Radioactive

by starshine_dash

Rating: mature
Tags: Science Fiction, Nightmare Rarity, Horror, Profanity, Discord, Alternate Universe, Twilight Sparkle, Tirek, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other
Length: 3747

500 years after the end of the world, something wakes in the desert.

Ash, dust, and endless wastes cover Equestria's landscape, small oases dotted here and there on the landscape. Ponies live in constant fear, never venturing outside alone, or for long. The princesses are gone, the power of the elements diminished. Can one lone mare, asleep for so long, find a way back to her time, and save the future?

Published 2019-08-03 02:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-08-07 19:17:46 UTC

I'm waking up to ash and dust

System start
Inactivity time 999999
Overflow detected...

W...What's going on?

Confusion detected...
Re-initializing SparkOS
Error

Error? What error?

Multiple memory sectors corrupted or damaged
Loading backups...
Read error...
Re-initializing

What's happening? Who are you?! Why can't I see?

Distress detected.
Loading emergency backups...
Load successful.

The all consuming blackness slowly warmed to a soft purple glow.

Good Morning, Twilight Sparkle.
I am SPARK 1.3.5 Personal Digital Assistant.

What's going on? Why can't I move?

Processing.
Multiple memory sectors are missing or damaged.
Your chassis was damaged and repairs have finished.
If you wish I can bring your systems online.

Systems? What do you mean?

Processing.........
Local memory fault.
Bringing systems online.

Twilight could feel something change, and the purple light flickered into a view of a bleak, gray horizon tilted 90 degrees from where it should have been. As more sensation returned she realized it was because she was laying on her side. She blinked a few times and attempted to shift and stand up.

Motor systems offline, please wait.
Re-calibrating...

"What's going on?"

Motor systems online, please stand slowly to confirm calibration.

She did as the strange text in her vision asked and saw more of the gray dust fall off of her. She also heard something clank and looked down, expecting to have stepped on something only to find her hoof encased in some kind of metal, "What's this? Armor?"

You are currently inhabiting an instance of the A-257 chassis.

"Chassis?" she asked out loud, mostly to confirm that her voice sounded slightly different. As she looked out across the wasteland in front of her, an image appeared at the bottom of her vision. It was some kind of advanced armor or statue that looked like her new Alicorn form. It expanded and multiple labels appeared, showcasing the features and incredible technology that went into it.

The Twilight Sparkle model A-257 chassis is a fully equipped combat and exoplanetary exploration chassis with full life-support and emergency stasis functions.

The diagram shifted to a cutaway, and Twilight shuddered. The suit was not designed to contain a pony, only their horn, brain, and heart.

"So if I'm wearing that... Am I... a robot?"

Incorrect.
You are Twilight Sparkle.
Further data unavailable due to memory errors.

Twilight took a deep breath, only to realize quickly that it was obviously a simulated motion as she felt no filling of any lungs, which according to the diagram, were long gone. There was a lot to process. Who had made the suit, why she was put in one, why she had woken up in such a desolate place, where this desolate place was, and why couldn't she remember those details.

You designed and developed the technology of the A-257 chassis.
Unknown, memory error.
Repairs completed, wake-up sequence automatically initiated.
Unknown, memory error.
Memory error.

She blinked again, tilting her head, the answers to her unasked questions appearing before her. The suit must be linked to her mind to read her thoughts, which made sense to her somehow. She wondered if it had navigational features.

Global positioning systems offline
No satellites detected.
Compass direction available.

She sighed, an odd digital mimicry of one at any rate, and turned around to take in the area fully. She squinted into the distance and her vision automatically zoomed in and enhanced. There was nothing around her but the same gray dust. Her environmental data showed that no wind blew, and the sky was only a darker gray than the ground with no hint of Celestia's sun hiding behind. Just flat, gray light.

With no better idea, she began trudging the direction declared as North. She walked for many hours without realizing it, simply because she never got tired. It only occurred to her that time had passed as the sky began to darken.

Low-light conditions detected.
Activation vision enhancement.

As the skies rapidly darkened her eyes adjusted to the new light conditions, additional sensors coming online to assist when the darkness became fully engulfing as it had been for her so recently. Her brain was fed topographic data and infrared data translated into a visual simulation. It was utterly fascinating when it wasn't horrifying.

She paused in her march and stared up at the sky, hoping to see the moon or some stars, but empty blackness was all she saw, "Okay, Twilight, think... We were coming home from the coronation... We had an after-party at the library... and then I woke up here... What am I missing?" she whispered to the blackness.

Memory sectors corrupted or damaged.
Repairs are being attempted.
Memories will be restored as available.
Motion detected.

A small red arrow appeared in her vision and she turned to look. Her vision flicked through several settings automatically. When it settled down and she could take in what was moving she was utterly baffled and completely horrified. The lack of light didn't allow her to make out any features but it was huge. She took a step back as lights snapped on on her shoulders and lit the creature up.

If Twilight had a stomach, she would have vomited. The creature screamed as the light touched it and began to charge. The lights snapped off at her unconscious will and she found herself in the air, hovering with outstretched mechanical wings. She was out of reach of the thing for only a moment before it swiped out with an appendage and swatted her out of the sky.

She thanked herself for not having any kind of pain sensors on as she careened across the landscape. The beast pursued and swung over its head to crush her. Another instinct and she fired a blast of magical energy from her horn that splashed across the creature and sent it reeling.

Warning, combat facilities at 34%
Recommend retreat
Combat facilities fully online in 5 minutes.

Twilight stood and bolted into the darkness, taking to the skies once the instructions on how to fly had been forcibly uploaded to her brain.

Warning: Additional motion detected.

She looked down. All across the landscape, more of the giant beasts were moving, many looking up at her and attempting to swat her down, but she climbed higher. She saw smaller creatures moving around between the large ones, and the large ones feeding on the smaller ones. Occasionally, a group of smaller ones would overwhelm a large one and consume it. She watched this all in horrified fascination as the night dragged on, her internal clock ticking away. It took over 36 hours for the light to return, and it did so only slowly, allowing the creatures time to sink back into the dust from which they rose. All the time, Twilight had been moving North and she finally spotted something in the distance. A bump of differentiation in the gray nothingness. Her eyes zoomed in and she saw it was some sort of monument or statue.

Another hour later, she landed in front of it and stared. Had she tears, they would be falling. Had she a stomach, it would be roiling. Instead, all she could do was feel the ache in her heart as she read the monument and looked at the statues.

In Memorium.
May this stand long after we are dust.
May this remind any who survive of why we fought.
May this be a beacon should they return.
Twilight Sparkle
Rainbow Dash
Pinkie Pie
Fluttershy
We hope you rest peacefully.

Author's Note

I know, I know, I have 3 other stories out here that need finishing or rewriting or SOMETHING but this one has been eating at my brain for a while so I decided to get it started. I'm hoping that I can get someone to poke me every week to remind me to continue...

I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust

Twilight stared at the monument, ignoring the clock in her vision as it ticked away the minutes. Her name was on a memorial. She had died. Had she? She was in a robot suit with a minimal amount of organic matter and only her "spark." Or was it truly her spark? Maybe she was just an AI that was in suit that also had an AI.

Circular thinking, Twilight Sparkle.
All data suggests you are alive.

"What is all this?" She asked, looking around, only now looking around at the other statuary. One was her, but she was taller, older, more regal, with an ethereal mane of her own if the statue was anything to go by. Next to that was one that showed the brash pegasus that was one of her best friends and secret book buddy, Rainbow Dash. Then Pinkie Pie with a manic green and her party cannon, pointing in the direction the barrel was facing as if identifying her target. Lastly, Fluttershy, curled up and demure, surrounded by animal friends. All of them obviously carved by an extremely skilled artisan. Each statue had a small brass plate, and she read those of her friends first.

Fluttershy
Element of Kindness
Friend, Mother (MOTHER?!), Wife
She will be with us always.

General Rainbow Dash
Element of Loyalty
Hero of Cloudsdale
She died so that we could continue the fight.

Pinkamena Diane "Pinkie" Pie
Element of Laughter
Hero of Ponyville
The light in the dark
Her laughter carries us.

Scanning...
Statues are marble, fortified with Alicorn level enchantments against degradation. The statue of you has additional magic woven into it.

"Additional magic?" she asked, approaching it and looking more closely. There was a smaller plate of brass that was wrapped in strong magic.

Twilight Sparkle
Princess of Friendship
LSBFF
Lost in the battle of Ghastly Gorge.

"Lost... that's a vague way to put it. That must be where I was... knocked out for however long it's been," she said, then brushed some dust off the bottom of the plate, "There's more!"

Two lines, faded, appeared where she had wiped away the dust. It was written in non-standard Equestrian, an old writing style found in ancient tomes she once read for fun in the archives.

Sunshine, Sunshine...

She blinked, and smiled sadly, memories of the good times with Cadence flashing through her cortex. She sighed and whispered the second line, "Ladybugs awake..."

If Twilight hadn't been staring at the plate, she would not have noticed the text morph and shift into a new configuration as the magic on the plate shifted around itself.

Clap your hooves

Twilight was excited now, if she still had a heart it would be thumping out of her chest, "And do a little shake!" she blurted.

For a few long seconds nothing happened. Then, the statue groaned and its head tilted toward her, eyes beginning to glow a soft pink as an image was projected next to her, "Twilight... I hope it's you that's seeing this," the shimmering image of Cadence began, "It's been so long and you should be the only who could access this, with our old greeting. This message is a shot in the dark, but we don't have much left...

"It's been 200 years since you vanished. I've been trying to keep us together for so long, but maybe, if there's some chance that you're still out there, and you see this... Please, we need your help. The war is over. It's been over for a long time. You told me that you'd found something that day that could save us. Some way to get the Elements of Harmony working again so we could defeat them. We need that now more than ever. Those of us that are left are as safe as we can be, please find us, help us. I'm doing what I can, but I'm not as strong as you are. I'm not the Element of Magic. I'm rambling, and this spell is running out of memory. Follow Pinkie's directions and you should find us. I miss you so much..." the shade of her foalsitter said before flickering out of existence.

"Pinkie's directions? What does... the way she's pointing!" Twilight shouted when she realized it, "Spark, can you add a marker in my heads up display to keep me going in the right direction based on where the statue of Pinkie is pointing?"

Marker created.
Caution: Marker may be off. Scans indicate statue may have shifted since it was installed.

"Close enough is good enough, I have to find Cadence. She can tell me what's going on, what happened with everything."

Warning: It has been 48 hours since you have awoken. Please allow a run of the REM sleep simulator module to prevent neural decay.

"I... what? Sleep simulation?"

Correct
Operation takes two hours.
Based on previous observations, darkness will fall in 4 hours, after which it will be unsafe to remain on the ground.

"No kidding... Alright, run the program."

Running... Good night, Twilight Sparkle!

The hissing and whirring of a machine kept Twilight company in the quiet of the hospital. It would be better if she hadn't been hooked up to it on life support as her body continued to fail. She stared at the diagrams that surrounded her on the bed and sighed. She picked up one and made a couple of notes on the wing design, emphasizing flight speed and turning were necessary if the design was to be approved for mass production.

A door opened and the alicorn princess of the night walked in, "Are you still working on those, Twilight?" she asked softly, slipping up next to the the smaller mare's bed.

Twilight nodded and spoke with a raspy voice, "Of course, Luna. I have... to finish things here before... my body fails fully..."

"I wish we could figure out why it was happening. First Tia vanished and now you fall ill with a disease that strikes down even an alicorn!"

"I need a few more days... then my designs will be done... and they transfer me to a suit..." the talking took a lot of effort, her breathing controlled by machines as it had been for months now.

Luna picked up a sheet in her magic, "But the sheer degree of this! Your other suits were incredible and didn't require... THIS!" she shouted, waving a hoof at the diagram showing that the suit was less of one and more of a container for essential organs.

"Luna... My body is dying... My magic and mind are untouched... I can do this and... continue to be there for you... and Equestria... I didn't want to tell you... but they had to remove my rear... legs yesterday... Fully necrotic..."

"Your legs? Oh Twilight," the lunar diarch sighed, sobbing quietly as she sat there. She looked over the emaciated form of her dearest companion. Even though her body was failing, her eyes were bright, her mane billowed in the ethereal wind, and that spark was still present. She knew Twilight had the fire to survive but her own doubts couldn't remain hidden, "But this seems so extreme..."

"I don't want to die... Luna... They will save everything they... can of what's left... but there isn't much... that still works..."

"I hope you're making the right decision."

"I'm making the... only decision... that will let me live even... a partial life..."

Luna nodded and leaned over to nuzzle Twilight. The purple alicorn nuzzled back and smiled slightly, keeping her lips closed to hide her slowly rotting teeth. She hadn't been able to identify what was causing her body to decay, but once she was in a suit, she had plenty of time to determine it from her own remains. The thought was a bit morbid, but Equestria was facing chaos. Luna needed her, Equestria needed her. It wouldn't do any good if she died here.

"Two more days... and I'll be right as rain..." she said, running a magical touch down Luna's back to comfort her, her own front limbs useless. The machine beeped as it shifted into a night-time mode and Twilight quickly became drowsy, "Good night... See you tomorrow..."

Twilight ran down the wide hallway of the castle, metallic hooves clacking off the marble floors. As she darted around a sharp corner, she used the jets on her wings to assist the turn instinctively. She'd adapted to the suit quickly. Having it wired directly into what remained of your nervous system allowed her to make modifications and adjustments as fast as the onboard AI could handle. That speed and agility helped her now as she dodged between guards and entered the main audience chamber where Luna was currently addressing a small group of officers.

"Luna!"

"Twilight, what is it?"

"An attack! They're coming through the crystal caverns. I've stalled them with a cave-in but we need to evacuate the remaining civilians NOW."

"Understood, Generals, Admirals, to your stations. We will not let them take Canterlot. Twilight, get to your safe. If this is their final push their leaders may be present. We may have need of the Elements."

"But..."

"I know, Twilight. I miss them too, but we have to do anything we can. Celestia was able to use all the Elements on her own, and you are at least as strong as she ever was. I know you can do it."

Twilight nodded stiffly, mind turning as she sprung into the air and flew off toward the secret location she had stowed the Elements of Harmony after the death of Pinkie Pie.

Twilight Sparkles eyes snapped on and she simulated gasping for air. The sky was beginning to darken so she did not have much time to process what she saw until she was safely in the air. Leaping up, she flew high as the sky turned black and the creatures began to form and meander about, "What was that?"

Memories that have been repaired will be restored during REM simulation.
This has been determined to be the safest and least shocking method of doing so.

She dodged the swing of an extended tentacle and decided against speaking out loud, as it seemed to attract the attention of the monsters, Were any others restored?

Negative.
Repairs still in progress.
Caution: Inbound airborne threat, type unknown.

She blinked and shifted, looking West to see... nothing, Where is it?

Target faded.

Twilight silently cursed to herself and accelerated, intent on finding Cadence, or whoever was left in her stead.

Analysis completed. Statue's Thaumic decay suggested construction 532 years ago. The message spell was added 330 years ago.

Twilight was shocked. She was behind the times by over 500 years. It could have been even longer, for all she know. How long had the war been going on before her disappearance. She was processing this information when a warning lit up her vision and something collided into her from the side. She spun in the air, correcting herself automatically and spun to locate her assailant.

Briefly, she caught sight of something in the dark, something bio-luminescent that turned and vanished into the darkness. Her vision shifted to another view and she tracked it by it's radar signature as it turned back towards her and spit something out of its mouth. She tried to dodge but it hit her wing and sent alarms across her systems. She hurriedly channeled energy into her shell to charge it and burn off the substance, simultaneously activating a shielding system and lighting up the area in a soft purple glow.

Another blast hit her from behind, staggering her with the force of impact. It must have been a much larger creature.

Additional targets detected. Weapons online.

She felt something in her chassis shift and noticed weapons sprouting from the front of her wings. She rolled and began to fly, attempting to find one of the beasts that attacked her in the darkness. She didn't really want to fight but when a third blast slammed into her and nearly knocked her out of the sky, some deeply hidden part of her snapped on.

Maneuvering with practiced ease, she waited until SPARK confirmed target lock before opening fire. Magic pulses emitted from the barrels of her wing guns and raked over the form in the darkness, bio-luminescent blood spraying as it fell out of the sky. One of the larger monsters on the ground snatched it off the dirt and it disappeared into the mass of flesh. It looked like some kind of manta ray in the brief moments it was lit up by her attack. Her radar showed her the other one and she banked into a tight right climb before flipping over and sending another burst of her weapons into the beast. It was much larger than her previous opponent and took the hits without flinching, though it did stream blood behind it as it flew.

It was larger, and less maneuverable than she was, so Twilight easily lined it up for another burst, choosing to use a heavier shot of magic from her own. This blast tore a hoofball sized hole straight through it and the ray crumbled, falling to the ground in the darkness. Only too late did Twilight realize she was too low. Her only notification was a mass of flesh and goo slamming her to the ground.

More warnings lit up her data-feed as her shield broke and the chassis itself sustained damage. Her armor identified some kind of acid in use and she pushed all of her energy into the engines in her wings, blasting straight into the sky, covered in ichor. Looking down, she saw the ruins of the beast she had unintentionally flown through to escape collapse into a pile of mush.

This was already too much to take, and now she was covered in what scanned as slightly acidic, highly chaotic ichor. She pulsed energy through her shield systems to burn it off before flying higher and going dark, hopefully avoiding any further events during the night. Meeting the flying creatures simply brought her more questions. She had to find out what happened. There had to be some explanation for the state of the world. If her own memories weren't available, then Cadence had to know. Someone had to know, and she had to get there.

Narrowing her eyes she coaxed a little more speed out of her wings and aimed at the waypoint on her hud.

Author's Note

I uh, didn't know quite how to end this one.