//------------------------------// // The Facility: Mandus // Story: Amnesia: The Pony Machine // by Darkryt Orbinautz //------------------------------// Twilight pulled the trigger of the gun. There was a ratcheting sound, followed by a click. Nothing happened. “Oh, darn.” Twilight took the gun away from her head and frowned at it. “Looks I lost the game. Guess I'll have to go again!” With a disconcerting perkiness for somepony trying to kill herself, she once again pushed the gun against her temple. “No!” Applejack ran past the children and bounded over the desk, tackling Twilight to the ground. Twilight dropped the gun and Applejack kicked it away. It slid under the desk and kept sliding until it hit Sweet Heart's hoof. Twilight struggled with Applejack, attempting to push her off so she could resume her attempts to end her miserable existence. “Let me go, Applejack! Let me go!” “No.” Applejack hefted Twilight up and slammed her head into the desk. “Not until after ya take your meds and stop tryin' to kill yourself.” Holding Twilight down, Applejack reached over to a drawer in the desk. She pulled out two bottles and uncapped them both, shaking out one pill from each into her hoof. Applejack forced the pills into Twilight's mouth. Twilight grunted and flailed, refusing to cooperate. Applejack took her hooves and held Twilight's mouth shut while massaging her jaw to chew to the pills and swallow. The children watched all this happen with rapt attention, not sure what was going on … or what would happen after Twilight took those pills. Teddy looked towards Sweet Heart's hooves, noticing the gun. Without anypony noticing, he reached over and picked it up. Twilight gulped the pills and shuddered, disagreeing with the taste. She blinked her eyes, trying to clear them of debris. When she stopped blinking, they were the cold, uncaring eyes of the other Twilight. “Ahem.” Twilight cleared her throat. “Thank you for that, Applejack. I don't know what got into my … other personality or why she wanted these children.” Twilight glared at the children. “But now that you three are already here, I think it's time we say goodbye. Applejack, take care of them.” Twilight took to sorting through papers on her desk, trusting her servant to get the job done. Applejack reached into robe and pulled out a hatchet. “With pleasure.” She gave the children a glare before advancing towards them. “The three of y'all are gonna pay for trying to help Twilight's other personality kill herself!” Sweet Heart and Ace began making their way to the door. Teddy, however, held his ground and pointed the gun at Applejack, even though he knew working it without Twilight's telekinesis was going to be difficult for him. Applejack chuckled darkly. “What, do y'all think that will really help ya? There's only one bullet in it, and y'all ain't gonna have the time to dig it out before I get ya.” Teddy knew she was probably right, but he remained where he was and aimed the gun at her. He pulled the trigger. Click. Nothing happened. Applejack was getting closer, the light from the window reflecting off her axe. Teddy pulled the trigger again. Click. Nothing happened. Getting closer. He pulled the trigger again. Bang. Something happened. Teddy had managed to dig out the one bullet. The lone bullet came flying from the chamber and burst out of the barrel of the gun. With lightning speed, it pierced through Applejack, cutting a hole through her eye. “AGGH!” Applejack clutched at her wounded eye socket and stumbled. Lifting her hoof off the eye to see, she roared and ran after Teddy, wildly swinging her axe back and forth without taking any aim with it. Sweet Heart and Ace escaped through the door and Teddy wasn't far behind. Teddy stopped by the door, and when she was close enough, Teddy slammed the door into Applejack face, making her stumble backwards while she rubbed at her face again. “We need to get out of here!” Sweet Heart said. “Agreed, but how?” Ace gestured to the room around them. “There's like, a gajillion different hallways and stairs to go through!” “Oh, um, hmm ...” Sweet Heart looked around, hoping for a sign as to where to go. A painted arrow, a candle light, something! The door rattled and shook from Applejack banging on it to open. “Pick something fast!” Ace kept his eye on the door, waiting for Applejack to burst out of it and menace them. “Oh, um ...” Sweet Heart tapped her chin. She noticed a familiar door at the end of one bridge. “This way! That door will take us back to the cells and to the sewers we came in at!” Leading the group away from the office door, Sweet Heart galloped on the riveted bridge. The clonks of their hooves were guaranteed to draw attention to them, but at this point, they figured there was no point in worrying about the issue. The place was crawling with predators who were bound to notice them. Applejack succeeded at last at forcing the door open, her left eye still suffering from the hole shot through it. She scanned for the children on the wrong bridge, buying them a few precious seconds to get away before she noticed them. She turned around and saw them heading for the stairs. “Stop right there, you little rats!” She commanded them. “Didn't your parents teach you to respect adult authority? EVERYPONY, INTRUDERS IN THE HALL! PIGS! GET 'EM!” At Applejack's command, a siren alarm went off in the building. Red lights filled the room, accompanied by the whooping sounds of klaxons going off. Amidst this cacophony of noise rose the sound of dozens of pigs, squealing and snorting as their masters bade them to go on the hunt. Pinkie Pie burst of her room, huffing and puffing. Rainbow Dash dropped down from the ceiling, aiming her electrified hooves at nothing. A horde of pigs poured in from the adjacent halls, swarming the bridges as they clumsily searched for their prey. The children managed to reach the door in time and open it, escaping through. As a result of the blanket of pigs covering the floor, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had to wade their way through them and lost track of the children. “Stupid pigs!” Applejack berated one by slapping it on the head. “Move so we can get through! … hey, where did they go? Oh, shoot.” But one pig, at the edge of the pack, noticed where the children had gone. He ran up to the door and opened it, finding the children halfway down the stairs already. The children stopped when they heard the pig open the door. The pig looked down at them. They looked up at the pig. The pig snorted and turned towards the door, meaning to inform its masters of the childrens' location. “Wait!” Sweet Heart called after them. The pig stopped and turned back around towards them, curious to what she had to say. “Uh, Sweet Heart?” Teddy asked. “What are you doing?” “Shut up, Teddy.” Sweet Heart told him before resuming her attention of the pig. “You don't like working for Twilight, do you? It's okay. I know you don't.” The pig snorted derisively at her, as if dismissing her claims. “Oh, you don't mean that. You can't tell me you like working somepony who fed into The Machine (whatever that is), cut you up, and then sewed you into a pig, can you? And all your criminal friends, too ...” The pig's ears wilted, as if admitting defeat to her words. “Hey, cheer up.” Sweet Heart said, smiling at him. “I know it's bad, but you can keep it from getting any worse. We can help stop Twilight from turning any more people into pigs and ruining any other ponies' lives, if you let us go, and maybe even help us. You don't want to help Twilight keep making more ponies like you, do you?” The pig shook its head, agreeing with her. “So you'll help us?” Sweet Heart asked with big pleading eyes. The pig raised its snout and squealed, as if saying us. It went to the door and raised its hoof, bashing the doorknob to prevent the door from being opened. It went down the stairs and joined the children, sniffing them like it was trying to apologize for earlier behavior. “I don't know how you did that or how it worked, but nice job, Sweet Heart.” Ace said. “Easy.” Sweet Heart said. “I just appealed to his inner goodness. Now come on. Our exit to the sewers is just a few rooms away!” Heading down the stairs, they made their way through the prison cell area, where the walls were now covered in blood-spatters from Applejack's massacre of the imprisoned. Trying not to let it disturb them too much, the children and the pig went through the gardening room. There was still a pile of shattered pots and snapped plants from earlier, but Fluttershy's acid sprays seemed to have evaporated, making it safe to traverse again. Reaching the entryway to the sewers they had used to get into the building to start with, a sobering realization dawned on the three of them; even if they stacked up on top of each like with the air vent, they wouldn't be tall enough to reach the pipe. “Now what do we do?” Teddy looked at the floor in defeat. “We can't get up there by ourselves ...” A displeased oink came from behind them. “We don't have to!” Sweet Heart said. “This sweet pig will help us, won't you?” The pig blushed, but it nodded. It stomped its way to the pipe and stood up, pushing its front legs against the wall. Ace climbed on top of it, Teddy climbed on top of Ace, and Sweet Heart climbed to the top, repeating what they did with the air vent. Sweet Heart pulled in Teddy and Ace, but after they were in, the distance between the pipe and the pig was too great to bring their new friend with them. “Oh, I'm sorry, mister pig.” Sweet Heart frowned at the turn of events. “I can't pull you up here ...” The pig nodded as if trying to say “That's okay.” He snorted at them as if adding “Don't let me down now.” and turned away, trotting back to the upper floors. “Come on. Let's get out of here and maybe find someplace safe to lay low.” Teddy said, placing his hoof on Sweet Heart's shoulder. “Applejack …” Twilight said with a dangerous calm to her words, her lieutenants and pigs all lined up in rows in front of her. “I told you to take care of those children. Yet, I'm hearing reports those children escaped, so what I want to ask, Applejack is … why were those children not taken of?” Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy could do little but hang their heads in shame. “I'm sorry, Twilight.” Applejack said. “I tried, but they got away …” Twilight leveled her eyes at Applejack. “I see.” “What do ya want us to do now?” Applejack asked. “Is it not … obvious, Applejack?” Twilight responded, shooting daggers at her. “I want you – ALL of you to split up, take the pigs, and flood the streets to find those foals and murder them before they can tell anypony what's really been going on in our building! But do it discreetly. Hide in the shadows, and move only when you know nopony's looking.” The five other ponies nodded. “Well?” Twilight raised her eyebrow at them. “What you waiting for? HUNT THEM DOWN!” The ponies nodded and made their way to various exits, intending to lead a glorious horde of pigs out from the building. But one pig lagged behind … one pig thought about how he helped those foals, and prayed a little piggy prayer they could do something to end Twilight's madness. Breathing heavily, Ace pushed out the manhole cover from underneath. Evidently, somepony stumbled on it after they went into the sewers and put it back. Climbing out of the tunnels, Ace helped Sweet Heart and Teddy up onto the street. “So, what do we do now?” Teddy asked. “How do we stop Twilight?” “She ...” Sweet Heart panted, having to pause mid-sentence to think. “She said something about needing Mandus to combat the Shadow, didn't she? That we wouldn't need to if her trying to shoot herself worked?” “Well, it didn't work, so I say we need to find this Mandus guy!” Teddy said. “Yes, yes.” Ace nodded. “But where we would find him? Twilight didn't mention that.” “Well, he has to have been around here sometime for Twilight to know him … right? Hopefully?” Teddy said. “I know.” Sweet Heart raised her hoof. “We'll ask the police station. If he lived here at any point, they should have kept a record of it.” Teddy scoffed. “Right. Because they were so helpful the last time we went to see them.” “Quiet, Teddy. It's worth a try.” So, off they went to the police station again. The first thing Officer Flathoof at the counter said when he saw them did not assure Teddy they had made the right choice to come here. “Hey there, kids.” Flathoof said. “Got more tall tales about Twilight's facility for me? Heh.” “Er, not exactly.” Sweet Heart said, preemptively bumping Teddy in the elbow before he said something rude. “Can you tell us anything about an Oswald Mandus?” “Oswald Mandus, Oswald Mandus … not a very Equestrian name, is it?” Flathoof stroked his chin, trying to think. “Let me see ...” He reached into the counter and pulled out a folder. In the folder were files. He skimmed through them. “Mandus, Mandus, Mandus … ah! Here we are!” Flathoof held up the file to them. “Oswald Mandus. Former business partners of Twilight Sparkle's until they had some kind of falling out. Used to be an industrialist, like Twilight. Says here he's still living here as a recluse. Never goes out, never let's anybody in.” “If he never goes out, how does he get his groceries?” Ace wondered. Flathoof shrugged. “I don't know. Anyways, there's the address for ya. Hope that helps. Say ...” Flathoof looked them over, only now noticing the various stains on the children and the ragged state they were in. “Are you kids all right? You look like you've been through a rough patch.” He sniffed. "And you smell awful." “We're fine.” Sweet Heart was quick to tell him. “We're fine, really, we just … got carried away, uh, skiing. Thank you so much for your help, officer, bye!” She, Teddy, and Ace ran out the door before Flathoof could ask them any more questions. “Skiing … skiing.” Flathoof nodded his head. “Yeah, all right, skiing … wait a minute. There's no snow for miles. Where would they go skiing?” As if in tune with his suspicions, the phone to Flathoof's desk rang. “Hello?” He said to into the phone. “Yeah-huh, this is he … oh, Twilight? How are you doing? What's that? Three kids? Broke into your facility? Uh-huh. Yeah. I see. I'll get right on it.” Flathoof slammed the phone down, his expression curling into one of displeasure. He burst out of the police station and looked around for the children. They hadn't gotten far. “Hey, kids! Can I ask you something?” Sweet Heart, Ace, and Teddy froze. “Uh … about what?” “Something about you foals breaking and entering into Twilight's fine establishment?” Flathoof asked with just a hint of suspicion. The three of them shirked, knowing Flathoof wouldn't believe them if they told him what really happened, or side with them. “Run!” Sweet Heart shouted, bursting into a gallop. Ace and Teddy followed her suit. “Hey! HEY!” Flathoof shouted, pursuing them. “Stop! You three are under arrest!” They didn't stop, of course. They had no reason to obey Flathoof beyond the fact he was a police officer, and in the grand scheme of things, their ability to stop a horrific, insane mass-murderer was more important than whether or not they were law-abiding citizens. Keeping the location of Mandus' address firmly in mind at all times, Sweet Heart turned a corner and led the group down a street. They ignored Flathoof's shouts and commands for them to stop, and eventually Flathoof, despite reservations, pulled out his gun and opened fire, trying to shoot out their little pony knees and slow them to a stop. The children pressed on, moving like racehorses competing for the lead as they avoided Flathoof's bullets. Flathoof seemed to have missed leg day, as the children were keeping ahead of him with ease – but of course, running from the monsters in Twilight's building would improve anypony's running skills. The way things were going, it appeared to be a straightforward chase where they would keep running until they found a place where they could hide and get Flathoof off their tail. But one of Twilight's pigs charging out from an alleyway and taking a swipe at them complicated the matter. It missed Sweet Heart by a fraction of an inch before turning its attention on Teddy. It roared and reared up, preparing to stomp him before one of Flathoof's bullets pierced its hide. The pig turned towards Flathoof and panicked at his approach. If Flathoof reached them and saw the pig up-close, he'd had have much less doubt about the foals' claims and the police would bear on Twilight's building. Thus, the pig retreated back into the shadows, though the children didn't understand why. Resuming their escape from Flathoof, the children continued and turned around another corner. Sweet Heart knew where she was going. Mandus' house was just a long trek ahead. All they had to do was avoid Flathoof and they were home-free. “You think we lost him?” Teddy asked as he noticed a distinct lack of bullets chasing after them. “I don't know ...” Sweet Heart said. “He couldn't have been fooled just by us turning into a corner that easily, could he?” Bang. A bullet whizzed by, almost grazing Ace's legs. “He wasn't.” Ace said. They ran as fast as they could away from him. But as they went down the street they continued to see the pigs hiding in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike … if they emerged, they could take the children and Flathoof down en masse, even with Flathoof's bullets piercing them. So why weren't they? “How come those pigs aren't attacking?” Ace looked over his shoulder at them. “Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!” Teddy said as he galloped in front of Sweet Heart. “I don't know ...” Sweet Heart muttered. “Maybe they're afraid of something? Maybe they don't like daylight … no, it couldn't be, because the other pig dealt with the daylight fine. Or ...” Sweet Heart said with dawning comprehension. “Maybe it's because they're waiting for their master to get her turn!” Sweet Heart skidded to a stop, frozen in fear. Ace and Teddy skidded to a halt as well, crashing into Sweet Heart's back. A few paces in front of them stood Rainbow Dash, her generators pumping and buzzing, the electricity from mutated body humming as if it was alive with excitement at the idea of taking revenge on the foals who had bested her. “Heh heh heh ...” Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Now I've got you three. You three are going to come back to The Facility, and you're going to disappear and not tell anypony anything. You've got that?” “Before you do all of that, can I ask you a quick question?” Sweet Heart, both trying to gain information and stalling for time. “Why aren't the pigs attacking us?” Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Heck if I know. They're just dumb pigs.” “Halt! Stop, intruders!” Flathoof's voice reached from far behind them. “You foals are under arrest for B&E, resisting arrest, failure to comply, and whatever else I can think of on our way back to the station!” Rainbow Dash stiffened up, the way a fox does when hunting prey. “That would be why. The pigs don't want to give the police any clue about what Twilight's really doing, so they're hiding. And the same goes for me, so … I'll deal with you three later!” Rainbow Dash, though longing to fry the three of them with her generator, took the better part of valor and rocketed up to the sky. A rainbow trail was left behind her. The children, knowing Flathoof was just around the corner, ran to a worn-out house and jumped into the garbage. “Really?” Ace questioned. “More garbage?” “It's our best chance of losing him. Come on!” Sweet Heart dragged Ace into the trashcans. Flathoof was distracted by Rainbow Dash's rainbow trail, giving time for the children to fit themselves into the can the best they could. “What?” Flathoof shook his head as the rainbow disappeared. “Where they'd go?” After looking around and failing to find any hint as to where they went, Flathoof growled. “Grr... fine. I'll have to put up wanted posters for them ...” Flathoof turned around and marched back to the station, grumbling at being outwitted by a trio of foals. Teddy peeked up from his trashcan to look. “I think he's gone.” “Did you hear that?” Sweet Heart asked. “We're going to get wanted posters for us! Oh, no … my parents will be so upset!” “Your parents had their chance to believe you, to believe us, and they didn't!” Teddy said, still a little hurt about the things Miss Hackney and the other adults had said. “If they didn't want us doing this, well … they should have believed us!” “Do you think you're making this a bit personal, Teddy?” Ace asked, crossing his legs. Teddy declined to answer. Sweet Heart gingerly stepped out of her trash can and took a cursory look at the house they belonged to. “Yes!” She pumped her hoof in the air, causing the trash can to tip over and spill. “Oops.” “Yes, what?” Teddy and Ace asked as they went climbed out from their cans. “We're here!” Sweet Heart gestured to the house. It was grey with discoloration, with its windows shattered and its door dented. The roof seem to be caving in on itself. It all together look to be a house in neglect. “This is Oswald Mandus' home!” She pointed to the address on the door. “For a given definition of the word “home.”” Ace said. “This place is a mess.” “Now, now. I'm sure Mister Mandus has, um, perfectly good reason for leaving it like this.” Sweet Heart said. “Yeah. Like secretly being a cockroach.” Teddy said. Ignoring Teddy's jibe, Sweet Heart went up to the door and knocked on it. “Excuse me? Mister Mandus? Are you home?” “Yes?” The door opened wide. A brown Earth pony in a ruined red suit stared at them. He registered them for a moment before bringing the door to a near-close. “You're not my usual deliverymen. Who are you?” “We're Sweet Heart, Teddy, and Ace.” Sweet Heart introduced them. “Go away. I have nothing to say to you.” Mandus attempted to close the door on them, but Sweet Heart stuck her hoof in it. “We were hoping we could ask you some questions?” Sweet Heart asked. “About Twilight Sparkle and The Shadow?” Mandus stared them. His eye quivered, as if in fear of something which was not present, which was invisible to any but him. “The Shadow, you say? And the Orbs as well, I presume?” Sweet Heart nodded. Mandus opened the door. He looked around the street, trying to make sure they weren't being spied on. “Yes, yes, come in.” He gestured to them. “Quickly.” After the children came inside, Mandus took another sweep of the area before closing the door. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed the airborne Rainbow Dash watching them. Rainbow Dash nodded at the turn of events before flying off to inform Twilight. “I know it's a bit run-down, but it's home.” Mandus guided the foals to his living room. The inside of the house was no better than the outside. Floorboards were crooked and out of place. A couch had stuffing bleeding out from it, and the chimney was empty. “Please. Have a seat.” Mandus pulled up a stool for himself. “So, what would you like to know?” “Anything you can tell us.” Ace said. “What's The Shadow? What's with the crazy Orb Twilight's got?” “Why did Twilight mention you when she was talking about The Shadow?” Sweet Heart asked. “And the most important thing. How do we beat her?” Teddy glared his eye at him. “And why are you living in a dump like this?” Mandus looked to each of them in turn, considering each of their questions on a individual level. He heaved out a deep sigh. “All right. I suppose I might as tell you, seeing as you know so much already. The Shadow … The Shadow is just that. A shadow which travels between dimensions. It exists both inside and outside of our reality at once. It is a beast, a mad dog bent on protecting the mysterious Orbs which relate to it. It knows no pain, no fear. It IS fear. Take the Orbs from their resting place, and The Shadow will hunt you down until it's been calmed, either by you giving it the Orb, or it killing you and taking the Orb.” Mandus closed his eyes. He shut them tight, like he was being forced to go through a painful memory. “How Twilight got her Orb and The Shadow under her control, I have no idea.” Mandus said. “The Orbs … the Orbs are relics from somewhere or something. They're connected to The Shadow, somehow, but how eludes even the greatest minds.” Mandus sighed. “If you want to beat Twilight Sparkle, you need some way to counter The Shadow.” “How would we do that?” Teddy was a bit incredulous. How were they supposed to beat something which, as Mandus suggested, was fear incarnate? “I don't know.” Mandus shook his head. “To answer your question about why I live here … well, I kept that private for a reason. How much do you know about The Machine?” “Not a lot.” Sweet Heart said. “We heard Twilight and her friends say they used The Machine to-to cut up criminals and turn them into pigs.” Mandus looked only mildly surprised by this. “Oh … you know more about than I thought you would.” Mandus shifted his gaze away from them. “Yes. That's what they use it for … but not what it was meant for. You see, how I know Twilight Sparkle … we used to be business partners. Confidantes, as two ponies who had been made to suffer at the hands of The Shadow's Orbs. I dreamed up the plans for The Machine as something to benefit ponykind with, to serve it. I wasn't sure how, of course, but that was the idea. Twilight co-opted it for her own uses. She used it to butcher the criminals, the pigs of the world, as she called them. When I saw the first victim … when I saw the blades of the wretched Machine reflected in his eyes, I saw the light and hope within him die. I had dreamed of many uses for my Machine, but murder wasn't one of them. Twilight and I had a falling out. I, ashamed of what I had wrought on the world, hid myself in this ratty old building, using deliveries to feed myself and only paying for what I needed with leftover cash.” Mandus sighed. “But my stockpiles are getting close to dry … soon they'll turn off the electricity and water if I can't pay …” “This is all very informative, Mister Mandus.” Sweet Heart said. “Thank you for help, but, erm ...” “We still don't know how to beat Twilight!” Teddy slammed his hoof into the armrest. “Neither do I, my little ponies.” Mandus shook his head. He perked up, having an idea. “But I know who might. A pony who knows Twilight more than we do. A pony I've only met twice.” Mandus pushed himself up from his seat. “Excuse me. I need to write a letter.” Mandus sniffed the air. “They haven't turned the water off yet, so please, make use of my shower while you wait for me to finish. You smell terrible.” Sweet Heart lifted up her hooves. “We have been hiding in a lot of garbage lately … I call dibs on first.” “Through the kitchen, on the left.” Mandus pointed her in the direction before walking into another room. Sweet Heart took her shower first and when she came out, Ace took the next turn, giving Teddy and Sweet Heart some time to themselves. “Hey.” Teddy noticed Sweet Heart looking down. “What's wrong?” “Nothing.” Sweet Heart said. She took in a breath and huffed. “No, it's not nothing, it's … we had to do awful things in The Facility, didn't we?” Sweet Heart curled up into a fetal position. “I mean, what right did we have to – to stab Pinkie Pie the way you did, or to let those criminals and let them gang up on Fluttershy? Or help Twilight assemble a gun to kill herself with? Teddy, we almost help a mare kill herself!” Sweet Heart was on the verge of bursting into tears. Teddy looked away from her. He couldn't stand the sight of seeing her cry, but he also didn't know what to say. Everything he had done … tossing a pot into Fluttershy's head, stabbing Pinkie Pie, shooting Applejack's eye … it was all in the name of survival, wasn't it? They had to get out alive. Didn't they? Even if meant compromising their moral integrity? Teddy put a hoof to his head. He knew he was a rascal. He knew what he did what he had to do. But he also knew, if he kept on the way he was, he was going to become one of those criminals like in the cells. “Sweet Heart … I don't know what to tell you. Yes, we did some bad things in there, but the ponies we did them did even worse things! It was … fair. No, no it wasn't fair. Fair would have been us being able to beat Twilight's gang up and take them to the police, but that didn't happen and it's not going to.” “We let those criminals of their cells, Teddy.” Sweet Heart said. “We let them out and Applejack and Twilight had them all killed. We let them die, Teddy!” Sweet Heart grabbed Teddy and shook him, bursting into tears. “It's all our fault! If we hadn't -” Teddy, not knowing what else to do, slapped her. Sweet Heart gasped. “You hit me!” “Hey.” Teddy chuckled bashfully. “It got you to stop crying, didn't it?” Sweet Heart sniffled. “I guess …” Hey.” Teddy said, cupping her cheek. “Did we put those guys in the cells?” “No ...” “Did we spray acid from our mouths all over them?” “No ...” “Did we put an axe in their necks and toss them into some horrific, tragic, mysterious Machine?” “No ...” “Then we didn't kill them, did we?” Teddy said. “It wasn't our fault they died. It was Twilight's – Applejack! Fluttershy's, even, but not ours, and especially not yours!” Sweet Heart sniffed. “You mean it?” “With all my heart.” “But … I still let them out.” “You letting them out gave them a fighting chance.” Teddy said. “If they could have beaten Fluttershy and Applejack, they could have gotten out from The Facility. They could have told the police, and we wouldn't be having to deal with it now. They could have got out and straightened up and become better ponies. But things didn't go that way, and you know what? That's life. Things don't always go your way.” Sweet Heart looked down at the couch cushions, comforted by Teddy's words, but still feeling uneasy. “And … besides that ...” Teddy rubbed the back of his neck. “I know this may not be the best time, possibly the worst time ever, but I … I have a crush on you, Sweet Heart. I think – I'm pretty sure – I love you.” “Ooh, Teddy ...” Sweet Heart crossed her hooves. Impressed by him for having the courage to come out and say it, Sweet Heart leaned over and gave him a kiss (which lasted a little longer than she intended). “Hey guys!” Ace announced his presence. Teddy and Sweet Heart separated before he could see them. “What's up?” “Nothing.” Sweet Heart and Teddy both lied to him. “Nothing's up.” “Okay.” Mandus came into the room. “I have finished the letter.” He held up the letter, an elegant missive with an expensive-looking seal. He pulled out some black powder from his pocket. He threw the powder into the chimney, which burst into jade fire. The foals backed away from it. “ “Calm yourselves. It's quite all right.” Mandus told them. He threw the letter into the fire, which disappeared into ash. “There. That's magical fire there. It'll send the letter to her. Hopefully it'll get to her in time …” Mandus looked away from the flames and at Sweet Heart and Teddy. “I overheard you two talking while I was writing the letter. Yes, what you've done may not have the best thing. It may have even been wrong. But the important thing … the important thing is that you keep moving forward. That you keep trying to do what's right, even if you can't. I suppose that was my problem. I was … so ashamed of what I had done wrong I had no idea of trying to make it right. But you foals have opened my eyes. I will go out into the world again and seek atonement for my mistakes instead of hiding from them.” Mandus huffed. “Well, there's a load off my shoulders. Anypony up for a cup of tea?” Sweet Heart stuck her tongue out. “After the day we've had, I think I'm going to swear off tea for life.” Mandus was about to say something, but he was cut off the incessant, fear-inducing of pigs squealing in unison. “Oswald Mandus!” Twilight Sparkle screamed from outside the house. “Come out and give us the children, and we'll let you live.” “Oh dear.” Mandus said. “Better go see what that's all about.” Stepping outside, Mandus and the children saw Twilight Sparkle, all of her friends, and a small sqaud of pigs stationed outside the house, corning them and blocking all exits. “Hand over the children, Mandus.” Twilight glared at them. “And you can live.” Mandus huffed. “Why would I do that?” Mandus stepped forward. “I won't let you hurt them, you monster.” “My, my, aren't you feeling awfully heroic today.” Twilight stepped forward. “Perhaps you don't realize the extent to which I own you, Mandus.” Mandus tilted his head. “What are you talking about?” “ Surely you realized there was a reason your name was so … un-Equestrian? It's because you're not from Equestria. I'm talking about your past life, Mandus.” Twilight said. “In it, you went insane and killed your own two sons before killing yourself. It had something to do with the Orbs, so I knew you'd be a good partner for me. Using The Shadow, I plucked out your soul from thousands and brought you into Equestria as a baby. And when you had grown, I sought you out and recruited you. Ah, your vision of The Machine was such a thing of beauty!” Twilight put her hoof over her chest and looked like she was going to swoon. “Ah, a shame it was … corrupted by your reincarnation.” “I ...” Mandus stammered, unable to think with such a monumental reveal. “I had children? And I … killed them?” He put his hooves on his head as he contemplated the implications of this. “Hmph.” Twilight glicked her head up. “Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to call The Shadow. It's going to devour you four whole,leaving behind nothing. And nopony will ever know what happened to you. Let's begin, shall we?” Twilight raised the Orb in her hoof. Sweet Heart tugged on Mandus' shirt, trying to get him to defend them. “Mister Mandus, snap out of it! She's just trying to mess with your head! AGH!” Sweet Heart covered her ears as The Shadow's roar reverberated through the area. Its fleshy reside began covering the grass and ground, covering Mandus' entire lawn and beginning to engulf Mandus and the children, starting from their hooves and working its way up. “I-I guess this is it, guys!” Teddy struggled to say through the destabilizing effect of the roar. “It's been fun! I love you, Sweet Heart!” “I love you too, Teddy! And you too, Ace!” “Aww … I love you guys, too.” Ace muttered. “Guess I'll see you on the other side.” Ace gulped. A quiet hiss began seeping into his ear. “Wait ...” A growl which did not belong to The Shadow's voice, and in fact began to overpower The Shadow's own volume. The hiss rose in volume, and as it did, The Shadow's flesh-stuff began to pull back, retracting from their hooves and shrinking. “What?” Twilight and her friends were blindsided. “How? That's not possible -ARRGH!” Twilight dropped the Orb when the hiss penetrated her ear, having the same destabilizing effect on her as The Shadow did on them. A rain of golden lasers soon followed the sound, dropping from the sky and blowing craters into the ground. The lasers would have incinerated Twilight if they had manged to hit. Seeing they were outmatched and making sure to pick the Orb before leaving, Twilight ordered her regiment to retreat. They turned their tails to the house and made a beeline back to their facility. “W-what happened?” Sweet Heart wondered. “Ah.” Mandus said, looking up. “I see you got my letter.” “I came as fast I could.” The children turned their heads to see who Mandus was talking to. The children were in awed, shocked to see who Mandus had summoned to their aid. “Princess Celestia!?”