Emmet in Equestria

Chapter 8:

Edited by: caliban888

Emmet sat stooped over a small alcove, retching horribly. The acrid smell of vomit was beginning was float through the room, and the onlooking ponies all shuffled awkwardly, conflicting emotions of horror and concern swirling violently through their heads. On one hand, their instincts told them to help and console the poor creature. On the other, the creature had just committed murder. The dead body of the Diamond Dog was still laying on the ground, a look of pain locked on its face. Murder was something rarely heard of in Equestria, heck, their entire planet. To see it happen before them, the onlookers were having a hard time not vomiting themselves. Spike, being a dragon, had the mind most accustomed to violence, and finally took a tentative step towards Emmet.

"Hey uuuhhh, are you ok?" Spike said. No sooner had he said it then he slapped himself in the forehead. "No, of course you're not. Is there uh, anything we can do to help?" Emmet let out a few tattered gasps before slowly taking a deep breath.

"I... I just need to let this settle in a little while. It just that, why do I feel-" Emmet suddenly cut himself off. What would his new friends think of him if they knew that the Dog's death made him happy? Would they shun him, or think he was a monster? They probably did already.

"You uh, you feel what?" Spike asked hopefully.

"Nothing." Emmet replied, suddenly jolting up to a standing position. "Nothing at all. I just need to keep on moving. The feeling should pass." Applejack slowly approached Emmet.

"You know, you shouldn't feel bad about how you feel. It's alright to feel remorse, or guilt, or whatever you're feeling. Hay, it would be plum unnatural if ya' didn't!" she said in her southern drawl.

That's the problem. Emmet thought to himself. He just grunted, and turned to the Diamond Dog still alive, shaking in the corner with piss all over it's legs. Emmet tried to clear his thoughts, and finally looked into the Dog's eyes, causing it to shrink even further into the stone.

"Take us to Rarity." Emmet commanded, gesturing to the dead guard laying on the other side of the cave. "Or the next time your wife sees you you'll be torn to shreds." Emmet was disgusted when a small part of his brain was elated at the prospect of ending the creature's life. He tried to shove it down. The dog was still shaking in the corner, unresponsive to Emmet's commands.

"What are you, deaf? I said take us to her." Emmet continued. "NOW!" The dog, along with the ponies, started at Emmet's sudden outburst, and the small Diamond Dog quickly jogged up to one of the cave entrances.

"She is this way, I promise, just please, don't kill me!" the dog said, practically on his knees begging. Emmet quickly unsashed his belt, and tied it around the Dog's neck like a leash.

"Fantastic." Emmet said, harshly shoving the dog forward with his foot. "Let's get this over with."

Applejack trotted along with the rest of the rescuers, letting the events of the past few minutes sink in. She didn't know what to think of Emmet anymore. He was always a strange one, but had always bought her apples and put up with Applebloom's antics. She was a very good judge of character and she'd never had any reason not to trust the human. Now, however, she sensed that something had changed in Emmet. Some indescribable horror within him had woken up, and Applejack had the feeling that if she didn't act fast, it would turn Emmet into a monster. That is, if he hadn't been one from the very start. She cantered up to him, where he stared coldly into space.

"Hey uh, Emmet, if there's anythin' you want to talk about, anythin' at all, you can tell me. You know that, right?" she said. Emmet slowly shifted his gaze at her, making her instincts scream for her to run, run, anywhere where this malevolent evil wasn't. She resisted these urges though, telling herself that Emmet needed her help.

"Tell me, you said you're the Element of Honesty, correct." Emmet asked.

"Yessir." Applejack replied with a gulp.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course I can. I'd never let anything slip, you can trust in me. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Applejack said, doing a complex hoof movement ending in miming sticking a cupcake in her eye. Emmet raised an eyebrow, then looked around, satisfied that the other ponies were out of earshot. He glanced briefly at the Diamond Dog in front of him, but Emmet decided the Dog's opinion was irrelevant.

Emmet screwed his eyes shut, thinking of what to say, "This is slightly complicated, so stay with me. I assume ponies have knowledge of the brain and its functions?"

Applejack rolled her eyes, "Well 'uh course we do."

Emmet nodded "Well, certain areas of the brain control different things, and the inner part the brain controls basic emotions or something like that. So, whatever part controls morality must have been jacked up. But is must have been partially damaged, seeing as otherwise I wouldn't be shocked about my lack of emotion."

Applejack slowly absorbed this information in. "What do ya' think happened to damage your hippothaymalous?"

Emmet furrowed his brow. "I honestly have no idea."

Brooklyn Elementary, year 2001

Emmet stood before three other students, alone in the parking lot behind school. The day was quite sunny, but the mood in the air was anything but. Emmet knew the boys' names, Wally, Harrison, and Colton. All three were at least half a foot taller than Emmet, and they wore the navy blue and white uniforms of the school.

Colton was the first to talk, speaking in a slightly nasally Scottish accent. "Hey there Em, whatcha doin' out here?"

A younger Emmet balled his hands into pudgy little fists. "You don't scare me. I just got my yellow belt in Tae Kwon Do! So... stay back!" he said, not able to come up with a better threat.

The three chuckled menacingly. "Oh no!" Wally sarcastically wailed. "Whatever shall we do? Em knows Tae Kwon Do now, we're all doomed!" The three bullies burst into laughter, while Emmet stood rooted to the spot with his face red as an apple. This caused the three to only laugh harder.

Emmet looked like he was on the verge of crying. "It's not funny!" he screamed, but the trio laughed to the contrary.

When the three finally stopped laughing, Colton spoke up again. "Well, Em, you're just too cute when you're angry for us to take you seriously. Toughen up a bit, then come back. Maybe you'll be promoted from footrest to- UMPH!" Colton was stopped midsentence, as Emmet rushed up to him and tackled him in the stomach. Colton was forced to the ground, and Emmet began to wail blow upon blow on his eyes, nose and jaw. Finally, Harrison, the largest of the group, pried Emmet from Colton and flung him away. Emmet, caught off guard, looked up far too late to see a light post rush up to greet him. His forehead connected with a deep clang, and Emmet felt his vision flutter. He stood, dazed, before he finally fell to the ground again, his head cracking on the asphalt.

Twelve miles away, Peterson Hospital

Doctor Gerheart stood sullenly over her patient, a young boy who looked to be only ten. He had suffered from a double concussion, and she knew that he wouldn't walk away without a severe change in mental state. She doubted he'd even remember this even happened. She looked to the two forlorn parents, the short, muscular man and the stressed mother full of concern, her black hair in an untidy mess. Doctor Gerheart sighed deeply. It was time to tell them.

The man looked up at the doctor, fearing the worst. "Is he..." he couldn't say it. Couldn't say he had failed as a father.

Doctor Gerheart smiled. "No, he will walk away from this in perfect physical health." The couple sighed a deep breath of relief, the tension of the past few hours finally let out. They were caught again when they saw the doctor's pained expression.

"However... I think you should have a look at this." Doctor Gerheart said, pulling a large picture out of a nearby drawer.

"Do you see this large black spot here?" Doctor Gerheart continued, gesturing to a large spot pointed out by small, thin arrows. "That's the hypothalamus, a section of the brain that controls moral emotions such as remorse, guilt, and empathy. Due to the concussion, the veins around the hypothalamus have suddenly swollen, squeezing it. Now, it isn't that bad right now, but if he gets into a stressful situation the veins will suddenly expand to nearly one-hundred and seventy-five percent their normal size, cutting off his hypothalamus almost completely."

The parents sat in the chair, confused and worried. "But, what does it mean for Emmet?" The mother asked in a desperate tone.

"It means that, in a fight or flight situation, where he will need a cool head the most, he will suddenly lose all feelings of responsibility. He will feel no remorse for whatever he does in this state, even after he calms down. At all other times he will act quite normally." Doctor Gerheart paused for a moment. "So whatever you do, don't let him get in a fight."

Back in the Diamond Dog Caves

The small tan Dog stopped in front of a cave entrance, "We're here." It said in a scratchy voice. Emmet could see a small orange glow emanating from far away. Emmet waited until Spike and the ponies had arrived, then shoved the tan bulldog roughly into the cave with his foot.

Emmet gave the Dog a hard glare. "Lead the way."

The Diamond Dog whimpered, and quickly walked into the cave, tail between his legs. As they walked down the gloomy, dank cave all they could hear was the occasional sniff of the nose or crunch of loose rocks scraping against the cave floor. The rescuers were beginning to think the Dog was leading them the wrong way when the cave turned sharply to the left, opening up into a large cavern filled with jewels and dimly lit by flickering torchlight.

Twilight's horn glowed as she lit up her horn, letting the seven see clearly. "There she is!" Twilight cried. Emmet looked to where she was pointing, and saw a shockingly white unicorn with a dark purple mane delicately curled to a springy coil. She had patches of dirt all over her coat, and a thick leather muzzle clamping her mouth firmly shut. She was digging, if you consider grumpily pawing at the ground digging, when she heard Twilight and looked to the group.

Rarity's face lit up when she saw her friends, Spike, and Twilight's new bodyguard, whom she rarely talked to. "Mrmf shr glrf ter shhhr yer! Therv kerpt mer ern heer ernd fershd mer ter derg lerk ern ernimerl!"

Twilight came over and attempted to unfasten Rarity's muzzle with her magic. "What? Why won't you come undone?"

The tan Diamond Dog suddenly snapped to attention, his jowls flopping comically. "Don't! If you try to unfasten it, you'll just-"

But Twilight wasn't listening. Finding a strap, she quickly tried to loosen the thick piece of leather. When she did, though, the muzzle suddenly tightened, making Rarity's eyes bulge and the muzzled bite deeply into her skin.

"-make it tighter. Oh no." Rarity started shuffling about, her face bloated and beet red.

Emmet stifled a few chuckles, but he couldn't help himself. "hee hee, heh heh heh, heh ho HAH HAH HAAAAAA! You look absolutely ridiculous! You're head is just like, PBLTTHH!" he said, blowing his tongue in an imitation of Rarity, who was starting to have trouble breathing. She decided she didn't particularly like Twilight's new friend.

The Diamond Dog started to panic. "No, no, NO! If you don't get that off of her face soon, she's gonna suffocate!"

Emmet continued to chuckle, and casually unsheathed the wakizashi. "Relax, I got this covered." He walked towards Rarity, who, upon seeing a near-stranger holding a very sharp object walking towards her, did what any pony would do.

She ran.

Emmet was suddenly playing an increasingly annoying game of cat and mouse, as Rarity galloped in a panic around the cavern, frantically trying to avoid her pursuer. This was getting increasingly difficult however, as the muzzle around her mouth and head slowly blocked any air from entering her lungs, and she felt herself begin to tire.

Emmet fruitlessly sprinted after the alabaster unicorn, but being a pony, she was easily able to outrun him. "Come here... Gotcha! Dangit... Finally! Dangit... Almost there.... if you would just sit still for one moment... can't we just work this out like civilized people?... STOP RUNNING!" At last, Rarity slowed to a crawl, the combination of terror, running, and lack of air making her head swim, and she slowly sank down to her side.

Emmet ran up to her, and knelt down next to her struggling form, the wakizashi ready at her neck. She attempted to resist, but was hushed by Emmet. "Alright, I can see we have plainly gotten off the the wrong foot and/or hoof here. But you're just gonna have to trust me here, or this won't work, alright? I mean, it's that or a slow and painful death by suffocation. You're options are pretty limited." Rarity started to calm down, and finally nodded.

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere. Just hold still." Emmet slid the flat of the blade in between the muzzle and her neck, and slowly twisted it so the sharp edge faced outwards. With a yank, he slit the leather free, and the muzzle slid off her face. She gasped for breath, greedily dragging oxygen into her lungs. She rubbed her sore neck and face with a hoof, her face slowly fading back to white.

Rarity looked back up at Twilight's bodyguard. Perhaps he wasn't that bad after all. "Thank you." she said, "you've saved my life."

Emmet smiled and helped up the unicorn. "Think nothing of it."

"Uh guys, we may have to save the celebrations for later." they heard Twilight say. They looked back to the group, and dozens of Diamond Dogs were pouring out of the tunnels like water from a faucet. When the last helmeted Dog ran through, there must have been thirty five at least.

Rainbow Dash suddenly leapt up into the air, hooves at the ready. "Looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out of here, guys!"

Emmet put on a devilish smirk. He raised the wakizashi into the air, poised for a strike. "Those who are squeamish may wish to close their eyes." Twilight and Fluttershy immediately cowered into the ground, followed by a hesitant Spike and Pinkie Pie. Applejack and Rarity stared on with despair

For a moment, Rainbow Dash and Emmet stared at the horde of Dogs, and the Dogs stared at Emmet and Rainbow Dash.

Eventually someone, it was never discovered who, let loose a cry, and the two forces collided with the force of a battering ram.

Emmet whirled around, his blade flashing from one Dog to the other, a whirlwind of blood and death surrounding him. Emmet's newly discovered dark side relished in the carnage, and Emmet was aglow with joy. His mind descended into rage, faces blurred, bodies mingled, everything was just a wall of flesh and iron for him to cut down at his leisure. He was vaguely aware or Rainbow Dash streaking like a bullet above him, occasionally plummeting down to kick a Dog in the head, sending him flying though the air. Everything melted into actions and reactions. Someone charged him. Sidestep, swing to the side of the neck. He felt a whirl of air behind him. Duck, spin, stab to the chest. He saw a fist dropping from the air. Step forward into the swing, dodge past, backward swing in between the ribs. Eventually Emmet felt a blow connect with his jaw, nearly snapping his head off his spine, but Emmet barely noticed. He simply rolled back to a standing position and kicked the offender between the legs, sending him wailing to the floor. Emmet didn't spend any time gloating however, as there were still fifteen left. Emmet sailed though five, ducking, weaving, and stabbing until all were laying on the stone floor bleeding. Eventually, between Emmet and Rainbow there was only one left. He was obviously the leader of the bunch, easily twice the size of the normal dogs, towering three feet over Emmet. He was covered in scars, and his golden helmet was laced with a ruby mohawk. He growled a challenge, and Emmet and Rainbow slowly circled the beast. Emmet made the first move, darting in when the Dog's attention was on Rainbow, hoping to hamstring him. Hearing Emmet's approach, the massive Diamond Dog swirled around, sending a massive paw in his direction. Emmet ducked under the massive fist narrowly, and quickly stood up.

Now, if Emmet had been paying more attention, he would have noticed that the Diamond Dog leader had sent his other fist right after the first one. However, Emmet wasn't paying attention. The massive fist caught him in the ear, sending Emmet flying through the air, landing on a large rock with a painful crunch. Emmet was certain he'd broken a rib or twelve, and he as his battle madness began to fade he could feel intense pain in his chest. The pain began to overpower him, until it reached every inch of his body.

WHY IS THIS ROCK MADE OF SUFFERING! Emmet mentally wailed to himself, before he slipped mercifully into unconsciousness.