> Between Heaven and Hell > by Shining_Onyx > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Naming > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A large black stallion awoke with a start his brow beaded with sweat as another nightmare unfolded in his mind. “Was that necessary Abbaddon?” He questioned. ~Of course, wouldn’t be me without scaring something~ A voice chuckled. The stallion shook his head and smiled, Abbaddon was the demon lord of fear and his companion since he was a small filly. He should have been used to the nightmares, but Abbaddon kept surprising him. ~So,~ Abbaddon took a spectral form in front of him, which was similar to a dark black genie with glowing red eyes. ~What’s your plan for today?~ “Whatever they give me on the schedule, as usual.” He chuckled, climbing out of bed. “You should know me by now.” ~I looked at it already, we get breakfast, go to this thing they call “The Naming”, and we get the rest of the day.~ The stallion let out a short laugh, “Hah, the rest of the day in this gilded prison. Be nice to see what’s outside the walls.” ~Oh come on 157, we can still stir up havoc in these walls.~ 157 finished making the covers of his bed and walked towards the door of his room, “Always ready to cause trouble aren’t you?” ~You know it!~ he let out a laugh and disappeared. ~Also don’t forget your blindfold, you know your eyes scare ponies.~ “Ah yes, thank you.” 157 turned around and looked at his blindfold hanging on the mirror. He looked in the mirror to see glowing red dots staring back at him inside the skull. He dismissed it and applied the blindfold. ~There we go, presentable to all these damned pansies.~ “Your respect for ponies goes far Abbaddon” 157 let out a chuckle. ~Eh your race is a bunch of wusses and you know it~ 157 sighed, “Ain’t that the truth.” He opened the door to see all the other “Inmates” opening their doors and heading to the cafeteria for breakfast. He walked out and automatically sompony ran into him. “Oh I’m so sorry sir, please don’t hurt me.” The small mare was cowering in fear as she waited for 157 to strike her, as was custom among the facility. The experiments were more important than the help, so they got special privileges. “Come now, don’t need to be scared, I’m not gonna hurt ya.” 157 reassured, holing out a hoof. “Hey look fellas, big bad Sin’s gone soft.” A familiar, and annoying, gruff voice laughed. The voice belonged to Experiment 132, a jerk and a pervious inmate of Canterlots maximum security prison. 157 resisted the urge to spin around and punch him, being twice the size of a normal pony, and slowly faced the teasing pony. He faced 132 and his gang, all from the prison, as they walked towards him. “You’re doing it wrong Sin, you need to discipline these whelps. Show them who’s in charge here.” To solidify his point he punched the mare in the side and a tear fell from her eye. “See, you got to show your dominance around here or everyone will walk all over you.” 157 didn’t hear him as he kept staring at the weeping mare. Something snapped inside his head and his vision went red. His teeth sharpened as 157 leaped onto 132 and started pummeling and biting wherever he could. Four guards came and pulled 157 off 132, his vision cleared and he came back to reality. ~Unholy crap, you are never that vicious in training. Can you do that more often!?~ Abbaddon’s excitement was barely contained and 157 could see his wide smile. 157 panted and thoroughly looked 132 over. He was covered in bite marks and his face was mangled so bad 157 wasn’t sure if it was 132 he was looking at or one of his cronies. “Dear god boss, you alright?” One of the gang members had a worried look on his face. 132 tried to speak but it only came out as a garbled mess from his now deformed mouth. 157 smiled slightly, happy that the ungrateful bastard got what he deserved. He looked around for the small mare that ran into him and saw her hiding behind a guard, yet staring at him intently. As soon as she noticed him looking at her, she looked away with a slight blush. ~Haha, look at him, he looks terrible!~ Abbaddon used his magic to lift 132 into the air and spun him. ~This is great, you really went to work on him!~ The guards and the gang backed up from 157, horrified looks on their faces as Abbaddon carelessly swung around 132. “Experiment 157, put him down now!” one of the guards ordered in a shaking voice. ~Oh hush, not like you can do anything.~ Abbaddon countered. “Abbaddon put him down.” 157 gently commanded. ~Oh fine~ 132 fell to the ground with a thud. 157’s stomach growled as he remembered that he never ate. He turned around only to be confronted by guards brandishing their shaking weapons at him. He looked them over and slowly reached for his blindfold. The guards shaking increased as he slowly took it off staring down at them with the blood red dots that served as his eyes. He let out a primal roar and the sides of his mouth splitting open and his teeth sharpening. The guards fell over, paralyzed from fear, weapons still in hoof. 157’s mouth went back to normal and he reapplied the blindfold. ~I like that, simple yet effective.~ Abbaddon said with a note of approval. “They were terrified anyway, didn’t need anything over extravagant.” 157 stated, calmly stepping over the guards. “Besides, I’m hungry.” ~You mortals and your need for food, I swear.~ Abbaddon’s form threw its hooves in the air. 157 chuckled, “Not all of us are all powerful demons that feed off fear.” ~Hey at least I’m not like my wife, she feeds off the life of ponies.~ Abbaddon countered. “You never say anything about her.” 157 observed. “I’m guessing you miss her.” ~Dearly~ They walked to the cafeteria in silence, silent other than 157’s stomach grumbling. 157 opened the door of the cafeteria and the talking automatically stopped, everypony giving him space to get breakfast. 157 got his normal, eggs and synthetic meat to resist the slight urge he had of eating somepony. He sat at an empty table, since it would empty anyway anyway if he sat at a full one. ~I restate what I said earlier, your race is full of wusses.~ Abbaddon stated. ~Except her apparently.~ 157 looked up to see a mare walking up to them, her blue coat seeming to glimmer in the light. He shrugged and continued to tear at the meat with his teeth, because apparently they couldn’t trust him with a knife. “Um…hello?” She whispered. “What do you want?” 157 asked, the look of annoyance clearly present on his face. She was shocked by how hostile he sounded. She cleared her throat and spoke a little louder. “I just wanted to say thank you for standing up for me back there.” 157’s annoyance slowly faded and became more gentle, “Oh well you’re welcome then.” “And, um,” She nervously swayed, “I was wondering if me and some of my friends could sit here with you.” She smiled, still very nervous. ~Lookie there, making some friends finally.~ Abbaddon remarked. A look of surprised crossed the mares face. “Who was that?” “Hold the phone,” 157 straightened, “You can hear him?” ~She can hear me?~ Abbaddon was just as surprised as 157. “Y-yeah, is that strange?” She looked around. “Hey Sapphire, is it ok if we sit here or not?” A pegusus mare walked up beside the mare. “Hello 231.” 157 greeted. “It’s Spitfire now, thank you very much.” She said proudly. “Went through the naming last week.” “Congrats,” he resumed eating his steak, looking back up at them, “you can sit here by the way.” “Sweet.” She turned around to the other three ponies standing a little bit away, “Its fine guys, come on over.” They walked over and sat down at the table eyeing 157 nervously. One of them leaned towards Spitfire and whispered something in her ear. “Of course it’s safe to sit here.” she exclaimed, “The only reason he hurts somepony (from what I’ve seen anyway) is if they make him mad. Then we would run, but until then we are safe Soarin.” “Alright fine, jeez.” The pegusus Soarin backed off, still eyeing157 nervously. The light grey pegusus next to them let out a small giggle and looked at 157, “So, have you went through the naming yet?” “Apparently you all have.” He observed, a little curious about her eyes. “Yup.” She beamed. “I’m Derpy Hooves, you already know Spitfire and Soarin, and this here is Daring Doo.” She pointed to the light brown pegusus. “Not daring enough to get into a fight with you.” Daring muttered nervously. “And her?” 157 pointed to the blue mare. “Oh she isn’t an experiment here, she’s a mailmare.” Derpy explained. “Interesting.” 157 finished the last piece of his steak and started on the eggs. “So, 157,” Spitfire stated swallowing some hay, “I’m kind of curious of what race you are. I’ve seen you cast magic but you have no horn, and the scientist say you are a type of pegusus but I don’t see any wings.” “These things?” 157 unfolded his bat wings from seemingly nowhere, to the shock of the ponies at the table. “Never use ‘em” Daring recovered from her shock first, “Why not, flying is the best thing ever. The freedom of flight is breathtaking, even in this prison.” “The scientists apparently don’t believe I need to fly, I asked them once and they said it’s not required for my directive, whatever the hell that means.” ~Hey, don’t use the name of hell in vain.~ Abbaddon spoke up, obviously annoyed. Sapphire spoke up, “So who is that voice?” Soarin looked worried, “Sapphire that was 157.” ~She meant me dumbass.~ Abbaddon was quickly getting angry. “Now, now Abbaddon. You know only I can hear you,” 157 chided, then remembering Sapphire, “and her apparently.” All but Sapphire looked at 157 in shock, “You hear voices too?” 157 smiled a little,” Just one, and he’s been here since I was a filly.” “So what did he say to, uh, us?” Spitfire wondered. Sapphire blushed, “Well, it’s a little rude…” “He called Soarin a dumbass.” 157 interrupted. The table looked at 157 in shock then the mares burst out laughing while soaring blushed with anger and embarrassment. Sapphire let out a small giggle and 157 couldn’t help but let out a small smile. Derpy stopped laughing first, “Hey look, he smiled!” She exclaimed. “We must be doing something right then.” Spitfire beamed. Daring turned to Sapphire, “Hey Saph you grab a paper?” “Oh, I almost forgot,” She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out a newspaper for them, “There you go.” The ponies stacked their empty trays up and put them to the side so they could set the paper in the middle. The front page of the paper was about the Crystal Kingdom out in the artic. It mentioned how the rebellion had succeeded due to the assistance of the Princesses. “Sapphire, are you alright?” Derpy interrupted the group. Sapphire looked up, dazed, “What, oh, yes I’m fine Derpy.” She looked back at the picture. “It just feels like I’ve been there before…” “Same.” 157 murmured. Spitfire gave them a skeptical look, “Really? You two have been to the crystal kingdom?” 157 shook his head, “I’m not sure, Abbaddon?” ~I…I’m at a loss. I remember blood, and very dark, very powerful, magic.~ He shook his head. ~But nothing else. It was very possible that we were there, but our memories are blocked by something.~ 157 sat up, “Well no use worrying about it, the past is the past.” “Just gotta look to the future.” Soarin finished. “Hey look here,” Derpy pointed to another article. “There’s a coronation for a princess.” “Mi Amore Cadenza, interesting name.” 157 read off. He looked at a nearby clock, “Well I better get going, don’t think they will appreciate me being late.” “Alright, later 157.” Daring Doo said. “We’ll throw a party for you afterwards.” Derpy smiled. 157 returned the smile and trotted off to the “Judgment room”, which was just a circle room with all the scientists in where they gave assignments or punishments. ~Nice girls~ Abbaddon commented. 157 chuckled, “And what about Soarin.” ~He’s an idiot.~ 157 let out a short laugh and kept moving towards “Judgment” in the center of the facility. The guards opened the doors for him and he was greeted by the sight of nervous scientists and a midnight blue mare it the circle. He stood in the center as he was used to form all the “accidents” that happened around him. He heard another set of doors open in front of him and 132 walked through completely healed from his previous wounds. 157 smiled, “I know the doctors can work wonders, but I see they couldn’t fix your face.” 132 growled and stood on the edge of the circle, giving 157 an evil glare. One of the scientist stood up and addressed the two stallions, “As custom for the naming we will have a duel, but due to your *ahem*, history, with each other it will be different.” He looked at his colleagues and looked back at the stallions. “This duel will be to the death. Begin” Two blades fell to the floor of the arena in front of the stallions. 132 picked up his blade and charged at 157 who calmly dodged him, picking up his blade. ~So, how you want to do this?~ Abbaddon inquired. “Let’s get him bleeding first, I want to try something.” 157 grinned evilly. ~Oh, Ohh, I see.~ Abbaddon had a bit of mischief in his voice. 132 noticed the smile and backed off, still giving 157 an evil look. The two stallions strafed each other, never taking their eyes off the other. 132’s patience wore out and he charged, only to have 157 dodge and swiped at 132’s side, drawing some blood. ~Good?~ “No, another.” 157 returned to the position. 132 looked at his side and growled, “You’ll pay for that Sin.” 157 smiled and charged at 132 knocking his blade away and swiping twice giving him more wounds. “Good.” 157 dropped his blade and kneeled, “Guard me.” ~On it~ 157 felt Abbaddon put a shield up. 132 saw 157 kneel and charged his blade ready to strike. His blade deflected off Abbaddons shield and a look of confusion appeared on his face. He kept swinging, each time harder in hopes of breaking Abbaddons shield. He backed off in surprise as 157’s eyes opened and blood poured from the sockets. 157 unfolded his wings and 132 fell to the ground screaming in pain. “AHH, MY BLOOD, ITS BURNING ME!”132 screamed, clutching at his wounds. “SIN, YOU BASTARD, I’LL KILL YOU.” “Don’t worry 132,” 132’s eyes widened as Abbaddons voice mixed in with 157’s, “You will not survive this.” “What are you?” 132 sounded scared. “Your worst nightmare.” 157 smiled evilly. “Goodbye, 132.” 132 screamed one more time as his body split apart and flew everywhere, leaving a bloody mess in the arena. The blood stopped pouring from 157’s eyes as he returned to the center of the room and stood at attention, waiting for the decision of the scientists. A scientist stood up, “157, before we name you we must know what that ability was.” “That was what I would like to call blood magic, from my research I am the first one to be able to use it.” 157 answered. “And the change in voice?” “A way to intimidate my opponents.” 157 stated. The mare stood up, “How is thou so fluent in this blood magic?” “It comes naturally ma’am.” 157 answered calmly. “Does it have other uses besides torture?” “It allows me to fully control other ponies for as long as I can keep up my concentration.” 157 said proudly. “How many?” She seemed interested in the control. “I never tested it ma’am.” She thought for a moment, “Bring in some guards.” Three guards walked into the room, keeping their distance from 157. “Try controlling these three at once.” She commanded. “Yes ma’am.” Blood poured from 157’s eyes as he took hold of the guards and forced them to be in a stalemate of where they all pointed their weapon at each other. “Excellent, release them.” She ordered. 157 relinquished control and the guards fainted. He panted a little and stood back up, facing the mare. “Princess, would you like to name 157” the scientist asked. “Yes, his name will be Onyx. The purge is one step closer.” She turned and walked off. > The Beast > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Since the naming ceremony is over we shall now grant you one request.” The lead scientist stared down at him. “What do you wish for most?” Onyx sat down and thought for a moment while his stomach growled. The blood magic drained him more than predicted and he was hungry. He tried to concentrate, but he kept going back to breakfast and to his steak. “If the circle will allow it I would like to eat before I make my request.” Onyx looked at the scientist with a small smirk. The scientist looked confused for a moment and nodded his head, “We shall send-“ “No need sir.” Onyx gestured around. “You know my…appetite.” “Alright, would you like us to close the shutters?” “That would be preferred, thank you.” He bowed. The scientist nodded and gestured to his colleagues who quickly closed the shutters to the windows, bathing the room in darkness. Onyx adjusted his vision so he was able to see and smiled. He was in his element. Pure darkness, the only place where he could be himself. There was no time to enjoy this though; he had to eat before he lost control of himself. ~Why not let the beast out, c’mon it’ll be fun.~ Abbaddon said slyly. Onyx took a quick look around and sighed. Why not, no one was watching. He sighed and slowly felt himself go into the savage instinct that felt all too familiar. The Beast took control, sniffing the air for its next victim. He walked towards the corpse of 132 and sniffed it making sure it was not poisoned. When it was satisfied he started to eat the corpse. A dim ray of light filled the room and the beast heard voices coming from the source. “Nonsense, he just loves the night as he should.” “Ms. Luna I still would not suggest communicating, he wanted privacy.” “Whatever he is doing is able to be seen by all.” “Well last time he ate a corpse we couldn’t eat for a week.” A large silhouetted shape covered most of the light and the beast came closer to the open window. He let out a growl in warning and kept staring at the figure. “Onyx, come into the light and bring your…lunch with you.” The figure ordered. The beast growled louder and stepped back into the dark, still staring at the figure. “157 come out now!” The figure ordered louder. “Ma’am I don’t think that is 157 in there.” “Of course it is, you never opened the doors to leave.” The beast lunged at the window to attack the sentient who dared to order him around. ~Shoot, should’ve made popcorn.~ Abbaddon scolded himself. The figure jumped back and the beast left a crack in the window and fell to the floor. He rubbed his head looking up at the figure, growling, he jumped back up and hit the glass with his leg smashing it even more. “Subdue him!” the figure called. The beast felt lightning course through its body and he slumped to the ground paralyzed. He let out a roar at the figure and surrendered. “What is wrong with him?” The figured questioned. “He seems to have gone feral.” Another figure came out of an elevator nearby. “It might have come from his hunger, some ponies go through personality changes when they get hungry.” It started walking towards the beast. The beast growled, “Yes sentient, come closer to the feral beast.” The figured leaped back, “It seems he retained some of his civility.” ~Ohh, they just called you a savage. Now what will you do about that?~ Abbaddon egged it on. The beast roared and charged at the figure nearby, getting shocked again in the process. He slumped and stared daggers at the small pony. The pony gulped, “So, what is your name?” “Names are for friends, not prey.” The beast growled. The pony looked shocked by this but quickly straightened, “So, um, do you know how to do blood magic?” The beast growled at the pony but kept his mouth shut firmly. He did not intend to answer any questions to the pathetic excuse of a creature. Hiding behind technology, it made him sick. A pony around the size of the beast walked behind the annoying pony staring at him cautiously. The beast eyed the pony, evaluating how dangerous she could be. “Are you sure he won’t attack me this time?” The female asked nervously. The beast recognized the voice as the one in the window and charged forward with anger, only to be electrocuted again. “Weaklings, hiding behind your technology.” The beast growled at them. “Excuse me sir, but that technology keeps you fed.” The small one said nervously. The beast’s ears perked up on this. He completely forgot about his lunch. Turning around he walked towards the corpse in the side of the room and resumed his meal, eyeing the other ponies cautiously. His ear flickered as he listened into their frantic but hushed conversation. “What will we do with him now, he obviously will not listen to either of us.” The mare whispered. “I still say his behavior change is triggered by how hungry he is, let him eat and Onyx will regain control.” The stallion explained. “And what if he doesn’t?” The mare was getting annoyed. “Then we will have to start the project over from scratch.” The stallion said calmly, walking in the beast’s direction. The beast growled and sent him scurrying back to the mare. “We will not have time, I am leaving in a few years and I need him to exact my revenge.” The mare sounded frantic. “Get him back to normal or I will have your head Solar.” She walked out of the room. The stallion looked scared and walked towards the beast. “If I turn off the suppressor will you talk to me.?” The beast picked a bone out of his teeth. “No.” A glimmer of hope shined in the stallion’s eye. “Why not?” The beast finished the last piece of meat and stood up, “Because you have no respect, beat me in a one on one fight, without your technology, and win. Then I will answer any questions you have.” “But you were created-“ “Created!?” The beast stepped forward in outrage. “I was created by no one. I was born into this world to show ponies true power. I know this is my destiny, but to fulfill it I must leave this technological cage and find it myself. You and all your other friends are just obstacles in my path.” “But-“ “I am what ponies should be! I am the ultimate life form in your pitiful civilization! I am your savior!” The beast fell unconscious as he was pumped with electricity. > Somethings not right here > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The child and the past Onyx woke with his head throbbing in the infirmary. He hoisted himself up only to be knocked down again by his friends. “Onyx, are you alright?”Derpy gave him a concerned look, or as concerned as she could with her eyes. “You have been unconscious for two days.” Onyx dismissed her concern with a wave of his hoof, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine, just a headache.” “So you’re not hungry or anything?” Soarin asked cautiously. “Nope,” Noticing the fear in his movement. “What happened?” He asked quickly. The all looked at each other nervously, Sapphire finally spoke up. “It’s a little inaccurate, but you went into a primal rage, though you were still intelligent, attacking a scientist and Luna.” She quickly backed up from Onyx after her explanation. Onyx sat there thinking and looked back at Sapphire. “Anything else?” “You kept saying something about our technology and us being weak.” A voice explained. “Also about how you will bring ponies back to being strong.” A scientist came up next to Onyx looking him in the eye. Onyx returned his gaze, “So I’m guessing you were the one I attacked?” “Correct, but now we know how to control you when you get like that.” He turned to leave. “You do know he will be prepared for it next time, if there is one.” The scientist stopped and turned around, “What do you mean, and why do you say him?” Onyx chuckled, ‘First off, I have no control over that creature. Second off, he is an intelligent being, he will overcome every obstacle to reach his goal, be it living or not.” The scientist stared at him for a moment, “I will inform the others. The rest of you leave him to rest, besides its after curfew.” “Yes Sir!” They all answered and walked off to their rooms. The scientist turned back to Onyx, “When you are feeling better you may return to your room.” “Thank you sir.” The scientist smiled and left Onyx alone in the infirmary. <----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> Onyx awoke again with a nagging feeling in the back of his head. He felt like something was pulling him somewhere. With a start, he got out of the bed and walked out of the infirmary, into the eerily quiet hallway of the facility. He shivered from fear of the unnaturally quiet hallway and looked around. There were; no guards, no late night mailmares, nothing, just silence. He thought for a moment and came to the conclusion Abbaddon was just messing with him. “Okay Abbaddon, you got me, you can stop now.” ~What are you talking about, I was sleeping.” Abbaddon grumbled, the drowsiness apparent in his voice. Onyx’s eyes widened as he heard Abbaddon say that. This wasn’t a hallucination, something was wrong here. The feeling returned and tugged him towards the left hallway, being powerless to stop it, he walked towards it. The invisible guide led him around the facility going into corridors Onyx never knew about or even heard of. He stopped in front of a metal grate that controlled the temperature of the facility. “Are you sure?” He whispered to what he believed was nothing. Sending another shiver down his spine, he felt a presence nod. He removed the grate from the wall and crawled in, making sure to reapply it to cover his tracks. Crawling through the vents the presence guided him past other subjects and scientist’s rooms, he was stopped over a grate inside a pitch black room. Adjusting his vision, he peered through the cracks in the gate to see the tanks lining the walls, along with something floating inside them. He felt the presence urging him on and he reluctantly opened the grate. As soon as he was out of the vents a light turned on illuminating a desk at the end of the room. He walked towards the desk, afraid of what he would find in the stacks of papers the covered it. He stopped halfway to the desk and stared at it, trying his hardest not to go back to the infirmary. “Don’t stop.” The whisper terrified Onyx as it came from nowhere yet everywhere, and echoed in the room. Obeying the voice, he walked the rest of the way to the desk and stared at the papers. “Read.” With a shivering hoof he picked up the closest one, and read [Subject 153 failed, instability within lung caused a rupture and made her drown. Subjects; 154, 159, and 157 still live, will proceed with extra caution on next tests.] Onyx fear fled as he read the paper and questions started forming within his mind. Who was subject 153? Why has he never met 154 and 159? He picked up another paper and started reading. [Subject 157 has grown at a phenomenal rate, we had to move him to a larger capsule to support his size. He is as big as Luna now. Sadly 154 awoke too early and broke his capsule. Could not survive without the nutrients and died moments later.] [Subject 157’s eyes opened today, Luna was here to see them. They were strange, the outsides were black and there was only the Iris’, adding on they were red. We must keep a close eye on him.] [159 still has not grown from a foal, 157 will not listen to the command we hardwired into him, and to add on to that the scientists are going mad saying there are ghosts. The initial test was a failure but maybe we can train 157 naturally.] Onyx moved the papers aside and saw photos underneath. He picked up one that said “157-5 weeks.” It was him and he was floating inside a tank, he didn’t look any different than what he looked like now. The computer monitor on the desk turned on in front of him and it showed a scene with him and some scientists. “157 commands, test one.” The scientist announced, turning to Onyx, “Battle, no response, Raise the flag.” A flag came out of the center of the room. “Defend this flag, now Starlight, take it from him.” The mare with him walked over to the flag, took it out of the ground, and walked back. The Onyx with them stared confused. The scientist sighed, “Shut down the camera, this is a failure.” The monitor shut off. Onyx stared at the blank monitor dumbstruck, “Was I supposed to be a pawn for them to order around on a whim?” “Yes, just like the rest of us” He turned around to see semi-translucent ponies standing around him. One stepped forward and looked at him happily. “You are what we truly wished to create, a living being that can think for himself. Luna, however wished to create soldiers so she could have revenge on her sister. 157, we ask one thing of you.” He turned to one of the capsules and a light turned on from under it, showing a small floating filly. “Take this child, I believe she will not be as lucky as you were. Give her a chance to live like a normal pony. Onyx stared at the small filly in the capsule, and imagined how she would be if she became a slave to Luna. “Everyone deserves a life of freedom, even artificial creations.” The pony sighed happily, “Thank you 157, we will always be with you.” Onyx returned the old pony’s smile, “It’s Onyx.” “Alright Onyx this child is now your daughter, treat her as one and let her live her life.” He started to fade, “We will watch you.” Once all the spirits disappeared Onyx went to work trying to release the filly. He twisted the valves to drain the water and unlocked the capsule. He reached in and cradled the sleeping filly in his hooves. Turning to leave he heard voices coming from the door, narrowing his eyes he went back into the air vent and reapplied the grate. Instead of leaving quickly, he stayed and listened to the ponies that entered the room. “Are you sure there is still hope for 157, that change in him might be dangerous.” “I never thought we would be able to program 157, Luna believed she would be able to train him as a loyal soldier.” Onyx felt anger at being called a number and the thought of being controlled. He latched onto the voices with blood magic and drained the oxygen from them, effectively killing them. Satisfied, he made his way back to his room is the rest wing. Setting the child on the bed he took a better look at his now adopted daughter. She was a dark brown, with a light green mane. He covered her in his blanket to keep her warm and sat to digest what he learned. So far what he learned was; he was not supposed to be alive, his intention was to be a mindless slave, Luna was trying to create an army. But for what? He looked back at the child as she let out a small sneeze. He had a new purpose now, he was not going to let anyone become a slave, especially the child. ~You’re joking right, tell me you’re joking?~ Abbaddons voice pierced his thoughts. “What’s your problem now?” ~You must have had the cheesiest thought have ever known. Wait, no, there was that one guy… never mind the second.~ Abbaddon sounded on the verge of laughter. “And what makes you think I can’t?” Onyx was annoyed. ~Well first, you have a child to take care of now. Second, how can you guarantee that the people you free were slaves and not just, say, paying off debts?~ His form appeared in front of Onyx. ~Besides, not like you are going anywhere anytime soon.~ Abbaddon had a point, Onyx had no way of leaving the station. His stomach rumbled, breaking his thoughts. ~I got it, don’t want to murder your new daughter now.~ Abbaddons form smiled slyly. Onyx was about to say something when his stopped growling. Surprised Onyx looked at Abbaddon, “Have you always been able to do that?” ~Yes.~ He smiled slyly. Onyx was about to yell at him about not doing that more often, but thought against it. Abbaddon had ways of weaseling his way out of conversations and he wanted to sort out his newly discovered past. ~Really? You are going to think about that train wreck?~ Abbaddon said, reading his mind. ~The past is the past, get over it.~ “Says the one who is literally part of sin.” Onyx shot back at him. ~Hey now, it is not a sin to be scared.~ Abbaddon stated. ~It just allows me to get stronger off your torment….~ Onyx just stared at him, “So to the ponies back on Equis, I am, and in likewise you, are a living manifestation of Sin. Abbaddon slumping his ethereal shoulders in defeat looked at Onyx. ~You win, so what first?~ “Well first we need to find a way to get her food.” Onyx said looking at the filly, “And give her a name of course.” Just after he finished the alarm went off in the facility. -ALL PONIES IN FACILITY, LUNA HAS MORPHED EARLY, EVACUATING ALL PODS BACK TO EQUIS- Onyx felt his pod shift as it was rocketed out of the facility back to the planet. He looked at Abbaddons form, “Impossible, its too early, she was supposed to be imprisoned for 1000 years.” Abbaddon just shrugged and continued looking bored. “Could you at least put some cushions around the filly, I’m a little stuck at the sudden lack of gravity” Onyx asked him. ~Oh my you do have a heart~ Abbaddon remarked sarcastically, putting a small shield around the filly. “Thank you.” Onyx said and tried to gain foothold as they fell into orbit.