Chapter 3: A Light in the Dark
“Personal log of Doctor Bright Field, lead researcher for Project: HOPE,” The Stallion in the image began as Sweetie watched with undivided attention, “Day one. We've arrived and sealed the facility. Right now, we're just getting settled in, but actual work will begin tomorrow.
“Though we will be researching several things that can help take back Equestria, the Paragon project is the most important. In order to fight a powerful being, an even more powerful being is needed. Thus, through gene splicing and use of chaos magic, we will do what none have even attempted; we will create the ultimate being.”
The stallion sighed, “Many here don't think I can do it. They say I only got the position because I'm the son of Queen Clover. As much as mother cares for me, she wouldn't entrust the fate of the nation she, father, and Pansy created through such hardship and pain to an incompetent. Mother trusts me, and I will not let her down.
“Stay safe, mom. End log.”
Sweetie sat in awe for some time. She couldn't believe it. 'Queen Clover'? Pansy? He was talking about the Founders, Clover the Clever, Smart Cookie, and Private Pansy. But were they really that technologically advanced? True, very little of that era survived because Discord's rule destroyed most of the recorded histories. What was known was passed down by word of mouth. Then there was this deal about the 'Paragon'. What was it, and what was 'gene splicing?
Sweetie shook her head and stood up. She made her way to the room with her friends and sat beside them.
“Turns out, they do keep records, but it's in a weird magic device. How is Scoots doing?” Sweetie asked.
“She's got a fever, but it ain't too bad,” Applebloom said, “She could use some water.”
“We all need water. I'm going to go see if I can find some,” Sweetie said, “Keep an eye on her.”
Applebloom nodded and Sweetie left them alone. She made her way back to the hall and looked at the guide nearest the door. Any water in the cafeteria was likely contaminated, but she learned how to purify water from a book in the library.
With a destination in mind, the filly made her way toward the cafeteria. Her mind was still racing with thoughts of what she heard. This place was meant to make a perfect being. She wished Midnight were around. He would know what to do.
Lost in her musing, she ran snout first into a chunk of ceiling in her path. She rubbed her nose with a hoof as she studied the obstruction. A few cracks revealed how close she was. She could see the door and its identifying sign, so very close.
“Oh, come on!” she shouted.
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“We've had our first near success!” Field said happily as Applebloom watched the screen. She moved herself and Scootaloo into the first room, wanting to be as far away from that awful machine as she could. After a few minutes, she got curious and decided to play with the strange machine.
“A kirin, part pony, part dragon, was successfully birthed. Unfortunately it only survived thirty seven seconds, the poor child.” The princely doctor looked downcast, “We're toying with lives here. Is it murder if your actions take a life you create? It feels like it, but if we don't, ponykind is doomed. To defeat monsters, we'll become monsters, but what if we become worse monsters that what we fight? Would it be better to do nothing?
“I'm sorry, this job is... hard. Not just mentally, but on the soul. I just needed to vent. With the kirin being the closest thing to a viable hybrid, we'll be using that as a base and add other DNA. We'll try griffin first and see how that turns out.
“In other news, we did manage to successfully breed the first of the devourers. These little guys eat corruption and reproduce incredibly fast. Then, once their food source is depleted, they go into suspended animation until it reappears. With these guys, Equestria will be livable again. Of course, we'll be leaving them in suspended animation until time to release them.”
“End log seventy two.” the devices voice.
“Dragon-pony?” Applebloom mused to herself, “Why's that familiar?”
Before she could continue her musings, a loud crash followed a scream from nearby. Applebloom turned to look at her unconscious friend, only, she wasn't there.
“Scootaloo!”
Applebloom jumped to her hooves and ran to where her friend had been. Another crash came from one of the corners. The yellow filly ran around the tables to find a sight that both relieved her and worried her. Scootaloo was awake, but she was shaking and hitting herself in the head screaming, “Get them out!”
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Sweetie Belle stormed down the hall. After searching and searching, she still found no way into the cafeteria. She was extremely thirsty and knew her friends were as well. They needed water before dehydration started setting in.
As she steamed over her failed search for food, she found herself at another place she had wanted to see. The sign beside the door was still legible and read, 'SECURITY' in big block letters. Deciding a distraction was needed, she decided to check it out. Gripping the door in her lime colored magic, Sweetie slowly forced the door open enough for her to just squeeze through.
The room wasn't very big, with nothing but a long console with two chairs, and cabinet with a strange, white device. However, the thing that drew her attention most was pile of bones at the far end. She gasped, fearful at first, but quickly switched to a logical state of mind, pushing all emotion away. This body was different from the others they had seen for two reasons. The first was the device, like the ones in the cabinet, on its hoof and another device resting beside the skull. The other, though, was the fact that the bones seemed to have been chewed on. Most had bite marks all over them.
As Sweetie examined the remains, she thought back to the dorms. Those ponies felt that sealing themselves away to die slowly was better than... something. Now this pony was eaten by something bigger than any subterranean creature she had ever read about. If she had to guess from the bite radius, it was half the size of a full grown pony. That didn't make sense, though. How could something that large survive underground? Something the size of Angel Bunny would be considered huge in the subterranean ecosystem, so something almost as big as she was? She shivered at the thought.
Next, her attention came to the device it wore. The six inch, white object wrapped around the skeleton's right foreleg and bulged out slightly. She examined it for a bit and glanced up at the cabinet she noticed earlier. It was the same device alright.
Leaving the corpse behind, Sweetie approached the cabinet and opened it, floating the device to her in her magical grasp. She looked at it, and back at the other. This one seemed bigger than the one on the skeleton. Soon enough, her curiosity won out.
She sighed and said to herself, “Why do I get the feeling this is just going to be one more thing to add to the 'list of Sweetie Belle's genius moments'?”
Sweetie Belle lifted her right hoof, and slowly slid the device on her leg.
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Scootaloo struggled against her earth pony friend in her hysteria. Seeing the pegasus panicking, Applebloom wrapped her hooves around Scootaloo's legs and body, keeping her from hurting herself.
“Calm down! Scootaloo, you're safe,” she tried to calm her friend down, “Ah'm here, Scoots. Ah'm here. Just calm down, and tell me what's wrong.”
“L-lights!” she hollered.
“Lights? Wha'cha mean?” Applebloom said in the soothing tone Applejack used to use whenever she would have a nightmare, “Calm down and tell me what's wrong.”
“Li-lights... everywhere... what... what's happening to me?” the frightened filly whimpered.
Dern it, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom thought to herself, Hurry up and get back here.
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Sweetie stared blankly into space. The moment the device was slipped on it contracted, gripping her leg. It then started... something. Knowledge flooded the young unicorn's mind, but it was more than that. It was as if she had fifth limb that she was just learning how to use. She didn't know how long she sat like that, but it seemed like mere seconds. Of course, the line of drool dangling from her chin said otherwise. She quickly wiped it away, thankful the others weren't around.
“That was... interesting...” Sweetie said as she looked at the device, now attached to her leg.
Using her magic, she removed the eye/ear piece from the side compartment and placed it over her ear. The display extended across her eye and displayed technical data of the room. Somehow, she just knew how to use the thing. She knew it was Steel Corps model 7.8 MagiTool, security model. She knew it could interface with any of the computers in the facility, and she knew how to bring up the holographic display. It was like it put the entire instruction manual directly into her brain.
She approached the console along the wall and lifted the MagiTool. With a thought, a thin metal piece slid from the bottom and Sweetie slid it into a receiver. A White bar started filling up on the eye display. When full, it flashed “DOWNLOAD COMPLETE”
“Greetings User,” said a soothing feminine voice from the ear piece, “I am Dot, your Virtual Assistant. Would you like to adjust personal settings?”
“Yes,” she responded.
“Okay... What would you like to be called?”
“Sweetie Belle.”
“Okay, Sweetie Belle... Would you like to alter the color scheme?”
“No.”
“Extra-net service not found. Would you like to contact customer support?”
Sweetie giggled a little, “No, I doubt they exist anymore.”
“Customization cannot continue without extra-net service. When service is restored, just say, 'continue customization' to continue where you left off, or say 'start customization' to change previous settings... How may I be of service, Sweetie Belle?”
“How do I get out of this facility?”
“The primary-” Dot was cut off as a red 'ALERT' emblem appeared on the display, “Disturbance detected in laboratory 103. All security personnel report to laboratory 103.”
Sweetie's eye widened in realization, “Applebloom, Scootaloo!”
As quickly as her legs could carry her, she took off down the hall. Fear drove her legs to move faster than she ever remembered moving before. She tore through the main room so fast, she didn't even see her friends.
“Applebloom!” she called out.
“In here, ya dolt!” called out the apple farmer.
The unicorn twisted around and ran back into the main room. She spotted her two friends holding each other in the corner.
“What ha- Scootaloo! You're awake!”
“S... Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked breathlessly, “Oh Celestia... It's real...”
“What’s real?” asked Sweetie as she looked her friend in the face, just realizing she had lost her blindfold at some point, “Scootaloo, are you alright?”
“Alright?” Scootaloo echoed as she started laughing. The others gave each other a worried look.
“I'm so much better than 'alright',” The pegasus said as she grabbed the pony shaped web of green light in a hug, “I can see.”