Chapter 4: Asylum
Lost and Fallen
Chapter 4: Asylum
The sky was littered with brilliant stars. Each one similar, yet different. It was all I could stare at as I sat on top of the bunker entrance, my feet dangling over the edge. My right hand was occupied with the newly lit cigarette, while the other was resting on my lap. Twilight and Applejack were inside, probably fuming over the arguement that I had, admittedly, started.
“Not my fault they can’t understand humans,” I growled as I inhaled from my cigarette.
Still, the situation kept repeating over and over in my head, like a horrible nightmare. I wondered how they thought of me now, but my mind would not stop replaying the events. “And to think,” I mumbled, “it all started with a good plan...”
{~+~}
“A friend nearby?” I asked, wondering if I had heard right.
“Yeah,” Twilight said as she was overlooking the small map of the area around Ponyville; which was laid out on the coffee table. “It’s Pinkie Pie.”
“You mean the friend that went crazy?” I deadpanned; she was going after that friend first?
Nodding, Twilight pointed with a hoof at a spot on the map. I leaned down to get a closer look, and saw she was indicating an area north of Ponyville. Even if we were headed for this ‘Pinkie Pie’, it was a relief to know we wouldn’t have to travel far.
“From my calculations, it should be about fourteen miles away,” she explained, while staring ahead, presumably doing the math in her head. “That’s about a day’s travel.”
“Fourteen miles?” I responded with disbelief. I’d walked long distances before, but if that place was that far away, finding Twilight’s other friends would be a lot more challenging.
“Yeah, not a problem,” she replied gleefully, causing me to furrow my brow at her. She saw it and looked at me with a blank expression. “What?”
“Nothing,” I said, rubbing my eyes. “So, what exactly are we heading for?”
Twilight faced the map again, all cheerfulness gone. “It’s an asylum Princess Celestia built for all the traumatized ponies during the war. We’ve... never had death so prominent, and many ponies didn’t take it so well.”
“Figured as much,” I whispered, standing straight to stretch out my legs. “Here’s another question: why is it in the middle of nowhere?”
Twilight’s ears folded back as she looked away. “Princess Celestia didn’t want to risk the poor, mentally unstable ponies to hurt others,” she replied quietly, “and she also didn’t want morale to diminish everytime ponies saw the building.”
“War strategies,” I mumbled idly, rubbing my chin, “are you sure there was no other war before this one?”
Twilight shook her head solemnly as Applejack entered the room with a bowl of apples on her back. “Not from any book I’ve read,” she answered, “Princess Celestia wouldn’t talk about her past much.”
“Not even to you?” I inquired as Applejack placed the bowl on the coffee table, “Her most faithful student?”
Applejack sat down beside Twilight, an apple in her hoof, and answered the question with a slight chuckle, “Kinda surprised us too.”
Using her magic, Twilight levitated an apple from the bowl. Before Twilight could take a bite, however, she froze, as if having a sudden revelation.
“Uh, you alright?” I asked carefully, looking her over.
She narrowed her eyes at me as she said, “How do you know that Princess Celestia called me that?”
Well, that was one question that I was able to find the answer to myself. Of course, it was just a guess, and I really didn’t know - yet she verified it for me easily. “I found a letter that was addressed to you, back in Ponyville,” I answered, jabbing a thumb behind me to the figurative town.
Twilight’s suspicious demeanor changed quickly, as she was utterly surprised. “You found a letter?” She asked, her face lighting up. I gave a small nod, reaching into my pocket while we all ate our apples; just as juicy as the one back at Sweet Apple Acres. I retrieved the letter, but before I could place it on the coffee table, Twilight grasped it in her magic and hovered it over to her face, reading intently.
After a few seconds, she looked over the letter to me, an eyebrow raised, “That’s strange how you found my letter after all this time.
“If you think that’s strange,” I replied darkly, my eyes to the floor, “then you should see things from my perspective.”
That shut her up, as she averted her eyes and Applejack, of course, narrowed her eyes at me. I gave a quick smirk while the only noise in the room was the three of us eating our food, lost in our own thoughts.
I wished I had my weapons back, I always felt comfortable with them, and with a dangerous place like this, I wanted them more than ever. “Can I have my guns back?” I asked suddenly; no point in beating around the bush.
Twilight looked over to Applejack, and she shook her head. I had a feeling that Applejack was saying some nasty stuff behind my back. Facing me again, Twilight smiled apologetically, “Sorry, Nolan, but I think it’s for the best if we kept them for now.”
I squeezed my apple tightly, keeping my anger in check. As I’ve said, I feel weak if I’m at a disadvantage, and this was definitely one of those moments. “I want my stuff, now,” I seethed.
Twilight swallowed, but Applejack didn’t back down. “She said no, Nolan,” she reminded me bitterly, tossing her apple core into a nearby bin.
“And I said I want them back,” I shot back, “Why can’t I have them?”
“I... W-Well, we decided that-” Twilight started hesitantly.
“We wanted to make sure ya wouldn’t kill Twilight with ‘em,” Applejack finished, nodding for emphasise.
“God dammit, Applejack,” I growled loudly, slapping a hand over my face, “You’re stubborn as a mule!”
“Well, you’re not wrong,” Twilight muttered.
“Ya still have no proof that you’re really from another world,” she said rather calmly, pointing an accusatory hoof at me. “You’re friendliness could just be a big trick.”
“It isn’t a damn trick!” I shouted, my anger let loose, “I don’t have proof for crap! What the hell do you want from me!? What did those humans ever do to you!?”
“A lot of things,” she said slowly and surely, like it was a matter of fact. I ran a hand through my hair, my eyes closed tightly in agitation.
“Fuck this,” I grumbled, storming out of the door for the exit. The ponies didn’t try to stop me, nor even utter a word. I was somewhat glad of that, I might have hurt them if they had.
{~+~}
Taking a drag from my cigarette, I knew I could’ve handled it better, yet my old habits got in the way. Still, I figured I deserved to have my weapons, especially Vera. Emma would have wanted me to hold on to it.
Just thinking about Emma and that dream I had gave me shivers. God I missed her, even a year after her death. I still beat myself up over it. Everyone always tells me that I couldn’t do anything about it, and that’s exactly why I beat myself about it. I couldn’t do a damn thing.
My train of thought was broken when the door below me opened, and light streamed into the darkness, showing the shadow of a pony. The pony walked out and revealed itself to be Applejack, and she had my weapons in her saddle bag. That was a surprise to me, and I would’ve called out right away, but I didn’t want to startle her. She stepped forward slightly, looking around anxiously.
“Uh, Nolan?” she called, taking a few more steps into the open. “Where are ya?”
“Up here,” I replied quietly. My strategy worked, and she didn’t freak out. Instead, she slowly turned to me with curiosity, and I gave a lazy wave at her. She didn’t say anything from there, and instead walked up around the incline to the side and sat on her haunches to my right. She took out my weapons and placed them on the ground gently, which caused me to raise a brow.
“Why the sudden change of heart?” I inquired, taking another puff from my cigarette.
Playing with her hooves, she replied, “It felt right. I sort of trust ya, but I guess I am stubborn. My pride always got in the way in the past, and it got in the way now.”
“Pride,” I mulled over, my gaze skyward. “That would make sense.”
“So,” Applejack started, looking over to my weapons, “Why are these so important for ya?”
A smirk showed on my face as I reached over for one particular gun, my revolver. I held it above my lap, checking it over as I spoke, “Just this one, mostly. It’s very important to me.”
“Did a friend give it to ya or somethin’?” She asked obviously, forcing me to give a quick sigh.
“More than a friend,” I clarified, throwing open the cylinder to check the ammunition inside; full as when I loaded it. “My… girlfriend.”
“Ya have a girlfriend?” Applejack asked incredulously. I was willing to bet that she had doubts that anyone would be interested in me.
“Not anymore; She’s gone,” I replied darkly.
“Oh,” she said, facing away as her ears drooped, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“I don’t know about you, so I’d say we’re even,” I replied half-heartedly; I already got enough sympathy from the police station.
“I suppose you’re right,” she nodded, “Maybe I can tell you when I’m ready?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Then I can do the same?”
She gave a smile back, and I blinked with shock dominating my face. That was a rare sight for me, she saw my stunned expression and chuckled. “Yeah,” she said after a few laughs, “then we can understand each other.”
“Sounds good to me,” I laughed, taking another drag from my cigarette. Applejack eyed my cigarette as I did so, I suppose they wouldn’t be familiar with something like it.
“It’s a cigarette,” I explained, holding it up as it was nearly finished. “When it burns, it releases smoke that the user inhales.”
“Isn’t smoke bad for ya?” she asked, tilting her head to the side while lifting a hoof.
“It sure is,” I said with a shrug, flicking away the stub.
“Then why do ya use it?”
“It helps me get through tough times,” I said with a distant expression. Applejack quieted down after that, laying down on her stomach. We just sat there, staring off into the twinkling sky. We could plan when to leave and which direction to go later. At that moment, nothing else really mattered. Just the endless sky, and the large moon.
{~+~}
At some point, Applejack and I went back inside to rest. Sleeping on the couch was no big deal, but Twilight was fretting about my wounds. She was really oblivious to what the humans did to her kind. I think she saw that I wasn’t part of them, but it worried me more than it should. All in all, the bed wasn’t too bad, I wished my couch was half as comfy.
The worst part was the nightmare I had. It was an exact repeat from last time, with Emma calling out my name and me waking up in cold sweat. I couldn’t understand why these dreams were so prevalent suddenly. And why were the dreams an almost exact copies of each other? Whatever the reason, I didn’t sleep well at all.
The next morning was deathly quiet as we all got up and gathered what we would need for the trip. Though waking up early might be the reason for the silence, I think it was last night’s argument that shut all of us up; we just weren’t ready to speak with each other yet.
The food in Twilight’s bunker was strange: just apples. I understood that she was from Ponyville, so she would love apples, but how did they stay preserved for months? I guess saying ‘magic’ would answer half the questions I had, but that just seemed lazy. Twilight packed more than I thought was possible, sporting a very light blue saddle bag with her own Cutie Mark as a buckle. Everybody must have their own personal saddlebags.
Hours pass by, and the landscape that had once enchanted me was ruined by the sweltering sun. How I didn’t feel it last time was a mystery to me, but now it was burning hot, especially with my mask on. I spoke my discontent aloud, and Applejack gave me a strange look as she trotted to my side.
“Why do you wear that mask all the time anyway?” she asked, “It must be a mite hot with it on.”
I scratched the back of my neck as I thought of an answer. Why did I have it on a lot of the time? It wasn’t really necessary. However, when I thought about it, the answer clicked. “It hides my identity,” I replied, but it wasn’t really enough, as even Twilight was giving me funny looks. “The other people here only recognize me with my mask on.”
“So, you’re like a masked vigilante like in one of my books!” Twilight summed up with a smile.
“That’s one way to put it,” I agreed reluctantly; next she’s going to say I’m a superhero. “But I won’t be recognized by the others without it, so I can navigate cities without getting out my revolver.”
“How did you manage that?” Twilight asked with a tilted head.
“Dumb luck,” I shrugged while pulling out a piece of paper. I handed it to Twilight who took it in her magic and unfurled it to reveal my Wanted poster.
“Five hundred bits!?” she shouted, forcing me to jump back with a curse as we all halted in our tracks. “How did you get five hundred bits on you?!”
“Jeez,” I commented harshly, rubbing the ear that was closest to her, “keep it down, will ya?”
“Do you know how much that is?” she inquired hysterically, to which I shook my head. “That’s enough for a month’s worth of apples!”
I wasn’t sure how to respond to that - Sure, there were probably a dozen choices which I could’ve said on the spot, but something about that sentence caught me off guard.
“Sugarcube,” Applejack walked over to her, “I told you, he… killed other humans.”
“What!?” She remarked quickly with complete surprise. That was what was stopping me - how shocked she was about my bounty. Didn’t Applejack fill her in?
“I told you last night,” Applejack reminded.
“Oh,” she said simply and quietly, feeling ashamed. “Now I remember.”
She chuckled nervously; well that explained that.
“Come on, let’s keep moving,” I said, gesturing forward. The two ponies looked over and gave a firm nod as they took the lead. I had no idea where we were heading - even with the map - so it was for the best that they showed me the way.
{~+~}
The sun had reached the crest of its movement, when Twilight called out to us, “There it is!”
Looking over, I couldn’t believe it was a functional building. It was large, that was obvious, about three stories tall and twice as wide. Many of the glass windows - which had metal bars outside of them - had burst open, and the few that were still intact had many cracks. The walls were scuffed up by the elements, and faded paint covered them. A stone wall surrounded the building with a wooden gate, and a noticeable piece of cloth was hanging out of a second-story window.
I didn’t say anything, though, and instead briskly walked to the building, passing through the gate, with the two ponies hot on my trail. “In a rush, are we?” Applejack snarled, but i didn’t care as I neared the wooden double doors.
“The sooner we find your friends, the better,” I responded as my hand landed on the door handle. As she groaned I pulled on the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. I gave it another tug but nothing. Gripping it with both hands, I used all my strength to open the doors. The doors opened slightly, but not enough for even a mouse to squeeze through.
“What the…” I whispered as I backed away to see the problem. It was quite obvious; a piece of rope was wrapped around both handles. That I had missed it was embarrassing to say the least.
“What in tarnation,” Applejack mumbled when she saw the same thing. “Who did that?”
“Humans trying to keep something in?” Twilight suggested, a hoof rubbing her chin.
“Well, they’re in for a rude awakening,” I announced, unsheathing the knife attached to my shoulder. Flipping my hold on it, I cut the rope with ease and returned the blade. I pulled again and the door came open, with a terrifying surprise.
A dead human body, which apparently had been leaning against the doors, fell forward, causing the three of us to backpedal quickly in horror. We were speechless as we examined the body from a distance. It looked smashed in, with cuts and gashes all over it. It was also rotted, if the smell was any indicator.
“What…” Twilight squeaked out, backing away still. This would be her first sight of a rotting corpse. Kneeling down, I checked it out while scrunching up my nose. Boy, did it stink!
“I can’t tell what the cause of death was, but it seems obvious that-” I cut myself off as I looked into the hallway that the door opened up into. Three other bodies, all with the same gruesome abuse, were there.
“Oh my… goodness…” Twilight whispered before falling to her stomach shivering uncontrollably. Even Applejack was having the shakes. I’ve never seen either pony behave this way. Facing the interior again, I noted that it was very dark in there, with only the few rays of sunlight to show me that there was more to the room.
“Your friend, Pinkie Pie… is in there?” I asked as I stood up and pointed inside; I could feel the trace of fear in my voice.
“Yes,” Applejack whispered quickly, as if saying the word would release all hell.
Something went down here, that was an undeniable fact. But what killed these people? Something that humans had to lock in. I decided to keep my guesses under control until I figured out what happened. I turned to the two ponies who were scared out of their minds. They wouldn’t go inside even if they were forced. Which only meant one thing.
“I’ll go in alone,” I said, unholstering my revolver and grasping it tightly. There was no refute from either pony, though I swear I heard Twilight say something about insanity. Swallowing a lump that was forming in my throat, I warily stepped over the bodies of the deceased and made my way through the hallway.
The first thing I found out about the place was how cold it was. The building barely had any sunlight and the heating system of the building must have been offline for awhile. I wasn't complaining though, it felt good. Luckily, the hallway was straight most of the time. At some point, I saw a message written on the wall in blood. It was quite large in font, and the implications that ponies wrote it was just scary:
A mind is a terrible thing to waste
I’m sure that had nothing to do with this asylum.
My trip led me to an intersection, and it would put me completely out of view of my only known exit. Sucking it up, I continued to the right, revolver at the ready.
There was the occasional bloody body, but it barely deterred me. What gave me second thoughts was the sound. There wasn’t any. Not a peep could be heard throughout the entire building. If there was anyone inside, I would be able to hear them, especially with it being so damn quiet.
There was so many rooms that I had to be wary of potential ambushes. My training told me to check each room carefully, but in the darkness, I may have skipped a few. Most of the rooms were padded cells, but what worried me was that they were empty. Not a body or anything.
Eventually, I entered some sort of office. The body of another human was hunched over a small wooden desk. There was nothing major to note in the room, but when I was about to leave, my eyes glanced over a piece of paper on the floor.
Picking it up while the dirt slid off, I read what it said:
Dear Hale,
I hoped there was a way for my little ponies to return to their original selves the normal way. However, based on the information you gathered and your recommendation, I see no other way. Please note that I do not want the Psychonas Potion dispersed to the patients until it is certified that it will cause no side effects. Especially for the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie. Leave her for last, as I still have faith that she will return to her old self on her own. Just give her time. I thank you for your efforts and I await the results of the patients.
-Princess Celestia
P.S. Give my regards to Dusty Hall, and a raise, since he’s working a fair amount of overtime.
Another letter by the Princess, and this time she contacted the pony who I assume was the doctor in charge of this asylum. But what happened when this ‘potion’ was given to the patients? And when did the humans get involved? Folding the letter up, I put it in my pocket with the rest, and made my way out. I still had work to do.
As I left the room, I heard silent skittering to the right of me. While cursing under my breath, I aimed my revolver in the direction of the noise, but I only saw a piece of metal leaning crooked against the wall. It swayed slightly, giving off a low metallic thud every time it hit the wall. Was I hearing things? That seemed unlikely, as I’ve never had a problem with my ears before. Though there was a first time for everything.
Taking a shaky breath, I turned back to the hallway and followed the signs to the stairs, and while I climbed them, I had this nagging feeling that I was being followed. I had had enough of this building already and I wanted to find Pinkie as fast as possible, if she was still alive.
As I reached the second floor, I began to hear a faint noise. As I continued, I realized it was a voice. I walked down another hallway with patient rooms on the sides until the voice became distinguishable. That’s when I realized it wasn’t someone speaking, but singing…
Hush now, quiet now
It’s time to lay your sleepy head...
Hush now, quiet now
It’s time to go to bed…
Drifting off to sleep
Exciting day behind you…
Drifting off to sleep
Let the joy of dreamland find you…
The way it softly echoed throughout the dark and desolate halls was like a scene out of a horror movie. Needless to say, I was scared shitless, which was a first. The singer kept repeating the lyrics and the tone did not change in pitch for even a second. Like it was practiced. Not only that, but I heard more rustling behind me, though I didn’t bother to turn around.
“I gotta get out of here,” I mumbled, knowing that there was no chance I would find Pinkie in a place like this. Just as I turned around to head back, something screamed and slammed into my face. The screaming continued as whatever attacked me continued its assault, two hard surfaces slamming into my face over and over. I shoved whatever it was off, and it yelped as it landed on the ground hard. I faced whatever it was, revolver pointed at it.
It was a pony. A pony in a broken straight jacket.
I paused just for a moment at that piece of info, and it gave the pony another chance to jump me. Thankfully, I shook off my hesitation and shot a bullet through the skull, killing him instantly. The bang from my revolver echoed through the building, but it did not disrupt whoever was singing. Second after second, I waited for something to happen; I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be good.
Then I heard a scream, then another, and another. There were so many ponies screaming that it was deafening. And the worse part was that it was coming from all around me. Almost as one, the crazy ponies crawled out from wherever they were hiding, twitching slightly and muttering to themselves. All of them had broken straight jackets on, and a few had a knives clenched in their drooling mouths. They were literally coming out of everywhere: the doors, the ends of the hallway, and the ventilation. All the while, the mare was still singing.
Knowing quickly that I would need some breathing space, I ran down the hallway, kicking a pony that was in my way. The others gave chase, but my long strides were able to outpace them for the moment. When I was at a reasonable distance, I whipped around and began shooting at anything that moved. I saw a few bodies fall, but there were still too many.
I continued running back, taking a few bullets out of my vest pouches as I reloaded. It wasn’t easy to run at full speed while delicately putting bullets in my revolver, but I made it work. Their endurance was quickly overcoming my speed, and I was growing tired. This meant that I couldn’t afford to stop and shoot again. I aimed my revolver over my left shoulder at the nearest pony while maintaining my speed the best I could. I fired, and he tumbled back. Another one jumped at me, but I was able to shoot it as well before it landed on me.
Facing forward again, I saw that there were two sets of stairs coming up; one going up and the other down. I intended to get out of this place, so I headed for the stairs going down, however, just before I reached them, I could see other crazy ponies make their way up. Thinking on my feet, I veered away from that set of stairs and climbed upward to the third floor. Now, I was trapped; if I couldn’t find another set of stairs or something soon, I would be smashed to a pulp by these ponies.
I repeated the movement of reloading and running, albeit a lot slower, and almost paid the price as one of the crazies was able to lodge a knife on my lower leg. I gave a small grunt of pain as I gritted my teeth. I kicked off the pony, but the knife remained, so now I was limping as fast as I could.
The hoard was still after me, and I was running out of options very fast. With little else to do, I holstered my revolver, got out my shotgun and blasted two ponies who were a little too close. After pumping my shotgun, I shot at another pony a bit further away as I backed away. Pumping and shooting another pony, I knew I was nearing a dead end, with only a door as my salvation. When I had the opportunity, I swung open the door, jumped in, and slammed it shut.
I saw a lock, thankfully, and hastily slid it in place. My lungs were on fire, as well as my leg, and I reached down and pulled out the knife with a grimace. I hate it when someone does that. Tossing the knife to the side, I fell to my knees as I listened for the crazy ponies. There was still muttering, but strangely, they weren’t trying to enter. And the singing had ceased as well. Thinking nothing of it, I rested my head against the cushioned door and allowed myself a break.
That’s when the occupant of the room jumped on my back, hooves pressed against my throat as I dropped my shotgun. I swung around blindly, trying to knock the pony off. Feeling myself losing consciousness, I ran backwards and slammed the pony into the wall. There was a whine and the pony released me, sliding along the wall to the floor as I stumbled forward. I coughed a few times and rubbed my throat tenderly; it was worse than having human hands strangling me.
“That’s it,” I growled as I unholstered my revolver again, turning around slowly, “Now I’m really-”
I stared at the pony with my revolver aiming at her head. She was shivering and facing away with eyes closed. I couldn’t believe who I was seeing; I was told that she would be pink, as her name implies, but I had thought it was an exaggeration. Sure enough, she was pink all over.
Pinkie Pie.
Her mane and tail were a dark shade of pink while her coat was a slightly lighter pink. Both her mane and tail were straight as an arrow, which made her pretty damn creepy. She had a few stray spots of blood around her hooves, but that was probably from simply walking around.
“Are you… Pinkie PIe?” I asked, lowering my revolver. She opened one eye to see that I wasn’t threatening her any more, then glared at me.
“N-No,” she responded, “I’m Pinkamena Diane Pie.”
“Then why do your friends call you Pinkie Pie?”
She gave a nervous spasm for a moment, before narrowing her eyes at me. “I don’t have any friends, they all abandoned me in this place,” she explained, facing away with a scowl.
I scratched my neck awkwardly, this was confusing. “Right, whatever,” I replied, throwing my hand in the air. “Let’s just leave.”
“Leave!?” Pinkie shouted, like I had given a preposterous plan. “You can’t just leave! Nopony can leave!”
She looked down at her hooves with sadness, “Nopony…”
We stood in silence as I looked around the room. There was a metal-framed bed that sat underneath a barred window with a bit of food stashed underneath it, and a toilet in the corner of the room. Facing Pinkie again, I saw how exhausted and skinny she looked. It must have been rough staying in place like this.
“How long have you been here?” I inquired walking over to the window; my leg flared up but I ignored it.
“How long since humans started the invasion?” she shot back.
“I guess it would be three months ago.”
“Then that’s how long I was here.”
Sighing, I looked out the window at into the golden fields. There was no question that she was crazy, but the question is why she hasn’t lost her lid completely yet. The other ponies were deadly and out for blood, yet here she was, just barely holding on. What factor had her stay like this for so long?
That’s when I remembered the letter I picked up. I swiveled on the spot and crossed my arms, as I pondered whether to ask. I decided fairly quickly, “Have you heard anything about a potion?”
She flinched at the mere mention of it, and looked around quickly, as if searching for someone who was listening. “That… thing that they gave the others?” she questioned trotting over to the bed as she scrounged through it.
“Yeah,” I answered, watching her every move, “I read something about it helping the patients here.”
“Lies!” she shouted suddenly, putting her forehooves on her bed. “All lies!”
“I’m guessing it didn’t work.”
“The potion didn’t save ponies,” Pinkie explained with a shake of her head. “It did for a while, but it made the ponies go even more crazy.”
“I bet you never took any of it.”
“No,” she replied in a hushed manner, “‘too dangerous’, they said, ‘humans coming’, they said.”
I walked over to my shotgun and picked it up, looking it over to see if it was damaged in anyway. “So the humans came when they were giving the potions,” I assumed, “and this potion helped ponies for a little while, but eventually caused them to worsen. Then the doctors and guards fled when the humans arrived, leaving the patients here. Fucking cowards.”
Pinkie didn’t object, but she didn’t agree either, causing me to give a long sigh. After attaching the shotgun to my back, I walked over to her and stood behind her, a hand reaching out to her. It nearly touched her shoulder, but I stopped myself short. She probably didn’t want to be comforted by a human. If the ponies have one thing in common, it’s that they hate my species’ guts.
“Pinkie, we need to go,” I said quietly. She didn’t say a word, her gaze glued to the window that allowed sunlight to shine in. “We need your help to get me home and-”
“Kill this human, now!” she suddenly shouted, causing me to jerk my head back.
“We can’t kill him,” Pinkie denied afterwards. Wait, what? “He just went through all of them, why should he die?”
“But he’s only in it for himself!” she shouted again. Was she arguing with herself?
“I know he has a selfish reason for doing this,” Pinkie said to no one again, “he just told us.”
“Us?” I repeated; she must have split personalities.
“Then why won’t you kill him?!” she shrieked.
“Because…” she mumbled in reply to herself - this was too weird. Silence followed, and Pinkie dipped her head low. Then she began sobbing softly. Sure, she tried to cover it up the best she could by laying her head on the bed and rubbing her eyes, but she was sobbing nonetheless. “...I’m tired of all this sadness and depression! I don’t want any more death!”
I lowered my head, thinking hard about the words that weren’t even addressed to me. I was used to death by now, taking it from those who hardly deserved to live. But what of someone who had seen the aftermath of a battle, when that pony has never even seen someone die, especially with someone who likes to make others smile? I understood Pinkie a bit more.
“Pinkie,” I said sternly, causing her to drop off the bed and turn to me with a few tears falling down her cheeks. She attempted to wipe them away, but before she could look up, I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug. She didn’t move, but that made me want to hug her more. I hadn’t hugged anyone like this since Emma, but Pinkie deserved it.
She needed someone, right then and there.
Eventually, Pinkie leaned her head against my shoulder, reaching her hooves around as far as possible. “I’m sorry about all this, Pinkie,” I apologized, even though I did nothing wrong.
“I hate your kind so much!” she hissed, and a more tears fell from her eyes.
“Yeah, I know,” I responded gently, finally pulling away. She gave a shaky sigh, as she made for the door. I was about to ask what she was about to do, but she simply unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Whoa, Pinkie wait!”
I sprinted forward grabbed her by each side of her flank. She squealed and resisted immediately as I pulled her back. When I released her, she turned towards me with narrowed eyes, “Don’t touch me!”
I ignored her and closed the door hastily, making sure that no ponies were nearby at the same time. Weirdly enough, there wasn’t any at all. “You could’ve gotten us killed,” I explained, re-locking the door, “It’s not exactly peaceful out there.”
Pinkie grew worried, “Yeah, I know. That’s why I have the lock.”
That was confusing for me; why would there be a lock inside a cell? “I installed it a while back, so they wouldn’t slip inside while I slept,” she explained.
“Still,” I said, eyeing the door, “It must be hard to sleep in a place like this.”
“I know,” she agreed, a single tear shedding from an eye. “That’s why I sing myself to sleep.”
“Sing yourself…?” I repeated, “You were the one singing?”
She gave a small nod, and I rubbed my temples tiredly; that solved one concern. Looking at the door again, I knew we had zero chance of getting out alive. Hell, I hardly made it there in one piece. “Maybe we can go out the window?” She suggested like she read my mind, pointing a hoof at it. Then she shook her head, “No, no, that won’t work. Those bars would get in the way.”
Eyeing the window, I saw the bars she was indicating and a solution struck me. “Well, Pinkie, we might actually be able to go through the window,” I assured, hopping on the bed as I looked out. It had no glass, unlike the other windows, so I clenched the bars tightly to not fall off, and hollered, “Twilight!”
I waited a few seconds for a response, but when none came, I repeated her name again. Then I heard someone exclaim, “Nolan?”
“Twilight! Up here!” I replied, “At the window!”
Hearing the distant sound of fluttering wings, I braced myself to see a pony fly for the first time, if their wings were capable of flight. Sure enough, Twilight came around the corner of the asylum, her wings spread out. It was elegant, I had to say, seeing something that would normally be impossible laid out before me. I shook off my stupor and put my concentration back on the situation.
“Over here, Twilight,” I said, waving a hand through the bars. She saw me and flew over to the window, hovering just behind it.
“Hello, Nolan,” she said as pleasantly as she could, but I see that she still felt disgusted by the dead bodies from earlier. “Did you find Pinkie Pie yet?”
“It’s Pinkamena Diane Pie!” Pinkie snapped, making Twilight’s mouth gape open.
“Is that…?” she asked, but seemed too out of breath to finish.
“It’s Pinkie,” I reassured, giving a glance over to Pinkie who was staring intently at the ground. “She’s just… not herself, I guess.”
Twilight looked very saddened by this, “And it was because of the humans?”
I faced her, almost feeling myself giving her a blank stare, “I don’t think I need to answer that.”
Twilight swallowed, and opened her mouth, but I knew exactly what she was going to say. “As I’ve said, I don’t know why humans did this,” I interrupted, causing her to close her mouth quickly. “Now just use your magic to get these bars off and fly us out of here.”
“Can’t you just… walk out?” she inquired with a tilt of her head. She seemed reluctant, like she knew the answer already.
“Not an option,” I respond, “I’ll explain once we’re out of here.”
Twilight gave a nod, and her horn held the aura of her magic as the bars shared the same. In an instant the bars disappeared, and I backed away as I went over to Pinkie, who still hadn’t moved since I began my conversation with Twilight. “You first, Pinkie,” I instruct, gesturing towards the window.
She slowly looked up to me with wonder, her eyes wide. “I can… leave?” she asked in a disbelieving tone.
“Yes, you can… Pinkie,” Twilight whispered, probably not believing that she had found a friend after so long. This caused Pinkie to stay frozen at her spot. Her head swiveled to Twilight, who had a sad smile. Then, she returned the smile, albeit a very small one, and trotted over to the bed, hopped up, and slinked her way through the window. It wasn’t too big, but it was enough for even myself to fit through.
Twilight carefully scooped Pinkie up by her armpits, and began to slowly descend to the ground. I watched from the window, until I heard an unwelcoming sound. Someone slamming into the locked door. I turned to it dramatically - not on purpose - and hoped that whatever did that would walk away. Another slam. Crap.
Even after two slams, the lock looked liked it was about to give; it wasn’t a very strong one. I got out my revolver and pointed it at the door, wishing Twilight would hurry up. Another slam from behind the door. The lock was on its last legs. Another slam and a pony burst through the door, and I gave him a bullet through the skull as a reward. Other crazy ponies swarmed into the room, but I was able to kill all of them quickly; having only one place for them to enter. I was so focused on killing each pony that came through, that I forgot to reload my revolver. So it came as a shock when it clicked empty.
By that time, there was already some bodies on the floor, and my back was against the wall as I stood on the bed.
“Damn, Twilight!” I screamed, kicking a pony that was getting too close. “Where the hell are you!?”
“I’m coming, relax,” I heard Twilight mutter spitefully as she neared the window, “Can’t you-”
She looked through into the room, and she nearly lost her flight as she dipped a few feet. “Wh-What is happening!?” she shrieked in panic.
“Get us out of here, Twilight!” I ordered, as more were coming in, “Now!”
A bright purple light filled my vision, and then I was standing at the entrance of the building. Blinking stupidly, I looked in every direction to be sure it wasn’t a trick, accidently putting weight on my injured leg. Applejack was here, Twilight was here, Pinkie was here, the open door…
“Shit!” I cursed as I sprung for the double doors grasping both and shutting it. I picked up the rope I had previously cut and tied it the best I could. I was no boy scout, but it would do. Seeing that we were safe, I released a breath that was being held subconsciously, and slunk to the ground. I took off my head gear and just fell to the floor on my back.
I hoped I never had to go through something like that again.
“Nolan,” Applejack called out, “What are ya doing?”
I had never been so happy to hear Applejack’s voice in my time in Equestria. I gave a weak grin, “Just catching a breather.”
“What was in there?” she followed up, and I could hear Twilight shudder. Pushing myself to a sitting position and taking a deep breath, I explained everything that had transpired in the cursed building. Pinkie opted to stay out of the discussion, sulking a few meters away from us. When I finished, I wasn’t surprised in the least how the ponies reacted: practically sick and horrified.
“The ponies… k-killed the humans?” Applejack asked. I nodded, and reached for the letter in my pocket.
“I also found this in an office,” I explained, passing the letter to Twilight. As she took it and glanced through, I continued, “It says something about a ‘potion’ that probably worsened the psychotic ponies in here.”
“I remember this,” Twilight whispered with slight awe, looking over to me. “Princess Celestia was talking about it a few times, but I never knew she used the potion.”
“No offense, Twi’,” Applejack said, “but you didn’t know a lot of things when you were in that there bunker.”
As the two spoke with each other, I saw Pinkie stare at the dry fields like a newborn looking into a new world. I stood up, wincing a bit from my leg, strolled over, and stood behind her, but didn’t bother her. She was deep in thought. “It…” she finally spoke, “looks so different, yet familiar.”
I remained silent, waiting for her to go on. “Let’s leave ‘em! They deserted you, left you to rot in that place! Then again, you’re nothing to everypony. Not even your closest friends helped you. You should just kill yourself!”
Twilight and Applejack faced over to Pinkie, eyes wide. They were so stunned that they could only stare at her as she continued.
“But… they came back for me,” she replied to herself. She was going into another self argument.
“For their own selfish needs! Once they’re done, they’ll throw you right back in!”
“N-No! That’s not true…”
“Pinkie,” I sighed, feeling depressed, “we can help you.”
“How can you help me!?” she shouted, tears dropping from her face, “The doctors couldn’t do anything, how can anyone else!?”
I stood still for awhile as she wept, then reached into a vest pouch and extracted another cigarette from the case. I also took out my lighter and easily lighted my cigarette, taking a few puffs. I held it in my hand, as I finally answered Pinkie’s question. “Take it from someone who has had experience,” I explained simply.
“I don’t think you were locked up in some asylum,” she hissed, turning her head towards me.
“Never said I did,” I said, inhaling from my cigarette, “I just know what it feels like to think that no one can help you.”
She gave a sorrowful expression as her mouth hung open slightly. She was surprised, obviously, but I didn’t go further than that as I left my cigarette in my mouth and turned around to head for the other ponies. “W-Wait,” she said, “Did your friends help you when you were in trouble?”
I clenched my hands into a fist as I suppressed my fury. “No,” I said quietly, hate laced within my words as I strode away from her, while Twilight and Applejack trotted past me to comfort her.
{~+~}
After bandaging up my leg, we rested for a few hours to replenish our hunger and thirst - far away from the asylum, thankfully. The menu was apples, but I was growing used to that, but Pinkie seemed somewhat happy to have some real food in her. As we sat on the ground in a circle, the rolling hills of dry grass surrounding us, my mind kept thinking up a way to find the other three Elements of Harmony. The three ponies had no idea where any of them could be, so finding out where they were would make a good start.
“Hey Nolan,” Twilight called to me, capturing my attention, “How do you get used to it? Y-You know, killing others?”
That question has been asked of me by many people, and I always gave the same answer, “I don’t.”
“Oh,” she said, looking at anything but me as she took a bite from her apple. “W-Well, do you have a plan of where to go?”
“Nope-”
“Good, because I do,” she interrupted with a smug smile, the previous topic forgotten. She asked that question on purpose, I just knew it. “If the humans have taken over Equestria, then they should have tabs on the… ponies, right?”
She still couldn’t accept the fact that her kind were mostly slaves. I couldn’t really blame her. Still, she had a point, “Where are you getting at?”
“Why don’t we go to Ponyville and see if they have our friends filed around somewhere?” she proposed, with a gesture towards the direction of Ponyville. Well, I assume it was the direction.
“That’s a good idea, sugarcube,” Applejack praised, before speaking to me. “How ‘bout it, Nolan?”
I shrugged, “I don’t have anything better.”
“Don’t I get a say!?” Pinkie jumped in the middle, looking livid.
“O-Of course you do, Pinkie!” Twilight remedied, backing away from the sudden appearance. “What do you think?”
“I… like the idea,” Pinkie mumbled with a sheepish smile; I’m going to have to get used to her craziness.
Standing up, I cupped my hand over my eyes to see better as I gazed out into the wilds, “I guess we’re heading back to Ponyville then.”
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This is interesting I will like and read later
Also it seems like the humans in that world as like haters and their tech are different than ours if Nolan and the ponies gets to earth and bring in the US military POP POP POP KABOOM we win
3069247 uh ok then I like it bring it the killing and also I think Nolan should tell the ponies abut the humans in his world I bet there going. To be interested and shocked.
Wonderful chapter good sir very creepy especially with the song ... I wonder if the humans have raised security in Ponyville after Nolans little...adventure
Oh new idea! What about pirates, eh? Who doesn't like pirates, nobody thats who. I can see it now... wait does Equestria even have ocean sized bodies of water in that area? ... Because I'm too lazy to delete this comment and write a new one I will say disregard this comment unless you want... LAND PIRATES, EH? no? Nevermind.
Reminded me of Dead Space. You should write an actual Dead Space crossover where Isaac doesn't TURN INTO A FUCKING PONY!
That was one of the more creepy things i have read on this site.
creepy ass mother fuckin shit you got here sir that's all I have to say for this chapter.
you sir are a better writer than I.
3112749 It'll probably come to that point. But remember that the ponies still think he wasn't dimension jumping.
3112805 He can, can't he? I'll change that up a bit. My lazy writing style makes him that way.
3112841 Pirates? Well, I don't have any plans for seas, so I don't know how that would work, or even land pirates. You are weird.
3113189 I don't know, there are some pretty creepy stuff here. But thanks anyway!
3113264 aaaand I'm scarred for life. Thanks, bro. Glad you liked it though.
3112865 I always loved the concept of Isaac Clarke being a huge badass in the game. Though, I have barely played the games, I love it quite a bit. I thank you, kind sir.
3114742 I don't know why I did it either.
your story started getting creepy and im like you know what would be nice some scary music, I have never been so wrong.
It was interesting and creepy
3116228 Well, I like creepy stuff, just not something staring at me while listening to creepy stuff.
3117725 Well let me tell you I dont take being creeped out very well and it usually ends up with me punching a hole in my wall or some other thing that decided to creep me out.
3117840 I hope my story has not caused that.
3117949 It usually only happens after someone scares me.
I honestly thought Dead Space and F.E.A.R had sex and spawned this. I LOVE IT!
Pinkie = Gollum
She's channeling her inner Gollum
but I didn’t
This is actually a common misconception about humans and equines. Humans actually have far more endurance and a higher strength-to-weight ratio than equines while they can run much faster, in hopes of outrunning us in the short-term. So while the ponies in this scene would have quickly gained on Nolan the halways and his greater manuverability would have allowed him to use his endurance to out-run the ponies in the lon-term.
there should be a break between dialogue. Only one person speaks per paragraph if I remember correctly.
Pinkie's got her inner Gollum coming out 8D gahah!
NICELY DONE!
I am loving this.
This chapter gave me the creeps.....jeeeeeeez~
Trust me that wasn't scary what was scary was Ghost Russians trapped in a bunker that eat themselves and filled with demons and all going after one person who fell in that hellhole.
If you like to know look up Diaries of a Madman.