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* WELCOME TO CERBER/OS. *

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"Making clumps of metal smarter than you"

.\reboot.script activated...

\...

\loading Memory banks A01 - Z99..

cerb. / loading sensory drivers...

/audio - on.

“Candie! Help!” A panicked voice bellowed out, rattling my audio sensors and flaring through my processors. Nothing worse than ponies being loud while I reboot; I suppose it’s the equivalent of having an headache first thing in the morning.

“You wanna see your inside? I’d be glad to show you.” A male voice said in a dark sadistic tone, it intensity of his voice suggesting he was mid orgasm. Honestly, is somepony watching a sick porno? Then again, I wouldn’t mind seeing what's inside a pony. I do wonder how they work.

/vision - on.

It took several attempts to load my vision drivers, but eventually static filled my sight, stuttering of an instant before turning black. A flurry of orange code began, consisting of instances, variables and statements which poured down from the top. I noticed I was left in a pile of rubble and bathed in a dim light from the nearby shattered windows. The beams illuminated clouds of dust as they floated around carelessly.

A stallion stood over me. I could tell fashion wasn't his thing, as he was wearing battered, old, rusty metal around his chest held together by a fraying rope around his neck. His most notable feature was his mane; it was spiked up into a mohican, with a bandana wrapped around his forehead. He honestly looked like something out of the post apocalyptic stories you here on the radio in the early hours of the morning.

Seriously though, where the hell am I? Did I party too hard again? Last time, I booted up after a wild party and found myself in bed with the Mayor Mare’s toaster and kettle. She wasn’t pleased when my boss returned them with dents in them. They were kinky fucks.

/touch - on.

I felt a weight on top of me shift and sounds of struggling and scuffling behind me. Stones and pebbles were being flicked up and hitting my back.

“Candie!” A shriek came from behind me, followed by sobbing and crying. I looked up to the stallion who now had a rusty, old knife in his between his teeth. He grinned toothily around the blade. My fan clanked and ground into action, giving a few clicks and squeaks as it spun up. The small terminal screen tucked into my side blinked green light before illuminating the stallion with a green eerie glow. Normally my terminal is hidden behind my synthetic skin, as the terminals are for technician’s use only.

The stallion flinched back suddenly, noticing the light and the sounds of my fan whirring. I decided to politely move out of the way. Firstly, I haven't got a clue where I was and obviously these guys had some business to settle. I started to move my hind legs and sit up. The joints and gears gave out a grinding groan, as if yawning after a long slumber. As I moved, my circuits sparked and buzzed into life and my fan span frantically at maximum revolutions.

The rest of my electronics and mechanics manically burst in life as power surged and ripped through my circuitry and wires, awakening every capacitor, resistor and processor.

I looked down at my legs and chest to find much of my synthetic skin had melted off; only patches remained but they were all cracked and hairless, as well turning a faded brown. My metal chassis peered through the skin, all dented and rusted.

My joints continued to creak and moan as it turned my head to look back at the stallion, standing sans grin as he watched my awakening.

/speech - on.

As I opened my mouth to speak, I felt the speaker in my voice box buzz and crackle. I waited momentarily for the information of the sound byte sequence to flow through.

“So, where the hell am I? And who are you guys?” I croaked, my voice crackling like a old record. Having a good look around, I noticed that I was standing in some kind of reception hall, its floor covered in rubble and scorched debris. I scanned around the room to find an old sign slanted on the wall behind the reception desk reading ‘Welcome to Cerber/os Inc’. The sign had rust peering through the paintwork, and was decorated with a few holes. I remember being here before I was shut down by a technician; I was in for repairs that day due to ‘personality’ malfunctions. Then again, I would have sworn that I was up on the second floor.

I looked up and my question was answered. A gaping hole in the ceiling, with insulation and cables drooping down like vines from a tree, marked my path down to the ground floor.

“What happened? I bet it was SolOS...” I fired another few question. This time my voice becoming less croaky. I turned around to find a teal mare on her back with a confused, terrified look on her face, similar to the stallions. Her mane and tail were scruffy and covered in dust, but it appeared that they were considerably darker than her coat. Neither she nor the stallions answered. “Hah. I know. I'm in a bad snuff video with a post apocalyptic setting...” I looked at the teal mare to find she was shaking her head slowly. “Oh.”

“And what the fuck are you?” The stallion broke his silence after sheathing his knife into the makeshift scabbard tied haphazardly to his shoulder.

“I’m a Cybernetic Unit Network Transporter.” I replied, holding my head high, and feeding my ego as I announced my status. “And you are?”

“They call me Deathbringer” The stallion started to pluck up some courage.

I let out a chuckle and tilted my head sarcastically “Ok ‘Deathbringer.’ I’m Unit Five zero seven. But I prefer Soul.”

“Nopony laughs at my name. They only die once they hear it” He snarled and edged closer to me.

“What? Of laughter?”

Rage filled Deathbringer’s face like wildfire. He pulled his knife again and lunged.

Cerb./ Hostile detected.

// Weapon - Knife.

// Risk - Low.

// Enter S.A.T.S? Y/N

/ Y

I felt my circuits go into overdrive as S.A.T.S. took over. Sparks flew from my seams as my it kicked in. I watched the stallion slow down mid-air. I span around and bucked out my hind legs, hard as I could. The sound from the attack was drawn out, teeth crunching, a muzzle breaking and the ripping sound of the knife tearing backward through his cheeks. I ended the kick and reverse to watch the aftermath unfold. Deathbringer flew onto his back and slid into the rubble letting out a deep cry of pain.

Now I remember! I was being repairing because of my odd behavior and, more importantly, the ability to attack on my own will.

As my S.A.T.S. program ended, I watched ‘Deathbringer’ scream in dire pain, holding his hooves up to his face to stop the blood gushing out of his nose and mouth to form a red puddle around his head.

I heard trotting in the upper floors of the building, followed by shooting and yelling. Sprinkles of debris floated down from the ceiling, like snowflakes, while heavier clumps of concrete plummeted and crumbled on the floor.

“Oh no.” The teal mare said, scrambling to her hooves and darting deeper into the building, kicking up stones and dust as she sprinted.

“A thank you would be nice!” I shouted, but the only reply was my own echo. Then again, I do love my own voice.

More gunfire echoed through the building. With nothing better to do, I sat there and thought about my situation. It looked as if like the old Cerber/os offices had aged by a few hundred years. I went through my old memories and played them back. Every pony was laughing a joking with huge smiles on their faces. The second floor was filled with androids like me, being repaired or helping out the technicians. The images in my electronic mind faded, the building was eerily quiet apart of some sporadic scuffling.

A few moments later, a figure appeared at the back of the building carrying another pony draped over her...Its back. It was the teal mare.

“Help! please. She’s coming!” The mare was in tears, struggling to carry the other mare. Sounds of running and vile language came from behind her. “Oh crap!” She started to panis, stumbling into the room.

“Who’s she?” I asked. “A friend with that guy?” I turned and pointed at ‘Deathbringer,’ dying in a red sea of his own blood. The stallion led there motionless with his eyes wide, staring up to the ceiling and still clutching his mouth with his hooves.

Suddenly, it quieted again. I snapped my attention back to the mare to find her climbing under the old wooden reception desk. There she cowered with the other pony, who was tucked safely further back.

“Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on here?” I yelled out.

A loud bang rumbled through the reception area and rang through my chassis. I spotted something piercing the air as it flew right past my head, taking a chunk out of the wall behind me. A figure emerged from the darkness. I could make out her dress, similar to the knob head who tried to attack me earlier. A second mare appeared to join her, this one an unicorn.

The unicorn’s horn glowed a light purple, that same glow surrounding a smoking rifle levitating to her right. I could just make out the colour of her coat. It was... I should say ‘used to be’... yellow, but stains of filth and blood dominated.

“Where’s my brother?” She yelled, the sound echoing across the room. her voice quieted as she slowly approached me. “Also, did you see two mares come through here?”

I looked over to the teal pony who was retreating further back under the desk.

“What a teal pony? About this high?” I raised a hoof to estimated height. “Her mane slightly darker than her coat?” I was dodging the first question by answering the second. I had the nasty feeling, deep down in my processors, that that bone head was their brother. I looked back to the teal pony under the desk, only to find her miming ‘no’ frantically.

“Yes, that one. So have you seen him, or not?” The unicorn spoke again with anger creeping in her voice. As if to illustrate the ‘or not’, she cycled the bolt on her gun.

“Nope.”

“Don't fucking play games with me. I’ll ask ag...” She froze in her place and saw the corpse behind me. “What the fuck have you done!?” She screamed, beginning to cry. Fine, make me the fucking monster!

“Him? Oh, sorry, he ran into my hooves and then he died.” I tilted my head to side and continued. “Honestly, didn't your mother teach you not to run with knives in your mouth? Truthfully, you shouldn’t put knives in your mouth at all.”

The mare turned back to me in fury. I felt two more bullets whizzed past, missing as I dodged for cover, but the third hit a hydraulic cable in my front leg. Huh, she was definitely not in the mood for games. I quickly lost control of my leg, causing me to plummeted head first into the floor. I dragged my sorry flank away from the unicorn, leaving a thin trail of hydraulic fluid. More orange code flooded my vision, carrying warnings and limb pressure levels. At the end came a nice, big, red text saying ‘See Technician Immediately.’

The unicorn kept approaching as I tried to crawl away. Using SATS wasn't an option; it takes good while to load. It would come back too late. My sensors felt the rifle poke is way between the panels of my chassis. Gunfire erupted, and one by one my systems failed. My vision became pixelated, filling with artifacts caused by malfunctions. Soon enough, everything went black.