The following is a transcript recorded from the care facilities of the Canterlot Military, attending physician Marey Ainsworth present with Captain Iron Rivet after the disastrous results of the first attempt to enter ‘Ground Zero’.

Marey Ainsworth: Hello again Mr. Rivet, it’s good to see you again.

Iron Rivet: Hello ma’am.

*silence for approx. 1 minute*

MA: -ahem- So tell me, are you sleeping any better?

IR: No.

*Another period of silence*

MA: Are you taking the medications I prescribed to you?

IR: No.

MA: Why is that Mr. Rivet?

*No answer from patient for 1 minute*

MA: Captain?

IR: With all due respect to your profession ma’am, I’m only here to please those uptight folks in processin’. Just sign me off and I’ll be outta yer mane ma’am.

MA: I see, well unfortunately I happen to care about the mental welfare of my patients Captain, and you sir are my patient until I say otherwise, now, let’s start at the beginning shall we?

IR: I don’t want to, I don’t have any desire to go over that… I don’t want to remember what happened anymore, not with you, not with anypony, y’hear?

MA: Well, I suppose we could spend the next three hours glaring daggers at each other then, but I’m not moving from this couch until you speak to me, you’ve been stonewalling me for days, living up to your namesake I’d imagine.

IR: *snorts*

MA: We will get to this one day Captain, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes.

IR: …Yeah, I reckon you will at that… Fine.

MA: hmm?

IR: Ah said ‘fine’, ah’ll tell ya what happened.

MA: R-really? I had expected… well, don’t let me stall you, please, tell me.

IR: It started like most any other Op ah’ve done, an’ ah’ve done quite a number, six of us went in, standard recon team fer an urban setting, breaks into two three-pony groups if things go hooves up to mobility. Sergeant Brazen Brass was mah second, goddess rest his bones…

Silence lasts for approximately a minute before the captain continues.

IR: The town was a shell, looked like it’d been bombed out, hadn’t seen that kind’o destruction since the Griffin Wars, the buildin’s were barely standin’, there was ash everywhere like a great fire’d washed through the place, even the air tasted like smoke. Ashes were fallin’ from the sky like snowflakes, didn’t see nopony as we went in from the north.

MA: There were… no survivors? The town was just… empty?

IR: *snorts* No ma’am, on both counts, no survivors, and… not empty.

MA: What?

IR: There were things… nightmares walkin’ like ponies, sometimes we’d see’m, most times not. They was like shadows, ah’m no wizard ma’am but if it was like they wasn’t part of our world, like they was slidin’ in through cracks for a few seconds and we’d see’m then they’d be gone.

MA: Was it one of those things that…?

IR: No… no it was not, the thing what killed mah men, killed mah best friend…

Subject breaks down for several minutes, hyperventilating and bordering on hysterics before composing himself.

IR: Ma’am, the thing what killed mah men was… was… I mean to say it looked like… a little bit, but there was differences…

MA: Tell me what you saw Captain Rivet, please, I need to know.

IR: She was… looked like she was hurt real bad, her skin all torn up, bleedin’ an’…

MA: She? It was a mare?

IR: No… well yes but… ma’am… it was… it looked like the Princess…

Silence for several minutes.

MA: W-what?

IR: I said it wa-

MA: I heard what you said Captain, but do you expect me to believe Princess Celestia murdered your entire squad?

Both ponies silent for a moment before the Captain responds, his voice is low and deadly now.

IR: No ma’am I do not, because that… thing… was not mah Princess, it was a monster, a demon, a nightmare or… somethin’, it sure as my dead granpappy’s shorts was not. Mah. Princess.

MA: But you said-

IR: Ah know what ah said and ah know what ah saw, that thing, it only looked like her, it changed though… got… bad… evil, all blades and teeth and screamin’… never in my life will ah forget the moment it changed. And ah swear on mah best friends dyin’ breath, that ah will never know a peaceful night of sleep ever again with that image on mah eyes. But you hear me missie, if you ever see her, see that wounded thing what looks like our Princess, you call down an artillery strike or you get the flamin’ holy buck out of there. Do you hear me? You run!

At this point the Captain loses focus and becomes hysterical.