Forgotten Data

by Lightningflash101

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Profanity, Violence, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Science Fiction, Other, Self Insert, Adventure
Length: 9462

When a cyborg reactivates to find that his alone and has a corrupted memory core. He must adapt to the destroyed world around him and find his past.

Technology. One of the most overseen forces in the world as well as the most researched. But how far will this untapped potential go before everything as Equestria knows it disappears?

In a distant future, the word Equestria calls home becomes nothing more than a wasteland. Tech has changed everything and everyone. Nothing is safe. The only choices are to kill or be killed.

This is a story of a stallion who lost his memories, including his own name. Armed with only his instincts and locked features, an old model cyborg goes to find his past. Facing the constant danger of becoming nothing but a pile of bolts and scrap metal at every turn.

No matter the challenges that lie ahead. He'll stop at nothing to find his Forgotten Data.

Published 2018-01-31 14:00:07 UTC
Last updated 2019-07-12 06:09:55 UTC

Awake

My eyes start to open as I stir awake. Everything feels odd and familiar at the same time. As if my body is supposed to be made of something else than what I am. From the glass, I could see myself from some sort of light from my eyes. An earth pony stallion with a yellow coat, a pair of dark blue eyes, and cyan hooves. My mane looked to be combed back with a very dark shade of navy blue as a base with an orange-red center. My tail held the same colors with a messy look. Bits of metal could be seen where my ears meet with my head and where my joints would be. A metal line crossed my right eye. A pair of cyan lightning bolts stood out on each side of my flank.

I find myself suspended in midair by these... Cables on my legs and back. Where am I? Everything is covered in darkness but I could see spots of dim lights in the distance. It seems that I'm the only one here. I don't remember how I got here. Actually... I think I don't remember anything. Who am I and how did I get here?

"H-hello?" I called out, my voice robotic, "Is anyone here?"

No response. For an unknown reason, the feeling of dread swept over me. Fear followed soon after. I was alone. There was no one to help.

My first instants were to get free from these cables and find out what's going on. So I started pulling on the cables on my front legs. Snap! The cable on my right released. Using my now free leg, I go to release the other cables. One by one, I pull my body free from the cables. The only one left was on the back of my neck. I took a deep breath before placing my hooves around the cable. In one quick motion, I pulled the cable off and fell to the cold ground.

With some effort, I shakily got to my hooves. I could feel my breathing trying to find a calm pace as I place my front left hoof on the glass tube. Something was wrong. I'm not sure how, but I'm going to find out. But first, I needed to get out of this tube.

"Maybe I can kick my way through it." I told myself, turning my hind legs to the glass, "Hopefully."

Taking deep breaths, I pulled my hind legs as close to myself as I got to get them. Then, I forced them towards the glass as fast and hard as I could. Crack! The glass didn't break, but it cracked a bit. It wasn't much. But, if I keep this up, I'll be out of here. It's just repeating the motions. Wind up, strike, repeat. Wind up, strike, repeat. After the seventh kick, the glass finally gave. Shattering around me. Free at last.

The first steps felt wrong. As if I wasn't supposed to be awake right now. But I am awake now. There's no turning back now. I have to keep moving forward. I need to know what happened.

Lsadfouygb

A voice? But I thought I was alone here.

"Hello?!" I called out, looking around, "Who's there?!"

aslkdjfhasdkj_not_safe_kaduh

"Where are you?! Show yourself!" I shouted, trying to find the source of the voice

ads_find_the_exit_aldsfh

"Find the exit?" I asked, "What exit?"

aslkdjfhasdkj_not_safe_kaduh. Ads_find_the_exit_aldsfh. Akdjf_restore_memory_core_asiudg

The voice suddenly disappeared. Leaving me alone once more. Find the exit? Restore memory core? I don't understand. But I shouldn't ponder about it now. I need to keep moving.

The sound of metal hitting metal filled my ears as I continued to walk. Other tubes with a pony inside came and when. But these ponies seemed blank, broken. Every tube had something on them. Although they were barely legible. "Test Subject #0052" was one of them. This tube held an earth pony mare. Her arm was missing, showing wires. Fur blank of color, following her barely opened eyes. For some reason, she was suspended upside down. The body had no signs of life. I backed away. How many of us are there in this place? Am I the only one alive still?

After what seemed like an hour or more, I find a terminal. Its screen was on but just barely. Text reading "Play video logs? Y/N" was being displayed. I just hope that it can give me some insight into what happened here. With that thought in mind, I pressed down the Y key.

The entire screen lit up, displaying a different unicorn mare. Her coat was soft purple, her eyes holding a much darker shade (as well as some bags under them. Probably from a lack of sleep). Her main, styled to have bangs and went down to her right shoulder, was violet with a stripe of pink and a stripe of dark purple, matching her eyes.

"Date. March 1st, 2021. Time. 14:23." She stated, as if reading a script, "Today, our volunteer, subject 0053, had a malfunction with his Magic Spell Blaster. For a reason unknown, his M.S.B refused to cast a stun spell of a mana magnitude higher than 8.7 Sparks. The following result was a magical overload causing a forceful shutdown. I'm currently running diagnostics on him to see if there were any glitches in his systems. Until I can find anything, his M.S.B and other similar functions will be locked with a code, named 'FRIENDSHIP'. I will have an override code in my notes on the central computer. I will use that code for similar testing."

The image switched to static for a moment. 0053... I know I've heard that before. But where? As quickly as the mare disappeared, she reappeared. Her mane was messier now, her baggs darker.

"Date. April 23rd, 2021. Time. 10:12." she began, "Subject 0053 experienced another magical overload today. This will become his tenth overload this month. I will team up with other programmers to find the cause of this. We have no idea what happens for this to occur so frequently. I wonder if it has to do with the fact that he is not a unicorn, like myself. We have to find this cause soon. Things will only get worse before they get better. We've begun to see side effects a few days after the third overload. 0053 has become less focused, slowed in achieving tasks, and less social with others. As of right now, I worry that he'll only get worse if tests are to continue."

The process repeated itself again. The mare's face only getting worse with each transition.

"Date. May 12th, 2021. Time. 13:30. Today 0053 and I are going to test the wing prototype. I've been given instructions by the princesses themselves to record the tests. We'll be starting off at a low altitude of approximately 10 meters"

The screen this time went from static to what looked to be like me. But now with a pair of cybernetic wings on my back. Making it look as if I was a pegasus. My face held a cocky confidence as I stood there.

"Remember Lightning, this is only a test run" the mare stated, "Dont push yourself."

"Dont worry Twilight." I assured her, opening the pair of wings casually, "Flying comes naturally to me. Just let me know what to do."

The video cuts off from there with a pop from the screen. I jumped back. The terminal must have finally died out. But I'm left with more questions than answers. The only thing I know for sure is that my name is Lightning. But everything else, the M.S.B and those wings. If I have those, where are they on me? I need to know more.

"I think the sound came from up here." a mare's voice, also robotic, said from a distance and getting closer

"And I think you said this place was fucking abandoned!" shouted another robotic voice, a stallion's

I almost froze in place. Two other ponies are coming this way and I have no place to hide. What do I do? They'll find me if i don't do anything and they don't sound like the friendly type.

"I said I thought this place was abandoned." the mare shot back to her partner, "even I can be wrong sometimes."

"Whatever." the stallion sighed angrily, "Just be ready for anything. I don't want to carry your metal corpse back to the camp."

I could hear their hoof steps as they got closer. I needed to move and find a place to hide. Who knows what they'll do to me if they find me.

Slowly, I started to step back into the tubes of dead ponies. With a blink of my eyes, my light turned off. I'm not sure how, but they turned off. I can hear the two split from each other. They must be looking for me. They're on both sides. I could feel myself shake with fear.

" hay, Aqua, look at this." The stallion called out, stopping, "it looks like one of the tubes has been shattered."

I can hear the mare walking back to her partner. Fortunately enough she didn't see me as she walked

"What do you mean shattered Max?" Aqua questioned

"I mean it's shattered." Max replied, "And it's missing an obsolete cyber pony."

"Thats impossible." Aqua insisted, "Theres hardly any energy in this place for one of them to stay stable, let alone reactivate."

"Then how do you explain this?" he asked, "this one must have taken as much as it could and woke up."

This was my chance to get away without being noticed. I started to slowly walk away from the two in the opposite direction. The sooner I escape this place, the better. At least I hope so. Just as long as I know I'll be safe.

Thud. My body bumped on one of the tubes. I froze in place as the sound faded out through the room.

"Did you hear that?" Aqua asked

"Yeah," Max replied, "it came from over there."

The two are slowly approaching in my direction. They found me out! I have to run, get away from them!

Without a second thought, my body bolted towards a direction, my lights turning back on. I didn't care how much noise I was now making.

Temporary Friends

The sound of my hooves stomping the metal floor filled the room. Running for my life from two other ponies. I can hear them running after me. They're shouting something at me, but I couldn't hear them. Fear was driving my actions.

Bright shots of energy fly over my head as I continued to run. Each shot varied in color from white to blood red. Those shots would hit the tubes, shattering them without any effort. Are they planning on killing me with those shots? The thought of what would happen if one of those hitting me terrified me even more.

"Stay away from me!" I shouted, ducking a sky blue shot of energy, "leave me alone!"

"Aim for his legs!" Max commanded, "The bastard won't stand a chance!"

It already feels like I'm running in circles. Running past numerous amounts of tubes with no end. There had to be an exit somewhere.

I can hear another shot of energy flying towards me.

Protocall="magic_resistant_armour"engaged

All of a sudden, I feel my entire body getting covered by some different kind of metal. Starting from my back and moving to both my neck and to my legs. In sections at a time, a silver layer formed to reality. When it reached my head, the layer formed a helmet that fitted perfectly. Then the entire room lit up fast enough to blind me.

Then the sudden shock of force hit me, sending me flying into the air. There was nothing I could do to stop myself, I was moving too fast. My fall was broken by a glass tube that shattered on impact. When I could finally see again, the two were on top of me. Inside some sort of shell of their own, their mane and tail hid. Their shells are more worn than mine with battle damage. Their hooves, which for some reason had a hole in the center of them, pointed at me. My helmet reverted back to reveal my face to them.

"Talk." Aqua demanded, "Who are you? Are you the cyberpony that reactivated?"

"I-i..." I stammered, "wh-what are you-?"

" Were asking the questions here!" Max shouted, stomping his other hoof next to my head. Causing me to flinch in fear.

"I just woke up in this place!" I claimed, "I don't know how I got here or what you're talking about! All I know that my name is Lightning!"

"Do you think you're funny, wise guy?" Max questioned, ready to punch me unconscious

"Max please" Aqua interrupted, stopping the angered stallion "let me handle this. Go keep watch."

Max grumbled something under his breath as he walked away. Leaving his partner to interrogate me. As much as I was relieved that he left, I'm still terrified of what Aqua could and might do.

"Im telling you the truth." I told her

"Thats still up for debate." she said coldly, a small section opening on her left shoulder. A snakelike object made its way out of the opening, heading towards me. Its prong head gave me an uneasy feeling.

"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" I questioned, fear in my voice.

The "snake" had slithered onto my shoulder. Slowly moving to the back of my head. Fear keeping me from stopping it.

"You'll see soon enough." she stated

Suddenly, the "snake" pounced. Everything started to fade into black as it fastened itself onto the back of my neck.

Tired. I feel so tired...

My eyes open to a blinding light. Instinctively, I blinked until my eyes adjusted to the brightness. When I could see again I find myself in... A void?

Around me, I can see a series of "1's" and "0's" going in every direction. Looking down at my hooves, I find myself standing on some sort of grid. I feel as though as I've known this place my entire life and yet, I have no memory being here at all.

The sound of walking hooves broke me out of my thoughts. As if my body worked on its own, I began to walk towards the noise. It only seemed like a moment before I saw the shape of a mare looking threw a terminal similar to the one I saw a part of my past. Her coat a darker shade then twilight's purple, her violet mane and tail cut short. I didn't bother to look at her flank.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice sounding different then what I've heard before. As if it was...digital.

The mare quickly turned to face me, showing me her eyes. They were just like Twilight's. But, those where eyes that looked through me than at me. I took a step back before looking at what she was.

It looked to be like me but not at the same time. His body shape was the same, even had a pair of wings of its own. But his eyes were only black pits, his coat and hooves opposite colors of what they should be, and his mane and tail missing. I froze up. I didn't know what I should do.

The only thing the creature did was stare at me. As if it lacked the ability to blink.

Find our replacement core. Go to Canterlot.

It spoke without moving its lips. It was clear as my own. But it switches from mine to an unnatural distorted one. Then before I or the mare could question the strange creature, it dissipated into a bundle of "0's" and "1's". Scapptering in every direction.

Everything went dark a moment after.

My eyes shot open as I jumped awake. I felt the "snake" pull itself off of me and returned to its keeper, Aqua. She was still standing on top of me. But now her helmet reverted to revile her face. The one I saw in the void. There was a cold sweat on her forehead.

"What was that?" She demanded, "Why did it say 'Canterlot'?"

"I-i don't know," I told her, "You know as much as I do."

Aqua let out a sigh and stepped back a few steps. Her helm went back on before turning her back to me.

"Max, come in." She paused for a moment

"No, he's not with CyberStorm... Yes, I'm sure, the guy's memory is corrupted. He doesn't even remember his past and just recently relearned his name... I know they look similar to each other but you can't assume someone by how they look..."

This went on for a few moments. The only thing I did was sit up. I could have ran at any time while this was going on. But for some reason, I didn't.

"listen!" Aqua shouted suddenly, " I saw something in there when I was looking through his corrupted memories. It looked like him but different, glitched. It was telling him to go to canterlot... I know, I know! But we can't just leave a pony like him behind."

My helm had put itself back on my head and everything brightened up. In the corner of my eyes that one of the icons were lightning in and out of reality. Open communication tab I thought suddenly before a screen opened up in front of me. Another icon was inside. It was titled "Pinkie Pie's Cakes and Backed Goods Emporium". Bypass password and connect. Master key "Equestria". A moment passed before a soft static had filled my ears

"...not with CyberStorm" Max shouted through the static, "He could be infected with the virus! That would explain why that thing wants to go to that shithole in the first place!"

"We both seen what the virus does to people Max." Aqua argued, "He's not one of them."

My confusion only grew as I listened.

"Can somepony tell me what's going on already!" I demanded loudly, a hint of anger in my voice.

I felt Aqua's eyes look at me. The screen shrank down so I could look at her.

"Neither of you is making any sense here! Who is CyberStorm? What is the Virus? And how the hell did I end up here?!"

I had more questions flowing through my mind as I spoke. There were so many things I didn't know that I angered me. I felt like a child that everyone was ignoring. I wanted answers.

The two didn't respond for about five minutes.

"Fine..." Max sighed, breaking the silence, "He can come with us to the tower. But any shady business and I'll personally scrap him for parts."

The connection cut itself off as my helmet retracted once more. Aquas helmet retracted as well.

" I heard your voice in the coms." she stated, suspicious, "how?"

"I don't know. I just did." I replied, swinging my front legs in a denying motion "honest."

She stared at me for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"alrihgt..." she said, "follow me. we're going to find your wings."

"My... wings?" I asked

Aqua rolled her eyes at me and started walking in a direction, her helmet putting itself back on once again. I followed behind her, following suit.

Author's Note

Sorry that this took so long. I've been busy with school and other stories. I hope that yall had a good day and enjoyed this so far.

Familiarity?

We walked for what felt like hours before Aqua stopped in front of a door. On top of the frame had the words, "Testing chamber".

For a moment, I felt a sense of ease go over me as I stopped at Aqua's side. It's strange...

My body seems to know this place. The entire building gives me the feeling of familiarity as she and I walked. I'll have to keep it to myself until I can trust her and her friend more. After all, Max doesn't seem to trust me as much as he scares me.

Aqua walked to the door and inspected everything around it.

" Let's hope that this room wasn't picked clean by any bandits. The door had been locked for a good while." she said, prying the metal door open with her hooves before walking in.

"Yeah..." I replied, following behind her, "Lets hope"

The room was bigger then I thought. It was about the size of 10 coliseums or even more than that. The roof had been raised to almost 2,035 miles up... How do I know how high that is?

From what I could see, the entire room had lines on the ground to section off everything. One big line divided the entire room in two. On the left, some of these sections had countless other forms of training; weightlifting, wind tunnels, obstacle courses, shooting ranges. On the right, multiple repair beys have stationed across the room. All long been abandoned and covered in dust. The far wall ahead of us had a building with a rust covered sigh that reads, "Storage".

Looking at the area gives me a chill down my spine.

"let's check out the storage room." Aqua said, "If anything, your wings will be in there."

"And if they ain't?" I questioned

"They will be." she stated, "Eventhough your memory is corrupted, I was still able to find a little about your past. It looked like you would go here when testing was done. Most likely to put your wings away. So we'll look there first."

Her horn started glowing a light green before a flash of light blinded me. When the light faded, we were in front of the storage building. Its metal doors seemed to be also locked. The screen next to it seemed to still have some power inside.

My body moved on its own as I walked to the device. No text could be seen on it. Instead, it had an outline of a hoof. My front leg began to reach out to the screen. I wonder if I...

My hoove fitted the outline perfectly. Suddenly text filled my vision as well as a diagram of my body.

Opening storage doors. Scanning...

Wing_LF_L and Wing_LF_R Parts missing.

Forging path to wing storage unit. Please follow the path that is marked by orange lights

"I... I think I got it." I stated as the door next to me start to open.

corrupted memory core detected. Please seek the closest scientist and/or employee for replacement core before starting today's tests. Have a nice day

I took a step back from the screen as the text vanished. Allowing me to see clearly again. The door slowly opened itself as dim flickering lights of varying color tried to light the vast room. Green. Yellow, blue, pink, est. They all lead in different paths. Some overlapping others.

" but how?" aqua asked puzzled, " I thought all the power was sucked from this place

I shrugged as I continued forward. It didn't take long for before I found the orange path. Although their lights seem to be dead for a while. My body already seemed to know where to go in the first place. Like it has been a daily routine that I've been through for years. It's so strange to think that this was normal in my past. I could tell that Aqua was still asking questions as I walked. But for the life of me, I couldn't hear what she was saying.

I have this feeling. Am I anxious? Whatever it is, its making move faster. Walk to trot, trot to run.

"Hay! Slow down!"" Aqua shouted, "We don't know what could be hiding in this place!"

My body was in auto piolet. It felt like I was being drawn to these wings. As if they were begging to be put into use again.

A turn to the left... Then a right.

But when I turned the corner, every locker there was opened. Doors were missing on some. Others were just laying on the ground nearby them just to the other end of the room, there was a massive hole. The light from outside was spilling out inside the room. Making the rest of theses halls seem like pure darkness. I stopped in my tracks altogether. What had happened here?

Fear had returned to me. But it was different this time. It's familiar. I've felt it before... But when?

I slowly walked to a locker, forth to the left. Inside was bare aside from a poster of myself alongside some other pegasi wearing some sort of flying suit and goggles. Each suit was sporting different brands all over them as well as a big number along their front right leg. Mine was the number "101". To my right, a mare with "62". To my left was another stallion with "01". The poster reads, "Get tickets to watch the Interno 15 pegasus race in manehat-" before a rip on the bottom hid the rest.

For some reason, a new feeling swept over me. Overwhelming sadness. Tears were forming as I stared at the poster. My throat tightened slightly as my breathing became uneven. Something terrible must have happened then.

I had to force myself to look away. Tears were sliding down my face as Aqua came into view. She was just standing there with the blank expression of her helmet. As if she was waiting for me to say something.

"th-theyre not here..."I choked out, "it...its empty..."

She stood here silent for a moment before she turned was started to walk back to the doors. I looked at the poster for a moment before following behind her.

The Ruins and The Tower

The walk back felt longer than it did. It was probably because of this sadness I'm feeling. It seemed to be latched onto me like some sort of parasite. It didn't want to go away.

Something had happened during that Interno 15 race. Something that's making me feel this way. Even without my memories. I'm sure of it. But what?

"Are you feeling alright?" Aqua asked, knocking me out of my thoughts, "You're lagging behind."

"I-its nothing." I replied, catching up to her, "Just thinking about something. That's all."

Her head turned slightly at me for a moment.

"...alright then." she shrugged, "Dont worry about Max. He may seem scary at first but he's just trying to survive like everyone else. If your lucky, he might open up to you."

There was a moment of silence as we returned to the "Sleeping Chambers" as described from a sigh overhead. The sight of all the lifeless bodies as we walked by made me feel uneasy. Everyone was practically untouched, aside from the two destroyed tubes.

"When you and Max were talking, he said 'the tower'." I started, looking at the passing tubes

"He was talking about our base." she replied, "Its more a camp than a base. With everything as it is now, ponies need to be ready to move when things start going south. But we make do with what we have."

"Is it really that bad out there?"

There was no reply was we headed down the stairs. The room on this floor seemed to be an identical copy as the one above us. The only thing different was the massive damage from a fallen tower. Making an opening to the far wall. Sunlight spilled into the room. How did this happen? Just how many ponies were here? Was I the only survivor here?

Aqua headed towards the opening, her helmet reverting back into her shell as she walked into the light.

No threats detected.

Deactivating protocall "magic_resistant_armour"

With a step into the light, I could feel my helmet and shell shrink back into my body. It feels almost as if I was a snake, shedding my own skin to grow longer. I felt just as exposed as well.

The light was blinding when it reached my eyes. I rose a hoove to shield my eyes as I got used to the sun's light.

"What took you two so long?" Max growled

When my eyes adjusted to the natural light, all I could see the ruins of what was a prospering city. Tall buildings had fallen over and overgrown with nature. There were even trees growing everywhere around the buildings. We were standing on one of the many fallen skyscrapers that landed on this building long ago. In the distance, there were smaller buildings. Every entrance opened to most of them while the rest were boarded up with planks of wood.

"We were looking for something." Aqua replied, walking past him, "Come on, we're taking him to the tower. Twilight'll find something for him to do... and hopefully, give us some answers."

Twilight? Does she mean the Twilight from the recordings? Could she really still be alive?

"...Whatever." he grunted, shoving me slightly to get my attention, "Come on scrap metal. Get a move on. I don't wanna piss off Aqua by falling behind if I were you."

He started to walk down the building. Catching up to Aqua. Both of them practically leaving me in the dust.

"R-right..." i replied, following them, "Right behind you."

The sun was just about to set as we finally stop at this mostly destroyed tower. While the tower itself is now only a story tall now, it was on the far end of the ruins (my map calling it 'Manehatton'). Medium-sized tents and some campfires can be seen closeby. All types of ponies can be seen as we got closer. Some seemed more natural while others seemed to be falling apart and covered in rust. There were even children among everything.

"Look everyone!" a small colt called out, springing alive when he saw us, "Aqua and Max are back! And it looks like they brought somepony with them!"

As Aqua's and Max's names were announced, other ponies started to gather around us. The colt was the first arrive as he jumped onto Aqua, giving her a hug. Most of them were shaking Aqua's and Maxes hooves and greeting. As if they had just been through some dangerous journey. Then a taller, winged unicorn started to make her way through the crowd. Her face seemed like royalty, even with the darkened bags under her eyes. Her mane and tail seemed almost like the night sky as it flew in some sort of wind that no one could feel. If it weren't for all that, she would look almost exactly like the twilight I saw before.

"Its good to see you two are still alive." she said, looking down at the both of them before looking at me. Her smile seemed to die a little as she saw me. I couldn't help but feel intimidated by her. She even sounded like the Twilight I saw before.

"And I see you found another survivor." she stated

"H-hello..." I said, waving my hoof to the mare

"What is your name, my little pony?""

"L-lightning, m-ma'm."

Mare gave me a confused look.

"His memory has been corrupted." Aqua stated, "He only remembers that much."

"Ahh..." she nodded, "I see. I'll see what I can do in the morning. But for now, He'll have to spend the night with Rocky Road."

"Theres something else I want to talk to you about, princess." Aqua stated moving slightly closer to the mare, "In privet"

"Of course, Aqua." the mare said, standing tall, "Everypony, please resume what you were doing. I have some matter's to discuss with Aqua."

With that said, everyone started to walk back to their tents.

"Max, could you take Lightning here to where he'll be sleeping tonight?" she requested, looking back at us again.

"sure thing, princess..." Max said reluctantly, walking past her, "Come on, scrap metal."

I took a deep breath before I trotted after him. I could hear the mare starting to talk to Aqua as I passed her.

It didn't take long before Max stopped at a tent set up inside the pillar. It seemed to be slightly bigger than the rest of the tents everywhere else. Besides the one in the center, which was the biggest of the whole camp. There was a dim light coming from inside the tent.

"This is it." he stated, "You'll get a job to do tomorrow. Until then, try to get some rest."

He started to walk away as I was going to say something. I decided to just let him go as I opened one of the flaps of the tent.

Inside was the small colt from before, sitting alone. He's a unicorn with a light yellow coat. His rough looking main and tell giving off a chocolate brown color with bits of marshmallow white everywhere. He seemed to be a "cyberpony" like I am, with sections of metal appearing where his legs attached to his body. He was staring at some sort of device before turning towards me. He seemed to be in his pre-teens.

"Oh hey! Your that earth pony that Aqua and Max brought back." He said, quickly standing up and facing me. He grabbed my hoof with his and gave it a quick shake. He gave a few quick glances to my back as he let go of me.

"But now that I get a closer look at you; you seem more like a pegasus model than an earth pony model. Save for the lack of wings. I'm Rocky Road. But everyone calls me 'Sparks'."

"Why do they call you that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow

As if by cue, a loud POP sounded. A spark of energy shot out of his ear as one of his eyes went dark. I jumped slightly from the loud sound as my shell immediately covered my body. Like it was some sort of reflex.

"Thats why..." he sighed as he knocked his head a few times. The eye brightened back up as if nothing happened, blinking a few times for good measure. My shell slowly reverted back as I calmed down

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Not anymore, at least... I've gotten used to it. What did you say your name was again?"

"Uhh... Its Lightning."

"I thought so.

He turned to the other side of the tent as he started fiddling with something. Moving things around with his lemon-colored magic at the same time.

"I knew your name sounded familiar. So I started looking around my stuff to figure out where. I know its somewhere... Aha! There it is!"

He jumped up as a cassette of some kind, enveloped in his magic, floated towards him. I walked in the tent and looked over his shoulder to investigate.

"Whats that?"

"an old recording of the Interno 15. It was one of the most well known Pegasi races in all of Equus. I found it at one of our old camp sights inside the cassette player and everything."

He sat back down as he placed the cassette in this box. The box then lit up as static began to show. Rocky Road than pressed a button on the back before an image of a green double arrow pointing to the left appeared on the top left corner. The letters "Rev." where next to it.

"Hold on I gotta rewind it a bit. This might be a stretch but I think you're the stallion near the beginning of this tape. Plus I feel like you'll like the race. Don't know anyone who didn't."

I didn't ask any questions as sat down next to him. Maybe this could help me figure out who I was.

The film starts abruptly as the static switches to a pony standing next to someone who looked like me. But instead of all the metal parts, he looked like more natural. Exactly like the poster in the ruins. They were standing in some sort of garage, all sorts of ponies working in the background. She was a mare unicorn with a wearing a suit and tie with a skirt that barely hid her cutiemark, which simply seemed to be a star. She also wore a bow in her mane that was done into a bun. She was holding a microphone with her magic, which had a deep purple hue to it. I was wearing the jumpsuit from the poster with the goggles on my forehead. They both had a smile on our faces.

"Good afternoon fillies and gentle colts!" the mare said, getting the viewers, "Star Shot here coming to you live with one of the Intro 15 flyers. He's the new upcoming hotshot. Setting a new record for the fastest stallion in Equestria during the intermissions. Number 101, Lightning Flash!"

My look-alike gave the viewers a wave with his front right hooves and a wink as she said my name.

"So Mr. Flash-" she stared

"Please," he interrupted, Star Shot bringing the mic to me, "Just call me Lightning, I'm not a business pony."

She gave me a nod before starting again. Bringing the mic back to herself.

"So Lightning, What are your thoughts on the upcoming race?"

"Well, Star Shot, all I can say is that this'll go down in the history books as one of the most intense pegasus races of the century."

"You sound pretty confident. Aren't you worried that there might be some flyers that might not play by the rules?"

"I'm sure there will be some. I'm counting on it actually."

"Why's that?"

"Well, what would you do if you participated in the biggest race in all of Equestria? Some ponies want to win that big prise no matter what. Even if it means cheating to get it."

Star Shot paused for a moment, thinking it over.

"You make a good point."

"I admit, I thought about cheating once before. But then I realized that that's not who I am. If I'm gonna do this; Its gonna be fair and square. And those who do cheat, they won't stop me from doing what I love. I'll show 'em what its like to win."

"And what about your brother, ThunderStorm?"

"What about-"

One of the ponies in the background called out to me. Another pegasus wearing some sort of headset. Both star and the look-alike turned towards them before facing towards the viewers. It looked like the interview was coming to an abrupt end.

"Duty calls."

"Before you go Lightning, is there anything you want to say to the viewers watching?"

He took a moment as he scratched my chin, thinking of something to say. Then a smile came to his face as his left wing gave a thumbs up to the viewers.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you're good at. As long as your having fun, then you're the true winner."

Static cut back in as some sort of tape starts to unravel in the box. Rocky Road jumped into action as he tried to stop the player to make any more damage to the recording.

"Nononono!" he cried, "It was gettin to the race!"

The image went dark as the cassette finally ejected from the box. Rocky Road groaned as he looked at the cassette. All I could do was sit there, completely frozen.

Lightning Flash...

Was that really me?

I could see my reflection on the box as he started fiddling with the cassette.

"This'll take forever to fix..." he complained, putting it on top of the box, "I'll need to lower the power output on the battery. That's most likely the cause of the... You okay there?"

I shook my head slightly as I snapped to my senses. I could see that Rocky Road seemed worried.

"Y-yeah." i replied, "Im alright. Just something on my mind."

"O...kay. Well, you can sleep over there. But your gonna have to move some things if you wanna get comfortable."

He pointed to the right side of the tent, where there were a few things lying around.

"Thanks Rocky Road. Maybe you could show me the rest when it's fixed."

"Sure thing. I'll let you know and we can watch the whole thing."

I smiled as I moved to the spot he pointed out. I made enough room to sleep by pushing some things out of the way. By the time I lied down, I suddenly felt very exhausted. Almost as if the energy I had earlier was sucked away. I wasn't even strong enough to try to stay awake as my eyes closed themselves.

My mind slipping into darkness...

Rest mode activated.

Sleep well #0025.

Beginning dream sequence

I find myself in a hospital room. The quiet beeps of a patient monitor fill the room as I sit up. Everything seems calm as look around the empty room.

"Good morning Mr. Flash."

My head jumps to the source of the voice. A mare was standing next to the bed I was laying on. Her coat was white as snow, her pink mane done in a bun with a medical hat on top. Her light blue eyes seemed worried as my gaze met hers.

"How are you feeling?" She asked

"O-okay I guess." I replied, "How did it go?"

She paused for a moment. As if she's trying to find the right words to say.

"Im... Sorry." she said, "We did the best we could... But...

My eyes widen as I bring one of my hooves to my back as if I was looking for something important, turning my head to look as well. Only to find nothing but slightly bloodied bandages. Panic had started to settle in as I looked back at her.

"B-but m-my wings!" I studdered, "Wh-what am I w-without them?"

"Im sorry... We couldn't save them"

As she spoke, her appearance quickly distorted itself to something only possible of a nightmare. Her eyes had become red, her coat was stained with blood and her mane was tangled in knots. Knives where driven in all over her chest and back. Her smile had tears of crimson running down it. Her stab wounds had started filling the room black until it had consumed me completely. It felt as though 10 tons were weighing me down.

I tried to let out a scream of pain but nothing came out of my mouth.

I jumped awake as my senses returned to me. Rays of morning sun finding its way thew the fabric of the tent as I sat up. My leg moving to my back on its own, trying to find something. Only to find nothing. A sense a dread fell over me before more light came in from the front of the tent. I turned around to see a natural pegasus mare leaning in, looking for someone.

"Oh good, you're awake." She said as she saw me, "The princess is looking for you in the market. You should hurry and go find her."

"Umm... Okay,"I replied, covering my eyes from the light, "Thanks."

She nodded before closing the flap, walking away to do her own business. I took a moment to stretch my legs as I stood up. Soft metal clicking could be heard from my joints as I felt myself loosen up. It felt nice.

"Lets hope i don't get lost." I told myself as I walked out of the tent, "I mean, how hard could it be to find a six-foot-tall winged unicorn with magic hair?

Outside of the pillar was full of activity. There were ponies frantically running from one side of the camp to the other. Some trying to get other's attention by calling out items that they were selling and its price. There where even small groups that went outside of the camp, most likely to find something out there. Definitely a major difference to last night. But out of everything, I could even get a glimpse of their princess.

How could someone so distinct from everyone else, blend in so perfectly?

"Spare Parts!" a pony called out through the crowd, "We just got a new shipment of spare parts everypony! Looking for something that needs replacing? Or maybe for a different look? Then come and claim yours before they're all gone!"

I don't know what it was, but I felt drawn to see what this guy was selling. I even stopped in my tacts and backtracked to his tent. Maybe I could find something useful in the long run. Just a quick look wouldn't hurt.

For using such a small tent, his stock was extremely wide. His stand(?) had everything from eyes to some sorts of gadgets. All the multiple body parts holding the same grey from the ponies in those tubes.

The pony himself was an earth pony for the most part. He had a natural body, that had a golden brown coat, with bits and peases of himself replaced with metallic parts. His right eye is the most noticeable difference to him. His eye was replaced with a blue eye while his natural one was green. His light brown mane seemed to be well kept as he stood proudly in front of his goods. Waiting for a customer to stop by. A grin appeared on his face as I entered his field of vision,

"You there! Sir!" he called out, pointing his cane at me, "I can see you're a pony that is in desperate need of variety!"

He beckoned me closer with his cane, every eager to show me his wares.

"Come closer, I'll be sure to help you with anything you need. What's your name good sir?

"Its lightning," i replied as i made my way to his station, "Who are you?"

"Well, Mr. Lightning, my name doesn't matter. What does matter is that I help you find what you're looking for. And looking at you..."

He circled around me a few times as I stopped in front of him. I could feel him looking at me from top to bottom. Like he was scanning me for something.

"...I can tell that you are a pegasus without his wings to fly with. Such a cruel fate for someone of your kind. But fear not! I have just the thing for you."

Without another word, he rushed inside his text to find something. Leaving me standing there, alone. The sound of shifting metal could be heard from the inside the tent. I couldn't help but wonder how much stuff was inside that tent.

"I knew I would find you eventually."

As I turned to see the source of the voice, I found myself standing face to face with the mare I'd set out to find. She was looking down to be with a small smile on her face. She seemed to be less intimidating as she was last night. Instead, she seemed inviting to talk to.

"How did you sleep?" she asked

"Okay... I guess." I replied, "Just... Uh... Dreamless is all.

"I see. And what are you doing at this shop? You seemed to be in fair condition for looking at spare parts."

"Oh, I'm having a look around. Seeing what this place is like when everyone is awake."

"Here we are!" the sales pony said as he walked outside his tent. He was carrying some sort of package next to him as I turned to face him. He seemed to be more focused on what he was holding than what was in front of him.

"One pair of genuine pega-PRINCESS!?!" The pony jumped as he saw the mare behind me, almost dropping what he was holding to the ground. He then gave the mare a bow before trying to regain his composer.

"P-princess Twilight. Wh-what brings you to my shop, your highness?"

The mare rolled her eyes.

"I was looking for this pony actually." she replied, her face making a more stern look, "You weren't trying to con him of his money, where you?"

"O-f course n-not, your m-majesty! I-i just happened to notice that he was missing his wings. S-so I decided to give these to him.

He then held out the package to me. He seemed reluctant to do so.

"Free of charge."

"Really?"I asked as I grabbed the package from him, "Thanks?"

"that's awfully generous of you, Golden Tongue."

"Is it wrong of me to help a fellow survivor?"

"Not at all. I was just curious, nothing more."

The princess started to walk away from Golden Tongue and his shop. Her serious tone seemed to disappear as she turned away.

"Come on Lightning. Let's see what I can do about your memory."

I didn't argue with the princess as I followed behind her. If she couldn't fix my memory, she at least got me something for free.

Technical maintenance

It just had accorded to me that I had no idea what all these ponies use as money. So it was actually good luck that the princess showed up when she did. I would probably be in some trouble if she didn't.

Instead of going directly to her tent, we had stopped at several other tents. Each of them holding a shop of their own; Food, water, and various parts for cyberponies. She even asked for my opinion as she stopped at each tent. This or that? Big or small? Red or blue? Oats or carrots? It was like she trying to get a sense of what kind of pony I am.

"What about-?" she started

"I don't mean to be rude princess," I interrupted, "But can we please fix my memory? If that's not too much to ask.

"Of course, my apologies. I almost forgot why I was looking for you."

She waved a hoof at the pony who ran the shop. The pony nodded as he started went inside to look for something.

"The stress of being a princess for a lost kingdom gets to me sometimes." she sighed, "Before we start the process, I have to ask you some questions."

The pony placed a box of scrap metal on the counter. The princess lifted up with her deep purple magic. One of them floating towards me as she started to walk back to the pillar.

"What kind of questions?" I asked, taking the sandwich

It's amazing how cluttered one tent can get. Its worst to think that the biggest tent here is filled with spare parts, paper, and equipment. I couldn't even see where the princess goes to sleep inside this thing.

A purple hue covered my vision I was lifted up in the air. I had no control over my movement as I was levitated to an old looking repair station. The station itself was just a monitor attached to a medical bed. On the side monitor were various tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches and a cable. The cable seemed to look like that thing aqua used on me when she and Max found me. I'm pretty sure it does the same thing as well.

"First things first," she started, placing me onto the bed, "Have you been hearing, seeing and/or feeling anything out of the ordinary."

When I turned my sights to her, she had already gotten herself a clipboard. Waiting for me to answer her question. There wasn't much to think about. Yesterday is only the only thing I could go on. That voice... that thing.

"Well... There was this one thing." I confessed, "When Aqua put me into this void, I saw someone there. It looked like me, but not really me. Does that count?"

"Its a start..." she replied, "anything else?"

"Kindof... That thing wanted me to find a 'replacement core' and to go to someplace called Canterlot."

I heard scribbling stop She almost froze up as she heard my answer.

"Canterlot? Are you sure that's what it said?"

I nodded as a feeling of unease started to settle in. She placed the clipboard on top of the monitor as she got closer.

"Is there something wrong princess?"

"N-no. No, I don't think so. But I have to make sure."

She started looking deep into my eyes. As if she was looking for something. I glanced away from the pressure she was giving off for a moment.

"Have you, yourself, felt like going there? Like you needed to be there?"

"I... Don't know to answer that. Why?

There was a moment of silence before she backed off. Her horn glowed slightly as her magic grabbed something from the monitor.

"Theres been this pandemic going about recently. Its only have affected other cyberponies. Lay down on your chest."

I did as I was ordered. The princess seemed really nervous for some reason.

"The symptoms vary but it has one common factor. The infected pony has a strong desire to go to canterlot. It could be for any reason. They forgot something important to them there. They have memories there. It could just be out of nowhere and it never leaves their minds.

But eventually, they disappear from the group and are never heard from again. I'm not sure what causes this to happen. But if I can find out, I can save a lot of ponies."

Was this what max meant by the virus?

"I don't think you should worry. I'll see what's going on in your data space while I try to fix your memory. Maybe I can find the source of it.

"Data Space?"

"Just try to relax, you'll see soon enough."

I felt something drive into the back of my head before I had a chance to get comfortable. Everything suddenly went dark as I felt myself go limp.

I opened my eyes to find myself back into the void. Instead this time, there was no terminal to be seen. But in its place was some sort of mirror.

On the other side of the mirror was the thing from before. Its shape was still a mirror image of mine while its colors were in negative. Its black pits stared at me, almost as if he didn't have a soul. As I walked closer to it, it mirrored my movements. We just stood there for what felt like hours.

"Where are we?" i finally asked

He gave no response as he tilted his head. As if I should already know the answer himself.

"Who are you?"

He just stood there as he began to fade away. In his place, a flood of colors and light attacked my eyes. everything spun as the floor disappeared below me. It was so sudden that everything was in chaos for a moment.

but just as it started, it suddenly stopped.

I then found myself sitting behind a counter with a pen in one wing and a photo of me flying overhead in another. In front of me was a line on ponies holding pictures as they waited eagerly for something.

"Can I have it signed to my cousin?" the mare first in line asked, "She lives in Ponyvill and couldn't make it here herself."

"Sure thing." i replied, giving her a smile, "Whats her name?"

Although my body moved to place the pen on the picture. I had to control. it was as if I was a spectator. just simply watching events play out.

"PYisleM HoF~´omS"

I gave her a nod as I scribbled, "To Paisley Honeycomb; One of my greatest fans. -Lightning" in the middle of the picture. The mare smiled happily as I handed the picture back to her. Next pony in line walked up and handed me a similar picture. I wrote my name on it had handed it back, next pony, sign, repeat, next pony, sign, repeat. This went off for a few minutes before everything went dark

[What was that just now?

Power On

Boot start

Systems: Error! Memory critically corrupted! Replacement core required.

Vitals: Stable

Optics: Online

Audio input: Online

Audio output: Online

Basic motor movement: Online

Advanced motor movement: Online

Senses: Online

Defensive Protocols: Online

M.S.B.: Locked. Code_"FRIENDSHIP"_

Spell list: Locked. Code_"FRIENDSHIP"_

Wing prototype: Locked. Code_"WONDERBOLTS"_

Good morning test subject #0053. You have been offline for 99999999- We hope that you had a good rest. Please follow instructions given by your Doctor for today's tests. Don't forget, your cooperation is to ensure a better and happier life for everyone on the planet. We thank you and your fellow test subjects for helping Celestia and Luna incorporated. Where friendship, magic, and science work together.

Wake up ;aousdfhg-. We need to go.