“What did you need?” Access asked.
“I think you and Sheet should head home.” Bulwark stated plainly.
“Why? There’s still so much work to be done.”
“There’s not a hell of a lot you can do right now around here, actually. I think you’d be better off trying to act normal and shake off a bit of suspicion, we aren’t going to get anywhere any time soon.”
Access chuckled jokingly. “Oh, here’s me thinking you had something important to say.”
Bulwark laughed gruffly.
“I suppose you’re right at any rate. Looks like you’re gonna have to wait for that fat paycheck.”
Bulwark waved a hoof dismissively. “Don’t worry about it for now, focus on something else for a little while.”
Scarlet and Sheet Rock stopped their discussion on seeing Access approach, fresh from his little chat with Bulwark.
“What’s up? I saw Bulwark pulling you aside, he give you another one of his trademark lectures?”
Access nodded. “Something like that. He thinks we should consider this a long term project for now, and I’m inclined to agree with him.”
Scarlet looked up from her terminal with a smile. “He’s right. There’s no rush after all, we should approach this another day with a fresh perspective.”
The two walked down the dimly lit evening streets, the orange glow of the streetlamps illuminated the darker parts of the street as the sun started to vanish below the horizon.
“Access, do you really think Scarlet and Bulwark will make any headway with the data? Answer honestly.”
“Probably not, no. Right now we’re doing the equivalent of shouting at it until it decrypts itself. All in all it’s been a massive waste of time.”
Sheet Rock shook her head. “Fat lot of good all that waiting and worrying did though, my nerves are totally shot.”
“Maybe you need some of my meds too. Plenty to go around.”
Sheet Rock slapped Access upside the head playfully with a giggle. “Not with the rate you take them, you big idiot.”
The two shared a laugh as they walked down Gold Street, the long and winding main road leading from the gates to Upper Canterlot and through the sprawl as a whole. Something felt off as they approached the net cafe located on the road just adjacent.
Access took the chance to peer inside at the gloomy interior as he passed hoping to see Chilled Coffee inside, however it was full of relatively new looking equipment and furnishings, completely unlike what had been inside during their last visit.
Access gestured to Sheet Rock who stood next to him and peered in for a look herself. “Since when did Chilled Coffee have the money for renovations, let alone new equipment?”
“Who knows? Maybe we should ask where his new found fortune came from.” Sheet Rock stated in annoyance and she galloped off, eager to sleep in a real bed.
Access looked into the net cafe again with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, as he was about to walk away two mechanical pony shaped figures stepped out from an adjacent alleyway.
They looked custom-made but lacked many of the cosmetic options commercial synths were sold with and looked much more robotic, the two synths glanced at Access for a moment curiously before they made their way past him and towards the gates to Upper Canterlot.
The lobby of the apartment building was stacked high with luggage and various cardboard boxes, a bat pony mare approached the reception desk and tapped the glass gently in an attempt to get the attention of the snoozing reception stallion.
He awoke with a start and profusely apologized over and over, the bat pony mare assured him that it was fine.
“Now I have your attention, is this Silver Blood house?”
“That it is. You a new tenant?”
“I am. Name’s Starry Night.”
The reception pony scrolled down the list of new tenants on his terminal, in search of her name and cutie mark registration. When he found it he passed her a small keycard from a nearby cubbyhole where it clattered noisily onto the desk.
“It’s up on floor four, door six. Do you need help getting your things up the stairs?”
“No I’ll be fine, I’ve got a personal Synthetic for that.” she answered, the metallic automaton beside her nodded in agreement.
Starry Night turned to her waiting Synthetic. “Start hauling these upstairs. If I’m going to be stuck here for the foreseeable future we may as well get comfortable.”
The synthetic nodded and set about picking up the various cases strewn about the lobby using small robotic limbs that unfolded from its back, despite the weight of the cases the synth was easily able to carry the vast majority of the cases with little effort.
Towards the door, two scruffy-looking ponies entered and not paying the bat pony mare any mind, simply walked past her without a thought. The bat pony mare glanced at them suspiciously for a moment as they passed, and she picked up the last remaining luggage case and staggered with it towards the main stairwell.
“Should really have packed lighter.” she puffed as she slowly ascended the stairs.
Access and Sheet Rock trudged up the apartment building stairwell, tired, aching and above all wanting to forget about the events of the past few days.
“So anyway, I told Grand Gala she should probably check her attitude and…” Access said jokingly as he spotted an unfamiliar synthetic up ahead.
Sheet Rock glanced at Access expecting him to finish but spotted the synth as well as it stared unflinchingly at the door to apartment six.
The Synthetic looked much like a pony did but had a noticeably slender build, silicone artificial skin and a holographic mane and tail. Its eyes glowed with much the same pale blue light as its mane and tail did, while a tight grouping of LEDs acted in the facsimile of a mouth which allowed it a somewhat limited way of showing emotion.
“Someone’s got a lot of money, wonder who that belongs to.” Sheet Rock mused.
“What I wouldn’t give for a Synthetic like that, I have to admit I’m kinda jealous.”
The two came to the door to apartment four and were surprised to see the synthetic was now looking at them with an unnerving, yet curious gaze.
“Neighbors, I assume?” it spoke in a high pitched, digitized tone.
“Since when do synths own apartments?” Access said off hoof.
“They don’t. I’m waiting for my owner, no doubt caught up dragging her rather large set of personal effects up here.”
“Must be pretty desperate if she moved here of all places. I almost feel bad for her.”
“You don’t know the half of it. No doubt she’ll regale you with the story, it’s one she enjoys telling.” the synth responded.
It looked down the hallway at an approaching bat pony mare who struggled with a case of belongings, it rolled its eyes about as well as something without traditional eyes could and excused itself.
Sheet Rock and Access simply looked on in amazement as the robotic limbs of the synth unfolded once more and lifted the case off the bat pony mare’s back, she spotted the two watching her from down the hall and gave them a smile as she approached.