Just Over the Horzine

“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.”