So as it turns out, I'm left handed. That explained a lot of things really. Like, why my ESU was attached to my left arm, or why I had horrible aim when I still used a rivet gun. Mostly the rivet gun though, I couldn't hit the side of a whale.

My two charges had spent the entire day teaching me the basics on reading and writing. It had come to me pretty quickly actually. Vowels, consonants, and sounding out words. Though, I have a deep-seeded hatred for the letter 'K'. Why did they ever make a letter that made the same exact sound as the letter 'C'? It made no sense! Plus, I had nearly crushed the marker over a dozen times out of frustration.

Nonetheless, I appreciated what the two were doing, even if I was resentful at first. I wasn't going to be writing any novels anytime soon, but it was still more than enough.

In fact, I was writing down my own name at this point. Well, subject name. Fluttershy and Rarity were standing to the sides of me, ready to rectify any mistakes I would make, like they had been doing since we began. Annoying, but useful. 'O'-'m'-'e'-'g'-'o'... Oh, forgot the line. 'a'. There we go.

"Good job." Fluttershy praised, smiling as I moved to the side to give the two a clear view.

"Indeed. You've certainly improved from when we began." Rarity agreed. To be fair, I'd say learning what an 'A' was had already improved from how I began. "Now if we can just help you adjust your grammar, then you would be golden, darling." Fluttershy nodded in her own form of agreement before flying over to me, reaching eye level.

"Um... Would you mind telling us more about Rapture now? I-if it's no trouble that is." I mentally chuckled at her timidity, nodding my head as I reached up and pet her slightly. She giggled as I did this, before moving away from the whiteboard and taking a seat on the couch.

I began to ponder as to how I teach them in the first place. Whether or not I could write, it was still minimalistic at best. It took them hours to teach me the basics, so it would take me days, considering I could barely even manage my own name, let alone the history of Rapture.

...Then again, maybe my newly obtained ability to read, though pushing it, could help me teach them after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two waited for me outside of the bathysphere as I rummaged through its many compartments. I had remembered finding some recordings throughout Rapture, and stashing them in here. I never really cared for them though, since I couldn't really figure out what they were about. They were silent films, the kind you would play on a projector and have to read in order to understand. Of course, when I first played them, I was a little more than annoyed by the fact that I couldn't understand them. In fact, I was tempted to throw them away. As I pulled out the first of many recordings, titled 'Rapture's Founding', however, I realized how glad I was that I didn't.

I put the film into the projector and gestured for my two charges to enter. I moved to the side of the bathysphere as the two took their appropriate seats next to one another, and I closed the bathysphere door behind them. I flicked on the bathysphere's projector and sat down in my own cushioned seat as the white screen once again rose up over the porthole, the lights of the bathysphere dimming.

"Andrew Ryan welcomes you to-" I hadn't even managed to read the first line when the film had moved on to its next image and text. Practice made perfect, right?

Somehow I doubt it, because I just missed the next slide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If I may sister? What is your plan, exactly?" Princess Luna asked as she looked over the large menagerie of unicorns that stood before her. Celestia didn't seem to notice however, as she stood from her throne and began to address her guards.

"Everypony, we are at a time of dire need." She began, silencing any whispering that had been occurring in the crowd as she obtained their undivided attention. "During our most recent attempt at diplomacy, to a kingdom known only as Rapture, two members of the elements of harmony, Rarity and Fluttershy, had somehow followed us, and were left behind." Ponies began to converse again, elements of confusion and worry clear throughout the crowd.

Suddenly, one of the guards spoke over the crowd, barely audible to the two princesses. "Princess, if that's true, then why don't we bring the two back?" He asked.

"We are only able to teleport to and back from Rapture once a year, during the time that it appears for 12 hours." More uproar began as the same pony continued to question the two.

"Then why don't we just wait until a year passes?" Voices of agreement arose, while a small group of unicorns in the room stayed silent, the group that had accompanied the princesses on their mission. Princess Celestia paused for a moment, unsure of how to explain the situation to them. She glanced over to her sister and noticed that she was just as uncertain.

"...I suppose I should start from the beginning."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thank you for your time, and we hope you have learned from thi- Oh, come on!" It was official, I hated these films with all of my heart. Granted, I managed to learn a few things about Rapture's history that even I didn't know about, but still.

As the built-in bathysphere lights turned to their full brightness again, meaning that the projection had come to an end, I looked over to my two charges. I nearly burst out laughing... chuckling, as I saw the looks of confusion on their faces.

"So... to get away from what he thought was a corrupt government... he went to the bottom of the ocean... and built a city?" Rarity asked, carefully piecing together all the information she had learned. It did sound stupid didn't it? I nodded.

The two made to talk, gesturing and the like, but no words came out. Eventually, they both let out sighs, planting their hooves against their faces. I wish I could laugh. I really do!

Chuckling, I reached back into the projector's compartment and pulled out another film. As I read the title, I flinched inwardly. 'ADAM and its production'. The two had wanted to know more about Big Daddies and Little Sisters, and they were unfortunately going to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was enshrouded by silence, neither guard nor princess making a noise as Celestia and her sister Luna finished retelling their experience in Rapture. Faces of disgust, anger, and utter shock filled the room, none of the ponies having neither heard or seen such horror. Princess Celestia took in a deep breath.

"As you may all be able to tell, we cannot afford to wait a year for the kingdom to reappear. Though we may not be able to retrieve the two directly, we may at least be able to contact them." There was a moment of silence as the crowd began to slowly recover from their earlier shock, before another unicorn rose their hoof up into the air, this one being a mare.

"Princess, with all due respect, none of us, including the group that went with you, had managed to get Rarity or Fluttershy's magical signature. Who would we contact?" Princess Luna answered for her sister, a look of confidence about her.

"We will contact the being that knows Rapture like no other, and is virtually the lord of this kingdom." Everypony's attention was immediately cast upon their princess of the night. "We are going to contact the 'metal feline'."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had just gotten past the part where the film had shown what ADAM and Little Sisters were, and how they had Big Daddies to protect them. Fluttershy and Rarity were both watching attentively, taking in every detail that was presented to them. I wasn't worried really about this, since it wasn't really anything that needed worrying about to begin with.

As if it was perfectly timed though, a title card saying, 'How to extract ADAM' appeared on the white screen. My eyes widened as I stood and scrambled for the projector, much to Fluttershy and Rarity's confusion. Fumbling slightly, I managed to finally stop the film and remove it from the projector, the lights of the bathysphere once again returning to normal as the white screen fell.

"Is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, genuine concern in her voice. Sitting down, I began to look over the film, repeatedly reading the title over and over. Fluttershy and Rarity obviously weren't used to things like violence or death. The fact that they had made it so far without drifting to insanity was a miracle, if anything. If I were to let them see exactly what happened to a Little Sister after their job was done...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two could only watch as Omega looked over the film, slumping ever so slightly in his seat. They hadn't seen him be so dejected since they met him, so this was truly a surprise for them.

"Whatever it was that he saw was in that film, he didn't want us to see it." Both Rarity and Fluttershy thought as they watched Omega scoot the film back into the compartment he had found it.

Suddenly, the lights to the bathysphere flickered, dimming themselves once again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I didn't do that." I thought to myself as I watched the screen of the bathysphere raise itself once again. Normally, I would have guessed that the bathysphere was malfunctioning. It had done that before after all. When the projector turned on without being activated though, I threw that theory out into the ocean. Pushing aside the white screen, I tried to push open the bathysphere door. It didn't budge, no matter how hard I pushed and shoved.

I looked back to Rarity and Fluttershy. The two seemed worried, almost scared even. I would have been lying if I said I didn't feel the same. I could see my porthole light turn yellow as I positioned myself between them and the door. Something was happening, and whatever it, I was prepared to protect my two charges to my 'last' breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was enveloped by the lights of several unicorn horns, as they simultaneously tracked a single magical signature, and tried to reach it. The princesses were doing the same, their faces showing focus as a large white orb began to before them, about the size of a large circular mirror.

The sphere of magical energy shifted slightly, before doing so again, and again, the shifts increasing in their intensity each time. Soon, the orb had become a writhing mass of energy, pressurizing the very air that surrounded it.

The princesses didn't waver though, narrowing their eyes as they poured even more of their magical power into the mass. The mass began to shrink, collapsing on itself until finally, it ripped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Remember how I said I was prepared for anything? Well, I wasn't prepared for the projector to turn itself on and show the very same white pony that I had met a few days ago, during the 12 hour event that always happened once a year. Celestia, and I could barely see her co-ruler, Luna, in the background. The background being a bright and colorful throne room, almost radiating happiness and peace. It was the polar opposite of Rapture.

"I-is that?" I turned my head towards Fluttershy and Rarity, noticing the two were hiding behind me, looks of shock on their faces as they peered around my sides.

"T-the princesses." Rarity whispered, her mouth slightly agape. "They found us." I saw the corner of her mouth lift ever so slightly. A smile, one of the few I'd ever seen her do that was accompanied by happiness. I looked over to Fluttershy, noticing she was doing the same.

"Metal feline, can you hear me?" I quickly turned my attention to the large pony that was being projected onto the screen before me. Oh great, this song and dance again. I nodded to her, 'telling' her that I could hear her loud and clear with a groan.

She smiled ever so slightly as I answered, probably pleased by the fact I could actually hear her.

"Good." She lost the smile on her face just as quickly as she had gained it, an air of seriousness revolving around her. "I am going to be honest with you 'metal feline'. I did not call for a casual conversation or anything of the sort." Jeez, happy to see you too. "I have contacted you due to a serious matter. One that I am unable to accomplish myself."

I nodded as I carefully crossed my metal covered arms and listened to her intently. So long as she didn't bring out 'Prince Fuckstick', I'd be willing to hear her out, even if I did have a pretty good idea as to why she was calling.

"You see, recently, during our visit to your kingdom in fact, two other ponies had followed my sister, nephew, guards, and I into Rapture. The issue with this being, that we didn't bring them back with us when we returned, since we weren't aware of them being there in the first place." Fluttershy and Rarity weren't supposed to be there? Then, why were they? "I ask of you a great favor, metal feline. I need you to find the two, and keep them safe."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Celestia, her sister, and all the unicorns in the room's surprise, the metal being known as the 'metal feline' began to chuckle repeatedly, almost as if it were laughing. Princess Celestia rose an eyebrow in annoyance, while her sister felt her eyes narrow in anger.

"Is there something funny, metal feline?" Princess Celestia asked, her question holding a tone as sharp as a knife, if not sharper. The metal feline wasn't perturbed though, unaffected by the princess's obviously double edged question as he simply took one hefty step to the left, revealing a sheepish looking Fluttershy and Rarity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The look on the princess' face was priceless. Same went for my two charges, who were smiling awkwardly at their princess. I guess when you're found in a situation after doing something you weren't supposed to, this is a pretty normal reaction.

"H-hello your majesty." Fluttershy greeted quietly, bowing as she did so. Rarity followed her friend's example and did the same, glancing over to me as she did so, as if expecting something.

"Show some respect, darling." She whispered. If she was expecting me to bow, she was crazier than I was, and I kept track of how long I would go without mental breakdowns. Rolling my eyes behind my helmet, I uncrossed my arms and gestured towards the two as I looked to the princess, her surprised expression slowly beginning to shift. I didn't exactly like what it was shifting to though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... Everypony, I thank you all for your efforts. Now that the spell has been cast though, it is self-sustaining, so you will no longer be needed. Now, if you would all please exit, my sister and I wish to speak in private." A slight gleam of anger accompanied the last bit of her request, but nopony seemed to notice as they all began to quietly exit the throne room, leaving their monarchs to speak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy and Rarity looked up from their bowing positions, not daring to make a sound, or even move, as Luna joined her sister, and the two began to obtain faces of pure anger.

"I... Won't even BEGIN to describe how FURIOUS I am!" Princess Celestia began, causing the two to flinch, clenching their eyes shut. "How could you two deliberately eavesdrop on what was supposed to be a private meeting, then stowaway on a what may have been, and was, a dangerous mission!"

Princess Luna chimed in soon after, expressing her own anger at the two. "We cannot comprehend as to why the both of you had thought this to be an wise decision whatsoever! Not only did you endanger yourselves, but you endangered the lives of several other ponies by risking your places in the elements of harmony! If you two were gone, and chaos ever set foot in Equestria again, there would be nothing that we could do!" The two felt nothing but guilt, shame, and sadness as their normally kind and caring monarchs unleashed their anger upon them, causing the two to begin to tremble involuntarily. "And furthermore, you-"

The princesses were cut off and immediately silenced by a piercing roar that reverberated through both the bathysphere and the throne room, causing the ground to begin to shake and both of the princesses to flinch back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mess with a bull, you get the horns. Mess with a Big Daddy's charges, and you'll wish you had gotten the bull. I had cut the princesses off with a roar, having gotten really tired of their anger, really quickly. Granted, Fluttershy and Rarity had messed up. But after everything they had been through in their short stay in Rapture, I'd hardly say they deserved a punishment.

I put my arm out in front of Fluttershy and Rarity, as if shielding them from the both of the monarch's yells. Fluttershy and Rarity looked towards me with confusion, hints of gratitude sprinkled about it, while the princesses wavered as they saw the crimson red light coming from my helmet.

"..." Princess Celestia sighed, while her sister just looked down to the floor in her own guilt, her ears flat against her head. "Forgive us, my little ponies, metal feline. We were simply worried, and tired from our recent attempts at searching for you. "

Figuring that neither she nor her sister would continue to yell at the two, I pulled away my arm, giving them a clear view of my charges once again, my porthole's light slowly reverting to its original green coloring as I did so.

"It's no problem at all, your majesty." Rarity reaffirmed. The fact that they continually called her 'your majesty' was a bit of a bother, but I shrugged it off. "If anything, we're glad that you found us. Omega has been an impressive guardian, but I'd still prefer we return home whenever we could." Fluttershy nodded in agreement, glancing towards me with apologetic eyes, but I dismissed it. I had sworn to get them home after all, so this wasn't really an issue to me.

"...Omega?" Princess Celestia asked. Fluttershy and Rarity didn't move themselves from their bowing positions as they gestured to me. Celestia looked to my direction with a face of surprise, though only slight, and confusion. Nonetheless, her face shifted to one of stunted amusement, and she let out a small laugh. "I suppose that is a better name than 'metal feline'." She said.

You don't say? Pushing that obvious statement aside, I let out a groan, leaning against the side of the bathysphere.

"... A moment, if you would." Princess Luna said, breaking out of her silence. Her horn began to glow an odd midnight blue, before a small light slowly enveloped the bathysphere, only noticeable because of the chamber's dimmed lighting.

"There, that should lessen the difficulty of this." Luna said, much to my confusion. The room was silent, everyone's eyes being on me, once again raising my thoughts of being expected something.

"...I'm NoT boWInG." A small twinge of surprise passed through me as I heard my own voice once again. "Oh, tHiS AGaiN." I said... I could never get used to that. I glanced back to my two charges, noticing that they themselves were surprised. Hadn't they heard my 'voice' before though? The problem, however, is that the two hadn't stopped bowing.

"...YoU KnOW, royALTy oR nOT, YoU TWo dOnT HaVe tO KeEP BOwiNg." The two looked at me with questioning expressions, but they slowly rose from their bows nonetheless. "THaNk yOU." I put my attention back to Celestia and Luna, noticing that they as well had raised eyebrows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy and Rarity were honestly surprised to hear their guardian sound so... casual. Almost as if he was just another regular being, despite his large metal casing. The princesses shared in this sentiment, having only previously heard Omega during a more dire time.

"WHaT?" Omega asked, growing uncomfortable from the constant gazes upon him. Everypony moved the matter aside, as the monarchs of Equestria once again spoke up.

"Ahem. Moving on from... that." Celestia began. "My previous request still stands. I ask that you protect the two in their time there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"YoU mEAn yoU Can'T bRiNg tHem bAck?" I asked, noticing the looks of worry on both of my charge's expressions. Celestia looked to the two sadly, before letting out a sigh.

"Unfortunately, no. Neither I, nor my sister, are able to bring them back from Rapture at this time. The magical conditions within Rapture are extremely negative. It had taken an entire room of unicorns, plus the addition of magic from my sister and I, just to establish this communication system. " She explained. I nodded, following along every detail. That would explain why Rarity hadn't been able to use magic, despite being a unicorn herself. "Until my sister and I are able to think of a way to bring the two back, you are the only one who can care for them."

Before I could say anything in response, my two charges gave their own.

"P-princess, with all due respect, Omega has already been doing that." Fluttershy stated in a near whispered voice, rubbing one of her forelegs with the other.

"Indeed. Throughout the time we've been here, Omega has been nothing less than a proper gentleman." Rarity agreed, a hint of proudness in her voice. I could feel a rising warmth in my cheeks, silently thanking the fact that I was currently wearing a helmet. The princesses remained silent for a moment or so, before they both allowed for smiles to grace their faces.

"Then, I suppose we are in your gratitude, Omega." Luna told me, her sister nodding in agreement. "Yes, thank you." Celestia added, furthering her sister's gratefulness. I must be red as an elite lancer's suit at this point, but I pressed on.

"It'S nO pROBlEM." Suddenly, the projector started to flicker, the image of the princesses beginning to fade. The princesses seemed to notice this as well, their smiles being replaced with annoyance. They can't seem to keep those smiles for long can they?

"It seems that we do not have much time left. This intercommunication spell has a limited amount of time on it, so we wont be able to talk again until tomorrow." The three of us nodded, the projection further fading away to black. "Omega, take care of them, and be careful you two."

The projection faded to pure black, no noise being audible aside from the spinning of projector's film reel, as the bathysphere lights once again lit themselves, and the white screen lowered, allowing me to open the door once again.

Before I did that though, I glanced back to the now shut down projector.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the window to Rapture closed once again, leaving a small white orb floating in its place, Celestia began to make her way back to her throne, materializing a scroll and a quill as she did so.

"Sister? What are you doing?" Luna asked, taking her own seat on her throne. For a moment, Celestia remained silent, the scribbling of her quill being the only thing audible. Then, as she rolled up and teleported away the scroll, she answered.

"I've sent a letter to Twilight and her other friends. If anypony deserves to know about this, it's them."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After quite literally ripping the projector and screen out of the bathysphere, I managed to drag them back to the apartment, my two charges following close behind. I was back to being silent, mostly, again, since the spell that the princesses had cast wore off the moment the projector shut down, but I didn't mind.

The moment we had entered the apartment, I immediately set myself to setting up the projector, finding a nearby spark-plug and hooking up the severed cable of the projector, holding the screen up across from it using a metal rod from outside.

As I worked to set up the 'communication system', I could hear Fluttershy and Rarity talking excitedly in the background, reveling in the idea of returning home. I was glad that I would be able to help them get back... Right?

Author's Notes:

From now on, other characters of the MLP series, such as the other members of the mane six, shall play a part in this story. That is all.

Enjoy! :3