The doors opened and Hoo'far led her down the hall with torches that lit with each step. At the end of the passage was another room lined with mirrors like on the top floor. Saffron didn't even want to see her reflection after what had happened. Yes, Dr. Firelight seemed to be an utter monster by all accounts, but Hoo'far murdering him like that felt so cold. Worse yet, the fresh images of his brain splattering were mixing with the horrid actions those others did to her, leading her mind to deem Hoo'far just as evil as them.

He didn't say anything as he led her along, walking over a strange purple glass bridge, until he reached a pedestal. The entire room was filled with so much equipment, machines, and strange devices. There were even operating tables off to the side with a few of the pale beings lying dead all over the floor alongside several other corpses.

The extras that weren't blank, were very young, clearly colts. The floor was painted with the defiled and destroyed bodies of extra children. Each one was mutilated in the same fashion. Their limbs were gone, their stomachs ripped open and their genitals completely shredded to pieces. The smell of decay had long faded away, leading to greater dread.

"What is all of this?" Saffron gagged and held her mouth shut, feeling the vomit churning in her stomach.

"The leftovers." Hoo'far sighed at the scene, giving no more comments then was needed.

"Wait, They did this, those horrid doctors!!" Saffron jumped back in horror. After everything else, Saffron could only assume the worst for these victims.

"I didn't expect this place to be so big..." Hoo'far spoke with a nervous chuckle. The ceiling was at least several stories high and the room's width was nearly twice the size of the entire building. There was no way the building was being held upright with this massive area under it.

"What are we doing here?" She asked, trying to push everything out of her mind. Could this be the final target they were looking for? Was the real answers about her father here?

"Right, there's not much time to waste." Hoo'far tapped on the glass pedestal, turning on the monitors and devices. "Just need to type in the passcode for each employee you've seduced along with the ten other codes Birch gave me before he was trapped. One of which was your father's code." He leered at her with those words.

"What?" Saffron tried to deny it. "My father wouldn't agree to any of this?!"

"Yes, I know, you've been saying that this whole time..." He rolled his eyes and slowly raised his voice. "However, more and more facts are being presented to you that say the complete opposite." He tapped on the last screen, revealing her father's name and number. "Your father was the one pony to have been in direct contact with Dr. Firelight's adopted child, Starlight Glimmer." He showed her a group of images featuring Starlight as a child being left behind at Firelight's doorstep. The unicorn's training in all forms of basic magic and her encounters with Twilight Sparkle.

In particular, what drew Saffron's gaze most was several dinners at her father's restaurant in which Starlight was spying on Twilight on the other side of the room. "Its still unclear in these files why Starlight showed such interests in the Princess of Friendship. But consider this, both vanished the same day that black crystal rose to the sky and they were the only disappearances that happened outside of Canterlot." He pulled up all the files, showing all the proof. Yet it only made it harder and harder for her to accept.

Saffron raised her hand to the image of her father serving Starlight and meal and accepted her notes of Twilight. Literal proof that he was at least working directly with Dr. Firelight's adopted daughter. But how did that prove he was a part of this evil company? What reason did he have for working for them?

"Why are you so desperate to believe that your father was innocent in all this?" Hoo'far turned away from the screen and looked her straight in the eyes. "What level of denial do you need to be in for you to disregard the obvious truth?"

"He's not like that. I refuse to believe that!" Saffron finally screamed, standing her ground. "It's all a lie!!"

"Fine..." He typed in the final password and the platform behind the screen opened to reveal an altar with three tanks. "I shall have to shatter this mindset right now." He took her by the shoulders and pushed her over to the platform. "I didn't want to do this, but you leave me no choice."

"What? Stop it?!" She struggled.

"I had hoped you would enter the pod willingly. But your stupid denial is too strong for your own good." The tank behind her opened as if recognizing her DNA and allowed him to shove her inside. "I'm sorry..." His eyes dropped as she slapped his arms and chest.

"No, you're not! You're a sick pervert. Just like all those other twisted and demented monsters upstairs!" Saffron cried out and fought him, but he was just too strong. "You just want to use me!"

"I'm showing the truth!" He screamed at her, slamming the door shut. Slowly he walked back to the keyboard and screen and typed out data he never wanted to. She refused to listen, but this would change everything for her, whether she wanted it or not. "Truthfully..." Tears cupped in his eyes. "I didn't want to take this route. My plan was to use Dr. Firelight or even Vignette... But maybe this is the only way you will listen." With that stallion hit the enter key and a purple light shined into the container.

"What are you doing?" Saffron yelled, slamming her fists on the glass as the tank was filling with a strange liquid. She covered her mouth, fearing drowning in this hellish place.

"Just relax. This will only take a moment to peel the veil." Hoo'far took a step back and watched as the glass container filled with the glowing fluid. It took a solid minute for the liquid to fill the space. He watched with shaking eyes as Saffron struggled to hold her breath for as long as possible.

Seconds turned to minutes as she fought on for as long as possible. She didn't want to die in this place. Why? Just why was he doing this to her? Her lungs were burning and her head pounding. She closed her eyes, hoping this was all a bad dream. Dreaded yet was a small desire she didn't want to admit at all, a tinge of hope that this might kill her and finally reunite her with her father in the afterlife.

Yet, she didn't wake from a dream, nor feel the twisted embrace of death. Instead, all she could feel was air. Her eyes snapped open. The liquid was all around her, but somehow she was breathing. The inside of the glass had changed to a clear window and she could see everything inside the room.

She looked to Hoo'far who had his hand raised to the tank. He was crying. It was the first time she saw a real emotion other than smugness and a smile on his face. Yet it only made her question why was he acting this way. No, what was he seeing? She noted his deep gaze, not into her eyes but over her body.

A cold dread poured over her senses as her eyes followed his suit and down over her body. Her perception of denial faded instantly. The truth was in plain sight, all over her body. No longer was she just a common unicorn of brown tones and darker brown hair. No, her complexion was now pale white, and her hair a distinct green. She leaned toward him, looking deep into the reflections in his eyes to see the reality that had always been hidden from her.

"I see..." Hoo'far echoed her thoughts in his words. "The Saffron I knew... was never the real Saffron. You are a pale duplication of a real mare." He turned away and winced, laughing at his own denial he had to. "No, not even mare..." He pulled out a file from his robe and held it up to the glass. "I didn't understand it at first... But the real Saffron died in her mother's womb."

The image showed a picture of her father alongside his wife and a stillborn foal, matching her former details. "That's... That's why my father worked for them..." The fake Saffron couldn't live in denial any more. Her words spoke with such icy cold truth. "It was never some sick, twisted mindset... I'm the reason why."

"You were never a victim in all this." He tapped the glass, turning off the machine and allowing her to step out of the pod. Once she was dry, her previous form of Saffron returned slowly. He gave her the file and stepped back to the keyboard and screen. Pulling up more files on the computers he answered her next questions.

"Not changeling, not a true shapeshifter. Rather, they are called doppelgangers. A manufactured species designed by the god of the mindscape and stolen by the founder of this company." He revealed images of a small factory on an island far out in the Celestial Ocean, producing the creatures. Each one was being fed the same false memories, given the same DNA and appearance of their assigned replacement. "They can be designed as ageless or at the same rate as the ponies they are replacing."

"I see..." Words flowed out of her mouth as thoughts and information became clear. "Such creations would be a unique boon for whore houses. Have them harvest the DNA and supply them with endless mindless servants."

"Exactly..." A smooth grin grew on Hoo'far. "That's how Birch Bucket found out about this place. However, he still left me out for so long too." He slammed his fist on the screen. "That bastard knew the truth from the very beginning."

"My father is a good stallion." Saffron stepped forward, taking the information in and understanding more and more. "He raised me to be... his real daughter." She accepted the truth and the cold reality that was her existence. "All this time... I thought he was the one protecting me, or even that they were forcing him into this hellish keep. But, instead... I was the reason he joined."

"I'm so sorry..." His eyes narrowed on the screen as he pulled up the last file. "I know it's a lot to take in. But here is what we came for." He hit the print button and a single document came out. The title was. 'Memorial Services for Starlight Glimmer and Twilight Sparkle'.

Saffron caught it and read the destination. "Can't be..."

"Yes. Our final destination is the abandoned Castle of Friendship." He walked over beside her and took her hand. Tapping his staff on the floor twice the two vanished.

******

Author's Note

Another chapter, not on Monday. Yes, I'm speedrunning these final posts to end this story on the final day of July. I didn't expect this one to go on for so long, but here we are. One more chapter on Monday and then the Epilogue on Wednesday.