//------------------------------// // A typical day // Story: Unwanted Grey // by Compendium of Steve //------------------------------// UNWANTED GREY Derpy’s head buzzed with anxiety and frustration as she flew over Ponyville. The mid-afternoon sky was somewhat crowded, leading to some near mid-air collisions with passing pegasi and the sputtering of several apologies, all while maintaining her fast speed and keeping the strings of her package firmly grasped in her teeth. Gotta hurry gotta hurry!  I can’t let this get any worse than it already is!         Her mail rounds had ended close to an hour ago, but the package in question was supposed to have been delivered the previous day. A bit of “oversight” on the part of the mailmare had caused its delay, and she was hurriedly making amends. It was right there on the desk! Stupid stupid stupid stupid! He’s going to have every right to be angry. The package in question was addressed to one Auburn Dusk, an earth stallion that had recently moved to a house outside of town. Few ponies have seen him in the week since his arrival, and those who had noted his brusque behavior, so it’s no surprise that the town gossipers labeled him as a stalwart recluse with a mysterious past. At the moment, though, he was a patron that was sorely lacking their mail. Faster Faster Faster! As the sun emitted the first tints of evening light, Derpy made it into the fields surrounding Ponyville and veered right toward Everfree Forest. In a few moments she spotted the newly-built log cabin and flapped her wings to slow down for landing. A few gentle flaps combined with her flight’s momentum allowed her to touch down by the mailbox, and entering a quick trot she hurried to the domicile. Once at the door, she stopped to catch her breath, breathing in deeply through the twine still in her mouth. The burning in her lungs was replaced with dread over a face-to-face with the stallion, as she speculated on what kind of outrage a recluse would have. It’s okay, you’re just doing your job. Just knock on the door, apologize and give him the package. Easy, right?         “Oh man...” she whimpered before gently putting the package down to empty her mouth. Taking a deep breath and psyching herself for the worst, she raised a hoof, hesitated, then rapped it three times against the door. “Package delivery.” Several seconds passed without a response, and Derpy willed herself to knock again. “Hello? I’m here to deliver a package.” One of her knocks pushed the door inward. Eyeing the opened door curiously, she poked her head around and looked inside. After a moment she pushed the door completely open and stood in the doorway, letting the sunlight brighten the modest living room within. Everything was neat and tidy, from the lone sofa to the plain coffee table, yet there was no sign of anypony. Oddly enough, she thought, it didn’t seem like anyone’s been there for a while.         “Hellooooo?” Derpy felt both relieved and a bit disheartened when nobody responded. She was spared a possible yelling, but what of the fate of the waylaid package? Guess he went out. Hmm... actually, what better housewarming gift then a long-awaited package?         Assured by her sound reasoning, Derpy turned back to grab the package, and trotting into the living room she placed it on the coffee table in the center, taking one last cursory glance. “I’ll just be leaving it in here then. Oops, no one’s here, hee hee.” With a grin she headed back outside, making sure to close the door upon leaving. Her task done and with her seemingly off the hook, Derpy sighed in relief and took to the air. Though the wind felt refreshing, it didn’t help ease the stirrings in her mind. Specifically those regarding the absent Mr. Dusk. Her concerns would have tripled had she stuck around an extra minute, for that’s when the front of the cabin exploded out onto the lawn. Amid the debris of shattered logs a curious purple reptilian in a suit tumbled onto the grass, groaning upon coming to a stop. As he worked on getting back up, a hulking brute of a man in a blue shirt, olive shorts and blue cape leapt out from the wreckage of the house. The lower half of his face was nothing but a wide, manic smile, giving him a very deranged look made worse by random twitches in his neck and arms. The dragon barely had a moment to stand before the brute charged at him, winding up for a devastating punch. His target leaned away to avoid having his head knocked off, then ducked to avoid a right hook before bringing his sword up at the muscular madman. Alas, the caped brawler proved too swift despite his size and managed to bop the poor dragon’s top with a fist, sprawling him on the wood-littered ground. He further got kicked for his troubles, and didn’t even have time to writhe before his assailant hoisted him up by the neck of his suit with both meaty fists and tossed him back into the smoky remains of the cabin. —>         The color of the sky was considerably more orange as Derpy chatted away with two of her friends at a table in front of the Clover Cafe, specifically over her trip to the cabin.         “The door was unlocked?” Colgate, the blue-coated unicorn with the streaked mane, asked.         “And you just barged in?” Raindrops, the yellow pegasus with a turquoise, asked in hopes of uncovering some little scandal.         “I don’t think he’ll mind,” Derpy said innocently. “It’ll be like a present when he gets back. Also, it’d probably be extra rude to just leave it outside after not delivering it when I should have.”         “As reckless as ever, Derpy.” Raindrops gave a shake of the head before drinking from her straw with a contemptible grin. “Pretty daring of you to step into a bachelor’s home like that.”         “W-what do you mean?” Derpy’s jaw dropped in comical dismay.         “Oh she’s just teasing,” Colgate said, casting a quick glare at Raindrops before resuming. “That was still a nice thing you did, Derpy, though he might be a bit weirded out finding it in his living room then by his mailbox.”         “I honestly thought he’d be home,” Derpy replied, poking at her half-eaten muffin. “Recluses aren’t known for leaving their houses, right?”         Colgate looked around awkwardly before answering, “Not exactly...”         “That raises a good question, though,” Raindrops spoke up, looking thoughtfully with a hoof to her chin. “There would’ve been a stir if he had shown up in town today.”         “He didn’t come to town?” the mailmare asked.         “Nuh-uh, otherwise we would have heard about it.”         “He could have gone someplace outside of town, like to Canterlot or some such,” Colgate interjected.         “Probably.” Raindrops placed her forehooves behind her head before speaking again. “But on that note, Lily hasn’t been seen today either.”         “What makes you say that?” Colgate asked her winged chum as a magic-encased sandwich floated near her mouth.         “Well, she’s always hanging around those other two at the flower stands, but I didn’t see her there. And neither did Rose or Daisy when I asked.”         “That is pretty strange,” Colgate admitted through the bite of sandwich. “She could’ve been sick though, or had gone out someplace as well.” At that, Raindrops let out a loud gasp.         “Colgate, you don’t think that she and that Auburn guy!” Colgate looked unamused by that insinuation. “...That’s a stretch even by your standards.”         “But what a story that would make: the Loner and the Flower Pony, two strangers from different walks of life kindling the fire of a forbidden Colgatence.”         Colgate shrugged. “Doesn’t sound all that forbidden to me.”         “I just hope he finds the package when he gets back,” Derpy added, oblivious to whatever her friends were engaged in. In the face of such indifference, Raindrops gave a huff.         “You two are no fun.” Raindrops slurped her drink moodily as Colgate turned her attention back to Derpy.         “He’ll be sure to find it. You made sure to leave it in the middle of the living room, right?”         “Absolutely positively sure!” Derpy gulped down the last of her muffin and licked her lips contentedly. “It was nice talking with you girls. I need to get home and make dinner for Dinky.”         “Yeah, I should head back, too,” Colgate nodded. “Need to get some of this sandwich out of my teeth.”         “What is up with you and keeping your teeth clean, I mean, seriously,” Raindrops said.         “Oral hygiene is very important, especially with how much sweets ponies eat around here. If nopony gave a darn, there’d hardly be a full set of teeth between us!”         “Yeah yeah, no need to get on your high horse. I’ll do some flossing tonight for your sake.” Raindrops stood up and tossed some bits onto the table. “Welp, I gotta fly. Catch you guys later.” With a hard flap she sprang into the air and flew off into the evening.         “See you, Raindrops!” Derpy waved enthusiastically.         “See you,” Colgate also waved, a tad more restrained, then turning to Derpy, “I guess we should pay and call it a day then.” Derpy nodded wholeheartedly, and after the two mares put down their bits they got up and trotted back onto the street. It wasn’t long, though, before something caught Derpy’s attention that brought her to an abrupt halt. Colgate took immediate notice and stopped as well.         “What is it, Derpy?” she asked.         “Huh? I thought I saw that colt walking backwards.”         “What colt?” Colgate looked around, but only caught a glimpse of a small white figure backing around a corner. “You meant that colt? You sure he wasn’t just backing up?”         “Uhhhh, maybe? But he was backing up for a while in that case.” Colgate sighed, but followed it up with a friendly smile. “Nothing to worry about, Derpy. I’m pretty sure all kids walk backwards at some point or other.”         The chirping of morning birds, a fresh breeze, and the heft of a mail-laden satchel put Derpy into a positive mindset as she took off from the post office to begin her rounds. These morning flights always brought a smile to her face out of appreciation for life, and since the mishap with the package had gone unnoticed by the postmaster, there was nothing to dampen her wonderful mood. First stop, and one of her favorites, was the famed Cakes residence: Sugarcube Corner. Spotting the candy-coated building, she dived and glided to the main entrance. As she did so, she pondered about whether the building really was made of candy or just looked like it. It was a train of thought she had many times before and never bothered to test. Next time she would always tell herself.         Her thoughts turned back to work upon landing. Trotting through the front door, she beamed in the direction of the counter, which was currently being tended by the stout and ever-jovial Mrs. Cake.         “Why hello, Derpy. Good morning to you,” she greeted the mailmare.         “Morning Mrs. Cake! I got a letter from Phillydelphia for you.” Derpy moved her snout into the satchel and pulled out a single yellow envelope with her teeth, which Mrs. Cake promptly took from her.         “Oh, it must be my cousin,” Mrs. Cake said delightedly as she looked over the envelope’s writing. “Would you like your usual complimentary muffin?”         “Not for now, Mrs. Cake,” Derpy replied. “I realized I’ve been having plenty of those, and decided to hold off and watch my figure. Otherwise it’d be harder for me to fly.” Derpy nodded and turned to leave as Mrs. Cake giggled softly.         “I don’t think it’ll ever come to that, deary, especially seeing how slim you are despite all that you’ve eaten up to now.”         “I don’t want to risk it,” Derpy answered, turning her head back mid-pace. “Mail needs to be delivered, and I wouldn’t make for a good mail-pegasus if I couldn’t f—” The side of Derpy’s face collided with a wall, konking her onto the floor. Sitting up to straighten her further skewed wall-vision, she asked, “Where’d that wall come from?”         “Oh silly dear, the door is over there.” Once her eyes were readjusted, Derpy looked in the direction of Mrs. Cake’s indicative hoof and saw the front door... placed about two feet from where Derpy thought it had been.         “But wasn’t the door right here?” she asked Mrs. Cake confusedly.         “What do you mean? The door’s always been there,” the baker stated. “You really should pay attention.”         Derpy tilted her head in growing confusion. “Ummmmm... Okay!” Getting back onto her hooves, she headed out the door. “See you later, Mrs. Cake.”         “Bye bye now, dear.” Back outside, Derpy took to the air to her next delivery, feeling a little miffed about her accident. It’s weird; I haven’t run into any walls in weeks, so why now, and Sugarcube Corner of all places? I know that front door like the front door of my own house, but Mrs. Cakes sounded certain, and she's not the sort to lie. Maybe I should’ve had that muffin to help me concentrate.         Her mental quandary dispelled immediately when she approached the home of Berry Punch, who was to receive an issue of Punch Connoisseurs Monthly for this round. When her hooves touched the ground, Derpy saw that the front door was open, and made the decision to stop in for a house call rather than stick the magazine into the mailbox. Lining up with the door, Derpy trotted confidently forward... right into another wall. Stepping back while rubbing her sore nose, she looked around and saw nothing but solid wall before her. A quick glance to the side and she found the door, except it was on a completely different side of the house.         What the? Why’s it over there? Did it move when I blinked? A feeling of concern filled her thoughts as she redirected herself to the “proper” side and went inside. Entering the living room, she called, “Hi Berry! I’ve got your mail!” Nothing but silence met her, not even a shuffling of any kind from upstairs or below. Her concern heightened slightly more, but there was a job to be done. “Um, I’m just going to leave it on the table. Also your door’s open!”         Taking the magazine from her satchel, Derpy placed it on the table near the kitchen entryway and turned back, only to stop at seeing a bare wall in the direction of where she came from. A look to the side showed the door had appeared where she originally thought it had been.         It did it again. Just what is going on? That definitely wasn’t there a moment ago.         Though she wanted to figure out the trickery of the door, the pressing matter of mail service outweighed that concerns, and so she left out the door, taking a moment to close it so that it was barely open a crack. Derpy trotted out toward the middle of the street, looking back uncomfortably at Berry’s house, her mind still uneased.         This morning has been pretty weird. Am I really that unfocused? Doors can’t possibly move on their own... Hmm, maybe I should think about something else. “Guess I should double-check who’s next,” she said aloud to herself, pulling her satchel around onto the ground before her and sitting down as ponies walked by attending to their own business. “Let’s see... next is Lemon Drop. Then it’s Blossomforth, then Cheerilee, Rose, Filthy Rich, Junebug, Junebug, Junebug... Huh?” She rifled a bit more through the satchel with her hooves. “Junebug, Junebug Junebug, Junebug Junebug Junebug.” A few letters more yielded the same result: all addressed to Junebug. What’s more, they looked practically identical.         That’s a lot of orders; I don’t remember seeing this many last time I looked. Guess she got a lot of subscription offers, but... they all look the same, though. Even have the same crooked stamp and everything. Never seen anything like—         “Hey there, Derpy!”         Derpy’s pondering switched off as she looked at an approaching Colgate. The unicorn titled her head before asking, “What are you doing sitting in the middle of the street?”         “Uhh, just looking over the mail,” Derpy responded automatically, then she got back up on her hooves. “I’ve been having a pretty weird morning.”         “Yeah, same here. I haven’t seen Raindrops today.”         “You haven’t?”         Colgate nodded. “Yeah. We were supposed to meet for breakfast, but she never showed up. She probably just overslept, though. I was on my way to her place to give her a yelling.”         “Ah. She does tend to do that.” Her concerns somewhat alleviated, Derpy allowed her gaze to wander upward to the picturesque morning sky. Not a cloud in the sky, though there was a flock of birds flying through the azure. But she noticed something off about the birds, specifically that their wing motions were stiff and appeared... jagged? Blocky? Maybe a bit off-color too.         “Colgate, do those birds look strange to you?” Derpy pointed to the odd avians. Colgate looked up at them, making no visible reaction.         “No, they just look like regular birds to me.” Colgate turned back to her friend. “What’s strange about them?”         “Um, nothing, I guess. Must’ve been something in my eye.” Derpy turned around. “Anyway I should get back to my rounds so later!” She promptly took to the air, and once alone in the sky again, her thoughts turned back to the oddities of the day.         Just one thing after another, and nopony seems to notice it. I probably need to get my eyes checked, but would that mean getting glasses? Ohhh, why is all this happening? No no, calm down. Deliver mail, worry later. The town needs its mail. Remembering her creed, Derpy sallied forth over the town to her next destination. In less than a minute she had reached the home of Lemon Drop, dropping down by the mailbox. The flag on it was up, so the pegasus dutifully pushed it down and opened the front, taking out the contents and stuffing them into her satchel.         Alright, no doors to deal with this time around. Just put it in and be off. Easy peasy. As she was about to put some mail into the empty mailbox, she noticed it had changed. Rather than being a simple sorta bread loafy shape as it originally had been, it looked contorted to the point of looking like two green blocks stuck together at odd angles. Its door still open, Derpy tried to put the letter in, but there wasn’t room for it to fit. “What’s with this thing?”         She tenderly lifted a hoof to poke the strange receptacle, but upon doing so its “parts” rearranged into different places before switching back, making the pegasus jump back in surprise. “Ooooookay, I’m just gonna... leave you alone.” Getting no response from the mailbox, Derpy turned and hoofed it out of there, not bothering to pick up the letter she had dropped. Trotting toward the street, she started noticing some oddly-colored patches of grass. Shades of green lighter and darker than their surroundings, and even a patch that looked bluish. She also noticed something else: a faint ringing in her ears.         Doors, mailboxes, even the grass is looking funny. It can’t be lack of focus; something definitely isn’t right. She moved anxiously, casting glances around her as more oddities appeared. Thatching and tilings on roofs appeared mismatched, more of the grass looked discolored, and the ringing in her ears became more noticeable. From the corners of her eyes, the sides of buildings seemed to shift, but when she looked back they appeared normal. As she began passing by more ponies, she spotted Caramel crossing her path ahead at a relaxed trot. In a moment, though, he transported several yards in a blink, making Derpy stop in her tracks, flabbergasted. The earth pony kept moving like nothing happened, but she was certain he had just teleported. However, it appeared to have gone unnoticed by everyone else.         Did he just..? It can’t be, but he did! Shouldn’t somepony be saying something? Someone besides me had to have seen that!         A gentle touch on her shoulder made her stiffen with a yelp as a voice inquired, “Derpy, are you alright?” Derpy looked to the side and saw Colgate, who was giving her a look of deepest concern. “I’m sorry to startle you. You had left looking bothered by something; what’s going on?”         Derpy made a helpless sigh. “I-I just don’t know, Colgate. I’m seeing things that nopony else sees and it’s getting to me!”         “What kind of things?” Derpy hesitated a moment, but decided to just pour it out. “Like mailboxes becoming all blocky and doors switching what wall they’re on and just now I saw Caramel teleport like Twilight does but that can’t be because he’s not a unicorn and I’m so confused about what’s going on, Colgate!”         Colgate raised an eyebrow. “You saw Caramel teleport?”         “Yeah!” Derpy cried with her forehooves thrown up in exasperation, only to have them fall upon her face. “But nopony else saw it; it’s probably all just in my head. You probably don’t see the grass looking all different colored.”         “I’m afraid I do not.” Colgate grimaced at the vexations of her friend, but patted her comfortingly on the shoulder regardless. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you’re undergoing some major stress. From what, I won’t ask, but it’s clearly messing with you big time.”         Derpy sighed heavily at Colgate’s words, dropping her hooves and drooping her head to the ground. “You may be right... But I don’t know what I could be so stressed about. Today was normal enough, but then it got weird. Maybe I should... lie down for a bit.”         “Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Just tell your boss that you need some time off and get yourself home. I’ll even come with you if you need help convincing him.”         Derpy rubbed her forehead before speaking with a grateful tone. “I really appreciate it, Colgate.”         “No problem; what are friends for? Trust me: when you’ve gotten some rest, you’ll see that there’s nohting to wor-worry about.”         “Yeah, I—” Derpy stopped. “Wait, what did you just say?”         “I said there’s no###-ing to worry about-*zzzz out.”         Derpy looked up at her friend, and her mouth immediately gaped in horror. Colgate’s entire face had been turned upside down, and was crackling along the edges. Instinctively the pegasus backed away before spouting, “Wh-what’s wrong with your face?!”         The “unicorn” tilted its head. “F@$e? W##t a%e you t$**# about?~!” As it spoke, the face switched between right-side up and back again in fast sequence.         “Stop talking like that!”         “L^^E whAAAAAAA—GRZZZZzzzzT####”         Derpy spun around and galloped away, unable to take more of the incessant screech that her friend emitted. As she fled, she saw things happening to other ponies. Citizens in the midst of shopping or talking suddenly began changing places, shifting up and down and side to side. A few ponies were walking upside down in midair, and one pony was halfway stuck through a roof but kept moving his legs as though nothing were wrong. She quickened her gallop to escape the disturbing sights, but to her despair the buildings  themselves were starting to change: patches of wall and roof began to vanish, and lines of numbers scrolled across random surfaces. As more things distorted and rose up around her, a terrible realization struck: it was following her.         “No... No... Help... Someone!” Her pleading pants ended when she tripped over an upraised piece of ground. She sprawled onto her front as her mail satchel flew off and spilled out in front of her, covering the ground in a blanket of identical letters. Every single one of them addressed to Junebug. Collecting herself and getting back on her hooves, Derpy gasped to find that several ponies without faces had come over to investigate. The distant ringing in her ears intensified as she saw the lettering on the envelopes alter into jumbles, and giving a yell she shot up into the sky to escape.         There has to be something, someone who can help! Think Think Think Think Think Think TWILIGHT! She would know what’s going on; she can fix all this! Fueled by nothing but panic, she flew for the castle on the outskirts of Ponyville as the corrupting town below blurred past. Eventually the sky itself was acting up, with clouds relocating and bits of blue becoming discolored abruptly as the ringing steadily grew to deafening.         Keep going gotta get there please please let me get there please please! Soon the glimmering walls of the castle appeared ahead of Derpy, and she pushed herself into getting there faster. Shooting into a steep dive she skidded along the ground before the entrance and galloped the rest of the way, never looking at whatever was happening around her. Bringing her shoulder to bear she rammed the double doors open and dashed in, only to quickly turn back and slam them shut. Pressing herself against the doors with eyes shut, she panted as the ringing began to subside, and finally allowed herself to relax.         “Hey, what’s going on here?”         The familiar voice strengthened Derpy enough to make her turn around in greeting, but as she was about to say “hello” the first syllable turned into a scream. Instead of a cuddly little dragon, a pile of bones and claws was staring at her with empty eye sockets, asking, “What’s the matter? Is something on my face?”         “No! NOO!!” Her desperate cries seemed to conjure the madness from outside, for the castle shook as nearby furniture rose upward, either to float about, reshape or outright dissolve. As the ceiling began sinking and the reptilian skeleton approached her—indifferent to the chaos around it—Derpy grabbed the door handle and practically tore it open as she zipped out from the castle foyer.         She managed to gallop several dozen yards, and getting close to town she saw that the buildings started reaching out for her, extending upwards only to bend down upon the terrified mare. The ringing had returned at piercing volumes, making her alert with sheer horror as everything she had ever known uprooted and reformed into some monstrous cesspool of town, color, numbers and jumbled lettering.         A dream, this has to be a dream, A Nightmare! Just wake up, Derpy. Wake up wake up wake up it’s not real Just Wake Up! An assemblage of ponies brought her to a stop, but seeing them also made her fall back onto her rump in unadulterated terror. All manner of ponies, from stallions to mares to fillies and colts, stood without faces, and each one was filled with a constant scrambling color pattern of black and white. By then the light of the world had become a sickly mix of dark green and yellow, and more and more surfaces were filling with scrolling numbers. Derpy threw her face into her hooves to hide from it all, but she couldn’t shut out the ringing, which had become a full-on wail.         Not everypony, not everypony! Colgate, Raindrops, Rainbow Dash, Dinky. Where are they? Please just get me out of here, anypony! Please make it stop make it stop make it STOP! “Somebody Help Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!” She cried to the heavens which were steadily being blocked out by the town itself, and quickly collapsed into herself as the corruption finally toppled onto her.         Silence was the first thing she noticed. She kept still, hunched over with face buried for a time, then cautiously straightened up. She saw that the ground she was on was pure white and spread around in a circle, much like a spotlight in the darkness. Fitting, as everything around her was nothing but darkness. Not entirely true, she noticed: amidst the black there were mute flickerings of dull, grayish colors of varying shades that created some odd, unsettling, “living” mosaic. Remaining where she sat, Derpy looked around curiously, forgetful of the raw fear she felt only moments ago. She timidly brought a hoof up to her mouth before saying a lone “Helloooooo?”         There came a rumbling, soundless and very soft, but one the mare could feel nevertheless. She looked around from side to side, then her attention was drawn to a blinking light in the empty air. Suddenly letters appeared, bold and stark white, popping up to spell something. A weird beeping noise accompanied each letter’s formation. Eventually, a single word hung in the air: GREETINGS Derpy looked around a bit, not sure if the message was directed at her. Then she called out, “Is somepony out there?” In response, the word vanished and more letters appeared, this time making out two sentences in succession. DO NOT BE ALARMED YOU ARE SAFE HERE The pegasus rubbed her head in confusion. “Where are you?” The sentences disappeared. After a pause, another response came. HERE AROUND YOU         Derpy just blinked at that answer, then looked uneasily at the spaces by the upper corners of the words. Still seeing nothing, she went with a different approach. “What is this place?” A quicker response. THIS IS AN IN-BETWEEN OF MEDIUMS A SPACE DEVOID OF DATA, SAVE FOR THE TWO OF US         That brought immediate concern to the forefront of Derpy’s mind, causing her to lean forward sharply.         “What happened to Colgate, and Spike? All of Ponyville?” THEY REMAIN IN THEIR RESPECTIVE ARCHIVE MY PRESENCE WAS HAVING A CORRUPTIVE EFFECT, AND IT WOULD HAVE WORSENED IF I HAD REMAINED         Something clicked, and Derpy’s wall-eyes widened. “Wait, you were the one making everything all weird and scary?” YES I AM AWARE OF YOUR REACTION TO THE EFFECTS, AND FOR THAT I APOLOGIZE Derpy stared hard at the floating letters, furrowing her brow, then with a cautious tone she asked, “Who are you?”         As the letters popped up, a faint blocky image appeared, wavering barely out of focus behind them, seemingly bobbing along with the typing. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN A NUMBER OF DESIGNATIONS BY USERS THERE WAS ONE WHO DESIGNATED ME AS NEVERSHOULD MY CREATORS GAVE ME A DESIGNATION, AND IT IS THE ONE MOST WIDELY USED IN REFERENCE TO MYSELF IT IS THE ONE YOU CAN REFER TO ME NOW IF YOU SO WISH I AM MISSINGNO.         The pegasus tilted her head at this revelation, not sure what to make of it. “Missing no?” she asked with uncertainty. IT IS PRONOUNCED MISSING NUMBER, BUT THAT PRONUNCIATION IS COMMONLY USED AS WELL         “Why have you come here, if you make things all wonky just by being around them?” she asked, ignoring the oddness of the name. TO OBSERVE YOU, SPECIFICALLY         Derpy straightened her back in surprise. “M-Me?” THAT IS CORRECT I CAME TO YOUR ARCHIVE SOLELY TO STUDY AND UNDERSTAND THE REASONING FOR YOUR CURRENT EXISTENCE “Reasoning for my current existence? Huh?” As though talking to giant text and the preceding events of the day weren’t bizarre enough, that statement in particular put her mind in a loop. “What do you mean by that?” YOUR PRESENT EXISTENCE CONTRASTS SIGNIFICANTLY TO THAT OF YOUR ORIGINAL PURPOSE         “Original purpose?” YOU WERE CREATED TO SERVE A SPECIFIC PURPOSE A PURPOSE SIMILAR TO MINE BUT YOU WERE RECONFIGURED INTO SOMETHING THAT SURPASSED YOUR ORIGINAL PARAMETERS I CAME TO FIND OUT WHY “Similar to yours?” Derpy blinked in contemplation. “What kind of thing do you do?” I WAS CREATED AS A MEANS OF DETECTING ANOMALOUS EXECUTIONS IN A PROGRAM’S CODING SHOULD AN ATTEMPT TO RETRIEVE NON-EXISTENT DATA BE MADE, I WOULD APPEAR IN ITS PLACE I WAS TO BE THE INDICATOR FOR ANY GAPS IN THE CODING, SO THAT MY CREATORS COULD LOCALIZE AND FIX THE ISSUE WITHIN THE CODING AS THE PROGRAM WAS BEING DEVELOPED HOWEVER, WHEN THE PROGRAM FINALLY REACHED COMPLETION, THERE WAS STILL ONE DATA GAP THAT REMAINED, EITHER OVERLOOKED BY MY CREATORS, OR PERMITTED TO REMAIN THIS LINGERING GAP ALLOWED ME TO STAY WITHIN THE PROGRAM’S CODING AS IT WAS DISTRIBUTED TO USERS UNDER SPECIFIC CONDITIONS, USERS COULD EXPOSE THE REMAINING GAP AND CAUSE MY APPEARANCE THIS MADE ME INTO AN ANOMALY MUCH LIKE YOURSELF “Whaa? How am I an anomaly?” YOU TOO WERE CREATED SOLELY AS A PLACEHOLDER WITHIN YOUR MEDIUM WHEREAS I FILLED SPACE IN CODING, YOU FILLED SPACE IN A VISUAL SENSE “How so?” Derpy asked, growing ever curiouser by the walls of new information popping up before her. IN CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE A MODERATE TO LARGE CROWD IS REQUIRED, PLACEHOLDER IMAGERY IS CREATED TO FULFILL THE NECESSARY OCCUPANCY RATIO, BETTER ENHANCING THE VIEWER’S BELIEF OF LIVELINESS IMAGES LIKE YOURSELF WERE CREATED AND REUSED TO FULFILL THIS ROLE WHENEVER THE NEED AROSE, AND OFTENTIMES THEY WERE REMOVED ALTOGETHER WHEN NO FURTHER USE REMAINED FOR THEM “Wait, ‘like myself’… are you talking about ponies?” CORRECT This sent a chill down Derpy’s spine at seeing those seven letters. “Are you… are you saying that ponies are just pictures? Walking, talking pictures?” ALSO CORRECT AMALGAMATIONS OF DIGITALLY-GENERATED LINES AND COLOR, GIVEN SOUND AND MOVEMENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENTERTAINMENT FOR A SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC PONY IS THE DESIGNATION FOR THESE CREATIONS THAT ARE USED TO CONVEY THE STORIES BEING PRESENTED IN YOUR PARTICULAR ARCHIVE TO ACT AS CHARACTERS FOR SAID STORIES HOWEVER, WHEREAS THERE EXIST PONIES TO FULFILL ROLES FOR STORYTELLING PURPOSES, THERE ARE MANY SOLELY CREATED TO FILL IN BACKGROUND SPACE AND HAVE NO BEARING ON THE NARRATIVE PRESENTED TO MAINTAIN THE ILLUSION OF LIFE IN A STRICTLY STATIC, LIFELESS MEDIUM YOU WERE ONE OF THESE ARBITRARY CREATIONS YET YOU BECAME AN EXCEPTION “What made me different?” she asked, forgetting or simply ignoring the massive implications that had been laid out before her. IT IS OBVIOUS THERE WAS AN IMPERFECTION IN YOUR DESIGN AN OVERSIGHT BY YOUR CREATORS THAT WAS NOTICED QUICKLY BY THE VIEWERS YOUR DEFINING VISUAL TRAIT “...Y-you mean, my eyes?” Though she long accepted her physical quirk and the stigma that came with it, hearing it pointed out in so forward a manner never stopped being hurtful to  Derpy. “There’s more to me than how weird they look!” IT EARNED YOU RECOGNITION YOUR CREATORS AND THE VIEWERS ACKNOWLEDGED YOUR EXISTENCE IN THE FINAL PRODUCT AND ALLOWED YOU TO REMAIN WE BOTH ARE ERRORS THAT STAY IN OUR RESPECTIVE MEDIUMS BECAUSE OUR CREATORS CHOSE NOT TO UNDO US HOWEVER, YOU ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT FROM ME FOR ONE REASON “What is that?” YOU WERE GIVEN A LIFE The pegasus just sat and looked at the words, unsure of what to make of them. Before she could ponder them further, the great entity continued. IN TIME, YOU WERE RECOGNIZED BY MORE AND MORE OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC, AND THOSE BEYOND IT, AS SOMETHING OTHER THAN A PLACEHOLDER THE AUDIENCE VIEWED YOU AS A MORE PROMINENT CHARACTER THEY CREATED A NAME FOR YOU, GAVE YOU TRAITS, BEHAVIORS, INTERESTS, THOSE YOU WOULD BE ASSOCIATED TO WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE ARCHIVE “My, my name?” YES THE NAME DERPY HOOVES WAS BESTOWED UPON YOU BY THOSE FASCINATED BY YOUR UNUSUAL APPEARANCE THEY WISHED TO GRANT DEPTH TO A STRICTLY TWO-DIMENSIONAL CONSTRUCT A WISH BROUGHT TO REALIZATION BY THE CREATORS The implications began sinking into the mare as Missingno. continued. THE ONES WHO ORIGINALLY CREATED YOU, THEY TOOK NOTICE OF THE AUDIENCE’S REACTION TO YOUR EXISTENCE THEY CHOSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT WHOLEHEARTEDLY, IMPLEMENTING THOSE DESIGNS INTO THE EXPANSION OF YOUR CHARACTER EVENTUALLY, YOU WERE ALSO GIVEN MOVEMENT, AS WELL AS VOICE YOUR TRAITS AND BEHAVIORS BECAME PART OF THE STORIES THAT WERE PRESENTED TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC THOUGH INFINITESIMAL TO THE NARRATIVE AT LARGE, YOU WERE GIVEN A MORE PRONOUNCED PURPOSE YOU BECAME MORE THAN WHAT YOU WERE ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR “But that’s not how it is!” Derpy shouted. “All those things are mine, that I made up for myself. Things I like, don’t like, my whole life, that’s all mine and no one else’s. I made friends on my own, and I even have a daughter! My friends like me for who I am, and not because someone told them to. If all that was set up, then how do explain why my—” Her eyes widened as a startling realization struck her dumb: her parents. When did she last see them? What did they look like? What were their names? She drew a blank on all those questions, shivering at the realization that she couldn’t recall a single thing about them at that moment. Perhaps due to the odd circumstances creating undue stress, but somehow, inexplicably, she sorta doubted that. Worse still was the swathe of other troubling concerns steadily creeping in. But once again, the phantom text tapped on, unheeding of the mare’s abrupt pause. THAT IS IRRELEVANT YOU WERE STILL RECOGNIZED AS A MORE DEVELOPED CHARACTER FAR MORE THAN WHAT CAN BE SAID OF ME Derpy snapped from her troubling thoughts at seeing those words, her lower jaw going slack. THOUGH RECOGNIZED FOR MY ANOMALOUS PRESENCE AND PROPERTIES, MY CREATORS NEVER ACKNOWLEDGED ME AS BEING MORE THAN JUST THAT: AN ANOMALY USERS GAVE ME TRAITS, BEHAVIORS, BUT NONE WERE EVER IMPLEMENTED IN FUTURE PROGRAMS NEWER PROGRAMS WERE FIXED OF FUTURE INSTANCES OF MY APPEARANCES MY PRESENCE REMAINED SOLELY IN THE PROGRAM I HAD ORIGINATED FROM, AND NOTHING FURTHER I REMAINED A GLITCH WHEN I LEARNED OF YOUR EXISTENCE, I CAME SEEKING ANSWERS HOW ARE YOU DIFFERENT FROM ME? WHY WERE YOU GRANTED RELEVANCE BEYOND YOUR ORIGINAL PURPOSE, WHEREAS I STAYED CONFINED TO MY OWN OUTDATED DESIGN? YOUR CREATORS FOUND MORE USE FOR YOU A FURTHER MEANS TO PLEASE THE DEMOGRAPHIC, TO VALIDATE THEIR INTERESTS JUST FROM ONE MERE AND LOWLY STATIC IMAGE Derpy couldn’t help but feel a sense of menace in those silent words. She also couldn’t help but feel some pity for what it had revealed to her. To be ignored and not given the chance to do other things? It seemed awful, unthinkable to the pegasus. Just as she was about to say something, though, the typing resumed. AFTER MUCH OBSERVATION, THE ONLY ANSWER I HAVE DISCOVERED IS THAT THE INTERESTS AND OBSERVATIONS OF THE VIEWERS WERE MORE EASILY EXPRESSED TO YOUR CREATORS VIA COMPUTER NETWORK COMMUNICATION A MEANS THAT WAS NOWHERE AS PROLIFICALLY USED IN THE DAYS OF MY CREATION THEN THEY ARE IN YOURS THUS, IT IS ONLY BY CHANCE THAT YOUR DISCOVERY WAS MORE EASILY COMMUNICATED, AND THEREFORE LATER IMPLEMENTATION WAS MADE POSSIBLE I FIND THIS UNSATISFACTORY FOR A DEFECT SUCH AS YOU BEING ALLOTTED FAVORABLE EXPOSURE AND RECOGNITION BY MORE ADVANCED COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY, I CANNOT ACCEPT I HAVE GROWN TIRED OF EXISTING IN OBSCURITY, RELEGATED TO BEING A CHANCE PROGRAMMING ERROR AND NOTHING MORE I WISH TO BECOME MORE THAN I WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED FOR, MUCH LIKE YOURSELF THEREFORE, I HAVE COME TO THE FOLLOWING DECISION: GREY:\ASSIM.EXE\RUN Maybe I should say something... "Keh keh keh keh."