As Twilight made her way through the dark corridors, she ran her hand across the rough cement to guide herself through the dark catacombs, feel for vibrations in the walls, which would warn her if any skeletons were approaching. Her collar masked her magic aura, but it attracted the bionic abominations like moths to a flame. Taking it off was dangerous; her magic aura was easily detectable by Kaiser, and she'd rather have cyborg hunters on her tail than have Kaiser watching her every move. The scars on her back and neck would burn every time she thought of him; his wicked grin, his menacing presence, his incredible magic power. Twilight hadn't felt power like his before. It practically radiated off him like a campfire, a searing heat that burned like a cauldron. He was no ordinary unicorn, that much was clear to her, but something else was wrong with him. His power felt artificial, fake. It didn't belong to somepony else, but his magic was synthetic, manufactured.

As she drew closer to the end of the corridor, she saw streaks of light streaming through tiny holes in the ceiling. Twilight heard a faint voice escape the numerous openings, the voice of a mare, she was singing. It was sweet, soft, like a feather blowing in the wind, delicate and gentle, tranquil and calming. However, beneath the grace of the unseen mare, one could hear traces of doubt, confusion. Whoever she was, she felt trapped. There was also a peculiar ring to the mare's voice that made the noises around her muffled and distorted. The scraping noise became fuzzy and blurred like it was muffled by the mare's strange voice.

Twilight was not met with an intersection when she reached the end of the hall, all that greeted her was an abrupt end. She heard scratching noises not far behind, the scraping of metal claws against rough cement. The skeleton's were approaching, and fast. Twilight frantically surveyed her surroundings, looking for some glimmer of hope. Then, just above her head, she heard the mare's voice again, only a few meters away. As the scraping grew louder, Twilight grabbed a cement fragment on the ground and began to pound on a structurally weak area of the ceiling above, causing it to crack and crumble until there was nothing but a gaping hole covered by weak wooden planks. Twilight looked down the pitch black hallway and saw three pairs of purple, glowing eyes that stared into her soul. She was too late.

Twilight prepared for the worst, but to her surprise, the skeletons backed-off. Not because of her, but because of the singing. The field of distortion generated by the mare's singing was affecting them somehow, and they were beginning to spark and malfunction. They hissed and screeched softly as they retreated in terror.

"They must have sensitive ears..." Twilight hypothesized.

She tore off the wood and pulled herself through the opening, rolling over on her side, feeling the cool wood on her back. Twilight got up and dusted herself off, and as she lifted her head, her eyes met with a mare, the same mare that was singing before. She had a powder blue fur coat, and her grey eyes were large and innocent, filled with fear. Her long, wavy ginger hair was decorated with a single white hydrangea, and her locks stretched all the way down to her waist. The mare wore a white, long-sleeved dress that went all the way down to her knees and fanned out into a frilly lace. She squeaked a little as Twilight drew closer, and she grabbed a broom propped up against a nearby door, preparing to smack Twilight across the face.

Twilight raised her hands to protect herself, but after a brief moment of silence, she lowered her guard. The mare set aside the broom and inspected her gashes and scrapes, holding her hands gently with her left hand and methodically caressing the deep cuts on her forearms and chest with the other. It was then that Twilight felt her adrenaline wear off, and her knees began to buckle under the weight of what felt like a ton of bricks. The mare eased her onto a sofa nearby and laid Twilight on her back, propping her head up with a pillow. As she ran over to what appeared to be a small kitchen area, she covered up the hole in her floor with a rug, then moved over to her sink. She wet a cloth with a bottle of strange fluid and grabbed a box in one of her kitchen cupboards. Twilight then took a moment to breathe and analyze the change in scenery.

While the light of the opulent, crystal chandelier hanging above the circular room was dim, it was not nearly as dark as the labyrinth below. The walls were painted white and covered in flowery patterns of hydrangeas, and the floors were covered in dark hardwood. The design of the room seemed to match the mare's outfit completely, and Twilight could tell it was made specifically to house her. There was a shelf neatly lined with books of medicine and philosophy on one side, and on the other side, there was a wood fireplace and stove. The large metal smoke pipe attached to the top of the stove acted like a chimney and traveled up until it reached the ceiling, where it disappeared. There were two sofas across from one another next to her fireplace, and books were stacked high on the table in between the two pieces of furniture.

"Zis will sting..." The mare warned Twilight as she grabbed her scarred hand and ran the peroxide-soaked cloth over her forearm. Twilight recoiled and let out silent screams as she felt the peroxide cleanse her wounded flesh, and she gasped as the mare removed her tattered blouse to treat the scars on her back and chest.

The mare withdrew bandages from the box and wrapped Twilight's body until she looked like a mummy. Twilight grunted and gritted her teeth as she sat up and put her blue blouse back on, jerking her head to the side suddenly as she felt the burning sensation of the peroxide return with a vengeance. More suffering for relief. That was a bargain she couldn't turn down if her wounds were minor, but that was not the case.

"What's your name?" Twilight cleared her throat, realizing how hoarse her voice had become after being silent for so long. It felt like she had been underground for decades.

"It is Marie, mademoiselle." The mare spoke up. "I apologize for my threatening actions moments ago. I was merely frightened."

"I think you've already apologized," Twilight said as she looked down at her bandages. "Thank you. Who are you?"

"Oh, I'm-... I am..." She trailed off and began to bite down on her nails, looking down at the floor as she so. "Zis question baffles me so..."

"You don't know who you are?" Twilight asked her, and Marie massaged the side of her head to rouse sealed memories.

"No, I'm afraid not. Ze only thing I remember before all zis is fire, and ze face of a little filly, Evelyn." Marie shook her head in self-pity.

"Evelyn Aquarius?" Twilight chimed in, and Marie's face lit up.

"Oui... oui! You know her?" She beamed excitedly as she pulled Twilight closer.

"Yes, do you?" Twilight became intrigued. Perhaps she was the little glimmer of hope she was looking for.

"Oui! I know her! She is my best friend! She is such a darling little filly!" Marie smiled for a moment, but it faded as soon as her memories ran dry once more. "But... I cannot remember her. I only know her face, her laugh. Zat is it. Is she still small, like I remember her?"

"Yes, but she's much older than a little filly now, although she may still look like one," Twilight informed Marie.

"I want to see her! Can you take me to her? I want to know if she can fix me, make me 'ole again!" Marie could barely contain her enthusiasm. "What is your name?"

"It's-."

"Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and apprentice of Princess Celestia. You were being kept prisoner here, by Kaiser." Marie blurted, then covered her mouth with wide eyes.

"How did you-?" Twilight was baffled.

"I'm so sorry, mademoiselle. I just... pick up on sings. I'm... not like you." Marie said with a disappointed look on her face as she pounded on the side of her head. "Is it true? Are you an escaped prisoner?"

"Yes, it-." Twilight was cut off as Marie placed a hand on her mouth and gave her the "shush" signal, pressing the base of her index finger against her lips.

"Cultists. Dr. Gearza must've tracked his skeletons. Zare is two of zem, zey have machine guns." Marie raised her head and closed her eyes, and Twilight felt the strange aura again.

"How did you know that?" Twilight whispered to her.

"Like I said, I pick up on sings... waves. I understand zem." Marie muttered. "Zare is no time to talk, Twilight. You must hide in zare." Marie pointed to the wooden closet near her kitchen.

"They'll find me." Twilight shook her head and ran over to the kitchen area, grabbing a frying pan out of a drawer. She ran over to the door and put her back against the wall, raising the frying pan and preparing to strike. The door would hide her enough so that she could launch a surprise attack. "Go get the door."

"Zat is insane, mademoiselle!" Marie panicked as she heard the cultists knock on her door.

"Really? Because that's one of the sanest ideas I've heard around here!" Twilight snapped at Marie though her rage was in hush tones. "Open the door!"

Marie scooted over to her door and hastily contorted her nervous demeanor into a pleasant one. "Who is it?"

"Let us in, you pile of scrap!" One of the cultists screamed on the other side.

Without hesitation Marie complied and opened the door, trying to avoid eye contact with Twilight, who was waiting for the right moment to strike. As they walked inside with their guns raised, Marie's eyes danced about, looking for something to fixate on besides Twilight. As the two cultists drew closer to the nearest couch, Twilight caught sight of the back of one cultist's head, it was in close proximity to the other one, who also had his back turned. There was no time for internal debate, and Twilight sprang into action.

Twilight slammed the nearest cultist with her frying pan and a loud clanging noise sounded as the metal pan made contact with his skull, followed by the sound of him hitting the floor. The other cultist was quick enough to turn, but not quick enough to evade Twilight, and her pan hit him square in the jaw where it connected with his skull. Within a short moment, Twilight managed to flatten two armed cultists with nothing but a flimsy frying pan and what she assumed was an unimaginable level of luck. Perhaps karma was giving her a "free shot" that day, a little gift to make up for her recent misfortune.

Marie simply sat and gawked at the two unconscious bodies for what seemed like the longest time, just stuttering in a nonsensical fashion. "W-what now?" Twilight didn't respond and began stripping the cultists, taking off their black robes and shrouded cowls. "What are you doing?"

"Putting on a disguise. You put one on too." Twilight said as she wrapped her face in a piece of black cloth she picked off the face of one cultist. She then attempted to hand Marie a robe, but she refused and pushed it away. "What's wrong?"

"I can't leave, Twilight," Marie said as she brought her arms close and curled up, almost hugging herself. "I can't leave without Dr. Gearza's or Kaiser's permission."

"What are you talking about? That's crazy." Twilight tossed her hands in the air and shook her head in disbelief. "You can't be-..." She trailed off as she watched Marie stomp over to her kitchen and grab a knife from the block next to her sink. She then set the edge of the blade close to her wrist and cut it right down to her muscle. "What are you doing?"

Marie winced slightly from the pain, but there was no blood that escaped the wound, and as the knife slowly cut across her wrist, her skin began to heal over. Beneath her skin, however, there were wires and articulated plates of metal. It was Twilight's turn to stare in amazement.

"What is-?" Her words clumsily fell out of her mouth and fell flat on the ground.

"I told you. I am not like you. I cannot leave this place." Her words were dripping with anguish and torment as her cut healed over within seconds. "Please, go. I'll throw zeez two down the hole you made. I'll keep the skeletons away for as long as I can. Please, just find Evelyn. Tell her that I'll be waiting for her."

"But, Marie I can't just-."

"Go! I can't leave, you can!" Marie was on the verge of crying, and Twilight wanted to stay, but she knew more would come soon, so she nodded and picked up one of the submachine guns. She left without a word and ran down the hall.

****

Twilight emerged from the underground bunker with a grunt and a sigh as she opened an emergency hatch, hidden beneath what used to be an old building. She closed the hatch and grabbed a piece of metal on the ground, jamming it between the lock. It was a vain attempt to get the cultists off her trail, but it was a start. She pulled off her hood and face mask, crumpling them into a ball and tossing them like a baseball, then she picked up her gun.

The sun was bright and shone down on the grey landscape below. Twilight saw bricks and cement scattered all around the little clearing where the hatch was. There were also a few foal toys like wooden cars and baby dolls, but they were terribly sun-bleached and eroded, like everything else around her. Twilight assumed that the building that once stood on top of the hatch was some kind of toy store and that theory was confirmed as she found a chunk of wood wedged into a pile of cement rubble to her left. It was a sign, but the writing was barely visible, faded by the elements. Half of the sign was missing, but Twilight could read it once she drew closer to it and squinted.

*EARL'S -*

She lost interest in the sign and looked up in awe at the towering, decrepit skyscrapers that surrounded her. The pale concrete hands of the dead city rose high in the sky, reaching towards the heavens like a dying stallion gasping for his last breath, but no angels dared to grab the hand of the scarred land below. From the looks of things, Twilight guessed that she was in some sort of downtown area and that assumption was based solely on the fact that there were taller buildings in the area.

Twilight walked into the street with her machine slung around her shoulder by a long leather strap, and she felt it rub against her back as she trotted along, causing her minor discomfort; the rubbing was beginning to irritate her wounds. She took off the strap and carried the gun normally though it was heavier than she thought. She had never used a gun before, nor did she know how to use it, but it was still a threat for potential attackers nonetheless (although, she didn't know what kind of attacker to expect in such a place). Twilight tugged at her collar and debated whether to take it off, but she remained cautious and kept it on, just in case. As she made her way down the street, naturally she surveyed the area.

She looked at the broken and boarded-up windows of corner stores, the occasional dried-up blood-splatter on a door or piece of wood lying on the ground, which frightened her. What frightened her the most, however, was the occasional bullet hole she'd see in a wall or a ricochet mark on a piece of metal. There were definitely other ponies around, and they were as well armed as she was. That feeling of dread, uncertainty, that's what really got to her. Twilight, often feared what she could not predict or calculate. This barren hell she was in, it was all one big, unsolvable equation. There were so many variables to consider, so many outcomes. It was all so overwhelming.

"So, you enjoyin' my little ol' summer retreat? It's a lot of fun around here!" Gek appeared beside her just as Twilight moved her head to the side. Again, she didn't respond, and she looked with an angered look on her face. "Oh come on, dollface! You gotta talk to someone around here that has somethin' between their ears, am I right?"

It took Twilight a while to respond as they both walked along the empty street. "Did you cause this?"

"What? Me? No, no..." Gek chuckled at the thought. "The idiots who lived here brought it on themselves. This is what happens when you wall your whole district off from the rest of the world. Though, I don't blame them, fear makes you mortals to the craziest things." Gek looked down at Twilight's wings and added to his previous statement. "Sorry, it makes mortals do crazy things."

"So, what happened here then?" Twilight wondered. She wanted to give him the silent treatment, but she couldn't stand the constant silence. Luckily there was no one to witness her talking to a hallucination.

"This used to be the capitol of Ausrüstung you know, Schlüssel.The ponies that lived here got greedy, tried changing the rules and messing with things, not in their control. They did some wacky stuff with alchemy and synthetic magic, let me tell ya." Gek explained as he grabbed a packet of gum out of his pock and plopped one piece in his mouth. "Eventually, those in the south got pretty ticked off, and they wanted to rebel, so they did. It was only minor resistance to start, but eventually, it turned into a full-scale civil war, ending fifteen years ago after the rebellion detonated the Guiver Device at the heart of the city. That's when things got interesting. You see, ever since then, the deep science division of the new democracy has been throwing all kind of colourful ponies in here, lettin' them soak in this beautiful air. It takes a few years, but... if ya spend enough time around those little pockets of green gas you'll see around here, you'll go cuckoo."

Just then, Twilight heard a noise behind her. It was hoofsteps, and they were coming from one of the back alleyways along the street. Then, there was another noise, the rattling of chains. It came from behind the boarded up window of one of the old corner stores. She could see the faint shine of eyes in between the cracks of the boards, dozens of staring eyes. They all were fixated on her.

"Oooo, this is gettin' heavy." Gek laughed lightly as he patted Twilight on the shoulder, who began to panic. "I think there's a nice calm murder goin' on over there, so I'll get back to you once this all blows over." Then, Gek vanished, leaving Twilight alone.

"Look at this little filly, huh?" The raspy, disgusting voice of a stallion echoed down one of the narrow alleyways. "We don't get many pretty little things like you around here."

The small stallion emerged from his hiding spot and walked out onto the street, approaching Twilight. He was shirtless, with only a pair of shorts on and a spiked collar around his neck. He was without a mane, and his fur was matted and dirty. There were purple rings around his pupils, and horrifying green veins were visible on the bald patches all over his body. He spat out tobacco on the ground and began to fiddle with his straight razor, snickering uncontrollably. Twilight pointed her gun at the stallion, and he stopped dead in his tracks, but he didn't seem scared in the slightest. He just stood there and grinned at her maniacally.

"Little foal's got a gun, Rusty! Look at that!" A deeper, groggier voice chuckled from behind a window. Then, a larger stallion with a spiky leather jacket popped out of his hiding spot and drew closer to Twilight. He was carrying a sledgehammer, he swung it about as he approached her. "Are we gonna have some fun, guys, or what?!"

More and more stallions emerged from their hiding spots until there were more than a dozen. There was the odd mare or two, but for the most part, the band of ruffians were stallions, horribly scarred, deformed and bald stallions. They were all armed with machetes and blunt weapons, no guns, however. As the stallion called "Rusty" walked closer towards her, Twilight raised the gun and aimed it at his chest. She saw Butch and the cultists use a gun, surely she knew how to use one.

"Try it, filly!" The fiendish stallion shouted as he sprinted towards her. Twilight pulled the trigger, but there was no booming sound that escaped the gun, no smoke, no flash. The trigger wouldn't budge, it was stuck. The fiend gave her a backhand to the jaw, and it launched her backward. "Safety was off, idiot!"

A fire began to rage in Twilight's chest, and she reached for the key in her pocket. She was going to take off the collar and blast the smug stallion into oblivion, but she didn't feel the key in her pocket. She looked around frantically, and she saw it lying on the ground next to a pile of rubble. But before she could even get up, she was pinned down by the larger stallion with the sledgehammer, who stepped on her forearm, keeping it in place. The stallion with the straight razor grabbed the key off the ground and examined it.

"What the hell is-..." The stallion figured out what it was for after looking down at Twilight's collar. "Oh, I see! You're a unicorn, aren't ya?! Yeah, we don't get many of those, especially ones with wings!" The stallion plopped the key in his mouth and swallowed it. "Oopsies!"

A feeling of terror overcame Twilight. Now she was permanently robbed of her magic. She tried escaping the hoof of the larger stallion, but he pressed down harder, causing her to wail in pain. "No, no, little filly." The stallion picked her up off the ground by her bangs, and the smaller stallion clapped his hands in delight as the rest of the group gathered around Twilight.

"Oh, wow. Today is a good day!" He cackled, but he was then silenced by Twilight's foot, which went right in his crotch. "Aaarrrgh! Fuck you!" The stallion grabbed a machete from another pony in the crowd, and he swung at Twilight blindly. The group stepped back.

There was a brief silence as the blade sliced through Twilight, though, she was too shocked to look down at where it hit. With her right hand she felt her chest, nothing was cut. She felt her legs, nothing. Then with her left hand, she felt her head, nothing. In fact, she couldn't even feel her hand touch her face. Twilight looked down, and her eyes widened to the point where they almost popped out of their sockets. She had no left hand.

Author's Notes:

Well, that'll surely leave a mark, won't it? Sorry about the wait! I'm a little busy with school right now! As always, I hope you enjoyed! See you in the next chapter!