Project G-4
Project G-4 (Darker Version)
Previous ChapterLove, honour, respect. The memories we hold of others are often all that we have left of them, when fate and circumstances have taken everything else. But, what we did was the worst of all. When these folks were in pain, we did nothing, we...just didn’t listen.
On 30th September 2018, the truth about what happened in Ponyville was put into words on this very website. The reaction to the document made only one thing clear to me; people simply don’t care about what happened to Twilight and the others.
Those who did read it, however, were affected and moved. One person even read it out on YouTube in the belief that it was a Creepypasta.
However, the world wanted a scapegoat-go ahead and guess who that was.
After a botched interview, I stayed away from the public limelight.

However, another individual, identified by the name of L.F. Came forward and provided some more information. She had worked in the facility following the Twilight incident. There was a lot of pressure to rush those who were in surgery through the process. And that meant things went wrong.
Mental issues:


Missing limbs:

And even a complete change in personality:

Some took the opportunity to flee overseas, such as these two.

Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops were childhood sweethearts. They had agreed to be anthro-fused, and then were to be married. Only problem was, Ponyville was shut down shortly after they were finished. They had nowhere to go.
That is, until they were offered work in California. They jumped at the opportunity. But alas, they were fools.
It soon became apparent that under Californian law they had no human rights at all, on the grounds of no longer being human. It was during this they were put into a particularly grotesque form of sport.
Fitted into humanoid battle suits, it became clear this was a fight to the death. Only one could walk away victorious.


The facility where I’d worked was taken over by the US Government. They claimed that it was to protect those there. My arse. They were solely interested in the military application of the technology. As most governments are.
They started locating, and in some cases, producing, as many ponies as was humanly possible, and reusing the ones they already had. These two found themselves caught up in it.


Ben Mash and his mother Elaina were your typical mother and son. They lived happily together, and the bond between them was strong. But Elaina was tragically diagnosed with terminal cancer, and had less than a year to live. So, they anthro-fused her in order to save her life. Ben was anthro-fused as well, to spare him the pain of being separated from the mum he loved so much.
Ben came out OK, a handsome young colt. Elaina didn’t go to plan.
Most of the ponies gained a strange mark on their flanks; a handful didn’t. We referred to these as ‘Cutie Marks’, although spellings vary. These indicated that this pony had a special talent that they could use. But it often took a nastier turn.

This kid could only speak in haikus because of the mark.
Of greater interest, however, was another phenomenon. Elaina’s Cutie Mark synchronised with another individual, namely that of Daring Do. This meant that, amongst other things, the two had a link. A bond that could not be broken.
This manifested itself in the form of telepathy normally, but sometimes had other effects.
The US Army took particular interest in this. If it could link individuals together, it could eliminate the need to issue orders via radio, as every soldier could know an order at the same time. As a result, they anthro-fused a soldier, and simply cloned him over and over and over again.
They were all synchronised as a result, and able to receive orders simultaneously, as they were all in effect the same person. They trialled this again with other individuals, and it worked as well.
Seriously, think about it. Why do all the Royal Guard look identical to one another?

But the most extreme manifestation of linked Cutie Marks was what particularly drew their eye.

Those three girls (Scootaloo on the left, Apple Bloom in the centre, and Sweetie Belle on the right) had been friends for ages, and actively searched for their Cutie Marks. They did finally gain them, much to our fascination as it was the only time multiple individuals gained them as once.


What was even more interesting was the fact that each was just a variation on the other. They each had a shield motif, with a different symbol; a star for Sweetie Belle, an Apple for Apple Bloom (what else), and a lightning bolt for Scootaloo.
What came next was even more odd. We spotted that when they were apart, they were sluggish, unresponsive, but when together they were causing chaos like nobody’s business.
The further apart they were, the more extreme it got. Over time, the symptoms slowly got worse. Inexplicable injuries, aches and pains, blood pouring from nostrils and eyes, it was horrible to see.



They needed to be kept together. So, what do the scientists do?
They keep them even further apart!
I can still hear them, screaming for help, screaming each other’s names both in life and in their minds.
It was clear now that they had to be together, as friends, in order to function. It was a truly horrifying example of a Cutie Mark controlling an individual.
WARNING: JUMPSCARE INCOMING
Even so, the science team pressed on, in spite of my protests, and simply watched as the unbreakable bond between them literally and metaphorically tore them apart.

TOLD YOU!
We found them one day. Or rather, we found two of them. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had been killed, though by what we don’t know. Apple Bloom had been squished into the railway lines like roadkill. We came to the conclusion that they had committed suicide together, but at least they were now free of all earthly pain.
Meanwhile, horse lovers had come to work here in Ponyville. Somebody dubbed them ‘bronies’, and the name stuck.
For the most part they were completely normal people, some getting jobs here. But others had darker plans.
They tried to visit some of the ponies. For some weird reason, Rarity was one of their favourites. I can’t think why. But Rainbow Dash would constantly pretend she was grounded and as a result couldn’t be visited. I’ve no idea what they got up to.

Things went quiet after the Government takeover. The bronies simply went underground, but not before revealing what was going on at the facility.
As a result, the Government initiated a cover-up, culling any ponies that were no longer of use to them.
But one truly tragic death, witnessed by only one, changed everything.
Button and his Mum had been happy together. A caring, diligent son and a loving mother, living out a life seemingly from paradise with their friends.
But then the order was given to kill Daring Do. This was done with no thought to the consequences, as it broke the link with Elaina, killing her instantly.
Button cried over her body for hours, utterly distraught. The bastards had taken away the only people he had ever loved; Sweetie Belle, and now his own mother.

Button formed a liberation movement to try and stop any further killing. He had no Cutie Mark, so he was in no danger of dying that way.
But where were all the bodies being taken?

They were being dumped on Mount Aris, a nearby peak. In order to force the remaining ponies to move the remains, they used Spectra.
Spectra was a narcotic we used in the early days to get them moving. But we had absolutely no idea what sort of damage it was doing as they became addicted.
It’s what led to Pinkie Pie’s utterly crazy behaviour and apparent personality disorder, which caused her to do bad things.

Ultimately, they overloaded one pony with incredible quantities of Spectra, leading to tragic and horrifying results.


A key project was put on hold, though we had absolutely no idea what it was.
One last straw was needed. And that manifested itself promptly.

Cozy Glow’s tale was known around the world. A fun, but mischievous little filly, she had developmental issues which caused chaos at school one time.
The science team responded by putting her in Tartarus.

Tartarus was a vast underground vault where the failed specimens were stored. She may have had a naughty streak, but she didn’t deserve that.
And unfortunately, the bronies found her. It wasn’t pretty.
Later, the Government came to recover her, but ran into a slight snag. She had been in that cage for so long, that she could no longer walk. She was terminated.
It was this that put the final act in motion. It seems that some engineers had finally had enough of what was happening. In a symbolic act, they sabotaged the door mechanism to the testing facility, causing them to open and reveal the truth to the world.
But it wasn’t the only sacrifice that day.
I don’t believe Button Mash ever intended to kill anybody.
Even so, he raced into the facility, and destroyed the containment chamber revealing the secret project. What they had been working on for all these years.
A creature that combined the aspects of all the species put together.

Project: DISCORD.
It was almost unstoppable. Chocolate rain fell like meteors from the skies. The ground itself melted under the onslaught. Reality itself started to fall apart as the creature went on the attack.

The Army, under the command of General Zacharie, did its best to hold it back, but the monster was simply too strong. A fallback was needed.
Mount Aris. A perfect place to end it all. As the monster approached, insanity reigned. But we had one last weapon in store.
People had been asking about her for 9 years. Unsure of the truth and the fiction, unaware of the hell of bringing her back.

The reborn Twilight Sparkle.
We hoped she could stop Discord. And it seemed to work, at first. At long last, the tortured souls of all those who had been here for the last 14 years would be reunited.

The army turned its back on them, of course, firing on and killing Discord. There was never any intention of letting them be together.
Whilst those who had run the scheme were imprisoned and compensation awarded to the families affected, Twilight decided to leave. She had seen enough, and had her heart broken enough times; a lost soul in a body that was no longer her own.
At least I can say I stood with her over the years, and could hold my head high and act with a clean conscience.
My name is Cheerilee, and I bring you this story to inform the world of the horrors of what happened that day. I only ask you stay away from Ponyville. You never know what ghosts you will bring up.
Author's Note
After negative reception of the original version, I've written a reworked ending that more closely resembles Project G-1.
