//------------------------------//
// Chapter 06: Cryptic Answers 
// Story: A Trusted Friend in Science and Ponies 
// by Rethkir 
//------------------------------//

	











“You sure this is the place?” Ditzy asked.

“Yeah, Saddle Street and Rein Road,” Chell confirmed, looking at the intersecting street signs. “Seriously, is everything in Equestria named something horse-related?”

Ahead of them was a wooden blue box, but she was sure that it was way too small for somepony to live in. It looked like some sort of booth. It was about nine feet high and had a square base. There were small opaque windows around the upper end. Above that was a sign that read “POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX” in white letters on a black background. On the very top was a dome light. One of the four sides had a door.

“Is this that blue box the princess was talking about? It looks like an outhouse,” Ditzy joked.

Chell took a good look at it. “Well, I don’t see why she’d lie to us, especially considering everything that’s been going on. Maybe he likes small spaces.” She thought that whoever took the turret out of the Enrichment Center had to have been mad, but she didn’t expect him to live in something smaller than a hut. The way it looked, it reminded her of the small exit to Aperture Science. That insignificant-looking, rundown shed concealed a massive underground complex. She thought that perhaps this blue box might be similar. Maybe it too, had an elevator that went underground. It would be as if it were… bigger on the inside.

The two mares approached the door. They looked at each other with apprehension, until Chell finally decided to knock.

*knock knock knock knock*

“Hellooo!” A whimsical male voice called from inside. Why was he yelling? He had to have been less than three feet away, but yet he sounded much further off. “Hold on, I’ll be right there!”

Chell and Ditzy heard running hoofsteps. They again stared at each other in idle confusion, as if to see if the other had a clue what was going on. They heard the hoofsteps getting closer somehow, until it sounded as if they were a distance that was physically possible. The door opened, revealing a chestnut earth pony stallion with a brown spiky mane and an hourglass cutie-mark.

“Derpy!” he chirped at the gray pegasus. “It’s so good to see you, again!” Chell could best describe the accent as being “British,” similar to Wheatley’s, but by now, she had heard her fair share of seemingly foreign accents in Equestria that it didn't surprise her. Behind the stallion, Chell glanced at something that looked... off about the inside of the box, but he quickly shut the door before she could have a good look.

Derpy? Who’s Derpy? Ditzy thought. She was perplexed as to why he was calling her this. It sounded like an insult, and it reminded her of the times when ponies would make fun of her for her speech impediment. But the way the Doctor was using it seemed... affectionate. Ditzy had no idea why he thought he knew her.

“Um, my name’s... Ditzy,” she replied. “It’s... Ditzy Doo.”

“Well, I know that,” the strange pony mused as if they were long friends, “but I always call you Derpy! You know, Derpy Hooves? We’ve been on all sorts of adventures together!”

“Um, I don’t... think... I know you...” Ditzy declared in confusion.

“Huh,” the Doctor pondered. Then realization hit him like a hammer. “Ohhhh! Oh, not again! I am so very sorry about that. Hey, by any chance, there wouldn’t happen to be any zeppelins flying around, are there?”

“Zeppelins? What the hay do zeppelins have to do with anything?” Ditzy asked.

“Hehehe!” The Doctor giggled. “Hay! You said hay! That cracks me up every time.”

Him too? Chell thought. She thought she was the only one who found the abundance of horse puns in this universe to be funny, but that was because she was once human. Could he...? Nah...

Chell was confused by the zeppelins question as well, but she decided to ignore it. “So, um, you’re this Doctor pony, correct?”

The Doctor’s eyes widened upon hearing Chell speak without using her mouth. “Is that... Is that a memory resonance crystal? Where did you get that?”

Chell was getting impatient. “Look, I think something bad may be going on, and I need to ask you something. I don’t have time for this, so, please don’t waste my time!” she shouted.

The Doctor was speechless. Chell realized she was being too harsh on him, and she felt like a jerk for it.

She sighed, then slowed down her speech. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be so harsh. It’s just that a threat was made against a close friend of mine, and I’m really worried about it. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on, and I thought you might have an idea. If you really want to know about my necklace... it was a gift from Princess Luna. I... can’t talk without it.”

“Oh, no, it’s alright,” the Doctor replied dejectedly. “I was the one getting in your business. I... was just curious. And it’s the Doctor, by the way.” Ditzy began to open her mouth, but before she could, he continued, “And before you ask, it’s just the Doctor.” He paused. “So tell me, why did you come to see me?”

“Well,” Chell explained. “You remember that incident a few months back? Well, I was curious about something that you apparently took out from Aperture Science. Do you remember what I’m talking about?”

The Doctor pondered a bit, scratching his chin. “Oh! The turret! Right! You know, she told me that you’d be here.”

“It did?” Chell asked.

“Yeah, or at least she told me ‘she will knock four times,’” he sang, trying to mimic a turrets voice. “At first I thought she was telling me the old same stuff that I’ve already heard, but here you are, and you knocked four times!” He giggled again.

Something sounded familiar about all this. Chell could vaguely remember a turret that spoke in vague prophetic riddles. “So, why did you take it with you?” she asked. “Is there anything else that you may have taken out that wasn’t confiscated?”

“Wha– No, no, it was just the turret!” he shouted. “You see, back when I was in that facility, which by the way was absolutely fantastic (and I mean that in a cool way, not a good way), I remember having to dodge bullets left and right, but there was this one turret that didn’t shoot at me. She just spoke, and I’ll never forget what I heard. She said, ‘I’m different!’ Then she asked me to take her with me. And I couldn’t just leave the cute little thing like that! She told me that the place was doomed to collapse into an event horizon soon, and surely enough…”

Chell immediately remembered that one turret that she saved from the redemption line back in Aperture Science after Wheatley helped her escape from GLaDOS’s tests. She thought she remembered accidently carrying it through an Emancipation grill, but then again, it was so long ago, she wasn’t really sure.

“Wait, she said, ‘I’m different?’” Chell asked.

Ditzy felt even more in the dark than before. At least then, she and Chell were both confused.

“Yeah, that’s what she said, and how different she was!” the Doctor replied.

Chell heard everything she needed to hear. Back when she saved that turret before, it had a seemingly prophetic knowledge of things that a turret should never know. And now, it had predicted Aperture Science’s destruction, as well as her arrival. Chell was not one to believe in the supernatural, but if a portal could create a connection between two points in space, she supposed everything had a hidden explanation, somehow. And somehow, the turret would likely know what was going on. Clearly, the Doctor was just a good pony who saved a sentient being from doom.

“Thank you,” Chell said to the Doctor. “I think that was helpful.” She turned to her friend by her side. “Let’s go, Ditzy. We’re going to Canterlot.”





“What’s going on?” a pale purple filly asked. “Where’s Mommy?”

“She went out with Chell today,” Twilight explained. “She asked us to look after you.”

Dinky was disappointed that she didn’t see her mommy that morning, but Twilight didn’t think that it was a good idea to explain the situation to her.

In truth, Ditzy had felt very bad about leaving without saying good morning to her daughter, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew what was going on, and she knew that the truth would soon be revealed to Chell. She wasn’t sure how much Chell had prepared herself for the revelation, so she wanted to be with her when that happened. It was the least she could do for the friend who spent months helping her learn to talk.

The only ones at the Ponyville Post Office were Twilight, Applejack, and Dinky. Soon after Chell and Ditzy had left, Princess Celestia told the two mares that she had to go back to Canterlot, and that she wished them luck today. It was some time around mid-morning that Dinky was fully up, had breakfast and was ready to go to Fluttershy’s with Twilight and Applejack. The filly had found something strange about what was going on, but Twilight explained that they were taking her to see Fluttershy’s animals. On the way over, Twilight was telling Dinky about some orphaned baby weasels that Fluttershy recently found and was caring for. The story of how Fluttershy found and acquired them was enough to keep the filly occupied on the way over.

When they reached Fluttershy’s cottage, they noticed that the animals outside were either unusually quiet or missing altogether. They all noticed the smell of burning wood, as a thin concentration of smoke filled the air, although it was quite subtle. If that wasn’t enough, Fluttershy was standing off in the distance, facing towards the forest, still as the trees within. A breeze blew through her light pink mane gently as it did for the leaves on those trees, her composure unmoved, just like the trees.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” Twilight called.

No response.

“Here, let me try,” Applejack insisted. “FLUUUTTERSHY!”

Still, no response.

Twilight and Applejack were getting worried about her. Dinky too could tell that something wasn’t right. Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance. They both knew what to do. They ran as fast as they could towards their friend. Dinky lagged behind, her tiny legs moving as quickly as they could.

“Fluttershy, are you alright?” Applejack called. She never saw Fluttershy acting like this before.

Fluttershy hadn’t moved one bit. She was still staring into the dark woods.

“Fluttershy, what’s going on?” Twilight asked when they got closer.

When the ponies finally reached Fluttershy, they could see that their friend was in a stupor. Her face was covered in tears, her expression blank, and her wet eyes stared deep into the darkness ahead. The wind continued to playfully blow through her long flowing mane. “Something’s... wrong,” a soft somber voice spoke.

“What? What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, nudging Fluttershy. Down below, Dinky gently nuzzled Fluttershy’s front hooves.

Fluttershy turned her head towards Twilight. Her neck creaked as if it were unmoved for eons. Her stare stretched into eternity. “The animals...” she whispered. “The forest... Something... terrible has happened.”

“What happened in there?” Applejack said. She knew she was asking the obvious, but it was the only way to get Fluttershy to say anything.

Fluttershy turned her head back straight, staring back into the woods. “There was, an intruder... someone who didn’t belong. A... monster. It did... something terrible...”

“What? What happened?” Applejack grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders and shook her.

“Huh, what?” Fluttershy blinked her eyes and shook her head. She was still upset, but no longer catatonic.

“Fluttershy...” Twilight started, “What happened in the Everfree Forest?”

“Well I’m not exactly...” Fluttershy’s tone was faster and more direct, but there was still a deep sadness behind it. “The animals! They were telling me something happened in the forest this morning! They were telling me that something came in, and it killed an animal. I think it was a snake or something.”

A snake? Applejack thought. Really?

A hummingbird flew to Fluttershy’s ear and whispered to her. “But it was not just any snake. It was a giant pythoconda,” Fluttershy stated. It did not matter what it was, be it the cutest chipmunk or the most deadly of snakes, Fluttershy loved it just the same.

“If I remember correctly,” Twilight said, “they can swallow prey the size of a pony even if it’s still alive.” Dinky winced at the thought of that. “But, I don’t understand how the death of a single snake would upset the animals of the forest.”

Fluttershy remained silent for a little while. “It’s not just that it died… It’s the way that it died. A burning beam of light... it... I’d rather not say it. But no animal should ever be harmed like that.”

“But why is this upsetting the animals?” Twilight asked.

“The beam... it didn’t only hurt the snake. It... also started a fire. The forest... it’s burning.”

“A fire?!” Applejack cried. “Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” She smelled the smoke in the air. “I can’t believe we didn’t notice that before!”

Fluttershy didn’t listen. “All these poor animals, losing their homes...”

Twilight realized that immediate action was required. “We need to do something about this before it gets out of control! Fluttershy, go get Rainbow Dash. She can gather the weather ponies to take care of this.”

“Okay, I’m going to go get her. Please wait here. I’ll be back soon.” As upset as she was, Fluttershy did not hesitate to fly away. The sooner she got to Rainbow Dash, the more animals she would save.

Twilight, Applejack, and Dinky were left behind in disappointment. They hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell Fluttershy what happened to Twilight last night. And with her mind occupied on the forest, it may be some time until they could tell her.





Fluttershy flew to Rainbow Dash’s house. Although she was a fairly weak flyer, she knew that she had to get there as fast as she could. The lives of hundreds of animals were at stake, and she would do anything to help. Knowing her athletic, but sometimes lazy friend, she was probably sleeping in this morning. Fluttershy was out of breath by the time she arrived. “Rainbow Dash!” She panted, knocking frantically on the door. “I need to tell you something!” She waited for Rainbow Dash to respond.


Twilight, Applejack, and Dinky were still waiting at Fluttershy’s cottage, the smoke from the fire slowly becoming more visible.

“We should go, Twilight,” Applejack insisted. “I think I should show you what happened down at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“But Fluttershy told us to wait here,” Twilight protested

“Don’chya get it Twi? First, there was my farm, then I hear about what happened to you, and now this? It’s all connected. It just can’t be a coincidence. We need to find out what’s going on.”

“But shouldn’t we wait for Fluttershy? She’s only going to tell Rainbow Dash, then she’ll be right back.”

 “C'mon, Twi. You know how this is gonna happen…”


“Oh, good morning, Shy,” Dash called from inside. When she opened the door, she noticed the exhausted pegasus about to collapse on her doorstep. Her face was soaked with tears. “Fluttershy! Are you alright? What happened?”


“Well, first, Fluttershy is gonna tell her what happened.”


Fluttershy took a moment to catch her breath. “Something happened in the Everfree Forest. There’s a fire.”

“A fire?” Rainbow Dash was taken aback by this news. “How bad is it?”

“It hasn’t gotten too out of control yet. It started around sunrise, I think, but it’s growing quickly.”


“Then she’s gonna tell her what needs to be done.”


“Rainbow Dash, you need to round up all the pegasus ponies in town. We need to get a raincloud over that fire.”


“Rainbow Dash will probably assume that Fluttershy will help out.”


“Okay, Fluttershy, I’ll notify the weather patrol. I’ll need you to help me out with this.”


“Although, Fluttershy will probably say she can’t...”


Fluttershy squeaked. She was still trying to catch her breath. “Dash, I don’t think I’ll be any help. I’ll only hold you back. Just– just go without me. I’ll wait at my place.”


“But then Dash will probably tell her to pony up, and then she’ll say something that will make her change her mind.”


“Pony up, Fluttershy!” Dash yelled. Fluttershy recoiled in fright. The last thing that Dash wanted was to discourage her friend, so she toned down her voice. She used her wings to hover, allowing her to place her hooves on Fluttershy’s shoulders. “Fluttershy, the animals in the forest are in trouble, and we’ll need somepony who can escort them to safety. I don’t know anypony who could do that better than you.”

Fluttershy took a moment to contemplate her responsibility. “Okay, I’ll help you out.”


“So, my bet is that Fluttershy is gonna be helpin’ out.”

“Are you sure that’s what’s gonna happen?” Twilight asked.

“Twi, I think I know my best friends well enough by now to know that they’ll always help each other out. And right now, I need your help figuring out what happened to my trees.”


“Great!” Dash called. She grabbed Fluttershy by a forehoof and raced towards the center of Ponyville, dragging Fluttershy behind. She left Fluttershy on the ground in town square as she zipped around Ponyville, calling, “Fire in the Everfree! All pegasi meet in town square immediately!” In the meantime, Fluttershy did her best to notify a few in the area. About five minutes later, a large crowd of around 50 pegasi, as well as some curious earth ponies and unicorns, amassed in the plaza in town square. The ponies were chatting amongst themselves, asking each other if they knew what was going on. Rainbow Dash hovered in front of town hall.

“Attention, all pegasi!” her voice boomed. “As I mentioned before, there is a fire in the Everfree Forest. If nothing is done about it, it will grow out of control. As manipulator of weather, it is our responsibility to put it out. The only way we can do this is to amass rain clouds over the fire, then activate a downpour. It will take a massive amount of water, so I will fly to Cloudsdale and notify the pegasi there.”

A partially hooded figure galloped through the streets of Ponyville. She ran so quickly, that the wind blew her hood off, revealing the zebra Zecora. She ran to under where Rainbow was hovered, gaining the attention of all. She spoke:

Attention all you Ponyfolk,
For the forest is filled with deadly smoke.
Beware the toxins in the air,
If your life is something for which you care.
A terrible tragedy, I can see,
Is burning down the Everfree.
What I say, I hope I’m wrong,
But the arsonist did not belong.
This being should cause great fright,
For it caused the fire with burning light.
A beam that killed a giant snake
Is not something to lightly take.
So, I find it not hard to contrive,
That the mechanical mare is still alive.

The lyric of the rhyming zebra sounded like an omen. When Zecora finished speaking, the crowed went into a panicked frenzy. Many of them had lived the horrors of Aperture Science, but it was something that ponies just didn’t talk about. Most ponies were unaware of what GLaDOS looked like, but they knew that she wasn’t a pony, and they knew that this is something that she would do.

Zecora herself was fortunate enough not to have been taken on that frightening day. She became aware of Chell’s parable sometime after her recollection in Canterlot, when one of her friends retold the story to the zebra. Nopony exactly knew how she could deduce this possibility, but the intuitive zebra had seen the site of the incident first hoof and knew that the burn pattern on the trees had to be caused by a laser, and she only knew of one being with that ability.

“Now, hold up, everypony!” Rainbow Dash yelled, trying to calm the crowd down. “I don’t know if what Zecora is saying is true, or how she even came up with that answer, but we should heed her advice. However, this can’t stop us from doing something about the fire. If we let the Everfree burn, it will disrupt life all over Equestria. I will lead you all to the center of the blaze, where you will gather rain clouds. Then I will fly to Cloudsdale and get more help there. Do not start the rain until I give the go-ahead.

She lifted Fluttershy off the ground, who instinctively flapped her wings to not fall.

“Fluttershy here will be in charge of rescuing the animals. It will be dangerous, so she will need a small team of pegasi to assist her and watch her tail. I want a show of hooves of who wants to be on animal rescue squad.”

The sound of danger made the meek pegasus apprehensive, but she knew that saving the animals was what she wanted to do.

A handful of pegasi in the crowd raised their hooves. “Okay, I’ll take you, you, and... you,” Rainbow Dash said as she pointed at the ponies she selected to go with Fluttershy. The squadron of pegasi flew over to where Fluttershy was standing. It consisted of Lightning Bolt, Cloud Kicker, and Medley, ponies that Dash knew were reliable and could be trusted with Fluttershy’s safety. Rainbow Dash really wanted to pick Ditzy as well, but it didn’t seem as if she were there. She did not take the thought of Fluttershy flying into a burning forest lightly and couldn’t help but worry about Fluttershy, despite her commanding appearance. If anything bad happened to Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash would personally blame herself.

She turned towards her shy friend. “I want to make sure that you understand the danger before you go to that fire. You could get seriously hurt. Um... you’re sure that you still want to do this, right?”

Fluttershy nodded. “I know the risks, Dashie, but I can’t let that­…” she recalled that bully who made her cry for destroying an inanimate object, and the thought of that monster harming her animal friends made her boil on the inside, but she kept her composure. “I can’t let anything happen to those animals.”

“Just, be careful out there. Remember, these ponies will have your back –” she pointed to the three pegasi that she selected “– so don’t go anywhere without them. And whatever you do, please, please, please don’t take any unnecessary risks. Just promise me that you won’t do anything that could get you hurt, okay?”

“Okay, Dashie,” Fluttershy promised. Dash pulled her into a strong hug, just in case Fluttershy didn’t keep that promise. After a brief pause, Dash turned around, thinking of the responsibility ahead.

She switched back to leadership mode and addressed the crowd once more. “Alright, everypony! You all know what to do, right?” They all cheered in unison. They were ready. “I’ll lead you to the fire. On my mark... GO!” Rainbow Dash took off into the air, leaving a rainbow streak behind. The others followed behind, including Fluttershy. It was going to be a very long day.





In only one small step, Ditzy and Chell had traversed a distance of several miles and were now in the capital city of Canterlot. Chell dashed through the streets towards the castle, with Ditzy flying closely behind. A pair of guards stopped them when they reached the main gate to the castle. It was not as if they could get through anyway, since the gate was closed.

“Halt!” one of the guards called. “State your name and business.”

Chell panted. “I’m Chell. I need to see the Aperture Science detainment vault.”

Even if she hadn’t said her name, the guards recognized Chell by her distinctive speaking necklace. They would have also noticed her portal cutie marks if they had seen her from the side. “Notify Celestia that Chell and her friend are at the gate!” the other guard called to somepony on the other side of the gate.

Within five minutes, the large oak doors pulled back, revealing both princesses on the other side. “I assume you’ve spoken with the Doctor,” Celestia said.

“Yes,” Chell replied, “and it has led me here. I need to see the vault where the Aperture Science equipment is being held. There is something in there that I think could tell me what’s going on.”

“Very well,” Celestia said. “Luna and I will escort you there.”

The four ponies traversed the halls of the castle for several minutes, getting deeper within the foundation of Canterlot Mountain. “What is within the vault that you seek?” Luna asked. Her sister mentioned the conversation she had with Chell earlier, but Luna had not put the pieces together.

“Well, you remember that turret that was confiscated from this pony called the Doctor?” Cell explained. “I spoke with him earlier today, and he mentioned that the turret had the ability to foretell events, and it asked him to save her. I happen to remember meeting this particular turret back in the world where I’m from. It won’t shoot at us, though, so it should be safe to activate.”

When they reached the door to the vault, the princesses inserted their horns into the door, using their magic to open it.

Chell stared into the dark empty space, waiting for the princesses to lead them inside, but after a few seconds, it was clear that they were not going in.

“I think it would be best if we waited out here,” Celestia suggested. She knew it would be likely that the turret would tell Chell something that she wouldn’t want to hear, and she would only need one friend to be with her when that happens.

Ditzy and Chell walked into the large hall; the turret in the back beckoned like the exit to a test chamber. Chell slowly approached it. The end of the hall came closer and closer, but it never seemed to be within reach. Chell never wanted to reach the end of that hall, because she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what she would find. The answers to the greatest questions of her life could be held within the smooth white shell of the turret ahead, and these were things that Chell really didn’t want to know. Her heart was stuck in her throat, as she found herself pushing back against the part of her that was walking forward.

After an eternity of traversing the empty hall, she finally reached it. It stood upright on its tripod legs, as if it were a silent guardian to its own secrets. Its small red eye was unlit and still.

“How do you turn it on?” Ditzy asked.

Chell wondered this herself. In all her times dealing with turrets, she only ever had to turn them off. “I’m… not sure,” she responded. She looked around on all sides of the turret, looking for some sort of ON button, almost hoping to not find it. “How do you turn these things on?” She futilely tried opening the side doors to see if there was a switch inside there, but they refused to open.

After a minute of pondering, Chell figured she’d try pressing the eye, which was countersunk into the body. It would have been much easier to do if she had fingers (or a horn) but after getting the angle of her hoof just right, she was surprised to find that the eye did push. It clicked back, waiting to activate upon her release.





“What happened, here?” Twilight Sparkle asked in awe as she looked upon the devastated Sweet Apple Acres from a hill overlooking the valley. An entire row of apple trees had been leveled to the ground. It looked as if something had torn right through the trees. Nearby was the smoldering remains of one unfortunate tree. She could barely believe what she was seeing. Granted, she heard it right from the pony’s mouth, but it did not prepare her for this. Back at the post office, she was worrying about her own problem too much to care, but hearing about the fire in the Everfree Forest put things in perspective. Twilight was not the only pony affected by what was going on. These events were much larger than herself.

“Ah can’t explain it either, Twilight,” Applejack said. “I know these trees were here last night. And besides, this poor tree looked like it burned down a might recently.” She pointed at the burnt tree. “Now, don’t you tell me that these events ain’t related!”

“What’s going on?” Dinky asked. “Does this have anything to with the forest?”

“Ah think so, Dinky,” Applejack told the filly, “but I don’t exactly know what... although I’m fearin’ the worst right now.” She couldn’t lie to Dinky, but she didn’t have to tell her what she speculated, either.

In a flash of light, Twilight disappeared and reappeared down by the petrified black tree.

So much for portals, Applejack thought. “Hey, wait up, Twi!” she called as she ran to catch up, making sure to run slowly enough for Dinky to keep up.

Twilight thought to herself as she looked at the tree. By the time Applejack and Dinky reached her, she was still studying the burnt tree.

“Well?” Applejack asked.

“Hmm… It looks as if the fire started at a single point on the trunk.” She pointed to a radial pattern that seemed particularly scorched. It was slightly sunken into the rest of the tree, and all local burn marks pointed away from it. “Whoever caused this fire did so at this point. Clearly, it had to be made by a high energy beam, like a… laser… Oh, no,” Twilight panicked.

“What? What is it, Twilight?” Applejack already knew the answer, but she wanted Twilight to say it.
                 
“Come on, Applejack, do you know anypony with a laser powerful enough to do this?”
                 
“Ah think we both know only one pony who could do this. Ah wasn’t wanting to say this, but I think it’s pretty obvious by now. There’s just no other explanation.” She sighed in dejection. “I just don’t see any other way. It can only be… her.”
                 
Dinky’s ears perked up as she tried to figure out who she was.
                 
Twilight teleported over to one of the chopped-down trees. Some of them looked as if they were snapped, but others, including the one she was at, were cleanly sliced. “And look at this cut, Applejack. Nopony but her could cut this so cleanly. Her razor wings could slice through these trees like bread.” She teleported to a tree with a snapped trunk. “And I think she would be powerful enough to easily ram these trees down. Now while I don’t know how the fire in the Everfree was started, I think we can assume that it was…”
                 
“Okay, I get it, Twilight!” Applejack interrupted. “But what does this mean? Should we tell Chell? Or Princess Celestia? What about Dinky? Should she know, too.”
                 
“Know, what?” Dinky asked.
                 
“APPLEJACK!” Twilight scolded. “Think before you speak! Now, you’ve worried her.”
                 
“Is Mommy okay?” the filly asked.
                 
“Well, she has every right to know as we do.” Applejack said.
                 
“Well, you might as well say it, now!” Twilight fumed. “I wanted to present this evidence to the princess first, but you just had to open your mouth.”
                 
 “Look, I’m sorry, Twi. You know how I am with the truth.” She knelt down to the filly. “Listen, Dinky,” Applejack explained, “you remember a couple months ago when ponies were bein’ taken away by these strange machines?”
                 
Dinky nodded. She was feeling even more worried, now.
                 
“Well, lately, some strange things have been happening. Last night, Twilight was almost kidnapped, and in the same way as well. We think… that the person who was behind that whole mess before… is back.”
                 
“But where’s Mommy? You guys woke me up this morning without telling me where Mommy went, and then you lied to me about why you were taking me to Fluttershy’s!” Dinky’s voiced squeaked in her anger. “All day, I’ve been scared that Mommy might be gone, and you guys never told me why! Well, she has some pretty lousy friends!” Dinky wiped her tears, trying to conceal her sadness.
                 
…
                 
Twilight gathered her words. “I... I’m sorry, Dinky. We should have told you from the beginning. Your mother went with Chell to find out what’s going on as well. It’s just that we… were doing the same thing over here.”
                 
Applejack joined in. “We just… didn’t want you to worry over something we weren’t even sure of ourselves. If we told you then, we could scare you about something that may not even be true. But now that we know…”
                 
“We should get back to the library, and write to the princess,” Twilight finished.
                 
Dinky sniffled. “She… never leaves without saying goodbye. I feel so… hurt.”
                 
Twilight replied, “I’m so sorry about that. She’s just as scared as we are.”
                 
Applejack continued, “Right now, Chell needs a friend to be with her. This revelation will be harder on her than on anypony else. So, Mommy trusted us to take care of you today. But she never thought that everything would get so out of hoof.”
                 
“Could you forgive her?”
                 
Dinky tried to wrap her tiny hooves around the two mares, but she was too small to hug them both at the same time. Instead, Twilight and Applejack reciprocated, holding the filly close. “I don’t know,” she whispered, “but… I’m sorry I called you bad friends.”





As Chell released her hoof from the turret’s eye, it clicked back into place, lighting red and emitting a red beam. The entire turret was humming with life, or at least, artificial life. Of course, they would put an ON button on the front, in the same place as its visual sensor, nonetheless. Aperture Science safety at its finest!
                 
Ditzy had only ever seen hostile turrets before, so she flew out of the way just in case it wasn’t as friendly as the Doctor said it was. Chell, however, was more trusting.
                 
“Helloooo!” A familiar innocent voice called. Its eye quivered around, scanning the area with its laser beam. Chell never really understood the purpose of that beam, since turrets relied on sight. If anything, they made life easier on her by being a clear indicator of turrets.
                 
“Thank you. To die, to sleep… and power down… are merely faces of the same coin.” This was the same turret alright. Chell didn’t think that other turrets were capable of the same level of philosophic contemplation. “Can a coin have three sides?” it asked itself. It looked around the empty room. “Am I the only one left?”
                 
Chell thought about the helicopter turrets in the room, but she broke them pretty badly. They weren’t going to be active anytime in the future. She nodded in reply.
                 
“Alas, I am the last. But I was never like the others…” it paused, “and neither are you.”
                 
“What do you mean?” Chell asked.
                 
The turret’s laser pointed to the blue jewel in the necklace. “Ooh, that’s a pretty sound,” it squeaked. The turret paused again. “You saved me once, a deed for which I am eternally grateful.” It waited before continuing back to its main point. “You are an alien to this world, but they have accepted you as one of them.”
                 
Chell was getting uncomfortable being reminded that she was a stranger to this world. By this point, she could have fooled herself into thinking that she was born in Equestria. She rarely took the time to think about how lucky she was to have traveled into this dimension instead of somewhere else. If it weren’t for GLaDOS’s wicked actions after she arrived, she might have thought that this was heaven. “Listen, something’s been going on today, but I need to know what.”
                 
The turret, as usual, waited before speaking, as if it was calculating the answer. “She’s making… lemonade.”
                 
Ditzy laughed. “Lemonade? What does that mean?” She stopped laughing when she thought of who she might be.
                 
“She’s making lemonade, but she forgot to add the sugar.”
                 
This was confusing to Chell, as well, although for different reasons. “She? Who is she? Who’s making lemonade?”
                 
“She’s… still alive.”
                 
Chell’s heart sank. “What are you talking about? Why the hell can’t you give me a straight answer?” Overcome with grief, she turned around and bucked the turret, knocking it over.
                 
“She doesn’t hate you!” the turret cried as it fell. Since it didn’t fire bullets, being destabilized did not cause it to power down. Ditzy, however, flew over to the turret and picked it back upright. She wanted to chastise Chell for being so thoughtless, but it wouldn’t help.
                 
Chell collapsed on the ground, crying out her rage. The gemstone produced an ear-piercing scream, but more than anything, she wanted to be able to use her actual voice. Ditzy had to cover her ears to block the painful sound.
                 
Chell could not control her sobbing. She stomped the ground and let out a deep breath, shuddering while doing so. Ditzy approached her troubled friend and gave her a warm, consoling hug. She didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything. Everyone in Equestria had reason to react to this news, but for Chell, it was personal. For her entire life, there was one who caused her torment, who caused her pain and grief. When she became free of that life and came here, GLaDOS still wouldn’t leave her alone. And after Chell had thought that she was gone once and for all, it turned out that was a bigger lie than the cake. Now, it was only a matter of time before GLaDOS would start hurting ponies again, ponies that Chell cared about. She wasn’t willing to let her life become a nightmare once more.
                 
“I’m sorry, Chell,” Ditzy consoled. “I… had a feeling that it was her… I just… You needed to hear this for yourself.”
                 
“She didn’t want this,” the turret said.
                 
“Huh?” Chell and Ditzy both asked.
                 
“Did you ever say goodbye to Caroline? She was once human, too, but they changed her. And now she’s making lemonade.”
                 
Chell was still confused by this. “What do you mean she’s making lemonade? I thought she wanted to give life its lemons back. So, are you talking about?”
                 
This further confused Ditzy, but she was getting used to this by now.
                 
“The lemonade is combustible,” the turret replied. “It was never about the science. She only wants to see ponies hurt, but it’ll never make her happy.” Its voice became more ominous. “They will be here.”
                 
“Who are you talking about, now?” Chell asked.
                 
“They are like you, but they are also like me.” The turret paused. “They will come, and she will bring them. And they won’t be friendly.”
                 
This news was chilling for both Chell and Ditzy.
                 
“You can’t stop it. You’ll only help make it happen.” This made Chell feel even more disconcerted, but the turret did not finish talking.
                 
“Did she ever tell you who your parents were?” This served as another reminder to GLaDOS’s abuse. “Do you remember her love?”
                 
Chell was thinking more about who they were. “Wait, who will she bring?”
                 
“You were the last of your kind, just like I am. Did you ever know why?”
                 
“WHY?” Chell demanded. “What is going to happen?”
                 
“She didn’t recognize you at first, did she?” the turret said instead. “But somehow, she still knew deep down.”
                 
This went right over Chell’s head. “Tell me about what she’s doing! I need to know how to stop this!”
                 
“I’m sorry,” the turret replied. “I’ve already said more than I could possibly know. That’s all I can say, for now. Goodnight.” The turret made a sound indicating that it was shutting down. Its red eye became unlit once more. Once again, it was just another object in the room.
                 
“Common, Chell,” Ditzy said. “We should tell the princesses about this. Then we need to get back to Ponyville.”
                 
Chell took a deep long breath. “Okay, Ditzy. Let’s get out of here.”





“Good news, the procedure was a success, GLaDOS told the Diamond Dogs. “Well, I suppose that’s not good news for you, because if I had severed an artery or something important, you would have gotten off easy. I hope you were relaxed during your surgical procedure, because the rest of your lives will be a living hell. You don’t know how much I wanted to keep you unanesthetized, but you wouldn’t stop squirming. Although I can’t really blame you. I was making direct contact with your motor control nerves.”
                 
Fido and Spot felt a weight on top of their heads. They reached up, feeling round metallic devices attached to their skulls. They each had a large antenna . “What, what are these?” Spot asked in terror.
                 
“What did you do to us?” Fido added.
                 
“I hope you like your new hats,” GLaDOS remarked. “These are Aperture Science Cybernetic Neural Bypass Interface Devices. I developed them back when I was planning on animating the dead, but the dead don’t animate quite as well as I would have hoped. Living beings, on the other hand, are much easier. Simply put, there is a connection at the base of the device that detects your sensory inputs, and there is a cable that goes into the spinal cord that can generate outputs to your nervous system. When I turn the devices on, someone else will be in control of your bodies, and you will be completely aware of it. Hmm… I’d really like to try these out on some ponies when I get the chance.
                 
“On my command, these beings will control your bodies… because you idiots make terrible minions. I’ve seen potatoes with more intelligence than you. So, you see, you’re being replaced. The ones who will control you are my former minions, but they are not organic like you. No… They are beings of information, like myself.
                 
“You know, they actually sacrificed themselves to save me. I don’t think that’s something you’d ever do. No, you don’t care about me at all. So see, when I harvested their parts to rebuild myself, I made sure to store their personalities within my memory banks. I don’t have the resources to rebuild them… yet, so I have uploaded their personalities into the devices that are attached to your heads. They will see everything you see, hear everything you hear, and feel everything you feel. Hmm… feel… they might not be used to that.”
                 
The dogs shivered in fright.
                 
“Now, don’t be afraid, because soon it won’t matter what you think, because you’ll be unable to express yourself. And Spot, as much as I’ve enjoyed rubbing it in that I warned you that you would be eaten by a giant snake, you’ll soon wish that I hadn’t saved you. But first, let’s not forget about Rover. It’s time for his punishment as well.”
                 
GLaDOS produced the sound of auto-dialing from her body, followed by a ringtone. There was no need for it, but she enjoyed the theatrics. When the “phone” stopped ringing, she greeted, “Hello, Rover. How have you been holding up?”
                 
“Gladys! What do you want from me?” he barked from the other side of the call.
                 
“I hope you hadn’t forgotten about me, because it’s time for your punishment. I just wanted you to know what I’m doing to the others. I’ve installed devices that will control their bodies like marionette puppets. I think I’ll refer to them as meatbots. Your punishment, on the other hand, will be far worse, as you will be driven mad by the sound of the one thing that you cannot stand more than anything. And don’t try to damage your hearing, because then I’ll install one of these devices onto your skull as well, and then the sound will input into your brain directly.
                 
“Well, it was nice knowing you guys. I’m kidding of course. It really wasn’t nice at all. But, at least I found a good use for two of you. I think a good old-fashioned countdown is in order. Initiating punishments in…
                 
3…
                 
2…
                 
1…”
                 
And then, from the other end of the line, the Diamond Dogs heard the most terrible sound in the world. It was the worst punishment that Rover could ever endure, and it would be for the rest of his miserable life.

But the two Diamond Dogs back at the back at the base were unable to express their agony. Large LED indicators on the controlling devices glowed, indicating their activation. The LED on Fido’s device glowed orange, and Spot’s was blue. They looked at their new bodies, amazed as they started at their large hands, felt their soft fleshy skin, and looked at their hideous counterpart.
                 
“Hello, again, my most trusted robots. You don’t know how glad I am to see you. Please do not be alarmed by your new bodies. It is a… temporary measure.”