Ponyshock

Ponyshock

Chapter 2: Fashion Disaster
“Great, now how do we get it off?”
“We don’t. It’s attached to his damn spinal cord”

Gene wasn’t lucky enough to die in his sleep. When he awoke, the pain in his hoof had subsided, leaving an odd, tingling sensation in its place. Groggily he stood up, trying to keep his balance.

When truly conscious thought returned to him, Genes first instinct was to search his saddlebags. At first glance, everything seemed to be all right. His bits were there, as was his first aid hypo, and even his revolver remained in its place. However when Gene opened the cylinder to it, he was bemoaned to find the hybrid took every bullet. He’d be stuck with his pipe a little bit longer. Carters voice piped through the radio.

“You still there? Good, I was getting worried.” Now, if you’d be so kind, as to head into the next room.”

Gene really didn’t want to leave the room, but a little voice in his head reminded him Carter hadn’t been wrong before.

The next room was massive. A large glass window adorned an entire wall, giving full view of the city. On this wall were three separate doors.

“Now you’re going to want to take the middle door,” Carter said. “That will take you to the sub yard. Once you there head toward...”

A loud clanging noise resonated from the roof. Gene’s gaze turned upwards, as a large piece of his airship flowed into view. The piece was gigantic, almost as big as the room itself. It narrowly avoided hitting the glass window, but it did not avoid the walkway, connecting the welcoming hall with another building in the distance.

The walkway broke with a sickening crack. Even from where he was standing Gene could see the glass walkway crack under the weight of the wreckage. The metal, which once looked so sturdy, buckled under the girth of the airship.

A flurry of swears erupted from Gene’s radio. “Celestia’s perfect bucking plot, what luck! Of course a piece of your damn airship destroys the walkway.”

Carter sighed, sounding very disappointed. “Kid, I hate to tell you, but you’re going to be stuck here, longer than I expected. Given the circumstances, I’d go get a harness.”

Gene blinked in confusion.

“Ugh, you know the harnesses. The exoskeletons the hybrids wear. You didn’t think they were just for show did you? Everypony here has one. I even have one. Luckily for you, the entrance to Handy Harnesses is the door on the right.

Gene looked to the brightly labeled door on the right. Advertisements surrounded the door advertising every harness came with a magic channeller. Gene shuddered at the thought of wearing a harness. The magic channeller itself was dangerous enough. What if it shorted out? What if he couldn’t get it off?

Carter seemingly sensing his distress began speaking. “Kid as I said before hybrids won’t sink to your level. They don’t care about an even playing field. Feel free to go on without it, but be warned. Your journey out won’t be as easy.”

Gene sighed. Carter was right. He wasn’t going to last long if he didn’t get one. So he mustered his courage and stepped through the door.

This walkway didn’t fare much better than the one leading to the sub pens. While it did avoid a direct impact, the glass stilled cracked. Gene would have to keep that in mind if he found some explosives.

In the middle of the walkway his radio buzzed to life. “Kid look, the L.U.N.A.s finished with your nerves.”

Gene lifted his hoof up, to find it was now glowing luminescent blue. Odder was the tingling sensation it now held.

“Electroshock, nice. My first was inferno, but not everyponies genes are like mine. Anyway just focus your magic, and you should be able to shoot lightning from your hoof. Can get quite nasty, if you hit a puddle of water.

Gene was eager to try out his new ability. Focusing all his magic he launched a large string of lightning bolts from his hooves. The effect was tremendous.

“Good to know your taking to the L.U.N.A. well,” Carter said, pleased. “Now you can’t be slinging around lightning forever. Eventually the L.U.N.A. losses potency. To restore it, just take a sparkle hypo.

Gene was satisfied with his new found ability, and happily trotted further down the walkway.

By the time he reached the end of the walkway, Gene was exhausted. He was wondering why the walkways were so long, when something odd began to happen. His vision began to blur to gray, as the figure of a pony pounding against the entrance to Handy Harnesses came into view. The ghostly apparition began to speak.

“Devilish you let me in now! You can't hide in there forever. One of these days you’ll have to pay me back, for running me out of business!

Shots rang out from behind Gene. He turned to find nopony there. When he turned back to the ghost he found it lying down, clutching its hoof.

“Ah! You shot me! What are you doing? No. No. No!

The apparition disappeared as quickly as it came. Gene considerably shaken, took a step back, as his radio flared alive.

“Ghosts. Nasty business around here. Occasionally your L.U.N.A. will flare up, and show memories of ponies with similar nerves. Nothing to worry about.”

Gene wasn’t sure it was nothing to worry about, but he shrugged it off anyways. Nervously, he stepped into the entrance of Handy Harnesses.

The reception hall had many hybrids. Thankfully they were all dead, but the caked blood on the walls left the impression nopony had been here in a while. The silence was oddly creepy and comforting, at the same time.

Taking a look behind the front desk Gene found a large safe. After a bit of direction from Carter, the safe creaked open. Inside were some bits, two sparkle hypos, a first aid hypo and some tapes.

Gene stared confused at the tapes. Carter’s voice blared through the radio.

“That’s a voice recording. Someponies decided that it would be cool to record themselves. I can’t guarantee there will be anything good on them, but if you’re curious your radio doubles as a tape player.”

Gene pulled out his radio and slid the tape in its designated slot. Hey, it was in a safe, it must be valuable. The tape blared to life in a burst of static.

“Test number 1 went very well. While not the result I would have hoped for, he did retain some control of his harness through thought alone. A few minor adjustments should yield the desired results.”

An eerily familiar voice chimed in. "Devilish, the patient has a couple of questions.”

“Yes what is it?”

"He wants to know how we can get the harness off."

“We don’t. I’ve attached it to his spine.”

The tape ended there, leaving Gene with many questions. The second voice on the tape, was definitely the voice of the apparition he saw earlier. But why was he helping the pony he had scorned before? Gene decided he would have to listen to the other tapes later.

Handy Harnesses was huge. Most of it was filled with little medical offices, many of which had first aid and sparkle hypos. Gene was about halfway through the complex when he finally realized, there were no hybrids to be found. Nowhere in the facility had he seen one wandering hybrid. Either they were all hiding, or the place really was abandoned.

Gene reached what appeared to be an employee kitchen. At first he thought nothing of it, but a growl from his stomach reminded him he hadn’t eaten in hours. He cautiously approached the refrigerator, and found it was filled with rotten food.

“Getting a little hungry are we?” Carter said. “Well luckily the vending machines still work. Meal bars aren’t the most tasty things in the world, but they do keep you full.”

Gene approached the vending machine in the corner of the room. It had a picture of a pony dressed as a clown on it. The machine had many knobs and buttons. Eventually Gene found the desired one a put in his bits. A small bar fell out of the machine with a clatter.

Gene’s attention was then drawn to the vending machine next to him. On it was a picture of a pony happily firing pistols. The machine itself advertised bullets. Gene happily put in the rest of his bits to fill up on revolver ammo.

Gene decided while he was eating it would be a good time to listen to the second tape.

“No! No! No! This won’t due at all. The armor needs to be indestructible.

“But Devilish the materials aren’t here for something like that.”

I don’t care assistant! Tell Progress that if I don’t get the proper materials for the armor harness, I’m going to stop selling. If he lets his city go to hell, then that’s none of my business, but when these crazy ponies bust down my doors I want protection. Hold on, are you recording this?

Gene had long since finished eating his meal bar. The recording wasn’t entirely useful, but if he could find one, Gene would prefer an armored harness. As he got up from his seat, Gene saw movement.

A shadow flickered against the doorway, and ran off. Gene bolted back into the hallway, only to find it empty. Whoever it was clearly didn’t want to make his presence known. Sighing, Gene plugged the final tape into his radio, and began to listen.

The new prototype is almost finished. It could be better. The armor doesn’t cover the neck, but I’m hoping if I can get closer to Progress he may give me the final pieces of metal. My assistant has run off, which is strange. Progress said his psychologist friend programmed him for absolute loyalty. Oh well, its not that big of an issue. Once the armor is finished I’m going to put it on myself, and leave this awful building, with or without him.

Gene’s exploration had lead him to the main harness room. Harnesses of all shapes and sizes hung from the rafters. Machines, Gene presumed put them on a pony, were clustered about the floor. There were also two large vats of acid. Both were labeled, “Dangerous. For harness testing only!” Gene began searching the harnesses for the armor variant, but came up empty handed.

“If you’re looking for the armor harness, I’d suggest looking elsewhere,” Carter said, over the radio. “Devilish Designs was supposed to be awful protective of it. His office is a few rooms down.”

Gene sighed. He wanted that armor. So he left the room behind, in search of Devilish’s office.

On the way there, a noise stopped Gene for a moment. He spun around just in time to see movement. “Okay,” he thought. “Now I know somepony is following me.” He cautiously turned around, and began moving forward again.

Devilish Designs' office was labeled surprisingly plain. A simple plaque was all that stood out about it. The door was locked, but with coaching from Carter, Gene picked it with ease.

The office itself was huge, with a window that put the one in the entrance hall to shame. A device that put harnesses on stood in the middle, with a flashing error message adorning the top. There were several easels with blueprints attached to them. Bookshelves aligned both ends of the room. Finally in the back corner, there was a large, ornate desk. On that desk was a tape. Gene eagerly put the tape into his radio, and began to listen.

Still no sign of my assistant. Oh well. The crazed masses have already broken in, so I doubt he is still alive. The armor is finished, but putting it on is taking a while. My decision to not use anesthesia, is turning out to be a regrettable one. Still, it does let me record this message.

A loud crash could be heard in the background. Oh Celestia, one of them broke in. He is moving toward the machine. You there. What do you think you’re doing? Wait. Stop. You can’t interrupt the process now! Stop! Don’t pull on those wires! No! Arrgghh!

Gene stopped the tape. He knew exactly what happened and knew where to look for what he wanted. Cautiously he approached the machine in the center of the room and pushed the emergency release button.

One the one hoof, Gene was overjoyed to find the button worked. On the other hoof, he was not happy to find Devilish Designs’ body spill out on the floor. His body was greatly disfigured by the machine. The armor harness Gene had been looking for, was only half connected to his spine.

Try as he might Gene couldn’t pry the harness loose from the corpse. The spine was somehow fused with the harness. For a moment Gene felt like giving up. Then an idea popped up in his head. Mustering all of his magic he lifted the corpse, and walked out of the room.

“What do you think your doing kid?” asked Carter over the radio

Gene wanted to answer but lifting the body required his full concentration. He also wanted to tell the pony following him to reveal himself, but that wasn’t happening either.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, Gene reached the room with the harnesses. He set the corpse down gently, as he began working on the vats of acid.

“Oh! Good thinking kid,” said Carter.

Gene finally managed to pry the lid from one of the vats. He stared at the corpse for a good while. Was he really going to desecrate the body of another pony, just for the harness on his back? He was scared, but he certainly still had morals.

“Aw, don’t tell me your getting cold feet. Kid this is a life or death situation. Now, if you would be so kind, as to dump that corpse into the acid vats.”

Gene obeyed, realizing the intensity of the situation. The acid began working immediately, eating away at the flesh and bone. The harness however remained resilient. The acid bath only acted to clean the harness.

After fifteen minutes, the corpse was completely disintegrated. Gene took the harness out of the acid carefully. After making sure the harness was dry, Gene turned on one of the machines, and placed the harness inside.

“Now kid I’m not sure how long you’ll be out.” You should be safe but I can guarantee nothing.”

Gene wasn’t about to turn back now. Confidently, he walked into the machine, and turned it on.

The machine closed around him, locking him in place. Gene struggled for a moment, but stopped soon afterwards. He had nothing to fear.

Suddenly an intense pain arose from Gene’s flank. He turned his head just in time, to see a large needle remove itself from his side. Soon after he began feeling woozy, and fell asleep.

Sometime later gene awoke with a shock. He had no clue how long he was out, but that didn’t matter. What did matter was the odd and painful feeling in his back.

The harness was attached successfully. The retractable armor was folded in designated slots. On one of his forehooves, a strange device protruded itself from the metal. On the other forehoof, was a device with slots for syringes. A belt adorned his stomach, with a slot for bits. Most importantly, the entire setup acted as a magic channeller.

“Kid your awake,” said Carter, stating the obvious. “Now you’ll need to head to the medical pavilion. That would be the other walkway in the entrance hall.”

Gene was still trying out the gadgets on his new harness. It happily accepted his sparkle hypos and first aid syringes. Even more amazing, was what happened when he held his revolver near it. The harness greedily snatched it from his magical hold. It then proceeded to disassemble it, putting each individual piece away. Gene was scared at first, but found when he thought about the revolver, the harness reassembled it. The revolver was at the ready in seconds, and a firing mechanism allowed him to fire it, without using magic. The armor also activated and retracted on command

Gene was amazed. The harness did indeed live up to its namesake. Happily, Gene trotted out of the room.

He was about halfway down the hall leading to the exit, when a loud clatter behind him stopped him in his tracks. He turned, to find a hybrid panting.

The hybrid was much like the first one Gene encountered. However rather than have sickle shaped hooks, this hybrid carried long serrated knives. His cutie mark was mutilated to look like Devilish Designs’ cutie mark.

“You defile his work!” the hybrid screamed in an eerily familiar voice. It became apparent to Gene that this was not only the pony he saw as a ghost, but also Devilish Designs' assistant. “You come in here act like you own the place, and then defile my masters body! You will suffer for your mistake!”

The hybrid charged at Gene with great speed. Gene barely had time to activate his armor before the onslaught began. The armor blocked most of the blows, but Gene was shocked when a knife dug into his neck. Luckily, his harness auto-injected a first aid syringe, healing the hole in his neck.

Gene quickly retaliated, firing off all of the shots in his revolver. To his horror, he found the hybrid could dodge his bullets with ease. Gene then tried using his electric shocks, only to find that they were just as easy to avoid. Shocked, Gene made a beeline for the exit.

Gene was growing exhausted by the time he reached the entrance to Handy Harnesses. The inpony rage the hybrid held against him was giving him super endurance. Gene was running out of options, when a truly diabolical idea popped in his head. Pushing himself Gene sprinted towards the entrance walkway.

As expected, the cracks in the walkways glass dome had allowed the creation of small puddles. Gene turned around and set himself up for the trap.

The hybrid bolted through the entrance of the building. Lining up his shot Gen fired an electric shot at the puddle the hybrid was standing in. The results were spectacular. The hybrid was stuck in place, wincing in pain. Gene wasted no time and fired his revolver. The hybrid buckled in pain, holding his wounds.

“You! You are the worst. You break into his sanctuary. You put his body in acid, and watch gleefully as it dissolves. You won’t leave here alive!”

The hybrid removed a detonator from his harness. It took only seconds for Gene to realize what was about to happen. He began sprinting for the exit.

Gene barely reached the door, when the explosion ripped through the walkway. Panting in the entrance hall, Gene watched as the walkway was destroyed. His attention turned towards the entrance to the medical pavilion. He had only begun to move, when a voice over the P.A. system stopped him.

“You’ve done quite a lot in a short time,” said a familiar voice. “You know, I was content with letting you stay in my city. I’m no fool. Even I can see there isn’t anything in my city worth saving. However, I will not tolerate the destruction of my city! Five thousand L.U.N.A. to whoever can bring me the pony, who is destroying my city, on a pike.”

Gene had no doubt that message went to the hybrids. He began sprinting for the medical pavilion, when three hybrids appeared from the neighboring rooms. In their bickering over who should get the L.U.N.A. they failed to notice the puddle they all stepped into. Gene capitalized the opportunity, shocking them all to death. After looting the bodies, Gene went to the doorway leading to the medical pavilion.

New plasmid: Electroshock

New equipment: Armored harness