Everything was black. Sky had no idea how long he’d been walking for. His muffled breathing rang in his ears as he blindly trotted forward, pain surging through him with each step. A debate proceeded in his head about what hurt more, his aching body, sore hooves, or his rattled head. He tried to ease the soreness of his legs by slowing down, but a sharp poke to the back got him moving again.
Instinctively Sky tried to flex his wings, only to feel a binding tightness locking them in place. An unneeded precaution, even if they were free he couldn’t do much with them. Tiny voices echoed in his head, filling him with a sense of inadequacy. Even if he had the chance, he couldn’t even fly away. What kind of Pegasus was he?
In a single day his life had gone from manageable to completely uncertain. His little corner of nowhere had finally fallen to the insanity of the wasteland. All common sense had evaporated. Here he was, being brought deeper inside the forest every second. Sky had never been one to surrender himself and just let things happen, but what choice was there?
With each step, Sky could feel himself tense. He was lost in the dark, at the mercy of whatever intention these ponies had for him. Any second could be his death, the last thing he’d see would be the blackness of this stuffy bag. The thought gave him chills, it felt like an icy claw was digging into his back. Sudden nausea pulsed from his stomach, he didn’t want to die.
A sweet rational thought came to his rescue though, if they were really going to kill him they would’ve done so back when he was against the tree. They wouldn’t kill him unless he gave them a reason to. A sharp exhale escaped Sky’s nostrils and his stomach unknotted. Keeping a cool a head was the key here. Sky pulled his thoughts from the pain and fear, keeping his mind locked on those things would make them worse.
Sky closed his eyes, slowing down his breathing and stabilizing it. Next he put his hooves on autopilot, he didn’t need to put much focus on where he was going. He’d cross that bridge soon enough. What he did put a focus on though, was who these ponies could be. It’d determine if this was a death march.
At first, Sky thought it was the ponies who attacked him and Petal earlier. In his struggle to keep the bag off his head, he caught a glimpse of a Pegasus. These weren’t the Unicorn fanatics, they were a whole new beast. This revelation brought a whole new world of questions into his head.
Out of the terrible things Sky had heard about the Everfree Forest, ponies living in it had never been one of them. He’d never seen a pony enter or exit the graveyard of trees, even the bandits were afraid of going near it. Their fear had majorly contributed to his survival ever since he got here. Whenever he needed to hide from them, he’d run to the edge of the forest.
Another jab broke his train of thought, he’d slowed down significantly. Sky quickened his pace in response. These ponies didn’t speak, not once this entire walk had he heard a muffled word. He had no idea where Petal was, she could be right to next to him or far away. There was no point in running, they hadn’t killed him yet. Why they were keeping him alive he had no clue. He could understand their reasoning for Petal, she was a Unicorn.
They attacked Petal first. When he was being pinned to the ground he saw a pony deliver a sharp blow to her head. She was out cold before she hit the ground. He tried to struggle against his captors, he wanted to help her desperately. In the end, nothing could have been done. The last thing he saw of Petal was her being put onto a large Earth pony’s back.
Thinking about Petal made Sky lower his head. He could feel his ears shrink back, a hollowness setting in inside. It was his fault she was here. Sky bit his lip hard, he remembered how he put the blame on her for all this. The decision to help her in the first place was his though, he had nobody to blame except himself. Guilt consumed him, drowning his thoughts. He’d forgotten this walk had an end.
Sky came to an unexpected stop, a myriad of sudden sounds making his ears perk up. They surrounded him, he tried to hone in on one. It was a voice. The sinking feeling returned in an instant, they’d arrived. After a minute the voices stopped, replaced by a strange metallic screeching noise. He could feel his breathing start to quicken as another prod forced him forward. Rough forest terrain transformed into smooth stone.
This stone was uncharacteristically cold on Sky’s hooves. It felt so artificial and unnatural, too clean to understand. The darkness from before transitioned into patches of bright light bleeding into his vision. Before he could think too deeply Sky abruptly stopped again, hooves clasping around his neck. As the bag loosened Sky took a deep breath, preparing himself.
The bag swiftly left his head and his vision came rushing back. The light stung his eyes, making him tightly close them and groan. Another prod to the back made him jump, he didn’t need any hint as to what that one was for. Sky opened his eyes slowly, quickly adjusting to the view before him.
He was standing in a wide hallway, the grey stone walls curving up to form an arched ceiling ten feet above. Two wide metal doors on the left side of the wall stood spaced out from each other. Sky had never seen anything like it, they looked impenetrable. A stomp on the ground pulled his attention from the structure.
This place captivated him so much he almost failed to notice the ponies standing around him. Two flanked his sides, one a mare and the other a stallion. The mare held a spear in her hoof, a saddlebag on one side and his canteen on the other. She was an Earth pony with a short silvery white mane and tail with a coat the color of the night sky. Her pale grey eyes had a coldness to them that sent a shiver down Sky’s spine.
Before Sky could get a good look at the stallion another stamp echoed through the vast hallway. He focused on the pony in front of him and shrank back a bit. If he thought the mare to his side had a cold gaze, this mare’s was pure ice. Sky could feel her eyes piercing through him, a sharp blue like a rising tidal wave.
Her light brown mane was tied back into a professional looking low bun, tiny strands of grey accentuating it. Her coat was a clean autumn yellow, her short tail swaying side to side as she began walking toward him. She was an Earth pony too, but that didn’t ease Sky’s fears one bit.
The Earth pony stopped short of Sky, nodding at the two ponies flanking him. The two gave silent nods and immediately raised their spears to point at Sky’s sides. Sky felt his ears fall back, biting his lip. She obviously had some status among these ponies, before Sky could try and deliver any explanation she cleared her throat.
“I am the Administrator. I will talk and you will listen. You will not speak unless spoken to first, do you understand me?” she said, tone as cold as her eyes.
Sky gave her a nod, feeling his stomach tying itself into a knot. No compassion or care was in that voice, she couldn’t care less about him. He couldn’t tell which scared him more; the prospect of two spears skewering him alive or having to answer this mare’s questions.
“Why were you in the forest? My scouts were surprised to find you. You must’ve been very desperate, or very foolish,” her voice carried a small pang of intrigue beneath the calm coolness and her eyebrow raised ever so slightly.
“We were trying to escape, an entire army of ponies chased after us,” Sky responded, his voice ragged and small compared to hers. He could feel his heart starting to beat quicker as recent events he would’ve rather forgotten cut their way back into his mind.
“Excuse me?” she looked taken aback as if he’d uttered something unspeakable to her, “An army? Surely you must be over exaggerating. I would call the ponies outside this forest… How do you say it? Savages,” she allowed a small chuckle, talking down to Sky, “Your business with them had to be something monstrous for you to resort to the forest.”
“You’re wrong,” Sky bit his lip, a surge of anger flooding into him, “These ponies killed the bandits, burned their town to the ground and attacked me and my friend. We barely escaped with our lives.”
The Administrator blinked a few times. Her coldness melted for a second. In that second Sky could see the fear, he recognized it. The exact same fear in Petal’s eyes the first time they met. Her frosty gaze returned instantly after that, either from denial or acceptance. She turned away from him, Sky could hear her exhale deeply.
“That’ll be all guards. Wash him up, I can smell his stink from here. After that put him in a cell with some water and food, I want him under constant watch. Bring the Unicorn to the office, if my presumptions are correct she’ll be more specific on this...Army.” She uttered the last word with drawn breath, she knew what Sky meant even without him saying it.
The last glimpse Sky caught of her, she was walking toward the end of the tunnel. He glared at her until she left his sight. Before he could start rationalizing this place or its ponies the two guards were taking him to the wide door he’d seen earlier.
A more narrow hallway was behind the door, still bigger than Sky’d ever seen. This place was unbelievable, it’d been right next to him for years. A small thought crept into his mind, even with this place that mare was still afraid of the Void Commission. It made him feel even, he was on their hit list now.
Fear was replaced by confusion, though. The deeper he got into this fortress the more he realized how different everything was here from the outside. That Administrator mare had said food and water like it was something commonplace. Being washed showed Sky how different these ponies really were though.
The last place the two guards led him was a square room. Just like the other rooms and halls, nopony else was there except them. The mare directed him to stand in the center and the stallion unhooked a hose from the wall. Sky didn’t understand at first, but then a torrent of icy water hit him.
It was unlike anything Sky had felt, a soothing cool sensation washed over him as the stallion sprayed his entire body. Sky closed his eyes and appreciated the feeling. He let some of it flow into his mouth, enjoying every precious drop. It’d been so long since he had more than a sip of water. For one glorious second, he allowed the situation to fade from his mind. Everything was water.
Then it ended. He stood there, freezing cold. His legs were shaking and he was panting. Reality was coming back with vengeance. This wasn’t his haven, this was his prison. Taking their place by his side again, the guards led him to his destination. The cell was a moderate square, on the floor lay a small cot and a bucket.
Before he could take in his new home, the guards pushed him in. He was soaking wet, water dripping down from him to the stone floor. As the guards closed the cell door he could hear something sliding across the ground. Beside him lay his canteen, filled up fully for the first time.
Sky took it to his chest and slid himself back against the wall. He wasn’t dead, neither was Petal. Even though he was cold and sore, he still wasn’t dead. Although he was locked in a cell, he almost felt safe. These ponies needed him for something, the thought kept him from falling back into panic. He gulped and grabbed the blanket, wrapping it around himself.
His eyes felt heavy, it’d been so long since he properly slept. Sky took a deep a deep breath and let sleep begin to take him. Something in the corner of his eye kept him awake for a few seconds though. Words were on the wall outside through the bars.
Bunker 00 containment.
He blinked, something was below that too, an emblem…
A sun.