Chapters His name is Goldenrod. A typical buisness stallion, like everypony else, in Utopia. He kissed his wife goodbye and started to the car. Like everyday. But something inturrupted him, a crazed mare grabbbed him and shook him vigorously. "It's all fake!" She exclaimed. "Everything is fake! Everything we know!" She had a crazed look in her eyes, for fear of himself, he pushed her away. "Get away from me you crazy pony!" exclaimed Goldenrod. She looked offended, and looked up as the windspeed picked up, a HUT HUT HUT sound started in the distance, drawing closer, her eyes widened. "No!" Shouted the crazed mare "I WON'T BE RECONDITIONED!" She was now freaking out. Goldenrod looked up to see what she was seeing.
What he saw blew his own mind into the space above. A helicopter floated above, as a rope slid from the side door, a score of five stallions slid down. Surrounding the mare "NO!!!" She shouted "PLEASE! I DON'T WANNA B-" One of the soldier stallions whacked her with a night stick, and she fell. Goldenrod looked frightfully at this horrifieing display of events. One of the stallions turned to him, and walked close. "You didn't see a thing, did you?" Goldenrod didn't know what to say, he was frozen in fear. "WELL??" Asked the frustrated soldier stallion. "N-no s-sir" said Goldenrod shakily. "Good" said the stallion, hitting him across the face with a baton. Leaving a nasty bruise. "Carry on" the little squad of stallions went back up, and the helicopter flew away.
Goldenrod was shaken as he drove to work, his thoughts on the mare he saw. "What if she was right?" He thought aloud. "Is everything we know fake?" His mind was scrambling. "What does... 'recondition' mean?" He began to sweat, but did his best to brush it off, focusing on work. "Okay, that term papaer is due today." He rambled. He brought his car to a stop, and looked up at the giant looming buisness building. "Yes.. okay... work... good.." he huffed. He stepped out of his car, and started to walk into the building.
As he entered his place of work he walked shakily into the bathroom and looked in the mirror, observing his briuse. It was large, quite large, how was he going to explain this to his boss? "Oh boy, this is gonna be a story to tell....." he rubbed his cheek, then looked at himself completely, his golden mane glimmering in the light, and his yellow coat looked good, which soothed him a bit. "Okay.... everything that happened is behind and i can foucus..." He exited the bathroom continued down a corridor of office cubicles. His manager stopped him about twenty feet from his own. "What happened to you, Gold.." he asked concerningly. "N-nothing, sir...." he excused. His boss looked at him, confused, and started to ask questions, like "are you hiding something? Did someone hit you? they could be arrested!" he exclaimed. "No, sir" he continued on, and his boss walked away, and he walked more to his office.
The electric sign flicked on in the hall, and he stared at it, waiting for the messeage to burst forth, the image of the princess Twilight appeared. "Hello my Utopian citizens! Today is a brand new day for all of you to work hard and play harder! and remmeber, the world outside the city is dangerous, never EVER appempt to leave." The sign flicked off, and Goldenrod walking into his office, sighing with relief. "Work at last." He entered his office, and work began.
The car was speeding up as Goldenrod woke from his sudden daze, and looked arround at the soldiers, they didn't seem to notice him, and were engaging in conversation. "So what about this one?" Asked the biggest one. "Well" said a smaller one, "what do you think we do with the crazies.... recondition you dopehead" he stated, frustrated. "I thought we would've changed that my now.." said the big one. Goldenrod then acted as if he'd been woken up by the chatter. "Huh? What?" One of the stallions looked at him angrily. "You didn't hear anything did you?" He looked at him. "Hear what?" Asked Goldenrod mock-sleepily. One of the stallions scuffed his hear with a hoof, "Shut up!" He shouted. Goldenrod place his hoof on the scuffed ear, "Owww..." he moaned, sitting back and keeping quiet for the rest of the ride.
After several more hours of silence, the car came to a stop in front of a small warehouse. "Get out" commanded the big stallion. Goldenrod obliged, and nearly fell over from the lack of standing, but steadied himself. A soldier stallion walked closely behind him, and two more on his sides. He was scared out oh his mind, one of the stallions pushed him left, into a white room. The stallion smiled evilly, and walked away. Goldenrod looked around, nothing but white walls and a small slit of glass. He looked through the small panel of glass on the wall, and saw the mare that had attacked him strapped to a table, and crying, with a bite mask on. "P-please... no..... i-i promise never to do it again.." she pleaded, as a doctor walked up with a syringe full of a glowing green luquid, a scream and she was injected, everything fell silent, then her eyes shot open, the doctor looked at her and smiled. "What do you think of Utopia?" She replied in an emotionless voice. "Utopia is a truely flawless and perfect city, i would never consider leaving it." "Good" said the doctor, and the straps released, she got off the table and started for the exit.
Goldenrod was freaking out. Slamming his head against the wall over and over, but padding prevented any injury. He was now crying as he fell to the floor. "I- i don't wanna ger reconditioned.... oh Celestia... it's too much... just end me... please" he started to squirm, not wanting his fate to happen. The door creaked open, he expected to see a gaurd, but insted, saw the princess twiight, standing as tall as Celestia. "Hello, Mr. Goldenrod." Adressed The princess. Goldenrod shot up straight, looking frightfully at the princess. "Please! let me stay as myself! please! i just wanted t-" The princess placed a hoof gently on his lips and silneced him, "Shh, my child, i've observed you since you were a filly, and you were one of the greatest and well behaved, untill now" she said. He looked at her with a frightened stare. "You have been bad...... so.... i hate to do it to you... but you HAVE to be reconditioned" Goldenrod began to shake ecstatically, and tears flowed from his eyes, he knew his fate was approaching.
He was escorted from the room by the princess , and walked into the room labeled 'Recondition' "please.... don't do this to me." He pleaded. "I beg of you don't do this!" He shouted. The princess pushed him in and shut the door. A gaurd stallion walked in and pushed him toward the table. He fought back, punching him in the face. "Stop resisting!" Yelled the gaurd, removing a tazer. "I'm not letting this-" A magenta field of magic surrounded his limbs, and layed him on the table. He looked toward a glass pane, the princess' horn was glowing, as the straps were sealed, and he was disabled to move. He began to tug on the restraints, he felt them loosen, but they were immediately tightened, it was useless. "Please! Don't do it! I was just curious! Please!" He cried. The doctor approached him, the glowing geen liquid sloshing in the syringe. He tugged as hard as he could on the straps, feeling one hoof loosen, he removed it and punched the doctor as hard as he could.
He was pounding on the door as hard as he could, ignoring the body of the doctor behind him. "You won't contain me!!!" He ranted. As he continued to pound the door popped loose, he pounded harder. "This isn't going to happen!" He heard hoofsteps outside the door, and the clicking of guns, he continued to pound. "NO NO NO!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, shaking the door looser. He felt inner rage fill him, and he turned his rump to the door, giving it a hard buck. It flew off the hinges, and smacked one of the soldier stallions in in hi nose, smashing him, he looked around crazily, heaving breath, his look speeded to the princess. "YOU! YOU WERE GONNE LET THEM MAKE ME A BRAINLESS ZOMBIE!" He screamed. She cringed slightly at his scream, shile the rest of the soldier stallions rushed at him. He grabbed the head of the biggest one and rammed his and the soldiers together, causing the soldier to fall to the floor, blood dribbling skightly from his head. Goldenrod didn't know what had gotten into him, he felt so alive, so angry, so rushed, and he wasn't going to stop any time soon.
Goldenrod swooped under a gaurd's baton and brought his right forehoof down on his neck, dropping him quickly, and picking up his wepon. He brought it an inch from her face. "Princess..... why would you let them do this...." He asked angrily. Twilights horn began to glow hand her wings fluttered, he whacked her with the butt of the pistol. "NO MAGIC" he demanded. Twilight touhced her face and looked at him wide-eyed. He wouldn't stand for it, and did it again "CUT THE CRAP" he shouted. She finally broke. "This city is perfect!" She cried. "Nothing is wrong with it! So if anyone tries to burst out we brainwash them into thinking that this city is completely perfect with no flaws!" Goldenrod was even angrier..... her pulled the trigger... BANG! then THUD.
Goldenrod looked horrified at the princess' body. "M-my Celestia..... it's..... what have....." he shook his head. "I gotta get going!" He started off down a narrows corridor. He had no idea where he was going, and at the rate he was moving, he would be caught and killed. His hooves were clacking loudly on the linolium floor, no matter how hard her tried to sneak, each step was CLACK CLACK CLACK. Goldenrod looked around shakily, checking for anything to muffle his hoofsteps, when he saw some cloch on the wall. He ripped it down and wrapped it around his hooves, tesing it out. Each step was then more of a shuffle, rather than a clacking noise.
Even with muffled hoofsteps, he couldn't find his way out of the facility, it was always a dead end, or a hall leading to a squadren of gaurds. He was lucky they hadn't found the princess' body. Unfortunately, his luck ran out then. An alarm sounded, and he froze in place. A warning message displayed: WANRNING, SOMEONE HAS KILLED PRINCESS TWILIGHT! ALL GAURDS ON ALERT! The message ended, and the alarm continued. Goldenrod scrambled down a random hallway, thinking to himself. 'What have i DONE?' he thought. 'I killed a princess and five different stallions... i deserve to be reconditioned.' He knew it was too late for that, that he was going to have to face this like a true stallion, and fight it all the way to the end.
Gaurds came from both sides of the hall, shouting commands and glaring angrily at Goldenrod. Goldenrod looked back and forth quickly, and shouted at the top of his lungs. As he expected, this threw the gaurds off in confusuin, and he headubtted one, jumping over him and galloping off. The gaurds persued closely, a knife was thrown at his hind hoof, missing by an inch, causing him to run faster. Goldenrod started to stumble, and fell to the floor with a thud and a slide. He found himself at the bottom of the door that read EXIT, but before he could stand up, the stallions surrounded him. Beating him with night stacks and the backs of guns, he tried to fight back , but it was too overwhelming.
Goldenrod had had enough! He grabbed the nightstick of one gaurd, he smaked him across the face, doing the same to the others, he stood, and brought it down hard on the bigest one. A loud SNAP and he droped to the floor, as did the top half of the nightstick. Goldenod looked at the sharp part of the brocked nightstick, and got an idea. He turned to another one of the assailants, and shoved it into his nack, a slight spray of blood and he too fell. The other four backed up slowly, not wanting this to happen to them. Goldenrod turned to the door and burst out. Freedom at last, time to get out this wretched city.
Goldenrod searched his surroundings, checking for anything that might help with his 'Escape plan.' He saw a small half-cylinder building with the word, "armory" on it, so that would be his objective. He tried to remain in the bushes, but what was he kidding, he was a bright yellow earth-pony with a golden mane, in what case did he blend in? As he approached the building in the open, he began to notice little white bxes rotating around the armory, security cameras. "You've gotta be kidding me!" He exlaimed. "This is the biggest bunch of horseapples!" That was the only time he'd ever swore in his life. Was it possible that only a course of a couple hourse had changed him in such ways? He went from petty little buisness stallion to killer and thief, and he felt terrible. But he knew it was no time for that.
He tried work his way past the cameras, but was spotted by one just as he was opening the door. "Arrgh!" He shouted, and slammed the steel-bolt door behind him. Goldenrod scanned the room. Guns, ammuntion, explosives, and a rack of small kevlar vests. He made his way to the guns first, acting as though he were being selective, even though e had no idea what each of them did, all he knew was that the small ones shot one at a time, so he grabbed a bigger one, it had an odd shape to it, kind of long, sleek, had this thing hwere you could stick it in your mouth, and pull the trigger with your tounge. "Odd" he thought. He grabbed a strap to go with his new found weapon, and trudged to the vests, taking one and slipping it on, he grabbed the cartriges that seemed to atch the one in his bigger weapon, the made his way to the door.
Goldenrod pressed his ear to the door, and listened for anything, for all he knew, they were all out there waiting for him, for that precise moment to blow his brains out. Goldenrod turned back and looked harder for anything else, something that could help, but found nothing. He bit his lower lip as he slowly pushed the door open, and was suprised to see it was clear. As Goldenrod looked around, he noticed a blotch of greed at the bottom of the steep hill leading to the facility, it was quite a large blotch. Whitch told him he was going to hae a hard time leaving.
He made a move for the street, and once again looked around, conveniently, a parking lot was across. Goldenod trotted slowly to the lot, not like the soldiers were gonna stop him. Then he remmebered, no keys. He had no idea how to hotwire, either, so he knew he was screwed. Once again Goldenrod was looking around for anything to help, and found nothing, so he decided to do this the hard way, he'd have to sneak around the hulking-mass of aurds at the bottom of the hill, and get his way out from there. As he went to the far-side of the facility, had crouched down and crawled slwoly down the hill. At the worst possible time, his left hind-hoof slipped and he went tumbling down the hill. If the gaurds didn't know he was there before, they did now.
Goldenrod landed with a solid THUNK As he slammed into the bottom flat of the hill. It appeared as though the gaurds still hadn't noticed him at all, so he continued his slight crawly state. "Almost there!" He managed to say over the pain and the effort. He reached the limits, but he heard shuffling nearby, the sound of hooves on grass. This was not going to be good. Not at all.
Goldenrod lay there as the gaurd approached him, unkowing of his presence. 'It's now or never' he thought, as he tackled the gaurd, thaknig celestia he was facing the other dicrection, and held hiw down low, holding his mouth shut, and covering his nose. "Shh... shh" he whispered. "It'll all be over soon." He could feel the gaurds strength sapping slwoly, taking his fight away, and has the gaurd closed his eyes, Goldenrod released, and continued past the limits of the facility, and headed toward the city wall. "Just get there, and follow it to the city limits door. He could see it now, popping the doors open and seeing the actual outside, not Twilight's artificial sun.
Once Goldenrod was past the big group of security, he galloped full force along city limits, trying to find the door and hoping to find it sooner rather that later, as to avoid furthing contact with these stllions he'd been running into. As he galloped, he heard something, like a beating noise in the distance, and as it drew closer, he began t recognize it, the beating rotors of a helicopter. HUT HUT HUT rang out the rotors as it drew evercloser to claiming Goldenrods doom.H attempted to run fatser, but only stumbled at this. He attempted to get his speed back ,but it was too late, helicopted upon him, rope already to the ground.
Then it him him, hit him like a brink wall. "I have a gun...." The sudden remembrance of it suprised even himself, and he aimed the rifle at the ropes, pulling the trigger with his mouth. RRRRRATATTATATATATAT. The recoild threw his head back, because he was holding it in his mouth, as designed, and to his suprise, one stallion fell to the ground bleeding. "Well at least i have a chance" he admitted, pressing ever forward, as the chopper flew away, no twanting to risk more men. It was smoothe sailing from then on, but of course, it almost never lested too long.
A few hundred yards away from the big door, he was stopped by a large barriced with lots of gaurd stallions behind it. This was going to get messy. Goldenrod poined his gun at the barricade, and let it rip. RATATATATATATATATATATATAT!!!!! Down most of them went, and he popped one of the new mags in to keep fresh. The remaining few opened fire, bangs and clacks filling the air.Goldenrod tried to dodge, but several of the rounds firied slammed into him, painfully at that. Goldenrod shot at the again. RATAT, RATAT, RATAT. Short bursts, and he nailed them all. At last his freedom was given to him by virtue, he looked at the massive double doors at the exit, and he punched in 1234 on the number pad.
The doors screeched open, and he walked through.
Typical work day..... with a twist
Goldenrod began his simple job of typing up his term paper, but still could not get the mare off his mind, and the same questions kept popping into his head. He kept talking to himself, "all a lie? Is it all a lie?" He muttered, the clacking of the keyboard being the only sound filling his office. He began to sweat again, pondering on and on through the same question, when finally, it overcame him. He left his office, and approached his boss, grunting to get his attention. His Manager turned to him and asked "Yes, Goldenrod?" He looked at him, expecting the term paper. "S-sir... i.... need to know something" he was extremely nervous, and couldn't control his sweating. "Well? out with it, are you done with the paper?" Demanded his boss "n-no, it's another question.. I-is everything we know a lie? Are we all living a dream? Or is this all just fa-" His boss stuffed a hoof in his mouth, and dragged him into his office. "WHAT are you doing talking like that!" Shouted his manager, making him cringe in fear. "S-sir... this morning a crazy pony ran up to me tryi-" his boss stopped him again. "Don't believe such nonsense! i could have you arrested for talk like that!" He declared.
Goldenrod was now back in his office, waiting out the day, his mind was even more set on the turn of events this morning, so he decided to investigate. As soon as office hours were over, he got in his car, and messed up his perfect mane. He had a crazy idea. He drove around for a little bit, then stopped his car in front of a random pony and galloped at him screaming, "EVERYTHING IS FAKE! IT'S ALL FAKE!" As he expected, the stallion gave him a scared look, as he charged at him, continuing to scream the same thing. As he continued to rant arround the town, a black car stopped him in his tracks, and several soldier unicorns hopped out, surrounging him in a magical field and magically threw him in, quite roughly. The soldiers got back in the car and began to question him thouroughly. "What did you think you were doing going around the city screaming that?" Asked one of them, angrily. "I- i......" studdered Goldenrod, then, everything when black.