The Diamond in the Gear

Chapters

1 - Ghosts
2 - Prison City
3 - Reformat, reinstall.
4 - Underground
5 The Weapon
6 Enemy

1 - Ghosts

It's another quiet afternoon in Ponyville, School's over for a week now and I'm enjoying my holidays.

I should be home, but as I brought back some books to her library, Twilight Sparkle asked me to play the babysitter today. I should've refused this offer, but there's a rule now she's a princess : Never refuse what a princess wants. She has really insisted to have me here today. But why me?

Asking her got me this answer.

“Because, DiamondTiara, you've got plenty of free time, Also, your father agreed that it should be a good thing for you to bring me a service, and I have something very, very important to do for Equestria! It'll teach you a bit how to act like a responsible pony, and who knows, you two could become friends with my cousin! Right?” she said.

According to Twilight, her cousin's from a family of bat-ponies and unicorns, so technically

“She is not an actual alicorn, there's hundreds of ponies like her. So Please no bully!”

Of course. Because Only Celestia or Luna bears the status of Royal-grade Alicorns! The others just are winged unicorns or a horned pegasus, the beauty of nature and genetics allows this... I never really believed a word of this either.

But Nyx, Twilight's supposed cousin does really looks strange. I mean, really strange. She doesn't talk a lot, and she rarely goes outside. And it's been like that since the first time we met her. Twilight also insisted she should remain inside and never leave the library.

“You can even sleep in my bedroom for the whole night if you want during my absence, in fact, the castle is all yours. Just stay inside with Nyx, it's not hard at all ! Okay you two, follow me, there's something I need to show you...”

Twilight's looking behind her, if nopony's following her. We're following the crazy mare on her office. There's an old book on her desk. She's levitating it with magic.

“This book.. is important. In fact, I'm going to hide it among others in the library. If there's a fire or anything, your main mission is to run away with it, and you rush to Lyra's home. You don't let anypony else, not even the mane six, not even Princess Celestia enter and try to seize it. It won't happen”

I was thinking, “Oh Twilight, Are you serious?”

“Sure I'll take care of your precious book, but let's say, If Luna's charging, by example, how do I fight against an alicorn?”

“You don't. You're going to pick that random ...Ancient pancake recipe book and theriantrope philosophy book, and burn it, claim you've destroyed it.”

All I can do at this point is to nod and just agree.

“I can do this. What's the Mane Six up to again, Princess?”

“You really wanna know? Alright. We'll need to find answers about a legend haunting the mountains... I'll need Spike to come with us and just can't leave the Castle's Library open to anyone for a whole day. We shall be back at best tomorrow. At worse, tomorrow evening. There's cake and all kind of delicious stuff on the kitchen I picked for you two! Any question, Diamond Tiara?”

“Ooh yes! ... Why me?” I asked.

Twilight grins.

“Because I think you're the least qualified pony for this job, and no pony else would be expected to be my choice for this mission and expect you're the one in this castle. Nyx doesn't really needs a babysitter but I prefer her not to be alone. I think it's just simple.”

She's coming to Nyx, kissing her on the forehead, completely turning and ignoring the disappointment I'm trying to express. She's trolling me, but there are things she isn't telling to me.

“I won't be late! Take care of yourselves, and have fun, there's plenty of great books for you all, and things to cook in the kitchen. Even a cake Spike prepared for you, so you'll survive!”

Nyx nodded in agreement, but never said a single word so far, until,

“Goodbye Twilight! Take care!”

She's going out and join her friends on the hall. Applejack's frowning at me. At least, Pinkie still managed to show us she's got a sense of humor.

“Have fun and try not to set Twilight's home in fire!”

“What if I don't want anything bad to happen?”

“It always ends up like this!”she replied.

“Okay, Bye, good luck with your adventure, I guess!”

She trust me... Princess Twilight! I'm feeling special. Not even feeling like doing silly stuff.

So now we're waiting, there, in the hall of Twilight's new tree shaped castle. A “tree”that kind of looks more like the work of an architect who got a horsedose of drugs. All the drugs.

Yes it's very special, unusual, not discomforting but I really miss the previous library. This place is just cold, in all senses of the term. And the ticking of the clock is resonating in it like in a gothic cathedral.

Nyx isn't really talking. She stands there, reading, just like Twilight would.

I'm approaching, sitting closer, try to act like I'm interested.

“What is it about?”

Nyx is looking at me. She's taking off her glasses, and her pupils turns almond-shaped like a cat.

“Why's your name Diamond Tiara, and why is your cutie mark a Diamond Tiara? Coincidence?”

“Oh well, certainly? I think so? We're all named after what we can do”

Nyx's closing her book.

“I just wanted to know.”

“Nyx, I wanted to say, you know, the other time when I and Silverspoon tricked you into going innawoods, I'm sorry, I really have been a jerk, and”

“It's okay.”

“Did Twilight told you anything about that Royal Mission?”

“It's about ghosts, she don't even know more about them.”

“Ah.”

And we are once again lost in an awkward silence.

“Mind if I play some music or something? Is there even at least one radio in this house?”

She's leaving me without answer. A minute later I'm decided to break the ice and ask more about her.

“So you're studying there? Sounds cool. Magic? Sorcery? Sciences or nature?”

She's nodding, politely. She's really different from the other ponies, kind of reminds me of SilverSpoon, and has a bit of Sweetiebelle in her. I can't explain...

“The Moon is going to be full tonight.”

“Yes I like the moon too, ever heard of the legend of the mare in the moon? When Celestia banished Lu-”

Nyx frowned at me

“This is a legend. I'm a filly but I'm not stupid.”

I won't gain her trust like this.

“You're right, sorry... Heh. Oh I have an idea...or maybe not.”

Nyx's ears are raised like I caught her attention

“Maybe we could ...Find a place and pick a telescope and observe the night sky tonight?”

Nyx's not really happy about that

“That would be fun, and interesting, but Twilight's telescope is broken, and she don't want me to go outside without her permission... Unless you promise me to never tell her about it. Trust me this time!”

“I..I'm not sure if that's a good idea indeed, Twilight's got a doubt about something. Dunno she might be far now.”

Nyx's making a sad face, like a puppy who's got yelled at.

“I thought we could be true friends...”

I must say it's been a truly boring afternoon. Did nothing, no games to play, no interesting book I could actually discover. It kind of feels like we're two grannies in a retirement home, the ticking of a clock in the corridor...

After a whole minute of reconsideration, I'm decided to accept this challenge.

“Okay, just a trip outside, breathing some fresh air. Let's just make sure nopony catch us. We'll be back in less than thirty minutes anyways.”

Nyx smiled, she knew my affinity for not following rules, and I know I'm dumb for this.

“Let's just take the backdoor. It goes onto a field, we're still around the castle, and I know how to fight.”

“You? Fighting? Well okay I can believe you... Cat's eyes!”

She's not picking her glasses, knowing she can see better by night without these. I'm leaving my tiara here, it's useless to carry it everywhere and prefer not to loose it. We're leaving the castle with most lights on, if one thing living in a big house taught me, thieves are repelled by the light.

Twilight's going to murder us if she finds out, but I believe it could be a good opportunity to know Nyx better. And it's good to keep secrets.

She sounds smart enough to know what she's doing, despite her age.

Maybe just as smart as a teenager like me. There's something mysterious about her. She really sounds like Twilight, no wonder they really might be the same family, and being so... different.

We're discussing essentially about how's life. She literally lives with Twilight. All the time. Some things just remains mysterious to me.

I'm following her, as we're heading into the woods, double-checking behind me if nopony is following us.

“Anything wrong Diamond?”

Did I hear somepony? Might be a bird or something...

“I just had a strange impression, my bully instincts tells me somepony are up to no good.”

The night indeed is beautiful, a fresh breeze of air, and the smell of spring through the trees makes everything pleasant. Nyx isn't really talkative, but more friendly minutes after minutes, once we got to know better eachother.

“Follow me, there's a place you never seen before, I bet.”

We're taking a path leading us to the ruins of an old castle. Supposedly the place where,a thousands of years ago, the legend of Nightmare Moon ended. We always heard legends and a lot of things about this castle, I don't really believe anything. May it be inhabited by ghosts, tortured souls from the middle ages...

The view was both fascinating and terrifying, to be on a place which looks like haunted, but instead of fear, together, we're laughing. Scaring eachother, etc. I'm surprised this place haven't been pillaged or raided by Vinyl Scratch's friends to make a rave on this old building...

I'm following Nyx inside, she's using a magic spell to illuminate the path, giving the whole scene some thriller ambience.

“You know, Nyx, When I grow up, I'd love to embrace myself as a gothic anthropomorphic skunk, and live in this place! This is so dark as my soul!”

She's laughing, and I think it's the first time I'm seeing her amused at something. We're standing on the terrace, gazing at the sky.

From there we have a view that's dominating Ponyville, and at the crest of the valley, we can clearly distinguish the lights from Canterlot, located 50Km from where we are. I don't even think we have this view from Twilight's castle.

Nyx's looking around. She's feeling strange...

“What's going on? Getting cold?”

“I feel like I'm getting flashbacks, I wanted to come here tonight and check this place. I might have been there, in a previous life...”

A magic aura is surrounding her, around her horn. Is she faking or try to be scary?

“Nyx? Nyx, let's get out of here, I don't know but your horn's glowing, careful with your magic okay?”

Her eyes are glowing, and like, out of nowhere, a perfectly clear sky, a lightning reach out of the sky, ripping the darkness apart. And bringing me temporary blindness by the way.

Nyx is levitating, surrounded by magic energy.

“Now I do understand why Twilight wanted to keep you inside, try to control your magic!”

Is she a real alicorn or..

“I'm sorry Diamond Tiara!”

“Ah. It's okay, no worries, you just ...scared me I mean the magic and stuff. Let's go home, it's like all Ponyville will gallop here to see what's going on.”

“Okay” she replied, as we're moving down from the dungeon.

We're trotting inside the pretty much broken castle. Nyx's doing it again, with eyes glowing and light coming out of her mouth

“Ow Nyx...”

“I think I'm getting my energy from the night, I can't explain...”

“Aha. That's ...very philosophical.”

As we're walking down the corridor to go back in the town, trying to go back on our own path on that old castle... a strange light in the sky's appearing.

I'm stopping by a balcony to observe what it could be, and Nyx's following me.

What could it be? A Pegasus? It's getting bigger every second. We should go away as fast as we can, nothing about this is inspiring me anything good. Nyx's looking at it with a concerned face.

“Is there anything wrong DiamondTiara?”

These things were accompanied with a strange noise, like the Apple Family's truck motor. Nyx and myself couldn't help it but stand there, and observe it flying closer to where we are.

“Yeah. We shouldn't stay here...”

Two of these objects were closing in, and finally one comes in, flying around the castle, with a pony driving it. It's helped with a powerful spotlight, stands in front of the castle's windows as the light it's carrying is illuminating the whole room from the windowed bay.

The pony in charge of the flying machine spotted us, and stands there for a couple of seconds.

Nyx doesn't really seems enthusiastic either, her eyes looks like thin almonds again, almost blinded by the helicopter's spotlight.

“Do you think Twilight sent some ponies in helicopters to catch us at this point ?”

We're trying not to be scared or intimidated by the size of the machine standing there, but the fact the pilot doesn't look like anything friendly, and the fact the pilot's pointing the helico's machine gun at us, we both agreed that it might, in fact, be great time to move on and hurry, what we did of course.

As soon we escape, a brutal noise resonates in the castle, almost turning us deaf

[ BRRRRRRRTTTT! ]

Did he came too close and ripped the windows bay? Hell no. the pilot is firing his machine gun into the castle, shattering the windows and half of the walls around us as we're running, encouraging us to gallop faster

“TAKE COVER!” I yelled instinctively.

Every window behind and in front of us is being disintegrated in pieces as we run away from it and hide behind the rock walls, the last thing we can trust to be resistant to this kind of non-magical attack.

The sound is deafening, and seeing the disasters it's doing to walls made of rock, I don't want to know what would it feel like if I get hit

Even Nyx, who's been stoical and calm so far, at the height of her own magic, she's terrified

“DIAMOND WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHAT IS THIS THING?”

I'm taking my breath.

“I don't know. I think it's... probably the Army, so we gotta hide for a while now. They might be looking for the wrong ponies? Or in training? We must get out of here, let's run to the woods! ”

I'm holding her in my hooves, as the helicopter seems to have moved, gunning the other aisle of the castle.

If Nyx ran away and got shot I'd have that on my consciousness forever

“HIYAAAH!” she yelled, terrified.

“N..Nyx, don't you have like, any alicorn superpower or something? It's time to use them...”

“I cannot control it when I'm scared!”

We are so fucked, as the helicopter's still flying around, clearly searching for us, or making us leave the castle maybe, trying to track us, like a hungry predator.

Something's crashing on another room in the castle. This time, it's ponies entering in the living room by what used to be a giant crystal ceiling. And by the windows. They're climbing down there with a cord.

they're dressed in black uniform, boots, carrying each their rifle. They're looking like black ghosts, with green eyes, I've seen some of these, they're glasses that allows them to see in the dark. I'm tempted to ask them to spare us but that could be a bad idea. we're silently moving away from here before they notice us.

They got dropped from the other helicopter as the first one who opened fire seems to be just around.

I'm moving discretely with Nyx, I can feel that I got some cuts due to the shattered glass, it's not painful but my instinct tells me they were here, for us.

The stallions are looking left and right. They speak Equestrian, but with a certain accent telling us they're definitively not from Equestria. One of them is shouting at the others, he might be their chief.

“Unit Tango take the west aisle, unit Sierra, clear the southeast. Section, go!”

And there comes a terrifying thought. Are we at war? Are they here for the book Twilight asked us to hide? Or for her? For me, for a ransom?

They're spreading and moving around the castle, with lasers attached on their rifles, night vision goggles, everything. bucking in the doors like it's not an obstacle. They're certainly well trained, but why are they here?

I can feel Nyx shaking, or is it me? Holding her close, and feeling she's also trying to calm down and don't make a noise, we remain hidden in the darkness, and I now only hope the legends were real, if this place is really haunted... I'm hoping the ghosts, ghouls, vampires who supposedly haunt this castle will emerge again, I kind of guess they manifested themselves with Nyx earlier.

Two stallions are coming a bit too close, one of them carrying a radio we could clearly listen

“Unit 02 no sign of Njörun. Also update, Operation control requires Njörun alive, apply the procedure for capturing the creature, I say again, capture the alicorn alive”

This is now pretty clear, they are here for Nyx. She's an Alicorn. Her fate is just between my hooves.

“Roger, zéro-tou” he replied with some strange accent. They're not from here for sure.

His teammate : “Shut up. I heard something. Right there. Go.”

I just stop breathing and I'm waiting. We can hear them moving to the corridor

There's still that helicopter outside with a powerful spotlight illuminating the dining room. They're looking everywhere and finally one of them is pointing their torchlight right on us.

“ALL UNITS! CONTACT! TWO PONIES! TWO PONIES!”

All the crew of ponies are heading where we are, we can't help but run, as far as we can.

“DON'T MOVE!”he yelled at us. I'm seeing Nyx and myself being covered with red dots. We're caught.

Nyx's crying... I want her to know everything will be fine, but i'd lie to her. Why... why, how did i get in this situation first, this afternoon I was like "oh no..." and now I only want to protect her from these stallions. Maybe things would have been the same if we were at Twilight's castle.

“Who are you? What do you want?”I had to ask foolishly.

One of them is coming closer, taking me away with a hoof circling my neck. I'm trying to escape, but that stallion's way stronger. “Unleash the fury, Nyx!”

Nyx's replying “Diamond! What do they want?”

The military's just yelling “ Make them shut up!”then contacts someone in the radio “HQ mission accomplished, Njörun is captive, I say again Njörun has been captured, another unidentified pony captured, over.”

They're trying to put something over her head, and finding a way to cuff her. Is that a kidnapping? Why sending a whole platoon? It mustn't be just for us.

I'm just paying attention to their conversations as one seems to be looking at me, after throwing me against a wall. One of the ponies disguised as a ninja's asking his superior, it seems.

“What are we doing with her?”

Another one's responding to him.

“Eliminate all witnesses, she's not a part of the mission.”

I really had to ask

“what mission? WHAT MISSION are you talking about? We're just two fillies in the wrong place, just let us go for Celestia's sake!”

He's kicking me on the floor and for only answer, “SHUT UP!”

Kind of lost consciousness for a second here, and now my mouth is bleeding, it's like this asshole just broke me a tooth.

Nyx's just shouting “Leave her alone!”on a determined tone.

That horse's taking me into another room. I'm trying to scream for help. Just in case someone could hear me. We're not that far from Ponyville, all that raffle must have brought some attention.

Some blue-greenish lighting is coming from Nyx. She's pissed, finally!

She managed to get rid of her cuffs.

“I said LEAVE HER ALONE!!!”

Nyx's surrounded by some kind of magical aura. She managed to throw most of the team of ponies who gathered here, smashing them against the wall in a burst of energy.

An invisible sphere is being sculptured in the walls of the corridor around her, floating there in the middle.

That horse's shooting at her, yelling something in the radio, she's pointing her horn at the stallion, who no longer points his gun at me, but at her, bursting his face into pieces with a beam of magic, before she's fainting.

It was impressive. It was different. The stallion just shot at her and I swear I saw the bullets being vaporized in the air before hitting Nyx.

I'm still trying to reach her, with the hopes to run back into Ponyville while the rest of the soldiers are on the ground, another division coming from the other aisle of the castle yelling

“She's dangerous! stay the fuck away”

And another one responds

“Of course you dumbasses she, I told you to double-check the locking of that clamp you stupid fuck!”

They're surrounding Nyx and myself again.

“Is she knocked? Why is the pink one still alive? See? When there's orders they're here for a good reason!”

Nyx is knocked as they're attaching something around her horn. Yet she still finds the force to yell “Hey! She's my sister, leave her alone!”

A very witty shout that could have got my life saved. Now the soldiers are confused.

“Her sister? Hah. And you are? Madame Celestia's daughter?”

“Fuck that, let's take both, that'll double the price!”

And so they're taking us in one of their helicos, carried us onboard with a rope. We're both cuffed, and I feel remorse of being useless. I'm feeling nauseous, stomach is still aching not only after being kicked by that horse earlier, but also flying in this thing.

There's another pony next to me, I kind of knew I have seen one earlier when we got out of Twilight. They were observing us all the afternoon. Kind of makes me feel it was inevitable. I wanna believe this.

I'm trying to look at the military ponies, and the stallions in uniform, I notice an insignia i never seen before in the Royal Army, neither Germaneigh

“Where are you taking us? How much do you think you're going to ask?”

One of the soldiers finally answers

“This isn't a kidnapping”He's pointing at Nyx “This is a global security special operation.”

“And where are you taking us?”

“We'll bring you on a secured site in agreement with international safety council, then the rest isn't our business. ”

“Sven, stop talking to them. This critter here killed three of our guys today. Lara and Ulrich are seriously wounded”

“It was legitimate defense. You attacked us.” I replied in the defense of Nyx

“No, actually this is our job.”

I'm feeling so bad, I wish I could.. just cancel and come back to the part I decide or not to go outside with Nyx for a few minutes... I shouldn't have let Nyx leave it and get in this situation. These horses came for her and no pony else. Ah yeah, me.. Twilight knew they were around.

“I'm sorry Nyx. I had one job... and I failed.”

She's looking at me briefly.

“I will be fine... I think we'll be fine, okay?”

Hours are passing. The big helico carrying us is finally landing. That place is really colder than expected. There's a truck standing there with more ponies. The few Nyx got wounded are carried on one, we're took on another, accompanied by another crew of military ponies.

“The fucking bastards. What's their plan? Nyx, I think they wanted you, Or maybe me. You know my dad's very rich... Aah I'm sorry, first I made fun of you, almost got you lost, now It's like, I never learned anything, I swear, I changed!”

Nyx is just looking at me, with tears in her eyes, and still she had the very fine and comforting words

“I know. I would have gone outdoors as soon you fell asleep anyways, and I insisted. I'm the one who's sorry.”

“They were waiting for us, I still don't know who they are!”

Nyx is looking at my wound caused by the shattered glass

“D.. does it hurts?”

“Kind of itching, I'd need sutures but it stopped bleeding. Hope it won't infect. My jaw hurts more, kind of.”

“Wish I could do something for you.. I feel weird with this thing on my horn.”

I'd try to help her ant take it off her horn but doing this would get us both shot.

She's looking at me. We're looking at eachother, knowing we're locked in that place. She's smiling a bit. I'm trying to do the same. We're in a strange, surreal situation.

“When we're out of this and back in Ponyville, we'll explain how some ponies rushed into Twilight's castle, trying to catch us, so we've been hiding, and rushed in the woods and hoped that castle could have been a good hideout. Okay?”

“Okay Diamond.”

“Shut up or I gas you both.” the soldier shouts. He's not old but feels like an asshole enough to do bad things to fillies. If they were unarmed, I think I could use my bullying techniques to destroy him entirely, but he'll rather shoot me.

As we're falling asleep, the truck brutally stops. two soldiers are opening the doors.

“The dark colored alicorn is Nyx. Who's the pink female? What have your guys done?”

Then there's that horse with a butchered Equestrian yelling at me

“You, asleep like a lazy roach Equestrian! Decline what's your name, fuck!”

“Hgnn Diamond Tiara..”

“See? Is pony pink with negro pony, we got twice for one! Promosheun!”

The other horse shouts as us firmly.

“You two. Get down here!”

Nyx is accompanied by four ponies, with more ponies armed all around us, She still can't do anything due to the anti-magic clamp attached on her horn.

It's cold, and we're early in the morning. Standing in front of a large bridge. I recognized the road signs, this looks like the north or somewhere in Ponyland I think.

There's one pony coming out of the fog. Alone, with a black uniform. Some of the military horses are mumbling.

“Negociator's here, don't shoot him.”

The pony looked rather confident and unimpressed by the fact all the others had their guns pointed at him. He's coming in, and observes Nyx carefully, then nods. They're pushing her ahead, and brings him to show me.

“You, Kolechians always come with a surprise... It wasn't planned you know.”

He's looking at me.

“You... Yes you, pink little thing, you're really lucky to be alive you know that?” he said

“What's gonna happen to me and what do you mean by... Lucky? Can you let me go?”

They're laughing briefly, he's not.

The military's pushing him away from us

“Now do your part of the contract” he told him, still with that funny accent. The pony with a black coat disappears on the bridge inside the fog.

Minutes are passing, and the boss of that platoon of soldiers receives a radio messages rather hard to decipher. He's briefing me and Nyx.

“Alright, listen you two, you're going to travel through this bridge, and not move elsewhere. If you go left, right, or stop, we shoot you dead. Do you understand?”

There's a set of spotlights illuminating the bridge, making the road barely visible, bordered with snow.

“You're going to execute us both, what's the point. Is Nyx such a threat? Look at her, you bastards! You look tough with your guns and all, heh.”

He's shouting loudly at me

“You're not my fucking business, go walk on the other side of this gate before I kill you!”

Nyx looks terrified, as ponies all around her are preparing their assault rifles.

The road is empty, and we start walking slowly in direction of the bridge, in the middle of a pine tree forest. We're escorted by armed ponies pointing their weapons at us.

As we progress, we distinguish another pony coming out of the shadow. A pale, ghostly figure... An old horse, with a scar on his face, hoof-cuffed. He's also escorted by more ponies pointing their guns at him, likely ready to open fire, certainly from another country.

This is a silent, eerie moment when both soldiers stops. We're looking into eachother. Who's this horse? Looks like he's seen some shit. The soldiers behind us are saluting him, and he keeps walking with them, before disappearing. I know I've seen his face somewhere, maybe on a newspaper. I know this pony, but from where? Also he looks younger.

I'm observing him and under his dark red mane, a severed horn is barely visible, as the Sun slowly rises behind him, chasing the fog away.

I have no idea who the Kolechians are exchanging us with, but I suspect something going on. We're also accelerating before, again, being surrounded by more military, again, pointing more rifles at us, and coming to catch me and Nyx.

The sound of a turbine engine reeving up can be clearly heard in a distance, with a flashing light through the fog.

Alright it's a plane. I get it. These soldiers are taking us inside of it. They're separating us.

“Are...are you taking us back home?” Nyx asked. Her questions remained unanswered.

The pony with a black uniform with a red triangle, similar to the one I noticed on the aircraft's door is examining her again, contacting someone on the phone.

“I need a secured line with the president... Yeah Operation's complete.We have your Nyx onboard, I'm sending you the pictures. We even got a bonus, we have no idea how she got there. Ten or twelve years old. Bright pink filly. Should we eliminate her? Alright, we're bringing them madam! Thank you!”

2 - Prison City

We've been flying over the lands and the ocean for hours now, just had something to drink, and no food. I finally took a nap, and hours later, got woke up again as the plane finally landed. Greeted by the nozzle of an assault rifle and the blabberings of a soldier in charge, yelling at me to get up, as the doors slowly opens. Out there, a few black vans with more ponies. Nyx is yelling at them, trying to look for me as they're taking her away.

“Diamond! What is this place? What do they want?”

“Nyx!” I'm feeling something in my heart telling me I won't see her again for a while...

They're checking some papers as they take her into a black van, and leaves what seems to be an airport, in the middle of some kind of desert. It's still a bit cold but not as much as the previous stop.

The other ponies still are keeping me attached like a dog. One of them comes to me with a pile of papers, checking

“Form 60S934 number 43205... Hmm..”

“Alright, this subject is a special request for the integration program, not like the other one.”

“We'll need two copies. It's quite unusual but here you go, All's clear you can bring that pony”

After some paperwork, and looks like they are really used to fill this kind of things here, they're taking me into a different van, I have no clear idea what they're talking about

“Hey! where are we exactly? What is this place?”

The cop pony next to me doesn't look friendly at all. Another one is accepting to respond to my question, finally...

“ We're heading towards Metropolis One. this is the Socialist Republic of Industria. Welcome and cause no trouble. You have been rescued from a conflict area.”

“Ah? What am I doing here? I never heard of this country before. Where did you take Nyx?”

“I don't know, I'm doing my job. I'm not purposed to respond any question.”

I'm tired and barely understand what it means or even know what is this place. Are those ponies going to question me about Nyx? Or Twilight?

“Are you gonna send us back to Equestria?”

“Negative” the cop replied, and we're now on a road for quite a while, heading to a city.

That truck really had minuscule windows, from there I could barely see a large, but empty road and some buildings, it's ...a really strange place. It's also very uncanny.

After almost one hour and half, they're taking me outside, just to move into a building.

I'm being examined, photographed, and then taken into a cell. Finally liberated from these cuffs, but as soon I try to escape, there's a few ponies preventing me to go away.

I'm still knocked but they brought a nurse to check on my wounds and bruises from last night. Later, they're asking me to move into a darker cell, with fluorescent lights, a camera on the ceiling, a bed, and ...a TV screen integrated to the wall, apparently it's impossible to turn off this thing.

The whole room has walls out of raw concrete.

“Hey! What have I done to end in a prison?” I had to ask them.

“This isn't a prison.” he replied.

“So, do I get to see a lawyer or have the right for a phone call?”

The pony who took me there never answered a single of my questions, just ignored me.

Hours later, there's a buzzing noise, and a pony's entering. Another nurse.

“Hello doctor!” I shouted.

She's not even looking at me.

“Officers, hold the subject, I'm preparing a wide spectrum antibiotics injection and full prevax procedure.”

She's unpacking a needle and other stuff, they're all wearing gloves...

“Wait, who are you? Will somepony gonna tell me what's going on? And I don't want whatever is in this syringe... I said NO!”

It kind of hurts, but I guess it did not kill me.

“Come on, stop crying, we expect you to cooperate fully. This is for your own good.”

“Next time, bring a unicorn nurse. I don't trust ponies who use a mask and their mouth with something like this. You maniacs! Oh hey, for how long am I going to stay there? Hey! Come back! What's going on ?”

My vision got blurred and everything disappeared around me.

I wake up on the same cell, like a nightmare that's still going on. There's that TV broadcasting the same shit everyday! Maybe soon or late they will send the cops or the royal guards to get me out of here, someone should have noticed I and Nyx have disappeared. what happened to her? I don't know.

Everyday is the same, in fact I'm not sure how long I spent in there, it's strange.

I'm in that cell, with that screen, repeating things, maybe there's a message and I should decipher it.

I tried, but it's only ponies being happy, in a factory or in the army, things like that.

Food is absolutely disgusting but there's that mare that keeps telling me I need it to get stronger.

As usual, the door opens, they're taking me to an interrogation room of some kind. Ponies in coat are observing me, standing there.

One of them is reading a pile of documents and listings

“File 9324-3111934B...”

maybe he means me.

“Huh?”

“We hope you're doing alright” he said, on a neutral tone, like all other ponies here speak, without any intensity, just like they repeated these words over and over again.

“I'm tired, what do you want to hear? Why did I lie about being Nyx's sister? Your guys kidnapped us, I panicked. ”

“We have no idea what you're talking about, don't ask this question again. What were your social status back in Equestria?”

“I don't get the question.”

“Alright next. You know you're lucky to be here, right?” A mare asked.

“Hah, like it could be worse? I like your sense of irony.”

“You still have some negative thoughts in mind, so far your tests revealed a potentially problematic antisocial behavior, the expressions we monitored in your room while being exposed to video sequences reveals a lack of sociability and potential risks of schizoid personality. But rest assured we're working on it.”

“ ..That's a great new! So I'm the only pony here who's crazy!”

“Let's not use this term or language anymore. ” said the male pony in white coat, observing a pile of documents in front of him.

That was one attempt among others trying to obtain a different reaction from this pony, but nothing much. The ponies are reading papers, taking notes, picking their things and leaving the room.

I'm standing there, no idea what to do in such an awkward moment, looking around me, the details of this room, the desk, etc.

Other ponies comes back with new questions. Again.

“Greetings, filly. Could you tell us about your family and close social environment?”

“ You want like, their phone number or something?”

“ We came to the conclusion that your social environment had a very deep and negative impact on you,and for the time being it's a chance you're here. From what we have found so far, by questioning you earlier, your parents are never present, your father works all day and your mother does not really care about you, she hates you and you hate her. You're even trying to find the equivalent of a mother in your friend, Silver Spoon unconsciously...”

“Wait !“ - Who is this mare and how did she knows that. I'm looking at her.... How do they know all that ? Did someone drill a hole in my brain ?

“You drugged me, right?”

Another pony admits it

“Your behavior was chaotic, Tiara, hence we had to administrate sedatives for your own safety. That's the procedure. Now, Please continue.”

And the other pony keeps on playing the armchair psycho-sociologist.

“You see, Diamond, here, the concept of family has caused more problems for the development of ponies. If you want, we could be your family and your friends! All of us, all of the society!”

“That's not how it works. What do you want to know? And most important, what can I do to get out of here?”

“We already know everything we need to know from you. We just hope to know if you can, according to our program of integration for class-E refugees, cooperate and adapt to our society.”

Sweet Celestia I swear, I'm about to really become crazy.

“Refugee? That's new. I never asked for anything, I never wanted to be here !”

“You have been rescued during a military operation, on a conflict zone. According to the international laws, it is the duty of the government supervising the troops to ensure your safety. Do you understand ?”

I'm saying nothing, letting the information sink in, I'm slow because the sleep deprivation, shots and being in this gloomy place has a terrible impact on my poor brain.

“Fine! We have noted that the subject refuses to answer any question, advising a potential need for a therapy and post traumatic treatment, further examination and a complete report to the concerned sanitary and medical services in charge of this dossier.”

Once again, hunchpones are escorting me back in my cell, and oh now I recall, better not try to fuck with them. Their electrified sticks can really hurt, a lot. I wonder when they did knock me out for the last time.

And it becomes a daily routine back in this cell. No view, only cold tubes for a light source, and TV screens.

Ponies comes sometimes ask me if I understand what I see there, and check on me. I often am taken out of here for further examinations, observations, more questions and other evaluations like they say.

Ponies in this prison claims they take care of me, observing me, saying things like “You're making efforts, you seem less aggressive today, keep it up!“

It's strange, but the more it goes I'm going insane. I know I'm going insane, the shit they inject to me, put in my food or make me drink.

All of this is an execution but they need my body to install their pony on it.
They probably are doing the same thing with Nyx right now, or testing their thing on me.

The lights shuts down. The screen turns off. I can sleep and try to dream.

Because I want to dream. About anything. Even a nightmare, I want a nightmare. I want something scary. Trying to imagine faces, creepy things in the night but even my brain is now too numb to even generate its own pictures. Oh boy I'd love some creepy nightmare... Let's think of worse stuff, since dreams won't happen.

I only think about the dance music and other promotional videoclips that plays in loop all day long on this fucking screen.

Focusing on a nightmare. Yeah that should work. For that, I need a story. I'm alone in the Everfree Forest. There's ruins. Darkness.

There's noises, sounds, shadows, ghosts, daemons, all kind of ghouls haunting these woods, from the previous wars. The trees getting fed and watered by the blood of hundreds of ponies. Centuries of wars and things we never knew about lies under my hooves as I go deeper in there. I feel a presence all around me, the air is cold.

I'm standing in front of a ghost, with an amorphous face, and one eye, looking at me.

I go on anyways, it's been always here.

I hear something, somepony breathing behind me.

So I keep walking. There's a temple, an ancient fort in ruins. There have been tortures and executions in here for a long long time. I can hear the souls moaning, and screaming.

All the trees around me are dead. All the soil is filled with bones and death. The moon gives an eerie illumination to the scene... it's not mud, it's coagulated blood and flesh.

“I'm coming here for a nightmare. I'm falling asleep, please take my soul away !“

And I enter the ruins, this place is uncanny, nothing grows. Only spiders, creatures unable to dream or think due to the lack of a brain populates this place.

Fillies have been tortured to death here. There's a table, standing there in the middle of the room, with chains, in the middle of an pentagram engraved on the floor's rock. That table has been polished by the amount of ponies who died here.

Thousands, hanging, with the guts out. There's electric lines that once I suppose could have been implemented in the prisoner's brain, or in their genitals to extract unmeasurable pains. This was the definition of hell on earth.

I'm being laid on this table, waiting... Fall asleep.

...I'm waking up. I haven't dreamed or had a nightmare. Even this I can't have it!

That buzz again, the electric buzz of the cold lighting tubes starting up. The noise from the screen's speaker and a permanent whistle I keep hearing from the TV's tube, even when I sleep or cover my ears.

It's A fucking show again, about the goals of corporate socialism, ideological stuff about well being and pony rights, maps of the world with graphs about resources and development and a continuous flow of words.

I'm trying to cover my ears and hide in my bed. Even when I take a shit or take a piss it's there. Along with a camera in the corner, with probably a perv clopping at a filly locked in a box, drowning in insanity.

“But I have the luck to work here in Industria, here I work for a better world“ “I'm glad I can study gender which is forbidden in so many places “ “I'm not a zebra, I'm a pony, it's important to know there's no race, racial mixing is the solution against racism “ “It's my body, not my foal ! “ “We are changing the world. You can change the world. Positive think. “ “Negative thoughts can be diagnosed earlier with the progress of big data and analysis. “ “You can't be safe if you're not monitored “ “Aryanne's regime is a tyranny. A tyranny supported by Equestria and the international community need to push sanctions “ “Globalization must reach the darkest and more recoiled places of this world, carrying moral and social, progressive values “ “I'm beautiful ! You're beautiful ! “ “You're not different ! “ “This new medicine is the future“

After hours, I'm getting up and try to buck this thing again. The screen's behind some kind of armored glass.

But I'm trying. It sounds stupid but I'm trying. I'm yelling too.

“Fuck you. I can't stand your face ! I CAN'T STAND THIS SHIT ANYMORE ! “

I'm bucking the door again, do it for 5, 10 minutes, then get back up. Trying again with this TV.

It's another thing about self confidence, a shitty 'educartoon' like they call it. This is what they brainwash their fillies with. A silly song, another one about ponies and other kind of horses being all different and doing things together.

“Come on ! Try again ! “ “But I can't I need help ! “ “We can do it together ! “ “Oh alone I couldn't succeed ! “ “This is awesome!“

So I'm training to punch this thing over and over again. My hooves hurts but if I keep doing this this will soon or late break that window.

“You know you can always count on your friends! We're your friends!”

I'm yelling at these abominations
“SHUT UP! Please! Shut the fuck up! YOU AREN'T REAL!”

All followed by the same shitty, repetitive music, same commercials. I think it's the end of the day. I stopped counting for how long I've been here. I'm crying in my corner again like a shit. I feel my mind is leaving.

I've been doing it all day. Punching this stupid screen. Or was that yesterday? I've slept for a moment.

No, it was last week, I'm dumb hitting something like that already. My hoof used to bleed. I don't remember.
Nah yesterday I got an injection, and another medical exam. So two days ago?

Shit, yes I broke this thing and got glass shattered all over me.
No it was somewhere else... not in this cell. There's the same scratches on it.

That's not glass, it's plastic. Or something very solid. Same for the window that opens on my cell, unable to break it, I recall I've tried too. Or did I? How did I got that?

I got bandages all over my hooves, but there's some marks on the window that says otherwise.

I'm biting these off, trying to see how it looks like. There's blood stains. It's rather clean. These wounds are rather old, how long does it takes for these?

WHEN am I? Did I dream, and how do I look like? How can I count the days I spend in here, as anypony can turn the light on and off when they want.

The TV turns off and so the lights, only a flickering, dim light still goes in these two light in the ceiling and from the observation room outside my cell. In addition of the red dot on the camera on the angle of this room.

I'm standing up in the middle of the cell. Facing the TV. I can barely see myself in the reflection. The longer I stare, the creepier it gets, but my eyes adapts to this darkness...

A near complete obscurity but only see a ghostly figure in there, with two, big black eyes. Anything alive.

That's what I am. A cadaver. A zombie. I no longer exist so what do I see?

The next day I'm standing in the middle of my room. Cell. It's a cell. Not a room. The same thing playing over and over again. The same food. No it's not food, it has no taste..

Did I spent the night standing up? Did I even sleep?

Moment later, two ponies in white dress stands behind the window over my room. Observing me. It happens, sometimes.

One picks a microphone, and looks at a pile of documents, like every time, standing behind that secured glass.

She's adjusting her glasses and speaks with a monotone and boring voice, as usual.

“Hem... Hello! Good morning, Diamond, I'm your social assistant, and I've been reviewing your progress in detail from the last days since you showed a few examples of revulsion and aggressiveness previously. And like I told you a few days ago, President Kernav herself and the department of education and integration have approved, and would like, for you to introduce you to an experimental program in order to integrate you, if you accept, in the environment of social context prior to a societal escalation and confirming your ability to be integrated into an educational center, since you are a filly...”

I'm not even really listening this shit but he kept talking for two minutes long. Wait, am I looking at a TV ? Is the TV off ? It keeps talking.

“...all according to the protocol, and we hope it will work as intended. We believe you will make progress by practice more than this method by integrating you immediately as the day of today...”

Who even are those ponies? What are they on? Is all of this just real?

Anyways the nerdy, machine-pony continues his speech...

“And they will ask you a lot of questions, for your safety, agents of law enforcement will escort you on the educational center you will integrate this morning. do you understand?”

Nope. I understand absolutely fucking nothing but I want this to end so,

“Yes I understand completely. Just one question, when will I get out of here?”

The pony in a grey suit is re-reading his papers

“Er, well as we explained to you, this morning after your initial nutritional support. Do you remember?”

“What... normal ponies usually call a breakfast. Hay?”

Another pony immediately replies.

“No! Nono No, you should not break anything, also in order to protect you against yourself you will be required to conform and integrate in the society and will be under narrow surveillance there. ”

They don't speak proper Equestrian or what?

“So what happens then, will I be free?”

“You are free already. But as a new citizen enlisted in our integration program you are required to-”

“Okay I get it, I agree, where do I sign?”

Some mare is smiling at me

“adequate forms are being completed right now. Any questions, Diamond Tiara?”

I'm having a moment of lucidity again and enjoy this window of brain activity to ask some questions.

“Yes. What happened to my friend, Nyx?”

The mare's staring at me “We have no idea who or what is Nyx.” and another one takes notes.

“A pony who was brought there with me, hello?”

“No. You have been found captured in the event of a military operation in Kolechia, you've been transferred to the Socialist Federation of Industria, but you told us you're from Equestria, is that correct? Are you sure?”

So far I'm stopping asking questions. It's pointless, and they are fucking with me. All the time more than all the time I've spent in this shithole.

Why all of these ponies are blank flanks to begin with? also no unicorn, no pegasus either...

They keep that forced smile everytime they look at me. Why ?

The door opens and that mare's standing there.. always with a smile. There's a lot of faces I kind of recognize, dressed in white coats. They're making sure I can't escape. Buzzing sounds, locks and more sounds now kind of familiar.
As I walk outside this center.. Prison... Mental house whatever it is, I realize how large it is and I just came outside of ONE of these cells.

“Diamond? follow me, I'm your auxiliary and psychosocial development counselor, Eliza Turveyshaw, we expect a lot from you.”

“Oh ! Hi, and you know what I expect from you?” I don't even know what I am supposed to tell to this pony.

Wait, I should not appear to be aggressive, this place is full of thug ponies with electric stun guns, so, I better play along their game, gain their trust and lots of patience. Let's play their game.

Play along and as soon their attention is at their lowest, escape.

Eliza's asking “I'm listening, you have the right to express yourself, are you alright?”

I must stop thinking about dad and mom, don't cry. smile like this fucking dumb horse

“...nevermind. Heh. Yes! ”

“Good! Also do you have a preferred name or pronouns? Your psychological tests indicates you are cisgendered but Diamond and Tiara are common names... We should work on this together”

“I like my name, thanks, why should I change it?”

“Haha you're cute. You have a temporary social ID, UT6S-F3TW-0412 please keep it in mind. You might want to go socialize this afternoon after class in order to integrate in our society and its environment"

Please how do we make her stop talking, is there a snooze button on that biodroid?

“Okay. Anything you want, er, miss.. Eliza...Turkeyshow?”

I'm still having the shit I've heard on TV for days playing in the head.. but I'm kind of feeling strange not hearing the same noises anymore.

We're heading out of the building after trotting in several corridors. There's not a single room in there without a camera on the ceiling, however, ''color'' posters with the portrait of the Founder of Industria, or the president with catchphrases in a political language I can't even read.

Outside, finally. I'm looking back, steel doors, and a huge building, no inscription besides 'T0493' engraved in concrete. And some 'social integration and evaluation center' subtitle.

Some horse is coming with a car that bears a logo 'Department of fillyhood development - Industria Corporation" and all the things I've been bombarded with on the TV kind of start looking real, or maybe this isn't the real world ?

"Just not to be confused, is Industria a corporation or a country?"

Eliza's staring at me and she's looking even more confused

“Industria is the name of this place, it's like the hardware of a computer, and to use a computer, you need software which are services. The police, organizations, and many things are all managed by the government for optimal results. you know, we are a state in the Central Economic Union, and the General Administration of Services, it's a bit complicated for a filly but soon you'll understand everything, and you will learn all that in class”

Am I confused? What was my initial question?

“So do you mean I'm going to school? Today? I'm supposed to be in holidays!”

Eliza's staring at me, searching her words. She don't understand the word... "school" it's not a part of her vocabulary.

“I meant to say... Integrate educational center thing?”

“Affirmative! You will learn to socialize better and more efficiently there, now follow me, there's a van waiting for you”

We're leaving the governmental building

“Eliza, tell me, again, what's the point of all this? I mean, why did you brought me here?”

Eliza's repeating again the same thing since the past three days in examination room.

“Diamond, we found you without an identification or anything, and it's my country's ideal to help fillies in need anywhere across the world, offering them a healthy life, this should be an example for many others and I'm confident we're going to make an excellent work, for you!”

“Oh this is... nice.”

I'm looking left and right, the stallions are standing behind. She's an adult but a bit fat, her legs aren't muscular, the stallions are carrying too many stuff.

We're now on the street, which are surprisingly empty besides some black police and that van parked in front of the building.

I'm galloping far away from here, as fast as I can. Not looking back.

“Diamond where are you going? Don't run! Diamond? Diamond come back!”

I was right, she can't make it, and the two cops in charge of escorting us just fell off the stairs.

Galloping on concrete isn't as pleasant as if it was grass, but whatever, I can't stay here. That's gonna make it.

The City. Everything here is out of proportions compared to anything I ever imagined.

There's large streets everywhere, all like going in straight lines crossing, everything seamless like never ending, with just a few vehicles patrolling, some billboards with ads for the police, banks, and tear-jerking material picturing a poor, sad filly. "Help them. Support the O.N.I worldwide development campaigns" or other propagandesque slogans.

What kind of world did I end up into? I'm crossing a few ponies in a different uniform, all on a line heading inside a building. They're all staring at me.

“Out of my way!”

I'm hearing some siren behind, telling me I need a place to hide. Guess I'm better following those ponies, and get inside one of these buildings.

Okay it's a factory. The entry hall is heavily controlled by guards and other staff, as ponies are passing through some kind of gate. The place itself is impressively large but I'm getting inside, passing the barriers and confusing some ponies.

There's a mare yelling at me.

“You! Stop. Are you really a part of the workers?” she asked

I must put my cool face on.

“...Yes and no, not yet, it's my first day...”

She frowned, and I knew that wouldn't make it. I'm too strange with my pink colors and cutie mark in a world of blank flanks...

“Aren't you a bit young to work here?”

“It's "bring your fillies at work" today, my father works here, he's the head manager of this enterprise, perhaps you want me to go and meet him together or perhaps you still care about your salary ?”

They're looking at me, they know I'm bullshitting judging by the smile on her face.

“Your ...Father? [she's laughing] what is this filly talking about. You should be in the educational center before. There's no manager here in this building.”

I tried.

“Alright, well, I don't have my CV on me right now. Okay can we discuss what exactly you're doing in here?”

“Security? Eh, looks like someone's looking for you, filly.”

There's two cops standing outside. I'll need to think about a better way to get out of this city.

Next time should be good. I'm exhausted.

3 - Reformat, reinstall.

Eliza's lecturing me as we're heading to the educational center.

“It's dangerous, I thought you understood we're here to help you integrating a civilized society. This isn't a prison!”

“I swear I thought that's what you expected from me.”

“Diamond... You're lying to me. Lying is really frowned upon in our society, which is based on trust and cohesion, just like trying to hide anything, you have to be open to me and others! We're building trust between eachother, do you understand? I met stubborn fillies and still am in charge of all kind of cases. After a while they all live an happy life!”

We've been on the road for a while now, and it's like all the buildings looks like the same, they all have a number on it, a bit like the ponies heading to the factory all had a number on their uniform and a barcode.

This is just insanely depressing.

We finally stop by a building with fillies all around standing on a line

The car with two armed stallions parks in front of us, and they're getting out like, securing the perimeter

“Good we're not too late. Follow me. And this time I'm forced to let the police agents securing you”

“Securing me...” their newspeak, their terminology, it's insane. I'm even starting to repeat these.

We're heading inside what we normally call a school.

The weather's cold actually and the ambiance makes it even worse.

She's discussing with what seems to be the principal, renamed here as 'Psychopedagocic Counselor'

She's checking on a computer, these machines are quite abundant here, but so far not designed for anything fun.

“It was reserved, Class B213, west aisle. You're a bit late but I will make a derogation to this, prior to your integration.”

“Are you not excited? This is your first day in a real education center!”

I can't contain a sarcastic word to end her from talking. She's just looking at me, expecting a word of approval or something before we continue, like … like pressing Y repeatedly on a computer terminal to validate messages, but with ponies. I try to be creative every time.

“...Terrific.”

We get in class. Fillies are staring at me, like; they saw an alien while Eliza's chatting with the armed cops patrolling in the corridors. This is a school here.

“I think it would be preferable if you stay outside it might look threatening or unsafe for fillies to see guns, it's inspiring negathink.” the teacher said.

The cop replies “Agreed, we're securing the corridor, and if the subject attempts to substract, we'll stop her with non-lethal measures.”

Eliza nods.

There's a big silence in the class despite there's 30, 40 young ponies in this classroom... holy shit , I'm the only pony with a cutie mark, and with a mane like that.

It's a bit awkward, but I must keep in mind this isn't my place.

“Hi everypony”

Find a free seat to drop my rump onto. Eliza's chatting with the teacher, and then she's moving aside.

The teacher's looking at me, all grumpy, with a face... oh my..

“Mhmmrr... Diämond... Tiära?”

“Yes.. Er, I don't have any accessory or book... My counselor,Eliza here just made me visit the place... “

The Teacher's looking at me like a weirdo. “Diämond, we don't need these, at least not right now, but you might want to stand up and introduce yourself to your classmates. Please proceed.”

I hate this, but okay.

“Hello everypony, I'm Diamond.”

The teacher insists “And where do you come from, Diamond ..Tiara?”

“I'm not sure why, but I've been sent there, against my will but I don't have another choice, so”

Some filly's laughing, interrupting me

“that manecut is just scary... And why does she got a ...gate on her flank?”

The teacher's not even allowing me to answer and explain what is a tiara.

“Diamond Tiara is a special kind of student, she's from ...Equestria, according to her data. She's been brought here to see how life is like in a modern country, and she's very glad to have this opportunity. Giving a chance to everypony is how we, in Industria aim to make the world better!”

Some fillies are laughing, others looks scared as soon the teacher pronounced the word 'Equestria'

“Trust me, I never asked to be here. It's a huge misunderstanding and it's gonna be resolved. But I'm not against teaching you a few things. Heh, learning, I meant. Let's just resume what you were working on, okay.”

Eliza's still observing me, remains silent, taking notes. The teacher whose name is unknown to me's continuing, with a forced smile on her face.

“don't worry, this class is about cultural enrichment. Moussa explained about his country and zebra traditions earlier, because,”

The class is echoing in unison “we all are ponies of the earth and we are all different and equal at once, we need to learn and share from eachother!”

This partially responds to my question wether it was math, science or grammar class.

The mare behind her desk seems to be proud to have her whole classroom entirely under her control. Outside behind the door, Eliza is smiling, like a robot. What am I doing here? Maybe it's not real, maybe it's the drugs. The light and walls are the same as in my cell.

“Now Diamond, we'd like you to tell us how life is like in ... Equestria. The Kingdom of Equestria. If any student has any question please go ahead! Diamond Tiara here have the opposable right to answer your questions.”

Some filly is asking “Is it true you believe in magic?”

Is that even a question?

“Huh, ... yes, some ponies and unicorns especially rely on magic everyday”

Some other colt shouts “it's horseshit, magic isn't real and unicorns are crazy, and maybe you too if you believe ther's a magic.”

Teacher's like, “FREDDY! This is a microaggression. One warning” She notes it on her book.

“a microwhat? well, if I were a unicorn I'd do a demonstration.”

The filly insisted “unicorns are evil! they attack ponies! They're evil!”

“Well, most are friendly, depends which ones. some are assholes I agree.”

The entire classroom is laughing. they might not understand the word "asshole" but threy just learned it.

A colt with a language bug came with an even more original question:

“is it true you ponies don't poop and pee on sanitary but on the grass? We learned there's no toilet in Equestria”

class goes all like, eeeeww

“we have toilets, but well, when they are busy, you just go outside and piss on the grass, it fertilize the flowers. Next question?”

The class seems amused, mixed with mockery and discovering new words or something. One of the ponies asked "What's a... fowler?" while another is repeating some political speech certainly, playing the intellectuals.

“Hm. You know, Diamond, In fact, Uhm, I think, Pardon, That Celestia is a liar you know, she doesn't raises the Sun, gravitation does it with space, like, the world is a round, a sphere, you don't have science, here we built this country on atheism and not on beliefs.”

Oh this idiot... He's got something special. He sounds pretentious and in imminent need to get rectified.

“What's your name? Doesn't matters, but you should know, sir, that we all are aware about the basics of astrophysics. Nopony actually thinks Celestia raises the Sun and Luna the Moon and Cadence raises Prince Shining's cock, but if you want I can challenge you on theoretical definitions of the gravitation itself, see if your point of view remains the same as the old sages like Starswirl the Bearded explained about the nature of the four fundamental forces of the universe, if you know more than you think, go ahead, m'see? Hmm? Another question? Like; you know, wonderings?”

I'm ending up imitating his gestures and behavior, and for once, I think it was worth spending all that time in Twilight's library.

The teacher looks pissed at me. “Please limit to answering the questions, or this will be your first warning, Diamond Tiara!”

They didn't saw that one coming, sadly; the rest of the questions were about the same level. 'Why do you still elect Princess Celestia as your leader' 'why don't you watch TV is it illegal there' and my favorite, asked by another future illiterate horse, and it is important to note that they have a notebook open and actually read the questions.

“Do you food? Er. Do you eat the gas.. gar... grass?”
They can't even speak properly.

“Rarely, I prefer things like carrots and tomatoes but there's nothing like fresh grass with the smell of flowers on a field. Are you even listening?”

Clearly the ponies lost me. The teacher's interrupting me as usual

“You might explain what kind of nutriments these are, and how they are processed.” she insisted.

“ Alright miss. Guess I'm doing your job teaching a sixth grade class the lowest basics and hope I will get paid for today. So let's say, you have a garden, you plant seeds, and take care of them as they grow through the year and in spring, summer, food just grows. strawberries, apples on appletrees, beans, tomatoes, everything depending of the soil.”

The teacher's making a grimace as some filly's wondering not only what's a 'graden' but more like,

“do you mean you eat things that grows in dirt or on the soil?”

they look disgusted. Come on, is this a special needs class?

“no, you add water too. have you ever questioned where your food comes from?”

Teacher's at it again. “Diamond, it is impolite to answer a question with another!”

Some pony's answering though, “Food is good, they're maked in factories, stop eating dirt! And how they... Er.. ”

I'm staring at this pony with an implied facehoof.

“Alright that will be enough. One precision, in Equestria, there is no equal education system, ponies are being educated by... Their parents! ” She's trotting in front of the whiteboard“In Equestria, mares are forced to take care of their children until they get adult and this familial system is built on...”

The classroom echoes “patriarchy and monogamous marriage! And the idea the fillies are the property of a family and not a society, which leads to inequality and social exclusion!”

“Excellent. This is the reason we'll have a lot to explain to our newcomer here about the world most ponies live in now.”

I have never seen such a bunch of robots. This is kind of terrifying, if I wasn't half a zombie I'd get out of here or tell them all to fuck off. But this isn't my style.

“Actually some of us goes in school, but it's also important to learn from your parents and educate by yourself, right now I should be in holidays, like most of the time, reading books, working helping my parents, drawing, playing music... ”

“But Diamond, your parents are not your teachers or really qualified for education of fillies! This is the role of the state to care for you! This is great isn't it?” The teacher smiles at the class while repeating this, then frowns even harder at me like it's gonna do anything.

The whole class is laughing

“May you agree with it or not, it's like that. family has a point, it's in the nature of everything.”

some pony's pointing at me “that's because your government doesn't care about you or ponies there!”

“Being a family or a friend is NOT the role of any government! What is this insanity?”

This time the mare's kind of shocked.

“Diamond Tiara for the last time Please, Calm down and watch your elements of language, also go back to your seat! Alright...we'll continue after the infomercials, we are late on the schedule. Please, pay attention this time, you will be tested and evaluated.”

“The infomerf- what?”

“Hush.”

She's turning on the TV and distribute every pony a sheet we have to fill to make sure we get what happens.

Something tells me this world is insane. And I'm just scratching the surface...

We're in class, watching the same kind of shit I have been watching in my cell for days, like, 'X is good for you, look how special you are... ' the same stuff, with shows about how ponies live, they even dare calling this 'showreal'.

It's taking a while, about 15 minutes watching ads, then filling a form with questions concerning it.

The teacher mare turns off the TV and retrieves our copies. I filled it at random.
She comes to sit on her desk and continues on the previous topic: 'me'

“now back to our lesson and to close this chapter, what else do we know about the Monarchies? Diamond please get up again and come so the class can hear your speech. Apply yourself. Come on! Do you require assistance?”

As I reach the whiteboard, a zebra filly's raising his hoof

“Equestria was at war with zebras, because, they are racist. Celestia is a fascist who murdered millions of zebras, and Diamond Tiara is a pig and they should be like, arrested!”

The class goes all “yeah they're evil like Aryanne! Why do they hate us? Boo!”

Okay I had to eat that obvious bait, bite it and not let it go.

“Hey! Haha. One minute, where do you get that idea? It was centuries ago, and it was to defend Zebrica from Kuvalu, Equestria wasn't even involved, but the kingdom of Prance...”

Teacher pony's interrupting me as usual

“Diamond, you're not even trying to apologize, because you never learned the history of your country, we'll see that later in another course. I'm not going to go in the details but I think you should be ashamed and be sorry. But first you have a lot to learn and be corrected.”

“Okay this is too much, this isn't a classroom, that's a trial.”

I'm moving back to my seat, I know the point of this 'course' is just all about blaming eachother, and trying to prove I'm evil.

She still manage to act like,

“Come on, we are not here to judge you, we are here to understand you better!”

With that grin on her face... Holy shit. I want to punch her.

“No miss, I'm not gonna play your game and will not answer to any other question unless I have my lawyer present.”

some alert noise that sounds more like a trucks' klaxon resonates in the building

teacher:“ Recess time, you have ten minutes! Diamond, you should use these to socialize! This is important!”

I'm getting out of the building on an all-concrete "playground". There's like a hundreds of fillies and young ponies trotting, wandering. No sign of the cops in charge of me. Gues they have more important stuff to do. Good!

Some filly's bouncing me, whispering something like "Tiara cunt"

“Hey! What's wrong with you horse?”

The zebra colt from class is coming in “Hey you! You got a problem? Watcha lookin'at?”

“What?”

Some other filly's like, “don't touch that she's eating mud” “hey what you gonna do when you grow up? Become a princess? Look I'm a MAGIC PONY! I make magic n' shit rainbows!”

“very funny guys, you're a bunch of retards, I have nothing to do with ponies like you.”

There's really not a single unicorn or pegasus... I must focus about finding an exit from this prison.

I'm looking around, behind, and of course, they're stalking me, no more cops, there must be an exit from that place somewhere.

nope, concrete everywhere, and these moronic ponies really are trying to fuck with me

“Hey Princess of Queen! Where you're going? You ignorin' me bitch? Hey!”

“Yeah, because you're nothing, so what? You plan to attack a filly, you gelding?”

One of them bucked me on the floor

“you fucked with the wrong filly, shitface”

I'm buck him back, and that grin on his face finally fades out after a couple of headbutts.

They're all getting over me, and I get knocked on the floor but not a problem. I'm still on top of this damn colt who's now protecting his face. If I had the energy I'd properly demolish it. This isn't Ponyville, it's Tartarus, so no mercy!

“Who are you? Who the fuck are you, you don't know me?”

Some ponies are intervening to calm the situation, and less than two minutes later, we're on the principal's office. Rebranded as General Education Controller. They're interrogating a few of us.

That old mare asked that zebra kid “So, what happened?”

“she insulted me and bucked Stefan, ma'am! I swear”

“You're lying! They were stalking me, organized as a crew. You can do the replay there's cameras everywhere in this box!”

“Miss Tiara, this is your first day here, and you're already causing trouble?”

Eliza's rushing in the office

“Sorry, what happened? I was about to leave and had to come back” she's panting

The old mare's frowning at her “What happened? racist and sociopathic behavior, she's got involved in a fight, and in class has been detected as resistant to most forms of authority. Also stubborn in class, we're really going to have a lot of problems with her.”

“Are you really talking about me here ?”

Eliza nods. “I see. I'm really embarrassed; her psychological profile indicated she could integrate easily, we'll have to review our models.”

The old mare's taking off her glasses, and takes notes on a folder.

“If we cannot make you a better pony, if we can't integrate you, you know this becomes a pathological issue, we'll be obliged to contact the health administration, do you know what this means?”

“No. And if you really want to know, I don't give a fuck. I don't recognize your authority. Y.. You're nothing to me. I'm talking to you, you know.”

The zebra's looking a bit anxious, and often looks at me. He never seen anypony talk like this. Even if I'm not completely here, just a bit more slow.
And that noise.. .Is this even real?

He wanted to say something

“actually, madam, it was Stef who started the figh-”

Teacher's smiling at him

“it's alright, don't worry. If anything else happens with Diamond Tiara, keep us informed and alert a member of our pedagogic personnel. Go back to class”

“Let him finish, no?”

The old mare's starts to act looking pissed

“Why? You come here and think you can attack your classmates? Go back to class and obey the rules! I'm adding this event in your dossier.”

Eliza's looking at me like she's really disappointed. Why am I feeling bad about this? I should be proud to remain myself. What's wrong with my brain, fuck her! smile, me!

“Let's go Diamond, we'll have a long conversation. ”

Back in class, not reading books, but we're watching TV. Once again. a video about the regime of Aryanne in Nazi Germaneigh.

"This is nationalism. A political ideology that aims to restore the old world's concept similar to empires or kingdoms. The ideology of racial and religious superiority towards zebras, and the designated enemy of the state! Aryanne's ideology is responsible of the genocide of maybe dozens of million of mules, zebras, Okapis, and other racial minorities. Germaneigh and their Equestrian alliees planned in 5127 the invasion of Ponyland, slaughtering thousands, even million of ponies in the name of their racial ideology of hatred and pain. On 5129 an international coalition formed with Cobrastan, Muleholland and Industria repelled their forces. Germaneigh is no longer a threat, but for how long.... On her election day in 5130, Preisdent Lorelei Kernav has ratified a protocol with other nationstates to ensure the global order enforcement act, and peace preservation..."

All these videos are just propaganda. Shock images, flashing pictures, sad music.. Yeah I've seen this several times last week in my cell. Oh sure Aryanne's not a kind pony, most find her hateable but we entered in a war against them against a bigger threat. What about Changelings that nearly destroyed Germaneigh and our country?

That's how they become nationalists. It's like they made up facts and deform the reality.

Teacher's all happy, clapping her hooves and smiling.

“Alriiight fillies, what have we learned so far?”

“That history is written by the winners, even if they haven't won they pretend they did.” I answered in honesty.

“Diamond Tiara for fuck's sake you cunt!”

I never thought a qualified teacher in the most civilized country could swear like this, or lose her shit against a filly who provided the right answer.

“Why would I shut up? I'm not a complete ignorant, I do read some actual books when I'm at home. Lots of independent reports and publications on that war that's still ongoing. In fact Industria did not even take part in this conflict at all but only made it worse by providing weapons to fuel the fire in this region. Cobrastan armed the actual frebel extremists in Ponyland, that's this regime that had a lot of actual pony supremacists and started killing zebras and mules. There's a genocide going on...”

The whole class is staring at me.

“Last warning! Shut up! You're here to listen and learn!”

“Learn what? What's the point of a mashup of videos from three different conflicts wiuth dramatic music, that's not factual. Germaneigh became what it is now.”

“Some pony's standing up “SHE'S A RACIST and perhaps a unicorn!”

Her face is turning red.

“you're irredeemable! Get out of here!”

“my pleasure!”

I'm getting up and leaving the classroom. In the corridor, a horde of armed cops with helmet are rushing in the class.

“Where are you going?” one of them is asking.

“I'm just unwanted there. I'm going home.”

The police ponies in charge of controlling the entry of the class are pointing their guns at me, straight on my face, entering in the class with it

“FREEZE FUCKO YOU DON'T MOVE A HOOF OR ILL SHOOT”

And everypony in the class is like, oh shit

“Fucking really? you'd risk discharging your rifles on a FILLY in the middle of a crowded class? The teacher asked me to leave the class! Now let me go okay?”

Speaking of the teacher, she changed her ideas

“Diamond shut up and go back to your seat! You stupid filly! It's the law!”

some ponies are eager, all like. “kill her!”

the teacher goes on the whiteboard. picks a marker, starts writing down on the whiteboard

'2+2=5'

The cops are pointing their rifles at me again

Teacher's shouting “DIAMOND TIARA ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION? EQUAL SANCTION TO EVERY PONY NOT PAYING ATTENTION!”

The whole classroom is laughing, and cops start shooting at everypony who are... not paying attention. At this point, I'm invoking something...

“Saint Larson, Holy Spirit.... Give Me the Force!”

Miraculously, a ray of light comes from the window. I'm levitating, grow a pair of wings, grow a magic horn... I'm … an alicorn?

“I can feel my powers rising!”

everypony screams as I flutter in the middle of the class, and charge a magic attack

Above the clouds, up in the sky, a vision. The glorious Holy Spirit Fausticorn murmurs to me

“Kill them! Kill them all my child!”

They all scream out loud, the cops bullets goes through the teacher and the fillies brain but my energy is deflecting them whenever they try to shoot me, just before I shoot back a beam of magic at them, killing them instantly, splattering their flesh in all direction, then go on a rampage, out of the building, annihilating this city.

As I soar through the window, and zap the whole building with a beam of protons, I'm standing at this desolate world built on nothing but lies and envy for power.

“ I, Princess Diamond...”

I can hear the voice of the teacher again “Diamond?”

“As your brutal savior, This is ... How I liberate your souls, by giving you rest… Ow.”

“What are you talking about? Do you need to check a nurse or something?”

holy shit i was dreaming awake as they're broadcasting a new video about

"Love and Tolerate!"

Look around, observe others. the fillies stare at the screen. Our teacher looks pissed at me; pointing her marker at me: “are you following, Diamond Tiara... or are you asleep?”

“Yes! ”

“Yes what? are you paying attention?” Sweet Celestia, I hate her voice.

“I'm totally appreciating this, this is conspicuous!”

“This is very important. Now listen and watch! And stop dreaming or I'll report this.”

I'm still weakened and stressed by the recent fighting and try to throw all of this on the fact I don't belong in this world. I'm learning how this society is being controlled, brainwashed by this kind of stupid cartoon supposed to be educational... what the fuck is it about? I don't even understand the plot but in a nutshell, equality in skills is mandatory here; if you're smart or know too much, you're dangerous. If you're geeky or read books, you're a sociopath. Now i know why they sent me there.

I'm really a test subject. They want to know at which age maybe a pony could be reprogrammed into integrating their lifestyle.

They're trying to, and they do use that dumbing-down method to tame all fillies as a method of control. And in fact, all the population, by all kind of methods of indoctrination. I agree, our alicorns does have a similar effect, but on another level. But for what purpose

I wonder what they're doing with Nyx. Probably not the same. all that because we decided to go play in the woods me and that filly and got kidnapped. They found out I'm just as magic as a brick and expect to test their method on any pony.

Now, what are they doing with Nyx is a mystery. But in a way I want to know. I want to keep this in mind, and also have no idea if ponies in ponyville have done anything to bring me back.

The last scene of this dumb cartoon is a picture displaying two happy ponies, shouting in unison:

"I won't confront the state! And I won't dissent!" followed by "This informational videogram is the property of the government of Industria and SCGU media corporation"

The teacher's turning off the TV, and a siren's ringing again. I think it means the day's over but could be confused like an alarm of some sorts.

“Alright, see you this afternoon, don't forget to get a balanced diet and cause no trouble”

Ponies are rushing outside the class happily, in a ordered fashion towards the "transport units" something typical here.

“hey where am I supposed to go? Where's that pony in charge of me already? It's not like I have any family here.”

Some colt doesn't seems to understand what I'm looking for, but prefers to make fun of it.

“Haha. I don't have one either. What's your point? You're really strange, you know...”

I was tempted to try making him a friend, and well, I'll just ignore him and let him go. I know there's ponies controlling every move I make, but I plan to escape this prison later. Not yet, give it some time. Observe, analyze what ways out, the flaws in this system, et cetera...

Speaking of the wolf, I found Eliza in the crowd, she's hard to miss, a tall, gray-ish pony with a red mane. Most ponies here have kind of the same haircut, at a few differences. Stallions and mares, almost all look the same, by the style... So why every billboard or ads shouts "be yourself" and "think different" picturing the same pony you see everywhere? I have yet to see any unicorn or pegasus.

She found me too.

“Diamond Tiara? Are you lost? Class is over, why don't you follow the other ponies?”

“Where are they going?”

“Well, you might want to eat some food and get energy for the afternoon, right? But I'd like to talk about the incident of this morning, this is so important!”

Time to go out of character now and play my role of the good sheep to change. I can't obviously escape how I feel like.

“Oh! do tell!”

Eliza's trying to play the pony who's nice with me. I can see straight in her game, but now I want to know what they expect from me here.

“You have to befriend other ponies. not act like they're your rivals. The way you used to be educated has to be fixed and I hope it's not too late for you to change”

I'm looking at the floor, like

“I... I'm sorry..."

“Also, that pseudonym you use makes you sound more pompous, this image you built of yourself isn't you, you can't be a diamond, diamonds are materials, used to cut anything, I know you're soft inside of you, and you can change...”

She's smiling, and plays the caring one for your own good. I was right.

“I know, you might feel like missing your parents, or your town or tribe... According to your personal file, you were retrieved because you were caught in a military operation, transferred in Ponyland and was at risk. I'm glad we managed to rescue you... Are you listening?... Now look at the chance you have and seize it. it's your future! Also I've been making your paperworks and you are now officially a political refugee, a pony with a status! With a future! Look! Diamond was unavailable in the certified name list, since it's a material, heh.. But I found Darlene Tomska would fit you perfectly.”

And I'm thinking, as she's blah-ing and talking to me, Eliza... You dumb fucking horse. What have you done?

“Eliza... er, wait. whew. ...”

I'm looking at the badge she gave to me with an ID and everything with my photo on it.

“Yes Darlene? Do you have another question?”

This is so pathetic I want to cry. If it were a prison, the guards would not be nice at all and not trying to mindfuck us like that. It's worse than a prison.

“Why are you ponies doing this? You know I... I'm not supposed to be here. You stupid horses... caught an alicorn and picked me with her, but... This is just, like, we're enemies Equestria and Industria, what's the point of all this?”

I'm making an effort not to reveal to her my intentions or I'm gonna fuck it up. I can't punch her face either.

I can't cry either. I'm acting. She's acting. What's the point of all this?

“You might not want to feel excluded, there's a lot of fillies here who had to leave countries in war, there's also fillies from Germaneigh in your class! This is your safespace, Darlene...”

“That's not hat I wanted to know. What do you expect from me?”

“Start a better life? I'm sure that's what your parents always wanted. You no longer need them, you have us, you're a big mare now!”

Eliza's stuck for a second. She's a psychologist. Her job is to manipulate brains. I should think about Silverspoon, Scootaloo, Dad, Sweetiebelle, even mom, Applejack... yep I'm crying now, and can't help but fondle on her hooves

“Oh, I know, we really hope to know if we can integrate foreign ponies and educate them to fit in our society, this is ...very experimental, but I really believe in you, Darlene! We care about everypony, also if you want, as your auxiliary my role remains to be on your side and other ponies, if you want, we'll go visiting some places after the clas, Now go follow your classmates to the refectory!”

Later.. well, let's agree, that's food's disgusting but my stomach is aching, I need to eat no matter what it is. It might kill me later but that will do the trick.

“what is it? looks like tofu.. or pasta... I'd like to know the ingredients they use.”

Some pony next to me just responds with “duh. It's food. What are you talking about?”

“mmkay.”

Back in class. Feel better but I had to rinse my mouth to pass the weird taste of this thing. Eliza also decided that the two cops are no longer necessary, they were a legal requirement to ensure newcomers without documentation remains under close control.

Anyways, the amount of CCTV cameras everywhere and ID checks now tells me they don't even need agents.

I'm also starting to understand how things are working in there. Police's patrolling, and The Securitron's more like another police for where police can't intervene. Their motto is "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" just like another saying, "Privacy is your only prison. Be.Open!" on their billboards. and more slogans like this pushing a fake feeling of security, over anything that could go against the politics of "we have enemies, this is why we're watching you for your own good"

I'm learning more about their world than they will even learn about mine in a day. That's good.

Now i get why there's no ingredients list on anything: "trade secrets" Everything is covered by "trade secrets" and that course is here to teach why it's illegal to even cook your own food.

We're in economics class, or some kind of similar definition, and the professor's talking non-stop.

“This is why the legislation of the CEU ensures you to have a certified, sterile and healthy nutrition, same goes for software in your network terminals... if you knew the ingredients, anyone could build the same, and who looses? It's You, the ponies of Industria and the society!”

I'm no longer paying attention to this bullshit. Right now I wish I was in Ponyville, or at least with one friend. just one. just tell her everything is fine and I'll be home soon.

“Darlene? What.. what are you writing? You're not taking notes.. Oh! you draw a pony?”

“No, I'm listening”

he's picking my notebook

“What is.. whew. You just drew this?”

Everytime I try to escape, every fucking time this world brings me back in there.

“Who's this pony?”

He asked. I remain silent, look elsewhere as he's taking it.

After class, I met her again. Eliza... whatever is her name. She wanted to make me visit the rest of the city.

This country as I understand is in fact three things at once. It' a bank, a government and a corporation all operated by the same thing. The illusion of choice or anything in the market.

Eliza stares at some electronic crap, I don't even know the point of such a thing but this seems to make ponies happy all the time.

“Only 900 credits! Don't you need an ePack? Staying up in touch and socialize? Hm.”

According to their economical model, the credits are not a currency, it's a debt. the debt is actually not indexed on anything manufactured or produced. And this is spreading over generations causing this endless cycle, leading to a set of corporations... that later became this government.

“You'll need to get in touch with the local fashion, and be original! I think these would fit you! ”

The stock value of Industria is not based on goods owned by the central bank, they own the territory as a whole, infrastructure, but what makes the value of the credit is ponies itselves, and technically these ponies are all the ownership of the State, the property of Industria. They have no rights at all and this is why this model of politics needs everything under control, hence the necessity for special kind of police to enforce this.

This is now getting really interesting.

I'm really among the rare ponies here who really knows what's going on. Eliza's driving me to the place where colts and fillies go, explaining how it works.

In fact, only a few ponies, in the higher spheres of the society are allowed to have their own children. It's not a right to have fillies and raise them, it's a privilege. Only the higher class and the 'elite' of this country can have their own fillies, and be independent, and also have the right to vote.

No worker actually can take care of their filly, it's the State/Industria who handles everything cause they own them. I get the logic now.

This world managed to completely override natural instincts for the ponies, to trot on grass, or even things like that in the name of one, true religion: social progress and mandatory equality. Not for all ponies...

I'm walking in the streets with Eliza on my side thinking she provided me the best experience to become one of them. There's two more ponies following us, she knows it.

The sky is gray, and rain droplets starts to fall, everypony rushes under the closest building, like scared of being wet. Eliza brings me with her.

“What's going on?”

“It's raining, you know, we'll move using the underground transportation system, whenever you hear the weather anomaly siren, it means you have to stay inside.”

“Are you ...”

Rain's getting heavier, and a siren is ringing.

“You're scared of ...rain?” I asked.

“It will make you sick if you're exposed, Darlene!”

I'm feeling like a rebel and leave that hangar where ponies are hiding. I'm in the middle of the street. There's nothing more refreshing than rain after a day like that. Eliza's screaming my name, I don't care. I'm just trying to find a rainbow.

I'm looking at her, smiling. She looks worried but not that much.

“see? It's just water!”

I could be wrong, with all the factories this rain could be acid, or contains radioactive elements, there might be things I ignore, but I'm not feeling any burn so far.

We're finally heading to the place where ponies usually go to sleep. A huge building, called the “stable”. original.

On that building, all ponies are fed the same shit on TV. I discover my bedroom. in fact, it's a stable, with about a hundred of beds aligned, like, a military base or something. My stomach is now upside down. For how long am I going to stay here?

Everypony else is looking at me like a freak. Judging me maybe for my color or haircut?

Lights turns off in the stable.

I look through the window in front of my bed, and kind of wonder what time it could be in Equestria. 2PM? The moon is full, illuminating a rank of perfectly aligned apartment buildings, no different than the office or administration ones. Apart the smoke of a block of factories from the distance, creating mountains of red-orange smoke in the night, everything or almost in this city looks the same.

I'm falling asleep. Silently. Trying to clear my mind.

I'm back home, finally! I wonder how this happened. Dad's at work, doing his financial management business job, fiddling and evaluating forecast and other analytics on his computer. It's rare when there's somepony at home.

“Come on... Nope, It doesn't works. It still doesn't works! By tarnation this is ridiculous. Who was in charge of the setup?”

He's kind of pissed at some program he's in managing to deal with for his job.

“Dad! what's going on? Worries?”

“Ah, you're back! Nothing big, I'm working on a weekly issue, we have to recalculate a lot of things, I wonder if it's a bug in the program or if ponies omitted to include a month of results. That's nothing, for sure but that's gonna make a lot of ponies left unpaid for one month, so I'm working from home on it. Sorry for the noise, I'll be quieter!”

I look at him manipulating numbers and spreadsheets on a boring manager's database.

“Oh I see. Maybe I should work with computers one day so I could fix these!”

He's looking at me “Oh, you're cute! Sure you can, but you need to study and practice a lot in this business. It's essentially playing with numbers. Lot of arithmetic and logic.”

“Oh I see... Well, see you tomorrow!”

“Okay! Goodnight , Diamond!”

I climb back stairs to my room. But... How did I came back home already? I forgot.

No, this isn't home. Luna's here, standing in the middle. She looks like a ghost.... Wait, am I dreaming? Having a nightmare? She's looking around, but why can't she see me? She's trying to communicate...

“HEY! PRINCESS LUNA! Hey!”

Bummer... I think it's a distance issue and her magic doesn't reach this part of the world. I'm dreaming and she's using my dream to get in.

“Princess Luna! Hey! Over here!”

Her voice and appearance are distorded. “Are you he-e Dia- - - Tiara? Can you hear me?”

“Yes I can hear you! I'm alive! Hey! Can you hear meback? I'm in Industria, it's far, they trapped me and.. Luna?”

I think she heard me. Maybe not. These dreams are weird, elements of my home tends to disappear, or appear glitchy. I should myself eliminate from my mind everything I don't need and just keep myself and Luna.

“You can't hear me right? Luna? ...LUNA!!!”
I'm yelling in my dream. Her ears twitched, and she turns on my direction instantly. This alone makes me feel successful

“Please, just stay here, keep talking to me..”

Her voice's still distorted, I'm dreaming and it's leaving a chance for Luna to send me a message. I can see her. She's on top of a mountain facing the ocean now, but she's on my direction. I can't yell anymore.

“Diamo- -erever you are, I tr- [undecipherable] .-ou never give up, ever. We will find you.”

“ Yes Princess...”

She smiles, and disappears. Everything disappears, that's the first dream I had in months. But I know I'm not with her, I know I'm far away, prisoner for just some kind of social experience.

Then, I wake up, crying silently.

Another day's passing. Same shit in that school. Trying to fit in this society without forgetting who I am. Still trying to find its bugs, its flaws, its exploits. Trying to understand it better. Like being a bully, against a much bigger thug. You gotta understand how he works, there's always a way to turn things in my advantage. Like an anomaly in a program, invisible, but that might make a company collapse.

I still want to believe I can change things, that's the only thing that gives me hope.

During the next night, that dream never happened again. And the next ones too. The next day, another medical visit, somepony asked me if I had headaches, visions, troubles of attention, or any kind of dreams. I replied with a “no”. But the pony insisted and gave me a shot. “This is just vitamins.“ And I kind of forgot again what happened the next days.

Every time I try to move out of the pack, there's adult ponies watching me, bringing me back in the line. They keep me corrected, Eliza is checking after me from times to times.

It's been more than another week now, and I'm now introducing myself as Darlene Tomska. I think I'm making friends now, and changed my manecut for something more 'urban' according to their lingo.

News on TV relating world events, conflicts in Zebridjan, and even join ponies yelling at the portrait of Celestia, accused like the warmonger #1 against the free world, and other countries not helping like Licornia, Germaneigh, Ponyland... They love to hate her, they don't know shit about Equestria or the rest of the world, they don't want to. They just need something to hate to stay motivated.

Everypony seems to be praising Kernav for her decisions and political stance, warning the population about increased risk of terrorism. They keep talking about her, an ugly mare, with big eyes, and a straight haircut. She wears the same black uniform I saw earlier in that base when I got captured.

And also, one more medical checkup, Eliza insisted, I must be up to date with my vaccines this time, and also got a few more 'vitamin' shots to make sure I'm a healthy mare later... Well, if it doesn't kill me with a cancer, or a chemical rection between substances, one more miligram of tritium here, one nanogram of turbinium there, again, chain reaction, and big mushroom cloud!

In addition of that, I still get evaluated and still controlled from times to times by sociologists, psychologists, dentists, gynecologists, pedagogical analysts, all kind of -ists. It's gonna be like that at least once a week for the next months, they told to me.

Now I see the smile on their face is genuine. They look happy of their job. I'm more and more looking like every other pony in the city. Nonthinking. Abiding. Conform-secured and always 'Posi+hink®', a single word, societal slogan slapped everywhere, on every wall, on every TV ad, supposed to tell ponies to think about nice things. That's proper to Industria.

Psychotechnicians keep giving me good reviews, even if I learn nothing in school Some even start to believe or think I'm okay, and they finally reveals their big plan they had for me.

“You know, as a political refugee from a radical dictatorship, you could get invited on a RealiTV show to sensibilize the public about your condition and story. You could come there and explain why you fled Equestria, that would be very touching.”

“er... really?”

They wanted an element for their propaganda, a pony which, after a few weeks became a perfect supporter of this system.

“We have elaborated some elements of language for you. You'll just explain your transition towards democracy! How you see your future and how the world would be a better place. Also president Lorelei Kernav will be invited. Isn't that great?”

I'm looking at him, then try to control myself, a part of me wants to tell them to fuck off but no word comes out anymore. How. Let's try another sentence.

“No i'm not comfortable enough for this kind of show.”

“I agree the society comes first, and you might not enjoy this individualistic self promotion, but ...come on Darlene, that's an opportunity! Think about it! Anyways the media and content management administration has preregistered an event comparable to yours, an interview on the Nelly Serenejd show, where you can talk about your story, and meet other ponies like you, that will be fantastic!”

“perfect!” Not it's not, why am I replying without thinking?

“It's important. It's not about you and you won't be alone! it's about giving hope for millions of ponies across the world, looking to be aspired to embrace new ideals.”

“I don't know, er.... I'm too young for politics.” better.

“Hmm You're apolitical and it's perfect, no pony really want to talk politics here, but feelings are important! And hey, You owe us that, don't you think?”
The mare winked at me, like, “your ass is mine, bitch.” I hate her.

If I get at least one minute on their TV channels what could I yell at these zombies to get em to wake the fuck up?

“is it ...a live show?”

Some other pony responds.

“Yes-no. All of the interviews are recorded in studio, in case there's a goof, but ... it's broadcasted instantly with a few seconds off to rectify a problem. The little filly who grew under Equestrian fanaticism and became a message of hope for all children worldwide! You've got potential, filly!”

I want to kill this fucking gelding. I want to kill these ponies and their logo I keep seeing on every screen.

“s- ...sure!”

“Perfect. A car will pick you up next Monday after the class and you'll be heading up to Urbania! The capital of Industria! Thanks for your cooperation and keep progressing!”

The more things goes. the more I think I'm beyond the point of non-return. I'm less and less thinking about my friends or family; everything around is made to saturate our brain with pointless stuff. and I must not lose my mind, my name's not Darlene Tomska. I'm not supposed to be here today.

Every day, after day my flank mark is losing its saturation and is even fading, but I'm not even caring about that anymore. Next day, I'm trying to imagine plans to escape, but I often give up, too distracted, too many things to care about.

Or maybe I'm wrong...

4 - Underground

Watching TV, as always, all we do everyday there. There's a biopic about the glorious and so powerful party!

They say she studied hard. she comes from a modest family until the party spotted her and she really gave her best. She started politics very young as a supporter of the previous president.

Ponies voted at 100% for her ( for those who can legally vote, less than 3% of the adult ponies, essentially the leading class, since according to them, letting any citizen of Industria, especially those with different political views is dangerous for the democracy.)

She's really a mare of convictions, she knows managing a country like this is the only way, and knows how to talk to ponies. No wonder with ponies like that they managed to rally a few countries into a single big union.

I'm staring at the photo of this mare for a few seconds, this is her who decided to organize all this, the capture of Nyx. And turn myself into an experimental subject. Her and the ponies around her. Trying to get some TV interview of Miss Kernav is like,

“I don't think we should, we must accelerate what the previous government started to build. If we want the world to be efficient. the whole population has to work united, and go on the same direction”

interviewer:

“So you reject the idea of borders, being walls against progress, securing recursive governments?”

Lorelei's visibly making an effort to raise a smile, in vain.

“Indeed. Borders and social isolation are the same. Secularism, nationalism, traditionalism, identitism or individualism. all those isms... those are the opposites of social progress and I'm confident my government remains on the right side of history.”

This creature has a laconic tone, and her expressions are kind of scary, maybe she's a cyborg.

“The world needs one global government that ensure its resources profits the whole ponykind. There's simply no other way and every nation will embrace this ideology soon or late. I don't want to die of an old age and know. I didn't do enough. This is happening, now. If ponies want it, and the ponies want it, We will achieve it.”

She's staring at the camera most of the time, like in every show, it's not about showing, it's really persuasive communication.

Why am I no longer hating her? I totally understand her and her objectives now. I can't hate a machine afterall. It has no soul, only a certain logic. That's the thing.

What is right, what's wrong? To keep following the herd of fillies ? Why do I no longer want to escape... I'm feeling uneasy here, it's like I no longer feel like I could change anything. So I'm waiting.

That's a Saturday, I'm lurking in some shop/gallery, something big and kind of empty. They're letting me go outside now for a few hours again, thinking that's gonna help me adapt, as anyways all ponies are under supervision. Cameras, police, security barriers... If I'm not back at the stable at 18:00 I'm getting in trouble and will be questioned.

Why am I following their rules ? I'm stupid or what ? I just know there's no exit here. This whole city is never ending, it's much larger than Canterlot, and it's not the biggest one.

So, better not try to cheat rather than spending most of my weekend sitting on a bench, being observed by CCTVs. Watching other screens, spending stuff on credit I might have to work later to pay but every filly does it.

This shopping building is just gigantic, but kind of empty, only a few ponies have the time to visit it, do some shopping, it's a city in a city, still between walls, covered with large, flickering cathodic ray tubes broadcasting ads and other political, motivational messages.

In this world, everypony is watching eachother silently, controlling, analyzing, judging, and influencing eachother. They have no free will, they all move the same way, share the same opinion, if not, none.

Sudenly, an alarm's ringing. Ponies start running in all directions.

There's a group of cops galloping in, bumping other mares and ponies, as I'm jumping, moving out of here.

What's going on ?

I'm hiding at first, then run to see what's going on.

I can only hear they're shooting at something or somepony ?

I feel like something bad's going on

Securitron agents, even the police have a brand here, are circling the building, firing teargas canisters in all directions in the mall. I'm observing them from a safe distance, following a herd of ponies evacuating, except I went on the other direction.

Everypony escaped but I'm stuck there, terrified, hiding on a pile of cardboard boxes on the mall's lobby, in front of a shop.

I'm running through that shop to avoid getting intoxicated.

There, I meet a pegasus's slowly advancing out of the cloud. I haven't seen one since a while.

Looks like he's wounded, his wing looks broken, bleeding.

There's a filly hugging him, she's in tears, crying. she looks like Sweetie Belle. She's an unicorn also, maybe the first unicorn filly I see here. I'm going on their direction, I have no idea where the cops are, this place is a three dimensional labyrinth.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

I'm going down to see what I can do. Also from where I stand, the cops are advancing and gets closer.

The pegasus's not even trying to escape anymore, he's wounded and looks weakened, barely able to stand up.

He saw me, as I'm pointing on the other direction, shouting out “Hey! there's armed cops the other side closing in !”

The pegasus's looking at me, kind of saying ”no” after certainly telling his little friend to run away.

The filly unicorn's rushing on my direction to hide on some alley just before the cops are charging on the place, surrounding the young pegasus stallion...

The pegasus's smiling at me, as I'm holding her. I immediately get that I should protect her. I'm nodding and we're rushing into a service corridor.

He's like, reaching his last forces deploying his wings, look at the windowed roof and ready to take off, it's obvious he won't make it, as cops finally spotted him.

“WE GOT CONTACT! OPEN FIRE!”

They're shooting him without any hesitation, bullets are ripping his body apart.

The whole hallway is now painted with blood even before his dead body hits the floor.

I'm holding the unicorn filly and still trying to realize what just happened.

All of this was real. Even though it looked like a nightmare... I even felt blood splattering on my eyes

One of the cops or whatever security group was done, he picks his mic and contacts his HQ :

“Target one neutralized!”

I'm pushing the door behind me. Slowly.. .it's open. I take her with me, and we're escaping silently, hiding in some back-shop

We stand there and start breathing again. I'm looking at a mirror standing there and notice there's some blood splattered on my face. She's falling in tears.

“Why... did they do that ?”

What could I respond to her ?

“These fuckers hate ponykind”

I look at her in her eyes,

“Hey.. I don't know who you are yet... but I promise you we'll leave this hell together, okay ?”

We remain hidden the best we could, cops with gasmasks, armed with assault rifles are looking everywhere, searching for her.

“Sweet Luna, Celestia... please don't give me up right now.”

We're standing there hidden on what looks like a clothing shop as the agents keeps patrolling. it's been a half hour now or something...

She's still crying but she's fighting her best to remain silent, teeth clenched.

“hey... i think they way's clear. Stay here I'm gonna check...”

All the cops have evacuated the building apparently. Leaving room for the cleaning staff.

I'm feeling weird. Nauseous after what I just witnessed. Now I know why there's no unicorn or pegasi in this country. Magic is illegal, but so does flying.
“they're gone?” the filly asked

“y..Yes.. don't worry, you're... you're not alone. what's your name?”

“My name's... Alice. Who are you?”

“My.. My name's Diamond Tiara. I'm from Equestria... And uh, I know about pegasus, don't worry.. Do you know this stallion?”

“His name ...”

She's taking a deep breath

“Trey. He was my friend... And protector, like a big brother. Some unicorns know magic to stop their bullets, but I'm not.. magic enough for doing that. We had a little thing to do and we got caught, we tried to escape, and they found us. I... Oh no what have I done...”

“Alice, it's not your fault, I saw what happened, there's nothing you could have done against so many armed horses. Right now, we have to get out of here. Finding an exit and stay away from cameras, okay? We gonna head to the service alley while nopony is around, follow me!”

We're exiting that room, heading for a backdoor heading to a corridor, cluttered with stack of cardboard boxes and a few light tubes to lit it up.

“W... wait for me one second. I'm not well-”

Couldn't hold it longer, I just vomited there before running away. We keep trotting, and finally get outside, ending up in front of dumpsters.

“Cameras on the left. Let's take the other side.”

Alice's following me, we're trying to avoid getting caught, and run on some adjacent street, heading to an underground station full of "under construction" signs.

“So, there's at least one unicorn here in Industria? Are you the famous enemy of the state?”

“I'm not alone, but we usually are very discrete, we only go outside by night, we help ponies and pegasus, and keep a lot of things that are restricted here. They found us, today. some pony probably mentioned where we were hiding to fix some of their problems directly with the State, and now I have to move.”

“Ah. I feel you. Can't trust other ponies.”

Alice's looking at me, and kind of smiling, a little , brief smile that says a lot.

“For how long you've been here? and why did you came here, Diamond Tiara ?”

“I think it's been... Already two weeks, or more I guess, maybe less. I.. I don't know.

I'm losing my mind and myself. They don't have any weekends in this country. First, I got kidnapped me and my friend as we were in Equestria, and I never saw her again. They forced me to behave and act like one of their zombies, just for me to become their tool of propaganda..”

“But you didn't kill me... And as soon you hold me earlier, I knew you would not do harm to me.”

Oh she's so cute

“Also, many of us have left, but other ponies who were; um, different preferred to stay. And keep living, and not get a brain surgery to get their magic removed, or wings amputated.

“Okayyyy... Now that's just atrocious. Do you have a place to go? Somepony you can trust ?”

“Yes, but it's the other side of the city. It'll took a while … but I know a way. Just follow me”

We're going down on the unfinished underground train network, following the tracks, with rails and hardware abandoned there for decades. she's using a spell to generate a halo of light, illuminating our path. It's a skill I do envy in unicorns, really!

“Trey was a bit like my family since I no longer have a mom and dad. He taught me a lot, why it's important to be true to who you are, why it's good to help ponies and not wait for someone to do things... They're … all gone now.”

“I see.”

The unicorn population has been judged to be too dangerous for the country, despite the fact they have been on this region for centuries before welcoming earth ponies. They're seen as the "problematic variable in the equation of equine equality" in the words of the Boss, the founder of Industria, and since decades, laws and more restrictions just made it possible for a regime to kill them on sight. Like monsters or direct threats. What in fact, they are - not for the population, but for the earth ponies in power.

“There's other pegasus hiding in various other places. they're usually helping because they can carry ponies and fly away from here, and get things organized without the official ways, but there's a lot of work if we want to be free again. For other ponies too! He was working as a delivery for illegal potions that works better than most of the mandatory products they test on ponies. And today I had a bad feeling about this. The Securitron agents raided our home, we escaped but he got shot. I was keeping a library with a lot of rare and forbidden books ponies could borrow there. Not everypony in this place is bad. Some are seeking something different, and they like us..But now I wonder if we can still stay here despite the fact this land was only populated by unicorns in the beginning.”

Ah shit I'm crying.

“D..Do you know the name of the ponies who did denounce you ? Actually, I want to help you , Alice. You're doing something important, and we're a bit the same.”

We're trotting, and we keep discussing. Going deeper and deeper in the depths under the city. To the unknown. And the more we go, the more I learn about the history of this place. About the unicorns who once had a kingdom here, and got progressively replaced over time, slightly accepted, blamed, ostracized, and finally executed. A witch hunt that took the route of a genocide, the same kind of genocide they are accusing Germaneigh of.

The irony is how a few unicorns are actually part of the government and the elite of this country, yet do nothing but even testify in favor of banning all forms of magic.

5 The Weapon

Urbania, same day, a few hours later. Inside The Presidential and governmental administration building, standing like in the middle of nowhere.

The president, Lorelei Kernav is on a meeting with the director of the Securitron, the intelligence services, and the information control services. She's observing them, and finally break the silence.

“So what are the results?”

The director of the Securitron's the first to speak

“An ancient apartment on a unassigned building has been seized, containing illegal materials, one pegasus stallion has been arrested as he attempted to escape the arrestation procedure with a unicorn. Our agents intercepted him at 19:28CIT and have executed him immediately”

“Did the unicorn resist arrest?”

The director's sweating, knowing something similar will happen to him.

“That's the problem., we're currently examining the videos and we could not find her anywhere. She vanished, probably with an important payload, so we have deployed all our troops in the perimeter...”

“You failed again one more time admit it. A juvenile unicorn?” he asked.

She's mocking him.

“Our effectives are all mobilized, and every week now we are dismantling terrorist cells, last week again our agents equipped with the new ceramic ammunition managed to neutralize a unicorn mare and dissident ponies, the operation was a success, we're still in good statistics.”

“These networks are like an hydra. you cut ones' head, two others are growing.”

The pony doesn't get it, asking to the other ministers and officials around

"What's an hydra?"

Lorelei's continuing, ignoring that part.

“I'm saying according to the intelligence and information services, everything you're doing is useless, and insufficient. It is therefore time to reform our strategy for the decades to come.”

“A new control software? Increased patrols or cellular geotracking?”

Lorelei's picking a folder, labelled "classified"

“I wanted to let you know about the Project Niorun, it has been classified for years, about acquiring an actual unicorn from a foreign nation and make sure they serve our interests in order to fight the enemy. Only a natural predator could make it. Also, recently, our research department acquired a very rare specimen of unicorn. ... An alicorn.”

The whole crew is laughing, wholeheartedly believing she's joking

“ahAHAHA! with two wings and magic, and a princess crown … hehehe … SHUT UP!” Lorelei was nervous.

The Intelligence director just jumped after Lorelei's mood swings

“Do you mean one of our services have developed an alicorn? Does it have the same energy as an actual alicorn?”

“Absolutely. We've been working with her for three weeks now. Educated, provided instruction and a proper training. She's a young alicorn, she's very smart and she's on our side. As the scientists kept examining her, we also found out the scale of her power could not only profit our society, but literally dominate the world. Scientifically speaking the origin of her force surpasses everything known from the standard model. some says she's controlling dark energy and a lot of thing we don't know yet, this could be interesting.”

Some very serious looking military mare's explaining.

“Ze information you gave to us about Twilight Sparkle's little protégée were more than interezting for our projekt.”

The three other ponies are disorientated about the pony's obvious accent.

“ Two weekz ago we have organized an intervention in Equeztria, in collaboration with the spezial forces of Kolechia, degenerated pigs kolechians, and got two fillies, one being a juvenile alikorn, a black one, anozer a pink filly, it turns out ze ozer one was completely useless so we focuzed on Niorun !”

Lorelei's smiling,

“This is a bit like the discovery of atomic energy, almost a century ago, but with an intelligence of its own.”

The president's pressing one button on the intercom

“Please come in, Nyx. we're waiting for you.”

Two stallions are getting in the office, accompanying a small black pony trotting in front of them.

She seems happy, serious, determined like nopony else. Nyx salutes her, so does the two thugs behind her

Lorelei's introducing her.

“Dear ponies, you have in front of you a new kind of warrior, defender, justiciary of the free world. Her name is actually confidential, but you may call her...Nyx.”

The director of the Securitron's mildly annoyed.

“You're joking, comrade Kernav. A filly! Anyways, we're trying to get rid of their magic threat, not to get more! This is irrational. We need more resources and ...”

Lorelei's interrupting him

“Nyx, please get rid of this annoying horse. Goodbye Mr. Kurmavro, you are fired.”

“As you wish.”

Nyx's smiling, aiming at him, levitating, and discharge a beam of energy, disintegrating the director almost instantly, leaving just a bunch of smoking bones on a molten metal designer-edition seat.

Lorelei's applauding

“Stunning. Absolutely stunning! Hahaha, have you seen this ! Zap , headshot !”

“Thank you Miss President” the filly said as she's gracefully landing from hovering.

“Oh just call me Lorelei, come on. How's your studies like? Going well?”

“I'm practicing. Miss Vonkhr and her experts taught me more than I could ever learn from Twilight. And certainly anything else.”

Vonkhr, The Military commander mare knew it would happen, nodding and smiling, hiding behind her, the Intelligence Director's shitting his pants.

“That was pretty quick. whew. Say um. Nyx, what do you plan to do when you grow up?”

Nyx's looking at him.

“To drown this world.. Into the eternal night.”

Lorelei's smiling.

“Eternal.. Night.. perfect! She *is* perfect , don't you think? Ambitious, intelligent, learns faster than anypony, and in fact, we learned a whole lot of things from here. It would be a crime to let her remain prisoner in Equestria. Say Nyx, come, sit here, we've got a first mission for you... Carl?”

The intelligence minister-director-officer is bringing documents and prints of CCTV captures picturing different ponies with documentation about them.

“and this one is also missing as Kurmavro mentioned, I've printed them as soon I got the info.”

Military mare's asking Nyx

“So, who would you pick as your first mission?”

Nyx's asking the intel pony

“Carl, tell me where these last one were taken, there's no info”

“ That last one has been shot from a traffic camera on a street behind the mall sector 202F in Metropolis. We could not identify the other filly with her due to the camera's placement. Probably a young unicorn. Both should be interrogated, or eliminated”

Nyx stares at a photo, and stops at Diamond Tiara and Alice

“I thought you've got rid of the filly you brought there with me...”

Lorelei seems lost

“What? You know this unicorn ?”

“Don't worry, I'm taking care of her.”

Vonkhr is picking her phone

“Get my jet ready we're heading to Metropoliz ein!”

Lorelei's smiling as Nyx, as the military mare and intelligence services are rushing out of the office. She's sitting on her desk, reading some docs from the R&D dept. of defense about Nyx, documents filed “highly confidential”

She's reading the documents and notes from scientists who have examined Nyx in all details.

“Blood test spectrometer analysis reveals most of her elements are not present on Earth ...potentially of extraterrestrial origin"

"Skin and fur analysis reveals an exposure to high energy particles... Cosmic rays... As demonstrated by satellite prototypes who have failed. Most of the results comes out so far to unknown conclusions. Deeper research will be necessary"

“Specimen is undoubtedly intelligent. Psych evaluations revealed she could have been once linked with Princess Luna as a single entity.”

“Perfect night vision, but needs slight correction for daylight activity, contact lenses ? Laser surgery ?“

“unexplained phenomenons appeared to be generated by the subject probably paranormal activity”

Lorelei's grinning as she keeps on reading the reports

“Paranormal activity? Nah this is ridiculous.”

Lorelei's thinking alone, reading the documents, walks to the window, looking at the cityscape panorama from her presidential office at the top of the building. She's having a shrug, and picks a voice recorder...

“Note to self, question the federal employee who redacted such a report mentioning a paranormal activity from Nyx and re-check their level of studies.”

She's throwing the documents away, and goes back on her seat.

It's the night, and flying through the clouds, a jet with the insignia of the Minister of defense of the Social Federation of Industria is being escorted by two jet fighters, approaching an airport.

Nyx is looking at the moon by the window, relaxed as usual.

“This is a fine night.” she said, looking by the window.

Other officials seems a bit anxious or concerned about having an alicorn, seen as dangerous being on their team, but they remain silent, looking at eachother, scribbling documents.

A squadron of military ponies are standing, a commissar is saluting her.

“Welcome to Metropolis 01, Lieutenant!”

Most ponies here aren't confident, dubious or uncomfortable seeing an alicorn filly, right in front of them there too.

“Alright, Here's the list of our suspected locations of unicorn groups, the closest..”

Nyx is ignoring that she's in a troop with military ponies armed, determined to debunk unicorns. She no longer feel like one anymore and takes initiatives, like an expert. A leader...

“No time to get the plans... They're not dumb, they move all the time. I exactly know where they are. I can sense their aura. Back me up, here we go.”

She's taking off, hovering, observing, as the mare with the weird accent in black uniform is yelling at her troops, seeing her like her ally.

“What are you horzes waiting for? Follow her! Go Go Go!”

Nyx's standing over the rooftop of a building, watching over the whole city, murmuring to herself as she's looking at Diamond Tiara's printed photo from a CCTV camera

“Diamond Tiara... So you're still here. I see you've made new friends. They were right about your kind, but guess what, I made new friends too...”

6 Enemy

This is an eerie place left as-is, abandoned from the ancient district, most of the apartment and shops there are deserted. The factories also are desert since decades.

Surprisingly there's still ponies living there, a bit in the margin of the society. Drug dealers, prostitution and all kind of stuff. In fact, most of them acts like they're out of the system, they're just here to get a cheap pony to fuck, or get their dosage of drugs.

Because there, some can really get you anything, the drug dealers works hand in hand with the cops, or Securitron agents. Smuggling all the best shit for the ponies who are more equal than the others.

The place is just as gloomy as the rest. Just a bit more deteriorated. I'm following Alice on some of these old apartment buildings

After climbing some floors, Alice's opening a door.

“...That's my other house. Hi, Amalthea!”

She's making some kind of prayer in front of a unicorn mare toy. No it's not Celestia, but some other pony with a pink star mark on the forehead. Just an ancient pony who, by the legends, liberated the ponies here at least a thousand years ago... The same star that resembles Twilight's Cutie Mark.

I should tell her it's just a toy, but on the other hand, I think I won't. Strange how I could have been a dick but this blank flank has seen too many bad things in her life. I'm not a monster, even bullies like me have some ethics.

“She's protecting this home. Hey, maybe we should eat something!”

“Thanks, I'm not hungry.. I'm rather tired. We should have plans for tomorrow. They'll find out I disappeared and they're already after us.”

Alice's sitting there in the middle of the room, thinking.

“I know it's weird but my place is here, it's dangerous but it's also important. More and more ponies are joining us. If we don't, we lose. You should go back to Equestria, but I feel like I have something to do here."

“Alice... Oh okay I understand completely. You're courageous. Just for this I'd stay with you and stay on your side. "

I'm taking a look at some books, including a geography book that looks rather modern. They got a COMPLETE map of the world, hell even in Equestria we don't have anything like this. I'm starting to realize how far we traveled.

Also she's pretty well documented on magic and everything but I don't think it's a day, for her to feel like discussing about it...

She's sitting on the bed, levitating a photo of that stallion out of a box she kept under the bed, with a few other stuff in it

“He trusted a stupid mare a while ago. They were together, and things didn't end so well. She changed her side, and gave him to the cops... For some credits... to get some drugs, and here's the result.”

She's moving to the kitchen, looking for anything edible.

“I have some oats left ! Perfect !”

The street lights and the red neon of the whorehouse in the other side of the street are the only source of light for the room, is giving Alice some supernatural, ghostly appearance. She's got something that reminds me of Sweetie Belle, must be her eyes. She's crashing on the bed.

“I gotta change my mind... Do you have a favorite band or something ? A favorite author ?”

“Uh... Not really... Not one in particular. Are the neighbors noisy ?”

“The brothel ? It's completely illegal here, but they don't care much about laws, there's rich directors and administrative members willing to give a lot of cash to fillies just to look at them dancing around a pole, or just poke their pussy.”

So young and forced to sell her body to eat, such is the condition of ponies who are on their own here.

“I hate this place but without credits we can't survive or get anything to eat or bribe some easy cops and dealers. That's all the corruption in here that created this.”

“And there's no risk for you like, I mean... You even went there? I mean, often?”

Alice's grinning, she's picking a baseball cap, put it over her horn as a way to dissimulate it.

“Twice! ...Just kidding, whenever I need some a little service, and I need one again. I think I could arrange something for us.”

I'm following her. We're discretely crossing the streets. Heading to the bar, there, all kind of pony prostitutes are shaking their butt on electronic music.

I'm looking around. Discretely in the background we can see some colt giving a horse some blowjob...

“Kinky. This is the kind of thing i imagined, quite unexpected here.”

“This is good to know because the security guys here actually protect you, this is a no rape zone, I heard. More like protecting the few perverts of the high society coming in here to afford their daily or weekly dose.”

I'm giving her a hoof's up for this one.

“Okay this is fine ! Excellent choice Alice !”

There's a tough zebra's standing there, looking at us. She seems to know him well. She's asking when they could replace the dancer for a show. He's looking at me, and nods.

“What exactly do you feel like doing, Alice?”

“Diamond, ... just look and follow me!”

The boss of the bar looks okay with it. she's climbing on the scene, projectors on her, like this. she's getting upside down, exposing her plot to the public. Also, she don't care, no pony knows who she is and she's good at it.

some fatass start throwing money on the scene

The boss (an old stallion with a cigar, and a glass of whiskey) seems to be talking to me with an undecipherable locution, probably no longer have any vocal chords.

“rrrArre you herrre to starrre at herrr like that or do sumthink?”

“Yeah, I think I'll join her.”

I finally climb on the scene, keep admiring the way she moves, her flexibility and everything. do my stuff, anything. climbing on that vertical bar because, why the hell not.

"Did I told you that I'm a terrible dancer?"

I get what the perverts in there wants to see. So I climb at this thing, and slide my vagina against one of these posts. The ponies start throwing their credit bills at me, even that cute colt I saw earlier looks interested to watch as well.

Alice's following me, she's climbing at the same pole, does the same thing as I do, rubbing her vulva against the metal rod, which eventually encounters mine, but motivated by the rabid yelling from our public, we proceed into frotting eachother.

I know she's enjoying it but I also know why she needed to completely change her mind tonight.

I grab her and look into her eyes, caress her. .. she's holding me too, and we're cuddling.

She's climbing down the scene.

“Hey where are we going now?”

I don't even know if I should pick the tips left from other ponies here. She's jumping on a table, performs some mad choregraphy, chaotic movements more or less following the music ; her mane and tail's waving along the lights into strange forms. Around, everypony's watching us

I'm picking a glass on a table and clear it... fuck, that's strong. i thought this zeroth world shithole only allowed fluoride with some aspartame for the taste, but that's nothing like it.

I just imitate or parody her and do the same kind of show we're doing, like a battle, each of us dancing on our own table

“Gimme another like this!”

The barman nods. Alice's looking at me like, "ow this is a challenge"

Alice's coming down , I'm coming at her, strike our bellies against each other's, bump our rumps, get lower on her, and give her pussy a kiss.

She's running back on the scene again where some mare's shaking her crotchboobs... She almost lost her baseball cap, I pick it and join her, throw it on her head

“Heh, I didn't expect that, Diamond..”

“I'm improvising”

No, I must not be flirting.. that's too much, also our cover's been blown up. The buzz we made just turned out differently as ponies started realizing what she was. One of them was like "we should call the police." and some mare responds "you're a cop. Dumbass"

But most of the crowd doesn't seems to care or have noticed, asking for more, and there's another mare coming to collect the cash they're throwing on the scene

“Where did you learn to do that?”

“Always wanted to be a dancer, later I knew a mare who worked here, after my parents were gone she took care of me until last year, when she got incarcerated, and I had to run away.”

I get down from the scene and move on a table.

“Hey Diamond! It's fine, we got what we need. Untraceable credits for the black market.”

The barman brings me a glass

“I should've kicked you two out as soon you came in, but before, I'm offering you two a glass !”

I'm picking the glass and raise it at Alice.

“Let's toast to our new career! Haha ha! Ahem.”

It's paradoxical to know despite being on a machine-like society, there's a place like this, where all kind of weirdos gets their kink and all. Right after us there's a fat pony shaking her flank on the strobes of the scene on speed techno music.
This place depicts all of the hypocrisy of this world. The ideal society, and the background one. Two extremes, and despite the social bullshit, the selfishness of some ponies still remains present. I'm looking at these, they're executives, controllers, cops, communication experts, military. All the higher class, the elite, they're full of drugs, exploiting the poverty of some ponies for some credits.

These higher class ponies ready to report them for illicit extra-professional activity and get them jailed, or throwing a bunch more of credits to have some nice time with a filly or a colt, because they can. Nothing that happens there will appear on a TV screen. And there's a lot of places like this in Industria.

I wish I had a camera. Or an assault rifle.

There's blue gyro lights outside crossing the street, but unlike the usual, that's a police car flying in the air, just before it's crashing on the middle of the road.

“The fuck was that?”

Some hookers and druggies and ponies are rushing inside, scared.

“holy shit! it's war out there!” “Close the door and contact the cops !”

We can hear some repeated shots fired outside

“Is that a monster or something ?”

We're looking through a discrete window offering a view on the street. There's a cop pony levitating, with a typical magic aura around him. I'm looking around, and below him, I recognized her immediately.

It's Nyx, holding him. The cop's shitting his pants as he just discharged his weapon on her, without a single bullet reaching the young alicorn.

She's staring at him, dominating the large and tough pony in uniform despite being much smaller.

“I'm not here for you but if you stay on my path, I will make no distinction between allies and enemies as long you stand against me.” she shouted, before letting the cop fall on the floor.

The barman's picking his rifle, yelling

“Yo, turn off the lights!”

As other ponies screams frantically

"It's a fucking unicorn! Holy shit what just happened? That car just flew in the air!" "She's closing in! SHE'S CLOSING IN WE'RE DEAD, HORSE !"

“HAHA! Look at that, Alice! She's the friend I told you about, it's Nyx, we're saved!”

Alice wasn't listening, and actually looked rather terrified

“I have a very bad feeling, let's run away from here!”

I'm trying to get outside and reach her

“Where are you going? I swear to Celestia I know this filly, they kidnapped her with me and brought her in, she's certainly looking for us, she's ...”

“Diamond No ! I sense a lot of dark energy from her. She's no longer your friend even if she were. We can't stay here !”

Nyx's coming inside the club as the cop's car explodes.

In spite of what just happened, the security/doorkeeper zebra's not moving. Doing his job til the end. “Yo, this is a private club here.”

Nyx ignores him, using a spell, making the big, tough zebra choke to death.

On her forearm, she's wearing an insignia, (a sword circled by a gear). And a headset. Did she steal that uniform from a Securitron guard? Alice insisted that we're hiding behind the bar.

Something really changed in her. She looks weirder than usual, her eyes looks all crazy. I don't like this.

Some horse's picking a table. crashing it on Nyx. There's like a magical shield around her, it's bumping, protecting the alicorn filly.

She's putting it back, picks the head of the stallion and smashes his head against it, bouncing him repeatedly.

“Hello! Can I have your attention please? I'm looking for a young unicorn and a filly. Anyone who co-operates or deliver any information will not get in trouble.”

The barman pony knows his rifle won't do shit to her

“They're gone about ten minutes ago. They picked a cab. What are you going to do now ?”

Some pony's whispering

“fuck you, you're gonna get us killed moron!”

Nyx is walking among the crowd. I'm about to get out and ask what she's doing here but Alice keeps holding me back

there's a drunk cop picking his gun, regaining his spirits

“FUCK THIS SHIT YOU'RE UNDER ARREST, YOU CORNED-CUNT!”

He's discharging his firearm at her, her shield's stopping them all, except one who hit a pony behind her

“STOP OR I SHOOT!”

The foolish horse keeps doing it til he runs out of ammo, Nyx looks obviously immune to these primitive weapons. Lot of unicorns actually master this kind of shielding.

“Your gun's defective, officer. Look closer at the target select switch”

the cop is looking at his gun thinks there's something wrong with it. There, Nyx is using her levitation spell that smashes his face on it on the table, with the gun inside of his head.

She's laughing smiling as ponies are screaming in horror again, most who can are deserting the brothel.

Nyx is capturing one of them, a young colt.

“Come here you! Perhaps you could tell me more about an unicorn and”

Alice looks worried

“She's not gonna stop. She wants me.”

Alice's got enough and decided to stand up.

“Hey you! What do you want? Do you plan to kill everypony in this room? Just stop, if you're looking for me, I'm here!”

Nyx's releasing the colt pony, and the remaining ponies in here realized Alice was a unicorn "I told you that filly was one of them!"

I had to intervene, and I feel dumb.

“Hey Nyx! It's me Diamond, just chill, she's with us ! We're fine, we're here really..."

Alice's standing between Nyx and me “What do you want... Nyx?”

Nyx is looking at us...

“So your name is Darlene Tomska now? I checked your info from the Territorial Information Intelligence Services. Congrats! You're a citizen of Industria now. Celestia should be proud of you...”

“No, Hey! That's not my name and you know it. These losers want to use me as a demonstration for their society, testing brainwashing, but it didn't work!”

“Diamond Tiara... They gave you the same chance to start over, as they did with me. and you're destroying it. Like you did with me. Ponies like you are really... disgusting me.”

"Holy shit, what?"

“I had no other choice, we can go back to Equestria, we'll find a way! Nyx? ...Come on! What have they done to you? We're friends!”

Nyx looks at me like if I insulted her. She looks really pissed.

“Friends? Heheh. HaHAHAHAA! You're the one who wanted to keep me captive in the clutches of Twilight Sparkle! You still do want to take me back to Equestria ? I'm free, now. and owe a lot to this country. And you, I find you..in this place, helping the enemy of our society ?”

This is just tearing my last hopes apart. A pony who's so familiar being now so distant.

I noticed a bottle hidden among others on the bar. This one comes from Applejack's farm. 'Sweet Apple Acres Distilled Cider'

I wonder how much they spent to illegally import it there, but it's surprising.

“Silly filly. This government is murdering unicorns, and pegasus, and they'll do the same to you, really! You, You're being manipulated. Come on and take a seat !”

I filled a glass and enjoy it. That taste's brought me back home already.

“All they want is power, and a total control over the world. And they're using you as their puppet. Go back to reality, Nyx. You're an alicorn, not the servant of their ideology.”

Alice's standing away, and remains silent. Nyx is walking around me.

“No, Darlene you don't get it! They helped me recovering my memory, and I know myself better. I'm not from Equestria. I'm not even from this world. I'm the energy that once was bind to Nightmare Moon, and became an entity of my own. I'm more than an alicorn! I'm a force of nature, and I needed a goal in my life, a purpose. If Discord exist, I'm the opposite.”

She's walking and explains her vision, her ideas

“They helped me reaching and expending all of my potential ! What has Twilight, her friends, Anon or you have done for me? Nothing, because they feared, they hated my true nature ! I don't even need Luna or another alicorn to fuse with. I am one, with this world ! And this world needs order. This won't come from Equestria, neither... This place... Or its enemies.”

Okay, this sounds really like bragging, she's like, repeating a perfect promotional slogan.

“And you still decided to side with this how is it called.... Social, egalitarian regime ?”

“Of course, they needed me. Not you. You helped this filly escaping from the authorities, it's my job now to eliminate this threat. ”

Is she serious ? she's pointing her horn at Alice. I rush in front of her. She's pissed.

“I... I'm giving you one last chance to escape Diamond. Leave her to me and go back to the stable ! You and me, it ends there.”

“I Can't let you do this. If you're so powerful, why are you following the orders of these ponies? Nyx ! How can you, a superior being accept being led by basically; earth ponies? A magic-less society? You should be the leader!”

She's smiling. I see she's charging her energy, yet hesitating. I bet she won't shoot. It's not like I could avoid her. Unless...

“That was my last warning, DARLENE!”

I buck the table behind me, catapulting the bottle of (illegal here) distilled apple cider from Sweet Apple Acres, flying in the air across the bar...

Alice's actually using her magic to correct the trajectory placing it in the middle of her sight. Nyx's attack is hitting the bottle, diffracting the rays in all direction, the quarter second I needed to take cover before it's exploding into a fireball.

That was nothing of course but just enough allowing us to escape from here, jumping over the tables, the couch and everything.

I think she's got temporary blinded, but I feel more guilty for destroying Applejack's hard work. We're rushing by the backdoor, straight into a narrow street full of garbage cans.

There's now helicopters patrolling over the buildings, some are probably broadcasting this to the news channel.

Alice's galloping on my side

“I had no idea what I could do, Diamond”

I noticed a car parked there. I'm breaking its window

“no time to chat we did our best. get in!”

“Hey! Wait I know how to start these... A little bit of magic, et voilà !”

Alice used her magic to start the car, all kind of buttons illuminating like a christmas tree, and we're rushing away on the lane. I'm a terrible driver but at this point I don't care, they're easy to control, just what we needed to leave the district.

Nyx gets out of the night club, looking at two trails of light disappearing on the road. Her radio's screeching infos from the helicopters engaging the pursuit of the vehicle.

“Silly Diamond... You think you can run away from me ?”

On the helicopter, ponies are already tracking us on the road.

“Eagle 04 to Niorun, we localized a service car heading to the speedway A27 southwest sector 304, over”

“I'm on it Eagle 04”

She begins trotting towards the other street, galloping, and using a levitation spell, hovering over the road after Diamond and Alice, towards the motorway.

There's some trucks on the road, I'm maneuvering to avoid them,.

In the car, Alice can feel Nyx's force.

“She's after us”

“I know. If we reach the highway we'll loose her in the traffic.”

“If things went bad, Diamond.. I just want you to know you've done a lot for me... I hope you'll go back to Equestria safely...”

I'm trying to focus on the road, we're distancing from the city. It might be the second or the first time in my life I'm driving a vehicle, especially at such speed.

“Don't say that, we're gonna make it, I promise... I hope.”

“I just... really have a bad feeling, Diamond...”

There's gyros blinking behind us, I need to find an exit as they're closing in.

I'm taking an exit over a gate, a rather empty road, which on top, a roadsign says

[DEAD END]

“what. WHAT ?”

I hit the brakes with my two hooves. The car's gone drifting, hits the gate's wall right before the emptiness, just one wheel out. It's dark down there, lights of cars on many levels of motorways.

“Railroads, metros, buildings, and even roads now aren't complete... SWEET CELESTIA IS THERE ANYTHING EVER FINISHED IN THIS DAMNED COUNTRY?”

The car is just irremediably stuck, as we contemplate police units being deployed on our direction.

The helicopters are closing in, illuminating the whole scene with projectors.

Another one is coming, tracking Nyx, then landing on the other side of the road. Standing in the middle, A squadron of the Securitron is now barring the road behind her. An impressive teamwork, all for us.

She's really on their side, but it's like she wants us two just for herself alone.

Alice's running outside the car, looking for a way to escape from this trap, peeking at the other side.

“Nyx ! I won't let you harm her. Things could be different! She's done nothing to you, wake the fuck up!”

Alice looks depressed

“Mom. Dad. Trey...”

Nyx is slightly levitating, closing to me, looking at me with insanity in her eyes

“Nothing is different, Darlene !”

“I'm not Darlene. I'm not your enemy! Alice isn't your enemy either or a threat at all, come back to earth !”

She's shooting a beam of magic at the car, destroying it more than it is, forcing us to step awyay in the middle of the bridge, closer to the edge

“You, her, and too much ponies are opponents to a greater project. A better world. Nothing has to stand in the path of what we're trying to build, here. Your obsession for Celestia, you're irredeemable.”

I'm trying to win some time with her, so maybe Alice could find a way out, who knows...

“I was wrong finally. If it was not about Twilight's plead to spare you, the alicorns would have killed you years ago! Why are you not doing the same?”

“I'm not Twilight. I don't dream of becoming an alicorn princess. I'm doing my duty here !”

She's shooting a burst of magic between us. Alice is terrified, she knows it's her turn

I don't know if I should step away, or rush on Nyx... Anything but this!

“No Don't do that!”

She shot her. Alice's screaming in pain. as a trail of blood splatters the road

“ALICE!!!”

The unicorn filly's crawling on the concrete, vomiting blood, I'm rushing to rescue her. And once again, Nyx's shooting at her again, not even just to kill her a clean way, but to destroy her alive the most painful way.

There's nothing I could do but contemplate her lifeless body on the road. Screaming my rage uncontrollably at that vision of pure savagery.

Instead, I rush on Nyx and start punching her, attacking her with all my rage, anything I got left in me. I think managed to buck on her face through her magic shield, burning my hooves everytime.

“DIE! FUCKING FILTH! DIE !”

I don't know hat happened. she's levitating me away, bucks me at the edge of the gate. Nyx's nose's bleeding.

“That was pathetic.”

She's bucking me away, I'm bouncing on the road, kind of pissed, how can this small filly be so powerful, that's not right... She threw me on the edge, and I'm seeing everything around me becoming dark. Holding to what I can, the last thing I see is her grin, before I fall down.

Yep she got me. It's like that fall never ends.

Now I want it to end faster as I dive between the gates, the motorways, like a kaleidoscope going darker and darker as I'm falling to my own death.

It's gonna hurt.

Author's Note

..to be continued.