Captain Chaser was one of the luckiest ponies in all of Equestria a couple days ago, or so he thought. He had landed a dream job, working a relatively easy post assuming no large-scale disasters occurred, and he was put to work under the favor and blessing of his boss. Now, a mere two days later his job had come to haunt him, his work load was about to become far more restricted and difficult, and his boss was wary of him for being dishonest and for holding what one could call a radical view on the infamous Twilight Sparkle. He was amazed at how short his ride at the top was before he was plunged back down.
As he sat in the Warden’s office and listened to his own heartbeat and his breathing, a striking noise ran through his head.
It was Warden Gates, and one of his lines from the previous night: “It’s bad enough you’re drawn to these patients…almost like you want to be one of them…but you tried hiding it and caused tensions to grow because of that dishonesty.”
The words had manifested themselves in Chaser’s mind more than once. It was just a bad twist of fate that the Warden said the very thing Twilight had, of that Chaser was quite sure, but the fact that it had come up twice from two different ponies on two different sides of the Institution made Chaser a bit uneasy. He had always been one to find doubt when others rallied against his views, and this was certainly no exception. He knew what he felt about the subject of being a patient, but with the stacking opposition of both Gates and Twilight, doubt was once more coming to haunt him.
Finally his inner thoughts ceased and froze up when Gates at last came in. His walk was silent, yet held an air of anger that could not be missed. His breathing was about what it always was, except for the exhaling, which seemed a little rushed and annoyed. He sat down and looked Chaser in the eye with all the pained contempt Chaser envisioned anypony would give him upon figuring out his former attraction.
“Alright. I misjudged you, and that’s my fault Chaser. I didn’t realize the things I probably should have. I’ve grown a bit soft in my older age, evidently,” Gates told Chaser seriously, who nodded quietly in return as Gates went on: “As a result you’ve had contact with Twilight Sparkle I never would have given you if I had known. I won’t lie: you and Twilight are the prime suspects for the power outage. I doubt you didn’t figure that out already, but I wanted to tell you anyways. There will be further investigation and if you are convicted, you will be imprisoned and discharged dishonorably from the Equestrian Guard Corps. Again, I’m sure you had that figured out, but I wanted to make this clear. You’re in a lot of hot water.”
Chaser inhaled deeply and nodded again, not yet wanting to speak up and interrupt the Warden.
“However, I will say that in all likelihood, you won’t be convicted, as similar incidents with Twilight as the prime suspect have earned her no punishment. I can’t say that for certain, but history is on your side. Anyways, we can get into details at later times. For now, you need to know that you’ll be working closely with other guards doing the mundane jobs: guarding the perimeter, aiding the nurses with terminally ill patients, and the like, in other words, the minimal contact jobs.”
“Yes sir, I understand,” Chaser replied respectfully before then taking control of the conversation, “Sir, would you allow me to say something in my own defense?”
Gates breathed in deeply, shut his eyes while putting his head down in a moment of pause, and faced Chaser again, nodding.
“Thank you, sir. I know how it must feel to see somepony who works close to you have such a…creepy secret…and I’d hoped that none of you would ever find out. Obviously, it’s too late for that now. I would like to say that, I do still hold an interest in Twilight Sparkle, but it’s no longer as an attraction, sir. I see and understand now how dark and twisted she really is, and I don’t know what I want to come of this all…not in the slightest, but I do know that my attention to her know is no longer for a damned fetish that isolates me from the staff of this establishment.”
Gates nodded periodically as he took Chaser’s words in before giving a soft and small smile when the Captain was finished.
“I certainly am glad to hear that. I suppose under normal circumstances it wouldn’t exactly be right to be so hard on you, but considering that you work in a very potent place and that you held an even more potent position here, I hope you can understand my response.”
“I can, sir. I do. I told you came onboard that I wanted to help others, and having been around Twilight, I feel like I might need some help, too, and I want to help me and everypony else who has been hurt and who could be hurt by Twilight.”
“I’m very glad to see you opening up like this, and I suggest, as in order, you to talk with Dr. Mindkeeper about all this,” Gates told Chaser with a firm look in his eye.
“…Yes sir.” Chaser answered after the slightest moment of hesitation.
“I think we’ve managed to sort through all of this quite nicely, but I do want to talk about one other thing while you’re here today,” Gates said as he rummaged through his desk to find the paper he was looking for.
“Sir?” Chaser responded with confusion as to the nature of this next topic.
“I honestly have no clue what kind of information was passing between you and Twilight in your time alone with her, but these ponies would like to discuss that with you.”
With that, Gates removed himself from his office and several ponies from Canterlot entered, leaving Chaser dazed and confused as to what was going on.
“Captain Ghost Chaser, I’m Canterlot internal affairs agent Silver Spirit. I work directly under Princess Celestia and I’ve come here with orders to do anything it takes to make you talk, so I suggest you make this easy on all of us and tell us what you know,” said the stallion with a metallic gray coat and a golden mane known as Silver Spirit as several Canterlot guards came in after him and closed the door.
“Hey, listen, we didn’t discuss anything important, in fact most of what she said was just to get into my head. I don’t know anything more than I already did about her past and her life in the Asylum. You have no need to question me,” Chaser told them as the guards formed a circle around him and Silver Spirit.
“No need to question you? I think you should let me be the judge of that, Captain Chaser. Now then, did Twilight Sparkle ever mention the following names during your interaction with her or during your watch over her: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, or Applejack?”
Chaser listened to the names, thought about it for a moment, and looked back at the internal affairs agent as he answered, “Well, yes, she mentioned all those names during my first shift. I was looking at her through the monitor and she seemed to think she was having a conversation with them.”
“Seemed to be having a conversation?” Silver Spirit questioned.
“Well obviously those ponies weren’t really there…”
“Captain Chaser, was she having a conversation or not?”
“I…I…” Chaser was beginning to panic and attempted to leave his seat when one of the guards shoved him back into place.
“Was she having a conversation or not?” Silver Spirit asked again.
“Yes!” Chaser immediately responded and tried to get out of the chair, but was still being held down by the guard.
“Captain Chaser, as I said before, I am authorized to use whatever means necessary. Please, have a seat and calmly answer my questions, or you may find that I’m not as pleasant as I appear.”
“Why are you even here?” Chaser asked, completely ignoring the warning and still trying to get up, “she’s just a lunatic! What could possibly be so important about her?”
“Captain Chaser, you’ve no idea how very important she is. That is why I am here. If you do not cease your struggle, I will break your foreleg.”
That warning got to Chaser as he began to subside his fighting and soon enough sat still while inhaling deeply as he waited for the next question.
“Now then, what would you describe her attitude and personality as during that instance?” Spirit inquired as he leaned in closer, his blue eyes staring right into the frightened ones that belonged to Chaser.
“I…I guess she was very erratic and unhinged.” Chaser admitted and followed Silver Spirit around with his face as the Canterlot agent began to pace back and forth across the room.
“Erratic and unhinged, you say?”
“Yes. Erratic and unhinged are about the two best words I can think of to describe her then.”
“Very well, please answer yes or no to the following questions: Did she ever behave in a brash, headstrong, or prideful manner?”
“Ummm…maybe a little once or twice, but nothing very noticeable.”
“Yes or no?”
“No.”
“What about timid, afraid, or shy?”
“No.”
“Charming, mannered, or elegant?”
“Not very much.”
“Is that a no?”
“No,” Chaser confirmed.
“Did she ever act in a stubborn, blatantly truthful, or familial way?”
“…I wouldn’t say so…no.”
“I see.”
“Is there anything else? Are we done here?” Chaser asked, looking around at the other guards as if he was finally aware of their existence.
“We have a bit farther to go. Now Captain Chaser I want you to describe to me what she told you. If anything stands out, mention it; let all your emotion flow, and explain to us everything that she said when interacting with you.”
Chaser followed the command. He talked about the intrigue of his first encounter, the confrontation on the rooftop during the power outage, the discoveries of his father and the interactions they had on that day, and all other details he could thing of concerning Twilight.
All the while his mind was wandering. He wondered what these ponies wanted, what they would do, how they would react to the next thing he told them. They were definitely from Canterlot, for they all possessed the special factor that was hard to describe and almost impossible to learn, but absolutely necessary to work for the Princesses in Canterlot. Silver Spirit had this essential quality in spades.
“Now then Captain Chaser, did Twilight Sparkle even once mentioned, refer to, or hint at Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or Princess Cadence?”
Chaser thought back and shook his head before answering, “No.”
“Very good Captain Chaser. Finally, I will ask you a question you will be tempted to answer with a lie. If you lie, I will break one of your ribs. If you do not give and answer, I will break three. Are you ready for the question?”
“...Yes…” Chaser slowly affirmed as he looked Silver Spirit dead in the eye.
“Did you help Twilight Sparkle escape her cell by causing the power outage or by taking advantage of it?”
“No...no I did not!” Chaser quickly responded.
Rather than do anything, Silver Spirit looked towards one of the guards who was holding a small device, the purpose or origin of which Chaser could not determine.
“Negative.” The guard stated and Chaser's heart skipped a beat and he cringed, somehow expecting Silver Spirit to break his rib, but it never happened.
“Let me ask you another question Captain Chaser, is it true that you tried to hide your secret attraction to Twilight Sparkle from the rest of the staff here at the Asylum?”
“Yes…yes,” Chaser answered, looking at the same guard with the device to see what he was doing, but Silver Spirit moved Chaser’s eyes back towards him.
“Positive, but by factor of chance irrelevant.” The guard answered this time.
“Very well, one last question then Captain Chaser, are you proud of yourself for not giving in and killing Twilight Sparkle?”
“…I…I…” Chaser tried to answer and Silver Spirit moved his hoof towards Chaser’s chest, making Chaser then shout out, “I don’t know, please! I don’t know!”
Silver Spirit looked towards the guard with the device and awaited his answer.
“Results indeterminate.” The guard answered, prompting Silver Spirit to sigh order Chaser to be evicted with a hand signal to the other guards.
“Hey, what-“ Chaser fought back as he was taken away, as Silver Spirit thanked him for his time.
When Chaser was gone, Silver Spirit brought out a paper and wrote down the information he was required to as the other guards remained silent:
Incidence Report: Equestrian Guard Captain Ghost Chaser
Stationed: Equestrian Asylum for the Criminally Insane
Subject of Report: Twilight Sparkle
Captain Chaser was known to have been in contact with Twilight Sparkle, though not explicitly affiliated with her (unknown as of yet to the Asylum staff itself). In total, he spent perhaps a couple days worth of time with her. Questioning and reports indicate that Twilight still has the other bearers of The Elements of Harmony, the very reasons for her going insane in the first place, trapped within her mind and/or soul. Contact with Captain Chaser was not enough to draw out or even much stir up the consciousnesses of Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, or Applejack. It is my belief they remain a part of Twilight to this very day, locked away inside her, and are unable to escape. Meanwhile, Twilight herself continues to keep their emotions and characteristics hidden within her and refuses to let them out much, only doing so in rare instances. Her insanity has augmented her natural characteristics to become (and to this very day remain) sly, manipulative, imitating of that which she needs to be, and, I personally believe, self-tormented. Based on the footage, recordings, and results of the scenarios we have enacted such as the power outage, it is my suggestion that this simulation ends, and that we find a new test subject to help regain the Element Holders from Twilight Sparkle. Captain Chaser has already been alienated and we believe Twilight intends to kill him soon anyways. He will be disposed of in time, however his own mental stability is in question, and I do recommend that after his termination we salvage his memories, thoughts, and emotions in order to aid Project: Elemental Rebirth. In any case, Twilight remains fixated on him, and by the time she makes her move, Chaser will somehow be disposed of. Recommend finding new test subject effective immediately.
-Equestrian Internal Affairs Agent, Silver Spirit
After filling out his report to Princess Celestia, Silver Spirit sighed again and rubbed his temples while the guard with the small device came over to him.
“What now, sir?”
“Now we line up another one. It was my personal hope that because of Captain Chaser’s affinity towards Twilight he might have been the perfect tool for extracting the Element Users. We even bothered to come down and visit. Such a disappointment. Still, I’m sure one day we will succeed. And if all goes right…we just might get Princess Twilight back too,” Silver Spirit told the guard and handed him the report, “get this latest report to Princess Celestia immediately.”
“Right away,” The guard replied and headed out the hall while Silver Spirit and the others took a moment longer to leave the Warden’s office.
“Did everything go alright?” Gates asked them as they hurried away.
“Captain Chaser is once again yours, Warden. I have no further questions for him, you, or anypony else. Thank you for your time,” Silver Spirit bade farewell and disappeared into the night with his men.
…
Darkness had once again shrouded the Asylum. In truth, darkness never left the Asylum, but when Luna’s moon rose above it, the worst of it seemed to come out. Such was the case that fateful night. As the guards finished rotating their shifts the cell door unlocked. The lone figure of Twilight Sparkle crept out, hidden from all light and moving quickly from shadow to shadow. She had been having sessions with Dr. Mindkeeper and was unable to find Chaser until now. Her goal was far above her, but she knew the paths well and would not be stopped by the incompetent guards around her. The Asylum was her kingdom, she was its Queen, and all who inhabited it, staff member or patient, were her subjects, to do with as she pleased.
One unfortunate guard decided to use the restrooms on the first sub-level, and made himself as vulnerable as he could be for Twilight as she snuck around the Asylum. As he opened the door to leave Twilight pushed him back in with all her force and he skidded along the ground to the end of the room.
“What…how did you-“ The guard was cut off when Twilight jumped in front of him, put her hooves around his neck, and squeezed with a passionate rage that shifted the very atmosphere of the room. He struggled to free himself, but Twilight’s grip was too fierce for him to break. He slipped away into death quietly, and Twilight was in no mood to be quiet. She grabbed the corpse and bashed his face into the mirror, shattering the reflection of the corpse as blood spilled down its face and front side. Twilight held the body close and inhaled the metallic aroma of the blood for several seconds before letting it go and watch it drop inharmoniously.
A smile painted itself on her lips as she skipped along past it and left the restrooms, a hidden camera capturing the entire scene.
She didn’t know it (or maybe she did, but just didn’t care) but she was watched every second of every day. Everypony she murdered was a sacrifice in the name of Twilight Sparkle, in the hopes that she might one day be cured and Equestria would gain back its Princess of Friendship and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Captain Ghost Chaser was no exception, and although Twilight rather liked him, the higher ups in Canterlot knew he served his purpose, and now, Twilight was free to kill him, as they knew she would. That was always what she did with those she liked. She would twist them, break them, and mold them until they became as crazy as her or were killed. None of them, not even Chaser, were good enough to help Twilight however, and all test subjects met a grim end.
Perhaps when one subject did prove worthy, they would prevent his or her horrible fate from coming, and then maybe Twilight could be cured, the Element Holders brought back, and all the evil that occurred at the Asylum could be forgotten and erased. That was the hope. Twilight Sparkle was a name to be feared, but the goal of Princess Celestia and the Canterlot Authority Figures was that she would once again be with them and aid them in their battles. Equestria needed Twilight Sparkle and the Element Holders, for protection, and to help support the leaders in times of darkness, something they had been experiencing since Twilight went mad.
It was all a brilliant scheme. All a clever lie. All a shameful dishonesty that held within it vast secrets and forbidden knowledge. It was all to make Twilight Sparkle and her friends part of Equestria again. Sometimes ponies like Silver Spirit would wonder if Celestia or Luna or Cadence held any grief about the secret activities of Project: Elemental Rebirth. Sometimes they blew the thoughts away, having faith that their leaders had the purest and noblest of intentions. Other times, such ponies would wonder how far the Princesses could go into immorality and sins before they went as mad as Twilight herself. It was a never-ending lie, an ongoing story that was written with blood and held no end in sight. It was the tragedy of the Equestrian Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
Twilight moved silently and swiftly in the dead of night as she abducted Ghost Chaser. She used her magic to keep him asleep and calm until she had set herself up in the very therapy workroom she had sat in with Mindkeeper the past several days. Once there, she woke Chaser up and put her hoof over his mouth before he could speak.
“Ssshhh! It’s so late…so very late…and we don’t want to disturb all the sleeping ponies. All the helpless, weak ponies who think they own the Asylum…who think they own ME.”
Chaser was freed and whispered loudly back, “What are you doing with me! Why have you taken me here?”
“This is the ceremony. This how it ends Ghost Chaser. This is how you will end your life,” She told him and giggled as she drew a clean scalpel from her sleeve.
“You’re going to kill me…like my father…like all those innocent ponies way back when…?” He questioned, showing a surprising amount of bravery.
“I didn’t say I would kill you, dear Ghost Chaser.”
“You said-“
“I said it was time to end your life. Ghost Chaser is no more; you are no longer him. You are MY loyal subject. You are MY toy. You are MINE to do with as I please.”
“That’s crazy…that’s ridiculous…” He told her as he began to shake while she put the surgical tool at his throat and gently swept it across his neck, drawing a small, thin, and clean line of fresh, red blood.
“YOU will be too. You will walk with me down the roads of insanity and through the pools of madness as we plunge ourselves into its grim embrace for all of eternity. You, me, and everypony at this Asylum.”
“…” Chaser could not speak as Twilight licked the blood as it dripped down his body.
“We’ve had our fun, we played our game, and we’ve come to the end. This is…the end.” She kissed him on the lips and stuck the scalpel in his belly as she did so, his eyes going wide in shock and pain.
He felt his inner soul rise up in agony, frustration, fear, and rage as he took the scalpel from her hooves, pulled it from his own body, and drove it through her left foreleg, the blood spilling to the floor.
He pushed her aside madly and shouted out an indistinguishable war cry, hitting Twilight ferociously with his hooves as she took the abuse as if it were candy.
He ran out of the room as if he was on fire, screaming and shouting and waking the Institution up.
One of the first to see him was the guard who woke him up for his shift. He was just a memory now, a memory of Ghost Chaser’s, and he was irrelevant. He was as irrelevant as everypony else Ghost Chaser knew, and they were all expendable.
The guard went over to tackle the screaming pony down, but the bleeding guard shoved the scalpel into the tackling guard’s eye, disabling him.
Alarms went off as the pony once known as Captain Ghost Chaser attacked all who got in his way, picking up spears, lances, tools, and anything else to keep himself on the run that he could find. Dr. Mindkeeper saw him run, and so too did he see Mindkeeper, and his token to the doctor was a clean and swift beheading with a sword. The old stallion’s body wiggled on the floor and shook violently.
Gates saw him too, but unlike Dr. Mindkeeper, the Warden was fortunate enough to escape with only a lost limb as the pony once known as Ghost Chaser used the sword to almost completely chop off Gates’ right foreleg, leaving the sword in as the limb held stiff and fought desperately to remain with its master.
He did not see Captain Iron Chains, nor did he find any sign of Silver Spirit. The last pony he found was the receptionist. She was coming off of work and put a horrified look on her face as the bleeding and desperate figure of Captain Ghost Chaser raced down the hall and stabbed her in the throat with his last weapon, an axe used for emergencies purposes such as a fire.
He ran out of the Asylum, screaming, hollering, desperate to find himself in the mad body he once called his own. He ran off into the night wondering exactly how it was he took all those careful steps into obsession, discovery, confusion, and in the end, madness itself.
But the Asylum could not hold Ghost Chaser, and as he ran off and was pursued by the guards of the Asylum, he began to tire from fatigue and blood lose, and as he treaded through the marshes down the road from the institution, Twilight Sparkle’s demented laugh rang out across the hills and plains, up mountains and into forests.
Twilight Sparkle’s evil touch had impressed itself on Chaser and the lives of many more victims who were sacrificed in the name of the secret Project: Elemental Rebirth. The Equestrian Asylum for the Criminally Insane was once a respectful establishment, but the day it became famous, the very day it became noteworthy, it also sold out its true purpose of healing the sick and instead used the healthy to save a sinner who some thought should never have the chance to be saved at all.