The Mare from the Moon

by Evilhumour


Chapter Thirty

No,” Spliced whispered to herself, feeling her heart race in her chest as she took in her old room in. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no!” she shouted to herself as she raced through the hallway and into the same living module as before and shouted no louder as she saw the door blocking her way out to the larger hub room of her prison.

“Let me out!” she shouted as threw herself into the door, her heart racing even faster as the door remained shut. “Let me out!” she repeated as she slammed into the door again and again. She might have heard voices but she couldn’t be sure as she continued hit the door, now bloody due her attempts to break it. She didn’t stop when she heard the scraping of bone against the door; the pain she felt now was nothing compared to that of dying.

She did stop when the gas began to fill the room. Coughing into her hoof, Spliced could tell it was not a poisonous gas cloud but a simple knockout variant. She already regretted telling them the benefits of just incapacitating her instead of killing her before she passed out.


Spliced sat up in the bed as she woke up, sobering up instantly and dashing back towards the door, her anger growing at this injustice at being placed back here. Growling as she prepared to use her magic against the door, she again shouted to be let out, only to hear a voice.

“Miss Genome, wait, please!” a voice called out, causing Spliced to halt in surprise at hearing someone.

“Who said that?” Spliced asked, turning her head to see who had spoken but seeing nothing beyond her prison’s walls.

“I am Steady Cut, ma’am,” the stallion continued to speak. “I am part of the team assigned to this project, but bef-”

“Let me out!” Spliced shouted back.

“Ma’am, I cannot do that yet, we need you to calm down first,” Cut said in his namesake tone. “I’m sorry for this; no one is happy with this stunt from the tribunal.” He snorted from his side of the doorway. “One of the most useless organizations in the galaxy and the one time they actually do something, they go over the heads of the people who’d actually made a good choice. Your lawyer has been raising a damn storm about this but…” His voice trailed off. “The damn politics of it all forced the council of the Senate to accept this shit decision that is more or less the same that you were going to get. I’m really sorry miss Genome, you don’t deserve this.”

Her heart clenched hard at his words with the voices of guilt in her head telling her otherwise. She tried to tell him this but she couldn’t force the words out past her lips. All she managed to say was “I… I need to lay down.” She felt weak in the legs and was already heading back to her room when Steady Cut called out.

“I will be waiting here until you’re ready.”

Spliced barely paid any attention to him as she made her way back into her room and fell onto her bed, crying and shaking as her mind continued to tell her that she deserved worse than this, that she was wrong, she was selfish and how horrible she truly was.

On and on these thoughts kept washing over her, no break in sight until she managed to clasp onto the notion that she couldn’t do anything while here and that she needed to do something. With a pained groan as she pushed herself upright, close to death from either starvation or some other malady from staying in bed however long she had. Not feeling the strength to check what was wrong with her nor caring to nurse herself back to health, she simply snapped her neck and stood up in perfect health that she did not deserve. Doing her best to squash that thought lest she fall back onto the bed, she made her way mutely towards the door of the hub room of prison and saw some changes she missed the first time. The most notable was that the corridor was no longer claustrophobia-inducing, the size actually comfortable. Looking at the table, she saw that it had a finely-stitched cushioned chair with a holographic computer emitter built into the table replacing the old clunky machine that had stayed there for nearly four hundred years.

Spliced couldn’t figure out why they had done these changes, it made no sense to her but regardless, she needed to see if she could find… whatever the stallion was called again as she forgot his name and find out what he was talking about when he spoke of a team and this project. She stood in front of the door and stared at it for a while before knocking on it hesitantly.

There was a clatter of noise from the other side as someone was struggling to get through something. “One moment, one moment,” the same stalli-Steady Cut, that was his name. “Sorry, I was just washing my dishes.” The door opened up to reveal a light blue unicorn stallion with black mane wearing a labcoat smiling at her. He was young looking, maybe in his mid-twenties. Behind him, however, was what caught Spliced’s eye. It had all the markings of someone setting up a temporary living quarters. There was a bed, refrigerator, a wash station with dishes in it and even a chemical toilet further down the way. “Sorry again for  the mess, miss Genome.” He gave her a smile as he held out his hoof to her. “I’m Steady Cut, in case you forgot ma’am.” She didn’t take his hoof and continued to stare at everything behind him with the stallion catching her eyes. “Ah, well when you didn’t come back after a few hours, I had these things brought in.”

Why?” Spliced couldn’t figure out why anyone would do this, with her mind going in circles as it tried to figure this puzzle out.

“I told you that I’d be waiting for you,” Steady Cut said with confusion in his voice as if there could be any other reason for his action. “Ma’am,” he said, standing a bit straighter. “You don’t need to come right now if you aren’t ready. You can take another week to get yourself ready, okay?”

Spliced wanted to say yes to that, to hide in her room and never come out again but that would be the easy way out and she didn’t deserve that.

“Let’s go,” she said with Steady Cut leading her through the mess and down the hallway, his presence soothing her racing heart ever so slightly. As they reached the doorway, Steady Cut looked at her and his eyes offered her again a way to go back to her room. Shaking her head at that, she steeled herself and walked through the door.

What greeted her took her breath away.

The main hubroom was still there but vastly changed. There were terminals installed into the floor with all kind of species working away with some in deep discussion with each other over some points of data. There were throngs of individuals going through newly installed doorways and above all the doors were counters that held massive numbers which Spliced could instantly tell was the number of her own blasted creations minus one. It was overwhelming and nearly sent her back into a downward spiral of self-hatred but a slight bump from Steady Cut made her meet his eyes.

“Are you sure?” he asked her, with some people starting to notice them.

“Ye-yes,” she said, nodding her head as he led her to a door with the room going quiet as she passed by, the overwhelming guilt nearly sending her to the floor but she managed to use it to push herself forwards. Stepping into the room, she saw an assessment of the different races standing before some of most impressive biochemical equipment she had ever seen. With a deep breath, she walked forwards to central table and said, “I can do this.”


I can’t do this, Spliced thought to herself with tears running down her face. She knew she should be outside with everyone but she couldn’t face them. She couldn’t see Legal and Steady with their foal.

She hated herself for being this weak, for feeling this petty and jealous but she couldn’t help herself. Fumbling off the bed, Spliced knew that this would be her last chance to see them but she couldn’t go.

Panting in anger and frustration, she tried to lift herself upright but only managed to raise her head to let out a choked sob as she knew that she didn’t deserve to go see the foal, that she deserved this for her sinful crimes and worse.

It would be six months before she managed to leave her room.


Ever since she took this job twenty years ago, Stone Wall knew it would be unlike any other prison she had been the warden for.

“What do you mean no,” Spliced snapping angrily at her, was one example of it as it was actually a good sign instead of it being a sign of trouble. Spliced showing any emotion was to be celebrated, considering how the changelings and windigos had been reporting that she was in a steady emotional decline since she had got here. Well, the windigos had reported it, as almost all of the changelings had been evacuated a while back as Spliced’s negativity was getting toxic for them and the last thing anyone wanted was someone dying or worse, Spliced finding out that was the cause for it as it would undoubtedly send the mare into a deeper depression and it might take a year or so before she was ready to work again.

“I’m sorry, Spliced,” Stone shook her head, as she stared at the mare across her desk. “There is nothing I can do.”

“Look, I have asked for nothing the entire time I have been here,” Spliced stated sharply- which was true. The mare had not requested anything from them during her tenure which was unusual for a prisoner but Spliced was not a usual prisoner by any means. “All I want is to go down there with everyone else.”

“I understand that,” Stone Wall said calmly. “You worked closely with Doctor Cut while he was here and you wish to pay your respects but-”

“Look, I-” Spliced got close to her and if this was any other prisoner she would them thrown into solitary for this. “I will take the damn medication and go speak with the therapists; I just need to go. Please.” Spliced begged her and Stone Wall was torn. This could be the breakthrough everyone was hoping for. When Spliced was first brought here, they had tried to put her on medication before Spliced had purposely overdosed on them which ended that dead in its tracks. They also tried to make her go to therapists but it was a waste of time as Spliced had stated flat out as she didn’t want to make herself better, it would have no effect. After a day’s worth of time spent with a therapist in complete silence, they ended that too.

To have her on medication and actually talking to someone about her problems would help increase the pace and progress of their work to making the cures but more importantly, it would help her. Stone Wall had read the reports several times when she had gone through orientation to know what she shouldn’t say to trigger one of Spliced’s depressive spells and after spending two decades here, her heart continue to break as she imagined how much guilt the alicorn was putting on her back and continuing to place on her back. Doing this would be beneficial beyond belief but...   

“I’m sorry, Spliced, I really am,” Stone Wall sighed sadly, shaking her head as she looked at the obituary of the eighty year old Steady Cut before facing the mare again. “If I could, I would authorize a temporary visit pass for you but the funeral is in a couple of days and the paperwork will take at least a week to get through.” Stone Wall saw Spliced’s face fall at this and she knew that the mare would be holed up in her room again, possibly for a long period this time.

“I understand,” Spliced said in her usual emotionally dead tone, dipping her head and moving to leave her office.

“Spliced,” Stone Wall called out to her, causing her to halt in place. “Please, I- you offered to take medication and talk to someone. I beg you, please do so.” Stone Wall was staring at her, trying to see some sort of reaction in the mare.

“I’m fully aware that I would feel immensely better if I were take the medication and talk to someone,” Spliced said, shaking her head. “That is why I cannot do it. I do not deserve it.”

With that, the mare left the office and entered her room, only leaving it a year and half later.


“This is pointless,” Spliced said without a hint of any emotion as she fixed her mane.  

Dedicated Duty said nothing as Spliced wasn’t looking for a response, though she was secretly pleased to hear Spliced complaining. Years ago with about twenty or thirty wardens behind her the emotivors that were still on the base had reported that she had entered into what they called emotional silence; her depression had grown so large it had bottomed out and caused her to be unable to feel any more emotions. She still got depressed with years lost due to some idiot calling her doctor or giving her some sort of praising as proof but she no longer actually felt any sort of emotion. So any sign of her emoting, even complaining, was to be celebrated secretly as a victory and a possible sign of her recovering.

“Agreed,” Dedicated Duty said after seeing Spliced was actually looking for some sort of response for once, another good sign though Dedicated Duty wasn’t going to hold her breath. “But we all need to go through the measures.”

Spliced nodded her head, placing down the brush and straightening the coat she was wearing. It was plain and completely unrepresentative to Spliced’s actual status in the group but no one was stupid enough to risk causing Spliced to spend several years in her room by giving her one. She then turned around and started at the door with Dedicated Duty leading the way out of Spliced’s private bathroom.

“I had told the reporters not to bother you nor will you need to answer any question,” Dedicated Duty knew she was repeating herself but it was helping steady Spliced’s nerves, even if she wasn’t aware she was nervous.

“Thank you,” Spliced said as they walked out of her private hubroom with white sheets already draped over everything and into the hallways to the main station of the moon base with half of the terminals already dismantled and being stored away to be taken elsewhere. The workers paused as the two of them passed by but said nothing which was a blessing. Dedicated Duty looked at the counters hanging above the doors, which had zeros in all but one of the many spaces with a single digit left in each one of them.

They then entered in the main laboratory that been emptied out of almost all of the equipment with chairs installed to hold the reporters from across the galaxy on one end. On the other end was the current team of people assigned to assist in Spliced Genome’s work and their last client sitting down in a medical slab. All of the reporters turned to stare as they entered the room but they had been instructed heavily to what they could and could not say or do with heavy fines and punishments if they broke the contracts they signed.

Spliced walked over to the client, appearing to be as eager to be done with this annoying piece of political bullshit as everyone else was. Reaching for the injector that her number two provided her, Spliced turned to the client on the medical slab and placed it against their skin and gently pressed the plunger. Every eye darted to the screen above the medical team showing the genetic makeup for their client and then there were cheers as the screen flashed green and all of the counters flashed zeros.

Dedicated Duty watched the reporters getting ready to ask their questions to the medical team with Spliced Genome giving her a look before she asked her. “May I wait in the shuttle?”

“Yes, of course,” Dedicated Duty replied with a nod of her head, watching the reporters giving Spliced a breadth to walk back to the door when one of school children that had won that idiotic contest to see this event had walked up to Spliced.

“Miss Genome, do you feel good after curing everyone?” the little filly asked her with everyone in the room wincing in anticipation of Spliced’s reaction. Spliced turned around slowly and stared at the filly before lowering herself down to look the filly in the eye.

“When you break something at home and fix it, you do not feel good about fixing it. You are simply doing what is right. Nothing more, nothing less.” She then looked at the filly with a frown on her face before she asked the filly her own question as she stood up.

“What is the date?”

The filly blinked confused at this before answering her question.

Then something completely unpredictable happen.

Spliced smirked though the smile didn’t reach her eyes. She said while shaking her head as if she was amused, “A thousand years, on the summer solstice. It could be nothing else.” She then looked at Dedicated Duty. “What is the name of the pilot for the shuttle?”

“Escape Velocity, piloting the Aiding Stars,” Dedicated Duty said with concern as Spliced smirked again, shaking her head as she left the room.


Spliced waited on the stage as the construction crew worked around her. Everyone was preparing for the ceremony to commemorate her diseases all being fixed with medals and awards to be given out to the living and dead that had worked with her but Spliced wasn’t focusing on that.

She was waiting for this to happen, something she had been waiting since she had been brought back here from Equestria. It had been a long, painful wait but it would soon be over and then everything would be finally be right. It almost made her smile but she couldn’t get over that emotional hump to do so.

Her eyes scanned the people passing her with no interest in their business before she finally spotted them. It was easy as they were with their bodyguards and the number of monitors hovering around them.

They froze when they spotted her, their bodyguards tensing up as Spliced walked up to them.

“Council members,” Spliced said, addressing the leaders of this nation.

“Spliced Genome,” one of them responded, looking at her with some fear in his eyes. “Congratulations are in order.”

“No they are not,” she stated the obvious with her heart starting to race as it was finally within reach. “I have finished my sentence, both the one stipulating that I fix all that I have broke and my life sentences.” She took a step closer to them with all of them taking a step backwards. “As such, I request you make me mortal again so I can finally kill myself and have it stick.”

They shared guilty looks with each other before the one that spoke to her lifted his head up to her. “I’m sorry Spliced, but we cannot do that.”

Spliced’s eye twitched at this and a surge of annoyance rushed through her. “If it is because I stated my desire to kill myself, then you can ignore it.” She leaned in close to him and said, “Think of how well it will do your reelection when you’re connected to being those finally put me in the ground.”

“You’re not understanding us, miss Genome,” he said, looking at his fellow council members. “It’s not because we don’t want to, it’s because we don’t know how.” These words caused Spliced’s heart to chill to the bone with her head beginning to spin. “We’ve gone over the records of the council members from your time countless times and we still have no idea how they managed to make you like this Spliced.” He gave her a guilty look before he muttered out. “We’re sorry.”

“You’re sorry‽” Spliced snapped, rage filling every aspect of her body. How dare they do this to her! She had been looking forward to her death ever since she started working on the cures, the one thing that had been her anchor for her sanity all these years and now they were telling her that this was all a lie‽ They thought her mad before, they would learn that they had only tasted the bare hints of what she was capable of doing! She would bring down everything on their heads for this, for doing this to her! She did not deserve this and -

The thought was like a bolt through her conscious and every slammed to a halt. She was wrong; this was exactly what she deserved. How dare she be given the peace of death after all she had done? How dare she think she actually deserved anything to suffer until the end of time? Her sins were endless and she deserved to suffer for an endless amount of time to make the barest of amends to those she had killed and ruined.

She looked down, seeing the cowering councilmembers beneath her and she was suddenly tired. Tired of people using her, tired of people lying to her, tired of everything.

With a flash of her horn, the mare from the moon teleported away to never return ever again.

To Be Continued.