'Sub level 5' I had still seen no hostiles, nor had I encountered any obstacles. There was no sight of my friend. This place had swiftly risen to the top of my list of places that fucked with ponies. I'd kill for some pre-war abomination or a robot, even the fucking security system that actually did its job. Or more accurately, did it in a way that didn't involve driving me all the way down into the depths of this tomb and as far away from where I'd been separated from Cherry as it possibly could.

So much for corridor Forty-Five-C or wherever that terminal had told me to go to. No, that exchange upstairs just felt like the start of an effort to separate me from Star, and when that trick couldn't take Cherry they... Well, I wasn't sure what that was. I'd never seen a shield like that before. As for the door? The mere thought of the metal bastard was a target of most of my rage at the moment. On either side of me, the walls were formed from pure white tiles, all pristine. I could see now why somepony may call whatever the fuck was in here a prissy ghost. Ahead, I could see the corridors' end. Through a glass window beside it, I could make out the room beyond. It was far darker and the path I was taking traversed the vast space via a metal catwalk. 'Sublevel 6' the words were illuminated by the light of myPipbuck as I passed by, and I assumed it meant the floor I was walking above.

The room was certainly a vast change from the spotless white laboratories I'd been forced to wander through for what felt like hours. This new chamber looked far more industrial than scientific. In fact, it was deceptively like my room back in Churn, only on a far grander scale. The thick metal walls were lined with pipes and wires.Out over the many catwalks, I could see metal islands rise from the lower levels onto which the vast intricate spider web of walkways leading somewhere else inside this facility. Below, between the bases of the raised platforms, I could make out a great number of creates as well as droves of machinery, the likes of which looked more like monsters than anything somepony would dare operate. Under the shadowed stilts that held up one of the catwalk islands aloft, I could see several large wire coils. A vast web of black cords snaked out from each, spreading across the room like a great metallic weed. Above the light trail had died, yet a faint red glow filled the otherwise dark air.Nothing but, pipes, wires and a gridded metal floor greeted me as I soon found myself in a tunnel that looked far too much like home.

If it had been tighter I might have wounded if somepony was reading my memories to recreate this. Instead, the metal grid on which I stood was held inches above the solid floor. Around me, the room was filled with more lab desks and their respective projects. The lights were beckoning to me once again and I soon found myself stepping down from the shallow walkway and into the work area. Robots still bound within their hibernation pods watched me like silent sentinels, unmoving as I dispatched several more aimless turrets. On one of the desktops, a row of large, glass tubes were filled with ragged lumps of flesh, the likes of which had been prodded and prodded with a million different wires, their contents now resembling an electrical pincushion more than anything else.

The plethora of sick and twisted experiments only chipped away my emotional shield as I saw something with a better claim to the fact it was once alive. Beside a shattered tank, amides the glass and dried gruel was the skeleton of a pegasus strapped to a gore-stained medical table. Opposite the bones was the body of what appeared to be an earth pony, yet further inspection revealed the severed horn of a unicorn beside it, and my initial assumptions corrected themselves.

We make better ponies. The company slogan flashed through my mind.

Yeah by cutting them up.

I winched, not wishing to think about the true way to discover the supposed pegasi telekinesis, then noticed the grizzled bones of a severed wing and fought not to gag. I was almost thankful that the terminal closest to the experiment was busted, at least curiosity couldn't force me to look into what else it hand involved. 'PrimalMagic, Test 404' was all a dusted set of notes beside the shattered screen made clear.

Damn this was like a museum for the insane, I thought as I passed several more gory jars.

These ones held the severed heads of multiple ponies, all of which boasted more electrical testing equipment through skin and bone. Most unnervingly to me, however, was the fact they were all unicorns. If this was the work of the ghost then I needed to get Cherry and get the fuck out of here. I really couldn't care less about that reward right now.Then, however, I noticed something that was not originally part of a pony, at least I thought it wasn't. Yet the new sight sent more shivers down my spine than anything from the gory fetishes ever could.

Bound within a solid glass tomb were another of the mechanical exoskeletons, its left and right arms missing. It was big, bigger than me, bigger than Star. From the way it had been imprisoned in the transparent block, I assumed the two legged approach was its preferred method of getting about. For all intensive purposes, however, it looked like battle armor for a hellhound or similar creature. Yet, the spaces between the silver segments that formed its body were far too tight to accommodate something quite that large without flaying it first. Its feet were like that of some demonic mixture of bird and reptile, its chest a neat collage of sharp metal segments, all symmetrical aligned. Its head was by far its most daunting feature. A pair of sharp, dragon like eyes stared down at me with a lifeless gaze. Its seemingly closed mouth was unrecognizable in the neat arrangement of metal plates that formed its face and the back of its head. The back of its skull was lined with several fine horns that, within the solid glass, seemed to levitate.

In fact, the whole thing seemed to appear as if it were levitating like somepony was magically holding all the metal bones in perfect union. It was as if they were whole, while still mimicking the stature of some natural creature. The image of this thing free and running after me was horrifying. Yet, most daunting of all was the fact it felt as if the strange metal form were reaching right into me, into my thoughts. It was angry, and I felt as though an age old anger with a malice unmatched was directed toward me. Not only that, it longed to be free. I felt a feeling of dread unlike any I had ever felt before surge through me as that realization struck. It was like billions, upon billions of lost souls were trying to claw my soul right out of me to join them in eternal damnation.

I shook my head. What the fuck? Was this it, the ghost? This thing? It was no more than a glass ornament. Below it was what I assumed to be its other arm, once again lacking the hand, and filled with more wires than a suit of power armor. Beside it were two small cases, each open and lined with a now dusty blue cushioning. The combination locks on them were strange, not something I'd ever seen. At that, a part of me wished I could ask Cherry about them, locks did seem to be her passion and yet...

Don't remind me, brain, I grumbled bitterly.

There were a few more scraps of the same strange metal, as if somepony had been cutting the stuff up and to my right was the sickly green glow of a dusty terminal. Great, it was alive, and now I was curious.

You know curiously is a death sentence, right? My wasteland hardened mind reminded me sternly.

I just grumbled something along the lines of... "You would know" and that seemed to shut it right up.

Somepony had left this terminal on before their inevitable demise, five of its files had been tampered with, leaving only two assessable, one of which was an audio log.

'Program Prototypes, Complete: Weapons transferred to Stalliongrad facility. Have a nice day'.

I raised an eyebrow. Somepony was making weapons out of this stuff.Prototype weapons? At those words, I had a feeling such a weaponry had never come to fruition, given that ponies weren't sucking the souls out of each other. At that, I moved on to the second entry, the likes of which had been entered later the same day.

"Damn, them they've taken them, both of them! That no good pile of horse apple Tail Feather up in Stalliongrad has taken them."

A frustrated mare's voice erupted from the speakers far louder than I expected, and I cursed my curiosity with a quiet stream of profanities.If nopony knew where I was, they certainly did now. I even glanced up to the imposing armor within the glass, fearing that even this disturbance would have it bearing down on me. Confirming that wasn't the case I hit the volume, lowing it as the angry mare ranted on.

"I doubtOracle even know what they have now. Yeah, sure, you find one star metal pillar and start that whole excavation project, but by Luna the moment you join under another company you play by their rules, am I right? Not that Mister Hayland cares about the prototypes anymore, he's too caught up with the covert stuff, and his wife? Well, you can forget about her. You've got more chance getting an appointment with TwilightSparkle herself than her. That's why I'm sending you this. They'll probably check, but I know you know your stuff, you keep it from them and add it to your set. With any luck, they'll sack all of us by the end of the month and I can get Moon Glow and Star Shine to send theirs through to us too. Once we get to making more of these things, we'll be rich. I can think of a lot of ponies who'll pay big bits for weapons like this, and a few others that will pay a lot more. We're just relying on you not to slip up with the program. Got it? Don't let me down, Silver!"

Attached to the log was another file,'Prototype Etherium Blaster blueprint 2' My Pipbuck designated it helpfully, flashing the message onto my visor.

Well, it was right about one thing, I'd need more of these things to even have a hope of understanding it. Nevertheless, I downloaded the files, who knows maybe it was what our client was after. For some reason, I doubted that as I trotted on diverting my eyes from every new horrific scientific display the room had to offer until I found myself back in a pure white corridor.

The change in scenery was short lived, and I cursed the goddesses that it was not a set of stairs going upward to take me back up to Cherry. No, the wasteland just continued to force me down. Ahead, another set of plastic sheets separated the while laboratory walls from what appeared to be another industrial catwalk-strewn room. To my right directly beneath a lone deactivated turret was a lit doorway, and that was the direction I promptly choice. My eyes widened as I found myself staring at something all too normal. It was a corridor, pristine and perfect as if the war had never happened.

Still, don't believe in ghosts? My mind pressed condescendingly.

I shook my head, but this was fucked up, even I had to admit that. Who even needed what looked like some fancy hotel corridor beneath a twisted experimental facility anyway? As my eyes scoured the sandy, yellow wallpaper and a sign on my left told me that 'medical' was apparently down here somewhere. Ahead, the spotless, pre-war corridor leads to another opening and to my right was a single room. Each hoof step upon the perfectly kept, red carpet just felt wrong, not even the foul smelling excuse for a rug in Griddle's office was this prissy. I grumbled slightly at that.

"There is no such thing as ghosts!" I told myself under my breath.

A second later, and I was peering into the first room on the right.Inside I found a brightly decorated scene painted on the opposite wall. Asun wearing a wide smile shone down over rolling, green hills, trees, and birds, the painting attempting at capturing such a scene was a mere mockery of the real thing. A bed, table, sink, and lavatory were all posted respectively about the room as well as a terminal. The floor was covered by a bright blue carpet, and scattered about it were a number of toys. A foal's room? I questioned the information my eyes were offering, hoping dearly the realization wouldn't stir up any newly restless emotions in me. The more I looked, however, the more I felt as if I was being poisoned. The many sheets of medical paper at the end of the bed, the thickness of the metal door and the shattered mirror on the far wall. Above the faint hum of a motor stole my attention. A turret sat in the sky painted ceiling above, rotating aimlessly. Around it were bullet holes.

Who needed an automated gun in a foal's room? Who had shot a gun in foal's room? Why was a foal kept so far underground?My heart burned into a furnace each beat stoking the growing fire. Could nopony just be a normal loving parent! I almost screamed that out loud, stomping a hoof upon the carpet. Of all the ponies I knew that had the privilege of having a foal, none of them seem to care. I grit my teeth stamping my hoof again and again, before moving over to a terminal beside the bed. Once again there was no password and I was presented with eight audio recordings. I slumped bedside down, staring at the flickering green screen, then my eyes lowered to what appeared to be a trash can stuffed under the bed and a sharp shard of shattered glass?

Really?Bunkers, guns and now this? I was running out of ways to hate these centuries old ponies. I reach down with a hoof, first to the glass. It was about the only unclean thing down here, coated in a dark layer of ancient crimson, as was some of the carpet beside where it had lain for what I assumed were the past few decades. Darkened crimson, blood?Somepony had bled here, a lot by the size of the stain, yet there were no bones, no sign of any struggle.

What the fuck? What the Fuck! I screamed mentally.

What the fuck had some pony done in here? This was a foal's room, it was supposed to be safe, a home! I banged a hoof on the bed, a rather pitiful gesture given the fact the soft mattress absorbed most of my strike. The disturbance did reveal something else, however. The cheap metal bed frame buckled and shifted the trash can to disturb a memory orb within. The smooth sphere rolled out onto the carpet, bearing a long, dried smear of blood across it. I looked at it sternly, I was gonna find out what happened here, I was gonna know why somepony had been so careless. I scooped up the orb in my hoof and placed it firmly into my saddlebags. I knew better than to use it here, however, but that didn't stop me from rooting through the audio files on the terminal.

Day one.

"Hi, this is Lucky Star and... Well. I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say. They just told me to get settled in and make sure I make a recording of how I feel every day."

My ears perked as the mare in the recording sighed, yet her voice was still cheerful and chirpy. She sounded happy, far happier than anypony from this place should be. That was not what caught my attention, however. I recognized that name slightly, even that voice. Lucky Star? Lucky? The young mare from the workshop memory orb, she certainly had a figure I'd not be forgetting anytime soon. This was where she'd been hired? This mad scientists’ monument to science without ethics?

I pressed my face into my for hooves. Goddesses she'd looked too innocent, so pretty in that memory, and yet she'd been here helping these monsters. At that, Isaw another gruesome side to the same bottle cap. No, they couldn't have. The brief image of one of the unicorn heads in the bloody jars, not to mention the one I'd seen strapped to the medical table flashed through my mind. No, nopony was that fucked up, surely. Luring somepony in with the promise of a job and then... I was hesitant to continue the recording, the once burning frustration about the state of a foal's room had now been warped into a cold and sickly disgust.

"WellI'm here now, so I think I should at least make something out of it.Everypony here's been so welcoming and nice. I'll admit it's a little strange to be living this far down, but there is a war going on after all. Besides, the private dorm they gave me is nice. I'll have to say I was a bit anxious about moving out, but I'd be a fool to say no to such an opportunity, and the job description did make it clear I'd be staying here for a long time. Anyway, on the subject of what they asked me to say... I'm feeling fine, but also very excited. I suppose that will change after the medical examination later. I may have a medical degree, but by Luna I hate needles. But listen to me, I'm rambling like an excited filly. Anyhow, I'm off to settle in. So until tomorrow, I guess... I can leave it at that."

My anger simmered in the cool vat of my worry as the recording finished. That didn't sound suspicions, she sounded fine, I assured myself, a great battle raging in my head as to whether I should listen to more or not. On one hoof, this was somepony I'd seen, if only briefly. Yet, after seeing the defilements back in the laboratories I didn't feel all that comfortable not knowing what had happened to her. On the other hoof, I needed to get back to my friends, that was if they were still alive.

Damn it brain! Of course, they were alive, I declared firmly unwilling to believe otherwise.

I instead decided to meet each of my opposing sides midway. Downloading the recordings onto my Pipbuck I levitated out my ear bloom and activating the second entry as I trotted onwards.

Day 2:

"Urg... this is... Lucky Star, yeah that's what I was told to say."

I instantly regretted my decision at the sound of her weary voice. She sounded as if she'd had a rough night, and I sincerely hoped that was the only reason she sounded so... frazzled. I highly doubted sex or alcohol were the cause it however and as I trotted out of the door to the improvised foal's room I moved to turn off the recording. Yet my mind protested. Whoever she really was, she deserved for this to be heard, for her voice to be free from within this twisted tomb. With a sight and tentative tap of my hoof, I let the rest of the recording play out.

"Urg, who knew I was in an accident. I have to admit it was rather strange. I can't think, there's just a great big block right there, and beyond it? Well, I can't recall the accident. Is this it then, the sun? It has a smiley face. I never imagined the sun would shine in a room just for me, I meant there's only one right, this one?This world, as small as it is ... it's amazing. They say I have to stay here, I mean there's nowhere else to go but out there in the halls so I have no idea what they’re talking about really, I just nod and take my medicine.

Of cause I'm not going anywhere, it's dangerous out there. No, I have to stay in here where it's safe for me until I'm better and they said that could take a few months, maybe even a year, however long that is. But they say when it's all over, I won't be so alone in the sun anymore. Oh~ I'm so excited about getting better because, and I know it's safe in here and all, but I feel strange. I can't quite put my hoof on it, I just feel different like... I don't know like I'm missing something. No, I've gained something in place of something else, yeah that's it. I mean I was in an accident, so I can't be all better yet, can I? The world's locked now and the sun had gone out anyway. But it's still smiling. I know I need to go to sleep when it’s dark, that's what they tell me. ‘Just try and ignore the stomach ache, dear,’ Doctor Band-Aid told me, he's my new friend. He tells me all I need to know about my accident and warns me I have to take care of myself. But, I really do have to go to sleep now, so bye terminal ponies."

She was drunk. She had to be. Nopony just became a rambling bag of words like that, she was like a foal herself. She didn't even seem to recall making the recording just the day before. Maybe alcohol had been a factor? Even so, I found little relief in its possible confirmation. They'd done something to her, that drunk sounding mare in the second recording was not the mare I'd seen in the memory.No, that mare was happy and dead set on a goal that now seemed to have been naught more than a cardboard cut out, hiding something far more sinister behind it. 'Private Medical Ward' Was the name given to the next door on my left, and the promise of more medical supplies was enough to divert my attention from the old recordings for now.

Great, the first locked door I came across and I wasn't with my newly acquired locksmith, fuck you, wasteland. I mentally grumbled as I resorted to basics.

I wasn't a strong pony, but after two firm bucks of my armored hind hooves the glass door gave out and shattered. The room beyond was a small rectangle with tiled walls, a few mirrors and several wilted plants that sat in orange pots upon a shelf opposite me. Against the left wall was a long row of medical cabinets and two surgical beds, directly opposite the door was another closed opening. To its left were several more medical cabinets, to its right a tall metal tube.

AnAuto-Doc? I knew several ponies who'd do anything to get their hooves on that high-tech baby. A part of me even considered breaking into the thing, then I remembered the stories of the cold iron coffins cutting ponies up, and decided against it. Instead, I made my way over to the rows of medical cabinets smashing into the standard butterfly emblazoned boxes within most of them and swiftly salvaging as much as I could carry. At least half a dozen healing potions and some restoration potions, not to mention bandages and all the bobby pins Cherry could ask for.

The next few cabinets were glass. On my second try, my forehoof broke through the majority of them the shards falling to the tiled floor as I did so. Inside was another pair of healing potions, a set of magical healing bandages, some Dash, Med-X and plenty of RadAway, all of which I swiftly commandeered. A moment later, and I found myself peering through the second door, into what appeared to be a large office. On the floor was a clean, red carpeted lined with a golden run around its edge. Almost every wall was bookshelves. The one exception being to my left, where the wall was instead one big window, angled slightly into the ceiling of the room below. It allowing the office a clear view of what appeared to be a white walled operating theater.

In front of the wide window were a tall office chair and large wooden desk supporting a terminal. All of it still shimmered with polish, as did most of the wooden bookshelves. The only other brakes in the wall were a set of large wooden doors to my right and opposite me, where the shelves sunk back forming what looked like some sort of alcoholic beverage station, a clean mirror on its back edge. A white coated mare with light blue mane dawning light blue dragon scale barding looked back from the shimmering surface, and I jumped at the sight, only to have my mind laugh at me as I settled.

Yeah laugh it up, brain, you're certainly not a ghost, I groaned pushing the unlocked door open.

It wasn't hard to surmise that the private medical room was intended for the pony who owned this office. Even now, after almost two centuries, the room smelled clean and well maintained, like nopony had been here since well... forever. Just like the ghost story. One break in the cleanliness threatened to topple the stories' believability, however.The carpeted directly before the desk was stained by a pile of gray ash, the likes of which still glowed with a faint orange hue. I stopped as it caught my eye.

It sure didn't look like any magical energy weapon residue, and I should know. The color was off, yet there was something else. It was in the almost perfect shape of a pony, even its head was visible. The pony had their mouth open, and most of their pained expression was silhouetted against the bright red carpet as if they'd been blasted into the floor. Either somepony was vaporized laying down, and by a really fast disintegration firearm to boot, or this was something else. Regardless, there was nothing I could do about it now, other than hope the pony lying dead before me wasn't a monster, and therefore undeserving of such a horrific fate.

Still, staring at it made me feel weary, just like that strange set of imprisoned armor it felt as if the ash itself were angry and trying to drill that impression into my head. With that, I swiftly turned tail to the glowing pile and moved around behind the desk. Looking out of the window I could see a wide hexagonal chamber lined with pure white walls. The roof was also white, the angled panels that formed it all converging on a flat section directly above the center, as did the angled office window.Beneath the central tile was a surgical table, thankfully empty. Around it sat a whole manner of expensive medical erumpent, ranging from syringes and drips to medical terminals and overhead spotlights. Around the room, the same scene played out as many more spare medical machines sat silently. I gave the scene a curious look over, before I turned the terminal a top the desk, only to find it locked.

"Oh, so now you want a password?" I groaned sourly, sitting on the high-class office chair and removing my helmet with a flash of my horn.

"Fuck you, password." I hissed to myself rotating the chair after only three failed attempts.

That was when something else caught my eye. A pair of buttons on the back of the desk, one was labeled assistance and I quickly realized that I wouldn't be getting that anytime soon, the second was labeled Overseer. I leaned back thoughtfully.

'Systems fully functional under stick the Overseer command' I recalled from the upstairs terminal.

Who the fuck was Overseer?

Curiosity then got the better of me and, leaning forward, I tapped the button with a forehoof. And... Nothing happened. I pressed it again and once again there was nothing. My expression fell flat as did my ears. I slouched back against the thick cushions of the chair, what was I expecting tea and biscuits? No, not even this place was that friendly...

"Greetings, I am the Overseer, governor, and caretaker of this faculty."

I almost sent the chair collapsing backward through the observation window as the sudden voice sounded. My legs straighten stiffly, catching on the underside of the desks and stopping me before I could swing too far back. My head swiftly swiveled in the direction of the abrupt sound.There, to my left, I saw a strange levitating device about the size of my head. It had no rockets or engines and no obvious magic, it just seemed to float there effortlessly. It looked, for all instinctive purposes, like a metallic flower. Four major metallic plates surround a glowing orange core like petals, each twitching and shifting as if imitating expressions. As for the core, it was an orb, almost like a memory orb, yet it was glowing with a bright light that focused on to one point within the glistening surface almost like an eyeball. A light, high pitched, hum emanated from behind it as it bobbed like some sort of overly expensive sprite bot.

Yeah, it managed to sneak up on you like one too, my mind grumbled.

My initial surprise fading, I could do nothing but stare at the thing as it hovered happily, anticipating my response.

"Urm, hello," I said skeptically, waving a hoof tentatively.

The metallic framework shifted as if to imitate a more gleeful expression.

"Greeting, it would seem you have arrived at the specified location, I do hope your experience was enjoyable," the hovering robot explained, its central light flashing with each syllable of its happy tone, the likes of which was almost identical to that of the presentation screens upstairs.

Then the thing's actual words hit me. Wait, what was it saying? I'd arrived at the specified location? And no the trip was not enjoyable. I looked away, sinking back into the chair. It was just another useless bucket of bolts. All I was gonna do, was find my friends and then we were getting out of this stupid place. I sank further down as I released that that may take a significant amount of time, especially if I continued to lounge about like I was.

"Please excuse my interruption, but are you not to accompany me to the catalysts chamber?" the hovering robot asked cheerfully.

My head turned lazily.

"What?" I asked dryly.

It mocked a smile with its shifting frame before continuing.

"Indeed.Although, I have to admit your sudden presence was unexpected." My ears perked up, and a budding curiously was born from the mental plane, consisting of boredom and a deep concern for Cherry.

Firstly, what he was expecting? Second, did he know how to get out and a rather trivial third, was this thing the damn prissy ghost? Really, this thing?

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously, sitting up.

His mockery of an expression turned to shock, I'd actually made a robot shocked. Well, there was one thing I never saw myself doing.

"You are an optimal candidate for the revival of the project, are you not?" he asked curiously.

I couldn't help but smile, albeit skeptically. I felt my curiosity blossom further, I centrally didn't recall being the pony he'd described, yet he'd intrigued me.

"Say I am this ... Candidate?" I explained thoughtfully, rolling a hoof in the air generally. All I was hoping was that may be able to trick him into showing me the way out if I played along. "What does that mean?" I added leaning towards him.

"I will admit at first speculation I was unable to understand the lack of knowledge regarding the project, every potential candidate has displayed a lack of acknowledgment as of late. Such a thing is strictly against regulations. Even so, I thought I made the direction quite clear to them with the limited systems still functioning. As I did to you," he explained, his confusion only seeming to grow.

My budding curiosity wilted as I lost him. His directions? Wait. The upstairs terminal, the lights, my mind suddenly clicked.

"Wait, wait, wait. The terminal screen upstairs, the light trail? That was you?" I asked abruptly.

The levitating orb hovered closer, bobbing in the air as if to nod.

"Indeed, protocol dictated my response. You were an optimal genetic candidate.You are in fact, a closer match to subject two than any of those that have proceeded you, the bypass systems made sure of that. Explicitly," he explained eagerly, well as eager as a robot could be.

I raised an eyebrow, but he'd made it perfectly obvious that he, Overseer as he called himself, was controlling the overly friendly security system. That also meant he'd separated us. My wonder flared red, and I felt an overweening urge to use one of my spark grenades, the one that involved killing robots specifically. He'd taken her away from me!

I stood up sharply, stepping down from the chair my magic ready to draw any number of my guns from their its holsters.

"You split us up. What did you do with her!" I growled accusingly, stepping up to him.

The mechanical construct lacked any concern, he merely floated back slightly. The only thing that was holding me back were his words, optimal genetic candidate? I was curious, by the goddesses that was a death sentence but damn it, I was so curious. Curious enough not to turn him to ash just yet. Not only that, I couldn't help but feel that fact was the only thing distinguishing me from the ponies he'd seemingly gunned down upstairs. The metal plates around his eye suddenly shifted to an expression that looked uncomfortably sympathetic.

"I assure you no harm was intended. Circumstances merely displayed the possibility that your progress may have been hindered, sensors indicate all internal life signs are currently unharmed," he explained in the same charismatic tone as if the whole things was little concern to him.

I bit back my retort, stomping a forehoof into the carpet. He'd split us up because I was being too slow for him? What the fuck was so important?

"Take me to them, now!" I growled dangerously.

Once again the bobbing ball appeared confused. Like I should know exactly what he was trying to say and just not question it.

"You are an optimal candidate for the continuation of the project, allowing you to depart without the most basic consultation would be against regulations," he explained, hovering over to my side.

I left an eye lingering on the orb as he hovered by my left, around my tail and then by the saddle blaster leaned against my right. It felt as if he were double-checking his accusation, doubting himself. Funny, I never knew robot could do that. Regardless, he didn't seem as positively chummy as his irritating voice may suggest. A moment of the robot's strange lust for eye candy later, and its sole eye appeared before me again. He clearly didn't understand the concept of personal space.

"What project?" I asked stepping forward firmly and forcing him to hover back as I did so.

"Project Destiny, of course," he stated condescendingly as if above everything in my little life, I should know what that meant.

Project Destiny? What the fuck was that supposed to mean? My mind went over the thousands, upon thousands of things I could remember from years in the wasteland, and not once had something like this crossed me. I met Overseer with the same clueless expression, the notion seeming to unsettle him further. Only after all that did he finally seemed to get it. I had no fucking idea what he was going on about.

"This revelation is indeed unexpected, if not predictable. However, I am still to proceed as protocol dictates," he stated dryly, before moving over to the double doors opposite the desk.

My eyes flowed as the humming buzz as the orb swiftly darted across the room. He was like a smart, metal and overly cheerful bloatsprite, minus the foul image, smell and strange habit of shooting barbs at anything that moved. More so, he'd failed to answer my question or act upon my request. Did he know that I had at least three barrels that were eager to meet him if he didn't take me back to my friends? Then there was my more shameful confession, he still had me intrigued. I'll admit, I was kind of naive, and I knew if Star were here he'd be holding me back. But if nothing else, I was gonna find out what was so important, that it was worth splitting us up over so calculatedly.

"Please, do follow me," the Overseer invited the door opening for him as he moved through.

I turned and steadily retrieved my helmet, and beginning to trot over to the door. I graciously avoided the pony shaped scorch stain on the carpet and made an effort to have my magic wrapt about my saddle blaster at all times. Very few ponies in the wasteland were friendly, even fewer of the robots were friendly. The way I saw things, fewer still were so friendly before the war.

"I for one am glad that the facility is still functional after such an extended period of shutdown," the Overseer said, but I failed to spare the hovering incarnation of pure irritation even a single glance as he hovered beside me.

Under hoof yet another metal catwalk held us just inches above another set of experimental laboratories. Around us were more rows and rows of scientific equipment, yet despite the fact some of the lights were still active, there was not enough illumination to chase away the gloom concealing most of it. All I could make out were the light shimmers of dusty glass, some metal and what looked like silver rock. All that was clearly visible were the many crates on the far left side as well as something covered by a vast red tarp.

Overseer was in control of the turrets that still rotated aimlessly above us, not to mention any others still in the building. I had a feeling he was smart enough to realize that without my friends he had no leverage over me. The sensation of being somewhat hopeless to help them, however, stirred within in me in a way I thought I'd lost with my brother. It clung to me like heavy saddlebags, like I was carrying the weight of their whole life on my back. As with my brother. I'd assured myself I'd never sink back to the memory again, maybe that's what Star had truly been hinting at.

Then there was a sharp hiss as something in the seemingly solid wall ahead shifted. My ears perked and I looked forward to see that a section of the gray steel slid inward and lifted up, forming a door that a part of the catwalk extended into. Overseer hovered inside first, bobbing effortlessly below the roof. I hesitantly followed and immediately a brighter light struck me. It was almost like somepony had trapped the sun trapped inside this metal prison, maybe Lucky Star hadn't been so wrong to think the same about her cell.

A moment later my eyes readjusted to the bright light, and I noticed that the walls were a reflective white. The catwalk now painted with a rough layer of white continued into the center as did three others entering in from four equidistant points about the circular room, crossing seamlessly in the center. The layout of the catwalks split the circular room into four symmetrical quarters within each was a large metal pillar. A dark criss-cross of thick pipes, wires and steel frame reached up from the floor and down from the roof of each. Between them was a cylindrical glass chamber. Wires pipes and robotic arms hung lazily down from the top of the glass pod, some suspending what looked like an empty harness. Below the point at which the glass ceased, panels of lightless buttons and dead screens lined the cold metal. Atop each glass cylinder, an engraved plate was attached to the metal column.

'Salvation','Destruction', 'Eternity' and finally 'Evolution'. All four were empty of whatever those cryptic words implied unless of course, it referred to some metal arms, pipes, wires and empty space. A fifth capsule was positioned in the center of the rounded chamber, around which the catwalks converged. It, however, was far from empty.

'Destiny'. The pod was labeled, and it was filled with a dull green liquid. The display panels beneath it were lit up like a flickering rainbow. Inside were a similar set of wires and skeletal metallic limbs, all were attached to a harness similar to those of the other pods, yet there was something distinguishing this one from its fellows. A pony. There was somepony inside the capsule. I stopped beside the base of the tank, peering through the thick green liquid. The color was not pristine, yet I was sure she was a light-coated, unicorn mare with her mane and tail shaved off completely. Only her head and forelimbs were visible, her flank and cutie mark were covered by the tight metallic harness device that stretched around to cover her rump, midsection, and stomach.

Many of the arms, pipes, and wires fed into the harness just like the other empty capsules. Some bore straight into her back, others into more uncomfortable places. Even I winced a little, as I walked round to see her mechanically defiled flank and finally to her head. Thankful she appeared to be unconscious or dead, either way, she didn't seem able to feel the mess of wiring forcing their way into every natural orifice. Over her forehead was a metal band that also encompassed her horn in a silver shaft, wires lead up from the band, snaking through the liquid and into the tank's roof. Then I looked at her muzzle, the image struck me with the same horror as her violated rear.

Like some sort of fucked up work of art, several pipes and wires fought their way down her throat and nostrils. I gagged, lowering my eyes from the sight as I saw the bulging line in her stuffed neck as the pipes reached deep into her chest. The only part of her that seemed to be free of machines were her forelimbs, yet even they were far from unscathed, crossed with deep scars and dark slashes. Finally, in her left forehoof what appeared to be some sort of metallic plate, no bigger than a bottle cap, it was only just visible under her fur as it glowed a soft orange. Even so, I found myself staggering back against the rail of the catwalk and fighting not to throw up.

"What the fuck?" I cursed, eyes wide in horror.

She looks like... No, that can't be her, but how can I tell? I can't see her mane, tail, or cutie mark!? Overseer swiftly hovered around the tank once before settling beside me.

"A marvelous piece of experimental engineering. Far superior to any other systems developed by the Ministry of Science or Ministry of Peace," he added in a generally admirable tone.

I gasped, forcing my open muzzle.

"Marvellous? What the fuck! This isn't marvelous! It's sick, what the hell are you doing to her?" I cried, pointing the manically defiled mare.

The hovering orb looked at me disapprovingly. A fucking robot was disapproving of the fact I was disgust by this. I just stared coldly at him. I hated robots, but that this one that could express some faint mockery of emotion was far worse, especially when they seemed to think kindly of shit like this.

"I can assure you the profanities are not necessary. This is merely an advanced form of life support system first developed by the Ministry of Peace. It has merely been developed to sustain life against elements the original designers could never have anticipated." Overseer casually explained as he hovered back up to the tank stating right at the living pincushion floating within.

I couldn't tell whether my shiver came from fear or rage, either way, this was wrong. No, this was monstrous.

This is what ponies did back then? My mind added throwing coal on the fire.

I knew about the Ministry of Peace, Fluttershy, just doing better and all that. On the surface that shy, yellow mare didn't seem like she could hurt a fly, but if she'd known she'd had anything thing to do with this, I wondered how she would react. I was right. I'd always been right. No matter what, everypony I'd heard of from before the war was fucked up in one way or another. They all had their dark secrets, the ministry mares, even the princesses, they were all just as fucked up as the wasteland they'd created. I closed my eyes tightly, bowing my head.

"I can assure you that sympathy is not necessary, this subject was only subjected to life support due to her own actions, she is quite alive and stable."

I swear I almost lost it as Overseer said that so nonchalantly. I swear I almost took my gun and blasted this abomination of the face of Equestria. This mare, one I may have seen alive and well once. She didn't look like a monster by choice, she was stuffed with machines, encased in cold metal, and forced to live through it by those very machines. I almost did it, I almost drew my blaster from its holster, but then what would that make me? A murderer? Or was such an act mercy in such a dire circumstance? I only killed monsters, it was okay to kill monsters. She wasn't a monster.

I stomped a hoof on the metal, rattling the catwalk and glaring down at the clear white floor just inches below. I could see the dull reflection of myself, a white-coated mare with sky blue mane clad in dragon scale barding and helmet, magic itching to grab the holstered energy rifles at her side. Was that mare glaring back at me a monster? Did letting this exist make her so, or did her willingness to commit murder?

No, damn it. I saved ponies who needed it, I saved ponies who deserved it. My head shot up as I bolted over to the control panel of the pod. There had to be some way to fix this, to get her out. Frantically, I struggled to connect my Pipbuck to the system.

"And what, pray tell. Are you attempting to achieve?" Overseer asked curiosity, hovering round to see my frantic efforts.

"I'm gonna get her out, I have to. It's my job." The words rushed from my muzzle just as wildly as my frantic hooves and desperate magic met the flashing interface.

There was a long pause from the robot as he hovered around behind me and appeared at my left side.

"Don't be ridiculous, this subject would not survive for more than a few moments of exposure, nor would the experiment. Both would be lost," he explained in an eerily calm tone.

I just blanked him out completely and suddenly the screen before me came to life with information.

"Com’on!" I screamed as I banged a hoof of the screen, and with a dull thud, it bounced off the glass.

ThenI fell silent, my magic finally faded as I slumped muzzle first on the panel. I had to save her, I had to do my job, she wasn't a monster. I knew that right now, I couldn't kill monsters.

"This emotional outburst is rather unexpected," the Overseer stated calmly, before hovering back. "I suppose that is what I should have expected given your lack of knowledge regarding the project," the bobbing orb added, sounding introspective.

I gave a faint whimper as one of my forehooves brushed against the cold screen.

"What knowledge, what the fuck are you doing here?" I demanded in a furious whimper turning my head towards the levitating machine.

Once again he looked confused.

"Perhaps it is possible that all past subjects were oblivious to the project on purpose," he added thoughtfully, yet it didn't feel like he was addressing me more himself, he was questioning himself, like a pony.

"Recalibrating... Yes, such a lack of knowledge would certainly prevent a repeat of past failures. The genetic catalyst must be preserved for a minimum of eleven months." He added to his self-monologue.

"Hey, Sparky!" I called angrily, pressing my forehoof against the panel and forcing myself up.

He seemed to break free of his thoughtful stupor and looked at me blankly.

"Help me get her out now!" I growled dangerously, with no care for what he'd said.

I saved ponies, I was gonna save this pony. He just hovered there silently. One eye turned to the tank only inches from my muzzle as I raised a hoof to the glass rubbing it gently. If that was her, Lucky...

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, begging for her forgiveness as I felt my magic wrap around the saddle blaster.

"My apologies for not seeing your intended role sooner. I see now what is intended for you, subject twelve." Overseer stated in a tone as blank as his emotionless expression.

I didn't care, I didn't even spare him a glance as the high pitched hum of his movement drew closer.

"Please ignore prior interaction. I will now proceed with new found intention."Those were the only words to omit from his flashing eye as he came closer.

Then with a bright flash, I felt a sudden surge of magic in my horn, my eyes went wide and I was swept away from the world as it fell into darkness.

The white walls were replaced by strangely familiar surroundings. I was back in the office, or one that looked exactly like it. Wait, this was a memory? I was in a memory, but how?

My mind swam for a moment before settling on feeling irritated. That little robotic bastard tricked me. I'd no idea how I could be in a memory. I don't know, maybe his eyes was a memory orb or something? That was the least of my concerns, however, now he had me unconscious somewhere. I felt a deep, cold dread surge through me, yet this wasn't me I... My dread doubled as I suddenly felt the strange body I was now trapped in. The taller frame, thicker build, and muzzle. The sensation of something between my thighs was the last straw.

No, no, no I never wanted to be this close to a buck, no way. My host stood behind the wooden desk, as I had done not too long ago. The terminal screen before us emitting its green glow, the likes of which reflected from the polished desk. I could feel my host's heavy hooves go to work on the keys, the password, I noted swiftly, was Ebon. A sight of cold relief escape my host's muzzle as he looked at the few files that were still on the terminal. Then he paused, logging off with equal haste before all of a sudden a surge of deep pain tore through us. Something deep inside him twisted forcing his hooves from the desk as he convulsed and staggering back.

I really hoped that somewhere I hadn't screamed at the pain, it was as if somepony had set off a grenade in his chest, and he'd not had the good fortune to die. He gasped desperately, the air like sandpaper grinding in his bone dry mouth. Something felt serious wrong with this buck, the more I thought about that, the more I could feel it writhing within him, the more I really wanted to be out of this memory. The pain of another heavy convulsion struck, and I knew that somewhere the real me was definitely crying in agony. Now it was as if his whole body were being forced through a damaged memory orb, it felt as if each of his nerve endings were being flayed one by one and unbearable slowly. I almost felt sorry for him, if not for the sensation of my very soul being torn to pieces.

As the inner pain subsided slightly, the buck gave an agonized winnie, the dry air slowly escaping his trembling muzzle.Steadily, his eyes rose to the double doors opposite, his hooves quivering. It was then he fumbled for something on the desk before him. A small metal object in the shape of an eight-point star, attached to a fine silver chain. It looked old and worn, the once golden metal chipped and dulled by the passage of time. Etched into its center, barely recognizable against the worn surface, was what appeared to be a heart.

The buck's quivering hooves struggled to hold the trinket as he tapped it lightly. Now he was more than trembling, he was burning. I tried to scream as I felt the crackling pain within growing once more. It was like he was on fire but on the inside. As if every single part on his body was falling apart in searing agony. He gave a wretched cough, and to my horror dust bloomed from his muzzle, even more, strained his hoof as he whipped it over his face. His mouth was drier than the desert and a tingling taste of iron touched his tongue, yet there was no blood. The dry substance seemed to peel from the inside of his mouth and glow with a dull orange aura. With every dry breath, it tasted as if there were a lightning storm in the air. His eyes burned with a dry heat, the only moist came from the layer of cold sweat that leaked in buckets from his orange coat, turning his magenta mane into a weeping mess.

"Overseer... I require assistance ..." he spluttered with a dry gag, bracing himself on the side of the desk as another burning surge of agony tore through his quivering body.

The small trinket in his hooves fell to the floor as his limbs twisted, the sudden jolt of metal hitting the carpet rang in his ears for far longer than such a simple sound should.Nevertheless, he glared down to see the thing as it popped open. A locket? But there was no picture. No, instead there was an old mass of cogs, gears, and springs. A music box. Regardless, it was the least of his current concerns as he looked about. Meanwhile, I was fighting hard through the immense pain best I could as my host reeled again.

"Overseer! I need to know it's safe." He wheezed heavily, coughing up more glowing dust.

I couldn't think straight, nor could he, it seemed. As if his mind were slowly melting, I could feel his mouth disintegrating with every subtle movement, I could feel a dusty flutter with each dry heartbeat, he was disintegrating alive, from the inside!

"Did ... did you save the genetic template? Please tell me it's safe," he begged, then crumpled over the desk gagging and coughing.

One of his thrashing hooves hit the music box, and we both looked in horror as the limb began to form a glowing patchwork of red lines beneath his sweat drenched surface. Slow the deadly crossword puzzle began to spread up the limb sending an incendiary pain right through us both as it did so. In the same moment, a similar pattern began to consume his second hoof. Then came the low whirring of clockwork, followed by the soft sound of a beautiful melody.

The light notes mixed with a soft chime to form a gentle lullaby. Once it may have one of the most pleasant, if not slightly romantic, sounds in the world. Yet in my host burning ears, it merely sounded like a screaming chorus. That same pain flared in his chest once again as it continued and I could swear I felt his heart not only stop but explode into dust.

"Yes, I have fulfilled all assigned tasks, Mister Hayland," the sudden voice of Overseer stated, as the glowing orb appeared overhead.

My host fought to turn his head to the hovering robot as it bobbed in the air carelessly.

"The specimen implant is stable, yet the catalyst has suffered considerable trauma, may I recommend ..."

The buck silenced the robot with a painful wave of his glowing forehoof."No Overseer… You... You are to continue as planned, lock the site down, make sure..." the next set of wrenching coughs lasted for nearly a minute, ending with a strained groan.

I did everything my mental prison would allow to ignore the searing pain, unfortunately, that wasn't much.

"Make sure Oracle never get their hooves on... she can have control of two fifteen it's ..."

With an agonizing groan, his words turned into a frantic fit of shallow gasps.

"I assure you Mister Hayland that is not necessary, Oracle has given me no cause for concern and I..."

"Doit, Overseer, that is an order." My host, who I'd now identified as Hayland, barked firmly, interrupting the calm tone of the robot.

There was a momentary pause, my host convulsing in pain all the while the soft tune continued to play in the background.

"As you wish, I will re-establish protocol, my primary function has been shifted. New goal established. Lock down all facilities, find a suitable genetic replacement for subject two... Probability of completion in light of the current situation: zero point one percent," the Overseer rambled, oblivious to the buck sprawling about on the carpet before him.

Witha weak swing of a crumbling forehoof, Hayland dragged himself to the right and staggered to the desk's front. It felt as his legs were charcoal crumbling under his weight. His mane had begun to glow red like molten iron, the coat of sweat beginning to boil from his skin as if it were such a molten metal. With a clumsy stagger, he fell onto his side before the desk, gasping for air like a beached fish. I could do nothing but brace as the feeling of being burnt alive wracked him, all the while his hooves tried to grasp the still playing music box.

His weight was fading as if a light breeze could blow him into the sky. I tried not to think what I was ... no, what he was feeling. But, it was as if his organs were crumbling to dust inside him, his vision went black as his eyes slowly vaporized. The only indication I had that the memory still existed about me was the floor, and the weight of the musical trinket he desperately clutched in his forehooves. That disappeared as I felt his hooves crumble away.

"You are... Our last hope... Overseer ..." he gasped out with one last breath.

I felt his tongue move in the crumbling ruminates of his muzzle. First, his boiling flesh was gone, then all I could feel was bone. I was still couscous, why the fuck was I still couscous? He was no more than bones! A flaming blade tore through the very essence of the memory.

"Indeed,it seems the forced Etherium binding has demonstrated its predated course perfectly. I am sorry, Mister Hayland." I heard Overseer say over the crackling in my crumbling host's ears, the sound akin to that of a voracious swarm of insects.

"Initialising memory extraction." The muffled voice sounded somewhere in the now complete darkness.

For a long second, I just prayed and prayed the pain would stop, all the while that soft tune continued to play. Only a moment later did I feel his brain collapse into dust and his very soul followed into oblivion.

Footnote: Level Up

New Perk Added: Breaking and Entering - You've proven yourself a match for some of the most adept forms of automated security, even if they seem too smart for their own good. You gain 15% extra damage against all form of automated turrets and security robots.

Updated artwork for this chapter kindly provided by: Rainbowsurvivor and Kukotte respectively.