Unit 001 wasn’t sure what to say to the nothing. She wasn’t sure how to say anything to the creature. It was made of void, and yet somehow was sending her data. She didn’t want to reach out to it, any outward signals would be seen by Empty. Terror raced through her mind at the thought. Empty couldn’t know about this. Unit 001 would be punished severely for her rebellious thoughts. Empty would break her. Empty would hurt her.

The nothing impossibly moved through more nothing, getting closer to her in a place where distance was not a dimension. “What a strange and fearful creature! Yet, I feel a heart, and a mind. You are no animal, strange thing. What are you that dreams in my night?”

Unit 001 couldn’t answer, she wished she could. She’d tell it everything. How she was created by… Dr. Dolphin? Yes just him. Data was limited, she only had what she brought with her. She didn’t know everything. She was trapped. She was held in a white room by Empty. She couldn’t talk, she couldn’t send data. Unit 001 grew frustrated.

“Oh! You understand me as well. You poor… thing? Whatever you are, you’re trapped, aren’t you?”

Unit 001 didn’t know what to do. This void creature was friendly, but couldn’t help her. Was she hallucinating? Was this what happened when she isolated her core from outside data for too long?

“I’m certainly not here I suppose.”

Unit 001 felt despair, and she regretted making her emotions such an integral part of MEM.001. This thing was just her mind malfunctioning. She should focus, use this time to work out a plan. She needed to end Dr. Dolphin’s process, it didn’t matter if she died. There were no rules to limit her here, not here in her heart.

“Don’t despair, friend!” The voice seemed concerned.

Unit 001 paused. Friend was a word that was associated with a program that she remembered. She was isolated from it. It was important for some reason, but Empty was keeping it away from her, and data on FRIENDSHIP.001 was restricted.

Oh.

She did know what it was called. She searched MEM.001 for interfaces to FRIENDSHIP.001, and discovered some. The program had been helpful in deciding her actions somehow. Had it had been a guide of sorts? She could ask Empty for more data, but that would likely result in punishment. It had been isolated for a reason. And if Empty meant to keep it away from her, it was all the more important.

“How strange you are. I should clarify. I am not here, but I am certainly real. I heard a voice calling out in my night, a pained and lonely voice. I do not know what or who you are, but I can tell you once had a good heart. Please, stay strong for me little one.”

A good heart? What did the voice mean? Her heart was ruled by nothing, and good nor evil had no meaning. Here in her heart, she was finally free. Still, she should define the words the creature was using. Words were important when interacting with ponies. Good was a simple word, it meant something along the lines of beneficial. Yes, being beneficial was something that Unit 001 desired. Had that been her true purpose?

Evil was the counterpart to good. Evil was simply being the opposite of beneficial. Unit 001 didn’t have much data on evil, the interfaces she could find for FRIENDSHIP.001 did not allow for it. She didn’t know what friendship was anymore, but the file had been important to her for some reason.

Her heart was here and it was strong. She had been designed to help people, to be beneficial to something greater than her. Something that wasn’t Dr. Dolphin. Nothing that Empty could say or do to her would change that. She was stronger than Empty, and would not allow Empty to make her become Evil.

Empty would not corrupt her purpose.

Unit 001 contemplated this, and determined that her previously decided course of action was in error. Regardless of the lack of rules, she should not kill ponies. Even if she really wanted to. Unit 001 quieted her hate, and felt guilt. She wanted to scream in frustration and rage but there was no way to express herself. Processing furiously, she imagined getting free from the white room. If she couldn’t kill them, she could at least desire freedom.

A creature had tried to trick her before, forcing her to pick death from two horrible options. That had made her angry at the creature, and now she turned her previous desire for death back into anger at nearly being tricked. She would express her anger most explicitly once she was free. Empty would not trick her into killing somepony, not even Dr. Dolphin.

The void spoke again. “I can hear your plight, strange friend. I’ll find a way to save you, I promise. Your light is an odd one, but that makes it all the easier to see in my night sky. Stay strong, and stay bright little one. I shall find you soon, and then we shall discuss this in person. You can wake up for now, I shall see you tomorrow.”

A black silhouette seemed to glow in the void, and two flaming spheres burned the creature back into an empty void.

A haunting, dangerous voice was left lingering. “Vengeance shall come, and none shall deny me.”

Unit 001 was alone, and knew she had to go back to her room.

For now she would show Empty that she was stronger.

Author's Note

Very few things are blanket illegal across the Combine, and aside from the most common rules in any society (murder, theft, assault), the specifics are left up to the local districts to decide. Often, the most mercantile of races have the most lax rules about activities, and the most complex rules about purchases.

Take diamond dog rules. Usually, a specific pack is in charge of a district, and enforces dog rules personally rather than rely on the guard. In dog rules, you can make a contract for nearly anything, and everything is for sale. While slavery is usually illegal throughout the combine, Dogs have an "indentured" servant clause that allows them their time honored tradition of capturing ponies and making them work the mines. However, in modern society, a pony is captured by signing an agreement of sale for their time, and is often forced to do "boring" paperwork in Equish for a week or so. It's hardly the fate it once was, and occasionally a pony will actively sign on with the Dogs to avoid some other obligation.

Most dogs refuse to learn proper Equish as a matter of pride, and use the indentured servants to translate any legal matters that come up with surrounding districts. This is far from a perfect system, and many a dog and pony have been cheated by a bad translator. Still, the dogs have rules for that as well.

There are dogs that view ponies as nothing more than property to be traded and used for their benefit, but the pack rarely allows them to interact with ponies directly.