open Building the Future

[ReverieRiver 525]

((Link to OOC thread here. Also, making the thread closed because I believe five participants is quite enough for me to keep up with. xD))

 

The red Earth Pony mare walked through the streets of Diadem city, enjoying the company of two others. Galatea looked down at the small unicorn filly trotting along by her side, giving the young pony a gentle smile. "It's a nice day, isn't it, Ariel?" the mare asked, noting the relatively pleasant weather as well as trying to encourage a little conversation.

 

Ariel glanced up at the sky with her mismatched eyes, before she gave a silent nod in agreement to Galatea's statement. Galatea suppressed a sigh as she returned her attention forward. She once thought the little filly to be mute, since she rarely spoke. But she found out that the filly does speak, if only to utter the occasional response to questions she couldn't reply to through body language alone.

 

Galatea was still curious as to why Ariel was out on the street on that cold winter evening. Had her parents abandoned her? Did she run away? Whenever Galatea asked about it, Ariel only gave silence in response, or the statement that she didn't want to talk about it.

 

The young mare's thoughts drifted; she started to think about how few ponies ever went out on casual walks around here anymore. The streets, though protected by the guards that stood watch over the citizens, were considerably more dangerous than they used to be. Galatea would not even be out on the streets herself, let alone with a small filly, if not for the reassuring sound of metallic hoofsteps by her other side.

 

She glanced at the robot pony next to her. Nano, her greatest creation, walked by her side. Simply looking upon him still filled her with pride. And she was also comforted to know that she had a walking arsenal with her. All she had to do was give the word, and Nano would transform from a docile robot pony into a war machine armed with many weapons. While he was capable of making his own decisions - rather than being bound to Galatea's command - she knew that he would never turn on her, and would always want to protect her. Not because she programmed it into him, but because he picked up on her own protectiveness, and adopted it as a trait for himself.

 

Smiling to herself, Galatea looked forward once more. She had no particular destination in mind, and neither did those that accompanied her. They were simply walking, enjoying the relative peace of the moment... with relative being the key word.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Miss Reaper

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Rocket was up in the skies just flying about with his rocket wings at 50% power. Through his vision he targeted a group ponies just walking around. He then stopped and turned his wings into landing mode as he slowly descended toward them. He finally met up with them. "It's nice to see a group of ponies walking together." He stated. 

[Mr. Critical 433]

I was in orbit of the time vortex, returning from a trip from the distant planet of Vathuum. I was sitting on my red couch until i heard the cloister bell. Hereing the warning signal and put the static anchor into position. Landing the tardis in... Diadem City, Equestria.

"Hm, never heard of this place before. A bit odd."

The blue female in the center of the console room spoke

"Wanna check it out?"

"Of course."

I made my way to the main portal and opened the door to an alley. Which led to a gleaming futuristic city.

[Moonbacon 384]

@@Miss Reaper, 

 

moonlight was strooling around. she had a cloak over her bat wings she really did not want to attract much attention having bat wings and a horn. can stir up pretty annoying crouds but atleast she can finaly avoid that. she then walks up to galactea's side

(galactea can choose to indtroduce her self and my grammar is bad today)

 

@@Miss Reaper, 

[ReverieRiver 525]

@, @@Mr. Critical, @,

 

Galatea paused when the mechanical pony landed before them, causing Nano and Ariel both to also stop. "Ah, yes, it is nice to be out and about, getting some fresh air," the mare replied with a polite smile. Behind her typically tranquil mask, the gears in her mind were turning.

 

Here before her was what seemed to be a cyborg pony; the living embodiment of the time's top technology. The calculating engineer's part of her mind irrationally craved to bring this pony back to the lab at once, to find out more about what made him tick. However, the rational half of her mind reminded her that there was a living pony still somewhere amongst all the technology; to perform experiments would be cruel.

 

Nano tilted his head ever so slightly as his sensors registered life in the midst of the technology before his eyes. He quietly processed what this could have meant, only to draw blanks from his relatively new knowledge database. He blinked, his expression forming a look of mild confusion. Meanwhile, little Ariel simply stared up at Rocket with a wide-eyed mix of wariness and curiosity. She said nothing, being silent like she usually was.

 

With her mind sidetracked, it took some time for Galatea to notice the cloaked mare that had drawn near. When she did, she did so with a slight start before she composed herself. "Oh! Hello there," Galatea said, still maintaining a polite tone.

 

Nano briefly scanned the mare, since she appeared somewhat suspicious to him. His sensors easily identified the leathery folds of the bat wings the mare concealed beneath her cloak, but he said nothing of it. No threat detected, his processor silently told him. And with that, he relaxed, now knowing that there was no immediate threat.

 

When Critical's TARDIS arrived in Diadem City, young Ariel felt a sudden, strange sensation spark in her. Her ears folded flat as she looked around uneasily, before nudging Galatea's leg. Galatea ignored the filly for the time being, more focused on her present company.

 

((OOC note: the reason Ariel reacted to the TARDIS arriving, even though she probably didn't see it, is because that my headcanon is that unicorns, to some extent, would be able to sense disturbances in the space-time continuum or something like that. ))

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

"Hi there. The name's Rocket...you look like...you're intrigued by how I function. That reminds me. Do you have a moment, because I have kept the memories of what my mother told me about what happened when I was young. I wasn't always a cyborg pony you know." Rocket stated as he folded his metal wings away. 

[Mr. Critical 433]

I stepped out of the alleyway and got a clearer look at the fururesc city. It was... shiny. I began to look around at a more street level perspective. Then I saw four ponies. Three of which were peculiar. Their before me was an... android... pony? Can't tell with all that metal. Speaking of which, there was a stallion with a bit of a mechanical movement to him. But what caught my eye, was the little filly with the glossed eye. She seemed to have saw me emerge from the alleyway. I gave her a small wave, and she returned one. I chuckled a bit.

"Cute kid."

Now, what am I doing here?

[ReverieRiver 525]

@, @@Mr. Critical,

 

"Oh! W-Was I staring? My apologies," Galatea said somewhat sheepishly. "I'm always fascinated with how different technology works, being an engineer and all," she added with a slight chuckle. It wasn't often that she encountered somepony like Rocket; yes, cyborg ponies were indeed possible, but they were about as common as Nano - a fully mechanical, sentient pony robot - so it always fascinated her.

 

The mare flicked her ears gently when the cyborg pony spoke of memories. She let out another little chuckle and said, "Well, I guess I do, if you're willing to share that." Of course, she wanted to hear this story. She was a little surprised he'd be so willing to tell it, but if it would help sate her curiosity, she wasn't going to complain.

 

Now having fully noticed Mr. Critical, Ariel tried once more to get Galatea's attention, nudging the mare's leg. Still being ignored, the filly finally let out a little whine - proving again that she did have some sort of voice - as she rubbed her head against Galatea's leg like a cat seeking attention. Hearing the whine and feeling the hard stub of the young unicorn's horn brushing against her leg, Galatea took notice at last as she looked down at the filly. "What is it, Ariel?"

 

Ariel turned and pointed her hoof towards Mr. Critical, indicating where he was. Galatea turned to see what Ariel was pointing at, and finally saw the stallion. Consequently, Nano also turned to look, his eyes briefly scanning Mr. Critical - afterwards deeming him also not a threat. "Hello there!" Galatea called out to him, trying to be friendly.

 

@,

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

"Well, I was born a normal colt but...I had a terminal heart disease. The doctor stated I would only live for one week. My mother was so desperate. She went to every doctor to see if there was a cure. Unfortunately, there wasn't. But she wouldn't give up and certainly didn't want to lose her only son. So, she found this engineer, that knew how to convert real ponies in to cyborgs. Thus, my mother ordered for the operation to be done on that day. The doctor hooked me up to a heart monitor and started to replace my natural pony parts with robot parts. I still have my natural pony brain, but it's modified with a computer. Sadly, my natural wings had to be amputated. Fortunately, the engineer replaced them with rocket wings." Rocket stated as he unfolded them for Galatea to see. "However, over the years, I had to undergo changes because I was growing." Rocket explained. 

[Mr. Critical 433]

Critic was looking around the city when he heard somepony calling out to somepony else. He subconsciously turned his head in the direction of the call. He saw the mare with the young filly from before. She was calling him. Critic made his way towards the two. Wondering what the small group could want. Critic got into speaking distance of her.

"Hello, how may I help you."

Critic saw the little filly hiding behind the mare. He gave a small smile to her.

"Hello little one."

[ReverieRiver 525]

@, @@Mr. Critical, @,

 

Galatea's expression softened as she listened to Rocket's story, sadness growing to mingle with the sympathy she felt as his story went on. "I... don't know what else to say, other than 'I'm sorry'..." she muttered, lowering her gaze to the ground as her head dipped just slightly. She then raised her head as she took another look at the cyborg. "And yet, so very interesting..." the mare mumbled, more to herself than to Rocket.

 

Her attention was diverted when Mr. Critical approached. She offered him a polite smile, again being friendly. "I was just saying 'hello,' kind sir," she said warmly.

 

When he spoke to Ariel, the filly simply stared up at him with her large mismatched eyes. Quiet once more, as per her usual habit. Her stare was simple, curious, if not somewhat wary. Galatea chuckled a little nervously as she then said to the stallion, "That's Ariel. She... doesn't really speak all that much."

 

Meanwhile, whilst the small group conversed among one another, a different group converged in the shadows. The rogues were very stealthy to have made it this far; having sneaked past the guards that watched over the streets, and to have avoided detection beyond that. Even Nano, with his sophisticated sensors, was unaware of the hidden presences that were nearby.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

"It's okay. I'm alive and well now." Rocket stated. He then had a feeling inside of him. His brain was telling him something that the others did not. "I sense something around here." He thought to himself, loud enough for Galatea and the others to hear him. However, he didn't know that danger was nearby.  

[Mr. Critical 433]

Critic looked to the filly. Her eyes were indeed mismatched. How fascinating. Critic has only seen this one other time. Sure it belonged to an angry barbarian war chief. But its most likely unrelated. Critic gave the little filly another friendly smile, after registering the mares now understood hello. The filly just cowered behind the mare, as if she was terrified of Critic.

[ReverieRiver 525]

@, @@Mr. Critical, @,

 

"Well, that is good," Galatea said to Rocket with a smile. However, when the cyborg pointed out that he sensed something nearby, the mare's ears perked as she looked around curiously. "Hm? I don't see anything out of the ordinary around here..."

 

At that moment, Nano scanned the area carefully, his sensors adjusted to maximum settings as he sought any signs of danger. It was then that he detected other presences nearby, although his processor failed to put a name to said presences. "Unidentified lifeforms detected. Possible threat," the robot pony stated in a monotone voice.

 

As if that weren't enough to set everyone on edge, the scuffling of hooves as a certain figure stumbled was heard soon after, more obviously alerting the others. With his senses boosted to maximum, Nano could hear the harsh whispers from the hidden group nearby.

 

"You bucking idiot, you gave away our position!"

 

"Horsefeathers! What do we do now?"

 

"We're going to have to strike, and do it quick while they're still unprepared!"

 

"Roger!"

 

Several figures leaped out of the shadows, revealing themselves to be a group of unicorns. Ariel suddenly charged out in front of Galatea, putting herself between the mare and the unicorns. "Stop!" the little filly shouted. It was the first time that she had uttered a word in a long while.

 

The unicorns paused for just a moment, looking down at the small unicorn. The leader of the group studied her, and scowled when he took notice of her mismatched eyes, namely the ice blue one. "Out of the way, you little freak!" he growled, and kicked the filly away from himself with one of his front hooves. Ariel cried out in pain as she landed several feet away.

 

"Ariel!" Galatea gasped, her eyes widening. She was about to gallop towards the fallen filly, only to have a bolt of magic strike the ground mere inches in front of her hooves, stopping her in her tracks.

 

Nano wouldn't stand for this. His defensive mechanisms activated at once. His blue eyes shifted into a menacing red color; blades sprouted from his joints and his tail, and a variety of other weapons appeared; the robot pony had gone from normal into Battle Mode, ready for a fight.

Edited December 30, 2013 by Miss Reaper

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

"Rogues!" Rocket stated as he converted his wings into steel blade like weapons. "As I grew up, the engineer fitted me with special weapons, so now you'll get to see some of them in action." Rocket stated as he went into a battle position. He waited until the rogues were in sight.  

[Mr. Critical 433]

Critic was Surprised. Ninjas. In this day and age. One of them kicked the little filly to the side. Critic was about to act when two of them landed in front. They took their fighting stance as Critic took his own. They both jumped into the air as Critic did the same. Both sets of hooves grabbed one assailant by their head. With a motion, Critic began to spin while in the air, disorienting the two. After landing. Critic turned his attention to the next one. This unicorn's horn began to flair in preparation of a spell. He fired, but Critic dodged his attacker and swept his feet. The attacker hit the ground with a hard thud, and Critic delivered a swift punch to where the shoulder met the neck. It didn't kill him. Just knocked him out.

[Moonbacon 384]

@@Miss Reaper, 

 

moonlight narrowed her eyes at the at the unicorns she spreads her wings in a battle stance. she knows how to fight without weapons she grabbed one of them with her magic by the throat and squeezed tigh enough she hear a crack the rogue feel she started to laugh.

 

(miss reaper you choose if ya want to make a unicorn if you want to anyway).

[ReverieRiver 525]

@, @@Mr. Critical, @,

 

There was a flurry of magic from the unicorns' side as they each fired off a variety of attack spells, carefully aimed and intended for specific targets yet swiftly performed in rapid succession. Nano stood in front of Galatea, determined to protect her.

 

In his Battle Mode, Nano was programmed to be far more aggressive than the docile personality he normally possessed. He attacked the unicorns relentlessly and without hesitation, firing laser blasts at them from the ray guns protruding from his shoulders. When one unicorn drew too close, he swiped a bladed hoof at the attacking pony, quickly slashing him down.

 

In retaliation, another of the unicorns shot a certain spell at Nano. It was a direct hit that sent a brief surge through the robot pony's system, just enough for him to falter as his processor tried to cope with the circuits that were shorting out due to said surge of power. While Nano struggled to recover, yet another unicorn prepared for a final blow, his horn charging with magic.

 

But before that unicorn could complete the spell, Galatea charged at him. Skidding to a halt less than a foot away from the unicorn, the mare spun around and lifted her hind legs for a powerful kick. The blow connected with the unfortunate unicorn's head, and he collapsed to the ground unconscious with a concussion that he'd have to deal with later.

 

Meanwhile, Ariel slowly stood up after recovering from the kick that had knocked her aside. Her small body was sore from the impact, but she ran back into the middle of the action regardless when she saw everyone else fighting; she wanted to fight, too! To help protect those that cared about her!

 

But again, the poor filly's efforts went unappreciated as a unicorn - the same one that had kicked her aside to begin with - knocked her away yet again, this time with a burst of magic that had enough force to throw her several feet away from the scene. "You stay out of the way!" he growled - and then immediately received a kick to the jaw from an incensed Galatea.

 

"You stay away from Ariel!" she yelled, her eyes alight with the flames of a mother scorned; even though young Ariel wasn't her biological daughter, Galatea had come to love the filly like a daughter - which was why she was so protective.

 

Nano soon recovered from the attack that had scrambled his system momentarily, and scanned the area at once. Most of the unicorns were down by now, but there were still a few that insisted on avenging their fallen brethren. Still, those few unicorns continued to fight. The battle wasn't going to end until the very last one was taken down; such was the inflexible, stubborn way of the unicorns that were trying to overthrow this future world's way of life.

[Moonbacon 384]

@@Miss Reaper, 

 

ariel caugh moonlights eye her attention then turning to her running towards her in order to protect her from any attacks. she faced the unicorn that kicked her. she then spoke "first off if i see a pony trying to kill a foal they get killed no matter what" she yelled then she began charging a spell from her horn. it glowed a bright crimson red.

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Rocket used the blades on his wings to defect the blasts back at the rogues. He then spotted Aerial in trouble. "Aerial!" He called out as he ingnited his rocket wings as fast as he could. "Don't worry, I'll protect you. You look hurt. I'll fly you to the nearest hospital once all is over." Rocket stated as he returned to his battle position.   

[Mr. Critical 433]

Critic was duking it out with precision strikes and blocks. However, to his back was a unicorn he did not see and fired a blast at his back. It struck him in the back. Critic let out a scream in agony and the two he was fighting saw there opportunity and got a few good blows in on his face and torso. They both jumped back and prepared their own magic attacks. critic saw this in his blurry vision and managed to jump out of the way. The blasts missed and hit the one to his back. The unicorn fell down dead. The other two, shocked at their horrid mistake were stunned. That gave Critic an opening. With a good sweep kick, he brought the to down and slammed their heads together. rendering them unconscious. Critic had defeated his enemies, but he was hurt, and badly. But he could ignore the pain for now.

[ReverieRiver 525]

@, @, @@Mr. Critical,

 

"Two can play at that game, missy!" the unicorn sneered at Moonlight, charging his horn with magic also; his magic aura being a bright green in contrast to her crimson magic. But that cruel unicorn was condemned to a death sentence regardless, with two other ponies determined to protect Ariel more than anyone else.

 

Galatea threw a well-aimed kick at the unicorn's head, directly on the horn. It snapped off from the force of her powerful kick, and the pain sent him sprawling on the ground. Once he was down, Nano aimed his laser blasters at him. With one quick shot, the unicorn was done for.

 

And with that, the last of the unicorn rogues were defeated. Nano immediately reverted to normal, while Galatea stopped to catch her breath. Galatea then looked to Moonlight and gave a faint smile. "Heh... I'm sorry if you wanted to do it, but... I really wanted to do that, after... after what he did to Ariel..." She then gasped, looking around for the small filly. "Ariel?!"

 

"Gala... tea..." came the filly's weak voice in response. She was injured, but she would survive. What upset her more was the unicorns' treatment of her. Even though she herself was a unicorn, they still rejected her as a freak, and she failed to understand why. Why was she so different? Why did everypony else hate her? The filly trembled slightly as tears pooled in her eyes and spilled down her face; she cried quietly, slight whimpers escaping her.

[Mr. Critical 433]

Critic limped back to the others, pain coursing through his body. Once he saw them all still alive, relief and pain was felt through his body.

"Everypony okay?"

He managed to stammer out. He looked to the small filly. Sadness was in her eyes. Poor thing. These unicorn assailants. Who were they, and what was their main objective in the first place?

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

@@Miss Reaper,

 

Rocket could sense the sadness in Aerial. He went and sat beside her. "Those unicorns...who were they?" Rocket asked as he folded away his blades and his wings returned to standard form. He was worried that Ariel may not be able to hold on much longer. He then used his senses to locate the nearest hospital. "The nearest hospital is not to far from here." He stated.  

[ReverieRiver 525]

@@Mr. Critical, @, @,

 

"Rogues," Galatea answered Rocket, her tone as cold as her icy gaze. "Unicorns that attack other ponies for... for what they are. They still believe that unicorns are the so-called 'master' race, and are determined to make it so." She then sighed and closed her eyes. "These streets are never safe..."

 

The mare glanced down at Ariel, and then at Critic. "But that doesn't matter now. We need to get to the hospital, as quickly as possible." Galatea carefully picked the little filly up with the intention to carry her; however, the movement caused a jolt of pain in the injured filly. Ariel yelled in pain before she started crying harder, the pain only adding to her trauma.

 

Galatea desperately tried to calm the distressed filly with words of comfort, to no avail. It was clear that Galatea was still fairly new in the business of looking after foals; she had that mildly panicked look of a young first-time mother that didn't know how to soothe her crying child. And Nano, lacking the knowledge to know how to react to this sort of situation, stood idly by.