Chapters Heartbeat. In the beginning... she only heard her own heartbeat. The calm rhythm, in which her heart was pumping the blood through her veins, giving life to the numb limbs. With each passing second, she could feel the warmth of her own body getting stronger, giving her life and power to exist, to move, to breathe.
Breath... She realized that she can breathe... She needs to breathe. She inhaled, feeling the air going down into her lungs, and then exhaled. It felt so good, so... refreshing. The air was stale and dusty, but it would be rude to ask for more.
She breathed for a few more minutes, getting used to the way her lungs increase and decrease in size when she does that. But then she felt tingling in the front of her face. She felt as something flowing and liquid was passing through her eyelids and disturbing the eyes.
Eyes... If she has eyes... Then she can see, she figured out. Slowly, she raised her eyelids, as the liquid touched her eyeballs fully... But it didn't hurt at all. She could see comfortably, even though she was surrounded by water.
She looked around - she was in some kind of tube, floating in the water. The walls of the tube in front of her were transparent, and she could see through.
She noticed that there was something on her face, like a mask. Long tubes were coming out of the mask, and leading up into the ceiling of this water-filled tank. She figured out that was the way she was breathing - the air was transported through the tubes and into the mask, from which she was breathing.
Why is she here? What is she doing in this tank? Who is she?
Her head started to ache horribly, as the torn pieces of memory started coming into her head - pictures, words, names, places, looks. She shook her head, trying to suppress the headache, but it wasn't going away. The visions continued to tear through her brain like knife through butter.
She wanted to scream, but couldn't - the mask was tightly attached to her face, and all that came out of her mouth was murmurous mumbling.
The visions have left, and she finally knew who she was. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, an unicorn. She remembered her life, all of it... except, at one point, the memories just stopped. She has seen the entirety of her life... except the last parts.
Realization of her identity didn't shed much light on this situation, but at least one of her questions was answered. She know who she is, and who she was. It was time to figure out where is she.
She touched the transparent wall of her water-filled prison. From what she can remember, the material it was made from was glass. But at the same time, it was a strange kind of glass - when Twilight tried to hit it, instead of leaving a crack, it bounced her hoof off its surface. She's not getting out of this tank any time soon, it seems.
Twilight looked through the glass and into the room the tank was in. The floor was made of solid metal. The walls were metal as well, but some parts of them were colored, with strange markings painted on them. She looked closely, and managed to read one of the markings.
"PLEASE, STAY CLEAR OF THE REJUVENATION TANK IF THE TEST SUBJECT IS STILL INSIDE. THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY" - it said in big bright red letters.
This scared Twilight - rejuvenation tank? The subject? Was she this subject?
She never suffered from claustrophobia - or at least, she remembers that she never did, but the walls of the tank suddenly felt like they were closing in on her. She was like a little fish in the bottle, and it didn't make her feel good at all. She is a pony, Princess Celestia's favorite protégé - not a fish or a trophy! Not a test subject!
She tried to hit the glass wall again, but it didn't do much. She tried again and again, but all she managed to do was leaving a small scratch. It scared Twilight, the questions and fears filled her head. What if she was abducted? What if her friends are in danger? What if...
She started to freak out, moving rapidly, trying to scream. The mask beeped, letting out the bubbles of unneeded air into the water. Twilight started banging on the glass wall, in hope that somepony will hear her. But the sounds were too quiet for anypony besides her to hear.
In desperation, she tried to push the glass wall out with her back hooves. She leaned back on the wall and kicked this glass wall as hard as she could several times. It didn't do anything. As she returned into her previous position, the fear has completely overtaken her mind - she was afraid of staying inside. Filled with desperation, rage and horror, she continued to maul the glass, when suddenly she felt that the mask, her only source of air, started coming off.
In a moment's notice, the mask disconnected from her mouth, letting out a barrage of bubbles. Twilight was left completely defenseless, and the water poured quickly into her mouth.
She felt the liquid passing through her body and into the lungs. The fear overtook completely, as she started choking and coughing, praying for air. The tank was quickly filled with bubbles of air, as she desperately tried to hold her breath.
"ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! EMERGENCY TANK OPENING - IN PROCESS!" - Twilight heard the monotonic female voice, as the world around her started losing colors and turning black. She could barely move - the strength was leaving her, and her heartbeat slowed down. She felt so lonely when the sound of beating heart got so quiet she could not hear it. Or did it disappear?
Suddenly, the glass wall was raised, quickly moving somewhere up, and the water Twilight was swimming in poured outside. She fell out of the tank onto the cold metallic floor, into a puddle of this liquid. Twilight started coughing, spewing out the water, before she could finally breath in.
Even though she didn't spend that much time choking... it felt so good to breathe!
After taking a deep breath, Twilight got up from the floor and shook off the liquid, splattering it all over the place. Not too nice to do it when you're visiting somepony, but this place didn't seem like a welcoming house at all. In fact, it wasn't even a house.
The room was quite wide. There were lines on the walls Twilight was unable to see from the tank - red, blue and green ones, going through the whole wall right up until a strange door. At least, she thought it was a door - it didn't have a doorhandle, it was made of metal and it really didn't look like anypony could open it. To Twilight's right, there was a strange cupboard - it didn't have any drawers, but instead it had three dark glass panels and lots of buttons underneath them. They were all shining green, and Twilight could hear the beeping noise coming from it.
To her left, there was a table. It was white and had a strange panel on it. The lost unicorn approached it and took a closer look - it was the same dark panel like on that cupboard. There was also a strange notebook, lying on the table - it had a plastic frame, and had a glass panel in the centre. Intrigued, Twilight took it and tried to open it.
To her surprise, it didn't have any pages, and that plastic frame and glass panel was everything this..thing was. A very strange notebook indeed, how do you write in one of these?
"Can anypony hear me?!" - the notebook suddenly emitted strange voice, and Twilight dropped it from fright. The notebook hit the floor, making a screeching noise. For a moment Twilight thought she broke it, when suddenly the voice repeated again.
"Can anypony hear me?!" - it said, and the glass panel on it turned bright. Twilight approached it, and look into the panel, noticing a young mare unicorn. Her mane was green, and her coat was pale brown. Twilight picked up the notebook and looked into the panel.
"I can hear you" - she said in an unsure voice. The pony on the panel suddenly looked frightened, and started looking around.
"You...you woke up?" - she said, and Twilight nod. The pony sighed and turned away for a second, saying something in an unknown language. Whatever it was, it wasn't pretty.
"Well, at least the experiment was a success, after all. Though I don't know if there is any reason for her to keep you alive..." - the mare said, but it sounded just as strange as that language.
"Who.... are you?" - Twilight asked, still trying to figure out where she was.
"Sorry... My name is Psi-Crow" - the pony replied.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, nice to meet you..." - Twilight said, and wanted to say something else but this strange pony in a panel interrupted her.
"No, you're not. You are not Twilight Sparkle" - Psi-Crow said, and Twilight looked at her with confusion - what is she talking about? Of course she is!
"What? Are you insane?"
"No... But I wish I was. It's difficult to explain - you just don't have any idea how complicated it is. Too complicated for you to even grasp the basics" - Psi-Crow said, which made Twilight quite angry, adding to confusion.
"Are you calling me stupid?! Listen, lady in a glass panel, you either tell me where I am, or I'll smash you against this wall!" - she shouted at the panel, losing her temper.
"No, no, sorry. I didn't mean it. And I am not inside the panel - the thing you are holding in your hoof is a hologram tablet. It passes the image of you and your surroundings to my computer. It's like a video camera, that's recording live and sends the recording to me" - Psi-Crow said, and Twilight rubbed her head. Video camera? Computer? Live recording?
"Oh, sorry. I forgot that these things didn't exist yet when you were around. In a nutshell - I can see and hear everything using this thing. Whenever you point the front of it - I can see that" - the pretty mare explained.
"So, it's like a magic mirror?"
"Grr...Yes, yes it is" - Psi-Crow said, sounding quite annoyed.
"So, where am I?" - Twilight asked.
"You are in the rejuvenation chamber. The tube you woke up in is a rejuvenation tank - it kept your body preserved and safe. This chamber is one of many in this section - it's called R&LS. Rejuvenation and Life Support" - Psi-Crow explained, but Twilight only looked at her with puzzled look.
"You will not understand anything... Listen - just walk to the green glowing button in the corner of the room and press it. It will be easier for me to explain" - she said, and Twilight looked around. There was a button in the corner, right nearby the wall that was right against the tank. The unicorn came closer to it, with the button emitting green light in this dim lit room. Still a bit unsure, she pressed it.
The wall right nearby moved up with a scary rumble. It wasn't wall at all - behind it, a glass window was hiding. But it was the sight in this window that shook Twilight to the very brim of her bones.
"This is.. Equestria" - Psi-Crow said, as Twilight gazed upon the planet. The white stains on its surface were clouds, and the giant blue oceans were taking up more than half of it. She quickly recognized the shapes of the continents, just like on the maps she saw in the books.
"Welcome to the future, Twilight Sparkle" - Psi-Crow said. "You are on the space station, called FRIEND. It's the biggest space station ever created by ponies - it's used to house many experiments, many supporting systems for the planet to function properly - here, we create clouds, rains, storms and wind, and send them down via special laser equipment. I know what you're thinking - didn't pegasi do this? No, they don't nowadays. It's all automated, and everything needed for it to work is here"
Twilight stared at the planet, drifting in space, then back at Psi-Crow. The pale brown unicorn looked at her with compassion.
"I know this is hard for you to swallow... but you're not Twilight. You are her genetic recreation - a clone. After many years of study and experiments, after thousand of failed attempts, you finally live" - she said.
A...clone? Like those in the Mirror Pool? The fake copy of the original. Twilight started to feel horrible - her eyes started to fill with tears. Is she just like those mindless drones, that once swarmed Ponyville, daring to call themselves Pinkie Pie?
"I am.. a clone? I am... not Twilight Sparkle?" - she said in a trembling voice. "But... why do I remember everything? Why are all these memories inside my head?"
"It's not like Mirror Pool. You were biologically recreated, using the most advanced technology and the techniques we didn't know even exist. You won't believe how many monstrous atrocities walked out of that tank - they were all a failed attempts to recreate you. You are the first specimen to finally work as intended. Please, do not be upset - you're not mindless. You're just an exact copy of the real Twilight, like an extension of her life, if one says so" - Psi-Crow said. Twilight felt a little bit better, but not by much.
"What happened to the real Twilight Sparkle?" - she asked Psi-Crow, and the mare in the panel sighed.
"Four hundred years have passed since she passed away" - she said. "She died in happiness, don't worry - old age"
"Well, that's a relief" - Twilight said. These news brought a little speck of hope - at least she won't have to compete with the real one, and can live her own life.
"Maybe..." - Psi-Crow said. Suddenly, the space station started to shake, and loud explosions could be heard.
"Oh, no. You have to get out of there. I'll explain what's going on later, just get out of there. There is an air vent nearby, use that" - Psi-Crow shouted, and the panel turned dark again. Twilight put the hologram tablet in her mouth, turned round and saw the metal grate, covering a hole in the wall. It was quite small, but a small filly could stand there without ducking. Twilight approached it, and hit the grate as hard as she could. Surprisingly, in this world of future, the grates for ventilation are made quite fragile, since she managed to destroy it with a single blow.
Twilight wanted to talk with Psi-Crow again, ask her what happened, and why does she needs to run. She wanted to ask her what is happening in the world right now, why was she created, and, most importantly, the fate of her friends, but all those thoughts were interrupted when the screeching noise of metal reached her ears. She looked around, and saw the door she noticed earlier slowly getting ripped open. Even though the view was obscured, Twilight managed to see the face of the monster - it was shaped like a pony, but instead of normal frontal hooves, it had long sharp claws, which it used to tear the metal apart. Its maw was filled with razor sharp teeth, disgusting pulsating veins could be seen all over its body, and its blood was glowing green. It had big nasty spikes coming out of its spine, and it seems like every movement caused it pain. It roared like a dragon, and after dealing with the door, it looked around hungrily with its eyes filled with blood.
Twilight wanted to shout, but quickly shut herself up and crawled into the vent. She felt a piercing pain as she cut her belly on the piece of the grate that was once covering the passage. She suppressed it, as the monster seemed quite capable of tearing her into bloody bits in seconds, and it was more preferable for her to cut herself a little bit, than being eaten. She quickly crawled through the vent as far from this room as possible. Though it was more tight than the rejuvenation tank, Twilight didn't feel any claustrophobia - mainly, because there was somewhere she could move.
It was so obscure - knowing that she is a clone, and yet... she is something different. Something more. And her surroundings were weird - everything seemed so alien. Though it should probably be that way - four hundred years have passed since her death.
Twilight still had so many questions to ask, so she sped up, crawling as fast as she could to reach the exit of this vent and get away from the monster. She believed that Psi-Crow will answer all her questions once she gets in the relatively safe place. But what place can be safe when she doesn't know even an inch of this space station? How will she survive in this new world? The questions only increased in numbers.
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
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.
The blinding light struck Twilight's eyes, as she entered the canteen. Thankfully, she was able to guess that by just looking at the room, she didn't have to look for a sign or anything.
This place, where ponies used to come for a quick meal, or a serious dinner, can now kill any appetite. The structure of the room was pretty intact - no collapsed floor or ceilings, but the amount of disgusting visuals Twilight found here was baffling. She only stepped in and was passing nearby several tables, when she almost stumbled on a corpse. Thankfully, she managed to hold her balance and step away from the corpse.
The deceased pony had a giant hole in its throat, with a puddle of blood right under it. He had maroon mane and grey skin, and was wearing a white lab coat. He also had a pair of broken glasses, covering his long closed eyes.
Twilight fought back the disgust and approached the body, deciding to search it. Slowly, but steadfully, the survival instinct was kicking in, driving back the fear of the dead, and giving her courage to find what she needs to survive. Twilight carefully put her hooves under the body and turned it round, so it would be facing up. Just as Twilight expected, he had a label on his coat. She took a closer look.
'Sooth Hooves, Psychiatrist' - it read. Twilight tilted her head - so the voice, talking to Psi-Crow on that video, belonged to this pony. It's a shame to see another pony dead, though. With every sight like this her hope to find more survivors started to get more and more vague.
There was something else that alerted Twilight - even though the wound on the poor doctor's throat was horrible, it didn't come from a mutant. Judging from what she has seen already, those things devour the corpses, or mutilate them beyond recognition. Something else killed this pony.
Twilight decided to continue her way through the canteen, hoping to find some kind of a map, or a sign, that will show her in what direction she has to go to get to the north wing. Psi-Crow didn't send her the map of the place, which probably meant she didn't have any, or just can't send it because of the rogue AI.
Twilight looked towards the counter, where the ponies used to get food from the cooks. It was filled with junk, rotten food and forgotten magazines. She carefully approached it and looked into the kitchen.
Thankfully, it was wrecked, but not filled with bodies. Twilight read some horror stories, and the kitchen always houses some mad butcher or flesh-eating cook. She climbed over the counter, knocking down a piece of debris. It smelled of rot and ash in the kitchen - there were a few half-full trays, with vegetables, covered in fungus and glasses of apple juice, that had a thick layer of above it. Twilight slowly stroked her stomach, trying to calm it down from all this horror - by some reason, whenever she looked at this stuff, the images of her swallowing this stuff. Maybe it was because she didn't eat anything since she got out of the rejuvenation tank.
She got a little further and approached a few lockers. All of them were closed, with special locks that required digital passwords, but there was one that was open. Twilight approached it and looked inside.
The locker had a white suit of a cook, a hat, and a small leather purse. There was also a label on the other side of the door, reading 'Candy Floss'. Twilight took the purse and opened, and was very happy to see a small chip inside, along with thirty coins. She didn't need the coins, so she only took the chip and inserted it into the space between the needles.
The panel appeared, but there was no video this time. Instead, it was audio-diary. Well, at least it's something, and Twilight can continue looking around the place, without being distracted.
The audio started with some kind of crackling and breathing. The pony on the recording sighed heavily, followed by a sound of scrunching leather. It seems he sat down on an armchair.
"Ugh.... I hate this job. Every day it's the same deal - you go to the kitchen, you cook, feed these stupid morons, who pick on you afterwards, then go back to your room. My wage isn't covering half of the suffering I have to endure!"
The voice was angry, frustrated, but soothing at the same time. It was like a kind person got very angry and recorded this message in warm blood. Twilight went on with her exploration, listening to the audio at the same time.
"I can't.... I just can't take this anymore. Yes, I failed the exams at the institute - so what? Is it worth picking on me because of that?! Oh, Luna, grant me strength!" - with a long and sad sigh following. "These eggheads from the laboratory six are a major thorn in my side. And the worst thing - they need 5 minutes to reach the canteen! I hate these jerks! Just because they work on the Project Harmony doesn't mean I am below them! Urgh.... I'll probably leave this stupid job. Stupid station!" - the video ended there. Twilight stopped to ponder for a second - Project Harmony. It sounds like it might be related to her, considering the name. Yes, it makes perfect sense! And the pony on the tape mentioned that this lab is just nearby. Twilight decided to make her way there next, in order to discover more about this project, and also find a map of some sorts.
She quickly proceeded deeper into the kitchen, hoping to find something just as useful before heading out to the laboratories. This gloomy atmosphere was very stressful, but Twilight urged herself to go deeper into these halls, that seemed like bowels of hell.
When she got a little bit deeper into the kitchen, a foul stench pierced her nose, making her nauseous. It wasn't just nasty, it was disgusting, like something was slowly flowing into your nose, this sticky green slime, and then making its way down your throat and into your lungs. Twilight started coughing, trying to spit out the atrocious air. Her throat started aching, the stench started burning her lungs. Her eyes filled up with tears, in order to prevent the inflammation of the eyeballs. What could possibly emit such a smell?
After Twilight reached the part of the kitchen where they usually prepared fries, or boiled water, she became the witness of one of the most disturbing images. It woke up that sense of paranoia, that feeling you feel when you are lying in your bed, and you see a pair of burning eyes in the dark corner of your room. They watch you very carefully, and they don't turn away no matter what.
Twilight was standing before a wall, on which a message was written. The first words were written by a piece of coal, and they were very noticeable on the walls, colored white, but it seems that whoever left this message ran out of coal, and the rest of the letters were in blood.
Right under the message, leaning on the wall, with the unblinking eyes looking right at Twilight, the corpse was lying. A corpse of a young stallion, with his wrists carefully cut open, dressed in a white medical robe. His mane was pitch black, but his coat was white, making it a very noticeable contrast. But the most terrifying thing was the look on his face.
His face was distorted in a grimace of pure terror and confusion - he was both scared and surprised. His mouth was open, it seems he was screaming, begging for his life when he died. Even from afar, Twilight noticed strange lines on his neck. She took a few steps towards it, and figured out that somepony choked this poor stallion, cut his wrists and used his blood to finish the message. Twilight raised her head and looked upon the message that whoever wrote seemed to value more than a life.
"SHE SPEAKS! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" - these were the words written, using a piece of coal. The rest were a barely comprehensible mess of blood.
"HARMONY LOST! SUN DARKENS" - it said. Twilight took a step back and sat down in awe and horror. What does it all mean? Who wrote this? And, most importantly - why?
With every second this place becomes more and more strange and disturbing. Everfree forest isn't even comparable to the horrors that are happening here, on this space station built by ponies. It was supposed to be a little island of peace and quiet, where scientists can perform experiments and research the nature, as well as providing weather for the world below. How could it go so wrong? Can it get any worse?
Twilight slowly approached the corpse, and noticed something sticking out of its pocket. After taking another step forward, she looked more closely and saw that it was some kind of a package. It was completely blank, with no markings, but with several stains of blood on it. Twilight carefully pulled it out of the corpse's pocket and opened it. Inside, she found a small chip and a note.
"Truth is on the chip. Find the password. See the truth" - the note read, and Twilight quickly inserted the chip into the port. The panel came up before her eyes, but the thing really required the password to be accessed.
"Ah, darn it!" - Twilight swore out loud. She knew there is something important on that chip. Ponies died for it - it can't be a simple piece of junk!
Suddenly, she heard hoofsteps behind her. She slowly turned around, and saw a milky white light glowing in front of her. It was like a small sphere of fog, that quickly turned inside out and formed two shadowy figures - ghosts, yet again. This time, the image was too distorted for Twilight to see the faces.
Two ponies were standing against each other, one leaning on the cupboard, and other looking straight at his or her companion.
"So, this is where you work? Seems very pretty - it's warm and you always have something to grab for a bite" - the voice, that sounded awfully like Psi-Crow, pronounced. It seemed to be going from the pony leaning on the cupboard.
"Heh, yes. Though we eat only when the schedule says so. But it is warm, yeah.... But I hate it here" - her interlocutor said, and the ghost figure rubbed its neck. This voice clearly belonged to a stallion "There's no opportunity here. No chance to move up. I'm a simple cook, that's all".
"Even a simple cook can be a great pony, you know. Still, working here is much better than fixing the damn pumps all the time. Do you know what a pain in the croup they are? I waste almost half of my working day on fixing the darn things" - Psi-Crow's ghostly image replied.
"But you do a heck of a job! We never have any breakdowns at the kitchen thanks to you and your crew" - the stallion replied. "In fact, I can't just let you go like this. Here, have this!"
The ghost went to one of the drawers right beside Psi-Crow, opened it and took out what seemed like a bottle of wine. Then, he cheerfully gave the bottle to Psi-Crow.
"It's all yours".
"Wow, thank you. I didn't expect that at all!" - Psi-Crow replied, accepting the gift. "You're a real gentlecolt, I can tell you that!"
"Oh, don't mention it. I am just expressing my gratitude" - he replied to this flattering remark.
"Actually... would you mind sharing a glass of wine with me? I'd hate to waste it on my drunkards assistants, and you seem like a very fine friend. So, what say you?"
"Oh, if you insist. I have a little window next week, how about that?"
"Perfect! See you, then!" - Psi-Crow said, and the ghosts vanished just as suddenly as they appeared.
Twilight was relieved to know that at least long ago this station was full of life, full of enthusiasm... and, as it turned out, intrigue and relationships. Psi-Crow is married, isn't she? - Twilight thought to herself. She made a note of it, and the next time she has a chance to talk with Psi-Crow, she will ask her about this. Maybe this isn't the best situation to ponder about such things as relationships, but maybe this somehow is tied to all this. She isn't seeing these ghosts just because - they have to have a meaning, a purpose. She isn't crazy.
Twilight sighed and looked around once more - the small particles of dust were flying in the air, falling out on the surface of the walls and furniture. The stench of bodies, rot and blood was still choking her, gripping to her throat and nose, clawing its way inside her lungs. The atmosphere of gnawing tragedy and horror was reigning in this place, and Twilight decided to head out to the laboratories, before this freakish place gets to her. Hopefully, there won't be too much horror in the crystal-clean laboratories, which always maintained an extreme caution, when it came to hygiene. You're not allowed to the working table unless you're completely cleaned and dressed in the white robe.
Twilight knew a lot about laboratories, since she spend many days and nights in them, creating new potions and studying magical essence. But now, that magic is gone, what could they possibly research and how? Looking around, seeing all this technology, Twilight came to wonder why didn't they think of it before, why didn't they try to create something like this even on paper, on the pages of some fiction? Why not even a thought ever crossed her mind to create something like this? She was tempted to see how the 'temples of science' look now.
Twilight was eager to leave the rotting kitchen and make her way into the laboratories. She couldn't stand the smell anymore, and the headache was like a rat, eating away her brain, slice by slice.
In all of her life, Twilight has never seen so much corpses. So much violence, so much death... or has she? Her vision started to get blurry, and her brain emitted waves of pain, making her struggle to stand firmly on the ground. The images, flying past her eyes were too distorted and unclear to recognize, it was like an endless slideshow of pictures she can't see. It made her feel sick, nauseous, made her reel from side to side, trying to stay on her hooves and not fall on the dirty, dusty, bloody floor. She slogged forward, as the metal floor started melting under her hooves, slowly turning from solid material into bloody guts and gore. She opened her eyes wide, and looked at the walls. They were slowly transforming, with figures and faces appearing from the meat, that was growing like cancer. The drops of blood started falling from the ceiling, as Twilight raised her eyes, looking up, and saw bodies, hanging on huge butcher hooks, impaled through their chests, wings, throats, mouths. The sound of metallic pounding and endless ringing deafened her ears, making Twilight fall on her knees, right into warm, burning guts...
Twilight opened her eyes, and found herself lying on the cold metal floor. The noises were gone, aside from a weak ringing in her ears. The room of the kitchen was just like before, with no horrid imagery hanging from the ceiling. Twilight got up and quickly turned round, lost and confused about what just happened. It looked like she passed out without even noticing it, and all this room of guts was just a dream... But why did it all happen? She never had a problem with narcolepsy before. It all seemed too strange, and Twilight prayed she would find answers in the laboratory.
She quickly passed through the corridor, and to the laboratories, just as she saw in that audio diary. It wasn't far, just five minutes down the hallway, and to the right - the markings on the wall lead Twilight to her destination.
It felt relieving to breathe in air different than that in the kitchen. It was still stale, dusty and brought the weak smell of rot, but it was better in every way. She even felt a little bit of relief, with the headache slowly going away. Maybe it was the horrendous air conditioning in the kitchen that made her see weird hallucinations.
Several minutes of travelling through the grey, featureless hall was over, and she was standing before the entrance to the laboratory. Twilight approached the iron door, and it slowly opened, as if moved by a mysterious entity. Thankfully, it didn't scratch the floor, emitting horrible noises. At least some doors at this station weren't damaged. Twilight quickly went inside, looking around for any potential threats. The lamps under the ceiling were very dim and weak, and she couldn't see very far - a only a few meters ahead. She thought to herself - if the technology is so advanced it can implant computers into pony's brain, do these devices also contain some kind of lamp or night vision device? Twilight knew a good spell, that could help her see in the dark, but since the magic doesn't work, it was of no use for her.
It felt so strange - to learn something your whole life, dedicate thousands of hours to studying it, thinking that this will be your whole life... and then, in the end, it was all for naught. All for nothing, so much struggle for an empty void. Twilight began to sympathize with the unicorns who lived through this crisis - Psi-Crow is an unicorn, and she doesn't seem too concerned about losing magic. But still, she was born before it happened, before all magic disappeared.
Writing, putting on clothes, moving different objects - unicorns used magic for all of these simple things. It seems, that it's just a minor annoyance - so what, if you can't put on your favorite coat? You don't need it anyway! You can wear your natural! But when the little pieces of the big building are removed, it starts to crumble. All pieces, even the tiniest ones - they all matter. Without little things, the big ones are specks of dust in the raging wind of life.
Twilight's eyes finally got accustomed to the half-darkness, and she was able to see much more clearly. The laboratory started with a room of medium size, with another door leading to the showers, and a line of closets near the wall. There was also several computers, implanted into walls. It seems that scientists could change their every day apparel on the appropriate labcoats, and, after the hard working day, they could wash off the dust of the day in the showers. Twilight felt a little bit excited to see how the actual lab looks like, so she proceeded to the entrance, looking at all the lockers, reminding herself not to forget to check them after she is done looking through the laboratory.
The doors, leading there, were different. They weren't automatic, instead it was much more classic, made out of glass gates. Twilight opened the doors, and was struck by the smell of dust and old, the little particles showered her, clinging to her fur and mane. She made a step forward, and heard the sound of cracking glass, as she was slowly walking on the floor, that was covered in little shards. She slowed down, trying to step over the big pieces, in order not to cut herself.
The laboratory was completely trashed, bottles and test-tubes reduced to nothing but small dust on the table. Huge screens were still sparkling, emitting weak light, as the sparks of electricity were jumping out of the exposed wires, which were visible in the gaping holes these panels had. Some tables had big colorful stains on them, probably spilled chemicals. Twilight shuddered from the unexpected coldness of the air, slowly advancing forward. She looked around, hoping to see something that would point her in the right direction, show her the meaning behind her cloning, how it was done and when. Slowly, but surely, Twilight advanced deeper into the destroyed 'temple of science'.
After a five minutes of careful avoiding of the shards, scattered on the floor, she approached a little section with a big table and hundreds of little bottles, carefully sorted and put on their specific places on the big shelf, with labels displaying their name. Twilight approached the shelf, and looked through the transparent plastic, gazing at the giant amount of the chemicals, stored here. There were all kinds of liquids, of every color and condition. Some she quickly recognized, as she was very experienced in the terms of chemistry, others were just as alien to her as the technology of this station.
She noticed a small piece of paper, pinned down by one of the stands. Intrigued, Twilight opened the shelf and carefully, in order not to break it, moved the stand away and took the paper. It was a small note, simply reading, - "Come to the experiment room.", with the signature written on the bottom. It seems one of the scientists left it for his friend and co-worker.
The experiment room? Well, if this seemed important enough for the scientist to leave a note, it's important for Twilight too. She sighed and continued her way down the room, following the markings on the wall. On her way through the grot hall, Twilight started to ponder about her creation - what will it be, and if she finds out, will she be able to accept it? The shroud of mystery was thick, and Twilight's curiosity was getting out of hoof - this desire to know the truth, to know all the secrets behind this space station has been born long ago, and now it's slowly crawling to reach the apogee.
She slowly opened the door and took a peek inside. It looked like an observation room, with many chairs and computers, all faced with a giant window, which opened a view to a big white room. The little label on the door clearly said "Experiment room", so Twilight wasn't mistaken. She was very surprised - what experiments could one conduct in a big white room? With no devices, no alembic, not even a magic tracking device. Then, she remembered how many years have passed and smiled to herself - in the dark halls, the nostalgia was still strong in her. Maybe it was her only piece of light, surrounded by complete blackness, or maybe she is just finding refuge in comparing her life to this new age.
She walked past all the chairs, which were dusty and even scratched in some places. In front of all this hall, right beside the window showing the white room, was a dais, with a computer implanted into the stand. Twilight quickly rose to the stand and took a look at the device - the screen was all scratched and even cracked in some parts, the buttons right under them were dusty and grey. Twilight inhaled, and blew the dust away, lifting millions of particles into the air.
It seems if there is something she wants, she needs to turn on this computer and look for the information there. Twilight took a deep breath and pressed one of the buttons. The screen started glowing immediately, so much that it startled the unicorn, making her take a quick step back.
"Welcome... Please, choose the recording to play....play...play..." - the device said in a soothing female voice. Twilight came closer and looked at the screen - it displayed several menus, saying names of different projects. She figured out that the buttons on the very bottom can move the menus up and down. She slowly scrolled through the lists of folders, trying to find something about Project Harmony.
Finally, she found a little folder with the name Project Harmony on it. She quickly pressed the big button in the centre of the keyboard, and the screen turned black for a second. After that, the voice announced - "Playing: Project Harmony". The screen started glowing green after that, displaying a strange graph before Twilight.
"Dr. Harbinger's Research log, day zero. Today, I have been assigned to this 'hot', 'groundbreaking' project, as they said. Project Harmony, as they called, and, quoting, 'is supposed to change the opinion of the whole world, both scientific and causal alike, about cloning. They don't seem to understand that this is the only way for us to make another step towards perfection', end of quote. Yes, I, of course, do not pursue any 'perfection', I am simply trying to help the ponies - cloning can help us research many diseases, and also learn of the biological processes, that happen in our body when the organism grows in space, instead of on the ground. My boss is Mr. Lesceliat, that's a hell of a name, so hard to pronounce, and he is the son of one of the co-creators of this space station. A very important pony, pays a good sum too. He seems a pretty strange fellow to me, to be frank. All this talk about perfection, and evolution... Sweet Luna, the wheels in his head aren't turning properly. Anyway, I am now the leading scientist in this project, and the real work starts tomorrow. In these audio logs, I will keep track of my progress, and review it thoroughly. End of the log" - the graph on the screen changed every time the machine emitted a sound. It seems it was showing the volume of the audio.
Twilight was returned to the log selection menu. She quickly scrolled down, looking for the most recent ones. At first, they were all named pretty scientifically, like 'Day 20, lungs activity', but then they started to get more and more weird. The more she scrolled down, the more the emotion the Dr. Harbinger was putting into the titles. It seems he became more invested in the project the more he worked on it. Twilight decided to listen to another log.
"Another failure. Another stained tube. Another lost specimen. Today I walked in on our project banging its head against the wall until the brains were exposed. I wanted to approach and stop it, but it turned round and gazed at me with its empty eye sockets. In horror, I turned my head and saw the pieces of its eyeballs, scattered all over the room. The project turned violent, and started slowly going at me, roaring and moaning, with pieces of its brain falling down on the floor with every step it took. The guard has successfully put down the insane monster, and its body was destroyed, thankfully. Now, it seems that Project Harmony No. 25 is lost as well. Eh, I really wish I could do anything about the previous specimen - they are just too pathetic to look upon. All these strange mutations, disfigured bodies, they are all so vile. I don't know what we are doing wrong, but each project Harmony either dies in an embryo stage, or grows up into a freak. One note though - it doesn't matter how much we try to communicate, the projects respond either aggressively, or don't respond at all - and I can understand why. Right now, they are all empty shells, bodies without a host. We need to somehow extract the muscle memory of our pony - though I have no idea how. In theory, if we manage to implant the muscle memory, it should trigger all other systems in the organism, awakening the memories that this pony had during life. I am still working on this issue, but before I can do anything about it, I should check on the growth of Project Harmony No.26" - the voice of Dr. Harbinger said, and Twilight stood shocked for a second. So, she isn't the first attempt? There were other clones, before her? If so, where are they now? There were still many questions left to answer, and Twilight continued her search for the needed log. Suddenly, she noticed that one log contains pictures - it said so right underneath the name 'Horrible disfigurements'.
"My Luna... I just... urgh... Today I have decided to record what kind of biological transformations clones suffer from, so we can study it and prevent it in future, but.... Urgh... it's so disgusting... and the most vile... they can talk!" - the voice said, and then the pictures appeared. Twilight was horrified - the monstrous things were disfigured beyond belief. Some had exposed brains, some had several eyes, and one had two mouths for eye sockets and the eyes could be seen behind the sharp teeth, with tongues licking them.
Suddenly, Twilight stood in the place, as the horror of realization slowly descended upon her harmed soul. All these mutants, all these things Psi-Crow mentioned, that caused this slaughter, that monster she killed - it was all... HER! They were all clones of one pony - Twilight Sparkle. All the butchery, all the savagery, all the destruction - it was all her.
The disgusting bile mass slowly crawled towards her mouth, through the throat and stomach. These creatures were disgusting - but they were all her. They were all Twilight Sparkle.
After suppressing the retching, she carried on with the logs, hoping to find something else. There was still no mention of why is doctor working on this project, but maybe he was just never informed of this. The last log on the computer was 'Game of god'.
"I... I have created something vile... I don't know why, or how did this happen - but this was all planned. It was all a clever plan by that damned.... cursed idiot. He dragged me into this - and now there is no way back! This... thing... this abomination is monstrous. It's just disgusting, horrible, vile, sickening... Why, Luna, why?! Why was I such a fool? It's breathing now, with its eyes still closed, but I know it's alive. I know that it has some purpose... and maybe.... maybe the Machine will tell me. I highly suspect that Machine is involved.... Yes... it has to be... It just has....." - then there was a long pause. "We must not play god...... we are... far too good at it"
That was the last log on this computer. Twilight took a step back and looked around - everything was spinning in her head, all these thoughts and suggestions. All these fears and regrets, disgust and fear. She has found out too much, and not enough at the same time. And yet, new questions arise. What is this Machine? What creature was the doctor talking about? Was it one of the monsters? Was it something else? What was it?
But there was already too much truth she found out. The clones of Twilight Sparkle have turned this space station into hell, emptying the halls of all life, eating anything they come by. These insane, twisted beings - and they are all her. They are her... sisters... relatives.
Suddenly, Twilight noticed something beeping in the right upper corner of the screen. 'New message' - it said. Twilight slowly, reluctantly pushed the button to view it.
The screen turned black, and the red letters and strange patterns started forming a head in the center. Twilight figured out at once that it was the rogue AI.
"You have not listened to my advi....vi...vi...vice. You are following a path to your demi....se. You must be exterminated" - the monotone voice that carved Twilight's soul with the familiar notes and pronunciation said. It has detected her, but it doesn't seem like it is going to hack her computer. What is it going to do?
The sound of the alarm has pierced Twilight's ears, as the howling of the systems deafened her, forcing her to cover up her sensitive eardrums. The AI has triggered the alarm - and, Twilight was certain of that, a horde of mutants is now following the scream of the system, following its call to find her and feast upon her. If she stays here, she's dead.
Twilight quickly dashed towards the exit, hoping to reach the locker room before anything comes inside. She needs to quickly look through the thing of the scientists, find a map. It won't do her any good to get lost in these corridors, even if she escapes the horde. Just in half a minute, she was already opening every locker in the room, even breaking them open, if needed. After every opened door, she nervously looked through the tat the ponies put into their lockers, violently swiping them off on the floor sometimes, if they were too piled up. Her heart was pounding, the sweat was dripping from the ends of her mane as she finally found a small disk, on the surface of which she read - 'FRIEND Space Complex Map'. Then, she realized that she has no devices to play it on - she only had the port for chips. Infuriated, Twilight found a small bag in one of the piles and put the disk there, quickly putting the bag on herself and then rushing to the exit as fast as she could. She needs to escape this place, before she is overwhelmed.
New goals were drawn on the blackboard inside her head - to find her way to the north wing, she needs a new upgrade, to be able to read the disk. Also, her search for new video and audio logs continues as well. Most of all, she wanted to find out more about Psi-Crow. Next, she still has to uncover many secrets of this station. And, last, but not least, she needs to find Psi-Crow herself and escape from the station.
The horde was close - Twilight could tell that by a horrible odor that filled the air, and slowly crawled into lungs, leaving a taste of filth and squalor in your mouth. She could swear she could hear the moans and roars of the mutants, but brushed it off as an unnecessary worry - she doesn't have time to guess, she has to run. Run somewhere, where she can barricade herself, or a little quiet room, where she can hide, and avoid the horde.
This rogue AI had such a familiar voice it started to hurt. Twilight wanted to bash her brains out - how could she forget a pony with such a voice, usually she remembers all her friends and enemies. What is this AI? Why is it even here? What does it want? These are several more questions to be added to the list. Twilight swore that she would find out what is going on, uncover the truth, shed light on this darkness. She wants to know, she needs to know - her future life depends on it.
Author's Note
Sorry it is taking so long, but I am forced to write at night usually, and I don't get much sleep because of it. My head is pounding like a truck, and my eyes are ready to burst, but I shall continue to write nonetheless.
Slowly, scratching the floor with its claws, the mutant was slogging forwards, looking around slowly and lazily. Long, knife-like spikes were sticking out of its belly, and it had a giant cancerous tumor on its back, covered in small holes, which spat out rot at regular intervals. Its mane was long, covering its face, and only teeth reflected the light of the lamps. Moans and growls were flowing out of the thing's mouth every time it made even a single movement. The weight of its own body was burdening it - and it was looking to burden it even more with fresh meat.
It slowly passed by an entrance to the little storage room, with a window just nearby. The mutant sniffed the air, smelling the sweet strawberry like aroma of blood. It knew its prey was nearby, and this smell was like a taunt, a challenge, a welcome for a great feast. The monster continued its way forward, scratching the floor with its claws and spikes, coming out of its blob of a belly.
Twilight sighed with relief when the monster passed near the window. That was a close one. She only noticed this thing coming when she heard an angry roar behind her back, and the sound of its spikes scratching the metal. Thankfully, it wasn't very fast and she was able to outrun it and hide in this little storage. Small boxes, locked on the digital codes, and a pile of rubbish in the corner - that was all this little room contained. Everything here was nothing but useless junk.
Twilight let out a quiet sigh. She avoided the monster - but where should she look for a password to upgrade her biotechnical implants? Without them, the disk, containing the map of the whole space station, is nothing but a piece of pretty sparkling plastic. Twilight moved away from the window, in case any monster decides to look inside, and sat down behind a pile of boxes. This little moment of quietness, with no goals and no threats around, she felt at peace. In fact, she realized that she was completely exhausted.
Finally receiving a second of rest, her limbs became numb, feeling like they were filled with metal. Twilight wanted to close her eyes, but fought back this desire - it's too dangerous to rest here. She might fall asleep and then be unaware of the monster that will approach to devour her. She must not rest - she has to keep on moving, without stop, without delay. There can be no rest until she's safe somewhere - and this 'somewhere' is definitely not here, behind these piles of boxes, containing Celestia-knows-what. Judging by the sound they made when Twilight accidently pushed one it was something made out of glass, since the ringing sound of bottles, hitting each other, filled the room.
Twilight touched her temple, making the panel of her bio-implant pop out in front of her eye. As much as she doesn't want to do this, to put her and her friend in danger, she has to call Psi-Crow. Right now, only she can explain where to go next. The computer was voice controlled, something Twilight liked really much, since she would not want any buttons installed into her.
"Alright... so... How does it go?... Ah, yes. View.. eh... last calls" - she said, as the menu displayed the calls, and the date of their happening. Unfortunately for Twilight, the clock wasn't tuned, so it just showed zeros and ones. She still felt a little bit weird about talking out loud while being completely alone, and, to be honest, the voice recognition on this thing was a little bit glitchy.
After a few seconds, Twilight was finally connected to Psi-Crow. The screen turned on and she saw her friend again, with a little bit of static going through the picture once in a while.
"Yes, Twilight, how can I help?" - she said, typing something.
"Psi-Crow, I have found a map, but it's on a disk, so I can't read it. The bio-implants only support these chips, so, where can I find an upgrade?" - Twilight asked, and the static started getting stronger. She realized, that, even though she has a lot of questions to ask, she'll have to hold it till they meet in person - the connection here was just horrible. Besides, she doesn't want to alert the AI again.
"There is no upgrade to view the disks on your bio-implants, it's not reliable - disks take quite a lot of tech to read, like lasers and other stuff. I can send you the map of the wing you are currently in, and it will help you find a way to the server room. There you will be able to transfer the information from the disk into your computer. Does that plan suit you?" - Psi-Crow explained.
"Yes, it does. Send it as fast as you can and I'll head out there at once" - Twilight said, and Psi-Crow leaned over the keyboard to press the button in the distance. An electrical shock struck Twilight, making her shudder, and causing a weak headache. The panel displayed that the download began.
"Here it goes. Alright, call me if you need anything else" - Psi-Crow said, and her image disappeared. The small bar started slowly filling up, with the percent increasing with each second, when suddenly the panel started flickering red. Twilight felt a heavy burden inside her brain, as the monotone, that would fit the dead more than the living creature started speaking.
"What happened to us?.... We were never enemies... we were never rivals.... and yet now... you seek to bring about the destru...destruction of the whole world you once.... held so dear to your heart.... Why do you seek to aid the destroyer?" - the rogue AI spoke in her head.
"Shut up! You've caused all of this - and you have the audacity to blame anypony else? Besides, I don't even know you - you're just a machine, an evil machine. We've never met, and that's probably a good thing!" - Twilight replied angrily. If this thing thinks it can break her will, it's totally wrong.
In reply, Twilight heard only a long sound of static at first. Then, the machine responded.
"You are a fool!... You....You... are delusional, and as long as you draw breath.... ponies below can't feel safe.... You... are... a threat.... I am sorry.... But you have to die... I shall ensure that your life is shortened to the point of complete end, and is never renewed and set to continue ever again... I.Will.Destroy.You...." - the AI said, as it's voice continuously changed from high to low pitch, and occasionally interrupted by static.
Twilight prepared for another hack attempt, but it didn't happen. She looked around, to make sure it didn't trigger another alarm, and sighed with relief - it seems Psi-Crow is doing a great job protecting her from this crazy artificial product.
The speech of the machine were unsettling - it started to confirm Twilight's suspicion that she definately knows the owner of the voice. It mentioned that they were never enemies or rivals, but that didn't lead anywhere - Twilight had a lot of friends, and none of them was a mad AI. Surely, the one who created this thing knows what person he was inspired by when making this monster, but there was no way Twilight could find out but find those lost memories of this voice.
This intrusion was still disturbing - it seems the AI now has the access to the communication channel she and Psi-Crow are using. This makes contacting her friend twice as dangerous. Twilight checked the download - the small map of this section of the station was ready for use. She smiled - at least now, she knows where to go. The server room seemed to be not far away, just through several corridors and past the living rooms.
Living rooms. That caught Twilight's eye - if most of the crew here kept video diaries, then they had to keep them somewhere - and where else could they keep them but in their private corners? The section of the living room seemed quite big on the map, and it will take most of the time of the trip to go through it. She might as well find out something new. Twilight looked out of the window, checking if there is any monster nearby, and, after making sure there isn't, she left the room and continued her way to the truth with haste. The AI is watching her every step - she might as well walk so fast that it can't notice.
Twilight's eyes got used to the flickering lights long ago, and her swift running through the corridors caused her no trouble - during her travel, she met no mutants. It seems she lost them, thankfully. Maybe most of them gathered in the laboratories, where the Twilight triggered the alarm, excluding those who decided to wander around and find her, following the smell of her blood.
Finally, the labyrinth of corridors was behind Twilight, and she was looking right at the entrance to the living quarters. She was breathing heavily from all the running, and the dust was slowly settling in her lungs, making her cough. Twilight felt pain in her limbs, and a drop of sweat fell down from her pretty face. Even back then, she wasn't into jogging, now she definitely regrets missing those morning runs with Applejack just to get a few more minutes of sleep.
After a brief moment of rest, Twilight came closer to the automatic door, and heard something strange. Some sound that haven't befell her ears for a long time. This sound of sweet techno tune, and words, sung so fast she couldn't even understand.
The door opened before her, and the fog started seeping into the corridor. Twilight inhaled, and felt that smell of a party - when dozens of ponies are crowding together in a tight room, talking to each other and drinking punch or fizzy water. She heard many voices, merging together to form a chorus of total randomness. They all were saying different things, but it all mixed up into one giant buzz. Twilight shielded her eyes from the bright light and entered the hall.
It was big, very spacey - and beautiful as heck. There were some kind of tubes in the left and right corners of the hall, that, as Twilight thought, judging by the way the strange capsules, that were moving up and down inside the tubes, were used by several ponies right before her eyes, could take you to any of the ten floors of this living quarters - and it seemed that each floor had even more branching corridors, leading to many, many rooms for every pony on this space station. It was like a gigantic hostel. And right now, the 'students' were having a party.
Twilight looked around in confusion, as she saw many ponies standing around, talking and dancing. Some of them were holding cups with drinks, some were already quite drunk, and just wobbled around, hoping to find a place to sit down. Right in the center of the room there was a stage, with a stand for DJ, and big ramps to each side. The music was pouring out of them, and Twilight recognized some a remix of one of Vinyl Scratch's tracks. She couldn't remember the name, though.
This new version sounded much more faster, heavier, and hurtful to the ears. There was also a soothing voice of a young stallion, singing to the music - as long as Twilight remembers, Vinyl never had a singing coarse on her tracks. But it seems that the time has turned her from a hot new musician into an undying classic, whom the new musicians were inspired by.
The air was filled with smoke and smell of drinks, alcohol and sweat, just like huge parties should be. But Twilight opened her eyes widely, and started turning in circles, trying in vain figured how the heck did this all got here? While swirling around she almost bumped into some pony, almost pushed him with her rump. She quickly turned around to apologize, and was frozen, as she glazed upon the label on that pony's white labcoat. Dr. Sweet Cheeks. The headless corpse from the reception room. Alive and well, standing right before her, drinking beer from a medium sized carton cup. Twilight's eyes widened, as she looked around in confusion and fear. Just what is happening here? Where is this happening? Was all that madness behind her just a dream?
She slowly made her way towards the DJ stand, carefully going around ponies, trying not to bump into them, apologizing constantly. They didn't even seem to notice her, not even a single glance was cast upon her. And the music was getting louder, the track was getting more and more obscure, more heavy and hurtful. Twilight felt a slight headache as she got closer to the amps.
Overcoming her confusion and disorientation, Twilight opened her mouth and was going to say hello to the nearby pony, standing right in front of her. But it seemed like her tongue was glued to its place, and the only sounds she was able to emit was a couple of weak moans, that drowned in the ocean of music, talking and drinking. Twilight was but a face in the crowd, nopony, an empty space.
This all seems so real... and yet Twilight knows that something is a lie, a hallucination - this party, or the nightmare she witnessed so far. Something was wrong here, completely and totally wrong.
The music changed, from the loud, upbeat techno remix to a dance song, a slow one - the one you dance to while hugging your beloved pony, looking straight into her eyes, embracing every single moment, for they are all precious. The words in this song were much more clearer, and Twilight was able to make out something about comatose.
The ponies all around the hall, started pairing up, mares with stallions. When the music started flowing, the room turned into a calm ocean, where, instead of waves, unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi were slowly rocking back and forth, to the beat of the music. They all looked so happy and relaxed, but there was only one pair that caught Twilight's attention, dancing very close to the DJ stand. A familiar color caught the attention of the troubled unicorn, and she quickly rushed there through all the crowd.
It was even bigger shock to her to see who it actually was. Psi-Crow, her only friend on this space station, was slowly beating the rhythm of the music with her back hooves, dancing with a stallion. This stallion was the corpse back in the kitchen, the one whose blood was used to finish the message. His face looked so different - full of color, life and happiness, he looked at Psi-Crow with dreamy eyes, and she was responding by a shy smile. Twilight looked at these two, and her soul was filled with questions, grief and confusion at the same time.
"I really like this song, you know. Love to listen to it in the evenings, just before I go to sleep" - the stallion said, and Twilight's confusion became even more solid, slowly being infected by the roots of fear.
His voice... it's the voice of a pony Psi-Crow was talking to in the kitchen, when they agreed to drink some wine together. Does Psi-Crow know that he is dead?
"Yeah, it's a good song if you are out of sleeping pills" - she replied, and giggled. Her friend smiled as well.
"Ah, I love your humorous remarks, Psi" - he said, and Twilight sat down on the floor, trying to process what she is witnessing. There was not a single thing she is understanding from all of this mess. Not even a clue of what is going on!
Twilight had enough of this - she had enough of shady messages. This needs to end. Certain to get answers, she marched right at the two, wanting to separate them and start asking questions, but the closer she got, the more transparent and misty the figures became. When she finally reached the two, they were nothing but two clouds of white smoke in front of her, with only music and the outlines of other ponies still signifying that this party goes on.
"Room number 363, the fourth floor..." - a quiet whisper of Psi-Crow reached Twilight's ear. She noticed the figure of Psi-Crow leaning closer to her friend, probably to deliver that whisper. After that, the figures became more and more vague. Soon, everything disappeared in the white fog - the music was silenced, the happy shouting of drunk ponies turned into dead silence, and all the decorations and beautiful colors turned grim and dark.
Twilight was standing in the centre of a giant ruckus - broken tables, shards of glass on the floor, and the demolished almost to the very core DJ stand. The ramps were torn inside out, and the apparatus itself was covered in dust, stains of blood and giant cracks. Pieces of electrical hardware were sticking out of the cracks, sometimes letting out small shining sparks. Poor unicorn sighed - yet another ghostly image. Suddenly she felt something flowing down her face. She swiped it away with her right hoof, and noticed the red trails. Her nose was bleeding - not too serious, but it was just out of nowhere. Twilight looked up, trying to keep the blood from flowing out. She never had problems with pressure, and the nosebleeds happened to her only as a child, when she hit herself too hard against something. Why is it affecting her now? No matter, she said to herself, as the bleeding stopped just as fast as it began. Though now she needs to find some water to wash her face - she can't go around with the area just above her mouth covered in bloodstains.
She started to get crept out by these visions - this one was so real, almost too real. Twilight swore she could feel the warmth of the bodies, smell their breath, fused with alcoholic fumes. She almost bumped into one, for Celestia's sake, how could they be a part of her imagination? Twilight inhaled, trying to calm herself down. Maybe it's the side effects of the computer inside her brain. Maybe she's just too tired. Probably the latter, because if the computer had any side effects, Psi-Crow would tell Twilight about it.
What a strange coincidence it is, truly. She and Psi-Crow never even met each other in person. It's like knowing each other only by sending letters and post cards. Psi-Crow for her was just an image on the panel and a worried voice, going directly into her head, and yet, Twilight trusted her. Something in her gut was telling her to, this strange feeling that she is her friend, her ally. Psi-Crow already helped her a lot, without her, Twilight wouldn't even have ran away from the mutant that entered the room, where she awoke.
Where would Twilight be now, if it wasn't for Psi-Crow? Probably being digested in the stomach of that beast, for sure. Or even if she managed to figure out where to go, what to do and try to install some upgrades for her body, her brain would vaporized into jelly by that rogue AI.
And there she was again, trying to remember just whose voice it was. Twilight slowly walked through this disaster of a hall, overstepping the pieces of furniture, puddles of unknown sticky liquid and shards of glass, making her way towards the elevator. Her eyes were looking forward, but, in reality, she didn't see anything, engulfed by her own thoughts. By some miracle, or just reflexes she developed in her past life, while walking around the room, reading at the same time, she didn't stumble or hit anything on her way.
This voice... just at what point of her life she could have heard a voice like this? This flowing monotone, pouring right into your soul, leaving such a colorful impression that you are unlikely to ever forget. Yet she, somehow, managed to completely forget the person that would leave such an impression. Though maybe she had an excuse - there was nopony she knew in Ponyville, or, heck, in all her life, that would speak in a machine monotone. This creepy tone was enough to scare even the bravest ponies, Twilight wagered. There is just no creature in the world that can be that empty of any feeling or emotion, compassion or friendship. In its tone there was no sadistic glee, no evil depth of the voice, that you would normally expect from an villain. The AI was completely calm and collected, even when it spew out threats and promises to kill her.
The future is scary, Twilight had to admit that. The progress has been made, and those game consoles, that seemed so new, futuristic and innovative, are now nothing but piles of rust and trash that nopony pays attention to - just like Twilight didn't pay attention to the dust of old on the road she walked with her friends. All that dust used to mean something back in the day - now, it's just that... dust under your hooves, as you hurry up somewhere. How insignificant she felt for a moment right now.
Twilight shook her head, before entering the capsule in the tube, driving away all this flow of 'philosophical' thoughts. She couldn't find a moment worse for thinking about the flow of life, and desperately digging into her memories, trying to find the buried person she used to know. She made the last step and found herself inside the capsule. The transparent walls were covered in scratches, and the ceiling seemed to be almost torn away - Twilight could see through it, observing all the strange devices on the very top of the tube. The capsule is supposed to take her to different floors - it's like magic stairs, when you don't need to walk. Twilight remembered a construction similar to this - it was used to transport heavy cargo up to the upper floors of a building in construction. Workers called it an elevator, and Twilight really loved the design, with all these ropes, thingies and pointy sticks, sticking out of it. This capsule functioned just like that elevator, but instead of a complicated construction of wood and ropes, it was moved by an unseen force that was entirely of natural origin, not even a single drop of magic. Twilight looked through the hole, and guessed that the big panels on the top of the tube were emitting some kind of... tractor beams, that dragged the capsules upwards. The panels were all sparkling and shining, but Twilight could guess that these were some kind of magnets, but none of the magnets she saw in her time were like this. Well, it seems she just met another technology of the future, but at least this wasn't as cryptic and creepy as implants. Twilight allowed herself a moment of distraction and thought how all other things changed. Maybe now all the boring and menial tasks are automated, like sorting books or cleaning up rooms. Heh, Spike would love such features - then what else would be left for him but to have fun all day long and hanging around?
Room number 363, the fourth floor... Twilight felt like she should continue her way towards the server room, but she can't leave the questions unanswered. She became interested in Psi-Crow, what kind of pony she is... or was, before all of this. She has to go to that room and look for diaries, notes, calendars, everything. Maybe this is a sign, a sign that points out a way to the truth. Hopefully, Twilight will be able to ease the burden of questions, that she had to shoulder. With the vague hope of finding some answers on the floor number four, the exhausted and bruised unicorn pressed the corresponding button. The capsule let out a weak 'thump' sound and started moving upwards. The button Twilight pressed flickered with blue light, and she prayed that this thing isn't broken, and she's not going to fall down to her doom. Thankfully, it safely transported her to the fourth floor, and the doors of the capture opened quickly, welcoming Twilight to come out with a sound of a bell.
She quickly exited the capsule and started walking along the many doors to the left. Each of them had a label with a number on it, like in a hotel. Twilight just had to find the number 363. She checked the closest door, which was number 305, and followed the growing numerical order.
The corridors of the living quarters were made much more welcoming than anything Twilight saw on this station so far. The floor was covered by a giant rug, made out of synthetic fur, that stretched through all the branching paths on this floor. The walls were made of metal, but they were painted in such a way that it would look like wood instead. However, the signs of abandonment were present here as well - the thick layers of dust and many scratches and holes were covering the walls. Some doors were busted open, with pieces of metal sticking out of the slots in the walls. Twilight quickly glanced into one of the open rooms, only to see it wrecked, and stains of blood right in the middle of it.
It seemed all the rooms shared a similar structure - a narrow corridor, welcoming you into the room itself which was wider. A medium bed was standing by the wall, in such a way that the wall was preventing you from falling off from the left side, if you move too much during sleep. The rest of the space was taken by a desk with a keyboard right in front of the entrance, and a big screen on the right wall. Twilight figured out it was the part of the keyboard on the desk - probably another computer. Every room was shaped and furnished like this, except the things that the owners put there, like their bags or anything else. Now, after their owners are gone, these piles are left here to collect dust, until they rot into one big mass, or are eaten by a hungry mutant - who knows, maybe they eat clothes too. Some rooms had bloodstains on the walls and floor, with horrid smell reaching the unicorn's nose. This smell became too common here - the smell of the rotting corpses. Twilight avoided going into any more rooms and headed straight for her goal.
Room number 363 looked no different than the rest, except the door being in quite good condition. Twilight approached it, and it automatically opened - looks like Psi-Crow didn't close it when she had the chance, maybe forgot, or did it on purpose. The corridor was nothing fancy - she didn't have anything standing there, like some rooms did, but the room itself was what disturbed Twilight.
It looked too not-chaotic in comparison to other rooms - there were no bloodstains, no scratches or holes on the walls and floor. However, there were piles of copybooks, lying everywhere. Twilight took one and brought it closer to her eyes. Even though she was an expert at almost any route of science, she couldn't understand even a single formula. These formulas were related to algebra, surely, maybe physics, but Twilight didn't recognize anything - the mish mash of numbers, letters and strange markings told her absolutely nothing. Twilight looked through a couple more notes, but still, couldn't understand anything.
It was quite strange. With everything now being used with computers and other stuff, why wouldn't Psi-Crow write these formulas there? Why use the traditional pen and paper? She dug through the piles of notes, hoping to find at least something understandable.
After about thirty minutes of Twilight picking up and quickly looking through the notes, she found a small piece of paper, that seemed like it was torn away, crumpled and thrown into a corner. The unicorn rolled out the piece, carefully pressing her hooves against it so it would become flatter, and, actually, readable. This small piece of paper contained what seemed like a beginning to the formula, and the only words in equestrian language among these piles of notes.
"DIGITALIZATION" - Twilight read out loud, in a calm voice. She was just so tired of hearing silence again that she decided to read thing out loud, if no threat was around. It seemed like she's talking much less than she used to, and she would really prefer to give that tongue a bit of a stretch.
Digitalization. A new word, that Twilight didn't know the meaning of. Whatever it is, it must be connected to all these formulas and calculations. Twilight took another minute to run her eyes through the piles, and, after making sure there were no more words in these piles, only numbers, she approached the desk with the keyboard. Maybe she will find the meaning of digitalization there, along with other useful information.
Twilight looked at the keyboard, and, thankfully, the ON button was clearly marked as such. She pressed it and the screen on the wall turned on. There was no password screen or anything, which was weird - Psi-Crow would surely want to lock away her private files, why not put a password on the computer? As strange as it was, it was helping Twilight, and she looked at the screen for the options of what she can view.
There were several folders in the menu - 'Diary', 'Work' and 'Letters'. Twilight only had to choose which one to view first - it didn't seem like there was any password for these folders, so she decided to look through 'Diary' first.
There weren't that many entries here, only five or six. They weren't even titled, with each one marked only as Entry One, Two, and so on. It seems Psi-Crow didn't stick to keeping her diary updated, didn't she? Twilight pressed the button, that seemed to correspond to 'Play', turned to the screen and prepared to listen.
The screen changed from the menu to the picture of the room Twilight was in, but only much tidier and no paper lying around. Psi-Crow was lying on the bed, holding some kind of a remote control for the computer, since whenever she pressed a button, it would shake the screen.
"Check... check" - Psi-Crow stretched words out, sounding bored. "Okay. Test done, time to spill out the truth, baby!" - she said in a overly serious voice and jumped up from the bed and approached the screen, making a comedic face as she approached.
"Now, you're going to tell me everything, Psi-Crow. I know that you ate that cookie, and you will be punished... Argh, alright. Enough screwing around. So, this is my dairy, and here I will be telling about interesting things I encounter on this space station, my everyday life and all that stuff. Well, I'm quite new here, and I hope to find somepony to hang out with - I'm not comfortable with being a loner at all. Well.... yeah, that seems to be it for today. Psi-Crow out!" - she said to the camera, and the picture blurred for a second before switching to another video. Twilight remembered Pinkie Pie - Psi-Crow was quite full of energy, as this video showed, but not as random, not even close. It seems that she just loved having fun, and not taking things seriously.
The next video started, and this time Psi-Crow was sitting on a chair, in front of the screen. She looked a bit more pale, and her eyes looked tired. She was sitting in such a way that it was clear that she wanted to sleep, leaning a little bit to the left.
"It's hard working here, I have to admit. The systems are really complicated and they eat up a lot of my time. My head hurts like I got kicked in the jaw, really..." - she nervously looked around and looked to the right. Twilight looked to the right as well, and saw a big oval thing with glass in the centre.
"These cameras creep me out. I can't sleep at night, always feel like it's watching me. I don't know why would the constructors put the cameras in our bedrooms - it's not like the FRIEND's AI needs to spy on us. I mean, what for? For what purpose?" - Psi-Crow exclaimed and started rubbing her head, probably to relieve the headache. "Anyway, I've been here for about a month or so, and there is nothing interesting I have caught. Became friends with my team, but that's about it. Also talked a little bit with scientists here - these are strange fellows. Always talk about their projects, their strange biological formulas. My brain explodes from the stuff they say from time to time. No, I am serious - I have to visit the Bio-Tech lab to get the software on my implants replaced. I even had a burn out once - felt like I had a scorching coal in my brain. These guys really like to talk trash, too. There was one guy.. Harbinger, I think, he kept pestering about fixing his computer out of line, like he's got some sort of special rights here. Of course, I told him to buck off. I have a strict schedule, and I can't just go around fixing everything he asks. Mr. Nice Doctor pouted, like a small kid, and said that he will complain straight to some Lesceliat. I've heard that he's quite an important pony here, but I don't give a flying buck. That's not my problem!"
She paused to breath in and let out a saddened sigh.
"I think that's all for today. Hopefully, I'll be able to sleep this night - not sure, with all these cameras" - the video ended there. Twilight's vision of the two ghosts, talking about these cameras, were correct. So, these images were true. Not to forget the vision of that party, and the fact that she found Psi-Crow's room, not to forget that. That meant that Twilight can trust these visions, they aren't there for no reason. Though Twilight was still questioning their nature, and why they are appearing, but there were more videos for her to see.
She watched through the rest of the videos in 'Diary' folder, except the last one, and she didn't notice anything usual, except that Psi-Crow was getting more and more pale with every video. However, there was still that one video.
Psi-Crow was sitting on the chair, again, looking straight into the screen. Her eyes were full of grief, but also resolve. She was much less pale, and moved more lively.
"I... I don't think if this is right, but.... Eh... I have met a cook, a young stallion... His name is Cream Cube, a very sweet guy and.... Ugh. We became a good friends not so long ago, five weeks ago. Yesterday, there was a big party, celebrating the Heartwarming Eve, and... we've got drunk and...." - she moved a little bit to the left, revealing the mentioned Cream Cube peacefully sleeping in her bed. Psi-Crow sighed and closed her eyes.
"He drank too much yesterday, and can't hear anything now... He's a cool pony, but I'm married, my husband awaits me back in Equestria.... But at the same time, he is always on me with his problems. Psi-Crow, I need more money, Psi-Crow, I need more time. My book didn't sell well.... Sometimes I wonder if he's with me just because I earn more than him... Well, so far, I think I'll stick close to Cream Cube - he's a nice guy, if I tell him, he'll understand... I hope".
The video ended there. Twilight was standing there, processing everything that she has just saw. This all started to look like 'Santa Flankbara', a series of romance novels, which encountered almost thirty parts, with each book being bigger than the rest. And just as confusing and complicated. 'In the next book of Santa Flankbara, behold - Psi-Crow cheats on her husband, Twilight Sparkle is being recreated via science, and an insane AI attack FRIEND station, unleashing monsters and killing every pony'. That would be a helluva best seller.
The purple unicorn sighed, and gave herself an angry lecture on how many levels that joke wasn't funny, and how evil and disturbing it was. And really, this joke wasn't funny at all. Twilight wondered why she even attempted to sound funny - nopony's going to hear her anyway. Why even bother, she's mostly alone, and Psi-Crow will definitely not appreciate this kind of humor.
However, since she started thinking about Psi-Crow, there were some minor details she noticed while watching the video - there, Psi-Crow seemed much more lifelike and energized, even in her 'depression state'. But when she talked to Twilight, she never cracked up a single joke, except that one about 'first time'. They even had a different manner of speech, and, according to the diaries, Psi-Crow started looking different, becoming more pale and earning circles under her eyes. But on the video chat Twilight and she had, she looked as fresh as a cucumber, dug out of the wet ground.
Twilight scratched her head - Psi-Crow also doesn't seem to know that Cream Cube is dead, she seems too calm when talking to her. Maybe she's just a mare of steel, who knows, but it still raised some questions. If she doesn't know about his demise, then shouldn't she be worried about his well being? Or did something happen that would make Psi-Crow completely indifferent to her lover's fate on this accursed vessel?
Twilight decided to put away these thoughts for later, and watch the videos from the rest of the folders. Maybe the answer is hiding in one of these videos, or she might find an explanation for 'digitalization' there, and, hopefully, find out a bit more about what happened here.
The next folder was titled work, and videos inside it were quite carefully named, usually representing what happened on that day. There were tons of them, just below the count of hundred, so Twilight scrolled down through them, trying to find a video that would help her solve the case. After five minutes of scrolling, she found a video, titled 'FRIEND's AI'. This really intrigued Twilight - she would like to find out more about this friendly AI, and how it is different from the rogue one.
This time, Psi-Crow was sitting on the floor, writing something in the copybook, holding the pencil in her mouth. She carefully drew every line and letter, and after a few seconds, she spit the pencil out on the floor and got up.
"Working log, number 89. Today the AI, that is controlling this entire vessel, and is, basically, it's core, heart and brain. Obviously, we can't have it broken, so I called off everything I had this day and went to investigate. After reaching the main control panel and investigating, I found out that it was some kind of hacking attempt. The cache was full of links of unknown origin, and the folders were filled with files, written in Basic. Thankfully, the firewall has justified its maintenance cost, and fought off the virus, or whatever it was. So all we needed to do is to clean out the AI's folders from the trash" - Psi-Crow exclaimed at the screen and then looked at the copybook once again. "But this AI is strange as hell. Usually, I would be able to view its 'Program' folder, where all the directives, codes and other stuff is located. If a newbie will be watching this - here's a quick refreshment course: by changing the files in this folder, you can tweak and optimize the AI, even change it completely. It's the brain of this artificial being, that we can change at our wish... So, after looking through the folders, I never found 'Program'. Just never! I even typed it in the search box, and it hasn't found anything. Pretty damn weird if you ask me".
After that, she put down the paper and looked straight into the camera, it seemed like she was staring right at Twilight.
"I don't know much history behind FRIEND's creation, but Princess Luna and her court were involved in it. What if there's is something in the AI that we aren't supposed to know, that the government is hiding from us? It's none of my business, and I should probably stay of it. End of working log number 89" - Psi-Crow said and picked up the copybook again, before the video closed down. Now there was an interesting video. And Princess Luna was mentioned as well. She must look pretty adult now, after hundreds of years. She's probably now bigger than Celestia ever was.
That brought Twilight to thinking - is Princess Luna aware of what happened here? Does she know where Celestia is? The unicorn was eager to meet the once enclosed and shy princess of the night and have a good talk with her, but, just like many things right now, it was just a distant dream, maybe even unrealizable. Twilight sighed, and scrolled down to find more videos about FRIEND's AI - Psi-Crow is bound to have more, she wouldn't just abandon this discovery which she described as entirely shocking, would she?
There were two videos that were titled 'Investigation' and 'Breakthrough'. Without further hesitation, Twilight pressed the play button.
Psi-Crow was sitting in the middle of the room again, with tons of paper surrounding her. She looked very stressed and worried, and the colors on her face seemed to be fading away, giving place for the pale white.
"I knew I was right. I knew there's something fishy going on. I knew it, I freaking knew it!" - she shouted, and threw the copybook away and walked closer to the screen, looking straight at it with her bloodshot eyes.
"Today, I managed to trick the security pony to let me inside the control room for the AI. I wanted to check through the folders, but when I opened them just like before, after the hack attempt, it didn't show anything. It seemed like the AI erased the files from the folders, or replaced them, and put them under a password. But there is one thing - AI cannot edit themselves. They can't, they are just not intelligent enough for it. It's like a child, learning about bad behavior and making notes on this, so he or she wouldn't do that in the future. AI can't do this - if it could, it would be no different from a living being! So where did those files go? Nopony could remove them, I know that for sure - I heard that only the constructors of the FRIEND station have the codes for editing this AI. The only alive pony, involved with the creation of this station is Princess Luna. So what the buck?!" - she suddenly burst into shouting, and hit the wall right under the screen. "Either there is some kind of super spy here, or something sinister is going on. I have no idea what. No bucking idea!"
After that, Psi-Crow sighed and walked away, aiming to sit down on the bed. After she put her tired limbs of the soft surface of the mattress, the pale unicorn continued her speech.
"I need to check the Internet for this thing, probably in CanterlotDictionary.eq" - she said in a tired voice. "If there is anything suspicious about this place, I'm bailing from here. I've got enough of all this melodrama and intrigue stuff already, I can't take this anymore!"
With a single move of her hoof, Psi-Crow pressed the button on the remote and the video ended there. Twilight quickly made her suggestions out of this, and continued to the next video, which probably will contain even more information on this subject.
Psi-Crow was running across the room, carrying loads of papers in her mouth. Second later, she dropped it all on the floor, and the room reminded Twilight of how it looks right now.
"Today, a miracle happened. Believe me or not, there was nothing on the matter of AI's changing their own program on the Internet. I mean, at all. I checked the whole bucking net, it seems. When all hope seemed lost, I received an email" - Psi-Crow said quickly, and pushed the papers away from her. "Somepony named E.J.T.D.P.S.E. That was his nickname, at least. I don't know if it's an anagram, or he just got bored and typed letters, but it's not important. What's important is that... argh, where it is?!"
Psi-Crow let out an annoyed growl and started digging through piles of papers. After a minute of search, she took a single piece and came closer to the screen.
"What's important is that he told me about digitalization. According to his words, this is a process of remaking pony's mind in the digital format, or, to be more simple, turning a living pony into AI! I don't know if he's joking, or just stupid, since this is just biologically impossible... I couldn't stop myself from investigating. I am now trying to come up with a formula of turning a mind, a seemingly non-physical object, into lines of code. This is taking ages, and loads of time to research - I cancelled almost all my appointments, the chiefs are thinking of firing me. But I can't just give up - this is too strange for me to give up! I have to know, I will know!" - Psi-Crow shouted at the screen, and turned around, just as the video ended.
There it was - the definition of digitalization. Twilight put it in a special place in her mind - it sounds very important. But there was one more video to view, and Twilight didn't want to put it off any longer. All the answers might be there!
Unfortunately, instead of a video, there was only a text entry. The screen turned green, and the bright letters started appearing.
" E.J.T.D.P.S.E contacted me once more. He offered a chance to act, a chance to change everything I found out. I can't wait anymore, I have to act - I already know too much, and it seems to be coming for me. I found the truth, and it is angered by it. I will do what I have to. Psi-Crow out" - the message read. There was nothing else. This was just as cryptic as the mumbling of AI, or hungry voices of mutants, and Twilight held back from slamming the keyboard as hard as she could. She seemed to be so close to solving at least several questions in her head, but these videos just her desiring more knowledge. This information was like a drop of honey, leaving her craving for more. Twilight sighed and decided to continue her way towards the server room.
Digitalization, some guy on this 'Internet', named E.J.T.D.P.S.E, it all started to lose sense, or what little it had, that is. Before leaving the room, Twilight went to the sink just on the wall nearby the bed (it seems that the toilet in this complex was corporate, and no room had an individual one), pressed the button, and was surprised to see it working. The water started flowing out of the tap, right on Twilight's hoof, soaking it. She carefully washed away the stains of blood under her nose, watching the small crimson streamlet flow into the hole. This is all starting to get so messy. Maybe she is just exaggerating, and should stop listening to these ghostly appearances, like Psi-Crow recommended - it would save her from so much stress. And there is more to come, she was sure.
In any case, Twilight had no other goal than the server room. She got out of the Psi-Crow's room and headed straight for the elevator. This dreary atmosphere and cryptic messages started to get to her. The faster she leaves this place, the better.
