Honestly, the first time I met him… he was unconscious. So, I guess you could say it was the first time I saw him, but it was our first time together no less.

He looked as he did now: ruffled, spiky-ish hair; ridiculously tall, marred with scars on nearly every part of his body, and an incredibly toned body.

But back then, I had no clue what I was looking at.

It looked incredibly similar to a soldier, but the differences were obvious. Instead of fur, it had tannish-colored skin, which looked easy to breach. Its head was more compressed than them too, more so than the deformed soldier we saw earlier. Its eyes were small, comically so, its nose protruded slightly, and its mouth was pretty small. The more I examined it, the more relevance I saw to an ape of sorts. The nails at the tips of its limbs' appendages weren't sharp at all, and so their purpose eluded me. But its body was toned as if it had been carved from marble. It had to be at least twice the size of Celestia, and I wasn't the only one to notice this. The only thing covering it was a garb of black cloth around its waist and covering the area between its legs.

"This… this is a containment cell," I gasped softly.

The princess looked over the mark on its left arm, if I remember, squinting her eyes to try and make out the symbol. "But why like this?" She questioned, glancing to the restraints ALL over its body. "How dangerous could this one creature be?"

"Maybe they were experimenting on it," General Shadow suggested. "If they're smart, can't overlook this as an experiment."

"So what is this? A mutation?" Rainbow asked. "Experiment gone wrong?"

"Maybe," I said, stepping closer and trying to inspect the bonds. I placed a hoof on it, and I was blown back, the magic being pulled out of me in that instant.

"Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed, zipping behind me to catch me. "What happened?"

I groaned softly, rubbing my horn as magic slowly started to recharge within. "Those bonds… drain mana on touch," I grunted, a slight headache forming.

My breath caught as I looked back up, noticing the others staring at the creature. But it was clear that they weren't staring at it specifically. They were staring at the bonds on it.

The bonds that covered its entire body.

There were shackles on its wrists, its ankles, around the neck, covering most of its head, clamps over its legs and arms. Just about everywhere. If one small restraint could drain my magic…

…how much could forty two drain?

"At least we know why the mana levels are low," Slink said, a shudder in his voice. "Should we… free it?"

"Why?" Applejack asked. "How do ya suppose we get it out?"

The shackles buzzed loudly, and the sound of electricity coursing through flesh reached our ears, just before the creature started screaming. We jumped back in fright, watching it thrash and scream in agony. Its arms pulled forward, an energy link keeping it from escaping, and it shook violently. I caught a glimpse of dozens of sharpened teeth, its canines much bigger than a scouts. The torturous treatment ended, and it rested back against the stone, twitching slightly as it grunted.

"We can't just leave it here," Fluttershy piped up. "They're torturing it."

"Fluttershy, this could be a soldier before it fully develops, or something worse," I argued, pointing to the creature. "And even if it isn't, how do we free it from its chains and carry it out? It's thrice the size of Luna and it must weight more than all of us."

"What if we all help? Remember, Twi? Stick together," Pinkie reminded me, a knowing look in her eyes.

"The last pony to help another was five years ago, remember?" I sneered, harsher than usual. "If we're caught, who's going back for her?"

The girls all looked… surprised. I was in the wrong, I know… but survival was supposed to be our concern. "Then go."

I gasped disbelievingly, watching as Rainbow stood beside Fluttershy. "You always brought us together, Twi. Remember?" She retorted. "After all the crap the six of us went through, you're willing to turn your back on us?"

Applejack's hoof touched my shoulder, and she frowned softly at me. "Remember when Ah told you it wasn't only the Elements that kept us together?" She asked me. "Or did you just not listen?"

I glanced to Luna, who wasn't exactly sure of who to side with either. Survive… or risk escaping with this creature. The girls weren't waiting for me, as they trotted over to the console and looked over the dozens of buttons… clearly unsure of what they were doing. I could shrug off that speech from any other pony… but hearing it from my old friends stung worse than any wound. With a sigh… I went to join them behind the console. I felt their stares and triumphant smiles directed at me, and I couldn't help but smile myself.

"It'd be easier if we could read these," I huffed, carefully examining the buttons. "Maybe if—"

"RRRRRAAA!"

We lifted our heads quickly, jumping back as a spear pierced the top of the console. Slink and Jumper threw their short-spears with as much force as they could, followed by General Stomper charging the soldier that had run in. One spear was knocked aside, but the other dug into its chest. Stomper head-butted the end of it and shoved it through, but the soldier wasn't fazed. It bit into Stomper's back, forcing a scream as its claws tore into his sides. Luna bellowed as she jammed her daggers into the soldier's head, continually stabbing it until its arms fell. She quickly pulled Stomper aside, looking over his wounds.

"Prin…Princess…" He coughed, spitting blood off to the side. "I… I won't…"

"I'll carry you out if I have to, General," she snorted, trying to wrap the stab wounds with bandaging. "We're leaving now!"

"But what about—!"

GROOOAAAAAAAAH!

The intercoms blared with roars, no doubt a warning. I glanced over when I heard a hissing of steam, seeing the creature fall out of the block of stone. Some of the clamps fell off, but many stuck to him.

"Screw it, just grab it!" I yelled, going over and getting under it. Applejack, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie got under its arm and body, grunting as we all pushed.

"Rarity, start the spell!" I shouted.

Rarity's horn fizzled before dying out. "We have to get farther, first!" Luna called, General Stomper grunting as she carried him. "Slink, Jumper, move up!"

They collected their spears and galloped to the door, us barely behind them. They bashed open the door and guided us down, and as we ran through the scout cages we saw soldiers coming in from the other doors. Rainbow hung back and pulled the cages down, collapsing them into a complex mess. Some of the scouts were freed, however, and came straight for us. Slink turned back, and he tackled a scout ready to pounce on Rainbow.

"KEEP GOING!" He screamed, just as they jumped onto him. I watched as they tore his hooves off and started to feed on him, even as he screamed in anguish.

Jumper, undeniably hurt at the loss of his companion, galloped on as we entered the next hallway. Rainbow got under the creature's belly and heaved it upwards, letting us get a slow gallop in. Luna's magic blasted two soldiers ahead of us, the beams aimed at their eyes to blind them as we ran by. The breeding facility was being evacuated, and we hurried out back into the exit hallway. I couldn't see worth a damn, but Luna and Jumper could see ahead. Luna's horn sparked twice, capturing a group of scouts in two magic bubbles that moved to the sides.

"Rarity, now!" I shouted. Her horn fired up immediately, and as we ran outside, where dozens of soldiers were waiting, a light blue dome of aura surrounded us, blocking the spears and arrows and blasters.

"This won't last… for long if we… don't move!" Rarity strained, her field being being bombarded with blaster fire.

"Luna! The transparency spell!" I reminded her. "Rainbow, Fluttershy, grab it by the shoulders. Everypony else, hang onto the legs! As soon as we stealth, fly to the tunnels!"

"Hurry!" Rarity shrieked, sweat dotting her forehead as her magic started to falter.

Luna's horn gathered mana, as she was still a bit drained, and lit up brightly. "Just… another… second…"

"JUST DO IT!" We all screamed, Jumper included.

Her horn blinded each of us, and that was the cue for us to hang on tight. Rarity's spell had dropped, and I assumed she had clung, since I could hear her panting heavily. Rainbow and Fluttershy's grunts could be heard as they lugged us off the ground, taking us way up high and past the fighters that had grouped. I pulled up my goggles and looked up, seeing Luna get her hooves under each of the arms and lift as well.

"We made it," Applejack exhaled, relief and anxiety all mixed in. "Celestia, Ah thought we were goners."

A few weak laughs replied to her, and Jumper flew up to grab Stomper. "Did… did we make it?" He groaned, drifting in and out of consciousness. "Where's… Slink?"

Jumper frowned softly, shaking his head in reply. "They got 'im… sir." His voice was barely a whisper, but it relayed to us his emotions in a cluster.

I looked up to the creature we were hauling, staring very hard at the mark.

You better have been worth it.

He was worth so much more than I would know.

We reached the tunnels soon after, cutting off any spells to avoid getting noticed. Fluttershy and Rainbow carefully lowered it into the hole, and we all resumed our positions to haul it inside. Luna and Jumper galloped ahead, as Stomper needed medical attention quickly, and said they would call for guards to block off the area. It left the six of us to ourselves with this thing, which had started to murmur and twitch sporadically.

"This thing's pretty damn heavy," Rainbow sighed, her gaze lowered to the ground. "I should've never opened my mouth."

We laughed softly, some of us quieting down faster than the others. "Twilight."

"Yes, Fluttershy?" I said.

"…I'm sorry." She wasn't sorry for yelling, or for what she had said. She was sorry for sacrificing one of our own for a creature we had no information on.

"It's… it's in the past, Fluttershy." She stopped abruptly, and since this thing was pretty damn heavy, we were all forced to.

"It's in the past? IT HAPPENED TWENTY MINUTES AGO!" Fluttershy yelled. "SLINK DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE! I'M… I… I'm sorry… he's dead because of me."

We lowered the creature, and I came over to her and put a hoof on her shoulder. She buried her face in my shoulder, sobbing loudly as she bawled her eyes out. She clearly hadn't experienced the feeling of leaving somepony behind, whether or not they said anything. I knew the feeling… my first recon near Ponyville. It went horrible… and I had to hear my comrade scream my name as I galloped away. She had screamed for me to save her… but that was before they tore her in half.

I wrapped my hoof around her, letting her go on until she only sniffled and shuddered. She was… acting weak. Whenever I heard of her, a stallion spoke with fear whenever she was in the same sentence he had spoke. No pony messed with her, neither did they bother us… but to see her acting the way she did ten years ago…

…I forgot how it felt to know you had a friend. It was the pinnacle of my studies, the one thing only I and my friends could experience in full. And now… it was as foreign as the Saddle Arabians. She still saw me as a friend, but I saw her as a soldier (not the enemy ones). We had all become soldiers… but that didn't mean we were supposed to be heartless. And yet, I did that exact thing, hollowing out my heart to block out pain.

I said nothing, deciding it would be best if we just moved on. Fluttershy sniffled a bit as we reached the cavern entrance, but held a neutral gaze when the Solar guards came to help us. They were shocked to see the creature we carried in, but I ordered them to take it into a medical facility. Celestia was there, watching the creature getting lugged away by the stronger stallions.

"Twilight, what have you been doing up there?" She asked, worry casted over her usual expression. "Luna only came in with—"

"Slink… didn't make it," I forced myself to say. She closed her mouth, then sighed with a small shake of her head. Anger flashed over her face, but it vanished with an exhale.

"What is this creature you've brought?"

"Remember the low mana levels?" I asked. "It wasn't a weapon or device. It was a prison. About forty drainers that were attached to… whatever it was."

She sighed with relief, but she turned back to me. "And why did you bring it here?"

"The enemy of our enemy is our friend, sister," Luna voice called as she trotted over. "We have… a disturbing revelation."

"Those things can talk," Rainbow snorted. Celestia's eyes widened, and the anger from before came back in full force.

"Which means… a thought process… and knowledge on good and bad," she snarled, scaring me a bit. "They're… evil… BASTARDS!"

I jumped some from her outburst, but she took long and deep breaths to calm herself. She started a slow stride to the rock castle, Luna motioning for us to follow. We followed hesitantly, being led into a deeper cavern, where the creature had been taken. We stopped beside an intense care unit, where it was being injected with painkillers and nutrient boosters. A heart monitor was also turned on, using a mana battery to keep its heart rate visible. As we watched them check its well-being, Celestia snorted again.

"I hope you were confident in this decision, Twilight," she sighed.

At the moment, I wasn't so sure, and so I said nothing. After a moment of watching the creature, I finally recognized the significance of the chains. There was a mare that had been taken captive. She had been imprisoned for over a year before escaping and coming here. She was from Manehatten, and she was terrified and bloodied as she walked in. I needed to find her, maybe get some information on what they did to their prisoners. Maybe some were used in experiments. With that notion in my mind, I grabbed the sword from Applejack, said goodbye, and headed for my bunk. I tossed my armor onto the floor, noticing the bed across from mine was bare.

Guess she didn't make it.

I would have a new roommate within another week or two, but for now I only had my own thoughts. I pushed the sword under my bunk, then laid for what seemed like an eternity, just staring at the ceiling.

Little did I know… I had made the best decision of my life.

Entry #62
February 21, 2012

There are more.

More monsters.

A reconnaissance squad just came back, the leader, earth ponies, and pegasi having been eaten alive. The unicorn was missing her horn, blood masking her petrified look as she was carried into a trauma bay. A snapped horn was supposed to be the most painful thing for a unicorn.

But her fear numbed that.

Now every squad is afraid to go outside, and we're losing our volunteers. Was it really that bad? Could there be something worse than the scouts? There can't be.

There just can't be.

Author's Note

Chapter 3! Heads up: He's not human. Just another little alternate to one of my others. So yeah! Like, fav, comment, and have an awesome day or night! Peaces!