“So, uh, you always dress like that?” Brass Dozer said.
“It is a matter of personal preference,” Gray Shark replied tugging at his jacket and adjusting his hat. “But I do change outfits from time to time.” He eyed Clyde teasingly.
“Indeed…so, is everypony accounted for?” Clyde said eyeing his group.
“Dozer Brothers here!” Brass Dozer said cupping his hoof over Glass Dozer’s mouth.
“And I am also present,” Gray Shark said.
“Good. Then, let us be off. Mister Gray Patch-”
“Gray Shark,” the masked pony corrected calmly. Gray Shark gestured for the guards to follow. The four stallions treaded carefully through Everfree Forest, worry traveled with each step. Sunlight was shining hopefully above, penetrating the shrouding leaves and branches. Life around the group provided long wanted comfort. Birds chirped with soft tunes and woodland creatures scurried blissfully.
“Bah, I always hated those little devils,” Brass Dozer said pointing to a nearby bunny. It flailed its ears innocently and started scratching playfully at itself.
“How can you say that, brother?” Glass Dozer said. “That bunny is-oh, never mind.” The bunny suddenly hissed and spat at the group before bouncing away furiously.
“That’s not normal,” Gray Shark commented.
“A lot of things around here aren’t normal,” Clyde said giving Gray Shark a look.
“Yeah, aren’t you like a robot or something?” Brass Dozer said with a chuckle.
“Something to that effect-well yes, just not in this form in this world-”
“Yeah, that crap confuses the hay outta me so don’t bother. I’ll just follow up with my lil bro here, hah,” Brass Dozer said tugging at Glass Dozer.
“C’mon, stop. Please!” Glass Dozer said trying to scurry away.
“Boys,” Clyde said now irritated. “Quit your bickering and let us continue forward. We cannot afford to waste time when we have serious matters to deal with.”
“I have to pee,” Glass Dozer said.
Clyde ruffled his mustache in disappointment.
“What?” Brass Dozer said with mild irritation.
“I gotta go to the bathroom!”
“What unfortunate timing,” Gray Shark said. He sighed and started to lean comfortably on a tree. “Just be quick.”
“Where do I go?”
“Uh, over there…somewhere?” Gray Patch pointed with his golden hoof.
Glass Dozer nodded hesitantly and started to clumsily walk over. Brass Dozer grunted with delight. “And don’t get the piss all over yourself like last time.”
“Don’t bring that up!” Glass Dozer said now running rampantly into the forest.
“Are you sure he is up to this task?” Gray Shark said doubtfully.
“Hey you shut your mouth you…ninja…pirate…thing!” Brass Dozer said. “Don’t you ever make fun of my brother.”
“How ironic,” Gray Shark muttered. “I’m just saying.”
“So, Mister Gray Patch-”
“Shark.”
“-will you show Mister Brass Dozer your golden device? I’m sure he’s eager to know what it is.”
Gray Shark stood up straight and pointed his gold device at Brass. He performed jolted his arm rigidly and a shining silver blade jutted out faster than the pegasus could react.
“What-howya do that? You’re no unicorn, what sorcery is this?”
“It’s called a retractable blade,” Gray Shark said to a blank faced Brass Dozer. “As in individual blades folding over each other.”
“Yeah, you can, uh, leave me outta that. Too complicated for me,” Brass said with a hearty laugh. “Seriously, I just stick to the good ole’ fashioned spear. Guard’s best friend.”
“Erm, if you don’t mine me asking, do you own a call number of some sort?” Clyde said.
“Call number?” Gray Shark asked. “Oh, you mean-yeah I don’t have one. I’m one of the…later models. They stopped giving us official numbers and just started giving us names and personalities. That’s what the culture evolved into. People stopped caring about records.”
“I see.”
“I don’t! Celestia. I don’t get any of this crap-ahaha,” Brass Dozer said shaking his head with laughter. A shrill scream disrupted the temporary respite going on between the group. Each individual pony readied themselves and both guards revealed spears of their own.
“So, I see you are true to your word,” Gray Shark said. “About the spear.”
“It is indeed a guard’s master weapon,” Clyde said proudly. Another scream, this time with voice cracks beyond all belief, caused slight ease. Bushes rustled with mystery before Glass Dozer came waddling out.
“I found Buzz!” he cried with disbelief. “I think I peed on him.”
“It’s Blitz and barely,” the unicorn said.
“Mister Blitz!”
“Hey, Clyde,” Blitz said with a cocky smile.
“Blitz, I don’t think you should really be here,” Gray Shark said with genuine worry. “Seriously.”
“Wait, what? Who are you?” Blitz said noticing Gray Shark for the first time. The stallion reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a thick black mustache. He placed it over his masked mouth and waited for Blitz to react. “Huh? I don’t-dah, you’re that fancy guy I met!”
“OH MISTER GRAY PATCH-”
“Shark.”
“-WHY DO YOU TORMENT ME SO?” Clyde said on his knees with his hooves to his face. “I can’t bear to look at you without shame! You must remove that abomination at once!”
“Kay. Here, Blitz.” Gray Shark handed the mustache to Blitz who awkwardly accepted. “Go fool somebody.”
“Thanks?”
“Likewise. Now, shall we be off?”
“Mister Gray Pa-” Clyde stopped as Gray Shark eyed him cautiously. “Shark, I am not going to allow Mister Blitz to come.”
Blitz raised his hooves and spoke sharply. “Hey, wait a minute-”
Brass Dozer nodded in agreement, but spoke lightheartedly. “If the squirt wants to go let him. We got three armed guards-two and a half armed guards to protect him. And we got, uh…you.” He pointed sheepishly at Gray Shark. The whole group stared unevenly at the masked pony.
“Glad you didn’t forget someone,” Gray Shark said unemotionally.
Clyde wiped down his face before shaking his head. “Alright. Mister Blitz-just stay close.” He turned away abruptly and hid his face.
“Will do, Clyde!” Blitz said hopping happily beside the guard. The five ponies made their way deeper into the forest with uncertain stride. The sun watched dreadfully above as its rays failed to shed light on the group anymore.
~~~~~~~~~~
“I really have to pee again, honest!” Glass Dozer said fidgeting uncomfortably.
“Are you kidding me, bro?” Brass Dozer said.
“Sorry! I can’t handle my body!”
“Well hold your damn cock ‘till we get there. We are almost there right, Gray?”
Gray Shark answered calmly. “Correct, we are-”
“I can’t hold it in!”
“-almost there.”
“Right ho,” Clyde said. “If you spot any suspicious behavior, just holler! Me and my mustache will bring the pain.”
Gray Shark’s ears perked up and he jumped to his two hind legs before anyone else could react. A girlish scream jolted through each body and infused the tension with fear.
“What the hell was that?” Brass Dozer said raising his spear.
“Trouble,” Gray Shark said.
“But-that’s a girl’s voice. We-we gotta help her or something…”
“Stay focused,” Clyde said. “We don’t know for sure what that scream was.”
“Fee-fi-fo-fum,” a voice said.
“What was that?” Blitz said scuttling behind Clyde.
“Suck on my goddamn cum!” Two giant blasters emerged from the trees above pushing themselves slowly through the leaves. A smiling face also pushed its way into view and its target marked eyes lit up slightly with a yellow flicker. The guns started to whirl and spin up, light blue lights flickered on and off.
“Guys,” Glass said. “I don’t have to pee anymore.”
“Scatter!” Gray Shark said. The ponies obeyed and split up as a shower of blue bullets obliterated the ground from whence they stood.
“Can’t run away, I’ll find you!” Bull It Buster said cackling. The words echoed from above as each pony ran their own separate direction. “You think you can escape me? Pittle-pat your feet into the forest navel? Don’t make me laugh until I cry sweet tears of-agh-gacka-babah!” An explosion erupted from in front of the psychotic gunner and the sound waves echoed throughout the shrubbery. Hearing the damage behind him, Blitz felt himself exert twice as much energy into his legs. The forest leaves and branches blurred into green and brown masses. The ground was an everlasting path of unknown danger. Blitz could still hear distant shouts and sped up even faster.
“Ahh!” The pony couldn’t help but scream. ‘Okay, calm down. Just calm down! This is just like last time. Keep running and eventually you’ll reach…something!’ His breathes rapidly increased and his legs started to weigh down. Everything looked the same to Blitz. He felt no progress being made. ‘Just keep moving forward! I’ll find Gray or Clyde or those two guys. I will, I just have to-’
“Blue!” Blitz stopped and faced a mid-air beast trajecting towards him. The orange creature smiled with delight as it pounced and pinned the unicorn to the ground.
“No!” Blitz tried desperately to push off his captor. He struggled in absolute fear, his body shivered against the monster. “Get off me, gah!
“I’ve got Blue!” The monster shook with excitement atop Blitz. Both ponies looked at each other before screaming, one in laughter and the other in terror.
~~~~~~~~~~
“That should’ve taken care of him.” Gray Shark ran stealthily through the now silent forest. “Nobody can survive that kind of explosion so close up.” The crunching of leaves left the masked pony on edge. With his sword extended, he ran on his two hind legs with quickness. ‘Not good at all. We’re all split up in forest full of dangerous killers.’ He cursed and continued to cruise through the green.
“Hey, Gray, fancy meeting you here.”
Gray Shark paused and straightened out his body smoothly. He closed his eye and sighed before facing his caller. Standing before him was a green stallion styling his red mane. He brushed off his suit before giving a big grin. Gray Shark addressed the other pony cautiously. “Sloth…”
“Oh my God, it’s Tony Bloom! Get it right and don’t call me that disgusting name! You of all should know how I feel about it!” the pony said stammering all over the place.
“So, you found me,” Gray Shark said now stepping in a circle around the pony.
“More like you found me.”
“So then,” Gray raised his sword. “Are we to clash swords?” He eyed the two sword sabers handing loosely strapped on the pony’s sides.
“Naaah, I don’t feel like it. Why don’t you ask me later,” Tony Bloom said with a fake yawn. He overdramatically stretched his whole body and faced Gray Shark in a comical way.
“Why are you here?” Gray said still ready to attack.
“Just surveying the beautiful nature outside-”
“Where’s Pride?”
“Who cares,” Tony Bloom said shrugging. “How should I know?”
“You best be telling me or I’ll cut the answer out of you,” Gray said flashing his sword menacingly.
Tony Bloom cocked his head. “Just did, pendejo. Now, leave me alone, would you kindly?”
“And why would I be doing that?” Gray Shark said stepping closer. “It seems coincidental we happened to meet. I’m curious, what are you doing out here?”
“I’ve got a date with my new lady friend,” he said with a grin. “And I’m in the hurry to meet up with her. Shame, we only just met again.” His horn started to glow a vibrant red and vines started uprooting themselves from the ground. “Not much chit-chat, sorry. I know you love my voice…” Bloom stood perfectly still as the overgrowth started to slide away from Gray Shark. “Hasta luego, Gray!” he said waving while the vines carried him further and further.
“Hey-” Gray Shark stepped forward, but stopped and arched his body diagonally, dodging a flying rotary blade by inches. He jumped back and faced another familiar opponent.
“…” Masquerade Blade dropped from above and raised two saw blades in symmetry.
“So, we meet again. This time with more privacy.”
“…”
Gray Shark cut at air and had begun to position himself stylishly. He held up a hoof just under his sword. “Shall we begin?”
Masquerade Blade nodded quickly and charged towards Gray Shark with hooves behind his back and head forward. Gray shark chuckled to himself and prepared for an incoming fight.
“Typical, ninja-style sprint,” he said slightly ticked off. “That’s my style.” He copied his opponent’s type of run and charged headfirst into the fray.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Don’t hurt me!” Blitz yelled still fighting off his assailant. “Please!”
“Blue…” The creature still held onto Blitz with an iron grip with its non-transformed hooves, but refused to make anymore movements. Blitz’s eyes finally met the orange beast’s and he saw something that kept his eyes glued permanently to the decaying face. The peculiar golden eyes made a sudden impact on Blitz. He felt his heart sink and his body no longer trembled with fright. Upon closer inspection of the eyes, Blitz shook his head in complete denial. He choked on his next words, almost throwing up the name.
“Fuzzy Fry.”
The creature titled its head wryly. “…Fuzzy. Fuzzy-Fry. Fuzzy?” Its eyes bounced around as it comprehended the given name. “Fuzzy Fry?”
“No-that can’t be. You can’t be Fuzzy,” Blitz said. “That’s not possible, it's impossible. You can’t be my friend-how…I don’t see-”
“You are quite the clever one, aren’t you?” Doctor Rivet said trotting lightly towards the two incapacitated, entangled ponies. “You figured out his name just like that.”
The monster looked up and noticed its master. It broke its confused gaze and grinned with sickening delight. “I got Blue!”
“Yes. Yes you did, my pet.”
Blitz kept staring into the pale, golden eyes of his seemingly former friend. “You’re pet, Fuzzy Fry…no-wait, what’s going on. Tell me!”
“Well, I thought you were clever, but it appears that is an entirely different meaning. You still have not figured everything out yet, how peculiar. Or have you not accepted what has truly happened?” Doctor Rivet said closing in on the two. “This is who you know as Fuzzy Fry, correct? If you believe so then it must be so. Why else would you stop and recognize something odd of this pony all of a sudden?”
“I can’t-this can’t? What did you do?” Blitz said now looking at the doctor. “This isn’t my friend-no! This is some sick trick. You’re trying to trick me like last time.”
“Fuzzy Fry,” the doctor said orderly. The orange creature raised its head firmly and perked it towards Doctor Rivet. “Get off of him. Now.” The creature obeyed without hesitation and Blitz felt his world slowly collapsing. “That is indeed his name. However, he only recognizes it by my voice thanks to my skillful engineering.”
“I can’t-what-my…” Blitz barely breathed the words as he started to feel lightheaded. “This-this isn’t real? I-Fuzzy Fry!”
“There is no point in trying to reengage him,” Doctor Rivet said firmly. “I improved him.”
“Fuzzy Fry, it’s me, Blitz. Blue, whatever you call me-look!” Blitz pointed to his chest and started hitting it with fury, sadness and desperation. “Fuzzy Fry!”
The beast now known as Fuzzy Fry only laughed, but with no emotion. Blitz could feel his head getting warm and his throat getting dry.
“As you can see, I have changed him,” Doctor Rivet continued. “Made him different from whatever you remember him as. Please try and forget that, by the way. He no longer remembers you and you should not want to remember him. It is change that is so important.”
He shook his head in utter defeat. “Why.”
“Well I needed a test subject. Sacrifice is key to creating greater causes,” Doctor Rivet said enthusiastically. “There is nothing you can do now, stop blabbering.”
“My friend,” Blitz started to say weakly. “He’s a monster. All this time-this whole time…he was here being tortured by you. Not in Appaloosa…not in Ponyville, not anywhere but here. A monster.”
“Oh no,” the doctor said offended. “I would not say monster-no. And torture? Not even a thought of that. You see, this is the future.”
“What future?” Blitz said now tensing up with anger. “This is a future full of evil-full of sick bastards like you!”
“No, a future of creation. This is my first step: the brain. Next comes the body, then the soul-”
“You’re talking about creating something that you control, something you engineered to work for you; a machine.”
“Imagine what we could do with this advancement.”
“And you used my friend.”
“He paid his dues; his mind was not in vain.”
“Fuzzy Fry…my best friend,” Blitz anger melted away into tears. The wetness burned his cheeks with indescribable sorrow. “I-” He placed a hoof over his eyes and let the tears stream down his arms. His sobs filled the empty forest green and turned it blue.
“I cannot risk two subjects of such close relationship to work with one another now that I think about it,” Doctor Rivet said adjusting his glasses.
Blitz raised his head slightly. “There’s hope.”
“Kill him.”
Fuzzy Fry stared at Blitz before blinking blankly. He frowned and looked at Doctor Rivet with confusion. “No, I-it’s Blue!”
“Do it, you wretch! I am simply tired of your resistance! Do it! Now!”
Fuzzy Fry shook his head and screamed in pained laughter before turning to Blitz and raising his claws. He sucked in air through his teeth and exhaled despairingly before slashing at his former friend. Blitz took the hit right to his cheek and didn’t falter. He stood and gritted his teeth. “Fuzzy, stop it’s me.” The creature howled with mixed emotions before putting his arms on his head. The claws attached flailed wildly above his head.
“Orders…must follow…orders!” He dropped his arms limply and reared back with a sinister smile. “Must…die!” Fuzzy Fry leapt at Blitz and the blue stallion closed his eyes.
‘Fuzzy Fry: my bestest friend forever.’ The demented face came closer. ‘And now you’re gone. You’re about to kill me. Is this how my life ends? An unfulfilled wish for a better life’- A whirl of wind flew past Blitz and he felt his heart stop with time. Feeling no pain, however, he opened his eyes and spotted a white figure standing in front of him.
“Mister Blitz…” Clyde said painfully as he drew blood at his right abdomen. “We need to get out of here!” he said with a forceful buck to Fuzzy Fry. The crazed pony flew back and laughed all the way as he hit the ground.
“Clyde, I’m so sorry-I can’t-he can’t control himself!” Blitz said sputtering words as tears began to formulate once more. Clyde grimaced before grabbing Blitz and hoisting him bluntly onto his back. “No-wait. We can’t leave yet.”
“Blitz, we are leaving.”
“I just found Fuzzy Fry, I found him, Clyde! Listen!” Blitz said pointing vigorously at the orange pony. “It’s him! He was never in Appaloosa or stuck or anywhere he’s here! I can’t leave him, not after I found him. Not after what I found out about him!” he said frantically pulling on Clyde’s back. “You don’t understand, I can save him! Just give me some time!”
“Now.”
Blitz shook his head in bewilderment. “How can you say that? You’re supposed to be protecting me, not causing-” He suddenly felt wetness and noticed Clyde’s blood trickling down Blitz’s hoof as he clutched the wound.
“I am, Mister Blitz. I am.” Fuzzy Fry screamed hysterically as Clyde took off at once and shot through the branches. He ascended higher and higher until breaking through the overgrowth. The sunlight shined painfully on the two ponies as they flew hopelessly through the dreadful sky.
“Well, that is a bit annoying,” Doctor Rivet said pacing back and forth madly. “Actually, it is very annoying. Fuzzy Fry, you disappoint me. No more hesitation on my orders or else. Do you understand what I am saying? I will punish you.”
“No…” the orange pony said wiggling uncomfortably. “Not the darkness. Not the darkness!”
“Yo, doc!” Joltaire came bolting through excitedly. “You get any good catches? The two pansy-ass guards we fought earlier just flew away like goddamn birds!”
“No,” Doctor Rivet said grudgingly. “I am going to have to tweak him a bit. Unusual behaviors occurring out of him…strange.”
“Uh, okay, well-get back ASAP, broseph,” Joltaire said motioning the doctor to follow him. “Cutter says we’re going soon to F some shit up. C’mon, man.” He left the area leaving the doctor in a great amount of perplexing strife.
“So rather unfortunate!” Doctor Rivet said stamping his foot. He sighed with an infuriated breath before walking towards Fuzzy Fry. “Come. I have to figure out what I am to do with you.”
Fuzzy Fry whimpered and slowly dragged his claws across the ground following his master. His head hung low and he mumbled to himself. The forest just lost its eerie sense. All it had now was evil.