Awaken
She spoke.
"So can you tell me what happened here, or not?" The suited astronaut looked at the majestic screen covering most of the central room. Other computer screens covered the sides with wires and plating.
The screen blinked red and white- and a line of rushed code was assembled into the apartment.
| - ASD2345056330 - |
After the code was lit up in code, it disappeared and showed a familiar face on the formatted monitor. It was the bright face of the sun, looking barely alive as her eyes focused on the colored one. She spoke total monotone, there was no emotion in those bothersome eyebrows and slick mane brushed up again the screen in a robotic manner.
" I do not know the answer to that question. Please try again Dash."
"Goddammit!" She slammed down on the desk in front of her. "Fine. What has happened to SE Scorpan Station, Celestia Mark C."
Celestia responded with a pause to her question. "Rainbow Dash."
"Approximately 7 3 0 hours ago Citadel Station was hit with a shock wave from deep space. Disabling vital systems on the station."
"What systems were disabled, Celestia?" The Pegasus spoke, impatiently, tapping her hoof and looking a around to her left. The computer processed this command swiftly.
"Rainbow Dash.
Systems that were disabled : Communication Machinery Water Controls Oxidation Systems : All are restricted for your use. Repeat. All are restricted for your use from the time."
She bowed down her light violet eyes. "Sigh. Useless." She walked out of the room with a passion in her heart that could not be unbridled. Her luscious hair flowing through the marble-made hallways of the station bridge. The artificial lights tensing up and becoming brighter as she walked under them all. Her basic foam and silicon suit being a bit conformable among the chilly vents as she walked between the damn loud things always.
The ship was foreboding, she could tell from the first day they walked into the vessel. Isolation and long, plastered halls galore. Noises to annoy or help you along the way more quickly as you never wanted to stand everywhere alone.
"With 5 more people on this station and none of them able to get out of their pods besides me. Ridiculous. I would think this is just my luck." He nodded her head in agreement.
"Psh, there isn't even enough space to fly either. Not for a pegasus such as myself." As she put her hoof to her chest as she touched her Empire engineering badge. The proud gem of the entire mission she was on.
The station had a 'accurate' enough elevator system, so she took it as always in her uniform. She pushed the elevator door and went in as it opened.
Rainbow Dash talked to herself. "Let's.. Let's go to crew courtiers.. See that tiny blue planet. Home again."
The main elevator was always screeching along the ship, like it wasn't even made tiny enough to fit through some spaces on the station. Inside the Elevator wasn't nice either, more claustrophobic. It had bars to hold on to, but would that prevent any damage with a fall? Possibly into the bleak abyss of space? It freaked Rainbow and it did now. If the station had stairs, she would take them in a heartbeat.
"Sigh. Lazy travel."
She stepped off to the crew courtiers, as empty halls of almost hotel doors were lined in a dull hall probably spanning a mile around. "Right, 347. Why did they make this station so large, if nobody was going to get out besides me. Sheesh." She opened her room, it was dark as there was a window the size of the wall. She saw space and Equus in it's full glory just from her sparkling bed and pillowcase. The curve was something to gaze at, the pieces of land that bloomed from the bright blue.
She put a hoof to the side of her head and thought of her cutie mark. "How long have I been on this station alone? Not too long right?"
She took out her book from under her bed. "The tales of Juliah." Ah, what a olden tale. She read her book almost practically right away. Anything to get away from this place she took with a personal favor. She sat down at the bedroom table with her legs crossed, looking at space outside the pale val of a gaunt window. She read the book while staring at the vastness of the universe and sun glaring back, she couldn't focus on her favorite activity.
"Chapter 3. - Revival
O, what you must think of me common folk.
Resurrected and paraded on the streets like a alien.
Even if I was, these lands do not deserve the stars.
The watch on her arm alarmed with a irritating enough voice.
"ALERT: CELESTIA MARK C NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION."
She sighed, "What is it now?"
| - ASD2345056331 - |
"Rainbow Dash. " The emotionless droid on the computer spoke. Her face seemingly more pale than last time, soft like powder and sharp as a scratching cat.
"There is a emergency on the medical deck of this station."
The Medical Deck. If there was any place not to be alone for her, it was in hospitals and the thought of doctors. And this was no different. Freaky stuff. Injuries. Needles, and worst of all.. not seeing friends. Nasty stuff. Well if the last freaky dream didn't come true already.
"Celestia Mark C - What kind of emergency?"
The robot stopped for a moment, processing something? She also slanted her head abit.
"Things not in place."
She squinted her eyes. "It's always my responsibility huh? Why can't you just let me rest a little? I have enough stress as it is!"
". . ." Celestia Mark C gawked down at Dashie with hawk eyes.
As she fixated her eyes at Celestia. "Fine.. Fine."
The Medical Bay. The sense of anxiety already found it's way through Dash's body as she got off the elevator to the almost haunted floor. Her heart berated itself, the Pegasus never blinking as she turned around every few seconds. The proceeding Hallway read the words above it in golden text. 'SE Scorpan Medical Advisory'.
"Now what the hell did it want me to do?"
She continued with her eyes forward. It seems she was the engineer, repairer, and tech expert for the time being. Chills were down her spine as she peeked at the complete line ups of medical beds, darkened glass to see into the medical rooms and open and lock doors were all that was present. The noise deterred her as a few lights were malfunctioning through the hall.
"Who would even use this bay regularly?.. Fluttershy? I mean Twilight could cure people, but Fluttershy definitely worked with bodily injuries more."
As she stepped further into one of the rooms-
A voice, a moan was heard. She jumped! Was it her own imminent fear or something in the shadows? She didn't want to find out. She ran as fast she could through the dissecting tables and- Slash a viviparous pain came over her. A hook grabbed onto her wing as she had bone-breaking pain rip into her janitor like gear as well, it was a broken, twisted tube. The part of her wing was practically was in two places. "AGHH! BY FUCKING TARTARUS! BLOODY DAMN-DAMNIT!"
She did not want to be here alone of all places bleeding out, so she took it out as fast as she could. The pain was devastating as she yelled from the bottom of her heart and closed her teary eyes shut. Her heartbeat was fast and she didn't even want to look at her wound as she ran out of the main bay. She wildly grabbed a pile of bandages from the corner of her eye.
She bandaged herself up in the elevator. And grabbed a carton of .. cigarettes? She never smoked, then again who was around to stop her? She took one out and lit it.
She went to her bedroom, and sat on the bed as the suit flexed and stretched.
"Stress, begone." The smoke in the air seemingly disappeared as she closed her eyes in thought, putting her hooves around her chest. She thought about much and tried not to think of the pulsating wound she covered from. The other topic in her mind was death.
Was she afraid of something? Rainbow Dash herself? Was she afraid of dying? She was never afraid of the sort of afterlife she imagined to have. Flying threw the infinite clouds with the thunderbolts- What a time that would be. It was like.. Vanhalla.
Being a person like Dash, she couldn't be. But that hint at her heart, that wicked jab twisted things. She could die, but. but her friends would die as soon as the pods stopped working. She thought about breaking them out, but who knows what could happen? Hard to say.. She could just cut their oxygen supply without even releasing them. Looking at them suffer as they suffocate in their sleep.
The thought. God, just the earsplitting thought. The worst betrayal she could think of. She was the element of Royalty after all. Well it was odd.. She couldn't remember many memories with her friends.
She sighed to remember the voice in the bay. "Whatever Mark C was alerting me about. It's not that important."
She carried a pen in her ear. She was reminded as a teacher, but for what was going on she practically couldn't comment. Rarity or Twilight would laugh, if she only she could hear their sweet giggles again from across the room. The side of her hair was laced with oil, she didn't notice but she looked like a psycho. She lit a cigarette as she went into the halls and the room of Celestia.
She spoke as she laid on the chair, careful not to crush her hurt blue wing under it. "Hey can I ask a question, Mark C?"
"Rainbow Dash."
"What do you propose I answer this day - night?"
The suited up flyer looked a bit closer as her cigar smoke flew in the air. "What are you again, Celestia Mark C? What is your purpose."
"Rainbow Dash"
"I am Celestia Mark C , the third in my class. Programmed and operated by A.I. I was created by High Empress Celestia for the purpose of travel beyond her realm and eventual time. I know 156,678 words from 'Pony Speak' and 'Griffish' languages respectively. I have been assigned to protect this station and help with it's maintenance and security.
"I see. When did I get out of hyper-sleep?" The smoke became less dense.
"About 16 days ago. You have been on a strict diet."
Rainbow frowned lightly. ".. Yeah, I have."
"Now. Let me ask a question." Celestia seemingly rose her head to face Dash in the chair, her eyes now blue. Rainbow raised her eyebrow. "Um. Alright." Celestia never acted this way so she was definitely demented at the answer.
"Can you pull this craft to the planet?"
The blue pegasus looked stunned as she took her cigarette out. "You want me to bring this station to Equus? Are you joking? If we could revert the station back do- no, that would never happen. You need powerful magic for that."
Celestia bent her eyebrows almost like it was a dream. That spliced, wispy voice talked.
"Rainbow Dash.
I am not joking.
You're going to die in this station if you do not properly follow the command of C M C and The Solar Empire. The best you can do is take it down. If we lost the tether. It will send us flying into deep space. You and all your friends will die. This is torture, torture for the both of us."
Dash protested with this point. "We're going to die either way. A mach like that will surely destroy this station. Physics and gravity ya know, prevents all of that."
The A.I spoke. "With a 30.91% percent accomplishment rate, it is our best shot of surviving. You and your friends. This vessel becoming a asteroid is not possible with the certain force fields provided for the safety of the crew.."
Dashie took that into thought. 30 percent was a lot better for what she was expecting for everyone. Perhaps the robot was viewing some kind of monitor beyond hers.
"If you do it right. This spaceship will land into soft soil or water. Dash you must shut down the meteor detection system (MDS) to allow external damage to the craft. It will allow meteorites to bust the Citadel in the direction towards the planet."
The wrapped up wing Pony put the cigarette in her mouth again and spoke, closing her eyes between her bright mane. "Fine enough."
She got up from the seat, and pointed her hoof towards the white veil with her wings up. "But I can never promise anything."
"You never do." Was the computer's last words before it turned echoed black and a sign of code was etched onto the screen again. She had never been in this sector in the last few days, so she had to expect much. Across the hallways, there was hangings of group photos for when they all eventually woke up. In one of them the Mane six were having a picnic. Rainbow looked very closely at the piece, she was hugging Rarity from behind. The pegasus bent her head. "Hm..Do.. Do I remember a picnic with them?" Isolation was one thing, but there was so many pictures of all of them. It was kinda.. depressing. That Rainbow would never be with her best friends.
"Sigh. Get my head of the gutter."
She ran across the ship trying to find the detection system. She was sabotaging herself in this whole process, was it really worth it? She ran through halls and seemingly empty decks once again. She always had a spider of fear running down her back but she needed to get things done. Steam and all hazards were avoided swiftly as she crawled in every crevice. She ran down all her strength on the MDS system as she deactivated the switch, and it finally gave in. A loud alarm blared, but Dash was used to annoying alarms by now.
It was shut down now. The first few asteroids that rolled around were tiny, but effective in some areas of the vessel.
Spiriting down, she caught her breath at a hallway with a few experiment rooms looking in. Thick glass. A force like a boulder came in and sent her injured self hurdling towards a wall, glass sprayed upon the wall and her as her chest was squeezed in, making it hard to breathe.
She sliced her leg open. A puncture that slid right across almost busting her leg as well. Blood like a mist sprayed on the deck.
She muffled the scream as she had tiny glass on her lips as well, tiny to take them off as blood drained on the hall. It looked like a damn murder scene as she yanked herself of the floor with her battered, lacerated back leg.
"Come on.. I don't got time for this.." Dash breathless, shaking and walking around with her wounds. "The elevator can't be broke.." The button on the elevator was like a buzz of light, Dash had no choice but to climb up the station. She opened the elevator doors carefully, trying not to become two bits. She scurried in and climbed on top of the elevator as she saw the emergency ladder on the side.
She dragged herself up the ladder. Her hand twitching each time she layed her hoof on it, her eyes tearing from the pressure. "Wish I had some help here!" Sadly the proposed watch ran out of batteries.
At the top of the ladder, she used her bruised wings to push herself up onto the floor as she breathed heavily. "Son.. of.. a bitch.." She continued lacerated.
| - ASD2345056333 - |
Rainbow Dash was again in the Mark C room after the long hassle, as all the computer screens flickered commands on and off. Her suit was still good but had some mark ups on the way in scratches and tears.
Drinking coffee and smoking as little shakes rumbled the table and room, Rainbow touched her belly. "Tell me something Mark C.. why do I not eat? Is it the medication I'm on?"
"I do not know that question Dash. Try again."
Dashie tried to grin. "Come on, ya gotta! You know the crew. Medical stuff."
"Medical is not my standard. But you should rest your caffeine consumption. It is 200% above average."
Rainbow frowned as she stared at the screen. "Come on, tell me some real stuff."
".." The computer was silent as it stared, dramatic. "To answer that question : When was this ship constructed Rainbow Dash?"
"Uh.. I don' know, about 20 years ago?" Mark C spoke right after her. "It was crafted 450 years ago. Crafted by architects that great grandchildren aren't alive today."
The suited pegasus opened her eyes more. "Okay.. that's pretty old.." The android asked another question. "Do you remember coming on this vessel?"
"Faintly."
Celestia was almost mocking her. "Faintly means nothing to me."
"Okay Well, what do you want me to say your technical highness."
"There is much to say." The A.I remained angry with it's monotone. "Much to think about. Much to feel."
Rainbow turned a brow and faced the other way. "Uh, alright?"
"That you're not the same Rainbow Dash from Equestria below."
"W-What?" Rainbow turned her head. "What did I hear?"
"..You're a clone.."
"A clone that was specially made to work and die on this station. That is why you are not afraid of death."
"A clone designed off the Mane Six - They all perished."
There was utter silence besides the static on which the screen was displayed.
"..." She felt her heart shrank to the lowest of the low, woefulness that met no bounds. Her eyes tingled as a tear fell off. It.. it must have been true. "I.. I.." Rainbow couldn't even look at the computer screen, she was so disgusted with even touching herself. She wanted to puke but didn't even want to throw up from this FAKE body.
"Rainbow Dash. You have your answer to your hunger issue. Now we should get back to business."
"..." The blue blob of mess was still looking away.
"You must divert the command center so the station's "wings" face towards the planet. We will have a advantage that way."
"What's the point, Celestia Mark C? What is the point, Celestia?"
"Contract 0109 - The point is to get off SE Scorpan Station as we agreed upon. The contract must be full filled or terminated."
"BUT FOR WHAT REASON? Me and my friends are clones -" She rubbed her hoofs all over herself franctically. "This.. This died hundreds of years ago."
"I'm no Thunderbolt." She screamed with rage. "I'm no damn ELEMENT! NO MANE 6! WHO AM I SUPPOSED TO BE?"
Celestia couldn't answer while Dash paced around the room like a psycho not even caring about what Celestia could say or would. "WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL? BE A WORKER IN YOUR EMPIRE? ALWAYS FEEL LIKE SOMEONE ELSE INSTEAD - OF .. of this.."
Wisdom was brought upon Rainbow's mind as the robot spoke. "Friends are friends no matter what you are."
"I'm .. just a reject.." As she wiped a big cry off.
She stomped out furiously out of the room never the less. She cried in the hallway. She hit the steel covered wall a few times as she put her forehead down to it. She slowly sat down at the wall, put her hands over her face and started weeping as she banged her pony head against it. It may have been heard through the entire vessel.
| - ASD2345056334 - |
Dash was "recovered" as she took the elevator to the command center. She had been cheated out of life. Cheated out of experience and history for fuck sake. Would this.. mission really help? Make any difference. She was dead in the eyes of anyone on Equus or this ship.
She walked up to the command deck viewing the last frontier of stars and far off planets, and moved the steering wheel of the vessel, as it cranked with the power of tons with ease. "Wish I could just.. turn this ship around.. into other galaxies.. never.. see this.. disgusting world.."
A sudden crash propelled the injured rainbow, it flung her against the wall. It flatted her and sent her to the floor, making her bandages bleed once again. It was time for bigger asteroids to play along with the splashy pegasus.
One more hit from a flaming rock as the pane broke and sucked some of the command center into space with it, it was like a turbine as it turned freezing cold quickly. Rainbow had to hold her breath and close her eyes as she dashed out. Turning into clone bacon was also something she didn't want to do today.
After that, she just wanted some time off of this tiny crusade. Some time off of hell. She needed to accept the fact she was a variant of what was alive decades, even centuries ago. Did the real Rainbow actually agree to be cloned for her awesomeness? What ever happened in Equestria was severe.
Severe at what cost? To accept one's other to suffer like this? What nasty soul was in that.. Element of Loyalty.. to them self and others...
Being called Rainbow Dash was just a name now. Not a personality for her.
The recharged battery yelled with monotone as it turned on.
"Rainbow Dash.
T I C K T O C K"
"YES!" Rainbow said annoyed. "I KNOW."
Scorpan Station was falling apart now from both sides, the asteroid strikes were not enough to push the spacecraft back to Equus. Fire was starting to eat up the floor.
She walked for the final time in the computer room, as Celestia looked stunningly anxious as red code swarmed her screen. Rainbow Dash ran up in her janitor-like clothes and bloody bandages and almost bashed the computer open. "Alright! Fuck! What next? This entire place is falling apart with us inside it!"
"You must cause a explosion. The reactor will do. Purge it."
"The R-Reactor. Sigh.." Dashie sweated. "If I have to.."
Running out of the room, Celestia's screen broke as so did the rest of the fragile computers into glass.
She hit it and ran as fast as she was known for. She was the Rainbow Dash after all. She used her wings to propel her way through the ripping of the system before gravity came to suck it all.
As she got to it, she just stood there. A massive cylinder powering fuel from the inside, both burning and cooling at the same time. The Reactor room was full of energy, full of intensity Rainbow had never felt like before.
She sweat. "Uh-uh what f-first?"
The pony ran into the control room, full of consoles and buttons she never seen before. And a .. emergency ax of all things.
"Hmm-hmm.."
It was strange. After only a few seconds of thinking Rainbow automatically knew what to press. The button to release the axe of course! She really was programmed, but she wasn't programmed to wait around and die trying to solve a puzzle. With a few hits and smacks with the blades and some adjustments to the screens,
She caused a meltdown.
Screens read a imminent threat, and exac. Rainbow was going somewhere alright.
The reactor was purged of all it's energy into one single moment as it crumbled with intensity. Dash ran with thunderous speeds as she definitely got as far as she could from it letting out her own blood in the process, but she could still hear the fire rising up behind her. Rising into the whole station, until - a sound like a big smash. A cracking sound, ambient and downright snapping from the ambient sounds of the void.
Scorpan fell to it's side and flipped over as it hurdled towards Equus finally, tons of steel and materials were going to crash on the planet. The force fields worked wonders as they were the only thing to remain in the crumbling Solar Empire exclusive and home of bloody synths.
Citadel Station fell back down. She was free from the sky.
Equestria doesn't deserve the stars.