Twilight relaxed a little. Sure the android approaching them looked like Dread, but there was no confirmation. For all she knew it could be some other android, one that might’ve been in league with the Administrator. Twilight needed to be quiet; to watch and wait to see how she should approach the android. One false step and it could cost her and her friends lives.

“Dread!”

Or Pinkamena could scream at the top of her lungs; that works too.

The pink mare leapt on to the android, embracing it in a hug that only a Pinkie Pie could pull off.

“Miss Pie, you are alive?” the android asked in an electronic voice. “But, how? The inmates…”

“Yup! Alive and kicking!” Pinkamena answered, rubbing her face on the android’s cheek. She pulled away from the robot and grabbed one of its fore hooves. “C’mon, I want you to meet my friend!”

She walked the robot over to where Twilight was standing with Fluttershy. Twilight instinctively took a step back.

“H-Hello.” Twilight forced a smile.

“Miss Sparkle, it is good to see you alive and well.” Dread said as he approached. “And I see that you’ve managed to protect Miss Shy. Excellent.” Twilight felt Fluttershy hide her face in her mane.

Pinkamena pulled on the android’s leg. “C’mon, I want to introduce you!” .

‘Well, the android hasn’t killed us yet, and it’s not like it has any reason to toy with us.’ Twilight reasoned

Pinkamena led the android up to Twilight and said, “Fluttershy, can you come out? I want you to meet some pony.”

Fluttershy nervously peeked out of Twilight’s mane, got a good look at the android, and then buried her face in the mane again, trembling like a newborn foal.

“Is everything alright?” The android asked.

‘Okay,’ Twilight thought, ‘that’s got to be Dread. Killer robots tend to not have emotions, even synthetic ones, like Dread has.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s just shy.” Pinkamena answered.

Twilight sympathized with the patchwork mare. Dread had a very intimidating appearance; like some pony had poured chrome over a pony skeleton then brought it to life. If Dread hadn’t been the first thing in Sleipnir that Twilight knew she could trust, she probably would’ve been afraid of the robot as well. Coupled with their recent run in with monstrous Celestia look alike; it was a shock that Fluttershy hadn’t passed out.

Twilight turned her head and nuzzled Fluttershy as best she could without breaking her neck. “Don’t worry Fluttershy, he won’t hurt you. This is one of the doctors who helped you get better.”

Fluttershy raised her head slightly. “Are you sure?” she whispered, “He looks- He looks scary.”

‘Says the living rag doll.’ Twilight’s mind said. Twilight immediately pushed the mean thought away and said, “Fluttershy, remember Zecora and how we learned not to judge a book by its cover?”

“Well, yes. I guess so.”

Twilight smiled, “Relax, even though Dread looks a little scary he’s really one of the nicest ponies you’ll ever meet.”

“Yeah!” Pinkamena said enthusiastically, “He’s the reason that we’re not in tiny cells right now!”

“What?” Fluttershy looked at Twilight for an answer.

Twilight let out a small giggle, “Don’t worry, we’ll explain later.”

“In the mean time, I need to finish the errand that I came to do.” Dread said, “If you like, you can accompany me. If not, then I shall give you directions to where Dr. Layne and I have been bunking for the past few days.”

Not wanting to lose a friend so quickly after reuniting with him, Twilight said, “I’ll go with you. Just tell me where we’re going. Maybe I can help.”

“Oh, it is nothing difficult,” Dread said, “I am simply retrieving a personal item from my office.”

Twilight gulped. Dread’s office was on the other side of the hospital. To get there, they would have to go past the head room, where Twilight left the Celestia look alike.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, there might be some left over inmates hanging out over there.”

Dread lifted one of his fore hooves and unfolded it into a three fingered claw. “Oh I assure you, Miss Sparkle, a small number of inmates will not be a problem.” The android reached into a small slot on his body and pulled out an electronic surgical saw with a circular blade and a blue handle.

“Are you sure that’s going to do any good?” Twilight asked, eying the saw skeptically. “It doesn’t have much range.”

“Against large numbers, no; but I expect that the majority of the released inmates will have either been killed or wandered into different parts of the facility by now. In any case my body is mostly made up of steel and titanium, so a few inmates will not be able to harm me.”

‘A few inmates might not be able to, but what if you run into one of the horrors we’ve encountered?’ Twilight thought. She would’ve told Dread about the tree monster and the Celestia thing right then and there, but that would also mean that Fluttershy would also hear about the monsters. Twilight wasn’t sure Fluttershy was ready to hear about those things.

‘Then again, if I get Pinkie to take Fluttershy to Dread’s hideout I can tell him about the monsters while we’re doing his errend.’

“Okay, I’ll go with you.” Twilight said, and then turned to Pinkamena, “Do you mind taking Fluttershy to the safe house? I don’t want to risk her getting hurt.”

Pinkamena suddenly had a panicked look in her eyes. “I, uh, don’t think that’s a very good idea. Because I, uh…” She raised an arm to her mouth and pretended to bite down on it.

“Oh, right…” Twilight silently cursed herself. She kept forgetting that Pinkamena was just as dangerous as the other inmates, even if she did have a bit more control over herself.

“I don’t mind going with you.” Fluttershy said. “I mean, if that’s okay with you?” Twilight had a sudden urge to throttle the patchwork mare, but she pushed it away.

“Your company would be most welcome, Miss Shy.” Dread said, “Safety in numbers after all.”

“Wait, what about the mon-“ Twilight placed a hoof on Pinkamena’s mouth before she could finish her question.

“Not yet!” Twilight whispered.

“What not yet?”

“The monster, don’t talk about it just yet!”

“Why not?”

“Because;” Twilight gestured toward Fluttershy.

“Oh, okay.”

“Girls, I can hear everything that you’re saying.” Fluttershy said dryly.

Twilight felt blood rushing to her cheeks. “Oh, really? I thought…”

“I’m half blind, not deaf.” Fluttershy said, “Now what is it that you don’t want me to know?”

“That would be something that I am interested in as well.” Dread said, looking at Twilight.

Twilight’s mind raced. She wasn’t ready to fully disclose what she and Pinkamena had found downstairs, nor was she ready for how Dread might take the news. He and Dr. Layne both thought that Sam, the mutated version of Big Macintosh, was the worst thing kept in Sleipnir; how would they react when they found out about the monsters?

‘Then again, I don’t have to tell him the whole truth. Not yet anyway.’ Twilight thought.

Choosing her words carefully, Twilight said, “Shortly after we had gotten back to the hospital, we were attacked by a monster that looked similar to Celestia. It cornered us in the head room, the room with the fake equipment, and I think I killed it.” Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably on Twilight’s back.

“Was this monster any different from the average inmate?” Dread asked.

Twilight bit her lower lip, “Yes and no. Yes, in that it was just a deranged as the other inmates. And no, in that-“

“In that it had huge tentacles growing out if its back!” Pinkamena blurted out, doing her best imitation of an octopus by waving her arms out in front of her.

A series of clicking noises emanated from inside Dread’s chest. “Interesting. We’ll need to talk about this monster when we have Dr. Layne with us. He knows more about the various strains of sanguinam ungollam than I. In the mean time, I need to know if this monster still poses any threat.”

“No.” Twilight said uncertainly, “Well, maybe. I’m not sure.”

Dread made a low buzzing noise. “Well, until I have more information on this creature, my errand will have to wait.” Dread placed his saw back into its slot and folded back his claws. “In the mean time, let us go some place where we are not so exposed.”

Dread turned and gestured for them to follow. He led them through a door at the end of the hospital and into yet another hallway. Unlike the other hallways Twilight had seen, this hallway had curved, metal walls, so that it felt like iron tube. Twilight wondered at what had possessed the architects of Sleipnir to design a hall like this, or any of the other strange architectural oddities that plagued the facility.

As they passed through the hall, Dread periodically pressed buttons on the wall, causing translucent, blue walls to seal the path behind them. Twilight investigated one of these walls when she first saw them. They looked like the magic force fields her brother and sister in law where famous for, but when she got close to them, Twilight could feel her fur being pulled toward them. Twilight had almost touched the one she was looking at when Dread stopped her.

“It would not be wise to do that, Miss Sparkle.” was all the android had said. Twilight had wanted to protest, but after recollecting the last couple of times her curiosity had gotten the better of her, decided that it would be better to just do as the android said.

They walked past three more of the electric fields, and then stopped at what looked like a submarine’s air lock. Dread unfolded his claws and then, with some effort, began turning the valve counter clockwise until the door made a soft hissing noise.

The door swung outward revealing a small, cramped space that reminded Twilight of a soup can that had been turned on its side. The small room was cluttered with piles of bed sheets, confectionaries, and syringes filled with an ugly brown liquid.

Not long after the door had opened, the pile of bed sheets shifted slightly and a gruff voice said, “Back so soon? I would’ve thought that the book would be harder to get to than that.”

Dread answered, “I have not yet gotten the book. On the way to collect it, I encountered some of our former patients.”

Dr. Layne poked his head out from sheet pile and looked over Twilight and her friends. “Oh, well it’s good to see them alive. Not sure why their presence would prevent you from retrieving the book…” Dr. Layne seemed to think about what he just said because he added, “That’s not to say that I’m not glad to see the two of them alive, it’s just that…”

“Three.” Twilight said.

Dr. Layne looked at her quizzically. Twilight checked to make sure Fluttershy hadn’t jumped off at some point and found that she had hidden herself within the bed sheets she had been using as a saddle. Twilight rolled her eyes and tore sheets off, revealing the patchwork mare.

Fluttershy lifted her head up slowly. She took a quick look at Dr. Layne, and then shoved her face into Twilight mane again.

“She always gets like this around strangers.” Twilight said. She turned her head to face Dr. Layne and saw in his eyes something she had only seen once before.

Dr. Layne grinned, “She’s awake? Excellent! I’ll need to examine her soon. Not right now though, need to wait until she’s comfortable. But this is great! If I can get my hooves on some proper research equipment, I might just be able to… No. Shouldn’t get myself too excited.” Dr. Layne’s eyes seemed to snap back into focus. “Twilight, how long as she been awake? Where there further complication with the stitches? How has she been holding up?”

“She can’t support her weight, but other than that she seems fine.” Twilight said. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Pinkamena sinking back into the hall.

“Any more issues with the stitches?”

Twilight thought for a moment, “No, it seems that the replacement skin has begun healing itself." The Book of Newt, which had been almost weightless since departing from its chamber, suddenly felt heavy. Twilight bit her lower lip and winced as the rubber band that bound her wings began to bite further into her skin.

“Something wrong, Starbutt?” Dr. Layne asked.

“I’m fine,” Twilight said through gritted teeth. The band seemed intent on pinching her wing in two. “Do you by chance have anything to cut the thing binding my wings?”

“Dread. If you will.” Dr. Layne said.

“Of course.” Dread unfolded one his claws and pulled out his saw.

Twilight backed away from the instrument. “No, not that, I meant like a knife or scissors.”

“I assure you, Miss Sparkle, you have nothing to fear from me.” Dread turned on the saw. Its hum wasn’t very loud, but in the small, crowded room its sound bit into Twilight’s teeth.

Twilight took another step away. An image of a pony being cut open by a similar tool flashed into her mind, but a dull pain in the back of her head chased it away.

“Alright, just let me get ready.” Twilight lowered Fluttershy onto the pile of bed sheets, then watched as the patchwork mare made herself a cocoon out of them. After a moment of mild amusement, Twilight added the bed sheet she had been carrying to the pile.

She turned to inform Dread that she was ready, but instead found herself nose to nose with a glaring Pinkamena. “What the hell is that doing here?”

Twilight smiled nervously. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Pinkamena bared her pointed, wolf like teeth. “You know full well what I mean. So why don’t you tell me why the fuck you’ve got fucking book with you?”

As Twilight tried to think of an answer that would appease Pinkamena, she noticed that Dr. Layne had moved over to where Dread was standing.

“I-I don’t know.” Twilight stammered. “It seemed like a good idea, and I guess that I thought it would be worth studying.”

Pinkamena glared at Twilight silently for a minute, then took a deep breath. “So let me get this straight. You thought that the book, the one we found surrounded by corpses, the one that Doctor Whooves explicitly told us not to look at, would be a fun thing to study in your free time? Are you fucking kidding me?” Pinkamena slammed a hoof into the wall.

“When did she start swearing?” Dr. Layne asked Dread quietly.

Twilight swallowed; suddenly her throat felt like sand paper. “Well, Doctor Whooves was a lunatic and the corpse thing might’ve been done for some other reason. We don’t know the full details-”

“Full details?” Pinkamena snapped. “It was surrounded by corpses, how many more details do you need?”

Twilight took another step back. She wasn’t afraid for her life like she was a few hours ago when Pinkamena met the newly awakened Fluttershy, but she did not like being so close to an angry cannibal.

“I-uhh…” Twilight tried to say something in her defense, but it seemed as though every logical part of her brain had decided to shut down.

“That’s enough you two.” Dread said, “The last thing we need is unnecessary fighting.”

“But Dread…” Pinkamena whined.

“No buts. We will discuss the book later when you have had time simmer down.”

Pinkamena opened her mouth as if to reply, but instead sat down and ate one of the confectionaries; in this case a honeybun.

Once Pinkamena was settled down, Dread turned to Twilight and said, “Now that those distractions are out of the way, would you mind describing the monster you encountered earlier?”

Twilight took a deep breath and then told Dread about the Celestia look alike, going to as much detail as she could remember. Then, after some thought, informed them her discovery downstairs and the subsequent break out. 'Why delay the inevitable?' Twilight thought.

“We were asleep while it happened Twilight explained, “And we only encountered three of the monsters, but there’s no reason to assume that there aren’t more roaming around the facility. I’m sorry I don’t have more information.”

“That was quite enough, Miss Sparkle, though I cannot say I am happy with the implications of the matter…” Dread fell silent.

Twilight gave a small smiled, “I guess you don’t know as much about Sleipnir as you thought you did?”

At this Dr. Layne actually burst out laughing, “Oh no, it took a lot less than that to convince that we have no idea what’s going on. Have you seen the numbers?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the crippled pegasus. “No, what’s so special about numbers?”

“It’s like-It’s like…” Dr. Layne furrowed his brow and sat his chin on a hoof. “I can’t really explain it. You wouldn’t notice it unless you’re paying close attention but… Bah, it’d be easier to show you than to tell you.”

Twilight waited a moment for Dr. Layne to show her whatever it was he was talking about, but instead the storm grey pegasus walked over to the bed sheets and lay down on them. She waited another moment for something to suddenly reveal itself, but nothing came of it.

She stomped a hoof impatiently. “Well?”

“Dr. Layne rolled over on the sheets and looked at Twilight, “What?”

“Aren’t you going to show me?”

Dr. Layne laughed. “Right now? Do you realize how long we’d have to walk before we get to one of the more obvious spots? Besides, given the story you just told us, I’d say that you’re due for a rest. Too much excitement wears out both body and mind. Take a nap, I’ll show you in a couple hours.” At that Dr. Layne buried himself in bed sheets.

Never one to take denial of knowledge lightly, Twilight turned to talk with Dread, who was idly chatting with Pinkamena. “Dread, can you show me what Dr. Layne was talking about?”

Dread finished up his conversation by patting Pinkamena on the head and saying, “You did very well, I am very proud of you.” The android then turned to address Twilight. “Dr. Layne is correct, Miss Sparkle. you need rest.”

Twilight snorted and mumbled, “Fine.” She wanted to protest, but saw to use in it. Dread and Dr. Layne seemed adamant about the decision, and Twilight didn’t feel like wandering Sleipnir alone. “But could we at least get this thing off my wings?”

Placing the saw on the band, Dread cautioned, “This may sting a bit. Should I accidentally cut your skin, there is a first aid kit by the door.”

Twilight grunted to show she understood and closed her eyes. A moment later and soft buzz filled the chamber and the band’s grip on Twilight. When the buzzing noise ceased, Twilight unfurled her wings for the first time in what felt like eternity.

And that was it. Twilight sat there for a minute waiting for something, some sense of renewed freedom to overshadow her senses, but nothing came. She tried stretching them out further, but aside from the typical satisfaction that comes from stretching a limb, there was nothing special.

Twilight frowned and looked over her wings to make sure they weren’t mangled.

“Something wrong, Miss Sparkle?” Dread asked.

“No. It’s just that with my wings free now, I would’ve thought there would’ve been some satisfaction, a renewed sense of freedom, or something. This just seems disappointing.”

A soft clicking noise emanated from within Dread’s body. “If I am not mistaken, Miss Sparkle, you were once a mundane unicorn. If that is the case, then perhaps your wings are not as important to you as your other limbs; at least on a subconscious level.”

Twilight sighed, “Well, I guess that makes sense. Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, Miss Sparkle.”

After thinking for a moment, Twilight asked, “Dread, what did Dr. Layne mean by ‘the numbers’?”

The lights on Dread’s face dimmed, and a low clicking emanated from the android’s body. “Get some rest, Miss Sparkle; we’ll explain it in a few hours.”

Twilight tried to ask for a better answer, but Dread merely repeated the command and refused further comment. Realizing that she was going to have to wait for her knowledge, Twilight consigned herself to finding something to kill time.

A quick look around the room showed that every pony else had either gone to sleep, except for Pinkamena, who was apparently sorting the confectionaries by sweetness.

It was while looking around the room that Twilight remembered the book she had brought with her, and found it by the pile of bed sheets. It had fallen to the ground when Dread cut Twilight’s band, but none of the pages seemed to have been bent.

After making sure that Pinkamena wasn’t watching, Twilight cracked open the book and smiled softly as the laughter of three young foals filled her mind.

Author's Notes:

Welp, as of this update I'm no longer a student. Whether or not this will affect my writing is yet to be seen. Expect more obscure references to things you have no way of being familiar with.