ponies however glowed with bright, swirling colors. Each color seemed to match up with a pony she knew. Bright violet for Twilight, bright pink for Pinkie, and even a mix of dark blue and black from Luna. She could also see hundreds of other colors, dotting the landscape in front of her. Though it seemed to be inside the homes or behind objects. She blinked, trying to make sense of it all. She could see her friends in the stark grey tones that she saw everything else as, but she could also see the swirling colors swirling within their bodies and limbs. She glanced over at the nearby houses. She could see the colors swirling into recognizable pony shapes without seeing the ponies themselves.
Though the exploration of her new vision was short-lived as the MMO redirected her eyes towards the orange pony in front of her. The orange mist trails she had seen earlier were even brighter now, and seemed to be coming from a swirling mess of orange. Chaotic was the word that came to mind, while the others had a more consistent swirl.
Two of her hairs started to glow a bright blue and floated over to Applejack's head. The blue strands pressed gently on AJ's temples and Fluttershy saw the swirling orange start to slow.
"Fluttershy?" Applejack said with genuine fear.
Fluttershy gave her a comforting smile that did not mimic her own feelings, "It's going to be okay Applejack."
"Ya sure? I feel, so, odd…"
Fluttershy nodded. It was slightly comforting that she could recognize how she felt. Though she was surprised that she didn't feel pain. There was a hole in her chest and her heart was in her now navy blue hooves. Was she stopping the pain?
Her thoughts stopped as she watched the now frozen orange swirls that seemed to be infiltrated by a familiar yellow color. Fluttershy frowned as she saw her friend's face contort into more discomfort and tried to give what reassurance she could.
The yellow color seemed to push the orange around till there was a gap in Applejack's chest. At that point a couple of hairs wrapped around the heart again. Though before moving it, the two hooks that connected to the lines of orange mist gently touched the heart. The mist moved into the organ, flowing along invisible paths till there was a small swirling ball. The hairs wrapped around the heart started to glow blue as well, freezing the orange glow in its place. She then moved her hooves to AJ's chest and the pink orb carrying her heart once again became a semi-sphere on her chest.
Applejack grunted as her wound and chest cavity was expanded but the heart was moved quickly and her face relaxed as the pressure vanished.
Fluttershy couldn't see inside her friend anymore but noticed that the yellow color she had seen earlier had disappeared. Her curiosity was strong but her will to save her friend brushed it away. She blinked as her vision changed to the lines again and she saw the hairs begin to realign the heart back into position.
Beginning organ reconstitution…
Fluttershy felt the side of her foreleg open again as another organ graph was printed and held aloof by a hair. Though this time it was a rectangle. A very wide but short rectangle that was soon joined by another the same size. Two more holed tubes were created as well. All four items were brought into Applejack's chest and brought close to her heart. The tubes were inserted into the heart until they were halfway visible. The graphs merely floating nearby.
Please tell the patient to hold their breath for at least 30 seconds.
"Why?" Fluttershy asked, curious. It did not take long for the answer to come.
The heart is about to be reconnected to the circulatory network. To do so the external pump will have to be disconnected which will leave the circulatory system stationary for about 27 seconds. The blood will be oxygenated to account for this, however, if the patient is breathing, the blood in their lungs could get too much oxygen, causing harm.
Fluttershy didn't understand fully, but the MMO had gotten her this far so she might as well trust it. She turned to Applejack, "Um, Applejack?"
"Yeah?" Her voice was strained with discomfort.
"I'm going to need you to hold your breath for at least 30 seconds…"
"Why?" Confusion was now in her voice.
"Well, I'm about to disconnect you from an artificial pump that is keeping your blood moving around to reconnect, um," She paused realizing where she going.
"Reconnect what?" Applejack's voice took an incredulous tone.
Fluttershy figured she'd just rip the band-aid off, "Your heart." She replied plainly.
Applejack gave her a blank look, "Ya mean my hearts gone? Or, was gone?"
Fluttershy nodded but paused as the MMO said something.
Warning! The heart is in a form of stasis that slows the natural destruction of the heart since it is not connected to anything to stop that process. Please have the patient hold their breath before the reconnection window closes.
Fluttershy frowned then pursed her lips, she saw her friend about to say something, but she placed a hoof over her mouth to smother what she was about to say, the extra appendages moving to avoid poking her, "Sorry. I know this doesn't make a lot of sense right now but it's really important that you hold your breath till I say, okay?"
Applejack blinked but nodded. Fluttershy removed her hoof and watched Applejack fill her lungs and cheeks with air.
"Okay. She is holding her breath. Now what?" She asked the MMO but the system was already ahead of her.
Beginning artificial pump shutdown. Returning blood to circulatory system. Stopper created.
Fluttershy watched as a clear fluid started to push the blood from the tubes in her neck, leaving no trace of red behind. The fluid reached her friend's chest and reached the end of the tube where it entered the circulatory system. The tubes then clicked and were pulled away with strands of hair. Though, immediately the other end of the white tube, that was in the heart, was pulled to the corresponding blood vessels till the two seemed connected. The graphs suddenly jerked into motion and were wrapped around the blood vessels where they were originally disconnected. Several hairs then began to tap on the graphs in an unknown pattern.
Blood vessels being repaired. Reconnecting heart to the nervous system.
Her hair remained around the heart however, holding it in place for a reason she wasn't sure about. Though she watched a few more hairs enter the wound and tap on certain places of the heart. It did this for a few seconds, then:
The heart has been reconnected to all systems. Restarting…
The hairs then touched a few more places but held their position.
Delivering charge…
Her hair sparked with energy that traveled to the critical organ. It jumped in response and then continued to jump in rhythmic patterns. Applejack merely twitched.
Heart has successfully been restarted. Continuing to monitor for anomalies.
Fluttershy sighed, relieved that her friend's heart was working again.
Patient can now be told to breathe.
Fluttershy's eyes widened as she watched Applejack's eyes, closed in concentration, twitch, "Oh, you can breathe now!"
Applejack sputtered and took in a deep breath. It took a few more deep breaths before she responded, "Thanks. Now, tell me why I needed to hold ma breath again?"
Heart is operating optimally. Beginning to reconnect heart to the chest cavity.
Fluttershy frowned. She contemplated what to say as she watched her leg produce spiderweb-like material that was transported to her friend's chest, "Well," she said unsteadily, "You were connected to an artificial pump as your heart was disconnected by, um."
"Being stabbed in the chest. I can guess that" Applejack said plainly, "Not your fault sugar cube."
Fluttershy bit her lip, but continued her explanation, "Yes, but to fully heal you I needed to disconnect the pump which would leave your circulatory system stationary. Which would cause excess oxygen to gather in your lungs which in turn would cause problems."
Applejack blinked.
Fluttershy smiled nervously and started to fiddle with her hair, "I don't understand it much either…"
"But it's marvelous isn't it?" Noah said and Fluttershy realized that he was still next to her.
Fluttershy flinched but it was Applejack who spoke, "Aye. I can agree it is amazing to watch and a whole 'nother experience to feel. But what did exactly did ya do to ma friend?!" Applejack's voice was weak but still carried plenty of venom.
Noah's face fell and took a look of seriousness. He stood and took a few steps towards the injured earth pony but was barred by a majority of Fluttershy's hair.
Warning! Anti-microbial field is still active. Introduction of new microbes is not recommended.
Noah looked at her expectantly, but she frowned and shook her head, "The anti-microbial field is up." She didn't know what else to say, but could feel a headache growing.
Noah frowned and nodded, then turned to Applejack, "You've made friends with something that I've created. Not the other way around."
Fluttershy paused on that sentence. So, she was made or made into what she was now, since before she met her friends. Any other interactions that were made between Noah and her friend were lost by pure noise of mind.
Heart has been reconnected to chest cavity. Testing tensile strength of artificial connections…
Fluttershy's mouth felt dry. She was alive, wasn't she? What about her parents? Her animal friends? Were they all fabrications built by Noah to hide her true nature? Was that the reason she never could seem to get comfortable around big groups?
Tensile connection is satisfactory. Decompressing cavity and closing entry wound.
Fluttershy merely blinked as she watched her hair unwrap from her friend's organ and slowly pull out of her friend's chest. Once everything was removed, a clump of hair went to the top of the wound and started to move and flutter around. It began to pull the hole together and layer by layer began to repair the damage. The hole disappeared, covered by a small film of flesh. With a grunt of discomfort from Applejack, the ribcage shifted as the hole in the bone was pulled together. Her foreleg lifted up and the hooks followed the line of the cut, sealing it with a white fluid that hardened almost instantly. Then one of the rectangles on her leg reached out and pressed against her friend's sternum. It clicked and sounded like a stapler. To her mild surprise, that's what it was. As it moved downwards to click again, she saw a pale grey line that was not like the lines that made up her friend's skeletal system.
It was a rectangle, with one of its sides missing, that was embedded into the sternum. Four more staples were placed before her hair began to knit the wound together again. Layers were quickly repaired till her vision shifted back to normal to reveal a familiar orange skin.
Wound closed. Printing Precautionary Wound Patch…
Her foreleg opened on left and right sides and large rectangles supported by a small arm emerged. They swiveled forward and made a-foot-long rectangle in front of her hoof. It shimmed blue on the face that she was now pressing against her friend's chest. With the guidance of the MMO, she gently slid the device downwards. As the rectangle went, it left a glossy orange surface that shimmered from the blue light.
She continued the humming rectangle along the path the MMO wanted till she was a few inches past the original wound. As the rectangles returned to her arm, she admired the now glossy addition to Applejack's chest. Her hair also retreated and returned to normal on her skull. She also saw the clear tubes that were connected to her friend's heart return to her neck. She also heard a click, and a small rhombus device was retrieved from the back of Applejack's neck which was also returned to her neck. The entrance closed with a click, leaving Fluttershy wondering what that little device was, and how much she could heal an injured pony. Though her thoughts scattered when words appeared in her mind.
Please tell the patient to be gentle with movements of the chest. Everything is whole but sudden jerks could cause it to break apart. Optional metaphor: She is put together like a completed puzzle piece that has just been glued. You can see the picture, but it can be broken apart if you apply the right pressure.
Fluttershy blinked, processing what she had been told, "Um, Applejack? I fixed your heart. So, you are all good to go. Though you have to let it heal fully otherwise you may hurt yourself." She paused, wrapping her head around the metaphor she had been given, "Like a finished puzzle that you have just finished gluing. The glue has to set before you can move it, or it will break."
"But a' can move right?" Applejack said, exploring the glossy patch on her chest.
Fluttershy nodded slowly, "Yes. I do think so, just take it slow. I don't want you to hurt yourself."
Applejack nodded, threw a glance at Noah, and said, "I'm still, me. Right?"
Fluttershy nodded.
"Then what's this smooth thing on my chest?"
Fluttershy tilted her head a bit, "Not su—"
The patient is referring to the Precautionary Wound Patch. It is a material created by crystallizing cutie mark magic and will degenerate over time. This patch prevents accidental bumps or scrapes from tearing premature skin.
Fluttershy took in the knowledge and started to reply, noticing that Applejack had barely been able to open her mouth, "It's called a precautionary wound patch. It's made up of crystalized cutie mark magic and will protect your chest till it's fully healed."
Applejack nodded, "Does it come off?"
"It will fade on its own."
Applejack nodded, "Alright Fluttershy this is all weird and such but I'm still grateful. Thank you."
Fluttershy smiled and nodded. She was glad that she was able to help her friend, but she wasn't sure if she was okay with all her modifications, "Thanks but you wouldn't have needed healing in the first place if I was just a pony."
Applejack smiled and a small chuckle emerged, "Ha, yeah. I suppose you're right."
Patient has been healed and no other patients are detected in the area. MMO entering standby.
…
MMO systems have been shut down by the Void program.
Fluttershy felt her eyes widen, "No!" She said quietly. She felt the turmoil in her head dissipate, releasing the discomfort she was feeling. However, she was denied her movements as she again felt the gap between her mind and body.
"Stop resuming phase," She heard Noah say quietly.
Resuming paused. Waiting for command. She heard the computer respond in her head.
"Jump to their group with a star pulse, 30%, and catch targets one and two for containment protocol. Once caught, use the buildings to block the EMD interference."
Fluttershy felt her nod once.
"Resume with those modifications," Noah stated plainly and something in Fluttershy's head seemed to accept the command, despite her best efforts.
Charging star pulse: 30%
Estimating airborne trajectories for targets one and two upon delivery.
She could only watch as she saw ghost versions of Luna and Twilight take a step back and fly into the air. Why did she lose control? Was it because the MMO shut off? Why?
Trajectories locked.
Fluttershy felt her wings snap open as she crouched down. She was staring at her friends. She tried to let them know that she wasn't herself anymore. To warn them. Anything. But nothing worked.
Action denied.
Though she wasn't the only voice. Her heart soared when she heard Applejack shout behind her, "Watch out!"
Though she was a bit too late. Fluttershy had already jumped into the air and landed hard next to her group of friends, her hair flowing upwards with unnatural length. Her coat glowed blue as the star pulse was released, tingeing the air blue with a mysterious energy.
The energy lifted her friends and threw them outwards. Though her hair seemed to catch Luna and Twilight with uncanny accuracy. They struggled as her hair wrapped around every limb, stranding them in the air. Twilight's horn began to glow but pink strands stopped the flow of magic before it could be woven into any sort of spell.
Using last known location of EMD interference for cover selection.
She felt something compute in her head. Though she wasn't able to see, hear, or even tell what it was computing before she was moving again. She jumped, carrying the two alicorns, and landed next to another building. She seemed to stay behind the side of the house as if she was hiding from something. Was the computer scared of something?
Beginning containment protocol…
Fluttershy felt the thought in her head. It was not from her mind, yet it was from somewhere connected. Regardless, she attacked it with any sort of mental weapon she could think of. Yet, nothing occurred. Well, not nothing. She could feel her mental weapons glance off the thought. She growled and sent more, trying to overwhelm whatever was occupying her thoughts.
Her hair started to glow blue, and she felt the energy that had transformed Celestia flow through each strand connected to the alicorns.
"No, no, NO!" She mentally shouted, but she could only watch.
Twilight nervously swallowed as she hovered in the air. Pink strands of hair restrained both her and her fellow Princess, till they could merely flail in the air. She threw a glance at Luna as Fluttershy jumped to the side of a house. The dark blue Alicorn returned the look with worry.
Twilight frowned and looked around at her scattered friends. They seemed alright as they picked themselves off the ground. They all looked at her with worry and concern, though each didn't seem to know what to do. What could they do without being caught themselves? Or attacking their friend?
Though her attention was diverted to the pink strands of hair as blue streams of energy began to travel up the long lengths. She swallowed and braced for a magical attack. A physical attack. Anything. She prepared for anything and felt her body stiffen and her magical essence lock inside her. Though she wasn't expecting what she felt, familiar as it was.
The blue energy coursed through her, but it wasn't magic in the typical sense. She blinked as her entire body twitched in response to the magical flow. Though it wasn't her physical body responding. Her body was responding to the change in her cutie mark magic. Whatever the energy entering her body was, it was related to her cutie mark. She twitched as she looked at Luna who was also twitching. Maybe not her cutie mark but just cutie mark magic in general.
She flinched as she felt her cutie mark magic get tugged on. She reeled it back in with a growl. She was reminded of Tirek taking her magic, or when Starlight replaced her cutie mark with a math sign. She growled as she resisted another tug.
"Glyph!" Luna shouted with concentration, "On my mark!" Her voice rose in volume then dropped. Twilight flinched as well as her magic was tugged on. Whatever the spell or process, it was getting harder to resist. Twilight knew she'd be able to resist for some time. Though she was quite weakened, and Luna was even more so. She watched as Luna pulled off her neckpiece and fiddled with it for a second, pausing as another round of tug of war occurred, and held it back.
Then with a grunt, she threw it at the yellow pegasus restraining them. The pony didn't even blink as the adornment wrapped around her neck and clicked into place.
"Now!" She shouted and grimaced as the energy again pulled on her magic.
Twilight released the breath she had held. The energy was pulling at random intervals. Not something she could predict, so she had to remain on guard. She frowned and brushed away the question for Luna's accuracy, bracing for another tug. Though her concentration was broken a bit as she watched Glyph press something on her artificial fore-leg with the opposite foreleg.
It took a moment, but eventually a small buzzing filled her ears. She paused, pulling on her magic again, but found it difficult to focus as the buzzing grew in volume. Her mind automatically thought of the cause, but it didn't bring her reassurance.
"Luna!" She called, curling as the energy pulled, "Electricity!" She managed to say. Though she watched a glowing Luna nod. She probably couldn't hold out for much longer…
She looked around for Glyph and shouted at her to hurry when she noticed Fluttershy sit down. Her hooves shot up in an attempt to take the neckpiece off with haste.
It was then she saw a small flash of light fly from her yellow friend to the two Princesses in the air. It shot past them with Twilight barely logging its existence. Then another, much, brighter flash surged the air between them. The air crackled with uncomfortable snaps as electricity found a path to Fluttershy. It flowed into the pegasus with ease and crackled all over her body before Twilight could blink.
She continued to watch as the stream of energy didn't seem to stop. Fluttershy twitched in random directions as the energy affected her modes of movement. Twilight grimaced with worry. Whatever her friend had become, she knew that much electricity couldn't be good for anything.
Then with a flash of light, the neck ornament exploded, sending the pony flying backward. The movement pulled the restrained alicorns downwards. Twilight grimaced and teleported to the ground, pulling Luna with her. Twilight then groaned with discomfort and crouched with exhaustion, realizing exactly how much energy the spell had taken. She looked up with a heavy breath and noticed her friends were congregating around their shy friend. Her hair was strewn about but was slowly retreating. Glyph was in the center; her hoof was on Fluttershy's right eye.
She quickly galloped over and placed an energy shield around the group. Though the action was straining her magic, she wasn't going to let Noah get near the pegasus.
The stallion in question frowned and circled the purple energy shield, waiting for an opening.
"Fluttershy, I need you to relax completely okay?" Glyph said to the pony, who had wisps of smoke whirling from her coat.
Twilight grimaced as she felt her shield ebb at her energy. She took another deep breath, steadying the flow of magic to her horn. She did weaken the shield however, she just needed to keep out a single pony. Though the shield didn't change in appearance, she didn't want to invite any challenge.
She turned what little attention she dared to her friend. Glyph had produced a sort of long hinged device that had one of its faces glowing.
Glyph was looking like she was about to cry as she moved one hoof around the surface of the face that did not glow. Twilight watched as she gritted her teeth, but her hooves remained steady and stable.
She gently walked over, her legs not as stable as the pegasus's, "What are you doing?"
Glyph did not immediately reply, but said to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy. This thing is directly connected to your head, I need you to clear your mind. I don't have the tools to filter out signals from the computer or from you."
Twilight frowned, "What do you mean?"
Glyph again didn't respond but rather muttered to no pony in particular, "This was meant to save ponies. Not corrupt them…"
"Glyph!"
The pegasus jumped, pulling Fluttershy's head with it. She took a second staring at the alicorn, "Yes?"
"What are you doing to my friend?" She asked, her voice was tired, but the sharp edges clearly conveyed the message.
"I'm trying to reset the computer to the point before Noah changed it. Though I can't get a clear reading with Fluttershy's thoughts encrypting them or changing them entirely."
Twilight blinked.
"Nothing harming her. Just trying to revert her to what she normally was."
Fluttershy's other eye widened a bit and she shook her head, pulling the other pegasus with it.
"Woah! Hey! You're going to hurt yourself!" Glyph said, stopping the movement with her other hoof.
"Don't. Save them first!" Fluttershy said gently, but firmly.
Glyph blinked, "How are you—hmmph. Never mind that, save who?"
Fluttershy twitched but repeated her sentence that only increased the pegasus's confusion.
Twilight frowned, noticing her friends also understanding what she meant, "Celestia and Spike."
Glyph turned to the alicorn, "Save them? What do you mean? What happened to them?"
"Celestia was transformed into a ball and put in her chest and the dragon was captured by a claw thing and pulled into Fluttershy's shoulder." Pinkie said in quick succession.
Glyph looked like she would cry, "Did her ribcage expand at all?"
Twilight shook her head, "No, not really…"
Glyph growled and threw an angry look at Noah, who didn't respond.
"Do you know what happened?"
Glyph nodded, "Spike was probably taken to a containment cell. Celestia was captured via containment protocol. It shouldn't be too hard to free them, but I can do that after I fix whatever Noah did."
Fluttershy twitched and shook her head the best she could, "Save them…" Her voice was softer than usual, but it seemed, glitchy?
Twilight frowned on the use of that word. She only recognized that sound because of some of the electromagical stuff she had done. She groaned and closed one eye, putting some focus into her shield. She turned to the left and saw Noah pressing on the semi-clear material with a hoof covered in a black aura. She gritted her teeth and transferred more power into her shield.
"Hurry Glyph. I'm not sure how long I can hold this shield…" She said weakly.
Glyph nodded and turned to Fluttershy, "Okay, Fluttershy I'll save them first. But I need you to clear your mind. Okay?"
Fluttershy twitched again, and her eye closed.
"Great. Just like that…" Glyph said gently after a moment. She again began to move her hoof along her hinge-like device. She looked at the device to see the glowing side was a screen. On the screen were lots, and lots of characters. She could read them, but she had no idea what they meant or what their purpose was.
"Disable power inhibitor in Sector C: code 256."
Disabled.
"Requesting access to core system management."
Granted.
"Requesting file location for containment."
20+ files found:
"Refine search; program use: MMO external -medical"
2 files found:
Containment Protocol
Dangerous item containment
"He didn't even change their names…" Glyph said sadly.
Twilight wanted to ask another question, but she pushed it aside. She had to focus on the shield…
"List contained items."
Cells empty except cell #1. Entity, "Spike," is contained.
"Release Cell#1. No constrictions."
Releasing…
Fluttershy's eye opened and she grimaced.
"Relax Fluttershy. It's me doing that." Glyph said gently.
Fluttershy nodded lightly and seemed to relax partially.
Her shoulder expanded wider than her leg as the leg was pulled inside. Twilight again looked at the blue glowing surface that reminded her of the mirror to Canterlot High. Her thoughts were broken as the cage containing Spike was pushed through the surface. Her shoulder clicked gently back into position.
"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, "You okay?"
Spike couldn't move too much but replied nervously, "I think so?"
Fluttershy twitched and was now staring at her leg.
"Fluttershy! Calm down I can't read the computer's code!" Glyph said firmly.
Fluttershy didn't respond, but Twilight noticed that her breathing was starting to increase in rate, "Can't…" She said weakly after a few moments of notice.
Glyph frowned and closed her eyes for a second. Then a section of her metal leg opened, and a small rod clicked out. It looked like a hex wrench sticking out of the metal interior.
"Rarity?" Glyph asked opening her eyes, "Can you take that tool rod and release Spike?"
The wrench glowed blue as it was pulled gently from the leg. It hovered over to the trapped purple and green dragon, "How?" She asked with determination.
"There should be a small hole at the base of that cage apparatus. The rod should fit. Turn it 180 degrees and the claw should lose its grip."
Rarity frowned and motioned the tool rod to the base of Fluttershy's leg, "Here?"
Glyph moved her head a bit to look, "Yes." She stated after a moment's pause.
Rarity nodded and applied the 180 degrees of rotation that was requested. The claws started to droop in response.
Glyph nodded, "Okay, now you should just be able to peel away those claw arms and free Spike."
Rarity nodded, then frowned as she tried to move the metal pieces with magic. She shook her head and pulled the pieces with her hooves. Once she had done a few, she pulled Spike out with her magic; immediately embracing him in a tight hug.
Twilight smiled but grimaced as the shield took a hit from Noah's magic, "Hurry!" Twilight said urgently.
Glyph nodded and instructed Rarity to put the leg back together, then to Fluttershy, "Kay, relax Fluttershy. I can't read the code with your mind inputting random variables. Spike is safe."
Fluttershy nodded, but her eyes closed with a worried look on her face, "I'll. Try." Her leg twitched and was replaced with her normal leg. Twilight shivered, wondering what had happened to Spike. Her body went still as she pushed even more energy into her shield. "Focus," she reprimanded herself.
Glyph nodded, "Do your best. It won't take long for me to get Celestia."
Twilight looked at her new friend with hope and worry. Her shield was almost at max endurance. She sighed thinking about the recovery time this was going to take.
But she brushed that thought aside as watched Glyph's device lit up with more characters.
"List containment protocol."
Entities in CP:
Celestia.
End of list.
"Release Celestia."
…
Error. Administrative requirement not met.
"Administrative? Hmm…" Glyph stated to no pony in particular.
"Status: MMO"
Inactive.
"Boot MMO"
Error. Booting process blocked by Void systems
"Find drives Void systems "
…
Found Void systems in Core programs under Void systems.
Glyph frowned and exhaled sharply, "Fluttershy, brace yourself. You might get a headache."
Fluttershy didn't open her eye, yet nodded.
"Boot PW."
Booting Program Writer…
Open.
/:
"Disable(Paradox/Protection{Four}"
"Variable::C==4;"
"Variable::G==0;"
"Variable::A==(Compute: C/G);"
"Variable::Runtime==0"
"IF(Runtime0)"
"{Print(A);"
"};"
"Finish program."
Name?
"Infinity."
Saved.
"Move File Infinity to: Core programs under Void systems "
File has been moved successfully.
"Boot file: Infinity. Runtime=1."
File has been run successfully.
Fluttershy began to grimace, which caused Twilight to worry.
"If Fluttershy okay?" Pinkie asked worriedly.
Glyph nodded, "She'll be okay. I have to cause some lag in the administrative so that the MMO can take administrative control. Then I can free Celestia."
"Administrative?" Rainbow asked, her wings still holding her in the air.
Glyph merely nodded.
Rainbow frowned, "Care to explain?"
"Later. I promise."
"We're holding you to that." She said, Applejack nodding in affirmation. She was standing up now. Her coat was stained with red in certain areas but the glossy patch on her chest seemed to stay firmly in place.
Glyph nodded.
"Release Celestia"
…
…
Error. Administrative process required. Void systems is taking too long to respond.
"Shutdown Void systems."
…
Shutdown was successful.
"Boot MMO."
MMO has been booted.
"Release Celestia."
Releasing…
Fluttershy gently stood up, where her chest opened to reveal the matrix of pipes and dents Twilight had seen before. Glyph mimicked her motions by standing up as well, her metal leg still attacked to Fluttershy's eye. Twilight paused looking at the brightly glowing orb with Celestia's cutie mark on it. It wasn't even the size of a large marble.
Two hairs hovered over to it and gently picked it from its spot. It moved it outwards to the space in front of her.
"Watch out girls. Give enough room for Celestia." Glyph said as the hairs began to glow blue.
The ponies took a step back, and Twilight noticed her shield taking a beating. She looked over at Noah, who was blasting the purple energy with a bolt of black. A steady one that was slowly attuning with the magic of the shield. She grimaced and started to change the weave of the shield every ten seconds. Hoping that her energy would be able to last long enough for Glyph to do her work.
The marble that held Celestia suddenly grew brighter and, as the hairs pulled outward, grew into the shape of a familiar alicorn. The glow subsided to reveal the Princess but only if she hadn't slept in years.
Her mane was no longer flowing but individual strands seemed to separate from the group with rebellious acts dependent on the wind. Her face was worn and haggard, even her coat seemed to have lost its shimmer. She gasped with exhaustion and nearly collapsed, holding herself up with a single hoof.
"Sister?! What has happened?" Luna cried out before Twilight could even open her mouth and ran to her aid.
Though Celestia started to reply, her voice was drowned out by the headache that was approaching a critical point.
She watched as the pink strands retreated, and the opening in Fluttershy's chest close.
Though she drowned that all out by closing her eyes. She crouched and laid on the hard stone that seemed like pillows compared to the pain in her head. She raised both hooves to her temples to try and stem the tide of pressure but it helped little. She grunted and felt her hold her breath as she focused everything into the shield.
It held, but not for long.
A sharp crack reverberated the air and broke through her mental deafening. She growled as she felt more cracks spread through her shield, then the pressure in her mind vanished as her shield shattered. She let out a sharp cry and rolled onto her side. She took in deep breaths and watched helplessly as Noah strode forward with a smug air about him.
"Enough." He said plainly, though his demeanor changed when he ran into a transparent blue shield that was shaped like a familiar diamond. This shield pushed Noah back and then returned to its previous position. It then was joined by several copies that intermeshed to create a barrier of gem brilliance.
Twilight looked at it in amazement. That was the shield that she had been helping Rarity develop. She smiled to see the progress that months had produced.
Noah growled, "Another shield to break. Shouldn't be too hard since it's not powered by an alicorn." He then blasted it with another black energy bolt. But when it made contact, it merely splashed against the shield. Noah stopped the blast with a look of amazement.
"It's going to take a lot more to break this shield you ruffian!" Rarity shouted with Spike nodding on her back. Twilight smiled. Rarity's magic had a peculiar twist. Her magic was tightly knit together like a gem was. That's how her mind was able to levitate many items without straining the unicorn, even at a younger age. Twilight then helped Rarity form that into a shield. She wasn't able to support a high-level shield on her own, yet, her shield wasn't meant to completely block an attack. Just disperse it.
She hadn't been able to cover herself with the shield diamonds yet but ten seemed plenty to cover at least the area between her friends and Noah. She threw a glance at Glyph who was furiously working on her device.
"Impressive. I've never seen a shield like this before. A shield able to block a strong attack but supported by such a weak unicorn." Noah said bluntly.
Rarity scoffed.
Noah took a step in surprise, "You can hear me?" He chuckled, "Fools." He then shouted, "Resume Protocol."
Nothing happened. Rarity gave Fluttershy a cautious look but Fluttershy's eye was still closed with Glyph working furiously as ever.
"What. Did you do?!" Noah shouted and stomped a hoof along the ground. Then, paused and shook his head, "No matter. You were always the one to teach about back-ups." Then in a much louder voice, "Emergency action: Lost Foal."
Fluttershy's eye opened with a sharp click. Her normal eye phased away to reveal the black camera Twilight had seen before. The little squares around the center circle turned yellow and started to blink.
She turned her head towards Noah with a sudden twist. She attempted to walk towards the unicorn but Glyph used both her legs to pull her back. Her leg still attached to her eye. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow all jumped forward to assist.
"Hold her! I can stop the program!" Glyph exclaimed receiving nods as the others braced against their yellow friend. Though their combined efforts only slowing their augmented friend to a crawl. Glyph again reached for the hinge with a screen but Fluttershy's movements had pulled her out of reach of the device.
Twilight again reached for her magic but found she didn't even have enough to levitate the device. However, it glowed with a dark blue aura and floated into the sky blue pegasus's reach. Twilight turned to Luna with a grateful look. She was supporting the solar princess, horn glowing with a weak levitation weave.
Glyph furiously started to fiddle with the mysterious hinge, taking steps back as Fluttershy's steps pushed her towards Noah. On one step, she pulled back causing the yellow pegasus's head to jerk towards her direction. There was a click and a hiss and Glyph fell to the ground as the connection between her hoof and Fluttershy's eye was disconnected.
Twilight looked with an expression of dread as she saw Fluttershy's eye withdraw a port and become a mirror-like image of the other eye. More so, she saw Noah was advancing towards her friends, glowing with a dark power. Rarity's shield was still up and blocking his advance, but the gap was closing as Fluttershy took small steps.
Then with a flick of his horn, he shot a blast of black energy towards Rarity. She flinched back and brought up a small magic diamond to block it. However, in doing so, her bigger shield dissolved. Noah didn't waste a beat of his heart to send a magical blast at the struggling group. The magic fell on them like a shockwave, sending them past Twilight and the rest of the exhausted Princesses. Once they landed, Fluttershy got up as if nothing happened and galloped towards Noah before the rest of the group could stop her. Rainbow grunted and flew after her, though her movements were stopped cold by a sudden black shield.
Rarity again summoned her shield to try and hold her friend back but watched in annoyance as the pony walked right through it as if it wasn't even there. Fluttershy joined Noah on his side and stood there, staring at nothing with flashing yellow eyes. Noah then conjured a black shield to protect them both. It was still transparent; allowing Twilight to see inside.
Disregarding being watched he pulled a red gem from his simple pendant and placed it on the ground. Then using magic, began to etch runic symbols in the ground around the red jewel.
"Shield breaker!" Luna called out with her Canterlot voice. Seconds passed with tightness all around. Then Twilight noticed a few Pegasus carrying three unicorns. Luna gestured with a free hoof towards Noah's shield and the group landed right next to the black energy. The unicorns arranged into a pattern where two of them were facing each other and the last was facing Noah. They leaned forward and connected their horns with white energy. The energy grew into a tight ball then became a bolt of energy that launched itself at the shield with a reverberating zap. The unicorns closed their eyes and focused on sending the energy with trained emotions.
Noah, however, didn't even respond to the unicorn's attack but rather finished the small circle of runes. He tapped it once, causing the red gem to glow and levitate off the ground. Once it had reached eye level, it shattered but remained in the air. The shards then arranged themselves into a very familiar pattern.
Twilight growled. He was using a spell that stored a location in a jewel and then—She shook her head. No analysis! Noah was making a portal!
She slowly got to her hooves, shaky legs trembling with her weight.
Rarity looked at her with concern, "What's he doing?"
"Making a portal…" She grunted with what strength she had left.
"What?!" Rarity turned to the black barrier. With a grunt, she began to blast the shield with her own energy laser, weak as it was.
Twilight shook her head as the shards took shape, making an elongated ellipse large enough for a pony to pass through. She shuddered as the space between the shards began to shimmer, the colors slowly fading to whatever would be on the other side.
Anger again filled her now tired frame. How dare Noah take Fluttershy's free will. Her life, and her entire reality. She twitched with renewed strength as she once again felt the power surge through her. This time she was able to realize the power boost. Yet, she did not care about its origins. She honed in her sights to the black shield and took a stance with steady legs.
"Noah!" Twilight shouted, her voice amplified to the volume of the Canterlot voice.
The pony turned sharply towards Twilight and seemed to pale. Twilight smiled, lowered her head, and charged. Her limbs propelled her beyond her normal speeds allowing her to cross the gap instantaneously.
She peered upwards looking at the now frightened unicorn as her horn had penetrated the black shield. The razor-sharp end mere a foot from his face. Twilight smiled as the shield's magic began to flow into her being, becoming part of her magic. The shield wavered as it lost its strength. She again pushed at it, slowly pushing through it.
She aimed her magic on Noah but found she couldn't weave her levitation spell. She frowned, barely noticing that the guards had stopped trying to break the shield. She couldn't weave magic while she was taking it in it seemed. Her horn, however, disagreed and began to glow and hum.
The energy she was taking from the shield funneled into her horn, collecting into one of the simplest spells a unicorn could summon. She aimed her horn at Noah and let the energy flow. It collected into a laser blast that narrowly missed Noah's face as he ducked in response. The bolt however, didn't collide with the shield. It flew into the now completed portal and hit something that she could not see. However, she could see the explosion that blossomed on the other side as it destroyed the object it had hit.
Noah didn't waste another step as he jumped into the portal. Fluttershy watched him then jumped in as well.
"No!" Twilight shouted. She attempted to jump forward but the shield held her back as if she was in tar. The resistance suddenly vanished as the shield started to fade, the connection between its creator snapped. However, she paid it no mind as its fading energy was pulled into her being. Her attention was at the shrinking portal. She growled and flooded the ethereal gateway with magic. Her supply seemed endless as she pushed against space and time to keep the portal open. She stepped slowly towards the portal as if she was stuck in a vat of cold honey. She peered into the portal and got a face full of magical energy. The bolt of magic didn't even make her flinch as it was siphoned into her internal stores.
She watched Noah's face tighten in fear as he took a few steps back. Fiddling with objects on the desk nearby. He found what he was looking for and placed another amulet around his neck. It was black and twisted like the roots of a black tree branch. It looked as if it had termites at some point, jagged holes creating darkened spots along the amulet. The knot-like piece looked extremely uncomfortable to wear, yet Noah didn't show any pain as he began to mess with a device similar to Glyph's hinge thing from earlier. Though this device was slightly bigger and seemed to be built into the desk.
Twilight growled, not wanting him to do anything to her friend, and wrapped a tight grip around the unicorn. Or, at least tried to. Her magic got close to the pony but suddenly dissipated when it got any closer. Her frown deepened. That amulet must be channeling based, judging on the look and effect alone. She shook her head and started spread her magic out to the surrounding room. Her magic seemed to be able to interact with the environment. She began to pull on some poles she felt in the walls even as she put her head through the portal.
The air on the other side was clean, a bit too clean for outside. Its artificial warmth suggested it wasn't outside. Though the cleanness was polluted with smoke from the explosion she had caused earlier. Though the sensory input was blocked by Twilight, the only thing she could feel were the metal poles she felt in the walls. They were tightly packed in, hard to pull on. Yet, Twilight pulled more power into her magic, the energy seemingly endless, but her movements slowed even more. The walls then tore open and sparks flew for a few split seconds as electromagical wires were ripped from their housing and fashioned themselves into a rope. The rope, reinforced with her magic, then coiled around Fluttershy's barrel. Twilight began to pull her friend back to her, though the pegasus began to resist, her hooves sliding along the floor.
The movement stopped with a sudden clang. The sides of Fluttershy's legs swung down, creating four prongs per leg that clattered to the floor. The prongs latched into the floor, anchoring her to the ground. Twilight frowned and just pulled harder, the floorboards squeaking in protest.
Then her magic was disrupted when Noah ran over with a small device connected to a long line. She noticed that he wasn't holding it with his magic, but rather a hoof. Twilight growled and again launched a magic projectile at him. The blazing ball of magic formed into a sideways raindrop before dissipating in a cloud of purple dust. Her face writhed in anger as Noah spoke.
"Disengage Lost Foal."
Fluttershy slumped a bit then pushed Noah to the side. She took a few quick steps towards Twilight with normal frightened eyes. Then with a click, one of those eyes disappeared as Noah managed to place the device on her eye. She twitched and fell to the floor, then straightened and looked at Twilight with a blank stare.
Twilight tried to reach the device with her magic, however, Noah was too close to her friend for her magic to affect the device. She paused for only a second, pondering if she could throw something at Noah, then decided to follow the line till she could affect it with magic. It didn't take long before her magic stabilized enough for her to grab the line and begin to pull on it.
"Launch Extra wings, type rocket. Twilight!" Noah exclaimed worriedly.
Fluttershy's head snapped to the side as Twilight pulled on the line in an attempt to remove it, though it remained fastened. Her friend's sides opened and two firework devices came out. They both were connected to a half-sphere that looked like a metal belt. The fireworks turned one-eighty and a small pink glow emerged from the end. They then flew at Twilight with surprising speed. She instinctively put up a shield to block, the hexagons shimmering with strength. However, the two devices flew right through the shield leaving it untouched. They went around Twilight's barrel and connected together, forming a belt with two rockets on either side of her. Her wings fluttered in annoyance, but they remained open, their resting place now occupied.
"Reverse thrust! Full power!" Noah exclaimed.
Fluttershy didn't move besides her head as the desperate movements caused by Twilight's pulling on the device on her eye. Yet, it slowed as Twilight felt energy gather around the two devices on her sides. Then she was suddenly yanked backward as the device pushed her back with enough energy to push a Chinzilla over.
She slid backward several yards before she stopped herself with her magic. Her body glowing as it absorbed the kinetic push. She released her grip on the line, feeling more energy going into the portal. and growled, "Now I start throwing things…" She muttered, rearing upwards. She then brought her hooves down, filling the air with sharp cracks as the ground shattered. She could still feel the rockets attempting to push her back as she levitated the broken pieces of the ground into the air.
"Forward shield! 7!" Noah cried, giving Twilight a frightened stare.
Twilight let the stones in her grip fly towards Noah with startling speed. Though they shattered as they impacted into Fluttershy's shield, summoned in the nick of time.
Twilight growled and picked up another rock. This one she was going to make bounce on the wall then hit Noah in the back of the head. She compacted the rock till it was as strong as metal and let her mind calculate the angles.
"Launch a CFD!" Fluttershy began to say something but it was cut off as Noah shouted, "Do it! Turn on avoidance protocol level 5!"
Twilight already had the rock prepared but paused when she saw Fluttershy's side open again. Then a familiar grey tube came out of it. It swiveled till she could see the black rocket inside. Her polished sphere remained stationary as she prepared to dodge the rocket. She only needed to dodge it once, then Noah's head would resemble a cracked coconut. The rocket accepted her challenge with a swish and hurled itself at her.
She gave it a blank stare and ripped some of the floorboards upwards in the rocket's path. Though the rocket had begun to dodge even before the floorboards began to move. Twilight's gut began to knot as she felt a terrible feeling build inside. She let it out through her nose and attempted to jump to the side to dodge. Her mind however, realized that she couldn't jump at all. Her motion to jump was executed with perfect accuracy, except in slow motion.
Her eyes had time to widen before the rocket shot the device into her face. Her breath seemed to be in her ears as the rest of the rocket emitted its white mist. Her body slowed even more as golden crystal grew on every part of her till she was fully encased. All Twilight could do was watch as the portal snapped shut, her connection to it stopped by the artificial crystal. The pieces of the location crystal bouncing on the stone ground before coming to a stop.
Twilight strained her magic, yet, no matter how much energy she channeled it did not affect the substance surrounding her. She could still breathe, as the device around her mouth and nose was giving her air. Then, there was a click and a thud in the crystal that reverberated in her head.
Then her prison shattered, the chunks falling to the ground. Twilight slowly got up, her speed of her own accord again. Her mind was fuming, and she tried to close her wings only for them to get stuck on the rockets on her side. She gave a small shout of frustration and teleported out of their grasp. She reappeared next to where the portal was and lifted the broken crystals with her magic. She closed her eyes and flooded the crystal with magic. Then with a cry of annoyance, she threw them down and they scattered on the stones. She stared at the ground feeling tears welling up in her eyes. The crystal was only meant to store a location. The actual crystal that performed the space spell was at the other end of the portal and needed to be active for her to reopen the portal. Though she couldn't even feel the other end's magic which meant the crystal had been destroyed.
She stomped the ground with her hoof, the impact not causing nearly as much damage as before but merely a thud that echoed through the now silent grounds. The impact that Noah had gotten away with her friend and that she could do nothing about it, seemed to hit her like Applejack's kick to the face. Her energy drained as whatever was fueling her retreated into her being leaving her alicorn magic fluctuating. But that didn't matter to Twilight too much. She allowed gravity to pull her to the ground and merely laid there with her head in her hooves. She barely could keep her eyes open as exhaustion was demanding she close them. She relented, only to leave tears to travel down her face.
