Those Cast Aside

Those Cast Aside

Prologue

Emotions are such complex yet simple things, say the word happy, or sad and everyone will understand what you mean. Ask them to define what those things are and you will rarely get the same answer, ask what they drive a person to do and some won’t be able to answer at all.

We were created to understand that difference, to control it and stop the worst of what humanity is capable of because of these complex yet simple little things. By feeling what others cannot, drawing it out and taking it away if necessary. It took time but we succeeded, patterns were found, advancements made and people flourished, we were useful for hundreds of years, to the point we were called on less and less, then not at all.

When tools are no longer needed they are put away until you need them again, unless they’re deemed dangerous, those are destroyed. Why risk your people when a tool could be re-made later if it becomes necessary. Even if that tool bleeds like you do.

Two months out of commission is more than I’ve ever been subjected to, usually it was either time to recover or being transported between posts, but never actively removed from public access. Now though I could only feel two people on the other side of the door where I’ve been placed on standby. They have been rotating with four others constantly for weeks now, only opening the door to drop off food and water twice a day. I wouldn’t need this much if they let me back out, or if those outside felt anything I could help relieve them of.

Sitting on the edge of the cot I’ve been provided with I feel different presences from the usual six approaching, Getting up and standing in line with with door, an easy smile settling on my face, ‘time to get to work’. The individual who walks through looks and feels much more refined and whole than my usual charges, his smile matches mine, his emotional state seems just as stable. So why bring him to me?

“Hello there, it’s nice to meet you. How can I be of assistance?” His smile doesn’t drop at my question although there is a flicker within him, concern maybe. It’s been too long since I was last able to draw from someone that I’m losing my edge.

“Ah, apologies but I am not here for your ‘services’. I am here simply as an escort. If you’ll follow me.” his voice is chipper but definitely forced. Knocking on the door it opens immediately showing a pair of peacekeepers. The gentleman holds out his hand in offer as I walk out.

Following me out and taking a lead to our procession he begins down the hall without uttering any further instructions, I fall in step behind him trying to reach out to the group behind me, they’re the same as those that were watching over my room, there’s nothing there. The whole situation is unnerving in a sense with how little information I’ve been given and how little I can feel from them.

The trip through the complex doesn’t do anything to dull my nerves at this point, no sounds other than three pairs of shoes and my bare feet echo as we walk, no windows, doors, or even other people travelling through our route. This office has always been bustling every time I’ve had to visit, why such a stark difference now?

We stop outside what I think would be a conference room, only difference from the usual being this ones seem to have tinted and soundproofed windows. I get a small nudge from the peacekeepers behind me, looking over my shoulder at them questioningly the only response I get is a pointed finger into the room where the first thing I see is a slightly raised platform glowing slightly. My guide holds open the door allowing me access.

Walking onto the platform I realise that no-one else is here, before I have a chance to question why, the door is closed and I find myself alone again. I try to step down from the platform only to reel back in pain when my face is smashed against what I could swear felt like a solid wall, instinctively grabbing my face I feel blood trickling through my fingers.

Swearing to myself I try and feel around for some way out when a voice cuts in.

“I wouldn’t bother if I were you, once we activate the transportation panel security protocols kick in and won’t turn off until the process is complete.” The monitor has lit up and the voice of a woman with a bored tone resonates through the room.

“Ah, sorry, I didn’t see the screen come on. Wait, wh--” I’m cut off as soon as I start talking, the cold uncaring voice she uses causes me to feel more uncomfortable about what’s going on, which considering my situation I feel is a feat in itself.

“You’ve been brought here to be ‘retired’”

My mind goes blank for a few seconds, before I begin to laugh “Sorry, that’s a bit sudden. What do you mean retired? I was created to complete my duties, I’m not given the option of retirement from my understanding.”

“We no longer need you, as such we have been told to take you out of service, the formal documentation of your removal will be that your kind have been retired. That is all the public will know and all that you need to know.”

My legs give out and I fall to my knees, no warnings, no explanation, just tossed aside.

“You mean you’re going to kill me!?” I’d like to think my voice came out strong considering, but staring down the barrel of a gun you’re never as brave as you want to be.

“People can be killed. Animals can be killed. Even insects can be killed. You however are nothing more than obsolete government property” my head drops to my chest, My eyes burn and I feel my chest start to heave, I’m hyperventilating.

“We cannot however simply leave anything that would indicate what we used to make you, so instead of usual methods we will instead be removing you completely. The transport pad under your feet is usually used for inorganic material, what data we receive from the activation cycle will be a good baseline to see if it can be tweaked for organic use. Be grateful you’re getting one final use before you go.”

I barely hear her at this point over the sound of my heart and lungs trying to keep up with the panic. I feel the floor beneath me start to hum, it goes from cold metal to a slight warmth until it starts to burn. ‘I don’t want to go’, ‘I can still be useful’, ‘you can’t do this to me’. So many thoughts race and break apart just as quickly as the heat underneath becomes near unbearable, as it reaches what I think to be it’s peak I finally manage to raise my head and say the only thing that matters.

“Please don’t throw me away, I just wanted to help you.”

Everything hurts, How can one crater leave so much debris? How many bags of crap do they need to fill it in? Why didn’t I agree to let Snips and Snails share the workload again? Oh yeah, it’s because they don’t deserve to suffer for being stupid enough to follow me, that’s why. I did this, I’ll fix it and prove I’m worth something again. Just like she said I could be. Even if no-one else seems to believe it.

“HEY BITCH!” Joy, the soccer club’s out for the day, “Quit slacking off, I wanna be able to get through the front door again sometime this year!” Smile and nod Sunset, just smile and nod, she’s right, you caused this and the faster you help fix it the sooner they might stop hating you, maybe. Hopefully.

“Don’t worry Rainbow, I’ll get this done as soon as I can. I promised I’d fix it up and I will. You have my word.” I look over to make sure she can hear me, I want them to see I’m making an honest effort, that I have changed from what happened at the formal. All I see is her walking away flipping me off.

“Your word means jack shit, your actions even less. Everyone knows it. Plus causing the school to pay for what you wrecked isn’t ‘fixing’ anything.”

She’s already gone around the corner before I can reply “But it’s all I can do.” Great rebuttal Sunny, say it louder and you might actually believe it yourself one day. Rainbow’s gone anyway so quit moping and get back to work, sooner you finish, the sooner you can go to bed, then start all over again tomorrow. I sigh and head over to the ‘real’ workers.

The foreman looks up as soon as I get close enough “Done talking to your friend already?” he’s always been nice considering, guess helping him secure a paycheck is worth having to deal with a teenage brat. “We’re pretty much done with the heavy lifting today, all you need to do is get what’s left on the pallets moved into the storage shed in case it rains, nothing too heavy so you should be right on your own but the nurse and principal are still inside just in case.” He doesn’t even wait for an answer and just walks off. The others have already started towards the car park as well.

“Yes sir.” another sigh pushes itself out, I run my hands through my hair looking at the five full pallet of bags, this is going to take hours, but if you never start you’ll never finish. Picking up the first bag of many I start trudging towards the supply shed.

New level of pain achieved whoo! If I could still lift my hands above my shoulders I’d give myself a high five, instead I think I’ll just go sit down until I regain proper sensation in my anything. Wobbling towards the statue, I lean against the portal base. Running a hand along it I get the same reaction as every other night. None.

“Hey Twilight, how’s your day been?”

“...”

“Nice. Good to hear things are going well for you over there. My day was ‘great’ as well, got to speak to Rainbow this afternoon, which was a nice change of pace. Getting closer to finally filling in that crater as well, been working hard, just like you asked me.”

“...”

“What No!, I’m doing this because I want to atone, not because you told me to! I don’t want to be alone anymore! Please, your friends don’t want to teach me like you promised me they would, they just want to abandon me, just like Celestia did, just like everyone else does. I can’t go through that anymore. Please Twilight, please.”

“...”

“YOU FUCKING BITCH, DON’T IGNORE ME! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT! NOTHING!” My fist slams into the mirror trying to get an answer for once, I can’t see anything through the tears but I don’t want to see what would be in that reflection anyway. Who would. Hoarse laughter starts erupting out of my throat, always better to laugh then cry right? Smile, smile, smile, then smile some more. Didn’t get anywhere being mean, not getting anywhere trying to be nice, no point thinking being sad will change things for the better. Nothing will, things can’t change.

“You know what, it doesn’t even matter. I made a promise that I’d fix this, I will, because I keep my damn promises. Once I’m done you and everyone else won’t have to worry either, you don’t need me here, you all know I deserve to be alone, but I can’t, not again, so once I’ve kept my promise I’ll just leave everything, then I won’t be a burden ever again. Everyone important gets what they want. Everyone important can be happy.”

I drag my hands off the statue, Everything will work out fine for everyone this way. As I start to walk off though I hear a crackling sound, almost like the white noise you get with the old T.V’s they use for classes, turning around I see the base of the statue warping. The crackling sounds getting louder and the surface of the mirror almost looks as though its boiling. I back up slowly, before I have the chance to turn and run the mirror blasts out a wall of heat which knocks me off my feet, as I’m scrambling to get back to feet my hands hit something that feels like overcooked meat. Looking up I see what I swear would be better described as a horror prop, a body covered in angry red burns some parts charred black, bleeding profusely and still smoking.

I pull my hands off as soon as I can, looking down they’re smeared red. My breathing picks up quickly, starting to shuffle away from the corpse in front of me I hear the last sound I expected, whimpers and groans start to come out of the poor bastard in front of me as the body starts to stir slowly twisting onto it’s back. I’d never seen anyone this hurt before, didn’t think I’d ever have to see someone like this, let alone have to watch their last moments before they die… What the fuck is wrong with me!? Get off your arse and help them, not watch them die. You stupid bitch!

“Shit-shit-shit, hang on, you’ll be fine, you’ll be okay” Yep keep panicking and telling the dying person in front of you useless platitudes Sunset, much more helpful than ANYTHING ELSE POSSIBLE! “I’ll get help just hold on okay.” Of all the times I could use my cell phone now would be perfect, frigging vice principal. As soon as I get up I feel a weak pressure grab my ankle, Looking down I realised this living lump of meat wasn’t even lucky enough to be unconscious, their hand latched onto my ankle, head raised with wide eyes staring right at me.

“P̘̗̌̚͞l̛͈̹̞̞e͙̳̰͍̳̼͊̊ͅa̠̤̝͈͕̰̮̐ͥͥͥ̔š̪͚̗ͦͫe̼̥͎̮̬͕̼ͪ̍!̙̝̙̱ͯ͊ ̷̫̥̳͔̞̏ͫD̠̬̦͉͇̓̈́͌̃̐ͩȯ̝͚͎̠̼̥͓̀ͩ̌ͦͪ͂n̶̄'̬̣̏ͫͬ́t͉ͥ̃ͦ̽͒̊͞ ̣̣̜̣̥͍̦̆t͓͂̓̉h̴̪̊͆̀̿̌́͆r͉͖̼ͅo͎̬̫̩͈̻͖͑̔ͬ̆̐ͦ̈́w͛̑ͦͨ̋ͫ҉̘̟̣̝͈ͅ ͚̞̘̩̥͊m̙̳̤̰͐̔͗̿e͓̜̖͖̜̎̍̓̑́̇ ̤̫͕͎͑ͮ̅ͦ̆a͋͞wͣa̖̝̮͗̂y̺͙̣͉ͮ,̀ͫ̅ͫͫͨ̇͟ ̱͖̜ͬ͐ͪͬ̑Ḭ̗̠̩̂̔̽̈͡ ̨̱͉͕̻̗͚̗͋ͦc̦̐͐̇͟ä́̾̎̊͊͛̇͏͖n̫̝͕̥̝͙̹̏ͪ ̝̻̯͎̝h̬͓̰̳̳̖̉̿ͅe̖̮̎̄ͪ̿ͭ̇l͈͎̝̱̰͕͌̅̃̂̍̕pͫͭ̉ ̣̻̙͊́̓ͥ̓̊̂ͅyͧ̆ͯ̃͊͢o̢̻̣͈͂ͭ̋́ü̶̲̰͎! ̢̼͑ͣͩY͓͈ͪ̿ͬö̱͇̘̜͍̝ͣ̿͌̓̋͐ư̭̊̏̋̓ ̮̲̝̩̂͒d̴̪̝͛̋̒ò͙͉̭͇̫̝ͭͩ͛n̵͈̻͚̦̄'̶͎̼̻̞̋͐͂̎ͥ̒t̷͕͓̊̊̓ͭͫ ̢̾̌ͨͩn͖͈̑ͭͭͦ͑ͩ̚ë́ͮͮe̼͓͠d̪̻͍̝͔̟̮͑͋͑ ̡͔̖̰͍̫͈̄̔ͩ̌ͮt̾̂͏͓̘ő̭̺̻̻ͩͨ ̲̂̔ͬ͛̂ͯ̑ḧ́ͪͭ̐ͥų̟͔͍͖̩ͥͅr̶͈̙̪̃̃̑̓͑͒̌ͅt̮͈̝̃̍̎ͥ̐ ̜̤̖̯̱̻̞̊̂͌͑aͦ̿ņ̹̦̬̲̋̓̄ͦ̃ͣ̊y̸̗ͮ̃ͧ͋̈́̔͒m̥͔ő̼̃̂̀r̥̼̜̽̔̈̾ͯ͠e͙͕̣̫͚̞,͇̉͢ ͌̾͗̊P̳͙͉͈̓̇̄ͦḷ̛͙̯̣͙̈́̏ͯ̍ȅ̜͕͖̪̻̝̿̽ͨ̓ͩ́͠a̘͒ͨ͆ͤ͂͒ș͔̺̔ͪẹ̝̭̗̞̫̐̑ͬ!̡̻̹”

His(?) lips can barely move and start dribbling fluid when he tries, I can’t understand what he’s saying but I need to get him help Whatever it is he's trying to say, it can wait.

“I’ll be right back, I need to find someone.” I don’t yank on his hand but I have to force him to let go, his eyes go wider and he starts to reach out but I’m already running into the school grounds, please let someone still be here, I need to be able to do something right for once. As I reach the front I can hear him screaming.

“N̷̙̰̫̗ͨo̕!̝͓͔̤̤̟̗ͪ̋ ̬̓͌͛D̪̲̟̮̲̘ͫͅo͕͚̟̙̭̻̍͛͆̏̕ͅn͙̦͌̌'̡͍̼̜ͭͩͫ̊t̢̝͂ ̛͚͓̥͉̩͙l͖̩͙̩̞̬̈̓͆̆̃e̾͏̼̫a̘̻͈̩͎͇̼v̦͍̰͛ͫ̅̎͆͆ȩ̣̯̾̉!̧̼̲̬̱͇̱̟ͫͯ ̦̼̗̞͚͉̙̽̓͛̈̕I͈͎̞̻̭͎͕ ̙͈̮͕̥̤͎̌c̪̞̟͂̋́͛̄̚ͅa͑̀̔ͥ͊͒̕n̻̗̤͕͒ͬ̆ ̥̙̼̖ͩ̀ͣ͌ͣ͡h̸̠͕̣͖ë̴̦̤̫̘̱̞̹́ḽ͔͎̙͎̿͐͋ͧͫ̎͡p̟̹̟̲ ̐̎ͦ҉̩y̷̗̭͎̲̥̔ͤͯ͆ͦ͌ͤo̸̜̰̽̿̎̋̏ṷ͖̭̯̈́!̤̱̭̭̹͌̑̆ͪ͂̒̅́ ̪͈̩͓̟̎D̩͕͇̩͚̽̾̓ͯ̽̈́̉ͅo̳͉͍̓̎͞ͅn̦͕̳̰̯̏͌ͦ̅ͬ́̚'̩ͯ͑͑̔t͇̲̩̫̞ͪ̄̚ ̺̤̜̩͗̈̈́̊̄ͩͧt̫͙͇͙̲͕̿ͧ͡h̹̞̲̾̈̀̏͂r̙̤̤̗̭̥̟̍̎ô̤̣̠̳̱ͦ̉̽ẘ̸̘̄ͅ ̖̣̪̬̼̲̍͐͌m͐̏͛͆ͯ̌͒҉e͎͕̥̘̓ͮ̋͛̽͛͗ ̟̮͙͖͍̺̈́ͨ̂ͪ̉̀a̮̝͓w̜̤̥̙̣ͤͪ̌̊ͅa͔͓̩̟͌y̯̺̪͚̼̗̜̐ͪ͒͆ͭ̐ͣ!̸͈̜̏ͦ̏͂ ̥͎͂ͫ́P̤̞̞̬̱͟l̡͍̭̹͊ḙ̢͑̃a͎̦̻͉̽ͩ̈̿̄̾s̥̼̮̘̻̀ͅẹ̴͔̗̩̰̳!̜̭̒̆̿̓”