The Pandoran

The Pandoran

Chapter 1: The Spark of Chaos

He didn’t remember his name, having forgotten it the day he had transformed. It had been a typical Pandora day, hot enough to burn a man in seconds. He had been chosen amongst the other convicts for something, he couldn’t quite recall. They chose him for his constitution, and his stamina. They chose him because he was loyal as a trained canine, and as determined as any hungry beast upon the planet’s surface. It changed him though, warping his mind in ways he would never have considered. He had spent years in that expansive wasteland, forsaken by god and every sane man with a clean record.

None of that mattered now; he wasn’t on Pandora anymore. The trees stretched high into the heavens, and the ground was covered with undergrowth, the likes of which he had never seen in his life. He took little notice, focusing instead on the blue equine creature before him. He had arrived on this surreal world at dawn, and after walking for the entirety of the day, he was famished. His eyes took in the creature through his full-face filtration mask, and subconsciously he began to laugh.

******

The Great and Powerful Trixie sat by her humble campfire, fighting back the tears. It had been years since the incident in Ponyville, and she had never truly recovered. She lost everything she owned when the Ursa Minor had trampled her wagon, and in every town she attempted to act in afterwards, Trixie had found herself penniless, living off of the kindness of strangers and whatever food she could scrounge up.

She was bitter and angry; upset about everything that had happened. She always knew that one day things would turn sour, and she would be found out, but for her to be left destitute as well was simply too much. She sniffed as she gazed into the warm glow of the campfire, cooking a simple stew of flowers and grass. She held no ill will towards the mare Twilight Sparkle; if she hadn’t acted when she did, the town could’ve wound up smashed to pieces.

No, the ones Trixie reserved her hate for where the town morons, Snips and Snails. She had to admit, the pair were admirable in their affection, but in their worship the imbeciles had gone and brought the star-pelted beast. For the first few months after her flight, she had thought up numerous ways to brutally pay the duo back for what they had done. However, time had cooled the flames to little more than bitter remorse. In some ways she regretted leading them on as she did.

As the tears began to fall from her eyes, she began to hear a harsh, evil chortling behind her, getting louder. A snapping twig caused her to turn abruptly, spotting the beast approaching. The first word that came to Trixie’s mind was “Monkey,” but this was no monkey she had ever heard of. He, at least she assumed it was a he, stood at least twice as tall as she did, hairless with dull orange pants. He lacked a muzzle, mane, or tail, and his face was obscured by a strange white mask with lines running in the shape of an upside-down V. He stood on his hind legs, his arms wrapped with crude gauze. In one of his gloved hands was a sinister weapon, some sort of axe with a circular-saw blade in the front that whirred softly as it spun.

His cover blown, the creature let out a manic cackle and shouted, “IT'S TIME,” he raised his sinister weapon above his head, “FOR MY POUND OF FLESH!” he screamed as he brought the weapon down. Trixie screamed from fear, dodging to the side, not even questioning how the creature spoke pony, as the spinning blade cut her mane slightly on the way down. The sick hatchet buried itself in the soft ground, and spat dirt towards the beast. She backed away, and the monster spun, lunging for her. She let out a burst of magic from her horn, a simple knockback spell mixed with a stun spell. It struck her assailant square in the chest, knocking him into a tree.

She panted, taking in the details of the creature now lying against a tree. Unsure of what it was, let alone how she had angered it, her fear began to slip away as she began to wonder what to do with it. It was violent, irrational, and completely insane. Her thoughts fell back to Ponyville, to the two who ruined her life. She could use this beast; Twilight could easily stop him after she had him do… whatever it was he did. It seemed a bit cruel, but they had indeed ruined her life. The only question was how to train it, or at least direct it…

Her thoughts stopped and her fear returned abruptly as the psycho let out his harsh, violent laugh once more. He leapt forward, axe at the ready, screaming, “TIME TO PLAY! TIME TO PLAY!” Trixie let out another scream and galloped as fast as her hooves could carry her. That spell had saved her life on occasions when the crowd turned against her, and in those cases it had been fired as a burst, while this had been a single concentrated blast. How had he recovered so quickly?

The monster pulled his arm back and flung his blade. It sliced into her hind legs, ripping the right off and leaving a gash in the left before embedding itself in the dirt. She screamed in pain as she collapsed, turning to see the monster standing over her, his eyes glowing an evil orange as he cackled. She subconsciously relieved herself on the grass, both legs feeling as though they were on fire, one numb below a certain point.

“Time,” he let out another menacing laugh as he picked up his grizzly tool, “FOR ANOTHER POUND OF FLESH!” He brought the blade down into the whimpering pony, laughing widely as the droplets struck him. Trixie was paralyzed; crying as the maniac carved into her, ripped her open and began to pull her organs out. He tore his mask off, revealing a surprisingly gentle face, contorted into a deranged grin, his green eyes wide, and his pupils the size of needles.

Trixie was completely numb, and the creature lifted her, stopping to grab her severed leg as he walked to the makeshift campsite. A horrid realization hit as she realized the lunatic was enjoying himself. He saw this as a kind of fun, a method of entertainment. She couldn’t move, couldn’t even scream anymore as the figure began to drag the opposite end of the blade across her skin. She blacked out, and the horrid laughter stayed with her until she left the world.

******

The Psycho sat by the blue equine creature’s campfire, his mask sitting by his side. He took another bite of the meat he had cooked, savoring the flavor. He had grown accustomed to the rotten taste of skag meat, and the flesh of the delicate creature, soft and tender, was the most delicious thing he had tasted in a long time. He was a bit surprised when it fought back in the way it did. The blow had knocked him back, let him gather his thoughts, thoughts he normally wouldn’t even have access to when he began to attack. It hit harder than a bullet, and yet it had only been meant to stun him. If he wasn’t accustomed to taking gunshot wounds, the blast very well may have knocked him out.

He grabbed a bit of the unicorn's stomach and took a bite, wiping the juices that flowed from his mouth with back of his arm. He admitted silently that he found this new world intriguing, and aside from the bruise on his chest, he found the new world pleasant, possibly even, dare he say it, good. Pandora was, in layman’s terms, a complete and utter hellhole. Living there had been horrible, and his partial insanity had made given it some semblance of being bearable.

He didn’t even know how he had arrived here; he had woken up atop a dirt path outside of the forest. Nevertheless, he felt no need to return to Pandora. This was a new world, full of opportunity and possibilities for a man such as him. This was a beautiful, new world, and he was just the demented bastard to seize it.

He turned his attention to the crudely peeled hides nearby him, mind full of ideas. He could make the start of a tent, or blankets, or clothing. After a minute, he tossed them into the fire and took another chomp of intestines. He had always enjoyed the romantic ideal of ‘roughing it’.

******

Fluttershy trotted through the Everfree on her way to Zecora’s hut, humming a joyful tune as she passed through the sunlit woods. She kept to the dirt path, partially from familiarity, and partially from fear for the beasties within the woods. Ever since she was a filly, she had fought bouts of uncontrollable and paralyzing fear, often losing. This had not changed with age, possibly getting worse. Like many ponies, she truly lived up to her name.

As she continued down the path, she began to notice a strange ominous air about the forest. The sounds of insects and birds, normally dismissed as white noise and ambiance were absent, and occasionally a small group of birds would fly panicking overhead. Halfway to her destination, she began to hear it. It was a harsh noise, and as she progressed it got louder and clearer, to the point where she could make out laughter. She slowed to a crawl, he body trembling nervously as she went farther. Less than twenty yards later, past a bend in the path, she saw it. A strange creature, like a monkey with no fur or tail, wearing orange pants and dull grey boots, was crouched over a dead elk, both of them covered in dripping dark crimson. Her fear turned to horror and revulsion as the creature ripped a chunk of meat from the carcass and dug his teeth into it. It was a carnivore. A brutal, violent, dangerous carnivore.

She took a few silent steps back, hoping to make it pass the bend when a small fox came onto the path. She watched as the creature sniffed the corpse, and turned to the monkey-like creature. He gazed down at the furry animal. Equestrian wildlife, with a select few exceptions, was generally friendly as a rule. Fluttershy watched as the blood soaked being extended a handful of bloody meat towards the fox, smiling slightly at his generosity, macabre as it was. The smile vanished as he brought a twisted looking hatchet down on the fox’s head, laughing as the spinning blade cleaved straight through, spattering blood, brains and skull about.

Her normally frightened demeanor turned to pure, unadulterated rage. She knew about the circle of life, about the necessity of carnivores and their kind, and how their diets worked, but this abomination killed for fun. Her timid voice rose to a shout as she took off, “How dare you!” The monster stood up, pulling his mask on as Fluttershy flipped in midair, delivering a kick to the creature’s ribs. She heard them snap, and as he fell, she wondered if she had kicked gone a bit overboard. Her worries were dismissed when he swung at her, missing the yellow mare by an inch.

Wings flapping, Fluttershy ducked and dove under each strike while continuing to strike at the monster. When she finally knocked the evil axe from his hand, she planted her forelegs into the ground and gave a final kick into the monster’s ribs. He groaned loudly as it flew back, blood from the various wounds on his body mixed with the blood that covered him already. The mare landed inches away from his head. She stared into the emotionless orange glow of his eyepieces, one of which was shattered and black.

The creature still laughed in between coughing fits, one arm and hand presumably broken, as well as his ribs and one of his legs. Fluttershy felt her rage subsiding as the creature struggled to take his feet again, only to fall flat on his back. She carefully leaned in, gripping the straps of the mask. She removed it, and her eyes went wide as she saw the face beneath.

Even if she had no knowledge of what he was, she could tell he was young. His face was soft, no wrinkles or marks save for the cuts she was responsible for. One eye was jammed shut, closed to keep blood out, the other, shining green, stared into her blue eyes with an expression off demented joy. Despite everything, she felt pity for the creature. She had seen his expression on her friends in several cases; it was a face of a crazy pony, and this poor creature was trapped in this state.

He let out another gagging cough, and blood spattered onto Fluttershy’s face, bringing the damage into perspective for her. She had seriously hurt it, possibly even killed it. She went pale at the thought of having murdered this creature, even if his mind was completely gone. Her eyes followed his arm as it rose from the ground. Even though it had been completely shattered, it seemed to have recovered enough to lift a strange rounded cylinder above his head. His thumb pushed a small button, and the rounded cylinder began to glow.

The maniac laughed wildly, and Fluttershy panicked. She had no idea what the thing was or what she should do to stop it. She spun and kicked out her hind legs, knocking the device into a hollow tree. She cowered away, watching the tree anxiously. A second passed, then two. An explosion erupted from the tree, rocking the forest and sending shards of wood and metal shrapnel flying. A few chucks embedded themselves in the creature’s legs, and a chunk of steel lodged itself in Fluttershy’s wing, close to the base.

She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before, the burning steel filling her with a pain unknown to any of ponykind. The creature made no noise, and lay silent, breathing harshly. She squealed and groaned, writhing in pain for what seemed like an eternity before she could stand and move around. She looked once more at the creature, and her heart ached for it.

There was no truer a saint in Equestria than the wounded mare who carried the blood-soaked beast to her cottage. Out of precaution, however, she strapped it to the cot she laid it on, with a bit of rope for good measure. Better safe than sorry, especially with more dangerous animals. Her newest patient fully restrained, she set out to Ponyville to pick up everything she would need for treatment.

******

That fucking bitch! The psycho awoke, the burning pain throughout him hitting instantly. He was in pain, and being in pain pissed him off, and he knew that the pink haired bitch was responsible. He screamed and shouted for her blood, thrashing about on the cot he was strapped to. He would break her wings first, snap the fucking bones into powder, rip off the feathers, and finally tear them from her back. He’d break her tiny legs one joint at a time, and then he’d…

His thoughts broke as the cot tipped over and he fell flat on his face. No words came to mind, simply rage; pure violent rage. He wasn’t even speaking English anymore, simply screaming and letting out his signature laugh. Angry or happy, he could not stop laughing. The fact pissed him off even more, adding fuel to his fire, and he continued to thrash about on the ground.

******

“Fluttershy!”

Twilight gasped in shock at the sight of a yellow pegasus covered head to hoof in blood. One wing was bandaged up at the base, and she winced in pain with every step. Twilight ran over, her mind running over every possible reason for Fluttershy’s appearance. Could she have been attacked? Her cottage was far enough away that nopony would have heard a struggle from there. She briefly wondered if it was related to the strange explosion she had heard earlier in the day, but dismissed it quickly. Whatever had happened, Fluttershy was hurt, and Twi needed to know what happened.

Fluttershy turned to face Twilight, wincing slightly. The purple unicorn circled around, looking for wounds while bombarding her friend with questions. “Good Celestia, what happened to you? Y-you’re covered in blood! Were you attacked? Did you see what did this? Have you gotten to the hospital yet?”

“Umm, Twilight?”

“I can’t believe there’s so much blood! What could possibly have this much blood anyways? Oh my god, did something happen to the animals at your cottage?” Twilight was openly ranting out of concern.

“Umm, Twilight?”

“Okay, we need to gather the others. All together, we’ll take care of whatever did this! But first we need to get you to the hospital! Stay with me, alright!”

“Twilight I’ve taken care of everything already!” The words came out much louder than usual, and Twilight found herself taking a step back. It was suddenly obvious that Fluttershy only had the one wound, and was surprisingly calm despite the blood.

“But look at you.” She spoke softly, worried about her pink and yellow friend. “I mean, you’re covered in blood. It’s all over you. And your wing…” Fluttershy gave a soft smile to the unicorn, touched by her concern.

“I understand your concerns, but I’m really quite alright. I didn’t have time to wash up because my newest patient is really hurt…” She trailed off slightly, then gasped and turned face to face with Twi. “Wait! You know about strange creatures, right? Because I don’t know anything about this creature, but it was wearing clothes and had tools, so if you knew anything it would really help!” She paused, and retreated slightly, her nervousness returning. “I mean, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble.”

Twilight smiled slightly at the sight of Fluttershy acting normal. “Of course I’ll help Fluttershy. That’s what friends are for, remember?”

Fluttershy gave a small nod, and turned back towards the town. “First things first, we should pick up some bandages and medicine. If we run into Applejack or Rainbow Dash, that would definitely help.”

Twilight scrunched her face in confusion as she watched the familiar pegasus trotting down the road. She understood why Applejack, with her knowledge of farm animals, might be helpful, but why would Fluttershy need Rainbow Dash for something like this?

******

The psycho watched the rabbit carefully from his vantage point on the floor. He had long since cooled down; his fury had been dissuaded by his bindings, and the narrow field of vision available to him, and had decided to observe his environment. Chief among it was the bright white rabbit he gazed at. It glared back at him, obviously distrusting of him. It was understandable; here was a strange man in the creature’s home, lying on the floor with a cot strapped to his back, covered head to toe in blood. He didn’t care, being used to distrust.

A rumbling in his gut reminded the lone man that he had not eaten recently, and slowly the bloodlust began to return. The meat was merely inches from him, the perfect range for a lunge and a bite. He began to chuckle as a violent smile spread across his face. He dug his feet in, preparing to lunge and eat when the furry meat puppet rolled an apple to him. He looked cautiously at it as his subconscious laughter subsided. The rabbit had offered him food. Was it possible it was more intelligent than he gave it credit for? He knew that some creatures on Pandora had fairly advanced brains, including some of his former comrades.

Nevertheless, he was cautious with the fruit. Many of the plants on Pandora were poisonous, or simply dangerous to eat. He cautiously took a bite out of the apple, and immediately felt his hunger and bloodlust disappear. It made sense now why the creatures of this foreign land would taste the way they did; the apple was beyond anything he had ever tasted in terms of flavor. The sweet, sugary taste showed in the meat of the animals he had eaten, and now he could recognize the presence. He devoured the apple, even eating the core and stem. He licked the sweet juices off the floor, deriving a strange euphoria from it.

The sound of approaching hooves stopped him in his consumption, and his trained ears picked up voices, casually chatting as they approached.

“… Ahm saying is that if this critter’s as rowdy as y’all say, maybe it’d be better to put em down.” The psycho raised an eyebrow at the voice’s accent, being unfamiliar with such dialects.

“What? How could you even suggest something like that?” the voice was soft and tender, and oh so familiar to the man on the floor. He struggled to put a face to the voice.

“I dunno, I’m kinda siding with AJ on this one. From the sound of it, we’re dealing with a sick animal here.” The brashness of the third voices statement cut the man deeply. He would be the first to admit there was something wrong with him, but the bluntness with which the voice categorized him was still a bit hurtful.

“Look, we are not going to kill it. We’re ponies for Celestia’s sake! We’re better than that!” The fourth voice sounded stressed, as if the owner had been arguing the entire way there. The psycho stopped to consider the declaration that they were ponies, quickly dismissing it. He had once run into a gang who dubbed themselves the ‘Rosebud Girls’, despite the fact that there wasn’t a single woman amongst them. “Now, we’re going to go in there, and we’re going to fix it up, and if it seems dangerous, we’ll write to Celestia for help.”

The door opened, and light poured in from the entrance. On his belly beneath the cot, the psycho looked up to the view of four equine creatures, the pink and yellow one who had thrashed him, a cyan one with a prismatic mane and tail, an orange one with a Stetson, and a lavender one with a horn and a pink stripe in her hair. It was obvious he had no options; he was outnumbered and tied down, his buzz axe was missing, and he had lost his single grenade. The only option left was diplomacy.

Even if he was a fair bit insane, he knew there was an undeniable safety in numbers and pairing with whoever had the biggest gun. Given his experience in this world, both options seemed to point towards teaming up with the yellow one. He opened his mouth and calmly began to explain his condition, being that he would slip between completely coherent and crystal clear thoughts to demented and overly excited fits of violence and sadism, and that he hoped they could work together to overcome the barriers presented in order to facilitate good relations. At least he tried to explain. What actually came out was more along the lines of:

“Let me out! More meat puppets to play! WE CAN ALL PLAY!”

He screamed in his head and laughed out loud. The common inability to communicate had been hard on him back on Pandora, and it was obviously harder here since he was not on good terms with these creatures. His last sight before falling unconscious once more was the rainbow one spinning and kicking him in the face.