Equestria: The BEN Chronicles

by HylianJuggalo

Chapter XIV: Childhood Fears And Mushroom Clouds

I awoke on a floor, in a small lab of some kind, with a few small machines and shelves here and there, as well as a large device, which had glass tanks attached to it, filled to the brim with liquid rainbow. In a small corner was a desk with a personal desktop computer. The model itself didn’t look all too modern. It was a beige, bulky looking box, but ran what appeared to be a knockoff of Windows 7. I regained my composure, and looked around the room. Lying around me were the others, with of course, the exception of Scootaloo and Dinky. I got up and rushed over to Applejack, noting they were all breathing.

“Guy- AUGH!”

I fell down at a sudden electrical shock that was entwined around my neck, blue sparks surrounding my throat. The charges stung my torn flesh, the currents traveling through my body and causing my already weak heart to violently jump. I gasped in pain trying to regain my breath, and felt a device wrapped around my neck; a shock collar. Not only that, but I was shackled by my feet and arms with wrought iron chains, and so were the others, attached to me in a line. The others, except Spike, were shackled together in their standard standing position, with all fours on the ground. I on the other hand, had slightly more movement than my counterparts, able to stand, and so, I did. As I got up, two ponies came through a nearby door. One was Dash, without her mask. The other pony was a deep red pegasus, a male. He had a white lab coat on, and saftey goggles on his head. His eyes were nearly the same color as his coat. He approached me and the rest of my team, who were lying unconscious on the floor (I could tell, because I could see them breathing. Thank god they weren’t dead).

“So, you’re the one who broke into my factory? I’m impressed. I don’t understand how you managed to elude my guards for so long and break into this place, but I commend you for that.” the pony said to me with a booming, authoritative voice as he suddenly walked over to his computer and rolled the chair beside it towards me, sitting down on it backwards, coming about three feet away. I would have punched him if my arms weren’t shackled together by the wrists.

“Go ahead, ask away, human; Rainbow told me you wanted answers.”

I looked around the room, hoping for my crew to wake up soon. The pegasus seemed sincere enough in his wording, and seeing as I couldn’t do much right now, I might as well try to get answers from him.

“First of all, who are you?”

The red pegasus chuckled a bit.

“I? I am Doctor Atmosphere. I specialize in electrical engineering. I have been working at this place since Rainbow Dash, Gilda, and myself established it nearly four and a half months ago.”

“Where did the idea for this place come from?”

“When I first met Rainbow Dash, she was perhaps the finest weather manager I had ever seen. She knew how to get her jobs done, and how to get them done well, on top of quickly. She had quite a high set of standards for work, and as time went on, they only got tougher. Still, having the best of the best doing work never hurt anypony.”

“So, what got you to found this place? you didn’t answer my question.”

“About five months ago, the statue that’s been showing up all over the country approached Rainbow and Gilda. Around the time he showed up, which was only a few weeks before the founding, Dash and Gilda had such a hatred against failure and laziness, that they contacted me, and said that he had given them the idea to create a place dedicated for the removal of failure. So, we bought an old apartment complex before the depression hit, and converted it into what you see here.”

“Isn’t the primary reason this place was built to make rainbows?”

Atmosphere gave another laugh, much more wicked than the first, and deeper as well.

“That’s rich. You think we’re here make rainbows? Rainbows are made out of pegasus feathers and water. That’s not what this place is for.”

I scowled, spitting in atmosphere’s face.

“Don't give me that bullshit. You throw creatures into the grinding machine, and rainbows come out!”

“Human, you don’t know the first thing of what we do here. The statue told me that your kind was one that often jumped to conclusions before actually listening to anything anypony had to say. You're intelligent creatures, he says, but you lack common patience and are prone to conflict between each other. In fact, the statue told me the only things your race excels at are war and porn.”

“Fuck you!”

“You’re only proving my point, human; you’re getting violent. I suggest you watch your tongue if you want answers, AND, if you want to keep it.”

Atmosphere got up off the chair and walked over to a window overlooking the grinding machine just a few floors below. As he continued to speak, he didn’t bother to look at me.

“True, when we throw a creature into the grinder, rainbows come out, but that’s only because, at the bottom, there’s already a mixture of fresh rainbow. We just throw them into the mix, and nopony gets suspicious, the red is just a bit more robust when we deploy it.”

“You’re a sick fuck, you know that?”

“Thank you.”

“Where’d you get all the technology? The lasers, the cameras, the turrets and radios... Where did all this shit come from? Your military isn’t nearly this advanced.”

“We have a supplier. A unicorn from Ponyville.”

“Very funny, ha-ha. No, seriously, where did you get it?”

Dash approached me, pushing me to the ground.

“Like he said, we have a supplier in Ponyville. She died a few months back, though, so we’ve been hard-pressed to find new equipment for the facility.” Dash explained, kicking me in the stomach a few times.

“OW! Fucking bitch!”

“You still haven’t taken the official tour of the factory!” Atmosphere giddily piped up, turning away from the window and approaching me with a sadistic smile.

“I’ve seen enough of this place!”

“Oh come now, it’s customary! You come here but haven’t taken the OFFICIAL tour that all our visitors do?”

“You telling me there’s MORE to this sick hellhole!?”

“Human, you have no idea...” The crimson pegasus scoffed, pulling me up off the ground as Dash put her mask back on. Quite a shame too, as the others started to wake up. I wish they could see the sick stuff their friend was doing. Though she spared me by pulling me from the grinder, Dash, I could not trust, and this I knew, so long as she was working here and was, for certain, possessed by BEN - it didn’t matter HOW ‘loyal’ she was, I wouldn’t buy a damn thing she said or did. The others slowly got up, wondering where they were, but we were immediately drug by Dash and two guards, armed with SMGs, over to a rustic looking elevator, a model you might see in the late nineteenth, early twentieth century. It alone was quite a change of scenery from the pristine and modern architecture that was the rest of the factory. What was down here, and where were we going? There must have been more of this structure beneath the cloud it rested on.

Man, I had NO idea what I was missing.

5:00 AM

We were all shoved into the cramped elevator, even the guards, Dash, and Atmosphere. As the decrepit looking lift went downwards, the scenery soon changed. The walls got darker, and were made of much more primitive materials, such as unrefined, unshaped chunks limestone; pure, uncut rocks, like something you’d see in a garden. The structural supports here were very aged and underused. The walls were aged, and clearly unkempt, growing mold and moss, and the entire trip down smelt absolutely rank. Applejack had come to, and with the others, was standing now. I wrapped my arms, though they were tied together, over her back for a hug, and Atmosphere began to speak.

“Everything we do is down HERE. The grinder, though it does prove useful in eliminating some individuals, is just a front; we actually like to get creative with the way we handle our unfit.

“What exactly constitues as ‘unfit’ to you two?”

Atmosphere giggled a bit, before speaking again.

“Imperfections, failure, whatever really. For example, you may wonder why we took Dinky. Well, that’s simple really. Her mother, who I see, you have fortunately brought with you, has a genetic imperfection that makes her eyes act oddly. Plus, her sense of direction is poor. Likely, this is a genetic trait, and so, to avoid spreading inferior genes, we had no CHOICE but to eliminate her. We handle all kinds of creatures, whether they’re injured, had mental or physical disability, are too old...”

“So, you’re fuckin’ Nazis.”

“No, not by any means; we very loosely base our work off that foal’s tale, but we’re definitely our own breed of visionaries.”

“Wait... so... the foal’s tales are based off history?”

“I don’t know, you’re the human, you tell me.” Dash interrupted.

“You’re all monsters!” Derpy exploded. “GIVE ME BACK MY DINKY!”

Derpy was hit upside the head with the butt of one of the guard’s weapons.

“Shut up, you whore!”

---

“Are you sure they went this way, Scootaloo?”

“I’m not, but we don’t have a choice but to follow the blood. It’s our only lead.”

“I hope you’re right. I want mom...”

“And I want Nick. But if we stand here and talk about it, we aren’t going to get anywhere, Dinky.”

“You're right, let’s go...”

Both fillies were now back up at the top floor, where Nick had fought with Gilda. There was blood here, going in a trail to another room on the opposite side of the catwalk. There were guards on the lower floor beneath them, searching, and Scootaloo knew that they would be coming up this way soon.

“Come on, through here. They went this way.”

Both of the girls came to a small lab that had a computer in the corner, as well as a large machine with glass tubing that was completely filled with rainbow. What caught the little pegasus’ eye however, was a collection of items on the desk.

A gun, a CD, a crossbow, and a cellphone, including a strange piece of paper encased in a cracked and nearly broken wooden frame with a glass panel, along with three CB radios and variously designed saddlebags, including her own, full of her own equipment. Scootaloo grabbed her things. She then looked over to an aged lift in the back of the room.

“Let’s go, Dinky. They have to be down here...”

---

After the ride down, Atmosphere and Dash stepped in front of us, and we all stepped out, the two guards following behind us. This place, from the get-go, was flat out disturbing. The walls and floors were lined with bones and blood, and the stones they were made of were dark and moldy, leaving the smell of a raw sewer system. The place was extremely dark. Atmosphere, Dash, and the guards picked us up, flying over what looked like a pit of some kind. It looked practically bottomless from the view. Spikes lined the inside, bones, mostly skulls impaled on them. This was only the beginning, I realized. We continued, coming to a rusty iron door. Through here was an even worse looking room, stained with blood, and the floors were made of nothing other than dirt. The walls were decoratively lined with torches, spaced three feet apart, and in between them sat pony skulls on small mantles. Applebloom and Spike clenched their eyes shut.

“Down this hallway is our favorite pet. He’s gotten quite lonely, and is DYING to have some new playmates. How about you, sweetheart?” Atmosphere asked, setting a hoof on Applejack as we neared a handleless, studded iron door that slowly began to lift automatically. “Why don’t you play with him?”

“LEAVE HER ALONE!” Pinkie Pie screamed, growling at Atmosphere and Dash like a dog.

“Oooh, we have us a feisty one here. Would you two like to play with him?”

Before the others could give a reply, Dash gave a sharp whistle. The armed guards unhooked Applejack and Pinkie from the chain, and forcibly pushed them inside of the now open door. It slammed shut behind them, and all I could do was scream as gigantic steel bars closed over the doorway.

“APPLEJACK! PINKIE!”

“Now now, on with the tour...”

“You motherfucker! Let them out of there!”

I fell down in pain at another shock to my neck as I tried to lunge at Atmosphere. both he and Dash laughed at me, each of them kicking me in the stomach, and I tried to pull myself back up, in intense pain.

“Dead hoof will have tons of fun with those two...”

“D-dead hoof? Wh-what’s that?” Rarity stammered, trying to mask her fear and disgust of the abhorrently macabre decor.

“A nice little present your dear friend Twilight built for us a few months back.” Atmosphere said, looking to nobody in particular.

So... Twilight also made money by selling some creations to other people. Mother of god...

“I don’t remember any of it...” Twilight retorted back silently, a twinge of regret in her voice.

“Of course you don’t, you stupid foal.”

We came to a different part of the basement. Here sat a statue of two ponies, back to back in hooded cloaks. The statues each held a large, scythe-like blade, and a machine underneath them slowly spun them around. The floors in this area were stained with dried blood as well, and I could hear screams. Screams of the dead of course; this place had no sign of life for miles.These yells were from tortured souls of all races, genders, and, unfortunately, ages. Whatever they did on the working floor of the factory, it was child’s play compared to the shit that must have gone on down here, and the architecture was eerily reminiscent of a place I had seen back home...

...a certain 'temple'.

Dear god. BEN sure was a sick fuck...

“Imagine if you will, a world free of imperfection and failure; we would have a glorious society with absolutely no setbacks, constant innovation, continuous advancement and growth... and never have to waste resources on the helpless.There’d be nowhere to go but up!” Atmosphere giddily said, as the two guards unclasped Derpy from her restraints and began to tie her down to the floor, just beneath the blades, but still in their path, as Dash flipped a lever that turned the spinner off for a moment. The bubbly pegasus screamed, trying to claw the other two ponies tying her down. Atmosphere came to me and kicked me to the floor, pinning me down on it with his hoof, so all I could do was watch. The skull kid laughed as the song of unhealing continued to play in the air, and Fluttershy started to cry. Applebloom and Spike were repressing this as best they could.

“Have her tied down, sirs.” one guard said, as he and his companion stepped away from the struggling mailmare. Dash flipped the lever, and the blades began to spin again.

“And that’s why we need to ensure a healthy and masterful race of creatures, that can’t impede societal progress. That’s why we made this place, and it's all thanks to your friend here...” Atmosphere began, but cut himself off as the statue spawned in front of us. “...that we were able to have such a marvelous creation.”

“Fuck you. Fuck you and the Rainbow Factory!”

“Aw, how cute. The human is angry again!” Dash scoffed, smacking me upside the face. I wiped the fresh blood off my mouth, and spat at the dark-suited pegasus.

“Take that mask off, and show them the sick fuck you really are, Rainbow!”

“R-rainbow!?” The others in my team asked with various loud gasps, taken aback as Derpy continued to struggle.

“Who else, you idiots?” Dash rhetorically asked, removing her gas mask, and revealing her face, along with her unnaturally blood red eyes, and rainbow mane, splattered with extra red here and there.

“R-Rain... Dash, how could you!?” Fluttershy meekly asked, backing away as far as her restraints would allow, the others staring in disbelief.

“Simple. The statue opened my eyes...”

“Oh dear Celestia...” Twilight muttered under her breath as sweat began to run across her lavender colored cheeks.

“On with the tour, now!” Atmosphere happily interrupted, picking me up by my shoulders and, along with Dash and the two guards, continued to drag us farther into the basement as the song of unhealing continued to play.

6:00 AM ***VIDEO***

Scoots and Dinky had entered the basement level, both of whom could feel nothing other than uneasiness and disturbance in their stomachs. The first trial was this freakish chasm below. Scoots couldn’t fly, Dinky couldn’t use magic, so how to get across?

“Maybe if I throw you...”

“Yeah, but what about you, Dinky? You’d be stuck here.”

“I’ll be fine. YOU need to go save the human.”

“What... what about Derpy, your mom?”

Dinky stopped to put a hoof on Scoot’s shoulder.

“You have a cutie mark. You’ve been through more than I, that I can see. Whatever’s down here, you’re much better prepared for it than I could ever hope to be. And I have a feeling that you’ll get them both out of this place. I have a feelling we’ll all get out if this place, even the other prisoners.”

“Dinky, I can’t do this without you!”

“Scootaloo, sometimes, you have to brave a challenge on your own. Help may or may not come...”

“I... I know that, Dinky.”

“Then let me throw you across. If- WHEN you get them out, mom and Fluttershy can fly you all back.”

“I’m ready.”

Dinky slowly walked over to the edge of the pit and turned to face her friend, and knelt down, extending her forehooves out in a cup.

“Come at me.”

Scootaloo drew a breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them again and sprinted for Dinky.

…And found herself being hoisted into the air, flying over the gap, and landing face first on the floor, skidding through a pile of bones. Scoots got up, pulling a peice of shoulder blade from her mane and dusting herself off.

“Ow...”

“Great! We did it. Now be careful, Scootaloo. I’m gonna go see what I can do for the rest of the prisoners. Good luck.”

“You too, Dinky. Stay safe, and consider yourself a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders once we get out of this.”

---

“I must say, Discord, you have really changed. That whole shpiel with the zombies has done wonders. I commend you, Discord, truly, I commend you, for learning to create true chaos. Now, don’t get me wrong, I truly understand your concern, boy; you would rather have fun with your victims, rather than kill them. Well then, I have a proposition for you...”

Discord gulped, his wings falling flat by his sides in nervous anticipation.

“Please, don’t take another part of my body...”

“When I said I don’t need you, I found I was wrong. Ever since the incident with the Crusaders at Derpy’s house, I’ve been unable to posess Jadusable directly; he’s learned to better control his anger, thus barring me from taking direct control of his mind - his will has gotten far too strong, and I can only feed off emotions So, I will ask one thing of you. Do you remember how you took control of Jad to make him dig up the graveyard?”

“Y-yes, master.”

“And you remember how I needed you to persuade Twilight to drink the ‘special’ FlimFlam drink that had my soul in it so I could possess her?”

“Yes sir...”

“Well, I’ll need that talent again... IF you persuade Jadusable to kill one of the children that are with him right now...”

“Y-yes?”

“...I will personally give you access to the human world - and let you off the leash. So long as they don’t have the instrument, I have no need to fear, but, I’d perfer you had one of them die, lessening the chances of them finding it.”

Discord’s eyes widened in pure amazement. “You... you’re letting me wreak my own chaos in the human world!?”

“So long as you do this. Otherwise, I’ll kill you. Now, work the magic of that silver tongue you have.”

Discord immediately fell to his knees, crossing his only arm over his chest line, and bowing his head.

“Thank you, master. I shall not fail you. But what of my plans to lead them into the forbidden town in the Everfree?”

“I’ll handle that, Discord. Get to work on making Jad side with you.”

And with that, Discord snapped his talons together, disappearing in a flash of light.

“Maybe I can’t control you, Jadusable... but I can still kill you. What say, if you make it out of this, I take you all for a nice swim?”

---

Applejack stood, trying her best to orient herself. Pinkie did the same as well, propping herself up against the wall of the room they were thrown into, but instantly jumped away as her back touched.

“Woah, Geez!”

The room... this room... it was built out of nothing more than bone. The walls, the ceilings, even the floor.

“What in the sam-hey is goin’ on in here!? Why in tarnation is this room made out of-”

Applejack was cut short as a sudden tremor shook the floor, and out of it slowly arose what appeared to be a hoof. Then another, then another, and another, continuing to form a small ring of hooves. They appeared to be bloody, and decomposing, flesh falling off the bones in strips, the hooves at the ends cracked and chipped. The entire legs themselves were malnourished looking, and carried with them a clammy, pasty-white coloration and appearance, which only stuck out with the blood splatters that covered them. Applejack held a hoof up in front of Pinkie.

“Sugarcube, stay back... Imma see what this here’s about...”

Applejack slowly approached one of the protruding hooves, gently touching it.

“AUGH! PINKIE PIE, HELP!”

The freakish appendage lunged at Applejack, grabbing her by the head, and lifting her a few feet off the ground. A few seconds later, another tremor from underneath the floor came, and out slowly came a creature, crawling its way from underneath the piles of bones. This thing was a gelatinous mass, though hard to see with the singular torchlight hanging above the room. It had no visible legs, its lower body like that of a slug. Across its entire body were red stains. The probability that this thing had hurt itself, however, was unlikely; these were more likely to be wounds where other ponies must have unsuccessfully attempted to retaliate against the creature. Pinkie Pie screamed at the top of her lungs.

“What do I do!?”

“Ah don’t know, get this thing away from me! What about ya party cannon!?”

“The guards took it!”

“Aw... shit.”

The creature, looking at it, had the face of a pony. It lacked eyes, black, soulless pits replacing them. Where the creature’s forehooves should have been sat stubbed and jaggedly broken bones, only mild remnants of what remained of the creature’s former hooves. The jaw was outstretched, and the teeth were rotted, much like the necrotic flesh that sickeningly peeled off of the beast, and it slowly waddled its way over to AJ, who was struggling against the hoof holding snuggly to her as Pinkie Pie panicked in the corner.

“Dear Celestia, help! This thing’s gonna eat me!”

---

Derpy on the other hoof, had her own problems. Above her spun two slowly rotating scythe blades from the statue she was tied to. With every three passes the blades made, the statue slowly dropped down, bringing the rotating slicers down by about half an inch. Another approximate fifty passes, and it would start touching her mane. another twenty after that, and, well...

“Oh, Celestia, oh Celestia... what do I do!? HELP!”

---

We continued through this hellish place, coming to a hallway with a guillotine, also soaked in blood. We had actually gone down DEEPER into the basement, having gone down a ramp some time before. As such, the place was much darker and creepier. The screams and moans here were much more demonic and twisted, sending chills down all of our spines. Applebloom was trying desperately to block everything out, crying, screaming, clamping her eyes shut, and trying to sing a happy tune.

“Now, THIS here, is a classic.” Atmosphere said, pointing a hoof up to the guillotine as he unlatched Twilight from her restraints and laid her down on the floor, just under the blade, it hovering not over her head, but her stomach. Fluttershy began to cry.

“Rainbow Dash, stop this, right now!”

One of the guards smacked Fluttershy in the face, knocking her against a wall. The other then violently grabbed her by her mane, and kicked her in the chest. She fell down to the floor covered in blood.

“FLUTTERSHY!” Rarity screamed, trying to lunge out for her friend, but was hit in the back of the head by Dash, and fell to the floor.

“Rarity!” Spike burst in, trying to worm his way free. While this was going on, I tried to see what I could do. I felt my pants for a moment - dumb sons of bitches forgot to take my knife away. I tried to weasel my hands down to my pants and draw my concealed kitchen knife. However, a guard noticed what I was attempting, gripped the knife, and drove it through my other flesh hand, the blade exiting through the back, and cutting up some of my tendons. I lost feeling in my first three fingers. Atmosphere tied Twilight down to the floor with some utility rope, just under the guillotine.

“OOOOWWWW! FUCK!”

“Don’t bother to try teleporting your way to safety, sweetheart; we had a unicorn team come down here and put a disarming spell around the area two hours ago, so you won’t get anywhere with your magic.” Atmosphere said, as Twilight struggled under her ropes, and then stood up as he pulled the end of the rope taunt. “Now, let’s move along! There’s so much to see! Rainbow, be a dear and hit the switch for this thing, will you?”

“Dear Celestia, I’m gonna die...” Twilight squealed under her breath. I tried to stand amidst my pain, and turned my attention to the panicked mare.

“Nobody‘s gonna... die, Twilight... We’ll... get... *huff* out of this.”

“That’s just wishful thinking, human. Let us move on, now.”

“Fuck you, Dash. And fuck you too, BEN! I know you’re in here! Come out and face me!”

No response other than the bone-chilling laugh of the skull kid, as we were drug away from the screaming Twilight Sparkle.

7:00 AM

“Oh. My. Celestia. This place is just...”

Scootaloo was carefully treading through this lower basement, her young mind being polluted with the moans, screams, and begging cries of the dead that, no surprise to even her, resided down here. Just being here was one of the most horrifying experience in itself, but she HAD to trudge on. Everypony’s lives were depending on her. The little pegasus came to a steel door, and putting her hoof to it, instantly jumped back at the sounds of feminine screams on the other side, and further down the hallway that must have lied behind this doorway.

“Applejack! Pinkie Pie!”

Scootaloo bashed the metallic door open, knocking one of the hinges loose, and running down the dirt chamber dimly lit with small torches. As she sprinted down the twisting and turning hallways, trying to track the scream, voices began to speak in the air.

“What is hidden in the darkness? Tricks full of ill will. You can’t see the way forward...”

Scootaloo was flat out lost, but was drawn to the same pair of screams, much closer now. But where were they coming from?

The screams, one final time.

“Inside this wall? What?”

Scootaloo cautiously approached the wall in which the sound originated, putting her hoof to it, but instantly pulled it away as her own limb slowly slid through it, with no visible or physical resistance.

“Woah!”

Scootaloo put her hoof back through the wall, and then gently stepped the rest of her body through, coming face to face with a rustic looking door, clasped shut with massive steel bars that ran down the length of the iron slab. A few seconds later, Scootaloo heard a scream on the other side, then a few words.

“Hey meanie! Over here!”

“Applejack! Pinkie!”

---

Pinkie Pie threw a few skulls at the creature, attempting to draw its attention. Lo and behold, the beast slowly changed course, moving away from Applejack, who was about to be bitten across the neck as the (likely) undead creature slowly opened its mouth and lunged its head forward before being pegged by Pinkie’s stray projectiles.

“Pick on somepony your own size!”

As the creature turned around, Applejack managed to wiggle herself loose from the undead hoof that was gripping her firmly, and jumped up to buck the beast in the back of the head. It screamed, then retreated back into the bone floor, burying itself.

“Is it dead?”

“Ah don’t think so, sugarcube...”

“Pinkie! Applejack! You two in there!?”

Applejack ran over to the locked door on the other side of the room and slammed her hooves against it.

“Scootaloo!? Thank Celestia you’re okay! Where in thunderation ya been!?”

“That doesn’t matter! We need to get you out of there! I’m gonna try and find something to pry the door open!”

Pinkie Pie screamed as the creature emerged from the ground again. She picked up another piece of bone, this one a femur, and broke it at an angle, forming a shiv.

“Sugarcube, we have this under control! Go git the others!”

“But...”

“NOW!’

“Okay, meanie face, you wanna hurt my friend!? I’ll show you!”

Pinkie Pie blindly charged in towards the rotting figure, holding the bone in her hoof, and running it through the creature’s neck. It screamed again, then retreated into the skeletal pile beneath.

“Come back out, party pooper!”

“Sugarcube, why in tarnation are ya being so violent!?”

“I’m fighting to survive, Applejack! Are you just gonna stand there, or help me stop this thing!?”

Survival... the same excuse Nick has for his actions.

“Pinkie Pie, be careful! That thing is gonna eat’cha if ya don’t watch yaself!”

“Stop being such a scaredy-pony, Applejack! This is about survival!”

AJ couldn’t fathom such harsh words coming out of one of her friend’s mouths, Pinkie Pie, the most laid back and fun-loving of them all, especially. The pink party mare that always lived a relaxed a joy filled life had finally buckled down and learned to take some things in the world a bit more seriously. It was quite the shock.

“Alright, sugar, let’s do this...” Applejack said, tilting her seston hat downwards and charging at one of the hooves.

“Ah’ll play bait, an’ when it grabs me, stab it!”

---

“Anypony in here?”

Dinky was back on the factory floor, trying her best to avoid the guards. She peered her head into a room, which she believed was the prisoner room she was recently held in. Unfortunately, like her mother, who frequently mixed up the town’s mail, Dinky never did have a grand sense of direction. There was nothing in this room other than few computers and...

"Woah!"

...a gun turret. Dinky dove back behind the wall, a small cluster of bullets flying over her head. The little unicorn’s heart pounding, Dinky took a breath and sprinted across the hallway, followed by another burst of ammunition.

“We’ve got a situation upstairs, shots fired!”

---

"Let me go, you cretans! This is NO way to treat a lady!”

Rarity was being unhooked from her chains now, being placed underneath a spiked device that Atmosphere liked to call ‘the rain of pain’. It was a large, five foot by five foot metal plate, with spikes running the underside. The two guards began to tie her down to the floor, and Dash flipped the nearby lever on the wall, which made the platform began to slowly drop down. I could hear the mask salesman laugh, and BEN’s voice...

“You’ve met with a terrible fate, haven’t you?”

Rarity screamed as the hanging device slowly began to lower to her. Just a few minutes, and she would be gone. What could I do? Nothing. Both of the guards dragged the rest of us, which consisted of Applebloom, Fluttershy, Spike, and myself, further down the nearby hallway. Some time later, we came to a door, and Dash kicked it open. It revealed long, narrow room, about ten feet wide by fifty feet long. Atmosphere and a guard unhooked Fluttershy, who began to kick and scream violently, her blood-soaked face running cold with fear. The room was rather plain, though the floor was covered in blood. On each end of the room sat a wooden wall, carved and designed in such a way that all across it sat spikes, made of, and attached to the former wall. On a handful of these sat punctured skulls, each of which had varying degrees of flesh rot: some were barren, others were fresh, and more, somewhere in between. Fluttershy clasped her eyes shut as she was forcibly thrown into the room.

“Happy place... think of the happy place...”

At that, the door slammed behind Fluttershy, and Dash pulled a switch that was on the wall, outside of the room. A few minutes later, we could hear the timid pegasus scream. The kids and I were drug to a room on the opposite side of the hallway. Here, there was nothing more than a small crucifix, veiled in crimson. No twisted torture devices, no traps, no spikes, no blades...

...hooves basked in the blood of others, here.

And then? I was unhooked from my shackles, as well as the two remaining kids. Atmosphere took hold of a loose coil of rope that was sitting in the corner of the room, and began to tie the children down to the crucifix. I was free to move about, but there was no notable escape. Going up against Dash in its own right was suicide, and I had two guards with guns, plus Atmosphere, who I was pretty certain could handle himself. I pulled the knife from my hand, screaming in pain.

“Ah, I think he gets what we want of him! Good human!”

What do they want of me? What did they want? I- hold on...

I looked to the knife in my robotic arm, then to the two kids who were now strapped taunt to the cross.

No...

“Get to it, human.”

“Fuck off. the only person I’m killing is you.”

“I’d love to see you try. My guards and Dash will be sure to accommodate any action.”

Well shit... what am I supposed to do? If I didn’t, they’d not only kill me, but the kids themselves. After I did, if I did, I would die as well. Either way, we were all going to die...

“We’re waiting...”

“Ah, so THIS is the human!”

Wait a second, where did that second voice come from? I swear I heard it before...

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” the voice asked me again, before a bright flash of light filled the room, and from it, appeared...

“Discord!? What the fuck!?”

“Normally, we’d all run in fear of Discord, but the statue is cool with him, so, we made an exception...” Atmosphere added, as the song of unhealing started to play in the room, and Discord opened his mouth to speak.

“Who else? Didn’t you catch on with Twilight and Rarity losing their color? I’m surprised, as much as you say you know about us. In fa-”

“The hell happened to your paw and antler?”

No response, though I could see it was a personal hit to Discord. He came back angry, lashing out at me, then quickly changing the subject.

“None of your business, human. Tell me... how far would you be willing to go for these children?” he asked me, snapping his talons together, and disappearing for a moment, then reappearing behind me. I turned around to stab him, but he simply brought his talon out, holding my blade in place by one claw. Remember Girahim from Skyward Sword? Yeah, kinda like that - he was taunting me. “Now, tell me, do you miss your home?”

“Of course.”

“What would you give... to go back?”

“Nick, don’t listen to him!”

---

“Scootaloo! Thank Celestia! untie me!”

Scoots had just walked into a main atrium containing two rotating statues with blades, and a packing Derpy Hooves underneath, the scythes coming ever closer. The spinning machine kept dropping with every turn, leaving little room for mistakes; it had already started to cut up Derpy’s mane.

“Don’t worry, I got ya!”

Scoots rushed over and viscously bit at the tangled, decrepit looking rope, giving the wall-eyed pegasus some wiggle room, though she still wasn’t free.

*Ching*

“Oh Celestia, one more turn, get me out!”

Scootaloo, with what strength she could muster, tore at the ropes with her mouth again, spitting them in half with a violent tear. Derpy instinctively rolled away, and breathed a sigh of relief as the blades dropped down yet again.

“Th-thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it, you okay?” Scoots asked, feeling Derpy’s pulse, temperature, and thoroughly examining her for any wounds.

“I- I’m fine, Scootaloo, thank you. Have you seen my Dinky?"

“Dinky’s perfectly fine. She went to go help the other prisoners.”

Derpy gave an ear to ear grin, hugging the young pegasus, barely audible cries passing from the mare as she dug her muzzle into the filly’s purple mane.

“I knew my little Dinky was a fighter...”

“Look, Derpy, we need to go get the others. Applejack and Pinkie Pie are handling something, but they’ll...”

“Scootaloo! Derpy!”

Both ponies immediately turned at the shout, only to see the aforementioned others approach. Scootaloo lovingly clamped onto the two earth ponies before her, crying out their names in joy. However, that joy was soon brought to gut-stricken panic as she took a closer look at Applejack. The farm mare that everypony had known and loved was in a very bad way. She was bitten across the neck, bleeding profusely, and one ear was missing, also gushing out red. She was torn open an the stomach, and one eye was swollen shut. Also, her left forehoof was twisted, and Pinkie Pie was hysterical, in tears.

“Sugarcube... it’s... it’s fine, ah’m alright.”

“No you are NOT!” Scootaloo cried, lying Applejack down on the musty stone floor, and examining her wounds carefully, taking her medical supplies out of her saddlebags. “You need to know when to get help from others! Derpy, Pinkie, get out of here and go after the rest!”

“On it!”

“HELP!”

Twilight was doing her best to wiggle loose, and of course, she had attempted magic first; perhaps Atmosphere had been lying about the spell-dampening field, but no, he was right. Every attempt at magic the purple unicorn had made was met with failure thus far. What could she do? Time was running out, as the guillotine slowly lowered, coming just five inches short of her stomach.

“Twilight!”

“Wa-what!? Thank Celestia! Pinkie Pie! Derpy!”

Both friends nodded and rushed over to assist their companion, who, as soon as her bonds were broken, rolled out of the way just as the blade came slamming down, cutting a small portion of her tail off.

“Woah... That was close...”

Suddenly, a very high-pitched, effeminate scream.

“RARITY!”

---

“I’m not gonna lie, there’s not much I wouldn’t do to go home, Discord, but you can go fuck yourself.”

“Aw, come, now. You wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice one, maybe two lives, just to go home? You’ve already killed a good six or so. What’s two more?”

“Kiss my pasty kraut ass! They’re kids, Discord! Kids! Fuck yourself!

“Kids, indeed, human, but cartoons, nonetheless. We are nothing more than figments of your imagination. Killing any of us won’t cause harm; we aren’t even real!”

“How have I been stuck here for five months then? How the hell did I lose my arm!? You say that’s not real!?”

I can give you your arm and eye back. I can give you your teeth, and fix all your injuries. I can put you back in your apartment, human. All you have to do, is kill both of them.”

“I just wanna go home, and forget about all of this...”

“And you will... once you kill these two.”

“Nick, No!”

“Will I go home? Truly, Discord? WILL I go home!?”

“You have my word.” He said to me, his soothing voice encasing me, rattling around in my ears. I was right. This place was just a cartoon... If the people here died, what did I have to lose? I just wanted to wake up...

“NICK!”

“Wouldn’t you like to go back to Overland Park?”

Holy shit, Discord was being serious. He knew where I lived, down to the city. Perhaps... perhaps I could go home. And all I had to do was just kill... two more... cartoon characters...

“Nick, stop!”

“Dude, don’t kill us, you out of your mind?!”

---

“Gracious! Twilight, thank you so much!”

“No problem, Rarity. We still have to go get Fluttershy. Let’s get to it!”

Fluttershy was pounding on the giant steel door that held her into the elongated room of spikes, that began to slowly close in on her.

“Help! Somepony!”

The spined walls continued to work their way towards the pegasus. In a few moments, they would be on her, and the timid caretaker? She’d be nothing more than a squishy pile of red mush. Why not try to fly? Well, that wouldn't work, the entire hallway, from the floor to the ceiling, were occupied by the walls.

“Girls! Girls, if you can hear me, get me out of here! Please!” Fluttershy cried, pawing viscously at the steel door for a few minutes before hearing a loud bang on the other side.

“Fluttershy! You in there!?”

“Girls! Thank Celestia! Knock this door down!”

A violent slam on the door, though nothing else, then a voice.

“Fluttershy, fly up! We don’t wanna knock you down!”

Another slam on the door, then another, then another, crude and vicious dents being made on the steel with every hit, and the walls kept closing in. Ten inches, five, three... two...

One final slam. Fluttershy let out a high-pitched scream as the door flew at her, before she had a chance to fly up. If she wasn’t going to be impaled to death by the spikes, she was going to be spattered all over the room by this doo-

No pain, no blunt force slamming into the pegasus...

Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes, only to breathe an exhaustive sigh of relief; the door had indeed broken down, and flown towards her, but had gotten wedged between the spiked walls, stopping the torture device dead in its tracks. The yellow equine let out another sigh, nearly passing out on the ground, but was then lent a hoof by a smiling Rarity.

“Girls... thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy, let’s go! We need to help Nick!”

---

“Applejack, you need to stop squirming! How do you expect me to fix you up if you keep fighting it- Applejack? APPLEJACK! STAY WITH ME! MOTHERBUCK, YOU AREN’T DYING ON ME!”

---

All I had to do... was kill two cartoon characters. Two things that didn’t even exist. What did I have to lose? Nothing. I brought my knife up to Applebloom’s neck, and she screamed.

“NICK! STOP!”

At that moment, the others barged into the room, with the exception of Applejack and Scootaloo. Twilight and Rarity picked up the two guards with their magic, and threw them against the wall, grabbing their weapons in the process, and turning them against Atmosphere and-

“Discord! What are you doing here!?”

I lowered my weapon, and turned to face the others, Discord standing behind me.

“I’m going home, girls.”

“Ah, ladies, I see you have been freed! Congratulations everypony!” Discord said, with his smarmy tone. “I’m just trying to let the human here go home. All he has to do for me is kill these two.” He continued to say, stepping in front of me.

---

The girls looked over to Nick, noting he had next to no color in his skin, hair, or clothing, that trademark gray overtaking his body; Discord had gotten to him, and had obviously promised him a way home.”

“LET HIM GO!”

Discord only laughed, walking over to Twilight, and putting his face to hers, their noses touching.

“You know, the major difference between BEN and I, is that he likes to kill. If I wanted, I could easily obliterate Ponyville AND the surrounding areas. He doesn’t like the fact that I’d rather have fun with my victims, playing with their world, rather than killing them off.” he said, slinking back to Nick and wrapping his talons over the human’s right shoulder.

“Discord, you BETTER send me home, or so help me god, I WILL fucking kill you.”

“And I will, human, just kill-”

“Enough of this! How did you all get free!?” Dash asked, tacking Twilight and Rarity to the floor. “I’ll kill all of you if you so much as STOP this human from ending them!”

Fluttershy drew backwards, and Derpy and Pinkie Pie pulled Dash away from the others, before Atmosphere decided to jump into the fray. Discord on the other hoof, snapped his talons, and disappeared in a flash of light.

“It’s been fun, everypony, but I’m afraid I can’t stay much longer; I’ve a brand new world to torment!”

“DISCORD! YOU SON OF A BITCH! TAKE ME BACK HOME!”

“Nick... don’t let anybody sway you. Don’t let those ‘silver-tounged devils’ try to sway your actions. You KNOW killing children isn’t justifiable.”

---

That... that voice. I keep hearing it.

“Okay, enough games, who the fuck are you?” I asked the air around me, as my friends battled it out in a hooffight with Dash, Atmosphere, and the guards.

“Oh, come on, Nick, you don’t recognize your own father?”

My mouth ran bone dry, and I lost my words. I shook my head a bit, holding my knife on the two children tied to the bloody crucifix.

“My father’s dead, BEN; stop fucking with my brain!”

“If I were BEN, would I know what I taught you as a child, what you refused to practice, despite my begging you because you were such a peace-lover? Not that there’s anything wrong with that; I just wish you took the training more seriously."

“If you’re my father, give me your name. Give me your name!”

“Michael Scott Brownford, retired G15 Warrant Officer of the United States Marine Corps. Born on March 3rd, 1963 in Baltimore, Maryland. Married to Carolyn Sue Miller as of December 21st, 1985, who gave birth to Nicholas Matthew Brownford on May 25th, 1990 on Camp Pendelton Naval Base in San Diego, California. Received the purple heart and bronze star for service in August of 1991, and deceased as of November 11th, 2011, following the driving off of a cliff at 1:37 AM due to a GPS failure. Need any more poof, son?”

“I-I-I-I...”

“NICK, STOP TALKING TO YOURSELF AND HELP US!” Twilight yelled, as Atmosphere brought a powerful hoof down upon her face.

“Don’t let Discord tell you what to do. You KNOW killing children is an unforgivable thing. You know what you have to do. Stop Dash, stop Atmosphere, and free the other prisoners here! I can’t believe you would nearly sell your soul to Discord like that!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My father was here? How? Wasn’t he dead? How was he talking to me, and how did he get here in the first place?

“D-dad... I... how did you get here? What’s letting you talk to me? I have so many questions!”

“And in time, Nick, you’ll get your answers. Know you’re not alone - I’ve been guiding you every step of the way. Just do me one favor when you face BEN, will you?”

“W-what?”

“Get him back for what he did to me.”

“What did he do to you!? Dad! Wait!”

No response.

“Dad!”

There was no use, he was gone, and so was Discord. The song of unhealing was playing in the air, and in the corner of the room, my friends were duking it out with Atmosphere, Dash, and the guards. My dad was right. What the fuck was I doing, listening to Discord, of all people? Didn’t the show teach me anything? I was about to kill innocent lives again! I took the knife and threw it at one of the guards attacking the others, and the blade stuck him clean in the temple. If any killing needed to be done, it was these guards that posed a threat. I ran to the other and grabbed him by the head, pile-driving his face into the floor. Pinkie Pie threw Atmosphere off of her, and he went flying into me, sending me against the back wall with the force of a mortar. I threw Atmosphere away from me, but he turned around, and decked me across the face, my nose breaking, and covering myself in blood once more. I got up and rushed over to the body with the blade in it, and turned around, stabbing at Atmosphere once I collected it. The others were dealing with Dash, Spike and Applebloom still tied up and panicking. I grabbed Atmosphere by the neck with my robotic arm, and tried to choke him out. At that moment, Scootaloo rushed in, barely holding an unconscious, and severely injured Applejack. Atmosphere started pummeling me, hitting me multiple times in the face again. Scootaloo let go of Applejack, and rushed to my aid, trying to fight against the red-coated, white-suited pony. He hit me again and I bled some more, and grabbed me by the head, throwing me to the side like a ragdoll.

“Dad! Sing the song! It’s the only way to stop Dash!”

“Fuck! My nose! Scootaloo, untie Spike and Applebloom!

I tackled Atmosphere to the ground, ripping out a portion of his mane. He screamed and hit me again, tearing my eyepatch off, and breaking two of my right fingers. I grabbed my knife, which was on the ground, and stabbed him in the flank, as Pinkie Pie fell down next to me, getting punched in the stomach by Dash. Rainbow was a tough fighter, that I knew, but Jesus, she could take on almost all her friends and win...

“I’m gonna fucking kill you, Atmosphere!”

The stallion threw me off of him, and I went barreling through the crucifix, slamming into Spike, Scootaloo, and Applebloom. I stood to fight, pushing the kids out of the way, and jumped at Atmosphere with the knife. He blocked me, and then, I was blindsided by Dash, getting kicked in the face. My head flew backwards with a snap, my jaw breaking, and I landed on my back, with Atmosphere and Dash towering over me, the others, in intense pain, scattered around the floor. Now it was up to me. So what to do? Kill Atmosphere and save Dash. I took the two ponies by the heads with my arms, and slammed their skulls together. Dash still had her mask on, and, with the hefty canister on the muzzle, it knocked Atmosphere clean out. One down, one to go.

“NICK! SING THE SONG!”

And at that, I did, rolling Dash underneath me, and pinning her in place. She was struggling, trying to break free, but, let’s face it, I was twice as big as her, and, thanks to Applejack, a now well-built farmhand to boot. Plus, I had an arm made of steel. She wasn’t going anywhere.

"Dash, listen to me. You aren't being yourself."

As I sang, the others’ eyes grew heavy, slowly starting to fall asleep. Not too long after, I joined them, passing out for a small amount of time. When we woke up, it was time to get any other prisoners this place was holding out of here.

8:00 AM

“Human? Get up! Hey! Com’on!”

I woke up to find myself staring into the wine-colored eyes of a cyan pegasus, who turned away to spit up a black, tarry residue. The others were surrounding me, including Applejack, who was in poor shape, but patched up and alive. Atmosphere was on the ground next to me, unconscious, next to a set of black armor. I sat up, and gently embraced Applejack, noting her wounds. I carefully picked AJ up, letting her rest off the front of my body, her front hooves and head dangling over my shoulder.

“Come on, guys, let’s get the hell out of here.”

We made our way back to Atmosphere’s lab, and collected our things, which were sitting on a nearby table.

“Scootaloo, do you know where the other prisoners were being held?”

“Uh-huh. Top floor, eastern side of the building.”

“Alright, let’s roll out, people! Time to bust out some captives!”

We slowly worked our way back up to the upper floors, surprisingly, meeting no resistance. After about thirty minutes of traversing the structure, still sneaking around,.we came to the aforementioned prisoner room, but...

"HOLY SHIT!"

...there was a gun turret in the middle of the room. How the hell were we gonna get through here? There had to be a way to shut down the security system...

“Dash, you know your way around this place, where are the security measures controlled from?”

“Human, I don’t even know what I’ve been doing the past four and a half months!”

“Fuck...”

I stopped for a second and took a quick peek around the doorframe, only to be greeted with a hailstorm of bullets, which I quickly avoided by pulling away. From what I could gather in the short glimpse I had of the weapon, the turret itself looked like a small, multi-barreled chaingun that rotated around the room a full three-sixty degrees. Its rotation was a bit slow though, and it appeared to have what looked like a small camera hanging on the side. Perhaps...

...perhaps if I shot that, it wouldn’t be able to ‘see’ us. I drew my crossbow, and loaded a few bolts, and peered around the corner. This time, the turret was facing away from us. I brought the bow up to my face, and opened on the camera like device, which drove a bolt straight through it. The turret turned around, and the barrels came straight at me.

“Shit, I’m gonna die...”

No bullets tearing me to shreds - it really worked.

“Alright! Anyone in there!?”

An eruption of screams and cries for help. I stepped into the doorway, followed by the others. Here, I was greeted with a room full of caged individuals, which consisted of all manner of pony, regardless of race, color, gender, age, what have you. The ponies that were here, consisted of all kinds of ponies with some kind of injury or disability.

“Team, hop to it, let’s break them out!”

We got to work, breaking open cages and freeing as many as we could, Rarity with her hoof file, I with my knife, and the others with what they had on them. The cameras in the room spotted us, which set off an alarm, but we had a force that went upwards of a hundred and twenty ponies, plus a heavily armed human.

“LETS GET THE FUCK OUT!”

Our platoon barreled through the place, ponies looking out for eachother, some of the more able, taking care of the nearly incapable ones. Still, Every body meant one extra fighter, no matter how disadvantaged they were, and men are exactly what we needed. We made it to a large, dark atrium. As soon as we stepped in, the doors closed behind us, and the lights switched on.

“You... you think you can stop the work we do here, human? Freeing all these ponies?”

Atmosphere’s voice could be heard, apparently over a loudspeaker system, as he was nowhere to be found. He had woken up and made his way back to the floor.

“I know I can’t stop it, Atmosphere, but I know a good hundred could.”

The room we were in was a twenty by eighteen foot area, I’d say, that was made out of pure white tiles. There was a fire exit on the east side of the room, and sitting ten feet above us was a thin, red catwalk, which formed the second floor. Next to the causeway, on the north side of the room, was a large glass pane that formed one of the walls on the second floor. From the other side of the glass approached Atmosphere. He had something wrapped under his hoof.

“DINKY!”

“MOM! HELP ME!”

“Our intention was to create a society free of failure and setbacks. By eliminating those that are unfit, be it by disability or a need to take medicine, or slow child development, we could achieve a utopia. The statue showed us this through a certain foal’s tale about humans called ‘Eins Volk, Eins Reich, Eins Fuhrer’.” Atmosphere said, lifting up a leather covered book in his free hoof, then throwing it to the floor. “For you AND your companions’ insolence...”

The red and ruined stallion threw the book to the floor, from behind the safety of his glass chamber, and produced a small remote, with a few buttons on it. he pressed one, followed by a voice.

“Attention, all employees, please evacuate the facility immediately: primary reactor meltdown imminent; self-destruct defensive measure has been activated.”

“...you can all kiss your plots goodbye.

"Oh, shit..."

“Attention, primary reactor unstable, complete system meltdown in four minutes. Please evacuate the facility immediately.”

LET’S GO! PEOPLE, HOP TO IT! MOVE OUT, MOVE OUT!”

Derpy grabbed hold of me, shaking me hysterically, screaming at my face.

“WE ARE NOT LEAVING MY DINKY!”

“No, we aren’t. Derpy, take Applejack and the kids and get out of here with the rest. I’ll go after Atmosphere.”

“Dad, I’m coming with you.”

“No, you are not. Get out of here with all the others!” I ordered, as the various prisoners and the six made their way down the fire exit.

“NO! I AM COMING WITH YOU, AND THAT’S FINAL!”

I sighed, throwing Scootaloo onto my back, and flying up to the upper floor. Though I had been shot through the wing, I had regained some sense of movement in it since then, and I clambered onto the catwalk. Here, I had a clear view of Atmosphere, who was on the opposite side of the glass, holding a panicking Dinky Hooves in his right arm. I brought my robotic limb up, and smashed at the window, tearing a hole through the transparent wall. I stepped through it, smashing the rest around me to pieces as the skull kid laughed continuously.

“Give me Dinky, you bastard.”

Atmosphere threw the grey unicorn to the ground, beckoning me with a hoof. He grabbed a knife that was sitting on the nearby desk, and held it in a defensive position.

“Bring it, human.”

The deranged scientist jumped at me and Scootaloo, the filly screaming in horror. I brought my mechanical arm up to block the slice of the blade, which caused him to lose balance and drop the knife. I grabbed mine, and stabbed him in the gut, but he kicked me in my stomach, sending me reeling backwards onto the pile of shattered glass. Scootaloo jumped onto Atmosphere, biting, and tearing off a small chunk of his left wing. The stallion yelled in anguish, and threw Scoots off of him, sending her reeling into a PC, knocking the machine off the desk. She came back and picked up the CPU tower, chucking it at Atmosphere, who fell to the floor as the computer case slammed into his ribcage. I got up and drew my handgun, putting two rounds into his stomach. He wasn’t dead, but he would be buried in the rubble.

“Attention, primary reactor temperature at nine-hundred degrees fahrenheit. reactor meltdown in three minutes. Please evacuate the facility immediately."

I quickly grabbed Dinky and Scootaloo, leaving the doctor for the flames. I jumped out of the window as an explosion went off behind me, but...

...Scootaloo was gone.

“JESUS CHRIST!”

I immediately flew back up to see Scootaloo trying to medicate Atmosphere to the best of her abilities, explosions and chemical reactions rattling the structure.

“SCOOTALOO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? WE HAVE TO GO!”

“YOU’RE JUST GONNA LEAVE HIM FOR DEAD!?”

“FUCK THAT GUY, LET’S GO!”

“WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET! LEARN TO FORGIVE HIM FOR WHAT HE DID! DIDN’T SWEETIE TELL YOU TO FORGIVE TWILIGHT FOR HER EVIL!?”

“THAT’S COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!”

“HOW!? JUST TAKE HIM WITH US!”

I grabbed Atmosphere’s unconscious body, slinging him over my back. Scootaloo jumped onto my head, Dinky still hanging on my waist, and I dove out the broken window, down to the floor, and through the fire escape. The farthest this one went was to the third floor, which was in awful shape. Explosions here had rocked the building, filling the hallways with nearly insurmountable debris. I pulled out my radio, and frantically tried to check for the others.

"RARITY, TWILIGHT, ANY-FUCKIN'-BODY HEAR ME!?"

“We’re fine, dear! We’ve nearly made it out, we can see the exit! Have a hoofful of guards that are trying to get out for dear life; we’re helping them where we can!”

“How’re Applejack and Dash doing!?”

“Applejack is unconscious, Dash is carrying her!” Twilight suddenly interrupted over the radio. “Where are you!?”

“Two floors above! I’ve got Scootaloo, Dinky, and Atmosphere with me!” I screamed, as the hallway began to crumble behind us. I tore through a small vent shaft that had broken apart, obviously from an explosion. We had no idea where it lead, but the rest of the hallway was blocked by debris. I jumped in, with the others held onto me, the third floor crumbling behind us as we went zooming down the vent shaft. I caught my fall by opening my wings at the last minute, then pushed off the grate to the bottom of the vent, noting a large, yellow sign, painted onto a concrete wall: First Floor Maintenance.

“Attention, all personnel, please evacuate the facility immediately. Two minutes till primary reactor meltdown."

We were almost there, just had to make another few turns...

“Attention, primary reactor temperature at two-thousand degrees fahrenheit. All personnel, please evacuate the facility immediately; self-destructive meltdown imminent."

Sprinting like a madman, I bounded over a desk, the others on my back, and made a break down the hallway. I ran through some metal detectors, setting off their alarms, and came to the main lobby, where we first started.

“Ten.”

“God damn it, Nick, haul ass like it’s Metroid!”

“Nine.”

“Nick, are you still in there!? Get out! Get out now!”

“Eight.”

“Come on, son, get out of there! For Equestria. For OUR world.”

“Seven.”

“Sugarcube, ya better not die in there!”

“Six.”

There were the front doors. If I could smash those down...

“Five.”

...we’d be home free.

“Four.”

“GET THE BUCK OUT OF THERE!”

“Three.”

“DINKY!”

I smashed the doors open, putting the weight of all four of our bodies into the attack. The wood splintered into pieces, and I took a dive through the clouds, the piercing, burning light of the morning sun greeting us.

“Two.”

“SQUADALA, MOTHERFUCKERS! WE’RE OFF!”

“One.”

“HOLY HELL!”

As I fell through the cloud layer and spread my wings, the Rainbow Factory, as well as the surrounding areas in Cloudsdale went up in a violently explosive mushroom cloud. The others were alive, a good two hundred meters below the explosion, the land ponies being carried by the pegasi. Others, escapees from the factory, were flying and teleporting themselves and others to safety during the freefall. Time to get back to Ponyvi...

*Ssssssst....*

“FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!! HELP ME!”

Just like Rarity, the sun scorched my wings clean off, into a pile of ashes. Dinky, Scoots, Atmosphere and I were now falling at a good hundred-x miles an hour, going straight down.

“DASH! FLUTTERSHY! DERPY! HELP!”

“Oh no! I forgot to tell him the wings were only temporary! They only last twelve hours!”

"There's no way I can go after him, we're carrying too many ponies as is!" I could hear Dash yell, as she watched us fall. Others from the factory, guards or otherwise, tried to come to my aid, but the two fillies holding onto me, plus Atmosphere, were weighing me down considerably, speeding my velocity to unprecedented levels.

“SCOOTALOO, YOU HAVE TO TRY TO FLY!”

The orange filly shot me a panicked glare, fear coursing through her veins.

“ARE YOU BUCKING KIDDING ME!? I NEVER LEARNED!”

I grabbed Scootaloo by her forehoof, bringing her close to my face.

“Where I come from, it’s a long running gag that you’re a ‘chicken’. I’ve spent four months with you, and I personally know you’re not; you’re worth so much more. You CAN fly, and you damn well know that.”

“But I never learned how!”

I sighed, as our freefall continued, some pegasi chasing us in vain.

“To fly, Scootaloo, first, get a feel for your wing muscles. Can you do that for me?” I asked, a calming tone about my voice, despite the fact that we were about to face death in a few mere minutes.

Scootaloo, though pure fear running through her body, calmed herself with a deep breath, and opened her wings, trying a few times to flap them together. A few failures, but eventually, success.

“That’s good. Now, let’s try gliding. Shift your weight to the left a bit. I have hold of you.”

Scoots nodded, gently pushing her body to the side some, and a small gust of wind pushed her tiny frame away from me.

“Now, I’m gonna let go, okay?”

“But dad, I...”

“You’ll be fine.”

“But what about you?” Scoots asked me, tearing up.

“Your life is all that matters to me. I’m twenty-one, and I’ve seen enough to say I’ve lived quite the life. If I die, I can say I’ve lived a life worth living, for better or worse. You get Dinky to safety, do you understand me?”

“But... how do I hover? How do I change altitude?”

“Close your wings if you want to drop. If you want to go higher, catch a hot air current. If you wanna hover? Keep your weight at the top of your body as you work your wings slowly.”

I let go, and Scootaloo fell a few feet, screaming, but she managed to catch a burst of air, which sent her skyward. She swung back around, grabbing Dinky off of my back, and flying back to Derpy. The others couldn’t catch me in time, I knew, not even Rainbow Dash. Atmosphere was still falling beside me, barely conscious. Why the hell did I spare this murderous prick? No sense in even asking; we were both going to die in a matter of seconds. I closed my eyes, and lied on my back as I waited for my life to end.

“When I die,”
“Show no pitty,”
“Send my soul to Juggalo City.”
“Dig my grave six feet deep,”
“Put two matches by my feet,”
“Put two hatchets on my chest,”
“And tell my homies I did my best.

Comments

[idk12345678910]

Argh, cliffhangers. MY WORST ENEMY!

[The Doctor is cool]

CCCCCLLLLLIIIIFFFFFFHHHHAAAANNNNGGGGEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!!!

[Crulocrius of Honeycomb]

Dead hoof, genious.

[Crulocrius of Honeycomb]

Did you just reference metroid, star fox, CDI Zelda., and every military movie ever?