Richard Pound
In:
Experiment 001
Next to Celestia, that’s where I woke up. I didn’t feel regret like I thought I would. Something just felt right about it. I looked at her flowing mane. It was glorious. I must admit that I had always been fascinated by it. I ran a hoof through it.
“That feels good, Richard,” she said, waking up. I got out of bed without a word. I had something to do; I turned to walk out.
“Richard, I have another human,” Celestia said.
“Send it to me in a letter. I’m making this right,” I said as I strode out the door.
How do I get her to listen to me? I had decided to get Applejack to bring Twilight to me under the guise of something else. I stood in Applejack’s kitchen. I could hear them approach.
“You say you found a new book?” asked Twilight.
“Uh, yeah,” said Applejack, “it’s, uh, old ‘n stuff.” Applejack walked in, Twilight followed. She saw me and stopped. Her face held a scowl. Applejack stepped out quickly.
“Twilight, I have to apologize,” I started.
“All right, you’ve apologized anything else?” she asked.
“Is there any chance at forgiveness?” I asked.
“I don’t know, Richard. I don’t even know why you did it… I thought you loved me.”
“I do love you, Twilight. I always have and always will,” I explained.
“Then why did you cheat with Roseluck?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps it was stress.”
“Stress, Richard?” she asked, incredulous.
“Yeah, stress. You know what it’s like to know that you aren’t alone, but that you will be soon enough. I sent them back to… wherever they were from. It’s never been an improvement for them. It makes me think…”
“Think what, Richard? That you can just do whatever you want?”
“Truthfully… yes. But I know that I can’t let that be true. I know I have to have rules,” I said slowly.
“It looks like you broke them.” I hoped Twilight was warming up to me.
“I know that, and I regret it immensely. My actions are not excusable, but you have to know that I can’t ever put into words how sorry I am.”
“I understand, Richard, but it hurt me too,” she said. “Sunny and I miss you, but I just can’t deal with it right now. I need some time, time to forgive.”
“Thank you… Twilight.” She nodded.
“I’ll talk to you later, Richard. Maybe dinner tonight,” she offered.
“That sounds great. I’ve got to deal with some things too.” Twilight walked out of the kitchen, heading back to town. Applejack walked in, smiling.
“Looks like everything turned out well, sugar,” she said.
“It sure does,” I said distantly. “I’ve got to go now. More bridges to mend.”
“You were my first boyfriend!” screamed Roseluck.
“I’m sorry, Roseluck. I really am,” I said, trying to calm her down. I put an arm around her. She pushed me off, huddling in a corner and crying. Perhaps this bridge wasn’t fixable.
“Yeah? You’re sorry? That makes me feel better.” Roseluck was sobbing. I don’t think I’m getting anywhere with this.
“Roseluck, I still love you, but not in that way.”
“Buck you, Richard! No stallion ever paid attention to me like you did.” She broke into a series of sniffles and gasps for air. “You made me feel wanted.”
“I didn’t know you felt so strong,” I said. I was sorry for hurting her, yet she didn’t seem to believe me. “I can’t say how sorry I am.”
She sighed and stopped crying. She put on a brave face. “I-I’ll talk to you later? Okay, Richard?” I nodded and headed out of the shop. As I closed the door I could hear her crying.
I stood outside her shop, feeling the cool breeze hit my coat. The town was brimming with happy ponies today minus us three. I had to go see Spike to talk with Celestia. The walk to Derpy’s was calming. It allowed me to free my thoughts. Only a few humans left in Equestria. Would it miss them? I didn’t think it would miss them. Perhaps it would miss Cleisthenes. He was the only one that did anything to help. The others merely lived. Of course, I had done things too. Derpy’s house was coming into view. What would it have been like if I had been like the others? What if? Would I be looking at the face of a pony, ready to send me back? Send me to Celestia. I knocked on Derpy’s door. She opened the door, a great smile on her face.
“Afternoon, Richard. What can I do for you?” she asked. Something about her seemed different, but I couldn’t put a hoof on it.
“I need to talk with Spike, if that’s ok.”
“Okay, he’s in the living room. I’ll be playing with Dinky outside if you need me,” she said cheerfully. She and Dinky left the house. I walked to the living room. Spike was writing something down.
“Afternoon, Spike,” I said as I sat down. He merely waved. After a minute or so his head shot up.
“Oh yeah, Richard. I got a letter for you from Celestia,” he said. He handed it to me. I took a peek at it.
Richard,
Experiment 001 is on his way. He’s very dangerous.
~Celestia.
Experiment 001? Must be bad.
“When did you get this?” I asked.
Spike put his little hand to his chin. “I think it was, uh, three hours?” How close was he? Could he be in Ponyville already? I looked back at Spike, he had a horrified look.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“The-the library’s on fire!” he screamed.
I leapt through the blaze into the house. The smoke made it hard to see.
“Sunny! Twilight!” I screamed into the choking smoke. I saw something on the floor in the back. Fire burned everywhere; it took nearly a minute to get to the shape. To my horror, it was Twilight. She was bound and gagged. I picked her up and put her on my back. I carried her out of the house, out of the inferno. The fireponies had just arrived and burst in after me. I laid Twilight down and took out the gag. Blood poured from her muzzle.
“Come on, wake up!” I yelled. “Come on…” I took the ropes off her limbs. Her purple coat hid the bruises. “Come on…” I repeated. The fire ponies came out.
“Nopony in the house,” reported one.
“Wait, no colt?” I asked. He shook his head. He must have taken him… He took Sunny? I had to find him. “Where did he go?” I screamed at the crowd. “WHERE?” One pony came forward.
“He ran into the forest I think,” he said. I thanked him and ran.
There he was, standing casually in front of a tree. He looked happy, content. I stepped into the clearing.
“Where’s my son?” I asked. He looked up at me.
“Ah, hello, little Richard? How are you today?”
“You know what I want. Give me my son.” He gave me a pitying look.
“You know I can’t do that, Richard. Now why don’t we just have a little chat? You’re sun will be just fine if you have a little chat.”
“I’m not really in the mood to talk,” I said.
“So sad, Richard. Well, let me have an icebreaker. I bet you want to know how I found you, you little human, you.”
“You knew?”
He gave a small laugh. It felt contemptuous. “Of course I knew, Dick. It was hard not to. I knew what Celestia wanted me to do and I saw that you did it. You know, she told me not to kill. That really rustled my jimmies.”
“So you’re number 1…”
“Yes, she made me first,” he said. He raised his hoof. The number one was emblazoned on it. “I think, including that little prissy boy, which makes you thirteen.”
“That’s an unlucky number,” I remarked.
“It sure is.”
“Why did you come after me?” I asked.
“Well, I saw that the others had started to disappear, and frankly no one else has the guts if you ask me. What’s that little bitch going to do? Huh? She can’t do nothing.”
“Who? Gemini?”
“No, not Gemini. Those freaks, hah.”
“Then who?”
“I see you haven’t met them all yet.”
“No, but I will. You know, I think this has been a good enough conversation,” I remarked.
“I guess you want your son back. Well, you gotta promise me one thing, dear Dick.”
“And what’s that?”
“I want to walk out of here unscathed. I know you don’t have your little pills. Promise me that, okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I promise.”
He cracked a smile. His teeth were yellowed, at least the ones that were there were. “Thanks Dick. You’re a swell guy. He’s in the tree above me. Good luck.” 001 trotted up, giving me a look of superiority. “You’re such a goody-two shoes. I thought we had something in common.” He turned away, laughing. I gave him a hard kick to the flank. His body tumbled over.
“No, we are different.”
“No, were not. You see, we both love women. That’s why, when I got to your little house and saw your wife, well…” He tried to get up. I kicked him again, throwing him down.
“No,” I said.
“Heh, Dick. Come on. How about that we both love kids? I know Sunny likes me now.” I rammed my hoof into his jaw.
“I’m not a killer like you,” I said.
“Oh yeah? Is that so? Never killed anyone, mister holier-than-thou?” I thought back quickly. Surely I hadn’t done such acts? Images rushed past quickly. Humanity, I had killed that man and his wife. But for what reason? None that I could imagine. The griffins had attacked. They had killed hundreds of ponies. Poor Breeze on that ship. 001 saw the look of horror on my face.
“I know that look,” he said, trying to smile.
“You don’t know anything!” I screamed.
“I know me, and that means I… know…you.” Anger filled me.
He tried to get up. I stamped my hooves into his knee caps. The sickening snaps accompanied his screams of pain. I gave three harsh blows to his face. Blood splattered against the ground. His head lay limply on the ground.
“Perhaps, we aren’t different,” I said. I put my hoof to his head. He whimpered lightly. I let my weight fall. The cracks sounded like thunder as his head collapsed. I looked into the tree for Sunny. Thankfully he was blindfolded.
I got back to the town. The house had been consumed by the fire. It was merely a husk of its former self. Twilight saw Sunny and I and rushed over, grabbing us both. She had been crying.
“It’s ok, Twilight. It’s over with,” I said reassuringly.
“He surprised me, Richard. I couldn’t do anything about it. I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok, I sent him away to Celestia,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Twilight staring ot my hooves. They were caked in blood.