“We only want what is best for you.”

“Feel free to die here.”

“Make us whole again.”

Fluttershy's eye snaps open, and she pushes herself up with a strained groan. Bits of broken computer parts and shards of glass fall off her as a fire flows through her veins, burning every part of her. It hurts her chest, it hurts her body and mind, all of it burns. And yet, despite the pain, she can focus on Zephyr, whose eyes are now dark voids.

“Are you ready to makes us whole again?” says Zephyr.

“No,” says Fluttershy.

“So, you’re abandoning me again?”

Fluttershy quietly limps past Zephyr, going down a hallway with arching, ribbed walls that have bright lights reflecting off the polished tile. Directly down the hallway is a double helix with a ring of lights surrounding it, and further down are metallic screeches, followed by electric discharge, and the lights flicker, shifting it from the ribbed hallway to the piped walls of the Bon Voyage. Shadows stretch along the walls with screams echoing down the hallway, and a moment later, a swarm of Slashers race around the corner.

“Stop hurting yourself. Take my hoof. End it. Become whole with us,” says Zephyr, his hoof extended.

“No. I can't... I can't be whole with you. You’re not Zephyr,” says Fluttershy.

“Then who am I?”

“Not Zephyr!”

A Slasher runs ahead of the group, and when it swings at Fluttershy, she dodges and punches it in the maw. As it staggers, she traps it in a pin, breaks off one of its scythe limbs, followed by stomping on its leg, forcing its broken bones to rip past its skin. It shrieks and writhes on the ground with blood squirting over the floor, and Fluttershy picks up the bony scythe and swings it at another Slasher, cutting its chest open, and she cuts the head and scythe limbs off of another. The rest swarm Fluttershy, and she screams hoarsely as she swings the bony weapon around with tears flowing down her face. Blood, ripped organs, severed limbs, bones, all fly with her mad swings, and a few manage to get hits on Fluttershy, tearing into what is left of her armor, but it doesn't stop her. She only swings harder and faster, and by the time the last Slasher is dead, she is in the middle of a circle of mutilated bodies.

“Fluttershy, stop fighting,” orders Zephyr as he walks next to her. “After all you've been through, you need to take a break.”

“You're not real. I don't have to listen to you,” says Fluttershy.

“You say that, yet here I am. In your sight, in your ears. You hear me, see me, feel me!”

Zephyr lunges at Fluttershy, and his hoof connects with her chest, lifts her up, and slams her on the floor with a loud thud that shakes her brain and bones. Her eye rolls and her vision splits as Zephyr leans closer, his hot and rotten breath clogging her nose.

“You will make us whole again!” says Zephyr.

Fluttershy punches Zephyr on the side of the head, making the Griffin Necromorph screech with bits of broken beak and blood falling on her. She punches the Necromorph again, and it pukes the bugs inside its gullet all over her. The bugs scurry over Fluttershy, biting and clawing their way through her tattered armor and gnawing on her flesh, and Fluttershy shrieks in pain as she thrashes, and the Griffin Necromorph raises its talons for a strike, but before it can bring them down a stream of bullets tear into the monster. Its ribs, arm and head are pulverized, and its blood pours all over Fluttershy as it collapses on top of her, squishing some of the bugs. Moments later, the body is pushed off, the remaining bugs are squished, and Rainbow Dash holds her hoof out, but Fluttershy remains on the floor, hyperventilating, wheezing, and trembling at the dozens of bites on her body throb.

“Come on, up and at ‘em,” says Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy grabs Rainbow Dash’s hoof, and winces when she is pulled up. After Fluttershy is up, Rainbow Dash shakes her head and scans the area.

“How many times am I going to have to save you tonight, anyway?” says Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy glares at her for a moment, but her focus quickly switches to where the Marker was located. All that is there now is a blinking console and various computer monitors with warning symbols flashing on them.

“Where's the Marker?” asks Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash frowns and walks towards the computers, and Fluttershy walks right behind her, scanning the area for signs of anybody or anything, or, more importantly, Zephyr, but there is nothing. Only the two of them. As they walk, they pass a stash of tools, which includes more energy cutters and extra batteries. When the pair reaches the monitors, Fluttershy notices the uniformity of flat lines, warning icons and a red flash on every console, as well as disconnected tubes and wires. However, there is one console that is showing different information, and Fluttershy quickly goes to it while Rainbow Dash inspects the limp connectors.

WARNING:
SUBJECT “DOLOS” OUTSIDE CONTAINMENT
ALL SAFETY PROTOCOLS MUST BE ACTIVATED
MANDATORY EVACUATION OF ALL SECTION 0 PERSONNEL IN EFFECT
ENACT PURGE PROTOCOL
EVACUATE TO HANGAR H IMMEDIATELY

Fluttershy rubs her chin and looks at the floor where the Marker was originally. It does not take her long to see tracks, and the said tracks lead to an area at the far end with more consoles and an elevator control panel. And with how Rainbow Dash is eyeing the floor and slowly moving her eyes to the elevator control panel, Fluttershy knows she and Dash are thinking the same thing. After a moment of silence, Rainbow Dash looks at Fluttershy and nods.

“Load up on what you can,” orders Rainbow Dash. “We're going to kill Applejack.”

Author's Note

So, funny story about this chapter. I rewrote this thing from top to bottom a few times, starting from it being a partial flashback, to full flash back, boss fight, swarm fight, or just plain talking and a mix of all of the above at some capacity. Of all the chapters, this is my least favorite one since nothing was working and I want to get this story done, so basically the outcome of this chapter is an example of "F it"; I posted it, and whatever happens happens. I mean, two pages? Pathetic. But whatever, they're gonna fight Applejack the next chapter, so it'll be longer and better than this installment.
I think I will put the blame on my job since we have been dealing with loads three times our normal delivery every day, and that wears you out fast. Hardly any energy after work and having to use Mountain Dew as a fuel is not good.
Anyway, that's all. Good night. Sorry for the subpar chapter. Good night again.