//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: The Grand Escape // Story: Dead on Your Hooves // by AppleBucker22 //------------------------------// “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise?” Knight spat, glaring at The Governor. “This was kinda your fault...” Chris looked at Knight, but instantly lowering his view. “I can live with that.” The Governor trotted over to their table, and placed Chris’ knife, and Knight’s blades on the table. “I’m assuming these are yours?” The Governor asked, looking at Chris, then looking at Knight. “That they are. Now, we’ll be taking them and leaving.” Knight replied, stepping forward to grab the items. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.” He replied, grabbing the weapons with his magic. “Now I’d ask you kindly to sit down.” “Dude, let’s hear him out..” Chris placed a hoof on Knight’s shoulder, forcing him to sit down. “Why do I get the feeling I’m gonna regret this?” Knight muttered. The Governor simply neglected this, and began trotting back and forth. “So let’s get at it, shall we? You came from the outside. I want to know, where you’re going, and where’d you come from. Simple as that.” “Why should we tell you?” Chris spat. “Because if you don’t, I can have your friends executed in a manner of seconds without even raising suspicion.” The Governor replied. “Ok, here’s the line, you just crossed it.” Knight stated, his horn and eyes glowing black. “I don’t think so.” The Governor replied, his magic hitting Knight, making him fade in colour. “A drain life spell. If your friend doesn’t fess up, your life essence is going to be used to protect us from those creatures.” “I’m afraid... that is far from... true.” “Silence!” He yelled out, his magic again hitting his mouth, creating a magical lock. “Now, Christopher. Let’s get on it, shall we?” The Governor’s horn began to glow, as Chris was lifted up, and put into a chair, then bound. “Now, where did you come from, and where are you going?” The Governor asked calmly. “Buck off...” Chris spat. “I don’t like your tone. I’ll ask again.. Where did you come from, and where are you going?” Chris looked around, Knight still sitting on his chair, suspended in the drain life spell. Chris then spat on the Governor’s face. After he wiped it off, the Governor’s horn began to glow, and 220 volts of electricity began coursing through Chris’ veins. “AaaaaaaaaAAAAAAah!” “Strong, isn’t it? It’ll all be over, as soon as you tell me what I want to know.” “Stop! Stop! I’ll tell you!” “Speak then.” “We’re going to Canterlot! We came from Ponyville! Me and Knight found each other in Fillydelphia! Just stop!” As the Governor released Knight from his drain life spell, and stopped electrocuting Chris, he walked out, and slammed the door behind him. “D-do you...Smell barbecue?” “That’s what happens when your flesh is burnt dumbflank. Or have you never seen an electrocution victim before?” “We didn’t use electrocution in the war. We used incineration, and freezing.” Chris replied. “But nevermind that. I think I can get out of these binds. Try to think of a plan before we bust outta here.” “Plan? My plan is to let Shadow rip the Celestia damn Governor to shreds.” Knight stated angrily. “How about we keep the kill-count low this time? Less of them, more of.... THEM.” Chris said, slowly wiggling his way out of the binds. “I’m gonna say this. I’m seriously considering killing that zompony filly, just to spite that fucker. But as much as I want to, that wouldn’t be fair to her.” “She’s a hoofer, why’d she- ah- care?” Chris said, releasing one hoof from his binds. “Did you already forget what Zecora did? The cure?” “Can’t possibly cure everyone. Just not enough of it.” “But, if we can get it to the princesses, they may be able to devise a spell with the same ability. I mean, they’re the princesses for buck’s sake.” “First we gotta get out of here. Sheesh, this bind is tough... Huh...Moron left the weapons here... Pass me my knife..” Knight levitated the knife over to Chris, and the swords over to himself. “Seriously, I didn’t expect that to work. You’d think someone like him would be smart enough to have put a magic inhibitor on my horn.” As Chris received the knife, he quickly began to cut the second bind, quickly freeing himself. “Well, that did it. Let’s get you freed.” Chris said, trotting over to Knight, and cutting the binds on him. “We gotta get outta here, and get the gang. Ideas?” “Two words; Big. Explosion.” Knight said with a grin. “Dude! I told you! Low kill-count!” “Dumbflank, I mean blow this room up. Smoke will attract attention, hopefully from our group, and we’ll get out quickly. Since this room is empty, except for the filly, and we could take her with us, there’s no risk of casualties.” “Smoke won’t just attract attention from our friends. Blast will probably draw hoofers over here. Any alternatives?” “Hmmm... Bell-tower?” Knight suggested. “Genius! We blow this room, it attracts hoofers, we ring the bell-tower and make our escape!” “Alright then. Let’s get to it!” Knight yelled, running out the door. “Right behind ya!” Chris said, taking out his knife, and galloping right behind Knight. Just as they both exited, the guards that stood at the entrance tried to stop them, but were knocked back  by the blast of the explosion, courtesy of Rising Knight. THE GANG’S ROOM The explosion sure was heard, and the whole group shook at the sound of it. They all rushed to the window, and everyone wondering what the buck is going on. “Should we check it out?” Twilight asked. “No need. I already have a sneaking suspicion what’s going on.” Hollow replied irritatedly. “Oh, and what would that be, Miss Smartypants?” Rainbow Dash said smugly. “My brother. He’s probably done something stupid and gotten himself into trouble with the bad guys again.” Hollow retorted, shooting the pegasus a glare. “Well, alright, but where’s Chris?” Twilight asked, looking around the room. “Take a wild guess.” Hollow said, looking to the outside. “Sweet Celestia! We gotta help them!” Pinkie yelled out, drawing out her katana and galloping through the door, but quickly coming back and asking: “Are you coming or what?” “Thought you’d never ask.” Hollow said with a sadistic grin, rushing out the door and into the sky. BACK ON THE STREET Chris and Knight were galloping down the street, the smoke still behind them, rising into the air. Quickly after they got out, a group of armed earth ponies awaited them, and began shooting at them. “Bitch!” Chris shouted as a bullet hit near his hoof, “Knight, we gotta go!” “Yeah yeah.” Knight replied disinterestedly, stabbing one of their assailants in the spine. “You get the others, I want the Governor. I’m gonna rip his head off and shove it down his throat.” He growled. “Try to keep a low kill-count! Well, that one was a bastard.... But still! I’ll go get the gang and we’ll open the gate for the escape!” Chris said, galloping off to their house. “... Hmph, low kill-count... seriously Shadow, the mood swing thing is annoying at best...” Knight muttered, becoming irritated at the lack of reply from his demonic counterpart. THE GOVERNOR’S HOUSE “Ok, now where are you, ya bastard?” Knight muttered, searching every nook and cranny Knight then heard voices from the stairway leading to the Governor’s house, and quickly took cover behind a couch. “Are you sure he said Ponyville? That’s in the Red Zone, and from the looks of that guy, I doubt he could’ve survived there.” Merle exclaimed “And they’re heading to Canterlot... They’re going to get the Princesses, and they can manufacture a cure for this. Too bad they’re ‘incapacitated’ right now, hehe.” The Governor chuckled. “But why was he in Fillydelphia? Isn’t that where your old facility used to be?” Merle asked. “Yeah, we studied various mutations and viruses. One of them, being the zompony virus. If the word got around that me and my company are responsible for this, the boss would kill me, and then all of Equestria..” Knight froze completely upon hearing this, his anger surging higher than ever before. That bastard’s the one... he’s the reason all this happened... “I’m heading outside to deal with the situation, you find yourself a hiding spot. If those crazies get to ya....Well, just don’t let them do that.” Merle said, leaving the apartment and walking outside. The Governor then levitated a bottle of his favorite scotch, and poured it into a solid diamond glass, relaxing in his chair at the same time. Knight took a deep breath and drew one of his swords as silently as possible. Ok... 3... 2... 1... NOW! He jumped out from behind the couch and threw his sword at the governor’s foreleg. The Governor screamed as the sword punctured his flesh and shattered his bone. “Son of a bitch! Agh!” He screamed out, as he reached for his diamond glass and went to hit Knight on the head with it. “FUCK YOU!” Knight screamed back, swinging his other sword and embedding it in the Governor’s other leg. “You fucker...I’ll... Kill you....” The Governor spat. “Shut up.” Knight ordered coldly. “Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, and you’re going to answer them truthfully. If I suspect for even an instant that you’re lying... well...” He forced one of his blades a little further into the Governor’s leg, smirking when he barely suppressed a scream of pain. “So, ready to start?” “Fuck....You...” He responded. “No thanks, I don’t swing that way.” Knight retorted, taking the glass the governor had dropped, breaking it apart magically and shoving a shard into the governor’s throat, mere millimetres away from an artery. “Fine, fine!” He screamed out, “Just stop!” “There, was that so hard?” Knight asked with a sadistic smile working its way onto his face. “Now, question 1: Were you behind the experiments in the Fillydelphia facility?” “I wasn’t the one controlling them, but yes, I saw to their completion..” Knight’s grin dropped and was replaced with an angry scowl. “And were you involved in project: ‘Discordian Sword?’” “Fuck, you” He replied. “Ah, ah, ah.” Knight said, forcing the glass shard just a little closer to a vital spot. “Fucker! YES, YES I WAS INVOLVED!” He replied angrily. “Alright... but aren’t you curious as to how I even knew of that project? After all, information was limited to only 3 individuals besides the one behind the facility’s creation: The head scientist, the lead guard, and of course, Subject One.” Knight stated coldly. “I don’t give two fucks about you and your problems. Let me go!” He shouted. “Really? Did you know that there was a breakout, and that several subjects escaped from the facility, including subjects twenty-five and one-hundred?” “THEY WHAT?! They... AAARGH!” He yelled. “Yes... now, for my final question. Who was subject one-hundred? Why did you choose him? WHAT THE HELL MADE HIM SO DAMNED NECESSARY FOR YOU TO MURDER HIS FAMILY AND TURN HIM INTO A LIVING WEAPON?!” Knight screamed, digging his swords further into the Governor’s legs, to the point that the tips of the blades started to protrude from the other side. “The Boss chose him, not me! Boss said something about him being from a special bloodline, or some shit! Do you think I listen to his banter?! NO!” “That’s funny, I’d expect the former head of security and the brother of Subject One to pay attention to experiments that may put his little brother at risk...” “I was just in it for the money!” He screamed, quickly grabbing a lamp with his magic and striking Knight over the head with it.  Knight staggered, his magic fading and releasing the blades impaling the Governor. The Governor quickly retaliated, pulling the blades out with his magic, and quickly flinging them towards Knight, while screaming in agony. Knight simply sidestepped the blades and recaptured them in his own magical grip, thrusting one to the Governor’s throat and the other to his chest, it’s tip lined up with his heart. “You know, I believe that common courtesy dictates that when you kill someone, you have to identify yourself so they know who ended their life.” Knight said calmly. “Phillip....” He replied. “Rising Knight, though you may know me by another name. Subject One-Hundred, at your service.” Knight stated, smirking at the widening of the Governor’s eyes. “You son of a---” The Governor shouted, trying to get up, but impaling himself on Knight’s blades. “You....You have the inborn ability to....Resist the virus.... If one side of you is....infected...The other, will keep on living....You...Will never turn....” He spoke weakly. “I see. But that’s not what I want to know. Who. Are. MY PARENTS?!” “Your mother.... was a whore, before she met your father..... When she gave birth to you....She was in need of money, so....She sold you to us.... As an experiment....After that, the father went under the protection of the Solar guards, eventually rising up to the rank of a Celestial Assassin...Then, our Boss sent assassins after both of them. Your father died in the Great Fire of Canterlot...And your mother....Well, she turned out to be the Princess of the Night... and of course, no assassin has ever been able to so much as touch her...” The Governor’s breathing started to slow as he started to bleed out. “... you’re lying, you have to be. Somepony like me, royalty? That’s a laugh. What’s the next joke, Sombra is my father?” “We....Also....Uhh.........” He muttered, before uttering his last words, and his last breath. “Pff, pathetic bastard.” Knight muttered, pulling his blades out of the Governor’s unmoving corpse and strapping them to his sides. As he turned to leave, however, the sound of breaking glass reached his ears, causing him to turn and walk towards a shaking bookcase. “The fuck...” Before he could react, the bookcase pitched forward and fell, trapping Knight under it and cracking his horn, causing him to cry out in pain. “Fuck it... what was that...” “Graaaauhh...” Something moaned near Knight, but his vision was blurry, so he couldn’t make it out. After a couple of seconds he regained his vision, but had felt great pain in his hoof, which hasn’t been trapped by the bookshelf. After looking around he realised that the pain from his leg, was actually a filly hoofer, biting on his hoof. Ironically. “AAH! BUCK! WHAT IS...?!” He managed to scream out before kicking her out of the way. When he looked at his hoof, it was bitten to the bone, and was bleeding severely. He used his magic to lift the bookcase, before his horn gave out. Luckily, he rolled out of the way, while the zompony filly was kicked back, and still recoiling from the kick. “Oh buck, oh buck, oh buck!” He screamed out, “I can’t be bitten...Ahhh ponyfeathers! Shadow, you’ve gotta take over...” Knight’s mane turned white, and his fur turned black. His voice deepened, and his eyes gained a cat-like appearance. “You know that’s just gonna buy you a little time, right Knight? Boy, you stepped in it alright...” He mused to himself, then looked over to the little hoofer who was getting ready for another charge. “Not so fast kid!” He said, releasing a pulse from his horn that knocked the filly to the wall. He then picked up his sword and impaled her with it, leaving her hanging on the wall. “You’re the one who caused this trouble...Don’t got a choice kid...” He said, as he took his other sword, and with a swift motion cut of the filly’s head. “Nasty business...I gotta get outside...” He mumbled. BACK ON THE STREETS OF BUCKBURY “Dad!” Applejack screamed out as she saw Chris under fire by five ponies. “Crap! Applejack, take cover!” He screamed out, tossing a knife which impaled one of the guards shooting at him. “Pinkie, you gotta help ‘im!” Applejack turned to Pinkie who had a death stare, while holding her beloved katana. “This party’s gonna get bloody....” She said slowly, and going into gallop as quick as lightning. Fluttershy, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and JD took cover behind some boxes. As Pinkie Pie rushed in, she quickly sliced in her direction, cutting the shooting pony in half with one quick motion. She then picked up his gun, and tossed it over to Chris who quickly reloaded it with spare ammo he found on the floor. He then began shooting as Pinkie Pie quickly dodged every one of his bullet with amazing acrobatic moves. After emptying his clip, Pinkie Pie stopped jumping around, and began slashing some more. They both worked in perfect harmony. While Chris would shoot, Pinkie would go acrobatic, letting the enemies eat lead, and when he was reloading, she’d be slashing, leaving several very headless bodies in her wake. After they were all dead, Pinkie took a breather, and soon returned to her normal, cheery state. “Boy, that was some party! We should do it again!” She exclaimed cheerily, while Chris, flabergasted, just watched her hop away. Suddenly a figure began walking down the boulevard, and it looked like Knight. “What was....Knight! It’s you....! Wait....” As he got neared he noticed his body changes. Mostly the chewed hoof. “It’s...not you!” He continued, “Where’s Knight?” “Dumbass got bit. The guy’s daughter had turned, and he’d kept her chained in a hidden room. In other news, he was the former head of security in the Fillydelphia facility... meaning he was one of the bastards responsible for all this shit...” “Well...that explains the smells....Oh, well, I guess, one down, unknown number to go?” He stumbled on his words, when he remembered. He reached into his jacket, and pulled out a key. “This, will get us out of here. Hollow snatched it from Merle... Then he called her a ‘ho’, and slapped her flank....” “I hope he’s at least nutless... And one more thing I think you should know... Phillip, that’s his name, said he knew who Knight’s parents were.” “We’d all really like to know,” Twilight interrupted, “But, there are at least ten more guys coming here. We can keep them distracted while you open the gate..” “I’d like to make a simple suggestion... Go berserk... and rip everything in our way apart...” “Out of the bloody question Shadow. You may be Knight’s alter ego, but I know he or you would never do that.... Now shut the buck up, and help me open this gate! Twilight, hold them off for as long as you can!” He yelled, making everyone disperse, and making Shadow grumble to himself. “... could’ve at least just played along for a few seconds...” Chris and Shadow got to the main gate, several hoofers outside, while the rest of the group took cover behind a couple of barrels, and were using them as cover, while trying to pick off the guards from a distance. “Put your back into it Shadow!” Chris yelled over to Shadow as he struggled with the gate. “Shut up! It’s not as easy as you think doing this manually... Dammit, why the fuck can’t I use chaos magic again?” “You’ll blast your nuts off! The magic barrier here repels everything! Just, push a little harder, I need to get to the lock!” He replied, while pushing, making the gate crack a bit. As they both kept pushing the gate, Chris’ hoof finally reached the keyhole. He inserted the key, and the gate opened wide. Chris and Shadow took care of the first few hoofers by themselves, while the gang who had repelled the assaulters followed behind them. Shadow, however, stayed behind to kill some more hoofers. “Shadow, quit pissing around, we gotta go!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Not really much point... I’m a liability now, it’s only a matter of time before the virus spreads to me too...” Shadow replied. “Shut up! We’ll get to Canterlot before that happens, the Princesses can help you!” Chris yelled out, making a head motion saying ‘we gotta go!’ “Wait a minute Chris, what happened to Knight?!” Twilight asked. “.... He got bitten by the Governor’s daughter... she was a hoofer... now both he and I are infected, and if I’m right, Zecora’s cure won’t have any affect on us... regular magic tends to react violently with chaos magic...” “Oh....Wait! There is something! The Princesses green room!” She replied. “Green room? The fuck...” Shadow asked bewilderedly. “The Green Room was invented by the Princesses favored magician. You may know him as Starswirl the Bearded. He invented a device which could cure any ailment, but was only restricted to royalty. See, the alicorn bloodline is slowly disappearing from Equestria, and this machine is used to resurrect or heal..” Twilight exclaimed. “In other words, the princesses have something that can literally save millions of lives, but they keep it reserved for those of royal blood... that sounds like a dick move... though the royalty thing shouldn’t be a problem if what Philip said is true...” “Well, it is unknown what kind of effect the machine would have on regular ponies... It’s worth a try, Shadow. Since we have to make our way to Canterlot..” “Knight is anything but regular... and I’m surprised at your lack of curiosity regarding the Governor’s last words, Twilight... did this whole thing really destroy your love of knowledge already?” She didn’t reply, but simply turned away, and began trotting in the direction of Canterlot, with her friends following her. Chris came up to Knight and spoke to him: “Dude, that was harsh... This outbreak did shit to our minds... No need to put salt on the wound... Let’s just go, we have a long way to Canterlot, and our food supplies are low... Let’s just hope Sweet Apple Acres is holding up..” he said, trotting away, following Twilight. “... Well, sorry for the lack of social grace due to spending several goddamn millenia trapped in a fucking medallion...” ‘This is going to be a loooong trip...’ Chris thought to himself, and began trotting towards Canterlot, it’s white tower losing it’s white shine.... Things are not how they used to be...