A loud emergency siren rang out noisily through a dark underground compound. The lights in the mysterious compound flickered sporadically and died out, only to be quickly replaced with red lights that spun around psychotically in the darkened hallways. As of now, everything was akin to looking very much like the blazing underworld of Tartarus; for a terrible monster had just been freed from its prison.
Personnel and staff members of the compound all fled the premises in a frenzied panic. The only ones who had remained were large group of guardspony that have been specially trained to handle this delicate situation. They were all wearing standard guard armor that had significant modifications to it designed to combat more unique threats. Only this specific division of the royal guards had access to this equipment.
The group of around twenty to thirty guards formed up together around the foyer of the complex, each wearing a stoic face and a fearsome scowl as they all waited for their superior to show up. Eventually, three individuals entered the room; two wore a neutral expression that spelled displeasure, only one had a look of doubt on his face. As they walked in, all of the guards respectfully saluted them as they stood before them.
“At ease boys, no need for formalities here” one of the three stallions, a silver pegasus guard, spoke out “The name’s Steel Wing, our mission is to try to stop whatever that thing is down there from getting to the surface. Is that clear?” he asked. All of the guards nodded in acknowledgement of their superior officer.
“Alright, we’re on the same page then” Steel Wing pointed over to the two beside him “The one in the black vest with the gas mask is chief security officer Cleaner. The stuffy looking one over there with spectacles and pocket protector is the head honcho of this place, his name’s Beaker”
“Yes, yes, that’s all well and good” Beaker, a grayish unicorn with a brown mane in a lab coat, spoke out “But introductions aren’t important right now. I’ll be brief, an experiment paramount to the survival of our fair nation has been set loose and is on a rampage on the lower levels below us. I want you to contain it, not kill it, is that clear?” everyone nodded again “Good, anything else that you want to add, mister Cleaner?”
The doubtful security officer shook his head. Cleaner sighed and turned to face his peers, he had something heart wrenching on his mind as evident by the look on his face.
“Just... be gentle when you’re trying to contain her” Cleaner said, his voice heavy with sorrow.
“Gentle? What are you mad or something?” Steel Wing spoke out “This thing is murdering innocent ponies down there, and you’re worried for it? Get with it chief, we’ll do whatever it to stop that thing from escaping here”
“Yes, and please, mister Cleaner. Don’t refer to it as a her. That thing is property of this facility and will be addressed as so, are we clear?” Beaker replied coldly “Now, get in position. I’ll radio the lower levels to see how the others are handling the situation down there” Beaker walk towards the receptionist table and reached for a nearby radio.
“Hello, hello? Someone, please respond” the radio only gave out static “H-hello, is anyone down there? P-please respond...”
Silence
Beads of sweat began to form around everyone’s neck. The resolve of some of the guards began to waver as they swallowed a large lump in their throat. More radio static was emitted from the radio, the nerves of the guards began to turn to jelly. Finally, after what felt like hours, a response came, but not in the way that they expected.
*BZZT*
“HELLO! IS ANY- *BZZT* THERE!” a desperate voice screamed out from the radio “THIS IS HOOF BREAKER! MY SQUAD HAD *BZZT* WIPED OUT!” he cried out in despair. Beaker quickly reached for the radio and and responded as fast as he could.
“Hello? Hoof Breaker? Are you there? This is lead scientist, Beaker. What is your status?” he inquired.
“S-sir?” Hoof Breaker calmed down “S-sir, I-I’m on level four of *BZZT* facility...”
“You’re directly two levels below us. Now tell me, what in the name of Celestia happened down there?”
“S-someone sabotaged the *BZZT* -tainment zone. Project Omega escaped. We tried to restrain it but *BZZT* too strong. It’s on a rampage, trying to make its way to the surface”
“Is anyone else alive? What about the scientist, did any survive, did they make it out?”
“...”
“Hoof Breaker?”
“Dead...”
“Excuse me?”
“Didn’t you hear me the first time!? They’re dead, every single last one of them! It murdered each *BZZT* every single one of them. I think a part of some scientist is stuck to me when Omega tore him to shreds... ugh, it’s an eyeball...”
“What about the other guards!? We sent at least six whole battalions down there to handle the situation! We equipped every last single one of them with powerful gadgets that were meant specifically to stop Project Omega! Are you meaning to tell me that she killed them all too!?”
“Omega is still *BZZT* -vel six. I managed to escape after encountering Omega on level ten. The other guards are *BZZT* -ying to stay alive now. Sir, I suggest we blow this place sky high. We can’t risk Omega to reach the surface”
“Unacceptable. Project Omega is the sole property of this facility and we cannot risk destroying five years worth of work simply because you failed to do your job!”
“...with all due respect sir, you’re an idiot”
“What!?”
“This thing you’ve created doesn’t want to be put back in its cage. I don’t know about you but... *CLICK* I’m going to protect Equestria, even if it *BZZT* -eans destroying a trillion bit investment in the process of escaping this pit. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to try and find an elevator so I can see daylight again”
“Wait! What was that clicking sound!? What did you do!?”
“... I’m was in the armory. I’ve armed every single explosive in this pit and rigged them all to blow up within the hour. By then, I’ll be out, and that thing down there will be nothing more than a black spot in the largest crater that Equestria has ever seen”
“You.. you! Do you have any idea what you’ve just done! Turn off all of those explosives now! This is non negotiable! These are direct orders from the princess herself! We. Need. Omega. ALIVE! DO YOU HEAR ME! I SAID DO YOU HEAR ME!”
“...well you can tell the princess that she can borrow my shovel to dig up the remains of that blasted thing when all is said and done. I don’t care if I sent to prison for this, at least I’ll still be alive and not become a damned pincushion just like the rest of the unlucky blokes down here...”
“Hoof Breaker, don’t you dare talk like that to the princess! Don’t you da-
“ *DING* well, lookie there. My ride is here, If you’re smart then I’ll see you all on the surface. Trust me, you’ll thank me lat- *SCREECH* ...what... no... NO! NOOOO! P-PLEASE! LET ME LIVE! I BEG OF YOU”
“Hoof Breaker? What’s going on? Is that Omega!?”
“NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU FREAK! STAY BACK! AAAAAAAAAAAH *CLANG* .... ack... ack! *CRACK* *THUD* “
“...” Beaker was speechless as he dropped the radio out of sheer, abject terror. The look on his face was a mix of horror and hopeless despair. He looked as if he was about to bawl his eyes out as his face scrunched up together into a tight ball. The whole room was silent, just like the radio. No one said a word as to break the heavy silence that loomed over the room.
“What do we do now!?” a guard yelled out, his breathing became erratic as he soon began to hyperventilate like there was no tomorrow “We have to get out of here! That crazy bastard rigged the place to blow and that Omega thing is on the loose!”
“That’s a negative, private!” Steel Wing shouted “We’re here to stop that thing, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do! Once we capture Project Omega, we can still evacuate the premises before this place turns into a hole in the ground with our objective in tow. Now all we have to do is finish the jo-”
*CLANG*
*DING*
“ *GULP* w-what was t-that?” a guard fearfully asked.
“I... I think t-that was the elevator...” Beaker shakily replied.
*DING*
“...Beaker?” Steel Wing asked “How many levels was Project Omega below again?”
“...S-six...”
“But wasn’t the elevator on level fou-”
*DING*
“EVERYONE GET INTO POSITIONS, NOW!” Steel Wing shouted at the top of his lung before every guard instinctively snapped into position at the drop of a hat. It was only until a dreadful silence grasped the room that every guard finally made clear sense of the situation. They were about to confront a rampant experimental beast that would tear them limb from limb in a mere matter of seconds before they could contain it.
This was a guaranteed death sentence for everyone in the room, no doubt, so long as things don’t get out of control. Each guard swallowed a large lump in their throats as they brought forth their special stun spears, a unique weapon that was an augmented spear that can send forth thousands of volts of electricity in a wide area before them to subdue their intended target. But even if the stun spear was designed to subdue Project Omega, no one really felt safe even with the weapon in hoof.
Regardless, everyone’s strict and immediate attention was locked towards the lone elevator dock that was down the hall. The flashing red lights and siren only served to act as reminder of what was going to happen soon. Sparks began to light up at the ends of each guard’s spears until it glowed bright white and emitted a low hum to accompany the flowing electricity that surrounded the pointed tips of each spear.
They waited, and waited, never did they take their eyes off of the elevator door for even a second. They cautiously awaited for even the smallest and insignificant of events to happen, although they still haven’t forgotten about the armed explosives miles below their hoof. Survival was not a matter of chance, merely a matter of choice. Duty, or death.
As time dragged on, the heartbeat of each individual increased beyond the point of normalcy. Even Steel Wing, whose face betrayed his own inward emotions, failed to control the fear induced shaking of his legs. Strangely, the only one who kept his cool throughout this whole ordeal was none other than Cleaner himself.
“How on Equestria are you able to stay so calm!?” Beaker asked from behind the receptionist desk.
“Because I know what’s going to happen next” Cleaner sternly replied as he tugged on his knife and placed his gas mask on.
“What are you talking abou-”
*DING*
The final chime of the elevator signaled two things; the arrival of a horrible monster, and the inevitable deaths of all those foolish enough to confront it. All stun spears were brought up to maximum charge and aimed directly for ebon abyss that was past the elevator door. Light taps echoed throughout the hallway, resonating on the walls for all to hear. Eventually, something stepped, or more appropriately, shambled from out of the shadow.
It’s form was that of a pony, a stallion to be precise, but the faint silhouette depicted some kind of pole and various syringes protruding from various parts of his body. The silhouette stood silently in the elevator, swinging side to side aimlessly before crumbling to the ground. As he fell out of the shadow of the doorway, it was clear to the guards that whoever that was wasn’t Project Omega.
Surprisingly, the stallion in question was identified as the late Hoof Breaker, who was merely a ravaged shell of his former self. There were several lead pipes that his been impaled directly into his neck and abdomen area. Various medical syringes and scalpels found their way into his skull and brain matter with surgical precision. To top it all off, his head and neck had been snapped a full one eighty, with the pipes in his neck dripping with vital fluids like a leaky faucet.
How he was still stubbornly clinging to life was a miracle, only for his last breath to be breathed soon afterwards. Panic set in almost instantly for the guards as some of them found themselves disgracefully abandoning their post and fleeing for their very lives, but to no avail when they discovered that every door on the level was sealed off to prevent Project Omega’s escape. Steel Wing, who had been shaking like a tree caught in a hurricane, lost control of his own bladder and pissed all over himself.
He struggled to maintain whatever ounce of bravery that he had left in his being. Although every part of him wanted to turn tail and run like a coward, his innate sense of service to his princess stopped him from doing so. Whether or not that that was particularly the smartest thing to do now that he was trapped in a sealed off room with some loose experiment was entirely up for debate.
Without warning, a loud eardrum rupturing scream was let loose by some unknown force, shattering every red light in the room and plunging the entire level into grim darkness. Everyone raised their hooves to cover their ears from the unbearable screech, but found no relief in the slightest. The scream did not enter through the ear, but through the mind. They were slowly being driven mad in perhaps the most painful way possible.
“W-where is that coming from!” Beaker cried as he writhed on the floor in pain “T-this... this is Omega’s doing! S-shoot now! SHOOT!” he ordered.
“You... you heard the boss! Fire directly at the elevator! Full charge!” Steel Wing commanded despite his skull crushing migraine. Each guard did what they were told and reluctantly discharged a volley of electricity that lit up the darkness with a seizure inducing display of light.
In the midst of the reckless shooting, Beaker struggled to stand up straight and became completely aghast when he saw that Cleaner was completely unaffected by the mind scream.
“How are you able to...” Beaker couldn’t finish before he found Cleaner's knife stuck into his throat. He could do nothing when the knife was pull from out of his neck as he choked and gagged upon his own blood and spit. Steel Wing immediately took notice to this treachery and turn around immediately, pointing his stun spear right at Cleaner.
“Cleaner! What on Equestria are you doing!?” Steel Wing questioned.
“Something that I should’ve done a long time ago!” Cleaner shouted as he charged at Steel Wing. Steel Wing attempted to get a shot off with his stun spear, but the screaming in his head caused him to stumble back and forth where he was open to attack. Cleaner took this opportunity and crushed his jaw with a powerful uppercut, followed up by a restraining headlock that pressed him against the floor.
“Grr.... Cleaner! You are a traitor to the crown for unleashing armageddon upon Equestria! I hope you rot in the dungeon for this!” Steel Wing roared defiantly as he struggled to escape the headlock.
“No, I’m not the traitor here...” Cleaner retorted from behind his emotionless gas mask “The princess is, for betraying the loyalty and trust of her own subjects, and for having a personal hoof in letting the creation of tragedies like Omega exist”
“Scum! You soil her name with your baseless accusations! What do you hope to gain by letting this abomination run loose! Power!? Control!? Anarchy!? Is that what you hope to achieve!? Well? Tell me!”
“...Freedom” Cleaner simply replied before snapping Steel Wings neck like a twig. He then turned his attention to the battle at hoof.
Guards were being picked up and thrown around like rag dolls in the grasp of some omnipotent puppeteer. The overwhelming power that was shown by Project Omega was terrifying to behold, as the whole group of guards had been thrown back by a powerful shockwave that ended up breaking more bones than it did willpower.
One unlucky guard found himself caught in the invisible grab and was being strangled to death. When the guard finally died, his body was brutally repurposed by having his corpse condensed into a ball and shot out like a bullet towards the stunned guards. As the corpse collided with the guards, they all found themselves crushed, dying with either a broken neck, or severe blood loss.
In the entire span of only a few minutes, an entire group of guards was destroyed by one individual. Cleaner wiped away all the blood that was splattered onto his mask by the result of Project Omega’s violent uprising. As all the red was wiped away, a lone figure approached him in the midst of all the carnage. Project Omega floated forth and revealed herself in the dimly lit hallway.
Project Omega was none other than an average looking earth pony mare, no older than seventeen years old. She was incredibly young, barely even an adult yet. Her coat was red as a rose, but there was not a drop of blood upon her. Her straight mane, long tail, and round eyes was about as black as the abyss that she rose from. The left side of her head had some sort of implant attached to it, possibly stemming all the way to her brain as well.
But perhaps the most tragic aspect of her aesthetic was her cutie mark. No longer was it an image meant to represent her unique talents, but instead, it was a symbol of her oppression. Her own cutie mark had been branded over with Ω, scarring her for life and making her nothing more than property, rather than a pony.
Omega glanced over at the carnage that she ensued, her face flared with a mix of emotion ranging from that of anger, to apathy, remorse and sorrow. Her expression lightened to that of hope as Cleaner rushed up to her to comfort her. He removed his mask, a small smile formed on his face as he calms the wild child. Omega returned the hug before tears streamed down her cheek.
“You had me scared for a moment there, kid” Cleaner said as he pulled away from Omega “I thought you’d bought it down there, but it turns out you’re stronger than you look” Cleaner’s expression turned sad “Look, kid. I’m sorry about what you had to do to get here. I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to help you when I should’ve, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. Let’s leave this place, once and for all”
Omega opened her mouth to reply, only to have the words stuck in her throat. She only gently smiled and nodded to him and began to follow him as he motioned for her to move. The two ran, or in Omega’s case, floated towards the exit with haste.
“Come on kid, move! The guy that you plugged in the elevator rigged the whole armory to blow up, we have to get out!” Cleaner shouted as he reached the door that separated them from level one. Cleaner fiddled with the door and cursed himself when he remembered that the doors were locked. Time was running short,
Omega tapped on his shoulder, causing him to turn around. Omega nodded to him, signifying that she wanted to try something. Cleaner acknowledged her and retreated behind her, awaiting whatever stunt that she was going to pull.
Omega raised both of her foreleg into the air and began to concentrate. The air around the two began to grow heavy all of a sudden. Omega then shot both of her forelegs out forward towards the door that was blocking them, causing the door to buckle and break. The door was around two feet of reinforced steel with magical enchantments that allowed it to withstand kinetic force, but one single push from Omega turned it concave.
Concentrating even further, Omega broke the entire door off from the very walls and building that it was firmly attached to and turned it into a sphere of junk. By sheer force of will alone, she shot off the ball, not unlike the guard, towards the ceiling and forcefully created her own exit of the facility. Everything that stood between Omega and sunlight was no match for a mighty wrecking ball rocketing up at terminal velocity.
Metal, wood, dirt, and anything else that was in the path of the ball was demolished, leaving behind an improvised way to the surface. Sunlight and the clear blue sky could be seen through the little hole, filling Omega with a sense of freedom that she had never been able to experience since her memory was wiped. Without missing a beat, Omega pulled on Cleaner and propelled both of them up into the air.
It was a breathtaking sight to behold as the two floated above what appeared to be a vast plain in the middle of western Equestria. Cleaner looked down from where he was, he must’ve been up in the air for about sixty feet, give or take, and was overlooking where the facility was suppose to be.
It was a deceptive cover. The entire facility was into the ground, and was made to look a nothing more than a inconspicuous hillside. But judging from the hole that Omega produced, we know now that that was not true in the slightest. Omega gently brought both of them down, making sure to stay a safe distance away from the facility before it blew up.
The two sat down together by the edge of a forest to catch their breaths. Cleaner was absolutely exhausted from everything that had happened in the last hour. Omega was quite the opposite. Physically, she was fine, mentally, she was having a little headache. Nothing too serious, but annoying nonetheless.
“Are you alright, kid?” Cleaner asked as he tried to wipe off dried blood from his person.
Omega nodded in return. She wasn’t sure how to respond, but she was glad to be free from her prison. She stared off into the distance, waiting attentively for the big boom to happen. Cleaner followed suit and turned to face the large hill in the center of the large plain. Before long, a violent earthquake shook the ground, scaring some of the forest animals and leaving Cleaner shakened.
A loud, audible boom could be miles below the surface, followed by the collapse of the hillside. Like a portal to the underworld, the hill crumbled into the abyss and a torrent of fire spewed out from the maw of its remains. Before long, the accursed facility was no more, merely dust in the wind, and a stain on Cleaner’s and Omega’s memories. It was almost therapeutic, seeing the facility go up in flames. It was another secret extinguished from the world.
The two laid down after witnessing the spectacular display before them, contemplating about what they had just done. They know that ponies will look for them, they’re practically terrorist at this point. But there was no going back now. The fire has been lit, and now it’s time to fan the flames.
But for the time being, they can breath easy. Even if it is just for a little while...
* * *
Canterlot, the next day
Princess Celestia was in her office, sipping on her favorite tea as she rummaged through a pile of important documents that desperately needed her attention. She levitated her reading glasses over and began to skim through a new bill that had been issued by her fellow ruler and former student, Twilight Sparkle. It was an interesting read, something about trying to improve the awareness of the P.M.D. program.
According to the bill, Twilight intended to try and get more ponies to volunteer for the P.M.D. program. It was for a noble cause, one that she would expect no less from one whom she has personally taught and considered as a daughter to her. So it seemed only reasonable what she would do next.
She denied the bill entirely.
With that out of the way, she turn to attention back to more important matters, such as handling foreign affairs and treaties that was riddled with political jargon. But before she could engage in her work, a light knock on her door cause her to look up.
It was none other than her own sister, Princess Luna, who walked into the room. From the look on her face however, she was serious about something. Celestia raised a single eyebrow at Luna, normally she wasn’t this serious unless it involved the safety of the nation. To her dismay, she was entirely right about that assumption.
“Sister, we have a problem” said Luna.
“Really now? Tell me, what is it?” Celestia replied with a stern look on her face.
“It’s about the distress call that we received yesterday”
“I assume that the problem has been dealt with, sister? This has happened before. One attempts to breaks out every so often but we always manage to fix these things before it becomes a problem. Just give me the reports and we can be past this silly little matter” Celestia waved it off like nothing had happened at all, but Luna was insistent on the matter.
“Sister, Project Omega has escaped, and the facility had been destroyed. Ponies are starting question just what happened in the woods west of here”
Though she didn’t show it, Celestia frowned on the inside, followed by having one of the blood vessels in her brain come close to popping. She took off her reading glasses and rubbed her temples to alleviate a migraine that she could feel hang right over her head. She rose up after calming down from hearing the bad news, and spoke.
“I want you to dispatch your guards. I want Project Omega found and contained”