//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 Welcome to City 17 // Story: Black Bloom 2 // by Bronycommander //------------------------------// Chapter 1: Welcome to City 17 Two Months passed after Apple Bloom returned. Still, the trauma and near-death experience hunted her in her dreams. “No please, don’t kill me!” she pleaded for her life as a Black Ops pointed his MP5 at her. She awoke with a scream. “Apple Bloom!” In record time Applejack ran in. Apple Bloom was shivering and crying. “Apple Bloom, calm down, Ah am here for ya.” Her sister rocked her. “It’s just, that Ah can’t get over it what happened 2 months ago.” Apple Bloom let out a sigh. “You can sleep with me, Sugarcube.” Applejack carried her sister to her bed. Apple Bloom cried herself to sleep. That Black Mesa incident left his scares. Ah hope we find a way to free her from her traumatic experience. Applejack kissed her sister on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.” Apple Bloom woke up. She found herself in an alleyway. “Where am Ah?” She was scared. She wanted to call out for her sister, as she saw a large video monitor. “Welcome. Welcome to City 17. You have chosen, or been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers. I thought so much of City 17 that I elected to establish my Administration here, in the Citadel so thoughtfully provided by Our Benefactors. I have been proud to call City 17 my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to City 17. It's safer here.” A man explained. Apple Bloom looked around. She was not in Ponyville anymore. “Stay calm. Maybe Ah find someone that can help me.” Apple Bloom saw a train station in the distance with some humans in blue denim boiler suits. There were also humans that wore a white gas mask and a black-green uniform. She was about to ask one of them, as a citizen was cautioned by one. “First warning: Move away.” “But this stuff, it’s all I have left…” The man in uniform pushed him. “Move along. Move it.” “All right, I’m moving. Jeez.” After seeing this, Apple Bloom kept her distance. The humans in suits were too depressed to notice her. She walked along the train station, until she came to a fence where the men with gas masks ordered citizens to specific locations. One officer saw her, shook his head and thought, Must be the drugs they gave me, causing me to see citizen as fillys. “You there. Move it.” An officer pointed to Apple Bloom, then to a fence where “Nova Prospekt” was written on. “Why? Did Ah do something wrong?” The officer lighted up his baton. “I said move it!” “All right, just don’t hurt me,” Apple Bloom replied scared. As she was about to walk to a train, the gate closed and a camera took pictures of her. “Don’t move. Hold it.” A Door with the inscription “security” opened to reveal another officer. “You, Citizen! Come with me.” He ordered with a voice different from the others. Not wanting to go into trouble, she obeyed. “Get in!” Apple Bloom was even more scared and trembled, as she saw blood on a chair. “Need any help with this one?” “No, I’m good. Back up!” He walked to a console. “Yeah, I’m gonna need me some privacy for this!” The cameras deactivated. “Now…” he took his mask off. “…about that Apple juice I owned ya.” It was Jacob. He looked older but was still looking good for his age. “It’s me, Apple Bloom! Jacob from Black Mesa.” Apple Bloom was happy to see him. “Hey, sorry for the scare. I had to put up on a show for the cameras.” “Daddy!” Apple Bloom rammed into him for a hug. “Ah missed ya!” “Me too. How did you end up here?” He ruffled her mane. “Ah don’t know. I was sleeping with my sister. When Ah woke up, Ah was in an alleyway.” “Interesting. My shift is over anyway. You can come with me. Don’t worry, as long as you stay with me, you should stay fine.” He put his mask on. “Just a misunderstanding. I bring her home.” The other officer didn’t think too much of it and agreed with that. Jacob took her hoof. They walked to an APC. Jacob helped Apple Bloom in. While Jacob was driving home, Apple Bloom asked, “What happened while Ah was gone?” “It’s a long story. It’s better if I tell you this when we are home.” Outside the house was a playground. Apple Bloom heard ghostly laughs and screams of children. At home, Jacob called out, “Mia, I’m home! And I have a guest!” “Welcome back, my dear husband. Who is our guest?” Jacob stepped aside. Mia couldn’t trust her eyes. “Apple Bloom, is it really you?” “Mommy!” Apple Bloom hugged her with tears of joy. Mia was also wearing a suit and her hair was cut short. “She was lucky. She was about to board the Express to Nova Prospekt.” “What is Nova Prospect, mommy?” “Trust me, you don’t wanna know. Are you hungry?” “Yes, mommy.” “You can watch TV until your meal is ready.” Mia switched the TV on. The man Apple Bloom saw on the monitor earlier was on. “Let me read a letter I recently received. ‘Dear Dr. Breen. Why has the Combine seen fit to suppress our reproductive cycle? Sincerely, a Concerned Citizen.’ Thank you for writing, Concerned. Of course your question touches on one of the most basic biological impulses, with all its associated hopes and fears for the future of the species. I also detect some unspoken questions. Do our benefactors really know what's best for us? What gives them the right to make this kind of decision for mankind? Will they ever deactivate the suppression field and let us breed again? Allow me to address the anxieties underlying your concerns, rather than try to answer every possible question you might have left unvoiced. First, let us consider the fact that for the first time ever, as a species, immortality is in our reach. This simple fact has far-reaching implications. It requires radical rethinking and revision of our genetic imperatives. It also requires planning and forethought that run in direct opposition to our neural pre-sets. I find it helpful at times like these to remind myself that our true enemy is Instinct. Instinct was our mother when we were an infant species. Instinct coddled us and kept us safe in those hardscrabble years when we hardened our sticks and cooked our first meals above a meager fire and started at the shadows that leapt upon the cavern's walls. But inseparable from Instinct is its dark twin, Superstition. Instinct is inextricably bound to unreasoning impulses, and today we clearly see its true nature. Instinct has just become aware of its irrelevance, and like a cornered beast, it will not go down without a bloody fight. Instinct would inflict a fatal injury on our species. Instinct creates its own oppressors, and bids us rise up against them. Instinct tells us that the unknown is a threat, rather than an opportunity. Instinct slyly and covertly compels us away from change and progress. Instinct, therefore, must be expunged. It must be fought tooth and nail, beginning with the basest of human urges: The urge to reproduce. We should thank our benefactors for giving us respite from this overpowering force. They have thrown a switch and exorcised our demons in a single stroke. They have given us the strength we never could have summoned to overcome this compulsion. They have given us purpose. They have turned our eyes toward the stars. Let me assure you that the suppressing field will be shut off on the day that we have mastered ourselves...the day we can prove we no longer need it. And that day of transformation, I have it on good authority, is close at hand.” “Apple Bloom, your meal is ready!” Mia called out. Mia’s and Jacob’s home was nice and comfortable. It had a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, a guest room and a bed room. Mia made for Apple Bloom a bowl of oatmeal and a box of Apple juice. Before Apple Bloom ate her meal she asked, “So, what happened? It was only 2 months since Ah returned home.” “Well, Apple Bloom, here 20 years passed since you returned home.” While Apple Bloom ate, Jacob told her without going too dark into it, what happened between the years. “An Empire called the Combine conquered the world within 7 hours?” “Yes, Apple Bloom. You know, the surviving humans are living in poor conditions. Those who are joining the Civil Protection also known as Metro Cops or CP for short are getting more privileges, such as additional food and better living conditions. I joined only to feed my wife and to protect her. Since I’m a member of the Metro Cops, they don’t harm her. Also a good friend of mine, Barney Calhoun, is also with them. He was a security guard just like me. He escaped with 3 scientists, but none of them survived the war. He had also a wife, but she also didn’t make it. The man you saw on the TV is Wallace Breen, the former administrator of Black Mesa. The show you saw is called Breencast.” “Do you know what happened to Konrad?” “As with all soldiers, he tried to defend Earth. Tower and Michael died in the war. If Konrad survived, he was probably recycled into an Overwatch Soldier. My wife is everything for me. I do everything to keep her alive.” He kissed her. “See it positive. You both are alive. It’s just sad that you can’t have babies.” “You know, actually we have already a daughter.” Mia giggled. “Ah can stay with you?” “Yes, Apple Bloom. We have a guest bed. And as we told you back in Black Mesa, we wanted to be parents. So taking care of you is like our wish came true.” “You never told me how you met each other.” Jacob laughed, “There isn’t much to tell. I worked as a security guard before. As the company I worked for went bankrupt, all guards were recruited for Black Mesa. My wife wanted to be an office worker. She got a job at Black Mesa. I met her one Day on my shift. It was love on first sight.” Apple Bloom smiled but yawned. "Glad to hear it.” “Is our filly sleepy?” “Yes Mommy, Ah’m sleepy.” Mia tucked her into the guest bed. Apple Bloom said in a tired voice, “Thank you for taking care of me.” As she drifted off to sleep, Jacob whispered, “She is like an Angel when she is asleep.” “Yes she is. I just hope that the Combine don’t find her.” They also went to bed. Unknown to them, the man who got Apple Bloom home watched them from the TV. They both were awoken by a whimpering. Apple Bloom walked in scared. “Ah had a nightmare, can ah sleep with you?” “But of course, my dear. You are always welcome in our bedroom.” Mia hugged her tightly in her sleep. Apple Bloom smiled in her sleep. She felt save with them. But this was only the beginning.