78. Mental Conflict
Oh no, that fucking sound. I immediately get up from the chair and look around, hoping to find a place to hide. The last time I fought one of these, I beat it, but I got hurt pretty badly in the process. I can't afford to get hurt down here, because I have no clue when I can get medical attention.
It's also resistant to magic. I'm not sure how much, but seeing Iron struggle to lift one's body confirms at least some significant resistance. I might not be able to hurt it at all with my magic. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing anywhere to hide in here other than under a table, and that's as exposed as you can get.
I only hear one of them out there, but it's heading straight for this room. I don't have much time to think. I don't think I have any choice except to fight it. Dammit, I wish I'd gone to get a physical weapon from Iron before coming down here. I put it off because I was lulled into a false sense of security by the absence of any kind of danger in the ruins. Man, I am so regretting that now.
Click-sccraaape.
Fuck! I don't have much time. I start to sweat, realizing that I'm cornered in this room with no weapon other than a surgeon's knife...or a club. That's an idea. Summoning my magic, I form the long ranged rifle in my hand. I'll try shooting the fucker once it gets in here, but if that doesn't work, I'll use this as a club.
The Oppressed lumbers into the room, looking as horrific and as twisted as I remember. Its jaw is hanging open, chomping at the air and slobbering on the ground. Its uneven eyes alight upon me, kneeling on the ground with my rifle leveled at it.
Now that it's got me in its sights, the monster lets out a strangled roar and charges me faster than I'd expected. Panicking, I pull the trigger on my rifle and fire several piercing bolts of magic. The Oppressed takes it head on. The bolts thankfully pierce through its skin...but not very far. This same weapon used on a changeling would shoot right through them, but the Oppressed barely notices the damage, even though bits of its flesh have been torn away.
“Shit!” I yell as the monster reaches me. The Oppressed lunges at me, its claws outstretched and ready to rend my flesh asunder. With a grunt, I hurl myself out of the way of its lunge so that the monster lands right next to me, on the spot where I'd been just a second ago.
I take my rifle and strike the Oppressed across the face, breaking its nose with a sickening crack. Okay, so physical force can still hurt them like anything else. When I swing my rifle for a second hit, the monster stops it with a clawed hoof and retaliates by slashing viciously at my shoulder.
I catch the monster's hoof right beneath its claws with my free hand, powering up and using my magic to help hold it back. I may not be able to harm the monster with magic, but I can certainly use it to bolster my own power. Sheesh, this is one tough motherfucker.
Now that we're in a standstill, I bring up my knee into its chest with magical power streaming through it, forcing the Oppressed to recoil. I quickly follow that up with a forceful kick into its face, splitting the skin and knocking the monster clear across the room. Resistant to magic or not, brute force is enough to handle these things.
The Oppressed still isn't done. It gets to its hooves and charges me once more, trailing blood behind from its wounds. With this kind of tenacity, I can see how humanity fell to them, if they were charged in great numbers.
I form my pistol and fire repeatedly, aiming for its head. Ultimately it's a futile gesture, because the Oppressed just tanks every hit, the magical bullets slamming into its skin and dissipating uselessly. Just like before, it lunges at me, seemingly unable to change its battle tactics. That is its downfall.
The moment it comes into range, I reach up and grab one of its hooves just beneath the claws. “Take...this!” I grunt. I pivot on one heel and hurl the Oppressed away from me right into the table, breaking the old structure with a cacophony of clattering metal.
One of the shards of metal from the table catches my eye. It has a very jagged edge. I immediately pick it up and charge the Oppressed while its struggling to get up. With one last shout, I bring the spike of metal down on the monster, ramming it right through its slack jaws and into its brain.
The Oppressed struggles weakly for a few seconds, and then it finally falls limp. I step back with a sigh of relief and rest my back against the wall, wiping the sweat from my brow. Goddamn...that took more time than I expected. At least I came out on top.
“Wonder who this poor bastard was,” I say, feeling a little melancholy even though I know there's nothing left of the person that this Oppressed used to be.
Just as I finish catching my breath...my blood turns to ice as I hear that click scraping again. “You've got be kidding. There's more?” I whisper to myself. My sense of dread only increases when I hear multiple sets of scraping claws on the floor outside. There's more than one. “Fuck...I might get seriously hurt.”
It took me a long time just to take care of one Oppressed. I'm not sure if I can handle more than one at a time, especially if their claws bypass magical protection as well. It's like I have no magic at all. I have strength, but that won't mean shit if one of them gets around my guard.
They sound further away than the first one was, so I think I might be able to get out of this room. As much as I'd like to stay and watch the rest of Frozen Soul's videos, I don't have enough time to watch them before the Oppressed find me.
I need to prepare myself. I grab another one of the table legs that I broke and then I burn Frozen's bones to ashes out of spite before leaving the lab and heading back to the dungeon cells.
From the sound of it, the Oppressed are in the main hallways, so the dungeon is clear for now. Not for long though. I hear one of the Oppressed scrabbling down the stairs, so I immediately throw myself inside one of the cells and shut the door. I extinguish the light on my phone and then shoot the light bulb with a silenced pistol, plunging the room into darkness. I don't know how the Oppressed find their victims, but I'll at least be able to obscure their eyesight.
It's dark for me too, but I can at least hear the Oppressed entering the dungeon, its claws scraping across the concrete. Of course, with all the noise its making, I know exactly where it is.
I do my best to breathe quietly, pressing myself against the back wall of the cell. I can fight it if it finds me, but doing so would alert every other Oppressed, and I'd be screwed. So I either have to sneak past it, or kill it without making any sound. The former is the most likely, because I'm no trained assassin or whatever.
I bite back a curse as I hear another Oppressed shamble into the room, joining the first. Why the fuck are they here now, as opposed to before when I was completely in the open? If they don't leave, I'll be here a while.
This seems a little too convenient. Somehow Frozen Soul must have called for them, because they all seem to be congregating around this dungeon. I must be right, because more Oppressed are filtering in, leaving me trapped with no way out. I'm running on borrowed time here. I don't know how smart these things are, but all it takes is for one to peek in here, and I'm dead.
A loud clang causes me to jump as one of the Oppressed slams itself against one of the cells near mine, its claws screeching excruciatingly down the bars. I can't help but cover my ears. Shit, it's like fingernails on a chalkboard...only worse.
An Oppressed emits a sickening growl from somewhere extremely close to me. Shit, they must be just outside. There has to be some way I can get out of this without getting caught. Fuck Sombra for making these shits mostly immune to magic. Only my most penetrating magic ability was able to really hurt them, and even then it wasn't that much.
Just as the Oppressed are starting to nose around in the cells, I feel a draft on the back of my neck. What the fuck...where is there a draft coming from? I stand up slowly and as quietly as I can, and then press my hands against the ceiling in the hopes of finding the source. My fingers run across a dull jagged surface, similar to what you'd find on a...vent. Oh thank god, there's an air vent in here, and it feels like a big one. It's in a cell, so it's bolted shut, but it's better than what I had a second ago.
To open it, I have to get these screws off...but I don't have any tools. That means there's only one way to open it, and it won't be quiet. The Oppressed are getting closer, so if I'm going to do this, I need to do it now.
My mind is made up. I power up my magic and slam my fist as hard as I can into the vent cover, releasing a burst of concussive force at the same time. The cover is so old and brittle that it shatters to pieces, showering me with shards of metal.
The Oppressed immediately hear the sound and break out into an uproar, throwing themselves against the bars of my cell, raking their claws across it and searching for a way inside. The ancient bars are rent asunder by their sharp talons just as I'm flying up into the ventilation shaft. “Later, you fucks!” I cry behind me defiantly. I scramble down the tight shaft until I feel I'm safe from them. I let out a relieved breath. That was too close. If that vent hadn't been there, I'd be dead.
I look forward at the duct ahead of me. Because the power is running, I can feel air moving through the shafts, brushing up against my bangs. The air is stale and musty; just inhaling it makes me feel slightly queasy. That combined with the very tight quarters in here, and I feel rather uncomfortable.
“This always looks easier in the games,” I complain, starting to move again. I don't know where this is going to take me, but if I'm lucky it'll be away from the Oppressed. It's very hard to move in here, because I don't have much room to move my limbs. Therefore, instead of crawling along quickly like they make it seem in the games, I'm mostly inching along.
I hear the screeches of the Oppressed behind me. I shudder once again as I remember how close to death I was. Still, there's more Oppressed than I expected...and they had all congregated on me. Killing Frozen must have tipped off whatever it is that's in charge. I'm going to assume that I'm dealing with Vanta, thanks to Frozen's mention of his mastery over necromancy.
I don't think Frozen is the one who brought me down here anyway, because he wasn't that strong at all. I wrecked him with just a simple barrage of magic bullets. No, my jailor, for lack of a better word, is still in here, and I'm going to hazard a guess that it might be Vanta, or perhaps another one of the other ponies that may or may not be here. If Vanta is a necromancer, it would be ludicrous for him to save only one of his scientists.
Frustration grates on me as I continue through the shaft, looking for another vent that I can exit through. I really wanted to see what else Frozen had on his computer. First and foremost, I want to know why experimenting on humans and inducing mutative bullshit like I saw on that skeleton was necessary.
After I slide down the next part of the shaft, I soon near another opening to the shaft. I peer through the slits in the vent cover. There's a wide room beneath me that looks like it has been re-purposed into a makeshift barracks...and there's actually ponies in there. Well, except they're dead. Just like Frozen, each and every one of those ponies are dead and decomposed to skeletons, moving through magical power. They're all standing there aimlessly, not making a sound.
I smirk and punch the vent cover off, figuring that as long as they're not Oppressed, I can handle them without much trouble. “All right, I'm about to put you all back in the ground where you belong!” I declare confidently, landing on the floor and powering up.
The skeletons don't move. They don't even turn to look at me, instead staring straight forward from their sightless eyes. They're almost like statues, but without the stand to hold them up. If they hadn't been standing up, I'd have ignored them entirely.
“Oookay, then,” I say, feeling a little awkward that I'd just announced myself to a room full of undead ponies that apparently couldn't hear it. I approach one of the skeletons to see if it'll react to me now. It doesn't, so I'm essentially just staring at a statue.
Okay, I think I've established that these things won't move. They must be reserve troops or something, because they don't seem to be sentient like Frozen was. I keep an eye on them, even as I move to the doorway and leave the barracks.
I turn on my phone's flashlight again to help illuminate the hallway that I'm in now. I think I'm actually down deeper than before, thanks to that one drop in the vents. It also seesm that the further I go down, the newer the surroundings seem to be. The very architecture of the walls down here are different. It's completely different from the science building's usual appearance, which leads me to believe that maybe the halls down here were excavated and constructed by these ponies. Ponies that helped exterminate my race.
The hallway descends even further, much to my annoyance. Fucking hell. At this point, the only way I'm going to get out of here is if I find and confront the source of that barrier keeping me down here. That'll be difficult though, if there's more Oppressed hanging around. I ditched them for now, but who knows when I'm going to find more.
As I continue down the hallway, I start to hear things again. This time...I hear screams. I can hear both male, female, and children screaming faintly. These aren't just screams of terror. No, these are the screams of one undergoing immense pain. I would know because I once emitted one of those screams myself, back when I was fighting Chrysalis. A great many souls must have undergone torment here. What I still don't know is why it was necessary.
With those horrific sounds ringing in my ears, I come to a sophisticated looking metal doorway. Just as I'm reaching for the handle, the lock clicks open and swings outwards on its own, allowing me entry. I pause, still finding that unsettling. Whatever entity is responsible for that, it seems like they want me to look in this room.
“What the shit....?” I whisper in shock as I walk into what can only be described as a laboratory. The floor itself changes composition from concrete to a metal fencing reinforced with steel. Beneath the fencing I can see an underground river flowing past, gurgling gently.
As for the room itself, the walls are lined with computers that seem to be working, displaying numbers even now. If common sense didn't dictate otherwise, I'd think that this place was still running.
That's not the most important feature of the room. What really stands out are the eight cylindrical tanks filled with a viscous liquid, positioned with four on each wall. And there's a fucking Oppressed in each one.
I walk up to one of the tanks with a sick fascination, gazing up at the Oppressed inside and noticing how different it looks from the other Oppressed. This one's arms are massive, mutated just like the way that one skeleton was, back in Frozen's lab. The skin on its arms appears to have been bulked up and hardened, to the point where it looks like a single punch from one of those could really hurt.
The other Oppressed in the other tanks appear to be modified in similar fashions to the one I'm looking at, except in differing areas. I suddenly have a horrible inkling as to what the scientists were researching, and why humans were kept hostage here. It's like they were trying to make a much stronger Oppressed, and these are their preliminary results.
I cast my gaze around the room, alighting on one of the computer consoles that stands out from the others, in that it's larger and located in an area by itself. Maybe if I'll lucky I'll find some more video records. The chances are slim, but it's better than walking around cluelessly.
The impact of my feet on the fencing causes the floor to rattle unnervingly, but thankfully it remains stable. Nevertheless, I feel better once I sit down at the computer and start it up. I curse when a screen pops up asking for a fucking username and password. However, I notice an area on the console itself where it looks like a card can be swiped. Well, it's certainly a good thing I have Vanta's ID card.
Swiping the card gets a reaction from the computer, and it lets me into the system. From there, I navigate into the documents folder, hoping I can find something else in here.
From what it looks like, this is a security console for the entire underground complex, because there's a tons of video files here dated from now all the way back to 2014, which is when I disappeared. And that's a lot of videos. Jesus, how much memory does this shit even have?
That's not all that's there. There's an application for the currently operating cameras...which might help me get a feel for the layout of this place. Maybe I can find a way out in the process. Yes, I think I'll start with that before I look at the video files. That way if I get interrupted by the Oppressed again, I'll know enough to hopefully get out, or at least hide.
A thought strikes me, so I navigate a few menus until I find something that controls the heavy door that I got in through. A few clicks later, and the metal door slides shut with a deep thrum. There. That should buy me some time. The only other door in this room is also shut, so I'm satisfied.
I open up the camera program to see a list of cameras, sorted by camera identification number and location. Opening up the first one gives me a completely black screen. “Well, that's fucking helpful,” I mutter...and then I see a button for active infrared. Shit, the ponies that were here figured out so much human technology. If somepony like Frozen had ever gotten out of here, he could pose a serious threat just because of that.
Clicking on the infrared setting shows me a monochrome image of the hallway near the elevator shaft that I first fell through. The camera pans slowly back and forth, but it doesn't really show me anything I haven't already seen.
I move to the next camera...and then proceed to and fall backwards out of the chair. “Jesus!” I scream, taken completely by surprise. The image displayed was of that same woman I saw in the dungeons, her face pockmarked by injection marks pressed right up against the screen.
When I gather enough courage to look back at the screen, she's gone, and instead I'm seeing a monochrome image of the dungeons, where a few of the Oppressed still linger, shambling around like the zombies that they practically are. I try to calm myself down. Seeing an apparition like that...I don't think I'll ever get used to that.
“Hang on, where the fuck are the rest of the Oppressed?” I demand, noticing that there's only three or so Oppressed still in the dungeons. I know I heard many more than that. I start looking through the cameras on the floors I've already been. If I have access to all of this, I'll find out exactly where they are going.
The next camera I check reveals a mob of Oppressed surging through the halls like a river, just like how they were in the video with Maka. I don't know where they are heading, but I think it's prudent to assume they're after me. Well, there's a few options here that I can use to slow them down.
A few button taps later, and I manage to shut several metal doors in their path, just like the one in this laboratory. Heh, I'll have to thank that ghost girl, as wrong as that sounds. With this ID card, I literally have technological control of this place.
The Oppressed throw themselves against the first door. Because there's so many of them, their mass of bodies dents the metal...so that only bought me some time. Better make the most of it.
I make my way down the list of cameras, looking for some kind of way out. Instead, I just seem to be finding cameras lower and lower into the complex. There's a lot of laboratories and living areas around here, and I find several more dungeons that likely once held human prisoners. That fact gets me to dig my fingernails into the desk. I may hate most of my race...but not even I would submit them to the kind of torture that I suspect happened here.
Finally, the last camera reveals to me a massive dark room. A single click reveals it to me in monochrome, and I cringe at what I see. The room is so large, it even makes the royal wedding hall look small. It has several walkways set up on the edges of the room, where more rooms are located. But that's not what catches my attention. No, I notice the piles upon piles of bones on the floor, covering the entire room. What the hell? How many people died to create that many bones?
There's also what looks like an altar near the back of the room, where a strange, archaic circular frame seems to be generating a magical field. Inside the field is...a body. It's a remarkably well preserved body of a pony, hanging suspended in the field. I zoom in as much as I can. The pony has clearly been dead a long time, but its skin hasn't decomposed. Instead it looks very similar to what a mummy would look like in our time...dehydrated and somehow still with its skin intact.
Shuddering, I look away to observe the rest of the room. To my shock and delight, there's an elevator at the back of the room, behind the altar. I can clearly see two buttons there, so one of them must go up. With any luck, I can find my way back up to the main science building from there. That large room must be at the bottom of the complex, so I need to get down there as fast as I can.
But before that, I navigate to the video file to see if I can't find something else out. The first video file is labeled something strange.
5/24/2015 Imported Video File: Rainier Mountain Lodge: Final Orders
That date is more than a year after I went to Equestria. Not only that, but it's a video file imported from someplace that isn't even here. I'm interested to see what happened there and why is the video was kept, so I click on it and let it play.
The scene that forms is in what I recognize as the visitors lodge for those that wanted to visit the Rainier Mountain Nature Preserve. I've only been there a few times, but I still know it when I see it. And the two individuals there right now take me by surprise...that's...that's...
“What's our next course of action, my king?” the dark furred pony asks in an official manner, lowering his head in respect to the imposing pony that towered over him.
King Sombra stood not far from the pony who just spoke, dressed in his armor and royal cape, but in his pony form. His glowing green eyes are just like mine when I use my magic, even down to the purple trail of magic emanating from the corners of his eyes. He doesn't answer at first, looking instead down at the lifeless bodies of the nature preserve staff, each one burnt to a crisp by dark magic.
“I hath completed mine primary objective,” Sombra rumbles in that same deep, imposing voice that I remember hearing myself once before. “Vanta, mine general. I leave to thee a most important task. Can I trust thee to carry out mine will?
“As always, your will is my guiding force,” Vanta declares, once again bowing his head. “You have but to ask, and it shall be done.”
Vanta's response appears to please Sombra greatly, because the dark pony smiles, revealing his pointed teeth, which looks odd, yet terrifying on pony. “Excellent. Thou art the most skilled necromancer I hath trained, and thus I am leaving thee here in this era.”
Vanta looks visibly surprised by that revelation. “My lord? You wish to leave me behind? I was under the impression that you would need me to combat Celestia and Luna's forces.”
Sombra shakes his dark head, his shadowy mane flowing around him. “No, t'would be foolish to reveal all of mine cards to mine enemy,” he replies. He then adopts a grim expression, his eyes narrowing. “There is a chance that I will be defeated in the coming confrontation with Equestria. In that case, I need thee here, cultivating an army and preparing for mine return.”
“I...I see,” Vanta stammers, looking forlorn. That look is soon replaced by one of crazed fury. “Damnable princesses! They have no right to take what is yours! I hope you tear the flesh from their bones and turn them into your thralls! Make them dance for your pleasure!”
Sombra emits a booming laugh, enjoying the bloodlust of his servant. “Fear not, mine general. They cannot eradicate me, no matter how they flail. If I am defeated, t'will only be a matter of time until I return and do exactly that. That is why I came to this era.”
“Indeed. I will carry out your orders, though I wish I could fight with you,” Vanta expresses with a solemn nod.
“Excellent. Do not despair. I hath recognized thine interest in this pathetic race. That is why thou speaketh as they do, is it not?” Sombra states. Vanta's eyes widen, and then he nods, a grin spreading across his face. “Wipe them out. Bend them to thy will and study them as thou willeth. I will be waiting for thee in the far future. Do not fail me.”
“Never, my lord!” Vanta declares with a firm salute. Sombra turns to leave, but just before he leaves the room, he turns his head back to Vanta.
“If thou shouldst encounter mine primary objective...do as thou likest with it...but keep it alive,” Sombra states firmly with narrowed eyes.
The video ends with that, and I sit there, frozen with understanding, horror, and rage. Seeing Sombra again stirred up old feelings of anger and hatred, making me want to find wherever it is he's buried and nuke his corpse straight to hell.
It's certainly a shock to see Sombra again, even in video format. I had put him away in the back corners of my mind, because Celestia said he was dead, put away by her own hooves. Sombra's words here seemed to indicate that he knew he was going to lose against her....but what he said about being able to return no matter what happened troubles me.
“He's nuts. I don't care how skilled you are at necromancy. If Celestia burnt you to ash, there's no way you're coming back,” I growl. Even though I say that, there's a little voice in the back of my head telling me how nice it would be if he would come back...so I could crush him myself.
Continuing on, Sombra left for the future only a year after I disappeared. I wonder if that's when he created the Oppressed and sent them to destroy us. But here, it seems like he left the genocide in the command of this Vanta...and their conversation implies that Vanta would be able to live long enough to see Sombra in the future. That means I might be right when I assumed that he could still be alive down here, in some form or fashion. If he is...I'm going to kill him. I may not be able to kill Sombra, but I can kill him.
I click on the next video, my damned curiosity making me want to see more. This time, it's a video depicting Vanta, Frozen, and a few other scientist ponies standing in front of a set of dungeon cells like the ones I've already seen, but not the one where I found Frozen.
And in the cells...are humans. My eyes are riveted on the screen. I know that humans died here...but to see actual living humans with my own eyes, even if they're on a screen...it's both shocking and angering. Likely they're all strangers. Just look at them! There's women, children, and frail old men, locked inside like cattle.'
I already know this is going to suck. I know my race. When it all comes down to it, it's every man, woman, and child for himself. No one gives a shit what happens to the others.
“The last one we took didn't do so well. The mutations rendered his limbs effectively immobile. Useless as a shock trooper for our lord Sombra's army,” Frozen responds, regarding the humans with disdain. “General...I mean...Dr. Pallor, are you sure these humans are worth the effort?”
“Are you kidding? Look at them! Just their technological achievements alone are enough to make everything worth it!” Vanta exclaims in an almost maniacal manner. “But...it's true that making shock troopers more effective than the thralls we've already created will be difficult. What if I gave you more test subjects? Perhaps...that older human male in the corner?”
I can't help but flinch, knowing that I'm not going to see anything positive. But...much to my surprise, the humans stand up for him. In particular, one of the younger men gets right in front of the scientist sent to retrieve the old man...and proceeds to beat the shit out of him for almost a minute before Vanta steps in with powerful magic.
“Such impertinence. What exactly did that little display accomplish?” Vanta commented, looking uncaringly down at the fallen scientist, whose face and chest are covered with bruises and cuts. The younger man, suspended in Vanta's magic, glares defiantly up at the general, saying nothing. “You realize the whole purpose for your continued existence is to serve me? What does it matter the order you in which you perish?”
The man sneers and then spits right in Vanta's face. The general stares calmly back at the man...and then his face contorts with rage. The younger man is slammed against the wall harshly through Vanta's magic. “Chain him there, and make him watch as the other prisoners eat. He is not to be fed for the rest of his life,” Vanta orders one of the guards that's with him in a cold voice. “Frozen, he will be your next subject. Make the preparations.”
After that, the man is chained halfway up the wall, while food is distributed to the other humans. Vanta wipes his face and then leaves with the rest of the scientists, no doubt so that Frozen has some time to set up whatever hellish experiment they've designed.
I expect the video to end, but it actually continues on for a few more minutes after the scientists are gone. To my utter shock, the humans don't touch their food at all until they're certain that there's no one around, and then they start taking parts of their meal and hand feeding it to the prisoner on the wall.
They're...what? He's going to die in a while, so why would you go out of your way to feed him? You're giving up your own sustenance for that. That's not what humans do...they only care for themselves! That man has no use to them...so what the hell? They're deliberately choosing to suffer so that one man can have a little comfort before he has to go through hell. It's a logically ridiculous thing to do, but...surprisingly noble.
I don't understand. I take a moment to mull after the video ends. All my life I thought I knew how humans would react in most situations. Everyone was out for themselves, doing things for others only when it suited their own self interest. But what I just saw contradicts that hypothesis entirely.
Tons of thoughts rush through my head. I even get up from the computer and start to pace. Come to think of it, how did I come to the that conclusion? Was my view of humanity also poisoned by that bitch, and everyone else in that area?
It's stupid, now that I think about it. It was a shitty situation, but once I was out of it, I should have been happy. I shouldn't have allowed it to make me so unbelievably bitter towards everyone else, especially if there's people like the ones in the video, deep down beneath what shows on the surface.
I slam my fist into the wall, denting it due to the accidental outflow of magic that I put into it. This isn't the first time I've felt like this, since coming to Equestria. What if I was right that ponies were like humans? What if humans were capable of showing the same kindness that these ponies have shown to me?
That's one hell of a painful thought, especially considering how much of an ass I've been over the years. Of course, if I hadn't been an ass, I'd never have met Amaryllis.
“Goddammit!” I curse aloud, hating this mental conflict I'm feeling. There's nothing more painful than nursing a belief in your heart for years and years, and then suddenly being faced with the prospect that maybe...just maybe...you were wrong. What if I was wrong?
Just as I'm thinking that, the air fills with the sounds of sinister whispering, and then a chill wind sweeps across the room, filling me with dread. I think I can even feel magic filling the air...dark evil magic.
Shit. Whatever it is that brought me down here and then proceeded to torment me has finally tracked me down. I power up, in case I'm actually faced with something tangible. “Come on, you son of a bitch. Show me what you've got,” I growl, looking around.
As if on cue, something slams into the reinforced metal door where I came in, denting it and almost tearing it right off of the hinges. A feral roar fills the room, filling my heart with dread.
What the fuck has been sent after me now?
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! 
What's this? Another chapter a fucking day after the last one? Is this guy going into overdrive? The answer is...probably yes. I haven't stopped writing since I posted chapter 76, and I don't think I'm going to be stopping for a break until I've finished the climax.
I hope the return of the Oppressed was everything that you've hoped for, and I hope that I've given you the much sought after clarity that you wanted concerning the extinction of mankind.
Leave your comments and tell me what you think! I'm interested to see what you all think I'm going to do next. Sometimes I even use your ideas. Just ask that one guy who knows exactly who he is. And that other guy. And...you get the point. 
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hey Featured ! great work man keep on writing and we'll keep on reading !
5504925
Featured? Are you sure? I didn't see it there, nor did I get a notification. Or maybe I just don't know how it works.
You said to try to guess what are you going to do...
Are you going to do a wave of oppresed going together making a giant oppressed monster meanwhile the servant of Sombra is looking?
Here i was sad after reading chapter 77, thinking i would have to wait a few days to a week to read more.
Oh was i wrong, you glorious bastard.
It's getting hella' interesting too, so many questions yet to be answered, m-muh speculations.
Keep it up, you're making my week.
Oh wow. So umm, that happened.
sooo i am just going to leave this bit of a thought
You don't make copies of failed experiments...
RUN DUDE!
Well, so far this part of the arc is awesome! I've been enjoying the hell out of it, and I'm in suspense waiting to see what will happen next!
5505300 Ave Luna Princeps!
Wow.......I keep visioning the thralls as the ghouls from warcraft 3.
Except they are in horse form.
Do they look like the ghouls or am I just being an idiot?
Loved the chapter dough.
5505742
I had to look that up just to find out what it was. And I can say...not really. They look...well, messed up. Like someone took the skin of a human and tossed it haphazardly around a pony wire frame...and then stapled the ends together. So the skin is tight in some places and loose in others, and the features aren't really in the right place.
It's nice to see him put points into Emotional Maturity as he levels up.
Though he's really been amongst ponies for too long. He's forgotten the Phase 2 of Ape Dynamics: Hitting things with sticks or stick analogues. Probably would've helped with the big, magic immune zombie.
I do hope he remembers to hit whatever is coming with that giant metal door at the least.
Oh man, I can't wait for that next chapter. I'm loving this story so much fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/365/e/0/clapping_pony_icon___queen_chrysalis_by_taritoons-d5pshyl.gif
Hell yeah, boss fight!!!!!
Also if he can materialize guns can't he form a melee weapon instead of using the gun as a club?
thank you very much and please continue.
Awesome!
So, the creature sneaking up on him was another Oppressed. I find it kind of funny that he seemed to struggle more against this one with his powers then the first one when all he had was a gun. I mean he didn't get as hurt, but still, he should probably focus more on brute strength then magical fire power. Anyway, after he beats the Oppressed (those things still creep me the fuck out. Your description of them sounds horrifying and how they were created is just so wrong) he ends up hiding in the darkness as more of them arrive. His tactic of shutting out the lights seems to work, but these things have been underground in darkness for 3000 years, I really don't think it's all that effective as a means to hide. Still he gets away in a ventilation tunnel, but the bastards are still after him. I'm kinda worried he's going to make it back to the surface with like 50 of the bastards following him. If the ponies fight them with magic, they are going to get slaughtered.
After he gets away, he finds out more about the human experiments. It's a scary thought that the over powered Oppressed, aren't the strongest of Vanta's twisted experiments. I hope to god the super Oppressed in the tanks don't wake up or he is in serious trouble. After finding another computer terminal (and having the ghost scare the shit out of him again. I really want to know who she is and why she's so significant. Quite a few humans died down there, so why is she the only ghost showing up?) he finds the Oppressed are still on the hunt for him and that a mummified Unicorn is on the final floor next to an elevator which will likely get him to safety (I suspect the unicorn is in fact Vanta, but we'll see). Seth then gets a dose of reality when he sees humans suffering under Vanta, but instead of pitying themselves, they willing help out another prisoner who stood up for them. This definitely had an impact on him and it's likely going to really start getting into his head a lot. Especially now that he has bonded with Rainbow and the other ponies so much. We also have Seth exerting some obliviousness when he sees a recording of Sombra leaving Vanta behind to finish off humanity, and telling him that if he finds his 'Primary Objective' to keep it alive. After Maka's recording near the beginning, I think he really should have caught on by now that he is the objective and that Sombra gave him magic and sent him to the future for a reason.
Damn things are getting good here. Next chamber we have a new threat attacking Seth and more creepy dark secrets to dsicover. Awesome work
5504974
i don't know I'm positive I saw it there or maybe I'm just going off the deep end faster then i anticipated...
well this story should be featured at some point in my opinion
Hmmm.... Something smells odd around here, oh wait my hot pocket is done :P
Knock knock; who's there? Reality check!
I love the way you write this because despite the presumably op Mary sue levels of power, the power isn't for this game he's playing and so the hindrances render his attacks type-wise ineffectual.
Typing mobile , sorry.
5507779
Yeah, I think I would get a notification or something. Still, I'm not going to worry about featured, otherwise my hopes will just keep getting dashed. I'm just going to keep writing. I want Seth's story told.
5507789
OP? If anyone's OP in this story, it's Celestia.
Seth has actually...never won a fight since the Scorpios, and that wasn't even really him. I do appreciate the compliments though.
I am so SEVERELY pissed at this Vanta guy right now. I can't wait until he gets turned into a fucking purée.
I just realized...
The Oppressed are necromorph ponies.
SUSPENSE!
6374027
After getting a quick look over, dear God. Those are more than likely Necromorphs. The second closest thing in effectively all of pop culture are the Locust Horde in Gears of War, and that's pushing it.
Side note: Don't be a dip if you know a closet one. I'm just going off what I now know.