13 -- Hot Wheels

[soulofblue]

[The scroll seems totally dark at first, with nothing more than a few whirring noises. Light appears as a small robotic race-car-like contraption rolls off of the scroll - unrolling those without limbs is rather difficult.]

Hello? No, that isn't it. Hell-o? Hello. [It starts as Echo's natural voice, for anyone who's heard it, but shifts into Pollo's as he works it out.] Ah...it's Pollo. I seem to have ended up in Echo's body - or, rather, the temporary one we've been housing her in until we get something a little more substantial built. Naturally, this happened before we got that done.

Well, I suppose it's better me than someone else. I've been robotic before.

[But he does not sound happy about it.]

Anyway, it seems as though her systems pick up people as amorphous forms of color, rather than with a traditional visual setup. I'm not seeing a clear correlation between that color and their actual physical color either, so...I'm having some trouble recognizing people even without all the switching. My apologies in advance for that.

...I really hope this ends when the holiday does.

Comments

[magicalrealist]

(Her wheelie mobile senses are tingling

No not really, but the sound gets her attention and prompts an appropriate investigation from the mare. It doesn't take her long to spot the lone wheelie mobile and she levitates it onto her hoof.)

Pollo...?

[ponymeisters]

Don't wreck me! [Echo pouts when she sees the racecar.] I'm not wrecking you... yet. [Could she wreck Pollo? It's a thought. What do broken bones feel like? She can't remember. Probably not very nice, but she wants a full experience while she has a real body again.]

[soulofblue]

I didn't mean to...

[Says the wheelie mobile sulkily, and still in Echo's voice. He hasn't got the hang of the voice thing yet.]

Twilight! Twilight, it's Pollo! I'm in Echo's robot body, and...oh, you look very pink. And some other colors that I'm not sure are meant to be in the visible spectrum. [The camera on the mobile twists around a little.] I...am assuming this is you holding me? I don't know how her visual systems work but I'm having some trouble.

[magicalrealist]

...Yeah. It's me.

(If nothing else, the slight tug towards this tiny car definitely confirms who's possessing it. Twilight can't help but cast a concerned glance Echo's way.)

...You were in a toy car?

[ponymeisters]

I was a pegasus. And then Doctor Andrew put me in his wheelie mobile after Master Star Swirl banished my body.

[Perfectly understandable, right Twilight?]

[soulofblue]

Andrew took a crystal matrix to get her out from the Canterlot archives before they were destroyed. We've been working on improvements to this body, but it's been a slow process.

[For a number of reasons Pollo doesn't really want to get into right now. He'd kinda like to ask what damage Echo just did, but it seems unwise to ask right in front of her.]

[magicalrealist]

I see...

(Well, this just became complicated. There's suddenly a lot of questions Twilight has for Echo, but that will sadly have to wait until another time.)

That explains why you were so excited. And why you probably don't want to go back to the car. Still, we need to something about this. Identifying a cause would help, then working a solution out of that. Simple enough, right?

[ponymeisters]

Do we have to figure something out so quickly? Isn't it fun trying out a new body, Pollo? [Echo's having fun in a new body.]

[soulofblue]

[Pollo sits in silence for a moment or two, trying to figure out a way to put this delicately.]

I'm half-blind and I'm a car.

[THAT WAS NOT IT]

[magicalrealist]

Echo, it's...pretty clear that Pollo's not interested in being a toy car. I think for his sake, something has to be done.

(She glances off to the side.)

...But maybe you can...borrow mine instead.

[ponymeisters]

[Echo ignores Pollo's whining in favor of staring wide-eyed at Twilight.]

You'd let me have your body? Borrow it? [She doesn't know what to say.] Why?

[soulofblue]

Twilight, I don't know if that's a good idea...I'm fine, really.

[magicalrealist]

(Pollo's totally right. It's a terrible idea. Still...)

Because it'll give give you and Pollo both what you want. I can't begin to imagine being a car for so long, so even if it's for a little while, you deserve a break from that.

(She laughs a little.)

Sure, I'm no pegasus, but at least you'll be back to four legs. Maybe I can show you a few magic tricks, along the way. (She liked using Pollo's magic, right? Maybe she'll like Twilight's, too. If she's gonna give the pegasus a break, she might as well go all out.)

[ponymeisters]

[Hush, Pollo. This is a conversation between the big ponies.] Could you really do it if somepony switches us back to our other bodies? [Even Echo can tell that whatever had put them into other places is a powerful piece of magic.]

[soulofblue]

And could you switch back after you'd done it?

[It's not that he doesn't trust you to cast the counterspell once you were IN Twilight's body, Echo...

...actually no that's kinda it.]

[magicalrealist]

Of course. I've never done this before, so I'll need time for research. If you're willing to wait, I'll get to work on it when I can.

(Meaning it probably can't be done now since this was likely done by The Powers That Be, but during a little down time? Maybe something can happen.)