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Runaway to the Future

by TheGreatEater

Chapter 5: Arc 5: Flashback Arc

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The twenty one thousand bits was a good amount of seed money for Shard Industries, but if she wanted get rid of her first series of inventions and manufacturing, amongst other things, she decided that she needed to get one huge sale for her company. She needed to seal a large-scale deal, something magnificent that would net her enough bits to get a normal pony set for life, or in her case, allow one to get a foothold in the Equestrian Households.




Having seen pictures of the Princess and her amethyst-colored diamond, she decided to make her own diamond to sell, with a few metaphysical augmentations added into the bunch. By using a lay line connection and magical compression of the diamond the arcane radiation ran the gamut of colors from a bright red to a pure amethyst color.




This not only generated small amounts of arcane electricity that would be useful for linking spells together, but boosted the strenghth of Soul's aura. The connection to the lay line would boost her powers when channeling magic through it, as well as replenish her magical reserves if needed. It was a masterpiece, although hopefully she wouldn’t have to meet the Princess over it.




This is going to be perfect for revenue... I can’t wait to see the Princess's face when I tell her that the magical diamond she took from me was created completely from my own magic. Then there will be no doubt that I can do magic and she’d have to accept me. Everypony would have to accept me. I won’t be alone anymore.




Physically arriving in Canterlot was easy, but when the Royal Jeweler cast a energy scan on her gem, he told Soul Shard to wait; he needed a secondary opinion on the gem and its worth. She would spend the next several months scolding herself for not anticipating what happened soon after.




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Although Celestia loved all her little ponies, it could be tiring listening to hours of the same thing over and over again in the royal court. After a few centuries, she learned that breaking her schedule up to allow cat naps and personal time allowed her her to deal with the sun and moon courts much easier.




Celestia's slumber was interrupted, however, by a dragon mail letter. Celestia recognized the ink scrawls as her royal jeweler's familiar hoofwriting. Celestia had instructed her royal jeweler to only contact her in a case of dire importance, and this letter definitely fell under things of importance.

Dear Princess Celestia,




A young filly has arrived with an unusual gem with an immeasurable price. It has similar dimensional and chromatic similarities to the diamond on your regalia. but it has several unique and interesting features as well. Upon inspection of the jewel, I felt a huge surge of power rushing through me, and an abnormal strongness flowing through my bones.




I'm unaware of everything this gem is capable of, but I find it prudent to bring it to your attention and ask you the most appropriate price. I have the filly waiting here in the depository with me; please come as soon as you can, Your Majesty.



Sincerely,

Clear Cut

Celestia tried to recall when the last time that specific diamond had shown up in Equestria. She ran her mind through the countless generations that she had lived through, finding a small trace of its presence only in her oldest memories. The price for the gems would surely be more than it was all those millennia ago, but if she could get her hooves on more of those diamonds she would gladly pay a hefty sum; colored diamonds weren’t all that common, and ones that were naturally enchanted were even less so.




She soon found herself outside her royal palace, preparing herself for the short yet potentially fruitful trip on which she would embark.




“I’m going to need you to wait outside and guard the entrance, okay?" She instructed her guards, calmly yet assuringly. "I won't be in any danger." She knew her guards had their best interests at heart, but the last thing she wanted was to scare some young foal with her guards' intimidation.




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Needless to say, it took a while to convince Soul that she had nothing to fear; Celestia was surprised at how truly frightened the young filly was; she had seen many levels of fear in her lives, but she had only ever seen full grown ponies as afraid as Soul was.




Luckily, even in Soul's fearful state, Celestia was eventually able to calm her down a bit from an anxiety attack to light tremble. Celestia's calm, assuring demeanor could bring tranquility in even the harshest, temperamental ponies.




“We’re just going to talk about Shard Industries? Nothing else?” Soul Shard asked. Her body was still trembling somewhat, but the look of uncertainty had long since passed.




Celestia simply nodded, giving Soul a warm smile. "We don't have to talk about anything you're uncomfortable with. So Soul Shard, what is Shard Industries? I don’t believe I’ve heard the name before.”




Although she had. She had seen enough through zoning permits and tech patents sent through the Royal Archive by a Mister "Asset Management" to at least have knowledge of existence. But it was something else entirely to see what exactly the filly had planned for the company and its future.




It was also marvelous to see Soul's ambition in the business world. The fact that she had a multi-thousand bit company, as opposed to a lemonade stand like most fillies her age spoke for itself.




What truly astonished Celestia, though, was the way Soul... was. The way she carried herself and handled tasks was very meticulous, as if she had wanted nothing more than to better herself in every way.Through talking with Soul over the next hours, she found that Shard Industries was a consumer electronics company. It specialized in data transmission, broadcasting, and energy production.




Soul confided in Celestia that the true goal of the company was to bring ponies together. Her technological innovations would allow electronics to be accessible to everypony, regardless of race, social standing, or peers. She sought to bring forth a world where ponies can listen to music, see moving pictures, or even communicate over miles and miles away. Where all ponies are closer together with greater opportunities, personal freedom, and equality than ever before.




"Then, when my company becomes a household name..." Soul concluded. "I’ll be ready to truly talk to you. You'll take me seriously, and I will no longer be a social castaway.”




Celestia sat still, deep in thought for the longest time. She was truly floored by this young pegasus, and the sheer willpower she showed. To think that this tiny thing before her was responsible for those patents she saw seemed extremely odd to her.




Eventually, she remembered that she was technically interrogating this pony, and that there had been an awkward silence between them for longer than either of them felt comfortable with. “So... is there any magic used in your inventions?”




It was the first time that Celestia had seen Soul Shard smile. “It’s a mixture of self sustaining magic, and proper technological adjustments.”




“And who is the unicorn that helped you with this?”




Celestia hadn't a clue what she had said, but the smile on Soul's face suddenly turned into a withdrawn look of loathing. “She’s very close to me, is all I care to say now. But I’ll be able to tell you more about her later.”




Celestia's curiosity was killing her, but she knew to respect the privacy of those around her, and held her tongue. "So... to the matter at hand. This diamond you brought in...”




Celestia's eyes shone a bright white, and her power ran off her body in waves of energy as she held the diamond in her magical grasp. She was certain that this type of power was impossible without enchantments, yet all she sensed was an embedded link to the layline flowing through the diamond. The light from the diamond was thicker in the middle, as opposed to the natural lighting of even distribution.




Placing it back on the table, Celestia's power dimmed back to a normal rate.




“How many more of these do you have?”




“I can get you rainbow, red, violet, green, black, or gold infused diamonds of various sizes. I can get you about five of each in a few days, or thirty in two months. Although it’ll take me a while afterwards to get you more of these babies..." she said, motioning to the beauty on the table. "They are kind of hard to come by.”




It didn't take Celestia much time to come to a conclusion. "I’ve heard enough about your company, and if what you said is true, I’ll pay you ten thousand a karat for green and black, thirty thousand a karat for red and violet, and fifty thousand a karat for gold and rainbow. This diamond you brought me is easily a hundred karats so that’ll be three million bits, which will get you a small position in the fortune five hundred. If you can supply me with the thirty you promised, and can give me a quota of five per year for the next five years, I’ll make sure that you and your family live well for the rest of your days. Now be well, my little pony, and just know that my court is open whenever you wish to speak to me.”




Soul believed for a brief moment that Celestia truly cared about her, but soon perished the thought. Celestia may have appeared to be nothing but compassionate and helpful to Soul, but such is the beauty of royal deception. The Equestrian ruler had a history a mile long of faults and corruption, and thought she could overshadow it with a good attitude, but Soul knew better.




Soul high-tailed it out of there right after the business deal was arranged, much to Celestia's dismay. The lack of formality was a relief, but it was obviously due to a feeling of dread Soul possessed, and that struck a chord in Celestia's heart. She was certain that she never had met that pony before, and there wasn't an obvious reason for her to be as scared as she was.




After much consideration, Celestia decided it was time to venture into the Mirror Plane and look upon that filly’s past; as a guardian of the innocent and protector of the realm, it was her duty to help anyone she could.




So it was with this that both went there separate ways. Soul Shard to pay for personnel and construction, and Celestia to venture into Soul's past, however bleak and dark it may be.




Celestia learned the life of Soul Shard from the beginning, from her birth to her discovering how to convert Electromagnetic Radiation from Pegasi magic, to Raw Arcane Radiation. From the deal to her school laughing her out of the building without so much as test of her skills. From her torturous training that was not only dangerous to herself, but was more driven than most ponies would ever thrust upon themselves. From her tests and inventions to their accidental meeting.




Celestia had seen this many times before. Although Soul Shard had potential for great good, all it would take was one push in the wrong direction and she would be a threat the likes of which would even frighten Celestia herself. With this insight, she ordered the special forces of the royal guard to keep an eye on her and her business.




This wasn't to discredit Soul, though; Celestia still had an immense amount of respect for her. She ensured that the red tape was cut before Soul Shard ran into it, and worked behind the scenes to work with her. Celestia was no idiot; she saw the potential good in Shard Industries, and was going to support it every way she could




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~ 4 months ago: Manehatten~

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“Let’s see here,” Vinyl's mother said, reading over one of the disciplinary notes her daughter had received at school. “joy buzzer on the teachers seat ... shaving cream explosion in the principal’s office ... plague of lotus ... possible expulsion ... meeting.”




A look of furry passed over her mother’s face as she stared at Vinyl. Her mouth opening and closing as her mind struggled with the best way to phrase what she wanted to say. Vinyl saw the anger rising, and it seemed that her wish was finally going to come true.




It had been about three months since Vinyl's father died, and her mother certainly didn’t give one feathering damn about her. She put all her efforts into being as perfect as possible: studying for her tests, asking for extra credit, being a model student. All in the attempt to gain the attention of her mother




It never worked. Her mother rarely ever talked to her, and until recently didn’t even do anything past weep and drink herself into a stupor. This last week was different, though; Vinyl’s mother stopped spending all day drinking, but instead relied on another kind of pleasure... one one-night stand at a time. Vinyl had held hope that things would get better. But so far they'd only gotten worse.




Vinyl was very aware of how desperate for attention she had become, yet she didn't have a problem with it. If she were insecure about it, she wouldn't be appreciative of the verbal abuse she was about to receive. Pissing her off felt surprisingly relieving to Vinyl; if she was to let out all of the disdain she had for her mother, she might as well do it in a smart-ass way.




“Why in the flying horse feathers are you smiling!? Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in!? Grounded doesn’t begin to cover it, little filly!"




Vinyl started clapping, every reverberation dripping with sarcasm and hate. "Congrats, mom! You’re finally talking to me rather than getting drunk or throwing your flank up to the first stallion that grabs your attention. At least I care about dad!”




“Who in the hell do you think you are!?" Vinyl's mother exclaimed, a bit surprised at the way her daughter had spoken to her. "Where do you get off telling me that I don’t care about your father? And for that matter, you shouldn't be the one judging me. You are the child here!




"I deserve to be happy..." Vinyl's mother said conclusively, "and you don’t get to tell me what I can or can’t do."




“You aren’t happy, mom!" Vinyl yelled, hoping to reach whatever crevice of feeling her mother had left. "You treat me like I don’t even exist. It’s like you don’t even care that he died! That you don’t care about me! And if this is what it takes for you to even treat me like I exist, then it’s what I’m going to do!”




“I... You..." Vinyl's mother felt as if she had been slapped across the face, brought to her senses in a way. "Stay in your room, we’ll talk about this later.”




That could have gone better, but at least she acknowledged my existence. Vinyl concluded, passing the time in her room until whatever talk she and her mother would have. I have to do all the shopping, make my food, do everything for myself, so it's about damn time. But if making mayhem gets her to talk to me, even if it means that all she does is yell at me. It’s better than her treating me as much of a ghost as dad.




Vinyl couldn't say she was looking forward to her talk with her mother. She had a fear that she would show up in a drunken belligerence, unable to get coherent sentences across to her daughter. A fear that, unfortunately, came true.




Vinyl just zoned out completely. It was easier to dis-acknowledge a trainwreck than to witness its aftermath.




Vinyl simply cried when her mother shut the door, the camel's back having finally been broken. Her mind began to wander, as it usually did, to the possibilities that lay beyond the walls of her cramped, meaningless home. It was certainly not the first time she had considered running away, but it was the first time it seemed not only feasible, but optimal.




There wasn't much for her to take. She pretty much had her turntable (for which she had saved up herself), Vinyl Diskettes and a Phonograph , and whatever food her mother had left. It was obvious around town that Vinyl's passion was music. Of course, her mother had never supported her in that endeavor, and would rather have had a grade-obsessed bookworm. And while Vinyl was a straight-A, honor roll student, she only excelled in school in the hope that her mother would actually love her for it.




A hope that had just been irreparably shattered.




As she wandered the streets, she acknowledged that she was truly alone for the first time in her life. She didn’t know where to go, what to do, or how she would get by. But wherever life took her would be better than where she had lived through this last half-year.




Plus, that last statement wasn't completely true: she had her music to listen to, and music she had yet to make. That was all she needed.




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Several weeks had passed since Soul's encounter and deal with Celestia, and Soul was focusing on her realm, Arx Novo; presently, there were more important things to deal with than jewels. While she had made it habitable, she still was working on the formation of life. She had already made some flora, such as shrubbery and a her Lunestia, but fauna, of which she was lacking, was a necessity. And here she sat, at the "Universal Computer," which was controlling everything inside Arx Novo.




Alright, Soul, let's do this. She said, mentally mapping the task at hand. Don't simply give it life, but harness that life in order to better yourself and others who come and visit.




What is life? Ponies say that plants are alive, that even single cell organisms are living. Well... something living needs logic functions, to be able to know how to replicate itself, to be able to keep itself healthy and contained, how to protect itself to some degree, and most importantly adaptability.




She was getting somewhere. Everything needs to gather energy for some reason, so I need to give the organisms some way to power their logic gateways, and then give them a way to protect those gateways.




But I don’t want to program ever single living thing. It may take weeks, months, or even a few years. But if I program those three things into a randomized generator, then I should be able to generate fully self-sustainable, distinct lifeforms.




Tedious, yes, but very worth it. Gritting her teeth Soul went to work, adding her experimental programming into the computer. Just as she expected, this seemed to form different types of living creatures that would help her with maintenance and balance within the system. This wasn't simply her personal pet project; this would give her true validation of existence. If she pulled this off, then whatever she created would have to love her.




Soul acknowledged that this was a somewhat selfish way of thinking, but she went with it regardless.

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