Author's Note

Best viewed with a dark background for immersion.

Chapter One - Radio Silence

I was holding my eyes closed, waiting for the good doctor to let me know when the scan was complete. The loud, pulsing noise from the machine had now melded into a gentle hum. The doctor was being very quiet. I didn't want to risk mucking up the scan so I continued to play along. At least for the first minute. The gentle hum was starting to slowly burrow into my head. I was going to gain a few wrinkles at this rate.

Finally I had to ask, “Doctor? Has the machine finished, then?”

There was no reply. It couldn't be too problematic to just have a quick look, right? I opened one eye a crack and saw darkness extend out from where I was seated. The doctor was gone, and so was the rest of the room. The deep oak walls were replaced with unpainted metal. In place of the interesting nick-knacks and gadgets that had littered the room were tracks of ribbed pipes and wires that hung from ceiling to floor. And the door, which had moved a few meters to the left, now looked like a strange elongated submarine hatch.

I shut my eye. Perhaps the scan was just causing hallucinations? It was a scan of my brain after all. Who knows what kind of effect that could have. Well, the doctor probably knew, but apparently he wasn't around now, was he? I checked again, with both eyes this time.
The room had not returned to its original look. Instead it held onto the unclean hospital feel it had decided to adopt. With all the grime and loose ends on show. Really it could be summed up in one word, icky.

Okay, there has to be a good reason for this. Maybe I simply fell asleep and this is just a nightmare. Or maybe they thought I died during the scan and this was the morgue. Or maybe the camera actually had stolen my soul, and this was my own personal Tartarus!
It took me a moment to realise I was screaming. Loudly. I threw my hoof over my mouth, my eyes going wide. The scream continued to echo around the tiny room for a good few seconds after.

I had to relax. Screaming wouldn't get me anywhere. I tried to remember that thing Twilight did to calm herself. Breath in. Stretch out your foreleg. Breath out. I did it again. My heart slowed to the point where I could no longer feel it savagely pumping in my chest.
Able to think clearer, I took stock of my surroundings. I had none of my supplies. The saddlebags I had brought with me were not here. The doctor was not here. I recognised nothing in the immediate area. This was not a good start.

Hopping out of the chair and onto the floor, I trotted over to the door, being careful to step over the lines of cables which ran messily across the room. Now that I was closer I could see the circular handle had more than a few patches of flaking rust eating away at it. It was at times like this I was glad to be a unicorn, my white coat stains far too easily. Taking the wheel in my magical grip, I gave it a clockwise pull. When it failed to budge I tried the counter direction. Still no luck. The rust had crept into the inner workings. This door wasn't opening any time soon.

Okay, maybe there was another way. I scanned the room for anything useful. On the opposite side of the room was the chair I had been sitting in, a featureless table, and an open vent on the far wall. Directly next to the door, to my side, were several screens and computers. They were the same sort of devices the doctor had been typing into before my scan, only these appeared to be far more advanced and much larger. They sat on the floor instead of a desk and still managed to reach my shoulders.

Now I might not be as technologically inclined as Twilight, but I'd like to think I've learned a few things from all those times she would chatter on about her research into the computer sciences. She would excitedly explain how computers were going to change the face of Equestria. And that in a few years nearly everything would have a computer in it. I then explained to her that as interesting as a dress that could keep track of the wearer's whereabouts sounded, there simply wasn't a market for it. Which prompted Twilight to start explaining how the economy was going to be run by computers. Honestly, some days I think her obsession with computers is somehow more unhealthy than her old obsession with the Princess.

Of the three screens positioned on top of each computer only the middle one was not completely blank, although it was very dull. I remembered Twilight telling me computers slept when they were like this. I decided to wake up the screen by pressing a random button on the keypad in front of me. The button made a satisfying mechanical 'click' as it was depressed, and another as I released it.
The screen lit up and was filled from top to bottom with lines of strange information. None of which made any sort of sense. I tried to think back to what I was told about each of the keys and pressed the ENTER button. Instantly every line of text on the screen shifted upwards. Immediately I wanted to un-press the button. I didn't want to lose what was already on the screen by fumbling about like a monkey at a typewriter. I attempted to see the text which had shifted above the screen limits by pressing the button with the symbol of an up arrow. The text didn't shift this time, however a new single line of text now wrote itself at the bottom of the screen.

start E:\users\dr\cerebrum\notes\1003.txt

If I squinted very hard it sort of made sense. Notes of the user Dr. Cerebrum. I couldn't work out what the rest meant. Notes sounded useful, however, so I pressed ENTER again. This time it worked! A new screen opened up with the words 'Notes 1003' written at the top in bold and underscored letters.

Notes 1003

Doctor: Dr Cerebrum

Patient: Misty Wails

Notes_

Today's patient was Misty Wails, a 20 year old pegasus female with severe sleep narcolepsy. Her condition was so pronounced we had to try 3 times to get the scan because she couldn't make it through the full process.

Nothing of particular note for this case. I believe Dr Drops has had some similar situations in the past so I might refer to his solutions to try and speed up the testing cases. Especially when it can be so difficult to get a clean reading when the simulation struggles to replicate normal sleeping conditions.

Misty was provided a doctor's note signed by myself which should exclude her from all physical weather work until we figure something out.

I sighed. That was certainly much less helpful than I had been hoping.

BzzzzzzB

The sudden sound caught my attention and I turned my head towards the source which resided in the top corner of the room. It was a security camera. Which was looking directly at me. I stepped over to the other side of the room and the camera followed my movements. Somepony knew I was here.

“Hello?” I asked tentatively, unsure if the pony on the other end could even hear me. When the camera showed no signs of replying, I decided that I should make the first move. At least try and gain some sort of control of this situation.
With an exaggerated hoof stomp I spoke strongly to the camera, “Excuse me sir or madam, but the door is currently unable to be opened and I am now stuck within this room. I would politely ask to be assisted, please!”

My firm but polite demand was met with silence. For just a moment. Suddenly there was a great screeching of dying metal from the ventilation shaft tucked into the back of the room. My head thumped as the sound was replaced by a rhythmic scraping of metal on metal. The sound was getting closer with each second. As did the thumping. My eyesight blurred. The low hum from before was now trying to split my head apart. I could hardly think. It took me a moment to realise I had collapsed onto the floor.

From this new position I had a clear view directly into the vent where I could now see the source of the sounds. It was some kind of robotic machine with a piercing red light. The machine crept slowly forward along the crawlspace inch by inch, pulling itself along with two long pincer-like protrusions.

I had to get out of there. Whatever that machine was I could only be safer away from it. And the pain being shot through my brain was getting worse and worse by the second. Rows of bright colours flickered across my vision. My eyes stung. Forcing myself to my hooves I stumbled as I attempted to grab hold of one of the computer monitors with my magic. Pain flared through my horn as I tried. In my current state I was unable to concentrate enough to make anything useful happen. Without a second thought I grabbed the largest screen with both fore-hooves and in a desperate, almost primal, need to escape I pulled it free and flung it at the door wheel. The box shattered into pieces, however there was a sharp squeak from the door handle.

I noticed the room had become noticeably brighter, and was now bathed in a strong electric crimson. The loud clanging from the vent was echoing off of the rooms walls. I didn't need to look behind myself to know that the machine had reached the room and was merely hoof steps behind me.
My head was pounding over and over, my heartbeat pulsing through my ears. With as much force as I could gather I threw my hooves down onto the wheel. If I chip a hoof so be it! I couldn't stay in that room for a moment longer. The wheel squeaked again and moved a bit more. Again I raised my hooves and slammed them down. The wheel was loosening up little by little.

Clang...Clang...Clang...

The machine had reached the half way mark of the room. Taking a quick look behind myself I noticed the whole back half of the machine was missing. Cables and metal frames stuck out from a split across what had been its mid section like the guts of a wounded animal. The light, which was on a long stalk, stared straight into me. The two spindly legs it pulled itself along with were getting tangled up in the wires that littered the floor. A spider caught in its own web. But they only slowed it down so much.

The door wheel was now loosened up enough that I could turn it with some effort and two spins later it popped open inwards. I jumped through the gap and pulled on the outside of the door to close it. At the last moment I could see the machine reaching out at me before the door slammed shut with a dull thud. I spun the wheel backwards as hard as I could. With any luck nopony would open the door ever again.

Immediately my headache dissipated, the pain subsided, and my vision was recovering. I dropped against the door, my legs giving out from under me. The panic and adrenaline only now catching up. I could feel my shuttering breaths shaking my whole body, not that my body needed any help with that. I was alone, and I was scared, and I didn't know where anyone else was. I wanted to just lay down and sleep. Wake up in my bed at the boutique. But that wasn't going to happen. I could feel my cheeks dripping, I was crying.

My legs refused any attempts at getting back up. Perhaps resting for a little bit first was a good idea.

---[616c6f6e65]---

It had been a long time since I'd felt so isolated from others. Every day was normally filled to the brim with other ponies. Family, friends, clients, complete strangers I'd see at the markets. But as I awoke from my rest I realised just how empty this place really was. I couldn't hear a single thing. A single meaningful thing that is. The constant low hum I had been hearing since I got here was continuing unabated. It was going to drive me mad if it kept up.

It occurred to me that I didn't even have my friends to rely on. They had always been there, no matter what. I had foolishly become complacent in the idea they would just be right behind me, always. And I'm sure they would be if given the chance. But this was something out of their control. Now I didn't even have the kindness of strangers to assist me.

My legs had recovered and I was able to stand again. The door behind me was still shut, and I had no interest in reopening it. Which left me two options, left or right. Or to stay put, but that didn't really appeal either. To my left was a corridor that turned a corner into the unknown. The direction to my right opened into a larger room with several doors that led to more unknown. In the end it didn't really matter, I certainly didn't have a preference. So I chose right.

The open area was some sort of common room. There were no windows; just steal, iron, pipes and grates like the last room. As well as the corridor to get here. I could only hope to Celestia nopony actually designed this place. And if someone did, they needed to be fired.
A stale haze hung in the air. Small dust motes drifted around the stained room lights that struggled to make do with whatever power they were receiving.

Several elongated tables were placed around the room in no distinguishable pattern. Except for, that is, a strangely clear path curving from one room entrance to another where no tables or objects lay. It was like a snowplough had been driven straight through. It wouldn't be so easy to spot had the rest of the room not been filled with old papers, broken glasses, turned over chairs, and other assortments of general use items.

I slowly made my way through the mess. Carefully stepping over and onto tables to avoid the worst of it. At one point I almost tripped when I was caught off guard by the sound of another camera. Whoever they were they were very interested in my movements. As much as I hoped it was to look out for me I couldn't help but feel I was nothing more than entertainment. An gladiator in a ring of lions.

My hoof stepped onto a lunch tray, squishing into the previous meal. "Uuk!" Great, now I was dirty too. I wiped as much of the decaying peas onto the table top and continued forward, hoping to find some water to wash myself with.

I entered through the first door I could reach, my attention immediately drawn to the closed shutters along the wall. There was a bulky lever to the right of each shutter, the operating mechanism. I really wanted these shutters open, the indoor lights simply weren't doing the job. Much of the room was encased in shadow. The room itself appeared to be a kitchen of some sort. If the, hopefully nonexistent, designers were going for the sterilised industrial look then I applaud them because they nailed it. It included an oversized fridge, bulky cupboards, even an industrial sized kitchen sink. All matte grey.

The lever didn't move gracefully, but as I forced more power into my magical grasp the closest set of shutter blinds slowly rotated, allowing the dreary outdoor light to filter into the room. I excitedly peaked through the blinds. There was a solid blanket of clouds as far as the horizon. It took a moment to realise why the clouds appeared to be so large. I was very close to them. In fact this whole building was in the sky from the looks of it. The only way I was able to even see the ground at all was by standing on the counter to get at the right angle.

Actually if this building was a pegasus construct, then maybe I was in Cloudsdale! Perhaps I did know where I was after all!
My elation was slowly eroded away by the realisation that my situation may actually be even worse than I had previously thought. The outside was as void of ponies as this facility. From this vantage point there should have been lights on the ground from homes and towns. The only life visible at all was a small flock of birds. They appeared to be vultures too. Something about bad omens fluttered through my head. Not only that, but if there weren't any pegasai outside or inside, then I wouldn't be able to get back down to the ground.

I might be stuck here.

---[667269656e64]---

There wasn't much food remaining in the fridge. However, I was able to find a few cans of beetroots and asparagus from a walk in pantry. Although, with nothing to hold them in, I wouldn't be able to take any more than two with me. Fortunately there was an entire room full of useful discarded items that I had walked through to get here. After a bit of scavenging from the common room I was able to put together something that held well enough. While I wasn't able to find a full set of saddlebags, I did find a small wicker basket which I was able to attach to my back by unwinding and re-purposing the handles into a strap to fit around my midsection. It was kind of homely, like those fruit baskets Applejack would collect her apples in. I smirked to myself, even in the middle of an unfamiliar building running from killer robots, I can still make something both practical and stylish.

I placed four of the five cans into the basket. Despite being tempted to hold onto the food as long as possible, I was already hungry. So I pulled open the tab on one of the beetroot cans. It wasn't the most pleasant looking food in Equestria, but it was something. And right now I didn't have much choice. The vegetables were slimy and fell apart with ease. I shuddered slightly under the texture. The taste was better than I thought it would be at least. The juice it had been marinating in for who knows how long might have helped somewhat. Still, what I would do for something fresh...

As I ate I observed the can they came in. There was a faded icon of some sort. Just beneath it I was able to make out the words 'V. A. Farms'. I had never heard of them before, but I was sure Applejack would know who they are. I made a note to avoid all their produce until then.

After I finished I left the kitchen area and wondered back into the common room to continue exploring. A quick skip over the tables found myself walking through the second of three doors. This room had more computers. A lot more than the room I had started in. They lined the walls. It looked like a very important room. I trotted over to the largest console directly in front of me. The buzz of a camera followed my movements. I didn't even look at it this time.

None of the screens currently displayed anything at all this time. They were entirely off. I quickly searched the blocky towers for a power button. Which didn't take long. Large red buttons screaming 'Press Me!' are pretty hard to miss. I pressed it in with a click. The screen lit up in front of me and a flat synthetic piano tune rang out. The computer ran through two screens. One for the computer company Hard Hooves which I recognised immediately as the brand was printed on almost every bit of computer technology I had ever seen. The second I recognised as Twilight's computer research team, Sparkle IO. After a few seconds on each screen the computer finally loaded into what I assumed must have been the main menu.

Three options were presented on the left hoof side of the screen. The first option, titled 'Files', was glowing goldenrod. It sounded interesting, I made a note to come back to that one. The second was titled 'Systems'. Not so interesting, but could prove useful. The final option was 'Communications'. Aha! Almost without thinking I intuitively pressed the DOWN key twice to highlight that final option with the selection glow. Then I pressed ENTER. The screen flashed crimson with an important looking warning.

Signal missing! Autotuning enabled...

I waited patiently for the computer to complete the tuning. I wasn't really sure what it was tuning. But it looked like it was important so I let it tune.

Bzzzzd

That annoying camera sounded again. Except...I hadn't moved...so the camera shouldn't have either. The camera pony was looking at something other than me. I slowly turned my head around to look behind myself and sucked in a breath of air when I saw the bloated mass standing in the doorway.

The features were obscured in shadow but the silhouette revealed four shaky legs holding up a solid mishmash of shapes, as well as strange wisps of smoke, dust or something wafting from it. I didn't move. Not an inch. So far it hadn't either. Then, after a moment of the two of us just staring in complete silence, it turned around and slowly waddled away. I wasn't sure if it had even known I was there, or just didn't care. Frankly, I was just glad it was going. I realised I had stopped breathing. As I slowly started my respiration again I watched the thing walk away and noticed that it made almost no sound. No wonder it had been able to sneak up on me like that.

Hoping it was gone for good, I turned back to the console. The camera made a buzzing noise as it swivelled to face me again. The tuning had completed at some point during the encounter and now the screen had a list of locations written on it. Cloudsdale, Ponyville, Canterlot, Baltimare, Manehatten, Las Pegasus, and The Chrystal Empire. Most were dimmed and had the words 'Unreachable' written on them. With the exception being just Cloudsdale. Cloudsdale was highlighted by default so I simply pressed ENTER. The screen displayed an animated image of a phone. A bubbly tune played from a small speaker just under the screen. Suddenly there was a click, followed by a voice.

“Hello Rarity,” the voice said. It sounded tinny and distorted.

“Who...who is this?” I asked back in surprise. “How do you know my name?”

“I can't hear you. You need to press the orange button down when you're speaking.” Just under the speaker was a faded, dark tangerine button with a symbol of a microphone on it. I pressed the button down and tried again.

“Yes this is Rarity, now I demand to know who you are and how you know my name!”

There was a light chuckle from the speaker. “Now Rarity, is that any way to greet an old friend? It's Twilight, and I know your name because we used to be friends a long time ago.”