Just a little push - and the iron grate came off, emitting nasty sounds when it hit the floor. Twilight stuck her head out of the vent and looked around - it was a small room, with three doors. There was a counter with 'computer' on it, which was embedded into it. There were several drawers in the counter as well.

Twilight carefully jumped out, landing on her front hooves. She still felt a little bit weak after the awakening, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. She looked around, checking if everything is safe and there is no monster nearby ready to eat her.

When looking around, she noticed a stain in the corner of the room. The only source of light were strange lamps on the ceiling - they certainly weren't powered by oil, since their light wasn't red or yellow, not warm. It was white, completely white, and it felt so cold. And they periodically flickered, leaving the room in almost complete darkness for seconds. It hurt Twilight's eyes very much.

What hurt her eyes even more was the origin of that stain. When the room was lit, Twilight noticed a mutilated body of a pony. It was dressed in a white coat, stained in blood. Worst of all, instead of a head, there was a huge gaping hole in the neck. The patterns on the end of the neck indicated that something bit this poor soul's head off. Twilight barely managed to hold back the disgusting mass that slowly started to crawl up through her stomach. She turned away, trying to erase this picture from the memory.

The tablet suddenly turned on, lighting the room, instead of these stupid flickering lamps. Twilight quickly put the thing on the ground.

"Psi-Crow? Are you there?" - she said into the tablet, but the panel was filled with strange grey and black lines.

"I'm here. Sorry, the signal is just bucking horrible" - Twilight heard the familiar voice. "Where are you now? Read the markings on the wall".

Twilight quickly turned the tablet towards the wall, so she could read normally. The blue letters on the wall spelled out "MEDICAL QUARTERS", and a symbol of medicine, with two snakes coiling around a goblet.

"I'm in some kind of reception room. It has a counter, with.... a 'computer', I think. There is also... a body" - Twilight said, as her voiced started to shake at the last sentence.

"A body? Who is it? How does it look like?"

"It doesn't have a head!" - Twilight said in a scared and disgusted voice.

"Just check the label on his coat. All the employees should have them" - Psi-Crow said, and Twilight slowly turned to the rotting corpse in the corner of the room. She slowly approached it, and pointed the light of the tablet at it. The details she saw made her cover her mouth in disgust.

The body was quite old, since the edges of the wound were covered in rot, and the visible piece of the white spine was covered in dust. The meat was rotten, and Twilight could swear she saw worms crawling in it. The blood on the shoulders and the chest of the corpse was dried up, turning into crust. Twilight fought back the disgust, and looked at the coat, looking for this label. In a moment's notice, she found the little piece of plastic, but to her despair, it was completely covered in blood. That meant that she has to touch this dead body.

"Crow... I can't do it... It's so disgusting..." - Twilight said into the tablet.

"Twilight, take a deep breath, and do it. I have to know who is this pony - only then I can give your directions" - Psi-Crow replied. Twilight sighed, and closed her eyes - she has to do it.

She has never touched a corpse before. Or, considering she's just a clone, she doesn't remember Twilight ever touching a corpse. Especially this mutilated.

It seemed like hours. Twilight's hoof was slowly drifting towards the label, covered in crimson dried out blood, like a moth through space and time. Finally, she heard the cracking of the blood, as she swiped it away from the label. The mass in her throat was getting closer and closer.

"It says.... Dr. Sweet Cheeks... Oh, my..." - Twilight said, backing away from the corpse, trying to hold the mass inside her.

"Okay... Dr. Sweet Cheeks.... Good job, Twilight, I'm proud of you! I can track your posi..." - Psi-Crow said, when suddenly her voice disappeared into static. The cracking hurt Twilight's ears, when she managed to hear a voice through all this mess.

"Not.....real....." - the menacing cracking voice said, and the hurting sound continued. Several seconds later, after a small beep, Psi-Crow's voice, like honey, fell upon her ears.

"Twilight, Twilight! Are you there? I lost you for a second" - she said.

"Yes, I'm here. So, you are tracking my position now?"

"Yes"

"Good. Can we talk now? I have a lot of questions to ask" - Twilight said, and she heard static for a second.

"Twilight, this isn't a good time to talk. The mutants are everywhere, and they are looking for fresh food. I can answer three of your questions tops. Ask away" - Psi-Crow replied, and Twilight descended into thoughts, choosing the most important questions she had.

"Okay. Firstly, what happened here? What is that thing that tried to kill me?" - Twilight asked.

"That was a mutant - a product of a failed experiment. We performed a lot of these on the station, and they were all safely locked away in the utilization room. Before they could be destroyed, they were all released, and now almost the whole station is crawling with them. The defense systems, the turrets and access to certain doors, was hacked, and most of our crew got stuck in their sectors, without any support from the defense mechanisms. Only several soldiers and hundreds of scientists were left to fight off the monsters. The corpse you saw in the corner is the result of our resistance" - Psi-Crow explained. It only gave Twilight even more questions to ask, but she has already chosen the rest.

"Why was I created?" - Twilight said, and the Psi-Crow went silent for a bit, not even static. Twilight felt horrible in this atmosphere of complete silence, and only drops of water falling somewhere, with the sound echoing throughout the corridors.

"I do not know - I am not in charge of the project. If I knew, I would have told you. Sorry" - Psi-Crow answered. Twilight closed her eyes - the point of her existence is still a mystery to her. But maybe she will find an answer eventually. Eventually.

She still had one last question to ask.

"Who are you?" - Twilight asked, looking right into the tablet, hoping that Psi-Crow is seeing something else beside the lines.

"You don't trust me? Understandable. I can relate to that. I am...was the tech specialist on this station. Tablets, computers - these are all my kind of stuff. I arrived at this station a year ago, and have been living here since. This nightmare started recently, just a few days ago. The utilization capsules were opened and then the slaughter began" - Psi-Crow explained. Twilight nod to that - now, she at least knows something about her new friend beyond the panel.

"Listen, Twilight, it's not safe for you to carry around this tablet. It's too cumbersome. Looks like we'll have to be separated for a while, so listen up - follow the purple line on the wall. It will lead you to the Bio-Tech Evolution centre. There, find a free and undamaged capsule and enter the code - 34221" - Psi-Crow said.

"What for? What will it do?" - Twilight asked.

"It will give you a couple of things. I will contact you after you do this, and then you can ask any question you want, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Good. The road there isn't long, but you should arm yourself. Look around the room, see what you can find. The mutants are still too dangerous, so try to avoid them. Good luck, Twilight, I believe in you" - Psi-Crow said, and the tablet turned dark.

Twilight looked around and put the tablet on the counter. It felt so bad to leave this thing behind - for such a short time, it became so dear to her. But Psi-Crow was clear - she has to leave it behind.

She was still pondering about that strange voice saying 'Not real'. She is not easily scared, but in this situation, it was more than enough to make her tremble a bit. That voice seemed very familiar to her - so familiar, in fact, that she surfed through her mind, looking for the voice she heard in the previous life.

After a minute of fruitless pondering, she decided to move on. Psi-Crow told her to find something to protect herself with. Twilight quickly opened the drawers, looking for something heavy, but there was nothing useful, only papers, pens and files.

Twilight sighed, trying to relieve the stress - stay calm. Everything will be fine. Good always prevails, right?

New questions swarmed her mind. These mutants... the utilization room... Were the scientists there killing off these creatures? If so, why did they even need to create them? What's the point of creating if you are going to destroy it anyway?

The secret of her creation still plagued Twilight's mind. The creation of her surely cost a lot of resources. So why? For what reason? She hoped she will find the answer on this ship.

The term Bio-Tech Evolution scared her a bit. What does it mean? How will it affect her? What will it do? But there was no other way but following Psi-Crow advice. Or she will not survive here.

She decided to head out without a weapon. Even though Psi-Crow sounded very serious about this topic, Twilight knew she can protect herself. She has the magic on her side, and there is plenty of junk lying around. She can start throwing it at the enemy.

Though the thought of being alone in this maze of corridors and lifeless, metal rooms was scary, she gathered all her courage and found the purple line on the wall. Ironic - purple was her favorite color. Not just because she proudly wore it - she just liked the tone, and the way it reflected the sunshine.

Sunshine... The thoughts of clear blue sky and warm welcoming sun made her feel a little bit nostalgic and warm. In these dark corridors, where every noise made her turn around and desperately look for a place to hide, these thoughts felt like strangers, who wandered into the wrong part of the town.

Twilight approached the metallic door, and it opened on itself, moving apart in front of her. It seems it's just another flick of the future - the ponies just don't want to open the doors themselves. The sounds the doors made were just terrifying - they opened slowly, scratching the floor and leaving a scar on the metal. The screech that it emitted made Twilight close her ears, and hope that none of the mutants heard it.

She slowly walked into the corridor, lit by the same flickering lamps as the reception, but only their light was much more dim and dull. But probably it was for the best, for when Twilight stepped inside, she smelled that disgusting odor of rot. She really didn't like to think about what was rotting, but the occasional stains of blood on the floor and walls made her fears all the more real.

Twilight decided to take a look into some of the rooms that this corridor housed. Maybe she will find something useful inside, like some information of this station, or newspapers, that will tell her about the current state of events in Equestria. Even a little strip, at least a word - anything, that will shed a ray of light on this mysterious new world. She carefully approached one of the doors, and it slowly opened.

The room was lit by the sparks of electricity, that were occasionally flying out of the hole in the wall. Twilight carefully avoided approaching the exposed wires, knowing what it can do to you. The room itself wasn't that big - by what remained of it, one could guess that it was a little health station, similar to those you see in schools, where children can get their cuts and bruises bandaged. However, this was a different part of the health station - the one where not the body illness is cured, but that of a mind. This was the psychology office, as Twilight has read on the side of one of the files.

Working on the space station so far from your family and home is hard, so it was placed as close to the reception as possible, Twilight thought. She quickly looked at the markings on the bookcase - under each file there was a label with the name, occupation and date of birth. She took one of the files and opened it - it's not nice to look through such things without permission, but the situation was desperate - she needed the answers. Instead of papers and notes, there was only a small chip. It seems the future is so advanced they store the information on these chips. Twilight had no means to get it out of the small piece of plastic, so she put the file back on the shelf. Suddenly, she noticed a small label, reading 'Psi-Crow. Technician. Sector 4". There was supposed to be something else written on it, but it was erased in a rough manner. Strange - it was clearly erased on purpose. What is it hiding?

Even though there was no means for her to view the information, stored on the chip, Twilight took the file out and grabbed the little piece anyway. Maybe, eventually, she will find a way to look through it.

But what if it's something really personal to Psi-Crow, something she doesn't want others to know, that's why she went to psychiatrist? Is Twilight betraying her right now. She sighed heavily - the circumstances demand this. Twilight has to know more about Psi-Crow, if they are going to work together, and she seemed a little bit too silent about the details. They had to get to know each other, one way or another, so it might as well be this. And even though she knew the real Twilight is long dead, her soul felt uneasy doing this - the lessons of friendship were still fresh in her head. After hiding the chip in her mane, in such a way that it will not fall off, she returned to the corridor and decided to look through other rooms.

The sound of the working machinery was her only companion - the beeps and knocks were the only visitors in her ears, welcomed by her own breath, sound of hoofsteps and heartbeat. This created the atmosphere Twilight got used so much to - the atmosphere of loneliness. This kind of atmosphere that ruled in libraries, in her room back in Canterlot. But even then, she had Spike around her most of the time. Now, he's gone too.

Dragons live for a very long time. Twilight wondered - how did Spike react to her death? Did he visit the funeral? Yes, of course he did. He would not miss such a sad ceremony, he can't let his best friend go without saying his last goodbyes... Or?

Twilight's head started to ache horribly. The memories - there were so much of them, and yet not enough. If she died in happiness, that means she was married. Marriage is a sign of happy life, right? Then why doesn't she remember any of it? What does she remember, anyway?

Ponyville...Nightmare Moon... Discord.... Lessons... Crystal Empire... Sombra.... Freedom.. and then only darkness. There was nothing after that, nothing at all. She doesn't remember how she died, she doesn't remember what led up to that point. What did they do to her memory? Why did they leave that out? Twilight stumbled over a piece of junk and collapsed on the floor, landing on her face. Her head was hammering, the ringing in her ears was loud, almost hurting. She opened her eyes, hoping to rise up and continue her way, but she saw something that scared the living color out of her.

Before her, two transparent figures were standing. They were ponies, but she could see through them, and they didn't seem to pay any attention to her. They looked more like figures made out of silk - they seemed to be unaffected by anything outside of their little world. The air around them was sparkling in a dim white light. Ghosts?

"Dude, I don't know how you keep your cool in here. This place gives me the creeps!" - one shadow said. It was skinny, with very disproportionate face, and a large scar across the chest.

"Relax. You're new here, you'll get used to it" - his friend replied. He was far more fit, with a sporty look, even though he was wearing glasses.

"These cameras... They are like eyes in the darkness. I feel awful around them - it feels like some entity is watching my every step"

"It's the FRIEND AI. Relax, it's our protector and friend. She's the one that helps you with your research, she allows you to access all the systems. She prevented a crisis, for Luna's sake, be respectful!"

"I don't know about you, but I can't feel safe when I'm watched over in my bed!" - the skinny pony replied, and the figures stood still for a moment, then vanished into nothing. Twilight shook her head and rose up, trying to figure out what just happened. Did she just hit her head so hard she started seeing things? Or was this temporary blackout caused by the appearance of these ghosts?

Twilight surfed through her mind, remembering every book she read about ghosts. The ones she just saw didn't fall under any category of magical beings - they were so different. She didn't even feel any energy coming from them. Maybe they were just the product of Twilight's imagination, but their conversation... Who is AI? And why is it she? The ghost mentioned that it watches their every move. Was she the captain of this time Royal Guard?

So many questions are rising yet again. Too many questions, not enough answers. Twilight decided to hurry to the Bio-Tech Evolution station - if Psi-Crow is certain about the need of Twilight getting that thing, it is probably worth the risk.

The rest of the way was relatively quiet and safe, but the bloodstains on the walls and flickering of the lights didn't make Twilight feel any better. The massacre that happened here must have been demonic. Just what kinds of monsters have to be spawned to cause such a bloodshed? Passing near a destroyed pipe, Twilight noticed a hoof, sticking out of the hole, from which the steam was coming out. The hoof looked skinned and boiled, and Twilight turned away - the poor pony must have tried to hide inside the pipe, but since the steam was coming at intervals, he never noticed what hit him. If Twilight had a stronger stomach, she would probably drag the body out of the pipe - nopony deserves to be left like that. But one thought of seeing a body boiled alive, with skin that can be ripped by a simple swipe, and muscles that are torn away by a weak touch terrified her. She hurried up, listening to the sound of her hoofsteps as the only relaxing sound in this dreadful place.

Finally, she approached the entrance to the Bio-Tech laboratory. It looked extremely creepy - the metal door was covered in blood, and Twilight could swear she heard something dripping on the floor. Is the pipe broken somewhere, and the water is slowly falling down, drip by drip? These hopes vanished the instant Twilight approached the door and it opened before her. The ceiling of the room collapsed, and now the centre of the laboratory was only debris. They were composed of metallic pipes, and strange stone, turned into rubble, with large metallic sticks sticking out of it. On these sticks, a body was hanging - or, to be more precise, half of it.

The body fell right on the metal sticks, and was pierced in three places - the throat, the chest, and the upper belly. Worst of all, it was only the upper half of the body - the other one seemed to be dragged away, judging by the blood trail on the floor. The pale face of the corpse was staring right at Twilight, its motionless eyes forever captured that expression of fear, horror and despair. It's mouth was distorted and frozen in the eternal scream, and even though the lungs were emptied of air long ago, it still wanted to scream.

Twilight's vision blurred, and the world started to spin around, as she turned away. She tried to wipe the corpse's sight from her head, drive it away and forget it, but this parasite didn't want to come off. It got stuck in her mind, leeching and feeding on her sanity. Breathing heavily, Twilight walked away from the rubble and this bloody mess, towards the entrance that had "EVOLUTION CAPSULES" written above it.

The room was a long corridor with the aforementioned capsules standing on the left side. Twilight started walking along these capsules, looking for the most clean and safe, but every capsule was thrashed beyond belief, with pieces being torn away and rubble sticking out of the comfortable at first casing.

But there was one capsule that looked untouched, beside a few scratches, but Twilight was sure it's nothing serious. She opened the capsule, pushing the cover upwards. The inside of the capsule looked very comfortable, with the casing of white leather. Cautiously, Twilight got inside the capsule, and the cover closed in on itself. The lamps in the capsule were bright, but not hurting the eyes. It was such a nice change from the outside world, Twilight wanted to stay here for a long time. It felt like a safe haven in the middle of a living nightmare.

Suddenly, the lights were turned off, just to allow the green holographic panel to appear in front of her. Twilight looked at it in amazement - if only they had these things when they needed to write, back then.

"Please, enter... the code" - a soft female voice announced, and numbers appeared before Twilight. She carefully entered the code, afraid to screw it up and cause a malfunction - who knows how these machineries react to mistakes? After she finished typing, the machine let out a beep, and the panel disappeared.

"Request accepted. Chosen evolution - HUB interface. Please, lie still and stay calm" - the same voice said, glitching a bit, sometimes repeating the words she already said. Then, for a few minutes, Twilight was lying in complete darkness, with only sounds of beeping and her own breath as her only comfort. Slowly, but steadfully, she got tired of lying in one place, and decide to get out, when suddenly metal restraints popped out near her every limb and encased her in their cold embrace. Scared beyond belief, Twilight tried to force her way out, but she couldn't do anything to the metal bonds.

Out of desperation, Twilight gathered all her strength and started channeling energy through her horn, intending to rip the metal with her magic. She felt the energy surging within, and, when she gathered enough, she unleashed it...

Nothing happened. Nothing. She even noticed that her horn wasn't glowing. Even the bonds weren't glowing. Only several seconds Twilight realized that her magic was just not working. She didn't fail the spell, she concentrated just enough, it just didn't work.

Twilight felt as something was put on her head, like a helmet. At first, it wasn't even touching her head, but then she felt her brain being pierced by thousand of needles. She screamed not so much of pain, but because of the surprise. Every needle released an electric shock into her body, which slowly turned her limbs numb. Twilight tried to move her head, but even the slightest movement caused a headache so horrible she screamed out loud as hard as she could.

The machine continued to prick her brain, when a big blank metal panel closed her eyes. Twilight found herself in a complete darkness. She wanted to move and turn and fight, but the restraints were too tight. She was helpless.

The pain didn't stop coming, and Twilight was unable to do anything to stop it - she just had to lie there and feel all the needles going into her flesh. She felt three especially big and heavy needles slowly going into the left side of her head, just near the eye. The machine let out a beep, and the needles were disconnected from the long arms, carrying them. Twilight felt the electricity going through her brain, and felt these needles shaking a bit.

Then, an electric shock of untold strength pierced her whole body, as she screamed loudly and jumped, hitting the panel. This pain only added to the shock, as Twilight felt blood flowing down her face.

"Upgrade complete. Removing restraints" - the soft female voice said, and Twilight felt the bonds disappearing. They slowly moved back into their place. She was free.

The needles left her brain, and the helmet, along with the panel, allowing her to see again. The light of the lamps hurt her eyes, as she tried to cover them.

She lied like this for a whole minute, when suddenly something popped out from the same place the needles were inserted into her head. It was a plastic panel, a small one, like half of the glasses. Twilight opened her eyes, and the panel started lighting up with green numbers. First, it was some kind of code, consisting of numbers 1 and 0, but then they slowly transformed into images, borders, and some kind of tracking device on the bottom right, that displayed a line going high and low in rhythm with her heartbeat. On the top left corner she saw a little window, in which a familiar face of Psi-Crow appeared.

"Congratulations, Twilight. You have received your first cyber-upgrade. This is your HUB interface" - she said in a calm voice. Twilight gathered up her strength and started to speak.

"What... the buck... happened to me?...Ow, my head" - she exclaimed as the headache started to increase in power.

"Your body has just been modified. It's always painful the first time, similar to sex, you know" - Psi-Crow said, and Twilight smiled a little. She didn't like the comparison, but it was kind of funny.

"The needles implanted the small electrical chips into your brain, and the three huge needles are the main computer - they control everything. For now, you have the most basic software. If you want, you can upgrade it in other Bio-Tech capsules, if you find them and the codes, that is. This thing allows me to contact you directly, through your brain, if you will. It also allows you to call me back and monitor your own condition - your heartbeat is displayed by that line in the bottom right. This is your personal doctor, lantern, and a messenger. Welcome to the future" - Psi-Crow explained, and Twilight sighed. Looks like it all was worth it. But this thing still had to prove itself.

"Okay...it feels so weird... But I guess that's normal... Never thought I would get something like that in my head....So, can you answer my questions now?" - she said, and Psi-Crow nod.

"Yup. Ask away" - she replied.

"First of all, why isn't my magic working? At one point, I tried to break free, and used my magic, but it didn't work. Why?"

"Oh, Twilight, it's a long story, and a very disturbing one. Just fifty years ago... the magic disappeared. Like, all of it. No magical items worked, not a single unicorn could use their powers. You won't believe what happened afterwards. Insanity, riots, chaos! It was horrible. It was at that time, the time of great crisis, when this station was built. Without magic, ponies weren't fully able to control the weather. Pegasi weren't the only ones in charge of it, and without the help of magic, many regions got ravaged by the catastrophes. But FRIEND solved all these problems - being the most advanced piece of technology in the whole world, we were able to get the situation under control, to establish peace"

"Magic.. doesn't work? Oh, by Celestia, this is...".

"DON'T SAY THAT NAME!" - Psi-Crow suddenly shouted, with the image glitching out, with dark lines piercing the screen. "DON'T SAY IT EVER AGAIN!"

Her voice changed when she said that. It felt like it belonged to another pony...or not even a pony. It was very loud, very powerful, striking fear into your very heart. The technology enhanced it even further, making it even more threatening, strong and bone chilling.

"S...sorry...".

"Sorry... I didn't mean to shout... I am just in a lot of stress right now, sometimes I can snap too easily.. Don't mind it, I'm really sorry. Please, continue" - she said in her normal voice. It seemed strange to Twilight, but she decided to let it slip - she has been on this station for less than a day, and she already feels depressed and scared. She couldn't even imagine how Psi-Crow, who works here, must feel.

"Tell me in great details - what happened here? What let those monsters out? You said that the defense systems were hacked - what does it mean?"

"All systems of FRIEND are controlled by an AI - an Artificial Intelligence. It's hard to explain, but imagine a pony, who controls everything on this ship, like it is its own body. That's what an AI is - it controls everything on this ship. It protects us, it decided what weather to send, and where, and when. It basically is saving the entire Equestria from turning into one big boiling kettle of chaos"

"I heard about the AI.... It watches over us, yes? Like, right now?"

"No, it does not anymore. There is another AI - a rogue AI. But it is much different from the one that is installed on FRIEND. It's more like a virus, that infected the systems and right now is trying to take control of the ship. It was the reason behind the mutants being unleashed"

"Oh, my....So, what do you think we should do?" - Twilight asked, really thinking about getting out of here. "Is there any way to escape the station?"

"Yes, there are escape pods in the south wing of the station. But it's nigh impossible to reach them - that was where the most of the crew went, and so did the mutants, following the scent of their prey. I don't know what kind of chaos happened there - the cameras are off in that area. I am stuck in this security room, practically. You're my only source of outside information. Without you, I am blind and deaf".

"Where are you exactly? I can try to find you and then we'll get out of here together".

"Good idea. In fact, I am loving it. With your help, we can get out of here, and then escape" - then Twilight heard Psi-Crow typing something. "You should start making your way to the north wing of the station, that's where I am. It is very far away from your current position, and it's probably swarming with mutants and hacked turrets".

"Do not worry, I won't leave you behind" - Twilight assured her. "Also, I have one question - I found a chip, that seems to contain the information I could use. How can I view it?"

"Oh, with the new upgrade it's quite easy. Just plug it into the space between the needles, and it will be played on this screen"

"Okay, very good.... One last question - I think I saw ghosts. Is it possible?"

"Ghosts?" - suddenly, the picture disappeared for a brief second, and then reappeared instantly, but Twilight could swear she saw something....very scary. A lot of blood... Psi-Crow with her eyes ripped out, and blood flowing out rapidly.

"What happened? You turned off for a split second there" - Psi-Crow said, and Twilight shook her head.

"It's ok... I just don't feel too well. Continue"

"No, the ghosts couldn't appear. It's probably your imagination. Try to ignore them, okay? You're probably still a little bit unstable after getting out of the rejuvenation pod" - she said, and Twilight nod silently. However, she decided to take note of such ghostly appearances and try to make something out of it. She already knew what those two ponies in the corridor talking about - maybe, with a little bit of knowledge, Twilight can find out even more about what happened.

"Listen, Twilight, I wasn't a really big person here on the station. But now that everything is in ruins, you can find chips with videos recorded on them. Crew diaries, medical information, just personal vlogs and tech reports - try to view them via your HUB to get information. You might even find out a few passwords for computers and doors. In any case, I can help you with directions, but I can't do much - the rogue AI is blocking my signal very hard. So please...." - suddenly, the picture started to tremble and disappear, and the light of the interface changed from green to red. The heartbeat detector started going insane, showing such numbers that Twilight's heart should explode from such pressure. Finally, a face, composed of numbers and code, appeared in the little frame in the left upper corner. Twilight's ears were pierced by its metallic, glitchy monotone. But this monotone, while very distorted, was still reminding her of the voice in her past.

"Not...real.... Poor lamb.... is deceived..... Going to... fight...fight us...." - it said, sometimes repeating words in higher or lower pitch.

"Who...what in the Tartarus are you? Why are you doing this? Why are you causing so much death and harm?!" - Twilight said, trying to sound brave.

"Harm.... Yes.... Equestria must be harmed...... to be protected..... You are.. unaware....unaware.... of HER plans.... You are.... delusional.... Don't try to stop us...us...us.... Accept your demise.... Accept it and let us complete.... the circle.... SHE must be.....destroyed...." - the AI said, glitching and unleashing strange noises, which sounded like screams.

"Accept my demise and die? No!" - Twilight replied. She's not afraid of this thing, and she will let it know that!

"Then...welcome ... your death...." - it replied, and Twilight's head was pierced by horrible pain. She was deafened by the sound of static, and the blood poured out of her nose like a river, breaking through a dam. Along with static, she heard the endless loop of this voice.

She jumped out of the capsule, holding her head, trying as hard as she could to drive it away, but it felt like her very brain was being eaten from inside. The blood was pouring from her nose, and she felt it going up her throat as well. She clenched her teeth and approached the wall, trying her best not to scream, but she lost it all when she saw how a little trickle of blood was flowing from her mouth.

She unleashed a chilling scream, which was even louder than before, but she was unable to finish as she started choking on her own blood. She leaned on the wall and coughed, leaving several crimson stains on it. But before she could collapse on the floor, the noise and pain left. The interface reverted back to normal, and Psi-Crow's endearing face appeared.

"Twilight! Are you alright? That bastard tried to hack the computer in your brain. I'm sorry I didn't stop him earlier" - she said.

"He..did what?" - Twilight asked, coughing.

"Do not worry. That was a test attempt, I was able to counter it easily. He doesn't have much memory left - he can't handle everything at once. It's spending all its powers on breaking the AI of the station and reaching the core"

"It was like a thousand swords inside my brain... all cutting at the same time" - Twilight said, trying to keep her balance

"That's the downside of having the upgrades. But do not worry, you'll under my protection now. I will focus at keeping you safe from the AI's hacking attempts. But still, try to not to get noticed by it - just minimize the use of the HUB. That's all I can recommend " - Psi-Crow said, and Twilight smiled weakly.

"Thank you, I will keep that in mind...." - she whispered, and swiped the blood from her mouth. This felt horrible - like something got inside her brain and tried to devour her from inside. Twilight really hoped this will never happen to her again. Judging by what Twilight has already heard about it, she will have to refrain from using the HUB too much as well, or else she will get noticed. Still, it's voice was so painfully familiar Twilight just couldn't let it out of her head. The memory of it was swirling around in her head, and she couldn't catch it.

Suddenly, she heard something shambling in her direction. Twilight looked up, and saw a creature, resembling a pony, but it looked like a walking corpse. Its body was mutilated, and when the thing was passing near the lighted capsule, she saw that its guts were going right out of its belly and into its head. The eyes of the monster were completely white and blank. The color of its coat was stained by blood and gore, but she managed to see the color pink. The monster had small, but sharp teeth as its only weapon.

It let out loud moans as it slowly advanced towards Twilight. It seems that her screams have attracted this thing - and, to her despair, she was cornered. The walking corpse was standing between her and the only exit out of this room.

"His voice.... speaks to.... ME!" - the monster uttered, as it literally belched words, with every movement of its mouth producing masses of disgusting liquid pouring out of its belly. It was amazing how this thing was able to talk, or even live. Twilight's nose was gripped by the hellish smell of rotting flesh and half-digested meat.

"His voice......DEMANDS!" - the thing shouted, as it rushed forwards, opening its mouth wide and producing a chilling scream, seeking to sink its teeth into Twilight's flesh. The monster's hooves, though looking rotten and ripped, carried him swiftly to the poor unicorn.

It approached, and Twilight could look into the monster's mouth. Its tongue was loosely attached, babbling and waving on the run, leaving behind a wet trail of dirty, almost black slobber.

Twilight's sight was all over the place, looking for a way out. Suddenly, she noticed a metal handle sticking out from under a heavy piece of one of the capsules. She quickly grabbed it and tried to pull the thing out, but it got stuck pretty hard - it didn't even move.

The monster finally reached her and extended its frontal hooves out, pushing Twilight back. Then, it suddenly violently threw her towards one of the capsules, right into the cover. Twilight's nose collided with the sturdy plastic glass. In addition to a bloodstain, it left a small crack on the surface. The monster mercilessly jumped onto her, pinning Twilight to the plastic cover.

She felt the exposed guts touching her skin, leaving a sticky trail of vomit, and the monster's foul breath, warming her neck. The thing leaned backwards, preparing to sink its teeth into her meat, and then rip it out and devour, peace by peace.

Twilight clenched her teeth, opened her eyes and pushed the monster away. She was still weak after the hacking attempt, but if she allows the weakness to overtake, she will die. She can't die again. She must not fail her new friend - she has to live up to the name of the one she is supposed to represent. Twilight Sparkle is brave, smart and strong. And she will be too!

The monster stumbled back, landing on its frontal hooves. Before it could recover, Twilight decided to go for a more direct approach, as she struck with all the power her body could give right into the thing's face. She heard the bones cracking, and the eyeball of the monster flew out, landing on the floor. This mutant was so rotten it was literally falling apart. It slowly turned its head back to Twilight, looking at her with its one eyeball. It didn't express anything - hatred, pain, remorse.

"Why...hurt...?" - it uttered, when a part of its skull fell off, revealing almost brown from the rot facial muscles. Twilight couldn't help but cringe.

This... thing! Abomination... this monster.... It has to die this instant!

Twilight quickly rushed to the metal handle and pulled as hard as she could. It finally gave away, and the piece moved a bit, when she lifted the metal wrench up. It was quite heavy, and it was hard to hold it with one hoof, but Twilight felt the adrenaline surging through her veins, giving her just enough energy to lift this thing in the air and put it down right on the thing's head.

A loud noise of cracking filled the air, as its skull shattered to pieces, and that crack was followed up by splashing, as the brains were splattered all over the room. The organs, once attached to its brain, were not dangling from left to right, spilling blood and vomit on the ground. The body stood motionless for a minute and then fell on the ground, in the already formed puddle.

Twilight stood victorious over the body of her enemy, triumphant and proud. Her heart finally stopped pounding, and returned to its normal pace. She threw the wrench on the ground, beside the monster and smirked - serves him right.

The realization always comes too late. Twilight took another look at the body, and that spirit of victory was gone in moments. Her normal mind overtook, allowing her to fully see what she has done. This fake feeling of victory, of accomplishment - it was all gone. Only terror of realization was left.

"Oh.... by Celestia" - Twilight uttered, looking at all the gore. She has just personally murdered a living being. It was in self-defense, but it could have been avoided. She could have ran away after the first strike, she could have just knocked the thing unconscious. But she was overtaken by fear, and that fear forced her to murder for the first time.

Twilight felt disgusted, most utterly disgusted by her actions. She slowly made her way around the corpse, trying not to step into the puddle. After the body was behind her, she ran as quickly as she could, covering her mouth with a hoof, holding back the disgusting mess that was slowly rising up through her stomach. The image of this bloody fight was played again and again in her memory, forcing her to reel from left to right.

She finally got out of the capsule room and leaned on the wall, trying to remember all the happy things in her life. The thought of the past made her feel much better, and the retching finally stopped. She breathed in heavily, enjoying these memories of a life that Twilight had. They can brighten up any darkness...

Never again. Twilight swore on her own blood that she will never kill again. Self-protection is alright, but she will never kill even the most wretched mutant. All life deserves to exist, there is no exception. Only nature decides when to take a life, the intelligent being must never reduce itself to this.

She panted for a few minutes and finally calmed down. This nightmare is really getting to her - future isn't like she hoped... She felt so lonely, so lost in this gigantic station, surrounded by mostly monsters. She really wanted somepony to just say a word and talk to her, a pony she could just talk with. But calling Psi-Crow meant attracting the attention of the AI, who will surely try to hack her again.

That reminded her... Twilight quickly delved her hooves into her mane and found the chip, safely hiding in between her curls. Thankfully, it didn't suffer during her upgrade and the fight. She quickly took it out and shoved it into her head, right where the three needles went. It didn't hurt at all - just a weak shock of electricity went through her body. Finally, she will have at least something sounding in her ears beside her own breath and monotone sounds of metal and beeping.

The panel appeared before her left eye, as the screen went dark for a few moments. Then, the sound of something bumping and a few beeps pierced her ear.

"Alright.... this thing is on. We're filming now" - a calm voice said, and the darkness disappeared, revealing Psi-Crow, sitting on a comfortable armchair. She looked different from how she looks now - her face was brighter, she looked quite happy and the smile was gracing her face.

"Do I really have to do it? 'Cause it really sounds pretty stupid" - she asked.

"Mrs. Psi-Crow, it helps you relieve stress and get yourself a little more comfortable on the station. So, let's start" - the sound of closing door interrupted the video. "All right, we're alone now. Let's begin with introduction. Tell us something about yourself".

"Okay... My name is Psi-Crow. I was born in Manehattan, in a suburban area. Quite a bad place to live in, by the way. Filled with crooks and other morons. Even my dad was involved in crimes - he was a robber, very professional with stealing electronics. They are worth more on the market, you see. So, that's where my passion for computers and tech started: every time my father brought home a new piece of tech, he wanted me to help him to disassemble it".

"Your father was a criminal? Did he treat you bad?"

"No, no. He was a very good father - always looking out for me, sticking up for me. My mom was nice too - she worked as a nurse in the nearest hospital, and if I got into a fight, she would always treat my cuts and bruises. I had the best family ever".

"Very, very good. And honest, I presume, too. Why did you arrive to FRIEND and what brought you the idea of making your career here?"

"I'm married, you know. My husband is a writer - his income is very unstable. That's why I applied - I won't see him for long, and I miss him already, but the government pays all my bills. It's a very nice deal".

"Yes, Luna is very generous when it comes to FRIEND. May Gods bless her saint soul!.. Alright, I think that's enough for today. You'll just pass a psychological test, and I will be able to form your psychological portrait".

"Yeah, that's really good, but can I go now? I have a lot of work to do".

"Yes, yes, of course. If you want, you can grab a camera, and record your own thoughts - make a video diary. You can also record messages and send them to your husband" - the soft voice said, and Psi-Crow giggled.

"Hah. Sounds fun. I wonder what kind of curse words I will remember when looking into a camera, ha-ha!" - she said, getting up from the armchair. That's where the video ended, with the same sound of bumps and beeping.

Twilight stood motionless. She was glad to find out something more about Psi-Crow, and how she was before all of this happened, but there was one question that startled her a bit. In their conversation, they talked about Luna, and that she is somehow involved with FRIEND... That means she is still in charge of Equestria, and is probably doing a lot of good things
for ponies, but that wasn't the case.

Where is Celestia?

From the point when Twilight woke up, she hasn't heard anything about Celestia. They were even swearing by Luna's name, and when Twilight mentioned the Solar Alicorn while talking to Psi-Crow, she got furious. Some very bad thoughts crossed Twilight's mind, as she tried to drive them away. But the very thought that her beloved teacher and mentor might be...dead... or even worse.... gone evil, made Twilight feel pathetic. She sighed heavily - there is no way she can find out what has happened in this world.. unless she goes back to Equestria. There was no reason to stay at this station any longer. She must hurry up and find Psi-Crow, and then get the buck out of here. Only by escaping this hell, she can find answers back in the world she used to roam.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long time it takes to update. I am trying my best to write as much as possible, but I just don't have enough time. Thank you for your attention and understanding of the situation.