Sweetie Belle is quite nervous about her and Raritys big move coming up. The whole idea of the thing is absolutely nerve racking, especially since the city they are moving to is at the bottom of the ocean.
All the up and comers in Ponyville are just absolutely up in arms about being invited to the supposed utopia at the bottom of the sea. Well, everypony but Sweetie Belle of course. The whole process of having to leave her home on dry land to move to the bottom of the ocean to a city resting on the sea floor is a bit unsettling for her, but she really has no say in the matter. To Rarity its a great opportunity to experience something completely unknown and absolutely outstanding. So, Sweetie Belle is going along for the ride.
Sweetie Belle shivered as a cold sea breeze blew through her fur. She pulled the scarf tighter around her neck and wrapped her front hooves around herself. Her body continued to shake from the cold, she needed to get her mind off it. She looked out at the horizon, the grey sky hanging above the dark green water of the ocean. She watched as the freighters brought in their cargo into the harbor, smoke bellowing behind them. She turned around on the bench she was sat on and gazed upon the splendor that was Manehattan. The beautiful skyscrapers lining the skyline, even with the sky being as gloomy as it was, she could see what little sun there was glinting off of the elegant structures. She turned back around on the bench and stared back at the sea with another shiver.
Such a beautiful city and I'm stuck spending my time in a smelly harbor.
Sweetie Belle then turned to Rarity, expecting the same outlook as she had. But, to her surprise Rarity seemed quite content on the matter. Why wouldn't she though? It's all she had been yammering on about for weeks now. The smile on her face seemed to stretch for miles and the gleam in her eyes. This was probably the happiest and excited Sweetie Belle had ever seen her. Sweetie Belle shuttered as another cold chill ran down her spin. She had had just about enough of this.
"Rarity, how much longer," She whined, "We've been sitting here for two hours now and I'm freezing!"
Raritys expression shifted from ecstatic to annoyed, she glared at Sweetie Belle, "I know it's cold Sweetie, and I've already given my scarf, there is not much more I could do about the weather. So, you will just have to sit there quietly and be patient, it shouldn't be much longer."
Sweetie Belle huffed and clenched her hooves tighter around herself. She turned back to face the water only to catch a glimpse of Rarity shivering. Rarity popped the collar of her jacket and buried her front hooves in the coats pockets.
"You could give your little sister your coat so she doesn't freeze to death," Sweetie Belle muttered under her breath, "Element of generosity my..."
A fog horn suddenly sounded, nearly scaring Sweetie Belle to death. Everypony at once stood at attention and began clambering to get their things ready.
"Sweetie Belle," Rarity said with a sort of pompousness in her voice as she stood up from the bench, "grab our things."
Sweetie Belle scowled at the back of her sisters head before getting up," Yes, your majesty."
Sweetie Belle trotted over to the cart that had the unfortunate task of bearing the weight of Raritys belongings. Sweetie Belle glanced around the cart and located the single suitcase that housed her toothbrush, tooth paste, hair brush, teddy bear, and a hat. She clasped the handle in her teeth and tossed the suitcase on top of the pile. The pile of bags and suitcases shuttered and swayed once then came to a rest. Sweetie Belle walked behind the cart and began struggling to push the cart toward the docks.
After several excruciating minutes she finally reached the front of the docks, just as the ship arrived and ponies began boarding.
"There you are Sweetie Belle," Rarity said as if she had completely forgotten Sweetie Belle had even existed.
Sweetie Belle trotted up beside her, huffing and puffing trying to catch her breath, "Yep...here...I am."
Finally aboard the ship heading to their destination, Sweetie Belle felt rather disappointed. She had hoped that the ship they were going to board had below decks, that way she could finally be warm. But, alas, here she was stood at the bow of the ship still in the cold. But now they were moving, so wind appeared to pick up speed and she felt colder than she did before, and to make matters worse the wind was making the waves choppy and she was beginning to feel sick. Hopefully they would reach there destination shortly, because this was almost unbearable. Sweetie tried not to focus on how cold and how ill she felt. She turned and faced the rear of the ship and watched at the slowly disappearing Manehattan. She sighed, she hoped that wherever they were going was worth giving up what she felt like was the only home she would ever have, not to mention all of her friends. Sweetie sighed again and laid her head on her hoof. Big mistake, lowering her head only seemed to make the rocking worse. She convulsed violently and heaved over the side of ship.
"For the love of Celestia," she cried bringing her head back up and wiping the sick from her mouth.
Suddenly, there was a rapid ringing of a bell and a stallion wearing a green pea jacket and a captains hat walked onto the deck and cleared his throat.
"Thar be our heading," the captain called in a booming voice.
Sweetie Belle rose her head up just enough to see what he was talking about, and her mouth fell agape. Just a few hundred feet ahead of the ship. Stood a large towering structure, Sweetie Belle guessed it was lighthouse by the rotating light resting on top. But why would a lighthouse be here, the closest land was probably several miles away. And better yet, why was this where they were heading. It was Sweeties understanding that their true heading was actually down. And as if the captain sensed everyponys confusion, which he probably did seeing as to how no one said a word, he began explaining the events that would unfold, "The lighthouse actually houses the transportation needed to reach Rapture, the purpose of it being a lighthouse is for the fact of being discreet."
That was the first time Sweetie Belle had heard the city used by it's actual name, most just called it utopia or the underwater city. Sweetie Belle left the side of the ship and stood at Raritys side, who appeared to be more confused and dumbfounded than she was. Rarity's mouth hung open and her eyes glistened with excitement, for some reason it sickened Sweetie Belle to see Rarity this awe struck over something.
"Rarity, close your mouth or bats could roost," Sweetie Belle said, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Rarity shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she knew she probably looked like a complete rube with her mouth hung agape, so she graciously closed it. Finally, the ship pulled up alongside the lighthouse and one of the crewman hopped off the boat onto the dock to tie it off. The rope grew taught and the ship lurched forward, knocking Sweetie Belle off balance. She slid and with a hard thud came to rest at the bow of the ship.
"If I never have to be on a ship again it will be too soon," she said picking herself up and relocating herself next to Rarity, who seemed to pay her no mind, "don't worry, I'm fine."
Once in side the lighthouse they got to see what would actually be taking them to Rapture. At the base of the lighthouse floated three round ballasts of some sort. The captain instructed them that they were called bathyspheres, basically a submarine but could reach depths that the submarine couldn't.
"Alright, there is enough room for ten of you in each bathysphere," the captain said splitting the crowd into three groups, "luckily too, now all of you can go down in one trip, saves time and fuel."
"But, what about you captain," somepony in the crowd spoke up.
"No, no," he said shaking his head, "I don't go down, I've never even been to Rapture. I'm just the transport from Manehattan to here."
Everypony seemed to gasp, a rock began to form in Sweetie Belles stomach.
"You mean we have to traverse to the bottom on our own," Sweetie Belle gulped, "none of us even know how to pilot these things."
The captain let out a chuckle, "don't you fret none sweetie, you don't need to pilot these things."
Sweetie Belles expression turned quizzical and she was sure everyone else's was to.
The captain caught this, "you see, the bathyspheres are control remotely, they are on a set path to and from the lighthouse. The from being to Rapture."
Everyone "oh'd" simultaneously. Sweetie Belle still had doubts, it made her worried even more knowing she had no control over her journey and how she got there. But, the captain didn't have an air about him that smelled as if ponies had died on this trip, so she supposed it was safe. This thought made the rock in her stomach subside, everything is going to be just fine. She thought this until she actually got into the bathysphere and it began to descend. Everything hit her at once, being completely submersed in water, in a confined space, and not knowing exactly where she was going. She suddenly felt woozy. She clasped onto Raritys leg and closed her eyes for comfort. Not only had the rock reformed in her stomach, it was now a boulder. All she wanted to do now was go back home on dry. But, she knew that she would just have to except the fact that there was no going back from here.
Sweetie Belle rubbed her eyes as the incandescent bulbs tried their best to portray sunlight, she had yet to get used to the fact that there wasn't any sunshine down here. She smacked her lips a bit as the grogginess of sleep began to wear off. After releasing a large yawn she threw the covers off herself and hopped out of bed and walked over to the window. She stared out at the Rapture "skyline", the metal glowed a bright green fluorescence against the deep blue of the ocean backdrop. A school of fish swam by her window, only pausing a moment to ponder what the mysterious looking creature on the other side of the glass was before swimming onward. Sweetie Belle had had this morning routine ever since she moved down here, the first few days the view excited her and filled her with wonderment. But, after that she grew bored of looking out at the ocean. But the view was all she had, there wasn't much else for a filly to do in Rapture, and Rarity was always out late so even if Rarity wanted to spend time with her she couldn't.
Sweetie Belle left the window and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth. Just as she got her toothbrush ready with toothpaste a loud crash came from the sitting room. Speaking of the devil, Rarity was home. Sweetie Belle left her toothbrush and went to investigate. Rarity stumbled into the sitting room, trying her hardest to hang her coat up on the coat rack, but knocking over everything near it in the process. Finally, she gave up and threw the coat on the sofa. She looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks, her hair was a mess, lipstick and eye shadow were smeared on her face, and she had yet to take her sunshades off. She started mumbling to herself as she walked past Sweetie Belle not even saying "hello" or "how have you been Sweetie Belle?". It was amazing that Rarity looked the way that she did, especially since she got gussied up to her prettiest just the night before. Rarity continued to mumble something as she walked into her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Rarity had been acting quite peculiar these past few weeks, always coming in rather late, keeping her door shut at all times. And Sweetie Belle had rather specific instructions on staying out of there. It all started when she began working with a stallion named Sander Cohen, at first she was excited because he was some sort of artist quack and Rarity believed he could make her the star she had always believed of being. Everyday Rarity would come home and tell Sweetie Belle how her day had been down at the studio, but that all stopped just two weeks ago and it had Sweetie Belle worried about her sister. But, she didn't bother talking to Rarity while she was in her current state, the most she would get out of her was a "Leave me alone!".Sweetie Belle returned to her toothbrush and after brushing her teeth she left for school.
Rapture Learning Center for Colts and Fillies, 1958
The elementary school in Rapture wasn't much different than the one she had attended on the surface. She was learning just about anything she would up above, she even used the same books. But, anytime the class got to a page about Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, they would skip over that section and continue on the next chapter. When she asked why this was once, she was instructed that Rapture is not a place for gods or princesses, only ponies. So there was no need to learn about princesses. Really the only thing they actually studied were the scientific or engineering achievements ponies had achieved. Sweetie Belle really didn't pay much mind to this, she hated class anyways. Sweetie Belle was currently reading a paragraph on the legendary Wonderbolt, Amelia Airheart, when the teacher asked for everyponys attention.
"Class, I would like to introduce one of the leading scientists from Fontaine Futuristics," she said holding her hooves in front of her showing the class the scientist, "she is here to demonstrate for us one of the newest inventions Rapture has to offer."
The teacher stepped back and gave the scientist room to demonstrate, the scientist nodded in agreement and began to speak, "Hello guys, my name is Dr. Moriarty and I'm here to show you all something rather spectacular created not but a month ago."
Dr. Moriarty reached into the doctors bag she was carrying and pulled out a syringe and a vile of a dark red liquid. The vile had a picture of a flame on the front and Sweetie Belle had seen that syringe before. She found it in Raritys trash can once when taking out the garbage, she got quite the scolding from Rarity for going through her belongings, even though it was just garbage. That was the day she was instructed to never go into her room again. The syringe in the Doctors hoof glowed a bright blue and had the word "EVE" printed on it.
"Now, before I begin I'm going to instruct anypony squeamish against needles to leave the room and wait in the hall," she said placing her bag on the floor and holding the syringe at the top part of her left leg.
About three members of the class got up and left, Sweetie Belle stayed. She wanted to know exactly what Rarity was doing.
"Alright, now we can begin,"the doctor said penetrating her skin and injecting the blue liquid into her leg, "now for the plasmid."
She took the empty syringe and filled it with liquid from the vile with the flame on it and then proceeded to inject that liquid into the same leg. Sweetie Belle felt that this couldn't and shouldn't be shown to little fillies. She was always taught not to use drugs, what kind of backwards society was this?
The doctor inhaled deeply as she emptied the syringe, she was just about to speak when Sweetie Belle raised a hoof to ask a question.
"Yes, you have a question?" the doctor asked.
"Yeah, why are we being shown this?" Sweetie Belle asked, "were we not instructed that using drugs was bad?"
The doctor chuckled a bit, "Yes, drugs are bad. But, used properly this is not a drug."
"And what would be the proper way of using these "things",' Sweetie Belle retorted rather mockingly.
The doctors expression turned serious, "When using an EVE hypo, by itself it can be used as a drug, but if you also inject a plasmid, it helps counteract the EVE's negative effects."
Sweetie Belle still felt weary of the whole thing, but she was scientist. At least now she had an idea to why Rarity was acting so strange lately. Sweetie Belle nodded for Dr. Moriarty to continue.
"Now, if there aren't any further questions, I would like to begin the demonstration," Dr. Moriarty stated, her attitude returning to a more cheerful demeanor, "prepare to be amazed.
And just as she finished speak she held her left hoof in the air, and it instantaneously burst into flames. Everypony in the room gasped at the sight, and coiled back in fear. Sweetie Belle watched closely.
Why isn't she flinching in pain? Doesn't it burn?
The doctor then held up her right hoof and it followed suit. She then began controlling the size of the flame, though making sure it didn't grow to big as to not set off the fire alarm or cause it to rage out of control. And just as quickly as the flames had began, the went out, with just a simple flick of her hooves. The entire room erupted with applause. Sweetie Belle hated to admit it, especially after her argument that drugs were bad, but the feat was absolutely astounding. Her mouth hung in awe, the ability to ignite a fire with just the flick of a hoof.
The doctor smiled and then took a bow, " Thank you, thank you. I'm glad you all enjoyed it. But, now there is another matter I must discuss with your teacher."
Dr. Moriarty turned from the class and began whispering to the teacher, Sweetie Belle's interest peaked.
What could they possibly be discussing?
Every so often the teacher would look over Dr. Moriarty's shoulder at the class, then return back to the doctor's gaze with a nod. Finally, after the two were done talking Dr. Moriarty opened the door and a stallion wheeling a cart of books entered the room. The doctor gave the class one more goodbye before exiting the room with the stallion. Sweetie Belle's teacher then returned to her desk and cleared her throat to speak.
"If everypony in the class could pass forward their textbooks to the first pony on the row," she instructed, "we won't be studying from those any longer, we will instead be using these."
After all the books were passed forward, the teacher picked them up and began handing out the new ones. Sweetie Belle grabbed hers and read the title, How to be a Good Little Sister. Sweetie Belle raised an eye brow, she thought she already was a good little sister. She looked around the room to see if anypony else was as confused as she was, but noticed something far more peculiar. The teacher wasn't giving any of the colts the textbook, which made since, they were male. Why would they need to learn how to be a good little sister? Still, something about the sudden change in textbooks didn't sit right with her. Something more sinister than appeared to be on the surface.
Sweetie Belle squinted at her shopping list to make sure not to forget anything.
"Milk, eggs, bread," She began to read out loud, "I still need to get honey."
Sweetie tucked the list into her saddle bags and began walking towards the bee farm…no, wait…what had the teacher called it? Apiary. She felt out of her depth as of late. Sweetie hadn't seen Rarity in several days, she hadn't even come home to say if she was okay…or where she was going to be.
But, due to her being alone and technically orphaned she had to take care of herself, and that meant having to buy food. The filly didn't have a lot of money to spend, she could only scrounge up what little she could find by digging around in Rarity's room.
Which was an absolute wreck.
All the mirrors were broken, the mattress was pressed against the wall and had a picture of Sander Cohen stuck to it with a kitchen knife. And several other kitchen utensils peppered the mattress as well. All of her sister’s clothes had been ripped off the hangers and piled up in the corner. But, the most frightening thing to Sweetie Belle was, on her large window had Rarity’s name written in lipstick.
The further to the bottom of the window, the worse her spelling got. The very last attempt was an "R" followed by four "V's".
Sweetie Belle was nearly brought to tears thinking back on it. Her sister had truly gone off the deep end. She had to be tough—there was no telling if Rarity was ever coming back.
She was on her own now. The filly was going to have to be a big girl. She had no idea where to get food after she spent the money.
She’d need to get a job, but hadn't the slightest on what to do for work. Sweetie Belle finally reached the Apiary and stood outside was a sign.
Insect Swarm
"People bugging you, shoo them away with Insect Swarm!"
After Ryan Industries seized all of Frank Fontaine's assets the plasmid business got a huge upgrade. No longer were there only two plasmids to choose from, Ryan had his engineers manufacture truckloads more. Sweetie Belle returned to the task at hand, making sure she would have enough to purchase the honey.
Seventy-five cents left, just enough for a small jar.
Sweetie Belle put the money back in her saddle bag and entered the shop.
Sinclair Deluxe, 1958
Sweetie Belle took the elevator up to the fourth floor, but couldn't shake the feeling of being followed. She had this feeling ever since she left the Apiary. But, every time she turned around, no one was even within a hundred yards. Sweetie was sure it was just because she was alone in such a big place.
The elevator stopped and opened to her floor. She stepped out of it and began walking to her room. As her door grew into sight, she noticed a pink note taped to it.
Oh, no.
The lone crusader pulled the note off the door, her fears confirmed.
It was a final notice for rent. She felt as if her entire world was falling down around her. Sweetie Belle had no idea what to do. How could Rarity just leave her alone like this? Prior sadness for her sister morphed to anger. She couldn't believe Rarity would just vanish on her like this, with no regard to what was going to happen. Sweetie Belle crumpled up the notice and tossed it into the waste bin before entering the apartment.
Closing the door behind her she walked into the kitchen nook to set her groceries down. She then walked back into the sitting room, and plopped down on the sofa. She rubbed her temples when she caught a blinking red light in her peripheral. It was the answering machine.
Probably more eviction notices.
Sweetie Belle pressed the play button and the message began.
"Hi, Rarity, it's Mrs. Tenenbaum from Rapture Learning Center, calling about Sweetie Belle," the voice began, "she hasn't been to class in several days and I was just wondering if she would be returning. Call me back when you get a chance."
The filly frowned. Rapture Learning Center. She was never going back to that place.
Something was not right about it. A week after they had received they're new textbooks none of the colt students returned to the class and the previous teacher was replaced with Mrs. Tenenbaum. The students were also instructed to not discuss to anyone outside of class about what they were learning. Sweetie Belle wasn't quite sure what was going on, but what she did know was that she didn't like it. She laid back against the sofa, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Sweetie wasn't exactly sure on how long she was out, but was awoken by whispered talking directly outside her door.
Oh no, they're here to evict me!
Sweetie Belle jolted up and ran over to the door, ready to plead her case. She was just about to open it when she caught something one of them was saying.
"Look, we have to take her to the facility," a stallion spoke with an oriental accent, "she knows too much. We can't risk being exposed."
Sweetie Belle's ears perked up, surely they couldn't be talking about her? She pressed an ear to the door and listened.
"But, Dr. Suchong, how much could she possibly know? She's just a little filly after all," the other voice responded.
Sweetie Belle recognized this voice. Mrs. Tenenbaum.
"She may know more than you think," Suchong answered, "why else would she flee the learning center? She has found us out. We must act now before we’re exposed to the rest of Rapture."
Fear struck the small filly. They were here for her! Her heart was pounding, she needed to hide. The door knob began to shake. They were trying to get in. Sweetie Belle darted for Rarity's room, silently closing the door behind her.
Just as she did so, a loud crash came from the sitting room. They had broken the door down. Acting fast, she glanced around the room—her gaze fell on the clothes piled in the corner. Diving in, making sure every bit of herself was covered up.
Sweetie could barely hear them searching, over the sound of her pulsating heart. What will they do to me? She quietly swallowed the lump forming her throat. Trying desperately to control her breathing, but she was just too terrified. They were going to find her, she just knew it. Suddenly, she heard Rarity's door squeak open. Sweetie Belle's entire body tensed up as she held her breath.
"Maybe she isn't home," Tenenbaum said entering the room.
"Just keep looking to be safe," Suchong respond.
Sweetie Belle listened as they walked through. She heard the squeak of the mattress as they turned it over and the sliding of closet doors. There was a moment of pause. That’s it, she thought, they've found me, only one place left to look.
"See I told you she wasn't home Doctor," Tenenbaum stated.
"Well, we need to find her—phone missing ponies when we get back to the lab," Suchong said, "maybe someone reported her missing..."
Sweetie heard the clop of hoofsteps, then the squeak of the door as it closed. She paused for a moment before popping her head out, wanting to be sure. The filly seemed to wait for hours; finally she poked her head up. And a pair of hooves wrapped around her muzzle with a bit of cloth. The door opened and Mrs. Tenenbaum entered with a blank expression on her face as everything faded to black.
“It's been several weeks and the patient has yet to awaken Dr. Suchong.
“Although the subject's vitals have stabilized and her body appears to adapt well to the Adam slug I fear the worst, if the subject does not wake soon, she will have to be terminated…”
Sweetie Belle stirred. Her whole body ached, eye lids slid open a crack to reveal blurred forms and blobs of color. She could make out the shape of ponies directly in front of her.
She opened her eye lids more and the world immediately grew brighter. Staring into the light of an overhead lamp, like one in an operating room. This realization suddenly hit Sweetie, I am on an operating table!
Fear ignited. The lone crusader sprung up, now wide awake. As she lurched up the IV tagged at her leg, knocking the drip bag over onto surgical tools all ending with a lot of clanking metal and yanking the IV from her leg. Sweetie Belle cringed in pain and yelped.
"Aw, it appears the patient has awoken Dr. Suchong," Tenenbaum stated.
"It would appear so," Dr. Suchong replied walking towards Sweetie Belle, "now calm down little filly."
Sweetie felt as if her heart would burst out of her ribs, she reached up a hoof to place on her chest but felt something scratchy. Looking down she noticed her side was bandaged. A blotch of crimson soaked through.
"What did you do to me!" Sweetie Belle screamed, her voice startled her. It came out echoed and distorted. She could hear her normal voice, but it sounded as if someone had layered another atop of it. "Where's Rarity?" Sweetie asked.
This seemed to take Suchong by surprise, "Who is Rarity?"
"My sister," Sweetie answered, "I'm scared—I want my sister!"
Suchong rubbed his chin, "Hmm, and do you perchance know who you are?"
Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to answer, but for the strangest reason couldn't remember. Why can't I remember? What had happened to her?
Suchong got the idea by the look of fear. "It appears the procedure hasn't completely erased her memory, this could prove troublesome. One more test before the subject is terminated. Tenenbaum, send for Big Daddy."
Suchong walked to the far end of the room and picked up a clip board and prepared to take notes. Tenenbaum pressed a button on the wall triggering a loud beep. A loud bellow followed from elsewhere. Sweetie Belle sank lower on the operating table, petrified with fear.
Loud thuds grew closer. As the door slid open a huge wave of emotions washed over the little filly. A creature stood in the doorway, she guessed it used to be a stallion by the shape of the helmet atop its neck.
But, the creature stood on two legs. A sort of diving suit covering its body with a drill attached to its left hoof. It thundered closer to Sweetie Belle. Although absolutely terrified, something inside her felt a certain attachment to the creature.
It groaned as it came to a halt at the foot of the bed and held out its free hoof to Sweetie Belle. Suchong watched in the corner and every so often jotted down something on the clip board. Sweetie stared at the hoof, and then at the creature. Her eyes fixed on the glowing portholes on the thing’s helmet.
All of her worries seemed to melt away, as if in some sort of trance. She looked back at the hoof, reaching for it. Stopping just short, wanting so desperately to grab hold of it.
She had no idea why, and that is what stopped her. Sweetie didn't know what or who this creature was, but for some strange reason the filly felt safe within its presence.
But she just couldn't do it. Sweetie Belle jumped out of the bed and darted for the door. The creature seemed to groan in astonishment.
Suchong dropped his clipboard, "After her! She still retains memories, she could expose us all!"
An alarm sounded as Sweetie scurried down the hallway, looking for an escape. Her side ignited in pain as the stitches in her side strained. She winced and bit her lip while she pushed on. Darting her head back and forth, looking for any way out. Doors began to swing open as confused doctors and surgeons stepped out to take part in the chase.
Sweetie Belle ran past a room with huge glass windows. She noticed inside lay an open vent with a sign that read, “Little Sister Travel System”. Glancing behind her, the doctors were hot on her trail. The lone crusader ran into the room and got a running leap at the vent.
Sweetie Belle landed hard just in the mouth of the tube, but began to slide out. She struggled furiously to pull her hind legs in. Finally, as the filly got traction but felt a doctor bite down on her tail, trying to pull her out. She kicked her hind legs wildly, hoping to make contact. She felt her hoof strike hard against his jaw, but still he clung on. Kicking her hoof once more, making contact with a loud thud, the doctor let go. Sweetie Belle lurched forward, tumbling blindly down the dark tube.
Bathysphere Dock, 1958
Sweetie Belle continued to slide down the ventilation system, her body jerked back and forth with every twist and turn. Finally coming to a halt when the tube leveled out. Dim light shown through the vent cover directly in front of her. With her heart racing she pressed forwards and crawled out of the vent. She landed on all fours and began glancing around for any of her pursuers…and also to get her bearings and figure out where she was exactly.
"The main bathysphere docking station," Sweetie Belle whispered aloud, "maybe I can use one of the bathyspheres to get out of this place."
She was just about to walk over to one of the bathyspheres to test her theory when she heard hoof steps coming down the corridor. Sweetie acted fast enough to jump behind a trash bin. She pressed her back against the wall to better reduce her chances of being spotted. The hoofsteps grew louder, there appeared to be two sets of them.
"This is where the vent lets out," one of the ponies stated, "search the spheres there, she could be hiding in one of them."
"Johnny, that filly's probably long gone now," the other pony responded, "Besides, if the other doctors don't find her, the splicers will. Now that she's pumped full of Adam, won't be long until one of 'em gets a whiff of her and rips her a part like a rabid animal."
"I suppose you're right,” Johnny answered, "Hey, did you hear Atlas's crew bombed the Kashmir? Pretty brutal I heard, not many survived."
"Sweet Celestia, Rapture's going to hell," the other pony sighed as the hoof steps began in the other direction and soon faded to nothing.
Sweetie Belle peeked around the bin and checked just to be sure. She didn't want to be nabbed like last time. But, now had something else to worry about. What one of the ponies said, she was full of Adam? And what are splicers? Sweetie Belle walked over to the bathyspheres and eyed them.
She was just about to step inside one when she glanced into the water. And what she saw horrified her. The filly saw her reflection. Her entire face was lined with deep blue veins, and her eyes glowed a bright yellow. Her coat was now more of a light grey instead of white. Besides the one large wound on her side that was bandaged, many more that had begun to heal all over her body.
What had they done to me? She was some kind of monster now. Sweetie jerked away from the water and fell onto her haunches and began to sob. The world had fallen down around her in shambles. Rarity had vanished, most of her memories, such as her name and friends in Ponyville appeared to be wiped from her mind. Worst of all she was a freak. Even escaping Rapture, there was no way she could survive on the surface.
"I should just give up and lie here," Sweetie Belle said to herself, "that's it, it’s all over"
Closing her eyes, she laid down with her head in her hooves. As Sweetie Belle laid there she tried desperately to remember the life she used to have. But the most she got were fuzzy images. She could remember faces of friends, but not names. Couldn't even really remember what life was like on the surface, what the sun even looked like.
All she had was Rapture and a few faces. As the little filly lay there, her ears perked up. It sounded like heavy breathing coming from above. She glanced up at the ceiling. All she could make out was the shadow of a figure and a pair of glowing objects. They appeared to be hooks.
"The itsy, bitsy spider climbed up the water spout," it began singing in a raspy voice, "when down came the rain and washed the spider out…"
The figure then began to skitter along the ceiling using the hooks and hum the verse again. It then vanished into the shadows.
"Hello?" Sweetie Belle called out swallowing the lump in her throat.
"The...itsy, bitsy spider...climbed up the water spout," the raspy voice sang out from the darkness.
Sweetie Belle began to back towards the exit.
"Down came the...rain...and washed the spider...," the singing stopped.
All Sweetie could hear was the clanking of hooks. They sounded as if they were right above her. She darted towards the door, heart nearly bursting from her chest, tears streaming down her face. She wanted so badly for this to all be a dream, but she knew it wasn't. The hooks clanked louder and faster behind her.
She ran as fast as she could, the pain in her side more excruciating than ever—stitches must have opened. She could feel the warm blood against her flank, but there wasn't time to worry about it. Only a few feet away from the door, but the clanking was now directly above her. Just as the portal slid open the thing dropped down from the ceiling. For the first time Sweetie Belle got a good look at who it was.
"Rarity?!" Sweetie Belle cried out.
Rarity didn't respond, she just reached out her hoof and rubbed her hook along Sweetie's cheek. The elder sister was wearing a broken bunny mask only concealing one side of her face, the visible part was decrepit and sagging. Sweetie Belle could see her mouth open and close as she struggled to breathe. She was wearing her favorite dress, the dress Sweetie last saw her in. Only now tattered and stained.
"Rarity, it’s me," Sweetie Belle said rather frightened.
"Mmm, sweet Adam," Rarity responded, she then began to hum Itsy, Bitsy Spider again as she swayed her hooks back and forth.
There was no communicating with her, Rarity had completely lost it. Sweetie began to back up but soon found that with every step she took, her big sister followed suit.
"It appears...I won't have to go far...to get to the Adam," Rarity said sniffing the air, "you're leaking."
Sweetie Belle gulped as she began to creep closer. The crusader continued to back up until she reached a wall.
This is it, she thought, nowhere left to run.
Rarity crept closer, Sweetie could feel her breath.
"Rarity, please don't," Sweetie Belle sobbed, "I'm your little sister remember?
She continued to hum Itsy, Bitsy Spider. Stroking Sweetie Belle's cheek with the hook. Finally, Rarity raised her hook high above and just before bringing it down, Sweetie Belle let out a high pitched scream. This startled Rarity, causing her to pause. But, soon the hook lifted again.
Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and readied for the end. As she braced herself she heard low groan in front of her and then the whir of what sounded like a drill. She opened her eyes just in time to see Rarity's chest burst open as a drill pierced through it, splattering blood over the filly's face. It spun in reverse, pulling back out. Rarity gargled and spat up blood as she glanced down at the hole in her body. She looked back at Sweetie Belle and fell over in a heap on the floor at her feet, revealing Sweetie Belle's savoir.
Although, Sweetie was extremely grateful the creature had saved her life, she was still sad it had to end this way. Rapture was their down fall, although Sweetie Belle's fate hadn't been as brutal as Rarity's, she felt she was no better off. She was all alone now with nowhere left to go and no one to turn to. Sweetie looked at her sisters corpse and bent down to close her eyelids.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
She stood back up and looked at her savior. His helmet glowed a deep green and he seemed to be waiting for recognition from her. Sweetie Belle smiled.
"Thank you," she said.
He groaned in response. Sweetie Belle felt content, she supposed this was her life now, with him. She stepped closer to him and stared up at him. She noticed something written on his helmet in crayon. He stood there, towering over her, groaning and waiting for her to join him at his side. He held out his hoof, and she placed hers in it.
