Uneasy was the perfect word for the situation, Applejack thought as she walked through the red-illuminated tram tunnels with her friends. A few moments ago, their car had come to a sudden halt. Of course, something just had to go wrong. But there was something Applejack had noticed during their trek through these eerie tunnels. This place had had an odd feeling from the beginning. Although the obvious was that it wasn’t good, there was a tone of terror here. She shook slightly but couldn’t let this place get to her.

She didn’t know what was happening, but judging from the way her skin crawled, it couldn’t be good. ‘Something ain’t right. I can’t tell what’s causin’ it, but it sure ain’t good.’

“Ugh. This red light is absolutely horrid. It’s starting to strain my eyes,” Rarity complained, a hoof raised above her eyes.

“You know, I think I’m gonna agree with Rarity on this one,” Rainbow Dash said, flying above the fashionista. “This stupid light’s screwing with my eyes. I can hardly see what’s at the end of this tunnel.” She squinted, but from the frown on her lips, it seemed that the action didn’t help.

Applejack sighed and turned to Spitfire. “So what’s our plan? ‘Cause wandering around the tunnels ain’t gonna get us nowhere.”

“Well… seeing as how we don’t know which tunnel leads where, I think we’re forced to make an exception this time.” Spitfire shook her head. “I wished there were a map in that tram car. Heck, you’d think they’d leave one up here in the tunnels in case any of their workers got lost. Just seems like a bad idea.”

“Yeah. Well, the sooner we get out of these tunnels, the better. Although this place isn’t that creepy.” Applejack thought she caught a lie in the way she spoke, a tone that was rare in Rainbow Dash’s case. “I’d prefer if we got some fresh air here soon.”

Applejack opened her mouth to speak but noticed Rarity’s ears facing the red-lit tunnel in front of them. “Girls.” She spoke up and glanced over her shoulder. “I think somepony is coming.”

She followed suit and heard the distinct clip-clop sounds. “And whoever it is, they sound like they’re in a hurry.” Spitfire quickly scanned the area around them and pointed at a small crevice. She followed Spitfire’s example and saw another one on the opposite end. “Okay, Rainbow, you’re with me. Rarity, Applejack, you go to the other one. When this pony comes by, I’ll catch them by surprise and force them to tell us the way out of here.”

Applejack nodded and quickly trotted to the crevice. She went in first and watched Rarity back up into it. Although it wasn’t the most comfortable of circumstances, what with Applejack forced into a corner, she had to go along with it. Returning her attention to the hoofsteps, their echo got louder and closer. As the pony’s shadow blurred past them, Spitfire quickly took off from her hiding place.

Applejack pushed Rarity out from the crevice, getting an annoyed grunt from her. But Applejack ignored it and watched as Spitfire pinned the pony to the ground. Rushing to the Wonderbolt’s side, she looked down to the pony Spitfire caught, only to gasp in surprise. “Trixie?”

Staring down at the showpony, what once was a gaze of fear turned into joy as she pushed Spitfire aside and hugged Applejack. “Oh, sweet Celestia! I found somepony I know!”

“Trixie!?” Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash and Rarity, until Rainbow spoke again, “What the hay are you doing here?”

Trixie’s smile quickly disappeared. “Trixie was dragged here along with some other ponies. We’ve been stuck down here for days and treated with su--”

“Okay, slow down there, Trixie.” Applejack watched as Trixie shook uncontrollably. Her frantic breaths slowly halted, but the shaking was still there. “Now, you said there are other ponies here, right?” Trixie nodded. “Okay, so where are they?”

“Trixie… I promised them that I’d bring you to them.” For the first while in Applejack’s life, she was surprised that Trixie wasn’t speaking in the third person as much as she usually did. But then again, with the trauma she must’ve went through, anypony would’ve stopped doing something they normally would. Trixie quickly rushed past her and stopped before waving to the group. “Quickly. They’re this way!”

Applejack watched as the others hesitated. But Spitfire was the first one to follow Trixie. Rainbow Dash quickly followed suit before Applejack and Rarity took off after them. The group slowly formed together as they followed Trixie. As to where, they could only guess. “Hey, Trixie?” Spitfire asked. “How long were you and these other ponies down here for?”

“I… I don’t know. About a couple days or so? Maybe more… we lost track of time after being stuck down here.” Trixie’s gaze weakened as she closed her eyes halfway. “We… there’s not many left.”

“What do you mean?” Spitfire raised an eyebrow as the group continued forward.

“We’re… we’re being exper--” Trixie stopped, the others halting with her. She looked around a corner and turned to the group. “There’s a couple guards to the right here. They won’t be a problem since we’re still going straight ahead.”

“So long as they’re quiet, we won’t have to do anything about them,” Spitfire added. Trixie nodded and quietly moved forward. Spitfire and Rainbow silently flew past the opening. Applejack kept watch over the two, waiting as Rarity gently tiptoed over to the others.

Yet the more she watched these guards, the more she got the impression that they were searching for something. ‘What are they lookin’ for? Trixie?’ It was plausible. But she wasn’t sure of the idea. ‘Why do they keep starin’ up at the vents?’

“Applejack!” She turned to the quiet whisper of her name and saw Spitfire ushering her over. Slowly, Applejack moved over to the other side and sighed as she made it past the opening. The others quickly moved ahead and as she followed, Applejack heard one of the ponies behind her gasp, yet the noise was cut off in an instant. She stopped. Applejack turned around and slowly approached the opening down a different direction.

Whatever was going on, she couldn’t help but feel like she had to take a look. ‘Just one peek. And then I’ll head back with the others.’ Applejack gently leaned her head past the corner of the large tunnel. The guards were gone, their crossbows on the metal floor. Yet something dripped on the ground where they once stood. She slowly followed the source of this dripping, her eyes widening at what she saw. There was one of the guards, eyes wide behind the mask. Something had pierced the pony’s chest. When she saw the spear tip of a blade, black as night, Applejack covered her mouth before she screamed, quickly retreating her head back to the corner.

With frantic breaths, the vision of that Xenomorph over top of her became more vivid than ever. Her heart beating faster and faster, she felt lightheaded. “Applejack.” She jumped and screamed into her hooves again. The others flinched as well, eyes wide at her reaction. Rarity stood in front of the others. “Applejack what’s wrong?”

Visibly shaking, Applejack pointed a hoof around the corner. The others leaned their heads out into the open. “Where are the guards?” Spitfire asked.

Applejack moved behind the others and looked up to the vent. The guard she saw earlier was still there, but the spear tip wasn’t. “Th-th-they’re up there…”

As she said that, she heard Rarity let out a quiet shriek. And from the looks of it, she was trying to contain her terror. “W-what in the… what did that?” Spitfire took a step back.

“T-that’s… what we’re up against,” Rainbow quietly murmured, shaking as she answered the Wonderbolt. “It’s that… freak.”

“A Xenomorph can do that?” Applejack couldn’t blame Spitfire’s disbelief. After all, when they first encountered such a creature, they were all surprised by what it could do. “How the heck did it get two guards up to that vent? That’s at least fifteen feet from the ground.”

“Wait a minute. Has anypony else seen our two Royal Guards?” Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash. When she glanced over her shoulder, the two were nowhere to be found.

“Could've they gotten lost?” Rarity asked.

“They shouldn’t be gone. They were with us the whole time.” Spitfire took a couple steps down where everypony was looking. “How could they have disappeared on us? Do you think it was that creature… the Xenomorph; is it responsible for our guards as well?”

“I…” Applejack turned to Trixie, watching as she rubbed her right foreleg. “There’s something I was going to tell you when we got back. But I guess it seems now is a better time.” Trixie gulped, shivering until she continued, “There are only a few remaining ponies left. The rest of the other captured ponies are dead.”

“Wait, what do you mean?” Rarity asked, eyes slightly closed as it looked like she was preparing herself.

“That… thing, whatever it is, there’s more of them. If Trixie… if I remember… eight others died. That means there are eight creatures.”

It was silent. Applejack’s mouth was slightly agape. “Yah mean to tell us… there’s eight of them…”

“What?” Rainbow backed up to the wall, frantically looking in all directions. “There’s eight of these things running around this place?”

A whimper sounded off at Applejack’s right side, which she turned to see Rarity struggling to hold it in. She quietly made her way towards the fashionista and reached a hoof out to her. “Rarity… you doin’ okay there?”

Rarity turned to her and froze, shaking. She took a quick breath in and nodded. “I’ll… I’ll be fine.”

Applejack heard a hoof stomping the ground, turning to Spitfire. “I know that we’re all scared. Heck, I don’t know what to do if we encounter this creature. But we have to stick together.” Everypony hesitantly nodded. She turned to Trixie and asked, “How much farther till we reach this chamber?”

“It shouldn’t be too long now. I… I think we’re at the halfway point.”

Spitfire nodded and turned to the others. “Let’s keep going.” Without a word, the group quickly took off again, silently trotting as they made their way through the tunnels. Yet as they passed another opening, a screamed disturbed their quiet trek. “Hold up.”

“Where do you think it came from?” Rainbow Dash asked, the entire group looking down the four different tunnels.

The pony screamed again, and Spitfire turned to the west tunnel. “This way.” Applejack followed behind Rainbow Dash as they rushed towards the screams. Although she had a possible idea to what was causing this stallion’s cries, she just wished it wouldn’t be the case. They came to an opening, and Applejack’s eyes widened at the sight in front of her. There was a Neighland scientist, screaming as a creature towered above him, jaw over his neck as it violently shook him.

There was a sudden snap, bones crunching as the scientist’s cries quickly vanished. Applejack quickly recognized the Xenomorph over top of his body, the unicorn’s neck hanging loosely. It was a bit smaller than the one she had seen in Ponyville, but not by much. She flinched as it tore into the stallion’s flesh. She turned to Spitfire, who silently pointed to the direction they came. The group quietly backed away.

Rarity quietly whimpered, prompting Applejack to move a hoof over her mouth. But Applejack looked over to the Xenomorph and saw that it had stopped. It turned around towards them and let out a loud hiss. “Run!” Spitfire yelled. Which everypony turned around and ran back the way they came. However, as Applejack ran, the others were gaining more ground, which separated her from them.

She looked behind her and watched as the Xenomorph jumped onto the hallway’s wall she was in. It kept jumping from one side to the other, closing in on her. A throbbing sensation hit her right shoulder hard, causing her to wince in pain. ‘Mah dang shoulder!’ She glanced back at a screech and saw that it had leaped and was about to land right on top of her.

In a blur, it was thrown back down the hallway and into the wall. Applejack looked up and saw Rainbow Dash flying above. “Come on! Move faster!”

“I can’t go any faster!” Applejack yelled back. She looked back again and saw that the Xenomorph got back up. It screeched at the two and quickly took off after them. Applejack felt her hooves leave the ground. She looked up at Rainbow who flew as fast as she could while carrying Applejack. When she glanced back at it, the Xenomorph was slowly gaining on them. “Ah know now’s not a good time, Rainbow, but is there any way you can fly faster!?”

“I’m trying!” Rainbow yelled as she glanced back at the alien behind them.

Applejack looked down and saw the others below them. But when she looked up, there was a chamber right in front of them. “Rainbow, look out!” She felt the wind rush past her as she stopped inside the large chamber.

“Oh no, there’s no way out!” Spitfire yelled from below. Rainbow flew Applejack down as they turned around. The heavy sounds of footsteps behind them were getting louder and louder.

“What do we do now?!” Rarity screamed, hyperventilating as she backed up to the wall.

Applejack scanned the chamber, but didn’t see any other exit. “I guess there’s only one option left.” She turned to Spitfire, who turned towards the only entrance. “Trixie, get behind us!”

Once Trixie did, the Xenomorph landed directly at the entrance. It screamed at the ponies that were a distance away from it. “A-are we really going to f-fight that thing?” Rarity stammered as she stood next to Applejack.

“I don’t like it either. But if we want to survive, we need to get rid of this thing before it kills all of us!” Spitfire quickly glanced back to the others, returning her gaze to the dark brown Xenomorph. She flared her wings, as did Rainbow Dash.

The alien jumped high into the air, but Applejack quickly ran below it. She kicked as hard as she could, the Xenomorph flying back into the tunnel. She heard a loud crash and scuttled back to the group. They heard it roar in frustration before watching it jump back into the chamber. Its exterior ribcage was cracked, but it only seemed to shrug the injury off. “What? It’s still up!?” Spitfire turned to Applejack. “I need you to try that again! You’re stronger than that!”

As Applejack went to talk, the Xenomorph jumped again. The group split up this time, Spitfire with Rainbow and Rarity moving aside with Applejack. “I won’t get another chance. It’ll be ready for it.”

“What!?” Spitfire’s eyes widened as she and Rainbow flew out of the way, Rainbow picking up Trixie and dropping her off by the others. Rainbow quickly sped towards it and slammed it into the ground. She made a hasty retreat as its tail came around for a swipe, a few strands of her tail hair cut off as she withdrew. The Xenomorph screeched and jumped up to the ceiling. The roof cracked as it landed, Rainbow Dash yelping as she hastily dodged each attack.

She screamed as its tail scored a gash across the left side of her barrel. Spitfire kicked the Xenomorph off the ceiling, the Alien hitting the adjacent wall hard as it slid down to the floor. It hissed in annoyance and turned towards Rarity and Applejack. It quickly got up and sprinted towards them. Applejack turned to see light blue flashes of light coming from Rarity’s horn as she tried to hit the Xenomorph. It easily maneuvered around each bolt, roaring at its attacker.

“Rarity! I know you’re not strong with fightin’ magic, but yah need to hit that thang!”

“I’m trying, Applejack!” Rarity screamed, eyes wide as each bolt missed. When it jumped at them, she shrieked and shot at it again, this time making contact against the Alien. It pierced through the broken ribcage, and the Xenomorph screeched in pain as the force of it sent it skidding back, but only a few feet. The two mares quickly stepped back, but Applejack flinched when she heard Rarity scream. She looked down, eyes wide as she gasped.

The Xenomorph’s acid blood had splattered around them, sizzling against the concrete and steel. But Rarity’s hoof… drops of the corrosive blood had been sprayed on it. There was no way they could’ve avoided this. Rarity didn’t have the magic capability to cast the appropriate anti-acid spell on them but did her best to remove as much of it as she could before it could eat the flesh around her hoof away. Applejack turned to the Xenomorph, its lips parted back as it showed its metal-like teeth. The ground cracked in front of it as Spitfire landed. She darted right towards it, kicking it hard and sending it back. It screeched and slammed its tail against her. She let out an audible yelp, sent straight towards the wall.

Spitfire hit the wall hard, eyes fluttering before she fell to the ground. “Spitfire!” Rainbow Dash cried out. She glared at the alien, watching it roar at the others.

“Rainbow Dash! Get Spitfire over here!”

Rainbow nodded to Applejack, swiftly picking up the downed Wonderbolt in one swoop. She landed next to her and Rarity. Rainbow quickly pressed a hoof against Spitfire’s neck and looked up. “Okay… she still has a pulse.” It was good to know that Spitfire was still alive. The only bad part was she was knocked unconscious.

“Well this is bad,” Applejack murmured, watching as the Xenomorph cautiously approached them. From the looks of it, one would suspect it was scared. Yet she knew all too well what it was doing. It was sizing them all up, using that big brain it had.

“Any more ideas… girls…” Trixie shuddered as her pupils shrank.

Applejack raised a hoof to her head, breaths coming quickly. Nothing came to mind. She looked to Rainbow Dash, but she seemed at a loss for words. She turned to the Xenomorph, its tail flicking around, the spear at the end of its tail glinting in the light. It felt like the end was upon them. They’d all die to this terrifying creature. She turned to Rarity, the mare whimpered as the acid burn continued to sting at her hoof. “Rarity.” The mare in question opened one eye. “Do you have any ideas?”

Rarity turned towards the monster. There was a flicker in her eye. Something caught her attention before she turned to Applejack. “Y-you see that large crack up on the ceiling, l-left side to the entrance?” She followed her directions and spotted some large mass of concrete and steel.

She turned to Rarity. “Yah mean that unstable lookin’ piece of metal?” Rarity nodded. The Xenomorph jumped at them. Rarity shot at it again, but it ducked under the bolt like it was nothing. Applejack, however, quickly got underneath it and kicked away at it again. The Xenomorph roared as it was knocked back to the tunnel. Applejack backed up and turned to Rarity. “So what do we do?”

“I… I know I’m not as strong in magic as Twilight… b-but if you could get it underneath that specific area, I c-could possibly force it on top of the Xenomorph.”

Applejack looked back to the specific spot on the ceiling. ‘I… really hope that Rarity’s right.’ She turned to Rainbow Dash and said, “Okay. Before that thing gets back up, we need to get it underneath there.” She pointed a hoof towards the ceiling. “Yah see all those cracks?” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Rarity’s gonna blow it up with her magic. We need ta get that alien under it.”

Rainbow Dash gulped and shakily nodded. “Okay…” She quickly breathed in and frowned, nodding again with more fervor. The Xenomorph jumped back into the chamber. Rainbow Dash flew up and kicked as hard as she could. It skidded on the ground, growling as it thrust its tail. Rainbow yelped and ducked under the strike.

Applejack charged and kicked it with both back legs again while it was distracted. The creature screeched in annoyance as it skidded closer to the unstable ceiling. It growled and looked from one pony to the other. Rainbow was the first one to charge again. It hissed and struck again with its tail, but as Rainbow dodged it, the tail curled and wrapped tightly around her frame. “Rainbow!” Applejack screamed and charged the Xenomorph. However, it dodged her kick. She felt its clawed hand grab one of her legs.

Her world turned around. The air was knocked from her chest as her back hit the floor hard. It slammed its right hand against her neck, Applejack desperately trying to lift it off. It growled and opened its mouth, slime dripping down her muzzle. The weight suddenly lifted off. Two beams of light, one light blue and one pale magenta, hit it at once. Rainbow Dash yelped as she was tossed aside. Applejack glanced back and saw both Trixie and Rarity firing off at the creature. Applejack got up and turned to the Xenomorph, seeing her chance.

Quickly as she could, she sprinted at the alien and jumped. She turned around so her right back leg was pointed straight at the creature. Time seemed to slow down. The beams of magic stopped firing. The creature looked up, but screeched as Applejack’s leg made contact. “This one’s for mah brother!” she yelled as the Xenomorph was knocked straight into the wall. The force shook the ceiling above it.

But it didn’t collapse. She looked back and watched as Trixie and Rarity shot at the ceiling. The ground shook as small bits of debris crumbled around the Xenomorph as it screeched in alarm. Applejack turned around and ran away but screamed as a piercing pain struck her left leg. The roaring of the Xenomorph died down as the ceiling came down in one loud boom. Dust blew over her. Applejack let out another cry at the pain in her leg.

She looked down, eyes widened at the sight of its spear-like tail punctured through her left leg’s gaskin. The pain shot up and down her nerves. She closed her eyes and groaned. Applejack felt a hoof over her and saw Rainbow Dash. “Thank goddess you’re okay!” Her friend wrapped her hooves around her. She saw Trixie helping Rarity over Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Is it… dead?” Trixie quietly murmured.

Rarity looked up to the pile of debris. Applejack shakily did the same. From the tail that poked out underneath the rubble, steam poured out from the crevices of the pile. Applejack heard her friends sigh in relief. They all managed to kill one Xenomorph, and yet that was only one down. If it was that difficult to kill one without the help of Twilight or Celestia, then they were all in big trouble.

“Applejack… are you going to be okay?” Applejack looked down to her leg. She returned her attention to Rarity.

“Does it look like Ah’m havin’ a fun time?” She saw her reaction before Applejack winced at the throbbing pain. “Sorry… I’m just in a lot of pain right now.”

“Come on, let’s help get it out of her.” Applejack froze at the solution.

“Okay. I said it hurts, but I don’t know if I wan--”

“You want this spear in your leg?” Applejack looked up to Rainbow Dash. She shakily shook her head. “Okay. Just let us do this alright? I know it’s going to hurt a lot, but you’ve gotta trust me on this one.”

Applejack sat upright, but each movement felt like she had a hoof over an open firepit. She watched as Rainbow Dash grabbed the tail. Applejack yelped at the pain that came next. She forced her mouth shut, but the pained screams came anyway. With one sickening squelch, the object was gone. But blood poured profusely from the wound. She closed her eyes and kept on breathing. Her leg felt cold, and slowly the same feeling coursed over her body.

The voices of her friends were muffled, and her vision blurred. Applejack felt the world pass her by. Then a burning sensation brought her out of the sub-conscious state; she screamed at the pain centered in her wound. She looked down and saw Trixie standing over her wound. “I’m sorry! It was the only way to stop you from bleeding.”

Then came the ripping of cloth. She looked over to see Rainbow Dash ripping Spitfire’s Wonderbolt’s uniform. “Well… we gotta bind Rarity’s wound with something. Same going for me.” She wrapped part of around her waist, covering the bleeding wound on her side.

Rainbow passed it over to Rarity. She lifted it in her light blue aura and wrapped it around her acid-eaten hoof. The hoof was melted down to a nub, ruining Rarity’s perfect hooficure, and there were burns on the surrounding fur and flesh. The hoof would grow back, but the tender flesh would need to be covered until then. She flinched, but she continued to wrap it gently as she could. “T-too bad I’m ruining a nice outfit…”

Applejack stood up. She tried to put pressure on her leg, but the stinging sensation said otherwise. She kept it from the ground and shuffled along on three legs. “Is… e-everypony ready to move onward?”

“I’ve gotta get Spitfire. Me and Trixie can carry her. You and Rarity can help support each other.” Applejack nodded at the idea. She lowered herself underneath Rarity’s bad hoof. Rarity only groaned a little, but it seemed to work. They watched as Rainbow Dash and Trixie lifted Spitfire on their backs and quickly trotted to their side.

“We’re only a short distance from the chamber me and the other ponies were put into.” Trixie said. “Are you two able to keep moving?”

Applejack nodded. “Don’t yah worry. We’ll be fine.” With that, Rainbow and Trixie took the lead. They moved slowly as Applejack limped alongside Rarity.

“Applejack…” She turned to Rarity. “Do… d-do you think we’re going to make it?”

She looked down as they walked through the red illuminated tunnels. Their chances at the moment didn’t look good, yet there was some sliver of hope there. They just had to keep moving. “I… I know things look rough now. We’re injured and not in good shape. But… we’ll get through this. We just need ta stick together.” It was the honest reply. Sure, it didn’t sound good, but Applejack had to keep their morale up.

Rarity slowly nodded. “And have hope… right?”

Applejack returned the gesture. She smiled and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll get through this.” They just had to. Applejack closed her eyes for a brief moment. ‘We’ll get through this… somehow.’

The scream of a stallion was cut short as a dark olive tail burst through his masked muzzle. Specimen Six hissed and pulled her tail away in a quick swipe, cutting off the left side of the stallion’s head. She turned to her sister, Specimen Eight, who slammed two ponies into the ground, her claw-hands crushing the two into bloody pulps. She lifted her crested head and roared into the tunnel, a spine-chilling sound which sent some of the ponies running. Six screeched and took off after one. She jumped over top of the pony, but she stopped and slid in front of it as her Queen’s tail pierced the pony’s stomach.

Six watched as her Queen lifted the pony up. The mare screamed, but her Queen only growled as she pulled the mare apart with a terrifying ease, separating the mare into two halves before tossing her aside. Six turned to the others running. She ran and pulled back one pony, who screamed as the Xenomorph pinned him down. Six held him down and immediately bit into his head with her second mouth, the stallion shuddering for only a moment until she dropped the corpse. She took a step forward before she growled, a faint tremor of discomfort rippling in her head before silencing.

She was able glance over to her sibling and her Queen, seeing that the two shared the same feeling. The Queen turned to her and hissed before she turned to the ponies and roared. Although none of the ponies would ever have understood Six’s communication, what she heard from her mother rang loud and clear. Six turned to the way they came, which she saw Eight do the same. Even her Queen had told her Praetorian to leave her, although her Queen was sure that she could deal with these ponies. It was clear though. That feeling she had. It was the sensation of death. One of her siblings must’ve been killed. She could see her Queen’s thoughts clearly. Three of these equines were responsible for the death of one of her sisters. She roared into the hallway, as did Eight before they took off, sent by the Queen to assist the rest of their siblings in killing off the ponies.

Lights flickered in Bishop’s room. His gaze never wavered from the desk. Everything was going wrong. He flicked his tail once and grunted. ‘They’re all out, even the Queen.’ He didn’t have to calculate the amount of damage this would cost. Millions of bits were being wasted. But that wasn’t the problem; he had enough money to rebuild this place three times over.

The problem was the loss of life. How many ponies were dying at this moment? From his regular Neighland-Yupony guards, to his scientists, and even more. He had watched ponies die during the construction of the entire facility. He had watched ponies burn alive during the configuration of his gem-powered generator. Most recently, he saw ponies die at the claws of these Xenomorphs, including Prince Blueblood. So many ponies dead. Though their lives meant little to Neighland, he still needed his employees to contain the situation.

And now there were possibly hundreds more dying. Neighland ran the numbers in his head. ‘Over three-hundred-fifty workers. There are nine Xenomorphs. The total amount of casualties are going to spark up to a possible one-hundred-fifty-two death rate. And that’s just the minimum amount.’ His muzzle contorted with so many emotions. He frowned; frustration was the biggest one. The containment procedures were simple. Why were his guards taking so long?

Bishop turned to the new pair of headsets resting upon his desk. He lifted it in a greenish-gray aura over his head, getting it in a comfortable position as the headset lit up in the color of his aura. Static invaded his ears for a brief moment before a voice came from them. “Hello, Bishop Neighland.”

“Greetings, Captain. How is the capture of our nine specimens coming along?” It was quiet, the silence lasting for more than a few seconds. What was taking him so long to respond? “Captain? Is everything alright?”

“...No.” Bishop sat there for a few seconds, waiting for the captain to continue. “We’ve lost almost half of our guard force. The last report I got was… um… about fifty guards killed in action. Fifteen are missing and assumed dead.” His breathing shuddered for a moment. “W-we’ve also gotten a report that about half of our scientists and other workers have gone missing as well.”

“And… that is important to me?” In truth, Bishop wasn’t exactly right there, but there were more pressing concerns. “What about the Xenomorphs? Have you captured any of them?

“The c-containment efforts are… um, not going as planned. None of the Xenomorphs have been captured.” Bishop didn’t even flinch at the news. His frown never grew or receded. “My forces at the front have come back. There’s only so many of us left. The ones who made it back said that the Queen is still coming this way. But Specimen Six and Eight went the other way.”

This behavior was certainly new. Why did they leave their Queen? “Then it should be easier for you to contain her. Do everything in your power to capture Specimen Zero.”

“W-we’ll try. But, but I’m not sure we can. She’s so strong… she’s killed so many without breaking a sweat. We--” The roar of the Queen echoed in the static. The captain’s breathing increased before he said, “We’ll try…” The Queen let out another roar before the connection cut off. Bishop sat there as the roars of the Queen echoed in through his thoughts. He set down the headset gently and stared at it for a moment longer. Then he turned to a pencil at his right, picking it up with his magic. The pencil shuddered after a couple moments, then it simply broke in half. He tossed it into a trashcan at the left side of his desk. ‘Useless ponies should just be thrown away.’

He sighed and rubbed his temple with his right hoof. “Mr. Neighland?” Bishop looked up to the guard standing at the right side of his door. “Are you alright?”

Bishop gave a slight nod and he turned his chair around. Facing the windows, he stared out at the other three buildings. Everything was falling apart at the seams. All his plans laid to waste within one day. Yet even with all of these obstacles, Bishop smiled. “Yes, I am alright.” Bishop turned around and brought his attention to his two guards. “In fact, I have an idea. If the normal guards can’t handle this, then you, my personal guards shall assist me in capturing these Xenomorphs.”

The guards simply stared at him before nodding. “Of course.”

“But first, we must go acquire some weapons from the Research building.”

“And what if we run into any other ponies? What about the princesses?”

The princesses. He hadn’t forgotten about Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle. If they had and were surviving this mess then they would already know about the Xenomorphs. If that was the case, then there was only one option. “If we come across them, you are free to kill the princesses as well as their associates.” He paused for a moment before adding, “but there is one request.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Leave Princess Twilight Sparkle alone. There is a chance, however small, that I can convince Twilight to join me. She just needs a little more convincing.”

The guards only nodded. “We’ll spread the word among our ranks.” Bishop returned his gaze to the windows. He stood up and walked around his desk. The guards opened the door for him. Bishop planned to salvage all of this, and nopony, not even the princesses, was going to stop him from correcting the mistakes that were made this day. If they really desired to put all of this at an end, then they’d have to kill him first.