> Bioshock: The Bond Between Sisters
>  by Semaj
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Crash
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 1


The Crash


"Alright my little ponies, are we all ready to go?" chimed a young green eyed teacher as she led her class down the cracked Manehattan streets.

"Yes Ms. Cheerilee," replied the gaggle of fillies and colts in monotone unison. 

Usually when the class went on field trips like this, they would incessantly gab with their friends about one thing or another, but this time the wall of sound that echoed from the blob of young ponies was less talking and more sniffling. Manehattan was a cold place to begin with, but now that it was the dead of winter and frost dusted the ground, many of the poor little fillies were coming down with colds.

Despite the slight epidemic that plagued them, most of the children in Cheerilee's class were still extremely excited to be leaving Equestria for the first time in their young lives. Unfortunately, like always, there were a couple neigh sayers buried in the group of bouncing children, waiting to ruin everypony else's fun.

"Do we have to go?" whined a gray earth pony filly. She adjusted her blue framed glasses and gave a disdainful sigh. "What are we even doing going to the Griffon Kingdom in the first place?"

"Yeah Silver Spoon is right!" cried out a pink filly with a tiara on her head. "I don't need to go visit a place full of poor uncivilized mongrels!" 

"After the reformation of Griffonstone, the griffons have opened their gates back up to outsiders and have invited us to tour their kingdom as a way to make up for all their years of selfishness," replied Cheerilee, beaming at the thought of the new and strange place.

"‘Mongrels'? Diamond Tiara, what a fancy little word. Did ya learn that one from yer daddy?" asked one of the other students in a thick country accent. 

"Now Apple Bloom, is that anyway to be talkin' to one of yer classmates?" scolded the large hat wearing mare trotting by her side.

"But big sis, she's a bully and you know that!" moaned Apple Bloom putting on her best pout face.

"That's no reason to go causin' trouble now is it?" Applejack lectured.

"I guess not," said Apple Bloom as she waddled over to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, her two best friends in the whole world.

"I wish those two would just go to a private school or something," grumbled Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo laughed and hocked a loogie on the street beside them. "It's not like she couldn't afford it or anything; her dad is as greedy as one of those griffons." 

"I can't believe they made us bring family all the way out to Manehattan just to give us a send off," complained Apple Bloom, hanging her head towards the pavement. "It's kind of embarrassing to have my big sis watchin' over me all the time."

"Tell me about it," groaned Sweetie Belle throwing a brief glance at her sister Rarity.

"Ha! Sucks for you guys!" cried Scootaloo, flapping her tiny wings in excitement. "I got to bring Rainbow Dash as my family member!"

Suddenly the whole class came to an abrupt stop. 

"What's going on over there?" asked Scootaloo climbing Sweetie Belle like a footstool to see over the crowd.

"Heeeey get off me!" squealed Sweetie Belle squirming under the pressure of her orange friend.

"Alright fillies and colts, we've reached the dock. The boat should be here to pick us up any minute now," said Cheerilee raising her voice so everypony could hear her. 

"Why do we have to take a boat?" complained Scootaloo as she trotted onto the dock. "The ocean is so boring."

"What else are we going to do? Take a train?" asked Sweetie Belle who was sitting up against one of the dock's many wooden posts.

"Alright young lady," began Applejack who was walking toward the group of friends. "I suppose it's time for me to get goin'."

"I should probably be on my way as well," added Rarity, who was following closely behind Applejack. "Dress orders to fill and all. Sweetie Belle, are you sure you're going to be okay all alone?"

"Yes, Rarity; I'm going to be fine. Don't worry so much."

"Oh, I know dear. It's just I'm so nervous this being your first time so far away from home. Just make sure you keep warm we wouldn't want you getting sick like the rest of the class." Rarity then pulled a large magenta scarf out of her saddlebag and wrapped it tightly around Sweetie Belle's neck.

"Geez big sis, what are you trying to do choke me?"

"Speaking of getting sick," continued Rarity completely ignoring her sister's last comment. "Make sure you do your best not to touch too many of your other classmates; for all you know, they could all be infected."

"Rarity."

"Oh and when you're in the Griffon kingdom make sure to be careful; you don't want any of those ruffians to foalnap you."

"Rarity!"

“I just don't know what I would do if they tried to hold you for ransom! I suppose I'd have the money to pay for it, but what if they didn't give you back and—"

"RARITY!" screamed Sweetie Belle interrupting her sister.

"Oh my, I'm sorry Sweetie Belle I suppose I went a little overboard for a minute there," said Rarity a slight blush creeping into her cheeks.

"A little?" teased Rainbow Dash as she too arrived to say her goodbyes.

"Rarity does have a point though," added Applejack. "It can get a little dangerous out there sometimes."

"Eh, they'll be fine," replied Rainbow Dash dismissively. "They're old enough to handle themselves."

"Yeah Rainbow Dash is right! If anybody tries to hurt us we'll take 'em out!" shouted Scootaloo, showing off her best karate moves.

"Scootaloo, we ain't gonna to be fightin' nopony," said Apple Bloom, giving her friend a hearty jab in the side. "Anyhow we'll keep safe big sis; I promise."

Applejack smiled and opened her mouth to reply however just before she could speak and earsplitting noise blasted through the air. The group of six ponies then whirled around to see a huge boat pulling up to the dock. Once again the massive ship let out a thunderous blast from its horn and all the fillies and Colts on the dock jumped back in surprise. 

"Well looks like your ride is here," said Rainbow Dash who was now hovering in the air. "I guess that's our queue to scram." 

"Take care yourself and remember to brush yer teeth and do all yer homework and all that stuff," said Applejack.

"Yeah, yeah I love you big sis."

"I love you too sugarcube." Applejack then leaned in and gave her younger sister a light kiss on the forehead.

"Sweetie Belle, I'm going to miss you so much," moaned Rarity as she engulfed her sister in a crushing bear hug.

"Rarity, please don't cry... It's sorta embarrassing," wheezed Sweetie Belle as she wriggled to escape the embrace.

"Yes I'm sorry; I must be going now!" she replied releasing her sister from her death grip. 

"Bye bye sugarcube," cried Applejack as she began to trot away.

"Bye bye," said Applebloom waving furiously at her older sister.

"Oh yeah, bye Rainbow Dash!" cried Scootaloo waving at the flying pegasus.

"Yeah, stay cool kid," she replied before dashing away. 

The three friends then rejoined their class and slowly filled on to the mighty ship. As they climbed the old wooden gangplank The Cutie Mark Crusaders marveled at the towering smoke stacks and cold metal exterior of the vessel.

"Why is it so big?" asked Applebloom. "I mean we're only one class. 

"Good question Applebloom!" replied Miss Cheerilee as she moved toward the bow of the ship. "We're not the only class that's taking this field trip. Children from all over Equestria are coming; in fact this isn't even the only ship making the trip."

"Wow, that's so interesting," droned Diamond Tiara.

"In any event we should go and unpack," continued the teacher. "You all have your room assignments correct?"

"Yes Miss Cheerilee," parroted the tired flock.

"Well then, go and get some rest! If you have any questions feel free to ask."

The students then nodded their sleepy heads and dispersed toward their respective cabins.

"Finally some rest!" groaned Scootaloo. "I think I was about to pass out!"

Applebloom sat down on the deck, opened up her saggy saddlebags and started sifting through the mountains of things her sister had stuffed into them. 

"Daggum big sis! Where is it?"

"Where's what?" questioned Sweetie Belle a twinge of anxiety in her squeaky voice.

"Our room assignment! It's gotta be in here!"

"Wait!" cried Scootaloo.

"What!?" shouted the other two.

"I think I remember you leaving it in the clubhouse before you left."

"Well that's just great! Now how are we supposed to find our room!?" 

"Have no fear; Scootaloo is here!" 

"Do you have it!?" said Apple Bloom, her ears perking up like little flags.

"No, but I think I remember what room it was." Scootaloo rubbed her temples for a few moments, a strained expression baked into her face. "I'm pretty sure it was cabin A... Room one hundred... Thirteen." 

"You sure?" asked Sweetie Belle tentatively.

"Uh... Yes. I'm positive!" Scootaloo then scampered off in the direction of their room, her head held confidently high.

"I don't think she's sure," whispered Sweetie Belle as her and Apple Bloom followed their enthusiastic friend.


***


Several hours later, the titanic ship was just beginning its long journey atop the calm waters of the Manehattan harbor. Thankfully the waves were very gentle that night and the great metal ship barely made a sound as it drifted off towards the horizon.

Most of the children in Cheerilee's class had already gone to sleep long ago, but for some reason slumber seemed to evade the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They remained wide awake in their cramped cabin, busy chatting about their days to come.

"What do you think Griffonstone is going to look like?" asked Sweetie Belle, her head hanging limply off the side of her bunk bed.

"Heck if I know," said Applebloom shrugging her shoulders and rolling over on her bed. "We should just go to sleep."

"But I'm not sleepy!" cried Scootaloo who was forcefully pounding a pillow. "I'm just bored."

"Well if you went to sleep you wouldn't be bored any more," replied Applebloom.

"I've got an idea!" shouted Scootaloo ignoring her friend.

"Quiet down; we were supposed to be asleep hours ago," whispered Sweetie Belle. "You don't want to get us in trouble do you?"

"Sorry, I just got the best idea! How about we sneak out!"

"No! We ain't doin' nuthin' of the sort!" said Apple Bloom sitting up in the bed. "I ain't gonna get a detention on the first day."

"Suit yourself," said Scootaloo standing up from the metal floor and stretching her legs. "‘Cause I'm outta here."

"Wait! Don't go!" cried Sweetie Belle. 

"Sorry, I gotta get out of here." Scootaloo slowly opened the door and began to slide out. "Don't have too much fun without me." She then winked and closed the thick iron hatch.

"Well that's just great! Now we're gonna have to go lookin' for her!" grumbled Apple Bloom who was now lightly smacking her head against the wall.

"I mean, we don't have to," peeped Sweetie Belle who was now looking down at the ground. "She'll probably be safe, we could just wait." 

"Sweetie Belle I know you're scared but—"

"I am not scared! I... I'm just tired okay!"

"Now you're tired?" asked Apple Bloom skeptically. 

Sweetie Belle looked up from the floor and gave a nervous nodding.

"Alright we can stay." 

Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief and fell onto her back.

"But if she ain't back in a couple hours I'm lookin' for her. Whether you come with me or not."


***


Scootaloo made sure to be extremely careful as she made her way down the main hallway of level A. She was sure that somepony had to be keeping guard, so she tried to move as slowly and silently as possible. After a few minutes that felt like years, she finally made her way up the stairs and out onto the main deck. "Ah! Fresh air at last!" Scootaloo took a deep breath and trotted to the edge of the ship. "Wow, I had no idea the ocean was this big." 

It was a perfect night to look out on the water. Though it was very cold the beauty of the night sky made up for it. The moon was almost entirely full and stars littered the darkness above. The little bits of white light that emanated from the blackness shone down on the deep blue water and caused it to sparkle like one big crystal. "Amazing," whispered the little orange pegasus under her breath.

"It is; isn't it?" called the familiar voice of Miss Cheerilee.

"Aw man!" shouted Scootaloo, hanging her head in defeat. 

"Sorry, but I'm afraid you're busted."


***


In the cold and lonely cabin, time seemed to crawl by at an almost unnoticeable pace. The only thing that even told the two fillies that seconds were passing at all was the slow ticking of a small alarm clock on the corner desk. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom mostly remained silent after their friend left, so even though they were together, there was an intense loneliness that permeated the room. Eventually hours did pass, and Apple Bloom had started to pace the floor frantically. 
Where is that filly?! She thought as she compulsively bit her lower lip. "Hey, Sweetie Belle, I think I'm gonna go looking for Scootaloo. It's been a long time and I'm startin' to get worried." 

There was no response.

"Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom turned to look at her white companion. "Sweetie Belle!" she shouted, realizing her fellow Cutie Mark Crusader had fallen fast asleep. "Oh well, I was probably gonna have to do it myself anyhow." 

Apple Bloom then troted over to the door and stared it down. "Alright, you can do this," she said, taking a deep breath and cracking open the door. 


Apple Bloom was far less careful as she made her way to the main deck. She was not concerned with keeping quiet; The only thing on her mind was finding Scootaloo. What if she had fallen of the boat! She thought continuing her lip biting. She can't fly... Oh no what if she can't swim. I shoulda asked her if she could swim! 

As she came out the door to the deck Apple Bloom was shocked to see it was blanketed in thick mist. "Dang it! Now how the heck am I gonna find her!" 

She tried to find her way around the ship, but due to the mist and the ice it was almost impossible to move five feet without falling on her rump. After five or ten minutes of hopeless wondering, Apple Bloom decided to call it quits and go back to the cabin ,but just as she turned to go back the way she came, she was violently thrown backwards. Then came the loudest crashing sound Apple Bloom had ever heard in her young life from the front of the ship.


*** 


"Well, young lady, what do you have to say for yourself?" asked Miss Cheerilee, turning a bit in her swivel chair to face Scootaloo. 

"I'm so sorry, Ma'am! I was just so bored, and I couldn't sleep!" replied Scootaloo, shaking her back leg furiously.

"That's no excuse for breaking the rules; you know that as well as I do."

"But I—" Scootaloo started, but before the pegasus got a chance to explain herself a burly earth pony burst through the door to the teacher's cabin. He was desperately gasping for breath and perspiration ran down his body like a waterfall.

"There is an emergency!" He took a deep breath. "We've spotted ice! The mist was too thick; we couldn't see it until it was too late! You have to get your students and—"

Suddenly, all three of the ponies were sent flying to the wall in a massive jolt. 


***


Sweetie Belle had no idea what hit her. One moment she was talking with her friend Apple Bloom; the next moment she was peeling herself off the wall of her cabin and trying to alleviate the pain in her ears. "What the hay is going on around here," she said as trotted drunkenly to the door. She pressed her left ear up to the cold metal hatch in an effort to delineate what had made the earth shattering sound and caused her to have an arrangement with the wallpaper. 

To her utter shock what she heard with the screaming voices of other ponies. Her first thought was that Scootaloo head pulled a prank on the other ship residence, but as she listened more closely she could hear the panic in their voices and their frantic efforts to escape their doomed vessel. Only then did Sweetie Belle start to understand what was really happening. 

After a few moments of building up the courage, she swung the door open and prepared to make a run for it. To her dismay, when she stepped out of the cabin, instead of having a clear path to the exit, she was instead caught up in a stampeding mob of fillies and colts. "Ow! Stop that!" she screamed as she was shoved around in a flurry of panicking ponies. "What the heck is going on around here!?"

"Run!" one of them yelled as she careened past Sweetie Belle at breakneck speed.

Through the combined efforts of herself and all the ponies who were thoughtlessly shoving her, Sweetie Belle was eventually able to be unceremoniously knocked onto the cold slippery deck of the ship. 

After taking a brief moment to rub the bump on her head, she looked around to see if she could find Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. However, it was practically impossible due to the flood of students that had preceded her in the chaotic line of escape. As she stood trying to figure out what to do some of the teachers had arrived and were trying to maintain some sort of order. As the ship slowly began to tip forward the shaky adults tried to stuff as many of the children into lifeboats as they possibly could. 

Sweetie Belle strained her eyes to see if she recognized anypony in the cramped escape crafts and she quickly did a double take when she noticed a red maned filly towards the starboard side of the ship. However when the lifeboat dropped, the red head of hair disappeared as quickly as it had been seen.

Was it really her friend? Or was it just her imagination? Sweetie Belle wasn't sure, but she decided it was worth a shot. She made her way down the slippery slope that was the sinking ship all the way down to where she had seen her fellow crusader. She pulled herself up to the railing to see if she could see who was in the boats, but all she could see was the thick blanket of mist. 

Sweetie Belle let out a defeated sighed and turned around. What she saw next was a blur. She remembers a scream and a flash of something big and metal. A spike of pain surged through her, and she felt herself being thrown into the air. After that she was falling. Then she was wet.


***


Apple Bloom didn't know what to do. She was caught up in a sea of hysterical ponies on a sinking ship that she was told was safe, and was unceremoniously separated from her two best friends. And now she was packed like a frozen sardine in a cold tiny lifeboat with children she didn't even know. How could things have gone so wrong? 

The silence was unbearable and Apple Bloom hated it, so she asked the question she knew all of the others were thinking. "Who do you think is gonna pick us up?" The other ponies turned to face Apple Bloom their eyes wide with fear.

They remained silent.

"Well? Are you gonna say somethin'?" 

"Oh give it a rest blank flank!" shouted a very unhappy pink filly. "Nobody cares about what you have to say."

"Shut your trap Diamond Tiara!"

"How dare you!? Do you even know who I am?!"

"I know exactly who you are, and I know there ain't no buyin' your way outta this one."

"Excuse me!?" moaned the tiaraless Diamond Tiara as she shoved her way through her fellow students in an effort to get at Apple Bloom.

"You know what, I'm sick of dealin' with you!" growled the frustrated farm pony.

"Ditto! I think it's time I show you who's boss here." Diamond Tiara then gave Apple Bloom a violent shove, but instead of rustling her up like she had intended, Apple Bloom completely lost her balance and went toppling out of the lifeboat and into the water.

In an instant Applebloom's entire body was engulfed in freezing cold. It was so cold, in fact, that her body would not let her swim for a few moments. It was like all of her muscles had locked up.

When she finally got her head above the surface and began treading water, the lifeboat had already drifted far away. "Are you tryin' to kill me!?" Apple Bloom screamed at the drifting vessel.

"No!" screamed Diamond Tiara in a panic. "I didn't mean to; I swear!"

"Turn around then!"

"I don't know how!"

"It's okay, I'll try to swim to you!" replied Apple Bloom as she began her best pony paddle in the direction she thought the boat had gone. 

Apple Bloom quickly realized she had gone the wrong way, but because of the mist, she wasn't even sure which direction she had come much less where the boat was. The only thing she could think to do at that point was to swim some more, swim until she found something she could latch onto.

After an unknowably long stretch of time, the shivering pony saw something unexpected. A bright beam of yellow light piercing through the mist. A light house? Could it be?


***


Cheerilee's cabin was on the bottom of the ship, so safely making her way to the main deck was an impossible feat for Scootaloo especially considering the water. A massive hole had been torn in the hull of the boat, and the ocean was gushing in at an alarming rate. 
Thankfully Scootaloo wasn't alone. She had an entourage of two adult ponies who could help her through the mass of youngsters. 


Normally Scootaloo would be embarrassed by having to ride on the sweaty sailor pony's back, but when it came down to it she was just happy to be alive. The downside to having teacher help was that Cheerilee had to make sure all the other ponies had safely gotten into lifeboats before she could worry about herself, so when it came time for the last few teachers to secure a boat of their own, there were none left for them. Scootaloo had not thought about this when she decided to stay behind with her teacher, but now that the ship had almost completely gone down, she was beginning to regret that decision.

"Do you have any ideas!?" cried Scootaloo who was desperately clinging to the boat's cold metal railing. "Because it's starting to look like we don't have much time left!" 

"I think I have one," called out the sailor from before. "But you two are going to have to trust me because it's a little dangerous."

"Let's hear it!" responded Cheerilee. 

"Do you see that debris down there?" The sailors then pointed to the water which, because of the slant of the sinking ship, was now beneath them. "Most of those big chunks are wood from the deck. That means that if we slide down and grab onto one of those, we should be able to climb on top of it and use it like a life raft."

"I don't know…" said Cheerilee nervously. "Scootaloo what do you think?"

Scootaloo swallowed hard and opened her chattering teeth. "I think it's worth a shot."

"Alright, I guess I'll do it too then," added Cheerilee her voice shaking like a leaf in the wind.

"I'm going to count to three and then we're all going to drop together, OK?" said the sailor in a calm soothing voice. The others nodded. "Alright," he cleared his throat. "One."

Cheerilee let out a small whimpering sound.

"Two."

Scootaloo took at deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Three!"

They all let go.

Scootaloo kept her eyes closed the whole time so she didn't see anything, but what she felt was herself tumbling down a cold, slippery, wooden deck like some kind of torturous slip and slide. Her heart was beating a million times a minute and her ears were being filled with the blood curdling screams of Miss Cheerilee. But it all stopped in an instant when she splashed beneath the frigid sea water. The surface tension of the water itself led to a full body slap of pain to course through her. Scootaloo was in shock, but she knew she had to get out of the water before the cold killed her. 

After a few blood pumping moments of flailing limbs and splashing, Scootaloo finally resurfaced and took a big healthy gulp of air.

"Oh thank heavens!" moaned Cheerilee from on top of a nearby piece of wood flooring. "For a moment I was sure you wouldn't make it!" 

"No I'm okay," Scootaloo assured as she made her way to another piece of floating debris. With a loud grunt she then pulled herself up on the wooden platform and flopped onto her back. 

Slowly her raft started to drift away. Though Scootaloo could hear miss Cheerilee and the sailor pony trying to talk to her, for some reason she was incapable of listening. Her mind was so overcome with exhaustion that she closed her eyes and before she knew, had fallen fast asleep.

She was so tired out, she didn't wake back up until her small craft crashed on the shore of a mysterious island, with an even more mysterious lighthouse.


***


Sweetie Belle was not a happy camper. She was not a very good swimmer to begin with, but now that she had sustained a mild injury from being knocked off the ship, things were getting even more difficult for her. I wish I had taken those lessons that Rarity told me about. She thought as she felt a strange numbness begin to set in. They would have really come in handy right about now.

The more Sweetie Belle swam the more the monotony of the ocean began to get to her. After a while, her thoughts began to dull, and her brain just started going on autopilot. There was a seemingly endless stretch of water in front of her, and the only thing behind her was the wreckage of the unreliable boat that had taken her here. Sweetie Belle knew it was probably a better idea to stay behind and wait for help, but she couldn't. At least this way she could pretend there was no crash and instead it was all just a very strange vacation. 

Finally, right when Sweetie Belle's resolve and brainpower were almost completely drained, she too saw the glimmering light of hope that shined from the edge of her vision. Almost as if it were a primal instinct, Sweetie Belle found herself being drawn to the light like a moth to a flame.

As she got closer, it felt like it was calling her, like she needed to go there. When she did get to the island with the towering lighthouse, she felt a strange wave of satisfaction flow over her as she pulled her body onto the rocky shore.

It felt like it was meant to be.


***


Apple Bloom tried to shake the water from her fur her as she made her way up to the lighthouse. It wasn't the normal sort of lighthouse that she was used to seeing. It was a strange slightly tapered rectangle that seemed to resemble a prison tower more than it did a lighthouse. She knew going inside was her best bet at survival, speaking that it was the only pony-made thing she could see for miles, but for some reason the closer she got to it the more uneasy she felt. 

Everything about the building screamed bad news.

"You can do this Apple Bloom!" she said, trying to muster up enough courage to climb the marble steps leading to the tower. "There ain't nuthin to be afraid of!" Apple Bloom was aware that that statement was very untrue, but she thought that maybe if she said it enough she might start to believe it. 

Eventually the shivering young pony did find it inside herself to drag her way up the stairs, and what she found was a large brass double door, one of which was wide-open. Unfortunately, this only furthered Apple Bloom's suspicions that she was not alone. "Hello? Is anypony in there?" she called out. 

There was no reply except the echo of her own voice.

"Alright, well if there's anypony in here I'm gonna be comin' in, so don't be surprised."

Still no answer.

After about a minute of standing frozen in front of the large brass door, Apple Bloom swallowed hard, closed her eyes, and trotted inside. 

Suddenly just as she had gotten her entire body through the doorway, it slammed shut with a cacophonous crashing. 

Apple Bloom was in the dark.

"Hello!?" she squealed. "Please turn the lights back on!" 

The room remained pitch black.

"Whoever's doing this, it ain't funny!" 

Right as Apple Bloom finished her sentence the darkness suddenly exploded into retina burning light. "Ah!" She flinched and instinctively lifted her hooves to cover her eyes. "What the hay do you think you're doin'!? You coulda warned me first!" Apple Bloom squinted her eyes and looked up at the room around her. It was an unexpectedly well decorated and fancy looking entrance hallway that contained two sets of stairs and a railing looking over the lower level of the lighthouse. The floors were covered with expensive tile that formed simple Art Deco designs, and the walls were adorned with large green and yellow disc-like objects that seemed to serve as artistic flourishes. Nothing appeared to be to run down, but everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Obviously nopony had been there in a long time.

As Apple Bloom trotted down the stairs, she stopped to admire a large stone mural that clearly depicted some fish riding a pair of massive waves that were about to crash around a shining yellow sun. However just as she found herself beginning to lose herself to thought, she heard the sound of a door creaking open.

"Who’s there!" she cried out.

There were a few seconds of silence, but this time Apple Bloom was greeted by familiar voice.

"Apple Bloom! Is that you!?"

"Scootaloo!?"

"You bet."

Apple Bloom's wet shivering face turned from a deep frown into a warm smile as she galloped over to greet her friend. She too appeared to be soaking and exhausted, but unlike Apple Bloom, Scootaloo had something on her back.

"Is that... Sweetie Belle!?"

"Yeah, but don't worry she's fine, just taking a nap... I think." Scootaloo then proceeded to light set the white filly on the floor and check her heartbeat. "Yeah I'm pretty sure she's okay."

"What happened to her?" questioned Apple Bloom in a concerned motherly tone.

"I have no idea. I just found her outside nearly collapsed from exhaustion. She was only able to say a few words to me before she fell on the ground and passed out."

"Wow I sure hope she doesn't get sick or anythin'."

"Don't worry about it; we should focus on getting help," reminded Scootaloo. 

"Yeah I was just about to go exploring down here when you came in."

"Alright then, let's see what's up."

The two then made their way down to the very bottom level of the lighthouse where they found a strange round chamber covered in seemingly advanced pieces of machinery. 

"What the hay do ya think this thing is for?" asked Apple Bloom as she trotted up to it's thick glass door.

"I don't know it looks like you're supposed to sit in it," Scootaloo pointed out as she confidently trotted inside the giant brass golf ball.

"Scootaloo be careful in there! You don't know what it does!" cautioned Apple Bloom.

"Ah, it's fine! Don't worry so much." Scootaloo then lightly set Sweetie Belle down onto one of the pod's velvety benches. "Come on in. These seats are actually really comfortable!"

"Okay, but don't go touchin' nothin'." Apple Bloom sighed and cautiously made her way inside the device. She then sat down next to Scootaloo and frowned. "Okay so what now? It don't seem like there's anypony here."

"There's a lever," replied Scootaloo, mischief in her eyes.

"Oh no you don't! You don't know what any of this is for!"

"Come on, it's not like we have any other options."

"No."

"Please!?"

"I told you NO!"

"Aren't you just a little curious?"

"No I ain't!"

"Hey guys what's going on?" came the voice of Sweetie Belle who now seemed to be about half awake.

"We're talking about pulling that lever over there," replied Scootaloo a smug grin on her face.

"Lever?" asked Sweetie Belle drunkenly. "I can pull a lever."

"NO WAIT!" screamed Apple Bloom as she lunged to stop her not fully aware friend.

It was too late. 

With one small motion, the stick was pulled and the door was shut. 

The Cutie Mark Crusaders then began their descent into the unknown.
	
	
> The Atlas
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 2
The Atlas


In a miraculous stroke of luck, every single pony involved in the crash was found and taken back to their respective families in their respective cities. That is, all except The Cutie Mark Crusaders. 

Most ponies considered such high survival numbers a success, and completely forgot about the trio of poor fillies. However, the ponies of Ponyville did not forget. Every single pony in town banded together to try and rescue their favorite group of blank flanks. There was a real effort made to find them; the townsponies even convinced Manehattan to send out a few boats of their own. Unfortunately, even the restless souls of Ponyville couldn't continue to look for them forever, so after about three or four months, almost everypony seemed to have forgotten about the search altogether.

Applejack is, and always has been, a stubborn pony. Nopony argues with that. Never was this more evident then when her young sister Apple Bloom disappeared. Despite the odds, Applejack continually hung onto the slim possibility that she could somehow make her family whole again. She was ready to do whatever had to be done to save Apple Bloom even if that meant trusting a lead from a complete stranger.


***


Applejack took a deep breath and mustered the last of her waning strength. She was almost finished, and she couldn't afford to quit. It was the middle of a scorching summer afternoon, and Applejack was about ready to keel over from exhaustion. Most ponies would have quit by now, but not Applejack. She had a family to take care of, and she wasn't about to give up over a little spell of heat. 

She wiped the sweat from her brow and made her way to the next tree. However, as she was getting ready to kick the hard wooden flesh of the towering apple tree, she heard a voice.

"Hello?"

Applejack stopped kicking so suddenly that she nearly fell over. "Dagnabbit, you nearly made me jump outta my own skin!" said Applejack as she turned to face the stallion who was addressing her. 

"Package for..." He peered down at the little brown box he was holding. "Applejack. It says it's from a friend." 

Applejack looked at the light-gray mailpony pegasus and frowned. "I ain't expectin' any mail. Do you know what it is?"

"Sorry, can't help you there. I'm not allowed to look into ponies' mail. Privacy and all." The awkward pony then adjusted his glasses and gave Applejack the package. "Hey, maybe it's a surprise present!" he chirped as he began the fly to his next delivery.

"Yeah, maybe." Applejack looked down at the package. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a small break." She then trotted a few feet and sat down in the shade of a large leafy apple tree. As she sat down, she let out a long sigh of relief and relished in the feeling of the cool breeze washing over her body. Applejack stretched her aching limbs and slid her large cowboy hat in front of her eyes. It was a nice day. The ground below her was still a bit muddy from the previous night's summer showers, but she didn't mind getting a little dirty; she was used to it. 

After a few minutes of sitting in front of the gnarled malus, Applejack peered over at the plain package sitting next to her. It had no name or return address; all that was written on it was, 

To: Applejack 
From: A Friend. 

It then listed the address of the Apple Family Farm. The only other thing on the entire brown box was a tiny stamp with a picture of a lighthouse emblazoned on it.

Applejack sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it couldn't hurt to take a look." She then     griped the dry cardboard between her teeth and quickly tore it open with a satisfying ripping sound. What spilled out of the container was certainly not what she had expected.

It was a book, an atlas to be exact.

Applejack picked up the hefty leather bound book and turned it over. The front cover was heavily worn indicating that the massive tome was far from new. She squinted her eyes to try and make out the design on the front. Some of the words were a bit difficult to read, but Applejack was sure of one thing; during some long past age this book was once very ornate. The remnants of a large golden design would still sparkle every time she held it to the light, and there were a few indents at the center that seemed to imply there were once large gems resting inside of them. One thing was sure, it was a true status symbol.

"What are ya lookin' at?" interrupted Rainbow Dash.

"Ah!" screamed Applejack, dropping the atlas in surprise. "Rainbow Dash! You scared the stuffing out of me!"

"Sorry, Applejack. I was just in the neighborhood, and I came to see if you needed any help with the summer harvest."

"Well, that's mighty nice of ya Rainbow, but I think I've got it under control," Applejack fibbed as she pulled the atlas from the ground and dusted it off.

"Whatcha got there?" Rainbow Dash pried as she flew flew in for a closer look.

"Nuthin' important," Applejack said as she pulled herself from the dirt. "Just some old book I got in the mail."

"Who from?" Rainbow Dash prodded, moving into Applejack's path.

"Don't know," she replied with a shrug. "It doesn't say." Applejack tried to move around the excited pegasus, but the more she tried to avoid her, the closer Rainbow got.

"You don't know?" Rainbow pushed her front hooves up to her face, squishing her cheeks together. "What if it's like some sort of map from a long lost family member leading to an ancient treasure from a lost age! That. Would be. So. COOL!"

"Didn't you say you were here to help?"

"Yeah but, aren't you going at least open the book first?"

"Maybe later. I've still got buckin' to do."

"No no no no! We have to read it now!" cried Rainbow Dash, brimming with elation.

"Rainbow, I don't think—"

"Even better! Let's get all the girls and do it together!"

"Twilight is on a trip to Canterlot, and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy are on one of those friendship missions."

"Well then, let's get Rarity! I'm sure she's free!" insisted Rainbow Dash.

"I don't know about that. She hasn't been in the best mood, ya know... since the incident," mumbled Applejack somberly. 

"I'm sure she'll be fine!" moaned Rainbow, stamping her hooves against the ground impatiently.

"Oh alright."


***


"GO AWAY! I'm working!" screamed Rarity through her door.

"Rarity, your lights aren't even on," pointed out Rainbow dash. "I get that Sweetie Belle meant a lot to you; I REALLY do, but you're going to have to come out eventually."

"Never! How could I now that she is gone!?" 

It was almost inaudible, but for a second Rainbow Dash was sure she could hear her ghostly gray friend softly whimpering behind the comfort of her wooden barrier.

Rainbow let out a long sigh and turned towards Applejack her face contorted with desperation.

"Look, sugar cube, maybe we should leave her alone. I'm sure the book can wait," 
whispered the frowning earth pony. 

"It's not even about the book anymore, Applejack. If we don't get her out of that room now, who knows how long it will be before we see her face."

Applejack put a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder tenderly. "I'm sure she'll come out eventually. We should give her time."

Rainbow gave another drawn out sigh and looked to the floor. "Okay, I know it's not the same thing because we're not really sisters, but it hurt when I found out Scootaloo got lost out there. She's a really good filly, and I liked her a lot. But I decided that the best way to get over it was to face it and move on. That is clearly not what Rarity is doing..." Rainbow paused for a few moments before shooting her head up as if she had remembered something of dire importance. "And don't you dare tell anyone about what I just said. I don't want them thinking I'm a softy or anything." 

Applejack let out a low chuckle. "I promise."

"Cross your heart and hope to fly?"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Stick a cupcake in my eye."

Rainbow Dash gave her friend quick smile of confirmation and turned back to the bedazzled door. She took a deep breath and gave it another knock. 

"What!? What do you want!?" moaned the voice on the other side.

"I, uh..." Rainbow cleared her throat. "I think what I want is for you to be happy, and you're not gonna get any happier alone in there."

There was a heavy moment of silence. Applejack took off her hat and gave Rainbow an, "Oh well, we tried," look. However the blue mare either wasn't looking or didn't get the message, for she continued to tap a hoof in rhythmic nervousness.

After a period that felt like forever, Rainbow turned and hung her head to the floor.

"It's okay," said Applejack consolingly. "We can come back when she's ready."

Just then, Rainbow heard a quiet squeaking sound echo from behind her. 

"I think I can come out now," whispered Rarity in an uncharacteristically small voice.

“That's great!" blurted out Rainbow Dash. 

Applejack frowned and gave her rainbow friend a glare sharp enough to draw blood.
"I mean... I'm glad to have you back."

Rarity then eased the door open slowly and flinched slightly as she stepped into the bright hall light. She sniffled a bit and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. "So," she began weakly. "What is it you wanted to do again?"


***


"Are you saying you got this old thing in the mail?" asked Rarity as she looked over the decaying atlas that was now lying on her kitchen table.

"I'm tellin' ya'll; the mailpony trotted right up to me and said it was from 'a friend'," insisted Applejack who was rocking back and forth on one of Rarity's elaborate wooden chairs. 

"How mysterious!" added Rainbow as she grabbed a snack from the kitchen. "This is like something that would happen on one of Daring Do's adventures!"

"Yes well, I will admit this is highly irregular."  Rarity swiftly trotted to a drawer and pulled out one of her many eyepieces used for gem magnification. "Let me take a closer look at this." She then put the eyepiece in and held the book to the light. However, right as Rarity was about to begin a more in-depth appraisal of the artifact, a slip of folded paper fell out from between the pages. "Oh my, now what's this?"

"Looks like some kind of message," noted Applejack as she leaned her chair closer to the table.

"I know that," droned Rarity. "What I want to know is the contents of the message."

"Well, let's take a look then!" slurred Rainbow, a sandwich still dangling from her mouth. The pegasus then dashed over to the table and snached the parchment from on-top the smooth silk tablecloth.

"Well, darling, what does it say?" asked Rarity as she watched her friend unfold the paper.

"I'm not sure," admitted Rainbow Dash, squinting her eyes to thin slits. "It's kinda dusty." The blue pegasus then took a deep breath and blew said dust all over the table.

"Watch it!" protested Applejack as she was showered with a cloud of snow-like white particles.

"Oh my," sputtered Rarity as she bursted out into a fit of coughs. "This can't possibly be healthy!" 

"Sorry girls," replied Rainbow, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "On the plus side I can read it now."

"Well then what does it say?" Asked Rarity. "We haven't got all day."

"I'm getting to it! Hold your horseshoes!" Rainbow cleared her throat and began to read of the letter in an unbearable monotone, "Dear Applejack, I understand that this letter is a tad out of the blue, and I know very well that you are unaware as to my identity, but I assure you that I am a friend. 

"As of writing this, it has been four months to the day since the tragic disappearance of your sister Apple Bloom." 

Suddenly Applejack's eyes went wide, and she pulled her cowboy hat from her head. "How?" she said in a mousey voice. "How do they know about that?"

"I don't know, maybe they read it in a news article or something," continued Rainbow Dash. "This may come as quite a shock, but I am pleased to inform you that your sister is still very much alive. However, you must act fast, for that will likely not last for much longer. The place that young Apple Bloom finds herself in is an unforgiving one, and it is quite miraculous that she's even lived as long as she has."

"Stop!" shouted Applejack who was rubbing her temples furiously. "I can't handle this anymore!"

"But, darling, what if what the letter says is true?" asked Rarity a glimmer of hope hidden somewhere deep behind her sparkling blue eyes. "That might mean Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are still alive too."

"So what if it's true? It would also mean that they're wandering around in a deadly wasteland, ready to be killed at any second!" cried Applejack who was once again rocking in her squeaky chair.

"I think we should at least finish reading it before we pass judgment on whomever this is." complained Rainbow Dash as she lightly tapped a hoof against the table. 

"Oh yes, do go on," insisted Rarity.

"Unfortunately, if you and your friends would like to save your sisters, you too must put yourself at risk. It no doubt will be a perilous journey, and there will be a high chance of death, but if you listen to me and do exactly what I say when I say it you may be able to make it back intact.

"All that being said, you may call me Silver River, and I will be a guide of sorts on this adventure. The atlas included in this package has a map of the eastern ocean on page thirty-four; on that map I have marked the location of where you need to go for the start of your search. Once you arrive on the island that is shown, you should be able to locate a small device that I left for you. It emanates a magical signal that will allow you to speak to me.

"I look forward to hearing your voices, and I wish you all luck on your trip.

"Signed, Silver River."

"Well, now isn't that strange?" muttered Rarity. "What do you suppose we do?"

"Normally I wouldn't be so trusting of a package from a stranger, but I don't think that there would any reason for him to be lyin' to us," said Applejack lightly rubbing her chin with a hoof.

"Are you saying that we should follow the directions of some stallion we've never met?" asked Rarity, drawing her head back in surprise.

"No I ain't sayin' nothin' of the sort. What I am sayin' is that he knows about what happened to our sisters, so it might at least be worth findin' out what else he knows."

"Yeah, and who doesn't love a good adventure!" chimed Rainbow Dash, excitement plastered across her face.

"I... I don't know. I don't think I'd be able to bear the heartbreak of finding out that it was all some ruse to sell insurance or something," moaned Rarity, her eyes once more beginning water.

"Now that's completely ridiculous!" exclaimed Applejack as she sprung from her chair and onto the tile of the kitchen floor. "Look, I miss Apple Bloom; I really REALLY do. Losin' her was the most painful thing I've ever felt in my entire life. That's why I feel like even if the chances are slim, we owe it to our sisters to take every opportunity we are given to get them back." Applejack slid her hat in front of her eyes and made a soft sniffling sound. "I don't know girls; for some reason I just feel good about this one."

"I'm in," said Rainbow Dash in a serious tone. "Talk of adventures aside, those poor fillies don't deserve to be ripped from their homes, and loved ones. They're probably scared and alone, and there is no way I'm gonna stand idly by knowing that I could be doing something." Rainbow lowered her head and gave a sympathetic smile. "Besides Scootaloo was my biggest fan; what kind of hero would I be if I didn't go and save her as fast as possible?"

Rarity swallowed hard and tried to hold back her tears. She didn't know what to say, and she couldn't help but look back-and-forth at her two confident friends. For some reason she couldn't help but feel weak around them. How could they be so sure? she thought. Are they not afraid just as I am? She knew that trusting this Silver River character was a bad idea, but something strange in the back of her mind, almost like a primal instinct, told her that she had to go. No matter how small this part of her brain was it was screaming to come out, and as the idea began to grow Rarity couldn't help but let it creep onto her lips and fly out into the air.

"I don't want to go. I really don't want to," admitted Rarity, her body shaking feverishly. "But I think I have to. If I don't, I know that I'll regret it for the rest of my life." She whipped her head up and once again glared directly at her friends, but this time instead of fear, her ice-blue eyes were consumed with a newfound fire. "I am going to do this! And no matter what happens I am not going to stop until we find what we're looking for!"

"Alrighty then, I guess if we're all in agreement." Applejack pulled her hat back atop her head and gave a short gesture towards the atlas with a hoof.

Rainbow Dash nodded and moved over to the large book. She then took a deep breath and pulled apart the crusty yellow pages. "Let's see, page thirty-four." She squinted her eyes again and flipped through the pages of the rotting book of maps until she got to the proper place. "Woah! I think you all need to take a look at this!"

"What is it darling?" questioned Rarity as she moved to the other side of the table.

"He definitely made sure we knew exactly where we needed to go!" Rainbow pointed down to the page at the dark red circle of liquid that was soaked into the paper. Inside of the circle was a minuscule black dot placed in the middle of the ocean that seem to signify an island. On the outside were three dark red words scribbled onto the page in all capital letters. 

"Well," started Applejack a deep worrying in her voice. "I guess I know what I'm doing with my weekend." 


***


After a few days of preparation, the three ponies were ready to begin their journey. They decided it would best to follow in the footsteps of their sisters by starting in Manehattan and renting a boat from there. Their train ride up to the big city was long and silent. Nopony spoke, for there was nothing to say. Their nerves infected their mind and blocked their speech. When they arrived and began their hunt for a way to cross the ocean, they tried to put on brave faces, but there was still very little talking between the three of them. Nopony wanted to reveal to the others how truly petrified they were of what would happen. What if they couldn't  find them, and what if they could, but they ended up being too late?

Through some of Rarity's connections, The trio was eventually able to get their hands on a little boat that they could use. After a few hours of preparations, they left. Thankfully, now that it was summer, they did not have to deal with any of the ice that their sisters did. So the trip ended up being relatively smooth for the most part, until a storm hit just as they began to draw near their objective.


***


"Rarity! Where are you!?" screamed Rainbow Dash over the sound of the pounding rain.

"Over here!" came the weak voice of her purple maned friend. Who was trying her best to shelter herself under a small group of food crates. "Where is Applejack?"

"Right now she's driving the boat. Why?" asked Rainbow as she tried her best to keep the water from getting in her eyes.

"Are we getting close?"

"Apparently. But with this storm knocking us around, I'm not so sure if we know where we are anymore."

"Can't she use the stars to navigate or something?" 

"Not with these storm clouds. Right now it doesn't look like we'll be seeing the sky for miles.

"Well then, what now?" asked Rarity right as another enormous wave crashed upon the deck causing her weak cover structure to be blown to the other side of the boat.

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" cried Rainbow, flying over to help her friend up.

Rarity grabbed her friend's extended hoof and shakily heaved herself from the deck and onto her hooves. "Ugh! Disgusting!" moaned Rarity as she spit some ocean water from her mouth. "I suppose I'm fine for now; thank you."

"No problem. Now we should—" Before Rainbow could finish her sentence the air around them suddenly ignited into blinding yellow light. Then in a fraction of a second their ear drums were assaulted with the deafening crack of lightning striking the boat.

Rarity belted out a blood curtling scream and glued herself to Rainbow Dash. "Oh no! LOOK!" she cried as she pointed a shaky hoof to the stern. 

Rainbow whipped her head around to see what Rarity was fussing about, but had to double take just to make sure her eyes were really working. 

The back end of the boat was being engulfed in flames.

"Ohmygosh!" shouted Rainbow Dash, her breath speeding up into a crescendo panic. "Okay okay, I've gotta keep calm and think of a plan."

"What should I do?" squeaked Rarity who was still desperately clinging to her friend.

"First of all, get off me. Second use your magic to help me out here."

Rarity sniffled and pulled her soaking wet mane out of her face. "Okay, what do you need?"

"Well I think we can put out that fire if we get enough ocean water to spray up on the deck. So the plan is you levitate one of those crates and use it to collect as much water as you can. Then I want you to pour it all out on top of the fire." Rainbow Dash hollered, trying to be heard over the roar of the intense storm. "I'm going to see how much I can do myself, As soon as I get flying, I want you to do your thing. You got that?"

Rarity nodded tentatively. "I think so."

"All right here goes nothing," mused Rainbow Dash as she stretched apart her powerful wings. She then opened her mouth and sucked air into her lungs until they burned. She paused for a moment to listen to the blood pumping through her brain, and then suddenly she took off, rocketing into the sadistic downpour. She looked around to try to find something that she could fill with water, but to keep the rain out, she had to squint her eyes so thin that it was nigh-impossible to see anything more than an inch in front of her muzzle. Still she was eventually able to blindly make her way to a section of the deck that contained a large stash of barrels. Some of them were larger and meant for keeping items like fish or large fruits, but there were also quite a few smaller ones meant for the holding of spices and other ground commodities that would be too heavy to store otherwise. Rainbow Dash hovered over them and placed a foreleg on her head to keep out as much water as she could. Even with the weather conditions, she was able to quickly spot a manageably small container that also happened to be empty. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and quickly scooped the barrel up. She then smiled confidently and launched herself back into the air. She then dove into the choppy ocean that surrounded them. She was only underwater for mere moments, just long enough so that she could fill up her bucket and make a quick rush for the fire. As she raced over the battered motorboat, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Rarity tirelessly heaving water onto the roaring flames with the help of her levitation magic.
Rainbow Dash knew that she wanted to keep up with her friend that she would have to fly faster, so that's what she did. She exploded into a blinding blur of speed and dumped a shower of liquid onto the burning deck. Using all the strength she could muster she flew back and did it again, and again, and again, until the once roaring tower of flames was nothing more than smoldering embers.

"Oh dear, are you alright?" Asked Rarity, running over to a collapsed Rainbow Dash who was on the deck taking in deep gasps of air. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." wheezed Rainbow brushing Rarity off with the wave off a hoof. 

Just then, the door to the captain's quarters swing open and Applejack came speeding out. "Is everything alright out he—" Suddenly Applejack found her legs dropping out from under her. "AH! What the hay?! How the heck did a hole this big get here?"

"Probably the the fire," said Rarity quite matter-of-fact.

"Oh, yeah... Now could one of y'all pull me outta here!" 

"Of course darling!" Rarity bent down into the blackened hole and hung her hooves out for her friend to grab.

"Thank ya kindly." Applejack dusted herself off and flipped her soaking mane. "Now to get down to business. The way the rain is slowin' down, this storm seems to have almost passed us by. While you guys were putin' out that fire, I caught sight of a little island out in the distance. I may be wrong, but I'm thinkin' that's the place our mystery stallion was implyin' with his letter."

"Alright sounds like a plan," agreed Rainbow Dash sitting up on the slick wooden deck. "Is there anything that we need to do to help?"

"Well, not that I can think of..." ApplejacK rubbed her chin a bit as the rain still dripped on their head. "I'm just hopin' that this here ship don't sink. What with the big hole in the top."

"It doesn't seem to go all the way through. We should be fine," said Rarity a twinge of false optimism in her voice.

The three ponies and then went back to sailing almost as if the storm had never happened in the first place. Applejack went back to piloting the boat, and Rainbow Dash decided to fly closely behind to make sure that if something went wrong everypony would know as soon as possible. With no designated job to do, Rarity decided she would just look out on the ocean and watch as the little island grew from a tiny speck into the looming shape of a dark lighthouse. 

Suddenly, the feeling of urgent nervousness caused by their near shipwreck began to dissipate from the minds of the three ponies, and instead, the deep-seated dread of the path in front of them creeped its way back into their thoughts.

All three of them were still jaded by the fact that they were told that their sisters may still be alive only just as they were beginning to accept their new lives without them. It was a scary thought that the ones they love might be stranded and alone, but it was only one of many scary thoughts that passed through their heads. All of their worries, big or small, ran together into a murky river of paranoid thoughts and broken ideas. It's hard to discern what's what when your skull is full virtual flies that all seem impossible to swat down.

"Uh, Rarity?" It was the voice of Rainbow Dash. "Rarity we're here now. Are you coming?"

"Huh!?" exclaimed Rarity as she was sucked from the depths of her mind.

"Yeah, earth to Rarity. We made it."

Rarity turned her head and once again looked out at what lay before the boat. To her surprise, what was in front of her was, in fact, a small round island on top of which was a angular black tower that seemed to function as some sort of a lighthouse.

"Can we get a move on?" asked Applejack.

"Oh... Yes, let's," replied Rarity as she began to follow the other two, a glassy look still in her eyes. 

Applejack trotted over to the side of the ship and started grappling with a thick rope that was attached to some sort of pulley mechanism. "Dagnabit I musta tied this not a little bit too tight when we set sail." She grunted and tried to pull the heavy knot apart with her teeth. "Well I'll be darned. Could one of y'all come over here and help me lower the gangplank?"

"Sure," said Rainbow Dash who proceeded to pick up a sharp wooden shard and snap the slimy green tinted rope. Almost instantly after it was cut, the frayed tangle began to speedily unwind itself, and soon the thick oak board that was the gangplank came crashing down onto the rocky surface of the mysterious island. The three mares cringed at the sound of the wood splintering against the craggy outcropping, but Rainbow Dash attempted to play it off with a confident smile.

"That ain't the kinda help I was lookin' for," droned Applejack through firmly clenched teeth.

"Yeah... well whatever, let's just get on with this," insisted Rainbow Dash as she tried her best to avoid eye contact with her orange friend. 

So then, an agitated Applejack, a red-faced Rainbow Dash, and a restrained Rarity all disembarked from their small vessel and began their climb up the damp rocky hill towards the looming giant that was the lighthouse.

The silent party of unhappy equines eventually made their way onto a path and up to the front door of the intimidating tower. The large double doors that lead inside appeared to be sealed shut, but what was even more curious was the small piece of paper taped to the door. 

"IN HERE," it said in bold scrawling handwriting.

"Well if that ain't ominous..." muttered Applejack trailing off.

"Well," started Rainbow Dash tapping her hoof rhythmically. "Are we going to go inside, or are we going to stand around all night?"

Applejack rolled her eyes and removed the note from the door. She then inhaled, clenched her teeth and placed a firm grasp on one of the large brass handles. Unexpectedly the monolithic door swung open with little effort. It opened up so fast, in fact, that it sent the orange pony tumbling backwards onto her rump. "After you," she groaned.

"Oh yeah… Uh, thanks," squeezed out Rainbow Dash, desperately trying to hold in a fit of giggles.

When the group finally got completely inside, the lights were all mysteriously on despite how decrepit the building appeared. As everypony trotted across the cold tile floor of the cavernous rotunda they couldn't help but notice how unblemished the reflective polished surface looked. Everything in the room from the slick stone stairs that they walked down to each and every elaborate art piece that adorned the walls. Everything was perfect, not a single hair was out of place, and that made it all the more unsettling.

As the ponies moved through the main room none of them could keep their eyes off of an oddly out of place bronze bust of a haggard looking stallion. It's morbidly stern expression and cold pupiless eyes seems to follow them wherever they would go. This bothered Rarity the most, but she too felt an describable need to stop in-front of the monstrous statue and read out the thick crimson banner that lay below it. "No gods or Princesses. Only ponies," she recited to herself in a small voice.

"Rarity, come on, we don't want to lose ya," chimed Applejack from the bottom of the first staircase. 

Rarity swallowed hard and made her slow descent downward.

After several flights of stairs and a few too many minutes, they all reached the bottom level, the same level that housed the strange contraption their sisters had been lost in, though they didn’t know this yet. In front of the trio sat the very machine that took their family away from them, open and ready for their dissent. 

"What the heck is this thing?" asked Rainbow Dash as she darted around the massive orb-like object  in an attempt to view it from every angle.

"Well I'll be darned if I know, but I know one thing; I ain't goin' inside that."

"I think we have to AJ," admitted Rainbow Dash. "There's nowhere else to go."

"I suppose there ain't..." Applejack pursed her lips together and scratched the back of her head. "What about you Rarity? What're you thinkin'?"

Rarity jumped to attention and blinked rapidly. "Oh, yes I, um... I guess we don't really have any other choice," she added, coming out of her strange fugue state.

"Two to one, I guess that means I lose," grumbled Applejack as she slowly trotted towards the ball-shaped machine.

The interior of the odd transportation mechanism had remained relatively the same as the last time it had been used, and beside the seats being a little bit wet this time, the only real thing that had changed was the lever in the center which now had another large note taped to it.

"'Pull this' it says. Like we couldn't figure that one out for ourselves," joked Rainbow as she took a seat. "So, you guys ready to do this thing?"

"Well, I guess so," said Rarity who was busy twiddling her hooves awkwardly.

Applejack sighed and removed her hat from her head. "I'm gonna to regret this..." she mumbled to herself. "Sure, I'm ready."


> The Descent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3


The Descent 


After the lever was pulled, the glass door sealed shut, and a low monotonous hum began to ring through the small cabin. Before long, the trio could feel their sphere jump and then begin to move down. Everypony remained mute, for they were all preoccupied by what was going on outside their constrictive enclosure.

Only a few seconds past before a loud sloshing sound could be heard, and water could be seen flooding in around the see-through door. It was hard to make out what came next; for a while it was just darkness outside, presumably a wall or some sort of other obstruction. Soon after, a quiet violin tune began to crackle in from a speaker that was somewhere above.

The three ponies then looked at each other, confused and nervous expressions clouding their faces. Only then was it truly sinking in that they had no idea where they were going or why they were trusting the atlas. That small moment of apprehension only added to the overall sense of dread that was polluting the air.

The next thing that became visible was a large yellow sign affixed to a massive archway. The sign read "10 fathoms".
Below the archway was a towering statue of a pony stretched out on it's hind legs. Its front legs were pulled up above his head seemingly bound in an awkward fashion very abnormal for a regular pony. It's hind legs, however, did not exist. The middle of the statue's body simply melted away into its large stone base.

The chamber did not stop; it continued to sink deeper and deeper. Soon another archway could be seen with a similar sign. This one read "18 fathoms". Then after the sign, the water seems to open up from a small elevator tube to a large dome.

Suddenly, just as it seemed the ponies were about to get a larger view of the surrounding area, a tall metal screen moved up from a slot at the bottom of the cabin and in front of the windows. There was a flickering sound, and then a rectangle of light appeared on the golden screen. The girls were perplexed for a moment, quite unsure of what was happening in front of them, but as soon as a grainy picture of the black lighthouse was cast on the projection screen, they all knew they were in for a mid-journey movie. 

The group simultaneously jumped as the projector switched from the photo to an ostentatious advertisement for product they didn't understand. 

"Fire in your Hoof!" It said overtop a picture of two happy ponies passing a ball of flames back-and-forth. "Incinerate!" Was written in massive font across the middle section. At the very bottom of the advert were the words "Plasmids™ by: Yarn Industries®" 

 The advertisement was accompanied by a startlingly loud track of old-timey music that seemed more at-home in a fifty-year-old toothpaste commercial than a strange underwater transportation machine.

All of the sensory information they were being bombarded with already had the girls more than a tad confused, and the next section of the video only intensified the feeling. In fact, it probably raised more than twice the amount of questions that it answered. 

What appeared to them next was a black-and-white photo of a tall, dark colored pony with a thin black mustache. He was reclined in a cushy chair with one hoof under his chin seemingly contemplating something very important.

"Hello," cracked a confident voice from above. "I am Yarn B. Quark, but since we are all friends here, you may call me Yarn." There was a short pause, and not a single sound could be heard, save from the repetitive "inspirational" music playing in the background.

"I have a question for you. Is a pony not entitled to the sweat of his brow?"  The slideshow on the screen then flicked to a picture of a farm and a downtrodden looking pony wiping an excessive amount of sweat from his forehead.

“'No.' says the pony in Manehattan. 'It belongs to the poor."  The sideshow clicked once more; this time it was the Statue of Friendship overhanging a pony, its hoof extending to grab the frightened unicorn.

"'No!' says the pony in Canterlot. 'It belongs to the princess!’” The picture then once again switched, this time into that of a colossal Princess Celestia looking down upon a flock of royal guards.

"'NO!' says the pony in Stalliongrad. "It belongs to everypony!" The picture then became one of a pony running away from a large hammer and sickle hovering above him.

"I rejected those answers. Instead I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose… Rapture!"

Just then, the screen on which things were being projected slid back into the ground where it came from revealing the glass door to the outside.

The jaws of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity all dropped, for before them was a city unlike they had ever seen. A sprawling landscape of skyscrapers laid out before them, all of them completely submerged by water. Neon signs adorned every one of the towering buildings, each of which were advertising some sort of product or casino. The only thing connecting these strange facilities was a long tube system that stretched from place to place.

All around the massive metropolis was life. Everywhere the trio looked all they could see were schools of fish, squid, whales, and every other aquatic animal you could possibly think of. It was complete mental overload. 


The poor little ponies didn't even have time to think about what they were seeing, for the  strange stallion over the intercom was still speaking. "A city where the artist would not fear the censor, where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality, where the great would not be constrained by the small. And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well." As the stallion was saying this, the small air pod floated its way seemingly unassisted between the buildings and towards some sort of docking bay. The pod then went through a series of neon rings on which were a series of gold phrases.

"All good things," said the first.

"In Equestria," said the second.

"Flow," said the third. 

"Into the city," said the final ring just as it's neon exploded and fizzled out.

After that, they approached the docking area. It was a large concrete hole with the words "Rapture Transit Authority" printed on it. As they moved inside they could tell it was another elevator, this one sporting advertisements on every wall.

"Well," said Applejack her voice scratchy and strained. "I guess this is it… This is where we're gonna to find ‘em.”

“I'm not sure if I like this place,” added Rarity, her expression hidden behind her curly mane.

Rainbow Dash considered responding, but before she could speak a word the sphere came to a screeching halt.

"Does this mean we're done? Is it time to get off?” It was Rarity again, this time much louder.

“I reckon so."

“Let me see what's going on outside," added Rainbow Dash as she pulled herself from the velvet bench. “Let me see here." She moved over to the window and pressed her muzzle up against the glass. “Uh… it's pretty dark out there; I don't think I'm going to be—” She stopped. "Do any of you guys hear that?"

"H-hear what?” asked Applejack. 

“It's um… Kind of a shuffling sound. Like there’s something out there.”

Rarity cocked her head and tried to listen for the sound, but the only thing she could hear were her heart’s feverish attempts to launch itself out of her chest. “I don't hear anyth—”

“Shhhh!” Rainbow Dash turned backwards and put a hoof in front of her mouth. “Quiet!” 

A few moments passed,

Nothing.

A few more moments,

Still nothing.

However, right when Rarity was about to give up, she picked up a small, near-silent scratching sound. The more she listened, the louder it got, and, in turn, the harder her heart convulsed. That wasn't all either; soon she could make out the sound of heavy hoofsteps clacking across a hard surface. And then, out of nowhere, was a great moaning.

“No!” came a weak scream. “Please don't do this!” It was a stallion’s voice, the voice of somepony who was clutching onto the last fibers of their hope. It was the voice of somepony moments away from death. “Take my money! Take my gun! Take anything; just leave me alone!"

The room was then filled with a scream. It was not the scream of poor the stallion but the scream of something else, something much worse. To describe the noise that echoed through their chamber as a voice wouldn’t be accurate. No creature capable of sentience would have ever uttered that beastial howl.

The lights flickered on for a moment then fizzled back out. 

“What was that!?” screeched Rarity. 

“What was wh—”

“Shhhh!” Applejack shoved her hoof in Rainbow’s mouth. “Hush!”

Did they see it too? Rarity wondered. In that miniscule moment of low light Rarity saw a shadow she couldn't quite make out. It looked like two ponies, but one of them wasn't right. It was long and emaciated, almost beyond the point of recognition. And then there was the splatter. It was quick; somepony with a less discerning eye would probably have missed it entirely, not Rarity. She saw every wild drop shower the ground, all before the lights faded into black.

Time dragged by at the pathetic pace of a maimed animal. Nopony moved a muscle, but the scuffling continued. It got louder and louder until it seemed like it was right outside the door. 

“What do we have here?” echoed the guttural drawl of the figure behind the door. 

The lights flickered again and through the window they saw it, the thin, almost rotten face of a monstrous pony. It opened its mouth wide and screeched once more. Everypony in the sphere fell to the floor with their hooves smashed over their ears. All thoughts inside their heads shattered and were replaced with the brain-rattling pain of pure dread. 

Suddenly the monster pounced onto their prison causing it to quake and tremor. The girls screamed as the beast smashed its hooves against the ceiling of their enclosure. Over and over it banged until the thick metal of the orb began to dent and fracture. 

This is the end! thought Rarity, her ears on the verge of bleeding. 

However, right as the girls were resigning themselves to death, the cacophony ended. The uproar was replaced with defining silence.

Then...
The door…
Popped…
Open.

Applejack peeled her hooves from over her face. “S-should we g-go out?”

“What else can we do?” Rainbow pointed out.

“Well… Alrighty…” Applejack pulled herself up, her wobbly legs still shaking. “Rarity, are you ready?”

Rarity gave a cursory nod.

“Well, okay then.” Applejack stood near the open door, at the threshold between worlds. “Let's get a move on.”






> The Radio
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 4


The Radio


The floor was sticky. That was the first thing the ponies noticed as they abandoned the safety of their bubble. Viscous fluid pooled around their hooves, but the room was once again too dark to see what was in front of them. The only light source available was a massive window at the other side of wherever they were. Despite its size, it illuminated very little of the room. It was almost as if the light was being muted by some unknown force.

Applejack swallowed hard. She refused to go any further before she knew what she was stepping in. She dipped her muzzle down, bringing it as close to the liquid as she could without getting wetter. She took a deep breath, and a recognizable metallic scent filled her nostrils. She couldn't place exactly what it was, but it was a pungent odor. 

When her head was down Applejack also picked up a faint sound. It was a raspy gurgle, the kind of sound a sick pony makes before his final breath. At first, she thought it must have been one of her friends, so she called out,

“Uh, girls are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Rarity squeaked.

“Yeah, what would be wrong with us?" asked Rainbow Dash.

“It's nuthin’... I was just hearin’ some weird sounds that's all.”

Suddenly there was a heavy wet coughing. 

“WHO’S THERE?!” Rarity shrieked. 

“I-it’s me…” came the deep voice of the stallion that the girls had heard through the glass. “Are y-you Applejack and c-company?”

“I reckon you could call us that. Why?”

The stallion took in another quivering breath and then ejected a few puffs of air from his nostrils. “I was supposed to come here to give you a radio, but the damn splicers…” he trailed off.

“Are you hurt darling?” croaked Rarity.

The stallion laughed. “See for yourself.” Suddenly there was a soft whirring noise and a small ray of orange light came from the mystery pony’s horn. As the light grew, more and more of his body became visible. At first it was just his horn, but soon his face was illuminated and then his everything. The light was weak and flickering, but that didn't keep the ponies from seeing the rest of his body, or lack thereof. The wetness beneath them was beginning to make a gruesome sort of scene.

Every year or so applejack would have to repaint her family barn. She always enjoyed it; it made her feel like one those fancy artists from Manehattan. Splattering can after can of candy apple paint was oddly satisfying. But sometimes she would make a mistake and knock the can over. Watching the flood of vibrant red slop wash over the land incited a strange visceral reaction; her heart would always skip a beat. Seeing that same sticky mess spilled on the floor made her finally realize what had bothered her so much.

“That bitch got me right in the belly!” He gestured to his torso. Just under his ribs, where a healthy stomach once rested, was a long incision going from side to side. 

Rainbow gaged. “I think I'm gonna be sick!”

Sometimes when Rarity was in a hurry she would drop her bag. This was fine if it was zipped; she would just pick it up and go on her merry way. But sometimes, if she left it open, all of her expensive trinkets would fall out. Everything from her false lashes to her compact would tumble onto the ground. That's what Rarity always imagined surgery to be like. You must be careful when unzipping a pony; you don't want to lose what's on the inside.

“Oh sweet Celestia!” Rarity shrieked. “We must find you a doctor this instant!”

The stallion released a bloody cackle. “There's no time for that. What I need is for you to listen.” 

The three ponies nodded.

“I was sent here by Silver River. He has a message about your three sisters.” 

Applejack snapped to attention. “You know where Applebloom is!?”

“No… I'm sorry; I'm just the messenger.” He frowned and took a few more shallow breaths. “I was supposed to give you a radio.” He tried to turn his head and look around but gave up after a few pained moments. “I think that splicer might have taken it.”

“Do you know where it went?” asked Rainbow. “We can get that radio back!”

“It went up the stairs behind me. I assume it's trying to get back to the city center. That's where all those fucking splicers hang around.” 

“Alright!” Rainbow shouted as she stomped her hoof against the ground. “I'm ready!”

“Hold on there Rainbow!” Applejack grabbed her friend’s rainbow tail between her teeth and held her back. “We don't have anythin’ right now! No weapons, no protection, no map. We don't even know where we are! Runnin’ in blind is just suicide and you know it!”

“But look at what that thing did to him!” Rainbow Dash pointed at the waterfall of gore protruding from the poor stallion. “I'm not going to sit around knowing that a monster like that is keeping us from getting our sisters back!”

“Do ya wanna to end up like him?” Applejack raised a blood soaked hoof. “This could be us next, coverin’ somepony else’s horseshoes.”

“Silver River contacted you for a reason,” whispered the stallion. “ He knows that you have the power to clean up Rapture and save your three sisters. You've come this far, why not go all the way?”

Applejack sighed. “I guess there ain't no turnin’ around anymore. You two.” Rainbow Dash and Rarity turned. “Are ya ready? Do ya think you can handle what might be ahead?” 

“I think we've got this!” cried Rainbow as she shadowboxed the air.

“Rarity?”

The white mare hung her head low, her baggy eyes pointed at the thin layer of red liquid coating the floor. Rarity looked at her reflection. The last few days had been hard on her. She hadn't had the time for the demanding level of hygiene required to look the way she normally did. In that respect at least, the face she saw below her was unfamiliar.

“For Sweetie Belle I would battle Chrysalis’ army one thousand times over.”

“Well then,” Applejack cracked her neck. “since we're all in agreement I reckon we ought to get movin’” She turned herself around to face the void, and the rest of her group followed suit. After a few blind stumbled Rainbow Dash turned her head to look at the fading stallion.

“Hey,” she said, her stone face melting. “When we find the monster that did this to you, I will make sure to throw a punch in your name.”

The stallion’s eyes were no more open than the width of a thread, and his breath was a crackling whisper. That, however, did not stop him from laughing at Rainbow’s promise. “The name is Johnny.”

“Alright, Johnny, we won't forget you.”

The corners of Johnny’s eyes filled with crystal pools of acceptance. This was the end of his story. “Thanks kid.”

The rattled adventurers marched on into an ocean of foggy uncertainty. Each step from then on was in the realm of Yarn, a tangled ball of mystery deep inside the cradle of the sea.

It was a long trot down the silent corridor. Rarity had remembered that she was in fact a unicorn and could light their way. With the new aid of vision, they trotted down the red strip of carpet that cleaved the hallway in two. Scattered across the floor were a myriad of curious picket signs. All of them had similar statements of protest scrawled across them.

“You can't keep us here!” They said.

“Free us!”

“Red tape will never stop our escape!”

All around were the remnants of a long past struggle, overturned benches, lamp posts shattered into glass razor blades, even abandoned scraps of clothing soaked red with life.

“What happened here?” Rainbow asked, her mouth a desert.

“Looks like the ponies wanted out. I'm guessin’ That Yarn Quark feller said no.” Applejack spat on the floor beside them. 

“Yes, but why did they want to be let out?” 

No pony had an answer to Rarity’s question, so they turned and went back to moving forward.

On the ponies’ left side with the windows that they had seen from the inside of their chamber. Now that they were up close, they could see the ocean beyond them. Huge corporate structures jutted from the rocky wasteland of the sea floor and extended into the murky water that surrounded everything. It was all beautiful in a way, but it was also cracked. Small dribbles of water seeped through the walls of a broken dream.

 They soon reached the set of stairs that Johnny had told them about. They were a steep mountain of steel, and each one had a deposit of viscous yellow slime making them slick to the hoof. 

“AH!” Rarity howled as she slipped and slammed her knee against against the dull metal. 

“Rarity!” Rainbow flew back down the stairs to help her comrade. “Let me see it.”

Fire ignited in Rarity’s leg as she lifted it in front of her friend’s eyes. Rainbow leaned in close and watched as a wet strip the color of the carpet began to weep from a crack in her partner. 

“I'll be fine!” Rarity croaked. “I've dealt with worse!”

“Okay, but we've at least got to get something around that… Ah! I've got an idea!” She rocketed from the stair she was on and snatched the hat off Applejack’s head.

“Hey! Give that back!”

“Sorry AJ.” Rainbow grabbed the brim with her teeth and pulled with all her might. Soon she was able to tear off a thick strip of the brown fabric and toss what was left of the hat back to its owner.
 
“Horsefeathers Rainbow!”

“Here, this should stop the bleeding.” Rainbow Dash moped up as much of the blood that was trickling down Rarity’s leg as she could. She then tied the fabric around the laceration in a tight cocoon. “That should do for now.”

“I would say brown isn't really my color, but I suppose there isn't much option,” Rarity joked.

Rainbow Dash snickered and shook her head. “You're welcome!”

“Thank you.”

Rainbow then scooped Rarity into her arms and flew her to the summit.

At the top of the stairs there was a large room. Enormous pieces of the crumbling ceiling lay in the middle of the room, blocking their path. Rarity was about to extend her spell so they could see the whole enclosure. But just before she mustered up the energy a few dim lights fizzled on with an electric zapping. Beyond the garbage that obscured their way was a doorway arch which was covered with concrete rubble.

“ I don't think I like what's been goin’ on around here,” muttered Applejack as she bounded over a frayed electric cable.

“How are we going to get through that door?" asked Rainbow Dash as she darted over to the crushed entrance.

“No big deal,” Applejack assured. “I think I saw crowbar or something laying around down here.”

“There's a wrench.” Rarity bent down and tried to hoist to the metal tool up in her mouth, but her leg wouldn't allow it. “Ah!” She grabbed her knee. At this point the makeshift bandage was already starting to soak through.

“Calm down Rarity. Don't you go over assertin’ yourself.” Applejack trotted over and took The wrench for herself. It was heavy and mottled with rust. It made it taste like there was blood in her mouth, but Applejack knew that, at least for now, her insides were undamaged. “Alrighty girls I'll get this door open in a jiffy.” She moved to break the rock, but suddenly there was a swift whistling sound from above. “What was that.” 

There was a hiss and everypony’s bones turned to ice. “ I'm going to cover you with a sheet.” It was the same gravelly gurgle from outside the pod.

“Take cover!” Rainbow cried as the splicer dropped from the ceiling.

Rarity tried to move away but she wasn't quite fast enough to avoid the beast. It was mere hoof steps away from her by the time Applejack intervened.

"Take that ya varmint!” 

The monster howled as the wrench was buried in the back of its head. It turned towards its attacker shaking its wild mouth froth all onto the floor. “ how dare you strike me!” it screeched as it reached out an abnormally extended foreleg to grab its prey. Just in the nick of time, Applejack was able to duck under the sweeping leg and only lose her tattered hat in the process.

“I'll save you AJ!” Rainbow was a bullet as she split through the air. There was a crash and another howl as she smashed her back hooves into the splicer. Rainbow landed on the ground in front of the creature to check if it was still alive, but as she drew near, it grabbed her and rolled on top of her body. 

Applejack raced over and started hammering on the splicer’s back with the wrench. Pieces of skin tore off and showered the orange pony with flecks of rotting flesh, but the splicer held fast. It held Rainbow Dash's legs down and lowered its head to her neck. In one swift mighty chomp it tore through her fur and ripped out her throat. Rainbow made a spittle-filled choking noise, and her eyes rolled back into her skull. A fountain of liquid sprayed from her neck and rained down to the floor.

“Oh Celestia! RAINBOW!” hollered Applejack who could do nothing but speed up her whacking.

 The creature stood up, a blood soaked tube of meat still hanging from its mouth. It once again turned its attention to Applejack. But right as it was about to pounce on her, a screaming siren sound came blaring into the room. Everypony, even the monster looked up to see a bulky helicopter robot hovering in from an air tube near the ceiling. It had flashing yellow lights all over it and a strange metal device hanging from the bottom. The splicer tried to run from the machine, but it wasn't able to get away from the hanging tube device. In a cacophony of cracks and bangs, a belt of pointed cylinders fed into the robot and shot out the long tube. The strange projectiles pelted the beast, ripping bloody holes all through its body. The splicer once more let out its brain-rattling call and then slunk away into the ceiling hole from which it came. The robotic helicopter then shined a spotlight down onto a rectangular object.

“Is this thing on?” crackled a voice.

The three ponies looked at each other.

“Hello? If you're there, will you pick up the damn radio?”






> The Potion 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 5


The Potion 


“Alrighty,” crackled a voice through the strange object lying in front of Applejack’s hooves. “If ya want to save your sham you're going to have to listen to me very carefully.” It was difficult to place where the stallion’s accent was from. The dancing lilt of his speech pattern was completely foreign to the orange mare.

“Are ya sure this thing is gonna work?” She stammered, holding the cool glass vial in front of her face, and peering through it's ice blue contents.

“A’course I'm sure! That glass is full of distilled magic. That's fierce powerful stuff there. If you would just shut you mouth and listen, I could teach ya how to use it, that way we can keep your friend from being a red stain on the concrete.”

Applejack’s legs were wobbly rubber bands, and her mouth was in a drought. “Okay. What now then?” She asked.

“Take the bottle over to her body.”

Beneath the farm pony was the mangled body of Rainbow Dash, blood and various other bodily fluids pooling in dark puddles all around. “I'm already there.”

“Well good for you.” There was a short pause and the stallion let out a brief cough. “Next what you're going to have to do is open the bottle.”

Applejack closed her teeth around the angular glass stopper and popped open the strange container. “Umkay,” she slurred through the vial in her mouth.

“Now you're sure she’s still alive and kicking?”

“Alive I think… Kickin’, definitely not.” Suddenly the mare found herself drowning in chills.

“Good nex—” he stopped himself. “I mean not good… Rotten in fact!”

“I get your point.”

“Anyway. The next thing you should do is spread the liquid as much as you can around the victim’s body.”

Applejack took a deep breath and looked at her twitching companion. “So I just gotta rub it around?”

“Yes, now would ya hurry it up already? Sitting around and blathering isn't keeping anyone alive now is it?”

The blue liquid trickled out in a slow sappy goop. It collected in a large gelatinous puddle on top of Rainbow’s stained fur and crawled across her body. “ here goes nothin’." Applejack pushed her hooves down into the sticky mess and smeared it across the pony’s stomach like a fancy shampoo. After a few moments, it seemed to react with something. Minuscule fizzy bubbles rose to the top and popped with a popcorn crackle. The color of the whole soupy potion went from translucent blue to an opaque purple. “What now?”

"Well this is the part where we wait. Speaking that your friend was in flitters, it's a fuckin’ crapshoot as to whether this is gunna to work or not.” 

The tired farmer swayed backwards and toppled over onto her rump. “Is that what this place is like?”

“You mean that splicer?” There was a static-distorted chuckle from the radio’s speaker. “Bird that's only the tip of the iceberg down here.”

“Then what happened?” Applejack shot up from the ground when she heard Rarity speak. “How did things get this way?” Her voice was strained; it was the sound of one’s vocal chords fighting back against their host.

“ADAM happened.”

Rarity produced a storm of blinks. “What now?”

“ADAM. The result of a bloody spell gone diabolically wrong. It's a powerful magic drug produced by what we call the “little sisters”.”

“Alright slow down sugarcube,” said Applejack. “What are you talking about little sisters?”

“A scientist we call Mother Goose first created them. When she found out that a dock worker's injury was mysteriously healed by a large sea slug, she set out on capturing one. Sure enough she got ahold of the bugger, and when she started running tests on it, what she found was astounding. It produced some sort of magic energy that could heal almost any wound you put it on. She called it ADAM.” The stallion sighed, and his voice grew tired. “Unfortunately she wasn't able to find any more of ‘em. The one slug wasn't enough to produce a viable business, so she tried to replicate the results by other means. After years of fiddling around, the git finally did it. She was able to turn ponies into ADAM factories. There was a catch, several actually, but the first was that the spell didn't work on most ponies. The only ones that it had any effect on were very young fillies. Apparently that was no object for Mother Goose. She decided that all she had to do was start an orphanage. Then came the little sisters… Anyway let's stop acting the maggot and get back to work. I'll fill ya in more later. How's she doin’?”

“Well she's…” Applejack turned her head back to where she thought her companion lay, but in the place of the soaking pony was something else, a bubbly blob of blue fizz. “She's doin somethin’”

“What? What's happening!?” cried the voice on the radio.

“She's bubbling away,” mumbled Rarity as she moved a few steps closer to the scene.

“Well that's queer…”

“What!? Is something wrong?” Rarity screeched.

“To be honest I wouldn't be able to tell ya one way or another,” admitted the stallion. “Normally you administer the potion orally, but considering what happened to her…”

“So ya don't know what yer doin’?”

“Hey missy, don't go giving me any cheek. Your friend was dead, and I'm just tryin’ to help—”

“Mostly dead,” Rarity cut him off.

“What?”

“You said she was dead. She was just mostly dead.”

“Whatever the fuck she was I don't give a—”

Rarity once again took the conversation into her own hooves. “That's another thing. Do you think you could cut down on the lewdness? Some of us don't appreciate that kind of language.”

The stallion sighed. “Look. If the process 
worked, the mostly dead one should be turnin’ to ash any second.”

As if on cue, the quaking pile of sludge burst and shattered into a rain of soft blue ashes. The floor stains, and everything around them, disappeared without a trace leaving nothing but clean tile.

“Well that's done,” Applejack said. “What now?” 

“Down the the stairs there is something we like to call a Vita Chamber. Anypony who comes in contact with one of those potions has a special connection ‘em. I'm no unicorn, so I won't let on that I know shite about magic. But one thing I do know for certain is: those Vita Chambers bring ponies back to life.”

Rarity’s innards suddenly twisted themselves into acrobatic knots in her lower body. “Do you mean, like a zombie?”

The Stallion chuckled. “ No, nothing like that. You'll see; she'll be fine.”


***


Air forced its way into Rainbow Dash’s lungs, expelling the scathing fire that set her neurons ablaze. A blinding blue supernova invaded her eyes, and further broke apart her scattered thoughts. What had happened? 

As the light dimmed and the whirring sounds quieted, Rainbow began to regain memory of the previous hour. Her eyes grew wide. She slapped a hoof to her neck. All there? But it just… How? 

After her brutal revelation, Rainbow Dash made another discovery. What am I doing in a tube? Rainbow wasn't typically claustrophobic, but the glass cylinder she was encased in made her flail her tired legs in an attempt to escape. It was no use; she had no energy. The mare sighed and slouched back onto the cool tube wall. Her eyelids quickly became lead, and her thoughts receded into white fuzz. However just as she began to drift off, the walls of her casing opened by themselves.

“Rainbow Dash!” echoed the welcome country drawl of Applejack.

“Oh man,” mumbled Rainbow. “ I sure am happy to hear your voice.” She opened her eyes and threw her head forward. “ how did I get here?”

“The fella on the radio had us coat yer body with a blue potion, and ya came back to life!”

Rainbow opened her mouth, but somehow found herself speechless. “...What?”

Applejack blushed and cleared her throat “Howsabout I have him do the explainin’? Come on, he's up the stairs talkin’ to Rarity.”


***


“The name is Silver River, and I'm the stallion who just saved your hide.” said the calm voice through the grainy brown box.

“You're the one who sent the atlas too?” interrogated the polychromatic pegasus.


“Aye.”


“I don't mean to sound rude, Mister River, but would you mind telling us what this is all about?” Rarity asked.

“Ponies are always trying to get out of the city, but not often does anypony voluntarily enter. That's why it was a great shock when we found your siblings had made their way down here. After the news hit me, I knew I needed to find their next of kin as quickly as possible before something awful happened to the poor dears. Finding you three wasn't too hard; you've all made quite the names for yourselves as the Elements Of Harmony.”

“It's mighty nice that you want to help us out and all, but how are we supposed to find our family down here?” Applejack glanced over at the mess of blood and bullet holes from their splicer conferentation. 

“I assume you're worried about the splicers. Don't worry; with a little ADAM, you should be able to handle them. The Big Daddies are what you should be worried about… As for where to find the darlings, I have a few leads as to their last known whereabouts. T—”

“I beg your pardon?” Applejack interrupted. “‘With a little ADAM’? Didn't you say that stuff was bad news?

“You fuckin’ bet it's bad! Turned the whole damn city arseways. Regardless if you want to fight those beasts you're gunna have to fight fire with fire, or lightning with lightning as the case may be.”

“Are you suggesting that we too should use this ADAM substance?” Rarity inquired, her legs wobbling. 

“All three of you? No. We can't have you all running around as bloody Adam addicted splicers now can we? One of you, however, we can keep under control.”

“If one of us has to do it, it's going to be me!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she slammed a hoof to her chest. “ I can't have my friends taking any weird drugs without me making sure it safe first.”

“Well…” Silver River stopped. The room went dead. Not an echo could be heard. “ADAM does have some effect on pegasi, but nothing particularly useful. If we want to use its power to full worth we have no choice... but to use the unicorn.”

“Woah woah WOAH!” Rainbow cried. “There is NO way I'm going to let you do that to Rarity!”

Silver laughed. “Suit yourself. But I'm telling ya: if you don't have somepony who knows how to use plasmids, you ain't lasting long down here.”

“Well then I guess we're gonna have to wing it, eh Rarity?” Applejack gave her friend a hearty smack on the back.

“No.” Rarity whispered.

“What?”

“I said no.” Rarity turned her face upward to look at Applejack. Her eyes were wet with fresh tears like morning dew. “If this is what must be done to save them, I am going to do it!” 

“Rarity, you don't have—”

The quivering white pony interrupted Rainbow Dash. “Yes I do! I must do it! I must do it for her! Do you understand me? Please…” A small dew droplet fell from the eye of the wilting flower. “Let me do this. Let me be the brave one for once. You two are always so strong and fearless. Let me play the hero for one moment… Please.”

“Well there ain't much arguin’ with that. What about you Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

“So,” came the soothing voice of Silver River. “You're in agreement then?”

Rarity sucked in a deep breath. “Yes I am… I mean, Yes we are!”

“Grand. The security bot from earlier should be resting in the rubble somewhere. As well as the Vita vial we gave to the blue one, I also stocked the machine with an ADAM syringe and an Electro Bolt plasmid. That should get ya started.”

Applejack dashed over the the helicopter machine, that was now sitting atop a pile of broken concrete, and quickly grabbed the two bottles. “Are ya sure about this, sugarcube?”
M
Rarity gave her a piercing glare.

“Alright, just be careful.”

The massive syringe full of a deep blood red liquid rested in Rarity’s hooves. It was intimidating to say the very least, and bone chillingly terrifying to say the most. Rarity didn't enjoy shots to begin with, who does, but she could tell this one was going to be a real doozy. There's no point in drawing it out I suppose.

There was a loud squelch as the thick needle dove into Rarity's vein. Soon the liquid flooded inside. The feeling of the concoction invading her body was like that of millions of enraged hornets stabbing away at the walls of her blood vessels. Rarity shrieked; she was beginning to lose grip on her body. Her legs and her tail and her chest and her eyes all began to disobey her. Everything twitched in a mad flurry of blurred visions and buzzing thoughts.

“Steady now!” rang the distorted shouting voice of Silver River. “Your genetic code is being rewritten! Just hold on, and everything will be fine!”

Rarity held one leg in front of her face. Long spider trails of iridescent blue fanned out along the entirety of the appendage. She was pumped full of electricity. “Wha- what did you do to me? I can't feel my—”

Fwump! 

Rarity toppled to the ground. The room around her was a cyclone of misshapen forms and peculiar new colors. She was sure that everypony was trying to speak to her, but all she heard was a slow-mo garble of mind numbing echoes. Soon her mind couldn't stand it anymore.

She went out cold.

> The Voice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 6


The Voice


“How long is it gonna take for her to wake up?” asked Applejack as she bit at the ends of her hooves.

“I have no idea,” admitted Silver River.

“And you're sure she'll be okay?”

There was a deafening pause.

 “She’ll be alive.”

The orange mare pushed what was left of her hat back into place. “What exactly is that supposed to mean now?”

“It means I don't know.”

“How do you not know!?”

The two continued to babble, but for Rainbow Dash it all blurred together. In one upside-down day she had to deal with her whole world being rewritten. She watched a stallion die in front of her. She had to feel her own flesh being torn from her bones, just to come back from the dead. Then she sat back and did nothing as one of her best friends shot herself up with magical drugs. She needed a break. She needed to be alone.

Rainbow splattered a ball of spit onto the ground. “Hey, guys, I think I'm going look around a bit, okay?”

“Well alright,” Applejack scrunched her forehead together. “Don't wander too far off ya hear? We don't want you to get scooped up by one of those things now do we?”

“I'll be fine.” Rainbow kicked a pebble then trotted away.

When they were fighting the splicer, Dash noticed something. Before the flying contraption filled the monster full of lead, it must have come from somewhere. She peered upwards. There wasn't much on the ceiling, just a bit of moss and a few thin gray lines. One of the said lines went down the hallway and through the still rubble-covered door to the next room. The other however, made a sharp turn toward the left and dove behind a conchrite pillar about halfway through the room.

Rainbow crept along the path of the arrow. Soon she found herself on the other side of the support structure staring down the opening to a ventilation shaft.

“Dangit!” she mumbled to herself. No reason to squeeze myself through there. I guess I'll go back and talk to— Rainbow’s brain locked up. In her ears were the near-silent sounds of childhood laughter. It had to be in her head, didn't it?

She turned away. Fear can twist the mind, and juice vivid darkness from the depths of one’s memories.

 There is no way it was real.

 With every step Dash took, she felt herself being dragged back to the opening with an otherworldly magnetism. She peered over her shoulder. Her mouth went dry. She had to. 

It was a tight fit. And Rainbow Dash had to wriggle to pull herself through, but claustrophobic is one adjective that has never described the blue pegasus, even if she was crammed into the tube like a winged sardine. 

The farther she pulled herself in, the louder the childish voice became. Before long her mind began to jump to a hopeful conclusion.

 It sounds familiar, but that would be a real coincidence wouldn't it? 

She tried to shove the thought from her mind, but the idea kept nattering in her skull. What if it was her?

As she neared the light at the end of the damp tunnel, making out the individual words that She was hearing became easier. 

“What's this?” came the young voice. For some reason, it sounded as if the filly’s speech was distorted like a dirty vinyl record scratching against the needle. “It looks like a new toy! Can I play with him Mr. Bubbles?”

Mr. Bubbles? Rainbow wrinkled her muzzle. What kind of name is that? 

Suddenly, a new voice ripped through the silence. “New toy? You'll see about that little filly! I'll tear you to shreds, and then I'll suck you dry!”

WHAT!? The packaged pegasus pulled herself forward at the speed of an inchworm pumped full of plasmids. I don't know what context this is, but I don't think I want anypony getting sucked dry. 

Rainbow Dash’s eyes ached as she pulled her head out of the other side of the rusty vent. She tried to look at what was going on in front of her, but the light was too strong. She heard a loud yell and saw a blurry shape rush forward. Her ears shot onto the back of her head as the cacophonous whirring sound of spinning metal filled her encasement and rippled through the tunnel. 

“W— Wait I'm sorry! I didn't know you're Daddy was around! Please I—”

The whirring sped faster and faster until it became one continuous hum. Soon there was a blood curdling scream and the hum slowed to a sporadic ballet of stop-and-go squelching. Through her still squinting eyes Rainbow could see a blob of red spray across her field of vision like one of Rarity’s modern art paintings. Suddenly Dash could feel a new wetness soaking into her face fur. 

“That wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be.” rang the syrupy voice of the young pony. “Why did you have to drill him so quickly Mr. B?”

There was a low heart-stopping rumble. It was the sound of a massive beast. Its low echo was similar to a whale, but deeper and somehow more sinister. Before that moment Rainbow Dash didn't think a sound could be evil, but never has she felt a monsoon of dark emotions so massive and mind-numbing. 

Her eyes finally became accustomed to the light, and what she saw made her seal her vision shut before the image could be burned into her brain. She slunk back a few feet and thought about everything that had just happened. 

Somepony got wacked. That's what the red was, but who was that voice? It was young; she knew that. There was some sort of distortion that caused her to sound like she was speaking through a mask or something. What was it that was under that over-resonant echo? It sounded gravelly and gruff, a bit like Rainbow’s own voice. 

In the moment that her eyes were open what was it that she saw, besides the glowing steel behemoth looming over a mess of pony entrails. It looked like a blur of orange, orange fur maybe?

After a few minutes, the sound of heavy hoofsteps creaked into silence. 

“Okay, Rainbow,” the pegasus whispered to herself. “Let’s do this.”


***


Ants crawled beneath Rarity’s fur. The muscles in her body twitched like a nest of angry bees, and her mouth was bone-dry. Surprisingly however, she didn't feel bad. As she lifted her head up and looked at her orange friend, her whole body surged with a warm wash of power. She felt strong, stronger than she had ever felt before.

“Oh good!” Applejack chimed. “You're finally awake!” 

Rarity pulled herself to her hooves and dusted her body off. 

“Y’all we're startin’ to worry us for a second there.”

“How does it feel to have power?” came the crackling voice of Silver River.

Rarity did not answer. She took a deep breath and looked down at her hooves. A alien blue glow radiated from her white appendages, and a solar warmth permeated through her flesh and into her bone. 

Rarity wracked her brain, focusing all of her energy to one spot. The blue that surrounded her hooves started to sizzle and pop. Before long, the pops turned into snaps and the snaps turned to stovetop cracks. The blue force field fluctuated and morphed into a great azure sparkeler of electrical arcs fanning out around her leg. Her body was made of thunder, or at least that's how it felt to Rarity. 

“The process may be painful,” Silver admitted. “but there’s nuthin like a fist fulla lighting now is there?”

Applejack coughed. “Aren't ya goin’ to talk to us?”

Rarity turned away from her friend and set her sights on the security helicopter sitting in the rubble.

“Is somethin’ wrong? Why don't ya want to ta—”

CRACK 

A rope of electricity jet from Rarity’s hoof and surged into the derelict robot causing its propeller to spin faster than a weather vane in a hurricane. Bright diodes of light shone all over the machine and the stone around it rattled. Before long the bot had flung itself into the wild spiral of a weather pony who was drinking on the job. Rarity grinned a smug smile as the helicopter exploded on the ground in a mini sun fireball.

“What the bloody fuck is going on down there?” Silver shouted. “My security bot just went totally haywire!”

“Oh, sorry darling,” Rarity answered in a butter-smooth voice. “I was just trying out my new power.”

“That certainly is one humdinger of a zap!” Applejack said as she scraped her shocked body from The floor.

Rarity cocked her head. “Oh dear. What happened to Rainbow Dash?”

“Well,” The farm pony rubbed her chin. “I don't really know where she ran of to.” She trotted in the direction of the buried door. “She said she was goin’ to go pokin’ round back here.” Applejack looked through some of the large cracks in the rubble. “Maybe she squeezed her way through one a these.”

“Is there anywhere else she could have gone?” Rarity asked.

“Well, there is one other way,” Silver mumbled.

“Spit it out; we ain't gonna bite.”

“There’s an air vent down the left.”

Rarity turned and peered at the small opening down the hall. “I doubt she would crawl through that. Did she not say she wanted to just look around? Seems strange to me.”

“I don't know, Rarity,” Applejack shrugged. “we can't rule anything out.”

“Do what you must, but I am not shoving myself through a dirty shaft.”

“Well, I think we need to assess all of our options first.” AJ insisted, stepping between the door and her friend.

“There are two of you aren't there?” Silver’s voice froze the room. “One pony per direction.”

“What a wonderful suggestion, Mr. River!” Rarity said, grinning.

“Have you been sniffing bad perfume?” cried Applejack. “That’s a plain rotten idea!”

“You’d cover more ground,” pointed out Silver River.

“Yeah, and it’d get us both killed!”

“It’s the best way to save your three sisters.”

Applejack snorted and flicked her tail. “Alright, but I don't know what's gotten into you Rarity!”

She didn't answer. She turned away and poked her head through the large gaps in the wall of conchrite boulders.


***


Rainbow Dash slunk through the room in which she heard the voice. It was a large tiled clearing with fishbowl glass windows leading to the murky sea outside. Above her were stairs leading to an upper level with bright flashing lights. Near a door under the balcony was the body of the unfortunate splicer who crossed whatever it was that passed through. Rainbow crept over to the dismembered mess. Maybe it had something useful? In its soaked coat were a few wrinkled bills she assumed was money. Crud, now I really wish I brought my saddle bags.

 Dash looked down at a metal box that was hanging from the side of the splicer’s mangled body. It was moldy-olive green and had been stenciled with bright yellow symbols. Well, it looks like a saddle bag… She reached out and grabbed the box with both hooves, but when she tried to unglue it from the corpse it refused to budge. She turned the sticky body to see if she could find what was keeping the box magnetized so tightly. What the heck? On the creature’s chest was an X shaped harness held together by a clip at the center. Rainbow cocked her head; she had seen this before. Why is he wearing a baby harness? Upon further inspection, it was attached not only to the box but also something long and metal on the splicer’s other side. A mile-long shiver went up Rainbow’s spine. Alright. Let's do this. 

She unclicked the buckle with her teeth then scurried her way around to the strap that was draped over the splicer's back. She took a deep breath of the musky air then closed her eyes. It's no big deal Rainbow. You've done worse...right? 

Dash pulled, but nothing happened. She pulled harder and her hooves skid around the slippery floor like skates on fresh ice. She snorted and clenched her teeth until her gums went numb then she tried again. What's in this box, lead? She arched her back and planted her hooves firmly onto the ground. With one last pull, she was able to dislodge the harness. Rainbow’s mind cheered in satisfaction at completing the task. Her legs, however, didn't get the memo. She tumbled backwards and crumpled on the ground like sheet of parchment. 

Ow.

Even with Rainbow Dash’s strength, the blue pegasus strained to put the monstrous device on her own back. Once the straps were over her shoulders, she reached down and snapped the buckle closed with a satisfying click. Suddenly Rainbow remembered the reason she had taken the box off the splicer in the first place. She grabbed the crinkled wad of bills from the floor and pulled open the top of the rusty box. However she dropped them again when she saw the container’s contents, an enormous pile of shiny pointed cylinders. They were capsules of death, little tiny murderers all lined up in neat rows; Dash just didn't know it yet.

Now more curious than ever, she decided to make a closer inspection of the heavy device hanging on the other side of her body. It had a long tube with a hole in it coming out of the front and a bulky body with a knobs sticking out of it. Many of the parts seemed designed for movement, but Dash couldn't seem to find a way to make them work. She tried to blow into the tube. She tried sliding the knobs. She even tried pulling on the confusing banana-shaped appendage hanging from the lower side of the device. Right as she was about to give up and trash the thing, the colorful mare noticed a small swingarm that was attached to its main body. She grabbed it between her teeth and pulled it out so it was in front of her face. On the end of the metal extremity was a round red button. 

I wonder.

She swallowed her spit, opened her mouth then bit down on the button.

BANG!


***


Applejack sighed and scratched her head. “So, what now? 

“Well,” Silver River began. “We can't just sit on our arses, now can we? Rarity is gone, but both directions are gunna lead up to the city center eventually.”

“Alrighty. If you think that's best.” Applejack stood up, placed the radio under her hat, and picked up her monkey wrench. “Say, when you said you've gotten reports of where Apple Bloom is, what do you mean?”

“Well, To be honest Applejack, I don't think you're gunna like the answer to that question.” 

AJ pursed her lips. “Why not?”

“Well…” whispered Silver River. “Ah fuck… I didn't get any bloody reports. I've been fibbin’ to ya about that.”

“Then where the hay are we goin’?” Applejack cried, stamping her hooves on the ground.

“Where all the little fillies and colts go in Rapture.” River paused and released a great sigh. “To Mother Goose’s Nursery.”

The farm pony staggered and fell back onto a pile of rocks. Her heart felt like it was about to collapse in on itself. “Wait… yer not sayin’ they…”

“I am so sorry.”

“But they can't do that to little Applebloom. Not her and not Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo neither.” Applejack's voice cracked and warm tears began to slip from the corners of her eyes.

“At this point your beloved has probably already been turned into a Little Sister The reason that I want us to go track Mother Goose down, is that I have reason to believe she might be carryin’ a cure. If we managed to get our hands on that, then we can administer it to the poor darlings and get our arses out of this city.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “And how am I supposed to trust you now that I know you've been lyin’? What's in this little journey for you?”

There was nothing but static over the radio for what felt like years. Finally Silver River begin to speak in a choked tone. “ I need that cure myself. Ya see, I have a daughter. A tiny little thing, cute as can be…” there were drawn out sniffles from over the line. “We were playin’ in the park one day, just like we did every day. Lilly was singin’ her favorite tune, that’s her name, Lilly, it was her mother’s name…” Silver chuckled for a moment. “Anyway, as I was sittin’ on the bench and Lilly was singin’, two stallions in lab coats waltzed up to be me and started a conversation. They greeted me and told me they were from Gatherer’s Garden, the ponies who develop most of our plasmids, and then they started talkin’ to me about Lilly. Now just like any other father, I was proud to talk about my little sprout, but soon things took a turn. They pulled out a file with some paperwork in it, and then with a stone cold face told me they would be taking my daughter. Said she was perfect Little Sister material...”

Applejack’s face dropped. “But ya fought back right? Ya didn't just let ‘em take her away?”

“I wanted to. I wanted to kick their fuckin’ teeth out. But when you're dealin’ with evil ponies you gotta be wide. They might have something stuffed up their sleeves.”

“Did they?” asked Applejack, swallowing her spit.

“They had my wife. They had her captured, and they Said they'd kill her if I so much as moved a fuckin’ inch. So I didn’t.”

“Well,” Applejack puffed up her chest and tried to collect a confident tone. “Every ounce of my condolences goes out to you and the rest of your family.”

“We all have our own hurts.” Silver coughed and filled his lungs with air. “The best way to right the wrongs that have been done to us is to go out there and grab this city by the balls. We’re gunna make it to the nursery, and we're gunna take that cure out from under Mother Goose's fat nose.”

Applejack grinned. “I'm with ya pardner! Let's get the rodeo movin’!” 

> The Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 7


The Beast


Rainbow felt powerful. She had never come across anything like the behemoth now hanging from her back. It was a death machine, a tool of pure murder,  and she liked how it felt on her. Rainbow didn't like feeling helpless; she hated feeling scared. With this, she felt like she was the one in control again. Nopony could push her around anymore. She was a force of nature, not some children’s doll. Scootaloo could be saved, and Dash was going to be the hero she always dreamed of, that is, if she can find the courage to push herself forward.

The path in front of her was a tarry black corridor with blinking red lights hovering somewhere deep inside. From the trail of blood and destruction, it was clearly the path that the filly disappeared down, along with the beast. 

Her better judgement was having an aneurysm, but her curiosity pulled her like an overzealous dog yanking its owner by the leash. Rainbow Dash has many strengths, self control has never been one of them, neither has patience, or good judgement. However, her bravery and heroism are nearly unmatched. 

The hallway was rotting. The air was stagnant, and every breath felt like inhaling a chemical weapon. Frayed cables rained sparks in a shower of orange fireworks, and death loomed over Rainbow in ominous clouds of acid rain. 

Suddenly, there was a demonic cackle from the bowels of the cavern. Rainbow Dash’s heart fractured and she bit down. A cascading spray of lead launched into the darkness.

There was a hair-raising crack, and the low light fizzled to nothing. The ripped cables ceased to spit their lighting. 

All noises turned off.

The lights flickered. Like a looming mural smeared on the faded bricks, a tall shadow crawled up the back wall. As the bulbs flashed, the shadow jerked and shrunk. 

Whatever was coming, it was getting closer.

Rainbow Dash froze.

 I gotta go back! 

The pastel blue pegasus wheeled around and began to gallop away. Rainbow leaped in the air to fly, but instead of soaring into the air as expected, she sunk like a rock. As she crashed to the rusty iron grate below her, she could feel all her air being vacuumed from her lungs. A sharp sting jabbed into her legs, and soon a warm trickle of blood seeped from her fresh wounds.

What's different? Why can't I fly anymore? Suddenly it came to her. It was the gun. A long hunk of steel, wasn't going to do her balance any favors. She gritted her teeth and flexed her muscles. Her cuts burned like fire as she peeled herself up, but she put on a brave face. 

Rainbow began to limp to the exit, but before she could move more than a few hoof-lengths away, something closed onto her tail. 

Dash tried to run. But all she did was scrabble her hooves. Her eyes widened; she was being pulled. Ever so slowly, she was being dragged backwards. 

Rainbow Dash did something she hated, something she would only do in a true emergency. She cried for help.  She cried and struggled, but no pony came. 

After a few moments, she felt a splitting knock on her head. Before she could even know what hit her, she was out like a shattered light.


***


Applejack looked around. She was trotting down a glass tube with only a wrench slung over her back and the voice of a pony she had never met coming through a staticky radio. 

Around her was the ocean wasteland. Wrecked buildings jut from massive sand dunes and drooped in unnatural directions. Ecosystems of undersea animals floated by on either side of the orange pony. Everything from massive squid to tiny skittering crustaceans moved by in an endless cascade of alien life.

  Applejack's hooves splashed through a layer of ankle high water that was pouring through spider web cracks in the surrounding glass. She was miserable.

“How much farther till we reach that city center ya keep talkin about?” She moaned.

“Shouldn't be too long now sweetheart. But there's something you ought to know before ya go rushin’ in there,” admitted Silver River.

“What is it now?” 

“The city center is one of the only places in this shit hole that's still inhabited by anypony. When you get there you're gonna have to be wide.” Silver paused. “Some of the things there are not gonna take too kindly to an outsider.”

“Like what?” Applejack asked as she hopped over some shattered tiles.

“Like the Big Daddies.”

Applejack scoffed. “What in tarnation is a ‘big daddy’? Is that supposed to sound intimidatin’?”

“Laugh all ya want, but this is no joke.” Silver lowered his voice. “Little Sisters are extremely valuable down here in Rapture. There was a time where many ponies were stealing them to make money off their plasmid producing power. So Mother Goose had the idea to make protectors for them. Through a series of heinous genetic experiments that question the very fabric of morality, the bitch was able to create a breed of monsters of which the world has never seen. They're more like machines than they are ponies. If you're not scared of Big Daddies, you have either never seen one, or have a death wish.” Silver sighed. “I'm just sayin’ maybe you should be careful, huh?”

A chill drove up Applejack’s spine. “I'll keep that in mind.”


***


A deep throbbing pain wedged itself in between Rainbow’s skull and her skin. Rainbow Dash was in shambles. Where was she? What had dragged her away? She yanked herself into a more upright position. An aching sense of pumping blood flushed through her head as she opened her eyes. For a few moments, all she could see was stars, but soon the horrors set in. 

Standing not far away was the thin body of a mangled splicer. 

Rainbow Dash began breathing like it was an Olympic sport. She had to escape, but how?

She took in her surroundings. She was on an operation table in some sort of hospital room. There were large glass windows leading to a long hallway. Down the hall were doorways to more rooms of a similar design. 

The splicer was toying with some tools at a workbench on the other side of the room. Next to her was a trolley with a few assorted items such as, a magnifying glass, a pair of scissors, some bandages, and a scalpel. 

A scalpel… What's going on here!? Rainbow Dash tried to calm herself and focus on the situation, but everything was overwhelming her senses. 

She shook her cloudy head and got ready to run for it. She took one deep breath and lifted a hoof, or she tried at least. Her limbs were bound to the table. 

Come on Rainbow, this can't be the end. She took a deep breath and tried to tear herself from the bed with all her might.

Nothing. 
It was useless.
She was doomed.

The splicer turned around. It was in a stained lab coat and a strange animal mask. He trotted up to Dash and pushed his face into her personal space. Its beastal mask was grinning.

“Yes yes, you will make a perfect subject.” The splicer stretched out a matted leg and stroked the blue pegasus’ chin in a long sweeping gesture. It cackled and moved over to a gramophone in the corner of the room. Then it pulled a large record from a box underneath and placed it on top of the turntable. Suddenly, the needle fell, and a scratchy, skip-ridden tune pumped from the horn and into the stale air. Rainbow assumed it was supposed to be relaxing, but it was more annoying than anything else. 

“What shall I do with this one, Princess Cadance,” the splicer growled as it flipped through a book of photographs.

Cadance? Dash’s head rolled as if she had been hit again. Why is he talking abo… Does he really think she's here?

“No no no. I can't.” The splicer paced around the room in jerky spasms. “No!” He was staring bloodshot into a dark corner. 

Is he talking to somepony?

“That killed them last time!”

At that, Rainbow Dash’s constraints felt quite a bit tighter.

“Why would it work this time?” It put a hoof to its face. “I'm trying to make her beautiful not disgusting! No! No no no no NO!” It kicked the trolley next to Rainbow with explosive force, causing it to clatter to the ground and all of its contents to go flying about.

A scalpel lodged itself into Rainbow’s left wing, and a slow bead of blood dripped to the ground.

The splicer cocked his head and stared at the small pool, his neck bent at a supernatural angle.

“DAMN IT!” It screeched. “STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! I always mess them up! I MAKE THEM UGLY! Cadance I'm so sorry! I wanted to please my princess! But all I can do is make monsters, disgusting monsters!” 

It trotted over and looked down on Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash looked up, her eyes wide and pleading. Everypony knows those eyes. They may not have seen them first hand, but they know. They were the eyes of an animal at slaughter.


***


After the operation, Scootaloo didn't feel quite the same. She didn't know what was wrong, but it felt like she was looking at the world through a tinted window. 

There was something else inside her, something that controlled all of her movements. For her, life was like a windup mouse. She moved, but her direction was predetermined by another force. She couldn't figure it out though; every time she formed an idea, it slipped away from her like a balloon. She knew there was a big metal pony, and she knew that she was supposed to call him Mr. Bubbles?

A few days after the operation, (maybe it was a few months, Scootaloo couldn't tell.) she was going down a corridor with Mr. Bubbles. It was a corridor she vaguely remembered, so they had probably trotted it before. It was in a medical district, one of them. They all looked the same to Scootaloo, so it could have been A or B, who knows.

There were doors going down the hall, doors on both sides, lots of doors, so many doors Scootaloo couldn't even count them. Then again, she couldn't really count at all. 

There were scummy windows looking into each room. Inside there were things happening. There were lots of things and noises going on that no filly should ever have to see. Scootaloo saw every single one. Even though she forgot them seconds after they flashed before her eyes, they still left some sort of scar. 

After trotting for Celestia knows how long, something changed. When Scootaloo’s neck turned and looked into a chamber, she saw something familiar. It was a blurry rainbow. A fracture of a memory popped into her head. 

Rainbow Da…

“Look Mr. Bubbles!” exclaimed Scootaloo’s mouth, but it wasn't her. It was the Little Sister. “I want to see that one!” She pointed a hoof over to the rainbow.

The metal behemoth next to her lurched and let out a rumbling roar. The beastial call rattled the whole hall, and suddenly there was silence. 

Everything in Rapture fears the Big Daddy.

It trudged its monstrous iron body over to the window step by heavy step, its legs crushing the tiles beneath like a fallen tree squishing an unsuspecting bunny.

The Little Sister rushed to the window and pressed her muzzle against the glass.

I love you ra…

Before Scootaloo could finish her thought, the Little Sister pushed the idea from her skull like dust into the dustbin.

“Her!” It said. “That one, the rainbow one. She’s pretty; I want to keep her!”

Scootaloo got a strange sinking feeling. Was it fear? That didn't feel right to her.

No, it was dread.

> The Reunion 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 8


The reunion 




The few moments in time directly before a disaster feel like the longest seconds of anypony’s life. Sometimes in life there are experiences that are so cemented in a pony's memory that they can open their brain like a book and turn the specific page on which this moment happened. For Rainbow Dash one of these moments happened the day she found herself strapped down on an operating table with a diabolical scientist hovering over her body. If things weren't bad enough as they were, something happened that even the wisest pony could not have predicted.


A massive drill broke through the room’s sole window and rained a storm glass shards onto the concrete floor below. 


When the cacophonous sound exploded into the small chamber, Rainbow had her eyes closed. She thought that the doctor was going to take her apart. She was sure that it was the end. But that was not what happened after all. 


After a short period of shock, she thought this ear-blasting noise must have been a good thing. For a moment, she was even convinced that her friends were here to save her. But soon she cracked her eyes open.


Through the murky hole that was once a window, Rainbow could see a grid of sinister red light. The doctor turned to look as well, but as soon as he saw the light, he hit the floor.


Dash opened her mouth to ask what the heck was going on, but before she could even get out a single syllable, there was a bone-rattling moan. Whatever was looking through the window was producing a deep growling cry that Rainbow Dash only vaguely recognized. Unfortunately for her, when she finally realized the beast that was peeking into her world, it was far too late.


The doctor screamed so loud that it sounded as if his vocal chords were being shredded asunder. He tried to drag his frail body to a turret in the back of the room, but whatever was outside began to move in.

With a slow screeching sound, a massive armor-clad leg slowly pushed its way through the opening and down onto the floor below. There was another horrifying scream from the monster, and soon its entire hulking body was standing tall in front of Rainbow Dash. One of its four legs was dedicated to the impractical metal drill that shattered the window. That leg was attached to an equally impractical iron body suit. Where a pony head should be was an orb shaped helmet with the glowing red lights facing forward. Around the helmet was some sort of metal cage similar to the muzzles they put on ponies after they went mad.


It dragged its metal hooves forward. Rainbow changed her mind. Now she was sure it was the end of the line.


The doctor screamed again and jumped between Dash and the beast. He had a gun now. He fired the gun over and over, but the bullets only sparked and bounced off. The gigantic metal pony picked the doctor off of the ground by putting a front leg under his belly and lifting. No matter how much he squirmed and screamed, there was nothing the doctor could do at this point. 


The creature’s drill began to slowly spin. “No! Nononononononno! Please!” The rusty drill began to whirr. “I don't want to die! I can't die! My work isn't fini—”


Rainbow closed her eyes, but she couldn't close her ears. She wasn't sure what was worse, the reality that she couldn't see or the bloody picture her mind had painted for her. 


“Look at her, Mr. Bubbles!” came a filly’s voice from nearby.


Rainbow’s eyes shot open. It was the voice she was following. The voice that had been attacking her brain for hours. She scanned the room for the source, and she quickly found it.


An orange pegasus filly.


“SCOOTALOO!” Rainbow screamed, her voice scratchy and sore. She once again pulled on her shackles but all she managed to do was aggravate her cuts.


The filly danced around, her glowing yellow eyes filled with girlish excitement. “Mr. Bubbles, I want to keep her with us forever and ever!”


The giant, cage headed, monster lurched to Rainbow’s table and stood over her. The only thing she could see was its twisted hulking body rise and fall with its breath. 


It reached out its drill. 


It spun slowly.


It spun quickly.


Rainbow fell to the floor. “What did you…” The monster had drilled through the straps binding her, but had left her unharmed. “Are you saving me?” Dash rubbed her raw lower legs; the straps had cut deep.


“Now, Mr. Bubbles, we are going to take her with us! She is going to be our new pet!”


Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes. “Scoots is that you? What happened?” She stood up. “Why are your eyes glowing, and what is this thing!?” 


Scootaloo froze. Inside of her a battle was raging. Two forces lived, and they both wanted power. As things were, the little sister was winning, and it was only going to get worse from there. “I… Don't know what you're talking about.” 


“But Scootaloo!” Rainbow's eyes became wetter, but she forced the urge away. “Don't you remember me?”


“STOP!” The little sister climbed on top of her Big Daddy and looked down from its shoulder. “Stop talking about her! It makes me mad! Mr. Bubbles does mean things when I get mad!”


“Alright! Alright! Don't get mad!”


Rainbow thought that being spared was better than dying at first. But she soon realized that if she had died she would still be able to come back to life thanks to the potion she took. But now she was a hostage, and it seemed like Scootaloo was gone as Rainbow had known her. The best thing for her to do now was wait. She would wait to see if she could escape, or to see if Scootaloo was still there under whatever had taken her over.



***





Inside the city center there was a small bar. It was a bar, but it didn't just sell alcohol. It also sold ADAM. It was the first place splicers and junkies came to load up on their drug of choice. It was a lucrative business. There was a constant cash flow from the customers to the bar and straight into the city underbelly. 


After only a few hours on her own, Rarity had found her first lead to what she thought was the underground ADAM production ring. All it took was some well placed persuasion and the cracking of a few splicer skulls. Normally she would have never harmed anypony, for it was not something a lady did. But Rarity had powers now; she was more than a mere lady. Plus she was on a mission. She was going to save innocent lives. What was the lives of a few degenerates to a hero? Nothing, they were nothing to her, and she was going to go as far as it took to save the innocent.


She stood in front of the building. The letters of its bright sign fizzled and blinked. The sounds of breaking glass could be heard from the outside along with some loud shouting. “Find who sells the ADAM, and it shall lead you to who makes it.” She flipped her mane. “Mother Goose, I am coming for you.”


She trotted up to the old style double doors, but two bouncers stopped her.


“Hold it right there lady.” He stuck out a leg bigger than Rarity’s torso.


“Is there a problem sir?” Rarity batted her eyelashes and stuck out her lower lip.


“Club members only.” His stone expression didn't break, but a thick vein on his neck slowly expanded and contracted with blood. For some reason it seriously put Rarity off.


“Are you sure that you couldn't…” Rarity sauntered up to the Bouncer with a wide sway in her hips. “Make an exception?” She wrapped her front legs around his neck and raised an eyebrow. 


He lowered his voice to a quiet rumble. “And what's in it for me?” 


Rarity smiled and began to whisper in his ear in a breathy fashion. “Anything you want, darling.”


The bouncer smiled back and nodded at his collègue. He nodded back and trotted into the alleyway behind the bar. “Let's go.” He took Rarity by the leg and began to drag her back. “I hope when you said anything, you meant anything.”


“Oh yes!” Rarity grinned. “When I'm done, you two won't even know what hit you.”



***





Rarity dusted her hooves off and looked at the two fried and groaning bouncers laying in the grimy alley. Leading them to a secluded place ended up being fairly easy, and shocking them until they were out cold was even easier.


“Humph.” She turned her nose up and began to trot away. “Brutes.”


Inside was the pungent scent of unwashed stallions, blood, and alcohol. It wasn't long until she saw the source. Four very intoxicated splicers sitting on wooden stools in front of a grimy bar. Behind the bar were five machines hanging from the wall. They had long glass tanks filled with neon colored liquids attached to a few long tubes. At the end of each tube was a wicked hypodermic needle plunged deep into the skin of a splicer. 


In the back of the bar a few splicers were knocked out on the ground in a puddle of bloody vomit. No one seemed to care, except for a employee mopping up the mess. 


Rarity had to try her best not to collapse from the stench alone. 


She sat down on one of the stools. She made sure there were at least two empty seats between her and the group of splicers. They were quite loud, and Rarity wasn't in the mood to fight four doped up stallions.


“Bartender!” Rarity called waving a hoof.


Out from under the table popped a stallion with an unruly handlebar moustache. He looked like he belonged in a circus. He spat in the glass he was holding and gave Rarity the hairy eyeball. “You seem like you don't quite belong here, girly.”


Rarity scoffed. “What kind of lady do you think I am.”


“That's the thing; you are a lady, and this ain't exactly the safest place for a lady like you or otherwise.” 


“I assure you sir,” Rarity flashed a sensual smile. “I can hold my own with any of the men in here.”


“Alrighty then. It's your funeral, miss.”


There was a silence. “Sir, would you be open to a few questions?” She leaned into the table and pouted a bit.


He narrowed his eyes. “What kind of questions?” 


“Well, I would simply like to know where it is you receive all of this ADAM.”


He shrugged his shoulders and gave a wry smile. “I have no idea ma’am.”


“I'm sure you don't,” Rarity whispered through gritted teeth.


“So,” He went back to wiping out the glass. “What do you want?”


I'm going to have to do this another way… “What can you give me.”


“Well,” the bartender cleared his throat and put on some sort of carnival voice. “Here at the Nursery Rhyme we have only the finest ADAM in all of Rapture!” The stallion trotted over to one of the ADAM needle machines and gave it an affectionate tap.”These babies can pump you full of your drug of choice faster than you could even think about overdosing!And look at all of the wonderful new plasmid formulas we have here. Incinerate here!” He gestured to a dark red liquid in one of the tanks. “And we have enrage here.” It was the next down the line and it was a bubbly pink. “And of course here is today’s special telepathy.” This purple liquid was in a much bigger tank on the end labeled “discount!!!”


Rarity stroked her chin and fluttered her eyelashes. “Hmm… telepathy. I'll go with telepathy.”


“Excellent choice,” the bartender said, wet with sarcasm. “And what drew you to it.”


“Well,” Rarity pursed her lips. “I suppose it was the color. Purple is one of my favorites especially that stunning shade of plum.”


“You really are a lady,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Alright, left front leg please.”


“Excuse me?”


“Give me your damned leg so I can stick this in you.” He lifted the needle from the large hook it hung from.


“Oh, well of course.” She began to stick out her right leg then quickly realized her mistake. “Wait… yes left, silly me, left.” 


The bartender swabbed her leg with a rag that smelled like wine. She could feel the dry crust of liquid used in prior sessions scrape against her.


“That's so odd…” Rarity murmured and looked at her right leg and then at her left. “I don't usually make mistakes like that.” Before she could think anymore she felt it. 


Cold and metal, it slid inside her.


“Ow, shit!” she blurted out before covering her mouth. “Oh my! How crude, I've never said that befo—” Suddenly without warning her speech stopped flowing and instead began limping out from her mouth as if shot in the leg. “Wh-hat was… was that?”


She got no response. Instead she got a smug stare from the bartender. An unmoving smug state. Rarity could have sworn his face was stone by the way he was frozen. Then she realized something. The whole room was stuck in this state. The bartender, the stallion pile, the bubbling vats of plasmid, it was all in a sort of suspended animation.


The room around her no longer felt clear. Everything seemed shrouded in a purple haze, and Rarity kept hearing muffled voices. It was like she was being called from very far away. She looked at the bartender again, and she seemed to hear the sound a bit more clearly.


She felt the need to touch him. Then she wondered why she felt that. She tried to stop herself but her leg snaked away from her and placed itself on his shoulder.


Clearer than any radio it cracked in, “I can't believe this bitch, how many cocks did she have to suck to get herself past security. Remind me to fire those useless good for nothing—”


She took her hoof off. Everything was a blur again. She had trouble keeping her breath, and her eyes twitched more than normal.


She put her hoof back on; it was too tempting.


“Not that I wouldn't do the same in their situations. Guess that's why they don't hire me for that kind of thing.”


“I can't believe he thought I actually chose it for the color.” She grinned and focused on his deep thoughts.