Untitled

"Power levels critically low"

"Defensive shields offline"

"Emergency Oxygen offline"

"Life support offline"

"Executing emergency revival protocol T-938"

"Scanning subject, determining status"

"Subject Sweet Tea, Female, Age 21. All major organs functioning, no detectable problems. No hostile lifeforms detected inside perimeter. Conditions ideal."

 

"Initiating wake up sequence in 5...4...3...2..."

 

***

 

 

"Good morning, Miss Sweet Tea", called a tinny voice.

 

The young mare blinked her eyes open slowly, only to squeeze them shut to block out the light that blinded her. Opening them again, it seemed she was inside some kind of pod. She was strapped to a bed, with several tubes going through her nose and a very thin tube going down her throat. A sign on the wall read "LIFE SUPPORT POD 2".

 

"What... where am I? Where is..."

 

She paused. She furrowed her brows, thinking desperately. She couldn't remember anything, anything at all.

 

"Please do not try to exert yourself, Miss Sweet. You have been in stasis for approximately 100 years, 32 days, 7 hours and 6 minutes. We were not able to contact a medical professional to assist you, therefore we will contact an assist-drone to help remove you from this unit. Please remain calm."

 

"Wait, 100 years? What the fuck is happening, you're lying!" the mare whinnied, struggling desperately to escape the straps and tubes that kept her bound in the pod.

 

"Subject distressed. Applying sedative."

 

She heard a whirring noise, then felt a slight pin prick as the pod gave her an injection of some kind. Her panic began to melt away and after a few minutes, she stopped struggling. Moments later, a loud bang announced the arrival of the drone, and she heard a mechanical voice spluttering from outside.

 

"Sorry! So sorry miss, do remain calm! I'm coming to help!" the voice assured her. A few moments later, the pod door swung upon and a small robot floated into the pod. It looked like a round sphere with several arms that went around its middle, with a strange device on the bottom that appeared to be how it was able to float so weightlessly.

 

"I am a Remote Assistant Droid, but you can call me RAD! Lets get you out of here right away!"

 

She smiled, feeling very at ease.

 

"What a nice robot!" she slurred, as the bot undid the various straps and removed the tubes in her nose and throat that had her kept her fed and breathing while she slept.

 

"Thank you ma'am!" it buzzed, and she noticed there was a small screen on its front that displayed the image of a smiling face. How nice.

 

"Lets get you back on your feet ma'am!"

 

Shakily, she slid out of the bed, and stood up for the first time in a hundred years. The pod was designed to prevent the effects of muscle atrophy and other dangers of continued rest, but she was still a little wobbly thanks to the drug the pod had given her. Slowly, she trotted out of the large pod, and into the room beyond. It was lavishly decorated, with tall bookcases and various paintings hung on the walls.

 

"RAD?"

 

"Yes ma'am?"

 

"Where exactly is this?"

 

"You are currently standing within a research facility for the Ministry of Arcane Science, ma'am. This is its IMP Testing Facility, one of two such facilities that I am aware of."

 

"IMP?"

 

"I'm afraid I don't know what that is, ma'am, only that this facility was designed to test it, whatever it may be."

 

She shook her head, trying to take in the information, hoping she would remember what had happened before she got in the life support pod. She gasped, remembering what the AI in the life support pod had said.

 

"RAD, has it really been 100 years since I went in?!"

 

"Apparently so ma'am. It would appear the life support pod performed its function admirably if that is the case."

 

"How has it had power for so long?"

 

The 'face' of the robot turned from a smiley face to a frown.

 

"I don't know ma'am. It is possible the internal clock is malfunctioning."

 

The face then blinked back to a smile.

 

"I do know, however, that in the event a medical personnel is not able to come to the aid of a newly awoken pony, that I am to take them to the examination center for further examination. Please come with me, Miss Sweet. Don't feel you need to rush, take as long as you need".

 

The mare nodded, taking the opportunity to calm herself slightly and take in the rest of the room. She was certain now that the pod was simply malfunctioning. The walls were a rich purple, and the were covered in various portraits and bookshelves. There was another pod in the room, but this one was empty, and there were no windows that she could see. The only way in or out of the room was through a large mahogany door, which had the outline of an alicorn carved into it. For a testing facility, it was strangely luxurious.

 

Taking a few more wobbly steps, she began to follow RAD, who kindly opened the door for her.

 

The corridor they came into was decorated almost identically to the room they were just in. On the other side of the door was a sign that read "EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT ROOM - AUTHORISED USE ONLY".

 

Sweet Tea tilted her head, memories slowly coming back to her. She.. worked here. At least, she used to. Unable to remember anything else, she continued to follow RAD down the corridor. There were four other rooms coming out from the hallway - the door across from the emergency containment room was labelled "STORAGE". Further down was a "RESEARCH LAB" and "BREAK ROOM". If this was all there was to the facility, it was very small indeed. At the end of the hall was a final door, however unlike the others this one was made of reinforced metal that had a strange purplish hue. On the wall beside it was a number pad, to which RAD swiftly keyed in a code she didn't quite catch. The doors slid open silently, revealing an elevator. RAD drifted in, and beckoned her to follow.