Just Over the Horzine

Chapters

Chapter 1: The Day Horzine Came to Ponyville
Chapter 2: An Unexpected Outcome
Chapter 3: Personal Inquiry
Chapter 4: The Departure
Chapter 5: In the Beginning
Chapter 6: Full Circle
Chapter 7: Recuperation
Chapter 9: A Slight Delay
Chapter 10: Some Much Needed Assistance
Chapter 8: What Lies Ahead

Chapter 1: The Day Horzine Came to Ponyville

London, England, August 24, 2009

In the early hours of the morning, Horzine Industries was beginning to stir. The first person to arrive was CEO and founder, Kevin Clamely, a toned man in his late thirties. His brown hair shone in the sunlight as he scratched his neatly trimmed mustache. The sounds of his footsteps echoed throughout the establishment as his alligator shoes clicked with each step on the linoleum floor. After traversing through several spacious hallways, he stopped at room 408. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door. Clamely sat in the swivel chair at his desk, re-reading Horzine’s latest weaponry reports. Half an hour passed when a rap at the door brought his attention forward. “Come in.” The door slowly creaked open, a noise Kevin deemed equivalent to someone smashing plates.

A husky woman peeked her head into the room before quickly bringing the rest of her body in. “You, um, you wanted these reports... sir?”

Kevin glanced at the front of the cream colored folder before him. “Oh yes,” he said as a small smile curled onto his face, “I’ll take that.” He snatched the folder from her hands and pulled out several documents. He began to skim them, but stopped as he looked past the papers. He noticed the woman was still standing in his office with a look of anxiety and enthusiasm etched on her face. It was obvious that there was going to be an unnecessary discussion, and he already had enough reasons to hate this woman; he hated those yellow, crooked teeth. That repulsive mole above her lips. That idiotic, blond, nineteen-forties hairstyle. He especially hated those gawking green eyes of hers. He placed the papers to his side and rested his head onto his intertwined hands. “Can I help you with something?” he asked with a subtly bitter tone.

“Well, sir, I was wondering,” she hesitantly began. “The rumors about Horzine’s latest technology; are they... true?”

Kevin gave the woman a cold stare. “Tell me something, Miss... ?”

“Gweneth Rutherford, sir.”

“Right, tell me, Miss Rutherford,” The CEO removed his black glasses and polished them as he continued, “what exactly is your job here?”

“I manage the specimen reports, sir,” she stated as she rubbed the back of her left hand.

Kevin placed his glasses back on. “Yes, yes, of course. See, I was a bit confused.” He began to tap his index finger on the desk. “I’m trying to remember exactly why someone with a responsibility like yours is more concerned about idle gossip than the lifeblood of this company.” The color on his employee’s face began to drain as she slowly slunk towards the door. “No seriously, can you tell me why?”

Gweneth anxiously gulped and stammered, “I... I was just c-curious.”

“Exactly! You were just curious, and curiosity killed the cat, you know.” He began to drag his index finger across his neck as he made a gurgling noise.

“F-f-forgive me, sir. I-I just—”

“Oh, never mind any of that, Miss Rutherford,” Kevin said as he waved her away. “Just try to remember that you shouldn’t concern yourself with baseless rumors. You’re not being paid to snoop around, you’re being paid to help craft the future. Now get back to work.” Gwenyth quickly let herself out the room. “Women...” Kevin muttered as he unknowingly began to rub the golden ring on his left ring finger.

For anyone who overheard gossip about Horzine Industries, he or she would hear a wide range of gossipy subjects. Only so much of this gab was true. While Horzine Industries was publicly known as an arms company, the truth of the matter was kept under wraps by Horzine’s employees. The British government had funded Horzine to begin cloning and experimentation on what were simply called “specimens.” Kevin began to browse the updates on each of the specimens in production.

In total, there were nine types of specimens under production: the clot, the gorefast, the bloat, the crawler, the husk, the stalker, the siren, the scrake, and the fleshpound. Each specimen was grouped off into three-inch thick, plexiglass containers with their respective clones and kept under constant surveillance with a camera placed in every corner of the room. Every three hours, a misty spray breezed through each of the containers, which effectively sedated the specimens. Should an accident occur, specimen laboratories had a door installed with an airtight lock; these locks were activated by red alarm buttons planted on the walls, ensuring the safety of any and all remaining staff members. Should this fail, the final safety measure was something only Kevin and the security staff were aware of: a firestorm would engulf the entire facility, leaving only smolders to their name.

The staff had been paid handsomely to manufacture these clones, so no one complained. Of course, even with all precautions taken, such experiments had their share of fatalities. Some specimens didn’t survive the conditions of the outside world for more than five minutes, and a small number of staff members were victims of workplace accidents. When it came to Horzine, working for them could be easy, the work itself was anything but.

“What the fuck is this?!” Kevin shouted, resisting the urge to tear the document into pieces. “The scrakes, why is their vitality so god damn low?” His eyes quickly skimmed the paper, searching for the guilty party. “Biotics, huh?” He placed the envelope in his desk drawer and walked out of his office, the scrake report gripped tightly in his hand. “I’m going to wring their necks.”

**********

Deep in the facility lay the biotic division. In here the blood, sweat and tears of every employee went into molding the specimens so they could become both deadly and obedient. The long halls were lined with nothing but metallic walls, echoing any and all sounds throughout the center. Usually there would be nothing but the sounds of machinery throughout the building, but today was different. If anyone were to listen hard enough, they could faintly make out a conversation near the back of the lab.

“For God's sake, Gary, will you stop pacing around for just one second?” said Dr. Victor Ingrahm as his giddy cohort couldn't hide his enthusiasm. Victor was a slim, thirty-four year old man who had short black hair and wore red glasses. He was the kind of person who would keep to his work and deliver results whenever they were needed. He kept quiet about his personal life, but occasionally he would open up to those whom he found to be trustworthy.

Dr. Gary Glover, however, couldn't listen to his fellow scientist’s request, and continued rambling about the week's planned events. Gary was almost as tall as Victor, shorter by a few centimeters. He rustled his flat, brown hair in the middle of his excitement. “I mean, can you just imagine for one second what this means? If we can master cloning, well... we'd be on the verge of being gods! I get giddy just thinking of what this could mean for the world. Can you believe it? Why, with that kind of power we ca—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Victor finally chimed in, “however we don't get paid to imagine, we get paid to work. Now go to your station and do your bloody job before Mr. Clamely waltzes in here and decides to bring the hammer down on us.”

“Piss off, everyone knows that yank never leaves his office. It's not that big of a deal.”

Victor simply looked up, glared and said, “Back to work, now!”

Gary didn't object to Victor's command, he simply rolled his eyes and did as he was told.

After a half an hour's worth of silence passed, Gary couldn't help but strike up another conversation. “You have to wonder though, what’s this big plan Clamely’s got going on?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh, you know,” Gary said, as he moved away from his compuiter screen to get a good look at his fellow scientist. “Clamely’s been going on about this big secret unveiling at the end of the week.”

Victor glanced in Gary’s direction. “Oh right, that. Well, I’ve actually heard a little rumor.”

“I’m listening.”

Victor got out of his seat and looked around the room for any eavesdroppers. When he knew there was no one around, he whispered, “Portal technology.”

Gary’s look shifted from curious to incredulous. “I thought we stopped working on that.”

“Apparantly not.”

“Is this still for the government?”

“I don’t know that much, but I wouldn’t doubt it.”

Gary leaned back in his chair, reflecting on this new information. “What do you think the government will use portal technology for?” he asked, “I mean sure we'd be the first to do it and all, but then what? What could they possibly need a portal for?”

To this, Victor said, “First of all, I’d imagine the plan is to use the portals for combat advantages. That way we can make pre-emptive strikes, stop bombings, and the like. Secondly, we weren't the first, Aperture managed to pull a fast one on us remember?”

Gary recalled the uproar that caused. When word reached Horzine Industries about this discovery, it was as if a witch hunt was called. Several scientists had been questioned or fired. “Hey, wait,” he said, “Aperture’s portals already do so much, how would these be any different?”

Victor tapped his chin as he tried to come up with an idea. Upon glancing at the door, his eyes shot wide, and he snapped himself back to working on his computer.

Gary looked at the door and saw a shadow looming behind it. Following Victor’s example, he paid attention to his computer once more.

The door opened and in walked Kevin. He approached the two scientists, with his arms folded behind his back. “Gentlemen.”

“Mr. Clamely,” Gary and Victor said in unison.

“I understand that you two oversee scrake productivity, correct?”

“Yes sir, we are,” Gary chimed in.

“Then I trust you’re fully aware that their vitality is near zero?”

Gary shot a nervous glance at his partner.

“It’s a regrettable fact, sir,” Victor said without skipping a beat. “But we think we’ve found the cause of that, and a temporary solution to those problems.”

Kevin’s eyebrows were slightly raised. “Really? What did you find out?”

“After running a series of tests,” Victor said, “we’ve concluded that the scrakes seem to have a poor immune system. So we’ve decided to add surgical masks onto each clone to increase productivity.”

“Surgical masks?” Kevin said in disbelief, “You two are working in a biotics... and you decide to add surgical masks and call that progress?”

“Survivability rates have climbed up from forty-three percent to sixty-five percent... sir,” Gary stated.

Kevin looked at both of his employees. “Are these numbers accurate?”

“We’ve triple-checked them, sir.” Or rather, I triple-checked them, Victor thought to himself.

Kevin looked as if he were torn between being in awe over their results, or in awe over how lazy an idea the masks seemed. “It’s... satisfactory at best. But I expect to see a more professional-looking specimen the next time I come down here. We’re scientists, here. You two can do better than slap a mask on them and call it a day.”

Victor said, “We’ll make them as best as we can, sir.”

“No,” Kevin sharply retorted, “you won’t make them better... you’ll make them perfect, understand?”

Both of the scientists simultaneously replied, “Yes sir.”

Nothing else was said as Kevin walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

The room was in complete silence until Gary uttered, “What a git.”

Victor gave his cohort a disapproving look.

“Oh, come on,” Gary said defensively, “I mean, the man just barges in here and insults us like that. We’re the ones that do all the real work anyway.”

Victor sighed. “Yes, but he’s also the one who signs our paychecks.”

“Part of me thinks the man is mad.”

“Gary...”

“I’m serious,” Gary stressed, “You heard how he said that those specimens had to be ‘perfect’. He looked like he was going to start slobbering all over the place. Why, just the other day, I had to deliver a package to Sector B. He was right next to those specimen chambers, rubbing those cases just like this,” he said as he moved his hand in a circular motion. “It looked like he was whispering something to them. And I don’t mean just like any whisper, I mean a whisper you utter in someone’s ear when you really fancy them.”

Victor appeared surprised. “That is a bit... odd, to say the least.”

“And this kind of man is working with the government?” Gary shook his head in disbelief. “Anyways... did you hear anything else about those portals?”

Victor glanced at the door before saying, “I really don’t think this is the best place to discuss that.”

“Fine. Besides that, what do you think the government plans on doing with those specimens? Surely we’re not going to sell them off as auction, right?”

Victor impatiently replied, “The super-soldiers are the future of the British military. They are our allies in our darkest of times and our protectors in times of peace. With these super soldiers at our disposal, London will become—”

“Will become the safest nation for the queen and its people. I know. That's the same rubbish they tell us every day!” Gary exclaimed. “But what do you think?”

Victor simply stared at his computer, typing away, every click-clack of the keyboard getting louder. Victor’s typing served as his way of telling Gary to get back to work.

Gary just rolled his eyes and sat back down, checking the internal temperatures of the latest batch of sirens.

It wasn't too long, however, until Dr. Ingrahm finally spoke up. “Off the record, I think something is wrong with all of this. Scientific advancements are one thing, but we're advancing way too fast for our own good. I mean, look at this facility. We've managed to create living, breathing creatures in mere months. They can think, they can act out, and they even can communicate. Fast forward to today. Suddenly we can make portals? Something just isn't adding up here, not to mention the precautions in this place aren't very thought out.”

Gary leaned back in chair. He asked, “What do you mean?”

Victor continued, “You see those fleshpounds in Sector C? Those metal prods could stop them from moving around but imagine if they broke out of those things! They'd be a bunch of running human tenderizers!

“Granted, this is all speculation so I'm not exactly looking to head for the hills just yet. We might as well wait and see.”

Gary didn't think his friend had it in him to speak his mind, what with the rumors floating around of scientists suddenly going missing once they spoke out against Horzine's intentions. “Yeah, you have a very good point, but at least we get paid well enough for this, right?”

Victor simply shook his head and said, “It's always about the dosh, isn't it?”

Gary looked surprised. “Are you kidding? Of course it is! Why else would I work in this hell-hole? The pay sure beats working at some pub every night, dragging the latest nonce out of the building before closing time.”

“That's exactly why we work all day, everyday,” Victor said nonchalantly, “to get those pounds.” His computer gave a small chirp, an Email notification. He read the message and stopped, his expression shifting from uninterested to curious. He uttered, “This can’t be...”

“Can’t be what?” Gary asked. There was no response. “Are you alright, Victor?” More silence. Gary stood up and walked over to Victor’s computer. He briefly saw a medley of images and numbers that were immediately minimized.

“What are you doing?” Victor barked.

“Sorry, you were just in your own world. What was that, anyway?”

“It’s... it’s nothing,” Victor coyly said. “Just sit back down and get to work.”

“Nothing, eh?” Gary said, raising an eyebrow. “It sure doesn’t look like ‘nothing’.”

Victor snapped his head towards Gary and growled, “Do you want Clamely to come back in here and see you yakking your gob?”

“Alright, fine, I’ll sit back down!” He walked away, shaking his head in annoyance. With his colleague behaving, under protest, Victor perused his message once more.

August 29, 2009

In the early hours of the morning, janitors scurried around the conference room. Chairs were being lined up, beverages and snacks had been prepared for press members, and reporters were placing their microphones on the podium nearby. There were even people that hung up banners which read, “The Horzine way is the safe way”. From a nearby window, Kevin gazed into the room. A proud smile formed on his face as he thought, This is it. Today, Horzine will show its dominance in the field of science. As more reporters began to trickle into the room, growing restless as time passed, he felt it would be rude to keep them waiting any longer.

The murmurs of the audience quieted down as he walked onto the stage. The rapid flashes of cameras from nearby photographers seemed to have no effect on his demeanour. He walked up to the podium and placed both hands on it before beginning his monologue. “I thank you all for arriving here today. This is truly a great day not only for science, but for the world. We here, at Horzine Industries, have prepared quite a treat for all of you. You shall all bear witness to what can only be summed up as the most important scientific advancement in history.”

A giant device covered in a white tarp was brought before the crowd. Everyone appeared very intrigued and wondered what was brought before them. Kevin took the center stage to unveil this device. “Now, ladies and gentlemen. What you’re about to see is Horzine’s gift to the world. I give you... portals!” With those words, the tarp was torn off the device. It was a metallic ring roughly two meters tall and one and a half meters wide with a conductor at the top and bottom of the ring. He looked towards the reporters, expecting to see many people in awe over this machine. However, despite the barrage of camera flashes, he saw deadpanned and lackluster expressions across the room.

“Portals, Mr. Clamely?” a reporter piped up. “This is your great unveiling? Hasn’t Aperture Science already done something like this?”

“You’d think so,” Kevin retorted behind a cheeky grin, “but if they actually put some thought into their design, then maybe their toys would be half as good as our technology.”

“So tell us, Mr Clamely. How do these portals work?”

“Well, as you’re all aware,” Kevin began, “Aperture’s portals can allow someone to instantly travel from one part of the world to another, they might have even made it possible to travel across the universe . While this sort of design would intrigue feeble minds, we here at Horzine Industries felt that if you’re going to send someone through a portal, why restrict a traveler to the confines of just a universe?” He walked towards the machine on stage. “Our portals have these capabilities, and so much more. I am proud to announce that we have created inter-dimensional portals.” This revelation caused the press to stand up as one; some people demanded an explanation, while others scoffed the very idea.

“With this device,” he continued, trying to quiet down the crowd, “not only can you travel to worlds beyond your wildest dreams, but you don’t even need to leave the planet. All that’s necessary is to enter your destination’s coordinates, and the machine will take care of the rest. Of course, if you’d prefer to stay on Earth, all it takes is the flip of a switch, and you’re traveling from country to country in seconds. Now, I bet that some of you are saying to yourselves, ‘This is impossible!’ However, I must stress that what we’ve got here is going to redefine what is and isn’t possible.”

“What a load of bollocks!” One reporter shouted.

Kevin gave the crowd a forced smile as he scanned the room for the source of the outburst. “I see that some of you hold your doubts about this machine,” he said as he gingerly patted the portal device. “Fine, I suppose I’ll have to prove it to you.”

At that moment, he flipped a nearby switch, which caused the machinery started to glow with a white hue. It began to emit a low hum, then built its way to a constant rumble. The CEO picked up where he left off. “I have Dr. Clara Neeman here.” A petite scientist with bulbous, red hair walked onto the stage, waving once for the photographers before standing on Kevin’s left. “Previously, we have sent mobile units into a parallel universe, and they have brought back objects from the worlds beyond our own.” As he spoke, he signaled for a nearby attendant to remove the cover from a nearby stand. Three enlarged photographs were revealed. One picture showed an expansive forest with trees that were colored many shades of purple. Another showed a world of fire and magma jets soaring into the sky. The last picture showed illuminated landscapes and brilliantly vibrant sunsets. Some members of the press seemed enthralled in these sights, while others were not moved. “Pictures are one thing,” he continued, “but nothing beats a first-hand experience. For this reason, Dr. Neeman has volunteered to be the first live test subject to enter another dimension.”

While the woman was being prepared for her departure, he said, “Now, this world we’re sending her to has been previously used as a test destination. There hasn’t been any signs of danger, so this would be the best choice for a test run. For safety reasons, we're having her wear a hazmat suit, should there be any sort of disease in this new world. Also, we’re equipping her with a belt that acts like a transceiver. It will relay her heart rate, temperature, and oxygen levels. If she’s in any danger, all she has to do is press the button on her belt, and a portal will open before her. This machine has a homing beacon installed, so the transceiver will lock onto its signal when the time comes. Should we deem her condition too unsafe, we will open a portal for her.”

“Wait just a tick, Mr. Clamely,” a different reporter stated. “Telling us that alternate dimensions exist and you’ve found a way to access them is one thing; but now you plan on sending a human being through your portal, and you don’t give her a camera or a microphone. Call me a skeptic, but without any definitive proof that your device actually works, the press is not buying this rubbish for one second.”

Kevin rubbed his hands together and calmly stated, “I’m glad you brought that up, because I was just about to get to that.” You stupid fuck. He paced around the stage and said, “Inside of her suit, we’ve established a tactical comm system, and an camera inside of her suit. The suit will give us a constant stream of what she sees and says, but cross-universe travel is a very tricky process, so we might not have a perfect connection. These are tests, after all.” Feeling shown up, the reporter yielded any further objections. “Now Dr. Neeman, your job is to go into that world and find something from the universe that can be brought back here. Nothing too fancy, but credible enough to prove to the crowd that this is all real, understand?”

Clara nodded her head and said, “Should be simple, sir.”

“That’s my girl,” Kevin said as he patted the scientist on the back. “Now then, are you ready, doctor?”

“Ready, sir.”

The device’s technician, Mark Jameson, pressed a series of buttons on the control panel before him. The device then began to rumble, and the floor began to tremor. A loud crack caused an elliptical, white portal to appear before the scientists on stage. The once-skeptical members of the press were in awe of the spectacle before them.

Mark got to work, as he got the video and audio feed to appear on screen.

“Good luck out there,” Kevin said as Clara was sent through the portal.

The nearby staff members immediately got to work as they began to establish a connection to the transceiver. The sound of static began to fill the room as the video feed was struggling to appear on screen.

“Dr. Neeman,” Mark said into his microphone, “this is Horzine. If you can hear us, please respond.” After what seemed like an eternity, a reply struggled to break through from the other end.

“I c——ar yo——n y—— hear me?”

“Repeat that, Dr. Neeman, you’re breaking up.”

“I sa—— I can hear you, can you hear me?” Shortly after the static subsided, the video feed made its way on screen. The frame-rate was choppy, but images of a murky swamp became the focus of everyone’s attention.

Kevin began to grin like a madman as he moved to the microphone and said, “We hear you loud and clear, Doctor. How do you feel right now?”

“I feel great! My word, this is amazing! It almost makes me not want to come back home,” Dr. Clara said with a laugh. “Wait a minute, what’s that over th—” Static took over the audio feed, and the video was replaced once again by a blue screen.

While Mark attempted to get the connections to work, Kevin said, “It seems that making a decent connection is harder than we thought. Don’t worry, we’ll have her back online in just a minute.”

One minute in, her heart rate began to decline.

Two minutes in, her heart continued to climb.

Five minutes in, her heart rate was at a considerably high level. A look of concern grew across Kevin’s face. The murmurs among the audience grew louder as the impending urgency of the situation grew.

“Think we should pull her out of there?” asked Mark.

“No, she’ll be fine, let's wait a little longer.”

Ten minutes in, her heart rate shows no signs of slowing down. After noticing the reporters becoming more and more rambunctious, Kevin said, “Alright, bring her back.”

The homing beacon was activated... but nothing happened. Mark deactivated and re-acitvated the device several times expecting to see the scientist appear before them. “Mr. Clamely!” he shouted, “There’s interference with the receiver on the subject’s end! The frequency isn't strong enough to get her back!”

“Then increase the fucking frequency!!!” Kevin snapped at the tech, holding no regard of the media watching his every move. The room began to overflow with the sounds of beeps and chimes coming from the machines, and the ever so restless mob of reporters. After many repeated attempts, the beacon finally did its job. The became silent for an instant. Dr. Clara had returned, but everything above her waistline was gone.

All eyes were focused on the sight before them. Most reporters were too stunned to react until her lifeless legs had fallen to the floor, spraying a small jet of blood towards the front row or reporters. The entire room was in an uproar. Some reporters screamed in horror while others made their way to the stage demanding an explanation. Without a hint of control in his voice, Kevin shouted, “Get them out of here!” and took this as his chance to leave. A slew of Horzine’s security members rushed onto the stage and shooed any and all reporters away as he stormed off the stage, hearing nothing but the press’ questions flying left and right.

While he marched down the hall, Dr. Rutherford approached from the opposite end. Before the woman had a chance to utter a syllable, she was swiftly shoved to the side as Kevin said, “I don’t have time for your stupid questions, you fatass!” Paying no more attention to others, he entered his office and slammed the door shut. He paced around the room, both hands on his head. “Damn it,” he growled. “God fucking damn it!” He slammed his fist into the wall and shouted, “Can’t any one of these shitheads do anything right?! We’ll be lucky if we get off with only a slap on the wrist. Now it’s my fucking neck on the chopping block!” Seeing the state he was in, he began to reassure himself that everything was okay.

“Calm down now. It's not like it didn't even work. We DID send a human to another world, didn't we?” A vile grin formed on his face as he let out an ominous chuckle. “No one can deny this company’s superiority now! And who does the world have to thank? Me... yes me. Without me, these idiots would be out there flipping burgers, wasting their lives away. I’m the god damn founder, for fuck's sake. They shouldn’t judge me, they should award me! I should get the Nobel Prize for this. Hell, why don't they just give me all of the awards while they're at it, since I'm just that fucking good!” He erupted into a laughing fit that slowly died down. He approached a nearby window and moved the curtain, revealing row upon row of specimens. “Besides...” he solemnly said, “I have yet to unveil my greatest triumph. Soon, my children, you will be unleashed onto the world! You will clean this world of all undesirables, and I shall become the most unstoppable force on the planet!” It was that moment when he received a phone call. He fished his phone out of his pocket and sharply answered, “What is it?”

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting something, Mr. Clamely,” came a voice from a meek scientist, “but I couldn’t help but notice all the commotion in the press room. Did something happen down there?”

“Don’t worry about that, just tell me you have something important to talk about.”

There was silence for a few seconds, then the scientist finally responded, “Oh yes, we have the test results back from our latest experiment.”

“Good, what happened?”

A rustling of papers and some murmurs later, the scientist stated, “Well, after looking the results over, we’ve confirmed that Project Thorne is a success. I repeat, Project Thorne is a success.”

August 31, 2009

In the early morning, a security guard walked through the halls, anxious to end his graveyard shift and sleep the day away. He yawned as he turned the corner, unable to hear the footsteps behind him. Before he knew what was happening, he was struck from behind, knocking him out cold.

Gwenyth rolled the guard’s limp body over and rummaged through his pockets. “A thousand pardons,” she said as she pulled out a key ring and a security clearance card. Once his unconscious body was placed in a nearby supply closet, the faux scientist made her way down to the biotics labs. She traveled down several floors until she found her desired location: the Sector B Observatory Labs. Pulling out the keyring, she fitted several keys until one of them finally unlocked the door.

She pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. After a small wait, she said, “It’s me. I’m in Horzine’s facility, proceeding with reconnaissance... yes, I’ll confirm that after this is done... understood.” Gwenyth snapped the phone shut and placed it back in her pocket, switching it for a camera. She moved to the far end of the room where canisters of specimens were kept. The camera flashed again and again as its memory began to fill with pictures. Once satisfied, she placed a plug into the camera and attached it to her phone. The pictures began to transfer into the phone’s memory before it was swiftly sent to Gwenyth’s contact.

“That’s the last of that,” she said with a sigh of relief, “now to check on the—” She was interrupted as the door opened from behind her, revealing an amused Kevin.

“You know,” he began, “I could’ve sworn that I specifically warned you not to go digging around.” Kevin closed the door behind him. “Now you’ve gone and stuck your nose where it doesn’t belong. That’s a very un-Gwenyth thing to do. Or rather, it would be, if Gwenyth Rutherford actually existed.

Gwenyth swallowed hard as she bluffed, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about Mr. Clamely. I just got lost, that’s all.”

“Oh, cut your bullshit. We both know why you’re here.” The CEO began to walk closer. “So, who sent you? The government? America? Someone else? Please stop me if I’m right.”

She took a small, defensive stance. “I’m not revealing information like that. On top of that, you have nothing to threaten me with.”

“That’s because I have no need to. Now be a good little girl and tell daddy what you’re doing here.”

“You’re demented.”

A small smirk worked its way onto his face. “I try, but seriously, I saw that you were taking pictures. Just give them to me, and I’m sure we can arrange some sort of deal.”

Gwenyth put on a scowl. “You’re nothing but a coy old man, and it’s too late for you and your company,” she said as Kevin’s smile quickly morphed into a bitter glare. “I’ve already sent the pictures to my employer. It’s over.”

Kevin took a breath through his nose and said, “That’s just a damn shame.” He turned away from the woman and repeated himself quietly before whipping around with a silenced pistol in his hand, aiming it as the spy before him. “Now I have to kill you. We could’ve been such good friends, you and I.”

Gwenyth scoffed his threat. “So what? You’re going to sho—”

Without a second’s hesitation, Clamely aimed the pistol at her hip and pulled the trigger.

She let out an agonizing groan as she gripped her side while slowly balling up on the floor.

“No,” Kevin mused, “I’m just going to wave this gun around and talk to you for ten minutes. Of course I’m going to shoot you, you stupid cunt! Seriously, why can’t there be one smart woman on this earth.” He approached the huddled woman and knelt next to her. “See, I never really wanted to do any of this. Seriously, all I was going to do was use these handcuffs,” he pulled out said object, “then just fasten them onto you and send you out of here. Then you had to go and act like you’re the bitch with the pants on. Too bad, missy, you lose.”

In a vain act of defiance, Gwenyth spit onto his face.

Kevin slowly turned back to her and gave a small smile. “You’ve just reminded me of something. I wasn’t going to do this either!” He proceeded to shoot both of her knees, leaving her writhing in agony. “Now you’re just making a mess. I’m gonna have to take you to a more suitable location.” He grabbed her hair and dragged her through the halls.

She tried to muster the strength to break free, but her body wouldn’t respond. After what felt like an hour of being dragged, they arrived at a door on a lower floor.

He proceeded to enter in a button combination on a padlock. When a green light turned on, he turned to his prisoner and said, “You wanted to see them so badly? Well, I’m going to give you an up close and personal experience!” After he tossed her into the room, the door was locked shut and he walked away, ignoring the sounds of screaming and flesh being ripped from bones. “They already know, huh? Whoever ‘they’ are, they seem really eager to to ruin everything. They want to destroy all that I’ve worked for. They want to kill... my children. I won’t let that happen.” Eventually, he made it to his office. He saw several of his employees begin to enter the facility, unaware of Clamely’s murderous drive. Once he locked himself in his office, the lunatic began to talk to himself. “If she’s in on it, I can’t trust anyone.” He sported an evil smile as he said, “They’re so eager to ruin the surprise... so I’d better beat them to the punch!”

**********

It was only moments ago when Gary received an urgent call in the lab from Victor. “Gary! Listen to me!” he shouted, “You need to get to the Control Station, immediately!”

“Calm down for a second, will you? What’s got you all worked up?”

“The specimens are loose, that’s what!”

Gary was so shocked, he almost dropped the phone, “L-l-l-loose?!” Gary shouted, “What the bloody hell do you mean loose?! What happened?!”

Aiming to be louder than the screams of death in the background, Victor yelled, “While some of the scientists were working on the specimens, the doors just opened, and the specimens began to go berserk! The locks won’t work, and the alarm buttons are unresponsive. You need to get out of the lab and head to the control station. The specimens are working their way up from the lower floors, so you have some time. I managed to get a few scientists in here with me, but they’re going to find us soon. We'll be barricading the door when they do, so you need to haul ass! Get mo—” The line went dead.

Gary was frozen in fear for a few seconds, his phone slowly slipping out of his hand. The increasing sounds of fear and bloodshed began to trickle their way into Gary’s room. It wasn’t until the phone hit the floor that Gary made a mad dash to Victor’s office. He hadn’t even had enough time to get out of his yellow hazmat suit. As if it weren't difficult enough to run in a suit, the oxygen mask he had on made it awkward to move his head, and his wobbly green shoes made running from the specimens all the more difficult. He hadn’t run too far before he was face-to-face with a clot. This one was called a clot. It had pale-white skin, four sockets on his head, sported piercing, yellow eyes, and bore sharpened teeth. The most menacing aspect was its vice-like grip. A clot would never let go of its victim when it grabbed on.

“Oh god, no! Stay away from me!” Gary shouted in vain, quivering in fear as the clot continued to advance. He backed up until he hit a wall. Time seemed to stand still as the monstrosity walked closer and closer towards the doctor. Its gnashing fangs and menacing demeanor petrified him. He looked around frantically for something, anything to help defend himself, when by chance he saw it: a fire-axe in its box on the wall. With no time to think, Gary slammed his elbow into the safety box, breaking the glass. He grabbed the axe and took a swing, shouting, “Stitch this, you arsehole!” The axe almost sliced perfectly into the top of the clot's head. Its body twitched for a couple of seconds before falling limp. Gary was shocked at himself for a moment, taking a long look at the clot he just killed. After the initial shock of taking a life had passed, he yanked the axe out of the creature’s skull and took off again.

He heard horrifying sounds all over the laboratories as he ran farther and farther down. He heard bones crunching, flesh ripping apart from live bodies, chainsaws cutting through flesh, bodies being hurled against the walls, people being gutted alive, all surrounded by the groans and yells of the clone specimens. Only three hours ago, this place was fine. Now it's like I'm running through hell itself. Gary held onto the now-bloodied axe for dear life.

The scientist had been sprinting for ten minutes, forced to take many detours in order to avoid wasting strength on any unnecessary conflicts. Just a little longer, don’t leave me out here! Sure enough, Gary was rounding the corner and saw their office.

He heard Victor yell, “Run, Gary! Run for your fucking life!!!” These words spurred Gary on, because he was running faster than anyone could have anticipated. However, an air duct panel broke through above him and a different specimen fell to the floor, grinding Gary’s sprint to a halt.

The appearance of the clot petrified Gary, but this specimen chilled him to the bone. It was a gorefast, and it had no skin; its bare muscles were exposed for the world to see. It was missing its lower jaw, leaving its tongue hanging freely. There was a bandaged stub where its left arm used to be, while its right forearm was replaced with a blade that was almost a meter long. It slowly started to approach Victor and the other survivors, swinging its blade with every step it took. Gary started to approach the gorefast, planning on giving it a lethal blow to its spine.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t taken into account the noises his suit would make, and one squeak was all it took for the gorefast to immediately spin around and charge towards Gary. A million thoughts went through his mind as the gorefast closed in. It took a swing, but Gary ducked in the nick of time, narrowly avoiding decapitation. As if acting on instinct, he used the end of the ax to deliver a swift blow to the gorefast's temple, stunning it for just a second. Then, with deadly precision, he sliced the gorefast's head clean off. The creature began to stumble about, wildly swinging its sword-arm, before falling to the floor. Not a moment later, a stampede of footsteps could be heard from down the hallway.

“Wait for us!” a voice cried from the stairwell. Two exasperated security guards ran past Gary, a mob of clots followed close behind. He moved post-haste towards the office where his cohorts were waiting.

Once Gary made it to the door, he lost control of his pace and crashed into the wall, collapsing on the floor as he gasped for breath. With Gary inside, the guards worked to hold the door shut while the remaining scientists began piling objects against the door. When a suitable barricade was established, the groans and cries from the attacking specimens slowly moved away from the room.

“Has anyone tried calling the police?” one scientist asked aloud.

“It’s no use,” a security guard, James Wilkes, replied as he held a cell phone in the air. He turned on the speaker phone, and a message began to play.

“...riencing an unusually high number of emergency calls, and our operators are currently busy. Please wait on the line or try ca—”

The officer hung up the phone and leaned against the wall and let out a defeated sigh as silence set in the room.

One of the scientists, Steven Harrt, began to look through the nearby cabinets, quickly browsing each shelf until he stopped. “I knew we still kept one of these!” he said with a grin on his face. The man gingerly pulled out an old, brown radio and extended the antennae. He said, “If we can find the police, then not all is lost, eh?” Through trial and error, the desired broadcast finally got through.

“…blockade has been established.”

“Good, keep those civvies away from here. We can’t risk anyone knowing about this.”

“They’re here already?” Victor asked. “That’s a bit too fast.”

**********

Outside of Horzine Industries, several squads of police officers hugged the wall as they slowly made their way towards the front gate of the establishment. They shuffled in their riot gear as a voice came over their comm system.

“Now remember, everyone,” Police Commissioner Matthew Hansen said to his officers, “your primary goal is to gather evidence of any unethical experimentation within. If that anonymous tip we received plays out to be true, then you are to change your focus towards finding and arresting Kevin Clamely. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir!” cried all police members.

“Good, move in.”

Two police officers carried a battering ram and bashed down the door. Several other officers began to file into the facility while Matthew took out a cigarette. His lighter barely began to work when several piercing screams came over the intercom.

“The bloody hell was that?!” He shouted.

The only noises that could then be heard over the radio were deathly howls, incomprehensible sputtering, and one officer who cried, “It’s got a bloody chainsaw!!!”

The next thing he knew, indescribable monstrosities ran out of the entrance and towards the remaining officers. Wasting no time, he shouted, “Open fire!”

**********

The scientists and security guards sat blankly as the sounds of gunfire and slaughter filled the airwaves. When the familiar sound of static was left, a security guard glumly switched off the radio.

Not even the police can stop those things… Gary thought to himself as he lied on the floor. He took a look around the room. The scientists he had worked with for years, the people he imagined were stoic beyond words, had fear and sorrow in their eyes. Their bloodied lab coats spelt out the ordeals that each scientist had encountered on their way to their temporary safety. He noted how similar the security guards appeared, when a thought crossed his mind. “Oi, you two,” He spoke, still out of breath, “what are you doing here?”

James gave the man a peculiar glance and said, “What do you mean, ‘what are we doing here?’ We had to get away from those things, just like you lot.”

“That’s the problem,” Gary said with anger brewing in his tone. “You wankers are security guards, yet you’re running away like school-children!”

James grimaced as he scratched his dirty-blond hair. “Listen, we did our job,” he countered, “but the only thing Mr. Clamely ever gives us is pepper spray and a bloody taser. When you’re up against that many buggers with shit weapons, the odds aren’t in your favor.”

“Pepper spray?! Tasers?!” Gary asked incredulously, “You mean you people didn’t have any sort of contingency plans for something like this?”

“We—” he hesitated before going on. “We do, but it won’t work.”

“And what exactly won’t work?” Victor asked.

James looked at Victor and said, “You see, we do have a plan... one that only security and Mr. Clamely know about.”

“So what is it?” Gary raggedly asked.

James crossed his arms. “It’s simple, we have two buttons that need to be pressed... and then the entire building is rigged to set the place ablaze.”

“What?!” a scientist exclaimed. “Are you mad???”

James held out his arms defensively and said, “Yes, I know it sounds extreme, but I think we’re running out of options.”

The scientists protested this notion as Victor moved forward. “Calm down everyone, please.” He faced James and said, “You say this plan won’t work. Why’s that?”

“Long story short,” James explained, “There are two stations that need activating. One is in security, and the other is in Mr. Clamely’s office. Once both stations are active, we clear out of here as fast as possible.”

“So the problem is...”

The second security guard, Maxwell Clarkson, chimed in, “The stations require security clearances to activate. The one in security requires several passwords, but Mr. Clamely’s station is much more complex. His station require fingerprints, a retina scan, and voice clarification. Naturally, only Mr. Clamely can activate the procedure from his end, and we haven’t caught sight of him today.

“So yes,” James said as he turned to Gary,” we ran... because there was nothing we could bloody do.”

Gary slowly stood up and placed himself in a chair. “Come on, there has to be some sort of plan.” Everyone in the room stayed silent, whether it be from the shock, or trying to come up with a workable solution.

“There is one option.” Victor said, attracting everyone’s attention. He walked over to a table, pulling his laptop out of its case and placing it on the tabletop.

James piped up, “I highly doubt we’re going to get any service while underground, mate.”

“I know that, but there’s a file I’m going to need.” After logging in, he said, “About a week ago, I received an Email with several files inside that caught my attention. I thought it was just a virus message, but I scanned it, and there was nothing to worry about. Inside, I found this.” He turned his computer around to reveal diagrams and charts, all stamped with Horzine’s seal. “You remember the portal machine they used at the presentation? These are the blueprints to it, and they’re our ticket out of here.”

Victor turned the computer back towards himself and continued, “I’ll admit, At first, I couldn’t make heads or tails of the blueprints, but whoever this guy is, he attached a text document that explains what each part does, and how to turn this machine on and off. However, these are incredibly complex schematics. I can only make out so much of this, even with these notes, but I understand enough to get the machine up and running. Not only that, but he even included a list of coordinates to major military bases and government facilities around the world. If I can make it to the machine, I can transport myself to a major military base and try to get some help. Now comes the hard part: getting to the device.”

“Leave that to us,” spoke Maxwell, “We can get you there, wouldn’t you say, Wilkes?”

James quickly turned around, saying, “What?”

“We have to; we know the ins and outs of this place, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know where the device is stored, isn’t that right?” the guard said, peering over James’ shoulder to look at Victor.

“It’s true,” Victor replied, “and that would alleviate the problem.”

“What about the rest of us?” another scientist asked.

Victor shook his head and said, “Absolutely not. We need to keep our numbers small.” Before anyone could voice their disapproval, he continued, “Think about it, have you wondered why those specimens are gone? It’s because they’re following noise. Right now, the loudest noise is the gunfire and screams from above; relatively speaking, we’re as quiet as a mouse. If we want to keep it that way, we can’t travel in large groups. A small party is easier to maintain.”

“Actually,” Maxwell said, “I was planning of escorting him myself.”

“Don’t be sodding stupid,” James interjected, “he’d need both of us if this plan is to work.”

“And what of the scientists here?” he countered, “It’s our job to protect them.”

“Are you really concerned with your job description at a time like this?”

Maxwell stepped up to James and said, “No, I’m concerned about the lives that are at stake.”

James’ face scrunched at the notion of this plan, yet he reluctantly said, “If we’re going to do this, then we need to do it right. I’ll be his only escort.”

“What are yo—”

“No more back-talk, understand? This way, you get to still watch over these scientists,” he paused to turn to Victor, “and you’ll still be able to get to the device. Am I wrong?” Maxwell begrudgingly complied.

Gary leaned back in his chair. “One little question, you were just going on about how shoddy your ‘weapons’ are. Did you plan on just blindly running into the fray?”

Steven said, “Oh, that’s right!” and immediately turned to the lockers and opened them. He muttered, “If I remember correctly, there should be... aha!” He grabbed several meter-long, metal poles and brought them to the guards. “I know it’s not much, but these should be able to crack a skull or two.”

While Victor began to copy down the list of coordinates, and security members gently moved parts of the barricade away from the door, Gary tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Here, you’ll need this,” as he offered his friend the axe.

Victor shook his head and said, “No. Without it, you’re left defenseless. And I’m not going to let you write your own death wish.”

“Look, it’s one thing for me to stay behind, but you at least need some efficient weaponry.”

Victor placed down his pen, turning to his friend, and said, “This isn’t open for discussion. It’s safest this way.”

Gary, with a look of uncertainty in his eyes, looked at the axe before shifting his gaze back to Victor. “Are you sure?”

With a reassuring smile, Victor said, “Don’t worry. I’ll come back here, you can count on it,” as he patted his worried friend on the shoulder. Once his list was complete, he placed it in his lab-coat pocket and turned to the awaiting security guards. “Are we ready to go?” he asked with a slight tone of uneasiness in his voice.

The guard nodded as he handed Victor a metal rod. “Now,” James began, “if we go quickly, it can take us about five to ten minutes to reach the device. That’s not including any of the buggers that we might run into along the way. If we’re lucky, we can avoid them completely, but I wouldn’t bet on it. So just keep an eye out for those things, and we should be able to make it.”

Victor asked, “What do you think our chances are of pulling this off, honestly?”

“Do you really want to know?”

After a moment of consideration, Victor shook his head.

“My thoughts exactly,” James said. “I’m going to take a listen to the hall. If I don’t hear those specimens, then we leave. Get ready to move.” He placed an ear to the door, waited for five seconds, then said, “I can’t hear anything, open it!” Without a moment’s hesitation, Victor and James quickly exited the room and made their way outside.

Gary whispered, “Good luck,” as the door was closed again.

The two men walked up an adjacent staircase. They passed by a faulty generator gated off by chain link fences. Sparks flew off and enshrouded the room in a yellow glow. Victor tried his best to not pay attention to the fresh blood splatters on the walls and floor, instead focusing on the upcoming room. James quickly held his hand in the air, stopping the scientist in his steps. Taking light steps, he intently checked each corner for signs of danger. When he deemed there was no threat present, the security guard signaled Victor towards him. “Okay, here’s the plan,” he whispered. “We need to head up these stairs. Once we do that, there’ll be a hall behind us. From there, it should be a straight shot towards the device.

“You stay put. Keep your eyes peeled while I check things out,” he insisted. The lone officer trudged up the stairs, paying close attention to his surroundings as he peeked his head into view. There was nothing to note besides the broken lights, the toppled racks, and scattered debris on the floor. Before he could say that the room was clear, he heard a strange hiss. He quickly checked the corners again, while the hissing grew louder.

Victor walked forward, intrigued by the noise, and quietly asked, “What’s going on up there?”

“There’s something over he—” James was interrupted as Victor yanked his shirt collar and pulled him away from the stairs. He was about to chastise Victor for his actions, when a crawler landed where he previously stood. The black-colored, spider-like creature crawled on the floor before it lunged at the two men, its claw-like hands eager to grasp a piece of flesh. James took a swing, hitting the specimen as it careened into the nearby wall. The crawler was seemingly unfazed as it crawled towards its prey. Another jump led to another strike, only this time, James pursued the stunned specimen and jumped onto it. During this one moment, Victor ran up and began to repeatedly strike the crawler until he felt a hand grab the pole.

“I think you got it, boss.” James said in a slightly surprised manner.

Victor looked at his work as he caught his breath. His weapon was dripping with a black ooze, the same substance that began to puddle around the creature’s corpse. The growths on its back were mangled beyond repair, its six eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, and its antennae occasionally twitched.

James patted Victor on the shoulder and said, “Let’s be glad there was just that one.” As if fate listened in on their conversation, several crawlers and clots began to descend the stairs towards the two men. “Oh, good job me, run for it!”

James led Victor down the hallway behind them and rounded the first corner on the right, knowing that a staircase at the end of the hall would lead to their destination. However, a crawler and a gorefast burst through an office to the right, raring themselves for an attack as the two men came into view. “Don’t take the time to fight them!” James advised, “You’ll just get swarmed. Just whack ‘em, then run!”

The gorefast charged at James, swinging its blade-like arm wildly. The guard blocked the strike and kicked it into the wall on his left.

Victor had been attacked by the crawler. He narrowly avoided injury, but a portion of his coat was ripped off in the process. Taking the pre-emptive approach, Victor swung at the crawler, making it fly like a golf ball into a group of oncoming specimens.

Picking up the pace, they ran up a flight of stairs and to a room dipped in a red glow. “The room we’re looking for is down this hall.” James said as he opened up a double door. When Victor went through, James closed the doors and pulled out his key ring to lock the door shut. One clack of a door later, and both men let out a sigh of relief, only to be startled when specimens began to attack the door. “That door will hold for a bit, but not long. Let’s go, we’re almost there.” A quick walk led to a metallic door at the corner: their destination.

“So you’re positive it’s here?” Victor asked as he pushed past the black barrel beside the

door.

As James flipped through numerous keys, he replied, “Hasn’t been moved since we did

damage control. Just keep an eye on the door.” James quickly found the key and unlocked the door, but it wouldn’t budge. “Come on, you bloody door, open up!” Victor noticed the double door at the end of the hall was beginning to show signs of wear and tear. James began to pull harder and harder, cursing the door as their danger became more evident. Just as specimens could start to reach their arms through the weakened door, James finally got the room opened. “Hurry!” he shouted to Victor. The scientist went inside the room; a flip of a nearby light switch left the lights inside flickering until they powered up. When he turned around, he saw James staring at the wave of specimens that tried to break through the locked door.

“What are you doing?! Get inside!” Victor yelled.

James turned to the scientist and said, “Don’t come out.” Quickly locking the door. Victor rushed for the door and unlocked it, only to face the same problem James had earlier. “Listen very carefully! That door isn’t going to last long, and neither will this one. As I understand, the device will take time to charge up. I’m going to buy you some time!”

“You don’t have to do this, please! Don’t throw your life away!”

“Why are you still gawking at me? You need to hurry up and start up that bloody machine! If you make it back, head straight for the offices, I’ll be waiting there!” Right after those words were uttered, Victor heard a door crash onto the floor, followed by several specimens heading towards the security guard.

James shouted, “Come on, you bastards!” as he banged the poles together, attracting a crowd. Victor could hear the noise travel down the hallway until it was drowned out by groans and cries. Not wasting another moment, he pushed himself past several filing cabinets and bookshelves; the desired device laid before him. He started to power up the machine as he removed the tarp that covered the device.

He recalled each step described to him in the message. Ok, that should do it, Victor thought as the device began to warm up. Now, let’s see that list of coordi— He froze as he reached his hand into his pocket and felt nothing. He slowly looked at his hand to see the hole previously made by the crawler’s attack. How could I be so stupid? Just as soon as a wave of hopelessness set in, it was quickly pushed out. No! I can’t give up! I just need to remember the coordinates to one place, just one! He racked his mind for any familiar numbers and attempted to input coordinates as accurately as he could. Once he felt confident about his choice, he ensured that the device would take him to a location on Earth. He put on the belt and waited for the portal to appear. Looking at the device it would be a minute until the portal was ready.

As he waited, he heard a dull thud from above. His hair stood on end as he quickly turned around. His breathing started to get faster as the thud began to increase in volume. He could also hear groans coming from the door, coupled with pounds and thuds that threatened to break down his only line of security. “Not now! Hurry up, you god damn machine!” At that moment, a clot broke through the ventilation shaft and fell onto the floor, its main focus on Victor. The scientist took a few steps back as he kept shifting his gaze between the portal and the specimen. The only weapons were the poles across the room, and he feared the door would break if he tried to make a run for it. When the clot was almost within attacking distance, Victor decided to kick the specimen with all his might. The clot stumbled over and fell into the portal device. As he readied for another attack, the portal appeared. The door was knocked down as more specimens began to file into the room. Victor quickly turned around and blindly ran into the portal.

Victor’s eyes were clenched shut as a flurry of sensations hit him at once. He’d feel itchiness one moment, then dehydration the next. Soon he felt sleepy, energetic, erratic, and twitchy at the same time. Once the sensations had hit their peak, they stopped, and Victor hit the ground hard. The scientist was tumbling and rolling on the ground until he came to a stop. He immediately felt a little woozy, but quickly regained his senses as he reached for the button on his belt, severing connection with Horzine. As he sat there, trying to catch his breath, he heard a familiar sound: a bird’s call.

He took note of his surroundings. Everything looked normal, completely normal: trees everywhere, animals running rampant, rivers and mountains decorated the landscape. He started chuckling; it was slow at first, but built up as he began laughing hysterically, having survived the entire ordeal. “I did it!” he cried. He put on his glasses; the lenses were cracked, but he could still make out most of his surroundings. Victor said, “Let’s get started,” as he began to walk out of the grove of trees, but something was wrong. He hadn’t taken five steps when it started becoming difficult to keep his eyes open. Shortly after, he was losing his balance, his head began to throb, and he was losing consciousness. “No... not now... I can’t... where the bloody hell... am... I?” was all Victor could say before he fell to the floor.

**********

Meanwhile, the rest of the hidden scientists had to once again play the waiting game. Gary noticed the laptop was still on, and began to walk towards it. I may die here, he thought, but if I can tell someone, anyone how to beat them, it will all be worth it. With a heavy heart, he began what he thought to be his final memoir.

“To anyone out there, anyone at all. If you're hearing this message, we’re probably all dead. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll run somewhere far away from this place. You see, there are nightmarish creatures here. These... things, they can’t be stopped. I don’t know how London is faring right now, but it can’t be good. You need to leave while you can. The things that have happened in these halls... my god, I can still hear the screams coming down the corridor. God knows how much time we ha—”

Steven quickly shushed everyone in the room and whispered, “I hear something!” Everyone stayed silent as the dull sound of footsteps could be heard patrolling the halls. Another scientist slowly crept away from the door, unknowingly backing himself into a table and knocking over a glass beaker. The resulting crash left everyone frozen in place. After a moment passed, Maxwell slowly crept to the barricade and pressed his ear against the stacked materials to listen for any other specimens.

“Is anyone out there?” Gary murmured.

“It sounds li—”

The blade of a chainsaw burst through the barricade, piercing the guard’s head and sending a shower of blood and brain particles on the wall. One scientist shrieked as Maxwell’s lifeless body slid onto the floor.

“Oh no, they're breaking through! Quick, bring that Twilight over here!”

What?

“Jesus Christ, that Twilight isn't going to last long, reinforce it with more Twilight!”

What's going on?

“No, They’re breaking down the Twilight, someone help us!!!”

Who's that, who's talking?

For Twilight's sake, calm down and grab some Twilight!”

Why are they...

Ponyville, Equestria

“Wake up, Twilight!!!”

Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn, jolted upright in her bed, breathing heavily. Her purple mane was shaken up with hairs frayed every which way, blending into the magenta and violet stripes of her hair. She wiped the sleepiness out of her purple eyes as she looked for the source of the voice. Next to her was Spike, a purple baby dragon with green spikes extending from his back. Twilight could see how worried he was just by the look in his dark green eyes.

“Jeez, Twilight, you were mumbling and twitching in your sleep. What was that all about?”

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. Okay, it was just a dream, she thought as a small smile formed on her face. “Oh it’s nothing, Spike,” she said, consoling her friend, “just a nightmare is all.” She placed a hoof to her chin and said, “It was frightening... yet fascinating. I should really write it down sometime. Do you want me to tell you about it?”

Spike replied, “Considering how you acted in your sleep, I don't think I wanna know...”

Twilight got out of bed and worked the kinks out of her legs. “Alright, time to begin the day,” she said to herself. The purple mare walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen, only stopping to organize any wayward books on the floor; such is life when one lives in the town’s library. Her home was actually a hollowed out tree, complete with its very own balcony and telescope, which she used to occasionally observe the many stars in the sky. It was the ideal home for a bookworm like Twilight, filled with information on anything and everything one would ever want to know.

Being a unicorn, her horn glowed as she used her magic to levitate a rolled-up paper and her breakfast, a crisp daffodil daisy sandwich and milk, towards the table she sat at. She unfurled the scroll, reading its contents. “Well, looks like we've got our whole day planned out, Spike,” she said in-between bites. “Once we check on everypony else’s preparations, we can begin to spruce up the library for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“I know,” Spike said, “all the ponies in town keep talking about it, and how it's going to be so much better than last year's. Like as if we don't know that already.”

Twilight giggled at Spike's smart-alecky comment and said, “It'll definitely be a sight to see. I can just picture it now: everypony cheering as the princess effortlessly brings about the new season. Won't it be spectacular?”

Twilight's enthusiasm was met with a “Meh...” from Spike, as he shrugged and went about his business.

The celebration in question was strikingly similar to a New Years Day celebration on Earth, save the fact that this event marked the summer solstice. Twilight’s enthusiasm wasn’t baseless, as it was a time that brought about nostalgic memories from her fillyhood. It was during a previous celebration that she first saw Equestria’s elegant ruler, Princess Celestia, raise the sun. Every instance of that moment was burned into her memory. From the way the alicorn’s white coat and enormous wings complimenting her golden tiara, pink eyes, and bronze necklace fashioned with multicolored gemstones, to how the sun made her hair glisten in layers of blue, green, purple, and pink respectively. Even the radiance of her horn became an embedded memory in the young unicorn’s mind.

From that moment on, Twilight poured every waking moment of her free time into studying magic. Through a strange twist of fate, an entrance exam into one of the most prestigious schools in Canterlot, Twilight’s at-the-time home town, led her to meet both Spike and the princess. Her magical prowess was so impressive, she was immediately appointed afterwards as the princess’ protegé.

As Twilight kept reading the scroll, she realized something. Each word she read went right through her head, pre-occupied with a much more compelling matter. “You know,” she said, “I can't stop thinking about that dream. There’s something about it, but it just doesn’t make any sense. Is there something to that I’m missing?” She sighed as she rested her head on her hooves.

Spike faced his unicorn friend and said, “Oh, don’t worry about it, Twilight. You had a bad dream about some weird-looking creatures, just like anypony else could. That's all there is to it.”

Twilight shook her head and said, “Somehow, Spike, I doubt that’s the case. Maybe it’s my subconscious trying to tell me something.”

“Sub-what?”

“Subconscious: the part to anypony’s personality that lies in the deepest regions of one’s mind,” she explained. “It usually has to deal with dormant desires and the like.” Twilight’s eyes went wide for a moment. “If my dream dealt with a lot of creatures getting hurt, what if that’s what this is about? You don’t... you don’t think this means I’m a violent pony deep down inside, do you?”

Spike let out a laugh and said, “Come on, Twilight. You? Violent? I think we both know the answer to that one.” Twilight gave the dragon a half-hearted glare. “Sorry, Twilight,” he apologized, “I just don’t see any reason to get so worked up over it.”

A defeated Twilight rested her head on the table, blowing a puff of air into her hair. “It’s not like I want to dwell on this.”

“Well, is there anything you could remotely link to your nightmare?” Spike queried. “Like, I don’t know, an old friend? A promise from a while ago? Your cutie mark? Maybe a—”

“My cutie mark?” Twilight asked as she glanced at the mark on her flank: a six-pointed magenta star with five smaller white stars surrounding it. “I don’t know how in Equestria those two could be related.”

“I’m just throwing out ideas, that’s all.”

These marks were something that ponies could only get when they realized what made him or her special. In Twilight's case, her special talent was magic itself.

As Spike was about to add more ideas, a knock came at the door. “I'll get it.” As he opened the door, he was startled as he was greeted by a flurry of confetti and noise makers.

Twilight smiled and thought to herself, There's only one pony I know who could make such an entrance. Standing at the door was the the most energetic earth pony in Equestria: Pinkie Pie. Her hyperactivity and party skills were second to none, complimenting her bouncy personality. “Hello, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said as she greeted her friend.

Pinkie returned the greeting, “Hi, Twilight! Hi, Spike! Are you both ready for the big celebration? Huh, huh, huh?” Her curly pink hair bobbed up and down as the earth pony jumped in place. “I just know its going to be the most super fantabulous, amazingly spectacular celebration ever!” She stopped bouncing and shot a beaming smile at Twilight, her blue eyes appearing to stare right into the unicorn’s inner filly.

Twilight chuckled and said, “Well, Pinkie, you do know the celebration isn't really until the end of the week, right?”

“Oh, I know. but that’s why I'm holding a pre-Summer Sun Celebration celebration, and you're invited! You know you can never start the party too early!” Pinkie Pie’s fondness of parties was the very skill to get her a cutie mark, which consisted of three balloons: two blue, and one yellow.

“Well, I'd love to go, but I still have a lot of things to do before Princess Celestia’s arrival. Maybe next time?” Twilight said with an apologetic smile.

“Okie dokie lokie, you do what you need to do. If you change your mind, the party will be in the plains. Byeeee!” Pinkie Pie hopped away, and Twilight shut the door.

Spike piped up, with a hint of annoyance, “Come on, Twilight. We have a whole week before the celebration, and there’s nothing that couldn’t be put off for a day or two. Can’t we just go to the party?”

“No, Spike. We can’t afford to waste any time. As a student of the princess, I need to be sure everything goes off without a hitch.”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Okay, fine. Where do we start?”

Twilight opened her mouth and was about to answer his question, but at that moment, an ominous feeling set in. What... what’s happening? Something doesn’t feel right about this. It’s as if I really shouldn’t stay here... but why? Before she could comprehend this feeling, a purple hand waved itself in front of her face.

Spike asked, “Are you really okay? First you have a crazy nightmare, and now you’re in your own little world... you’re starting to worry me.”

Twilight shook off the dreadful feeling and said, “I’m fine, Spike, don’t worry. I just spaced out for a bit.”

“Are you sure, Twilight?”

“Yep, don’t you worry.” She said as she patted her friend on the head. “Also, you might be right about those preparations. It IS a week until the celebration.”

The baby dragon looked up at Twilight. “Really? You mean we can go?”

“Why not?”

Spike became ecstatic and cried, “Alright! Come on, Twilight! Let's go! We gotta catch up with Pinkie Pie!” He opened the door and shouted, “Hey, Pinkie Pie, wait up!” Spike ran out of the house and Twilight started to follow him.

She still didn’t have a clue what all of this meant, but she didn’t want to worry her friend. I hope I’m right about this. Maybe going to this party will clear my mind. First her nightmare, and now this premonition of hers. As she exited the house, she stopped and took another look at her home with a bit of worry in her heart.

The purple unicorn thought to herself, Please let this just be a bad case of paranoia. Wait, what am I saying? This isnothing to worry about. I bet one of Pinkie Pie’s parties will be just what I need! So one day passes without checking on the preparations; I think I've earned the right to do so. After all, today looks like it’s going to be such a nice day.

Chapter 2: An Unexpected Outcome

Twilight Sparkle caught up with Pinkie Pie and Spike as the three friends made their way towards the party, striking up many conversations to pass the time. They traversed through their hometown, Ponyville. It wasn’t a glorious borough, just the cozy kind of place that welcomed any and all ponies that walked through; whether it be a unicorn, a pegasus pony, or an earth pony. Specialty shops lined the streets, making it a great place to begin one’s business without the fear of any major competition.

“... and the colt didn’t realize until the next morning that his mane was dyed blue!” Pinkie Pie said aloud as she recalled one of her elaborate pranks. Spike chuckled while Twilight gave an uneasy smile.

“That’s... that’s pretty funny, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said with a forced giggle. Pull yourself together, Twilight! she chastised to herself, It was just a nightmare, a figment of your imagination. For pete’s sake, it’s nothing to panic about! She continued to criticize herself, unaware that she was under Pinkie’s watchful eye.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” she said, snapping the purple unicorn’s attention forward. “You look like you’ve eaten some baked bads.”

“Oh, it’s nothing, don’t worry,” Twilight reassured.

Spike piped up, “Are you still worried about that nightmare, Twilight? I don’t get why you’re so worked up over this.”

Twilight was about to refute his comment when Pinkie let out a gasp. “A nightmare!?” she exclaimed, “Oh, that's not a good thing to keep bottled up. You can’t have any fun at a party if you’re scared! Tell me all about it, and you’ll feel better in no time at all!”

Twilight had a reluctant look in her eye, but the pink pony’s insistent face started to work its magic. I suppose that if there’s anypony that could help, it would have to be Pinkie Pie. “Well, okay,” she began. “There were these creatures in this laboratory, I think they were called... humans... or something. Some looked pale and others were very dark. They kind of acted like us, to be honest. They were busy with some kind of project, working on these things they called ‘specimens’. Everything looked like it was going fine until... until...” In that instant, time seemed to stand still. Slowly, she was brought back into Horzine’s laboratories. The smell of blood and rotting flesh filled her nostrils as she saw several clots, gorefasts, and crawlers eating the creatures on the floor. Frozen with fear, she gulped and took a step back. Immediately, the specimens froze and lifted their heads up. They slowly turned until their eyes met Twilight’s fearful gaze. With fresh trails of blood dripping from their jaws, the specimens began to run towards the purple unicorn. She almost let out a scream, but felt a hoof on her shoulder. Ponyville’s peaceful plains rushed back into view and she saw Pinkie and Spike have looks of concern on their faces. “I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized, “don’t worry about me. Like you said, Spike, it’s... it’s just a nightmare.”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “No, Twilight, only a triple deluxe chocolate chip cake should do this!” She showed Twilight her own hoof, it was trembling. “This must be a super class nightmare, one of the meanest and nastiest nightmares known to ponykind!” she said with a slightly serious tone in her voice. “I know just what you need! Come on, we gotta go to Sugarcube Corner!” Without another word, Pinkie Pie started to hop towards their new destination.

Spike scratched the back of his head and said, “I... uh... guess it’s not just a nightmare, is it?”

“I don’t know, Spike, but I’ve got to stop worrying about it. Now come on, Pinkie doesn’t look like she’ll stop anytime soon.” Pinkie Pie’s friends ran to catch up to the bouncing pink pony. Within a few minutes time, Sugarcube Corner came into view. From a distance, the building looked like a gingerbread house with a roof resembling a decadent layer of frosting and icing. A cupcake shaped attic rested on top, complete with a yellow sleeve, and topped with pink icing and candles coming out of it. It was truly a sweet tooth’s fantasy.

When the trio entered, a bell rang as they walked in. Pinkie Pie proceeded upstairs, but stopped to turn towards her friends. “I need you both to wait here for juuust a teensy weency bit, ok? I have to get what I need from my room.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Wait a minute, Pinkie. Why isn’t the party here? Isn’t this where you always host parties?” Such was Sugarcube Corner’s reputation. Whether it was welcoming a new citizen to Ponyville, a filly’s cute-ciñera, or even a visit from Princess Celestia herself, Sugarcube Corner was the ideal party spot.

“Well,” Pinkie Pie began, “this place is just a teeny bit too small for a pre-Summer Sun Celebration celebration. You remember how big last year’s was, right? This party is even bigger than that!”

“Actually, I wasn’t here for that. I only showed up the day before last year’s celebration.”

“Oh, right! Must’a slipped out of my ol’ noggin,” she said with a giggle. “At least you’ll be here this time! Now don’t you move a muscle, I’ll be right back, okay?” With that, Pinkie Pie turned and hopped up the stairs. Twilight took a look around the store’s interior while she waited. Candy cane designed posts complimented the various designs of lollipops, peppermints, and gingerbread colts that lined the walls. The craftsponyship of the store never ceased to amaze her.

The bell rang once more, bringing Twilight back to reality. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a colt walk in with a canvas bag strapped to his side. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said to the customer, “the owners of this shop stepped out fo—”

“Twilight! Oh, am I ever so glad I found you!” the colt interrupted. “Oh, and Spike too! This is brilliant! It didn’t even take more than two tries!” A big smile plastered itself onto the colt’s face.

She couldn’t return the colt’s elated feelings. “Excuse me? What are you talking about, and who are you?”

“Yeah,” Spike stated, “and how do you know us?”

A blank look slowly appeared on the colt’s face. “You mean... you don’t know who I am? Neither of you know me?”

“Why should we?” Twilight began, “Unless you’re a very old friend of ours, I’m quite certain we’ve never met before.”

He hesitated before opening up his bag and pulling out a rolled up piece of paper in his mouth. He spit it onto the floor. “Do you know what this is?” he eagerly asked.

Twilight lifted the paper in front of her, reading its inscriptions. Her eyes lit up as she said, “Oh, yes. I know of these.”

“You do? Are you absolutely sure about that?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied, “I help run the library, so I can help you find these bo—

“No no no,” he insisted, “forget the books. The list, Twilight, do you know what that is for?”

Twilight took another look over the paper, her face slowly scrunching up in confusion. “No, can’t say I do. Seriously though, who are you?”

The mysterious colt shifted his gaze to the windows before saying, “Uh... you can call me The Doctor.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she said, “The Doctor, really?” I doubt he’s a real doctor, there’s gotta be more to him than just that. She continued, “That’s quite a vague name for somepony I supposedly know.”

The Doctor studied the area outside the windows before answering, “Well, that’s just what I prefer to go by.”

“Sounds awfully shady to me,” Spike said with a hint of distrust in his tone.

“What’s wrong with ‘The Doctor’, really?” the colt muttered to himself. He then spoke up, “Ugh, what am I doing, listen very carefully to me Twilight, you need... to...” it seemed as if an obvious fact was coming to light. The Doctor began talking to himself once more. “This place... it’s not supposed to happen here... nnn, not at all. Besides that, this isn’t the right time. Am I too early, or am I not early enough? I’ve got to figure this out. Now, considering this situation, we can use this moment as the starting point and that leaves me with...”

As he continued muttering to himself, Twilight took a moment to look over The Doctor; His blue eyes scanned the floor as he kept muttering to himself, his black mane and tail flipping back and forth as he paced about. She then noticed his cutie mark: an hourglass. “Huh, a pony named ‘The Doctor’ with an hourglass cutie mark. Do you fix time or something?” she joked.

The Doctor’s ears perked up and he began to nervously laugh. “That’s a good one. I mean really, fix time? Come on, no way.” He proceeded to move backwards for the door and escape this conversation as soon as possible. “Obviously, this seems like a bad time to talk to you, so I think we should pick up this conversation when we meet again. I’ve got places to go, things to do, ponies to meet. You know how it is.” The Doctor turned around and walked towards the door.

“Wait, Doctor!” Twilight said, not ready to let him leave. “You seem like there’s an impending disaster of some sort. Is there more to this than you’re letting on?”

“As I said before, Twilight, I need to leave. We can talk later.”

The Doctor reached for the door when Twilight blurted one last question. “Have you ever heard of humans?”

He froze in place, slowly turning around to face Twilight. The look in his eyes spelled surprise to the unicorn. “What... what did you say?”

A small smirk formed on Twilight’s face. “You heard me,” she said in a stern tone. Spike nudged her side and gave a very confused look as if to ask why she did that. Twilight said, “First my dream, then that terrible feeling in my house, and now you show up. You know what’s going on, don’t you?” As The Doctor wracked his brain for an answer, a pegasus pony crashed through the window and rolled into the wall with a loud thud.

“Oh my goodness! Ditzy,” Twilight said, ignoring the bewildered colt, “are you okay?” It was Ditzy Doo, Ponyville’s most iconic mailpony. Both Spike and Twilight lifted the mare onto her hooves, brushing glass and debris out of her grey coat and light, blond hair. She winced when Spike brushed against a fresh cut on her cutie mark: seven bubbles, two big bubbles with five smaller bubbles in-between. “We should patch that up,” Twilight said as the mail pony rubbed some dust out of her crossed, golden-brown eyes. Her eyes were naturally this way, often marking her as a target for ridicule, but she felt thankful enough to meet ponies like Twilight that could look past such characteristics. “A bit of a dramatic entrance, Ditzy,” She said to the mailpony. “How did you manage to crash into the window?”

“That was not one of my best ideas,” Ditzy groaned as she rubbed her head, “I should’ve knocked.”

“Ditzy, why come crashing through the window like that? You could have been seriously hurt!” The Doctor said as he chastised the pegasus pony.

Ditzy shook the fuzziness out of her vision. “I know. I’m sorry, Doctor, but you were taking so long and I panicked. We can’t afford to waste another minute,” She said with worry in her voice.

Twilight switched glances between between both ponies. “Wait, Ditzy, you know this colt? Who is he? I’ve never met him, but he apparantly knows me. What’s going on around here?”

Ditzy gave The Doctor a worried look, then turned to Twilight and said, “I’d love to tell you, Twilight, but I can’t. This is something you can’t know about yet.”

“What do you mean ‘yet’?” an annoyed Spike asked, “Can you guys see the future or something? Then again, how can you even do that? Neither of you are unicorns!”

Twilight turned her attention towards Ditzy. “Listen,” she began, “if you know what’s going on, why can’t either of you tell me?”

Ditzy shifted her gaze away while The Doctor said, “There’s only so much I can tell you, Twilight Sparkle. I tell you too much and something could go terribly wrong. That’s why we’re staying silent. it’s of the utmost importance that you don’t know, and we need to leave... now.”

Twilight took a minute to reflect on his words. She couldn’t exactly trust the words of a colt she’d just met, but she could believe a friend. She shifted her gaze and said, “Ditzy, you know this Doctor, right?” To which the mailpony quickly nodded. Twilight looked back at The Doctor, “So you agree with him? Neither of you two can tell me anything?”

Ditzy looked at The Doctor, and The Doctor looked back at her. His eyes were filled with an unrelenting resolve. Ditzy then nodded her head, sadness in her eyes, and said, “I’m sorry, Twilight, I really am. This is just how it has to happen.”

The tension in the room kept everything at a standstill. Not a single object could move without anypony noticing. Twilight became lost in her thoughts. Too many bad things are happening at once, and now I have even more questions than I did this morning! Should I believe these two? I know I can trust Ditzy... but what of The Doctor? He could have manipulated her into believing him. Then again, she seems like she genuinely wants to help me, but can’t. Maybe I should just listen to The Doctor... I’m not sure if I should take his word for granted, but perhaps this really is best for everypony. Better safe than sorry. She nodded slightly and said, “Alright, I’m going to believe you, but if I find out this is all a lie—”

“No need to worry about that, Twilight. We have no reason to deceive you.” The Doctor shifted back into a casual demeanor as the tension subsided from the room. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for believing me. Now, if you don’t mind, we’ll be taking our leave.” The Doctor turned around and trotted out the door.

Before Ditzy could leave Twilight asked one last question. “Wait, Ditzy. I know you can’t talk to me about what’s going on, but how did you get here? I thought you were off delivering packages to Fillydelphia today.”

Ditzy put her hoof to her chin. She looked out the door to the awaiting Doctor, then turned back to Twilight with a smile and said, “Spoilers.” Before Twilight could inquire further, the grey pegasus flew off.

Spike turned to Twilight and said, “Are you sure you we should let them leave? I still don’t trust that ‘Doctor.’” Spike shook his head in disapproval.

A torn Twilight said, “I understand, Spike, but until we learn more about what’s going on, there shouldn’t be much to wo—” Suddenly, Twilight realized something. During this whole confrontation, between all the noises, broken glass, and lengthy conversations that went on, she hadn’t noticed the one thing out of place. She looked at Spike and said, “Where’s Pinkie Pie? It couldn’t have taken her this long to find what she needed. Let's go check up on her.” They made their way up the stairs. “Pinkie Pie?” Twilight said as she gave a few knocks on the pink pony’s door. “Are you okay in there? You’ve been gone an awfully long time!” She heard little murmurs coming from behind the door, but no real response.

Spike said, “Pinkie, come on, say something!” There was still no response. They then heard what sounded like a spark from her room.

Twilight exclaimed, “Pinkie? I’m opening the door!” However, just as the doorknob was illuminated by her magic, the door swung open, revealing a flustered party pony.

“Oh, hey Twilight!” she said, “I-uh finally found what I was looking for! What you need right now are these incense candles!” Pinkie then shoved the candles onto Twilight and exited her room, shutting the door behind her. “They can help you really relax when your brain is full of jumping beans!”

“Uh... thank you... ?”

“Alright, what are we waiting for? Let’s get to the party!” She said as she began to bounce towards the front door.

Twilight arched her brow. Pinkie’s acting strange... more than usual. Where was she this whole time? Twilight deemed this a matter of great importance. “Pinkie, did you hear any kind of noises down here at all?”

Pinkie nearly stumbled, but immediately resumed her prance. “Oh, uh, I didn’t hear anything at all. Nopey lopey, I was too busy looking for those streamers, and all my digging and diving made it super difficult to hear a thing!”

“Streamers?” Spike inquired, “You gave her candles, where did you get streamers from?”

“Oh duh, that’s right!” She let out a laugh as she continued, “I must have-uh forgotten about that,” Pinkie said with a hint of nervousness.

Twilight considered pressing on, but thought to herself, Well, this IS Pinkie Pie we’re talking about, I don’t think it could be anything more serious than what The Doctor told me. Let's just get to the party. She kept up the conversation saying, “Kind of funny you’d mix those two up,” as she laughed.

“Yeah, completely crazy!” She said through a very stressed laugh.

While the trio made their way down the street, Twilight felt a rush of wind hit her side. It came from a narrow alleyway; the same direction as a whirring noise. She trotted towards the source of both oddities. As she got closer, the wind and noise started to fade away. She picked up the pace, completely entranced by her desire to find more. As she reached the end of the alley, there were only trees filled with healthy leaves, birds and other creatures running around, and other ponies going about their daily business.

Spike and Pinkie Pie soon caught up with the wayward pony.

“Is something down there, Twilight?” the baby dragon asked, “You kind of took off without saying a word.”

After scanning the area to no avail, Twilight said, “Where do you think that noise and wind came from? Things like that just aren’t natural.”

Pinkie started to laugh a bit and said, “Oh you silly filly, it's always windy over here!”

“Even so, what do you think of those noises, Spike?”

Spike gave Twilight a confused look of his own, “That could be anything, Twilight. Not everything is out to get you. Don’t you think you should try to relax?”

Twilight rubbed her eyes and checked her ears for anything in them, but nothing was wrong with her. She knew that she heard those noises and felt the wind, so why was everypony else acting like it was nothing? “But I—there were—you—I... forget it. Let's go to the party.” Twilight just hung her head in defeat before turning around to slowly walk with her friends. You know, maybe I’m just going crazy, she thought to herself, I really hope that’s the case. At least then all of this would all have a valid explanation.

*********

“Ugh, how much further do we need to go, Pinkie Pie? We’ve been walking for a good half hour, at least,” Spike said, sitting atop Twilight’s back.

Twilight looked at Spike with a dumbfounded look on her face. “Really now, Spike? You’ve been lounging this whole time while WE’VE been doing the walking, you really don’t have any room to complain.”

Spike sprawled himself out on her back and replied, “Okay, fine, but it's been so long since we left the house, and there’s no party in sight!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “If you’re so anxious to get to the party, why don’t you just run on ahead? I’m sure that it can’t be much farther now,” she said while being both sarcastic and serious.

“I can’t do that, Twilight, what kind of a friend would I be if I just ran off like that?”

Spike’s response earned him a glare from Twilight. She just sighed and said, “You’re an inspiration to us all, Spike. We should follow your example on how to be a true friend.” The purple unicorn gagged in disgust.

Pinkie turned to Spike and said, “No need to fret! We’re almost there, just gotta head over that hill and we’re at the party! Oooh, I can already hear the music!” She continued to hop along the path without the slightest sign of losing any energy.

Upon finally reaching the top of the hill, the festivities were abundant. It was a grassy field with ponies prancing and trotting throughout the field. There were balloons, streamers, and party tents set up every which way. Assortments of food and drinks were put throughout the plain for the convenience of all the party-goers. There had even been a picnic area set up for other ponies to simply sit and have their lunch while a dance floor was placed for other ponies to dance along with the music. It was quite the way to hold a Pre-Summer Sun Celebration celebration... if there was a standard way to do so.

“Woohoo! Everypony looks like they’re having a great time! I’m so happy!” Pinkie said out loud.

Twilight started to return to her usual cheery self. “So, where are the others, Pinkie Pie?”

Pinkie turned around and said, “That’s right! Rarity said that she’d be going over to the plains to find us a place to eat! I’m pretty sure the others are with her.”

“If that’s the case, then let’s go meet up with them.”

**********

There were several ponies that relaxed as they ate their lunch. Some were with friends, others with family members. Picnic blankets were strewn about the area. A few food stands outlined the area, hoping to attract customers. In the midst of all this, a lone pony walked around the area. She was known as Rarity. The white unicorn scanned the area for a place that called to her. Her eyes darted back and forth between potential candidates. She noticed other ponies taking notice of her, which she ignored, as she usually could stand out in a crowd with little to no effort. Whether it was her perfectly-curled indigo mane, the demeanor of her royal blue colored eyes, or the three, blue diamonds which made up her cutie mark, Rarity was sure to make a scene... in a good way.

Hmmm, too small... too rocky... too wet... too much of a slant. It’s going to take eons before I can find the perfect spot! Now, any other pony would take those rejected spots. They could easily cope with an imperfect area. However, this was Rarity, and she wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. It was in her nature, what with being a revered fashion designer. In fact, she even ran her own boutique, located right in the middle of Ponyville. Perhaps that was the defining factor in the attention she’d garner when going on with her daily business.

After what felt like twenty minutes of searching across the grounds, Rarity cried, “Aha, perfect!” as she leapt to her ideal spot and threw a blanket on the ground, claiming it for herself. The ground was nice and even, was graced with pleasant gusts of air, and had the optimum amount of shading. She praised herself, “Oh, this spot is simply perfect! I just know the girls will enjoy this! Now, where could they be...” Thankfully for her, she only needed to look to her right. “Well, hello there Twilight, Pinkie Pie. You have certainly saved me the trouble of finding you two.”

“Hiya, Rarity!” Pinkie Pie said as she pranced over to the picnic area. “Ooooh, it's got the best view ever! You sure picked a great place to relax, Rarity!”

“Of course!” Spike said, as he jumped off Twilight’s back when Rarity’s name was mentioned. “Only a unicorn as talented as Rarity can find the perfect spot in the middle of all these ponies!”

Rarity chuckled at the young dragon’s reaction. “Hello to you too, Spike. I didn’t know you’d be attending the day’s festivities as well.”

He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. “Oh, you know, we had some free time, so we figured, ‘what better way to spend it than with friends?’”

Twilight noticed the many groups of ponies around them. “I’ve got to say, Rarity, it must have taken a while to find this spot.”

“Oh, it wasn’t that big of a deal,” Rarity began, “I just had to make sure wherever we sit would be perfect for our friends! Speaking of friends, where are the others, exactly?”

“You mean they weren’t with you?” Pinkie asked with a cocked brow.

Twilight said, “Any idea where they could be?”

Rarity shook her head. “I remember Fluttershy mentioning she accidentally left the food at her cottage, and she went with Angel to go get it. However, Rainbow Dash and Applejack have yet to show up, and I can only imagine what would be keeping those two from arriving on time.”

“Well, we’ve got a lot of spare time, why don’t we look for them?” Twilight asked both Rarity and Pinkie Pie, “It wouldn’t be any fun unless all of us are here, and there can’t be too many places they’d have gone off to.”

Pinkie started to enthusiastically hop up and down, “Is this like hide and seek? I love playing hide and seek! Let’s go seek the hidden!” Pinkie Pie immediately ran off.

Twilight objected, “Wait, Pinkie Pie!” but it was too late. “Ugh, there’s just no stopping her, is there? Well, let's go, Rarity.”

“I think it’d be better if I stayed here, Twilight,” she declined. “What if nopony is here when Fluttershy comes back? She might decide to go looking for us. Next thing you know, we’ll have wasted the entire day trying to find each other. If Fluttershy comes back, we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Twilight said to her friend. “If you want, Spike can keep you company until we get back.”

Rarity thought about that a moment, and replied, “I don’t see why not. Just try not to take too long looking for those two. For all we know, they’re busy doing something inane like ball juggling or applebucking... again.” Spike sat on the blanket as Twilight ran to catch up with Pinkie Pie.

Spike and Rarity sat on the picnic blanket in silence. The white unicorn was content with observing the skyline and taking in the atmosphere of the celebration itself. On the other hand, Spike was busy muttering to herself, inaudible to Rarity. “Come on, Spike, you can’t let an opportunity like this pass you by! Just tell her that her mane looks nice, ask her about her day, just say something!” Spike lightly smacked his reddening cheeks as he cleared his throat and broke the ice. “So... uh, how has the world of fashion been treating ya, Rarity? You get any new designs out there?”

Rarity glanced down at Spike and said, “Well, I’ve gotten some new designs lined up for Hoity Toity. He told me that he’s going to have a new fashion show lined up to commemorate the Summer Sun Celebration, and my vision would be perfect for such an occasion, can you believe it? All the dresses are...”

Spike focused on the elegant unicorn that sat before him. He was enthralled by her glistening eyes, her perfectly, tended mane, and her serene voice. Spike didn’t feel anything except happiness over spending some quality time with the unicorn of his dreams.

“...and if they use that for an idea, they told me it could be huge. So, what do you think, Spike?”

Thinking on his toes, Spike said, “Don't worry, Rarity. You’d have to be crazy NOT to do it!” He gave her a thumbs up, as if to seal the deal.

“Really? In that case... you wouldn’t mind being a volunteer?” she said while batting her eyelashes.

“I’d be more than willing to do so, my lady.”

Rarity clopped her hooves together and giggled with glee, smile brimming from cheek to cheek. “Oh how wonderful! Thank you so much for this, Spike. Oh, and don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll only hurt after the first ten minutes!”

Spike mentally patted himself on the back before he ran that last statement through his head again. “Wait, hurt for ten minutes? What do you mean, Rarity?”

“Oh, you know, I doubt it would be painless to remove a dragon’s scales. Though I’m certain the pain will go away after some time.” Rarity sat and stared at Spike, his face slowly losing its color. Before long, Rarity couldn’t hold back and let out a laugh. “Oh Spike,” she said as a sly smile formed on her face, “you haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

Spike’s face flushed with embarrassment as he looked at the floor in shame.

“Oh, don’t let it get to you, Spike,” she said as she patted his head, “I do that to all the colts that stare at me for too long. Just my way of making sure they’re paying attention.” Spike looked up at Rarity for a brief moment before gazing back at the floor. I guess that was a tad uncalled for. “Well, I suppose you don’t deserve such treatment, so I apologize for that. Just try listening a little more, okay?” she said with a forgiving smile.

“Okay! Now what was that about your dresses?” Spike replied, almost as if nothing had ever happened.

Rarity couldn’t help but smile. He’s really such a nice dragon, it’s a shame he’s not a colt. She began her discussion with Spike anew.

**********

Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle wandered the plains, looking for their missing friends. “Where could they have gone off to?” Twilight asked Pinkie Pie, “You’d think Applejack and Rainbow Dash would’ve been here by now.”

Pinkie hopped along the path. “Hmmm, they must be really good at hide and seek. Maybe we should check in the bushes.”

“No, Pinkie. Even if they were hiding, I doubt they would be hiding out here. Perhaps they’re at Applejack’s place.”

“Great idea Twilight! Where better to hide than in a ba—” Pinkie suddenly stopped and her eyes grew wide. She turned around to see that her tail was twitching wildly. She cried, “My tail’s a-twitchin’!” while holding her violently shaking tail.

Twilight knew the significance of her twitching tail, it was one unexplainable aspect of Pinkie Pie’s very own ‘Pinkie Sense’. The pink pony’s body seemed to react to future events, and her sense never failed. When her tail twitched, it indicated that something was about to fall. “Where’s it coming from?” she asked while frantically looking in the sky. “I don't see any—”

“Heads up!!!” came a voice from afar.

Twilight looked in the direction of the voice to see a ball hurtling towards her, barely managing to dodge the oncoming object in time. She looked around and saw a crowd of ponies looking in her direction. In the center of this group were two uneasy looking ponies: the blue pegasus pony, Rainbow Dash, and the orange earth pony, Applejack.

Rainbow Dash flew over to Twilight and Pinkie Pie, laughing nervously. “Sorry about that, Twilight,” she said as she brushed aside part of her rainbow-colored mane. “Didn’t think the ball was going to go that far off course.” A sheepish smile slowly grew on her face as her pink eyes shifted towards Applejack, looking for backup.

“We had everythin’ under control,” Applejack said in her southern drawl, while adjusting the light-brown Stetson hat she wore, “but then it’s like that ball grew a mind of its own and flew off faster than a chicken to the coop.” Her disheveled, blond mane lightly glistened as beads of sweat traveled down her face, moving past the three white freckles under both of her eyes. “Are y’all alright? Hope ya didn’t get hurt none,” she said with a look of concern in her green eyes.

“We’re all fine and dandy, Applejack!” piped up Pinkie Pie.

“So why, pray tell, were you two were bouncing a ball in the first place?” asked a slightly agitated Twilight.

“The two of us were tryin’ ta break the record fer tha most consekitive ball bounces between two ponies,” Applejack answered.

“Did you break it?”

Rainbow Dash stopped hovering and set herself on the floor. “Well, like AJ said, the ball flew in the wrong direction. We were so close, too! It would’ve only taken another fifty or so bouces,” she said, obviously disappointed.

Applejack patted her on the back, “Oh, don’t let it get t’ ya, sugarcube. Ah reckon’ we can obliterate that record next time, fer sure.” She moved over to Twilight and Pinkie Pie. “Now, ah don't suppose anypony found us a place to eat our fill? ‘Cuz ah know we worked up quite an appetite.”

Twilight chimed in, “Rarity found us the perfect spot to eat. She’s waiting at the plains with Spike right now.”

“They’re just waiting up there?” Rainbow Dash asked, “Well what the hay are we waiting for? Let's go eat!” Rainbow sped off, returning back towards the group of ponies after a few seconds. “Uh... it would probably help to know where the picnic is, wouldn’t it?”

Twilight nodded and said, “This way, everypony.”

**********

Rarity and Spike sat on the blanket in silence. The other ponies had taken so long that there was virtually nothing left to talk about. Spike would occasionally take a quick scan of the area for any sign of their friends, and Rarity would lie relaxed on the blanket, occasionally playing with her hair due to sheer boredom. She sat up with an agitated groan and said, “What in Equestria could be taking them so long? Did they get distracted by somepony? Come to think of it, the only ponies that could distract them would have to be Rainbow Dash and Applejack. They had better not be in another one of their silly little challenges again.” Rarity sighed at that comment, since it was the most likely of possibilities.

She turned her head towards the sky and noticed the clouds above. It could’ve been boredom, or it might’ve been a faint interest, but Rarity began to envision what they looked like. “Spike, do tell me,” she said, attracting the dragon’s attention, “what do you suppose that cloud up there looks like?”

Spike walked towards where Rarity sat and looked at the cloud in question. “I see... uh... a cat.”

“You see a cat, huh? Interesting, I see a phoenix,”

“A phoenix?” Spike replied, “How do you see that? I don’t see where the wings could be.” Spike studied the cloud for a bit longer to try to see what Rarity could see, but he just couldn’t do it.

Rarity noticed Spike’s struggle to see as she saw, so she decided to assist the dragon. “See, look at the arc right there... yes, now look at the lighting and the shading of the right side. See how it could look like a wing? Also, take a look at the bottom, don’t you think those looks like talons? The more Rarity pointed out the phoenix, the less confused Spike became.

“Wow, I never would’ve seen that.”

Rarity just smiled and continued to look at the clouds. “Isn’t it funny how perception works, Spike? How two different ponies can look at the same object, yet both of them see something completely unique? Some can only see what’s in front of them. Others can perceive an object other than how it was intended and turn it into something different. Then there are those few who can look past what’s in front of them and see how they can make that object into whatever their vision sees. I find it simply fascinating.”

She turned to Spike. “I tend to think of myself as one of the few. When I take a look at fabric, or materials, or even a pony, my mind just wanders off towards how I can change what I see before me. Sometimes I immediately act on that vision, and other times I play with the idea in my head before trying it. It’s actually been like this since school.” She looked up once more, letting out a wistful sigh. “Everypony would take a look at a drawing of some scribbles and yell out usual thoughts, like ‘It’s a ball’, ‘It’s a puppy’, and the ever popular ‘It’s a dragon’. However, I looked at those scribbles and I could see so much more than them. I would see an island with a beautiful sunset, luscious trees and huts, and birds flying just over the horizon. I would see nebulae and other spacial masses moving through space, stars going supernova and even black holes. I would even see into the eye of a hurricane, destruction surrounding the chaos, yet a calm setting within.” She let out a small chuckle and continued, “ The teacher was impressed by my vision, as any teacher would react towards out-of-the-box thinking at such a young age, but the other fillies and foals wouldn’t even acknowledge what I saw. In a sense, I suppose seeing what they couldn’t see is what truly made me special.”

Rarity hadn’t truly discovered this fact until she was a young filly. She had been in charge of making the outfits for a school play. However, she could never get the dresses to look right. When all hope seemed lost, something unexpected happened. Her horn began to glow and literally started dragging her away. After much time passed, she ended up being led to a giant rock. The young filly was quite outraged that she was led to a rock of all things, but a boom in the sky ended up breaking the rock into many pieces, revealing a bounty of jewels inside. She used these gems to perfect her dresses, and the play was a huge success. It wasn’t too long after that she realized she could use her magic to find gems and valuables buried in the ground, which resulted in her earning a cutie mark.

After the wave of nostalgia had passed, Rarity said to herself, “You would think they’d be back by now.”

“I know. It really shouldn’t be that hard to find Applejack and Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Spike,” Rarity apologized. “I was talking about Fluttershy and Angel. It shouldn’t be that far of a walk to the cottage from here.”

“Well, everypony will be back sooner or later. It shouldn’t be long now.”

Another bout of silence set in. Spike took a look at Rarity, who was busy lazily observing other ponies in their vicinity. He swallowed the lump in his throat and took a deep breath. “Hey... Rarity?” he said, attracting her attention. He almost got locked into her eyes, but managed to persevere. “I was wondering... You wouldn’t happen to be super busy during the Summer Sun Celebration, would you?”

“Well, it usually gets busy the few days before the big day, but I close the boutique during the celebrations.”

“Oh, really?” Spike said as he lightly clasped his hands and rubbed his thumbs. “Because... I was thinking that maybe w—”

“We’re back!” Pinkie Pie cried as she burst out of the top of a nearby tree, startling her two friends.

A frazzled Rarity said, “Well... here you are.” She and Spike took a moment to calm down. “Must you always do that?”

“Do what?” Pinkie Pie asked with an innocent look in her eyes.

“Where you... never mind.” She shook her head before noticing Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Twilight approaching. “We’ll talk later,” she whispered to Spike.

He tried his best to smile through his glum mindset as he nodded and said, “Okay... later.”

**********

Near the outskirts of Ponyville, there was a wooden cottage that had vegetation growing around and on the humble abode. It played host to a wide variety of animals, as evident by the different sorts of bird feeders and houses in the trees, the many burrows and tunnels around the cottage, and the pony that cared for all of these animals.

“Oh, Angel. Thank you so much for helping me with these lunches,” said a yellow pegasus. “How could I forget to bring them? I hope nopony’s too hungry.” It was Fluttershy and her pet bunny, Angel, who rested atop her head. She took a quick glance at her inventory, her blue-green eyes scanning for innacuracies, before strapping the meals to her side. “If only I had fed the animals sooner, then I wouldn’t have forgotten about the food,” she said to herself.

Fluttershy felt Angel tap on her head, through her long, pink mane. She looked up to see the white bunny give her a look which could’ve meant, “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. I’m sure they’ll live. If they’re that hungry, that crazy one will get them food. She always has food.”

Fluttershy giggled at the overtly, “Maybe you’re right, Angel. Still, let's hope we get there soon.” She took to the sky, but she was quickly becoming exhausted as her wings worked harder than ever to keep her airborne. Carefully, she herself down onto the path below her. All of this food is heavier than I thought, I guess I’ll have stick with walking. She made sure to position her equally long, pink tail so it wouldn’t drag in the dirt, and began the trek towards her friends. Angel allowed himself to relax, lying down on her head, when he noticed a little carrot on the floor next to a batch of trees. He jumped off her head to take it, off-putting Fluttershy’s balance. After the yellow pegasus regained her stance, she turned to her friend and said, “Oh, Angel. You know you shouldn’t eat carrots off the floor; they might give you a tummy ache.”

Angel picked up the carrot piece and noticed another not too far from it. As he went to collect this piece, he found another not too far from it, and another after that. Angel thought nothing of this and proceeded to follow the trail of snacks. When Fluttershy noticed Angel disappear into the vegetation, she gently unbuckled the lunches and followed him.

“Angel?” she called out, “Angel! Where are you? There’s no telling what’s out here, so please come back!” Fluttershy started to fly in-between trees, growing increasingly anxious as the minutes dragged on. After what felt like an eternity, she spotted Angel in a clearing. “There you are, Angel! Please come this way!”

He stood there with his back turned to her, completely motionless. “Angel?” Fluttershy called out, concern starting to take over her voice. The illusions of what awaited in the trees made her apprehensive, but she knew it would have to be for Angel’s sake. The timid nurturer took a deep breath and flew into the area. She found it increasingly difficult to fly, as the fear of the unknown tightened its grip on her. With every last ounce of her free will, she made it to Angel’s location, lightly panting as she allowed he beating heart to rest. “Angel, what’s wro—” she stopped when she noticed what Angel stood by.

It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. It was a strange creature with odd looking legs, but it had arms similar to that of a dragon, minus the claws. She looked over the creature’s browned body. “It has... clothes? Is this even an animal?” While some of its features were completely foreign to her, she was able to recognize one other item on it: red glasses. “I thought only ponies wore glasses,” she said to herself. “Does this creature need them too?” Fluttershy picked up the object, examining them as she noticed how badly damaged they were. She placed the glasses on the floor when she noticed something odd about her hoof. It looked like she simply got some dirt smudged onto it, but she realized the color was darker than any dirt around them. The only logical answer hit her like a ton of bricks: blood. “B-b-blood?” she stammered. “Why... why does it have blood on it?” She felt her breath grow short as she noticed more blood stains on its clothes. As the yellow pegasus grew queasy, she gave herself some distance from the creature.

Angel decided to run up and check the creature for himself. Fluttershy yelled, “No, Angel! Don’t touch it!” It was too late, however, and Angel had hopped onto it. Nothing happened, but Fluttershy still kept a watchful eye on the white bunny. As he moved on the body, he gave it a kick to the stomach. Given his size, Angel’s kick wasn’t strong, but it was enough to cause a slight stir. At that moment, Fluttershy’s nurturing instincts took over and she flew towards Victor.

As she tried her best to ignore the blood, the yellow pegasus braced herself and grabbed a hold of the creature. “I don't know what this thing is, but we can’t just leave it here. We need to bring it to the cottage.” Fluttershy dragged Victor towards her abode. “I’ll take this one inside. You tell the girls that they need to see this, and I’ll make sure it’s okay.”

Angel gave a nod and began to hop towards the grounds, remembering the path from earlier that day. As he hopped towards the party, he knew it would be a simple task. Suddenly, a realization came to light, stopping him in his tracks. He remembered that being a bunny would make it difficult to communicate with ponies. He facepawed at that realization, but figured that there should be a way to make himself understood.

**********

“So you two were trying to get a ball bouncing record?” a disbelieving Rarity asked Applejack and Rainbow Dash. “I don’t know how you two enjoy things like that. What with getting so sweaty and dirty afterwards.”

Applejack just rolled her eyes and said, “Fer the same reasons you like yer fancy-schmansy dresses, Rarity. It’s what you enjoy, and ain’t nopony gunna stop ya, right?”

“I suppose you have a point, though I still don't see the appeal.”

Spike piped up, “So, how much longer is Fluttershy going to take? I mean, I can handle waiting as much as the next guy, but I’m getting pretty hungry.”

Twilight was about to tell Spike that he should keep being patient, but a grumble from her stomach said more than enough. She chuckled as she said, “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”

Applejack said, “Even so, ah’ve gotta agree with Spike. Did somethin’ happen in her cottage?”

Pinkie Pie added, “Is she hiding too? Maybe we should go look for her.”

Rainbow proclaimed, “If she is, I’ll go find her.”

“Good idea,” Rarity agreed, “Would you like any help, Rainbow Dash?”

“Nah, it’s ok. If she’s not at her place, I know where she’d be otherwise. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” Before anything else could be said, the pegasus pony took to the sky. First stop, the cottage! As she flew, she sped right past a white bunny that hopped along the path towards the party. “Hmm... I wonder...” She flew down to the animal, who looked visibly exhausted. “Angel?”

He turned around and looked overjoyed. He made a face that looked like, “Colorful, speedy pony! You need to take me to Fluttershy’s friends. She needs your help!”

Angel continued his game of charades, further confusing the speedster. All she could understand was how Angel would point in one direction for a second or two, then hop up and down frantically while waving his arms. “Uh... are you constipated? I’m sure there’s something Fluttershy can get you for that.”

The white bunny glared long and hard at Rainbow. Deciding this wasn’t worth his time, he ignored her and ran towards the party, hoping to find a pony that would understand him. The white bunny didn’t get too far, though. Rainbow Dash had flown up and landed right in front of him.

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Rainbow Dash queried. “If you’re looking for the others, I can take you right to them.”

He nodded very fast at her question, making another face which said something similar to, “Yes, colored pony, you’re not as brain-dead as you look!” Angel got on Rainbow Dash’s back and prepared for take-off.

“You’re gonna wanna hold onto something,” Rainbow advised the white rabbit. When she felt him take a grip of her mane, she took off towards the other ponies.

When they landed, Angel was greeted by all the other ponies. Spike asked, “Where’s Fluttershy, wasn’t she with you?”

Angel had no time to waste. He pointed in the direction of Fluttershy’s cottage and tried mimicking the creature’s unconscious body, all of which could be seen as “We found this living, breathing thing in between a bunch of trees, and Fluttershy is trying to take care of it. She needs us to go help it!”

The ponies crossed glances with eachother as they tried to interpret what Angel was trying to say.

First was Applejack, “Is there some sorta crisis in the Everfree Forest?” Incorrect.

Then Twilight, “Did a bunch of animals get sick?” Negative.

Spike was next to try, “Did... uh... did her cottage get infested with grubs?” Not even close.

Finally, Pinkie Pie, “Did somepony fall down a well?” She received confused looks from her friends. “What?” she said, defending herself, “It can happen!” Unfortunately, it didn’t.

They tried more and more guesses, but couldn’t figure out what Angel was saying, all the while making him frustrated. However, Rarity could faintly make out what he was trying to tell them. “Does Fluttershy need us for something?”, she asked.

Angel started jumping up and down with a big grin on his face, which could’ve meant, “Right! Fancy pony gets me!”

With that out of the way, everypony followed the prancing bunny towards Fluttershy’s cottage, wondering what they could possibly be needed for.

**********

Fluttershy quietly closed the door to her room, making sure not to disturb the creature that slept within. “This is very strange,” she said to herself as she walked down the stairs, “I don’t think there’s ever been a creature I haven’t recognized. Does he have any friends? What if he’s all alone?”

She took the time to open a window, feeling that the house was slightly stuffy. As she took a look out said window, she smiled with glee. She saw Angel run up the road, her friends following close behind. She went out the front door to greet them. “Oh, hello everypony! I'm so glad you could come down here so fast!”

Spike said, “Angel was acting really frantic about something. What's happening, anyway?”

Fluttershy looked a bit surprised. “You mean... Angel didn't tell you?” She replied incredulously as she took another look at Angel, who looked like he was trying hard to forget his bout of charades.

“Sorry, dear,” Rarity answered, “We could only understand so much of what he was trying to tell us.”

Rainbow piped up, “Did something bad happen around here? Like really, really bad?”

Fluttershy looked down for a bit before she stammered, “Well... um.... you see... it's nothing really bad, per se. It’s just... we found a strange creature unconscious in a clearing around some trees... It had some blood stains on it, but it wasn't hurt... The thing is, I've never seen anything like this before, and I don't know what to do.”

Everypony looked at each other in shock. “A strange creature, ya say?” Applejack asked. “Are we talkin' Manticore strange or outta this world strange? Cuz what's strange fer you might be perty normal t’ the rest of us.”

Fluttershy backed up a little and said, “I... uh... I have to show you,” As she walked into the cottage. Her friends took that as their cue and they proceeded to walk into the cottage.

Twilight turned around to see Spike staring at the arrangement of trees. “Spike, are you coming in?” He didn’t respond to her question, so she waved a hoof in front of his face, as she inquired, “Spike? Hello, anypony in there?”

The baby dragon snapped back to reality and said, “Huh? Oh, right... uh, you guys go do that, there's something I need to check out.” Before Twilight could protest, Spike ran towards the trees and was out of sight.

What was that all about? She deduced that the matter wasn’t worth looking into, so she walked into the cottage. She noticed that nopony was in the living room, but she heard her friends chattering away upstairs. As she followed the sounds of their comments, she started to make out what was being said.

“Woah, it really does look weird!”

“It looks so... tacky.”

“Y’know, it looks kinda funny!”

“I ain't seen nothin' like this before.”

As she got close to the door, she heard Fluttershy say, “You see why I had to tell you girls? This creature might not even be local to Equestria. Before it wakes up, we should find out what it is.”

Twilight finally made it to the room, and she started to ask, “So what does this thing look li—” but stopped her speech cold after seeing the sleeping creature. She couldn’t forget something that looked like this, it was Victor. Every memory of her nightmare began to flood her mind in less than a second, and she let out a blood-curdling scream. She fell backwards and backed herself up against the wall as adrenaline began pumping throughout her body. Her pupils shrank and she started breathing heavily, all while beginning to tremble. “No no no no no, that thing can't be real, it just can't!” she pleaded to herself, “It was only in my dream, how can this be here now?! If this thing is real, then that means... that means...” She clenched her eyes shut and hid her face in her hoofs, wishing to block out possible visions of the future that appeared in her head.

“Twilight, dear, what's wrong?”

There has to be an explanation for all of this!

“Twilight, yer scarin' us, whattsa matter?”

Oh please let this all be fake, a dream within a dream, maybe?

“T-T-Twilight, what's wrong? Why are you shaking?”

Please let that be it! At least then I can laugh about it later...

“Twilight, if this is a prank, it's not very funny!”

But what if it's not a dream... Oh no, I can't let it get to me, I just can't. Please let this all be a terrible, terrible nightmare!

“Snap out of it, Twilight!!!”

A sharp pain to her cheek brought Twilight back into Fluttershy’s bedroom. She slowly turned to face Rainbow Dash, who looked regretful for her previous action.

“Uh... I-I'm sorry, Twilight, but you were really acting crazy. What’s going on?”

Twilight stood frozen for a few seconds. She slowly slid onto the floor, as she tried to recuperate. Okay, this confirms two things. One, that was no dream; Rainbow helped prove that. Two... I think it’s safe to assume that everything I saw was real, but I’ll need to talk to this Victor human first. “It's okay, Rainbow,” she cooed, “I must've scared you all. I'm so sorry.”

Pinkie Pie was the first to respond. “You really did scare us, Twilight! We should really do something about that nightmare.”

“Woah woah woah, you had a nightmare... and you’re this freaked out about it?” Rainbow Dash asserted. “If it’s bugging you this badly, you should’ve said something.”

Twilight looked away from her friends and didn't say anything. “It was only a nightmare, I didn’t bother any of you about it.”

Applejack walked up and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s okay, girl,” she assured, “we're yer friends. If something’ buggin’ you, there ain’t no harm in tellin’ any of us.”

Twilight reluctantly looked up and stuttered, “I-I would've told you all what happened, but... you might've thought it was just nothing.”

Rarity exclaimed, “Nothing?! Darling, we wouldn't judge you like that! Applejack is right, we're your friends. Talking about something as nerve-wracking as this would be beneficial.”

“So, is it related to this?” Applejack said as she pointed a hoof towards Victor.

Twilight nodded her head.

The farm pony continued, “Whatever it is, it’s sure as sugar a heavy sleeper. Yer hollerin’ didn’t even snap it awake.”

Fluttershy informed, “Whatever happened to it must’ve been exhausting. He didn’t even stir as I dragged him into my home. Just give him some time; he’ll come around.” She turned to Twilight and said, “It’s okay to tell us, Twilight. I know I might not be the bravest of ponies, but I'll still hear what you have to say, um... even if it is scary.”

Rainbow commented, “Let's hear it.”

Seeing the backs of confidence from her friends slowly got her back onto her feet. She took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I'll do it. I'll tell you what I saw. First, let's go into the living room.”

As everypony filed downstairs, more of Twilight’s concerns plagued her brain. They won’t think I'm crazy, but will they understand it all? She shook the doubt from her mind. Calm down, Twilight, everything's going to be alright, you'll see. She turned to face her friends. “I don't know if this is all the truth or not, but a lot of bizarre instances occurred in my nightmare. It all started on...” Twilight then went into exact detail over what happened in her dream. The scientists, the laboratories, the soldiers, the security and agents, Dr. Clamely, and finally the chaos that broke out on the last day. “...then this... blade-thing pierced through the barricade, killing another human... and that's all that I remember.” As she finished, there was nothing but shock and terror written on everypony’s faces.

Rainbow Dash shook her wings out of their frozen state. “Jeez, Twilight, you have some crazy dreams.”

Applejack chastised, “Now Rainbow, Twilight went through sumthin’ fierce, the least y’all could do is show some sympathy.”

“Well, I get it, but come on. If you had a dream like that, would you call think any different?

Before an unnecessary argument could break out, Twilight intervened, “It’s okay, Applejack. All that matters is tha—” Suddenly, she remembered her assistant. “Wait, where’s Spike? He told me that he was going to check something out in the trees, but...”

Fluttershy stuttered, “W-w-w-what if one of those things got him?”

Twilight didn’t want to think about that. I’m sure that nothing followed Victor into the portal... but who’s to say none of those other creatures found a different way in? “Come on, everypony, we need to go find him!” They rushed out the front door and began to search the area for any sign of their dragon companion.

“Spike! Where are you? Please, just say something!” Twilight frantically called out. The ponies looked high and low for their dragon friend. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash took to the skies while Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, and Rarity looked through all the trees and bushes.

Rarity was taking a few looks around by herself, but to no avail. “Where could he be?” She asked herself as she scanned the forest.

Applejack walked over to Rarity and asked, “Any luck?”

Rarity shook her head. As she took note of the many trees surrounding them, the gears in her head began to turn. “Maybe... maybe I can find him with my gem finding spell.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Would that even work?”

“Probably not, but I cannot think of a better plan.” Rarity then closed her eyes and her horn began to glow a light blue color as she focused on Spike.

“Do ya see anythin’?”

Rarity did just as she would when making a dress, she stayed silent and blocked out all outside distractions. She envisioned all of Spike’s physical characteristics, but there was no luck. Everything is so hazy. I have to concentrate. This time, she focused on both his looks and personality. Her face began to scrunch as she put more power into her spell. “It’s no use,” she admitted to the orange mare. However, the instant before powering down her spell, a small figure shimmered through the trees. She muttered, “Did I... did I just...”

“Somethin’ happen, Rarity?”

“I have to try again. Let's hope the third time’s the charm.” Rarity emptied everything from her mind, save Spike. With complete concentration, she could see Spike’s outline as plain as day. “I found him! He’s over there!” she exclaimed while pointing her hoof in the young dragon’s direction.

Applejack flinched in surprise. “Well I’ll be, that spell a’ yers can sure come in handy.” She called the rest of her friends towards their location.

Twilight nearly crashed into Spike as he stood there, staring blankly at the trees. “Spike? Why are you still out here in the forest? Next time you need to... Spike?” His expression didn’t change.

Rarity tapped Spike on the head, “Are you alright, Spike?”

The dragon jolted himself back into reality, as he quickly turned around and saw everypony staring at him. “What happened? Did I... uh... miss something?” Spike had seem a bit flustered, but nopony paid any attention to it.

Twilight motioned for him to walk with them. As they walked back to the cottage, everypony filled Spike in on what Twilight had seen in her nightmare and the creature that slumbered in Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Yeesh,” he said, “and I thought nightmares never got that bad.” As the cottage came into view, Spike said, “Where did this thing come from, anyway? Maybe if we find that out we can send it back. I doubt anypony would be willing to look after that thing.”

Pinkie Pie got the door opened for her friends and said, “Oh, I’m sure we can find it a place to live!”

Applejack was the first to walk in, as she said “Well, it should still be out fer quite some time, I’m sure we’ve got plenty a’ time ta fi—” She froze once she entered the door. As the other ponies walked in, they followed suit. Victor was awake and pressing himself against the walls.

As he perused the house, he muttered, “Wish I could find those shoddy glasses. Can’t see a damn thing, but I know I can feel these walls. However, what if this is still a dream? What if I’m still in bed and this is all a sham? Oh, Gary is going to love hearing about this.” As he knocked on the walls, the group of ponies stayed silent, relying on facial expressions for communication. In his delirious state, Victor called out, “Hello? Is anybody home?”

“You’re right Fluttershy, he does need glasses!” Pinkie Pie chimed in, with little to no concern about the volume of her voice.

“So you are here? Do you have my gla—” Victor turned around, only able to see techni-colored blobs. “Is this some sort of game to you?” He asked as he tried to identify the source of the voice. “I really don’t have time for games, and I’ve got to go. Can I please have my glasses?”

Fluttershy gasped, “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, creature! Wait right there, let me get them for you!” Fluttershy flew up the stairs.

Victor vainly rubbed his eyes. “That... that yellow thing just... flew. Did it speak too? That’s not possible. It couldn’t have talked unless... oh no. Are any of you things human? Please say yes.”

Twilight honed in on that keyword, human. This thing knows what humans are. It must have the answers I’m looking for!

Rainbow interrupted Twilight’s train of thought and whispered, “Not only does that thing look weird, but it talks weird too.”

Fluttershy had returned with the glasses, “Ok, now hold still. I’m going to put your glasses on.”

Victor stood petrified in shock at the sight slowly coming into focus. He didn’t know what was more unbelievable: the fact that he was talking to a living, breathing pegasus, or the group of additional horses to his right. He began to lightly hit himself in the face, followed by a series of dream-proof tests. After every test pointed to reality, Victor resumed his side conversation. “I am dead, there’s no question about it. I died when going through that portal, and this is... heaven? Or is this hell? Considering this looks like my niece’s dream come true, it has to be hell. What did I do to deserve this punishment?” As he finished those words, he felt an apple hit his head. “Ow!” he exclaimed, “The bloody hell was that for?”

Applejack pushed her hat back and said, “Ya done talkin' to yerself, partner?”

Victor tried to process this massive influx of information, but he began to see spots. “No... not now... bollocks, that portal really did a number on me.”

Fluttershy flew forward, “Oh dear, you haven’t had enough rest, you really should go lie down... um, if you don’t mind.” She started to lead him by the arm towards his bed, but Victor instinctively shook himself out of her grip.

Victor quickly apologized, “Oh no, a thousand pardons, my lady... mare... what exactly would I call you?”

“You know, for a creature with such an eloquent accent, it really has no class,” Rarity whispered to Twilight.

The purple unicorn stepped forward. “Excuse me... are you alright?”

Victor attempted to steady himself and said, “Yes, quite alright... In fact... I’ve never felt better!” It wasn’t even a second later that Victor blacked out and fell flat on his face.

Chapter 3: Personal Inquiry

What... what happened? Victor asked himself as he slowly opened his eyes. He felt instant relief when he noticed both the blue bedsheets which enveloped him, and the plush pillow underneath his head. Just a dream, thank god. He instinctively reached for his glasses on the stand to his right, only for his hand to bump into a figure that let out a small yelp. Victor jolted upright in his bed, only to gingerly lay himself back down when a sharp pain rang through his head.

“O-oh, y-you're awake!” Fluttershy stuttered as she reached for the scientist’s glasses. “Now hold still, I’m going to place your glasses back onto you.”

Victor’s world slowly came into focus. Despite the damaged lenses, he took a look at Fluttershy and said, “You’re the same horse from earlier, right?”

“Well, pony, but yes. The others are downstairs if you’d like me to get them.”

He placed the pillow against the wall behind the bed and rested his head against it. “Go for it, I’m sure you’ve all got as many questions as I do.” Fluttershy fluttered out of the room while Victor locked himself within his thoughts. I started up the machine correctly, didn’t I? Was there something I missed? No, I recalled those instructions properly. It suddenly dawned on the perplexed Englishman. Perhaps when I—

“Hi!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she poked her head into the room. Victor flinched, allowing a new wave of throbbing pain to cripple him.

“Pinkie! Fluttershy said to be quiet!” Rainbow Dash yelled, adding more to Victor’s world of pain.

Rarity ran between the two ponies and hushed them. “Honestly, keeping quiet must be a weakness for the two of you,” she whispered as she approached Victor. “Oh dear,” the fashionista muttered as she noticed his glasses, “let me get that for you.” The red glasses floated off Victor’s face as Rarity began to seamlessly repair the damage. “There,” she said quietly, “That should be better.”

Victor opened his eyes once the ringing in his ears stopped. He looked at the now-unfragmented world before him. He turned to the white unicorn and asked, “How did you do that?”

“Oh, I have a pair of glasses as well, keeping them in prime condition is no challenge at all.”

“No, I mean, what did you just do? How did you fix my glasses?”

“With magic o’ course,” Applejack said, Twilight right behind her, as she entered the room.

Victor let out a small chortle. “Right, magic. That’s impossible.”

“How is that impossible?” Twilight queried.

“Magic isn’t real, that’s why.”

Everypony shared the same bewildered expression as silence filled the room. Eventually, Rainbow Dash couldn’t control herself and burst into laughter. “This thing is such a crackup! Seriously, you guys, this is comedic gold right here!” As she rolled on the floor, she teased, “Magic isn’t real, that’s why,” trying her impersonation of the scientist’s accent.

“Rainbow!” Twilight barked, causing the blue pegasus’ laughter to slowly dwindle.

She noticed the dead-pan expressions in the room. “Wait, you’re serious?” she asked perplexedly.

Twilight replied, “Yes, it’s serious. Victor’s world didn’t seem like it used any magic, from what I could tell.”

“Wait just a minute!” he exclaimed. “You, unicorn, you just said my name... and something about ‘my world’. Just what’s going on here, and who are you?”

Everypony looked at each other for a second, then turned to Twilight, who walked up to Victor. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. These are my friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike. Now, I don't know how, but... I saw you in a dream of mine.”

“A dream, you say,” Victor noted as he crossed his arms. “Care to prove it?”

Spike argued, “Why should she have to prove it, huh? If anything, we should be asking who or what in Equestria you are!”

The scientist shook his head and said, “I’m not saying a word until I know just what the bloody hell is going on.”

Twilight turned to her assistant and said, “It’s okay, Spike.” The purple unicorn took a breath to clear her mind as she explained, “There were these laboratories that you worked in. Not only you, but a lot of other humans too. I believe you were running experiments on other humans. You called them... oh, what were they called?”

“Specimens?”

“Yes, that’s right. Then there was a—”

Victor held up his hand. “I’ve heard enough. If you know that much, then it’s safe to assume you’re telling the truth. Now, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d much prefer to talk to the other humans around here.”

Rarity cocked her head back as she raised an eyebrow. “Other... humans? What are you talking about, dear?”

“I mean ‘other humans’,” he said while he shrugged his shoulders. “You know, like the ones that built this cottage.”

Rainbow hovered in the air, and said, “Look, pal, we don't know what a human is, and we'd really like to know,” she said with slight venom in her tone. “Besides,” she started up again, “every building in this town it made by ponies, for ponies. There have been a lot of different ponies that come through here, but nothing like you.”

Now it was Victor’s turn to put on a confused expression. “You’re kidding, right? You mean to tell me that an entire city full of animals without hands created houses like this? You must color me daft if I'm going to buy that rubbish.”

“You callin’ me a liar, punk?”

Applejack intervened, “Rainbow, hush!” She faced Victor, “Partner, I 'unno what in tarnation yah think we know, but we ain't never heard of a... hyuu-menn before.”

“So ponies built all of this,” he said incredulously, “that’s what you’re telling me?”

Pinkie Pie jumped forward. “Yeppers! Every home made in Equestria is built by full fledged ponies! Unless you’re talking about animal homes. Those homes are surely built by the animals. They’d be too small for anypony to even fit into. Come to think of it, there are also homes like caves that a pony could easily live in. Then again, I can’t think of anypony who would live somewhere like that; unless they wished they could be animals. Wait! What if there were pony-animals? Then I guess some homes would be—”

Twilight let out a groan, stopping the slowly-derailing conversation. “We don't have time for this! Victor, you’re the only human in Equestria. That’s not a guess, it’s a fact. Now, what I’d like to know is...” she stopped as she saw the pink pony raise her hoof, waving it frantically in the air. “Yes... Pinkie?”

She leapt into the bed and said, “So are you a boy or a girl?”

Victor sat there, staring blankly at Pinkie Pie. He face-palmed as he muttered, “Shouldn’t something like that be obvious to you ponies?”

Fluttershy replied, “Um... none of us have seen a human before, so we wouldn’t know about something like that.”

He peeked through his hand and said, “I’m a boy.”

Before Twilight could prepare another question, Rarity intervened, “How, pray-tell, did you even end up in this world of ours? Twilight mentioned something about portals, but I'm sure you could give us a greater insight into this matter.”

Victor cleared his throat and said, “Well, the portals we have at our institution are set to take someone, or something, to a different location. However, you need coordinates for the system to work. Such a system has its risks, if you enter the wrong destination, you could end up in a universe that’s even worse off than my world. Now, I had set up the device to take me to another location on my world. However, I’m here, and I think I know why. Twilight, you saw me fight off a specimen right before I jumped, right?” The purple unicorn nodded. “Well, when I kicked that nonce, it was knocked into the device. If I didn’t know any better, that must’ve flipped the switch on the side and changed the device’s setting to interdimensional.”

“You’re not stuck here, are you?” Twilight asked.

He shook his head. “No, not as long as I’ve got this.” The scientist pulled away the covers to reveal the belt he attached before leaving earth.

“Oh right, that. It still works, doesn’t it?”

“Is that some sort of belt?” Rarity asked, her interest suddenly rising.

“Yes, to both of you” Victor answered. “It’s coupled with the device, back home. I’ve just got to press this button in the center, and the machine takes care of the rest.”

“Now then, Mr. Victor,” Twilight hesitated. “In my dream... I saw that you were all under attack by those... things. What were they? Are they a different breed of humans?”

Victor's look grew quite tense. “You saw those bloodthirsty bastards rampaging throughout the halls? Well, where do I even begin?” He crossed his arms as he prepared his answer, with the pondering gaze of everypony in the room focused on him. “I work for what's called a pharmaceutical company, they're places that specialize in medical and biological advancements. Mine in particular is named Horzine Industries, and we were tasked by Britain to create what they call, super-soldiers. As you no doubt saw, they suddenly went berserk and started ripping everyone to pieces. It all happened so fast, so many poor scientists lost their lives in there.”

Twilight tried again to shake the images out of her head. “Is there any way to stop those things?”

Victor massaged his forehead before continuing, “Unfortunately, these soldiers were made to be formidable in a war, so it would take a hell of an offensive to stop every last one of them. Which makes what I'm going to ask seem bloody insane...”

Rainbow Dash piped up, “ Well? What is it? What do you need?”

Victor answered almost immediately, “I need you lot to find the most powerful... ponies you can to help fight these things... I'd take them to my wo--”

“Woah, woah, woah there, Victor,” Spike sharply interrupted. “You mean you want us to send some of our good friends to your world and get them killed? Are you crazy?”

The human shot a glare at Spike. “Do I look like I have much other choice? Surely there's some sort of being here that's powerful enough to help, right?”

Everypony exchanged glances with each other, unsure of how to proceed.

Applejack mentioned to her friends, “Ah reckon we should discuss this in private, considerin’ these are our ponies we’re talkin’ about.”

Twilight murmured back, “What would we even need to talk about, Applejack? All of the facts are laid out in front of us.”

“Think about it, Twi’,” Applejack softly retorted, “if we’re sendin’ ponies out there, some of them could be kin. We need t’ be sure that it’d be worth it ta help this fella.”

After a moment of consideration, Twilight turned towards the scientist. “Please excuse us, Victor,” Twilight stated. “We need to talk about this, privately. I know you understand. Spike, you stay here with Victor, keep him company until we’ve come to a decision.” With that, Spike focused his attention on Victor, and Twilight motioned for the other ponies to follow her.

**********

Twilight led everypony into the living room, cutting right to the chase. “First things first,” she began, “does anypony think we should help Victor and the other humans?” Twilight was expecting a swift response from her friends... but there was nothing. Her friends shifted their gaze, unsure of what to give for an answer. “None of you? Nopony wants to help them at all?!”

Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, “It’s not like that, Twilight! It’s just... well... how do I even say it?”

“What Rainbow’s tryin’ to say,” Applejack carried on, “is that this seems like a heap’a sumthin’ to ask somepony. Ah wanna help the fella, ah really do, but we can’t jus’ throw ponies to slaughter like that!”

“But... um...” Fluttershy spoke up, “We... we can’t just leave him like this! He needs our help!”

“Fluttershy is right,” Pinkie Pie began, “they need our help!”

Rarity stepped forward, “I agree with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. There has to be a way we can assist those poor fellows.”

“But how?” Rainbow began, “It’s not like we’ve got an armada of strong ponies lying around! The Royal Guard can’t leave the princess, and the only pony around here that I can see handling themselves is Big Macintosh.”

“An’ ain’t no way Ahm lettin’ Big Mac go to Lunndann an’ fight those things!

Twilight picked up from where she left off. “Okay, I think it’s safe to say that we all want to help,” she stated, “but we just have to figure out how. Anypony have any ideas?”

Brainstorms occurred in everypony’s heads, but coming up with a good idea proved to be a difficult task. After some thought, the idea hit Twilight. There’s really no other choice, is there? She thought to herself, I guess I’ll have to be the one to say it.

“I got it,” Twilight and Rarity both said at once.

Twilight and Rarity looked at eachother in surprise before the purple unicorn conceded, “Oh, you go ahead, Rarity.”

“Oh no, dear, you’re the one that knows the most about their world, you go first.”

“No, it’s ok, really, you go first.” Rarity’s got the same kind of logical mind as I do, she reasoned with herself. I guess she’ll be the one to spill the beans... as much as I dread the idea.

“Well, ok then... I’ve thought up a safe idea for all of us,” Rarity began.

Twilight lightly jerked her head back in shock. Safe? Twilight thought, What does she mean, safe? What is Rarity planning?

Rarity continued, “Honestly, I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this idea sooner. I think it would make the most sense to ask if the princess, herself, would be willing to assist!”

Twilight shot Rarity an incredibly disbelieving look. Ask the princess? But... we...

Rainbow Dash facehoofed, “Oh, duh! Why didn’t I think of that? Sure, there’s hardly anypony in Ponyville that can go out there, but the Princess can probably take care of that London place in no time at all!”

Fluttershy seemed to perk up a little at this solution, but she still held some doubts. “Would the Princess really want to go out there? I mean... those creatures sound so... scary.”

“Ah wouldn’ worry about that, Fluttershy,” Applejack said to the timid pegasus, “before we came along, the Princess has been the one pony to save the day.” Applejack tilted her hat back, “Ah don’ see the harm in askin’ her.”

Pinkie Pie hopped up and down at the idea. “Yeah! And then when she gets back, we can throw a celebration for her!”

“You really don’t think of much else other than parties, do you, Pinkie?” Rarity joked with her friend.

Rainbow walked up to the bouncy earth pony, “Besides, Pinks, I think the Summer Sun Celebration is more than enough of a party for anypony.”

“Of course!” Pinkie Pie said. “That’s why we hold it after the celebration! We don’t wanna go crazy on everypony!”

“Ah think it’s a might bit late fer that, Pinkie,” Applejack said, while stifling a laugh.

Fluttershy spoke up, “Well... asking her first is better than doing nothing at all.”

Rarity nodded her head in agreement. “Then it’s settled,” she began, “ We’ll write a letter to the Princess asking if she’ll he—”

Rarity’s declaration was cut short by Twilight. “No. We can’t do that!”

The ponies stared at the princess’ student in bewilderment, with Pinkie Pie being the first to spit out a reply.

“No?” she began, “But... but...”

“But why not, Twilight?” Rarity objected, “What’s the harm, really?”

“We can’t just go and demand for the princess to risk her life all willy-nilly,” Twilight declared. “Besides, It’s a week until the Summer Sun Celebration. Princess Celestia needs to stay here until then!”

“Twilight,” Applejack began her retort, “Ah think the princess can afford to help them hyumens out.”

Twilight faced her friend, “Don’t you see, Applejack? If the princess is gone for even a day, the sun won’t come up. No sun means a bad batch of apples for the Apple family.” Twilight paused for a moment to let this thought set in. “Is that what you want, Applejack?”

Applejack spat out a weak, “No... but...” and continued to have a disgruntled look on her face.

“Then what do you have in mind, Twilight?” said an annoyed Rainbow Dash. She started to hover, “Let’s hear your idea.”

Twilight gulped before going any further, “Well...” she began, “I think that we need to go to London, ourselves.”

Twilight’s idea was met with a collective, “WHAT?!” from everypony in the room.

**********

Spike and Victor sat in complete silence, twiddling their thumbs as they waited for the deliberations to end. The shout from the ponies attracted both their attention. The two looked in the direction of the noise, and Spike pressed his ear against the door in hopes of hearing what caused such a ruckus.

“It’s not polite to eavesdrop, you know,” Victor chastised as he sat himself upright.

Spike turned to face the scientist. “Eave what?”

Victor rolled his eyes and let out a sigh, “It’s not polite to listen in on other people’s conversations, you know.” He stared at the ceiling. “So, Spears,” Victor began.

“Spike!”

“Right, right, Spike,” Victor said in an apologetic tone, “we just have to sit on our thumbs over here while your friends decide whether or not to lend a helping hand?”

Spike gave a glance at Victor and said, “That pretty much sums it up. What did you expect? I mean, you kinda popped up out of nowhere... never seen the likes of you... yada yada yada.” Spike turned in the direction of the door. “All I know,” he stated as he listened through the door, “is that whatever happens, Twilight will know what to do.”

“Twilight...” Victor said, resting his head on the wall. “That... eh... purple unicorn, right? She sure seems like she knows a lot about my world.”

Spike let out a small chuckle and said, “Well, this IS Twilight we’re talking about, the most powerful unicorn in Ponyville— no, the most powerful unicorn in Equestria! Not to mention she’s incredibly smart. I’m sure she’s got your situation figured out by now.” Spike’s confident grin beamed as he addressed Victor’s assumption.

Victor couldn’t help but laugh. “You know,” he struggled to say in between laughs, “your friend hasn’t the faintest idea what my world is like.”

Spike’s grin slowly melted away, “What do you mean hasn’t the faintest? She saw your experiences in your dream, so I’d say she knows more than enough!”

Victor put on a dead serious look, glaring daggers at the baby dragon. “Let me tell you something, mate. There’s a vast difference between seeing something and living it.” His tone grew more and more cross as he continued, “What Ms. Sparkle saw was a essentially a video, a snippet of what’s out there. She’s seen what I’ve gone through, but hasn’t come close to living it. She hasn’t turned the corner of a dank, narrow hallway and seen flesh being ripped from bones, blood spewing onto the walls, or entrails strewn throughout the floor... And the noise, my god, the noise! The screams of fellow scientists who can only watch as their organs get torn from their bodies! The howls and screeches of those monstrosities that roam the facility, looking for their next, unlucky victim! Carnage and death as far as the eye can see!” Victor collected himself, as he paused while Spike struggled to remain confident and not lose his composure. “Twilight doesn’t know shit about what it’s like in my world, Spike, and that’s why I need to find the strongest bloody beings in the land to help.”

Spike shook off the rigid feeling out of his scales. “W-well, she’ll figure out the best thing to do. I promise you that!”

Victor listened to Spike’s retort and nonchalantly laid back in bed. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, lad,” he retorted, “because if you can’t keep this one... humanity is dead.”

**********

“You think... you think that we should go?” Rarity echoed, being taken back by this proposal.

Twilight turned to the white unicorn. “We don’t have any other options, Rarity.”

Rainbow hovered over to Twilight and remarked, “No other options? Twilight, we have a lot of options!” She tried her best to hide her nervous expression. “We could go to Cloudsdale, Manehattan, or Canterlot and ask for help! Hay, there are ponies all over Equestria that could help!”

The pegasus pony’s plea had fallen upon deaf ears, as Twilight shook her head. “Sorry, Rainbow,” she began, “but in the time it would take to amass a rag-tag group of mercenaries and prepare them for London, it could already be too late. Time is of the essence here, and the six of us going is the most efficient solution. We’re ready right here, right now. Plus, we won’t have to endanger anypony else that we truly care about.” Twilight still saw the uncertainty in her friends' eyes, so she gave one last reason to hopefully change their minds. “Besides, I don’t think there are truly any stronger ponies in Ponyville than the six of us.” She stopped herself before continuing, letting her friends fully grasp the severity of the situation. “So... what do you say, girls?”

Silence filled the room once more, not to Twilight’s surprise. Quick glances were shot between each other, unsure of how to proceed.

Pinkie let out a subtle snort, and said, “I’ll do it.” She said, not a hint of fear in her voice. “If this is how we can help somepony in need, then I’m all for it,” she said as her charismatic grin started to form.

Rainbow appeared enlightened as she added, “Me too, you guys know you’d be hopeless without good ol’ Rainbow Dash backing you up.” She nudged Twilight on the shoulder. The smug look on her face helped lighten the mood in the room.

Rarity piped up, “So... no matter what we say, you still think we’re the only ones that can fight those soldiers?”

“That’s our best bet,” Twilight replied.

An insecure Applejack responded, “This ain’t right, Twi. Yer askin’ us to leave everythin’ behind fer who knows how long.” The farm pony’s usually bold look was replaced with a look of beseechment.

“I understand your concern, Applejack,” Twilight sympathized, “and I know this is a lot to ask of you all. I’m not going to force anypony to go if they really don’t want to.”

Fluttershy asked, “Twilight, do you... do you really think we can do this?”

Twilight donned a smile of confidence. “I think so, Fluttershy.” As she started to pace around her friends, she continued to try motivating them. “We’ve gone against a manticore, a dragon, a hydra, Nightmare Moon, and even Discord himself. As long as we keep our cool, I’m sure we can handle it.” Her words seemed to slow the yellow pegasus’ jitters.

“What about you, dear?” Rarity observed, “Not too long ago, you nearly had a nervous breakdown when you just looked at Victor, and he was completely harmless. We’re talking about barbaric creatures that would like nothing more than to tear us limb from limb. Are you sure you’ll be alright for this?”

Twilight gulped before continuing, “I admit... I’m still a bit scared of what lies out there, but with my friends by my side, It shouldn’t be a problem.” Twilight wanted to believe what she said, but the fear of the unknown still ate at her heart. I hope you’re listening, Twilight, she notioned to herself.

As the ponies continued to contemplate the situation, Applejack had been lost in thought. Suddenly, Applejack’s eyes shot wide open as an ultimatum appeared before her. “Hey, wait a minute, Twilight,” Applejack spoke up, “Y’all have to ask the princess first!”

Twilight let out a small groan as she thought to herself, She’s still going on about this? She asked, “Okay then, Applejack, explain why I need to ask the Princess first.”

“Because,” Applejack retorted, “yer the princess’ very own student. Don’cha think she’d wanna know if a student o’ hers is goin’ to a world fulla death an peril?”

Twilight was caught off guard and stammered, “Well... I... uh... um...”

Pinkie Pie became increasingly curious about this behavior. “You know, Twilight,” she declared, “you seem really determined not to ask the princess. Do you... not want her finding out about this?”

Twilight cocked her head back in shock and quickly defended herself. “N-n-no! That’s... t-that’s not it, I just... well...” Twilight took a deep breath and a moment to collect her thoughts. “I don’t want it to look like I’m completely dependent on the Princess.” Shame seemed to cloud her eyes. The next thing she heard was something unexpected: laughter. She looked up to see Rainbow Dash guffaw as she hovered in the air.

“Oh, that’s priceless, Twilight!” As she opened her eyes, she received sharp glares from Rarity and Applejack. The boastful pegasus cleared her throat and rebounded, “Uh, Twilight, in case you missed it, you kinda went over a list of all the creatures we’ve defeated without the princess’ help.”

Rarity cooled off her glare and directed her attention towards Twilight. “Rainbow Dash has a point, my dear,” she affirmed, “I’m sure the princess has the utmost confidence in you, let alone our combined abilities. Besides, the princess just might give us her blessing to go to London. A back of confidence like that might be just what you need to get rid of your jitters.”

A small smile of relief appeared on Twilight’s face. “So,” she began, “if the princess says we can, you’ll come with us to London?”

Rarity gave a simple nod in return.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy, “Well, how about you? Will you come with us?”

Fluttershy was hesitant, but gave her a confident nod and said, “I... I’ll go, as long as all of you are there with me.”

Last was Applejack, who still showed signs of concern. She closed her eyes as she let out a sigh and said, “Only if the princess says so, otherwise, I ain’t budgin’.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. This isn’t exactly what I had hoped for, but it’s better than doing nothing. “Then it’s settled. We let the princess know about this first, then we make the necessary preparations, understood?”

Everypony nodded.

“All right then, let’s go tell Spike and Victor what’s going on.”

**********

“...and sometimes a man will really fancy a woman. When he does, he gets something that we on earth like to call—” Victor’s risque explanation was cut off by Twilight opening the door. “Well, you lot took a while,” he said as the ponies filed into the room, “what’s the decision?”

Twilight stepped before Victor and said, “We’ve decided that we’re going to ask the princess for her thoughts on our plan before we do anything.”

Victor raised an eyebrow. “A plan? What sort of plan do you have in mind?”

“We’re all going with you to help deal with the situation in your world,” Twilight swiftly responded.

Victor’s look shifted from curiosity to incredulity. “Are you mad? Do you realize where you’re going?” Victor shook his head and rested it in his palm, groaning in frustration. “I mean, this isn’t exactly a land filled with singing birds and dancing bunnies,you know. This is a world filled with chaos and destruction. do you honestly thi—”

His tirade was cut short when Rainbow Dash flew up to his face and angrily shouted, “Listen here, buddy! You’re telling us that you need the strongest ponies to help you out. So here we are, telling you that we’re ready to help, and yet you doubt us? Either you can take our help, or you can get out of Equestria, and go back to wherever the hay you came from!” Her wings flapped furiously as she tried to contain herself.

Feeling an impending sense of idiocy, Victor slumped and let out a sigh. What am I doing? He thought to himself, I should be glad I even have six allies in this mess. He took a look at Twilight and said, “I apologize for that, I’ve just been a little on edge since this whole mess started. So all of you will help, eh? Better than nothing. Of course, the question is, how powerful are you?”

“We can be pretty, super-duper powerful, Victor!” Pinkie Pie chimed in, “You’ve got the fastest, strongest, kindest, smartest, neatiest, and partyingist ponies you could ever need!”

Pinkie Pie grinned an oddly stupid grin, which unexpectedly made Victor start to giggle. Even in times of chaos, this one can make me laugh, he thought as he took a look at the ponies around the room. “Well,” he casually began, “let’s just hope that kind, neat, and partying ponies will do the trick. When do we start?”

Twilight turned to Spike and asked, “Do you still have any quills or paper on you?”

Spike reached into what could vaguely be called his pockets and pulled out a special paper, a quill, and some ink. “I’m always ready to write whenever, Twilight!”

“Good,” Twilight began, “Take a note, please... to the princess.”

**********

Up in the mountains beyond Ponyville laid the city known as Canterlot, which played host to unicorns. The town appeared to be quite literally embedded in the mountains, as a series of spires and towers seemed to sprout from its rocky slope. Once a visitor crossed the moat into the city, they were greeted with exquisite architecture from every angle, a decent balance of astrological themed buildings combined with a respect for nature. From the most elegant of music shops to the simplest of donut shops, no expense was wasted in giving Canterlot its exemplary status.

The elegance of the city was made to suit the very reason Canterlot thrived as it did. It was the home of Princess Celestia. Her castle was as immeasurable as it was astonishing. Its exterior was lavishly decorated with many pillars and structures, etched with many ponies from even the oldest collection of mythology. The interior of the castle was just as beautiful, various arcs guided ponies along corridor after corridor, working through the entire castle. A set of stairs led to the upper level of the castle, the residence of Princess Celestia.

The princess walked through her chambers as she discussed her plans with the leader of the Royal Guard. “I presume the preparations are well under way, General?” she said to the guard on her left.

Walking with the princess was General Cruiser, a dark-grey unicorn with brown eyes and a white mane. “Indeed, Princess,” the guard confirmed. “Preparations across Equestria are proceeding as planned.” He took a moment to shoot a cold glance at a group of ponies that stared at the scar on his right foreleg.

“Are there any issues to report?”

“There have been minor requests from Appleloosa for more rain to help their new apple crops grow. Seems the rainfall has been steadily decreasing for the past to months.”

“Has this concern been addressed?” the Princess inquired as they continued their walk, skimming various bills and approval forms that were given to her.

“Swiftly and efficiently,” he briskly replied, “Fillydelphia has been reporting an excess amount of rain flooding some of their streets. It was as simple as redirecting a portion of the rainclouds to the desert.”

Celestia glanced at Cruiser, “Good, very good. Now, how are things looking around Canterlot?” she asked as she took a look out the stained glass window on her right, observing her subjects in the city streets below.

“All events are being prepared as scheduled. No reports of any inadequacies.”

“Excellent,”

They approached the door to the princess’ room, where a pegasus pony stood diligently as it guarded the entrance. “I have some important matters to attend to, General,” the alicorn said as she turned to Cruiser, “we’ll continue this discussion later.”

Cruiser bowed his head and said, “It’s always a pleasure, your highness.”

Princess Celestia flashed an approving smile as she nodded to the other stationed guard, which the pegasus returned the acknowledgement. She walked into her room, letting the door quietly shut behind her.

Cruiser turned around, returning to his emotionless demeanor. As he started to walk away, he heard his subordinate chatter, “The Princess is sure on top of things, isn’t she?”

The unicorn glanced over his shoulder, turning his attention towards the additional guard.

Standing on the right side of the door was Captain Aeriel Ace, a white, pegasus pony with a blue mane and blue eyes. Like the general, every guard was decorated in golden tinted armor, covering their back and chest, attached by a blue saddle. On the very front of the armor was a blue, five pointed star. Along with this, all guards were given a golden helmet with a different colored frill of hair, blue for the pegasi, white for the unicorns, and orange for the earth ponies.

“Would you expect anything less?” Cruiser mechanically spat out in response.

Ace slightly shifted. “No, sir, just observing out how efficiently she performs her daily tasks.”

“Well, Captain, the next time I need your observations, I’ll let you know.”

“... Noted, sir.”

The General proceeded down the hall, but stopped. He turned around and looked at the door, noticing a blatantly obvious problem. “Where’s the major?” he demanded. “It’s not like him to miss his post.”

Ace informed, “He sent a message that he accidentally crossed a patch of Poison Joke while taking the new recruits on patrol. He’s physically unable to make it in today, but a specialist was called in to prepare a remedy. He should be back in top condition tomorrow.”

“I always tell that colt to avoid those trails,”the stallion muttered to himself. “He should be lucky he didn’t endanger his platoon. If that’s the case, who has been assigned to this post? By the looks of it, they’re late... they’d better hope I don’t see them.”

Ace looked over Cruiser’s shoulder. “Well, sir, your answer is racing down the hall right now.”

Cruiser looked back and saw a black pegasus pony fly around the corner and approach the door at high speed. She made a hard stop and landed right before the two guards.

Despite her being out of breath, The black pegasus tried to keep an adept demeanor as she approached the guards. Her eyes flickered with panic as she recognized the commanding officer before her, which the general immediately noticed.“Please excuse me, sirs, I have an important message for the princess.”

Cruiser took note of the disheveled black mane which blocked part of her yellow eyes. “Name and rank, soldier,” he said to the antsy pegasus.

“Second Lieutenant Burst Shine, sir.”

“Well, Second Lieutenant, I shall be the judge of what is and isn’t important. Considering you’re late to guard the princess’ royal chambers, this had better be good. Now out with it, what do you have to report?”

Burst Shine swallowed the lump in her throat, but responded, “There have been reports of unusual activity in Froggy Bottom Bog, sir.”

“Reports of... unusual activity?” Cruiser nearly grimaced at his subordinate’s words. “Tell me something, Second Lieutenant, when was the last time there was any normal activity occurring in that cesspool?”

“Sir?”

He let out a disgruntled sigh and continued, “Froggy Bottom Bog has fluctuating activity almost every week. You might want to clarify as to what is so unusual, and be adamant about it.”

“Well, sir, there’s... well...” She started looking around the floor , as if searching for an answer.

“Eyes front when speaking to a superior officer, Lieutenant!” Cruiser snapped at the flaking pegasus before him.

She hastily barked out, “There are no specific reports as to what is occurring in Froggy Bottom Bog, sir! Just a few notices that have gathered after a week’s time.”

The dark-grey unicorn’s brow furrowed, “You mean to tell me that you felt you were authorized to barge into the Princess’ private quarters and relay meaningless gossip to her?”

The black pegasus slightly lowered her head and defended, “It’s not that, sir! it’s just...” she couldn’t help but feel herself slightly quiver in front of the general.

The general closed his eyes and shook his head, tutting the sad display of weakness in front of him. “A few words, and you’re already starting to crack. How in Equestria did you manage to become a Second Lieutenant, let alone get enlisted into the guard?”

Burst Shine sat there in silence, unable to utter a word under the weight of her humiliation.

"I’m requesting you for an evaluation, the psych ward will judge whether or not you’re fit for duty.”

She snapped out of her frozen state and protested, “But... sir! I-”

“Until then,” he interrupted, “attend your post and await further orders. Maybe you can be capable of standing in front of a door.”

Burst let out a stifled plea, “I know I can do this, sir!”

“That. Is. An order! To your post... private.”

The defeated pegasus meekly reply, “Yes, sir.” She walked to the left side of the door, ears folded back as she bit her lower lip.

Cruiser shook his head and walked off, a scowl growing on his face. “Fillies these days,” he murmured. “Not a single clue as to how the world works.”

Aerial Ace wisely judged that it wasn’t his place to intervene at any time, so after observing the altercation, he reflected on the matter. Threatening her rank for not knowing what the problem was? That’s cold, General, even for you. He shifted his gaze towards the Burst. “Hey, try not to let what he says get to you,” he consoled, “The general can be a real hardflanksometimes. Just... well,” Ace scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to say. “Try to show some backbone next time, he hates weakness in guards.” His words were met with a half-hearted glance from the mare, who then returned to facing the halls. The poor mare is probably in the pits right now, and I just made it worse, didn’t I? Horseapples.

**********

“My, what a ruckus out there,” Princess Celestia remarked. “At least it’s quieting down. Now, where was I?” The Princess returned to the many scrolls and propositions that needed her approval. She often completed her tasks within her room, as it was the one place that could truly put her at ease. Its walls were a light shade of purple, with a cloud and shooting star design stretching across the room. Complimented with the thistle colored floor, elegant fireplace, and padded mat she had placed in the middle, it had quite a relaxing setting.

Hmmm, this can’t be right, the princess eventually thought to herself, shortly after looking over another scroll, Did I... look through everything already? There’s usually a mountain of approval forms waiting for me when the Celebration is this close. “Well, maybe I should get a jump on tomorrow’s objectives,” she said with a hint of glee. “Who knows, I could actually have time for myself on the day of the celebration!” She giggled at the thought of such a proposition.

As the princess began to take a look at tomorrow’s agenda, she noticed a trail of smoke trickling its way into her room. The smoke flew before her face and curled up into a ball , transforming into a scroll. It was wrapped in a red band and closed shut with a golden seal of a horseshoe. Celestia’s horn glowed as she picked up and opened the scroll. “Another letter from Twilight. Let’s see what she has to say this time.” As Twilight stayed in Ponyville, the only way she could send letters to the princess was to set them on fire. Unlike any other sort of paper, these scrolls were enchanted with a special kind of magic that would instantly send letters to Princess Celestia once ignited.

These letters to the princess would usually contain a message of what Twilight and her friends have learned about friendship. However, today’s letter was of a dark and important matter. As Celestia read on, her mood shifted from pleasant to troubled.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I wish I could be writing this letter under better circumstances. However, time is short, and we can’t cut corners. Last night, I had a dream, and it involved this world called “Earth” and it had a city called London. The creatures of this world are called humans, and they act very similar to us. One particular group of humans were involved with making this sub-species called “super-soldiers”. However, something went terribly wrong, and the humans were being attacked and devoured by these soldiers. One particular human named Victor had been escorted towards a portal device and jumped through it in order to search for help.

I had merely passed this off as a bad dream. Maybe the result of one too many late night reading sessions, I thought. However, recent incidents incline me to believe otherwise. Fluttershy had found a mysterious creature lying unconscious on a trail near her cottage, and it looked exactly like Victor! Not only that, but he recalled living through the same situation that played out in my dream. This leads me to conclude that my dream was not just a dream, but a vision. At this very moment, Victor has asked us to gather any help we can find to defeat these soldiers.

Now, a plan has recently come to light that seems to work best for everypony. With your permission, I humbly request that my friends and I go to London and take care of the problem in your stead. We have assessed the dangers in the human’s world, and considering how we’ve dealt with other threats in Ponyville, we feel we’re prepared for this. It’s unknown how long a task like this will take, but if it takes months to save an alternate world, then so be it. We will await your timely response.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

P.S. Pinkie Pie says hi

Upon reading the letter, Celestia muttered to herself, “A parallel world... full of ravenous, blood-thirsty creatures? Twilight Sparkle, what are you thinking?” She sat and stared at the scroll, contemplating how to approach such a request.

**********

Meanwhile, in Fluttershy’s cottage, a war of logic took place. “So what you’re trying to tell me,” a baffled Victor began, “is that even though Spike clearly set that scroll on fire, turning it into an illegible pile of ash, your princess is reading that same letter at this precise moment?”

A mentally exhausted Twilight retorted, “Yes, Victor! It’s magic, that’s all there is to it! I can’t explain it any clearer than I already have.”

The scientist looked to his right and shook his head. “If that’s true, how long do we have to wait to hear a response?”

“Shouldn’t be too long,” Spike piped up. “You’ll know when you see it.”

“In the meantime,” said Rarity, “I am slightly intrigued as to how your world works, Victor. You seem so familiar with ponies, animals, houses, and all sorts of objects in our world.”

Twilight put her hoof to her chin and added, “I... guess this would be a valuable opportunity to learn about your species, at least until the princess gets back to us.” I’ll admit, even I am dying to know more about this London place.

Rainbow Dash murmured, “Here we go...” rolling her eyes as she waited for Twilight to indulge her curiosity.

Spike piped up, “Yeah, and you can tell me more about those birds and bees or whatever that's all about.”

Pinkie Pie cut in, “Birds and bees? Are they different in London?”

The baby dragon shook his head, “No, Pinkie, it's a me... meta...”

“Metaphor,” Victor assisted.

“Yeah, that. Humans in London use that in order to explain where babies come from.”

Everypony froze.

“Uh... what was that last part, Spike?” Applejack said as a nervous expression spread onto her face.

“You know, where babies come from. I asked Twilight about it once, and she just said that I should 'wait until I'm older' before I know about that,” he said while crossing his arms in contempt. “So Victor here was telling me all about it.”

Victor noticed everypony staring at him, to which he replied with a nonchalant, “What?”

Rainbow Dash flew to Victor and sat next to him, saying, “We've kinda got a lot on our plate as it is, and we really don't need to pile on something like this.”

“Exactly,” said an uncomfortable Rarity, “we really... really don't need that right now.”

The purple dragon threw his arms in the air, “Oh, come on, what’s the harm in just telling me?”

“Y-you see, Spike,” A flustered Fluttershy explained, “Um... you r-really shouldn’t find out wh... wh... things like that until y-you’re older.” Her cheeks reddened as the conversation dragged on.

“Yes, Spike,” an agitated Twilight said, “It would be better if we told you when... you’re... older.” Her deathly glare shot daggers into Victor.

The scientist was quick to defend himself. “Oy, don’t blame me!” he replied. “All of you were off yakking your gobs for so long, so Spike and I had a nice chat. Eventually he starts to wonder where babies come from, and I figured, who better to explain conception than a biologist?”

Applejack scratched her head, “Con-what now?”

Twilight looked at the orange pony and raised her eyebrows twice.

“Oh, right.”

Rainbow Dash hovered off of the bed, saying, “Ugh, why are we even talking about this?!”

“Well, duh!” Pinkie Pie said, while bouncing up to Rainbow’s altitude, “We’re waiting fo—”

Suddenly, Spike began to gag. Shortly after, he belched a stream of green fire which turned into a scroll.

Victor nearly fell out of his bed. He managed to stammer, “W-w-what was that?”

“Aw, it was nothin’, jus’ Spike gittin’ a letter from the Princess,” said Applejack, amused at the spectacle before her.

The scientist cleared his throat in embarrassment. “So,” he began, “does this sort of thing happen very often? I can’t imagine it being very good on the body.”

Twilight levitated the scroll in the air and said, “To answer your first question, this only happens every once in a while. The princess doesn’t generally send me too many messages unless it’s important. Secondly, dragons are fireproof on the inside, and he has never mentioned a letter hurting him. Unless, of course, the princess sends a lot of letters at once... hoo boy, I remember how that turned out.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me, Twilight,” Spike said, gripping his stomach. “Even thinking about it makes my stomach turn inside out,” he said while sticking out his tongue.

“So this is how you talk to your princess?” Victor said as he scratched his chin. “You just throw letters into a fire and they appear on the other end?”

“Well,” Twilight began with a smile, “This is what happens when you’re the princess’ personal protege.”

“So, your princess burns letters and sends them to you?”

Twilight nodded her head. “See, Victor? It’s simple to understand.”

“Does this mean your princess breathes fire?”

“Yes, she— Wait... what? No. She just puts the letters into the fireplace in her room.”

“Ah, alright.”

Spike began to open the scroll before them and read the princess’ decree out loud.

My faithful student, Twilight,

I must say that reading a letter such as yours in the midst of this week’s preparations is rather... unsettling. The very notion that such a world exists puts me ill at ease. On top of that, you and your friends wish to travel to such a world and help end its problem yourselves? You sure know how to worry an old mare, my student.

However, I admit that your points aren’t ill contrived. You and your friends have skillfully mastered the magic of friendship, and proven yourselves in situations of great peril. While I still have my concerns about your destination, I have the utmost faith in you, Twilight Sparkle. I give you and your friends my blessing to go to London and ease its pain.

Granted, I’m hoping you hadn’t planned on entering such a world empty-hoofed. I shall be sending you the Elements of Harmony. Entering such a hostile world means you should be prepared for anything and everything, so a little bit of extra help shouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, I can’t risk sending them with this scroll, Spike might not be able to handle so many powerful objects passing through his system at once. I’ve sent for the fastest mailpony in the service to get the elements to you as soon as possible, but even so, it may take upwards of an hour for them to reach you.

In the meantime, I suggest you and your friends take this time to prepare yourselves. Take anything you deem necessary for this trip, you may very well need it. May the winds of fortune guide you, my student. Above all else, stay safe. You are irreplaceable.

Your mentor,

Princess Celestia

“That settles it,” said a stern Rarity, “we’re going to London.”

Twilight turned to Applejack, who appeared a little more than displeased with the results, and said, “You’re still with us, right, Applejack?”

The orange mare looked at her friend and gave a confident nod. “If we’re gonna do this, then let’s do it,” she said as she walked towards the door.

“Applejack, wait!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “We still need the Elements of Harmony!”

“Ah know that,” Applejack sharply replied. “Y’all heard the princess, we’re gonna need supplies an whatnot... A-ah’ll be back in an hour.” Not waiting for any further protests, Applejack let herself out.

Twilight asked, “Is she really going to be okay?”

Rainbow Dash took a look out the door, then turned back to Twilight. “I’ll go talk to her. My house is in the same direction, anyways,” she said as she took off.

“So,” Victor broke in, “is anyone going to tell me what these ‘Elements of Harmony’ do?”

Twilight’s eyes shot open. “Oh, right,” she said with a sheepish grin, “it’s a bit of a lengthy explanation. The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful objects in our universe. They can seal evil entities away and bring peace to everypony. As my friends and I have recently discovered, each of us represents a different element.” Twilight began to pace around the room as she explained, “Rarity represents the element of generosity, Pinkie Pie represents the element of laughter, Fluttershy represents the element of kindness, Applejack represents the element of honesty, Rainbow Dash represents the element of loyalty, and I represent the element of magic. When all of us are together, the power of the elements are harnessed in order to defeat whoever wishes harm onto ponies.”

Victor played with the idea in his head. “They can defeat anypo— anyone?”

“There hasn’t been a creature left standing once we’ve used them.”

Victor rubbed his hands together. “Well,” he began, “I’d say my coming here was the best bout of dumb luck ever.” A smile grew on his face, only to fade into a melancholy look. “And we have to wait a whole, bloody hour for these to arrive?” Victor asked.

Everypony nodded.

“I’m sorry, Victor,” Twilight cooed, “just please be patient. Once the elements arrive, we can help.”

Victor gave a fake chuckle. “Okay then, I guess we’ll have to wait an hour while more of my friends get gutted and eaten back on earth.” The ponies looked away from the scientist. He let out a sigh and said, “I’m sorry, I know you’re doing what you can. It’s just... every minute that passes is another minute where someone is dying in my world. I just don’t want to go back to London and find out that everyone’s dead when I know I could’ve prevented it.”

Fluttershy hovered right next to Victor, rubbing his back, and said, “Please don’t worry, Victor. Um... if it makes any difference, I’d say you’re doing more than anypony back in London could,” she said while offering a comforting smile.

He let out a deep sigh and said, “You know, I’m tired of sitting around. I think my head’s feeling better.” With Fluttershy ready to help, Victor slowly but surely lifted himself from the bed and tried to keep his balance. He took three steps before he began to wobble, but quickly regained his posture. As soon as he could jump without any significant pain, the scientist questioned, “So, what happens now?”

Twilight looked back at her friends. “Well, we have time until the elements arrive, so we should go get our supplies as well. Who knows how long we’ll be in London.”

Rarity and Pinkie Pie gave a simultaneous, “Alright,” and both headed off to their respective houses.

Fluttershy looked at Twilight, “I need to get ready, but, um... who would help care for the animals while we’re gone?”

Twilight shuffled a hoof on the floor before a smile lit up on her face. She began, “Don’t worry, I know the perfect pony for the job. If I’m lucky, they’ll be here before I get back. Come on, Spike, we don’t have any time to lose.” The baby dragon hopped onto Twilight’s back and they made their way back to the library.

Victor turned to Fluttershy and said, “I guess that just leaves you and me.”

Fluttershy hovered in the air and said, “Well, I can get you something to drink while you wait here, that is... um... if you don’t mind.”

He crossed his arms, “Depends, what do you have to drink?”

Fluttershy put her hoof to her chin, “I... can get you milk, water, tea, ju--”

“Wait,” Victor interrupted, “you have... tea?” Fluttershy gave a nod. He let out a sigh of relief. “After the day I’ve had, tea would be lovely.”

Chapter 4: The Departure

Applejack galloped towards her home as a million thoughts crossed her mind. I have so much to do, so much to say, she thought to herself, and I ain’t got no time to get it done! She was so focused on getting to her destination, she could barely hear Rainbow Dash flying behind her.

“Hey, Applejack!” The blue pegasus cried, “Hold on a second!” Her request went unheard as the orange mare continued to gallop at a high speed. “C’mon, Applejack,” she said to herself, “It’s not that hard to hear me. I’m yelling pretty loud, aren’t I?” Rainbow increased her speed so she could overtake Applejack with ease. Once her friend was fully aware of Rainbow Dash’s presence, she slowed for a second, but quickly resumed galloping.

I don’t need distractions right now, Rainbow, Applejack thought, as she tried to block the pegasus out of her mind.

Rainbow felt slightly insulted at Applejack’s dismissal. She flew right next to Applejack, yelling into her ear, “Equestria to AJ! Come in AJ... That means you, Applejack!!!”

She tilted her head down and continued running, even quickening her pace in an effort to avoid any conversation.

The pegasus pony was in utter disbelief at her friend’s behavior. However, she got an idea. Rainbow yelled at Applejack, “If that’s how it’s going to be, then fine!” and took to the sky.

Shortly after Rainbow Dash left, Applejack took a look around her, noticing her friend was nowhere to be seen. She brought herself to a stop, taking a moment to catch her breath. “Ahm sorry, Rainbow,” she said to herself, “but this ain’t the best time.” She resumed trotting towards her home. It wasn’t long until she heard a faint voice on her left.

“Hey, Applejack!”

Applejack shot a glance to the left, expecting to see her friend, but nothing was there. Her immediate confusion brought her to a stop. I... I could’a sworn I hear— Suddenly, Rainbow Dash tackled her from the right, causing the two ponies to bounce and roll on the ground until they landed in a nearby pond.

Both ponies sat up, coughing and spitting out water. Applejack yelled, “Rainbow Dash! Whaddja do that for?!”

“What did I do that for? What about you?!” Rainbow accused, forelegs stretched in the air. “I’ve been trying to get your attention this whole time, yet you’ve been ignoring me. What gives, Applejack?”

The earth pony made her way back on land, shaking off the excess water in her mane and tail, and put her hat back on. “In case y’all weren’t listenin’ back there, we’re gonna be gone fer a while, and we ain’t got much time in Ponyville before headin’ out.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Rainbow Dash replied, “and I also got the part where you were so against this idea.”

Applejack sighed as she rolled her eyes, “RD, ah got some business that needs ‘tendin’ to, and you ain’t helpin’ none. Now leave me be.”

“Don’t just play this off like nothing is wrong, Applejack!” Rainbow angrily said, “What’s this all about?”

“Ah don’t see how that’s any o’ yer business.”

Rainbow let out a disgruntled groan and said, “Seriously, Applejack! Here I am, trying my best to help you, but you’re just telling me to buzz off!”

“Listen, Dash,” Applejack began, “ah know what’cher tryin’ to do, but ahll say it again. Ah ain’t got no time to talk.” Applejack started to trot off, but not before she was cut off when Rainbow Dash ran in front of her.

“Well, you gotta make time, Applejack!” Rainbow exclaimed, “You’re obviously not okay with all of this, so spill!”

Applejack took a good look at Rainbow. Neither one dropped their gaze, as if their intensities locked them in place. After a few seconds, Applejack looked to the floor and shook her head. “No,” she began, “y’all wouldn’t understand.” She walked past a frustrated Rainbow Dash and kept on her trail.

“Then help me understand, Applejack... please.”

At first, Applejack was ready to keep walking, but something about Rainbow’s question made her slowly come to a stop. Applejack had never heard the pegasus pony ask for something in this manner, making her think twice about her actions. What am I doing? Won’t be helping nopony if I’m all shelled up like this. She gazed at the sky for a bit, sighed, and looked over her shoulder. “Walk with me,” was all she said.

Rainbow caught up with Applejack, as the two of them walked along the path. She expected to immediately talk about what Applejack had on her mind, but the earth pony kept silent. As much as she wanted to spur the conversation on, the blue pegasus was afraid of completely deterring her friend from speaking her mind.

“Ya know,” Applejack eventually began, “ah don’t mean to put on the cold shoulder or nothin’. It’s just... mah family is still here on the farm, an’ they depend on me. What if they need me while ahm gone? Ah don’t think ah could take it if somethin’ bad were to happen when ah could’a been here ta prevent it.” Applejack’s head hung low once more. She slowed as her woes held a firm grip on her pace.

Rainbow extended a wing over Applejack’s back. “I know you’re a hard worker and all, AJ, but you really need to understand that the Apple family doesn’t depend solely on you to function. You’re one of many ponies who contribute towards your family business. Sure, you’ve all got your specialties, but one pony can’t run a farm. They’ll be fine, trust me.”

Applejack gave a small smile. However, her happiness was short-lived, quickly replaced by another issue. “But, there’s still Granny Smith ah gotta worry ‘bout. She’s gettin’ on up there in her years, and...”

“C’mon now, you know something like that isn’t in your control, Applejack.”

“Yeah, but ah don’t wanna regret not bein’ there f’r her.”

When another bout of silence took place, Rainbow took this as her opportunity. “You know, Applejack, you seem really concerned about what may or may not happen. If you don’t want regrets, then I say you just do what you gotta do and say what you gotta say before we leave. Then at least you can go to London, with everything off your chest. I’m pretty sure everypony else is going to do the same thing.” Much to her relief, Applejack’s smile returned once more, and she picked herself up and out of her slump.

“Alright, Rainbow. It’ll be hard... but it’s better than doin’ nothin’.” Applejack turned her head up and looked at her pegasus companion, “Ah guess ah really did need somepony to talk to.”

“Aww, it’s no prob, AJ, I’ll always be there for my friends.”

“It’s a bit funny, though,” the orange mare pointed out, “ah would’a expected this kinda pep talk from Twilight or Rarity, maybe even Fluttershy, but not you.” She gave her friend a light nudge on the shoulder, “Guess ah still got a thing ‘r two to learn about’cha.”

Rainbow chuckled lightly, “Yeah, I guess being the element of loyalty comes with it,” she said as she gave a sheepish grin. “I never thought I was any good with these psychology horseapples.” They both shared a good laugh.

The two ponies had been locked in their discussion for so long, neither one of them noticed the farm coming into view before them.

“Well,” Rainbow Dash began,” I guess I better go to my place. I’ll see ya later, Applejack... and... I hope you feel better.” She hugged her friend before flying off.

“Bye, Rainbow!” Applejack said as she waved goodbye. Feeling a new sense of determination, Applejack headed to her family’s farm, Sweet Apple Acres. It was the typical sort of farm that anypony would see in a filly’s storybook. A classical, red colored barn with vines hugging each wall, coupled with two fields of vegetables on the right. To the left of the farm, there was a chicken coop and various sheds which held many supplies needed for any odd jobs on the establishment. Beyond the farm lay acres upon acres of apple trees, showing off a luscious collection of red and green apples throughout. The Apple family had owned the spot of land for several generations now, and the orange mare was next in line to inherit the business. She learned this fact at a young age, earning her a cutie mark in the form of three red apples. Applejack trotted towards the farm, heading under an awning decorated with shrubbery and the family’s staple crop, and past a well and various bales of hay scattered about.

As she walked, she came across different members of the Apple Family. Oh, that’s right. The Apple Family Reunion is comin’ up... I hope I’ll be back for it. As she walked, she greeted the many different relatives that were busy getting themselves settled. The farm pony moved through the land until she noticed the owners of Sugarcube Corner, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. “Howdy, y’all!” she called out to the couple.

Mrs. Cake turned to see the orange mare approaching. “Oh, hello there, Applejack,” the pudgy, blue mare delightfully greeted.

Mr. Cake piped up, “I didn’t think we’d be seeing you here. Is the party going smoothly?”

“It’s goin’ better than Big Macintosh’s harvest on a good day. Nothin’ to worry ‘bout a’tall,” Applejack reassured. Suddenly, Applejack’s face snapped into confusion. “Hold on a second. Are yer youngun’s somewhere ‘round here?”

“No need to worry, Applejack. Miss Cheerilee offered to watch over the kids while we gathered our ingredients,” Mrs. Cake replied.

“Y’all aren’t still waitin’ on yer batch’a apples, are ya?”

“Oh, no no no. We already got those, Applejack,” the slender, yellow colt said as he shook his head. “Your family looked like they needed some extra help, so we decided to help them stock the inventory.”

“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya!”

All three of the ponies shared a smile, until Applejack realized what she was doing. I ain’t got no time for small talk, I need to hurry! “Ahm mighty sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Cake,” Applejack apologized, “but ah gotta skedaddle, ah’ll be sure to talk to y’all later!” I hope...

“Wait, Applejack!” Mrs. Cake objected, “Before you go, we have something we’d like you to give Pinkie Pie.” She reached into a sack on her left and pulled out a plastic bag. “Pinkie Pie mentioned she’d be needing streamers for another one of her parties, so we thought we’d go get her a bundle from the gift shop. Would it be too much trouble for you to give these to her?”

“Uh... a-alright,” Applejack stammered, her mind too preoccupied with getting to her home. “Ah’ll be sure to do that.” She grabbed the bag with her mouth, and gave the Cakes a parting nod before trotting off. She moved past the barn and made her way towards her house, taking the time to appreciate where she had been born and raised. She loved everything about it: from the yellow, tiled walls, to the rickety, wooden porch out front. She walked up the steps and towards the screen door. When she opened it, she was welcomed with the smell of fresh, home-made cooking. She always looked forward to this scent after a long day’s work. It seemed to be the perfect way to wind down. I’m gonna miss all this. As she walked into the house, she heard a rapid succession of footsteps rounding the corner.

It was Winona, Applejack’s pet dog, running to greet her master. She was a toffee-brown border collie with patches of white on her chest, tail, feet, and snout. A golden dog tag clinked as it flailed about on her red collar. The dog immediately started jumping around Applejack, excited to see the earth pony again.

“C’mon now, Winona, easy!” Applejack lovingly commanded, as she tried to fend off her dog’s affection. Once Winona had calmed down, Applejack gently petted her head.

The farm pony made her way up the stairs, Winona following close behind, as she made her way to the bedroom. Before she reached her door, she noticed the closet door to the left was open. She peered in to see her older brother, Big Macintosh, grabbing a set of bags and hoisting them onto his back. Big Macintosh - or Big Mac, as some preferred to call him - was a tall, red earth pony with a cutie mark in the shape of half a green apple. As he picked up more bags, some fell on his head, bringing a patch of dust down with it. He shook it out of of his long, orange mane.

Applejack took another step and a board creaked, perking up Big Mac’s ears. He turned around and his green eyes locked onto his sister standing in the doorway. “Well, howdy, sis. Ya work so hard in the field last week, and ya spend yer day off back here?” he scoffed with a smug grin on his face.

“Ah know, ah know, Big Macintosh. Ah just came here ta get a few things.” She left her brother to his work and entered her room. Its turquoise-colored walls matched the carpeted, green floor. Not quite spacious, but she never asked for much. She walked over to her bed, white covers sloppily thrown on, and lifted her pillow. She grabbed a faded picture of her family, something she hoped would motivate her on the perilous journey ahead of her. It was a taken in her fillyhood, when she had earned her Cutie Mark. She reminisced over that time, remembering how her brother was so scrawny back then, her grandmother had a bit more of a spring in her step, and before her sister had even been born. There were two other ponies in the background, but they had been ripped out of the picture. These ponies were her parents, whom she very rarely saw due to the work they did around Equestria. She couldn’t remember why she ripped them out of the picture. It must’ve been out of anger, when she was too young to understand how hard they worked. During all of her nostalgia, she hadn’t noticed the red colt walk into the room and peer over her shoulder.

“Goin’ somewhere, sis?”

Applejack jumped and spun around. “Big Mac, ya startled me!”

“Sorry, AJ, but really, why do ya have the picture? Ya only get that photo when yer headin’ off somewhere,” he said, quizzically staring at her.

Try as she might, she couldn’t possibly lie to her brother... but she could try to spare him of some details. “Ya see, Big Macintosh,” she began, “There’s this predicament that the princess wants us to solve, and we gotta go help some folk in a far away place.”

Big Mac looked confused. “Ya mean... like the time y’all fought that dragon?”

“Somethin’ like that, but that’s why ahm home. We’re gunna need some supplies fer the trip.”

“Want me ta help ya pack, sis?”

“Nah, it’s fine, ah can do it.” Applejack turned around and looked through cabinets and put anything she’d need in a satchel. “By the way,” she continued without turning around, “where are Granny Smith and Applebloom? Ah got some things ah need ta say to ‘em.”

Big Mac leaned against the door. “Sorry, sis, but Granny Smith is off in the Town Square running errands, and Applebloom is off with her friends.”

Applejack dropped the few objects she was holding. Those words made her heart sink. I... can’t see them before I go? Can’t tell them that I love them? Are they just gonna think I walked out on them? Applejack gritted her teeth, as her lips started to quiver. She could feel a lump in her throat and her eyes misting over, but would have none of it. “Not now, consarn it, not now!” she whispered to herself. She managed to suck up her tears and keep herself steady. She asked over her shoulder, “Then... can ya leave a message fer them?”

“... Like what?”

“Oh, well... jus’... tell ‘em that ah’ll be back soon, and not to worry ‘bout me... and that ah love ‘em,” Applejack blankly told her brother.

The red stallion’s look changed to concern, “Ya sound like we ain’t gonna see you again, AJ. How long will ya be gone?”

She could feel her grief returning again, but quickly shut it out. “Ah don’t know, Big Mac... but, a-ah jus’ don’t wanna leave without sayin’ goodbye to everypony. Heh, guess ah can’t even do that, huh?” she said with a shaky smile.

“This is soundin’ more and more like it’s not just ‘some predicament’. What sorta predicament is this?”

Acting completely unfased, Applejack coldly said, “It ain’t mah place ta say.”

Big Macintosh sighed and shook his head, “Sis, ah hate seein’ ya like this. If ya really wanna talk to the two of ‘em, then can’t ya jus’ wait here? Ahm pretty su—”

“That’s just it, Big Macintosh,” Applejack said, half-heartedly looking for valuable possessions to bring for the trip, “we ain’t got much time to git ready fer this trip. Folks are in a heap’a trouble, and ah told mah friends ah’d only go if Princess Celestia said so.”

“Ah take it she did?”

Applejack nodded her head in response. Her back was still turned, but Big Mac wouldn’t sit idly by. He walked over to his sister and rubbed her back, freezing the mare in place. “Don’t worry, AJ. Ah’ll tell ‘em ya left on official business. Ah dunno what yer gonna be doin’ out there, but... don’t take too long, ‘kay? An’ keep yerself safe, ah don’t wanna be deliverin’ empty promises.”

Applejack sat there motionless until she turned around and gave her brother a hug. “Thank you, Big Macintosh... thank you...” The two siblings sat in a silent embrace. A lone tear squeezed its way out of Applejack’s eye, and traveled down her cheek. After stealthily wiping it away, Applejack pulled away from their embrace and said “Well, ah... ah gotta keep packin’.”

“Let me help ya, sis,” Big Macintosh said with a benevolent smile.

**********

Soon, the front door opened. Applejack stepped out, satchels filled with anything and everything she could potentially need. Both she and Big Mac moved to the edge of the porch. No words were shared as Applejack stared at the daunting steps before her.

She turned to face her brother, “Thanks fer talkin’ to me, Big Macintosh. It... kinda helped.”

“It was the least I could do, sis. Ah am family, after all.” The siblings shared one last hug before Applejack proceeded down the porch stairs. Before she could reach the lowest step, she heard Winona running towards her. Big Mac closed the screen door, leaving the dog inside. Winona barked and whimpered, trying frantically to go to her master.

With a comforting smile, Applejack said, “Ahll be back soon, Winona, don’cha worry! Jus’ make sure this big lug doesn’t do anythin’ stupid while ahm gone.” Big Mac just shook his head at her light-hearted joke. She took one more look at her brother, and said, with a confident smile, “Goodbye, and thanks fer everythin’... yer really the best brother ah could’a asked for. Ah love you, Big Macintosh.”

“Ah love you too, AJ.”

With that, she stepped off of the porch and headed towards the farm’s entrance. As she walked, Winona’s pleas grew quieter and quieter until they were inaudible. Once she made her way through the farm, she saw the trail back to Fluttershy’s cottage. She started to look over her shoulder, just to take one last look at her home. However, she stopped and refocused her attention on the road ahead. No, my friends need me now, she reflected as she began to gallop with a heavy heart and a firm resolve.

**********

Shortly after Rainbow Dash had finished consoling Applejack, she flew towards her home on the outskirts of Ponyville. Being a pegasus pony, she was granted with the ability to walk on clouds. Because of this, her home resided in the sky. It was quite elegant, considering her brass nature. It was completely comprised of clouds, measured at three stories high, and pillars reminiscent of the Roman era held the establishment together. Two rainbow-colored waterfalls flowed freely to the left and right of the house, complete with a rainbow shooting out of the roof. If the excessive amount of rainbows weren’t enough of a hint as to whose house it was, the engraved replica of Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark atop the door was enough of an indication.

The pegasus pony touched down and walked along the winding, blue pathway that led into her house. She walked up a flight of stairs to her room, colored with a light shade of blue, and illuminated with sunlight coming through the windows. She flopped herself onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. “What should I even bring for this?” she said to herself.

As the pegasus laid on her left side, she noticed the many awards she previously earned for her athletic feats. Her eyes traveled along the many commendations until her eyes fixed themselves on the poster she hung on her wall. It was a picture of her idols, the Wonderbolts. She had two chances in the past to impress them, one on the day she saved three of the Wonderbolts and Rarity from certain death, and another when she had an exclusive, albeit short, chance to talk to this group of ponies at the Grand Galloping Gala. Both instances never made much progress, but being one of the fastest flyers in Equestria was sure to get her noticed... someday. Her mind started to wander. She glanced down to her cutie mark, a cloud with a lightning bolt colored red, yellow, and blue, remembering how she earned it in one of her many races as a filly. When we get back, I’m trying out for the Wonderbolts. No more waiting around.

**********

Later, she flew outside of her home, looking through her bags once more. Man, this stuff is heavy, she thought, I hope I don’t need anything else.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” cried a voice from below.

Rainbow looked to the ground for the source, only to see an orange filly with a slightly spiked, pink-purple mane and tail looking eagerly in her direction. Hmm, didn’t think I’d see her before I left. She flew downwards and gently landed. “Hey, Pipsqueak, what’s up?”

The filly before her was none other than Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash’s first, if not biggest, fan. “Oh, I was just on my way to meet up with the other crusaders. Then I saw you flying by, and I wanted to ask you something.” Her purple eyes showed a cross of anticipation and excitement.

“I’m listening.”

“Well, I was thinking about going into flight school soon, and I was wondering...”

“Yeeeessss?”

Scootaloo gently scratched the floor before answering. “Do you think that you can teach me how to fly? I thought I could get a headstart on the other ponies.” She grew more and more bashful as she asked - what she felt was - so much of her idol.

Rainbow was taken aback. “You want... me to teach you?”

Scootaloo lightly nodded her head.

Rainbow placed a hoof on her chin as she looked elsewhere, getting lost in her thoughts. I’ve never given much thought to teaching anypony flying. It could be more annoying than fun. She looked back at Scootaloo, who still looked as humble as before. Then again, taking on an apprentice has its perks. Kinda like what Spike and Twilight have got going on. Having an assistant might not be so bad. She gave a smile and said, “Alright, Pipsqueak, I’ll teach you.”

Scootaloo’s face lit up. She said, “Yes!” as she jumped for joy-

“But...”

-and, just as quickly, flopped onto the floor. Scootaloo gave the rainbow pony a confused look. “But what, Rainbow Dash?”

“It’s gonna have to wait until I get back.”

“Get back from where?”

“See these?” the blue pegasus said while motioning to the saddlebags strapped onto her waist, “I’m on a top secret mission from the princess, herself! My friends and I got a letter not too long ago saying that there’s a land in need of our help.” She began to crawl on the floor, commando style, saying, “There’ll be tons of danger and misfortune; certain death is a given, but it’s nothing ol’ Rainbow Dash can’t handle!”

The prospect of her idol dying seemed to go in one ear and out the other, as Scootaloo’s eyes shined with astonishment. She awed, “Where are you being sent?”

“It’s... a faraway place. I can’t tell you much, other than the fact that the princess is sending us to go help hu— ponies in need. It’s top secret stuff, you know, like in books. I could tell ya, but then I’d have to kill ya.” Rainbow had started to smile nervously, unsure whether or not the little filly bought her story.

Scootaloo sat and blinked a few times, processing this new information. Shortly after, a smile grew on her face. “Alright, Rainbow Dash. If it’s a mission from the princess, then they made the right choice to bring you along! No way can anything hurt the future leader of the Wonderbolts!”

Rainbow gave a faulty chuckle, “Woah, Pipsqueak. I know I won the Best Young Flyer’s Competition, but... I don’t think I’m quite set to be their leader, yet.” Her retort was met with a perplexed look from Scootaloo. Rainbow thought about her answer for a moment, and hastily replied, “Ah, who am I kidding, I probably am good enough to be their leader. I’m sure they’ll be begging for me to join them before I even try out!” Both of the ponies shared a good laugh.

“This is going to be so awesome!” Scootaloo said as she pranced around Rainbow Dash. “I can’t wait until you get back! Then we can talk all about your mission, AND you can teach me how to fly!”

“Yep, it’s a promise, Pipsqueak! With me by your side, you’ll do fine going through Flight School.”

“I just hope I can be as good as you, Rainbow Dash. I bet you were the best flyer through all of your years in school.”

Rainbow’s face showed dismay for a split second, before being covered by her brass nature. “Y-yeah! I was the top of my class and everything! Nopony did better than me... nopony...” She couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth to the filly before her, it would have to be a story she’d share another day. “Well, I should really get going. I don’t want my friends to think I’m stalling or anything.”

“I’ll wait for you, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said as she sat on her haunches, and gave a salute with a smile.

Rainbow took a good look at the young filly. I remember when I used to be like that, those were good times. “I’ll see ya later, Pipsqueak.” She felt her heart tug, ever so slightly, begging her not to leave the filly alone. However, she ignored it and flew off.

Scootaloo was left there, waving goodbye to her idol. Once Rainbow was out of sight, she pranced around in excitement. “I’m gonna tell the crusaders all about thi—”

Her idol’s words echoed through her head, It’s top secret stuff.

“That’s right, I can’t tell anypony about this! It could be bad news for her.” She walked over to a scooter leaning against a nearby tree. Once the orange filly hopped onto it, she snapped on her white striped, purple helmet, and began to quickly flap her wings, giving her scooter momentum.

Not too long after Scootaloo gained speed, she brought herself to a stop. She took another good look at her scooter, noticing how badly it needed repair. It had seen better days, as evident by the scratched up, blue board and the worn and squeaky red wheels underneath. “If I’m trying to be an amazing flyer like Rainbow Dash,” she reasoned, “then maybe I shouldn’t be rolling around on wheels.” She got off of her scooter, leaving it to fall on its side in the middle of the dirt path, removed her helmet and placed it right next to the rejected object. She turned around, ignoring them, and prepped her young wings. She found herself only able to flutter a foot off the ground. The young flyer didn’t get too far before becoming exhausted. She ran back to the scooter and hopped on. “Maybe just one more time, at least until I meet up with the other crusaders.” With that said, Scootaloo scooted towards her next destination.

**********

Pinkie Pie was inside her room at Sugarcube Corner. Various party apparel flew to and fro as she continued her search. She giggled as she placed more items into her satchel. “Oh my gosh, this is going to be so exciting!” she chirped, speaking at the speed of a freight train. “We’re gonna go to a new world, and we’re gonna make new friends, and we’re gonna... do whatever else they do in London! This reminds me of the time I first met Twilight; when I went,” she paused as she let out a huge gasp, then continued, “and I thought, ‘Really, what can top that?’ Maybe this will be that top!” As the party pony continued to gather items, she happened to notice something move. It was green and crawled about on her floor. She trotted over to the spot and picked up a baby alligator. “Hey, Gummy! How’s the bestest, cutest, funnest gator doing today?” The alligator blinked his oblong, purple eyes in response.

She giggled and said, “Oh Gummy, you are so crazy!” She smiled as she looked at her pet, but her smile slowly faded as another thought came to mind. I’m not coming back for a while... am I? She pulled Gummy in for a hug, and said, “My friends and I have to leave really soon, Gummy.” She looked at Gummy once more, displaying bittersweet eyes and a reassuring smile. “We’re going to this place called London, and these things called humans need our help over there. I don’t know how long it’ll be, but I promise that I’ll come back as fast as I can. When I come back, we’ll have a ton of fun to make up for lost time! We’ll go to carnivals, go sightseeing around Equestria, maybe... Oh! We’ll go looking for the best cupcake and cookie recipes and throw a gigantic jamboree in celebration fo—”

Her rambling was cut short when Gummy licked Pinkie Pie’s cheek. The pink mare hadn’t noticed it at first, but she was crying this entire time. She wiped her tears away and stared at her little alligator, giving him a warm, comforting smile. “Thank you, Gummy,” she softly said as she nuzzled Gummy before setting him on the floor. She looked to her left at her bookcase, seeing pictures of her many adventures around Ponyville. Memories flashed through her mind, making her chuckle a bit. We’ve had so many good times together. I suppose it was pretty silly to think they wanted to stop being friends...

She took one look back at Gummy, who was preoccupied with a toy doll that fell on the floor. She left the door slightly ajar, saying, “Goodbye... Gummy.” As she made her way down the stairs, she dug through a cabinet and found a pencil and a piece of paper. She wrote out a note explaining her sudden absence to Mr. and Mrs. Cake, leaving it neatly folded and under the bell on the counter. Without wasting another moment, she hopped out of the building, and headed back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

*********

Rarity walked towards her home, her mind abuzz with ideas. I’ll need to bring something worthwhile. What would I bring? For that matter, what would I wear? Does it get hot or cold in London? I’d never expose one of my dresses to such an environment, I doubt one could even fit in my knapsack. I’ll bring my scarf, and this time I won’t forget the tiara. Maybe a pair of sunglasses to match, nothing too bulky, though. Oh, I just hope they don’t get dirty over there. Come to think of it, what about me? This beautiful mane can only look perfect for so long. Even more than that, what about the boutique? Who can I trust to watch the store in my absence? What do I do? Rarity was so caught up in her thoughts, that she bumped right into another pony in the market.

“Oh, my sincerest apo—”

“Hi, Rarity,” the mare interrupted in a friendly tone.

Rarity looked up to see Bon Bon standing before her, an earth pony with a light-yellow coat and a cutie mark resembling three pieces of candy. Her mane and tail were poofy bunches of dull-blue hair, with a fuchsia section streaming through both areas.

“Bon Bon! I’m so terribly sorry for bumping into you,” Rarity said.

“It’s no big deal, Rarity,” the light-yellow earth pony mentioned. “What brings you to these parts? Seemed like you’d be at Pinkie Pie’s party today.”

“Oh, I was but... uh... plans came up! Yes, that’s it!”

“Huh, okay then.” There was an awkward silence cast as the conversation screeched to a halt. “Well...” Bon Bon began, “I’ll see you later.”

The earth pony began trotting off when Rarity realized the solution to her problems. “Wait, Bon Bon! Can I speak with you for a moment?”

Bon Bon turned around with a puzzled look in her turquoise colored eyes. She asked, “What do you need?”

“You remember those plans I mentioned?”

“It’d be pretty hard to miss something you mentioned a few seconds ago.”

The white unicorn let out a nervous giggle as she said, “Yes, well, it’s just come to my attention that I need to head off on a... business trip of sorts. I could be gone for a quite a while, and I need somepony to watch Carousel Boutique while I’m gone. Would you, by any chance, be willing to run the store for me?”

“Oh... uh... I don’t know, Rarity. Are you sure I’m the best pony for the job?” Bon Bon said with a sheepish grin.

Rarity nodded her head. “Considering the circumstances, I’d say so. I was literally told I’d be leaving no more than fifteen minutes ago, and I only have an hour to prepare. I don’t have many other options. Besides, you have an interest in fashion, don’t you?”

“How do you know that?” Bon Bon asked, unaware of Rarity’s perception.

“Do you remember Fluttershy’s last show as a model?”

Bon Bon nodded.

“Well, I happened to spot you in the stands right before I defended Fluttershy’s... unique display. Not only that, but I’ve seen you look into the store on occasion. It seemed as if there was a sort of longing written on your face, yet you would always stop yourself from coming in. I just put two and two together, that’s all.” Rarity just smiled at an astonished Bon Bon as she finished her observation.

“You managed to figure out all of that?”

“My dear,” the observant pony began, “a fashionista would be useless without an eye for detail.”

Bon Bon scratched the floor a little, as she considered her offer. “Well,” she modestly said, “since you’re offering, I’ll do it. I happen to have some free time, so I don’t see why not.”

Rarity’s face lit up. “Oh, thank you so much! You don’t mind walking with me to the boutique, do you?”

The modest mare shook her head.

“Wonderful! While we’re at it, we can find you something to touch up that mane of yours. It’s becoming rather droopy, if you ask me.”

Bon Bon patted her dark-blue and fuchsia hair. “I suppose I could use something new.”

As they traveled to the boutique, Rarity tried to get Bon Bon up to speed for how to run the shop. When nearly everything had been covered, they had arrived at their destination. The boutique was quite an appetite for the eyes. It resembled a sort of carnival tent, with a pink canopy shading its blue walls. Extrinsic designs were plastered throughout, giving more of a taste to the exterior. Atop this was, true to its a name, a carousel with two pony figurines placed in. Rarity and Bon Bon walked up to the purple door, as Rarity continued her lesson. “Now, what’s the slogan for Carousel Boutique?”

Bon Bon cleared her throat. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chic, unique, and... magnifique?”

“Yes! Perfect! I think you’re going to do just fine, Bon Bon.” Rarity opened the door and let the earth pony inside. “I must say,” she commented, “you really know more about fashion than you let on. Why would you keep such knowledge under wraps?”

Bon Bon lowered her ears and had a look of shame on her face. “You see, some of the ponies I talk to act like anypony who’s into fashion is poofy or an airhead. If I told them... they might not even talk to me anymore.” She noticed Rarity shaking her head slightly, a mix between disappointment and understanding. “I know it sounds like something a schoolfilly would say, but they’re really good friends, and I don’t want to lose them.”

Rarity turned around and looked for her saddlebag. “Ask yourself this, Bon Bon; would you prefer to be yourself and risk losing your friends, or keep lying to yourself just to hold onto these ‘so-called’ friends? If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that a friend’s opinions may matter, but following them to a ‘T’ can leave you completely worn out.” She found her bag inside of a nearby cupboard. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get some things together. I won’t be lo—” The sound of a crash upstairs interrupted Rarity.

“What was that?” Bon Bon asked.

Rarity’s look shifted to an unpleasant one. “I think I know exactly what that was. Just take a look around the store, familiarize yourself with some of the products whilst I take care of this problem.” Rarity walked up the stairs as Bon Bon did as she was suggested. The walls were pink, sharing the same designs seen outside. Several mannequins were spread with dresses on them, some were made for upcoming fashion shows, and others were just made for fun. Pink curtains sectioned off other works that Rarity wouldn’t want exposed to the public just yet. Next to each curtained off area was a mirror stand and a washbasin. Looking around the store, it finally began to set in that she would be around all of these dresses and have the chance to meet so many fashionable ponies. She couldn’t help but let out a tiny squeal of glee as she began to peruse the store. Suddenly, she heard a knock at the door.

**********

Rarity reached the top floor, and noticed the door to her sewing room was slightly ajar. I have a bad feeling about this, she thought as she gingerly pushed the door open. She stood there, mouth agape, as she processed the current state of the room. Papers were spread all across the floor. Balls of yarn and spools of fabric were stretched across the room, leaving trails which criss-crossed over the floor. Even rolls of fabric had been tossed about. Her eye started to twitch as she surveyed more damaged goods from knocked over mannequins, to a damaged sewing machine.

She saw movement underneath a pile of fabric. Out popped a filly’s curly, light-purple and pink locks of hair, who began to say, “Now look at what you did, Opal! Sis is going to freak when she gets home!” This was Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle, a white unicorn. Right next to the young unicorn, a cat’s head rose from the pile of fabric. It was Opalesence: a white, chubby persian with beady, green eyes and a light-gray tail. A purple bow was placed atop the hair on her head. On her neck lay a purple collar, fashioned with crystal-clear beads and a multi-colored orb in the center, showcasing a purple flower border around it. As the pet got out of the pile of cloth, she dusted herself off and walked over to her master, purring innocently as she rubbed herself against Rarity’s foreleg. Sweetie Belle turned around and froze. The pupils in her light-green eyes shrank at the sight of a disgruntled Rarity. She meekly chuckled and said, “Hi, sis... back so soon?”

Rarity was doing all that she could to suppress her anger, choosing her words very carefully. “Sweetie Belle, what have I told you about playing in the sewing room?”

“It’s not my fault, sis!” Sweetie Belle protested. “I saw Opal running in here, and she was walking around with this ball of yarn. I tried to get it from her, but she wouldn’t stop running. Next thing I know, she makes me run into a cabinet. The cabinet knocked over something else, and then—”

“Regardless,” Rarity interrupted as she shot a quick glance at her cat, “you should know better than to run around the sewing room.” Sweetie Belle drooped her head in shame, but her sister continued, “One unwound ball of thread is much easier to clean up than all of... this,” she said as she pointed her hoof at the piles scattered around the room.

“I’m really sorry, sis, I didn’t mean for this to happen.” Sweetie Belle stared at the floor, unable to look her sister in the eye.

The elder unicorn quickly realized what she was doing. I can’t leave on a note like this. “Sweetie Belle, come here.” She ushered her sister over.

The younger unicorn slowly raised her head and asked, “Are you going to yell at me?”

“Just please,” Rarity insisted, “come here.”

Sweetie Belle sluggishly made her way over to her sister. Before she could say anything, Rarity held her in a tight embrace. “Sis, why are you—”

“It’s okay, Sweetie, just... just wait here for a bit.”

Sweetie Belle did as she was told and sat there, confused, while she returned her sister’s hug.

Rarity whispered, “I don’t have much time...” piquing Sweetie Belle’s attention.

She stepped back and looked at her sister. “You don’t have time? Time for what, sis?”

Rarity let out a sigh and uttered, “I... I have to go for a while, Sweetie. There’s some business I must attend to. These clients are far away, so... I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“Why don’t you know?”

“It all depends on how long it takes to cut a deal with these clients of mine,” she said as her mind raced to create a fib. “They have a... unique taste in fashion.” Rarity opened up a curtain, allowing a ray of sunshine into the room. “If the deal is quick, I could be back in a few days. Otherwise it could be quite a while. I wish I could have told you sooner, Sweetie Belle, but there was just no time.”

“Well,” Sweetie Belle began, “maybe I could go with you! I can help yo—”

“No, absolutely not!” Rarity quickly shot out.

Her sister’s ears fell flat, and her eyes grew watery, as she weakly replied, “Okay...”

Rarity walked over and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that. I just— I need to do this by myself. I can’t drag you all over the place. There would be no time for visiting, not to mention you would be bored stiff.” The true reason rang through Rarity’s head. You mean the world to me, Sweetie Belle, and I can’t even bear the thought of losing you. Please stay safe in this world.

Sweetie let out a petite, “Okay,” as she walked away from her sister, a shroud of gloom encompassing her.

Rarity felt a pang of guilt when an idea struck. “How about this, Sweetie Belle? If you stay good for me while I’m gone, I’ll teach you how to sew when I get back.”

The little unicorn’s face light up. “You mean it, Rarity?”

Rarity nodded her head, and added, “Just make sure you stay out of trouble, okay? I don’t want to come back and find out you’ve driven ponies up the wall.” Both of the ponies shared a small laugh before quieting down again. She doesn’t look too thrilled with this, but I’ll be sure to make it up to her if— when I make it back.

“Okay,” Sweetie Belle agreed, “Just come back soon, alright, sis?”

“I promise.”

The two sisters shared a hug, one Rarity dared not forget. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind. “Come to think of it, Sweetie Belle, why are you here? Did our parents send you to get something?”

Sweetie Belle’s backed away to face her sister. “Actually, I came here to ask you fo—”

Her answer was interrupted by a pitter-patter of hoofsteps rapidly approaching their location. As the sound bounced around in Rarity’s head, the gears started turning. It can’t be...

The door to the sewing room burst open, as two fillies dashed through the doorway. “Hi Rarity!!! Hi Sweetie Belle!!!” they shouted in unison. Standing right next to Scootaloo was Applejack’s younger sister, Applebloom: a yellow earth pony who had a red-orange mane and golden-orange eyes. The filly spoke like her sister, and kept her mane tied up with a pink bow.

“Didja get the yarn we need, Sweetie Belle?” Applebloom asked, as she jumped up and down.

“I was just about to ask.” Sweetie Belle’s wide grin resurfaced. “Sis... ?”

Rarity gave the three fillies a nonchalant look, but soon smiled and asked, “What color do you need?”

“Red!”

“Blue!”

“Green!”

“All of those?” Rarity asked. The three fillies nodded. Rarity’s ear slightly twitched at the mis-match of colors, but she still supplied her sister with what she needed. “Now, what do you three plan on doing this time?”

Scootaloo piped up, “We’re going to set up a tent at Pinkie Pie’s party and see if anypony wants a knitted sweater!”

“But... it’s summer.”

“Exactly!” said Sweetie Belle. “If we start making ponies sweaters now, ponies will be prepared for the winter!”

“‘N maybe it’ll git us our cutie marks!”

All three fillies cried at once, “Cutie Mark Crusader Seamstresses, Yay!!!” The three fillies were a part of their own club they called “The Cutie Mark Crusaders”. After discovering there was more than one “blank flank” in their class, the three fillies struck up a conversation, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were born. Their goal: finding their cutie marks.

The deafening pitch of the three fillies put Rarity’s wits on end, but she controlled herself, gently saying, “I think that’s a wonderful idea! You’ll do great, I’m sure of it!”

“Thanks, sis!”

Bon Bon entered the room. “Sorry about that, Rarity. I thought those two were still downstairs with me, then I heard all this commotion.”

Rarity looked back at the crusaders and said, “Do you three have somepony to help you out?”

The smiles on the three fillies soon faded, and they looked at each other.

Applebloom began, “We didn’ think’a that.”

Rarity was about to lecture on how they needed a supervisor for such a task, but Bon Bon spoke up, “I can watch over them for the day.”

The Crusaders looked at Bon Bon, smiles ablaze, while Rarity’s face showed nothing but concern. “Are you sure about that? I mean, I’m sure there are others who would love to watch over these three.”

“It’s really no problem, Rarity.”

“It’ll be hard enough running the store, but watching over the crusaders as well? I’m worried you’ll be biting off more than you can chew.”

Bon Bon shook her head. “No need to worry. I watch over some of the foals and fillies whenever Cheerilee is sick, especially these three.” She looked at the crusaders, giving them a sly smile.

Rarity was surprised. “You mean, the girls have never been a problem before?”

“Well, there have been some issues in the past,” Bon Bon said as she rolled her eyes, “but I’ve gotten better at watching over them.”

Rarity turned her attention back to the crusaders, who tried looking as innocent as possible. Well, this does take care of two problems at once. “If you’re one-hundred percent okay with this, then I don’t see why not.”

The crusaders cheered and yelled, “Thanks, Bon Bon!!!” With no other obstacles about, they began to discuss how they’d go about setting up their new business.

Rarity walked over to Bon Bon and commented, “I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re willing to do all of this, and on such short notice, too!”

“There’s not much else I’ve got going on,” Bon Bon clarified. “Besides, those three make babysitting a really fun task.”

Fun... that’s what she calls it... fun. Without any other worries, Rarity took a saddlebag and started to put various necessities in it. Upon completion, she took another look at Sweetie Belle. She was laughing it up with her friends as they tried to show a confused Bon Bon their first idea for a sweater design. A gentle smile curled on Rarity’s face as she quietly left the room, gently shutting the door behind her. “This is for the best,” she muttered to herself. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard the door open again. The unicorn turned around to see Sweetie Belle running down the stairs.

“Wait up, Rarity!” The filly nearly leapt into her sister, giving her a hug as she said, “I’ll miss you, sis!”

Rarity could nearly feel her eyes misting over as she uttered, “I’ll miss you too.” The two siblings sat for what felt like an eternity, not wanting to let go.

Scootaloo called from the stairs, “Sweetie Belle! Bon Bon is going to let us take her measurements, c’mon!”

“Okay! Be there in a minute!” Sweetie Belle replied. She looked at her sister, unsure of what to say.

Rarity just nudged her sister to the stairs, saying, “It’s alright, you go on ahead.”

“Goodbye, Rarity.”

“Goodbye... Sweetie Belle.”

The filly trotted up the stairs and joined the crusaders.

Rarity’s heart sunk when the door shut with a definitive thud. She headed to the front door when a glint of sunlight from a nearby table caught her eye. As she got closer to the reflection, the source came into focus. It was a card Sweetie Belle had made for her. It showed a crudely drawn rendition of the two sisters, surrounded by radiant, azure gems in the shape of a heart. The first time she saw this image, it nearly gave her a heart attack, as the gems were required in order to make a very important dress. Now it gave her a sense of comfort. She carefully folded the image and placed it into her bag. I’ll come back for you, Sweetie Belle. I promise. She gracefully walked out of the Boutique with her head held high.

**********

Twilight Sparkle trotted through town with Spike on her back. “I don’t care what Victor says, Spike,” the unicorn insisted, “I’m not going to discuss that with you until you’re older!”

“I’m going to find out eventually, Twilight,” Spike replied. “You can just get it out of the way and tell me now.”

“No, Spike! This discussion is over!”

The baby dragon slumped on her back. “Fiiine,” he said in defeat, “remind me what we’re doing again.”

Twilight looked back at her companion. “If we’re going to another world, we need to gather a lot of supplies. Books aren’t so much of an issue. I already have an idea of what to bring in that category. However, we’re going to need an ample amount of durable tools. If we’re going to be in London for a long time, we’d better be ready for it.”

“What about food and water, Twilight?”

The unicorn rolled her eyes. “Of course we’ll get those, Spike, but right now we need to focus on getting things that we won’t be eating. Besides, if London is anything like how I saw it, there will be plenty of food and water available.”

“But these are zombies, Twilight!” the dragon pleaded, “food and water are never easy to find! It happens all the time in the comics!”

“They’re not zombies, Spike,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, “they’re specimens. Victor said as much.”

Spike sat atop Twilight’s head. “Didn’t you say that those ‘specimens’ were eating other humans?” he said, enacting air quotes.

Twilight stopped as she blinked twice with a widened expression. “Well, yes... but—”

“Then they’re zombies!”

Twilight just gave him an agitated glare. After a few seconds of saying nothing, she refocused her attention on the path ahead and let out an exasperated sigh. There’s just no convincing him, is there? Before long, the duo were back in front of the library. Twilight walked into her home, grabbing a bag from a nearby cupboard. “Okay, Spike. I’m going to arrange that list of books that I might need. In the meantime, you go get anything that’s essential for this trip.”

Spike piped up, “Anything?”

“Yep.” Just before the baby dragon went out of sight, she piped up, “But that doesn’t mean getting a bunch of toys or comics. I mean things that I really, really need!”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. Jeez, I understand that much.” He walked into the hallway leading to the basement, leaving Twilight to herself. She levitated a piece of paper to her desk, and began to write out her list of essential books. By the time she had written down three books, a spark went off behind her, startling the unicorn. She turned around and saw The Doctor. However, something was amiss; his cheery demeanour was replaced with a distant, unfamiliar void. Not only that, but his coat had splotches of ash throughout, he now wore a leather arm band, and he held what looked like a metal wand in his mouth.

What’s The Doctor doing here? Twilight thought, And HOW did he get here anyways?

He placed the metal object on the floor and sternly said, “Hello, are you Twilight Sparkle?”

Confusedly, she answered, “Yes I am, but...”

“Good,” The Doctor interrupted. “First thing’s first, Miss Sparkle. I am The Doctor, and I—”

“I already know that.”

The Doctor’s head cocked back in shock. “You know who I am? Have we met before?”

Twilight nodded her head. “We met earlier this morning.”

The colt averted his gaze from Twilight, contemplating how to proceed. “This morning?” he muttered to himself, “Hmmm, I’ll need to remember that.” He looked back at the purple unicorn, and said, “On to business. I need to borrow a few books from your library.”

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” the mare replied, “I can’t do that. I don’t have enough time.”

The Doctor assured, “It’ll be quick. I have a list of all the books I need right here.” He grasped a sheet of paper that was attached to his arm band and held it in his mouth.

Twilight shook her head. “Doctor, please don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I have the book locations listed as well. You can focus on what you’re doing, and I can get what I need.”

Twilight looked outside. A little more than a half an hour had passed, as evident by the sun’s change in position. “Fine, Doctor, but if you need any help, you’re out of luck.” Not wasting any more time, she focused on compiling her list of books.

Fifteen minutes passed while The Doctor assembled his collection and Twilight took note of her itinerary. While she focused on her list, she heard some odd, whirring noises. She looked over her shoulder to see The Doctor perusing the books, using the metallic wand to search through the shelves. He held it in his mouth as the device emitted a distinctly blue glow. The unicorn’s interest was piqued, but she quickly brought herself back to the task at hoof. It’s probably nothing.

Meanwhile, Spike made his way back up from the lower levels, dragging two bags filled with various necessities. “I got everything you need, Twili—” He stopped himself when he saw the colt in the library. “You again? What do you want?”

The Doctor appeared annoyed. He sarcastically said, “Well, aren’t you as pleasant as before.”

Before? Twilight set down her quill and trotted over to the baby dragon, stopping him before he could retort. She whispered, “Spike, I don’t know why, but he’s completely forgotten about me.”

Spike uttered, “How? He sure acted like he knew us earlier.”

“I know, but keep an eye on him, he seems different from this morning.”

Upon saying that, the two individuals heard The Doctor say, “All done.”

Twilight turned around and saw six books stacked together. Reverting to her librarian mind-set, she asked, “Did you find everything okay?”

The tan colt nodded and said, “If there’s nothing else to say here, I’m gone.” As he was about to press a button on his armband, he heard Twilight ask another question.

“Wait,” she asked, “what is that metal wand, right there?”

The Doctor raised his hoof, and opened his mouth as he was about to answer, but hesitated as he shut his mouth, taking a quick glance around the room. “Spoilers,” he said, as he pressed his armband and zapped himself and the books out of the room, leaving no trace of his existence behind.

Twilight and Spike were left dumbfounded, jaws dropped on the floor after what they just witnessed.

The purple unicorn remarked, “Doctor... who or what are you?” She walked back over to her desk, leaving Spike to collect himself, and picked up her list of books. “Enough about that colt. There’s no more time to waste, Spike. I’ll take a look at what you’ve got and see what I can afford to take. In the meantime, I need you to look for these books,” she said while giving him the list.

“You got it.” While he searched for the first book, Twilight sorted objects into a need and a don’t need pile. She had sorted through half of the objects when Spike piped up, “Twilight, we have a bit of a problem.”

“What’s wrong, Spike?” Twilight said, without taking her attention off her itinerary.

“I was looking through your list, and your first book, The Complete Encyclopedia of Natural Herbs and Remedies, it’s not on the shelf.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure it’s not somewhere else?”

The purple dragon nodded his head. “I looked on the shelves nearby, no dice.”

“It’s not?” Twilight asked with a hint of disbelief. “Darn it, I could’ve really used that one.Other than that, did you get the other books together?”

“That’s just it, Twilight. It’s not just your herbs book, all of the books on your list are missing.”

“All of them?!” she exclaimed, sharply turning around. “That’s not possible, they were all here... earlier...” Twilight started to put the pieces together. “Spike, let me see my list, please.” He handed it to Twilight. After reading what she wrote, she noticed there were six books on the list. She asked aloud, “Doctor, what are you doing?”

“What’s wrong, Twilight?”

The purple unicorn turned to her assistant. “None of the books I need are here, and The Doctor just made off with six books, my list has six books on it. I’m certain he took the books I need.”

“Huh.” Spike crossed his arms. “I knew he was weird, but this? How did he know what to get?”

That very question had been racking around Twilight’s head. This doesn’t make any sense; for those specific books to be gone, it would have to mean... no. It’s not possible, there’s just no way. Or is there? Twilight’s ignorance was short lived, as she asked, “Are there any other books missing?”

Spike shook his head. “Besides books checked out to ponies in Ponyville, those are the only ones that are gone.”

Twilight came about to her answer. “Well, the only explanation I can see here is... time travel.”

“Ah, time travel. Wait, what?”

“I don’t want to believe it, but think about it, Spike. The Doctor shows up one minute knowing who we are when we don’t know him. Then he shows up later not having a clue who I am, yet he knows you. Not to mention he happens to have a list of books and coincidentally those exact books are gone when I need them. He probably got his hooves on my list, somehow.”

Spike tried to digest this theory, as he gave Twilight a smart-alecky glance, saying, “Do you still think we should trust him?”

Twilight looked at Spike, then back to The Doctor’s previous location. “I don’t know, Spike, but I don’t think we can afford not to.”

Not wanting to waste another minute with idle chatter, Twilight quickly sorted through her belongings and placed any necessities into her bag. Various books, memorabilia, and notes went in until the bag was filled to the brim. With a small struggle, the bag was snapped shut. “Alright,” she said, “that’s the last of it. It’s time to head out.”

“I’m right behind ya, Twilight!” Spike said as he grabbed a bag of his own.

Twilight stopped in her steps, causing Spike to run into her hind legs. “Where do you think you’re going, Spike?”

With a slight sense of shock in his eyes, the baby dragon said, “I’m going with you... right?”

“No, Spike, you have to stay here.”

“What??? Here?! But why?”

“Because, Spike,” Twilight said, as she walked closer to the baby dragon, “London is a very dangerous place. There are horrors in that world that nopony should ever see. On top of all that, I can’t risk anything happening to you.”

Spike's face dropped. "But Twilight, I have to go! I-I'll make myself useful! I swear!"

Twilight sadly shook her head as she said, “I'm sorry, Spike. It's too dangerous.” I don’t even want to think of what those creatures could do to you.

“But—”

“No ‘buts’, Spike,” Twilight interrupted. “This isn’t open for discussion. You’re staying here, and that’s final!” She stamped her hoof down for emphasis.

Spike tried to stay calm as spoke, but he was quickly becoming upset. “I can't stay here, Twilight. Please take me! How am I supposed to know if something bad happens to you?”

She flinched, trying not to think about that. “We'll be okay, Spike. I promise—”

“You can't promise that,” he replied, tears gleaming in his eyes. “What if... What if I never see you again?”

Finally, it hit Twilight. This would be the last time in a long while that she’d ever see Spike. She’d be leaving near everything behind in order to help Victor and the humans. Not only that, but there was a slim chance that she might not make it out of this, leaving the baby dragon alone in the world. She could feel a lump in her throat, as she tried to answer Spike. “Oh, d-don’t worry about us, Spike. We’ll be back before you know it.” She felt as if she were about to lose her composure under the weight of her emotions.

“That’s just it, Twilight, I don’t know when you’re coming back!” Spike said with tears welling in his eyes. “What if you guys get hurt out there? What if something goes wrong? What if... if...” Spike let his tears flow, feeling too helpless to do anything else.

Twilight couldn’t take seeing her assistant in a state like this, and hugged him. There was a slight struggle on Spike’s part, but he eventually yielded to her comforting embrace. “Spike, you need to understand. This is something we have to do.”

Spike grumbled, “Anypony else could do it.”

She pulled away and shook her head, a somber expression on her face. “It has to be us, you know that.” The baby dragon looked away. Twilight could feel her chest swell at Spike’s display. Good one, Twilight... What do I do now?

“Promise me one thing,” Spike said as looked Twilight in the eye. “Promise me that you’ll keep everypony safe.”

Twilight laid a reassuring hoof on his shoulder as a weak smile attempted to resurface. “I promise, Spike. I’ll protect everypony.”

“Pinkie Pie Swear?”

Twilight blinked twice at the little dragon’s request. She found herself giggling for a moment. The Pinkie Pie Swear was an oath made by the pink pony, herself. It was a declaration of trust, and should it be broken, it was the quickest way to lose a friend forever. “Cross my heart... hope to fly... stick a cupcake in my eye,” the purple unicorn said as she mimicked the oath’s actions. She and Spike stood there, relishing in this moment. Ultimately, Twilight said, “Well... I should get going. The Elements could arrive any minute now.”

Spike felt slightly reassured, and hugged Twilight. “Come back soon, okay?”

Twilight said, “I will,” as she laid her head atop his. She gently pulled away from her assistant, and walked out the door, saying, “Goodbye.” Every step she took from the library made her legs feel like lead. She wanted to cry, but no tears would come. It wasn’t clear why, or how, but not a single tear would escape those anguish-filled eyes. One look, she thought to herself, Just one look, you owe him that much. She stopped and turned around, seeing a teary-eyed Spike looking down at her through one of the windows. She waved goodbye, despite how difficult it felt to do so. When Spike moved away from the window, Twilight knew it was time. She began the long trek back to the cottage.

**********

Victor sat back in one of the chairs in Fluttershy’s den. “Ponies control the weather, too? I’m telling you, the more I hear about this place, the more it sounds completely bonkers.”

“You can say that about Ponyville,” Fluttershy said as she placed a few objects in a bag, “but everypony I know would think it’s strange to see the weather change on its own.”

“Well then,” Victor mused, as he picked up his cup of tea, “let’s agree that both of our worlds are a tad screwed up.” Fluttershy giggled to herself as the biologist took another swig. The taste of the tea left him in mind-numbing ecstasy. He placed a teacup on the table, and let out a sigh of relief. “I have to tell you, Fluttershy,” he said, as the pegasus pony flew back and forth between rooms, “this tea is... well, it’s amazing! I can’t put it any other way!” It’s actually better than my mum’s.

“Oh, I’m glad you like it. I was given the recipe from Zecora.”

“I’m sorry, who?”

“That’s right, you don’t know her,” Fluttershy said as she floated right next to Victor. “Zecora is a zebra who li—”

“There are zebras in this world?” Victor interrupted.

“Um, yes, there are.”

“I see, hmm, not too surprising when you think about it. Anyways, I’m sorry, continue.”

“Well,” Fluttershy began, “she’s a zebra who lives out in the Everfree Forest. We used to be so scared of her, but then we got to know her, and she turned out to be very friendly. She‘s very knowledgeable in potions and brews, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that she was also good at making tea.”

“I see,” Victor reflected, as he drank more tea. There was a little squeak that both Victor and Fluttershy could hear to their right. A baby mouse was on the floor, crawling aimlessly.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy cried, “What are you doing out here? Your parents must be so worried.” She set herself onto the floor and let the tiny mouse crawl into her open hooves. Using the utmost care, she lifted the mouse over to a nearby mouse hole, where two larger mice were eagerly awaiting their baby’s arrival. She said, “Now, try not to wander off next time, alright?” as she gently placed the mouse on the floor once more.

Angel hopped on top of Victor’s head, nearly making him spill his tea. The biologist said, “Your friend here seems... nice.”

“Oh, yes, Angel likes nearly everypony he meets.”

Angel lowered his head enough to be in Victor’s line of sight. He gave the scientist a glare which said, “I’m watching you, buddy. You hurt her, and I hurt you. Don’t think I can’t make it look like an accident.”

Fluttershy smiled. “That’s his way of warming up to you.”

“Oh, I’m feeling the love, alright.” Victor watched as the bunny hopped off his head and onto the table in front of him. He placed the now empty cup down. “I still can’t believe you handle watching every single animal. I hardly imagine it being easy work.”

“It was hard at first,” Fluttershy explained, “but the animals are just such a joy to be around. It’s the perfect job for me, and I couldn’t be happier. I don’t think I’d be too good a weather pony.”

While Fluttershy was happily chatting with another animal, Victor began to think to himself. I know she’s a part of these Elements of Harmony and whatnot, but Fluttershy really concerns me. I doubt she’s the type that can handle violence very well, let alone gratuitous amounts of blood and gore. Will she really be okay? Victor instinctively went to drink some tea, then remembered the teacup’s current state. “Would it be too much trouble for another cup?” he requested.

Fluttershy quickly responded, “Not a problem at all!” and left the room, returning shortly after with a now-full glass.

Right away, there was a knock at the door. “Are they back already?”

The pegasus pony peeked through a nearby window and saw a turquoise unicorn with yellow-orange eyes standing at her door. Fluttershy gasped and said, “Oh my goodness, you have to hide, quickly!”

Victor nearly fumbled his tea cup upon Fluttershy’s demands. “What are you talking about? Who’s there?”

“I don’t know, but you need to hide; go upstairs, quick!”

Victor hastily made his way up the flight of stairs as Fluttershy went to the door. She gently opened it and quickly asked, “Hello? Who are you?”

The unicorn held an object wrapped in cloth in the air, and said, “Hi! Are you Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded and weakly said, “Yes, that’s... that’s me.”

The unicorn brushed some of the white highlights in her dull-green hair to the side, and said, “Well, hello there. My name’s Lyra. Twilight told me that I needed to head over here as soon as I could. Something about a bunch of animals, right?”

“Oh!” Fluttershy said in surprise. “Twilight did tell me she’d find ‘the perfect pony for the job’. Please, come in.”

Lyra remarked, “‘Perfect pony’, huh? I like that.” She walked into the house, trying not to brush anything with her tail, which shared the same color scheme as her mane. She placed her wrapped object on the table and said, “So, where are these animals?”

“Oh, the indoor animals are pretty shy around new ponies. They’ll come out on their own. For now, I’ll take you to see the outdoor ones.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Fluttershy led Lyra outside, walking past wooden chairs, tables, and beds of flowers. They came across a chicken coop, multiple hens walking to and fro, pecking at the dirt for whatever tasty seeds lay below them.

“Is this all of them?” Lyra asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

Fluttershy shook her head. “No, no, no, there are many more animals than this. They’re beyond these borders.”

The turquoise unicorn said, “Alright! Let’s go see the little guys!” as they both moved on. Along the way, Lyra nearly walked into a tortoise.

“Oh! Please be careful around Tank, Lyra!” Fluttershy said, as she placed the shelled animal elsewhere. “This one belongs to Rainbow Dash. She wouldn’t be too happy if something happened to him.”

“Chickens, tortoises, rabbits, there really are all kinds of animals out here, huh?”

“Oh, this is just the beginning,” Fluttershy emphasized, “There are plenty more, up ahead.”

The two ponies walked towards the forest, as Fluttershy piped up, “Um, if you don’t mind my asking, how do you know Twilight?”

“Oh, me and her?” the turquoise unicorn began. “We go waaay, way back. We were good friends, back in Canterlot. Okay, maybe not so much friends, more like acquaintences. It was rare to talk to her. She was pretty anti-social up until she moved out here.”

Fluttershy inquired, “Wait, Canterlot? What brings you out here?”

“Well, up until recently, I had a music shop set up in the Royal Plaza. Things were great, but the place tanked in light of the more ‘professional’ music shops nearby, so I happened to notice a vacant shop in Ponyville. One day after moving in, I met Pinkie Pie, who was demanding a pair of maracas. Shortly after, she introduced me to ponies all around Ponyville, reintroducing me to Twilight in the process. She’s really opened up since I last saw her, and now we’re great friends.”

“Oh, I see. We—” Fluttershy was interrupted by a loud ruckus of growls, roars, and snarls. “Oh dear! What’s going on?” The caretaker flew towards the source of the noise, with Lyra following close behind. As they got closer, they saw many animals having what looked like a heated argument.

Lyra looked at the situation before her, and said, “Okay, just wait here for a minute.” Before Fluttershy could react, The unicorn ran back towards the cottage.

**********

Victor sat in his chair, being ignored for the umpteenth time today. As he was looking out a window, the sound of a door bursting open startled him. Without much time to think, he hid himself behind the chair, as Lyra entered the room. She said, “Welp, guess I gotta show her the main reason why Twilight called me out here.”

Victor slowly peeked his eye around the corner to see Lyra unwrap a golden lyre, which looked exactly like her cutie mark. Are you telling me ponies can... you know what, nevermind. I think I’ll go mad if I ask any more questions. Lyra ran out the door as fast as she came in, slamming it shut behind her.

**********

Lyra ran towards Fluttershy’s location, lyre floating by her side. One quick serenade should do the trick. As soon as she saw Fluttershy hovering near a tree, Lyra triumphantly jumped to her side and said, “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I’ll calm these animals down faster than you can say...” She stopped herself as she saw the scene before her. There was no more arguing, no more growling or snarling. “What... what happened?”

Fluttershy set herself on the ground and said, “Oh, you took off so fast that I didn’t have a chance to stop you. The animals sometimes get angry at each other, but it’s very easy to calm them down.”

Lyra drooped her ears at her own uselessness and said, “Really...”

Fluttershy focused her attention to Lyra’s instrument. “Um... why do you have that harp with you?”

Lyra looked at her instument and said, “Well, first, it’s not a harp, it’s a lyre. Second, I was planning on playing a song for the animals. You know, just to see if they’d calm down. It’s worked before, so I thought it might happen again.”

“Oh! Some of the animals might enjoy that kind of music. I’d love to hear you play when I get back.”

Lyra shyly chuckled, and said, “Well, I guess I can do that.”

As the two ponies made their way back to the cottage, Fluttershy instructed Lyra on the necessary procedures for taking care of the animals: feeding, grooming, healthcare, the works. When all was said and done, Fluttershy asked, “Does this all make sense to you?”

The lyre player scratched the back of her head. “Kinda. I’m sure I’ll get it down in no time. Oh, that reminds me; what do you have for medical supplies? You know, in case an animal gets sick?”

“Actually, I have a first-aid kit upstairs. I’ll go get it.” Fluttershy traveled to the top floor, where she saw Victor hold the kit in front of her. She whispered, “How did you find it?”

Victor muttered, “It was on a nearby shelf. Wasn’t too hard to get.”

“Oh, well, thank you.” Fluttershy took the kit and floated back downstairs. She sat down next to Lyra and opened the case. Much to her dismay, the contents of the case were in low supply. I don’t have time to get any more of these medicines! What should I—

“Oh, that’s no good. Want me to get some more of those?” Lyra piped up.

Fluttershy turned to the unicorn, “Oh, would you?”

“Absolutely!”

“Well, thank you very much, Lyra!”

**********

Lyra soon left, promising to be back in a relative amount of time. Victor came out of hiding once more, and left Fluttershy to pack her bags. When the pegasus pony had nearly finished, there was another knock at the door.

Victor said, “Is she back already?”

Fluttershy took another peek, this time with a more delighted face. “No need for that,” she said, as she opened the door. Rainbow Dash walked into the house, looking like she was ready to take on anything.

“Hope we’re all ready to kick some flank!” Rainbow said, as she positioned herself similar to a bull that was ready to charge.

“Actually,” Victor stated, “you’re the first one here. We’ve still got to wait for a bit.”

Rainbow Dash groaned, “Fine.” The pegasus pony sat in place as she crossed a few glances with Victor. “So,” she said, watching Fluttershy skitter back and forth through the cottage, “think I could come up with some plans for London?”

Victor shrugged, “I don’t see why not.”

“Really? ‘Cuz I’ve got this awesome idea which would need a chainsaw, a blowtorch, and—”

“I don’t think so.”

Rainbow shot a glare at the scientist, who pretended not to notice the daggers she was throwing his way. She slumped down again, fidgeting in her seat. “So boring,” she muttered as she slipped onto the floor. Eventually, there was another knock at the door; this time, Pinkie Pie had hopped into the room.

“Pinkie! Finally, somepony else to talk to.” Rainbow Dash said in relief as she picked herself off the floor. “We should make some awesome battle plans, don’t you think?”

Pinkie Pie tilted her head, and said, “For what, Dashie?”

“You know, for London.”

“Oooh! That’s right!”

As the two ponies planned and planned, Rarity walked in. She got into the conversation as she heard Rainbow Dash say, “... And when those things get close enough, the cake will explode!”

“Turning it into twenty different cakes!”

“Then those twenty cakes will explode again and turn into fire!”

“We’ll call it ‘The Chipotle Frosting Surprise’!”

“I am LOVING this plan!”

The fashionista walked up to Rainbow Dash, shaking her head as she jokingly criticized, “And how exactly do you plan on making such a treat, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow’s expression went blank; she turned to Victor, and said, “Hey, Victor, you guys have things that explode in London, right?”

Victor’s following expression was a cross of horror and pessimism. “Yes, we do have explosive materials in London; no, I don’t plan on giving you any of them.

The speedster pouted. “Oh, come on, it can’t be that complicated to use.”

“It’s nothing about how complicated they are, it’s just the fact that these materials won’t be so easy to find.” Not to mention the very idea of Pinkie Pie harboring explosives... well... it downright frightens me.

Rarity joined in the discussion, along with Victor and Fluttershy. After a few more minutes passed, Applejack walked in.

Rarity noticed the orange mare walk in and approached her. “Hello, Applejack.”

“Heya, Rarity. What in tarnation are those fillies doin’?”

“Oh, they’ve been busy making ‘battle plans’ of some sort.” Rarity turned around and looked at the group, saying, “You’d almost forget we’re heading to one of the most dangerous places anypony could imagine.”

“Yeah, true,” Applejack said as she tried to put on a happy face.

Rarity looked back at the farm pony and said, “By the way, I’m a bit surprised at how well Applebloom took the news.”

The orange mare quickly turned her head to look at Rarity, saying, “News? W-whaddya mean?”

“Oh, well, I saw her at Carousel Boutique with the Crusaders, and—”

“She was at yer Boutique?”

Rarity nodded. “Yes, I presumed she was...” She stopped herself as Applejack fell into a glum mindset. “You never saw her, did you?” Applejack just shook her head. “Darling, I’m so sorry. If I had known, I would’ve told her to go to directly to the farm.”

“Y’all don’t need ta apologize, Rarity,” she assured. “It ain’t yer fault. ‘Sides, Big Macintosh said he’d tell ‘er in place a’ me.”

Rarity placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “As long as you’re sure you’re alright, Applejack.”

She nodded at the gesture and joined the others as they waited for Twilight to arrive. Seeing Pinkie Pie triggered the memory at the barn. “Hey, Pinkie Pie. Ah saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake at mah farm, and they wanted me ta give ya these here streamers.” She dug through her bag and pulled out the package. Pinkie Pie looked over the streamers, almost unsure what to think of them. “Ah dunno if you’d still need ‘em, what with us goin’ ta Lundun and all, but ah still figu—”

Pinkie Pie’s face lit up instantly, and she excitedly said, “Oh, right! These are perfect, Applejack! Thank you very much!” as she hugged the orange mare.

Applejack responded, “No problem.” She looked towards her other friends when everyone heard a cabinet door shut. They looked up and saw Pinkie Pie standing with her trademark smile, only this time, the streamers were gone.

Fluttershy asked, “Uh, Pinkie, what was that noise?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Then Applejack asked, “Where’r yer streamers?”

“I put them in my bag,” Pinkie said without a moment’s hesitation.

Rarity said, “Dear, why are you so—”

Pinkie Pie started to laugh, and said, “Oh you silly fillies, you’ve got so many questions going on, my little ol’ brain is getting kerbobbled!” She stuck out her tongue as she put both of her hooves on her head.

Victor said to Rainbow Dash, “Is she always like this?”

The pegasus pony blankly responded, “You have no idea...” After a bout of awkward silence, she said, “Whatever, it’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. Let’s get back to these plans.”

Eventually, Twilight made it to the cottage. She heard Pinkie Pie say, “So, Victor, what do you think of this plan?” as she shoved a paper in his face. Victor’s face then seemed to have a bit of an episode. First it was dread, then surprise, then astonishment, and finally, relief.

He pointed at a section of the paper and said, “You know, this is actually the most sane plan you’ve figured out.”

“Awww yeah!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, as she did a flip in the air. “Of course, it’s not as awesome as ‘The Chipotle Frosting Surprise’, but it’s almost there.”

Twilight’s lingering curiosity got the better of her, as she said, “What’s going on?”

Victor handed the paper towards her. “Your friends have been hard at work trying to make a batch of plans for this venture.”

Twilight used her magic to lift the outline in front of her. The purple unicorn’s face scrunched out an objection. “Uh, you guys do know we only need the Elements of Harmony, right?”

Rainbow Dash whispered, “Fun breaker.”

Victor stepped forward. “So, how much longer will it be until those Elements get here, anyway?”

“It shouldn’t be long now,” Twilight answered. “If anything, we just need to wait for a few more minutes when the Elements are delivered... to... oh no.”

“Oh no?” Victor asked with a cocked eyebrow, “What’s ‘oh no’?”

Twilight facehoofed. “The princess said she’d send a mailpony to deliver the Elements, but I don’t think she knows we’re at Fluttershy’s cottage, and not at the library.”

Everyone groaned. Victor slumped as he said, “So this means more waiting around?”

“Unfortunately, yes. I’ll just teleport to the library and wait for the delivery. Then I’ll come back, post haste. It shouldn’t take long.” Just as Twilight’s horn began to glow, she heard a pounding come from the door. Victor hid himself in an instant asTwilight went to open the door. Just then, a very large treasure chest was shoved in her face.

Ditzy appeared from behind the chest, raggedly saying, “Special delivery!” She placed the chest on the floor. “Oh... hi, Twilight!” the mailpony said in between ragged breaths, “This package comes... straight from Canterlot... priority rush!”

Twilight was puzzled. “How did you know we were here, Ditzy?”

Ditzy began to catch her breath as she said, “Oh... you know... when I had to deliver these... to the library... you weren’t there... but Spike told me... you were at Sugarcube Corner.” She dragged the box into the middle of the room, when Twilight picked it up.

“Here, let me get that for you.”

“Thanks, Twilight.” As the chest was placed on the floor, Ditzy limped as she set herself down and walked into the room. “Come to think of it, Spike looked a bit sad when I came to the door. What happened between you two?”

Everyponys faces flickered as this fact came to light.

“Well...” Twilight began, “we six are heading off somewhere, and Spike got upset when I told him this was for grown ponies only. You know how kids are.” she smiled as she lightly nudged the mailpony, trying to force the look on Spike’s face out of her mind. The playful gesture caused Ditzy to wince upon impact.

Pinkie Pie jumped right next to the mailpony. “Oh my gosh! Ditzy, are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. This just happens when you deliver a heavy package to the next town over. I just gotta stretch, and I’ll be good.” Before anypony else could say a word, Ditzy crouched on her forelegs, then immediately jerked herself into the air, releasing a succession of pops coming from her back. She stood there with gritted teeth, then let out a sigh of relief as she lowered herself onto the floor. “Much better. Just give me a sec to collect myself.” In a short span of time, she flipped herself into the air and landed. “Now then,” she began, “back to business.”

“I must say,” Rarity piped up, “The mail ponies seem to be working you really hard, don’t they?”

Ditzy just shook her head. “Oh no, they don’t. I mean, it’s a lot of work, but it’s still a decent job.”

“Exactly,” Rainbow Dash said, as she flew over to Ditzy’s side. “Speaking as another work pony, you just gotta take whatever gets dished out at ya, right Derp-d-Ditzy?”

Ditzy’s smile faded and was replaced with an emotionless guise. “Yeah... it sure is...” She then inaudibly muttered, “Rainbow Crash.”

Twilight coughed, as to clear the awkward air in the room. “So, thank you very much for delivering this so quickly.”

“My pleasure, Twilight.”

As the ponies spoke with Ditzy, Fluttershy walked to Rainbow Dash. She whispered, “Rainbow, you know she hates that name.”

“I know, I’m sorry. It just... kinda slipped out.”

“Well, please try to be more considerate next time,” Fluttershy said, moving towards the mailpony.

Considering the state of her eyes, and her clumsy nature, Ditzy was a target for bullying, earning her the nickname, Derpy Hooves. Ponies rarely called her by that name nowadays, but the name’s undertone still recalled dark memories for the grey pegasus.

Fluttershy said, “Would you like to rest here? It must’ve been awfully tiring to get this chest over here.”

Ditzy looked back. “No thanks, the mail doesn’t take a break, and neither can I.”

“Are you sure, Ditzy?” Twilight insisted, “I mean, being at Sugarcube Corner this morning, then off to Fillydelphia for most of the day, and finally coming back here can’t be an easy task.”

“Honestly, I appreciate the fact that you all care about my well-being, but I—” Ditzy stopped and raised an eyebrow. “What was that about Sugarcube Corner?”

“When you were there earlier today.”

“I... was never there, Twilight. Are you sure you mean me and not somepony else?”

“Yes, I mean you. You were there with the Doctor.”

“The Doctor?” Ditzy raised a hoof to her chin. “If you’re talking about yesterday, I was picking out treats for the fillies at Sugarcube Corner with Nurse Redheart. You do know she’s not a doctor yet, right?”

“No. I mean. The Doctor.”

“Doctor who?”

“That’s just it, he’s called The Doctor.”

Ditzy felt slightly agitated. “Okay then, Twilight. If you’re so sure, what exactly happened at Sugarcube Corner, today?”

“You were talking to me about—” Twilight immediately stopped herself, as the gears in her head began to turn. Her eyes began darting back and forth, as she tried to sort through several realizations at once. Not wanting to appear crazy, she centered her gaze towards Ditzy and said,“Uh... spoilers?” A very bad smile crept onto the unicorn’s face.

This peculiar answer earned her odd looks from everypony in the room. The mailpony said, “Ooookay then, Twilight... if you say so. In that case, I just need your signature, and we’re good to go.”

Not wanting to make the situation any more awkward, Twilight did as she was asked. One quick signature later, Ditzy had rolled up the signature sheet. “I’ll just open this up for you.”

Twilight stopped the mailpony. “No need to open it, yourself. You can get back to your job, and we’ll take care of this.”

“But I—”

“Really, Ditzy, it’s okay. I’ll just open this and... and...” Twilight’s face contorted as she worked her magic on the container. Despite the purple glow surrounding it, the lid wouldn’t budge, causing the purple unicorn to grow increasingly flustered at this predicament. She felt a hoof on her shoulder, dropping the chest in the process.

Ditzy walked in front of the purple unicorn, taking a key encased in a white glow out of her hair. “The princess enchanted the case so only this key would open it. She didn’t want to risk anything bad happening. I don’t know what’s in here, but it must be serious business for her to go so far to protect these goods.” She placed the key in the keyhole and used her mouth to unlock the chest. With her job done, she headed out the door, but not before she said, “See ya later, everypony! I hope to see you all at the Summer Sun Celebration!” Everypony else bade farewell as Ditzy took to the air. As she flew along, she murmured, “Spoilers...”

**********

Twilight levitated six objects out of the chest, the Elements of Harmony. Five of them were golden necklaces, each with a different gemstone for each pony: a pink butterfly for Fluttershy, an orange apple for Applejack, a red lightning bolt for Rainbow Dash, a blue balloon for Pinkie Pie, and a purple diamond for Rarity. The last element was in the form of a golden tiara. Several blue gemstones lined the metal, along with a pink, six-pointed star on top.

Victor came out of hiding and noticed the jewelry before him. So these are your elements, eh? I’m guessing they’re more powerful than they look. Once everypony grabbed their element, Victor took another look at his companions. I’m entrusting my life, the lives of everyone in London, Europe, maybe even the world, to these ponies. I just hope this is enough. “Now then,” Victor began, “if there’s nothing left to say, then it’s high time we head out.”

Twilight faced her friends. “Well, everypony. Are we ready?” Her friends nodded.

Victor clasped his hands together. “Alright. This belt is supposed keeps track of the most recent coordinates entered as input. Fluttershy, I need you to take us to wherever you found me. The entrance will appear there, and at the same time it’ll the exit in my world.”

“Um, well...” Fluttershy meeped, “It was actually Angel who found you, I just got you inside the house and helped you rest until you were okay. He would know better than anypony where you were.”

Angel hopped forward and looked like he was saying, “Stand back, ponies. I’ve got this.”

He was hopping towards the outdoors when Twilight shouted, “Stop, Angel! Don’t go out there!”

The white bunny skidded to a stop and gave Twilight a look that said, “What do you want, book-pony?”

“We need to be sure nopony is on the road before we go out.”

“That’s right,” Victor mused. “We don’t want anyone having a heart attack out there, seeing me and all.”

“Oooh, oooh!” Pinkie Pie shouted, “I know the perfect way to sneak Victor outside!”

**********

Outside, the front door to Fluttershy’s cottage opened. Fluttershy and Angel checked the road, and there was nopony for miles. “Okay, Angel. Lead the way,” Fluttershy said to her pet. First, Angel hopped across the road, towards the forest. Fluttershy followed close behind. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were next, as they quickly zipped across the road towards the forest. Rainbow Dash got high in the sky and took another look along the road, took another look along the road, noting that it was still bare. She signaled for the other two ponies to move. Applejack followed closely behind a nervous Twilight, who was holding a bundled up ball of blankets in the air. Once everypony was in the forest, Twilight said, “Okay, Victor, we’re in.”

The scientist escaped from the pile of cloth and said, “You know, I don’t know how that worked, nor am I going to question it. Let’s just get out of here.”

Angel hopped through the forest, weaving in and out of any vegetation along the way. The group followed his trail, watching for any extra obstacles that Angel could’ve easily outmaneuvered. Eventually, the white bunny came to a stop.

As everyone gathered together, Victor took note of his surroundings. “This spot... I remember seeing this before becoming knackered. We’re definitely in the right place. Thank you, Angel.”

The white bunny seemed to give a thumbs up, and went back to Fluttershy’s cottage.

Fluttershy said, “Oh, Angel, wait!”

“It’s better this way,” Twilight said, “he should stay at your cottage.”

Fluttershy looked on, as she was slowly losing sight of her pet, and said, “Oh... okay...”

With the ponies gathered near Victor, it was time. “All I need to do is get this set up. It shouldn’t take long.” He took a moment from his tinkering to say, “In the meantime, I suggest you all cherish this moment. This could be the last peaceful time we all have for a very, very long time.”

As Victor worked the many buttons on his belt, the ponies sat silently, enjoying the bounties nature had to offer them. The wind in their manes, the grass beneath their feet, the sun beaming onto their faces, and the ambiance of many animals that chattered away.

It’s funny, Twilight thought to herself, I used to not care for trivial matters like this. She slowly opened her eyes and looked to the sky. I want to come back to this... and help all of those in London achieve this sort of peace.

“It’s ready,” Victor said, breaking the ponies out of their trance. “I don’t want this portal open for too long, so you should prepare yourselves.”

“Let’s do this,” Applejack said, “show them monsters what’s what.” She stepped next to Victor, an aura of determination surrounding her body.

“I’m with ya, AJ,” Rainbow Dash commented to the orange mare.

“Yes, let’s make this quick, shall we?” Rarity added.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy moved closer. “Let’s go!” the pink pony exclaimed, as Fluttershy gave a complacent nod.

Twilight looked at the scientist. “We’re ready, Victor.”

He returned a nod, and said, “I’m activating this on the count of three. When it opens, you need to haul ass.”

Pinkie Pie gave him and odd look and asked, “What’s ass, and why would we need to haul it?”

Victor was again dumbfounded. “Ass is... is... you know what. It’s really not important right now. I’ll explain later. Just know that you all need to get ready to run really, really fast, alright?”

Applejack got into a starting position, as Rainbow Dash hovered in the air.

“One...”

Rarity and Twilight brushed some dirt away, as they took their places.

“Two...”

Pinkie Pie nudged the yellow pegasus, and whispered, “Don’t worry, Fluttershy. It’ll be fine.”

“Three!” Victor pressed the button on his belt buckle, making an entrance appear in front of them. Rainbow Dash was the first to enter, as she gusted between her friends. Next, Applejack and Rarity ran into the portal. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle followed close behind. Lastly, Victor ran headfirst after the others. The portal stayed in place for two seconds before closing up, leaving no trace of anypony having been in the forest.

Chapter 5: In the Beginning

It had been three hours since Victor first entered the portal to Equestria, and Horzine Industries was in shambles. Several sections of the laboratories were destroyed, and mangled bodies littered the floor. Word quickly got out about the chaos within the establishment, and more police units were sent in. They were only told to “contain the situation”. Within minutes of arriving at the establishment, the police forces had been literally torn to pieces. With the country’s safety at stake, the army was eventually called in. Unfortunately, even Britain’s finest men and women were no match against the continuous waves of specimens, and suffered the same fate as the police. The brigades of soldiers began to falter as panic set in; deserters ran about the streets, some soldiers even committed suicide in the wake of their impending demise. With nothing left to stop them, the specimens made their way to London, destroying anything in their path.

One lone soldier, Corporal Lewis, ran with all his might. He didn’t know where he would go, or how long it would take, so long as his legs took him somewhere safe. He turned a street corner and slipped on blood and entrails spilt from a nearby corpse. He stumbled several times in a panicky state as he tried regaining his stance. His army uniform seemed to have turned against him: the combined weight of his pocketed equipment made it a struggle to get up, the blood and fat on his gloves and combat boots made the surface incredibly slick, his army-camouflage styled helmet made him sweat like a pig, and the visor in his gas mask fogged up as he tried to catch his breath. Get up, goddamn it, get up! he thought as he cursed himself.

Suddenly, there was a snarl. The Corporal quickly turned around to see a clot reach for him. Sped up on adrenaline, Lewis grabbed the clot’s hands. The resulting momentum forced the soldier onto his back, and it became a struggle between the two for dominance. The clot’s hands were slowly breaking free from Lewis’ grip as its arms thrashed wildly. As soon as Lewis was certain he couldn’t hold on any longer, several gunshots rang through the air. The clot collapsed on top of him. He immediately shoved the carcass off and sat up, looking around to see a young soldier standing before him.

“Are you alright?” he asked as he extended a hand toward Lewis.

“Yes, I’m... I’m fine. Thanks to you,” Lewis said as he caught his breath and was hoisted onto his feet.

“Private Schnieder, and you are... ?”

Lewis hesitated before answering. Of all people, a Private had to save my ass. Pull yourself together! “Corporal Lewis.” He took a look over his savior. The young man wore the same uniform as Lewis, minus the gas mask, but didn’t show any signs of panic or inexperience that came with bearing the lowest army title. A Bullpup assault rifle rested in his right hand, and two additional weapons were holstered at his sides.

“I don’t mean to insinuate anything, sir, but what exactly are you doing alone out here?” Schnieder inquired. “I thought all squads were supposed to maintain the perimeter around Horzine.”

Rather than explaining how he had been frantically running for his life, he replied, “I was ordered to head into West London and lead any survivors to safety. What of your squad?”

Schnieder’s face scrunched for a brief second before he muttered, “Dead... sir.”

“Dead? How are you still alive?”

“My squad was swarmed, sir. We all fought our hardest and... I was the only one to make it out.”

“I see,” Lewis said. “I’m sorry.” He gave his subordinate a sympathetic nod.

“Don’t be.” At that moment, more gunshots broke the silence. “Well, sounds like there are more survivors, sir.” Without hesitation, Schnieder ran towards the source of the noise, with Lewis following close behind. They eventually came across two police officers fighting off a swarm of specimens. Blood coated their blue police jumpsuits and black police vests.

The first of these two was Police Sergeant Davin, who was busy using an AK-47 to defend himself. He wore a gas mask just like Lewis, but not once did he bother to wipe the blood showering his visor. “Two on your left!” he shouted.

“Got it!” his fellow officer replied as he gave a crowd of gorefasts a lethal dose of shotgun pellets. The other officer was Police Constable Briar. The mask he wore previously belonged to, a riot officer, which revealed a pair of eager-looking brown eyes. “That makes forty-nine for me!” he shouted.

“You’ve got to step up your game, Briar. I’ve got fifty-seven!”

“Switch sides, Davin?”

“You got it, mate!”

“One...”

“Two...”

“Three!!!” The officers unanimously shouted, as they rotated to face a new crowd of enemies.

Briar noticed the two soldiers standing from afar with blank faces. After he turned a clot’s head into a bloody pulp, he yelled, “Oi! You poncies gonna stand there all day or help us?!”

Lewis quietly mentioned, “I need a bloody shooter.”

The Private gave his superior the Bullpup. “You take it. I’ve got these.” He un-holstered the two weapons, revealing a pair of polished 50 cailber AE handguns. “Nothing like a couple of handcannons, eh?” The two soldiers ran towards the officers and began eliminating the crowd of enemies before them. Many bullets later, the four gunmen stood aside the pile of corpses. Schnieder re-holstered one of his handguns and said, “It’s good to see some living mates, my name is—”

“That’s great,” Briar interrupted, “but we don’t care. Especially about two soldiers who were too bloody spooked to even help.”

“My apologies, sir,” Schnieder calmly said, “it’s just... you two looked like you didn’t need our help.”

“‘Didn’t need our help,’ he says”

“What a plonker!” Both of the officers laughed for the moment.

“Well, excuse us for not making this entire event look like a primary school field trip!” Lewis defended.

The police officers looked at each other, then back to the soldiers. Davin pointed out, “Briar and I are a bit busy celebrating.”

“Celebrating what?” Lewis asked incredulously.

“The end of the world.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” rang a voice from afar. The four men turned to see Lieutenant Masterson approach them. He wore the same uniform as his fellow soldiers and carried a lever action rifle. “Name and ranks, all of you,” he ordered.

“Corporal Lewis, sir.”

“Private Schnieder, sir.”

Masterson was silent, then cleared his throat as he looked at the two police officers.

Briar sighed and shook his head. “Police Constable Briar...”

Davin apathetically said, “Police Sergeant Davin.”

“Alright, you lot. I am Lieutenant Masterson. Right now, we need to find a way to shut down this hell hole that Horzine has managed to open. Now let’s move.”

“Wait just a tick!” Davin objected, “Who the bloody hell died and made you leader. For that matter, who said that we’re even going near that loony bin?”

Masterson slowly approached the officers and stressed, “Take a look around, do you see anyone else around here? No, you don’t. Because they’re dead.

“In case you’re not aware, you’re police officers, sworn to protect London’s civilians. Right now, the only good it looks like you tossers have done is just create a royal mess of things. All that gunfire is going to attract every one of those zombies, and they’ll be coming here.

“I never said I’d be the leader. I’m just the only one who seems to have any good ideas, unless you two have got a great plan that doesn’t involve alerting more of those things.”

As the men bickered about what would happen, Schnieder took a look to his left. His eyes grew bigger at the sight before him. He tapped Lewis on the shoulder, turning his attention to the street. A bloat was marching towards the group. The tall, bald, and morbidly obese specimen sluggishly walked while sunlight gleamed off the butchers knife in its hand. It hoarsely groaned, “I am so hungry.” focusing the entire group’s attention on the jaundice-plagued creature.

“He’s mine,” Briar said as he readied his shotgun. However, as soon as his iron sights were aligned, the officer was startled by the crack of a rifle. The bloat flopped onto the floor, fragments of its head scattered onto the street.

Masterson coolly lowered his weapon, a small trail of smoke coming from the barrel. “That’s just the beginning, Constable. They’re are drawn to sound and keep coming out of Horzine by the dozens. Something down there keeps churning them out, so we need to head into the facility, find out where they keep coming from, and destroy the place. If you don’t want to help, that’s on you. Just be aware that you’re going to have one hell of a fight on your hands, and the odds won’t be in your favor.”

The two men engaged each other into a stare. Davin tapped his comrade on the shoulder, noting that neither of the men were likely to budge without any intervention. “Think of it this way, mate. More of those smegheads will be lining themselves up for a one way ticket to hell. Might as well oblige them, don’t you think?”

After a moment of consideration, Briar hoisted his shotgun over his shoulder. “Fine,” he reluctantly agreed. “I still think you’re crazy.”

“Better crazy than deranged,” the Lieutenant mused. He faced his subordinates. “I trust you two are coming along?”

“Sir, yes sir!” Schnieder and Lewis chirped, snapping themselves to attention.

Masterson turned towards their destination. “Let’s move out. Make sure to check for any signs of movement. If it isn’t human, don’t hesitate to shoot.” He marched towards Horzine Industries, his newly formed squadron following close behind.

As the group kept their wits about them, Schnieder pondered, “How did we never notice anything like this? One day, everything is sunshine and daisies, now this place is a killing floor.”

Davin scoffed, “Perhaps if you soldiers thought for yourselves, you’d see that the answer’s right in front of you. It’s a government cover-up.”

Lewis rolled his eyes. “Right. That explains everything, doesn’t it? Please, I doubt the government would actua—”

“It’s true,” Masterson blankly stated.

“Wh... what?! You can’t be serious!”

He inferred, “Parliament funded Horzine to create those zombies. They were meant to be soldiers, and I suppose you could argue they did a damn good job. Problem is, some idiot released them in the wrong city.”

Schnieder rubbed his forehead. “So... this is our own damn fault. Is that what you’re saying?”

“That’s the harsh truth of things, private,” he said as he looked back at his subordinate.

“Fascinating,” Briar mentioned callously. “Mind telling us how you know all of this?”

A look of insecurity flashed on Masterson’s face for an instant before he replied, “Let’s just say Horzine and I have a bit of history together.”

“Well,” Davin broke in, “we’ve got some time before we get there, I’d say it’s a lovely opportunity for a story, wouldn’t you agree, Briar?”

“Oh, yes,” he mocked, “I find story-time simply smashing! Perhaps when you’re done with that, we can talk about... the... what the bloody hell is he doing?”

The soldiers turned back to see Briar and Davin staring down an alleyway. As they moved behind the police officers, they noticed what left the officers dumbstruck.

Another soldier was whistling a tune while huddled in the alley. He also wore a gas mask and fashioned the same attire as the soldiers who observed him from afar. He brought down a machete to sever fingers from the corpses of slain specimens, placing the appendages in his pockets.

Eventually, Masterson cleared his throat and stated, “Name and rank, soldier.” This directing the soldier’s attention towards the five men who were quizzically staring at him. He stared at the group for three seconds before resuming his work, opting to cease his tune. “I said-”

“Powers.”

“Excuse me?”

He snapped a stubborn finger off another corpse’s hand before repeating himself. “Sergeant Powers. That’s who I am. I’m busy, so leave.”

The five men exchanged looks before Schnieder spoke up. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you cutting off their fingers?”

Powers responded, “It feels good, now go,” without skipping a beat.

Briar whispered, “I, for one, think we should listen to the lunatic and get moving.”

“We’re going to need all the manpower we can get,” Masterson countered.

“Are you sure you’re not deranged?” he quietly jabbed. “Look at him! He’s collecting their bloody fingers, for christ’s sake!”

An unsettling smile grew onto the ringleader’s face. “And isn’t that the kind of person you’d want on your side?” Feeling the looks of disbelief prod into the back of his head, Masterson explained, “We’ll keep an eye on him, but those specimens would be much easier to neutralize with more of us, wouldn’t you agree?”

Before anyone else could put in their two cents, the Lieutenant approached Powers. “I have a proposition for you, if you’re int—”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Masterson faltered as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Davin, who said, “Let me handle this.” He stepped in front of his fellow fighter and knelt before the Sergeant. “Please excuse my friend, he’s a bit of a prat and doesn’t understand people and their needs.” He ushered his superior out of the alley as he continued, “We’ll be leaving now. So sorry for disturbing you.” Just before heading back onto the street, Davin spoke up again. “Oh, wait. There’s just one more thing I feel I should mention. We’re heading to Horzine Industries.”

Powers elicited no response.

“We’re going to kill every single one of those bastards, too.”

There was a slight hesitation on the butcher’s part, then resumed his collecting duties.

“Just think of all the bodies littering the ground when we’re done. All those heads... arms and legs... fingers.”

Davin now had the soldier’s full attention.

“If you come with us, we’ll give you time to collect as many fingers as your little heart desires. What do you say?”

He looked back at the now-fingerless hand he held, then he looked at the bodies behind him, all fingerless. “Okay.”

Davin smirked underneath his gas mask. “Right-o! Welcome aboard, Sergeant. I can tell we’re going to be the best of friends!” He turned to see looks of disbelief staring back at him. “That, my friends, is how you get a psychopath to join your group.”

Powers wiped the blood off of his weapon as he stood up. “Lead the way.”

The squadron advanced through the streets, efficiently taking down any wayward specimens who were unlucky enough to leave themselves in the open. Three street corners later, the building in question came into view. Horzine’s name was illuminated by a blue light underneath each letter. Flaming debris was scattered around the building’s entrance, along with toppled police cars that exhibited splotches of blood on their exterior.

Schnieder plugged his nose shut. “What a horrid smell.”

“Ah yes, such a terrible aroma. How will we ever survive?” Davin toyed as he tapped on his mask. “I suppose we’ll have to endure it for now.”

Masterson piped up, “He’s right. The smell should be the least of our concerns. Let’s find a way down.”

Everyone navigated through the cement blocks, door frames, and bodies that rested on the floor.

The lieutenant asked, “Anyone have a torch?”

Briar fiddled with his shotgun until the light holstered on its chamber illuminated the room. The scarce entryway showed nothing but a vacant desk. A staircase was on their left, and a hallway off to the right. “What do you make of this?” the Constable asked as he lit up a nearby wall. Coats of red clashed with the pastel colored wall, coupled with the phrase “Look at us” smudged several times onto it.

“Nothing good, that’s for sure,” Lewis commented.

Powers shrugged and remarked, “Doesn’t matter. Let’s go.”

“So, which way?” Briar said as he pointed his light towards both options. The noise of shuffling feet down the corridor gave them their answer. With weapons drawn, the squadron neither moved nor blinked as they waited for movement.

Masterson called out, “We know you’re there. If you’re not one of them, come out, or we’ll assume you’re a threat and open fire.”

Reluctantly, a man crept into their line of sight, his hands trembling as he held an axe above his head. He pleaded, “Please... don’t shoot!”

“What’s your name?”

“G-G-Gary Glover, sir!”

“Do you know where you are?”

“I-I’m in Horzine Industries, sir.”

After a moment of reflection, he lowered his rifle. “Boy’s got his head on straight. Stand down.”

Without the many weapons in his face, Gary let out a trembling sigh as he approached the group of men. “Thank you. Y-you must be the—”

“Stay where you are!” Davin barked as he fixed his weapon onto the scientist.

“I said stand down, Sergeant,” Masterson hissed.

“Not until we know who he is. What’s your story, and what’s the bloody axe for?”

Gary looked at his weapon and dropped it on the floor. “I needed something to defend myself from those... things,” he stated. “I worked in the biotics division of Horzine, and—”

“You work for Horzine?” Schnieder loudly repeated. “You mean you helped make those zombies?”

When the hazmat-suit-donning scientist softly nodded his head, Briar stepped up and shoved the barrel of the shotgun into his face. Everyone except Powers shouted at Briar to restrain himself, but the officer heard nothing. “Then give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blow your head off!” He then felt an object prod into the back of his head.

“How’s this for a reason?” the Private asked as he gripped the trigger of his Handcannon. “We’re here to stop this catastrophe, not murder civvies in cold blood.”

“Have you got the brass to pull the trigger, Cyril?”

“Don’t try me.”

“That’s enough!” Masterson roared. “We’re not going to get anywhere if we start killing each other! We’re in this together, you two should act like it.” He walked towards Briar and pulled the shotgun’s barrel away from Gary, looking right into the other man’s eyes. “If you pull a stunt like this again, I’m killing you myself. Are we clear?”

Briar slowly took two steps back. “... Fine.”

“Fine what?”

His eyes narrowed. “Fine... sir.”

“I’m glad you see it my way.” He moved the officer aside and stepped before Gary. “I’m terribly sorry for his behavior. You said your name was Gary, right?”

Gary shied away as he sputtered, “Y-yes.”

“I’m Lieutenant Masterson, and we need you to come with us.”

He shot a bewildered look. “With you? The bastard pulls a gun in my face, and you want me to tag along? How do I know something like that, or worse, isn’t going to happen to me?”

Masterson patted the trembling man on the shoulder. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t step out of line again. You have my word. Right now, however, you’re the only Horzine employee we’ve found alive. We’ve got to shut down whatever it is that’s creating those things. You know this place better than any of us, and I know you want to fix this mess. Help us help you.” He extended a hand towards the troubled scientist.

After a moment of consideration, Gary wearily accepted the hand shake. “Where do you want to go?”

**********

In the top level of Horzine’s biotics department, the portal device spun rapidly as a gateway opened. Shortly after, Twilight, along with her friends and Victor, tumbled on the floor. The purple unicorn held a hoof to her forehead as she groaned, “Is everypony okay?”

“Define ‘okay’,” Rainbow Dash replied. “My head’s a little fuzzy, but I’m fine.”

Applejack shook the dust out of her coat. “Ah reckon ahm right n’ dandy.”

“I wish we could say the same,” Rarity grumbled as she held both herself and a weakened Fluttershy.

Twilight asked concernedly, “Will you two be alright?”

“My ears won’t stop ringing, but I am fine otherwise. What about you, Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus silently nodded her head as she tried to keep herself on all fours.

Pinkie Pie bounced as she said, “I’m right-a-roony, but Victor’s not. Look!” as she pointed her hoof to the corner of the room.

Victor was busy vomiting the tea he drank before arriving. “Bloody hell...” he moaned before he started to stumble once again. Twilight’s horn glowed, enveloping the scientist in a magenta-colored aura. Fatigue and weariness slowly retreated from his features until the scientist looked like his former self. She gently set him on the ground. “Thanks for that. Saves us a load of time.” He proceeded to shut down the portal device. “I knew it,” he whispered, “it’s set to inter-dimensional.”

Rarity let out a gag. “I can handle the incessant ringing in my ears, but what is that awful smell?” She plugged her nose and continued, “It’s even worse than a diamond dog’s cave!”

“It’s coming from...” Twilight stopped herself. There’s no putting this lightly, is there? “... From the bodies of the dead humans.”

Rarity’s eyes slowly grew wide with this grim realization. “I... see.”

“The smell is only going to get worse for every second that we stand here,” Victor remarked. “We need to head to the lower levels.”

“Wait a sec,” Rainbow objected. “We’re trying to save London, right? Wouldn’t it make more sense to go there?”

He crossed his arms. “There’s a friend who is waiting for me on the lowest level.”

“You mean the human named Gary, right?” Twilight pondered.

“Yes. I didn’t think you saw him. Then you know why we’re heading back?”

She nodded once.

With a slight smile, Victor said, “Good. A promise is a promise, after all. Now, once Gary has been found, we move to the cloning station. Then to the streets of London, and hopefully we find some help out there.”

Victor headed towards the hole where the door previously was. “Let’s go, everyone. And remember: be quiet,” he said as he waved his companions into the halls.

As everypony made their way out of the room, they came to grips with the bitter reality of their situation. Bodies littered the floor, most of them disfigured beyond recognition. Fluttershy squeaked as she noticed the puddle of blood she stepped in. She latched herself onto Pinkie Pie, who tried her best to console her shaking friend. Rainbow Dash went a shade pale as Rarity tried moving herself away from the mess. Applejack walked over to Twilight. “Y’all saw this in yer dream?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat before replying, “Yes, but it wasn’t this bad...”

As he took note of their reactions, Victor mentioned, “I know this is a lot to process, but we have to keep moving. The door at the end of the hall is the quickest way to where my friend is holed up.”

Everypony filed behind the scientist, being wary of any unsettling substances that littered their path.

They were halfway down the hall when Victor spoke aloud once more. “Now, when it comes to your Elements of... whatever, should I stand back when you use them?”

Twilight’s ears perked up. “That would be best. We wouldn’t want you caught in the crossfire.”

“Of course, of course. First bugger we see is going to be in for a nasty surprise.”

“First?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “You mean we’re only using the Elements on one enemy?”

“We’d have to start playing the lottery if we only ran into one of them,” he scoffed. “I’m just saying that if we run into them, I’d just step back and let you lot use your Elements on it, right?” He kept walking until he noticed the lack of a response behind him. The expression on his face slowly shifted to anticipated disappointment when he saw Twilight’s ears fold back and her eyes shift away. “Please tell me there isn’t something else I’m not aware of.”

The purple unicorn swallowed a lump as she mumbled, “I’m sorry... There was so much going on that it slipped my mind.”

“Stop the excuses and just tell me what’s going on.”

Twilight slowly met Victor’s furrowed brow. “While it is true that the Elements of Harmony can defeat anything in their path, using this power immensely drains all of us. If we do need them...”

“Then it will take a while to recharge, is that correct?” he finished abruptly.

“I’m so, so sorry,” She apologized profusely. “I was just—”

Victor held up his right hand, stopping any further explanations. “Just tell me we at least have a means to defend ourselves.”

“A’course we do!” Applejack chimed in, “We’ve all got some fight in us, with r’ without them Elements.”

Rainbow Dash nodded her head. “Y-yeah,” she quietly added, “Applejack’s right! Nopony’s gonna take us down that easily, am I right?” She earned nods from each of her friends.

The scientist let out a sigh. “As comforting as your bravado is, you’re still going to need... some...” he trailed off as his mind got to work. “Change of plans. We need to hurry!”

Fluttershy murmured, “W-w-why? What are we doing?”

“When I made a break for this room, there was another man with me. He worked for the security team here, so he’d know if Horzine is packing any heat!”

Pinkie Pie asked, “How does a ginormous building—”

“He’d know if this place has any weapons,” he interrupted. “Now hurry! That bastard had better still be alive.”

As Victor Marched off, the pink pony quietly exclaimed, “I feel a combo coming on!” Everypony turned their attention to their friend, but he quickly brushed it off. “I’ll go check up ahead while you... do whatever it is that you’re doing.”

“What’s yer Pinkie Sense tellin’ ya now?” Applejack asked as her friend prepared herself for the incoming, uncontrollable reflexes.

“I don’t know, but here it comes!”

Victor was fifteen steps away from the door.

The first reaction came, her ears flopped.

Twelve steps.

Next, her eyes fluttered.

Nine steps.

Finally, her knees twitched.

Five steps.

That combo. Watch out for opening... Twilight’s eyes shot wide as she whipped around to see Victor reach for the door handle. She shouted, “No, Victor! Don’t—”

As the scientist opened the door, he turned towards Twilight, ready to chastise her for not keeping quiet. He was quickly silenced after seeing everypony’s eyes shrink with fear. Victor turned around in time to see a bloat standing before him. He quickly slammed the door shut as the obese specimen vomited a shower of brown sludge in his direction. It began to repeatedly slam against the door.

“We gotta help him!” Rainbow Dash cried as she rushed forward to keep the door closed. Applejack joined the blue pegasus as they pushed with all their might. Eventually, the banging stopped. They backed themselves away from the door, one by one, breathing a sigh of relief as the danger passed

“What was that thing?” Applejack asked.

“That was a bloat. Nasty bugger. Spits corrosive acid at anyone in front of it. No one got hit, did they?”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight supplied. She looked to each of her friends, who shook their heads accordingly. “Is there another way to find Gary?”

Victor tapped his forehead before saying, “Yes, There’s a stairway at the end of the hall. Then it’s just a quick run towards the control center.”

“Look!” Rarity exclaimed as she pointed her hoof behind everyone. The door’s surface began to bubble as the bloat’s bile began to seep through their only line of defense. To make matters worse, the sounds of more specimens could be heard closing in on the group.

He yelled, “Get the hell out of here!” as everypony ran along their new route. A clot dropped from the ceiling, wandering towards the group. Everyone skidded to a halt, but Rainbow Dash swooped forward, kicking the specimen square in the chest and sending it into the wall.

“Keep going!” she shouted as the door gave way behind them and more specimens began to pick up on their trail.

As they traveled down a long stairway, Victor cried, “We’re almost there, let’s hu—”

“Look out!” Twilight interrupted as she pointed to another bloat at the bottom of the staircase. Victor held the group of equines back as it let out a spew of bile. They were just outside of the specimen’s range to receive any injury.

Victor shouted, “Everyone, run around it, quickly!” While the bloat was preparing to strike with its weapon, Victor knocked the specimen off balance. The cleaver skidded across the floor as the bloat picked itself off the floor, only to receive a sharp kick in the nose from Rarity. The creature let out a cry of pain as it rolled on its back.

Victor and Rarity retreated from the creature. “Let’s make this quick,” the scientist began, “I’m sure Gary would want an explan... ation.” His heart sank as he saw the current state of his previous sanctuary: the barricade was destroyed, and several of the scientists had been mutilated. He trudged into the room, staring at the massacre in disbelief. “No, no, no, no! It wasn’t supposed to happen this way!”

Fluttershy let out a startled cry as the bloat from before waddled towards the group. “What are we going to do?” She squealed as everyone stuck to the corner behind them.

Twilight’s horn glowed as she sent a wave of magic into the specimen, knocking it backwards. “We’ve got to come up with a plan! Your friend isn’t here, Victor. What’s the quickest way out?” The bloat got back onto its feet, only to be knocked down by a much more powerful burst of energy.

“That bastard’s blocking our exit,” he explained. “We’ve just got to slip past him and keep heading up from there.”

Rainbow Dash commented, “What are we waiting for? It’s on its back, right? Let’s get out of here!”

“But what about the puke?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“It’s nothing that we can’t get around,” Victor added. “Now is as good a time as ever!”

The group evaded the specimen while it struggled onto its feet. As they headed up the staircase, Applejack stopped and looked back at the bloat. It was already up and walking. “Only one thing t’ do,” she said to herself.

“Applejack, what are you doing?” Victor cried out. “Get out of there!”

She looked over her shoulder. “This thing’ll just keep comin’ and comin’ unless we put a stop to it now!” She ran right at the bloat, positioning herself to attack.

“No, stop!” Victor yelled as he shoved himself past the onlooking ponies.

Applejack whipped herself around and delivered a swift kick to the bloat’s stomach. This attack, combined with the constant magical attacks from Twilight, were enough to put the bloat out of commission, but not before it exploded in a shower of bile. The orange mare’s heart sunk as her impending doom approached at an unavoidable speed. Suddenly, she felt a tug at her tail as Victor threw her into the safety of her friends, leaving the scientist showered in the aftermath of the specimen’s death.

He screamed as he writhed on the floor. On instinct, he tried rubbing the bile off of his body, only to unintentionally start ripping off his damaged skin. Brown and red liquids intertwined as Victor created his own personal misery. Mercifully, his suffering was cut short. Twilight’s horn glowed as she attempted to remedy his pain, but a nearby gorefast’s blade sliced into his neck. A jet of blood spewed once from the orifice before he stumbled onto the floor below. The specimen knelt down to feast on the scientist’s corpse.

The air seemed to turn cold as the reality of death set in for everypony. With all prior restraints ripped away, Rarity let out a scream.

**********

The elevator door opened as all seven men stepped out. “So parliament paid all of you to do this?” Schnieder asked Gary.

“Specifically they paid Mr. Clamely, but yes.”

“Well, isn’t that comforting,” Briar chided. “And just how much shit did you get all of us into?”

Before the ex-employee could speak, Masterson retorted, “Not enough for you to learn to shut your yapper.” Everyone silenced up as he continued, “The cloning facility is down below, correct?”

Gary said, “That’s right. We have to shut down the incubators in order to stop more of them from coming out.”

“Wait,” Davin chimed in, “We saw at least four different buggers on the way here. Just how many zombies did you lot make?”

“... There are nine types in total.”

Lewis face-palmed. “This just gets better and better. What exactly do we have waiting for us, anyway?”

Gary cleared his throat. “It seems you’ve already seen the clot, gorefast, bloat, and crawler. Those are the more docile ones... There’s also the stalker. Runs around invisible, and guts you when she gets close with her claws.

“Invisible bitch,” Powers bellowed.

“Then you’ve got the husk. It’s a bit bulky, but nothing too terrorizing. However, you’ve got to watch the weapon on its arm. It shoots fireballs that explode upon contact with anything it touches.”

“Fireballs?” Schnieder asked.

The scientist nodded, “We were focused on making the next line of soldiers. Some of us figured a wad of fire would be most effective. Didn’t imagine our technology would be used on us. Anyways, you’ve got the siren that—”

A high pitched wail echoed through the hall.

Masterson declared, “Someone’s still alive, let’s go!” as he charged down the hall. The remaining soldiers and officers followed suit, leaving Gary in the dust.

“W-wait! That could be...” he let out a groan of frustration as he chased his bodyguards.

As the Lieutenant ran, he could make out multiple voices. A group of survivors? We’ve got to hurry! After ducking in and out of more halls, he stopped as a group of specimens were seen trying to get into the Sector B Observatories, seemingly stuck at the entrance. Barricaded, he assumed. Very good, but it won’t last. He turned to see the rest of his squad follow in behind. “We’ve got us a bit of a fight ahead.”

**********

“What are we gonna do?” Pinkie Pie cried as she and her friends stared at the group of specimens held back by a barrier Twilight produced.

“What can we do?” Rarity amended. “If anything, we can only hold off those horrible creatures for so long! We’ll be walking blind out there!”

“Now ain’t the time fer that kinda talk, Rarity!” Applejack scolded. “There’s gotta be somethin’ we kin do!”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, everypony. This is all my fault.”

Rainbow Dash stood next to the purple unicorn. “Don’t start talking like that. We all knew this was going to be dangerous... just... not like this.”

The barrier faltered for a slight instant, bringing some specimens closer. Tears began to stream from Fluttershy’s eyes as she held her hooves over her head. “Somepony make them leave! Make them go away!”

Twilight looked away from the menacing glares that bore into her psyche. Focus, Twilight! she told herself. You’re a student of the princess! Just calm down, there’s definitely something here, just... focus. Her body trembled as she drew in a large breath. As she exhaled, the gears in her brain got to work. Her eyes darted all throughout the room to see what could be used at their disposal. A plan hatched in her head as she said over her shoulder, “I have an idea, everypony!”

Her friends looked towards the unicorn as she continued, “It’s going to take all of us in order to pull this off, but it should work. We don’t have any room for error, so listen up!”

**********

“First, I’ll be tossing a grenade,” Masterson told his squad. “That should take care of most of the buggers while attracting the others towards us. Briar, you take point, and use that shooter of yours to take care of any incoming zombies. Next, Schnieder and Lewis will...”

**********

“... kick the other bloat thing as hard as you can. I’ll cover the acid it sprays with magic and shower the other specimens with it. While they’re stunned, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy will...”

**********

“...shoot every last bastard that comes down this hallway. Make sure you get your shots down properly, we can’t waste ammo at a time like this. Powers and Gary, you two will...”

**********

“...use my magic in order to see if any of them are still alive. Understand?”

“Gotcha!”

“Ahm ready!”

“Right!”

“O-o-okay!”

“Let’s do this!”

**********

“Alright, prepare yourselves. The element of surprise will only last us for so long.” Masterson then removed the pin from his grenade and gave it a good toss.

**********

“One last thing, everypony,” Twilight added. “No matter what happens here, I want all of you to know... you’re all my very best friends, and I love you all very much.”

Rainbow Dash cried, “You can tell us again when we make it out of this mess!”

Twilight gave a slight smile. “Alright then, on my count. One... two... th—”

An explosion interrupted her train of thought, followed by many loud cracks and booms that deafened everypony. The chaos continued for fifteen seconds before quieting down. The room was filled with a dusty haze as two figures walked into the room, attacking bodies on the floor. “They’re all dead, sir!” one voice called out. As more figures made their way into the room, Twilight slowly powered down her barrier. Nopony said a word.

Another voice echoed, “Do a thorough search of the place, one of them could be squirming in all this dust.” As everypony stayed motionless, a figure became more defined as it approached the ponies. Soon, they all stared right into the mask it wore, revealing a pair of shocked eyes.

Acting on instinct, Twilight immediately created another barrier in time to deflect a blast of metal pellets from hitting Pinkie Pie. “What the bloo—” was all it could yell before the purple unicorn cast a powerful burst of magic that sent the figure flying into the wall.

“In the corner!” A voice shouted as more figures could be made out from the obstruction. In Twilight’s state of panic, her horn glowed brilliantly as she teleported herself and her friends out of danger.

“What just happened?” Schnieder exclaimed as he entered the room.

“Those things looked like a bunch of bloody ponies!” Briar exclaimed as he got to his feet. “Were humans not enough?” he accused Gary. “Did you have to start cloning horses too?”

“Hold on,” Gary said, defending himself, “what the devil are you talking about?”

“There were a bunch of fucking horses over there, that’s what!”

“But we’ve never worked with horses!”

“... Never?”

He shook his head. “All Mr. Clamely ever focused on was trying to create the perfect batches of people. If there actually are horses here, then they’re not ours.”

“It’s yellow,” Powers uttered as he lazily pointed his hand toward a dissipating dust cloud. Everyone’s attention turned to the object of the Sergeant’s interest.

Masterson asked, “What the bloody hell is that?”

**********

One purple flash later, the group of ponies landed on a checker-patterned floor in their current destination. Everypony scanned the room with puzzled expressions. Ransacked cabinets and shelves were on their left, piles of shattered plates lying below. A shattered window and broken door lay waiting on their right. “Where are we?” Pinkie Pie asked as she broke the silence.

“I...” Twilight began as she backed into a water cooler, “I don’t know.”

“Nevermin’ that, what the hay happened back there?” Applejack asked nopony in particular. “Were those things other hyuumans r’ some other kinda creature?”

Rainbow Dash unnoticedly said, “Uh... guys?”

“They had to be other humans,” Rarity declared. “That thing spoke, and not like that obscenely fat specimen either. Perhaps the rest of those things were humans too.”

“Guys?”

“But why did they attack us?” Pinkie Pie queried. “I thought humans were nice.”

“Guys...”

Twilight let out a sigh. “Well, it seems that not everypony is as nice as... as... Victor.” Almost everypony looked away at the mention of their dead navigator.

“Guys!!!” Rainbow Dash shouted during the moment of silence, startling everypony in the room.

“What?” they shouted back.

With a fearful expression, the blue pegasus asked, “Where’s Fluttershy?”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Fluttershy? She’s right he—” Her eyes grew large as she turned around. The timid flier was nowhere to be seen. “Fluttershy? Where are you? Fluttershy!” She ran to the cabinets and yanked each door open, becoming increasingly frantic as each cabinet revealed nothing.

Rainbow Dash checked the upper cabinets while Rarity and Applejack checked the brown sofa at the end of the room. Pinkie Pie started to dig through the potted plant that sat in the corner of the room. Despite their best efforts, their friend was nowhere to be seen.

Twilight paced around the room. She couldn’t have gone far, she reasoned. Where are you, Fluttershy?

“She couldn’t have gone far,” Rainbow Dash pointed out, “but why would she leave?”

Twilight replayed the entire chain of events in her mind as she paced in a circle. Suddenly, she stopped in place as she realized the only practical answer. “Maybe... maybe she wasn’t the one to leave.” She blankly treaded towards the opposite end of the room and sat on her haunches, facing away from her friends as her shoulders began to shake. “I screwed up,” she muttered. “I screwed up big time.” As the purple unicorn tried to control her sobs, her friends looked at each other. Rarity stepped next to her friend and laid a hoof on her shoulder. Twilight ignored her touch and continued, “I told her it would be okay...”

“Dear,” Rarity consoled, “this isn’t... you need to calm down.”

Twilight sniffled, “Calm down?” She harshly batted her friend’s hoof away. “Calm down?! How can any of you be calm right now???” Tears streamed from her enraged eyes. “I acted too hastily, and now Fluttershy is all alone in who-knows-where! If not that, she’s... she’s...” Her eyes clenched shut as she tried not to finish the thought. “Spike made me promise that I’d keep everypony safe!” She looked back at Rarity. “He had tears in his eyes when I told him that he couldn’t come, did you know that? Just look at us now! We haven’t even been in this world for half an hour and Fluttershy is...”

Before anything else could be said, Rarity reached forward and embraced her friend. Within seconds, the purple unicorn melted and cried into her friend’s coat. Everypony gathered around their friend and joined in the comforting gesture. “Listen to me, Twilight,” Rarity whispered, “we can still go find Fluttershy, it’s not too late!”

She rubbed her nose before answering, “How? We don’t even know where she could be.”

Rarity pulled away from Twilight. “With this,” she said as she nudged her necklace.

“That’s right!” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Rarity has her gem finding spell!”

Applejack tapped her hoof against her chin. “That necklace is a gemstone too! Ahm perty sure she’s still wearin’ it.”

“Then we can find Fluttershy!” Pinkie Pie finished.

Twilight countered, “But... what if we find her and she—”

Rarity placed her hoof on her fellow unicorn’s mouth. “Don’t say that,” Rarity pleaded. “We can’t give up now. Fluttershy’s waiting for us!”

Twilight wiped her tears away and smiled. “Thank you... all of you. You’re right. We don’t have any time to waste. Rarity, can you find her?”

The white unicorn’s horn began to glow as she closed her eyes. Slowly, Rarity could make out many surfaces glowing with a light-blue aura. She turned towards her friends and startled herself; while she couldn’t exactly see anypony, there was a bright colored glow where each of her friends stood.

“Wow, Rarity,” Pinkie Pie said, “Your necklace is really bright!”

“My what?” She opened her eyes and noticed the purple glow that slowly died down from her jewelry. “That’s never happened before... Nevermind that.” Rarity resumed her search, muttering to herself, “If everypony glowed the same color as their coat...” She proceeded to wander aimlessly until she found what she was looking for: a yellow colored glow, and it was surrounded by several white glowing spheres far below them. “I found her!” she cried as her eyes shot open. “She’s far below all of us, but I think Fluttershy’s safe!”

With a sigh of relief, Twilight said, “Lead the way, Rarity!”

With Rarity at the front, everypony ran into the hallway and down a flight of stairs, unaware of another pair of footsteps following close behind.

**********

Fluttershy lay trembling in the corner as she hid her face from the six humans in front of her.

“So we’re in agreement, yes?” Lewis said confusedly. “That’s a real pegasus, right?”

Powers piped up, “Seems that way.”

Where is everypony? The timid pegasus asked herself. What happened my friends? What are these things going to do to me? She could feel tears welling in her eyes as time dragged on.

“Give it some air, will you?” Gary said as he moved in front of the soldiers. “It’s scared, for christ’s sake, and huddling up around it won’t help!”

Briar disdainfully said, “You’re kidding, right?” He received a glare in response. “Alright, fine. We’ll give you your personal space.”

With his six cohorts backed away, Gary knelt on the floor as he cooed, “Hey, it’s alright. We’re not going to hurt you.” He extended his hand, hoping to coerce Fluttershy towards him. The pegasus’ noted the gesture, slightly poking her head out, but she wouldn’t budge.

Masterson spoke up, “We really don’t have time for this, Gary. We’ve got things to do.”

Wait... that name...

“I’m not just going to leave it here,” the scientist replied. “It won’t la—”

“You’re Gary?” Fluttershy interrupted, only to hide herself when seven pairs of bewildered eyes fell onto her.

Gary slowly turned to the soldiers behind him. “Please tell me I’m not the only one who heard that.”

“You aren’t,” Schnieder responded, shaking his head. “That pegasus just... spoke.”

Davin asked, “Is it too late to plead insanity?”

“Yes,” Powers answered sharply.

Gary got back into his previous position. He asked, “You can understand us?”

She slightly nodded.

“Do you have a name?”

“F-F-Fluttershy.”

“Alright, Fluttershy. I have a question for you: How did you get here?”

As more of her head moved past her mane, she muttered, “I-it was the human that brought us here.”
Gary flinched. “‘Us’? You mean there are more of you?” The equine nodded. “I see. Where are they now?”

Fluttershy started to tremble as she replied, “W-we were all together when we arrived, then... I don’t know... I was just left all alone.”

Gary stayed silent for a moment, processing this information. “How did you all get here?”

“We went through a... a portal that he made.”

His eyes shot wide. “And... what was this human’s name?”

The yellow pegasus swallowed the lump in her throat as she said, “Victor.”

Gary froze as he stared into Fluttershy’s eyes. He slightly inched closer to the pegasus. “Where...” he began, “where is he? Where is Victor now?

“He’s...” Fluttershy trailed off as her recent memories came into view. She shied away, subtly giving the human before her a hint of what happened.

He slowly leaned back. “Is he... dead?”

Without making eye contact, she nodded.

Gary slowly sat on the floor, his gaze slowly shifting to the floor. Masterson slowly approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I know this is tough,” he consoled, “but we have to move. There could be more zombies at any moment, and every second we sit here is another second those things are running around London.

“There’ll only be more grief if this facility isn’t shut down. We can pay your friend his respects later. Right now, we’ve got a job to do.”

Gary wouldn’t move. Fluttershy took a deep breath and slowly advanced towards the mourning scientist. She looked right into his eyes and said, “I’m sorry.”

Without warning, he reached a hand out and placed it on her head. Fluttershy let out a small squeak and winced upon contact, but she slowly opened her eyes when she recognized his intention. “Thank you,” he solemnly stated. Gary stood back up, dusting himself off. “You’re right. Best to stop these things now... for Victor’s sake.”

Taking this as their cue, Briar and Davin checked the nearby hallways for any signs of movement. “It’s all clear,” the Constable affirmed, “now let’s get a move on.”

“We’ve just got to head down the stairs,” Gary said.

“More stairs?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

With a dissatisfied grumble, The police officers headed the front as the entire group walked to the third sub-level.

Davin let out a disgusted groan. “Watch out, boys. Someone got covered in that brown shit down here.”

“Are they still alive?” Masterson asked as the body came into view.

“No, his throat’s cut” Powers replied.

Briar prodded the body with his weapon. “Oooh! That’s just nasty! Is this really what that fat bastard can do to people?”

Gary moved in front of the soldiers to examine the body before him. “If you really get covered in it, yes,” he answered while examining the fleshy mass before him. “See how the skin’s just gone? That was Mr. Clamely’s idea... sick bastard. Completely disfigured.”

Fluttershy gasped and started to tremble. That’s... that’s..!

Gary noticed the Control Station room next to him. He wandered inside. “We originally held our ground here. He said he’d be back... guess it was too much to hope for...”

“You held out here?” Lewis chimed in. “How did you manage that?”

“That’s a story for another time. Right now,” he paused as he grabbed a nearby lab coat hanging from the wall, “he or she shouldn’t be seen like this.”

Fluttershy squeaked, “B-but, that’s—” she felt her throat constrict as more tears welled in her eyes.

As he covered the body with the coat, Gary said, “It’s alright. I’m not sure how you respect your dead, but this is just something customary for us humans.” With the body covered, he continued, “Let’s shut down this place. Too many people have died because of our mistake,” he commented as he moved towards a double-door. “That body is just a prime example.”

Fluttershy wanted to tell Gary that the corpse was more than just a John Doe, but the words refused to leave her mouth.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he mumbled as he lightly knocked his head against the door.

Schnieder walked to Gary. “What’s wrong?”

“In case of an emergency, the doors around here are supposed to lock tight and keep all specimens in. During the catastrophe, that didn’t happen, and they got loose.” He stepped away from the door, shaking his head. “As it so happens, one door in the complex just happened to actually lock. Any guesses as to which door that is?”

Masterson asked, “How would we unlock it?”

“You’ve got to get the keys from security.”

“And security is...”

“Back up in the offices.”

Everyone let out a collective groan.

Briar exhaustedly asked, “Will that be it then? No more wandering up and down an endless amount of stairs?”

The scientist let out a sigh as he answered, “If we do this right, then yes. No more stairs.”

“Alright then, back up we go. I’m getting sick of this place already.” Briar headed up the staircase at the end of the hall, shortly after by the other soldiers and Gary.

Powers almost walked up, but turned around to notice Fluttershy sulk next to the corpse. He walked to the pony and said, “Let’s go.”

She looked into his mask, seeing nothing but the vague reflection of her timid self. “This human... this human is...”

“Dead. It happens.”

“This is Gary’s friend, Victor...”

Powers didn’t seem phased by the news, and proceeded to grip a hand from the lifeless body. He held a finger steady as he readied his machete to strike.

“No!” Fluttershy yelped as she lunged at the Sergeant, gripping his arm. “Please! D-don’t hurt him!”

He reasoned, “He’s dead. It doesn’t matter.”

“He... he was still our f-friend! L-l-leave him alone!”

“Again, he’s—”

“I’m begging you... don’t do it!” she whimpered as tears made their way down her cheeks.

They both sat there in silence, neither being willing to budge. After some time, Powers inaudibly muttered, “She’s just like you.” He stood back up, making Fluttershy release her grip. “Fine.” He blankly walked back to the staircase before hearing any sort of response from the timid pegasus.

“Thank you...”

He didn’t know whether she was talking to him, or what remained of the scientist’s body, nor did he care. Powers peered over his shoulder and signaled for Fluttershy to move along.

She trotted to the soldier, but paused to take one more look at Victor’s remains. One shaky sigh later, the area was deserted.

**********

“It shouldn’t be much longer now!” Rarity cheered, horn and necklace aglow, as she navigated the search party through their current location. “She’s moving with those other creatures, and they seem to be heading back now.”

Rainbow Dash exclaimed, “Alright! The sooner we find Fluttershy, the sooner we ca—”

“Wait!” The white unicorn skidded to a halt, scooching every bit as her friends slid into her. She powered down her spell and whispered, “There’s something coming down the hall!”

Pinkie Pie gasped, only to have Applejack’s hoof prevent her from making any noise.

Twilight asked, “Can you tell what it is?”

“No. The shape is too vague to make out anything.”

The orange mare asked, “Can we git ‘round it?”

“Running into the open would be foolhardy, and there’s no telling what could happen.”

Twilight touched her chin to her hoof and murmured, “Does everypony remember our plan from earlier? Performing it on one specimen is much simpler than an entire group.”

“It’s coming closer,” Rarity anxiously noted.

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash said as she cracked her neck, “let’s make this quick.”

Applejack reached into her saddlebag and pulled out her trusty tool: a long rope. “Ahm with ya.”

Rarity added, “It’s almost here!”

The dull thud of footsteps grew louder by the second. When Twilight saw the defined shadow of the being, she immediately whipped around the corner and used a powerful charge of magic to knock the creature off its feet. As it rolled on the floor, Twilight’s ears drooped. Wait...

“Charge!” Rainbow Dash yelled as she and Applejack rushed towards their target. The pegasus was within bucking distance, while the orange mare twirled her rope in the air, when both ponies felt a harsh tug at their tails, dragging them back to the corner. “What did you do that for, Twilight?”

The purple unicorn released her magical grip from both ponies and said, “That’s not a specimen!”

“Really?” She took a look at the creature before her. It didn’t appear to be another ravenous being, but a human who wore sturdy looking clothes that reflected the dim lights in their vicinity. It gripped its head in a mix of confusion and pain.

“What... what happened?” it groaned. As the world came into focus, the human jumped up and pointed the object in his hands towards everypony. However, he stopped and slowly straightened out his posture, lowering the item. “You’re not one of ours,” it breathed through the mask it wore.

“A specimen, no,” Twilight stated as she walked towards the human. “You’re not a specimen either, correct?”

Wilkes craned his neck back. “Y-you just—”

Twilight held a hoof towards him. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and we can explain them later. Right now, I have something to ask you: are you friendly?”

“Am I... friendly?”

“Yes, Twilight reiterated, “are you friendly?” Her horn began to glow, as if giving a warning.

Wilkes hesitated before saying, “Yes, I’m friendly.”

Her horn lost its shine as she sighed. “Good. My name is Twilight Sparkle.” She stopped to wave her friends away from their location. “These are... most of my friends from our world. What’s your name?”

The human crossed his arms as he said, “Call me James.”

“The security guard?”

He paused before saying, “Yes... how did you— nevermind.”

Pinkie Pie jumped up and said, “I can see a million mes in your clothes!” as she moved closer to gawk at her reflections.

“They’re not really clothes,” James corrected. “It’s armor.” He knocked on the sturdy surface that covered every surface of his body. “Saved my life earlier, it’s a bloody brilliant thing!”

Twilight shook her head. “Okay, I have to ask. You humans keep saying ‘bloody’, is that some sort of slang or something?”

“Well, it’s...”

As the security guard explained english diction, Rarity’s necklace glowed once more as she checked up on Fluttershy, catching Applejack’s attention.

The orange mare whispered, “Is Fluttershy still okay?”

“Still safe, thank goo—” she cut herself off and let out a gasp. “Something else is coming, and it’s moving fast!” Springing into action, everyone backed away from the corner and waited in the middle of the hall. Wilkes hoisted the item from before and aimed it down the hall.

“What the hay is that?” Rainbow asked after glancing in his direction.

“It’s called the AA-12. A very powerful shotgun.”

“What’s a shotgun?”

He turned to look at the pegasus. “It’s a weapon. One you definitely don’t want to stand in front of.”

“Will you two be quiet?” Rarity supressedly barked. “It’s almost here!” With everyone focused, they waited. After another moment, the white unicorn pointed her hoof. “There!” she exclaimed, “whatever that weapon of yours does, use it on that... thing!”

Everyone crossed confused glances with eachother.

“What are you waiting for?! It’s getting closer!”

“Rarity,” Pinkie Pie said, “what are you talking about?”

“Are you blind? It’s coming towards us as we speak!”

“There’s nothing there, Rarity,” Twilight pointed out.

The fashionista frustratedly groaned as she stressed. “What do you mean ‘nothing’?”

James quickly asked, “Rarity, where is it?”

“It’s a few feet in front of us, bu—” Without warning, he pulled the trigger on his weapon. A female body suddenly appeared and fell lifeless to the floor, bullet holes draining blood from its body.

Everypony stood shocked while Rarity asked, “Was I seriously the only one to see that horrid creature?”

James stepped forward and said, “Indeed you were.”

The white unicorn shifted away. “But... how? What was that thing?”

“That is what we call a stalker,” he supplied as he approached the pale, blood-stained specimen. Its blue eyes, nearly obstructed by the black hair on the right side of its head, stayed motionless as they stared directly at the ceiling. “I remember having to watch over these things in security. They’d run around all invisible like, taunt us as we walk by, only show themselves when they’re ready to tear our organs out with those nasty claws.” He turned towards Rarity. “And you saw this stalker from the end of the hall?”

“Somepony please explain to me,” she began, “how in Equestria you wouldn’t see something like this. Just look at those scars its got all over! Such a sight chills me to the bone!”

Twilight placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Rarity, None of us are quite sure, but you’re really the only pony to see that thing.”

“But... but none of this makes any sense...”

“Regardless, if you hadn’t seen that specimen, things could’ve ended badly.” She cleared her throat. “Now, James, was it? I was wondering if... well... if you’d be willing to come with us.”

The security guard leaned against the wall. “Seems pretty risky, why would you need me?”

“There were originally seven of us that came to your universe, one being a human.”

“A human?” James interrupted.

“Yes.”

“The bastard actually did it...” he muttered. “I’m sorry, you were saying?”

“We were all together, but then... an accident happened. Now the human is dead, She’s on the lower floors, and appears to be traveling with other humans.”

“Others?” James asked as he craned his neck back. “Bloody hell, I was beginning to think there wasn’t a soul left in this place.”

The purple unicorn nodded. “Yes, there are others, and... well... the way you defeated that specimen was just—”

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash curtly added. “I mean seriously, that thing was coming up fast, and you were all—”

Twilight looked up and shot the blue pegasus a look that ended the sudden outburst. “Well, aside from what Rainbow Dash mentioned, we could really use offensive power like yours. What do you say?”

James scratched the back of his head. “Oh, alright. This isn’t the most insane thing I’ve seen today. Assuming I haven’t gone completely bonkers, I’d better get some answers when we’re done.”

“Thank you, and absolutely!”

Everyone followed Rarity towards their friend’s location. Before they rounded the corner, James asked, “So, how did you all get here?”

“Ooh, ooh! I know this one!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she bounced next to the human.

Applejack quietly groaned, “This is gonna be one long walk...”

Chapter 6: Full Circle

“Reloading, cover me!” Schnieder shouted after having disposed of a group of crawlers. He ducked in time for Lewis to unload a barrage of bullets into an approaching gorefast. “There’s just no end to these bastards!”

“Means we’ve got to hurry!” Masterson yelled over the sound of gunfire. He asked Gary, “How much farther up?”

The ex-employee pulled his axe out of a clot’s abdomen. “Another floor or so, I’d say.”

Briar’s shotgun cleared out a wave of assorted specimens. “It’s always another bloody floor!”

“And whose bright idea was it to fight on the stairs?” Davin yelled.

“We got pushed back, there was no choice!” Masterson countered as he used the butt of his rifle to knock a crawler aside.

Fluttershy kept herself huddled in one spot between the combatants, rendered immobilized by the ensuing carnage. She could only stare as she thought, I want to go home!

“Come on, give us a kiss!” a voice hissed, causing Fluttershy to spin around in time to see a stalker closing in. She yelped and hid her face as the invisible specimen lunged towards her. The yellow mare then felt a jet of warm liquid hit her head, followed by a cry of agony. She cracked open her eyes enough to see the stalker stopped in its tracks, a machete piercing its chest.

The Sergeant yanked his weapon upward, nearly splitting the monster as it fell to the floor. He gave a quick glance to the equine and motioned for her to stay put.

After what felt like an eternity, the onslaught of enemies eventually slowed down until only a select few remained.

As everyone fought, Briar could hear another stalker approaching. He shot a few rounds before him, producing no results. “Don’t waste your ammo!” Lewis chastised.

“Shut up! I’ve got this bitch!” By the time the stalker dropped its cloak, the Constable couldn’t react in time. A pair of claws sank deep into his stomach. He let out a bloody cough as he kicked the specimen aside, leaving it to be torn apart by an array of bullets. The cloth covering most of his face began to seep with blood as he crumpled into a ball on the floor.

As the other men rushed to his aid, the officer gurgled, “I told you this was a shit idea.” He chuckled for a moment before coughing up more blood.

Masterson checked over the man’s injuries. “Where’s the nearest first-aid station?” He questioned as he turned to face Gary.

“...It’s in the offices above this facility.”

With a dejected look on his face, the Lieutenant faced the dying man and reported, “It’ll take too long to get there and back... I’m sorry.”

Briar tried his best to laugh. “Don’t be... I’m the bleeding idiot who decided to follow you lot. Just... get moving.” Another fit of coughing interrupted him. “Don’t let this be... for nothing.”

Fluttershy moved towards Briar, eyes brimming with tears.

“Are you... crying?” he asked as he turned towards the ceiling. “Don’t cry over me... I don’t need... any sympathies.”

Her body started to shake as she looked down. No more...

“Go on... get out of... here.”

I don’t...

Lewis ducked down to Fluttershy’s level. “He’s right. We have to move, Fluttershy.” He placed a hand on her back, unnoticed by the timid pony. “Then we can find those friends of yours and get you out of here.”

I don’t want to see anypony else die! Suddenly, Fluttershy’s necklace glowed a shade of bright pink as both herself and Briar were encased in a pink aura. To everyone’s amazement, the Constable’s gaping wounds started to repair themselves. Soon, there were no visible signs of any trauma. The glow faded away as the group of men dumbfoundedly stared at their pony companion, who shared the same expression.

Slowly, Briar got onto his feet. “I... I feel... amazing! What the hell did you do?”

“I-I-I’m sorry, I just panicked and... and I didn’t... want...” She began to stumble as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Powers quickly rushed to Fluttershy’s side and caught her before she hit the ground.

Davin noted, “Whatever she did, I’m thinking maybe sending her back isn’t the smartest of ideas.”

“Completely healed...” Briar stated, still in disbelief. “It feels like nothing even happened.” He began to prod his stomach, trying to ensure that everything felt alright.

Schneider said, “Let’s hope we don’t need that ability again. Is she out cold?”

Powers nodded in response, hoisting the pony in question onto his shoulder.

Masterson checked the ammunition of his rifle. “Best get out of here before anything else shows up. It’s not much farther, right?” Gary nodded.

Masterson’s men filed behind him as they moved out of the staircase.

Unnoticed by everyone, save Powers, Fluttershy began to stir.

“Wh... what happened?” she groggily asked.

“You fixed him, then collapsed.”

The mare looked around to see that Briar was on his feet, defiantly arguing with the extra soldiers. A single tear of joy escaped her eye. I’m... glad.

“Rest,” the Sergeant urged as the men worked their way towards the upper floors.

Suddenly, a loud crash disrupted the entire complex.

“Please don’t tell me that was out way out,” Lewis asked.

Masterson opened a door to his left, revealing a dilapidated dormitory. “Only one way to find out. Let’s go.”

**********

Wilkes slowly opened his eyes. Much to his amazement, he was still very much alive. The security guard, along with his five companions, were held afloat in a magenta colored bubble. Twilight’s horn slowly lost its glow as the travelers were gently set onto the ground. “And so,” he began after dusting himself off, “you now know why taking an elevator during an apocalyptic event is a very bad idea.

“It seemed like it would be better to take that thing than run down more stairs!” Rainbow Dash defended.

Applejack gently patted her mane. “Are these doohickeys generally so... deadly?”

“Not particularly.” He pushed the collapsed doors to the cabin open. “Alright everyone, this is our stop.”

Everypony filed into the green hallway. “We’re... right back where we started,” Twilight disappointedly noted.

“That may be so,” Rarity added, “but Fluttershy is close! We just need to—”

“Who’s that guy?” Pinkie Pie asked, bringing everyone’s attention to their left. Standing nearly as tall as their human companion, there was a being with reddish-brown skin slowly advancing towards the group. It wheezed through the metallic gas mask it wore and raised its right arm to reveal a cylinder in place of its hand.

“Consume...” it mechanically spat while pointing the cylinder towards the ponies. The device began to whir as a bright ball began to form within the chamber.

Wilkes shouted, “Look out!” as everypony dropped to the floor. A fireball shot forth at a high velocity, exploding when it came into contact with the wall at the far end of the walkway.

“What in Equestria is that?” Rainbow Dash yelled.

The security guard raised his shotgun. “It’s a husk, and it’s bad news!” Several rounds of ammunition hit their mark, but the specimen wouldn’t falter. As he began to backpedal, he slipped on a spot of blood. His momentary daze was long enough for the specimen to fire another fireball towards him.

Twilight had jumped into the line of fire. She focused all of her magic into the projectile, stopping it mere centimeters in front of her. After shaking off the intense heat, she lobbed the fire back at the husk. Despite her best effort, the specimen trudged onward, flesh searing with each step. Why won’t this thing go down?

This moment gave Wilkes the time he needed to get back onto his feet. He rushed forward and knocked the attacker into the wall. With a swift motion, he forced the chamber of his shotgun into its mouth and pulled the trigger. He walked back towards the group of ponies. “Thanks for the save,” he said to Twilight.

“Wowie-zowie, that was something!” Pinkie Pie noted as the group converged towards one point.

Applejack adjusted her hat. “Should be glad it was only one fella. Are we any closer ta Fluttershy?” she asked, turning to the fashionista.

“I think—” Rarity turned to her right, freezing in place as her eyes grew large. Everyone turned towards the adjacent hallway to see a group of men slowly filing out of the room near the end of the hall, each in either a police or military uniform.

“Oh thank god!” Wilkes proclaimed as he stepped forward. “Please tell me you’re really officers.”

Briar said, “Do we look like some costume wearing yobbos?”

“True, true.”

Masterson asked, “Who are you?”

Placing his weapon on the floor, the security guard replied, “My name is James Wilkes, and I work... worked with security before all of this.”

Schneider pointed towards the equines behind. “And... those...?”

“They’re not ours, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Lewis clapped his hands together. “This actually works perfectly! You see, we...” he trailed off after noticing one soldier was missing.

Davin looked into the room they previously exited. He said, “I think you have enough fingers, you creepy bastard! Now get over here, Butterscotch will want to see this.”

Twilight cocked a brow. “Butterscotch?” she quietly said to Applejack, who merely shrugged. As the sixth soldier made himself visible, everypony gasped when they saw Fluttershy unconscious on his shoulder.

Rainbow Dash was the first to react. Quickly shouting, “Give Fluttershy back to us, or you’ll be sorry!”

Fluttershy soon stirred from her sleep. Her eyes groggily scanned the room until she could faintly make the forms of her friends. “G-girls?” she whimpered as she tried to move herself off of Powers’ shoulder. He plucked the yellow pony off his person and placed her on the floor.

“Fluttershy!” Everypony shouted, after seeing their friend in one piece. Fluttershy, on the verge of tears, ran towards her friends, who rushed to meet her. They were no closer than two meters apart when a gorefast crashed through the wall on Wilkes’ right and lay groaning as it attempted to get to its feet. Everyone backed away and readied themselves to attack when a burlesque figure with seared, damaged skin walked through the newly made hole. The specimen swung its arm towards the human, but he grabbed its blade in his hand and slowly bent it. He then planted his foot into the gorefast’s right shoulder and gave the blade a quick yank, ripping the appendage from its host.

“Now you listen to me...” the unknown man growled through his non-existent lips as he gripped the specimen by its throat, holding it in the air. “If there’s one thing you’ll ever learn, it’s this.” He repeatedly began to smash its head against the brick wall as he shouted, “You. Do. Not. Fuck. With. Me!” He emphasised the last word by effectively crushing its skull, sending a coating of brain fragments and blood onto the putrid-smelling green fragments of armor on his body.. As the gorefast slumped to the floor, he brushed off his soiled, black gloves and gave a sigh of relief. “That was a good one.” Suddenly, he froze in place, sniffing the air several times. He whipped his head towards his right, looking at Masterson. “Your smell...” he began to walk towards the lieutenant, ignoring the ponies entirely. The Lieutenant’s fellow soldiers stepped forward and trained their weapons at the man.

“That’s far enough!” Schneider commanded, Attempting to stare the odd man in the eye. Deep down, however, the Private was struggling not to gag at his appearance. Everything about this person set him on edge. What mostly did the job were his eyes. One eye was brown, the other white. Schneider noticed himself swallow a dry lump as his firearms began to shake.

“You’re frightened,” the deformed man mentioned with a quick look over the soldier. “Why does a little man like you hold those toys when you’re so close to pulling the gun on yourself?”

Wilkes slowly reached for his weapon up and was planned to aim it at what he considered a lunatic worth dealing with.

“Don’t,” Rarity whispered. “There’s something unusual about that one.”

“I think everything about that freak spells unusual,” he quietly replied.

“So I’m a freak, eh?” the man said as he slowly turned around. “Calling me things like that isn’t so ni—” He craned his neck as he slowly inched towards the security guard. “That voice... Wilkes?”

“Thorne?”

The man let out a hearty chuckle as he walked back towards the security guard, again ignoring the batch of equines. “You crazy bastard, you’re alive!” Thorne embraced Wilkes and lifted him off the floor with relative ease. “Didn’t even recognize you with all that shit you’ve got on.”

“...L-likewise,” Wilkes replied as he half-heartedly returned the gesture.

“What the hell just happened?” Briar said aloud as he walked in the middle of the hallway. “Who is this git?”

After setting his fellow man down, Thorne turned and said, “Just call me Thorne. Makes things easier. Used to work security, but then all this happened.” He pointed towards the damage done to his skin. Taking another whiff of the air, he recalled his original train of thought. “The better question here is, who are you?” he said, pointing an accusatory finger towards Masterson. “You smell just like that science guy... why is that?”

The Lieutenant twitched for an instant before saying, “You’ve got me. Everything seems to smell like science around these parts.”

“No!” Thorne bellowed. “You’re different. That smell, I wouldn’t forget it anywhere...”

Wilkes cleared his throat, pulling Thorne’s attention away from the soldiers. “What happened to you, Thorne?”

“What do you mean?”

“You bent that gorefast’s blade in half and smashed its head into the wall with your bare hands.”

The battered guard snapped his fingers. “Ah, right. You weren’t around for that. You remember that raise they offered me? Turns out they had other plans they neglected to put in the fine print.”

“So like a true prat, you signed away your life for a quick cash grab?” Briar commented. A quick glance from Thorne was all it took to shut the officer up.

“Yes I did,” he answered, “and I have to say.” He walked against a nearby wall and punched another hole into it. “One of the best decisions I could’ve made, am I right?” Thorne walked away from the rubble, shaking the dust off his gloves. “Course, they must’ve done something to me before all hell broke loose. Probably slipped some hallucinogens into my holding cell.”

“What are you talking about?” Gary asked.

“It’s probably nothing, but I can see a bunch of tiny horses running around. Either I’ve gone mad, or I’m just hallucinating. Either way, I’ll probably remember not to kill any of you.”

“Do all humans think we’re fake or something?” Rainbow Dash asked no one in particular.

Wilkes shrugged. “It’s not like talking horses are commonplace.”

“They got you too?” Thorne questioned his friend. “Damn it, Horzine is a crafty bunch of bastards.”

The rainbow-maned pegasus let out an annoyed groan.

“While I’m sure the BPS would argue this, you’re not mad,” Davin corrected. “Those horses are actually real.”

“Ponies!” Everypony yelled at once.

“Right, fine, ponies! Sheesh,” he cried, throwing his arms in the air, “as if anyone even gives a shit.”

Thorne took a moment to eye the equines. “So... they’re real?” He loudly sniffed the air several times before turning to Fluttershy. With a wry smile and a lick of his lips, he asked, “Has anyone ever told you that you smell delicious?” He took one step towards the yellow mare.

As if acting on instinct, Powers lunged forward and pinned Thorne against the wall, his machete prodding the guard’s throat.

Thorne grimaced as he snarled, “It was a joke, you idiot! So you have a hard on for a pony, I’m not one to judge. Just get your filthy mitts off me before I rip them off!”

The air grew tense in that moment, neither of the outside parties dared to move, lest entice either of the two men to kill each other.

With a fluid motion, Powers eased off and took a great step back, not once averting his gaze.

Thorne dusted off his armor. “So rude,” he remarked while rolling his eyes. Suddenly, his eyes shot open as he turned to the ceiling. He sniffed the air several more times before grinning devilishly. “Dinner time,” he remarked as he cracked his knuckles.

Suddenly, more groans and footsteps could be heard from the surrounding area. Everyone slowly converged into one spot, weapons drawn, as they patiently waited. “More of those things?” Rainbow Dash asked as she looked around. “How many of those specimen things are there?”

“More than you can believe,” Masterson added. When several clots dropped from the ceiling, bullets began to fly.

**********

Kevin Clamely nonchalantly walked towards his office, whistling a tune as he stepped over the chunks of flesh that littered the floor. He reached for the door handle when the sound of multiple gunshots stopped him. After taking a quick glance around the area, he quickly shut himself inside his quarters, locking the door behind him. Kevin quickly advanced to his computer, turning it on as his mind got to work. “How is anyone else still alive after all this?” he asked himself. “Just what’s going on down there?” Once the monitor came to life, he dug around some menus before finding what he needed: access to the security feeds.

He flipped through various cameras before one shot in particular caught his eye. The longer he stared, the more he grew slack-jawed. The live video before him showed that his children were being assaulted by soldiers, security guards, police officers, and...

“...The fuck?”

Miniature horses.

The CEO found himself staring until the reality of the situation flashed in his mind. Those bastards are killing my children! He opened the center drawer of his office desk and pulled out a Beretta M9A1 pistol. He opened the clip: twelve bullets. “Don’t want them spoiling all the fun,” he reasoned as he stood up and walked out.

**********

Shortly after the onslaught subsided, everyone aside from Pinkie Pie and Thorne found themselves worn out.

“That was almost too much,” Schneider admitted between breaths.

“Ah’ll say,” Applejack added. “Y’all been fightin’ them things this whole time?”

Masterson wiped the sweat from his brow. “We have to. It’s our job. Which is why we’re going to need everyone we can get.” He said as he approached the security staff. “What do you two say?”

Lewis said, “Wait a minute, you said you work with security. That means you have keys on you, right?”

Wilkes responded, “Of course I do.”

“Perfect! We needed to find a key to open up those doors back there. You can unlock them for us, can’t you?”

Thorne and Wilkes looked at each other. “Do you at least have a plan?” Wilkes asked.

“That’s a good question,” Twilight commented as she moved forward. “What is your plan?”

“Well...” The Lieutenant explained his campaign, stating it as plainly as possible so as to avoid a staggering amount of questions afterwards.

“So... why can’t we just blow this place up?” Rainbow Dash asked, hovering in the air once more. “At least that way you’d be done with your job sooner.”

Rarity let out a sigh. “We can’t do that, Rainbow Dash. Blowing up the facility means blowing up our only way home.”

“Right, bad idea,” the pegasus stated, crossing her arms.

Thorne rubbed his chin. “Science guy will be down there, won’t he?”

“Who’s ‘science guy’?” Lewis asked.

“The sack of shit I’m gonna destroy, that’s who.” He began to grind his teeth as he paced back and forth, clenching both hands as he went on. “When they turned me into this, he was always there... Always smiling as they fed me rats, always looking on in amazement as they picked apart my face. Gonna pluck those brown eyes out of his fucking head before I kill him! Probably rip off that mustache too. Bet he wouldn’t like that.”

“Wait a minute,” Gary said as he put the pieces together. “Are you talking about Mr. Clamely? Did he do this to you?”

“Yes he did, and I’m looking to thank him personally.”

“You will do no such thing,” Masterson added. “When we bring him in, I’m seeing to it that he’s given his due process.”

“Sorry, mate, but the law won’t do any good here. Everyone’s dying, right? The courts will die out with them.” Thorne countered.

“No matter how long it takes, he’s going to receive his just punishment.”

“Right, his just punishment, couldn’t agree more. Which is why I’ll be the executioner.”

“If you kill him, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Thorne interrupted, making himself mere centimeters away from the Lieutenant. Their eyes deadlocked. “I’m curious... what will you do?” he continued, unaware of the four weapons aimed at his person.

“I’ll kill you.”

Thorne’s eyes shot wide in mocked awe. “You’ll kill me, really?” he said while chuckling. “What makes you so sure?”

It was Masterson’s turn to smile. “Because you don’t pay attention to everything.”

A gentle prod to his chest caused Thorne to look down. An eighteen centimeter long blade was positioned right before his heart. The smile on his face quickly melted away as it shaped into a scowl. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked as he gave Masterson his personal space. Thorne walked around the soldier. “You’re not scared, and you think you can fight me.” He sniffed the air as he eyed the lieutenant like a python eyes its prey. “Why are you so different?”

“We all have our secrets,” Masterson nonchalantly replied.

Before anything else was said, Twilight broke in. “This isn’t getting any of us anywhere. We’d really like to get out of this place as soon as possible, and you two aren’t helping. So would it be too much to ask that we just get along already?”

Masterson turned to Thorne. “Well, what do you say?”

Thorne let out a defiant snort before saying, “I’m not making any promises.”

“Then I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Likewise.”

Masterson yanked his head back down the corridor, ushering the new travelers along to their new destination.

As the humans began to head out, the six ponies officially reunited themselves.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight cried out as she embraced the yellow mare. “I’m so, so sorry! I had to think fast and I just panicked and—”

Fluttershy shushed her friend. “It’s okay. I’m fine, and that’s all that matters.”

“What happened down there?” Rainbow Dash asked concernedly.

“Well, um, there was a lot of fighting, and—”

“We’re not waiting for you!” Briar shouted as he insistantly urged everypony towards the humans.

Twilight turned to her friends. “Come on, girls.” As the equines walked out the corridor and down a flight of stairs, Fluttershy explained what happened during her leave of absence. At one point, Twilight had to stop the story. “Wait. You mean that human was about to die, but you healed them?”

“Well, I can’t think of how to explain it,” Fluttershy answered, “but I just know that my necklace glowed brightly, and then it was all better.”

“Did y’all use magic? Can pegasi even do that?” Applejack asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “Not that I can think of.”

The purple unicorn continued, “Aside from cloud-walking abilities, and the many weather-related feats pegasi exhibit, I can’t think of a single pegasus that has the magical prowess of a unicorn.”

“Seems a downright shame when you think about it,” Rarity intervened, looking back to talk to her friends. “Sometimes I wonder what things would be like if everypony could use magic like Twilight and myself.” The white unicorn suddenly bumped into Briar and Davin. “I am terribly sorry about that,” she apologized to the officers, who merely glanced down at Rarity before turning their attention forward again.

Wilkes walked towards the two metal doors on the left wall, pulling a keyring off his belt. “Now lets see here.” He flipped through the many keys on the ring. “It’s got to be around here somewhere.” Before he could find the desired object, Thorne walked forward and kicked the metal doors off their hinges.

“Look at that, door’s open!” he commented as he let himself in.

Wilkes let out a dejected sigh before putting his keys back in place.

Everyone walked onwards, but Gary took a look back to see the ponies silently observing the corpse on the floor. “Come on. We have to go.”

“Can’t we do something for him?” Twilight asked.

The scientist walked towards everypony and knelt to their level. “I’m afraid there’s nothing that can be done now. Whoever this was is long gone.”

“But he helped bring us here, can’t you—”

“What did you say?” he interrupted.

“This is the human that brought us here.”

Gary stared into the unicorn’s eyes, slowly averting his gaze to the body before him. He then turned to Fluttershy. “Did you know about this?”

The yellow pegasus’ ears drooped. “I... I tried to say something, but...”

“Did it occur at any time to let me know about this?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry, I-I—”

“So you’re Gary then?” Pinkie Pie asked.

He slightly cocked his head back. “Did all of you know? Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”

“Hey! It’s not like that!” Rainbow Dash interjected. “We didn’t know you were Victor’s friend until just now. There’s no need to be getting in our faces about it.”

“Are you sure?” Gary countered. “So you’re telling me I’m wrong to be upset over not knowing that I’m quite literally walking all over my best friend’s body while you all watch?”

“If there’s anypony y’all should be mad at, it’s me,” Applejack admitted.

“Really? And why’s that?”

“Because...” Applejack bit her lip and looked away. “Because it’s mah fault that it happened.” She glanced up to see the perplexed look on his face, egging her to continue. “We were runnin’ from them things fer a bit. As we ran past a fat one, ah thought t’would be a better idea to try takin’ it outta commission. Figured a quick buck oughta do the trick...” Applejack removed her hat and held it before her chest, looking Gary in the eye. “Before ah knew it, the thing popped and Victor yanked me outta there. He died tryin’ ta save me.”

Gary did nothing as this information processed. He looked back at Victor’s body and, after a moment, stood up and turned around. “Let’s go.”

Twilight hesitantly said, “Are you—”

“I said let’s go. The others are probably at the incubation centers by now.” He walked at a brisk pace, not once looking back.

Applejack placed her stetson back on her head. “Maybe ah shouldn’t a said that.”

Rarity nudged the orange mare. “No, Gary deserved to know that much.”

Everypony soon left to regroup with the humans, who were already examining the two-story clone center. The room shared the lower Biotic laboratory’s green hue as many metallic machines hissed and whirred, creating batches of specimens and setting them to rest in individual pods. Davin looked back to see Twilight and her friends enter. “Well, you all took your sweet bleeding time, now didn’t you?”

Rainbow Dash shot a glare. “Can it, you feather brain!”

“Feather brain? Now you’ve gone and hurt my poor little feelings.”

“I’ll do more than that if you keep it up!”

“Oh I’m shaking in my boots!”

“Will you two shut up?” Briar shouted. “It’s like a lovers spat, ridiculous.”

Masterson approached from the center of the room. “Perfect, I was looking for you two,” he said while addressing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. “You see the balcony up there?” He pointed above to the railing at the opposite side of the room. “We’re about to unlock the door, but we could use you two for some recon. Can you two find a way in there and make sure it’s clear for us to proceed?”

Rainbow crossed her arms. “What if there’s a specimen up there?”

“Then you can lure it out and we’ll deal with it accordingly.”

As the Lieutenant explained to the pegasi what would happen, Pinkie Pie’s eyes darted around the room, stopping as her gaze came into contact with another specimen’s pod. “What’s that?” she asked as she zipped to the pod and pressed her nose against the glass. Within lay a slender, sleeping specimen with a head of aloof, black hair. Its arms bound tightly with black leather straps around its malnourished body.

“That’s a siren,” Wilkes answered as he walked to the pink pony. “Be very careful of those buggers,” he advised, “never stand close to one.”

“Why not?”

“She lets out a shrill scream that’ll pop your eardrums if you’re not careful.”

As Pinkie looked more over the siren, she stopped and stared. “Where are its eyes?”

The security guard looked at the specimen’s visible eye sockets. “The idea was that without its eyes, the siren would use their hearing to know when to scream.”

“It looks so... sad.”

Wilkes looked down at the earth pony. “I know what you’re thinking, but just remember one thing: It’s not human. It will try to kill any of us at a moment’s notice, and they’re nothing like us, so don’t feel bad if you have to kill one of them.”

She looked up and said, “But we’re not humans. What does that mean for me and my friends?”

“It’s... it’s different.”

“How? Even if it’s not a human, I bet it still has feelings.”

Taken aback by the party pony’s sudden serious attitude, Wilkes crossed his arms and said, “I’m afraid that’s something you’d have to experience first-hand. Pray you never have to do so.”

“So that makes sense, yes?” Masterson asked as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nodded their heads. “Good. Make it quick then.”

“C’mon, Fluttershy. Let’s go!” Rainbow Dash said to her friend.

Suddenly, the doors behind them slammed shut and a loud clunk followed after. The noise attracted everyone’s attention as they moved to the front of the facility. “What happened?” Schnieder asked as he drew his weapons.

Masterson began to pull the door handles repeatedly, but there was no success. “The bloody doors are stuck!”

Thorne walked before everyone and kicked the door. However, he only made a dent. “What the fuck is this?”

“I thought a former security guard would be more familiar with Horzine’s security system,” a voice said from afar. Everyone turned to see Kevin standing on the balcony, smiling as he looked on.

“You’re mine!” Thorne bellowed as he sprinted full force and jumped incredibly high. He sailed towards the CEO, but his route was cut short. The instant the security guard jumped, Kevin pulled the pistol out of his coat pocket and pulled the trigger. The only bullet he fired hit its mark: just above Thorne’s left eye. Momentum brought Thorne crashing into the rail before falling into a heap in the floor.

Everyone immediately aimed their weapons at the CEO, but he aimed his weapon towards the crowd and held a switch in the air. “Not so fast! See this button here? Anything happens to me, you fuckers even make a move against me, and I press it. Then one minute is the only time you get before all of my children wake up and come to save their father. And I’m sure they’d just be dying to meet you. Especially you six. I hear that horse meat tastes delicious.”

Masterson asked, “Why are you doing this, Clamely?”

“Ah! Masterson! So good to see you again! I hear you climbed the ranks quite nicely.”

Everyone exchanged confused looks as the Lieutenant replied, “No thanks to you.”

“Shame that it just might end for you right now, if you’re stupid enough to not take me up on my offer.”

“Offer?” Gary said. “What do you mean?”

Kevin’s grin grew. “You have one of two options. One: you can be a bunch of dumb-shits and fight for your hollow law enforcement institutions, and get ripped to shreds by my specimens in the process—”

Lewis said, “What happened to ‘if we make a move’?”

“Well no shit, I’m going to have a backup plan, but lets face it. I’m not letting any of you out of this place alive. However, that’s what option number two is for. You’ve all proven yourselves to be some of the best humanity has to offer, so I’m extending you all a chance to shine atop the new age of humanity with me! Just drop your weapons on the floor, and join me above. Rise to the level of a god, and watch as others grovel at your feet, begging for a chance to live! It’s your choice.” He looked at the six ponies. “Humans only. Sorry, but I can have a bunch of fucking horses pissing and shitting all over my home.”

Schnieder said, “Count me out.” Powers walked in front of the group of ponies, not budging one bit.

Soon, Wilkes said, “I’d rather fight every last one of these bastards than join someone as fucked up as you.” Shortly after, Gary and the remaining soldiers voiced their opposition.

“Screw these stupid fucks. I’m in,” Briar said as he tossed his shotgun to the floor and walked away.

“Me too,” Davin added as he dropped his assault rifle.

Everyone stared in pure shock at this display. Rainbow Dash tried to fly after the officers, but Applejack held her in place. “Just wait ‘til I get my hooves on you, you traitor!” the pegasus cried.

“How can you betray your friends like this?” Rarity yelled.

The officers turned around and began to laugh. “Friends?” Davin scoffed. “You seriously thought we were friends?”

Briar shrugged. “We’re just sticking this out until the end of the world. Only reason we got here is because it would help us live just a bit longer. Just doing the smart thing, see ya around!”

“Or... maybe not.” Both officers laughed as they walked away and joined Kevin on the floor above, Briar standing to his right, Davin to the left.

“So the rest of you are going to let yourselves get killed? Fine by me,” Kevin remarked as he eased his aim towards the survivors. “Just remember one thing as you see your blood plastered all over the walls: I gave you a chance.”

Unbeknownst to the CEO, Briar and Davin glanced at eachother, subtly nodding to eachother. Without wasting another moment, the Constable slapped the control out of Kevin’s hand. Before he could react, Davin delivered an elbow strike to the jaw. From there, Briar landed a right hook, leaving Kevin stunned long enough for the Police Sergeant to serve a drop kick into his chest. As he lay on the floor, reeling from the joint attack, Briar turned him onto his back before binding him with handcuffs.

“I can’t believe that worked,” Davin mentioned, slightly out of breath.

Briar stood up, keeping one foot firmly planted onto his prisoner. “Just goes to show that even the fat cats can be complete idiots.”

Kevin spat blood onto the floor. “What the fuck?!” he exclaimed. “I promised you so much, and you do this to me as thanks?!”

“That about sums it up,” Davin said as he crouched on the floor. “See, it’s true that we want to live to see the end of the world. However, you didn’t count on one little thing. Today was our day off, and you made it the shittiest day off ever.”

“I’ll say,” Briar added. “I’m sitting at home, watching some football, and then I have to get suited up for some bloody rioters!”

“Only to find out they’re the furthest thing from rioters.”

“And that everyone’s dying.”

“So fuck you, you sack of shit.” The three men turned their attention towards the sound of many footsteps making their way up the stairs. Davin walked forward to meet Masterson, Schneider, Gary, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity at the top. “You’re free to thank us now or later.”

Masterson testily shouted, “What was the point of all that?”

Davin flinched before slowly turning to the bound Kevin Clamely on the floor. He dumbfoundedly gestured at the prisoner. “Have you lot never heard of the phrase ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer?’”

“You could’ve put everyone’s lives in danger!”

“But we didn’t, we saved them.” He turned to walk back over to Briar, who was busy taunting Kevin. “Unless you would’ve preferred to have fought through all of those zombies. Either way, we did what would’ve taken you prats far too long to do.”

When the officers were out of earshot, Rarity remarked, “You have to admit, they have a point.” Masterson stared back at the white unicorn. “It was a clever idea. Risky, but clever nonetheless.”

“If there are any other clever ideas, I’d better be informed of them next time.” The Lieutenant picked up the switch that now lay on the floor. “Keep this safe,” he said as he handed the item to Schneider, who placed it into a pouch on his right side.

Briar looked up, taking a quick head count. “Where are the others?”

“They’re down below,” Pinkie Pie answered as she hopped about.

“Doing what?”

********

Lewis rolled Thorne onto his back before examining the damage. He lifted the head and examined the rear end. “No exit wound,” he said while gently setting the head onto the floor.

“What does that mean?” Rainbow Dash asked, slightly irked at the body before her.

“Means the bullet’s still inside of him.” Wilkes added as he crossed his arms.

As the Corporal continued his examination, he lifted Thorne’s arm and held his wrist. He waited patiently before saying, “There’s no pulse.”

Twilight hung her head in defeat. That’s two now... “Is there anything we can do for them?”

“He’s too far gone for any help.” Lewis’ eyes grew and he turned to Fluttershy. “However, you just might be able to save him.”

“M-m-me?” the yellow pegasus stammered. “But... I don’t—”

Powers knelt to the equine’s level. “Try it,” he suggested.

“How? I don’t even know how I healed that human last time.”

Twilight moved next to Fluttershy. “What went through your mind when you helped him? Maybe thinking about that will trigger whatever happened last time.”

“Regardless of what you do, I doubt we have long,” Lewis added.

The yellow mare took one look at Thorne’s body. She gulped before saying, “Okay... I-I’ll try.” Everyone backed away from Fluttershy as she closed her eyes and sat on her haunches.

Wilkes said, “So what’s she going to do?”

Lewis looked onward. “Just wait and see.”

Everyone stayed silent and watched. After a short time, a pink aura began to engulf Fluttershy and Thorne.

Twilight observed the scene in amazement. I see, so the necklace glows when she heals that human. Just like when Rarity tried to find Fluttershy. She glanced down to her own penchant. Does that mean all of us have some individual ability?

Rainbow Dash’s mouth went agape at the scene before her. The pegasus she’d known since fillyhood was practicing magic. However, something felt amiss; the yellow pegasus began to tremble ever so slightly. Rainbow walked to Fluttershy. “Hey, you alri—” Rainbow’s sentence went unfinished as her eyes shot wide in horror. The color was draining from Fluttershy’s face, and a trail of blood began to flow from both of her nostrils. “Fluttershy, what’s wrong?!” Her friend remained unresponsive. “Fluttershy!” the blue pegasus cried as she began to shake Fluttershy.

The healer’s eyes shot open as she looked to her worried friend. “W-w-what? What happened?” Fluttershy asked in between shaky breaths. She soon noticed everyone looking at her with varying looks of concern.

Twilight held her hoof over her mouth. “Oh my goodness. Fluttershy, you’re bleeding!”

She rubbed her snout with a foreleg to reveal red smears trailing along its surface. “I don’t understand... why is this happening?”

Wilkes looked to Lewis. “You said she healed one of your friends, right?”

“That’s correct.”

The security guard crossed his arms. “So she healed someone before, and now she’s having problems doing it again. It’s possible—”

“That Fluttershy exerted too much energy, right?” Twilight finished.

“Exactly. Guess we should expect limits to these things.” He knelt next to Fluttershy. “In the meantime, you’ve done all you can. Just take a step back and relax.”

“But I—”

Wilkes held up a hand before she could continue. “There’s no point in helping Thorne if you’re just going to end up like him.”

After a small pause, Fluttershy quietly stepped away from the body.

Twilight stepped towards what was left of Thorne. She craned her neck over his head, trying to listen for any signs of life. A moment passed before the purple unicorn’s ears drooped. “I don’t thi—”

In that instant, Thorne sprang to life with a deep inhale, causing Twilight to fall onto her back and yelp in fear. Everyone remained deathly quiet as Thorne came to grips with his surroundings. “What the bloody hell just happened?”

Lewis answered, “You were dead for a bit, mate. Then that pony over there saved your life.”

The revived security guard looked at his hands, clenching them and unclenching them as he stared quizically. He then reached into his mouth and gripped one of his back molars. Before anyone knew it, Thorne pulled the tooth straight out of its socket.

“What was the point of that?” Rainbow Dash shouted in a disgusted manner.

“Can’t feel anything,” he casually replied. A vile grin formed on his face as he said, “Perfect.” He smelled the air before exclaiming, “Science guy’s still here!” He marched off towards the stairs, unaware of Lewis’ and Wilkes’ insistence he stay put.

**********

“Now what are we going to do with this sod?” Davin asked as everyone looked down on the bludgeoned Kevin whom sat on the floor.

“First, he’s going to tell us exactly how we shut this place down,” Masterson answered. “Then we get the word out on what’s happening. We’re going to need all the support we can get if we want to wipe every bloody specimen off the face of the earth. And finally we bring him in so he can answer for all the people his ‘children’ have killed.”

Kevin let out a disapproving sigh as he shook his head. “Really now, Masterson. I thought that after all the fun times we had that you’d be above turning me in like this.”

Masterson ignored the questioning glances from everyone nearby as he answered, “It’s because of those ‘fun times’ that you’re still alive right now.”

“Whatever,” he replied, glancing to his left to see down the barrel of Corporal Lewis’ Bullpup. “Can you at least tell your lackey to get that gun out of my face? It’s not like he’d even do anything with it.” He remained ignored as he let out a sigh of discontent.

Briar suddenly clapped his hands. “Davin, we should probably get our weapons.”

The Police Sergeant stayed silent before saying, “Right. We need those.” The officers walked away, Davin waving as he turned around and said, “We’ll be back shortly.” Once out of earshot, he said to his cohort, “You don’t really think anyone’s going to do anything about that sick son of a bitch, do you?”

“I’m not counting on it,” Briar responded. “Should we take care of it?”

“If we’re lucky, we might not even have to do anything.”

When they neared the bottom-most step, the two men froze when a not-dead Thorne stopped before them. “Where’s science guy?” he demanded.

Briar and Davin glanced at each other before hesitantly pointing to the top of the stairs. Without another word, Thorne pushed past them and stormed his way to the second floor.

“Let’s hurry up and grab those guns,” Briar remarked, “I’m not missing this for the world.”

Thorne followed the familiar scent as he reached the second floor. He darted his head to the left and the right before spotting his target. “Found you!” he bellowed as he approached Kevin with a dastardly smile.

Schneider stepped in front of the guard’s path. “Listen, you need to—” His nag was cut short as Thorne pushed him to the side with minimal effort.

The CEO tried desperately to scoot himself away from Thorne, but it was no use, as the distance between the two quickly disappeared. Just when Thorne reached for Kevin, Masterson ran up behind him. Jumping onto his back, the Lieutenant wrapped his right arm around the man’s neck, using his left arm to apply a firm grip. “I thought I told you,” he grunted, “I can’t let you do that.”

“And I thought I told you,” Thorne wheezed, “that I don’t fucking care!” He reached behind his head and gripped Masterson by the head, quickly throwing him directly in front of his feet. He then delivered an elbow drop onto his chest, leaving the Lieutenant groaning in agony as he gripped the affected area.

Schneider shouted, “Sir!” as he un-holstered his Handcannons. In a flash, Thorne ran in front of the Private and punched him in the stomach. He remained frozen before curling into a ball as he gagged and coughed on the floor.

The security guard turned to Lewis and Gary, who quickly held up their hands as a pacifistic gesture. He gave them a quick scoff before walking back over to Kevin. He grabbed Kevin by his coat and picked him off the floor. “Now where were we?” he asked as he brought his right arm back, fully prepared to punch him. As he propelled his arm forward, he noticed it stop suddenly. He turned back to see his fist held back by a rope that Applejack held firmly in her teeth, shooting daggers as she vehemently held her ground.

“You too?” he said with a grin before dropping Kevin on the ground. “Suit yourself.” Thorne slowly pulled his arm forward. Dragging the orange mare ever so slightly on the floor. After their small tug of war, he let his forearm go back again, but not before grabbing a good length of the rope in his hand. He whipped the rope forward, throwing Applejack into the air as she stubbornly held onto it. When her momentum almost brought her to the floor, he snapped the rope forward, bringing the orange mare back to the security guard. The whiplash only caused her to shut her eyes and clench her jaws tighter than before. She had re-opened her eyes in time for Thorne to backhand the oncoming pony. Applejack tumbled in the air before skidding to a halt on the floor, laying perfectly still.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. He turned around to see Schneider shakily aiming his pistol at him. The soldier cursed himself as he tried firing again, only to be met with the unholy sound of an empty chamber. Thorne patted the side of his head and saw a fresh splotch of red on his glove. “Now you’re all just becoming a pain in my ass!” Enraged, he stormed towards Schneider and pulled him onto his feet. He yelled, “Stay out of this!” shortly before punching him in his right side and throwing him over the rail.

Schneider could do nothing but brace for impact. He felt his momentum stop before cautiously opening his eyes, becoming aware of the magenta aura that covered him.

After being gently set on the floor, Twilight asked, “What’s going on up there?”

“It’s... it’s Thorne,” he managed to say. “He’s gone mad! First he wanted to kill Kevin, then he started attacking the others... even your friends!”

Everypony gasped and a large scowl appeared on Rainbow Dash’s face. “I’ll stop him!” the confident flier said before zipping to the second floor. When she arrived, she saw Thorne kneeling in front of Rarity, who was trembling before him. “You stay away from her!” she barked as she readied herself to attack. “You even think of hurting my friends, and I’ll make you wish you were never born, buddy!”

Thorne crossed his arms and smirked. “You’ll make me regret it, will you?” He stepped in front of Rarity, who was still too petrified to get away. “I’d like to see you try!” he dared as he brought his leg forward and kicked backwards, striking Rarity in her lower jaw.

This pushed the blue pegasus over the edge, who shouted, “You asked for it!” as she flew full force towards Thorne. Unfortunately, the guard easily dodged her predictable attack, delivering a punch to her face in the process. The impact sent her careening to the opposite end of the area, right in front of the stairs.

“All bark and no bite,” he taunted as he spit onto the floor and returned to his business.

“You... you call that a punch?”

Thorne perplexedly stopped in his tracks, slowly turning around to see Rainbow Dash struggle to stand on her hooves, breathing heavily while her head pointed to the floor. “You’re still up? Color me impressed.”

She began to laugh. “Please. I’ve had grannies hit me with their purses harder than that!” She lifted up her head and looked him in the eyes. “Your punches mean horse-apples to me!” Soon the guard, and everyone else observing the standoff, looked on in awe. Rainbow Dash’s necklace began to shine and her body slowly turned from blue into silver. Being completely oblivious to this transformation, she said, “My turn!”

Thorne readied himself for another attack, but it was useless. At an unbelievable speed, Rainbow Dash rocketed towards Thorne, crashing right into his chest and sending him flying right over Kevin and into the wall behind him. He fell onto the floor, weakly looking up at the metallic pegasus before blacking out. She gently set herself onto the floor, nearly out of breath, as she turned to Rarity, who was gripping her snout while remaining amazed. “Are you alright?”

The fashionista stared as she uttered, “I’ll be fine, but what about you?”

“Like I said, I’ve felt worse. His punch was really weak anyways.” She rubbed her nose as she said, “I bet I’m not even blee—” She stopped herself and stared at her foreleg, completely entranced not only in the new color, but the feel of her limb. It felt not only stronger than before, but denser as well. She sat on her haunches as she observed her body. “What is all this?” she asked as she hit her hoof onto the floor, which made a loud clang upon contact. Shortly after this, however, her necklace’s shimmer faded and her silver exterior began to disappear before being replaced with its usual shade of blue. The ponies were snapped out of their confusion when a small fit of coughs came from behind them.

Applejack struggled to her feet as blood dripped from her mouth. She began to stumble, but Pinkie Pie rushed to her side and helped the orange mare regain her balance. “T-thanks” she said through gritted teeth.

Rainbow Dash fluttered before setting herself next to her friend. “What did that guy do to you?”

Before she could answer, the downstairs party had arrived. Twilight began to tremble upon seeing the damage to her friends and allies. “Oh Celestia...” she murmured before rushing to Applejack’s side. “Hold still, okay?” Her horn began to glow, wrapping her friend in a magenta hue. Soon, everyone tended to the injured.

As Rainbow Dash looked on, she heard Kevin say, “I guess I should thank you.” She turned around, casting an accusatory glare. “If it weren’t for you, that crazy fuck would’ve killed me.” He paused to allow himself to chuckle.

The blue pegasus walked to the CEO. “Look, pal. I don’t know who you are, and I don’t know what you’ve done, but everything about you just rubs me the wrong way. So don’t thank me for what I did. I did it for my friends, not for you.”

A loud hiss directed everyone’s attention to the ground floor. Everyone assembled their weapons as Masterson got to his feet. “What was that?”

Gary walked to the railing and scanned the below area. Soon enough, another hiss rang out, then another, and it continued as the noise carried itself across the room. Upon closer inspection, the scientist noticed the various incubation pods began to move. “They’re waking up...” he uttered as he slowly backed away from the edge.

“Say that again?” Twilight asked.

“They’re waking up! The specimens, all of them!”

Everyone’s look turned grim while the Lieutenant quickly turned to Schneider. “Private! The control!”

He fumbled through his pouch and pulled out the device. The impact from Thorne’s attack had destroyed the remote and, unknowingly, activated its primary function.

Kevin began to laugh uproariously. “This is too good! You guys just fucked yourselves over!” He rolled onto his side as his laughter increased.

Davin said, “You shut up before I—” He only walked one step forward before being blocked off by Masterson.

“You’ll do nothing, so long as I can help it.” Masterson edged away slowly, not once removing his gaze. “Fighting here is suicide. We need to evacuate immediately.”

“You’re going to turn tail just like that?!”

Masterson gave Davin the most serious look on his face. “If we want to survive, yes! Several people in our group are injured, our one way out has been blocked off, we have two men, one unconscious and one bound up, that we have to watch over, there are a lot of zombies coming our way, and I’m quite certain a lot of us are almost out of ammo! Mr. Wilkes, is there an emergency exit?”

“It’s past that door and through the corridor,” he answered as he pointed to a door at the east end of the balcony.

“Good! Sergeant Powers, Corporal Lewis, grab Thorne and bring him with us.”

Rainbow Dash interrupted, “Wait! Twilight, you know teleportation spells. Why don’t you just use one to get us out of here?”

“I-I... um...” she dragged a foreleg back as she looked away. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“There are a lot of us here, Rainbow. To use a spell that can carry so many beings, it would take a lot of magic. Magic that I don’t have after all the fighting we went through today.”

“Can’t you try?”

“I’m not going to risk us getting separated from anypony else, Dash!”

“Then what do we do?”

The groans of several specimens came from the adjacent staircase. Briar shouted, “Hey! Exit. Right there. Let’s go!”

Rarity’s horn glowed as she picked up Thorne and Kevin and held them in the air. “I have them,” she assured with a strained face. The white unicorn only took a few steps before she almost dropped them.

Twilight moved alongside her friend and helped keep their cargo afloat. “I’ll focus on the Thorne human, you worry about the other one, alright?” With a nod of approval, it was time to go.

The group moved as one towards their destination. Wilkes shoved the door open, setting off an alarm. “Keep it moving!” he assured, “if we worry about the noise, we’re done for!” After leading them through the few twists and turns that awaited the humans and ponies, the security guard reached an entrance with a path to the left, and a path to the right. “To the right!” he shouted. Everypony stayed behind the human travelers. During the run to the right, Rarity, who was behind her friends, lost her footing and took a spill. This break in her concentration let Kevin free, who landed on his feet.

In this small window of opportunity, the CEO sprinted as fast as he could down the left hall. Before Rarity could react, he had disappeared out of sight and down another corridor. “No! Come back here!” she demanded. She nearly took off after Kevin when she felt her tail get tugged in the opposite direction.

The white unicorn turned around to see Twilight spit the mare’s tail out. “There’s no time, Rarity! We have to go!”

“But he’s getting away!” Their argument was interrupted as specimens came into sight. Rarity yelped and helped keep the unconscious Thorne in the air. The two ponies ran, dodging fireballs that had been shot in their direction. As they ran, they accidentally plowed right into their fellow ponies, who had run off to go find the two remaining friends, dropping the unconscious security guard. “Keep running!” Rarity shouted as she and Twilight picked up the guard and continued their brisk pace. Their friends turned tail upon seeing the legion of specimens come into view. Wilkes was holding a door open as he waved them outside.

“Almost there!” Applejack shouted as more specimens moved around the corner. They dodged more projectiles as they leapt out of the hall and fell onto the ground outside, panting heavily. The humans assembled many objects together and placed them against the door. Much to their relief, there was nothing but many slams against the barricade.

“That should hold us over for a bit,” Masterson said. He took a quick headcount as he looked around, then stopped. “Where’s Kevin?” he asked as he walked towards Rarity.

She admitted, “I... I tripped when we ran through those halls... He got away.”

The Lieutenant let out a disgruntled sigh as he looked away. “Well, so long as we’re safe, I suppose that’s what matters. But damn it, we had him!”

“I’m sorry,”

“Is it... really this bad?” Everyone looked up to see Gary stare in amazement. Many of the nearby buildings were either destroyed or on fire, leaving billowing trails of smoke dancing in the sky. Many bodies lined the streets, some of them children, all strewn about in a gruesome fashion.

As everypony got to their hooves, they also found themselves awestruck by the sights of the city. “This weren’t as bad as ah imagined it,” Applejack said, taking in the view.

“Wh— where are we?” Fluttershy asked.

Powers stepped forward and said, “Welcome to West London.”

Chapter 7: Recuperation

((Due to computer issues, the chapter image shall be uploaded at another time))

“This... is London?” Rainbow Dash asked bewilderedly.

“That can't be right,” Fluttershy said. “The way Victor described the area, it sounded nothing like this.”

Schneider walked towards the ponies. “I'm sure he described this city perfectly, but a lot can change in a few hours.”

Twilight's eyes grew in shock. “A... a few hours? But that... that's impossible! There's no way that... it can't...”

“You've seen what those freaks can do,” Briar replied. “It's a wonder how the whole damn city hasn't burned down.”

“Then what will we do?” Rarity asked.

“Right now we need to find somewhere to rest,” Masterson answered as he dusted off his gloves. “We’d have to be a bunch of bleeding idiots to rush into a fight in our state. Besides...” He looked at the still-unconscious Thorne. “We still have that one to worry about.”

“So we just need a place to stay, huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I'll get airborne and take a look for any safe spots around town.”

The Lieutenant rubbed his chin. “Might be risky, if those zombies see you and follow you back here, we're not going to last very long.”

“Then I'll just fly high enough that I won't be noticed.”

“Will you be able to see anything from that height?”

“I can if any of you humans have binoculars or something.”

After a moment’s consideration, Masterson dug through his top-most pouch to pull out a pair of binoculars. He almost handed them out, then stopped. “How, um... how exactly will you be able to hold this?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “With my hooves, duh.”

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two before Rainbow urged the object towards her. “If you insist,” Masterson replied. He handed it to the blue pegasus, who surprisingly could grasp the binoculars.

“Told ya,” she replied before taking to the sky.

The very second Schneider opened his mouth, Applejack said, “Y'all can pick things up with them digits o' yours, works the same.”

Lewis said, “Then I guess we'll just have to wait here until he gets back.”

Rarity's ears perked up. “I'm sorry, dear. Did you say ‘he’?”

“Yes. That friend of yours, when he gets back we'll–”

Pinkie Pie laughed. “You silly filly, Rainbow Dash isn't a boy.”

Briar added, “He's not?” Everypony exchanged odd glances.

“Well,” Twilight awkwardly began, “I suppose that since we couldn't tell your human genders apart it only makes sense that–” A loud crack interrupted Twilight's train of thought. Everyone turned around to see a pair of damaged binoculars on the floor. “What the...”

Fluttershy looked up and gasped. “Rainbow Dash!” Everyone looked up to see the blue pegasus hurtling towards the ground in a free fall. The care-taker quickly took to the sky and caught her unresponsive friend in the air. Her wings flapped desperately in an attempt to slow their descent, but their momentum was too great. When they almost hit the ground, the two pegasi stopped suddenly. Twilight released the magical field she cast around her friends, setting them free. Fluttershy laid Rainbow Dash on the floor as the four remaining ponies crowded around her.

“What in tarnation just happened?” Applejack asked.

Twilight looked over Rainbow Dash. “She was fine just a minute ago, how did this happen?”

The downed pegasus' eyes slowly opened. “Rainbow Dash! You're okay!” Pinkie Pie cried as she hugged her friend.

Rainbow let out a yelp of discomfort. “Easy, Pinks, easy!” When the party pony released her death-grip, Rainbow Dash slowly sat up. “What just happened?”

“That's what we'd like to know, darling,” Rarity replied.

“You just dropped straight out of the sky” Twilight added.

Rainbow rubbed the back of her head as she processed this information. She looked over to the shattered lenses of the binoculars. “Sorry about those,” she apologized. “I’ll just get back into the sky.”

Masterson crossed his arms. “Are you sure you're alright?”

“Yeah, that won't happen again,” she said as she took to the air once more. “What was that?” she wondered aloud as she gained altitude. “I've flown enough times to know when I... I...” Her world went black.

Thankfully, Fluttershy took the initiative to follow her rainbow-maned friend, catching her just as her descent began anew. “Rainbow! What's wrong, Rainbow?” she asked as she held her friend in the air. The yellow pegasus gently shook Rainbow Dash, but to no effect. She thought back to when Briar was first incapacitated. “No! It might not be safe.” She gently lowered both herself and her friend to the floor.

“What happened this time?” Twilight asked.

“I take it this isn’t normal?” Wilkes asked as he knelt next to everypony.

“This shouldn't even be happenin'. She ain't never fallen outta the sky like that,” Applejack said as she shook her head.

“Is she okay?” Pinkie asked frantically.

Rainbow Dash answered that question by opening her eyes once more. She looked at all of the concerned faces around her. “Did I fall again?” The nods of confirmation from her friends caused the blue pegasus to face-hoof. “I just don't get it. Why is this happening?”

Twilight hummed to herself and asked, “Did anything unusual happen to you today?”

“You mean besides all of this?”

“Yes.”

Rainbow shrugged. “I can't think of anythi— wait...” She brought a hoof to her chin. “My skin turned into metal earlier.”

“Metal?!” the purple unicorn replied. “You mean real metal?”

“Yeah. It ha–”

“It was amazing!” Pinkie Pie interrupted. “First that meanie-pants hurt Applejack really bad! Then Rainbow Dash showed up and puffed her chest up, because that's how you know she means business!” she continued as she acted the events her story. “But then that human kicked Rarity in the face, for shame! So Rainbow got really really mad and flew right towards him at super top speeds! But the human turns around and punches Rainbow in the face! Just when everypony thought she was down for the count, Equestria’s top flyer stands right back up and laughs defiantly in the face of danger!”

“Pinkie...”

“So then she goes into her super-hardcore-mode and her necklace started to shine really bright as she turned into metal! Not like the metal that is wrapped around those super-fantastically-delicious chocolates at Mr. and Mrs. Cake's shop, but the metal that ponies use to build the trains!”

“Pinkie.”

“In the blink of an eye, she zooms forward at top speed, slamming right into that meanie-grumpy-pants human. He’s out cold, and the crowd goes wild! Rainbow Dash smiles and waves to the crowd in the face of an overwhemling victory!”

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash finally yelled.

“Yes, Rainbow?” the party pony asked while innocently batting her eyes.

Rainbow sighed. “Pinkie, you didn't... well... actually, that's almost exactly what happened,” she admitted.

Twilight sat on her haunches, looking away while in thought. Her necklace glowed too? If it’s happened to half of us, then it's safe to say something's going on with the Elements. I'll have to look into this later. “That's cleared up a few things for me, actually. But I can explain that another time. We need to find somewhere safe, right?” she asked as she turned to Masterson.

“Indeed,” he replied. “Then we've got several things to think about. One, a new course of action, if necessary. Two, how you lot figure into this equation. Three, most importantly, restock for the next fight.”

“One problem,” Briar objected, “where are we going to find any bloody ammo?”

“I can take care of that,” a filtered, female voice answered. Everyone spun around in alert, looking for the noise's source. “No need to be so frightened, my dears. For the time being we're on the same side.”

Lewis proclaimed, “Up there!” as he pointed to a loudspeaker in the wall.

“There are plenty more of those around the city, darling,” the voice pointed out. “However, what I have to tell you is much more important, but you'll have to come to me first.”

Masterson asked, “Where can we find you?”

“There's an old cafe on the corner of Devinshire and 58th. I'll prepare a few tables for you. Don't keep me waiting.” There was a click before all was quiet.

Eventually, Schneider asked, “Should we trust her?”

“That creature did say they were on the same side, right?” Twilight asked. “Why don't we go find them?”

“Would it be safe?” Fluttershy cautiously asked.

“She's offering us some help in this mess, and help is something we desperately need,” Wilkes advised. “I say we find her and see what she wants. The intersection she mentioned isn't too far from here.”

Masterson paced around for a small moment. “Can either of you keep Thorne afloat?” he asked the unicorns, which Twilight nodded in response. “We'll find her.” He turned to his fellow humans. “Keep your eyes peeled for any other zombies, but do not engage any of them. We can't afford a fight right now. Schneider, Davin, you two take point. The rest of you, follow in close behind. Remember, eyes peeled.”

Rarity said, “I can help with keeping an eye out. When Fluttershy went missing, I tried finding her with a spell of mine. Somehow the spell has grown just before coming here and I can now see where other creatures are in the surrounding area.”

“Like a living sonar... can you do it again?”

“I can try.” The white unicorn's eyes closed while her horn glowed. “Come on,” she quietly said to herself. Slowly, her necklace took on the same shine. “There,” she replied, keeping her eyes closed. “Now would somepony be so kind as to lead the way? I will let you know what lies ahead.”

The group moved, as instructed, through a few streets and alleyways. Rarity would spot the occasional enemy and reroute everyone with a safer alternative. A short time later everyone was in front of the café, as instructed. Damaged tables and umbrellas littered the floor of the brick-built structure. A lone security camera rested above the metal door out front, slowly rotating towards the left and the right as Schneider walked towards the establishment’s entrance, weapons drawn. As he pressed his hand against the door, it slowly opened on its own. He aimed his pistols, but there were no enemies to greet him. The café's inside fared no better than its exterior. Tables and chairs were flipped or destroyed, decorated with various paintings of blood and entrails.

“I was beginning to think you'd never show up,” the female voice piped up. Schneider looked towards the back to see a tall, dark-skinned woman illuminated by a single light above her. “It's never proper etiquette to keep a lady waiting, you know,” she said as she dusted off her left shoulder on her green sweater.

“Clear,” Schneider said as he signaled his allies. Everyone filed evenly into the cafe.

“So who are ya, and whaddya want from us?” Applejack asked.

The woman’s face looked shocked for a split-second before she put on a smile. “Truth be told, I was only expecting to see a group of trained soldiers. I suppose I should be shocked, but you’re honestly not the most remarkable things I’ve seen today.”

“It’s nice to meet a friendly face,” Twilight began, “My name is—”

“Let me stop you right there, sweetie,” the woman interrupted. “Names aren’t too important in my line of work, so there’s no need to waste your breath. I’m sure I’ll tell you all apart in time. You can call me 'The Trader’, and I have something I believe you're all in desperate need of.” She flipped a switch, which lit up the entire room, causing everyone to nearly gasp in surprise. Behind The Trader was a vast quantity of weapons. Guns, explosives, and melee weapons lay there, as if taunting the men, behind a barbed-wire fence established between the two parties. No way in except for the slot at the bottom of the divider. “I believe we can help each other out.”

“Are those the things you guys have?” Rainbow Dash asked Bewilderedly.

“All that and more,” The Trader answered. She dragged her hand along the counter as she walked back and forth through her personal space. “My employers are very concerned about this zombie outbreak and what it will do to the country's economy. They've seen you all in action and are willing to come to an agreement. You agree finish off every last specimen out there, and we'll supply the firepower as necessary.”

“You are? This is going to be awesome!”

The Lieutenant asked, “And what do we do for these weapons?”

The Trader seemed offended. “Honestly, darling, it's no fun if you're going to try spoiling the catch ahead of time.”

“The catch?” Rarity specified.

“What do you mean?” Schneider asked.

“This is how it's going to be. See, my employers aren't exactly eager to give up such wares without compensation, so you'd have to pay for them. Full price, in cash.” There were cries of outrage from everyone in the room. “She patiently waited for the complaints to die down before she continued. “I had more to say, if you hadn’t so rudely interrupted me. Seeing as how the value of the pound is going down the shitter, my employers have come up with an alternate solution.

“It's quite simple. Each specimen out there will be marked as worth a different value in pounds. For each one killed, you'll earn money in a credit line that will be shared amongst all of you. The more you kill, the more weapons there will be at your disposal. The same goes for ammunition, which also is supplied in exchange for money.”

Pinkie Pie asked, “So it’s like a game?”

After a moment of thought, The Trader replied, “Yes... that’s probably the best way to put it.”

“Is that what this is to you?” Twilight asked with a hint of anger and perplexion in her tone. “We’re risking our lives out here to keep everypony safe, and you’re going to treat it like it’s sport?”

After a sigh, she explained, “My employers have to get their money’s worth somehow. It’s either this, or you’re left with a bunch of pea shooters.”

Fluttershy managed to ask, “What if we... um... don’t want to... um...”

Predicting the yellow pegasus’ question, The Trader said, “It’s fine to be a pacifist. Not exactly the most effective method, but any specimen killed by your group’s hands will add to the collective sum; regardless of who kills it.”

“Then give us all your weapons,” Briar demanded proudly. “We slaughtered the lot of the bastards in Horzine, so we’ve probably got a good few thousand pounds saved up. Hand them over.”

The Trader tutted. “So sorry, love, but the only specimens we're allowing are those who are killed after you leave this store. Otherwise that would just be cheating.

Briar stared at The Trader. “You mean to tell me that because your fuck-wit employers didn't think of this little system until now, all those specimens we killed off count for shit now?”

“Those are the rules, sweetheart.”

The Constable threw his arms into the air. “Well thanks for being such a big fucking help.”

“What a ripoff!” Rainbow Dash added.

“That's what we're willing to offer,” she said while looking to Masterson, acting as if Briar's and Rainbow’s outbursts never happened. “Do we have a deal?”

The Lieutenant thought hard about this offer. Ultimately, he shook his head. “We're not going to put our lives on the line to be pawns for your little game.”

With a shrug, The Trader said, “Shame, darling. We could've had a great business going.”

“Ya got a real dirty way of conductin’ business, sugarcube,” Applejack commented with a slight glare.

“Let's go, everyone. We're done here,” Masterson said as he made his way toward the door.

“Wait!” The Trader pleaded, “I want you to have this.” He turned around to see a small device in her hand. She placed it in slot and stepped back. “This is a GPS my employers have created. It's used so people in my line of work can find one another. I move frequently, so this will guide all of you to me, should you change your mind.”

Twilight said. “Why are you doing all of this for us?”

With a chuckle, she replied, “I'm just following orders, nothing more.” Her upbeat mood slowly died off. “However,” she continued, “As of late, I've got my own reasons. If it were up to me, I'd give you these right away, but guns don't grow on trees, sweetheart.”

Masterson reluctantly walked over and picked up the navigator.

“Good move. I'm sure I'll be doing business with you lot again very soon.” Everyone moved outside of the café, the door slamming shut behind them.

“So what do we do now?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Find shelter,” Powers answered.

“Precisely,” Masterson added, “Fluttershy, it's up to you to take a look from the sky for anywhere we can hide for the night.”

“What about me?” Rainbow Dash questioned. “I can fly too, you know.”

“Oh we know,” Davin remarked. “And from what we’ve seen you can fall just as spectacularly.”

The athlete nearly scowled. “Nopony asked you, anyway!”

“He’s right though,” Lewis commented. “How do we know you won’t just fall back down again?”

“It’s been a while since that happened. It’s not going to be a problem now.”

The Lieutenant shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m not taking that risk. You’re staying down here, and that’s that.”

“But... I...” A frustrated look grew on the pegasus’ face. With a groan, she lightly shook her head and said, “Fine. I’ll stay here.”

The yellow pegasus began to jitter. “Are... are there any specimens in the sky?

“As far as I know,” Gary answered, “there is nothing of the sort.”

With one deep breath, she said, “I– I'll try...” She gently took to the air. “You can do this, Fluttershy,” the yellow pegasus told herself. “Just go up real quick, take one look, and then go right back down to the others.” When she reached the optimum altitude, she took a look, but was distraught by something much more worrisome than the unknown. Seeing the massive fires and pillars of smoke billowing into the sky struck a chord within Fluttershy. “All of these humans could be... no. Don't think like that, Fluttershy. If you want to help them, you've got to do your part.”

She quickly scanned the area below. After minutes of searching, she finally found a relatively together house not too far away from everyone's current location. She quickly flew back to her friends and let them know of her discovery. Moving as efficiently and carefully as possible. The group eventually found their way towards the desired location. It was a one story building, complete with a battered living room, ransacked bedroom, defunct bathroom, destroyed closet, and a dilapidated dining room. Various living-ware was damaged beyond repair, and some windows had been smashed. However, the house was still suitable to rest in.

After a quick look around, Briar exclaimed, “We hit the jackpot!” Everyone was caught off-guard, seeing as the Police Constable had removed his helmet to reveal a head of red hair and a shaggy moustache. “What?” he asked before everyone decided to follow him towards his discovery at the back of the house.

Before them was Davin, who also removed his mask to reveal a man of asian descent with a buzz-cut, and a rusted trap-door. “You know how there are those paranoid sons-of-bitches who are prepared for the end of the world?” He and Briar pulled the door upward. “We happened to find the house of one such person!” Below the door was a dimly lit set of stairs that descended into the darkness.

Aside from Fluttershy, Sergeant Powers, and Rarity staying behind, everyone walked down the corridor to find a room stocked with a plethora of canned food and sealed water. Not only that, but the room contained an electric torch, several flashlights, lighters, and several other necessary equipment for survival. After a brief celebration, the supplies were carried up and into the den. With stacks sorted into the various categories of canned food and beverages, aptly stored in an easy-access location nearby, Masterson began giving his people tasks for their current stay. After seeing the Lieutenant go to work, Twilight felt she had to speak up.

“Before we do anything else, perhaps we should sit down and get to know each other a little bit more?” The confused stares from the humans made her face turn red. “I mean... if we're going to work together, then we'd have better teamwork and coordination if we at least know everypony's names.”

Lewis followed the officers’ notion and removed his mask as well, revealing his dark skin and curled black hair. “Okay, seriously, what's with 'everypony' and those other words you ponies say?”

“Another reason to get to know us, wouldn't you agree?”

Private Schneider rubbed the back of his head. “Well, it’s a bit quiet out, so perhaps now would be a good time to rest up before we get into another struggle. The sun will be going down soon.”

“Do you have a princess that lowers the sun too?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“What are you talking about? The sun and moon move on their own,” Gary replied.

“They do?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Sitting down, Gary said, “Seems we really do have a bit to talk about.”

**********

Kevin kept running through the corridor, visibly out of breath as he trudged onward. He eventually stopped and slumped against a wall as he gathered his bearings. “This... should be it,” he told himself between breaths. He looked at a protrusion in the wall and kicked it, revealing a number pad. He instinctively reached for the grid before his bind reminded him of the current predicament. “...Fuck,” he muttered. Kevin turned himself around and shifted his back against the wall until his fingers could touch the numbered buttons. Slowly and methodically, he pressed a series of numbers until the sound of air pressure escaped from a hidden door. A patch of wall slid aside and showed an additional wing to the laboratories.

As Kevin casually strolled inside, a pudgey scientist peered around the corner, inspecting the noise. “M-Mr. Clamely, sir! When we didn’t hear anything from you, a lot of us had... oh my god, what happened to you?” he said in a reverent tone, pointing to the blemishes on his head.

“Just some stupid shit, but it doesn’t matter anymore,” Kevin regarded as he brushed past the jittery man. “Just help get these things off of me.” He turned around to reveal the pair of handcuffs forced onto his person. With a hurried mindset, the scientist looked around the immediate area before coming back with a sturdy pair of pliers. With a dash of effort, the bind was severed. Kevin gleefully moved his arms. One pain in the ass out of the way. I’ll get the cuffs removed later. “Now tell me you got something done while I was busy.”

“Oh yes, sir! Quite a bit has been accomplished since you last checked in.” The CEO let his employee drag on as he inspected the hidden facility. The area wasn’t as spacious as an entire floor of laboratory equipment, but it was still large enough to house several specimen stations. His most faithful scientists scurried back and forth, comparing notes and results. Occasionally he would catch an employee’s gaze. For the briefest of moments they were frozen; he could see tangs of respect and fear in their eyes. Kevin would just give a subtle nod, a sign for the worker to resume their duties. “... and if these results stay accurate, then we should have our opportunity to take control of London. Then there’s the—”

Kevin rolled his eyes and said, “Stop for a second.” He clasped his hands together. “You know me very well, right, Lance?”

“I... I’d like to think so, and It’s Drew, sir.”

“Same shit. Anyways. You know me well... so you know that everything you’ve been talking about is on a list I call ‘Shit I Do Not Care About’, right?”

Drew stood surprised before finally sputtering, “Y-yes... sir.”

“Good,” Kevin replied as he turned away and walked onward. “Because I can’t begin to give two fucks about something that’s painfully obvious.” He stood in front of a sealed-off room. “This, on the other hand, I’d like to get an update on right now.”

“Right away, sir.” Without another word, Kevin unlocked the additional area while his subordinate flipped through his notes. The lights inside flickered until they illuminated the room within. It was designed to be just like the area outside, but served an additional purpose. A lone specimen, this one called a scrake, was kept asleep in an enclosed space. “We think we’ve attained pristine conditions with the scrakes, sir.”

“Is that so.” He moved to the control panel before him and turned on the lights within the scrake’s confinement. After a few seconds, it roused itself and examined its area. This specimen was much taller than any other specimen before it, standing nearly three meters tall. Its skin appeared pale and it sluggishly walked around in its bloodied medical scrubs and sleeveless shirt. Kevin whistled once, making the scrake stop in its tracks. The specimen clenched its left hand, making the rubber glove it wore squeak, as the sound of an engine grew. It faced the CEO and revealed a chainsaw in place of its right hand. The specimen took two steps forward, studying the two humans who stood outside of its prison. It swung its chainsaw-arm once, only for the wall to harshly repel the attack. “Bulletproof glass, very good.” The Scrake stood mindlessly as it wandered around its space. “Tell me, how do these ones fare in combat?” Kevin asked as he turned to face Drew.

“We haven’t had a proper opportunity since the first prototypes first escaped the complex. Even then, they didn't last long enough to get any proper statistics.”

“Is that so?” The CEO rubbed his chin. “Prepare this one for deployment.”

“Where to, sir?”

A vile smile cracked onto Kevin's visage. “I know just the place.”

**********

“Let's see if I've got this right,” Corporal Lewis began as the humans sat on one side and the ponies across from them. “Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash–”

The blue pegasus cleared her throat while she gave the soldier a stern look.

“Who is definitely not a boy.” Her smile and nod was his signal to continue. “Applejack, and Fluttershy.”

“That's all of us,” Twilight confirmed. “Now let's see if–”

Pinkie Pie jumped up. “Me! Me! Let me try!”

The purple unicorn chuckled. “Okay, Pinkie Pie, you can go ahead.”

The party pony took a deep breath. “Corporal Lewis, Lieutenant Masterson, Private Schneider, Police Constable Briar, Police Sergeant Davin, Sergeant Powers, Gary Glover, Wilkes...” She pointed to the still-unconscious man on the ground. “And Thorne!”

Wilkes said, “That sounds about right.”

“So,” Twilight began, “Your uniforms, what do they mean, exactly?”

Schneider spoke up, “We're in what we call an army. Brave men and women who are sworn into service to protect their country.”

“Is that similar to the Royal Guard?” Rarity asked.

“The what?”

“The Royal Guard,” Twilight reprated. “Based off what you've described, they sound similar. I have a brother who's captain of the Guard.”

Davin started to laugh. “A bloody pony outranks all of you!”

Schneider pointed out, “He outranks you too.”

“I'm in the police force, you git. There’s a slight difference.” Suddenly, a light went off in his head. “Since we're all here. I think a certain-someone's got a story they've been neglecting to share with us,” he said as he turned to the Lieutenant.

“What are you going on about?” Masterson asked.

He pointed to Thorne. “That crazy bugger says you 'smell like science guy', and Clamely goes and says that you're 'the best experiment that never was'. Next thing we hear is you two getting real chummy with each other. There's something you're not telling us.”

“This isn't the time.”

Twilight said, “Actually, even I've been somewhat curious as to that connection.”

“Keepin' secrets ain't exactly the best way to earn trust, sugarcube,” Applejack reprimanded.

“Listen,” Masterson began to explain, “I'm sure you've all got some pressing questions you'd like answered, but it's really not important right now. When we're in a more secure location, sure, I'll tell you what you need to know. As for now, let's just focus on making sure we're safe for now.” Everyone's look began to bore into his person. “Please?”

After a moment, Briar said, “Fine. But if you're keeping your secrets, don't expect to hear my life story any time soon.” The Lieutenant conceded.

“Moving on,” Gary said, “I've got something I'm curious about, myself. How are you two able to use magic?”

Rarity answered, “It's a skill that comes with being a unicorn, my dear.”

“Yes, but I mean how Fluttershy was able to fully heal Davin, and how Dash was able to knock that Thorne fellow out cold.”

Everypony turned to Twilight, who put a hoof to her chin. “That kind of magic isn’t normal, and I've been thinking about that for a while now.” She removed her tiara with her magic and placed it before her as she laid down. “While we were in Equestria, the Elements of Harmony were used together to bring peace to the land. Now it's like they can act on their own and give each of us some sort of spell. If I had to take a guess, I’d say that travelling between dimensions, or even this world’s energy itself, has something to do with this. It’s the only hope for a logical explanation over our newfound powers taking root.

“The bigger issue right now, however, is the after effects of using these powers. Rarity seemed fine when she uses her ability, but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy's side-effects hampered their well-being. If we hadn't noticed... I don't even want to think about it.”

“Ya think we've all got somethin' like that, Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“There's enough evidence to suggest just that. As for what they are and how exactly they even became a reality, I’m stumped.” Twilight lightly tapped her free hoof on the floor as she studied the jewelry.

Rainbow Dash spoke up, “So what do we do now?”

Masterson stood up. “It's getting late. If we're going to be staying here for the night, we need to establish who's going to be on night watch. First, however, we need the area scouted for anywhere those zombie might use to get in here. Whoever’s going will use these.” He stopped to pull out two two-way radios from the pile of supplies.

“How do we decide who goes first?” Rarity asked.

“Well, the easiest way first. Do we have any volunteers?”

After a moment, Twilight raised her hoof. “I volunteer.” She noticed the shared concern among her friends. “Don't worry, I'll be fine, girls.”

“O’course you’ll be fine,” Applejack said, “cause I’m comin’ with ya.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, “Me too!”

“As will I,” Rarity affirmed.

“Stop, just stop,” Masterson insisted while holding out his hands. “I can see where this is going, and I’ll tell you right now. You’re not all going out at once.”

“Why not?” the purple unicorn asked.

“Because the point of these scouting groups is to not send the entire platoon at once. At the most, I’d suggest one pony and one human.”

“Why are we being dragged into this?” Davin queried.

“We humans have the experience with guns, weapons, equipment, and most important, hands. Besides, I doubt that any of you ponies have been in London long enough to know your way around. Since Twilight volunteered, she’s going first. As for who’s going with you...” He looked at the other humans, some showing slight insistence that they not be picked. “Sergeant Powers,” he decided.

The Sergeant, who had never removed his mask, looked to Fluttershy. “Don’t worry, we’ll protect your little pet while you’re gone,” Briar chided. After staring for an uncomfortable moment, Powers stood up and nodded.

“Alright. If you see anything dangerous, let us know with the radio. Otherwise, use your own discretion on how to handle the situation. You can take this assault–” The Sergeant silently plucked the axe off the floor, took the device, and walked outside, waving his hand for Twilight to follow. “...rifle.”

“Are you sure you'll be alright, dear?” Rarity asked before Twilight could leave.

“If something bad happens, I'll come right back here. Don't you worry,” the purple unicorn assured. After a quick embrace from each of her friends, Twilight left to catch up with her companion for the night. It hadn't taken long for her to get back to Powers. “I'll keep an eye on the left, you keep yours on the right. If you see anything, let me know, alright?”

He didn't say a word.

“You know, anything at all, give me a holler, alright?”

No response.

Feeling slightly frustrated, Twilight said, “You're not much of one for words, are you?”

After being ignored for the third time, she kept her mouth shut and looked out for anything worth mentioning. The duo found a network of streets and alleys, but, aside from the blocked paths, they all eventually merged into one main route towards their current residence.

“This is Powers. Area is clear,” the Sergeant reported into his radio.

“Good work.” Masterson replied. “Report back to base immediately, we’re sending the first stake-out team once you get back.”

She groaned as she started walking back. On the way, however, something she noticed made her stop. There appeared to be slight movement in a nearby house. “Mr. Powers!” she called out, “I think somepony’s inside of this area!”

The Sergeant peered over his shoulder. “It’s not important. Keep moving.”

“But... there could—”

“It’s not important. Keep moving,” he repeated while only ushering the unicorn towards him once. Powers turned around and walked like there was never an issue.

Twilight grumbled to herself before trudging on. She hadn’t gotten more than seven steps away before she stopped. She stared at Powers retreating backside, then to the house behind her. With a huff of breath, she walked back towards the house, ready to investigate. She cautiously approached the residence, horn aglow. After a silent countdown, she went inside and looked around. The burned debris cracked underneath her hooves as she passed under a broken arch in the doorway. Inside was nothing but destroyed walls, damaged furniture, and several piles of indiscernible objects. After navigating her way through rubble and possessions, she noticed a human lying underneath several beams of wood on the floor. Working hastily, she lifted the wood off its body. The sight before her made her breath shallow.

Aside from the red shirt and blue pants it wore, Most if its hair and skin was badly burnt and several of its limbs were severely damaged, bent and gouged in ways she’d never thought possible. Oh my... Twilight looked over the body to see it slightly stir once more with slight breaths. She's alive! But this doesn't look good. No! Focus, Twilight. You can save this... female, she reasoned asshe examined the human thoroughly. If pony vitality is anything like a human's, then she needs help now! Her horn glowed as the woman was wrapped in the unicorn's magic. Wait... I’ve never healed a human’s limbs before. Can I do this? The unicorn shook her head. I have to try. It’s better than doing nothing. She immediately got to work, closing her eyes while she focused on her attempt to patch the skin and repair the muscle in the woman’s wounds.

As the seconds dragged on, Twilight felt more and more of her magic ooze out of her body. She soon stopped applying her healing spells as she tried to catch her breath. “That... should do it,” she raggedly told herself as she looked over her work. However, she quickly became distraught. While some of the damage had been repaired, the woman's limbs still appeared to be in complete disarray. Twilight’s heart jumped into her throat. “No no no, this is bad!” she hurriedly muttered to herself as she futilely struggled to apply more magic.

The human started to stir, groaning in pain as she came to her senses. “What happened?”

“Please stay still!” Twilight told her.

Seeing a talking horse startled the human, who accidentally jolted her right arm. Feeling the searing pain, she wearily lifted it and saw several lacerations traveling up her arm, fresh blood dripping from the orifices. Panic and agony quickly set in as she observed the rest of her limbs which either shared her right arm’s state, or were broken and overloaded her sense with searing pain. She started to scream incoherently, frightening Twilight in the process.

“I can help! Just... just give me a second to–” The purple unicorn was shoved out of the way by Powers, who took a quick look over the writhing woman. Twilight noticed him slightly grip the axe tighter than before. “No...” He raised the axe over his head. “Stop!” Powers swiftly brought down the weapon onto the woman's throat. She gurgled blood and seemed to reach out to the purple unicorn as he brought the axe down once more to finish the job.

Twilight sat and stared at the body before her. She slowly looked at her own hooves and noticed spots of blood that were splattered onto her. Then and there, she realized that her sandwich from the party had returned as she rushed to the corner behind her to vomit. After her stomach's contents left her, she weakly turned around to see Powers walk out the door, bloodied axe in hand. Before exiting, he said, “Don't do that again.” The purple unicorn looked at the woman's body once more. Her emotions had shifted from grief to rage. She ran outside and yelled, “Hey!” Powers didn't stop. Being fed up with his attitude, she used her magic and hastily pulled him back to her. “I'm talking to you!” she yelled as she started to cry out of pure anger. “Why...” she shakily asked, releasing her magical grip, “why would you do something like that?”

“She was screaming,” he reasoned. “In pain. Did her a favor.”

“I could've saved her!”

“How?”

“I...” she shied away. “I don't know, but I would've come up with something. I just needed time!”

“She was better off without your help. It's called a mercy-kill.”

“There's nothing merciful about what you did!”

Powers quickly brought his face directly in front of Twilight's. She inched away, seeing nothing but her own helpless form in the reflection of his mask. “Listen well, Twilight Sparkle,” he grimly advised. “Don't. Be. A hero.” He stood up and stepped away. “Let's go,” the Sergeant ordered as he walked off.

Twilight stared at the floor, tears now freely flowing. What have I gotten myself into?

“Let's go.”

She slowly got to her hooves. This time, Powers watched Twilight until she walked in front of him. Not once did Twilight look at the soldier or say a word during the entire walk back.

**********

“Ahm just sayin' that ah coulda sworn ah heard somethin' odd,” Applejack said as she looked out the window.

Rainbow Dash looked out the same view. “It's probably nothing, AJ.”

Gary said, “Let's hope it's just nothing. If it’s a siren, then we're in some deep trouble.”

“I'm sure those ponies can handle it,” Briar mentioned as he laid on the floor. He lazily waved his hand while he said, “Just use some of that crazy magic of theirs and that bitch is a goner.”

Rarity looked dejected. “We're not some tool for you humans to use, Constable Briar.”

“Just Briar. I hate using those bloody titles.”

“Regardless, Briar, we can't just use our magic so frivolously. There are limits, you know.”

Briar looked up. “Is that so?”

The white unicorn nodded her head. “If any unicorn uses all of their magic or expels too much too quickly, then their body has quite the... adverse... reaction.” Her eyes lit up. “Wait a minute...” She started to murmer to herself as she paced in a small circle. “Somepony tell me when Twilight arrives. I have much to discuss with her.”

Wilkes looked outside. “You won't have to wait long, here they come now.”

“Guess we'd best be ready to go,” Applejack said as she stretched her joints.

“Ya sure you've got everything you need?” Rainbow Dash asked while the orange mare put on her saddlebags.

“Ahll be fine. Between mah legwork and Mister Wilkes’ fancy thingamajig, them zombies won't be no problem.”

Wilkes picked up his AA-12 shotgun and filled a backpack with food and beverages. “You need to know the basics of night watch?”

Applejack chuckled. “If it's anythin' like scoutin' the apple orchard fer critters, then ahm sure ah'll get the jist of it.” She waved goodbye as she went outside to greet the purple unicorn after Powers went to talk with Wilkes. “Howdy, Twilight. Anythin' we need... ta...” Twilight silently passed by the farm pony while her head hung low. “Twilight?”

“You ready, Applejack?” the security guard called.

“Y-yeah, ahm ready.” As she left to catch up to Wilkes, who was busy receiving the radio and learning the layout of the area from Powers, Applejack peered over her shoulder and saw her friend's state remain unchanged.

As Powers entered the abandoned house, Masterson immediately met with him and asked what he saw. Twilight slowly entered afterwards.

“Hey, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash greeted. “Oh, Rarity wanted to talk to you about something, right?” she said as she looked at the white unicorn.

Rarity trotted forward. “I've been thinking about what you mentioned about the Elements and what happened with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Frankly, it is quite simple when you think about it. I'd like to discuss a theory I have on–”

“That's... great,” Twilight interrupted, not making eye contact with her fellow unicorn, “but... I really don't want to talk about that or much of anything right now.”

Rarity's jaw dropped. “B-but, Twilight. You said this has been bugging you ever since we arrived. Is something the matter?”

“I'm fine,” the librarian half-heartedly replied. “I'm just want to go to sleep now.”

“Are you sure you're alright, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Again, I'm fine. Just... drop it, alright?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I'm not buying it for one second that–”

Being fed up, the purple unicorn turned around and said, “What part of drop it do you not understand?!” The household fell silent. Her face reddened as she turned away and sighed. “Look, you're concerned about me. I get that, and I appreciate it, but I just want to be left alone.” She walked to a corner and curled up into a ball on the floor. “Goodnight, everypony.”

The remaining ponies looked at each other, unsure of anything besides respecting Twilight’s wishes. From afar, Masterson said, “Perhaps we should all get some sleep while we can. We'll be needing it for the road ahead.”

As everyone settled in for what little rest they could muster, a select few words repeated themselves through the purple unicorn's head. Don't. Be. A hero.

**********

“So I try telling him,” Wilkes discussed as both himself and Applejack left for night-watch, “that we can’t allow such devices in the facility. It’s signal is so strong that it would interrupt all communications on the complex if it were turned on. He, evidently, doesn’t like being told what to do, so he starts yelling in my face. At this point I’m very much sick of the bastard, so I kindly escort him off the premises. Next thing I know, Horzine is breathing down my neck because the stupid git turned out to be a pretty big deal. Well, excuse me for considering the company’s well-being over some fat-cat’s arrogance! Bloody Horzine.”

The security guard looked down at the orange mare, who looked lost in thought. He sighed. “Alright, what’s going on?”

Applejack snapped herself out of her stupor. “Huh, wha’?”

“You’ve been looking out of it ever since we left to keep watch. I can’t have you spacing out on me if we’re going to do this.”

“Oh, sorry. I just... ya saw Twilight back there, right?”

“Briefly, yes,” Wilkes answered as he moved his arms behind his back.

“Ya saw her then, didnt’cha? She looked like her whole world collapsed.” Her ears drooped. “That girl really worries me sometimes.”

He shrugged. “Just give her some time. We all have our issues.”

“Whaddya mean issues?” Applejack asked as she raised an eyebrow, sounding slightly offended.

“You know, just... issues,” Wilkes reasoned. “I’m not trying to insult your friend. But really, everyone has those little things that bring them down. Don’t tell me that’s never happened to you.”

The farm pony slightly shifted her gaze. “Well... yes, it has. But this don’t look like no ‘little thang’ ta me. Dont y’all humans care ‘bout a friend’s feelings?”

“Of course we do,” the guard answered, returning that slightly offended tone. “Some humans care for anything and everything, but others really just keep to themselves. They say that whatever’s happening to one person is ‘none of their business’.”

“Don’t sound like no friend t’ me.”

“Welcome to Earth.” Wilkes stopped and examined his surroundings. “This looks like the place.” He sat down and placed his pack in front of him, pulling out a select few items to eat and drink, and a small electric lantern. He turned on the device, illuminating the immediate area. The orange mare could make out the shapes of several destroyed buildings around her; remnants strewn clear across the open space. She noticed a select few bodies remained seared from the famished fires that plagued their immediate area. Being unsettled, Applejack sat herself next to her human companion. For a good portion of time, the two sat in silence, listening intently for anything out of the ordinary.

Eventually, Applejack’s senses led her mind astray. She’d occasionally glance towards the sky, spotting a star or two peeking in through the smoke-filled portrait above. It brought the orange mare back to a recent night sitting on her front porch. The night’s cool air would bring the faint scent of apples while it delicately brushed against her cheeks and run its fingers through her mane. Chatters of the nightlife filled her ears while the bright moon shone down onto the farm. Her sister had tried to chase fireflies, both her brother and grandmother watching in shared amusement. She closed her eyes, sighing contently and cracking a small smile. I wonder. If I fell asleep here, would I wake up back home? Could this just be one bad dream?

“You’re not zoning out on me, are you?” Wilkes asked, snapping her back to reality.

In an instant the calming facade of her family’s presence had vanished, the scent of apples replaced with burning buildings, the sounds of insects and animals drowned out by the crack of a dying fire, the cool air substituted with the smoldering heat of a nearby complex. Her mood declined. Course it wouldn’t be that easy. “Ahm still here,” she flatly answered. “Just... thinkin’ ‘bout home.”

Wilkes sat back. “What’s it like where you’re from?”

Applejack’s grin resurfaced. “Nicest place ya ever did see. Mah family would run the biggest apple orchard in Ponyville.”

“So your name’s not just for show, eh?” he mused.

“Nope.” She paused to chuckle. “Ah’d wake up early to help mah big brother begin pluckin’ the ripest apples off them trees. Sometimes we’d compete ta see who’d pick the most before the sun came up. Ah feel no shame in admittin’ we’ve got the same amount’a victories. Ain’t seen nopony work as hard as Big Macintosh.

“We’d always be listenin’ fer mah granny ta ring the ol’ triangle, meant breakfast was hot n’ ready. Mah lil’ sis would come down eventually. If it weren’t the ringin’, it sure was the smell of the full spread on the table. Then we’d just... eat our fill n’ talk fer a while. Ah always liked those times.”

Wilkes offered Applejack a bottle of water, who gratefully accepted. “You’re a family pony, huh?”

“Eyyyup,” she replied after a gulp of water. “Ah hold ‘em close ta mah heart every day.”

After staying silent for a bit, the security guard asked, “What about your mother and father?”

Her mood visibly dipped as she swallowed a lump in her throat.

“I-I’m sorry. Was that too personal of a question?”

“No, it’s... it’s fine.” She quieted herself and looked to the sky. “We reckon they’ve passed on.”

The security guard shifted his position. “You’re not sure?”

Applejack explained, “It’s like this. My ma and pa were salesponies, back when ah was jus’ a filly. They’d always leave fer a spell, then come back n’ settle down fer a while. Sure, it’d be lonely sometimes, but they’d always come back. Then one night, not long after mah sister was born, they had to leave again. It was the usual routine: Mah parents would wake up early in the mornin’, they’d pack what they could carry, and then they’d give us hugs and kisses before headin’ on out. As usual we waited... but this time we never heard back from ‘em.

“The Royal Guard got involved, but that didn’t turn up much. Just a bunch’a old mare’s tales that led to dead ends.” She paused to search through her saddlebag. “There weren’t any fancy cameras around until a little before they left. Even then, there was only time fer one picture,” she said as she pulled out her photograph, “and ahm the stupid filly who ripped ‘em out of it.”

“What made you do that?” Wilkes asked in a slightly surprised manner.

The orange mare had a melancholy expression on her face. “Ain’t that the worst of it? Ah can’t remember. It could’a been anger or somethin’, but ah just don’t know.”

There was a shared moment of silence before the security guard said, “My parents are gone too.” Applejack looked somewhat shocked. “Gone as in dead,” he elaborated, “not gone like your parents, that is. Happened only a year or two ago, at that. My mum was the first to go, and I guess my dad couldn’t handle being so far apart.”

With an understanding look in her eye, Applejack said, “Ya know, ah thought humans were complete opposites from us ponies. Maybe we’re not so different after all.”

“I think that once you get to know us, you’ll see we’re not too bad.” The next three hours dragged on. The conversation traveled through many different topics to pass the time. Applejack eventually yawned loudly before smacking her lips. “Not going to be much longer, try to stay awake,” Wilkes enouraged. He looked at the watch underneath his right sleeve. “Only half an hour, then we can get a few winks in.” The farm pony looked dazed and confused. “It’s an expression.” He pulled out a thermos, twisting off the top and pouring into it the canister’s contents. “Here,” he offered, “you probably could use some coffee more than me.”

“What’s coffee?”

Wilkes explained, “It’s a drink that most of us humans need to keep ourselves awake at night, or to just wake up, period. Hope you don’t mind if it’s not hot.”

“Thank ya kindly.” She reached out to grab the beverage, noticing its dark complexion. A slight doubt wavered, but she soon lifted the cup with her mouth and took a sip. Her eyes immediately shot open as she gently set the coffee back down. Applejack shuddered as she asked, “Is coffee usually so... bitter?”

“I probably should’ve guessed that you wouldn’t like your coffee black.” When the orange mare shook her head, he rummaged through his bag for another bottle of water. “This should help,” he said while he unscrewed the cap. She gladly took the water and began to drink as Wilkes finished off his caffeine.

Applejack snuck a look at the security guard to see him remove his helmet. Just like mine. She thought as she took note of his hair color.

He noticed the farm pony stare and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, uh, nothin’.”

The two remained silent, observing the nearby buildings for any movement. “Half an hour... I can hardly wait,” he said as he set his now-empty cup on the floor.

**********

Pinkie Pie lazily opened her eyes. She sat up as she noticed the moonlight shining directly into her eyes. After adjusting her position to avoid the glare, she heard her stomach growl. The pink mare quickly looked around to make sure that no one’s slumber was disturbed. When the coast was clear, she navigated her way towards her saddlebag. I just knew I’d need this! She reached into her bag and pulled out a chocolate cupcake. She sniffed the raspberry frosting on top before licking her lips.

Just as she was about to invite the delicacy into her maw, she heard a noise. The party pony froze as she looked around. After hearing nothing, she cautiously re-attempted to eat before again being interrupted by the same noise. It sounds like somepony’s sniffling outside. She placed the treat onto her back as she walked towards the window. As she peered outdoors, she saw a figure sitting in the dirt, mumbling to itself. Pinkie Pie could only pick up a few key words, like “idiot” and “egg-head” and several other condescending adjectives. Upon closer inspection, she realised that this Negative Nancy was actually Twilight Sparkle.

Is she talking about herself? After a moment's thought, Pinkie Pie grabbed the cupcake off her back and looked at it, then back to Twilight. I think somepony needs this more than me. She quietly tip-hooved her way outside and made it a few steps before the purple unicorn quickly turned to see her oncoming friend.

Twilight hid her eyes before asking, “Pinkie? W-what are you doing up at this hour?”

“Well, my tummy was rumbling, and so I went to go get a cupcake that I brought from Ponyville for a midnight snack. Just as I was about to eat it, I heard a noise outside, and it turned out to be you. So... why are you still awake?”

Twilight bit her lower lip before replying, “I couldn’t sleep.”

Pinkie’s head cocked slightly to the left. “Is it because of what happened before we went to sleep?”

“No, Pinkie, I told you that I’m fine.”

“Are you super-duper sure?”

“Yes, Pinkie, I...” The librarian’s jittering jaw betrayed her. “Oh, what’s the use. No... I’m not fine,” she answered, sitting on her haunches and revealing a pair of misted eyes to her friend.

Moving the cupcake onto her shoulder, Pinkie Pie moved over to sit next to the distressed equine while she asked, “What happened, Twilight?”

Despite the trial that it was, the purple unicorn recalled the event the took place when she and Sergeant Powers left to scout the surrounding area. As the details dragged on, Twilight’s composure began slipping. Just when she felt like opening the floodgates, Pinkie Pie quickly laid a reassuring hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. “Do you know what the worst part of this is?” Twilight said with a defeated demeanor. “I think he’s right.”

With a slightly agitated look, Pinkie Pie commented, “You know that’s not true.”

“But it is!” she countered. “Think about it. Everypony was so set on asking the Princess to help, but who had to say it’s a bad idea? Me.” Twilight started to quietly chuckle as a tear squeezed its way out. “Me and my big mouth. I’m the one who said that we should go help the humans. All because I... wanted to be the hero.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I do, Pinkie. And even if it’s not true, what have we done so far? We’ve ran around like scared little fillies and watched as humans die right in front of us. I willingly offered our lives like they were nothing. Oh, let’s not forget how I almost got Fluttershy killed. We’re just doing so—” Twilight’s rambling was cut short when Pinkie Pie embraced her.

She gently rubbed the back of the unicorn’s head and cooed, “Please don’t say things like that, Twilight. We still agreed with you, and you have helped save humans so far.”

Twilight pulled away and cocked an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

The party pony reassuredly smiled. “Don’t you remember when we wound up next to the portal room again? Wilkes fell on the floor and almost got hit by that fireball, but you jumped in front of it and saved him! Not only that, but you later carried Thorne out as we escaped. Aside from that, Fluttershy saved Briar’s life, Applejack and Rainbow Dash helped bring down Thorne before he could really hurt somepony, and Rarity spotted that stalker before it could hurt us.”

Twilight was slightly taken aback and looked away as this information washed over her. “I... guess you’re right.” A small smile started to surface on her face.

Just a little more. “What I’m trying to say is this,” Pinkie Pie began. “We have to do what we can for now. There will be other times for us to help more humans, and even if we can’t save them all, we’ll do what we can, alright?”

After a moment of reflection, Twilight wiped her tears away while she nodded. “Okay,” she conceded, “I’ll try to keep my chin up about this. I’m sorry for snapping at you and everypony else earlier. Thank you, Pinkie.”

“Twilight, I need you to do something for me.”

“Go for it.”

Pinkie Pie scooted herself a short distance away. “I want you to Pinkie Pie Swear that you won’t become sad like this again, okay?”

After Twilight agreed and performed the accompanying ritual, Pinkie Pie reached for the treat on her back and handed it to the unicorn. “Oh no, I couldn’t,” Twilight stated. “You brought that from home. I don’t have any right to eat your food.”

“It’s okay,” the pink pony insisted. “It’ll make you feel better. Please take it.”

Once she’d finished toying with the idea in her head, the librarian reached out and took the cupcake. “Thank you very much,” she said before taking a small bite. Her eyes immediately shot open as a fireworks display ignited within her mouth. She let out a brief, quiet moan as she touched her cheek. “So... sweet,” she commented as a full grin appeared.

“I told you it would make you feel better!” Just as Twilight neared a second bite, Pinkie Pie’s ears perked up as she looked down the lone road behind them. Her eyes squinted as she scanned the area. “Isn’t that Applejack?”

The unicorn looked towards the area in question. Sure enough, the farm pony was galloping fairly fast towards their location. “It is. And she’s... alone? What’s going on?”

The orange mare scooched to a halt as she approached her friends. While slightly out of breath, she asked, “Twilight? Pinkie Pie? What're y'all... oh nevermind. That ain't important right now.” She ran inside the house to yell, “Everypony up an at 'em! Time ta wake up! Git yer gear together n' come out to the entryway on the double!” There were a few disgruntled replies as Applejack eventually gathered everyone in the entryway.

“What's so bleeding important that you had to wake us up at this hour?” Davin asked as he attached his mask.

“Wilkes and ah were watchin' the area real careful like. Then he hears a noise and got nervous, tellin' me ta gallop here as fast as ah can n' git y’all.”

“Why didn’t he use the radio?” Private Schneider asked.

“‘Parently it ran outta juice. That’s why he told me ta run. Ah think he’s fightin’ off whatever it is that’s over there. Said it was somethin' about a... what was it... a chainsaw?”

Dr. Glover's eyes grew wide. “You're certain that's what he said?” he grimly asked. A short nod from Applejack reaffirmed his fears. As he looked at Lieutenant Masterson, he said, “I don't know if what we have is enough for this.”

“We'd better hope it's enough,” the Lieutenant replied, sharing the scientist's worried expression. “Everyone, grab your weapons or Elements; Wilkes is going to need our help right now! Let's move!”

The ensemble moved as quickly as possible outside and towards the stake-out location. Their old residence was almost out of sight when Twilight suddenly stopped. “We forgot Thorne!”

They slowed down as Masterson ran the possible scenarios through his head. “Twilight, Corporal Lewis, both of you grab him and bring him over to our new location. Everyone else, carry on!” The soldier and the unicorn ran as quickly as they could back into the house.

The soldier said, “You get him with your magic and I'll cover you on the way back. There's no telling what might—” Twilight and Corporal Lewis stood slack-jawed at the sight before them. The security guard was nowhere to be seen. He left no trace behind aside from a few tattered pieces of rope. “This could be bad...”

“Where could he have gone?” Twilight asked as she looked around.

Lewis armed his weapon. “I don’t know. I had a feeling he was out for too long. Maybe he was just biding his time until we were all asleep. Personally, I think we're better off without the lunatic.”

“Do you think he has anything to do with what we’re going up against?”

“I don’t know, but if it’s something that can get even Lieutenant Masterson spooked... it can’t be good. We'd better get back to the others.” Without another moment’s hesitation, the two individuals quickly ran from the house and towards their comrades.

Chapter 9: A Slight Delay

Gary’s group walked down the stairs before reaching the hallway that led to the offices on the second floor. Davin, Schneider, and Powers kept their weapons drawn and at the ready. Applejack stayed alert, and Fluttershy helped Rarity walk underneath the dim lighting. To their left were three large broken windows, showing a view of the destroyed environment below.

“Any idea what we’ll find on this floor?” Schneider asked.

Gary shrugged. “I’m not too sure, never came up here much. Sometimes I’d head to the cubicles to hand off research notes, so that’s a good place to start.”

“That so,” Applejack added with a yawn. “Well hey, what ‘bout that?” She pointed to a knocked-over cabinet next to the broken window at the end of the hall. She started to walk towards it when Fluttershy flew in front of her.

“Wait!” she said before taking the time to use her tail in order to dust away the many glass shards on the floor. Fluttershy touched down next to Rarity. “We don’t want you hurting yourselves now.”

The soldiers walked on, spare glass shards crunching beneath their boots, while Applejack took a second to understand as she slowly blinked her eyes. “Oh, yeah. Thanks, Fluttershy.” She walked towards the cabinet, where the humans were already getting to work digging through the files. “Where should we start lookin’?”

Davin looked at the ponies. “This isn’t a job for you. You three can go somewhere else. Wouldn’t want you chewing up any important papers,” he said while shooing them away.

Rarity huffed in frustration. “He probably wouldn’t tell us that if I could see,” she whispered. “Can we even sit anywhere? All of this running has been torture on my hooves.”

“We can sit against the wall fer a bit,” Applejack replied.

“But... shouldn’t we find some way to help?” Fluttershy asked.

“As much as ah’d love to, sugarcube,” the farmpony stated as she helped guide Rarity to an open spot near the cabinet, “it ain’t gonna do us much good if we wander off n’ some specimen catches us unawares.” Applejack and Rarity leaned against the wall, Fluttershy sitting in front of both ponies.

“Oh, you’re right. But shouldn’t we still think of something?” Fluttershy queried.

“I don’t know if there’s much we can do,” Rarity answered. “Perhaps we should take a moment to rest until we’re needed.”

“What about the others? Do you think they’ll be fine?”

Rarity stifled a giggle. “With Twilight’s persistence, Rainbow Dash’s tenacity, and Pinkie Pie’s... being Pinkie Pie, I’m sure they’ve got things handled up above.”

“Well, okay. I guess taking a minute to rest would be good for all of us. What about you, Applej-” Fluttershy stopped as she saw the farm pony’s eyes closed and heard a small snore. She leaned in close and gently poked her sleeping friend, which made Applejack shoot awake with a sharp gasp.

“Wh-what? What happened?” she asked frantically. “Is somethin’ comin’?”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “Were you sleeping just now, Applejack?”

The pony in question’s face began to redden. “Well, uh... it’s not like I was tryin’ to or anythin’, I just, uh...”

“That’s right,” Rarity responded. “You haven’t slept at all, have you?”

Applejack hung her head as she let out a sigh. “Not a wink.”

Fluttershy worriedly looked at both of her friends before she said, “You know, I could try healing you two.”

Rarity and Applejack quickly brought their attention to their friend.

“Ah dunno,” Applejack replied. “Didn’t Twilight say somethin’ ‘bout it bein’ awfully risky to use that power o’ yours?”

“Well, I...,” Fluttershy’s ears folded back. “I just... thought I could help...”

All three ponies were silent before Rarity spoke up. “She should try, Applejack. If Fluttershy’s able to help us, we’ll be of much more use to everypony. I don’t enjoy feeling helpless, you know. Also, think about it. If an emergency happens, you and I are not in fit condition.”

Applejack hummed. “Ya have a point there.” She turned to her winged friend. “Do ya think you can control it?”

Fluttershy looked off to the distance. “I’m not sure, but I can’t just sit while you’re both like this. I’ll just stop if it starts to hurt, I promise!”

Applejack looked at the humans, who were still busily examining each document. “If they’re gonna be here a bit, ah s’pose tryin’ just once couldn’t hurt. Ah gotta ask ya somethin’ first. Both of y’all. How d’ya do it? Yer powers, ah mean.” Fluttershy tilted her head, enticing Applejack to continue. “How did y’all come around to findin’ out ya had these powers? Ah figure that maybe if ah know how y’all did it, ah can find some way to get my power sooner than later.”

Rarity rested her chin on her hoof. “I discovered my power when we were looking for you, Fluttershy. I remember that we all were very worried and wanted to find you as soon as possible, so I used my gem finding spell, wishing that it would help us find your necklace. I hadn’t realized it then, but that was my Element reacting to my thoughts. I guess you could say it granted my wish.”

“That’s like what happened to me,” Fluttershy added. “When Mr. Briar was hurt really bad, I was sad and thought that I didn’t want anypony else to die, then my Element glowed and he was all better.”

Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle. “It’s ironic, don’t you think? Your Element granted you the ability to heal, but healing too much could cost you your life.” The sullen smile on her face slowly disappeared as a look of realization dawned on her face. “That’s right. I was going to mention that to Twilight earlier.” She turned in what she hoped was the direction of her friends. “Think back to when Rainbow Dash used her Element. She became faster than anything I’ve ever seen, and appeared indestructible, but later kept dropping out of the sky for no obvious reason. Then there’s myself. I pushed myself to my limit to try seeing what lay in wait for us, but doing so resulted in my going blind.” She looked to the ground. “While these Elements can aid us in ways we never thought possible, they can lead to our demise if improperly used.” Rarity lightly brushed her hoof against her necklace. “It’s no wonder why the Princess insisted on the Elements being locked away. They’re a danger even to those with noble purposes.”

Applejack swallowed the lump in her throat. “The Elements are doin’ this to us? Maybe... maybe rushin’ to get mah Element’s power ain’t the smartest thing to do.” She shook herself out of her daze and turned to Fluttershy. “Oh, ah’m sorry. You’ve been waitin’ fer us to finish talkin’, haven’t ya?”

Fluttershy quickly shook her head. “N-no, it’s no trouble. It’s a little scary to think about, but still something we need to know.” She sat closer to her friends. “I’ll try to heal you two. If it’s okay, that is.” Neither of her friends objected. She quieted herself before activating her Element, ensnaring all three ponies in her healing field. Applejack and Rarity visibly tensed up during the process. When it was over, Fluttershy looked at both of her friends, who had their eyes clamped shut. “All done.”

Applejack was the first to relax, peeking out of one eye before opening both eyes up. She flexed her legs before standing up. “Shoot, ah feel like ah got a good days’ rest. What about you, Rarity?”

The pony in question also slowly opened one eye before both were open. However, her expression took a sour turn as she sighed. “I still can’t see.”

Fluttershy’s ears drooped. “I’m so sorry, Rarity.”

“It’s okay, really,” the fashionista replied, trying her best to appear happy. “I do feel much better, so it’s not like your effort went to waste. But enough about us, are you alright?”

“I feel-” Fluttershy stopped herself and looked at her forelegs. She raised them before her eyes, showing two trembling limbs. She and Applejack looked at each other, staying silent.

“What’s going on?” Rarity asked. “Are you alright, Fluttershy?”

“Her forelegs are shakin’,” Applejack replied. “Do ya feel weird or anythin’?” Fluttershy shook her head, enticing a sigh of relief from the farm pony. “Well, ah’m sure the others could use a pick me up, but that outta wait ‘til we know ya won’t get hurt from usin’ yer power.”

A cabinet drawer slammed shut, bringing everypony’s attention forward to their human companions. “Nothing,” Powers remarked.

Gary crossed his arms. “It was a bit of a stretch to think there’d be anything we’d need in this one drawer.” He turned to the end of the hall, facing a wooden double-door. “We’ll have better luck in the actual office itself.”

“Are we going to be digging through much?” Schneider asked.

After a moment’s thought, he answered, “I’d guess maybe twelve other desks and cabinets.”

“Great,” Davin added. “It was boring enough going through one cabinet.”

“Ya know,” Applejack chimed in, “it might go a bit quicker if ya let us help. Just sayin’.” She couldn’t help the smug grin on her face.

The Police Sergeant rested his face in his palm while he quietly groaned. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t rip anything up.”

“You act as if we’ve never dealt with holding papers in our mouths,” Rarity stated.

Briar just shook his head. “Hurry up and lead the way,” he commanded as he lightly pushed Gary forward. As the ponies got up to merge with the group of humans, Fluttershy noticed a giant picture on the wall to her right and froze. Rarity felt her guide stop. “Is something wrong?” she asked, earning Applejack’s attention. She caught on and saw what kept Fluttershy in place. On the wall was a large portrait of Kevin Clamely, and next to it were the words ‘You killed’ sloppily smeared on the wall in blood.

“Just somethin’ unsightly.” Applejack rested her hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder, which startled the timid pegasus. “It’s okay, Fluttershy,” she cooed. “It’s dry. It ain’t worth lookin’ at.”

As Fluttershy took several deep breaths to calm down, Davin sneered, “Are you done now?” earning him a glare from Applejack. “We can’t keep babysitting you lot if you’re just going to freeze up all the time.”

Gary turned back to the doors and pushed them open, revealing several trashed cubicles and many overturned filing cabinets along the floor. “Would you like to start from the left, or the right?”

**********

A loud thud was heard on the third floor. “God damn it, Pinkie Pie!” Agent Wilkes shouted. “What the hell was that for?!”

The party pony tilted her head to the side. “You said looking looking at file after file was boring, so I thought it would be more fun if all the files you needed were right in front of you!”

“I never told you to dump all of them on the floor! Help me pick them up!”

“But if I pick them up, you’ll be bored again, silly filly!”

The two continued to argue until Twilight walked into the room both beings were in. “What’s going on here?”

Wilkes turned to her. “Your brain-dead friend here decided to throw all of the files I was sorting through on the floor!”

Pinkie Pie began snickering. “How could I be brain dead? My noggin’s working fine!”

“Have you found any important files yet?” Twilight asked before another argument could break out.

Wilkes shrugged. “Unless stock reports and company picnics are code for secret experiments, no. Now if you’ll excuse me,” he turned to Pinkie Pie,” and if you’ll leave, I’ve got to get all these papers sorted out, no thanks to you.”

When both ponies were outside of the room, Twilight commented, “You know, Pinkie. You really should’ve asked him before throwing all of those papers on the ground.”

Pinkie’s eyes grew wide. “But, Twilight! You should’ve seen him standing there. He looked so bored, and I couldn’t stand to see him stand so boredly! Besides, now all of the papers will be out at once and he can look over all of them faster!”

Twilight sighed. “Pinkie, you really can’t just go and assume somepony wants you to do something to make their job more fun. It could make things even more bothersome.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I just can’t help it,” Pinkie Pie replied as her ears drooped. “Seeing anypony bored just makes me antsy.”

“Well, why don’t you try finding Rainbow and help her? I’m sure she could use some help.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Pinkie quickly zipped away.

As Twilight was about to head for another area, she spotted Briar in the corner, intently studying the papers within a file. Her curiosity piqued, she approached the officer. “Did you find somethi-”

Briar immediately shifted his attention to Twilight as he promptly closed the file, placing it back within the drawer. “No. Go away.” He then ignored the magician, resuming his file examinations. She tried not to think much of this instance and did her part to look around. When she was out of sight, Briar dug back into the cabinet and pulled out the file he was looking at. After a moment’s contemplation, he hid the file underneath his uniform and resumed his search.

Rainbow Dash flew around the area, scanning it until she found—

“Twilight!” The speedster flew to her friend before touching down. “Schneider and I found Clamely’s office!”

“You did?” Twilight queried.

“Yeah! Pretty sweet, huh?”

Twilight had a nagging feeling. “Have you looked inside it yet?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Schneider said we should get everypony to the room before we bust down the door.”

“Bust it down?”

“Yeah. It’s locked, and I was all ready to knock it over, but Schneider was telling me that it would be better to get everypony here first.”

With that point established, Twilight and Rainbow Dash set about gathering everyone from the second and third floors. When together, they walked down a long, daunting hallway towards his office. Only a small wooden door with the words ‘Kevin Clamely: CEO, Founder of Horzine Laboratories’ printed on it in gold eloquent lettering separated everyone from what they hoped would be the answers to this catastrophe.

“Stand back, everypony,” Rainbow said as she hovered in the air.

“Wait,” Twilight commanded. “We don’t know what’s inside. You could really hurt yourself.”

“That’s not all,” Gary added. “For as long as I’ve worked here, I can’t remember Clamely ever having an office up here.”

“Perhaps he got another office for himself in the renovations?” Wilkes answered. “God knows the bastard was becoming a regular narcissist.”

“True, but I don’t like this.”

Twilight looked around until she saw Rarity, who was still relying on Fluttershy as a guide. She called to her and asked, “Has your eyesight improved?”

Rarity shook her head and sighed. “I still can’t see a thing. Fluttershy even tried her hoof at sprucing us up, but it-”

“Wait. ‘Spruce you up’? What are you-” It clicked. The librarian looked at Fluttershy. “Did you use your Element?”

The accused pony nodded.

Twilight opened her mouth to chastise Fluttershy, but Applejack spoke first. “Ah know ya said otherwise, Twilight, but we figured it was fer the best. Rarity can’t see, Fluttershy ain’t exactly fightin’ material, and ah was near tuckered out from not gettin’ a wink of sleep. If somethin’ showed up and caught us off guard, we might not’ve been prepared.”

Twilight sternly looked at Fluttershy, who tried hiding behind her mane. “Okay, you have a point, but what you did was still reckless! Didn’t you listen to what I said about these powers? What if Fluttershy’s body reacted violently and none of us could do a thing about it?”

“We talked ‘bout that, Twilight, but Fluttershy was insistin’ that she could handle it. And she did, that’s all that matters.”

“That’s not the point, Applejack,” Twilight argued. “Until Rarity and I teach the four of you how to control magic, using your powers is too dangerous! You should’ve let me know before you even tried something like this. Did anything happen to Fluttershy after healing the three of you?”

Applejack momentarily looked away. “W-well, her front legs were shakin’, but that’s it!”

“You see? It’s her forelegs now, but it could’ve been so much worse!”

“But she-”

“You know, you guys,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “Fluttershy is sitting right next to you two, if you wanna stop talking like she isn’t.” She looked at Twilight. “Yeah, I get that you don’t want to see anything happen to Fluttershy again. I don’t want that either, but getting on her and Applejack’s case like this won’t help anypony.” Then she looked at Applejack. “Still, Twilight’s right. One of us is blind and two of us have nearly kicked it because of the Elements. We could try to wait a bit before using them again.”

“Says the one who turned herself into metal twice,” Davin quipped.

Rainbow nearly turned around to argue, but decided against it and continued. “I get that it’s so you can be more alert and all, but we can’t go and turn Fluttershy into some sort of quick fix for us all.” Applejack and Twilight remained quiet as they took Rainbow Dash’s words to heart.

Twilight was the first to speak. “You’re right, Rainbow. Applejack, Fluttershy, I’m sorry. I know you had good intentions, but I just...”

Applejack held up her hoof. “Ya don’t need to say anythin’ else, Twilight. Ah’m sorry too.”

Fluttershy intervened. “But you don’t need to apologize for that, Applejack. You were the one who thought me healing the three of us was a bad idea in the first place.”

“Let’s not make this any more complicated than it is,” Rarity chimed in. “We’re all sorry for not completely seeing the other pony’s point of view, but we understand that now. We could sit here apologizing all day, but nopony would be getting anywhere.”

With a chuckle, Twilight added, “You’re right about that.”

“Okay!” Briar interjected. “If we’re done with melodrama hour, we’d like to open this door and get the hell out of here. How does that sound?” He looked at all of the ponies, who either paid him no attention or gave another glare. “No objections? Good. I nominate Wilkes to go inspect the office first.”

The security guard flinched. “What? Why me?”

Briar pointed to Gary. “Shit-For-Brains over here was saying he didn’t like how this was looking, right? So if we’re going to inspect this room, wouldn’t it make more sense to first send in the fellow who’s wearing the most armor?”

Wilkes hesitated for a moment. “Okay, fine, I’ll go in.” He grabbed the AA12 off of his back. “Get ready, everyone.” He gingerly reached for the door handle, slowly turning it until he could feel the door open. He opened the door a hair’s width, but couldn’t see anything inside. Using the muzzle of his weapon, he slowly pushed the door more open until he had a perfect view of the office’s interior. Only a sliver of light shined in, so he turned on his weapon’s torch. He checked the two corners visible to him and saw no signs of imminent danger. He slid his feet along the floor as he checked the doorframe for any signs of tampering.

With nothing dangerous present, he made his way inside. The room was quite spacious for one person, but still seemed that it would be a bit small for eight humans and six ponies. Papers were littered all over the floor, some of which had the word ‘classified’ stamped on them in the usual red ink. Several of what appeared to be Kevin’s possessions were left on the floor, some of which were in shambles. Wilkes used his light to scan the walls until he came across the light switch. With the utmost caution, he flipped the switch on, illuminating the room. Another quick look later showed that nothing dangerous resided on the carpet floor, the auburn colored walls, or the white, plastered ceiling above. The only other object in the room was Kevin’s wooden desk, furnished with a shining coat of sealant. Nothing on the desk seemed to have been disturbed. “All clear,” Wilkes announced.

Everyone squeezed their way into the room, leaving only a minimum amount of breathing room between each of the occupants. “Careful not to step on anything too important,” Masterson pointed out. Everyone gathered as many papers as they could off the floor and assorted them on top of the desk. At least everyone except for Twilight, who was busy observing her surroundings.

“Something wrong?” Corporal Lewis asked, snapping Twilight out of her trance.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Twilight quickly replied, “but... something just doesn’t seem right about all of this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Kevin Clamely is the human behind all of this, so why isn’t he here?” Twilight looked around the office. “The only part of this room that stands out is the mess on the floor. Otherwise everything else looks like nothing happened.”

Lewis rested his head in his hand. “That is true. Don’t know where he could be, but-”

“What’s this shit?” Davin’s outburst attracted Twilight and Lewis’ attention towards the desk. “Were you trying to kill us all?!”

“As I’ve explained, they were prototype designs, they never came to fruition.” Gary explained at the opposite side of the desk from the Police Sergeant.

Davin waved a piece of paper in his hands. “Prototype my ass! Who in their right fucking mind gives a zombie a chain-gun?”

“They’re not zombies, they’re-”

“Fuck you and your specifics!” Davin fired back. “You’re off your rocker if you think you’re sane enough to listen to. Especially for these...” he paused to read over another paper on the desk, “these bleeding RPG zombies. Rockets?! Are you kidding me?”

Gary sighed hard. “We wanted to make the best soldiers for England’s military.”

“And a bloody good job you did there!”

Briar put his hand on his fellow officer’s shoulder. “Oi, ease off. The lackey’s not worth your breath.”

“Like hell he is!” Davin retorted, brushing Briar’s hand away. He lifted his mask and placed it above his face. “Shit-for-brains over here thinks tha-”

Gary yelled. “And stop calling me that! I have a name, you know. It’s-”

“I know what your sodding name is, you fuck!” Davin yelled back. “I just figured a better name for someone like you! For all we know, you’re one of the bastards that started this whole mess and wanted to kill everyone!”

Gary clenched his fists as Masterson bellowed, “That’s bollocks! Both of you sto-”

“No! I’m not one of your military sheep! Fuck off!” Davin’s response caught nearly everyone off guard. “I know we’re all thinking it! Who’s to say he’s not in league with Clamely? You expect me to stick to someone who’d throw his friends into the fire, you can-”

Davin never saw it coming, as Gary leapt across the table and delivered a solid punch to the officer’s face, knocking him off his feet and into the wall behind. As Davin shakily got onto his feet, he attempted to lunge towards the scientist, but was held back by Schneider and Lewis. Gary was also being held back, but by Masterson and Wilkes. Powers and Briar looked at each other, silently agreeing that this debacle wasn’t worth their time. “You don’t know a fucking thing about me!” Gary cursed. “A lot of my friends died here, don’t you ever accuse me of sending them to their deaths!”

Davin attempted to wrestle himself free. “What happened, did he pay you to do all of this? I wouldn’t be surprised!”

Masterson decided this had gone on long enough. “Both of you-”

“Quiet!” a piercing voice shouted. Everyone looked in shock at Fluttershy, who looked unusually angry. “You both should be ashamed of yourselves! Arguing and fighting like this. How is this going to help anypony?” She turned to Davin. “Whatever mean thing it is you’re calling Gary, he obviously doesn’t like it, so stop calling him that! Accusing him of setting his friends up for death, too? I can’t believe you’d be so mean! He’s been through so much lately, been nothing but nice to us, and you’re being nothing but a big bully to him!” Then she looked at Gary. “And you, I’m disappointed in you! It’s okay to be angry at somepony, but that doesn’t give you the right to hit them! If Davin makes you angry, you talk to somepony who can deal with the problem, not make things worse for the two of you!” She paused to take a breath. “Now I want you both to apologize for your behavior.”

Gary protested, “But-”

“Don’t you ‘but’ me, mister! Now apologize!”

Everyone stared in shock at Fluttershy’s new attitude. All except Powers, who also stood back and nodded in silent support. Pinkie Pie began to hop without notice.

Reluctantly, Gary was the first to speak. “I’m sorry for hitting you.”

Davin looked off to the side, staring at the wall. That was when Fluttershy said, “Now it’s your turn.”

With a sigh, Davin looked at Gary and mumbled something nopony could pick up.

“We can’t hear you,” Rainbow Dash taunted as she appeared before Davin’s line of sight with a small grin on her face.

“I’m sorry for calling you shit-for-brains... on numerous occasions.”

“And?”

“... and for saying you killed your friends.”

Both men looked at each other for an uncomfortable moment. “Can we go now?” they both asked at the same time.

Fluttershy looked at Gary and Davin. “Yes, but I’ll be keeping an eye on you two. Please try to be friendlier, for everypony’s sake.” She then accepted a high hoof from Rainbow Dash.

Davin shook himself free from both soldiers, while Gary was released from Wilkes’ and Masterson’s grasp. Briar walked next to his fellow officer, but before he could say anything, Davin uttered, “Not. A. Word.” His attention was then caught by Pinkie Pie, who was still hopping in place. “Why... why are you jumping?” he asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” the party pony replied.

“No, not really.”

“Maybe she’s got tourettes,” Briar suggested.

Pinkie Pie laughed. “No, silly! I thought that the beeping noise was pretty cool, and then I started to come up with a jam to go along with-”

“‘Beeping noise’?” Twilight asked with a piqued interest, bringing Rarity along. “What are you talking about?”

“The one that started up just a few seconds ago!”

The immediate group quieted down before Rarity spoke up. “Wait... she’s right. I hear that beep too.”

Twilight looked around to see everyone in their own separate discussions. “Everypony, please be quiet for a second!” Soon, the room was quiet, and only then could she hear it. Just as Pinkie said, it was a collection of beeps spaced a little more than a second from each other. “That noise, it’s coming from that corner. What’s over there?” she asked, pointing her hoof to the back-right section of the office.

Wilkes was closest to the noise, so he looked around and listened intently until he tracked the noise to the trash bin. He picked the object up and noticed it was rather heavy for the few papers within. Then it hit him. He hoped that it was just a coincidence. He started to dig through the trash while he hoped that it was a watch or a timer and certainly not that. As he got closer to the bottom, he started to wonder how he didn’t catch it sooner. The way the room was perfectly set up. All the information they needed was practically handed to them on a silver platter. But maybe this time would be different. Maybe he would find something trivial at the bottom and everyone would have a good laugh about this. Then he found the pipe bomb strapped to the bottom of the bin. Judging from the automated timer, everyone had about eleven seconds left.

He turned the bin upside down and slammed it on the floor. “Bomb! Get out now!” Nearly everyone stood frozen in shock for an instant before bolting out of the room. Masterson, Wilkes, and Rainbow Dash worked to usher everyone safely outside, lest they get crammed in the doorway and die. When everyone was outside of the office and away from immediate danger, the three remaining squad members retreated. Wilkes was at the rear of the three and once he was outside, stopped to shut the door. The door slammed shut when the bomb detonated, sending debris into Wilkes and launching him backwards.

Everyone stopped running and turned around. They saw the security guard lying on the floor with debris covering his body. “Wilkes!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she flew back to check on him. “Are you okay? C’mon, say something!” The group ran back to their downed comrade and started to clear the door fragments off his body when be began coughing. The speedster heaved a sigh of relief. “He’s alive, thank Celestia!”

Wilkes blearily looked at the people and ponies standing in a rough semicircle around him. “Is... is everyone alright?”

“We all got away in time, but what about you?” Rainbow had then moved every large door chunk away, revealing no visible harm to the security guard. “You look fine, but...”

“The armor took most of the blow,” Wilkes grunted. He slowly sat up. “My right side’s a bit sore, but that’s hopefully the worst of it.”
“That’s a relief,” Twilight sighed. “Good job, Pinkie Pie.”
This made Pinkie stop hopping in place. “Why me?”
“If you hadn’t first heard that ticking noise, we’d all be done for.”

Nearly everyone was silent, letting that fact sink in. Davin eventually spoke up. “If Clamely’s got any other traps lying around, there’s no telling how prepared he is for us. Let’s just get out of here and teleport back.”

Twilight shook her head. “It won’t be that easy; I’ll need a few minutes to gather the magic I need. Teleporting all of us here took a good amount of my magic to pull off. I need to make sure nopony gets left behind this time.”

Briar threw his arms in the air. “Well, this would’ve been good to tell us before we walked into the dragon’s den!”

“It’s not going to take us that long!”

Rarity loudly cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention. “If Twilight says we need to leave, then we need to leave. There’s no point in debating the matter.”

“Then are we just going to keep coming back here again and again?” Rainbow Dash pointed out. “Nothing’s gonna change unless we shut this place down. How are we gonna do anything if this place is still up and running?”

“She’s got a point,” Schneider agreed. “We leave now and nothing will have been accomplished.”

“Not true, we have the specimen documents. That’s at least a start and can give us some insight on Horzine’s next move,” Masterson countered.

“All that aside, we’re going to be busy for quite some time,” Briar added as he turned to look at Gary, “isn’t that right?”

“Why are you looking at me?” the scientist asked.

“Because I know what you’re keeping from us.” Everyone looked at Briar in confusion. “If you’re not going to say it, then I will.”

Schneider turned around, shaking his head and mentally groaning as he expected another pointless argument to take place. At that moment, he saw it. A shadow. It was creeping along the floor, and it couldn’t have been a meter or two away from Rarity. His instinct took over as he un-holstered his Handcannon and fired. Rarity and Fluttershy shrieked as everyone whipped around to see a stalker stumble before falling to the floor.

“W-what just happened?!” Rarity stuttered. “What is this?!” she quaked as she rubbed her hooves over the blood splattered onto her coat.

The ponies immediately went to calm their friends, except for Twilight, who turned to the Private. “How did you know that specimen was there?”

“I... I saw the shadow move on the floor, and I just...” he stammered. “I had to do something.”

Twilight looked back at her friends. That was too close. We’re lucky Private Schneider happened to see that shadow, otherwise we’d—” Her eyes grew wide and she turned to the remains of Clamely’s office. “We need to leave... now!”

“We know that already,” Davin replied. “What’s the rush?”

“The explosion! It shook this entire complex, and I wouldn’t be surprised if every specimen in the immediate area heard it. We’ll be completely overwhelmed if we don’t hurry!”

Lewis started to step towards the end of the hall. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here!” The Corporal led the pack as everyone ran out of the hall. As soon as everyone was out, however, three clots and two Gorefasts were there to greet them. Lewis quickly un-holstered his Bullpup and fired, but his aim was rushed, and missed nearly every shot. Behind him was Briar, who readied his shotgun and decapitated two clots with one shell. One of the Gorefasts swung its blade at Applejack, but she dodged the blade and kicked the specimen into the wall, giving Schneider enough time to approach and fire his Handcannon from point blank range, painting the wall with the clot’s brains.

A clot nearly caught the Private off guard, but Rainbow Dash barreled into the specimen, making it roll on the floor several times before trying to stand back up. It never did, however, as Powers rushed forward and stomped his boot onto the clot’s head, caving in its skull with minimal effort. The last Gorefast attacked Gary, who fumbled his pistol as he fired off three shots, only one of which did any damage. He began to backpedal, but felt his back hit the wall. As Gary put up his arms to instinctively protect himself, several bullets from Davin’s AK-47 rang out and grated the specimen before it fell to the floor.

“Keep moving!” Masterson yelled. Everyone was nearing the office they arrived in when Schneider ran to the left. “What are you doing, Private?” the Lieutenant yelled.

“Twilight’s magic will take time to charge, right?” Schneider asked. “If we get to the first floor before any other zombies reach us, we might have a chance of making it out of here!”

Masterson stated, “Negative. If we run downstairs and find ourselves face to face with a horde of those things, we’ll have wasted time that could’ve been used getting us out of here! We’ll have to hold this position while Twilight gets ready, understand?”

Though there was a tint of dissent itching to leave the Private’s mouth, Schneider swallowed it down and barked, “Yes sir.”

Being back in the office, Twilight got another look out the window. To her relief, the outside yard had yet to become crawling with specimens. “If I get started now, I should be able to gather enough magic before it’s too late.”

“Then get to it!” Masterson replied as he began to set up a defensive perimeter.

In the meantime, Applejack moved to the window and looked out front, then to Twilight, then to the everyone else, who was ready for battle. She suddenly began to piece together an idea that quickly formed in her head. “Twilight, wait!” she chirped as she gently shook her friend out of her trance. “Ah’ve got an idea! Ya said ya need time ta zap us all outta here, right?” Twilight, though appearing agitated, nodded, which dragged a small smile out of the farmpony. “What about a way out that don’t need no teleportin’?”

Twilight raised a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“A slide! You make one of ‘em, we can git everypony on outta here, and ya don’t need to blow all’a yer magic fer it!”

This made the librarian’s eyes light up. “Of course! It’s such a practical solution.” After a moment’s concentration, she used her magic to create a transparent slide that was clamped onto the window frame. “Everypony gather in here! We’re heading out!”

The news attracted everyone inside the shambled office space, while Briar, Wilkes, and Powers attentively stood watch outside the door, taking down any approaching threats. “I can’t keep the slide up if I go on it,” Twilight informed everyone, “so I’ll head out last; everypony else, go!”

One by one, the humans began to slide their way to safety. During a pause in the gunfire, Wilkes got away from the action and took his turn. Briar and Powers stepped back into the office, standing a toppled bookcase before pushing it in front of the door. The Police Constable took his turn sliding down first. Powers silently urged Fluttershy to go first, who helped Rarity along as they both went down. Powers then took off after them. There was suddenly pounding at the barricade. Twilight began to sweat, but wouldn’t allow herself to falter. “You girls go next,” she stated to her remaining friends. Pinkie Pie and Applejack looked at each other before nodding and sliding towards the awaiting group. “Rainbow, get going!” the librarian groaned.

“No,” Rainbow Dash responded. “You look exhausted, Twi. Your magic’s nearly shot, right? I’ll carry you down.”

Twilight stared at the distance from the floor to the ground, her breathing slightly quickening. “A-are you sure you can?” There was a loud slam against the bookcase, momentarily interrupting both ponies.

“I’ve carried Rarity and the Wonderbolts on my back before, Twilight, don’t worry.”

“I’m talking about your Element!” Twilight clarified. “If you black out and we’re in the air...”

Rainbow looked down to everyone then back to Twilight. She took a deep breath and said, “I know I can. I only used my Element once, early this morning.”

“Are you—”

“I don’t care how we do it, but we’re both going back down together!” She lowered herself into takeoff position. “Do you trust me?”

There was another loud slam, forcing out any doubts forming in Twilight’s mind. She cooled off her horn. “Yes, I do.”

“Climb on, quick!” Rainbow commanded. If her friend’s grip around her neck become vice-like, it wasn’t made apparent. As Rainbow took several steps back to prepare her launch, she could feel Twilight trembling on her back. “Are you ready?” When she noticed the librarian nod quickly, she galloped before taking off into the sky. With the added weight their descent was faster than Rainbow had anticipated, but it was nothing she couldn’t correct, as she gently touched down on the ground. “Okay, you can let go now,” Rainbow croaked.

When Twilight finally opened her eyes, she noticed Rainbow’s face turning a darker shade of blue than usual. Upon realization, she quickly let go and got off of the speedster, who started coughing as air re-filled her lungs. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that...” Twilight continued to apologize, but Rainbow chuckled and shrugged.

“Don’t worry, we’re all fine and that’s what matters.”

Suddenly, the sound of smashed wood came from above. Masterson insisted, “Won’t mean a thing if we stay here. Time to get running!” Everybody quickly ran away.

Rainbow flew right next to the Lieutenant. “So where do we go now? Should we head back to the house from before?”

“Negative. Rarity’s blind, so navigation’s useless. We’ve got to find shelter elsewhere. Besides, Clamely could be waiting for us at the house.”

“Waiting for us? What makes you say that?”

“I’ll talk about it later, but let’s focus on getting out of here for now.”

There was no clear idea where anyone was headed. They continued to run through the alleys and streets, hoping for some sort of sign when Masterson stopped dead in his tracks, causing everyone behind him to skid to a halt.

“What’s... what’s wrong?” Lewis gasped.

“Here,” was all that Masterson replied as he started walking towards a relatively intact multi-story car park before them.

“Are you’re sure about this?” Gary asked.

Masterson nodded his head. “If we stay here, there aren’t many ways the zombies can follow us, and we’ll be at a high enough elevation to see any danger coming.”

“Unless there are stalkers,” Twilight added.

“... Right, that too. Well, no use standing about. Thin red line, right here.” While the humans began walking in, the ponies looked at each other, perplexed expressions on all of their faces. Masterson quickly caught on. “It means we’re taking shelter here.”

Everypony gave a unanimous, “Oh,” and followed the humans inside the structure. The car park had concrete support beams scattered throughout the level. Cars were scattered about the blacktop area, some totalled, others ransacked and abandoned. The structure itself, however, seemed to have suffered no damage, which pleased Masterson greatly. After finding a stairwell at the back end of the lot, everyone traveled their way up to the third level, scanning the area for any undesirables. No threats were found, leaving the group more at ease.

Wilkes asked, “Oi, Twilight. Think you can whip up a barricade at the entrance so nothing comes up here?”

“We’d need a few barricades, actually,” Masterson piped up. “These sorts of parks have more than one way up and down. If we’re staying here, we’re going to need something to block the doors.”

Though nearly inaudible, the Lieutenant heard Davin mutter, “Just box us in, why don’t you?”

“That reminds me, before we go any further, I need to know where you two stand,” Masterson stated, looking at both of the officers.

“What are you going on about?” Briar asked.

“Before we went into the offices, I told you two that if you went along with us, you could decide after if you wanted to stay or not,” Masterson reminded them. “If I’m going to trust you two, I need to know you’re supporting us, one-hundred percent.”

Davin started to chuckle. “Trust, eh? That’s rich, coming from you.”

“What are you talking about?”

The Police Sergeant pulled out a file from underneath his coat. “Know what this is?”

Masterson started to pale.

“What is that?” Twilight asked.

Davin stared at Masterson. “Cat got your tongue?” After several eyes darted back and forth, Davin revealed, “This is all the information gathered from your stay at Horzine.”

"Wait, what? What the hay are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Exactly what I said. If you don't believe me, then read these files," Davin responded, holding out the folder to any curious eyes.

For a moment, nothing happened, but Wilkes was the first to accept the folder. He leisurely scanned the folders contents until something seemed to catch his eye, then it happened again and again. "Impossible," he uttered. "Project: Archangel was you?!"

"Archangel?" Gary repeated. "I thought that was just a rumor."

"Not for security, Clamely wouldn't tell us what exactly what we were dealing with, but he'd only say that it was a classified experiment to be guarded it with our lives."

"So... you're really not human?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Then what are you?"

"Yes, please, tell us what you are," Davin sneered. "If you're going to talk about trust so much, then it's time you came clean."

As all eyes began to bore into Masterson's perception, he let out a sigh. "I'd hoped we could've avoided this, but... it's true. I'm human in sense of appearance, but I wasn't born the way everyone else was. I was created in... in the Horzine laboratories."

Rarity gasped. "So... you're a..."

"Yes... I'm a Horzine specimen. One of those zombies."

Applejack started to shake her head. "No... but how? Ya don't look anythin' like those things!"

"I was created after the line of specimens you see now. I should've looked more like those things, but I guess Horzine got lucky when they made me."

"So spill it," Briar demanded. "Tell us why we shouldn't off you like the hundreds of other specimens running around town."

"Because you need me," Masterson flatly replied. "If I really worked for Horzine, I'd have killed you all before you even knew what was going on."

After gulping, Rainbow Dash asked, "I don't get it. If you're a Horzine specimen, what's your story?"

Masterson took a seat, subtly insisting that everyone else do the same. "The earliest thing I remember is Clamely looking down on me as I tried to move on an operating table. Seems I have an advanced rate of learning, so I breezed through a vast majority of my general education. When I was deemed 'ready', they fed me information: my name, where I went to school, my high school crushes, everything. I was taught the information so much that I could repeat it forwards and backwards.

"Then military life began; Every day was the same: become blindfolded on the way from the lab to the army base, train relentlessly for hours, then get shipped back to the laboratories so Horzine could assess what I learned that day. I quickly rose through the ranks, both thanks to my natural talent and some of Horzine's influence, I suspect."

"Why would anypony want to listen to an organization as terrible as Horzine?" Twilight asked.

"Parliament contracted our laboratories to conduct these experiments," Gary answered. "It's not unlikely that Horzine could have had some influence over Masterson's stay in the army."

"Parley-what now?" Applejack asked.

"Like a government." He received confused looks in response. "Oh, right, you don’t know the lingo. It's the sort of organization we use to establish law and order here."

After the brief political lesson, Masterson continued. "Things progressed as smoothly for me as they could, I suppose. I was forbidden from speaking to any of the other soldiers unless spoken to first, so as to avoid confusion with my lack of social skills. The people under my command listened to my commands without question, so things kept moving smoothly."

"So what changed all of that?" Schneider asked. "You could’ve been a General. What happened?"

Masterson started to rub his hands together. "One day I came back from my training and started to hear talk of how I was next in line to be cloned. It was my reward, they told me. I had no idea what was in store, so the procedure began. I was stuck with needles, probes, and scanners. Then they flipped a switch, and the procedure began. The pain was... indescribable. I began to writhe around, struggling against the straps I was restrained with. When it was over, I struggled to breathe for quite some time. When I regained control of my senses, I looked to my left, expecting to see a replica of myself, but instead saw the shell of a man. It looked so outlandish, so fragile; it was as if this twin of mine had been ripped straight from the womb."

“What happened next?” Fluttershy cautiously asked.

Just as the Lieutenant was about to answer, all soldiers held their ears in pain as a booming voice came out of their headsets. “As entertaining as your backstory is,” The Trader remarked, “my employers aren’t supplying you with our weapons so you can gob on all day.”

Briar yelled, “Fucking bitch nearly blew my ears out! Can’t you give us a warning before you do that?”

After recovering, Lewis looked to his right to see the concerned looks of each pony staring in worry at the soldiers. “Be glad you don’t have to suffer through this.”

“I’ll think about that warning,” The Trader answered, “but there are more pressing matters to attend to. Tell me, how many of you, aside from Mr. Glover, are familiar with Saint Filth’s General Hospital?”

A few of the soldiers took a quick moment to look at Gary, who flinched on sight. “I’m... somewhat aware of the place,” Schneider stated.

“The name certainly speaks for itself, believe me,” Davin added with a chuckle.

“What of it?” Masterson flatly asked.

“There’s a survivor complex not too far from the hospital,” The Trader informed them. “Some military folk are holed up there. However, the specimens seem to be converging on that location, so they’re getting hit pretty hard. You lot mentioned you wanted to help the people, and here’s your golden opportunity. It’s not too far from the Offices, so heading back shouldn’t be a problem.”

“A survivor complex?” Lewis repeated, attracting everypony’s attention.

“Does somepony need our help?” Twilight asked.

“You can explain to them later,” The Trader intervened. “I know you lot have gone through hell while achieving close to nothing, so I’ll give you a chance for a breather. Go on ahead and ask those questions you’ve all been itching to ask.”

Briar asked, “Such as?”

“Oh, you know. Asking Mr. Glover for the reason as to why nearly all of the specimens are going to Saint Filth’s Hospital, and asking Mr. Davin about the second file he took from the office.” There was a click before communication ended.

The humans slowly turned to look at the two men in question, causing the ponies to look around aimlessly. “So who’s going to go first?” Masterson stated.

“What about you?” Davin inquired. “We still don’t know your full story!”

The Trader interrupted the men once again, but this time there was a chime that rang once through everyone’s headset. “There’s your warning, hopefully you’ll stop whining now. And no, there’s no time for your story. Now make with the small talk, you’ve got places to be, people.” Another chime later, and her voice was cut off again.

Davin and Gary looked at each other for a moment. The Police Sergeant jerked his head towards everyone else, causing Gary to shake his head. “You first,” Davin insisted.

“Why me?”

“Because... just fucking go!”

After shaking his head, Gary crossed his arms and began to pace. “Well, you see... um... The science team rationalized that in order to get the specimens we need, we’d require human DNA, which isn’t exactly easy to find. This whole operation was supposed to be under the rug... and... well... Saint Filth’s was a short walk from Horzine, so-” His explanation was interrupted by groans of disappointment.

Schneider yelled, “Are you kidding me? Did those people even know that their DNA was being swiped?”

“It-it’s not that bad!” Gary defended as he inched away and held up his arms. “Besides... they were terminal!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Briar responded. “You’re seriously one of the worst people I’ve had the misfortune of meeting, do you know that? Those people don’t even know they’re zombie farms, do they?”

Gary huffed. “First of all, I don’t know how you all got the idea they’re zombies. They’re just specimens. The two aren’t even remotely alike!”

“Do the specimens eat human flesh?”

“W-well, yes.”

“Then they’re zombies! Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to.”

Gary threw his arms up. “Okay, fine, moving on! What do you have to say for yourself, hm?” he demanded, looking at Davin.

The officer put his hands in his pockets. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“What are you talking about?”

He paused to remove the second folder from underneath his vest. “Tell me something... oh, and this question is posed to everyone, by the way.” Davin waited until he had everyone’s attention. “Tell me... what’s worse than one Horzine facility?”

Immediately, Twilight’s eyes grew wide as her ears drooped. Her lips trembled as she weakly answered, “T... two facilities?”

Davin shook his head. “So close... try three.” Looks of shock registered all around. “Best part is where they’re all located. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting the first facility here in London. The second facility is hidden away in the Wyre Forest in Shropshire. Then the third... Plymouth.”

“Is that... far away?” Applejack managed to ask.

Masterson answered, “It’ll take at least a week or so to travel to Shropshire on foot, if we’re lucky. Even longer from there to Plymouth. Then an even longer time back here.”

Davin looked at Gary, who kept his shocked expression as he read the files. Eventually, he asked, “You really didn’t know, did you?”

Rarity seemed to slump. “We’re not going back home for a long time, are we?”

Everyone’s mood visibly dipped, except for Rainbow Dash, who looked at everyone. Her teeth gritted as she stomped a hoof and shouted, “No! We’re not doing this!”

“Rainbow?!” Twilight exclaimed in shock. “But we can’t just leave the humans like this!”

The speedster tilted her head to the side before making her realization. “Oh! Uh, well yeah, of course we’re going to help fight and all that. I’m talking about this whole moping thing, that’s not going to happen!” She began to walk around as she continued. “Sure, we all hoped that this would be over in a jiffy, but we can’t give up just because of it. Those humans at the hospital? They’re counting on us; all of us! If for nopony else, we have to do this for them!”

“Rainbow’s right!” Applejack added. “Better we take this in stride than think o’ what could’a been.”

Within moments, the rest of the ponies agreed and banded together under their new resolve.

At that instant, the humans heard another chime in their earpieces. “Now why can’t any of you get along that well, huh?” The Trader sneered. “All I hear is pissing and moaning, get your act together!”

Briar groaned. “Do you want something?”

“Now that everything’s on the table, it’s time that you get moving. Same rules as last time, boys. I’ll be expecting you.”

After one more chime, Masterson could hear beeping in his vest pocket. He pulled out the navigator to see another arrow on the screen. Above that was a timer actively counting down from twenty minutes. “Alright, everyone, we’re on a time crunch. Let’s gather ourselves up and-”

“Wait!” Rarity exclaimed. “What am I supposed to do? I still can’t see!”

Masterson began to quickly rub his chin. He brought his hands to his face as he grew lost in thought. Suddenly, he clapped his hands. “Got it. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Powers, Schneider, you’re all with me. Everyone else, hold the fort here, got it?”

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash shouted. “There’s no way in Tartarus I’m leaving my friends behind. We were all in the same place earlier, but now you just expect me to up and run off, leaving Rarity behind?”

“We really don’t have the time for this, Rainbow! She’s not being left behind, she’s in good hands.”

“But-”

Schneider chimed in, “What about when Applejack and Wilkes went on guard duty? It was just the two of them being the only line of defense. How is this any different?”

Rainbow was at a loss for words, simply looking away as she grimaced.

“It’s okay, Rainbow,” Twilight commented. “Truth be told, I don’t think I’m in any condition to go fight right now. I’m not exactly an athlete, and using so much of my magic is really putting a strain on me.”

“Please listen, Rainbow,” Masterson pleaded. “Your skill makes you a heavy contender against the specimens. Where we’re going, we’ll need all the offense we can get.” Just as Rainbow opened her mouth to object, the Lieutenant continued. “Applejack’s as much of a heavy hitter as you are, but we’ll need some proper defense if we’re leaving anyone here. I can’t afford to spread ourselves too thin, which is why this is the best we can do.”

“So why are Briar and I getting stiffed?” Davin asked. “Eager to get rid of us, now that I exposed you?”

“It has nothing to do with that!” Masterson quickly parried. “I still haven’t heard an answer from either of you, and I’m not about to run into battle with two men who continue to doubt my integrity. I can’t leave you two alone either, in case you run off, and Wilkes hasn’t slept a wink, which is why I’m leaving Lewis and Gary here.”

“And you honestly think Gary is capable?”

“He survived in the heart of Horzine for nearly eight hours on his own, and all he had on him was an axe. I think he’s more than capable.”

Davin shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head before walking a few paces away.

Masterson turned back to Rainbow Dash. “I’m sorry, but I need you to accept this as how things are. Your loyalty is commendable, Rainbow, but there comes a time when you’re going to have to let go of your friends. Now are you in or out? We’re running out of time!”

After a moment’s contemplation, Rainbow nodded her head.

Masterson’s group quickly assembled themselves, saying goodbye to each other before heading to the stairwell at the back of the park. Every able bodied member followed after, beginning construction of the barricades. Applejack walked over to Twilight, who seemed distressed. “Ya okay, sugarcube?”

Twilight sighed. “Do... do you think they’ll really be alright?” she muttered.

With a snort, Applejack tilted her hat back as she flashed a confident grin. “Rainbow’s as hot-headed as a bull in Chineigh, and ah doubt she’d let anypony near those she holds close to her heart. They’ll be fine.”

“But... that’s a common misconception. Bulls don’t hate the color red, they—”

“What ah’m tryin’ t’say, Twilight, is don’t worry. Believe in ‘em. Ah’m sure they’ll come back pleased as punch!”

The librarian got up and stood at the floor’s edge, seeing the small forms of her friends run alongside the humans as they left for the hospital. She took a deep breath, allowing a small smile to surface. “You’re right, Applejack, They’ll be okay.”

Author's Note

I now realize that the title for this chapter could be a good thing to call this space of time that it took. Ahahaha...hahaha...haha...ha......

Chapter 10: Some Much Needed Assistance

“We getting any closer?” Rainbow Dash yelled as everyone was led through a labyrinth of alleyways and streets.

Lieutenant Masterson quickly glanced at the navigator in his left hand. “One point five kilometers,” he huffed. “And we’ve got twelve minutes to make that distance.”

“Is that far?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Not really. We can make that!” Private Schneider yelled.

“Let’s... hope so,” Fluttershy wheezed. It was becoming obvious that the constant flying had started taking its toll on her. As the caretaker began falling behind, she nearly called for the others to wait when she felt a hulking arm wrap around her waist.

Rainbow instantly looked back when she heard her fellow pegasus yelp, but quickly relaxed as she saw Sergeant Powers carrying Fluttershy on his shoulders, his speed seemingly unaffected.

Fluttershy managed a quick word of thanks as she began catching her breath.

Masterson started slowing down, prompting the others to do the same. “The hospital’s just around the corner. Keep your voices down and stay alert.”

A few minutes later, everyone found themselves at a wide stone road. Once on the path, the remains of a chain link fence lay scattered on the floor to the right, seemingly built around two army supply trucks.

The humans loaded their weapons while the ponies kept a watchful eye of their surrounding area.

Rainbow Dash began sniffing the air. “Is that... smoke?”

“With all the fires going on around here, I’d assume so,” Schneider replied with a shrug.

“Hang on a sec,” Pinkie Pie stated as she smelled the air. “Dashie’s right. Sometimes the ovens get smokey back at Sugarcube Corner, but this burn smells different.”

“Then what could it be?” Fluttershy asked.

Schneider bit his lower lip. “It could, erm,” he began. “Could be, uh...”

“Burning flesh,” Powers finished, his stride unabated.

Rainbow Dash gulped. “I really, really, hope you’re wrong about that...”

As Masterson approached the gate, he moved past a flimsy barricade and looked down the street. “If only he was wrong.”

Everyone else approaching Masterson’s position soon understood what the Lieutenant was talking about. Fluttershy gasped and Rainbow slightly gagged over what lay in wait for them. The building before them was everything left of Saint Filth’s General Hospital. A vertical driveway welcomed the group to the desolate building, where no signs of life could be seen from their position. Solid concrete two-meter walls lined the walkway, and in the middle of the road leading in was an abandoned ambulance. What made the ponies react, however, was the bodies of several EMTs sloppily strewn about the scene, one of which was on fire.

They took a few steps closer to the two-story building when Powers stopped in place, his attention focused to the left. Rainbow looked at him, then towards the spot he was focused on when she saw it: a soldier’s cold corpse slumped against the wall. Fragments of his brain were stuck on the surface behind him, courtesy of the shotgun aimed into his mouth.

Powers casually approached the body. He stood before it as he squatted to its eye level, almost like he was studying the pair of lifeless eyes. His attention was then directed to the shotgun. He picked the weapon up, looking down its sights and inspecting its ammunition.

“You’re just taking it?” Rainbow Dash asked, attracting everyone’s attention to the body.

Powers only nodded once before holstering the weapon onto his back, pulling his axe out once more before walking ahead.

“Perhaps that’s just how it is,” Schneider commented. “Either we might need another weapon, or eventually we’re going to need more money for ammunition. We don’t know what’s coming around every corner.”

Everyone moved past the ambulance and walked closer to the hospital’s entrance when Masterson suddenly stopped and held his fist in the air. At first the ponies didn’t understand, but they quickly caught on when the other humans stopped in their tracks. The Lieutenant then held his hand to his ear. The quiet grew deafening as everybody stood in place. Suddenly, they heard it.

“C’mon you stupid door!”

Masterson immediately held two fingers in the air and moved his forearm back and forth. Powers and Schneider quietly lined up behind the Lieutenant, enticing the ponies to line up close behind. Masterson led a single file line to the edge of the wall and stopped. He peered his line of sight past the corner of the wall. Not far from the wall’s edge was a metal shed. Masterson couldn’t tell how long the shed was from his current position, but it was no taller than the driveway’s walls. He pulled out his navigator, which showed an arrow pointing at the shed and read ten minutes, twelve seconds.

Behind the shed was a man in a green uniformed Paramedic shirt, pants, and hat. He seemed to have many medical tools on several belts he was wearing, ranging from syringes to scissors. As if to make his costume authentic, he even wore a green surgical mask. Completely unaware of the pair of eyes watching him, the man began ramming into what Masterson could only assume was the door. “Of all the times for it to jam, why now?”

“What’s going on?” Rainbow murmured.

“There’s a medic over there,” Masterson whispered back. “We could use someone like him. Probably knows where we can find first aid or medicine around here.” He opened the straps on his holsters. “But we don’t know if he’s all there. I’ll move in first, make sure he’s not bonkers, and then we’ll proceed. It’s important for him to know we’re friendly.”

While still looking forward, Rainbow leaned her head back. “Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie. You guys get that?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy whispered.

There was no follow up noise. The speedster waited before turning around. “Pinkie Pie?” Unfortunately, the party pony was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow began frantically looking around. “Where did Pinkie Pie go?” she said slightly louder than before.

Just before anyone else could add to that, the paramedic yelped, a sound which was soon followed by a trademark giggle and snort.

“I didn’t mean to scare ya, human!” Pinkie Pie giggled from atop the shed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing, but...” Her words were lost as she started laughing and rolling on the roof.

The paramedic got to his feet and pulled out a scalpel, . “S-s-stay back! I’m warning you, I’ll... I’ll slice you open if you come near me!”

Pinkie Pie tilted her head. “Why would you wanna do that? I just wanna be your friend!”

“No you don’t! You’re just a hallucination!” He looked at his knife and then back to Pinkie Pie, rolling his eyes as he slumped his shoulders. “Good lord, I’m going insane and it hasn’t even been two days!”

Pinkie Pie hopped off the roof of the small shed and began walking towards the paramedic. “But you’re not going crazy! I’ve seen crazy, and you aren’t close to crazy!”

The man jumped back, still swinging the blade. “I-I’m warning you! Take another step and I’ll show you what your kidneys look like!”

“That’s it! Nopony threatens my friends!” Rainbow Dash whispered as she nearly flew towards the paramedic.

Masterson stopped her before that could happen. “Let me handle this!” he murmured back. The Lieutenant finally emerged from around the wall. “Now, now. Let’s not get hasty.”

The medic then frantically alternated pointing the knife at Masterson and Pinkie Pie. “Who are you people... animals... whatever! What do you want?!”

“It’s okay,” the Lieutenant cooed as he held up his arms defensively. “We mean you no harm. I’m sure you have a lot of questions, and we can answer them for you, but you’ve got to put your knife away.”

“...How do I know you’re really a soldier?”

“I don’t have the time to prove it to you. You’re just going to have to take my word for it.”

As the paramedic thought this over, his arms started to relax. “Can you at least tell me your name?”

Masterson bowed his head. “Fair enough. I am Lieutenant Masterson. These are...” he paused to hold his left arm up at a ninety degree angle, motioning his forearm forward a few times. The remaining soldiers and ponies emerged, much to the paramedic’s surprise. “These are my allies: Sergeant Powers, Private Schneider, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and you’ve already met Pinkie Pie.”

The paramedic looked at each pair of eyes staring at him. “There’s... quite a few of you...”

Rainbow crossed her arms. “Yeah, so threatening any of us isn’t exactly a good idea,” she added with a glare. “What’s your name?”

The medic swallowed the lump in his throat, but continued.“Alfred Anderson.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Alfred.” Masterson commented.

As Alfred put his scalpel onto his belt of medical tools, he breathed a heavy sigh. “It’s nice to see some friendly faces, but how in the world did you people come across a bunch of talking horses?”

Rainbow Dash groaned as she dragged her hooves down her face. “For the last time; we’re not horses, we’re ponies! How can it be this hard to tell?”

“Oh, it’s okay, Rainbow,” Fluttershy assured as she patted her friend on the shoulder. “Some humans must not know any better.”

“It’s a bit of a story,” Masterson replied, ignoring the pony banter. “But right now, we have some business with what’s in there.” The Lieutenant pointed at the metal shed.

“Good luck with that,” Alfred replied as he shook his head. “I’ve been trying to get this open for the past ten minutes now.” He walked up to the door. “If you can open this door,” he said as he gripped the handle, “then be my—” the door effortlessly opened as he gave a slight tug. “...Guest.”

Masterson crossed his arms as he walked inside the shed. “Was this your doing?”

“I couldn’t let just anyone in, Lieutenant,” the Trader replied. “What would a poor, defenseless woman like myself do if any robbers barged their way in?”

“She said, standing behind a counter full of weapons,” Schneider quipped as he followed his commanding officer.

The rest of the group made their way inside, leaving a confused Alfred standing outside. He snapped himself out of his stupor and barged his way in. “What the- where are all the meds? Where are our supplies? What happened here?”

“Oh, we got rid of all that. It was in the way,” the Trader answered as she inspected her fingernails.

“Well, where is it all now?”

“I told you. We got rid of it.”

Alfred stared in shock at The Trader. “That was hundred of thousands of pounds worth of medical supplies. how could you just get rid of it all?!”

“We have our ways. Now are you done talking? I have no business with you. Only these fine ladies and gentlemen are worth my time.”

“Then how can you have business with me?”

The Trader started laughing, then stopped once she noticed Alfred’s flat expression. “Oh, you’re serious?” She shook her head. “You’re not in our system, darling, and we can’t afford to waste our money on saps with no promise. That’s just the way this deal works.” As Alfred began to retaliate, the trader suddenly put her left hand to the headset in left ear and looked away, holding her right index finger in the air, as if to silence the paramedic. “Understood,” she eventually stated.

A printer automatically turned on from behind the counter, prompting the Trader to retrieve several papers which came to rest the machine’s paper tray. She grabbed the papers and read them over, eyes growing wider as she read on. When she stopped, she looked at Alfred. “I’m going to ask you a question and you’re going to answer it quickly and honestly. your usefulness is at stake. Our records indicate that St. Filth’s has been working on an experimental regenerative serum for the past few months. One that could revolutionize modern medicine as we know it. Does such a thing exist, yes or no?”

Alfred seemed to choke. “Th-th-I uh, serum? W-w-what are you talking about? I-I don’t know of any—”

“Too bad,” the Trader sighed, “then you’re of no use to us. Soldiers, ponies, please escort this fool away from my shop,” she nonchalantly commanded with a wave of her hand.

“B-but I-”

“Enjoy surviving the apocalypse with that shoddy scalpel of yours. If you’re lucky, I’m sure you’ll last long enough to see the sun set.”

“Okay, fine!” Alfred conceded as he held up his arms. “It’s true... W-we were conducting research on a new medical serum. The chemists were on the verge of a breakthrough when those things attacked. It’s incubated in the surgery ward.”

The Trader cracked a sly grin. “Was that so hard? Now you’re useful, and we’re going to commence an escort mission.”

“A what now?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Masterson shook his head. “This really is a game to you people, isn’t it?”

“Oh come now, Lieutenant. This is the system where everyone wins!”

“W-well,” Fluttershy murmured, “what do we have to do?”

The Trader began pacing back and forth. “The mission is simple. Escort Mr. Anderson to the surgery ward on the second floor so he can retrieve the serum. Then bring it to the roof, undamaged, for your reward.”

“Is this so-called reward also on the roof?” Schneider asked.

“That it is.”

Pinkie Pie poked her head up. “Why there?”

“You’ll want to fight tooth and nail, or... hoof in your case, for what’s up there.”

“So what’s on the roof?” Rainbow inquired.

The Trader leaned back and crossed her arms. “There’s no point in telling you if you die anyway. Just get up there, and everything will become clear.”

“All things considered,” Masterson added, “I still don’t trust you or your company’s intentions.”

“I suggest you start trusting us, darling,” the Trader replied as she tutted. “In case you’ve forgotten, my employers’ generosity is the sole reason any of you are still breathing. You’d be wise to show some gratitude.”

“By being your lap dogs?”

“Your words, not mine.”

The Lieutenant rested his face in his palm. “First things first, we’re going to that outpost you mentioned and help reinforce the defenses.That serum will still be there when we get back. ”

Alfred’s head perked up, “The... what?”

Schneider turned to the paramedic. “The survivor outpost, the one in this hospital.”

“Who told you that?” Alfred said as everyone shifted their gaze towards him. “As far as I know, you’re looking at the one survivor here.”

Everyone slowly turned to look at the Trader, who seemed rather disinterested.

“Did you lie to us?” Fluttershy asked bewilderedly.

“It wasn’t a lie, I just stretched the truth a bit.” She slouched on the countertop, unfazed by the various glares she received. “There is an outpost, but it’s far east of here. Moderately defended, but they can hold out on their own.”

Masterson stepped to the front. “Moderately doesn’t guarantee they’ll last forever out there.”

“Those humans are going to need us,” Rainbow Dash asserted. “We’ve gotta go help them.”

“That won’t be necessary,” the Trader replied. “Your primary objective is to retrieve the serum. As soon as you have what we need, you’re to proceed to the rooftop.”

“I’m sorry,” Schneider hissed, “but when were you in any authority to tell us what we can and can’t do?”

Masterson shook his head as he moved in to pull back his subordinate. “We don’t have time for this,” he muttered.

The Trader shook her head. “I’ll say it again, my—”

“Yes, ‘your employer’s generosity is the sole reason any of us are still breathing’,” Schneider repeated mockingly. “But here’s the problem. You lied to all of us. As soldiers, our main job is to protect the public, and you don’t trick a soldier when he’s doing his job.

“And furthermore,” the Private continued, “this serum you keep going on about. From the sound of it, I’d guess your employers are quite interested in it. I can only assume that since they’re not here, they aren’t the type to get their hands dirty.” He gave the Trader a smug smile. “You need us. We’re your only hope of finding what St. Filth’s has. Mr. Anderson, do you know how close to completion the experiment was?”

Alfred tapped his forehead three times. “I believe... it was almost complete, but it just needed some slight adjustments. T-though I could be wrong, I don’t know for sure.”

Schneider smiled. “Slight adjustments, eh?” He turned back to the Trader. “Adjustments your employers could complete?”

The Trader’s eyes slightly narrowed and her upper lip twitched as she remained silent.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He took a turn leaning on the countertop. “So here’s the deal. We’ll go into the hospital and retrieve your precious serum, and you’re going to supply that outpost with weapons, ammunition, and first aid. And if you don’t, we’re walking.”

The room was silent as Schneider and The Trader stared at each other. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath when The Trader broke her gaze. She pressed the earpiece again, listening to the instructions fed to her. Eventually she muttered, “Understood,” as she turned back to the group of survivors. She crossed her arms as she bit her lower lip. “Very impressive, Private. You certainly have a way with words. Very well, my employers have agreed to your terms; but nothing happens if you fail. Agreed?”

The Private turned around, looking at his squadmates and their dumbfounded expressions. He began to nod, knocking the others out of their stupor.

“Agreed,” Masterson finally replied.

With the deal established, business carried on, as the team of soldiers looked to restock their weapons. The Trader informed them that their recent kills left them with a total of six hundred twenty-four pounds. Refilling ammunition for the three men had cost one hundred seventy-five pounds. Powers decided to keep his newly-acquired shotgun and replenish his ammunition, which cost sixty additional pounds, leaving the group with three hundred eighty-nine pounds. Rather than spend money on additional weapons, Masterson decided to save the rest, anticipating that the soldiers back at the parking lot might need the money later.

“One last thing,” The Trader stated with a minute and thirteen seconds left. “For the ponies, my employers have created special earpieces for the lot of you.” She reached under the counter and retrieved six wide, metallic headsets, placing them on the counter. “We would’ve gotten these to you sooner, but it took us quite a while to create working communications for them.”

Lewis shook his head. “‘Quite a while?’ You created headphones for us humans just yesterday. How could you possibly create working radios for horses in under a day? Were you expecting this?”

“We just work fast is all.”

Rainbow Dash eagerly swiped the headsets, giving one to her two fellow equines, and handing the remaining three sets to Masterson for safe keeping. “Now it’s like we really are secret agents!”

“Secret Agents?” Pinkie Pie parroted.

“Ah, nothing. I’ll tell you about that later.” Rainbow hovered to the countertop and sat on it, looking at the woman standing behind the screen. “So what’re ya gonna make this medicine do anyway?”

The Trader leaned her head to the right. “Sorry, dear. Won’t do you any good if I tell you now. I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up.”

“But why?” Fluttershy piped up.

“Because if I told you, you’d all undoubtedly be filled with hope. Hope leads to bravery. Bravery leads to recklessness. And recklessness leads to death. We have too much invested in you to let you literally lose your heads. Now be on your way, it’s time to close up shop.”

Without any further questions, the group made their way out the door. Before The Trader could close the door. Pinkie Pie poked her head back in and said, “Bye bye, Trader! Thanks for the neat walkie talkies!”

The Trader smiled and shook her head as she waved. After the door closed, Masterson took out his navigator and saw it counting down from thirty seconds. He turned to Private Schneider. “That was a good job back there, Private. But the next time I tell you to hold back, you hold back, got it?”

Schneider seemed surprised. “I... yes, sir.”

“I need you to understand that we were lucky she listened to you. Imagine if she didn’t listen, or if she’d thrown us out, or worse. We have no idea who she’s in league with.”

The Private gulped before lowering his head. “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”

“See to it.” The Lieutenant looked at his navigator again, counting down the last ten seconds. As soon as the time was up, Master put the device away and loaded his rifle. “Ready up, everyone.”

Rainbow tapped Alfred on the shoulder. “So I guess you’re leading the way, right?”

“Do I really have to?” the paramedic replied.

“I’m not seeing anypony else around here.”

“Any-what?”

“Nevermind,” the speedster groaned as she facehoofed. “Deal is, you’re probably going to be showing us the way, so let’s get a move on.”

Masterson nodded. “Indeed. You’re the tour guide here. If we get stuck, you’re the only one who knows this hospital’s layout. We all need to stay close. Anyone falls behind and it could spell disaster. Understand?” Everyone nodded. “Good, then let’s go.”

As they entered the hospital, things continued to look worse. The hospital’s main lobby was trashed beyond recognition. Body parts littered the floor, blood trails stretched across all surfaces, and there was even a small fire in the back corner.

Rainbow looked to her right and saw Fluttershy cringe and whimper as her body froze. “Hey, hold on a sec,” she whispered, stopping everyone in place. She gently unfolded her left wing and covered Fluttershy’s back. “It’s okay,” she cooed, “we’re here with you. Just... try to focus on other things. We’ll be out of here before you know it.”

Fluttershy looked into her friend’s eyes, eyes filled with confidence and reassurance. The timid pony nodded her head a few times.

Rainbow turned back to Masterson and nodded as well, resuming the group’s pace.

“Your call now, Mr. Anderson,” the Lieutenant murmured. Past the tiled floor laid three paths: a staircase to the left, a hallway to the right, and another hallway directly ahead.

Alfred began scratching his chin, trying to estimate which way was the quickest to their objective. He raised his hand and readied his answer when he stopped and began looking around. “Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Schneider asked.

“Just listen.”

It was faint, but the more they concentrated, the clearer it became. It was the sound of a sobbing woman, far down the hall to the right.

“Who’s that?” Pinkie Pie queried.

“I don’t know,” Alfred answered. “I thought everyone in this hospital was... well...”

Masterson commented, “That crying is bound to attract some attention, sooner or later, but we can’t just leave her. Let’s check it out, but be prepared for anything.”

Moving cautiously, the group headed right. Everyone’s senses were on high alert, eyes shifting all around for any suspicious movement. The lighting in the hall was dim at best. Lights along the ceiling flickered every so often, which didn’t help them much as they navigated the area.

As the crying came closer, Alfred decided to quietly say, “Hello?”

Everyone stopped right away. Not because the paramedic called out, but because there was a response.

“Get me out of this... jacket!”

While the request sounded ordinary, it seemed too benign, given their situation.

Rainbow Dash looked towards Masterson. “What do we do?”

“Shouldn’t we help her?” Fluttershy added.

The Lieutenant rolled his shoulders, raising his weapon again. “I don’t like this. Keep your eyes peeled.” As everyone moved further down the hall, there were more requests made, which became more and more peculiar.

“Everything’s black... everything...”

As they neared the end of the hallway, no one seemed to breathe.

“Why did they have to take my eyes?”

Masterson took a peek around the corner once he was close enough. By then, however, his mind nearly blanked. No more than a meter away, a female-looking specimen was seen walking staggering towards him. Despite its clearly empty eye sockets, the specimen acted like it noticed the Lieutenant.

“I’m going to sing, they love it when I sing!”

Any chance at maintaining formation was lost as he shouted, “Fall back, now!”

Everyone scrambled away at his command as the Siren seemed to bow its head. The group managed to get out the front door when a glass-shattering scream erupted. Everyone held their head as the noise passed.

“Wh- what was that?!” Rainbow Dash yelled through the ringing in her ears.

“Is that what a Siren’s like?” Pinkie Pie added.

“How do you know what that specimen?” Masterson asked.

“Back at Horzine, I found one stuck in a box and Wilkes told me what it was. I didn’t think they could scream like that though!”

“So what the hell’s a Siren?” Schneider snapped.

Masterson answered, “They’re slow, but they’re tough to kill. Their scream can kill you if you’re too close. We have to take them down from a distance.” He pulled out his rifle and headed back inside, the others following close behind. “No one fire but me! We need to save as much ammunition as possible!” The Lieutenant fired five shots, each one hitting its mark, before the Siren finally fell to the floor, letting out a final last yelp that wasn’t as loud as its previous scream.

Masterson peered over his shoulder to see some scared expressions. “If you hear anything unusual, be prepared to kill, got it?” As soon as everyone agreed, several thumps were heard from the ceiling.

“More of them,” Powers uttered as he tightened the grip around his axe.

“We can’t waste any more time here,” Schneider added.

Masterson asked, “Quickly, where to from here, Mr. Anderson?”

The paramedic frantically looked at his possible pathways before pointing to the stairwell. “That way!”

Without even needing to command it, everyone took off up the stairs, readying their senses and weapons for whatever might lay in wait for them.

**********

Applejack’s jaws were lightly shaking. “S-so... when ah heard that yellin’ yesterday...”

Twilight solemnly nodded her head. “That was when Powers came around the corner and... and killed the human.”

Rarity swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m so sorry, Twilight. Going through that must have been harrowing.”

“And That’s why I was upset and subsequently lashed out at all of you,” the librarian admitted. “I’m so sorry for that.”

“S’okay, sugarcube,” Applejack replied while giving her friend a gentle nudge. “Ah can’t even begin to imagine what was goin’ through yer head at the time. Least ya got it off yer chest now.”

Twilight smiled warmly. “Thank you. Both of you.”

“Right now ah’m more concerned ‘bout Fluttershy. Leavin’ her in the care o’ somepony like Powers ain’t exactly the most settlin’ thought.”

“I wouldn’t be so worried,” Rarity stated. “Powers was carrying Fluttershy on his back when we found her again. If anything, I would say that Powers might have been the one protecting her.”

“Ya really think so?” Applejack inquired.

“He has a frightening personality, but his... I suppose you can say his ‘energy’ gave off the feeling as if he were a guardian for Fluttershy.”

“Energy?” Twilight repeated. “What do you mean?”

Rarity shrugged. “I cannot say for certain, as I am still trying to understand my Element’s power.”

Suddenly, Police Constable Briar groaned, “If you’re going to keep yabbering, can you do it at the other end of the lot? Some of us are trying to get some sleep!”

“Honestly, just rude,” Police Sergeant Davin added.

Twilight rolled her eyes as she shook her head. “I didn’t know that you were allowed to sleep while keeping an active eye out for specimens.”

“He’s sleeping,” Briar replied, pointing at Wilkes, who was indeed fast asleep on the floor.

“That’s because he hasn’t rested for a whole day, if not longer!” Rarity remarked.

“Twilight ‘n ah dunno what our Elements do yet, if we gotta fight, then we all gotta be ready,” Applejack added.

“Don’t care,” Davin countered as he yawned. “That’s what those prats are for.” He pointed to Corporal Lewis and Gary. “If a zombie shows up—”

“Specimen,” Twilight interrupted.

“Whatever. If one of those things show up, they’ll holler like a bunch of crazed chickens. Then we can easily kill it either now, or when it tries to get past all the rubble you used to block the stairwell. Minimal effort needed.”

Twilight’s expression went deadpan. “More importantly,” she resumed while turning back to her friends, “I don’t suppose your vision has improved, Rarity?”

The fashionista shook her head. “Nothing yet. I’m actually starting to get worried.”

“It’ll be alright, Rarity,” Applejack stated, laying a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Ah’m sure yer sight’ll come back before ya know it!”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “Still, I’ve never seen a unicorn’s sight shut down like this. I wish I had a way to write your perspective down.”

Applejack couldn’t help but smirk. “Ya know ya can remember by usin’ yer brain, right?”

“I know that!” Twilight replied with a giggle. “I’d just prefer to write Rarity’s account down word for word so I don’t...” she trailed off, her expression growing more serious as she looked off to the right. “...Forget anything.” Suddenly her eyes grew wide. “Brain... of course! Applejack, you’re a genius!”

“Uh... what now?”

“The brain, Applejack! I think I know how to get Rarity’s sight back!”

“You... you what?” Rarity stammered.

Twilight sat herself in front of her blind friend. “Do you remember what a ‘Magic Break’ is?”

“Of course, it’s...” Rarity found herself trailing off as well. “You think that has something to do with this? Even so, how would that tell you how to restore my eyesight?”

“Well—”

Applejack cleared her throat. “Before y’all get too carried away, maybe one of ya could explain what’s goin’ on?”

Twilight rubbed her hoof awkwardly. “Oh, right. Sorry. A ‘Magic Break’ is a condition that used to happen to unicorns frequently during less peaceful times, Specifically during Discord’s Reign of Chaos. Many battles were fought and unicorns couldn’t afford to abide by their limits. For earth ponies and pegasi, this would just be exhaustion, but for unicorns, it would be what we call a ‘Magic Break’. When all possible magic has been exhausted from a unicorn, their body goes into a state of shock.

“The effects of the ‘Magic Break’ are unpredictable, but can range from disorientation to death. Which is why once Equestria entered the Era of Peace, the Princess made it mandatory for unicorns to learn the signs of excessive magic use. Thanks to this, ‘Magic Breaks’ have reached an all-time-low and are now extremely rare, which is probably why most earth ponies and pegasi have never heard of the term before.”

“So what does all of this mean?” Gary asked, sitting himself near the ponies.

“Despite the many precautions set in place today, some unicorns still become afflicted with a ‘Magic Break’. There’s only one known spell salvaged from the Reign of Chaos which was used to combat a magic break. A spell only taught to those deemed trustworthy by the Princess, herself.”

“Ooh, so ominous!” Davin murmured.

Applejack tilted her head. “Are... are ya sayin’ you know how to do that?”

Twilight nodded. “Rarity. The Princess taught me the spell after I discovered its existence. I ordinarily would spring for waiting, but we might need you, and we don’t have much choice.”

“Wait, Twilight.” Rarity held a hoof up. “I thought this was caused by my Element. How do we know that this is the same as a ‘Magic Break’?”

The librarian bit her lower lip. “We don’t,” she admitted, “but it might still work. The question now is: do you trust me?”

“What exactly are you planning?”

“Long story short, I’ll have to go inside your head.”

There was absolute silence all around.

“Excuse me. You what?” Gary asked.

“Not literally, of course,” Twilight specified. “What I have to do is essentially create a magic channel between the two of us. At that time, our consciousnesses will become linked, but only for as long as my magic holds out. If this is anything like a ‘Magic Break’, the nerves working your senses are separated, and I’ll have to try connecting them.”

Rarity turned to the floor. “You asked if I trust you... you should know the answer to that, but... I assume there’s a reason you’d need to ask?”

Twilight nodded her head. “For this to work, I need the utmost concentration and attention to detail. It’s essentially like threading needles, only if I miss, I could alter your senses forever. Not only that, but my consciousness will be treated like an intruder, and your subconscious will do everything in its power to kick me out. If that happens, then your mind will be prepared for me next time and I might not be able to even establish a connection. As if that wasn’t enough, we cannot be disturbed until the process is over. If anypony were to touch either of us, the energy from the third entity would throw our connection out of balance. Even I could be harshly affected by the disturbance. I can’t even begin to imagine what might happen then.”

“So what you’re saying,” Gary intervened as he crossed his arms, “is that this method is chock full of things that could go wrong and yet it’s our quickest bet to restoring Rarity’s sight?”

“Exactly.”

“How much of your magic has been restored?” Rarity asked.

Twilight’s ears went flat. “Not much...”

Rarity looked away, then started shaking her head. “No.”

“N-no?”

The fashionista shook her head again. “Taking the risks into consideration, it won’t help anypony if you suffer a magic break while attempting to repair mine. I admit it, the fact that I don’t know when my eyesight will return frightens me. But if you can help me, I only want your help when you’re at your best. Who knows, maybe my eyesight will return in time and you won’t need to take any risks.” She smiled as she held her hoof out, which made Twilight slowly reach out her own hoof to make contact. “And yes, I do trust you. I trusted you when we decided to travel to this world, and I’ll trust you even after the end of our journey. We’re friends after all.”

“Rarity,” Twilight beamed.

“Get a room, you two!” Briar interrupted, resulting in a swift lash to his arm from Twilight’s tail. “Jeez, not one of you has a sense of humor, you know that?”

“Anyways, I’ll take you up on your suggestion, Rarity. You should keep me updated on how you feel, but we’ll find a time later to try this out if your problem still persists.”

“You know,” Lewis piped up, “how long has it been since you’ve had a bite? Perhaps your magic will come back sooner if you eat something?” He held a bag of supplies gathered from the house in his hand.

As if on cue, Twilight’s stomach growled. She giggled nervously as she said, “That would probably help.”

Lewis dug into the bag for a bit before pulling out a few red apples in his hand. “How about these apples?”

“As if ya even need to ask,” Applejack answered, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth.

The Corporal handed the farmer three apples, which she evenly distributed to each of her friends before blissfully eating the fruits.

The librarian could already notice her stomach already becoming satisfied by the fuel within. I’ve got to get enough magic back as soon as possible. With an odd sense of determination, she took another bite.

**********

“Is it going to be much further?” Fluttershy stammered as she eagerly tried to rub any traces of blood off her hooves.

“Shouldn’t be,” Alfred replied. “Surgery Ward’s just a few minutes away now.”

“I hope so, I’m getting worried...”

“What do you mean, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash asked at a breakneck speed. “What’s going on? Why are you worried? Is something up? You hear something? I bet it’s those specimens! Let’s go take them on!” She was about to take off towards the noises she heard when Powers grabbed her by the tail.

The Sergeant didn’t even react when Rainbow began to struggle frantically in an attempt to break free.

“I’ve never seen her like this before,” Fluttershy stated.

“I have!” Pinkie Pie added.

Schneider sighed. “An injury’s one thing, but your first instinct as a medic is to give a bite victim morphine?!”

“That Crawler came out of nowhere and bit deep into her leg,” Masterson replied. “She’d have likely gone into shock if we didn’t give her anything.”

Alfred sighed. “W-well, I did say that administering morphine on a horse would be—”

“Pony! We’re ponies!” Rainbow yelled. She suddenly felt a huge hand grip her snout shut.

The speedster was brought right before Powers’ face. “Shut. Up,” he hissed before letting her go. “Control her,” he commanded Fluttershy as the group began walking to wherever Alfred was directing them.

“Come on, Rainbow,” The caretaker requested as she checked the fresh bandages on her friend’s left foreleg. “Just take it easy for a bit, okay?”

“You know, I-I don’t get why he has to act like a flank all the time,” Rainbow Dash stated, resuming her erratic speech. “Can’t he calmly tell somepony these things without acting like a lunatic? How can you stand him, Fluttershy? He’s a basket case! How? Tell me! How?” As she said this, she unintentionally slammed her bandaged hoof on the floor, causing her to wince before limping along.

“Rainbow, please, let me help you. You’re hurt!” Fluttershy pleaded as she held her friend’s injured hoof.

“No!” her friend belted as she pulled her hoof away. “I’ll live! It’s okay! Don’t hurt yourself for my sake!”

“Wh-what!?”

“You should... you...” Rainbow groaned and held her left hoof against her head. “What... what’s happening?”

Instinctively, Fluttershy pressed her foreleg against Rainbow Dash’s forehead before quickly pulling it away. “Rainbow! You’re burning up!”

“Y-yeah, I know, It’s cuz I’m too hot to handle, right?” No one seemed to laugh. “Okay, bad joke... I...” She couldn’t get in another word before falling to the floor, breathing quickly.

Without being told to do so, Alfred pushed Fluttershy away and started to look over Rainbow Dash. First he opened her mouth and placed a thermometer under her tongue. Then he placed his hand underneath her jaw and looked at his watch. After a few seconds passed, he started shaking his head. When the thermometer gave a few beeps, he took it out. “Hundred and four...” He then looked inside Rainbow’s mouth, noting her dry, cracked tongue. “I’m no vet, but she’s showing all the symptoms of hyperthermia. When was the last time she had any water?”

Fluttershy’s eyes went to the floor as she began racking her brain for the answer. “I think it was sometime yesterday, before we arrived on Earth.”

This made Alfred pause. “A day?! She’d only be mildly dehydrated by this point. How could—” That’s when it all became clear. “The morphine... is she reacting so strongly because of that?”

“What do we do?” Pinkie Pie quaked.

“First thing we need to do is lower her body temperature, but the only ice we have on hand would be in the cafeteria, and who knows if that’s even ice anymore. We’ve got to bring down her fever and fast!”

Schneider stated, “What about you, Fluttershy? Can’t you heal her?”

“W-well, I can, but...” The caretaker’s ears folded flat.

“We don’t have time for ‘but’s!” Masterson insisted. “Your friend’s life could be on the line, Fluttershy!”

The pony in question looked at Rainbow Dash, seeing her in her current state. After taking a deep breath, Fluttershy closed her eyes. Her element started to glow, surrounding Rainbow with a pink aura. After some time, the magic subsided, leaving Rainbow Dash groaning as her eyes started to open. “What just—” she stopped as she looked at her bandaged hoof, a hoof that she could now press onto the floor with no trouble. She frantically removed the bandages to reveal a perfectly healed hoof. “Fluttershy... did you...?”

Fluttershy looked away. “We... we didn’t have a choice. It was looking really bad for you, and—”

“And we decided to save your life,” Schneider completed.

Rainbow looked all the eyes on her before bowing her head. “Yeah, I... I get it. Let’s just get what we need and get out of here.”

Alfred and Masterson looked at each other until the Lieutenant motioned to start moving. Everyone else took the hint and followed, but stopped when Fluttershy suddenly gasped. They turned around and saw the caretaker wincing as she gently lifted her hoof off the floor.

Her face flushed red as she noticed the many pairs of eyes on her. “I-I’m okay! I just misstepped!” She started walking forward, a forcibly normal expression on her face with every step she took.

Everyone resumed walking towards their destination, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash keeping a close watch over their friend.

Checking each corner, the group kept on their path for some time until Alfred pointed out a sign with the word ‘Surgery’ and an arrow directed towards a pair of doors below it. “We’re here,” he stated with a sigh of relief.

Powers gripped the door handle and pulled it open. As what was quickly becoming the norm, blood and body parts were strewn across the linoleum walls. Inside the room, however, were several curtains forming a box around the center of the surgical ward. A bright light shone from within, somewhat illuminating the otherwise dark room.

Masterson checked both sides of the room, noticing a small row of lockers to the left and metal cabinets to the right.

“In those incubation cabinets,” Alfred said, pointing to the opposite end of the room. “That’s where we’ll find our serum.” He began walking forward, but stopped as he happened to peer into the blocked-off area in the center. He covered his mouth and stifled a cough upon noticing a severed torso on the operating table. “You don’t want to look in there,” he informed everyone as Powers casually strolled towards the area within, moving the curtains aside.

Schneider decided to follow the paramedic’s advice and head towards the incubators. On one cabinet shelf was an amber vial. He gently opened the door. “Oi, this it?” he called out, getting Alfred’s attention.

The paramedic gently reached his hand in and picked up the vial. He gently rotated it in his hands, studying every detail. “Yes, I’m positive.”

Suddenly, everyone except Alfred nearly jumped as a chime sounded off within their headsets.

“Well done, all of you!” The Trader exclaimed. “You may have had a spill or two on the way, but you’ve got what we need. Now shove off to the roof, all of you. I’ll be waiting.”

As everyone exchanged looks, Alfred cleared his throat. “I take it your friend wants all of you?”

Masterson nodded once. “No use waiting around. Move out. Eyes peeled, everyone.”

The squadron began moving forward. Rainbow Dash followed close behind.

“Rainbow...”

The speedster looked to her left and saw Fluttershy, keeping pace next to her.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” the caretaker requested.

Rainbow and Fluttershy kept a stayed a small distance behind so as to try keeping their discussion private.

Fluttershy looked at the floor. “Are you mad at me?”

This caused Rainbow Dash to raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“After I healed you earlier, you looked so... disappointed. I wanted to respect your wishes and let you heal naturally, but... the way you were acting made me panic, and everypony started yelling, so I just—”

“Let me stop you there, Fluttershy.” Rainbow sighed before she continued. “Guess I should explain a bit on my part, huh?” She shook her head. “ I wasn’t disappointed or anything, I was just... worried.”

Fluttershy brought her gaze back up. “About what?”

Rainbow swallowed the lump in her throat. “When you healed Thorne back at Horzine, I was the first pony to notice you bleeding like you were. It... it really scared me, Fluttershy. I don’t know how far it could’ve gone if I didn’t stop you. Then when my leg got cut up, you offered to heal me. I thought about how you looked before, and I-I just got scared. What if you ended up in worse shape because of me? What if... you...” She bit her lower lip as she clenched her eyes shut.

Fluttershy nuzzled the side of her friend’s head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

Rainbow sniffed and cleared her throat. “I can’t ask you to not heal anypony. It’s going to happen, and I need to get that through my thick head. But... can you promise me something?” She looked away from Fluttershy. “Sooner or later, you’re probably going to come across somepony who’s in really bad shape. There might not be much hope for them, but I know you’d be the type to try fixing them anyway.” She stayed quiet for a moment, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I need you to promise me that you won’t heal them.”

Fluttershy stopped in her tracks. “You what?” she murmured.

Rainbow Dash stopped as well, giving her friend a pleading look. “You’re my oldest friend, Fluttershy. You know me better than anypony else, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Both ponies spent a moment staring at each other. Eventually, Rainbow turned away. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything. I could never ask you to—”

“Okay.”

The speedster’s head perked up and she looked at her friend. “You... you mean that?”

Fluttershy nodded. “You’re right. I... I won’t be able to save everypony, and I need to be ready for that.” She gave a forced nod of assurance.

A smile slowly creeped onto Rainbow Dash’s face. “Thanks, Flutters.”

This caused Fluttershy to chuckle. “It’s been awhile since you’ve called me that.”

Rainbow found herself chuckling as well. “It has, hasn’t it?”

“Are you two done?” Both ponies turned to the front to see Masterson impatiently waving his hand towards the rest of the group. They trotted ahead to catch up to the soldiers and Pinkie Pie, who were waiting in front of a staircase.

With Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash rejoining the group. Alfred pointed up the flight of stairs. “The roof’s this way. Then we can find that Trader and see what she wants with this serum.”

Schneider stretched his arms as the group began walking up. “Whatever it is The Trader’s got waiting for us, it had better have been worth the trip. Who knows if she’ll—” He stopped, dumbfounded, at what was waiting on the roof. “Keep her word...” Stationed in the center of the rooftop was a Chinook HC2. He cautiously approached the green, tandem-rotor helicopter. “This looks... perfect. Does it actually work?” He raised his hand up to touch its army-green surface when another chime went off in his ear.

“Not so fast, you lot,” The Trader commanded. “You’re forgetting your part of the bargain.”

A door loudly opened behind everyone. They turned to see an elongated metal shack established behind them.

“Don’t be shy now!”

Everybody filed into the small shack, where The Trader again waited behind her usual chain link fence.

Alfred was busy doing a double take. “Wh- how did you get up here so fast?”

The Trader ignored his question, focusing on the vial he held in his hands. She pressed a button and an incubator appeared from beneath the countertop. “Place the serum in the slot, and the heli’s all yours.”

Masterson turned to The Trader. “You promise to help the survivor outpost?”

“As agreed, my employers shall supply the eastern outpost with weapons, ammunition, and first aid.”

Masterson stared at The Trader for an uncomfortably long time before motioning Alfred to carry out their part of the deal. When the serum was inserted, a glass screen slid down, followed by the sound of pressurized locks sealing the container.

The Trader looked at a handheld device in her hand. It gave three beeps, which made her smile. “It’s the real deal. We allow you and your group complete usage of the Chinook outside. And wherever you choose to go, we shall be waiting when you arrive.” She pressed a button on top of the counter.

“What does that do?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Oh, nothing special. It just calls off the rocket strike we had locked on the plane in case any of you felt like running off with it.” Ignoring the looks of concern around her, she changed her focus to Alfred. “It was nice knowing you, now be on your way.”

“M-me?” the paramedic stuttered.

“Now that we have what we need, your usefulness has run out. We can’t afford to waste good money on dead weight.”

“I-I’m... I’m not dead weight! I can too be of help!”

The Trader shook her head. “If you want to be of help, you’re going to have to help fight the specimens. And judging from how you’re practically pissing your pants from just talking to me, you seem to be too much of a liability to even keep around.”

Rainbow Dash jumped up and hovered in front of the Trader. “Hang on a second! You tell him that he can’t come along cuz he’s scared, but Fluttershy’s been scared plenty of times! You’ve let her come along, so why not him?”

“You and all your friends are worth some valuable research. The funds to create headsets were a small price to pay for the information we’ve gathered, and we’re very eager to see what else you can do. Mr. Anderson, on the other hand, doesn’t exhibit any signs of a person worth keeping alive. He’s jittery, insecure, and takes the moral highroad. It’s a rather terrible decision to keep him with you.”

Alfred began shaking, looking at everyone, expecting someone to speak up for him.

“Actually, he’s very much worth keeping around,” Masterson stated. “He’s a skilled paramedic, so his medical tasks are carried out swiftly and efficiently. He knows a vast array of medical knowledge, and he’s quick to work on the task at hand. I have a very good feeling about him, and that’s all I need. He’ll become a valuable asset in time, I’m sure of it.”

The Trader looked at the other soldiers and ponies. “And the rest of you think the same?” Everyone nodded. She gave Alfred a cold look and began speaking slowly, almost giving each word coming out of her mouth an icy edge. “You understand what you’re agreeing to? You’re going to fight things worse than what you’ve seen in your nightmares. You’ll be pushed to your limits and then pushed some more. You will very likely die, surrounded by nothing except a mob of flesh-craving abominations who’d tear open your abdomen and fight over which one of them gets the first bite of your liver. You will experience a new definition of fear. Now I want to hear it from your mouth, and say it with confidence. Say, ‘I will fight the specimens until my very last breath.’”

Alfred failed to look the part of confidence. His teeth were chattering, he shook so much that even his tools began shaking, his breathing became unusually fast, and he started to break out into a cold sweat. Just as he could feel his stomach making an emergency dump, he felt a nudge at his left leg. He looked down to see Pinkie Pie give him an unusually serious look. “It’s okay. We’ll be here for you!”

Alfred then looked at everyone, who seemed to be radiating assurance. He gulped and clenched his fists, turning towards the Trader. “I will fight the specimens until my very last breath!”

The Trader rub her chin, giving the paramedic a long look. “Wait here,” she requested as she turned around and began talking on her headset. After a brief moment, she turned back around. “My employers have decided to give you a chance. You’ll have to wait until we meet again before being given your own weapon. Surely you understand.”

Alfred gave a few hesitant nods. “Y-yes, yes!”

She slid another headset through the slot underneath the divider. “This was originally meant for Mr. Thorne, but seeing as he’s too far gone to be worth the money, you shall take his earpiece instead. Now it’s time to shove off. We’ll meet again soon.” The group filed out of The Trader’s lair, its door slamming shut when everyone was gone. “Oh, one last thing, boys and girls,” she mentioned over the radio. “You’ll be pleased to discover that there’s a button on the back of your earpieces that will now establish a radio connection between all of you. My employers have created a special frequency that only you lot can access. However, the range is limited to about half of a kilometer, so make sure you’re not too far away. Enjoy!” One chime later, and there was silence.

Rainbow felt the back of the headset she wore and noticed a bump, which she pressed. “So what does this do?” she asked before hearing herself in her own headset. This caused her to jump.

Alfred raised an eyebrow. “You’ve never heard of these before?”

Schneider rested his hand on the paramedic’s shoulder. “There’s a lot we need to catch you up on.”

“So what’s a Chinook?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I was actually about to ask the same thing,” Fluttershy added.

Schneider patted the exterior of the helicopter. “This baby is a sort of machine that can carry a bunch of people across long distances without needing to be on the ground.”

“So it’s like a hot air balloon?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Better.”

“Better than a balloon?” Pinkie Pie inquired.

“You don’t even know the half of it.”

Alfred clapped his hands. “So...” he started as he rubbed both hands together. “Who knows how to fly this thing?”

**********

Twilight lay on her back near the edge of the parking lot level, staring mindlessly at the ceiling. The occasional flurry of noises would bring her out of her daze, but she’d quickly go back to her thoughts.

“Ya doin’ alright, Twilight?” Applejack asked as she approached the librarian.

“Oh, hello, Applejack. I’m fine, I was just sitting here thinking.”

“‘Bout what?”

“Well,” she began as she opted onto her haunches, which caused Applejack to sit as well, “I’ve been thinking. It’s about Lieutenant Masterson’s story. Something about it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Applejack cocked her head to the side. “Whaddya mean?”

“He said that he was a Horzine specimen, right? He appears completely human, but the specimens we’ve seen up until now have been horrific versions of normal humans. I just don’t understand...”

“Ah’m afraid yer gonna have to be a mite bit clearer.”

“Masterson excels in nearly everything he does. Why would Horzine choose to create inferior versions of humans? You don’t reach a successful result in an experiment and then ignore it without good reason.” Twilight looked away. “I just can’t wrap my head around it. They seemed to be on the right track. Why wouldn’t they want to create more specimens like the Lieutenant?”

Applejack rested her head on her hoof. “Yer right, Twi. That really don’t make much sense.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m still curious about the rest of his story, but I’ll wait until he gets back before I ask about it.” Suddenly, Twilight perked her head up. “How come Rarity isn’t with you?” She looked behind the farmer and saw Rarity sitting alone.

“Ah told her ya looked a bit spaced out, so she suggested ah ask ya what’s up.”

“Will she be okay on her own?”

The moment Twilight asked that, Davin began to tip toe behind Rarity. Just when he was within an arm’s length of her, the fashionista lifted a rock in the air with her magic and effortlessly crushed the rock into dust. “Just because I cannot see does not mean I cannot hear you. You would be wise to remember that, Police Sergeant Davin.”

Davin retreated, muttering to himself.

“Ah think she’ll be fine,” Applejack answered with a chuckle. “That reminds me. How come that Magic Breakin’ fixer upper of yours is so risky?”

Twilight’s attention was refocused on Applejack. Her ears folded back as she turned away. “When two unicorns merge consciousnesses like how I described, it essentially gives one party access to the other’s existence.” She started to rub her hooves. “However, some unicorns discovered a way to manipulate the spell and use it on those who hadn’t even been affected by a Magic Break, or even how to use it on pegasi and earth ponies. When it was discovered, the Princess ruled the method forbidden for public use, replacing it with safer alternatives and public announcements regarding the warning signs of exhaustion.” Her eyes locked onto Applejack. “But what if I hated Rarity with every fibre of my being? I could use the the old method to take control of her. I could make her forget her foalhood... I could make her forget how to talk... how to eat... how to breathe.”

Applejack’s eyes went wide. “And you could do that?”

Twilight hesitated before nodding her head. “The... the Princess mentioned the possibilities, and... I was young, naive, curious... and had access to an entire archive of old documents. Truth be told, I’m terrified of the fact that I know these things. The spell’s so dangerous in the wrong hooves, and I know I’d never intend on using the spell. But I’ve never been in that situation before, and it scares me that I could possibly use it to dig up secrets somepony could have.”

Applejack sighed. “Seems we’re dealin’ with a lotta dangerous things these days, ain’t we?” Twilight didn’t react, so the farm pony scooched next to her friend. “Listen, ah’ve known ya fer a while now, and the Twilight Sparkle ah know wouldn’t go around usin’ dark magic all willy nilly. Your just overthinkin’ this is all. If ya don’t wanna do this, then Rarity’ll probably understand. It’s your choice, Twi. Nopony’ll blame you, and you’ll be okay.”

This made the librarian’s expression brighten. “Thanks, Applejack.”

Suddenly, Wilkes jolted upright. “Wh-what? What was that?” he mumbled as he tried to shake the sleep away.

“What was what?” Applejack queried.

The humans began looking around in confusion until Gary brought a finger to the back of his ear. “Hello?” He immediately turned to his fellow squad mates. Everyone seemed focused on their headsets until Gary said, “Got it... we’ll head up there.”

“Who did she kill to get her hands on a radio?” Briar asked.

“Can somepony please explain what’s going on?” Twilight finally asked.

“We’ve got to gather up everything and go to the roof,” Lewis explained. “Rainbow Dash was just talking to us. Said they’re in some ‘insanely awesome thing’.”

“Ah’ll get Rarity,” Applejack stated as she walked away.

Everybody grabbed their belongings before Twilight cleared out the blocked stairwell to the top. The group made their way into the midday sun as they waited.

“This had better not take long,” Davin fumed. “It’s hot as shit in this suit!”

Rarity’s ears suddenly perked up. “Does anypony else hear that?”

“Hear what?” Wilkes asked.

“There’s some sort of noise in the sky. I’ve never heard anything like it before.”

“Is it a specimen?” Twilight inquired.

“I don’t think so. It almost sounds like a train, but... something’s off...”

Gary looked to the sky. “Or it... could be that helicopter.”

Everyone looked to where the scientist was looking. Sure enough, a large helicopter was slowly coming into view. The large chopper eventually hovered over their location before slowly lowering onto the roof below. As soon as the machine landed, Rainbow flew out of the vehicle to be reunited with her friends, followed shortly by Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

Before her friends could try to say anything over the deafening noise of the propellers, Rainbow was already placing a headset on the ear of the three remaining ponies. She then tapped the back of her headset. “Can you guys hear me?” she yelled. When her friends nodded, she continued. “I’m really glad to see you guys again, and we have a lot of things to explain, but we gotta get moving! Masterson’s using this thing to fly us up north. It’ll save us a lot of time, but we gotta hurry before the specimens show up!” She waved her at the other humans. “Come on! We’re getting out of here!”

Without much of a discussion, everyone piled into the helicopter, which began its ascension into the air once more. “Get settled, everyone,” Masterson broadcasted. “Private Schneider reminded me on the way here that Recon Point Omega is to the north. Omega also happens to be relatively close to Shropshire, where we’ll find the second Horzine facility. When we get to Omega, we can relay our information to the soldiers there and hopefully amass enough forces to take those laboratories out. It’ll be a while until we land, so rest up. We’re going to need all the energy we can get for the next few days.”

As the helicopter continued to fly out of the city, Twilight decided to peer into the view of the landscape below, giving her the first view she’d come to remember of West London. Pillars of smoke billowed into the air and signs of chaos were visible below, ranging from uncontrollable fires to destroyed buildings on nearly every street. As she remembered their route from the entire day, her eyes trailed the city until she came across the offices of Horzine. Looks like I’ll be longer than I thought, Spike. She looked at her fellow ponies, who seemed to be settling in for sleep or began chatting away on the radio. Don’t worry about me though. I’ll be back soon, and I’m going to keep my promise!

Author's Note

I decided forget the chapter image because I've been terribly unmotivated to do much anything, and I've been making very little progress on said picture.

So here's the next chapter and I really hope things aren't too bad, gonna try to get back on track with productivity!

Chapter 8: What Lies Ahead

Wilkes ran away from his initial lookout spot, weaving through a demolished area of town as he fired off two shells before vaulting over a large chunk of an old brick wall. He sat behind his cover, adrenaline keeping his senses on high alert as he listened to the ambience. The sound of a chainsaw grew louder with each passing second. God damn it, the bastard just won’t go down! The security guard tried to control his breathing as he waited patiently. When the chainsaw’s engine sounded a comfortable distance away, he slowly peered his head over the cover to get a look at his predator. Thanks to the moonlight, he saw the silhouette of a scrake examine piles of bricks and wood. Fresh blood seeped from the few bullet holes on the specimen’s right side, though it continued the search for its prey unabated.

He brought his head back under cover as he examined his shotgun. Wilkes applied slight pressure to the weapon’s magazine, allowing it to slip off without making a sound. He looked into the canister and saw a lone bullet resting within. One bullet. Just my bleeding luck. Almost immediately, the gears began to turn in his head as a plan came together. It’s risky, but it just might be the ticket. After snapping the weapon back together, he looked around and saw a sizeable rock near him. He reached out and grasped the object before tossing it in front of him. The rock landed loudly, and the chainsaw sounded higher in intensity as it grew closer.

Wilkes slowly pointed the shotgun’s barrel upward, making sure he still kept out of sight. Just a little more... He dared not blink or breathe as he could now smell the exhaust from the blade. The scrake’s head was finally in sight, peering over the wall as its gaze slowly lowered to Wilkes’ position. Say goodnight! he thought as he squeezed the trigger.

Unknown to both the hunter and its prey, Applejack was the first being to come around the street corner. She looked at the smashed houses along the sides and eventually saw Wilkes hidden behind a chunk of rubble. She also noticed the lumbering specimen standing over him. “Look out!” she yelled. This shout attracted the specimen’s attention, and it quickly turned to face her. As a result, Wilkes’ final shell missed its target and went directly into the specimen’s left shoulder, nearly severing its arm. Both Applejack and Wilkes stood frozen while the scrake stared momentarily at its dangling limb. Blood began to quickly escape its body, pooling into a crimson puddle at its feet. The scrake immediately ignored the hanging limb and turned its attention to the human cowering behind the debris. It swung its chainsaw, just missing Wilkes as he dove to safety.

The security guard pulled himself onto his feet as his comrades rushed into sight. “W-what the hay is that!?” Rainbow stammered as everyone looked on in shock.

“A scrake!” Gary replied as the creature stared at the newcomers.

The specimen began to advance, its left arm dangling freely. “Open fire!” Masterson ordered. Each soldier used what was left of their ammunition, keeping the scrake in place by sheer force of the barrage. When the dust settled, the specimen stood still as examined its surroundings, seemingly unfazed by the damage done to its body. Nobody dared move, both out of fear and anticipation.

Without warning, the scrake sprinted towards the soldiers and ponies. “Look out!” Rarity yelled.

Everyone dispersed across the debris covered street, dodging the specimen’s slash by a hair’s breadth. It charged again, this time grazing Pinkie Pie’s mane. As it readied for another attack, the sound of incoming footsteps made the scrake to turn around. Twilight and Corporal Lewis arrived on the street, and the scrake wasted no time in closing the distance between itself and its new targets.

“Twilight! Get out of there!” Rainbow Dash shouted. Her necklace glowed its red glow, but before she could do anything, Twilight had instinctively lifted the specimen into the air and threw it into a brick wall on her right. Lewis wasted no time and unloaded the last of his ammunition. Everyone stayed silent, listening intently for any signs of life. The scrake’s bloodied body lay slumped over, lightly coated with chunks of red brick, but the chainsaw’s engine stayed alive.

Rainbow Dash took initiative and slowly walked towards the scrake. “Rainbow, don’t!” Pinkie Pie protested.

“I’m going to check if that thing’s still alive,” the flyer reasoned.

“By yourself?” Twilight asked.

“I’ll approach slowly and get out if that thing moves.”

“I’ll go with you,” Schneider offered. He and the blue pegasus crawled towards the scrake, hesitating every so often.

Rainbow Dash was mere centimeters away from the body when her breathing became increasingly shallow. Her heart drummed in her throat, and her body tremored as she slowly moved to touch the scrake. After a quick prod to the head with her hoof, she leapt into the air, breathing heavily as she anticipated any retaliation. When she saw no reaction, Rainbow set herself back down and, still cautiously, attempted to touch the specimen again. When another tap produced no result, she let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t think it’s getting up,” she declared as she turned her attention to the Private.

Schneider knelt down and closely inspected the scrake. After a quick look, he nodded in agreement. “Its dead.” He turned around. “Nice work, Twilight and Wilkes!”

In that instant, Rainbow Dash’s left ear twitched. She snapped her head towards the scrake, whose eyes were now focused on the distracted soldier. “Look out!” she yelled as she dove into Schneider. Her actions helped the Private narrowly escape death, but she wasn’t fast enough. The scrake’s blade sliced a chunk of flesh off the speedster’s right hind-leg, leaving her to shriek in agony as she gripped her oozing wound.

Thinking quickly, Schneider grabbed Rainbow Dash and carried her as they ran from the scrake, which was now rising to its feet. It limped as it still menacingly swung its chainsaw at whatever was closest.

“How is that thing still standing?” Twilight demanded as she avoided another swing.

“Ah don’t know,” Applejack replied, “but we’re takin’ this thing down!”

“We’re open to suggestions!” Briar yelled as he stayed on his toes.

Powers rushed right towards the scrake and swung his axe into the back of the its neck, but its thick skin prevented the blade from doing much damage. He ripped the machete off of his back and swung again, but the weapon was deflected away from the chainsaw.

Rainbow Dash struggled to keep her eyes open as her injured leg turned a shade of purple. She shook herself out of the Private’s grip and hovered in the air, shaking her head to distract herself long enough from the pain.

“What are you doing?!” Schneider asked.

Rainbow panted as she replied, “I can still move, and we have to think of something! Powers is buying us time for a reason.” As the specimen still dueled with Powers, Rainbow noticed the axe embedded in the specimen. “Twilight, hold that thing still with your magic!” She flew a distance away from the specimen before staying in the air. Her vision began to sway, but she lightly hit her cheeks to stay awake. Stay awake, Rainbow. You’re only going to get one shot at this!

At that moment, Powers tripped backwards over empty bullet casings. Twilight then did as she was told and froze the scrake in place. Twilight grunted as she stood her ground. I’ve never felt resistance like this before! Whatever you’ve got planned, Rainbow, do it fast!

The Sergeant jumped right up and ran to grab his axe, but stopped. He looked to the distance to see Rainbow Dash covered in silver once again. He stepped away in time to avoid Rainbow barreling towards the scrake. She connected to the axe with a loud crack, sending the blade into the back of its head. The specimen was sent careening along the floor until it finally came to rest several meters away. The chainsaw’s engine slowed until its engine was silent.

Rainbow set herself down as her body returned to its usual blue color. She looked at her friends with a weary smile and a chuckle before collapsing on the floor.

“Rainbow Dash!” everypony shouted as they ran to their friend.

The speedster’s eyes slowly opened as she looked at each of her worried friend’s faces. “Wow... I didn’t think that would work,” she huffed.

“Don’t talk, save your energy!” Twilight chastised as she attempted to heal her friend.

“S... sorry about that,” Rainbow replied with a pained smile. “How bad is it?”

Masterson shined a small light onto her leg. “It’s not too deep, but we need to patch you up quick. You’re losing quite a lot of blood.”

Twilight’s magical glow covered Rainbow’s leg, but something was amiss. She sighed hard. “I don’t know if I can stop the bleeding. I’ve never dealt with open wounds before!”

Masterson looked around until he locked his gaze onto Fluttershy. “You. Are you fit to heal your friend?”

“I... I can try,” she responded.

“But what if something goes wrong again?” Twilight asked as she made her way into the conversation. “You started to bleed profusely when you attempted to heal Thorne. What if something worse happens this time?”

The distant sound of a wailing specimen interrupted all train of thought. “Of course,” Davin muttered, “those bastards are probably coming right for us.”

The Lieutenant walked into Twilight’s line of sight. “Listen, Twilight. We can either take a risk with the spot of time it takes to patch up your friend, or we can risk everything by running out into the middle of a horde. They might follow the blood trail back to wherever we go.”

“If you’re going to make a decision, make it really bleeding quick,” Briar added as he started to inch away. Pinkie Pie snickered, which went unnoticed.

Applejack scanned the surrounding area. “Ah don like how this is lookin’, Twilight. We might not have a choice.”

Twilight Sparkle looked at her injured friend, then back to Fluttershy. “Do it, but be careful.”

The caretaker knelt next to her injured friend, but Rainbow Dash stopped her. “If it starts to hurt, just... just stop, okay?” Rainbow insisted. “I... I don’t want you messing yourself up for my sake.”

Fluttershy hesitated before nodding. She then closed her eyes as a pink field of energy illuminated the area, engulfing the two pegasi. One uneasy minute later, the light dissipated. Fluttershy opened her eyes and wobbled before steadying herself back on all fours. “Are you okay, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow looked over her injured leg, noticing the new patch of flesh and fur. “Looks good as new!” She stood up, but suddenly winced. “Okay, kinda stings, but I can shake it off.”

“Brilliant, you’re fixed,” Briar congratulated, “now let’s get the fuck out of here!” When another cry ran through the air, everyone gathered their possessions and quickly got the fuck out of there.

*********

Kevin Clamely scratched his chin as he re-watched the footage from the camera he previously implanted within the scrake. “Looks like there’s still some work to do,” He said to an antsy Drew as he turned around and walked out the door, his subordinate following behind him.

“I must say, sir,” he added, “the improvements to the scrake model were quite apparant in that footage. It took a barrage of bullets and still ran out swinging!”

“They’ve got to become stronger.”

“We’ll work on it right away, sir.” Drew continued to blindly follow Kevin, but had too many questions to keep quiet, especially the most prevalent one. “So... were those actual horses back there?”

“Doesn’t matter, Steve, they’ll all be dead soon enough,” the CEO answered as he began to walk at a slightly faster pace.

“Well, that purple one seemed to have tossed the scrake with ease.” Drew quickly caught on to the implications of what he’d just said. “N-not to say t-that the scrake is inferior, but perhaps we should have a plan for if any of our specimens encounter that group again.”

Kevin suddenly stopped, his subordinate narrowly missing a collision. “Let’s get one thing clear,” he hissed. “These are not our specimens, they’re my children. Never forget that.” Before Drew could answer, Kevin continued. “Furthermore, how soon until those are ready?” he asked as he pointed to a barred off door at the end of the hall.

Drew nearly broke into a cold sweat as he uttered, “A-are you sure that’s wise, sir?”

“I didn’t say I was gonna let them loose, I just want to know how soon until they’re ready.”

The husky scientist swallowed the lump in his throat. “W-well... they need some time to adjust to their surroundings, but the flesh pounds should be fully independent within a day’s time.”

Kevin looked back at his subordinate. “A day, huh? Make it less than that, and maybe there’ll be something extra for you.”

Drew stood dumbfounded as his boss walked away without another word. “I’ll do my best, sir!” he added before scurrying away. He took off so quickly that he didn’t hear Kevin snicker as he continued down the hall.

**********

The makeshift brigade slumped against their home base as most of them gasped for breath. “Anyone...” Gary huffed, “anyone see if we were followed?”

“Ah don’t think so,” Applejack added. “We got outta there purty darn fast.”

“F-Fluttershy,” Twilight gasped, “are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine,” she replied. “I... I was just a little dizzy.”

Lewis walked into the house. “What do we do now?” he asked as he moved to lie down on the floor.

“What can we do?” Briar said. “We used every last bullet on that thing back there. We’re easy pickings!”

Pinkie Pie bounced up and down. “I have an idea! I have an idea!”

“Yes, yes, go on,” Masterson said. “What’s this idea of yours?”

The party pony inhaled. “Well, I was remembering when we first landed here. Do you remember that, because I sure remember it! Then we fought the specimens and zombies and met all you super spectacular humans and almost lost Fluttershy and found her again and fought our way out of the labs to safety and—”

“Is there a fucking point to this?” Davin interrupted.

She nodded. “Why don’t we go visit that other human who offered us those things you humans liked so much? She seemed like a nice person!”

“Pinkie Pie actually has a point,” Wilkes added. “That scrake is sure to have gotten us a nice bonus.”

“So we resort to killing for sport?” Rarity countered. “How can you speak so casually of such a vile act? When is it going to stop?”

“If you haven’t noticed, we don’t have powers like you ponies do,” Davin replied. “We just might have to commit a ‘vile act’ if we want to survive.”

“I agree,” Rainbow said. “Besides, if we want to help the humans, then we should at least help them protect themselves.”

“This is all wrong!” Schneider said. “If we join that woman’s interest group, we’ll be playing into their game and forced to depend on them for survival.”

“What other choice is there?” Applejack remarked.

Twilight turned to Masterson. “That’s right. Are there any other options?”

The Lieutenant crossed his arms and sighed. After a moment, he said, “Oi, Trader, I know you can hear us, speak up!”

Shortly after, a sound of static came on, followed by a familiar voice. “Hello, darlings,” the Trader responded over the loudspeaker. “Seems to me that you’re in a tizzy. Have you all come to your senses?”

“Depends, are you open for business?”

“Only for so long. I’ve updated your GPS to my new location. Come get me.” The loudspeaker clicked again, and then silence.

Masterson reached into his top-front pocket and pulled out the small device. It turned on with a beep before showing an arrow and a timer counting down from ten minutes on screen.

“New location?” Twilight asked. “What is she talking about?”

“The Trader has likely set up shop elsewhere, and I’m guessing we’ve only got ten minutes to find her,” Masterson informed the group.

“Ten minutes?! Then what are we doing here? We’ve gotta go now!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Quickly,” Masterson commanded, “gather as much food, water, and supplies as you can carry, we might not be coming back here. Double time it, everyone!”

Everybody ran towards the pantry and gathered a fine quantity of various food, drinks, and survival gear. All items were checked for their integrity and condition before being tossed into whatever storage the soldiers and ponies could muster. When everyone was fully packed, Masterson took another look at his GPS. Six minutes and twenty seconds remained.

The Lieutenant took point. “According to this GPS, we’re seventy-six meters away. Rarity, you’re going to have to look out for anything that could be coming our way.” With this command given, the brigade moved as a unit towards The Trader. Luckily, they only had to reroute once during their run. Masterson slowed as he approached an abandoned bookstore on the street corner, making everyone else stop as well. The navigator pointed directly past the boarded up windows, demolished chairs, and ill-prepared wooden barricade towards a metal door. The front door opened. “This must be the place,” he said while catching his breath. Everyone filed in.

“Four minutes, forty-eight seconds. You sure know how to keep a lady waiting,” the Trader smugly replied. “I must say, that was a rather shameful display back there, wouldn’t you agree?”

“I’d like to have seen you do better,” Davin remarked.

She looked at the policeman, giving him a critical glance. “You’ve got a quick mouth, yet the only one of you to score any profits is a pony. A pony, for crying out loud. And at that, in a fashion that puts you all to shame.”

Rainbow slightly blushed and looked to the side as she whispered, “Just doing what anypony else would’ve done.”

Masterson ignored The Trader as he stressed, “Let me make one thing absolutely clear. We’re not doing this because we like the sound of your little game. We’re doing this because we have no other choice.”

“My employers completely understand, but time is money, and you’re wasting a lot of it right now. Four minutes thirty-three seconds.”

Briar stepped to The Trader. “Just tell us how this works.”

“At this point,” she began as she typed away on her calculator, “You’ve officially killed a whopping one specimen. Granted, my employers hadn’t heard of the specimen you defeated, so they’ve established a fair price of sixty-three quid per kill on those... scrakes, I believe you called them.”

“Is that a lot?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“It depends,” Lewis answered.

“At this moment, that’s all you’ve got for credit: sixty-three quid. Honestly, you really should’ve tried to kill at least one other specimen before coming here.”

“What will that get us?” Schneider queried.

“A few clips of ammunition, nothing major.”

“That sure don’t sound like much,” Applejack commented.

Twilight stepped forward. “Can’t you lower the price just a little? We’re working towards the same goal, right?”

The Trader shook her head. “No can do. These prices are non-negotiable, darling, and you’d better hurry it up. You’ve only got a little over three minutes now.”

As others tried to convince The Trader to allow some leeway, Sergeant Powers removed the machete strapped to his back and scanned the weapon. He gave himself a small nod before walking to the gated window and placing the smaller blade on the counter. “How much?”

She hesitated before reaching through the lower slot and taking the weapon. The Trader looked at the weapon thoroughly as she replied, “Since the blade shows plenty of wear and tear, and not being the best quality weapon right now, I’ll buy it from you for seventy five.”

Rarity looked shocked. “You mean to tell us that a dead specimen is worth almost as much as that blade? How in Equestria is that even a reasonable trade?”

“Are you really going to make me repeat the obvious, dear?”

After a small moment’s silence, Powers murmured, “Deal.”

The Trader stocked the machete in the cabinets behind her. “That brings your total to one hundred thirty-eight quid. If you’re going to make a decision, make it fast.”

Masterson scratched his chin. “How much for a clip of ammunition for all my men?”

She noted each weapon all men had before adding up the prices. “One hundred thirty.”

“Then give each of us one mag.”

She quickly dispensed the ammunition, allowing each soldier time to load their weapons anew. “One and a half minutes left. If there’s anything else you’d like to sell for a quick buck, now’s the time.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Schneider walked to The Trader and placed one of his Handcannons on the counter. “How much for this?”

Her face flashed for a moment with surprise before she inspected the pistol. “Now this is a very nice piece. I’ll buy it for... three hundred seventy-five quid.”

“Done.”

Schneider took initiative and quickly ordered another round for each of the men.

Fluttershy asked, “Should we be going now?”

“Not yet,” the Lieutenant responded. He turned to The Trader. “Give me a nine-millimeter and two clips for it.” With his order fulfilled, he walked to Gary and handed the weapon to him. “You’re going to need this sooner or later.”

The scientist held up his hands in protest. “Woah now, I’ve never even used a gun before.”

Davin remarked, “Shit-for-brains has a point. You’re really going to give him a gun?”

Ignoring the scathing remark, Masterson pressed the matter. “The more of us that are trained with firearms, the better.”

“This is probably your shittiest idea yet. You realize that, right?”

Masterson smiled. “Well, since you’re so concerned about Mr. Glover’s experience, you get to teach him!”

The Police Sergeant’s head drooped slightly. “You’re kidding.”

“While it’s entertaining to watch you all squabble,” The Trader interrupted, “there’s one last thing you need.” She reached into a drawer before her and placed several ear pieces into the slot below. “We’re going to be seeing a lot more of each other, so I figured this is a much more subtle way for you to find me.” Each human walked up to the counter and took an earpiece.

“What are those for?” Rarity asked.

“I can broadcast my voice to their ear pieces. In this case, I’ll be giving you boys general updates as the lot of you continue to clean up the streets; Such as when I’ve changed locations, when I’m open for business, et cetera.”

“What about us?” Rainbow Dash asked.

The Trader opened her mouth to speak, but several beeps interrupted her. She snapped her head to a spot nobody else could see, eyes widening for a moment. She turned her head back to the brigade and sternly said, “Time to ship out, all of you.”

Everyone traded confused looks before Masterson said, “Alright, lads. Let’s get going.”

“Just like that?” Briar asked incredulously.

The Lieutenant turned to face the Constable. “Just like that.” He then kept walking outside, his fellow soldiers following suit.

Briar and Davin looked at each other before sighing as they reluctantly left.

As everypony followed the humans out the door, Fluttershy remained. “Ex-excuse me,” she quietly said, getting the woman’s attention. “I just... um... I wanted to thank you... for helping us.”

The Trader stared before her lips cracked into a slight smile as she gave one nod.

When Fluttershy exited the small area, she looked back to see a metal door slam shut in her face, making her yelp before heading to the security of her friends.

As Twilight helped steady her friend onto her hooves, she felt a nudge in her side.

“Hey,” Applejack asked, “shouldn’t we have gotten some stuff ta protect ourselves?”

Twilight shook her head. “I thought about it, but the humans need those weapons much more than we do. We can still fight on our own, but they need those things to survive. Besides, I don’t think any of us can even use their weapons.”

“Even so,” Applejack pressed, “y’all either got unicorn magic or the elements t’ help ya. What about me n’ Pinkie? We dunno what our Elements can do yet, and we just got the skin o’ our hide to fall back on. Hay, Pinkie ain’t got a violent bone in her body. what’re we supposed ta do?”

Twilight looked away, as if stuck in thought.

“Ahm sorry. Here ah am, throwin’ all these questions at you, and ya probably don’t even know the answers yerself.”

Rainbow Dash moved next to Applejack. “Don’t sweat it, AJ. We’ll figure something out.”

Everypony walked into the street, seeing Masterson lead a huddled discussion amongst his soldiers.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked Wilkes.

“Sounds like we’re heading back to Horzine,” he replied.

Fluttershy quietly gasped. “W-w-we’re going b-back there?”

“I suppose it was only a matter of time,” Rarity remarked, ears slightly drooping.

Gary moved into the conversation. “It looks like it’ll be morning soon, but it’s going to be hard finding our way through the debris.” He looked at the fashionista. “Can we count on you to navigate us past trouble?”

“You don’t even have to ask, darling.” She walked to where Masterson stood. “I understand we’re heading back underground?”

The Lieutenant stopped his conversation to meet her gaze. “Not quite. We no longer have the element of surprise on our side. Clamely’s not stupid, I’d bet he’s got a plan in store for us, should we go back anytime soon. We’d be overwhelmed in a matter of minutes, unprepared as we are.

“What we’ve got to do first is inspect the offices above ground. There’s no telling how big a scheme Horzine’s got planned for England, let alone the world. We can’t head back in there blind as bats. There might be something hidden away that can tell us just what Clamely’s plotting.”

“And what if we find nothing?” Briar spoke up. “What if we walk right into a trap? You said it yourself, ‘Clamely’s not stupid’. What if Horzine is just one big ambush and we’re killed the second we set foot in there? What do we do then, huh?”

For the first time that day, Masterson looked away in thought. “I... I don’t know. But it’s our only sure fire bet to get a grasp of what’s going on.”

The Constable tutted as he turned around. “You bark like you’re the supposed ‘leader’ of this group of shit heads, yet you can’t even think up one decent idea.”

“And all I hear from you is a bunch of complaining!” Rainbow Dash interjected. “I sure as hay don’t see you coming up with a good idea.”

“I actually do have an idea,” Briar answered. “We all get the fuck out of England, and go our separate ways from here.”

“We’re not leaving!” Rarity said. “Our only way back home is in there, and there are still plenty of humans around the city that need our help. You can’t just abandon fellow humans like that!”

Davin cocked his head back. “You really have no bleeding clue how we humans work, do you?”

“Maybe we don’t,” Applejack intervened, “but where we’re from, everypony helps out anypo-”

“Pony, pony, pony,” the Police Sergeant cut in. “That’s all I hear from the lot of you. News flash, this is Earth! A place where humans are the dominant life form, and the law of the land is survival of the fittest! To everyone else here, you ponies are just a bunch of worthless animals.”

“You take that back!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

The two groups soon broke out into aimless bickering, instigators and negotiators trying to get their point across.

Eventually, Twilight Sparkle yelled “Everypony be quiet!” silencing both parties. “Senseless arguing like this isn’t going to get any of us anywhere. We’ve need to work together if we want to make it through this alive.” She turned to Masterson. “You’re certain that we’ve got to get into the offices to make any progress?”

He nodded. “It’s the only place that would make sense to look into.”

The purple unicorn turned to Briar. “And your gut tells you there’s a trap waiting for us?”

He shrugged. “It’s what I would do.”

“And this Clamely is a very smart person?”

“Smart isn’t the word I’d use, exactly.”

“You’re sure he’s thought of everything?”

“For the thousandth time, yes.”

“Everything... humanly possible?”

Briar hesitated before answering. “What are you getting at?”

A small smile cracked on Twilight’s face. “You were right about what you said before. We’re not in Equestria, we’re on Earth. Humans are the dominant species, and ponies are, to you, dumb animals. That Clamely human might be prepared for you humans to come back, but things are different where we’re from, and I can guarantee you that we’ve got a trump card he’ll never see coming.” Twilight paused, waiting to see if the humans would catch on. She then lit her horn. “Magic.”

Lewis pointed at Twilight. “Of course. You’ve probably got quite a few tricks up your sleeve, don’t you?”

The mage nodded. “Get us to the facility, and I’m sure I’ve got enough magic in me to teleport all of us in and out without incident.”

Briar stood still, arms crossed. He glanced at Davin, who seemed as contemplative as his fellow officer. He looked back at Twilight. “I’ll admit, he probably wouldn’t expect that. Still doesn’t change the fact that we’re walking into the giant’s maw.”

“It could be tough, but we have the capability to do this, if we work together.”

Masterson spoke up. “Tell you what. You help us in the offices, and then you and officer Davin can go on your merry way. We won’t stop you.”

The policemen looked at each other. Eventually they broke their seemingly telepathic communication. “Just this task, then we see where we stand from there.”

Pinkie Pie jumped in the air as she let out a small cheer. “Let’s go on an adventure!”

Applejack chuckled. “I wouldn’t call it that, sugarcube.”

Davin moved next to Briar and murmured, “We’ve just signed our death warrants.”

“Agreed,” the Constable replied.

“Now,” Masterson began, “our only issue at this point is to find our way back to Horzine.”

Fluttershy quietly peeped, “Um... excuse me,” but went unnoticed.

Rarity pointed out, “I can still help keep an eye out for any specimens.”

“And Twilight can help light the way, right, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Excuse me...”

“Sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight replied. “I’m going to have to conserve as much magic as possible in order to get in and out safely.”

“No worries, we’ve got our own lights.” Schneider replied, holding several torches in his hands.

“I think I can-”

“‘Course, this still doesn’t help us if we get lost,” Davin pointed out.

“But... I...”

Masterson turned on his GPS. “Damn thing won’t point us anywhere right now. Guess it’s locked on wherever The Trader opens up shop. Does anyone remember the exact route to the laboratories?”

“I can faintly remember the way,” Wilkes added, “but I can’t say I’m absolutely certain.”

“Oi!” Powers bellowed, immediately silencing everyone. He slowly pointed directly across from him to Fluttershy. “She’s got something to say.”

The yellow pegasus unfroze herself from the direct spotlight and said, “I know how to get to Horzine from here.”

Masterson tilted his head. “You do?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re certain of it?”

She nodded.

The Lieutenant rubbed his chin. “How do you know?”

Twilight spoke up. “Allow me to explain. Pegasi have a natural sense of direction in a given area. They only need to visit an area once from the sky before the location becomes pin-pointed in a pegasus pony’s memory.”

“Not all pegasi are good with it though,” Rainbow Dash added. “N-not that I’d know any ponies who are like that, but Fluttershy here’s a real pro with directions, aren’t ya?” She nudged the other pegasus’ side, causing her face to redden under the praise.

“I can help guide everypony back, i-if that’s okay with you, that is.”

Masterson huffed. “You’re our best bet, Fluttershy. Lead on and we’ll follow.”

Fluttershy took point, Rainbow Dash and Powers following close behind for protection. Behind them was Rarity, who was actively using her Element to search for trouble. The remaining humans formed an outer shell for the remaining three ponies who stood within. Everyone stood attentively as Fluttershy guided everyone through a series of twists and turns. “We’re almost there,” the navigator eventually called out. “It won’t be farther now.”

“Wait, stop!” Rarity exclaimed. “There’s something approaching in front of us, something big!”

Everyone hid near chunks of rubble or anything they could use for protection, readying their weapons.

“When you say big,” Gary nervously asked, “Is it something bulky as well?”

“Whatever this thing is,” she answered, eyes still closed, “I would argue that it is the definition of bulk.”

The scientist’s hands started shaking. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

Masterson held his hand out, keeping his men in place. The footsteps began to grow louder and louder as they slowly approached.

Just when the sound neared the corner, Rarity whispered, “Don’t hurt it! I know what that is!”

As she said that, a tall masculine figure stepped around the corner, adjusting his gloves as he trodded on. Suddenly, the figure stopped, eyes growing wide. He sniffed the air several times, rolling his eyes when he finished. “You should really do a better job at hiding. I could smell all of you from a mile away.”

Carefully, Masterson stepped out from his space. He shined a flashlight onto the figure, revealing a dusty, blood-stained figure. His eyes locked with the man standing before him. “Thorne...”

Thorne only gave a slight nod. Everyone slowly crept out of cover to get a glimpse of the scene before them, keeping their eyes on the sadistic madman before them.

“I figured you’d be long gone by now. What brings you here?” Masterson asked.

Thorne pointed backwards with his thumb. “Horzine. Looked for Clamely. Ended up killing a lot of those shit-headed zombies.”

“Did you find Clamely?” The resulting scowl and growl told the Lieutenant enough. “What about the facility?”

Thorne refocused his gaze on Masterson. “What about it?”

“Did you destroy it?”

“No.”

Wilkes said, “What do you mean ‘no’?”

“Do I really have to explain it to you? If it’s not Clamely, I don’t care.”

“What about those zombies you killed?” Schneider asked.

Thorne shrugged. “They got in my way. Wouldn’t have cared otherwise.”

Twilight hazarded a thought. “You mean you’re willing to completely ignore the suffering of hundreds, maybe thousands of humans, just so you can find Clamely?”

Thorne immediately said, “Yes.”

The sudden response left Twilight dumbstruck.

With the conversation at a standstill, Thorne resumed walking away.

“What will you do now?” Masterson asked without looking at the guard.

“Killing Clamely is all there is to do.” Not once did Thorne turn to look back as he advanced further away from the brigade. When he was out of sight, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

Lewis held his chest. “Does this mean we’re not convincing him join us anymore?”

Masterson massaged his forehead. “I don’t know, but it looks like we’re on our own for now. Let’s keep moving.”

Everyone lined back into formation and moved on. Several alleys and corners later, the group finally stood outside of Horzine’s front gate.

“I don’t believe it,” Lewis said. “You’ve got quite some memory, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, uh, thank you,” she meekly replied.

Masterson said, “Now that we’re here, let’s get to work. Rarity, can you scan the building for hostile forces?”

She nodded, her hair slumping out of place. “I’m a tad worn out from scanning the area to and fro, but I think I can manage a look at the building.”

“How about in the laboratories?”

Her eyes widened in shock. “Underground as well? I can try, but I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

“If you think you can do it, then try.”

Rarity reflected on this request. “I can,” she said with a nod, “but I need full concentration.” Everyone stepped back as she got to work. As her Element came to life, her brow furrowed, her eyes clamped shut, and her teeth clenched tightly as the seconds dragged on. In her intensified state of focus, Rarity saw the faint glow of the underground complex and the enemies who lay in wait. “There don’t seem to be many specimens in the offices,” she explained between shaky breaths. “Underground, however, I’m seeing quite a lot of movement. Possibly from Thorne’s rampage, but I’m not sure.” She gasped. “No, no, no! It’s fading!” Rarity struggled to keep her gaze active on the laboratories, but dejectedly sighed as she hung her head. “It’s gone... I’m sor-” She turned her head up as she opened her eyes, but froze. She looked around, dazed and confused. “Please... please tell me the lights are out.” Her lower lip quivered and her breathing picked up its pace.

Everyone exchanged concerned glances.

“Rarity, there ain’t no light’s out,” Applejack informed.

The white unicorn’s began to tremble as she raised a hoof in front of her face, waving it between her eyes.

Twilight asked, “Rarity, what’s wrong?”

Her breathing quickened. “I... I think I’m... blind!”

Everypony gasped.

“B-b-blind? But how?” Fluttershy queried.

Rarity held her hooves against her head. “I don’t know, I just... I can’t see anything!”

Applejack brushed herself against Rarity’s side, who jumped and yelped upon contact. “It’s okay, Rarity. We’re here, ya jus’ gotta calm down, y’hear?”

Twilight attempted to put the pieces together as everypony else moved in to console their distressed friend. Okay, this is important. Think, Rarity has been around us this entire time, and hasn’t been attacked once by any wayward specimens. She brought a hoof to her forehead and closed her eyes. She’s been using her power ever since that scrake was defeated, and now she’s become blind. This could be an over-exertion of magic, but that doesn’t make any sense! I’ve only heard of unicorns becoming too exhausted to stand, not complete blindness. Her eyes shot open. Wait a second...

Twilight turned around. “Fluttershy, when you first discovered your power, did anything happen to you?”

The yellow pegasus was caught off guard by the sudden question, but replied, “I think I fainted afterwards.”

So when I saw her condition after using her healing ability, that must’ve drawn her power in excess. “Rainbow. You said that you used your new ability just moments before falling out of the sky, right?” Twilight questioned.

“Well... yeah,” Rainbow Dash remarked.

“And that was the first time you used it?”

“Uh huh.”

“What about the second time, when you assaulted the scrake?”

Rainbow crossed her forelegs. “I passed out, but that might’ve just been from blood loss.”

Twilight slightly averted her gaze as she nodded her head. “I know what happened,” she said to everyone else. “It’s actually quite simple when you really think about it. I can’t explain how we received our powers, but—”

“I’m all for a scientific lecture,” Gary interrupted, “but perhaps we could pick this up when we’re not in the open?”

“Oh, r-right,” Twilight bashfully replied. “I almost got carried away there.” She cleared her throat. “Alright, everypony, gather closely around me. I’ve only got enough for one trip in and out, so there’s no room for error.”

As everyone did as they were told, Twilight’s horn glowed. It shone brighter and brighter as the seconds dragged on. Suddenly, a spark shot out of her horn, briefly enveloping everyone in a magenta light before they vanished, leaving a scorched area where they once stood. Then everyone appeared on the top floor of the building, trying to gather their bearings.

Briar examined his surroundings in disbelief. “Did that just happen?”

“Yes... yes it did,” Davin added.

Rainbow hovered next to the officers. “What was that again about us ponies being a bunch of worthless animals?” she spat with a dose of venom.

Both officers just ignored the pegasus, who smirked before heading to her fellow equines. “Cocky bitch,” they both wheezed.

“Well, look at that,” Wilkes noted as he scanned the room they were in, “they really were doing renovations.” The top floor’s red and white colored walls had been clad in transparent tarp, spreading across the eight rooms spanned across the area. Ladders and paint buckets could be seen across the hall, right next to what could possibly be considered a final coat of paint. “Course, it means nothing now with all these specimens running around.” He noted the many overturned desks and broken windows in the few rooms along the floor. He also saw the now-familiar smears of blood on the wall and floor. “Poor bastards probably never stood a chance.”

As Twilight described the surrounding area to Rarity, Pinkie Pie asked, “What happens now?”

“Now we search these rooms for documents,” Masterson answered. “There’s no telling what could be up here.”

“Actually,” Wilkes said, “It’s pretty likely that there’s nothing important up here.”

“Nothing?”

He shook his head. “Unless you’re looking to microwave or refrigerate some food in the lounge. There are only a few rooms up here, and most of them were for storing chemistry materials. Even then, these rooms had been cleared of any important materials just before renovations happened. I’m not suggesting we ignore everything up here completely, but if we’re looking for efficiency...”

The Lieutenant nodded. “Understood. In that case, where’s the best place to look?”

“That’d be the floor underneath us. If there’s a document you need, it’s probably in the cubicles below. Unless, of course, you want to go back into the laboratories, which I understand isn’t an option.”

Masterson scratched his cheek. “Right. Here’s the plan: Gary, you’re going with Davin, Schneider, and Powers to inspect the second floor. You worked here, so you can discern what’s important and what’s not. Make sure you look through everything. We can’t afford to miss anything vital. Wilkes, you’re going to take Lewis, Briar and myself through every inch of these rooms. As for the rest of you,” he continued as he turned to the bunch of ponies, “I don’t know if or how you want to split up, but you’ve got to make a quick decision.”

Twilight looked at her friends, who appeared just as lost as she was. “Any thoughts, girls?”

“Ah think maybe we should split up too,” Applejack answered.

Rainbow Dash cocked her head. “You think so?”

“We wanna help the humans too, right? Ah think it’d be better fer all of us if we worked more with ‘em. It’d jus’ be three n’ three.”

“How would we go about this?” Rarity asked. “I still can’t see, so I feel I’d just be in the way.”

Twilight sat down. “If we’re splitting up...” she began as her mind got to work. “Applejack, Fluttershy, are you two comfortable looking after Rarity?”

“As if ya even need ta ask,” Applejack replied with a nod and a smile. Fluttershy also nodded her response.

“In that case, how about you three go to the second floor? The rest of us will stay here with the other humans. How does that sound?” Twilight asked, looking at Masterson.

“As long as we’re all sorted, it shouldn’t be a problem,” he answered.

“Good. Then we-”

“Wait a tick, Twilight,” Gary interrupted. “Just in case one of you ponies pass out again, you mind letting us in on this explanation you have for your Elements?”

“Oh, right!” she said, ears slightly folding back. “Well, after giving it some thought, I believe the Elements are acting as an amplifier for the magic within each of us. I still don’t know how these powers came to be, but that’s just one of many questions left unanswered. As for what we know, the key is noting how Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash’s bodies react to this magic compared to Rarity,” she continued. “Rarity was arguably the first one of us to discover her ability that the Element of Generosity bestowed upon her. She’s been using her power for quite some time, and is only now feeling the effects. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy felt the backlash almost immediately after finding their powers.”

“Get to the point,” Briar remarked, earning him a slight glare from the scholar.

“My point is that Rarity is a unicorn, while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are pegasi. A unicorn’s body is regulated and structured to handle magic usage, but pegasi and earth ponies don’t have that luxury. The magic they use is second nature, so for either race to actively channel magic like a spell would throw their system into disarray. Their bodies don’t know how to conserve magic, so it ends up being dumped at an alarming rate. I’d bet that when the magic is gone, the Element resorts to drawing life force from its user. This explains why Fluttershy began to bleed excessively, and why Rainbow Dash was rendered unconscious in the air.

“As for Rarity, she’s been fine, but that’s only because she’s used to controlling magic.” She stood in front of her blinded friend. “You know your limits, Rarity, so you know how to control how much magic goes into a spell. However, you’ve been keeping at your spell for all this time, and this recent push just seems to have been too much. The Elements are not only more powerful than I could’ve imagined, but they’re dangerous if used improperly.” She placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “If what happened with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash is any indication, then your sight should return in time. Just try to keep calm for now, okay?”

Rarity reached out her hoof and said, “Thank you, Twilight. I’ll try.” She moved it around a bit until Twilight guided it to her own shoulder.

“What happens now?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Masterson stepped forward. “Now we get to work. Everyone knows where they’re going, and the sooner we leave, the better.” Everyone exited the storage room, some splitting off to venture down the stairway to their right.

Rainbow asked Twilight, “You think they’ll be okay?”

She nodded. “I think they’ll be fine.”

“Well, it’s time to get searching!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she ran off to begin inspection.

“Wait, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash called out. “You can’t just run off like that!” She flew away to catch up to her friend.

Twilight wistfully shook her head. Some things just never change. She started to walk towards a room at the end of the hall when she stopped herself. She noticed the faint outline of her shadow on the wall before her. Twilight turned around to see a dim light shine through the broken window in the room everyone appeared in. She stepped closer until she could see the skyline above the chaos and destruction below. Memories soon raced into her mind as a sad smile formed on her face.

“Something wrong, Twilight?”

She jumped and quickly turned around to see Lewis peering into the room. “Oh, I-I’m sorry. I was just getting a good look at London, that’s all.”

The Corporal moved to the window, also taking in the scenery around him. He dryly chuckled. “To think so much has happened already.” He noticed that he caught Twilight’s attention and continued. “We’ve been sent into battle against creatures the likes of which we’ve never seen, fought... valiantly against them, banded together with the most unlikely of allies, watched some of those allies nearly die several times over, escaped death by a hair’s breath... and it’s only day one.” He crossed his arms. “Whatever it is that Lieutenant Masterson’s looking for, I can only hope that we find it soon and end this.”

Twilight nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“Come on, then. It’s time we helped out.”

As they walked out of the room once more, Twilight took another look over her shoulder. I wonder if it’s morning in Ponyville now. I hope you’re doing alright, Spike. I’ll be back soon, I promise.

Ponyville, Equestria, September 1, 2009

Spike slowly opened his eyes as he started to sit up in his bed. He shielded his eyes from the morning’s sunlight that crept inside through the window and he laid himself back into bed. He looked at the larger bed next to him, hoping to see the sleeping form of a purple unicorn huddled under the covers. Unfortunately, the bed lay as vacant as it was when Spike managed to finally go to sleep last night. What did you expect? he asked himself. Twilight left you here, remember? He pulled the covers over his head, hoping the world would ignore him for now.

They’re gone. They’re all gone... and who knows if or when I’ll see any of them again. Spike continued to lay there, slowly becoming engrossed in self-pity. A tear nearly squeezed its way out of an eye when both of Spike’s eyes shot open. He sat himself up. What would Rarity think right now, seeing me like this? He could picture it now: the unicorn of his dreams would walk into the house and happen upon a sniveling, pathetic shell of a dragon. He’d reach out to her with a hand, only for it to be batted away. She’d likely be disgusted at the mere sight of him and leave Spike with nothing but the quick lash of her tail as she stormed outside, ignoring any pleas for her to stay.

“No,” he told himself as he ripped the covers off his bed and stood up. “I can’t just sit here all day long. Twilight and the others are risking their lives out there to save the humans. What good would I be if I did nothing?” He walked downstairs as he continued his self-support. “Everypony will be back before I know it. I’ve gotta have faith in each of them!” He stopped before the kitchen cupboard and reached inside, pulling out a handful of rubies that he ate in a hurry. “I’ve gotta get on my morning chores, then I’ll... think of something else to do.”

Spike scurried around the house while completing remedial tasks, such as organizing each book in the library, updating the check-in/check-out list for any inaccuracies, and cleaning up the rooms within the house. When his tasks were finished, he looked outside and saw the sun was nearly in the middle of the sky. It’s almost noon. I should go pick up some food for later. He grabbed a bag and headed to the front door. As he opened it, however, he saw a familiar grey pegasus standing before him with a bag full of letters on her back.

“Oh, hi, Spike!” Ditzy said as she greeted the little assistant. “I was just about to leave your mail here.”

“Hi, Ditzy,” he paused as he looked at the area around her.

This caught her attention. “Uh... is something the matter?”

“No, it’s just... you’re alone.”

Ditzy perked an eyebrow before reaching into her mailbag. “Yes, I am... should I not be alone?”

Spike shook his head. “Nah, I just thought The Doctor would be hanging out with you or something.”

She stopped suddenly and looked into Spike’s eyes. “Say that again...”

“What?”

“That name you mentioned, say it again, Spike.”

He hesitated before he repeated, “The Doctor.”

Ditzy shook her head and looked away, sitting on her haunches as she crossed her arms. “Who is this Doctor, Spike?”

He shrugged.

“Is there something going on that nopony’s telling me?” Ditzy accused. “First Twilight mentioned some Doctor when I dropped off that package yesterday, and-”

“You gave Twilight a package?” Spike interrupted.

The mailmare’s attitude immediately brightened. “Oh, yes! It was an emergency package to deliver, but it was really really heavy. My wings almost couldn’t hold out long enough to- hey, wait a minute! You can’t change the conversation just like that! Are you sure you don’t know anything about The Doctor?”

“Yes, I’m sure!” Spike insisted. “He randomly appeared at Sugarcube Corner for a bit, and it looked like he was really eager to leave, then you suddenly crashed through the window and talked up a storm with him. The Doctor wouldn’t tell us anything, said that if he said too much, something would ‘go terribly wrong’ or whatever it was he was talking about. Then you both left really quick before saying something about spoilers. He showed in Twilight’s library later and took some books, but that’s all I know, honest!”

Ditzy’s eyes widened as her mouth hung slightly open. “Did you say... spoilers?”

He nodded his head.

“Twilight told me that when I asked her about The Doctor...” She laid her head in her hooves and groaned. “So there is something going on that I don’t know about!” Ditzy glared at Spike. “And what do you mean I crashed into Sugarcube Corner yesterday morning? I gave everypony a notice that I’d be in Phillydelphia for most of the day! If this is some prank you two are pulling, it’s not funny.”

“I swear, that’s exactly what happened!”

“Do you pinkie pie swear?”

“Yes, cross my heart, hope to fly, that’s exactly what happened!”

Ditzy snorted as her gaze cut right into Spike’s psyche. “I’ll believe you... for now. But something’s going on around here, and I’m going to find out what. Anyways, I’ve got some letters for you.” She reached back into her bag and placed a bundle of envelopes into Spike’s awaiting hands. “You’ve got quite a few this time. Looks like somepony’s becoming Mr. Popular over here.”

Spike blew a raspberry. “Nah, they’re probably just a bunch of letters to Twi-” He stopped as he read the face of the first letter, eyes growing wide. “Hey, I’ve gotta get back to work. I’ll talk to you later, Ditzy.”

She tilted her head to the side and said, “If you say so. I’ll see you the next time you get mail!” She lifted herself into the air, flying towards his next destination.

Spike quickly shut the door, inspecting the envelope’s face once more. There was no postage stamp or return address, but what was written is what caught Spike’s attention most:

To Spike

From Twilight

Open Immediately

He did as he was told and took off the small rubber band binding the letters together pulling out the first envelope within. As he opened the parcel and read what was written inside he slowly sat himself down, trembling gently.

Spike,

If my calculations are correct, you should be receiving this letter the morning after we left for London. You probably have a million questions, and I wish I could answer them, I really do, but I’m afraid I don’t have such a luxury. All I can ask of you right now is to follow my instructions carefully. The fate of Equestria is riding on this.

You should’ve received several letters along with this one. Each envelope is marked with a date and time on it. Do not open these letters out of order or before their assigned time, there’s no telling what could happen if you do. On each letter, I’ve written a task you need to complete before that day’s end. Some of these tasks will seem trivial; hell, I don’t even know why I need to write what I’ve written, but each job is as equally important as the last.

You will come across several ponies in the time to come. Some of them you know, some you don’t, but each of you will play a vital role in what happens next. You should’ve heard The Doctor go on about how wrong it is for me to write this, but he reluctantly agreed to it once he realized this is a fixed point. You probably don’t even know what that means, but I’ll explain it to you later. To be honest, I’m surprised how fast you’ve grown since we last met, but I suppose anybody would, given the circumstances.

I’m going to level with you, Spike. We’re not going to see each other for a long time, and things aren’t going to be the same when we do. There will be tough times ahead, and you might feel like giving up is the only way out, but you need to stay strong. I wish I could tell you what’s going to happen, how to prepare for it, or maybe even how to prevent it. If I had, then maybe nopony would be in this mess right now. But I can’t. For some reason, all I ever wrote were these few tasks. I don’t know my reasons yet, or if I ever will, but this is the way it has to be.

It looks like I’m almost out of time, so I’ll leave you with this. I have the utmost faith in you. I know that you can do this, because you’re the best assistant I could’ve ever asked for. Never give up, no matter how bleak things look. I’ll be waiting for you.

Twilight

When he finished reading, he gently set the letter on the floor. Spike quickly looked at the rest of the letters. He spread them apart, noting nine envelopes arranged with different days and times, as promised. He looked over Twilight’s first letter again. This is definitely her hoofwriting, no mistaking that. He slowly walked to the window on the door’s left. Spike stared longingly at the clear sky above, gently resting a hand on the glass.

“Everypony’s going to be okay... right?”