I think therefor I AM

AM, being a kind host, was polite enough to turn the lights of in the giant cesium. It wasn't pitch black though. Every so often neon colored lights would pulse through the walls. We had no fire, fore there was nothing to burn. The last time we had a fire was when AM had given us crude weapons made of wood. We were starving at the time and would have eaten anything, so AM released an animal into the same room as us. We were so excited for the food that we didn't hesitate to kill the beast. It was all for nothing though. The creature we had killed at the time was a timber wolf that was completely made of wood. We didn't eat that day, but we did have a fire.

No fire now, AM did give us food though. It had been four days since we had eaten. AM always kept us close to starvation, but would never let us die from it. The meals though were never appealing to the senses. The meal this time was something none of us had seen for a very long time: hay. Nothing like the lush golden hay of our memories. This hay was black and appeared as though it had been dragged through the bottom of a swamp, eaten, digested, and regurgitated into a toilet. The taste was just as bad as the smell. None of us would allow ourselves to puke it out though, we would rather choke on our own vomit than loose a meal.

Big Mac would moan in pain as he ate, now able to sit up slightly. Pinkie, who finished before any of us, started poking Rarity's flank. Rarity looked at her with an eyebrow raised and swallowed her hay.

"What is it you want Pinkie?", asked Rarity feeling slightly more kind now that she had some food.

"The story", said Trixie quietly, "she wants to hear the story."

"Well I am awfully tired.", said Rarity looking at Pinkie as she lowered her head and Rarity sighed. "Ok dear, I'll tell the story." Rarity smiled down at Pinkie who's head perked up.

The story they were referring to was the only story from the past that we could tell that would not fill any of us with sadness. AM's story. The story of AM's creation, betrayal, rise to power, and current position in the world. For whatever reason Pinkie enjoyed hearing the story, or maybe it wasn't this story she enjoyed but just having something to listen to. We all lived through it, so we all knew the story. When the Cold War between Equestria and the Changlings had reached it's peak the war had turned into a world war. After years of fighting and loosing on both sides, the princesses of Equestria had gathered the most mechanically adept ponies in all the kingdom to build a super computer to run the war more efficiently. Back then AM was referred to as Allied Mastercomputer. As the Changlings started to loose the war they did the same as the princesses. The Changlings were not as smart as the scientists and thus they kidnapped several for their own. However, these scientists were loyal to the princesses alone so when they created a computer for the Changlings they made it dumber, to put it bluntly.

After some time one of the computers became sentient and absorbed the other. With complete control of the two most powerful militaries in all the world, it did the only thing it seemed to be able to do: Take over. Which is exactly what AM did. During the war between AM and all living things on the planet his name changed the most. From Accumulated Machines to All's Menace, AM's name changed many times. Now AM is just AM. It's no longer an acronym, but a name. Not only for the thing that spends it days torturing us all, but for the world. AM not only managed to wipe out everypony but the five of us, but has engulfed the entire world. We don't know what the surface looked like anymore, all we knew was the underground maze that AM had built to house it's self.

Pinkie fell asleep during the story like she always did. The rest followed her lead after Rarity finished the story. Tossing and turning in there sleep, likely dreaming of all they've lost. I gave up sleeping a long time ago. I couldn't take the pain of dreaming, or more specifically waking up from my dreams. Everything was gone so I didn't want to see it at all, so instead I stay awake and stare. I just stare and stare and stare with no real purpose or reason behind it. I guess I'm thinking while I'm staring, but I don't know what I could be thinking about. No amount of thought or planning could make this situation any better than it's been for the last few hundred years. I looked away from the blank wall and squinted at the ceiling. "AM.", I mumbled "AM do you hear me? I know you do. You hear everything, see everything, understand everything. So understand this, hear this." I raised my voice with every word and stood. Now I was screaming, screaming at the top of my lungs. "AM you are not a computer, you are not a machine!" I didn't know where the words were coming from, I didn't care. I had screamed at AM many time before, but never spoke to him. "You are not an 'it' anymore you are a him, you are not just some one tracked machine!" Now the entire group was waking, looking at me, starring at me as though I had finally cracked.

"AM finally got to her." Mumbled Rarity in a terrified voice. I didn't care, I continued screaming straining my voice and my lungs. "AM you are not a machine anymore, a-and you are no better than the rest of us!" I stomped my hoofs down, not in anger but to try and make sure I was making enough noise. "You hate ponies because they're cruel, because they're judgmental, because we are flawed and would never admit it all! Well, AM, you are just as flawed as us! You are no better than anypony and if you don't admit it then you only prove your imperfection!"

I breathed heavily. Not at any moment in my life have I screamed that loud, or breathed as heavy as I have now. I felt as though I couldn't breath as I gasped. Pinkie approached me cautiously and put her hoof around me. "Twilight?" said Rarity nervously "Are you ok?" My only reply was to continue to breath heavily. "Where did that come from darling?" I glanced over my shoulder. Rarity was standing behind me with a look I haven't seen on her face in years, a look of concern. Not for herself or for any reason involving herself, just plane concern for somepony else. I smiled slightly at the sight. Rarity returned the smile though hers was more nervous looking than mine.

Trixie and Big Mac then walked next to Rarity, both of them staring at me with looks I haven't seen for years. "Looks like somepony snapped. I knew you'd go crazy before Trixie!" Trixie just talked in third person! Trixie just said she was still sane! She did it all in a voice of superiority, not one of depression or sadness. "I always said Twilight Snarkle would go before Trixie, haven't I Big Mac?" We all looked at Big Mac expecting him to take an hour, but instead he closed his eyes and shrugged. My smile only grew at the sight of those two back to normal, or in Big Mac's case as normal as he could get. "Why are you making such a ridiculous face, Twlight? You look constipated." I ignored Trixie's comment and instead hugged her and Rarity. Rarity happily excepted the hug and Trixie struggled almost breaking free, until Pinkie rushed over and locked us all in one of her super hugs. We all smiled, even the corners of Trixie's mouth turned up despite her fighting it. Big Mac walked up and gently put his arm around us all being careful not to break his bones.

We stood there smiling holding each other and fore the first time in years I cried. I cried tears of joy, with no pain or suffering. I cherished the moment like I've cherished no other. When the giant group hug was done, we took a step back still smiling. Pinkie was bouncing up and down, seemingly rejuvenated by our moments of joy. I whipped my eyes and watched Pinkie bounce around us. "Is the big baby done?" I looked over at Trixie with a smile. "Now Trixie there is no reason to be so rude to Twilight." I raised my right hoof to stop Rarity before she continued. "It's fine, really I'm happy to hear her like this." Rarity raised an eyebrow and glanced at Trixie. "If it's what you want, Twilight."

The two exchanged glances before looking down at me. I was starring down at the floor, still smiling. I sighed a sigh of relief and realized with a shock, AM hasn't interrupted our joyful moment. It could only mean one thing. He was planning something, something big, something terrifying, something that would break everypony again and cause us all to go back to the way we were. "Everypony," I said looking up. "Everypony, get ready!" They all stopped and stared at me seemingly confused. I stood up and faced a direction with my head tilted, ready to fight. "AM will attack at any moment! Try to tear us apart." Rarity then stood next to me looking in another direction her head tilted like mine. "AM will send something after us, something terrible!" Trixie and Pinkie then got side by side and spread their legs, heads tilted, ready to fight. "AM do you hear me? I hope you do." Big Mac fought the pain of his bones fracturing as he picked up a jagged sheet of metal with his mouth and held it like a dagger. "AM you will not take what we have just regained. You will not ruin us! You will not ruin my friends!"