TCB: A Kinder World

02 - Can’t deny nature

Applejack wrinkled her nose, and reached out with a hoof to touch the strange creature.

Like dull green lightning, the thing flipped itself over, and Applejack found her hoof in the grip of a limb that was, indeed, not unlike Spike’s claws. She looked at what seemed like the head of the creature; thick padding surrounded it, and the head sat in a cradle of armor, like a turtle or tortoise.

“Get away from me!” the decidedly male creature spat, voice emanating from the head, although Applejack couldn’t see a moving mouth. She suddenly winced, and let out a gasp of wind as she felt something hit her just below the ribcage.

Wheezing for breath, Applejack fell over, pushed off the creature by his other claw. The thing got to its two legs, and hunched over into an aggressive, almost feral pose as the sound of Rainbow Dash dislodging herself reached what passed for its ears.

“Hey, AJ,” Rainbow Dash said, shaking her head with a faint rattling sound. “What was that noise? Who was thaaaaaaaaugh!” Rainbow Dash pointed a shaking hoof at the bipedal creature. “What are you?” Her eye spotted Applejack on the ground, struggling to breathe. “What did you do to Applejack?!”

The two-legged creature looked from Rainbow Dash to Applejack uncertainly, and backed off hastily; almost stumbling, it crashed through the laboratory doors and the sounds of clumping steps rapidly moved up the stairs.

Rainbow Dash watched it go, and in a split decision, decided her priorities. In a blur, she was at Applejack’s side, holding her up.

“Applejack! Are you alright? Speak to me!”

“RD...” Applejack wheezed. “Ah’m just winded... go chase that thing!”

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “No way. I’m not leaving you until I know you’re fine.”

“RD, you darn fool,” Applejack wheezed. “Ah told yer. Ah’ll be fine, go chase the thing!”

+==[~~~]==+

Twilight landed heavily on her side and slid a short distance on the harsh concrete floor, hooves still bound behind her back. A metal ring sat around her horn, and it only made her headache worse.

“Orichalcum ring, love,” one of the two legged things that had thrown her in sneered, reaching behind her back to unlock her hooves. “Good luck usin’ yer fancy magic now, bitch.”

With that elegant riposte, the solid, metal cell door was shut, and Twilight was left alone in a barely-lit concrete box. She looked around, rolling her shoulders and taking in her new surroundings. Against the wall, a thin fold-away bed was anchored, and in the corner was a bucket, half-filled with water. Twilight’s nose wrinkled as she walked over and sniffed it; it was not, evidently, for drinking.

In the ceiling, a single bulb of glass emitted light; Twilight stared at the wonder for as long as she could, before looking away, eyes watering and the image of the bulb burned into her eyes. It was like a small sun!

And, she thought glumly, that’s it.

It was indeed, it. The room was very sparse; no windows, one bulb high up in the ceiling, a grand total of two pieces of furniture, neither of which could (or should) be moved.

Twilight turned her attention to that damnable metal ring around her horn; as soon as she tried to do magic, it burned like fire, and chilled like ice, sending a lance of pain straight into her brain. Trying to move it with her hooves also proved impossible; she simply couldn’t pull hard enough without magic, and it felt like it was bolted or otherwise secured in place.

She gave up trying to remove what was clearly a limiter of sorts, clambered up onto the bed, and began to do what she did best: think.

+==[~~~]==+

Richard ran. Adrenaline hopped through his brain and his eyes darted left and right as he made his daring escape.

He was in a new place; as he finished ascending the stairs, he emerged into what looked like a library... if a library was built inside a tree. He looked around, hoping for a clue as to where he was.

Sunlight shone through the window - from the looks of it, high noon. He’d been out for nine hours or so. The statue in the centre of a table in the middle of the room was a carved unicorn head, and the books around him all bore the kind of titles one would associate with magical, talking horse interests. All of it was just reinforcing his first guess, the one he wanted to be wrong about at all costs.

Somehow... he was in Equestria. And he wasn’t dead. Richard checked his internals; they were off, and he was breathing the air. So either he was dead already, or he was going to explode into purple goop at the drop of a hat.

Richard shook his head. If it was going to kill him, it would have done it by now. Still, he couldn’t shuck the EOD suit - potion attacks came from anywhere, at any time. Only fools took their equipment off these days. Even in HLF bases, you kept your internals on-hand.

Richard moved swiftly to the door, beginning to sweat; the EOD suit was fine up in the north, but here in Equestria, it seemed like mid-summer - he was starting to overheat. With a bit of difficulty, he peeked out from around the corner of the doorway, and looked outside.

The village was infested with ponies. Thatched roofs and architecture that screamed ‘medieval fantasy’, ponies going about their damnable daily business...

Richard reached onto his back, and drew his shotgun, holding it ready. He had one chance to get out of town alive and human, and he didn’t want to mess it up.

+==[~~~]==+

The sound of milkshake gurgling its last filled the cafe air, and Bon Bon frowned.

“Lyra, do you really have to do that?”

“Do what?” the teal unicorn asked, quizzically, as she put the offending cup down and smoothed out a lab coat.

“Slurping your milkshake like that, it’s so...”

“Inevitable?” Lyra sat back on her chair, crossing her hooves. “It’s a fundamental law of milkshakes. You can’t drink one silently.”

Bon Bon sighed, and shook her head, changing the topic. “So, how are things at the university? I hear you’re making leaps and bounds in golem magic.”

“Oh yeah,” Lyra smiled. “Golems are the future, and we’re making it happen! Right now, we got them rolling about and following people, some can even answer questions!”

“Really?” Bon Bon tapped her chin with a hoof in thought. “Will they be able to remember recipes for me? Or read them out?”

“Why not?” Lyra spread her hooves out wide. “The world is our oyster! All we gotta do is work out how to get them using tools, and the applications are endless!”

Bon Bon leaned on her hoof, and smiled. “I love it when you get excited like this.” A cream hoof jabbed in Lyra’s direction. “But, uh, why are you wearing your lab coat?”

Lyra stood, and reared up on her legs, flaring out her lab coat with a flourish and crossing her hooves. “Because lab coats are cool!”

Bon Bon’s eyes went wide, and the hoof lifted, trembling, to point over Lyra’s shoulder. The teal mare just blew a puff of air dismissively, eyes closed and blind to the large shadow looming over her and her alone.

“Fear not, Bon Bon,” Lyra declared, gesturing theatrically. “I shall ensure that all ponykind benefits from the combined power of magic and science in complete saf-hurk!”

A thick limb wrapped itself around Lyra’s neck, and with a ruthless tug, pulled the smaller mare up so she was forced to remain standing on her rear legs. A long, metal tube was placed to the side of her head, and something dragged her backwards.

“Nobody move!” a voice shouted from behind Lyra’s ear, “Or the unicorn gets it!”

Nopony had any idea what ‘it’ Lyra would be receiving, but just based on tone and posture, they guessed it wasn’t good. They all obeyed the shouted order, and the voice grunted in satisfaction.

“Keep your hooves where I can see them!” the voice shouted, moving backwards still. Lyra struggled to escape the grip, and found it tightening for her trouble. Part of her was terrified blind. The other part was madly curious about this thing that had her.

It was moving... and it was using tools! At the same time! Without magic, it seemed! It was everything the lab had been looking for! All she had to do was find out how this thing worked, and she’d be set for life! Tenure, even!

“Ack- what-” Lyra drew as much of a breath as she could. “What... are you?”

“I’m a human!” the voice shot back. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know! You!” the voice went back into a shout, directed at somepony with saddle bags. “Hooves stay where I can see them! If I see any potion coming out, I blow this mare’s brains all over your pretty little streets!”

Lyra tucked her hooves into the limb and tried to loosen the grip, just enough so she could breathe properly. “How are you dragging me and walking at the same time without magic? You’re not using magic, are you? Do you have six legs?”

“No,” the human grunted, “I have two legs, two arms, and two hands! No magic! And I want it to stay that way, so forget asking me to join the herd or anything! And don’t even think about dousing me in potion! Especially you!” The long, metal object briefly left Lyra’s head, to point at another pony carrying a pitcher of purple fluid. “You stay still, you fucker! Don’t think I won’t shoot you!”

“Oh, no!” Lyra shook her head as much as she could, before the weapon returned to her head, quietly wondering what potion had to do with grape juice. “I need you, as you are! These... hand things,” Lyra gently tapped the human’s hands, “These hands will revolutionize everything! Imagine what a golem could do with hands!”

“Uh...” the voice had lost its certainty now. “You... you’re fucking with me, right?”

“Me? Fuck?” Lyra laughed nervously, the new word rolling around her head. “I don’t fuck! I would never dare! Perish the thought! Consider me fuckless!”

The human lapsed into concentration, only breaking its silence to bark orders at ponies passing by. Naturally, everypony who’d seen the human dragging Lyra wanted to see more of it out of curiosity or genuine concern, and before long, half the town was following Lyra and the human, and the human was getting increasingly nervous.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck,” the human muttered, clutching Lyra tighter. “I am so boned. Fucking dead. This was a baaaaad idea.”

“Why... are you... doing this?” Lyra squeaked, looking at nearby landmarks and guessing where she was. “If... you just wanted to walk out... of town... nopony... would have stopped you...”

“Yeah, that’s right,” the human nodded. “Then they would have hit me with potion on the way out. I’m not fucking stupid. If I feel like I’m starting to change, your head’s gonna have a hole in it the size of my fist.”

“But...” Lyra gasped. “That would... kill me! I’d be... dead! Nopony wants that! Least of all, me!”

“That’s the idea, you dumb pony!” the human exclaimed. “If I have you, and they don’t want to see you die, they’ll do things my way! I stay human, you stay alive, we all win!”

This puzzled Lyra. “But... you’re a human... why would you... want to be a pony?”

“I don’t! But since when have ponies cared about what humans want?” the human snorted. “You bombed us in our homes, you sabotaged our ships, you hunted us down like dogs! Just a splash of potion, and we’re fucking gone! Mindless slaves to your whore queen Celestia!”

“Hey!” Lyra choked. “Don’t talk about... the princess... that way!”

“I’ll stop talking about her like that,” the human spat, “When she stops leading a genocide on the human race!”

The pair came to a halt on the edge of town. The human twisted left and right, checking his avenue of escape was clear. Before him, most of the town had gathered to watch the strange occurrence, and his shouted orders had ceased to be of any use.

“Fuck!” Lyra felt the grip relax, before the limb whipped around and she felt a solid pressure on her back. With a flailing of hooves, she flew forwards and landed on her belly, rolling over to get a good look at the human.

Khaki green, and easy taller than even Big Macintosh, one of the local apple farmers, the ‘human’ had a build that was roughly similar, too. Thick limbs ended in relatively smaller ‘hands’, one of which demonstrated exactly the kind of tool manipulation that Lyra was looking for by holding that long metal thing. The head was sunken and featureless, a face of translucent, reflective blue that she couldn’t see through from her angle on the ground.

“Wait!” she implored, “I still have so much to ask you!”

“Q&A time is over, unicorn!” the human shouted. “Nobody follow me, or I shoot them! We clear?”

The human didn’t wait for a response, before backing off rapidly. They paused for a moment after a few steps, and said something in a voice just loud enough for Lyra to hear.

“By the way... I agree. Lab coats do rule.”

With that, the human was gone, it’s two legs working swiftly to carry it into the distance, and Lyra sat in the middle of the road, rubbing her throat and neck absent-mindedly.

Hands. The applications were countless, possibilities endless. Earth ponies and pegasi could benefit from unicorn-esque dexterity! Golems capable of using any tool! She was so caught up in thinking of uses for hands that she barely noticed the small herd of ponies crowding around her.

“Are you okay, miss?”

“Oh my god, Lyra, are you alright?”

“What was that thing? Were you talking with it?”

“Are you hurt? That thing looked like it was choking you!”

Lyra waved them all away, getting to her hooves. “I... I’m fine. Just a little hoarse. Which way did it go?”

“Go?” one stallion asked from overhead. “That thing went towards the Everfree Forest. Probably where it lives, if you ask me.”

“Lyra!” Bon Bon’s voice rang out, and the earth pony mare squeezed through the crowd to be at her side. “Lyra! Thank Celestia you’re alright!”

“I’m better -cough- than alright!” Lyra declared proudly. “I’ve got the answer to all my problems, and it’s running towards the forest!”

“You can’t go!” Bon Bon protested. “That thing said it would shoot anypony who followed it! Whatever that means! It didn’t sound good!”

“I’ll take my chances!” Lyra said, pushing through the ring of ponies and running off down the road, labcoat fluttering in the wind.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon shouted. “Be careful!”

The ponies watched the teal scientist run off into the distance, some shaking heads, most drifting away, the days’ excitement over. Bon Bon remained, watching her old friend go.

The sound of wingbeats and running hooves filled the air, and Bon Bon looked up to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack standing next to her.

“Hey, Bon Bon,” Applejack panted, “Ah don’t suppose y’all have seen a tall green thing, walks on just two legs?”

“About this tall,” Rainbow Dash added, “Likes punching ponies in the gut. Not that talkative.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen it,” Bon Bon nodded. “It ran into the forest - Lyra went running after it!”

“Lyra’s back in town?” Rainbow Dash seemed surprised, then shook her head. “Right, forest, got it. Come on, AJ. Let’s hustle.”

The farmpony nodded, tugged her hat by way of farewell to Bon Bon, and the two ran off into the distance.

“Be careful,” she repeated quietly.

+==[~~~]==+

Fluttershy flinched as the cell door opened with a rattle, and cowered in the harsh light that shone on her. The bipedal thing blocking most of the light frowned, and made a disapproving noise.

“This is some sorta trick,” it muttered. “Come on. Get up, you’re going to see Commander Tulip.”

“C-commander Tulip?” Fluttershy whimpered. The word ‘Commander’ conjured up hundreds of images, precious few of them were happy ones. When was the last time the hero of a story was ‘Commander’ anything?

“That’s his name, don’t wear it out, winger,” the guard said. “You gonna come quietly, or am I gonna have to get Gill to shackle and carry you?”

“I... I’ll walk, thanks,” Fluttershy mumbled, rubbing her fetlocks where the cuffs from before had rubbed red.

“No funny business,” the guard warned. “Or I put a round in your back.”

Fluttershy mumbled something, but the guard didn’t hear it, or didn’t care to follow it up.

The pair walked down the corridor, the guard frowning at all the noise coming from the slightly recessed cells lining it.

“We didn’t used to take prisoners,” he grunted. “But now that we ain’t runnin’, the Commander has decided we should start.”

Fluttershy looked into the cells as she passed - beaten, bruised and sometimes maimed ponies stared back, some with eyes shrunken and all fixated on the bipedal creature with her.

“Join us,” a mare called out, eyes slightly unfocused. “Just drink the potion, become one of the herd!”

“What... what’s wrong with these ponies?” Fluttershy asked. “Are they sick?”

The guard looked at her. “And you’re just weird. Did they leave you out of brainwashing class? Or are you just blind to what’s been happening in the world?”

“Um,” Fluttershy bit her lip. “The second one. I... um.”

“Jesus Christ,” the guard groaned. “You’re kidding me, right? Is this a new trick?”

Fluttershy shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Right, I’ll humor you,” the guard said, “Five years ago, Equestria emerges from the ocean, promising peace and prosperity, and to get in, all you gotta do is drink the magic kool aid. Fuckin’ thing is, it’s all a scam. Nobody comes out quite right, and they’re always pushin’ the kool aid potion. Next thing we know, us humans are getting hunted like dogs in the night, and it’s all we can fuckin’ do to go to sleep human, and wake up with thumbs in the morning.”

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy looked at the ground. “P- ponies did that?”

“And here we are,” the guard gestured at the cells. “There’s only about a thousand of us left, all told, and we’ve still got a war to fight with no reinforcements.”

“W-war?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah,” the guard said. “We gotta take back our land, push the ponies back into Equestria. I dunno how we’re gonna do it, but the Commander says we will, and he’s a man of his word. I have faith in him.”

The pair came to a halt outside the door, and the guard sighed.

“Here we are. He’s waiting for you. Remember - any funny stuff, and you die.” The guard sighed. “For a pony, you’re not so bad to deal with, you know? I didn’t even have to hit you or anything.”

“Um,” Fluttershy blushed. “Thanks?”

The guard shrugged, and walked off. Fluttershy jumped a little as the door in front of her clicked and swung open. On the other side, a gasmasked human looked at her pointedly.

“You.” the human snapped its fingers, pointing. “In here. On that chair, right now.”

Fluttershy cowered and slunk into the room, sitting as she was told. With a swift zipping and clicking, she found herself bound once more, this time to the chair. In front of her was a desk, and on the other side was an old-looking human man. Fluttershy looked at his eyes, and saw only exhaustion; the human didn’t look like he’d slept for a few days, at least.

“So,” the human said, addressing Fluttershy. “Here you are, little pony. You are in the heart of Humanity’s stronghold. The ground outside is covered for miles around with the corpses and blood of your fallen brethren and kin. Death is just one bullet away for you, and there is nobody coming to help you. Are you afraid?”

The human had Fluttershy at “heart of the human stronghold”, and the panicked meep she made said as much. The human nodded slowly.

“I see. Soldiers, leave us; you’re on leave, but you might want to try and find something to do, we’re short-staffed. Decontamination or corpse disposal, perhaps. Chef probably needs meat haulers, if he’s still alive.”

The gasmasked human at the door as well as another one lurking in the shadows of the room snapped salutes, and wordlessly left the room, door clicking shut behind them. Fluttershy swallowed her horror at what the human implied with “meat haulers”, and took the time to survey her surroundings.

The room was much like her cell, in that it had bare concrete walls and floor. The furniture was equally simple and hard - plain steel shelving and desk. There was little in the way of paper around, but the boxes of ammo and assorted guns made up for it.

“Well,” the human said. “You’ve probably guessed, but I am Commander Tulip. You may call me Commander, or Commander Tulip. Don’t call me Tulip.”

“Um,” Fluttershy nodded, shutting her eyes. “Pleased to meet you, Commander, Sir. Please don’t kill me.”

“You,” Tulip said, waggling a finger at Fluttershy, “You are a very strange pony. I’ve put six ponies in that chair before you, know what they did? Do you know how afraid they were?”

Fluttershy meeped.

“Not one bit.” Tulip slammed his palms on the desk. “Not one bit! I threatened their lives, they just smiled at me! I had one of my men cut off a leg with a chainsaw, and at no point did the pony beg me to stop!” Tulip got up and began to pace. “They only said one thing. Talked about one bloody thing.”

“Joining the herd?” Fluttershy guessed, and Tulip snapped his fingers, pointing at Fluttershy.

“Bingo. Like a goddamn mantra, it was,” Tulip sighed. “Couldn’t get a conversation out of them. But you... you are afraid. I can see it, I can feel it. You aren’t trying to convert me. You’re not even struggling or straining. Other ponies would be trying to reach out to embrace me by now.”

“Uh,” Fluttershy mumbled, “I... could try and hug you, if that’s what you want.”

“See!” Tulip sat down, and reached under the desk. “You’re asking. The other ponies, they don’t ask for anything. They just... try and take.”

A soft clink of glass on metal table, and Tulip withdrew his hand; lying on its side was a small vial, filled with purple fluid. Fluttershy looked at it, then at Tulip.

“Am I supposed to drink this?”

Tulip clapped his hands. “My dear, you are either the most clever, deceptive operative Equestria has to offer, or you are genuinely not like the other ponies.” Tulip pointed at the vial. “That is potion - the very substance used by your kind to make us humans into ponies, with or without our consent. Other ponies would be breaking their chair in half right now to get that vial and throw it at me. One actually did, we had to shoot him before he finished throwing.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy looked at it closer, and saw minute sparks of magic flowing through it. “It’s a very pretty potion.”

Tulip leaned back in his chair, and just looked at Fluttershy. “You know,” he said, “I think if more ponies were like you... I wouldn’t have a problem with them. If more ponies were like you, I wouldn’t flinch inside when a shadow passes by overhead.”

Fluttershy didn’t know what to say to that, and just fidgeted. Tulip sighed.

“So,” he said, leaning forward and retrieving the vial of potion. “As much as I like you, I gotta squeeze you for info, now. How did you and that other pony get into that lab? Nothing got past us, and there’s no way into that lab from anywhere else. And where did Richard go? He was there, and when we came back for more guns and ammo, he was not there.”

“Um,” Fluttershy looked down. “I don’t know... Twilight and I got pulled into a portal thing that Twilight said led to another world... and, um... here we are?”

“So there’s more of you out there...?” Tulip frowned. “How did you know Celestia’s name, then, if you’re not from this world?”

“But,” Fluttershy began to protest, then she stopped, and reworded her sentence. “We have a Princess Celestia in our world. She is the most kind and caring ruler Equestria has ever had. One of them, I mean. Princess Luna still counts.”

“That’s funny,” Tulip said, leaning forward. “We have a Princess Celestia as well.”

“She... she’s not a very nice pony, is she?”

“No,” Tulip shook his head. “No, she is not.” He picked up a sheet of paper. “I assume the “Twilight” you talk about is Twilight Sparkle?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy nodded. “Have you talked to her already?”

“Funny that,” Tulip shook his head, and pushed the paper to Fluttershy. The paper had a name, and very vague details printed on it, along with two pictures.

One was of Twilight Sparkle, smiling and posing with the first shovel-load of dirt for a building’s foundation. The other was...

“Um,” Fluttershy pointed to the second one. “Why is there a picture of a collapsed building?”

“Because,” Tulip said, “That’s how she died. Three months ago. We didn’t set out to do it, but someone did...” Tulip sucked in a sharp breath as he joined the dots. “But I think I know who did.”

“T- that’s terrible!” Fluttershy gasped. “Twilight’s dead?”

“Or she should be,” Tulip countered. “Only we found her next to Princess Celestia herself, in the lab, under similar circumstances. Somehow, you two got into a sealed and isolated room, and vanished one of our men.”

“Um,” Fluttershy tapped her chin. “We used the portal? Perhaps that’s what happened to the Richard.”

Tulip drummed his fingers on his desk briefly, before pulling out a cell phone, and dialing a quick number, holding it to his ear.

“It’s the Commander,” he said, skipping to the point. “Is Doctor Milz still alive?” He paused while someone on the other end did a quick check. “Excellent. Tell him to meet me in the lab in six minutes.”

The Commander hung up, and walked around the desk to Fluttershy.

“Don’t try anything, and you won’t get shot. You have my word.”

+==[~~~]==+

Richard walked through the forest, his heavy tread the only sounds around. He was suspicious of the whole place, forests simply didn’t grow like... this. Well, they did, but they were gradual things - forests didn’t suddenly come to an abrupt halt on a line, like this one had, back at the edges.

Richard shrugged. Probably just horse magic at work, humans made forests start and stop on dimes on a regular basis, before Equestria happened.

Before Equestria happened. Richard turned what had happened lately over in his head. That pony he’d held hostage had been strange. And he’d gotten away with it for far longer than he should have.

He wiggled his fingers. A pony just as interested in his humanity as he was? What were the odds? He spotted a convenient tree stump, and sat down, catching his breath. Under the suit, he was sweating up a storm, but didn’t dare remove it. He flinched as a snake slithered over his shoulder, chalking up a second, less humanity-threatening-but-just-as-deadly reason not to take his helmet off.

He gingerly removed the snake, and considered his situation. He was deep within what amounted to the stronghold that was Equestria, alone, and with... he felt his pockets. A shotgun - her shotgun - two magazines of M4 ammunition, a knife, and what felt like a standard bomb defusal kit that he’d never gotten around to cutting off his EOD suit. And a pocket full of brass from some time or another.

“Heeelp!” a shrill voice cried out, a thick accent riding on it. “Somepony! Anypony?”

Richard got up in a rush, and looked around for the source of the cry. Off the beaten path, through a carpet of blue flowers, he saw a clearing; in that clearing, a large, familiar shape was looming over a much smaller one, a little yellow pony with a red mane.

A manticore, Richard thought. Body of a lion, two wings and one vicious scorpion tail, carrying poisons of varying effects and potency. He contemplated leaving the small pony to its fate. He’d seen what Equestrians did with their manticores - trained them to hunt and maul, but never kill. Killing would deprive them of the chance to add another pony to their ranks, after all. He watched as the small foal rolled to the side, avoiding a slash of claws. It’d be just irony if a pony fell victim to one of their own hunting beasts. Let them taste the pain, for once.

On the other hand... was he not human? Did he not hold himself to be a better man where possible? If he didn’t, how could he claim moral victory over the ponies?

Before he could think any more, he was running, kicking aside blue flowers as he drew his knife, and prepared to kill or be killed, all in the name of one of the creatures who had taken so many of his friends and family from him.

The world truly had come to an end.

+==[~~~]==+

Applebloom screamed in terror as the manticore had another go at her, taking a wide swing with a claw. She rolled away, landing on her hooves just as she looked up and saw the manticore’s tail, a long stinger, lashing down towards her.

A simple walk to Zecora’s house - how had it gone so wrong? First she’d been chased by the manticore, then she’d been herded into this clearing, the only way out blocked by poison joke! And Celestia alone knew what’d happen if she got poison joke’d - she could only hope that it wouldn’t get her killed by the manticore.

“Applejack!” she shouted, hearing rapid, heavy steps, and praying that this would be another of her sister’s timely rescues.

Right on cue, something large and heavy swept into her, and with a grunt, sent her flying across the clearing; she landed on her side, and looked back to see a strange bipedal thing grappling with the stinger, a piece of metal held in one of its forelimbs.

With a grunt, the thing attempted to push the stinger aside, only to get swatted in the chest by one of the manticore’s paws. The bipedal creature’s size and bulk prevented it from evading the attack, and it grunted in pain as gouges were ripped in its hide.

Applebloom got up in panic, alarmed; but the creature merely staggered, and fought on. The piece of metal flashed, and the Manticore roared in pain as it was stabbed in the tail.

Like lightning, the biped was swatted into the ground, and Applebloom shrieked in terror as the Manticore went to work, slashing and clawing at the thing in a frenzy, tail lashing over it’s shoulder to sting the creature not once, or twice, but six times!

“Somepony! Help!”

+==[~~~]==+

Twilight Sparkle stumbled into the lab once more, pushed by a relatively uncaring guard.

“Move it, you sack of shit,” the human grunted, returning the butt of his gun to his shoulder.. “Fucking horses. Why aren’t we killing them yet?”

“Because they aren’t your average ponies, Specialist Oss,” the voice of the Commander rang out. “And if they aren’t normal, they’re useful.”

“Don’t fucking see it,” Oss grunted, escorting Twilight through what was left of the lab. The room had since been cleared, the corpses of ponies removed. Not a lot had or could have been done about the bloodstains, though, and Twilight stepped gingerly between stains as best as she could, with her hooves still shackled. In the middle of the lab, two humans stood on what looked like a human-built portal machine, alongside an unbound Fluttershy, who was making a point of breathing through her mouth and not looking at the ground.

“I don’t expect you to,” the Commander replied smoothly. “That’s why I’m the Regional Commander, and you’re just a Specialist. I see a bigger picture.”

“A bigger picture that included us all dead or worse by now,” Oss muttered. The Commander caught the low mutter.

“Watch yourself, Kay,” he warned. “Before I decide that the new human race’ll be better off without you, and shoot you for insubordination.”

“You’re putting a fucking pony above a human life, you shit!” Oss shouted, and Twilight quickly stepped out of hitting range. “Ponies are not humans! They’re less than human, they’re scum!”

A soft clink of boot on metal filled the air, and Oss found himself nose-to-forehead with the Commander.

“They might be less than human,” the Commander stated levelly, “But we are human. And that means we have standards, get it?” A finger jabbed Oss in the chest. “Humane and efficient kills might be a luxury we’ve scrimped on in these times, but if we take prisoners, we’re going to do it right. And we are taking prisoners where possible. Do I make myself clear?”

Oss grumbled. “...Yes.”

“Yes what?” the Commander leant in closer.

“Yes, Sir!”

“That’s what I thought,” the Commander pointed at Twilight. “Unshackle the pony, leave the key for the magic limiter.” The Commander’s eyes narrowed. “And get out of my sight before I change my mind about you.”

Oss shot the Commander and Twilight a dirty look apiece, but complied, unlocking Twilight’s shackles, and stomping out of the lab. With a bang, the door slammed shut, and Twilight let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“Thank you,” she said, “for being my advocate.”

“Humph.” The Commander turned and walked back to the portal machine, and Twilight followed. “I like to think I run a tight ship. Things have gotten lax in the last few months with constant running and imminent doom hanging over us all, but that all ends now.”

“I really do appreciate that you’ve managed to reconcile your hate for ponies,” Twilight reiterated, and the Commander shook his head as he turned around, having returned to his place on the portal machine.

“Not reconciled,” he denied. “Just set aside for now. I don’t think I’ll ever truly forgive Equestria for what they’ve done, or look at anything with four hooves the same way again. But I can bury the hatchet if need be.” He pointed to himself. “I’m Commander Tulip. Call me Commander or Commander Tulip, never just ‘Tulip’, or I will shoot you.” He pointed at the other human on the machine, “This is Doctor Milz. He was the one who built this contraption. Your friend, Fluttershy, claims that you have also built this machine, which is why you’re here and not getting acquainted with Specialist Oss’ anger issues.”

Twilight grimaced at the thought of having to spend time with Oss, and nodded. “Yes, I built a machine very much like this one. Although out of stone, not metal.” Twilight ran a hoof along the metal surfaces, and up one of the protective barrier prongs. “It’s very impressive - Doctor? You built this?”

“Over a course of several years,” Milz nodded, speaking with a thick German accent. “It has not been easy finishing it, running as ve have been, and some corners have been cut, but it vill serve.”

The two builders of the machine looked at the artefact in question; where runes had been on Twilight’s Portal machine, capacitors and other human technology sat on Milz’s machine; closer inspection of the machine revealed that the design was not as uniform as initially thought; evidence of scavenged hardware poked out here and there, some of the metal plating was clearly different from others... but it had worked nonetheless.

“Zis machine,” Milz continued, “I vill not be ashamed to admit it, but it came to me while I vas on ze toilet. Ze perfect key to manipulating zer fabric of reality, ze vay to focus zer energies just so.”

Twilight’s head tilted as she tried to make heads or tails of the Doctor’s thick accent, and looked to Tulip, who sighed.

“He was on the shitter when he had the idea,” summarized Tulip.

“Mm, das ist correct,” Milz nodded. “I moved to zer United States to complete zer project, and vas almost finished, when zer Emergence happened.” The Doctor shook his head. “I vas not fortunate enough to take zer prototype with me. Fortunately, I vas acquired by ze HLF, und I had zer chance to finish ze machine.”

“Thing is, though,” Tulip piped up, “The good Doctor has never managed to get this working before. It spun, it sparked and it made one hell of a show, but it has never actually done anything. Which is why it was unusual when Richard managed to make it go.”

“Ah,” Twilight nodded. “I think I have an idea why. When you turned it on before, nopony else in other worlds had built one. I only finished building mine yesterday.”

“Ah,” Milz nodded again. “Zis is revelation. Tell me, how did you get around zer Pennheimer Barrier problem?”

“I, uh,” Twilight coughed. “I have no idea what a “Pennheimer Barrier” is. I use magic.”

Milz sighed. “Ah, zis is so. I vill never be able to miniaturize zer portal machine, I fear.”

“Y- you want to miniaturize it?” Twilight gasped. “Why in the wide world of Equestria would you do that?”

“Vhy not?” Milz shrugged, tapping the machine. “Zis machine cost millions of American dollars, und I built it just because.”

“How much did your machine cost you, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, quietly.

Twilight coughed and laughed nervously. “Well,” she said, “It didn’t cost me anything - I have quite a large research fund that I’ve barely touched, which covered it all. But, uh, it cost the crown of Equestria...” Twilight mumbled a number that only Fluttershy could hear, and Fluttershy turned a yellow-tinted shade of purple.

“What?” Tulip asked, curious. “Come on, how much?”

Twilight’s lips clamped shut, and she shook her head vigorously. Tulip sighed.

“Oh well, I guess we got enough out of you,” he shrugged. “So I guess that rules using the portal as an escape route out, then.”

“I... um, don’t think that would be a good idea,” Fluttershy mumbled. “Your humans... are a little... just a wee bit jumpy around ponies. Equestria is full of ponies. I don’t think it would be a good idea...”

“Not to mention zer Thaumic radiation,” Milz added. “Escape using zer portal vill not happen.”

“Then what about Richard?” Tulip asked, rounding on Twilight. “What happened to him? Where did he go?”

“If he came out where we went in,” Twilight thought back. “Then he should wind up in the lab below my library...”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy exclaimed, “Applejack and Rainbow Dash! What if Richard sees them? I don’t think it’ll go well...”

“I have faith,” Tulip nodded. “If your friends are like yourself, then they will be fine. Richard gives what he gets, and if he gets politeness and non-agressive actions, then he won’t harm anyone. Much.”

“Um,” Fluttershy began. “What... what happens if somepony is mean to him, or hurts him?”

Tulip’s expression darkened. “You saw the photo. He believes Celestia took his daughter from him with ponification, so he gave what he got.”

+==[~~~]==+

Richard grunted in pain as the Manticore had its way with him again, slamming a clawed paw into his chest. Richard wheezed as the stinger lashed into him once more, penetrating the suit only partially.

“Hey guy,” his suit piped up, “You’re being stabbed and cut something fierce! You should probably do something about that!”

Even in the fight for his life, Richard found time and energy enough to roll his eyes in exasperation.

“No shit, Sherlock!” he shouted, swinging his knife and slashing the manticore’s pinning leg. He rolled sideways, and slashed at the tail headed his way, deflecting that accursed sting.

The human clambered to his feet, and squared off against the manticore; both had their share of minor injuries. The manticore had been cut and stabbed a little, but that only made it angrier. Richard had been slashed and stabbed with the tail numerous times, but nothing had managed to penetrate the EOD suit, thankfully. However, the result was still a Richard who was bruised, battered, tired, and above all, pissed off.

The two charged at each other once more. The Manticore obeyed instinct, and pounced, going for Richard’s head. Richard ducked under the pounce, and went for a slash at the manticore’s underbelly.

A thick red slash formed, and Richard skidded to a halt, grinning. The Manticore looked at itself as if in disbelief, roared a roar of defiance, and charged again. This time, the Manticore played smarter, and dodged to the left; Richard watched it go, only to see the tail headed straight for his face.

With a soft crack of plexiglass, Richard fell over, instinctively slashing with his knife. The Manticore roared, and Richard took stock of his new situation.

“Guy! Your faceplate’s been pierced by some sort of shrapnel! That’s probably not good!”

Suspended no more than an inch from his face was the tail’s stinger, having punched clean through his visor. Beyond that, though, not a lot remained; judging by all the blood over his visor and knife, the thing he’d cut in his panic was the Manticore’s tail.

A second, enraged roar split the air, and Richard rolled instinctively; the manticore’s paw rose from where it had failed to pulverize Richard, and the beast snarled.

Richard, for his part, grabbed the stinger, and with a yank, ripped it out of his face plate.

“Hey, hey, hey, obstruction removed!” the suit cheered. “Engaging auto-repair systems! Try not to die in the meantime!”

Richard’s visor began to fix itself, splinters slowly receding and the hole shrinking rapidly. It left Richard’s view clear enough to see the Manticore trying to snuff him out for good with another charge.

With a feint, Richard dodged; the Manticore sailed past, and the human struck.

This time, it was the Manticore that ate dirt, sliding to an ungainly halt on the ground; in its side, a knife handle protruded, and in its eye, a stinger was embedded.

Richard turned around, and approached the fallen beast. The Manticore looked like it had just given up, and lay there, breathing shallowly. The poison of a Manticore wasn’t lethal to their own kind, but it still had effects.

With a schlick of meat, Richard retrieved his knife, and looked the beast over; a good cut in the side of the neck should finish it off completely.

He raised the knife, and-

“No!”

He looked around to see the small pony he’d saved, looking at him with incredulous eyes, hoof outstretched.

“Don’t kill him!” the pony implored. “He’s learned his lesson!”

The Manticore, half-blind and bleeding, certainly looked sorry enough, afraid to move, lest it incur Richard’s wrath. No serious injuries apart from the eye, mostly shallow cuts, but if they ever healed cleanly, Richard didn’t doubt that some other predator would capitalize on this Manticore’s ocular weakness.

“Fine,” Richard said, sheathing his knife. “If that’s what you want.” He looked at the pony. “Are you okay?”

“Am AH okay?” the pony asked incredulously, placing a hoof on its own chest. “What about you? Your hide’s all cut up!”

Richard looked at himself; the ballistic plates had done a great job of stopping the worst of the Manticore’s attacks, making the only real damage cosmetic.

“I’m fine,” Richard shook his head, and turned around. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to keep moving.”

“Uh, couldja help me just a little more?” the pony asked.

Richard sighed. “What is it?”

“Th’ blue flowers,” the pony pointed. “Poison Joke. Ah cain’t just go walkin’ across ‘em like you can, and ah don’t know how else ah’d get to the path.”

Richard got it. “Alright, come over here, then.”

+==[~~~]==+

Applejack and Rainbow Dash arrived at the fringes of the forest, to find Lyra with her eye to the ground, scrutinizing something.

“Lyra!” Rainbow Dash swooped down and got the unicorn’s attention. “Hey, Lyra! Long time no see!”

“Oh, hi, Rainbow!” Lyra nodded at the ground, where the two newcomers saw a strange mark. “Fascinating, isn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah,” Applejack said, eyes darting left and right. “Fascinatin’. What are they?”

“This is the tracks that the human makes when it runs!” Lyra seemed a little too excited. “If I analyze how it moves, I could develop Golems that move on just two legs!”

“So, Lyra,” Rainbow Dash began. “You’re chasing this ‘human’ thing too, huh?”

Lyra nodded eagerly. “Imagine what we could learn from it! It managed to strangle me, and drag me out of town, all while using another tool and walking at the same time! It’s amazing!”

Applejack’s eyebrow raised in concern. “You sure you’re alright, sugarcube? Most folks don’t go chasing after something that just held ‘em in a chokehold for no good reason. Or sound that happy about gettin’ choked.”

“Sure I’m sure,” Lyra nodded. “Are you going in?”

“We were plannin’ on it, yeah,” Applejack nodded. “Got us some questions we need answerin’.”

“I’ll join you, then!” Lyra jumped between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, lab coat aflutter. “I have questions, too! For science!”

“It’s settled, then!” Rainbow Dash thumped one hoof into the other. “We’re off to find the ‘human’!”

“Whoa, nelly,” Applejack poked Rainbow Dash in the side. “What in tarnation is that?”

In the gloom of the forest, a shape could be seen; striding forward without much pause was the thing they’d been pursuing all this time - the human. his dull green hide was covered in even more red stains, and cradled in his forelimbs was-

“Applebloom!” Applejack exclaimed, running forward before Rainbow Dash grabbed her tail and held her back.

“Whoa!” Rainbow Dash strained to slow Applejack’s reflexive run. “Slow down! He’s got Applebloom!”

“Ah know,” Applejack rolled her eyes, “That’s why ah’m chargin’! Ah ain’t about to let ‘im hurt my kin!”

“He’s not hurting her!” Lyra said, pointing. “Look!”

The human drew closer, and on closer inspection, Applebloom seemed more than just fine, but quite animated as well.

“There! Look! It’s mah sister!” Applebloom tugged on the front half of the human’s neck guard, pointing and waving a hoof at Applejack. “Hey, Applejack! It saved me from a Manticore! C’n ah keep it?”

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