It was the last week of his job. William felt detached from his two foals. He was watching the two go through another 'lesson'. For him, as 'daddy', it was terrible to sit and watch. They thrashed around against their restraints and called for him. What seemed like steam issued from each metal hole where the tubes were hooked up. He pressed a hand against the glass wall.
After hours had gone by, more training. They were forced to exercise their unique powers. Wires were plugged into their temples and small metal probes kept the foals’ eyelids open. To anyone else watching, this would have been painful to watch. And to a certain Mr.Lente, it was as equally as torturous.
A block of graphite was stationed at the center of the test room. At the signal of the scientists, an electric pulse was shot through the wires into the ponies’ temples. WIth a shout of pain and a short glow, the graphite block shifted its form into a small flowering plant. By the look of the tears trickling from the corners of the ponies’ eyes, this was evidently extremely painful and taxing.
Still, William couldn't help but feel proud of them. Their talents had grown to near mythological magic. Their ability to bend matter and energy to their will was startling.
Finally it was done. The lessons were done for today. Each of the pipes and tubes connected to the ponies’ small forms forcefully shot off in a billow of steam. Celestia and Luna were huddled together in the corner. They were shivering, sweating, and crying. As soon as the 'All Clear' light came on, William rushed inside. It was apparent that the two ponies were still deeply shaken from the ordeal, as per usual. As soon as he approached them, Celestia lashed out in fear. Her teeth were bared and her eyes were aglow. A spurt of red and a slash of pain, a deep cut appeared on the side of William's face.
"Oh!" sobbed Celestia, "W-What have I done?!"
"Sister!!" Luna yelped.
"Shh... It's okay. Its fine," He said, "It's alright. Come here. Daddy's here."
This was too cruel. Who would've guessed that this loner would grow attached to anything let alone... Ponies?
They sobbed into his shoulders. Celestia muttered apologies and stained William’s lab coat in tears. For along while, they sat there all in pain. William had to leave soon. This would devastate his two now matured mares. No, his two daughters.
After calming down after a long time, the three just sat quietly in the corner together. No words were spoken. William knew too well of what he might say. The two were leaning against Will, pressing their faces into his chest. It wasn't until blood dripped from William's cheek onto Celestia's face that she remembered what she had done with her thoughts.
"I-I'm sorry..." she murmured, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I-I was just scared. I didn't think I could use my power like that..."
"It's fine," William replied, "it's not a deep cut. I just wanted to make sure you're alright."
"Thank you, daddy..." Luna muttered.
"I'll always be here..." he said, "Don't you worry."
One week left… He didn't know what to do other than lie.
"Promise?"
"With all my heart."
At this moment, the tank door swung open. It was 'Doctor'.
Reluctantly, William stood up and saluted.
‘It was that man,’ Celestia thought, ‘that's a bad man. He always makes daddy angry and sad. I hate him...’
‘I don't like him...’ thought Luna, ‘I don't like him at all... I just want him to leave us alone...’
"Mr. Lente." Doctor greeted with his usual scowl.
"Sir." replied Will.
"Come outside with me. We need to talk," he commanded.
"No..." started Luna.
"I made a promise. Don't worry..."
Once outside, the tank door sealed. Doctor, William, and two guard scientists stood in front of the glass wall. The two test subjects watched carefully.
"That's quite a nasty cut on your cheek, Mr. Lente." Doctor said.
"It's fine." Said William.
"Well, as you know, your contract ends in a week," said the superior.
William clenched his teeth. "I understand, sir."
"Well, we see all fit and no problems in your contract, but there is another issue." Doctor said.
"Oh?"
"Yes. You've been spending quite some personal time with those things haven't you?"
'Things'? Why I oughta...
"Turn around and look at them," William turned. "See? They adore you. They have told you everything they've learned and everything that they've seen."
The two ponies looked towards their daddy. They never broke eye contact with him.
"Where are you going with this, Doctor?" William asked.
“The superiors think that they had perhaps bitten off a bit more than they can chew with project Pegasus,” the Doctor continued, “They fear that they have funded the creation of something they couldn’t control.”
“Best conclusion they’ve ever come to in my books,” William muttered absent mindedly.
“In light of such an epiphany,” said the Doctor, “We’ve been shut down. Project Pegasus is cancelled. Everyone will be relocated to work elsewhere. Files and data on Project Pegasus will be destroyed and we will receive a hefty compensation for all of our hard work.”
“And what of them?” blurted out William. He was still staring at the two ponies.
“What about them?”
“What will happen to them?”
“What do you suggest, Mr.Lente?”
“If this project is really ending, I want them safe.”
“I was not aware that you were in charge, Mr.Lente.”
William continued to stare at his two daughters. If Project Pegasus was really ending, he wanted them to be as far away from any of this as possible. He couldn’t care less about his compensation or job just yet. He just wanted them safe.
“Tell you what,” William finally said, “If i give you my part of the compensation, will you let them come with me? They won’t get out and I won’t say a damn word. I just need them er… I mean they need me.”
The Doctor chuckled.
“Are you bribing me, Mr.Lente?”
“I-” William started, “Please. Let them come with me. I’ll take care of them.”
The Doctor chuckled again. William could hear his walking around him until the Doctor was directly behind him.
“I’m ever so sorry, Mr.Lente.”
“For what?”
William was still gazing at the two creatures in the tank.
"You know too much."
BANG.
************
Slowly, he felt cold creep over him.
William lifted his hand to his chest and felt a warm sticky mess. He slumped down onto his knees. Out of a sort of haze, he could hear the Doctor.
"I'm sorry it had to be this way," he didn't sound it, "but you know too much and the project was getting out of hand. These two creatures were becoming too powerful for the government to control. We had to end it. All of it. That means you, too."
Breathing becoming shallower, William looked up into the tank through the glass which was apparently bullet proof.
There was an absolute look of horror on the faces of his two mares. They ran up to the glass trying to get to their daddy. Celestia was pounding at the glass and Luna was wailing in terror. William looked at the two with sorrowful eyes. Everything was a haze and there was a slight ringing in his ears.He tried to smile at them. The same smile he used to comfort them, to tell them that everything was alright. William lifted his hand from his bleeding chest and pressed it onto the glass surface. The last thing he felt was guilt from breaking his promise to his foals. He wrote three words onto the glass with his dirty hands.
'I am sorry'
William Lente slid from the glass on to the floor and never got up.
"D-daddy?...."
**********
"Pull the plug on this project. Project Pegasus is over." said the killer.
The Doctor walked up to the glass next to William's limp form. He looked at the ponies. He had a slight smirk on his face.
"Terminate them."
No. Daddy. Why aren't you getting up? You said you'd be back. You always came back. You pr-promised.....
Something snapped. No one will ever know what, but something snapped. Something terrible had happened and Celestia’s mind was unleashed.
Celestia, in a state of uncontrolled rage and fury, snapped. She gave an almighty roar of anger. The metal rivets and ports on her body flew out of her flesh and shout through the glass. The glass wall shattered into dust. Her eyes were glowing red, red as her daddy's spilt blood. She gave another roar and the tank exploded with the force of a bomb. Alarms were blaring here and there throughout the facility. The Doctor was lifted into the air by Celestia.
He had a look of terror. The tank? How did it break the tank? It's impossible! How were they this powerful?
"P-please!" he cried over Celestia's fit of rage, "Don't hurt me! Please! Mercy!!"
This was the thing that commanded daddy?! This pathetic, groveling bug?!
"You killed daddy..." she muttered, eyes still a glow. Tears of anger were pouring from her eyes and blood was leaking from where the metal had left her body.
"You!" Doctor pointed at Luna, "You! Stop her! You were designed to be able to stop her!"
"I am fully able," Luna said, her face streaked with tears, "I just choose not to!..."
Doctor began to whimper and sob. Pathetic.
"I don't want to die!"
"That's not your choice." Celestia said coldly.
Doctor's head began to swell. It continued to do so. His eyes bulged and his mouth stretched. His top half burst.
There were warning signs and alarms going off everywhere around the facility now. The two guards had fled and the facility was trying to contain itself.
Celestia and Luna slowly walked up to their daddy. He was cold. So cold. They both laid next to him in the pool of red. Both sisters felt grief. Terrible, heart tearing grief. The only one who was with them always. The only support. The only love. The only parent.
Gone.
The two wailed in sadness at the same time. Out of this grief grew fear. Out the the fear grew anger. The anger festered into fury. Finally, the fury melted into vengeance.
Both sisters touched heads, and with a flash of light and splatter of blood from William, they took new forms. Each had a sharp horn and pair of wings. They had both grown tall and menacing. The physical wound were gone and perfectly mended. Blinded with fury and a hunger for vengeance, the sisters left their father.
They both rose into the air. As they progressed through the facility in a fit of unbridled rage, they killed every member. Man and woman, they destroyed the whole facility. Blinded by anger, hate, and sadness, they couldn't stop. It was out of their grasp. They soon found themselves out in the cold winter air. Their power too uncontrolled and their vengeance not yet quenched, they looked to the sky. Celestia focused on the sun and it stood still in the air. Luna close at hand, looked at Celestia. They touched horns. A beam of red light shot to the sun. The light bathed the earth in a crimson glow. All over the world the two sisters rage was felt. In but a few days, the guilty, along with the innocent, burned. Plants turned to ash and the oceans boiled. There was no rain, but ash and soot. The rage and sadness of the sisters had rampaged the world, burning it all to the ground.
***************
There was no one left. Celestia and Luna went back to the wreck of the facility in the snow and ice. All was calm, all was grey. They landed next to the only body left untouched, their father's.
"W-what have we done?..." Luna said shakily, “Everything is …. gone.”
"We've done something terrible." she replied, "Our powers grew out of control. We passed our boundaries. I thought this would make me feel better about... Daddy... But it doesn't..."
"Me too.." Luna said.
They both looked down at their father's body. Hours in the cold but not touched by age or weather. He looked extremely peaceful, as if in a deep sleep. They wept for him one last time.
"What do we do now, Celestia?"
"I- if we have the power to destroy," she answered, "then we have the power to create."
Celestia closed her eyes. And with a glow of her horn, a flower poked through the snow.
"We'll make a new world. A new life. We'll start over and create a world without such corruption."
"Can we do it?" Luna asked.
"Yes. We must."
*****************
It was a typical sunny afternoon in Canterlot. The sun was warm and the birds were singing a song through the air. Princess Celestia was in the palace looking for a certain little filly.
"Now where did that little Twilight Sparkle get off to?" she pondered.
Trotting around the castle, she passed a normal wooden door. Just any door really. No pony ever went in it. It was probably some kind of broom cupboard or something. Celestia smiled a sad smile however. The door was left ajar. I think I've found Twilight, she thought.
She slowly crept into the room. It was a cathedral inside. It was an enormous room decorated with the best in marble and gold, gems and diamonds. In the middle of the large room was a marble casket. It was the purest of whites. On top of it was a ring of flowers of the rarest kind. In front of the casket was a small purple filly unicorn.
"So, my faithful student. You've found my private room."
Twilight squeaked. "I'm sorry Princess! I didn't mean to! I was just on my way to the library but I saw this door and was curious! I didn't do it on purpose, I swear!"
Celestia chuckled. "Oh it's quite alright my dear. I was just looking for you. This just happens to be my favorite room in the whole palace."
"Why?" asked Twilight.
"It holds something very dear to my heart..." Celestia continued, her voice echoing off the walls, "Something that will be with me in spirit forever."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
And on the top of the marble casket was written a single word along with a message.
DADDY
"I AM SORRY"
~Fin~