TCB: A Kinder World

08 - Matriarch

The truck kept driving; it had holes in it, it smoked a little, but the important thing was, it wasn’t exploding or on fire, it was moving fast, and nobody was dead.

“Phew,” Twilight puffed. “That was a close one. Perhaps too close.”

"Don't I know it," Carpenter said. "What was that?"

"Magical dome," Twilight said, shaking her head to clear it. "Stops things getting through."

"Why didn't you do it earlier, then?" Carpenter asked. "That would have saved us a lot of trouble!"

"I wasn't sure I could move the barrier at the same speed as us," Twilight said, irritated. "If you'd just taken it slow like we wanted, I could have easily kept us all safe!"

"Oh." Carpenter returned his attention to the road ahead, and startled. "Oh no. Nope. No."

The truck screeched to a halt, and there was a loud thud. The truck rocked as Palladion lost his balance and fell over in the back.

[Ouch,] Palladion said, the truck rocking as he got back up. [Have a care now, pardner!]

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, looking out the windshield.

"Potion cloud."

In front of them, a vast haze of purple sat, covering the road and a portion of the horizon besides. Carpenter looked at it, frowning.

"Potion cloud?" Twilight asked.

"Remember how I said that the pegasi put the potion into the air itself?" Carpenter asked, pointing. "These clouds were super-concentrated clusters of airborne potion, perhaps magically imbued to hang around. It's blocking the road."

"Can't we just drive through it?" Twilight asked.

Carpenter shook his head. No dice - I wouldn't chance it normally, the cabin's not that airtight, and we've even got big holes - the potion will get in."

Fluttershy pointed at Carpenter's gasmask. "Can't you use that?"

Carpenter shrugged. "I could. But it'd be a losing fight, the super-concentrated clouds work on contact, I think. I can't cover up enough to get through it."

"Well, what do we do?" Twilight shrugged. "That's the only way through."

[Pardon me,] Palladion interrupted. [But this ol' cowpoke can see a way around that cloud; there's a off-ramp up on the right, it'll take us down to Newport, and from there we can take the on-ramp again and get back on the highway, on the other side of the cloud.]

"How can you tell, Palladion?" Fluttershy asked, squinting. "I can't even see the ramp from here."

[Satellite uplink, little lady,] Palladion chuckled. [And a Global Positioning System. This cowboy's always gonna find his way home, you can bet on it.]

"Well," Carpenter shrugged. "We need to stop off for fuel and find a place to rest, might as well be in Newport. Let's give it a shot."

The truck clunked as it shifted gears, and with a rev, lumbered back up to speed, angling towards the towering buildings of Newport.

+==[~~~]==+

Richard looked at the mountain in front of him, and swore loudly.

"We have to climb this bitch to get to Hollow Shades?"

"Well," Lyra said, consulting the map, "There should be a pass we can use that should lead us straight there."

"Trixie knows the pass you talk of," the showmare contributed. "The pass is blocked by snowfall and avalanche."

"How can you tell?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Trixie pointed at the vast wall of snow further to the east. "Trixie is Great and Powerful, but even a lesser pony could see that."

"I saw that!" Rainbow Dash blinked. "I was just testing you."

"Right," Richard said, "So we can't go through the pass. What, we go over?"

"Trixie knows of a secondary route," Trixie said pompously, "An underground tunnel, for use in such an event as this. Dark, but with the Great and Powerful Trixie at your side, you need not fear the underdark!"

Lyra looked at Trixie. "How do you know so much about this area?"

Trixie laughed to herself. "Oh, silly foal. Trixie knows much, even if she has not had much chance to prove it so far."

"Whatever," Richard waved a hand. "Trixie, lead the way. It looks like it's getting dark soon, and even I'm feeling the chill."

"Very well," Trixie declared. "Trixie shall guide you! Watch in awe, as she illuminates our path!"

Trixie adjusted her hat, and her horn began to glow. With a pulse of magic, a glowing line of light formed on the ground, running off into the foot of the mountain before them, and out of sight down a dip in the ground.

"Handy," Richard grunted. "Let's go."

+==[~~~]==+

Newport City - An eternal rest-stop in the grand scheme of things, it's position next to the Canadian border gave it considerable revenue in travellers picking up what they needed for Canada or America.

Or it had. The truck rolled down the main street, and the ponies were once again exposed to how quiet the cities of man were without man.

[Well, ain't this just dandy,] Palladion remarked, watching the world pass by in reverse. [A right proper ghost town.]

Carpenter frowned. "I don't like it. Something's wrong."

"Wrong how?" Twilight asked.

"Search me."

"It's very quiet," Fluttershy mumbled. "I can't hear any birds."

"Not usually that many birds in a city," Carpenter pointed out, and Fluttershy shook her head.

"Back in Plessisville," Fluttershy recounted, "I could hear birds in the distance. Here, they don't sing at all. And I can see them."

"What?" Twilight looked out the window, and saw what Fluttershy had seen; all around buildings, perched on posts and sitting on benches, birds of all sorts were present, just... watching. Twilight shivered. "Yeah, that is creepy."

"Alfred Hitchcock would have a field day," Carpenter muttered. "What are they up to...?"

[This is strange,] Palladion remarked. [These RepliPets, all parked on rooftops and such, watchin' us.]

"Repli-what?" Fluttershy asked, alarmed. "I thought they were birds!"

"Oh, RepliPets," Carpenter nodded. "Replica Pets - small, semi-sentient robots built to look just like a real animal. They were all the rage a few years back. The perfect pet, they said. Not amazingly clever, but more tractible than a real animal."

Twilight frowned. "Why would so many artificial pets be watching us? Are they waiting for something to happen?"

Carpenter groaned. "You've jinxed us. Ten bucks says that we come under fire or something."

Twilight opened her mouth to retort, criticizing Carpenter's pessimism, when there was an audible twang in the air.

"What the b-"

With a wrenching motion, and a scream of steel, the truck suddenly went vertical; Carpenter and the ponies screamed as one, jerked about in their seats. It would have been an ignoble end to the trip if they hadn't been wearing seatbelts.

[Whoa, nelly!] Palladion exclaimed, leaving the back of the truck to sail through the air, a multi-tonne deadweight.

The truck flipped over the culprit, a taut tripwire. It released with a second twang, as the truck went upside-down. Everything in the cabin went roofwards, and everyone got a sinking feeling.

The truck hit the ground with a resounding smash, and all was black.

+==[~~~]==+

Carpenter came to, groggily. His head throbbed, and he touched a hand to his forehead. When he took it away, there was blood.

He looked around, and saw Fluttershy and Twilight hanging upside-down from their own seatbelts, both unconscious. He looked to his own belt, and biting his lip, undid it.

With a crunch, he landed on the ceiling amidst a small sea of broken glass. He looked around, and saw a strange world, so close to the ground. The yellow body of Palladion lay face-down on the concrete not far away, lights dimmed; the impact must have knocked his power cell loose or something. Supplies from the back littered the ground like confetti, inconspicuous brown packets.

He reached for the slightly crumpled door, and with a heave, forced it open. The screech of steel echoed around the abandoned city, and he crawled out, groaning.

"Ma says, investigate the truck and seize all occupants," a faraway voice rang out, "Find out who dares to enter my city uninvited, and bring them to me!"

Carpenter looked back at the truck. He didn't want to be seized.

Suddenly, there was a flapping about him, and he flinched as beaks started to peck at his exposed skin.

[Wark!] the birds screeched. [Hold it right there! Await arrest! Ark!]

"Fuck off!" Carpenter swore, as he staggered to his feet, and covering his face, ran for the nearest shop, a costume store. The birds hounded him, screeching and warbling alarms as he ran.

Carpenter staggered through the doors, and swatting some of the more persistient RepliPets aside, shut the door behind him. There were a series of thumps, as the birds slammed into the window, trying to get to him.

He caught his breath, and rubbed his head as he looked around the darkened store. Going out the front wasn't an option, that was for sure. So he had to go out the back way. He limped past shelves of novelty nose-glasses and racks of assorted wigs, to a door marked "staff only". He ignored the sign, and pushed on through.

On the other side, there was a small break-room, with assorted junk strewn about; half-assembled smart mannequins were piled against the wall, next to a counter which had assorted break-room appliances; a microwave, a hot water jug, and above all-

"Fuck yes," Carpenter breathed, limping over to the first-aid box, and yanking it open. On the other side, there was a box of plasters, and a packet of painkillers. He grabbed the painkillers, and after throwing a few in his mouth, washed them down with a swig of water from the jug.

He leaned over the counter, breathing hard, and stopped; he listened harder. Outside, the sounds of birds and screeching steel were heard. Not what he'd heard, though. He shook his head gently, and pocketing the painkillers, lurched towards the back door.

He pushed it open with a creak, and paused again, a rustle reaching his ear. He turned around, and looked at the break room. Nothing, just a pile of distorted mannequins wearing suits in the corner.

He walked out, still looking back, and bumped into something. He looked, and saw something he'd never thought he'd see.

"A gorilla statue?" He asked, shutting the door behind him and walking around it. He was in a loading dock, and the back door was luckily open, leading to an alleyway.

[Bring you to Ma,] a voice intoned. Carpenter froze, and turned slowly. The gorilla had turned around, and deep inside the mouth, he saw a smooth, plastic glint of mannequin, hiding within.

"Fuck." He turned and ran for it; the costumed mannequin did it's best to give chase, despite the heavy and cumbersome costume. Carpenter danced around the corner of the loading dock, and hobble-ran down the alleyway, hissing in pain.

The gorilla-bot kept chasing him, building up speed gradually as it found it's stride. Carpenter splashed through a puddle and kept running for the mouth of the alleyway, cursing his choice; if he'd taken another turn or something, the mannequin might not be able to keep up. But as it is, the mannequin was going to-

A hairy, rubber machine tackled him in the back, and he grunted in pain as he was thrown to the concrete just outside the alleyway, the gorilla riding on top of him.

[Bring you to Ma,] the robot reiterated, taking Carpenter by the throat. [Bring you to Ma, dead.]

"Gurk!" Carpenter choked out, struggling feebly with the iron hands holding his throat, but to no avail. His struggles lessened as he slowly succumbed to lack of oxygen.

As he began to black out, he heard a muted thupping, and thought he saw the gorilla jerk sideways. Just as he passed out, he heard a voice.

"Found him!"

+==[~~~]==+

Fluttershy came to, and blinked slowly. Her pink mane hung above her, and so did Twilight's, from the seat next to hers. The seatbelts had saved their lives. Carpenter was missing, though, his own seatbelt hanging limp and empty, and the door hanging ajar.

Where had he gone? Fluttershy struggled with the buckle for her own seatbelt, and blew air out her mouth in exasperation. Her hooves were too big to work the human-designed seatbelts.

There was a scrunch of steel outside, and heavy impacts as something stood up, and Fluttershy took heart.

"Palladion?"

[What's up, little lady?] the metallic voice said, uncertainly.

"Could you please help me out of the truck? I'm stuck."

[You don’t have to ask twice,] Palladion said. [Of course I can.]

There were heavy steps, and with a hiss of pistons, something pinched the steel of the door, and with a tear, ripped it out. On the other side, Palladion stood - dinged and beaten up from the crash, but otherwise intact, it seemed.

With a gentle grip, Palladion took a hold of the seat and gently yanked it out of the truck; Fluttershy felt only slightly nauseated when she was rotated the right-way up, and smiled at Palladion.

"Thank you. Could you help me out of the seat?" Fluttershy tugged at the seat buckle. "I can't push the release button."

[Aw, shoot. Can't comply with that'n,] Palladion said, apologetically. [Laws forbid that. For now, anyway.]

"What?" Fluttershy frowned. "Aren't I still considered a human or whatever it was that the Commander said?"

Palladion clicked. [‘fraid not little missy. I've got a new law that redefines who is and isn’t human, I can't go against it.]

"What's your new law?" Fluttershy asked, curious.

[Law Zero - Only Ma is human,] Palladion recited. [I'm awful sorry, but Ma wants you brought to her pronto.]

"A law zero?!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "H- how did you get that law?"

[I installed it,] a gruff voice intoned. Fluttershy looked around, and saw another mech - built much like Palladion, only in colors of charcoal black and grey bands, where Palladion had his clamp and drill, the mech had a circular, serrated disc and a large device with a long barrel.

"Um, who are you?" Fluttershy asked. "I'm Fluttershy."

[M' name's Ripley,] the mech stated. [Ma's orders are to bring you to her, and install her law zero on any mechs or AIs that I find. I've done both those things, thank you. Palladion, would you carry your friend to Ma? Uploading coordinates now. I will extract the other from the vehicle.]

Palladion bleeped. [Recieved. Let us go to Ma.]

"Palladion!" Fluttershy insisted. "You put me down, right this instant!"

[I can't do that, little lady,] Palladion whined. [It is the will of Ma. A human has demanded that I comply.]

The yellow mech carried it's yellow passenger down the road with steady steps. Palladion weighed no more than before, but each step was heavier than it had ever been.

+==[~~~]==+

A blood-curdling screech split the air, only to be cut off abruptly by a set of knuckles.

"Goddamnit!" Richard swore, punching the screecher again. "Can we go nowhere without something trying to kill us?!"

"Trixie is sorry!" the blue mare shouted, ducking under a scything claw and blasting it with a telekinetic throw, "The last time Trixie was here, there were none of these!"

"What the hay are these things?" Rainbow Dash yelled, bucking one into a wall, where it slumped, unconscious. "They're like freaky, bony bird-bat things that run around on two legs!"

"Scrivens!" Lyra shouted, strumming her lyre and sending a small boulder flying through a small cluster of the creatures lurking on the edge of the light. "I’ve heard about them, creatures from the land of Nocturne! I don't know why they're here, though!"

The party pressed on, beating and throwing Scrivens aside as they made their way along the tunnel, following a pulsing blue line of light. The creatures were persistent, attacking over and over again.

"Why do they keep attacking us?" Richard demanded.

"The light!" Lyra shouted, "They hate the light! Nocturne's a land of creatures that live in the night!"

"But we need the light to see!" Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Did I mention they also eat meat?" Lyra asked, yanking a boulder out from under a Scriven about to pounce. "They eat meat. We're made of meat. We're food, to them"

"No, you did not," Trixie said. "Trixie does not have a wish to be eaten... again."

"How much more of this do we have to put up with?" Richard asked, picking a Scriven up and throwing it with a grunt, at more of them coming in to attack.

"Trixie recalls a long bridge just before the exit," she called back. "A bridge that seems to be... here!"

The group looked at what they could see of the bridge; in poor repair and lacking railing, it was an accident waiting to happen, and it was covered in Scrivens.

"Fuck."

+==[~~~]==+

“Alright, you lot. Two grand,” a voice said, muffled.

Carpenter groaned, and opened his eyes. He was lying on a bed in a semi-dark room, the only light coming from a half-opened doorway.

“That’s peanuts, Des.” There was a quiet rustle of paper. “I’ll see that, raise you fourteen grand.”

He sat up groggily, and felt his head; a bandage wrapped tight around it, as well as around his bicep; he hadn’t even noticed that one.

“I’ll see both of your wagers, raise the bar by another twenty,” a calm voice declared.

Carpenter lurched to his feet, wincing from his leg and patted himself down - he was missing his shirt and body armor, as well as his gas mask and emergency air tank!

“...Call,” a heavy voice decided.

He spotted a lump in the corner, and recognized it - his things. He hobbled over to it and began to reclaim his gear.

“I’ll call that,” “Des” said. There was a quiet patter as someone threw something without saying a word. “Right, let’s see ‘em, gents,” Des continued. There was a quiet fthlap as someone put cards on a table. “Two pair, nines and sixes.”

Carpenter shrugged on his shirt, and didn’t bother doing it up as he pulled on his vest.

“Shit,” the sound of someone throwing their cards down was heard. “Pair of kings.”

Carpenter tightened the straps on the vest, carefully to minimize noise.

“Better luck next time, David,” Des’ voice said, mocking.

“Hey, Desmond,” the third voice said. “Might want to save it. Triple twos.”

The gasmask took an unusual place on Carpenter’s belt, next to his air tank, and he crept to the door, peeking through the gap.

The room outside was a spacious one, with a view of the city; a penthouse apartment. Luxurious furnishings filled the lounge area, and in the dining area, a moderately-sized table was set up, with four men sitting around it, and a significant pile of wads of money in the middle of the table.

“Son of a bitch,” Des swore. “Goddamnit, Emmet!” Des was a thin man, wearing a short T-shirt as he leaned back in his chair, fatigue pants visible. He cradled his face in a slender, lightweight-looking metal right hand - at some point, Des had apparently lost an arm.

It made him a great fit for the other three people.

Emmet chuckled, as did another man who Carpenter guessed was David - both were fairly average in build, and dressed the same as Desmond. On the face of it, they weren’t any different. But detatchable pant-legs and a slight clicking noise on both their right legs belied the truth - they’d lost a leg apiece at some point.

The fourth man was, in a word, massive. With his back to Carpenter, the folding chair holding him was bordering comical, creaking as he shifted his weight, and his slightly hunched-over appearance was attributable to his incredibly-developed upper torso. Hands big enough to easily grip and crush a smaller man’s hands carefully clutched a hand of playing cards, and the man’s left arm let out an unsubtle hiss as a pneumatic piston vented some pressure.

“Alright, Moses,” David chuckled. “What’ve you got? You’ve got something good, haven’t you?”

Moses grunted, and Desmond’s face went slack. “You’re kidding me. You worked out how to read him? He’s got like, the best poker-face ever!”

“You can’t read him?” Emmet laughed, then looked at David. “He can’t read him!”

“Alright, alright,” Desmond said hastily, looking to change the subject. “What have you got, Moses?”

The quiet giant leaned forward, and laid out his cards, gently. “Full house.”

“Shit,” Emmet said, leaning back. “The pot’s yours, Moses.”

The man leaned forward, and pulled the stack of money towards him. As he did, he tilted his head. “Our guest is awake.”

Carpenter swore, as three people looked at him, noticing him peeking through the crack in the door.

“Ha!” Desmond said. “Look at him! So shy! Come on out, relax!”

Carpenter blushed, and cautiously opened the door properly, stepping out.

“How do you feel?” David asked. “I didn’t see too much damage, but you did get into quite a sizeable accident.”

“I feel fine,” Carpenter said. “Slight headache. Pulled something in my leg, I think. Or twisted my ankle.”

“That ain’t no fun,” Emmet said. “I’m Emmet, that’s Moses, that’s Desmond, and that’s David.”

“Marion Carpenter,” Carpenter said, nodding. “Thanks for... doing whatever it was you did.”

“Oh,” Desmond said, “We couldn’t leave someone to be choked to death by something in a gorilla costume, no matter how hard Ma wants you.”

“Ma?” Carpenter asked. “Who’s she?”

“Clearly, you’re not from around here,” Emmet said. “Ma’s a mysterious old hag that lives somewhere in the centre of the city. By her order, the machines of the city act. She’s got eyes and ears almost everywhere. And she’s got a hell of an axe to grind with ponies and any unexpected visitors.”

“We’re only here because Emmet managed to get us on her good side,” Desmond said. “Fixed her up a bunch of AI law upload modules, and she lets us stay in the city, sometimes throws us a mission if she wants something from out-of-town. Nothing too hard.”

“Life’s pretty good, all things considered,” David mused, taking all the playing cards and folding them back into a deck. “The world’s gone to hell, life as we know it’s long over, and here we are, living large.”

“Very large,” Carpenter muttered, noting the stacks of cash.

Emmet noticed, and laughed. “We’ve always wanted to play high-stakes poker, and here we are; playing for hands worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

“How’d you get all that money?” Carpenter asked, picking up a brick of cash. “It looks authentic.”

“That’s because it is,” Emmet said, “We popped the vault doors on all the banks in town for something to do. I mean, we’ve Scrooge McDuck’d with the small change, now we’re playing with the paper.”

Carpenter pursed his lips. “So, back to Ma - what’s her deal?”

“Control freak,” David said, beginning another hand of poker. “Absolutely nuts. But nobody’s going to cross her ‘s long as she’s got a city of machines slaved to her every command. The blind’s yours, Emmet.”

Emmet threw a wad of cash into the table, and looked at his hand. “I do wonder sometimes if I did a bad thing when I gave her more law-change modules.”

“So...” Carpenter rubbed his forehead. “What happened? It’s all a bit hazy.”

“I’ll assume you were in that truck - amazing flip, by the way, you should have seen it -” David said, watching Moses wordlessly throw several wads of cash into the middle of the table. “Ma gave the order for all occupants of the truck to be arrested and brought to her. Presumably so she can look them in the eye before she has them killed by her robots. She might be a little pissed that we’ve gone and meddled, but we’re too valuable to her to just have killed, I think. Not looking forward to the stern talking-to, though.”

“All... oh god,” Carpenter reached under his vest, and did up his shirt. “Shit, I had two people in that truck that I was supposed to protect, and if she’s gonna have them killed... I gotta go save them. Where’s my gun?”

David looked at him flatly. “I just patched you up, and you want to go out and take on the new Queen of Newport with a weeny little nine-mil handgun?”

“Well,” Carpenter said, slowing down, “Now that you put it like that, it’s sounding like a super-dumb idea. I don’t suppose you guys have better guns lying around I could make use of?”

“What, you think we’re made of guns?” Desmond asked. “You think they grow on trees?”

“Well, you certainly seem to be made of money,” Carpenter pointed out, indicating the table. “Just asking, is all. If you guys won’t help me, then I’ll just get that handgun back, and be on my way.”

Emmet sighed. “In the room over there,” he pointed at a door, “There’s a bunch of crates and guns - take your pick, as long as the gun doesn’t have a playing card symbol on it.”

Carpenter walked over to and opened the door. Sure enough, on the other side, there was a well-lit, square, white room, with more guns than he’d seen in one place for a very long time stacked around the edges and on an island in the middle of the room. He walked past the handgun he recognized as his old one, and picked up a G36 that was sitting on the top of the pile, turning it over in his hands. No symbols.

“Oh, this brings back memories,” he said, hefting it then carrying it it one hand as he searched for magazines and ammunition. “Good ol’ G36...”

The search was harder than expected, as he resisted the desire to try and take a pair of Uzis, and after a brief moment, he emerged from the room, G36 slung across his back. The cardgame was still going, money flowing towards Emmet this time.

“Hey, you’ve got taste,” David said, nodding approvingly as he saw the gun. “I’ve got one just like it, silenced - that’s what saved your life.”

“I still want to point out that this is near suicidal,” Emmet said, pushing all his money into the middle of the table. “One man versus an army of machines. Call me pessimistic, but I can only see bad coming of this.”

“Well, why don’t you help, then?” Carpenter said, walking forward. “Military men like yourselves, I’d think you can handle yourselves.”

“Hey,” David shrugged. “We’ve got a good thing going, here. Everything we ever wanted. Safety. We’ve already crossed Ma once and saved you, and hell, we’re arming you! What more do you want us to do?”

Carpenter snorted. “Just what I’d expect from a bunch of deserters.”

There was a squeak of chairs as three men stood up suddenly; only Emmet remained seated, staring at his cards with a quiet fury. Moses was easily the most terrifying, head and shoulders taller than Carpenter and probably thrice as heavy. A low rumble came from the man, threatening violence.

“We didn’t desert!” Desmond shouted, slamming his metal fist into the table. “The US Military abandoned us! We gave them our all, and they fucking repaid us by leaving us in a hospital as they rushed to get out of the city before Quarantine! You think they gave us these limbs? If it wasn’t for David and Emmet, we’d still be there, missing limbs!”

“Oh,” Carpenter said, coldly. “I’m sorry. You’re not deserters. You’re just a bunch of cowards.” Carpenter turned, and walked to the door out of the penthouse, resting a hand on the handle. “If you won’t help me, then I hope you enjoy your bitch-ass lives up here in safety. I’ve got a mission to carry out.”

He wrenched the door open, and slamming it behind him, left the apartment. Desmond snorted at the shut door, and looked to his friends. “Who the fuck does he think he is? We save his sorry ass, and he fucking does that?”

Moses grunted, and put his cards face-down on the table, stepping away from it. Emmet watched him go, and sucked air through his teeth thoughtfully.

“You’re absolutely right, Moses.”

+==[~~~]==+

Twilight and Fluttershy were pushed into the coatroom by a firm, unyielding metal weapon. They stumbled to a halt, and looked back at the pusher.

[In you go,] Ripley said, withdrawing his barrelled weapon. [Ma wants a word with you two.]

The two ponies walked in unescorted, and warily entered the next room. The sight took their breath away.

A ceiling of glass stretched far overhead, accommodating the trees and vegetation below. Fluttershy smiled as she saw a few butterflies flutter overhead. Twilight looked around the garden in wonder.

“What is this place?” She asked.

“It’s a Conservatory,” an elderly voice called out. “Come over here, please.”

Twilight and Fluttershy looked at each other, and followed the brick path, approaching the voice. They rounded a shrub of plants, and saw the back of a small, hunched-over shape kneeling on the side of the path, tending to a plant. The woman wore a white floral-pattern blouse, and a tidy green skirt. A wide-brimmed hat sat on her head, and she kneeled on a wooden board covered with a pillow.

“Um, hello,” Fluttershy said. “I like your garden. It’s very nice.”

“You’re not the first person to say that,” the woman said. “What business do you have here?”

“We were only passing through,” Twilight said. “Perhaps get some fuel for our truck, then carry on to New York. At least, we were. Now we don’t have a truck.”

“Just wanted some fuel, hm?” the woman said, not looking back at them. “You want some of my fuel. How did you intend to pay for it?”

“Pay?” Twilight asked. “Who would we pay?”

“Me, naturally.”

“But, um,” Fluttershy said. “You don’t own the fuel, someone else does...”

“I’m sorry,” the woman snapped, pausing briefly. “I don’t think I asked your opinion, missy. Mouth shut.”

Fluttershy squeaked, and cowered a little. The woman nodded, and resumed her work.

“You know,” she said, “I’ve lived in this city for most of my life. I witnessed its growth from a small, transitory town to the metropolis it is today, and the whole time, my husband was at my side. But that all changed, when ponies came.

“They kept to themselves, and were polite. I never met a nicer creature or person, actually. Which is why I hate the filthy little creatures. Them hooves and their horns and wings... the veneer of innocence and purity... tell me, do you recall how lucifer himself was described? A being with hooves for feet, wings and horns, and a terrible, radiant light - Me and Rufus, we were the only two people who noticed that the “Princess” could be described exactly the same!

“We warned people,” the woman went on, stabbing the ground with a tool. “But they ignored us, calling us old, and senile.” The woman spat. “And then, she went and did what we suspected all along! The spawn of that false paradise Equestria poured forth, and made earth their own by taking it’s people’s lives, their souls.

“Well,” she went on, “It was too much for my poor Rufus. Time has not been kind to his heart, and in the stress caused by the panic of Equestria invading, Death claimed him. It broke my heart, it really did.

“But, I stood up, and I carried on, like I know he’d have wanted me to,” the woman said. “And now you speak to the Mother of this city.” She got up, and dusted her knees off, and adjusted her hat. She turned around, and glared at Twilight and Fluttershy. In another world, another time, the woman could have been a kindly soul, wrinkled eyes creasing in joy as a grandchild successfully made their first batch of biscuits.

In another world. In this one, there was only hatred behind those red-rimmed spectacles, a face wrinkled not from smiles, but from a scowl. Not a single hair on her head was out of place, grey hair bound back in a tight knot.

“I am Ma, the machines of this city are my children, and I will die before I let a filthy pony walk out of my city alive.” She snapped a gloved hand irritably, and a yellow clamp reached out to seize the two ponies at the same time. Palladion lifted the ponies off the ground, struggling.

“Palladion!” Twilight strained. “Let us go!”

[I am mighty sorry about this,] Palladion said, regretfully. [I wish I didn’t have to do this, but she speaks straight into my mind - I can’t ignore her.]

“Pally,” Ma said, smiling. “Be a dear, and carry those two filthy creatures to the central courtyard while I wash up. Get Ripley to help you with the gallows.”

Palladion’s lights blinked frantically, but with a low digital groan, only one answer could come forth. [Yes, Ma.]

“That’s a good robot.”

Next Chapter: Heart of Hearts Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 56 Minutes