Systems Energy Levels Recharged. Rebooting…

System Reboot successful. Debug mode engaged. Scanning for programs…

Programs found and fixed. Launching movement protocols…

ERROR. Cannot detect connected limbs. Please place brain functions to nerve functions…

Running TMP.EXE… Success.

Hello, world.

Her vision picked up a signal feed. Aurora found herself unable to move anything. It was like all functions were completely forgotten. However, she was only able to register her vision, communication and partial movement of her optics. Taking a moment to scan her surroundings, she found herself noticing a figure hunched over a table. Whoever was in the room with her was also talking to herself.

“Wow. A prototype model. That’s rare.” The voice said. It sounded young and very exhausted. “Clockworth, do you have the part I asked for?”

“Right here, madam.” A metallic voice with an unusual accent spoke up. Aurora watched a long spider like robotic limb reach out while the pony sitting at the desk took the device and small sparks flew when she placed the device in… her body. Aurora blinked in confusion and glanced down.

‘W-what? My…’ She scrunched her muzzle in a panic. How can this be possible? How is she functioning without a body? She tried looking around, but found it hard to even turn her head. She frowned slightly. ‘What is going on? Am I being scavenged for parts?’ Aurora registered more panic. ‘Oh no, no, no, no! I don’t want to be scrapped again!!’ She looked around. ‘I have to do something… but how can…’ Her eyes fell to a familiar looking weapon. The revolver she had taken off of Deadeye. She stuck her tongue out, trying to reach it.

Realizing what she was doing, she gave a silent sigh and glanced at the busy working pony. Humming in thought, she came to an idea. She moved her head from side to side, rocking the pedestal she was on. Beaming when she shifted just a little bit, the android mare rocked again. ‘Almost there… just a little… bit… further!’ she faced the revolver now. She tried her best to bend her head down and reach for it, her tongue licking the handle. Unfortunately, the gun was batted away when she tried to clamp it in her teeth. ‘Ah, buck!’

The gun fell and clattered to the floor. And when it did, a loud thump emitted and struck something hard in the room.

“What the!?” the pony working at the bench stated in surprise. She looked up from Aurora’s body and looked to Clockworth. The spider like floating robot suddenly collapsed to the floor, a hole where the bullet had pierced the robots shell. Aurora gave a worried look.

‘Whoops.’ The pony removed the welding mask, revealing to Aurora’s shock, a young grey filly. Her expression seemed… disappointed. The filly lightly tapped the robot and sighed.

“And this is why I wanted to upgrade you with more sturdier materials.” She said nonchalantly. Aurora glanced nervously around the room, seeing the filly turn to her and arched a brow. “Huh, I must have accidentally hit the backup power button.” Aurora looked at the filly with a worried look.

“W-who are you?” she asked. The filly rubbed her chin.

“Displaying panic, confusion and worry? Your personality chip must be a self-aware one.” She shrugged. “Guess that makes sense as to why I found this.” She held up a strange black looking box. Aurora balked.

“H-hey, that’s my black box! Put it back!” she shouted. The filly arched another brow along with an amusing smirk.

“What, this old thing? Hell, this thing can’t even function right. I’m surprised you didn’t even blow up from the inside. This thing was practically on the verge of doing so. Oh, which reminds me.” The filly kicked away from the table and over to another desk. “I took the liberty of scrounging around your data banks.” Aurora balked again.

“W-why!? Why would you do that!?” The filly smirked.

“Because I just can’t refuse browsing through other ponies stuff. But you really aren’t a pony, so it’s okay in a sense.” She said. Aurora shook her head as best as she could, wobbling a little.

“N-no! Please don’t look through anymore! I don’t want any pony finding out that I li-!’ she bit her tongue and scrunched her muzzle again, dispensing pseudo sweat. The filly chuckled.

“Oh please. There is nothing wrong with you.” She tapped her hoof, displaying a small sly smile. “I hear 50 Shades of Metal had a very juicy scene in it.” Aurora flushed brightly.

“N-no! That’s not mine! It’s a err… relic I found and thought I would err… preserve it, yeah!” She said, trying her best to hide the shame. The filly laughed now.

“Hey, I’m not judging. Everyone has their kinks. Yours is a… well…” She looked over to the disassembled body of Aurora. “Bit more of a walking kink.” Aurora didn’t know how to respond. The shame was just too much.

‘Please just delete all of my functions here and now.’ The filly stretched and looked at the clock next to the table.

“Time flies when you are digging around a prototype model with a blank testing record.” She smiled at Aurora. ‘How bizarre. She’s acting like a normal pony. Most androids would just stare blankly and respond with simple answers.’ She giggled quietly. ‘That’s kind of cute.’ Aurora blinked in realization and looked around. Her expression turned grim.

“What did you do to the other two?” she asked. The filly shrugged.

“I had Kiwi Bot load them into a quarantine box. Trust me. The stuff I found on them was just…” she stuck her tongue out disgustedly. Aurora cocked her head. “Let’s just say, lice isn’t the only thing I found on them. Anyways, I’m more curious about you.” The filly tapped on a terminal that was scanning what appeared to be a picture of Aurora’s body. “ID is 4U120124. Model is a prototype hybrid breeding and combat unit designed at a redacted and unknown location.” The filly narrowed her eyes. “It also says here that your error log is filled with jammed functions. Your vitals are in a peculiar state of being alive and dead.” The filly turned back to her. “So just what are you, really?”

Aurora shook her head, trying to gather what she can about herself. But only blank slates and logs appeared.

“I… cannot determine that. I’ve always wondered why I can never figure that out. Why some of my programs activate by themselves or most of my functions just give out at inopportune times.” The filly beamed.

“I think I can tell you why.” She said. Aurora looked at her confusedly. The filly kicked off from the table and over to her body. Sliding her hoof into a strange looking skeletal gauntlet that had a prong at the end, the filly moved the device into the chassis and dug around a bit before pulling out a glowing blue crystal. Aurora registered surprise. She wasn’t sure what she was seeing.

“W-what is that? And what is it doing inside my body?” she asked. The filly slid her hoof out, plucked the crystal from the prong and tossing it into the air, catching it skillfully on her hoof.

“This, my dear Wattson, is not Lunarium. It’s a different kind of material that was thought to be exhausted in Equestria. They say it originates with mysterious magical powers.” She sighed. “Too bad it’s only a legend. Most ponies would kill for these.” She smirked and placed it on the desk. “Which is why I am planning on selling it.” Aurora balked again.

“W-what?” she sputtered. “B-but… that came from my body!! What if I can’t function without it!?” she stated. The filly took a moment, pretending to think before shrugging.

“Well, we will never know. Now then. I’m going to check up on the other two “contagions” and see if they mutated yet.” The filly hopped off of the chair and trotted over to the door. Aurora wobbled more, trying to get herself to move.

“H-hey! Don’t just leave me like this!! Come baaaaAACK!!” Aurora moved a little too far forward and ended up falling off the side of the table. Her head bounced and rolled over to the bed, eventually finding herself staring back out from under the bed and frowned when she came to a stop. She gave a defeated sigh. ‘Just what the hell is wrong with that filly?’ she thought in annoyance.

Zelori found herself thinking back to a much simpler time during her days as a filly in New Equestria. Being accepted by the job system to be a junk yard care taker, she felt something she hadn’t thought she could feel in years. Happiness. While it may be strange as to why somepony would claim happiness while working at a junkyard, she didn’t mind. But this wasn’t the case.

Starting her first day of work, she was given a pad with a list of things to do. And without any hoof holding, they lead her into the junkyard and then just left. Zelori took a couple of hours to wander the area to get her bearings. Once she did, she went straight to work. Being alone to go about her business, she found her mind at ease. ‘Take one pile of junk, move it over to the pathway of the bulk scrappers. Make sure every pile is checked for any unwanted propaganda and pieces of slander. Simple enough for her.

However, spending more hours doing so, she found herself getting hungry. She didn’t pack much for lunch. Just a can of beans she had been holding onto for a while. Luckily, she found a small Solarium hot plate. Using it in tangent with the dirty water she had found in left over bottles, she let it boil and hummed to herself. Her parents had always told her when she was younger that she had been born of proud hunters.

And young Zelori knew so. And when it was time for her to leave them and begin a new life alone, she took the knowledge of survival to good use. She smiled and warmed herself with the small heat the plate emitted. Making sure that the beans were nice and boiled, she took a metal spoon she had found and scooped the meal into her muzzle. Bland and boring. Simplicity at its’ finest. Taking another spoonful, she stopped and twitched her ears. She looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes. No sign of anything appearing out of the blue.

Her instincts now kicked in, she returned to her meal, unaware of a pair of glowing yellow eyes watching her from a nearby pile. Her eyes darted all over to where she can look. Catching notice of a silhouette moving behind another pile, she placed the can down and stood up. She listened closely, trying to pinpoint any small noise. All was quiet. Not a single sound was being made. Not even the distant hums of the bulk scrappers could break the concentration. She listened closely.

Clank

Zelori immediately tossed the spoon over towards where she heard the sound of movement. The spoon hit a sheet scrap, knocking it down along with the pile of junk. She heard a painful garbled cry and the scrambling of hoof steps. Zelori immediately bolted, following the sounds of scrambling hooves. Or… maybe not hooves? The rhythm was unusual to her. Nothing like a pony would make. Zelori could see the silhouette now. A tall figure fleeing over a pile of junk. Zelori, with quick reflexes and graceful agility, bound up the pile and tackled the creature on the way down. The two tumbled down the pile and rolled to a stop at the bottom.

Zelori stood up and readied herself, facing the creature that had watched her. She arched a brow when she saw a tattered shawl huddled at the base of the junk. Underneath it was a round spherical head with two big yellow eyes looking back at her.

“Just who are you? And why are you watching me?” she asked. The creature said something. Or at least, it tried too. But only a garbled hum came out and the creature made a surprised gesture to its throat. Zelori watched with careful eyes, ready to move if it tried anything. However, the creature lowered the collar of the shawl, exposing nothing but a skeletal like body and a sliced bit of wires connected to a small box. Zelori cocked her head in confusion. ‘What kind of creature is this?’ Zelori balked when the creature suddenly stood up. It towered over her like a colossus. The young zebra filly backed away, ready to move.

However, the creature held up a strange hoof to her. This hoof had small jointed stubs. They twitched slightly, causing the creature to hum worriedly before getting the right gesture. A small wave. Zelori was confused as to what it was trying to do. It kept waving. After a few more waves, the creature then pointed to itself, emitting a garble. Zelori watched as the creature bent down and drew something in the compost. The creature drew two simple letters:

“DD?” Zelori spoke up in a question. The creature hummed happily and made a waving gesture again. As it did, a loose piece of tin escaped the pile and bounced off the creature’s head, causing it to rub it confusedly. This made Zelori giggle, however. To think, that this would be the start of a long friendship that she had hoped would never cease. And it felt just like that. DD had shown her a small run down shack built poorly out of scrap and metal.

Someplace for her to sleep and find shelter. It stood in a corner on a hill away from the busy areas of the junkyard. No bulk scrappers could even make it up the hill, so there was no worry of being crushed. Zelori spent her years under the care of the tall robot. Learning the ins and outs of the areas. She was impressed that the creature used certain detours to get around the scrappers. And then, it decided to introduce her to treasure hunting. While examining a pile she deemed would be good to move, DD had suddenly burst from the pile, startling the filly.

It let out a garbled cheer before donning a strange looking wig. The mane stretched out over the filly. Zelori was baffled at the sight. And then, DD struck a cool pose. Zelori did her best not to burst out laughing. But the wig was just too much for her. The growing bond between the two continued to increase. Indeed, it was a simpler time for her. And she had thought it would last so much longer. To make things even better, she had never thought of adopting a brother. And when the gentle giant brought in a crying pegasus colt one day into the shack, Zelori couldn’t help but feel the need to protect this pony.

Something about the colt gave off all too familiar vibes. ‘This pony… I wonder what his destiny has in store for him?’ And she knew that deep down, as the colt began growing and learning from his mistakes, that she was leading him onto the right path of judgment. And ever since, she had dreamed of just living a simple life with these two she can call a family.

The sound of a door opening snapped her back to reality. She stood up and rubbed her pounding head. She felt itchy all over. Scratching her leg, she looked around to see herself in a strange white room. Her instincts kicked in and looked over to the opening of the room. She couldn’t see it, but there was no denying the sound. A barrier between here and freedom. ‘Where am I?’ she asked herself. She then balked and looked around. “Jack? Jack where are you!?”

“Are you talking about Mr. Drool over here?” a voice asked from the other side. Zelori cocked her head when she looked to see a young grey filly in a jumpsuit. The filly held a mug in her hoof. The aroma coming from it made Zelori’s head stop pounding for a brief moment. The filly smirked and looked over a tablet.

“Patient Zero-one. Zebra mare of twenty-five. Descendent of hunters. No affiliates to any known clans.” The filly chuckled. “Are you some sort of blacksheep?” Zelori narrowed her eyes.

‘What is going on here? Why is there a filly asking these questions?’ The zebra remained stoic as she spoke.

“Before I can speak, I must ask who you are. And why do you have us imprisoned?” The filly arched a brow.

“Prison? Oh no, I’m not one to take prisoners. I’m more of a “catch and release” type warden. The name’s Manic. Prodigy mechanic and soon to be up and coming Aretilla’s GM Mechanic.” Zelori returned the answer with a confused expression. The filly burst out laughing. “Oh, please. I was lying about the up and coming. I just need to give them the okay. But I’ve just been so busy I don’t have time for it.” What was the filly going on about? Zelori walked over to the barrier and tapped it with a hoof. When she did, the barrier became noticeable for just a brief moment. “As for being in the room? Well, you two have a lot of unhygienic things going on.” The filly tapped the pad with her elbow hoof before continuing.

“Nest of lice on the fur and mane. Strong odor as if you’ve been playing in trash. Bad breath and a minor amounts of Luradiation causing unstable vital signs.” Manic made a disgusted face. “Why do ponies don’t ever clean themselves up?” Zelori arched a brow.

“What are you talking about?” she asked. Manic shrugged.

“Well, just little things that I extremely hate on other ponies. So, I’m taking the liberty of cleaning both of you up. A sunbath, cleaning of the teeth and probably sticking a drill in your heads to poke around your brains.” Zelori blinked.

“A what now?” The filly pressed a button on the tablet and before Zelori could react, a long metal tube with a helmet at the end of it descended from a hidden panel above her. Inside the helm was a sharp needle like drill that wasted no time in poking the zebra’s head. Zelori was about to protest when the needle struck trough her skull and poked her brain. It felt… tingly.

Zelori was unable to move, her face glued to the expression as if she had been told a major surprise. The filly looked at the tablet and tapped a few prompts before the screen switched over to a chart. While the scans went to work, she looked over to the next box that held the unconscious pegasus. The pony drooled on the floor, sleeping soundly. Manic frowned.

‘Did the shock really just put him to sleep?’ Manic saw the drool creeping across the floor and she gave a disgusted look. She tapped on the barrier. “Hey, Mr. Drooling in my containment box. Wake up!” To her surprise, the pony jolted slightly awake before yawning and sitting up. He rubbed his spiked mane tiredly before looking around.

“What time is it?” he asked. It was strange. Seeing the room he was in was a bit of a confusing transition. He could have sworn he was walking along with Zelori and Aurora to a small town. He balked at the thought and stood up now. “W-wait… Zelori? Aurora? Where are you?!” he asked. The filly groaned and rubbed her muzzle.

‘Why do I have a feeling this pony is going to annoy me so much?’ she thought. Candlejack finally noticed the filly and arched a brow.

“A kid?” he asked. Manic frowned.

‘Yup, totally annoying.’ She cleared her throat, trying to come off as professional.

“Good afternoon! I am your judge, jury and executioner.” She said. Candlejack rubbed his chin.

“Another prison?” The filly shook her head.

“Not really. I’m just keeping you contained until I figure out if both of you are trouble while doing a brain check and clean up.” Candlejack itched his leg before replying.

“So, mind if I ask where the others are?” Manic shrugged.

“Beats me.” She lied. Candlejack frowned and glanced past her. He spotted a similar box he was in. In it was Zelori, looking surprised and drooling a little at the muzzle. Candlejack arched a brow and saw the helmet on her. He felt something prick his head and his eye was twitching subtly that the filly didn’t notice the sudden change in expression. Manic yawned loudly and looked at the pegasus, seeing the helm having planted on him without his notice. Manic trotted over to a terminal, tapped a few buttons and brought up a blank document.

>Day 1 of the containment. I had managed to retrieve three unconscious ponies that have too many unknown variables. While I am curious to see what they are and the stories to tell, I caught them in poor health, hunger and unhygienic state. The two I have contained have unstable brainwaves and the third one is still currently being dissected for more information. In the meantime, I will record my findings here and see if they are as interesting as I deem them to be.

The filly sighed tiredly. The image of the nightmare suddenly flashed back at her, causing her to shake her head furiously and look over to the two. Their dumbfounded expressions while the helms probed their minds made her feel…conflicted. Manic shut her eyes and shook her head softly this time. ‘No, Manic. These ponies might be dangerous. They are contaminated and need to be tested for any signs of the plague.’ The filly took a big gulp of the coffee before going back to the terminal. Pressing a few more buttons, the terminal now read:

[i>Commencing “Purge” sequence. Beginning lather and washing. Up next: Oral Cleaning. Later: decontamination of Luradiation. Finally: Scan and eliminate Psi-Co tumors and/or cleanse system of Psi-Co consumption.

Manic sighed with a relief. At least now she won’t have to worry about dragging any possible health risks with her. There was a knock on the door and Manic frowned. ‘Dammit, what does he want now?’ Manic trotted over to the door and it slid open, revealing a set of stairs. Reaching the top, she unlocked the door with a wave of her hoof panel and it opened to reveal somepony she wasn’t expecting.

“Hello, little mechanic~!” the mare greeted in a sing song tone. Manic was nervous. She had never thought this mare would acknowledge her. But then again, when her brother’s mare-friend is a popular song idle to most of the adolescents and foals in the community, Manic felt stranger than usual around her.

“G-G-Glitter! Err… what a uh… pleasant surprise!” Manic said tapping her hooves bashfully. ‘Omigoshomigoshomigosh, this can’t be happening!!’ The mare, Spotlight Glitter, is a pretty young unicorn mare. Her posture spoke confidence. Her presence elegance. And her personality outgoing. Indeed this mare with the long lashes and eyeshadow, the bubblegum pink neatly groomed coat and her yellow and violet highlighted mane was a big hit for the young audience. And one of Manic’s favorite song idles. The mare smiled and gave a small hoof wave.

“Indeed, a pleasure. I am sorry to bother you on such a short notice, but do you happen to know where White Light went?” Manic, in her increasing excitement, leaned coolly against the door edge.

“My dumb brother of mine? Said he was checking up on his set up.” Manic gave her her best cool smile she can manage. Glitter giggled before speaking.

“Always the worry wort when it comes to performances. Oh, I am also here about the ‘special’ favor of mine?” she returned the filly’s cool smile, causing Manic to completely forget for a brief moment of what she was asking.

“Favor? Oh, you mean that uhh… yeah I have it in my workshop.” She replied. Glitter clapped her hooves happily.

“Perfect! Is it ready?” she asked. Manic pushed herself off a little too quickly, causing her to stumble a little. Thankfully, she pretended to act like she meant to do that before walking past her.

“Of course! I think you will be happy with the results. Please, right this way!” she said. Glitter and Manic walked away from the basement lab, the filly pressing a button on her tablet and locking the door. While the purge process went on, Manic lead the mare into the house and up to her room. She stopped and turned to Glitter, giving her a sheepish smile. “Err…. Pardon the mess. I’m currently in the middle of an order.” Glitter smiled.

“You must be very talented if Zillex is coming to you for your work. I bet your parents must be proud of you both.” She said. Manic turned and opened the door.

“Ehehehe… yeah… parents...” Ignoring the comment, her and the mare entered the room, unaware that a certain android pony had noticed them enter. Aurora remained quiet and watchful as the two made their way to a desk. Manic pressed more buttons on her tablet. The desk opened at the middle and a small pedestal rose from it, bearing at the tip a barreled cosmetic item. Manic cleared her throat.

“I give you the Spectacle Show-stopper. A nifty universal lip gloss that can change color with just a quick tap of the base. Also, it comes with a neat little defense mechanic for when you find yourself in trouble. A laser that acts like a taser, giving you enough time to run away from any of those good for nothing stalkers!” Glitter gave Manic a small worried smile.

“Oh, well it’s umm… very creative. Buuut, I don’t think my stalkers would do anything extreme. They are young after all.” She said. Manic rubbed her chin and smiled.

“Ah, well then if that doesn’t suite you, then how about this!” she pressed another button on her tablet. The lip gloss descended into the table and the same pedestal came back out with a different cosmetic item. “A small pocket mirror that can register your look and then creates a beauty hologram on you, making beyond recognizable!” Glitter giggled slightly.

“But I am not trying to hide my looks. I want the world to see me, Spotlight Glitter, in all her glory! I want to wow the audience with my dazzling charm and beauty! I want the world to hear my euphoria!” Spotlight Glitter struck one of her many famous poses that were well known around the area. Manic beamed excitedly.

‘So awesome!’ Manic cleared her throat again.

“Well, then if that is what you want, then how about… uhh…” she didn’t seem to have anything on her. ‘Crap! I only made two things that I thought would fit her well for the performance!! Oh crap, what do I do!?!’ her eyes darted the room. Her gaze then fell onto the glowing crystal next to the disassembled android body. She smiled and trotted over to the table, plucking the crystal and holding it up to show the mare. Manic noticed the intrigued ‘ewww’ she emitted and cheered in her mind. “How about this rare gem? I err… found it in one of my explorations for parts.” Glitter’s eyes sparkled with the crystal in pique interest.

“Oh my! This is a very beautiful crystal. What on earth is it?” Manic rubbed the back of her mane, uncertain how to answer.

“Oh, urr… this is a… piece of the Harmony Tree.” Glitter balked.

“Harmony Tree? You mean the ancient legend about a lone tree that was the only thing to have survived during the Big Bang, but then suddenly disappeared and only leaving its fragments behind? That Harmony Tree?!” Manic was stunned that the mare knew exactly what it was. In fact, the more Manic looked at it, she could see her reflection staring back at her. A rainbow like phenomena was created when she turned to examine the other side of the crystal.

‘Now that I say it… why was this in the android?’ Manic furrowed her brows before looking past the crystal and seeing Glitter reaching a hoof out to it.

“It’s beautiful…” she said, entranced by the small crystal. Manic couldn’t’ help but feel excited that she had caught the mare’s interest. “Are you sure I can have this? I think it would look great in the new outfit I had designed.” Manic, again, was uncertain.

“Uhh… I guess?” she replied with uncertainty. Glitter scooped the filly into a hug and nuzzled her cheek happily.

“Oooh, you made me the happiest mare alive!” she said. Manic could swear that she had died and went to heaven. Manic watched as Glitter levitated the crystal up next to her. “Thank you so much. And do tell your brother not to forget our date at seven. We have a lot to discuss.” Manic gave a salute.

“I’ll make sure the idiot remembers.” Glitter waved to the filly before trotting out of the room happily. Manic sighed and looked over to the desk that held the blueprints for the suite she was ordered to create. She then looked back to Aurora’s body. ‘Oh well. I mean, it’s just a legend anyway. I doubt a piece of the Tree of Harmony found its’ way into an android on its own. But I also wonder where exactly did it come from.’ Manic thought about this for a little bit before shrugging. ‘Oh well. Might as well get started on fixing my dumb brother’s table. I sear, he is going to be breaking something even more and it definitely won’t be his passion for music.

Aurora watched the hooves of the filly trot out of the room. As much as it was annoying to end up under the bed, she felt a little surprise. Aurora has heard about a young mare that had quickly become a big hit on Record Scratch’s radio, Apostle and Secrets. Aurora picked up the voice feed and read the information:

Spotlight Glitter

Age: 18

Sex: Mare

Profession: Music, singing and dancing.

Short Description: On the way to being Equestria’s number one sensation on radio music.

Aurora blinked out of her info reading when she heard the door to the room open again. Aurora peeked out, seeing that the pony that had entered the room was entirely different. A cloak and hood covered the pony’s face. Aurora watched quietly as the cloaked pony looked around the room and then began to dig through the desks. The pony swore quietly under his breath before looking back to the bed. Aurora balked and quickly rolled her head deeper under the bed.

Hiding behind what looked like a box of toys meant for a foal, the pony bent down and scanned the bed. Aurora listened closely to the steady breathing. The pony clicked his tongue.

“Dammit. It seems the filly is clever than I had anticipated.” Aurora heard something click quietly along with a garbled voice. The pony withdrew from looking under the bed and put a hoof to the cloaked ear. “Not yet, sir. The filly seems to have put the prints somewhere else.” There was a pause. “Very well.” The pony stopped and cut the communication with whoever quickly.

Aurora rolled slightly just enough to peek back out. To her shock, she saw the pony press something on his foreleg and in a blink of an eye, vanished into thin air. The door opened as soon as the pony did, showing Manic walking back in and pushing an old record table with her head. Manic wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed.

“Damn thing is heavy. How the hell does he carry this around?” Manic asked herself. She then blinked and looked around, furrowing her brows. Aurora saw something shimmer past the filly and out the door, unaware to the filly. Aurora frowned.

‘What is going on?’ Manic then caught sight of the android’s head and smirked.

“Enjoying your new home?” she said. Aurora balked in surprise at the sudden address.

“Oh, err… I uh… a desert roach knocked me off?” Aurora gave the filly her best smile. Manic rubbed her head.

‘I didn’t think an android could lie.’ She giggled slightly before pushing the record table over to a desk, walking over to the bed and picking up the android. “You are a strange android. But then again, it is a prototype AI. I’m surprised you lasted this long with it.” Aurora cocked her head slightly.

“Lasted? My functions have been perfectly normal ever since I could remember.” Manic arched a sly brow.

“Troffleton’s work says otherwise.” Aurora wanted to say something in return, but found herself registering a sad look. Manic hummed in thought before looking back to the android’s body. She smiled. “Say… how would you like to be my little assistant? I could use an android with information on ruins.” Aurora arched a brow in reply. “Digging around the video logs, most of them are you just exploring ruins outside of Detrot.” She coughed a little. “And uhh… some “interesting” fun time VRs with yourself and your stories.” Aurora’s white metallic hide changed to a bright pink.

‘Great, not only do I not have my body… this filly knows my secrets… please just delete me now.’ Manic chuckled.

“Oh, relax. If anything, erotica is a popular genre in today’s society. It’s just strange seeing an android ‘enjoy’ it in her own way.” The filly placed the android’s head on a circular collar panel and Aurora felt a strange surge of energy. A portable charging station. “So, are you up for a little ruin digging? I need to find some parts to fix my dumb brother’s record table.”

“B-but what about my body? I can’t explore ruins without my body.” Aurora protested. Manic shook her head and clipped her head along with the portable charging station to her suite’s utility belt.

“You and your ‘friends’ are still a threat.” Manic rubbed her mane. “I mean, you all were contaminated with Luradiation. You were lucky enough I separated your brain functions from the nerve network. Do you know what Luridium does to an android like you?” Aurora opened her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. As much as she hated to admit it, the filly was right.

The warning prompts kept showing up on her screen that was showing her contaminated with Luradiation. She has heard of the certain side effects to machines that were affected by Luridium. An image of Deadeye flashed through her feed, causing Aurora to question this now.

‘If I was exposed to Luridium… how long was Deadeye exposed to it?’ While the android scanned information on an event called ‘The Luridium Plague’, Manic quickly trotted out of her room and down the steps. Making her way through the spacious abode, Manic walked over to the separate garage and opened it. Kiwi Bot emerged from within and hummed happily. Manic hopped in and pressed the buttons and dials on the panel.

“Alright, Kiwi. We are going to do some exploring. And this time, we have a guest.” She said. The avian bot hummed in response.

>Is that an android head?

“Details, details.” Manic said. “C’mon. There is a spot I think would be great for searching.” Aurora couldn’t face the filly, but she spoke nonetheless:

“Where are we going?” she asked. Manic shrugged.

“Dunno. But it is something I had been scouting out for a while. I think now is a good time to see what I can scavenge from it.” She said. ‘And hopefully, get the things I need to fix up everything. I swear, my schedule has just been a total cluster buck.’ Aurora remained silent as the filly piloted the bot through the streets and off onto a non-beaten path. However, the android couldn’t hide her excitement. Grinning widely at the possibilities of what she can find, Aurora also created a small list of what to keep track of:

>List of things:

1. Gather information about the filly and her town.

2. Get body back.

3. Find and rescue Candlejack and Zelori from containment.

4. Explore ruins for more information about pre-war events and discover what the unknown command means.

All was set. It was just a matter of time before things were in motion. And unbeknownst to them was a figure, watching them speed down the desert road. A glowing tri-goggle zoomed in on them. Underneath the figure's shawl mask, a smile spread widely across the face.

Author's Notes:

Excerpt from: Medicine of Science

Stimpaks, gels, potions and herbs. Many doctors prescribe these to mend troubled scars for veterens. However, science and magic have worked together once again and the brilliant minds concocted a new medicinal drug. Psi-Co (named after the founder, Psyche Constance) has proven to cure most unwanted diseases. With a generous donation of his find, science is once again proving that magic can, in fact, aid is in this time of war.