The blood-red sky loomed grimly over the lands. What started as the utter defeat of Ponyville, soon became the enslavement of all Equestria's allies.
With several ponies, griffins, and changelings - all once enemies in history, now chained together as brothers and sisters bound to their slavers' will, the Diamond Dogs hold control over them, after a negotiation with their new leader.
And it all started when Princess Twilight gave her magic in exchange for her friends... had she known that Tirek would break his deal with her, and capture them all, perhaps things would've gone better.
Now, though, with her, her friends, the Princesses of the Sun, Moon, and Love bound in Tartarus, and Cerberus under Tirek's control, Equestria was defenseless... doubly so for their lack of magic to fight back.
And then, from the darkest corners of the world, the Diamond Dogs rose up, and proclaimed their hatred for Equestrian Kind. Tirek, finding use for them, declared himself their new ruler, and they agreed without hesitation.
Such was the way of life for over a hundred years.
And yet, despite the lost hope, some still fight to this day, seeking other means to fight back against the opposition. No matter what they do, however, their skirmishes end in defeat, with little to no impact in their favor.
If anything, their efforts would lead to public executions, or time spent in the dungeons, where unspeakable acts would be committed to the rebels.
The ponies' former homes were taken by the Diamond Dogs, while the owners essentially became the equivalent of pets, only without laws to protect them from mistreatment. And they were forced to clean up the places by their "owners" at all times.
But again, this was the new way of life for them. And any and all who dared oppose were guaranteed an ill fate.
A Bat Pony archaeologist named Ruby Heart, however, was far from willing to surrender. Whenever she and her coltfriend Copper Mace found an opening, they managed to escape the town, and gallop into the Everfree Forest at night. Within there, the Diamond Dogs refused to travel alone, due to the forces of nature within growing evermore dangerous for any.
As far as they were concerned, the couple were as good as dead, anyways. A brief search party would be issued once they were better equipped, and when their miners were ready to begin harvesting the Ghastly Gorge... the place where Ruby and Copper were headed.
"I... t-think... we lost 'em..." Ruby said between panting and huffing. Being a Bat Pony, her dark red coat was a little more paler due to the amount of running she had to do. She was wishing she could fly, instead, like her ancestors... but after losing her magic at birth by her slavers, her wings were nothing more than an extra pair of gripping limbs she could use to carry things around.
Copper, however, was an Earth Pony with a light brown coat and a darker mane. He was wearing a mining helmet, which held a flashlight on it in order to make sight easier for him.
"Yeah... I didn't think we were gonna make it, but... a-at least that's no longer the case, now... I think they gave up after we went past that old hut." he replied to her, smiling slightly.
She sighed, before resting on a large rock placed near the mountain. Her chest was moving heavily, as she tried to calm her breathing.
The two of them were downtrodden at the state everything was in.
"W-why do things even have to be this way, Cop?" Ruby asked, rhetorically, as she already knew he didn't have a true answer.
And sure enough, he could only respond by sitting next to her, and wrapping a tender hoof around her shoulders.
"I... I don't know, Ruby... but one thing's for certain... w-we will figure something out!" he replied, though doubt was very clear in his voice.
They just sat there in silence. There was no wind, there were no insects' sounds - no birds, no animals - nothing. Just pure, comforting, silence.
The silence was broken when Ruby's whimpered cries started. She tucked her head into Copper's chest, while he gently placed his chin onto her scalp, closing his eyes, while his own tears started to trail down his cheeks.
Hours have passed, and the couple found themselves exploring one of the many abandoned caves, where the Quarray Eels once lived. A recent mining operation has seen them out, due to the rare materials found within these caves.
They had to put makeshift cloth masks on over their mouths to help filter out some of the dirt, but even still, the air was unbearably heavy.
"Think we should keep going? What if there's someone in here?" Ruby asked, looking ahead at her leading coltfriend worriedly.
He waved a dismissive hoof. "Nah, if they were here, we'd have heard them yelling at this point... besides, I overheard a few of 'em saying that they've found all that they needed inside, so-"
"Stop!" she interjected, before rushing forward and placing a hoof over his chest, stopping him from moving.
He looked at her confusedly, before turning his head back forward, and gasping at the sight before them.
Somehow, the inside of the cave collapsed... or rather, it seemed to be the case. However, instead of a dead end, they saw a massive crater that led, from the looks of it, several miles below.
Copper gulped nervously, before looking towards Ruby and smiling weakly at her. "T-thanks..." he could only muster up, before taking a step back. He gave her a grateful nod, however, knowing that one more step, and he'd have likely died!
She nodded her head at him in response, smiling warmly at his thankful gesture. "Any time..." Then she looked down the hole and tilted her head confusedly. "... The heck even happened here, anyways?" she asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know... perhaps the place collapsed after the mining went on?"
She rubbed the back of her neck uncertainly. "I don't know... I may not be a mining expert, but this place seems a little too... clean... to be caused by natural means."
"Hmm... true... but then again, Tirek did blast the forest straight to Tartarus and back whenever he captured Princess Twilight and her friends, so... who knows? Might've just been a side-effect, or something." he hypothesized, noting the story his grandmother told him before her unfortunate passing.
She rubbed her chin in thought. "Well... if we decide to go down there, then we're less likely to be spotted... however, in the case that they do follow us down there, we'd be less likely to escape... your call, dear."
He was already pulling a rope from his bag as she was speaking. "Are you kidding? And miss out on what could possibly be our ticket out of this mess? For all we know, maybe there's an artifact or something inside that can help us! Maybe that 'Tree of Harmony' thing that Princess Twilight spoke about in the stories?"
She watched as he hammered a stake into the ground. Giving a hesitant nod, she decided to follow suit, tying the rope onto the stake. When she gave it a few experimental tugs, she felt confident that it would support their weight.
He then pulled out a pair of harnesses and passed one over to her. When they put the harnesses on, they fastened the other end of the rope onto his, and he pulled the rope until it was nearly a few feet from the end tied to the stake.
While holding the rope tightly with his teeth and his hooves, he stepped off of the edge, and slowly let the rope slide, which slowed his descent down the hole.
Finally, once he reached the bottom, he flashed his light up a few times, signaling to Ruby that he made it.
With that, she gave him a salute before repeating the process. Eventually the two made it to the bottom of the crater, and was surprised to find what was in the center of it all... a massive-looking laboratory of sorts, made of metal and glass. The metal, however, was beyond rusty, and the glass was all but completely shattered, save for only a few small corners.
On the top of the door frame that led to the hallway, three letters were barely visible... "SCP". Below them were the words "Secure", "Contain", and "Protect".
"Huh... what kind of a lab was this?" Ruby whispered.
Copper read the words of the place out loud, before tilting his head in confusion. "Not sure what they were trying to contain... but whatever it was... it must've gotten out long ago."
Ruby quickly grabbed his forelegs and pulled him back from stepping any closer to the entrance. "N-no... or maybe it's still inside there... w-we should probably go back!"
Copper smirked at her and gently patted her hooves. "Hey, it'll be fine! Whatever's inside there, it can't be much worse than what's outside, anyways!"
She sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to talk him out of it. "I really wish you didn't say that... that's what always gets the victims killed in the stories..."
"Ha... good thing this isn't a story, then, huh?" he jested, before gently nudging her foreleg. "But seriously, though, if it gets too much, we'll just go. Okay?"
Ruby nodded her head, sighing in slight relief. At the very least, they were pretty well-educated with horror stories, so it's not like they'd fall for the same mistakes that the others did. They'd stick together, and bail out at the first creepy incident without question!
Thirty minutes passed, and they found themselves lost in dark, metal hallway after dark, metal hallway. No matter how far they walked, there were either more turns, or simple dead ends.
There were also quite a few rooms that they were able to check, though most of them were fairly empty, save for the occasional desk and chair, old papers worn by time, and many other things.
But then they managed to reach an office, where an old surveillance system was set up, they were caught off-guard when they saw that, through some unknown means, there were monitors that were actually on, and emitting feint blue lights!
"H-how... this place is out of power, but..." Copper whispered, only for Ruby to approach the monitor.
Then she turned the chair around, only for a clattering sound to catch her attention. Upon turning towards the source of the noise, a skeletal figure sitting on the chair caused her to jump back and yelp, rushing back behind Copper.
"Easy, Ruby... it's just a skeleton... p-perhaps from long ago..." he cooed, rubbing her hooves gently.
She shook her head. "N-nope! J-just... let's just get out of here now, okay?" she pleaded.
He nodded his head. "Alright, then... let's get out of here."
And so, they left the room, while the monitor that was still active flicked back to a recording of a human sitting across a desk, where another human sat.
They were having a deep conversation about something.
"So wait, you're telling me that we should just wake 'em up, now? After what our grandparents promised 'em?" the first man asked the second.
He was dressed in a lab uniform, and was staring at a clipboard, adjusting his reading glasses.
The second man was dressed in a more security-like uniform, with blue camouflage behind black Kevlar Pads.
He nodded his head and replied, "Of course... I'm sure he'd understand. His traits can be of use, and it's not like we can't just cure his burns and wounds with 117, anyways... hell, I'm surprised they haven't thought to do so in the first place!"
"You mean the multitool? Are you sure it has something for th-"
"It cured my cousin of his cancer, using some kind of injector." the Doctor paused after hearing this, before rubbing his chin in thought.
"... It cured Cancer? Just like that?!" he finally asked.
The soldier nodded his head. "I don't know how it did it, but... that tool's literally got a thing for everything! If it can't fix 'em up to a working condition, then I don't know what will!"
The doctor sighed. "But it's not that simple, though. These aren't just physical problems that ~BZZT~'s been dealing with... he's been around for over ~BZZT~ years... actually about ~BZZT~, now, if we're estimating here. It's also got something to do with his mental condition! I mean, sure, he might be able to get fixed up from that thing, but... what if that's not enough for him to just join the freakin' Containment Units?"
The soldier patted his shoulder. "Don't think of it like that, Doctor ~BZZT~. If we do manage to convince him to join us, then think of how many of our lives could be saved! We'd have us an Unkillable Soldier!"
"... I'll... bring it up with the Directors. Until then, though, just keep it between us, alright?"
The video flickers a few moments, before another interview can be seen. This one would be in a dark room, where the back of a man could be seen looking towards a dark corner of the room. Through the dark corner, however, a pair of glowing red eyes would be looking back at him.
"And you're still in control, despite coming into contact with that... machete?" he asked the figure in the darkness.
The shadow of the figure simply nodded its head, without voicing a reply. This, however, made the man sigh in relief.
"Well, as long as you keep yourself in control, then feel free to carry it around with you... who knows? Might come in handy, considering it was able to actually stop 001 from attacking that unit..." he shuddered as he tugged on his own collar, still imagining how unbelievable it was to see someone actually standing against what some of the researchers in the back referred to as the equivalent of a god, and dragging the survivors back in a boat, without even showing signs of pain.
It was there that he found the strange machete... and ever since, he never left it. It didn't seem to have any effects on him, save for one thing...
His eyes began to glow red at that point.
But even still, it was likely that he was supposed to be possessed, but with his willpower, and perhaps the fact that he was technically supposed to have "expired" long, long ago, it wasn't even able to enter his mind.
And even still, he had every opportunity to kill them all, but he didn't. And whenever one would call out his number, he'd respond normally, as if he were still aware of who he was... to a degree, at least.
But that was a tale for another time...
The screen flickered one last time, with the scientist from the first video looking directly at the camera, sitting on the chair.
"I don't know what happened... no idea how long it's been since the sun set for the last time, before abruptly stopping... b-but... it s-seems I'm the l-last one t-to go..." he muttered, as his breath continued to fog up.
He let out a few coughs, before removing his reading glasses, and placing them gently on the table.
"W-well... i-if you're not counting those of us w-who... who's f-frozen on ice r-right now..." he coughed again. "A-after hearin' t-that the world w-would be ending s-soon, w-we gave 'em that option... s-so he doesn't h-have to suffer..."
"O-on the bright s-side of things, t-though... s-should the next s-species to evolve f-find him... j-just gotta get c-close to his pod... a-and it'll w-wake 'em up... p-perhaps you could l-learn a thing or two from 'em..."
He smiled at the camera one last time, before cracking sounds could be heard. The background began to pale up, and as soon as it made it to the scientist, his skin froze at sheer contact... killing him instantly, and causing the video to switch to static.
In a few minutes, it would repeat itself once again, as it had been doing for the past millennia.
Ruby and Copper were following the path that they took, but remained silent during most of the trek back.
"I'm sorry, Copper... I just..." Ruby began, but couldn't really find anything to say.
He simple wrapped a hoof around her barrel and pulled her into a hug. "Hey, it's fine... to be honest, the place is a bit too quiet for me, as well."
She shook her head, however, and frowned even deeper. "No, it's just that... I... d-don't like the sight of dead bodies - bones, included."
Copper waved a dismissive hoof. "Oh, that? That's nothing to be ashamed about! Heck, lots of ponies don't like seeing dead bodies, either, so..."
He trailed off, and his smile immediately faltered. As they reached the front hallway, he held a hoof up to stop Ruby from moving ahead, and she, in turn, stopped and looked confusedly at him... until her ears twitched.
Voices were starting to echo from the cave... and by the accented sound of it, they were definitely NOT ponies!
Instinctively, Copper and Ruby looked at one-another. Ruby gulped, before looking back towards the cave, and nodded her head, while Copper nodded his own. They both knew what to do.
They had no choice in the matter, now. They absolutely had to hide in the compound.
They found themselves even deeper into the compound than they were earlier. There were a flight of stairs that they took going down, for instance. There were far fewer rooms available, though. Most of them were blocked off by a rusted metal door that no longer slid.
Then they found one that was fairly loose, labelled "300-399". Seeing no other doors loose enough to open, they decided to pry it open using a crowbar, which was in Ruby's saddlebag.
When it opened, she looked back at the crowbar, as memories flooded her mind. It was one of the tools she used to escape her captors mere hours ago. It still had a feint hint of red where she struck the Diamond Dog that held the key to her collar.
Throwing the thoughts aside, she decided to keep the crowbar in her grip, should she have to use it once again. Then the two went inside the hallway and sealed the door shut.
Copper sighed in relief, then sat down near the wall. "Whew... don't think they'll find us in here!" he said, smiling.
Ruby looked towards him and frowned, before slowly trotting up to him. "Yeah... but I don't think we should be in here, though... these rooms look... different."
"How so?" he asked, looking around the place with his flashlight.
Rather than an office, this room was more like a small hallway, with a window that led into a much larger room, shaped similar to that of a dome.
Ruby looked towards the other room and knelt down, feeling uneasy all of a sudden... almost as if something could pop out of the other room at any given moment.
"W-well, for starters... what if there's something inside there?" she finally asked, nodding towards the room in question.
He smirked at her, however, before puffing his chest out boldly. "This place has been abandoned for a really long time, Ruby... I doubt if anything could've lived in here that long! And besides, if there is something, I'll protect you!"
She deadpanned at him, not really feeling much safer. "You got your flank kicked back in school, Copper."
Rolling his eyes, he brushed her comment off with a wave. "Eh, details. Anyways, c'mon! Beats going back to those captors, anyways!"
As he went ahead of her, an uneasy feeling in her gut told her this was a horrible idea. She looked up at the top of the doorframe, which read "363" on it, and gulped, before crossing the doorframe behind her coltfriend.
Meanwhile, outside the facility, a pack of six well-armed Diamond Dogs stood in a line, while their leader barked orders at them. They were geared up with blue kevlar vests and lighter blue shirts underneath, with assault rifles held in their forepaws.
"Listen up, mutts! Scouts have reported a pair of ponies entering this cave! Hell, there's a pair of ropes at the entrance that we just used! Nobody reported any of them escaping the cave! I want two of you stationed here with me at the entrance, while four of you sweep the facility!
"I want these prisoners alive, though! Tempting it might be to just kill 'em and be done with it, they're the property of well-paying citizens! I expect them to at least be able to do their chores when they get back!"
The soldiers saluted him. "Sir!"
Four of the soldiers then turned around and entered the building, while the remaining two take their positions guarding the doorway.
As the guards entered the hallways, they flipped on their helmets' lights, as they examined the empty rusted metal barrier that surrounded them.
"Damn... this place looks in worse condition that the cave, itself!" the third soldier said.
"Focus, Ralph. We have a job to do." the fourth one told the third. The two of them were standing at the far back of the square formation they were in, while the front two, five and six, took the front. Their numbers were labelled on the backs of their Kevlar Vests, as well as patched into the shoulders of their uniforms. One and two, naturally, were the ones guarding the entrance.
Six looked a little further down the hallway and noticed the stairway. "Well, shit... stairs. Just how far's this place even go?" he asked. Ralph looked at him and shrugged his shoulders.
"Not sure, Fido... can't be that far down, though. Place must've collapsed at some point in time... otherwise, we might as well be ready to go camping in here." he replied, winning a chuckle from Six, or rather, Fido.
"You say that, but we didn't exactly bring our camping supplies... I'd have brought marshmallows." Fido jested.
Four grunted. "Dammit you guys, we're on a mission here! Keep focused and see if we can find those escapees!"
"Yes, mom..." they both deadpanned at him, making him growl.
"That's Cobalt to you both! Remember that!" he said, as they made their way down the stairs.
The rest of the trip went without much words. However, upon reaching the ground level, they picked up an alarming scent with their noses.
"Blood... shit, they must've gotten injured! Booker, take the lead! Fido, Ralph, cover my six!" Cobalt said, addressing Booker as the fifth soldier that stood in front of him.
Booker nodded his head and raised his gun up, while the others did the same. Then they stepped inside the hallway, only to spot the source of the blood... a large splash of it on the wall, where a pony body was lying with his back against it.
Upon closer inspection, it was one of the escapees... Copper.
"Booker, check for a pulse." Cobalt ordered.
Booker nodded his head and approached the body. He holstered his gun over his shoulder and reached down towards Copper's chest.
He then shook his head before looking at his comrades.
"... No pulse, sir. He's DOA." he replied, before standing back up.
"Well, fuck me... that's half our paycheck there." Fido said, shaking his head in disappointment.
As Booker took a step towards them, however, a shadow began to rise from behind his back. Curious, he turned around and jumped back just in time to see Copper now standing there, head facing the ground.
"What the- h-he has no pulse, sir!" he said, to which the others shook their heads in disbelief.
"Dammit, boy! Did you even check where his heart was? Corpses don't stand like that, dumbass!" Cobalt said, before looking towards Copper and pointing his gun at him. "You, there! You're under arrest for escaping imprisonment! Come quietly, and we'll see to it that you're taken back to your owner with little issue! This is your only warning!"
Copper, however, didn't respond immediately. Instead, his head began to twitch, seemingly unnaturally. They could hear a slight crick from his neck.
"What the hell..." Fido whispered, his voice now dead serious.
"S-sir... we found one of them." Ralph said in his earpiece. "H-he's refusing to cooperate, though."
"Then drag his ass out by force if you must!" the general replied to him. "In fact, that's an order!"
"B-but sir... something's wrong with him." he added. "L-like... unnatural movements, and assumed zero pulse."
"Unnatural movements and zero pulse? Dammit, is he having a heart attack?!" the general asked.
"N-no, sir... he's... j-just standing there... staring at the ground." Ralph said with a gulp.
"Dammit, I didn't train a bunch of pups! Grab his sorry ass and drag him here, now! We'll medicate him when you get here!" the general ordered.
"Sir!" Ralph said before looking towards Cobalt.
"W-well? Who's gonna get 'em? Should we draw str-" he began, only for Copper's voice to cut him off. It's warped, however, as well as monotonous and distorted with a heavy gargle.
"T͡hè ̕f̕lesḩ is̸ l̷ik͠ȩ milk͠ ͢to ùs...̧" he gurgled.
The soldiers looked at each other confusedly. "The fuck's that mean?" Cobalt asked, taking a step towards him.
"͠.͡.̀. ̸Wè a͏r̕e̡ ̢On͘e..." Copper continued, twitching his head a bit more.
"That's it, enough Gibberish! You're coming with us!" Cobalt stated before walking up to him and gripping onto his hair.
Copper immediately looks up at him and smiles widely, causing Cobalt to release his grip and back away from him.
At this point, Copper's eyes have completely glossed over, and his flesh is starting to distort, as if a bunch of worm-like creatures are crawling around inside.
"... On̴e̷.͘.̵. is.̸.̧. AL͞L̷!͠"
Immediately after, he screeches loudly, causing their radios to beep in their ears.
"ARGH!" they shouted in unison, before Copper's mouth opened up.
Immediately, a large millipede crawled from his throat and into his left eye, which then popped out, revealing several smaller millipedes inside his hollowed skull.
Then he hissed and lunged at Cobalt, gripping him with his hooves. Millipede legs and spikes began to emerge from Copper's legs, and in mere seconds, the upper half of his head split open and was forced back, revealing the face of a thousand millipedes converged into one large mass with sharp fangs and claws sticking from its neck.
It immediately bit into Cobalt's neck, spraying his blood across the room, while the others quickly raised their firearms at the creature.
"CONTACT!" Ralph shouted at the top of his lungs, before they all opened fire on the thing.
It released its grip from Cobalt and dropped him onto the ground, before turning to face them and hissing, as the bullets pelted it, spraying bits of green blood out and about.
It then quickly used its equine legs to gallop at them in full speed, leaping onto Ralph's head while Booker and Fido continued trying to shoot it off of him.
He dropped his gun and screamed as the creature's claws began to tickle at his neck. Then they applied pressure to it, before ripping his head clean off and tossing it to the side.
The creature's head then began to puke out several more millipedes into Ralph's body as it still stood lifelessly. His arms began to twitch, along with his legs, before the creature leaped onto Fido.
Fido quickly shoved it off of him and looked at Ralph's severed head in shock before pulling the trigger of his gun.
*Click*
"Shit! JAMMED?!" He shouted, before Ralph's paws immedately gripped his shoulders. He turned around, and gasped when he saw Ralph's headless body starting to form a head similar to the creature's, from the seam of the neck.
It screeched before pulling him to the ground, no matter how hard he struggled. The creature was just too strong for him.
He felt Ralph's paws grip onto the base of his helmet, so he tried to keep it from removing it, seeing how their helmets had face masks on them.
But sadly enough, it eventually forced the mask off, which was all it needed to expose his mouth. It opened its own mouth and began to puke even more small millipedes onto his exposed face.
He swatted at them, killing a few that landed, but they quickly found their way into his nostrils and his mouth.
He screamed in agony as he felt their teeth quickly chipping away inside him, before he choked, unable to scream any more.
Meanwhile, Booker was backed into a corner, while Cobalt lied there motionless, and the creatures inheriting Copper's, Ralph's, and now Fido's bodies, began to walk over towards him.
He screamed loudly and fired his gun as much as he could before they swarmed him.
They forced him to the ground and held his arms spread out, while he kicked Copper off of his body. The other two tried to force his helmet off, but he quickly leaned up and headbutted Fido off of his left arm and punched Ralph off of his right. He then scooted back and drew his pistol from his side pocket, and fired at their heads.
The creatures recoiled at each shot, but refused to die.
He finally ran out of ammo, though, and they once again had him cornered.
Thus, he drew his Combat Knife and lunged at them, stabbing at the exposed parts of their armor. With each stab, though, a new spike emerged to cover the wound.
Soon they started swiping back at him, stabbing and cutting at his exposed areas as well... but he fought hard. In the end, though, he was too wounded and bloodied to go on, and fell to the floor. He then saw Ralph's severed head start to roll on its own, before its mouth opened up, and more of the millipede creatures emerged from it.
"Fuck... you..." he said, as the creature's tongue shot out, stabbing him in the forehead, and covering his eyes.
Then, he was gone.
"Four to Six, do you copy?!" the general asked outside the entrance to the place. "Repeat, Four to Six, do you copy?! What the hell is going on in there?!"
They waited a moment more, but no answer. He sighed before turning towards Two.
"They've gone silent. Brutus, you stand guard at the entrance!" he said, before turning towards One. "Charlie. Your eyesight is the best out of your squad. As such, you will be tasked with finding out what happened to them. Report back as soon as you find them. Understood?" he asks.
Charlie salutes him and nods his head. "Yes, sir." He then turns around and hurries inside, gun already drawn and ready.
Charlie carries on through the dark hallway, and flashes his light around, observing the area carefully. He then lifts a paw up and taps on his earpiece, switching to his team's local channel.
"This is Charlie-One. Four to Six, do you copy?" he asks, as his eyes drift around the area.
He doesn't get a response, though. He then taps on the earpiece again.
"Repeat. This is Charlie-One. Four to Six, do you copy?" he asks once more.
Again, no response. He sighs and shakes his head.
"Dammit, guys, where are you?" he asks, before a feminine sobbing catches him off guard. He lifts his gun up and begins to look around for it.
"Hello? Who's there?" he asks, following the voice into an isolated room, labelled "138". Upon entering, though, he finds an injured bat pony cradled to the side of the room, in a corner beside a locker.
"H-hey! Hey!" he begins, before reaching up and switching back to the general's channel. "General Wolfe! I found one of the escapees!"
Wolfe responds with a chuckle. "Good. Bring her over, then resume your search!"
Charlie nods his head. "Yes, sir." He then turns to face her. "Don't worry... I'm not as harsh as the others. We'll get you out, and make sure you're medicated and fed before returning to your home."
She sniffles a bit, and shakes her head. "C-Copper, he... h-he died..."
He then noticed that she was holding a photo in her hooves. With a sigh, he shook his head.
"Can't believe I'm doing this... she's just a damn pony..."
He lowered his gun and placed it on the floor, then knelt to the ground, placing a knee on the cold surface. "Look, ma'am... I'm sorry for your loss, but we need to get you out of here. Something happened to my team, so whatever it is that might've killed your coltfriend, it's probably a lot worse than-"
Immediately she sprung up to her hooves and rushed past him, heading out of the room, and towards the exit.
"SHIT!" he shouted, before reaching for his earpiece. "General! She's attempting an escape!"
"Don't worry. We'll catch her. Just resume your search for your squad! No dogs are left behind on my watch!" Wolfe said, to which Charlie nodded to.
"Understood, sir." he replied, before picking his gun back up and standing on his hind paws once more.
He took a single step before the sound of gunshots filled the area.
"Sir! I hear gunfire!" he said.
"It was suppressing fire, Charlie. We're secure." Brutus said to him.
"Oh... damn, sure was loud for mere suppression."
Brutus replied, "It's probably just the hall. Echoes, and what-not."
Charlie deadpanned. "Through the damn helmet? I think not."
"Focus on your mission, Charlie." Wolfe said, dismissing their conversation.
Charlie sighed and stepped back into the hallway. Once there, he made his way even deeper.
Eventually, he reached the stairs. Upon reaching it, though, he immediately picked up the heavy scent of blood.
"Blood... not good."
"Ch-Charlie..." came a familiar voice. He looked down, but saw nothing.
"Charlie... i-is that you?" came the voice of Cobalt again.
"Cobalt! Hold on, I'm coming down there!" he said, as he started to go down the steps.
"N-no! Don't!" Cobalt warned.
"Too late. Already... what the fuck?!" Charlie cursed upon seeing Cobalt's state.
He was lying on the ground adjacent of the stairway's flooring. His armor was torn to bits, and his legs and left arm were mangled up with small protrusions sticking out of some of the large holes and pores.
"What in Harmony's Name happened to you?!" he asked his injured comrade before taking a careful step forward.
"S-stay back! I-I'm... I'm g-gonna change, soon... y-you need to listen!" Cobalt warned once again.
Charlie nodded his head in understanding. "I'm listening, old friend... what happened?"
"Dead... th-they're all dead... a-and they're still near... y-you must leave this place! T-tell the General to... t-to bomb the entrance! T-tell him... tell him the mission was a Critical Failure!" he coughed up blood, before chunks of bloodied organs began to spew from his mouth. He convulsed a few times before falling down, limp.
His eyes glazed over in mere seconds.
Charlie stood back up again and raised his gun.
"Damn it..." He then pressed onto his earpiece. "General Wolfe, sir! I found Cobalt."
"Good... and his condition?"
"FUBAR."
"Well, shit... alright, and what about the others?!"
Charlie was about to reply, when suddenly a shadow emerged from a doorway ahead of him, followed by another two. The bodies of his former comrades fell to the ground and began to get back up by the time he flashed his flashlight at them.
They hissed and screeched loudly, jamming his earpiece and making it beep loudly.
"ARGH! DAMMIT!" he shouted, before forcing the helmet off of his head and tossing it to the ground, revealing his face.
He had dark gray fur, with golden eyes and green irises. Despite being a Diamond Dog, however, he was more reminiscent of a wolf in facial structure.
Charlie then lifted his gun and opened fire at the creatures' heads, only for them to recoil, but not kill.
"Well, fuck! What the hell is this shit?!" he shouted, before Cobalt started to stand up as well.
"T͡hè ̕f̕lesḩ is̸ l̷ik͠ȩ milk͠ ͢to ùs...̧" he said in a warped voice.
Charlie immediately lifted his gun up and glared.
"Not my friend, you bastard!" Upon firing at Cobalt's head, it burst open, revealing the monster's millipede-like face.
It screeched at him before lunging forward. He then aimed at its exposed kneecaps and fired at them.
Upon impact, the creature's legs blew off, and it fell to the ground, hissing and screeching even more.
It tried to crawl at him, but he noticed that it was a lot slower, now, and aimed at the kneecaps for the others.
"FUCK YOU ALL!" he shouted before opening fire. They sprinted at him, but to his credit, he was a really good aim.
He managed to get their legs off, crippling them, before backing into the stairway and running back up.
He reached for his earpiece, only to remember that, to his dismay, he left it, along with his helmet, at the bottom of the stairs.
Charlie soon was nearing the exit. The light was just over the horizon.
Then, he spotted something familiar... the lifeless body of the bat pony he saw earlier. "Shit... suppressing, my ass! They fucking killed her!"
He quickly rushed over to her body and felt for a pulse, only to find none.
With a sigh, he stood back up and resumed running. Time was of the essence.
"C'mon, just a bit closer!" he said, before suddenly, a loud explosion emerged from the entrance ahead.
"What the?! NO! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as the rocks ahead of him fell to the ground, guarding his escape.
He then felt an overwhelming pain in his chest and he keeled over to the ground, puking out a strange white mist. He screamed in agony as he felt the world spin, and his energy started to drain rapidly.
From outside the entrance, Brutus stood there silently while General Wolfe clicked a button on a handheld device. Soon after, a white mist emerged from the recently discharged rocks at the entrance that now covered the doorway, and a huge chunk of the hall ahead of it. The mist then floated into the device, and it started to glow a mystic blue color.
"This should at least keep whatever the hell's in there out." he said, before tossing the device to Brutus. "Here... take this to Lord Tirek. Tell him the mission was a Critical Failure, but we at least got his magic back, as well as some extra."
"Y-yes, sir... b-but... what about Charlie?" he asked.
General Wolfe sighed, shaking his head. "He will be missed... but whatever it was inside there, it's clearly not safe to risk letting out. I'm sure he understands."
"Yes, sir." Brutus said, giving the rocks one last look. He then made his way back to the ropes, while Wolfe soon followed.
They made their way out of Galloping Gorge, and back into the Everfree, where they would take the path into Ponyville.
"Son of a bitch... THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Charlie shouted as he stood back up and attempted to claw his way through the dirt.
The dirt immediately hurt his claws, and he hissed in pain.
"Agh! Shit!"
He then growled in frustration.
"No dogs left behind, huh?! WELL EXPLAIN THIS, ASSHOLE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Then he froze in place when he heard the sound of movement behind him. Turning around, he saw Ruby standing back up, staring lifelessly at him.
"T͡hè ̕f̕lesḩ is̸ l̷ik͠ȩ milk͠ ͢to ùs...̧" she said in a distorted voice, before slowly trotting towards him.
