> SCP- Sweetie. Contain. Protect. > by DADERPSTER > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Sweetie Writes > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A young white unicorn sat by a metal desk in the facility, a quill being held by magic and a parchment resting a few inches below her muzzle. A heart with a pink, curly line was seen on the filly's flank, and her green eyes flickered along with the flickering lightbulbs of her quarters. She sighed, half happy and half sad, as she glanced around to see if anypony was watching. Completely sure that she was safe and alone, she began to write; My dearest friends Applebloom and Scootaloo, I've finally made it! I can't beleive I've been accepted into this. The foundation is amazing, and the ponies who guided me here were so kind. I can only hope things are going just as well in Ponyville. I know you two will be heading to the Crystal Kingdom soon to do some reports, but I hope you find some time to write me back. I don't know why, but despite all the warnings about the monsters, I feel... Well, I feel safe! Tomorrow is my first day on the job, although when you get this it'll probably be long past. I just hope that nothing will go wrong... I don't want to mess anything up on my first day. I wish you luck with your reports. Wish me luck with the monsters! Your dearest friend, SweetieBelle As she finished writing the letter, she heard the warning calls of the "lights-out" from the more advanced personel in the hallway. She set her quill into the ink jar and quickly lit a candle with a flame spell that Twilight had taught her as the light from the roof of her quarters shut out. Luckily, as the quarters were small, the flame was enough to fill the room with its glow. Sweetie picked up her letter, the paper enveloped in a light blue glow of her horn's aura. The older filly now folded the message and popped it into an envelope nearby, scribbling the adress that the crusaders had once put on their clubhouse onto the back. She smiled as those memories of her blank-flank days came back to her, and she looked down at her cutie mark. She had been proud when she had got it; her talent of singing was definitley strong, and now that she had her cutie mark, she wondered how she hadn't thought of sticking to singing before. Applebloom's had been nurturing apple saplings to grow, while Scoot's had been riding her scooter so quick that you would only see an orange blur before she was there and gone. Now Sweetie sighed sadly as the memories of her friends came back; she missed them dearly. They had been special to her, as if they were family. Almost as close as she had been with Rarity. She would also miss her older sister, and she knew Rarity had felt the same; the Ponyville dress-maker had been crying her eyes out as Sweeite had boarded the train. But Sweetie felt she could lead a better life here, make an actual living; some of the higher personel had heard her sing, and had said that it might calm some of the euclid class. She hoped she could make herself useful. A recorder was pulled from under the bed by Sweetie's magic, and she held it close to her muzzle and began recording. "First night stay here," she whispered. "Tomorrow I start my job. I can't wait to see where they put me first." If she had known what would happen the next day, she would've kept her mouth shut. > First Day = Dooms Day > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweetiebelle trotted in nervous circles, continuing to do a spot check of what she needed. Really all she needed was her uniform, which had the words "D-CLASS" printed onto it, but she did nonetheless. The agitated unicorn was almost claustrophobic from worry. She had been up since six-o-clock. The dim lights of her quarters flickered as the doors opened with a metallic clank. "Just follow me," said the pony who had opened her door. "We're authorized to shoot anyone who disobeys orders, so don't try any funny stuff." The pony seemed to look like the candymaker, but she was a pegasus and her mane was solely pink. She held a rifle under her pummels. "Yes mam," Sweetie said, trotting after the pegasus. As they crossed over a bridge, Sweetie looked down to see several personnel trotting around hurriedly, as well as a few humans. The facility was located between both worlds. They entered a pure white room that had a sign at one end. The sign labeled; SCP 173, EUCLID Sweetie examined the photo for a moment, as well. Her jaw dropped. "P...Pinkie Pie?" This version of the pink party pony seemed demented, grinning at her with dilated, diabolical eyes. "Not Pinkie," said the pegasus. "An object, and a dangerous one at that. Don't mess with her. Just keep eye contact and don't blink. The others will show you, just copy them." Was that a tinge of sympathy in the guardians voice? No matter, Thought Sweetiebelle. She lined up with two more ponies, both earth, and watched as a door opened. Sweetie gasped; the first thing she saw the blood and party favors scattering the floor; when she raised her vision, she saw the demented Pinkie standing still in a corner, back to them. Faint giggling was heard. The three ponies took a step in. "Blink." said one, and her eyes fluttered closed for a breif second. So, Thought Sweetie. That's what the pegasus was talking about. She blinked in a mink instead; right eye, left eye, right eye, left eye. The lights flickered once and Sweetie jumped with a squeak. The other two seemed uneasy as well. The door opened behind them and all three were dismayed. "Uh, there seems to be a problem with the doors, so please maintain a large distance from Pinkamena unt-W-" The lights shut down for a moment and Sweetie scuttled backward, hearing a snap and a cry of agony in front of her. The lights flickered back on and Sweetie saw the bodies of the ponies laying dead in their own blood, Pinkamena standing a few feet in front of her diabolically. The lights flickered again; Pinkamena dissapered from her view, but she heard gunshots before the lights dimmed altogether. On the P.A system, Pinkamena said; "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you!" Sweetie squeaked and walked backwards until she felt a door behind her; she kicked out a back hoof, hitting the button, and retreated in, closing the door behind her. She whipped around; the team had regained control of the P.A, and now said "The facility is initiating lockdown procedures, please stay in your current location until we had regained complete control and contained 173." Sweetie, in her panic, had ignored this message and went into the open, doorless rooms. "Let's see... saddlebag... This gas mask could be useful..." She began using her low magic knowledge to pack things that she may need into the nearest saddlebags. Settling it on her back, she continued to a door by the end of the hall. "Things are gonna get complicated now," She murmured. "But I have to find the exit." > The Hallways of the Foundation > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been five hours scince the containment breach had happened. Sweetie was trembling from hoof to tail, although she hadn't encountered anything or anyone yet. It was simply hallway after hallway. "When will it end?" Sweetie whimpered. She applied her gas mask once more as she entered a metal bridge hallway, and the teargas started spewing. As she reached the end, she heard a door open from behind the one in front of her. hiss Sweetie screamed and waited for it to be over quickly. Nothing happened. She peered back up and saw a purple unicorn, about a year younger than her, cowering a few feet before her. "...Uh... Y-you're not Pinkamena..." Sweetie realized her voice was trembling a little, and she struggled to control it. The purple unicorn looked her gold eyes up at Sweetie's green ones. "A-and you're not Radical Rainbow..." The younger one replied. N By now both unicorns stood up and looked at each other. "Come over here," said the mystery pony, and Sweetie came into the L segment of the hallway. She closed the door behind her. It was by now Sweetie realized that they were both D-CLASS. "Who are you?" Sweetie asked. "Dinky," the younger one replied. "I was testing near Radical when the containment breach happened. I managed to escape in time. What about you?" "Sweetiebelle," Sweetie said. "I was testing with Pinkamena. It's my first day." Dinky looked surprised. "Me too," she said. Sweetie then realized how scared they both looked. "Why don't we stick together?" Sweetie offered. "They say that there's strength in numbers." Dinky nodded. "I was scared. I found a gas mask and a bunch of useful things, but I couldn't find a saddlebag, so I carried them with my magic." she gestured to the pile of items on the floor. Sweetie levitated them and put them in her own saddlebags. "I'll carry them. We'll be fine." They nodded to each other and began to make their way forward. ***** It was about an hour later that they came to a new segment; They opened a door and found a room that had a lower area and a bridge gapping that area. "I came from that way," Dinky pointed across the bridge. Sweetie looked down. "Looks like we're heading down there then." grrrrrreeeiiit "A-are you sure?" Dinky whimpered. "We'll just stay close to each other." The two made their way down the stairs. "Slowly, gently." Sweetie murmured. They blinked at the same time. "HI!" The fillies screamed as Pinkamena popped in front of them. "Tail to tail! Keep eye contact!" Sweetie yelled, turning to see the nearby escape stairs. She grabbed Dinky by the back leg with her magic and ran up the stairs, opening the door and snapping in closed behind them. The girls panted. "Let's try to avoid that next time," Dinky said. "Agreed," Sweetie gasped. > Radical Dash > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been 8 hours scince Sweetiebelle had first run into Dinky, and she was profiting from having a friend with her. Having conversations and singing songs together definitly made the dark foundation less scary, even if Pinkamena was on their tails. Sometimes, they'd be silent and try to hear if there was a grating sound behind the next door, or Dinky would shush them because she'd think that she'd heard the "Radical Dashie Rumbles". "What is Radical Dash, anyway?" Sweetie gave Dinky a sideways glance. Dinky looked uncertain for a moment, but offered no resistance to telling her white unicorn companion. "She's a mean version of Rainbow Dash. She's covered in blood, and she'll take you into a weird place that she claims is the "Rainbow Factory". It's so... weird. I've never been there though," Dinky added quickly. "I guess that's lucky, then." Sweetie smiled. Dinky nodded, and they cautiously opened the door to another hall. Dinky gasped as she glanced over and saw a pony armed with a gun in a locked room. The pony's clothes had the words "NEUCLEAR TASK FORCE" embalmed on them. "We have to get to the elevator in that room," Dinky murmured to Sweetie. "We can turn off the generator." Sweetie nodded. "Are you good with magic?" she asked. Dinky dipped her horn in affermation. "It's my special talent," she said. Sweetie smiled. "Good. I need you to teleport us into the elevator. I'll press the button before we get shot. In any case," Sweetie opened her sac. "We have medicare!" Dinky smiled, now filled with confidence, as she created a star pony in the other side of the room. The Task Force pony began to walk towards it, firing her gun. "NOW!" Sweetie shreiked, and Dinky teleported them into the elevator, quickly pressing the button as the task force pony whipped around. The duo high-hoofed. They entered the basement room that the elevator took them to, and walked over to the extra passage where the controls for the generator were located. Sweetie gave a satisfied face as she heard the generator shut down once the controls had been turned, and glanced over to her travelling companion. But Dinky wasn't smiling. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Dinky looked up at her despairingly. "She's here! Radical is here!" Dinky squeaked. Sweetie listened; there was a gurgling sound, and nearing rock music. She scampered across the bridge to the elevator, Dinky on her heels, as Radical burst out from the wall. "WHERE'S THE BUTTON?!" She screamed, realizing that it had dissapeared. Dinky looked back out at the nearing pegasus apparation. "I'll just teleport us! There's no time!" Dinky squealed, and her horn lit up. The next thing they knew, they were back in the elevator chamber. The Task Force pony lay dead on the ground, and they heard a high-pitched, giddy laugh on the P.A. "Looks like Pinkamena left her mark," Sweetie said, and yelped as she heard the rock music faintly growing close again. "Run!" Dinky shouted, and the two mid-mares ran through several eerie hallways until they were sure that they were alone. Panting, the two nestled next to each other. Dinky looked like she was on the edge of tears. Sweetie stroked her friend's mane with a hoof. "It'll be okay," Sweetie murmured. "We'll find a way out soon." Dinky looked her forlorn eyes up at Sweetie. "I hope so." > Struggles > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweetiebelle looked at Dinky; a day had passed scince the breach, yet nopony had regained control of the foundation, or contained the two artifacted ponies. Both fillies were hungry and tired, but they both knew that they couldn't rest. Which was correct, as there could be a monster around every corner. Having run into Pinkamena and Radical Dash, the less monsters they saw, the better. Everytime they heard something, they nearly jumped out of their coats. Paranoid, Sweetie opened another door; It led to what should've been a gas room, but instead had no doors and was covered in blood. A yellow apparation seemed to be in that chamber. "Do we have to go in?" Dinky whimpered. Sweetie looked over at her. "Yes," she replied. "It's the only way." They tiphooved to the entrance; the figure seemed to be in tears. "Let's just get out as fast as we can," Sweetie whispered. They began to walk past it, but it started to grunt... It sounded like Fluttershy. The two fillies quickened their pace, but the creature lifted its head; It was a horrifing mix of Fluttershy's face and a human skull, it's eyeballs bulging. Screaming, the unicorns ran out of the room and through several hallways. Panting, they came to a halt. Faint screams of Fluttershy-man were heard, but they didn't near at all. Dinky let out a sigh of releif, and met eyes with Sweetiebelle. "Are you okay?" Sweetie asked, and Dinky nodded. "Can we find somewhere to sleep?" she whimpered. "I'm exaughsted." Sweetie smiled. "Not yet, we need to find food first. As soon as we find the lunch room, we can sleep under the tables." Dinky nodded in agreement, looking around the hallway. She gasped as Radical passed through the walls, but she didn't pay any heed to the class-D that were a few feet away. She sighed as Radical dissapeared again, and glanced sideways at Sweetie. Sweetie returned the glance. "Let's get moving," she murmured. They began trotting a a quick pace, their haste making the darkness of the hallways seem like they were day. Running across Tesla gates, perferfectly timed, gave them the adrenaline they needed to get to the lunch room quicker. They shut the door behind them and raced forward. They pulled out whatever food they could find. They smiled at eachother as they ate. "We've done good today, soldier!" Sweetie did a fake salute to lighten the mood, and Dinky laughed, saluting back and playing along. "Yes, mam! We've done very well!" Sweetie swallowed her last morsel. "To the bunkers! We have a long day of trekking and fighting to do tomorrow!" Dinky nodded, struggling to keep a serious face for the last act; "Mam! Yes, Mam!" and she fell over in a fit of giggles, along with a laughing Sweetie. Nestling together under the table, they curled, Sweetie using her tail as a blanket for her younger friend. "Do you want me to sing a song, to help you sleep in the dark?" She asked. Dinky nodded, and Sweetie began singing, "Hush Now, Quiet Now." Although she felt good that she was comforting her new friend, she wished she and Dinky had never signed up for this. Why did I ever look forward to this? She wondered, before sleep took her hostage. > Danger Around Every Corner > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dinky was awake before Sweetiebelle, and she glanced around a moment, hoping that what had happened the day before was just a dream. Unfortunately, when she gathered her bearings, she realized that she was still under the table in the snack room. She swallowed the tears of resentment that had begun to gather behind her eyes and gently crawled out from under the table, as not to disturb her friend. She trotted over to the fridge, ate something, and then sat down, bored. The purple unicorn began to get impatient as she waited for her white travelling companion to wake, but the older unicorn just snored softly on. Bored, Dinky decided to trot out and have a look on what they had to tackle in the following 12 hours. She opened the door, leaving it open behind her so she could return easier, and began to trot down the hallway. It was only three hallways later that she heard an all-too-familiar gurgling sound, followed by rockk music that was growing louder by the minute. She screamed and began to run the complete opposite way. The gurgling sound continued on, but it was growing fainter as she began to gain speed. She slammed a door closed behind her and listened. Silence. She sighed in relief before looking around and questioning silently where she had gotten herself. She looked around and trotted through the large pen. It seemed almost like a maze, but one that could be navigated easily. "H-Hello?" she called. "Anypony there?" her words were greeted by a sound that sounded like a snake, and it was gaining fast. Dinky screamed, not even daring to look behind her, and ran. "Sweetie!!!" she screamed. "HELP ME!!!! *** Sweetie woke to a start, banging her head on the table. "Ow..." she groaned, before looking to see where her friend was. To her alarm, Dinky was nowhere to be found. She began to look around in a frenzied panic, worried that Radical or Pinkamena had gotten her, before hearing, very faintly; "help! Sweetiebelle! HELP ME!!!" Sweetie tossed on her saddlebags and ran towards the source of the voice. "I'm coming Dinky!" *** Dinky was beginning to lose energy, and she stopped screaming because she wanted to conserve breath for running, But the hissing thing was growing closer, and before she could react, a blob of orange goo had enveloped her and tackled her to the ground. In blind panic, she thrashed around, but before long she felt a different sensation. "Hehe, st-stop!" She giggled, as the orange mass began to tickle beneath her pelt and on her skin. She squealed and thrashed around, this time in a more playful type of escape method, but before long she was out of breath. "Please... plhehease stop now...I can't breathe..." The mass got off of her and she lay gasping for breath for a few moments. A gooey hoof reached out to help her up while a muzzle nuzzled her encouragingly. "S-Sweetie? Was this all just a prank? If so, you got me goo-" she stopped short as she saw black eyes looking gleefully into her own. "You're not Sweetie..." she said. The orange mass looked more like Pinkie Pie, actually. The tail was more bubbly, too. But instead of anything being made of bone, muscle, fur or hair, it was just an orange Pinkie made of goo. It made a happy rumbling sound and a laughing sound before flopping onto it's own belly and slithering in circles around Dinky's hooves. "Oh... you're just a friendly goo-pony." It looked up at her happily before making a beanbag-ponysona, with it's own head sticking out at the top. "I'm gonna need to call you something if you're gonna stay with us..." Dinky said, seemingly having already made the decision. "How about... Gooie Pie?" at this, the goo pony jumped at Dinky again, tickling her briefly. "Hah, okay, okay!" she gently pushed him off. Gooie Pie seemed happy to have somepony with him again, and Dinky felt the same. Although it hadn't even been an hour scince she left Sweetie, it had been lonely. Speaking of Sweetie... "Oh, Celestia forgive me! I've forgotten all about her!" Gooie looked at Dinky questioningly. Dinky looked back at her new friend. "Sweetiebelle, I mean. She's my work buddy. I forgot that I had left her behind! We need to find her if we're going to move on." Gooie nodded at this and went back onto his belly, slithering towards the exit with Dinky trailing behind. As soon as she opened the door, she collided with Sweetie, Gooie off to one side. "Dinky! Thank Celestia I found you!" the white unicorn sounded more than relieved. Dinky looked up at her friend happily. "I got us another travelling companion!" she said, pointing to Gooie Pie. Sweetie yelped and jumped backwards. "Are you INSANE?! It could be dangerous." Dinky snorted. "Yeah, death by laughter. He's nice, Sweetie! He made me happy again, when I was scared to death. He's like Pinkie Pie. His name's Gooie Pie." she smiled widely. Sweetie still seemed unsure, but passive. "Alright, but he better not try any funny stuff. We have to keep moving, anyway." Dinky nodded. "Let's go!" she said, before the menagerie trotted and slithered out together. > A Trio of Trekkers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gooie Pie was slithering cheerfully ahead of the two unicorns; The purple, Dinky, had seemed happy ever scince they left from Gooie's pen, and Sweetie, the white one next to her, kept wondering why. The goo-Pinkie Pie had seemed to cheer her up, but Sweetie still felt unsure. It was by luck that they came across an office room. "Close the doors firmly," Sweetie told Dinky. "I want to see if there's a document on Gooie here." At the mention of his name, the goo pony squeaked and slithered in fast and cheerful circles. Sweetie simply rolled her eyes and began to check file through file for information. Dinky was concerned at her friend being in such a state, and then she realized how happy she'd been when she and Gooie had finished their little tickle fight. She trotted up to Sweetie and began to help search. "Ah HA! " Sweetie cried out triumphantly as she saw a picture attactched to a document that corresponded with Gooie's features. She began to read the document thoroughly, Dinky hovering behind her and reading the document along. "Euphoria that lasts long after making contact with SCP 999." Sweetie murmured. That would make sense on why Dinky seemed so optimistic. Sweetie wouldn't knock that; Gooie had made her happy and forget the fear of Radical and Pinkamena. That was good. Forgetting the fear would let them conserve their energy, and be able to concentrate on escaping. But what Sweetie began to wonder about, as that thought popped into her head, was what would happen to Gooie Pie after they escaped the foundation. Clearly he had been there for a reason; to protect him from the curious mankind or intrusive ponykind. Most other SCP's had been there for the opposite reason. Sweetiebelle had to admit that, over time, she had become a bit fond of the blob of orange, even if they hadn't really interacted much together. Her thoughts were inturrupted by Dinky tapping her shoulder. "What is it?" Sweetie asked, before hearing what Dinky heard. Rock Music. "Ugh, not again!!" Sweetie groaned, snapping the document into her saddlebags before gathering their menagerie and running out the door just as Radical Dash popped through the wall. Gooie seemed to lag behind them a little as they galloped ahead, running door through door and closing them behind them in hopes of slowing down Radical. Eventually, they lost Radical, and Dinky slammed into Sweetie, who had screeched to a halt, and Gooie rammed into them both. Dinky laughed, catching her breath. "That was fun, sliding to the end of the run!" Sweetie smiled at her friend's glee. "We'd better keep moving though, Dinky." Sweetie said as they gathered their bearings. "Next office room we find should be our place for the night." Dinky nodded in agreement as Gooie opened a door near them. They didn't have to walk far before they found where they wanted to go; an office room with plenty of tables. Dinky and Sweetie laid in the way they had rested the previous night, and Gooie laid himself over the two, like a warm, slimy blanket. Dinky smiled, her eyes closing. "Goodnight Sweetie. Goodnight Gooie." Sweetie glanced over at her friends through half-closed eyes. "Goodnight." Gooie cooed a goodnight to both, before he and Dinky fell asleep, leaving Sweetie to ponder about Gooie before allowing sleep to take her once more. > Losing A Friend...? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this chapter, Dinky is lead character, just to warn everypony. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dinky woke once more before Sweetie; but clearly FAR after Gooie, as he was slithering contentedly across the room. "'Morning boy," Dinky's groggy voice caught Gooie's attention, and he slithered over to her quickly, bounding around her like Winona, Applejack's dog. Dinky's mind drifted to Winona, and she began to wonder if she was a collie or a german shepard, before Gooie snapped her out of it and bowled her over. Dinky giggled. "I guess you want something to eat, huh?" she murmured. Gooie chirped happily at her question, and Dinky opened the saddlebags, pulling out a few apples that they had collected and offering one to Gooie. To the filly's surprise, he turned it down. Dinky looked curiously at Gooie. "You don't like fruit?" she asked him, and felt amusement bubble in her as he looked disgusted at the idea of healthy food. "Hmm.... we may have some-" Gooie barged past her at the saddlebags, finding a few sweets, and eating them once he exited. "Oh, I see.... You only eat candy." the younger unicorn stroked Gooie lovingly as she finished her meal as well, and as she began to cuddle Gooie Sweetie awoke. She smiled at the cuteness and wrapped everything up, trying her hardest to keep quiet. But as the older unicorn turned she tripped over the two, ruining the moment. Dinky yelped and Gooie squeaked happily, finding the situation funny. Sweetie huffed and pushed herself back up, only to fall again as Gooie jumped on her. Dinky laughed. "Isn't he awesome?" Sweetie glared at the blob of goo, fighting the urge to smile as he gazed innocently at her. "Yeah," she said, managing to push him off. "But we need to keep going. Celestia knows when we'll find a way out, or when-" She fell back in fear as Pinkie's voice rang out "Rainbow Daaash!" with a giggle. Dinky stood shakily. "O-Okay..." she gulped, but calmed when Gooie pressed up to her. "Let's go." The door opened with a whoosh, and the unicorns accompanied by the SCP trotted down hallway after hallway, scarily unharmed. Dinky breathed out in fear after awhile. "It's like they're toying with us," she whimpered. Sweetie nodded, looking around the corner to see if there was any danger, then leading them on. Gooie never left Dinky's side, like a dog, and Dinky sensed that Sweetie felt uncomfortable around the harmless glob. Then I'll just have to make her like him, she thought. Glancing around, she saw another office room the opposite to them. She looked at Sweetie pitifully, and rose her voice to a whimpering wail. "Sweetiebelle, I'm too exhausted to go any further..." She knew from technique that usually it would work, even though she felt rejuvenated. Sweetie turned her head, and Dinky slowly lowered herself to the floor. Sweetie sighed and nodded her head."I guess we could take a little break." she nodded at the office. "Let's go in-" before she even finished, Gooie had bounded into the office, playful as a kitten. Dinky followed, making sure she stayed slow but not dramatically so, and Sweetie came last, closing the door behind her. Dinky galloped over to Gooie as Sweetie turned her back, whispering to him what to do, and lay down quickly as the white mare turned back to them. "We can't stay here long," Sweetie said. "We need to hurry to find the exit before we're turned into monster chow." Dinky nodded agreement, resisting a glance at Gooie. She flicked her tail to touch Gooie as Sweetie began her next sentance. "We should try to h-HEY!" Sweetie cried out and Gooie knocked her head over heels. Dinky giggled at the sight, and Gooie wrapped himself around Sweetie gently, cheerfully squeaking and cooing the whole time. Through her own experience, Dinky know what would happen next. "Gehehet off of mehehehe!" Sweetie cried out, desperately trying to push off her assultant. Gooie chirped, looking at Dinky, who nodded with a smile. Gooie got off, looking a bit disappointed that the fun had to end, but yipped when Sweetie sat up, panting. "Do you feel safe about him NOW?" Asked Dinky, and after Sweetie found her breath, she nodded. Dinky could tell by the look in her eyes that she was lying, but she didn't say anything and decided to give her a break. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hours passed. The three trotted on, Gooie touching them whenever he thought they were too scared. They finally came across another storage room with the large bridge over it. The bridge led to an empty room, after Sweetiebelle scanned it, so it was declared that they had to go down again. No sound of Pinkamena down there was heard. Not the sound of a stone grinding, no giggling. Just silence. So the three advanced, wary to stay near to each other. Dinky gasped as she heard something. Oh no... "Dash!" she cried out, and just as she did, the blood-covered pegasus emerged from the wall, and both fillies began to run through the columns, screaming. Dash followed them relentlessly, until they were cornered. They turned, whimpering, as the monster advanced. It'll just be a matter of seconds before we're dead... Dinky closed her eyes. Suddenly, she heard laughter. Genuine laughter. She opened her eyes to see Gooie wrapping himself around Radical Dash, and the monster herself laughing. Dinky began to cheer. "GO, GOOIE! SHOW HER WHO'S BOSS!" Gooie continued, but to Dinky's dispair, a portal began to open below Radical, and she began to sink into it slowly. Gooie still held on. "NO!" Dinky screamed, rushing forward. But the portal had closed by the time she arrived near it. The filly sank to her knees, on the verge of tears. No... Nononononononononononono! She lay her head on the ground, and Sweetie trotted up slowly, laying near her friend in an attempt to comfort her. "He's gone," Dinky choked out, tears beginning to slide down her face. Sweetie placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. "It'll be okay..." she tried to assure her friend, but Dinky lashed back. "It won't be okay! He's gone!" she wailed, burying her face into Sweetie's shoulder. Sweetie stroked the filly's mane until she realized that she was asleep, and levitated her onto her back gently. Sweetiebelle even had to admit that she missed the orange blob as well. Mostly for her friend, but a little for herself, too. She had to admit that it was a bit fun when the SCP tickled her by surprise. She shook her head to clear it of the thoughts and trotted through the door that they had been trying to reach. The first room she found she lay in, resting her companion beside her, and laying her head across her back. I'm sorry, Dinky... I'm so, so sorry. > Pain, Sorrow, Anger, Risk > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The purple teen mare stalked ahead of her friend. She couldn't forgive Sweetie for what she had lost. Gooie had been so brave to do that, but when she went to save him, Sweetiebelle held her back. I can't forgive her for what she's done. Sweetie herself was beating herself up for the loss of Gooie. By now she had probably lost her only friend in this hellhole of a foundation, and Dinky wouldn't talk to her since they woke this morning. Apart from that, this morning they ran into Radical again; leaving a large scar, still bleeding, across the white unicorn's side. She sighed as already dried tears started to well again in her eyes. A rare feat nowadays that Sweetie did. She closed her eyes. All they had been doing this morning was trudging along through the halls. Subconsciously, she started to sing, wanting to break the deathly silence. "Through halls of death and doom we walk / a world to reach again / but will we ever get there / or will we find our end? / through halls of still and silence we walk / monsters we have to fear / but will we ever make it / to find those loved and dear?" "Will you stop that?" Dinky spun around to face her companion, rage burning like wildfire in her eyes. "We're making progress and talking or singing will waste breath." She turned back and opened the door. Sweetie followed, ears and tail drooped like a puppy, but then resentment gave way to anger, and she stopped. "Making progress?" She lifted her head to glare daggers at Dinky, who had stopped and tensed up. "How're we supposed to make progress in this hell?! I'm bleeding to death already!" Her hooves shook as she let her rage consume her fully. "We've lost Gooie, but sulking about it won't help us get anywhere, especially if we die before we make it!!!" Dinky didn't respond for a minute, then turned to Sweetie, anger gone and sadness replacing it. Sweetie's rage left in an instant and she trotted forward. "He sacrificed himself so we could make it to the entrance." Dinky turned away in grief. Sweetie, wanting to lighten the situation, started to sing one of Pinkie's old songs. "When I was a little filly / and the sun was going doooooooown / the darkness and the shadows / they would always make me froooooooown" To her surprise, Dinky joined in, and soon they both were laughing and singing as they bounded down the hall. Their anger and resentment were gone. That was until Sweetie stumbled to a halt. Dinky turned back, and saw Sweetie's eyes glazed with pain. "Are you okay?" The purple unicorn trotted forward, then gasped. "Your scar...!" That was the last thing Sweetiebelle heard before falling unconscious. > Woooooo! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Sweetie?!" Dinky galloped forward, to catch her friend, and started searching for the med pack in her saddlebags. "Come on.... Come on...." Sweetie looked on through dazed half-lidded eyes, gasping for breath. "Dinks. Don't. Y-you go, find Gooie. I'll be fine..." The white unicorn barely managed to croak out. Dinky only shook her head, coming across what she was looking for. "We're buddies, Sweetie. I refuse to leave you behind - I won't!" If she had the strength, Sweetiebelle would've raised her eyebrows. The last thing she'd expected was for the younger unicorn to snap like that; when she had done it at home, she'd gotten in deep diddly doo-doo with Rarity, even if it was defending one of her friends. Or talking about Diamond Tiara. Or Silver Spoon. Or, pretty much anything else that infuriated her, that including Rarity on occasion. She was jerked out of her thoughts with the sting of alcohol on her flesh wound, resulting in a resonating screech around the halls. Dinky played the motherly role for the first time, doing the chore of tending to her wound with magic while caressing the elder unicorn's head in her hooves, cooing reassurance. The purple filly actually remembered a similar time, when her sister Sparkler had been tackled by some extremely angered mare. No, wait.... The dog one, that was it. She tackled down Sparkler and nearly broke her leg, but her mother had chased the strange mare off in time. While the med kits here were far more complicated at the Foundation than back in Ponyville, she figured out where the things she needed were in due time, and within thirty minutes, Sweetie's abdomen was wrapped and sanitized, blood leaking no more. Quiet, raspy sobs were pouring into the blonde unicorn's fur from her friend, but they weren't from the pain anymore. It seemed more of a subconscious thing, Dinky resolved, because Sweetie was murmuring insane nonsense under her breath. After a bit of coaxing, a now red-eyed Sweetiebelle was leaning against Dinky for balance, making her shaky way through the halls with her friend. It seemed quiet, apart from the occasional sound of gunfire, natural creaking, and the sound of their own hoofsteps. The silence only unnerved both girls more, knowing that around any corner Pinkie or Rainbow could pop up. Or, even worse, the horrifying Fluttershy. That episode was something they wanted to avoid to no end. It didn't take long before Sweetie started whimpering again from the stress on her wound, and the struck a pit stop in an office. Cold, lonely, scared, and hungry, they slept next to each other, Dinky singing a quiet lullaby. And somewhere, in the distance, she could've sworn she heard a quiet "Whoooooooo...." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next day - Or night, it was hard to be sure with no windows - Sweetie was feeling a bit better and walked on her own for quite a bit of the time. Every few hallway segments, they'd pause, but otherwise she was chipper. In made Dinky feel better that she'd helped her only friend in what they called "The Hellhole", exchanging idle chitchat. That is, until they heard the moaning. "Whoooooooo...." "... What was that?" "Whooooooo....." "I dunno, but I heard it last night!" Sweetie glanced over. "We should go check it out." Dinky was torn. She didn't like the sound of the whoo's; in fact, they disturbed her greatly. But, at the same time, she was curious. She finally resolved to ready a clubbing spell, just in case, before Sweetie led the way. The moans got louder and louder.... BANG! BANG! "AAAAAAGH!" Clonk! After a second, two Nine-Tailed Fox shooters laid unconscious on the ground. Sweetie grimaced. "Really?" "They were shooting us, shut u--" Dinky was cut off by the wide-eyed face of a floating humanoid. Again, both girls screamed, and the floating man screamed with them. This lasted all of five minutes before all three either ran out of breath or their vocal cords started hurting. For a moment after recovering, they all stared at each other, before Sweetie broke the silence. "Hi... Um... Mister?" The man had a black shirt with a red, pixelated M on it. He wore regular jeans, sneakers, and glasses. Pretty much the abnormal thing about his appearance was his pink mustache and slightly pointy hair. In reply, he gave a short smiling wave. "Hi! I'm SCP M.A.R.K.P.L.I.E.R., the most lethal SCP around!" Dinky's eyes widened even further, if equinely possible. "L-lethal?" "Well, not really. All I really do is float around and go 'wooooooo'." M.A.R.K shrugged. "And you ladies are?" Sweetie nudged Dinky to her hooves. "I'm Sweetiebelle, and this is Dinky Doo. We're trying to find our way out of here; Do you think you could help?" "Well, I don't think--" The YouTuber - I mean, SCP - looked down, but stopped when he saw their sparkling eyes. It was even too much for a non-brony to bear. "Oh, fine. We gotta find the generator and turn off the diddly-doo dad, and then go see the computer guy, and he'll open the door for us." Their eyes lit up. "Could you show us the way?" Dinky pleaded hopefully. A new companion to their brigade; It'd be like a quintet, once they managed to find Gooie again. He stayed silent for a moment, thinking. "Weeeeeell, alright. I mean, I've got nothing to do anyway." The SCP landed on the ground and was immediately tacklehugged by the teens. He only sighed and facepalmed. "Well, this'll be fun."