Anonymous X: Optimize

>The three weeks following your move in with Lyra were rather eventful
>To wit, you got a full wardrobe of simple clothes, got more accustomed to your new augs, and  managed to find a place of employment.
>None of these were easy tasks
>For the clothes, you had to go to specialty shops that catered to heavily auged individuals and get barraged by the fashion freaks there because of your carapace
>They bombarded you with questions, saying if you knew Rarity personally and other inane things
>But you were patient, and Lyra stood up for you as well, and you managed to get several sets of white t-shirts, black jeans, and a heck of underwear and PJs
>You were thankful that socks were considered a vanity item in this world
>You'd save a fortune on shoes and socks with your new legs
>Whoever thought of socks on hooves much be rather. . .interesting.


>At the end of the first week, an icon appeared on your HUD in the shape of a stylized sun, not unlike Celestia's mark
>When accessed, you opened up a comlink with her, and had a brief chat
>She was rather objective, wanting to know if you saw any suspicious activity or anything
>No asking how you moved in, or if you made any friends or what have you
>She was simply after cold, hard data
>You had noticed some shifty characters when you were out shopping, and told her
>She said she'd look at it, and then closed the comlink
>When she did, you could feel some kind of strange pull, like your new eye was trying to detach itself
>There was a visible stream of data coming from your eye, and it coalesced into what seemed to be a scroll before disappearing
>The whole display caused a lot of light and some sounds of confusion from you, prompting Lyra to burst into your room with a concerned look on her face
>You told her you were fine, but you also noticed something
>There was a detailed display of all her augs, her health, her name, all sorts of things, on your HUD now
>As well as the words 'Scanner Module Unlocked'
>You told her you were fine, and asked her if there was an aug shop nearby
>She said yeah, there's a nice place where she gets her tune ups and repairs
>You told her that you should visit there tomorrow, as doing that upload took a lot out of you
>You rested peacefully that evening, more so than usual

>When you arrived the next day at the shop, it was a bit underwhelming
>It as literally a corner store, a small shop situated on a street corner
>It was called 'Quick Fix', sporting a large spanner through the Q
>You sighed and entered, looking around
>There were shelves and stands of all sorts of general aug parts, manuals on repair and maintenance, and all sorts of sealants and expy substances
>There was a counter near the back of a store, where a light brown unicorn with white hair and brilliant blue eyes was looking over some machinery, her horn aglow with a brilliant white light, manipulating all sorts of tools
>She seemed incredibly focused, and Lyra warned you not to interrupt her while she was working
>You nodded, scanning her in the mean while
>Her name was. . .unsurprisingly, Quick Fix, and she was tooled up with all sorts of sub-dermal stuff
>Synapse boosters, psi-amps, a 'Hephaestus' brand damage analyzer specifically designed to scan and suggest repair methods to damaged augs. . .
>She seemed to be pretty intense when it came to fixing stuff up
>You walked a bit closer, looking at the machinery she was working on
>You did a quick scan of it and nodded
>You waited until she was done, no wanting to blow your chances with a potential employer, and Lyra busied her self, looking over the various wares in her store

>Eventually, Quick Fix looked up at you, a stoic expression on her face
>'Can I help you?' She asked, her eyes whirring a bit as they zoomed in on you
'Yeah. I'm looking for a job. I don't suppose you need a hand around here?'
>'Depends. You good at repairing?'
'I can learn. I'm good at delivering things, too.'
>She lets out a 'hmmm' and goes back to manipulating the machinery. 'I've got no use for a delivery boy. If you aren't here to buy something, you can go.'
>You pause. You need to think fast.
>This was an unexpected obstacle in your path, something you often had to deal with when freerunning back in your world
>You look back at the machinery and nod to yourself
'That's a Cupid brand pheromone enhancer, right? .'
>She looks up, glaring at you, her expression one of surprise and anger
'It's been coated with a silver paint. Some of the suppressors have also been removed. . .who ever has this really wants to get with someone.'
>She seems to be more and more surprised as you talk. 'Y-yeah. The injector plungers aren't depressing correctly, and I've been trying to get them too.'
'Try sanding it down a bit. The paint might have made the plungers a bit too big in order function properly.'
>She blinks. 'That's so simple! Why didn't I Think of that. . .' She face hooves and laughs a bit. 'I forget sometimes that I'm still only a pony. I'd get more augs, but I don't want to risk it. . .doc said I was pushing it with these many as it is.'
>She looks over at Lyra, who seems to be absorbed in a catalog of new Manus type augs
>'I wish I could get as tooled up as her. . . I would get so many upgrades. . .!'
>She shook her head, looking back to you. 'Well, if I can't get more augs, you'll have to do. Come in tomorrow and I'll have some work for you. But one slip up and I'll buck you right out into the street where you came from.'
>You smile, knowing how to deal with tough employers
>You thank her for her time, and manage to pull Lyra away from the engrossing catalog

>The job at Quick Fix is a simple one: Ponies with busted or breaking down augs come in, tell you whats up, you give them some loaners you have in the back, fix it up, and give it back to them
>The two of you working on the augs allowed you to get a whole lot of orders done faster, and she even allowed you to deliver the repaired parts and collect the payment
>You even got a tip once and a while for such a speedy repair
>Things were pretty swell, and the two of you were a well oiled machine
>Today was a bit slow, however, but it wasn't unwelcome
>Quick Fix opted to go take inventory and do some routine maintence on the loaner augs, leaving you to watch shop while she was doing that
>You were tempted to dose off while she was doing that, but sadly, you weren't afforded such a luxury as the door opened
>You looked up and smiled, seeing a familiar face
'Hey, Silver Spoon. Good to see you. What's broken this time?'
>The silvery, mostly metallic earth pony fumed a bit at this, but regained her composure quickly.
>'For your information, nothing at all. I'm just here to get some. . .things.' She said, looking over the wares of the shop.
>You sighed, knowing that was mostly a lie
>Ever since you fixed her  pheromone enhancer, she was dying to meet the masterful craftspony who did so
>Imagine her surprise when she found out it wasn't exactly a pony at all
>She'd become a bit clingy, but she was quite easy on the eyes

>Silver Spoons story was an interesting one.
>She always lived in the shadow of her friend, Diamond Tiara
>The two of them were heirs to incredibly rich families, and Silvers family always lived in the shadow of Tiaras
>When the technological revolution came 'round, their funds seemed to double and then some due to their clever investing and money management
>While Tiara's family simple ritzed it up a bit and rode the wave on their funds, Silvers family buckled down and were much more serious
>Since Silver was getting older and was going to be the heir to the family fortune, she needed to learn about economics and whatnot, and was afforded the finest tutors and teachers in Equestria
>Tiara's family could care less about the future, and seemed to live up the here and now
>Each year, Silver was afforded more power and more say with the families economic  choices, and she took some risks, which obviously paid off
>Tiara's family, still stuck in old economic practices, couldn't keep up with the changing ways and started to fall behind in terms of profit
>To make a long story short, Tiaras family soon lived in the shadow of Silvers
>The two families have been feuding ever sense, and needless to say, Silvers family was worried about their heirs well-being.
>So they outfitted her with a Aegis type carapace, which was colored silver as per her request
>She also got a few bleeding edge augs for herself here and there, of course


>Silver mulled through the items on display idly, and you waited patiently to be pestered by her
>But she was oddly quiet
>Usually, she was talking your ears off
>Eventually, she turned to face you, blushing deeply
>It was quite a stark contrast to her flawless silver skin
>'H-hey Anon. . .have you ever heard of the Awesome Augmentation Assembly?' She asked timidly.
'Who hasn't is a better question. What about it?'
>'Well, since my friend really isn't in good standing with me and I've got a spare ticket. . .would you like to go with me?' She asked, leaning close and fluttering her eyes.
'If Lyra and my boss can't go, No.' You said flatly.
>She looked devastated 'W...what?!'
'One is my roommate and one is has been wanting to go to the AAA for the longest time. Tartarus hath no fury like a mare scorned. Do the math.'
>She looked defeated, turning away and seeming to tear up
>Like before, she regained her composure and looked at you
>'Fine. I'll see if I can't get your friends in as well. But you HAVE to sweep me off my hooves.'
'Yeah, whatever.'
>She huffed and exited the store, leaving you to your thoughts.

>You wondered if you should have just taken her offer then and there
>The pheromones didn't make it easy
>You did have a bit of a thing for SS, but you didn't want to make Lyra jealous
>Quick Fix wasn't an issue, since she simply wanted a professional relationship
>Lyra was a bit too turbulent and strange.
> She had such exotic tastes and always played on street corners, or would have to ship out to a different sectors - sometimes even cities!- for her concerts
>She was a bit sad and even paled a bit when you admitted you didn't like her in a romantic way, but she quickly got over it
>That didn't stop her from trying to get close to you, though
>Maybe at the AAA, you'd finally get close to SS, and things would be A-OK.