Ghost in the shell: Equestrian architecture

The stream of data was clustered and shifting. Numbers and letters rushed by Twilight eyes, she hovered and flowed through the stream of binary codes and lyrical commands. It carried her to a cluster and Twilight stopped herself before entering. She stopped for a moment, put her hand on the cluster before entering.

She closed her eyes.

When she opened them she was in a dimly light hallway. The walls were covered by shelves filled with books. The only lights came from a weak light bulb hanging from the roof. There was no visible end or beginning to the hallway.

Twilight took one of the books of the shelf. The pages were filled binary codes. Lines upon lines with ones and zeroes covering the pages. She flipped a few of the pages, the binary code sifted into grey smudges over the white pages. Twilight put the book back and took out another one. This one was filled with smudges. Beneath the black smear there was the sign of blurry letters but it was impossible to read anything from them.

A cackling laughter echoed and jumped around the hall.

“Where are you, Trixie?!” Twilight shouted.

The laughter continued.

Twilight threw the book away and grunted. In the spot where the book had stood Twilight could see something. There was something behind the shelf. The Major began to tear through the shelves. Throwing the books to the floor, spreading pieces of torn paper into the air until it looked like a snowfall of black-grey flakes. There was something on the other side but she couldn´t make it out yet. She grabbed the shelf and tipped it over. The shelf slammed into the ground and send even more of the paper flying. And now she could see it.

There was some kind machine behind the shelf. It pulsated with a purple light and pumped a bright green liquid out of massive tubes. There was a panel on the machine reading “Life signs” with a line moving in sync with the light.

“Am I getting closer to you, Trixie?” Twilight taunted.

There was no laughter this time. Only a small cry echoing like the laughter.

Twilight was taken back. She wasn´t sure what to think or do now. Why would she be crying? She thought. Is she giving up? She quickly forgot the idea and walked up to the machine. There was some kind of heat coming off it, it seemed to be getting warmer and colder with the pulses. The surface was moist.

She walked back to the hall and tore down another shelf. This one there was nothing but a black wall behind it. Twilight pressed her hand against the wall. It was cold and had some kind of humming sound coming out of it.

The laughter echoed again and then the cry followed.

Twilight picked a book of the floor. The pages were filled with commands followed by binary numbers. A protection program? No, only half of these commands fit a protection program. And the other half seem to have been corrupted or altered. She was about to throw the book aside when she saw the tittle, “The little duck”, and she almost froze in spot. Not only did she used to read this book has a child but the state of the book was identical to the one she had back then. The red leather on the back wasn´t just the same dark tone but it even had the same tear on the front just beneath the tittle as hers. She turned the book around. The back´s inside had a brown stain from the chocolate milk that she spilled on it. Twilight threw the book away with force this time. The book shattered at the back.

“What the hell do you want with me?” Twilight shouted.

“I didn´t know.” A small voice said with a somber tone.

It can´t be. Twilight ran down the hallway and tore down another shelf. The shelf almost landed on her this time has she tipped it over, she just barely managed to avoid it by sidestepping it.

A cloud grey dust and tore papers filled the air. It settled after a moment and Twilight could see what was on the other side.

Behind a transparent wall she could see a thin woman sitting on a floor covered in green liquid. Her face was hidden by her knees. Wires spread from her neck into a massive humming computer. She had red hair with two different shades of violet highlights. In her hand was a pair of scissors and tears ran down from the corners of her eyes.

“Moodancer?” Twilight realized and smiled at the sight of her lost friend. “Can you hear me?” She hit the wall.

She sobbed violently and every movement send ripples through the liquid. “I couldn´t stop it.” She lifted her face from her knees. Her voice winced and cracked.

“I`m right here!” Twilight hit the wall in front of her.

“Twilight.” She sniffed. “I didn´t know you were alive.”

“I´m here!”

“Silverstain, you son of a bitch.” She looked at the scissor in her hand.

“What are you doing?!” Twilight punched the wall again.

Moondancer opened the scissor and put it over her throat.

“Don´t!”

The cold metal opened her throat and blood streamed out of the gash. Moondancer hit the floor, she twitched as the blood rushed out of her.

“No!” Twilight slammed and kicked the wall. She tried tackling it with her entire body.

Moondancer stopped moving and Twilight feel to her knees.

A white light came from the end of the hall. It seemed to rush forward like a breaching wave. When it reached Twilight it blinded her. It felt like a thousand explosions went off in her skull. Each one of them rang like a sledgehammer hitting a bell. She clutched her head and screamed. She closed her eyes but the light still shinned through her eyelids and warmed her eyes.

Then everything went black.