//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: To See Her One More Time // by TheMessenger //------------------------------// Chapter 7 "Fluttershy, pal, this won't cut it, I need a pet to keep up with me." "Look, see!" "Everypony is gonna see me fail! The Wonderbolts will never let a loser like me join! Princess Celestia will probably banish me to the Everfree Forest! MY LIFE IS RUINED!" Neil's brow furrowed. "All I see are green lines and lights." "What about super-ultra-extreme-awesomazing?" "Those are brain waves! They indicate neuro-activity! How in the world did you get this job, turnips-for-brains? How did you get your degree?" "I blame our country's education system. And the government. And the Illuminati," said Neil. "So what do the wavy things mean?" "Never fear, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is here!" "I told you, they indicate brain activity." "And?" Eva groaned. "It means he's reacting, like how Johnny reacted when he smelled the roadkill." "Hold on...then these sound bites are our catalyst?" "I think so," Eva answered with a nod. "Robert's daughter may have sounded similar or maybe the two had a special connection to this character..." "And the only racer who crossed the finish line with me, was the one who stopped to save me when I needed help. The tortoise!" "Sound isn't ingrained in our memory as powerfully as smell is though so activating the catalyst in itself is going to be a challenge." "I don't know about all this. It all sounds like bit of a stretch." "I'm not trying to steal your slippers, I'm trying to steal this book!" "Well, we're running low on options. Of you've got any bright ideas-" "Hey, hey, no need to get snippy," Neil exclaimed, raising his hands defensively. "It's just, well..." "I still say you're nutty, but hey, I've done lots of nutty things." "Isn't there a better way to do this?" Neil asked, jerking his thumb at the four different sets of speakers playing around him. "Makes it kinda hard to have a conversation, yah know?" Eva shook her head. "It's the best way we've got. Like I said, sound isn't the biggest player in our memory and something like voice recognition would be buried pretty deeply in the subconscious. Even with all this we're barely getting the a strong enough reaction." "Been dreaming, I've been waiting, to fly with those great ponies..." Eva shifted her helmet on. "When I give you the signal, turn us on and turn up the volume," she directed Dr. Turner and Jessica. "Ready?" she asked Neil. "Pfft, I was born ready, for this and for anything and everything," Dr. Watts replied confidently. "Let'sa go!" Eva nodded to the two ladies sitting in front of the mess of machines who nodded back. She closed her eyes as the helmet on her head began to hum. "This really is the BEST DAY EVER!" From behind her eyelids and beneath the helmet everything was in darkness. Then, the darkness faded to white. ****I live my life, one day at a time...**** The last customer made her purchase and left without a word. Robert sighed as he watched her leave the store. No thank you, no friendly inquiry of how his day was. It wasn't like he had expected one. Still, hearing something, something to remind him that his customers were still human would have been nice. It was time to leave. Robert hung the depressing uniform on a rack with his name tag. His manager didn't bother to look up from his magazine as Robert walked past him. No good-bye, no see you tomorrow, no questions about tonight. It wasn't like Robert had expected anything. Still, it would have been nice to hear something from the middle aged man behind the magazine, a reminder that he was human. Robert let the door with the "Employees Only" sign shut behind him. He walked past the counter he sat day after day to scrape a living. He walked past the young men and women that had replaced him and the others whose shifts had ended. He walked past those automatic doors and into... "Detroit." "No Neil, no." "It totally is Detroit!" Robert zipped his hoodie and placed his hands his pockets. Sometimes he would lift his head and frown at the few crumbling buildings and houses, long abandoned. For the most part however he simply walked forward, his eyes to the litter-filled sidewalk. His silent stroll paused suddenly before a cardboard box in the way. Without another glance, Robert walked past. It was just another abandoned box after all, not his problem. His journey finally ended before a small, quaint house. Robert fumbled with his keys before finally unlocking the door and stepping inside. He took off his hooded jacket and hung it in the nearby closet. His keys were tossed on a small cabinet, under an photo of a couple, their hands resting on a smiling young boy's shoulders. Robert plopped himself in an armchair and flicked on the television. He picked up a game controller. A few moments later, Robert had gotten up and replaced the video game with a different one. His interest hadn't lasted long and soon he was up again, switching disks. After a while Robert set the controller back down and simply stared at the television screen. His hand found the remote and the screen went black. The only light now was the faint glow of a lamp on the table. Robert got to his feet. He opened his closet and grabbed the hoodie along with the keys which he placed in his pocket. For another second more, with his hand around the door handle, Robert hesitated. He shook his head and stepped outside, following the path he had taken home earlier. He shivered as a short gust of wind blew by. Minutes later, he and two others stood before the plain cardboard box once more, sad and alone amidst broken pieces of concrete and tuffs of wild grass. With a shrug, Robert drew closer. Eva and Neil followed. Something was in the box. There was color that clashed fiercely against the brown of the cardboard. The bright hues stared back at Robert, as if beckoning him closer. He did. So did Eva and Neil. The trio now stood right beside the box. As one, they tilted their heads forward and looked inside. * * * * * * * * "Is...is that..." "No. Fricking. Way."