//------------------------------// // 6. Experiment 006 & 009 // Story: Experiment Saga // by Cinor //------------------------------// Richard Pound In: Experiment 006 + 009 “Hello, 6,” I said casually. She dropped her telescope. It was nighttime in Equestria. We were at the outskirts of Trottingham, near the forests. “Wha- Who?” she stammered. “My name is Richard. I’m here on royal business,” I said. “How do you know my number?” she asked. “Because I guess I’m 13.” She mouthed the word thirteen. “She kept going after us? I thought she would realize it was a failure. She’s a fool.” “She wasn’t wrong. I did manage to do it. I took care of all of your messes,” I said. “Did you really?” “Yes.” “I remember our try. We had three ponies. We still failed. After that we went our separate ways. I wonder what happened to them.” “I happened to them.” “You killed them? You’re sick.” She picked up the telescope with her magic. She peered into the sky. “What are you doing?” I asked. “The sky, it’s got the same constellations as Earth. Only a few are different,” she said, her voice full of awe. “Why are you so interested? Sure, it’s a pretty sight. But what does it matter?” “I want to find Earth,” she said. “Why?” “I miss it sometimes. These ponies don’t even care for space. They take it for face value. Yet there is so much more out there,” she told me. “Do you think you’ll find it with that?” I asked, pointing at the telescope. She laughed. “Of course not. I’ve got a satellite I’m building.” “A what?” “A satellite, it will take pictures of the stars and send them back to me. I can show the ponies and they will see that the stars are important.” “Surely it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to go home,” I told her. She gasped. “I can’t go home! You can’t see the sky like this there. There isn’t even a space budget anymore…” she trailed off. “I don’t see the big deal,” I remarked. She grunted. “Take a look through here,” she said. She floated the telescope to my eye. It was pretty, I had to admit. There was a slight gurgling noise. The telescope dropped to the ground, its lens shattered. I looked back to 6. She gasped for air. Her throat had been sliced open. Blood poured from the wound. She fell down, limbs twitching. I rushed to her side. “What happened?” I asked uselessly. Her movements ceased. “To take your words, I happened to them,” said a shadowy voice behind me. I turned around quickly. A pony dressed in all black stood there. There were blades strapped to his hooves. “Who are you?” I asked. “Why did you kill her?” “I did it before you could,” he said. His tone was slow and deliberate, each word carefully chosen. “Our actions were different, yet the outcome is the same.” “You didn’t say who you were.” “I am a shadow. That’s all you need to know. Death asks few questions.” He’s going to try and kill me. I was in trouble. He took a step closer. I didn’t have anything to fight him with. Quick as lightning he lunged. His left fore-hoof’s blade extended. I ducked under the bald. It swung around cutting into my tail. I ran inside of 6’s shack. Inside was sparsely furnished. Most of the room was taken up by a metal device. It looked intricate. A blade pierced the door. I backed up to the metal thing. It had a hollow compartment in the side… or front. I climbed in and closed the door. It was very dark. I heard the door shatter from the force of the pony. “Where are you, 13?” he asked, “2 and 3 hid. I found them anyway.” He tossed the bed around, looking for me under it. “Now what is this thing?” he asked. He prodded the structure on the opposite side. I knew I didn’t have much time. I started to feel around the capsule. There was a small switch, I flipped it. The capsule started rumbling. It was getting hot in here. Instantly I was slammed against the back of the capsule. There was the sound of screaming and the breaking of wood. Earthquake now? After three minutes, the rumbling subsided. I opened the hatch slowly. I was in the middle of nowhere. The back of the capsule was smoking. Black trails covered the ground behind us. The smoldering shack was miles away. It was going to be a long walk. “I see that everything is taken care of then, Richard,” said Celestia. The princesses, Twilight, and Sunny had all been having dinner when I arrived back. “Yes, I took care of all twelve of them,” I told her. “All twelve? Already? You work fast, Richard.” “I guess I had help. 9 had taken 2 and 3 out.” “Well, there is one more,” said Celestia quietly. “I thought I was the last one,” I said. She didn’t say anything. It dawned on me. “You don’t mean…” I said. “Yes,” she said. “I won’t leave.” “You can’t make Richard leave,” said Twilight. “It’s not up to me, Twilight and Richard.” “This is my life,” I told her. “I can’t leave.” “He has a family, Celestia,” Twilight chimed in. “You two, if we let him stay, more terrible things could happen to Equestria,” she said finally. “I’m sorry, Richard. But this is how it has to be.” “No,” I said firmly, “It doesn’t. We dealt with the aliens. We can deal with whatever else gets thrown at us.” Celestia’s eyes showed anger. “No, I can’t risk it.” Her horn erupted with magic. A doorway burned itself into the wall. “If you don’t leave now, I will kill them both.” Twilight gasped, reaching out to Sunny. Luna’s magic levitated Sunny away from her. Sunny was crying. “No, you can’t kill them,” I said. “It’s not my choice. It’s yours. I’m doing you a favor, Richard. You get to live on Earth. The others… no.” “You get what you deserved,” said Big Richard. He was standing next to me. Gemini stood behind, Cleisthenes to the right of me. “I killed you?” I asked. They nodded. “I’m so sorry.” If only I had known. “It wasn’t your fault, Richard,” said Gemini. 6 appeared, followed by 5 and 7. They all looked so tired. “I don’t want to go…” I muttered. I felt a tear fall down my cheek. Gemini offered her hoof. I grabbed it. “No one wants to go, Richard,” said Big. He looked sad as well. Spanish pony offered consolation in his own special way. “It’s… not fair,” I murmured. The door looked intimidating. It stood easily four ponies high. “Look, Richard. You’re gonna fit right in,” remarked Gemini. I looked at her, she was below me. I stood two feet taller now. I looked at myself. I was back to the normal Richard. “I- I died out there.” No one said anything. “I don’t want to go! I want to stay with my wife! And my Son!” I screamed. I looked around, I was alone. I was always alone. “You have ten seconds, Richard,” said Celestia. I approached the portal. Grabbing the handle. It opened majestically. Behind the door was the hospital room. Karen sat in the guests chair, weeping. “Five.” This is all just a dream. It’s got to be. “Four.” My finger grazed the portal. It was cold, foreign. “Three,” said Celestia forcefully. Twilight let out a yelp of pain. I hated her. I hated Celestia for everything. I hated her for everything she had done, been, and made me. “Two!” Another scream, it was from Sunny. I jumped through the door. I was on the floor of the hospital. “Dick!” screamed Karen. Karen was walking the dinosaur, and so was I.