It was getting dark out, making it slightly difficult to make out the winding path up the mountain trail to Mount Sunshine, a facility built to house the mentally insane. A self-employed investigative journalist by the name of Written Gospel marched towards the front gates of the asylum, her mane being tossed about in the wind. The moon was hidden behind dark clouds.
The unicorn mare, Written Gospel, used her magic to float a camera in front of her, the night vision on as she spoke to it,
"This is Written Gospel. Self-employed investigative journalist. Unlike your ordinary journalist, I risk my life by digging deeper into the secrets that no other journalist would ever dare do. A few days ago, I was tipped off about the illegal activity happening at Mount Sunshine by an unknown pony.
Mount Sunshine was originally built in 1905 and was the home of a wealthy family. After a small epidemic of Small Pox had wiped out most of the family and the other members moved, it was purchased by the Sunnyday Psychiatric Corporation to be used as an asylum and has been in their unlawful hooves since then.
I've heard about them before. They disguise themselves as charity to make a profit, but that was always on foreign soil. Now've they come to Equestria hoping to do the same song and dance all over again. I'm determined to uncover all their dirty little secrets and expose them for the dirty little pigs they really are. No offense to all the pigs who are watching this later."
Written Gospel put her camera in her bag as she pushed open the cast-iron gate and stepped onto the cobblestone path. The security booths on either side of the large walls surrounding the entrance were empty. Between them were turnstiles. Written Gospel approached one.
The metal turnstile was cool to the touch, chilled by the autumn winds. Stepping through it brought her closer to uncovering the secrets Sunnyday kept tucked away inside. She paused and took off her backpack. Inside were a few batteries, a camera with night vision, a cell phone, a notebook, pencil, pencil sharpener, eraser, and a folder to hold incriminating documents.
Inside the folder was one document already. Written Gospel took it out. She had read it five times already on her way up the mountain but feel the need to read it once more.
"November 8th, 2018
From: 294793784652@Snailmail.net
To: writtengospel22@Hoofmail.net
Subject: TIP/Illegal Activity @ Sunnyday Psychiatric Corporation
Hi, there. You don't know me, but I know you. You're the journalist who investigated that murder up in Vanhoover. I have to make this quick, though, so let's get right to the point.
I've done 10 weeks of software consult here at Sunnyday Psychiatric Corporation's facility, Mount Sunshine. There are all sorts of NDA's. I don't know even if half the ponies working here are sane themselves. At this point, I really want to go home to my wife and kids, but I can't. No matter how hard I would've tried, it would've been futile. I fucking hate these ponies.
For a place called Mount Sunshine and owned by a business named Sunnyday, the things happening here are anything but sunshine and rainbows. Terrible things are happening, don't really understand it much nor do I believe half of the things I've seen working here. I've always had a passion for helping those in need and taking care of those who can't care for themselves, so I came to Sunnyday looking for a job aiding those taking care of mentally sick ponies here. But this isn't what I wanted, not even close to it. And if I had known about Sunnyday and the awful shit they do, I wouldn't have even considered accepting a job here.
The shit some of the personnel talk about sound like pure insanity. Some are talking about dream therapy going far too deep, finding something that had been apparently waiting for them up here in the mountain. Ponies are being hurt, and much worse, and Sunnyday is making money. I don't know what would be worse, experimenting on ponies for the sake of experimentation, or doing it for profit.
To go into further detail of how I know you --Shit, they're calling for me, I have to wrap this up-- I did a bit of research on you. Oh, and other journalists willing to dig up these kinds of secrets. I sent tips to them too, but you seemed more capable of getting the job done. I'd say feel proud or be honored or some shit like that, but I'm pretty sure, if you accept this tip, I've given you a death sentence, wish, whatever it's called. I'm sorry, but this needs to be exposed, so see what you can do. If either of us ever makes it out alive, I'll be sure to personally thank you, and even pay you, for exposing the corrupted assholes that work here, and everypony they associate with. I don't even get paid properly to stare at a goddamn screen at any rate."
Written Gospel chuckled a bit at the last statement written in the letter. She was looking forward to meeting whoever sent it, presuming they weren't already dead. She pulled out her notebook and pencil and wrote down her thoughts before she went any further:
"I haven't stepped hoof into the building, hell I haven't even made it passed the second gate, but yet I start feeling sick to my stomach just looking at the place. My cell phone reception was cut off about a mile out, more like a fucking jammer than a lost signal. Looks like they don't want folks who wander nearby to people to call for help or report them.
From what I've read, the Sunnyday Corporation has one hell of a track record for disguising profit as charity. But never once was any of it on Equestrian soil. Whatever it was they fucking thought they get out of a place like this HAS to be big. Could finally be the story that breaks the God forsaken bastards."
Another gate blocked Gospel's path, but she knew trying to open it would prove useless, considering a large change intertwined between the bars of the two doors and the large padlock that kept them locked together. However, there happened to be a side gate to the east. Stepping through it allowed Written Gospel access to the front grounds of the asylum. She trotted across the yard until she reached the front doors of the Asylum. Written Gospel tried opening them, but had no such luck, as they were locked, and the power to the door buzzer seemed to be out. Maybe there's a way in around the side of the building somewhere?, she thought to herself.
Written Gospel trotted around the east side of the building, only to find both gates were padlocked, like the previous one she had come across. The walls were too high for her to try to climb, and she hadn't taken the time to learn a teleportation spell. She was regretting that now, as she only knew telekinesis. Sighing, Written Gospel made her way toward the west side of the building, pulling her camera out as she did so.
There was a big enough hole on the bottom of the padlocked gate for Written Gospel to crawl through. It looked like it had been blasted open by some unknown force. Before going through the hole, Gospel looked back and took one good, possibly the last, look at the outside of the asylum and filmed it.
The first entrance to the facility was a large cast-iron gate with an intricate design connected to brick walls about two Celestia's tall and about thirty Celestia's long from the tip of her mane to the tip of her tail. There were even spaces raised in the walls with lamps screwed into the brick foundation. Between the first gate and the second and side gate were the two security booths and turnstiles. The walls continued on either side in a blocky top hat-esque shape and stopped about half way past the wall the doors of the building itself were located. Two gates were located on each side of the wall, one near where the wall itself stopped and the other midway through the long wall.
From what Gospel had seen, the building itself looked like a medieval brick castle with many windows rather than an asylum. The asylum courtyard was circular shaped with many flowers and bushes, even a tree or two, and plus sign shape cut out for the sidewalk with a few lamp posts and benches placed near the center.
That was all there was to see so far, so Written Gospel continued her exploration and dropped to the ground and crawled through the conveniently placed hole in the gate. The west side of the building had a fountain and some benches, as well as a side door. Renovations of sorts must have been going on as there were construction supports and a ladder hugging part of the building on the west side, which stopped next to the side door.
Written Gospel trotted over to the side door, eager to get inside and dig up the secrets Sunnyday probably paid a ludicrous amount of bits to keep hidden. Sadly, she found the door locked. Written Gospel turned and examined the construction supports to find another way. At the top, there happened to be a broken window. Written Gospel made her way to the ladder bolted to the construction supports, her camera out and recording her progress.
With some difficulty, Written Gospel managed to make it up the ladder and continue along the first level of supports. There was a medium sized gap where a wooden plank probably fell or was removed from the already shady construction supports. Gospel took a few steps back, then trotted and leaped over the gap. Upon landing, the wooden planks beneath her groaned and bent inwards, which made Gospel feel uneasy about going further. No ladder was provided to get to the higher level of the construction supports, forcing Written Gospel to lean on her back hooves and attempt to jump up to grab the edges of the higher level and pull herself up. As fit as Written Gospel was, her first attempt did not work out so well for her, as she fell flat on her back, causing her to bang her head hard against the wood below.
With a slight headache, Written Gospel stood up and made a second attempt at getting up to the higher level. Thankfully, this attempt worked and she continued on her way to uncover the secrets that lay inside. Written Gospel explored around on the supports until she reached the broken window. She stepped carefully around the shards of glass as she approached the window, as she had neglected to wear shoes on this trip. Glass jutted out of the window frame in different places and looked eager to pierce and tear Gospel's flesh in a minor bloody mess. She didn't get queasy or squeamish at the thought of or seeing a little bit of blood, or even smelling it, but Written Gospel was glad she wore a brown leather jacket and a white t-shirt beneath that, as well as a pair of decently thick jeans.
Written Gospel carefully climbed in through the window as the lights inside flickered off. Using the night vision her camera was capable of, Written Gospel looked about the room. The room was a mess. Couches, armchairs, and tables were all tangled in the middle of the room. A mess of blood and broken glass stained the floor near the window. A few pieces of furniture were tossed into the corners of the room.
What in Celestia's name happened here?, she wondered, carefully avoiding the obstacles hiding in the dark. Near the door, a potted plant was overturned, it's soil spilling out onto the hardwood floors. The door was cracked opened, allowing a small sliver of light to seep into the room. Written Gospel pulled it open and stepped out into the hallway.
The hallway light still worked properly, so there was no need for night vision. Using her magic, Written Gospel pressed the button to turn it off. She filmed her surroundings as she entered the room across from the one she had entered via the window. The door was broken down, saving Written Gospel the trouble of opening it. The next room appeared to be a leisure room. It had a few bookshelves lining the blue wallpapered wall, and a few potted plants here and there. There were a few couches on top of a plain rug, and table between them, as well as flat screen television which had been mantled onto the wall and was turned off. Gospel walked over to the table and picked up a book that laid on atop it. The book had no title that she could see, just a fancy little design of sorts on the front cover.
The television turned on with a sudden loud screech that caused Written Gospel to jump and let out a small scream. Her ears perked up as she quickly looked around, her gaze finally settling on the television. Muttering a few curse words beneath her breath, Gospel made her way to the door and continued on. Gospel half hoped the camera hadn't still been recording when she had screamed, as re-showing it to whoever would probably be embarrassing. Looking at the timestamp, the camera had still been rolling.
Files were strewn about the hallway floor, but none of them looked like anything important. Somepony clearly wanted to keep somepony out, as the hallway to get to the window leading outside was blocked off, though one could simply just travel through the leisure room and so on to leave. Farther down the hallway was a partially blocked section that had a big enough gap that she could shimmy through.
Her backpack and camera dangled in the crease of her foreleg as she shimmied through the gap. Written Gospel wasn't exactly fond of tight spaces, but nevertheless, she continued on. She had a gut feeling that by the time she exited the asylum, her and tight spaces would become the best of friends. After exiting the gap, she readjusted her bag onto her back and used her telekinesis to hold up her camera.
Further up the hallway, blood stained the floor and the walls. Written Gospel gained an uneasy feeling as she wandered into a nearby office. Written Gospel trotted into the rather small office and looked around. There was nothing noteworthy about the room. It seemed to be just your standard office with standard office equipment. However, upon further examination, Gospel found a spare battery for the taking. Written Gospel walked out of the office and walked down the hallway, the lights above flickering but never going out.
There was another office just down the hall. Upon exploring it, Gospel found nothing interesting other than a potentially incriminating file. Before putting it up, she decided to read it:
"Sunnyday Psychiatric Corporation
Project Black Phantom
Mount Sunshine Co
Case Number: 182
Patient: Apple Grey
Consultation Dated: 2018.21.09
Patient Age: 22
Gender: Male
Observing Physician: Dr. Anastasia Heartgroove
Therapy Status:
My patient seems to believe that he has progressed to self-directed lucid dream state statuses. Morphocodec Engine activity observed at highly unprecedented scales. Gladly continuing stage 3 hormone schedule.
Diagnostics:
Spirometry showed no signs of bronchial accumulation whatsoever.
Once more, hematocrit centrifuge failed to separate erythrocytes. This should be considered highly worrisome to us all, but is more so to me. I don't need another one dying on me. I'll have to talk to Dr. Ravenfield about this as soon as he returns.
MRI revealed an unfortunate arrhythmic REM/NREM cycle. Very disturbed laughter in NREM state.
Interview Notes:
Apple Grey asked again about the status of his aunt's lawsuit against Sunnyday and Mount Sunshine. Unfortunately, you know this means there is an unacceptable breach in security, despite his claims that he gained this knowledge in "the gore dreams of Dr. Sawbones." (Note: The only "Sawbones" in company records were a Mr. Hardy Smiles, an executive from S.R.D. who liked to collect bone samples of patients and had a fondness for watching some of the doctors saw open patients.)
I suggest you question any and all orderlies and security personnel and have video security drastically improved to also include analytical biometrics. I've gotten too deep in your load of bull, and I don't want us getting caught now. It'll ruin my reputation. Celestia knows I wasn't aware of what I signed up for before it was too late. Besides, without a tighter security, and surveillance, I can't know what happens Silver Dusk*.
[*See file on Silver Dusk]
Sunnyday Psychiatric Corporation Project Black Phantom
Mount Sunshine Co."
As juicy as it sounded, it wasn't enough to fully cripple and or end the company, so Written Gospel continued her search. From what she gathered, the Dr. Anastasia mentioned in the document worked closely on the project mentioned in the file. Finding her or her office would prove useful later on, or so Written Gospel assumed.
Written Gospel continued down the hallway. To her left was a bathroom with a unisex sign drilled into the wall. The door was half open, but upon getting closer, it closed suddenly. More than likely, a patient was in there, doing whatever it was he or she wanted. Gospel wasn't much of a fighter, so she left the bathroom alone and continued her quest.
Across from the bathroom was a break room. Upon entering, she looked around. She could see to her left a fridge, a countertop with a sink and a cabinet above it. Behind the sink was a "Please Wash Your Hooves Sign", and beside it to the right was a broken radio. To the left near the edge was a tray with what looked an intestine and an empty soda can. Eugh, somepony was having a pleasant intestine and soda lunch today, Written Gospel thought, feeling a tad queasy. She turned and walked away to find a trashcan beside two soda machines. Beside the second soda machine was a puddle of blood that stopped near a potted plant and the machine itself. Every so often, the blood puddle rippled, like blood was dripping from the ceiling. Gospel looked up and wonder what could be above to cause the ceiling to be somewhat soaked and dripping with blood. Rethinking it, she probably didn't want to know.
There was no other way to go other than the way she came, but in case she had missed something, Written Gospel wandered around a bit. After walking back into the break room, she looked around more closely. Her eyes eventually settled on the ventilation shaft above. She didn't know where the vent would lead her, but it would take her hopefully deeper into the facility. Written Gospel jumped up and grabbed the edge, then pulled herself up into the vent. The inside of the shaft was nearly pitch black. To help her navigate, Written Gospel pulled out her camera, turned on the night vision and wriggled her way through.
Written Gospel dropped down onto her front hooves and flopped over with a small grunt. It wasn't as a much as a graceful landing than she was hoping for, but she was thankful her camera didn't break. Gospel stood and straightened her jacket and backpack, then tucked a few strands of her light blue mane behind her ear.
To her right, she could see the downstairs area through the dirty windows. Looking around, she saw that the hall was blocked off yet again, though there was a door to the left that would hopefully lead around the blockage. Written Gospel walked to the door and pushed it open. A dead body, soaked in blood and other body fluids, swung towards her and then away before falling onto the floor with a thump. Gospel let out a shriek and stumbled away. She trotted to the other side of the wall and leaned against it. Written Gospel held her chest as she collected herself and her thoughts. Once she thought she had fully collected herself, Gospel stepped back into the dark room, using her camera's night vision to see the horrors that awaited further inside.
The room was a mess of guts plastered to the floor and ceiling and hung on tilted and fallen bookshelves. Heads and other body parts were scattered about. A few dead bodies hung from the ceiling like headless pinatas. Some were even missing different appendages. The stench of blood, other bodily fluids and rotting meat flooded Written Gospel's nostrils. She dropped her camera and began heaving the contents of her stomach onto the floor. Gospel recovered a few moments later and picked her camera with her magic, then hurried to the other exit, trying her best not to step on dead bodies or in pools of blood, though it was nearly impossible. Near the door, a stallion dressed in full body armor was stuck to the ceiling like a pinata as well, beneath him a mishmash of guts and other organs, blood and bodily fluids. Written Gospel bolted out of the room before the smell could overwhelm her yet again.
Outside the room, another stallion in full body armor had been pinned to the wall with a pole, another pile of guts and rotting flesh beneath him. Gospel couldn't take much more in the way of smelling their deaths, otherwise, she would puke again, so she walked passed the soldier as fast as she could.
"Wait! Don't go! I have something impo-important to tell you!" A voice wheezed. It sounded like it was in pain, dying even. The voice was rough and scratchy, like sandpaper.
Written Gospel turned and looked at the soldier, who was apparently still alive. The poor stallion wriggled and squirmed, trying his best to get free, although his death was inevitable, whether he got free or not. Gospel didn't speak a word to him as he continued on.
"They..." He paused to catch his breath "they got out and attacked us, the patients."
Gospel looked at the name tag on his chest. His name was Officer Steele.
"Thought me and my..." He trailed off and was still for a moment. Written Gospel started to step away, thinking he had died.
"Buddy escaped." Officer Steele spoke suddenly, making Gospel jump as she walked back to him. Officer Steele paused again.
"He showed up, got us." He spoke again, pushing himself up a bit before slipping right back to where he was.
"Miss, you ca-can't fight them, you have to..." Once again, Officer Steele trailed off and was still. This time, Written Gospel stayed in case he hadn't died yet.
"Hide," Steele spoke, almost if one cue. The dying officer gasped for air as he pushed himself up again.
"Can unlock the main doors from..." Officer Steele cut himself off as he slipped back to his previous position with a shriek of pain.
"Security control." He panted out, grabbing at the pole "you have to get out. Not safe. Ple-" Officer Steele died before he could finish his sentence, pinned to the wall like a foal's pinata at their birthday. Only there was no prize inside other than guts and bodily fluids. Written Gospel stared at him a few minutes.
Feeling sympathetic, and a tad guilty for not attempting to help, no matter how useless it may have been, she closed his eyelids with her hoof and whispered a small prayer under her breath for the dead officer. She took out her notebook and scribbled down her sympathetic feelings towards the soldier and the unknowns that had caused her to puke, then put it up and continued wandering around.
Written Gospel came across another gap between desks and bookshelves down the hall. With her bag and camera hanging in the crease of her foreleg again, Written Gospel wriggled her way into the gap and began shimmying through. Before she could get halfway, something forcefully yanked her back by her ponytail, grabbed ahold of her throat and slammed her into the ground, then against the wall, then against the window. Written Gospel squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the glass behind her cracking. She opened them again to see her attacker; a brute of a stallion. He looked grotesque, bloated and disfigured. A walking nightmare. He was fat and partially caked in blood. Metal clamps forced his mouth open, making the stallion look like he was giving Written Gospel a bloody, rotten grin. His flesh was all veiny and looked like it had been experimented upon. Gospel tried to scream for help, but was unable to do so. There was nopony around to help her anyways. Officer Steele was currently dead and pinned to a wall. He couldn't help her, nor could the other dead soldier. If they couldn't take him down together, there was no helping her.
Written Gospel wriggled in his grasp and gasped for air.
"Die, whore," The brute grumbled as he threw her through the window. The glass shattered, a few shards stuck into Gospel's jacket and pants. She crashed down onto the floor below. The impact winded her, and caused her to began to lose consciousness. Moments later, everything went black. Minutes later, however, she woke up, unable to move. She could move her eyes, however, and looked around. There was a nun-looking mare to her left, humming and holding her camera in her dirt and blood covered hooves. The nun noticed that she was awake, and asked Written Gospel who she was. However, Written Gospel was already slipping back into unconsciousness again and couldn't answer.
When Gospel awoke again moments later, the nun was still there and seemed to be going over the footage stored in the camera. Noticing Gospel was awake again, the nun said to Gospel:
"Our merciful goddess has sent you to me as an apostle. Guard your life, my dear daughter, your duty is far from over."
Before Written Gospel could speak, she had fell back into unconscious once more.
Author's Note
Some of the names in the story may sound more human-like than pony-like, so I apologize for that. Sometimes I have a hard time for coming up with names for ponies.
A River Breeze With A Side of Peach Cobbler
Written Gospel woke with a pounding headache. The world was all blurry as she opened her golden eyes and rolled onto her stomach, grunting in pain. Her neck was sore and her body ached like she had been body slammed by a heavyweight wrestler. Written Gospel could smell the dried blood on her muzzle.
For a few moments, she had forgotten everything that happened, but it wasn't long before the memories came rushing back. She was beginning to regret her decision to accept the tip and investigate the asylum. With slight difficulty, she was able to stand and stumble forward a bit. Written Gospel wiped off her mouth and looked around. Looking around, Written Gospel found that she was now in the asylum's lobby, which was humongous. Written Gospel stumbled towards the front doors, hoping it wasn't too late to leave and give up on the investigation. To her dismay, both doors were locked. Gospel's ears flattened against her head as she looked around the lobby. There were a few dead bodies, some headless, some not, in piles of gore. There were the front desks and the offices to either side. The doors to the offices on the right were boarded up, making their contents inaccessible. Written Gospel trotted towards the only open door of the left offices. She tripped in the doorway, landing with a loud grunt. Gospel laid there for a few moments, her body aching, before getting up.
Written Gospel slowly got up and stumbled over to a desk. Using her magic, she pulled out a chair and sat down in. Gospel sat there and rested, gathering her strength before she continued on. As she sat there, she pulled out her notebook and pencil and wrote down another entry:
"Almost got killed by a disfigured brute of a stallion. Got thrown around like a damn rag doll and out the fucking window and down to the floor below. Probably have shards of glass stuck in my head somewhere, and I'm pretty sure, like 90%, that a few of my ribs are either broken or cracked, but most definitely bruised. The fucker her threw me looked like somepony tried to fuck his face a goddamn cheese grater. The fall knocked unconscious for a while.
I wake up for a few moments to find some nun looking weirdo sitting next to me. She was old from what I could tell. Though she was dressed like a nun, she looked like she was an alcoholic pedophile or some shit. Bitch calls me her fucking apostle. Being an apostle for some pedophilic nun is not a part of my damn job description.
Noticed a few words around the place written in blood. Got a nasty feeling in my stomach that bitch of a nun is writing them, probably for my benefit. I think I've got enough strength to continue on now."
Written Gospel put up her notebook and pencil back in her bag and got out of the chair. A doorway across the room looked like it led somewhere promising. Gospel approached it and peeked out. To her right, a door was blocked by a gurney and some chairs. To her left, three skinny disfigured patients sat in wheelchairs and appeared to be sleeping. Slowly and quietly, she approached them.
One pony in a wheelchair on the right side of the hall looked like a mare who's coat used to be pink. She was missing a good amount of her mane, probably her tail too. What was there, though, was purple, matted and dirty. The pony across from her was a stallion with no mane or tail at all from what she could see. His coat was a dirty gray color. The third pony was another mare with a dirty golden coat. She looked like she had most of her dirty and matted white mane, tail too probably, intact.
Written Gospel carefully snuck past them and went into the room nearby. A group of ponies sat on the couches and the table. Four mares, three stallions. Two of the mares were dressed in somewhat casual clothing and sat on the table staring at the static on the television, though part of the screen was splattered with blood. One was an earth pony while the other was a pegasus. On one of the two couches, a unicorn stallion and unicorn mare, both dressed in the same clothing as the mares on the table, were huddled up and staring off into space while the fourth mare, also in the same style of clothing, sat nearby talking nonsense to herself. She too was a unicorn. One of the stallions, another pegasus, on the other couch was asleep while the second one, an earth pony, rocked back and forth, babbling incoherent nonsense to himself. They too wore the same style of outfits. Each pony's skin, except for one of the mares on the table, was disfigured and veiny.
The normal looking mare, the pegasus, had a dark purple coat and deep black eyes. Her mane and tail were a dark brown color. The mare next to her, the earth pony, her coat was a discolored orange of sorts, or was it yellow? Written Gospel couldn't tell. The mare's eyes were a pale yellow and her mane and tail were a light peach color. The stallion and mare huddling on the couch were bald. The mare's coat was off-white while the stallion's was blue. The mare babbling nonsense, her coat was a light green color. Her mane and tail were white with streaks of red. The sleeping stallion on the other couch had a dirty cream colored coat. He was bald as well. The last stallion had a light brown coat and gray eyes. His mane and tail were black.
Written Gospel walked inside the room and trotted past the mares on the table. The two didn't seem to notice her, or rather they just didn't care. Their gazes stayed fixed on the screen. Gospel trotted around behind the couches and continued on. The doorway was partially boarded up, but there was some room to crawl under at the bottom. Written Gospel crouched down and went under the boards, then stood back up when she was in the hallway. The door to her left was blocked by some boxes, the hallway down to her right was blocked off by bookshelves and wheelchairs. Across the hall was a partially closed door.
Gospel trotted across the hall and pushed open the door. She stepped into a meeting room of sorts. In the middle was a large, oval table with several turned over chairs around it, blank papers scattered across the top. A dead security guard sat hunched over in the corner next to a desk. Gospel trotted over to it, feeling slightly less sensitive to this much gore. The guard still had his badge on him. It had a headshot picture of him, as well as his name. This poor guard had been called Blue Aspin. Gospel used her telekinesis to take the badge and put it in her jacket pocket.
Gospel briefly searched the room but found nothing else of interest. She then left the room and continued on. Written Gospel crouched down and crawled back into the room with the broken ponies. Written Gospel trotted around the couches and slowed down a bit. As she walked past the normal looking mare, she noticed that the mare was now looking at her. Gospel smiled awkwardly and waved and continued on her way.
"Not all of us are crazy. Sort of." The mare said simply. Her voice was a tad high-pitched and sounded broken. Written Gospel stopped in her tracks and looked back at the mare.
"What do you mean?" Gospel asked, turning towards the mare.
"Then again, after all the things I've seen, I don't think anypony would be sane afterward. I barely remember my life before the asylum. It's been so long, or at least it feels like it. Maybe nine years. The place was low-key owned by a scientist, but he died and then Ms. Dawn bought the place. They told us it was owned by a family who was then partially wiped out by a disease. But they lied. When Ms. Dawn bought the asylum, that's when everything went to hell and they turned most of us into monsters." The pegasus spoke.
"How did they make some of you into monsters?" Gospel asked, hoping to get some kind of juicy answer. She pulled out her camera and began to film. The pegasus mare got off the table and walked over to the window. Gospel trotted over to her, still filming.
"You see Wind Breaker over there?" The mare pointed to the sleeping stallion, "they experimented on him. They experimented on Lucky Charm (poor mare wasn't so lucky), Wizmo, Peach Cobbler, Mint-tastic, and Chocolate Chip too."
Lucky Charm seemed to be the bald mare huddled next to Wizmo, the blue stallion. Mint-tastic apparently was the mare babbling to herself leaving Peach Cobbler to be the mare that the pegasus was sitting next to. Wind Breaker seemed to be the sleeping stallion while Chocolate Chip was the earth pony rocking back and forth, muttering to himself. The pegasus mare had pointed to each one of them as she said their names.
"What about you, what's your name? How were you spared of experimentation?" Written Gospel asked. She hardly knew these ponies, yet she felt so bad for them. Gospel didn't know how anypony could do these sort of things to another pony, now matter how mentally unstable they may have been.
"You can call me River Breeze. How I got spared the pain and agony of experimentation, I don't know, but I'm grateful it didn't happen. I say I'm not crazy, but maybe I really am. I was having nightmares around nine years ago, maybe longer. They were pretty bad, ended up going to the doctor about it. Most of them were about me dying somehow, some slow and painful, some outright ridiculous, some of me committing suicide. The dreams just made me more depressed than I already was. Doc said I was making shit up and had me sent here and took me off the medication prescribed for depression, almost killed myself a few times my first week here, then they gave me medicine again and..." She trailed off and stared at the floor. After a few moments, she continued.
"I guess the doctor figured the medicine was fucking up my brain or something, thought it was making me go crazy instead of helping with my depression or whatever it was that was wrong with me, and they were right. Everything had started to get worse," The pegasus paused and looked at Gospel, "I was sent here even though at first I wasn't mentally unstable, at least not like some of the ponies here are. All that was really wrong with me then was just really bad panic attacks and severe mood drops. For a while, the painting therapy they gave me here seemed to be helping. it felt like after a few months, whatever was truly wrong with me was gone. One of the on-sight doctors took me off the pills I was prescribed a few years ago, then took me out of the painting therapy program a few months after. All they let me do was read or color. Mostly read, rarely got to color."
Gospel looked at the floor for a few moments. She felt even more sympathetic towards River Breeze and friends, but mostly towards River Breeze, mostly because of the fact she only knew River's background. Written Gospel looked up at River Breeze as she continued to talk.
"But like I said, I don't know how or why I was spared of getting poked and prodded and disfigured. Lucky Charm wasn't bald a few months ago, nor did she look like that," River's voice dropped to a whisper "she was so pretty before they did that to her. Her mane was a pretty bright green with strips of rainbow here and there. It was curly and so pretty. Her eyes were pretty too, they looked like the sky. I really liked her, and I still do. I feel so bad for her, she won't even speak now."
Written Gospel had looked over at Lucky Charm while River whispered about her. She felt bad for Lucky Charm too, she felt bad for all of them, River Breeze especially. As much as she wanted to stay here and chat with River Breeze and her friends, Gospel knew she had to get moving.
"I feel bad for all of you, but I have to get going. I'm a journalist you see, or a reporter, whatever you want to call me. I was tipped off about this place. I don't know you or your friends that well, but now I feel like it's my duty to uncover more of Sunnyday's lies and secrets so I can expose them and get you all the justice you deserve." Gospel spoke, putting a hoof on River Breeze's shoulder. The pegasus smiled at her and nodded, then pulled Gospel into a tight hug. Written Gospel patted her back and smiled softly.
"Thank you. Don't get killed." River Breeze spoke, pulling away and trotting over to the table.
"You're quite welcome, Miss Breeze." Written Gospel spoke, trotting over to the door. River sat on the table next to Peach Cobbler again and waved goodbye. Gospel left the room and began to carefully sneak past the ponies in the wheelchairs once more. The partially bald mare leaped out of the wheelchair and tackled Gospel. The crazed mare tried to bite at Written Gospel before beginning to scream nonsense at the frightened journalist.
The other two ponies in the wheelchairs screamed and leaped out of the chairs as well, only they galloped off and huddled in a dark corner next to the gurney. The mare kept her unexpectedly strong grip on Written Gospel as struggled beneath her. In the other room, the commotion outside caused River Breeze and her friends, with the exception of Wind Breaker, to stop and wander over to the door. Peach Cobbler bolted out of the door and tackled the mare attacking Gospel. The two mares wrestled on the floor for a minute or two. In the end, Peach Cobbler won and sent the balding mare whimpering into the corner with the other two ponies.
River Breeze and the others trotted over to Written Gospel, who had rolled onto her stomach and was currently getting up.
"Are you okay?" River asked, helping Gospel as she tried to stand. Written Gospel looked over at her and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a tad freaked out." The journalist replied, adjusting her outfit. River Breeze quickly hugged her again as Peach Cobbler walked back over. Written Gospel looked at the earth pony and thanked her. In return, Peach Cobbler gave her a toothy grin.
"Maybe Cobbler and I should come with you." River spoke, concern clear in her voice. Gospel chuckled a bit.
"I'll be fine, but you can come with if you really want to." Written Gospel replied "if you decide you want really to come with me, take some time to talk with your other friends about it. I'll be in the lobby if you need me." Written Gospel trotted back to the lobby and looked around. A file that sat on the desk counter caught her eye. Using her magic, Written Gospel picked it up and read it:
"The Sunnyday Corp. Equestrian Office.
Warrent For Seizure Case Number: 883429109
In the Matter of the Seizure of:
Mount Sunshine Psychiatric Center
Sunnyday Psychiatric Corporation
Mount Sunshine Forest Area
Duskwood Road 343
Affidavit(s) having been before the Board of Directors by Sunnyday Hardline Security (S.H.S.) who have reason to believe: CATASTROPHIC SECURITY FAILURE OF PSYCHIATRIC CENTER WITH IMMINENT DANGER OF BOTH ENVIRONMENT & GENETIC CONTAMINATION.
We are very happy to announce that we are satisfied that the affidavit(s) and testimony establish sufficient enough evidence to require IMMEDIATE action on the part of S.H.S. (Sunnyday Hardline Security) and grounds for the issue of this warrant.
You are hereby required to immediately grant S.H.S. non-restricted access to any and all facilities and surrender complete authority to its agents. By acceptance of this document, you (and any surviving relatives) surrender ALL claims of litigation against Sunnyday Corp. or its subsidiaries for the actions of S.H.S. or for the circumstances that required their actions, regardless of responsibility.
Thank you and have a good day!
Sincerely,
Board of Directors of Sunnyday Hardline Security."
Enviromental AND genetic contamination?! What exactly are you doing here, Sunnyday?, Gospel thought as she put the file in the folder along with the other documents.
"Miss Gospel! We've decided to definitely come with you." River Breeze called out, galloping over to Written Gospel. Peach Cobbler followed along behind her. Gospel turned to them and smiled.
"Glad to see I have some friends to rely on in here," Gospel spoke, walking towards the back area of the lobby. The two mares trotted up on either side of her.
"So where are you going now?" River asked. Gospel looked at her.
"Officer Steele told me to go the security room. I know I said I would help you guys, and I am, but unlocking the front doors first would be helpful later on whenever we manage to escape." Written Gospel replied, trotting past the walls that separated the elevators and stairs from the lobby.
The door to the left was blocked by a table, the stairs going up were boarded up and the elevator gate was shut and padlocked. However, the door to the right and the stairs leading to the basement were accessible. Written Gospel trotted over to the door and went through, her two new friends close behind her. Down the hall was a bathroom on the left and a storage room on the right. Written Gospel explored the storage room first.
Upon entering, Gospel was greeted by a short line of shelves stuffed with boxes of all sizes, different appendages, folded clothes and stacks of paper. On one of the shelves, a severed head laid in a pile of intestines. Blood stained the floor and was splattered upon the walls. Written Gospel wrinkled her nose and walked around the shelves.
"Hey, you got your intestines in my severed head!" Peach Cobbler joked, her voice sounding hoarse and gruff and somewhat deep.
"No, Cobbler, you've got your severed head in my intestines." River Breeze joked back with a high pitched laughed.
Gospel rolled her eyes at their joke with a slight smile as she looked around. A door to her left was boarded up and in front of her lay two dead bodies and a large puddle of blood. Both appeared to be security guards. One was slumped over in a chair, head missing and blood splattered on the wall and pooled on the floor. The other laid sprawled out on the floor, it's head gone as well and intestines strewn about. Blood was splattered across the computer monitor that sat on the desk in the corner.
Stepping in the least amount of blood as possible, Gospel went over to the desk, only to find nothing of interest other than another battery. She took the battery and went back to her friends. The two looked at her and smiled.
"Find anything interesting?" River questioned.
"Just a battery. Let's get moving." Gospel replied.
Peach Cobbler and River Breeze stepped into the hallway, Written Gospel right behind them. Before going further down the hallway, Gospel explored the bathroom. Blood pooled from underneath the farthest stall out of the four. Body parts laid in the sink. Upon opening the stall door with blood beneath it, Gospel and her friends found yet another dead body slumped over on the toilet. From what Gospel could tell, the dead body was that of a security mare who had her head and limbs intact. Above the deceased mare, the word "WITNESS" was painted with blood on the wall. Wrinkling her nose again, Written Gospel pulled her camera and briefly filmed it before putting up the camera and walking out of the room.
Further down the hall was the security room and another inaccessible room with a plaque beside it that read, "STORAGE A2". Written Gospel took out the badge in her pocket and put it up to the card reader outside the security room. After a few moments, it beeped and the tiny light turned green. The door clicked and opened slightly. Written Gospel pushed the door open and walked inside. The layout looked like your typical security setup with many monitors on a desk.
A dead body laid slumped over in the corner near the door. The words "They Lie" were written in blood above the body on the wall. Written Gospel trotted over to the computer chair and sat down. She wasn't much of a computer person, but she did know how to work them for the most part. River Breeze and Peach Cobbler entered the room and stood by a row of lockers. Gospel pressed the enter button on the keyboard and began typing. A script box appeared followed by a loading screen claiming to be in the progress of accessing the security system. The loading bar slowly progressed every fifteen seconds.
While they waited, Gospel pulled her camera and filmed the different monitors while River Breeze and Peach Cobbler made more head and intestine jokes in the back of the room. On the monitor screen to the right of the one that was accessing the security system, Written Gospel noticed the same nun pony from when she had previously passed out in the lobby. The mare stared at the camera and seemed to be looking straight at Written Gospel as she grabbed a lever and pulled it down.
The power went out for a few moments. Peach Cobbler let out a hoarse squeak and held on tightly to River Breeze. Backup lights flickered on and Cobbler let go of her pegasus friend. Outside, Gospel could hear chains rattling and something big thumbing down the hallway.
"Guys, we need to hide," Gospel whispered, looking around. On the wall next to another desk with a computer on it were a set of lockers. Peach Cobbler quickly hid in the first locker without saying a word. River followed her friend's lead and hid two lockers down from her. Written Gospel hid in the locker next to River Breeze. A few moments later, something began to attempt to bash down the security door.
After two or three bashes, the brute that had thrown Gospel into the lobby stepped into the room. He was muttering incoherent things to himself as he looked around the room.
"You were here, weren't you, you damn cow? Little fat cow. I'll find all you wretched whores." He muttered, walking towards the lockers. He sniffed the air, then walked away and towards the door. The brute was now muttering something about his job of collecting heads. He disappeared out the doorway and went left down the hallway, away from the way the three mares had previously come by.
Once they could no longer hear him, the three mares exited their lockers and looked at each other.
"That was the fucker that threw me down into the lobby. Nearly fucking killed me." Gospel sneered in disgust. River looked at her and nodded. Written Gospel crouched down and crawled over to the doorway, then peeked her head out. The brute was gone. There was no sign of him anymore. Gospel slowly stood up and walked out of the room. The hallway was dark in some places, so Gospel pulled out her camera and turned on the night vision. She trotted down the hallway, River and Peach right close behind.
Written Gospel used her night vision to navigate the dark parts of the hallway. The trio went back to the area where the stairs and elevators were. The power to a light that illuminated the stairs going to the basement apparently still worked.
"We're gonna have to restart the power." Written Gospel spoke.
"The generator is in the basement. I think," Peach Cobbler said, pointing to the stairs leading downwards.
"I guess that means I'm taking a trip down to the basement then," Written Gospel
"Just you?" River Breeze questioned, her voice full of concern.
"I'm just turning on the power. How hard could it be?" Written Gospel replied, trotting towards the stairs.
"You dunno who could be down there," River Breeze spoke, stepping forward a bit.
"Or what." Peach Cobbler added.
"Relax guys, I'll be fine," Written Gospel insisted as she stopped and looked at River and Peach.
"I'm not much of a fighter," River Breeze sighed "at least take Peach with you. She's good at fighting."
"I used to get into a fight every day in the cafeteria before things went to shit," Peach Cobbler spoke proudly in her raspy voice "won every fight but one. Silver Dusk is a worthy opponent."
"If it'll make you feel better, then fine. I'll bring Peach along with me." Written Gospel sighed.
"I know we just met and all, but you're one of the only ponies in my life, especially since coming here, who's remotely cared for or about me," River Breeze spoke softly "I'd be devastated if my new friend died and I wasn't able to help in any way."
"I'll protect our new savior, Princess. You have my word." Peach Cobbler joked as she gave River Breeze a mock salute.
"Thanks, my royal knight." River Breeze joked back with a mock bow. Written Gospel shook her head at the two as she continued towards the stairs. Peach Cobbler trotted after Written Gospel and followed her down the stairs. Water poured noisily from a broken pipe near the basement door. Gospel covered her left ear as she opened the door and walked through it. Water pooled to just above their ankles. The duo walked down a small hallway that led to a grated door that was blocked by a desk. However, part of the wall to the left was gone, allowing some room to squeeze through. One at a time, both mares squeezed through. The next room was small, waterlogged and crammed with desks, boxes and bed frames, which left little room to walk. A file sat on one of the desks next to a few boxes. Written Gospel grabbed it with her magic and put it in the folder inside her bag without reading it.
Cautiously, Written Gospel stepped through the water, her companion behind her, and made her way around the desks and boxes. Written Gospel and Peach Cobbler trotted down the waterlogged hall together. Further progress was stopped by an overturned desk. Written Gospel vaulted over it with ease. On the other side, Gospel watched her companion jump the desk and land nearby. The two continued down the waterlogged hall. The further in the way went, the darker the hall became until it was completely pitch black. Written Gospel pulled out her camera and activated the night vision mode.
"Living in here for years, some of us have adapted to seeing in the dark, like I have," Peach Cobbler whispered, "I hope you have a way of seeing down here, otherwise it would've been kind useless for you to travel to the basement."
"My camera has night vision," Written Gospel whispered back.
"Dunno what night vision is, but if it helps you see, then lead the way," Peach Cobbler whispered "and we'd probably better step lightly. Like me and River said, we dunno who or what could be down here." With that, the two continued into the darkness, both stepping as lightly as they could. With Gospel leading the way, the two turned the corner and stepped through a doorway. They were now in a large room with boxes and bedframes scattered here and there. In the middle of the was a small platform surrounded by machinery. In the middle, there was a large panel with a medium screen and a few buttons. The two slowly made their way to the platform and examined the panel. Written Gospel pushed the large button to the right of the panel's screen, but nothing happened. She sighed and looked at what the screen said:
"MAIN BREAKER | OFFLINE
GAS PUMP 01 | OFFLINE
GAS PUMP 02 | OFFLINE
GAS PUMP 03 | OFFLINE"
Written Gospel and Peach Cobbler turned and exited the platform. As the two made their way around the machinery surrounding the platform and avoided boxes, they heard a voice call out,"Hello? Who's there?". The voice sounded gruff and masculine. Written Gospel and Peach Cobbler stopped in their tracks. Not longer after the voice had called out, the two could hear loud banging, like whoever had called out was trying to break down a door.
"Quickly, let's find somewhere to hide." Peach whispered, her voice filled with urgency. The two quickly trotted over to the other side of the room and crouched down behind some boxes. From their position and through the camera, Written Gospel could see a door to the left of the platform. As the noises continued, she could see the door bend outward. Eventually, the door's hinges gave up and the door went splashing into the water below. Now they could see the silhouette of another pony.
"Another ghost? Must've been." The voice spoke. Through the camera, Written Gospel watched the pony trudge out of the doorway and splash down into the water. The pony walked noisily through the waterlogged basement until the reached the platform. From the light illuminating the platform, Written Gospel could see the pony more clearly. The pony appeared to be a stallion with dermal eruptions disfiguring most of his face and parts of his neck that she could see. The stallion disappeared from the platform and continued to walk noisily through the water. He soon disappeared from the way he had come.
Peach Cobbler nudged Written Gospel's shoulder and pointed at a nearby door. Quietly, Written Gospel snuck around the boxes and made her way towards the door. The water was beginning to get cold and with each slosh, soaked the hem of her pants and jacket. Gospel climbed a short set of stairs out of the water and pushed open the door before her. Inside was a row of lockers, some shelves, a weird machine in the corner and a panel on the back wall. Peach Cobbler stood guard by the door while Written Gospel trotted over to the panel and examined it. The words "PUMP 01" and "PUMP 02" were painted above two buttons. Gospel pressed them both. The machine made a loud noise as it started to work.
Written Gospel trotted over to the short row of shelves and examined them for anything useful.
"Miss Gospel, that stallion is heading this way," Peach Cobbler whispered, "let's hide quickly."
Without a word, Written Gospel turned and galloped to the row of locks and climbed inside one of them. Peach Cobbler followed suit and hid a couple of lockers down from Gospel.
"Who's there?! I'm gonna chop you into little pieces!" The gruff voice called out with a muffled growl. Written Gospel could hear the stallion's splashes come closer and closer until the splashes were replaced by hooves thumping hard against the wooden floor. Gospel held her breath and watched the stallion through the slits in the locker. He now dawned a machete clenched between his teeth as he walked up to the panel and sniffed it. The stallion turned his attention to the lockers and walked over. Written Gospel listened as the stallion opened each locker one by one until he stopped at the locker Peach Cobbler had hidden in.
"The ghost went away, up to heaven." The stallion mumbled through clenched teeth as he turned and began to walk away. Written Gospel waited until she could no longer hear him before she exited her locker.
"By the time I leave this place, lockers and I are gonna end up being best buds," Gospel whispered. She could hear Peach Cobbler snicker quietly as she exited the locker she had hidden in. Quickly but quietly, the two left the room and snuck back into the water. They quietly sloshed forward until the reached another door. Written Gospel reached a hoof forward and began to pull herself onto the small platform the door was attached to when the door swung open violently. The impact from the door caused Gospel's hoof to be forcefully knocked off and into the water below, which produced a loud splash.
"I found you little ghost! You can't disappear now!" The stallion hooted with a hoarse laugh. Gospel stumbled backwards through the water. The stallion leapt down into the water below and began to charge at Peach Cobbler and Written Gospel. Written Gospel watched Peach Cobbler quickly crouch down and tackle the stallion. The two began to wrestle in the water.
"Go! Quickly turn the -umf!- power back on!" Peach Cobber grunted, "I'll keep this fucker busy!"
Without hesitation, Written Gospel galloped away and into the next room. There were more lockers in this room, as well as few barrels and boxes. Written Gospel galloped up to a panel similar to the one in the other room. Without bothering to read the label, she smashed the button and quickly galloped out the room. She leapt down into the water below with a loud splash and frantically searched for the next door. Nearby, she could hear Peach Cobbler still wrestling the stallion, and by the sounds she was making, Peach Cobbler was slowly losing.
Written Gospel quickly located the door the stallion had originally came through and galloped towards it. Written Gospel galloped down the hall and took a left. She crashed through the only door she saw and quickly examined the room. It was full of boxes and shelves, but no breaker or switch. She did find a couple of batteries on one of the shelves before she left. Written Gospel galloped out of the room and back down the hallway. She continued going straight and jumped over a desk blocking her way. Written Gospel landed on the other side with a prominent splash. The hall now forked in two directions. Without giving it much thought, Written Gospel bolted down the right path and crashed through the only door down that way.
Inside were more shelves, lockers, and boxes. But it was in this room, she could she a large box with a handle attached to it. Written Gospel trotted over and pushed the switch up. She quickly searched the room for anything useful but found nothing. Written Gospel galloped out of the room and made her way back to the area Peach Cobbler and the stallion had been wrestling. Once again, she leapt into the water and galloped up to the platform. Without a moment's hesitation, Written Gospel pressed the large button again. This time, the machinery around the platform began to whir, and the lights came on seconds later.
Written Gospel quickly turned and left the way her and Peach Cobbler had came. She galloped down the hall and vaulted over the desk once more and kept going until she squeezed through the gap and was near the basement door. Written Gospel panted heavily as she waited for her companion. Moments later, through the grated door, Written Gospel watched Peach Cobbler vault over the desk. Her friend quickly entered the room next door and squeezed through the gap. Now together, both mares left the basement and galloped back to River Breeze.
"Peach, you're soaking wet. What were you two doing down there?" River asked, her voice full of concern again.
"Oh, nothing special. Just running from a crazy stallion with a machete while trying to turn the power back on." Gospel panted.
"And I wrestled said stallion while Miss Gospel did what was necessary to turn the power back on." Peach Cobbler added.
"Aren't you glad I insisted you be accompanied down there?" River Breezed questioned, "nevermind that, did either of you get hurt?"
"Other than inhaling some nasty ass water, I'm fine," Peach Cobbler replied.
"I'm fine as well," Gospel spoke, "the power is back on now, so let's try opening the front doors again."
River Breeze and Peach Cobbler nodded in agreement and followed Written Gospel back down the hall towards the security room. A random questioned popped into Gospel's mind as she walked. River Breeze was a pegasus, and if she remembered correctly, pegasi could fly. That brought up the question 'Why couldn't have River just fly out of the asylum to escape if she wasn't crazy?'.
"Hey, River. You're a pegasus and you said you've been here for a long time. Why haven't you just flown away yet?" Written Gospel asked, looking back at her friend as they walked. The pegasus looked at her with a sad expression on her face.
"Because they clip our wings so that we can't fly. They do it every two weeks." River Breeze replied sadly. Gospel felt a pang in her heart, she felt bad for River Breeze. Soon, the trio entered the security room once again. Gospel trotted up to the desk and began her second attempt at opening the front doors. As she typed away, Written Gospel heard Peach Cobbler and River Breeze making noises of distress behind her. As she turned around to see what was the matter, Written Gospel felt something sharp jab into her shoulder. Written Gospel let out a noise of pain and fell out of the chair she had been sitting in and onto the floor. As she curled into a ball, Written Gospel looked up to see the nun standing above her.
"I am truly sorry, my dearest daughter. It pains me to have to do this to you and your newfound friends," The nun whispered to Written Gospel, "but you cannot leave. Not yet. You have to fulfill your duty as my apostle. There is still much for you to witness."
The world around Written Gospel began to darken as she struggled to stand and get away from the nun. She managed to half stand and stumble a few inches away before crashing back down onto the floor and falling into unconsciousness.
