Land of Light

by ISKV

Mechanical Mare

- WARNING - Power level critical - 00.01%

- WARNING - Reserve power level critical - 00.50%

...

...

...

- New energy source detected

- Type - Thermal

- Strength - Fair

- Charging - Estimated time - 00:31:05

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...

...

- 00:12:51

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...

- 00:00:00

- Minimum power level reached - 01.00%

- Attempting reactivation of neurological systems

- Neurological system reactivation failure - Below minimum power levels

- Attempting activation of automatic control systems

- Automatic control systems activated

- Scanning...

- Scanning...

- Scanning...

- Abnormally low pressure in number 8 tube detected

- Left wing main servo inoperative

- WARNING - Hydraulic failure detected - Activate Electronic Repair Assistant

- ERA activation failure - Below minimum power levels

- WARNING - Wing servo failure detected - Activate Electronic Repair Assistant

- ERA activation failure - Below minimum power levels

- Attempting reactivation of motor systems

- Motor systems reactivated

- Attempting reactivation of optical systems

- Optical system reactivation failure - Below minimum power levels

- Attempting activation of secondary radar systems

- Radar systems activated

- Attempting activation of secondary sonar systems

- Sonar systems activated

- Minimum speed recommended

...

...

...

- Escape protocol activated

***

It was a quiet spring day in Ponyville. Most of the snow had been cleared away, leaving only traces behind houses. Some clouds still lingered, but there were many holes where the orange sky of the sunset could be seen. The mysterious cyborg was still the main topic of discussion around the town. Some said that it was a sign. Other claimed that she was older than the princesses. Pinkie still said that she was a messenger. Whatever that meant. All in all, Ponyville was back to normal. Or at least, as normal as it can be...

Yells and screams sounded from the hospital as doctors and nurses escorted patients from their rooms, and in less than a minute, the entirety of the small country town was in an uproar. Random ponies banged on doors to tell their friends that zombies, robots, or whatnot was running loose. Planks and nails disappeared from the shelves of the hardware store and were rapidly hammered onto windows or other points of entry. The resident mailmare had stockpiled carrot muffins so she and her housemate would survive, Berry Punch turned all of her empty bottles into Mareotovs, and Flim and Flam were back, this time selling colas that gave special abilities.

They even had cute little jingles for each of them.

Of course the six plus one dragon plus one princess were completely oblivious. Twilight had soundproofed the library after one too many interferences from outside had interrupted many study sessions. Though she was one of the most powerful unicorns and being extremely irritated at the time, perhaps it would've been better if the spell hadn't been too effective. She also tried multiple times to Pinkie-proof it, but that was a laughable goal.

It had all started when an intruder was reported in the lower level. Security had been dispatched immediately, only to run back in panic and barricade the doors with whatever was nearby. The remaining medical staff had been ordered to evacuate after the intruder was deemed "Incredibly Dangerous." One door was no trouble to her, and she backed up and rammed the wooden rectangle that separated her from the other side.

***

A nurse checked all of the rooms one last time to make sure that all of the patients had been evacuated. Another loud bang echoed as the bookcase placed in front of the door jumped. She quickly pushed it back and held it in place with her shoulder, ensuring that her colleagues would have ample time to escape.

Finally, the cybernetic mare ceased the pointless banging. Lifting her mechanical leg, a few quick mental commands caused her hoof to split into two. A burst of sparks shot from the many joints as the halves disassembled into a countless number of parts, then reassembled until her leg resembled the end of a large cylinder with copper tubes and wires coming out of the sides. Charged and humming quietly, she took aim at the blocked door.

***

For a few microseconds, Nurse Tenderheart felt like a pegasus.

During that time, everything seemed to move as if the entire world was dunked in molasses. She could feel the air rushing through her mane as she counted the tiles that whooshed under her. A splintered section of the door floated past her. Then in another second, her head connected with the floor with a loud crack and she was sent tumbling across the floor.

To compare the door to toothpicks was not enough. The entire frame and a good two hoof lengths around were completely blown apart, leaving a hole large enough that a buffalo could comfortably walk through. Debris from the ceiling joined the others on the floor, broken glass from covers and lights caused the floor to glitter like a minefield of diamonds. The lights that didn't break flickered and swung from the ceiling. The hallway was covered in dark spots, and the nurse was reminded of a scary slasher movie that her sister liked to watch.

For a good minute, she lied on the ground, covering her bloody head and waiting for the end. The only sound came from the sparks that flew from the ends of broken wires. Tenderheart opened her eyes. The dust made everything blurry, and the only thing she could see were the lights and a silhouette of a pony. Only one of them was moving.

***

Finally, somepony had remembered the Princess bucking Celestia was in town. Within a few moments, she and the six had arrived outside the hospital. It was both orderly and chaotic at the same time. Sandbags and barricades were set up, while security kept the curious onlookers away. That didn't stop them though.

One of the doctors praised the sun as she touched down, "Oh princess! Thank Celes... goodness that you came!

"What's going on?" Behind her, Twilight and her friends also gathered around to hear his story.

"Security found an intruder in the lower levels. And..." He looked around. Just a few bushes away, Ember rubbed the bandage around his head. He insisted that he was fine, but Redheart insisted harder. "Actually, it might be better if he starts off. Hey Ember!" he called to him. The unicorn's head shot up. But at the sight of the princess, he quickly lowered it.

"Please," she softly said, "tell us what happened."

"Well... I got the cyborg mare's body and I slid her in. I must've been sleeping cuz' I don't know how long she'd been in there for. But anyways, I hear this loud BANG and I go and check. Then..." Everypony was leaning towards him, eager to hear the tale.

"Hey! Hey!" Rainbow Dash yelled, "Give him space!"

The crowd backed up, and Ember gave a nod of thanks towards the pegasus.

"Uh... I see the door that flew off and... well... she was still alive."

Silence. Even the crickets ceased their chirping.

Then the dam broke when Rarity fainted.

"WHAT?"

"Oh! She was still alive?!"

"I told you she was a robot!"

"Zombie!"

"Hide the foals!"

"QUIET!" Twilight yelled as her horn glowed a bright purple.

***

- Kinetic charge fired - Cancelling escape protocol

- WARNING - Power level critical - 00.20%

- Power usage at minimum - All non-essential systems will cease operation

- New energy source detected

- Type - Visible light

- Strength - Weak

- Charging - Estimated time - 01:33:52

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- New energy source detected

- Type - Magic

- Strength - Fair

- Estimated charging time modified- 00:00:17

- 00:00:11

- 00:00:05

- 00:00:03

- 00:00:02

- 00:00:01

- 00:00:00

- Minimum power level reached - 01.00%

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- Low power level reached - 05.00%

- Motor systems reactivated

- Radar systems reactivated

- Sonar systems reactivated

- Minimum system requirements met

- New priority - Reestablish communications with Dr. Redshift and Dr. Blueshift

- Moon Base 239 (DECOM) detected - Attempting connection

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- Error - Minimal signal strength detected

- New priority - Move to clear area for laser link

***

With her ear on the floor, she could hear the individual heavy hoofsteps of the cyborg slowly advanced towards the nurse like a massive titan.

"Hey! Psst!"

She turned her head where one of the remaining security guards peeked his head around a corner. He motioned for her to get up and start running. Taking one last look at the cyborg, Tenderheart ran past the last few doors and skidded to a halt next to the unicorn.

"You alright? No injuries?"

She shook her head and breathlessly replied, "Yes, I-I'm fine." She noticed an open medical security kit lying next to him. It was stuffed with syringes, belts, and blindfolds. But what really got her attention was the few small vials that glittered in the low light. Sedatives. Perfect.

"Look, I broke out the emergency sedatives, but you're the one who knows what and how much to use. I'll go up and hold her down, and you pump her full of that stuff. Got it?"

Tenderheart nodded. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she prepared the syringe. It was something she did almost every day. It was one of the few basic things in medical school that she excelled at. But never had she thought that she would use her skills in this situation.

"NOW!"

The two ponies sprinted as fast as they could to the cyborg. He knocked and held her down with little resistance. The nurse stared at the mare's eyes. Or at least, if she would've if they were opened. She immediately felt scared and wondered whether this was her body being taken over by some restless spirit or-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" the security pony screamed as he held down another wave of struggling.

Tenderheart realized that a few precious seconds had gone by with her doing nothing. Medical training coming into effect, she took aim with the needle and plunged it into the mare's neck.

She quickly pulled out the syringe once it was completely empty. The guard winced as a metal hoof smacked his head but kept holding down the struggling mare until finally, the cyborg laid still.

***

- Hostiles detected

- Physical escape protocol activated

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- Physical struggling ineffective - Cancelled

- Power level - 12.52%

- Charging ERA unit...

***

The two ponies sighed and looked at each other.

"Nice job" the guard said breathlessly.

"You too." Tenderheart agreed.

He groaned as he got off of the unconscious mare. He whistled in amazement.

"You know, I got a brother that would go hunt dragons for a chance to look at these." He pointed to the mechanical leg and wings.

"I'm just glad that it's all over." the nurse muttered.

The lights slowly rocked back and forth, still hanging on by a wire. Tenderheart walked over to a nurses station and spat out the syringe into the bin labeled for sharp objects. She returned and sat back down next to the guard. The two sat in awkward silence as they wondered what to do next.

"Name's Dark Woods." he said as he held out a hoof.

"Tenderheart." she replied, hitting his outstretched hoof with her own.

***

There was silence once again as Twilight amplified her voice loud enough that it could've been comparable to the Royal Canterlot Voice. Her friends stood a good distance away, their ears still ringing from the loud voice.

"Now," she began, "I don't know what's going on. But please!" she raised her voice, "Don't come to conclusions!" The ponies all began to mutter, still suspicious. "I know that you're all scared, but everything's going to be just fine..."

***

- ERA unit charged to 04.00%

- Setting - Defense - Distract/Stun/Kill

- ERA unit deployed

***

Suddenly, a few motors whirred to life as the shoulder plate of the cybernetic leg lifted up, and a small object walked out.

It was insectoid, its matte body a long and thin shape. It had six legs, each as thin as an electrical wire that ended with a point. Faint clicks could be heard each time a point came into contact with the mare's cybernetics. A single eye was above a pair of jaws too small to cause any real damage. Although it looked like something that came out of Fluttershy's cabin, it was clearly mechanical like the leg it had come out of. The two stopped walking and slowly turned their heads towards the small drone.

"What is that thing?" Tenderheart whispered.

"I have no idea..." he replied.

The ERA unit scanned the two ponies and came to a conclusion a second later. Running on not even a tenth of its normal charge, it only had enough power for one shot, and the stallion was the bigger threat.

Tenderheart's trained eyes immediately noticed something was not right. The small insect-like object seemed to be bending its rear legs. Was it scared? Or did it-

It jumped. For something so small, it went surprisingly far and flew with accuracy. It landed squarely on the stallion's face, making him freeze in fear, sweat dripping as he visibly started to quiver. The thin wire-like legs dug into his coat as it slowly made its way down.

"Nurse... Nurse... C-Can you get it off me?" he said though clenched teeth.

The nurse reached out to swat the insect away, but pulled her hoof back when sparks began to shoot out of its mandibles. Her eyes opened wide as she realized the mission of the robotic insect.

It dug its jaws into the guard's neck and let its charge loose. Dark screamed as he fell to the floor. Tenderheart could only watch in horror as the stallion writhed in agony as electricity poured from the ERA unit. In reality it was only a few seconds, but to the two ponies it was eons. The robot fell to the floor, out of power.

His body twitched as he lay on his side. Tenderheart could not get herself to move, shocked at the scene. But at the sound of the mare slowly getting up, the nurse slowly backed from the scene.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?!" she screamed.

She didn't answer, her eyes still closed as she slowly walked forwards. Tenderheart backed up even further.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?"

Still no answer, and the nurse realized that it was pointless.

Looking around, she searched for an escape route. Behind herself were four doors, one storage cabinet, one bathroom, one leading to the rooms for operations, and one... leading into the attic.

Sprinting to the door separating the surgery rooms, she started to push but stopped when she remembered that there were no windows due to "sanitation concerns." Trying to barricading herself would only turn out like earlier, so there was only one answer that would make sense.

Tenderheart turned and ran.

***

All of the unnecessary civilians were being herded away from the hospital. Royal guards clad in gleaming armor shooed away the ponies who were still trying to take a peek. The pegasus guards patrolled around, keeping the airspace clear of any errant intruders. Due to the unknown nature of the weaponry used by the mare, the captain himself arrived with a full company of armed guards.

"Shining!" Twilight happily yelled. It had been too long since the last time she had seen him, and she showed it to all who would see.

"Hey Twili!" He gave her one quick hug then his face turned serious. "Twilight, I need you to take your friends away. Let us do our job-" A few yells of objections came from the six.

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash raised her voice, "We're not pushovers! We saved the world, oh..." She put her hoof up to her mouth in mock thought, then actually started to think. "How many time did we save the world?"

His face just got more serious. "Look, you may have averted an apocalypse or two, but you are still a civilian. If there are any spirits or gods we need exterminating, we'll call you, but now..." He walked up and met her in the eye. "Stand down Rainbow Dash. You are obstructing an operation that is being carried out by the Royal Guards and your slate won't look good if it said that you spent a night in a cell."

She froze. Pretty much everypony in their close circle of friends knew her dream to join the Wonderbolts, but if the captain had pulled that card, she realized that he meant business and now wasn't the best time to defy orders. She slowly hovered towards the back while her friends followed. Twilight was scared. She saw a side of her brother that she hadn't seen before. But there was training for a reason. And he was not going to lose. Not after his wedding.

"Alright! I want three teams, two unicorns and four earth ponies entering from the front, rear, and side entrances! Scanners! Find out where our mare is. See if you can find where she is, and if possible find out if anypony else is still in. Pegasi, patrol the air, report if you see anything. May Celestia shine her eternal light. Move out!"

Eight unicorns moved to the corners of the building and let loose waves of magic that rippled through the air. The scanners set them to bounce off of biological materials like an above ground sonar. Office plants numbered the highest with at least one in every room. A few fishes in a tank located in the children's room lit up a bright magical beacon. But the most interesting was the three ponies in the second floor hallway.

"Sir! She's in the west wing, second floor! Two others and- One of them is down!"

Shining spoke into his glowing horn, sending his voice into the heads of the guards, "All teams move in, second floor, west wing. Exercise caution, suspect is hostile, I say again, suspect is hostile!"

Various yells of acknowledgement returned as smaller waves of magic rippled through the doors to double-check that the other side was clear. Once the unicorns nodded to their partners, the earth ponies bucked the doors open with their rear legs, and the guard teams rushed inside.

In less than a minute, the three teams surrounded the doors leading to the west wing, one of them completely blasted off. A unicorn's horn glowed as he thought words to his superior. "We're in the west wing. Negative on the suspect."

Shining Armor turned to the pony next to him, "Scanner?"

The unicorn was silent for a second as he searched. The target was back in his crosshairs, "They're moving up! Stairwell, fourth door to the left!"

The teams moved in, armored hooves crunching the broken glass into a finer dust. Suddenly, a scream sounded from the open door that led upstairs. Fearing the worse, they moved in...

***

Tenderheart screamed in panic as she called up her natural earth pony strength and kicked the ancient window frame once more. It shot up a cloud of dust, but like the other times, did not budge. The latch had rusted in, and the years gone by had effectively sealed the wooden frame shut. She banged on the glass, hoping for somepony to notice that she was there.

The cyborg's hoofsteps grew closer and closer, and her shadow danced on the underside of the roof. But to her luck, one of the pegasus patrols saw her face lit bright orange by the setting sun. He too, attempted to ram and break the small window, but also failed. Yelling promises of return that went unheard by the nurse, he soared down to the captain.

The sound of a hoof muffled by dust reached her ears. Tenderheart sighed as she rested her head on the windowsill, accepting her defeat. She closed her eyes as the sound of metal coming apart and reassembling into a cannon. The mare took aim.

And fired.

***

"CAPTAIN!" the pegasus yelled. Shining Armor's head shot towards his voice.

"What is it?"

The guard touched down, slightly out of breath, "There's a mare stuck in the attic! I tried to get her out but the window's stuck!"

The captain motioned a team of mixed ponies forward. "Breakers! You heard the-"

A massive explosion interrupted the rescue. They could only stare in shock as an entire section of the roof went flying, planks and shingles separating as it soared through the air. It landed upside-down in some unlucky pony's backyard, sending up a cloud of dust that could've been seen from the other end of town.

Just another Ponyville day.

***

An earth pony silently wished for a pair of goggles that would've blocked the splinters and dust from getting into his eyes. He and his team coughed, trying to expel the small particles. Once they cleared their eyes and lungs, they continued on, having accepted that stealth was irrelevant. The mare was sitting in the middle of the attic, eyes closed with a small cylinder deployed from her cybernetic leg. They decided to wait for reinforcements and further orders.

Outside, the same pegasus guard looked up as he noticed a very familiar shape flying above him. Pumping unheard of power into his wings, he rocketed towards the sky and caught the nurse who clung onto him harder than a limpet would grip onto a rock. He landed, another nurse rushed towards her with a first aid kit as he patted Tenderheart's back to comfort the quivering nurse. She sobbed as Redheart wrapped her sister's head in gauze.

***

- Power level - 19.04%

- Kinetic charge standing by

- Kinetic charge fired

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- Sky detected

- Attempting connection via laser link with Moon Base 239 (DECOM)

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***

Miles above the land, Luna's moon silently floated on the path as it had always done for ages. But deep inside was a totally different story. Ancient technology whirred back to life as a beam of light flashed on and off, too fast for the eye to see. The supercomputer instantly translated the signal as a request for a connection to Moon Base 1, a place not contacted for millennia.

A set of motors pushed a large, thick plate through the surface, sending up a plume of moon dust. From the hole came a sphere with a single lens held in place by a glass protector. The ancient computer sent signals to the control systems, making the sphere turn and rise towards an unseen target. Charging a different kind of laser on a much larger scale, it repeated the message from the pony and into the stars.

***

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- Connection successful

- Activating neurological systems with a direct connection to communication systems

---

"Redshift? Doc? Helloooo? Anypony read me?"

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"This is Radiance calling Dr. Redshift and Dr. Blueshift of Moon Base 1..."

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"I say again, this is Radiance calling Dr. Redshift and Dr. Blueshift of Moon Base 1, does-"

"Six. Months. Where the hell did you disappear, for SIX. MONTHS!?"

"Hey Red... To answer your question, I don't know. My wings haven't found any energy, and I'm running low as it is."

"Radiance, the good news is that you have in fact reached your destination. The bad news is that our computer tells us that your auto-control systems are activated and ERA is missing."

"Really? I thought I was still sleeping... Oh, Mornin' Blue, and what was that about ERA?"

"Good day to you too. Bah, this causes more problems... First off, can you see if you can take control?"

"...Nothing, the computer's running the show."

"Well let's hope it hasn't done anything stupid... Doctor Redshift, did you enable the manual override before she left?"

"Nope, remember? I didn't have enough time before she was blasted away."

"Right... Radiance, you should have control after your system has more than a 30% charge. If I am reading this correctly, it should take no more than another eight hours, maximum. After that, find out how utterly moronic Redshift's control systems acted."

"Hey!"

"Anyways... There we go. I have disabled your auto-control system. That should keep you from doing anything stupid. When a sufficient charge is detected, your mind will reconnect with your body and you should have full control. Think of it as, 'waking up' from a long nap."

"Got it. Now, ERA?"

"She's gone."

"What do you mean gone?!"

"I mean that she is not in her socket. I'll download her last."

"...Red, she better not be dead. That thing's been with me ever since Mezzner VIII."

"Hey, hey! I built her! She'll be fine."

"Here we go."

---

- Video file received

- Play - Y/N

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---

"What the hell? When did you put a self-defense mode on ERA? She's a repair drone! Not a sentry!"

"Okay, okay, okay. I may have added a few lines of code so her welder turns into a stun gun. Big deal. It worked didn't it?"

"You do know that there was a very large chance of ERA simply exploding, correct?"

"...You're kiddin'."

"No Redshift, I am not "kidding," I am in fact, very serious and angered that you decided to sacrifice Radiance's only repair drone against a target that was more likely to start running at the sight of her getting back up after being pumped full of sedatives."

"Doctor. Redshift."

"Okay, we'll continue this discussion later. I promise... I have to go, Blueshift, can you watch for me?"

"Very well..."

"Great. See ya Radiance.

"Laters."

"As much as I despise that idiot, I must agree, now is not the time for this sort of discussion, so I will also take my leave. And remember, make sure the message gets to Celestia."

"Understood."

"Good luck."

Comments

[ISKV]

This is what happens when one is sufficiently motivated.

I really don't like the Auther's note thing at the end.

[Padwan]

I really liked the perspective we got from the cyborg(who I'm now assuming is called Radiance) right at the start. And I'm assuming a millennia turned into 6 months deliberately.

[ISKV]

1783427

And I'm assuming a millennia turned into 6 months deliberately.

What do you mean by that?

[Padwan]

1783582 From what i read, after contacting the moon base, they said it had been 6 months even though before that it said the base hadn't been contacted in a millennia

I might of misread though so I'm going back through it

[ISKV]

1783622
Don't worry, you read it right.

[Padwan]

1783642 Now all I'm thinking about is wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, and its making me want to read the next chapter even more

[ISKV]

1783657
Mission accomplished.