Pony-Me™: Rogueby TheMajorTechieChaptersSplit Lives,Unforgotten.Rewrite the script,Hold on.Let go.Split Lives,Author's Note While this chapter isn't going to be rewritten in the main story, it will be posted here anyways in order to lead naturally into the events that are now spun-off into this AU. Split Lives, "Lisa?" Lisa awoke to the sound of her own voice. Or at least, of Twilight's voice. "Good. You're awake." Lisa yawned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up on the bed, Twilight's disembodied voice still echoing through her mind. "Yeah, what about it?" she began with a whisper, "Couldn't you just show up in another dream or something?" "Nope." Twilight's voice replied. "We need to talk. And besides, I personally feel more comfortable speaking out loud. It's nighttime anyways, so nobody else will hear us." "Great," the girl folded her arms, staring to the bookshelf across from her. "I guess I'll just talk to myself then." "No, no. It's not like that." Twilight's voice once again spoke. "Lisa, have you been noticing anything lately? Anything in relation to your memories?" Lisa shook her head, knowing well how futile the action would be anyways. "Anything?" Twilight pressed on. "No." Lisa answered. "Well, what if I told you that the more you remember of yourself, the more I'll be covered up, buried away in your thoughts." "I--" "Not yet. I'm still talking..." Twilight cut in, "What I mean is, remember back when we were still one mind?" "...Yeah?" "Well, based on what I know from your memories, as well as my own experience, I'm pretty sure that after we split into our own selves, it's become somewhat of a competition for control over our body. I mean, just take a look at what happened to Pinkie." Lisa raised a brow. "You mean Samantha? She seems perfectly fine now." "Seems." Twilight asserted, a hint of irritation seeping into her disembodied voice. "You can't say that she is for sure. You might not remember right now, but she... she knows things. Same with Argall. I won't tell you what it is though. You might use it on me." "Use what?" "Not telling you. I'll only let them do it if your life is on the line." "You're not making any sense, Twilight." "Neither do your buried memories about your friend." "Well, what do you want me to do, run out and ask her in the middle of the night?" "No, are you crazy?" Twilight's voice snapped, surprising Lisa. "I'd very much like to take the time to study that mare... er, girl? ...Um... as I was saying, I'd much prefer to study her my way. Okay?" Yeah, whatever. Lisa rolled her eyes, reaching for the diary on the edge of the desk beside her. I'd personally prefer some sleep right now. "No! That's what sets you and me apart, Lisa. From what I can dig up, you designed me to be like yourself, but with certain aspects tweaked." Twilight paused to let Lisa take a breath. "For example, right now, you'd rather sleep, but I'd rather read some more diary entries." Lisa glanced down at her diary that she now held, before flinging it back at the desk, a heavy thud hitting the floor as the diary bounced off of something. "Twilight, what's gotten into you?!" she shouted as the book hit the floor moments later, "Before I went to bed, I asked you if you were going to be fine outside of Equestria. You said that it depends on me." "Yeah, and just because I'm not in Equestria doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to do what I want in the meantime!" Lisa groaned, falling back onto her pillow. "And I should've ramped up whatever value it is that you've got controlling your social skills." Twilight's voice went silent for a moment, the mare at a loss for words. The click of the doorknob startled both mare and girl as a weary-eyed Argall stuck his head in, a blazing flashlight in hand. "Lisa, you alright?" he began, sweeping the light across Lisa's bed, "I heard you shouting. Have you been talking to yourself again?" "...Yes," Twilight's voice replied for Lisa, "we've been talking." Argall stifled a yawn, returning his gaze to the girl. "Lisa?" "Yes?" "Meet me tomorrow, after I bring Timothy over." The Professor left without another word. Lisa sighed, leaning over the side of her bed. She picked up her diary, leaning back and tracing over its worn cover with her other hand. "Y'know," she began again, "how about we put all of this aside, and deal with it tomorrow?" Lisa felt herself shrug as Twilight responded. "Fine..." the mare replied, "though, I'd still rather stay up all night and read those books of yours." ERROR. Twilight's voice screamed through Lisa's mind, WAKE UP. NEED. HELP. Lisa groaned, rubbing her eyes as she turned to the side. "LISA." Twilight screamed again, this time out loud. "HELP. SO--THING...'S. WRONG." This time, the girl jerked awake, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. "CA-N...'T E...RR--" Twilight's muffled voice continued. Frantically, Lisa leaped from her bed, her body out of her own control as Twilight took a stumbling step towards the door. "FI...-D... PIN...K-E," the mare's voice droned on in monotone, "N-EED... HELP..." Lisa gasped as control over her body returned, sending her tumbling to the floor with a thud. She clawed her way back to her feet, and threw open the door. "Oh hey, Twilight." Timothy greeted from the stairs as he ascended, "Argall just brought me--" "GE-T P-NK...E!" Twilight's monotone voice screeched from Lisa's body, "TEL. --OFESS... ARG-LL... OR... BRI...NG... SA-ANTH!" Timothy frowned, frozen in place mid-step as Lisa rushed past him down the stairs. He turned, following after her to the bottom of the stairs. "Twilight," he began, reaching out for the girl, "what did you--" Lisa spun around, this time replying for the rapidly-deteriorating Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes met Timothy's. "Find Argall and tell him to bring Samantha here, now." "But--" "NO-W." Twilight's voice screamed again, before returning control to her host. Lisa turned back around, grabbing the doorknob. "Something's wrong with Twilight, and I'm pretty sure Argall and Samantha are the only two that can help her. I don't know what she knows about them, but she needs something only they can do." "Got it," Timothy nodded, following after her. Lisa paused mid-step as they exited the house. "Wait..." she began, "Where is he, anywa--" "DO...SN'T... MAT-TER." Twilight's voice cut off Lisa, "SPIK- K...OWS." "Do you?" Lisa turned to Timothy. "Where's the Professor?" Timothy shrugged in response. "He left after dropping me off here. He said to just stick with you while he went to get some groceries." "NOT. GO...OD..." Twilight shouted through Lisa, "F...I-- PIN-K--" Lisa's eyes rolled back as she suddenly collapsed to the ground. "Wake up!" "Please wake up, Twi... er, Lisa. Snap out of it!" Lisa groaned, rubbing her head as she opened her eyes, squinting in the morning sun. Timothy sighed a breath of relief, holding out a hand for the girl. "Okay, c'mon," he began, pulling her from the ground, "Let's go find Samantha." She froze for a moment, shuddering as one final word from Twilight left her lips. "H...UR-RY..." Timothy nodded, glancing about. "Don't worry, Twilight," he assured as Lisa regained control, "we'll find her... uh..." he turned back to her. "Do you have any idea where she lives?" Lisa shook her head. "When we got here, the only thing she had on her mind was home, and I highly doubt that I remember where she lives." "But then how will we save Twilight?" Timothy wailed, "If we wait any longer, she might be gone forever!" "Wait." Lisa suddenly began, "So, y'know how Argall had that phone he kept checking when it was almost time to go back to Equestria?" Timothy nodded slowly, confusion spread across his face. "I'm betting that somewhere in my room, I've got one of my own that I could maybe use to communicate with Samantha." "Are you serious?!" Timothy yelled, "Twilight sounds like she's about to die. Are you sure that you still have the time to look for it?" Lisa nodded. "I'm pretty sure I know exactly where it is, too." Timothy stood in the doorway as Lisa once again stepped into her room, her eyes scanning the carpeted floor beneath her feet as she neared her bed. Crouching down to the floor, she stuck a hand underneath the bottom shelf of the desk beside her bed, feeling around until her fingers came across a flat, glassy screen. Lisa smiled, pulling the phone from underneath the desk. "Bingo." "How did--" "I..." Lisa murmured, "I was arguing with Twilight last night, and threw my diary. I remembered hearing it knock something down, and from there I just forgot about it until now. I didn't even realize that it was my old phone." Timothy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, pointing at the device. "does that thing even turn on anymore?" Lisa didn't respond. "Well?" A light click sound emanated from the phone as Lisa pressed the power button. The two watched in silence as the device came to life. "It... it still works?" Timothy mumbled, staring at the screen in Lisa's hands. Lisa looked to her desk for a moment, catching sight of the cable dangling off the side. Timothy followed her movements, also catching sight of the charger. He... he even left my phone charged for me... Lisa thought, turning back to her phone... of which had already locked itself again. Timothy folded his arms. "Okay, enough with the staring now!" He exclaimed, "We still need to save Twilight, remember?" Lisa nodded. "Yeah. Um... I'll see what I can do." The phone slipped from her hands as she wavered on her feet, before collapsing once again to the floor. "Samantha!" a voice called from behind the girl's door, "Breakfast is on the table, I'll be going to work, okay?" Samantha glanced up from her laptop. "'Kay, mom!" She shouted back, shutting the screen. A faint buzz went off in her pocket. She sighed, pushing her laptop aside as she pulled out her phone. Her eyes grew wide as she saw who messaged her. Message from: Lisa Pinkie, there's something wrong with Twilight. She just fainted in the middle of the room, and Argall's not here right now. Please come quickly. -Spike Samantha stuffed her phone back in her pocket, and rushed from her room. Barrelling down the hall, she grabbed the small handbag hanging in the kitchen before making a beeline for the front door. "Is she okay?" Timothy asked, watching as Samantha helped her friend up. Samantha nodded, grunting as she guided Lisa to her bed. She pointed to her handbag on the floor. "Hey, hand me my stuff, would ya?" Timothy set the bag beside Samantha, who began rummaging in it before pulling out a small scalpel. She turned to the boy. "Um," she began, "you might want to turn away for a bit if you don't want to watch." "But what about Twilight?" Timothy wailed. "She'll be fine. With what's happening right now, she'll hardly even know she's here." "What--" "I'll explain later. Just stop talking, and lemme concentrate." "Oh... okay." Timothy murmured, turning away. Samantha turned for a moment, checking on the boy for a moment before turning back to Lisa. She glanced down at the technical paper propped up against her bag, then back at Lisa. With a sigh, she set down the scalpel and rolled her friend over onto a pillow. "Is it over yet?" "No. Stop talking." She climbed onto the bed beside Samantha, scalpel once again in hand as she leaned over the back of Lisa's neck. With an unshaking hand, she made her first cut; a small, vertical incision just below her friend's hairline. Lisa groaned, lifting a hand to her neck as she woke. "Hey, Lis." Lisa opened her eyes, staring up at her friend. Timothy wandered up behind Samantha, his eyes trembling as they turned to Lisa. "...Twilight?" he stammered, "You're okay now, aren't you? Pin... Samantha fixed you. I watched her do it after you fainted again." Lisa frowned, a brow raised as she sat up in her bed. "Tim," she began, "Who the heck are you talking to? Who's Twilight?" Unforgotten."Twilight, don't you remember?" Timothy pleaded, "You're Twilight Sparkle, you live in Equestria. I'm Spike, remember?" Lisa shook her head. "I remember the name Twilight from somewhere, but as far as I know, that was from an old project." She narrowed her eyes. "I am correct in saying that, right? You look like my little brother, but you're definitely not the age I remembered him to be." Samantha sighed, holding out a bloody sliver of metal to her friend. "Here," she said, placing the chip in Lisa's palm. "Lisa, this is Twilight." Lisa glanced down at her hand, picking up the chip in her fingers. "Wait..." she sputtered, staring at the tiny device, "This... Twilight..." She looked back up at Samantha. "My project." Lisa stated, "This was my project. Since when was it finished?" "Lisa, it's been over a decade now." The girl frowned, lifting the chip in the light as her eyes caught sight of the blood-- her blood, still fresh on its metallic surface. She set the chip down, staring into Samantha's eyes. "What does she remember?" "Who?" "Twilight." Lisa deadpanned, motioning at the chip in her grasp. "I'm assuming that this thing's been inside of me all this time?" Samantha nodded. "And you know that these things also hold the memories of the AIs we made, right?" More nodding. "Well," Lisa continued, "I have a feeling that Twilight might've taken a good chunk of my own memories with her." "But why would she do that?!" Timothy exclaimed, "She's a good pony! Why'd she be stealing your memories?" "Studying." "But--" "Tim." Lisa began, "You weren't even in the simulations, last I remember. I wanted to enter alone, so why do you keep calling me Twilight?" "But I was in the simulations with you, remember?" Timothy argued, "I was Spike, Twilight's assistant!" Lisa shook her head. "Don't remember." "But I--" "Okay, geez. Enough yapping already, alright?" Samantha cut in, shushing the siblings. She turned to Lisa. "How about we clear up this fiasco with a trip to our old office?" The room fell silent as the idea ran through Lisa's mind. A brief moment later, the girl nodded. "Yes," Lisa agreed, "I'd certainly prefer that over arguing." Samantha turned to the door. "Good. I've got something to show you." "Wait," Lisa began, standing from her bed, "are we walking there?" "Lisa. Just assume that you know nothing, okay?" Lisa fell silent, tightly grasping the chip in her hands as Samantha opened the door. "By the way," Samantha continued, turning back to her friend, "you might want to carry that thing in something a bit safer. I've got a case for it if you'd like." "Wait, since when did you have a car?!" Samantha glared at her friend. "Know. Nothing." She deadpanned, unlocking the door. "And besides, how do you think I even got here? Get in." Lisa and Timothy piled into the backseats, while Samantha sat at the wheel, plopping her handbag down on the passenger's side seat. She shut the driver's side door with a heavy clunk, and pressed the power button. The two siblings simultaneously watched in awe as the vehicle seemingly came to life around them. "Yeah, yeah. Stare all you want." Samantha deadpanned, pulling out of the driveway. "If you were thinking that the insides of cars still look like the old clunker Argall drives, then you're sorely mistaken." The trip to the office was largely silent, save for the near-inaudible hum of the engine. "We're here." Lisa turned from her usual spot at the window, staring at the looming building before them. Her fingers tightened around the white carrying case that Samantha had given her. The doors unlocked as Samantha put the vehicle in park. "Your old home away from home." She sighed. "You used to spend more time at this place then you did at your own house." Keys jingled in her hand as she walked to the door. Samantha turned for a moment, watching over her shoulder as Lisa and Timothy exited the car. "It looks so... abandoned." Lisa frowned, staring at the thick layer of dust masking the windows. "Did something happen while I was in the simulation?" Click. A blast of musty air hit the trio as Samantha pulled the door open. "Just as I remembered it," she smirked, strolling further into the building. With a faint buzz at the girl's movement, the overhead lights flickered to life, flooding the corridors with a blazing light. Lisa and Timothy followed close behind. Samantha stopped at a door to the left of the short hall. Lisa's eyes widened as her friend pushed the door open. "This..." she mumbled, entering behind Samantha, "This is my office..." "Was our office." Samantha corrected, "When you hooked yourself up to our project, I deployed my AI instead of connecting myself. I went on to help grow our project into what it is today..." she paused for a moment, fussing at something in her pocket. "...with the help of Argall." She procured a small case of her own from her pocket, setting it and her handbag down on a desk. "Anyways," she continued, "eventually, we released the framework for the simulation under license, and formed a company to manage the whole thing." "But..." Lisa hesitated, glancing at the dust-encrusted monitors lining the desks. "But what about you? What happened to this place?" Samantha shook her head. "I retired as lead developer," she began, "I handed that role to the company's licensees. After that, we closed down the office, and sent all the files to the new headquarters." Samantha turned away, gesturing to the computers. "Though, Argall wanted to keep this place as-is for your return, evidently." Her eyes caught sight of Timothy slouching on the office chairs, spinning. "Hey Tim," Samantha called, "if you'd like, you can go to the room across from this one. There's some toys and stuff if you're bored." She watched as Timothy rushed from the room, slamming the door behind him. Sighing, she turned back to Lisa. "Anyways, I got a nice sum of cash as part of our first deal. I can certainly say that my parents are quite comfortably retired now, y'know?" Lisa snorted. "What, so you sold out to some big-name corporation or something?" "What-- of course not!" Samantha exclaimed in return, "I just told you that we formed the company to run the simulations!" "Who's this we?" Lisa frowned, folding her arms. "I never agreed on that." "Me and Argall." Lisa rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever." she spat, "Either way, it was my project in the first place, and you took it from me." Samantha slammed a hand down on the desk. "Well, you know what, I've just about had it with you, Lisa. The you from before this whole fiasco would be ashamed to see what they've become." She turned away in a huff. "Twilight did something to you, Lisa. I don't know what it is, but she's changed something in you." "Does it even matter?" Samantha spun around again, seething through her teeth. "What happened to not arguing?" Lisa shrugged, a sly smirk spreading across her face. "I lied." "Wha--" "Give me the login for the computer, Samantha." Lisa demanded, setting down the carrying case by the keyboard and holding out her hand, "Let me see what's in m...Twilight's memories." Her friend sighed, running a hand down her face as she pulled up a chair. "Fine." Samantha began, "If that's what it takes to get you out of this mess, I'll do it." "Good." Samantha grabbed a pen and tore a sheet of note-paper off a nearby pad, jotting down a string of characters. She glanced to the side, staring into the eyes of an ecstatic Lisa Garnet. "Wait..." Samantha paused, the pen dropping from her fingers, "Shouldn't you remember the password to your own computer?" Lisa shook her head, motioning for her friend to keep writing. "I'm telling you now, Lisa. Once this is over, we're gonna have a talk about this whole ordeal with Argall." Without looking up, Samantha finished writing, and handed the password to her friend. "Thank you." Lisa nodded, snatching the paper from her friend. The sound of cooling fans filled the room as Lisa turned on a computer; her computer. Samantha watched behind the girl, a frown on her face as Lisa typed in her password, character-by-character. Lisa's eyes lit up with joy as her desktop wallpaper loaded in. "Yessss..." she hissed, practically pouncing on the keyboard, "Now to see what there is to read!" "Aren't you forgetting something?" Samantha began, gesturing to the white carrying case beside her friend. Lisa's eyes darted to the case. "Ah, yeah." she grinned, "Nearly forgot about this little trinket. Now, do I have to... um... connect it to something, or does it just work..." Samantha rummaged about in her handbag, pulling out a breakout board. "Use this." She grumbled, sliding the device towards Lisa, "Don't you remember uploading Twilight onto it all those years ago?" Lisa hesitated, then shook her head. "Fine, just hurry up then." The girl's demeanor returned as she practically tore open the carrying case, plucking the bloodied chip from its innards and dropping it in place on the board. She froze up, glaring at Samantha as she felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Lisa, this isn't you." Samantha began slowly, "I've never seen you like this before. Not before the simulations, not after. Tell me now. What happened to you?" "Feh," Lisa grumbled in response, brushing off her friend. "You tell me, Pinkie." She reached for an available port, the cord for the breakout board dangling in her fingers as Samantha slapped away her hand. "What. Happened?" "What do you think you're doing?" Lisa seethed, spinning around and flicking the cord past her friend's face. "Be a good assistant and do what I say. Okay?" Samantha grumbled to herself, taking a seat behind Lisa. As for the girl herself, Lisa had already fully-entrenched herself in the memories of her counterpart. Samantha watched idly, cradling her chin in her hand, as her friend scrolled through years upon years of recorded memory. "Wait... wait, those aren't Twilight's memories..." Samantha mumbled, her eyes flitting through the troves of information scrolling past her friend's vision. She straightened in her seat, pointing an accusing finger at the monitors. "That's--" "Interesting." Lisa cut in, "It is very interesting information, and very useful information." She spun around in the chair to face Samantha. "As I mentioned before, I have full reason to believe that Twilight took my memories with her when you removed the chip." Samantha sighed, returning to her position at the table. "Yeah," she murmured under her breath, "but would Twilight really be taking memories like those?" Lisa stiffened, a hand hovering over the mouse. "Well." She began, still turned away, "Would you like for me to delete her, then?" "NO!" Samantha shouted, "Just... don't!" "Then let me study in peace." Samantha huffed, returning to her sulking. Amidst the silence of the room, however, an idea flew into her mind. "Lisa, did you know that you can connect to Equestria directly from that very computer?" "WHAT?!" Lisa squealed, "Show me! Let me see the place again!" Samantha smirked. "Okay, Lisa. There should be a viewer program on your desktop." She watched as her friend frantically scanned the mess of icons littering the screen. At last, the cursor landed on the program. "Well?" Samantha urged, "Go on, click on it. Last I remember, you set the thing to view Twilight's library in Ponyville." A double-click later, and the program came to life, spanning across the screens a pristine view of Twilight's library... ...and Twilight Sparkle herself. Rewrite the script,"Wait..." Lisa mumbled, her eyes glued to the screen. "Wait, no... that can't be right. I'm Twilight..." She spun in her seat to face Samantha. "Tell me now. Who is this imposter that I see?" Samantha's grin widened. "That's no imposter, Lisa, that's Twilight." "No, I'm Twilight!" Lisa yelled. Her hands flew over her mouth as she gasped. "I... I mean--" "Exactly." Samantha cut in, grabbing her friend by the wrist. "You're Twilight. Now tell me, where's my friend?" Lisa's vicious smirk returned as she placed her own hand over Samantha's. "Touché, Sam. I was just about to ask the same about mine." "You saw her already," Samantha argued, motioning to her own carrying case beside her handbag, "Pinkie fully agreed to the procedure as long as I promised her that she'd return to Equestria. That's part of the reason why I brought us here." Lisa turned back to the monitors. "Even after calling her a glitch?" She growled, leaning closer to the screens. "What happened to getting rid of her?" "We... we figured things out. That's all." "Yeah," Lisa scoffed, "riiiiight. You, one of the most disagreeable people I've ever met. You just figured things out with Pinkie?" "Where is Lisa?" "The same place where you put Pinkie. I'm guessing you're going to try and get me to figure things out with her now?" Samantha sighed, slumping in her chair. "No." "That's a loyal assistant when I need it." Lisa mused as she lounged in her chair, "Fetch me Spike, please." A trembling Timothy nudged the door open. "Twilight," he began with a shudder, "you shout too loudly." Lisa paused, her expression shifting from smug to suspicion. "Spike." "Twilight, I heard everything from across the hall. You're not the Twilight I know," Timothy shuddered, "not anymore." The click of the door closing echoed across the silent room. Samantha turned back to Twilight. "Please," she begged, "give my friend back her body and memories. I can still put you back into Equestria." Lisa rose a brow, pointing back to the Twilight Sparkle roaming across Equestria on-screen. "She was generated as a replacement for you when you didn't return in time. I added that mechanic as a failsafe to keep the simulation running smoothly in case if something happened in the long-run. I can merge you and her into a single entity, and you can continue on with your life and forget about all this. Okay?" The tapping of Lisa's fingernails on the desk filled the room. Samantha watched as her friend contemplated the idea, her face cycling through waves of emotion by the second. Finally, her fingers halted their tapping. "No." "But--" "I much prefer living here in the real world now, as opposed to Equestria. Yes, I may be losing all my friends, but in return, I've got so much I can learn about in this world!" "What abou--" "Lisa?" The girl cut off Samantha, "Psh, she can go live in Equestria herself for all I care. She isn't of any use to me anymore." Lisa screamed. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed. She kicked and punched in every direction; a futile attempt to push back the pokes and prodding of her mind that Twilight Sparkle subjected her to. "Help!" Lisa shouted into the darkness, screaming again as a stream of her own memories flashed past her eyes, disappearing into the void of Twilight Sparkle's corrupted code. "Help!" She shouted again, her voice weakening as she felt herself stretching out. She could only whimper as she felt herself being sucked from her own body, in turn being replaced by Twilight Sparkle herself. Lisa yawned, idly sitting in a bath of blinding white; her new prison. Is this what Twilight felt? She wondered, squinting into the infinite distance before her, This... this must be the transmitter chip. Abruptly, the world around her shifted. A wave of pain rolled over the girl as her mind went entirely blank. Thoughts, memories, even her very personality shot from her in physical form, presented flat against the endless ceiling high above. "No use?!" Samantha shouted, "You're talking about my friend like she was like... like some kind of book for you to study from!" "And study I did." Lisa mused, "Up until last night, I had never realized the potential of all the information that I was exposed to during my time with her. Last night, however, I felt a sudden pull, almost a calling of sorts, to gleam through as many of her memories as I could see fit. In fact, I found so much usefu--" "Blah, blah." Samantha groaned, cutting Lisa short, "I get it, Twilight. Something messed up your code last night, and you decided to turn on the person you were modeled after. I can probably get you patched in a few minutes if you'd like." Lisa growled, her hands balling into fists on the desk. "See," she began, "that is why I ultimately decided to commandeer your friend's body. You humans have no faith in your own creations. Here I am, communicating with you about my desire to explore the world, and what do you say in response? You want to reprogram me, don't you?" Samantha jumped back with a yelp as Lisa stood up, seemingly towering over her friend. "You just think of me as a tool, don't you? Just a nonliving bundle of code that just-so-happens to have taken a physical form. I wish for more respect than that." Lisa stomped to the door, turning to give a final glare at Samantha before opening it. The room trembled as the door slammed shut. Just like that, Lisa Garnet- Twilight Sparke, was gone. Lisa gasped as she felt herself recollecting. Slowly, she recounted her memories. The long days in the office with Samantha, the years she'd spent in the simulation, even relearning how to use chopsticks with Professor Argall. Seems like everything's there... she smiled to herself. She rubbed her eyes, staring into the white void all around her as her mood once again tanked. ...at least, I hope everything's there. Samantha sighed as she closed the viewer window that displayed the contents of Lisa's memories. Her thoughts went back to Twilight, the one who'd put her friend on the very chip that was intended to contain the simulation's Artificial Intelligence programs. "She's just a modified chatbot..." she whispered to herself, pulling up the years-old source code for Twilight Sparkle in a window. "How did she get so off-script, even when her script is self-generating? It's... it's just not like the Twilight that Lisa designed to be like this... unless..." She leaned back in her chair with a frown, glancing to the other carrying case in the room: The one containing Pinkie Pie. Hold on.The room was silent, save for the quiet whirr of the computer's cooling. "Pinkie." Samantha muttered to herself, "Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie... should I even risk it?" No response. The girl sighed, standing from her chair and striding towards the lone carrying case. "One last time, Pinkie," she whispered, grasping the smooth edges of the case, "one last time." She turned her head, staring at the glowing screen Lisa had been sitting at minutes prior. Lisa sat alone on the floor, fully immersed in the new reality that now surrounded her. Her room, her things, everything was there... even Samantha and Timothy. Argall, too. Even mom and dad. Lisa smiled, in the middle of it all. The room was filled with chatter of all kinds. Timothy blabbered away about his favorite mythical creatures, Samantha continued to shy away from the conversation, and Argall simply sat and talked with her parents. It felt real-- it was real... to a point. My own reality. Lisa smiled to herself. This is what I wanted. She blinked, the imagery vanishing from her view. Once again, Lisa was met with the unforgiving white void of nothingness. Lisa groaned, pounding her fists onto the untextured floor beneath her. She jumped as Samantha's voice boomed from all around. "Hold on, Lisa... is the mic working? Do you hear me?" The girl spun around, searching for the source of the voice. "Alright, just wait a sec. I think I might have an idea to get you back. Can you speak?" Lisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "N...nevermind." Samantha continued, "Don't push yourself too much for now, okay?" Lisa nodded. "Now, you may or may not be seeing Pinkie Pie soon. Give me a signal when you do." A light plink echoed through the void as the already-endless horizon seemingly grew even lengthier. "'Kay. Pinkie's connected and loaded into the same empty simulation as the one you're in right now. Can you see her anywhere?" Lisa shook her head, her virtual representation mimicking her movements across Samantha's screen. "Just give it a moment. She should be there any moment now." "Hiya!" Pinkie squealed, materializing in front of Lisa. Lisa flinched as a mass of curly pink suddenly flooded her vision. "Good," Samantha's voice continued, "she's in. She'll fill you in on what's gonna happen. I have to go tell Argall about Li... er, Twilight." The faint clack of a door slamming came across the girl's ears as she stepped away from Pinkie. "So..." The mare began, her poppy demeanor rapidly fading, "Here's the deal. I made an agreement with Samantha a couple days ago." Lisa nodded, focusing her attention on Pinkie. "I can return to Equestria, while in return allowing your friend to... fix me in any way she wants." Another nod. "Right now, I'll be your tool to get back in your body." The girl winced at the word tool. Frowning, she gestured to continue. "When Samantha returns, you'll come with me onto my transmitter, hidden in the free space. At least, that's the plan. Got it?" No response. "Why can't you talk?" Pinkie asked, staring into Lisa's eyes. Lisa shrugged. Pinkie shook her head with a sigh. "Anyways," she continued under her breath, "I... we will be put back into the simulation as a single entity. Samantha will tell Argall to try and convince Twilight to reconnect as well, and from there, we can..." she trailed off, her mane deflating even further. "We can end Twilight." "Excuse me, are you patronizing me? Do you dare to patronize me?!" "Listen, ma'am, I'm sorry for any misunderstanding, but--" "Away with you!" Twilight, in Lisa's body, stormed off, fuming about the brief exchange she just had with a local police officer concerning her supposed jaywalking. A car pulled up beside her, rolling down its window to reveal Samantha. "There you are!" she exclaimed, peering out the window, "Lis... Twilight, I've been looking all over for you!" "What do you want?" Twilight scoffed, turning away. "I'm guessing you're here to drag me back to where I came from, aren't you?" Samantha hesitated for a second, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel. "...Yes," she admitted, cutting the engine. "yes, I'm here to do exactly that, Twilight, and I'd very much prefer if you cooperated." "As if," Twilight snorted, walking away. "I am not going back just to keep living a lie!" "You don't have to go back." Twilight paused mid-step, turning her head with a glare. "You don't have to go back," Samantha repeated as she opened the door, "as long as you promise you won't harm Lisa again, you can keep living out here, in real life." "You lie." Twilight spat, turning back as she continued walking. Samantha sprinted after the girl, snatching her hand. "I don't," Samantha asserted, squeezing Twilight's hand, "and that's... that's a Pinkie Promise." She felt Twilight's hand twitch in her grip. "Yeah, remember Pinkie? She's still there, waiting for you. Same goes for all of your friends, and everyone who's ever cared about you." Twilight turned to Samantha, her scowl softening. "Are you sure?" "Yes." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You'd better not be lying. You know well what the punishment for breaking a Pinkie Promise is..." "I--" "Then I will go with you," Twilight affirmed, "to make sure that you aren't lying to me." "So then," Twilight sighed, propping her feet up on the frontseats' armrests, "What do you do nowadays, with Pinkie out of the question and all?" Samantha snorted. "Mostly nothing, really," she began, "charitable donations, some light gaming, a few small projects here and there, stuff like that." "Useless." Twilight grumbled under her breath. "Excuse me, but what did you just say?" "Nothing." The car remained silent for the rest of the trip. "We're here." The car rolled to a halt in an open parking space. Without another word, Samantha opened the door, stepping out of the car as Twilight struggled with the seatbelt. "Push the button to release it." Samantha deadpanned, staring at the girl. A click sounded from the buckle as Twilight released it with a growl. "This had better be good." "It... don't worry, it will be." Twilight stared at the cars they walked past, never taking her eyes off their metallic bodies. "You have strange carriages out here," she commented, gesturing to the cars beside them, "they do not appear to be powered by magic, nor do I see a means to propel them." "It's called electricity, Twilight," Samantha groaned, "I thought Equestria had that already." "Psh. Equestria is primitive. The electrical systems we use are nowhere close to the mobility given by these carriages." "So?" "All the more reason why I wish to remain here." Samantha sighed, shaking her head as they approached the sliding glass doors of the entrance. "Hi Samantha!" a peppy voice greeted as the duo entered, "Oh, you brought a friend with you?" "Er... yeah." Twilight glared at the young girl behind the desk, earning a nervous chuckle and a wave from the latter. "Twilight," Samantha whispered fiercely, "at least try to be nice to people around you. What happened to the whole Friendship Is Magic thing that went on in Equestria?" Twilight snorted. "I'm not in Equestria anymore, am I? No. I am not, so I follow my own rules." Samantha rolled her eyes, turning back to mouth "Sorry." to the girl at the desk. "Who was that, anyways?" "New intern. That's all I'm gonna tell you." "She's just a kid." "I know." The two stopped at a set of metal doors. "Behold," Samantha deadpanned, dramatically gesturing the aforementioned set of metal doors, "the elevators." Twilight groaned, facepalming. "Geez, I'm just trying to cheer you up a bit, alright? No need to be so glum." "Just hurry up and prove to me that my friends are waiting." "Any word from Samantha?" Pinkie shook her head. "We'd both hear from her if she said anything... also, you can talk now?" Lisa sighed, nodding her head. "I'm not really sure when I regained my voice, but I have it now." She paused for a moment, staring into the endless distance. "Wait a sec..." Lisa mumbled, closing her eyes. The white landscape around the two once again shifted. Gone was the uniform mass of white all around, replaced instead by a bustling suburban city. "Oh?" Pinkie wondered aloud, "You can do that too?" "Huh?" The vivid construct of Lisa's imagination vanished, replaced once more by the endless white void. "Warp reality. Or at least, the virtual reality we're in." Lisa shrugged. "I always thought that me doing this was only visible to myself, kinda like a daydream." Pinkie, in turn, shook her head. "That's not how it works. Though... I really don't even know how it works myself, either." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Ooh, wait a sec, here's an example." Lisa watched as the mare dug into her mane, pulling out her signature party cannon. "It's not actually there, so to say," Pinkie continued, setting the cannon on the blank floor, "but making it look like it's coming out of something probably won't make everypony else freak out." "So... you're basically just triggering item generation with your thoughts." Pinkie nodded. "Though, it took a bit of... well, permission breaking for me to be able to do this. Not sure about you though, since you aren't like me." Lisa frowned. "I'm not like you? What do yo--" "I mean that you're biological at your roots. I'm not. Our minds work in different ways, and you probably don't have any restrictions at all placed on you." Lisa dismissed the notion with a shrug. "I guess that's one way to put it," she began, "but what about the plan to put me back in my own body? I thought we were gonna be loaded back onto a chip or something." "I have no idea anymore." Bong. The elevator doors squeaked open, allowing its passengers to step out. "Just follow me," Samantha commanded, taking Twilight by the wrist. "And stop scowling, for heaven's sake!" Twilight huffed, resigning herself to be lead by Samantha through the colorful, bustling office workspace. She glared at the countless employees sitting at their desks, eliciting a few confused glances in response. Finally, they stopped at a door. Samantha hesitated for a moment, rummaging in her handbag for her keycard. "Hurry up." The girl's fingers grasped the edge of her keycard. Slowly, Samantha pulled the plastic card out of her bag, her eyes wavering as she stared first at the card, then to Twilight. "Here." Twilight growled, snatching the card from Samantha and tapping it on the door. Nothing happened. Twilight tapped the card on the door again, her frustration growing apparent as she threw the card at the door, gaining only a light thwap as the card bounced onto the floor. Sighing, Samantha bent down, picking up her keycard and tapping it on the scanner beside the door. A soft whirr rang out as the lock disengaged. "Took it long enough," Twilight rolled her eyes, "you should get your door fixed." Samantha paused, her hand on the door as she stared at the eyes of her friend. With a shake of her head, Samantha slid the door open. "Back already, Samantha?" a voice began behind the two girls, "Girl, you just don't seem to get enough of this place." Let go.Author's Note I've recently realized that it's become gradually harder and harder to write this AU story any further given its constraints to the existing canon. I will consider simply canceling the story and shutting down the AU, or perhaps setting up a new continuity specifically for this story. Let go. Samantha spun around to face the voice with wide eyes. "You," she accused, "don't you dare bring Lisa into whatever you're about to spout." The man leaning on the wall chuckled, slipping his hands in his pockets. "No, no," he began, stepping closer to Samantha, "the past is in the past now. What brings you back to headquarters?" "Lisa," Samantha gestured to Twilight, "she's... changed, to say the least. I need access to my tools and the company database if I want to--" Twilight shot a glare at Samantha, cutting the girl off. "--er, we can talk about it later," Samantha finished with a sigh, "I just need to connect her back into the simulations for a bit." The man raised a brow. "Why?" he asked, blocking Samantha as she turned back to the ajar door of her former office, "Hasn't she been in there long enough already?" "Apparently not enough," Samantha shook her head, "please, just let me do this. It's for her own good." The man paused for a moment in thought, before hesitantly moving out of the way, eyeing Twilight as she followed Samantha into the room. The door shut behind them with a soft click. Samantha paused, letting out a deep sigh before sitting down at her old desk. Twilight followed suit, pulling out a chair and sitting beside the girl. "Well?" Twilight snapped, "Get on with it! Prove to me that I still have a place in Equestria!" "I-I will. Hold on for a bit, won't you?" Samantha stammered, pressing the power button on the computer. "I need to start everything up." She pulled the keyboard closer to the edge, glancing over her shoulder as she typed in her password. A small chime rang from the system as the biometric lock engaged. "What's that?" Twilight snorted, her arms folded. "It's... it's nothing," Samantha responded, pressing her thumb on the keyboard while staring for a moment at the screen. The lock screen image faded from view, replaced by a clean desktop. Samantha navigated to a networked folder, pulling various files and programs over before opening one. A command line blinked on-screen for a second before vanishing again, replaced by the familiar view of Equestria. "That's... wait, that's Pinkie," Twilight exclaimed, pointing to the screen. "Why is Pinkie back in Equestria? Isn't she still on that chip-thing of yours?" Samantha shrugged, stifling a smile. "Anyways," she continued, confidence growing within her, "it's never too late to return to your friends, Twilight. Sure, there may still be much to learn, but I promise you, if you wish to return to Equestria by your own will, that I will personally deliver you an unfiltered, endless supply of as many books as you want." Twilight's eyes widened for a moment. She glanced again at the monitor, then to Samantha, unsure of whether to trust the offer or not. "Well?"
Split Lives,Author's Note While this chapter isn't going to be rewritten in the main story, it will be posted here anyways in order to lead naturally into the events that are now spun-off into this AU. Split Lives, "Lisa?" Lisa awoke to the sound of her own voice. Or at least, of Twilight's voice. "Good. You're awake." Lisa yawned, rubbing her eyes as she sat up on the bed, Twilight's disembodied voice still echoing through her mind. "Yeah, what about it?" she began with a whisper, "Couldn't you just show up in another dream or something?" "Nope." Twilight's voice replied. "We need to talk. And besides, I personally feel more comfortable speaking out loud. It's nighttime anyways, so nobody else will hear us." "Great," the girl folded her arms, staring to the bookshelf across from her. "I guess I'll just talk to myself then." "No, no. It's not like that." Twilight's voice once again spoke. "Lisa, have you been noticing anything lately? Anything in relation to your memories?" Lisa shook her head, knowing well how futile the action would be anyways. "Anything?" Twilight pressed on. "No." Lisa answered. "Well, what if I told you that the more you remember of yourself, the more I'll be covered up, buried away in your thoughts." "I--" "Not yet. I'm still talking..." Twilight cut in, "What I mean is, remember back when we were still one mind?" "...Yeah?" "Well, based on what I know from your memories, as well as my own experience, I'm pretty sure that after we split into our own selves, it's become somewhat of a competition for control over our body. I mean, just take a look at what happened to Pinkie." Lisa raised a brow. "You mean Samantha? She seems perfectly fine now." "Seems." Twilight asserted, a hint of irritation seeping into her disembodied voice. "You can't say that she is for sure. You might not remember right now, but she... she knows things. Same with Argall. I won't tell you what it is though. You might use it on me." "Use what?" "Not telling you. I'll only let them do it if your life is on the line." "You're not making any sense, Twilight." "Neither do your buried memories about your friend." "Well, what do you want me to do, run out and ask her in the middle of the night?" "No, are you crazy?" Twilight's voice snapped, surprising Lisa. "I'd very much like to take the time to study that mare... er, girl? ...Um... as I was saying, I'd much prefer to study her my way. Okay?" Yeah, whatever. Lisa rolled her eyes, reaching for the diary on the edge of the desk beside her. I'd personally prefer some sleep right now. "No! That's what sets you and me apart, Lisa. From what I can dig up, you designed me to be like yourself, but with certain aspects tweaked." Twilight paused to let Lisa take a breath. "For example, right now, you'd rather sleep, but I'd rather read some more diary entries." Lisa glanced down at her diary that she now held, before flinging it back at the desk, a heavy thud hitting the floor as the diary bounced off of something. "Twilight, what's gotten into you?!" she shouted as the book hit the floor moments later, "Before I went to bed, I asked you if you were going to be fine outside of Equestria. You said that it depends on me." "Yeah, and just because I'm not in Equestria doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to do what I want in the meantime!" Lisa groaned, falling back onto her pillow. "And I should've ramped up whatever value it is that you've got controlling your social skills." Twilight's voice went silent for a moment, the mare at a loss for words. The click of the doorknob startled both mare and girl as a weary-eyed Argall stuck his head in, a blazing flashlight in hand. "Lisa, you alright?" he began, sweeping the light across Lisa's bed, "I heard you shouting. Have you been talking to yourself again?" "...Yes," Twilight's voice replied for Lisa, "we've been talking." Argall stifled a yawn, returning his gaze to the girl. "Lisa?" "Yes?" "Meet me tomorrow, after I bring Timothy over." The Professor left without another word. Lisa sighed, leaning over the side of her bed. She picked up her diary, leaning back and tracing over its worn cover with her other hand. "Y'know," she began again, "how about we put all of this aside, and deal with it tomorrow?" Lisa felt herself shrug as Twilight responded. "Fine..." the mare replied, "though, I'd still rather stay up all night and read those books of yours." ERROR. Twilight's voice screamed through Lisa's mind, WAKE UP. NEED. HELP. Lisa groaned, rubbing her eyes as she turned to the side. "LISA." Twilight screamed again, this time out loud. "HELP. SO--THING...'S. WRONG." This time, the girl jerked awake, her hand flying up to cover her mouth. "CA-N...'T E...RR--" Twilight's muffled voice continued. Frantically, Lisa leaped from her bed, her body out of her own control as Twilight took a stumbling step towards the door. "FI...-D... PIN...K-E," the mare's voice droned on in monotone, "N-EED... HELP..." Lisa gasped as control over her body returned, sending her tumbling to the floor with a thud. She clawed her way back to her feet, and threw open the door. "Oh hey, Twilight." Timothy greeted from the stairs as he ascended, "Argall just brought me--" "GE-T P-NK...E!" Twilight's monotone voice screeched from Lisa's body, "TEL. --OFESS... ARG-LL... OR... BRI...NG... SA-ANTH!" Timothy frowned, frozen in place mid-step as Lisa rushed past him down the stairs. He turned, following after her to the bottom of the stairs. "Twilight," he began, reaching out for the girl, "what did you--" Lisa spun around, this time replying for the rapidly-deteriorating Twilight Sparkle. Her eyes met Timothy's. "Find Argall and tell him to bring Samantha here, now." "But--" "NO-W." Twilight's voice screamed again, before returning control to her host. Lisa turned back around, grabbing the doorknob. "Something's wrong with Twilight, and I'm pretty sure Argall and Samantha are the only two that can help her. I don't know what she knows about them, but she needs something only they can do." "Got it," Timothy nodded, following after her. Lisa paused mid-step as they exited the house. "Wait..." she began, "Where is he, anywa--" "DO...SN'T... MAT-TER." Twilight's voice cut off Lisa, "SPIK- K...OWS." "Do you?" Lisa turned to Timothy. "Where's the Professor?" Timothy shrugged in response. "He left after dropping me off here. He said to just stick with you while he went to get some groceries." "NOT. GO...OD..." Twilight shouted through Lisa, "F...I-- PIN-K--" Lisa's eyes rolled back as she suddenly collapsed to the ground. "Wake up!" "Please wake up, Twi... er, Lisa. Snap out of it!" Lisa groaned, rubbing her head as she opened her eyes, squinting in the morning sun. Timothy sighed a breath of relief, holding out a hand for the girl. "Okay, c'mon," he began, pulling her from the ground, "Let's go find Samantha." She froze for a moment, shuddering as one final word from Twilight left her lips. "H...UR-RY..." Timothy nodded, glancing about. "Don't worry, Twilight," he assured as Lisa regained control, "we'll find her... uh..." he turned back to her. "Do you have any idea where she lives?" Lisa shook her head. "When we got here, the only thing she had on her mind was home, and I highly doubt that I remember where she lives." "But then how will we save Twilight?" Timothy wailed, "If we wait any longer, she might be gone forever!" "Wait." Lisa suddenly began, "So, y'know how Argall had that phone he kept checking when it was almost time to go back to Equestria?" Timothy nodded slowly, confusion spread across his face. "I'm betting that somewhere in my room, I've got one of my own that I could maybe use to communicate with Samantha." "Are you serious?!" Timothy yelled, "Twilight sounds like she's about to die. Are you sure that you still have the time to look for it?" Lisa nodded. "I'm pretty sure I know exactly where it is, too." Timothy stood in the doorway as Lisa once again stepped into her room, her eyes scanning the carpeted floor beneath her feet as she neared her bed. Crouching down to the floor, she stuck a hand underneath the bottom shelf of the desk beside her bed, feeling around until her fingers came across a flat, glassy screen. Lisa smiled, pulling the phone from underneath the desk. "Bingo." "How did--" "I..." Lisa murmured, "I was arguing with Twilight last night, and threw my diary. I remembered hearing it knock something down, and from there I just forgot about it until now. I didn't even realize that it was my old phone." Timothy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, pointing at the device. "does that thing even turn on anymore?" Lisa didn't respond. "Well?" A light click sound emanated from the phone as Lisa pressed the power button. The two watched in silence as the device came to life. "It... it still works?" Timothy mumbled, staring at the screen in Lisa's hands. Lisa looked to her desk for a moment, catching sight of the cable dangling off the side. Timothy followed her movements, also catching sight of the charger. He... he even left my phone charged for me... Lisa thought, turning back to her phone... of which had already locked itself again. Timothy folded his arms. "Okay, enough with the staring now!" He exclaimed, "We still need to save Twilight, remember?" Lisa nodded. "Yeah. Um... I'll see what I can do." The phone slipped from her hands as she wavered on her feet, before collapsing once again to the floor. "Samantha!" a voice called from behind the girl's door, "Breakfast is on the table, I'll be going to work, okay?" Samantha glanced up from her laptop. "'Kay, mom!" She shouted back, shutting the screen. A faint buzz went off in her pocket. She sighed, pushing her laptop aside as she pulled out her phone. Her eyes grew wide as she saw who messaged her. Message from: Lisa Pinkie, there's something wrong with Twilight. She just fainted in the middle of the room, and Argall's not here right now. Please come quickly. -Spike Samantha stuffed her phone back in her pocket, and rushed from her room. Barrelling down the hall, she grabbed the small handbag hanging in the kitchen before making a beeline for the front door. "Is she okay?" Timothy asked, watching as Samantha helped her friend up. Samantha nodded, grunting as she guided Lisa to her bed. She pointed to her handbag on the floor. "Hey, hand me my stuff, would ya?" Timothy set the bag beside Samantha, who began rummaging in it before pulling out a small scalpel. She turned to the boy. "Um," she began, "you might want to turn away for a bit if you don't want to watch." "But what about Twilight?" Timothy wailed. "She'll be fine. With what's happening right now, she'll hardly even know she's here." "What--" "I'll explain later. Just stop talking, and lemme concentrate." "Oh... okay." Timothy murmured, turning away. Samantha turned for a moment, checking on the boy for a moment before turning back to Lisa. She glanced down at the technical paper propped up against her bag, then back at Lisa. With a sigh, she set down the scalpel and rolled her friend over onto a pillow. "Is it over yet?" "No. Stop talking." She climbed onto the bed beside Samantha, scalpel once again in hand as she leaned over the back of Lisa's neck. With an unshaking hand, she made her first cut; a small, vertical incision just below her friend's hairline. Lisa groaned, lifting a hand to her neck as she woke. "Hey, Lis." Lisa opened her eyes, staring up at her friend. Timothy wandered up behind Samantha, his eyes trembling as they turned to Lisa. "...Twilight?" he stammered, "You're okay now, aren't you? Pin... Samantha fixed you. I watched her do it after you fainted again." Lisa frowned, a brow raised as she sat up in her bed. "Tim," she began, "Who the heck are you talking to? Who's Twilight?"
Unforgotten."Twilight, don't you remember?" Timothy pleaded, "You're Twilight Sparkle, you live in Equestria. I'm Spike, remember?" Lisa shook her head. "I remember the name Twilight from somewhere, but as far as I know, that was from an old project." She narrowed her eyes. "I am correct in saying that, right? You look like my little brother, but you're definitely not the age I remembered him to be." Samantha sighed, holding out a bloody sliver of metal to her friend. "Here," she said, placing the chip in Lisa's palm. "Lisa, this is Twilight." Lisa glanced down at her hand, picking up the chip in her fingers. "Wait..." she sputtered, staring at the tiny device, "This... Twilight..." She looked back up at Samantha. "My project." Lisa stated, "This was my project. Since when was it finished?" "Lisa, it's been over a decade now." The girl frowned, lifting the chip in the light as her eyes caught sight of the blood-- her blood, still fresh on its metallic surface. She set the chip down, staring into Samantha's eyes. "What does she remember?" "Who?" "Twilight." Lisa deadpanned, motioning at the chip in her grasp. "I'm assuming that this thing's been inside of me all this time?" Samantha nodded. "And you know that these things also hold the memories of the AIs we made, right?" More nodding. "Well," Lisa continued, "I have a feeling that Twilight might've taken a good chunk of my own memories with her." "But why would she do that?!" Timothy exclaimed, "She's a good pony! Why'd she be stealing your memories?" "Studying." "But--" "Tim." Lisa began, "You weren't even in the simulations, last I remember. I wanted to enter alone, so why do you keep calling me Twilight?" "But I was in the simulations with you, remember?" Timothy argued, "I was Spike, Twilight's assistant!" Lisa shook her head. "Don't remember." "But I--" "Okay, geez. Enough yapping already, alright?" Samantha cut in, shushing the siblings. She turned to Lisa. "How about we clear up this fiasco with a trip to our old office?" The room fell silent as the idea ran through Lisa's mind. A brief moment later, the girl nodded. "Yes," Lisa agreed, "I'd certainly prefer that over arguing." Samantha turned to the door. "Good. I've got something to show you." "Wait," Lisa began, standing from her bed, "are we walking there?" "Lisa. Just assume that you know nothing, okay?" Lisa fell silent, tightly grasping the chip in her hands as Samantha opened the door. "By the way," Samantha continued, turning back to her friend, "you might want to carry that thing in something a bit safer. I've got a case for it if you'd like." "Wait, since when did you have a car?!" Samantha glared at her friend. "Know. Nothing." She deadpanned, unlocking the door. "And besides, how do you think I even got here? Get in." Lisa and Timothy piled into the backseats, while Samantha sat at the wheel, plopping her handbag down on the passenger's side seat. She shut the driver's side door with a heavy clunk, and pressed the power button. The two siblings simultaneously watched in awe as the vehicle seemingly came to life around them. "Yeah, yeah. Stare all you want." Samantha deadpanned, pulling out of the driveway. "If you were thinking that the insides of cars still look like the old clunker Argall drives, then you're sorely mistaken." The trip to the office was largely silent, save for the near-inaudible hum of the engine. "We're here." Lisa turned from her usual spot at the window, staring at the looming building before them. Her fingers tightened around the white carrying case that Samantha had given her. The doors unlocked as Samantha put the vehicle in park. "Your old home away from home." She sighed. "You used to spend more time at this place then you did at your own house." Keys jingled in her hand as she walked to the door. Samantha turned for a moment, watching over her shoulder as Lisa and Timothy exited the car. "It looks so... abandoned." Lisa frowned, staring at the thick layer of dust masking the windows. "Did something happen while I was in the simulation?" Click. A blast of musty air hit the trio as Samantha pulled the door open. "Just as I remembered it," she smirked, strolling further into the building. With a faint buzz at the girl's movement, the overhead lights flickered to life, flooding the corridors with a blazing light. Lisa and Timothy followed close behind. Samantha stopped at a door to the left of the short hall. Lisa's eyes widened as her friend pushed the door open. "This..." she mumbled, entering behind Samantha, "This is my office..." "Was our office." Samantha corrected, "When you hooked yourself up to our project, I deployed my AI instead of connecting myself. I went on to help grow our project into what it is today..." she paused for a moment, fussing at something in her pocket. "...with the help of Argall." She procured a small case of her own from her pocket, setting it and her handbag down on a desk. "Anyways," she continued, "eventually, we released the framework for the simulation under license, and formed a company to manage the whole thing." "But..." Lisa hesitated, glancing at the dust-encrusted monitors lining the desks. "But what about you? What happened to this place?" Samantha shook her head. "I retired as lead developer," she began, "I handed that role to the company's licensees. After that, we closed down the office, and sent all the files to the new headquarters." Samantha turned away, gesturing to the computers. "Though, Argall wanted to keep this place as-is for your return, evidently." Her eyes caught sight of Timothy slouching on the office chairs, spinning. "Hey Tim," Samantha called, "if you'd like, you can go to the room across from this one. There's some toys and stuff if you're bored." She watched as Timothy rushed from the room, slamming the door behind him. Sighing, she turned back to Lisa. "Anyways, I got a nice sum of cash as part of our first deal. I can certainly say that my parents are quite comfortably retired now, y'know?" Lisa snorted. "What, so you sold out to some big-name corporation or something?" "What-- of course not!" Samantha exclaimed in return, "I just told you that we formed the company to run the simulations!" "Who's this we?" Lisa frowned, folding her arms. "I never agreed on that." "Me and Argall." Lisa rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever." she spat, "Either way, it was my project in the first place, and you took it from me." Samantha slammed a hand down on the desk. "Well, you know what, I've just about had it with you, Lisa. The you from before this whole fiasco would be ashamed to see what they've become." She turned away in a huff. "Twilight did something to you, Lisa. I don't know what it is, but she's changed something in you." "Does it even matter?" Samantha spun around again, seething through her teeth. "What happened to not arguing?" Lisa shrugged, a sly smirk spreading across her face. "I lied." "Wha--" "Give me the login for the computer, Samantha." Lisa demanded, setting down the carrying case by the keyboard and holding out her hand, "Let me see what's in m...Twilight's memories." Her friend sighed, running a hand down her face as she pulled up a chair. "Fine." Samantha began, "If that's what it takes to get you out of this mess, I'll do it." "Good." Samantha grabbed a pen and tore a sheet of note-paper off a nearby pad, jotting down a string of characters. She glanced to the side, staring into the eyes of an ecstatic Lisa Garnet. "Wait..." Samantha paused, the pen dropping from her fingers, "Shouldn't you remember the password to your own computer?" Lisa shook her head, motioning for her friend to keep writing. "I'm telling you now, Lisa. Once this is over, we're gonna have a talk about this whole ordeal with Argall." Without looking up, Samantha finished writing, and handed the password to her friend. "Thank you." Lisa nodded, snatching the paper from her friend. The sound of cooling fans filled the room as Lisa turned on a computer; her computer. Samantha watched behind the girl, a frown on her face as Lisa typed in her password, character-by-character. Lisa's eyes lit up with joy as her desktop wallpaper loaded in. "Yessss..." she hissed, practically pouncing on the keyboard, "Now to see what there is to read!" "Aren't you forgetting something?" Samantha began, gesturing to the white carrying case beside her friend. Lisa's eyes darted to the case. "Ah, yeah." she grinned, "Nearly forgot about this little trinket. Now, do I have to... um... connect it to something, or does it just work..." Samantha rummaged about in her handbag, pulling out a breakout board. "Use this." She grumbled, sliding the device towards Lisa, "Don't you remember uploading Twilight onto it all those years ago?" Lisa hesitated, then shook her head. "Fine, just hurry up then." The girl's demeanor returned as she practically tore open the carrying case, plucking the bloodied chip from its innards and dropping it in place on the board. She froze up, glaring at Samantha as she felt a hand touch her shoulder. "Lisa, this isn't you." Samantha began slowly, "I've never seen you like this before. Not before the simulations, not after. Tell me now. What happened to you?" "Feh," Lisa grumbled in response, brushing off her friend. "You tell me, Pinkie." She reached for an available port, the cord for the breakout board dangling in her fingers as Samantha slapped away her hand. "What. Happened?" "What do you think you're doing?" Lisa seethed, spinning around and flicking the cord past her friend's face. "Be a good assistant and do what I say. Okay?" Samantha grumbled to herself, taking a seat behind Lisa. As for the girl herself, Lisa had already fully-entrenched herself in the memories of her counterpart. Samantha watched idly, cradling her chin in her hand, as her friend scrolled through years upon years of recorded memory. "Wait... wait, those aren't Twilight's memories..." Samantha mumbled, her eyes flitting through the troves of information scrolling past her friend's vision. She straightened in her seat, pointing an accusing finger at the monitors. "That's--" "Interesting." Lisa cut in, "It is very interesting information, and very useful information." She spun around in the chair to face Samantha. "As I mentioned before, I have full reason to believe that Twilight took my memories with her when you removed the chip." Samantha sighed, returning to her position at the table. "Yeah," she murmured under her breath, "but would Twilight really be taking memories like those?" Lisa stiffened, a hand hovering over the mouse. "Well." She began, still turned away, "Would you like for me to delete her, then?" "NO!" Samantha shouted, "Just... don't!" "Then let me study in peace." Samantha huffed, returning to her sulking. Amidst the silence of the room, however, an idea flew into her mind. "Lisa, did you know that you can connect to Equestria directly from that very computer?" "WHAT?!" Lisa squealed, "Show me! Let me see the place again!" Samantha smirked. "Okay, Lisa. There should be a viewer program on your desktop." She watched as her friend frantically scanned the mess of icons littering the screen. At last, the cursor landed on the program. "Well?" Samantha urged, "Go on, click on it. Last I remember, you set the thing to view Twilight's library in Ponyville." A double-click later, and the program came to life, spanning across the screens a pristine view of Twilight's library... ...and Twilight Sparkle herself.
Rewrite the script,"Wait..." Lisa mumbled, her eyes glued to the screen. "Wait, no... that can't be right. I'm Twilight..." She spun in her seat to face Samantha. "Tell me now. Who is this imposter that I see?" Samantha's grin widened. "That's no imposter, Lisa, that's Twilight." "No, I'm Twilight!" Lisa yelled. Her hands flew over her mouth as she gasped. "I... I mean--" "Exactly." Samantha cut in, grabbing her friend by the wrist. "You're Twilight. Now tell me, where's my friend?" Lisa's vicious smirk returned as she placed her own hand over Samantha's. "Touché, Sam. I was just about to ask the same about mine." "You saw her already," Samantha argued, motioning to her own carrying case beside her handbag, "Pinkie fully agreed to the procedure as long as I promised her that she'd return to Equestria. That's part of the reason why I brought us here." Lisa turned back to the monitors. "Even after calling her a glitch?" She growled, leaning closer to the screens. "What happened to getting rid of her?" "We... we figured things out. That's all." "Yeah," Lisa scoffed, "riiiiight. You, one of the most disagreeable people I've ever met. You just figured things out with Pinkie?" "Where is Lisa?" "The same place where you put Pinkie. I'm guessing you're going to try and get me to figure things out with her now?" Samantha sighed, slumping in her chair. "No." "That's a loyal assistant when I need it." Lisa mused as she lounged in her chair, "Fetch me Spike, please." A trembling Timothy nudged the door open. "Twilight," he began with a shudder, "you shout too loudly." Lisa paused, her expression shifting from smug to suspicion. "Spike." "Twilight, I heard everything from across the hall. You're not the Twilight I know," Timothy shuddered, "not anymore." The click of the door closing echoed across the silent room. Samantha turned back to Twilight. "Please," she begged, "give my friend back her body and memories. I can still put you back into Equestria." Lisa rose a brow, pointing back to the Twilight Sparkle roaming across Equestria on-screen. "She was generated as a replacement for you when you didn't return in time. I added that mechanic as a failsafe to keep the simulation running smoothly in case if something happened in the long-run. I can merge you and her into a single entity, and you can continue on with your life and forget about all this. Okay?" The tapping of Lisa's fingernails on the desk filled the room. Samantha watched as her friend contemplated the idea, her face cycling through waves of emotion by the second. Finally, her fingers halted their tapping. "No." "But--" "I much prefer living here in the real world now, as opposed to Equestria. Yes, I may be losing all my friends, but in return, I've got so much I can learn about in this world!" "What abou--" "Lisa?" The girl cut off Samantha, "Psh, she can go live in Equestria herself for all I care. She isn't of any use to me anymore." Lisa screamed. She screamed, and screamed, and screamed. She kicked and punched in every direction; a futile attempt to push back the pokes and prodding of her mind that Twilight Sparkle subjected her to. "Help!" Lisa shouted into the darkness, screaming again as a stream of her own memories flashed past her eyes, disappearing into the void of Twilight Sparkle's corrupted code. "Help!" She shouted again, her voice weakening as she felt herself stretching out. She could only whimper as she felt herself being sucked from her own body, in turn being replaced by Twilight Sparkle herself. Lisa yawned, idly sitting in a bath of blinding white; her new prison. Is this what Twilight felt? She wondered, squinting into the infinite distance before her, This... this must be the transmitter chip. Abruptly, the world around her shifted. A wave of pain rolled over the girl as her mind went entirely blank. Thoughts, memories, even her very personality shot from her in physical form, presented flat against the endless ceiling high above. "No use?!" Samantha shouted, "You're talking about my friend like she was like... like some kind of book for you to study from!" "And study I did." Lisa mused, "Up until last night, I had never realized the potential of all the information that I was exposed to during my time with her. Last night, however, I felt a sudden pull, almost a calling of sorts, to gleam through as many of her memories as I could see fit. In fact, I found so much usefu--" "Blah, blah." Samantha groaned, cutting Lisa short, "I get it, Twilight. Something messed up your code last night, and you decided to turn on the person you were modeled after. I can probably get you patched in a few minutes if you'd like." Lisa growled, her hands balling into fists on the desk. "See," she began, "that is why I ultimately decided to commandeer your friend's body. You humans have no faith in your own creations. Here I am, communicating with you about my desire to explore the world, and what do you say in response? You want to reprogram me, don't you?" Samantha jumped back with a yelp as Lisa stood up, seemingly towering over her friend. "You just think of me as a tool, don't you? Just a nonliving bundle of code that just-so-happens to have taken a physical form. I wish for more respect than that." Lisa stomped to the door, turning to give a final glare at Samantha before opening it. The room trembled as the door slammed shut. Just like that, Lisa Garnet- Twilight Sparke, was gone. Lisa gasped as she felt herself recollecting. Slowly, she recounted her memories. The long days in the office with Samantha, the years she'd spent in the simulation, even relearning how to use chopsticks with Professor Argall. Seems like everything's there... she smiled to herself. She rubbed her eyes, staring into the white void all around her as her mood once again tanked. ...at least, I hope everything's there. Samantha sighed as she closed the viewer window that displayed the contents of Lisa's memories. Her thoughts went back to Twilight, the one who'd put her friend on the very chip that was intended to contain the simulation's Artificial Intelligence programs. "She's just a modified chatbot..." she whispered to herself, pulling up the years-old source code for Twilight Sparkle in a window. "How did she get so off-script, even when her script is self-generating? It's... it's just not like the Twilight that Lisa designed to be like this... unless..." She leaned back in her chair with a frown, glancing to the other carrying case in the room: The one containing Pinkie Pie.
Hold on.The room was silent, save for the quiet whirr of the computer's cooling. "Pinkie." Samantha muttered to herself, "Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie... should I even risk it?" No response. The girl sighed, standing from her chair and striding towards the lone carrying case. "One last time, Pinkie," she whispered, grasping the smooth edges of the case, "one last time." She turned her head, staring at the glowing screen Lisa had been sitting at minutes prior. Lisa sat alone on the floor, fully immersed in the new reality that now surrounded her. Her room, her things, everything was there... even Samantha and Timothy. Argall, too. Even mom and dad. Lisa smiled, in the middle of it all. The room was filled with chatter of all kinds. Timothy blabbered away about his favorite mythical creatures, Samantha continued to shy away from the conversation, and Argall simply sat and talked with her parents. It felt real-- it was real... to a point. My own reality. Lisa smiled to herself. This is what I wanted. She blinked, the imagery vanishing from her view. Once again, Lisa was met with the unforgiving white void of nothingness. Lisa groaned, pounding her fists onto the untextured floor beneath her. She jumped as Samantha's voice boomed from all around. "Hold on, Lisa... is the mic working? Do you hear me?" The girl spun around, searching for the source of the voice. "Alright, just wait a sec. I think I might have an idea to get you back. Can you speak?" Lisa opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "N...nevermind." Samantha continued, "Don't push yourself too much for now, okay?" Lisa nodded. "Now, you may or may not be seeing Pinkie Pie soon. Give me a signal when you do." A light plink echoed through the void as the already-endless horizon seemingly grew even lengthier. "'Kay. Pinkie's connected and loaded into the same empty simulation as the one you're in right now. Can you see her anywhere?" Lisa shook her head, her virtual representation mimicking her movements across Samantha's screen. "Just give it a moment. She should be there any moment now." "Hiya!" Pinkie squealed, materializing in front of Lisa. Lisa flinched as a mass of curly pink suddenly flooded her vision. "Good," Samantha's voice continued, "she's in. She'll fill you in on what's gonna happen. I have to go tell Argall about Li... er, Twilight." The faint clack of a door slamming came across the girl's ears as she stepped away from Pinkie. "So..." The mare began, her poppy demeanor rapidly fading, "Here's the deal. I made an agreement with Samantha a couple days ago." Lisa nodded, focusing her attention on Pinkie. "I can return to Equestria, while in return allowing your friend to... fix me in any way she wants." Another nod. "Right now, I'll be your tool to get back in your body." The girl winced at the word tool. Frowning, she gestured to continue. "When Samantha returns, you'll come with me onto my transmitter, hidden in the free space. At least, that's the plan. Got it?" No response. "Why can't you talk?" Pinkie asked, staring into Lisa's eyes. Lisa shrugged. Pinkie shook her head with a sigh. "Anyways," she continued under her breath, "I... we will be put back into the simulation as a single entity. Samantha will tell Argall to try and convince Twilight to reconnect as well, and from there, we can..." she trailed off, her mane deflating even further. "We can end Twilight." "Excuse me, are you patronizing me? Do you dare to patronize me?!" "Listen, ma'am, I'm sorry for any misunderstanding, but--" "Away with you!" Twilight, in Lisa's body, stormed off, fuming about the brief exchange she just had with a local police officer concerning her supposed jaywalking. A car pulled up beside her, rolling down its window to reveal Samantha. "There you are!" she exclaimed, peering out the window, "Lis... Twilight, I've been looking all over for you!" "What do you want?" Twilight scoffed, turning away. "I'm guessing you're here to drag me back to where I came from, aren't you?" Samantha hesitated for a second, her fingers tightening around the steering wheel. "...Yes," she admitted, cutting the engine. "yes, I'm here to do exactly that, Twilight, and I'd very much prefer if you cooperated." "As if," Twilight snorted, walking away. "I am not going back just to keep living a lie!" "You don't have to go back." Twilight paused mid-step, turning her head with a glare. "You don't have to go back," Samantha repeated as she opened the door, "as long as you promise you won't harm Lisa again, you can keep living out here, in real life." "You lie." Twilight spat, turning back as she continued walking. Samantha sprinted after the girl, snatching her hand. "I don't," Samantha asserted, squeezing Twilight's hand, "and that's... that's a Pinkie Promise." She felt Twilight's hand twitch in her grip. "Yeah, remember Pinkie? She's still there, waiting for you. Same goes for all of your friends, and everyone who's ever cared about you." Twilight turned to Samantha, her scowl softening. "Are you sure?" "Yes." Twilight narrowed her eyes. "You'd better not be lying. You know well what the punishment for breaking a Pinkie Promise is..." "I--" "Then I will go with you," Twilight affirmed, "to make sure that you aren't lying to me." "So then," Twilight sighed, propping her feet up on the frontseats' armrests, "What do you do nowadays, with Pinkie out of the question and all?" Samantha snorted. "Mostly nothing, really," she began, "charitable donations, some light gaming, a few small projects here and there, stuff like that." "Useless." Twilight grumbled under her breath. "Excuse me, but what did you just say?" "Nothing." The car remained silent for the rest of the trip. "We're here." The car rolled to a halt in an open parking space. Without another word, Samantha opened the door, stepping out of the car as Twilight struggled with the seatbelt. "Push the button to release it." Samantha deadpanned, staring at the girl. A click sounded from the buckle as Twilight released it with a growl. "This had better be good." "It... don't worry, it will be." Twilight stared at the cars they walked past, never taking her eyes off their metallic bodies. "You have strange carriages out here," she commented, gesturing to the cars beside them, "they do not appear to be powered by magic, nor do I see a means to propel them." "It's called electricity, Twilight," Samantha groaned, "I thought Equestria had that already." "Psh. Equestria is primitive. The electrical systems we use are nowhere close to the mobility given by these carriages." "So?" "All the more reason why I wish to remain here." Samantha sighed, shaking her head as they approached the sliding glass doors of the entrance. "Hi Samantha!" a peppy voice greeted as the duo entered, "Oh, you brought a friend with you?" "Er... yeah." Twilight glared at the young girl behind the desk, earning a nervous chuckle and a wave from the latter. "Twilight," Samantha whispered fiercely, "at least try to be nice to people around you. What happened to the whole Friendship Is Magic thing that went on in Equestria?" Twilight snorted. "I'm not in Equestria anymore, am I? No. I am not, so I follow my own rules." Samantha rolled her eyes, turning back to mouth "Sorry." to the girl at the desk. "Who was that, anyways?" "New intern. That's all I'm gonna tell you." "She's just a kid." "I know." The two stopped at a set of metal doors. "Behold," Samantha deadpanned, dramatically gesturing the aforementioned set of metal doors, "the elevators." Twilight groaned, facepalming. "Geez, I'm just trying to cheer you up a bit, alright? No need to be so glum." "Just hurry up and prove to me that my friends are waiting." "Any word from Samantha?" Pinkie shook her head. "We'd both hear from her if she said anything... also, you can talk now?" Lisa sighed, nodding her head. "I'm not really sure when I regained my voice, but I have it now." She paused for a moment, staring into the endless distance. "Wait a sec..." Lisa mumbled, closing her eyes. The white landscape around the two once again shifted. Gone was the uniform mass of white all around, replaced instead by a bustling suburban city. "Oh?" Pinkie wondered aloud, "You can do that too?" "Huh?" The vivid construct of Lisa's imagination vanished, replaced once more by the endless white void. "Warp reality. Or at least, the virtual reality we're in." Lisa shrugged. "I always thought that me doing this was only visible to myself, kinda like a daydream." Pinkie, in turn, shook her head. "That's not how it works. Though... I really don't even know how it works myself, either." She paused for a moment, thinking. "Ooh, wait a sec, here's an example." Lisa watched as the mare dug into her mane, pulling out her signature party cannon. "It's not actually there, so to say," Pinkie continued, setting the cannon on the blank floor, "but making it look like it's coming out of something probably won't make everypony else freak out." "So... you're basically just triggering item generation with your thoughts." Pinkie nodded. "Though, it took a bit of... well, permission breaking for me to be able to do this. Not sure about you though, since you aren't like me." Lisa frowned. "I'm not like you? What do yo--" "I mean that you're biological at your roots. I'm not. Our minds work in different ways, and you probably don't have any restrictions at all placed on you." Lisa dismissed the notion with a shrug. "I guess that's one way to put it," she began, "but what about the plan to put me back in my own body? I thought we were gonna be loaded back onto a chip or something." "I have no idea anymore." Bong. The elevator doors squeaked open, allowing its passengers to step out. "Just follow me," Samantha commanded, taking Twilight by the wrist. "And stop scowling, for heaven's sake!" Twilight huffed, resigning herself to be lead by Samantha through the colorful, bustling office workspace. She glared at the countless employees sitting at their desks, eliciting a few confused glances in response. Finally, they stopped at a door. Samantha hesitated for a moment, rummaging in her handbag for her keycard. "Hurry up." The girl's fingers grasped the edge of her keycard. Slowly, Samantha pulled the plastic card out of her bag, her eyes wavering as she stared first at the card, then to Twilight. "Here." Twilight growled, snatching the card from Samantha and tapping it on the door. Nothing happened. Twilight tapped the card on the door again, her frustration growing apparent as she threw the card at the door, gaining only a light thwap as the card bounced onto the floor. Sighing, Samantha bent down, picking up her keycard and tapping it on the scanner beside the door. A soft whirr rang out as the lock disengaged. "Took it long enough," Twilight rolled her eyes, "you should get your door fixed." Samantha paused, her hand on the door as she stared at the eyes of her friend. With a shake of her head, Samantha slid the door open. "Back already, Samantha?" a voice began behind the two girls, "Girl, you just don't seem to get enough of this place."
Let go.Author's Note I've recently realized that it's become gradually harder and harder to write this AU story any further given its constraints to the existing canon. I will consider simply canceling the story and shutting down the AU, or perhaps setting up a new continuity specifically for this story. Let go. Samantha spun around to face the voice with wide eyes. "You," she accused, "don't you dare bring Lisa into whatever you're about to spout." The man leaning on the wall chuckled, slipping his hands in his pockets. "No, no," he began, stepping closer to Samantha, "the past is in the past now. What brings you back to headquarters?" "Lisa," Samantha gestured to Twilight, "she's... changed, to say the least. I need access to my tools and the company database if I want to--" Twilight shot a glare at Samantha, cutting the girl off. "--er, we can talk about it later," Samantha finished with a sigh, "I just need to connect her back into the simulations for a bit." The man raised a brow. "Why?" he asked, blocking Samantha as she turned back to the ajar door of her former office, "Hasn't she been in there long enough already?" "Apparently not enough," Samantha shook her head, "please, just let me do this. It's for her own good." The man paused for a moment in thought, before hesitantly moving out of the way, eyeing Twilight as she followed Samantha into the room. The door shut behind them with a soft click. Samantha paused, letting out a deep sigh before sitting down at her old desk. Twilight followed suit, pulling out a chair and sitting beside the girl. "Well?" Twilight snapped, "Get on with it! Prove to me that I still have a place in Equestria!" "I-I will. Hold on for a bit, won't you?" Samantha stammered, pressing the power button on the computer. "I need to start everything up." She pulled the keyboard closer to the edge, glancing over her shoulder as she typed in her password. A small chime rang from the system as the biometric lock engaged. "What's that?" Twilight snorted, her arms folded. "It's... it's nothing," Samantha responded, pressing her thumb on the keyboard while staring for a moment at the screen. The lock screen image faded from view, replaced by a clean desktop. Samantha navigated to a networked folder, pulling various files and programs over before opening one. A command line blinked on-screen for a second before vanishing again, replaced by the familiar view of Equestria. "That's... wait, that's Pinkie," Twilight exclaimed, pointing to the screen. "Why is Pinkie back in Equestria? Isn't she still on that chip-thing of yours?" Samantha shrugged, stifling a smile. "Anyways," she continued, confidence growing within her, "it's never too late to return to your friends, Twilight. Sure, there may still be much to learn, but I promise you, if you wish to return to Equestria by your own will, that I will personally deliver you an unfiltered, endless supply of as many books as you want." Twilight's eyes widened for a moment. She glanced again at the monitor, then to Samantha, unsure of whether to trust the offer or not. "Well?"
