//------------------------------// // Staring into the Darkness // Story: Born of Sin: Descent to Madness // by Not so New Brony //------------------------------// A familiar song played in the background as 588 looked through the scopes of her rifle at Whiplash, who was flying in the air as he fired potshots at her with his gauss pistols. She stood there as the shots missed her completely. Whiplash let out an angry battle cry before going into a dive. Whiplash’s wild shots steadily got closer and closer to its intended target but the filly remained calm as she locked on her target and fired. The shot pierced through the base of his left wing, tearing through the tender muscles and nerves, crippling him on the spot as he plummeted to the ground below. She slowly walked towards the crippled pegasus who lifted up his remaining gauss pistol in a surprise attack but the Iron Feather had a faster reaction as she fire another shot. The precision glove gave off a series of sparks before it blew up, wounding the pegasus even further. As the filly stood before him, Whiplash defiantly shouted out profanities and insults at her. She ignored them as she fired round after round from her weapon; not to kill, but to maim. The stallion cried out as the shots cripple his forelegs followed by one of his hind legs, another shot turned his right wing into a bloody stump. The formerly proud stallion had been reduced to a quivering mess. 588 lifted her rifle and aimed it at his head. The stallion cried for mercy before she pulled the trigger. The pegasus fell dead before his body broke apart into a series of pixilated light that faded away. Two ponies in power armor replaced the hologram, one was in the standard Dominion Red armor while the other wore a customized blue power armor that had an insignia of a canine with its jaws clamping down on a diamond. The two aimed their weapons at each other, ordering her to fire on the other. Stedson watched the Iron Feather aim her rifle at the Dominion Marine before firing on him, killing the marine as he too faded away. He nodded in approval at her choice. He had been reconditioning the prototype series for the past three months so they’ll be ready to assist the mercenaries in capturing the facilities when they get here in two years time. He doubted his daughters will be caught in the fighting but it was better to be safe than sorry. Aside from that, he had another reason for the reconditioning… Another holographic pony fell dead before it was replaced by somepony that 588 did not expect: Candy Striper. Stedson was silent as he waited for 588’s next move. His eyes widened in disbelief and disappointment as 588 lifted her rifle and aimed at the unicorn mare who was smiling as she waved at the filly. She fired her rifle as the shot shattered Candy’s horn. Stedson knew it was just a hologram but the sight of Candy screaming as she held the jagged and bloody stump where her horn had been still horrified him. He blocked out as he could before another shot silenced the screaming hologram as it fell to the ground in a heap, a stream of blood flowing from the hole in her head. Stedson looked sadly at the hologram before it faded away. 588 was the latest in a long line of Iron Feather to willingly kill the hologram, he thought her being close to Candy would at least make her hesitate to pull the trigger but he was proven wrong. Another failure. Still, he took a small comfort in the fact that a number of Iron Feathers only wounded the holographic copy, leaving her alive. He’ll need to adjust their conditioning until they completely recognized Candy as an untouchable like he and the other Iron Feathers were. As for those who killed the unicorn outright, the shock collars will have to be brought out again. He didn’t like it but it had to be done. The song ended as the last hologram fell dead, terminating the simulation. 588 beamed a smile at Stedson, “Did I do good daddy?” she asked, hoping for some form of praise. Stedson wanted to yell at her for killing the holographic image of Candy so casually but he knew he was the one at fault since he had conditioned them that way. Instead, he smiled at her, “You performed…splendidly.” he answered half-heartedly. “Let’s end the session for the night; I think I need to rest for a bit.” He muttered before letting out a yawn. The filly then let out a giggle, “It’s not night time anymore daddy. It’s morning now.” She said before pointing out the time on the digital clock. It was four in the morning! No wonder he felt so tired. “So it is my child, so it is…” he said with a weary smile, “Let’s get back to bed, we might be able to squeeze in a couple of hours of sleep before everyone else wakes up.” He got up from his chair but the moment he did, he fell down on his belly, he was more tired than he thought. “Daddy!” 588 exclaimed before rushing to his side, “Are you alright? Do you need me to get mommy?” she asked worriedly. “No!” Stedson shouted out at the mention of the mare. He realized he had overreacted when he saw 588 cowering from him as tears welled up in her eyes, “I… I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” Stedson apologized as he struggled to get to his hooves but failed miserably as he fell to the floor again. 588 sniffed a little before asking in a soft voice, “Do you need any help daddy?” Stedson nodded weakly after his second attempt to get up failed miserably, “I’d appreciate it a lot 588. I don’t think I can make it to my room on my own.” The filly carefully lifted up the tired pegasus with her precision gloves and helped him to his hooves. She leaned against his side to support him. He visibly winced when she pushed into his crippled wing. “Does it hurt daddy?” 588 asked. “I-I’m alright little one…the pain will go away in a bit. Now, let's be on our way shall we?” Stedson said, changing the subject. Though somewhat unconvinced, the filly led him out of the chamber and into the darkened hallways of the facility. As they traversed the darkened hallway, Stedson looked over to 588 as she kept her eyes out for any guards that may be patrolling the area. ‘Like Father, like daughter…’Stedson thought as he smiled to himself. After he accepted Penny Pincher’s offer, he thought about bring Candy and his daughters into the fold but thought better of it. It was too early for them to know about it. Still, he wanted to tell 588 at least one secret he’s been keeping from her all these years. “588…” he said softly. The filly’s ears perked up at the mention of her name, “Yes daddy?” she asked curiously. “It’s…” he began, wishing so badly to tell her the truth “It’s nothing, let’s keep going.” ‘Coward!’ he thought as he chastised himself. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell her. The filly nodded silently as she led him around the next turn and down the next hallway back to his room. Candy grumbled under her breath as she made her way to Stedson’s room. She was very upset with him and for good reason. Stedson had invited her to his room last night to discuss something important. The staff had different ideas of what the ‘discussion’ really was. She didn’t mind the gossip as much since it was partly true. It also made for a good alibi for her visits to his room and his to her med bay, but what she did mind was that he stood her up! She had spent a better part of the evening outside his door, waiting for him to open it as he normally would but an hour went by before one of the staff members informed her that he never returned to his quarters and was last seen talking to one of the Iron Feathers somewhere in the barracks. At first, she thought he would return with that Iron Feather for the discussion but she waited there for a few more hours before she gave up and returned to her own quarters. On her way there, she heard a few members of the staff made comments that made her pink fur bright red with indignity. She saw some of the researchers talking amongst themselves, they snickered to each other when she passed by. She ignored them for the most part until one them approached her. “Hey Doctor Striper! How was it waiting all night for Cog to-” the researcher stopped when Candy gave him a death glare that was made deadlier by the glow coming from her horn. “Care to finish that sentence?” Candy asked him in a warning tone. “Nevermind!” the pony yelped before running off. She gave a satisfied huff before continuing on her way to Stedson’s quarters, her mood now worse than before. She had a few choice words for Stedson when she sees him. She quickened her pace when she saw the familiar door to Stedson’s quarters in the distance. Once she reached her destination, she noticed the door was unlocked which was odd since Stedson never left his door unlocked. She shook her head and reminded herself why she was here in the first place and stomped angrily through the door which slid aside in her presence. “Stedson! I want to have a word with…you?” the anger in her voice diminished when saw Stedson curled up in bed, asleep but what really made her calm down was the orange filly sleeping by his side. She instantly regretted shouting so loudly when the filly stirred awake. The filly rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at her; she became wide-awake when she recognized her, “Mommy!” 588 called out excitedly. Candy acknowledged the filly with a smile and made her way to the bed. “Hello my little pony, where have you and daddy been last night?” Candy asked to see if she could get the information out of the filly, children were often too honest for their own good. “I’ve been helping daddy with an experiment all night long.” The filly answered. Guess some of her lover’s ability to cover secrets up rubbed off on the fillies. “What sort of experiment would need you two to stay awake up so long?” she inquired, hoping to coax some more details of Stedson’s activities out of the filly. “Daddy made me shoot a bunch of holographic ponies and zerglings.” 588 replied, her answer just made the mare even more confused. “I had so much fun that we both forgot the time.” Candy looked over at Stedson and noticed he had bags under his eyes and his mane was even more unkempt than usual, he was moving about fitfully as he mumbled in his sleep. Another nightmare. She shook her head softly at him; she wished she could help and take on some of his burdens for him. But whenever she asked about it, he’d always changed the subject. “Oh honey, what am I going to do with you?” she asked herself, knowing that there is no straight answer. Lighting up her horn, she pulled the covers over her lover’s body and kissed him on the cheek, he let out a contented sigh before a smile crept onto his face. Hopefully, the nightmare was over now. She looked over to 588 who had a big grin on her face. Fillies will be fillies. “Alright little one, nothing to see here. Now let’s leave daddy alone so he can sleep. You on the other hoof have training to go to.” The filly let out a groan as she followed her mommy out of the door. Candy looked one more time at Stedson’s sleeping form before she closed the door. It was the end of another inspection as Stedson led the inspectors through the facility’s latest addition, a simulation chamber similar to the one Stedson utilized for his conditioning of the IF units but on a much larger scale. The inspectors stood on a suspended platform overhead as small squads of Iron Feathers from the first generation fought in a simulated urban setting against holographic Confederate Guardsmen supported by a large number of zerg. Their objective was to hold their position until their transport arrived or rather until the timer ran out. Despite their smaller numbers, the Iron Feathers were doing remarkably well as they decimated the first wave of zerglings with a series of headshots from their rifles. The Guardsmen on the other hoof was a different story as they opened fire with their massive gauss rifles, the Iron Feathers ducked behind cover as their virtual cover was chipped away by the constant gunfire. “Hmph! The units appear to be having trouble with targets that actually shoot back.” Steel Gaze said with a sneer. Stedson ignored the pegasus and smiled to himself, “Don’t be so quick to count my girls out just yet Inspector Gaze.” He said as he pointed his hoof back to the simulated battlefield below. The Iron Feathers had seemingly pulled back a distance into the structures, the zerg quickly swarmed the abandoned position followed by the Guardsmen. Suppressive fire from the Iron Feathers kept the Guardsmen entrenched in their newly captured position, which soon exploded into digital dust as the Iron Feathers detonated the mines they planted earlier. With the majority of the Royal Guard neutralized, the Iron Feathers started picking off the zerg and any surviving Guardsmen. Peace Keeper nodded in approval while Steel Gaze muttered something under his breath. Spend Thrift grinned when he decided to have a bit of fun with his fellow inspector. “I’m sorry Gaze but what was that?” the earth pony asked. The pegasus gave him one of his signature glares to which he smirked in response. “Hmph! I was saying that it was decent tactic they employed…” Steel Gaze admitted with some reluctance. “Indeed it was Inspector Gaze.” Peace Keeper added before turning to Stedson, “We’re very pleased with your progress Doctor Cog, I’ll be sure to add this in my report.” “Thank you Inspector Peace Keeper, I’m sure that Upper Rear Admiral Day will be just as pleased.” “It’s Vice Admiral Day now, doctor.” Steel Gaze corrected him. For a moment, Stedson face had a scowl on it when he heard this. ‘One step closer to the Clean Slate Protocol’ he thought to himself before he quickly put his fake smile back on. “Oh, my apologies Inspector Gaze. Please congratulate Vice Admiral Day on his promotion for me.” Steel Gaze snorted and nodded his head begrudgingly. “With that concluded, I do believe the inspection has come to a close. We will be on our way now.” Peace Keeper announced as he and his associates were escorted back to the shuttle by the guards. Stedson noticed that Steel Gaze stayed behind as he was looking down at the Iron Feathers with great interest, his eyes followed the inspector’s line of sight to one Iron Feather in particular. This unit was significantly smaller than the others were. ’36!? Why is she here? She’s supposed to be with Candy…’ he thought before he remembered who was in charge of the simulation today, ‘Damn you Whiplash! Damn you to hell!’ Stedson quickly moved towards the inspector, hoping to distract him long enough for 36 to disappear among her sisters. “Inspector Gaze, the others are waiting for you.” Steel Gaze kept his eyes on 36 and asked, “Tell me doctor, why is that clone smaller than the others?” “I-I have no idea what you’re talking about sir. Maybe it’s your eyes playing tricks on you?” Stedson suggested lamely. Unfortunately, he had inadvertently insulted Steel Gaze’s pride as the pegasus’ temper suddenly flared up. “Don’t you lie to me!” Steel Gaze shouted before swinging his metallic fist at Stedson, who was knocked back a few feet by the blow before collapsing to the floor of the walkway. Peace Keeper and Spend Thrift came back when they heard the commotion. “What’s going on here Inspector Gaze?” Peace Keeper inquired. Steel Gaze grunted as he readjusted his suit, “I believe the doctor here has been keeping secrets from us.” He turned to Stedson who was still recovering from the force of the blow. “Stop the simulation and get those clones lined up... ” one of the guards saluted before he left the group to carry out the order. “What are you trying to do Gaze?” Spend Thrift asked. The pegasus looked at his partners and smiled darkly, “We’re going to root out the runt of the litter.” He tried to move but found that Stedson, had latched onto his hind legs in an effort to stop him. Steel Gaze’s smile became bigger before stomping his hoof down on where his crippled wing was, making Stedson cry out in agony. “That’s enough Inspector Gaze!” Peace Keeper ordered before chastising the suddenly sadistic pegasus, “I expect you to maintain some semblance of professionalism at all times! Is that understood?” Stedson breathed in deeply when Steel Gaze removed his hoof from his wing. “Learn your place doctor…” he heard Steel Gaze say before he met with his fist one more time, knocking him unconscious. “…before I put you in it.” Stedson woke up with a groan and a throbbing migraine as he pressed a hoof to his temple to sooth the aching in his head. “Ugh…What hit me?” he asked no one in particular. “I did.” Steel Gaze answered before the lights in the testing chamber turned on, blinding Stedson as he tried to block out the bright light with his hoof. “What’s going on?” he asked, looking over to Steel Gaze who stood next to a table with a holo communicator on it. “That’s what I would like to know as well, Stedson.” A familiar voice said from the communicator as it turned on, a holographic projection of Happy Day’s head appeared before him. “H-Happy Day?” Stedson stammered out. “That’s Vice Admiral Day to you!” Steel Gaze corrected him with a shout. “Now, now Inspector Gaze, control yourself. I expect all those under my command to behave accordingly.” Stedson heard Steel Gaze mumble out a quick apology to Day. “As for you Stedson, I’ve been informed that you’ve been wasting valuable resources on a defective unit. What do you have to say for yourself?” Stedson slowly got up and concocted a believable story that’d hopefully save 36. He opened his mouth and said, “Yes, I used up some of the facilities’ limited medical supplies to help 36 with her heart condition.” He gasped as he covered his mouth with his hooves. ‘What’s going on!? Why did I say that?’ he thought to himself as the throbbing in his head persisted. He heard Happy Day chuckle to himself, “Don't bother lying, I had one of my boys inject you with a truth serum. There are some side effects so you should be having one heck of a migraine right now.” The stallion explained cheerfully before his expression suddenly darkened. “Now tell me Stedson…what’s this about 36’s condition?” Stedson wanted to give Happy Day the silent treatment but the throbbing in his head became worse the longer he kept quiet. He groaned out in pain when it started to become unbearable. “Like it? The boys said that anyone injected with the serum has to talk or else the migraine will get worse until…well, let’s just say nobody lasted long enough to find out.” Happy Day said coolly. Steel Gaze smiled to himself knowingly as he and Day waited for Stedson to break. He tried to hold out as long as he could but the serum-induced migraine became too much to handle, “I’m sorry 36…” he whispered before he revealed everything about 36’s heart condition. Happy Day’s expression became deadly serious as he was told how much of his resources Stedson had wasted to keep the secret of 36’s condition from everyone. Steel Gaze watched with satisfaction as Stedson finished explaining himself and collapse when the migraine returned. Happy Day let the pegasus suffer a while longer before he asked, “Tell me Stedson, is there any way we can salvage this unit?” Stedson looked up at Happy Day as if it was a trick but the serum forced his to speak regardless, “She needs surgery for her heart but we don’t have the proper equipment for the complex procedure.” The holographic head hummed in thought before answering, “Very well, she’ll get this procedure.” Stedson couldn’t believe it! Happy Day was actually being nice for once. “Thank you sir! I promise you 36 will be put to good use. She'll make an excellent pilot.” Stedson said before Happy Day gave him an odd look. “Who said anything about her staying here?” Happy Day said flatly “But…but you said that-” Stedson argued but was cut off by Steel Gaze's glare. “What and let my resources be wasted on a product with an early expiration date? You said so yourself, she’ll be lucky to live past thirty.” He shot back before turning to Steel Gaze, “Steel Gaze, please prepare 36 for the Short Leash Protocol when she’s aboard your ship. I need to give Mr Shears another call.” Stedson’s eyes bugged out at the mention of the Short Leash Protocol. “By your command Vice Admiral.” the pegasus saluted before he flew off to carry out the order. “No!” Stedson cried out as he tried desperately to spread his crippled wings to fly after Steel Gaze but it was all for nothing as he remained grounded so he tried chasing him on hoof but was stopped when Spend Thrift tackled him to the ground. “As for you Stedson, I’m having you confined to your room until the unit is safely off the station. I’d hate a repeat of what happened to the last one.” He looked over to the earth pony inspector, “I want you to keep an eye on him during his confinement. Is that clear Spend Thrift?” “Sure thing boss.” Spend Thrift answered casually before dragging the struggling pegasus away… Spend Thrift made a show of Stedson to the guards as he tossed the pegasus through the door of his room. When the door closed, the earth pony sighed as he pulled out a syringe from his suit and injected the contents into Stedson’s neck. “There ya go Cog, that should get rid of the serum.” He said with a sigh of relief, “I thought you’d spill the beans when Gaze-oof!” he was cut off when Stedson suddenly bucked him in the chest as he was sent flying into the wall. The earth pony gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, the pegasus was stronger than he looked. “Why didn’t you do anything?” Stedson yelled out angrily. Spend Thrift quickly recovered as he stood back up on his hind legs “I’m sorry for your loss Cog, but you need to calm down…” Spend Thrift said as he reasoned with the distraught pegasus. “Why did you let them take her!” Spend Thrift ducked when Stedson slammed his hooves into the wall behind him. He was aiming for his head! Seeing that there was no reasoning with him, Spend Thrift tackled Stedson to the ground and held him down like he did with him earlier. He struggled under the earth pony’s weight but stopped when he became too tired to carry on anymore. “What was I supposed to do, huh? Blow my cover?” Spend Thrift shot back at Stedson, who just glared at him accusingly. “Don’t you dare give me that look Cog…” he warned the pegasus but he continued glaring at him anyway, “…you know as well as I do that there wasn’t anything I could’ve done to stop Gaze from seeing what he did.” Stedson became quiet as he thought about what Spend Thrift said. It was true, Steel Gaze was always looking for flaws in the Iron Feather. It was a miracle they were able to hide 36’s condition for so long. Seeing that Stedson had calmed down, Spend Thrift got off him but stood ready in case he threw another 'tantrum'. He watched as the pegasus sat up and slid his hoof into his lab coat, wary of his next move but was confused when he pulled out an orange feather. Stedson looked at 522’s feather sadly, as he remembered her death and his hoof in it. A single tear rolled down his cheek before he asked the feather, “What do I do 522…?” “I don’t know what a dead filly would say…” Spend Thrift answered, which earned him a glare from Stedson. “…but I think she’d want you to say goodbye to 36 before she leaves.” He finished before handing him a small disc-shaped device, it was a holo-recorder. “Isn’t there anything you or Mr Pincher do for her?” Stedson asked. “Can’t the Diamond Dogs just buy her and keep her safe for me?” Spend Thrift shook his head, “Sorry but no. From what I know about the guy, Mr Shears doesn’t deal with the Diamond Dogs. Bad blood.” The earth pony explained before he became quiet. He didn’t want to mention that Mr Shears was also involved in several disreputable businesses like prostitution and slave trading. It’d be a mercy to just put a bullet into her head right now. The earth pony left Stedson to his thoughts as he leaned into the wall at the far end of the room. Stedson looked at 522’s feather in one hoof and the recorder in the other. He held back his tears as he carefully placed the feather back into his coat and switched on the recorder; a beam of light came from the device and scanned his face. A beep from the recorder told him it was now recording. “Hello 36…I don’t know if you’ll get this or not. If you do, be sure to thank Mr Thrift for me.” He sighed as he thought of what to say next. “Don’t be scared of the ponies with you right now, they’re…taking you somewhere safe so please listen to what they tell you to do. So be a good little filly okay?” He hated lying to his daughter but he wanted his last words to her to be comforting. “Know this my child, wherever you may go. Your mother and I, along with all your sisters love you very much and…” he choked back another sob before continuing, “…I’ll miss you my little angel.” The device finished recording before he broke down in tears. “I tried my best Cog, I really did…” the earth pony said in a slightly regretful tone as he watched the filly floating inside the resocialization tank aboard their cruiser. He tried to pass the recorder to the filly like he had intended but she was already under the knife when he got onboard, Steel Gaze had been in a rush to carry out Day's orders. He thought he’d be able to pass the recorder to the filly when she woke up but was surprised when the filly was immediately put into the resoc tank when she became stable enough. He sensed that Steel Gaze had a hoof in this as well. He let out another sigh as he walked towards 36’s tank, the filly appeared to be sleeping fitfully as her memories were slowly altered and replaced with new ones. He guessed that the new memories would make her more docile for Mr Shear’s clients. He gritted his teeth at the terrible thought of the filly suffering. He wasn’t a saint by any meaning of the word but he still had his standards, no matter how low they were. Still, he had a promise to keep. “I don’t know if ya can hear me or not kid...” Spend Thrift said, hoping for some kind reaction from the comatose filly, “Cog-your dad sent you a message.” He reached into the folds of his suit and pulled out the holo-recorder and turned it on, Stedson’s holographic head appeared before he delivered his farewell to the unresponsive filly. “…I’ll miss you my little angel.” The hologram finished before Spend Thrift turned it off and placed it back into his suit. He gave the filly one more look “For what it’s worth kid…Good Luck.” he said before walking out the door.