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Part 1A - The Fluttershy Effect1,451 words
Part 1B - DASH! Saviour of the Universe!2,386 words
Part 1C - The Fabulosity has been DOUBLED!1,969 words
Part 2A - We have to go Back!1,160 words
Part 2B - Doctor What?2,109 words
Part 2C - I, Pony2,354 words
Part 2.5 - Gravity, thou art a Heartless Bitch1,531 words
Part 3A - That's No Cloud City!2,685 words
Part 3B - Saving Private Sweetie2,885 words
Part 3C - Rainboom X-treme!4,511 words
Part 4A - The Punch Identity2,244 words
Part 4B - Berry Punch VS. The World4,312 words
Part 4C - Closing the Loop1,671 words
Epilogue365 words

Part 3B - Saving Private Sweetie

Part 3B: Saving Private Sweetie

It didn’t take long for the humans to discover the Cloakling Devices. They already had technology for detecting Changeling magic, and with a little modification, increasing the sensitivity, the alarms went off. Not wanting to be killed, Berry and Cliff kindly handed over their Devices, as well as Berry’s weaponry and Harkness. She convinced them it was an advanced PDA.

The originally sweet and friendly Stiggerz did a complete personality U Turn and treated them like scum. He hit them whenever he could, enjoying every moment he got to cause them pain. After about a day, the interrogations started. Almost all the different people who spoke to them blurred into one.

One that stuck out, however, was Doctor Alex Smith. Behind a pair of slim rimmed glasses were two manic, green eyes. His hair was the same as the Colonel’s, except mildly greasy. The generic lab coat he wore was too big for him at the shoulders. He always wore an expression of over enthusiastic delight.

This man was the head honcho of the Science Division of Pride Rock. The mares knew this because Doctor Smith made a point of telling them this, as if to impress, or maybe threaten them. He had a habit letting his mouth run. One of the interrogations with Berry Punch went a little bit like this:

“Hello again, Miss Punch.” Alex strolled briskly into the room, his upper class accent wondering, “How ARE you today?”

“That Stiggerz boy beat my friend in front of me… again.”

The Doctor slid a doggie bowl of water over to Berry while going on to say, “Ah, well, yes, he’ll do that,won’t he? Can’t say I blame him. Your kind brought this upon itself.”

“So you keep saying.”

“So says the facts of history, dear Berry. But, we both know all about that, and it is of course NOT what we’re here to discuss.”

“Fire away, professor.”

“First, thank you on your insight into your equipment. We had no idea your kind had advanced so much. Guns equally as deadly as our own yet so primitive looking… it is amazing what magic enhancements do… and yet we’ve never seen such a magic before. Some kind of forbidden art,perhaps? It doesn’t matter. As soon as we have permission from High Command, my colleagues and I will get to truly open those beauties up. Same goes for those disguises. Surely there is some kind of reality bending magic around them to hide their true size and contents…

“Today, however, I would like to discuss something you mentioned the day you turned up: Our secret little filly.”

“I’ve been asked about this before, and I’ve told you everything.”

“Oh, so I’ve heard, but I want to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Care to… elaborate once more?”

Berry sighed quite audibly before explaining, “Our spies discovered the remains of a long dead mare, and detected traces of former human presence. After examining the remains, they theorised that you had taken samples of DNA. The most logical reasoning behind your actions was cloning.”

“Very good. Word for word. Now here’s my response: Bull. Shit.”

“I’m sorry if you don’t like what you he-”

“Shut the fuck up and listen to ME, bitch! The others may hear the word ‘spies’ and think that’s a feasible excuse behind your knowledge, but I have a different theory. The technology we’ve confiscated over the years does not match up with yours. We are winning this war by a landslide. A slow landslide, but a landslide nevertheless. I find it hard to believe that everything we’ve seen before you came along was all a ruse.

“You, my dear, sweet, little Earth Pony… you are so unlike those savages we have been slaughtering over the years. Your eyes betray you. They do not house the utter disgust shared by the rest of your kind. You have not stopped lying to us. Now, call me crazy- you wouldn’t be the first- but I think your precious PDA does a lot more than you let on. Judging from everything I’ve learned up to this point… I would hazard a guess at… a Time Machine?”

The mare blinked.

“AHA! I knew it!”

And with that, Doctor Smith ran out of the room, ending the interrogation. Berry nervously drank her water.

Cliff Jumper was having a slightly different interrogation experience. It seemed the Colonel had developed an interest in her. Even though she now looked like an ordinary Earth Pony, it hadn’t stopped Michael from taking on the role of head interrogator for the mare. When Cliff came in, heavily bruised from her latest beating, the man called in a Medical Doctor to tend to her while they spoke.

“Do not worry about him, Cliff. He’s one of those rare doctors that takes his oath to heart, treating every living being as best he can. Of course, in our culture, a vet might be better suited, but we have had no need for them in this war.”

As usual, Cliff remained silent. She had hardly spoken in any of her interviews.

“Come now, Cliff Jumper. It’s been a week. Surely I’ve proven myself trustworthy. Isn’t there anything I can do to earn your trust once and for all?”

“Leave Equestria.”

This was one of the few things she was known to actually say.

“I don’t have any say in that matter, as I’ve told you before. Look, I can tell from your eyes that you’re not part of this war. Please, let me help you. Maybe I can find a way to send you back to wherever it is you came from. Lord knows it must be untouched by humanity.”

Cliff snorted lightly.

“Made you laugh, did I? See? No other pony I’ve encountered could laugh like that in this situation. Tell me about where you come from; what it’s like to live in peace.”

Colonel O’Neil scanned Cliff for a reaction, and saw… something. Thinking quickly, he signalled to the people watching through surveillance. Even though it was known that humans beat their captives, they could have no recorded proof of it, so as to have some plausible deniability. The Doctor left.

“No one can see or hear us now.”

Cliff whimpered.

“So feel free to speak up.”

The officer did not move from his seat. He just looked at the mare expectantly. Admittedly, Cliff had been wanting to trust this man since before now, but she kept telling herself it was all lies. She couldn’t keep to herself any longer, though.

“I-I… I come from a little town… called Ponyville.”

“Are you sure?”

“Y-yes… I realise it was probably a key target in your war… but my Ponyville… was long before that…”

She told of her life in Ponyville and Equestria. The adventures, the friends, the enemies, the mare she loved, even if that mare could be so ignorant and hurtful. She then told the tale of Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Michael believed every detail. He told Cliff about the experiment going on in the labs. The filly matched Sweetie Belle’s description.

Eventually, the Colonel left. The Doctor returned to continue tending to Cliff, and that was that. Cliff didn’t wince anymore from the Doctor’s touch, thinking on the Colonel’s last words:

“I don’t know how yet, but I’m getting you, your friend and Sweetie Belle out of here. You can count on it.

The next day, Berry and Cliff were sitting silently in their cells. They hadn’t talked to each other for a few days now. Berry was too ashamed and Cliff was normally either sleeping or being beaten. There was no clear reason why she was the only one being physically hurt, except maybe they knew they need not bother with Berry. Having to watch, unable to help, was punishment enough.

Speaking of Stiggerz, the man showed up with that demented grin. It was his shift to guard them, and that meant time for another round of pain. He unlocked the cell holding Cliff, who shuffled into a corner.

“Oh, don’t be like that, you piece of shit. I know you look forward to this. You deserve this. Take it like a man!”

One foot entered the cell, and then his entire body went sideways, spinning, blood spurting from his shoulder. Colonel Michael O’Neil stepped into view, some form of advanced rifle in his hands, held up to his face to aim. Berry recognised a silencer on the end, but was still stunned by the absolute silence with which the bullet had produced.

Stiggerz tried to get up, a hand on his wound, but his own officer fired two more shots, one in the leg and one in the chest. The young soldier fell back and started coughing up blood.

“Per- *cough* Permission to… *cough cough* speak, Sir?”

“Granted.”

“Fuck *cough* Fuck *cough*... Fuck you…”

A fourth bullet penetrated Stiggerz’ skull.

“Insubordinate prick.”

Another shot was fired and Berry’s cell opened up. The Colonel reached up to his chest and yanked something downwards. All of a sudden, he was in full combat gear with two large bags on his back, and a Cloakling Device in his hand.

Tossing the Device to Berry, he commented, “Real handy gear you got there, Miss Punch.”

“Thank you,” said the mare as she donned it and became human again.

“You’re welcome. I managed to get all your stuff, as well as some Combat Armour for the two of you. Seeing as I just got away with picking everything up in plain sight, I’m going to assume those disguises can make your weaponry look human?”

“Yes.”

Cliff found the other Device, became human, then joined Berry in rummaging through the bags. While they changed, O’Neil kept a gun levelled on the exit.

“I should add that someone caught on to my plans and informed the General. They’re searching for me right now. Without your disguise, they’ll detect me. That and Stiggerz won’t stay dead for long.”

“What?” Both ponies exclaimed.

“The cloning technology Sweetie Belle will use to keep Rarity alive already exists as a means to reduce fatalities in battle. It’s slow and can malfunction, but it’s better than just letting soldiers die. I managed to disable Pride Rock’s cloning facility, but there are backups all over Equestria in our other bases.”

“Well buck,” Cliff said while she examined a human hand gun. “Also, if you don’t mind, I’ll refrain from shooting people.”

Michael started to complain, “But you need to defe-”

Berry cut in, “She doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to. She’ll just have to go in the middle. I’ll cover our backs.”

“Fine, have it your way. I have a friend who’s on the bridge. He’ll try to give us warnings of enemy movement. You two ready?”

Helmets were donned, visors blacking over. The women nodded.

“Alright. We might be able to pass as troops helping with the search, but be prepared for anything. Move out!”

Three soldiers inconspicuously marched out of the brig and proceeded to head through corridor after corridor, down stairwell after stairwell, single file. It almost seemed like they might reach their next destination without trouble.

“Incoming! Both sides!” a new voice shouted through the helmets’ speakers.

Ten soldiers, five in front, five behind, arrived and aimed their rifles at the traitors.

“Sir,” said one of them. “Please, hand yourself in. We don’t want to shoot you, sir.”

“Ah, they sent my own men to stop me.” The Colonel sighed, “Berry, open fire.”

The mare pulled the trigger on her own rifle, all the while Michael’s rifle’s silencer split in four, slid backwards and the rifle went loud, gunning down his own people.

When the last of them fell, Michael muttered, “I thought I told them never to hesitate.”

The trio continued, this time having to pause frequently, coming under fire at every twist and turn. The two soldiers of the small party received the odd nick on their armour, but nothing serious. The first couple of confrontations made Cliff put hands to her helmet in an attempt to block the noise. So much gunfire. But, after some time, she grew used to it, and would instead keep a watchful eye on the other two, prepared in case one were to fall.

It took a lot of time and effort, but the three of them made it to the labs. Most of the scientists hid away, the soldiers left to defend them taken down in an instant. Doctor Alex Smith, however, stood in the way of the coded lock for Sweetie Belle’s big glass box home. The filly sat, lazily watching the scene unravel before her.

Colonel O’Neil ordered, “Move it, poindexter!”

“Allow me,” offered Berry, spinning a revolver in her hand.

With one hard swing, she hit Alex under the chin with the butt of her revolver, breaking his jaw and sending him tumbling to the side. The man couldn’t speak from the injury, and instead babbled painfully.

“You wanted to see the inside workings of my guns, right?”

The second revolver was drawn, and Berry stood over the scientist, lowering herself so as to rest the ends of the barrels on his eyes, keeping his eyelids from closing. Her own eyes were filled with such coldness..

“Ask and you shall receive.”

Cliff turned away just before the guns went off. To distract herself, she helped the Colonel with Sweetie. The man cursed.

“They already started the brainwashing. She’s in a highly suggestive state. Cliff, find the files on her, see if you can’t find out what the trigger word is to get her out of it.”

While she did that, Berry suggested, “Don’t use it straight away. She had no recollection of anyone’s involvement when she told of her escape.”

“You’re the boss.”

“Found it!”

The file, titled Private Sweetie Belle, was tucked away. Michael broke the box open and picked up the filly, handing her to Cliff. They turned to go, only to find Major General Francis Ham and a dozen soldiers blocking their way. A guilty looking man stood with the General, one of the soldiers pointing a rifle into his side.

This man had short, dark brown hair (an apparently common trait amongst humans), gelled up a little at the front, and hazel eyes. His five o’clock shadow gave a slight scruffy look to him. The clothes, standard monochromatic shirt,trousers and belt, looked a tad baggy. There was a tear where his ID badge would have been.

“Your friend here messed with our vessel’s shields, blocking our respawn signals. We have our best working to fix the problem, but it is quite the pain in the backside.”

“I’m sorry, Mike.”

“It’s alright, Bruce. You did good.”

Berry and Michael placed their weapons on the ground and kicked them away. Francis smiled.

“Oh good. Was wondering if I’d have to tell you to do that. You’re not complete idiots after all.”

“That’s always good, isn’t it, sir?”

“Oh, my poor Mikey, how you have fallen. You were so close to another promotion. Isn’t it just horrible how you sabotaged yourself twice in one day?”

“What on Earth are you talking about?”

“Of course, you don’t know about it do you? You were very good at hiding your plans, you know. No one suspected a thing. Not a soul.”

“Someone must have beca-”

“Not a SINGLE soul… except... you.”

“What!?”

The General shook his head in pity, tutting. He strode forward and placed a hand on the Colonel’s shoulder.

“You were going to be a General, my friend. As such, we had to make sure you were one hundred percent with us.”

The other hand flashed into view, jabbing a needle in the Colonel’s arm, penetrating the armour.

“Lucky for you, this procedure is so successful, we won’t need to kill you. Soon you’ll understand your mistake and be the very person who silences these insolent beasts.”

The needle was discarded, and a pistol was placed in Colonel O’Neil’s hands.

“Do your species proud.”

With a hand on each shoulder, Francis moved Michael to his side and directed him towards the ponies. Michael’s arm shook and lifted the pistol slowly. The man grunted in pain as something malicious swirled around his mind, corrupting him.

“Yes, that’s the spirit!”

An evil cackling filled the Colonel’s ears, deafening him to the General. There was little of his true self still left. The arm stopped shaking, trained on Cliff. Her visor had cleared up. Their eyes met. There was no fear. There was no confusion. There was only trust.

“Night will reign eternal.”

In one smooth, unhesitant movement, Colonel Michael O’Neil put the gun to his own head and fired.

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