Chapter One: Involuntary
"Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria..."
Fear. It's what drives us to the darkest corners of our animal minds, yet it isn't the most dangerous element that make up our minds. But, it pushes us forward to the future, down paths we not intended to walk. It keeps us moving through the storm of fate and luck, forcing us to make split second decisions that may very well cost us our lives. Fear comes in many forms, mentally or physically, yet it's disguised; choosing not to show itself until the moment we have to hide behind it.
Fear of the unknown. The fogged future that we can't predict, nor will we ever be able to, and it stills fear into us. We are blind and ignorant when it comes to the harsh reality of time, and we don't know if we will survive long enough to see the black future. Times pushes ever forward, never stopping, never faltering, and due to that restriction, we fear for the future. We fear for the fate of ourselves and others around us. But, there is one fear that is the biggest.
The fear of ourselves. Deep inside all of us, there is our dark persona, yearning to be released; to wreak havoc on others. A darkness that slumbers inside all of us, waiting for the day that it will be awakened and feasts on the pain of others. We have several voices, several personalities that are lost in our vast and open mind, yet one trigger, minor or major, can set that personality into motion and into control. We are not all innocent.
That trigger can vary from person to person. One can lose all hope in life when a close one passes away, while one can go insane from scarring, both mentally and physically. That trigger is the gateway to the soul, to the real us. The us that rises from the abyss and is finally ready for what is next. Yet, some of us aren't ready for what's next. Some of us are still naive, still oblivious to what the harsh reality of life can bring us. But, some of us are ready.
Yet, none of us were ready for what was next. Greed overcame peace, positivity, and harmony, destroying us all. The greed and selfishness of some became fatal for others, ending in their doom. Eventually, it all became too much. Fire rained down from the skies, coating the world in death and darkness. Barely any of us survived, some from the skin of their teeth. Others were lucky and fled underground, to repopulate.
But, the ones underground took their victory for granted. The greed that fueled the ambition for the apocalypse resurfaced and engulfed many individuals. Instead of working together and repopulating, they forced males to mate with the females, creating offspring that had many fathers. This happened uninterrupted for years to come. But, as fate would have it, Karma struck back. Other survivors attacked the ones underground, taking their refuge over. Only two escaped.
But, there were others underground, and unlike the ones that greed took over, they fought it back and remained in harmony. But, like the greedy ones, this didn't continue on forever. One escaped the refuge and caused chaos. Not wanting the chaos to go on any farther, one went after the other; hoping to bring them back to restore order. Yet, they were unsuccessful. Nothing prepared these four for what was on the surface.
A barren and broken land. The skies were grey and the sun not dared to peek through the thick layer of clouds; covering the land in darkness. What was once a vast and beautiful land was now destroyed and divided, nature long gone from it. It was indeed the end of the world and these four beings had to endure through it to unite their fellow beings and bring the world to what it once was. But, they were unsuccessful, as the wasteland was still divided and dangerous.
But, to the far north, it was different. Instead of gravel and ash, it was snow and stone. Up north there was civilization, there was order, there was life. Unlike down south, they didn't flee underground; instead they stayed their ground and faced against the hellfire. And survived. Eventually, they rebuilt civilization and started over, harmony and love spreading throughout the pre-war kingdom. This lasted for centuries. But, all things must come to an end.
One night, a roving band of raiders ambushed a group that was returning from their daily supply run. Only one survived and they returned to the kingdom to discover that it was in ruins, fire leaking into the nighttime air. The ones that attacked enslaved them and made a hasty escape. Now in tow to their new home, the survivor recalls all the gruesome details that the night inflicted on them. But, it set into motion another step towards continuing the cycle.
* * * * * *
It was cold. It was always cold. Chilly winds brushed past me and my fellow friends as we dragged ourselves through the unforgiving snow. Command had us go on a supply run when a blizzard was occurring and they wonder why I despise them. I shivered, my breath clearly visible in the air. I was used to the cold, though, and because it that, it wasn't unbearable. One of my metal hooves clanked on stone as we entered back into safe and familiar territory.
Yet, it didn't feel so safe. I adjusted the duffel bag slung around my neck, as it was growing itchy and uncomfortable. I felt my left hoof, my only real one, hit a rock and I cursed under my breath. I can't see out my left eye, and I have an eye patch covering it. A few years ago, there was a shooting match and I was stupid enough to get caught in the crossfire. As for my three hooves... Well, let's just say that holding a grenade for too long is a bad idea.
I survived that explosion by the skin of my teeth. The only reason I survived is because at the time I had a void shield covering me. Yet, the grenade seeped through the vortex and struck me right in the horn, knocking out my magic; and even then, there wouldn't be enough time to blink the grenade away from me fast enough. I was in a coma for weeks after the grenade explosion and I still get the occasional ache or pain from my last hoof. Shrapnel flew into my last one and cut it severely.
The missing hooves were replaced by cyber parts. It wasn't necessary a bad thing, though. The cyber parts used to be part of a Exo suit, but they scrapped it because we ran out of scrap metal to repair our wall. They dug it out of the pile of metal and attached them to me. Though, they still worked. The cyber legs made me faster, made me able to climb up walls and jump higher than usual. To say the least, it was a very good advantage. So, it wasn't a horrible situation.
There are times where I miss my old legs, though. With these Exo legs, I can't feel anything, y'know? These legs weren't meant to be permanent when they were working during the war, they were meant to be for combat; not to be your replacement limbs. I'm lucky that I still have one hoof left, though. I don't think I could live without being able to touch something, to feel. It makes you feel like you're not real, like you're not even a pony. It's horrible.
My ear twitched as I heard a sound to my left. I raised my hoof to stop everyone and I levitated my sword up to head level. Around our city, there is plenty of trees and bushes; so it's the perfect place to hide. The bush rustled and I ever so slowly approached it. My hooves dragged through the snow as I shuffled to the bush, my breath staggering to the ever so increasing chilliness. My hoof reached out to move the bush aside when a arrow shot by my head and into the bush. I looked behind me to see one of my fellow friends, Nemesis, aiming a bow behind me. I looked into the bush and saw a rabbit with an arrow sticking out of it's head.
Nemesis is a griffon, so his diet is different from us ponies. He's carnivorous, so that means he needs to eat meat to survive. The prospect of it makes everyone sick to their stomach, as they eat nothing but fruit, vegetables, and flowers. I was sickened out because before I joined the city, I was enslaved by a band of griffons and cannibal ponies. I saw them eat meat everyday, so I eventually grew used to it. Everyone else, not so much.
I sighed, grabbing the rabbit with my magic and floating it over to Nemesis. He nodded before gripping it with his talon and dropping it into his bag. I looked around at the group, seeing if everyone was ready. They all said yes and went to continue on, but something stopped us. We didn't notice at first, but it was so blatantly conspicuous that we couldn't ignore it; it could very may cost someone's life. I started to raise my sword higher as I addressed the issue.
There was red laser dot on Emerald Grim's forehead. I went to speak out to the attacker when he stopped me. The laser dot shifted from Grim's head to mine. I stayed still as my friends looked to me, shock on their faces. I remained emotionless on my face, but I was panicking inside. Nemesis went to load an arrow when the laser dot changed from my head to Lavender Escape's forehead. Except, they didn't stop there. A shot rang out as a bullet flew through Lavender's head and into the snow. It all happened too fast.
Nemesis, with the speed of an eagle, loaded an arrow and spun one-hundred and eighty degrees, and shot the attacked dead straight in the chest. The attacker fell out of the tree and into the snow, landing with barely audible crack. The blizzard was growing stronger, drowning out sound and vision. Nemesis stormed over to the intruder and dragged his half-alive body over to us. He dropped him in front of me and I lifted my sword to end it for the murderer.
"Don't."
It was a simple word. A word I didn't understand. It rang through my head countless times before I could register it. I closed my eyes for several seconds before re-opening them. I looked over at Nemesis and his eyes said 'He's already done for'. His eyes shifted from to the right of me. Blue, expressionless eyes stared out at us; threatening to swallow you alive if you dared to stare into them for too long. I sighed and placed my sword back into it's sheathe. I started walking towards the city again as Nemesis picked up Lavender Escape's body. No words were said.
We walked for what seemed like days. We wanted to say something, anything, to mourn Lavender. But, we couldn't. It was our fault she died. If we killed the attacker before he shot her, she would have lived and moved on. If Nemesis detected him faster... I looked over to him, his eyes forward and Lavender's lifeless form slung over his shoulder. Did he mean for the attacker to shoot her? Ridiculous, Nemesis is our friend... I zoned out after that thought.
The blizzard grew stronger by the hour and we could barely see two inches in front of us. We tripped so many times that I have lost count. We were all freezing and starving, but that wasn't the biggest concern. We didn't know which way the city was. Nemesis was able to point in the general direction, but we had stopped so many times to eat and rest, we've could have went in the wrong direction by accident. By this point in time, we've given up.
Emerald Grim dropped to the ground face first and Sweet Mystery rushed to help him up. I continued on past them, hoping to catch a glance of our kingdom. But, to no prevail. I turned around and Nemesis had his bow fixed on Sweet Mystery's head. I galloped towards him, but I was too slow. The arrow pierced through her head and into the ground. She slumped down and onto Emerald Grim. I slowed down as I slowly made my way to Nemesis.
Energy was just suddenly ripped from my body, like someone just stole it. I looked to Nemesis as I dropped to my haunches. My head waved around like I was mesmerized, and my vision was a blur. I tried to resisting it, my mind telling me to drop this murderer for killing innocent ponies. He walked towards me, his bow raised and fixed on me. My hoof slowly moved towards him, but he paid no mind. He pressed his talon against my face as pulled the string back. My body snapped back to attention as I lunged towards him.
I tackled him as I gripped my sword with my magic. I laid punches into his face, striking his beak and damaging his left eye. Due to my cyber legs, I had more stamina and physical strength. He used both his hind legs to push me off him, sending me flying into the snow. He hopped up and stormed over to me. I waited for him to get close to md before I unsheathed my sword and sliced him. The sword slashed across his chest and he stumbled back, clutching his chest.
I made my way to my hooves and turned around, giving a powerful buck to the chest. He flew back as he pulled out two crossbows. Crossbows were built and manufactured by griffons and are meant for them, being useless to any thing but a unicorn. He shot both of them simultaneously and both of the arrows struck me. One arrow punctured my right cyber leg while the other struck me right in the chest. Even with a the power of an Exo, you can't resist a shot to the chest.
I stood still, wobbling some as my tried to pulled out the arrow lodged in my chest. My left hoof wrapped around it sloppily as I desperately tried to yank it out. It slowly started to slip out, and I bit my tongue so hard that I grunted in immense pain. Nemesis loaded two more arrows and shot. The first missed, whizzing past my head by an inch. The second one struck my legitimate hoof and I gasped in pain, as I stopped trying to pull out the one in my chest.
Nemesis approached to me and pressed one of the crossbows against my head. "I'm sorry." I shoved my sword into his gut, escaping to the other side. He staggered back and struggle to pull out the sword. Using my magic, I twisted the sword around in his stomach; making him scream in agony. He dropped to the ground and laid there. I pulled the arrow out of my hoof and yanked the one out of my chest. After throwing them next to me, I collapsed into the ground.
Snow poured onto me as I stared into the endless void known as the sky. Blood drizzled out of my chest and hoof and onto the snow, painting it a crimson red. I wanted to sleep, I was so tired. My eyelids grew heavy as I was so very tired. I lied there in the snow for what I thought was weeks. I eventually picked myself up and continued on. I took Nemesis' crossbows and the healing potions he had on him. After healing myself, I headed North.
My teeth chattered as I spotted something in the distance. I've been walking for awhile and I was tired to holy Tartarus. I sludged through the thick snow layer and towards to what I hoped was home. The blizzard wanted to stop me, but it wouldn't succeed. My chest and hoof ached as I galloped through the unforgiving snow and onto stone. I made it; I made it home. I reached the gate and it opened, welcoming me in. I smiled, despite the horrific moments that occurred earlier.
Home, Sweet, Home.
I dragged myself through the gate, feeling very much like I wanted to sleep. Blood rarely leaked from my wounds now, but the pain was still very much real. My teeth chattered so much I thought they would explode. Ponies watched as I returned from the daily supply run, alone. I didn't pay them any attention, I pushed past all them just to my room. My hooves clip clopped on the stone as I limped towards the castle. I just need sleep.
I arrived at my room after a very painful and tiring walk to it. I plopped down on my bed and locked the door. Sighing, I magicked a first aid kit in front of me and opened it up. Pulling out peroxide and a gauze pad, medical tape, and a healing potion, I got to work. I doused a gauze pad in peroxide and faintly pressed it against the wound on my hoof. I hissed in pain as a sharp burning sensation engulfed my hoof. Taking a clean gauze pad, I placed it over the hole and wrapped medical tape over it several times.
Doing the same thing with my chest, I wrapped the medical tape around my form. I did more than my hoof, because my body is bigger than my hoof. Now that I know my wounds aren't infected, I drank the healing potion and it slid down my throat. I always admired the taste they had, tingy, but delicious. It had a small tingly feeling in my gut. I dropped down onto my bed and stared into the ceiling, thinking about earlier 's exciting moment.
Why would Nemesis do that? Now that I think about it, whenever he talked to the council members, excluding me, he always mad it incredibly secretive. Like he wouldn't want me to know what he was saying. Did the council send me out their with him to kill me? Nonsense, I'm a valuable asset to this city, I helped plan and create the defenses around our kingdom. I'm the reason the Empire survived this long, so why do they want me dead. I have to ask Crystal Clear.
* * * * * *
I rubbed my blue mane as I walked up to Crystal Clear. He was talking to Sugar Cage, a clipboard flaring next to the green unicorn. My cyber hooves clanked against the crystalline floor, alerting Crystal Clear to my presence. His eyes widened, obviously not expecting me to return. That sells it then. My horn glowed as I reached for my sword, but two guards came up and grabbed my two fore hooves. I struggled to escape their grasp, but they held headstrong. "Fucker! Let me go!"
"I can't do that, Arctic." He nodded once and the unicorn with the clipboard walked away, leaving me alone with Crystal Clear. I continued to try and break free, but whenever I thought could slip free, the two guards rushed to sustain me. Crystal Clear approached me, his hoof going under my chin and raising my head. With his head so close to mine, I rammed my horn into his eye. He screamed in agony as I slashed the two guards with my sword.
I levitated a gun over to me, a revolver, and shot the two guards in the head. I kicked Crystal Clear in the gut, making him grunt. I raised my sword and plunged it into his hoof, pinning him to the ground. He yelled again, his scream of agony ringing in my ears. I heard someone trying to knock the door down, but I placed a bookcase there to prevent them. I spotted a dagger and picked it up with my horn, shoving it into his other hoof. "P-P-Please, stop! Y-You can stil-"
He didn't get to finish his sentence, as I shot him in the forehead. "Shut up." I gripped my sword with my magic and glanced over at the door. They kept trying to get inside, but the door wouldn't budge. I took the dagger, and pushed the bookcase out of the way. I aimed the revolver at the door, the remaining three shots in the cylinder. The door swung open and I attacked. The dagger flew into someone's eye as I shot two shots into the last ponies.
"Arctic Proxy! Surrender now and we won't kill you!" I walked up to the only window in the room, gazing outside at the city. I spotted several ponies, there was at least thirty of them. I smiled, the iron sights aligning with a pony's head. I fired and the bullet flew through the pony's head, killing the pony behind him as well. "Open fire!" After that, gunshots rang out as I ducked. Bullet after bullet struck the wall behind me. I crawled over to the door, looking for a fire-arm.
I scavenged one of the deceased ponies and found a bolt-action rifle, along with three magazines. I grabbed it and the ammunition, scurrying out of the room and into the hallway. My horn glowed brightly as my newly acquired rifle and sword floated next to me. I slowly walked down the hallway, glancing around for any attackers. My eyes scanned over anything that could have been an enemy, my magic focused on the trigger, ready to pull it.
"Branch out, we need to find her before she escapes the city." I heard a gruff voiced sound out. My ears twitched as I heard the tell-tale sound of hooves clip-clopping against the floor. My ears popped as I teleported atop a bookshelf, glancing down on two guard ponies. I crouched down as much as possible before pouncing down on of them. The sword punctured her armor and flew through the other side in her stomach. I shot the other guard before he could alert the others.
I teleported behind a plant as three guards investigated the gunshot and the two dead ponies. I waited until they were turned around before I sneaked away from them, found a door and entered it. Inside was the throne room, where Princess Cadence used to reside. Sunshine rained down on me through the windows as I slowly, but surely, approached the throne itself. My eyes jumped around as I made sure no one was inside this room.
I started to walk up to the throne when one of the windows burst open and a griffon surged through, tackling me to the ground. It was Nemesis! We tumbled on the ground as gunfire rained down on us through the windows, shards of glass showering us. I punted him in the beak as I backed away from him, raising my shotgun; the iron sights aligned with his forehead. A knife was thrown at me and lodged itself into the barrel of the gun. I dropped it and levitated my sword close to me.
Snow flew through the window as bullets struck the ground and walls around us, their intent on hitting either one of us. Nemesis snatched large shard of glass, holding it in right talon with a dagger in his other. Without further hesitation, he dove forward. I easily dodged to the left as his dagger swiped at air and made to change that. He dodged to right and I stupidly did so too, his dagger slashing across my cheek. I ignored it as lunged forward, my fore hooves outstretched.
I tackled him to the ground, laying several punches to his face with my right cyber hoof, several cuts now adorned on his face. He reached up with his right talon, the shard glass shoving into my Exo leg. Sparks flew everywhere as it was shoved further, but I kept striking him. Small electrical surges would spread throughout my body, but I ignored as raised my sword, ready to finish him. A bullet flew through the air and struck me in the chest. I stumbled back as I tried to retain my balance.
Nemesis, using his hind legs, kicked me off of him, making me fly onto the ground and onto my back. Before he could continue towards me, I heaved my sword at him with magic. But, it missed and whizzes past him, landing onto the ground. Straining my horn even further, I picked up the several hundred pieces of glass with my horn and they flew towards him. He dropped to the ground, all of them passing above him. I didn't know what to do, now. He approached my still form and plunged his two weapons into my fore hooves. I hissed through my teeth, trying to move my hooves, but it resulted in pain.
I took a gambit and powered my horn, but Nemesis smashed it with the handle of his dagger. I screamed in agony, as my horn was the most sensitive part of my body. I struggled as I kept trying to escape, my hooves sending excruciating pain through my body. Nemesis seemed to be focused on the door, as I used this to my advantage. Just then, there was a loud screech that rang in my ears as Nemesis clutched his. The ground seemed to rumble and shake as their was an intense knocking at the door. Nemesis gripped his weapons as the door burst open.
Black, insect-like creatures flew into the room, overwhelming Nemesis in seconds. He thrashed around the room, trying to desperately rip them off as they ripped him apart. They bit into him, slowly but surely devouring him. Blood splattered all on the ground as he screamed, being eaten alive wasn't exactly the best way to go. One of his limbs landed next to me, making me feel nauseous; but it fueled me to escape. My cyber hoof yanked itself off of the glass shard as the ground rumbled again, a giant hole tearing the throne room in half.
The bugs fell into the hole, along with Nemesis' devoured body. The only reason I was still there was because my hoof was impaled into the ground. I gritted my teeth as my hoof started to slip off the glass shard, it ripping through my hoof. Blood trickled out of my hoof as desperately tried to pull myself up, pain overwhelming my hoof. I tried powering my horn to teleport, but I was too tired. The snow started to increase, it flying through the windows immensely. I looked down and regretted it.
I sighed, gripping the shard with my hoof, not ready for what I'm about to do. I yanked the shard out, letting myself fall onto a ledge in the abyss. I slid down the ledge, trying to grab something to prevent me from falling. I saw a thick icicle and wrapped my hoof around, a long crack forming in it and running down the ledge. I hoisted myself up, my other hoof grabbing a rock. I spotted ponies at the top of the ravine and ducked as a gunshot struck the icicle I was holding onto. It exploded and I fell, struggling to keep from falling deeper. I glanced up and using the rest of my power, levitated the gun to myself.
I shot the pony with the rifle, her body falling past me. I jumped onto it, letting it carry me to the bottom. I was hoping that her body would take most of the fall damage and it did. While her body hit the ground hard, I still was hurt. I hissed in pain as I heard my hoof, my real one, crack and twist. I tried moving it, but I screamed when I tried. I obviously couldn't walk with it, so I slumped down against the wall. I sighed as my hoof laid limp at my side.
I shot a glance up and spotted several ponies staring at me, their guns fixed on me. I jumped up as a bunch of bullets struck the ice underneath me, forming a crack that traveled across the whole ravine. I was able to jump on a ledge before the floor fell deeper into the abyss. I raised my gun up to the ponies above me, thinking on a way to escape this valley of ice. I thought of something, and it seemed impossible, but it's the only thing I have. I scanned around and saw multiple ledges adorned on the wall. I closed my eyes briefly and shot my gun. A pony clutched his chest before falling down. As his body neared me, I grabbed onto his body, jumping onto it, and forcing myself up onto a ledge.
A pony fired a bullet at my hooves, but I jumped away, but the bullet grazed my hoof. I aimed the rifle at his forehead and fired, the bullet striking his throat instead. Blood gushed from his neck as he fell forward, and towards me. I gripped his hoof as I pulled myself up and into the air, teleporting onto a high ledge. I panted as the ponies continued shooting at me, and I kept dodging. A bullet struck me in the ear, cresting a pretty big hole in the inside of it. I clutched it as I aimed my rifle at the pony who shot me, laying a bullet through his head, right under his horn. He fell and jumped onto his body, jumping up towards another pony. She aimed down with her sniper rifle and gripped the barrel with my hoof, heaving myself up onto the ground.
While she was still stunned, I shot her and the rest of the ponies. I dropped to the ground as my gun hot the snow, panting heavily. I can't believe that worked! I smiled, hoisting myself up before getting shot in the chest. I stumbled back as another shot to my barrel made me stumble back even more, blood now leaking out of the wounds. I saw a pony with grey fur and a brown mane, a revolver levitating at her side, but I blinked and she was gone. I felt something cold and metal press up against my head and I looked up, my eyes stinging from crying.
It was a mare with a white coat, her red and black mane and tail blowing in the wind. She punched me with the handle of the gun and I closed my eyes for a second. She was replaced by a stallion with purple fur and a black mane, his cutie mark an iron sight on a gun. Tears wet my dark grey fur as he screamed at me, but I couldn't hear. He gripped my head with his fore hooves and yelled into my face, but I was out of the moment. I saw the two mysterious mares standing in the distance.
I don't what happened after that, it was all a blur. I swore I saw the stallion wrap his hooves around me and start dragging me through the snow, but I couldn't confirm it. I kept playing the memories of today through my head, trying to figure what out what went wrong. All I could think about was the two mysterious mares. Were they real? Or were they a fragment of my imagination, taunting me with they're mystery? I don't know, but what I do know, is that I slipped into a long and peaceful sleep...
* * * * * *
I stirred, consciousness slowly returning to my body. I have woken up several times, but they were short before I fell back asleep. I tried moving, but my attempt was futile. Once feeling fully returned, I noticed that my hoof, my flesh-y one, was shackled to a wall. The wall itself was crystal and shined greatly, glowing with a certain charm to it. I looked down at myself and panic overwhelmed me, making me want to scream. My Exo hooves are gone, instead replaced by stubs!
I went to look around for the fucker who did this, but there was metal collar fixed around my neck. There was a red light on the front of it, occasionally beeping loudly. I slumped down, moving my hoof around in the shackle, clinking against the wall. There was bandages adorned on my body, blood stained on them. I heard the clip-clopping of hooves and I gazed at the door on the other side of room. I heard the door's lock click and the door opened, revealing the stallion.
He had a box on his back and placed it on the ground, the contents of it unknown to me. He held pistol in his magic field as he sat in front of me. His horn glowed as the door locked and the box was levitated over to me, but it was closed. I went to open it with my horn, but there was a magic-nullifying ring placed around it. I gritted my teeth and turned to him, waiting for him to speak. He closed his eyes for a brief second, as if he was thinking, and re-opened them.
"You may be wondering who I am, but sorry to inform you, but I will not be revealing my identity yet. Not, at least, until I can safely say that I can trust you. Before you try to attack me, you should know that I have removed your vocal cords and the collar wrapped around neck will send a dosage of highly-lethal poison through your system, killing you slowly. If you want to communicate, I will give you a piece of paper and a quill, understand?"
I nodded, the urge to rip this stallion's throat out with my teeth retreating to the back of my mind. He nodded and opened the box, revealing my cybernetic limbs. He levitated them out and over to me, attaching them to my stubs. After all of them were tightly fixed around my short appendages, I tested them out. I still couldn't move because of my other hoof being stuck to the room. I sat upright to my haunches and stared at the stallion.
"Okay then. Are you hungry, thirsty?" I nodded and he stood up, walking over to the door and peeked his head out. He said something and a mare, her coat a sage color and her mane and tail a beige, came in with a tray of food. Atop the tray was a bowl of soup, pieces of fruit and vegetables floating around in an orange liquid, and a bottle of clear and clean water. I wished I still had my voice, because I would say thanks. The mare smiled and walked out, leaving me alone with Voice Stealer.
Picking up the bowl with my right hoof, I slurped down the contents of the soup. It was delicious and it tasted fresh, almost as if it was made with ingredients that weren't tainted. I gripped the bottle of water with my hoof and greedily swallowed the water, it easily sliding down my throat and making me feel satisfied. While I did all this, Voice Stealer stood idly by, watching me eat. After I finished the meal, I pushed the tray towards him, gazing at him.
He came up to me and removed the ring around my horn, letting me use my magic once more. He dropped a piece of paper and quill next to me, waiting for me to write something. I ignored it and looked at him, pointing a hoof at my throat. I want my voice back! He watched for a second before I picked up the quill, scribbling away on the piece of paper. I finished and looked at the words, then levitated it to the stallion, waiting for his response after read it.
"I can't do that, Arctic. There's no way we can successfully put your vocal cords back without permanently ruining your throat. I'm sorry, but you'll remain voiceless until we can get voice modulator, and the scientists are still working on the prototype. We can, however, get you a Pip-Buck implanted into one of your Exo hooves, and that will allow you to write us. How does that sound until we can get you a voice modulator?" He asked.
I closed my eyes and thought for awhile. Why did he remove them in the first fucking place? Was he afraid I would verbally assault his mother? I felt my temper rise, making my horn spark. He noticed this and backed up some, and I felt anger rise through my body. I ripped my hoof from the wall, the chain still attached to my hoof as I stomped past the stallion and tried to beat the down the door, wanting escape this nightmare and get my voice back!
"Arctic stop! Or else the machine will control you!" I ignored him as my hoof continuously pounded on the door, indenting it severely. The stallion screamed louder before I felt a large and powerful electrical shock rocked my body, paralyzing my body and sending me to the ground. The world spun around as the ceiling grew taller and taller, growing farther and farther away from me. I looked to my right hoof, a huge cut in the metal bracing, wires protruding out of the slit.
I looked to my left, spotting the white unicorn with the red and black mane and tail sitting in the corner, loading a revolver. She shot a glance at me before smiling and pointing behind me, to the other corner of the room. I glanced over there and saw the small grey mare, a revolver also at her side. She frowned before her hoof raised and pointed to the ceiling, right above me. I looked up there and saw a black insect-like pony, with holes in it's hooves and cyan, fly-like wings. It had a curved horn with holes also in it, and it looked at me before it smiled. I blinked and they all disappeared, returning me to reality.
I picked myself up of the ground, sparks of electricity flying out of my hoof every so often. The stallion looked concern, and tried helping me up; but, I pushed him away from me as I plopped down onto my haunches, my back resting against the cold, crystal wall. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't because my voice failed me. Whenever I tried to speak, I would only let out nothing, just... Air. It made me want to gouge out the stallion's eyes.
"Can you tell me, Arctic, what you were doing? Back at city?" I looked over at him and mouthed 'I don't know' before closing my eyes. I didn't see his expression, but I assumed it wasn't amused. I heard the door open and the tell-tale sound of a pony walking, except it sounded like several. I opened my eyes and saw four ponies, all completely covered in Power Armor, enter the room and up to me. I stood up and guessed I had to follow them. "Arctic, please follow these ponies to the science lab, we conducting an experiment. On you." What kind of fucking experiment, asshole?!
While internally I was freaking out, I was calm and followed the guards without hesitation to the lab externally. I passed by several ponies, and I noticed they were all patients missing something, whether it be inside or outside. I was really starting to lose my shit, and I feared for my life. It took only a couple minutes to arrive at the lab, and I walked inside; the guards following suit. I spotted a mare, her coat a light orange and her mane and tail a dark cyan. Her cutie mark was stethoscope. She saw me and smiled, leading me to a surgery table and I laid down on it, staring into a bright light.
"Just relax, Arctic. We are going to plant a voice modulator into you, allowing you to speak again. While this will be nice, your voice won't be yours. It's the voice of a stallion, a stallion with a very deep and evil sounding voice, it appears. I'm sorry, but if you want to speak, this is the only way. We are also going to implant an enchantment into your horn, giving you more magic and allowing you to use it more before tiring. We will try our best to not mess this up. Are you ready?" I nodded.
She nodded before powering her horn and making me feel awfully tired. As my eyelids grew heavy, I beard a panicking mare and screaming, but I was too tired to focus on it. I fell into unconsciousness soon enough and I let the world's problems, my problems, float away from me. I swore there was a nagging voice at the back of my mind, trying to force me awake. I listened to it more and more, forcing myself awake. I panted as flew off the table and onto the floor, my throat aching so much.
I clutched my throat as I forced words out. "What... You... Do?" Every time I spoke a word, I felt a small spark in my throat. I clutched my neck around the collar after I spoke the words and I closed my eyes. The mare was right, it was a deep voice. I sounded demonic every time I spoke and quite frankly, I was scared of it. I would rather be voiceless than deal with this. I stood up and spotted the mare speaking, frantically I must add, to another mare in a doctor's coat.
I jumped back up onto the table and sat on my haunches, occasionally tapping my hoof on the table. The two mares approached me and the one in the doctor's coat touched my throat with her hoof, observing it. She scowled, looking over at the mare for a second before looking back to me. She looked into my eyes and I looked back into hers, her green eyes hypnotizing. She grabbed a syringe and my hoof, shoving the needle into my hoof. "Can you speak?"
"Y-Yyyyeee-eesss-ssss." I gritted my teeth in pain after saying that and the mare frowned. The syringe was removed from my hoof and I suddenly was hit with a wave of tiredness. I swung from side to side, my balance failing me as I fell backwards. My eyelids grew heavy again and I let the sweet and tender hug of sleep come to embrace me. While in my sub-conscious, I replayed a particular bad memory that messed me up forever...
Footnote:
Thank you for joining me at the beginning of a epic adventure that will test the sanity, courage, and morality of our protagonist. I hope I have written a satisfying beginning and I hope to write a just as satisfying ending to this vast story. Thank you all for reading and if you see any grammar/spelling errors, please post them down below in the Comment's Section.
Author's Note
Beneath the Crystal Empire, evil stirs...
