//------------------------------// // Protector // Story: BioShock: Infinite- A Steel Embrace // by djingledjango //------------------------------// Scootaloo's mind struggled to comprehend what exactly was happening before her. Just minutes earlier, she was being chased by this massive metal monster that looked as if it wanted to end her life. But as she looked at it now, standing between her and the manticore that currently craved her flesh, it was protecting her. Contrary to what she believed and what was heavily implied by the behemoth's look, it wanted to preserve her life, not take it. But even as it stood, blocking the manticore from killing her, Scootaloo still feared the metal giant with every fiber of her being. It's pure size alone was enough to strike terrible fear and at the very least, sheer awe. It was just as large as the manticore and it was definitely heavier, but whether or not it could defeat the carnivore remained to be seen. The manticore stalked back and forth in front of Scootaloo's new savior, growling deeply, surveying for a weak point in it's new enemy's guard. There was none to be seen. It roared and pointed it's drill at the manticore, the weapon rotating where it held it out. Scootaloo's heart pounded heavily in her chest as she waited for what exactly was going to happen. With a massive roar, the manticore vaulted itself forward, determined to eviscerate this new foe. The protector roared just as loudly as it moved forward and collided with the beast, the eight portholes in it's head now glowing a harsh red. The manticore clawed at the protector and attempted to penetrate it's armor with it's stinger tail, but it failed miserably as the protector shoved it back easily, sending it tumbling onto it's back. A massive amount of earth came up from the ground from the sheer force of the manticore's tumbling. It got up quickly and regained it's footing, preparing for another strike. It eyed Scootaloo quickly, who was still frozen where she stood. It made a mad dash for the filly, closing the distance between them rather quickly. Just before it reached it's prize, however, the protector collided with it once again. Knocking the manticore back with a shoulder charge, Scootaloo heard several audible cracks come from within the manticore's body. It squealed as it tumbled and hit a tree, the force of it knocking it down. It struggled to get up, but it was crippled heavily. As it attempted to flee, the protector moved up to it and lifted it up by it's neck, beginning to rotate it's drill. Seeing what was coming, Scootaloo reached a hoof out and yelled, "No!" But it was too late. The protector plunged its drill into the manticore's belly, making it screech in agony for a few moments before expiring. Blood showered the ground around the protector and it's kill, soaking in the soil. Scootaloo's eyes widened heavily and filled with tears. Sure, the manticore had wanted to kill and eat her, but it was just doing what a manticore does naturally. It was already crippled...it didn't have to die like that. The protector tossed the body of the manticore onto the ground casually, it's portholes returning to their original color of yellow. It began to approach Scootaloo, who was frozen in terror. At this point, she knew that the protector didn't want to hurt her...but she still feared it like death. It stroked her mane lovingly, seemingly making sure she was alright. She slowly turned and walked away from the protector, her stomach dropping as she realized that it was still following her. Like it or not, Scootaloo wasn't going to get it to stop. All she could hope to do was go back to Ponyville and try to get her problem solved. _____ Applebloom sat in the treehouse, waiting patiently for her friend Scootaloo to arrive so they could begin their sleepover festivities. She already had the whole night planned out. First, they'd brainstorm for new crusading ideas to use when next they saw Sweetie Belle. After that, they'd draw and do other kinds of crafting things because Scootaloo always loved to draw...especially when it came to her idol, Rainbow Dash. Then after the drawing, they'd go and ghost hunt in the Sweet Apple Acres barn because the last time that she and her friends were in there, they could have sworn that they heard strange noises. And finally, they'd go into the house where Applejack, Big Macintosh and Granny Smith would hopefully play a game with them. If that wasn't the case, they'd most likely go to bed after dinner. The thoughts of excitement and adventure excited the farm filly so much that she smiled to herself and bounced in place for a few seconds. All this was dependent on whether or not Scootaloo wanted to partake in these activites or not. When they had parted, the Pegasus filly had looked quite downtrodden. Perhaps all that talk about the home wasn't necessary in the first place. A knock at the door sent the filly sprinting to the door. She threw it open to behold Sweetie Belle, who beamed happily at her. "Sweetie Belle!" Applebloom said, smiling happily. "What're you doin' here?" "Rarity let me come over!" Sweetie Belle said happily. "I worked extra hard so she went ahead and let me come!" Applebloom cheered happily and wrapped her unicorn friend into a hug before bouncing up and down. When they separated, they both went and sat down on the bed in the treehouse. "So where's Scoots?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Let's get the crusading underway!" "Ah actually don't know exactly where Scootaloo is." Applebloom said, still confused as to why Scootaloo was running so late. "She said she just had to go by the home and get a few things and then she'd be right here." Evening had begun to set on Equestria. The sun sank slowly, the sky turning a bright orange. "Ah'm actually a little worried." "Oh she'll be fine." Sweetie Belle said. "What if she was attacked by Timber Wolves?" Applebloom asked, her eyebrows raising up. "That's an extremely rare occurrence." Sweetie Belle said, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her friend. "It happened to my sister." Applebloom said. "It could have happened to Scootaloo." "You're worrying too much." Sweetie Belle said, shaking her head slightly. "She'll be here soon, and when she gets here we're gonna have a blast. I'll bet on it." The two fillies thought they heard a strange noise come from outside, but they quickly dismissed it. "Why would Ah wanna bet against her bein' fine?" Applebloom asked. "No, you're missing my point..." Sweetie Belle continued. "You see-" A loud moan interrupted the conversation the two fillies were having. They both screamed and looked at each other, sure that there was some sort of monster outside their treehouse. They both trembled, terrified at the many possibilities before they heard Scootaloo. "Hey Applebloom! Come out here!" Scootaloo cried from outside. Both Applebloom and Sweetie Belle sighed deeply in relief before they moved to the front door of the treehouse. "Geez, Scootaloo." Applebloom said. "How'd ya..." Applebloom's sentence was interrupted by her jaw falling open as she saw Scootaloo and her new companion, which looked to be a metal monster. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle screamed and held each other, not taking their eyes from the behemoth beneath them. Scootaloo put her forehooves up momentarily and attempted to calm them. "Girls..." They continued to scream. "Girls! I..." They still screamed, deafened by their fear. The protector merely looked at them passively, moaning once more. This only served to terrify Scootaloo's friends even more. "Applebloom and Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo finally yelled, shocking her friends from their intense terror of this new creature that stood beside Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked back and forth between Scootaloo and this new...thing that looked so monstrous but strangely was not harming Scootaloo or them for that matter. Both of them struggled to speak, but no words came from either of them. Finally, quivering in fright, Applebloom spoke up. "Scootaloo...what is that...." Applebloom said. "Th-Thing?!" "Do I look like I know?" Scootaloo replied, raising an eyebrow. She no longer felt fear of this gigantic creature, but she still was wary of it's presence, as well as the fact that it was prepared to kill whatever looked to have a want to harm her. "Where did it come from?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I was walking to The Home to get some things to come and stay with you, Applebloom. All of a sudden, this portal appears out of nowhere...and it's like...well, a portal. I couldn't really see what was on the other side. Then...well...this guy comes out of it. He started to chase me, so I ran into the Everfree Forest to try to lose him." Scootaloo explained, moving through the events that had just transpired around her. "But when I hid in a cave to try to get away from him, it turned out to be the den of a manticore." Scootaloo's friends gasped deeply at this. "Well, are ya alright?!" Applebloom asked. "It didn't sting ya, did it? It's poisonous!" "I'm scratched up a little bit, but I'm okay for the most part." Scootaloo said. "Anyways, this manticore chases me, because I don't know, I guess he wanted to eat me or something. But this guy..." Scootaloo gestured to her new companion. "This guy put me behind him and he protected me." "What happened?" Sweetie Belle asked. "He fought the manticore and he killed it." Scootaloo said, a kind of pseudo-pride coming across her face. "Easily." Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were amazed by this. Aside from full-grown dragons, manticores were the most powerful and vicious creatures in Equestria. This behemoth didn't have a scratch on him. It groaned deeply, it's portholes glowing brightly in the ever-increasing darkness. "Oh, my Goddesses!" Sweetie Belle said. "He killed a manticore?" Scootaloo merely nodded. "Ah'm guessin' it was with that drill he has there?" The filly asked. Scootaloo nodded once more, once again looking at her protector as if he was her bodyguard and she was some sort of important pony. "That's awesome!" Sweetie Belle said, suddenly excited. "He must be so strong!" "A lot stronger than a manticore, that's for sure." Scootaloo said. "When he knocked it away from me, the pure force of the manticore's flying body knocked a tree down!" "Amazin'..." Applebloom marveled. "He's so quiet...can he talk?" "No...I don't think so." Scootaloo said. "All he does is groan and roar. At least that's all I've heard him do." "Well bring him up here!" Applebloom said happily. "Let's hang out with him! He's obviously nice." "I don't know about that, Applebloom." Scootaloo said, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know how he'll react to you two." "Oh, come on!" Applebloom said before giving off a small nervous laugh. "He won't hurt you, so why would her hurt me?" "Well..." Scootaloo said. "Come down here...take your time and don't get too close too quick." "Alright." Applebloom said. She looked at Sweetie Belle, who looked just as afraid as she was. It was one thing to say that she was going to do it, but something else entirely to actually get up close to the monstrous looking creature, despite what Scootaloo had just told her. She slowly moved down the ramp, coming closer and closer to her friend and her new overseer. The protector seemed to definitely acknowledge her, but the closer and closer the farm filly came to it, it stayed as indifferent as it was before. Applebloom shifted as she came up to it, looking up to it and gulping before slowly moving to touch it. It groaned lightly and looked down at her, to which Applebloom shrieked and hid behind the stairs. "It's okay, Applebloom." Scootaloo said. "If he wanted to hurt you, you'd probably already be dead." Applebloom came out from underneath the stairs and approached him once more, more confidently this time and stood beside him. She smiled and looked up as Sweetie Belle. The unicorn filly cautiously, albeit more promptly than Applebloom, approached the behemoth and looked up at him. "Okay!" Scootaloo said. "I guess we can take him inside. Maybe we can find some kind of way to communicate with each other." The other two fillies smiled at their Pegasus friend and nodded before moving up the stairs. The protector followed Scootaloo up the ramp, making the sturdy wood beneath it creak heavily and tremble as the true strength of it's foundations were tested by its weight. When the four of them came to the front door of the treehouse, they realized that the doorway was much too small for their new guest. "Here, let me try to get him to maneuver trough the door." Scootaloo said, moving quickly through the doorframe. The protector wasted no time breaking through much of the wood surrounding the doorframe, leaving a large hole where the door was. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle's jaws dropped and they grew wide eyed at the sight of most of the front façade of their tree house destroyed. "My sister's gonna kill me..." Applebloom said with a gulp. Scootaloo looked at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and giggled nervously. "Heh...oops..." The filly said. "So anyways...let's go ahead and sit over here...uh...What should we call him?" "He kinda looks like he's in a big divin' suit." Applebloom said. "You know, one of those big heavy ones?" "Let's just try some names out and see what he responds too." Sweetie Belle said. "That seems like a good place to start. But let's try water-themed names first...see if we can't give him a good one." "Wave?" Scootaloo called. The protector gave no response. "Coral?" Applebloom suggested, getting a raised eyebrow from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. "Shark?" Sweetie Belle tried. Still no response at all. It merely sat and looked between the three of them. "Fish?" "Sandy?" "You're not very good with names tonight are you?" "Bite me, Sweetie Belle. Why don't you try to think of a better one? Ah'm tryin'. " "Relax, I'm just messing with you." "Come on, let's stay on topic." Scootaloo said. "How about Mister-" The word 'mister' caught the behemoth's attention as he immediately looked at Scootaloo who had said it. The three fillies looked at each other and saw in each other's eyes that they were getting somewhere finally. "Mister Wave?" "Mister Water?" "Mister Bubbles?" The protector moaned and stood up, looking toward Scootaloo who had once again gotten somewhere. "Is your name Mister Bubbles?" Scootaloo asked the protector, who groaned once again. "Huh...Mister Bubbles...I don't think it fits too well..." The other two fillies giggled at the name and regarded this metal beast. "So, Mister Bubbles..." Applebloom asked him. "Where are ya from, exactly?" The protector merely looked at her and said nothing. Not so much as any kind of moan or grunt. Applebloom sighed and looked down at the floor. "Look, if you want us to help you, you're gonna have to tell us what you are." Scootaloo said. The protector seemed to pay extra attention to her. More than the other two fillies present by the way. "He seems to really like you, Scootaloo." Sweetie Belle said. "Why do you think he likes you so much?" "I don't know." Scootaloo said, perplexed by the situation herself. "I mean, I was the first pony he ever saw here...he might have made some kind of connection...I seriously don't know, I'm just rambling things off the top of my head here." "Ah kinda wish Ah had my own protector..." Applebloom said. "I don't think you should wish that, Applebloom." Scootaloo said. "This...Mister Bubbles...is going to cause a lot of chaos here in Ponyville unless something is done about it. Can you imagine how crazy everypony will go when they see him? They'll be so blinded by fear they won't realize that he's just trying to protect me...Some police might get hurt trying to take him in because he might think they're trying to hurt me...I just don't know how any of this is going to work out...I'm really worried." "Oh, don't worry, Scootaloo..." Sweetie Belle said. "It'll work out. Ponies in Ponyville are pretty accepting and as long as you tell them not to attack him, I think it'll be fine. We can figure out how to solve this then." "I just want to get him back where he belongs." Scootaloo said, still frowning. "He might hurt somepony...What if the princesses have to get involved?" "Now why would Princess Celestia and Princess Luna get involved with this?" Applebloom asked. "Well, it looked like he came from some...I don't know...other dimension. The princesses might be the only ones that can get him home..." Scootaloo said, her ears laying back. "I owe this guy my life...I just don't want him to get hurt..." "What if..." Sweetie Belle said. "What if he doesn't want to leave you?" As soon as these words left Sweetie Belle's mouth, a harsh cracking could be heard from below the three fillies and Mr. Bubbles. The floor of the tree house trembled violently before giving in and breaking due to Mr. Bubbles' huge weight. The cutie mark crusaders screamed as nearly the entire tree house came falling from the tree. In a quick move, Mr. Bubbles grabbed Scootaloo and held her close, shielding most of her with his hard steel carapace. Scootaloo broke loose from her protector's hold and stood among the wreckage. "Applebloom! Sweetie Belle!" She screamed, intensely worried about her friends. "Ah'm..." Applebloom said before coughing from all the dust. "Ah'm okay. Ah got a few scrapes, but Ah'll be fine." "My leg is pinned!" Sweetie Belle said as tears fell from her eyes, struggling to get loose from a heavy piece of timber that did indeed have her leg pinned to the ground. "I think it'll break my leg if I don't get it out! Agh! It hurts!" Applebloom and Scootaloo quickly looked at each other in fear before moving as quickly as they could to get the piece of wood off of Sweetie Belle's leg. They tried as hard as they could, but failed. Scootaloo flashed a look to Mr. Bubbles, who merely stood idle where he was. "Mr. Bubbles!" Scootaloo yelled. "Come here!" The protector began to move toward the two fillies, poised to do whatever Scootaloo asked of him. _____ Applejack and Rainbow Dash walked together as they returned from Ponyville. They had both had a rather long day at their respective jobs. "Gah, that danged apple stand." Applejack said with a massive huff. "Ah hate standin' there all day long, doin' nothin' but tryin' to get somepony to buy some apples. It can't compare to applebuckin' every spring and summer." Rainbow Dash snickered and raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Well if you had wings and were a pegasus, you could join the weather patrol and be active every day!" Rainbow boasted, despite the current ache in her wings that she felt. Even though she loved weather patrol, it was extremely hard work on many days. "Yeah yeah." Applejack said. "Ah don't think Ah'd be interested in bein' wet all the time, thank you very much." "It's not that bad when you get used to it." Rainbow said. "To each their own, Ah suppose." Applejack said as they continued walking, the sun sinking on the horizon more and more. By the time they'd gotten anywhere near Sweet Apple Acres, the sun had set completely and night had descended upon Ponyville. "Well, thanks for walkin' me home, Dash." Applejack said. "You gonna give me a kiss goodnight?" Rainbow Dash blushed heavily and coughed into one of her forehooves. "AJ, what the hay are you talking about?" The pegasus said. "I just wanted you to have somepony to talk to on the way home. I've had to go home alone myself a lot, so-" Applejack laughed and slugged Rainbow in the shoulder, interrupting her nervous rant. "Ah'm just funnin' ya, Dash." Applejack said. "Thanks, though. That was thoughtful." "Hey, no problem." Rainbow said before they both heard the scream of three very familiar-sounding fillies. Applejack looked at Rainbow, her eyes widening. "I heard it too." Rainbow said before they both took off into a dead sprint toward the known residence of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, the tree house. They both stopped dead in their tracks at what they saw. The tree house was completely destroyed and Sweetie Belle was trapped underneath a large chunk of wood. Applebloom and Scootaloo were seemingly attempted to remove this large piece of wood as this...monstrous thing stalked up behind them. It was huge, almost as big as the entire tree house was. It's eight yellow eyes glowed in the dark as it brandished it's menacing-looking drill. "Come on!" Applejack said. "We gotta save 'em! That thing ain't gonna mess with my sister!" Both mares barreled toward the monster at top speed, coming up on them fast... _____ Booker had no idea of what to make of his current situation. He walked toward the surface bathysphere of Rapture, key in hand, accompanied by Elizabeth and the Little Sister left behind when her Big Daddy had been thrown through the tear. He should have felt some semblance of joy at this moment, but something ate away at him. Elizabeth's face would not lose it's guilty look and the Little Sister seemed to be somewhat happy, a stark contrast to how she was when they took her with them. He sighed and entered the bathysphere anyway, prepared to leave this underwater city for good. "You ready?" Booker asked Elizabeth, who seemed to be snapped from a stupor as she looked at him and nodded. Booker nodded back to her and put the key into the keyhole before turning it, activating the core systems of the bathysphere. He looked at Elizabeth one more time before pulling the large lever on the central control. The door to the bathysphere closed quickly, letting out a loud hiss that scared the little sister before it took off, slowly moving toward the surface where Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth could finally be free once more. Both had gone to Rapture with the promise of freedom...it turned out that freedom was only offered to the super successful. Booker sighed happily, that unexplainable weight coming off of his shoulders. "Thank God. Finally we're getting out of that hellhole." Booker said with a large smile. "Looks while we got out while the getting was good, huh?" Elizabeth didn't respond to what he said, she merely looked out the window upon Rapture, growing smaller and smaller as they ascended to the surface. "Look, I know that your feeling guilty that we threw the Big Daddy in another world, but they're probably dealing with him in their own way." Booker said. "Or they're not." Elizabeth said. "Maybe they don't know how to act around him and maybe he's slaughtering dozens of them right now." "It's best to just not think about it." Booker said. "Forget it happened." "Where are we going?" The Little Sister asked, her distorted voice chilling Booker's bones. Despite this, he looked down at her kindly. "Home, sweetie." Booker said to her, kneeling down to her. "We're going home." "What about Mr. Bubbles?" She asked him. "Mr. Bubbles had to go somewhere else, hun." Booker said. "I'm sure he's fine. You know Mr. Bubbles. He's tough." Booker stood up and saw Elizabeth raising her hands above her head before spreading them apart. It took a few seconds for Booker to realize what exactly Elizabeth was doing. "Elizabeth!" Booker said. "Elizabeth, no!" Booker looked up to see a massive tear opening above them, seawater funneling out out it in massive quantities. "I'm sorry, Booker." Elizabeth said as she finished opening the tear. "We cant just let him roam around there." With these words, the bathysphere moved through the tear. They all felt weightless...and they saw the night sky. They began to fall. Booker and Elizabeth screamed as the Little Sister laughed gleefully. For all she knew, this was some recreational ride. They suddenly hit the ground of wherever they were, but they bathysphere stayed intact, so the three of them were relatively unharmed...Except for Booker. His wrist had to be at least fractured. It began to swell as he growled in pain before glaring at Elizabeth, who looked to be prepared for an argument. "What the hell were you thinking?!" Booker yelled at her. "I was thinking that I'd prevent the slaughter of possibly an entire town!" Elizabeth yelled out. "I can't believe you don't agree with this!" "Out of one hellhole and into another!" Booker said. "Yeah, I don't know why I disagree either!" "You don't even know what this world is like." Elizabeth said, dropping the tone of her voice when she noticed that the Little Sister was getting scared. "It could be better then where we're from." "As far as I'm concerned, if it's not home, it's a hellhole." Booker growled. "Well we're here now. So we'd might as well just deal with it." Elizabeth said. "Easy for you to say, you little..." Booker mumbled before turning the wheel on the emergency door of the bathysphere, seeing as how the main door to it was now against the ground. He opened it and pushed the door open before poking his head out of the bathysphere, to behold a spear point held to his face. "Woah..." Booker said. "Easy now." "You and whomever you arrived with exit the craft, now!" A gruff voice said. Booker's eyes widened heavily as he noticed who, in fact, was making the voice. It was a horse...or rather...a pony. He had a horn on his head and was clad in bright gold armor. A talking unicorn with armor and a spear...he must have been dreaming...he must have been knocked out by the impact of the bathysphere. He was snapped out of his stupor by the spear crashing against the bathysphere, right next to his head. "Move it!" He yelled. "Okay! Okay! Relax...man...unicorn." Booker said as he came out of the Bathysphere. "Unicorn?" He heard Elizabeth's voice say from inside the bathysphere. "What the he-" Her sentence stopped dead in the middle as she saw what was outside the bathysphere. The Little Sister came out and began to rejoice. "Yaaay!" She said. "Unicorns!" Booker and Elizabeth looked at their surroundings as they stood atop the bathysphere. What must have been fifty to one hundred of these armored unicorns stood around the bathysphere. Terrified onlookers watched from afar...looking to be just standard ponies and ponies with wings. Booker looked at Elizabeth and raised an eyebrow. "See what I mean?"