The minigun was already spinning at Sassi’s side, but both of them knew it wouldn’t do much good. It was more of a reflex than anything. The two Thestrals turned to confront the voice. It could only be one pony, after all.
Arcane stood at the end of the hallway, the unicorn’s magic restrictors glowing white hot.
Sassi forced herself to breathe normally. Every instinct at her screamed to get away. It wasn’t like the freakish monsters. This was something more primal, a more guttural survival. Everything about the unicorn was wrong. The sense to run, to put as much distance between herself and the creature in front of her was nearly suffocating.
Astral’s limbs began to shake, the stallion slumping against Sassi.
“What…” He whispered, not able to form words.
The space around Arcane was warping. Their depth perception failed, the unicorn seeming close, and then far away at the same time. Colors shifted and cracked, the RASP armor struggling to compensate.
The unicorn’s form morphed as well. As Arcane took a few steps forwards, his body flashed to something else. Multicolored drops fell from his now-black fur like rain. A mouth that was far too big for his head was filled with innumerable teeth. White, bone-like spikes jutted from his fur and limbs and then vanished just as quickly. The pony’s form wasn’t stable, and it made one’s head hurt the longer you looked at it.
The RASP systems were abruptly awash with errors, and the two Thestrals were forced to remove their helmets as the HUD became utterly useless from the interference.
“You said to be careful, and we are,” Sassi said calmly. The gun powered down. The mare took a few steps back with Astral as the floor cracked, molten lightning bolts eating their way through the tile toward them. Mirror-like spears crackled in the air, aiming toward the Thestrals before refocusing on another invisible threat.
“Arcane? We’re not your enemy here,” Astral called out, the stallion’s voice quivering ever so slightly. Considering the tiles on the floor were beginning to float up in front of them, Sassi didn’t blame the Thestral at all. The lava-like rivers were within a few paces of them. “No threats. We just want to know what happened.”
The air moved, a physical *WHUMP* as the floor returned to its previous state. Arcane still looked at them, but his form had stabilized into a familiar unicorn.
“Arcane, what happened here? What happened to you?” Sassi asked calmly. “I know what this place is.”
The unicorn stopped, slowly nodding.
“You would…” he muttered. “This is where they kept me,” Arcane added, voice initially making the Thestral’s ears hurt before stabilizing into a normal pitch and range.
“After I was taken from Equestria in my late teens. I trained to be a guard, specializing in containment, along with some general schooling. Living underground mostly. They tried the RASP program on me a little over five years ago and it worked. That’s when I was moved here.” A shaky hoof pointed to the burned cell. “They didn’t leave me alone! I didn’t want to-they made me…”
“We’re not blaming you for anything,” the mare continued cautiously. “I assume the two creatures inside were guards?”
The walls and ceiling stopped warping, Arcane’s body further stabilizing.
“I wouldn’t use that word to describe them. But yes. Guards. Assistants. They ran the tests on me.” The stallion’s voice abruptly dropped to a near whisper, the surroundings folding in on itself briefly. “It hurt. They hurt…”
“They experimented on you? Even after the RASP modifications?” Astral asked, more to himself than Arcane.
“Because of the modifications,” the unicorn growled. “That unlocked everything. I used to be able to at least somewhat reign in my magic, and have chaotic ebbs and flows. The RASP program removed any sense of control I had. Just a raw magical burnout every day. It destroyed everything, and the company loved it!”
The floor underneath the unstable pony began to heat up again, blue flames a nearly invisible specter against the stallion’s lighter fur. There was a flash of particles; as if a million fireflies came together to form a picture. A rectangular room, a slumped-over figure.
“Test eight complete. Shifting to Test Nine with Restrictor Model Five-Seven. Maximum voltage increased, arcane dissipation decreased,” a distorted voice echoed. It was followed by a tortured scream, the scene then fragmenting.
“Anti-magic, anti-chaos devices; I was the perfect test. Suppression measures. Anything they could think of,” Arcane said, his eyes looking to Astral and Sassi, but also around the room as if he could see other listeners. “And then on days when I couldn’t control it, they just used me as a disposal. Documents. Equipment. Anything they didn’t want to expend money on incinerating, they threw into my cell. They even threw…they…” his words trailed off, and black tears began to drip from Arcane’s eyes.
“That’s not happening now though,” Sassi said cautiously, Astral looking at her in surprise. “No tests, none of that. You’re free.”
“Well, it doesn’t feel like it!” Arcane growled, his head shaking. The floor was now molten metal sludge, the unicorn still somehow not falling through.
Sassi’s eyes narrowed, her demeanor shifting. Astral looked at her curiously but stayed silent.
“Then fight until it does!” The mare growled, the unicorn at the end of the hall looking at her in shock. “You’re still alive. Are you just going to accept that you feel trapped, or fight until you can be free of this nightmarish place? Horrific things may have been a part of your life, but are you going to let it be everything you are? You get to choose!”
Arcane’s eyes cleared for a few moments, the unicorn’s brow furrowing. The magic around the unicorn wavered.
“What’s your purpose in life, Arcane?” Sassi asked, the unicorn looking at her in surprise. “I want to see the world. What about you? What do you want?”
There wasn’t a response immediately.
“I want to live,” Arcane whispered, his eyes clearing further. “I want to see the ocean. I want to be free to explore. To help creatures. To live. To find…”
His words drifted off, but the unicorn’s eyes gained a sadness, drifting to both Sassi and Astral, and then the floor.
“Don’t stop looking, Arcane,” Sassi said, her throat closing up briefly. “My dad told me that when I was young. To keep one of my goals secret and always work for it. But I couldn’t be weak when I worked here. It took this long for me to find someone who cared about me, even when I could finally be weak, be myself.”
A gentle nudge from Astral made the mare’s heart soar. A quick glance showed nothing but adoration in Astral’s gaze.
“So, Arcane. You’re free. And I’m asking again. We all have battles to fight. You might have one I can’t fully understand yet, but are you going to just stay in your cell? And I don’t mean that room.”
“No,” Arcane growled, his head shaking with a wince, “it just hurts. I just don’t want to hurt anymore.” His gaze slowly lifted, resting on Astral, and then Sassi. “Does it stop?”
The mare nodded.
“Remember how I said it gets better?” she asked calmly, the other pony nodding. “I wasn’t lying. The same thing to how much it hurts. It’ll hurt for a long time. But from what little I’ve learned it slowly starts to go away. It just takes time. So, are you willing to fight for that?”
Her words prompted a snarl from the unicorn, a reply echoing on magical winds before fading. Sassi’s question seemed to have snapped Arcane back to reality, the chaos magic diving into the unicorn’s body until the surroundings appeared normal once again.
“Wh-wha? I…Sassi? Astral?” Arcane whispered, his eyes clearing completely as if recognizing the two Thestrals for the first time. The unicorn’s head abruptly hung in shame, messy mane covering his face as he staggered, barely able to stand. “I can’t- I didn’t think you’d be here so soon. I’m sorry.” The unicorn’s form seemed to shrink in on itself, expecting a strike or a furious rebuke.
“It’s alright,” Astral piped up, the Thestral then shaking his head. “No, it’s not. None of this is ok. How they treated you, Sassi, and so many other creatures. It’s horrific. But they won’t escape their fate. We first have to get out of here. That means you too.”
Arcane raised his head, Astral’s words seeming to get through.
“Why not come with us?” Sassi asked, Arcane’s form stiffening. “If the teleportation might kill you, wouldn’t coming with us be a decent alternative?”
The suggestion seemed to genuinely shock the unicorn, the pony’s mouth hanging open as he stared with wide eyes.
“I…”
There was confusion in the unicorn’s gaze, but then Sassi saw a flicker of hope.
“We’re getting out of here, Arcane. You’re welcome to join us,” Astral added.
The floor abruptly shook, a distant roar echoing through metal and glass. A shrill klaxon began to blare, Arcane’s eyes widening.
“The first door is breached! The second isn’t as sturdy and won’t survive whatever they threw at the other. You need to leave. NOW!” he yelled, already turning around. “Get the supplies and then get back here. We don’t have long, fifteen minutes at most!”
The unicorn was then gone, galloping down the hallway. Sassi supported Astral as they trotted after him, the Thestral already panting as he finally leaned against the medical bed.
“Well. That was…” Words failed Astral, the stallion shook his head. “Poor guy. But you knew what to say. I’m rather impressed.”
“It’s what you said to me,” Sassi said softly, pausing for a brief moment. “Not in words, but how it made me feel. It’s too easy to give up hope down here. So, I wanted to remind him of that. That now he has a choice.”
“That’s really sweet, Sas,” Astral whispered, his throat clogging up briefly. “I didn’t know.”
“You’ve made a huge impact on me, Astral. I’ve just failed miserably at letting you know how much. I’d kiss you if we didn’t have to run from another monster,” the mare grumbled, slotting on the various guns and saddlebags onto their respective armor slots.
“Plenty of time for that later. I’ll be out of commission when we shut the reactor down later today,” Astral said, then pausing as they double-checked their supplies
The two miniguns and other items were latched onto Sassi’s armor, each of the Thestral’s saddlebags stuffed to the brim with food, water, ammunition, medical supplies, and about six grenades each. Astral sported a drum-fed automatic shotgun, Sassi’s makeshift flamethrower strapped to his other side. Both items required less aiming. With every buckle and strap now checked, Astral let out a soft sigh.
“Arcane said he was a test subject. But why would the company just have used him as a garbage disposal?”
“I don’t think garbage was the only thing they threw into his magical field, Astral,” the mare replied softly. “If a creature didn’t have any more use down here, the Company would want to get rid of them the cheapest and most untraceable way possible. Prisoners, employees, anyone.”
“Oh no.”
“The RASP armor couldn’t even tell me how strong his magic was. It only warned of a chaos field. It’d have destroyed anything within range if I had to guess. Solids, liquids, it’d be just incinerated to a magical nether.”
Astral didn’t say anything to that, shaking his head.
“All he wants to do is be free. Reminds me of somepony I know.”
Sassi nudged his shoulder with hers, gently placing the RASP helmet onto his head as it began to calibrate.
“And he wants to help. That reminds me of somepony too. Nice to know some goals aren’t so crazy after all.”
A simple squeeze of her hoof was Astral’s reply.
“We should ask him to come with us again, though,” Astral added. “He shouldn’t have to die to try and escape. He’s been through enough, I think.”
“I agree. Unstable, and far from harmless. But he deserves an alternative. I like your idea of our little RASP family. Feels weird to think someone else went through a similar process, but it’s a commonality that links all of us regardless. He doesn’t have our hive-mind link, as far as I can tell. But we’re all modified. I do wonder why he hasn’t left yet?”
“If I had to guess, the doses used on you were different than mine,” Arcane chimed in as the unicorn walked into the room. “I sensed something else between you two but wasn’t sure what. I was alone for my modifications. Astral wasn’t. And I assume they perfected the dose to mimic Sassi’s treatment with Astral’s,” he explained, the unicorn shaking his head. “And I haven’t left because the crystals have taken this long to charge,” the stallion added, leaning against the wall next to the door. “And because I didn’t know how to.”
“You taught yourself teleportation? That sounds difficult,” Sassi asked, Arcane nodding in reply.
“Long-range at least, in a rudimentary form. And extremely difficult, even though I was taught extremely short-range spells. But I should get out above ground. Once I’m out of the shields, I can move around easily enough without it. The crystals will help me punch through.”
“So, you joining us?”
Astral’s question made Arcane pause, the unicorn finally shaking his head.
“If I did, I’d be dooming both of you. Nobody else will suffer because of me. Not again.”
“The RASP systems-”
“Will get disrupted by my magic,” Arcane interrupted. “I’ve been relatively in control with both of you. And that includes my lapses. You’ve not seen what I can do if completely lost to the chaos. Your armor systems already got disrupted. My magic would fry them in a true surge, and the guns would seize or outright melt. I can’t make up the difference. Not in my current state, and that’s assuming I can even tell friend from foe,” the unicorn’s ears flattened Arcane not meeting their gaze. “You saw a fraction of what I’m like. I can’t tell what’s real when it’s bad. It’s not worth it.”
The two Thestrals couldn’t argue that point.
“So, you’ll teleport when we get through that exit?” Sassi asked.
“Yes. There are a few more security doors, and then you’re near the hub of the Silo. A few maintenance floors, and then you’ll go through some various testing floors before hitting the prisoner block,” Arcane explained. “The faster you move, the better. I don’t know the layout past that, but the armor should be able to scan. I also don’t know what kinds of tests they ran, but likely nothing good.”
“Will you be alright?”
Arcane’s fanged mouth parted into a slight smile.
“Maybe. And thanks to you two, that’s a far better answer than I’ve been able to consider.”