My nightmare was ended before it could corrupt any further, thankfully, a familiar blaring noise from inside of my helmet having been what woke me up, alerting me of yet another maintenance issue. One that, of course, I would need to be responsible for taking care of. Myself letting out a short groan, I stood from the couch, ignoring the dripping sounds coming from inside of my helmet and blinking away the blurry sting from my eyes. It was just another nightmare. I would always tell myself that, but I knew that they were more. They were memories. Memories that had been twisted and turned in an effort to remind me of my mistakes.

I shook the thoughts out of my head, looking around the small apartment that I and my charges had been rooming in. As I would have expected, the lights to the room were out, plunging it into a darkness that only my helmet light interrupted. My charges were both resting in bed, from what I could tell from the two lumps under the blankets, and they were doing so rather peacefully by the looks of it.

I smiled. They'd be safer staying here than going with me, and since they were asleep, they wouldn't say otherwise. It's for their own good after all.

Quietly shuffling my way to the door, I glanced to the alert message at the side of my helmet monitor, reading along with the voice that relayed the message to me. 'MAINTENANCE NEEDED AT FORT FROLIC-LEVEL B-CODE C.' I felt my smile grow even larger as I read/heard this. Not particularly because of the fact that I had to go to Fort Frolic, the place creeped me out if anything, but because of the last part of that message. 'Code C'.

Every repair in Rapture had its own classification code, centered around where and when repairs were needed. Code C happened to be my favorite. Why?

Code C, as the name so 'cleverly' implies, meant that repairs were needed somewhere outside the glass walls of Rapture. I would need to go into the open sea to do them. See where the whole, 'Code C' pun comes from?

This was always my favorite type of repair for one specific reason though. It made me feel free. When I was in the open waters of Rapture, I didn't feel like a man trapped in a suit, stuck inside of a dying city. No, I felt like a person traveling the world, and the city just happened to be another one of my intended destinations to visit. It's vibrant neon lights, criss-crossing sea floor roads, and the 'vehicles' and 'pedestrians' that the marine life would imitate. For the most part, I went off of pictures that I had seen, images that I had remembered, in order to see this city in that kind of way. It was my one moment of bliss in a home without rest. In a city where, if you would rest, it would often mean death.

Sighing at the thought, I grabbed the door handle and carefully, soundlessly, opened the wooden door. So far so goo- Oh no.

As soon as I opened the door, who better would it have been to greet me than Winston? Actually, the better question is, who wouldn't it have been better. I had no idea how he had escaped the pile of trash that I had trapped him in, but I could tell that knowing wouldn't really make a difference now. He was already out, and by the looks of the intensity of his lights, he was really annoyed.

His rotors spun noisily in the silence that I had been hoping to keep, causing me to panic slightly as I looked to my two charges again, the two shifting in their sleep under the thick blue blanket in an attempt to escape the noise, letting out small involuntary groans as they did so.

Looking back to Winston, I tried to shoo him away, desperately hoping that he wouldn't disturb either Fluttershy's or Rarity's rest. As I did this though, a quick thought came to my head. Winston can understand whatever I tell him, when I'd tell him. He was a devious little robot with no particularly set program. What was to stop him from doing the opposite of what I was hoping him to?

Winston seemed to have already known about this though, hovering closer to the door as I noticed him look to me, almost challengingly, with his headlights beginning to flicker. I swear, if he did what I thought he was going to do, I would-

I hadn't even finished that thought before Winston began beeping as loudly as he could, spinning around in the air as he basically flooded all of Apollo Square with noise. I could hear my two charges squeak and squeal with surprise, looking back and noticing the two go absolutely nuts under the covers, likely from the surprise wake up call that they had gotten.

Looking back to Winston, I noticed my helmet light turn orange as I saw that he was flying away, already rounding the corner by the time I had looked back to him, his beeping now sounding more like laughter as he left my sight. Mental note: The next time I see that floating rust bucket, I rip out his gyroscope. Maybe he'd be less annoying if he was flopping around and crashing into things. I certainly think so.

I sighed in annoyance as I turned from the door and made my way to the mattress, where a messy haired Rarity was trying to calm a trembling lump in the blanket that was likely to be Fluttershy. As I approached, Rarity looked to me with a tired, pleading face.

"Omega? Would you be a dear and help me calm Fluttershy down?" She asked, gently rubbing her forehoof up and down the side of the lump in her own attempt to relax her. "That last scare really got to her." Damn it Winston.

Looking to Rarity, I nodded, moving over to the mattress and kneeling down. Like I had done last time, I tried to pull open the blankets that Fluttershy had been hiding under. Much to my surprise though, the blankets didn't budge, Fluttershy letting out a small squeak as I tried to pull them. The last time this had happened, Fluttershy had been hiding out of embarrassment, and she hadn't really made too much of an attempt to keep the blanket over her. Now though, Fluttershy was doing this out of fear, holding the blanket down with her hooves in a death grip.

After a few more failed attempts of coaxing Fluttershy to release her grip on the blankets, I decided to take a different approach to the situation. I leaned further over the mattress, putting my arms around both sides of the blanketed lump, meeting them together in the middle, right under Fluttershy.

She released another cute squeak as I picked her up, bed coverings and all, minding her wings as the blankets fell down from her head as she lost her grip. I continued to hold her wrapped up in the blankets, like I had seen mothers do with their babies, her forearms hanging out of the coverings and over my arms as I sat down on the couch, as per usual, gently placing her down on my lap.

When I released my hold on her, she quickly made to cover herself again, but before she could, I had already begun petting her. It took her a moment or two to relax, longer than her normally instant reaction, but eventually, she melded to the situation, her eyes drooping closed and ears lowering in calm and pleasant alleviation.

I wasn't able to tell her anything to calm down, but I guess that, out of instinct, I let out a low and prolonged groan as a sort of substitute. She continued to stay there in a very relaxed and content form as Rarity climbed up onto the couch next to me, watching us with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

No matter how many times Rarity would see this, she didn't think that she would ever actually lose interest in it, let alone that slight hint of surprise that roamed around in the back of her mind. Omega was, in her eyes, one of the most violent and twisted creatures that she had ever met, just after the splicers, and Prince Blueblood. He looked at death as if it was nothing, be it his own or that of others, often shrugging it off or, in some cases, seeming to take joy in it... And yet, he was also one of the most gentle, caring, and protective that she had met as well.

He was fearless when he needed to be, and sensitive whenever he didn't. He was strong and destructive, but only showed this at times of danger. He was, altogether, one of the most misunderstood friends that she ever had.

Thinking back to a few days ago, Rarity mentally flinched at the memory of her friends back home running away when they first saw him, as he had told them that they had done. It was odd, but he didn't really seem bothered by it when he was telling them what they had missed when they were out. What he had written to them next though, about 'being used to it', and by that he had meant others being scared of him, nearly broke Rarity and Fluttershy's hearts. It was a short conversation between the three, barely recognizable among the every day events that they shared in Rapture, but a meaningful one nonetheless.

Though, despite the sadness that seemed to have revolved around the conversation, despite Omega's indifference to the subject, there was one thing that happened that did make up for it, if even by a little. That, was Rarity's darling little sister, Sweetie Belle.

When Omega had told them about meeting her, they were shocked to have heard that Sweetie Belle, the youngest and most innocent of the group, had been the one to stay behind to greet Omega, despite the panic of the ponies around her. Even now, Omega and Sweetie Belle continue to show a near unnoticeable bond whenever they would see each.

If a filly like Sweetie Bell could so easily see the kindness and compassion behind the rough metal exterior of Omega, then one would think that everypony would. Perhaps, one day, after this whole fiasco was over, she and Fluttershy would further be able to get to know him. Outside of his metal suit, where they could see the real him.

Rarity's thoughts were interrupted as a faint blaring sound, almost completely silent, could be heard in the background.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And there goes the maintenance alert again. I mentally sighed as I looked down to my still relaxing charge, Fluttershy. Though I would much rather stay here, relaxing with my two 'little sisters', I knew that my programming wouldn't allow it. Sooner or layer, the voice in the back of my head would start driving me crazy, yelling at me to do my duty as a Big Daddy, despite the fact that I had 'little sisters' with me. It had done so when I was still programmed as a guardian, so it would probably do worse now that I wasn't.

Picking up Fluttershy by her blanket covered midsection, I moved her off of my lap and onto the couch, much to her disarray, before getting up and making my way to the door. I'd just need to get this repair over with. Then, I'd be able to come back and wait out the rest of the day with my charges.

"W-where are you going?" Fluttershy asked, causing me to turn to face her, my hand already at the door by now. She had gotten down from the couch, the blanket unceremoniously placed on the ground behind her as she looked at me with a questioning, and slightly saddened, face. Rarity stood next to her, sharing a similar expression.

I responded with a groan, bobbing my head to the door as way of saying that I was going out. "Oh." Fluttershy said, looking down to the ground in slight disappointment. Rarity though, just looked to me blankly for a moment or two, almost as if she was in thought, before she let out a small, sly smile. I can pretty easily tell that, by the looks of that smile, I was about to lose another argument.

-------------------------------------

Fort Frolic. The more... 'Artistic', center of Rapture. It was the hub to the many different routes a person would take to stores that sold more 'sophisticated' and 'expressional' products, like records, statuettes, or even paintings. Another big attraction in Fort Frolic though, was the theater. A place where people of all kinds and origin would come in the hopes to entertain, and more importantly, impress. The person to impress, being the 'legendary' Sander Cohen. 'An artist ahead of his time. Able to make art out of atrocities, and godliness out of garbage'. I'm so glad he's dead.

What many people didn't know at the time, was that Cohen was absolutely nuts. If a person searched up 'sanity' in the dictionary, they would see a picture of him with a line drawn through it. Same for most of the people who came to this place, losing their minds for the sake of their art, often being forgotten like yesterday's news. Good riddance to bad garbage I'd say.

As I exited the bathysphere, I immediately felt a shiver go down my spine as I looked around the room. It was surrounded by masks, creepy ones at that, in an attempt to make the room more 'Sander Cohen'. All it really did though was make it more terrifying than artistic though.

"Oh... Well this is... Different." Rarity commented as she and Fluttershy stepped out of the bathysphere behind me, the two looking around the room in very disturbed manners.

You know, I've got to learn how to win in an argument with these two. As it turned out, the reason that Rarity was smiling so smugly earlier was because she had thought of it to be a good idea to come along with me on my next repair. An idea that Fluttershy supported, and I rebelled against. Unfortunately, as my previous attempts at arguing with them had shown, I was bound to lose. Now, here we are. In one of the most disturbing, yet oddly charming, places in Rapture. Brilliant.

Gesturing for the two to follow, I looked at my helmet's display as we walked down the hall to the actual hub area, hoping for directions to the repair.

-------------------------------------

As it had turned out, the repair was actually pretty close. It was right outside of the clear glass walls of the gambling area in Fort Frolic, a few slot machines lined up just at the entrance of the 'artistic center'. Looking to the repair, which was just a loose oil pipe, thankfully, I could hear Rarity and Fluttershy behind me, looking over the more, admittedly, beautiful part of Fort Frolic.

"My word! This place is simply splendid!" Rarity exclaimed, a smile plastered on her face. She was one of the more sophisticated types of peopl- er, ponies, so it was actually pretty understandable that she would be so excited about this place. Fluttershy herself seemed to find the place nice as well, but it was pretty obvious that she didn't have nearly as much interest in it as Rarity.

Looking around the room myself, I noticed a familiar door in the corner of the room, marked with a drawing of a Big Daddy helmet, which the splicers had so kindly crossed out and written 'ASSHOLE!' on top of. That was the door that led outside of Rapture's walls. Into the open ocean.

Now that I had found the repair, and the maintenance door I would use to go outside and reach it, there was only one issue I had left to solve: The matter of where to put Fluttershy and Rarity to keep them safe.

After all, while I would be out there, I wouldn't be able to protect them. They would be inside, alone, with the only person who could protect them being separated from them by a thick sheet of glass that would flood a large section of Rapture if it were broken. Not the best circumstances.

There had to be somewhere here in Fort Frolic where I could put them. Somewhere where the splicers wouldn't expect to find them, and if they did, then they could easily get away. I stood there for a moment, thinking over my options as Rarity continued to gush over the room. "Such decor! And just look at the fabric used in these curtains!"

Maybe the shopping area? No, that wouldn't work. Most of those places were broken down, and rigged with unhackable alarms. They'd be more of a danger to themselves than the splicers would. The storage area? Oh what am I, nuts? The place is, at most, 10 degrees Fahrenheit! They'd freeze to death, or get sick! Plus, it wasn't exactly out of the way for splicers... Crap.

I sighed as I crossed out that option as well, my frustration starting to build. Through all of my thoughts though, I could barely hear the continued rambling of Rarity.

"Fort Frolic Theater!?! Oh how marvelous!" I heard Rarity gasp and exclaim in excitement. My eyes widened as she said this, a smile of realization hitting me as I mentally scolded myself for my stupidity.

Why didn't I think of that?

Rarity didn't know it, but she had just given me the best place for me to put them. The theater was extremely secure. There were turrets near the entrance, which I had hacked a long time ago, accompanied by a security camera. The doors were lockable from the inside, meaning that splicers would have an even harder time getting in. Finally, the room would be simple to maneuver for them, while the warped and limited mental capabilities of the splicers would cause them to trip over a chair, or something of the like, with basically every step they took. It was perfect.

Turning away from the broken pipe of billowing oil, I made my way to Fluttershy and Rarity, who was currently looking over the theater listings with her utmost interest.

Groaning, I got Fluttershy's attention fairly easily, Rarity's gaze still plastered to the theater board though. "Oh. Is something wrong Omega?" She asked. I shook my head, gesturing towards the staircase in the center of the room. We would need to go up if we wanted to reach the theater atrium.

"You want us to follow you?" I nodded. "Oh, alright. Rarity?" She asked, turning to face her still distracted friend. Rarity just waved her off though, too indulged to even pay attention.

"In a moment dear." She told her, not even turning to face her direction as she quietly mumbled to herself, something about 'The Sea Singers'. I sighed. At this rate, the oil in the pipe would be more likely to run out before Rarity would finish. Looking to Fluttershy, I gestured for her to step away from Rarity, which she did with little to no hesitation, allowing me to get closer to her. Kneeling next to Rarity, I groaned again, waving my arm in front of her in an attempt to gain her attention. Again though, she didn't seem to notice.

"Great. What now? ... Wait. Maybe... Well, it works on Fluttershy. Who's to say it won't work on her?"

My idea set, I moved my large gloved hand to her head, taking the utmost care to avoid her horn as I began to pet her head like I would normally do for Fluttershy. The reaction was almost instant, her eyes shrinking to pinpricks for a moment as her mind seemed to process the sudden feeling, before just as quickly returned to their normal size, her eyelids closing and a smile coming to her face as she leaned her head further into my hand.

"Ohhhh. That's nice." She said. Glancing towards Fluttershy, I noticed that she was smiling as well, a hoof over her mouth as she let out a short giggle at the sight of her seemingly entranced friend. I couldn't help but to chuckle myself, the sight of Rarity seeming to lose all other sense of mind as I pet her being more than a little entertaining. Still though, I had work to do, so I should probably move on with the next part of this idea of mine.

While Rarity was distracted, I slowly and carefully snuck an arm around her, wrapping it around her and, eventually, lifting her up. The relaxed expression on her face was replaced by one of surprise as I held her in both of my arms, her hind legs hanging loosely below her and her forelegs struggling for a 'grip' on my arms as her back wriggled against my metal chest ever so slightly.

"Oh dear!" She exclaimed, a red tint beginning to grow in her cheeks as she accommodated herself. Though I'd never say it out loud, not like I could anyhow, I couldn't help but to think of this as a bit of revenge for all of the times that she had easily beaten me in a disagreement. Maybe I was just being a sore loser... Meh, I'd get over it.

When I was sure that Rarity had stopped struggling, her face now a tomato red as she looked to the floor in a style similar to that of Fluttershy, I started to head to the stairs, Fluttershy following behind me, obviously struggling to contain her laughter at this point.

"... You know darling, you could have just asked." Honestly, if I wasn't holding Rarity at the moment, I probably would have slapped my hand into my helmet as hard as I could.

-------------------------------------

While I would normally try to provide some interesting comment or thought, trying to think over the situation and see what I could make of it, there's one problem that's making that near impossible. Rarity's squealing.

Literally, no more than a second, one second, after I had walked into the Fort Frolic theater, she started squealing and giggling like an excited little girl. She broke out of my grasp pretty quickly, since I was using as little of my grip as possible to keep her comfortable, roaming around the large and decorated room with glee. Fluttershy stood by my side as I looked over the room myself, examining every single detail as I tried to make sure that there was no easy way for the splicers to come in.

The room itself was, to be frank, in shambles. Granted, it wasn't as bad as it was a few years ago, before I started cleaning up in the hopes of making my maintenance work easier, but it was still pretty bad. Relatively speaking though, in comparison with most other places in the entirety of Rapture, the room wasn't necessarily that bad. If you ignored the filth and ruin of the place, which, surprisingly, Rarity was doing at the moment, you would see a magnificent stage, standing in wait for its next presenter to come up and entertain the audience.

Rarity saw this, but I, for the life of me, couldn't. Maybe it was just because of how long I had been down here in Rapture, but, unlike Rarity, and maybe even Fluttershy, I couldn't 'see the stage lights'. To me, a ruined stage was a ruined stage. Nothing more, nothing less.

Looking down to Fluttershy, since it was obvious that Rarity was, yet again, too distracted to really pay that much attention, I kneeled down and groaned for her to look to me.

Her blue eyes shifting to my direction, almost as if she could see me through my metal helmet, I gestured for both her and Rarity to stay here. The face she gave me in return felt just as bad as the face that a sad little sister would give me whenever something didn't go her way.

"You're leaving?" She asked, sadness, worry, and obvious hints of fear in her voice. In return, I nodded, my metal body slightly creaking at the motion.

Fluttershy... Didn't really say anything for a while, choosing to just stand there, looking to the ground in what seemed like disappointment, until finally, she spoke.

"... You'll come back... Right?" This is the saddest I have been in a while. It felt like I was actually a father among the normal people who had lived in Rapture, dropping my little girl of at school for the first time. Fluttershy wasn't my daughter, nor my Little Sister, or even a child, but it didn't really seem to make a difference. I cared for the two of them, a lot, so, rather than just nod, groan, or even pet her on the head for reassurance, I did her one better.

I brought my two metal arms around her, carefully bringing her in close to me, and hugged her. Fluttershy quickly adjusted to this gesture, almost as if she had been awaiting it, putting her own forelegs around me and returning the hug as best as she could.

"Good luck."

I wish, more than anything, that I could talk too. At least then I could tell her something reassuring as well.

-------------------------------------

It was always... Odd, to be outside.

It felt like I was heavy, but at the same time, I felt light. Anytime I would try to float up, I would sink like a rock. Yet, anytime I would jump, I would practically soar. I guess that thats one of the wonders of the ocean, huh?

... Nah. I don't really care that much for it. I'm just happy to be outside, as free as I'll ever get. A limitless expanse, full of mystery, and life. Not intelligent life, but... Actually, I'm pretty sure that even a goldfish could be considered smarter than most splicers. Nonetheless, the idea lives on.

The only real problem I had with this though, was that, at the same time that it reminded me of the idea of freedom, it reminded me of a prison. I would constantly look to the buildings of Rapture as I walked along the sea floor, making my way to the oil leak, the thought of being trapped there always returning to mind.

I sighed, trying to push off the thought as best as I could. I'm near the repair anyways, I should stay focused. Besides, the faster I do this, the faster I can get back to my charges.

I don't like leaving them alone.

A beeping in my helmet stopped me, a notification showing me that my repair was nearby. I looked upwards, a quick smile coming to my face as I saw the billowing oil pipe leaking its black, smoke like liquid into the normally dark blue ocean water.

On the plus side, it was an easy fix. Though, I groaned as I realized what the minus side was. I'd have to climb to reach it. A Big Daddy and high places do not mix. Especially after that incident with the stairs. Grabbing onto a nearby ledge to start my climb, I couldn't help but wonder what the girls were doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rarity had calmed herself from her previous state of excitement by now, choosing to simply relax with her friend and calmly take in the sight of the room around her. It didn't compare to Canterlot Hall, not by the slightest, but it was an amazing sight nonetheless.

A cultural example of Rapture's art and entertainment, right before her eyes. Granted, it was in... Minimal condition. Still, a glimpse at the culture was better than none whatsoever. After all, there certainly were some things in this 'Fort Frolic' that still showed signs of beauty and elegance, despite the rather obvious stains of time.

While Rarity basked in the unique cultural splendor around her, Fluttershy sat nearby, her face partially buried in her hooves as she patiently awaited for the return of her friend, Omega. She knew that she wouldn't have to worry, that Omega could take care of himself, but she couldn't help herself but to worry. She sighed, looking up at the stage blankly.

Rarity, having heard her friend sigh, turned to face her, the smile on her face fading as she noticed her friend's saddened expression. "Is everything alright dear?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy glanced to her friend for a moment, smiling slightly before she returned her gaze to the stage.

"I'm fine." She replied. Needless to say, Rarity wasn't convinced. She wasn't sure what had her friend in such a negative hold, but at the same time, she felt as if she shouldn't pry into Fluttershy's business. After all, the last time that Rarity had been nosy, they had ended up here, trapped in Rapture.

"... Darling? What do you usually do to relax?" Rarity asked. Fluttershy looked to her friend completely this time, her face reddening, but not turning away.

"W-w-well, I usually s-sing to my animals..." A smile grew on her face as she recalled the memory of the various times that she had sang to her many furred and feathered friends, the happiness and bliss that she felt from simply being there, soothing her animals and her nerves. Fluttershy's smile didn't last long, however, as she also remembered that she would be unable to see any of them for some time. "But, they're back home."

Rarity looked to her friend with a hoof tapping against her chin, a thought coming to mind of a way to assist her friend within moments as she glanced to the stage one last time.

"... Well Darling, I'm not an animal, nor am I perfect, but there is a stage in front of us. And personally, I would love to be your audience for today." Fluttershy rose an eyebrow in surprise as she heard this, sitting herself up straight in the chair she as looked to her friend.

"I-I'm not sure Rarity." Rarity persisted though, pleading for Fluttershy to sing for her, just as she would for her animals. Rarity desperately wanted to help her friend, and, at the moment, this was the only way that she could. After another minute or so of pleading and cutesy eyes, Fluttershy's last walls broke.

"I g-guess that its fine." Rarity thanked her friend repeatedly as she made her way to the stage, her head held down in slight embarrassment as she walked through the rows between the seats and to the stage. Rarity let out a mental cheer of victory as she watched Fluttershy walk up to the stage, glad that she could assist her friend in relaxing, if even slightly, and, though she didn't know it, Fluttershy was glad as well, smiling as she walked to the stage, the thought of what a caring friend Rarity was echoing through her head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dripping sounds of liquid as it slid off of my now water-coated metal suit was fairly soothing, to say the least. Though, the slight splash and squeak that came from my suit with every step I took was a little less than so. A lot less, actually.

Since I had fixed the pipe, that annoying alarm and voice in the back of my head had effectively shut up, leaving me to my much more quiet, and occasionally peaceful, thoughts and surroundings. I sighed as I felt a passing headache lessen in its discomfort, relaxation becoming a much more viable option for me when I would return to Apollo Square.

Before I do that though, I need to go pick up Fluttershy and Rarity from the theater. I had been out for around half an hour, by my guess, so I could only imagine how bored the girls were. Let alone the fact that I hadn't stopped worrying about them since I stepped foot outside.

Heading up the stairs, hanging on tightly to the wooden railings out of my distrust for these ceramic steps, I looked around the room with caution, making sure that there still weren't any nearby splicers. Thankfully, the room was completely barren of life, aside from myself, the silence being enough for one to hear a pin drop.

I couldn't see anything, but something didn't feel right. Splicers are ignorant, but they couldn't have been so ignorant that they wouldn't notice the only Big Daddy in Rapture walking around such a usually quiet place.

... Speaking of which, it actually wasn't that quiet right now. I could hear something in the background, but only faintly. It sounded high pitched, yet controlled, and soothing. What was that noise?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Omega made his way up the stairs in a slightly more rushed and curious manner, he failed to notice the red cloud that formed behind him, near the center of the room, materializing a person, seemingly out of nowhere.

As the splicer looked to the direction that the 'metal feline' had left in, listening carefully to the calming 'music' of her next masterpiece's heavy, metal footsteps, a smile came to her face.

"I can make such wonderful music with you." She madly mused to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stopped in front of the theater door, my feet grinding and slipping against the floor from the remaining water that still coated me. The door was sealed shut, as I had expected. Before I had left for my repair, I had made sure to lock the door, showing Fluttershy how she could unlock it herself if she, at any time, found it necessary.

The lock itself was a simple dial pad. Four dials with numbers ranging from zero to nine, all of them currently set on the number five, waiting for somebody to input the right combination and open the door. Because of the fact that the lock was still as I left it, I felt myself relax ever so slightly as I realized that there weren't any clear indications that my charges were in trouble. Nonetheless though, I could still hear the muffled sound from before through the door, originating from the same room as Fluttershy and Rarity.

I quickly looked to the dial pad and started to input the numbers that I had set it to. 1952. I didn't know what the number was, but it had just popped into my head when I looked to the dial pad.

The door let out a soft click as the lock was released, lifting itself upwards and giving me a clear view of the theater room. What I saw though... It amazed me.

Rarity was sitting in one of the many theater chairs that surrounded her, near the front row, looking to the stage with a smile on her face and a slight twitch in her ear. Following her gaze, I was surprised to see, of all people, Fluttershy was standing at the center of the stage, her eyes closed in bliss as she sang a... Beautiful tune.

Neither she nor Rarity had noticed me, and I just stood there at the door, watching and listening as Fluttershy sang with her heart, the soft and calming sound bouncing perfectly off of the walls of the theater, giving the would be audience of the room a clear and comforting audio of the performance.

Out of the many people that I had recalled to having stood on that stage, singing, dancing, playing, or even joking, this had to be the best performance that I had ever had the grace of hearing.

Soon though, Fluttershy's song came to an end, the room once again being left in silence as it's performer let out her last note for the show. Fluttershy gave a bow to her 'audience', Rarity beginning to clap at her friend's amazing performance. "Bravo Fluttershy!" She said, gleefully clapping her hooves together.

Snapping out of my temporary stupor, I myself started to clap, the loud and slight thudding sound of my two rubber gloves slapping against each other providing a major contrast to that of Rarity's.

The two stopped as they heard this, looking to my direction with faces of surprise as I continued to clap. Soon enough, both of their faces then changed to smiles, Fluttershy gaining a slightly flushed color and looking shyly to the ground as she did so, drawing small circles with the tip of her hoof against the wooden stage floor.

"T-thank you." She said in her usual, quiet form. Rarity stood from her seat and made her way towards me, Fluttershy flying to her and then following suit on feet.

"So how did it go darling?" She asked. I just shrugged, groaning in my own way of telling her that it was basically the same old same old. She probably didn't understand what I said, I doubt anyone could, but she must have surmised that it went well, from the looks of her smile. "Well then, I believe we should get going?" She asked, glancing back to the stage yet again. "As nice as this place may be, its still not quite as nice as Canterlot Hall. Let alone how dusty it is." I had no idea what 'Canterlot Hall' was, but I had the oddest feeling that she was right.

I nodded, gesturing for the two to follow as I turned to exit the room... Only to crash into the closed door. The impact wasn't hard, but it was still surprising. Fluttershy and Rarity both giggled at this, but I stayed silent, just... Eyeing the door. Eventually, after another moment or two, Fluttershy and Rarity stopped giggling, likely having noticed my silent stillness.

"Um... Omega?" Fluttershy asked. I didn't respond, instead turning to face the two and telling them to get behind me, my ESU beginning to spark as I readied it. Though they were confused, they didn't argue with me, quickly following my commands and standing behind me as I raised my ESU and growled.

This wasn't good. Not at all. The doors in Rapture are all automatic. They wouldn't close so long as someone was standing near them, not unless they were locked. Still, the doors could glitch, right? Considering the horrible condition Rapture was in, it would only be natural that it broke down. Well, I thought so... Until I saw that the dial pad had been randomized again.

"Hush little baby, don't you cry." I felt myself growl even louder as I heard this, my porthole light brimming with red as I heard the twisted and maniacal singing echo through the room. Fluttershy and Rarity both grabbed onto me from behind, the two of them beginning to shake so much that I could feel it through the metal over my legs.

"Mama's gonna sing you a lullaby." Scanning the room, I didn't see any sign of the splicer. The room may as well have been empty, aside from the girls and myself.

"If with rest you won't tag along, mamas gonna sing you another song." I kept on scanning the room, looking for even the slightest bit of movement, but no matter where I looked, I couldn't see anyone. It was almost as if... They were invisible...

"If the songs don't end your cries, mamas gonna start to really despise." My eyes widened as a sudden sense of realization came to me, only to narrow again as it was soon replaced by annoyance and anger. I knew what this splicer was.

"If, from the stress, mama starts to sag, mamas gonna wrap you up in a bag." Looking for this splicer wouldn't do me any good, not yet at least. No, I had to wait it out. Grabbing onto one of the nearby theater chairs, I ripped it from its place in the ground, focusing on the sound around me as I readied myself to throw.

"While you cry, you squirm, you scream," A small red mist started to form on top of the metal supports that held the stage lights, along with the odd sound of whooshing wind. "Mamas gonna have herself a very nice dream."

Just like that, the red mist solidified, the sound of air rushing to come together almost deafening as the figure of a woman splicer seemed to appear out of nowhere, plasmid powered flames in her hand, prime to be thrown. I didn't give her the chance, throwing the seat at her as hard as I could when I got a clear view of her, knocking her clear off the metal structure and into a wall with a loud thud. Damn Houdini Splicers.

Houdini splicers were, to be frank, assholes. They weren't strong, nor were they fast, but they still made it in the top three of my list when it came to splicers, right after Spider Splicers and Brute Splicers. What these splicers didn't have in strength or agility, they made up for with their skills with plasmids. They would usually use a special plasmid that would temporarily turn them invisible, called, as their name implies, Houdini. After they believed themselves to be well positioned, they would switch their plasmids, returning to the sight of their opponent, but usually with a handful of fire, ice, and, on occasion, electricity.

I could hear the splicer groan as she picked herself up off the floor, bringing about another growl from me. As she stood, her right arm bent at an odd angle, though she didn't seem to care, a malicious smile on her face grew, laughter beginning to emanate from her twisted being.

"Aw. What? You don't like it when I sing?" I just growled again in response, my ESU's crackling seeming to only add to my intimidation. "Heh. Everyone's a critic. Lucky for me, I brought my own audience."

Putting two of her fingers from her left hand into her mouth, she let out a loud and shrill whistle. It wasn't but a second later that the stage walls behind her were broken down with a loud crash, bits of debris reaching all the way across the room to the three of us, harmlessly plinking off of my armor. The Houdini splicer just stood there smugly though, her smile growing as she glanced behind her.

A Brute splicer was the first to enter, pounding his hands together and cracking his neck as he made his way next to the woman, followed by a small group of two Thuggish splicers, and a Lead-head. "You called love?" The Brute splicer asked.

Ignoring the fact that the two were lovers, especially considering the size difference, I took a small step back, glancing to the locked door behind us. One of the splicers seemed to notice this though, not hesitating to make a point as he did.

"Too bad ya can't git, ey metal feline?" One of the Thuggish splicers asked, bringing about a short collective maniacal laugh from the group. I gave them an incredulous look, though they couldn't see it, and stood up straight, my porthole light turning yellow for a quick second as I realized something. These splicers aren't very smart, are they?

I didn't even bother to turn around as I extended my arm and brought it around over my two charge's heads, breaking the wooden door in two and sending its halves flying into the wall across the hall.

The splicers all looked to me with wide eyes, their slow witted minds cranking their ever-so-little used gears as I signaled for Fluttershy and Rarity to run.

The two looked to me with worried expressions, not yet releasing their grip on me as they continued to look up at me. My porthole light flashed an even darker red as I gestured for them to run again, letting out an involuntary, angered groan as I did so.

The two flinched at this, looking between me and the, unsurprisingly still confused, splicers, before finally nodding their heads, letting go of me, and quickly making their way down the hall and back to the bathysphere.

"Oi, they're gettin' away!" A splicer exclaimed, finally seeming to have understood what had happened. Took him long enough.

I cracked my neck as I looked to the now anger filled group of splicers before me. Looks like it's time for a different kind of encore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The guardian and the group of splicers glared at each other for what seemed like an eternity, though it was only for a few short seconds, waiting for one another to make the first move. A tense silence flooded the room, the metal that held up the stage lights seeming to creak from the weight that the air held.

Soon, his patience worn and boredom beginning to grow, one of the splicers let out a yell, raising a rusty pipe into the air and screaming for blood. The splicers around him joined in, rushing the Big Daddy in the hopes of ending him, while two stayed behind.

Omega let out his own roar, drowning out any other sound that could've been heard in Fort Frolic as his feet stamped hard against the ground in a charge, his ESU held in front of him, ready to stop and end all that got in his way.

The two sides clashed with one another, the splicers already losing a man as he was veritably impaled and electrocuted by the metal daddy's ESU. The Brute splicer and Thuggish splicer that had also joined in the charge quickly began to attack, one smashing a lead pipe into the Big Daddy's helmet while the other grappled with him, trying to lift and throw the heavy, metal daddy.

As the three struggled to get the upper hand, the Houdini splicer and Lead-head splicer took several pot shots from afar, firing bullets and flames at the Big Daddy, who had exposed his back to them during the fight.

Omega still pressed on, ignoring the burns and bullets, which he silently thanked not to be armor piercing rounds, his mind and body grinding as he fought off the unbalanced odds against him.

"This won't work. I need to even the odds. Otherwise, I'm as good as dead again!" Omega thought to himself through his struggle, momentarily slipping in his grip. It was this slip, however, that the Brute splicer was waiting for, moving his grip around the Big Daddy's neck and bringing his fist down onto his helmet repeatedly, the metal starting to falter and bend under the continued stress.

The Lead-head and Houdini held their fire, not wanting to risk hurting their group's muscle as he beat down the Big Daddy. The Thuggish splicer that remained continued to assist him though, slamming the pipe into his opponents porthole, small cracks starting to appear in the dark red glass.

The Brute lifted his arm again, bringing it back down with as much force as he could muster while the splicer with the pipe did the same. Omega's originally clenched eyes shot open in anger as he reached his arm up, stopping the punch of the Brute splicer and, using the leverage he had gained on him, throwing him at the annoying bug that had cracked his helmet.

A loud snap could be heard as the much smaller splicer broke the other's fall, breaking his own neck in the process and being crushed on the floor by the musclebound man on top of him, the life draining from his eyes despite the tight grip he still kept on his weapon.

The two splicers which had been ceasing their fire sprung to life again, quickly sending another barrage to their opponent. Omega turned to these two, his annoyance and anger starting to grow as he lifted his metal leg up and slammed it down as hard as he could with a mighty roar.

The ground shook, greatly disorienting the ranged splicers as they struggled to regain their footing. It was during this momentary setback of theirs that Omega took the situation to his advantage, charging at the two like a train careening down the tracks.

The Houdini splicer reacted quickly, a red mist engulfing her as she disappeared from sight, leaving the Lead-head as he was inevitably killed, smashed through the hole that the other splicers had made and into a wall, blood splattering behind his broken body with an impact similar to falling off of a ten story building.

Omega did not pay too much attention to this, knowing that he had to act quickly if he wished to survive and that he could not afford to be distracted. He turned to the Brute splicer again, who had now begun a charge at him, standing his ground and pushing back against the raging bull that rushed him.

Hearing the sound of the Houdini splicer beginning to reappear, Omega redoubled his efforts, pushing against the Brute as hard as he could, grinding his feet against the floor with a grunt until, eventually, he lost his footing, the Big Daddy pushing him along like a deer tethered to a truck, breaking through yet another wall in the room as he and the Brute came to a crash.

The Brute and Omega had both ended up on the ground, groaning as they slowly stood themselves up to end the fight. Ready to finish this, Omega rose his ESU and began to charge at the splicer before he could completely get to his feet. He was stopped short, however, as a ball of flame pelted his helmet, staggering him and stopping his charge.

"Don't worry Hun, I've got him!" The splicer yelled as she entered the room with them, launching another hail fire at the metal feline. Out of the three shots, two of them hit, barely phasing the guardian as let out slight grunts of pain and irritation, but the other went wide to the left.

Omega and the Brute splicer involuntarily followed the fireball's flight, watching as it flew through the air and into a group of familiar red canisters, cracking one of the containers and causing flaming gas to leak out of its side as it rolled to the others, pressure building in it as it threatened to explode.

Looking at the canisters, the three stopped their combat for the moment, both the Brute and the Big Daddy turning to look at the surprised looking Houdini splicer. "... Oops." She said, unsure of what else she could really say in this situation.

"Now dear, y'know I love ya," the Brute began. "but you're a right twit."

"You got that righ-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fluttershy and Rarity ran down the halls of Fort Frolic as fast as their legs could carry them, as per Omega's demand, desperately seeking the bathysphere as they heard the sounds of combat behind them. Loud bangs, crashes, and the roaring of their angered friend rang through the air as they ran, constantly scanning their surroundings to be sure that no other splicer had followed them.

Soon, the two mares made it to the entrance of Fort Frolic, where the four slot machines laid, momentarily slowing their run to a halt as they paused to catch their breath.

"Do... Do you think... He's going to be okay?" Fluttershy asked through her labored pants, worried for her large friend as she heard his continued roaring come from the direction which they had come. Rarity looked up at her friend, ignoring the fact that she herself was sweating, of all things, in her panicked state.

"Come now dear... Have more... Faith in Omega... Why, Im certain that he'll come out of there any sec-" Rarity was quickly cut off as a loud bang filled the air, the ground below the two of them trembling in aftershock.

Looking up the stairs, Rarity couldn't find any words as she noticed the smoke that stuck to the ceiling, slowly fading as the beeping of a fire alarm marked the sound of a large flame being washed out.

Rarity and Fluttershy stayed frozen like this for a moment or two, their eyes widened and mouths agape at the sudden violent explosion. A green glow appeared behind them, drawing their attention as they turned toward a green chamber similar to the one that Omega had recently exited just the other day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That makes 50.

As the light of the vita-chamber faded, giving me a clear view of my surroundings once again, I couldn't help but to chuckle as I thought back to that Hoidini splicer's idiocy. Funny, she was smart enough to stage an attack like that, yet she couldn't manage to correctly use the one thing that she could.

The chamber doors slid open, a slight sense of surprise coming to me as I noticed that Rarity and Fluttershy were already standing there, outside of where I had been brought back. Hadn't I told them to head back to the bathysphere?

I shook my head in slight irritation as I made my way towards the two. By the looks of them, I could tell that the recent explosion had surprised the hell out of them. I couldn't really blame them, I guess. Though, its not like explosions are rare down here.

Groaning, I motioned for the two to follow me, which seemed to break them out of their momentary trances. My repair was done, the voice in the back of my head was quiet, for now, and best of all, I had a new suit. Good thing too, I really didn't want to walk around rapture with a bent and charred suit.

-------------------------------------

The flickering of the projector screen and dimming of the room's light had become nothing more than a daily occurrence by now. Definitely an improvement from when I was tempted to smash the thing, it scared me so much.

Fluttershy and Rarity quickly made their way out from under the bed covers and in front of the projector screen, myself sitting down on the couch nearby, watching as the screen turned from its usual white into a much more colorful and lively scene, filled with ponies and glee.

... Something about that sounded extremely ridiculous.

"Hello girls!" Rarity greeted, herself and Fluttershy waving at the screen full of their friends and loved ones. The ponies on the screen happily waved back, Sweetie Belle even turning in my direction and doing the same. I gave her my own short gesture of acknowledgement in return, not wanting to interrupt my charges or their friends. Interestingly enough though, I could see that the princesses were there as well this time.

"Girls, I've got great ne-" Twilight stopped herself as she looked over Rarity and Fluttershy, raising a brow in an odd combination of curiosity and confusion. "Um... What happened?" She asked.

I looked to the girls in confusion, though it took me little to no time to realize that Twilight had been referring to the dirt and filth that had culminated into both of their coats, likely from their explorations in the theater.

The girls looked to each other with raised brows, blushing slightly as they only now noticed their dirtied coats and manes. "Oh my word!" Rarity exclaimed as she looked herself over. "How had I not noticed?! This is unsanitary!"

I rolled my eyes, a smile on my face as Rarity shifted to her more 'lady-like' self. Fluttershy seemed embarrassed by the condition of her coat herself, hiding under her mane and trying to minimize her friend's view on her.

Seeing that this wasn't going anywhere, I spoke up, preferring to save my charges from further embarrassment.

"We HaD a biT OF tRouBle. NothINg mAJoR." I told them, crossing my arms as the other ponies shifted their attention to me.

"Trouble? What do you mean 'trouble'?" Rainbow Dash asked, tilting her head questioningly to the side. Not really wanting to go into too much detail of what happened, especially with Sweetie Belle being there, I decided to just give them the short version of the story.

"LeTs juST SaY tHAt I fOunD oUt whY peOPlE in TheaTer tEll eaCh OtheR to 'BreAK a LeG'." Rarity and Fluttershy flinched at this, momentarily stopping their self-conscious episodes, while the ponies on the other side of the portal looked on in confusion.

"... Anyways, like I was about to say, I've got some great news!" Twilight said, bouncing slightly and smiling in pure giddiness. The princesses also seemed to smile as well.

"Yes. In our research, we believe we may have found a solution for the pressing matter that you two are in." Princess Luna added. My eyes widened as she said this, an idea of what news was to come already beginning to form.

Fluttershy and Rarity seemed to be reaching a similar conclusion as well, their own eyes widening as small smiles came to their faces.

"Y-... You mean?" Fluttershy stammered. Princess Celestia nodded at her, confirming her, Rarity, and I's suspicions.

"We believe that we have found a way to bring you back from Rapture."

Author's Notes:

Calm and cool. Just stay caaaaallllm, and coooooollll-

200 likes!!!!!

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YMPAH67f4o]

Whoo!

Oh, and on a side note, for those of you who may not know, I just wanna thank Shadow Bolt once again for his help with the new cover art! Helped me out a lot there bud! So everyone, don't forget to give a good ol' Internet thanks to your fellow reader.

As for the story wise part of my author note, lets just say that things don't always stay the same, as you can probably tell by now. Some changes can be minor, but some, may change everything.

(There's your hint. That's all you get. No seconds for you!)