//------------------------------// // Episode 1: We had ONE JOB, guys! // Story: SPP Containment Breach // by zennec-fox //------------------------------// Foal. That's what the "F" in "Class-F Personnel" stood for. They were all foals who were unwanted by their parents, but were born anyway, because abortion doesn't exist in Equestria. Let me rephrase that: we were all unwanted foals. I had gone five years without a name other than "F-1500." That's all I was, all I am, and all I ever will be: a number. After all, we are the expendable members of the Foundation. What Foundation, you ask? A Foundation that I shouldn't be telling you about. A Foundation that very few ponies knew existed. A Foundation dedicated to the safety of Equestria. The SPP Foundation. My story started on a normal morning. I, along with two other Class-F, had been chosen to go to a chamber. Why? I'm not sure. They never told us. As usual. I sighed. The guards led us to a large chamber. A pale pony with a completely black flank stood in the corner, just staring. "Do not look away from SPP-173," said a voice. So, this is what was here. I would never have guessed we would be forced to appreciate art, especially a sculpture with such a large flank, it had evidently become its own organism and caught the Black Death. I chuckled. "Do not laugh at or taunt SPP-173," the announcer warned. I sighed. Suddenly, the lights went out. When they came back on, one of the Class-F was dead, SPP-173 standing over her body. I ran out of the chamber as fast as I could, then the lights flickered again, revealing that SPP-173 had killed the other Class-F. I prepared myself to die when the lights went out again, but I was spared. The guards, however, weren't so lucky. "We are experiencing a Containment Breach of Euclid and Keter levels," said a female announcer. "Not Safe, though. Those guys don't do crap. Lazy f[SPARTA]ks." I ran away from the chamber, panicking. Unfortunately, SPP-173 was right behind me. No matter where I went, there he was, opening doors, going through vents, sometimes even offering to play Monopoly. I ran, but I knew it was futile. There was just no escaping "The Sculpture." I reached a dead end. SPP-173 was right behind me. I glanced to the left and saw a hand mirror and a roll of duct tape. Not looking away from SPP-173, I grabbed the items and taped the hand mirror to the wall, hoping it was at the creature's eye level. I ran around the deadly monster, then looked back. It had not moved. My plan had worked! SPP-173 couldn't move if it was being observed, so all I had to do was make it observe itself! I brohoofed myself and ran off, smiling. I found myself in a round, maze-like hallway. Not much here. Just a piece of paper someone had left on the ground. I picked it up and read it. I gulped. SPP-049 seemed pretty powerful. I carefully navigated the maze, but unfortunately, I wasn't careful enough, and I saw a large, rectangular hole in the wall. I went through it and came face-to-face with the deadly, the terrifying, the insert horror-movie-esque adjective here, SPP-049. "I sense the disease in you," he said. His voice sounded echo-y, like a Changeling's, only quieter, like a loud whisper. "Do not worry; I am the cure." I ran. "Stop resisting," it said, slightly irritated. "I'm trying to cure you!" "Shut up!" I shouted. "I've been vaccinated!" "No you haven't!" "How do you know?!" "I've lived here longer than you, dumbflank! The Foundation doesn't do that to Class-F!" "Oh, yeah." "Just let me cure you!" "No!" "Too bad!" It lunged at me. I dodged successfully, causing it to fall into some barrels. I smirked, knowing what was in them. The barrels opened, and many needles stabbed into SPP-049. "What is this?!" it shouted. "Concentrated pestilence," I said, "also known as The Plague." SPP-049 screamed as it slowly died of hypocrisy. I blinked, then resumed my search for a way out.