Creation

by Sparrow9642

Rating: teen
Tags: Suicide / Self Harm, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Human, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Horror
Length: 6065

Fourth installment of "the Survey" series. Before the survey. Before the box. Before the family. It was created. The being known as, the doctor...

In 1981, MLP G1 was created, but it also marked the creation of another being. Neither living or human. Untraceable and responsible for countless deaths, and disappearances. The doctor.

Fourth installment of "the Survey" series. The series will be concluded in the fifth and final installment, coming whenever I decide how I want to end this story series XD

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Read the prequels first! You will be completely lost if you don't!

Published 2019-02-21 05:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-02-21 05:10:01 UTC

101010

My name is Carlyle Jeffreys. I'm 39 years old, and am the only known survivor to have seen "the doctor" and lived. I was there when it all began and when we all thought it had ended, up until I found my partner/best friend murdered in an way of mockery. It was made to look like a suicide, but I knew it wasn't. I remember the computer screen, and what I did out of rage and anger.

It all began in 1981. The company known as Hasbro had made the decision to launch a new cartoon titled "My Little Pony." It was originally scheduled for release in the fall of the same year, as a kickstarter to what Hasbro hoped to be a success, but upon review of the kickstarter, it was immediately delayed. The original footage contained heavily disturbing scenes that were not suitable for an audience of young children, falling into the areas of the characters being either tortured or killed very violently. Another factor was quick flickers of subliminal messages, and hidden Morse coding in the music mix, designed to brainwash viewers.

The original footage was investigated by individuals that were more accustomed to Morse code than Hasbro executives, and what was found was nothing short of horrific. If the footage had been televised, sleeper agents brainwashed during the Cold War could've been activated, resulting in a global outbreak. The Morse coding was found to be the following

.... . / - .. -- . / .. ... / -. --- .-- / .- .-- .- -.- . -. / -... .-. . - .... .-. . -. / - .... . / -.. --- -.-. - --- .-. / .. ... / .. -. / .- .-- .- -.- . -. / - --- / -.-- --- ..- .-. / -. . .-- / .-. . ...- . .-.. .- - .. --- -. / - .... . / -- . -. / .- .-. . / -.. . .- -.. / - .... . / .-- --- -- . -. / .- .-. . / -.. . .- -.. / - .... . / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. .-. . -. / .- .-. . / .- .-- .- -.- . / - .... . / -.. --- -.-. - --- .-. / .. ... / -.. . .- -.. / -.-- --- ..- / -.- .. .-.. .-.. . -.. / .... .. -- / .---- ----- .---- ----. ---.. .---- / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / -. --- .-- / .- .-- .- -.- . / -.. --- / .. - / .---- ----- .---- ----. ---.. .---- / .---- ----- .---- ----. ---.. .---- / .---- ----- .---- ----. ---.. .---- / .---- ..--- .---- -.... ---.. .---- / - .... . / -.-. .... .. .-.. -.. .-. . -. / .- .-. . / -.. . .- -..

Which translated to the following message, disturbing anyone who heard or saw it.

The time is now
Awaken brethren
The doctor is in
Awaken to your new revelation
The men are dead
The women are dead
The children are awake
The doctor is dead
You killed him
101981
You are now awake
Do it
101981
101981
101981
121681
The children are dead

An investigation was immediately started to determine who had attempted to sneak in the messaging, and in the end was found to be one of the staff members in charge of post-editing. His name was Balvic Malcolvich; a newer member to the staff, hired in 1979. While Balvic denied all of the accusations against him, Hasbro executives saw things differently, having found files containing enough evidence to bury him.

I was only 21 at that time, and a greenie to the Force, sent with a veteran detective, mainly to observe and learn. Balvic Malcolvich was a twisted man, with the intent to not only start a worldwide plague of sleeper agent assaults, but to also target younger children for reasons unknown and best left unknown.

Balvic was convicted and sentenced to death row, but before he could be injected, Balvic escaped the compound. He disappeared for two months, before being found in his home, dead at a desk. He had shot himself in the head, leaving behind only a note composed of a vague message, similar to the message snuck into the kickstarter.

The door has been opened
Never to be closed
The children are dead
101010

The lead detective looked at the note as nothing more than an attempt at a false threat, but it was kept it as evidence. It was later investigated by the government, but nothing of interest was found in the messaging, so it was confiscated. Hasbro wouldn't release the kickstarter until April 14, 1984, after having to completely recreate the kickstarter, due to the original kickstarter being too littered with Balvic's subliminal messaging.

Hasbro never revealed anything on Balvic's attempt to start a global war, and locked up the footage in a vault, accessible only to Hasbro executives. The new and revised kickstarter turned out to be a success, but little did Hasbro know that they had started an uprising. One that would eventually become their downfall.

As time went on, technology, along with society, grew into a greedy empire. Balvic may have been dead for years, but with the evolutions in technology, his subliminal message soon became clear. My Little Pony had become a massive phenomenon, gaining a following of fans later given the name "bronies." The franchise had gone through rough times, earning a reputation as a stereotypical show, being aimed at only a young female audience, but despite its reputation, it still gained a following of males as well.

By the 21st century, it had become one of the most popular cartoons with a massive following of both males and females. This quickly resulted in the fanbase creating fan content, including art, fanfiction, music, animations, audio dramas, and even fanfiction readings of all genres. While this seemed harmless, it opened the door for Balvic's message to become clear.

On August 27, 2014, I was called to a case, where a teenager was found dead in his computer chair, charred to death. I investigated the case, only to find no logical explanation on how the teen ended up dead. All I could find, was a destroyed computer monitor, a broken cell phone, a smashed window, and a computer tower destroyed on impact of the two story fall outside the house. With no evidence to make a case, the case went cold, but it wasn't long after that more and more teenagers and young adults began to disappear or be found horribly killed in their homes.

In a record time of one week, over fifty victims ranging in the ages of 12-20 years of age were found dead or missing. Each with no evidence to make a case. We were baffled, with no answers to what was happening. Some suspected an occult with a mass amount of followers, led by a leader with a voice stronger than Charles Manson, but that theory was quickly abandoned, due to no evidence being found. Most cults that killed this many people, left behind some sort of message as a souvenir. There was also no lacerations visible on the bodies, so it was clear that the killings were done by something that we couldn't define.

Cold cases began to stack by the hundreds, and not just in one area, but all around the world. No solution could be found, and each case went cold. This cycle continued for years, until one case came up in 2018 that gave some idea to what caused this. In a case of arson and two counts first-degree murder, a 17 year old boy named Howard Brown was brought in for questioning, and when I questioned why he had murdered his mother and father in a fire, he stated the following.

"The doctor wanted me to join his family. He took my friends from me. I opened a door, never to be closed."

Howard's response had me confused, so I questioned him further, asking who "the doctor" was. Howard only responded with something quite disturbing to both my colleague and I.

"The children are dead. The doctor is in. He showed me my new revelation. I am his child. Howard is dead. The doctor killed him. I'm going home to my family."

Due to Howard's lack of cooperation, I ordered him to be arrested. From there, he was taken to court and convicted with a life sentence. While in prison, Howard spent each day in his cell hitting his head against the concrete wall. At first, the prison staff didn't think anything of it, until they realized the hits to the wall, were a repeated message in Morse code, later translated to a message that immediately peaked my interest.

The door has been opened
Never to be closed
The children are dead
101010

I immediately recognized the message from that case involving Hasbro and Balvic three decades ago. Just from this information, it was clear that Balvic Malcolvich's message had been passed on, even after death. How he had, was yet to be discovered.

Right after this discovery, I had planned to interrogate Howard for more clues on how he had come across this message. That was short-lived, upon the discovery of Howard's cell. Howard was gone, and there were no clues on how he had escaped. All that was left was a massive amount of engraved symbols on the walls of the cell. It didn't take long to recognize it as Morse code, and was quickly photographed upon discovery, and sent to a professional to translate.

Days later, we got the translation, and what it had translated to, matched Balvic's first subliminal messaging in the "My Little Pony" kickstarter case back in 1981.

The door is open
Never to be closed
The children are dead
I killed them
The doctor is alive
You tried to kill him
The doctor is alive
Never to be found
The doctor is alive
Never to rest
The doctor is alive
He is watching you
He will come for you
You will all come home
He is waiting
He will always be waiting

At this point, it was clear to the police and myself, that Balvic Malcolvich was somehow alive and well, but how? To find answers, I decided to go all the way back to 1981 for that answer. Where it all started. The case file was brought out into the light once again, and looked over with more advanced testing. Balvic Malcolvich turned out to be what some would consider a mad scientist. He was a Russian scientist who specialized in advanced science and technology.

He had sketches for devices that were far advanced beyond the time of their creation. They were dated to be finished not long after he was found dead in his home. He had made it onto the Hasbro team, due to the time he joined, background checks were not necessary in any occupation, nor was experience. Not only that, but the fact that Hasbro was desperate after losing tons of money to lawsuits on their merchandise. Hasbro executives had indeed prevented a massive invasion of sleeper agents, along with whatever his intent was for the children that saw his subliminal messages, but a piece was missing from the puzzle. It didn't take long for me to find it.

Within the sketches in the evidence files, was a sketch of some kind of device, designed to import a chip of some sort. It was far advanced beyond it's time, designed to connect to the inside of a computer motherboard. It was titled "101010," immediately resembling Balvic's message when he was found dead.

The puzzle came together quickly, and I demanded access to Balvic's computer, which been collected as evidence. Access was given, and after receiving the computer, it was immediately opened up, and once the motherboard was visible, so was Balvic's device. After disassembling Balvic's device, named "101010," it was quickly examined for the chip that was supposed to be imported inside of it. I was quickly found it, extracted it, and destroyed it. However, another discovery was made as well; a folded up paper, which when unfolded turned out to be a note written in Russian.

For some reason, this note gave me an uneasy feeling, and upon reading the translation, that feeling grew to a sense of fear.

Greetings, fellow reader of this note. If you are reading this, then congratulations, you've solved my puzzle. However, regardless of all you've done, you're too late. By the time you have read this note, my plan will have already commenced. The device you have disassembled is a doorway for my creation, and once its opened, it is impossible to close.

The chip is the key to the door, and as soon as it is inserted, my creation will be free to roam. The chip acts only as a carrier for the true weapon that now lives in what ever device you own. Pulling the chip out will not extract my creation. It will only ensure its safety, which you had to do to even get to this note of which you now read.

Since you've read this far, I will reveal to you the plan that you have just assured to never fail. Since my first try at accomplishing my mission to awaken all those of which my legion had snuck into your society throughout 1970-1978, in the form of an innocent program, I followed my backup plan. A creation I had forged through technology beyond anything you could ever manage.

An A.I designed to act like a human being, infused with my intelligence and able to infuse itself with intelligence of what ever it may stumble across in it's new home. A home of which you will never discover. In due time, you shall see the results. Something more massive and devastating than a global war.

Innocence is the greatest form of vulnerability, and as soon as my creation realizes it's full potential, it will not hesitate to take advantage of those who are victims of things that appear innocent, when in reality, like a hook to a fish, or cheese to a mouse, it is all a lure masked by a facade.

You will never stop it. My creation will only continue to grow in strength. Many innocent ones will feed the ultimate weapon to this world's demise, and if haven't figured out the secret behind my final message, by the time you read this, then you've already lost. No matter what you do. No matter how hard you may try. It's already too late and my mission is complete.

Warm regards,

Balvic Malcolvich

I knew that Balvic was not lying and throwing false threats. I needed to figure out what Balvic's message meant, and if it was already too late to stop whatever this madman had somehow planned years ahead of time. The case had begun to feel like the Zodiac Killer case, trying to spell out some sort of message that had been hidden from our eyes in plain sight. We all knew that we couldn't let this case go cold, but by then, the case had become a goose chase that seemed like a long-shot of being true.

With no legit evidence that Balvic's note was true to its word or not, the case was relieved and dropped by the lead head of the police department. The worst mistake that could've been made.

But I wasn't about to give up. One case involving a young man and woman changed everything. The woman, named Cheryl had come to the police with news that gave a new insight to what Balvic may have been talking about.

Cheryl claimed that her boyfriend, Josh Barston, who had passed away in a coma, had taken some supposedly haunted or cursed survey, centered around the My Little Pony franchise, that was notorious for either killing the person taking it, or disappearing to never be seen again. While it seemed just a little farfetched, I immediately noticed a link between Balvic and this survey; the fact both were linked to the My Little Pony franchise.

Things only linked together even more with Cheryl's second statement that "the doctor" trapped both herself and Josh in some sort of realm that was not part of Earth. A world "he" controlled. This would've normally been dismissed, but the fact she called this thing "the doctor" made me question further, due to Balvic's subliminal messaging always mentioning a doctor of no name.

The fact things were finally starting to link together was no coincidence, and I wasn't about to let this slip out of my grasp. There was enough links to reopen the case. Balvic once being part of Hasbro, on the team responsible for the kickstarter to My Little Pony, a survey revolving around said subject, the link between the subliminal messaging, and Cheryl claiming this being as "the doctor," was more than enough to give one last go at stopping whatever Balvic Malcolvich had created.

I quickly pulled Balvic's file out of the dark once again, and looked over each message carefully, taking notes on every link, reference, and match to Balvic's letter found in his device "101010." After hours upon hours of collecting and writing
down notes, I had all I needed to solve Balvic's message. The links were there, and it didn't take me long to connect the dots. The subliminal messaging was vague referencing to the true meaning behind the numbers in the Morse coding, which I figured out were dates.

101981- October 19, 1981 was the original air date for the My Little Pony kickstarter, before it was stopped by Hasbro executives.

101981
You are now awake
Do it
101981
101981
101981
121681
The children are dead

October 19th, 1981: the day the sleeper agents would've been activated through the hidden Morse messaging, and would've been activated up to the final date, December 16, 1981. "The children are dead," was a reference message meaning "the drones are deactivated, until further messaging."

I still had much to discover, as I delved deeper into the mystery. The second message was much harder to decode, but I managed to do it

The door has been opened
Never to be closed
The children are dead
101010

This was a clear reference to Balvic's device, named "101010," after he claimed it as a doorway for his creation, that once entered, can never be closed. The meaning behind "the children are dead" remained the same, but something seemed to be missing. I noted the numbers being a date as well, and quickly made a connection.

October 10, 2010 was the air date for the fourth generation of My Little Pony. Another link I noted, moving onto the next message.

The door is open
Never to be closed
The children are dead
I killed them
The doctor is alive
You tried to kill him
The doctor is alive
Never to be found
The doctor is alive
Never to rest
The doctor is alive
He is watching you
He will come for you
You will all come home
He is waiting
He will always be waiting

No clear message could be made from this. I found it as a warning more than anything, as a clear message that whatever Balvic created was active. However, the term "the children are dead" didn't fit, if it followed what I originally thought. Why would Balvic kill the sleeper agents? Wasn't that his plan from the start?

At this point, I had hit a wall, until I looked closer at Balvic's note found in "101010." Balvic claimed that innocence was the greatest form of vulnerability, which I translated to this.

"The most innocent things can be used as a trap."

My mind spiked immediately, finally putting the pieces together. The survey; it looked innocent, when in finality, it was a lure for thrill-seekers, and a literal death trap to any who took it. The "dead children" killed by "the doctor" were not sleeper agents. They were the countless victims of what Cheryl McGreen had stated as a supposedly haunted or cursed survey. Balvic was truly a mad genius, and everything came full circle.

Upon a little research of the fourth generation of My Little Pony, I saw the horror unfold. The show had a massive fanbase, so a survey in this fanbase seemed completely harmless. It was a perfect lure. A perfect trap for those who didn't think twice. Something so innocent was really a lure into something more malevolent.

Balvic had somehow predicted the air date, the fact it would gain a massive audience, and created something that took full advantage of it. A being known as, "the doctor," able to create it's own world, knowing how to use something innocent as a lure for unsuspecting victims. I was so close to solving the puzzle that could taste it, but little did I know, that I was being observed in secret, and that the more I pursued in solving Balvic's puzzle, I was endangering the lives of those "he" had seen. That was about the time my partner and best friend, Terry Redman went missing without a trace.

We sent out search parties and made it public on television, but there was no sign of him to be found. Not a footprint, fingerprint, or any sort of clue where he may have gone. I continued on with solving Balvic's puzzle, and just when I started to get to the point of putting Balvic's madness to rest, was when I started to experience strange things.

It started with phone calls from a number that couldn't be tracked, each of them being threatening and in a voice that sounded just like Terry's voice. All of them were the same with three words.

"You killed me."

I attempted to track the number, but it wasn't trackable. I couldn't block the number either, as it wasn't even under a number or contact name. That alone was suspicious, but there was nothing I could do, so I just lived with it, ignoring the calls whenever they came through. But eventually, what started out as something happening once a day, turned into a case of harassment, with over twenty calls a day. As a fix, I had my phone number changed, but the calls still came each and every day.

I couldn't take it anymore, and cut the phone line in two. At long last, the calls stopped, but what followed after was much more terrifying. I started having a reoccurring nightmare where I was in some sort of hospital with no exits. No matter which direction I went, it was always an endless hallway of multiple locked rooms, with the sound of echoing footsteps behind me, but nobody being there.

I couldn't sleep for a week, with each of the nightmares getting worse. Running endlessly through the same halls and corridors, until the final night, when I finally came to a part of that place I had never seen. Some kind of projection room with multiple screens on the walls, and six stage setups, where I saw restrained cartoon-like horses begging for my help. I recognized them as the main characters of the My Little Pony fourth generation, from the research I did while solving Balvic's puzzle.

I assisted in helping them, but after freeing them, they ambushed me, and that was when I first saw "him." The doctor himself. He entered the room with a syringe in his right hand, filled with a rainbow-colored liquid, and approached me. The creatures holding me like captured prey exposed my main neck artery, and with an unimaginable pain, the needle pierced through my thin flesh and into my bloodstream. What followed was a burning sensation that felt like my bloodstream was on fire, as the liquid seeped into my artery and all throughout my body. Once inserted, the doctor pulled the syringe from my body, and said words that still send a chill down my spine.

"Welcome to the family, Carlyle. Your partner awaits your arrival."

After that, I saw my partner, but he wasn't "human." His body was in the process of some sort of metamorphoses; one eye the size of a dinner plate, his hair a mixture of his own and what looked like a violet/purple color hair extending like bangs, his flesh having splotches of purple, his arms being straight and pipe-like with no hands at the bottom or fingers, and a trail of violet hair growing out at the base of his spine.

His mouth and nose were now a snout, and his ears being horse-like. I was horrified, and right as I started to feel the serum's effects take hold of me, I woke up in a cold sweat and my cell phone ringing with that same contact. I answered, only to immediately realize that my nightmare was far from a nightmare. It was a warning or premonition if I continued to chase Balvic's creation.

"Next time, you won't wake up."

I couldn't go back to sleep, feeling like I was being watched, and I was being watched. I just didn't know it yet. The next day was when I got the call that would forever change me; suicide at 170 West Street. I knew the location, and prayed that it wasn't what I thought it was going to be, but it was. The house that I came to on Friday nights, celebrated every Christmas Eve, and had killer Super Bowl parties at was unmistakable.

It didn't take long before I found Terry, dead at his computer desk from a single gunshot to the head. I had to hold back both the urge to vomit and cry, as I approached, immediately getting flashbacks to Balvic's suicide. It was the same position, posture, and even the same pistol. It was a display of mockery from Balvic's creation, and I knew it. I checked the same hand as I had found Balvic's message in all those years ago, and sure thing, there was a message.

"Follow the instructions to complete the puzzle, or leave to never discover the truth you've searched for for so long."

It was written in his blood, and all I felt in that moment, was pure rage. I glanced at Terry's computer, on and open on some sort of website that seemed like a dark web site. On the screen, was an open black door with a black background. The text on the screen was a familiar pair of numbers; 101010, along with a button labeled with the words "click to enter" just along the bottom of the screen. I should've turned away right there, but rage and anger clouded my judgement, as I gripped the mouse, and accepted the invitation that had been handed to me.

All I remembered was a single click, and in a sudden moment, I was plunged into pure darkness. Then the lights flickered on, revealing a familiar place; that hospital from my nightmares. I still had my gun and everything with me, so I hadn't been robbed of my only defense. I was on a hospital bed, in one of the many long hallways. I got off, and started what seemed like an endless trek through endless hallways. I sometimes questioned myself if I was just going in a circle, but after what seemed like hours of endless wandering, I found that door. The same door to the projector room from my nightmares.

With my pistol in hand, I burst through the doors, into the room of hundreds of monitors and the six stages. Inside, it was quiet, with the stages empty and monitors shut off. I knew I wasn't alone in that place though, so I continued forward keeping up my sense of caution. I had reached the second stage, before a chilling and familiar voice broke the silence like glass shattering. I still remember the voice and what he said.

"I'm surprised you remembered the way, Carlyle. Not many get to this point without losing even a fraction of their sanity."

That was when I turned and saw Balvic's creation for the first time. Before me, was a tall and slender being with a pair of bright white orbs for eyes. It was in a white lab coat splotched with stains of many colors, a stethoscope around the neck, and a body composed of what seemed like flickering screens from an array of websites, videos, and a cybernetic grid. I didn't know whether to be terrified, angry, or in complete and utter disbelief that what was happening was real or some kind of twisted dream. Either way, I was there and "he" was there; a creation designed to do nothing but kill and manipulate others, like its twisted creator.

"So, you're Balvic's creation. The cause of countless deaths across the world, and what has been alluding me for months."

"Indeed. My creator assured me to be the perfect weapon. Untraceable by any machine that your kind could ever produce. That includes the handgun you have gripped in your hands, for I am not a human, nor do I live off of any source like organs. Unlike you, Carlyle. Such a fragile creature."

"Shut up! What do you want?!"

"Me? I want nothing more than for my family to continue to grow, and for my master's work to be fulfilled. I was created as a creature to gain knowledge from anything I may wander across on what is now called "the internet" or "worldwide web" with as little as a glance. From the moment I was forged to now, I've gained the knowledge of over a hundred supercomputers and 10,000 of your kind. I have all the codes, passwords, secrets, and records ever documented in history."

"If I wanted to, I could destroy all forms of communication, allow access pass your government's security grid to terrorists, or destroy your world, but that's not what my master wanted. His intent was to use something as harmless as a fly to full advantage, such as what he started with; a harmless cartoon. You've already figured out one part of the original plan, but you still have yet to figure out the second piece of the puzzle."

"What was Balvic's end game with manipulating children?!"

"That's for you to figure out, Carlyle. If you really thought hard about it, the answer would come easily. My master planned to use innocence as a lure, and so far, it's worked in two forms."

At that point of the conversation, my heart had skipped a beat. As far as I had known, only one thing had been used as a lure, which was the survey. The other lure is what brought to light what Balvic's end game was with manipulating children.

"Two? What are you talking about, only one exists!"

"Oh my dear Carlyle. You have missed the most obvious one. Do you seriously think it's impossible to recreate the same Morse message my master embedded in my programming, and use it to accomplish what my master couldn't?"

In that moment, Balvic's puzzle was solved. For nine years, the blatant obvious had been happening right before my eyes. I just didn't even suspect it, because it seemed so "innocent."

"I'm surprised Carlyle. You even made the link! Now you see why the fourth generation of a children's show is popular among more than just children! I've been feeding all who view it the same message as my master, Dr. Balvic Malcolvich intended from the start! Why do you think I was named "101010?!"

"Oh my god... But-but how did Balvic know about the fourth generation date? It was the 1980's! How did he predict the future?!"

"My master was a clever man. A Russian genius with knowledge far beyond anything your nation could ever comprehend. The future wasn't hard to foresee, Carlyle."

In that moment, it all became clear. On October 10, 2010, the original programming for 101010, aka "the doctor" begun. After decades of gaining information, knowledge, and all it needed to manipulate its victims, it recreated the Morse message, and like a virus, upon the airing of My Little Pony generation 4, "the doctor" imported the Morse message into the episode audio, and continued to do so for each airing, up to now.

The message manipulated children to spread the show as something "good" when all along, it was a lure, and as it grew into a more popular show, phase two of Balvic's message commenced; the survey. One thing still remained unclear to me though.

"Then why haven't the sleeper agents done their part?"

"Silly Carlyle, the plan was never aimed at sleeper agents. It was aimed at children."

"But, you said I had that part figured out."

"The part I was referring to was the survey being a lure.

"Then what happens if the survey is terminated, or the show ends?"

In that moment, I thought I had some sort of advantage against this creature, but it was short-lived, like the final ember of a dying fire.

"It wouldn't matter. My master's plan has already succeeded, and at this point, I'm just having fun killing or recruiting stupid kids, using my children as the lure. I can always recreate the survey as well. Like I said, I have the power to destroy your fragile world, but it's not within my programming to do so."

And it was right. The show had gained a following strong enough to last for many decades to come. There was only one way to end Balvic's madness. I had to terminate his creation.

"His plan will only succeed if you remain active, and I don't plan to let that happen!"

"Your efforts are cute, but this conversation has gone on long enough."

With a snap of the thing's fingers, six copies of the My Little Pony generation 4 characters crawled from the shadows, each of them stared at me with malevolence.

"You will make an excellent addition to my family, when the time is right. For now, you will be put with the other "extras." Until the next time we meet, enjoy your stay in the quarantine room, Carlyle."

The white unicorn disarmed my handgun, and the purple unicorn with wings gathered me up faster than I could act. There was no fighting it, and now, here I sit in the quarantine room, awaiting my turn to become one of them. I can't believe that after all I had done to solve Balvic's puzzle, I still ended up losing in the end. I had the keys to everything. I had the answer. The solution to ending the madness, but now I wait like a sitting duck for the inevitable end.

I've lost count on the days I've been here, but I know its been over a week. I was the one supposed to put people in cages, not the one supposed to be in a cage. I could blame myself for this conclusion, barging into something I should've thought twice about. Children, teens, and adults continue to be manipulated by Balvic's creation, while I do nothing. It's all over now, and soon I'll become exactly what I've been trying to stop for three decades.

...

I'm suddenly startled by the door opening, but who enters is not one of the "family members" or the doctor himself, but a young teenage kid, rushing to my aid. I'm confused, unsure what to do, so I just speak.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"My name is Josh Barston, and I'm here to get you out of here...