|
|
Post by laserbolt on Jul 3, 2014 3:17:46 GMT
Laserbolt let out several concussive blasts, the first few to bat away any small projectiles, and the last to knock the changeling away from the bag. Then, diving for the bag, he attempted to telekinetically untie Lyra, and failed. Settling for reaching the gun, he stood up, the pellet launcher floating next to him. "I'm trying to decide whether to force you to leave, or kidnap and interrogate you." He leveled the launcher at the changeling. "You know what? Let's start with interrogation, then work from there. Who sent you?"
|
|
|
|
Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 5, 2014 2:11:12 GMT
"That is correct, Neo. As you can see, your clothes are different, the plugs in your legs and head are gone, your hair is changed. Your appearance now is what we call residual self image. It is the mental projection of your digital self."
She gestured to the television set, flipping a remote as a picture of Manehattan came up.
"You said you wanted to know the truth, and as it is all but impossible to just tell a pony the truth, I will show you. This is the world that you know. The world as it was only a few years after the second coming of Discord and Tirek. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation that we call the Matrix."
She sighed, gesturing to the almost perfectly realistic simulated environment around them. "The truth is, you've been living in a dream world, Neo. And unfortunately, this is the world as it exists today."
She flipped channels again, and this time it wasn't just the scene in the television that changed, but the entire simulation around them too.
"Welcome to the Desert of the Real," said the mare sadly, looking around. Ruins. Craters. Smog and darkness. The graveyard of civilization.
Morpheus poked forlornly at an ashen pebble. "We have only bits and pieces of information, but what we know for certain is that at some point in the centuries after the Rainbow of Light was rediscovered, all of ponykind was united in celebration. We marveled at our own magnificence as we gave birth to magical AI."
"Go to Tartarus," snarled the changeling.
"Grab his mou-!" began Lyra, but before she could finish the creature chomped down on something, and there was a flash of light and a pop. Gone.
"Celestia banish it!" she moaned, falling back onto the operating table. "I should've guessed before."
She turned and looked keenly at Laserbolt. "So. Night Hideth All."
|
|
|
|
Post by laserbolt on Jul 5, 2014 12:55:19 GMT
"Day Hideth Naught." He smiled weakly. "How are ya, Lyra? Besides the whole getting kidnapped thing. That seems like a bit of a bummer." He reached for the bag on the ground, and started rummaging through it. "I assume this is his, not yours, right?"
|
|
|
|
Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 11, 2014 8:21:08 GMT
Neo thinks real hard, taking in all the information provided.
He gets a look of one who might panic if not careful.
He asks, "so what your telling me is that these Ai creatures have been using us as a battery of sorts and been controlling us so we can't rebel against them, by having us be in a constant state of dreaming?"
He looks on the verge of panic but seams to be holding himself in check. He waits for Morpheus's response.
|
|
|
|
Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 11, 2014 17:07:42 GMT
Lyra nodded wearily. "I should've guessed from the start. I'm usually more prepared than I was, but all it takes is one little slip. Besides that, though, I think I'll survive. The potions go away after about an hour, and leave no traces. I know how these work, personal experience."
She looked over at the stallion. "I'm guessing the Princess sent you? Welcome to our little insurgency, then. Though I assume you've heard... less than savoury descriptions of our organization so far."
The mare grinned. "You're quicker on the uptake than anypony before you, but yes. Normal everyday materials don't have anywhere near the mana generating capability of the sentient races, such as diamond dogs, ponies, griffons, and zebras. The machines we made ran on mana, and eventually, we grew dependent on them for everything from laundry and data processing to communication and transportation. We don't know who struck first, but we know that it was us that scorched the sky."
She pointed up at the blackened sky, completely blocked by magical stormclouds.
"At the time, they were dependent on solar mana, and it was believed that they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as Celestia's Sun. Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony. As we once depended on them, the machines that we created now 'depend' on us. What is the Matrix? Control. The Matrix is the computer generated dream world you speak of, and as you have correctly guessed, built to keep us under control in order to change sentient life into this."
She held up a simple mana battery.
"I admit, it was surprising to me also that even Earth Ponies and Diamond Dogs had mana, but then I thought about the Earth ponies' connection to the land, and how they're able to make zap apples grow just by dancing in circles, or how Diamond Dogs instinctively know where to find gems and can dig through rock-solid earth faster than a fish swimming through water."
|
|
|
|
Post by laserbolt on Jul 11, 2014 17:13:09 GMT
Laserbolt shrugged. "I'm a little behind on my political intrigue. Maybe a beginner's course would be helpful?" He figured that he should listen to what Luna has to say more often.
|
|
|
|
Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 11, 2014 18:17:22 GMT
Neo gives her a curious look.
"May I ask, Why not dragons and maybe about several hundred other creatures as well? I know for a learned fact that dragons themselves have plenty of mana. Most other creatures have small amounts of mana and don't get me started on those dang Timber Wolves. To be honest with you, I should be freaking out right about now. However, for some odd reason I am not."
Neo is now more confused then ready to freak out.
|
|
|
|
Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 11, 2014 20:46:14 GMT
Lyra smiled grimly. "Let's get me out of this operating table and back to my house, first, and then we'll talk. Can't be too sure even out hear that there's nobody listening in on everything you say. But while we work on that, let's start with the basics."
She began using her free hoof to get the magical suppressor ring off her horn.
"Bottom line, the Princesses aren't in full control of the world and haven't been for a long time. Lots of ponies, powerful ponies, and all with different interests in mind, but one particularly powerful group of very wealthy and ruthless individuals the Princesses can't just kick out because of the Magna Carta They signed a few centuries ago. Plus, the law books are so complicated it takes a team of lawyers and a majority vote in Parliament to get it changed properly; Royal Decrees tend to make things worse overall. Either way, we normal everyday ponies get hurt for it, even if most of us don't know it and really could care less, though even that part might be the Elites' fault. It's complicated."
Morpheus smiled mirthlessly. "In a word, efficiency. It sounds ruthless, and it is, but that's the main reason. Dragons simply required too much maintenance, too much energy expended for too small of a return. Same went for Timberwolves and other creatures. The few races that weren't driven extinct are the ones with the highest mana generation per power inputted ratio. AI doesn't think in terms of right and wrong, it thinks in terms of percentages, in terms of numbers on a spreadsheet, and if your number's too low..."
She made a hoof motion like a body falling out of one of those tubes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Midnight_Aurora on Jul 11, 2014 21:49:10 GMT
Neo no longer had the look of confusion. He had more of a look of anger then anything.
"Ok final question. When can I start to help free the others? I now see why many don't like those robed figures. The one I ran from didn't seam slowed down by my mana, when I started focusing on my music."
Neo stands as if waiting for Morpheus to make a move.
|
|
|
|
Post by laserbolt on Jul 13, 2014 23:01:46 GMT
"Well, yeah." Laserbolt began trying to get her free from the straps, using his magic to undo them. "I imagine that's not really news." He'd always known that the diarchy had a looser grip than they liked to let on. "So, what's different now?"
|
|
|
|
Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 15, 2014 5:27:44 GMT
Morpheus smiled. "You have the spirit, Neo. When the Matrix was first built, there was a stallion born inside who had the ability to change whatever he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit. It was he who freed the first of us, taught us the truth. As long as the Matrix exists, the world will never be free. After he died, the Oracle prophesied his return, and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix and the war, bring freedom to the world. That is why there are those of us who have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix looking for him. I do what I do, personally, because I believe that search is over... and I am more certain than ever of that. As for what you can do now, I suggest that you get some rest for now. You haven't experienced Rejection, or as Cypher crudely puts it, 'popping', but I know your body still needs some rest to prepare you for what's coming next."
She grinned at the eagerness in Neo's face. "Your training."
-----
They were back in the hovercraft thing, and yes, it did feel weird, but then again, everything felt weird. It's like weird is the new normal or something. Cypher gave him an odd look when he didn't jump out of his seat in shock or go retching all over the floor, but Morpheus simply smiled calmly and serenely, as if she had finally succeeded in something she had been trying for a long, long time.
Lyra sighed. "In one sense, nothing, and in another sense, everything. Things are moving at a rate even I couldn't believe until I forced myself to look at the facts. Everything is coming to a head, and for once, I think there might be a window of opportunity to change things forever. But then, the Powers That Be also have their opportunity. Like I said, it's complicated, and I'll explain more when we get to my safe room."
She massaged her legs where the straps had been holding her down, then wearily got up and searched around the room, taking some rope and matches but leaving the rest. She then motioned to return to Ponyville.
|
|
|
|
Post by laserbolt on Jul 15, 2014 19:57:45 GMT
He really didn't have much choice. He trotted over to Lyra, and began following her back to Ponyville. He considered saying something about Bonbon, but it was probably self-explanatory.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moonbacon on Jul 17, 2014 19:07:04 GMT
The sun was shining on a breezy autumn afternoon as Moonlight walked down the tree-lined sidewalk along Scholar's Way, on her way to Manehattan University. The wind was whispering in the leaves, and little birds were singing in the branches. However, the mare's attention was not on her surroundings, but on an entirely different matter altogether.
She hated the fact that everypony she knows are acting like complete ignorant dimwits do they not know ponies DIE in the war between zebraci and all they care about is a video game review by Button Mash she likes video games a lot but still. She also hated the fact she had to wear a vest that has the same color as her coat to hide her wings and enchanted glasses to hide her dragon eyes.
(yay i finaly made a noob intro post)
|
|
|
|
Post by wanderingmagus on Jul 18, 2014 18:30:33 GMT
Laserbolt and Lyra eventually made their way back to Bonbon's shop safely, whereupon the mint-colored mare immediately began locking down the place, closing curtains and bolting doors before pulling out books and shelves in a systematic order. There was a click, and one of the shelves pushed inwards as she walked through the secret door, Laserbolt in tow. A short flight of stairs and several more doors and locks later, the stallion found himself in what amounted to a bomb shelter that could withstand even those insane explosions Princess Twilight had been throwing around about a year ago. For a shelter, it was pretty tidy and comfortable, though a lot of it was filled with file cabinets and many boxes and barrels of food and water enough to last years.
Lyra waved her horn around, casting several anti-spying spells, then turned and smiled. "Now that we're safe from prying eyes and ears and who-knows-what, I think I can start telling you about the current situation. Basically, from what I've gathered, your little escapade was interpreted as some sort of covert mission from the Princess to infiltrate and steal information on quite a few above-top-secret weapons projects and such by the Powers That Be, which is why they wanted to assassinate you so badly. I... apologize for the explosion. I'm a part of a movement called the Green Revolution, see, and we follow the teachings of the philosopher Sir Green Strokes, whose treatise on self-governance and Sentient Rights sort of opened our eyes to just how much the elites and the powerful elites abuse their authority when it comes to the general population. Unfortunately, there are a few more... extreme ponies within our group, and they splintered off into an Anarchist faction that wants to destroy anything and everything related to government, indiscriminately. It just so happened that today their plans coincided with ours in protecting you from the assassins, though they used more... violent methods than most of us would have liked. Please, stop me if I'm going too fast or if you have any questions."
Every day was the same for Moonlight. The lecturer was always going on about how everypony had their place in the world, about everypony doing their job and not sticking out. "The upright nail gets hammered down!" he cheerfully said, and the rest of the class just... nodded, like sheep. They agreed with anything he said, even if he told them all to go jump off a cliff or dive into lava or something. He also kept going on about how it was "Equestria's place to spread Friendship and Harmony to those who are too ignorant and backwards to come to it on their own", which just sounded wrong when you really looked at the facts of the War.
There was one other pony in the class who seemed to share her sentiment, an earth pony at the back of the class who usually kept to himself. If she heard it right the first time, his name was Truth Seeker, and known around campus as something of a loner and a freak. He did seem much more intelligent than these idiots, though. Maybe she could talk to him now, as class finishes.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moonbacon on Jul 18, 2014 20:07:09 GMT
Every day was the same for Moonlight. The lecturer was always going on about how everypony had their place in the world, about everypony doing their job and not sticking out. " The upright nail gets hammered down!" he cheerfully said, and the rest of the class just... nodded, like sheep. They agreed with anything he said, even if he told them all to go jump off a cliff or dive into lava or something. He also kept going on about how it was " Equestria's place to spread Friendship and Harmony to those who are too ignorant and backwards to come to it on their own", which just sounded wrong when you really looked at the facts of the War. There was one other pony in the class who seemed to share her sentiment, an earth pony at the back of the class who usually kept to himself. If she heard it right the first time, his name was Truth Seeker, and known around campus as something of a loner and a freak. He did seem much more intelligent than these idiots, though. Maybe she could talk to him now, as class finishes. Moonlight was really annoyed with todays lecture really annoyed what if she didn't want to do her part? and also because the class just agreed with what he said like some kind of mindless idiots how they ever graduated high school she may never understand however this pony named Truth Seeker however intrigue her and wait how come the campus haven't called her a loner and a freak yet? she practically barely has friends if any at all bah she'll investigate that later. Moonlight could easily recognize Truth Seeker since well he's the only pony sitting at the back of the class and asking questions didn't really hurt anyone.... yet at least she spots him in a campus hallway (if that made sense) and gradually approaches him though she cant help but think Truth Seeker sounds a door to a new adventure. " So are you Truth Seeker? the mindless idiots of this school is spreading rumors about?" she asked politely if this isn't the pony she's looking for then she made herself look like a complete what was the word? weirdo? freak? whatever she just hopes this is the right pony. "not trying to be rude by the way" she stated. |
|
