Fallout Equestria: Ruins of the Present

by weirdjed

P.O.M.A. Chapter 2

Falling down was really anti-climatic. I had long left behind my screaming antics since I couldn’t even hear it and because it hurt my throat. It was strange that I still felt that as I fell. I have to wonder what would happen when I hit the bottom. Would it hurt? Would I be killed after being killed? Actually, if I was dead, this was a really boring way to spend the eternity.

‘It could be worse’ I thought to myself while I pictured the numerous terrifying means of torture I could have endured.

As the wind whipped through my hair I found myself playing with the darkness which surrounded me. My arm cut through the air current and in my arms wake left soft patches of light that stood out against the darkness that surrounded me. The air current cooled around my hoof and I instinctively ripped it out. Little bits of frost accumulated on the end of the hoof that disrupted the air. I felt pain shoot through it and yet I couldn’t concentrate on where it came from. It was almost like I thought it hurt but in reality it was just exterior damage. Kind of like when you put your hoof through a candle and rip it out in order to avoid the pain of catching on fire.

The cold was getting worse as I went down. It continued to get colder until the wind abruptly stopped. In an awkward daze, I sat up and looked around to make sure I wasn’t still falling. It was still darkness but as I put my hoof down it hit something as hard as a floor. ‘I guess this is where I get off.’ I thought as I pulled myself off of the dark void and found it becoming solid as I became upright.

Darkness. I was wandering in it for what felt like forever. It was kind of cold as opposed to the trip down, but ,from what I could tell, it didn’t pose any threat to me. It was just an existing feeling that symbolized nothing more than the temperature of the air.

If only I wasn’t alone.

It seemed like a distant sadness; loneliness. It felt strange when I mulled it over in my head and I half-heartedly let out a sigh as I trotted forward. It wasn’t something I was afraid of necessarily but it’s imposing presence filled the air. The heart beat in my chest, the feeling of the air as it started to flow over me again, and the off shade of darkness that gave evidence to something grander. It was almost as if I was on a dark stage instead of a cave that lacked all natural light. I was an actor in a larger play that determined the fate of Equestria.

“Hello?” I shouted into the void. In response the hello was silenced.

All of this didn’t make any sense. ‘The experiment wasn’t supposed to do this, was it? Wait did I hallucinate all of those things and I’m actually in a coma right now?’ I mean it would make sense but it doesn’t explain my conscious thought process being the way it is right now. I thought you were supposed to experience a dream or something. ‘Maybe I am dead.’

“Come and see.” With abrupt importance a voice echoed back at me from the darkness. It didn’t sound like the one I cast into it and yet it seemed familiar. Almost as if it was mimicking me to the best of its ability and failed to small degrees. It sounded distant and cast far into the edges of the stage. I moved towards it and felt a tightening in my chest as I realized the possibility that I was being led into a trap.

Out of the darkness came another cry from the thing and so I followed it until it led to its source. There, on the ground, lay a small machine that held a small star at its heart. Another shriek echoed from its cavity and confirmed the theory I had. It coughed as it finished its shriek and from it’s open mouth came bits of smoke. It was a machine, yes, but it was alive. I could tell that much from the observation I possessed.

"It is afraid." The non-voice said.

’Afraid of who?’

"Afraid of the world that was destroyed, the heroines and heros who were killed, the mare in a celestial machine, and a mare drenched in blood. They were all tied together and somehow the thing that made it afraid was something much worse. Rather, it was afraid of the possibility that the world might become worse than what it was now. That through the violence that consumed normal pony souls might spread abroad and smother the lights that cast such brilliance that it held them, that chose darkness at bay. But only for a little bit, and only for some small goals. Some battles were fought and could not be won. It would make the world different in order to save them from themselves."

“Because of that it planned to eat another star and become a god. With the power of the world it would destroy those that opposed him and make others in his own image.“ A new voice drifted near the machine and I pulled my eyes towards where it came from.

It was dark and I almost thought I hadn’t heard it in the first place. But then..in the darkness erupted a light. A light, brighter than the souls that were scattered in the darkness, that came from the actions of four smaller lights and a single cluster of stars that had long passed. A star descended according to the machines plans. It was as bright as a sun and washed over my fur in a blue glow. All that was given to me was the ability to be a spectator to this event. It seemed to recognize my existence and drifted over to me. It touched a part of my mane and an electrifying shock went up and down my spine. It was powerful and in its splendor it lacked attention to the machines plans. Or so it would leave the machine to think.

“You are not done yet young light. All others have fallen and yet we face a new age. You, hero of old and new, bring forth new providence.” It looked at me and took on the form of Celestia. No, that wasn’t quite right. This alicorn was male. It was still as majestic as the princesses and I found myself kneeling before it. “Your story does not end here.” He laughed and took my head raising it up.

Suddenly his face took on many gruesome and terrifying forms. War, blood shed, peace, envy, greed, gluttony, promises, pride, love, death. The culmination of the wars past were brought before my eyes in a fashion I had wished I would never see. The images continued and I forced my eyes away from them.

“Where is the justice in this? That ponykind slaughter each other such as the past mythology? Are we so desperate to kill one another that we have lost the capability to look back and stop?” The alicorn spoke in a level voice.

I wept tears for them that were bent beneath wheels of government. For those that were thrown to the streets by poverty. And for those that were killed by ideologies that were never their own.

“There is none but what you deem is so. Look up again. There is justice for those that make it. But is that what you truly desire? Justice has no mercy for those that deserved it or not. Look up! See the justice you so seek.” Said the alicorn as he stood over me in his dark glow.

His glow spread over me and took on the shape of shadows. Ponies throwing each other at one another, ponies in salem crying for the hangings, those mourning the loss of a leader, and those that did something about it.

“I do not dare strange creature! Why does my soul bother you so much? I'm just a news analyst! I am not important and I never wanted to be! Please. Just leave me be…” I curled into a ball and watched as the blue-tinted glow drew back and took on a lighter shade. On my shoulder I felt the weight of the world and yet, with the hoof now resting on my face, it felt easier to carry. To continue on would mean to trudge through a nightmare. But to be honest, the world already is one. I stared back into the face of the alicorn. It smiled and pointed at the horizon.

A light like that of the sun cut through the dark stage in which we were standing on. It showed its might and cast the darkness into the deepest reaches and even farther than that. Along side it rose the moon and together they gave a last hurrah as they ascended and banished the darkness for a few precious moments giving place for the lights that were fighting alone, to unite in victory. As the light faded I turned back to the alicorn and founded him huddled next to the machine. The machine was weak, its dreams dashed long ago. It reached out to the alicorn trapped in the machine and drew it close to him. It wasn’t as perfect as it thought it once was. It wasn’t afraid of dying anymore, and with a final sigh he faded into particles that were drawn into the alicorn that now stood in respect to its passing. As he strode towards me I saw that they were together in peace. They were not an abomination but rather a completion. They were something that passed with the past age and gave life to times to come.

”You have plenty to learn about this new world. But know this, the images I showed you were real and are the current day. I am sorry that you were lost for so long, but now that I have found you, don’t waste your chance. I can’t say any more lest I challenge your fate. What I will say are words of encouragement. You, Pixel Alabas Shock, are still alive in more ways than you can imagine. Do not let your situation drive you to the point of insanity. More importantly, follow her.”

With a flash they left the dark void and left behind a small piece of scrap. I trotted over the dark floor and found that I no longer heard my heart. I could no longer feel my hooves as they hit the ground in front of me. In its place was the sound of soft thuds and a quiet whisper that haunted my movements. I scooped the item off the ground and I found myself floating once more. I examined the piece of scrap and noticed a small orb. This orb held everything that signified the existence of myself. I felt myself struggling to fight against the walls of the orb in a desperate effort to flee.

In response I drew it closer to my chest and breathed for the first time in what felt like forever. If only it lasted longer than a second then I could feel or create the illusion that I was alive. If only.

A whisper followed after me as the stage filled with light. It was soon forgotten by the lights that heard it, but before I forgot; I listened and echoed the words I heard to others.

“P. lay with the children

O. utside the stable doors

M. y precious machine

A. live”

The sound of metal scraping on metal snapped me out of my slumber. It rang clear throughout the room and fell silent as quickly as it had begun. Distant pitter-patters accompanied the movements of small rodents as they scurried away fearfully. I couldn’t see anything but I suddenly felt real again. With a “whush” and a “clank” the metallic bar that covered my head slammed into a holder above me. ‘Where am I?’ I thought as I scanned the room. My eyes picked out small shapes that seemed like boxes or pieces of garbage. It littered the floor and huddle around larger forms that I assumed were large crates and bookshelves. The only light in the room was from a monitor of sorts that was tucked away under more garbage on the floor.

“Hello? Doc? Doctor Tape? Wha-what is going on? Did something go wrong?” I yelled into the darkness and my voice echoed off of the metal components in the room and rebounded back in a little voice warped by contact with the wall.

No one answered.

‘This cant be right. Surely they suffered a power shortage and abandoned the building.’ I looked around the room again trying to affirm my belief. ‘Yeah, that’s what’s happening.’ But if they abandoned the building why did they leave me behind?

I pulled my body forward and felt a small tug at my scalp. I instinctively reached up to see if something was stuck in my hair and felt a small cord. Yanking on it left me with a small tingle that bounced around my body and then returned to my head.I panicked and pulled it out more violently and caused it to slowly slide off my head. The sensation of lethargy that I had before went away with the removal of the item. A small LED lit up near my eye which read 100% and quickly ran away to the edge of my vision. ‘Oooook then.’ I slowly got up again and found myself on my haunches. Leaning towards the ground, I let my front hooves touch the floor in order to start going forward. For some odd reason, the movement felt awkward and I felt myself recoil back into an upright form. I tried bending down again but my movements refused to let me go down on all fours. Again and again and again and again. I went down and frantically grabbed onto the floor in order to keep myself on the floor but only found myself upright again. I started {hyperventilating} and kept trying at my futile attempts and found them no better than before.

I screamed out in frustration and fear. “Doctor Tape?! What the hay is going on?! Why! Can’t! I! Move!” I lashed out at the mechanical wiring behind me and found my hoof ripping through it easily, tangling wires around my arm. With a metallic clang I hit the metal parts of the chair and drew back in pain. The jolt was centered around the end of my hoof but as I looked for damage I found that I had soon forgot what it felt like in the first place. It was strange, but no matter where I looked I saw no cuts or bruises that would normally {blossom under my fur. Even stranger, the chair that was installed in the dim darkness now appeared warped in the area I hit.

“No.nononono..” I leaned down again in order to affirm my fears and felt myself automatically rising again. The movement was automatic like that of my normal legs. But they weren’t mine.

”This can’t be happening.” I stared blankly ahead at the dark wall that leaned towards me menacingly. The shadows spilled around my knees and I felt the panic in my breathing. Yet I could not hyperventilate no matter how I tried to feel panicked. I couldn’t feel anything. Staring at the shadows I curled into myself and did what anypony would do if they were stressed.

I shut down. My body hit the floor as I felt myself fade out like a broken light bulb. Yet, my eyes were still open.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

>>>>>Command line Alpha Delta DEVX RUN

::Operation; Serv. !(*$@*# ERROR ERROR ERROR

>>>>>Command line not run. BACKUP load…………………………………………………………………………DONE…………

>>>Command line Alpha Delta PAS RUN

::Operation; Service SYS. CHECK……………………………………………………………………………………….....................

…………………………………….SYS. CORE AI SOL<<< PAS REPL AI DEVX OK. OK.>>>………………SENSE CR NON-OPERATIONAL………COMMAND………….YES……NO…………NO: INPUT DETECTED…..DEFAULT SET…………...

………ERROR COMPATIBILITY NOT FOU!@$(#<<< OVERRIDE DETECTED……..COMPATIBILITY OK

ERROR LCD DISPLAY DAMAGED>>>UNABLE TO DISPLAY: STANDARD OVERLAY<<< SOLUTION.........................ERROR.............…………………….FINISHED

>>>TURN ON

“THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!” The sound of something bashing down onto a piece of metal rang clear in my ears.

Pieces of broken data fluttered past my eyes and disappeared to the side like they did when I awoke the first time. (96% 10:01 AM) the final numbers flittered and died as my eyes focused on the floor. I couldn’t think of anything besides getting up.

'So get up then.' I thought to myself.

“Thuump.SQQQUUUUUUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CRRRASH!” A deafening roar filled the air and quivered as a piece of metal let out a soft sigh and fell to the ground. The soft thumps of something coming closer echoed hauntingly in my ears.

‘I couldn’t move. I can’t move. Why. WHY!? Move. MOVE. MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! Move….why can’t I move…I’m afraid..please no.’

I slammed my hooves against a mental gap in my head and forced my eyes to search for the sound. ‘I need to move!’ I screamed in frustration at myself as I hid in the farthest corner of my mind. I wasn’t there. No matter I did, I didn’t move. I looked in desperation as the thumps came closer to where I was and eventually blocked the soft light that emanated so far away. What replaced it was a piece of flesh. Soft thumps from behind the thing accompanied a rustling as it moved towards the wall besides me.

More shuffling and a feeling of terror shot through me. It was a pain as cold as ice, like fingers that gripped my heart in a tendril that would not be so easily broken. I slowly moved my eyes up the piece of flesh near my head and found wires torn through it in poor sinews of medical practice. It was almost as if something attempted to make a cross-stitch with the wire but utterly failed causing more injury to itself than fixing it. Up, up, the amalgamation of science. Up past the horror of eyes that did not belong in places where they sat in defiance. Past the pieces of glass that cut deep into flesh and bone while wires and blood as thick as tar tied the items in place. On top of the flesh sat…something. A single head poked its broken neck towards my direction and lazily rolled its eyes towards me. From the darkness, rose another head, and a single bright red eye. An arm swung out of the darkness, scooping me from the ground and bringing me up towards the red lights. The arm was composed of a metal hook and clamp which swung my limp body from my leg while my head stared into the ominous creature. I wanted to scream, but I had no mouth that would accept it. I wanted to feel fear, but I had no heart to feel. So I stared at the beast.

Then it spoke.

Words spilled from broken speakers nestled near the ends of the two heads and the bright red light lessened to reveal a third face. A stallion, a mare, and a colt. The faces were construed in pain, the eyes and soul long past the death sentence they had received. It was alive, in its own way.

“What do we have here?” The stallion studied my face as I stood still out of fear.

“A useless drone, throw into the pile!” The mare screamed at the stallion while she turned her head towards another piece of metal on the ground.

“It looks like us. Mama, can we keep it if it looks like us?” The young colt head swung limply while wires hung taunt holding the head into place near a piece of machinery.

“Nonsense! It’s just another drone like the rest of ‘em.” She raised a hoof and swung near my arm. Something fell to the ground with a limp splat. “What the hay! My arm! It took my arm! That beast!”

“Now, now. That arm keeps coming off anyways. Besides! I think don't this is a drone. In fact, I think it has some @(#::@LL# on it.” Lines of data ran past my eyes again showing errors whilst bright lights accompanied it.

I wasn’t at the helm anymore. IT was.

“What are you talking about? Surely @$:#$%( he should have died!” DIED DIE DIE DEID DIED DIE DIE

DEATH COMES TO ALL$#(@>#@L$:!>#ERROR ROROROESEIR

My hooves slammed into the skull of the stallion first. Ripping bone from metal I stabbed the arm that swung desperately in my direction with the pieces of machinery that composed its chest. Squeals of terror erupted from the mouths of others while I silenced the tendrils of wires that snaked across the speaker. Flesh separated here and there as my hooves pounded into anything that came close to me. I wouldn’t let a single bit of this thing exist. I raised one hoof to release into the colts head one more time. It was obliterated underneath the strength of metal on flesh. Nothing could touch me. Nothing CAN touch me. NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING! AHAHAHAHAH! AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAH! ‘The final screeching noises the barely resembled voices crawled out of the mess of a body that was left. All it said was “save us.”

"I've not had this much fun in decades! Oh, this body is so much fun! Ahahahah!" The thing at the helm was giddy as he tore through the remains of the beast.

And the thing just laughed and laughed as it kept pounding away until the screeching noises cut out abruptly and the silence drowned everything.

……

………<SYSTEM REBOOT>

……………

‘What happened?’ I opened my eyes and stared into a hole in the wall. I was on two legs again.'So, I wasn't dreaming?' I wiggled a leg forward and fell forward from the awkward pose I put myself in. "Oof!"I hit the ground and heard a rather squishy sound eminate from under me. I rolled over and desperately scooped most of the gunk off of me.

'Gross! What is this? A rotten muffin?' I got up on my two hooves again and grudgingly gave in to the weird movement it gave me. I stared down into the dark space my two legs occupied and thought a simple command. Forward. 'If I can't do it, maybe I don't have to.' My legs sat dormant as if defiant to my previous attempts.

'Please work?'

In response my legs drifted one in front of the other in the normal fashion that they should have if I was on all fours. It wasn’t as freaky as it seemed, but what was unnerving was that I couldn't remember anything past me waking up. I looked behind me and examined the dark outline of the chair. Fluid sloshed around my feet and I found myself wondering what happened. There wasn't anything that indicated the sudden spawning of this liquid. 'Let alone anything what causes "this." I thought as I hesitantly stretched one hoof over a dark blob and found it easy to balance on one leg.

‘How?’ I can’t keep blaming the experiment for this. Can I?

I trotted on two legs over two pipes and looked down again. ‘Where am I?’ Memories flooded back to me like a tidal wave and I found myself looking at my hooves that seemed to be covered in something. It was too dark. I looked up and observed the broken glass window that held a blue glow. The broken seat sat alone in the corner. The pieces of garbage that sloshed as my hooves trudged through them broke apart easily and allowed me to walk over to the window. I stuck my head against the window and I searched the room on the other side for the blue glow. There, on the ground, sat a stick that cast shadows on a cylindrical object that seemed be colored a faint blue. The shadows stretched towards the walls and revealed tendrils of tar that crept into the darkness and from the darkness back again. It look alive and throbbed as the light desperately pushed it back. I felt the windows until it stretched into a wall. The wall continued into the darkness and so I followed it in search of a door. A piece of glass bumped against my hoof and a whisper accompanied a brush of air that {tickled my fur} as it went up. I tried to remember the feeling again the same way I would if I had taken a sip of sparkle-cola. The feeling was fleeting and it took more effort to remember it than it did to just move on.

I shrugged at sensation and felt around for the dark entryway. The end of my hoof hit the edge of the wall and I swung my hooves onto the cold tile through the entryway. There, in the darkness, sat a single stick of light. I trotted over to it and felt my legs hit something. The cylindrical piece moved in retaliation and fell out of the sticks glow. ‘Curious?’ I squinted my eyes to see into the darkness but found nothing of any worth. I bent down to pick up the glowing stick and held it up to my eye.

‘Its soft glow comes from a chemical known as C2Fe$%!@He6. Also known as holo-sticks to those that use them commonly. ‘

Text filled my screen as I brought the stick away from my eye.

“ AAAAAH!” I screamed in response to the abrupt text and flung the stick to the other side of the room. It landed against something hard which gave a solid ‘thunk’ as metal collided with concrete. The light left me in the shadows but cast its glow on a metal handle that sat next to a glass panel. 'What was that!?' I thought as I felt my face for the something that might have caused that. It returned empty so I sullenly disregarded it. I trotted over towards the stick again making sure not to step on any of the larger pieces of metal lying next to the light. I let my eyes trace the panel and eventually found a solid button lit by the fluorescent glow of the light. I pressed it and was met with a plastic clicking.

"VRRrr VRRRrr VRRRRRRRRRR-KAFF! KAFF! KAC-RRrrr" Sparks flew put of the darkness a few feet away from me and I trotted over to peer inside. In the darkness loomed a massive device that seemed as big as the generators in hoofington. To the side of the machine, a dark yellow light spilled into a dark cylinder and the sounds of hissing slithered there way through the window between me and the machine. Loud clanks eminated from the machine and I heard the telltale signs of rust as it squealed into a locked position.

"Beep." The sound of a timer or notification alarm came from my left. "Beep." It sounded off again and I turned my attention back to the panel that sat in the wall. The button was a soft red that faded in and out of color as I trotted over to the panel. Curiosity took over me and I found my hoof hovering over the button. "What's the worst that could happen?" I mumbled under my breath as my brain listed off the many things the 'could' go wrong.

Another click on the panel caused the machine in the other room to begin moving and turning. Earth pony tech took its simplistic approach to the question of how to get energy by turning gears and motors in order to generate electrictiy. The only problem was finding something to push those gears.

The ground shook as the entire building surged with unfiltered electricity and something distant started it's progress once more. The sound of the engines turning again brought me close to the window that looked out over the great machine. With a mighty "WUMPH" a piston came crashing down into its rested position thus shooting another piston into the air only to come falling with the same vigor as the previous one. With each fall the lights which faded into existence and become as bright as the suns in which they were built to encapture. The squealing of rusted gears and mechanical equipment made the machine seem tortured as it continued to get faster in its task to supply power.

The inside of the room suddenly lit up as massive industrial lights shed their light on the machine and I found myself terrified at what I saw. Inside the room lay the engineers whom tried to fix the engines. Black goo laced the floor panels and threaded into the bodies of four different ponies dressed in bright yellow vests. As the engine made another revolution the bodies quivered as the goo separated slightly to reveal a mechanical shard that belonged to the dormant piston that hung silent from the top of the machine. A jet of steam shot out with fiery ferocity and scalded the arm of one the dead bodies. It didn't move as the steam raced back into the machine just as quick as it came out and the goo slid back into place. The other two bodies were stuck to the walls of the engine with parts of the goo spooling around one to lace in and out of the machine walls like wires. The fourth body seemed mostly intact and lay lifeless as goo covered it's lower half like an odd blanket.

"Celestia, no." I frantically looked around for a way into the room and found a door to the side labeled with the words 'Aux. Engine'. 'I need to help them! Are they dead? Oh please tell me I'm not too late.' pictures from the past flashed in my head and I found myself running through the door .

'Don't leave me' The face of the stallion whom died weeks ago turned his gaze towards me. Blaming me for not being able to save him

. "It's not my fault!" I frantically threw myself over the banister that surrounded the catwalk that overlooked the engine and felt the bar bend beneath me. With a "crack!" the floor split uderneath my body hit as it hit it full force. I wobbled as I attempted to get up and as such gripped onto the heavy metallic substance that made up the support beam for the catwalk.

'You let me die.' Shadow looked at me mournfully and cocked his head in the normal fashion he used when he was confused.

'It wasn't me! I was a bystander and he took the bullet. I'm innocent.' The words seemed weak when I said them out loud. My flustered nature only served to slow me down as I inched closer to the bodies.

“I’m innocent.” I said to the dead corpse laying before me. Its head cocked to the side, its bloated body was festered with black goo that seeped in and out of cut orfices. It was a colt that seemed to be built physically before his demise. His face, though sagging from post-mortem, hung tight around a set jaw bone that made it seem like this was a head staff, or at least someone to be respected. The arms of the colt were smudged with old and blackened blood which stuck to the fur giving it a matted look. ’What happened to you?’

I continued to the next body and did a military assessment on the vitals of the pony stuck to the wall.

“PSSSSSSSSSSSSSSH!” Steam jetted out of the port again and I stepped out of the way instinctively to avoid getting burned. The pony on the wall however could not and was promptly scorched by the vapor. All that was left of the right side of his face was a small bit of fiber tissue that clung desperately to the bare skull it was exposed on. Any signs of what gender this pony was erased by the machines repetitive actions of melting the pony.

‘I’m sorry.’

My military flash-course reminded of the importance of identifying bodies and I found myself scanning the rest of it for anything I could use. The remaining part of the face was a flattened mess that had been shaped to the skull underneath but miraculously a tuft of hair was snagged on a piece of metal next to the back of the head.

‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry..’

I reached around and grabbed the tuft between my hooves. Blue, as blue as a robin’s egg. Not helpful but it somehow felt important to me. I turned back to the corpse and noticed the orange jacket that hung around its neck and became torn near the stomach. Nestled on the burned side of the shirt was half a name tag that sat forlorn on the shirt pocket. I quickly snatched it before the steam blew out again and I turned the card back and forth in my hooves.

The numbers 82930-443 finished a long list of numbers that continued past the missing section. The picture was missing entirely besides a white edge that probably belonged to the person. Set to the right of the picture was a name,Doppel Gänger, and below it was a symbol of three rings set around a head.

I turned towards the rest of the bodies. ‘Dead, they were all dead.’ They sat dejected among different machinery and pieces of metal. ‘What happened here?’

I clutched the piece of fur and name tag in my hoof and slowly trotted over to the next body. With a small gulp I poked my head over the corpse on the floor and found a mare dressed in the same outfit as the rest. Tendrils of black spiraled over her stomach and coiled into a ball near her shoulder. She didn’t have an arm in the first place so it seemed like the goo was positioned where it should have been as some kind of replacement. ‘Strange. I wonder.’ I leaned over and reached out a hoof to poke the goo. It recoiled from my touch but felt strangely metallic to the touch. “Humph. Odd.” I said out loud and turned to the last two bodies. They both seemed covered by the tendrils of goo but for some reason it looked like one of them was moving.

‘Wait, no it was moving!’ I hurriedly dropped the tuft of hair and nametag and bolted over to the moving body. As I skidded close I looked in fear as I saw a piece of metal jutting out of the leg leaving it bent in an odd angle. Then another piece showed up in his arm pinning him to the ground until finally a dark shaft of rusted metal jutted out of the chest cavity. Black tendrils pried at the metal hopelessly as they spiraled around the back of the pony and spilled over to the other bodies. Cables tugged at the goo as they fled away into a dark corner of the room.

His eyes frantically dashed back and forth before settling on me. His pupils shrank and a tiny squeal escaped his lips and his left arm started thrashing in my direction. ”Stay back! I-I am dead! Yeah! Go away you stupid robot!” He squealed again as he realized all too late that his movements had caused the shaft to embed itself deeper. A small gurgle came up his throat and he hacked up a piece of black phlegm.

I didn’t know what to do. They don’t exactly train you for this type of situation in school. I looked over him and noticed the same orange jacket poking through the gaps in the black tendrils. He was smaller and appeared to be a younger worker, probably in his early twenties. A dark red mop of hair stood in contrast to his white fur that seemed spotted towards his feet in the same dark red as his hair.

‘Also why did he call me a robot?’

“Hey, calm down. I’m not here to hurt you. What happened here?” I calmly moved over to his head and did my best to sit down. It managed to turn into a slight fall that landed me in a crouch on the two legs that I had.

He looked at me with a terrified expression before falling into a hacking fit again. After he finished, another black blob had been thrown from his lungs. “What is-no, who is controlling this DEV-X unit? Whoever it is send help! They-they broke containment. We had to se-“ He suddenly cut himself off as his frantic actions caused the metal resting on his chest to settle closer to the ground. A scream escaped his mouth and tears of pain formed around his eyes.

“Stop talking! Look I don’t know what’s going on or who you think I am but just tell me how to remove this.” I motioned towards the menacing metal poking out of the black goo and he lazily turned towards it.

“You can’t do anything. I’m already dead.” He poked at the end of the metal with his left arm and cringed as the slight movement wiggled it around his body. “This metal came from the cylinder block for piston 6. It was so rusted we had to replace it. Then-then..” He stopped talking and his arm dropped limply to his side. “How long has it been? The power was turned off in order to quarantine the area. I was left behind. I…I died.” He stared at the metal embedded in his chest and the cables resting near his head. He realized the haunting truth.

“What do you mean? You look fine to me!” I tried a faint laugh but it died as he turned towards me with cold eyes.

“Kill me. Tell Lyra that Check died in peace. Tell her….tell her I didn’t end up like them.” The pain showed through his eyes and more tears flowed down his cheeks.

I recoiled in shock. ’Kill him? What the hay! No! Not again!’ I desperately yanked on the piece of metal stuck in his arm. “No! I can’t let you die! Think about staying alive. Don’t leave me here alone!” I heaved once more on the metal and it’s brittle part snapped in my hooves leaving a gaping hole in his arm that ended near the bottom in metal. To my amazement the black goo suddenly flooded the hole and immediately hardened.

He stared at me in bewilderment and sighed as he pulled a photo from his pocket with his left arm. “Here.Take this. I understand.I’m….asking too much.” He handed me a photo and looked away. “I never got to tell her properly so, since I’m going to be gone soon why don’t you tell her? As soon as that generator is shut off I'll be reset again.”

I grabbed the photo carefully with my hoof. I turned it over and noticed a lime-green pony with white and light blue hair standing next to the pony before me. They both seemed happy and appeared to be wearing the same outfit with a massive sign behind them, Equine Synthetics. “Who is she? How do I find her? What do I tell her?“ I bombarded him with question after question and he just shook his head as more tears rolled down his face.

“Go to the Omega Quadrant. You should be able to find an access tunnel labeled 2-F. As for the message. Tell her-“ He hacked again but through the coughing he sputtered and spit out the black goo in defiance. ”I’m not being reset again!” He said.

Fire burned in his eyes and before I could stop him he grabbed hold of the piece of metal with both arms. “Tell her I loved her.” With a small twist the metal was plunged downward and into his spinal column. Along its way it managed to nick his heart that was beating faster and faster. The cables beside him unplugged and slithered away into the corner. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head and his arms limply fell to his sides as his heart beat once, skipped a beat, and stopped.

At first it was silent as my brain tried to comprehend what just happened. Then I got up and trotted away from the corpse and over to the staircase. All I was left with was a quest and the menacing noise of the engine chugging up. Down. Up. Down.

I screamed in anguish. I don't want this. I never wanted this! Yet my cries were unheard and drowned by the chugging of the uncaring machinery laying below in the wake.

Comments

[weirdjed]

Hey, for those that are reading this story I would like to point out a couple things. I am desperately trying to release a chapter a month but college is becoming a nuisance. I plan on releasing chapter 3 in a month but who knows what life will throw at ya. Also, for grammar people, I recognize it isn't that great and Chapter 2 is going under heavy revisions to make the chapter coherent and concise. Stick with me a bit longer and I promise to do my best.

This chapter took a bit since holidays got in the way and I lost half of the document and was forced to rewrite it. EITHER WAY, thank you for reading so far.