- >>Twilight stormed into your house through the open door
- >>“Anon?”
- >>Morning has come, the light of Celestia in full force
- >>Twilight was on the search, along with her friends, for the missing Apple Bloom
- >>They split up an hour before
- >>Twilight received a tip from a certain Mint Green pony that they were heading towards your house
- >>Naturally, given the circumstances, she was worried out of her head
- >>What she found there horrified her
- >>A chrome knife encrusted with blood
- >>And from it, a trail of dry red splotches on the ground
- >>“Sweet Celestia!”
- >>She reared, her lip curling with disgust as she gazed at the discarded tool
- >>Assumptions filled her purple head
- >>She trotted in place, swaying her head this way and that
- >>“Oh, no!”
- >>“Oh no no no!”
- >>She galloped at best speed out of the house to get her friends
- >>Light flooded your consciousness once more
- >>And once again, it was dim
- >>The hospital, again?
- >>You could only be so lucky
- >>You made very few sounds as you came to
- >>Your face. It was... ow
- >>I mean, really 'ow'
- >>You got knocked for a loop by something
- >>You lift a hand to your cheek and took stock of your situation
- >>You were inside of a stone alcove, surrounded by loose dirt
- >>A mine?
- >>The only way out was a series of iron bars guarded by a humanoid figure
- >>The only way out was a series of iron bars guarded by a humanoid figure
- >>You shook your head and focused your thoughts
- >>It was a rough-shod jail cell, and your guard was an average sized diamond dog
- >>Other than that, you knew not where you were
- >>You saw that the guard had a key ring
- >>You got up on your knees, managing your breathing to make as little noise as possible
- >>You moved only when the bored guard shifted his footing
- >>A delicate operation, this was
- >>You get within range, and he is none the wiser
- >>Until you see his ears reflexively pivot to face you
- >>Quickly your right hand rockets out to grab the guard by the collar
- >>“Whua?!”
- >>You shove him forward, pressing your body against the bars
- >>He flings like a ragdoll
- >>You hurl yourself back with all your might, going so far as to yank your arm back in addition
- >>The The pull and torque creates adequate acceleration
- >>He slams against the iron bars
- >>His head whiplashes right into the hard surfaces
- >>He falls over like a sack of potatoes
- >>You quickly take the key chain and undo the lock to your cell and stumble out, making sure to afford a glance in all directions before moving forward
- >>Sweet Celestia
- >>You come to a junction, and it's a maze
- >>Some sort of underground tunnel system
- >>There were passages in the walls
- >>In the floors
- >>In the ceiling
- >>So many possible directions
- Sweet Celestia
- >>You vocally repeat your thoughts
- >>You pick a direction, and go
- >>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDPC7CFv5hA
- >>How much time has passed? You don't know
- >>You feel as if you are suffocating
- >>It's so dry down here
- >>You're so thirsty
- >>Your throat is pinched with pain
- >>Blood seeped from an open cut in your head a while ago right into your left eye, forcing you to shut it
- >>You're tired
- >>You're hungry
- >>You're confused
- >>Fatigue doesn't even begin to describe it
- >>On top of that, you weren't planning thisshit
- >>You've lost a lot of blood
- >>You're woozy, and at any moment you feel like you could blow chunks
- >>You round a corner, right into the backs of two Diamond Dog guards
- >>You quickly stumble back and press against the corner
- >>You cannot fight, now
- >>Your only talent, and it would be suicide to use it here
- >>Shit, where do you go, now?
- >>“Hear about the diamonds?”
- >>One spoke up
- >>“What about em'?”
- >>“We ain't gonna have to pull the wagons anymore. They got some ponies to do it for us”
- >>“About time! I was getting sick of hauling that junk”
- >>You hear everything
- >>“Yeah, they're pretty small but they'll manage”
- >>Should you care?
- >>Really, should you?
- >>No, you don't feel like you should
- >>And, yet, there's a feeling of responsibility that overtakes you
- >>Celestia, damnit
- >>What are you going to do?
- >>They were frustrating, pretentious, obnoxious
- >>They're ponies, and you have no reason to feel any sympathy for them
- >>But... they're kids
- >>Celestia has removed memories of your childhood, effectively destroying yours
- >>But they still have lives to live
- >>Damnit, damnit, damnit
- >>You can't believe that you're even considering this
- >>The guards move off on their patrol, and you follow – being more cautious than you ever have been in your entire life
- >>By Celestia – who you still recognize as your one and only God;
- >>These tunnels are winding, and forever
- >>They are eternity
- >>More than once you have had to stop and sit, waiting for your patrol to get moving
- >>And sometimes you have had to start following other patrols as a matter of circumstance
- >>It gets really difficult when patrols overlap
- >>You are going nowhere fast
- >>This situation doesn't get any better
- >>Until you happen to cross a wooden gate
- >>You peer into it, and it looks like it's an armory
- >>You look to the left, and then to the right
- >>And you cannot afford to miss 'up,' here
- >>Once the guard dogs are out of ear shot, you open the gate and then close it behind yourself
- >>You find yourself in a richly equipped room with spare helmets, cuirasses, and spears
- >>You inspect the workmanship of the armor and note that the Dogs are alarmingly intelligent
- >>They employ hinges and have pauldrons on their armor
- >>It indicates that they must come in contact with things capable of hitting them in the shoulder from the top
- >>This tells you a lot about them
- >>Their use of bolting and riveting weakens the armor, but it's probably done for a practical reason
- >>Some of the spears use discarded diamonds for heads
- >>Hard, but brittle
- >>And therefor useless to you
- >>Immediately, you go about dressing yourself in diamond dog armor plating
- >>You grab a spear
- >>Rough yourself up with some dirt
- >>A lot of dirt, actually
- >>While you prepare yourself, you hear the gate latch
- >>A diamond dog workmaster walks into the room, and you look over your shoulder and freeze
- >>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQiDzSWLIm4
- >>You start to sweat
- >>Oh, Celestia
- >>You aren't ready
- >>Holy shit
- >>The work master looks at you for a moment
- >>The span of time is volitile
- >>He analysis you
- >>The armor is way too big for you
- >>You don't have a tail
- >>And some of your skin is still uncovered
- >>Shit
- >>“What are you doing?!”
- >>He calls in a shrill voice
- >>“Standing there like an idiot!”
- >>He cracks the whip, lashing it out right at your feet
- >>You skip back and rear up on one foot, raising your arms defensively
- >>You don't want to get whipped! Fuck that noise
- >>Even Fetishshy looks good by comparison
- >>Oh, Celestia, what were you saying?
- Uh
- >>You are at a loss for words
- >>“Get your butt to the deep quarry! The boss is about to execute the prisoner!”
- Oh! Yar, that sounds good.
- >>You get on your fists and feet, running as much like a gorilla as possible, like you've seen them sometimes do
- >>The taskmaster crosses his arms and shakes his head
- >>“Freakin' inbreeds...”
- >>Oh, Celestia, what you wouldn't do for some water right now
- >>It's been over an hour since you woke up
- >>This goes beyond being thirsty
- >>The discomfort is overwhelming
- >>Your mouth feels like cotton
- >>Your fists are all sorts of scratched up
- >>The fatigue is bearing down worse and worse
- >>You have been swept up by a group of miners who are rushing to the quarry where they were ordered by their masters
- >>This place must be a network of SEVERAL quarries
- >>This just keeps getting better and better
- >>You finally get a break when you pass a hallway that is lined with prison cells
- >>There is one guard posted there
- >>And, as you enter the hall way, you find Sweetie Belle in one
- >>You look at the next one
- >>Scootaloo
- >>And, in the final cell, there is Apple Bloom
- >>They are crying. Now bawling, but they are sniffling and they are leaking tears
- >>Upon their backs you can make out the impressions of a harness
- >>These girls have already been used for manual labor
- >>How long were you out?
- >>You march up to the stationed guard
- Shifts' over, bud. Get to the quarry
- >>The guard dog, who is built like a brick but also a little smaller than you, scratches the side of his head with a nail
- >>“That... doesn't seem right.”
- Hm?
- >>“...I just relieved a guy ten mi”
- >>You clock him with a hard uppercut while he isn't looking, crouching down low and using your legs to further drive the punch up past his chin
- >>His helmet flies off, and he falls
- >>The girls all shreik
- >>“AAAH!”
- >>They're like a bad chorus
- >>You hold out your hands, shaking them
- Shh! Shh! Shut up!
- >>They don't
- >>Can they possibly be dumb enough to think you're a diamond dog?
- >>You growl and then take your helmet off, whipping your shaven head free of sweat
- Here, see?
- >>They look at you in unison for a moment
- >>Then, at the same time, they go back to wailing
- >>You slouch, eyes half closed
- >>You are not amused
- It's Anon!
- >>“We know!”
- >>Apple Bloom says, which catches you by surprise
- “You were so mean, and the knife...”
- >>You cringe
- I'm sorry
- >>You repeat, feeling like you need to
- I'm SORRY
- >>They stop crying
- We're getting out of here
- >>“...But how?”
- >>Sweetie Belle asks
- >>You take the key ring and begin to unlock and open their cells one by one
- I don't know.
- But I promise you, we'll all see Celestia's light again.
- >>This idea was retarded
- >>You waddled back and forth, trying to maneuver down the hall
- >>This armor was so big on you, you managed to tuck three fillies between it and your shirt
- >>You looked down the collar every once in a while, making sure they were alright
- >>“Move your arm!”
- >>“It smells in here!”
- >>You frown deeply
- >>“How about you move your face?”
- >>You knock a fist against the chest piece, rattling their heads
- Hey! How about you all shut up!
- >>“Sorry, Anon”
- >>They all spoke in unison
- >>The weight was terrible
- >>You could no longer walk straight
- >>At this rate, it was just a battle of attrition
- >>Either you were going to get out, or fatigue was going to kill you
- >>At least the dogs were all waiting stupidly in that quarry
- >>Friggen idiots haven't realized that you escaped yet
- >>It was just then that you are whizzed into the wall by guard dogs darting passed you
- >>“The prisoner has escaped!”
- >>FFFUUUU
- >>The guards are in too big of a rush to notice that you are going in the opposite direction
- >>“Anon? Is everything alright?”
- Shut up
- >>you quickly hiss
- >>You stumble through the hall, hoping that moving in to the fire will yield a better result than moving away from it
- >>Your breathing is heavy, and it bothers the three fillies nestled against your chest
- >>Perspiration covers your face
- >>You are pale. You don't have enough blood for this
- >>You're starving
- >>You're choking
- >>You're thirsty
- >>You're weighed down
- >>You're stressed
- >>But you made a promise
- >>And you intend to keep it
- >>Your eyes drift closed
- >>You keep stumbling forward
- >>When they open again, you find yourself spilled into a large room
- >>A pit, carved out of multiple stepping layers of rock
- >>It is illuminated by torches, and the brilliant glitter of exposed gemstones
- >>Lining the various steps surrounding the pit are hundreds of Diamond Dogs
- >>Oh, Celestia, you fumbled into a colosseum
- >>“Hey! What're you doing here?!”
- >>You turn to face a large Diamond Dog
- >>It's huge
- >>Maybe six and a half feet tall
- >>Broad, muscular, wide. Easily three hundred pounds or more on you
- >>It's the one who knocked you out
- >>“You're supposed to be finding me that ape who killed my brother!”
- >>Never have you been so intimidated since your first encounter with Celestia
- >>Your mouth hangs open, you glare at this colossus of muscle and matter, densely packed cartilage and bad attitude
- >>You take a step back
- Oh, uh... let me just...
- >>You shift away from him, put on a fake smile, and nudge a finger toward the way you came in
- ….get right on that, sir.
- >>But the Crusaders... oh, those Crusaders
- >>“MOVE YOUR ARM!”
- >>“NO! YOU MOVE YOUR WING!”
- >>The large diamond dog spread his arms out, palling his hands into fists
- >>“What did you say to me?!”
- >>His voice is bombastic and causes loosely packed soil to fall from the ceiling
- >>You think fast
- I, uh, I...
- >>Suddenly the three fillies start fighting one another inside of your armor
- >>You rock back and forth, trying to maintain your balance
- >>Sweetie Belle falls out of the armor and heaps at your feet
- >>Then Scootaloo
- >>And then Apple Bloom
- >>The huge Dog watches, eyes wide
- >>Your breastplate falls apart and off of your body, and your helmet flips off just as you start to regain your balance
- >>“Oops...”
- >>Scootaloo says
- >>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O1ixMU2Plg
- >>You touch your fingers together and look up to the Dog, who beams an evil glare at you
- >>The crowd goes wild
- >>Neither you nor the crusaders share their enthusiasm
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The Story That Never Was - Chapter 16
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