Dead Air

"Everyone is present?" One of the many - an orb of blue light projected by a holographic projector - asked. With each word, the light grew and shrank.

We sat at a large, round table. The holo projector resided in the center atop its surface, displaying six orbs of light - each of different color - to me, three Humans, one of which was Vector, and 10 Warhorse units that stood guard along the walls.

I didn't recall my arrival here, however. I just kinda found myself here...

I couldn't seem to speak or move, save for my eyes. My body may as well have been strapped into the chair.

One by one, the party confirmed their presence.

"Good..." Blue said. "Then this council is now in session. Vector, report."

"The core has been speaking. It's not emitting just static now. She's been entering our subject's dreams and saying the same thing over and over again. Little Phoenix... Little Phoenix..."

"If I may..." One of the other Humans said abruptly, sitting up straight. I knew him... I wished I didn't...

He was one of the bad ones...

"Proceed, Feris." Blue replied.

"One of my subjects in the zebra division is hearing a different message. Dancing Flame in the void."

"So the core is being poetic on appearance." Yellow stated matter of factly. "Good for the core."

Little Phoenix...?

"So she's calling for two individuals... One of which is scheduled for this year's breeding cycle." Purple filled in. "This dents our plans."

"This is bigger than money." Red declared. "If we're going to get in there, we need to ease into her demands."

"That risks endangerment." Vector replied, glancing around the room. "It risks extinction. That mural-"

"Is a dying piece of art from a dead generation."

"Vector proves a point." The third Human said. "We've all seen the mural. We know what the symbol means. If there really is some involvement with the Nekkra, we should reconsider this whole thing. We don't even know if she has something planned for us."

"We have no intention to give her what she wants. Just enough to get past the blockade."

"And what about our quota?" Feris asked, leaning back in his seat. "We still gotta meet supply and demand."

"There's more." Blue snapped. "What don't you understand? We have the power of a thousand suns in our hands. And still, we leave the core unscathed. Whatever is inside, they sought to keep from us. And I intend to get in. I want what they've been keeping from us. The Talon Corporation owns everything but that cursed relic. We have the keys now, we can get in."

"Don't tell me you're scared of what a wall mural portrays." Red sneered. "Whatever is inside was worth protecting."

"This is madness." The third Human stated lazily, regarding the council. "Have you failed to consider that there are two signals coming from within? One of which is now reciting poetry to our subjects?"

"I find it hard to be scared of poetry and static." Orange drawled. "You'd be a fool."

"You don't understand, this is bigger than-"

"I understand that there was a folklore that died with the rest of them. It's you that doesn't seem to understand that if you keep feeding me your superstitious bullshit, I'll have you shipped out to the outer rim colonies to work alongside the Earth Ponies, living in shit and breathing methane gas for the rest of your life."

The Human quickly closed his mouth as he stared in horror.

"What if they never died, though?" Vector stepped in, staring intently at Orange. "Something in there is alive, and we're hearing her. But what if there are more?"

"Do you think if there were more, they'd let a signal emit static for six hundred years without saying anything?" Red chided.

"I don't know, sir. None of us know, and that's why we need to be careful with this. We have no idea what's inside. Sometimes things are best left alone."

"And sometimes, inferior ranks need to keep their thoughts to themselves." Blue hissed. "Here's how things are going to go. You three and the subjects that have been reached out to by the core are going to go down to the dig site, and you're going to put those fucking keys to use, or so help me, we'll come down there and do it for you. Do I make myself clear?"

Vector's jaw clenched as his eyes widened.

"Yes, sir... I understand..."

"Good, then this meeting has met a conclusion. Get to work. And you can thank your superstitions for bringing you down there. And you can be certain that next time a promotion comes, I'll look back on this conversation and reconsider."

The projector shut off, and the lights of the higher ranks vanished.

Vector turned to the third Human as he rubbed his eyes, sighing.

"We're fucked..." He muttered.

"Anyone else feel like we're in the Saturn Protocol's crosshairs now?" The nameless Human that Vector regarded asked.

Feris and my master both nodded silently, just before Vector closed his eyes, exhaled, and pressed his index and middle finger to his temple, rubbing them in a circular motion against his skin.

"A thought..." He whispered.

"Go." Feris replied simply as he stared blankly across the table at an empty seat.

"If the voice in the core is reaching out to our subjects in their sleep, whose to say she wasn't listening to this meeting?"

As if a black hood had been pulled over my head, everything went black. I was suddenly able to move again once the chair vanished out from underneath me, and my voice came back in a gasp.

I seemed to be in contact with nothing now. Just floating weightlessly in the void...

There was no bag over my head.

I stretched my wings out before me, and I saw them as clear as day, carrying a faint glow. My sight was perfect, but...

I was in the nothing. The Afterdeath.

Then, I heard her. The same raspy, high pitched voice in my dream...

"They have no idea..."

"Who are you? W-where am I?"

A speck of red light shined far off in the distance, a million miles away. As time went on, it grew closer, and one light became two rings, glowing brighter than my mane, tail, and feathers combined.

A figure formed around them; that of a pony - somehow darker than the black that swallowed us. And yet, I saw her perfectly.

"I've waited so very long for you, Little Pheonix... It's time."

In a panic, I shot up, gasping. My heart raced; pounding in my chest relentlessly. My breath escaped me as I stared up at the blank ceiling, where only a fluorescent light resided.

It was just a dream...

Just a dream...

But...

That was the trick, wasn't it...?

She spoke through dreams...

Who was she? What was happening?

... And why was I so scared...?