Subject Delta - Rapturous for Equestria

by TheMightyT

Chapters

Escape... (Chapter 1)
... to Equestria (Chapter 2)
Big Daddy on the Move (Chapter 3)
Pairbond (Chapter 4)
Last Sound from the Lighthouse (Chapter 6)
Sharp Fangs Of The Everfree Forest (Chapter 7)
The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend (Chapter 8)
The Path to Progress (Chapter 9)
Return (Chapter 10)
Protecting His Charge (Chapter 5)

Escape... (Chapter 1)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

-\Edited by Reiver/-

Chapter 1: Escape…

“Love… love is just a chemical, no matter the origin. We give it a meaning by choice.”
-Eleanor Lamb
***

He needed to defend her, his Daughter. It’s was the last stand, and after that they were going to be free. Leaving Rapture, it was deemed impossible, but it was anything but that. He thought about Subject Omega; no, he thought about the man he once knew as Augustus Sinclair, the man who gave him a way out. Augustus’ last words were words of thanks, before giving him the key he needed to finally leave Persephone, to leave Rapture. Augustus’ death was necessary in many ways, but Delta had hoped he didn’t have to kill the man who had helped him along his journey. But he would not let Augustus’ death be in vain. They were going to escape this madhouse...

Augustus Sinclair may have been the favorite of Andrew Ryan, as they were both shrewd businessmen, but Sinclair was not stupid. He always had a plan B for everything he had done in his life, evidenced by the escape pod he had placed in Persephone. Like Augustus once had said: “Technically, Utopia shouldn’t have much use for a detention facility…”, but if Andrew Ryan thought he needed a prison in his Utopia, then Sinclair would built one... for the right price, of course. Augustus was a man of hollow morals, the only reason he came to Rapture was one of monetary gain. But, even a man without any kind a morals or ethics can become an ally, so long as he regains his investment in the end. Augustus Sinclair would not escape his own prison, but at least the one he helped get this far would have a chance.

Eleanor just needed more time. The words of Sofia Lamb, Eleanor's mother, resonated through the room: “You would rip my only daughter from her home and family and feed her to a world without hope. Though Utopia may die with her, I would sooner see us fall. Goodbye, Eleanor. Mother will be waiting for you.”

Subject Delta didn’t have to much time to ponder upon the words of Sofia Lamb, the voice of his daughter stopping his thoughts: “Here they come, Father! Hold them off until I can bring it to a boil!” It seemed the fighting wasn’t done yet. Just some more time, that was all they needed.

Death was waiting on his doorstep, already raising his scythe in the air. He couldn’t go much farther, everything was becoming a burden too much to carry. But he had done it, the last of Sofia’s Family laid dead, their blood spilled on the floor of the once beautiful city. Eleanor called out to him: “I’ve done it, Father! The ballast water is gone! Release the docking mechanism!” His job was never truly done. Some more members of the Family jumped down, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He didn’t care anymore, making quick work of the Splicers with his drill and plasmids. Nothing could stop him. Not now.

The screeching sound of the locking mechanisms brought a feeling of relief. They were going to make it. “The elevator to the lifeboat is flooded, Father! We have to equalize the pressure in there or the door won’t open!”, Eleanor yelled out to him, “Destroy those glass tubes to flood the room!”

Destruction was all Delta had know of late, and without thinking he destroyed the glass tubes overhead. The familiar feeling of the water pressure against his suit told him he could stop shooting, his vision being blurred by the murky water. He dropped his Rivet Gun, he would not need it where they were going. “We… we’ve done it, Father. We’re launching! Get to the elevator!”, Eleanor said. He moved through the water, to his Daughter. They were leaving…

The elevator was going up. His Daughter was standing next to him, in the Big Sister suit he got for her. He wanted to hug her, but before he could do anything the elevator shook violently, bringing him to his knees. His body was giving up, the Pairbond broken and the his injuries from the fight before catching up with him. A muffled voice shook him out of his thoughts, hands helping him on his feet: “The bombs, Father! We’re falling! Run!” And with those words the elevator door opened, and they ran. His Daughter was faster than him, and rounding the corner of the hallway leading to the escape pod he saw her… stopping. Her way was blocked by a pile of bombs, and as she turned around, looking at him and reaching her hand out to him, the bombs exploded. The last thing he saw was the bombs going off, his Daughter and a purple flash. And then darkness devoured him.

***
“The Rapture dream is over…”
***

“Come on, Twilight, you can do this,” said the purple and green scaled, dragon-like creature to the purple mare.

“Long distance teleportation is not an easy feat, Spike,” said Twilight to her enthusiastic assistant.

She was reading a scroll, a check list of sorts, double checking everything she needed to do to make this work.

“You’ve been preparing for this for weeks, reading every book you could find about teleportation. Princess Celestia herself gave you advice on how to do this!”, said Spike, who saw that the mare was beyond being nervous.

But she was always like this, especially when learning a new feat of magic. Although, technically speaking it wasn’t a new feat of magic, as Twilight already had mastered teleportation some time ago. But long distance teleportation was known to be incredibly difficult, as the only ones who were able to pull of this feat were the Alicorn Sisters themselves. Even though Twilight was very powerful, as magic was her Element, she kept on doubting herself.

“This isn’t something you can learn out of a book, Spike,” Twilight said, not even looking up from the scroll she was levitating in front of her, “Teleportation isn’t hard for short distances, however how longer the distance, how more difficult it gets. It needs more focus and precision to attempt such a thing.”

Spike decided to stop trying to cheer her up, there was no use. He actually didn’t really knew why Twilight so desperately wanted to do this. But she had her reasons for it, he was sure of it.

From Canterlot to Ponyville, it was the perfect trajectory to try. No to far, and not to close. Now she just needed to focus. Everything was triple checked: Spike was standing far enough away from her so she didn’t accidentally teleport him with her, her friends were waiting for her at Applejack’s farm –there was a nice pasture there she could aim for- and she was prepared. Nothing could go wrong now, and then she could now finally know if she was really proficient in every kind of magic. Yes, she could teleport short distances fine, but long distance teleportation was one of the things nopony was capable of, except Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of course.

Twilight closed her eyes, focusing her magic as she pictured her target, the pasture behind Applejack’s barn. As her horn began to shine a bright purple, she could feel the grass of the pasture below her feet - despite she was standing on a rock in one of the gardens of Canterlot Castle. She could smell apples, she could hear the wind blow through the apple trees, moving the grass slightly as it danced in front of her. Spike could see the sweat beadles rolling of her forehead, as she was focusing her magic. And suddenly, Twilight released her magic causing her to vanish. Spike closed his eyes to shield them from the bright purple light, when he opened them again Twilight was gone.

“She did it… she did it,” Spike yelled out to no one in particular. He quickly ran to the barracks, where Princess Celestia had provided him with a chariot to Ponyville. He ran up and jumped on the chariot, surprising the two Pegasi guards in front of it, and they quickly took off to Ponyville. Spike was so thrilled that Twilight had done it, that he had to stop himself from yelling at the guards to hurry up. But there was no need for that, as Twilight would already be back at the library by the time he got there. He still couldn’t believe that she did it! But little did Spike know, as the chariot soared through the darkening sky, that Twilight had done much more than just teleport…

***
“… and in waking, I’m alone.”
***

Author's Note: Did Twilight mess up her teleportation? Oh, who knows ... oh, yes of course, I know. Well, you guys just have to find that out in the next chapter...

Some random trivia about this chapter:

*Original idea for Chapter 1 made into three separate chapters.
*During writing the official soundtrack for Bioshock 2 was used. To be more specific: Sounds from the Lighthouse; name of the song used: 'Pairbond'.
*Three bathroom breaks were taking during the writing part of this chapter, another one during the posting part.
*Approximately 1 hour to write it. 2 additional hours were needed for the short rewrite, splicing Chapter 1 into three separate chapters, editing and coming up with the name for this chapter.
*You receive the right to ask for a spoiler for Chapter 2 when you read all of this.

... to Equestria (Chapter 2)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

-\Edited by Reiver/-

Chapter 2: … to Equestria

“For every choice, there is an echo. Which each act, we change the world. One man chose a city, free of law and God, but others chose corruption and so the city fell. If the world was reborn at your image, would it be paradise… or perdition?”
-Sofia Lamb

***

Another day in Rapture, another life taken. A scream could be heard in the silent halls of the Utopian city. Yet another killed for nothing. Not that he cared, he had other things on his mind.

As he slowly made his way to the vent where his Daughter would meet him, his mind worked as always. There were so many questions, and each answer just led to more questions. He was Subject Delta, Big Daddy Alpha Series, protector of Eleanor, his Little Sister. But his dreams told him otherwise… There was a world out there, far away from the confines of this hallway. A world not submerged under the sea, a world without the perfect people that feared him so much. Not that he cared, only Eleanor's safety was important to him. Eleanor… His Daughter, the one he was bounded to. He was her Big Daddy, she his Little Sister. That was the mantra that always swirled in his mind, pushing out the questions and dreams.
There would be another time to think, now his Daughter had work to do…

The vent came in sight, glowing golden in the unnatural light. The vents were used to pump air throughout Rapture, but they served another purpose as well. They were quick passageways for the Little Sisters, allowing safe travel from one district of Rapture to the other. The safekeeping of Little Sisters was essential for Rapture, without them there was no ADAM and without ADAM there were no Plasmids. And the people of Rapture wanted, no, needed plasmids. Then everyone could be perfect, everyone could do anything. But it was addicting, and the Little Sisters couldn’t keep up, so more and more were created every day. But there were not enough Big Daddies for all of them. There had to come a solution or soon the Little Sisters would have to venture through the halls of Rapture alone, without any protection, and with Splicers lurking in the dark.

Splicers… he hated them. He didn’t care for those who partied, lived their lives full of ADAM and plasmids, but Splicers he really hated. They were addicted enough to kill others for their Plasmids, to even try to kill Little Sisters. He shivered at that thought, as he raised his gloved fist, bringing it bluntly down on the vent. The sound of a gong echoed through the silent halls, calling his Daughter. The Splicers would be wise to get out of his way, because anyone trying to hurt his daughter would meet his spinning drill.

He raised his fist again for the second time, striking the vent. He could faintly hear shuffling, and his thoughts returned to the Splicers. Rapture was unstable, its master no longer able to keep her on a leash, and soon, all hell would break loose. But he would always be there, protecting his Daughter. He balled his gloved fist as his anger rose about the thought of anyone hurting his Daughter. However, his anger was short-lived, as she slowly emerged from the vent, her beautiful shining yellow eyes looking at him. She showed him a doll which, if looked at it with imagination, looked like a Big Daddy with a corkscrew as the drill.

Her voice sounded like one hundred angels in his ears: “Look Daddy – it’s you!”

He slowly nodded, as he was unable to speak. He reached out for her, slowly and carefully pulled her out of the vent and set her on the ground. She smiled at him, the Big Daddy doll in her right hand, and her nearly empty syringe in her left, but this would not remain an issue for long. She looked beautiful today, same as any other, and she was wearing her favorite pink dress, just as always. She smiled at him, putting the doll under her left arm and taking his right hand. She knew what to do, and she already could hear the fluttering of the wings of the Butterflies, as they gathered above an Angel. Her instinct would lead them to it, and he would just follow her, trusting her completely.

She pulled him along, encouraging him to follow while saying the phrase she always said to him: “Let’s go out to play, Daddy!”

He followed her closely, his hand enveloping hers as if he would never let her go. He looked to his left, the City's lights illuminating the hallway. He could see a part of Rapture, beyond the thick glass windows. It was an architectural feat, the water kept out by bolts, screws, and possibly faith.

He saw the towers of various parts of the City, some restaurants, other apartments, but all were connected by hallways, like the one he was slowly trudging through. He could even see a glass dome between some towers, which appeared to be Arcadia, the lungs of the City, the lush forest of Rapture. However he never went there, as his Daughter mostly roamed through the apartment districts of the City. He had heard that there was grass in Arcadia, and that made him remember something. A grand meadow with long, green grass waving as the wind slowly whistled past him. He was her Big Daddy, she his Little Sister. There would be time to think in the future, now he had only time for Eleanor.

His Daughter looked back at him, as he thought. She smiled at him, snapping him out of his daydream, and he would have returned the favor, if it weren’t for the helmet he had on. He was always reminded by his reflection in the windows and mirrors around Rapture that he was Subject Delta, a Big Daddy. He wasn’t human, not anymore; not that he could remember him being one , a being free of a Big Daddy suit. His Daughter let go of him, smelling a target, and she skipped slowly away from him. He was happy she was having a good time, but his slow, heavy steps sped up as she went through a bulkhead door and went around a corner in what looked like hallways intersection.

The sounds of laughing and partying came to his ears, but the only thing that he really heard were the footsteps of his Daughter. He followed, but stopped for a moment in the middle of the intersection. He looked at a big television, a monstrous thing bearing the face of Andrew Ryan that hung from the ceiling. No one had ever accused him of being subtle. Delta looked at the man displayed on the television, talking about it being a ‘new year’, a time to celebrate. But Delta didn’t really care, turning away from the man and focusing back on his Daughter, whom he could hear humming as she skipped.

He walked up some stairs, accidentally stomping through a small waterfall caused by a leak, shortly blurring his vision. The City was always leaking. But that wasn’t a problem, it was a perfectly normal sight - plus, he got a free shower out of it. He ascended the stairs, each step revealing more of the room his Daughter had entered. He saw windows, the light of the City, and a dead body. A normal day for Rapture, that was for sure. He could see bubbles of air slowly making their way to the surface through the window; surely caused by a small rupture in a pipe outside, but a beautiful sight nonetheless.

He saw his Daughter, kneeling at the body of a once beautiful woman. She was dead now, the blood that pooled beneath her still wet. His Daughter kept humming, but now he could understand some of phrases she was quietly muttering to herself. Things like: “You are a beautiful Angel, miss Angel” and “Good girls gather.” She was such a polite little lady, she surely was. He stepped closer to the body, seeing the possible murder weapon in the corner: a wrench. This kill had Splicer all written over it, which made him more aware of his surroundings, the sounds of laughing and partying now felt more like a potential threat. Not that his Daughter cared; no, she was careless like always, doing the thing she loved the most, harvesting.

She slowly laid her doll next to her and grabbed her syringe with her right hand. She jabbed at the body, murmuring something and with a quiet gasp pulled the needle out of the neck of the Angel. He could see a red liquid in the glassy vial of the syringe. His Daughter had found some ADAM, and he was beyond proud …

“Mmmmm …,” his daughter murmured, as she stood up and she set her lips at the end of the syringe and began sucking at the plastic bit. It seemed to him she was pleased, so he could conclude two things. First, this women, or Angel, had some Plasmids on her. And second, the kill was very fresh, which meant that the ADAM would just taste sweeter to his Daughter. He was happy for her, as she stopped drinking and wiped the red liquid that was left on her lips off with the back of her hand. She giggled at him, her beautiful yellow eyes shining more from pleasure as she looked at him. She put her nose high unto the air, possibly smelling another Angel, and she sighed happily.

“More Angels, Daddy! This way!” She called to him, as she turned around and ran through a bulkhead door. She always got excited when there were Angels close, but he just became warier, as he was concerned for her safety. He followed her quickly, and he saw light pouring into the hallway, as he could see Eleanor run through another door, into a party that was going on inside. He just saw a glimpse off her, as she disappeared in the crowd. He slowly made his way into the room, briefly blinded by the bright light inside.

People with masks, smoking, dancing, and singing in the background. A man backing away from him, saying something he didn’t hear. He walked out of the small dancing area and into another hallway, deeper inside the building as there were no windows. It was a deep red colored hallway, fit for royals and VIPs alike. There was a soft carpet underfoot, muffling his heavy footsteps, while many armatures and sculptures surrounded him. This City never ceased to amaze those who saw her for the first time. But the only thing he noticed was the quiet hallway, a ornately dressed drunk wandering the halls with a bottle in his hand, and enough ornaments to daze even the most powerful kings and queens. What worried him the most was the fact he didn’t see his Daughter.

He hurried his footsteps, holding his pace at a lumbering jog as he passed the drunken man who let his bottle fall to the ground, terrified of the agitated Big Daddy. Suddenly a scream, and he just knew his Daughter needed his help. He began running, his footsteps seemingly shaking the hallway as he reached for the drill that was attached to his back. If any Splicer had the nerve to hurt his Daughter he would hurt them back. His fears were confirmed as he heard another high pitched scream, causing his blood began to boil as he reached the door his Daughter had went through.

He heard Eleanor calling for him, an underlying note of urgency and fear in her voice: “Daddy!”

'I’m coming for you, Eleanor!'

***
“The Rapture dream is over, but in waking I am reborn. This world is not ready for me, yet here I am… but in waking, I’m alone.”
***

'Eleanor!,' the name of his Daughter breaking the silence in his mind. The heavy darkness began to clear, as his senses began to return to him. He could hear strange noises, and if asked where he was, he would have answered: Arcadia. But the sounds were strange, even for Rapture's Forest, even for the City as a whole… Where was he?

He slowly opened his eyes, seeing some alien dark blue expanse above him. Was that the sky? Had he escaped Rapture? He tried looking around carefully, not wanting to hurt himself by moving too quickly. But he felt no pain whatsoever. He saw trees, big and old, scattered around him. He seemed to be in a forest, a clearing in the forest to be more exact. He didn’t believe his eyes at first, looking around searching for a glass dome, water behind windows or anything that would be there if he still was in Rapture. But… there were no confines, he was truly free.

He slowly stood up, and as he was looking around he saw something laying on the ground. It was his drill, seeming out of place in this natural paradise. He knelt, and in one fluid motion he placed the drill on his back, where it belonged. He may be outside of Rapture, but that didn’t meant he was out of harm’s way. He left a strange place for a place that was even stranger. But also familiar… The dreams about grand forests , their trees standing proudly popped into his mind. He had been to a place like this, before… Rapture and before he was called Subject Delta. But right now he needed to think, to come up with a plan.

First, he had to find out where he was and search for his Daughter. Second, destroy anything standing in the way of him and his Daughter. No, scratch that thought, it may be better not to engage directly in combat as he wasn’t used to fighting here. He didn’t know what could be dangerous, but surely this place would have some deadly side to it, every calm and quiet looking place had one. Now he needed to make his way to his Daughter, if she was here. However, he began to think she wasn’t here, as he couldn’t feel her presence like he normally could. Maybe it was because of the Pairbond being broken? He didn’t know, but he was about to find out.

With these thoughts crowding his mind, he turned up to the sky, to the beautiful moon that was bathing him in her light, and he thought about what he should do if his Daughter wasn’t here. Should he stay in the forest, or try to find some kind of civilization? He didn’t know what to do, but exploring was the safe bet here. So he used the small knowledge he had of star navigation and went north, or what he hoped was north. He didn’t know where this knowledge came from, but it wasn’t the first time he remembered doing something he didn’t know how to do. It was like he already had done it in the past, in a previous life … .

But his train of thoughts were brutally derailed, as he heard a high pitched scream from beyond the sea of trees. Eleanor!, he thought and he began running towards the direction of the scream. The trees blurred past and he heard another scream and some kind of howling… Splicers? No, maybe wolves… what even were wolves, and how did he know that? No time, his Daughter is in danger. The trees thinned out as he came closer to, what he thought, was the edge of the forest.

He saw a rickety old bridge that crossed over what seemed to be an abyss, following a path to what appeared to be a castle… a castle? It seemed very old, destroyed by weather and time, but that was where the scream came from. He began slowly crossing the bridge trying not to look down. But a thought crossed his mind, what if the scream wasn’t from Eleanor? Well, it would just be another dead Splicer…

***
“This world is not ready for me, yet here I am. It would be so easy to misjudge them…
If Utopia is not a place, but a people, then we must choose carefully, for the world is about to change, and in our story, Rapture was just the beginning.”
***

Shout-Out: Crushric, for giving me the idea for the indents at the beginning of a new paragraph! Thank you, dude! (Or dudette?)

Author's Note: Well, what happened to Twilight? What is Subject Delta going to do? Is he going to help the one who was screaming, or is he going to go on a killing spree? Who knows... oh, yes of course, I know. Well, you guys (and girls possibly?) just have to find that out next chapter...

Some random trivia about this chapter:

*Completely written during the submitting of Chapter 1 of this story. Never felt that good in my life, words flowing out my fingers to my screen. A very bad case of what I like to call 'Authorgasm', being able to keep on writing and everything just feels good...
*During writing the official soundtrack for Bioshock 2 was used. To be more specific: Sounds from the Lighthouse; names of the songs used: 'How She Sees the World' (First bit in Rapture) & 'Drained Memories' (Once in Equestria).
*You receive the right to ask for a spoiler for Chapter 3 when you read all of this.

Postscript of Author's Note: Expect a weekly update for the chapters. I like to have at least one chapter extra, should something stop me from writing. So, it will probably be weekly updates. Sorry guys, but my studies take some time. (But not as much as getting to the university, staying there and getting back home.) I'll probably use the back of my slides to write bits of chapters, than I just need to get that on my laptop.

Also, I'm a proofreader myself (Click here to read it! It's good!), and that will come second to my studies, and my own writing will come third. But no worries, I write quite fast. At least, I've been told.

Some good news: I don't have a social life whatsoever, so I'll have enough time left to write. I will get behind on some of the stories I'm tracking, but I will do that without a single thought, just to entertain you guys.
That's all, I hope you enjoyed this Chapter and I'll see you next time!

Big Daddy on the Move (Chapter 3)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 3: Big Daddy on the Move

“We all make choices. But in the end, our choices make us.”
-Andrew Ryan, founder of Rapture.
***

'I’m coming for you Eleanor!'

Subject Delta rushed into the room. It was quite dark, anything could lurk in the shadows in the corners of this room. His slow, heavy steps came to a stop at some safety railings, preventing anyone falling down the balcony to the floor below. Subject Delta looked down and, his hart missing a beat, he saw his Daughter being threatened by three Splicers.

She was standing in the middle of the room, bathing in the light that came pouring from some windows in the roof of the room. It seemed like the moon had found its way into Rapture, but it were just the light of the never sleeping city. Her skin, always unnatural white was even more white in this light, making her appear sickly and underfed. It was the appearance of a Little Sister, the twisted product of a city where ‘the scientist wasn’t bound to petty moralities’. But to Subject Delta his Daughter looked like the most beautiful thing in this world, something unable to describe by the mere words of mortals. He was her Big Daddy, she his Little Sister. He was going to kill them all, to put them out of Rapture’s misery. Directly beneath Subject Delta was a Splicer, a wrench in its hand. Subject Delta, using the railing as an extra boost, jumped down, ready to kill anything in his way to protect Eleanor.

Eleanor was trying to run away, to escape from the Splicers. But one of them took her arm, trying to restrain her. He cooed to her, “Were not going to hurt you, little girl.”

Another Splicer, the only woman in the group, chuckled and came closer to her partner. She came to eye-level and softly spoke to Eleanor, “Come with us, we’re only here to help.” Another Splicer stood directly beneath the balcony, probably on the look-out for any security to interrupt their little ‘conversation’. He had this feeling that he was being watched so he looked above him only to be greeted by the heavy boots of Subject Delta; crushing his skull.

Subject Delta easily killed the Splicer beneath him, his boots crushing the skull with a satisfying crunch. His sudden appearance surprised the other two Splicers, giving Eleanor the chance to pull her arm out of the grip of the Splicer that was holding her. She ran away as quickly as she could, leaving Subject Delta alone with the two Splicers. His blood still boiling, but feeling slightly relieved his Daughter had managed to get away, Subject Delta advanced on the Splicers ready to kill them swiftly. But before he could even reach them he saw that the male Splicer was holding the syringe of his Daughter, still filled with some residue of ADAM. The male laughed and jabbed the needle in his arm. Subject Delta lashed out, trying to get to the Splicer before the ADAM could do its work, but he was too late.

The veins on the arms of the male Splicer lit up with a blue glow, as the ADAM surged through his system; changing the DNA in every cell of his body. For a moment it looked like his hands were made out of electricity, before it shot out of his fingertips; hitting Subject Delta in the chest. Subject Delta fell to his knees, his movement and senses impaired by the surges of high voltage electricity going through his body.

His vision was blurred, but his anger rose as he heard the muffled voice of the male Splicer: “Not so though anymore, big guy?!"

The female Splicer laughed, as she saw the Big Daddy on his knees, unable to move. But she was taken by surprise when the monster got up in one swift movement, pulling its drill from its back and hitting her companion with it; hurling him through the room. She shifted the weight of the wrench in her hand, feeling stupid that she hadn’t brought a gun to this fight. Her wrench rose in the air, prepared to hit the Big Daddy by surprise.

Subject Delta turned to her, his drill starting to spin, some smoke coming out of it. He hit her in the chest, shoving her to the ground. She rose quickly to her feet, her wrench still in her hand. She surely had broken some ribs, but some pain was not going to stop her from getting some ADAM. She charged, only to be met by the now completely spinning drill; impaling her in the chest. Subject Delta watched as his drill mangled her, it was not a pretty sight; but his anger stopped him from ending her misery. He brought his arm back and threw her off his drill, her impact with the wall accompanied by the sound of her breaking spine; ending her pain. But he hadn’t forgotten the other Splicer. He swung his right, drill-less hand; punching the Splicer to the ground. The Splicer thought he could sneak up on Subject Delta, but he found himself on the ground, the Big Daddy towering over him; a spinning drill ready to kill him. Subject Delta jabbed at him, but he only managed to get his drill stuck in the floor, as the Splicer rolled out of the way. Subject Delta pulled back, ready to end the Splicer now. But his heart skipped a beat, as the Splicer was holding a green colored, pulsating, glowing ball in his hand. He laughed as he threw it at the Big Daddy, who tried to reach him.

“Obey, obey, …” A voice whispered in his head. His vision consisted only out of green, the same green of the ball he got hit with. He couldn’t do anything, his drill slipping out of his fingers on the floor. His brain gave commands to his body, but it didn’t obey. He had lost control and could only wait, his vision slowly getting back to him. Before him stood his Daughter, a worried and frightened look on her face. Why was she here, she should have run away!

Footsteps came closer. A woman. He knew that woman… but from where. His Daughter looked at the woman, but she didn’t try to get away.

“There we are,” the woman saying quietly but sternly, “He’s perfectly safe now.”

Subject Delta wanted to kill the woman, show her how ‘safe’ he was; but his arms remained limp at the sides of his body. A dread feeling came over him, the only thing left was to think. But his thoughts got interrupted by the woman.

“This is not your Daughter,” she said, pronouncing the word ‘Daughter’ like she hated it with her whole being, “do you understand? Her name is Eleanor. And she is mine.”

His vision was now completely back and he recognized the woman from somewhere. But where? How did she knew Eleanor’s name?

The woman looked at Subject Delta, a slight smile on her face. “Now,” she ordered him, “Kneel, please.”

Subject Delta tried to resist, but his body only obeyed the woman. He went through his knees, his mind filled with questions. But the woman spoke again, his heart beating in his chest; he knew what was going to happen...

“Remove your helmet.”

No!, he thought. But his body didn’t listen to him anymore. With one uncontrolled swing his left arm pulled back, punching the back of his helmet, opening the locking seals and mechanisms. A sucking noise sounded as the helmet fell on his chest with a dull thud. He could hear his breathing, becoming ragged as he still was trying to regain control. It became harder to breath, he wasn’t used to breathe without his helmet on.

The woman reached at her back, her hand returning with a golden plated luger. She handed it to Subject Delta, ordering him without any emotion in her voice.

“Now take the pistol.” Subject Delta’s right hand came to life, reaching for the pistol. He tried to turn his head, to look at his Daughter. But he was unable to. He hoped she didn’t see what was about to happen.

“Place it against your head.” His body complied immediately. 'Look away, Eleanor. I… I don’t want you to see this…'

The next simple word the woman spoke brought his death. “Fire.” His gloved finger was on the trigger, his mind void of thoughts. Eleanor shook her head slightly, it seemed like she broke out of a trance. She reached out to him, trying to stop him. But it was too late… Her last words broke his heart, he didn’t want her to worry. Everything would be fine. His head jerked back as he fell dead on the floor, the smoking Luger next to him.

“Daddy!”

***
“He was her Big Daddy, she his Little Sister. Until Death do us part…”
***

Darkness was surrounding her. Twilight Sparkle didn’t know where she was, the only thing that was grabbing her attention was the throbbing pain in her horn. It felt like it was trying to pull itself from her skull. It took her some time to push back the pain, allowing her to think. She was trying to remember what happened, where she was; but her memory was hiding from her. Feeling extremely tired and uncomfortable, the purple mare began to search her own mind for the answers she was seeking. But to no avail…

Not getting any answers from her tired mind soon, she decided to find out where she was. She tried to go on touch first. She was laying on a cold, possibly, stone floor. She tried to move her legs, but her body only slightly obeyed her commands. She tried to get her eyelids to open, maybe revealing her where she was. But she immediately regretted that decision, as bright light shone in her eyes; now adding a feeling of nausea to the painful throb of her horn. She slowly breathed, trying to collect herself once again. What happened?

Suddenly, she remembered, as the light that had blinded her just moments ago had beamed directly onto her brain; revealing its price. The teleportation spell… A dread feeling came over Twilight as thoughts began to fire through her mind, bringing even more questions; questions she couldn’t find an answer for. Did it work? If it did, why aren’t her friends here, helping her? Maybe she missed her target… but where was she now? Too many questions to answer for now… It was maybe for her best interest that she first found out where she possibly could be.

She tried to open her eyes once again, now prepared for the light. She blinked a couple of times, trying to remove the blur in front of her eyes. She was feeling disoriented, but slowly she could begin to make out something. She was in a big room, laying on her back. The roof of the room seemed old, as there where many holes where light of the moon beamed through. There was such a hole just above her head, revealing to her the nightly sky, with the moon and stars that Princess Luna had placed there long ago.

She carefully began to pull herself up her haunches. She looked to her left and saw the windows, once having beautiful stained glass in them. It slowly began to dawn to her, it becoming clear to her were she was. 'Is that the statue that once held the Elements of Harmony,' she thought, 'Am I at the castle of The Elder Sisters?'

Twilight began to slightly panic now. She was in the middle of the Everfree Forest, it was almost midnight and she was wounded. Not physically, but something had gone wrong with the spell. She probably wouldn’t be using magic anytime soon, not that she wanted to try with her horn feeling like it was trying to teleport away from her skull.

“No need to panic, Twilight,” she said to herself, “I just need to stay here, my friends will be looking for me.” She rubbed her hoofs together, trying to control her breathing. She couldn’t lose it now, she just had to wait; her friend would surely be here soon. For the time being she could just try to get herself someplace nice to sit down and maybe try to sleep. She didn’t see anything noteworthy in the room, except the statue of the Elements of Harmony and some piles of rubble. The castle was in a worse state than she remembered. Now vines grew through the windows and two big pieces of the roof where missing. The pieces fell on each other, now forming some kind of natural tent; with the back-end closed as more rubble had fell onto the pieces. She could probably fit herself into the small room between them if she had to. Not that she was planning to try doing that anytime soon.

She looked around trying to find something useful, maybe some sticks and grass. She didn’t really knew how to make a fire without any magic, but she remembered reading about it in a book about survival. She began gathering some things, trying to make it in a small pile. She stopped suddenly, holding her breath looking around frantically. Did she just hear anything? No … no, just her imagination. But it was better to be safe than sorry, so she decided to look out of one of the windows; trying the look for the thing she had heard… scratching? She moved between the vines and looked outside. She just saw the old bridge she and her friends had crossed a long time ago, and of course, the Everfree Forest. Nothing to worry about Twilight, she thought, trying to get herself feeling less on edge. She began moving backwards, not really paying any attention the her surroundings; as she was trying to remember what that survival book had said about making fires. All of a sudden she felt something poking her in her back, and before she could stop herself, she screamed from the top of her lungs. She ran away, but stopped when she saw that the one that poked her was just a vine; now slowly wiggling in the air.

Great move, Twilight! Now everything in the vicinity knows that I’m here… I hope my friends find me quickly. Her suspicions quickly became reality as she heard howling in the distance. Yellow eyes came closer in the dark, trying to find a way into the castle. As she ran to the two slabs of stone, the only natural place around where she could try to hide in; hoping with her whole heart that her friends were close…

***
“In the House of Upside-Down: cellar’s top floor, attic’s ground. In the House of Upside-Down: laughing cries, and smile’s frown. In the House of Upside-Down: found is lost, and lost is found. In the House of Upside-Down: killing saves, and saving kills… ”
***

Subject Delta had made it across the bridge and began making his way to the castle. His footsteps were muffled by the forest floor, his mind and body ready to fight. He heard that howling again, now closer, and a voice screaming for help. The voice wasn’t his Daughter, that he could tell now. But however or whatever it was, his hand were itching to get to use his drill on something.

He began running up some eroded stairs to, what seemed like, the entrance of the castle. He came in a room, clearly taken back by nature; like Rapture… He finally saw the wolves, trying to get to something between two slabs of stone. With a loud growl, something that only could be accompanied by something large and powerful, he brought their attention to him. The wolves quickly turned around, beginning to advance to him in some kind of formation. This was going to be interesting …

There were four wolves, one larger than the others; probably the alpha male. The wolves looked like they were made from wood… he would call them ‘Timberwolves’ for the time being. They all had yellow glowing eyes, just as Eleanor when she was his Little Sister; but they didn’t shine like hers did. These were creatures that were hunting, with only one goal in their minds: food. They made them thing of Splicers, only making him more angry. He carefully watched them approach, as they split up to walk around a stature of some kind in the middle of the room. Reaching for his drill, he stepped closer, trying to intimidate them. Their reaction was to jump back, only to come closer themselves; trying to surround him. He looked at the drill in his right hand, it didn’t had any fuel left. A pity, but it didn’t worry him at all…

Subject Delta kept his eyes on the wolves, who had split up in two groups. He tried to keep them in front of him, lashing out to them as they tried to get around him. They too lashed out, only to interrupt their attacks before Subject Delta could hit them. They were trying to find a weak spot in his defense. One of the wolves at his right snarled at him and he turned to meet the charging wolf, only to find it retreating quickly. He realized he had given the wolves at his left a change to attack, but he was too late to stop them. He felt teeth sinking in his arm, but they didn’t manage to break through his suit. He kicked at the wolf, pushing it back. The other tried biting in his left leg, but Subject Delta was quick to hit the wolf with his drill. The wolf laid on the ground, out cold. He pulled his leg up and smashed the heel of his boot on the head of the wolf. The sound of breaking timber filled the room, making it three to one.

Two other wolves tried to attack him, he punched the first one with his left hand, breaking its nose; instantly killing it. The second one, however, managed to bite in his drill; trying to pull it out of his grip. His instinct reacted fast, trying to make the drill spin. To his surprise it did, destroying the yaw of the wolf. He quickly ended its misery, jabbing his drill at the wolf's chest; penetrating it. He slowly pulled back, but he couldn’t help to feel like he was forgetting something.

Subject Delta was taken by surprise when the last wolf, the alpha male, attacked him in the back. He struggled, losing his drill in the process, to get the wolf of his back. He managed to get a hold of the wolf and he threw it against the stature in the middle of the room. Subject Delta searched for his drill, laying on the floor; but the wolf wasn’t done yet. It got back up and leaped at Subject Delta. Doing the first thing he could think of, he pushed his hand out to the wolf. A spurt of fire hit the wolf mid-flight, taking it out of the air. It screeched out of pain, trying to roll on the floor to put itself out; a stomp of Subject Delta quickly ended its suffering.

The room was clear now, all the wolves laying death around him. He picked up his drill, attaching it to his back. He was surprised he could still use his Plasmids, as he was all out of EVE. He didn’t worry too much, there’s was more time to think about it later. It could be magic for all he know, like in the stories is Daughter had talked about a long time ago; but the fact that his drill worked without fuel and that his Plasmids were still available made him feel more at ease. Now he could handle anything this place could throw at him, having his faithful one-two combo at his disposal.

He made his way to the two slabs at the end of the room, forming some kind of shelter. The wolves were trying to reach something in there, it couldn’t hurt to look, could it? He knelt down, looking inside and what he saw… he didn’t expect it at all. It looked like a horse, no smaller, a pony? Yes, a purple pony, purple like the aura Eleanor always seemed to be surrounded by. It also had a horn on its head... it didn’t react to his intently gaze. It seemed to be unconscious, maybe it was wounded; but he couldn’t tell. He fiddled around his helmet trying to find his flashlight, he didn’t use it that much before. He finally got it on, giving him the light needed to inspect the purple, horned pony. He didn’t see blood or any wounds … so it was probably just out cold. His thoughts were confirmed as he now saw the slight movement of her sides beneath her purple coat, indicating that she was indeed still breathing.

He had come this way, hoping to find his Daughter; but instead he found something else he didn’t expect. It wasn’t his Daughter, but he had saved it nonetheless. He needed to think about what he should do now...

>---<
Subject Delta has found Twilight Sparkle, her life now rest in his hands… What should he do?

A.) Kill it! It isn’t Eleanor and it only made Subject Delta fight for no reason. Why should he care! What are the odds that this creature would be missed by anyone? What is another death amidst all of this suffering…

B.) Leave it! It isn’t his Daughter, so why should he care? It isn’t wounded, so it probably can make its way out of the forest alone. Subject Delta has more important things to do, he needs to find Eleanor. Even if it means that he needs to wander around forever in this forsaken forest in search of her…

C.) Save it! It isn’t Eleanor, but it makes him think about her. It is small and helpless like his Daughter once was … . Maybe he should try to help it getting out of the forest, there surely is some sort of civilization somewhere out there. Who knows, maybe it could help him find Eleanor in the long run…
>---<

***
“Our choices are what define us…”
***

Author’s Note: Here you go, dear readers, some moral choices for Subject Delta to make. What should he do? Let me know in the comments… Just know that the wrong choice could bring the story to a sudden end…

Some random trivia about this chapter:

*During writing the official soundtrack for BioShock 2 was used. To be more specific: Sounds from the Lighthouse; names of the songs used: ‘Eleanor’s Darkness’ & ‘Big Sister on the move’.
*Before the rewrite, it counted around 1500 words.
*The right to ask for a spoiler for Chapter 4 is revoked. Spoilers will be given when I feel like it. :trollestia:

Pairbond (Chapter 4)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 4: Pairbond

>---<
Subject Delta chooses C, saving Twilight life. Is it the right choice? Only time will tell…
>---<

“And then Father, the Rapture dream was finally over. You taught me that ‘evil’ is just a word. Under the skin, it’s simple pain. For you, mercy was victory. You sacrificed, you endured, and when given the chance, you forgave. Always.”
-Eleanor Lamb, Daughter of Subject Delta.
***

Twilight had just gotten between the two stone slabs as she heard the snarling. She was laying on her stomach, propped up at the rubble behind her; trying to make her as small as possible, hoping that she could remain unseen. But whatever was coming closer didn’t rely on sound or sight. They smelled her… She was looking outside her hiding place, seeing no signs of creatures coming closer. She was wondering to herself if she had imagined the snarling, but another snarl destroyed that thought. Now she could see shadows, made by the shining moon; moving across the stone floor. She could only hope the shadows would hide her from them. She just kept thinking, trying to calm herself. ‘Please, Celestia, please. Make them go away. Please!’ But Celestia wasn’t there to protect her star pupil…

The Timberwolves slowly came closer, searching for their prey. Relying on their smell, they found their prize. It was hiding from them between some rubble. The pack was hungry, this would be an easy treat. They could smell the fear that came off the young mare. If she was trying to hide from them she probably was hurt… an easy meal. The pack was small, as Timberwolves tended to break the larger pack into smaller ones when food was scarce. This pack consisted out of three young Timberwolves and an older one, bearing the scars of combat. The older one was looking around, searching in the shadows; always expecting the worst. The younger ones were fighting between themselves, fighting over the right to take the first bite. The older one howled, breaking the fight apart. They could hear the mare screaming… not that anything could stop them from eating tonight.

Twilight saw the Timberwolves slowly coming closer, searching for her. She knew that Timberwolves had excellent smell, so she knew that she couldn’t hide from them. But deep down, she kept hoping for someone to save her. She didn’t want to die like this, not being able to say goodbye to all her friends. Then it dawned on her, she never thanked her friends for being… her friends. All those adventures they had together and not once she had thanked them. She was hating herself for that now, Death coming closer; yellow eyes searching for her. She just hoped death would come quick, she didn’t want to suffer. Tears were felling on the stone floor beneath her, as she was thinking about all her friends. ‘Spike, I should have thanked you for all those times you kept believing in me, even if I messed up so bad. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie… you were the best friends anypony could ever wish for… I just hoped to get more time to spend with you girls…’ She was sobbing now, not caring that the Timberwolves could hear them. After all, it would be the last time she had the chance to cry.

Twilight knew that her friends wouldn’t come, it would be too late. But deep in her heart she kept on wishing that she could just hold them one more time before she would… go... The wolves were fighting amongst themselves, probably for the right to get the first bite. One of them howled to break the fighting and she screamed for help. She screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that somepony, anypony would hear her. But there was nopony there to save her…

The Timberwolves were trying to get the prey out, trying to reach it with their paws. They weren’t stupid, going in such a small place would be a dumb idea; as the prey was still alive. The youngest and also the smallest one in the pack was trying to reach the prey, but he got pushed away from the opening by the Alpha male. They were too busy finding a way to get to their prey so they didn’t hear the heavy footsteps coming closer. Hearing a loud growl they quickly turned around, prepared to fight for their food. The monster that was standing before them was gigantic and looked tough. The younger wolves wanted to back off, giving up their food; so they could live to hunt another day. The Alpha, however, wasn’t going to give their prize up without a fight. They began to go closer, they would try to attack it in the back. Bite it in the throat, until it suffocates…

Twilight was trying to avoid the wolf’s clawing. If she could only use her magic, then she could save herself. But her horn was still throbbing, the pain had even become worse. She had to fight off the darkness, that was trying to take her back. If she lost consciousness, she would be a dead pony. But her attacker got pushed away, replaced by an even bigger Timberwolf. She could see various scars on the legs of this wolf, it’s claws also trying to reach her. Suddenly, she heard a loud growl. Her attackers backed off, prepared to fight for their meal. As they were backing off, she could see outside again and what she saw… she feared it more than anything she had ever feared in her life.

It stood tall, probably even larger than Princess Celestia. Even with her almost perfect knowledge of all animals of Equestria, real and mythical; she didn’t knew what the thing that was wearing some sort of armor was. It looked to strange, even for the Everfree Forest… The signs of fighting, scars and various burn marks could be seen on its armor. It made her think that it was a hunter of some sort, maybe a carnivorous creature that had found it’s shelter in the Everfree Forest… Its armor itself was something Twilight had never seen before, having some sort of ports all over it. She could see the glow emitting from its helm, as if it had a light inside of it. The helmet itself was made out of some sort of metal, which looked like copper. Two bars of that metal divided the glass, behind which the eyes of the thing that wore the armor would probably be; in three parts. It had two small holes in the helmet, beneath the eye-level one, also made out of some sort of glass. She deducted that it probably was some sort of lighting device. But the helmet wasn’t the strangest thing on this… monster.

Tubes of some strange material, as she could look through them, ran from the sides of its helmet to its back. She could see two containers of some sort peaking over its back. Maybe it held some kind of air, for the thing to breathe. She couldn’t see any openings for breathing anywhere else. The rest of the armor looked like a mix of the strange, copper looking metal and some very durable looking kind of cloth. It wore very heavy looking boots, with metal tips. She could probably hide Spike in there, they looked big enough for it. It had metal kneecaps and bracers. The bracers had some kind of ports in it, which she couldn’t understand the usage of. The left arm of the thing also had some kind of symbol on it: a triangle. The same symbol came back on… the hand of its other arm. It had hands like Spike, but she counted five fingers, not the normal four.

Around its middle it had some sort of belt, heavy weights hanging from it. There she could various straps made out of some other strange looking skin of some sort. It probably was something to counteract the weight of the containers on its back. She could also see a sheathed knife, so it was armed. A shiver ran over her spine, this thing was very strange indeed. She was hoping, with all of her hearth that it was friendly.

The Timberwolves were approaching the golem, she would call it that for now. It looked a bit like a golem, strange creatures that only those ponies who were very powerful in magic could make. The act of making golems was a myth, of course, it was impossible to bring something to life; that was one of the few things magic couldn’t do. The golem just stood there, waiting for the wolves to act first perhaps. It reached for it back, returning with something large in its hand. It looked like some sort of… large club, maybe? She couldn’t see it clearly. The golem stepped closer, trying to intimidate the wolves. The Timberwolves jumped back, but returned to their steady approach immediately. The moment the group of wolves came in the middle of the room, they split apart; moving in groups of two. They were going to surround the golem, trying to attack it in the back; getting an easy kill by biting its throat, causing it to suffocate.

It kept looking at the wolves, the club in its hand. The golem was smart enough to keep the wolves at bay and in front of it. He lashed out, its club only going through thin air. In turn the Timberwolves also faked an attack, returning before the golem could hit them. They were scouting each other out, searching for weak spots to take advantage of. Suddenly, one of the wolves charged while snarling. The golem moved, meeting the attack with one of its own. But before the golem could hit the wolf it backed off again, leaving the golem’s left side open for attacks.

One wolf jumped, biting in its left arm; but the golem kicked at the wolf, pushing it back. Another wolf tried going for its left leg, but before it could reach its target it got hit by the club of the golem. The wolf laid on the ground, unconscious. The golem pulled his left leg up and, with a sickening crunch, stomped on the head of the wolf. Now only three were left. Twilight felt a wave of nausea going through her stomach, hearing the sound of the Timberwolf’s skull breaking.

Two Timberwolves attacked, trying to get revenge for their falling group member. But the first one met the gloved fist of the golem and she could see it going limp, falling death on the ground. The second one managed to get a hold of the club of the golem. Without warning the club began to emit smoke, the wolf having difficulties to keep biting in it. The wolf fell on the ground, its lower jaw missing. The golem raised its spinning weapon, puncturing the chest of the wolf with it. It slowly pulled back, now only one wolf was left. Where was it?

The Alpha male attacked the golem in its back, causing it to lose its grip on its weapon. The golem got hold of it and, with one mighty swing, threw the wolf across the room; against the stature where once the Elements were kept. The golem was searching for its weapon, but the wolf, not ready to give up, stood back up and leaped at the golem. The golem reached out its hand, revealing its glove to Twilight. She could see various ports one it, one on each fingertip and a big one in the middle of the hand. It also had some sort of tube running at the back of its arm, feeding into its glove. She could see that fire was forming from its fingertips, hitting the wolf in its chest and out of the air. The wolf tried to put itself out, but a quick stomp of the boot of the golem ended the misery of the wolf.

All the wolves were dead now, only she was left. She feared for her life as the golem took its weapon back, attaching it to its back. It came closer, its heavy footsteps vibrating the stone floor beneath her. It stood before her, but she couldn’t handle it anymore. The darkness took her, the last thing she saw was the golem kneeling in front of her; its lights shining over her…

***

A chariot soared through the sky above Ponyville, the residents of the town asleep. The moon was shining, the stars twinkling in the sky. It was a beautiful night to be flying, Spike hoped he could do this again. But his thoughts were with Twilight, of course. As the chariot came closer to Applejack’s farm, he knew that the girls would probably already have celebrated Twilight magic prowess. He would be too late to witness it, but he still had the chance to see Rarity… ‘Oh, Rarity’, he thought. He almost got lost in another dream filled by the appearance of the beautiful, snow-white mare; but his dream got interrupted by the descending of the chariot. He could see the pasture now and the five mares he all considered his friends… Five? Where was Twilight?

The five friends waited for the slowly descending chariot. They all wore smiles on their faces, thinking that Twilight had failed her spell. They knew how important this ordeal was for Twilight, so they would all try to cheer the purple mare up.

Spike got greeted by the five friends, smiles on their faces. He stepped of the chariot, which immediately set off back to the castle; a slightly frightened look on his face and he asked to no one in particular: “Um, where is Twilight?”

“How do you mean, Spike,” asked Rarity, a worried look on her face, “We thought that Twilight was with you.”

“Yeah, Sugercube, when Twilight didn’t turn up we all thought she was with ya," said Applejack, trying to get answers from Spike.

The five mares surrounded Spike, asking him questions he didn’t have any answers for. Even Pinkie Pie, always random and filled with joy, had stopped her bouncing way of moving.

“She did the teleportation spell, alright,” began Spike, “But if she isn’t here…”

“Well, spit it out Spike! Twilight could be in danger for all we know!” Rainbow Dash had lost her otherwise always present confidence about her. Nobody could become more worried than the Element of Loyalty.

“If she did the spell and failed during the casting,” Spike began explaining, frantically moving his hands, “Then she could have end up anywhere!”

The group was shocked and the next minute was filled with more spouting of questions (“How do you mean, anywhere?”) and general concern for their friend. They all came up with rescue plans, but searching for Twilight without knowing where she could possibly be was a lost effort.

But there was one shy mare who had the right idea: “Um, I don’t want to bother anyone… but couldn’t we just ask Princess Celestia for help?”

“That’s a great idea, Fluttershy,” said Spike, a small smile on his face as he was praising the mare, “Applejack, do you have some paper and ink we can use to sent Princess Celestia a message?”

“Sure thing, Sugercube!” And with that the group galloped off to Applejack’s farmhouse. Spike ran after them, his short legs keeping him behind a bit. Pinkie Pie returned for him and picked him up; setting Spike on her back. They all wanted to help their friend as fast as possible.

Entering the empty farmhouse, the group sat down at the table waiting for Applejack to get them everything they needed. It was Saturday night, so Big Macintosh was out of the barn; it was his night out. Apple Bloom and her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders were having a sleepover at Scootaloo’s place. Applejack quickly returned to the impatient group. Spike quickly wrote a small text, folded the letter and, with a deep inhale, magically blew it off to the castle. All they could do now was wait for the Princess to respond. Suddenly there was a bright flash outside and someone knocked on the door.

Outside was Princess Celestia, her royal expression bringing calmness to the concerned friends. They greeted the Princess and Spike began rambling: “Princess, Twilight did the spell, but she didn’t- and she wasn’t there- she could be anywhere…”

Princess Celestia smiled at the rambling dragon, trying to calm him down. “Now tell me the whole story calmly, Spike. I want to know what happened… .”

While telling Princess Celestia what happened another flash disrupted them. Princess Luna was standing there, accompanied by two of her guards. In the distance more shadowy figures could be seen, flying in the moonlit sky. “Celestia, I’ve informed the guards… What happened to Twilight?”

After telling everyone what happened from the beginning, the girls and Spike looked hopeful at Princess Celestia. The Princess of The Sun was thinking what course of action to take and suddenly she had an idea. With a golden glow of her horn a large mirror appeared, floating in her magic grasp. She set it down on the ground, the ponies and Spike looking strangely at her.

The group was interrupted again by Pinkie Pie acting strange, bouncing up and down; shivers running over her whole body. “Oh, oh! Twilight is in danger!”

“Pinkie Sense,” asked Spike carefully. The pink mare nodded as response, still shivering; her tail ‘depoofing’ and ‘repoofing’ itself.

The group turned back at Princess Celestia, giving her their undivided attention. She was the only one who could give them some closure about the situation of Twilight. Now it was even more urgent, knowing that Twilight was in danger. Pinkie Pie struggled to keep herself still, so Princess Celestia could concentrate.

While preparing her magic, she began speaking: “I’m going to do a variation of a location spell. I need something that belongs to Twilight and then we be able to see what see sees. Hopefully it can narrow down where she has teleported herself.”

“But what can we use, what belongs to Twilight,” Spike began asking. He stopped when he saw that the ponies around him where looking at him.

“Spike, if you could come a bit closer, please.” Spike did what Princess Celestia asked, standing still next to the mirror. A glow, the same golden glow as the magic of Princess Celestia, surrounded him and jumped from him into the mirror. The mirror began levitating in the air and figures and forms could be seen instead of a reflection.

Swirling figures and shadows moved through each other, slowly forming what Twilight was seeing. They could make nothing out in the swirling blur, but the fact that the spell had worked gave them the confidence that Twilight was still alive. Then they saw it, a figure standing taller than Princess Celestia. It threw something out of its hand and a Timberwolf which jumped at it caught fire. The group gasped, Princess Celestia looked determined. As the one-eyed monster came closer, its light shining on Twilight, the mirror went silent. The connection was broken. Princess Celestia was using her magic on it, trying to rewind all that happened; searching for clues. Everyone felt an aura of pure anger surrounding the Princess of the Sun. They all felt sorry for the monster, if it decided to hurt Twilight.

The Princess looked shortly up from performing her magic, addressing her sister: “Luna, could you… ?”

Luna nodded and removed herself from the group. A look of concentration came on her face, her horn glowing a dark blue. Princess Celestia worked on the mirror, now trying to make the image more sharply. They could see the monster more clearly and it looked like nothing they had seen before. But before they could examine it closer the image zoomed in, concentrating on a statue in the middle of the room. All the ponies, except Spike, recognized it; knowing it was the statue where once the Elements of Harmony were kept. Princess Celestia turned to her sister and said: “She’s in our old castle in the Everfree Forest, Luna!”

A beam of dark blue magic, almost invincible before the nightly sky, shot through the night; reaching for the moon. For everypony it seemed that the moon began to shine just a tiny bit brighter. Princess Celestia, waiting for the Princess of the Night to perform her magic, began giving everypony something to do.

“Spike, could you go to the Library and search for an old book, a tome if you will, titled ‘Mythical Creatures of Old Equestria’?”

Spike nodded and Princess Celestia turned herself to Rainbow Dash, “Rainbow Dash, could you help Spike getting there quickly. I want to see if this ‘golem’ of some sort is know in old maretales.”

Dash helped Spike on her back and took off, her trademark rainbow trail following her. It only took seconds and the Element of Loyalty could no longer be seen.

Princess Celestia called for one of her guards and began to give him his orders: “Take my sisters guard’s pegasi division, they know the Everfree Forest very good. I want my own pegasi guard to join them. I’ll be there shortly.”

The guard nodded and flew off, in the distance a big group of guards could be seen; a mix of Luna’s and Celestia’s guard.

Another guard came, an unicorn this time and Princess Celestia gave him his part of the orders: “I want the unicorns concentrating on teleporting the rest of the guard, my sister and the Elements, on my sign. We‘ll wait until we know where the ‘golem’ is.”

The guard nodded and ran back to the group, shouting orders and preparing the unicorns of both guards to set up a trap. Princess Celestia began to address the five elements present, but was interrupted by her sister.

“I can see them, they’re going through the Forest. The ‘golem’ is carrying Twilight in its arms.” Princess Celestia thanked her sister, now waiting for the figure that rapidly flew closer. Rainbow Dash touched down, Spike almost falling from her back with a very heavy and old looking book in his hands. Princess Celestia took the book in her magic, searching for creature. Princess Luna opened her eyes, her horn still glowing and the beam still visible. She addressed the five Elements and Spike for their part in this endeavor.

“We’re going to surround this ‘golem’ when its stops to rest. One group, under command of my sister will come from the air. The rest of the guards, under my command, will be teleport in a circle around the ‘golem’, effectively surrounding it. You are all part of the ground forces, but I want that you all stay close to me. The ‘golem’ has Twilight, so we are not going to engage in combat in any situation!” Luna looked at the Elements before her, paying the most attention to Dash. Dash shrugged in compliance, she wouldn’t do anything to hurt her friend.

“Spike, I want you to go back to Ponyville and alert the nurses and doctors in Ponyville’s Hospital. It’s best to be prepared for anything.” Spike struggled against that order, but he understood that he couldn’t help much in the confrontation with the golem. He began to get on his way, only to be called back by Princess Celestia; who gave him the book back. Receiving the book he again began running to Ponyville, hoping deep in his heart that everything is fine with Twilight.

Princess Celestia asked for the rest to follow her, saving time to address the gathered ponies all at once: “Twilight Sparkle has been victim of a teleportation failure, trapping her in the Everfree Forest. She is in the hands of a ‘golem’ and I’m unable to say more about it. I’m unsure what it is… I want everyone to be careful, we don’t know how the ‘golem’ will react. The plan is to surround it and try to get Twilight back”, she looked at Fluttershy, hoping that the yellow mare’s special talent of dealing with animals could help them once again, “I want everyone to stay in formation and I want no one to try to attack the creature. If anyone brings Twilight into danger… then the ‘golem’ would be the last of his or hers concerns. Did everypony understand?”

All the ponies nodded, the guards mumbling. They were ready to save Twilight! The groups were formed, Princess Celestia taking the task of teleporting the air forces on her; her sister being helped by the rest of the unicorn guards. Applejack began asking if it wasn’t a good idea to bring the Elements of Harmony, but Luna told her they wouldn’t do any good without Twilight bearing hers.

Pinkie Pie smiled, to everyone’s dismay and said: “It’s okay, Twilight isn’t in danger anymore.”

Before anyone could think about what the pink pony had said, most of them already blaming it on her randomness; they got interrupted by Princess Luna.

“They stopped at the bank of a river, between Zecora’s hut and our old castle. I can’t see Twilight clearly, the ‘golem’ stands over her.”

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked at each other, completely understanding each other. In the pasture outside of Ponyville, part of Sweet Apple Acres, two big flashes of magic could be seen. The residents of the town stayed deep at sleep; Winona, the farm’s dog, began barking when she got awakened by them. If everything went to plan they would save Twilight. They would get the chance to research some strange creature, that even Princess Celestia herself didn’t know about. But none of them would be prepared for the events that were going to happen, events that could change Equestria forever…

***
“Sometimes we need to make choices without knowing the consequences. Only time will tell us if we made the right one…”
-TheMightyT
***

Shout-Outs: IraqLobstah, for giving me some much needed ideas and RainbowDash575, for being an awesome friend! Check them out!

Author’s Note: Subject Delta has no idea what is coming for him. What will happen? How will he react? You'll see that in the future, but the really important question is: Is Twilight alright? That, and more, in the next chapter!

Now, some more story related stuff. I’m not going to include moral choices in the story anymore. The last three caused me to experience a very bad case of ‘Writer’s Block’, which is --believe it or not -- a “real” sickness. That, and I’m not as dynamic as a writer as I thought I was. So, no moral choices anymore; but that gives more space for cliffhangers. And I know you will love those...

About my writing style, it changes as I go. I receive many tips about how I can improve, so I’ll be trying to incorporate them in future --and past-- chapters. I’m also going to limit quotes to the beginning and end of the chapters, so I don’t break the ‘flow’ of the story so much anymore.

I also apologize if it seems like the characters are not “in-character”, I’m hoping to improve as the story goes on.

Some random trivia about this chapter:

*During writing the official soundtrack for BioShock 2 was used. To be more specific: ‘Sounds from the Lighthouse’; name of the song used: ‘Pairbond’. Some in-game music is used too, to be more specific: ‘La Mer’ by Django Reinhardt’. Also, music from BioShock was used. To be more specific: ‘I Am Rapture, Rapture Is Me: The Official BioShock Score’; names of the songs used: ‘Dancers on a String’ & ‘Cohen’s Masterpiece’.
*The Author hates the term ‘Writer’s Block’.
*The chapter originally consisted out of three parts, but the third part was moved to open the next chapter. So next chapter you’ll see how your choice affected the story!
*This is the first 4000+ words chapter. Aiming for 5000+ words next!

Postscript of the Author’s Note: Many things went wrong during the writing of this chapter. I learned a valuable thing about myself: I’ll try to do anything to try to please my readers. I know now that I’m not a good enough writer to do that, to be able to include moral choices. Coming up with possible things to happen for the three choices, trying to come up with three different ending… it was too much… I hope nobody is disappointed, because I understand. I promised you all moral choices, but know this: I will not get the other two choices go to waste. When the story comes to an end, I’ll post a chapter with possible different endings, what would have happened if B or A had won and more. But that’s –hopefully-- in the far future.

Originally this chapter was going to be posted with a WIP-tag, because I just wanted to give you something this weekend. I tried my best to write, but luckily today I was able to write the last 2500+ words of the chapter; those being what could make or break the story in my opinion. So I hope it's good enough and that you all like it!

I’m also going back in previous chapters, correcting mistakes and such. Nothing should be changed content wise.

Last Sound from the Lighthouse (Chapter 6)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 6: Last Sound from the Lighthouse

“ Fontaine is gone. Lamb is gone... or close enough. I am alone at last... alone with my city.”
-Andrew Ryan, Founder of Rapture
***

Darkness surrounded her. It felt like she was floating in this nothingness, unable to change course. She looked around, trying to find somewhere to go to, a place to escape this void. But there wasn’t any light... Where was she? Was she dead? No... no, she wasn’t dead. She didn’t know how, but... she just knew she was safe. Had her friends found her? Maybe...

A piercing, white light disrupted her thoughts. She looked to see where the light had came from. The horizon of the void was one white streak of light, slowly pulsating as the brightness changed. She felt strange... but she embraced the strange feeling without a second thought. She was ready to wake up now...

It was raining wherever she was... Small droplets of water fell on her face and slowly made their way back to the ground. She wasn’t aware of her surroundings at first... She felt her mouth move to say something, but she didn’t know what. Hopefully everything earlier was just a dream... Yes, it was just a dream! She would just wake up, the day before she wanted to try that teleportation spell. All of this, waking up at the Castle of the Elder Sisters, the Timberwolves, the golem, ... it all was just a dream...

A torrent of water destroyed her hopeful thoughts. She immediately jumped up from the ground and began looking around. She shook her head, trying to get the water out of her eyes. Now where was she?

‘Okay,’ she thought to herself, ‘let’s see...’

She began investigating her surroundings. To her right were some trees, some overgrown with vines. She could also see a river streaming out of the forest. In front of her more trees and the golem. She looked to her left to see if she could find any clue that could give her the answers for her questions. No, just a normal looking lake in the middle of the forest. But she had the feeling she just had missed something... Suddenly she realized what she had missed and she stood completely still. She began moving her head slowly back to her right, hoping that her eyes had deceived her. They didn’t...

She stared at the golem that she had seen in the Castle of the Elder Sisters. It just stood there, no more than three meters separating her from it. She wanted to run away, or try to use her magic. But the only thing she could do was stare at it. Her knees began to tremble beneath her, her breathing became more jagged...

Before she could go in a full panic attack the golem slowly moved back, giving her more room to breathe. It didn’t seem hostile, it seems to be giving her more space... Strange. She kept staring at it for a while, eventually giving up to try looking for hostilities. She began getting intrigued at its actions, why did it keep back like that? She kept investigating the golem, now able to see it clearly in the light of Luna’s moon. She didn’t knew what action to take... maybe it was best to find out where she was first.

She began looking around again, ‘This part of the forest doesn’t seem familiar to me. I don’t remember seeing a lake like this last time we came here... How is it possible to find you’re way out of here? Everything looks the same...’

She glared back at the golem, trying to see if it had tried to come any closer. To her surprise it didn’t. Maybe she had to catch it unexpectedly... She pretended to be examining the trees across the river, but when she thought she heard the golem come closer she jerked her head back. A bit disappointed of seeing the golem still standing there on the same spot, it’s light still lightly emitting from its helmet, she tried another approach.

She set a small step closer, trying to examine it further. So many little scars and burn marks... how is it even possible the armor still is in one piece? She wanted to ask that question, but she got cut off by some rustling in the forest in front of her. She saw the lights deep in the forest, meaning that somepony had teleported close by. Maybe her friends were on her trail? She didn’t know, she only wanted for this crazy day to end...

The golem turned around too, to late to see the lights deep in the forest. It stood still, searching for any kind of movement and eventually turned back around to her. She glanced at him and then back to the forest. She just hoped her friends wouldn’t do anything to anger the golem... she had this feeling it wasn’t hostile after all. She decided it was best to begin talking... maybe it could give her some answers.

“Um, hello.” She said almost shyly. She sounded a bit like Fluttershy, when Twilight first met her. But it wasn’t because she was afraid of the golem, she felt... a bit intimidated. It was strange for her after all... It didn’t answer, so she tilted her head questioningly. It still didn’t answer, so she took one small step closer, glancing up at him. She wanted to try and look it in its eyes, but it was a bit too large to do that. Maybe it didn’t hear her question...

“Hello?” She said, more clearly this time. It didn’t answer again, maybe it didn’t understand her...

“Um, can you understand me?” She asked, hoping for any answer, even if it just was a nod. She could see it slowly nodding, which made her quite happy. Now she could just ask him who he is, everything could be resolved without any troubles. Wait a minute, can it even speak?

“Can you speak?” She asked, hoping for a nod. The golem shook its head...

“Oh... Why did you bring me here?” She pondered out loud, but she knew the golem couldn’t answer her. It began to move, showing her its hands, they were still dripping with water... the water it had used to wake her up. They were finally getting somewhere...

“You brought me here to... wake me up?” This monologue was starting to get to her, as she was more saying her thoughts out loud and hoping it... he would react. She didn’t know how, but... she felt the golem before her was a male. So, what is left...

“Um, okay. Why did you wake me up?” She asked that last thing almost accusingly, but she managed to change her tone for her last question; which she almost whispered: “Why did you protect me?” Then it dawned on her, he couldn’t really speak...

“Oh yeah, you can’t really answer these questions...” The golem nodded and went through its knees. She began thinking about what he could possibly plan to do, but then she got it... he was just trying to make it more comfortable for her to speak to him. She could investigate the helmet more closely now, but she still couldn’t take a glance inside. ‘I wonder how he looks like without his helmet...,’ she pondered to herself. Well, he wasn’t hostile, so maybe...

“Yes... Let’s start over, shall we? My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight if you want.” She almost facehoofed there and then. But, deep inside she actually thought of him as a friend... How strange. Maybe he has a name too...

“Um, do you have a name?” She asked, but she knew he really couldn’t answer her questions. He motioned to the symbol on his right hand, a white triangle. Was that his name?

“Your name is... Triangle?” She knew it would be a lucky guess and like she thought he shook his head. Maybe it had something to do with triangles...

Her thought process was broken by the golem slowly reaching out with his hand. She was amazed at the hand with the various ports in it. It looked so strange, not like anything she had seen before. If this was his armor... then she didn’t want to see what weapons it possibly could have. She already had seen it spout some fire out of his hands... but it wasn’t like any magic fire she had seen before...

She understood his gesture and after examining the hand closer, so that she was sure there wouldn’t come any fire out of it any time soon; she responded his gesture with her own, reaching out with her hoof. He shook it slowly and carefully, she was amazed by how firmly he held her hooves. He could possibly pulverize rocks if he wanted to...

She smiled at him, hoping he would return with his own smile. He didn’t of course, as he was wearing a helmet. She wanted to ask him some more questions, but he seemed to be unresponsive. He looked up, at Luna’s moon, searching for something in the far east. She followed his gaze and saw the flying figures, Pegasi guards... they had found her. She was beyond glad, but deep in her heart a dread feeling came to her. How was he going to react?

Without any warning he reached out for her, pulling her into an embrace. He carried her away from the river, maybe to try and hide in the shadows and the forest. She could see more movement that way in the forest, so did he. He turned around going back to the river. She called out to him: “It is okay, they are only here to help!” But he didn’t hear her...

Was he going to try to cross the river? She didn’t know, but he was running back to it. If he was going to wade through it, the guards were going to catch them. She didn’t knew what to expect when he took her only in one arm, freeing his left arm. He hold her tightly, clenching his left fist. She could see it beginning to freeze over and with one quick movement he threw, whatever he was holding, to the river.

The river froze over, which surprised her, but what surprised her more that he managed to cross it in only three big steps, without falling. She couldn’t even try to stay upright on ice, as she had knew from the first time she had tried to help with the first Winter Wrap Up she had in Ponyville... that day she learned that ice-skating wasn’t one of her many talents.

The guards were coming closer, but the way to the forest was clear. Until three of Celestia’s guards stepped out of the forest. Their way was blocked, she knew this wasn’t going to stop him... she just hoped he wouldn’t hurt them too badly...

The guards all were wearing their golden armor, more for looks than functionality. Equestria didn’t have any real wars since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna began their reign... the army hadn’t aged well. Only one unicorn guard was with them, his horn surrounded by the light gray aura typical for Celestia’s Royal Guard, his armor had accents of silver; meaning that he was higher ranked than the other guards. But before the unicorn guard could unleash any magic he was hit by a surge of electricity from the hands of the golem. The guard fell to the ground, squiggling under the electrical surges, but he was going to be alright. The other two guards didn’t take too long to react...

They charged the golem, possibly trying to stop him; more likely wanting to try to avenge their fellow guard. The only thing they charged was the air, when the golem suddenly dashed forward; knocking the two remaining guards airborne. She could hear voices calling out for her, but she couldn’t answer. She found herself to be... paralyzed in his arms. Not with fear, but with... compassion, she needed to stay with him, so he didn’t get himself killed. Before they ran in the forest she could see something coming out of the air... Princess Celestia...

Princess Celestia was here and she didn’t looked amused. Her familiar mane moved slightly while she was running behind them, trying to keep up. Everything was going to be alright now... She hoped, but her hope dwindled away when she saw the look of pure anger on the face of the Princess of the Sun. Twilight got a bit scared seeing the Princess like that, determined to do anything to save her... But did she really needed to be saved?

Her friends were still behind them, as she could hear them shout out her name. She didn’t know how the golem did it, dashing between the trees; outrunning the guards and her friends. Only Princess Celestia seemed to be able to keep up. The Princess called out to the golem: “Stop, or we will use magic. We only want Twilight.” But he didn’t listen...

They ran between some trees and almost into some, when the explosion went off behind them. The Princess was just trying to daze him, not too kill. But the golem was apparently quick on his reflexes, remaining his balance and keeping the pace. Twilight try to look behind the golem, but she only saw smoke. Suddenly the Princess jumped from the smoke, her horn surrounded by her golden aura... Twilight didn’t knew what to do, which side to choose...

They ran behind a big, old looking tree; overgrown with many vines. This really was the heart of the Everfree Forest... The golem stopped, turning around, waiting for something. Twilight realized what he was trying when she saw the electricity surrounding his fist. Maybe it was for the best, she didn’t think the Princess would be in a mood to forgive... Being led by emotions is never the answer...

The Princess rounded the corner, emerging from behind the tree; and she got immediately greeted by a bolt of electricity, striking her in the chest. Twilight could see her stumble for a moment, but Princess Celestia shook herself free from the electrical surges and, once again, began following the golem. Twilight was really torn between choices... If she chose for her friends, the Princess would probably take him out before Twilight could try to explain everything. And if she chose for the golem... why did she even trust him, she didn’t knew him... But the answer was given by her heart and not her brain... He only wanted to protect her and she... she felt safe.

She was taken by surprise when they suddenly stopped in the middle of the forest. She heard voices deep in the forest, the flapping of wings... She heard the clopping of hooves on the dry forest floor. She looked down and saw the golem clenching his fist again... this time holding that ice he used to freeze over the river. Twilight never had seen such magic in her life before. She knew the elements could be conjured to the benefit of a very powerful magic user, but... not like this. She felt like this golem held more magical power than the Princesses... combined. Even the Sisters of the Sun and Moon couldn’t control the water of the seas or try to reign over the fires out of the earth... But he, he just hold it in his hand... so it could do his bidding. It was his weapon, his choice to use it lethally or not... She only hoped he didn’t hurt the Princess too much...

Her feelings were in a roller-coaster, making her unable to think clearly. Deep inside she knew the ones that were behind them were her friends. But she never had felt a bond with anypony like this before... Who was this golem? Where was he from?

She saw Princess Celestia coming closer between the trees, a look of determination and anger on her face. Her horn was aglow with her golden aura, ready to take hold of the golem and free Equestria of his malice... to free her. She could see the magenta eyes of her mentor, just before the golem shot his icy blast at her. Princess Celestia got stuck, as the ice hit her in the left leg; freezing it solid. The ice spread out, to her other leg and up her chest, but it stopped there. Twilight wanted to help her mentor, to stop this all... but she didn’t want this to escalate further. Suddenly she could hear that the flapping of wings, that was very faint just moments ago, came closer... While the golem turned around he got hit in the chest with a rainbow-colored blur, throwing Twilight out of his hands.

Twilight fell in some bushes, that luckily cushioned her fall. She was dazed for a moment, but she recovered quickly. She heard her friend, Rainbow Dash, assaulting the golem. But suddenly the flapping of wings stopped... and everything went quiet. Twilight managed to climb out of the bushes only to see that the golem had managed to get hold of Rainbow Dash. He was holding her at her neck, his gloved hand pressed firmly around it; not showing any signs of letting her go. Rainbow’s wings were still outstretched, a look of utter fright on her face.

Twilight called out to the golem: “Stop!” But he didn’t respond...

She could see that Rainbow was slowly beginning to suffocate, as the golem’s grasp began to get tighter. Twilight ran up to him, leaning against him, while standing on her hind legs. She looked at him, as he slowly turned his head to meet her pleading gaze. His composure seemed to change slightly and he slowly went through his knees. His hand loosened around the next of Dash, making her fall to the ground; coughing for air. Twilight, however, didn’t rush to her aid... she was mesmerized by the golem, who was now looking straight at her. She knew he was wearing a helmet, but she could have sworn she saw through that yellow light... to see the man behind the helmet. She could feel connected to him... She felt protected...

Suddenly she heard something hum... She looked at her side to see Princess Celestia standing there, freed from her icy constraints. Twilight heart skipped a beat... The Princess of the Sun stood tall, horn engorged by a golden aura; her mane embodied by the power of the sun. Twilight felt herself frightened at that image, to see her Princess standing there... so powerful, yet so deathly...

The golem moved quickly, pushing Twilight aside. Before Twilight could get back up, to try to stop everything, a bright flash blinded her for a moment. She could feel a scorching heat surrounding them, the sounds of trees breaking and falling around them. When she managed to look up, her vision beginning to come back to her, she saw utter destruction... Trees were pulled out of the ground, bent in strange angles, singed by the fiery spell her mentor had used... And the golem was gone...

She tried to stand up, but failed as she felt her body trembling as tears were starting to form in her eyes. “No...,” Twilight whispered; but it was already too late.

Princess Celestia came closer, looking tired; the glow around her horn slowly dying out. Her left leg still had traces of the ice the golem had used on it. Rainbow Dash slowly stood up, looking at the ravage the Princess had inflicted on the forest. A red strain disgraced her neck as she turned around, meeting Twilight teary gaze. She tried to comfort her friend, tell her she was safe now; but Twilight weakly shoved her aside.

Twilight stood up now, slowly coming closer to the destroyed giant tree that had fallen on the golem. She could see the path the golem had flown, to only be stopped by one gigantic tree that had shattered in pieces when the golem collided with it. She wanted to levitate the pieces away, to search for him; to save him. But before she could get any closer the Princess stopped her in an embrace. Twilight began to sob, crying in the mane of her mentor.

“I’m sorry it had to be this way,” the Princess said quietly, a hint of guilt in her voice. Twilight began to sob, crying in the mane of her mentor. Twilight slowly pulled herself out of the embrace, looking accusingly at the Princess.

“He didn’t mean any harm,” she whispered. The Princess pulled her back into an embrace, but Twilight didn’t cry anymore. She just felt angry... at herself, that she couldn’t stopped this from happening... at the Princess for doing what she did... But deep inside she felt like this wasn’t over...

“I know... It was better to take him out before he hurt anypony...”

With those words the weather above the Everfree Forest changed, darks clouds filled with rain collecting above their heads. A slight haze of rain began to poor down, drenching the ponies that slowly were getting closer to place where the last stand-down with the golem had happened... When the guards emerged from the trees, along with Princess Luna and the remaining Elements of Harmony; they all were taken back by the destruction... They all saw Twilight, embraced by both the Princess of the Sun and Rainbow Dash.

A lone drill laid on the ground, no longer on the back of its owner...

“He didn’t mean any harm,” Twilight muttered again.

She felt sorry for not being able to save him, to explain everything. She wanted to scream, to desperately search in the pile of wood, to try to find the golem... But it was too late...

He only wanted to protect her...

The clouds above the Everfree Forest wept, as did Twilight. It seemed like the story had ended for the golem, destroyed by the obliterating spell of Princess Celestia. But some might say that his story had just begun...

***
“It’s time to break our Shackles that still bind us to the Parasite. It’s time for one last sound from the Lighthouse...”
***

The light of the moon illuminated the lone Lighthouse, standing completely alone in a featureless sea. It was completely quiet out here, no ship usually came close to the Lighthouse and the secret it harbored. The peace was broken by the sound of something exploding, deep beneath the waves; bubbles of air disrupting the calm surface of the sea. An object erupted from the sea, jumping slightly above the waves it caused, only to settle down shortly after. A lone shadow could be seen, as a purple flash illuminated the surface of the object. She slowly stood up…

She looked inside the lifeboat, only to see her Mother using the oxygen tank Eleanor had given her; surrounded by the Little Sisters her Father had saved. She despised her Mother for everything she had done, and she wanted her to suffer… but that wasn’t what her Father had learned her. She raised her arm and shattered the glass of the lifeboat, causing the water to drain. Her Mother lay in the middle of the room, coughing up water. She was saved by her daughter, just in time…

She looked around, trying to find her Father… but deep inside she knew it was useless. Whatever had happened just moments ago took away her Father… The Pairbond was broken, she no longer could feel his guidance. She looked up at the sky while removing her helmet, seeing the moon hiding behind the Lighthouse, the entrance to Rapture…

“Rapture…,” Eleanor muttered to herself, “ We finally did it, Father… We’ve escaped Rapture… But at what cost…”

She just stood there, the Little Sisters that helped her escape Rapture slowly surrounding her. She finally was free, but at the same time she still was encaged…

Her Mother slowly stood up behind her, approaching her daughter. Sofia Lamb still wanted to change Eleanor’s mind, to come back to Rapture and be the one to save the Family… Eleanor was the one, capable of perfect altruism; to uphold the common good without wanting any personal gain. To make Sofia's Utopia out of the broken city below the waves, to make the Rapture Family one… Eleanor stopped her dead in her tracks by turning around and speaking to her Mother.

“I hope your glad, Mother,” almost spitting out that last word, like she hated it with her whole being.

“Eleanor-,” Sofia Lamb slowly began, but she got cut off by her daughter.

“I saved you because my Father would have done the same. I’m no longer your daughter, I’m no longer am your prodigy to manipulate…” Eleanor said emotionless, she just wanted to be left alone.

“The city is ours now Eleanor, with your help the Family can still turn all of this around. Please understand that everything I’ve done was an act… of love. Your Father… your Father wasn’t your father Eleanor, he just was an abomination-” Sofia got cut off as Eleanor moved quickly, grabbing her Mother by the neck.

“Don’t… you… ever… call… my… Father… that… again,” Eleanor hissed through clenched teeth, as she her Mother dangled from her hand. She let go, causing her Mother to fall back to the ground. A strange look came in Eleanor's eyes, as she began to speak again.

“My Father taught me that ‘evil’ is just a word. He always tried to see the best in everyone… I ask myself, wasn’t he too hopeful? Maybe there are some not worthy to be forgiven…” She stepped closer to her Mother, a calm look on Eleanor's face; but surrounded by an aura that inspired a dread feeling in Sofia’s heart.

“But who am I to judge, to take a life that’s not mine to take,” Eleanor slowly said, looking her Mother in the eye; a slight smirk surrounding her lips.

“Let’s go and meet your judges, Mother. We don’t want to make them wait, do we?” With that Eleanor put her helmet back on and took her Mother in her arms. Sofia Lamb struggled in her grasp, but Eleanor dove in the sea nonetheless. She could see bubbles of air coming from the mouth of her Mother…

Beneath the sea another purple flash could be seen. Eleanor let go of her Mother, who was once again coughing up water. She looked around the old jazz club. On old poster hang on the wall, the words barely legible: ‘Grace Holloway starring in ‘The Deep Blue Revue’, Nightly! at the Limbo Room'. Eleanor could hear footsteps coming closer, the sound of a cane hitting the ground with each step. Her work was done here… let her Mother’s so-called Family decide her fate…

Before she could teleport away, a voice called out for her: “Eleanor, wait! Don’t leave me here!”

Her Mother looked up at her, desperate and scared. Did she fear that the Family would take her out, knowing that she had failed to stop her daughter? Before she could answer another joined them in the room. The woman was wearing an old dress, faded yellow by time and wear. An old scarf around her neck, a decorated hat on her head. Time may not have treated the woman well, but she still stood strong and proud.

“Eleanor… Is that you?” The ex-jazz singer said, bringing the attention to her. The Big Sister standing next to Sofia Lamb slowly took of her helmet, revealing her face. Long brown hair fell over her eyes, slowly brushed aside by Eleanor.

“Aunt Grace…,” Eleanor said, recognizing the woman that had taken care of her, while her own Mother was imprisoned in Persephone. She didn’t remember to much from back then…

“Eleanor… It’s so good to see you again, sweetie.” Eleanor almost moved back when Grace came closer, only to hesitantly accepting the embrace she was pulled in. They both didn’t acknowledge the presence of Sofia, as they both were happy to see each other again.

“Where are my manners, come with me Eleanor. I’m sure you are thirsty-” Grace stopped talking when she saw Eleanor waving with her hand, a sad look on her face.

“I’m sorry, Aunt Grace… but I’m not here to stay,” Eleanor said, “I’m just here to bring my Mother to her judges…”

Grace Holloway stood still, saying no word. Finally she nodded her head, looking at Sofia Lamb; the once grand leader of the Rapture Family… Nothing more than a shell of her former self. With anger she spoke to the woman that had betrayed her, that had hurt Eleanor: “I hope you’re ready to be judged by your own rules, Sofia…”

Sofia Lamb looked at her, still trying to safe herself; but her words fell meaningless before Grace: “You once said that everything should be done to serve the common good. That Eleanor was the vessel we should use to be reborn. That to follow you was to defy Andrew Ryan’s grasp on Rapture… You’ve become your own nightmare, Sofia. In the end, it all was for your personal gain…”

Grace Holloway slowly walked away, mentioning at Eleanor to follow her. When they came at the exit, two Splicers stepped through the door; a woman and a man, both holding wrenches in their hands, both deformed by misuse of ADAM. They looked at Grace, like they were waiting for orders.

“The Rapture Family will judge her by its rules. Detain her here, court will be in a few hours.” Both the Splicers nodded at the words of Grace, walking up to their once grand leader. Eleanor and Grace left the jazz-club, only hearing the noises of Sofia Lamb begging for her life, before her voice cut off as the male Splicer put a gag in her mouth, while his fellow Splicer tied her up. Grace stopped just outside, looking back at the door she so proudly went through every night; entertaining the people living in Pauper’s Drop…

“It’s a shame…,” muttered Grace, her voice trailing off. Eleanor shrugged, not really caring what would happen to her mother; she already had done what she needed to do. Sofia’s life wasn’t in her hands anymore. She followed Grace through the dirty streets of Pauper’s Drop, seeing the suffering of so many Splicers. It seemed like hundreds and hundreds of Splicers had came here, seeking shelter in the various houses around Pauper’s Drop, sleeping on the streets. She never had seen Splicers so calm, but she deducted it came from the lack of ADAM. With most of the Little Sisters saved by her Father, who was left to get ADAM from. Rapture’s population had finally dug its own grave… they had killed all the ones that gave them what they needed… How had it came to this?

Grace told her that most of the Family already had forsaken Sofia Lamb before her Father had made his way into Persephone. From all around the city new Splicers came to Pauper’s Drop, as it was the only safe place… Eleanor wanted to ask what the Splicers were running from, but Grace answered her question before she could ask it.

“An old evil has taken his place back on the throne of Rapture… Pauper’s Drop is the only place still safe from his reach. But soon… soon we will fall under his rule once again…” Eleanor didn’t understood what her Aunt meant, but she nodded nonetheless.

“You should leave, Eleanor… There’s nothing left to save here…” Grace said, turning back to Eleanor with a weak smile on her face.

“No, Aunt Grace, I’m taking you with me! You have to come with me, you’re the only one… the only one I have left…” A single tear ran from Eleanor’s eye, wiped off by Grace; smiling, but determined of her decision.

“There’s nothing left for me out there, Eleanor. I belong here.”

“But-” Eleanor began, but she was cut off by Grace.

“Your… Father spared me Eleanor and I showed him the way. I’m glad he managed to save you… I’m sorry for your loss. But he gave your life to save yours… Respect his choice. Help the Little Sisters he rescued from this city, I’m sure you’ll find a way…” Grace embraced Eleanor one last time, Grace slowly tearing up. Eleanor broke the embrace and put her helmet back on. The last thing she saw was the weak smile of the woman that always was there for her, but she respected Grace’s choice… A purple flash illuminated the corridors of Pauper’s Drop… The last Big Sister was gone and with her… all hope was lost…

She opened her eyes again, to be greeted by the moonlit sky. She threw her helmet to the ground, slowly standing at the edge of the lifeboat. She sat down, tears spilling in the sea below. She knew what she had to do…

When Tenenbaum had contacted her through the Little Sisters, they began making a plan. Finding the corpse of her Father wasn’t hard, but it took them a while to get the genetic key just right. With the help of Tenenbaum, she brought back her Father by hacking a ‘Vita-Chamber’, effectively resurrecting him. With his help she managed to break from the cage her mother had kept her in… Tenenbaum had talked to her one last time before she escaped Rapture once again: “I’ll give a map to a Little One, so you can find us when you escape. Herr Jack and I have a safe place, where we can save the Little Ones and revert the damage that has been done to them. There are some left in Persephone, Eleanor… Please save them to from this watery grave. See you soon, Eleanor.”

Eleanor trusted Tenenbaum, the way she risked her own life to safe her Sisters… But she didn’t know why. She didn’t know who Tenenbaum was, or how she got back to Rapture. Tenenbaum only told her that she was responsible for every ‘Little One’, as she called the Little Sisters; and that she wanted to give them their lives back. Eleanor knew the conditioning of a Little Sister could be successfully removed, as her mother managed to do with her… But to give them back their lives?

She had many questions, but no answers. Who was this ‘Herr Jack’ Tenenbaum always talked about? She knew nothing about him, except some things her Sisters had told her. ‘He saved us from the scary man,’ they so often had told her, but she never thought about asking more... At the time she was busy trying to help her Father to reach her…

What was this ‘old evil’ her aunt had talked about? Rapture’s former leaders where all killed. One was killed by a man wearing chains on his wrist, a slave breaking the chains holding Rapture. And when the old ‘King’ fell, a new one stood up; only to be stricken down by the same man, who once came from the surface, carried by a plane from a far away country. Andrew Ryan was death and so was Frank Fontaine. She was certain of it…

She opened her eyes, tears still falling in the water below. Was this all worth it?

A Little Sister came standing next to her, a Big Daddy doll in her hand: “Big Sister, are we going to see Aunt Tenenbaum?”

Eleanor looked at the her Sister, wiping her tears out of her eyes. “Yes, we’re going to see her soon.”

“Did you lose your Daddy?” The Little Sister asked. Eleanor nodded in response, tears welling up from her eyes again. The Little Sister reached out to her, giving her the Big Daddy doll. Eleanor hold it firmly in her hand, looking back at her Sister, who had a big smile on her face.

“Don’t worry, Big Sister, Mister Bubbles is alright,” The Little Sister assured her, her laugh making Eleanor smile a little. Eleanor slowly stood up, her Sisters surrounding her; all exclaiming how great and strong ‘Mister Bubbles’ was. She pulled them all in an embrace, feeling slightly better… But they didn’t know better than say all those things. They didn’t know anything else…

She looked up at the moonlit sky, being marveled by the sight of the many stars twinkling in the night. She slowly took her helmet back off the ground and put it back to its place. She smiled, although invisible beneath her helmet. They were going to go to Tenenbaum, so they could help her Sisters. And everything would be alright…

A purple flash lit up the sea for one last time. The moon emerged slowly from behind the Lighthouse. It became silentonce again. Suddenly the sky was filled with fire, as a deep rumble came from where the Lighthouse once stood; a deafening explosion erupting from the Lighthouse. The Lighthouse broke in pieces, one piece fell on the lifeboat Eleanor had used to escape Rapture… The explosion destroyed every trace of the Lighthouse, as the sea took back its rightful place.

One last sound from the Lighthouse… One last act from the fallen King. So he can reign once again of his forlorn Utopia… Rapture finally had broken its Shackles… freeing it from the Parasites its Founder so feared… Once again, he was alone with his city… Only one thing left to do, one purge left for Rapture to be… perfect.

The world would never hear from Rapture again. It was lost beyond the sea. Nobody wanted to go back, to pay her a visit. And when finally forgotten, forsaken by those who managed to free themselves from Andrew Ryan’s dream… Rapture slowly became a real Utopia. In the end it only had one fatal flaw, taken away by the death of its last occupant: Human nature. Andrew Ryan’s dream finally became an Utopia… but there was nobody left to live it.

***
“Mother was right about one thing… I’ve been watching you, Father, studying the way you have treated others, and now I know who I am.
I am free. Everything that Mother has done to me… I am alive and sane enough to be curious about the sun. When you rescued my new Sisters I felt every one, and it gave me hope for the first time in years.
Now I will do the same for all the other, starting with this one…”
***

Author’s Note: I hope everybody likes cliffhangers… How will the story evolve now, you ask? My answer is to wait for the next chapter. I have some things planned, so... Look out for 'spoilers' in this chapter!

Be happy, now you know Rainbow Dash is still alive... But yeah, I just really replaced one cliffhanger with the next, so... I'm feeling like :trollestia: today. Did Subject Delta survive? Who knows...

I really hope you all like this chapter, as I personally have the feeling it isn't the best I've written so far... But that's probably just comes out of my lack of trust in my own abilities --If I have any--, so... Really hope you like it!

Check out my blog for more news on this chapter! And see you all next time!

EDIT: I hereby give my right of the mighty 'First' to the first commenter on this chapter; let the games begin!

Sharp Fangs Of The Everfree Forest (Chapter 7)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 7: Sharp Fangs Of The Everfree Forest

This chapter is dedicated to my Grandfather, may he rest in peace...

“The lab aides are starting to call them ‘Big Daddies’... perhaps there’s some genius to that. Bonded pairs... connected by a love that kills.’
-Gilbert Alexander, co-creator of the Big Daddies.
***

The soft bluish light of her moon illuminated her the path that her sister had taken through the forest, when she began to chase the golem. Princess Luna galloped through the forest, her own Royal Guard not too far away; the remaining five Elements of Harmony galloping right behind her.

Celestia’s Guard wasn’t familiar with the forest like hers was, so they were getting behind quite a bit, all of them on hoof; because it was too difficult to fly between the trees that littered this forest so densely. They all assumed the worst, as the golem apparently could bend water to his will and make ice of it; something that even she and her Sister couldn’t do. But when Luna saw the ice that the golem had used to cross the river and the guards that he knocked aside in his dash through the forest, she feared that her sister would once again lose control...

The Royal Guard vowed to protect their Princess at all cost, even if that means they’ll have to follow her when she... changes. With the past events and the return of the Elements of Harmony, her Guard could finally once again serve her; without the shame that came to many to them, when she had called upon them not long ago. Now they knew the forest well, when they followed her back to their old castle; when she came back after thousand years of exile, still possessed by the foul taint that is the Nightmare... Luckily she was saved by the Elements before she tried to take Equestria’s throne for herself... for a second time; and the Nightmare was destroyed, with him the monster that carried the name of Nightmare Moon. Luna would rather not think about those days, but she had to remember them; so she could learn from her mistakes, and make sure she would become the best she can be.

It all happened too fast for Luna to completely comprehend what just happened, or more so, what just went wrong. They managed to teleport close to the golem’s position, sneaking up on him; surrounding him from all sides, but he managed to escape before they could stop him. Luna didn’t want to point the hoof at anypony, but she knew that it was probably not the best idea to use Celestia’s Guard for the approach from the air, as their golden armor glistens so much in the light of her Moon. Things has happened now, it was too late to change tactics; and the golem already had managed to get away from the bulk of the guards. After getting the Elements over the river, she immediately chased after her Sister; knowing that Celestia would keep galloping no matter what. And they were get close now, she knew it.

She could hear the clopping of various hoofs from the following guards on the forest floor, while only the five Elements and a portion of her own Guard managed to follow close. Suddenly they all could hear a small explosion in the distance, one that shocked her in more ways than she thought it would; the explosion being accompanied by a hint of her Sister’s magic. With a growl Rainbow Dash flew past her, her wings moving so fast they seemed to not even be moving; the Element of Loyalty skilfully dodging between the various trees, while still retaining her top speed. It was better for her to stay on the ground, as she knew she wasn’t as agile as Rainbow Dash; nor her wings and bigger figure would help her dodge between the dense trees of the forest. She just wished they all would be safe...

Luna jumped over a small crater in the ground, the smoke that had arisen there still dissipating from sight; the leaves from the trees above still fluttering to the ground. Celestia’s explosion was meant to be demobilizing, but the damage to the forest floor proved otherwise. Luna’s heart told her to go faster, now a dread feeling came over her. If Celestia was going to... no, she wouldn’t, at least Luna hoped so. Twenty of her best guards ran behind her, making a protective wedge behind her and the Elements of Harmony; all bearing the looks of determination on their faces, all ready to take action when needed. Luna only hoped they didn’t need to...

A small hum could be heard, after screaming pierced the shadows of the forest; the light and the hint of magic accompanying it making Luna’s hair stand up slightly. She recognized that magic, as her Sister had used it on her so long ago... The bright flash, the wave of heat; the same thing now felt by those that were in the forest, below the thick canopy of the old and overgrown trees. But this time it was accompanied by the shattering of trees... various other sounds filled the forest ahead.

Above the forest, many clouds carried their watery contents, slowly beginning to weep on the canopy below, the rain piercing it in some places and reaching the ponies that galloped so fast; as Luna and the four remaining Elements approached the newly made clearing. The weather above the Everfree forest always managed to change unexpectedly, harassing the forest and the creatures below; but since the Elements of Harmony were removed from their resting place it only had become worse, as the forest no longer was kept in check by their presence. The Everfree Forest was now really forever free...

They finally burst out of the tree line, taken back by the destruction that was caused to this part of the forest. Luna cringed when she saw the trees that were torn out of the earth, all carrying traces of the fiery heat that had hit them; but Luna moved quickly, making decisions without any second thoughts. She put her hoof up in the air, making a circular motion; causing her Guard to fly up and begin to set up a perimeter around her Sister, who was still embracing Twilight with Rainbow Dash. The rest of the guards shook themselves out of it, helping Luna’s Guard to form the perimeter; while the Elements moved quickly when they saw their friend crying in the hooves of her mentor.

Slowly letting go of her star pupil, making place for her friends, Princess Celestia moved back slowly; noticing Luna, who was giving orders that her Guard followed without hesitation. The five Elements cooed to Twilight, trying to calm her; but she kept muttering something, but it went unheard. Celestia looked up at her Sister, her coat dishevelled and lost its shine; her weariness shown clearly in her stature. She greeted her Sister without many words, Luna carrying a concerned, but yet shocked look on her face. Celestia now finally realized what she had done, seeing the destruction that surrounded her, that she caused with her magic; seeing her Sister eyes, a hurt look in those pools of cyan.

Luna saw her Sister and it almost broke her heart, as almost nothing was left of Celestia’s, normally always present, royal stature; and without a second thought she dashed forward, pulling her Sister in an embrace.

“Are you okay, ‘Tia?” Luna asked with a concerned tone in her voice, as she know that the magic that Celestia just had used is draining; even more so when her Sister’s Sun wasn’t shining.

Celestia pulled her head out of the embrace, looking at Luna, but trying to avoid looking her in the eyes. “I’m fine, Luna, I’m fine,” Celestia said weakly, struggling to keep her voice together; a sigh following promptly, as she knew deep down that she wasn’t fine.

Luna pulled her back in the embrace, placing her head next to her Sister’s, slowly nuzzling her. “It’s okay, Sister...” She whispered, but Celestia quickly broke the embrace, her eyes beginning to tear up.

“A vow, Luna, I made a vow!” Celestia began, her royal stature now completely gone, “I promised to never take it this far again, to no longer let my feelings control my magic...”

Luna came closer, cooing to her sister: “I know, ‘Tia...”

While sobbing Celestia threw herself at her Sister, once again embracing her, but this time showing no signs of letting go: “I-I h-had no choice, L-Luna.” She muttered, her snivelling making it harder for Luna to understand her, while her tears damped Luna’s mane and coat.

“It’s alright, ‘Tia, it is all going to be alright.” Luna said, while patting her Sister’s back.

“I-I a-am so ter-terribly s-sorry,” a voice said from Luna’s dishevelled and damp mane.

“Shhh...,” Luna said in a singsong tone, trying to cheer up her Sister; giving her some time, so she could regain her composure.

As Celestia wept in her Sister’s mane, knowing that she just killed a living creature; while she had vowed to never let her emotions get the best of her, since that dark day in their past... So did the clouded sky and Twilight Sparkle, she still was muttering something; while she was being hugged by her friends. Luckily none of them saw the Princess of the Sun fall apart in tears, while the Guards finally formed a perimeter around them; keeping a protecting circle between the group of ponies and the pile of trees, where the golem laid under.

The five cooed to their magical gifted friend, trying to stop her from crying and muttering.

“Easy now, Sugercube,” Applejack said in her thick accent, feeling the lavender mare shiver in her forehooves.

Twilight weakly tried to push them away, but failed as all her energy was drained. This day seemed to have taken a too large of a toll on her, as she just became a crying ball of lavender fur; finally stopping with crying, when she passed out in the hooves of her dear friends.

After some time passed and the clouds from above stopped their crying, just like Celestia, who finally regained her stature; Luna stepped up, examining Twilight briefly with her magic.

Pointing with her hoof to three of her Guards and a small group of Celestia’s Unicorn Division, she said: “Take Twilight Sparkle and the Elements out of the Forest and to Ponyville Hospital, they should be ready by now.”

The Guards nodded and surrounded the six ponies, the Unicorns already beginning to ready their magic, when Rainbow Dash spoke up: “Wait, what about that golem?” She said with some difficulties, pointing at the pile of trees; that showed no signs of life.

“My Sister and I will take care of that-,” Luna began, but Rainbow Dash broke her off and began to dispute, only to be silenced quickly by a glare of the Princess of the Moon, “We'll handle this, Twilight needs to get to the Hospital as quickly as possible.” Luna said sternly and Rainbow Dash just nodded; seeing that it was a lost fight and that it was better to get Twilight out of this nightmarish forest.

With a grey flash the group of ponies teleported out of the Everfree Forest, leaving Luna with her tired and wounded Sister; a big group of Royal Guards still present and throwing glances at the shadows surrounding them, the thick canopy of the surrounding trees giving no chance for light to pierce through.

Luna looked around and with a stern look on her face, she began to speak to her Sister: “’Tia, I need you to go too...” Celestia tried to speak Luna out of it, but she didn’t waver in her resolve.

“I know you want to stay, Sister. But you need some help,” Luna said, while examining the wounds on her Sister’s forelegs and the burn marks on her chest, “And you wouldn’t be a great help, after the amount of magic you used.”

Celestia nodded, knowing that, at this point, she was only a burden for her Sister; and with a quick embrace and some parting words, she teleported, with the help of her Guards, to Ponyville Hospital. Now left standing in the clearing, where her beautiful Moon shone so gracefully, were twenty or so of her Guards and ten of her Sister’s. All of her Guards were Pegasi, with some Earth Ponies; so that left her with ten of her Sister’s Unicorns. She just hoped she wouldn’t need them...

***

Subject Delta was holding, once again, a life in his hands; feeling the quick beating of the rainbow coloured pony through his gloved fist. His hand began to close, pushing firmly on its throat, making it so that the pony began to suffocate; her wings still outstretched as she was weakly trying to break lose. He didn’t notice any of that, he only felt rage; as these pony’s where trying to take his Twilight away from his, try to hurt her.

He felt the soft hooves of Twilight pressing on his side, her weight almost unnoticeable as she was leaning against him; while standing awkwardly on her hind legs. He turned his head to meet her gaze, her eyes pleading him to let go. Finally he realized what he was doing, this wasn’t who he was; he always tried to forgive or search for another way, this rainbow pony... maybe it wanted to hurt Twilight, but it wasn’t right to kill a helpless creature.

His hand loosened around the neck of the pony, causing her to fall to the ground; her hooves reaching for her throat, while she was coughing and breathing with difficulties. Twilight however kept staring at him, standing just before him; as she had stopped leaning against him, giving him the chance to get on his left knee and meet her gaze. He saw her beautiful, violet eyes, twinkling from the milky light of the moon above.

The moment between him and Twilight was brutally broken by a hum and a glimpse of that golden light; making Subject Delta look abruptly to his side. And there she stood, that big pony that tried to stop him earlier; her horn engorged by its golden aura, a look of determination in her eyes. Without thinking he pushed Twilight out of the way, giving the large pony an easy shot. A beam of light, hot like the sun and shining like nothing he saw before, hit him straight in the chest; causing him to go airborne. The wind got knocked out of him, when his short flight made him collide with several trees. When he hit the last tree, a very big and old looking oak, it’s bark overgrown with vines, he almost blacked out. When the tree broke in pieces, which buried him; he finally let the darkness take him...

Pain. That was the only feeling he had left, making the empty void flare up with a red shine. Slowly he began to remember what happened and once again he awakened, alone. He could see the singed barks of the once grand oak, that now covered him; the faint yellow light emitting from his helmet illuminating the small space above it. The crushing weight of the trees kept him down, but that wouldn’t be for too long. He only needed for his vision to stop spinning and then he would quickly get out of this mess...

Faintly he heard voices, but he couldn’t understand them. He could hear hooves on the forest floor, he could see droplets of water penetrating the pile of trees and collecting on the visor of his helmet. His chest felt like it was hit by the sun itself, the heat and crushing hit managing to pierce his suit. Luckily that wasn’t too much of a problem, because the inside of the suit was lined with a special plasmid; that made the suit regenerate itself somewhat, although if the damage was to great, then there was no amount of plasmids that could repair the damage. But that would be when the suit was mostly gone, bringing with it the promise of his death.

He could see the faint flashing of light, the same he had seen before; making him try once again to lift the trees from him, freeing him from his wooden grave. But to no avail, he was not getting out from here fast.

After some more flashes, Delta could hear the clopping of hooves; but this time it was only coming from one pony. The pony stopped and he saw a faint dark blue light for a moment, but the light stopped as sudden as the rustling came in the forest surrounding them. Something was coming, fast... and it was huge...

***

Luna looked around, feeling better now she knew that both her Sister and the Elements were safe and sound. She eyed the pile of trees curiously, she should... No, it should be dead after that kind of magic.

Looking up at her magnificent sky, a star-spangled blanket that kept Equestria warm; her Moon shining upon her, helping her make her decision. “Leave the Forest at once, there’s no need to linger here any longer.”

The Guard came back from their guarding spots, surrounding the Princess of the Moon; but there was one that spoke up, the commander of Luna’s Royal Guard.

Wearing the same, dark purple armor that all of her other Guards wore, but with the exception that her armor had hints of silver, outlining it; the signs of a higher rank, because all the Guards look the same in their armor. A powerful spell, enchanting the armor to make them all look like the same dark gray stallion or mare, with those bat-like wings; making it hard for any Guards to recognize their superiors, hence the lining of silver to hint at her higher rank.

With a soft voice, while bowing humbly in front of her Princess, the commander spoke up: “And the golem, Princess?”

“I’ll take care of that, when I’m done I’ll join you all at Ponyville’s Hospital.” Luna spoke up, her tone less stern than before; a small smile lingering around her lips.

“But Princess, not that I want to question your orders, but-” The commander began, but Luna broke her off.

“Dear Shadow Stalker, do you still remember the day I appointed you as commander of my guard?” Luna asked, a hint of a teasing tone in her voice.

With a bow Shadow Stalker answered softly, looking up with a look of gratitude in her eyes: “Yes, my Princess.”

With those words Shadow Stalker turned around and with a small flash Luna was alone in the forest. It was quiet, no sound could be heard; and that worried her, but she was also very curious. She stepped closer, each of her hoofsteps easily audible on the muddy forest floor. She looked at the weapon of the golem, laying in the mud and she levitated it carefully; surrounding it with her dark blue magic aura. She examined it closely, no longer paying attention to her surroundings.

A rustling in the forest broke her out of her trance, making the weapon fall to the ground. Something was moving in the shadows surrounding the clearing and it was huge. She could hear faint hissing, a sound that made her heart skip a beat. She moved back, trying to pierce the shadows of the surrounding forest with her eyes; while still keeping her eyes on the ground. If it was what she thought it was, then she shouldn't look it in its eyes...

Behind her she heard the noises of trees falling to the ground, making her turn around and staring at the pile of trees. She could see the golem, freeing himself from his wooden tomb; slowly getting up. Suddenly it seemed like all time stopped, that all light was blocked away; no noise could be heard, except the pounding of her own heart. She could hear the hissing just behind her, but before she could even think about using magic she was knocked airborne; a scaled tail hitting her in the back, making her fly over the golem.

A basilisk...

***

Subject Delta strained himself an began pushing the trees up, the heavy weight now resting on his arms; but he pushed through, the satisfying sound of trees rolling of the pile and falling on the ground reaching him. He began to free himself, getting up; only to be greeted by another pony.

This pony was bigger than Twilight, yet smaller than the other one that had buried him earlier; her coat a dark sapphire blue with a cobalt blue mane, moving without any wind and showing tiny, white dots in it. The pony was also wearying some kind of necklace and a dark blue crown; a moon resting in the night sky adorning her flank. But he didn’t look to closely at the pony, what towered behind her captured his attention...

A gigantic snake, pushing itself up in the sky; towering above them and making Subject Delta feel tiny. He could see the blackened scales, once a brilliant green; it’s once yellow eyes, now showing a white hue. It was huge, it looked like it was very old and deadly; as Delta could see its fangs, when it opened its mouth in a hiss. Those fangs were probably larger than his drill... The pony with the moon on her flank shivered, when she heard that hiss; but she didn’t move. Subject Delta watched as the gigantic snake hit the pony with its tail, making her fly over him. The snake now seemed to take an interest in him, lowering down and looking straight at him. It opened its mouth, showing its various sharp teeth; and although Subject Delta couldn’t smell it, he knew that the most foulest smell came from it when it hissed...

He was going to need a bigger drill to take this thing down...

***
“The bond between a Little Sister and her Protector is strong... maybe too strong. A love that kills... and a Protector that would do anything to protect his Little Sister... now that’s a dangerous combination.”
***

Author's Note: After many delays, this chapter finally gets posted. I'll write a blogpost about it later, but there's only one thing for me left to say: I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend (Chapter 8)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 8: The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend

A Basilisk. Mythical creature that died out long ago, before the Reign of the Royal Sisters, [...]
It is said that the look of the King of Snakes can kill, although no evidence of this can be found, [...]
[...],extremely poisonous, the venom residing in its glands toxic enough to burn through rocks, [...]
-Excerpts from ‘Mythical Creatures of Old Equestria’, Author unknown.
***

The creatures of the Everfree Forest avoided the King of Snakes, as it slithered through the woods; occasionally letting its forked tongue flicker in and out its mouth, picking up the scent of its prey. It was in an unfamiliar part of the forest, as it mostly resided in the deepest reaches of the Everfree; where no one would ever dare to venture. But now it found itself between the still growing trees of the always creeping forest, slowly taking more and more ground from was once a place of peace; no longer held back by the ancient magic that had contained it so long ago... The enchanted veil had worn off, the ancient wall was a tale that had been forgotten even by myths and legends and the forest was on the rise; never stopping to seize the change to spread out.

The Basilisk, however, didn’t leave its sanctum in the chasms deep in the forest without a reason... It smelled it in the air and could almost taste it on its tongue, hints of that ancient magic that had banished it deep into the forest. The same magic that had reclaimed the land and pushed back the mighty oaks, that destroyed the homes of many; leaving only the waving grass on the empty meadows, suited as a safe haven for the influx of Equi from the north. But that wasn’t the end of the battle against the forest and its creatures, as a castle was built where the heart of the forest once was. Two beings of great power resided there, with them came an army of servants; beings that were nor death nor alive...

A wall was built to protect the land from the always growing forest and keep her many creatures away from the Equi; but even more so to hold back the taint that had taken its home in the forest, a being of darkness, a shadow that moved freely below the heavy canopy... An enchanted veil was placed over the wall, so that in the event that the wall would fall the forest would be held back; her creatures would still be forced to remain to roam their diminished habitat.

After years of banishment, the forest once began to slowly rise back from behind the wall; allowing her creatures to, once again, roam freely over its domain. But things had changed... A battle had been fought between the godly beings that resided in their castle and the shadowy taint that had taken the forest for its own. Their servants slain and the mighty wall breached, the veil damaged beyond repair and their castle besieged; the beings of power made a choice that no one should take to lightly, a sacrifice to defeat the being of darkness...

And then it went silent... for a while.

The forest began to take back the land that had once belonged to it, giving her creatures more room to breathe; but the forest wasn’t entirely free. The castle still stood strong in her domain, the godly beings once again settled in their dwelling; but things had changed once again... The wall wasn’t rebuild and the veil wasn’t restored; their servants stayed dead, buried below the wall they once built. A statue was placed to hold five stones, carrying a great magical power; five elements of the six pointed star, the sixth lost for even their makers. But the Equi kept living their lives, like nothing had happened.

Soon another evil creature descended upon the lands, this time causing chaos; leaving the forest alone in her march to subdue the land. The battle was eventually won by the Equines and their godly protectors, pleaded upon to help heal the land of the chaos that had erupted from that mangled creature; a being that was called a draconequus, although it was nor a pony, nor a dragon. Captured in stone, the peace finally was restored; even for the forest, now that the godly beings had taken their place on the throne in the capital of the Equi. The forest was finally freed and was given a name, although her name tasted bitter for her creatures that were kept chained for so long.

Peace and harmony ruled the land of the Equi, now called Equestria; the Everfree Forest once again ever growing and expanding...

And now the creature that was considered extinct roamed through the forest, a creature feared by everyone that had laid their eyes on it; its eyes carrying a look filled with death, its mouth showing fangs with a poison that could kill in an instant... The Basilisk of the Everfree was on the hunt, searching for revenge... Searching retribution for the day it followed its master in battle and they lost the struggle for power; their master defeated and his followers punished... The day it became the last of its kind.

As the white moon shone upon the concealing canopy of the forest, so did the eyes of the Basilisk shine with anger. It felt the ancient magic, the slayer of its kind, leave the forest in a powerful blast of magic; leaving behind two beings whose magic felt familiar. Making haste, the King of Snakes rushed through the forest, its scaled skin leaving tracks in the grounds. With another two flashes the forest seemed devoid of magic, but the Basilisk smelled that one remained; coming closer to the clearing it already had made its decision... After all, one was better than none.

Circling the clearing where the Mare of the Moon stood alone, without guards to protect her, the Basilisk observed her closely through its once bright yellow eyes. After all these years it finally would get revenge...

The Mare moved back, she already had noticed the rustling that gave its position away; but another noise behind her made her turn around. A figure clad in a strange kind of armor, a heavy helmet set upon its head, slowly emerged from a pile of trees. Slowly the Basilisk came out of the shadows, pushing itself up in the sky as it was trying to touch the moon itself; towering over the Mare below it, ready to attack. When her horn began to flare a dark blue the Basilisk attacked with an angry hiss, its scaly tail hitting her and throwing her in the air. She flew over the figure that seemed familiar to the Basilisk; the unfaltering stance it showed, while it seemed to carry no weapon to defend itself. Like the summoned servants that once built that wall and fought it and its kind...

The Basilisk slowly lowered down, its scales glistening in the moonlight; showing various scars all over its body. Looking straight at the golem, trying to pierce through the yellow light emitting from his helmet, the Basilisk hissed; showing the row of its sharp teeth and flickering its tongue out, studying the golem closely. It could taste a hint of salt, overpowered by the smell of blood all over his armor. He seemed so familiar, but at the same time so strange. He kept standing still, staring back in its eyes; something no creature could do and survive... This was a strange golem indeed.

But if he stood in its way to revenge, he would share the punishment...

***

The residents of Ponyville remained in their careless slumber, sleeping in their warm beds and houses; all bathing in the light of the moon. Everything was completely silent... almost everything.

On the edge of the town, Ponyville Hospital showed signs of activity. Doctors and nurses were preparing beds and operation rooms, the normally small night shift receiving help from all doctors and nurses that worked there. When the message came that the Princesses with the Elements ventured into the Everfree Forest to search for Twilight Sparkle everypony began to work feverishly to get everything ready, as they all expected the worse. Only two seemed to remain calm in the chaos, one a nurse that had been quite familiar with the adventures of the Elements and the wounds she had to treat afterwards; one a small dragon, bored out of his mind.

Sitting down on one of the many seats in the reception of the hospital, Spike skimmed through the book he had brought to Princess Celestia. Feeling tired and bored, he only slowed down if he saw interesting drawings of mythological creatures; most of them seeming like they came straight from the old ponytales Twilight used to tell him. Using a light purple finger to flip a page showing an old chart of Equestria, his green eyes finally stopped on a very interesting picture. A sketch of a snake, seeming enormous against the referential pony that was drawn next to it, captured his attention. Looking up from the dusty book in his hands, he quickly observed his surroundings before going back to reading the curly writing of the author; the text describing a being that was called a ‘Basilisk’.

He and the pony behind the reception desk were the only ones present in the cozy, but still clinical looking room, various pots with plants scattered around; the comfortable chairs not helping him to stay awake. The pony behind the desk seemed to be busy filling in paperwork, her sapphire blue eyes skimming over the papers; her white coat and pink mane seeming dull against the colourful painted walls. Her nurse’s hat depicted her Cutie Mark, a red cross with a small pink heart in every corner. Spike recalled that her name was Nurse Redheart, the nurse he often saw when he visited one of his friends in the hospital; something he had to do fairly often, as his friends always went from one adventure to the other.

Concentrating back on the book that laid on his lap, he ignored the worry that made him feel a bit nauseous. ‘Twilight will be okay, the Princesses and my friends are searching for her.’ Spike thought, while beginning to read the first line under the sketch of this ‘Basilisk’. He wanted to go with them, but he understood that he wouldn’t be much more than a burden to them. He couldn’t really fight, except maybe use the fire that burned inside him; although he often struggled to use it when he wanted too. He did help in his way, by alerting the staff of the hospital of the situation. Now the only thing he could do was wait... and maybe read a little about those mythological creatures.

“A Basilisk. Mythological creature that died out long ago, before the Reign of the Royal Sisters...” Spike began to read, having some trouble deciphering to florid hoofwriting. “This ancient being is believed to live up to a thousand years, never stopping to grow in both length as width. Once a year it sheds it skin, leaving behind a empty husk made out of its scales. This process of moulting is needed as the King of Snakes grows larger; while it also believed to cause the change of color of its scales as it becomes older.”

‘So, it changes color... Maybe I’ll change color too as I grow older.’ Spike thought, while skipping some paragraphs, one handling about the speculated mating process of the Basilisk. “The King of Snakes is most known for the way it kills its prey, a single look into its eyes causing death. Although not needed, if its deadly gaze should fail, it is able to constrict its prey and kill it with its poisonous bite.”

A shiver ran over the spikes on his back. Spike was very happy that this creature went extinct long ago, as he had thought that a Hydra was the worse that the Everfree Forest had to offer. Skimming some more paragraphs, telling him more about the toxic that the Basilisk carries and the habitats it was speculated to live in, Spike finally came to the last paragraph; which seemed to be added later, as the hoofwriting was less florid than before.

“The act of killing a Basilisk is near impossible, as its scales are almost completely magic proof. Although it has it weaknesses as well. Scurrying away as the sun casts it first rays, the Basilisk keeps itself concealed in the darkness t[...].” A smudge seemed to have swept out the rest of the text, although a last sentence has be added in pencil below. Holding the book closer to his eyes, Spike began to read the last sentence that seemed to be even more recent.

“When facing the Basilisk there is only one thing to do, run away and never look back; pray to the Sisters that the sun will soon emerge from behind the horizon...” A strange thing to say about a creature that went extinct long ago...

With a sigh, being too tired to investigate this further, Spike turned some more pages in search for entertainment. Just as he saw another interesting drawing of a creature that was called a ‘Human’, Spike almost dropped the book on the ground as he was blinded by a gray flash. When Spike finally began to see clearly through the blur he recognized Twilight, laying on the back of Applejack. Quickly Nurse Redheart rushed forwards, judging the situation correctly and she began examining Twilight with her keen eyes.

“She is seems to be dehydrated, and she shows some signs of trauma from magical whiplash...” Nurse Redheart said to nopony in particular, “We'll have to get her scanned by one of the doctors, but I think she’ll be fine after some good night’s rest.” She finally concluded, Spike feeling relieved; the same feeling the rest felt when they heard the good news.

Quickly examining the rest of the teleported ponies, Nurse Redheart beckoned for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to follow her; Spike finally realizing that Rainbow’s mane was dishevelled and that a red streak could be seen on her throat. Spike remained behind with the rest, all watching Twilight slowly breathing on the back of Applejack; as they disappeared behind a door, that Nurse Redheart held open for them.

With a sigh Spike look around, making sure that everypony was okay; actually, one pony in particular. He saw that the guards spread out, those that carried the armor of Luna’s Guard going outside, while Celestia’s Guard remained inside. Three of them went through the door that Twilight just disappeared behind. His friends all slowly sat down on the comfortable chairs, their coats dirty from traversing the forest. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie quietly talked, Pinkie’s mane was hanging down as her otherwise always joy filled eyes were slightly wet of tears. Rarity sat a bit away from them, for once not caring about her otherwise pristine coat; sticks, leaves and smudges of dirt soiling her light gray coat. Spike slowly came closer and sat next to her, not sure what to say.

“She’ll be fine, darling.” Rarity said to him, her voice missing strength.

Spike looked up at her, seeing the toll that this night had taken on Rarity in her eyes. “What happened?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“I’ll tell you later... For now I just wish for a warm bed to sleep in.” And as on cue, Nurse Redheart returned and told them that Twilight was asleep; announcing that they had prepared beds for them all to sleep in. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie immediately stood up and followed Nurse Redheart through the door, while Spike stayed put; his eyes staring at the floor. Rarity used one of her hooves to force Spike to look her in the eyes, she saw that he too was tired; but she knew that he would have felt worthless as he could do nothing more to help.

“Let’s first see if Twilight is sleeping comfortably, shall we?” Rarity said with a small smile, a smile that Spike returned. Slowly they both left the room, the dusty tome Spike had read in left behind on one of the chairs.

Tomorrow... Tomorrow he would hear their story and after that everything could go back to normal.

Nurse Redheart returned, offering the Guards some coffee and snacks, something that most of them accepted. The peace returned to the hospital, as Nurse Redheart trotted back to her desk. However, before she could return to her administrative work, another gray flash filled the room. Nurse Redheart turned around, her mouth agape when she saw Princess Celestia; her royal posture overshadowed by a look of weariness in her eyes and various wounds on her body. Swiftly breaking out of her shock, Nurse Redheart went to tend to the Princess of the Sun; curious to hear what happened, but concentrating on treating her patients first.

Whatever happened in the Everfree Forest, as it managed to wound the Princesses... Nurse Redheart just felt relieved it just were simple wounds and nothing more.

The newly arrived guards quickly joined the others, taking turns in patrolling the hallways of the hospital; with groups of three or four guarding the doors of the rooms where the Elements and their Princess were resting. With another gray flash some more guards arrive, although Princess Luna couldn’t be seen; the other guards didn’t ask any questions, as they all believed that the Princess would have her reasons for it. Luna’s Guard followed their commander outside, joining the other three that were already guarding the outside of the hospital.

Shadow Stalker looked up in the sky, noticing that her Princess’s Moon finally was descending. She would wait one hour and if Princess Luna hadn’t returned by then... Shadow Stalker just hoped with all her heart that the Princess of the Moon knew what she was doing... and that she was safe.

***

Subject Delta stood completely still, trying to not even move a single muscle; while staring into the eyes of the snake before him. They had stood there for what felt like minutes now, the snake not seeming to attack; giving Delta some time to think about what to do. He quickly remember what he had learned in Rapture, the one-two combo; daze them, then drill them.

He carefully closed his left fist, feeling the familiar sensation of electricity circling it; while trying to glance to his right, where his drill laid on the muddy ground. Without any warning he reached up with his left hand, hitting the snake right in its mouth with a bolt of electricity; while he used his ‘Telekinesis’-Plasmid in his right hand to reach out and retrieve his drill. Before the drill even slightly moved, the scaled tail of the snake hit him in the chest; sending him, once again, soaring through the air.

Subject Delta had the feeling this was happening too much lately, a feeling that became even stronger when his short flight was interrupted when he hit a tree. Laying on the ground he tried to slowly get back on his knees, while preparing to be attacked by the snake; but nothing happened. He looked up, seeing that the snake had taken interest again in the pony; she seemed to shakily stand upright on three legs, while her horn was engulfed by a dark blue glow. The snake rushed forward, but came to a stop in mid-air. Subject Delta could see a dark blue shield surrounding the pony, little waves going over its surface from where the snake had hit it.

The Basilisk attacked again, this time almost breaching Luna’s shield. She wouldn’t be able to hold him off much longer, as with every blow to it she struggled more and more to keep the shield intact. She felt her strength slowly leave her, as she was getting tired; trying to keep her weight of her left foreleg, as when she tried to stand on it a jolt of pain almost made her lose her concentration. The Basilisk pulled back, showing its teeth and preparing to break her shield; but before it attacked, a hiss of pain and anger reached Luna’s ears. She looked up briefly, while still avoiding the deadly gaze of the Basilisk; and she saw that the golem was attacking it. It was a frightening sight, as his one hand seemed to be filled with electricity; while his other blasted ice on the Basilisk.

Delta attacked, time after time; while trying to avoid the attacks of the Basilisk. His plan had changed slightly, when he saw that the snake was trying to attack the pony. Wielding electricity in his left hand and ice in his right, he hit the snake wherever he could. The electricity seemed to daze it for a moment, while the ice didn’t seemed to be too effective. Barely avoiding the sweeping tail of the snake, that was blindly trying to hit him; Delta finally reached his drill, but before he could pick it up he saw a shadow towering over him. He looked up and saw the snake, mouth agape; the moon behind it already sinking behind the horizon. He saw the sharp teeth and the flickering tongue in its open mouth, but before he could move the snake pounced downwards; and after that, darkness seemed to surround him.

Luna followed the fight closely, as she saw the golem attacking the Basilisk; skilfully dodging the blind sweeps of its tail, while he tried to reach it weapon. She felt strangely relieved when the golem reached its weapon, but her heart missed a beat when the Basilisk reached for the sky and attacked the golem; its mouth seemingly making him disappear. The Basilisk turned around, preparing to once again to attack her; but before it could reach her, the Basilisk opened its mouth, a burp of fire emerging from it. “What...? B-but... what?” Luna muttered to nopony in particular, as she didn’t believe what she saw.

Standing upright in the Basilisk’s mouth was the golem, his back turned to her. She could see that it tried to lift his hand again, but stopped when the Basilisk tried to push him into its throat with its tongue. The golem struggled to keep its mouth open, while still trying to move around; slowly making it so that his back was now turned to the deep, black hole behind him. With a punch that could break rocks, the golem hit one of the Basilisk fangs; causing it to hiss angrily, while it was mostly muffled by the golem that now had managed to set his heavy boots on the Basilisk’s tongue. Luna looked away from the two fighting, searching for a way to take the Basilisk out. And she smiled, as a idea came to her.

Delta tried to stay upright in the slimy mouth of the snake, while searching for ways to escape from certain death; as he hadn’t planned to get eaten anytime soon. He had already used fire to get it to open its mouth, but that had done almost no damage. He tried and punched against one of the fangs, hoping to break it off; but only a muffled, very angry hiss was the response. He firmly held his boots on its tongue, as it almost had managed to knock him into the gaping throat behind him. When he had hit the fangs of the snake a viscous fluid had come out of it, now burning on his right fist; Delta could see that the fluid was beginning to burn through his glove, before he wiped it off on the slippery palate of the snake’s mouth.

Thinking quickly he used both his hand to send jolt after jolt of electricity through the snake’s mouth, but he stopped when it only shook its head; being nothing more than a little dazed, while the shaking almost knocked Delta loose. Suddenly a dark blue glow surrounded the upper jaw of the snake, pulling it up so Delta finally had his hands free; and in front of the snake, surrounded in that same dark blue glow, his drill floated. Without a second thought he jumped forwards, reaching for his drill; while still preparing for the impact with the ground below.

Luna strained to keep the mouth of the Basilisk open, giving the golem a change to escape; while levitating his weapon to him. The golem jumped out of the mouth and before he even hit the ground, he already had managed to attach the weapon to his right arm. Slowly he stood up, the weapon spinning around; while flames surrounded his left hand. Luna’s magic finally failed and she felt to the ground, hoping that the golem wouldn’t kill her when he was finished with the Basilisk. She followed the fight, while laying on the ground; the golem dashing forwards with his drill and hitting the Basilisk in its chest, while dodging its attack and responding with fire. It was more than fighting, it looked like the golem and the Basilisk were dancing; the golem gracefully dashing around the Basilisk, while it attacked brusque and without thinking. She already knew who would win, but she hoped he would spare her...

Delta dashed forwards again, using his drill to hit the snake in the chest for the fifth time; while dodging out of the way, when the snake tried to bite him. He hit the snake’s head with fire, causing it to be temporarily blinded by the licking flames on its head; shrieks of pains and hisses of anger filling the air. The pony that had helped him, laid on the ground; she seemed very tired, but still she held her head upright, following the fight. Delta dashed forwards again, but this time the snake was faster and managed to hit him; making Delta fall on the ground, his drill laying mere centimetres from him.

The snake moved quickly and came down again, ready to bite Delta; but Delta rolled on his stomach and quickly stood up. He reached for his belt and pulled out the ceremonial knife, which he never had thought about using before; and Delta jumped forward, hitting the snake in the head with the knife. With a shriek of pain the snake pushed him back, giving Delta the change to reach his drill. He looked back up to the snake, a whirring drill in his right hand; ready to attack, but he stayed put when he saw the snake rearing backwards from him.

Luna saw the knife, that the golem had jammed between two scales just above its eyes, jutting out from the Basilisk’s head; the revealed part of the knife reflecting the light of the rising sun. The Basilisk reared away from them and with one last angry hiss and look at the brightening sky, it slowly disappeared in the shadows of the Everfree Forest. With a sigh of relief she looked up at the sky, thankful that her Sister’s Sun had just risen; while still surprised that the Basilisk just had backed off. She looked to her left, seeing the golem slowly making his way back to the forest.

“Wait!” She yelled, immediately regretting that decision when the golem slowly turned around. He looked at her, that yellow light still obscuring his face from her; if he even had a face.

“I-if you w-want to get out of the f-forest, you need to g-go the other w-way...” She said quietly, while slightly struggling to speak; strangely feeling not threatened when he came closer to her.

Delta looked from the pony to the forest, her hoof outstretched to where he should go if he wanted to get out of this place. Her eyes were big and she was shivering, making Delta feel guilty when he trudged past her; his mind only set to find Twilight. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and turned around, returning to the night blue mare; his heavy steps pounding on the muddy forest floor, while she stayed where she was, not even trying to scurry away. He went through one of his knees, while resting on another; and he reached out with his hand. Looking from his helmet to his hand, she slowly laid her hoof in it; without any effort Delta pulled her upwards, and into his arms.

His drill rested on its normal place on his back, he had defeated the snake that stood between him and getting out of this forest. Delta felt he had accomplished much today... He would make his way out of this forest and find Twilight, with the help of the guide that laid comfortably in his arms; resting her horn on the biceps of his right arm. He would rescue Twilight and nothing could stop him, not even the one that had previously buried him beneath a pile of trees.

He only hoped that this was the only creature he had to fight to get out of this cursed forest... Or that it at least was one of the largest creatures this forest harbored and that the rest stayed out of this way.

While trudging off in the shadows below the heavy canopy, exchanging the light of the sun for the darkness of the forest; he had this strange feeling occur to him... He had the feeling that carrying ponies around would become a everyday thing for him in the future.

***
“[...]The ancient tale of an old wall, being guarded by golems conjured out of powerful magic, has always been considered to be an old maretale. Although if one would want to see for oneself if this myth is truth, they should search in the heart of the forest; where dangerous creatures are found...”
***

Author's Note: An update, finally! I hope this chapter was worth the wait and that you all like it, of course... So yeah, see you all next chapter!

The Path to Progress (Chapter 9)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 9: The Path to Progress

“What if you would find a path in the middle of nowhere, its trail leading you both left and right; carrying with it endless possibilities for your near future? What would you choose? Would you see fit to sit and wait, scared for what future your choice could bring? Or would you settle on either path, roaming through the void with the hope that you found the one that leads to progress?”

***

With every passing second the sun calmly climbed higher in the sky, unlike the rampantly rising anxiousness in one of the guards outside Ponyville Hospital; who, with every pace back and forth, seemed to grow more and more unsure of what action to take. The rest of Luna’s Guard kept doing their duty, guarding the outside of the Hospital; although some of them cast quick glances to their captain, as they passed the tense mare, who had been lost in thought ever since their Princess stayed behind in the Everfree Forest. Little did they know that Shadow Stalker was mentally torn between choices, as the fear that something had happened to the Princess of the Night became greater with every passing second.

Shadow Stalker felt slightly nauseous, while she was thinking about what course of action she would take. It had been little less than an hour ago that she left her Princess alone in the dangerous forest, but there still was no sign of the Mare of the Moon. The most logical choice would be to wake Princess Celestia, so she could search for her Sister; but Shadow quickly had forgotten that idea after she had gone inside the hospital to check up on the state of the Princess of the Sun.

The nurse behind the reception desk had told her that the Princess seemed to be healing steadily, but faster than they had anticipated; as, of course, Ponyville Hospital never had the honor of treating an Alicorn before, just like most hospitals in Equestria. It wasn’t surprising to Shadow that the nurses and doctors were astounded by the astronomical rate of recovery of Princess Celestia, but she was taken aback a bit when the nurse told her that it would be best for the Princess to rest a full day before she went back to Canterlot; it seemed that even the Princess of the Sun had to pay the price of using such a difficult and energy consuming magic.

The real problem was the overprotective Royal Guard of Princess Celestia, who wouldn’t even let Shadow close now that the Princess had to rest; not even when she carried important news about the whereabouts of Princess Luna, and even more so about her absence. Not many ponies knew this, but there had always been an unspoken feud between the two Royal Guards and their captains; although nopony really remembers where it originated from, it secretly was one of the many traditions that still lived between the Royal Guards and their many divisions and ranks.

Of course it was known to most that there was a clear separation between the Royal Guard of the Sun and the Royal Guard of the Moon, although that didn’t end with the disunion of their armor; something that most ponies believed to be the only difference between the Guards. Not only their appearance, but their traditions had been different for a long time; something that most of the guards believed to have started when Princess Luna had changed for the worse, followed by the thousand years long incarceration of the Princess of the Night in the moon.

Even now there still was that noticeable hostility between the two guards, something that only had gotten worse through the small numbers of Princess Luna Guard; as it had forced Princess Celestia to only use her own Guards to patrol Canterlot Castle, a duty that had the lowest reputation under the two Guards. Also the fact that only the best of the best serving in Celestia’s Guard had the chance to be chosen for Luna’s didn’t help to relieve the tension between the two groups. It was something that the two captains of the guards sometime made use of, as it had caused a day after day hostility that kept them all on edge; but without the danger of a real war or adversary to have them worry about.

It was something that most recruits, to their loss, didn’t know about. And it was something that senior guards, to their amusement, made use of from time to time. Amidst the guards it was known as the tradition of initiation, where the new recruits blindly had to perform in different ‘games’; ranging from a friendly wrestling match to the infamous ‘onion contest’. Although, the Royal Guard of the Moon had some more... interesting traditions, some where even the Princess herself partook in from time to time.

There was of course some union between the different Guards, the search for new recruits being one of the only things that required both the captains to work in harmony. Some thought that joining either of the Royal Guards was as simple as filling in a paper or a form, knocking on the front gates of Canterlot Castle while yelling that they wanted to join the Guard. But you didn’t choose to be in the Guard, you get chosen.

Every year during the week before Summer Sun Celebration both the captains pay a visit to the Equestrian Army, where they begin their search for future recruits. But only those that excel in the fields of stamina, strength, magical prowess have a chance to get chosen; as they were the only ones that maybe could withstand and complete the taxing training that it took to be called a Guard of one of the Princesses. Although the Royal Guard considered the Equestrian Army to be little more than a mock army, that pretended to fight small, imaginative battles with the Griffons once every decade; it still was deemed to be the first and necessary step on the ladder to success.

And when the training is finally done, when the once feeble recruits have become faster, stronger and more agile; when they have learned to operate in groups and act alone, to follow every command of their superiors; then and only then they learn the last thing they need to know and follow by heart: That they are the last barrier between the Princesses and whatever is out there.

‘Make harsh decisions when the time arises for them’, the one rule that the Royal Guard of the Sun and the Royal Guard of the Moon had agreed on, the rule that every stallion and mare followed by heart...

Shadow Stalker sighed and turned around to look for her second-in-command, Night Reiver; a strong Earth pony stallion, silent but one of the fastest guards that Luna’s Royal Guard had to offer. Capable of outrunning Shadow even in flight, she knew he was the pony she could count on. Reiver looked back at her, understanding the look she was casting him; giving the other guards the order to spread out, so they could have the chance to talk in private.

“Reiver,’ Shadow began with a tinge of doubt in her voice, “I’m going back to the Everfree Forest.” Reiver nodded in response.

“If I do not return in one hour, wake up Princess Celestia. Tell her that our Princess of the Night has still not returned and that I’m went back to find her.” Shadow continued, hoping that she was making the right choice.

“May the night sky carry your wings.” Reiver answered, his voice quiet but determined; his right hoof raised in a salute.

“And may her moon show us the way...” Shadow answered, returning the salute.

She turned around and began to gallop, opening her wings and pushing herself up in the morning sky; making way to the Everfree Forest. She flew close to the ground, trying to be stealthy; so she wouldn’t alert the slowly awakening citizens of Ponyville that something was wrong. Coming closer to the forest, the inky shadows gesturing for her to come closer, she began to pick up speed. With one large pump of her wings she glided above the canopy of the forest, her first target the clearing in the forest where she had left the Princess alone; hoping that she still was there and if not, that she could find traces of where the Princess had gone to.

And she prayed the night sky and it’s glorious stars that her Princess was safe.

***

With heavy steps Subject Delta advanced, stomping through the thick underbrush of the lush forest; his lumbering pacing scaring away any creatures that were near him. In his arms still laid that dark blue mare, her head resting on his arm; as she was taking this opportunity to rest. Without her help he would probably still be wandering through the forest, hoping that he would find the way. Maybe now he would finally reach the edge of this forest, and with a bit of luck, track Twilight down.

Everywhere he could look he saw trees, all fighting for a place in the canopy above; their leaves blocking out any rays of light that could possibly reach the forest floor below. The forest floor itself was mostly dry after the rain from before, fallen leaves littered everywhere, some crunching under his feet. Vines were growing on most trees, the green infestation seemed to be clinging to every available surface. He could see some flowers hiding in the shadows, mushrooms growing on the roots of trees; those making up the biggest part of the obstacles in his way. In the distance he could hear the growling of some kind of lion... A faint fog was rising from the forest floor in some places, sometimes so thick he couldn’t see a tree before it was almost too late to avoid it. Everything considered, this place seemed to be very peaceful… as long as there weren’t any gigantic snakes slithering out of the shadows.

Out of the corners of his helmet Delta could see some movement in the shadows to his left, although he didn’t hear any sounds of activity. Delta turned, facing, what seemed to him, a shadowy figure that seemingly was one with the darkness cast by the canopy overhead. But how longer he looked into the forest, how more he began to doubt he really had seen anything at all; the jet black darkness not giving away to his piercing eyes and lights. He began to consider to move forward, search for any tracks or prints on the forest floor; but before he could investigate further he felt a slight movement in his arms.

The mare in his arms wriggled a bit, pulling him out of his thoughts. She muttered something and began to snore noticeably… If he wasn’t attracting enough attention already with his heavy steps, he surely was now. He casted one last glance to where he had seen the shadow earlier, trying to find any clue to what it could’ve been. Turning away, he began moving back to the path that laid beyond these trees; although that was what the mare had said to him. He was starting to think she had lied, as it felt like he was carrying her for hours now. But sure enough, the trees were beginning to give each other more space; allowing the underbrush to grow more freely in the spots were light was able to break through.

Delta stopped in one of those spots, looking to the sky; hoping to deduct from the stance of the sun how late it was. He was amazed by how beautiful the forest looked in the sunlight, the otherwise dark colors now becoming more lively; showing the amaranthine beauty that the forest seemed to have been hiding from him before. Although, now he was looking up through that opening in the canopy a strange feeling came over him…

A bright, shining light piercing through the darkness-like cloak that had covered him, breaking through the shadows in the deepest recesses of his mind where he, unsuccessfully, had tried to hide in... a feeble attempt to escape...

***

Thirst. Hunger. He felt like his stomach was trying to digest itself, his cracked lips and dry throat only slightly diverting him from the pain he felt all over his body. His eyes were still closed, although the piercing light had managed to break through his slumber. He heard voices, but he couldn’t focus enough to understand what they were saying. He wanted to try to move his body, to relieve himself of some of the pain; but he seemed unable to do so, like he no longer was the master over his own body...

He wanted to fall back to sleep, to escape from reality... to dream that he was free. Finally he had lost the hope that, maybe, this was all a dream... That he hadn’t took that job, that he had listened to... This, how unbelievable it seemed like, wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare. If he was still able to, he would’ve laughed at the situation he was in; taking this job of proving them all that this “Lighthouse” was just a story... a tale told between fishermen when they came in the pub after a long day’s worth of work. How wrong he had been...

His head became clearer, allowing him to pay some attention to his surroundings. No longer he hung suspended from the ceiling, now his back rested on a cold, possibly steel table. An operation table perhaps...

Various plastic tubes ran over his arms and chest, pumping fluids in and out him through sharp needles. His throat still hurt like someone had pierced it with a thousand needles, but that wasn’t what really scared him. The fact that he couldn’t move his body, even though he was concentrating as hard as he could, scared him more than anything.

It made him feel like he was... trapped in a body that wasn’t his, although he still felt the pain.

Like before he heard voices. He could hear two males talking and as he began to concentrate on it, he began to understand more and more of what they were saying.

“... and with the new tonics spliced into the suit directly it would be able to withstand more stress than usual.” The man that talked seemed to be overly confident of himself, speaking with an air over him like he owned everything.

“And I tell you that it would be a bad idea! Imagine, someone figures out the formula and before we know it a new breed of splicers takes over, with a skin impenetrable by small arms fire.” The familiar accent of the Asian doctor Suchong filled the room. He seemed to be upset with something.

“We have to do everything it takes to ensure the safety of...,” the other man began.

“No! There’s no time to...” Suchong became more difficult to understand, as the two moved out of the room.

It was once again quiet, only the dripping of water on the tiles below disrupting the apparently peaceful room.

His thoughts became cloudy again, making it difficult to stay awake. Slowly he began to sink back into the featureless void, where the rest of his nightmares stayed...

...The sound of the morning breeze, soaring above the restless sea... The salty taste that lingered around his cracked lips... The absolute freedom he enjoyed, like a never-ending dream...

A sudden fog rising from beyond the sea...

Nowhere to hide, nowhere safe...

From the piercing, yellow light from that cursed Lighthouse...

And what waits below the endless sea?

Nothing that you could imagine, not even in your wildest dreams...

A sudden shock pulled him from his nightmares, but only to be awaken in an even bigger nightmare.

He could hear the voice of Andrew Ryan, a voice that was hard to forget.

“Is he awake now, Suchong?”

“Yes, sir. But I thought-”

“You do not need to think Suchong, just do what I tell you...” Ryan came closer.

“Mister Ryan, I believe that it’s best to let Suchong work in peace, so he can begin the operation.” The third voice that belonged to Augustus Sinclair seemed to have an undertone of... doubt.

“No, Augustus, Mister Topside needs to hear this.” Ryan now stood next to the operation table.

“Can he open his eyes?” Ryan seemed to ask to no one in particular.

In response a fluid began to travel in the various tubes surrounding him, mixing with his blood. Another shock caused his eyelids to open, although he was trying to keep them closed.

“Mister Ryan, we are in the middle of the preparations of the operation and-”

“I think Mister Topside has nowhere to go urgently, Suchong.”

He couldn’t see anything clear, as everything seemed to be blurred. He noticed the light above him though, the same that had woken him up before.

“I thought we were going to talk to Sofia-”

“Yes, we will, Augustus! Do not talk about that wretched woman,” Ryan sighed, “She too can wait.”

“Let me-”

“Suchong, I belief Misses Tenenbaum wanted to talk with you about the Little Sisters. She has a match for your... Subject Delta.”

With some muttering Suchong left the room, leaving a minute of silence between the two other men.

“Now, Mister Topside... How good to see you again,” A face began to form into the blur above, “But... you seemed to have undergone some... changes.”

He could see a small smile form on the mustached face above him.

“I have to give it to you, you’re a fighter. Even after seven days we didn’t manage to break you. But... that will change, Mister Topside, yes it will.”

He tried to move, do something. But he was unable to.

“It’s a shame you can’t talk... But I know you still can hear me. I will only say this once,” Ryan moved even closer, hatred visible in his eyes as he began to whisper, “This. Is. My. City. Mine, you understand me. The Parasite shall never break us. You may have found us, Mister Topside, but who ever was with you on that boat is dead. And so are you, but you don’t know it yet.”

Ryan moved away and the sounds of his footsteps mixed with the sound of his cane, he always seemed to carry with him.

“You may not be broken... Yet, I may add, but you still can serve Rapture. We need good men, strong men...,” Ryan chuckled sharply, “Willing men. You may not be that yet, but we have to set an example. The Parasite has nothing to search in Rapture and all who try will undergo the same treatment as you. You... are a good test subject and soon you’ll be an example of the prowess of Rapture.”

Augustus Sinclair moved closer and took a small paper from Ryan, a message written on it with florid handwriting.

“Give that to Suchong on the way out.” Ryan said, while making way to the exit.

Reaching the door Ryan turned back, saying one last thing: “You will be a good addition to Rapture’s defense... Subject Delta.” And with that the eccentric founder of the Utopia under the sea left the room.

Augustus moved closer and fiddled with some controls, causing the flow of fluids in the tubes to stop. He took the paper that Ryan had given him and read it to himself: “Suchong, Parasites don’t deserve anesthetics.”

Shoving the paper in one of his pockets Augustus came closer and whispered: “I’m sorry, Johnny, but you have to understand... This ain’t personal.”

And with that Augustus too left the room.

Now he was left alone yet again and if he could he would’ve cried. When would this nightmare end? With the entrance of Suchong and the flowing of some fluids once again he was lost in his nightmares.

But this time, they would be real and filled with pain.

***

Still looking up to the sky, Subject Delta shook his head to try and come to his senses again. Once again he had seen something from his past and once again it carried more questions than answers. But was it real? Wasn’t it just a nightmare? When he began making way again, hoping that he would find answers to some of his questions with Twilight, there was one thing that he know that was true.

This were no dreams or nightmares. They were memories... And maybe there was a reason he couldn’t remember them before...

After trudging through some more underbrush he finally came to a trail of some sorts, the only place in the forest that resembled something to a path. To his left and right he couldn’t see anything on the path, although to his right the forest seemed to become darker again. After standing still for some time he chose the left road, hoping that it would guide him out of the forest.

While the canopy above began to make place for more and more for streaks of sunlight, a slight gasp caused him to look down at the mare in his arms. She seemed to be disoriented and for a moment she began panicking, but then she looked up; a small smile forming around her lips, when she recognized him. She looked around, still resting in his arms, and she began to open her mouth to say something.

Before a single sound could escape her lips, something behind them broke through the canopy, landing on the forest floor with a small thud. Delta turned around, facing whatever had landed behind them. It was another of those ponies, wearing a dark blue armor with a silver colored lining around it. Her wings were spread out, making her look bigger; like she was trying to intimidate him.

The pony spoke up, her voice trembling with repressed rage: “You have three seconds to let Princess Luna go, Golem...”

***

“A never ending rage fuel those that lose their Little Sister. It isn’t possible to bind them to another, but maybe we can control them... use them for foot soldiers. The Alpha Series isn’t sufficient anymore... It’s time for change. Or maybe we just need a way to control them better...”

-Gilbert Alexander, creator of the Alpha Series Big Daddies.

***

Author's Notes: Here you go, a present to you all from me. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Return (Chapter 10)

Subject Delta - Rapturous for Equestria
*by TheMightyT*
*\Cleansed of mistakes by Taucannon/*

*Special thanks to Serenity*

Chapter 10: Return

“Take a chance, they said. Leave your homes in this earthly plane, where the Parasite lives and feeds; and come down... deep down into the endless ocean, where reality meets dreams. Dreams of a single man... a city envisioned for a few.

And indeed, Rapture was exactly that... dreams of a single man, built by many and home to those that were chosen. When they came down here in droves, believing, hoping that Rapture could be the ‘Utopia’ they all wished it to be; they didn’t realise that, in the end, Rapture is owned by a single man - Andrew Ryan.

And in return for taking a chance, so were they.”

***

A lone shadow glided over the thick canopy that shrouded the endless forest, the sounds of wings flapping in the cold air of the early morning being the only thing that disrupted the seemingly peaceful silence that ruled below. The shadow moved slowly the farther it advanced into the forest, as a wavering fog that emanated from the forest clinged to her coat and armor. The weak light of the still rising sun did not stand a chance against the freezing cold that seemed to have made its home above the forest, causing her breathing to become even more labored; as the armor that was made to protect her from harm, didn’t hold any warmth. As she soared up higher into the sky, trying to escape from the fog that made her coat wet, there was something in the far distance that caught her attention. For just a moment, the sun got concealed by darkened clouds, carrying a promise of more rain, making, what she had thought to be just more clouds, something worth investigating.

Small plumes of smoke were barely visible, circling above the thick canopy, as small particles and ashes danced in the air.

“Smoke...” Shadow Stalker whispered to herself, as she forced herself to fly faster.

As she soared down, she realised where the smoke was coming from; a place she had just left a couple of hours ago, a clearing that, until recently, used to be filled with trees. As she descended through the fog carefully, she could see the smoke that rose from the charred trees more clearly; small embers still spread around the clearing and burrowed in the trees around it, their blistering glow now clearly visible from above.

Although, something seemed wrong to her. As she cautiously hovered above the forest floor, she searched around for any traces of Princess Luna, yet the Princess of the Night was nowhere to be seen. As she finally touched down, the mud greedily sucked at her hooves; as the still rising sun hadn’t had the chance yet to fully dry the earth after yesterday’s rain. It couldn’t have been more than a couple of hours ago, but to Shadow, it seemed like ages. It was here she had left her Princess alone. She hadn’t agreed with Princess Luna staying behind, all alone, checking if the golem was truly dead; however, she wasn’t one to go against her Princess’s orders; even though that was as big of a part of being a member of the Lunar Guard, if only for their Princess’s own safety.

Struggling to keep upright in the mud, that tried it hardest to keep her in place, she started to look around. Her heart missed a beat, when she noticed that the mountain of tree-pieces was no longer there; chunks of the violently uprooted tree, that had made the golem’s grave, was now spread around the clearing; as though the golem itself had pushed them up from beyond his death. She carefully stepped closer to the still fuming grave, in search of the golem, her wings still outstretched and ready to fly up. When she reached the gap, and didn’t see the remains of the golem, she turned around, searching intently in the shadows below the trees that surrounded the clearing; however, she couldn’t see anything moving, except some leaves swaying in the wind.

She sighed, letting go of a breath she hadn’t noticed she was holding. The sight of her own breath before her, made her realise that it was way colder in the forest than in the lands around it. It made her, even more so than the midnight watch did, realise that Summer had finally made way for Fall. Above all, she wished that she had followed the advice that the last watches had given her, and that she had opted to take her Winter’s armor instead of her Summer’s one. With a shiver, she forced herself to ignore the cold and to return to her findings. There weren’t any signs of the golem still being around here, so for the time being, she was safe to look around.

“What happened here?” She asked herself, no one around to hear her speak.

Shadow tucked her wings back to her side, the contact with her cold, wet armor making her almost flinch before she returned to searching for any clues. As she walked around, she noticed that there were patches of mud that crunched underneath her hooves, like something - besides the weather - had frozen them. She took a closer look, remembering that the golem did cast a strange spell, turning part of the river into ice, allowing it to escape from them back at the river.

“So... he froze the mud. But why?”

She did a lap around the clearing, more so to keep herself warm underneath her metal armor, than to search for traces. She damned the Everfree Forest for taking Fall so early; the morning dew that seemed to have frozen stuck to her armor and the sun, that now had barely pierced to the clouds, failed to warm her. She untucked her wings and with a powerful leap she flew up into the air, hovering above the clearing again. She hoped that she would see more from above, as she had failed to find anything useable in the mud below.

Around the clearing she spotted some trodden down bushes, like something enormous had come out of the shadows, something even bigger than the golem. In the mud, she could see long tracks, like something had been dragged along there; mixed in with the - at least what she thought them to be - bigger hoofprints of the golem. She flew closer to one of the trees around the clearing, that still seemed to be burning, the embers in it still dying out.

“The fire from Princess Celestia’s spell should’ve died out by now... So, how are you still burning?” She pondered, turning around to observe the other side of the clearing.

Almost directly opposite to the ember-filled trees and the trodden bushes, she could see another unfortunate tree which suffered a hit by something very heavy, as if...

“So, maybe... But who threw it into the tree?” She murmured, frantically looking around to find more clues to solving this mystery.

From the corner of her eye, she could see something flickering in the mud as the light of the sun hit it. With the mud welcoming her hooves again, she examined it closer. It seemed to be something... very thin and sharp. With some difficulty she pulled it out of the mud, by using her wing, wiping it clean with another.

“What is this?”

It seemed to be some kind of scale, like a snake’s, but much bigger. It made her think of the dragon’s scales they kept back at Canterlot Castle, but these were almost completely black, with some vague hints of, what could’ve been, green.

“So a dragon attacked? That would explain the fire,” she paused, looking up at the sky, “However, there’s no way a dragon could’ve nested here without us knowing it...”

She turned the scale around, but beyond the fact that it bore many scars, there was nothing else it could tell her. Shadow sighed and carefully tucked it away below her armor, hoping that it could come in handy in the future. She readied herself to fly up again, so she could search for more clues; but something else caught her attention... some stray dark blue hair, sticking out of the mud. There seemed to be some red discoloration...

“Blood,” she nearly yelled out loud, “And that hair... Princess Luna!” She frantically looked around, as if she would find her Princess in the shadows.

Feeling nauseous for the second time that day, she looked around again for more pieces of the story, mumbling all the while.

“What happened... what happened?”

Shadow followed the hoofsteps she first believed to belong to the golem and she now saw the smaller ones, beside them. The trail was hard to follow, but it all came clear to her now.

Something had ambushed Princess Luna and, possibly, the golem. It had been something big, if the tracks in the mud were any clue to its size, and it had scales. The golem or Princess Luna had fought that something back. Something big. Something that came through the shadows of the forest.

“It couldn’t have been a dragon... She would have seen or hear it coming before it even had a chance to reach her. It was something heavy and wide,” she pondered as she stood in the middle of the tracks, being just about twice her width, “Something big enough to make these tracks... Maybe a big snake?”

Slowly the pieces of the puzzle were coming together. There was a tree, bent over, like something heavy had hit it, probably the golem. The hoofsteps of the golem lead to where Shadow had found the bloodied hairs of her Princess and then they trailed back to the forest, with no other traces of any hoofsteps belonging to her Princess. Some bushes were slightly trampled where the golem had entered the forest, the dark blue hair confirming Shadow’s deepest fear; the golem had her Princess... and he had taken her back into the forest.

With a mighty push of her wings she flew up into the air, circling close above the canopy. The hoofprints of the golem went deeper into the forest, yet closer to Ponyville. With another push of her wings she flew off, rocketing towards Ponyville; however, she stayed dangerously close to the canopy, following the trail of destruction that the golem had left behind, hoping she would just see it moving below her. It wouldn’t take her long until she found it.

And when she did... she would personally make sure the golem wouldn’t stand up again, after she was done with it.

***

Scratching at the ground below with one of his hooves, Reiver looked up again at the near-cloudless sky and to his dismay the sun kept rising; yet, still there was no sign of his captain and the Princess. Quite a while longer than an hour ago his captain had left, in search of their Princess, and all that time he had stood vigil, watching the sky above the forest for any signs, the edges for any movement; yet, the sun kept slowly rising, like it was just another normal day. The citizens of Ponyville had started to awaken from their slumber and it wouldn’t be long before he had to order the ponies under his command to keep them away from the hospital. Soon it would be his task - technically being the highest ranking of both the Royal Guards here, at least, to his knowledge - to inform the citizens of what happened, without revealing too much and causing any commotion. The last thing anypony wanted was mass panic and if it became publicly known that Princess Celestia herself was in the hospital and her own sister was still missing...

He accused the cold wind for the shiver that went up his back.

He looked around and saw that his ponies were still patrolling the area surrounding the hospital. Putting his hoof up in the air, he signalled the pair of guards that were patrolling closest to him. They nodded in response and repeated the same signal to the other guards; after just a moment, the area around the hospital seemed deserted, like nopony had ever been there in the first place. Satisfied with the work of his ponies, Reiver made his way to the reception of the hospital. Hopefully, his guards would remain hidden long enough to avoid suspicion from the citizens of Ponyville, giving him more time to prepare; while at the same time, he could be certain that anypony coming close enough to the hospital would be kept away.

With his mind already filled with the orders he still needed to give, he finally entered the hospital. He should probably send a courier to the Mayor of Ponyville, make sure the Solar Guard took over the outside patrol from his ponies, along with many other things. With a sigh, he decided against what normally would be his duty. He had made a promise to his captain and he sure wasn’t about to break it. Nonetheless, he did understand it wouldn’t be an easy task to get to speak with Princess Celestia, especially now that she was wounded; but even if it meant he had to fight his way into her room, this was way too urgent to wait any longer. He had hoped that Shadow would’ve returned by now, but, unfortunately, things had passed differently.

Inside the hospital itself everything was quiet, with the only thing that seemed out of place, a forgotten book on one of the chairs near the front desk. Besides himself and a nurse, who briefly looked up from behind the desk and nodded, there was nopony else in the room. Most of the guards would be patrolling the hallways or standing guard at the rooms of the Elements and the Princess. He nodded back to the nurse, who returned to her paperwork, and he made his way to the door leading deeper into the hospital. The moment he opened it, a waft of different odors reached his nose; the smell of disinfectant and medicaments that always seemed to linger inside hospitals making him slightly lightheaded. Everywhere he looked there were plain, white walls, with sometimes plants which interrupted the bleak interior, along with chairs, windows, or paintings and picture frames.

Two gold-plated guards slowly passed him, and, as they rounded the corner, another pair of guards slowly patrolled into the hallway; but both pairs had equally ignored his presence. Even though he was their superior, not only in rank - First Wing of the Lunar guard, although, practically speaking, his actual place in the overall hierarchy was, sadly, different -, but also in ‘official’ title - although it didn’t hold that much weight except in the Lunar Guard itself -; but neither his rank or title held any significance for the members of the Solar Guard, as it mostly just caused them to act even more defiant, but only as long as their own superiors weren’t around. He wanted to ask the now passing pair of guards where Princess Celestia’s room was, but decided against it; they would probably just say that the Princess shouldn’t be disturbed.

Trotting through the hallways of the hospital, moving as silently as he could, many thoughts raced through his mind. He passed various doors, some open, most closed; but almost all numbered, all but those that carried a title, like the operation rooms and a small canteen, where several guards were having a light breakfast. He passed a corridor with several pairs of guards posted besides five doors, which he was almost certain of to be the rooms of the Elements. Rounding another corner, he came into a more guarded corridor, where several guards were posted before the door of, which he assumed to be, the room of Twilight Sparkle.

He ignored the guards, and the nurse that trotted past him into the corridor, going up the stairs instead, where he eventually made his way to the top floor of the hospital. If he just went on the amount of guards milling about the hallway he found himself in, he was fairly sure he would find Princess Celestia here. Now, reaching her room wouldn’t prove to be difficult.

It was getting inside that would prove to be near impossible.

The guards that patrolled the hallway in droves, like they expected to be ambushed at any moment, with their attention and stares coming his way, made him realise that this wasn’t going to be easy. Not that he was scared to get into a scrape with them, because he knew that in about thirty seconds all of his guards could be up here, with every single one of them ready to fight by his side.

However, above all, he didn’t want another skirmish between the two Guards.

Finally, he reached the door to Princess Celestia’s room. His attention wasn’t drawn by the two guards standing besides it, or the tell-tale magical glow of a shield surrounding the door, but by a third guard that moved to meet him. He quickly scanned the guards’ armor, searching for the stallion’s rank. He was surprised to not only find a silver feather - something that anypony not in the guard would easily mistake for a simple rookie-silver stripe -, embossed on where the stallion’s cutie mark would be; it were the golden embroideries that caught his attention.

This meant two things. Fortunately, he wouldn’t need to deal with any first-year-too-much-trouble-then-they-are-worth - kinda guards. Unfortunately, this also made the current situation even more complicated than it was already.

“A Golden Feather, First Rank... Of course, that’s just my luck,” he murmured to himself, silently cursing the skewed military order between the two guards; before returning the salute that the stallion gave him.

In essence, his rank was the higher one - with only the captain and the princesses outranking him -. Unfortunately, through time both Royal Guards came to adopt a different system of military ranking. The Solar Guard, their aim always been having as many guards as possible, had taken over the full military system of the old Pegasi Clan, before they moved to Equestria, which - with some honorary ranks as exceptions - were largely the same as the current Equestrian Army’s ranks. Throughout the ages many ranks would disappear, with others being added. The Lunar Guard, however, opted to go for a simpler approach, as they never would reach a fraction of the total numbers of the other Guard. In essence, they did use the same system, so technically he, being a First Wing, outranked any Feather; however, practically, it often seemed to be the opposite, a largely unknown fact that still lingered from the absence of the Lunar Guard’s use, without a Princess to guard.

The stallion greeted him by the book, but it was his slight wry smile, that made Reiver realise he might already have lost this battle. He bet that anypony so young as the guard before him, with such a high, not to speak of, honorary rank, didn’t get it through many valiant years of service. Unfortunately, politically or monetary influence still plagued the Solar Guard; as did proud father’s who would move mountains to see their sons or daughters into a high position they did not deserve.

Reiver didn’t really pay any attention to the stallion’s formal greeting, so he didn’t catch his name - nor that he was interested. He just hoped that this was just another push-over-run-to-daddy-crying-when-threatened - guard. He could deal with those.

“First Wing, Reiver,” he shortened his, what should’ve been a way longer, greeting.

“First Wing, you say...” the stallion seemed to ponder something, before realising that Reiver was waiting for him, “What can I do for you, Sir?”

The salute that followed, as well as the Sir, was more mocking than military conduct.

“I need to speak with Princess Celestia. Now,” Reiver responded with a stern voice.

“I am afraid that Princess Celestia herself gave the order to not be disturbed,” the stallion answered with the same wry smile, not even trying to hide it anymore, “That means audiences as well.”

“I don’t care what your orders-” Reiver started, before he was interrupted.

“Know your place,” the stallion added bluntly, “Before you lose it.”

“Is that a threat, first-year?” Reiver rebuked, taking a step closer.

Before the stallion answered, the tension in the hallway had become tangible. The stallion and mare guarding the door had too taken a step forward, with the other guards in the hallway also coming closer. He needed to defuse this situation, quickly.

“I don’t know who you think you are,” the stallion started, lower lip trembling in anger, “But I have the all-overriding order by the Princess herself and I will not allow you-”

“To do my duty and tell her that her sister is missing?” Reiver interrupted him rhetorically, his voice filling the hallway, drowning out the mumbling of the other guards.

The stallion stayed silent for just a moment, seemingly ashamed and unsure of what to do. He looked back up in Reiver’s eyes, a strange glint in his, “It’s not my responsibility to fix your failure-”

Before the two stallions could start in another argument, or more likely, a fight; the door at the end of the hallway creaked open. Every single guard tore their eyes off the two bickering stallions and bowed to their Princess. Princess Celestia stepped forward, approaching them both, as their voices abruptly died down. She still looked very tired, the dark circles underneath her eyes still slightly noticeable; yet, the wounds on her chest and legs seemed to be healed completely, now that the bandages were removed.

The stallion was the first that tried to speak up, but Princess Celestia stopped his frantic whining about Reiver breaking her orders, with a single glare.

She motioned for Reiver to get out his reverence with a nod of her head. And although Reiver wasn’t one to get scared easily, that glint of fire and pure anger in the Princess’s eyes unnerved him beyond anything else.

“Now...,” Princess Celestia started, her voice painfully stern, “Tell me about my sister.”

***

She found them.

By Star Swirl’s beard, she found them!

There they both were, on the single path leading from the Everfree to Ponyville. The golem was carrying her Princess in his arms.

And she seemed to be awake and scared.

With a powerful maneuver, ending in a loop in the air, she took all her forward momentum and used it to breach through the canopy, wings clenched tightly to her sides. In a single motion, she flared her wings open and slowed her descend, breaking her fall, as she landed loudly on the dirt; standing proudly behind the golem, her wings painfully outstreched, making her look twice as large.

Shadow spoke up, her voice trembling with repressed rage, “You have three seconds to let Princess Luna go, Golem...”

Delta didn’t move a single muscle. The pony in his arms, this so-called Princess Luna, seemed to keep bringing him more trouble with every step; first with the snake and then with this armored pony. Not that he was scared of it. It just made things more complicated. The pony- Princess Luna, was his ticket to Twilight. He could not lose her, but, at the same time, killing a pony wouldn’t help anything either.

So, he did what the pony had asked. He moved slowly, making sure to set the Princess down as carefully as he could. She seemed in shock, her mouth open to speak, yet, unable to process what was happening. She laid on the dirt, as he carefully took a step back. He patiently awaited for the pony to speak again.

Shadow didn’t know what she saw. The golem had just laid the Princess down, at the side of the road, without putting up any fight. At first sight, she seemed okay, if not in shock. She returned all her attention to the golem, when it moved to take a step back. This seemed too easy. Her muscles tensed as she expected the golem to storm forward.

This could be so easy. With a flick of his plasmid filled wrist, Delta could pull a dead tree out of the forest, hitting the unexpecting, armored pony in the back; squashing her beneath it, with her limbs and wings hopelessly tangled. An easy target. However, he found it hard to do so. The thought of killing the pony just seemed wrong. She hadn’t hurt him. And if she wanted to, she would’ve attacked already, or pounced on him together with those other armored guard he had seen. Yet, she didn’t. The pony carefully waited, her body tensed up. He just needed to make her understand he didn’t want to hurt her, so she didn’t get herself hurt when she tried to attack him.

Just when she was ready to fly forward, hitting the golem with all her propelled might in the chest; it did the last thing she had expected. It slowly moved its arms downwards, hooves open, yet empty of any magical glow; and finally, it went through its knees, kneeling before her. It was kneeling. Before her. Confused, she lost the tension she was holding, her wings easing back; yet, still ready to react if the golem tried anything.

She moved to make sure Princess Luna was okay, her thoughts clouded, as she kneeled down next to her Princess, trying to tell her that everything was okay now. ‘It makes sense, strangely enough. It never did try to hurt any of us, until we tried to stand in its way, flailing wildly, like a wounded animal just trying to survive. Maybe... just maybe, it isn’t out to hurt us after all.”

“Princess,” Shadow spoke, inspecting her Princess.

“Shadow? Why... how,” Princess Luna tried, her voice trailing off, as she still didn’t realise fully what was going on.

“It’s okay, Luna, I’m here now,” Shadow answered, letting her guard down for just a moment, pulling her Princess in a close hug, barely avoiding tears from brimming in her own eyes.

She quickly regained her composure, though, craning her head back to look at the golem. Its hooves still rested on its knees, still haven’t moved a single muscle.

A hoof reaching up to her cheek, made her look back down to the matter at hoof, “It’s okay, Shadow. It- He’s okay. He saved me.” Princess Luna answered her, finally understanding what was happening.

“Who saved you?” Shadow asked, understanding what Princess Luna had meant, before she even finished her sentence, “You mean the golem, it saved you?” She continued with a motion of her wing, to the golem that still was kneeling in place. She really couldn’t make out if it was watching them or not, with that helmet he was wearing obscuring the view.

“He did, yes.” Princess Luna nodded, “However, maybe we should wait to explain everything.” She motioned with her head to her scabbed leg, “I think I need some medical assistance,” she added with a dry chuckle. Her throat hurt her so much. It had been ages since she had anything to drink.

“I know,” Shadow answered, observing her Princess’s leg. The blood seemed dried, but they shouldn’t take any chances. Shadow didn’t know how badly she was hurt, but standing on that leg was probably out of the question. Now... how was she going to get Princess Luna to the hospital... .

“If you’d ask him, I’m sure he would carry me,” Princess Luna answered her unspoken question hoarsely.

Shadow looked from her Princess to the golem and back. “Are you sure-”

“He was carrying me to there, before you found me. Us,” she quickly corrected herself, “At least, to the edge of the forest, I think.”

“Oh,” Shadow lingered, trying to understand, “Should I even ask why?”

“Maybe later,” Princess Luna chuckled at her captain’s confusion, “It’s a long story to tell, one you’ll find very interesting, to say the least.”

Shadow shook her head in disbelief. After all the heart-wrenching tension that had made up most of her morning, she couldn’t even explain how relieved she was - and how lighthearted her Princess still managed to be.

“So, should I...” Shadow started her question, hoping that her Princess would answer “no”.

“You should, Shadow. It’s only fair to him.” Princess Luna continued with a small smile, doing anything but hiding it.

“Okay then...” Shadow’s voiced trailed off, as she turned to face the golem. She couldn’t believe that she was going to do this. However, maybe it was only fair, if not to give it- him, the benefit of doubt.

“Golem,” Shadow started addressing it-him, causing him to turn his head to her, the yellow light still obscuring the golem’s eyes, “I think I owe you an apology.”

The golem nodded slowly, as if everything was forgiven.

“Could you help me with carrying Princess Luna to the hospital?” Shadow inquired, “I would go and get some guards, but-”

She trailed off, thinking about what she just had said. Her own guard wouldn’t jump to conclusions, but the Solar Guard, however... . She shook her head briefly. They would pass that hurdle, when it presented itself.

Delta nodded solemnly and got up from his knees. He kneeled in front of Princess Luna and moved his head sideways. She interpreted it as a question for permission and she nodded in reply. He carefully took her off the ground, making sure she rested comfortably in his arms; with her wounded leg twisted out from underneath her body, so she wouldn’t lean on it.

Without another word spoken, he motioned his head to the other pony, whose name apparently was Shadow, and she quickly understood what he tried to ask her.

Shadow moved in front of them, leading the way out of the forest. With her guiding, they moved quickly, but not too fast, as not to make the journey to uncomfortable for the Princess. Shadow felt she wanted to talk with Princess Luna, ask her questions, ask her about the golem, the fight back at the clearing, the scale she had found... . However, the Princess was more than right, this all could wait. She would see her questions answered sooner or later.

Delta trudged close behind the pony, feeling odly... relieved, that things had went how they did. He now had a guide out of this forest, even to the hospital, where Twilight would be - if they were going to the same one at least. And, to top it all off, both the Princess and her guard vouched for him with their presence, making sure he wouldn’t get attacked on sight. So, in some ways, everything had come together nicely.

For now at least.

Flaring open her wings, Shadow stopped in her tracks, galloping forward and jumping in the air; using her momentum to glide over a strange blue-glowing patch of flowers. Delta moved forward, but stopped when she spoke from the other side.

“You should fly, um, jump over them,” Shadow warned him, motioning to the patch of flowers, “They are poisonous.”

Lately, this patch of flowers had grown out of proportions, now covering over the whole path that led deeper into the forest; so Shadow made a mental note to go warn the Mayor of Ponyville, after all this was over, so- wait, where did the golem go?

Partially lost in her train of thoughts, she hadn’t paid any attention to the golem or Princess Luna. Before she even had the chance to open her mouth and call out for them, she heard his familiar trudging hoofsteps coming to her right. The golem, Princess still snugly in his arms, came out of the forest, many stray twigs and undergrowth succumbing underneath his weight.

“Or you could just walk around them.” She stated to herself, eliciting a chuckle from Luna.

As the canopy above grew thinner as they continued, the rays of the sun now managed to pierce through and reach the forest floor, adding onto the noticeable warmth as they came closer to Ponyville. It was strange how, with both places being so close, that the Everfree Forest always seemed to experience weather to its extremes. Shadow was sure that, if she had asked Princess Luna about it, she would’ve know the answer; but she happily digressed. They had reached the edge of the forest.

In front of them laid the - usually - peaceful town of Ponyville. She looked around, to only find the golem standing quite a bit away from her, underneath the last shadows of the forest.

They had reached the edge of the forest. Delta didn’t know what he saw. Everything was so colorful, so... alive, in contrast to the place they just came from, to the place he had come from. He didn’t even know that pink was so... um, pink. Also, he noticed, there really was no dome holding back unfathomable amounts of water above them. Just open skies, as far as he could see; which, in itself, was a shocking change.

If this place was any bit more different than Rapture, he would’ve bet that things here didn’t even bleed or never died.

Sunlight was so painfully bright. He wanted to move forward, yet something kept him back, hiding underneath the shadows.

Shadow looked at the golem, as it looked around, his gaze wandering to the town of Ponyville, to the sky and even straight up into the sun. She looked questioningly to Princess Luna, who half-shrugged back.

“Um,” Princess Luna spoke up, catching Delta’s attention, “Maybe we shouldn’t move out in the open for now.”

Her answer was met with confusion, “How do you mean, Princess?” Shadow asked.

“It wouldn’t be wise to just trudge out of the forest,” Princess Luna motioned to Ponyville, “We should try to reach the hospital without garnering any suspicion.” She continued, murmuring, “Any more, that is.”

Shadow nodded, understanding what she meant. If they kept in the forest, but close enough to the edge, they would reach the hospital; even though, it would take them longer to reach it. However, the hospital was fairly close to the edge of the forest, so they could, if they were lucky enough, just pass around Ponyville and reach the hospital; before the citizens of Ponyville even noticed anything was wrong.

That was the best case scenario, though. But she was hopeful.

“Come on,” she motioned with one of her wings to the golem, “We’ll go this way. It’ll take us a bit longer, but nopony’ll see us.”

Delta nodded back in response and with one last look of wonder to the open sky, he turned around and followed after Shadow.

***

“Come on, come on, be outside,” Reiver murmured to himself, as he descended the stairs as quickly as he could.

He had just told, no, admitted everything to Princess Celestia, and she was preparing to fly out as quickly as possible. It would take her quite a while to gather her Guard, though, so, in the meantime, he could warn his own to prepare for the operation that would follow.

As he rounded a corner, he ran straight into one of his own, causing them to collide and fall back to their haunches.

The guard spoke up in surprise, “Sir!” The mare moved frantically to help her superior up, all the while apologising.

Reiver took her offered hoof and stood up, “It’s alright.” He dusted himself off, as much as you can do with hooves anyways. “What news do you bring?”

The mare answered eagerly, happy to answer his question and that he had forgiven her for her clumsiness, “The captain, Sir, she returned,” she told him so quickly that she was nearly out of breath.

“Shadow?” Reiver’s ears jumped up, “Is the Princess with her?”

“Yes, Sir,” the mare answered him, but before she could continue, he interrupted her.

“Well, what are we waiting for,” Reiver started, motioning for the guard to follow him. Maybe, this all would go better than expected.

The mare had to gallop to keep up with Reiver’s trot and barely managed to catch his attention, “Sir, there’s something else... the golem is with them.”

Reiver stopped in his tracks, causing the guard to overshoot and nearly run muzzle-first in the door leading to the reception, “Golem,” he thought, scrambling to get his thoughts back together, “You mean-”

“Yes, Sir.” The mare answered, moving to open the door for them both.

He didn’t know what was really going on, but there would always be time for more questions later. He passed through the door, into the reception; the mare trotting close behind him.

This was going to be an interesting day after all.

“I hope you know what you are doing, Captain,” Reiver mumbled to himself, while he left the hospital; hoping that he would just have a bit longer before Princess Celestia heard that her sister had arrived, along with the golem.

I guess it was true what they used to say - Never a dull day in the Lunar Guard.

***

As far as she could see, there was nopony between them and the hospital. Shadow couldn’t see any movement on the open field they would have to cross, even from her own guards, which only meant she had trained them well. Yet, the same problem remained; if they left the safety of these shadows, it would only take them a minute to reach the hospital, if they managed to move fast. By doing so, they would move around the edges of Ponyville; which also meant they could still be seen, if they were unlucky.

However, it was better than nothing.

Right before she gave the signal to move, she saw some movement at the entrance of the hospital. Even though she couldn’t really see the pony’s face, she knew by his trot alone that it was Reiver, leaving the hospital in quite the hurry. The other guard that left the hospital, quickly joined Reiver, pointing to their position under the shadows. ‘So, they know that we are here. Good. This will make things easier... hopefully.’

By the time she and golem had left the forest behind, the Lunar guards hiding around the hospital had moved upon their orders, moving to their more tactical positions. A small party of three guards, and Reiver, came their way quickly, eventually meeting up with them halfway.

Reiver nodded to her, his eyes passing over the golem and lingering on Princess Luna. He turned around, motioning to follow them, with the other three guards taking their places besides and behind them. The small group reached the hospital, where Reaver called for his guards. Around half a dozen of them gathered around them, with the rest remaining in position, maintaining the border around the hospital.

Shadow spoke up, “I know this will sound weird to you, but we can trust the golem,” she started, hoping that her vouch for him was enough for the moment.

“We trust you with our lives, Captain,” Reiver stopped her from having to explain further, “Your word is our command.”

Shadow nodded in response, the other guards around them adding in with their own nods or mumbles of agreement.

“Let’s go inside,” Princess Luna added, catching everypony’s attention, “We’ll talk further there.”

With the guards up front, led by Reiver, Shadow and the golem made their way into the hospital at last. However, the room wasn’t as empty as it had been before. Standing at the desk, moments removed from readying her troops to go search for her sister, stood Princess Celestia; surrounded by two dozen of her own guards, essentially outnumbering them three-to-one. Silence descended over the overcrowded room.

Like they once had, so long ago, the two Princess’s Guards stood proudly against each other; forming two barriers that waited for their respective Commander’s order to attack. Shadow instinctively moved in front of the golem, her wings already slightly flared out unconsciously.

Of course, this was never going to be easy at all. Delta had found himself in this situation, many, many times before. However, he was out of his element here. The room was very small and crowded, meaning that any plasmid he could use would hurt ponies he didn’t want to hit. He just hoped that the Princess in his arms would explain everything, and fast, if not, he would be forced to face the large, white pony again. She had tried to take him out before. However, this time, he was ready for her.

Princess Celestia turned around slowly, her words coming to an abrupt stop when the door to hospital opened. Not a single word parted from her lips, as she saw the Lunar Guard leading her sister inside, being carried by the golem she had taken care off before.

The hatred burned in her chest and her voice barely held together as she whispered with utter contempt, “You...”

***

Light trickled inside through curtains covering windows. The sound of machines breathing their mechanical beeping steadily filled the room. A strong scent of medicine, coupled with a faint linger of dust of a room that hadn’t been ventilated for while, would harass anyone entering.

Confused she slowly woke up. She had no idea where she was. Slowly but surely she began to get a bit more aware of her surroundings, noticing the beeping and the smell in the air. Her eyes felt like weights were hanging from them and even though she had just woken up, she felt like she hadn’t slept in days. She slowly opened her eyes, but she couldn’t see anything but the rays of light coming through the curtains and the sickly green light that lightly emanated from a place behind her. She would’ve tried to turn around, or push herself up, if it weren’t for the fact her whole body felt sore and strangely cold; even though her head felt like it was burning up like a candle, a slight throbbing of her horn spreading over her forehead.

She tried to move around, noticing she was restricted by many tubes and wires connected to her. The realisation hit her, now finally aware of where she was. Of course, she had been here many times to visit friends, or spend the night herself. She was in a hospital. However, she didn’t remember how she had gotten here in the first place.

She pushed herself up, albeit clumsily, finally throwing away the blankets that concealed most of her body for her. Checking herself, she couldn’t see any obvious wounds that could explain the soreness of her limbs; not even a single bandage or bandaide to cover up a cut. She pondered about what she should do, when she heard sounds coming beyond the door leading to her room.

In the distance she heard the shuffling of hooves, voices, some yelling, the sounds of doors opening and closing. She yelped as a jolt of pain shot through her head, straight into her spine; her hooves holding her horn as she nearly doubled over in sudden pain. More yelling came from beyond her door, which she barely noticed. The pain faded away as quickly as it had come, returning to a dull throb at the base of her horn.

“Ugh... my horn,” Twilight mumbled, her voice hoarse and her throat painful.

No hoofsteps rushing to her door. Nothing. Just more voices, barely understandable, in the distance. She realised something was very wrong. If she was in the hospital, there would be nurses around, and they would’ve rushed to her room, when they heard her yell in pain. Yet, nopony came.

Boldly, in what may have been the stupidest decision she could make that day, she decided to find out for herself what was going on. Unsteadily, she moved a hoof to remove the various wires and tubes that held her bedbound, pushing them away from her. Meanwhile, she tried to squeeze her brain, forcing herself to remember anything at all, but to no avail. Something had happened, that much was sure. Faintly, she did remember bits and pieces, all loosely toiling around in her mind; however, none made any sense. It just added to her growing headache.

The voices she had heard in the distance finally seized. Only silence remained. With a sigh, she carefully positioned herself to the side of her bed. If she wanted to find out what was happening, she was going to need to find out herself.

She landed uneasily on her hooves, barely avoiding toppling over on the ground. She, more than anything else, lurched to the door and opened it to a crack. Light flooded into the room, hurting her eyes. She looked left and right, yet, there was not a single pony in sight. Without giving the room behind her another glance, she entered the hallway, crossing it to the opposite wall with windows, keeping close to them as support.

According to the sun, which was trying to burning itself into her eyes, it should be around early morning. She closed her right eye, shielding it from the sun peaking through the windows in the hallway. She could hear more voices, coming from deeper into the hospital. And they didn’t seem that happy. However, they were too muffled for her to understand.

She made her way past a staircase and some more rooms, most of their doors open, like ponies had left them in a hurry. More yelling and screaming, shuffling of hooves. For a moment, she had to lean against the wall, the ever-present throbbing of her horn causing her to see black spots in front of her eyes, making her feel slightly sick. Shaking her head, she began moving again, coming closer to the source of the voices and other noises.

Finally, she understood a voice, as it commanded not far from her, “Stand aside, Luna. This is not your fight.”

It was more yelling, than actually commanding, but she did recognise that voice.

‘Princess Celestia? What... why is she here? What is going on?’

In response, she heard something very heavy moving, followed by mumbling.

Curiously, she rounded the corner, and there she saw the door that should, if she remembered correctly, lead to the reception of the hospital. According to all the sounds she heard, the room itself was very crowded.

“Kneel!” A voice called out, followed by more shuffling of hooves, some to surround, others pushed back.

It stayed silent for a while.

“Give up your weapons!” The same voice shouted, Princess Celestia voice unusually distorted by the anger underneath, a shrillness Twilight hadn’t heard before.

In response, with metallic clatter, something heavy hit the floor.

Twilight shuffled away from the wall, her hoof outstretched to the other side. She was next to the door now, which wasn’t properly closed, allowing her to see inside.

The room was more than full. A couple of Lunar Guards stood at the entrance of the hospital, with Princess Luna leading them. She seemed wounded and leaning on a pegasus, whose armor bore the decorations of a captain. The Lunar Guard, and the Princess, were held back by a half circle of Solar Guards, who had essentially pushed them back to the far back wall of the room.

Standing at the left wall of the room, she could see Princess Celestia, standing in front of Twilight’s five best friends. Rarity’s mane was disheveled, as if she had just woken up, with Spike standing before her, like he was trying to protect her. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stood near, but both had taken place as close to the wall as they could. Twilight really couldn’t remember if she had ever seen Pinkie that scared before. Rainbow stood in front of the bunch, next to Applejack, but she seemed... different. Did she look... afraid? No, that couldn’t be.

However, the cause of all the commotion, seemed to be surrounded next to the front desk. A weapon, of some kind Twilight vaguely recognised, although she didn’t know from where, laid on the ground next to it; yet, she strangely recognised the figure that was kneeling. She recognised him from somewhere.

She... she owned her life to him. And even though she didn’t know why, she trusted him.

He had been in far better situations. Surely, Princess Luna and Shadow had tried to talk her out of it, but the sun-bearing pony didn’t seem to be in the mood of listening today. Now, he found himself kneeling down, his drill out of his immediate reach; surrounded by many armored guards, outnumbered many, many times. Any tactic he came up with, revolved around taking out the one who had ordered him to kneel, this “Princess Celestia” the other ponies seemed to call her. So, apparently Luna and Celestia where both princesses, and apparently sisters.

He didn’t care in the least.

This Celestia had given him enough troubles for a lifetime in just a day, and he would take her down, before she had the chance to do the same. Yet, any of his plasmids were practically useless here, if he didn’t want to hurt any of the other ponies. He could try to reach for his drill and storm forward, before they even had time to react; however, he was quite sure that the literal wall of armored ponies would slow him down enough to give the Princess an easy target.

After all, he wasn’t that sure that Princess Celestia was concerned about hurting the other ponies, as much as he was.

However, before anything could happen, any plasmids could be thrown around, any drill could be taken up for an attack, any horns could flare up to pin him down, or outright destroy him; the very last thing he had expected to happen, happened. A door opened with a creak. And there she stood.

Twilight.

All eyes in the room where on her. The tension that had seemed to be building up all this time, collapsed as everypony just stared at her, confused about what was happening. However, Princess Luna, nor Princess Celestia gave any orders to their guards. Her friends stood near the far wall, seemingly frozen in shock.

Twilight spoke up nervously, her sore throat disallowing an awkward chuckle, “What has somepony have to do here to get some rest?”

Her horn flared up in pain. She heard her name being called out. Something wet coated the fur underneath her nose. With a quavering hoof, she tried to wipe it off, holding it up, so she could see what it was. ‘Blood...’

The ground came quicker than expected. The last thing she saw was a pair of outstretched hands, as he dashed forwards, trying to still catch her.

Sleep.

And to the world of dreams, she, yet again, returned.

***

“And as the light doused in the sea and another door closed, so did the King sigh. His Kingdom was His, and His alone; yet, there was no one left to share it with Him. Everyone had lost their right to live in His Kingdom, by either their betrayal, own greed, or despair. In finally reaching His dream, He had shattered those of many others. It was Him, who threw off the Shackles, broke the Bond; yet, the Lighthouse still remained. In its own way, it was always going to be there.

And He realised that, one fateful day, someone would open a door and look through, finding the many wonders His Kingdom held.

And so would He look back, ready to defend His City to the end.”

Chapter 11 revolves around Twilight finally finding her true destiny as the Alicorn Princess of nothing in particular, that has to travel to the nearly-human-but-not-really-because-ponies - world, finding the magic MacGuffin that will resolve anything. Also, she'll dye herself black and red to represent her eternal power, while she masters the art of triple Rainbooms, while controlling both the sun and moon at the same time. So, tune in next time to the Sarcasm Show, where you'll see how the whole world explodes from to many inside jokes. I'll see you all on the flip side... of insanity.

Author's Note

So, apparently I have Author's Notes now.

Have a blogpost, for those of you who are interested.

Protecting His Charge (Chapter 5)

Subject Delta – Rapturous For Equestria

*TheMightyT*

Chapter 5: Protecting His Charge

“ The Butterflies Flutter, The Angels Call, Come Out And Play With Your Daddy…
To Walk The Halls, Of The Golden City, As Good Girls Gather…
The Butterflies Rest, The Angels Wait, Now It’s Time To Sleep…
Goodnight My Sweet Little Sister, Hush Now Sweet Daughter Of Mine…
Lay Your Sleepy Head, Rest Your Tired Mind, I Will Guard…
Until The End Comes, I Will Guard…
Forever…”
-Written in blood on one of the walls of Persephone, the Detention Facility of Rapture.
***

The light of the moon fell on his back, the wind blowing through the once beautiful stained-glass windows; slowly caressing the plants that had overgrown the castle. Three Timberwolves laid death, killed by his hands. The last Timberwolf was still smoldering, it already being robbed of its life. The room was filled with death and decay… but there was still some life left…

He carefully reached for the purple pony, trying not to hurt it while he was pulling it out of its hiding spot. He could see it breathing, feeling eased by that sight. It was laying at his feet, her head resting on his arm. He slowly pulled her into a protecting embrace, cradling her like he would his Daughter. It laid on its back, still slowly breathing in and out. He carefully lowered its head on his biceps, hoping that it would be soft enough for it to sleep on. The moment her horn touched his arm he felt a surge going through his body. He felt... strange. He wasn’t hurt, but he felt… connected in one way or another too this little pony, sleeping in his arms. He hoped it was having a healing sleep, not the sleep that one would never wake up from…

He slowly began walking, there wasn’t anything left here to save. He held the little pony close, it… she would be his way out. He didn’t understand how he could possibly know this little pony in his arms was female… but he just knew. He only hoped he could warm her with his body warmth, if he had any left…

He left the castle, leaving nature to do its thing. The forest was already busy taking the ground, where the castle was built on, back. The old bridge came in sight again, as Subject Delta was slowly descending the same eroding stairs he had run up, hoping to find Eleanor. She wasn’t here… but he had found something else.

Subject Delta didn’t knew where he was, nor did he care. His plan… their plan was to escape Rapture. He never had dared to hope he would escape too. He was wounded, dying… the only thing keeping him going was his Daughter. She had escaped, he was sure of it. But he, he didn’t know if he had escaped Rapture… he could be trapped in an eternal nightmare for all he knew. No, this felt to real; this was real. He just wasn’t where his Daughter was…

Subject Delta went over the bridge, slowly. He didn’t want to fall down, now that he had her in his arms. He had more to live for now, there was a life depending on him. He wouldn’t let her down…

Subject Delta was different from the other Alpha Series Big Daddies… He was the first to be successfully bounded with a Little Sister. He would be researched, he and his Daughter; as they were trying to find a way to replicate the results. But even when the scientists managed to do that, he still was different from the others. He still had a mind of his own…

Normally, when he was protecting his Daughter from the dangers off the city; he didn’t had time to think. All his senses went to his Daughter, to protecting her from harm. But sometimes he would just think… think about his life, his Daughter, Rapture. Never was he able to finish his thinking, always being interrupted by his instincts. ‘You can think later, Eleanor is counting on you to protect her.’ And he would listen to his instincts, always… but his Daughter wasn’t here now.

He had made it to the other side, the forest casting its cold shadow on them; as the moon was shining her beautiful light. Without any second thoughts he went back into the lush jungle, trying to make his way to the North; still being helped by the star-spangled night. He kept his pony close, she was still breathing; but now the look of utter despair and fright was wiped of her face, as she was nudging closer in her sleep, trying to get comfortable next to her heat source…

His heavy footsteps resonated through the Everfree Forest, its dwellers staying out of the way of the passing golem. Subject Delta lumbering footsteps made sure everything knew he was coming. He wasn’t afraid of the forest, as he was able to defend himself. That didn’t mean he was enjoying himself, trudging through the thick underbrush. To fight between these trees would be a new experience for him, as there weren’t too many trees in Rapture. Everything that lived here, in this dark forest, would have the advantage of knowing the surroundings… something he didn’t have. But strangely enough, he felt… safe.

He let his body and instincts do the work, giving him some spare time to think. There were so many questions to mull over… but where to start…

The Timberwolves… they made him think of the Splicers back in Rapture. He had killed them as he would crush the members of Sofia Lamb’s Family, who were trying to stop him from reaching his Daughter, but he had forgotten that he wasn’t in Rapture anymore. It wasn’t a fair fight, four wolves without any weapon or Plasmids against a battle-hardened Big Daddy… He felt… guilty. Strange… He didn’t experience that feeling before… or maybe he did, long ago. He felt guilty for leaving something or someone behind, as he was responsible… But what? Who was he?

He knew he wasn’t born a Big Daddy, he was slow but not stupid. He was made, manufactured by a city in need. He was a Protector, his Daughter a Provider... He was the first successful Subject, the fourth one to undergo the process. He didn’t remember to much from that time, everything was a blur… He knew there were answers buried in the deepest reaches of his mind, but… something… something kept him from accessing them…

He came to a small clearing in the forest. Some light of the moon had managed to break through the thick canopy, illuminating the dry forest floor. How deeper he went into the forest, how older the trees looked. He wanted to find a puddle of water, to try to wake up his little pony. He saw a small hole in the ground, beneath a vine-covered three. It looked dark and filthy, but any water was good for his goals. Suddenly a thought popped up in his mind, just like all those times before, telling him something he was sure he didn’t knew before: ‘Don’t drink from still water!’ Maybe it was best to listen to that advice…

He wasn’t going to drink from it. But if still water wasn’t safe to drink, he wouldn’t risk using it to wake up the little pony in his arms. He stood still, listening for sounds from the forest. The forest was quiet… too quiet. It was best to move on, he was vulnerable standing in this clearing. Looking back at the stars, he went back to his aimlessly trudging through the forest, pondering once again.

This isn’t his world. This isn’t Rapture. He should be careful of his actions. Anything could be more dangerous than it seems. For all he know the pony, now muttering in his arms, could be a merciless killer. Not that he thought that, but he should be careful who he decides to trust…

He had changed. He had never felt guilty before. He never trusted anything without a reason. But here he was, carrying a small, purple pony in his arms; hoping that she would hold the answers he sought. Why did his Drill work here? It is out of fuel, since the last battle he fought in Inner-Persephone. And why did his Plasmids work? He was out of EVE before going to Persephone, but he had used ‘Incinerate!’ to fry a wolf made out of timber! This place… it was even more abnormal than Rapture. Heck, even Rapture had a logic to it. But here… it all was like magic trick…

Once again he was brought out of thoughts by the pony in his arms. He could see her eyes moving below her eyelids, like they were following a wondrous lightshow. He saw that she had managed to get the tip of one of her hoofs in her muzzle, softly sucking on it. He felt a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time… Who was this pony, that she could warm his heart that was claimed by his Daughter? Why did he feel so… connected?

Rustling in the forest. Footsteps. The thick underbrush being pushed aside by something big. He saw a shadow before him, a glimpse of various parts of different animals. A scorpion-like tail towered behind it. It had seen him. He stood still and stared back. The shadow backed off, not wanting to start a fight with this strange creature. Subject Delta was glad he didn’t have to fight this time. He didn’t want to wake up his little pony.

The sound of streaming water reached him through the forest. Their surely was a river close by. Listening for the sounds of streaming water he made his way through the forest. The trees were spread more sparsely as he came closer to the river. He saw the glistening of the water under the moonlight. He stood still in the shadows of the tree line. There were no trees close to the river, it was a big clearing. The river was quite long, as he could see it going on deeper in the forest. To his left he saw a small lake, being fed by the river. He didn’t want to go in the clearing, where there were no trees and shadows to hide him. But he needed to wake up the pony in his arms.

He stepped out of the shadows, glancing to his left and right. He looked for ways to escape. If he needed to, he could just wade through the river. It was quite wide, but he should be able to cross it without any problems. Having his Plasmids back he could even try something new… he always wanted to try freezing water with his ‘Winter Blast’. If needed, he would have the chance to try it out. He looked across the river. Did he just see something move in the shadows? No… no, it was just his mind trying to drive him crazy. It was perfectly safe here…

He stopped at the bank of the river. Slowly putting his hand beneath her head, trying to avoid getting her mane stuck between his gloves, he began lowering her to the ground. He laid her on her side, carefully. With the moon shining above him he could finally examine her closer. She didn’t have a purple fur, it was more a lavender colour. Her horn sat in the middle of her streaked mane. The streaks were pink and a more light purple surrounded by darker purple. Her tail was the same, the two sorts of streaks surrounded by a darker purple than the rest of her coat. He could see some kind of markings on her haunches. One big star surrounded by five smaller ones… Why did that seem familiar to him?

Then it dawned on him. ‘Rapture Best and Brightest’. The picture he had seen in Rapture before. Andrew Ryan, his Dream, his City, his Nightmare. And the five others surrounding him, his Elite. Brigid Tenenbaum, the one he had helped to save the Little Sisters, to save them from Rapture. An unknown man, the tingling of passion for the arts in his eyes. Gil Alexander, the one he saved and killed. Sofia Lamb, the one that killed him and took his Daughter. The one that severed the Pairbond, trying to finish the job. The one that blew them up. Eleanor’s mother… But there was another one. An Asian doctor. His name was… Suchong…

Images flooded his mind. Memories of pain and suffering. A clinical smell. Pain in his throat. He slowly lost himself to his past...

***

Darkness. Pain. He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t. His throat felt like someone had driven spikes through it. He could feel needles in his arms, pumping a fluid through his body. He didn’t know where he was, his memory being hazy. All he could do was breath...

Footsteps coming closer. Voices. He could hear two males talking. The words reached his ears, but his brain wouldn’t process them. He kept concentrating and he began to understand some things.

“...work, Augustus! Where did you get him, anyways?” The man had a thick Asian accent.

Another man, with a slight accent he didn’t recognize, answered: “You’re asking the wrong man, Suchong. I didn’t locked him away and threw the key in the abyss below Rapture. You need to ask the man that tortured him to get answers...”

The voices went fuzzy again. He felt so tired, he had so many questions. If he only could remember...

The two men had stopped talking, as another pair of footsteps could be heard. The man who entered the room seemed to be fairly important as the other two greeted him as Mister Ryan.

“I was just talking with Suchong here, Mister Ryan, and he was complaining about the state of his “test subject”.” Augustus seemed to be enjoying himself, as he had put his “friend” into a difficult position.

“Yes, yes. Sometimes you have to try everything to get to the truth... But, that isn’t important now, gentlemen, as I have one simple question. Is he a fit for the program?” The voice of the man carried authority, this wasn’t a man to meddle with...

“I have to do more testing to be sure, Mister Ryan. But-” Said Suchong.

“But what, Doctor Suchong? You told me you where capable of completing the ‘Protector’-program! So, are you!?” This Ryan fellow began to get worked up...

“Sure, Mister Ryan... I only need to do some more testing-”

“More testing!? I thought you had done all the testing when you still worked under Fontaine!”

“The Pairbonding-process is very complicated, Mister Ryan. There were some unexpected complications last time, but I’m sure that with the new technique everything will-”

“Yeah, we know that, Suchong. You said that the last time and the time before that. You said that the Little Sisters couldn’t be killed. They proved you wrong on that. Then you said that Plasmid hadn’t any side effects. Oh boy, they had to freaking scrape the guy off that wall!” Alexander didn’t sound angry, only slightly amused.

“How could I have known that the test subject was allergic? I’ve did the tests and it had a ninety percent change of-”

“You should have known that, Suchong, it’s your job. And that was just the start of you thinking you knew something... Do you remember Subject Alpha? The poor fucker tried to swim across the Seawalls because your “Pairbonding” wasn’t strong enough!”

“The Pairbonding-process was just starting to begin to work, Augustus. And no harm was done, everyone undergoing the process dies when going too far away from their Little Sister. We have had much improvement since then-”

“And Subject Beta, oh boy. That was a different story all together. He was so captivated by his Little Sister he didn’t notice the Splicer killing her. It took twenty-five men, armed to the teeth, to take the crazed fucker out!”

“You need to stop critique my work, Augustus. It’s not like your deals went completely as planned. If I remember correct you had that one deal with Fontaine-”

“Well, you worked for Fontaine, Suchong! So, who-”

“Stop it you two! Augustus, I want you to go back to Persephone. If I remember correctly you have some “unfinished” business there...” Ryan talked slowly, his voice filling the room.

Footsteps left the room. An awkward silence stayed for a moment, only being broken by the slight beeping of machines that filled the room. Andrew Ryan broke the silence.

“And Doctor Suchong, I need you to help Doctor Tenenbaum with the Little Sisters. She seems to have problems with them lately. The last batch of Little Sisters seemed to have suffered from some kind of disease. And when you’re there you can do all the testing you want, maybe you can find one for your “testsubject”.”

“But, Mister Ryan-”

“Doctor Alexander will help you on the ‘Protector’-program from now on. He seems to have many ideas to improve the suits...”

The voices became hard to hear. He couldn’t feel the pain in his throat anymore... The darkness consumed him once again...

***

The little pony was mumbling again. It tore him out of his thoughts. He just had seen flashes from his past, from his... creation. That was new...

There was time to think about his past later, now he needed to wake up this little pony. He went through his knees next to the river, dipping his hands in the water. He then kneeled next to the pony flicking his hands above her. Tiny drops of water fell on her. She moved, turning onto her other side; muttering to no one in particular: “Um... five more minutes, Spike...”

He was not going to give up that easily. Once again he dipped his hand in the water. This time however he formed them into a bowl, filling it with water. He brought his slightly dripping hands above the pony. The water washed over her, immediately waking her up. She jumped up, looking frantically around while shaking her head. She was awake now...

Subject Delta slowly stood up, giving the pony some room. She looked around, trying to find out where she was. Her eyes went over him. She looked away from him to the lake on their left. Her movements froze, her head slowly turning back to him. Her eyes stared at him, big and wide. Subject Delta honestly thought that her eyes were going to fall out of her head. He stayed back, staring calmly in her eyes. He could see that her breathing became more rapidly, as she began to panic. Her legs began to tremble beneath her. Subject Delta moved a bit further away, hoping that she would calm down.

The pony kept looking at him, eyes wide. He could see his movements in those big eyes. Eventually her frightened expression changed to an intrigued look. She kept looking at him, trying to find something hostile in his posture. When she didn’t found anything, she once again looked around trying to recognize her surroundings. She slowly turned around to look behind her, glancing back at him to see if he had tried to come closer. She turned back around, looking at the trees across the river. Suddenly she jerked her head back, like she expected that he was standing just behind her. It was like they were playing a game...

She became curious, taking a small step closer. She began examining him, staring at him with her big, purple eyes. He could she them twinkle in the bright moonlight. Had the light of the moon just become brighter? She opened her mouth, as she was going to speak; but she closed it again. They could hear some rustling in the forest behind them. Subject Delta turned around, he could swear he had saw some kind of light coming out of the forest... He turned back around to the pony. She glanced at the forest and then back at him. She opened her mouth again and she began to speak.

“Um, hello.”

Subject Delta didn’t answer. She tilted her head slightly in confusion. She took a small step closer. She glanced up to him, trying to look him in the eyes. When she realized that he was wearing a helmet, she began speaking again.

“Hello?”

He didn’t respond. “Um, can you understand me?”

Subject Delta slowly nodded his head. The lavender mare seemed to be happy he could understand her. She seemed to be very interested in him, while anyone else would just try to run away...

“Can you speak?” Subject Delta shook his head.

“Oh... Why did you take me here?” Subject Delta couldn’t answer, he just show her his hand; still slightly wet.

“You brought me here to... wake me up?” He nodded.

“Um, okay. Why did you wake me up? Why did you protect me? Oh yeah, you can’t really answer these questions...” Subject Delta slowly nodded, bringing himself to one knee, so the pony didn’t have to strain her neck looking up at him.

“Yes... Let’s start over, shall we? My name is Twilight Sparkle, but you can call me Twilight if you want. Um, do you have a name?” He nodded again, bringing a gloved hand to the symbol on his right hand.

“Your name is... Triangle?” Subject Delta shook his head, this wasn’t not going to be easy. He couldn’t communicate with this pony, so how was he going to ask her for help? Let’s just try to show her that he is friendly. After all that happened she probably will want to go home, so maybe she knew the way back...

He reached out his hand. Twilight looked at it, investigating it. She responded with reaching out with her hoof and he shook it. She smiled at him and he would possibly returned that smile, if he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Twilight opened her mouth to start asking questions again, but he had this feeling he was being watched...

Subject Delta slowly looked up at the moonlit sky. He could see the stars, still twinkling. Then he saw something coming closer in the far east... Something? Tens, no, possibly hundreds of tiny blobs with wings were coming closer to them. Without any further thinking he reached for Twilight, pulling her once again into his arms. He began running back into the forest, trying to hide. But before he could hide in the shadows, he heard sounds deeper into the forest. That way was out of question too. There was only one choice left...

He ran back to the river, Twilight saying something he didn’t catch. He took his left arm beneath her, while still holding her tightly in his other arm, and closed his left fist. He could feel the familiar cold sitting in his hand, so he threw it at the river; effectively freezing it. With three big steps, he was over the river. He could see the blobs in the air coming dangerously close, now casting shadows on the flowing water. Subject Delta began running again, back into the forest; only to find his way blocked by three more ponies.

They all looked strangely the same in their golden armor. It looked like how he looked like for the Little Sisters. When he was captured in Inner-Persephone by Sofia Lamb’s family his Daughter managed to reach him. She and another Little Sister helped him to take control of the Little Sister for a short while, so he could bring a Big Sister Suit to Eleanor. She needed it to escape herself, so she could help him...

It was strange to be in control of the Little Sister, as everything felt familiar, but also so very strange. It was like he had never left his body, but Rapture... It was then he understood how his Daughter always talked about the Angels that where waiting for her. Through her eyes the city was perfect in architecture, Splicers all looked like the most sophisticating men and women. The Angels were the dead bodies the Little Sisters harvested, the butterflies being mirages... It was a cruel sight. But then, he saw how the Little Sisters saw him, as a Golden Knight, there to protect them from mere bullies; unlike the malformed Splicers he was used to see them as. That was the first time he doubted about everything...

Stern looks where on their faces, prepared to do anything to stop him. Only one of them had a horn, he also was the only one that hadn’t a white coat; his coat was more brownish. They all had that golden armor, with some kind of... saddle on their backs. They also were carrying some strange helmets, only protecting the top and the back of their heads. They looked not very threatening to him.

The horn of one of the guards lighted up, surrounding by some kind of light gray aura. Taking no chances Subject Delta hit him in the chest with ‘Electro Bolt’, making the guard fell on the ground; trembling spastically as the electrical surges paralyzed him. The other two guards charged in to try to stop him. How amusing...

Subject Delta dashed forward, the same thing he would do to knockdown anyone with his drill, now only less deadly without his drill as he didn’t want to kill them. The two guards flew through the air, the path cleared to go in the forest. He heard shouting from across the river, but he ignored it. With haste he went into the forest, hoping to shake off his pursuers. Out of the corner of his eyes, when he just ran between the first trees, he could see something coming down out of the air.

It stood quite tall, but not as tall as he was. The pony had both wings and a horn. It was quite easy to spot, as it was completely white with a strange, flowing mane. It also wasn’t wearing any armor. While he ran between the trees this pony seemed to always keep up. He needed to come up with a plan, surely the other ponies where entering the forest too...

He heard someone commanding him, possibly that white pony that was still behind him: “Stop, or we will use-”

‘Try to stop me,’ Subject Delta thought to himself, still running between the trees. Suddenly, something exploded behind him, almost throwing him in the trees before him. He shielded off Twilight, as he changed course, hoping that the smoke behind him would throw them off. The white pony emerged from the smoke, her horn surrounded by a golden glow. He didn’t knew how she did it, but she was trying to take him out...

Thinking quickly he ran around a big, old looking tree and he turned his body slightly around. When the white pony came across the corner he hit it square into the chest with a bolt of lightning. She was thrown off course for a second, but before Subject Delta could get far enough away the pony was following him again. Well, maybe it’s time for something more extreme...

He closed his fist again, followed by that familiar cold feeling. Now he just needed to wait for the right moment. He went between some trees, changed course by running to the right and then stopped in the middle of the forest. He just listened to the sounds of hooves coming closer. He also heard the flapping of wings in the distance, he really needed to shake them off. He looked down for a second, to see that Twilight still was in his arm. She looked distressed, but unable to do anything. Maybe she’s afraid of the pony’s following him? Well, if they are after Twilight they will have to go through him first!

Between the trees he saw the white pony galloping closer, he just needed to wait...

Closer...

When he could see her magenta eyes, he hit her with his “Winter Blast”. She was stopped in her tracks, as the icy blast hit her on her left leg, which immediately froze solid. The rest of the body seemed fine though, as the ice only spread out a little ... that was strange. But before he could turn around, he saw a blue blur flying through the trees, hitting him in the chest. Twilight flew out of his arms and out of his sight. He got back up, ready to take down his assailant.

It was another pony, she too wasn’t wearing any armor. The pony stood approximately as tall as Twilight, but instead of a horn it had wings. Its wings were completely spread out, it looked like it was trying to intimidate him. She stood in front of the larger, white pony; who was having trouble breaking out of the ice that kept her in place. The pony had a light blue coat, with a strange mane. It looked like someone had taken a rainbow and made it into the dashes on her mane. She looked angrily at him with gritted teeth. It seemed ready to attack him again. Subject Delta wouldn’t admit it, but she had managed to hit him quite hard. If she stood in his way to get to Twilight and out of the forest... She had chosen the wrong Big Daddy to fight with.

The pony charged forwards, flying with a rainbow trail begin her. He tried to hit her, but failed; her hooves connecting with his helmet. The pony flew away, as he tried to rebalance himself. Once again she charged, but this time Subject Delta was ready. When she was close enough he quickly move forward, his left arm outstretched. Without any problem his hand found her neck and the pony stopped in midair, as she slammed into his body. He was holding her by her neck and he could feel her heart pumping through his glove. The anger was washed of her face, it being replace by a frightened look. She seemed scared for her life and if she was trying to get to Twilight... she should be.

Once again he was holding the life of another in his hands...

***
“For every choice there is an echo... Which each act we change the future... Which path do you take?”
***

Author’s Note: What will happen? Will Subject Delta choose to spare Rainbow Dash? Or will he end her life, to protect Twilight? That and more in the next chapters of Subject Delta – Rapturous for Equestria!

Some random trivia about this chapter:

* During writing the official soundtrack for BioShock 2 was used. To be more specific: ‘Sounds from the Lighthouse’; name of the song used: ‘How She Sees the World’.
*It’s the first 5000+ words chapter!
*The ending was different in the first draft, with Subject Delta being surrounded before he could get away. I changed it in the end because I thought it didn’t fit.
*The dialogue between Andrew Ryan, Augustus Sinclair and Yi Suchong isn’t from the game. I came up with that and you can expect more like that in the future. I think you’ll agree with me that it’s time to tie up loose ends…