Lynnette had delivered on her promise, at least as far as Elrod understood. His conception of the events unfolding were limited, and his knowledge of his role was minimal. Still, he at least understood what he needed to do.

He had been given a suit. It was the first time in his life he had worn actual clothing apart from his coat. Under normal circumstances, his outer surface shifted to create what he needed. It was not something he could control consciously; it had just always been there. Valla, likewise, had been outfitted with appropriate clothing as well. For her, it consisted of what might be conceived of as the upper portion of an elegant dress. Despite Lynnette’s vehement protests, Valla had refused to accept using humanoid-orthoscopic legs, and as such her horse portion was decorated in a modified version of cavalry raiment.

“Fuck this,” muttered Valla. “Fuck this fuck this fuck this…”

“It’s not that bad,” said Elrod.

They were approaching the destination that Lynnette had listed through what amounted to a long bridge through stagnant, windless air. It was one of many crossings that separated a number of vast towers. Elrod had never been to this portion of Bridgeport, but he knew where he was: the Enterprise Zone, on Level thirty three. He could not help but marvel at the view outside: this particular level had been partitioned into a number of enormous towers that overlooked what amounted to a city all its own below. The floor below him was glass, and he could see a drop of several hundred feet through it to the streets below the vast skyscrapers.

“Hold on,” he said. “Could you look at me for a moment?”

Valla turned. “If you look into my eyes and start whispering romantic nothings I will buck you in half.”

“That wasn’t my intention.” Elrod looked up at her face and concentrated. He saw her eyes widen and her complexion grow pale as his own face rippled and warped. The superstructure inside him reconfigured itself, and in seconds his face had been completely rebuilt.

“Holy…SHIT…”

Elrod put his hand on his jaw. It did not feel like it had. He was aware of what he looked like: roughly the same as Valla, complete with her deep blue eyes but lacking any sort of hair. “Huh. Morgana was right. That WAS possible.”

Valla steeled herself and gulped, but took several steps to separate herself from Elrod. “What the hell even are you?”

“The result of human hubris, largely.”

“Bullshit. Are you some sort of alien?”

“No. I am from Idaho.”

They both fell silent as they approached the far end of the empty skybridge. At the far end was an elegant but modern archway into a building, guarded by one individual. As Elrod and Valla approached, the woman at the gate seemed to grow larger- -until they saw that it was not a woman at all. Although female in form, she was quite clearly a machine, decayed in shades of black and glossy maroon. Her face seemed to be made of porcelain, and it was identical to the masks of the spider drones that wandered the Upper Levels to serve as private security. The only differentiation was a pair of sheep-like horns.

“Damn it,” muttered Valla.

The mechanical woman stepped toward them. “Welcome,” she said, bowing. “My name is Ioria. I will be coordinating the security for tonight’s event.” She turned her blank, eyeless face toward Elrod. “May I see your tickets?”

Valla extended one of her arms and turned it over, showing a faded scar from a surgery performed many decades ago. Elrod assumed that she was presenting a network image of the encoded ticket form the implant beneath, but he could not see it. Without an operator mask or a visor, he was blind to the Illusion.

Ioria nodded. “Excellent.” She turned toward Elrod. “So I see you are the elder of the two.”

“Elder?”

“Indeed. Even as a synth, I understand the needs to keep bloodlines pure. Might I say, your sister looks lovely.”

“Are you hitting on me?”

“Heavens no. That would be far beyond my station, mademoiselle.” Ioria gestured toward the entryway. “Please enjoy the flowers, and may you both have a lovely evening.”

Elrod and Valla started walking, but Elrod paused. “Before we go…have you seen our friends go by? Two ponies. A Twilight Sparkle unit and a Rainbow Dash one.”

“They’re friends of ours,” added Valla.

“Indeed. I recall that the Rainbow Dash in question looked especially stunning. My secondary drones can find them, if you wish.”

“I think we can find them ourselves,” said Elrod.

“Very well.” Ioria nodded to them and moved to greet another set of guests.

Valla and Elrod proceeded forward into the party. “Well,” said Elrod. “I think that went pretty well.”

“I got hit on by a devil-horn synth.”

“You can turn back if you want.”

“Hell no.” Valla smiled. “Fuck it. This night might actually turn out fun.”

Elrod was not so sure, but he accepted that Valla had more experience with this sort of thing than he did and was apt to believe her. They entered the tower and walked toward one of the staircases, passing several other guests who were conversing in the lobby.

That was when Elrod detected a strange smell. To him, it smelled like rot combined with the scent all humans had, although amplified to an extreme degree. Confused, he looked to his left. A human passed him. She was about Elrod’s height, dressed in black. Her long, greasy hair was pulled back and a visor covered her eyes. Elrod found himself wondering why she only had four fingers on each hand, and, looking at where her coat met the ground, why she was wearing no shoes.