Of course it would have to be today, Twist sighed. Why am I even surprised anymore?

This was supposed to be her big night. Instead, work had reared its ugly head again, pulling her into the Dream-Web. Ideally, the meeting was supposed to take no more than five minutes. That would have given her plenty of time to perform an analysis, write her report, freshen up, and be on time for her date. That hadn't happened. Forty-seven minutes waiting in a dump in Barterzone, followed by a message that the meeting-place had been changed. The new location had turned out every bit unpleasant as one would imagine, making the first look like a five star hotel by comparison.

Half an hour later and a new message had appeared, this one telling her to go to Rosesand. Of course, it would be Rosesand, she sighed. Every two-bit dream-hacker set a meeting there. Supposedly, it was one of the "freest" sectors of the Web. The Starswirl Conglomerate had abandoned it a while back, leading to wild speculation regarding the reason. Personally, Twist didn't put much faith in most of the rumours. Still, she didn't like the place. So far she had been there twice, though never on her own. This was a big first for her.

I guess this means I'm starting to earn the trust of the important Webbers. Just why did they have to choose tonight? Alas, Twist did not have the luxury of refusing such an invitation. The terms of her contract were very specific — when not at school, she was to be on constant call, and that meant her social life had taken a significant hit.

"Don't move," an altered voice sounded in her ear. "Run a single protocol and the meeting is over."

Seemed quite serious. At least the hacker sounded like he knew what he was doing — no threats, no boasting, straight to the point. Twist remained patiently in place. This time, she didn't have to wait long. A blue connection cone appeared a few steps away, along with the message "Clairvoyance has connected" displayed in bold white letters. It wasn't a name Twist had heard before, but lately more and more dream-hackers had been popping up. Three years ago she knew nearly every Webber by name. Today, with over a quarter million creatures roaming the Web, ranging from griffins to diamond dogs, it was impossible to keep track.

"You are Cane?" the new arrival asked. His voice and avatar were male — a Male Umbra build, to be exact — yet that didn't mean anything. As the popular joke went "there are no stallions in the Web".

"Yes, yes I am," Twist replied. She too had masked her real life identity, behind a high-class Female Crystal Pegasus build avatar, and a clever alias. "Do you have something for me?"

"You Conglomerate types are all alike." Clairvoyance snorted. "Do you have my payment?"

"Have I ever caused anyone to doubt me?" Twist asked. It wasn't like she had much of a Web reputation. The Starswirl logo on her avatar's flanks, however, remedied that. "Half now, half—"

"No need," the hacker interrupted her. "This one’s a freebie."

Free? Twist would blink, if her avatar allowed it. Nothing was free in the Web; both the Conglomerate and the dream-hacker community made certain of that. Whatever didn't cost bits, cost favours — that was the reality the Web had become, despite the pastel-coloured utopia the Conglomerate made it out to be.

"The information I have is bigger than me," Clairvoyance went on. "There's nothing I could do about it, but you might have the resources to pull it off. Besides, if left unchecked, it'll mess up far more things for you guys, than anypony else."

"And you don't even want to be owed a favour?" Twist was skeptical. When something sounded too good to be true, it was either a pony Princess, or a lie... and Twist was definitely not in the presence of the former.

"What do you know about the Sombra virus?" The hacker completely ignored Twist's question.

"That it's potent, destructive, and the only thing capable of affecting core code," Twist replied automatically. "Anti-viruses and even ICE systems have no effect on it, leaving sector collapse to be the only sure-proof method of dealing with it adequately. It is believed that the virus was a result of a failed experiment during the early days of the—"

"It wasn't," Clairvoyance said sharply. "It didn't fail, and it definitely wasn't an experiment. Its very goal was to corrupt source code, although it turned out more than the group bargained for."

"The group?" Twist didn't like where this was going, yet at the same time her thirst for information pressed her to keep asking questions. "Is it one of Starswirl's Divisions?"

"Smart filly." Clairvoyance did a slow stomp on the ground with his hoof. Anywhere else, Twist would consider this highly insulting. In the present circumstances, however, things were slightly different. "The Conglomerate brought it into the Web. It just didn't create the virus."

"Then who did?" This is definitely not going in my report. Such a matter is for a face-to-face.

"The virus is Sombra's essence." The hacker a step forward. "Someone must have gone through a lot of trouble to find it a place in the Web."

"You can't be serious?" Twist felt like laughing. She was aware of the situation, but also could see how absurd it all sounded. "For that to happen, somepony must have gone to the Crystal Empire, located Sombra's dark essence, collected it somehow, then found a way to insert it in the Dream Web. You can't be suggesting that Starswirl has been infiltrated by Cultists?"

"Yes." The answer was calm, collected, unwavering. "I'll do you one better — I'll tell you the name of the division originally responsible. What your bosses do with that info is your business."

You aren't kidding? By Celestia, you aren't! Twist swallowed. She wasn't expecting this.

"Black Bear Division," Clairvoyance said, then, before Twist could voice a question, disconnected before her very eyes. Standard hacker behaviour — the longer one remained connected, the easier it was to tag and track her. Nevertheless, Twist remained, desperately hoping he would log on again. A foolish notion, yet her brain was still functioning on half capacity.

The Sombra virus… the terrifying Web plague was created by one of our own? And I thought I would finally get to go on a date.

Ten minutes later Twist decided there was no point in waiting further. Launching her triple-encryption protocols she sent a message. The face-to-face with her boss was going to take place sooner than she had expected.

Author's Notes:

Sombra virus - the most dangerous virus in the Web. It is capable of destroying Dream-Web source code and cannot be affected by any anti-virus or ICE. if spotted, Web users are strongly advised to log off immediately and contact the nearest Conglomerate office.

Confidential
The Sombra virus can be purged using Red ICE. All information regarding Red ICE is restricted to level 3 operatives and above.