Chapter 2: The Dream Machine
Twilights barrage of questions that followed had been all but impossible for the doctor to answer, so Brian agreed to show her. He was reluctant to do it so soon after she'd woken up, but it was clear her insatiable desire to know was not going to let her rest any longer.
Guiding her out of the room, he led her down a long hall to a room marked 'storage'. Inside the small room were several large clear-plastic bins containing clothes and other affects stacked in neat rows on shelves all around the walls.
Brian pulled down one and opened it for her. Inside was a rather simple purple sweater and green vest as well as long blue-jean pants and a familiar looking purple satchel.
“These are yours,” Brian stated simply, “You left them with us when the program began. Do they bring back any memories, Twilight? …Twilight?”
The doctor looked up but Twilight was not listening. Her eyes had focused on another bin. And before she could help herself she pulled it down to reveal what she'd seen through the plastic. Most of the bins had contained clothing or bags she didn't recognize, but this one had something she knew all to well.
An tan stetson cowboy hat.
That alone might have been a coincidence, a fairly big coincidence maybe, but when Twilight also saw the satchel with the symbol of three shiny red apples, there was no doubt.
“Applejack is here?” She rounded on the doctor and glanced at the bins, a total of eight were full counting the two that had been pulled down. “Who else? Are my other friends here? Where are they? What have you done with...?”
Brian raised a hand to silence her. “Remember what I said? You will get your answers, but you have to take it slow.”
“Right,” Twilight sighed, “Right, I know...”
Carefully, almost reverently, she placed the hat back into the bin and put it up, feeling a deep heartache she couldn't quite understand as she did so.
After getting dressed Twilight was ready to see what Brian had promised her, unfortunately her own stomach turned traitor and demanded food with a low rumble. Brian chuckled good naturally and stated they'd swing by the staff cafeteria since it was on the way. Twilight was irritated at the delay but was consoled by the fact progress was being made at least.
The cafeteria was largely empty and very clean, a rather stark contrast to the kitchen at Sugar Cube Corner. Not that it wasn't presumed to be spotlessly clean from dawn to dusk, but every time Twilight had been over Pinkie always had something going that looked like a cake had exploded half way through decorations (once that had even happened when she'd been making a 'prank cake', it had taken Twilight days to get the strawberry frosting out of her mane).
Thoughts of Pinkie were suddenly distracted as she looked over the food being offered behind the counter. A good portion of it was vegetables and pastry products she knew and liked, but there was a section that made her stomach turn as she saw slabs of meat covered in various sauces. To her horror she even saw Dr. Brian consider having some. At her look though he opted for the greens.
As he lead her to a table where they could eat he tried to explain. “In this world Twilight, eating meat is not uncommon. Now before you get all disgusted, sure you know some animals Fluttershy takes care of eat meat.”
Twilight nodded slowly, “I know, she has some otters that eat fish, and I've seen her feed a few more of the larger predators once in a while... But ponies aren't predators, we don't eat other animals. It's wrong to consume other life.”
“The plants are alive.” Dr. Brian pointed out simply, “They're living things. Just because something doesn't have a face, a brain, or sentience doesn't mean it isn't alive.”
Twilight fell silent at that.
“Look, Twilight,” the orange unicorn continued, “Nobody is making you eat meat. If you want to stick to salads and the like that's fine, I'll even stick to salads with you if it'll make you feel comfortable. But you can't change a whole world simply because you think it's wrong.”
Twilight nodded slowly as she looked at her salad. “I still don't like it.”
“Nor should you,” Brian nodded as he bit into a carrot, “But most just don't think about such complex issues. It's an unfortunate way of life here. The darker thoughts that would cause ponies to drown in sorrow are generally ignored, they aren't forgotten, but they're pushed aside to focus on the good stuff.”
Twilight felt that was wrong somehow, but didn't have the energy to protest as she nibbled at her meal.
After the meal Brian lead her deep into the facility. More than once he had to be cleared at a security check point, though the guards gave Twilight more than a few raised eyebrows as she passed, not even asking the doctor about her. Twilight knew something was up. Even if she’d never talked to them that she could recall, they were all acting like they knew who she was.
After a few more corridors and a flight of stairs, the pair emerged onto the catwalk surrounding a large room. Huge windows filled the far wall, showing a large gleaming city beyond. Tall buildings obscured the horizon and windows of skyscrapers gleamed everywhere.
Twilight barely noticed any of it though. Her eyes were drawn to the contents of the room itself.
All along the walls, strange metallic boxes covered with switches and screens buzzed softly. They looked much like the devices Twilight had in her lab, but far more advanced. But even they were just the garnish to the centerpiece of the room on which her eyes feasted.
In the center of the room, attached by wires to all the computers, was a strange looking device that looked like a flower in full bloom. But instead of petals there were odd pod-like constructs. There were eight pods total with six arranged on the outside with two in the middle. Each was half sunken into a raised platform that would leave just enough room for a technician to crawl under to fix any wiring problems if need be.
Each 'pod' was covered with what looked like frost, save one which was open. As Brian lead Twilight towards the strnge construct she felt a decidedly strong sense of unease, as if she felt like she should know what all of it was and it should make her feel worried, and yet she had no rational explanation for why.
As they climbed the ramp to the open pod Twilight could see the inside was what looked like a padded bed with more wires snaked about the edges. Several large ones were attached to what looked to be a silvery crown of some kind.
“W-what is this?” Twilight couldn't help but stutter slightly, the chill from the nearby pods and her own unease making her shiver.
“Until just a few short hours ago Twilight,” Brian sighed, “This was your home, your town, your entire world. As it has been for the last six months.”
“No, you're lying,” Twilight shook her head, no anger behind her words, just a desperate desire to believe this was all a dream and she'd wake up any moment, “This can't be real.”
“I'm afraid it is real Twilight.” Brian sighed and pointed to the pod next to them. The frost nearly covered it completely but Twilight could see a figure inside, resting as if asleep. Her hands trembled as she brushed away the cold flakes gathered over the pod. As the last of the frost was cleared Twilights mind reeled.
Stretched out on her back, was a familiar figure. She had hands like Twilight and had been clothed in the same gown Twilight had awoken in, but there was no mistake. Under the collection of wires attached to her body and the helm wrapped around her head, was a tan mare with sandy a blond mane.
“Applejack...” Twilight gasped.
Before Brian could say anything Twilight moved to the next pod and furiously wiped away the frost. This one revealed a familiar cyan mare with rainbow streaked mane and tail.
“Dash...”
And so it went, Twilight moving around the pods, growing more frantic as she wiped them away. Rarity... Fluttershy... Pinkie Pie... They were all there.
When Twilight got to Pinkies pod she had to sit down. All her friends had looked normal under the pods glass despite their changed shape, but seeing Pinkie Pie gave her a shock. Where the mare normally had a bright poofy pink mane all of that had been shaved away and bandaged, a sign of a grievous head injury.
Not even thinking about the consequences Twilight tried to open the pod with her magic. Her horn sputtered for a moment and the glow around it died. Trying again had it last a moment longer, but with the same result. Giving in she tried to use her hands, but not being used to them and the fact they were numb from the cold meant Brian was able to take his time walking over to place a hand on her shoulder and gently stop her.
“Please don't Twilight,” he stated firmly, “You would do them more harm than good to wake them up now.”
“But why?” Twilight gasped, she hadn't even realized she'd started crying until she saw her tears splash on the surface of the pod, “Why are they like this? How is any of this here? Why can't I use my magic? What's going on?”
“Before I answer those questions, I think you should take a look in the last two pods,” Brian stated indicating the as of yet untouched pair in the center of the configuration.
Unlike the others, these were vaguely teardrop shaped, with the narrow end curved slightly towards the wider end of the opposite pod. Slowly Twilight stood, her legs trembling as she approached the pods. These had frost on them as well, but it was less than the others, allowing Twilight to see at a glance the figures inside. And once more her legs very nearly gave out.
On her right, with hooves angled away from Twilight, lay a stunning dark blue mare, with a mane a lighter royal blue. Unlike Twilights friends she was dressed in a gown of white with her hands clasped over her heart. And opposite her lay a pure white mare with a shimmering pink mane. They were different than what she knew, but there was no mistaking the seemingly younger mares.
“Princess Luna... Princess Celestia...”
Twilight was frightened. Her whole body shook. It was too much to take.
She flinched as the Dr. Brian put his arm around her shoulders. She couldn't say anything. The words just wouldn't come. She was a hares breath from passing out, or loosing her lunch or both.
Brian gave her a gentile squeeze. “Twilight, I know it's hard, but even after seeing all this, are you ready to hear the truth?”
Twilight glanced around at all the pods. She didn't want to believe any of this. She wanted it all to be a dream to just go away and wake up in her own bed at home.
Turning to the doctor, she looked deep into his eyes and found there an odd comfort. Slowly, very slowly, she began to calm down.
“Yes...” She sighed eventually, “I think I'm ready to listen...”