Just Over the Horzine

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...”