Moonlight filtered through the scattered clouds above Ponyville, casting shifting shadows across Rainbow Dash's cloud home. The cyan pegasus lay sprawled across her bed, her rainbow-striped mane disheveled against the white pillows. Her chest rose and fell with steady breaths as she dozed, one hoof dangling off the edge of the cloud-crafted bed frame.
In her dreams, the familiar comfort of her bedroom dissolved, replaced by an endless void of swirling gray mist. Rainbow Dash found herself hovering in this strange space, her wings spread but motionless. The mist parted, revealing a tall, angular figure standing impossibly in mid-air. His pressed navy suit seemed out of place in this ethereal realm, his briefcase held tight in one pale hand. His features were sharp, almost unnaturally so, with deep-set eyes that seemed to peer not at her, but through her.
"Miss... Dash," the figure spoke, his voice carrying an otherworldly cadence that made her fur stand on end. Each word was precisely measured, as if carefully selected from a vast lexicon. "I hope you'll forgive my... unexpected intrusion into your... unconscious state."
Rainbow Dash tried to back away, but found herself fixed in place. "Who are you? What is this place?"
The mysterious figure adjusted his red tie with his free hand, his movements mechanical yet fluid. "I represent... certain interests. My employers have... taken notice of your world." He paused, blinking with deliberate slowness. "Particularly... recent developments."
The mist around them began to shift, forming shapes that resembled the silhouettes of Ponyville's buildings. But these weren't the cheerful, welcoming structures Rainbow Dash knew - they appeared distorted, threatening.
"I don't understand," Rainbow Dash said, her voice echoing in the vast space. "What developments? What's going to happen?"
G-Man's thin lips curved into what might have been a smile, though it never reached his eyes. "The right pony... in the wrong place... can make all the difference... in the world." He took a step forward, though his feet touched nothing. "Your world stands at a... precipice, Miss Dash. A convergence approaches."
The mist-formed buildings around them began to crumble, dissolving into shapes that resembled creatures Rainbow Dash had never seen before. Some moved on two legs, others crawled on many more, all of them seeming to watch her with glowing eyes.
"A battle is coming," G-Man continued, his voice growing more intense while maintaining its measured pace. "Unlike anything your... Equestria has ever faced. The barriers between... realities grow thin."
Rainbow Dash felt her heart racing, though this was just a dream. The air around them grew heavy, thick with anticipation. "Why are you telling me this? What am I supposed to do?"
G-Man opened his briefcase slightly, and a harsh light spilled out from within. "Consider this... a courtesy call. My employers believe you and your... friends will play a crucial role in the coming... events." He closed the briefcase with a sharp snap that seemed to ripple through the void. "Time, Miss Dash, is not always... linear. Sometimes it requires... adjustment."
The mist began to swirl more violently now, and Rainbow Dash could see flashes within it - glimpses of battles, of strange technologies clashing with magic, of worlds colliding. Her wings fluttered against the growing turbulence.
"Prepare yourself," G-Man said, his form beginning to fade into the mist. "The right pony... in the right place... can make all the difference... in the world." His final words echoed as he disappeared entirely: "Wake up, Miss Dash. Wake up and... smell the ashes."
Rainbow Dash's eyes snapped open, her body jerking upright in her bed. Moonlight still streamed through her window, but now it seemed different, somehow threatening. Her coat was damp with sweat, her wings trembling slightly as they pressed against her sides.
She rushed to her window, looking out over the sleeping town of Ponyville. Everything appeared normal - Sugarcube Corner's frosted roof gleaming in the moonlight, the town hall's weathervane creaking slightly in the night breeze, the distant lights of Canterlot castle twinkling on the mountainside.
But something had changed. Rainbow Dash could feel it in the air, in the way the clouds moved, in the very fabric of reality around her. The mysterious figure's words echoed in her mind: a battle was coming. Something unprecedented. Something that would change everything.
She spread her wings, preparing to fly to Twilight's castle. Whether it was just a dream or something more, she knew she couldn't keep this to herself. As she launched into the night air, the moon cast her shadow across the sleeping town below - a town that might soon face challenges beyond anything its residents could imagine.
The night wind whistled past her ears, carrying with it the faintest whisper that might have been her imagination, or might have been something more: "The right pony... in the right place..."
Deep within an impossibly geometric space that seemed to exist between dimensions, three unlikely figures gathered in what appeared to be a well-appointed office. The walls shifted subtly, sometimes appearing as rich mahogany paneling, other times seeming to open into infinite voids of swirling possibility.
G-Man sat behind a massive desk that looked like it had been carved from a single piece of dark wood. His usually stern face was creased with uncharacteristic mirth, his thin lips pulled back in what might have been his first genuine smile in centuries. His navy suit remained impeccably pressed despite his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
Floating near the ceiling, Wheatley's robotic eye was flickering with glee, his spherical body rotating in small circles as he struggled to contain himself. "Oh... oh my word! Did you see her face? I mean, not that I've seen many faces, being a robot and all, but that expression! Absolutely brilliant!"
Miss Pauling perched on the edge of a leather armchair, her purple dress and black stockings a stark contrast to the shifting walls behind her. Her clipboard lay forgotten on her lap as she wiped tears of laughter from behind her glasses. "I can't believe you actually did it! The great and mysterious G-Man, playing a practical joke!"
"The opportunity was... too perfect to resist," G-Man said, each word still precisely measured despite his amusement. "The look on Miss Dash's face when the... scenarios began to manifest..." He paused, adjusting his red tie with practiced precision before continuing, "Priceless, as they say."
Wheatley bobbed in the air excitedly. "The part with the mist! The mist! Absolutely genius! I mean, I know a thing or two about being ominous, what with my time running Aperture and all – not my finest hour, admittedly – but that was masterclass stuff right there!"
"I particularly enjoyed the 'smell the ashes' line," Miss Pauling added, making air quotes with her fingers. "Very dramatic. Very you." She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a small notebook. "I should add 'interdimensional pranking' to the list of unusual events for this week. Right between 'explosive bread incident' and 'Scout's failed attempt at poetry.'"
G-Man opened his briefcase, removing what appeared to be a crystal sphere containing swirling images of Rainbow Dash's dream. "The art of... psychological manipulation requires a certain... finesse. Even in matters of... entertainment."
"Oh, sure, sure," Wheatley agreed, floating down to peer at the sphere. "But I have to ask – and this is just professional curiosity, mind you – why Rainbow Dash? Why not that other one, the purple one with all the books? Seems like she'd be more likely to absolutely lose her mind over something like this."
Miss Pauling adjusted her glasses thoughtfully. "Twilight Sparkle would probably spend the next month researching interdimensional theory and creating elaborate charts. Rainbow Dash will spread the word faster. By tomorrow evening, all of Ponyville will be buzzing with theories."
"Precisely," G-Man nodded, placing the sphere back in his briefcase with deliberate care. "The... ripple effect of information distribution is... crucial to the entertainment value."
The office's lighting shifted, casting strange shadows that danced across the walls. A distant sound, like the echo of thunder, rolled through the space.
"Speaking of entertainment," Miss Pauling said, checking her watch, "I should probably get back. The Administrator will notice if I'm gone too long, and the last thing we need is her finding out about our little... interdimensional social club."
"Ah yes, about that," Wheatley chimed in, his mechanical eye narrowing in thought. "Bit of a weird question, but... are we allowed to be doing this? I mean, don't you have... what do you call them... employers? Mysterious, never-seen employers who might not appreciate their interdimensional bureaucrat spending his time pranking colorful ponies?"
G-Man's expression returned to its usual inscrutable mask for a moment. "My... employers understand the value of... psychological testing across multiple realities. This could be considered... field research."
Miss Pauling laughed, standing and straightening her dress. "That's what I tell the Administrator about the bread experiments. 'Valuable research into the effects of teleporter radiation on gluten development.'"
"Oh! Oh!" Wheatley spun excitedly. "Speaking of experiments, you know who we should prank next? GLaDOS! I mean, she did try to kill me and all, but imagine her reaction if you did your whole mysterious appearance thing in her chamber! Though... she might actually kill us all for real. On second thought, maybe not GLaDOS."
G-Man stood, smoothing his suit jacket. "Perhaps we should... consider our next target more... carefully. The multiverse offers... endless possibilities for entertainment."
"What about that Gordon Freeman guy you're always following around?" Miss Pauling suggested, picking up her clipboard. "Though I suppose he never actually talks, so you might not get much of a reaction."
"Mr. Freeman is... otherwise occupied," G-Man said, a hint of his earlier amusement returning. "Besides, he has developed a certain... immunity to my appearances."
The office space began to shift more dramatically, the walls folding in impossible ways. A train whistle sounded from somewhere impossibly far away.
"Oh! That's my ride!" Wheatley exclaimed. "Back to floating around in space. Still, better than dealing with the testing chambers. Let me know when we're doing the next prank! I've got loads of ideas! Well, three ideas. Well, two and a half, really..."
Miss Pauling gathered her things, checking her watch again. "I should go too. Heavy's having another family dinner, and someone needs to make sure Soldier doesn't try to 'improve' the borscht with his victory grenades again."
G-Man nodded, opening his briefcase once more. "Until our next... engagement then. Remember, the right prank... in the right place... can make all the difference... in the world."
As Miss Pauling and Wheatley departed through their respective dimensional portals, G-Man allowed himself one more small smile. He pulled out the crystal sphere again, watching Rainbow Dash's expressions of confusion and fear play across its surface. His employers might indeed be watching, but even interdimensional bureaucrats needed their entertainment.
Besides, he thought as he straightened his tie one final time, sometimes the best way to prepare someone for real interdimensional chaos was to give them a little taste of it first. The fact that it was enormously entertaining was simply a... bonus.
The office began to fold in on itself, reality bending around its occupant. As G-Man prepared to step into his own dimensional corridor, he made a mental note to check on Rainbow Dash again soon. After all, the best pranks were the ones that kept their victims guessing.
"Time, Miss Dash," he murmured to himself as the office disappeared entirely, "is not the only thing that requires... adjustment. Sometimes reality itself needs a little... humor."
The night air over Ponyville whipped past Rainbow Dash as she soared toward Twilight's crystal castle, its gleaming spires catching moonlight in prismatic patterns. Her wings beat rhythmically against the cool breeze, mind still racing with visions from her unsettling dream.
Suddenly, the air ahead of her seemed to thicken, like flying into invisible gelatin. Before she could react, a large figure materialized directly in her flight path, hovering impossibly in the night sky.
It was a human man with a magnificent gray beard and glasses, wearing what appeared to be a simple black polo shirt and jeans. Most remarkably, he was floating cross-legged in midair as if it were the most natural thing in the world, his silver-gray hair gently wafting in the breeze.
"Hold up there, Rainbow Dash," the man said, his voice surprisingly gentle despite his imposing presence. "We need to talk about what just happened."
Rainbow Dash backpedaled in the air, her wings creating small turbulent clouds as she maintained her position. "Okay, who are you, and how do you know my name? Are you with that creepy suited guy?"
The man chuckled, the sound warm and genuine. "I'm Gabe Newell, but you can call me Gabe. And no, I'm not with G-Man. In fact," he adjusted his glasses with a slight frown, "I'm here because of his little... unauthorized incursion into your dreamspace."
Below them, Ponyville slept peacefully, unaware of the strange conversation taking place in its skies. A few night birds called in the distance, and the occasional light flickered in a window.
"Unauthorized?" Rainbow Dash hovered closer, her curiosity temporarily overriding her caution. "You mean... that whole thing about a battle coming was fake?"
Gabe sighed, pulling a laptop seemingly out of thin air. It floated in front of him as he typed, the screen's glow illuminating his face in the darkness. "Yes and no. The dream itself was a prank - G-Man and a couple of his interdimensional friends thought it would be amusing." His expression darkened slightly. "But they forgot one very important thing."
"What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked, unconsciously mirroring his cross-legged position in the air.
"You don't mess with the space-time continuum for a practical joke." Gabe typed something else, and several holographic windows appeared around them, showing footage of G-Man's office and the entire prank planning session. "Especially not when you're supposed to be maintaining interdimensional stability."
Rainbow Dash watched the footage, her expression shifting from confusion to indignation. "They were laughing at me! That blue robot thing called my face 'brilliant'!"
"Wheatley," Gabe said, closing the laptop which vanished as mysteriously as it had appeared. "And Miss Pauling from another dimension. Don't worry - they're all about to learn why we have strict regulations about interdimensional pranking."
The air around them began to crackle with energy, and Rainbow Dash's mane stood slightly on end. Gabe pulled out what looked like a simple USB stick, but it glowed with an inner light that seemed to bend reality around it.
"I've had to ban people from Steam for less than this," he said, the USB stick pulsing ominously. "But interdimensional troublemakers require a more... direct approach."
"What are you going to do?" Rainbow Dash asked, both concerned and slightly eager to see these pranksters get their comeuppance.
Gabe smiled, but there was steel behind it. "Let's just say G-Man is about to learn that some employers are higher up the dimensional hierarchy than others. As for Wheatley..." He checked something on another holographic display that materialized briefly. "I think it's time he had a reunion with the Space Core. And Miss Pauling? Well, the Administrator is about to receive some very interesting footage of her assistant's extradimensional activities."
He turned back to Rainbow Dash, his expression softening. "I apologize for their behavior. Rest assured, Equestria is not actually facing any immediate interdimensional threats. Though," he added with a slight smirk, "G-Man might be facing some very real ones very soon."
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but grin. "Serve them right! But... why are you telling me all this?"
"Because," Gabe said, beginning to fade from view, "sometimes the best way to deal with a prank is to know you got the last laugh. Besides," his voice echoed as he became nearly transparent, "you should see G-Man's face when he realizes his briefcase has been replaced with one full of Half-Life 3 promotional materials that will never exist."
As Gabe disappeared entirely, Rainbow Dash heard one final chuckle: "Nobody messes with the fabric of reality on my watch. Not even for a prank."
Rainbow Dash hovered there for a moment, processing everything that had just happened. Below, Ponyville continued its peaceful sleep, unaware of the interdimensional drama playing out above. After a moment, she turned back toward her cloud home, a small smile playing across her face.
She might not be facing an unprecedented battle, but somewhere across dimensions, a certain suited figure was about to face something far more terrifying: corporate accountability.
As she flew home, the night air seemed lighter somehow, cleaner. The moon cast her shadow across the rooftops below, and this time there were no ominous whispers, no mysterious mists. Just the quiet satisfaction of knowing that somewhere, somehow, justice was about to be served with a side of interdimensional bureaucratic paperwork.
And if she happened to hear distant screams that sounded suspiciously like "...but the third installment was nearly finished!" echoing across the dimensions... well, that was just a bonus.
The space between dimensions rippled like disturbed water as Gabe Newell materialized in G-Man's office. The shifting walls stabilized into solid obsidian, reflecting the tension in the room. G-Man sat behind his desk, briefcase conspicuously absent, his normally impassive face showing the slightest hint of concern. Wheatley hovered near the ceiling, his robotic eye darting nervously between Gabe and the door. Miss Pauling stood rigid beside a filing cabinet, her clipboard clutched tight against her purple dress.
"So," Gabe began, his casual black polo and jeans somehow more intimidating than G-Man's pressed suit, "would anyone like to explain why they thought manipulating the dreams of interdimensional beings was an appropriate use of company time?"
Before anyone could respond, Gabe snapped his fingers. A swirling portal opened in the center of the room, and Rainbow Dash tumbled through, wings spread to catch her balance.
"Whoa! A little warning next time?" She shook her head, rainbow mane settling back into place as she took in her surroundings. Her magenta eyes narrowed when she spotted G-Man. "Oh. These guys."
"Miss Dash," G-Man began, his measured speech pattern more hesitant than usual, "I assure you our intentions were purely... recreational."
"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash hovered at eye level with G-Man. "Because threatening my entire world with some kind of crazy invasion isn't exactly my idea of a fun time!"
Wheatley's mechanical parts whirred nervously. "In our defense - and I'm just throwing this out there - it was a really well-executed prank. The mist effects alone took hours to calibrate. Not that that makes it right! Just, you know, technically impressive."
"Not helping, Wheatley," Miss Pauling muttered, adjusting her glasses.
Gabe pulled a sleek laptop from thin air, typing briefly before turning the screen to face the troublemakers. "Let's review the regulations regarding interdimensional interference, shall we? Section 7, paragraph 3: 'No entity shall manipulate the consciousness of beings from other dimensions for purposes of entertainment, profit, or personal amusement.'"
"That seems... oddly specific," Rainbow Dash commented, landing next to Gabe.
"We had to add it after the incident with the dreaming god and the cheese wheel," Gabe explained. "Don't ask."
G-Man straightened his tie, a nervous tell that few had ever witnessed. "Mr. Newell, perhaps we could come to some sort of... arrangement?"
"Actually," Gabe turned to Rainbow Dash, "since you were the victim here, I think it's only fair that you help decide their punishment."
Rainbow Dash's face lit up with a mischievous grin. "Well, since they like messing with people's heads so much..." She flew a quick loop around the office before landing. "Make them write an essay about why using interdimensional powers to prank people is wrong. Every day. For a month."
"An... essay?" Miss Pauling's clipboard slipped slightly in her grip.
"Oh no," Wheatley's eye contracted in horror. "Not writing! Do you know how hard it is to type with no hands?"
"I think that's perfect," Gabe nodded, his beard not quite hiding his amused smile. "Three thousand words daily, properly cited, with references to interdimensional regulatory guidelines. And," he added as holographic displays appeared around the room, "they'll be publicly posted across all dimensional frequencies."
"But my employers..." G-Man began.
"Will receive copies directly," Gabe finished. "I'm sure they'll find them very educational. Especially the part where their agent used restricted dimensional manipulation technology to execute a practical joke."
G-Man's normally pale complexion went even whiter.
"And don't even think about using temporal manipulation to speed through the month," Gabe warned, producing a USB stick that pulsed with ominous energy. "I've locked this timezone. One day at a time, just like everyone else."
"At least you have hands," Wheatley complained to his co-conspirators. "I'll have to dictate to the text-to-speech program. Do you know how that thing mangles my accent?"
Rainbow Dash fluttered up to examine one of the holographic displays. "Make sure they write about the importance of considering other people's feelings too. And proper pranking ethics!"
"Proper pranking ethics?" Miss Pauling raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah! Like how a good prank should make everyone laugh, not just the pranksters." Rainbow Dash performed a quick barrel roll to emphasize her point. "Also, maybe something about how threatening the fabric of reality isn't funny?"
Gabe typed something into his laptop. "I'm adding that to the required topics list. Along with 'Appropriate Uses of Interdimensional Technology' and 'Why We Don't Impersonate Authority Figures Across Dimensional Boundaries.'"
"This punishment seems... excessive," G-Man stated, though his usual confidence was notably absent.
"Would you prefer I tell GLaDOS about Wheatley's current whereabouts?" Gabe asked mildly. "Or perhaps inform the Administrator about Miss Pauling's extracurricular activities?"
Both Wheatley and Miss Pauling vigorously shook their heads (or in Wheatley's case, his entire spherical body).
"Then I suggest you all get writing. Your first essays are due in twenty-four hours." Gabe turned to Rainbow Dash. "Would you like to be part of the review committee?"
"You mean I get to grade their papers?" Rainbow Dash's wings fluttered excitedly. "Sweet! I'm going to be way tougher than Twilight!"
As Rainbow Dash and Gabe prepared to leave, G-Man spoke up once more: "Mr. Newell... about my briefcase..."
"Oh yes," Gabe smiled mysteriously. "You'll get it back in a month. Though you might find the contents slightly... altered. Consider it additional motivation for quality essay writing."
The last thing they heard as they departed through a dimensional portal was Wheatley's panic-stricken voice: "Does anyone know how to properly cite an interdimensional regulation guide? And does spelling count? Please tell me spelling doesn't count!"
Back in the night sky above Ponyville, Rainbow Dash turned to Gabe. "You know, making them write essays might actually be more evil than anything they did to me."
"Exactly," Gabe nodded, beginning to fade from view. "Sometimes the best punishment is having to explain, in detail, every day, exactly why what you did was wrong. Besides," his voice echoed as he disappeared, "wait until they discover the essays have to be peer-reviewed."
Rainbow Dash flew home, imagining G-Man struggling with proper citation formats, Wheatley arguing with text-to-speech software, and Miss Pauling trying to explain to the Administrator why she needed a one-month extension on all her deadlines. Sometimes, she thought, justice came in the form of paperwork.
The space between dimensions had been converted into something resembling a library study room. Wooden tables lined the impossible space, each equipped with a laptop or writing materials. The walls shifted between bookshelves filled with interdimensional regulatory guidelines and void-like windows showing glimpses of different realities.
G-Man sat rigidly at his desk, staring at the word processor on his laptop screen. The document read:
"An Analysis of Inappropriate Interdimensional Pranking Practices and Their Consequences By [REDACTED] G-Man Word Count: 487"
He adjusted his tie for the twelfth time in the past hour. "The implementation of... practical jokes across dimensional boundaries... requires careful consideration of..." He trailed off, glaring at the screen. "This is... most frustrating."
"Oh, you think you've got it bad?" Wheatley's robotic eye narrowed at his floating monitor. The text-to-speech program mangled his words as he dictated: "PRANKING IS BAD FULL STOP NEW PARAGRAPH ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU USE INTERDIMENSIONAL POWERS FULL STOP."
"That's not how you write an academic essay," Miss Pauling called from her table, surrounded by stacks of reference materials. Her purple dress was slightly wrinkled from hours of sitting. "You need to establish a thesis statement, provide supporting arguments, and properly cite your sources."
"Would you care to... share your progress?" G-Man asked, attempting to peer at her work.
Miss Pauling hugged her laptop closer. "No way. The last thing I need is you copying my citation format. Do you know how long it took me to figure out the proper way to reference a quantum regulation guidebook from the 23rd dimension?"
The air rippled, and Rainbow Dash appeared with Gabe Newell. The pegasus immediately flew to Wheatley's screen, reading his work aloud.
"'Interdimensional pranking is bad because it makes ponies upset and also my text-to-speech program doesn't understand proper punctuation period new paragraph question mark why is it typing everything I say exclamation mark oh no stop typing this bit delete delete delete...'" She looked at Gabe. "I don't think this is university level writing."
"Indeed," Gabe agreed, checking G-Man's progress. "And padding your word count by extending all instances of 'interdimensional' to 'inter-dimensional-cross-reality-multi-universal' doesn't count."
G-Man's usually impassive face showed a flicker of annoyance as he deleted the modified terms.
"How many words do you have so far, Miss P?" Wheatley called out.
"Two thousand eight hundred," Miss Pauling replied, adjusting her glasses. "But I'm stuck on the conclusion. How do you summarize 'we were bored and thought it would be funny' in academic language?"
"Perhaps... 'The motivation behind such interdimensional infractions can be attributed to a temporary lapse in judgment regarding appropriate recreational activities,'" G-Man suggested.
"Now you're getting it," Gabe nodded. "Though you might want to delete the section where you spent five hundred words describing different types of briefcases. That's not relevant to the topic."
G-Man's shoulders slumped slightly as he highlighted and deleted the passage.
"Oh! Oh!" Wheatley spun excitedly. "What if I write about how in space, no one can hear you prank? That's thematically relevant, right? Space Core told me that one... though he tells me everything about space..."
Rainbow Dash flew between the desks, checking their progress. "Don't forget you need to include a section about how it feels to be on the receiving end of a dimensional prank. I can give you some first-hoof experiences." Her grin suggested those descriptions wouldn't be flattering.
"This is worse than quarterly performance reviews," Miss Pauling muttered, typing furiously. "At least the Administrator just threatens to fire me. She doesn't make me write essays about why I disappointed her."
"Perhaps..." G-Man began carefully, "we could collaborate on this assignment?"
"Nice try," Gabe called from where he was examining Wheatley's work. "Individual essays only. Though I am enjoying your creative use of fonts to make the text appear longer. That's not going to work either."
G-Man discretely changed his font back to standard size.
"ATTEMPTING TO CONCLUDE ESSAY FULL STOP," Wheatley dictated. "IN CONCLUSION COMMA PRANKING ACROSS DIMENSIONS IS VERY BAD AND WE SHOULD NOT DO IT BECAUSE IT MAKES PONIES ANGRY AND ALSO GABE NEWELL WILL MAKE US WRITE ESSAYS FULL STOP NEW PARAGRAPH OH BLAST IT'S STILL ONLY TWO THOUSAND WORDS FULL STOP."
"You know," Rainbow Dash commented, hovering near the ceiling, "Twilight would love this. She's always talking about the importance of proper citation and peer review."
"Excellent point," Gabe smiled. "Perhaps we should invite her to be a guest reviewer for next week's essays?"
The sound of three heads hitting desks (and one robotic eye shuttering in despair) echoed through the dimensional space.
"By the way," Gabe added, checking his interdimensional watch, "you have two hours until deadline. And remember - tomorrow's topic is 'The Environmental Impact of Interdimensional Mist on Local Weather Patterns, with Special Focus on Pegasus Flight Conditions.'"
"I don't suppose..." G-Man straightened his tie again, "my employers could provide a character reference?"
"Your employers," Gabe replied, "have requested copies of all your essays. With annotation."
G-Man turned back to his laptop, typing with slightly more urgency than before.
"At least you can type!" Wheatley wailed. "VOICE RECOGNITION SOFTWARE IS THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE FULL STOP NO DON'T TYPE THAT DELETE DELETE OH NEVER MIND JUST KEEP IT AS PART OF THE CONCLUSION FULL STOP."
Rainbow Dash flew lazy loops around the room, occasionally stopping to read over their shoulders and make helpful comments like "You spelled 'interdimensional catastrophe' wrong" and "Maybe add more about how scary G-Man's smile is."
As the deadline approached, the only sounds were furious typing, Wheatley's increasingly desperate dictation, and the occasional muffled groan as another attempt to increase word count was thwarted by Gabe's watchful eye.
Somewhere in another dimension, GLaDOS was receiving some very interesting footage of these events. Her mechanical laughter would have sent chills down Wheatley's spine, if he had one.