Ripples

NOTICE:

As a part of the Rewrite & Revise Project, my good friend Captain has assisted me in the revising of this chapter. He has been a tremendous help, and I am very proud of the improvements made to this chapter. Thank you for reading, and enjoy!

Chapter 4

The Escape

        I don’t know how long I was standing there. But holy crap, she was amazing. I’d never felt that way about anypony before in my li-        A blue buck stepped out from behind her, standing oddly close to her. Celestia fucking dammit.        “Hello? Anypony in here?” she called into the dark room. Her voice was so beautiful, almost like a song of angels...Well, not much else to do, so I stood up.        “...I’m here,” I said awkwardly, staring at her.        “What is this place?” she asked, turning to face me. “Since everypony was being so violent when the gates opened, we found this hole and decided to stay here ‘till everypony left.”        I glanced awkwardly toward the lever. “Uh...well...no idea...I don’t even know why I’m here, what am I doing here? What’s down here? Am I los-”        She interrupted me, “You sure are being defensive...is there something I should know...?” She glanced toward the lever I had so graciously pulled a few minutes ago. She looked at me. Then the lever. Then at me again. Both her and her...partner’s...eyes lit up and expanded far more than what should be possible. Both of them galloped straight at me and locked me into a giant hug.        “THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!” she screamed, her...mate...laughing hysterically. Then he started talking, “Do you have any idea how terrible it was?”Well, I did...dammit. I am going to kill this buck. “We’ve dreamed of this moment our whole lives! How did you get out here? Is there anypony else out here? How did you find this room? Who are you?” He asked, not stopping to let me speak.“I can’t even remember half those questions...” I muttered.        “Oh...I’m sorry,” he said. Yeah, sure, real sorry.The mare spoke again, “Never mind him. Just tell us, what’s your name?”Of course she fucking asked that. I started, “I don’t...have...”“NO WAIT! Let me guess!” she screamed. “Golden Hero?” I shook my head.“Savior?” No.“Burning Hero?”I stared at her, questioning her sanity.“Well, uh, no, but-”“WAIT I’VE ALMOST GOT IT! It’s, uhh...” she pondered for a moment. “...it’s...not anything with Hero in it...it’s not Savior...it can’t possibly be Loste-”“Yes,” I finally said, trying to shut up the now not-so-desirable mare. And to think I was attracted to her...        “...wait, it IS Loste?” she asked, astonished.        “...uh, I guess so...” I murmured. Fits well...considering my situation.        She giggled awkwardly. “Lucky guess, I suppose.” Sure it was...        The blue stallion finally spoke up, “This is getting awkward...can we please get out now? I want to see the rest of the beautiful world we’ve been locked away from.” He looked somewhere behind me, with a longing expression on his face. “Singing animals, dancing plants, beautiful rainbows, and-”        The mare interrupted, with an annoyed but slightly amused look. “We get it, Fading Hope.”        “Fine, Lost Cause.”        Wow, whoever named them sure didn’t sound happy. Well, then again, neither was I, I doubt anypony could be happy. Not anymore.        He spoke up again. “Sooooo...are we going or not?” Fading Hope and Lost Cause looked at me, then each other. The two exchanged consenting glances before sprinting back out of the tunnel at maximum speed, leaving me coughing in a cloud of dust.        I slowly followed those two back through the tunnel. It occurred to me I still didn’t have a proper understanding of how I looked. I also spent the walk back up wondering what my personality was like. Sincere? Malevolent? Intelligent? I have no idea who I really am. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing.        When I finally reached the top and squeezed back out of that strange hole, the mare and her...friend?...weren’t anywhere in sight. Nopony was. One huge thing stuck out, however: the entire wall around the city was gone. Nowhere to be seen, just an open work camp. The only thing that was noteworthy was the Citadel in the center.It was an intimidating structure. It was surrounded by an immense black wall, with four turrets mounted on each of the four corners. A colossal tower rose in the center, ending with a flat roof housing more mounted turrets. Very few windows could be seen on the wall facing me, and the only two that were visible were tinted black. It was unsettling, as if the building itself wanted me dead.This had been the place they had kept me and countless other ponies as slaves. Various unicorn and pegasus ponies trotted around it; their faces holding blank expressions, and their trots perfectly in sync with each other. It was sickening to watch, like they weren’t even alive. Just the shell of a pony...        Each and every one of them had a real, living pony inside... somewhere. I am the only proof of that terrible existence. But more importantly, how had I endured it? Who would do such a thing to poor, innocent foals? I was almost glad to have it erased from my memory. What kind of damage had that done to me? I resolved not to think on the subject and return to the matter at hand.I began my journey away from the city. I was free, and while that doesn’t mean much to me now...it’s important. Those ponies desperately wanted what I came to have. I don’t believe I will be able to help them, but they envy me. I see it in their eyes, even through the thick veil of their control. They’ve wanted it for a long time...