//------------------------------//
// Part 1, Chapter 9: Doors 
// Story: The Chronicle of Relic 
// by SkeIePone 
//------------------------------//

	Despite being absolutely repulsive in nature, Brainrot did his job and he did it well.

Of course, that meant that he was suddenly full of himself and found the capacity to gloat about properly leading me through the maze and into the wasteland before noon. I didn’t listen to him, of course. My mind was on other things. With the Sun at its peak, I could clearly see a trail of hoofprints in the dust before us. It was obviously Mica’s, though how she made her way out of the Boneyard without help was beyond me.

Brainrot seemed excited by the prospect of a hunt. Judging from his behavior, it must have been ages since he had last participated in the search for a living pony. And possibly his first meeting with one in what could have been decades.

I had to make sure to warn the Patchwork that we weren’t going to kill Mica, and that I only wanted to find her and my Element of Harmony. But Brainrot continued his macabre chant about catching ponies and forcing them into some brutal friendship that always ended in some gory fantasy. I tried to explain to Brainrot that friendships were not formed by force or violence, but rather with conversation and time; unfortunately, he seemed to be satisfied in his own little imaginary world.

Spending several hours travelling with Brainrot was not unlike being with a foal. 

A foal coated in putrefying gore. 

I had taken to picking off bits of the stuff with my hooves when I believed Brainrot to be too enamored with his song to notice. He had no actual armor like I did. Just layers of decaying meat and slabs of tin slapped against his skeletal chassis. He (or somepony else) had stripped him of his exterior. It was somewhat fascinating. 

Not the gore part, of course, but the fact that I could see his every servo and motor whirring away was amazing. But something else I noticed about Brainrot’s innards was that it wasn’t a jumbled mess like with the other Patchworks. 

He had put some actual thought into how his body would work. His central processor was in his head, of course, from what I could tell. But he had several memory disks and additional processors around his neck region. If his head was destroyed, he would not be decommissioned. He would have his personality and memories stored. So if any poor pony came across his remains, they could end up repairing him without knowing what really lied in those circuits. It was horrifyingly clever.

I was so engrossed in his composition that I barely noticed that he was speaking to me.

“Youzzz tell mezzz about p-p-pony now?” He chirped.

I looked up in surprise. He swivelled his head one hundred eighty degrees to look at me in the eyes. I flinched at his gaze. It was a horrible sight to behold, with his skull mask and his burning eyes. I still had no idea where his eyes could have come from. His ocular sensors were unlike any other that I had ever seen before. I would assume that they had been custom-built, but how he collected something of those caliber was beyond me. I was beginning to assume that they were heat sensors, due to the fact that he squinted whilst in the burning sunlight.

“What is it that you want to know?”

“What am ponies like?” Brainrot asked.

“Can you elaborate on that?”

Brainrot hummed softly, whirling his head back around.

“Hmmmmmm… How do ponies actz?”

“Ponies are… Unique. No two ponies are the same. I guess the same can be said of synths like, er- us. But Ponies don’t need upgrades or modifications. And they especially don’t need parts from other ponies, unless they’ve been injured. Now, I’d like to ask you something, if you don’t mind.”

“Brainrot listen!” He chirruped.

“How do you know where we are going? Have you left the Boneyard before you became… you?”

Brainrot shook his head, swinging it side-to-side madly.

“How, then?”

“Brainrot comez from Fillydelph. Am good p-p-pony. Masterrr take… Brainrot… into Bonesy-yard. Brainrot no want to, b-but Masterrr no lisssseeeenn! Nasties eatsies Masterrr an’ Brainrot decide become pony… an’... an’...” The stressed Patchwork trailed off, and I could hear a whirring sound coming from him. It was possible that he was overheating from performing such a memory recall. As I had mentioned before, synths can recall every single detail from a certain point in time. But Brainrot must have neglected his memories for so long that using them would cause his systems to overheat. It was the same with many computers.

After a while, the fans stopped and Brainrot fell silent; simply walking a few paces in front of me. I was concerned. Less because I was worried for his well-being and more because I was worried for my own safety. What if he had a short-circuit and forgot his experience with me and Rainbow Dash?

“Brainrot?”

“...”

For a second, I thought the Patchwork’s central processor had finally completely deteriorated. As an FF-3, he was far older than I was. He might have even been in operation around the time of the Cataclysm.

“Brainrot? Brainrot? Patchwork, are you still in there?” I asked again, giving his rump a quick rap with my hoof. The Patchwork jumped and swivelled his head around to stare me in the eye. I winced at the sudden harshness but I did not look away. “Are you okay there, Brainrot?”

“Brainrotz am fine.”

“Are you positive? As much as I despise you, I somewhat still somewhat require your services.”

“Yesh. Brainrot take you to pony town now.”





We caught no sign of Mica for hours. 

But her trail was still fresh, or so Brainrot said. It had been some time since her hoofprints finally faded into the sandy ground. All I was depending on now was Brainrot’s tracking ability and the faint glimmer of hope that he had been able to remember where Fillydelphia was. Of course, I could now see a tiny speck of a town in the distance. Zooming in did no good, because of the billowing layer of sand coming from the approaching dust storm.

The city of course wasn’t the first thing I noticed. Rather, it was the thin plumes of smoke coming from pipes and chimneys. The tall constructs were shooting waves of soot into the air. As Brainrot and I approached Fillydelphia, I noticed that the ground was slowly darkening into a stained black layer of grime.

I had expected Fillydelphia to be a bustling metropolis, with friendly ponies ready to come to my aid. Instead, there was a town practically built out of ash. We approached, and I saw ponies at work outside the misshapen buildings. Several workers stopped what they were doing to watch us. It was slightly unnerving to have so many eyes focused on me. But I traced their gaze and realized that they were staring at Brainrot. The Patchwork was still snuffling about, his red eyes taking in familiar terrain.

“Brainrot, maybe you should take off your… mask.” I suggested.

Brainrot didn’t look concerned.

“No eez mask. Eez pony face, make me look more pony.”

“Well, you don’t look all that friendly wearing a pony’s skull. Could you at least take it off until we get indoors?”

“No!” Brainrot snapped in defiance.

“Please, Brainrot…” I said quietly as we came within earshot of the ponies. Several bulky stallions and a beefy-looking mare cracked their necks menacingly. It was too late, they had already noticed us, and six ponies were now walking in our direction.

“State your business, synth. And tell me why you have a Patchwork.” The mare hissed. The three of them snarled at Brainrot, who did not hesitate to buzzingly snarl back.

“Ahem,” I said aloud, directing their attention towards me. The silvery unicorn mare’s burning yellow eyes looked right through me. “I am Relic, model FF-7. Modifications for scavenging. My acquaintance here is a Patchwork yes, although I have him in line and he is no threat to anypony. I’m sure.”

“Did I ask who you are? No. Stupid fuckin’ robot. I want to know what you’re doing here. But go ahead and explain why your friend there has a bloody PONY’S SKULL on his face.”

“We are looking for somepony. A mare, dark pink coat, light pink mane? Balloon cutie mark? She’s very hard to miss.” I stated. The worker mare didn’t look interested.

“As for the skull?”

“Ah.” I looked to Brainrot, who was staring at the stallions with curiosity. He had toddled over to the largest of the bunch, a big brown earth pony. The stallion looked at Brainrot apprehensively as the latter pressed his face closer and closer to the former’s. I grabbed Brainrot roughly by the shoulder and spun him around to my side.

“He’s, ahem… delusional.” I explained. “Seems to think he’s a living pony. Quite the fanatic. But he’s harmless, even if he is a grave-robbing scoundrel.”

“I no Delusional. I am Brainrot. Pretty rainbow pony say so.”

I gestured towards Brainrot. Thank goodness for our rather ludicrous experiences. The mare gave Brainrot a look of disgust that I wished I could share. Just having my forehoof on his shoulder was enough to make me feel defective. I’d have to give myself a good washing after all this.

“Alright. We’ll let you in. But keep an eye on your pet there, synth. I don’t like him. And I bet nopony else in Fillydelphia would like him either.”

“Neither do I.” I grumbled, as I tugged Brainrot away from the ponies. The Patchwork kept looking back over his shoulder excitedly.

“Relic! Those arezzzz ponies!” The Patchwork bubbled like a foal in a candystore.

“I noticed.”

“Go play?”

“No. We are not murdering ponies for fun.”

“Awwwwww…”

We passed several more ponies, though these were notably less aggressive. Every time, I would have to pull of Brainrot to the point to where I worried that I would rip him apart. Or myself apart, considering how I still had a large gash in my side from my little confrontation in the Boneyard.

There were shops, there were inns, there were restaurants, and there were what I could only assume to be factories. Although what these factories would be making, I wasn’t sure. I noticed on every single doorframe there was a peculiar symbol of sorts, although I took no further notice of them. It was possible that they were merely unrecognizable letters. The symbols did look rather like a large Y with a line slashed through it.


Y


Every shop and bar had some sort of sign out in front identifying the property. Again, simple bars, inns, butcheries, scrap shops, and the like. I did not think that Mica would have gone shopping or partying after making her way across a desert alone. But knowing her, anything was possible. Even the complete disregard for her companion.

The two of us checked every open door, often getting scolded by the drunken patrons inside. One stallion even drew a blaster rifle, ready to destroy Brainrot. Fortunately, he was too intoxicated to act out his threats, and he ended up unconscious on the floor before taking a single step.

After an hour, our task began to seem futile.

It was getting dark out once again; and from what my visor was telling me, I was in desperate need of a magical recharge.

“Come on, Brainrot.” I said, pulling him away from the door of a butcher shop.

He trailed behind, still looking at the rows of meat on hooks. Then he followed, hanging his head low. His small display of sadness was immediately replaced by one of excitement when I caught his attention once more. I had already determined that Brainrot was reliable, but this would be the final factor that told me whether or not Brainrot could be trusted.

“Now Brainrot, I will be needing a recharge soon. I’m running very low on battery power. How is your battery holding up?”

“Eez good.”

“That’s good news. If I conk out, Brainrot, I need you to find me some source of power. And make sure nopony runs off with any parts of mine. But do NOT kill anypony in order to do so? Unarm or detain at the most. Got it?”

“Mmhmm!”

“You sure?”

“Mmmmmhmm!”

I gave him a quick glance-over. He was studying the behaviors of the many ponies crowding the bars and motels. Every time he discovered a new gait or gander, the Patchwork would imitate the pony almost perfectly.

“Are you even listening to me?” I asked, knowing full well what the answer was going to be.

Brainrot glanced up, in the middle of some sort of moon walk. He smiled hideously and nodded. I highly doubted that he knew what he was confirming.

Shaking my head, I looked up to see an interesting sign. It clearly read ‘SOLAR PANELS AVAILABLE’. That was very convenient. As I led Brainrot closer to the establishment, I wasn’t surprised to see what strange symbol once again. The building had no name besides the Y, and there wasn’t as much chatter coming from behind the swinging saloon doors. Something told me that Mica was there. Mica and my Element.

Now I don’t know why or how, but it was almost like I could feel my Element. Calling out to me from the darkness, just as eager to return to my grasp as I was to return to its own.

“We go in therez?”

I looked at Brainrot, who looked at the building with unexpected anticipation.

“Affirmative.”

“Me no likezzz it… No wan’ go in therez.”

“You can stay out here if you want.” I sighed. “But I need to find Mica, AND I need a recharge too. Hope she still has some bits for charging money.”

After warning Brainrot several more times about not hurting ponies and leaving strangers alone, I finally walked towards the peculiar doors. It was odd how little I could see beyond the frame of the door, like the room inside was nothing but blackness.

I stepped up and gave the doors a little nudge. They swung open, then slowly creaked back shut. From inside, I heard absolutely no response. Perhaps they were closed for the evening? I gave a quick look at the symbol on the side of the building, just to make sure I hadn’t missed any valuable information.

Nothing but the symbol.

Y

“Hello?” I called into the abyss.

No reply came back, but I was getting used to not being answered when I called. I glanced behind me at Brainrot. The Patchwork was still watching me. Making eye contact, the fiend goofily raised a hoof to wave ecstatically.

“Hello?” I repeated, walking into what I could now clearly see was an antiquated bar of sorts. The saloon doors swung closed behind me. I was about to call out again when I heard a sudden crash behind me. I turned around to see a fanged pony with snake-like eyes lash out at me from nowhere, striking me in the side of the head.

Seconds later, everything went dark.

Again.