Shadow Factoryby Radioactive MutantChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1“NUKE!” “Nuuuuuke!” “NUUUUKKEEEE!!!!!” Nuke rolled his eyes. “WHAT?” he called. “COME HERE!!” replied his siblings. The mutant pony trotted into the bedroom, where Skullsmasher, Swordfighter, and Bladeslasher were gathered around one of the cave’s few windows. “What do you want?” sighed Nuke. “Come look at this!” shouted Swordfighter, her voice cracking in horror. Nuke could sense something was wrong from the tone of her voice. He pushed his way through the trio to look outside. His pupils were reduced to thin slits as terror surged through his veins. There, on the grass outside, was a unicorn. She was a beautiful sky blue with gorgeous golden eyes, and her cherry-red mane gave off a healthy glow. While these things made her look good, she certainly wasn’t feeling good. She was caught between two factory workers with long metal pincers used to contain zoo animals. The unicorn’s horn was trapped in one pincer, stopping her from using any kind of magic. She screamed for help, sobbing hysterically in horror as she writhed and struggled. Suddenly, the other pincer opened wide and closed around her neck, making her cough and choke. The factory workers dragged her away out of sight. The Shadow Ponies strained to look to the left. There was a factory truck parked on the grass, and the two workers threw the pony in there, slammed the metal doors shut, and locked them with a special, magic-proof lock. They then climbed into the truck and started the engine. Even above the roar of the engine, the four siblings could still hear the unicorn’s desperate cries for help. The truck’s wheels moved, and the big, bulky vehicle drove out of sight. The Shadow Ponies darted away from the window, gasping with horror. “O-Oh...m-m-my...G-G-God...” stuttered Bladeslasher, eyes wide with fright. “W-WHY...D-D-DID...YOU...W-WANT...TO...SH-SH-SHOW...ME...TH-THAT?” stammered Nuke, his heart pounding. “We...thought...y-you...would be...i-i-interested!” answered Skullsmasher. “WELL I WASN’T!” cried the green pony. “SORRY!” replied the long-maned Pegasus. “We thought you would go out there and do a Nuclear Blast or something!” Nuke choked on his spit. “WH-WHAT?!” he screamed. “Are you out of your goddamn MIND?! I ain’t doing no Nuclear Blast! Do you know how much energy that takes?!” The other siblings shrank back. “S-Sorry...” whimpered Swordfighter. Nuke sighed, one ear twitching. His shook his fur out and trotted away. “Well, whatever. Who wants lunch?” “No thanks.” “Not hungry.” “I think I just lost my appetite.” Nuke was about to open the fridge when a sudden feeling washed over him. His stomach now didn’t feel like holding any food of any kind. He slowly backed away from the fridge. “Know what? Me too.” he called. He walked back into the bedroom and sat down on his bed. His mind was racing. A few months ago, a company built a huge fur factory that captured ponies and used their pelts to make clothes for humans. Many humans had protested against it, lining the streets and shouting, signs and posters gripped in their hands. The Congress had tried to shut down the factory, but once they saw how much money it was raking in and the amount it would give to the government each year, they’d hastily agreed to let the ponies be torn to shreds without a second thought. Since the Congress was much more powerful than the protesters, the attempt to close the factory down was futile. Knowing that they had been defeated, the protesters had solemnly ended their reign and let the factory continue working. Nuke thought it was unbelievable how quickly the protesters had given up. He sighed and curled up on his bed. “Nuke?” Bladeslasher was standing at his side. “Yeah?” asked Nuke. “I’m scared...” Bladeslasher’s ears pressed flat against his head and his wings clasped tightly to his sides. His whole body was shaking. “Wh-What do they do to the ponies th-the people catch?” he stuttered. Nuke sat up. He then saw that his younger brother had tears trickling from his eyes. The mutant pony pulled Bladeslasher into a hug. “I...d-don’t w-w-want to b-be...c-c-captured...!” sobbed Bladeslasher. Nuke let out a breath. “I’m scared, too. I’m...I’m more scared than you.” Author's Note Sorry it's short. It's my first fanfic, okay? Chapter 2“NUUUUKKEEE!!!!” Nuke jumped awake. He blinked, then warily looked at the clock. It was 3 AM. “NUKE!!” Nuke growled in annoyance and hissed, “What?” “HELP!! HELP!! PLEASE, HELP!!!” Nuke leaped out of bed and raced into the living room. He almost collapsed from the sight laid out before him. The room was in ruins: chunks of the cave walls had crumbled onto the floor, pictures and other delicate items were strewn about, smashed to smithereens, and there were his siblings, caught in pincers and surrounded by six factory workers. “OH NO YOU DON’T!!” roared Nuke, fire blazing in his blood-red eyes. He whipped around and bucked a worker hard, sending him straight to the floor and knocking him out as his head crashed painfully into the rock. The other workers swore at Nuke, trying to grab him by a leg or ear. He bucked another worker, sending her tumbling to the floor, also. Swordfighter was now free and she wriggled out of the conflict, darting into the kitchen, screaming and crying in horror. The mutant pony growled angrily at another worker, stomping his hoof on the floor. Suddenly, Skullsmasher was freed and she ran away into the kitchen to join Swordfighter. Nuke started to wonder why Skullsmasher had been freed, but his thoughts were soon answered by the coldness of metal clasping around his neck. “HEY!!” he screamed, thrashing wildly. Bladeslasher sobbed and writhed pathetically, tears drenching his fur. Nuke managed to kick out one last time and hit a worker right in the crotch. The worker dropped the pincer and fell to the floor, groaning in agony as Bladeslasher also raced into the kitchen. “AHAHAHA! Your balls are no match for my mutated hooves!!” laughed Nuke. He gripped at the pincer around his neck and pulled as hard as he could, still struggling to get free. The pincer was starting to open a little when another one clamped around his left hind leg. “HEY!! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!!” he screeched, kicking as violently as possible. The five workers were now all on their feet again and had Nuke trapped and virtually defenseless. Another pincer clasped around his midsection, and the green pony screamed in rage. “LET ME GO, YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS!!!” he shrieked, still trying to thrash. The workers pushed him to the floor, keeping him still. He writhed and squirmed, screeching swears at the workers as one clasped a pincer around his other hind leg and the other worker clamped around his right foreleg. They then lifted him off the floor, heaving with the effort. Nuke was still screaming in fury, his fangs dripping with saliva. “LET!! ME!! GO!!!!!!” he roared at the top of his lungs. “Hey, shouldn’t we get Jeff?” asked one worker to another. “We’ll get him after we load this one up.” answered the other worker. The five humans carried the hollering equine outside and toward a factory truck. The second he saw the huge vehicle, Nuke’s crazy antics came to a grinding halt. His rage was now being replaced with a special fear. The fear that you get only when you know you’re in serious, death-defying trouble. “Thank God, he stopped screaming.” breathed one worker. Nuke couldn’t move. His whole body tensed up, leaving him paralyzed with fear. Another worker opened the truck doors, revealing two other ponies sitting on the vehicle floor. Nuke was tossed into the truck, and before he could even take a breath, the doors were slammed shut and locked. He just laid there on the floor, his eyes wide and his body shaking. One of the ponies, a graceful, slender Pegasus, carefully trotted up to him and poked his side. “H-Hello?” she squeaked. Nuke jumped and scrambled to his hooves, panting heavily. “I gotta get outta here, I gotta get outta here,” he muttered. “Where’s out?!” He looked around frantically, and finally spotted the doors. He body-slammed them, only earning him a nice bruise on his side. He tried pounding his hooves on the doors, but that didn’t work, either. He then turned around and bucked them as hard as he could, but it was useless. He was locked in, and there was no way out. He sighed and slumped back to the floor, tears welling up in his eyes. The Pegasus leaned down and nuzzled his ear. “There’s no way out, sweetie,” she whispered. “But it’s gonna be okay, alright?” Nuke merely nodded, wiping his eyes with his bleeding hooves. “I have three younger siblings back home.” he whimpered. “I woke up when they were calling me for help, and after I managed to free them all, I got captured...” The two ponies gasped. “Hey,” called the other pony. Nuke looked to his left and saw a cyan Pegasus with a beautiful rainbow-colored mane. “You’re the bravest pony I’ve ever known.” said the Pegasus. Nuke squinted at her. “Are...are you Rainbow Dash?” he whispered. “The one and only.” answered the cyan pony, winking at him. “How...how did you get caught? I mean, you’re so fast and agile!” cried Nuke. “They tased me.” answered Dash simply, picking at her teeth. “Oh, I...I’m so sorry...” whimpered the mutant equine. “It’s alright,” said Dash, grinning slightly at him. “I knew this day was gonna come eventually; might as well just accept it and move on.” “But what about your friends? Your family? What about your biggest fan, Scoota-something?” “They’ll eventually move on without me; it’s okay, alright? Chill out.” Nuke dipped his head down in defeat. He looked up at the other Pegasus who was still standing beside him. She was a light yellow and had a gorgeous pink, flowing mane. Nuke recognized this one immediately. “And...and you’re Fluttershy, right?” he asked. Fluttershy simply nodded. “Wow...I can’t believe I’m with two of the Elements of Harmony!” cried Nuke, sitting up. “I mean, this is amazing!” Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash grinned broadly at him. Suddenly, there was a loud thump coming from the truck, and then it rocked a little, the doors slammed shut, and the engine roared to life. “Well...” Fluttershy gulped. “Here we go...” Dash sighed, looking up at the ceiling as the truck began to move. Nuke hung his head, tears brimming in his eyes again. He would never see Skullsmasher, Swordfighter, or Bladeslasher ever again. “Hey, whatever-your-name-is,” called Dash. Nuke looked up at her. “If you don’t mind me asking, what...uh...exactly happened to you?” asked Dash carefully. “Oh, when I was a colt, I was walking with my parents and we didn’t know we were in a nuclear bomb testing site, and the bomb went off and it killed both of my parents and left me mutated like this.” explained the mutant pony softly. Dash and Fluttershy gasped. “Oh...I’m so sorry...” whispered Dash. Both Pegasi trotted over to him and engulfed him in a hug. Nuke gladly returned the hug. They stayed like that for about a minute or two before they separated. “My name is Nuke.” said Nuke. “Nuke? Cool name, bro.” replied Dash. “Oh, I like that name...although, it scares me a bit...” whispered Fluttershy. Nopony spoke for the rest of the trip. They sat there, on the floor, for two, maybe three hours. Nuke and Fluttershy had fallen asleep and Dash was on the verge of dozing off when the truck suddenly stopped. Dash’s mind kicked into full throttle and she got to her hooves, sensing a difference in the air. She smelled something very different than what she was used to. She smelled...fear, and death, and blood, and smoke. She winced at the very stench of it and backed into the wall, her ears pressed flat against her head. Suddenly, there was a faint click, and the double-doors swung open. Dash squinted at the new light, shielding her eyes. Fluttershy and Nuke were both awoken by the sound of the doors and scrambled to their hooves the moment they saw two factory workers standing at the foot of the truck, staring at them. “They look good.” stated one worker. “I agree.” replied the other. “Alright, time to get these worthless things outta here.” The other worker reached in and grabbed Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus screamed and immediately burst into tears, wailing in horror. “FLUTTERSHY!!” cried Dash, racing for her sobbing friend. Fluttershy was stuffed into a narrow and very tight cage. She whined in distress and struggled futilely. Dash growled and leaped at the workers, only to be caught in mid-air and quickly pushed into the cage, also. Nuke backed away as far as possible, his eyes wide with terror as adrenaline pulsed through his veins. “Come on, you weird-lookin’ cow!” hissed the worker, reaching and straining to grab Nuke. The green pony gasped. “HEY!” he roared with such volume that the worker jumped and pulled away. “NOBODY MAKES FUN OF HOW I LOOK!!” Nuke found he’d regained some of his fury and he stood defiantly. “I don’t give a damn about how you feel! Now get your ass over here before I climb in there and choke you to death!!” snarled the man. The mutant equine stared hard at the two workers. They were obviously much stronger than him, and he saw, in their pockets, very scary-looking tasers. There was no use in resisting anymore. Sighing, Nuke slowly walked over to the workers. One man gripped him tightly and stuffed him into the cage, then locked it and slammed the truck doors shut. Nuke coughed. The cage was so tight that it was hard to even breathe, let alone move around. The workers talked for a few more minutes, then one hopped into the vehicle and drove away. The remaining worker looked down into the cage and smirked. “You three are gonna have a lot of fun here.” Chapter 3The worker grabbed the cage and heaved it onto his shoulder, making all three ponies groan in pain. The man walked out of the parking garage, the equines gasping in horror at the sight of other ponies being thrown into cages. The minute the worker left the garage, the trio of ponies stared, wide-eyed, at the Factory. A huge, blood-stained building sat there, waiting for hundreds, maybe even thousands of workers to come through its doors, holding helpless victims. On top of the building were four smokestacks, each one belching thick, choking smoke. Gigantic pipes led all around the Factory, carrying who-knows-what down into the ground. But, the most horrifying thing was...the hundreds of mutilated equine bodies strewn about. It seemed as if they were thrown out after they had their pelts removed, left to rot and be picked apart by the tons of crows circling the property. The bodies lay motionless, twisted and mangled to the point where they were unidentifiable. They were literally swimming in pools of blood and body fluids, their own gore surrounding them. Fluttershy immediately passed out from the sight. Dash squeezed her eyes shut, blinking back her tears. Nuke, however, didn’t seem to be all that disgusted. He was mostly evil, after all, and had seen it all: guts, blood, corpses; you name it, he’s seen it. The worker entered the building, casually stepping through the automatic doors and into the Factory. Dash and Nuke screamed. The Factory was GIGANTIC. Machines of all shapes and sizes were everywhere, and this was just in one room. The two ponies looked on with horror as they watched numerous equines get thrown onto assembly lines and be carried away into different areas. The worker walked over to the lines and saw that there were three of them, moving at a fairly fast speed. Each one had a sign above it: the first line said “Pegasi,” the second “Unicorns,” and the last “Earth Ponies.” The man unlocked the cage and opened it, then grabbed Fluttershy’s unconscious form and tossed her onto the Pegasi line. “FLUTTERSHY!!” wailed Dash, tears now streaming down her face. The worker then suddenly yanked her out of the cage and threw her onto the same line. Dash struggled to move, but then found that the entire line was coated in an extremely sticky substance that trapped her where she was. Nuke shrieked in terror as the worker pulled him out and tossed him onto the Earth Ponies line. He, too, tried to struggle, but all three lines were covered in the substance. He and Dash looked into each other’s eyes as they neared the separate rooms they were going to. Nuke mouthed the words “Goodbye.” Dash mouthed back “Goodbye, Nuke.” And then, she and Fluttershy disappeared as Nuke entered the Earth Ponies room. He looked around and nearly retched in horror. The room was divided into huge sections that were divided into more rooms. Steam-belching machinery was scattered all over the place. And the ponies... Numerous equines were being held down by machines and having things branded onto their foreheads as they screamed and thrashed in agony. More ponies were locked into shackles as a machine fitted mechanical collars on each of them. Even more ponies were trapped in body braces as they whizzed by a needle that stabbed through their ears and placed a tag on them. Nuke started hyperventilating in panic as tears started sliding down his cheeks. He looked forward at the pony in front of him. He saw she was an orange pony with yellow stripes running down her back. Her spikey mane and tail were colored blood-red and her eyes were a dark, threatening black. Suddenly, her entire body disappeared. Just as Nuke was beginning to question this, he tumbled off the line and into a box of sobbing, squirming equines. Nuke cried out as one pony kicked him in the face and another knocked him to his side. It was complete chaos. Nuke, seeing that it was useless to try and keep his balance, covered his head with his forelegs in an effort to protect his skull. He managed to look up and saw a giant machine with an extendable arm and a large, horrifying claw. It was plucking out the ponies one by one and fitting them into the body braces by the needle. Nuke almost fainted from horror as the claw reached down, heading straight for him. He leaped out of the way, revealing a stallion with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane. He had an hourglass as his Cutie Mark, and Nuke realized he’d put Doctor Whooves right in the machine’s path. Before Whooves could react, the claw clamped around his body and lifted his screaming, writhing form into the air. The mutant pony then watched as Whooves was carried over to the needle line and fitted into a brace. The brace locked shut automatically around him and he could do nothing but sob and squirm as he headed for the sharp instrument that was ready to pierce his flesh. Nuke dipped his head down. Guilt washed over him as he realized he’d made Whooves get picked up instead of himself. Well, it was bound to happen. It could happen to anypony. As Nuke was thinking this, he suddenly felt the coldness of steel clasp around him. “OH SHI---!!” He didn’t get to finish his swear, as he was violently lifted into the air and carried over to the needle line. The green equine screeched in horror as the claw slammed him into the brace and it locked shut around him, trapping his forelegs to his sides. He tried to struggle and slip out of there, but the brace was so tight against him it was hard to breathe. He looked to his right and saw Whooves was next to him, still crying in terror. Nuke could do nothing but cry with him. They were getting closer and closer to the needle by the second. It was long, big, and very, VERY frightening. Nuke didn’t want to look at it, let alone have it jab through his ear. Just then, Whooves let out a piercing cry as blood spurted from his ear and a tag was shot through it. Nuke roared in horror as he was positioned below the needle. Before he could do anything, the instrument jabbed through his flesh and inserted a tag, blood dripping down the side of his head. The mutated equine shrieked in pain. He then continued down the line, and he realized the previous moment was kind of like getting your ears pierced. It was really painful, but then the pain went away for the most part. Except the tag was irritating the wound and made it burn and itch like hell. Suddenly, the brace unlocked and opened, dumping Nuke into another box full of writhing, screaming ponies. Nuke saw another claw above him. It reached down and grabbed a dark pink pony. Her mane was straight and dark, yet she had three balloons as her Cutie Mark. Nuke suddenly realized it was Pinkie Pie. Sweet, bouncy Pinkie Pie, in a factory full of death, blood, and torture, and turned into her opposite: Pinkamena. It was no wonder her mane was straight and her coat was dark. She cried out in horror, flailing in misery, as she was fitted into shackles that held her forelegs above her head. Nuke couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. He wanted to pretend he was dreaming some twisted, horrifying dream. He slumped down on top of an unconscious mare and closed his eyes, trying to block out the screams and cries of others. He could feel the pain as a multitude of hooves stepped on his body. He just wanted to wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Sharp fingers wrapped around his body and lifted him into the air, snapping him out of his trance. He screamed in surprise as the claw pushed his hooves into shackles, leaving him hanging with his forelegs held above him. He looked to his right and saw that the others were having mechanized collars put on them. Alright, alright, that’s not painful, Nuke told himself. It’s just a collar. How bad can it be? He watched in sadness as Pinkamena had a collar fitted around her neck. It clicked into place and locked automatically. Nuke was then positioned in front of the machine and had a collar wrapped around his neck, too. He heard the audible click, feeling it tighten a bit as it locked. He was then carried through the line until the shackles suddenly opened, dropping him into yet another box of equines. He sat up on top of a squirming mare and poked his collar. It had three lights on it: one red, one yellow, and one green. The green one was blinking brightly. Nuke stared at the lights in confusion until the claw grasped him in its tight grip. He whined in distress as he was placed on his belly on an assembly line. There was sticky substance on it, also, and kept Nuke from moving. He saw the ponies in front of him were moved under a large machine that had an arm and something red on the end of it. Whenever it touched an equine, the pony would scream in pain. Nuke was beginning to wonder what it was...until he saw steam rising up from the ponies. OH NO, he thought. IT’S A BRAND!!! He could only screech in terror as he slid under the machine, the brand appearing in front of him and aiming for his forehead. It was red-hot and steaming furiously. Since Nuke could read backwards, he saw it had a number and a letter on it: 9A. He guessed that’s what his tag said, also. He sobbed in horror as the brand pulled back a little, preparing to hit. Suddenly, it jabbed forward, pressing hard into his forehead and burning “9A” onto his flesh. Nuke couldn’t take the pain. He roared and struggled as white-hot agony coursed through him, centering on his forehead. The brand pulled away and slipped back into the machine as Nuke was moved forward, shaking and coughing. He felt like he was about to vomit. The line dumped him into another box. This time, the ponies weren’t screaming or squirming. They lay still, shaking and panting. Nuke was thankful for some quiet at last. He lay still in the middle of the box, waiting for the metal claw to grab him. But when he looked up, there was nothing. That’s when he noticed the pile of ponies he was laying on was...sinking. There must be a hole in the bottom of the box, thought Nuke. As he neared the hole, it got harder and harder to breathe as more and more ponies were dropped onto him. Finally, just when he thought he was about to suffocate, he fell through an opening and onto cold, hard steel. He looked around and saw he’d landed in an open-faced box. The ponies in front of him were moving between barriers, keeping them from escaping. A worker grabbed the mutant pony by the neck and threw him into the single-file line of equines, making him stumble and almost fall. He slowly walked as the line advanced forward. He leaned to the left and saw that the ponies were being taken away by a few workers and into a section of the Earth Ponies room. He winced as he watched the workers toughly grab the ponies by their manes, legs, or throats and forcefully drag them away. When he reached his turn he was shivering. A woman grasped him by the neck and dragged him into the section. He saw that the section was divided into 26 rooms, all lettered from A to Z. The worker pulled Nuke into Room A and the green pony saw that it was divided into hundreds of stalls containing crying, whimpering equines. The worker dragged him into stall 9. She then pulled the swinging door closer and Nuke saw that it had a hole for a pony’s head. Without a second thought, she grabbed the back of his head and pushed it through the hole, causing Nuke to cry out in pain. He then felt the coldness of metal clamp around all four of his ankles and he realized he’d been chained to the stall. The woman then closed the door, locking it tightly before running back to the main room. The mutant equine dipped his head down, tears blurring his vision. He was trapped, with no hope of escape or rescue. He was going to be turned into a coat. A special-edition, radioactive coat. He was never going to see his siblings ever again. He was never going to see his friends ever again. Nuke closed his eyes, a single tear dripping onto the concrete floor. Before he knew it, sleep overtook his brain. Chapter 4Nuke awoke to a sudden jolt. He jumped, yelping in surprise, then saw that there was a wooden tray beneath his muzzle that had a bowl of horse feed. Nuke gagged in disgust, but then figured it was better than nothing. He looked on the edges of the tray and saw metal connectors clasped to the bottom edge of the door, holding the tray in place. He looked around and saw that all the other ponies had feeding trays, too. Nuke figured that there was probably a feeding time in the Factory. He watched as the ponies forced themselves to eat the feed, gagging all the while. Nuke looked down at his untouched bowl. He took a deep breath, moistened his chops, and took a bite of feed. It was hard and crunchy, and really didn’t taste like anything except for a faint bitterness. Nuke felt like he was chewing cardboard. He struggled to force it down his throat, but he managed. He then took another bite, then another, then another. Before he knew it, he’d eaten all of his feed. He looked down at the empty bowl, proud of himself. He licked his chops, desperate for water. About half an hour later, workers came in, took the feed bowls, and replaced them with water bowls. Nuke immediately dunked his whole face into it, lapping furiously to get as much water into his body as possible. It wasn’t the best-tasting water, but Nuke would take anything now. In a span of thirty seconds he’d drank every single drop of the precious liquid. Nuke let out a heavy breath. He felt like he was going to vomit from drinking so fast, but then he told his stomach to suck it up and move on. His stomach slightly disagreed and let out an acidic belch, but other than that everything was okay. Nuke saw a worker stroll by and he nudged his bowl to the edge of his tray, signaling to the man that he was done with everything. The worker didn’t even acknowledge him as he walked into the stall opposite of Nuke’s. The green pony saw a very depressed mare in there. She had a beautiful magenta coat with a dark, rose-colored mane. She had pink-violent eyes that were dimmed with sadness and anxiety. Nuke could tell she’d been here a long time. The mare stared up at the worker, cowering in fear. Nuke suddenly realized it was Berry Punch, a pony from Ponyville. He watched as the worker lifted his hand to slap her across the muzzle. It angered Nuke that he was forced to watch the whole thing and he couldn’t buck or hurt the man. So he tried an alternative. “HEY!!” he shouted threateningly. The man turned his head and saw Nuke growling. “Don’t you lay a FINGER on her!!” snarled the mutant pony, his pupils reduced to slits. “What are you gonna do about it, Baldy?” hissed the worker. “SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARD!!” roared Nuke. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I GOT THIS WAY!!!” “Oh yeah? How?” “I WAS IN A NUCLEAR BOMB EXPLOSION!!!” For once the man actually seemed stunned. He eyed Nuke in a way that said, “You win this round.” He then stormed off, muttering swears. Berry was left staring at Nuke, tears brimming in her eyes. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” she cried. “Don’t mention it.” said the green equine. He watched silently as Berry continued crying out thanks and praise. When she finally came to a stop, Nuke grinned at her. Berry grinned back. “My name’s Berry Punch.” she said. “My name’s Nuke.” replied Nuke. “I like you, Nuke.” said Berry, blushing lightly. “I wish we could stay like this longer, but I don’t have much time.” “What? Wh-Why?” stammered the mutant pony, worry visible in his eyes. “They’re gonna take me away tomorrow. I overheard two workers talking about it. They say I’m gonna be made into a shawl.” sighed Berry, hanging her head in sadness. Nuke looked sympathetically at her, his ears pressed against his head. “Well, at...at least you don’t have to suffer here anymore.” he whispered. “Yeah, I know, but still.” replied Berry softly. “I’ve made a couple friends here. I’m gonna miss them.” Nuke looked down. “I...I’m so sorry...” he whimpered. Berry grinned at him warmly, tears falling from her eyes. “I’m gonna miss you, Nuke.” she said. “I’m gonna miss you, too, Berry.” replied Nuke. They stared at each other for a while until Berry spoke up. “Well, it...it was nice talking to you, Nuke.” “You too, Berry.” Both ponies then looked away. Nuke watched as workers then took away the water bowls and the trays. He hung his head and closed his eyes, sighing. Humans sucked. Everything they did sucked. Princess Celestia should have never allowed the ponies to travel through the portal. She should have told them it was not safe and ordered them to stay in Equestria. But then again, how was she supposed to know that the ponies were going to get mutilated in a giant factory? Nuke shook his head to clear his thoughts, his tagged ear twitching. The wound there was still incredibly itchy, but he forced himself not to focus on it. He instead looked around at all the other equines, most of which were either rocking from side to side, crying, sleeping, or getting beat up by workers. Some ponies actually looked crazy. They laughed, banged their sides against their stalls, passed out constantly, and twitched uncontrollably. Nuke gasped as he realized they had been driven to insanity by how bored they were. Nuke did NOT want to end up like that. He tried to think of something to do. He couldn’t just stand there. So, he did the only thing he could do. He sang. “Hush now, quiet now,” Berry looked up. “It’s time to lay your sleepy head,” The magenta mare gasped, eyes wide. “Hush now, quiet now,” Berry sang along. “It’s time to go to bed...” Nuke and Berry both started singing. “Drift, drift, off to sleep, exciting day behind you. Drift, drift, off to sleep, and let the joys of dreams find you...” They kept repeating that song, over and over, until they found themselves starting to drift off themselves. They looked around and saw that they had actually put some others to sleep. The green mutant felt his eyelids drooping. He was about to say something to Berry when he saw she was completely limp, snoring softly. Nuke smiled. He shuffled his hooves into a somewhat comfortable position, since he couldn’t lie down, and hung his head, closing his eyes. That’s when he gasped, his eyes snapping back open. There was a certain feeling in his stomach and lower hips, and he shuffled frantically. Where the hell was the bathroom?! Was he supposed to just go where he was standing? The pony to his left looked at him. “I’m sorry, bro.” he said. “In this place, you crap where you stand.” Nuke sighed, blushing lightly. “So...I have to take a shit in front of everypony?” he whispered. The other equine nodded. The green pony sighed again. He squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and let it out. After the deed was done, he slowly opened his eyes, embarrassment clearly visible on his face. He scraped his hooves on the floor, trying to get the waste off of them. He then cringed and shivered. The other pony gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s okay. We all do it here.” he stated. Nuke turned his head to look at him. His jaw nearly hit the floor. The other pony was bald, just like him. He had slit pupils, just like him. He had fangs, JUST. LIKE. HIM. “Heh, I get those expressions a lot.” he said. “But I’ve never seen another pony like me in this place.” Nuke was in too much shock to form a word. “You see, there was this nuclear bomb explosion, and the radiation spread for miles. I, unfortunately, got mutated, just like you. Were you there when it happened?” asked the equine. Nuke cleaned his chops and cleared his throat. “I-I...I...was...in that explosion...” he stuttered. “It...n-nearly killed me and...took both my p-p-parents. I’m lucky m-my siblings didn’t g-get mutated like u-us.” “WOW. The explosion happened when you were on the site?” asked the other mutant. “Yeah; my parents and I didn’t know it was a bomb site until we all saw this bright light, and then a huge exploding sound, and then I was knocked out and I woke up like this.” explained Nuke. “I looked to my left and saw my parent’s skeletons. They were completely cleaned of flesh and any evidence of tissue.” “Wow, I’m sorry to hear that.” replied the other pony. “My family got mutated, also. They’re all just like us.” “R-Really? I thought...I was the only one...” “No, of course not! Radiation doesn’t affect just ONE pony! It goes around for miles.” “So...there are more like me?” “Yes, of course!” Nuke felt a huge bout of relief sweep over him. He’d always felt like the odd one out, with no mane or tail. He giggled a little. Then he laughed. Before he knew it, both of them were laughing uncontrollably, tears forming in their eyes. After their moments of hysteria were finally over, Nuke shook his head to get the tears out of his eyes and said, “My name’s Nuke. What’s yours?” “Nuke? That’s pretty funny, because my name is Nuke, too!” cried the other mutant. Nuke’s jaw fell open. “WHAT?!” he screamed. “My name was originally Luke, but after I got mutated my family renamed me Nuke.” explained the other Nuke. “Wow...I was named Nuke at birth. I was gonna be named Duke, but my dad said Nuke would sound cooler.” replied Nuke. “Well, this is an interesting conversation.” said the other Nuke. Nuke saw that the other mutant was red. “How about this? To get rid of confusion, can I call you Red Nuke?” he asked. “I prefer Blood Nuke.” answered the other Nuke, grinning broadly. Nuke grinned back. “Can I call you Toxic Nuke?” asked Blood. “One hell of a name, but go ahead!” exclaimed Nuke. “I SHALL CALL THIS NEWFOUND FRIENDSHIP...TOXIC BLOOD!!” shrieked Blood at the top of his lungs. That made him and Nuke burst out laughing all over again. Author's Note I know things are going a little fast, but gimme a break, okay?
Chapter 1“NUKE!” “Nuuuuuke!” “NUUUUKKEEEE!!!!!” Nuke rolled his eyes. “WHAT?” he called. “COME HERE!!” replied his siblings. The mutant pony trotted into the bedroom, where Skullsmasher, Swordfighter, and Bladeslasher were gathered around one of the cave’s few windows. “What do you want?” sighed Nuke. “Come look at this!” shouted Swordfighter, her voice cracking in horror. Nuke could sense something was wrong from the tone of her voice. He pushed his way through the trio to look outside. His pupils were reduced to thin slits as terror surged through his veins. There, on the grass outside, was a unicorn. She was a beautiful sky blue with gorgeous golden eyes, and her cherry-red mane gave off a healthy glow. While these things made her look good, she certainly wasn’t feeling good. She was caught between two factory workers with long metal pincers used to contain zoo animals. The unicorn’s horn was trapped in one pincer, stopping her from using any kind of magic. She screamed for help, sobbing hysterically in horror as she writhed and struggled. Suddenly, the other pincer opened wide and closed around her neck, making her cough and choke. The factory workers dragged her away out of sight. The Shadow Ponies strained to look to the left. There was a factory truck parked on the grass, and the two workers threw the pony in there, slammed the metal doors shut, and locked them with a special, magic-proof lock. They then climbed into the truck and started the engine. Even above the roar of the engine, the four siblings could still hear the unicorn’s desperate cries for help. The truck’s wheels moved, and the big, bulky vehicle drove out of sight. The Shadow Ponies darted away from the window, gasping with horror. “O-Oh...m-m-my...G-G-God...” stuttered Bladeslasher, eyes wide with fright. “W-WHY...D-D-DID...YOU...W-WANT...TO...SH-SH-SHOW...ME...TH-THAT?” stammered Nuke, his heart pounding. “We...thought...y-you...would be...i-i-interested!” answered Skullsmasher. “WELL I WASN’T!” cried the green pony. “SORRY!” replied the long-maned Pegasus. “We thought you would go out there and do a Nuclear Blast or something!” Nuke choked on his spit. “WH-WHAT?!” he screamed. “Are you out of your goddamn MIND?! I ain’t doing no Nuclear Blast! Do you know how much energy that takes?!” The other siblings shrank back. “S-Sorry...” whimpered Swordfighter. Nuke sighed, one ear twitching. His shook his fur out and trotted away. “Well, whatever. Who wants lunch?” “No thanks.” “Not hungry.” “I think I just lost my appetite.” Nuke was about to open the fridge when a sudden feeling washed over him. His stomach now didn’t feel like holding any food of any kind. He slowly backed away from the fridge. “Know what? Me too.” he called. He walked back into the bedroom and sat down on his bed. His mind was racing. A few months ago, a company built a huge fur factory that captured ponies and used their pelts to make clothes for humans. Many humans had protested against it, lining the streets and shouting, signs and posters gripped in their hands. The Congress had tried to shut down the factory, but once they saw how much money it was raking in and the amount it would give to the government each year, they’d hastily agreed to let the ponies be torn to shreds without a second thought. Since the Congress was much more powerful than the protesters, the attempt to close the factory down was futile. Knowing that they had been defeated, the protesters had solemnly ended their reign and let the factory continue working. Nuke thought it was unbelievable how quickly the protesters had given up. He sighed and curled up on his bed. “Nuke?” Bladeslasher was standing at his side. “Yeah?” asked Nuke. “I’m scared...” Bladeslasher’s ears pressed flat against his head and his wings clasped tightly to his sides. His whole body was shaking. “Wh-What do they do to the ponies th-the people catch?” he stuttered. Nuke sat up. He then saw that his younger brother had tears trickling from his eyes. The mutant pony pulled Bladeslasher into a hug. “I...d-don’t w-w-want to b-be...c-c-captured...!” sobbed Bladeslasher. Nuke let out a breath. “I’m scared, too. I’m...I’m more scared than you.” Author's Note Sorry it's short. It's my first fanfic, okay?
Chapter 2“NUUUUKKEEE!!!!” Nuke jumped awake. He blinked, then warily looked at the clock. It was 3 AM. “NUKE!!” Nuke growled in annoyance and hissed, “What?” “HELP!! HELP!! PLEASE, HELP!!!” Nuke leaped out of bed and raced into the living room. He almost collapsed from the sight laid out before him. The room was in ruins: chunks of the cave walls had crumbled onto the floor, pictures and other delicate items were strewn about, smashed to smithereens, and there were his siblings, caught in pincers and surrounded by six factory workers. “OH NO YOU DON’T!!” roared Nuke, fire blazing in his blood-red eyes. He whipped around and bucked a worker hard, sending him straight to the floor and knocking him out as his head crashed painfully into the rock. The other workers swore at Nuke, trying to grab him by a leg or ear. He bucked another worker, sending her tumbling to the floor, also. Swordfighter was now free and she wriggled out of the conflict, darting into the kitchen, screaming and crying in horror. The mutant pony growled angrily at another worker, stomping his hoof on the floor. Suddenly, Skullsmasher was freed and she ran away into the kitchen to join Swordfighter. Nuke started to wonder why Skullsmasher had been freed, but his thoughts were soon answered by the coldness of metal clasping around his neck. “HEY!!” he screamed, thrashing wildly. Bladeslasher sobbed and writhed pathetically, tears drenching his fur. Nuke managed to kick out one last time and hit a worker right in the crotch. The worker dropped the pincer and fell to the floor, groaning in agony as Bladeslasher also raced into the kitchen. “AHAHAHA! Your balls are no match for my mutated hooves!!” laughed Nuke. He gripped at the pincer around his neck and pulled as hard as he could, still struggling to get free. The pincer was starting to open a little when another one clamped around his left hind leg. “HEY!! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!!” he screeched, kicking as violently as possible. The five workers were now all on their feet again and had Nuke trapped and virtually defenseless. Another pincer clasped around his midsection, and the green pony screamed in rage. “LET ME GO, YOU WORTHLESS MAGGOTS!!!” he shrieked, still trying to thrash. The workers pushed him to the floor, keeping him still. He writhed and squirmed, screeching swears at the workers as one clasped a pincer around his other hind leg and the other worker clamped around his right foreleg. They then lifted him off the floor, heaving with the effort. Nuke was still screaming in fury, his fangs dripping with saliva. “LET!! ME!! GO!!!!!!” he roared at the top of his lungs. “Hey, shouldn’t we get Jeff?” asked one worker to another. “We’ll get him after we load this one up.” answered the other worker. The five humans carried the hollering equine outside and toward a factory truck. The second he saw the huge vehicle, Nuke’s crazy antics came to a grinding halt. His rage was now being replaced with a special fear. The fear that you get only when you know you’re in serious, death-defying trouble. “Thank God, he stopped screaming.” breathed one worker. Nuke couldn’t move. His whole body tensed up, leaving him paralyzed with fear. Another worker opened the truck doors, revealing two other ponies sitting on the vehicle floor. Nuke was tossed into the truck, and before he could even take a breath, the doors were slammed shut and locked. He just laid there on the floor, his eyes wide and his body shaking. One of the ponies, a graceful, slender Pegasus, carefully trotted up to him and poked his side. “H-Hello?” she squeaked. Nuke jumped and scrambled to his hooves, panting heavily. “I gotta get outta here, I gotta get outta here,” he muttered. “Where’s out?!” He looked around frantically, and finally spotted the doors. He body-slammed them, only earning him a nice bruise on his side. He tried pounding his hooves on the doors, but that didn’t work, either. He then turned around and bucked them as hard as he could, but it was useless. He was locked in, and there was no way out. He sighed and slumped back to the floor, tears welling up in his eyes. The Pegasus leaned down and nuzzled his ear. “There’s no way out, sweetie,” she whispered. “But it’s gonna be okay, alright?” Nuke merely nodded, wiping his eyes with his bleeding hooves. “I have three younger siblings back home.” he whimpered. “I woke up when they were calling me for help, and after I managed to free them all, I got captured...” The two ponies gasped. “Hey,” called the other pony. Nuke looked to his left and saw a cyan Pegasus with a beautiful rainbow-colored mane. “You’re the bravest pony I’ve ever known.” said the Pegasus. Nuke squinted at her. “Are...are you Rainbow Dash?” he whispered. “The one and only.” answered the cyan pony, winking at him. “How...how did you get caught? I mean, you’re so fast and agile!” cried Nuke. “They tased me.” answered Dash simply, picking at her teeth. “Oh, I...I’m so sorry...” whimpered the mutant equine. “It’s alright,” said Dash, grinning slightly at him. “I knew this day was gonna come eventually; might as well just accept it and move on.” “But what about your friends? Your family? What about your biggest fan, Scoota-something?” “They’ll eventually move on without me; it’s okay, alright? Chill out.” Nuke dipped his head down in defeat. He looked up at the other Pegasus who was still standing beside him. She was a light yellow and had a gorgeous pink, flowing mane. Nuke recognized this one immediately. “And...and you’re Fluttershy, right?” he asked. Fluttershy simply nodded. “Wow...I can’t believe I’m with two of the Elements of Harmony!” cried Nuke, sitting up. “I mean, this is amazing!” Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash grinned broadly at him. Suddenly, there was a loud thump coming from the truck, and then it rocked a little, the doors slammed shut, and the engine roared to life. “Well...” Fluttershy gulped. “Here we go...” Dash sighed, looking up at the ceiling as the truck began to move. Nuke hung his head, tears brimming in his eyes again. He would never see Skullsmasher, Swordfighter, or Bladeslasher ever again. “Hey, whatever-your-name-is,” called Dash. Nuke looked up at her. “If you don’t mind me asking, what...uh...exactly happened to you?” asked Dash carefully. “Oh, when I was a colt, I was walking with my parents and we didn’t know we were in a nuclear bomb testing site, and the bomb went off and it killed both of my parents and left me mutated like this.” explained the mutant pony softly. Dash and Fluttershy gasped. “Oh...I’m so sorry...” whispered Dash. Both Pegasi trotted over to him and engulfed him in a hug. Nuke gladly returned the hug. They stayed like that for about a minute or two before they separated. “My name is Nuke.” said Nuke. “Nuke? Cool name, bro.” replied Dash. “Oh, I like that name...although, it scares me a bit...” whispered Fluttershy. Nopony spoke for the rest of the trip. They sat there, on the floor, for two, maybe three hours. Nuke and Fluttershy had fallen asleep and Dash was on the verge of dozing off when the truck suddenly stopped. Dash’s mind kicked into full throttle and she got to her hooves, sensing a difference in the air. She smelled something very different than what she was used to. She smelled...fear, and death, and blood, and smoke. She winced at the very stench of it and backed into the wall, her ears pressed flat against her head. Suddenly, there was a faint click, and the double-doors swung open. Dash squinted at the new light, shielding her eyes. Fluttershy and Nuke were both awoken by the sound of the doors and scrambled to their hooves the moment they saw two factory workers standing at the foot of the truck, staring at them. “They look good.” stated one worker. “I agree.” replied the other. “Alright, time to get these worthless things outta here.” The other worker reached in and grabbed Fluttershy. The yellow Pegasus screamed and immediately burst into tears, wailing in horror. “FLUTTERSHY!!” cried Dash, racing for her sobbing friend. Fluttershy was stuffed into a narrow and very tight cage. She whined in distress and struggled futilely. Dash growled and leaped at the workers, only to be caught in mid-air and quickly pushed into the cage, also. Nuke backed away as far as possible, his eyes wide with terror as adrenaline pulsed through his veins. “Come on, you weird-lookin’ cow!” hissed the worker, reaching and straining to grab Nuke. The green pony gasped. “HEY!” he roared with such volume that the worker jumped and pulled away. “NOBODY MAKES FUN OF HOW I LOOK!!” Nuke found he’d regained some of his fury and he stood defiantly. “I don’t give a damn about how you feel! Now get your ass over here before I climb in there and choke you to death!!” snarled the man. The mutant equine stared hard at the two workers. They were obviously much stronger than him, and he saw, in their pockets, very scary-looking tasers. There was no use in resisting anymore. Sighing, Nuke slowly walked over to the workers. One man gripped him tightly and stuffed him into the cage, then locked it and slammed the truck doors shut. Nuke coughed. The cage was so tight that it was hard to even breathe, let alone move around. The workers talked for a few more minutes, then one hopped into the vehicle and drove away. The remaining worker looked down into the cage and smirked. “You three are gonna have a lot of fun here.”
Chapter 3The worker grabbed the cage and heaved it onto his shoulder, making all three ponies groan in pain. The man walked out of the parking garage, the equines gasping in horror at the sight of other ponies being thrown into cages. The minute the worker left the garage, the trio of ponies stared, wide-eyed, at the Factory. A huge, blood-stained building sat there, waiting for hundreds, maybe even thousands of workers to come through its doors, holding helpless victims. On top of the building were four smokestacks, each one belching thick, choking smoke. Gigantic pipes led all around the Factory, carrying who-knows-what down into the ground. But, the most horrifying thing was...the hundreds of mutilated equine bodies strewn about. It seemed as if they were thrown out after they had their pelts removed, left to rot and be picked apart by the tons of crows circling the property. The bodies lay motionless, twisted and mangled to the point where they were unidentifiable. They were literally swimming in pools of blood and body fluids, their own gore surrounding them. Fluttershy immediately passed out from the sight. Dash squeezed her eyes shut, blinking back her tears. Nuke, however, didn’t seem to be all that disgusted. He was mostly evil, after all, and had seen it all: guts, blood, corpses; you name it, he’s seen it. The worker entered the building, casually stepping through the automatic doors and into the Factory. Dash and Nuke screamed. The Factory was GIGANTIC. Machines of all shapes and sizes were everywhere, and this was just in one room. The two ponies looked on with horror as they watched numerous equines get thrown onto assembly lines and be carried away into different areas. The worker walked over to the lines and saw that there were three of them, moving at a fairly fast speed. Each one had a sign above it: the first line said “Pegasi,” the second “Unicorns,” and the last “Earth Ponies.” The man unlocked the cage and opened it, then grabbed Fluttershy’s unconscious form and tossed her onto the Pegasi line. “FLUTTERSHY!!” wailed Dash, tears now streaming down her face. The worker then suddenly yanked her out of the cage and threw her onto the same line. Dash struggled to move, but then found that the entire line was coated in an extremely sticky substance that trapped her where she was. Nuke shrieked in terror as the worker pulled him out and tossed him onto the Earth Ponies line. He, too, tried to struggle, but all three lines were covered in the substance. He and Dash looked into each other’s eyes as they neared the separate rooms they were going to. Nuke mouthed the words “Goodbye.” Dash mouthed back “Goodbye, Nuke.” And then, she and Fluttershy disappeared as Nuke entered the Earth Ponies room. He looked around and nearly retched in horror. The room was divided into huge sections that were divided into more rooms. Steam-belching machinery was scattered all over the place. And the ponies... Numerous equines were being held down by machines and having things branded onto their foreheads as they screamed and thrashed in agony. More ponies were locked into shackles as a machine fitted mechanical collars on each of them. Even more ponies were trapped in body braces as they whizzed by a needle that stabbed through their ears and placed a tag on them. Nuke started hyperventilating in panic as tears started sliding down his cheeks. He looked forward at the pony in front of him. He saw she was an orange pony with yellow stripes running down her back. Her spikey mane and tail were colored blood-red and her eyes were a dark, threatening black. Suddenly, her entire body disappeared. Just as Nuke was beginning to question this, he tumbled off the line and into a box of sobbing, squirming equines. Nuke cried out as one pony kicked him in the face and another knocked him to his side. It was complete chaos. Nuke, seeing that it was useless to try and keep his balance, covered his head with his forelegs in an effort to protect his skull. He managed to look up and saw a giant machine with an extendable arm and a large, horrifying claw. It was plucking out the ponies one by one and fitting them into the body braces by the needle. Nuke almost fainted from horror as the claw reached down, heading straight for him. He leaped out of the way, revealing a stallion with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane. He had an hourglass as his Cutie Mark, and Nuke realized he’d put Doctor Whooves right in the machine’s path. Before Whooves could react, the claw clamped around his body and lifted his screaming, writhing form into the air. The mutant pony then watched as Whooves was carried over to the needle line and fitted into a brace. The brace locked shut automatically around him and he could do nothing but sob and squirm as he headed for the sharp instrument that was ready to pierce his flesh. Nuke dipped his head down. Guilt washed over him as he realized he’d made Whooves get picked up instead of himself. Well, it was bound to happen. It could happen to anypony. As Nuke was thinking this, he suddenly felt the coldness of steel clasp around him. “OH SHI---!!” He didn’t get to finish his swear, as he was violently lifted into the air and carried over to the needle line. The green equine screeched in horror as the claw slammed him into the brace and it locked shut around him, trapping his forelegs to his sides. He tried to struggle and slip out of there, but the brace was so tight against him it was hard to breathe. He looked to his right and saw Whooves was next to him, still crying in terror. Nuke could do nothing but cry with him. They were getting closer and closer to the needle by the second. It was long, big, and very, VERY frightening. Nuke didn’t want to look at it, let alone have it jab through his ear. Just then, Whooves let out a piercing cry as blood spurted from his ear and a tag was shot through it. Nuke roared in horror as he was positioned below the needle. Before he could do anything, the instrument jabbed through his flesh and inserted a tag, blood dripping down the side of his head. The mutated equine shrieked in pain. He then continued down the line, and he realized the previous moment was kind of like getting your ears pierced. It was really painful, but then the pain went away for the most part. Except the tag was irritating the wound and made it burn and itch like hell. Suddenly, the brace unlocked and opened, dumping Nuke into another box full of writhing, screaming ponies. Nuke saw another claw above him. It reached down and grabbed a dark pink pony. Her mane was straight and dark, yet she had three balloons as her Cutie Mark. Nuke suddenly realized it was Pinkie Pie. Sweet, bouncy Pinkie Pie, in a factory full of death, blood, and torture, and turned into her opposite: Pinkamena. It was no wonder her mane was straight and her coat was dark. She cried out in horror, flailing in misery, as she was fitted into shackles that held her forelegs above her head. Nuke couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He just wanted to wake up from this nightmare. He wanted to pretend he was dreaming some twisted, horrifying dream. He slumped down on top of an unconscious mare and closed his eyes, trying to block out the screams and cries of others. He could feel the pain as a multitude of hooves stepped on his body. He just wanted to wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up! Sharp fingers wrapped around his body and lifted him into the air, snapping him out of his trance. He screamed in surprise as the claw pushed his hooves into shackles, leaving him hanging with his forelegs held above him. He looked to his right and saw that the others were having mechanized collars put on them. Alright, alright, that’s not painful, Nuke told himself. It’s just a collar. How bad can it be? He watched in sadness as Pinkamena had a collar fitted around her neck. It clicked into place and locked automatically. Nuke was then positioned in front of the machine and had a collar wrapped around his neck, too. He heard the audible click, feeling it tighten a bit as it locked. He was then carried through the line until the shackles suddenly opened, dropping him into yet another box of equines. He sat up on top of a squirming mare and poked his collar. It had three lights on it: one red, one yellow, and one green. The green one was blinking brightly. Nuke stared at the lights in confusion until the claw grasped him in its tight grip. He whined in distress as he was placed on his belly on an assembly line. There was sticky substance on it, also, and kept Nuke from moving. He saw the ponies in front of him were moved under a large machine that had an arm and something red on the end of it. Whenever it touched an equine, the pony would scream in pain. Nuke was beginning to wonder what it was...until he saw steam rising up from the ponies. OH NO, he thought. IT’S A BRAND!!! He could only screech in terror as he slid under the machine, the brand appearing in front of him and aiming for his forehead. It was red-hot and steaming furiously. Since Nuke could read backwards, he saw it had a number and a letter on it: 9A. He guessed that’s what his tag said, also. He sobbed in horror as the brand pulled back a little, preparing to hit. Suddenly, it jabbed forward, pressing hard into his forehead and burning “9A” onto his flesh. Nuke couldn’t take the pain. He roared and struggled as white-hot agony coursed through him, centering on his forehead. The brand pulled away and slipped back into the machine as Nuke was moved forward, shaking and coughing. He felt like he was about to vomit. The line dumped him into another box. This time, the ponies weren’t screaming or squirming. They lay still, shaking and panting. Nuke was thankful for some quiet at last. He lay still in the middle of the box, waiting for the metal claw to grab him. But when he looked up, there was nothing. That’s when he noticed the pile of ponies he was laying on was...sinking. There must be a hole in the bottom of the box, thought Nuke. As he neared the hole, it got harder and harder to breathe as more and more ponies were dropped onto him. Finally, just when he thought he was about to suffocate, he fell through an opening and onto cold, hard steel. He looked around and saw he’d landed in an open-faced box. The ponies in front of him were moving between barriers, keeping them from escaping. A worker grabbed the mutant pony by the neck and threw him into the single-file line of equines, making him stumble and almost fall. He slowly walked as the line advanced forward. He leaned to the left and saw that the ponies were being taken away by a few workers and into a section of the Earth Ponies room. He winced as he watched the workers toughly grab the ponies by their manes, legs, or throats and forcefully drag them away. When he reached his turn he was shivering. A woman grasped him by the neck and dragged him into the section. He saw that the section was divided into 26 rooms, all lettered from A to Z. The worker pulled Nuke into Room A and the green pony saw that it was divided into hundreds of stalls containing crying, whimpering equines. The worker dragged him into stall 9. She then pulled the swinging door closer and Nuke saw that it had a hole for a pony’s head. Without a second thought, she grabbed the back of his head and pushed it through the hole, causing Nuke to cry out in pain. He then felt the coldness of metal clamp around all four of his ankles and he realized he’d been chained to the stall. The woman then closed the door, locking it tightly before running back to the main room. The mutant equine dipped his head down, tears blurring his vision. He was trapped, with no hope of escape or rescue. He was going to be turned into a coat. A special-edition, radioactive coat. He was never going to see his siblings ever again. He was never going to see his friends ever again. Nuke closed his eyes, a single tear dripping onto the concrete floor. Before he knew it, sleep overtook his brain.
Chapter 4Nuke awoke to a sudden jolt. He jumped, yelping in surprise, then saw that there was a wooden tray beneath his muzzle that had a bowl of horse feed. Nuke gagged in disgust, but then figured it was better than nothing. He looked on the edges of the tray and saw metal connectors clasped to the bottom edge of the door, holding the tray in place. He looked around and saw that all the other ponies had feeding trays, too. Nuke figured that there was probably a feeding time in the Factory. He watched as the ponies forced themselves to eat the feed, gagging all the while. Nuke looked down at his untouched bowl. He took a deep breath, moistened his chops, and took a bite of feed. It was hard and crunchy, and really didn’t taste like anything except for a faint bitterness. Nuke felt like he was chewing cardboard. He struggled to force it down his throat, but he managed. He then took another bite, then another, then another. Before he knew it, he’d eaten all of his feed. He looked down at the empty bowl, proud of himself. He licked his chops, desperate for water. About half an hour later, workers came in, took the feed bowls, and replaced them with water bowls. Nuke immediately dunked his whole face into it, lapping furiously to get as much water into his body as possible. It wasn’t the best-tasting water, but Nuke would take anything now. In a span of thirty seconds he’d drank every single drop of the precious liquid. Nuke let out a heavy breath. He felt like he was going to vomit from drinking so fast, but then he told his stomach to suck it up and move on. His stomach slightly disagreed and let out an acidic belch, but other than that everything was okay. Nuke saw a worker stroll by and he nudged his bowl to the edge of his tray, signaling to the man that he was done with everything. The worker didn’t even acknowledge him as he walked into the stall opposite of Nuke’s. The green pony saw a very depressed mare in there. She had a beautiful magenta coat with a dark, rose-colored mane. She had pink-violent eyes that were dimmed with sadness and anxiety. Nuke could tell she’d been here a long time. The mare stared up at the worker, cowering in fear. Nuke suddenly realized it was Berry Punch, a pony from Ponyville. He watched as the worker lifted his hand to slap her across the muzzle. It angered Nuke that he was forced to watch the whole thing and he couldn’t buck or hurt the man. So he tried an alternative. “HEY!!” he shouted threateningly. The man turned his head and saw Nuke growling. “Don’t you lay a FINGER on her!!” snarled the mutant pony, his pupils reduced to slits. “What are you gonna do about it, Baldy?” hissed the worker. “SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU WORTHLESS BASTARD!!” roared Nuke. “YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I GOT THIS WAY!!!” “Oh yeah? How?” “I WAS IN A NUCLEAR BOMB EXPLOSION!!!” For once the man actually seemed stunned. He eyed Nuke in a way that said, “You win this round.” He then stormed off, muttering swears. Berry was left staring at Nuke, tears brimming in her eyes. “Oh, thank you! Thank you!” she cried. “Don’t mention it.” said the green equine. He watched silently as Berry continued crying out thanks and praise. When she finally came to a stop, Nuke grinned at her. Berry grinned back. “My name’s Berry Punch.” she said. “My name’s Nuke.” replied Nuke. “I like you, Nuke.” said Berry, blushing lightly. “I wish we could stay like this longer, but I don’t have much time.” “What? Wh-Why?” stammered the mutant pony, worry visible in his eyes. “They’re gonna take me away tomorrow. I overheard two workers talking about it. They say I’m gonna be made into a shawl.” sighed Berry, hanging her head in sadness. Nuke looked sympathetically at her, his ears pressed against his head. “Well, at...at least you don’t have to suffer here anymore.” he whispered. “Yeah, I know, but still.” replied Berry softly. “I’ve made a couple friends here. I’m gonna miss them.” Nuke looked down. “I...I’m so sorry...” he whimpered. Berry grinned at him warmly, tears falling from her eyes. “I’m gonna miss you, Nuke.” she said. “I’m gonna miss you, too, Berry.” replied Nuke. They stared at each other for a while until Berry spoke up. “Well, it...it was nice talking to you, Nuke.” “You too, Berry.” Both ponies then looked away. Nuke watched as workers then took away the water bowls and the trays. He hung his head and closed his eyes, sighing. Humans sucked. Everything they did sucked. Princess Celestia should have never allowed the ponies to travel through the portal. She should have told them it was not safe and ordered them to stay in Equestria. But then again, how was she supposed to know that the ponies were going to get mutilated in a giant factory? Nuke shook his head to clear his thoughts, his tagged ear twitching. The wound there was still incredibly itchy, but he forced himself not to focus on it. He instead looked around at all the other equines, most of which were either rocking from side to side, crying, sleeping, or getting beat up by workers. Some ponies actually looked crazy. They laughed, banged their sides against their stalls, passed out constantly, and twitched uncontrollably. Nuke gasped as he realized they had been driven to insanity by how bored they were. Nuke did NOT want to end up like that. He tried to think of something to do. He couldn’t just stand there. So, he did the only thing he could do. He sang. “Hush now, quiet now,” Berry looked up. “It’s time to lay your sleepy head,” The magenta mare gasped, eyes wide. “Hush now, quiet now,” Berry sang along. “It’s time to go to bed...” Nuke and Berry both started singing. “Drift, drift, off to sleep, exciting day behind you. Drift, drift, off to sleep, and let the joys of dreams find you...” They kept repeating that song, over and over, until they found themselves starting to drift off themselves. They looked around and saw that they had actually put some others to sleep. The green mutant felt his eyelids drooping. He was about to say something to Berry when he saw she was completely limp, snoring softly. Nuke smiled. He shuffled his hooves into a somewhat comfortable position, since he couldn’t lie down, and hung his head, closing his eyes. That’s when he gasped, his eyes snapping back open. There was a certain feeling in his stomach and lower hips, and he shuffled frantically. Where the hell was the bathroom?! Was he supposed to just go where he was standing? The pony to his left looked at him. “I’m sorry, bro.” he said. “In this place, you crap where you stand.” Nuke sighed, blushing lightly. “So...I have to take a shit in front of everypony?” he whispered. The other equine nodded. The green pony sighed again. He squeezed his eyes shut, held his breath, and let it out. After the deed was done, he slowly opened his eyes, embarrassment clearly visible on his face. He scraped his hooves on the floor, trying to get the waste off of them. He then cringed and shivered. The other pony gave him a sympathetic look. “It’s okay. We all do it here.” he stated. Nuke turned his head to look at him. His jaw nearly hit the floor. The other pony was bald, just like him. He had slit pupils, just like him. He had fangs, JUST. LIKE. HIM. “Heh, I get those expressions a lot.” he said. “But I’ve never seen another pony like me in this place.” Nuke was in too much shock to form a word. “You see, there was this nuclear bomb explosion, and the radiation spread for miles. I, unfortunately, got mutated, just like you. Were you there when it happened?” asked the equine. Nuke cleaned his chops and cleared his throat. “I-I...I...was...in that explosion...” he stuttered. “It...n-nearly killed me and...took both my p-p-parents. I’m lucky m-my siblings didn’t g-get mutated like u-us.” “WOW. The explosion happened when you were on the site?” asked the other mutant. “Yeah; my parents and I didn’t know it was a bomb site until we all saw this bright light, and then a huge exploding sound, and then I was knocked out and I woke up like this.” explained Nuke. “I looked to my left and saw my parent’s skeletons. They were completely cleaned of flesh and any evidence of tissue.” “Wow, I’m sorry to hear that.” replied the other pony. “My family got mutated, also. They’re all just like us.” “R-Really? I thought...I was the only one...” “No, of course not! Radiation doesn’t affect just ONE pony! It goes around for miles.” “So...there are more like me?” “Yes, of course!” Nuke felt a huge bout of relief sweep over him. He’d always felt like the odd one out, with no mane or tail. He giggled a little. Then he laughed. Before he knew it, both of them were laughing uncontrollably, tears forming in their eyes. After their moments of hysteria were finally over, Nuke shook his head to get the tears out of his eyes and said, “My name’s Nuke. What’s yours?” “Nuke? That’s pretty funny, because my name is Nuke, too!” cried the other mutant. Nuke’s jaw fell open. “WHAT?!” he screamed. “My name was originally Luke, but after I got mutated my family renamed me Nuke.” explained the other Nuke. “Wow...I was named Nuke at birth. I was gonna be named Duke, but my dad said Nuke would sound cooler.” replied Nuke. “Well, this is an interesting conversation.” said the other Nuke. Nuke saw that the other mutant was red. “How about this? To get rid of confusion, can I call you Red Nuke?” he asked. “I prefer Blood Nuke.” answered the other Nuke, grinning broadly. Nuke grinned back. “Can I call you Toxic Nuke?” asked Blood. “One hell of a name, but go ahead!” exclaimed Nuke. “I SHALL CALL THIS NEWFOUND FRIENDSHIP...TOXIC BLOOD!!” shrieked Blood at the top of his lungs. That made him and Nuke burst out laughing all over again. Author's Note I know things are going a little fast, but gimme a break, okay?
