Annihilation Gen-1 2.0

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Chapter 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 1 Author's Note

[Warning!]

Please read this before starting!

I have never written a mature MLP fanfiction before, but I have in other stories. You may be used to my normal stories with some dark elements but mainly Teen rated. This story is not rated mature for mindless gore, even though gore is a big part of it. This is science fiction based with many aspects of fantasy, all formed together to make Surprise's backstory. This is your second and final warning, if you DO NOT like gore, abuse, or torture... do NOT read this story. If you are looking for a happy ending, this is NOT that kind of story. This fic, is mainly to help my readers understand more about Surprise from my other story The Strongest Element of All but can be read as a standalone.

For those reading The Strongest Element of All, the ending will make more sense.

This will be five chapters only, and I wish those reading the best of luck! Leave your feedback in the comment section, I wish to hear from you! Please be nice! Cheers!

Chapter 1

War. Nations fear it, for it does not determine the side that is right… but the only ones that are left. One can argue if killing thousands can be redeemed as necessary for the sake of their cause, while others simply despise the idea of a genocide. Unfortunately it seems as the Gods have abandoned many worlds long ago. Disease runs rampant, resources scarce, turning friends into enemies and forcing ponies to do what they never thought they would do before.

How did this happen, you might ask? What caused all this devastation, what started this bloody war? Life seems to take advantage of the things they have, take sunlight for example… without it, vegetation would wither, water would not evaporate and there would be no rain. No one thinks about what happens if that star were to die, for it rises and falls every day relying on the faith that it will appear the next morning.

But one day, one fateful day, that sun did not come up. The sky was as black as burned rose, and it remained that way for several days. Their sun had run its course, all that remained was a husk of the life bringing star, starting its next phase in history. The yellowish dot in the sky, turning a hue of hellish red… dull in the vast liquorice haze of the unlit sky.

The star was dying, evolving into a red giant… preparing to end all life.

This earth, millions of years in advance to other societies had prepared for this day. God’s power was harvested and created long ago, for the mortals to use. Playing God had always been looked down upon, but their dying prayers had reached no ears. They were on their own, abandoned, forced to fend for themselves against a problem only their own brains could solve. Their technology could spare their earth from the Armageddon, the cursed day where the Gods would bring judgement on the ones who walked the path of evil.

Was this their punishment? Were the Gods angry that they stopped asking for their help long ago? Bringing back the dead, creating life, destroying life, all were deeds of the Great Ones… powers that this earth had no problem performing.

Yes, this was their punishment… but they took up arms against the fate the Gods bestowed upon them. The nations gathered, one by one coming together to reverse doomsday… creating a solar panel that could collect the last burst of energy from the dying sun. The red giant would burst from it’s helium-burning process, destroying any and all planets in the way.

This “flare” of life from the red giant the nations hoped to collect and reflect away from their planet. The collected energy would be so powerful, they hoped to create an artificial star from the residue of the dying one. The captured power, would be reshaped into something big enough to revive their planet’s fate, but they had one shot… the last of its energy.

Artificially enhancing the earth’s magnetic field, was their only shot at avoiding the sun’s flare from massacring all life like the other planets, but it was not guaranteed. So the day of the end, came.. But it could also be the beginning. The nations communicated, watching the star build up energy and pulsate until the energy was released.

The solar panel collected effortlessly, but they cursed themselves with their own technology. Keeping the heat from touching their earth, only meant taking more of it in. The earth’s magnetic field reversed and reflected the heat that much is true, but the sun’s flare started to create a greenhouse effect to where it started to bake the protected life under the field.

Once the flare had ceased, and the energy was collected, the remaining damage was already done. Too much heat was collected by the panel, collapsing their defenses and causing it to spread and absorb by other means. This created their own doom, for the heat withered every single plant on their world killing many ponies who could not go deep into the earth’s core.

Some generations were spared, mostly young ponies who were able to be saved by the nations. They remained under the earth’s surface where they awaited for the heat to cease, for many years until the earth was cool enough to live on. This did not mean that it was comfortable conditions, actually very opposite… their lands were nothing but dry wastelands covered in mile deep sand.

They created artificial oxygen, dug deep into the earth to find water… but their world was doomed. With limited resources, it soon drove the united nations into chaos… wanting what was left for themselves. This was music to one particular God’s ears, the God of War Ares sought to teach these mortals a lesson for solving their issues on their own instead of worshipping and praising the Gods like their ancestors did.

Ares whispered to a leader named Vycter Blackheart, telling him he could rule what was left and bring their dying planet to life once more. Blackheart knew they did not have enough resources to share among the billions of ponies populating their earth, so he decided to wipe out half to ensure the survival of the fittest.

He hoped to create genes and evolve the course of ponies to develop immunity towards the harsh heat, over generations. For that to happen, the weakened and frail ponies would have to be killed only keeping the strongest to utilize resources.

So Blackheart created a disease, one that would determine who was weak enough to dispose of… and who was strong enough to breed. Before he could release the weapons of mass destruction, the nations left came together once more to stop this threat. He escaped with his life, thanks to the God of War Ares… and with this God, he was given an army… an army that sealed his plan in stone.

The disease was released, and the billions of ponies in weeks were now limited to millions.

If you are expecting a resolve to this planet’s demise, or a hero to emerge to create harmony once more… this is not one of those tales. Not every story has a happy ending, not every problem has a logical solution, and there is no hero in this tragedy.

This is the life of a cyborg, a monster created to save this dying world.

But when this monster turns on its masters, it is the first to be blamed, so why do we not blame the ones who created it in the first place?

80 ML. A.D The Phoenix Era.

A mare screamed, her stomach contracting as nurses swarmed around her. A slab of glass was the only thing visible in the whitewashed room, as coated scientists monitored the laboring pony resting on a hard metal table. Her heart was scanned, hundreds of wires connected to her fur, while the sweat poured off of her forehead.

She screamed again, the nurses emotionlessly lifting her legs to view the oncoming life poking its way from under her. A pony with a darkened red pelt strolled his way into the room, the terrified eyes of the mare reflected his figure as he glanced at the nurses aiding the birth.

His face was wrinkled, aged… while his mane appeared scattered and gray. The scientists flicked their heads to him, before reporting on the situation.

“The newborn seems to have healthy vitals, but this situation might put too much strain on the surrogate mother… the others didn't seem to survive when put into induced labor.” One of the coated ponies said, typing on the screen as they watched a holographic live stream of the foal lodged within the womb.

“I agree, Dr. Crimson all of the fetuses have perished under these conditions. Artificially creating an embryo has caused her body to reject it, her white cells are constantly fighting it as if it were an infection for it is an alien to her body.”

Dr. Crimson shook his head. “I am well aware of the risks I am taking, our research has created artificial life and many times we have failed. We have sped up the process of the pregnancy, to where it only took one month instead of twelve. A pony’s body would most certainly be fighting off the fetus at this stage, but that is why I sped up the process and induced labor… it should not be long before our hard work produces fruit.”

A mare working for the doctor pointed towards the squirming baby in the hologram. “I am afraid the risks we have taken with this one out of the five hundred and twelve others, might be fatal. Growing her artificially was hard enough, with her blood being different from the mother and no father genes present. With her rapid month growth, her brain has not developed as we have hoped… it may provide us with a non-useful foal to work with.”

Crimson pushed up his glasses before leaning over the shoulder of one of his workers. “Are you meaning to say she may be disabled?”

“Her chances of being disabled are severely low, for we would have detected it before she was ready to be delivered. Her brain may or may not produce the right chemicals that help her to make choices early on in life. She lacks serotonin, which will affect her social interaction with those around her, along with dopamine which may provide difficult to have her listen to our commands.”

The doctor cleared his throat. “That is why we created a more advanced genome this time around, take the green anole lizard for example. We inserted DNA from this creature into the foal’s chromosomes, to where she can regenerate and keep up with the rapid growing… just like when the lizard loses a tail. Her cells will divide and split from within her spinal cord, and it will repair the damage in due time… have faith Bow Tie.”

The scientist named Bow Tie swallowed. “I don’t know sir… we don’t have anymore time to spare, Blackheart is hunting us down as we speak. We have already dedicated countless years for this project, every single mother and foal has died… why is this one any different?”

Crimson gestured to the hologram. “Because I can feel that this one is a fighter, our chances of having an embryo incubated instead of grown in the wound increase in failure. Having her born naturally and feeding off of a host, will provide more successful.”

Bow Tie sighed. “Tell that to the other mothers and babies who have died.”

The mare screamed once more, before she went limp. Alarms blared, as nurses slapped the side of her head gently to wake her up. The screens went red, as the holographic monitor went limp, causing her muscles to stop pushing.

“We have lost the surrogate mother, we will have to manually deliver the foal ourselves.” Bow Tie yelled, throwing her hoof in the direction of the motionless mother. “Quickly now, the more time we waste the more damage will be caused to the fetus!”

The doctors brought over a machine, with a pointed laser that started to gently cut open the skin. The fur and flesh was peeled back to expose the uterus, where they carefully exposed the foal who was squirming lively underneath the protected layer of the amniotic sac.

The newborn was saved, as she was quickly collected and monitored. The foal started to cry out and scream, as she was washed and examined.

“We…. did it…. We are the first ones in history to create artificial life, with an advanced genome! Congratulations Dr. Crimson Desert, we have successfully delivered the subject.” Bow Tie cheered, as the baby’s cries echoed throughout the room.

“Our work is not over yet, my faithful assistant. We now must mature the fetus to where she will reach adulthood within three weeks, for like you said our time is limited.”

The doctor watched as the mother was roughly stuffed into a body bag, her gory presence shielded from the nauseated ponies. Bow Tie shut off her computer, as she went to address the nurses and give them new orders for their test subject.

She approached and looked into the foal’s purple eyes, her striking yellow mane and tail blowing from the breaths of the ponies hovering over her. Bow Tie reached down, carefully stroking the sobbing child’s chin before tisking.

“I apologize for what you are to go through… and the world you have been brought into. You must understand, everything Crimson does is for the sake of the future… but you… you were a little surprise today… I didn't think you would survive.”

The foal gently wrapped her lips around the tip of Bow Tie’s hoof, as Crimson joined her side.

“Begin the maturing stage at once.”

The mare seemed saddened, as the beginning of a torturous lifestyle began for the miracle child. A bottle with advanced medicine was shoved into her mouth, as the baby screamed and cried when forced to drink every last drop.

“We shall call her Subject 666 her code name Annihilation Gen-1 2.0.” Crimson announced, as Bow Tie wrinkled her nose at the name.

The doctor started to order his workers, but Bow Tie was so transfixed on the newborn she could only hear his muffled voice. With her unnatural genome, it caused her to mutate in the womb and form unnatural color sequences. The mare smiled at the foal, as she stared back at her.

“You shouldn't have a number as a name… you should have a real name, for you are a pony like all of us.” Bow Tie whispered, gently hushing the baby as she scooped her up to calm the newborn. “I know… I’ll call you Surprise, for you seem to surprise even the most hardened pony here. I hope you keep surprising me, I have much faith in what you will become… and one day you will liberate us from this war.”

Bow Tie sighed when a nurse approached her. “Don’t get attached, she is nothing but a tool for us to use. We have to think this way, this is war... we created her only for one purpose and one purpose alone.”

The mare quivered before handing the baby over. “Yes.. yes of course, I know my place.”

Bow Tie watched as they shot a magnetic collar into Surprise’s neck, which would keep her from straying anywhere outside of the base without permission. Her new life consisted in the same way as a chained dog, only seeing sunlight when she was let out of her cage… which saddened the mare even more.

“Stay strong… little Surprise.” Bow Tie whispered.

Crimson marched throughout the halls, accompanied by fleets of guards as they escorted him towards his destination. He held a screen with his magic, as his horn carried along with him a report on how his subject was doing. Bow Tie scurried along his side, her cerulean fur ruffled and her pink messy mane pulled back with yellow bows.

Her dark purple eyes scanned over her papers as her hooves tried to keep them from blowing away from the gust of their pace.

“Most of her organs have reached full maturity, her reproductive system is fully operational, along with her frontal lobe… which puts her around the age of eighteen. She listens to every single thing we say, responds sharply… and seems fiercely intelligent, surpassing even the greatest minds that have ever lived… it’s incredible!”

Crimson hummed. “Exactly what does that mean, her being able to memorize simple patterns is meaningless to me. I want to know how she responds to war strategies, how she calculates on the battlefield.”

“Well sir, she doesn't just memorize simple patterns… she can color code rubix cubes with any sequence we give her within two minutes! You want three sides green, and one white… she can do it… it is something I have never seen! Not just that, she can solve the Riemann hypothesis and six other known equations that pony kind has NEVER been able to solve!”

Crimson stopped. “Are you telling me she can solve… the Hodge conjecture?”

Bow Tie nodded. “Sir she’s solved it three times, under ten minutes.”

The doctor breathed out breezilly. “By the Gods…”

Bow Tie swallowed hard. “Even though her brain seems to be far more advanced than any mind here, we have a major problem.”

Crimson nodded his head. “That’s what you said before you came and got me, what’s the rush? We have a supermind in our grasp, yet you still say there is a problem?”

“Well… during her entire life of three weeks… she’s matured, but… has not said a word, and refuses to move from one spot.”

The doctor squinted. “Not one?”

“Not one, not even a sound.”

Crimson hummed once more. “Odd..”

A pony greeted Crimson by ushering him inside a bullet proof room, and protected by a one way mirror that was thick enough to stop a charging rhino. The pony was dressed in a general’s uniform, her purple hair flowing behind her coloring the room with her streak of blue as well.

Her pelt was white as snow, and her mane and tail curled. Her eyes were hardened from years of battling against a plagued land, and her uniform stained with the blood of those she had slain.

“Glory, please tell me Subject 666 has moved from that spot after I left.” Bow Tie said, nervously glancing at Crimson who seemed deep in thought.

“Nope, we asked her to move, yelled at her to move… she won’t budge.” The general replied, staring at the white pony motionless in the populated room.

Nurses inspected her, doing the mandatory checkup. They nodded towards Glory, as she blew out a bubble from her gum and booted up Surprise’s stats.

Her vitals and heart appeared along the glass. “Seems pretty normal to me, her brain is fully operational, her heart healthy… along with everything in her body.”

Crimson leaned forward, staring at the glazed over eyes of Surprise in front of him. The mare sat tall, her ears pointed forward but unmoving as the nurses casually walked underneath her. She was posed on a pedestal where they could easily reach her and examine this odd behavior.

“Do you think she is rebelling?” Crimson asked, as Bow Tie flinched when staring into those emotionless and empty purple eyes.

“I don’t know… I can’t read her expression.” Bow Tie replied.

Crimson tapped on a button before clearing his throat. “Subject 666 we need you to respond, we ask of you to remove yourself from the pedestal.”

The mare didn't even blink, her gaze and head remained forward staring at the glass. Glory snorted before pressing the button harshly. “Bucking move, you idiot!”

Bow Tie peeled Glory off the speaker. “She’s been like that all day, is she choosing to not listen to us for some reason?”

Glory laughed darkly. “I don’t really care is she decides to rebel, I have had soldiers like this before they just need a little push.”

Crimson rubbed his hoof along his chin. “Negative reinforcement might be necessary.”

“Leave it to me sir, I’ll get her to move.” Glory said, as something appeared from her horn and a taser floated beside her as she marched in. Her clearance caused the doors to open, as the mare approached the nurses clearing from her path. “Okay 666 we can do this the easy way or the hard way, move!”

Surprise didn't even look at her, as Glory brought the taser to her side.

“If ya don’t move, this is gonna hurt like a bitch.” The general warned.

When she got no response, the taser was rammed into her flank! The electricity flared to life, lighting up the inside of her nostrils and sparks rolling over her pelt. The mare did not even flinch, her gaze remained unwavering as Glory blinked and reared back in shock!

“That was fifty thousand volts! How did you not even move?”

Crimson’s voice came from behind the glass. “Increase the voltage… go to forty watts.”

“F-Forty… won’t… won’t that… kill her?” Glory asked, as Crimson remained quiet.

She swallowed but shrugged.

“If you think this will work… I trust you.” The general said, as the nurses cleared the way. Glory mumbled before fiddling with her taser, she increased the voltage before licking her dry lips and looking up.

Surprise was staring straight at her!

Glory’s mouth dropped open as the subject’s face started to twist, with a sadistic grin! Before the general could ram the taser in her flank, the hoof of the mare went crashing into Glory’s head tossing her towards the wall! The impact cracked open her head, her wails of pain tearing the silence of the room and causing pure chaos!

Surprise leapt off of the pedestal, before tackling a nurse. Her hooves wrapped around his head, before twisting causing a loud and stomach churning snap! With un-pony speed, her body rammed into the next pony trying to scatter away from the mutant! Surprise smashed her hoof into his head, each hit causing his skull to split until eventually it burst open!

His blood and brain matter oozed onto the ground, as Surprise gently brought up her hoof and licked off the remaining liquid on her left. The mare eyed the next victim, before leaping towards them and slamming her hoof down on her spine! The nurse’s back bent to unnatural levels, creating a slight “U” shape in her back. Her spinal cord was severed, causing the unlucky worker to die instantly.

Surprise gently picked up the mare’s head, before looking into her lifeless eyes and coking her head. The mutant let the head drop to the floor, without following it with her gaze before staring at the remaining scientists rushing to the door! Surprise eagerly watched them look back and scream towards Crimson to let them out.

“Subject 666 has gone wild! She’s going to slaughter us!”

“Let us out! We are just scientists! We can’t fight back!”

Suddenly a yellow light wrapped around the poor nurse blocked from the back, he screamed and pleaded for help as his hooves dragged on the ground. Surprise held her hoof outwards, as a smile crept on her lips… gently tugging the sobbing scientist towards her!

“S-She’s using telekinesis!”

The pony was lifted above the subject’s head, her magic enveloping him while he levitated. Surprise looked up emotionlessly, with the strange smile still on her face as she cocked her head and watched the tears drip onto her mane.

“Please… please spare me… I-I…” the worker begged, but before he could finish a terrible strain started to pull at both his head and his back legs! He screamed and cried, as his spine started to stretch out to unhealthy levels. Surprise watched curiously, as the pony’s back started to make sickening cracks before he coughed up blood!

With one last gargled scream, his spine snapped! The pony breathed his final breath before his hooves dangled out of his control. Surprise looked towards the cowering ponies, before the body above her started to strain once more. His skin started to tear, a rip starting from the base of his stomach and running around his back and ribcage, until his entire body gave way!

With a shower of blood, he was in halves and tossed in two ways at Surprise’s sides. The murderer licked the droplets of blood running down her lips, before shaking off the rest from her mane and stalking towards the remaining victims.

Glory recovered, groaning and rubbing her cracked head as she stared at the devastation laying in heaps of blood around her! The general, wobbled to her hooves, but quickly barreled through the scientists trying to open the door. Surprise lifted her hoof, before every single head in the room was grasped by her magic.

Glory was surprised to see that her head was still in her control! The general was shaking from head to tail, as the workers were ripped up into the air by their assailant! Surprise pouted looking at the choking ponies gasping for air, before she grinned once more.

She flicked her hoof to the side.

SNAP!

In a split second ten more lives were lost, their bodies released towards the floor. Glory had tears in her eyes as she stared at the broken necks of the workers that were living and breathing just moments earlier! The general pawed at the door, until it recognized her facial features and opened for her to escape!

Glory jumped out of the room, before whipping around and looking at Surprise grinning at her! The mutant winked, before turning around and allowing the door to cut off their gazes.

The general panted, her heart thundering… as she shakilly brought herself onto her hooves. In seconds her fear turned into anger, as she stormed into the observation room and anxiously stared at Crimson who was calmly watching the now motionless subject.

“What the hell! That… that… monster just killed your own workers! Why didn't you open the DOOR?”

“Of course she killed them, I had her provoked for a reason… her responses are… incredible! She easily took on several ponies, and had them killed in under five minutes!” Crimson laughed, staring at the bloodied mutant from within his safe distance.

“Wait… Sir you wanted them to die?” Bow Tie asked, still shaken from what she had experienced.

“Well wanting them to die, and needing them to die are two very different things. If I were to volunteer ponies to die by her hoof, they would have said no would they not?”

Glory’s veins were popping out of her neck. “She just slaughtered fourteen ponies! I ALMOST died, do our lives mean nothing to you?”

Crimson waved his hoof. “Of course they do, you are alive aren't you?”

“NO sir, she LET me live… there is a difference! She purposely let me go! I don’t think you understand what the hell you are dealing with!”

The doctor nodded. “Indeed she did let you go, for that I do not understand… why you out of those fourteen ponies? I needed her to demonstrate her strength, I can positively say that we succeeded in increasing her strength and speed… but her temperament must be controlled. I say this field test was completed successfully, let’s have her moved to training.”

Glory shook her head in disbelief. “You honestly think you were the one testing her? She just learned that you are vulnerable, that the ones who control everything for her can die! She’s understanding who runs things around here, and it sure ain't you! I don't think you want her to figure that out!”

“I am more than capable of controlling her, she was created to be aggressive… that was infused into her genetic code, I expected exactly this.” Crimson said, as Glory screamed in anger.

“Heed my warning Crimson… that THING… is not going to be controlled!” Glory shouted, before thrusting her hoof towards the mutant perched on her pedestal. “I fear no pony, but that monster scares me!”

Glory stormed out of the room, as Bow Tie turned to view the murderous pony in her cage. Surprise sat calmly on her pedestal, nothing changed from the previous position they found her in… only this time… she wore a bloody grin.

Bow Tie gulped when she approached Surprise’s cell, it had been three weeks since her last encounter with the mutant. She shakilly pushed a cart full of food for the experiment, as the guards unlocked the heavily protected metal door. The vault was the only place they could keep her, for her strength could crush a ten inch metal plate!

The assistant nodded to them, as they gave her a worried look. Bow Tie was extremely nervous as well, for Surprise had killed fifty more ponies in the last few weeks. She seemed to get enjoyment out of it, even playing with the bodies like a filly would do with dolls! Bow Tie pushed the cart into the dark hall, which hung hundreds of feet above the ground in the form of a walkway.

Guns pointed at her, preparing to fire if Surprise happened to break out of her cage. Bow Tie watched as the spinning latch became undone granting her passage into the deepest part of Surprise’s prison. She felt her blood run cold when the vault opened to reveal the metallic glass that separated her from the strongest artificially enhanced pony in the world.

The mutant turned her face lighting up as she skipped to meet Bow Tie near the surface of the glass. The mare knew Surprise seemed gentler towards her, making her relax just a little… but not by much, as she gently moved the plates towards the ground.

“Greetings Bow Tie… you are kinda late to the party, but that’s A-okay! Didja bring anything tasty? Oooo, didja bring a cupcake again? I really, really, liked how that tasted, especially the delicious icing!”

Bow Tie could never figure out why she was so chipper, all the time! “Oh I’m sorry Surprise, I didn't get one for you today… perhaps next time alright?”

Surprise pressed her hooves against the glass. “No problemo! I am sure you brought something else tasty in that cart! Ya know, you are the only one who calls me a name instead of a number, why is that? Everypony else is kinda a goofus, like why call me a number? Everypony else has a name right? I hear the guards talking outside, I think everypony has a name… except me… I do not understand this.”

Bow Tie slid the tray of food under the slit that allowed Surprise to receive the food. “Well I gave you a name, so don’t listen to everypony else.”

The pegasus pawed through the food, “Ak… brussel sprouts! Who’s the chef, let’s cut off his head and play beach volleyball with it!”

The earth pony flinched. “S-Surprise you can’t do things like that!”

The mutant lifted her head up with a happy bounce. “Really? Why not?”

“Well for one murder is wrong, and second of all ponies have values and lives… taking a pony from this earth is just not how we do things around here.”

Surprise munched on a piece of bread, chewing curiously before spitting out the crust. “Huh that’s weird, isn't there like some gigantic war going on outside these walls? I can hear the gunshots from here with my ultra fantastic hearing… and I know you only shoot a gun when you are trying to hit something… and if I put together the screams and the gunshot timing I am pretty super sure they are trying to hit each other out there. So if murder is wrong, why is it okay during a war?”

Bow Tie sat down in front of the eating pegasus. “Well, war is a last resort. Sometimes we have war to stop an enemy from hurting more ponies… and sometimes that results in fighting and harming the other side. What you are doing is hurting innocent ponies, ones that have done nothing to deserve your wrath.”

Surprise stuck out her lip. “Alrighty tighty, but what exactly does innocent mean?”

“Well, innocent means not guilty of a crime or offense. So ponies that are innocent are ones that have done nothing wrong… and are not breaking any rules.”

The subject waved her head to the side, before tapping her chin. “So an innocent pony is one who never breaks rules… so when you sneak a snack at midnight when rations are divided equally among every other pony… and break the garrison rules… does that make you not innocent?”

Bow Tie blinked in shock. “W-Wait how… how do you know that?”

Surprise poked Bow Tie’s nose from behind the glass. “I have enhanced hearing and smell, and I can sense your presence all throughout the fort hee-hee! I can kinda sniffy sniff out all the ponies throughout this place… pretty cool right? For some reason no other pony can do that… why is that Bow Tie?”

“You’re special Surprise, artificially made… how did you not figure this out yet?”

Surprise wrinkled her nose. “Artificial…. Like those plants in the common room? Like the oxygen flowing through these rooms? So I was not born naturally? With a stallion and a mare? Swaddled in a snuggly wuggly blanket? If I was created… it must have been for a reason… why was I created Bow Tie?”

The pony sighed before responding. “You were created to revive this fallen world, outside these walls… is not a world you see in recordings that I bring you. It’s barren, sandy… hot… and full of plagues that a stallion named Blackheart created. It’s a genetically modified disease, and the only way to fight it was to create soldier we could have birthed immune to it. Only Blackheart has the cure, and his base is surrounded by this airborne plague… none of our soldiers can breach it without dying at the base of the walls. We need a pony capable of destroying the defenses, and taking on the entire army by themselves. If you are able to take down Blackheart and get the cure this world can start to rebuild… and Crimson can take over instead.”

Surprise seemed unfazed. “Ah… so murdering is okay in this case… because it is war.. And Blackheart is not innocent, right?”

Bow Tie nodded. “Yes, Blackheart is an evil stallion… a very evil stallion that has killed billions.”

“But..” Surprise interrupted. “Who’s to say your side is right, Crimson has killed many ponies as well in this war… how is he still innocent?”

“Well he is trying to save ponies-”

“By killing his own soldiers? By sending them into my cage… unarmed?”

No matter how much Bow Tie wanted to argue, the little pegasus was right. Both sides were at fault for murder, Crimson even went as far as to creating a weapon to slaughter a total nation. Murder was wrong, no matter how much she wanted to validate it… not matter how badly a pony deserved to die, at the end of the day their deaths still were at the hoof of another.

“You know Bow Tie,” Surprise said, pressing her hooves into the glass along with her nose as the pony watched the subject carefully. “If you say I am not allowed to kill innocents, and those who kill others are considered not innocent… where does that put Crimson? Hee-hee, I’ll tell you a secret, when I get out of here… and I will so you don’t have to worry your pretty little head about it… I’m gonna be the cure this disease needs.”

Bow Tie cocked her head. “What do you mean?”

“Simple really, don’t you get it you silly goose?” Surprise giggled, before pointing towards the open doors towards the unknown. “The disease has been both sides this whole time!”

Chapter 3

The howling wind of a vicious sandstorm tore against the stronghold walls, beating against it relentlessly. Bow Tie squinted, narrowing her gaze towards a glass containment unit as she anxiously watched a caged rat chew on feed curiously. The scientists around her circled the cage, examining a hologram with all the animal’s biological changes withholding their breath.

“The Xocruorium is entering the subject’s bloodstream, and should be coating the lumbar vertebrae before spreading to both the backside ending at the tip of its tailbone and ending at the cranium.” An intrigued researcher updated, as the sandstorm roughly slammed against the outer walls creating an echo within the laboratory.

The rat’s hologram began to fill with a red liquid, covering every inch of its skeleton. Bow Tie watched closely, as it began to stretch out its jaws before arching its back. The Xocruorium was coating the vital and breakable bones that were hidden within the rat, the only matter she cared about was if it would survive.

“Beginning transfusion, the Xocruorium is starting to settle.” Another scientist said, his shaggy orange mane falling over the sweaty muzzle he had leaning into the computer. “Stand by the subject’s body is introducing the metal into the rat’s system.”

The rat squealed, its spine straightening as its head stood tall. Its lips parted from its large bucked teeth before the rugged fur along the base of its tail began to leak. Bow Tie flinched, as the rat started to suffocate, clawing its way towards nowhere before squirming on the wood chips scattered along its cage.

“The liquidated Xocruorium is starting to gather, at this rate it will be fatal.” Someone reported as the rat’s blackened eyes began to leak silvery tears. Its mouth opened before its last strain caused a gurgled screech, and caused it to grow still. Bow Tie sighed in defeat, as she heard the familiar beep of another dead test subject. “We have lost another one, marking the two hundred and fifth failure.”

“I was sure we had gotten it right this time.” Bow Tie whispered, turning away from the pooling Xocruorium at the base of the deceased rat’s mouth. “What went wrong this time? The digital rats seemed to have survived in the simulation.”

A pony named Firefly, who happened to be Bow Tie’s special helper fiddled nervously with a report being printed out of a machine. She tore off the paper, before using her blue wings to gather them in front of an advanced scanner that deciphered the code.

“The rat’s body began to reject the Xocruorium, and when it tried coating the white blood cells, its system started to retaliate against the metal. When the body viewed the injection as a sickness, the Xocruorium began to formulate and gather together which ultimately reversed its mission to coat the bones. The Xocruorium fought back, by coming together forming a blockage in the rat’s veins, ultimately killing it before the metal completely clumped together and resisted the body’s natural order to get rid of it. Unlike the simulated rats, the computerized test showed that it was possible for the metal and the animal to fuse… but for some reason, on a live field test, they all seem to be rejecting it... and dying immediately.”

Bow Tie turned to the room. “I need to know why every single rat is rejecting the formula. We’ve injected bits and pieces of it to this one, so the body would warm up to it and we could gradually introduce more of it… but the results still seem the same.”

Firefly cleared her throat before brushing her ragged blue mane from her eyes. “Introducing the Xocruorium like a vaccine seems to not be working. We hoped that by putting the foreign object into the rat, the lymphocytes wouldn't attack but instead grow an immunity to it, to where the metal could do its job without being viewed as a virus… for that triggers the metal’s defenses and soon after kills its host.”

“Exactly… but how do we make the body accept it, instead of fighting it?”

The blue pegasus sat back down at her computer, before glancing at the dimmed screen and running her hoof along the dimensional illusion providing an analysis. “Well if we could build up the rat’s immune system, I think that could bump our chances at providing a Xocruorium fusion successfully. We need the body to ignore the metal, and not view it as a threat in order for this to work without fault.”

“What is Surprise’s immunity rate?”

Firefly pulled up the mutant’s stats, “I don’t know, but probably not very strong to other diseases since Crimson bred her to only withstand Blackheart’s genetically modified plague.”

Bow Tie circled around the pegasus before tapping the screen lightly with her hoof and allowing a detailed chart of the advanced genome and DNA sequence created for Surprise.

“Go into her reptilian DNA modifications,” Bow Tie said as Firefly obeyed and brought up a chart for her boss to scan through intensely. “There right in between her RNA, it seems to be carrying information to the rest of her body regarding the immune system. It seems like this has genetic code from the genes implanted from an alligator....”

Firefly pointed to a swirling DNA spiral, “Well yeah… alligators are known to have one of the fiercest immune systems known to pony kind, easily able to defeat most viruses even HIV. Crimson gave Surprise a modified version of an alligators genome, to where she can build up an immunity to Blackheart’s plague. Since simply creating a cure is near impossible and breeding ponies who are immune to it seems relatively achievable. No ponies carry this gene, and so he had to create one all on his own… even though the failures resulted in the five hundreds.”

“If alligators are known for being immune to almost any disease, do you think the reptile’s body will respond positively to the Xocruorium and not pose it as a threat?”

Firefly shrugged. “I have no idea, should we test on alligators instead of rats? Since Subject 666’s genome is closer to a gator’s immune system, instead of what we have been testing on?”

Bow Tie nodded her head, “We have many animals in our biology lab. We have salvaged them and bred them hoping to transfer DNA to create Surprise’s genome a while back, we should have a gator in there somewhere if she has specific coding from one.”

“You heard Bow Tie we need one alligator stat, prepare for another testing! Boot up the systems to where we get a live feed of the animal’s vitals, and for God’s sake next time give us a heads up earlier if things start going south!”

Firefly’s voice boomed over the shredding sand clawing its way through the walls, as the scientists responded accordingly. They scattered, disposing of the rat in the cage before setting up another one for the length and height of a gator. A table was brought out, straps and wires hanging loosely as the cage was set atop it. The monitors were booted up, a hologram ready to be presented as a reptile was brought into the room. Its short body was brought in by a team of unicorns and slid onto the table.

“A black caiman, small… but efficient with diseases.” Bow Tie said as the gator’s mouth was wrapped tightly with thickened black tape. His throat bubbled, as his eyes flicked around the room while he was wired up to the machines. “Prepare the injection.”

A syringe needle was brought forward, filled with liquefied Xocruorium which was mixed in with different chemicals to help guide it towards the skeletal system. The gator remained calm, used to scientist handling him as the needle was pressed through a flap. The needle was poised near the gator’s ribcage where the injection would start, as they awaited her commands.

“All set Bow Tie,” Firefly said as she and a dozen other workers glanced at their screens. The gator’s living feed from within his body was observed, as his hologram spun around for the researchers to view. With a nod from her boss, Firefly gave the order. “Begin the procedure.”

The needle poked the gator, as Bow Tie held her breath when the liquid started to seep into the animal’s bloodstream. The hologram showed the mass flowing and spreading throughout the reptile’s system, as reports began to be documented electronically. The caiman seemed emotionless, his breaths steady and his tail twitching as the thin skin casing refreshed his eye.

“The body is now responding to the injected metal, stand by.” A pony said updating the crew, as the hologram began to show the blood cells mixing with the Xocruorium. “The cells have ignored the metal, now increasing the success rate. The Xocruorium is now starting to engage with the bones, beginning with the ribs.”

Bow Tie silently cheered, as the gator began to tremble. His skin bubbled, along with his legs spasming as his jaws were trying to open up involuntarily! The muscles of the reptile overpowered the tape, snapping the hold on his muzzle as the gator screeched! The leading scientist watching her experiment started to sweat, as loud beeps coursed throughout the room!

“The Xocruorium has now covered eighty percent of the subject’s bone density. Around 0.101 lbs added to the increased mass of the gator, we might actually pull this off!” Firefly cheered, as the caiman stopped shaking and relaxed when the beeps ceased. “Oh my God… the gator… fused successfully… we… we did it.”

Bow Tie threw her muzzle against the glass, watching the animal casually blink his eyes lazily while staring at the ponies cheering. She took a sigh of relief, knowing she had an answer to give Crimson who was starting to breathe down her neck!

“Get Crimson this instant, and tell him we have succeeded in injecting a test subject successfully with Xocruorium!” Bow Tie breathed, as Firefly saluted and sped off to find the doctor who was scouting with Glory in the sandstorm.

Bow Tie stroked the glass with the urge to cry… she had done it… after weeks of researching, she was able to succeed! Her heart suddenly ached, knowing Crimson would want this procedure done on Surprise, but she was a subject… and Bow Tie had made a pledge to not grow too attached to her.

“Forgive me Surprise… for what you are about to go through… I’m so sorry.”

She let her hoof slide off the glass cage before glancing at the monitor, which the researchers were already hooking up for the unaware mutant.

Crimson stared at the glass, examining the gator as his team stood orderly behind him. He upped the confined alligator’s jaws, before running his hoof along the scaly surface of his skin. The doctor nodded his head in approval, before slowly turning around to face Bow Tie who nervously wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Good… your work pleases me, but how can you be sure this will not kill Subject 666?”

Firefly was interrupted as Glory spoke. “You can't be sure, you are literally infusing a pony with bucking metal! Ten bits says she drops dead from just the fear of it all!”

“Anyways,” Firefly growled. “The alligator genes you gave Subject 666 for her immunity towards Blackheart’s disease, also gave her a built-in system to fight pretty much any virus. With her strong immune system, the metal will be injected and ignored by her white blood cells, because they do not perceive it as a threat to her body. If the Xocruorium is viewed as harmless, it can effortlessly connect to her skeleton, providing the results you so wished.”

Crimson seemed a bit cautious but nodded his head attentively. “You do understand if she dies, our entire operation will crumble into dust. I am putting my faith in you both Bow Tie and Firefly… if she dies, you will die as well, so you better be damn sure about this and bargain your confidence with caution!”

Bow Tie felt her neck constrict with anxiety, “Yes.. yes sir… we will not allow this fusion to be fatal, I understand the severity of her importance.”

“Then if you are willing to bet your lives on the matter of your research… I have confidence this operation will succeed.” Crimson said as he glanced at Glory who was fiddling with a piece of paper in boredom. “Glory fetch the subject, we will begin her fusion at once.”

“W-Wait, we are infusing her r-right now?” Bow Tie asked worriedly, as Crimson gave her a slight glare. His forehead wrinkled, as Glory and her squad broke off from the scientists and marched down the hall in unison.

“Indeed, I fear we cannot wait any longer… while we were scouting, Glory was almost captured by Blackheart’s army… she hardly came out unscathed. Our time is limited Bow Tie, we have weeks left until we must release Subject 666 for our protection. Unless you mean to tell me, your research is not ready which I hope is not the case.”

His scowl made her heart quicken, as Firefly cut in. “No sir, she will be ready for the procedure, I have all the confidence in the world that Bow Tie and I will pull through.”

“Good.” He said gruffly, as something clanked through the hall. The door slid open, granting access into the laboratory as Glory advanced with the mutant behind her. Soldiers clung onto her chains, a taser positioned at her flank as Surprise flattened her ears and glared at every single nervous scientist in the room. Her jaws clenched even behind the muzzle, as she lumbered into the room clinking her massive chains with her movements.

A harsh tiger sounding growl rumbled from her throat, as the ponies backed away in immense fear staring at the cold-blooded killer being shoved through the room.

Glory patted a table. “Up!”

Surprise didn't move her eyelids lowering, as a soldier without any hesitation rammed a heavy taser into the side of her rump making her yelp! The subject seemed annoyed and partially angry as her hooves pressed onto the table before she kicked herself upwards. She sat down, her growls never ceasing as her gaze caught onto Bow Tie for a second, and her eyes softened, before her gaze drifting downwards. She felt a stab in her heart seeing the pegasus start to understand what she was being forced to do, as Surprise growled when Crimson approached.

He lifted a hoof before stroking her mane with curiosity. “What an interesting specimen, this is the first time I have laid a hoof on what I have created. Now be a good girl and-”

“HIIIIIISSSSSS!” Surprise screeched, making Bow Tie chuckle a bit as the doctor stumbled back in both fear and surprise! Her hissing sounds were a side effect to being infused with animalistic properties, giving her un-ponylike behaviors… one of which was slaughtering any pony who touched her or hissing when she was too tied down to attack.

“Ugh! You vile mutant!” Crimson shouted as the taser was rammed into her flank for the second time making her howl in agony as the electricity bore into her fur! “Let’s get this over with… secure her!”

The chains wrapping around her clamped wings were clipped onto the table, as Glory patted the hard metal end of the table. “Lay down!”

Through the muzzle, Surprise seemed to scoff, before obeying and placing her head down by Glory’s hoof and looking up towards the ceiling.

“Steer clear of her hooves, even though they are chained she can still reach a certain distance… this is a warning to every pony in this room! One mistake can prove to be fatal, so watch and mind your actions at all times!” Glory said loud and clear, as the soldiers responded with a short and loud cry. “Begin!”

“Prepare to sedate her if she proves to be-” Crimson stopped as Surprise hissed once more making him back away to where he was behind Glory. “-Uncooperative…”

“What about her telekinesis?” Firefly asked Bow Tie in a whisper.

“Crimson has systems that suck and absorb magic in other rooms, even if Surprise were to use her magic… it would be ineffective unless the room authorizes her to use it. Only soldiers, scientists, and ponies that work under him may use magic throughout the entire stronghold.”

The soldiers began to secure Surprise’s hooves and bind them to the base of the table, they steered clear of her limbs as she watched them like a hawk. Glory observed, making sure every inch of her was tied down, even her tail before a soldier loomed over her forehead to start strapping her skull down onto the table as well.

Surprise twitched, before looking directly into the eyes of the stallion preparing the metal bindings. The subject suddenly threw her head back, knocking her skull into the soldier’s chest as saliva sprayed from his mouth from the force of the blow! Glory jumped into action, as Surprise started going ballistic! The soldier collapsed on the ground, heaving from loss of air, twitching and spasming as a tranquilizer gun was quickly aimed!

The mutant was struggling so hard, the table was starting to crack and split before a dart was shot into her neck! Glory pulled the soldier away from Surprise as her eyelids suddenly fluttered before closing softly. Her muscles relaxed, and the chains hung loosely as the general slapped the soldier’s cheeks to wake him up.

His head limply rolled around his neck, as Glory shook her head in shame. “He was a good soldier, poor thing had no idea she would strike like that.” She rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof as a slight trickle of blood came from his nose. “He died of chest contusions, and the blow stopped his heart, that mutant is too strong already Crimson! Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

Crimson rolled his shoulders. “Risks are a given with our kind of job, this is no different than walking out onto the battlefield. Our lives are born with danger, we just now have a weapon to fire back at our enemies.”

He nodded to Bow Tie as the scientists settled in their seats nervously, as Firefly brought over the dosage high enough to completely cover a pony’s skeleton. Her body was brought up by a holographic blueprint of her nerves, heart, and brain along with the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. The team was silent, as Crimson strolled over at a safe distance from the mutant as he waved his hoof to give permission.

“Begin the fusion,” Bow Tie said with a squeak as she glanced to Crimson who gave her a warning glare as she shrunk in her skin. “Actually… I’ll… I-I’ll inject her.”

Firefly followed her leader, as Bow Tie carefully took the syringe needle in her hooves and placed it at the plump vein near her neck. She stared at Surprise’s closed eyes, her breaths ragged from her worry, as Crimson cleared his throat in frustration.

She bit her lip before pressing the needle into the subject’s vein, causing the Xocruorium to spill into her bloodstream and start to spread in seconds.

“The Xocruorium has been injected, Subject 666’s body is quickly responding to the foreign material.” A scientist reported as he leaned forward and steadily watched the hologram begin to spread a red light over Surprise’s blueprints. “We have a problem… the injection is starting to swell in the bases of the skull and near her heart!”

Bow Tie started to tremble, for if the Xocruorium leaked into her brain and the body started to view it as a growth or a tumor, it would end in the results like the rats! Firefly’s face turned pale, as Crimson ran his tongue over his teeth with an intimidating curled lip.

Surprise lurched up, the monitors screaming as she unconsciously started to spasm! Bow Tie held her down before screaming at the scientists beginning to panic!

“What’s happening! I need an update NOW!”

“There is a blockade near her arteries, the Xocruorium seems too thick when it was expanding! Subject 666 is going into cardiac arrest, her blood is unable to flow freely through her veins causing her heart to malfunction!” Firefly shouted as a medical team rushed into action while a dark haze floated above a silent Crimson.

“Get a defibrillator right this instant! Inject her with heparin, to thin her blood and gamma-Aminobutyric acid so her body will relax! If we don't calm her heart and nerves down, her system will continue to freak out! GO!” Bow Tie commanded as the objects were brought in a blink of an eye. The defibrillator was brought onto her chest, gently shocking the heart as more needles were poked into her skin. The poor scientist was sweating bullets as she pressed her hoof on Surprise’s stomach. “Hang in there girl, I know you can do it.”

“The gamma-Aminobutyric acid relaxant has been injected, her nerves are now becoming numb and her system starting to relax.” A reporting researcher shouted as her thrashing started to become less and less. “The swollen arteries from her increased adrenaline have ceased, the Xocruorium’s strain is going down due to the body no longer stressing it out!”

Surprise stopped shaking, her vitals beginning to become calm again as Firefly took a shaky breath and glared at the hologram. “It’s… It’s working!”

“Don’t you dare CHEER!” Bow Tie shouted, scaring her assistant as she focused on Surprise’s soft breathing. “Not yet.”

Her hooves were digging into the table so hard she was afraid her force would snap it in two! “Progress of the Xocruorium covering her bones is at fifty percent.”

The voice of her worker caused a cold grip to snatch her spine, as a cold sweat started to drip onto the table from her extreme fear of failure!

“Sixty… eighty… eighty-five percent!”

“Come on… come on…” Bow Tie pleaded as Surprise’s eyes rolled from under her closed eyelids. “You can do it… I know you can.”

“Her bloodstream has been coated successfully, her cells fully accepting the transfusion! The procedure is almost finished!” Firefly said excitedly, eagerly watching the screen as Bow Tie shot a look at her to make her calm down.

Suddenly the screen’s red light from the Xocruorium’s injection melted into the body before the bones lit up with a new coating. The room cheered, as the procedure beeped with the given sound that her body was now mixed with the metal.

Bow Tie nearly fainted, her legs giving out from under her as her stomach hit the floor. She was shaky as Crimson nodded his head in approval, and Glory puffed out her cheeks from holding in a largely contained breath!

“Well… that was one of the most suspenseful moments of my career…” The general mumbled as Crimson approached her casually with no expression at all.

“My dear the test is still not over.”

Firefly panted. “Wait… what?”

Suddenly the unicorn used his magic to rip a gun from the commander’s holster. The loaded gun was pointed straight at the pegasus, as Bow Tie shrieked. The doctor aimed for her head as he bellowed, “You better pray this works!”

“Wait, NO!” Bow Tie screamed.

BANG!

A bullet shot out from the muzzle spinning until it collided with Surprise’s skull! Her head moved just slightly, as the pink-maned mare leapt up to inspect the mutant’s head! She was shocked when the bullet clanked on the metal ground, before rolling towards her hoof and bumping against it.

“Shoot it.” Crimson said calmly as Glory shook her head in disapproval.

The general aimed her machine gun, before locking on Surprise who flattened her ears while locking onto the muzzle of the gun. Three shots were fired directly at the pegasus as the bullets flew off of her fur, like little rubber balls as the shells fell onto the ground and rolled to a stop. The smoke from the gun waved up in the air, as Glory pulled the tip of the weapon from the latch and looked towards Crimson with a shrug.

“Well, she can resist all the guns in our arsenal, even the plasma infused ones.”

“Extraordinary... “ Crimson mumbled, as the pegasus numbly kicked at the shells before wandering around the empty room glancing at the dented walls. “Bow Tie.. dear I have a question for you.”

The scientist stood at attention, as she responded. “Yes, boss?”

“What kind of guns are infused with the moldable Xocruorium, it can shapeshift into many different forms before settling back in its original shape… thus making it possible to coat subject 666’s bones with it.”

She pondered before responding. “Fiberglass Launchers, Refined Plasma Carbines, Mechanical Desolation Fusils, but they are all weapons of mass destruction… I’d be careful handling them.”

“Would it be possible to infuse these weapons into Subject 666? The Xocruorium can be molded to form a gun, along with an implanted renewable energy source that can act as continuous fuel that feeds the weapons.”

Bow Tie stammered. “I-I mean yes Xocruorium is used every day to be molded into guns that can peel back into the walls and reform at will… b-but... We would have to implant a microchip in her brain, that acts as a control center to where she can mold the metal into different weapons and reshape her body when not needing them…”

“OOOOH YEAH, what a genius idea, let’s give the murderous mutant weapons of mass destruction… oh yeah, that’s a wonderful idea… you deserve a medal… COME ON, are you two serious… this is getting out of hoof, she WILL turn on us!” Glory shouted, before sticking her gun back into the latch and shooting one bullet. “She’s enhanced, and NOW bulletproof… you’re creating something that will soon exceed your own power Crimson!”

“Quiet!” Crimson hissed, as he jerked the machine gun from her hooves. “We will have to cut into some of her muscle and flesh and replace it with robotic parts then coat it Xocruorium. We will replace both of her forelegs with these mechanical parts, but she will still need some tendons to where she can move around freely.”

Bow Tie licked her crusty lips. “Y-Yes, sir… but finding an energy source that will both power the microchip and act as fuel for the molded gun will provide difficult. Xocruorium has to be molded first, before it memorizes the position, but to connect it to the microchip that will send signals to reshape it, we will also have to install wires into Subject 666 as well.”

Crimson flicked his hoof. “Well get on it, as soon as you are ready we will begin the surgery at once.”

Bow Tie nodded her head quickly before darting out of the room and rushing down the garrison towards her lab which was secluded. Firefly spun in a chair in the darkness in boredom, as her boss came stumbling in shouting orders.

“Get me some Xocruorium, a lot of it… I need to start building weapons of mass destruction!”

“Should I ask why?” Firefly giggled, as Bow Tie gave her a sharp look making her scramble to her hooves with quick attention. “I-I mean yes ma'am! I’ll get that for you, wait here!”

Her assistant bolted from her lab, as Bow Tie sat in a rolling chair and pulled out a pad and a pen which she held in her teeth. “An unlimited energy source… we have many of them here in the garrison, but one we could minimize and insert into a pony’s body… hmmm..”

Most generators that created oxygen throughout the hold ran on controlled nuclear fusion, which also powered the weapons and guns attached to the walls. Xocruorium was used to reinforce just about everything so the fort could withstand a dropped bomb with no casualties. Unfortunately, the metal needed to be commanded to transform, it did not just do it out of its own will for it was not alive.

“If I were to shrink a core reactor, the amount of nuclear power it holds would be decreased to where it couldn't even possibly generate enough energy to fuel Surprise.” Bow Tie whispered as she kicked her chair to where it rolled onto the other side of the room. “If I were to somehow collect uranium that could fit in my hoof, and shape Xocruorium around it to where it could safely connect in Surprise’s chest then… maybe…”

Bow Tie tapped on a glowing blue tube running through her lab, as her pen danced around her mouth by her moving tongue.

“A ping pong ball sized chunk of uranium generates enough energy to supply a lifetime, but we need to recycle this energy to where it becomes an unlimited power source small enough to implant within a body…” She hummed, before scribbling down notes and puffing out her lips. “What if.. I were to also give Surprise magnets… with the constant magnetic flow, it will charge the energy and forcing the nuclear power to never die out! Thus creating unlimited energy! Ah, there we go… I knew my brain wouldn't fail me.”

She sketched out a core before writing side notes all around the reactor.

Bow Tie glanced at the clock, before continuing to work. “The Xocruorium’s immunity to magnets will provide useful since we only want the magnet’s job to be recharging the nuclear flow throughout the reactor. Hmm… I can create it to be the size an apple, giving me enough room to install safety equipment… if that core were to explode… it would demolish half of a continent!”

“I have arrived!” Firefly declared, pushing in a cart full of the lightweight metal. “Had to bargain with a few newbie guards patrolling the warehouse… sheesh, they were pretty serious on their first day. Onyx Star and Sky Charge were their names, good stallions… and not too shabby with their looks too!”

“Calm down tiger.” Bow Tie laughed, as she walked to the cart and rummaged through the chunks of Xocruorium. “Yes… this will do quite nicely.”

Firefly sat down sighing in relief. “Man that took me hours feels so good to sit-”

“I am going to need some uranium… sorry.”

She growled in frustration. “-aaaand back out I go.”

Chapter 4

Bow Tie gently approached Surprise’s cage, before looking behind her to make sure she was not being followed. She unlatched the vault before sneaking in and closing the door behind her muzzle being met with the metallic glass that kept any pony strolling around her safe from the mutant’s unrelenting wrath.

“S-Surprise?” She whispered as the pony’s ears perked up and her eyes widened. Her whimpers were heartbreaking, as she struggled against the chains binding her to the ceiling. “Here bud, I brought you some water.”

Bow Tie’s face was recognized as the door unlatched giving her access to the subject’s cage. The pegasus squirmed happily as the bowl being balanced on her back sloshed with the fresh water within it. She approached the muzzled experiment before unlatching her mouth restraints and letting it fall towards the ground.

“Here,” she whispered holding the bowl out for Surprise to drink.

As always the water sloshed around Surprise’s hooves, the liquid dribbling down her chin as she lapped up the substance without holding back.

“Woo-wee, that’s better!” Surprise panted before giggling happily and snorting. “Crimson is a reaaaaally big meanie pants, I’ve been thirsty for days!”

“I know…” Bow Tie said sadly.

The subject struggled once more against her chains. “Dang… I wish I weren't chained up, or I would give you a big ‘ol hug for all you’ve done for me!”

The advanced scientist smiled softly before rubbing the top of Surprise’s head affectionately. “I know you would… but I can't do anything about the chains bud.”

Surprise pouted. “Then come closer, have you ever heard of Eskimo kisses? That’s kinda all I can really do right now to show my appreciation… I hope that's acceptable!”

The glistening eyes of the pegasus in front of her held no aggression, but she has proven to not be trustworthy. No matter how badly she wanted to accept this gesture thinking she was different to Surprise out of all the other ponies, she knew this was not the case. The subject had no loyalty, no morals… and the last ponies Surprise showed a liking to were savagely mutilated.

“That’s really sweet Surprise but-”

“-But you don't trust me.” Surprise interrupted cocking her head with a bit of a saddened expression.

“T-That isn't entirely true!” Bow Tie defended scared to break the bond she established with the subject after all this time. “I don’t trust what Crimson put in you… the genes making you hostile. I know you… the real you… but I still have to be careful until you can control your instincts.”

Surprise pondered before giving a cheeky smile. “Alrighty, tighty! You’re right… my mind kinda goes goofy sometimes, making me turn into a sour waffle. I can understand being careful, after all… I am created to be some super, mega, ultra super pegasus, right?”

“Right.” Bow Tie responded as she returned the smile. Suddenly the door slammed open as Glory marched in with a yawn.

“Ahhhh I knew it, sneaking in to get a little peek at the freak show eh?” Glory said as she walked around the cage kicking at the security tranquilizers pointed at the subject. “Buck these things don't do their job… HELLO, Subject 666 is unmuzzled do something dammit!”

“A-Are you… drunk?” Glory asked with a bit of worry as the general gave her a mocking glare.

“Just a little tipsy… but no matter, I am here to escort Subject 666 to Crimson-”

“PLEASE don't tell Crimson about this… I-I mean Surprise is a pony… she needs water! I couldn't just not let her have water, the boss wants her alive right what if she-”

Glory put up her hoof as she silenced the mare. “I really don't care, I am not petty enough to run my mouth to Crimson about this. Whatever you do in here as long as it's safe, doesn’t concern me, so give as much water to her as you want. I do however suggest you just pour it in the muzzle, instead of letting her have the option to bite you.”

“I’m not gonna bite Bow Tie… I’m not a shark, silly willy!” Surprise responded, as Glory nearly flinched when she was addressed.

“R-Right, I forgot she can talk… after all this time treating her like an animal, I kinda forget she’s a living and breathing pony.” The general pointed to the muzzle on the ground before looking back up at Bow Tie. “I need you to muzzle her before my squad gets here, can’t promise they won't be tattletales.”

Bow Tie scooped up the muzzle with her hooves before sliding it onto Surprise’s mouth without the subject giving any resistance. “Where is she going? Training?”

“Didn't ask, but by the looks of it… seems like she’s going into the laboratory, the entire room is set up with massive tools.”

Surprise seemed curious as a marching unit stormed in, as the muzzled subject observed when the soldiers advanced closer. Glory’s squad without a word started to unlatch Surprise before taking the chains up in their magic.

“Permission to move Subject 666 to another location, general Glory?” A young stallion asked as the tipsy mare bobbed her head sluggishly.

“Yeah whatever, you don’t have to be so formal… we are all friends here Sky Charge.”

The soldier named Sky Charge blushed in embarrassment, before hardening his stare at Surprise who continued to give him a blank expression. The unit untangled the chains until their magic gripped them steadily, and Surprise was able to walk with them.

“Move out… keep Subject 666 secure with magic at all times!” Sky Charge commanded, as his squad responded with a silent nod. He suddenly glanced to Bow Tie, as his green eyes stayed transfixed on her face. “Crimson requests your presence as well.”

“O-Oh… alright.” Bow Tie responded as she shifted out of the room along with Surprise who seemed relatively calm with her tagging along. “I wonder what is going on..”

Surprise shrugged at her question, even though she was not exactly asking the pegasus herself. The unit moved swiftly and silently before sharply turning down the hall and advancing towards a laboratory that was guarded by two large stallions. Sky Charge let his face be scanned before the doors slid open and he guided the rest of the group inside.

Bow Tie squinted when she saw ponies dressed in white cleaning sharp blades, before laying them down neatly on a towel. Glory casually hummed as she strolled around the new room, this time poking the devices infused with laser technology.

“Oof… someone’s going a little overboard.” The general laughed, as Crimson cleaned his glasses with a handkerchief guided by his magic light.

“Welcome Bow Tie… I hope you can guide these surgeons on implanting the core reactor you’ve invented to give Subject 666 an unlimited power source.” He sniffed, before gesturing towards the team awaiting her commands. “They know how to do the minimal surgery, but when the time comes to install the core, they are going to need your guidance.”

“Wait… you were serious about giving this psychopath weapons of mass destruction? Oh, jee, let’s see how well this pans out.” Glory snorted, throwing herself onto a chair and leaning her head onto a table. “Smartest ponies in the world… I tell ya.”

“Who let Glory drink again?” Crimson shouted as the ponies in the room avoided eye contact. “No matter we will not be needing her assistance right now, just next time Glory keep your prude comments to yourself!”

The general threw up her hooves before settling down to watch the show. Sky Charge patted the table, before commanding the subject to obey. “Up!”

Surprise hesitated before leaping up on the table and laying down, as the team very cautiously began tying her down. Keeping their distance from her limbs, they secured her forelimbs, and back legs before strapping down her chest and wings with a thick metal strap. The bindings clicked tightly clutching her stomach and wings, before all that was left was Surprise’s head.

“We will need to give her some painkillers, in order for her to heal properly and not claw or bite at the stitches and installments.” Bow Tie said as the surgeons brought forward a cup of gooey liquid that sloshed over the side. “You will have to unlatch her muzzle, and gently let her drink. If she does not consume the entire dosage, it will not work correctly.”

Sky Charge swiped the cup before approaching the pegasus and unlatching the bindings on her mouth. He shoved the medicine forward, “Drink.”

Surprise threw her head to the side. “No!”

He furrowed his brows in frustration before commanding once more. “Drink!”

“I said no!”

Crimson growled. “She’s doing it again, the childish behavior that gets on my last nerves!”

Sky Charge brought out his taser before ramming it in her ribcage! She spasmed before her head lolled and collapsed on the metal table in exhaustion. The unicorn soldier brought over the painkillers once more before bringing it to her muzzle. “Drink it dammit!”

Surprise pursued her lips, before throwing her nose in the air. “No!”

“That’s IT!” Crimson shouted, before storming over and snatching the killers with his magic. “Move, I’ll do it!”

He brought the cup down into his hoof as he forced it towards her lips, Surprise avoided the cup before glancing at the doctor starting to blow his fuse. Suddenly his confidence got a little too high, and Surprise’s mouth opened before lunging forward and catching his hoof in her teeth! The cup was dropped, splashing onto the floor as Crimson howled in agony, before Glory jumped into action! She growled, shaking her head to the side like a rabid dog and her chew toy, as blood started to seep out from his wounds!

“Get her OFF!” Crimson screamed, as Glory punched, poked, and slapped Surprise’s head until she was able to let go! The pegasus hung on for dear life, her teeth and jaws boring into the flesh of the doctor until the general stabbed her personal taser right into Surprise’s eye!

She let go, wailing in pain as the doctor stumbled back clutching his trembling hoof as his murderous gaze looked back at the satisfied subject.

“Sir.. sir are you okay?” Bow Tie asked, running over to her boss as he swatted her away! He picked himself up on his own, before limping over to a table and wrapping his bleeding wound within a thick towel.

“THAT vile BEAST will not receive painkillers, start with the operation… and I demand she not go under anesthesia! She will feel every single slice, every single cut off organ… until she learns to NEVER grow bold enough to attack me like that ever again!”

“W-Wait… that’s extremely inhumane! You can’t just-” Bow Tie was cut off by her boss who glanced at her with a wild and unstable snarl.

“Did I stutter? Get to work!”

Sky Charge roughly slammed Surprise’s head down on the metal table before strapping her head to the device monitoring her brain waves. The subject growled, but her warnings went unanswered as the blades and scalpels started to be pushed over. A saw was placed on the side, as the surgeons brought over another table filled with the guns that Bow Tie had made to be infused with Surprise’s exoskeleton.

“Crimson… please rethink this… the pain… will be so undeniably excruciating!” She begged, but her pleas went unanswered as Crimson nodded for them to continue. “No… no… please!”

Without hesitation, the first surgeon picked up a sharp blade, before positioning it above the wide awake subject struggling against the metal latches. “Beginning the first incision, the slit will end near the external abdominal.”

The pony screeched, as the blade pressed hard into her chest! The skin started to peel away, from the special blades forged to cut through the Xocruorium’s protection as Surprise screamed in agony! The clean slice was guided all the way to its destination, before the skin was bent away, resting on Surprise’s rib cage while her muscles were exposed.

“Cutting through the caudal deep pectoral muscle, we need to cut away some of the fat protecting the layers of muscle to create a large enough gap for the core.” The surgeon shouted to his team, as they handed him a harmonic scalpel that started to vibrate as soon as he held it. “Hold open the flaps of skin, and prevent the cut from bleeding.”

The scalpel began to smoke as it easily moved throughout the flesh, while Surprise screamed and cried out from the intense waves of pain! The surgeon heartlessly focused, as the blood was wiped away and his work never faltered for even a moment.

“S-Stop… stop!” Surprise begged, snot beginning to pour from her nose as her hooves rubbed raw from all her aggressive spasms. She wailed as the incision in her muscles opened up to reveal the breast bone, as the surgeon stuck his hoof within the gap. Her head slapped against the metal, tears starting to prick her eyes as he wiggled around in the fresh wound.

“Okay… Bow Tie, there’s enough space to connect the core.” The surgeon reported, as the mare shook her head in disbelief before growing sick to her stomach.

“I-I can’t do this… I have to leave!” She cried, tears streaming down her face before she fled from the room sobbing down the hall. Crimson shook his head with disappointment, before approaching the group.

“I have her notes, I am a doctor as well… insert the core close to her heart. We will rest the magnets beside the reactor, before installing the wires towards her forelimbs.”

“Yes sir,” the surgeon replied. The vibrating scalpel began to cut once more, to where her muscles trembled and squirted blood onto the white coat the surgeon wore. Surprise started to sob loudly and messily, before squirming and pleading with the stallion burning away towards the sensitive muscle of her heart!

“S-S… stop… I…. it… it… hurts!” Surprise begged, her mouth opening up and releasing an agonizing howl making Glory turn away.

The surgeon was handed the core before he glanced at the beating heart pumping in his face. He placed the reactor between two strong muscles nestling it within them, before touching a button and letting it grow and expand into place. Wires poked out from the little cube, the nuclear power coming to life as sharp, durable Xocruorium tubes started to automatically poke into Surprise’s exposed muscles installing itself manually.

The pain was unbearable, as she threw her head to the side and vomited on the floor while sobbing. Crimson made a face of disgust before sniffing and patting the side of his experiment. “Stitch her up, the wires will implant themselves on their own.”

Her skin and muscles were patched before a sharp and thin needle-like blade began to sow up the incision making her shriek and cry every time a movement was made. They then moved to her hooves before glancing at them dangling off the edge of the table.

“Amputate them accordingly, we only need a few tendons and muscles, but the rest will be robotic or more specifically the Xocruorium replacements.” Crimson said as a saw was brought over and turned on.

Surprise’s eyes grew wide, as she kicked and moved desperately, but the latches held her firm. “N...No… N-no please! I-I’m s...sorry… I’m hic…. S-sorry!” Her tear stained cheeks were soaked to the bone, as Crimson leaned over her and grinned.

“Next time think before you act Subject 666, I hope you learned your lesson.”

“Y….Yes… I...I won’t ever bite again… I’m… sorry!”

“If only your apology meant something, continue.” Crimson said emotionlessly as the saw inched closer made to cut cleanly through her Xocruorium upgrades. The blade ground against her fur, starting to cut near her elbow as she shrieked so hard her voice blew out! She made gargles, as the saw sprayed blood and bone marrow all along the metal flooring. In a few seconds, her forelimb crashed onto the ground, her hoof and half her foreleg dismembered.

The Xocruorium limb infused with the memory of guns was placed up to the squirting and bleeding limb of the pegasus before the wires from the core started to snake out. They attached onto the metal appendage, before pulling it forwards to seal onto the clean cut.

“First installment completed.” The surgeon shouted, turning off the spinning saw, moving it, and then turning it back on near the other forelimb. “Beginning next phase.”

Surprise weakly groaned, thick mucus dripping from her muzzle as her head moved around sluggishly. The saw without warning started to cut into her other limb, as the pain started up once more but she could only silently scream! The next limb was severed before the next robotic Xocruorium prosthetic was attached onto the stump.

Surprise kicked harmlessly, her strength drained as Crimson was handed a blade and a microchip into his hoof. He cleared his throat, waving his injured limb in the face of the pegasus drifting in and out of consciousness.

“I’m going to cut into your skull now, Subject 666… this… this will be the final piece needed to control your new upgrades.” Crimson whispered, as the blade poked into the temple of the poor mutant struggling to come to terms with what was happening. “There we go.”

The slit didn't need to be big, as the tiny device attached itself to the silver skull of the pegasus before flashing red and beeping. Crimson watched as the tip of a wire attached to the chip, before whirring to life.

“Everything is in working order, Subject 666 is the first official cyborg to ever be created.” Sky Charge announced, as the surgeon flicked the blood from his hooves.

Surprise vomited once more, unable to turn her head as her own fluids splattered on her neck and face before she slipped into a heavy state of unconsciousness. Crimson sighed in content, as the twitching cyborg remained still with the Xocruorium morphing into a white-furred forelimb.

“Have her monitored while she recovers, get this nasty mutant cleaned up and out of my sight!”

Her table was collected by soldiers as they began to push the table from the room, while Glory shook her head at what she had just witnessed.

“Sir I don't know what you were thinking… but what you just did was evil and wrong!”

Crimson glanced at his injured limb before shaking his head in disagreement. “I do what is necessary, she needs to be controlled!”

Glory picked herself up before scrunching her face with concern. “I said it once, and I’ll say it again, that pony will never be controlled… you might as well stop trying before you make an enemy you’ll regret.”

Three Days Past.

Surprise limped, as she softly sobbed while being guided to her training station. Bow Tie flinched at every tear that fell, her anger at what Crimson did burning intensely in her soul. The pegasus stumbled, many times not used to her new limbs as the cyborg was roughly forced onto her hooves and quickly made to walk once more.

She was shoved into the room, before being attached to large and thick columns as targets stood in front of her several meters away. Bow Tie was heartbroken to leave her without saying anything, but she sadly joined Crimson’s side in the protective booth with Glory snarling at him from a distance.

“Subject 666 form a Mechanical Desolation Fusil, and shoot down the targets as they appear.” Crimson commanded as Surprise hesitated before her right foreleg transformed into the desired gun and pointed towards the holographic soldiers.

She trembled, tears still dripping down her face before she shot all the advancing targets without even looking! The holograms burst into pieces, falling to the ground in chunks of glowing light as the Xocruorium gun sizzled from its first fire.

“Excellent, now form a Refined Plasma Carbine and let the microchip installed into your brain send your commands to the gun itself, it should form in seconds!”

The gun pixelated as the metal transformed into the next gun, but Surprise didn’t fire and instead just stared straight ahead at the targets. Bow Tie leaned forward, as the cyborg’s body began to tremble… until her body collapsed against the column and her limp body hung against the chains!

“What… what’s happening… get a medical team in there at once!” Crimson commanded, as a team rushed in and examined the cyborg with a small device.

“Subject 666 is no longer breathing, and a heartbeat cannot be detected.” The nurse reported, as Crimson slammed his hooves on the glass his voice booming through the speaker.

“THEN resuscitate her! We CANNOT lose her! We cannot afford to waste our research we do NOT have time to create another one of her!”

The emergency unit and lead medic began to try and revive the fallen cyborg. “We cannot work with her chains covering her body… what would you have us do?”

“GET THEM OFF, if she dies every single one of us dies!” Crimson bellowed, sweat pouring off his neck and mane as he chewed his hoof nervously.

The chains were ripped off, as the medic moved her mane out from her face but stopped. “Sir.. there is a gash on her neck, bleeding profusely… do you know if this is the cause of her collapse?”

“I don’t care WHAT made her collapse just get her back on her hooves!” He boomed, slamming his hoof down on the screen showing the training room’s controls.

Glory suddenly leapt towards the screen, before zooming in towards the wound that was hidden by the long yellow mane of the pegasus. “Wait… isn't that the exact same place her magnetic collar was installed?”

Crimson hummed. “Can’t be… she was given it when she was born. It keeps her from ever straying from the fort walls, keeping her contained.”

“Unless…” Bow Tie whispered, “She clawed it out.”

Glory cocked her head, zooming all around the wound as the medics prepared the defibrillators and booted them up. “Nope I am pretty sure that’s where you stuck it in once she was born from her surrogate mother.”

Crimson batted his hoof. “Impossible, foals start to create long-time memories at three… she was just a newborn!”

Bow Tie glanced at the wound unwavering. “This isn't a normal pony Crimson…” She trailed off, before moving the camera to zoom into the gaping wound. “Only one explanation, and that is she remembered where you put it in.”

“Wait…” Glory mumbled, as the foreleg of Surprise began to pixelate. “Oh my GOD she’s adapted to become undetectable to our monitoring system GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!”

Surprise’s limb transformed into a blade, as she picked herself up and stabbed the first stallion through the chest! He wheezed, as she ripped the sword-like appendage from out of his heart and flung the body to the side! Blood splattered onto the floor, as her blade came swinging decapitating a medic frozen in fear! His head bounced along the ground, rolling towards her hooves as his body collapsed limply!

She leapt forward, slamming her body onto the spine of a fleeing nurse who squealed and begged for her life! Surprise’s forelimb once more glitched before a rifle poked at her cheek, and the bullet splattered her skull onto the ground. In an explosion of red pulp, the cyborg approached the last member who pawed at her helplessly with weaponless hooves!

The pegasus approached him, before dragging the head medic towards the door and lifting his face to the scanner. Crimson’s eyes grew wide when he realized what she was doing! “NO… NO! She’s escaping, without that collar, she can leave the base! Get an assault unit here immediately!”

Glory jumped into action before throwing her head towards her own little speaker. “Subject 666 has gone rogue, we need an entire squad up here with tranquilizers NOW!”

The door opened, as Surprise let go of the stallion and turned around before blowing his head onto the pavement! Her gun smoked, as she whipped back around and fled at blinding speeds before opening her unchained wings and stretching her wings for the first time! Alarms blared, as the cyborg sniffed out the approaching squad and ducked down another hall to avoid them!

Unfortunately, she was met by a separate one who fired as soon as her white feathers flashed into view! Dozens of darts came flying towards her as she flapped her mighty wings, the gust blowing them back towards the soldiers advancing! They threw themselves towards the floor to avoid the powerful sedating tools, as Surprise opened fire!

The plasma bullets colliding with the soldiers caused their chests to burst open from the impact! Surprise turned, catching each and every fleeing pony and causing them to collapse in a heap of their own spilling blood. One clawed his way towards a door, desperately and weakly trying to open it clutching his gushing wound with his hoof!

Suddenly he felt a presence behind him, as his head was lifted by a white furry hoof and a blade roughly dragged against his tender throat! A wave of fluids came from the open wound, as his choking head was dropped onto the ground, spasming for a second before he took his final breath. Surprise pressed her nose into the air, sensing another oncoming wave of soldiers as she sulked in the shadows and fled once more.

With her wings tucked to her side, she leapt upon boxes of supplies before a gun aimed towards her and started to fire! She formed a rifle out of annoyance, before shooting it once and blasting the robotic weapon off its hinges! The gun head smoked, before leaking fuel onto the metal flooring and falling apart from the damage.

Surprise looked upwards before noticing a vent, and tearing it off the screws while jumping up into the artificial oxygen system. She crawled through the darkness, before dragging her blade through the nuclear energy being carried throughout the fort! The pegasus silently tore out wires as the squad yelled when they found her past victims.

“She’s in the vent, open fire!”

Darts began to sink through the flimsy metal supporting the inside of the base, as Surprise avoided them and cut off a wire with her teeth! She glanced at the fuel, before looking back at the wire still pulsating with static.

She poked a hole in the oxygen tanks, the hydrogen leaking along with its partner to create an artificial environment. Surprise smiled, before releasing the sparking wire into the mixture.

“Oops!”

The spark ignited, catching the nuclear energy and combusting from its contact with the hydrogen! This explosion devastated the entire eastern branch of the fort, as the army beneath her was vaporized on the spot. Their screams echoed as their skin and fur melted, turning them into piles of hot goo sizzling along with the leaking metal.

Surprise emerged from the flames, her emotionless stare covered in soot as the Xocruorium metal did its job and protected her from a self-made bomb. Her hooves splashed on the melted pile of goop, as she trailed her way towards an opening giving her access to the open sky for the first time in her life.

The explosion had blown a hole in the fort, to where the outside world was exposed. Her wings felt the hot air, along with the amber colored sky brushing its dry sand across her muzzle. She sneezed as her eyes took in the view for the first time, and she spread her wings eagerly! The world beyond her prison was indeed a wasteland, with nothing to see except miles and miles of sand under a mangled sky.

There were no clouds, no smells other than the burning base behind her, and no refreshing wind blowing through her feathers. She leapt towards her freedom, the baking wind catching under her wings as her eyes widened at the adrenaline pumping through her veins!

Something zipped through the air, before sinking into her neck! Her heart sank, as her muscles became weak and lost their momentum in the air! She crashed onto her chin, her muzzle burying itself in the scorching sand as her eyes groggily glanced to Crimson advancing with Glory and her soldiers.

He shot again, another dart boring into her rump as she fell onto her side helplessly.

“What did I say about getting distracted on the battlefield Subject 666?”

Her eyes fluttered closed, the last thing she heard was the laughing doctor cackling as her body was hauled upwards and dragged back into the prison she was so close to escaping.

Surprise awoke, before her vision unblurred. She jumped when she started seeing pictures, and words forming in her vision! She struggled, grunting when her grip was restricted by a powerful slab of metal! Her vision focused, zooming into random parts of the room as she started to hyperventilate! Suddenly her vision picked up on little red blobs moving throughout an area behind the walls, making her shake her head in disbelief!

“Wha… what is this? Where am I… what’s going on?” Surprise shouted, her questions echoing in the abandoned room as she felt a slight breeze brush against her chest. She looked down before screaming, as her heart pumped freely and exposed to whatever pony had messed with her while she was unconscious! “Get me out… get me OUT of here!”

Suddenly a voice, calm and emotionless spoke up. Installing Annihilation Gen-1 2.0 System, stand by, receiving new commands while performing first system boot up of the operation center. Surprise jumped, a light flashing from her left eye as her jaw clenched in fear when realizing something was wrong with her it.

She glanced to the side, before looking at a bloody object sitting on a metal platter. Her left sided vision zoomed in towards the object before words printed for her to see. Scanning… DNA matched… Subject 666’s severed organ identified.

It was her eye.

She screamed, her heart thundering in her chest as she trembled in both fear and confusion as the artificial intelligence spoke up once more. Pony approaching identified as commander Crimson Desert, four other ponies approaching as well, advancing unknown pony, weakened, dehydrated, estimated strategy: assault to the head.

Crimson came in trailing behind him a chained stallion, with ribs poking out from his fur. He was shoved forward, as Surprise activated her gun to blow apart the doctor who grinned maliciously and comfortably behind the aimed muzzle.

“I am going to blow you APART!” Surprise shouted, as the stallion smacked his lips together while the scientists backed away from the furious cyborg.

“Alright then… go ahead, shoot.”

Surprise flexed, happy to take up his challenge but no bullets came out! The AI spoke once more making the unprepared pegasus jump! Action denied, Subject 666 unable to formulate commands, Crimson Desert voided from all harm.

“W...What?”

Crimson laughed clopping his hooves together in delight as he waved his hoof before wiping the stray tear from his eye. “Do you like it Subject 666? I had Bow Tie create a system that controls your weapons and limbs for you! Now you get the full experience of a cyborg, while still retaining your intelligent mind.”

“No… NO… shoot dang it!” Surprise shouted the gun clicking as nothing came out of the muzzle towards the smiling doctor. “Nonononono! You can't… this isn't… how?”

“Deactivate weapon.” Crimson stated loud and clear, as the gun hissed before transforming back into a regular forelimb. “Come here young pegasus.”

The metal restraints curled away from her body freeing her, as her legs moved on their own! She tried to resist, she tried to walk away, but her body was unable to fight off the AI now lodged within her mind and soul! Her hooves clopped on the metal, before she lifted her head and snarled at Crimson who walked around her lifting her tail and inspecting the pony now under his control! Surprise couldn't move, her legs sealed onto the metal flooring as if they were buried in concrete, while her ears flattened in extreme detest!

He came close to her ear before whispering into it softly. “I took away your free will, every single cell in your body finally belongs to me.”

A scientist holding the chains of the bony pony nodded his head. “Without the installment of the Xocruorium this wouldn't be possible.”

Crimson pointed towards the beaten and worn stallion. “Annihilation Gen-1 2.0 terminate the ex-soldier of Blackheart, after you’ve played with him a little.”

Command received, fulfilling request. Surprise lunged at the soldier his eyes widening as he tried to scramble away, while Crimson shooed the scientists towards the door. The pony was levitated by Surprise’s telekinesis before being thrown to the wall! He screamed out in pain, as his spine cracked before he was peeled off the wall by the magic once more! The mutant began ripping out his mane, chunks of it falling the ground, before she flipped him onto his back and slammed her hooves into his soft stomach!

He yelped, crying out in a weakened wail before blood pumped out from his mouth and splattered on his ruffled coat. Surprise dragged him to the wall, Crimson watching eagerly as she repeatedly smashed his muzzle into the metal! Teeth and blood scattered onto the ground, as his beaten face pulsated mixing in with his salty tears.

He tried to form words but his mouth was too far gone to speak, as his body was tossed near the hooves of Crimson who inspected him.

“He’s had enough… finish him.”

Terminating the ex-soldier of Blackheart. The AI said, as Surprise’s system found a new weapon that was installed within her Xocruorium exoskeleton. A saw pixelated into view, before the nuclear core provided it with power to where it began to spin.

The soldier weakly tried to scoot away, as Surprise stepped on his tail. Her eyes were glazed over, her expression unreadable as the saw was pressed into his back! His choking screams were muffled by the blade cutting through muscle and bone, as slices of flesh came spinning off of the teeth and onto the ground. He strained before growing limp, the saw making its way all the way down to the metal flooring before detaching the body into two separate chunks.

His organs splattered loosely on the ground, while his fluids seeped freely onto Surprise’s hooves and the bloody blade transformed back into her forelimb. The smell was horrendous, as Crimson waved the stench from his nose and clapped at the performance.

“Alright, clean up this mess I am going to attend Glory’s meeting about her war strategy when advancing Blackheart… we are now ready.” Crimson said as he waved to the ponies leaving them alone with the controlled cyborg. “Don’t play with my toy.”

The door slid open before closing behind the doctor, as the scientists turned to their leader that pulled off his hooded mask. Sky Charge had a snarl on his lips, as Surprise turned to him with flattened ears and a defensive stance. The stallion dug through his pockets, before dangling a dog tag in front of Surprise’s vision.

“Do you know what this is?” He asked, the necklace melted and bent from intense flames while stuck with a strange substance that coated the numbers within the tag. “DO you KNOW what this is? Answer me!”

Surprise answered by forming a gun, before aiming at him with a hardened stare. He laughed, swinging the necklace along his hoof as she fired. Action denied, Subject 666 unable to formulate commands, Soldier Sky Charge voided from all harm.

The cyborg widened her eyes in bewilderment as the stallion cleared his throat. “Annihilation Gen-1 2.0 switch to passive mode.”

Her legs stood firm, before her eyes printed words. Command received, no longer posing a threat to any pony within range. Sky Charge slugged Surprise as hard as he could against her skull, throwing her towards the ground in agony! Her vision turned blurry, her hearing fading out for a second as the dog tag was once more shoved in her face.

“Tell me what this IS… it's a bucking dog TAG! Do you know where I found it? Answer me you filthy mutant!” He shouted, as his hoof came crashing down on her ribs causing her to choke on her saliva. “Do you have ANY clue about who you’ve killed, what PONIES had their family taken away from them because of you?”

His hoof came down twice, striking Surprise hard as she struggled to breathe! The mare could only curl up just slightly, as Sky Charge used his magic to slam the butt of his gun into Surprise’s temple.

“Do you know where I found my brother Onyx Star? DO YOU KNOW, where I found him you unwanted bastard?” Sky Charge cried, before kicking her solidly in the gut avoiding her exposed heart and lowering himself to her level. “His head was blown to oblivion, while he was trying to SAVE your worthless soul! You slaughtered him, and left his body to be eaten by the rats, while you continued to massacre my brothers in arms!”

Suddenly Sky Charge took out a massive and thick taser as he knocked the side of it tauntingly against Surprise’s flank.

“Up!” He commanded, her body picking itself off the ground against her will as she trembled weakly from the blows she received. “Spread!”

In confusion, she watched as her legs spread apart, while he eyed her from afar and the scientists who observed cried out in alarm.

“W-Wait you're not authorized to-”

“SHUT your goddamn mouth!” Sky Charge boomed, causing the ponies to grow quiet as he glanced back at the still pony unable to move. “You know what I am about to do Subject 666? You murdered my brother, and so we are going to do a field test of my own. I am going to stick this taser in places it ain't supposed to go… and we are going to see how much voltage you can take before you collapse!”

Sky Charge approached, before lifting Surprise’s tail. That night the cyborg was relentlessly violated the boundaries of the torture going without limitations. The pain didn’t stop for hours, the abuse growing harsher and rougher the more the time slowly dragged on. No matter how much Sky Charge wanted her to plead for his mercy…. No matter how frustrated he got, intensifying his measures… the cyborg never screamed, just silently wept refusing to make a sound.

Chapter 5

Bow Tie kicked her hooves along the sand, the heat from the loose surface scorching her hooves but in this world, she had grown accustomed to it. The well known amber sky, never faulting from that color flashed brightly from overhead as the sandstorm blew softly.

Her eyes from her whole life of bearing the outside gust had toughened to where the sand hardly stung anymore as she continued to walk forward. Glory popped open the lid on her flask before downing some of the liquid, the stench of alcohol nearly overcoming the scent of a metallic aroma this world bore.

"Glory… do you ever have a feeling, that regardless of where your loyalty lies, you start to question it at given times?"

The unicorn shifted the assault rifle hanging from her shoulders, as she shrugged. "Yeah, that's what gives us free will and separates us from machines. We can think through things, adapt, and question when something doesn't feel right."

"What Crimson is doing… to Subject 666 or as I call her Surprise… it isn't humane. I've watched her get beaten to pieces, torn apart… am I a coward for not stopping it?"

The general hummed, her magic sizzling on the flask as she stared off into the burning sky. "In a sense, I think we are all cowards, but this is war Bow Tie... exceptions are made in these times. When on the battlefield, you can't have emotions… you have to think survival. If you were to go against Crimson he'd have you killed, if you tried to run away… you'd die out here. There's nothing wrong with thinking for yourself, everypony needs to be that way… or they'd get themselves killed. Subject 666 as painful and selfish as this sounds, needs to fend for herself for Crimson's plan of getting the cure will benefit us all in the long run."

"But.. she's a slave! I know this is war but it's wrong! I can't watch anymore… or I am going to lose my mind!" Bow Tie shouted, as her friend and ally bit the inside of her lip.

"You don't have a choice, not here not now…" Glory said giving her friend some tough love before gently approaching her. "You know at this point Sub- I mean Surprise, is more like a rabid animal… I know you've grown attached to her, but she is too far gone. If you risked your life to bust her out, many ponies are going to die… not just by her, but by the disease that remains uncured. Surprise doesn't care for you, she never will… she cannot form attachments she doesn't have the capacity to. You free her, and you are digging your own grave."

Bow Tie scrunched her muzzle, the warm gust of sand blowing through her pink mane as Glory's horn lit up placing the flask back into her uniform. The scientist spoke softly, almost in a whisper in response. "I just feel like… Surprise and I have a bond, ya know? She's never attacked me, and seems to trust me."

Glory shook out flecks of sand from her multi-colored mane, before relying. "Coming from a pony who's experienced a near-death run on with the mutant, I am telling you that trust can go real quick."

"I think she can learn to love… as long as a pony she truly trusts helps her." Bow Tie mumbled as she paced along the sand.

"NO Bow Tie!" Glory shouted, her voice was so raw and demanding it made the scientist cower before the general softened her eyes and spoke gentler. "I may not know much about science, but being the traumatized war veteran I am I've been through lots of therapy. So much actually, I help soldiers in my free time let go of what they've seen. Surprise is a sociopath and there has never been evidence that's been proven to cure them… I won't say it's impossible, but it is highly unlikely that her behavior can be reversed."

The two mares grew silent the dust storm continuing to rage before Bow Tie started to sniffle and cry. "She doesn't deserve this life… she's known nothing but pain…"

Glory pulled the researcher into a hug before soothing her softly by patting and stroking her mane. The general's hardened body was not comfortable, but Bow Tie needed a pony's touch as she cried out all her frustrations and feelings in a heaping ball of wet tears.

The cry began to dampen Glory's uniform but her loyalty towards her friend caused her to hold and comfort the mare for as long as she needed to.

"Listen.." Glory whispered as the mare brought her muzzle upwards to glance into the soldier's sapphire eyes. "War doesn't last forever, we are sending out a team to help Surprise assault Blackheart's western garrison and it will be the first act of war where we have an advantage. With the cyborg's assistance, our troubles will be over quicker than expected… so just hang tight, we will figure something out."

Suddenly a blast of energy ripped their attention towards jetpacks skyrocketing in their direction! Glory tugged out her assault rifle as the soldiers advanced covered in metallic armor, along with an oxygen tank resting on their backs. Bow Tie squinted, noticing their hooves carried no weapons while the glass screen across their helmets flashed and beeped. Glory wasted no time in shooting, the bullet whizzing through the air before cutting across the first pony's shoulder! A mechanical whurr was made, before the jetpack busted open shooting the injured soldier towards the sand where he crashed landed.

His limbs sprawled out, motionless as the other soldiers came closer. Glory aimed once more as they advanced but slowing to cruising speed. "Damn Blackheart scouts, I assume they have found our main headquarters! We've got to take them out before they give the information back to their leader!"

She fired once more, but Bow Tie quickly angled the gun to where the bullet was aimed towards the sky! Glory glanced to her in surprise, as Crimson's assistant silenced her with a whisper. "Don't shoot… I think they are scouts delivering a message! They are unarmed if they wanted us killed they would have done it."

Glory was skeptical, but lowered her weapon as the scouts hovered a few feet from them. Their nuclear-infused jet-packs scattered the sand before they turned off their devices and stood feet away from the two mares. Their markings associated with Blackheart's army intimidated them, as a large armored stallion marched forward. His chest plate was filled to the brim with mechanical upgrades, along with lights strung out along the midnight-black suit of armor he had protecting him.

His oxygen tank was large, but infused with the rockets along his jet-pack as his head lowered and the darkened screen hiding his eyes and face revealed nothing about him. Suddenly his armored hoof came up to his neck, pressing a button as Glory stood in front of Bow Tie protectively lowering her warning scowl at the stallion.

He cautiously lowered his hoof as the helm melted away from his muzzle revealing a three-clawed slash across his nose. His pelt was black, while his emotionless and drained dark cherry eyes scanned over the two mares. The pixelating helmet exposed his neck and dark grey mane that fell in sloppy spikes down the side of his throat.

He smiled politely as Glory's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates! Bow Tie stammered, almost weakly falling onto the sandy landscape as the fear crept into her expression! "B...B... B-Blackheart!"

The general without any more hesitant actions brought forward her gun, but her speed was outmatched by Blackheart who pulled out something as well.

"Before you shoot, I have a gift… here, take it. I only ask you listen to what I have to say." The mass executioner said softly. He tossed the bottle of green liquid towards Bow Tie who almost didn't catch it in fear it was something that would kill her on the spot!

Glory dropped her gun as she examined the bottle with disbelief. "Is… Is this…"

"The cure your branch has been looking for yes, it will cure any ponies that have been affected by my created disease." Blackheart said, his voice complex giving them both a feeling of uncertainty as they fiddled with the bottle. "If I were to tell you that you have been fighting on the wrong side… would you listen to my reasoning?"

Bow Tie angrily pointed a hoof at the stallion. "You created a disease that WIPED out more than ninety percent of the population! I am not listening to ANYTHING you have to say!"

Blackheart frowned. "I did what I had to. If the eight billion ponies on the planet were not controlled, all of us would have starved. We don't have enough resources to share, ponies would have resulted in cannibalism, they would have murdered each other, children would be slaughtered when born for the world could not continue to provide for them. The world was overpopulated, the nations fought for what was left after the sun's fall… I saw the chaos beginning to surface, and if I didn't stop it ponies would have died in much more gruesome deaths. Being eaten alive by desperate citizens, suffocating in the heat and sand, starving or dying of dehydration… tell me Bow Tie, what would you have done?"

"I would have created more resources, we have technology that can create false air for crying out loud! You murdered mares, stallions, and even CHILDREN by your disease! How are you any different than them dying from starvation?"

The stallion responded calmly. "I created a disease that would prey on genetics that would not survive in our new world. The disease attacks the genome, weeding out cancer genes along with other genetically passed on traits that will weaken the remaining ponies left here. Since we survive on radiation and nuclear power I have to build a race that can tolerate it… since nuclear waste will cause vicious cancer. Through selective breeding, I can jump-start evolution… ponies evolve over generations, and my job is to get them to that stage over the course of time. We HAVE to evolve Bow Tie, we don't have a choice… the ponies too weak to survive cannot be allowed to reproduce, or we will doom our own kind by their genetics! The ones that survive, pass on their adaptations to their young, and eventually will birthe a new species of mutated ponies that will be able to survive on this barren planet."

"So you're saying, you killed billions of ponies to avoid starvation, and created a disease that would weed out the weak so we could evolve?" Glory snorted, before rolling her eyes with derision. "Why didn't you, I dunno… use your time to create things to make it easier to live here? Instead of killing off half the planet!"

Blackheart paced, his scouts remaining as still as stone before he licked his dry lips. "If I knew how to do that I would have… we are hardly scraping by with what we have. We have to work with what's left, with limited water… and corrupted food sources made of other life forms crawling beneath the surface. For a while, I thought my way was the only solution… I knew I had to make the hard choice because no other pony had the stomach to be hated… and despised for doing what was right. By killing ponies, I saved our future… we are no longer overpopulated, so I have no need to spread my disease any longer. The ponies who survived are fit to start repopulating, but… the process of evolution will take generations… time we may or may not have… so I have come to a conclusion."

Bow Tie swallowed nervously but responded. "That would be…?"

"Crimson's creation… Subject 666 as I recall… her genome. She has animalistic traits that my soldiers were able to salvage, one being the Sahara desert ant's genetic code that piqued my interest. She is able to withstand temperatures of one hundred and twenty-two degrees Fahrenheit, without even flinching just like the ant itself...there would be no need to force evolution when the process could be sped up using her. My plan isn't guaranteed, it never was… but using the subject to survive will be. He created a pony with DNA that could be infused with living organisms to help them mutate! If I could get a sample of her blood, just that alone could create a formula that could enhance our survival rates! Her natural abilities include heat resistance, disease immunity, and so much more! If our genetically passed down diseases and flaws were wiped out by her mutations… and her given abilities shared with the pony race… we could survive!"

"I gotta admit… that's actually… something that could help." Glory said as she glanced to her unsure friend who gave him a blank stare.

"So you're saying if you get your hooves on Surprise, you could genetically enhance every single pony to have them mutate into a hybrid? If Surprise's genes really could do that… and save the remaining pony race, by giving them abilities to survive on this planet… I don't know I am still not entirely sure about your intentions."

Blackheart wrinkled his face just slightly. "If I truly were the killer you thought I was, I would have kept the cure to myself… even when the threat was gone. I have no desire to kill, I never did… I just wanted to help us survive. Crimson is the one you should fear, he created a super soldier only he can control… have you asked him what he would do once he gets my cure? Go ahead, ask him… he won't have an answer to give you because he wants to take my place with his created pet. He wants to rule this broken planet, but don't hear it from me… go ahead and give him the mixture… I guarantee that was not what he was after this whole time."

The soldier turned around, preparing to depart as Bow Tie asked him another question. "Why did you come to us and give us the cure? What do you want in return?"

Blackheart stopped. "I only wish to fix these broken lands, and Crimson's experiment is the only guaranteed way to do it. I hope when the time comes, which it will… you will be ready to aid me, only if you wish. I hope you will see the true colors of your side, but you have free will and can choose what you want to do with the information you uncover… for now. Unlike Subject 666 bound to do Crimson's bidding, you are able to choose who you believe… but I implore you to tread lightly, for the stallion you work under could have you as his next experiment."

The helm came over Blackheart's face, as his jetpack booted up along with his scouts preparing to disembark.

Glory shouted over the rockets. "How will we know when the time is upon us?"

"You just will." Came his reply, before him and his crew shot off into the amber sky leaving the two mares to ponder over his words… and wonder what side they truly were on.

One Year Later

Soldiers landed among a ruined town, as they orderly stalked through tucking their advanced guns to their chests as their helms scanned lights on the dirt road. They marched forward, scanners tracking any signs of life as the commanding officer flicked his hoof.

He gave a silent command, the fire flickering in the distance as the buildings crumbled. The white-sheeted metal covering the walls seemed to be melting, as the unit breathed heavily through their helmets sucking up oxygen and protecting themselves from the polluted air. One of the soldiers bent down, before picking out pieces of rubble and exposing a body lodged in the wreckage. He scanned the motionless pony, before picking up his head and glancing in the dilated pupils not responding to the light coming from the flames around him.

Suddenly something sparked through the soldier's helmet before a voice spoke. "Body count around twenty-five, puncture wounds from bullets and multiple fractures to their skeleton uncovered. No signs of any hostility, they must have attacked and ran… tucking their little tail between their legs."

The commander waited for the static to cease before lightly dropping the deceased pony's head, and bowing his head out of respect. "Have you found any tracks or any lead to who the attacker was on our outposts?"

The communication device responded once more. "No tracks, we assume the soldiers came in from the sky… before laying waste here. Our nuclear power plant was attacked for what I assume, was to cut off our resources and power."

He signaled to three other soldiers as they kept watch, spinning around to cover all directions as the commander poked around the outpost. "I am going to search for survivors. These poor souls were innocent, they worked their tails off to provide us with power… while we kept their families safe… we didn't get here in time."

"We've got your back, Commander Shadow Buster." The soldier behind the lieutenant said as he crept along the smoke and fire the pieces of fallen plaster crunching under his hooves. "The ponies who did this are ruthless, makes me remember why I have always feared war."

Something fell towards the ground from within a collapsed structure, as Shadow Buster held up his hoof to silence his crew. They aimed their guns, lights coming off from the weapons as their brave leader went in first searching for any signs of life.

"Keep your eyes open, they could be lodged underneath debris." He said as the darkness swallowed them leaving the only source of light from their guns as their guide. Dust fell from the ceiling, as Shadow Buster began to turn on his night vision. "Huh… weird, I have static interference messing with my suit… can any of you activate your NODs?"

Shadow Buster pawed at his helm, but the vision refused to come on as he slowly turned his head when hearing a steady dripping sound. Something thudded on the ground, as the guns were moved towards the sound… and an object came rolling towards them slowly.

"What… is that?" He asked as the soldiers turned their lights on the object growing still near the base of Shadow Buster's hooves. When the object was exposed, and a thick liquid shown when the light reflected off its surface he cried out! "Oh my God… what… what happened?"

The severed head of a mare lay motionless, as her mane stuck to the bloody fur around her stumped neck. Part of her spinal cord hung out, as Shadow Buster nearly jumped when something shifted in front of them from within the darkness.

Suddenly a light started to come on in sections, a red flash glaring at them in the shape of an eye. Shadow Buster lowered his gun as the eye fixated on him, before he threw his head back to his soldiers.

"Get OUT, the threat is still here!"

They fled, running as fast as they could as Shadow Buster whipped around at the thing following them from behind. He tugged a grenade from off his belt, the lights coming on before he threw it in the mouth of the cave-like building!

He leapt to safety, as the bomb exploded taking down the remainder of the structure! The fire and combustion was powerful enough to melt titanium, when caught in the blast, making him breathe in relief when the thing couldn't be seen from within the flames.

"Close call boys… they probably hid a drone in here or something."

Suddenly white feathers emerged from the fire, before a pegasus carved her way through the explosion… her cyborg eye locking onto the soldiers emotionlessly. They cowered, as the mutant flapped her wings… completely immune to the fire!

"It's… It's the d-devil soldier!" one of the ponies yelled!

Shadow Buster and his unit took up arms quickly, as they aimed their guns they hooves fearfully fumbling around the triggers. "Take her down! If we die today… we die with honor!"

Surprise's mouth remained closed and unresponsive as her AI spoke. Command received, taking the unit out all at once.

Her back opened up, as miniature rockets with sharp needle-like prongs folded into view. Her cyborg eye released a laser, aiming at every single soldier, as the defenders opened fire! The bullets hit solidly, but Surprise remained still and airborne as if they weren't even firing! The shells of the bullets clattered on the ground before the rockets were fired impaling themselves into the soldiers! They stumbled over, their puncture wounds gushing out fluids while the commander Shadow Buster remained now alone.

He looked behind him, swallowing the urge to cry out in distress as his fallen warriors lay dead in heaps by his hooves. Surprise landed, her gaze never faltering as she approached with that blank stare that scared even the most stable minded individual.

She stood firmly a foot away from Shadow Buster as his fear kept him from firing the gun that would be useless to him anyways.

"The pony born with the devil's number… I should have assumed this was your doing. What does your filthy master want? If you are looking for Blackheart we don't have him!"

Surprise lowered her gaze before shooting a hologram through her robotic eye. Incoming transmission from Crimson Desert, loading.

A stallion appeared in a life-size hologram, as the robot remained still while Crimson Desert cleared his throat. "Let's make this quick, this war is starting to tire me. We've been playing this game of cat and mouse for too long, and for a year we've cut off Blackheart's resources to where he has to hide in a rabbit hole. We've destroyed every outpost left, all that's left to do is terminate your head chief… you're high in his ranks… one of the only ones left… so you must know where he's resting his head for the night."

Shadow Buster leveled his glare towards Crimson's withered face. "I know about your mass wipes along our outposts... we just create power… we have no idea where Blackheart is hiding. I came here to avoid this confrontation because I do not have the information you seek, but I guess hiding from your unleashed dog isn't an option."

"Correct, 666 can hunt and track down a rat like you from miles away. Now, if you are going to tell me a fib… I am going to start using methods you wouldn't appreciate. You have been in recent communication with your leader Blackheart, my mutant was able to track the signal to this location before it was cut off." Crimson rubbed his beard with his hoof as he looked back towards the cyborg and grinned. "You do understand… my mutant can track anything. You came here to avoid conflict for the sake of your wife and child… now… does your family want to have the honor of getting up and personal with 666?"

Shadow Buster growled. "You wouldn't… I'll slaughter every single one of your kind if you dare-"

"Oh but I would… in fact," Crimson wavered, as the hologram blinked. Surprise's back opened up revealing deadly rockets as her nose began to sniff. Subject 666 ordered to track, and kill civilians… process of completion 30%... DNA matched, target found. Three miles.

The commander waved his hooves in protest! "He's in an underground bunker thirty miles south from here! It's made of bomb proof material, but you can get in with this tag!" He tossed over his dog tag in desperation, as Crimson nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright.. Thank you for your cooperation. Subject 666 we are done here, dispose of him."

"What?" Shadow Buster cried, as Surprise quickly switched off the hologram before transforming her limb into a blade! With one swift movement, his head was sliced clean off, splattering blood against the debris behind him! The body fell to the ground, as the mutant scooped up the dog tag before shaking the sand from it.

She used her magic to wrap it around her hoof, before swooping up into the sky. Orders received, return to base.

Her enhanced speed caused her figure to quickly gain a fast rhythm, as her wings pumped hard before she hovered over the massive base holding the resistance. Lights flashed at her from the roof, beckoning for her to land as soldiers ran out to greet her. They prepared for her landing, as her body dropped through the air and she slammed her hooves onto the concrete.

She walked forward, her head staring straight ahead as they examined her. A worker lifted her mane, before reporting. "No wounds sighted, preparing to scan her for any malware that Blackheart could have installed."

Surprise sauntered as her wings were picked up and inspected, as another pony ran a buzzing stick along her body. "No malfunctions in her robotic system, we are good to go."

Inspection completed. Advancing to Commander Crimson Desert for further instructions. Surprise sharply turned around before approaching the heavily fortified door with the soldiers following closely behind. She quickly made haste down the spiral stairs, before she burst into the populated room of soldiers gathering weapons.

The room was large, filled with tanks and aircrafts as Crimson observed from high among a balcony. Surprise met him up there, before she grew still awaiting her next orders as Firefly, Bow Tie and Glory also presented themselves.

"This is it… the final battle. Ever since Bow Tie generously tricked Blackheart into coughing up the cure… we have been able to push him back until he had nowhere to run." Crimson announced as he turned and brushed the dust from his prized soldier. "With 666 leading the assault, we will finally rid the planet of this monster. On her own, she has taken out every single one of his outposts, his soldiers… even his highest ranking officers."

He held out his hoof as Surprise used her magic to gently rest the dog tag in it. Bow Tie nervously squirmed as Glory whispered to her.

"Do you think Blackheart is going to contact us? It's been a year… if he wants to live, he should probably do it soon."

Bow Tie nodded. "He was right, Crimson is power hungry… he has slaughtered innocent villagers… just because he had the power to."

Glory shook her head. "I don't know what he is waiting for… he's cornered."

Crimson took out the dog tag before moving his glasses to glance closer at it. "It's encrypted, not a regular one that much is clear. We will use this to get in… but first, the signal from the code must be a dead give away for 666 to find. So Subject 666, track."

Surprise lowered her head before beginning to sniff. Signal recovered, thirty miles south. Tracking… tracking… match found, course set.

"Get going, follow 666 she will lead us to Blackheart's final base." Crimson said, as the army he had at his disposal began to scatter with orders being shouted. "Prepare to move out."

Surprise turned to the giant gates opening as Bow Tie watched her leap off the balcony towards the tanks turning into accordance towards their guide. Ponies jumped in jagged aircrafts, their planes hovering from the ground as the cyborg started to gallop.

Bow Tie turned to Glory. "Let's pray that he contacts us soon… or he won't have the chance to!"

Surprise stopped in front of a blockade of tanks, Crimson riding in a mech as his eyes gazed at the Blackheart soldiers remaining to defend the base with their lives! There was only a split second for the sides to gather themselves, as the tanks rolled up crunching thick sand beneath the links connected to the wheels.

The battlefield was silent for just a few seconds, but when the first shot fired… it was followed by a hailstorm of others! Surprise charged head first, before slamming her body into the metal plating of the first tank she spotted! The armor caved in, ramming into another one of Blackheart's vehicles from the force of Surprise's tackle!

Jets flew overhead, before realizing their gunfire trying to catch Surprise who avoided the missiles being shot from her side! A tank next to her lit up in flames, bursting metal and fluids everywhere as her feathers shielded her from the spraying oil!

Surprise wrapped her hooves around muzzle of another tank, the machine firing a round into the thickened army in front of it before she crushed the metal in front to where it couldn't fire again! Her strength dipped the muzzle downwards, before tipping the entire tank forwards until she was able to lift in in the air!

She grunted before the tank flew into an advancing jet flying by! The plane burst into flames, the explosion raining down pieces from it, as Surprise turned around quickly. A heavy blast of plasma coming from atop of stryker, hit her body as she was backlashed into a mech! Her knocked back force caused the machine to get knocked off balance, when her body crashed into its leg! It stumbled, as her body broke the metal, causing it to tumble to the ground while she recovered!

Another plasma blast was shot, as she rolled to the side to avoid it! Her face remained emotionless while her brain calculated a strategy, until she locked onto the stallion controlling the heavy gun on the top. Her forelimb transformed into a nuclear-powered cannon before she shot a ball of energy towards the stryker which destroyed the gun with ease!

The stallion abandoned the flaming top of the machine, as his body flopped onto the sand. His body remained plagued with fire, his screams drowned in the chaos of the battlefield as a rain of bullets came down upon the two. The harmless attack bounced off of Surprise, but the pony was pulverized, and blown apart.

Surprise suddenly straightened. Command received, guide Bow Tie and Glory towards the entrance. Protect them at all costs, find Blackheart.

Surprise fled from her post, before greeting a small group of twenty soldiers accompanying Crimson as they surrounded the valuable trio. They shot at the ponies returning fire, as Surprise cleared their way by taking out every single tank in her range! Her back morphed into a rack of rockets once more, as they collided into the tanks and in one go they all exploded!

The fire engulfed the soldiers, as the shooting stopped allowing them to proceed forward. Surprise locked her gun at any and every threat, as the army of Blackheart started to get pushed back! They crept through, steering clear of the war… as a hidden triangle poked out from the sand.

Bow Tie held up the dog tag to the scanner, and her access was granted. Glory nervously glanced over to Crimson, as the doctor began to smile when the inside of the bunker was exposed. Lights flicked on, going down a long metal hall as the group followed Surprise inside with the cyborg never making a sound.

Surprise calmly led the way, her eye scanning for any life from within the walls as Crimson cleared his throat. "Be on guard, we are in enemy territory the sooner we find Blackheart and kill him… the faster all of this will be over!"

Suddenly a loud probing screech blasted around them! Crimson screamed in pain as the sound waves relentlessly boomed harshly. "Prepare yourselves, Blackheart has installed a TRAP!" The soldiers threw themselves over the three ponies before creating holographic shields! When nothing rained down, or blasted… or even shot… Crimson moved a shield to where he could look up. "Speakers…? Blackheart only installed… speakers?"

The sounds were indeed coming from huge speakers hanging from the ceiling, but there was nothing else to it!

"Ugh… he must be out of his mind… 666 shoot down the-"

Crimson stopped as Surprise howled, whipping her head back and forth as she rubbed her hoof along her skull! Her head sparked, as her AI spoke. Unable to locate commander, Subject 666 overriding system, Annihilation Gen-1 2.0 system offline, malfunctions severe.

"No! NO!" Crimson yelled, as Surprise blinked rapidly before her head started to clear. "He's using radio interference to mess with my subject's system! Shoot down the speakers immediately!"

Suddenly Blackheart's voice echoed throughout Bow Tie's head. "Incase you didn't get it… that's the signal, I will guide you with telepathy when I can. Crimson's will over 666 is broken, but not for long… I hate to ask this of you... But in order for her system to be permanently freed, Crimson must be killed."

Glory noticed her face. "Is that his signal? Alrighty then!" The general whipped out her gun before pulling out Bow Tie from the ring of soldiers. She began to open fire, making them stumble back to absorb the bullets! "I have been waiting too LONG to do this!"

Bow Tie looked over to Surprise shaking her head and groaning. "Surprise… you are free! Help us escape, we have to get you out of here!"

Without any hesitation, Surprise brought out her gun before Glory shouted over the fire of her own gun. "He FREED Surprise? Bow Tie… that's a really BAD idea!"

"Glory what the HELL are you doing? Shoot her down, she's a traitor!" Crimson commanded as Surprise pointed her gun towards the group.

With one swift flex a ball of nuclear energy shot towards them, catching them in a massive explosion as Bow Tie quickly beckoned Surprise to follow. Glory watched their back, as they ran down the hall until a room was sighted where they could gather their thoughts.

The unicorn panted, before sealing the door shut as Surprise flicked her tail curiously. The general wiped the sweat from her brow, before fluttering her lips. "Damn… he wanted us to come in there… for it was the only way to break Crimson's control over Surprise… smart… he was able to set up a trap."

Bow Tie shook her head. "What do we do now?"

Glory huffed. "Knowing Crimson, that blast did not kill him… since he was shielded by his soldiers. The radio interference won't last forever, and I know he called backup… we will have at least an hour to get to him… before Surprise is controlled again, and we are dead meat."

"I can go out and kill him... I wouldn't mind throwing a special little party for Crimson." Surprise suggested as she bounced in place fluttering her wings.

"No… I know he's smart enough to remove himself from this bunker… to avoid traps. He's hoping you will follow him, because once you leave here the radio interference no longer protects you." Bow Tie said as she rested a hoof on the subject's shoulder, as she took a shaky breath knowing for the first time… she was at Surprise's mercy, the cyborg no longer being held back by chains. "I know you don't like ponies telling you what to do, but I promise we are here to help you… trust in me Surprise."

"Okey dokey Lokey!" Surprise said cheerfully as she fluttered her eyelashes.

Glory shifted her gun. "I am going to see if I can find Blackheart, and see if he has something that can buy us a little more time. Whatever you do, do NOT leave this bunker… stay behind these doors which I'll seal closed… if I am not back in an hour, that means I'm dead and you'll have to proceed without me."

Bow Tie quickly threw her hooves around her friend's neck. "Be careful Glory… we need you to come back safe."

The general nodded before opening the door. "Stay here, and stay alive… we cannot have Surprise get captured. Oh and Bow Tie?" Glory stopped before glancing at the mutant cocking her head in the room. "Are you sure you will be okay with her? Alone?"

Bow Tie nodded. "Yes, she is not our enemy nor are we hers. I trust her."

Glory gave a suspicious look before departing. The doors closed leaving the unchained mutant and Bow Tie alone in a sealed room. Bow Tie knew she could get out from the inside, but the outside was locked giving her some security. Suddenly her heart turned as cold as ice as she felt a warm breath tickle her neck, she slowly turned to stare into Surprise's purple eyes.

There she was… in a room alone with a pony she knew could kill her in seconds. The cold-blooded mutant's eyes stared into hers, her breaths growing ragged as the red cyborg eye zoomed in and out on her. Would Surprise kill her? She was free now, and could easily dispose of her and not allow her to boss her around! Could a sociopath change? Now was the moment of truth, did Surprise view her as an enemy… or a friend?

She made no attachments, she had no morals… free to do what she pleased, and that unfortunately was killing anything in her sight!

Her muscles tensed up, scared to move… scared to speak, as the cyborg turned away and settled on the ground before rolling on her back. "Want to play a game?"

She released a breath of relief, for now… the cyborg didn't have the urge to kill.

She silently thanked the Gods, as she approached the cyborg rolling around while humming happily. Her wings sprawled themselves on the metal, as she wiggled like a grizzly rubbing its back on the bark of a tree.

"I should probably tell you what's going on." Bow Tie began, as she sat down across from Surprise as the mutant sat up and attentively transfixed her gaze. "Blackheart's actions are still wrong, but I understand why he did it. We need your genome Surprise… with it… we can adapt to the heat… and the environment around us! So, I have agreed to aid him for the time being… regardless of his past faults of killing billions."

"You… are aiding…. the pony I am meant to kill?" Surprise asked, her cyborg eye dilating for a split second before growing still. "The one who created the disease?"

"Yes… I know it makes no sense right now, but trust me."

Surprise's face was painted with all sorts of confusion, as she scooted forward. She whimpered as she opened her forelimbs and beckoned Bow Tie to come forward. She hesitated, but then realized Surprise wanted a hug… and knowing she had never had one, she must have been craving to hug her all this time. She swallowed before accepting the invitation, and for the first time letting Surprise's mechanical hooves wrap around her back. She was gentle, her head resting on the scientist's shoulder, as Bow Tie nuzzled her nose into her neck.

She inhaled her scent, the two hugging for quite some time as Bow Tie stroked her back soothingly. She heard something pixilate, her chin lifting up slightly as she felt Surprise's muscles tighten. Suddenly a sharp pain ripped through her chest, and she screamed as blood splattered from her mouth! Surprise pulled away, her expression saddened as Bow Tie slowly looked down to see the cyborg's blade impaling her!

"S...Surprise?" She croaked, as the robot's face remained emotionless before sliding out the bloody blade from the crevice.

Bow Tie fell back gasping for air, as her hooves trembled while clutching the gushing wound! Surprise lifted herself onto her hooves, as she hovered over the shaking researcher who choked and gargled as tears started to stream down her face!

The cyborg placed the blade in front of her, resting her weight on the transformed limb. "I told you once that the disease was both sides… now that you have supported the stallion who doomed this world, you've become part of it as well."

Bow Tie shook her head in shock, her tears of betrayal pooling by her chin. No matter how many things she wanted to say, her time was limited so she only squeezed out one. "W...W-Why?"

Surprise tipped up her chin with the blade. "Because silly… I was created to be the cure!"

Bow Tie watched helplessly as Surprise hovered over her before sinking the blade into her heart, and slowly impaling her by applying pressure. She screamed, once more blood spurting from her mouth as her hooves desperately tried to grasp it! Her grip became weakened, before she slowly laid her head on the ground, and her hooves rested by her sides motionless.

Surprise slipped the blade from out of Bow Tie's chest her body rising before dropping when the sword came out. The cyborg looked over the deceased mare who had taken care of her during her entire life. "Too bad really… you seemed like a reaaaaally nice pony. Unfortunately, my job is to find the cure, and to destroy the disease… which Blackheart created, that sadly corrupted you as well."

The cyborg took a deep inhale, before turning around and abandoning the bleeding carcass and unlocking the door. Her cyborg eye lit up, before locking on two ponies deep within the basement of the bunker as Surprise zoomed towards Blackheart and Glory. When she skipped down the stairs and approached the metal door, she shot it until the fortified protection gave way allowing her entry.

Blackheart jumped as Surprise's cyborg eye gleamed. "Ah 666, please come join us."

Glory squinted, "W-Wait… where is Bow Tie?" The general lowered her gaze, until her eyes widened at the dripping red substance on her left forelimb. The heavy realization hit her as Surprise slowly walked in with a focused gaze. "N… No… Bow Tie… please… this can't be true! She… SHE TRUSTED YOU! You're a MONSTER!"

Glory turned on the cyborg, aiming her gun but Surprise was quicker. She shot a ball of plasma at Glory who's forelimb was vaporized and melted into pulpy goo. She screamed as the substance ate away at her flesh, before Surprise shot another ball that collided into the general's skull making her head pop along the walls!

Her fluids splattered on the back of the wall, before the murdered general's body collapsed onto the ground, blood spilling from the open neck. Blackheart screamed, his cheeks expanding from vomit rising in his throat, as Surprise approached him eagerly.

Blackheart stumbled back, his chest heaving as Surprise's cyborg eye scanned over him excitedly. "How long I've been waiting to meet you sir, my name is Surprise… I was sent here to kill ya, you know how it goes right? Hee-hee!"

He put his hooves up. "Listen Surprise… I don't want to harm you, I just need your genetic code to enhance ponies DNA sequences to save our species! W-We can help you… it's… it's not too late to stop!"

"Hmm tempting offer, but I'd rather save our species my own way. Ya know…. My whole life ponies have been silly bumfuzzles, telling me what to do all the time… real party poopers. So now I am going to be giving the orders around here for a while, it's gonna be real fun I promise, so you can rest in peace knowing the world is in good hooves!"

Before Blackheart could protest her blade sliced through his fleshy neck! His head popped right off, as the cyborg caught it in her magic. She turned around glancing at the bloody room before tapping her chin.

"Hmmm… how do I get Crimson down here, hoo-boy that's going to be a toughie." She looked up before heat signatures were found above her among the raging war. "Oh riiiiight I am a super, duper, amazing cyborg! I can connect onto all their devices, especially the suits they wear which I can control with my mind."

She focused as her AI beeped. Subject 666 accessible to commands.

"Alright buddy ‘oh boy, I am going to name you Core. I need ya to weave your way into Blackheart's robotic soldiers and control their suits. Mostly their jetpacks, and we are going to drop Crimson right into this room."

Overriding battle armor… process of overwriting control at 99%... completed. Subject 666 in complete full control of soldiers nineteen and twenty-five.

"Fantasterific! Now, let's go ahead and have ‘em bring Crimson right in here through teleportation. I'm gonna disable the magic keeping Blackheart's little bullies outta here, so they can waltz right on in!"

Surprise's wings fluttered in excitement, as her cyborg eye scanned for insecurities in the base's programming. In seconds, she started defusing the protection as the base around her started to make loud shrieks from alarms. Once they were disabled, she sat down and giggled happily when Core started to respond to her commands.

Forcing soldiers nineteen and twenty-five into base.

Something pixelated in front of the cyborg, as she sat patiently. Two soldiers mindlessly held a stallion in their grip, as he kicked and screamed like a mad man.

"How dare you put your filthy hooves on ME!"

Crimson jerked his forelimbs from their grasp, before Surprise cleared her throat. The soldiers turned, as their suits sparked and resisted their commands.

"T-The devil soldier is the one controlling us! W-We can't move commander!"

Surprise smiled. "Thank you for your service, you are free to go." They realized their suits still did not respond to their commands, as the cyborg transformed her leg into a gun. She grinned before blasting them into piles of bloody ash, blowing their insides over the walls. "Hee-hee, I'm joking… wasn't that a funny prank?"

Crimson's eyes grew wide as he stumbled away from his creation. "Subject 666 I command you to STAND down!"

Surprise advanced, her gun clinking on the ground as she walked. "Yeah… you see, thing is Mr… that's not how it works anymore… hee-hee!"

The doctor picked himself up onto his hooves before scrambling out the damaged door out of immense fear! "I need backup, I need some pony down here right NOW!"

His voice boomed into his speaker, as Surprise giggled from behind him… her shadow dancing along the walls as he fled.

"Are you playing tag now? That's fine with me… but if you loooose, it's not going to be very fun for you, Crimson."

The scientist looked back and saw the shadow of Blackheart's swinging head enveloped in magic, as Surprise bounced and skipped along the hallway. His pelt was sleek with sweat, his heart booming and roaring in both his chest and his ears. Surprise was playing with him, teasing him by catching up and then falling back, while laughing cheerfully from behind.

"Leave me alone you beast! I will have the last laugh, you're game will NOT defeat me, I created YOU!" Crimson shouted as Surprise hummed before the doctor glanced at ending of the hallway. A bright light shone from the outside, as the war continued to rage, spilling sand into Blackheart's bunker.

He lunged, but a blast of plasma collided into the metal frames melting them into burning hot goop that blocked his way out. Surprise giggled once more, her kittenish laughter causing Crimson to whip around and kick back. His rump inched over the boiling metal, making him yelp and scoot in another direction as Surprise dropped the head at his hooves.

"Oh no… lookie here, seems like you got caught… don't ya know you're not supposed to get caught in a game of tag? You were so close, I guess I can give you the participation award… how's that sound?" Surprise said, as her forelimb transformed into a blade as she came forward with her cyborg eye glaring. "Game over, Crimson."

"W-Wait! We can still work together… we can rule this planet, just the two of us! W-Without me.. This planet will die, if you kill me you've doomed everyone including YOU!"

Surprise tossed her head around as she pondered. "Nopie nope… I'd say getting rid of you would help everyone survive... Ya know? Especially since their ‘ol pal, Surprise would be taking your place, and I'll be a great leader!"

Crimson put up his hooves. "I-I can work under you, you'd need some pony to help you rule… yes? I know everything about this planet… while you know nothing, you can't get rid of me… I'm your only hope at getting my army to follow you."

Surprise cocked her head. "No.. I don't think that will be an issue. If they choose not to follow, I'll just destroy everything they have hee-hee! Thanks to you, I can take on an entire army in my sleep, they'd be pretty silly trying to fight against me, right?"

The subject plunged the blade in Crimson's chest as he coughed up blood that splattered on Surprise's mane while her wild eyes reflected her hyena smile.

The doctor placed his hooves on Surprise's blade before spitting on her muzzle. "You will be the one who runs this planet into ruin! I tried to save everypony with my last dying breath, but I failed and instead created…. a...a monster!"

Surprise swung her head slowly like a taunting cobra before she stared into his fading out eyes. Her blade plunged deeper causing his breaths to become sharp, and heavy as his breath blew on her nose. She licked her bloodied lips, before giggling and sliding the blade out of his chest.

"A… A… m… monster." He gasped, as Surprise hovered over him with an icy grin.

"Oh but Crimson, remind me who the stallion was that made me this way."

His eyes widened, as the mutant stabbed her blade into his neck severing his head with one final stab. In a chop, his spinal cord was sliced freeing his rolling head to bump on her hooves as she picked it up with her magic.

Surprise emotionlessly jabbed the head with her blade, poking a hole through the skull as she placed both heads of Crimson and Blackheart on the sword. She then picked herself up off her rump and walked outside where the mechs and tanks were fighting with no intention of backing down. The cyborg approached the war, her eyes halved and glowing with ferocity as she swung her forelimb breaking the spiked metal barricade.

The shards of metal dropped onto the sand, as she raised the heads and activated the rockets on her back. They flew into the air before exploding and creating a sonic boom, that deactivated every ship in the air, and every rolling tank. It sucked the power from every machine, as the jets crashed onto the sand and combusted causing the war to now become silent.

Every soldier ceased fighting, as Surprise continued to raise the heads. The only sounds were the crackling fires from the explosions, and confused whispers as she flicked the severed heads of their leaders onto the sand. They plopped onto the sand, their manes blowing in the heated gust as the cyborg raised her voice.

"YOUR leaders are DEAD!" She shouted, as she kicked Crimson's head far towards the soldiers who backed away from the sociopath. "I am your new commander! Show your submissiveness and BOW, yield to me, and I will allow you to live!"

The soldiers glanced at each other before one stepped forward. "I shall never submit to a murderer and a psychopath like you, devil soldier!"

Surprise shot him dozens of times in the chest with her gun, as her face remained emotionless at the spilled blood on the sand. His body popped like a grape, gushing his fluids onto the chained wheels of a tank as the rest gasped and trembled.

"ANYONE ELSE?" She boomed, her teeth clenched as the army remained silent. "BOW!"

One by one each of them dropped their chests to the sand, as heads dipped and weapons dropped making it seem like a musical rhythm. Surprise stood tall, watching Blackheart's and Crimson's soldiers now bend to her will… and her will alone.

"Look at you… prancing around like you're a God."

Surprise turned with a bit of a murderous scowl, as the deep voice wrapped around the soldiers who refused to budge from their bows in fear.

Something approached, moving the soldiers with their magic as a large bulky creature lumbered through with a large ax balancing his weight. A minotaur snorted mist from his nose, as his glowing ax resembled the burning heart of a star.

"You're no God." He said, as his ax slammed on the sand, creating flames at the base of it.

"Ooo, a visitor… who exactly are you, stranger?" Surprise asked as the minotaur revealed his sharp fangs by curling back his lip.

"A true God, one whose power can level the stars." The God said, as he picked up his ax and slung it over his bulging shoulder. "I am Ares, God of War."

"What is a God to a non-believer?" Surprise asked, as her gun formed. "I'll tell you what… absolutely nothing."

"A fascinating claim, but who are you to a God?" Ares grinned. "Absolutely nothing."

Surprise hopped down towards the sandy battlefield, as Ares swung his ax tauntingly but the pegasus did not budge. The butt of his weapon slammed into the sand, creating a mighty gust that blew back the hardened mutant's mane back.

Her eyes turned to slits as she charged, slamming into the God's gut and taking him up into the sky! He slapped her aside, making her tumble in mid-air before she recovered and locked onto him with her cyborg eye. His ax swung, creating a wave of fire that washed over Surprise who shielded herself with a holographic screen. She flapped her wings disposing of the flames, as they faded from view. She activated her rockets, that folded out of her exoskeleton before shooting towards the minotaur who remained floating.

He took one claw and flicked one aside, causing it to burst meters away. He sniffed before blocking the explosions with his arms in an "X" position. He sneered, before brushing a ball of flames off his shoulder and advancing towards Surprise with a war cry!

She unloaded her guns on the celestial being, but his toughened body absorbed the plasma as he rammed into her! She sparked for a moment, before grunting and activating her chromatophores that caused her body to shift and change colors! Her body vanished blending into the amber sky, as Ares whipped around and squinted challengingly.

"Magic tricks? Is this how you hope to defeat a God?" He taunted, bellowing out a laugh as his deepened voice spoke once more. "I do not favor cowards."

Ares glared around him until something sharp stabbed his back! He roared, before whipping around swinging his mighty arm like a whip! It caught the disguised Surprise, as she was hit directly in the head. She went spiraling away from him, as her camouflage faded away to reveal the giggling cyborg who activated more guns.

Bullets rained down on Ares, as he roared and swung his ax! It created a cyclone that swept up the pegasus who fought it by pumping her wings! She panted, before her forelimb pixelated forming a grappling hook, that sank its blades into the God! He yelled out in pain, as she pulled on it to rip her away from the vicious wind!

She was free, as she swung around him the metal rope keeping her secure before she brought his body along with her movements! Her strength was able to swing him around, before she cracked the grappling hook, ripping the blades from his chest as his body went hurling towards the ground. She returned the bloody hook, as strings of his flesh flapped in the wind before his back slammed on the sand.

He roared before trying to pick himself up, Surprise swooped downwards gaining speed by activating rockets built into her robotic system. She transformed her limb into a sharp blade, before slicing right into the God's chest! The power behind the attack caused the blade to sink all the way through his body and into the sand, as she pulled it out and stabbed once more!

His ax dropped by his side, as he reached for it. Surprise used her other forelimb to activate a gun, before shooting the ax away from his grasp! She then stabbed him once more, splattering blood on her pelt, before he growled and snatched her throat with his mighty hand!

She was flipped over, as the minotaur stood over her, before slamming his fist into her face! The God's force caused the ground beneath her head to crumble, and dent like a crater as he pulled back his elbow once more! Blood gushed from her nose, as she gripped his muscular arm with her hooves before using her forelimb's blade to slice through his arm!

The limb was cut cleanly through, technology surpassing Gods, as the proof thumped on the sand with a pump of squirting blood. Ares howled, as he stumbled back only succeeding in having Surprise tackle him, causing his belly to be exposed.

She laughed before raising her blade, and jabbing it into his throat! His eyes bugged, as she wiggled it, tearing up his skin and muscles as she pressed it into the back of his spinal cord! His remaining arm dropped onto the sand, as Surprise panted before pulling the soaked blade from the God's body and sliding off of him.

He was still, with pumping wounds gushing from his chest, as they flowed like rivers down his ribcage and onto the sand.

The soldiers started to gather around, not believing what they had witnessed! They gasped and pointed, as Surprise kicked at the motionless body of Ares.

"S-She killed a GOD!"

"That's… that's not possible… no pony has the power beyond the great ones themselves!"

Surprise turned to them before sitting on the sand with a sadistic smile. "I'm your God now."

She frowned when something boomed above her, and lightning gathered along the sky. She looked up as the amber sky turned an ugly black, as clouds swirled above the soldiers making them cower at what else was to come.

"Clouds?" Surprise asked, as something formed in them. "Another one?"

She hummed, as a white griffon appeared with a spartan helm and a golden spear lodged in their claw. The creature descended from the clouds, as the figure landed on the sand their golden eyes sweeping over Surprise as the pegasus giggled.

"Lemme guess, you're another God? Hate to burst your bubble, but I already killed your friend over there, so you can just go home… this world already has a new God."

The griffon stabbed her spear into the sand.

"Goddess." She corrected, as she took off her helm to expose her black feathers. "-And you did not kill Ares, your weapons cannot kill Gods… only temporarily wound them."

"Oof, well I think he's dead." Surprise said happily, as the Goddess's stare remained hard and focused as she advanced. "Why are you here? After all this time, I thought Gods were nothing but fairytales. You've abandoned this world, so why do you show up now?"

"I've come to put you to rest." The Goddess said as she summoned her spear that flew into her claw. She threw it, piercing Surprise's chest as her body went flying into a tank before pinning her to it! The cyborg screamed in agony, before laughing like a maddened pony as her lungs heaved blood onto her hanging hooves! "Your planet has fallen into ruin, it cannot be saved… and the lives here that remain have pleaded to me to end their misery. The Armageddon they speak of will only worsen if you remain alive."

The Goddess approached Surprise who activated a gun, only to have it pinned with a golden sword that the griffon pinned into the tank as well! The cyborg yelled out in pain, before she laughed once more causing the Goddess to look on in confusion.

"I do not fear you, because you don't have the power to stop me!" Surprise cackled, as the Goddess shook her head.

"They made you go mad, I do not want to kill you Subject 666. You were born to be this way, but a Goddess like me does not show mercy to those who walk the path you do." The warrior looked into Surprise's eyes as the pegasus growled, while the Goddess rubbed the bottom of her beak. "Sociopaths do not change…"

"I'll never change, I like BEING this way! It's fun, killing ponies who have tortured me my whole life! I've killed every last one of them, I'll even make a silly little game of it… making them think they are safe… hee-hee!"

"Your world is not the only one dying 666." The griffon said, as she looked towards the sky. "If I were to kill you, it would still not solve my problem. You're one of the most powerful ponies in the universe… yet you choose to fight with evil in your heart… I have no other choice but to end your life for the greater good, for like I said… sociopaths never change."

"Then DO IT, you better hurry the grip on your spear is slipping haha!"

The Goddess pondered. "What if I were to…" She trailed off, as she turned her back to the cyborg that was starting to pull out the spear. "What if you wanted to change… because you saw the worth of lives, because you started to care about a pony."

"I care for NO PONY!" Surprise shouted as she plucked the spear from her chest, she jabbed it at the Goddess who easily caught it with her claw. The pegasus was flabbergasted as the griffon cocked her head and blinked her golden eyes.

"Pinkamena." The Goddess whispered. "She could change you…"

"I doubt it!" Surprise spat, "I'll kill her on the SPOT!"

The griffon shook her head. "You can try, but she's also one of the most powerful ponies in the universe… and you will fail." She flicked Surprise back into the tank, the metal crunching as the pegasus yelled out in pain. The spear was once more summoned into Goddess's claw as she continued. "You need to see the value in life and the errors of your thinking. Sociopaths will only change when they want to change, so I need to make you see a different side than what you've always known."

Surprise was weak as her head lolled. "I'll… n… never want to change!"

The powerful creature placed her spear over her shoulder. "Like you said… I doubt it." The Goddess opened her wings before ascending up into the sky just slightly. "I am sparing your life, 666. For I have a better plan in mind, that may just indeed save all worlds instead of saving one."

The cyborg watched as the Goddess started to fly higher and higher as she jumped from the tank and growled at the heavens above.

"I'll NEVER change! This is who I AM!" The griffon ignored her as she vanished into the blackened clouds with the cyborg's shrieking voice booming behind her. "NEVER… do you hear me? Sparing my LIFE will just give me more time to find out a way to KILL YOU!"

The pegasus activated guns, blowing up the sky with rockets and bullets for hours, her screams of anger and her rage creating a hazy cloud of her own. After that, she began her own work, enslaving her planet by feeding them fear and forcing them to obey with their lives as their reward. Surprise, the new ruler of her planet was like this for years, the Goddess never once appearing again, or any God for that matter.

Her reign was terrifying but helped the planet thrive with what was left. Over the years she forgot about the Goddess and her words of wisdom, forgetting that another plan was being hatched as the griffon had warned many years before.

Current Day.

Surprise lurched up screaming, as her hooves clamped the blankets of her bed. Others in the room with her shot up screaming as well, as a demon fell out from the bed scrambling on the marble floor of Hephaestus temple.

"SHIT… what's happening? Wha… what's going on?" Pinkamena yelled as The Goddess of Victory, Nike, screeched like a fearful kitten.

"God DAMMIT, who's having night terrors?"

Suddenly something yelled next door, as a hoof came knocking on the wall. "SHUT UP, it's four in the morning and some of us are trying to get LAID tomorrow!"

Pinkamena scrunched up her nose. "Gross, Aphrodite."

Pinkie Pie apparently was still asleep as a white griffon rubbed her face and rolled over. The Goddess of Wisdom held her sleeping bag, as her claw massaged her forehead.

"At least Surprise's screams, are not like Nike's snoring." The griffon said as the sphinx who happened to also be a Goddess snorted.

"Okay, first of all, fuck you. I am a work of art, and works of art like me don't snore… I was sleeping pretty damn great until Surprise just had to scream like a banshee!"

The cyborg glanced towards the floor. "S-Sorry I… I just had a nightmare."

Pinkamena picked herself off the floor. "W-Wait a minute… why were you in MY bed? Why were you not in YOUR sleeping bag? Were you snuggling me??"

Surprise grinned sheepishly as Nike groaned. "Get a room you two."

"SHUT UP!" Aphrodite next door screamed as the griffon shouted back at her.

"I hope you get chlamydia you HOE!"

"NO… NO! This is unacceptable, Surprise you cannot go around snuggling me… it's CREEPY!" Pinkamena said as the cyborg swallowed thickly.

"S-Sorry… I.. I just feel more comfortable around you, I… sleep better."

"THIS is why I hate sleepovers!" Pinkamena mumbled as she grumbled before storming out of the room. "If anyone needs me I am going to be FAR away from here."

"Whatever, I'm going back to sleep." Nike grunted, before flipping over on her side.

Surprise licked her dry lips. "A-Athena… can I talk to you for a bit?"

The Goddess of Wisdom cracked an eye open. "I… guess? I won't be able to go back to sleep for a while… so whatever."

The white griffon joined Surprise's side, as the two of them went outside where a blanket of stars folded out over their heads. Athena leaned against a railing, as the cyborg paced while the griffon's bright golden eyes watched her curiously.

"W-Why did you spare me… all that time ago?" Surprise asked, as her yellow tail dragged behind her while she walked back and forth. "How did you know… that I would aid you, and your plan? You know how I was."

Athena scratched the side of her head while shrugging. "I thought if I introduced you to a pony who was opposite of you… one you couldn't kill, you might take the time to grow curious about her… enough to make you question yourself, and if what you were doing was right."
"You mean Pinkamena." Surprise said as her purple eyes fell on the griffon's face.

"Yes. I felt like killing you wouldn't actually help anything. If I could somehow change your views, and have you fight with me instead of against me, we'd have a better chance of saving the worlds who are doomed by Ares. So far I haven't been wrong, you see… sometimes I have to take risks if I want results, I knew Pinkamena was just as powerful as you… and her path might intrigue you enough to where you'd look up to her."

Surprise leaned against the railing, as she placed her chin in her hoof. "I… do much more than just look up to her, Athena."

The griffon snickered. "Oh, I know… I was not expecting you to get so deep with your feelings, but I guess sociopaths can change… that is if they learn to love on their own accord."

The white pegasus was silent for a second before speaking. "I do want to change now… you knew even before I did… that she would change my life." Surprise looked up towards the twinkling stars as Athena joined her side. "-And now… I will protect her with my life… she took a villain and made me a hero."

Athena smiled. "I'm glad my plan worked, after all… you've been a great ally."

Surprise placed her hoof on Athena's shoulder. "Thank you for showing me mercy when I didn't deserve it… because of you, I found her."

The griffon nodded. "I do hope one day she returns your love, Surprise. Hang in there."

The Goddess patted her shoulder before going back into the temple and leaving Surprise under the stars with a slight smile on her lips. She remained there for a long while, reflecting on her past, and the flashbacks she had from what she was.

She took a deep breath. "Thank you… Pinkamena."

She heard hoof-steps behind her as the one she had spoken of slurped on a popsicle while holding it with magic. Surprise slowly turned with a warm smile, as the demon joined her side and offered some of her dessert.

The cyborg took a bite as Pinkamena looked at her. "Why are you out here?"

"Just… thinking." She responded, as she glanced at the stars.

"That's lame." Pinkamena snorted, before looking up along with Surprise. "You had a nightmare about your past didn't you?"

Surprise remained silent before she felt a warm wing wrap around her side. She looked over to Pinkamena who nuzzled her affectionately, before letting the cyborg rest her head on her friend's shoulder.

"Sorry I yelled at you.. about… the snuggling… I forgot you had bad night terrors." Pinkamena said as Surprise looked up to her with a giggle.

"It's okay I know you hate snuggling… but… I don't mind doing this instead of sleeping by your side if… that's okay with you."

"Sure." Pinkamena responded, as the two looked back up towards the sky.

They remained there until morning, the two snuggled in silence as Surprise closed her eyes in peace. Her whole life had been pain, misery, and confusion… but she'd take none of it back, because without it… she would have never learned how great love could be. If she didn't go through what she did… she would have never found the mare she loved so deeply.

She regretted what she was, and never again would she go back.

This was everything she ever needed, everything she'd ever want.

And one day…

She hoped this would evolve into something more.

The story continues in The Strongest Element of All

Author's Note

Thanks for reading my short story! :D by the way, the ending will make more sense for people reading The Strongest Element of All like I said in the first chapter. If you want to see more of Surprise, go ahead and read it... it will be rated Teen though so no more super horrible gore hahaha! Thank you again for reading, hope you enjoyed it!