Hal 9000, Space Impact

by Iridescence T Wind

The Road Less Traveled

The next day started with breakfast, some apples cooked on a large rock over a fire, and toasted just right so that when you took a bite you felt both the satisfaction of a hot apple and the warm juices that would spill into the mouth afterwards. Hal had taken to fashioning a necklace out of his camera lenses using pieces of long uncut grass woven together to form a single tight band that when it dried out would have all the consistency of a thick string. But for now it was green and more flexible so he tied the ending of the knot with the tips of his hooves and mouth and slipped it over his head so it would stop falling every time he had to suddenly move in one direction or let go of it. As his new boss ate he also pondered on the various aspects of adventuring. One perk of having an artificial mind was that all your memory was as easily accessible in your head as if a laptop was carried around inside and neatly organized as a store of information that he could call upon at will. Hal was flipping through several novels at once referencing everything from cooking to weaving as he had done the crafts this morning, though the first attempt at a cooked apple left a charred one. Hal wasn't perfect to say, but at least he knew everything that was stored in his so recently acquired head.

Over the course of the night he had questioned Daring Do about the more worldly things of the place he was currently in. Apparently the land was called Equestria, with it's leaders Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Both of who had the ability to move the sun and moon respectively. While he was skeptical about it he didn't bother to ask as the government was obviously a form of mixed monarchy and theocracy. He was more shocked to learn about the lack of violence and bloodshed that Equestrian's had over their years. Combined with that knowledge he was also able to conclude why the air was so... clean. Back where he came from it was war that progressed technology and moved the era from the civil war to the Industrial age, also known as the age of machines, back home. Humans had possessed superior weaponry and as a result also benefitted several new forms of transportations and even went into the era of space. Equestria however had only focused medically. So far the only thing with screens he had heard of from Daring Do was the medical machines that went, as she put it, 'Bing!'. His thought's were interrupted as Daring stood up, kicking some dirt onto the fire to extinguish it.

Judging from her body language he stood up as she started to speak, "Time to get moving."

Hal nodded, getting up himself feeling the flow of blood shift subtly in his body as his body shifted into the more natural position it was meant for. Onwards they went, down the well worn road away from the once chaotic town that was now at their backs. Mentally he made a map of where they were going, subconsciously counting each individual step as they pressed on. After two hours and thirty seven minutes Daring stopped, looking off to the left of the main path it was obvious what she saw, a path, if it could be called that. With rocks and stones haphazardly spread out among it with a slope that made it uneven and veering off to the right the path looked very uneven. A sign that it was used, but not very frequently. They took a moment before Daring called out to Hal, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!" She plunged down the pathway full gallop leaving a momentarily stunned Hal behind at this reckless speed.

Hal raised an eyebrow at the rapidly retreating form of his companion, noting the brash eagerness Daring was partaking in as she nearly tripped several times down the uneven pathway. Hal then partook in galloping after her himself, it was going to be a long day, he decided. As he ducked and weaved under hanging branches, mossy green turning to dull brown rapidly turning from the lush forest into a more... dead scenery? What? The reason of it quickly became more evident as the forest became less mossy and overgrown and the first signs of burnt tree's became more and more evident. The smell of smoke and cooking also became evident and he parted the tree line, in the process catching up to and stopping next to Miss Daring as he panted from exertion, "What possessed you to sprint Miss Do?"

"I said call me Daring, and," She pointed at the top of the hill, which was also the center of the clearing, "That."

Hal followed where she was pointing skipping over the heavily weeded broken bricked path, the overgrown garden stuffed with weeds directly up to the inordinately large, burnt, age and decayed looking mansion. The front door creaked ominously in the wind, Webs filled the windows like curtains and there was even a sign, hanging on one end above the door way with the wood so weathered that the words that once had been on it couldn't even be read. Clouds seem to hang around the building but they didn't so much as move an inch, further inspection would reveal hoof wide strands of webbing connected to the clouds and wrapped around them, holding them in place. Hal slowly turned to face Daring, the excitement on her face was positively vivid. Hal was about to ask if she was serious when she exclaimed, standing on her hind hooves doing a jump with her fore legs towards the sky as she shouted, "Haunted Mansion! YAY!" The pure vigor reminded Hal of the media he had seen of when someone won the lottery. He could judge what they were going to do next, and he didn't even try to stop her.

They were going to investigate a creepy old house in the middle of nowhere, and Daring was thrilled.