“Come on," Isaac said. "We need to stop this now. Before it gets even more out of hand."

The other crusaders nodded robotically before following him through the door to the right.

The room had a sparking panel, a locked door, multiple wires on the floor, medical equipment on the counter and a locked broom closet.

"What is this?" Applebloom asked looking at the large machine.

"It's what we need to unlock all the little secrets in our heads." Isaac said. "Are any of you afraid of needles?"

"I-I am... why?" Scootaloo said, eyeing the machine fearfully.

"Because we need to have the needle go through our eye and into our brain, where, it can kick-start the neural centers in certain areas and unlock the information on the Marker. In other words, were getting pricked in our pupil."

The other's looked at him in horror; Scootaloo fainted and fell onto her back. Applebloom ran to a trashcan and threw up. Sweetiebelle just sat in place, left eye occasionally twitching as she kept a calm, emotionless expression.

"Um... Sweetie-" Isaac started but was cut off when she raised a hoof.

She looked at him before letting out a nearly deafening scream. It may have lasted for only a few seconds but it was still painful.

"Ok, I deserved that. But you can't blame me for not trying to sugar coat it."

He got a reply when Applebloom threw a microscope at his head.

Ponyville.

"O-Oh dear..." Celestia said, rain pouring overhead. "That's what that machine does?"

Alexander's mouth was hanging open, multiple scenarios of how the needle would go into their eye and kill them. Discord quickly put it back up.

It fell down again and Discord duct-taped it shut.

"Ma'h lil' sister's gonna have to have a needle go into her head!? Through her eye!?" Applejack yelled, furious and scared. "If he hurts her I'll buck him right between the legs after ah'm done with his face!"

"I'll have to stich him to a special quilt." Rarity said.

"I'll drop him from the skies!" Rainbow Dash said snorting.

"I-I think I'm going to be sick... if that's alright with you all of course?" Fluttershy asked, politely with the smallest hint of green showing through her coat.

Titan Station. Earth Gov. Marker chamber.

"Alright, alright! Stop it!" Isaac yelled slapping away another test tube. "You put down that safe right now!" He yelled cowering behind Sweetiebelle as Applebloom lined up another shot.

"Yall are going in first!" She yelled.

"Alright! I never said who's going in at any time! Just stop!" He yelled.

She threw the safe at the window; it shattered and fell to the ground below.

"Alright, I think Scootaloo should go first. She seems to hate needles, so if she's unconscious, she won't have to worry about it." He rubbed his palms together. "Who's with me?"

"What... what happened?" Scootaloo said sitting up.

"Sleep!" Isaac yelled, grabbing a beaker-set and throwing it at her head.

She fell back down to the floor, unconscious.

"Get her in before she wakes up! She might kill me and destroy the machine!" He said picking her up.

He gently placed her in the machine, pulled the switch and she silently went in. A camera showing her vital signs and her eye.

"Alright," Isaac said grabbing hold of the joy stick. "Let's hope I don't kill her."

The other two crusaders looked at him in fear before looking back at the camera.

A set of clamps latched onto her head, screws screwed into place. After that, a needle started to descend down as smaller clamps held her eyelids open.

"Alright, just a little more..." Isaac said, focusing on her pupil.

It slowly went down and finally met her eye. It went down and her pupil expanded. The needle retracted and a small stream of grey blood oozed out as she was slid back.

Isaac picked her up and set her on the floor while Sweetiebelle healed her eye.

"Who's next?"

"Ah-Ah'll go." Applebloom gulped. "Will this hurt?"

"I don't know, you can tell me after you’re done." he said lifting her up. "I didn't notice before, but you three are a little pudgy. Like small dogs, only much more adorable."

She was going to retort but she had already been placed inside the machine.

Her eyes widened as she felt the cold metal go around her head. Her heart rate went up when she saw the needle.

"Can't ah just take a pill or something!?" She asked frantically.

"Don't you remember what Stross said? He didn't want us to do drugs!" Isaac said.

The needle was a blur in her sight but she didn't dare move her eye. It stung slightly when it went in, but her mind felt extremely dizzy when she felt a small spark. After it came out, her head felt slightly light.

"Weird..." She said as Sweetiebelle healed her.

Sweetiebelle hopped onto the bed and laid down. She shivered slightly as it moved her back. She squeaked when the metal bands wrapped around her head, they were slightly warmer from when her friends had them on. Her eyelids were forced open and she saw the needle.

Her eyes switched back and forth frantically, trying to keep up with the needle as it did the same.

"Stop moving so much!" Isaac yelled. "I'll hurt you if you don't! Now calm down!"

She forced her eye to stop, the needle went into her pupil and she relaxed slightly, but flinched when her body received a jolt of energy. An abnormally large jolt.

She slid out and she healed herself. Now it was Isaac.

"Alright, no worries. I just have three... inexperienced... non-licensed...underage ponies plunging a needle into my eye..." He stopped as he laid down. "What could go wrong?" He laughed nervously.

He moved into the machine, the bands now warm, wrapped around his head. He steadied his eye as the needle slowly approached.

He felt a twinge of pain as it entered and a small jolt as it came out.

"Ow." He said as Sweetiebelle healed him.

They all, minus Scootaloo, looked around as a bright light blinded them.

"Nicole... where are you?" Isaac asked looking around.

A bright light in front of him, Nicole barely showing inside, answered.

"Follow the light, Isaac. I'll be waiting for you at the Marker." She disappeared.

"Ow..." Scootaloo moaned, slowly sitting up, eyes half lidded. "What did I miss? And why does it feel like somepony stabbed me in the brain...?" She rubbed her head before felling blood on her cheek "You didn't...?" She saw her friend’s looks. "You did!"

A scraping was heard, and from behind Scootaloo, the vent burst open and a new Necromorph crawled out. Scootaloo quickly ran to her friends, tentacles and weapons out.

It stood a foot taller than Isaac; it had a greyish skin, five yellow eyes, two deformed arms, smaller appendages on its back and no face.

"What the hell is that?" Isaac asked.

"Whatever it is," Applebloom lined up her Line gun. "It’s gonna be a burnt pile in a second." She slowed it down in stasis and fired off two mines. One on each of its sides.

It came out and they blew up. It lost all of its appendages as it fell to the floor.

"Scoot's why don't ya just go and hack that terminal." Applebloom smiled. "Ya know ya want too."

"I guess..." She sulked.

"Uh, girls. I can't absorb it..." Sweetiebelle said backing away.

It started to convulse and in a geyser of blood, new arms, legs and a new head burst out.

The others backed away in fear, especially Isaac.

"No... It’s like a Hunter..." He said. "Throw it out the window!" He yelled.

Scootaloo took it and wrapped it in her tentacles. She held it close and started to extract its soul.

She threw it against the glass, hissing.

"It doesn't have a soul." She said. "I can't do anything."

"Maybe I can." Sweetiebelle said.

She slowed it down in stasis before telling Scootaloo to hack the console. While she ran behind them, Sweetiebelle shot out another bolt and took out a Contact cartridge. She put a few sparks into it, and soon, it was glowing white.

"Sweetiebelle, you remember what happened the last two times you did that?" Isaac said. "And were also in a small room!"

"I know." She said.

Her horn lit up and it disappeared in a flash of light.

She smirked as it started to convulse, sparks arching across its body. Her smirk fell when it was still standing.

"I'm done!" Scootaloo called out. "Come on!"

Isaac grabbed Sweetiebelle as they all ran out.

The Ubermorph disappeared into the vent again, and began the chase.

Author's Notes:

I love cliff hangers. Don't you?