"Bellesmith...?!" Felicity managed with a weak tremble. Several sweaty ponies around her and Placid glanced over with confused expressions.
Belle took a gamble, hopping completely out of the back of the wagon and pressing her back against it. Shivering in the open air of the cacophonous slave pit, she leaned forward and hoarsely exclaimed, "I thought you were sent abroad to other parts of Ledomare! What in Spark's name are you doing here?"
Feilicity's face grimaced as a tear or two sprang from her eyes. "Belle, I don't know how you got in here, but you must leave! Now!"
"If you have the power to sneak in and out, then get back to the surface as swiftly as you can!" Placid added in an intense whisper.
"I hate to interrupt your charming little pony-pony renuion, sweetcakes," Grinder grunted, glancing nervously over his shoulder at the patrolling Enforcers. "But this is hardly the time or the place for a tea break."
"Grinder, please!" Belle wheezed. She turned back to the unicorn couple. "I came here hoping to track down where they took Pilate."
"Oh blessed Spark, they brought him here too?" Felicity whimpered.
"Why him and not you?" Placid stammered.
"Never mind that." Belle leaned forward even more. "Just why are you ponies down here?"
"They told us that we were being relocated to other places within the Confederacy," Placid said, his usually calm face bearing a venomous frown. "All they did was seize our possessions and cart us down here to do grunt work."
"I've never moved so much as a slab of stone in my life!" Felicity exclaimed, panting and tossing back her dirtied mane. "There are ponies who have died here from overwork! They don't care at all about our well-being!"
A distant shriek lit the air, followed by the sound of burning tasers. The line of nearby slaves shivered, their faces paling.
Belle looked at them helplessly. She exclaimed, "Is this what became of everypony from Blue Shelf? You were all brought here?"
"Most of us were," Placid said with a nod. "But the others..." His voice trailed off as a terrible fear seized his facial expressions. Felicity was hiding her tears in her forelimbs.
Belle's face tensed. "I don't get it. There were others? Weren't they brought here as well?"
"At f-first," Placid stammered. He gulped, glancing beyond the nearby lines of workers with paranoia. "But then they were dragged away at random and brought to the elevators The last we saw of them, they ascended to the upper levels of the facility."
"Did any of the Enforcers say to where they ascended?"
"I... erm... that is..." Placid could only fidget.
"Department Blue," murmured a hoarse voice from the sidelines. "It's just below where you typically work, Doctor..."
Belle glanced over, and her chestnut eyes flew wide. "Professor!"
Grinder, Felicity, Placid, and several other nervous equines watched as Bellesmith galloped over and knelt beside an emaciated unicorn's side. The stallion sat, slumped against several other starving souls whose limbs were decaying to the skeletal degree.
Belle had to struggle to keep her lunch in. With a look of pity, she grasped his forelimb in hers and gazed at his face. "Professor Garnet. What... what happened...?"
He wheezed, gazing at her through thin, mucousy eyes. "Enforcer Shell happened. He's taken over this whole facility. He's owned it long before I was even transferred here..." Garnet coughed, hissed, and struggled to say, "Black Level was turned into a slave camp, and I wasn't even told of it. He was granted authority by the Council of Ledo ages ago, and only recently did he arrive here to see the fruits of his undertaking."
"I mean, what happened to you?" Belle stammered, her eyes moistening in pity and horror. "You... You're dying!"
"We've done our best to keep his health up," Placid said from a few paces over. "We've fed him half of our morsels, even at the cost of our own meals." He shuddered. "They've abandoned him since he could no longer heave rocks."
"This... this is terrible!" Belle frowned, glancing back at the others. "I can't believe the Confederacy would allow this sort of atrocity!"
Placid and Felicity hung their heads. Grinder paused in looking over his shoulder to utter, "It's only sunny on the top side of this lousy kingdom, girl. For having such bright eyes, you sure don't use them much, do you?"
Belle's mouth hung open. She clenched her eyes shut, seething. "Pilate... what have I dragged you into...?"
"This cannot last forever," Garnet hoarsely managed.
Belle looked over at him, sniffling. "How do you mean?"
He wheezed and said, "Most ponies here are planning a grand escape. In less than a day's time, as a matter of fact, they plan to rush the shafts to the upper levels."
Belle looked at the others. "Is... Is this true?"
Grinder's nostrils flared. "I was hoping to be topside when they attempt it. It ain't gonna be pretty."
"Anything beats staying here forever," Placid said with a frowning expression. "This has been in the plans for a while."
"So many ponies won't make it," Felicity said in a whimpering tone. Placid nuzzled her placatingly, but she still shuddered. "I still can't believe it's all come to this. Just what is this metal mess they're wanting us to excavate? None of the Enforcers will tell us."
"It matters little," Garnet exclaimed. "The Enforcers are dangerous, but they're spread too thin. They know this too, which is probably why they've shipped three hundred ponies to Department Blue in the last two days alone."
"Three hundred?!" Belle exclaimed whisperingly. "But, I don't understand! Department Blue is just a storage compartment! What kind of slave labor can be done there?! I don't think you can fit that many equines in such a place!"
"It doesn't change the fact that they were sent there," Placid managed. He gulped and added, "Kenna and Baxter were sent just two days ago."
Belle flung him a horrified expression. "Kenna? Baxter?"
"Even Great Stare and Little Breath," Felicity added, stifling a sob. "For some reason, they s-seem to be collecting most of the non-ponies."
"I may not live to see the daylight, Doctor Bellesmith," Garnet exclaimed, squeezing her forelimbs as a shudder ran through his thin body. "But if you're here, then that's a beacon of hope."
"Professor, you don't understand," Belle murmured as the sounds of labor echoed all around her. "I came here to find Pilate. My beloved was taken too. From what I'm hearing, odds are he's in Department Blue as well—"
"I don't think he's where all the other non-ponies are," Garnet murmured. "Enforcer Shell wants to gain access to what's beyond the metal, no matter what or who he has to used." He gulped and leaned forward with jaundice leaking from his eyes. "If you've made it this far, then there's a chance you can get to the upper levels. Maybe you can even do something to help all these ponies who plan to make a riotous escape from Black Level."
"What?! I mean how—"
"Most of the Enforcers are concentrated here; the laboratory levels are a ghost town. I have no doubt you can gain access to the central manabanks and disrupt security—"
"What I meant is: how can I even get up there? Grinder's little ploy can only take me so far!"
"Speaking of which," Grinder hissed as the echoes of nearby guards grew louder, closer. "Now's a good time to make like a turd and get buried, girl."
"Shhh!" Belle hissed and turned towards Garnet. "Professor, how can you expect me to—?"
"Two – Three – Four – Zero," Garnet uttered.
Belle blinked. "What was that?"
"The access codes to the elevators," Garnet managed. He gulped and said, "At least, I can only hope Enforcer Shell lacked the foresight to change them since I navigated such shafts. If they're still in effect, then that will grant you access to the laboratory levels..." He seethed and added, "As well as Department Blue."
"I... I don't know what to say..."
"Just go, Belle!" Felicity squeaked. "The guards are coming, and this place is going to explode sooner than later! The ponies here will start their riot in less than twenty-four hours!"
"Go up there and save Pilate," Placid added. "So long as the two of you make it out of here safely, then that will be an exceedingly good thing."
"Time to kick your hooves, girl," Grinder said, beginning to tug at the wagon.
Belle backtrotted, limply letting go of Garnet's hooves. "Two – Three – Four – Zero?" she murmured.
The unicorn nodded. "Yes. Make like the wind..."
Belle's face paled. "The wind... right..." She gave them all one last, apologetic glance. "I'm... I'm so sorry, everypony." She dove into Grinder's wagon in a blink. "I wish you luck..."
"We will all need it..." And they were gone in the heated haze of the place.
Huh. For once, I might be first.
My conscience is slightly lifted with the realization that this whole slave camp was Blue Shell's idea. Before this, Black Level was another normal one. I may have made a horribly oppressive government, but at least I'm not directly ordering people to die.
Hell, do I even exist? What if it's like 1984 and I'm just a shadow puppet controlled by the Council of Ledo and Blue Shelf? I just don't know anymore!
"New Mission Objective: Gain access to lab elevators. Infiltrate Department Blue."
Oh man, this is gonna be exciting...
1775793
So Belle is on Black Level which is below Department Blue which is directly below the labs. Fun to be had with colors here, Blue for Rainbow Dash? For "Blue Shelf" Eh? Eh..? Connection? Probably not. In any case, the vague and ominous warnings about putting over three-hundred quadrupeds in what should be storage space are rather vague and ominous. My guess would be some sort of Duke Zap Nator-like sacrifice.
1775816 I bet IC is going to use everyone's username that commenta frequently, buf their all going to be crazed murders or ,Celestia forbid, zebras.
Subject: Bellesmith
Suffix Title obtained: "The Infiltrator"
Preview: "Bellesmith, the Infiltrator"
-Minty
(This new layout is tripping me out.)
1. Secure the keys
2. Ascend from darkness
3. Rain fire
4. Unleash the horde
5. Skewer the winged beast
6. Wield a fist of iron
7. Raise hell
8. FREEDOM
This is going to be Let the riot begin
oh boy this sounds like itll be fun.
and by fun i mean sketchy as all heck.
lets go stomp some enforcer heads
Nothing beats a good old fashioned prison riot, eh?
Let's start a riot, a riot. Let's start a riot...
1775816
Putting all those ponies and assorted others in a storage space sounds a lot like a concentration camp... or a mass grave. I don't know if the comparison was intended, but Black Level sounds a lot like Auchwitz.
Somebody call the Basterds.
Well, this was either the best timing or the worst for Belle. Hell of it is, i'm gonna have to wait to find out.
Two Three Four Zero?
Quick, research number symbolism!!
also:
2*3*4*0 = 0
2+3+4+0 = 9
2-3-4-0 = -5
2-3+4+0 = 3
2+3-1+0 = 1
2/3/4/0 = undefined
2*3*4+0 = 24
1776099
YES
bowtieagile.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/braveheart_freedom.jpg
I don't like where this is going, but I do want to know what would happen next. =/
It's all very well getting up those elevators and into the labs, but what's she going to do when she gets there? Can she sequence without any one to assist? Then again, with the frequency of how much she 'sequences' outside the machine lately, perhaps all she needs to do is get close.
The shit is approaching the fan...
Bellesmith is best Eljunbyro pony...
1776933 The shit hit the fan 80 chapters ago...
1775816
Oi, you. That's my job. And that's probably next chapter anyways.
Final Solution - Black Label Society
This chapter reminds me of black ops
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/30487729.jpg
Anybody else see Dash leading the escape, or at least coming in at the opportune moment? Then again, she's been in a coma for a quite a while. It'd be funny if IC decided to go Realism on this story and Dash can barely move (Yeah, somehow I don't see that happening).
1777519
But this is Belles shit hitting Shells fan
GIRL
LETS START A WAR
START A NUCLEAR WAR
IN THE
GAY BARBLUE SHELFAlso, was I the only one who read Professor Garnet's lines in Otacon's voice? I probably am.
Stuffs about to go down, and i predict the climax of it being the return of Rainbow! I can only hope.
1775955 Not those dirty zebras
This rebellion is not going to go well. They never do. If even half of the named OC's make it out alive I'll be amazed. And this Blue level sounds decidedly ominous. Either everyone brought there for questioning has been "disposed of" or the storage space thing wasn't a complete fabrication and its really a giant jail or something. Pony storage, you know?
Or maybe its actually a top notch recuperation day spa for all the overworked non-ponies! Yeah, ok, I tried.
So far this society has got to be one of the grimmest yet, and that's comparing it to the home of the creepy-ass crucifying dragons. Now would be a really good time to get to waking Dash up, Belle. Or saving Pilate. Or both. Simultaneously. Excited/wary to see how this pans out - until tomorrow!
Department Blue sure as heck sounds like a concentration camp for non-ponies, if not some sort of mass grave. You've got a dark story here, IC.
1775955
If I ever get a character named after me in this story or any that follow, I hope I'll be a crazy mathematician.
I tried to get named. I think the act of doing so doomed me to not be. Crap.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So this chapter gives us quite a few developments in the ways of plot. I can see Dash flying Belle and possibly Pilate over a mob during the riotous escape. Although there's got to be an epic confrontation between Shell and Belle right before she reaches Pilate. Also, the non-ponies being shipped thing is just completely beyond me. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
so, my mind has been begging to know where rainbow dash is.
You know, it really shouldn't surprise me how those ended up, but it still did.
yeah, I called it a billion chapters ago. "Relocations"? Fucking bullshit.
1782166 Soylent Blue is...?
1776509
I bet it's someone's debit PIN.
Here we go. This is it. The riot is coming...
Well, it looks like Shell is literally Hitler.
Zerg rushing the elevators seems to be the default plan for every escape
I mean I understand that it works
but at like a 50 percent casualty rate or higher
you guys need better management
1776338 it's not 2007 anymore, stop living in the past
Darn Iw as wrong about who she found, but it was still brilliant, maybe even better this way.
Edit:no wait, I was right! got names mixed up, oh this is fantastic!
An escape attempt is planned? Sounds like they need a Dash-traction.
6289430 media0.giphy.com/media/gRxjhVNfFgqI0/giphy.gif
Thank goodness Garnet told them the code. I can only imagine what Grinder would've tried.
"One-one-one-one!"
*BRRRT*
"One-one-one-two!"
*BRRRT*
6497447 I know this is 23 weeks late but..
This chapter is too horrifying to even make the pun.
When you're treating your slaves so badly that they are willing to sacrifice MOST of themselves to let a few escape, you're being a little rough.
I really like how Garnet is good. He never really seemed 'evil' to me. He was very patient, and didn't really seem to want to do any harm unlike Shell. I think he just seemed so cold because he didn't want his emotions clouding his judgement on any information he'd receive. If I remember correctly, he did give Belle a bit of fear for her beloved's well-being at one point so she would be more motivated to work, but he didn't give her a lot. It was more of a warning of what the people higher up would do, than an attempt to threaten Belle.
REVOLUTIOOOOON!!!
9090431
Ignoring that I just found the umpteeth song I like, this song is perfect for the chapter.