The Doctor crept along a shadowy side-alley of the station’s main strip, eyes fixated on the small form of a spider scurrying away into the darkness. He followed it into the dark, and withdrew the sonic from his jacket pocket to illuminate the way.
He had wandered into the resident district by this point, and the side alley led him out into a much brighter but less spacious corridor. It was a simple hallway containing rooms and apartments used as living spaces for the shop owners and vendors who worked the businesses down below.
Pocketing the sonic, the Doctor pressed on. He came to a large digital screen taking up most of a single wall panel that seemed to act as a bulletin board, but unlike the post he had seen earlier it was large enough to display many notices at once. The Foal scout’s fundraiser promotion was there, as was the missing poster for the photographer.
Curiously enough, there were several more missing posters in addition to Snap’s. Some were rather small, and a few did not even contain an accompanying image. There had to be at least eleven more, and though the missing posters barely took up a quarter of the bulletin board they were all clustered together. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the missing beings were all equines and not of another alien species.
The Doctor compared the dates. According to his time watch it was the 15th of September on this station. From what he could see, the most recent poster was from the previous night and the oldest was only three weeks old. Twelve ponies had gone missing in the course of a month.
The Doctor’s mind started to churn, seeing the clues that something was very wrong. There was no way that it was a coincidence, someone or something was targeting ponies, taking them off the street one at a time. These weren’t murders in the eyes of the public, just missing individuals. Where had they all gone?
A small sound brought the Doctor’s gaze upwards in time to see the spider he had initially been chasing. It was indeed silvery, and his fleeting glimpse was enough to confirm the fears he had felt since the first mention of a “metal spider”.
“It’s like a Cybermite, but in the form of a spider,” he murmured to himself, “Little bit more of a look around, Doctor? Why not.”
****
Lyra nibbled at something that looked like a breaded cheese stick, but upon biting it she found the inside to be filled with a greenish paste. It was an offworld dish called Barol, but it was not pronounced exactly as spelled on the menu. The green filling tasted like nothing she had ever eaten. The unknown flavor was a bit tangy, and very strong. The dish itself was garnished with spiky looking red leaves, and a zig-zag drizzle of orange sauce.
She and Derpy sat at a table in one of the station’s many eateries, sampling dishes from other planets. Derpy was enjoying a brightly colored snow cone adorned with stringy candies that tasted… strange.
“I can’t tell what these little things are supposed to taste like,” she said, “The snow cone itself is some kind of strange berry, but these candy strings don’t really taste like… anything.”
“That’s because the species the dish is intended for have sixteen taste receptors more than an equine,” came a voice from the door. Derpy and Lyra craned their necks, and saw the Doctor walking towards them, taking a seat on Derpy’s side of the table. She offered him a bite of the snow cone, but instead the Doctor broke off one of the candy strings, slurping it up like a piece of spaghetti.
“I taste a faint bit of… Judrixis, I think.” the Doctor said. “I have three of four more receptors myself.”
“What did you find?” asked Lyra from the other side, “You kind of just went out on your own after something.”
“Oh, it was the spider Derpy saw,” the Doctor answered, pulling the broken form of the mechanical arachnid and plopping it down on the table. The "abdomen" was all crushed, and bits of wiring stuck out. Lyra and Derpy recoiled from it. He was silent for a few seconds, then got up from the booth once again.
"It's a Cybermite... well, a bit of an advanced version of one. I'm used to them looking like mice. This little devil is a scout for the Cybers, their eyes and ears around the station. Sort of a fly on the wall... well, spider on the wall I guess."
"Cybers?" Derpy mouthed, clueless.
“We’ve got work to do,” he said, “I’m sorry to have to cut the fun part of the outing short, but there’s a rather pressing problem right this moment.”
Lyra sank in her seat, looking down at her half-eaten meal. Derpy sat up straight and focused both wayward eyes on the Doctor intently.
“What’s the matter?” she asked, “What are the Cybers? Danger?”
“Undoubtedly.” replied the Doctor. “‘Tell you what, I’ll fill you two in on the details on the way.”
Derpy stood up quickly, joining the Doctor by his side. Lyra frowned, slowly pushing her plate toward the center. She was enjoying that.
The ponies left the eatery and continued along the main strip of the station.
****
“Cyberponies!” the Doctor explained, “Big, hulking robots built over the body of an equine. They reproduce by converting compatible equinoids into Cybers themselves, and remove all emotion. Kind of a horrific process, to be honest. Your lot has been trying to get rid of them since they invaded in the 34th century, though they’ve been cropping up throughout Equestrian history since the 20th century.”
Derpy and Lyra were a few steps behind him. The Doctor was at a full run down the station’s business district, leaving the other two trying to stay close behind to hear what he was explaining.
“What happened to them all those years, so they couldn’t invade?” Lyra asked, “That’s over a millenia of stalled attempts.”
“I happened,” the Doctor replied, stopping for a moment and shooting her a quick grin.
“Of course, I can’t be everywhere at once, and the invasion of 3357 was totally unavoidable.” said the Doctor, returning to his former pace. They were leaving the clustered shops and crowded street of the business district now, and up ahead one could spot a lift shaft that could take them to main security. They entered, and the Doctor continued talking once the lift started up.
“By this point, they’ve been virtually wiped out. The Equines won the war with the Cybers, and what remained for millennia after was scattered clusters, miniature cybernetic empires with their own cyberplanners and leaders, mostly disconnected from any sort of central organization… what year did I say this was?”
“190,000.” Derpy answered, “You called it the height of Planet Earth.”
“Aha!” the Doctor cried, “Yes! At this point in time, the different Cyber-clusters have been taken out one by one. Haven’t really investigated why. We may be looking at one of the last Cyberpony legions in existance.”
“Is that a good thing?” Lyra mumbled, “They sound sort of scary to me.”
“Oh, that is so not a good thing,” the Doctor said with a shake of his head, “Cyberponies don’t know fear, but even so they’re dangerous in the way a cornered animal is dangerous… no, scratch that.”
“What?”
“What I meant is that they’re trying to survive.” continued the Doctor, as the lift came to a stop. “They’ve only got one thing on their metal minds right now, and that’s rebuilding the empire from the ground up, and…”
He trailed the last line off as the doors swooshed open, and the three time travellers stepped out into a polished room with black tiles and blueish lighting. The words “Station Security” were embossed on smooth silver walls and engraved on the front of a black marble desk. At this desk sat a pony mare, who seemed to be the appointment-maker and receptionist.
The Doctor motioned for Derpy and Lyra to gather aside.
“Derpy, I’m gonna let you handle this one.” he whispered, giving her the piece of psychic paper. “We’re here to inspect the surveillance system, and we need to talk to whomever is supposed to be actually watching the screens. Shouldn't be too difficult, I'm getting the vibe that the security department isn't very smart or thorough.”
“So what do I do?” Derpy asked, “Give them the psychic paper and hope it shows ID badges for the three of us?”
“Kind of,” the Doctor said, “You have to want those badges to appear. It’ll tap into your subconscious, if you’re thinking it should be the badges it’ll be the badges. Just remember: the psychic paper doesn’t lie. If it says something, just go with it and don’t contradict. Got all that?”
“I think so.” stated Derpy. She mulled it over for a moment, and then turned to approach the receptionist with Lyra and the Doctor following right behind.
“Can I help you?” the mare behind the desk asked.
“Yes, actually,” Derpy replied. She slid the psychic paper onto the marble desktop for the mare to read. She leaned over, and adjusted her glasses.
“Alright, Inspectors Derpy Hooves, Lyra Heartstrings and Doctor Hooves.” the receptionist said. The Doctor opened his mouth when she called out his ‘name’, but Derpy kicked his leg with one of her back hooves.
“We need to… uhh… consult with the pony in charge of watching the surveillance systems.” muttered Derpy .
“Max isn’t a pony,” the receptionist said with narrowed eyes, “Are you three new here?”
“Yes!” the Doctor quickly interjected, “Yes… we’re transfers from one of the planetside facilities. Inspector Hooves… er, Inspector Derpy Hooves that is… isn’t familiar with surveillance standards on offworld stations like this. Sorry about the confusion.”
The mare nodded, and told them to wait while she informed Max that they would be seeing him shortly.