Chapter 1: Hell

Chapter One: Hell

"Rise and shine, colt. Wake up!"

"5 more minutes." The white Pegasus groaned, pulling the covers over his face.

"Now or else!"

"Fine! I'm up! I'm up!" Growled the brown-eyed Pegasus.

Pushing back the covers with his right-wing, Alpha got up. He sighed as he looked around his cell. Blood stained the walls and ceiling, leaving the ground black and dirty. An iron door swung open, letting Alpha leave his cell into the halls to walk to the shower room. Although there were other pegasuses walking there at the same time, no one gave a glance to him, which would be odd considering his age, but Alpha either did not notice or did not care. Alpha walked into the shower room and found an empty stall. He went inside it, turned the makeshift handle, and let the cold water run through his black-turning-blue mane. As it seeped through, washing away his fatigue, he thought about his life. He has worked at the RF for 3 years. Today was his birthday, he had just turned 11. He thought of having a celebration...a party, but then decided against it.

"There are no birthday parties at the RF. No such thing. You work or die." He told himself.

He turned off the shower, dried his mane, and walked to his assigned work place: The Repair bay. During his first week of hell, Alpha found out that he had a knack for creating and repairing anything metallic. For a normal colt, one Alpha's age, they would never understand the reason for a "welding torch", let alone how to use one properly, but for Alpha, the welding torch was like a magic wand for him. When he held it, he could create and fix anything. Alpha walked to the lockers, grabbed his mask, his leather gloves for his hoofs and wings, and his welding torch. He then slipped on his leather gloves for his wings and hoofs and was about to don his helmet when his hoof ran over his still burning and raw scar on his face. He stopped cold and ran over the scar with his hoof, without the glove, and carefully felt it. He closed his eyes, and remembered the incident.

Last week, One of the guards brought in another stray, a red mare. While looking around the bay, her eyes locked on to Alpha's torch. Alpha had stopped to get another part to fix. The mare walked over to the tool and held it up with one hoof, while looking over it with curiosity. Alpha, coming back into the bay, lifted his head to see the mare playing with the torch. With a rush of fear, he ran to the mare, "STOP!" he screamed as he galloped toward her.

The mare lifted her head to see Alpha running to her, unaware that she had turned on the wrench. Aware of the torch's danger, Alpha tackled the mare. He was not aware of the fact that the mare brought up the wrench so it was facing him. Alpha's face brushed the tool, its fire changing in a blur of neon colors as it burned into his face. The mare dropped the tool and hit the ground as she was tackled by a Pegasus running at full speed. She watched as the welding torch hit the ground, sputtered for a few seconds, then died. The mare then looked to her right, and stared at the white Pegasus. He was covering his face, specifically the place where he was burned with both front hoofs and wings. He was screeching in pain. The mare reached out to Alpha, but was stopped when 4 Guards, dressed in black uniforms, grabbed her and started to pull her away. The guards stopped dead in their tracks when they heard Alpha's voice. They turned and stared in disbelief to see the white Pegasus standing, looking at them with an etched scar, still burning, running from above his left eye, across his nose and ending below his right eye.

"She does not deserve to be punished." Alpha said in a calm voice.

"But she hurt you, damaged your face with your own welding torch." One of the guards said.

Alpha lowered his head and smiled. "Having their Parents abandon them should not be punished by death, let alone brutally tortured and killed slowly." He said as he walked up to the guards. "She was curious. She wanted to know what the tool was. Thank Celestia I walked into the room and saw what was taking place. If I hadn't, she," Alpha pointed to the mare, "she would not be alive. Let her go, I'll show her the ropes," Alpha said walking toward the mare. The guards stopped Alpha.

"We already have ponies working on that, she will live." Alpha nodded, and walked back to his work place.

A pegasus, tossed him a wet cloth and said "You always have a habit for saving others that did something wrong. Why? What did they do to earn that respect from you?"

Alpha caught the cloth, wrapped it around his face, making sure it covered his new scar, and replied. "3 years ago, I was caught for stealing bread. I was a stray. For my punishment, I was to work here for the rest of my life, or until I had died. In my opinion, I do not believe that those who did something so little like me, should deserve to be punished as hard as I was. I did not know what I was doing was wrong. I had no idea that stealing was against the law. So what you just saw me doing was me acting on my opinion, on my belief."

The pegasus smiled, and said "Keep that trait, colt. Most if not all ponies on this planet don't have it. In my opinion, the world needs more ponies like you."

Alpha shook off the memory, and was about to don his helmet when he saw a guard looking at him. Alpha looked around to see 3 more guards, all looking at him, surrounding him.

"Are you the one they call 'Alpha'?" the guard on his right asked him.

"Y...Yes, that is me. Is...Is there something wrong?" Alpha asked, nervous.

"Come with us." the guard said.

"Okay...?" Alpha replied as he followed the guard out of the lockers, passed the shower room and his cell, and stopped at a huge wooden door. The guard knocked once.

"Come in." replied a voice behind the doors.

The guard open the door and gestured Alpha to walk in. Alpha face had just finished entering the room when he was grabbed by the face, wings, and hoofs. Alpha, fully encased by fear, looked around as he struggled for his life. It was a torture room. Saws and torture devices covered the walls, blood stained the floor. He heard the sound of cuffs locking his wings and hoofs as he was put onto a metal table

"I don't understand. What did I do wrong?!" Alpha cried, struggling to get free from the cuffs.

"You spared a mare from her death. You protected her. Under normal circumstances you would be dead already, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive." The Guard said. "So, instead of killing you, we will take off your wing."

"WHAT!?" Alpha screamed in fear. The guard nodded then stepped back. A black pony on alpha's right pressed the button on the tool and stepped toward Alpha's Right wing. Alpha heard the sound of his own Welding torch and knew what was going to happen next. "NOO-" he had barely had time to scream when the torch started burning through his wing. Alpha screamed in sheer agony and pain before he went unconscious from the pain.

Although unconscious, Alpha was still screaming. It took nearly an hour before the wing was no longer connected to Alpha. The black pony stepped back, admiring his work and sneered back to the Guard. The guard was about to nod back when Alpha instantly stopped screaming. The black pony slowly backed up, uneasy of what just occurred. The cuffs on Alpha instantly opened and Alpha rose into the air. The blue part of his Mane and tail turned to red. Alpha's eyes opened suddenly, the color, instead of being brown, was blood-red. Alpha looked at the guards and the black pony and sneered.

"You should not have done that..." Alpha said with a grin.

The ponies in full disbelief, ran toward the door. The door slammed shut in front of them.

"You have condemned him to hell for 3 years." Alpha said, floating towards them. "You have Tortured, Abused, Hated, Bullied, Teased him for 3 years."

The ponies started to panic in fear. All tools behind Alpha were on and floating, following Alpha.

"And now," Alpha continued, landing on the ground in front of them, "You took his wing, burning it off with his own welding torch."

"Please spare us," the guard replied frantically, "we were just doing what we were told to do."

"shh..." Alpha said, putting his hoof on the guard's mouth, silencing him. "shh... it will be alright, no need for apologizing. We already have ponies working on that. This is The Rainbow Factory, after all."

"We?" asked the Black pony. "Who is 'we'?"

"Alpha and I" Alpha replied without taking his eyes off of the guard.

"I thought you were Alpha." the guard on his right said.

"Currently, I am not. The Alpha you saw earlier is not here, he is in the back of his mind, screaming in agony. I am a pony who, long ago, suffered a similar life like his. I was hated, tortured, and bullied by society. I am Beta." Beta replied. "But enough talk. You five have some punishment to endure, that is, until you die."

"Die?" questioned the black pony, before all five were flung unto the metal tables covering the walls. "You said there wasn't any need for death." the black pony said as the cuffs for the five of them were being locked, their wings and hoofs locking onto the table.

" I said there wasn't any need for apologizing." Beta said, grinning.

Beta walked to the metal table where Alpha's wing was. He looked to his left, and saw Alpha's welding torch. Picking it up with one hoof, Beta walked to the black pony, teasing him by turning it on and placing the torch so it's flame was licking his ears. He did the same to the other guards but one, the main guard. "There is always a reason behind anything and everything that happens." Beta chuckled, "Oh, how I am going to enjoy every second of this." He glanced at the Black Pony "This is the rainbow factory, where no single soul gets through." He told the pony, as he started burning the main guard's wing off, his screams echoing through the room.

"Welcome to the Rainbow Factory, where your fears and horrors come true."

Chapter 2: An Idea

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Chapter 2: An Idea

"THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR!" Luna screamed, engulfed in rage. "Working at the Rainbow Factory is one thing, but this?! This is undeniably cruel and evil."

"Luna, calm down." Celestia said.

"CALM DOWN!? You tell me to calm down? After what just happened? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!?" Luna yelled.

"Let. Me. Explain." Celestia told her sister, trying to calm her and her own tempers down.

"Explain? Fine, explain why Alpha's wing was cut off, why he was punished after saving a red mare, why he is still in the Rainbow Factory. Explain that." Luna turned to leave but stopped when she heard her sister sigh.

It is time you learned about Beta."

...

Alpha awoke with a start and looked around. He was in his bed, in his cell. It was just a dream, Alpha thought. Alpha pushed the covers with his right-wing- but was shocked when they did not move. Confused, he tried moving his right-wing when he realized what had happened. He froze in complete and utter shock, and looked at what remained of his right-wing. His right-wing was gone, he had no wing. He then remembered what happened. He remembered the pain, the welding torch, his wing being slowly burned off. He remembered everything going black, then feeling a hot feeling consume him. It felt as hot as the welding torch on his face but it felt so good. That is when it spoke to him.

"Heh, you are alive. Didn't think you would make it"

Alpha staggered off bed as he tried to become used to having only one wing, while having this thing talk to him.

"Well, actually, you would not be alive if it wasnt for me."

Alpha clumsily walked over to the right side of the room as there was a mirror there, albeit cracked.

"Don't be shy. Go on and look at your new self."

Alpha glanced at the mirror and stared at his reflection. He was soaked in blood, his right-wing (what was left of it) was still slightly smoking, cauterized from the torch.

"W...what happened...?"

"Aww, you don't remember?"

"Am I supposed to remember?"

"No, perhaps not. I.." There was a knock at the cell door. "Somepony is here! I am not strong enough to defend you. I will be here when you need me"

"Come on colt, get out!" a voice said behind the door.

Alpha had no reason to work today, let alone move or walk. He just stared at his reflection.

"Fine, have a talk with Mr. Sparky." The door swung open and in came a pony with a cattle prod labeled 'Mr. Sparky'. He saw Alpha staring at the mirror. "Oh, you are looking at your reflection, huh? Most colts and fillies are stunned when the see a mirror." The pony chuckled, "Come on, lets go." But Alpha did not move. The Guard groaned, tired and not really wanting to hurt the white colt. "Lets not make this any harder, let's go."

Alpha wasn't listening. He gave up. He no longer had a right-wing, no longer had a reason to live.

The guard had enough. "Hey, dipshit!" he said as he grabbed and turned Alpha to face him. "You listen...ing ...to...m... Sweet...Celestia's...Mother!" he guard stuttered to a stop as he dropped Mr. Sparky, his eyes glued to the wingless arm, and backed up in horror.

Alpha just glared at the guard, almost looking through him, as if he wasn't there. Alpha seemed not to notice, and walked out of his cell. He looked around him. Most ponies stopped at stared at the little white colt's missing wing. Some ponies went over to ask if he needed help, others just backed away as if they just saw something very evil and did not want to get involved. Those who did try to help were given nothing, as Alpha, numb from the pain, just looked on. His mind was blank. Instead of going to the showers like he usually did every morning, he instead went to the cafeteria, got a tray with food, walked to his cell, and placed the tray near the mirror. He then walked out of his cell, went to the showers, got a wet wash cloth, went to the lockers, got his right wing glove, and finally went back into his cell. He then shut the door, and once making sure the door was fully closed and locked, he walked to the mirror, lied down on the floor and started to cry. He was not crying because of the pain, he was crying because why there was pain. He was still confused why he was punished for helping another pony.

"I...I helped her...I saved her from hurting herself and anypony else around... Why was I punished for doing something right...?" Alpha said aloud.

"I don't know. If I did know, I would tell you." Beta said, trying to comfort Alpha.

"...Who-What are you..exactly...?" Alpha asked.

"That is a good question. I would answer it, but you are my main concern, not me. I am the reason you aren't feeling a lot of pain from your wound."

"But it still hurts."

"Not everypony is perfect at what they do. I know it still hurts, but if I stop, you would be in a lot more pain than you are in now."

"...Thanks..."

"Don't mention it. Here, let me take over for a bit."

"Take over?!" Alpha cried out, now scared than relaxed.

"Calm down, No one will get hurt this time. The wound is cauterized, but it still needs to be cleaned, if it doesn't get clean soon, it may get infected. If you let me take over, I will be able to clean it so it won't get infected. I promise after I am done cleaning the wound, I will let you take over again."

"...Okay...How do I let you take over...?"

"Just take a deep breath, and relax."

Alpha took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. Once relaxed, he felt a hot feeling unlike anything he felt before rise within him. But it wasn't very hot as it was soothing. Alpha soon found himself wanting to fall asleep. Beta then took control of Alpha. Slowly standing up, Beta grabbed the wash cloth and cleaned the wound throughly, making sure it was clean and wet. Beta then grabbed the right-wing glove, and ripped the glove so it would act like a case. He then put the glove over the wing, tying it with the rag Alpha used for his eye. Once he was done, Beta acted on his promise, and let Alpha take over again but realized that Alpha was too tired to take over. Beta then instead got into the Alpha's bed, covered himself with the blanked, and let Alpha slowly take over as he slept.

The next day, Alpha got up and noticed Beta's help. He was about to thank Beta when he noticed that Beta was still asleep. Instead, he did his daily routine. He winced as the pain from his wingless arm flew through his body again. Either he did not care or did not seem to notice, Alpha walked into an Empty Repair bay to his workstation. Yesterday, he heard that some Nightmare Moon would return today. When he reached his workstation, he started on repairing a gear cog for the machine. As he reached over for his torch, he looked at his wingless arm, still covered by the makeshift cast. He just stared at it. He then looked at his work bench as an idea formed into his head. He quickly took off his helmet and right-wing glove and grabbed a nearby pole that he had fixed 2 days ago. He measured his left wing with the pole and cut the pole where his wing ended. He then put the pole near his still-agonizing wingless arm, measuring it.

"What are you doing? I just cleaned your wing yesterday! It can still get infected!" Beta was awake. Alpha was fully unaware of Beta being awake that he jumped in surprise.

"Beta, You are awake!"

"Yeah, I woke up while you were still in the shower."

"You could have said something! You scared the living crap outta me!"

"Oh. Sorry."

Alpha took a deep sigh. "It's okay, just make sure next time, you say something."

"Are you actually thinking about doing that?"

"About what?"

"About that!" Beta said, moving Alpha's eyes so they focus on the pole near his right wound.

"Yeah, I am. Why?"

"Are you insane!? You could be caught!"

"Relax, they fear me."

"You?"

"Well, you actually, but you are me, so technically me." Alpha stuck his tounge out, as if sticking it at Beta.

"So, you really gonna do it?"

"Yes, I want to do it. It's my only ticket out of this hell."

"If so, you will need help."

"Help? I'll be fine. I know what to do."

"Oh really? Do you know how to create metal? How to create a frame for your wing? How to create anything for that matter?"

"Huh..?"

"Do you know or ever heard of DragonMetal?"

"Whoa..That sounds awesome!"

"Yeah, you will need help."

"Ugh, fine."

Alpha went to get more Items of the Machine to "repair" as Beta started on ideas for Alpha. Together, they would make Alpha's Right-Wing

Chapter 3: Beta

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Chapter 3: Beta

"He is a Mutant? But that isn't possible! Mutants only happen in the human world." Luna said in awe.

"It can happen in Equestria, though it is extremely rare. You are more likely to see Mother and/or Father and talk to them than to come across a mutant." Celestia explained.

"The reason why Alpha is stuck in the Rainbow factory is very complicated. Beta was a mutant, he was an earth pony who could use magic as you and I can. His life was very hard. Bullied and discriminated for most of his life, he was used to being alienated by everypony in at a very young age. His parents tried to help him, but failed trying. He failed school at age 8. Only knowing how to read and being alone, he was very bright for his age. But because he was a mutant, nopony cared." Celestia stopped as she lowered her head. Luna looked at her, watching her, wondering what happened. "Beta was depressed nearly all his life because nopony wanted a mutant as a friend. He became obsessed with his ability. He would break into the library, here at the castle, every night. He would read all the books on magic, both light and dark magic. He self-taught himself. I knew what he was doing because I watched him. One night, I decided to go and meet Beta myself, a decision I would later hate myself for making."

...

Alpha walked back to his cell. He had been working on his wing with Beta for over a week. The two just completed creating the work plans for it. They had a hell of a time stealing the paper, and the pencils to then have a harder time trying to find a place to find where to hide it. The two went through an hour of arguing where to put it. In the end, they stuffed it in Alpha's locker. He walked into his cell, closed the door, and collapsed on his bed. He was extremely tired, but wanted to know something that has been on his mind ever since last week.

"Beta?"

"Yeah?"

"What...Who are you?"

"You really want to know?"

"Please tell me."

"Well, let me start at the beginning. This takes place about 900 years ago. I was born as a normal earth pony with a un-normal special gift. I could use magic. I did not know about my gift until I was about your age. Before then, I was happy. I had a family who loved me, I was excellent at school, I had friends. I was very, very happy. On my 8th birthday, I discovered my gift. It was night-time. My parents allowed me to take an evening stroll, to calm down my mind for school the next day. As I was walked to an empty, grassy field, I looked up to see Princess Celestia fill the night sky with the stars and her sister's moon. I was soon hypnotized with the spectacle. I noticed, when I looked around me to see if any other pony was there watching, a rock, floating beside me. I jumped in fright. The rock fell to the ground. I looked around me, then up at the sky, thinking Celestia or another pony was playing a joke on me. But I was alone. I then had an idea, I tried to lift the rock myself, without touching it. But it wouldn't move. I then looked up at the sky, then at the rock, trying to feel hypnotized like I did when I saw Celestia. And guess what, it worked. I found that when I felt that hypnotized like feeling, I could do magic. I dropped the rock, and galloped as fast I could home. I was energetic, eager to tell my parents. I found out that I had a gift. That I was different, in a good way." Beta took a deep sigh.

"What Happened?" Alpha asked, worried about Beta's sudden stop.

"I was wrong. So. Very. Wrong. When I told my parents, at first they acted as if I had told them a funny joke. But then I showed them what I could do, and then they became very worried."

"Why?"

"Back then, anypony that wasn't an Earth Pony, Pegasus, or Unicorn, besides the Princess, were shunned by society. They treated them with disrespect, they discriminated and bullied them. My parents took me in, not letting me out as they talked to the Princess herself about me. I was in my room when she came to me. I was looking down at the ground, embarrassed because I thought what happened was not allowed, that I broke a rule that was never told to me. When I looked up, I was expecting my mom and dad to be standing there, looking at me in anger, about to punish me for what I did. Instead, I saw Princess Celestia. I just stared at her. She asked who I was and what I showed my parents. I responded, telling her what I did. Celestia then asked if I could do it again. I lifted a ball near me, raising it to my head. I then flew it across my room, without looking at it, fully mastering how to lift anything and move it with ease. She watched in awe, and once I lowered the ball to the ground, turned around at once and left. After that day, nothing was the same. Word had gotten out that the Princess had met with me in private. Rumors were spread that I did something horribly wrong. My friends started leaving me one by one. I started failing school it wasn't important to me anymore."

"I'm sorry." Alpha said, trying to comfort Beta.

"Don't be sorry. You weren't alive back then, You couldn't do anything." Beta took a deep breath and continued on. "My parents desperately tried to help me at school. They focused on the academic side, but not the social side of my life, the one thing I actually needed help on. I did not say anything because I did not know what to say. They pretended that it was okay, to keep me happy. But as I watched my friends leave me and not come back, I knew something was wrong. That it wasn't okay. I was so angry. I was angry at myself for showing my parents about my ability. I..." Beta stopped.

Alpha was looking at himself through the mirror, as Beta talked. The mirror was what Alpha used to talk to Beta during these types of long conversations. It gave him something to look at. Beta would use his ability of magic to change the reflection so it would show what he looked like when he was alive so when Alpha talked the mirror, instead of talking to a reflection,he would talk to Beta. Alpha looked at Beta, and saw him trembling, trying not to cry as he told his story.

"I started...cutting myself." Beta admitted, shaking as he tried his best not to break down. "I was so angry and alone. I did not know why I was so alone. My parents told me it wasn't my fault. That I did not do anything in the past to deserve this, that I wasn't being punished. But when I asked why everything was happening the way it was, they replied "We don't know." They always gave me that answer. Adults that were still nice to me gave me that answer. Everypony gave me that answer. I was sick and tired of it. I was alone. I decided to read, get my mind off of the pain. However, the only good books were at The Castle's library (so I was told) and to get in, you had to be part of the either the staff, a guest of the Princess, or become a Guard. Since I was too young to become part of the staff or a Guard, and never thought I would become a Guest of the Princess, I did the next possible thing I knew." Beta looked at Alpha. Alpha saw that although he was crying, he was smirking as well, almost sneering.

"What did you do?

Beta chuckled. "I broke in."

"What?! You broke into the Castle?!"

"No, not the Castle itself, but it's library. When I finally got into the Library, I found out that the books weren't story books. No, they weren't story books. They were Spell Books. I later found out that I had broken into Celestia's Personal and Private library. All her spells, her magic, her power were in the books in front of me. I had no knowledge of that though. I brought a bag with me so I could 'borrow' some books and bring them back home to read. I would then come back after I read them and return them, then I would grab more books and do it again. The first 5 books I took were from the top shelf. Since I already mastered how to use my ability on moving objects, I got the books, put them in my bag, and left under 5 minutes. Took me an hour to get out of the Castle. It's much easier breaking in than breaking out. The books I took where about dark magic, very dark magic. The abilities that the Dark magic could do were much darker than what the black pony did to you, Alpha."

Alpha listened to Beta as he continued on talking about the power of the dark magic he taught himself how to use. Alpha started to figure out why everypony was afraid of himself when Beta came out.

"She came to me, when I was reading the last book. She told me that "For everything that happens, there is a reason why it happened behind it." That quote changed my life. It made sense! For every action, there is an equal, opposite reaction. But because I believed it wasnt my fault, because my parents told me so, I thought I was innocent..." Beta stop talking. He was watching Alpha. Alpha did not realize that Beta stopped talking, that he was staring at him, so Beta wasn't surprised when Alpha yelled in shock when he realized that he had stopped talking and was just looking at him.

"Whats wrong?" Alpha asked, calming down from the scare.

"You just figured out what I did, didn't you?"

"Figured out what?"

"Figured out why all Ponies become afraid of you when your mane, tail and eyes turn red. When you let me take over. Why they are afraid of me."

"I think I did. Why?"

Beta lowered his head and screamed. It wasn't a scream of pain, but a scream of anger, of his realization that he may have said too much. That he may have just screwed up his one and only chance at a normal life. The Mirror instantly shattered as Beta screamed. It turned into shards of glass, floating in mid-air and moved toward the door. Alpha felt empty as he watched the door open and the shards move as they flew into the hallway, leaving him to follow them. Once the shards were in the hallway, it turned left and started moving to the Repair bay, gaining speed as it flew. Alpha struggled to keep up with the moving pieces of glass. He galloped after them as they skipped the lockers, entered the repair bay and went for Alpha's workplace. Alpha raced the shards to his work place and got there first. He stepped in the path of the Shards and closed his eyes as braced himself for the on coming assault of flying glass... But nothing came. He opened his eyes to see the floating shards in front of him.

"Beta." No response came."Beta, I know you are there." Still no response. "Why were you screaming? Are you hurt? Are you okay? Please, tell me what is wrong." Alpha heard a sigh and looked around himself. He was alone. He then looked at the shards, confident that Beta was in there. "Beta, please." Alpha begged. "What is wrong?

The Shards started to move around Alpha. But Alpha would not let that happen.

"Beta! I will not let you leave! Not now, not after what I went through."

"Let me do what I want to do, Alpha." Beta's voice seemed to echo in the empty repair bay.

"No. You are my one and only friend. I am not going to let you go."

With that, Alpha took off his right-wing glove and, using it as a net, caught the unaware floating shards with one swift swing. He then dragged the bag to his cell. He closed the door and released the glass shards, making sure the door was behind him as he watched the glass shards regroup in front of him.

"Move. Out. Of. The. Way. Alpha."

Alpha lowered his head. "Why did you try to leave?"

"Because you know what I did."

"So?! Why should that be a problem."

"I thought you would become afraid of me."

Alpha raised his head. "What makes you think that what you did would make me afraid of you?"

"I killed ponies. I slaughtered them. I slaughtered hundreds of them."

"I know."

"Why are you not afraid of me?"

"Because you are my friend. And I will never be afraid of my friend."

Alpha watched as the glass shards slowly floated to the broken mirror and repaired itself, every glass shard joining each other. Once the Mirror was fixed, Alpha cautiously walked to the mirror, making sure that it wasn't a trick, that Beta wasn't trying to leave him. Once close enough to the mirror, Alpha saw Beta looking at him, his eyes were red from crying. Alpha walked to the Mirror and placed his hoof on the glass, as if trying to touch Beta. He watched as Beta looked at him, and placed his own hoof were Alpha's hoof was. When his hoof matched Alpha's, Alpha felt that warm feeling inside him. He smiled, Beta was with him once more.

"Beta."

"Yes, Alpha?"

"I swear on my life that I will never be afraid of you."

"Thank you, Alpha. Thank you for listening to me, and not being afraid of me for what I did."

Alpha walked to his bed. He climbed on the bed and covered himself with the covers,

"That is what friends are for, right?"

"Right."

As Alpha closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, he was sure that he saw a ghostly form of Beta hugging him.

Chapter 4: One Last Step

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Chapter 4: One Last Step

The white pegasus groaned as he turned over on his bed and flexed his burned wing. Beta had just completed injecting some sort of metal into the bone of Alpha's right-wing, making it magnetic to the wing's outer metallic frame. "Ugh..." Alpha moaned, as the metal inside his bone started to cool and expand. "How long will this take again?" He asked, trying to sleep through it.

"If my calculations are correct...The metal should cool in about 4 hours."

"How long again? Remember, I never got the luxury of going to school."

"The same amount of time it took to create one 'feather' for your wing. And you don't need to remind me about your life."

"Well, I'm going to try to catch some sleep."

"Alpha, we need to go over the plan again."

"No we don't, Beta. We have gone over it 200 times."
"156, actually." Beta corrected.

"You know what I mean. I memorized it already. I need to sleep."

"I know...I'm just-" Beta took a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Alpha looked at the mirror, watching Beta's expression from seriousness to being worried.

"It's...nothing." Beta hid his worried look with a smirk. "I'm just anxious and nervous. Go to sleep."

"If you say so..." Alpha placed his head on his pillow and drifted off to sleep.

Beta looked at Alpha. "I hope this plan will work." Beta's image from the mirror slowly faded away as he fell asleep within Alpha.

Alpha slowly woke up, walked out of his cell, and headed for the showers. He washed out the sweat in his mane and relaxed. After he dried himself, Alpha walked to the lockers, grabbed his left-wing glove and his torch then walked to his workplace. He smiled as he saw his wing, completed and finished, waiting for him on his desk. Alpha and Beta had worked for 3 years straight on the Wing. Creating it was a hell of a puzzle

The frame of the wing was made of a metal that Beta was able to create, combining Dark magic with steel. Dubbed 'The Dragon Metal', this metal was very light but was able to withstand extreme amounts of pressure and damage. It also turned dark blue or dark red depending on the creator's/user's feelings (a side effect of using dark magic). Beta decided it would be a good idea to create the wing out of this metal. Creating the metal took about 2 years. The top of the wing, where Alpha's bones would be, were made of hollow Dragon Metal tubes. The wing needed to be able to open and close, so a bolt was placed in each tube to connect them with the frame. That took about a month. Then came the feathers. Each feather was made of sheet metal. When all feathers were completed, which took about 11 months, Alpha welded them on to the tubes. Each feather overlapped one another, creating an air resistance-like wall, similar to what an actual wing would create. The wing needed to be able to cover part of Alpha's Right wing. Alpha created a pocket within the wing in which he could put his own wing in. The last part that was needed was to make sure that the wing would not come from Alpha's wing in flight. Beta took care of that problem last night, injecting some sort of metal into Alpha's Right-Wing's bone, making it magnetic. Because the wing was created with dark magic, the wing had joined itself to Alpha's soul. If the wing got damaged, Alpha would feel pain where it was damaged.

Alpha walked over to the wing, and slipped his burnt wing into the pocket. He felt the metal in his bones expand as they configured itself to the metal of the wing. After about 5 minutes, Alpha, with Beta's guidance, moved the wing for the first time.

"Carefull, Alpha. Let's not get ourselves hurt by it."

Alpha grinned in glee as he flexed his newly created right-wing. It was a dream come true. He finally had his wing back. Although he knew that was not true, that he did not have his real wing back, he did not care. After about an hour of moving the wing back and forth, up and down, he relaxed his wing, bringing it down to his right side. He walked to the cafeteria, and ate some food. He noticed that most of the ponies were staring at his newly created wing. Alpha chuckled as he let Beta out, letting him have some fun as well.

While Alpha was walking back to his cell, he saw the red mare, the one who he stopped 3 years ago, being pulled to a room by guards. Curious, he followed them, keeping Beta at the ready if anything were to happen. Instead of going straight to the torture room, they took a left. Alpha was now really curious.

"Where are they taking her?" He said to Beta.

"I don't know, but this isn't really a good idea. Let's go back."

Alpha was not going back to his cell. He saved the mare once. If needed, he would save her again. He followed the guards down a hallway with windows. He was about to go through some doors when his eye caught something in the window. Making sure he was alone, he stood on his hind legs and looked out the window. Once he saw the machine, he knew what the Factory was for. He always knew the Rainbow Factory was used for something evil. But he never knew it was used for something like this. He watched as fillies were strapped into the machine and brutally tortured and killed. He didn't wait to see why they were killed though, as he raced to find the guards with the red mare, hoping he could stop them from killing her. Alpha had just reached the guards as they entered the room with the Machine.

"Can we stop them?"

"The problem is not if we can stop them. The problem is how to stop them. I cannot stop the machine."

"Then we do the next best thing." Alpha said, watching the guards strap the mare into the Machine. He felt Beta rise within him, taking control.

"We destroy it." Beta said, finishing Alpha's sentence.

Beta ran into the room, destroying both guards instantly with the raw edge of his hate. He looked at the mare, the machine slowly crushing her corpse. He swore, then looked around for a way out. He ran toward the doors in which he came in from and found out that they were locked. He looked at the machine and noticed some pipes leading either into or out of the machine.
"We already killed two guards. If we stop now, we die." Beta told Alpha with a sigh. "Well, there goes our plan."

"So? What's the worst that can happen?" Alpha told Beta as he regained control over his body, walking to the pipes leading to the machine. He used his new wing to sever the pipes. He looked at his wing, surprised that it cut the pipes. A rainbow-colored liquid started to flow out of the pipes.

"That looks weird. Let's do some more damage. Place your left wing on the pipe on your left." Alpha placed his left wing on the pipe on his left, like Beta told him and felt the tip of his wing get quite hot. "Take off your wing and see chaos unfold."

Alpha took his wing off just in time to see a yellow ball of light on the pipe explode into hundreds of tiny balls. Each ball flew in different directions, bouncing off everything. Once a ball touched an object like a pipe, the pipe would slowly turn into golden light, then explode into more balls of light. Alpha laughed. Each ball of light was basically a virus in a physical form. Everything around him was starting to turn into small balls of light. Once the room was turned into balls of light, the balls stopped moving, then split into two groups. One group went to the door behind Alpha to spread the infection. The other group went a wall to the right of Alpha. Alpha followed the balls to the wall. He watched as the balls melted into the wall and turned the wall into a huge wall of light than disappear. There was no wall in front of Alpha. It was dark. Alpha made sure there was no wall, then slowly walked through. "Look up." Alpha did as Beta said and gasped. He saw stars. He was outside. Alpha looked behind him and saw the factory glowing. The whole factory was glowing. He then looked forward, spreading both of his wings, and for the first time in six years, flew off into the night.

He was finally free.

Chapter 5: A new start

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Chapter 5: A new start

Although Alpha was free, he had no idea how to fly. He dropped like a rock, falling through the cloud layer and began plummeting toward the ground. “Shit!” He screamed as he fell, “Beta, help!”

“I was an Earth pony when I was alive. I have no clue how to fly!” Beta replied casually.

“Thanks for the help.” Alpha said sarcastically.

“Try spreading your wings and legs to slow down your speed to glide and balance out.”

With his legs spread, Alpha’s mind raced as he struggled to spread his wings. Once the tips of his wings caught hold of the wind, they instantly opened, slowing Alpha’s decent. He was still falling at an incredible rate, but it was no longer in the lethal range. As Alpha started to slowly balance his weight, something caught his attention in the distance. It was a small village. Alpha slowly leaned forward, placing his weight on his legs and glided toward the Village.

“What are you doing?”

“There is a village up ahead. We can probably find ponies there, considering it’s actually there and not an hallucination”

“So? You are aware that it has been 6 years since you have actually been in a public place, right? And we don’t have any bits/currency that they use. ”

“You don’t need remind me of that. I am fully aware. I’m sure my skill at welding can become of great use there.”

“Do you know how to land?”

Alpha was about to respond when he realized he was about to fly straight into an old oak tree. Alpha instinctively leaned to the right, turning sharply to avoid the tree but was too late. His left wing bounced off the tree, throwing him off balance. He fell 10 feet to the forest floor. His mechanical wing hit the ground first, causing Alpha tumble through the forest, his head hitting another tree, knocking him out in the progress. He finally came to a bone-crushing halt, 6 feet away from the edge of the EverFree Forest. Alpha woke up the next day. He slowly got up, shaking his head to shake off any dirt in his mane.

“That was a hell of a crash landing you had there. Are you hurt?”

Alpha let out a sigh of relief when he heard Beta’s voice in his mind. “No, I’m okay,” He made a thorough check on his wings for any damage then shook off any dirt on his back and tail. “Just some scratches” Alpha continued, “nothing serious.” He took a last look at his right wing and then started to walk to the edge of the forest. He stopped at the edge of the forest when he Beta getting nervous.

“What’s wrong?”

“I remember this place.” Beta said slowly. “I used to live here…”

“So did I…but I didn't have the luxury of having a home…”

"What do you mean?”

Alpha shook his head. “It’s not important anymore. It was a long time ago. Everything is different now.” Alpha took a few steps into the sunlight. He moved his head to the right as he shielded his eyes with his left wing. He wasn’t used to such brightness. He continued to walk to the village, determined to find somepony that could help him. As he walked, he was aware that he was attracting attention because of how he acted. He began walking to the center of the Town square when he was stopped by a guard.

“You okay, colt? You seem lost.” The guard said, looking at Alpha.

“I am not from around here. Where am I?” Alpha asked, his wing still covering his face.

“You are in Ponyville.” The guard replied, tilting his head to one side in curiosity. “Lower your wing, colt. No pony here will hurt you.”
Alpha slowly lowered his wing to his side, his face almost glowing in the sun light. The guard stepped back in horror and awe as he saw Alpha’s face. Alpha slowly looked around himself and realized that he was being surrounded by ponies.

“Alpha…I do not like this.” Beta said, his voice growing cautious.

Alpha nodded in agreement with Beta. He watched as the unicorns and earth ponies closed in on him, not threatening him but curious of him. Alpha stretched his metallic wing in an effort of pushing away the surrounding group. It worked, the group stepped back a few feet, giving Alpha some room.

“Who is he?” “Where is he from?” “What happened to his right wing?” “What happened to his face?” Alpha could hear the questions that the group was whispering. He stood silently, retracting his metallic wing, watching the group. He could feel Beta rising.

“Not now, Beta. This is not the time to do that.” Alpha muttered as quietly as he could to Beta.
Beta listened to him and stopped.

“No pony here will hurt you.” The guard repeated, slowly moving toward Alpha.

“I am just lost. I am not from around here. I don’t have a home.” Alpha said aloud, addressing not just the guard but the whole crowd. “I am willing to work for food and a place to sleep. I have a knack for welding.” He said.

“If you can weld, you can work at my place.” A grey stallion with a brown mane replied. “I will pay you on how well you can repair metal. If it is a good repair, clean and accurate, you will be paid. If it is a bad repair, dirty and messy, you will not be paid.”

“When do I start?” Alpha replied, looking at the stallion.

“You start when you show me how much you know on welding. Follow me.” The stallion said, walking away. Alpha trotted after the stallion, the crowd watching him leave.

“What is your name?” Alpha asked the stallion.

“The name’s Smith.” Smith replied. “And what is your name?”

“You can call me Alpha.” Alpha said.

“You got a last name, Alpha?” Smith asked.

“I don’t know.” Alpha commented.

“Well Alpha, when we get to the work station, I want you to show me what you know.”

“Okay.” Alpha replied as they walked to the repair station.

When Smith asked Alpha what he knew, he was stunned. Alpha knew more about welding than any other stallion/mare the Smith had ever met. Smith gave Alpha a left wing glove, a mask, and a welding torch, and told him to get to work. At the end of the day, Alpha had a pouch of 32 bits. He was able to repair everything the station had to repair. Every repair was accurate and clean. Smith was expecting Alpha to be a colt who was exaggerating everything he said. But Alpha was not exaggerating. He wasn’t even tired. This was considered as a rare break at the RF. Once he was paid and was told that he could leave, he asked Smith where he could get buy some food. Smith gave Alpha a map of Ponyville. Alpha thanked him for the map and walked out of the station. Looking at the map for directions, Alpha made his way to the town’s market. He then bought and ate some food. After he was done eating, Alpha checked the map to see if there was any place to spend the night.

“It’s been so long since I was here. Everything has changed.” Beta said.

“I know.” Alpha replied.

Alpha walked to the EverFree forest. He explored the forest and found the oak tree he hit the day before. He moved on from the tree, turned a right and walked on. After about 15 minutes, he had found a cave. He checked inside the cave for anything that could hurt him. The cave was surprisingly big; Alpha had walked about 3 minutes when he hit the end of the cave. Satisfied with what he found, he walked to the entrance of the cave and, with Beta’s help, was able to create a fire with some nearby tinder. Once he thought the fire could last for a bit, he walked out of the cave, and cut some trees and branches with his metallic wing. He then dragged the wood he cut with his wing and went back to his cave. The fire was still blazing. He dragged the wood 1/5th of the way into the cave, and gave the fire some more wood. Alpha watched as the fire caught the wood he had given it and grew. Alpha relaxed as he lied down on the cold rock floor. He took off his metallic wing, freeing his burnt wing, and carefully examined it as if he had just noticed it for the first time.

“It’s amazing, how such a small thing can do so much.” Beta said, referring to the fire.

“I like it. I have never seen it this big. I have seen fire before, but that was with my welding torch. It’s…” Alpha paused as he tried to figure out the right word. “It’s…It’s…”

“It’s comforting.” Beta said, finishing Alpha’s comment.

Alpha fell silent. For an hour, neither Beta nor Alpha spoke. Alpha was putting more wood on the fire when Beta spoke.

“You never told me you lived in Ponyville.”

“You never asked.”

“What happened before you were in the RF?”

“It really doesn’t matter.” Alpha said as he watched the fire.

“To me, it does. Don’t worry. I won’t be afraid of you.” Beta said sarcastically.

Alpha got up and walked past the fire into the open area in front of the cave. “I’m not afraid of me scaring you. I know I won’t. It’s just a part of my life that I don’t look back on. It does nothing but bring back bad memories when I think of it. I try to avoid the subject.” He looked up and gazed at the night sky. “But since we are here, I may as well tell you.” Alpha let out a long sigh.

“I was born 13 years ago. I had parents; a mom and dad who loved me, or so I thought. I was abandoned by my parents when I was five.I remember it so clearly, as if it happened yesterday.” Alpha said, struggling to keep his emotions in check. “They brought me to a park one day, telling me to go play with some colts. When I ran after the colts, I looked back to see my parents leaving. I ran after them, asking where they were going…” Alpha lowered his head, tears streaming down his face. “They told me that they had forgotten something back at home, and were going to go get it and come back. I was a fool. I replied okay, and ran after the colts. When all the colts began leaving with their parents one by one, I began to wonder when my parents would come back. I had no idea where I was. I stayed at the field until it became dark when I began to realize what had happened…” Alpha paused as he struggled to regain control of his feelings. “I became a stray. I began to steal food to eat. I would stay in the alleyways to sleep. I tried to join in with the other strays, but they would never allow me to join. They always ran away from me when I came to them.” Alpha wasn't crying as hard as he was earlier. “I was eight when I was caught by the guards for stealing some apples… After that, well, you know the rest.”

“I didn’t know. I always presumed you were a stray, but I never knew how you became one.”

“Remember the time when you told me that you were afraid that I would be afraid of you?”

“What about it?”

“What I said was true. I would never be afraid of you; you were and still are the only pony I am able to actually trust; that I could call a friend. No pony has treated me like the way you do.”

“I’m not leaving you. I will never leave you.” Beta said, trying to comfort him.

“I know. Thanks.” Alpha said, looking at the fire as it slowly turned to red, smoldering coals.

Alpha walked to the fire and gave it a few more branches. He then lied down on the cold rock floor, and tried to fall asleep. Sleep eventually came, and when it did, Alpha embraced it as fast as he could. He always hated talking about his past; about his parents; about his life before he knew Beta.

Chapter 6: A Message

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Chapter 6: A message

It has been 5 days since Alpha and Beta destroyed and escaped the Rainbow Factory. They were still trying to get used to civilian life. Today was really strange for Alpha because it was a Saturday. Alpha got up at the same time he used to get up at the factory, and walked to the repair station. But when he got there, it was closed. Alpha was confused. Smith saw Alpha waiting outside of the station and walked out of his cottage to talk to him.

“Colt, what are you doing?” Smith asked Alpha.

“Oh, there you are.” Alpha said, “I’m here to work.”

“Work?” Smith asked, confused. “What do you mean by work?”

“Repair metal.” Alpha replied casually.

“You are aware that it is Saturday, right?” Smith asked.

“Huh?”

“It is Saturday. We don’t work on weekends.”

“Why not?”

“Because no-pony works on the weekends.”

“Oh…”

Smith faced-hoofed, “Alpha, you really need to tell me where you are from.”

Alpha shook his head. “It’s…” Alpha looked for the right word. “It’s a personal story.”

“Will you at least tell me about your metal wing?”

“No, sorry,” Alpha replied.

“That’s a shame.” Smith frowned. “Well, have a good day.”

“Wait, what do I do then?” Alpha asked.

Smith looked at Alpha, dumbfounded. “Do what you want.” He said, leaving Alpha outside, as he walked back into his cottage.

Alpha watched as Smith closed the door. He was confused; he had never had a day off at the Rainbow Factory. It was either work or be punished, tortured, and die. There was no such thing as a “day off” or a “weekend” at the factory. Alpha just stood there, looking at the Repair Station, trying to make sense of why he wasn’t allowed to work.

“All I know is working. This is so weird.” Alpha said aloud, wondering about what he should do.

“Well, if we aren’t allowed to work, we may just go and explore the village. Get our bearings.”

“Good idea.” Alpha said as he walked off to the town market.

While walking to the town market, Alpha saw a mirror shop. The thought of being able to see Beta again made Alpha gallop to the shop, his bit pouch bouncing off his chest as he ran. He slowed to a trot as he walked into the shop. Alpha stood in amazement as he was surrounded by mirrors of all shapes and sizes. There were mirrors the size of his hoof to the size of the walls he saw in the Factory. He laughed in pure bliss. He thought of seeing Beta again. He was about to ask the store manager, a grey mare, how much were the mirrors the size of his hoof when she spoke.

“Oh, how I love this song!” the mare said; her eyes closed as she listened to the song. She opened her eyes to see Alpha waiting. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you there.”

Alpha looked at her, his head tilted to the right.

“Is there something wrong, sir?” The mare asked, nervous.

“What did you say?” Alpha asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

“When I came in here, you said something about loving this…this…” Alpha paused as he struggled to remember what she said.

“Song?” The mare inquired.

“Yes! That is it. What is it?” Alpha exclaimed.

“What is what?” The mare asked.

“What is a song?” Alpha repeated.

“I don’t understand. What do you mean “What is a song?“

Alpha was starting to get annoyed. He was trying to figure out what a song was and thought the mare was teasing him. “What is a song? What does it do? Can I buy a song?”

“If you want to buy songs, you are in the wrong shop. Go to the music shop, I’m sure they can help you there.” The mare replied, still confused as ever by Alpha’s question.

“Ok. Where is this “Music” shop?” Alpha asked.

Once the mare told Alpha where the shop generally was, he left at once to find it. After half an hour of searching the village, he finally found the store. He uneasily walked through it's open door, not sure of what to do and looked around. The store was filled with black circular disks stacked on top of each other. Each disk had a piece of tape with some scribbling on it.

“Welcome to Vinyl’s Music Store. How can I help you?” Said a voice to Alpha’s left. He looked to his left to see a very eccentric, light and dark blue-haired unicorn, standing behind a multi-colored counter, looking at him. The mare had a pair of giant purple shades, and a symbol on her flank. Alpha was still confused on why ponies had pictures and symbols on their flanks. He didn’t have one. Was he supposed to have one? He kept looking at her symbol, trying to understand what it was and what it meant.

Vinyl was staring at Alpha, who was staring at her. She walked to her right, and watched as Alpha’s eyes followed her. She then realized that he was staring at her flank. “Stop staring at my flank, colt! I’m already taken.” She yelled as soon as she realized what Alpha was doing.

“What?” Alpha replied, taken back by what he heard. “I’m not staring at your flank, I’m looking at- wait, what!?” He said, confused as ever.

“That’s right. I’m already taken.” Vinyl said, walking up to Alpha. “So stop staring at my flank.”

“I was not staring at your flank. I was looking at the symbol on your flank. Besides, it doesn’t matter to me if you are already taken.” Alpha said firmly. “I am just here to ask you a question.”

“Oh really?” Vinyl asked, annoyed. “Go ahead, ask it.”

“Do you know what a song is?” Alpha asked calmly.

“DO I KNOW WHAT A SONG IS?!” Vinyl raged. “Are you an Idiot, Colt? Of course I know what a song is. I am Vinyl Scratch. I am Dj-Pon3, I make songs! Who doesn’t know what a song is?!” Vinyl looked at Alpha. Alpha felt Beta rise within him, seeing Vinyl as a possible threat. Vinyl watched as Alpha’s eye color flickered from brown to red then back to brown as Alpha told Beta to calm down.

“I’m sorry if I offended you earlier. I’m not from this place- this village.” Alpha told Vinyl. “I was in another shop when I heard the term “Song” and asked the shop manager what she meant. She did not understand my question and told me to come here, saying that you could help me.” Alpha explained.

“Oh. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry for raging at you like that.” Vinyl said embarrassed at the way she acted. “To answer your question, a song is a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung.”

“Oh, and what are those” Alpha asked, nodding toward the black circular discs behind her.

“These are Vinyl discs. You insert one of these babies onto a Vinyl Record and you can listen to the song it has.” She explained.

“These Vinyl discs,” Alpha continued to ask. “When were they first made?”

“Oh, ‘bout 1000 years ago, right after Nightmare Moon was banished.” Vinyl said in a cheery tone. “We have this one disk that we aren’t allowed to play though. We have specific rules from Princess Celestia not to play it.” Vinyl bragged. “No pony knows what is on that record that Celestia doesn’t want heard, but there is a legend behind it that record.”

“What do you mean?” Alpha asked.

Vinyl went into the back room of the store and came out with a Vinyl disc. The disc was covered in old cobwebs and dust. She walked to Alpha, the disc, floating, was following her.

“Legend goes that 900 years ago, a dark earth pony by the name of Beta slaughtered hundreds of ponies; hundreds upon hundreds of them, here in Ponyville. He was a mutant; able to use light and dark magic, Beta killed any pony he saw. Eventually, after many attempts to reason with the monster, Celestia used the Elements of Harmony, the same elements she used against her own sister 100 years before, against him. But Beta was strong. He was able to withstand the power of the Elements of Harmony. And with that, the two battled each other. Beta was pretty awesome; he was able to fight for a few days before he was obliterated by the sheer power of the elements. This disc,” Vinyl explained, as she nodded to the disk floating beside her. “This Vinyl disc is said to be made by Beta’s parents the very next week after he was defeated. No pony knows what is on it.” Vinyl watched as Alpha’s eye color slowly turned from dark brown to blood-red.

“Mom….” Beta said. “Alpha, it is important that I listen to that message!”

“Can I listen to that disc?” Alpha asked.

The door to the store swung open as Octavia walked in to see Vinyl and Alpha talking, the forbidden disc hovering between them. “Vinyl, What are you doing!?” she screamed, as she closed the store door as fast as she could, switching the OPEN sign to CLOSED. “Are you mad? That disc is not allowed to the public! Celestia came in here and told us that herself last week!” She walked in front of Alpha, grabbing the disc with one hoof, and startsed to walk to the back room. “I’m sorry colt, but we are now closed. You need to leave. I need to talk to Vinyl PRIVATELY. Vinyl, follow me.”

“I will do anything to listen to that disc!” Alpha said, placing a hoof on Octavia’s shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. “Please, I promise I won’t come in here again. I can pay. I need to listen to that disc.”

“No! Princess Celestia said this disc is never to be played.” Octavia said, shrugging off Alpha’s hoof.

“I will do anything, anything you want. I just need to listen to that disc.” Alpha begged.

Octavia walked up to Alpha, Her face level to his face. “Anything?” She asked, sneering.

“Anything.” Alpha confirmed.

“Take off your metal brace.” She asked.

“What!? I can’t.” Alpha exclaimed, surprised.

“Well, if you can’t, then you aren’t going to hear what is on this disc.” Octavia said, slowly walking away.

“Wait! I’ll show you. I’ll show you. Do you have a place that isn’t very public?” Alpha said, looking at the windows. “It’s not really something every pony should really see, but if I show you, you must promise that you will let me hear the disc.”

“I promise. Come, this way.” Octavia said, nodding to the back room. Alpha followed her, with Vinyl trailing behind him. Once in the room, Alpha walked past Octavia and turned around to face the two ponies. Alpha grinded his teeth in pain as he slowly flexed his right-wing and took off the brace, freeing the burnt wing from the metal pocket.

Octavia screamed in disgust and turned her head away as she saw the burnt wing, her hoof covering her eyes. Vinyl, on the other hoof, stared at the wing in awe. She was amazed that someone could build a wing that could replace an actual wing out of metal. Alpha lowered his head in shame.

“Put it back on! Put it back on!” Octavia screamed, still not looking at Alpha. Alpha put back on the metal brace, the metal in his bones easily sliding into the magnetic pocket of the wing.

“It’s back on.” Alpha said, flexing his wing; making sure that it was still working properly. “Now, as you promised.”

“I know what I promised. Vinyl, bring him to the record room. Place the disc onto the record and show this…” Octavia struggled to find the right word. “…this colt how to use it. Then come back out here.”

Vinyl nodded to Octavia and walked Alpha to the record room. The room was small. Only having room for 2 and the record, Vinyl show Alpha the basics on how to use the record. She then placed the disc on the Record, showed Alpha where the ON button was, and left the room, closing the door as she walked out.

Alpha looked back at the door, making sure it was closed, then looked at the record. “Are you ready, Beta?”

“Just play it.”

Alpha pushed the play button and relaxed as he felt Beta take over, listening to recorder.

“Beta, I hope you are listening to this.” A female voice said through the speaker.

“Mom…” Beta said, realizing who it was.

“Beta, I want you to know that we, your father and I, have always loved you. We have always loved you and will forever continue to love you even when we have passed through this world. I’m sorry that your friends left you. We did not want this to happen to you. We wanted you to have a normal life. We didn’t want you to be in pain. Since you were born, we always knew you were very special.” Beta’s mother stopped. Alpha could hear her crying in the message. Another voice came in, this time it was a male voice.

“Beta, this is your father speaking. I hope you can hear us, son. We only have a short time before Celestia finds out what we are doing. I am hiding this disk in your bedroom, under your bed. I want you to know that I understand why you did what you did. I can understand the pain you went through; the hate, the isolation, the feeling of being hated by every pony you saw.”

The record slowly starts to skip.

“Beta, this is your mother again. We have to go sweetie. I don’t think we will be able to talk to you again like this. Just remember that we always loved you, and will be with you where you are. We will see you soon, don’t worry. Goodbye. We love you.”

The record started to skip violently then came slowly to a halt, its tune slowly repeating in Alpha’s mind. Alpha took out the disc and took a deep breath. He realized that Beta was being unusuallyquiet. Beta was quiet because he was relieved that his parents understood why he did what he did. He felt understood. He felt loved. Alpha stood still for a minute, struggling to remember his own Mom and Dad's voice. He then shook his head, banishing that thought, not wanting to remember any of it. Alpha turned around to see both Octavia and Vinyl staring at him, his colors slowly returning to their original color as Beta let Alpha take over again. He walked to Octavia and gave her the disc. Octavia, annoyed by Alpha for listening to the disc against Celestia’s orders, quickly took the disk out of his hoof.

“I’m sorry for disgusting you earlier with my wing. Thank you very much for allowing me to listen to the disc.” Alpha said to Octavia. He then turned to Vinyl.

“There is nothing that can harm any-pony on that disc. The legend is true, it is a message from Beta’s parents some time after Beta was defeated. This also means that Beta was real and alive at one time. What is on that disc gives another view on Beta. It tells that Beta wasn’t always evil. It gives a hint, a clue on what happened to him that made him become evil. Don’t break Celestia’s rule and listen to that disc. She is trying to protect every-pony in Equestria. Although I do not agree on her Idea of protecting ponies, I understand that she is doing her best." Alpha sighed. "I listened to that disc because I am one of the few ponies that she is not trying to protect, but is trying to hide from the public. Thank you for allowing me to listen to it. ”

Vinyl watched as Alpha walked out of store and then looked at Octavia. “I told you the legend was true! You never believe me when I tell you things like that!” She said, laughing as she grabbed the disc from Octavia’s hoof and walked to the back room to put it where it belonged.

Alpha was on his way to the forest when it started to rain. Instead of running to his cave for shelter, he stopped and looked up watching as each drop of rain slowly start to fall one by one from the clouds. Alpha felt, for the first time in his life, at peace. He opened his eyes and slowly starting walking back to his Cave. Although soaking wet and cold, Alpha wasn’t complaining. Once back at the Cave, he created a small barrier of branches, leaves, and stones at the entrance of the cave to stop any water from flowing in. Starting up a small fire by using some tinder and the branches he brought in last week, Alpha dried the water in his mane and tail. He then took off his metal wing, like he always does when he is in his cave and lied down on the ground. He was tired and soon drifted to sleep, listening to the fire crackle and the rain pour outside the cave, the sound echoing off the walls.

Chapter 7: Alpha's Revenge

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Chapter 7: Alpha’s Revenge

Luna was watching Alpha, her Nightmare Moon armor; another variant of the Dragon Metal, glowing in a Galaxy-blue shade, covered all but her face. She sneered as Alpha turned to face her. “It’s been a long time since I met a pony from my Era. Let’s play Royal Tag, Beta.”

-Earlier that day-

“It’s too easy now. I won’t learn anything new from doing it again.” Alpha complained.

“Well, we don’t have another place to go train. If we train in public, some pony is bound to find you talking to me.” Beta replied, annoyed.

“It’s too dark to train my speed anyway. Let’s go to back to the cave. We can figure out what to do when we get there” Alpha said, his legs starting to shake from exhaustion. He was sweating and his mouth was painfully dry.

"Remember to drink water, Alpha. Last thing we need is for you to have a heat-stroke. It’s one of the few things I cannot tone down the pain, and you don’t want to know what it feels like.”

Alpha sat down and took off his bag. He lifted the flap and reached inside, grabbing a jar of water. He uncapped the lid and took a gulp of the cold liquid as he looked back on the events that happened leading up to this day.

It has been 3 weeks since Beta heard the Forbidden Vinyl disc at Vinyl’s shop. After that day, Beta felt complete, he felt whole. For a week, Beta did not talk. Only until Alpha reminded Beta that he was still confused on why he was punished but not killed did Beta start making a plan. Alpha and Beta would break into the castle and find out why Alpha was punished but not killed. But both Alpha and Beta weren’t in shape to even walk to the castle, let alone break in. Instead, they began to train. Beta would focus on sharpening his magic ability while Alpha relearned how to properly fly. Beta calculated that if Alpha used a similar amount of concentration and willpower that he had before used to create his wing on training, they would be able to break in to the castle in a year.

Unbeknownst to Beta and Alpha was the raw power of friendship that was surging through the bond which connected Beta with Alpha. Since Alpha first met Beta in the Rainbow factory, the bond began to grow. It became stronger and more powerful. What Beta and Alpha failed to realize was the raw power that was surging through the bond that they shared together had changed them physically and mentally. In 3 weeks, Beta and Alpha were way ahead of Schedule.

Alpha had self-taught and trained himself how to fly again. Once he learnt the basics of flying, he modified the way he flew. He could fly fast with incredible accuracy and stealth. While this was accomplished for most Pegasus by spreading out their wings as far as they could, it also made it hard for them to turn. For Alpha, he didn’t need to worry about stealth for Beta could easily make him invisible to the naked eye. What he did need to worry about was turning. Although he mastered how to turn to his left, Alpha always felt nervous turning to his right. He had no reason to worry, the metal for his wing was incredibly light, but he always had sub-consciously thought it was heavy based on how it looked. He would always put too little weight on it, and spin out of control. Today, he had finally mastered his mind, and was able to turn to the right without any problem.

Beta had trained and honed his ability for magic. While creating and modifying spells, he came across a new ability. While Alpha was flying through some canyons, one of the giant archways had begun to collapse while Alpha was right under it. As the giant boulders rained down on Alpha’s position, Beta had sub-consciously used magic to protect himself. The boulders moved out of the way, giving Alpha the time he needed to escape. While Alpha was flying away, Beta realized what just happened. He could use magic while Alpha was in control! He did not need to be in control of Alpha to use Magic. He could be able to defend Alpha when he was flying. He stopped creating new spells and started to hone his new ability for a week. At the end of the week, Beta was not only able to do magic, but was able to cloak Alpha for short periods of time and increase his hearing and sight.

Alpha closed the jar with the lid, placed the jar inside his bag, and put the bag back on, placing the strap under his metallic wing.

“Better?” Beta asked.

“Much. Thanks.” Alpha replied feeling relieved.

“Don’t mention it. Now let’s get back before it gets too dark to see where we are going.”

Alpha nodded in agreement and set off into the sunset. He was passing Ponyville when something caught his attention. He was starting to turn to toward the EverFree forest when he looked down to see some royal guards placing a stray in a barred wagon.

“That’s weird.” Beta said.

After they shut the door to the wagon, the guards strapped themselves into the front of the wagon and took off.

“That cannot be good” Alpha said as he watch the guards fly off, heading to Cloudsdale. He at once set off, following them, totally forgetting about going to his cave.

“Where do you think they are going?” Beta asked.

“Where else?” Alpha said, picking up speed. Beta was silent for a full heartbeat.

“No! That isn’t possible! You destroyed it!” Beta replied as he realized what Alpha was thinking.

“It isn’t impossible.” Alpha said as he landed on a cloud, looking over the Rainbow Factory. The part that was destroyed by Alpha 3 weeks ago had already been rebuilt but Alpha could see the old from the new bricks used to rebuild it.. He watched as the guards landed near the back of the entrance. Once fully stopped, the guards unstrapped themselves, went to the back of the wagon and forcefully took out the stray and shoved him forward. Alpha felt Beta rise within him as he felt his own anger rising as well.

“Yeah, I know.” He said, agreeing with Beta.

“Are we going to destroy it?”

“Of course, but first I want to make sure everypony in it is out of there and is long gone before we destroy it.” Alpha said, watching the guards strap themselves onto the wagon and fly off.

He waited for a few seconds after they left, then in a single swift move, jumped off the cloud and flew to the back door of the RF. Two Security Guards were posted at the door. Alpha felt Beta rise as the back door was painted red. Once the guards were done, Alpha went through the door into a pitch dark room. His eyes, familiar to the darkness, instantly adjusted to the lack of light in the room. He looked around, and saw the machine; fully restored and working. Alpha placed his metallic wing on the wall next to him, placing another ball of light, this time colored black, on the door behind him.

“Don’t let it spread just yet.” Alpha told Beta.

“Understood.” Beta replied as he modified the spell so he could set it off remotely.

Alpha began walking to the machine as he watched a green mare being crushed alive inside it. Alpha walked to the side of the machine and cut one of the pipes with his wing. Then, taking out an empty jar in his bag, Alpha filled the jar with the rainbow-colored liquid. “This will come in hoofy later on- wait...” Alpha hesitated as he closed the jar. He watched as the Rainbow-colored liquid turned into blood.

“That’s odd. Open the jar again.”

Alpha did and the blood returned to its rainbow-colored state.

“That’s how they get away with it.” Beta said, realizing how the RF has been hiding in plain view “If it comes into contact with fresh air, it turns into colors...”

“…If it doesn’t, it turns into blood...” Alpha finished. He closed the jar once again, and placed it into his bag. “Come on, let’s move.” he said as he placed another charge inside the leaking pipe.

He turned to his left and saw a pair of white doors, walked through them and found himself in a long corridor. Picking up speed as he went from a trot to a near-full gallop, Alpha let his metallic wing cut into the floor, placing a long line of charged balls where he went. He went into a maze twists and turns, full of doors and hallways. Eventually Alpha found himself at the Cafeteria. He felt Beta rise within him. Beta was fully alert and ready for anything. He was deep in his enemy’s territory and was not about to take any chances. Alpha put his head close to the door, listening for anything that would tell him he wasn’t alone.
Nothing, not a sound was made. Once he felt sure that he was alone, Alpha slowly walked ahead, toward the Cell block. He felt Beta’s anger rose with his own as he looked around. There were more cells than Alpha ever knew. He stared at hundreds upon thousands of cells; each containing a Pegasi. Beta ripped open the door to Alpha left. The alarm went off as Alpha walked into the cell and was confronted by a Pegasus. His face was covered in dried blood, no doubt from a guard who wanted something to do.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU ARE GOING TO GET US KILLED!” The Pegasus said freaking out.

“Destroying this factory.” Alpha replied calmly without missing a beat. Beta set off the charges.

“It’s you…” The Pegasus said, staring at Alpha. Alpha looked back and recognized the Pegasus. It was the stallion that gave him the wet cloth after Alpha saved the red mare 3.5 years ago. “They said you died when you disappeared 3 weeks ago but I knew they were lying.”

“What are you willing to give to destroy this facility?” Alpha asked the Pegasus as he walked out of the cell, the Pegasus following him.

“If I need to, I will lay down my life to destroy this facility.”

“What is your name?”

“The name is John.” John replied.

“Well John, tonight you will be free.” Alpha replied, smiling. John looked around as each cell door was being brutally ripped off its hinges.

“How are you doing that?” John asked, as he looked at Alpha.

“I can do things most Pegasi can’t.” Alpha replied, his right eye glowing blood-red.

“We don’t have much time, the guards will be here any minute and I doubt they will be happy to see us.”

“All in good time.” Alpha replied casually as he gestured John to look up. The Celling had begun to glow in a myriad of colored balls, and slowly started to dissipate. Alpha could hear the sound of the guards’ hoofs galloping on the floor as they ran toward the cell block. “John, I need to you do me a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Take this,” Alpha said, giving his bag to John. “Once you are far away from the Factory, go to Ponyville. Find a unicorn called Vinyl Scratch. Take out and show her the jar of blood in the bag. Open the jar of blood when she sees it. Tell her everything about this factory. Tell her that “The Pegasus with the Metallic wing wants to speak with you as soon as possible.” Go now!”

“What about you?!” John said as he put on the bag.

“Somepony has to distract the guards. I will be fine. Get everypony out of here. Get a group of Pegasi and free the foals and colts in the Machine room! GO!” Alpha said.

John nodded. He turned around and gathered some Pegasi and flew out of the non-existent celling. Alpha looked behind him and started to trot to the oncoming hoard of guards. He watched an seemingly endless stream of angry-as-hell guards gallop towards him with a thirst for blood.

“Are you ready?” Alpha asked Beta.
“For this? Always.”

The first 30 guards were instantly liquefied. The guards behind them didn’t even flinch. Alpha took off, galloping with both wings fully extended, toward the guards. He ducked under a guard’s right-hook hoof and sliced him in two.

“Right!”

Alpha took a step back, narrowly dodging a wing, and elbowed the attacking guard, breaking his neck.

“Left!”

Alpha jumped over another, Beta creating a puddle of blood.

“Right!”

The Pegasus kicked the oncoming guard, creating an arc of blood.

“Left!”

The white skin started to turn red with blood.

“Above you!”

The metal wing swung upwards, the guard did not have the agility or the skill to turn.

“Below you!”

Alpha sidestepped to the right as a guard broke through the floor. Beta lit the flying Pegasi’s wings on fire

“2 o’clock!”

“Wha-oof!” Alpha met head on with a right-hook hoof.

“4 o’clock”

“Fuck that.” Alpha replied as he ducked, his wing slicing the guard’s legs off.

The guards stopped to regroup around Alpha. Alpha was breathing heavily, his scar was open and bleeding, and he was stained in blood.

“There are too many for you.”

“I know. Want to take over?”

“With Pleasure.”
Alpha felt Beta start to take over as the color of his Mane, Tail and Eyes slowly turned blood-red

Alpha started to laugh.

“What’s so funny colt? There are hundreds of us and only one of you.”

“It’s funny,” Alpha said as he stopped laughing. “You are going to need a lot more guards to kill us.”Beta replied. “What are you waiting for? Let’s see if you can defeat me.”

The main guard ran at Beta. Beta sneered as he destroyed the guard.

“Behind you!”

Beta kicked the guard behind him with both hind legs. The skull shattered and bits of bone flew out of the hole made by Beta’s hind legs on the side of his face

“Left!”

Beta held out his left hoof and caught the attacker by the neck. He looked at the guard with a dark grin and crushed his neck.

“Right!”

Beta ducked, the metallic wing extended, cutting off the legs of the guard. The guard, legless kept moving through the air however and Beta helped him along by giving his flank some extra power. The guard’s face slammed into the concrete wall, instantly crushing his face.

“Left!”

Beta looked at the guard at his left. The guard froze in fear and began to gallop away. Beta didn’t allow him. He opened a portal into hell right in front of the fleeing pony. He ran into the portal and Beta closed the portal, laughing his flank off at what he just witnessed.

“Right!”
Beta sub-consciously destroyed the attacking guard, so he was confused why he didn’t see anyone come at him when he looked to his right

“Above you!”
Beta waited for the last possible second then sidestepped to his right, letting the Pegasus to slam into the floor. Beta then stomped on the Pegasus’s head, killing him.

“Below you!”

Beta turned the floor beneath into concrete. “That pony ain’t comin’ though.”

The guards kept coming and coming and Beta kept killing them non-stop. He was a master at death. After an hour of non-stop killing, no more guards came. Beta let Alpha take control. He wiped his face of blood clean as he looked around. There were bodies everywhere. Some were groaning. For those who groaned were killed as Alpha stomped on their head with his hoof. He took a deep breath.

“Good job.”

“Thanks. You did a good job as well.”

“Not as great as you did.”

“No-pony is as good at killing as I am. But you would make me notice you.”

Alpha chuckled. “At least I know why you killed this time.”

“Don’t bring that up now, I’m in a good mood.”

“Fine. Im tired as hell, Let’s leave.”

“You should take a shower first, I doubt you want to go into Ponyville covered in dried blood.”

“The shower room has already been destroyed,” Alpha said as he looked behind him. “We can wash up somewhere else. But I really want to leave this place before more Ponies get here.”

“Good idea. Let’s go.”

Alpha spread both wings and flew off through the celling. Once far enough away he turned, his back facing toward the moon, and watched as the RF burned and was destroyed.

“Aww shit.”

“What?”

“Behind you.”

Alpha turned around to see a mare with a horn and wings, flying behind him, staring at him. She had dark blue skin and her mane glittered like the night sky. She had a moon symbol on her flank.

Chapter 8: "It's much harder to escape than it is to break in"

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Chapter 8: “It’s much harder to escape than to break in.”

Alpha stared at Luna with fear. He wasn’t scared of her. He was scared that she knew about Beta. She could screw up his one and only chance at finding out his reason.

“Shit.”

Luna’s horn began to glow as she fired a spell at Alpha.

“DOWN!”

Alpha instantly stopped flapping his wings, and dropped like a rock, missing the incoming spell by mere centimeters. He spread his wings and banked hard left, flying into the factory. He broke through a disintegrating wall and kept flying.

“Focus on protecting us from her spells; I’ll get us out of this mess!” Alpha told Beta. “Fire back if you must, but non-lethal spells only, I don’t want her to die just yet.”

“Don’t worry about me, focus on your flying!”

Alpha banked hard right and left as he flew through the collapsing facility. He saw flashes of light on the walls and knew that Beta was fighting off Luna as best as he could. Alpha flew to the floor and landed. He set off down the corridor and took a left into pitch blackness. He slowed his breathing and listened. He heard the sound of hoofs hitting the ground as Luna landed, looking for Alpha. She walked toward his position, not able to see due to the lack of light.

“It’s pretty dark inside here, Alpha. Don’t let the monsters catch you.” Luna said aloud with a grin.

“The only monster I can see isn’t within me.” Alpha responded.

“I am a guardian when compared to Beta. Did you know he killed ponies? He slaughtered them for fun.”

“Don’t always listen to your sister, Luna. She banned you to the moon for 10 centuries, or have you forgotten that already?” Beta replied. “She is hiding something from us, you have to admit that.”

“Don’t you dare talk about Princess Celestia. My sister has never lied to me. She banished me to protect me and Equestria. She has no reason to lie to me.”

“She has nothing to lose to lie to you. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have anything to gain. If you are who your reputation says you are, then you protect and visit colts and fillies dreams, right?”

“That is correct, but why should it matter to you?”

“Do you remember any of my dreams when I was alive or any of Alpha’s dreams?” Alpha had begun to move around in the darkness. His eyes, already used to being in the dark, had adjusted instantly and were able to see Luna. Luna was blind. She couldn’t see a damn thing, but could hear Alpha’s steps and breath.

“I do not protect those who kill.”

“Don’t be so naïve, Luna. I was a mutant before I had my…incident. I was a victim. I don’t remember you visiting me in my dreams.” Beta said, circling Luna.

“That was 900 years ago, Beta.” Luna said with fear in her voice. “I was still Nightmare Moon on the moon.”

“That may be so, but you weren’t in Alpha’s dreams when he was in the RF; before I met him. And even after I met and helped him, you were never there, never visited, never protected. That was 3 years ago.” Alpha was in front of Luna. She had no idea that he was so close to her. He was using the walls to bounce his voice to sound like if he was everywhere at once.

“I was still on the moon.” Luna said, moving her head left and right, trying to hear his breath.

“WRONG! Before I bonded to Alpha, I watched you. You were at the Castle. You banished on the moon for 900 years, not 1000 years. You stayed at the Castle with your sister. You slowly revealed yourself to the staff and guards of the Castle. I was watching you. The reason you haven’t committed suicide from depression of being alone for 900 years is because of me. When you were on the moon, I was with you. The elements that banished you to the moon obliterated my body. I decided, after I found out that I was dead, to go to you. Do you have any memory of this? Or do you choose to forget it all? Choose to forget all that I have done for you and listen to the excuse of a sister that Celestia is?”

“ENOUGH!” Luna screamed her voice full to the brim with fear. Her horn glowed red as everything in the room except for Alpha was engulfed in flames.

“Shit, time to run.” Beta told Alpha.

“No shit Sherlock.” Alpha replied as he ran past Luna and down the hallway. He took flight and took a hard right, flying out of a broken window. Once in the open, Alpha knew he needed to get somewhere safe.

“Go to Ponyville, I doubt she will hurt an innocent pony there.”

“Let’s hope so.” Alpha said as he dived down and flew faster than he had ever dared to go towards Ponyville.
---
John was frantically looking for Vinyl. He was covered in his own blood but did not care, he needed to find this mare and fast before he was caught by the guards. As he was flying, he looked behind him to see if he was followed when he crashed into Octavia. Octavia and Vinyl were out for a stroll to see the sunset.

“I am so sorry, wasn’t looking where I was flying.” John said as he got up frantically, afraid he had made to much noise.

“Next time, watch where you are flying. Why are you in such a hurry?” Vinyl said as he helped Octavia up.

“I’m looking for somepony. It’s important that I find her right away before anything else bad happens.” John replied, looking around.

“Anything else bad happens? Who are you looking for?” Vinyl asked.

“A Unicorn called Vinyl Scratch. I have a message and a package from somepony for her. It is essential that I find her and give her it.” He said; his heart racing. It was starting to get dark.

“Well you are looking for me. I am Vinyl Scratch. What’s up?” She said, cheerfully.

John open Alpha’s bag and took out the jar of blood. He held it up and showed Vinyl the jar. Octavia screamed then fainted. Vinyl looked at Octavia’s unconscious body, then looked back at John, taking a step back.

“Is that Blood!? Why do you have a jar of blood? Why are you giving me a Jar of blood? Are you fucking sick?” Vinyl demanded.

“It’s not just blood. Open the jar.” John told Vinyl, his heart returning to normal.

“Why?”

“Don’t ask why. Just do it.”

Vinyl took the jar from John and opened it. She watched as the blood turned into a rainbow-colored liquid. Vinyl stared at the liquid then looked at John and saw the dried blood on his face. Her eyes widened as she slowly realized what the jar of blood meant.

“It’s real? The Rainbow Factory is real?” She asked as she looked back at the jar.

“It was. I am from there. I was spared because I was able to lift heavy metal object with ease. The Pegasus with the metallic wing freed and sent me to find you. He wants me to tell you that he needs to talk to you as soon as possible.” John said.

Vinyl closed the jar and watched as the liquid inside turned back into blood. “Why? Where is he from? What is his name? What do you mean “was”? Is it gone? What happened?” Vinyl asked.

“Slow down. He did not tell me why. I do not know where he is from. His name is Alpha. He…” John stopped as he stared at the clouds above him, his eyes widened as his jaw dropped.

“What? What did he do?” Vinyl asked, getting annoyed

“Sweet Celestia.” John muttered.

“What are you looking at?” Vinyl asked as she looked where John was staring at. “I don’t see anything.”

“Coming from the clouds.” Octavia replied. She had already gotten up and had been watching the glowing light fall from the sky.

Vinyl looked up and saw the glowing orb fall.

But it wasn’t a glowing orb. It wasn’t a orb at all. It was two Pegasuses. One seemed to be chasing the other. The one chasing the other was inexplicably dark blue. The one being chased was white…or red. Vinyl wasn’t sure.

“Luna…..” Vinyl whispered. “What is she doing?”

“Chasing Alpha.” John answered Vinyl, watching the spectacle, unable to do anything.
---

Alpha was flying straight down at a 90 degree angle. He was going as fast as his body could let him. He already broke through the sonic barrier, creating a halo of Red and Blue, which stunned Luna for a few seconds, but did not slow her down. He was already going too fast to stop. He leaned back hard and started to pull up. He pulled up away from the ground just at the last second, the air behind him crashed down into the dirt, creating a huge sound similar to what a cannon sounds like when fired. Beta was firing spell after spell at Luna to keep her at bay.

“It’s now or never, Alpha. We need to lose her.”

“I know, I know. She is just too fast. I can’t seem to shake her off.”

“Getting tired Alpha?” Luna said in a mocking fashion. “We have just begun to play. It would be a shame for me to win when we have just started.”

“Alpha, I’m running out of spells here. Do something!”

“You might not like what I am thinking of doing.”

“I don’t care what it is, just do it!”

“Well, here goes nothing.” Alpha banked hard up and right. He spun around and went onto an intercept course to Luna. “Stop firing and fire the brightest spell you got on my mark!” Alpha told Beta, the distance between him and Luna was closing.

“Ready!” Beta said.

Alpha waited until his front hooves were a hoof away from Luna’s face when he banked hard left. “NOW!” He screamed. Beta shot off his spell. It rebounded off Luna and turned into a small sun, temporarily blinding Luna. Alpha was blinded as well, but not as bad as Luna. “SHIT!” He screamed as he covered his eyes, his wings giving out at the same time.

“Why did you stop flying?”

“My wings are too tired. They stopped flapping.”

“Shit. Try to land somewhere soft, like grass.”

Alpha painfully spread his wings as opened his eyes. He tried as hard as he could to glide to a softer area but it was no use. He was over a forest with no grassy hill or open patch of land in sight. He spotted a trail with some ponies on it and aimed there, hoping the ponies on the trail were friendly and would help him. Alpha braced for impact as he hurled toward the ground. He covered his face with both wings and curled up into a ball, tucking in his legs. He hit the ground with such velocity that the cement trail was pulverized where he hit. Alpha was somehow conscious, and got up slowly.

“Let’s not do that again. Beta, are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I tried to slow down our speed by firing a spell at the trail, hoping it would rebound and hit us, which did not work out as I expected.”

“Did you think that the spell might kill us instead of slowing us down?”

“I was in the moment. Wasn’t really thinking, so no, I wasn’t thinking that the spell could kill us. I was thinking that if we didn’t slow down, we would paint the trail red and decorate it with bone, flesh and metal.”

“Well it worked. What you did made the impact a lot softer, but did not slow me down.” He looked at his metallic wing. “Shit, this thing can take some serious damage before warping. There isn’t a single scratch on it.” Alpha said. He took a step forward and fell
to the ground, exhausted. “So tired….”

“I am not surprised. Your body will be hurting tomorrow. Let’s go back to the cave.”

“Too tired….need…to...sleep…”Alpha said, his eyes nearly shut.

“Then let me take over. I’ll get us home.”

“…..” Alpha was already asleep. Beta sighed as he took over manually, and got up. He looked up at the night sky, looking for Luna.

“I hope she is alright. Didn’t mean to hurt her badly, just temporarily blind her.” Beta said to himself. He slowly walked on the trail, exhausted. He walked into Ponyville and found a public restroom with a public shower. “Alpha, wake up. Found a shower, I think it has warm water. It will help you relax.” Alpha didn’t respond. “Fine, your loss.” Beta took off the metallic wing, setting it on the wall opposite to the stall. He then walked into the shower stall and twisted the knob, closing his eyes as he felt the warm water spray onto face. He washed the blood out of his skin and mane. He winced as the water hit his burnt wing. Beta heard the door open and close, but dismissed it as the wind outside and went back to washing his tail. Once he had washed all the blood out, he turned off the shower and walked out of the stall. He saw movement to his right but did not move. If it was Luna, he would be already dead. He looked to his right and saw Vinyl staring at him, his wing behind her.

“When were you going to tell me?” She asked.

“Tell you what? That I am real? That the Legend is true? There is a lot that Alpha isn’t telling any pony. I can’t blame him. He has been through events similar that I went through when I was alive..”

“So, you are Beta, right?”

“That is correct.” Beta looked at Vinyl, his eyes, mane and tail glowing red. “I am Beta.”

“You killed ponies 900 years ago because you could; because you wanted to; because it was fun hurting others. And now you are here to hurt more, right? Why else would you be here?”

“You are correct about what I did when I was alive. You are not correct why I did it.” Beta shook his head. “I cannot tell you why I did what I did because you won’t believe me. You won’t understand why I killed so many ponies. I did have fun doing it, hurting others. But you have to understand Vinyl Scratch, one does not hurt others just because they can. They must have a reason to do so. I am not here to hurt more. I am here because Alpha needed somepony. He was alone and hurt when I met him. Since then, I have helped him through his life: I have toned down the pain he feels, kept him company, made sure he doesn’t feel alone, and got him out of his personal hell. The Past doesn’t always describe the pony. It tells another what they have done, what they have learned, but does not define that pony.”

“Stop rambling about, Beta. I know what you did. You killed ponies for fun. Once you self-taught yourself dark magic, you went insane. You went on a killing spree, flaying and torturing any pony you saw. You left no survivors, you spared no one. You are a murderer and a killer. You are a bully.” Vinyl said, enraged.

“I AM NOT A BULLY!” Beta screamed. He stomped his front hoof down in anger and lowered his head as a ring of blue flames surrounded him, “Like Alpha, you and countless others, I am a victim. Society was different when I was alive. I was a mutant, able to use magic. If you were a mutant back in my time, you would be hated by all Ponies, Unicorns, Pegasus, and Alicorns. I was hated, discriminated, bullied, beat up, attacked, and left to die.” Beta tried to control his temper. “I only killed those who hurt me, who made it their life goal to make my life hell. I left survivors; I spared those who had been hurt by others. I killed and wiped out the bullies. I made sure that if I was to die, no mutant would be hurt again.” Beta looked up at Vinyl, not as angry as he was earlier, but still annoyed. “I am a victim. When I first found Alpha, it was right when he lost his wing. I took control of his body and made sure those who hurt him were made to suffer. I saw my younger self inside him. He reminded me of myself before I went insane. So I bonded with him. I made myself a promise that I would do what I can, whatever I can to protect him. To make sure he does not follow in my hoofsteps.” Beta stared at Vinyl, the blue flames slowly turned orange as Beta considered Vinyl as a friend or an enemy. “Don’t you dare hurt Alpha or I’ll rip off your horn from your skull. And before you ask, it is possible to do that. I have done it before.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Vinyl said, insulted by Beta but not wanting to get on his bad side. “So what are you here for?”

“Alpha was punished for saving a red mare 1 week before his 11th birthday. He was punished by having his wing taken off. The original punishment was to be killed but the guards said that they had special orders from the Princess to keep him alive. I am here to help Alpha find out what reason Celestia and Luna have to keep Alpha alive but hurt.” Beta explained. “But I will leave that for when you talk to Alpha. For now, I need to get back to our cave. Alpha is extremely tired, and so am I.” Beta walked past Vinyl, grabbing and slipping on the metallic wing and headed to the door. Beta opened the door when he stopped and looked back at Vinyl. “I’m sorry for getting angry earlier. It’s a time I do not want to think about. I am glad Alpha met you, he finally has a pony he considers a friend and can trust that isn’t within himself. Goodnight.” Beta walked out of the restroom to see Octavia and John waiting for Vinyl. He nodded to both and walked off to the forest.

Vinyl walked out of the restroom a short time later. She looked at John and Octavia before watching Beta walk into the forest.

“What happened in there?” Octavia asked Vinyl.

Vinyl looked at Octavia with a depressed look. “I’ll tell you later.” She looked at John. “Thanks for giving me the message and package. I’ll keep them safe to give to Alpha when I see him again.”

“Don’t mention it. I owe him after what he did for me.” John said, nodding to Vinyl. “I must go, It’s been 5 years since I have seen my wife, I’m hoping to surprise her.” He said as he flew off. “Goodnight to you both.”

“Good night.” Octavia said to John. She looked at Vinyl. Vinyl looked back at her with a concerned frown. “What’s wrong, Vinyl?”
She asked.

“It’s nothing.” Vinyl said, hiding her feelings with a smile. “Come on, let’s go home. We’ve had a hell of a night tonight. I’ll tell you when we get there.” She told Octavia and started to head to her home.

Beta had just arrived at his cave. Not even bothering to start a fire, he turned around and laid down on the ground. He was exhausted from destroying the factory. He slipped off his wing and covered himself with it, using it as a make-shift blanket. He put his head on his front hoofs and fell asleep fast.

If Beta were to look up before he fell asleep, he would have seen two white glowing ovals watching him….

Chapter 9: Her

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Chapter 9: Her

Alpha groaned as he woke up. He was so stiff and sore from last night. He struggled to get up and heard his wing hit the ground when he did. Slowly picking it up and putting it on, Alpha walked out of his cave and headed for Ponyville. Beta was still asleep, so Alpha did what he could to not complain about being so sore. He walked into Ponyville to see a crowd of ponies arguing. He saw John in the midst of the crowd, looking seemingly lost, and decided to chat with him. He slowly made his way through the crowd.

“Behind you.” Alpha said once he was close enough to him.

John looked behind him and saw Alpha smiling at him. “I was wondering if I would ever see you again. How are you, Alpha?” John asked, with a smile.

“I am very tired and sore. Luna was waiting for me once I left the facility.” He shook his head and sighed. “That was pure hell. But besides that, I am doing okay.”

“Luna? As in Princess Luna, Princess Celestia’s sister?” John said, shocked.

“Do you know anyone else named Luna who knows where the RF was?”

“Well, that surprises me. What did she want?”

“Me to be dead. She chased me, firing spells and tried to trap me in the facility as it caught aflame.”

“I have to ask, how did you survive against those guards? Even I can’t fight against one and not come out without a broken bone.”

Alpha gritted his teeth in pain as he extended his wings, stretching. “It’s a long and personal story. But I trust you won’t tell anyone. Come on, let’s get something to eat. I’m starving.” He started to make his way to the market.

“Hey wait up! I’m lost.” John said as he followed Alpha into the market. “Gosh, it’s been so long since I was in a market.”

“I can see that. How long has it been for you?”

“I can’t really remember.” John closed his eyes in an attempt to remember. “About 6-8 years or so.”

“Whoahohooa, longer than me.” Alpha said. He took off his money pouch and took out about 30 bits and gave it to John. “Here, take his and get what you want. Once you are done, meet me at the town square. I will tell you there how I- “Alpha was cut off mid speech as an orange filly, a Pegasus, ran toward John.

“DADDY!!” screamed Scootaloo as she ran to John.

“SCOOTALOO!” John yelled as he saw his daughter. He ran toward to her and embraced her in a hug. “It’s been so long since I last saw you.” He had tears streaming down his face as he hugged his daughter. “How I missed you!”

“Where were you all this time, Daddy?” Scootaloo asked, eccentric with finding her father after all these years of being alone. “The last time I saw you, I was with mom. You went out to get something to eat and never came back!”

“It doesn’t matter where I went. All that matters is that I am here now. I will never leave you again.” John said, crying. Alpha watched from a distance, giving John his space.

“Damn I’m tired. What did I miss?” Beta said, finally waking up. Alpha didn’t respond. He was watching John embrace his daughter. He stood there, frozen. “Alpha, is something wrong?” Beta asked, worried. Alpha wasn’t paying attention to Beta, and Beta knew perfectly well why. Alpha had just witnessed a filly joining her father after being stuck in the Rainbow Factory for so long. Alpha turned around and walked away.

“….Celestia….” Alpha muttered, his rage rising. “She did all this, created all this pain, and for what: to make Rainbows?” He was now trembling, trying as hard he could to not let his rage out.

“What will you do? You can’t just go up to Celestia and say “Hey, you stupid fuck! Stop hurting others!” You won’t be able to get to her without being attacked by the Guards and Luna. Even if you and I beat them all, Celestia has the Elements of Harmony. You and I aren’t ready to handle that amount of magic!” Beta explained to Alpha. “I wasn’t even ready for that type of power.”

Alpha shook his head, pushing away the thought of not being able to do anything and walked started walking to the forest. He got halfway there before he saw John being taken by guards. Scootaloo was right behind them, screaming.

“He hasn’t done anything wrong! Let him go! Daddy, don’t leave me!” Scootaloo cried.

“Your father is a murderer, a killer. He killed ponies before you were alive, and now the streets are safe because he is now off of them.” The guard easily lied to Scootaloo.

Beta instantly took over and marched to the guard.

“Watch out, got another one, shall we bag ‘im?” Said the private; a stallion in blue armor, nodding to the oncoming white Pegasus.

“No,” said the Sargent. “We don’t need anymo-” The Sargent instantly stopped talking as Beta shoved his wing to his neck, the metal gleaming in the sunlight.

“LET. HIM. GO. He has done nothing wrong.” Beta said in a growl.

“First off, You do not tell me what to do.” The Sargent said, pushing Beta off with his hoof. “Second, I am a guard taking off a dangerous criminal off the streets.” He began to push Beta backwards with his hoof.

“Guard, If I were you, I would back off.” John said, his eyes widened with fear as he watched Beta. Beta was staring at the guard, his mane, tail, and eyes blood red.

“Shut up, when I’m done with this stray, I’m going to kick your flank.” The Sargent told John. He looked back at Beta. “Thirdly, the next time we meet, if you ever tell me what to do, I will personally make sure you go to the Rainbow Factory and flayed alive. Do I make myself clear?”

Beta started to snicker then laughed his flank off, falling to the ground in uncontrollable laughter.

“What is so funny, stray?” The Sargent said.

Beta got up, wiping the tears of laughter off his face, then looked at the guard. “First off, I will tell you what ever the fuck I want you to do.” His smile faded away as he pushed the guard back with his hoof. “Second, that Pegasus is not a dangerous criminal, he is a fucking victim. If you want a dangerous criminal, you are talking to one.” The guard’s eyes widened as he realized who he was talking to. “Thirdly, I was at the Rainbow Factory. I was tortured, abused, hated.” With each word, Beta stepped forward on the guard, forcing him to retreat. “The Rainbow Factory is no more. I don’t give a fuck if John killed millions of ponies. He has been through hell and back. As for you,” Beta continued, “Drop him and go tell your shitty princess what you saw. Tell her that I am here. Go. Now!”

With that, the guards instantly dropped John and flew off as fast as they could, heading towards the Castle. Scootaloo ran to her father and embraced her. John looked at Beta as he gave Alpha control again, His color returning to its original phase.

“When were you going to tell me about him?” John said, hugging Scoot.

“When we would meet after you ate in town square.” Alpha replied, taking a deep breath as he tried to calm down.

“You do realize that you will be seen as a monster now.” John said as he walked up to Alpha, Scootaloo hiding behind him.

“I know what I did, and I am ready for the consequences.” Alpha said, calmed down now. He looked behind John to see Scootaloo hiding behind his hind legs. “Cute filly. You are married I presume.”

“Was. After I was taken from my family, my wife died of an illness. Scootaloo here, “John said, moving to the left, letting Alpha to see Scootaloo, “has been alone ever since.”

“Really? Wow, she must be strong to live in a place like this with those types of guards walking around all the time.” Alpha commented.

Scootaloo looked at Alpha’s flank and realized he had not gained his cutie mark yet. She gasped in amazement. “You don’t have your cutie mark yet!” She said, excited.

“I don’t have my what?” Alpha asked, confused.

“Your cutie mark.” Scootaloo asked.

“What’s a cutie mark?”

“Wait.” John said as he stepped into the conversation. “You don’t know what a cutie mark is?”

“No, is that bad?” Alpha asked calmly, tilting his head to one side.

“A cutie mark represents the special talent that a pony can do. For example,” John turned around and showed Alpha his cutie mark. It consisted of a metal bar and a hammer. “My cutie mark represents my talent to smith metal.”

“Oh…okay.” Alpha said with a confused face.

“You did not understand a word I said, did you?” John asked.

“I understand perfectly well. I just don’t really care about my cutie-thingy.” Alpha admitted.

“What do you mean you don’t care? Do you not want to know what your special talent is?” Scootaloo said, surprised. “Every pony’s special talent is different. It means that you are good at whatever your mark represents.”

“I could not care about what my special talent is. It isn’t something I’m worried about achieving.” Alpha said, not trying to insult them.

“Why is your wing made out of metal?” Scootaloo asked, changing subject.

Alpha looked up at John, his right eye glowing red. “May I show her?”

John nodded. “Go ahead.”

Alpha slowly took of his metallic brace, letting the sun hit the destroyed wing for the first time. He shut his eyes in agony as he flexed the wing as he stretched out. He heard a gasp and thought it was Scootaloo until Beta spoke.

“Every pony is staring at you.”

Alpha looked around to see he was surrounded by ponies. Some were covering their children’s eyes; others just stared at Alpha with their jaw open. He looked to his right to a white mare on the roof, watching him. “We should leave now.”

The white mare had both wings intact but… something was out of place. Her eyes were different. Her eyes were purple. Then Alpha saw it. One eye flickered to green then back to purple. Alpha was staring at the mare. John looked at Alpha then followed his eyes to where he was looking. He froze when he saw her.
“Alpha,” he said, his voice quivering. “Chill…” Alpha, without taking his eyes off her, slowly slipped his wing into the metallic pocket, his bones adjusting to its magnetic properties.

“Those guards were fast as hell.” Beta said aloud.

“I’m not surprised, they are trained to respond on any danger and report to Celestia on the spot.” John replied. “I’m sure you know why.” Alpha extended both wings and prepped for takeoff. She looked at him with a grin. Alpha instantly took off to the sky, banking hard right as he turned around away from her. She trailed after him. Once high enough, Alpha slowed to a halt and turned around to face her.

“Who are you?” Alpha asked.

“Well, since you are going to die soon, you might as well know who is going to end your life. I am Zeta.” Zeta said with a boastful attitude. “But, there is no need to talk now. You will die.”

Zeta fired a spell at Alpha. Alpha was stunned, Pegasus can’t fire spells. He dived and flew off to the mountains, hoping that the curves and valleys would shake her off. Beta was firing spell after spell at Zeta, not aiming to kill but aiming to distract, to throw her off. Alpha dived into a valley. He banked hard right and left, flew up and down as he dodged spells and rocks. Alpha was still sore from yesterday but he forgot about the pain. He took a right, flying through a hole and was hit by a falling rock. It bounced off his wing but threw him off balance.

“Whoa.” He said as he regained stability.

“Another hit like that and we can die.” Beta said, cursing as he deflected and fired spell after spell. “Be careful!”

“Got it.” Alpha took a hard left, spinning through the air, banked hard right and flew fast and low. Hitting a dead end, he banked hard left, fully turning around and flew straight at Zeta. He leaned to his right, barely missing Zeta and flew out of the valley, leaving her confused and lost, unable to understand what just happened.

“What the hell?” Zeta said, startled.

“Dunno. Fast, agile and knows what to do in dangerous situations.” Gamma said with a chuckle. “I wanna meet Beta the next time you meet him.”

“In your dreams Gamma, that act is a dangerous move. What would the Kingdom think when if I let you out? What would Luna say after she figured out what we are? She could have us killed; have us hunted Alpha and Beta are.” Zeta replied, her eye glowing to green. “Besides, I have had you ever since I was forced to go to that Dreadful place.”

“You are aware that Alpha did destroy it, right? That is the reason Luna sent you to kill him.” Gamma sighed. “It doesn’t matter now.
We might as go tell her our failure then… unless you have a better idea.”

“We know where he sleeps. At least we know that much of him.”

“Yeah, in that shitty ass cave of his.”

“Well you can’t blame him. He has no home, no parents, and no family to go to. His parents abandoned him when he was a foal.”
“And Beta?”

“Are you kidding? His house is said to be haunted by his own anger. No pony would go there. I doubt Alpha and Beta realize it is still standing.” Zeta flew out of the valley and started heading for the Castle. “She is going to angry that I haven’t killed him yet.”

“Don’t worry about him. He is super sore and has no pony to help him, let alone care for him.” Gamma said, snickering. “Wear him out and he will be another easy kill for our count.”

“Yeah, I know. And yet, after what they both have done, I still feel bad for them. Oh well, let’s go.”

Zeta and Gamma flew off to the castle, unaware that Alpha and Beta were watching them.

“So, we aren’t alone with this gift. That’s how she can predict what we can do so easily. She is going to cause a lot of problems.” Beta said, watching Zeta.

“I know.” Alpha replied as he took off and flew to Ponyville. I just can’t believe it’s her.”

“Who? Zeta?”

“I can’t remember her original name, but I know it isn’t Zeta. I have seen her before, in the Factory, before I met you.” He landed to see the market closing. He ran and had just enough time to buy some apples before everything closed down. He then flew to his cave. Beta was already asleep, and Alpha was soon following him. He landed roughly and walked into the cave. He had just turned around to face the entrance when he fell to the ground, dead asleep.

A bolt of lightning shot out of Alpha’s forehead as Beta made sure Zeta wasn’t watching.

“Fucking bitch. Hate when ponies watch us sleep. It’s fucking creepy as fucking hell.” Beta said. He nestled inside Alpha’s mind and drifted back to sleep.

Chapter 10: Memories of the Forgotten

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Chapter 10: Memories of the Forgotten

Alpha woke up with a start. He looked up to see the charred ground when Beta made sure they were alone and smiled as he lowered his head down, catching his breath. He looked to his side to see the apples he bought the night before and moved one to him with his hoof. He took a bite, savoring the taste in his mouth. The juice overpowered his mouth and started to foam. Alpha was half awake and started to choke on the juice. He coughed up the liquid and gasp for breath.

“Don’t do that again.” Beta said, awake. “Jeez, that was the worst way I have woken up in a while. What do you want?” He said, breathing heavily.

“Nothing, sorry, nearly fell asleep eating. What do you want to do today?” he replied.

“We need to get our bag from Vinyl before we do anything else. We also need to find out who Zeta is and what she wants. Plus, I want to go see something…personal. I want to make sure it is still standing.”

That last part caught Alpha off guard. “Personal? Like what?”

“It’s not important right now. We need to get our stuff back.” Beta said.

“Beta, are you okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“That last part caught me off. What do you want to see?”

“When we get there, I will explain what I meant. Let’s just go get our stuff back.”

“Well, it is Sunday, which means her shop won’t be open.” Alpha sighed. “Looks like we are going to see Octavia again.” He groaned in pain as he got up, slipped on his wing and walked to Ponyville.

Once there, he wished Beta had cloaked him.Everypony was staring at Alpha, specifically his metallic brace. They stopped in his path, asking him to take it off and leave it off, but Alpha would shake his head, saying “No.” It was pure hell for him.

“Why won’t you take it off?” The ponies would ask.

“Because I don’t want to, I feel weak, different. Without my wing, I can’t fly. It’s like removing your wings or your horn, it’s part of you. It feels awkward without it.” He would reply. Eventually he got to Vinyl’s place. He knocked on the front door and waited.

"One moment.” A voice said within the cottage. The door opened and there stood Octavia. “Oh, it’s you. What do you want?” She said, annoyed.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but Vinyl has my bag and jar. I was hoping to get them back.” Alpha said calmly.

“Wait here. VINYL!!” She screamed over her shoulder without taking her eyes off Alpha.

“What?!” Vinyl’s voice came from upstairs.

“YOU GOT A VISTOR” Octavia screamed back. Alpha looked at her, amused at what was happening. He tried desperately to not laugh. He wasn’t making faces, but was very close to do so.

“IM COMING DOWN.” Vinyl said as she walked downstairs. “What’s up?” She said as she looked at her friend. Her eyes met Alpha and she froze. “Oh, him.”

“Hello Vinyl. I am just here for my bag and the jars inside.” Alpha replied.

“Oh, yeah. Gimme a minute.” She said. Vinyl ran back inside, grabbed his bag and threw it to Alpha. “Next time, don’t send somepony to do your work.” Octavia replied and slammed the door shut.

“That could have gone a lot better.” Beta said as Alpha shouldered his bag and flew off.

“I’m not surprised though.” Alpha said with a disappointed tone. “Anyway, before we go find out who Zeta is, let’s go to your personal place.”

“Fine, the last time I remember it, it was near the edge of the village, north of here. We can get there much faster if you fly.” Beta replied uneasily. Alpha noted the uneasiness in Beta’s voice as he took off and flew north. After a few minutes, he landed at the edge of Ponyville. He looked around and saw an old two-story cottage, hiding within forest.

The Cottage was falling apart. It looked like it was about to collapse at any moment. Vines covered the stone chimney while the wood was gray and rotten. The glass windows were cracked and broken. The roof, usually made with hay, seemed like it wasn’t made with hay. It had lost its color to the elements and had blended in with the wood. The paint was peeling of the walls. The Cottage looked as if it was built…

“Beta, is this what I think it is?” Alpha said in mid-thought.

“Welcome to my house, Alpha. I’m amazed that it is still standing after all these years. Apparently after I…had my incident, rumor spread that anypony who went into the house will be killed by my anger. Glad to see that everypony listened to it. Let’s go inside.” Beta said cheerfully.

Alpha walked to the door. It was leaning to one side, its hinges already gone. Alpha cautiously opened it and walked inside, letting Beta close the door. He took a deep breath. The air smelled old and mossy. “Wow.” Alpha said, impressed, as he looked around.

“Home sweet Home. It isn’t much today. But back when I was alive, it was a lot. My parents were very wealthy, before I screwed everything up. My bedroom was upstairs. I’ll make sure the wood doesn’t crumble when you touch it, you’ll be fine.” Beta replied.

Alpha took a step forward and heard the wood creak, cringing to its sound. “I am scared shitless right now.” He gingerly took a few steps forward and slowly made his way to the stairs. Once he got up the stairs he looked around. The hallway’s paint was peeling off but Alpha could just see the last remains of cyan in the old paint.

“It’s the first door on your left. My parents’ room is on the right. Go into my room first. Then go into my parents’ room.” Beta announced.

Alpha nodded as he walked down the hallway, and entered the first door on his right. The room was perfectly preserved. It was if someone had taken a picture of it. It was brightly colored. There was a colt sitting on the ground. He had brown skin, blood red eyes, and his mane and tail went from a dark red to a light red. Alpha was memorized by the colt sitting on the ground in front of him.

“Hey colt, you lost?” Alpha asked.

The colt did not respond. It did not even look around. Alpha walked around the colt to see him playing with a ball. The ball was colored blue with a red stripe across it. But the colt wasn’t touching the ball, instead he stared at it. As Alpha watched, the ball rose up and flew around the room, the colt laughing hysterically watching it.

“…Beta…” Alpha muttered to himself, watching the colt.

“Beta, you got a visitor!” A female voice said from downstairs.

The ball fell to the ground. It bounced twice then rolled to a halt. He stopped laughing; all the happiness he was just feeling was gone. Beta’s smile turned to a frown.

“Who is it?” Beta replied. Visitors usually meant being hated. All of his friends have already left him, betraying him. He heard a door slam as his mother closed the front door.

“A mare named Gamma.” Beta’s mom replied.

“What did she want?” Beta asked as he walked to his window to see the mare walk away. She had gray skin with a dark-green-turning-light-green colored mane and tail. Gamma turned around to look at Beta’s house once more and noticed Beta watching her. She gave Beta a nasty look, called him some words that Beta could not hear but knew it wasn’t nice words, and walked away.

“To state her own opinion. That’s the 6th pony today that has come up to our cottage to state their opinions. This is getting too out of hoof.” Beta’s mom replied.

Beta turned away from the window and jumped upon his bed. He grabbed his blanket, a cotton blanket that was colored blue, with Luna’s cutie mark stitched into it, and wrapped himself with it, curling up into a ball. Everything slowly started to disappear as the flashback ended. The room was deteriorating. The paint was peeling off the walls, the covers of the bed were moldy and mothballed.

“Beta, are you alright?” Alpha asked.

“No.” Beta admitted. “I don’t want to be here any longer. I want to go.”

Alpha looked down and picked up the ball Beta was playing with in the flashback, dropping it in his bag as he turned around. “Do you want to visit your parent’s room?” He asked.

“No, I want to leave this place right now.”

“We are leaving.” Alpha said as he walked down the stairs. He opened the door and, with the best of his abilities, closed it without breaking it. He stepped back a few meters, spread his wings and flew off into the blue sky, heading toward the market. “Beta?” Alpha said.

“Yes, Alpha?”

“What happened to Gamma?”

“I killed her, like I did with every other pony that hurt me. But unlike most ponies, I killed her quickly compared to every other pony I killed. She was one of the first ponies I killed.”

Alpha slowly turned right. “How did you kill her? How did you kill most ponies?”

“It depended on how bad they hurt me. Ponies like Gamma who swore at me were killed by either A. being lit on fire. B. stabbed in the hooves and neck. Or C. strangled. Ponies that hurt me by calling me names and singling me out in public were either slowly crushed alive or decapitated with a dull object like a butter knife or the metal edge of a ruler. Ponies that physically hurt me were…well…I treated them like I treated the ponies who took off your wing.”

“Oh. Okay.” Alpha said calmly.

“Why do you ask?”

“I saw a flashback when I entered your room. I felt your pain, your loneliness and your depression.” Alpha replied as he landed in the market. He looked around and saw some ponies looking at him. “I’m starting to feel like that, not loneliness but alienated.” Alpha looked around and saw John and Scoot together, drinking some milkshakes. He smiled and exhaled.

“Hey colt!” a voice said behind Alpha. Alpha turned around to see a Guard walking up to him. Beta began to rise.

“Yes?” Alpha replied.

“Princess Celestia wants to meet with you.” The guard replied.

“Really? Well, you can tell her that I don’t care.” Alpha said.

The guard’s jaw dropped. “Are you aware of what I just said? The Princess of Equestri-”

“I don’t give a damn what she wants.” Alpha said interrupting, his right eye glowing red. “Tell her that I. DO. NOT. CARE.”

“You are aware of the consequences of not obeying your Princess’s command, right?” The guard said.

“I have been through worse. And she isn’t my princess. I do not worship her. I do not listen to her.” Alpha replied.

“Fine, your problem.” The guard said as he took flight, heading towards the castle. Alpha sighed as he shook his head. He turned around and went to a stall selling apples. He bought three apples, turned around and found an empty table. Alpha placed the apples on the table and slid off his metallic brace. He placed his wing on the table, placing his hoof on it and stretched his scorched wing. Ponies started to walk over to Alpha, staring at the colt’s wing. Alpha did not mind though, and ate two of the three apples.

“Well,” Alpha said, sighing. “One last thing to do today.”

“Find out who Zeta is.”

Alpha slid back on his metallic brace and was about to take a bite of the last apple when he saw a stray to his right. Feeling bad for the stray, Alpha tossed the apple to it. The stray caught it and ran away with it.

“I never understood why they run away.”

“It’s mostly because they are scared; out of sight, out of mind.” Alpha replied, noticing some ponies were staring at him. Alpha got up and took to the skies. “Now, where the hell would we learn about a pony like Zeta?” Alpha asked himself.

“Judging on how old she looked, we can rule out the library and the museum of Equestrian History, which leaves…”

“The Castle, well, it seems like we are going to break in after all."

“We aren’t breaking in the castle, we are sneaking into the castle.”

“What the hell is the difference?” Alpha asked as he banked right, heading for the castle.

“Breaking in usually means making a dramatic entrance. Sneaking in usually means not making an dramatic entrance and alerting every pony in the castle. Also, don’t go for the castle yet, wait until it is night time. It will be darker which gives us the advantage because the guards will not be able to hear you fly above them or see you. Luna will also be raising the moon so she will be busy. Celestia will be asleep. As for Zeta, well, we will find out about her.”

“Alright, night time it is.” Alpha replied as he turned around and headed for his cave. He needed to rest, gain some energy to get into the castle and get out without being caught. Alpha landed in front of his cave. He walked in and took off his bag and his metallic brace. Turning around to face the entrance of the cave, he made sure he was in the shade when he lied on the cold stone ground. Placing his hooves in front of him, he laid his head down on them, and fell fast asleep.

Chapter 11: A job request.

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Chapter 11: A job request.

“Alpha, wake up.”

“I’m up.” Alpha said, opening his eyes and pushing his tiredness away.

“Let’s go.”

Alpha nodded as he slipped his bag on, walked outside his cave and took off into the sunset. He had a window to get into the castle without being seen, but it was closing quickly. With Celestia falling asleep, and Luna raising the moon, Alpha had a short amount of time to sneak in. The moon began to rise when Alpha made it to the Castle.

“Follow the underside of the castle. I’m expecting a shield to be in place for any break-ins/trespassing like we are doing right now. Find the shield and I can teleport us through it.”

Alpha followed the underside of the castle and came in contact with an invisible wall. He pushed as hard as he could against it but could not get through. “Beta, I think this is the shield.”

“Alright, take a deep breath.”

Alpha took a deep breath as Beta teleported him to the other side of the shield. He felt like he was crushed into oblivion then rearranged back into physical form. It was painful as hell. Alpha bit on his lip to help himself not scream out in pain. He felt the tang of blood in his mouth. He wiped his hoof across him mouth, getting rid of the blood and headed for the nearest tower. He swooped through an open window, banked hard and landed with such grace that would make Fluttershy notice.

“Alright, now we got to find out where Zeta is.”

Alpha nodded in reply as he set off down the dimly lit hallway. Every few meters were candles, flickering, dancing on their own wicks, casting shadows on the walls. Alpha felt his hearing get clearer as Beta enhanced his hearing.

“You should be able to hear easier. If guards come, don’t worry, I’ll cloak you so you can gallop past them without them noticing.”

The white Pegasus sneered. Beta was covering up for him, thinking for everything. He began to gallop, picking up speed as he raced down the hallway. He slowed down to a halt and looked at the candles beside him. He walked over to them and watched the flame flicker. “Beta,” Alpha whispered. “Ever want to burn down the castle? Or light a portion of it aflame?”

“What makes you think I don’t want to?” Beta replied in a chuckle

“If anything goes wrong, the candles will help with our escape.” Alpha replied, softly chuckling as he began to gallop again down the
hallway. He jumped into the air and began to fly down the hallway.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I am much stealthier, faster and more agile when I fly then if I run.”

“But if you fuck up, you will make a lot more noise.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” Alpha slowed to a halt and landed once he saw an open door. He felt Beta rise as he entered the room. It was dark, no lights were there. Alpha heard some pony breathing and thought it was a guard asleep. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and looked around. He saw a map on the wall and walked up to it. It was a map of Equestria and had X’s on it. Cloudsdale was circled on it.

“Looks important, let’s take it.”

Alpha walked to the map, and took it down, rolling it up into a scroll and placing it in his backpack. He turned around to leave and stopped dead in his tracks. What he thought was a guard asleep wasn’t a guard at all.

“Holy Shit, it’s her.”

On the ground, asleep in front of them, was Her Majesty, Celestia. Alpha felt his anger rise quick within him.

“If I killed her right now…”

“If you killed her right now, not only will you fuck up Equestria more than it is now with her ruling it all, but you will not be able to learn your reason; why you are alive right now. You will hurt more ponies than I have ever hoped to hurt when I was on my rampage! Ponies trust her. If you destroy that trust by showing ponies your past and mine, they will start to loose trust in her. They will see her lies. Then she will be weak, politically weak. Then you got to defeat her using magic, agility, and strength. But that happen in time. For now we got to learn who the hell Zeta is. If she isn’t here, we then need to leave.”

Alpha stared at Celestia’s body, and then headed for the door when it opened.

“SHIT!”

Alpha backed away from the door, Beta cloaking him instantly. “It will only hide you visually; it will not cloak the sounds you make. Breathe quietly.”

Princess Luna walked through the door, a candle floating behind her, and closed the door. “Sis, wake up.” She said as she walked to her sister. Luna laid down on the ground and nudged her. “Wake up; I need to talk to you.”

“Yes?” Celestia replied. She open her eyes, saw Luna and closed them again.

“Wake up!”

“I am awake; just resting my eyes. What do you want?”

“It’s about Alpha…and Beta…”

Celestia raised her head, fully awake now. “What is wrong?”

Luna sighed. “Beta asked me why I wasn’t in his dreams when I was on the moon. I replied that I was still NightMare Moon when he was alive, but I know that wasn’t the truth.”

“So?”

“What did Beta actually do? I know you aren’t telling me the truth. Was he actually innocent? Was he bullied to the point where he broke and could not handle the pain anymore?”

Celestia sighed. “He told you that, didn’t he?”

“Is it true?”

Celestia lowered her head. “It is.”

Luna stood instantly, changing into Nightmare Moon. “YOU LIED TO ME! I NEARLY KILLED AN INNOCENT CIVILIAN. A CIVILIAN WHO WAS IN PAIN, WHO KILLED BECAUSE HE WAS PUSHED OVER THE LIMIT! YOU BLAME HIM FOR THINGS THAT GO WRONG THAT YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND! WHY!?” Night Mare moon screamed.

“I HAD NO CHOICE!” Celestia said, standing up and walking toward where the map was. “I had no choice. Some pony was to blame. If I told them what actually happened, how it all happened, and why it happened, My rule would be over. I would have been killed; executed for killing a civilian.” She looked up at the non-existent map. “It’s gone.”

“What is?” Luna said, now calm.

“The map.”

“Oh no,” Luna said, her eyes widening. “I will alert the guards. We have a thief in this castle.”

“Don’t.” Celestia said, pointing her hoof at Luna. “Call for Zeta. Have her find out and kill this thief.”

“Consider it done.” Luna said as she walked out of the room. Alpha, invisible, walked out right behind her.

“We got to leave this place now!”

Alpha looked up at Luna and began to walk backwards, away from her.

“Alpha,” Luna said, looking around. Alpha stopped cold. “If you are here, I’m sorry for everything that has happened and everything that will happen.” Alpha thought about replying, then pushed that thought away. He turned around and flew down the corridor. He found the window that he got into the castle and flew out. He felt as if he was crushed into oblivion and put back together as Beta teleported him to his cave.

“You know, we could have done that at first. Just teleport me there then break in.”

“Yeah, but you needed to wake up first. What was on the map that was so important to Celestia?”

Alpha took out the map. “Don’t know. Let’s look at it.” He unrolled the map and looked at the X’s and the circle around Cloudsdale. There was some writing near the circle. “Destr-” Alpha stopped midsentence.

“What?”

“I know what the X’s are.”

“No…there can only be one, why would she need more than one?!”

“I don’t know. I’m really bummed out that we didn’t find Zeta.” Alpha said as he rolled up the map and placed it in his bag. He walked to the front of his cave and lit a fire, lying down behind it.

“I wonder where she was. Well, good night Alpha.” Beta said as he nestled in Alpha.

“Night.” Alpha replied as he stared at the fire. He watched for a bit before placing his head on his bag and falling asleep.

Rainbow Dash was asleep when she heard somepony knocking on her door. “What the Hell? Who would be knocking on my door at this hour?” She said to herself as she walked to her door, half asleep. She open the door to see a Pegasus standing there. She had a purple-turning-black mane, and one eye was colored purple. The other eye was glowing green.

“Hello Rainbow Dash, sorry for waking you up at this hour but I have a request.” Zeta said, grinning.

“What request?” Dash said.

“A job request; one that will pay you much more than your current one.”

“You have my attention.” She said, fully awake.

“How would you like to work at the Rainbow Factory?”

Chapter 12: A snowy day

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Chapter 12: a snowy day.

“AHHHH!!” Alpha screamed as he woke up violently. He looked around, finding out where he was and let out a sigh of relief as he remembered he was having a dream. He looked at the red coals where the fire was. He raised his eyes, looking at the snow, watching it. It snowed just yesterday and Alpha had no idea what it was and he did not care, until it began to snow harder and harder. When work ended early, Alpha raced to his Cave and rushed to start a fire. He never felt this cold in his life.

It’s been 3 months since Alpha and Beta had broken into the Castle and stole the map. After Celestia realized that the map had been stolen, there has been a lot of activity happening at the Castle and in Equestria. More guards have arrived at Ponyville. Celestia blamed the new security as “reinforcing the Equestrian wall.” Since then, Alpha decided to lay low, wait it out. His idea worked, after a month of intense paranoia, the guards left. But some of the paranoia stayed. Since breaking into the castle, Alpha hasn’t heard or seen Zeta at all.

For the past 2 months, Alpha and Beta had memorized the map in case it was ever taken from them or was lost. The bond between them was growing stronger and faster. As Alpha trains on flying, his stamina increases. He can now go for hours on end without food or the need to stop and have a drink. Beta has grown immensely, magic wise. He can now fire spells without pause, dual fire spells at different objects, cloak Alpha more effectively by cloaking the sounds he makes, and teleport with causing much pain to Alpha.

Alpha stood up, leaving his wing laying on the rock wall and walked out into the snow. He smiled, laughing out loud as he walked in the snow, listening to the crunch whenever he placed his hoof on the snow. He grabbed his wing with his bag and slipped both on as he ran to the Village. Once there, he saw multiple ponies playing in the snow. Some colts were throwing balls of snow at each other, while some fillies where making what looked like a pony out of snow. He tilted his head in curiosity, watching as one of the fillies, which he recognized was Scootaloo, placing a black top hat on the snow-pony and letting out a sound of disappointment while staring at the figure. Scootaloo looked around and saw Alpha staring at the figure.

“Daddy, He is here!” Scootaloo said to her father. John’s face popped out where the figure’s head was supposedly to be. He laughed as he saw Alpha’s face.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m up.” Beta said as he woke up. “What’s wron….” Beta stopped midsentence as he looked at John. “What the hell?”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” Alpha muttered, looking at John. Scootaloo galloped up to Alpha.

“Alpha!!” Scoot said as got close to Alpha. She looked at him with a worried face. “What’s wrong?”

Alpha looked down at Scoot. “Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there.” He said, realizing where Scoot was. “I was confused what you and your father are doing.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, confused, walking to her father.

Alpha followed her. “What are you building? Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m not cold, and I’m building a snow-pony.” Scoot replied.

“Oh.” Alpha said. “Wait, what?” he replied a few seconds later.

“A snow-pony, silly!” She said as she tried to put more snow where her father’s face was.

“Hey Alpha,” John said, his mouth poking out of the snow.

“Hey John,” Alpha said, looking at the snow thingy.

“How are you?” replied the red mouth that was sticking out.

“Cold, very cold.” Alpha admitted, shivering.

John shook off the snow on his head and looked at the white colt standing in front of him. His skin was nearly the same as the snow, the only thing standing out was his hair and eyes. The colt was looking around. “I take it this is your first time seeing snow.”

“Mine? Yes. His? No.”

“His?”

Alpha glanced at John, his eye glowing red.

“It’s the first time I have seen snow since I was here. It’s a relief that it still snows. It used to be my favorite time of the year.” Beta said aloud.

Scootaloo ran up to Beta. “Are you Beta?”

“Right now? Yes, I am. What is troubling you?”

“Legend has it that if a pony builds a snow-pony, puts a black top hat on it, and says some magical words, it will come alive. Sadly the magical words were lost as the legend was told. Daddy says that you were alive when ponies made snow-ponies come to life. Is that true?” Scootaloo said cheerfully.

“Believe it or not, that was true. I do not remember saying words to make it come alive though. I do remember that it wasn’t just a pony, but an Alicorn. Create a snow-alicorn, don’t give it a hat though. Instead give it a name, and it should come to life.” Beta replied.

“DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO MAKE A SNOW-PONY?!” Scootaloo complained. “I had to use my daddy as a mold to create one.”

“That is why it is so hard to bring them to life. If they were easy to create, no pony would forget how to make one. But because it had to have wings and a horn, ponies forgot how to make them. Create an Alicorn out of snow, give it a name, and it will come to life. I promise you that.” Beta explained. “Use water with snow to help it stick. Don’t get the snow too wet or it won’t stick.”

“Daddy, can you help me?” Scoot said.

“Nah, I’m too cold to help, maybe later.” John said as he shook off the snow. “I will be at the Market if you need me.”

“Ok daddy, Bye Alpha.” Scoot said as she ran after her friends.

“Alpha, walk with me.” John said in a serious tune as he walked to the market.

“Yes, John?” Alpha replied as he followed.

“I did some…er….looking. And I found someponies. Two ponies in the matter of fact.”

“And?”

“I think I found your parents.”

Alpha stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around himself, looking for something.

“And they want to see….Alpha?” John said as he looked behind him. “Alpha, is everything alright?” John walked to Alpha. He waved his hoof in front of his face. “Alpha, are you listening to me?”

Alpha was not listening to John. He wasn’t aware that he was near John. All the snow and the village was gone. He was having another flashback, and he knew what he was watching. He saw two Pegasuses walk down a grassy hill, a white colt with a black-turning-blue mane with two white wings running towards the other colts, away from the Pegasuses, supposedly its parents. He looked to his right to see a Brown pony with black-turning-red hair and red eyes walk up to him.

“So this is how happened?”

“Yeah, this is how it happened.”

The two watched as day turned to night and the white colt playing with the colts until there was only one remaining left. They watched as the colt left with his parents. leaving the white colt alone, waiting for his parents who would never return.

“That was harsh. They never came back?”

“No, I stayed there all night, thinking, hoping that they forgot about me. But they never came back.”

The flashback and Beta faded away as he saw John staring at him.

“What is wrong, Alpha. Why are you crying?”

Alpha blinked and felt the warm liquid run down his face. “My parents abandoned me.” He said, slowly, wiping his tears away with his hoof. “I don’t want to meet them. I already have enough going in my life; I don’t want to have to deal with them. Besides, I have something much more important to tell and show you. Come with me.”

Alpha said, walking to the market, John following.

“I’m sorry, I did not know.” John said.

“It’s okay. You did nothing wrong.” Alpha said as he walked to a table.

“I’m going to go get some hot chocolate. Do you want some?” John asked.

“Some what?”

“Yeah, you will want some.” John said as he walked off.

“What is “hot chocolate”?”

“I really need to keep reminding myself about how long you stayed at the RF, because this is just gone too far. You really don’t know what hot chocolate is?”

“No. I don’t know what it is.”

John came back with two cups of hot chocolate. He sat down and gave Alpha a cup. “Here.”

Alpha watched as john gave him a cup and stared down at the cup. He took the cup with one hoof, and took a sip from it. “ACK!” He said as the liquid burnt his tongue.

“You don’t like it?” John asked.

“I haven’t tasted it yet, it’s too hot. Anyway,” Alpha said reaching in his bag and taking out the map. “I got something from the castle. Celestia raised the security 2 months ago because I broke in and stole it. What she says about “protecting the Equestrian line” is bullcrap.” He said as he rubbed his eyes, dark bags were formed under them. “Look.” Alpha said, pointing his hoof at Cloudsdale. “It’s crossed out. I’ll give you three guesses why.”

“Is this a map of the Facilities across Equestria?” John said, his eyes widening.

“Yeah, Each X is a facility, which means there are more to destroy.”

“No offense, but you nor your friend can destroy them alone.”

“I know, Im considering on leaving Ponyville for the City. Start there, take out the corrupt cops and place cops that I know will make a difference. Start something new.”

John choked on the drink. “Are you serious? I thought you destroyed the Factory and were done doing stuff like that. You are serious of changing everything? Really??” He said, sounding more excited than worried.

“Yeah, why? I thought you knew that.”

“I was not aware of that.”

“I destroyed the factory because it needed to be done. Although I was free, I felt like I had a responsibility to free every pony that was stuck there. And I did. But now I realize that my work is not yet done. And I will do what I and Beta can to complete it.” Alpha replied. He took another sip of the hot chocolate, this time being much more careful. He smiled as he tasted chocolate for the first time. It tasted sweet; unbearably sweet, but it had a dark tinge of bitterness. He let the liquid stay in his mouth as he tried to figure out what it tasted like. After a while he swallowed it and took another sip, this time gingerly. It was warm now, not too hot but not too cold. “I still don’t know why I was allowed to live after I was punished for sparing that red mare 3 years ago.” Alpha said as he touched his scar.

“That is in the past. You can’t change the past.”

Alpha laughed. “I know I cannot change the past. I know it’s impossible. Im trying to figure out why it happened the way it did. I don’t understand why. If I don’t learn why it happened, at least no pony will have to go through what we went through at the damned facility. It’s like a backup plan. If I don’t learn why it happened, no pony goes through the RF.” He looked to his right and watched as Scootaloo rolled around and played in the snow. “She goes to school, right?”

“Yes, she does.” John replied, taken back with the sudden change in subject.

“I’m only 13. I am supposed to be in school, right?”

“Take away your time at the Facility, your wing being taken off, your parents abandoning you, and you not meeting Beta, yes, you are supposed to be in school.”

“What is it like?”

“What is what like?”

“What is school like?”

John became silent. “I always hated school. I never fit in with the other ponies; they would call me names and isolate me.”

“Story of my life.” Alpha muttered. He frowned as he took of his metallic brace and rubbed what was left of his right wing with his left hoof. “I know I will never have a normal life. I never had a normal life and I never will.” He looked John in the eye. “I will destroy ever factory in Equestria or I will die trying. Beta and I already memorized the map. Take it and find the others who escaped. Make Ponyville a hoof hold, a safe zone. Use the map and destroy the factories.” He got up; slipping on his brace, this time making sure it was on tight. He flexed both wings, stretching for the journey ahead. Alpha looked back at John. “It was nice seeing you again.”

“Daddy, look!!” Scootaloo screamed. Alpha and John looked at her to see the snow-pony walk around Scootaloo, playing with her.

“I told you it would work. Good job.” Beta said aloud.

Alpha extended both wings and flew upwards, a halo of red and blue exploded as he broke the sound barrier. He banked hard right and started to fly toward the city. He was eager to get started.

He wasn’t the only Pegasus eager to get started. A blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane was eager to get back to work after the snow was cleared.

Chapter 13: The Heart of Equestria

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Chapter 13: The Heart of Equestria

“To be honest, you have been flying for too long. We should find a place and rest, Alpha.”

“No, I’ll be fine.” Alpha replied, violently shaking his head to keep himself awake.

The young white colt had been flying for 4 hours straight. His speed fell below Mach 1 an hour after breaking the sonic barrier and now, after 4 hours of non-stop flying were at their breaking point.

“Alpha, either you land now and find a place to land or I will forcefully take over and find us a place to sleep.”

“What has gotten into you, Beta?” Alpha asked, starting to descend to the ground.

“You have!” Beta replied, his voice full to the brim with worry. “You haven’t had a good night’s sleep in over a month! Every time you wake up, you wake up screaming and sweating, as if you just woke up after you had your wing taken off. You are like a brother to me. I worry that you will become sick, so sick that I won’t be able to help you. I don’t want that to happen.”

Alpha felt a tear run down his face and realized Beta was crying. Even though Beta was over 900 years old, he died alone, hurt, at a very young age. In all seriousness, he was older and more mature than Alpha but younger in character and in self-control.

“Don’t cry, I’m landing as fast as I can.” He looked around for a place to land but he couldn’t see any. He was in the mountains now. All he saw was snow and rock. He spotted a cave and dived to it. His hoofs hit the snow and stuck in, flipping him head of heels through the snow. After tumbling for a few meters, he came to a halt. Alpha stood up shivering in the cold, and walked to the cave. Once he was inside, out of the cold wind, he walked to what seemed like the end of the cave. It was dark, and his eyes had just adjusted to the lack of light when he fell through a hole. He hit the ground on his brace, the wing skittering off in the darkness.

Alpha was weak and tired. He fought the urge to curl up into a ball and cry himself to sleep. Getting up, he looked for his wing, and saw it on the ground. Alpha walked to it, slipped it on, and winced as the cold metal touched his bare skin. He looked up to see some light coming from around the corner, Curious, he walked around the corner and his jaw dropped in awe. He was in the middle of the mountain. It was hollow but Alpha wasn’t looking around. He stared at the curtain of fire, water and magic in the middle the fire and water clashed together, creating a blur of colors. The colors then flew upwards, joining together into a ball of magic and flew out of a hole in the center of the room. It was warm in the room. He looked around, trying to find a way down to the curtain when he saw a flight of stairs. He raced to the stairs, galloped down them, and walked to the center of the room.

“Welcome to the Heart of Equestria.” Said a voice behind Alpha.

Alpha looked behind himself to see Luna standing there watching. He felt Beta rise as he extended both wings to fly away.

Luna saw Alpha extend both wings and raised a hoof. “Calm yourself Beta, I am not here to fight.” She walked down the stairs with an elegant grace to Alpha. Alpha retracted both wings but kept his attention on Luna. “I realize what my sister has done, and I am sorry. I am also sorry for attacking you 3 months ago. I was unaware of what actually happened.”

Alpha felt Beta descend as he accepted Luna’s apology. Alpha turned around to focus his attention on the spectacle behind him. Luna walked up behind him and stood beside him.

“This is one of Equestria’s many secrets that my sister has hidden from the public. The Fire symbolizes Celestia while the Water Symbolizes Me.” Luna said, watching the water and fire. “When both clash, they create a ball of colors. The ball flies out through the ceiling and to Canterlot, to the castle.” She said as she watched. Luna lowered her head. “When I was banned to the moon, my sister would come to this place often. It is the only place where she could speak to me, through the water.”

Alpha had already lied down on the ground and was falling asleep. Luna saw Alpha falling asleep and reached lifted her wing, exposing a bag. She opened the bag with her magic, and took out a blanket. Luna then covered Alpha with the blanket, and then started to continue as she started to walk around the room.

“I was not able to visit Beta’s dreams because my sister would not allow me to.” She looked at Alpha, his hair now glowing red as Beta stayed awake, listening. “I tried to beg her to allow me into your dreams, to protect her. But she did not allow it. Only after you were defeated did she allow me into the dreams of the colts and mares of Equestria.” Luna lowered her head as she tried to control her emotions. “I remember what you did for me, Beta. I will not forget. And I have a job to do now; one that I have not been allowed to do since you were abandoned by your parents.” She walked to Alpha and lied down beside him. She lowered her head, her horn touching Alpha’s head as she joined his dream.
Once inside his dream, Luna understood why Alpha had not been sleeping as well as he used to. She watched as he watched his younger self watch as his parents left him.

Alpha moved his head, temporarily severing the connection. Once connected again, Luna realized she was in a different dream. She watched in horror as Alpha was tortured, a black pony severing his wing. She watched as Beta bonded with Alpha, his body floating as he took control and punished those who brought pain upon Alpha. Alpha’s head twitched, and again a new dream came. This time it showed Beta. Beta looked around him, watching as his friends left him, betraying him. He watched as his friends became enemies, calling him names, punching and kicking him. She watched as she saw Beta start to cry then scream in anger. The dream around her began to burn up. Luna watched as Beta turned on the ponies that hated him, watched as he killed and tortured those who hurt him. She gasped as she woke up from the dream.

Her sister had lied to her. She looked at Alpha. She watched as he began to twitch violently, began to squirm and wail as if he was on fire. He began to cry harder and harder, wailing and screaming in agony. But he wasn’t the only one screaming and crying. Beta was as well. His hair was flashing from blue to red as both Alpha and Beta took over, crying and screaming in their own nightmare. Luna watched in horror as the white colt screamed and cried loudly.

Alpha woke with a start, screaming and crying. He looked around and realized where he was. He stopped and stared at the fire, clashing with the water, creating a ball of color then rushing out through the roof. He turned his head and saw Luna lying down beside him. He saw her face and knew what she had done and saw.
“It’s been like that for a month. Every time I close my eyes, either I or Beta have nightmares.” He slowly shook his head as he wiped his eyes. “It’s already bad enough what we both went through. At least we should be able to sleep easily. That is the least that we deserve.” He lowered his head, closing his eyes in a futile attempt to sleep peacefully. “That or die.”

Luna covered Alpha with her wing as she moved closer to him. She laid her head next to his, her horn touching his. She closed her eyes and transferred her dream to his. She listened as Alpha’s breathing slowed as his and Beta’s dream eased and relaxed. She then slowly got up, and after waiting ten minutes to see if Alpha needed more help, left at once. She flew to the castle, in hopes to talk to her sister. She knew Celestia will not be pleased by what she did. But this has gone too far for too long.

Chapter 14: Estefania

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Chapter 14: Estefania

Alpha woke up 4 hours after Luna left. He packed his bag, rolling up and storing the blanket that Luna had given him and was about to walk out when he looked back at The Heart of Equestria.

“What is it?”

“What I am about to do will do either 3 things; it will enhance us, kill us, or it won’t do anything.” Alpha told Beta as he walked to the curtain. “Are you ready?”

“If we die, I want you to know it was nice knowing you.”

“If we die, we will both see each other. Remember, ghosts like you only happen when ponies die unnaturally.”

“Just do it.”

Alpha extended his metallic brace and held it to The Heart of Equestria. “Well, here goes nothing.” He said as he plunged his wing into the heart. At first nothing happened, but when Alpha began to pull his wing out, he was hit by a bolt of magic squarely in the chest. He flew backward, hitting the wall behind him and fell to the ground, hurt and stunned. He slowly raised his head and watched as the suit of armor, glowing white in patches, approached him.

“You, Alpha and Beta, have been charged with the following charges of Torture, Multiple Homicide, Attempted Murder to kill her Majesty, and Theft. Therefor you are now an Enemy of Equestria and Her Majesties. You are hereby sentenced to Death. How do you plea?” said the suit of armor.

Alpha stared in the suit of armor in sheer horror, unable to understand what the suit of armor just said for his ears were ringing and his head was still spinning. He just stared suit of armor, stunned, unable to move or respond.

“Your plea will be written down, now go back to the hell where you belong.” The suit of armor raised an Axe, and brought it down towards Alpha’s Neck.

4 hours earlier in the Castle’s observatory…

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

“My job.”

“You did not do your job, my dear sister. You aided an enemy of Equestria. Not just any Enemy, but one who nearly defeated me 900 years ago!”

“Neither of them are enemies to Equestria. Both are currently victims of your doing, or do you not remember what you did?” Luna said.

“Don’t be sarcastic with me, Sister.”

“Then stop acting like it’s not your fault!”

“It isn’t!”

Luna instantly spread both wings, transforming into her darker self. “LIES!”

Celestia took a few steps backward in caution. “Luna, calm down.”

“NO! YOU DID THIS TO THEM BOTH AND NOW YOU SAY IT ISN’T YOUR FAULT!” Nightmare Moon yelled. “YOU HURT THEM BOTH. YOU BROUGHT THEM INTO THIS, DESTROYING WHAT LIVES THEY HAD AND BRINGING THEM INTO HELL!”

“Luna, be quiet! There are ponies asleep.” Celestia said, looking around, hoping no-pony was listening

“I THOUGHT THE RAINBOW FACTORY WAS BAD, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU DID TO ALPHA, LET ALONE BETA!”

“Luna, listen to me. I tried to help Beta, but ponies made rumors, started hating him for what he was.”

“YOU HELPED HIM LIKE YOU HELPED ME; BY PUNISHING US, BY PUNISHING THE VICTIMS!”

“I had no choice, when I got to him; he had already killed hundreds of ponies. I had to stop him. I had to stop the damage he was doing.”

“AND ALPHA? WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT HIM THAT YOU HAD TO REMOVE HIS WING?”

Celestia took a breath. “He saved a mare from hurting herself, it was his punishment.”

Nightmare Moon relaxed but did not transform to her original self. “His original punishment was to be killed, like all others who broke the rules in that slaughter-house. Why was he not killed like the rest?”

Celestia looked away in shame. She walked to the rail guard of the tower and stared out into the distance. “Because I did not want to kill him.”

“Why?”

“We all have our dark sides, Luna. You of all ponies should know that.

Nightmare Moon transformed into her original self as she realized what her sister had done. “Y..You..punished..him..because..you wanted to...” Luna stuttered. “You, out of all ponies, hurt Alpha; a stray, a victim, because you wanted to…” Celestia looked behind her to see her sister stare at her in shock, in fear. Luna was in total disbelief of what she had just heard. “No.” She began to shake her head.

“Sis,” Celestia began.

“No.” Luna said, interrupting Celestia. “I will not. No.” She took off her crown and threw it to Celestia’s hoofs. “I will not side with you when you punish ponies for fun. Absolutely not.”

“Fine, leave then.” Celestia said, trying her best not to break down.

Luna walked to her room, packed what she needed, and flew off into the night sky. Celestia watched as her only sister flew off into the night sky. Once she could no longer see her, she closed her eyes and let out a scream of sorrow and rage. Somepony knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

“Ma’am,” Shining Armor said. “Luna has left the castle in a rush, is everything alright?”

Celestia stared at Shining. Is everything alright? She thought. No, nothing is alright. Luna has abandoned me and Alpha/Beta is still out there. Time to finish what I have started.

“Ma’am?”

“Shining, gather 5 of your best guards and meet me in the armory.”

“Ma’am?” Shining repeated; worried.

“I will explain everything in the Armory. Go, that’s an order.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Shining took off down the hall at once, galloping at full speed. Celestia looked out into the night sky one last time then made her way into the armory.

Celestia walked into the armory and looked around. The armory was built as a bunker for herself and Luna in case something like a plague hit Equestria. After her confrontation with Beta, Celestia refitted the bunker, turning it into an Armory. The walls were made up of reinforced Dragon Metal, brick, and stone. It was built into the mountain behind the Castle. The torches that were aflame created a medieval atmosphere that was unneeded, but felt appropriate for what was happening. On the right and left sides of the room stood mannequins with chest plates and leg guards resting on them; The Royal Guard’s Armor. In the back of the room stood a statue of herself and Luna; standing together. In the middle of the room stood a table, on it containing a full map of Equestria.

She saw Shining with 5 of his best ponies, all suited up in armor, standing at attention in front of the statue. She smiled, amused. “You will be going against a Pegasus who has another soul bonded to him. Both are extremely dangerous. You will need a special type of armor to defeat him.”

The guards looked at each other, then back at Celestia. “A special type of armor?” Shining asked.
Celestia nodded as she walked past them to the statue. She looked at the statue carefully, then raising her front right hoof; she pushed the chest of herself in the statue. Her hoof
lurched forward as the hidden button moved. The statue slowly moved to the right, revealing a small room. Celestia walked inside, and brought out a plastic model of a pony. On it was an armor Shining had never laid eyes on before.

It was Carbon gray in color. Deep scratches covered the chest plate, leg guards, and wing braces. The symbol of the Sun was on one side with the moon on the other. If one were to look carefully, they would notice a burnt portion of the armor underneath the left wing brace.

“This,” Celestia began, “is a variant of the amour I used against Beta, modified to fit a Royal guard. Although it is 900 years old, make no mistake, this is a very powerful suit of untapped ancient magic. Created when combining the magic from The Heart of Equestria with Dragon Metal, this suit, dubbed Estefania, after the creator’s cousin, amplifies the user’s ability to use magic twentyfold, while increasing both agility, strength and giving the user the ability to fly, if they cannot already.” She called in her servants and looked at Shining Armor. “Suit up.”

It took nearly an hour for the Shining and his guards to fully suit up. For the Armor to amplify the user’s power, it had to tap into his/her blood, for all blood is just magic in its raw and unstable form. To tap into the user’s bloodstream, a hollow needle is inserted into the back of the neck. The magic would then be used to power the armor and in turn, amplify the user. The Armor also gave the user the ability to fly, if he/she was a earth pony or a unicorn. A thin needle would connect to the user’s nervous system, connecting their wings to the brain. Although very painful, none of the guards made a sound. Celestia walked past the servants that were helping the remaining guards put on the armor and made her way to the Captain. Shining Armor was the first to be fully suited up and was trying to get used to the wings that the armor provided, an axe already stored on his back.

“How is it?” Celestia asked.

Shining watched as he moved his left wing up and down, then relaxing it, placing it back on his side. “Different. I can feel the armor amplifying my magic.”

“You trained in all forms and styles of fighting, correct?”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Have you mastered fighting while standing on only two hoofs?”

“It took me much longer than I expected, but yes, I have mastered Human combat.”

Celestia looked around and noticed that all remaining guards were fully encased in the armor. The only thing that told who was who was the color glowing from the armor. Once
the armor tapped into the bloodstream of its user, it glowed in the color of the user’s skin. Shining Armor was glowing White. Celestia smiled as she looked at the suits of armor standing at attention in front of her. She took a deep breath and explained the situation.

“You five have been picked because your captain thinks you are the best out of The Royal Guard. I hope he is right. Your objective is to eliminate a colt.” The guards looked at one another. “This is not your everyday colt, His name is Alpha.” Celestia continued. “Alpha has bonded with the legendary soul of Beta, the same colt who slaughtered hundreds of Ponies 900 years ago. Now that Beta is back, I fear that Equestria is at risk. A much higher risk of destruction than Discord or King Somba ever dreamed of creating. If Alpha and Beta survive, you can be damned sure that Equestria will be in more risk of destruction than it has ever been.” She walked to the table and gestured the guards to come forth. “Alpha has located and entered The Heart of Equestria.” Celestia said, placing her hoof on the location of the Crystal Mountains. “You are to fly there and end his life. He will be armed. He was a Dragon Metal wing, replacing the one he had lost fighting a royal convoy 3 years ago. Any Questions?” The suits of armor were silent except for the sound of metal scraping against metal as they moved, ever so slightly “Good. Go now!”

The Guards nodded. Shining Armor ran out of the armory, his guards following him. He turned left and right as he navigated through the maze of corridors. Once he located the garden, he extended both of his new found wings and took off into the dark sky, his guard’s right behind. They took a hard left as they made their way toward the mountains, all eager to test out their new abilities but unaware of the galaxy-blue mare following close behind.

Alpha watched as the axe slowly fell toward him. He was stunned. He could not move. Beta, however, could. He instantly took over, blasting Shining Armor with his magic. He flew through the curtain, missing the fire by mere inches, and hit the rock wall at the other end of the room. Beta stood up, extending both wings. Shining Armor got up and stared at the handle of the axe in his grasp, the head of the axe was stuck in the side of the rock face on his right. He dropped the handle, lowered his head, kept his eyes on Beta and charged.

Chapter 15: History is written by the Winners

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Chapter 15: History is written by the winners

Shining Armor, encased by the legendary suit called Estefania, charged at Beta. He skidded to a halt when he was 10 meters away and whistled. Out of darkness came two of his guards, both encased in the suits of armor. Originally there had been 5, but navigating through the mountain had been tricky. They had lost two of their own to the dark caves. Using magic for light was useless, for each time Shining or one of his guards tried to use magic, it was snuffed out almost instantly. Only Shining Armor, his lieutenant and the other guard had survived. To be fair, Shining had no clue who the other pony is armor was. He remembered coming in with 5 suits of armor, glowing green, red, blue, orange, and yellow. But this suit was glowing purple. He at first dismissed it as a glitch, considering the fact that the Suit was well over 900 years old and that it was not really ready for a fight. He kept his eye on it though. For whoever was in the suit knew its way through the mountain. And the last time he checked, Shining Armor was never given a map.

“Looks like he is stunned,” His lieutenant remarked. “Nice shot.”

Beta was unsteady on his hoofs. He was swaying from side to side.

“How the hell is that colt still standing?” The lieutenant asked, staring at Beta. “I would be knocked out cold from the impact of the spell, let alone standing and aware.”

“You just didn’t hit hard enough.” Said the pony within the purple glowing suit. It sounded female.

“Sargent,” Shining said, placing his hoof on the purple glowing suit. “Are you okay? Your voice sounds off.”

The suit looked at Shining and tilted its head. Shining was unsure if it was a gesture of “Do you really need to ask?” or if it was just whoever was in the suit realized that he was speaking. Beta struggled to keep his balance. He was stunned, let alone able to fight. He raised his head to look at the group of armored ponies to see that the suit of armor glowing purple turned its head to face him. He watched as one of its eye sockets flickered green.

“Zeta…Figures...”

Zeta was following Shining Armor from the moment he took flight to the mountains. Easily taking out three of the five guards in the dark caves with the help of Gamma, Zeta fitted herself with the armor. It fit perfectly, almost as if it was made specifically for her. She hid the bodies and caught up with Shining and his lieutenant.

“So, now what?” Zeta asked.

“Now,” Shining replied, ignoring his Sargent’s change of voice. “we execute him.”

“A quick death or a slow one?”

“To be fair, the colt looks like he is already in enough pain as it is. It would be cruel to slowly kill him.”

Zeta shot a glare at Shining. “That isn’t a good idea.”

“The pony in that suit is not your Sargent, Captain.”

The three armored ponies looked at Beta. He was grimacing in pain. When he hit the wall from the impact of the spell, his left hind leg hit the wall first, breaking in two. His left hind leg looked like a Z.

“What do you mean?” Shining asked, aware that Beta may be hallucinating.

“It isn’t your Sargent.”

“How do you know?”

“Your Sargent isn’t a mare.”

Shining walked towards Beta. “And how would you know that?”

“I know more than you do. You punish those who say or do the opposite of what you want them to do.”

“I do not!”

“You don’t. But Celestia does. And to be fair, you are here because she ordered you to kill me. If she never ordered you, you never would have been here in the first place.”

“Don’t you dare talk about Celestia! You are a murderer, a killer. You kill for fun.”

Beta lowered his head and sighed. The pain in his leg was worsening. “Don’t always trust Celestia. If you want to know the truth, you need to break some rules, enter what you are not allowed to enter. For example, I heard you defeated King Sombra.”

“Correct, my Queen and I did.”

“Why?”

“Why? Are you serious? He was going to take over the Crystal Kingdom; enslave all who lived there. My Queen and I defeated him.”

“Did you defeat him because Celestia said so?”

Shining took a step back, shocked. “What do you mean?”

Beta gritted his teeth as he lied down on the stone floor, his leg burning in pain. “King Sombra was not always evil.”

“What are you talking about? Of course he was.”

“You are putting your beliefs on what your Princess has told you.”

“The Winner always writes the history.”

“But the loser knows the truth. What Celestia told you were only what she wanted you to know.”

“I know that. Celestia doesn’t tell me everything before sending me on a mission. It annoys me but I tend to get over it. As for you, I already know about you.”

“What if what she told you was a lie? That King Sombra wasn’t always the Evil spirit you saw trying to capture your Kingdom.”

“What are you trying to say? That King Sombra was a victim? That Princess Celestia lied to me? What reason would she have to lie to me?”

"She lied to you for one simple thing: Power.”

“Why would she need Power?”

“What do you think I have been trying to do ever since I bonded with Alpha here? She needs power. If she did not need it, the facilities would not exist.”

Shining Armor’s lieutenant had begun to make his way towards Beta. He was now standing right in front of him. Beta looked up and struggled to get on his hoofs.

“There is no need to stand up,” The lieutenant said as he placed his hoof on Beta’s head, forcing him down. “You will be dead soon.”

Beta placed his right hoof on the lieutenant’s chest plate. The armor, recognizing its original owner, deactivated. Beta looked at the Left metal brace covering the lieutenant’s wing. At once it fell to the ground. Smiling, Beta watched as the metal flew to his left wing, covering it up. With his wing protected, Beta reactivated the armor. The Lieutenant screamed in pain as the armor that was covering him turned against him, slowly crushing him.

“To be honest,” Beta said as he stood and watched the Lieutenant’s body twitch as it finally died. “This is MY Armor. Once I was defeated, Celestia salvaged what was left of the armor and repaired it. She then modified it, creating her own armor.” He said as he looked over his newly made wing, covering up and protecting the wing itself.
Shining began to step backwards. Zeta stayed her ground. They both watched as Beta got ready to attack, but instead of attacking, he teleported away.

“I wonder what he meant by ‘Facilities. Anyways, I have a lot of questions for Celestia and YOU.” Shining Armor said after realizing what just happened. He walked over to his Lieutenant’s body and knelt beside it. He looked up and turned around. Zeta was already gone. He was alone. With a sigh, he placed his hoof on the guard’s body and teleported, bringing the body with him to the castle.

Shining armor looked around. He was in the armory. He hated teleporting. It was painful and never went as planned. Celestia was waiting for him.

“What happened? Did you succeed?” Celestia said, a worried look covered her anger for she knew he didn’t succeed.

“No, I did not. I lost all 5 of my best guards. I lost 4 to Zeta and 1 to Beta.”

“Zeta?”

“A mare followed us to the Mountains. She took my Sargent’s armor and refitted herself with it.”

Celestia cursed under her breath. “Well, I am sorry for your loss.”

“I understand, ma’am.” Shining replied, his head lowered in grief.

Celestia turned and started to walk away when Shining spoke.

“I mean not to offend or ask of my orders, Ma’am.”

Celestia turned her head. “Speak what is on your mind.”

“It is something that Beta said. He kept talking about lies of you but what caught me off guard was that he knew of King Sombra and what you told me about him. He began talking of how Sombra wasn’t always evil. Is it true?”

Celestia looked at Shining armor, her face full of sorrow. “Some things are better left untold. Get some rest, Captain.” She said as she walked out.

“Yes, ma’am.” Shining Armor replied, bitterly.

Beta appeared in a flash of red light, landing softly on the ground. It was dark. The moon had just begun to rise. Looking around he realized he was in the Town Square of Ponyville. He sighed, and allowed Alpha to take control. Once in control, Alpha bit his bottom lip in an attempt to not scream out.

“How did this happen?” He finally said after he mustered the willpower not to scream out.

“It broke when you hit the wall after getting hit with the spell.”

Alpha checked over his left leg. It was broken alright. No doubt about that. It was broken above and below the kneecap. He struggled to get up.

“Careful, Alpha, the leg is already broken, let’s not damage it more than it already is.”

Alpha extended both wings in an attempt to keep his balance when he realized the new metal brace.

“What the hell?” He muttered as he examined the new metal.

“Don’t worry, It’s just a brace, a shield. I took it off one of the suits of armor that attacked us.”

“What is it?”

“It’s my armor.”

“What!?” Alpha said in disbelief.
“Your wing, the Dragon Metal, is a shard of my armor. The reason I knew how to create your wing is because I already created it before. The suit of armor you saw earlier was my own suit, the very one I used against Celestia. When I was defeated, she gathered what was left of my armor, destroying what was left of my body. She then modified it, creating her own armor. It is much more efficient than my own armor, considering I used dark magic to power it. She used the Elements of Harmony as a way to power it.”

Alpha slowly got up, placing his weight on his right hind leg and his front legs. Once he was balanced, he took a step forward and nearly fell to the ground.

“Easy there, Alpha.”

Once he could move, Alpha limped to the market. Once there, he ran into John. John was frantic. He was sweating, breathing heavily as if he was running away from something.

“Alpha! Thank Celestia I found you. I need help!”

“Slow down, John, what is wrong?”

“It’s Scootaloo, she hasn’t returned from school. And I’m freaking out because I think I know where she went.”

“Slow down, John. You are losing me.”

John took a deep breath. “Today was the test to see if colts and fillies could fly. I was worried because Scootaloo can’t fly.”

“So what?” Alpha said, not understanding why John was so frantic. “She failed the test, she can redo it, right?”

“You don’t understand. When you fail THAT test, you are seemingly exiled as you are never seen again.”

Alpha’s eyes widened as he realized what just happened.

“That isn’t possible. The Facility is destroyed, I destroyed it! You saw me destroy it!”

“Remember what you told me. There is more than one facility.”

Meanwhile…
“You have beautiful eyes.”

Chapter 16: Charlie and Delta

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Chapter 16: Charlie and Delta

“I would go and save her if I could but...”

“But what?”

Alpha turned around and showed John his leg. “My leg is broken.”

“I can’t believe it. You, the 13 year old colt who escaped the Rainbow factory, who had his wing burned off, will not go and save my daughter because his leg is broken.” John was beyond amazed. “Fucking unbelievable,” He turned around to leave when Alpha spoke.

“Wait.” Alpha looked over his shoulder. “Beta, can you use the metal on my wing and modify it to fit my leg?”

John turned around stared at Alpha in disbelief.

Alpha sighed violently. “I know it isn’t a good idea but I will not wait here while I know that his daughter is there right now and is possibly being killed or, most likely, being tortured.”

John took a step forward, watching the white Pegasus. Alpha’s expression changed as he watched the metal from his left wing slowly disconnected. One by one, the layers of metal removed themselves and floated to his broken leg. He bit his lip as the metal came into contact with his leg, forcing the broken bones to reconnect. John watched as Alpha shuddered in pain as the metal formed into a brace for his leg. Once the brace was completed, Alpha stretched his leg, wincing as tears streamed down his cheek.

“Let’s go.” He replied after he wiped his eyes, the pain in his leg decreasing.

“Let’s go!? Where will we go?! She could be anywhere by now!” John asked, frantic.

“Cloudsdale.” Alpha replied, looking up and spreading his wings.

“How do you know?” The red Pegasus replied, shocked.

Alpha nodded to where he was looking at. John turned and looked up at where Alpha nodded. He looked around, all he could see was the moon and clouds.
“What the hell are you looking at?” he asked Alpha, annoyed.

Alpha, without taking his eyes off what he was looking at, nodded again. “Look carefully and closer.”

John looked back at where he was looking at and looked for anything different. His eyes widened as he saw how cleverly it was hidden. The Factory was hidden in the clouds. The only thing that gave it away was the black clouds of smoke escaping through its chimneys. Who ever built it used the night sky and the brightness of the moon to his/her advantage. The builder used the clouds to hide the factory, but used the light of the moon to make it seem that the black clouds of smoke where just clouds forming in the night sky. “How do they rebuild the damn thing so fast?” John replied, spreading his wings.

“They have their ways.” Alpha said as he took off into the starry night sky, John following close behind.

Once close enough to the Factory, Alpha slowed to a halt. He just floated there, staring at the building, at his own personal hell.
The Factory was heavily guarded. Guards in groups of 10 patrolled the airspace. 5 guards stood on the roof, looking for any non-permitted personnel or civilian that could potentially pose a threat. 3 more were posted at each entrance, 2 at each window. Celestia was not taking any chances.

“Why did you stop?” John asked.

Alpha didn’t move or respond. He just kept staring at the building.

“For fucks sake.” John growled as he flew around Alpha to face him. “We don’t have time fo-” He stopped midsentence as he processed what he saw.

Alpha’s Mane, tail, and eyes were flashing red and blue. He was shaking, shuddering. The pain in his leg set released the memories of being tortured in the factory. He wasn’t shaking out of fear, he was shaking in rage; pure rage. The pain from the broken leg also affected Beta as well. The pain released his repressed memories of his childhood. He was having flashback after flashback of being beaten up, bullied, teased, alienated and ignored. Both Alpha’s and Beta’s rage was fighting for control. The bond between them was growing too much for a short period of time for it to control. It exploded within them. A halo of red and blue detonated as Alpha/Beta instantly broke the sound barrier as he bolted towards the factory.

The Guards on the roof were still unpacking their supplies. Their platoon had just arrived 5 minutes ago after Shining Armor appeared with a dead squad-mate, claiming that “He escaped, I did all that I could.” Celestia was certainly shocked, because she had ordered a whole platoon of guards to guard this facility.

“Hey Sarge, what are we doing here?” one private asked, his armor glinting in the moon light.

“We have orders from Princess Celestia herself to protect this Facility.”

“Why? It’s just a facility, just a factory. We have hundreds of these in the city, why is this one so important?”

“That’s none of your concern. Just keep a look out for any pony that isn’t allowed to be here. That’s an order.”

The private nodded and turned around to see a halo of red and blue appear in the distance. “Sarge….” He said in fear, backing up slowly.

“What now?” The Sargent replied, annoyed.

The private pointed at the halo with his hoof. “That!”

“Shit. Everyone up, we got an incoming threat!” He barked as he took out his radio. “We got a civilian inbound at our 12.” His squad ran to the edge of the roof and readied themselves, their horns glowing. The Sargent walked up behind them and squinted at the white dot. “Looks like a Pegasus, a colt. Skin color white, Mane color unknown. He is getting here quite fast. Need Assistance over.”

A voice came over the radio. “ROGER THAT. TEAMS RED, YELLOW, AND GREEN ARE INBOUND TO ASSIST. ETA: 5 MINUTES!”

“Sarge, we don’t have 5 minutes!” The private replied, watching as Alpha flew closer.

“Negative! Negative! That is too long. I am calling a-” The Sargent stopped as he realized who the colt was. “It’s Him! Fire everything you got at your 12, now!” static filled the radio. “Hello?! Did any pony read me?! It’s Alpha! He's here He is coming! We need assistance now!” He stopped at looked at his squad. “Fire when ready, mares, we are about to have company.”

The private nodded and began firing bolts of magic at the incoming threat along with the rest of his crew.

“This is Luna. I read you loud and clear and am inbound on your location. ETA 30 seconds. I will be coming on your left.”

The Sargent looked up at Alpha, placed the radio away and watched in a helpless state as the white colt raced foward them.

Alpha was flying at Mach 3 towards the factory. He felt an excruciating pain in his leg and looked back, thinking that the brace had flown off. It hadn’t. The bond between Alpha and Beta had grown so much in the last few minutes, that it had healed his leg. No longer holding the broken bone in place, Beta released the brace and covered Alpha’s left wing.

He had 1000 meters left. He began weaving through the incoming bolts.

“Beta?”

750 meters. He was spinning, barrel rolling through the debris.

“Yes?”

500 meters. The bolts of magic stopped. Alpha leveled himself and aimed towards the wall

“Leave none alive.”

250 meters. Beta fired a dark red bolt of magic at the wall

“I was waiting for the day you would say that.”

The wall exploded as Beta’s spell impacted the wall. Alpha flew in, landed and spun around, his wings slicing through several guards, instantly killing them. Beta began firing off shots, each aimed at a guard. In 5 seconds, 15 guards laid dead on the ground, brutally killed by Alpha and Beta. His mane and tail were different, streaks of blue and red glowed in the dark. His right eye was red while his left was blue.

“Let’s go.” Alpha and Beta said at same time. The duo ran down the hall, unaware of what was happening within of them. Guards rushed out of the hallways and were instantly liquefied by Beta’s rage. Alpha continued to gallop down the hall, making his way past the blood and guts of what remained of the guards and headed for the cells.

“Something’s different.” Beta remarked.

“Like what?”

“For starters, our hair is colored both red and blue, and is glowing”

“What?!” Alpha exclaimed as he skidded to a halt. He looked ahead and saw his hair in front of his eyes, glowing with a white hue. “The hell?” He shook his head and began to gallop down the hallway. “We don’t have time to examine it; we gotta find Scootaloo before it’s too late!” He ran past the cafeteria and froze. He watched as colts, fillies, stallions and mares walk about, going to work. He spread both his wing and made his way down the filled corridors, purposely making as much noise as possible. Alpha, looking around for Scootaloo, galloped head on into a guard.

“That’s It!” The guard said as he got to his hoofs, Mr. Sparky in his left hoof, buzzing with electricity. The ponies around circled around waiting to see what was going to happen.
“You idiots have been treating me like...-” the Guard stopped as he looked at the colt with the metal wing. Alpha got up and blankly stared at the guard.

“If you want to live, drop Mr. Sparky, and run.” Alpha said, calmly. To the disbelief of the Ponies watching, the guard dropped Sparky and ran for his life. Alpha turned around and addressed the ponies. “I am looking for an orange filly called Scootaloo. The faster you help me, the faster you will all be set free from this fucking factory. You have my word.”

“She’s in the torture room” a voice in the crowd replied. The crowd parted the blue mare with the rainbow mane who spoke. She was covered in bruises and cuts. Her right wing was horribly disfigured. Her mane was losing color in spots. Rainbow Dash was hurt, and she wasn’t the one who hurt Scootaloo.

“How do you know this?” Alpha replied, his mane pulsating.

Dash looked up at Alpha. “I put her there.”

Alpha’s eyes widened as he realized who she was. “You sick fuck! You tortured her!” He looked over her. “I see she nearly kicked your ass.”

Dash looked over herself, looking at the cuts bleeding and the blood. “This isn’t from her and I never tortured her. I am a double agent, working for Luna. I was given the Job by Zeta on the day you left for the city.” She looked back at Alpha. “If you want to know why you are still alive, find Zeta; she will tell you everything, for a price.”
Alpha ran past Dash for the torture room. Beta shot several bolts of light at the door, instantly splintering the door. Once the smoke cleared, Alpha stood in shock.
Scootaloo was in really bad shape. Her wings had hooks in them that were chained to the ceiling holding her a few feet above the ground. Her left and right front legs were broken and teeth were scattered on the ground. Dried blood stained her mane and her ears were cut. Blood was running from her nose, bubbling as she breathed in her unconscious state.

Alpha felt his rage rise within him. He cut through the chains with his hoof as Beta slowly brought her to the table. Once on the table, Beta took control as he slowly removed the hooks that were punctured through the poor filly’s left wing, making sure to not cause any more damage. He was taking out hooks in her right wing when John appeared at the door way. Beta looked up, saw John, and sighed.

John was shaking in shock, his eyes wide and his jaw open. “Is she dead?”

Beta shook his head. “No, but she is not good. If she doesn’t get medical attention in the next hour, she will die from blood loss. She was tortured slowly.” He nodded to the left side of the table. A pile of bloody hooks laid on the ground. “She had these punctured through her wings.” He said as he removed another hook and placed it on the ground beside him. “She has cuts all over her body, her front legs are broken, and…” Beta looked around on the ground. John followed his gaze until his eyes met with a white and red tooth. Beta took out the last hook in Scootaloo’s right wing. Letting Alpha take control, Beta raised Scootaloo and placed her on John’s back, making sure she wouldn’t fall off.

“Let’s go.” Alpha said as he walked to John. He stopped when he was right beside him and looked at Scootaloo. “She will be alright. I promise.”

John had tears running down his cheeks as he looked at his injured, unconscious daughter. “I hope so.”

“John, I and Alpha will go ahead. We will signal for you to come so you can leave. But that is all I can do.” Beta took off his money pouch and gave it to John. “You will need to more than us. Good Luck.” He said and took off down the corridor. Giving Alpha back control, he began to rip open the cell doors, freeing those inside.

“LET’S GO PONIES. COME ON, WE DON’T HAVE TIME TO DIDDLE DADDLE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING!” Alpha screamed as he galloped down the Aisle. “WE GOTTA GO!” Beta shot a jet of magic at a wall, completely destroying it. Through the haze and dust came the light of the moon and stars. “THAT’S YOUR TICKET OUTTA HERE. LET’S GO!” Ponies one by one began pouring out of the hole in the wall, flying towards their freedom. Beta began shooting jets of light at the walls, and watched as the balls began to infect and destroy. Alpha ran back, and took one last look in each cell, making sure no-pony would be left behind. He was near the last cells when he noticed one was still shut.

“That’s odd. I swear I opened all of them.” Beta said.

“Open it, slowly.” Alpha replied, cautious of what was in there. The door opened slowly, staying in its hinges and not flying backwards. Alpha slowly walked into the cell to see a colt lying on the ground, staring at him. His mane and tail were brown-turning-cherry red, his skin tan, and his eyes dark brown. Alpha took a step forward to the colt and leaned towards him. His right eye flickered blue. The colt stared at him in fear.

Alpha’s wings instantly extended without Alpha meaning to extend them. He stopped dead in his tracks, and looked back at his wings. “Wait, what?” He asked himself, confused to why they would open by themselves and not close.

Beta sighed slowly; the equivalent to a face-hoof. “This will get very interesting in the next few years.”

Alpha shook his head, and watched as the wings slowly closed. He then turned his attention to the colt.

“It’s okay; I’m not here to hurt you.” Alpha said calmly.

“No, it’s not you I’m afraid of. It’s me. I’m different than the rest. I’ll hurt you. Get away from me.” The colt replied as turned his head away, his eye was flickering blue and brown.

Alpha lied down in front of him. “Hey, look at me.” The colt turned to face Alpha. Alpha’s right eye flickered brown. “You aren’t the only one different from the rest, and I doubt you could hurt us.”

“You are like us!” The colt said amazed, getting on his hoofs.

“Quite so.” Alpha said as he stood up, smiling. He turned his head and heard the sounds of hoofs hitting the ground. He looked back at the colt. “What’s your name?”

“Charlie.”

“And the other?”

“The name’s Delta.” His mane and tail flickered from cherry red to galaxy blue.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Alpha.”

"I'm Beta.

The sounds of the guards were growing louder. “Charlie, we don’t have much time, Do you know how to fly?” Alpha asked, his heart thumping hard.

Charlie extended his wings and nodded. “Of course.”

Alpha walked out of the cell and watched as the guards began pouring out of the doors, surrounding him. “Charlie, get out of here!” He extended his wing and felt Beta rise within him. Alpha turned back and looked at Charlie. Charlie was still there, standing and looking at him. “Charlie!! Go! I’ll be fine!” Instead of running away, Charlie walked out of the cell and watched as the Guards ran at them.

“You aren’t the only one with a special gift, Beta.” Charlie sighed as Delta took over, his mane, tail and eyes glowed blue. Alpha watched as the colt stepped in front of him, his wings extended as if he was going to protect him.

“I have my gift too. And I deserve to be here after what we have done.” Delta said as an orb of light appeared floating above his forehead. 15 small orbs of light flew out of the main orb and landed in front of Delta. As each orb hit the ground, an Alicorn made of light and magic appeared. Alpha’s and Beta’s jaws dropped instantly. Soon there was 15 Alicorns, all made of light, in front of Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta. “Go! Run! We got this! Go!” Delta told Alpha.

“HALT!” The Alicorns said in unison, their voices boomed down the corridor. “YOU WILL LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS AND SURRENDER OR YOU WILL FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.”

The Guards stopped instantly. Walking through the guards was one Galaxy blue Alicorn; Nightmare Moon.

“Oh?” Moon replied sarcastically. “And who are you to tell us what to do?”

The Alicorns materialized into beings. “WE ARE THE PAST KINGS AND QUEENS OF EQUESTRIA, PRINCESS LUNA. STAND DOWN.”

Alpha/Beta could not believe what they were witnessing. He looked down and saw Charlie/Delta on the ground, unconscious. “Shit, that amount of power was too much, he’s unconscious. Hell, even I would be unconscious after doing what he just did.” Alpha ran over to his side, Beta easily lifting Charlie/Delta up and placed him on Alpha’s back. With the unconscious colt on his back, Alpha walked behind one of the King Alicorns and nudged it.

“YES?” The King Alicorn replied, looking over its shoulder at Alpha.

“Charlie/Delta is unconscious. I will be taking him with me, escaping and leaving this hell hole. Will you be able to stall them long enough?”
The King Alicorn looked in front of himself, and watched Luna. Luna was furious, screaming and raging. The guards around her had begun to back up from her, giving her some room. The King Alicorn looked back at Alpha. “WE WILL. GO NOW! RUN! BE FREE FROM THIS ABOMINATION!” The King replied.

“Thanks.” Alpha said as he turned around and ran towards the hole in the wall. The Ceiling had already disappeared. The whole roof of the facility was pretty much gone. Beta opened up Alpha’s bag and took out the blanket that Luna had given them 6-7 hours ago. He then wrapped it around the colt’s back and Alpha’s underbelly, securing the colt to Alpha.

“It’s tightly secured. He won’t fall off now. Let’s go!”

Alpha nodded as he jumped through the hole, his wings extended, escaping the factory. Alpha only flew by himself. He never flew with a colt on his back. He began plummeting towards the ground. “Fuck this. Beta, can you teleport us?”

“Working on it, hang on!”

Alpha closed his eyes as he was engulfed in a blinding flash of light as Beta teleported them away.

John was at the Hospital. He was pacing back and forth in the waiting room as the doctors performed on Scootaloo to save her life. When the nurse asked what happened, John told her everything. She sat through it all and when John finished she left. About 5 minutes later, she came back with a mare unicorn, a psych Therapist. John then told her the same thing he had told the nurse. The therapist replied that he was experiencing hallucinations from the amount of shock he was in from seeing and finding her daughter. She arranged several meetings for him to come in to talk to her. John stared at her, then calmly, at once, got up and left. “No wonder Alpha never tells any pony about this. No-pony will believe him.” He told himself as he walked outside for a breath of fresh air. He looked up at where the factory was and saw the building engulfed in light. He chuckled as he watched it fall apart. Alpha appeared about 20 feet in front of him, teleporting from falling.

“Alpha?” John said in shock. He galloped to the colt. Alpha was still breathing and awake.

“I’m fine. I’m good.” He said as he struggled to stand up. He looked over his shoulder and was relieved to see Charlie/Delta still on his back, although unconscious. “Oh, hello John, nice to see you escaped.” He said once he noticed John. “Where am I?”

“The Hospital, come on. Let’s get him,” John nodded to the colt on Alpha’s back. “-inside.”

Alpha nodded and followed John into the Hospital. The Therapist was waiting for John and gasped in shock when she saw Alpha with Charlie/Delta on his back. Alpha broke off from John and walked to some chairs. Beta untied the blanked securing Charlie/Delta and placed him on the chair. He then covered him with the blanket.

“Will he be okay?” Alpha asked Beta.

“I’m pretty sure he wi-”

“SWEET CELESTIA!” The Therapist yelled as she made her way to Alpha and Charlie. Charlie’s hair began to return from its blue shade to cherry-red. “Are you alright?! What happened to you?! Oh my gosh!” The therapist said in shock as she looked over Alpha’s metallic brace. She began to take it off when Alpha had enough.

“DO NOT TOUCH THAT!” He yelled as he spread his wings and stepped between the therapist and Charlie, defending him instinctively. “DO NOT TOUCH US!”

“Poor colt, you are insane. I’m trying to help you.” the therapist replied.

“You can’t help us. Not with what we have been through.”

“We?”

“John, Scootaloo, Charlie and I. You wouldn’t believe us if we told you what happened.”

“Nurse, get me a sedative.” The Therapist told the nurse.

“Inject us with anything and I will personally rip off your horn from skull and shove it down your spine.” Beta replied, staring at the therapist. He turned to the nurse who was walking toward the therapist, a needle filled with transparent liquid following behind her. “Do you have any spare patient rooms available? We have bits, we can pay.” The Nurse stopped and stared at Beta. The therapist was staring at the nurse.

“Well, give it to me.” The Therapist demanded of the Nurse. The nurse looked at Beta and Charlie then at the Therapist.

“Oh, here.” The nurse said; stabbing the needle into therapist’s left thigh.

“What are you…” the therapist dropped face first into the floor, her head bouncing as her nose hit the ground first then fell to its right; dead asleep.

The Nurse looked at Alpha and Charlie. “We have only one room available, sorry. You can use it if you like, no need to pay.” She nodded to the therapist. “She has been a bitch for the past 4 weeks, so she will pay for it. Follow me.” Beta placed Charlie on Alpha’s back again then Alpha followed the nurse down the hallway. She open a door on her left and gestured Alpha inside. “This is our only room. There is only one bed, sadly.”

Alpha walked over to the bed and with Beta’s help, placed Charlie on the bed ad covered him with the blankets. “Thanks, we will be okay. “ He replied, tired but cheerfully.

“You are welcome. Good night.” The nurse replied as she shut the door. Alpha turned around and dragged a chair to Charlie’s bedside. Taking off both of his metallic braces and placing them beneath the bed, Alpha sat down on the chair and laid his head down across his front legs, crossed on the side handle of the bed and fell asleep, not leaving Charlie’s side.

Something he will do for years to come.

Chapter 17: The Therapist

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Chapter 17: The Therapist

Nightmare: Noun, a terrifying dream in which the dreamer experiences feelings of helplessness, extreme anxiety, sorrow, etc.

“I don’t understand. What did I do wrong?!” Alpha cried, struggling to get free from the cuffs that were binding him to the metal table.

“You spared a mare from her death. You protected her, saving her from injury or death. Under normal circumstances, you would already be dead, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive.”

Beta awoke and manually took over control.“Shit, not again.” He muttered as he felt Alpha trying to take control subconsciously. Beta could feel Alpha’s pain as he twitched in an effort to stop his friend from screaming out. Once the pain and the twitching subsided, He felt Alpha nudging at him, his own way of saying “I’m okay, don’t worry. Let me back in.” Beta looked up and saw Charlie, still sleeping silently on the bed. Nodding slowly, he pushed himself off the chair and onto the ground. Reaching under the bed for the metallic braces and putting them on, he quietly made his way to the door and left the room, closing the door as quietly as he could. He then let Alpha take control.

“What was that for?” Alpha muttered as he looked around the hallway.

“If I hadn’t taken over, you would have screamed and cried out, waking up not just Charlie and Delta, but the whole Hospital.” Beta replied.

Alpha sighed as he realized what happened again. “It’s getting worse; the nightmares. It’s always about THAT day.” He looked down the hallway on his right and saw John pacing back and forth in front of a window. Alpha walked towards him. “Hey, how is she?”

John looked up, saw Alpha, and smiled in relief. “Better now that she is here. The doctors are working on her.” He said, nodding towards the window.

“Will she be alright?” Alpha asked, peering through the window. Inside the room there were bloody hoof prints everywhere as the doctors rushed back and forth, left and right, as they frantically tried to help save the orange filly’s life.

“I don’t know. I hope she will be.” John said without taking his eyes off of the window.

“Their main concern will be internal damage and bleeding.”

John looked down at Alpha. “What do you mean? What about the hooks in her wings?”

“The hooks in her wing DID puncture all the way through, but it did not hit any major arteries or blood vessels. Whoever did it to her was a professional. This means that A. Alpha and I will find the asshole and kill him slowly and B. she won’t die from them. However, the RF is a horrible place, they don’t sanitize anything. The worst thing that can happen to her wings is that they can become severely infected.”

“And how is this supposed to help me?” John replied.

“I’m not finished yet. As for any and all external wounds that you can see, none of them are fatal. The same cannot be said about internally.”

John’s eyes widened.

“Internal Bleeding is really hard to…” Beta looked for the right word. “Fix, per se. If the damage is with her stomach and/or intestines, she has a low percentage of survival, EVEN with my help.”

John quickly looked back at his daughter.

“But any internal damage is extremely unlikely. The worst internal damage she has is that her two front legs are broken, besides that, nothing else.” Alpha peered through the window at Scootaloo.

“She will live. But this event will not go away easily. We are still having problems with it even though it happened 3 years ago.”

John slowly turned to Alpha. “What do you mean?”

Alpha shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.” He replied.

The door opened behind Alpha and out came a doctor. “Mr. John? I have good news and bad news.” The doctor said as he closed the door.

“Bad news first.” John replied.

“Your daughter’s wings are infected. Severely infected. No amputation is needed, but it will cost you.”
The doctor said.

“How much?” John asked.

“50 Bits.”

John looked at Alpha. Alpha looked back and slowly nodded in reply, then turned around and headed outside.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” John said as he nodded to the Doctor. “Can I go and see her?”

“She will live, and yes, you can.” The doctor said with a smile.

Alpha was in the lobby when he saw the Therapist, the one who was stabbed in the leg with the sedative. Alpha realized that she was an Alicorn. Her skin was purple while her mane and tail were purple with a pink streak down the middle. Her cutie mark was a purple star with smaller stars around it. She was slowly coming to. He walked over to her and helped her up, standing by her so she can use him for balance. “Are you okay?” He asked her when she realized who he was.

“I’ve been better. I was just stabbed in the thigh with a needle laced with a sedative.” She said as she glared at him. With a grunt, she pushed off of him, swaying side to side as she regained her balance.

“Never mind me, are you okay?” She asked him, staring at his right wing brace. The Therapist watched as his eyes flickered red to brown as Beta and Alpha talked. “That isn’t normal.” She said as she leaned towards Alpha.

Alpha’s eye stopped flickering right as she said that and was now red. He blinked and stared at the therapist, listening to her. She took a step back, cautious.

“What we have been through isn’t what you would consider right or normal.”

“We?”

“Correct. You are talking to Two ponies here, not just one.”

“Oh? And who are you?”

“That is not important. What is important is that what John told you is true.”

Her jaw dropped open. “How did you know I was talking to him? No pony was in the room besides us, and that room is completely sound proof!”

“It does not matter how I know what he was telling you. What matters is what he told you is true.”

She turned around and nodded to her left. “Let’s go into my office, we can talk there.”

Alpha nodded as he followed her down the hallway and into her office. “Keep your guard up, I do not like this. I feel like I’m being watched.”

“I know the feeling, Im getting it too.”

He entered the office and looked around. The office walls were painted with a boring orange. There was a sofa and a chair on the right, a desk cluttered with pens, papers, and folders on the left.

“A cluttered desk shows a cluttered mind.” Beta said aloud.

“Hmm? Oh!” the Therapist said as she realized what Beta meant. She shook her head in deep thought. “Lots of ponies need help. What are your names?”

“I was about to ask you the same. The name is Beta.”

Her eyes widened as she spun around and stared at the young colt. “The Beta, as the Beta from 900 years ago? That went on a murderous rampage, killing all that he hated?!”

Alpha nodded. “The one and only, and I am Alpha. And you are?”

The Therapist sighed and sat down on the chair near the sofa. “The name is Twilight Sparkle.” She held a hoof up. “I know, I know, “What is a Princess doing here?” I came here because I am once again on Celestia’s lessons.” She took a deep breath and lowered her head. “So much stuff is going on now, between this “Rainbow factory” and “Celestia is a monster,” I’m having a hard time to keep up with all of it.” Twilight looked up to see Alpha, his head tilted to one side and his right eye red. “Well, sit here on the sofa.” She said as she patted the sofa. “And tell me what happened.”

Alpha did not move. He looked around the room, getting his bearings of where he was. After he was satisfied, he looked back at Twilight and shook his head.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“We will not tell you, but we can show you.” Alpha replied as he walked towards the sofa and
unfastened his bag. Twilight watched as he took out a jar of what looked like blood.

“Why do you have a jar of blood?”

“It isn’t a jar of blood.” Alpha replied as he picked it up and offered it to Twilight. “Open it.”

“Why?”

“The rainbow factory is essentially a torture house.” Alpha explained as he got on the sofa and lied down. “To create rainbows, you need a huge amount of magic. Apparently, Young Pegasi blood is made up of untapped magic; insane untapped magic.”

“Almost as powerful as yours.” Beta remarked.

“And how do they get this magic? Where do the pegasi come from?” Twilight asked.

“The Pegasi are the pegasi who fail the flying test in Cloudsdale. All of those who fail don’t go to exile, they are sent to the factory, “Never to be seen again.”” Alpha nervously sighed. He started to extend and retract his right wing slowly, thinking of the RF.

Twilight tilted her head. She knew from other past patients who claimed that the RF was real had a hard time explaining how the magic was created. But she needs to know how it was created. “How is the magic created?”

Alpha was visually shaking in fear now, trying to push the repressed memories back down. “It’s not created, its…its” Beta tried to find the right word. “It’s stolen. They kill them. They torture and kill them. They have a machine that pretty much drains their blood and transforms it into rainbows. If you think what I did when I was alive was bad, then the Rainbow Factor IS hell.”

Alpha nodded to the jar beside him on his left. “That jar is not just filled with blood. Open it and it turns into a rainbow-colored liquid.” He said.

Twilight stared at the jar of blood, scared and curious of it at once. Slowly, she grabbed the jar and uncapped it. She dropped it in shock as she watched it turn into its original state. Alpha tracked the jar as Beta caught it with his magic. The cap for the jar flew out of Twilight’s hoof as Beta took it and closed the jar, the liquid inside turning back into its blood-red state. She looked up at Alpha to see him looking at her.

Twilight began to shake her head in disbelief. “That isn’t real. This has to be a dream.” She said as she began to realize what John said explained. What all her patients today explained. It all began to make sense. “All the patients, the wounds they had, they stories they told, It’s all real?” Alpha nodded. “It shou- WOULD YOU STOP THAT!?” She screamed at Alpha.

He realized what he was doing and retracted his wing once more. “Sorry, it’s a nervous habit.”

“Why do you have that thing over your wing anyway?” She said, calming down.

“It’s not over my wing. It is my wing.” Alpha replied calmly. He looked to his right and watched as Beta took off the brace, showing her what was left of his right wing; the burnt, cauterized piece of flesh that was left. “It was taken off the day I turned 11. It was a punishment because I saved a red mare from hurting herself from my welding torch.” He closed his eyes and tried his best to break down as he remembered that nightmarish day. “I was supposed to die as punishment, but the guards said “Under normal circumstances, you would be dead already, fed to the machine, but I have specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive.” He reopened his eyes and turned to look at Twilight. Her eyes were wide open, all exhaustion pushed away. Her mouth was open, in shock of his story. Alpha gritted his teeth as Beta slipped his brace back on.

Twilight closed her eyes. “This has turned into a nightmare.” She opened them to see Alpha refastening his bag, the jar of blood gone.

He turned around and open the door. Before he left he turned around and looked at Twilight. “You don’t even know what a Nightmare is yet.” He looked forward and left, leaving Twilight in a state of shock and fear. Alpha walked through the lobby and into the hallway. He peered through the window into Scoot’s room and saw John hugging Scootaloo, crying in joy that she was awake and alive.

“Seems like we saved her.”

Alpha nodded in reply as he walked to Charlie’s room. “Let’s see how he is doing.” He was about to open the door when he heard something metallic hit the floor. Beta instantly rose within him, his guard up, looking for danger. Alpha looked around, the hallway to his right and left was empty. He pushed the door open to see Charlie/Delta still asleep then closed the door and turned around.

“What’s wrong?”

“That sound sounded much like armor.” Alpha said as he walked down the left hallway.

“There is no way they could have found us. I teleported us away from the factory! Unless they learned how to track where a pony is going if they teleported, which I highly doubt, they could not have found us.”

Alpha looked around. He felt like he was being watched. And if he had that feeling, it was because he was being watched. He stopped dead in his tracks and swore. “That fucking bitch!”

“What?”

Alpha slowly shook his head. “Twilight, that bitch! She must have sent Celestia a message.”

“She did.” Said a voice to his right.

Alpha looked to his right, down a dark hallway. There, in the middle of the hallway, glowed one purple and one green eye in the darkness.

Chapter 18: The Battle of the Victims

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Chapter 18: The Battle of the Victims

Alpha stared at the glowing eyes in the middle of the hallway.

“Shit, Zeta. We can’t fight here. If we do, we can risk everything we have ever worked for. They could actually frame us with evidence of us attacking and destroying a hospital. We would be fucked!”
“What do we do?” Alpha muttered under his breath.

“Only one thing we can do. Run.”

Alpha stared at Zeta. He watched as she walked from the darkness, her armor flickering on, glowing purple, as she made her way towards him.

“Hello, Alpha.” Zeta said from within her armor. “Like my new armor?” She said as she looked over herself, the armor glinting in the light. “It does quite fuck up any and all stealth missions, but hell, it’ll protect me from any and all power.” The metal clinked and clanked as it hit the floor as she made her way towards him.

Alpha was already running down the hallway. “Really hope your ghost of us fools her long enough.”

“So do I, keep running though.”

Zeta was now a hoof away from Alpha’s face. “I was about to ask- wait a minute.” She squinted her eyes as she looked at Alpha. He wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t blinking. He wasn’t actually moving.

“It’s not Alpha. It’s a ghost. Something to stall you.” Gamma admitted.

“That clever bastard.” She said as she swiped her hoof across the ghost. It vanished as it met with her metal gauntlet. “Fool me once, shame on me.” She muttered as she placed her all her weight on her hind legs. “Fool me twice, you die.” Pushing off her hind legs with all her strength, she galloped down the hallway, in search of her target.

Charlie slowly woke up and looked around. It was too dark for him to see, only seeing the outline of the door from the hallway light. Pushing the covers off, he hopped off the bed, landing chest first on the ground with a thud.

“Oof!”

“You okay?” Delta asked.

“The last time I checked, our bed was on the ground.” Charlie replied as he stood up. “And the floor wasn’t clean” He added as he swiped the floor with his right hoof.

“We are in a hospital. Alpha brought us here after we fell unconscious.”

“But I’m not hurt.” Charlie said as he felt himself, looking for any wounds. “I’m okay.”

He made his way towards the door but stopped before it. He was felt like he was being watched but shrugged it off as being paranoid and went to reach for the doorknob when it spoke.

“Don’t open the door.”

Charlie froze. “Why not?”

“Because if she finds me, I’m dead.”

Charlie looked to his right and saw the light switch. He turned his back to the door and flicked the switch up. There were bloody hoof prints on the ground. His eyes followed them and found its source. Alpha was hurt, lying on the ground in front of the window. His scar was open and bleeding, his left wing was broken while his right metallic wing was bent downwards. His eyes however caught Charlie and Delta off guard. While Charlie and Delta were used to seeing blood, Alpha’s eyes were staring right at Charlie. The light switch turned off, Beta turning them off.

“So,” Alpha muttered. “How long do you think you have?”

Charlie slowly made his way towards Alpha. “What do you mean? How long do I have for what?”

“To live.”

Charlie was now in front of Alpha. “What are you talking about?”

“I know what you are going through, the depression. No pony ever says they don’t want to leave the RF without a good reason.” Alpha replied, gritting his teeth as the pain in his left wing worsened. “So I ask again, how long do you think you have?”

Charlie began to see Alpha’s face, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. He lied down on the ground and placed his head on his front legs. “Don’t know, Couple of months perhaps? You?” Charlie watched as Alpha’s eyes, glowing in the dark, looked up and moved, following something behind him. He looked behind himself to see a suit of armor, glowing purple, walking past the room.

“Who is that?” Delta asked as Charlie got up and walked to the window to the hallway.

“Zeta and Gamma, Luna’s Assassin.” Alpha replied, Beta cloaking himself.

Delta’s eyes widened when he heard her name. It wasn’t possible. She was dead. He saw her die by Beta’s… Delta turned around and looked at Alpha, who was now uncloaked and was watching him.

Charlie walked over to Alpha. “I remember you. I know you, Beta.”

“Took you long enough, Delta.” Beta chuckled. “If you were wondering, that,” He nodded to the hallway. “Is your sister.”

“How can you be sure?”

“I remember those I killed. I remember who hurt me back then, who hated and bullied me.” Beta’s voice seemed to get deeper in tone as he remember and retold his darkest part of his life.

Delta turned around and looked at the door. A suit of Armor, glowing neon purple in patches and streaks, was peering through the glass frame.

“I killed those who hurt me because I could not take it any longer.” Beta replied, staring at Zeta. The door opened and in came the suit of armor. “Half of Ponyville hated me because I was a mutant, like you. Just like you.”

“Come now, Beta. We all knew you were different.” Gamma’s voice came through from the suit. “We bullied you because you were weak. Hell, even my brother was like you.”

“So you do remember me? I thought you forgotten about me.” Delta interrupted.“I wouldn’t be surprised, you always were the mean one in the family.”

“Delta, is that you in there? It has been a long time. How’s mom and dad?”

“Dead, no thanks to you.” Delta replied, annoyed.

Zeta peered at Alpha, who was staring at her, watching her every move. “I see you met my friend, Beta, or should I say murderer.”

With the door open, Twilight snuck her way into the room to listen.

“You know why I killed you.” Beta said. “I told you why when I tortured you.”

“Yes, but I would like to know why you killed me.” Gamma replied.

“He killed you because you weren’t only hurting him, you were hurting others.” Delta answered.

“Delta, I will deal with you later. But before I kill him, I want to know why I died.” Gamma said, turning her attention to Beta.

“Your little brother already told you, and he is right. Not only were you hurting me, you were hurting countless others. Before I died I promised myself to make sure all bullies were punished. And I lived up to that promise.” Beta said.

“You will not kill him for he is innocent.” A voice said behind Alpha. All the ponies in the room looked out the window to see Nightmare Moon, hovering in place.

The bond between Alpha and Beta began to repair both of Alpha’s wings.
Nightmare moon opened the window and climbed into the room. “He is an innocent, a victim. He died reacting to the pain. And somepony here is the reason why a battle broke out after he was defeated.” She turned her attention to Delta, leaning in close. “The Battle of the Victims.”

“How do you know?” Delta replied, shocked that Nightmare Moon knew what he had done.

“Just because I was banished to the moon does not mean I am blind to what happened in Equestria.” She replied. “From what I know and saw, Delta here saw Beta die. In an attempt for revenge, he gathered the remains of the victims that Beta had spared, creating a loose army of the bullied, the hated, the ignored and the alienated. Ages ranged from 8 years of age to 50 years of age in this army.”

“I only did it because it needed to be done. Celestia could have done something, but instead she decided to not help and watch as Beta was bullied and hurt. She waited for him to go on a rampage. She wanted him to go on a rampage.” Delta interrupted. “It had to be done. Something had to be done!”

“What happened?” Alpha asked.

Delta lowered his head. “The Battle of the Victims began. After Beta was defeated, I thought Celestia would be weak, so I gathered the rest of the victims that Beta spared and attacked her.” He sat down beside the bed. “It went on for so long. So many mutants, so much untapped, unknown, uncontrollable power was unleashed.” He closed his eyes and began to slowly shake his head, regretting what he did. “We were all angry. A fellow mutant killed by our so-called princess, the one who banished her own sister to the moon for 10 centuries, the Alicorn that could raise the sun, Celestia. We wanted revenge.” He said, anger creeping into his voice. “We came together at the base of Canterlot and began our ascent to the castle.” Delta took a deep breath and looked up at Nightmare Moon. “In the end, we failed. Celestia did not show any mercy. She slaughtered and tortured us. To be honest, I’m more afraid of your sister than I am of you, and I hate her as much as Beta hates my sister.”

Alpha struggled as he got up and limped his way to Charlie’s side. Once there, he placed his metallic wing around Charlie in an attempt to comfort Delta. Before he could do so, however, he was hit in the side by a bolt of magic and flew backwards by Zeta and Gamma; an attempt to end his life. He hit the wall and fell to the ground, badly injured.

“What are you doing!? Stand down!” Nightmare Moon yelled at Zeta.

“We aren’t under orders from you.” Zeta replied. She pushed past Nightmare moon and went to the struggling white Pegasus, stained in his own blood. His metallic wing laying on the ground, all bent and disfigured, and placed her metal gauntlet on his back. “Don’t worry, this isn’t personal.” She stopped then added, “Well to me, of course.” Her horn began to glow as she got ready to end his life.

Unbeknownst to Zeta and Gamma, Delta had other plans.

Chapter 19: The King Unicorn

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Chapter 19: The King Unicorn

Everything seemed to slow down to a stop for Delta. He saw a purple Alicorn hiding on the other side of the bed, her head just poking above, watching. He saw Nightmare Moon, her armor glowing galaxy blue, screaming at Zeta and his sister, who until just now, didn’t know was alive and here. The Suit of Armor encased Zeta and his sister, Gamma. But that could not have been Gamma. He saw Gamma die by Beta’s hoofs: tortured and burned alive. That didn’t matter now. None of it mattered. The only thing that did was what Zeta and Gamma were about to do.

Zeta was about to end the white colt’s life when something bright appeared in her vision on her right. Mistaking it for her younger brother’s feeble attempt to stop her, Gamma nudged Zeta to stay focused. The bolt of light flashed downwards, aimed at Alpha’s side, a bolt of death. Before it hit him, it was stopped by a Hoof made of light, outstretched from the right where the bright orb appeared.

“That,” A voice said as Zeta watched the hoof materialized from light to flesh. “Was a bad move.”

Zeta and Gamma looked to their right to see a Unicorn, a stallion, materialize in front of her. His coat was gray, his mane and tail black, his eyes red, and a black crown on his head. His horn was different than most other Unicorns that Zeta and Gamma had previously seen. Usually, Unicorn Horns are one color, the color of the unicorn’s coat. But this Unicorn’s horn was different, following the tip, it turned gray to red. The way this Unicorn stood was like a guard at the castle; chest out, head high, legs slightly bent at 20°, ready to strike a moment’s notice.

“Oh?” Zeta replied. “Why, exactly, was that a bad move? You think that that fancy move you just showed off there is supposed to scare me? Do you know who WE work for? If who I work for found out what you just did, you might as well commit suicide. It will be far less painful than what my boss would do to you.”

The Unicorn smiled. “Your boss, Celestia,” He said as if the name tasted bad in his mouth, “thinks I’m dead, defeated.” He chuckled. “The clever bitch says that those who use Dark Magic are insane, dangerous. “Drains your life-force from the user.” She says.” He shook his head. “Dark magic does no such thing. It gives one more abilities than normal magic actually gives. With those abilities, one can and eventually will see and hear things they aren’t supposed to see and hear, things that Celestia doesn’t want them to know. So she created the lie that users of Dark Magic are insane. We are, actually, very gifted to be able to use and control this immense amount of magic that is usually not open for the public. For example, your boss’s student, Twilight Sparkle, is hiding behind the bed behind me. She is unaware of the fact that I am still my former self that herself and her friends fought, just much calmer.”

Twilight stood up and dashed for the door…but it was a futile attempt. It was locked.

“Come now, darling. I won’t hurt you.” The Stallion said without taking his eyes off of Zeta.

Twilight turned around and walked behind Nightmare Moon, who was now transforming back into Luna. “I am not afraid of you, King Sombra.” Twilight said. “You tried to kill Princess Candance.”

“Now, Twilight. I wasn’t going after her; I was going after the Heart, which I was foolishly informed of what it could do by none other than the Alicorn you are standing beside.” Sombra replied, rolling his eyes.

Twilight gasped, looking at Luna. “Luna, you had a play in this?!”

Luna looked at Twilight and patted her head twice. Twilight fell to the ground asleep. Sombra and Zeta both looked at Luna with confusion. “What?” Luna replied once she saw their faces. “Being the Alicorn that can raise the moon AND patrols the dreams of colts and fillies across Equestria, I have power and abilities too.” She explained, annoyed. “I thought you would be aware of this.” She turned her attention to Sombra. “I also thought you would know NOT TO BRING ME INTO THIS!”

“You told me that the Crystal heart would help us defeat your sister!”

“I TOLD YOU THAT THE HEARTS OF THE POPULATION OF THE CRYSTAL KINGDOM WOULD HELP US DEFEAT HER, NOT THE CRYSTAL HEART ITSELF!” Luna exclaimed. “How much clearer do I have to be? I might as well have done it myself, considering you royally FUBARed the plan!”

“My apologies, at least now she won’t be expecting me.” Sombra looked behind himself to see that Delta was missing. He looked in front to see Delta kneeling beside Alpha, checking to make sure he is still alive. He then turned his attention to Zeta. “I know and am aware of what Beta has done to you. I am not here to apologize to you for him. I am here to tell you that you are far above your pay here.”

“We don’t care who you are, Sombra.” Gamma snarled. “We can defeat you here and now.” She shot off a bolt of magic at Sombra. The bolt hit Sombra, but instead of knocking him back and killing him, he absorbed it, like a plant would absorb water.

“Not in this form you can’t. I’m technically still dead, all you are firing at is light and magic. You fire at me, the magic essentially absorbs into mine. You are basically strengthening me in your feeble attempt to kill me.” Delta and Alpha were no longer in the room. Delta had teleported himself and Alpha, taking the metallic wing with him, to the room next door, which was empty. Sombra was having a hard time concentrating both on the ghost of Charlie and Alpha and on his form. Luna was aware of this and stepped in.

“Zeta, let’s go. I have some explaining to do.” Luna said as she picked up Twilight and placed her on the bed. The ghost disappeared.

“NO! I HAVE A JOB TO DO AND I WILL SEE IT FINISHED!” Zeta looked down to finish Alpha when saw he was gone. She sighed violently and turned around to face Luna and Sombra. “Ok, which one of you had a hoof in this?” She said, annoyed.

Sombra smiled. “Mine.” He said cheerfully and vanished in a flash of light. Zeta looked at Luna and slowly shook her head.

“Celestia will torture me when she finds out about this.”

“She won’t find out about it. Come with me.” Luna said as climbed through the window and took off.
Zeta turned and looked back at Twilight, placing her on the bed and covering her with the blankets before climbing out of the window and flying off, following Luna.

Delta and Alpha appeared in the middle room in a flash of green light. Delta looked around to make sure they were safe then turned his attention to Alpha. The bond within him was already at work, healing most of the cuts and scars on his body.

“What are you going to do?” Charlie replied as he forcefully took over.

“I don’t know.”

Charlie walked over to the bed and grabbed the covers and the pillows. Walking back over to Alpha, he slipped the pillow underneath Alpha’s head and covered him with the blankets. He then lied on the ground with the other pillow and tried his best to fall asleep. Before he did however, he heard a zipper open and felt the blanket he put on Alpha cover him.

“Thanks for the help. No pony has ever done what you did for us before.” Beta replied as he opened Alpha’s bag and covered Alpha with the blanket he had inside it. “We will be okay, thanks to you. Get some rest.”

“I can’t” Charlie replied, pushing back the covers. “Some pony will eventually find us. And when they do we will be in trouble.”

“No we won’t.” Beta said as Charlie felt the covers covering him again. “I made sure of that, get some rest.”

Charlie closed his eyes and nodded off.

Earlier on, Alpha had paid for the room next to Charlie’s. Just in case something went wrong. A…act of caution, if you will.

Chapter 20: The Tomb

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Chapter 20: The Tomb

“Are you ready?” Sombra asked. “There is no turning back from this; no second chances, no giving up after this. It’s life or death now.”

“I know. He died in pain, in acting out of the pain. And she was rewarded with ending his life, making him look like the bad pony. This should have never have happened.” Delta replied, looking among the past kings and queens of Equestria. “She needs to be stopped. She should have saw this coming and acted on it, but instead she let him suffer in pain.” He slowly shook his head.

It’s been a week since Beta was destroyed by Celestia. Since then, Delta has created his own army from the victims of the bullied, other mutants, and those spared by Beta himself. He was inside a cave, outside of Ponyville in the EverFree plains.

“We know what Celestia has done to Beta. We saw what she did, how she betrayed him and then put all the blame on him. Are you sure you want to do this?” Sombra replied.

“I am.”

“This will hurt.” Sombra replied as he transformed into a ball of light and flew into Delta’s chest. The other past kings and queens did the same, and soon hundreds of balls of light were hurtling themselves at Delta’s chest, creating their bond with his soul. If Delta died, they would still be with him when he was reborn or if he bonded with another pony.

“It is done.” Delta said his eyes now green and his hair black-turning-green, his voice also different.

“Sir, we are ready.” Said a pony from outside the cave.

“How many do we have?” Delta replied as he walked out of the cave with the other pony, another mutant.

“Over 500, Sir. Most are older than you but not by a lot. Some are 13 while others are 15 and 20 years old. Most don’t know how to use magic or fly, let alone have the courage to take another life.” They were now in Ponyville. Ponies on Delta’s left and right began to pour out and follow behind Delta, some carrying backpacks and others pulling carts full of boxes. “150 out of the 500 are carrying rations and medical supplies, Sir. With rations and medical supplies, we would last a week at least.” He added.

“Don’t call me sir. The name is Delta.”

“This will be a complete slaughter for us, Delta” The mutant replied, shaking his head.

Delta stopped and turned around. He looked among the hundreds of ponies and looked beyond them. Around them, buildings were still burning, smoke filled the air from Beta’s recent Rampage.

“I know that most if not all of you think this will be a slaughter. To be honest, it probably will be.” He said aloud, addressing everypony. “We are not like Beta. We are not as nearly strong as him or as powerful as him. But he was a victim, just like every one of you. He was a Mutant, an earth pony who could use magic, like almost every one of you. But he was one pony; just one who decided enough was enough and decided to take matters into his own hoofs. And take a look around you, witness what he accomplished. If only ONE PONY could do all this,” Delta said as he stood up on his hind legs and spread out his front hoofs. “If only one mutant could do this, imagine what an army of over 500 mutants could do.” He sighed as he landed on his front hoofs, back on all fours now. “We are all told that we are different from birth. The Cutie Mark we gain when we find what we are meant to do, our special talent, defines and proves that fact. So why are we being treated differently when we are all ponies, just with different abilities and talents than most.”

Delta looked behind him and stared at the castle, still aflame from its recent battle. He turned and looked back at his army. Most were just in their teens, but mutants and victims of bullying, they wanted revenge. “I…cannot guarantee that anyone of you will survive. I know for a fact that I won’t. If you want to leave, leave now. Run from this place for it will be hell when it’s over.” He turned around and started walking towards the castle, easily a day’s walk. “Let’s go.”

“You decided to start without me?” said a voice behind him, landing beside him. Joining the Fight was Princess Chrysalis; the changeling.

“I thought you changed your mind, old friend.” Delta replied chuckling. “You left in such a hurry after I told you about my plan that I thought you ran off.”

“You really think I would pass up this opportunity?” She said with a grin. “My legs and wings are fine, though the transformation sucked like hell.”

Delta frowned. Last year Celestia released an insecticide that was supposed to kill off all insects that would destroy future harvests. However, whoever was working on it was not told that it would be used on edible crops. Unicorns, Alicorns, Pegasi and Earth ponies were affected, turning them into an insect/pony like figure. The sugar used in the Insecticide replaced the sugar molecules in their DNA, creating numerous amounts of mutations. Their wings became thin and transparent. Horns became twisted and curved. Their legs, not used to this type of sugar in the DNA, became riddled with holes. Their skin turned black, and their eyes turned blue. However, because of this specific sugar used, they could shape shift. They could imitate any pony they have seen, including humans if they ever seen one, creating the Changeling you know today.

With the ability to shape shift into pony/human, Crime rates skyrocketed as numerous amounts of Changelings abused this new ability of theirs. As a result of this, Celestia banned all Changelings out of Ponyville, Manehatten and Canterlot.

“My parents would love to be here but they have their own kingdom to run now.” Chrysalis replied with a frown.

“Well, time to gain revenge.” Delta replied as he galloped towards the Canterlot. “We have a day’s travel ahead of us.”

“Yes we do.” Chrysalis said as she looked ahead.

The two snickered as the Changelings joined forces with the mutants as they walked towards the castle.

After 12 hours of walking and flying, the two armies camped out for the night before a forest. Fires were placed every few 20 yards away from each other and 40 yards away from the trees. The stars filled the night sky, giving the ponies and changelings something to stare at and calm down before nodding off.

Delta watched his army 50 yards away from them within the forest for a few minutes before turning around and walking away to scout ahead.

“You are aware that this will be a slaughter, are you not?” said a voice behind him.

Delta looked around to see that no pony was near him. He then realized who spoke. “I am aware of that, Sombra. But there is no other choice.”

“There is always a choice.”

“Not in these times. I tremble to imagine what would happen next if we don’t fight against Celestia.” He replied as he hopped over a fallen log. The air smelled of rotten wood and decomposing plants. It was mossy and dark. A glowing orb flew out of his chest, Sombra, and flew in front of him, acting as a light source.

“There is always a choice.” Sombra repeated. “Who is the Changeling?” He asked, changing subject.

“Her name is Princess Chrysalis. An old friend of mine.”

“What happened?”

Delta looked at the trees around him. Cedar and oak trees surrounded him; their branches and leaves dampening noise from outside, leaving him in absolute silence. Once in a while, he could hear the skittering of a squirrel climbing up the trees, an owl hooting in the distance or the sound of the trees swaying ever so slightly in the wind.

He shook his head. “Celestia released an insecticide that had a horrible side effect to whoever ate the crops that it was sprayed on.” He stopped suddenly and listened as his voice was absorbed in the forest. It gave him an odd but familiar feeling of awareness and isolation at once. “Enough of me, what about you?”

“What do you mean?” Sombra asked.

“You have been with me for as long as I could remember, helping and showing me things that others would not have noticed, but I do not know who you actually were, why you continue to help me, or what happened to you.” Delta explained as he ducked and weaved through the labyrinth of fallen trees and vines.

“I was a former King of the Crystal Kingdom, a place beyond the mountains. I ruled there. I was loved by my people and by the visitors that came there to meet me. Unlike normal Kings, Queens, Princesses and Princes, I was a social King.” Sombra explained as he glided in front of Delta. “Watch out for that hole in front of the tree.”

Delta jumped over the tree and passed the hole hiding on the other side. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. As I was saying, I was more social than other ponies of royalty. Instead of staying inside the castle and sending servants out to buy food, I, myself, would go out into the market and buy food. I would normally overpay the price, giving farmers extra money to help themselves. I would visit the schools, often playing with the foals and fillies during their free time. Although there was a tax that was to be paid ever week, I made sure to lower it during bad harvests and raise it when there was too much money.” Sombra continued. “We had an army, a strong army. I taught the Generals myself. I made sure that each guard was doing well in school and knew how to heal themselves and others. When other kingdoms were in peril, I would send parts of my own personal army to aid the kingdoms, filled with Medical supplies and rations. I would even send bits to the Kings and Queens, helping them rebuild their economy.” He said, glowing brighter than before. Squirrels and Owls began to follow the orb, aware of whom it was. Some squirrels climbed upon Delta’s back and rode on his back listening to the Old King talk. They were now in a flat section of the forest.

“I was a close friend to the King and Queen of Canterlot and Ponyville. I would often send messages and gifts to them. During our best harvests, they, along with the rest of Canterlot and Ponyville would visit us and stay there for a few weeks. Games, Festivals, Events, Bonfires, and so much more were held when they visited.” He chuckled.

“What happened?” Delta asked, ducking under a fallen log.

The orb slowly halted and began to glow faint. The mood swiftly changed as Sombra remembered his fall, sending the owls and squirrels to the trees. “Like everything that is alive, it dies. The king and queen died due to a sever fever, leaving 19 year old Princess Celestia in charge.” Sombra halted.

“What’s wrong?”

“Celestia, back then, was a troubled mare. Although she was given the job to raise and lower the sun, she was born with extremely short temper. Nowadays, she has learned to control it, but back then, she was just learning how to control it. She could be sent into a furious rage if something did not go according to who she exactly wanted it. I went to visit her myself, one day, and had jokingly insulted her.”

“What did you say?”

“Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight.”

“You called her fat? Really?” Delta replied, moving forward. The orb continued to fly in front of him.

“Yeah. Now that I look at what I did, it was really mean. But I did not try to be mean. Her mother was a cake fanatic and was aware of her weight, but would usually send insults in a joking way back at me.”

“Like what?”

“ 'I think those screams that the fillies and foals yell have sent your brain to bedlam.' ” He recalled.

“So she called you insane?”

“In a joking matter yes. Sadly, her daughter never learned about it.”

“What did she do?”

“She sent an assassin after me, and in the end, the assassin succeeded.”

“Oh.”

“Death by poison.”

Delta frowned as he looked around. He was nearing the edge of the forest. What he saw made his heart skip a beat and made Sombra fly back into Delta.

About 200 hundred yards away from the forest lay an army of guards. Hundreds of tents and fires lay scattered across the land. His attention changed as he heard a branch crack behind him.

“Oh shit…” said a female voice to his right.

Delta looked around to see Chrysalis beside him. Her black skin camouflaged her in the dark. He saw movement behind himself out of the corner of his eye and realized what he saw; behind him stood his and her army, all hiding within the cover of the forest. Noticing that their leader was gone, they decided to pack up and enter the forest.

“We don’t have enough.” She admitted, her eyes glued on the tents. “We can’t fight this. There isn’t a way we can win.”

Delta looked at her then back at the tents. His mind raced as he thought of the options. Blindly running straight at them would have the element of surprise but would not last very long. Surrounding them wouldn’t work either for if reinforcements came along, they would slaughter the thin line of ponies. He realized he didn’t prepare for this at all. He didn’t prepare for anything. Delta was outnumbered 5:1. He looked at Chrysalis. Her skin had camouflaged her in the darkness, if it wasn’t for the moon light, he wouldn’t know where…

“That’s it…” Delta whispered to himself as his trail of thought completed.

“What is?”

“We use the cover of the dark, lure them into the forest one by one and kill them here. Hide the bodies and lure more.” Delta explained rapidly. The other ponies had heard this and began to spread out, hiding in bushes, behind fallen logs, and trees. Some changelings flew up into the canopy of the trees to get a view of their surroundings while others blending into the darkness. In 20 minutes, the forest looked bare, with only 2 ponies still out in the open.

“What should I do?” Chrysalis asked.

“Do what you must, stay safe and stay alive; fight to live another day.” Delta replied.

She took to the skies. “I’ll be watching.”

Delta took a deep breath and watched the tents. “I could use some help right now.”

A glowing orb flew out of his chest and floated beside him. “Close your eyes.” Sombra’s voice announced. Delta closed his eyes. The orb shined brightly for a few seconds before disappearing, catching the eyes of a few guards. Delta retreated into the darkness, watching as 5 guards cautiously enter the forest, their spears sweeping the area for any signs of the bright light that they saw. Sombra appeared for a split second in the view of guards, running to their left, and then vanishing.

They walked past Delta, without noticing him hiding behind a tree. One guard, a unicorn, was in gold-plated armor while the 4 where in silver-plated.

“The officer.” He whispered to himself. He looked to his right and saw a changeling hiding behind another tree. Getting his attention by waving his hoof in the air, he pointed towards the office and placed the tip of his hoof in front of his mouth, before slowly making his way towards the guard. The changeling nodded and followed, stalking them silently.

The guards, oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked, that they were prey, continue to walk deeper into the forest. Nearly blind in the dark, the officer lit up his horn, shining light everywhere. Once he did, he wished he hadn’t. They were surrounded by ponies and changelings, their eyes seemingly glowing in the dark as they reflected the light. They froze as they realized they had no way out.

Delta, literally standing behind the officer, reached over him, grabbing his mouth and clamping it shut in a deft move with his left hoof. With his right hoof, he grabbed the Officer’s horn and, with a sharp and swift yank, snapped the horn off.

The officer screamed in agony, muffled by Delta’s hoof forcing his mouth shut. The other four guards looked at Delta, their spears aimed at him. Delta turned and watched as Sombra appeared behind them, and killed them, silently, with 4 white bolts of magic.

“Draw them here, kill them silently.” Sombra said after hiding the bodies. Five changelings put on the armor and shifted into the Five guards they had killed. “You know what to do.” He said, nodding to the guards. They grinned and nodded back, grabbing the fallen spears and walking back out into the open.

As the rest of the ponies got back into their original places, Delta and Sombra walked back to the edge of the forest. Sombra stopped as he reached the end. “You are aware of what this means right?” He asked, keeping his eyes on the tents, watching the guards return.

Delta looked up at Sombra.

“What you will start now will be blamed all on Beta. He will be blamed for all the casualties of this war. This war will not exist and Celestia will place it all on Beta.”

Delta returned his gaze on the tents. The changelings have perfectly blended in within the others and split up, causing havoc. He watched as smoke rose from the camp as fires burned down the tents, and flashes of light from guards attacking each other in the chaos.

“This battle will not exist.”

In the background, thousands of black dots filled the skies. Chrysalis landed beside Delta, grinning. “I did not come without back up.” She said as she watched thousands of changelings black out the moon light. “My parents decided they wanted to help as much as they could.” The Princess continued. “So they sent two-thirds of their army to come and join the fight.”

Delta looked up and watched as thousands of changelings appeared and landed in the camp, aiding with their brothers and sisters against the enemy. “I do not want them killing ANY civilians.” Delta told Chrysalis. “Only kill those that are armed or pose a significant threat. Do you understand?”

Chrysalis looked at Delta. “I understand, and they do too.”

“Everything that happens here will be blamed on Beta.” Sombra said, turning his attention to Delta.

“Everything will be blamed on him.”

Delta opened his eyes and looked around. He was still in the hospital. Alpha’s left wing had, subconsciously, covered Charlie and Delta and brought them closer to him. He slowly shifted around and fell back asleep.

“So, you are the reason why I am blamed for so many deaths.” Beta said, softly.

“How do you know that?” Delta replied, shocked, looking around. It was dark, he wasn’t in the hospital anymore.“Where am I?”

“Calm down Delta. It’s Beta. We are in your mind.” He said, walking from the darkness. “You were shaking and crying in your sleep. I woke up Alpha and he saw what you and Charlie were doing. He placed his wing around Charlie to give you two some comfort and fell back asleep.”

“Did it work?”

“After a while, you and Charlie stopped crying and slept peacefully. I did not know that when the wing touched you, my mind would connect with yours. I was in your dream. I watched what you did.” Beta’s face reddened. “I appreciate your concern and you willingness to get revenge for my death and for what Celestia has done.” He said as he walked around Delta. His skin was white, his hair black-turning-blue and his eyes glowed a light blue.

“You do realize you invaded my mind right? You pretty much mind-raped me!”

“I did not mind-rape you. If I wanted to mind-rape you,” Beta said, his eyes began to glow dark red. “I would have already done it already, and you would be on the ground, twitching as your mind collapsed.” He paused. “And it’s considered dream watching. Luna does it all the time, actually. She is the guardian of dreams for colts and fillies.”

Delta stared at Beta. “To be honest, I thought you were much different.”

“How so?”

“I thought you protected those who were bullied or discriminated. I fought and died for a mutant who stood up against all odds, who killed those who hated him and went against the only pony who actually had any power to stop it.”Delta replied.

Beta clenched his jaw, staring at Delta. “I did kill those who hated me and bully me. I did go against all odds and tried to end the only one who had any power at stopping it BUT who chose not to.” He unclenched his jaw and closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. “It’s all in the past now. I am here to help Alpha.”

“Why him?”

“I bonded with him when he was being tortured, having his right wing literally burned off with his own welding torch at the Rainbow Factory. He reminded me of myself when I was alive, a week before my 'accident'. Goodnight.” Beta said as he vanished, leaving Delta looking off into the distance.

Alpha slowly came to his senses and growled in pain. He looked to his left to see his wing covering Charlie and Delta. His right wing, still in its metal brace, extended itself again.

“I have no idea why that happens.” He admitted as he shut his eyes and grimaced as pain shot through his body. Slowly getting up, Alpha placed his blanket in his bag and closed it. He placed it beside the door, then slowly walked outside into the hall. Outside of the room, he began to walk around for no reason but to calm his mind. “So, what did you learn?”

“More about my past and after my death; nothing useful to us.”

“Well,” Alpha replied as he looked back towards his room, “I’m going to stay near Charlie for a while.”

“Why?”

“Kind of like him. I understand the depression he is going through but have no idea why he wanted to stay at the factory.”

“I did not learn about that though. I did learn who Delta is.”

Alpha walked into the lobby and went to the front desk. “Hello, are there any showers here?” He asked with a smile.

The nurse behind the desk looked up, saw Alpha, and nearly screamed in shock and horror. “D…down the h…hall and t..t.t.t..take a right, first door on your left.” She stuttered.

He looked behind himself to see what she was looking at but saw nothing. “Thanks,” Alpha replied as he walked down the hall.

“What the hell was her problem?” Beta asked when they walked into the showers. On his right was a sink with a mirror. Alpha walked over to the sink, standing on his hind legs and placing his front legs on the sink and looked up.

“That’s why she reacted so badly.” Alpha said as he saw his appearance. His scar was open and bleeding. He had one black eye, several scratches across his face and 3 missing teeth. He tasted blood and spat. Blood splattered across the white sink. Swearing under his breath, Alpha turned on the faucet and washed the blood away. Making his way towards the showers, he looked around to find a place to store his wing so it wasn’t stolen.

“It’s Dragon Metal; it won’t malfunction if it’s submerged under water.”

With a sigh, he walked into a cubicle and closed the door, locking it. Turning around, he placed his wing on the wall with the shower head and twisted the knobs. Warm water splashed onto his face and seemed to wash away not only the blood but the stress and pain. “What day is it?”

“The 5th.”

“What month?” He asked, his eyes closed as he was memorized by the warm water cleaning the blood out of his coat.

“October.”

Alpha froze, his eyes widening, the water still falling onto his face. He stood frozen for a full minute then, shaking his head, shook off the feeling.

“Why?”

“It’s not important.” Alpha replied as he turned off the shower and dried his mane and tail. "Not anymore anyway." He cleaned his left wing then, grabbing his brace, unlocked the door and left the cubicle. Outside stood several nurses and doctors, all standing, waiting for him. Alpha stared at the group, slowly placing his brace on. He saw movement behind him and knew it was too late to react. He felt a sharp pain at the back of his head and before everything went black, he heard Charlie scream in panic.

Alpha stirred as he woke up. He looked up and saw lights moving above him. He was on his back, for some reason. He moved his hoof to push his hair out of his eyes to realize he couldn’t move it. He couldn’t move at all. There were doctors on his right and left, pushing him. He was on a trolley.

“Hey! Let me go!” He said once he was fully awake, struggling.

“No can do, Alpha. We know what you did and now you will suffer the consequences for them.” One of the doctors replied behind the facemask he had.

“This is your last chance. Let me go or all of you will die.” Alpha replied, his mane and tail slowly turning red. Two of the five doctors let go and stepped back. The other three just kept pushing, ignoring the colt’s attempt to scare them off.

“Fine, your funeral.” Beta replied as he took over. The doctor on his right, the one who replied to him looked at Beta with shock in his eyes.

Twilight turned the corner after getting up from a bed in the Mental Patient Ward room. She slowly shook her head to shake any confusion left and took a right only to see what she thought was a vision of hell. There was blood dripping from the ceiling and the remains of what looked like ponies on the side. Bones stuck out from the walls on the side and limbs on the ground, some still twitching as the muscles died from the lack of oxygen and blood. In the middle of all the death and blood, in the middle of the hallway was a trolley. Standing upon that trolley was Alpha, his mane and tail glowing in streaks of Red and Blue. His eyes were glowing as well. Left eye brown, right eye red. He jumped off the trolley, landing in the blood and walking towards twilight, ignoring his surroundings.

“You…You killed them.” Twilight stuttered as she backed away from Alpha/Beta.

“We did, yes. Where is my wing?” Beta asked.

“It’s…it’s…in my office. Just don’t hurt me. My crown is in there as well, you can have it too.”

“We don’t need nor want your stuff. We just need our wing back. Where is Charlie?”

“Who?”

“The colt who was sleeping beside us in the room.”

“There was no other colt.”

Beta sighed loudly. “Alpha doesn’t want to hurt you. That doesn’t mean I will. I will ask you one more time, where is Charlie?” He said.

“What will you do to me if I don’t tell you?”

“I can assure you that you won’t survive to tell any pony what I did.”

Twilight’s eyes widened in fear.

“Shall I give you a list of what I intend to do?”

She kept staring at him.

“Ripping off the horn, burning off your wings, skinning you alive with a kitchen knife, spraying pepper spray and lemon juice over the open wounds."He began to list off what he would do.“Shall I go on?”

She shook her head.

“Fine, then tell us were Charlie is.”

“He…he isn’t here anymore…”

“WHERE?”

“The doctors took him before I could talk to him. They said “You won’t see him ever again.”” Twilight said as she shook in fear.

“Thank you.” Beta said as he turned around walked down the hallway. He took a right and walked into the office and nearly bumped into two guards checking the place over.

Easily destroying both, Alpha walked around the dead figures, grabbed and slipped on his right and left wing braces. Flexing both wings he walked out of the room and walked to the lobby.

“Remember me?” He said as he walked past the nurse at the desk. Walking into his room, he grabbed his bag and vanished in a bright light as Beta teleported himself away.

Appearing on the roof of the Hospital, Alpha and Beta looked for any signs of Charlie and Delta.

“You know, he could have been returned to the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale.”

“It’s been two fucking days, Beta. I doubt they rebuilt the damn thing in two fucking days.”

“And if they did?”

“They didn’t.” Alpha replied looking in the sky for any sign leading to where they took his friend to. He squinted and saw a carriage being pulled by two guards in the sky. The carriage was made out of wood; light and durable. Shaped as a square, the cell had two barred windows on each side, made of steel. The wheels were made of wood. Pulled by two guards, the carriage would be a hassle to break any pony out of.

Everything froze for Alpha for a nanosecond, and he knew why. He felt his adrenaline surge through his veins, giving his muscles a short burst of pure energy. He felt his heart speed up, allowing his body to consume more oxygen. His adrenaline mixed into his panic and rage giving him an instant rush of speed. His mind raced to absorb what was going on.

Twilight destroyed the door to the roof in an attempt to stop Alpha. She ran out towards him, several armed guards and doctors behind her. She saw him, standing at the edge of the roof and slowly made her way towards him, a floating syringe hiding behind her head. The needle was an inch away from Alpha’s flank when he vanished. Twilight pulled her hoof away and looked around. She noticed the white colt disappearing, already a mile away from the hospital. Her eyes widened as she looked where he last was.

“Aw shit.” She said as she braced herself, using her wings to cover her face.

There was a bright flash of red and blue as Alpha’s sonic color boom detonated, its halo cutting through the hospital like a hot knife cuts through butter. Twilight stepped back just in time to watch as the edge of the ring slice through a guard behind her in two. She looked up and watched as Alpha flew towards the carriage.

As he got closer to the carriage, something seemed odd. It wasn’t white as he thought it was. The guards had what looked like a purple variant of a normal guard’s armor. The Carriage was purple as well, not white.

“Ah, Alpha.” A guard said when he realized Alpha was flying towards him.

Alpha slowed down his acent, but did not speak.

“Prince- I mean Luna said you would follow us. Come, this way.” The guard replied as he turned away from the Castle and towards the EverFree forest.

“Where is Charlie/Delta?” Alpha asked, landing on top of the carriage, riding it.

“In here.” Delta replied within the carriage. “We are fine.”

“Alpha,” Charlie spoke. “Chill out, we are okay.”

Alpha relaxed slowly. “Where are we going?” He asked the guard.

The carriage jerked down and to the right as they began to pick up speed as the entered the forest. “If
I were you, sir, I’d get into the carriage.”

“Why?!” Alpha replied, shifting his stance to gain more balance.

The carriage groaned as it was being jerked left and right, weaving through the branches and trees. The Guards grinned at each other and began to fly faster. “Sir, no time to explain, get into the carriage now.” Beta instantly teleported themselves into the carriage.

“What the hell was that for?” Alpha asked, relieved to see Charlie alive.

“They are Luna’s guards. You can trust them.” Beta replied.

The guards turned hard left and began to fly straight at the face of a mountain. Alpha looked out from the window on the side to see the cave he was living in 50 meters in front of them. “PULL UP! WE ARE GOING TO CRASH!”

“Pfft. He still doesn’t know, does he?” The guard asked.

“Apparently not.” Replied the other as they flew into the wall. Instead of crashing, they flew throughthe wall.

“It was a cover…” Alpha whispered.

The Mountain he was living in was hollow. The carriage landed, bumping violently as it met with the ground. When it finally stopped, the guards took of the harness and walked to the back, opening the doors and letting Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta out to look around. The place was huge. Lava holes were scattered, allowing warmth and heat to fill the mountain. It was dug out apparently, some time ago. Staircases littered the sides and balconies stuck out from the rock. Alpha looked to the side to see the two guards that brought them there taking off their armor and walking up one of the staircases to be welcomed by their squad before entering one of the doors.

“Home sweet home,” Delta responded as he took a fresh breath in. “It’s been a loooong time.”

“Oh, there you two are.” Luna said from above. She jumped from the balcony and landed in front of them. “I was beginning to wonder if you two would get here. I want to show you something, Alpha. Delta, you are welcome to look around.”

“See you later, Alpha.” Charlie said as he looked around and began to wander his way through the labyrinth of tunnels, doors, and staircases.

“What did you want to show me?” Alpha said, following Luna down a large hallway. Stone carvings of heads and words filled the walls. Torches were carved into the side of the wall, giving the orange light that forced the darkness to flee. They stopped at the end of the hallway and stood before a wall.
“What did you want to show me?” Alpha repeated, looking around.

Luna nodded at the wall. Alpha looked closer and read the letters dug into the wall. He felt his heart stop, and felt Beta lower his head in shame.

“What now?”

“Now, we plan for the next battle against her..” Luna said, walking out of the hallway, Alpha following her.

As they left, Alpha stopped and looked behind at the wall behind him. He turned around and read what was written on the wall behind him one last time.

Here lay the remains of Beta.

"What a shitty birthday it is for me." Alpha said, annoyed.

END OF PART I

Part 2: Chapter 1: Charlie.

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Part 2: Chapter 1: Charlie

The room was alive; Lights, hanging from the ceiling, changing color to every beat, glow sticks and rings, colors ranging from white to silver, outlined the ponies wearing them, the sound of hoofs hitting the ground, all dancing to the music, all in sync, sounded like thundering claps. The air smelt of sweat and was thick.

“Another of Vinyl’s infamous Raves, figures.” Beta said, disgusted by the air quality.

“Yeah, well, that’s what she likes.” Alpha agreed. He frowned as he looked around the room. His hair and eyes were glowing red and blue, giving him excellent cover if one were to find out why they were really there. He made his way through the crowd of ponies and what looked like floating glow sticks. The lights were changing colors to the beat, each change of the light changed, ever so slightly, the position of his target.

“Alright ponies,” DJ-PON3 announced. “Gonna take a 10 minute break, get my favorite songs and take a breather. Stay dancing and wubbing!” She announced as she left the stage. The music cooled down to the popular song: TCIF.

“Let’s go.” Beta said, keeping the target in range. Alpha responded by following the DJ into the back, easily slipping past the bodyguards.

Vinyl took off her glasses and sighed, a water bottle floated towards her and she drank. “Luna Moon, I’m beat.” She laughed to herself as she realized the pun she made.

“It’s been a looong time, Vinyl Scratch.”

Vinyl stood straighter, her exhaustion forgotten. Her ears perked up and she listened. “Who said that?” She said, fear creeping into her voice.

“Come now, Vinyl. Did you really forget about us? It’s only been Four years since you talked to us.”

Vinyl looked around for the pony who was talking to her. “What do you want?”

Alpha was hiding on the beams above her, cloaked in the shadows. His hair and eyes were no longer glowing. He was using the walls to make his voice seem everywhere at once.

“How’s Octavia?”

“She’s fine.” Vinyl said, nervously. She straightened her neck and pretended to not be frightened. Some pony was playing with her, she thought. It must be some sort of trick or joke. “How are you?”

“We are fine.”

“How about you show yourself and we talk face to face.

“As you wish.” Alpha jumped from the beam and landed in front of Vinyl. Her eyes went wide as she realized who was talking.

“Why are you here!?” She said, all her strength gone.

“I’ll be honest Vinyl; we are not here to hurt you. Instead we are here to offer you a...new job.”

“I don’t want a new job. I love my job right now!” Vinyl protested.

“Just hear us out, Vinyl. Celestia has gone insane.”

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Here you go again, talking shit about Celestia. That she has gone insane, bat-shit crazy, that 'She’s torturing others.' Give me a fucking break; I talked to her personally yesterday. Now if you would excuse me, I have a rave to resume.” She walked out of the back stage, vinyl discs floating behind her.

“That could have gone better.”

“Next time, let me do the talking.” Alpha replied as he went back into the rave party. He heard a disc screech and a new song begin to play and recognized it.

“Here is a new mix for you ponies, Vinylisicous.”

He walked around the party near the walls and found an empty table, free from empty cider bottles and ponies. He took a seat and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the music. Behind him were a group of ponies, thugs by the looks of them. He didn’t care about them until he heard what they were talking about.

“Did you hear about the new rumor going about?”
“What do you mean?”
“Rumor goes that a Pony named Alpha is going around, assassinating other ponies for his plan to overthrow the princess.”
“Bull-fucking-shit.”
“It’s also said that Luna joined him, and all of her guards followed suite.”
“Are you serious!? Why in the world would she turn on her own sister?”
“Probably for power, most likely.”
“I would love to meet this Alpha and teach him a lesson.”
“I’d love to see you try.” Alpha said aloud, as he stood up and walked to the group, grinning.

Alpha sighed as he walked out through the back door and into the dark alleyway, his mane dripping in blood. “That was fun.”

“Yes it was.”

He took a deep breath and took off into the night. “I wonder how Charlie and Delta are doing.”

It has been 4 years since Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta teamed up with Luna and her guards. Alpha had grown close with Charlie, treating him as the younger brother he has never had. Alpha was now 17 years old.

Alpha’s scar had fully healed and was no longer raw or open. He has used his metallic brace so much now that he rarely took it off. He could now easily fly faster that before and was now mastering advanced techniques and creating his own. Alpha, sadly, is plagued by nightmares, and rarely gets any sleep. Passing out has become a frequent trait of Alpha, since it is his only way of actually getting any rest.

Beta had fully remembered his memories (or so he thinks he has) and is able to remember anything he had heard or seen. His magic has grown un-imaginably strong. In the magic sparring battles with Sombra and the other kings and queens, Beta recently has been able to overcome three to four continuous enemy beams of magic at the same time. Although not as strong as her, Beta and Alpha, when combining their attacks, have come close to beating Luna in full-out free for all sparring matches.

Charlie has become extremely agile; able to climb steep rocks and trees, not to mention actually dodging multiple magic attacks from Beta and Sombra. Although only 15, Charlie has begun to have horrific flashbacks of Delta’s past, to the point in which both Beta and Luna have to enter Delta’s mind to calm him down. Beta had created 2 pairs of wings, made of the Dragon Metal, for Charlie to use to enter and exit the mountain.

Delta has admitted and apologized to Beta, confirming his beliefs that Delta was the reason why he was blamed for so many deaths. Although annoyed at first, Beta acknowledged and ignored it, claiming that he was used to killing so many that he believed he actually did kill so many. Easily regaining his magic ability, Sombra and the other Kings and Queens have been out more often since where Alpha/Beta and Charlie/Delta live is essentially a secret base in the EverFree forest.

The mountain where Alpha’s cave was located is currently his new home. Created and hollowed out by the Pie Family's rock ponies, it is a labyrinth of rooms and hallways, made sure to last thousands of centuries. Using the lava underneath the mountain as heat, the mountain internal temperature is around 21 Celsius (70 Fahrenheit degrees for you “American" Humans) all year around. The rock face where Alpha’s cave is located is actually bare, open. Using a cover-up spell, only a few, Luna included, knew about its existence. Only those who have been inside the Mountain are allowed to enter and leave it. New ponies who want to enter need the help of one who has already been inside. By simply holding one’s hoof, a new pony is can enter the mountain, in which they do not need help leaving or entering again.

The Cover-up spell, created by Delta when he was alive and walking, was ingenious. It allowed only those inside the mountain to see outward, but everypony outside would only see a rock face. Only to those who have ever entered the mountain, if they were to leave, would see the gaping hole and the interior of the mountain.

Charlie and Delta were bringing Derpy to the mountain. Able to bribe her with the chance of seeing Luna and muffins, she happily joined and was already entering the mountain when Alpha showed up.

The plan was to get as many ponies to join, creating a new modern army. 4 years later and a lot of hard work, Changling Queen Chrysalis and her changelings had joined, filling half of the mountain up. Doctor Hooves, Smith, Rainbow Dash, Discord, Maud Pie, Pinkie Pie, John, Scootaloo, and half a couple hundred others had joined as well.

He entered the mountain; saw Derpy and Beta instantly cloaked himself as Alpha made his way for the showers. Once in the showers, he twisted the knob and let the lava-heated water hit his sweat-drenched face, washing away his stress. He sighed loudly and was, for the next few minutes, in pure bliss. That was until Luna came in and saw the blood washing away.

“I’d take that as failure, am I right?” Luna said aloud, grabbing his attention.

“What?” Alpha asked confused before looking down at the blood. “Oh, that isn’t Vinyl’s blood, just some thugs who wanted to teach me a lesson.” He turned off the shower and walked out of the stall, his hair dripping with pinkish water.

“And did they?”

“What do you think?” Alpha replied, annoyed. “How’s Charlie and Delta?”

“Delta is doing fine, as for Charlie…” Luna trailed off, looking away.

“What’s wrong?” Alpha responded.

“Charlie keeps having nightmares, only it’s not Delta’s memories he is accessing.” Luna explained.

“What do you mean? Is he having flashbacks of his past?”

Luna nodded. "That and more."

“It happens to me a lot when I pass out. I consider it normal for us.”

“Normal?” Luna asked.

“If something happens repeatedly for me and Beta, I consider it normal, despite the fact that our lives has been anything but normal.”

“You have flashbacks of your past, I know. But what Charlie is dreaming about much more different.”

“How so?” Alpha asked. “What is he dreaming about?”

Luna paused hesitantly. “Committing suicide.”

Part 2: Chapter 2: A fiend In Need

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Part 2: Chapter 2: A fiend In Need

Alpha’s heart stopped. He stood in front of the Ex-princess, frozen, unable to move.

“Suicide?” He asked once he was able to move. “As in taking his own life? Ending it? Dead?”

Luna nodded, her face full of depression. “Yeah.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“I don’t know, Delta told me about it 2 weeks ago. Ever since then, it’s been getting more and more worse.” Luna said, looking at Alpha, worried.

“Where is he now?” Alpha asked, his heart rate rising. He shifted his stance.

Luna didn’t reply, she just kept staring at Alpha.

“Luna, where is Charlie?” Alpha repeated.

“I don’t know.”

Alpha stood in his place for a full two heart beats before turning on the spot and galloping out of the shower room, running for Charlie’s room. The door was closed, but that never stopped him. He placed his metallic appendage in front of his shoulder and ran into the stone wall, forcing it open. Charlie’s room was empty. Alpha began to slightly tremble visibly. He disappeared in a flash of light as Beta teleported himself to the Cafeteria, then to the Training rooms. He teleported into each room; the lounge, pool, metal work, rock work, mining shafts, rock climbing wall, looking for Charlie. Once after checking all the rooms, Beta teleported himself to the outside peak of the mountain and looked around.

Alpha took a breather and looked around, knowing that although he was fond of his new wings, Charlie did not have the stamina to go very far. The sun was setting down on the horizon giving a cherry red glow to the already purple, star-filled sky, and snow was falling slowly to the ground, in its no-two-snowflakes-are-the-same way. Not a single chirp from a bird or a branch cracking under the weight of a bear was heard. Total peace and silence.

He always liked the snow, although cold, it made him feel peaceful. Its color, although only white, gave him a perspective on his own life. Important, but always seen last, always in the background, he thought as he took off into the sunset and looked around for any clue to where his friend went. He saw Celestia bring up the moon and, instead of hiding from her, flew close and watched her. He gave a huff of recognition and respect, before flying to Cloudsdale, looking for Charlie.

“What was that for?”

“What do you mean?”

“That huff you did just now, was it out of annoyance or anger?”

“Neither, I was just watching her.

“Celestia? Why?”

“Just curious.”

“About what are you curious of her?”

Alpha shook his head. He didn’t know why he was curious. He was curious of his one only enemy who could actually end this all if she wanted to. “Why did she not end it all where it started? She could have just killed us when she wanted to. Why wait?”

“Some things are better learnt than told.”

Alpha nodded then took off for Cloudsdale.

“You know where he is, don’t you?”

“Yeah, it’s where I would go if I was him.”

Beta groaned as the two headed for the factory.

Luna was standing in front of Beta’s tomb. She was worried sick about Charlie, hoping that Delta, Alpha, and Beta would be able to stop him in time. She let out a sigh.

“Worried about Charlie?” said a female voice behind her.

Luna recognized the voice and nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

Chrysalis nodded and stayed her ground, watching Luna. “I wouldn’t worry about him too much.”

Luna turned around, offended. “Why should I not worry about him? He is at that fucking factory, ready AND willing to commit suicide.”

“Yeah, but Delta wouldn’t let him.”

“How so?”

Chrysalis sighed as she remembered the Battle of the Victims. “I was Delta’s best friend. Although he couldn’t really use magic, he was astounding with his way of words.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I…was depressed before.” She said, her head down low. “Changelings used to be normal, non-mutant ponies. I was an alicorn, brought up secretly by Celestia herself after what happened to you when she began to become lonely. When I became a changeling she kicked me out, banishing me from the castle.” She looked up to see Luna shocked. “I met Delta a short time later. He was a mutant, but unlike others, he was proud of it. He didn’t care if he would get hurt by others; he would stand up for other mutants. One mutant that he defended from some bullies was Beta himself.”

“Wait, what!?” Luna interrupted. “Delta saved Beta?”

Chrysalis nodded. “Beta was eight when he learned about his “gift”. As you know, back then if you were different, you were horrible discriminated. Beta was being beat up by several bullies, all much older than him, when Delta stepped in and broke it up, scaring off the bullies by conjuring Sombra to show himself. After I was kicked out for the mutation that was occurring to me, I was very depressed.” Chrysalis continued, changing subject. "But Delta was there for me. He kept me out of the dark days I had, and treated me as if I never changed.”

Luna stared at Chrysalis. Her teal eyes glowed with what? Envy? “Why are you telling me this?”

“Delta,” Chrysalis said. “will do everything in his power to keep Charlie alive. The same can be said of Alpha, but much, much more than Delta could ever wish.”

“I can see how Alpha would help him. He treats him like a younger brother of his. But more than Delta can ever wish?! I don’t think that’s right.”

“That’s not what I meant. He sees him more than a friend oryounger brother. But, I would think they would appreciate any help right now.”

Alpha was near the factory when the memories of pain began to seep into his mind. He felt his anger rise as he remembered the years of pain and loneliness he endured. But that wasn’t all that began to seep into his mind. The thought of Charlie committing suicide created some sort of panic that had combined with his anger and pain, creating one hell of a burst of energy. He froze in mid-air, just hovering 200 meters before the factory.

“Alpha, is everything alright?” Beta asked, worried.

Alpha didn’t reply. He just stared at the factory. He landed on a nearby cloud and began to, instinctively, retract and extend his metallic brace.

“Alpha-“ Beta began to speak when Alpha bolted towards the west wall of the Factory, leaving a Sonic boom behind him. He headed for the wall, head first. It exploded as Beta fired a bolt of magic at it. Time froze as Alpha absorbed what he saw.

On his left were four Royal Guards, their helmets casted away on the ground, playing poker on a table. On his right were another two guards, leaning against the wall, chatting. Straight ahead was the corridor. Alpha tilted to his left, and landed, destroying the table with the excess momentum he had and spun 270 degrees counterclockwise, his right wing extended, decapitating the guards in a deft swipe. Beta killed the two guards that were left with two pieces of glowing white metal, debris of the destroyed wall, easily impaling them. Without missing a beat, Alpha spun around another 70 degrees counterclockwise and galloped down the corridor. He took numerous lefts and rights as he navigated through the maze of dark hallways. Eventually he found his way to the cells, but when he found it, he almost wished he hadn’t. Alpha skidded to a halt and froze. Standing in front of Alpha stood a whole platoon of Royal Guards, spears at the ready.

Beta rose within him, shifting his weight to his hind legs, extending both metallic wings and was about to go berserk when Alpha heard grown stallions screaming above them. He looked up at the roof with confusion. He felt a hoof hit the back of his neck, not hard but light. He looked to his right to see a dark grey pegasi, his armor a deep shade of purple, streaks of a bright vibrant purple glowing, outlining the metal.

“Sir, we got this.” He said with a deep voice, tilting his head to the side, as if pointing at something behind him. His eyes were a dark pink, his hair black.

Alpha looked behind him to see nothing, just the corridor, and the lights still flickering. He turned around and looked guard. “Who is “we”?” He asked, confused.

“Look again, behind you.” Replied the guard. This time, Alpha turned around fully to see a whole platoon of guards, their armor glowing in purple, slowly uncloaked, and revealed themselves.

One pony broke through the ceiling and landed right next to him. Alpha looked to his right and felt his jaw drop.

Her armor, another variant of The Dragon Metal, was covered in dried blood. She had her helmet on, and her teeth, razor-sharp, although normally would be white as snow, were stained with blood. With skin color that matched the color of a cloudless night, the moon-shaped cutie mark which seemed to give off its own moon light, and the light-blue, oval shaped eyes with that mane and tail that seemed to peer into a void full of stars, Nightmare Moon stood beside Alpha, battle-ready and eager to fight.

“What?” She asked, looking at the jaw-opened Alpha.

“N…nothing.” He stuttered. He had seen Nightmare moon before when she tried to kill him, but never up close. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought you needed help.” She turned her attention to the guards in front of her. “Seems like I was right. Go find your friend and save him. We’ll deal with them.”

With saying that, she ran towards the wall of guards. Several guards threw spears at her. Nightmare Moon grinned and easily dodged them, and jumped into the crowd. She spun; her wings spread open, decapitating several guards in the process. Once she had her own space, she lunged out to the nearest Guard, a Unicorn, and grabbed his horn. With a strong and fast tug, she ripped off the horn. With a complicated twists and arcs in the air, she tossed it up and caught it with her hoof, the end point of the horn facing behind her. Standing on her hind legs, using a horn as a makeshift dagger, both wings spread, Nightmare Moon was Death’s best friend.

The Guards behind Alpha began to rush towards the broken wall of disorganized Royal guards, eager to get their fair share of kills. Alpha had no problem with that and let them pass him as he made his way towards the machine room. He heard the sound of cell doors being destroyed and smiled. The Cell inmates have decided to join Nightmare moon and fight the guards as well. He heard one particular guard screech in agony as if somepony attacked him with a cattle prod.

“Gotta love Mr.Sparky.” Beta replied in glee.

“Yes you do.” Alpha agreed as he made his way into the machine room. He froze to a halt when he saw Charlie sitting in front of the machine, watching a filly being horribly and brutally destroyed and killed. He then stood up and began to step into the machine.The last thing Alpha heard before his mind went into overdrive was Beta telling him about something. But it was too late. He bolted forward Charlie when Beta instantly took over, forcing Alpha to stop.

“Beta, NO!”

“Listen to me Alpha. It’s not him!”

Alpha stared at Charlie, who oddly, had stopped moving toward the machine and began to transform. His tan skin began to turn white. He grew in size and grew wings as well. He had a horn. He changed gender.

“Shit…” Alpha muttered as he realized who it was.

This alicorn was white. Having a crown upon her head, her cutie mark the shape of a sun that was created by the Human Greek artists appeared on her flank. She turned around and looked at Alpha.

Alpha slowly began to step away from the Alicorn, his eyes wide and his breathing slowed.

Her eyes were pink. Her horn long and tall, her mane and tail, a vibrant lightish variant of what seemed to be a rainbow sparkled and flew around, as if un-affected by gravity.

“It has been a very long time, Beta. It’s an honor to meet you Alpha.” Princess Celestia said with a grin, the rainbow liquid dripping from her open mouth. “Let’s talk.”

Part 2: Chapter 3: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

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Part 2: Chapter 3: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

“It’s not right, Delta. None of this is right! I am not right.”

The torches were giving off their normal orange flickering light, lighting up his room. Charlie was under his bed, talking to Delta. The one place that was truly dark, which allowed to rest without covering his eyes from the light or snuffing out the flame and relighting it in the morning.

“No pony is supposed to be “right”, Charlie. Hell, I know that more than you. I was and still am a mutant, one that could what others never dreamed of doing.”

“I am not supposed to be like this!”

“Supposed to be like what?”

“I am gay. Being gay is wrong here. I push everypony I knew away, I have a shitty personality. I’m an asshole. I suck at life, never stood up for my friends when they were being bullied before I met you, but they would stand up for me.”

“I don’t know about that,” A voice said from the door.

Charlie poked his head out from under the bed to see Alpha standing there. His scar was open and raw again, bleeding profoundly. His metallic wing was broken, the metallic feathers spread out in different directions. Alpha had many scratches along his body. His eyes were half open, and he was missing a few teeth. Blood was dripping from his body to the ground, creating a small red puddle underneath him. His left wing was broken, his right front leg and his left hind leg were terrifyingly disfigured. There was a trail of blood drops behind him.

“You are quite the opposite, to be honest.” Alpha said with a tooth-missing smile.

Alpha felt his mind race. He felt Beta rise within in him faster than ever before. His adrenaline kicked in, his panic, rage, anger and hate mixed together, creating one hell of a substitute of energy.

Celestia grinned with half-opened eyes and shot white glowing bolt at Alpha. Instead of dodging it, Beta took over and blocked it by raising the metallic wing and using as a shield, the bolt bouncing off the wing like a laser bouncing off a mirror.

“It has been a long time, Beta.” Celestia said casually.

“Yes, it has.” Beta replied, lowering the wing slowly before teleporting to the top of the machine. He looked down on Celestia. She had splashes of Rainbow Liquid all over her body, especially her face. She turned around and looked up at him with a teeth-baring smile, her teeth glowing in a vibrant rainbow state. “Taste good?”

“It tastes like blood. But it has an energetic feeling to it, like BlueBull has.” She said with a nod. As she was nodding, her horn began to glow white and it spat out a cone of rainbow-colored magic. Beta jumped off the machine just in time to narrowly miss the spell. He spun in the air, giving Alpha back control and watched as the machine was hit.

The top of the machine was easily ripped off like if it was made of paper and somepony tore it off. The pipes within broke like glass, creating a fountain of the rainbow-liquid, spurting it up into the air. Alpha landed on the ground behind Celestia, watching the Rainbow rain onto the floor when he got a face full of Celestia’s Hind kick. He wheeled around, teeth flying out of his mouth. He raised his right front hoof up to his mouth and felt the holes where his teeth were missing. He turned his head and looked at Celestia.

She grinned in reply. “Taste Good?”

His mane and tail began to glow brightly; every other blue color streak was red, blood red. His eyes glowed, one red, one blue. His scar was open and bleeding again. He spun around, his metallic wing raised. Celestia grinned and waited until he got close enough before extending her right hind leg and kicking him…

But Beta expected it and teleported in front of Celestia. She turned her head back forward and watched as Alpha’s right metallic wing impacted her chest, easily breaking three ribs. She instinctively stood up on her hind legs and yelled in shock and pain. Alpha ran underneath her and extended his right wing again, and exited near her left hind leg, breaking it when it came into contact with his wing.

Celestia landed back onto her front legs and kicked out her left leg, both straitening it out and breaking Alpha’s left hind leg in the process. Alpha skidded to a stop, turned around and grinned. Celestia looked at him in horror and anger as she watched as Alpha’s leg seemed to heal itself on its own, returning to its normal shape.

“Alpha…” Celestia began to plead.

Beta shot a bolt, nearly missing her and hit an explosive pipe behind her. She, again reared up, but this time, Alpha and Beta decided not to give her a chance to recover. Alpha galloped straight at her underbelly and before he hit her, Beta shot off an explosive spell at her, making her fly backwards and up, crashing through the wall and into the cafeteria. She got up and watched as her sister killed numerous royal guards.

Nightmare Moon ducked under several spears, leaned forward and bit one of her attacker’s neck, easily biting through the vein and, with a thrust with her makeshift dagger, a horn she had earlier ripped off of a unicorn’s head, shoved it into the other side of the guard’s. With a quick thrust, she ripped the head off its neck and watched the guard’s body fall to the ground and twitch, the Guard’s head dangling from her mouth. She looked up and saw Celestia. Nightmare Moon froze, watching Celestia watch her. She grinned with the Guard’s neck, the guard making gurgling sounds as he made futile attempts to breath. She slowly pulled out the horn from his head, killing the guard and stood back on her hind legs, her wings spread, and extended her free hoof before folding her wrist back and forth, gesturing her to come here, the head still dangling in her mouth.

Celestia began to walk towards her dark sister when Nightmare Moon heard a bloodcurdling cry and watched as Alpha bolted through the hole in the cafeteria floor and impacted Celestia through the walls next to her. Nightmare Moon grinned and turned her attention to the guards, whose numbers were beginning to dwindle down.

Celestia, being pushed by Alpha, was hitting and destroying each wall before Alpha ran out of momentum and both rolled and tumbled on the ground, Celestia’s body crushing through each wall before ending up in the same room Alpha was punished in, the two unconscious.

Alpha came to first. He looked around for Celestia. Once finding her and realizing that she was unconscious, he took a breather before slowly getting up.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just had the wind knocked out of me.”

“Both right front and left hind legs are broken, the same goes for your left wing.” Beta said with a disappointed sigh.

Alpha looked over and confirmed Beta’s notes. “Great…” He said with a grimace as his bones slowly began to heal.

“If I were you, I would wait until later.”

Alpha nodded in agreement. Healing, although fast, takes a lot of magic and energy. He opened his eyes after nodding and froze. He realized where he was. Everything was in the same place since he last saw it: The blood splatters on the tables that were stuck on the wall, the cuffs on the middle table, open and broken from when Beta bonded to him. Even his welding torch was still on the ground, cold and dead. Alpha felt the pain in his right wing start to ache, as if it was remembering what had happened here.

Celestia rolled over to her left side and stared at Alpha. “It all started here?”

“Technically, it started with you.” Alpha paused as he heard a prisoner laugh hysterically, then glanced at Celestia before moving and looking around the room.

“What do you mean?”

“Before I was “punished”, I was told that they had specific orders from the princess to keep me alive.” Alpha replied, glaring at Celestia who was still on her side. “I wonder who that would be.” He walked over to Celestia’s side, and looked down at her wing, sprawled across the floor. “You know,” He said slowly, looking at her wing. “A broken wing doesn’t hurt as much compared to losing one with a welding torch.” He glanced at her, watching as horror and fear filled her face.

He thought it over out loud. “Hmm, one broken leg compared to two broken legs, one wing broken, and teeth missing. Not quite that fair…”

Celestia gulped.

His eyes flashed red and he grinned. Beta took over and was beginning to bring down his metallic wing when Celestia attacked him with a beam of magic. He covered his face with his wing and begun to deflect the magic when she got up on her legs and began to overpower Beta, the wing glowing red.

Beta groaned in annoyance and had begun dueling Celestia, his red beam against her rainbow-colored beam. Alpha had now slowly lowered his wing and saw that the feathers were disfigured. Angered with this fact, he kept his place, not moving, glaring at his enemy. The magic between the two beams was intense. Bolts of magic began to peel off from the main beams and hit the walls of the room, destroying it, ripping apart the metal and wall.

Nightmare Moon was nearly done taking care of the guards. One pony, a prisoner no doubt, had laughed hysterically when he grabbed a nearby sledgehammer and slammed it against a guard’s side, destroying his ribs. She looked up after killing another guard with her makeshift dagger when she looked up and, through what seemed to be a torture room, saw Alpha dueling Celestia. Her mouth dropped as she watched Alpha hold his own against her sister. She grinned then spoke. “ALL RIGHT, ANY PONY THAT WANTS TO LIVE AND GET REVENGE ON OUR DEAR PRINCESS FOLLOW US, WE WILL BRING YOU TO OUR SAFE PLACE.” Her horn glowed purple as she shot a bolt at the ceiling, destroying it. “QUICKLY NOW, COME ON LET’S MOVE!”

Either Alpha wasn’t aware of what was happening behind him, or didn’t really care. For the first time in 3-4 years, both Alpha and Beta were fighting for their lives. Two beams, both being fired from two powerful ponies, were colliding with each other. Beta peeled off and teleported behind Celestia, attacking her flank. Alpha raised his disfigured brace and swiped it across her flank, scarring her cutie mark. Celestia growled and kicked back.

However, Alpha and Beta were ready. Alpha ducked under the incoming left hind leg. He grabbed it with his left hoof, and, while holding the leg, spun under it and pushed it upwards, forming a > with her leg. The Princess shook her head and decided that she should stop fooling around. With surprising speed, she wheeled around, her wings spread and attacked Alpha. He ducked under the wing, ran through her legs and was on the opposite side of the room, with the door behind her back.

“You have nowhere to go but through me.” Celestia said with a grin, blood dripping from her flank.

Alpha was about to reply when he felt something touch his right hoof. He looked down to see his old welding torch had rolled onto the ground and stopped near him. “You know…” He began to reply, picking up the torch. “I was a mechanic when I was here for five years.” He watched as the torch sparked to life, its fire a navy blue. “I used to see this torch as a magic wand. I could fix anything I found,” He slowly looked up at Celestia, who was now standing up, glaring at him. “And destroy anything that came into my path.” He stared at Celestia before Galloping towards her, the welding torch floating behind him. She braced for impact but, instead of impacting her face, Alpha slid beneath her, the torch burning her stomach, then got to his hooves and blasted through the door before stopping and turning around, looking at Celestia.

She had tears streaming down her eyes as she realized what he had done and that the Rainbow factory was all but empty save for the dead guards.

“It appears that I was right.” Alpha said, nodding before teleporting off.

He appeared in the Mountain and looked around. Guards and prisoners filled the space, most with broken bones or other injures. Derpy and the others had begun to address the freed of the plan and most, if not all, had agreed to stay and fight.
The Changelings, led by Chrysalis, were up and about, most setting up a perimeter and watching for more guards if they were followed.

Alpha’s adrenaline had cooled down and he began to move towards Charlie’s room, limping horribly. Luna, now transformed back into herself, saw Alpha and quickly made her way to him.

“Shit.” She said, looking him over. “You have the worst injuries out of any pony here. Where are you going?”

Alpha groaned in pain as he limped over to his friend’s room. “I know where Charlie is.”

“What? Where!?”

“Under his bed.” He said as he walked to the door.

“How would you know that?”

“Because it would be where I would be if I were him.” He said as he opened Charlie's door.

“It’s not right, Delta. None of this is right! I am not right.”

The torches were giving off their normal orange flickering hue, dimily lighting up his room. Charlie was under his bed, talking to Delta; the one place that was truly dark, which allowed to rest without covering his eyes from the light or snuffing out the flame and relighting it in the morning.

“No pony is supposed to be “right”, Charlie. Hell, I know that more than you. I was and still am a mutant, one that could what others never dreamed of doing.”
“I am not supposed to be like this!”

“Supposed to be like what?”

“I am gay. Being gay is strictly forbidden! I push everypony I knew away, I have a shitty personality. I’m an asshole. I suck at life, never stood up for my friends when they were being bullied before I met you, but they would stand up for me.”

“I don’t know about that,” A voice said from the door.

“You are quite the opposite, to be honest.” Alpha said with a tooth-missing smile before collapsing onto the ground, unconscious.

Part 2: Chapter 4: I hate Dogs

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Part 2: Chapter 4: "I hate dogs."

Charlie watched as his best friend, all beat up and injured, tell him that he was wrong before falling to the ground, unconscious. Charlie cautiously walked over to the bleeding, injured colt and nudged him in an attempt to wake him up. Time seemed to speed up for Charlie and Delta after that. He stood there, standing over Alpha as doctors and prisoners rushed towards Alpha, some in shock, some in fear, most in worry and disbelief. He watched as they surrounded the fallen blood-stained colt and took him to the health room. Charlie followed close, not leaving Alpha's side. He shoved ponies and changelings out of his way that would deny him being beside Alpha otherwise.

They placed Alpha on a stretcher, and pushed him through a pair of olive green rock doors. Charlie was about to follow inside the room when a Doctor turned around, placed his hoof on Charlie's shoulder and shook his head. "Only essential personnel are allowed in right now. You will have to wait like every-pony else."

"How about you let me do the healing? I know his anatomy, his weak and strong parts, his will to live and I have his trust." Beta said from within the room. I don't know about you, but we don't like doctors for a reason.

The doctor who told Charlie that he could not enter turned around, giving Charlie the chance to shove him away and enter the room. He froze as he saw Alpha standing up, his eyes, mane and tail red. The doctors backed up on the wall

"Beta." Delta whispered

"I noticed." Charlie replied.

Beta turned around and saw Charlie. He smiled then frowned. "Come here."

Charlie cautiously walked to the stretcher on which Beta was standing on.

"Alpha and I have recently found out that those with two souls living in one body develop a sort of bond. As the two get to know each other, trust and help each other, the bond grows."

"Why are you telling us this?" Delta asked.

"Because one day, you will be able to do this." He closed his eyes and began to grind his teeth. Beta extended his left wing.

Charlie, Delta and the other doctors watched as the wing began to move, the bone straightened, reconnected, and resealed itself. Charlie physically flinched as he heard each bone pop back into place, each crack refilled, each bone straightened and back into its original place. They all watched as his legs did repaired and healed itself. Beta opened his eyes and looked at Charlie. His eyes were half open.

"What's wrong?"

"Tired, healing oneself with magic like that takes a lot of energy." Beta said before smiling then falling onto the stretcher, unconscious again.

Charlie smiled and was about to walk away when Alpha began to take deep breaths. Charlie watched as his friend slowed his breathing to a breath each 5 seconds,

"He probably just fell asleep."

"Yeah. I wanna check something."

Charlie made his way around the stretcher as the doctors began to walk out of the room, giving Alpha some time in peace. He was about to turn the corner when he heard a CLANK! Charlie looked down, raising his hoof as he noticed Alpha's Metallic wing on the ground, his hoof right above it. He held his breath and his eyes followed the outline of the wing, looking for it connecting to Alpha's wing. Charlie let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't connected.

"Looks like it fell off when Beta fell down."

"It looks all disfigured."

"Considering the state he is in and that his wing is all disfigured like that, he was probably fighting somepony very powerful in magic."

Charlie stopped to think who was powerful enough to do this amount of damage to Alpha's wing.

"I can give you three guesses to who Alpha fought. Here's a hint: Beta and I fought her, during different periods of time, of course."

Charlie's jaw dropped as he realized who it was. "Celestia?!"

The forest, usually dark in the day, was alive with sound and movement as the nocturnal creatures within came to life. Three ponies walked through the EverFree forest, with one Alicorn guiding them through it.

"Come, this way." Luna said as she escorted AppleJack, Fluttershy, and Rarity through the EverFree Forest, shadows casting onto the ground from the bright light of the Moon. They stepped past the trees and bushes, went through vines and thorns, and flew across ravines and canyons. They were now in another forest when Rarity decided to break the silence.

"Pardon me, Princess." Rarity began.

"Don't call me Princess, my name is Luna." Luna interrupted.

"I apologize, Luna." Rarity corrected herself.

Luna gave a groan and turned around, facing the three ponies. "Listen, I am not with my sister any longer. I am no longer part of her and therefore no longer considered royal. Talk to me as if I were a common pony."

"Ok…then," Rarity continued as Luna turned around and started walking. "Where the hell are you taking us? And why in the middle of night?"

"To the Castle of the Two Sisters."

"Why?"

Luna was about to reply when she cut herself off. She bit her lip as she kept walking to the castle, thinking of how to explain. "Have you three ever heard of the Legend of the Rainbow Factory?"

"The what?" AJ asked, confused.

"The Legend of The Rainbow Factory." Luna repeated as she looked behind her at AJ. "Most Pegasi like your friends Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy here has heard of the Legend."

"I always hated this story. It always reminded me of that place." Fluttershy muttered softly. She visibly shook as she thought about the factory.

"Well, go on, let's hear it." AJ said, wanting to hear the legend.

The group arrived at the Castle. Before entering giant oak wooden doors, Luna stopped and turned around, looking at the three.

"The Legend of the Rainbow Factory came to be about 500 years ago. When Pegasi are old enough, they take a Flying test. If they pass, they get to continue their schooling and go out into the world." Luna explained to the ponies. "This test started 500 years ago. However, when a pegasi would fail this test, they would disappear."

"Where would they go?" AJ pondered aloud.

"The Legend of the Factory was supposedly to be myth. Those who fail the test go to a facility called The Rainbow Factory, in which they are slowly tortured, killed, and then drained of their blood. They use the blood to create Rainbows, like those seen in Rainbow Falls."

"Wait, What!?" The AJ and Rarity exclaimed. Fluttershy slowly nodded.

"My mother would tell me it when I was a filly. She said it was just an old mare's tail used to scare colts and fillies into getting good grades." Fluttershy explained.

"Why are we here then?!" Rarity asked.

The doors to the castle opened. Light shined out of the castle, casting shadows behind them. Three figures behind Luna began to walk forward. The shadows stood beside Luna. They didn't look like ponies. They almost looked like dogs. Two stood on Luna's left while the other one stood on her right. The one on her right looked big chested. The two on her left were skinny.

"Because," The shadow on Luna's right spoke with a deep voice. "Ms. Rarity, this legend is true." The big chested one held out what seemed to be a unlit torch and, with a strike of a match on the ground, the shadow lit the torch and held it out, the light revealing themselves.

"By the way," Rover said with a friendly smile. "It's nice to see you again."

Rarity, AppleJack, and Fluttershy both looked at Luna at the same time, their jaw extended. "What do they mean?" Rarity asked, snapping herself out of shock.

Luna leaned forward. "All that my sister has told you is a lie. The Legend of the Rainbow Factory is true, and I have personally seen it and been there. Recently, in fact."

Rarity groaned. "I hate dogs."

"That isn't very nice to say." Rover replied.

"Bite me." She said, annoyed.

Rover leaned foward and opened his mouth, preparing to bite her.

"What are you doing?" Rarity asked, watching Rover lean close.

He froze and raised his eyes. "I was about to bite you."

"WHY?!"

"Because you told me to."

"It's a saying, you mutt." She sighed as she face-hoofed herself.

He stood back on his hind legs and relaxed. "Then don't tell us to do something that you don't want us to do and don't call us names. It's immature and impolite. We have feelings you-"

"SHUT UP!" Rarity screamed. "I don't care."

Rover looked at Fido who was looking at Rarity, slowly swaying his head left to right. "Ponies..." He said in disagreement. "And she was a fasion designer AND the element of Generosity?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Part 2: Chapter 5: Nova

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Part 2: Chapter 5: Nova

The door opened with a creak then was slammed shut as he kicked it with his back hoof. The brown skinned mutant stood on the welcome mat, soaked from the rain. His backpack slid off of his back and felt to the ground with a wet thud, and slowly decompressed as the air within dispersed.

“Sweetie, is that you? You are quite late.” A mare’s voice said from within the cottage.

Beta sighed and dried the water off his body with a new spell he taught himself last night from one of the book he “borrowed” from Celestia’s library. He tasted blood in his mouth, and felt the missing molar in the back of his mouth. “I hate school.” He muttered. He looked at his backpack. “Yeah, it’s me.”

Alpha braced himself for the nightmare. He stood in complete blackness. He knew he wasn’t there physically, but he was there mentally. Whatever he thought of, he would see; a picture of Beta; his home, the factory, his cell, anything or any pony. He both loathed and loved the place. It was just himself, alone, without Beta. He lied on the ground, and thought about his life.

The thought of his parents filled his mind, and in turn, the black room he was in filled with light and sounds. He heard birds chirping, the wind blowing across the grass, the trees ever so slightly swaying in the wind. Bright lights of green and blue filled his vision. He stood up and saw the grass beneath his hooves, its smooth texture brushing over his skin, his skin feeling itchy in reply. He felt the wind across his face, the warm air cooling the sweat on his forehead, his mane dancing about in the wind. The white colt took a breath in and smelled the wet, fresh dirt beneath the grass. He could smell the scent of fresh air, cool and free of sweat or humidity, dry.

He heard a mare’s voice call his name. “Alpha? Sweetie, where are you?”

He felt cheery and wanted. His breath became short. It was hard to breath for a second. He looked over himself. What could have made this feeling I feel? He wondered. He was short of breath but at the same time, relaxed. A rare smile pierced his mouth and he turned around, looking for the source of the voice and felt his heart skip a beat.

In front of him stood his parents, both frantically looking for him. His mother had a whitish-tan skin, brown eyes, mane and tail. She was round faced and had a set of pale red lips that curled upwards, forming a smile. Her mane covered the base of her ears, those of which were pointing upwards like every other pony’s ears Alpha has seen, and ended at the tip of her shoulders.

Alpha grinned. He always thought her hair was too long.

His father agreed. “Lina,” He said as he looked at her with a thick up-northern accent. “You really need to cut your hair.”

“Why Jonny,” said Alpha’s mother with a Hispanic accent. “What’s wrong?” She asked as she glanced at him.

His mane was brownish-black and short, not even going down to the back of his neck. He had rectangular-shaped glasses, hazel eyes, and white skin. Johnny, although shaved, still had the outlines of the beard on his cheeks. He had a scar on his left eyelid from what he claimed was a “Rubber-Band” incident, and a slight limp which came from his front right leg from a sport accident that occurred when he was a teenage colt. The smile on his face left as he remembered his friend, Beta.

The room changed. It was now black like before but a pony was standing in front of Alpha. His skin was brown, his mane, tail and eyes blood-red. He looked at Alpha, his lips in the form of an upside-down grin. He blinked then began to walk around Alpha.

He liked Beta. A friend that he has always known, always been with since he could remember; helping him when he was hurt, guiding him when he was lost.

As long as Alpha could remember, Beta was usually secretive, but very protective. The room became alive, the wall that Alpha was facing lit up, like a screen at a Cinema. Alpha sat down and watched, Beta still walking around him. He watched the screen as he saw Beta come out and attack others that were hurting him. Alpha watched in awe, fear, and a bit of respect as he watched how Beta was always there for him; either by healing his broken bones, helping him create his metallic wing, destroying and escaping the factory, protecting him when faced with death, and easing him when he had nightmares.

The screen went dark and disappeared, leaving Alpha with Beta. he watched Beta as he spoke.

“Will you do the same as he has done for you? Will you help him when he is hurt and lost? When he is injured, forgotten, ignored, attacked, isolated, hated, and destroyed?” His voice, however, wasn’t Beta’s but was a voice like no other. It filled the room with a sense of maturity and immaturity. It felt like it was a teacher but sounded like it was a pupil. It echoed as if it was in a long tunnel but was heard as if it was spoken directly into his ears.. Alpha felt wanted and hated at the same time.

Alpha stood up and shifted his stance as the voice spoke through Beta.

“He has been there for you when you were in the factory. He has saved you from death numerous times. He has fought Celestia, Nightmare Moon, and Gamma for you. Will you do the same for him? Will you be willing to give your life for him, as he has done countless times for you?”

Alpha stood there, watching Beta. He looked down and away.

“Shame. After all he has done for you, you won’t-”

The Voice was interrupted as Alpha hugged Beta, his two hooves wrapped around his neck. “You are my friend.” He said as he stopped hugging and stood back on his four legs. “The one and only friend I have had for as long as I could remember. I would do anything to help him, as he would do anything to help me.”

“Good, Now get some rest. You won’t be having anymore nightmares.” The pony replied before turning around and walking away.

Alpha did as he was instructed and lied down on the ground. But before he fell asleep, he had to know one last thing. “Who are you? I know you aren’t Beta, His voice is different from yours. How are you here?”

The voice sighed, stopped moving, turned around and looked down at Alpha.

“I was a pony from a long time before Celestia and Luna ever set hoof on this place. I was here before Discord was here. I was one of the leaders of the clans that untied with the others to form Equestria. As such, I have a mental link to all types of ponies, pegasi, unicorn, Alicorn, changelings, mutant, and normal alike.” The voice said as Beta’s body became the voice’s. His skin slowly turned from brown to pitch black. His mane and tail were dark blue and his eyes where glowing white. He seemed to have no pupil in his eyes. All that Alpha could see were two glowing-white ovals. “I am Nova.” Nova replied before walking away and disappearing.

Alpha nodded, but instead of resting, he stood back up and looked around. He slowly sighed as he braced himself.

“Just one last memory to take care of...”

He saw the light of his own welding torch, and watched as his younger self was punished.

“He fought against Celestia?!” Charlie cried out, in shock.

“Keep your voice down. Yes, Alpha and Beta fought Celestia.”

“Who won?” his voice lowered.

“Neither.”

“How do you know all this? You were with me, talking to me when he left.”

Delta sighed. “I fought Celestia before, you know that.”

“Yeah so?”

“Over time, one begins to notice the remains of a battle, especially if that battle was against a very powerful being.”

“Like what?”

“His metallic wing is damaged, for example. It takes a lot of energy, power, and force to do such damage to a metal like that.”

“So?”

“So…The only enemy of Alpha’s that is capable of doing such is Celestia. Luna and Chrysalis is with us.”

“What about Zeta?”

“What about her?”

“Could she do this?”

“Gamma, my sister, is the magical one, Zeta is just the physical form. And no, Gamma does not have enough power to do such damage. Not yet at least.”

“Not yet? What do you mean?”

“Gamma was my sister. As such, she too was a mutant but unlike Beta, I, and the rest of the mutants, she could hide hers. She trained her ability at night, and was a horrible pony at day. She would not only bully mutants, but would attack them with her own ability when they were alone.”

“How does that answer my question?”
Charlie felt Delta withdraw, as if he was depressed.
“What’s wrong?”

“Just like you are, I too am filled with depression.”

“How so?”

“You are depressed because you hate yourself. You parent’s adopted you when you were young and you felt like that meant you were worth nothing.”

“What did you go through?”

“I had to watch my own sister be tortured, mutilated, and killed before my eyes. I had to hear her screams, her pleads for mercy, her agonizing yells as Beta tortured her in revenge.”

“So?”

“I helped Beta by leading him to her death. I agreed and helped Beta kill my sister. And I have been hating myself for it ever since.” He took a deep breath. “Let me take over, I wanna show you something.”

Charlie closed his eyes and found himself in one of Delta’s memories. Specifically, the day before he bonded with Charlie.

Part 2: Chapter 6: You have been out for 48 hours

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Part 2: Chapter 6: “You have been out for 48 hours.”

The white colt groaned as he woke up. Although he was well rested, which was a first in 5 or 6 years, he was still tired, which wasn’t a first and it won’t be the last. His eyes slowly opened, the dry, crusted tears cracking as the eyes opened. He wiped away the dried tears with a hoof and slowly pushed himself up off the metallic table. He looked around to get his bearings and noticed that his wing was on the ground. Without getting off the table, the colt with the missing right wing reached down and grabbed his metallic limb then slipped it on the destroyed limb that used to be a right wing years ago. He took a deep breath as he felt the magnetic metallic bones in his limb expand inside the wing, connecting him to the wing.

“You know, you really shouldn’t be moving, considering what happened to you.” Said a voice.

Alpha looked up to see Charlie leaning on the swing-open door, the light from the hallway spilling into the dark room. He could see Delta’s blue glowing eye. Although the light behind Charlie created a shadow effect in which most couldn’t see his face, Alpha’s eyes, enhanced by Beta presence and by his time in the RF, could just make out a rare-smile on Charlie’s face.
“Yeah, I know.” Alpha replied as he struggled to get off the table. He pushed himself off the table and fell to the dried blood-covered floor with a thud. He growled as he stood up and slowly made his way to Charlie. “Never mind me, how are you doing?” He stooped low and picked up his fallen welding torch.

Charlie took a step back, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. “I’m fine, why?”

Alpha tilted his head to the side at a 10 degree angle and his mouth turned into an emotionless frown. He looked up and down at Charlie, checking him over.

“Alpha…” Charlie replied unsteadily. “What’s wrong?”

Alpha stopped and looked at Charlie. “I know something is wrong. What is it?”

“What do you mean?” Charlie replied with a nervous chuckle.

Alpha lifted his right front hoof and placed it on Charlie’s shoulder. “I know something’s up.”

Charlie sighed. “Alright, you caught me.” He admitted. “I’ve been depressed for a while.”

“May I ask why?”

“Do you really need to ask that? Are you blind?” Charlie asked, annoyed. “I have a shitty personality, my original parents didn’t want me so they adopted me, I ran away from my adopted parents’ home, and I'm the reason you went to the factory and fought Celestia!” He shrugged off Alpha’s hoof. “And I’m gay.”

Alpha cocked his head back. “Gay?”

“Yes, gay.”

“Sorry for asking this, but what is gay?”

Charlie sighed violently.

“Gay means being attracted to the same gender.” Beta answered.

“How is that bad?” Alpha asked.

“What do ya mean 'How'?” Charlie replied, shocked that Alpha didn’t know.

“Why is it bad being gay?”

“Because it’s against the social laws of Equestria; one cannot love the same gender, only opposite genders.”

Alpha chuckled. “You are aware that I was in the factory for 5 years, right?”

Charlie nodded.

“That means that I have no clue on what happens in society. Are you also aware that I break laws?”

Charlie continued to nod.

“Are you also aware that I am gay as well?”

Charlie froze. “What?! No you aren’t.”

“I can remember not being attracted to the mares in the facility that the other colts were talking about. Never really found them interesting. Character wise I did, but sexually? Never.”

“Yeah so?”

“Four years ago, I broke into the Rainbow Factory to save Scootaloo as she was taken there. While the colts and mares broke free and escaped, I decided to check the cells one last time to see if any pony was left behind.” Alpha explained. “At the last of the cells was a cell that had its door reattached. Curious, Beta and I decided to open it. Do you know what we found inside?”

Charlie’s eyes widened as he realized what Alpha was explaining.

“I found a colt inside. He had tan-colored skin, brown-turning-cherry-red mane and tail. I thought he was just another colt when I saw his eye change color for a split second.” Alpha smiled as he leaned close to Charlie.

“Alpha….What are you doing?” Charlie said nervously.
Alpha smiled then winked at him before walking past him. “Nuthing.” He said in a joking tone.

“Hey wait up!”

“What time is it?” Alpha asked over his shoulder.

“3 o’clock at night.” Charlie responded as he rubbed his eyes.

“How long have I been out?”

Charlie was silent as he counted the number of hours.

“Charlie?”

“About 48 hours, two days.”

Alpha was silent for a full heartbeat. “Well, I needed it.” He turned around the corner.

Charlie turned the corner and froze, staring at Alpha. “What are you doing?”

Alpha was flying upside-down. “Just screwing around.”

“Why?”

“I never really got the chance to joke around.” He said as he continued to flip forward.

“Oh.” Charlie replied, somewhat embarrassed at the fact of how Alpha was acting. “Why are you acting so strange?”

Alpha was now upside-down on the ceiling and walking forward, his wings flapping as they tried to keep him glued to the ceiling. “What do you mean?” He looked up at Charlie, who was in turn looking up at him.

“Are you looking up or down?” Charlie said, distracted at his friend walking on the ceiling.

“I’m currently looking up.”

“If you were looking up, you would be looking at the ceiling.”

Alpha smiled. “I am confusing you. Although you see me as upside-down, I am right side-up in my view.”

“You are seriously not acting like yourself right now.”

Alpha frowned as he righted himself to the floor and landed, facing Charlie. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Well, you are usually more serious.”

Alpha’s wings extended automatically. He became very self-conscious for a few seconds, his eyes wide, and his frown gone.
“Why does that happen?” Charlie asked, confused.

Alpha’s face reddened. “No…Reason…” Alpha said slowly. His wings lowered. He turned around and headed for the main hall.

“Where are you going?”

“Come on, I wanna show you something.”

“What is it?”

Alpha stopped and grinned. “The Heart of Equestria.”

Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter

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Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter

Luna landed in the center of the empty room and looked up at the stream of magic flying up from the large crack in the center. She saw something move behind her and turned around to find a shadow. Her eyes followed to the shadow to its origin to find two ponies, specifically pegasi, lying side by side, facing the stream of magic. Luna smiled as she slowly made
her way to the ponies, making sure not to disturb the two colts.

The white colt on the right had his metallic wing wrapped around the younger, sun-burnt colt on the left. His mane and tail were multiple shades of dark blue, while the other’s was brown-turning-cherry red. The youngest colt couldn’t be older than 15 and had a bluish blanket over him.

Luna now stood in front of the sleeping colts, and grinned. Apart from the skin and mane/tail color, one could mistake them as brothers.

“So cute…” Luna whispered to herself.

“I will agree with you there.” Replied the oldest colt, raising his head in response. He slowly opened his eyes to reveal one brown eye and one red eye.

“You’re awake.” She said, surprised.

“I am.” He said with a smile. “How are you?”

“I’m fine.” Luna said. Her grin was not from laughter, but from relief. “So, what happened?”

“Nothing ‘special’, if that’s what you are asking. Alpha knew Carlie and Delta were having trouble sleeping so we brought them here. After a brief conversation about depression, Charlie slowly lowered himself down onto the ground and fell asleep. Alpha decided to accompany him, just in case he had another nightmare. I decided to stay awake if Celestia decided to come back here and heal herself.”

Luna’s grin slowly subsided.

“What’s wrong?”

She sighed, then shook her head, as if pushing a thought aside. “Just thinking.”

“About?” Beta asked, curious.

Luna noticed her shadows was covering the two sleeping colts, and walked to Beta’s side before sitting down next to him. Her back was straight as an arrow, not hunched over like he would sit. Her wings folded neatly at her side. “Are you aware of your reputation?”

Beta rubbed his eyes and shook his head. “I never really cared about it.”

“After you died, Celestia scapegoated you, she blamed everything on you. All the deaths, all the destruction and chaos, and even made you the reason why I did what I did.”

“That’s not surprising.”

“You became a…” Luna pondered about the word. “Legend.”

Beta chuckled in amusement. “The Legend of Beta.”

“You know about it?”

“I heard other ponies talking about it when I was with Alpha in the factory while gathering the materials to create his wing. At first I ignored it, but then my curiosity grew.”

“And?”

“It’s typical propaganda bullshit. ‘Blame the colt, everything goes back to normal.’” Beta took a deep breath.

“You okay?” Luna asked, worried. Technically, she was currently talking to THE rouge mutant that tried to kill her sister long ago. According to legend, Beta was supposedly a bully that went insane on power and his sick sense of entertainment and humor got the best of him. And because of such, he went on a rampage, killing and torturing all for entertainment and boredom. But because she now knew the truth, she grew to like Beta, even respect him.

Beta chucked nervously, or was it sarcastically? “What do you think? I’m a 917 year old colt, stuck in a 17 year old colt’s body, whose goal is to gain revenge on my former enemy, who is still alive. And I have begun to realize that neither I nor Alpha have begun to imagine to grasp the idea of why she did so. I, personally, know that Celestia tortured Alpha just for entertainment values and because she could, but I have neither the heart (as if I had one) nor the courage to tell him that. But because I haven’t told him so, I feel like he is aiming not just for his goal, but mine as well.”

“I see…”

“Do you? When I was alive, I was sent to multiple phycologists and therapists in an attempt to rid my anger. Every time I went there, I was told the exact same thing: ‘I understand’ or ‘I was there’ or ‘I know how you feel’. Each sentence, each attempt to make me feel wanted or liked did the opposite, it fed the flames; it gave the fire fresh oxygen. How could they? I was a mutant, I was different. I was told from the first day in school that ‘You are Special, different.’ And because they said that I was special, I was treated differently, treated horribly. I had a disorder, even before I learned I was a mutant. I had no friends. The legend based off me says that I had friends, I never did, never had. I was alone. Always alone. I was used to being teased, being abused and bullied, beat up and put down-” Beta stopped as he remembered his dark days.
“I was hated for what I was because of that bullshit excuse of a Princess your sister is. The lies she said, the hatred she created, the horror she made, the dis-harmony she brought. You and her fought Discord together. Are you even aware of what Discord was actually doing?”

Luna stood up, amazed and shocked.

“How about Tirek? The EverFree Forest?” Beta took over Alpha’s body, standing up. His metallic wing slowly left Charlie, as he walked towards Luna, who was now backing up, in what seemed like fear, or the unwillingness to hear the truth. “Your sister says she brought harmony back to this world, when she has done the complete opposite. Change is a part of life, I know, I fully understand and agree with it. But when Change crosses the line, what do you do? You blame it on those that you do not fully understand. You take control of those who are not aware of what they are doing wrong, and you tell them the rules which totally go against those you grew up with.”
1. Do not lie.
2. Do not kill.
3. Do not steal.
4. Do not hate anypony.
5. Accept all for who they are.
6. Perfection is not part of our life, do not try and grasp it for you will not come close to it.’
“The laws and rules that Discord himself gave our ancestors before you and Celestia decided to take over. Instead you took over control and changed the rules.”
1. Do not lie if your life does not depend on it.
2. Do not kill, unless in self-defense.
3. Do not steal, unless you have been robbed.
4. Do not hate anypony, unless your friends give reason to hate them.
5. Accept all for what they look like, not who they are.
6. Perfection is the goal of life, reach for it like you reached for the stars when you were young.

Luna looked around as she realized the truth. She turned her attention to Beta, who had begun to sway his head left and right, as a snake does when it is hypnotized by a snake charmer.

“Yes, I did kill. Was it for fun? I was in the amidst of anger, OF RAGE! Did I laugh? Beta paused. “I did. I laughed a lot. I laughed because I realized the truth. Because I found out it wasn’t my fault that I was like this.” Beta started to grin. “That I was born a mutant, and I could be proud of what I could do, not be ashamed. Your stupid sister didn’t agree. She sent guard after guard after me. With each guard came another death, another eight year old colt, hysterically laughing in the bloody remains of the guards that tried to stop him.” Beta stopped grinning and went back to Charlie’s side, placing his metallic wing across him. “There’s a space between the truth and lie, where sanity isn’t what it seems, and reality is nightmare of a dream.” He lowered his head, as if to sleep then raised it and looked back at Luna. “I apologize. Just it’s just that when I think of Celestia or talk about her, all I remember is her flaws.”

“I was aware that you did not like her, but not to this extent.”

Beta was silent for a couple of minutes as he watched the stream of fire and magic in the center of the room rain upwards, splashing on the ceiling before being absorbed by the mountain. He looked down at Charlie, who had snuggled closer to him, practically using his metallic wing as a blanket. Beta smiled in amusement before looking back at Luna.

“I am not used to this. For a while after I bonded with Alpha, I wasn’t used to having a friend, let alone being near anyone. Much to Alpha’s annoyance, I was quiet for the first three to four months. Only talking when necessary, but I would take over instantly without him letting me if I thought he would be in danger. Mostly, it would be a false alarm, but when it wasn't, I’d not let the attacker any respite, not pain, just an instant death.” He had a troubled look on his face, as if he was trying to solve a complicated algebraic problem. His eyebrows squished together ever so slightly, just creating a small frozen ripple in between. “Just a question, if I may.” He said as he turned back at Charlie.

“Yes?” Luna said, no longer cautious, but listening intently, as if to hear a cryptic message.

“What will happen when we die?”

Luna was taken by surprise by this question. “You died before, you should know the answer.”

Beta chuckled and smiled. “Not like that. What will happen to you if Alpha and I are killed? Both of us noticed that the only reason that most ponies stay at the mountain is because of us. Not because we escaped, but because we returned to help others escape.”

Luna fell silent for a moment as she turned and looked up at the magic raining upwards towards ceiling. “We are all here because of you. Most in the mountain are alive because of what you and Alpha have done and what you two will do in the future.” She looked directly at Beta, who was looking at her too. “You and Alpha are Special. Not in the educational sense but the…reality sense.”

Beta tilted his head in confusion. “How so?”

“I am Luna, otherwise known as Nightmare Moon. I travel into the dreams of all ponies; mutants, changelings and normal alike. And in almost every dream I have seen, most are about what the dreamer wants; a toy train, a party with friends, good grades at school, graduation, marriage, finding true love, living the life of excitement. With every dream I enter, I have to push away the nightmare from entering. Sometimes I let it enter, giving the dreamer a lesson they need to learn or experience. But Alpha’s and your dreams are different. Instead of wanting a toy train or getting good grades, both of you dream of the same thing.” She paused.

“Of what do we dream?”

“You dream of nightmares, but unlike how others cower from it, you and Alpha stand against it, determined to see it though. You two face your problems, determined to find the solution. You may have thought that you were a freak, that you were screwing up the society when you were young and alive.” She laughed quietly at Beta’s view.

“What’s so funny?”

“Go to sleep. I’ll personally show you.”

Beta nodded then lowered his head before slowly nodding off. Luna smiled as she watched her young friend nod off, then, once he was asleep, took a deep breath before introducing him to Nova.

“Anything I should know before I talk to him, sweetie?” Nova said, appearing beside Luna, semi-transparent.

Luna smiled. “Go easy on him, Father. He has had a rough life.”

“I know.” Nova looked down at Alpha and Charlie, both snuggled together, deep asleep. “I will admit they do look cute like that. Two mutants, each with another mutant within, the chance that this happened is astronomical. What is more impressing is that the two who have not discovered their ability are in love with each other.” Nova nodded in respect and acceptance. “Nebula would be impressed.” Nova said as he slowly disappeared, entering Beta’s mind.

Chapter 28: An Old Tool

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Part 2: Chapter 8: An old tool

Alpha stirred before waking up and looked around. He was in Charlie’s room. He felt something nudge him on his left, and when he looked down, he smiled. Beside him slept Charlie, who had moved around a bit when Alpha woke up.

“Nova must’ve teleported us here when I went back to sleep.” Beta whispered.

“You’re awake.” Alpha replied groggily. “Sleep well?”

“I didn’t sleep as I was pretty much talking to Nova the whole night.”

“About what?”

“Mostly on life before Celestia. Quite interesting. Found out that Nova is Celestia’s and Luna’s Father and that Nova was pro-mutant.”

“Meaning?” Alpha replied, still half asleep.

“Meaning he supported mutants, he wasn't against them.”

Alpha yawned and stretched before pushing himself off of the bed and walked to the door. He opened the door so he could barely get through before closing it behind him, trying to not wake up Charlie. Alpha walked to his bedroom, took off his brace and stretched his limb. Although he loved the replacement, his original wing needed to be free of it once in a while. Almost wingless, Alpha made his way to his nightstand and picked up his old welding torch before leaving the room for the Metal-Work room.

“What are you going to do?”

“I want to modify my old torch so I can use it to repair my wing and/or use it as an improvised weapon, seeing how much it damaged Celestia.”

“Right.” Beta replied as the two made their way into the Metal-Work room. “The torch cannot get to the right temperature to modify the Dragon Metal, let alone bend it. It took us three years, and the hottest furnace in the factory to create the metal.”

“I know. I was wondering if your magic could help with that.” Alpha entered the room and found an empty work bench. He placed the torch on the table then walked to the side to grab a Heat-mask, gloves for hoofs and his left wing, and some tools.

“How so?”

Alpha walked back to his welding torch, dragging a chair behind him before sitting on the chair and reaching for his tool. “Currently, this welding torch uses a type of propane.”

“Propane will not burn hot enough, neither will hydrogen nor any other gas/liquid.”

“I understand that. Which is why I want to know if there is a spell that creates fire.”

“There is, and I use it to light the torches in the morning here.”

“What is it called?”

“I have no idea.”

Alpha blinked in amazement and confusion. “How can you use the spell if you don’t know the name of it?”

“Old-magic, like the type I use, is much more powerful than magic that is normally used now-days. Because it is so powerful, to learn an Old-Magic spell, you do not say a specific phrase. Instead you think of the effect of the spell. For example if I see an unlit torch, instead of saying a phrase to light it, I just imagine the torch aflame. If it’s offense Old-Magic, I think of the color of the bolt/beam. If its teleportation, I concentrate on where I want to go, imagining the place in my mind as if I was already there.”

“That easy?!” Alpha said in disbelief.

“It’s harder than it sounds.”

“I bet. Could you create a Bolt of fire that can be used like a gas?”

“What are you trying to do?”

“I want to use a bolt of fire as a substitute of propane or hydrogen. If I can do it right, I should be able to control how hot the flame is.”

“It is possible, but it’s incredibly hard.”

Alpha reached for the torch and begun to take it apart. The welding torch was a brace that was worn on either the right or left front hoof. Straps on the brace secured it to the leg as the nozzle ended at the tip of end of the hoof. The hose for the nozzle ended halfway up the brace and connected with a rectangular tank that would be filled with propane or hydrogen. Alpha, with the help of Beta, carefully unscrewed the tank that held the fuel and put it aside. Alpha watched as a bolt of fire appeared at the end of the hose and slowly entered the hose.

“We need something to seal the end from flaring out both sides and harming your chest.”

Alpha looked around then looked down at the fuel tank. He grabbed it then grabbed a hammer and nail before moving to another bench. He placed the fuel tank down then placed a nail on the tank’s opening.

“What are you doing?”

Alpha reached for the hammer, grabbed it, then raised it above his head. “Fire in the hole!” He screamed as he brought down the hammer onto the nail, which punctured the propane fuel tank. The tank violently hissed as the gasses within escaped through the nail-sized hole. Eventually the hissing stopped and Alpha recovered from under the table and looked at the empty fuel tank.

“You are such a scaredy-cat.”

“I’m sorry, but which one of us is still alive?” Alpha snapped back.

Beta fell silent. He picked up the empty tank and walked back to his bench and placed it at the end of the hose. “Can you fill the tank up with the bolt of flame?”

Beta didn’t respond.

“Beta?”

No response, everything was silent.

“Beta, what’s wrong?”

“I’m dead.”

Alpha slowly nodded.

Beta sighed. “Sorry, it’s just…it’s hard to explain.”

Alpha spun around in his chair. “How so?”

“It’s just that… I know I am dead, that I am not living anymore. I have known that for a very long time and yet just realizing that I am dead…it’s like a wave of depression.”

Alpha stopped spinning around in his chair and nodded. “Well, technically you are still alive through me.”

“How so?”

“You talk, watch, learn, breath, sleep, eat, laugh, play, work, fight, teach, help, and save others to name just a few.”

“Yes, but that’s because I bonded with you. You are doing that, I just control the amount of pain you can endure.”

“Yes, but you control. And when you control, it’s YOU who do things, my body just does what it is told. You are as much as alive as any other pony right now.”

Beta nodded as he tried to accept the fact that although he was dead, he was still alive.

“No offense, can we get back to work?”

“Sure,” Beta said, still slightly depressed but none the less relieved after being proved wrong for once. The tank started to glow slightly red as the flame within heated up the metal. Alpha quickly sealed the tank onto the hose and watched as the nozzle came alive with fire.

“So far so good…” He twisted the gas valve clockwise and watched as both the tank and the nozzle slowly returned to its black color. With another twist, this time counter-clockwise, the valve opened and the nozzle came back to life. “Right…” Alpha turned the welding torch off before carefully strapping on the torch to his right front leg, the glove still on in case of burns. It fit perfectly.

“Take off the glove, Magic Fire cools down quite fast.”

Hesitantly but trusting Beta, Alpha did as he was instructed and removed the torch and the glove then strapping the torch on again without the glove. As Beta said, the metal was cold. Alpha carefully turned on the torch before shutting it off quickly as the metal began to burn.

“Sorry ‘bout that, didn’t realize it would heat up so quickly.”

Alpha rubbed his leg as the pain subsided, leaving only a red spot where the burn was. “Is there a way to gain resistance to fire?”

“Yeah, but it’s extremely rare and hard to gain.”

“How do you get it?”

“You don’t get it, you gain it. Resistance to fire is a skill, not some potion you can buy and drink. It is gained by being taught by the only living creature known to be fire resistant and create fire on its own without the need of magic or another source of flame.”

“Which would be…?”

“A dragon.”

“Where are the nearest dragons? Wait, dragons actually exist?!”

“They exist, yes.” Luna said as she walked into the room. “They are very aggressive, which is why learning Fire Resistance is nearly impossible. The closest near here is still in his teenage years, about 15 years old. His name is Spike, and he is a VERY close friend of Princess-”

“Twilight Sparkle, one of the 5 elements of Harmony, specifically Magic. Defeated Tirek after you, your sister, and Princess Candance transferred your magic into her, also defeated Discord and countless others. I am aware of Sparkle.” Beta interrupted. “Last time we saw her was in the hospital the night Alpha met Charlie. She claimed to be on another assignment from Celestia, studying the pony brain.” Beta frowned. “I always hated therapists and phycologists.”

“Where does he live?” Alpha asked.

“He currently lives in Twilight’s castle.” Luna replied.

“Then that’s where we are headed.”

CHARACTER BIBLE

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YAY! 60,000 words!

CHARACTER BIBLE (From the Prologue to Part 2 Chapter 5)

Alpha:

Alpha is the first of the four main Characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. As a colt at age 5, Alpha’s parents abandoned him at a park in Ponyville. At age 8, Alpha was caught stealing food and sent to the Rainbow Factory. Instead of being killed, Alpha was given a job. He was to repair any metal parts of the machine that were broken. 3 years into the job, Alpha, age 11, saved a mare that was playing around with his welding torch by tackling her, which in turn badly scarred his face. A week later, Alpha was punished for saving the mare. All punishments go by death, but for Alpha, he was tortured, having his wing burnt off with his own welding torch. He passed out before the wing came off, but once it did, he met Beta. After another 2 years at the factory, Beta helped Alpha create his own wing and escape the factory. Alpha would, in the future, return to the factory to destroy and rescue other prisoners but would continue to search for the reason why he was tortured instead of being put to death for saving a mare.

Mane/Tail Color (starting on the right): Midnight Blue, Galaxy Blue, Dark Blue, Navy Blue, Blue
Eye Color: Brown
Skin color: White
Pony-Type: Pegasi

Beta:

Beta is the second of the four main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. 900 years before the Twilight Sparkle was born, 100 years after Nightmare moon, Beta was alive. Born an Earth pony- mutant, Beta never realized his ability until the age of eight while watching Celestia raise the moon. Those who don’t know Beta personally think of him as a Legend gone wrong. A dark mutant, worse than Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Chrysalis, and Tirek combined. Celestia uses Beta as a scapegoat, blaming anything dark on his name. Beta is historically known as the mutant who, 900 years ago, went insane and decimated almost all of the population on Equestria before going after Celestia herself and battling against her for three days as she used the Elements of Harmony against him. He even created his own Metallic armor, The Dragon Metal, a type of metal created by combining Steel with Dark Magic, which gave him the ability to create his own wings.
Historians consider Beta as the most powerful being known to Ponies. Probably more powerful than Him.
Yeah, that type of dark.

BEFORE DEATH (900 YEARS AGO)
Mane/Tail Color (starting on the right): Brownish-Red, Dark Maroon, Dark Blood Red, Blood-Red, Red, Bright Red.
Eye Color: Blood Red
Skin Color: Brown
Pony-Type: Mutant/Earth Pony

AFTER DEATH (MODERN)
Mane Color: Same
Eye Color: Blood Red (Right eye only)
Skin Color: White
Pony-Type: UNKNOWN

Charlie:

Charlie is the third of the four main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. There isn’t a lot on Charlie’s history. What is known is that he has depression and met Delta a while back. He is considered one of Alpha’s closest friends, the closest being Beta. Charlie met Alpha in Chapter 16 while Alpha was looking in the cells one last time before leaving the factory for any colts.

Mane/Tail Color: Brown turning Cherry Red
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Skin Color: Tan
Pony-type: Pegasi

Delta:

Delta is the fourth and last of the 4 main characters of the MLP Fanfiction: Alpha. Delta is the reason why everypony thinks that Beta killed nearly all ponies in his time. The Battle of Victims was the real reason of why so many died. Enraged with Celestia’s choice of not helping Beta when he was being bullied, battling him, killing him, and scapegoating him, blaming every bad thing on him, Delta gathered the remaining mutants and survivors of Beta’s Rampage and, with the help of Princess Chrysalis and the changelings, attacked Celestia. The Battle of Victims, although very real, was banned from all history books by Celestia herself, blaming it all on Beta, dubbing him a Legend gone wrong. Delta was a mutant himself with an ability unlike any other. Although he could use magic, like Beta, he was actually a conduit, a way for the deceased Kings and Queens of Equestria before Celestia’s time to come in the physical world from the Spiritual world and converse with the living.

BEFORE DEATH:
Mane/Tail Color: Black Turning Green
Eye Color: Neon Green
Skin Color: Unknown

AFTER DEATH (MODERN):
Mane/Tail: Black Turning Blue
Eye Color: Galaxy Blue
Skin Color: Unknown

Gamma:

Gamma is the sister of the Mutant Delta. Originally a mutant, Gamma would bully other mutants to fit in with society while hiding that fact that she was a mutant herself. Her life ended during Beta’s Rampage for revenge against those who had hurt him.

Mane/Tail Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Green
Pony-Type: Earth Pony

Zeta:
There isn’t a lot of information on Zeta’s background. What is known is that she recruited Rainbow Dash to work at the factory and used to be at the factory herself. She is known to be Luna’s Personal Assassin as she was sent to kill Alpha in Chapter 9. After Luna left, Celestia took over for Luna, making Zeta her personal Assassin. She is a master in all fighting arts and will not stop until her target is dead, unless something unexpected happens.

Mane/Tail Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Neon Purple.
Pony-Type: Pegasi

Luna/Nightmare Moon:

You already know about her. She is the reason why Alpha was not killed initially when arriving at the Factory. Luna abandoned her royal postion and left her sister, Celestia, after learning why Celestia punished Alpha.

Chrysalis:

Chrysalis is currently the Queen of Changelings. Unlike the original show, Chrysalis wasn’t always a Changeling as she was an Alicorn. 900 Years ago, Celestia released an insecticide for crops that were being destroyed by insects, which ruined lots of harvest. However, the insecticide was still in development and was not ready for edible consumption, those who ate it were horribly transformed into the changelings We know today. She is a close friend of Delta’s, for while she was transforming, Delta never left her, and kept being her only friend as no other pony would like a mutant-insect-freak that she looked like.

Sombra:

Sombra was the famous king of the Crystal Kingdom. Unlike the lies that Celestia has told about him, Sombra never wanted to enslave the kingdom. He was killed by an assassin sent by Celestia after accidently insulting her in a joking fashion.

"Cakes are fattening, and those who eat cakes are usually annoyed by their weight.”

He was loved by his ponies and was mourned after. Although he did try to recapture the kingdom after his death, he was stopped by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, who were sent by Celestia and blinded by her lies.

Nova:

There isn’t a lot known of Nova. All we (Historians) know of Nova was that he was one of the leaders of the clans that united with the others to form modern day Equestria. As such, He has a mental link to all types of ponies, changelings, and mutants.

Mane/Tail Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Glowing White, No pupils
Skin Color: Black
Pony-Type: Unknown.

Celestia:

Celestia is the current Alicorn ruler of Equestria. As an Alicorn, and a Queen, Celestia has the power and the ability, let alone the responsibility of rising and lowering the sun. After banishing Nightmare Moon to the Moon, Celestia gained the responsibility and ability to rise and lower the moon. Celestia battled Beta himself, destroying him with the Elements of Harmony, and defeated Delta. She is known to defeat Discord, Element of Disharmony, Tirek, and countless others, including Sombra. As Queen, most listen to what she says, and believes her, giving her the ability to bend history to what she wants. As such, Beta is now considered a Bully, not a victim, and Sombra, a dark unicorn, not a friendly king. Celestia is THE reason to why Alpha was punished with torture, not death, claiming that she wanted to do it because she could.
A powerful Queen Alicorn, Grandmaster in both light and dark magic, Celestia is a protector to those who serve her, and a deadly target to those who defy her.

But we already know that she isn’t immortal. She can be killed.

Chapter 29: Every Utopia is a Dystopia

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Part 2: Chapter 9: Every Utopia is a Dystopia

The sky was black as the night began. Tonight was one of those nights where the moon was not present, which plunged everything into darkness. Alpha didn’t mind, instead, he loved the darkness. It gave him cover, he could see clearly in the dark while others were blind in it. He practically walked past the guards that were guarding Twilight’s castle and entered through the front door, closing it behind him.

His ears picked up numerous sounds as his sight began to slightly fail due to the lack of light and him not knowing where to go. He could hear the sounds of the guard’s hearts beating in the room to his left and right. He could hear the laughter of a guard, the sound of cards being laid onto a wooden poker table, the clink of a pool ball hitting another ball before sinking and rattling in the right corner pocket. He heard the sound of beer bottles clinking and rolling on the smooth-rock floor. His right eye was glowing red, his left blue.

He walked forward and up the stairs, searching for Twilight’s room, making as much noise as an owl does while it flies in search of food. He walked past door by door; listening for the sounds of an Alicorn mare’s breathing patterns. They always breathed quieter than other ponies, which were supposed to make it harder for whoever wanted to find them, but instead it singled them out of the countless others. Eventually, after 15 minutes of wandering about, Alpha found her room. The door was wooden, like the others, but had the symbol of a giant pink star with smaller white stars around it. He started to move his hoof towards the door but Beta stopped him.

“What?” Alpha whispered.

“Listen.”

Alpha fell silent and slowed his breath so it would not interfere with his hearing. After a few seconds he heard the conversation.

“….Must not listen to him.” Said a voice behind the door.
“Why?” Said the other voice.
“He will attempt to turn you against me.”
“And if he fails to turn me?”
“He will kill you.”

“Celestia.” Alpha muttered to himself as he recognized her voice.

“What should I do if I encounter him?” Twilight replied.
“You can listen to him, but do not trust what he says. He will attempt to show you memories of his death, in which he had modified them to show me torturing others. He successfully turned my sister, Luna, against me.” Celestia explained.
“So that’s where she went!”
“Exactly. Now my sister is a traitor to Equestria.”
“What does the other want?”
“Revenge on me.”
“Why?”
“I do not know. The scars you have been asking me about on my flank, the burn mark on my underbelly and my broken leg was the result of me trying to make peace with him.”

Beta had silently teleported Alpha into the room, already cloaked and invisible. Alpha stood on the top of Twilight’s wardrobe, watching and listening.

“If you ever encounter him, call the guards and tell me as soon as you possibly can, even if that means you have to leave your friends behind to defend themselves against them to tell me.”

Twilight’s eyes widened before slowly nodding to Celestia.

“It’s great to see you and I wish I had more time to chat, but I have to leave.”

Twilight nodded quickly. “I understand. It’s nice to see you again.”

Celestia nodded and smiled before teleporting off to her castle. Alpha was still watching, patiently waiting for the right time to speak. Twilight began to walk aimlessly in circles as she processed what she was just told.

Charlie and Delta appeared next to Alpha, cloaked and invisible as well. Although invisible, Alpha could see a shimmer move as Charlie and Delta nodded to them. Alpha and Beta returned the greeting and turned their attention to Twilight. He placed his left wing on Charlie’s back, allowing Beta to talk to Delta without actually speaking aloud.

“What are you doing here?” Beta exclaimed.

“Here to help. Luna said where you two went and told us that you might needed some back-up.”

“Right, well to get you two up to speed, here’s what you missed: Celestia was just talking to Twilight about I and Alpha, claiming that the injuries that we did to her was us being aggressive as she ‘tried to make peace with us.’”

“Wow, so she does lie all the time. Why are you two originally here?”

“Earlier on today, Alpha modified, with my help, his old welding torch so it could be used at extreme temperatures to repair his wing and/or use it as an improvised weapon, considering how much damage it did to Celestia during the fight. I modified the spell of fire to be used inside the torch’s fuel box as a replacement for the propane, for the spell of fire can burn at much hotter temperatures. As Alpha tested it out, the fuel box, made of metal, heated up at the use of the flame and slightly burnt Alpha’s leg. He told me that he wanted to gain Resistance to Fire, in which I responded that-”

“Dragons are the only creatures known to be Resistant to Fire. The closest one near us was Spike.” Delta interrupted Beta’s thought.

“Exactly. However, we are caught in a situation. Twilight will call the guards and contact Celestia immediately if I or Alpha speak, but now that you are here, there may be a way to talk to her.”

“Sombra…”

“Exactly.”

Delta nodded as he understood Beta’s idea. Alpha removed his wing off of Charlie, bringing Beta back to him. “Did you tell him?”

“Yes, he knows what we are trying to do now.”

Twilight had already stopped walking in circles and was now writing in her journal and studying for another exam. A dim sphere of light appeared out of nowhere, (it actually came out of Charlie’s chest) and flew down to Twilight. Twilight looked at the sphere and squeezed her eyebrows together; confused.

“Evening, Twilight. How are you?” Sombra asked, his voice cheerful and welcoming.

“Sombra, what do you want?” Twilight replied as if she was insulted.

“To talk.”

“About?”

The sphere began to grow as it transformed into a ghostly Sombra. “I understand that you see me as an Enemy. I can see why but I hope you can put that aside for now.”

“Why?”

“Celestia.”

“Did she send you here as a test to see if I would contact her.”

“No, Beta sent me.”

She drew a sharp breath and begun to teleport.

“Wait! Just hear me out!” Sombra exclaimed.

Twilight wanted to leave and contact Celestia, but her curiosity overcame her orders. “Fine.” She said as she nodded. “But any tricks and I will leave at once.”

“As you wish.” Sombra said as he sat down. “As you may have heard from your Teacher, Beta was supposedly a bully.”

“Not just a bully, but the bully. He killed millions with dark magic for entertainment before attacking Celestia herself! She only survived after using the Elements of Harmony against him! All the chaos that have been occurring recently is because Beta has returned, his darkness has disrupted Harmony across Equestria!”

Alpha felt his chest begin to burn as if he was experiencing a heartburn: Beta’s anger was rising.

“I know that he himself has told you differently but you believed that he was lying, correct?”

“He was lying. He is a liar and a traitor. He deserved to be obliterated. Celestia gave him a quick death as a mercy kill. I, personally, would not have done the same.”

Beta’s anger was too much for him and Alpha to handle. He jumped down, uncloaking himself and locking the door. “If I was a traitor, you would be dead years ago. If I wanted to disrupt harmony, I would have done that before I met Alpha. If I was a liar, I would tell you to 'keep listening to Celestia, because if it comes from her mouth, it obviously has to be true. She would never lie to her subjects, especially her pupil, she would have nothing to gain from lying.’ ” He said in a mocking tone.

Twilight began to teleport in fear but Beta’s anger allowed him to restrict her teleporting abilities, a feat in which he was not aware he could do.

“I DID NOT KILL MILLIONS FOR ENTERTAINMENT!”

“Then what happened, huh? Tell me what happened to all of those other ponies that died during your time.”

Charlie jumped down and uncloaked as well. His right eye was glowing blue while his left eye was glowing brown. “The Battle of the Victims happened.”

“And you are?” Twilight demanded.

“I am Beta’s friend, and the General of the Mutant’s Guardians. I am Delta.”

“There is no such thing as that in any of the history books, and I have read all of them!”

“Because Celestia made it illegal to write anything about it! Have you noticed yet that there is not one good thing about Beta? That all of what is said of him is Evil? He is said to be a dark mutant pony with an endless bloodlust. If that was so, you and all of Equestria would be in ruin, flooded with blood.” Delta cried out.

“Prove it!”

Several balls of light flew out of Charlie as each deceased King and Queen of Equestria appeared in front of Twilight. “WE ARE THE DECEASED RULERS OF EQUESTRIA, AND YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO. YOU HAVE BEEN USED WRONGLY, AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF.” They spoke in unison.

Alpha walked up to Twilight and placed his hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her. “Celestia is a murderer. She is more power-hungry than Tirek and more deceiving and clever than Discord can ever dream of being. She is makes the Rainbow Factory look like a daycare, and Nightmare Moon a foal who is just beginning to learn magic. Celestia is much worse than The Legend of Betasays of Beta.”

“EQUESTRIA IS A UTOPIA THANKS TO CELESTIA! WITHOUT HER WE WILL BE IN UTTER CHAOS AND RUIN.” Twilight screamed as she forced herself to overcome Beta’s rage and teleport. However she heard one last thing from Beta that made her begin to doubt Celestia.

“Every utopia is a dystopia. No matter how perfect a utopia seems to be, it will always be cruel to those who seek the truth. It will hide itself in plain sight from the public, and show itself to those who defy its ruler. If you don’t believe me, ask Zeta and Gamma for a tour in where she used to work, ask the librarian at the Museum of History about Nova, listen to the forbidden disk in Vinyl’s music shop, talk to the Diamond Dogs after dark by yourself, or ask Discord about Nova’s wife, Nebula.”

Twilight disappeared as she teleported to Celestia. Beta looked at Delta and nodded to the basket next to Twilight’s bed before teleporting away, Delta and the others following suite. And once again, the castle was silent throughout the night. Twilight teleported back seconds after Delta left to grab Spike and gasped at the missing basket next to her bed.

The Canterlot Castle alarms began to whine.

Chapter 30:The Penalty of Homosexuality

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Part 2: Chapter 10: The Penalty of Homosexuality

Alpha and Delta arrived with the basket floating beside them inside on one of the dueling platforms, just in case any fire that the little dragon fired wouldn’t damage anything. And the dragon was spewing fire as if he turned into a volcano. Spike was hauling balls of fire and flames left and right. He was squirming around like an earthworm that was just dumped in a bucket of salt. Alpha and Charlie kept their distance close, but far enough to not get hit by the flaming balls. Eventually, (an hour),
Spike calmed down and sat in his basket, staring at his perpetrators.

The Training Room was the size of the field in one the human sports: Football (not to be confused with futball, or ‘soccer’, in that sense). Every ten yards there would be a wall made up of metal and rock. Each “Hall” was designed as a platform, specifically designed to train a specific skill: Flying, Magic, Close Quarter Combat, and General Combat.

“Now that you have stopped fighting, let’s talk.” Alpha said in a friendly voice. “Let me introduce you to the group. My name is Alpha, my friend here-” He pointed to his glowing red eye. “Is Beta. Yes, the legendary Beta.”

Then Charlie spoke. “Name’s Charlie, Alpha’s my coltfriend.” He said proudly with a smile, his face slightly red. “My friend is Delta.” He said, winking his glowing blue eye.

“What do you colts want? What are you going to do to me?”

“Do? We aren’t going to do anything to you?” Alpha said with a chuckle and a smile.

“Don’t lie to me. You are probably gonna kill me slowly, torture me with welding torches, burn my tail off with a hot rod. Gonna rape me if I survive that, the both of you gonna rape me.”

Alpha stepped back sharply in distraught. “Who told you that?”

"Celestia and Twilight did. They told me if I was ever dragon-napped by you two, a death by skinning me is considered a mercy killing.”

“Truth be told and in all honesty,” Beta began. “The last time I have ever tortured somepony was at the Rainbow Factory. I took over Alpha’s body after he lost his wing, quite painfully I might add, which is ironically one of the things you are here for.”

“What do you mean?”

“Alpha’s welding torch. We modified it to use fire made by magic to be able to modify our wing if it gets damaged by Celestia again or another strong-magical pony.”

“What do you mean ‘if it gets damaged by Celestia again’?”

“We encounter Celestia at the Factory three days ago. As you may already know, Celestia is quite powerful. During the duel between myself and Beta against Celestia, Celestia damaged my wing, broken my front and back leg and kicked a couple of teeth out.” Alpha explained.

“No she didn’t. You did that to her.” Spike replied, confused.

Alpha tilted his head to the side in complete amazement at how Celestia was able to bend history to her liking. His grin was from utter disbelief. He opened his mouth and flicked his tongue through the hole in his teeth where his front tooth would have been. “Just because Beta healed my bones and scratches, doesn’t mean I wasn’t hurt. And what do you mean by ‘the both of you are gonna rape me?’”

“Well aren’t you two gay?”

Alpha looked at Charlie before looking at Spike and nodding. “Yeah, why?”

“And you two are coltfriend-coltfriend right?”

Both Alpha and Charlie nodded this time. Charlie moved over to Alpha and was now standing right beside him.

“So you two will not rape me?”

“Why would we rape you?” Alpha asked.

“Well isn’t that what Gay couples do?”

“WHAT!?!?!?!” Alpha asked in complete and utter disgust.

“Well, everypony says that’s what happens. That’s why if a colt or mare is found gay they are to be executed on the spot.”

All the emotion but anger and hatred drained from Alpha’s face as he processed what he was just told. “Listen here, I brought you here to teach me Fire Resistance. Now if you DO teach me, I will set you free, you can go back to the lies and fake history your fucking Princess shoves down your throat. After that, you WILL tell me everything about Gays and Lesbians and what happens to them if they go public. Do you understand or will I have Beta tell you that himself?” His tone of voice caught Beta completly of guard, but he went with it, thinking it was Alpha just trying to quickly change subjects.

“I’m not scared of you or dying. If you kill me you won’t learn fire resistance.”

“We don’t really give a fuck if you die. If you do die, there are always other dragons to take your place.” Beta replied easily.

“Where will I sleep?”

Delta stepped in. “You will be given your own separate bed, no guards protecting the entrance.”

“Aren’t you two worried I might escape?”

“Trust me, you won’t be able to find your way out.” Delta said with a chuckle. “Welcome to the ‘Safe-Mountain. Come with me, I shall show you your room.” He turned around, Spike following, dragging his basket behind him. Delta was expecting to hear another set of hooves behind him and was surprised to see Alpha still standing in place, staring at the other side of the room.

“Alpha…You coming?”

Alpha just stood there, not moving, almost as if he turned into a statue that was painted. The only thing that moved was his eyelids blinking, his underbelly expanding and contracting as he breathed.

“Delta, this is Beta. I’m currently having a hard time talking here; Alpha is for some reason not speaking to-” Beta was cut-off midsentence as if he was on the radio and somepony turned the radio off with a switch. Alpha let out a bloodcurdling, raging scream of anger. A small blue light appeared a few centimeters above his forehead as Alpha’s head twitched violently to the side.

Delta leaned forward and watched closely as the blue light began to grow and grow until it was the size of Alpha’s head.

Alpha’s head tilted all the way back before being violently brought back down, the ball of light turning into an intense beam of blue light, destroying the rock wall at the end of the ‘hall’. After 30 seconds of non-stop firing, the beam disappeared as Alpha fell unconscious to the ground. Charlie, who had taken over of Delta, ran to his side, screaming his name. Spike was beside Charlie when he looked to his right and was amazed when the dust cleared. He poked Charlie’s flank with one skinny finger.

“WHAT?!” Charlie screamed at him. Spike pointed where the dust had cleared and his jaw dropped open.

The wall of rock had been drilled through as if by a huge drill. Some rock had been heated up to the point of lava and was dripping from the ceiling. Smoke was coming from within the tunnel as whatever flammable material was in there stopped burning.

“He’s fine, He’s fine.” Beta said, finally able to take control, although he was still stuck on the ground, laying on his side.

“Was that you?” Charlie asked

“No, believe it or not. That was Alpha. To be honest with you three, I did not know that was possible.”

“You yourself are a mutant, Beta.” Delta exclaimed.

“No shit, but mutants generally find out about their ability long before they turn 13. After 13, their ability goes non-existent if they do not find out about it. Alpha did not know he was a mutant, and HE IS 18 YEARS OLD!” Beta exclaimed. “Now that I can talk without being restrained by Alpha, when were you two going to tell us what they do to gay and lesbian ponies?!”

“Because it wasn’t important.” Charlie replied, his tone worried.

“At least it’s a quick death right? Quick and clean cut by sword to the neck or the Finem Vitae spell, right?”

Charlie and Spike slowly shook their heads.

“Whaddaya mean ‘no’?” Beta said in a nervous chuckle.

Spike muttered something softly.

“Speak up, couldn’t hear you.”

“They torture them, slowly. Those who do are called ‘Beta’s Friends’.”
“Speak up, couldn’t hear you.”

“Great… Well, I’m teleporting Alpha to his bed for the night or until he wakes up again. ‘Night.”

Spike nodded. Charlie placed his hoof on Alpha’s shoulder and tapped it twice before removing it.

“Don’t worry, Charlie. If anything happens physically, I will be able to heal it.”

“And if it’s mentally or emotionally?”

“Then you better pray to Nebula that it isn't permanent.”

Charlie nodded and watched as Alpha disappear in a blinding flash of light before leading Spike to his new room. Once inside his new room, Spike asked one last question before hopping onto his own bed. “This is what life is like for you ponies?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Charlie replied, tired. “Goodnight, Sleep tight-”

“And don’t let the bedbugs bite. I heard that one before.”

“I was going to say ‘Don’t let Celestia be a fright’, but that works too.” Charlie replied with a smile before extinguishing the torch and walking away.

Charlie walked into his bedroom, plopped himself up on his own bed before closing his eyes.

Luna had walked inside the training room because she smelled the smoke and heard Alpha scream to find the gaping hole at the end of one of the "halls". “What the fuck happened here? Why am I never told about his kind of shit until it happens?" She said, furious." Seriously, if you colts need to let off this type of steam, let me know and I can give you dreams where you can torture anypony you want.” She sighed angrily as she walked out of the training room talking to herself. “Fucking Nebula,” She said with a face hoof. “Now I gotta fix that hole.”

“What hole?” Chrysalis said behind her after hearing her talk to herself.

“The one in training room.”

“You found it? How was it?”

“What do you mean? It’s fucking huge and there is dripping lava from the ceiling inside the damn thing.”

“What are you talking about?” Chrysalis asked.

"What are you talking about?" Luna asked, confused.

“The hole that lets you see inside the Stallion’s locker room and showers.” Chrysalis said with a calm face. "The one at the end of the room on the right in the last "hall"."

“What?!” Luna said with disgust. “I was talking about the hole in one of the ‘halls’.”

“Oh. Well I’m begging you, PLEASE don’t fill up the hole I was talking about. Those stallions are cute when they take a shower. So much cuter than in those fun-stallion magazines!” She said with a smirk.

Luna looked at her in disbelief. “What do you do when you watch them?”

“You want me to tell you? I thought you were straight.”

Luna’s eyes widened as she realized what she did and what she was talking about. She face hoofed herself again, this time much more pushed against her face. “For fucks sake, I need a drink.” Luna turned around and walked to the bar.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“No.” She looked back at Chrysalis. “Fuck no.”

“Are you sure?”

Luna's face showed no emotion, but her eyes were wide open. “Yeah." She replied. "I’m sure.”

“He’s gone! Spike’s gone! They took him!” Twilight cried, tears streaming down her face as she told her Teacher.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, his basket where he sleeps was gone. It’s always beside my bed!”

Celestia slowly nodded and placed a hoof on twilight’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but you are aware of what you must do if you see him again, correct?”

Twilight looked up to her with fear in her eyes. “I WILL NOT KILL MY FRIEND!”

“You must! Beta’s lies cannot spread. If they do….” Celestia trailed off.

“What?!” Twilight wiped her eyes, no longer crying but in anger. “What would happen, huh? What would happen if anypony would listen to Beta?! He is a fucking bully, you told me yourself! Nopony would believe him!”

“I was wrong. I lied.”

“Well I lied to. I met Alpha, Beta, Charlie, and Delta as soon as you left. They were waiting for me.”

Celestia looked down at twilight, in shock. “What!? Why didn’t you tell me this in the first place?”

“Because I wanted to see how you reacted.”

“Your friend, if turned is now an enemy to me.”

“Discord was an enemy but now he has turned good. Can’t you do the same to Beta!?”

“Discord and Beta are two totally different things!”

“Why?!”

“BECAUSE BETA IS A VICTIM!” Celestia blurted out. Once she realized what she said, she covered her mouth with her hooves.

“Because he is a victim. Because he is acting on his pain....not because he liked to hurt others, but he himself was hurt….” Twilight muttered as she realized the truth. “What he said IS true….” She said with a terrifying grin. “You let him suffer, then punished him…You sick piece of shit! What Beta said is true! You bent the rules of history to make you the hero. Make Beta a bully, not a victim. He was acting on his pain and you punished him because he had no other way out! No wonder why he
hates you so much.”

“So, do you now hate me?”

“Hate? No. But I am no longer with you. I am still a Princess.”

“That really doesn’t stop me. I can fake your death as I did Sombra’s.” Celestia said with a dark grin on her face, no longer scared of revealing her original self to Twilight.

“But I’m an element of harmony, you kill me all harmony will be in chaos.”

“YOU aren’t an element of Harmony. You are a conduit of its magic. That’s the only reason its magic works for you. If you die, there can always be a replacement. As for your magic in Friendship, that can be replaced as well. The younger the mares are in a five way friendship makes its magic stronger as they continue to be friends, that’s all. There isn’t really anything special.”

Twilight looked distraught.

“What? Did you really believe you were powerful? You are just a pawn, a Princess who doesn’t even know how to command an army yet.”

“I defeated Tirek!”

“You defeated him with MY MAGIC, not yours.”

“I used the magic of friendship.”

“Come now, Sparkle, The Cutie Mark Crusaders have more power in friendship than your group of friends has. Speaking of which, I’m thinking of making Sweetie bell a student.”

“But she isn’t an Alicorn.”

“And neither were you.”

“What!? I have a horn and wings!”

“You used to have a horn only, but after you took that potion that I gave Zecora, your Zebra friend…”

“You gave that to her?”

“Every item she owns I gave her, I just gave it to another pony to give to her.”

“And Spike?”

“To be honest, I found that egg on the ground of a Dragon’s den. Eggs are only thrown on the ground if there is a deformity within the DNA of the Dragon within the egg. At this age, Spike should be as big as me. He’s a failed dragon. Technically, he has Mental Retardation.”

Twilight’s eyes were full of horror. Her worst fears had just come true.

“Dragons’ main enemy from birth are ponies, it’s embedded into their memory from their DNA. The only reason why he hasn’t killed you is because he has Mental
Retardation. Oh come now, did you really think you were special?”

Twilight disappeared in a blinding flash of purple light as she teleported away. A guard galloped up to Celestia, and knelt before her.

“What do you want?”

“Shall we send the troops after her, Princess?” The guard asked,

“No, let her speak. No pony will listen to her.”

“As you wish.” The guard replied with a bow before leaving.

Celestia sighed as she realized what she had just done. “Great…another Beta to deal with.”

Chapter 31: Confusion. Depression. Realization. Rage.

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Part 2: Chapter 11: Confusion. Depression. Realization. Revenge.

Alpha stirred as he slowly woke up. He groaned in his half-sleep state as the pain-receptors in his body began to relay pain to his brain. His forehead felt as if it just had a close call with the sun. His throat felt as if he had been screaming for hours. His chest felt as if he was just punched with an iron fist. He quickly drew a breath as he gasp, remembering what just happened. Alpha stood up on his bed and, as if he just saw Celestia on the wall next to him, backed up quickly, falling off the bed onto the ground with a thud.

“Well, seems like you are awake.” Beta said as soon as Alpha hit the ground.

“What happened?!” Alpha asked, eccentric. His mind was at like Mach 2.

“I’m going to let you figure that out.”

His tone complete caught Alpha off guard. Normally, after waking up, Beta usually sounded bored or groggy, but this time, it seemed as if he sounded excited or even happy. Once Alpha’s memory returned, Alpha’s eyes grew wide, his breathing slowed down. “I…used…”

“Go on…” Beta said, as if he was watching a very suspenseful movie.

“…Magic…” The word seemed to halt his trails of thought, his world halted almost instantly as the word passed through his lips. He felt Beta smile with glee and happiness, a feeling of pride and proudness rushed through him as he realized what he had just accomplished. “I…used...magic?!” He repeated, a bewildered smile formed.
“Yeah you did. And you didn’t just make a torch light up, you destroyed a rock wall.”

“What?!” Alpha said in disbelief. “Prove it.”

He disappeared in flash of light as Beta teleported him to the platform he was on hours ago. He gazed into the giant hole in front of him. Although the lava had stopped dripping from the ceiling, he could still feel the heat wave even though he was 20 feet away from it. “Did I do that?” He asked Beta, still in shock of what he had just done.

“Yeah. You froze after Spike mentioned something. I tried to take over but you weren’t letting me. At once you screamed and…well, that happened.” He said, nodding towards the wall.

“Do we know what triggered it?”

“I have a couple of ideas, but I don’t want to try them out right now.”

“Why not?”

“Two reasons. 1. We don’t need another hole in the mountain. And 2. The magic you accessed was your own, but as you used it, I felt what you were feeling, and it somewhat freaked me out.”

Alpha took a step back, his attention still directed towards the hole. “Well, what was it?”

“It was rage.”

“So what? You felt my rage before while fighting.”

“Yes, but this was different. Rage, in its basic form, is powerful, as it is anger that has been blocked for too long and is released all at once. My magic is based off of my rage, which I can pretty much create in an instant. Your rage was rage, but as what others consider rage as anger, yours came from a different source, which either meant it was from confusion or depression.”

“What are you saying here? That my depression caused me to use magic, because we both know what I felt wasn’t depression.”

“Slow down and listen to me. Rage is most commonly found with anger, but anger isn’t usually made from annoyance of something. When a pony is depressed, they can easily turn that depression into anger, which, 100% of the time, turns to rage. Confusion of a multitude of times can also lead into another form of anger, in which the pony does not know why he or she is angry but just is. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”

“Somewhat, yes, but how does this have anything to do with anything that scared you?”

“The rage you felt was based off anger created by depression, realization, and confusion.”

“So?”

“My rage, the same rage I had during my LEGENDARY Rampage, was composed of FOUR types of anger. Can you guess what they were?”

“Depression. Confusion. Realization.” Alpha said slowly as he realized what he was so scared about. “But what’s the fourth?”

“The fourth was Revenge. When you used magic, I was scared as I felt almost the exact same thing as I did during my Rampage. It scared me, to realize that I, Beta, The LEGENDARY Beta, wasn’t the only one with that type of power.”

Alpha chuckled. “I won’t turn against you, Beta. That isn’t gonna happen.”

Beta growled. “That isn’t the point!”

“I can become like you!” Alpha said, happy with the realization that he was a mutant. “I could use magic!”

“STOP!” Beta screamed in fear. The tone slammed into Alpha as if he had just flown as fast as he could into a rock wall. He had never heard Beta talk with fear in his voice. Ever. “Do you understand the guilt that I have to go through every damn day?”

“What are you talking about?” Alpha said, walking back to his room.

“After I was defeated and utterly destroyed, I realized what I had just done, and I was horrified, petrified.”

“Why?”

“Before my ‘incident’, I never attacked, never threatened, I defended myself, but I didn’t kill. It had crossed my mind before, only when I was being bullied or defending myself during fights, but I never dared to kill.”

Alpha walked inside his room and closed the door, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. “You have always talked about yourself before, during, and after your ‘incident, so I apologize in advance if I have to ask you to explain, but go on.”

“It’s fine. As I was saying, I never actually wanted to kill in the first place. It was just even after I learned magic I was still bullied, no matter how I used it, it always got worse. Remember that I told you that I died at age eight?”

“Yeah, in the factory.”

“I lied. The legend says I died at age eight, in reality, my personality at age eight changed brutally and nearly instantly. Who I was back then died, who I am now took over.”

Alpha propped himself up onto the bed, already forgetting about being able to use magic, too absorbed in Beta telling his story.

“I ran away from home after a mother whose colt’s horn I ripped off during a fight, which was actually the first time I found out it was possible.”

“Why did you run?”

“I thought I was going to attract to a lot of unwanted attention to my family, so I ran away hoping to stop my family from getting said attention.”

“Where did you go?”

“I ran into the EverFree Forest. I encountered a squad of guards, easily taking them out, not killing them though. I found a sword and a spear, then left them for the Creatures within the Forest before stumbling across the Castle of the Two Sisters, where I met what remained of Nightmare Moon’s dark magic.”

“What do you mean?” Alpha said, laying his head on his pillow, his hooves underneath it.

“Although Luna herself, her physical self was banished to the moon, her dark version wasn’t. It stayed at the castle where it was defeated, protecting it as if it was still alive. It found me and attacked me. During the fight, I accidently created Estefani, my original suit of armor, made of Dragon Metal. After she realized I was a mutant and why I had ran away, she decided to teach me, since no other pony would teach a mutant, let alone leave it unscathed. She saw me as somepony in the same situation she was in but worse; alone, ignored, hated, beat up, abused, and discriminated. Colts and fillies see Luna as a savior or a symbol of hope. She patrols the dreams of all those who dream, making sure they do not have nightmares and give them hope.”

“What do you see her as?”

“I saw her as a mother, a teacher, and a rare friend.”

Alpha clenched his jaw and shut his eyes as he heard the word ‘mother’ and ‘friend’. Beta noticed this and stopped talking about his life.

“Are you okay?”

Alpha nodded, his eyes still shut.

“You know you were always a terribly liar.”

“I’m fine, Beta.” Alpha said, trying to keep his depression in check. He bit his lip to stop himself from focusing on his depression and more on the pain in his mouth. His chest began to feel as if it was being pushed hard.

“We both know that isn’t true. What’s wrong?”

Alpha squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to forcefully keep his depression at bay. His chest felt as if it was being crushed inwards. He tasted blood.

“Alpha?”

He shook his head, and did not allow himself to talk. If he did, he knew he wouldn’t last a second. He felt Beta nudge him, his special way of gaining his attention. Just at the last second before his depression took control, he stood up, and walked out of his room. He jumped off the balcony and flew out of the mountain into the night sky.

Memories of being alone in the factory, being bullied, ignored and alienated when he was a stray began to flood his mind as his depression set in. He stared at the night sky as he flew through the clouds. His thoughts began to melt into the depression. One theory stood out from the rest of his thoughts. It seemed to take priority over all others.

“Don’t you even dare to consider that!” Beta said, worried.

“Why not? What if it’s true!?”

“It isn’t!”

“Then why the hell did all this happen to ME!?” He screamed into the night. A jagged bolt of lightning appeared several feet from Alpha, as a roar of thunder shook his bones. “Why was I tortured instead of killed? Why was I abandoned by my parents? Why didn’t you let me die when I was unconscious in the factory!? Why didn’t Celestia kill us when she had the chance?” He lowered his head as he landed on the ground, tears dripping onto the ground, at the entrance of the EverFree Forest. “Why us? Why mutants? Why are those who are different than others get punished for being different?” He stopped talking as it begun to rain. The droplets of the cold liquid began to, ever so slowly, calm Alpha down.

Beta sighed. “It’s just in everypony’s mind.”

Alpha grinded his teeth in disagreement, in the midst of anger and depression.

“Listen, Why did you save Charlie and Delta from the factory?”

“Because they were in a bad place. They were being hurt and would’ve died had we not helped them.”

“The same goes for me. I saw you being hurt and you would’ve died had I not helped you. Have I not helped you, Luna would not have known about the Factory, Charlie and Delta would be dead, John would have never found Scootaloo and taught her how to fly, Rainbow Dash would be still working at the Factory, and you wouldn’t have be in a grave. No strands of hair, no splinters of bones, no pony freed from that place, no remains of you.”

“And this was supposed to help me?”

“Listen Alpha. Because of you I was able to find out that parents left me a message. Because of you Scootaloo reunited with her father. Because of you Charlie and Delta are alive. Because of you hundreds if not thousands of prisoners of the factory are now free and able to back to their families. Because of you-”

“I found that what I was grown up and taught was a lie.” A mare’s voice said, interrupting Beta, behind Alpha. He turned his head around, his face emotionless as he recognized the Alicorn from last night.

Twilight’s eyes were red from sobbing. If not for Alpha’s keen eyesight, he would have missed the small but still bleeding cuts on the back of her front legs. He stood there, just looking at her for what seemed like hours before speaking again.

“So you left. Why?” He asked.

“I left because I couldn’t accept the fact that Celestia had not just lied to me but to everypony in Equestria.”

Alpha nodded. “Seems like you are gonna need a place to sleep and rest.” He nodded to her legs, his eyes pointed to the cuts. “Not to mention some help.”

She nodded. Twilight watched as his right eye flickered red violently as Alpha argued with Beta. Eventually, the flickering stopped and his eye turned back into its glowing red state.

Beta took over and smiled. Even through the thick layer of rain, Twilight could still see his eyes glowing clearly.

“You think we can trust her?” Beta said after giving Alpha back control.

Alpha began to grin, wiping the tears away from his eyes. “Don’t know.”

“If she joins, she could easily help. We can use some actual help.” Beta said, his eyes focused on Twilight.

“But if she tells…”

“She won’t tell.”

“How do you know?”

“Because we know what exactly she is going through.”

Twilight shook her head in confusion. “What are you two talking about?”

“You have found out that the truth you were told since you could remember was a lie all along. You are conflicted, having no clue which side to choose.We are giving you an opportunity of an immortal’s lifetime.” He said, holding out his hoof. Beta’s eye seemed to almost…sparkle with what? Knowledge? Trust? Curiosity? Sympathy?

“But what if the truth you are told since the day you were born was a lie? How can you deny it?”

“What if the lie you were told since the day you were born was the truth. How can you accept it?” Beta held out a hoof. “I know you don’t trust me, but there isn’t a lot that you know.”

“What are you saying?”

“We are offering to show you the actual history of Equestria as it is, not as you know it.”

“What do you want in return?”

Alpha shook his head. “Nothing.”

Twilight nodded then held up her own hoof. “Is Spike okay?”

“Spike’s fine. He is asleep in his room.”

“You gave him his own room?”

“Yeah, he can look after himself. He is a dragon after all.”

“He is mentally retarded.”

“So? I and Alpha are mutants, which are worse than having retardation, and we are fine.”

Twilight glared at him.

“For now.” He added. “Come on, I’ll show you were we live.” Beta said as he took hold of Twilight’s hoof and guided her through the forest.

“Can I ask you a question?” Twilight said, following Alpha.

“Who are you talking to?” Alpha said.

“You, of course.” Twilight replied, slightly annoyed.

Alpha stopped in his tracks and turned his head around to look at the Alicorn. “Which one?”

“Oh. Uh…Both of you.”

Alpha turned his head back around and continued walking. “Sure, what’s up?”

“Why didn’t you kill me when you had the chance?”

“What do you mean ‘when we had the chance’?”

“Any time after you escaped from the factory.”

“You were never our target. Our target is Celestia.”

“I can understand that for you, Beta. But Alpha, why is your target Celestia?”

He flexed his right wing out, the rain sounded like a baby's rattle on the metal. “My wing was taken off when I was in the factory as punishment for saving a mare. Instead of being put to death, I was tortured. I want to know why.”

“I know why.”

Alpha froze as he turned around. “What do you mean?”

Twilight sighed. “I know why she did not allow you to be killed.”

“What was the purpose?” Alpha said. He could hear his heart pump in his ears.

“She did it because-”

Beta took over instantly. “NOOOOOOOOPE!” He said, interrupting Twilight. “Let’s go the mountain without talking now.”

Twilight shook her head. “What the hell, Beta?”

Beta forcefully knocked out Alpha before walking over to Twilight, his mane and tail glowing red. “YOU WILL NOT TELL HIM!”

“Why not?” Twilight demanded.

“I DO NOT NEED TO EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY YOU CANNOT TELL HIM.”

“Then I won’t come with you.” Twilight argued.

Beta sighed. “Alpha is going through a dark depression right now. If you tell him that Celestia tortured him just for fun and because she could, he would…” His voice trailed off.

“He would what?”

“Telling him would totally destroy his life. He is already in depression right now because he feels that what he has done isn’t important to anypony anymore. The reason he was crying when you were behind us was because his depression was too much for him to handle.”

Twilight nodded. “You are aware that he will find out, whether you like it or not.”

“I know. But he is not ready. Not now. Come on, let’s go.”

He led her past the swamps, nearly encountering an ogre, beyond Zecora’s cottage and into the mountain.

As Twilight entered the mountain, she met a very intoxicated Luna.

“Twileet, you’re here!” She said as she staggered to Twilight.

“Twileet?” Twilight asked, confused.

“She’s drunk.”

“No, really?” Twilight replied sarcastically.

“-hic- She’s funny.” Luna said as she made her way up the stairs to her room. Chrysalis came up behind Beta and Twilight.

“I think I gave her a tiny bit too much vodka.”

Twilight whirled around, her horn glowing as she recognized Chrysalis’s voice. “YOU!”

Beta stepped in front of Twilight. “Hey, Hey. She’s with us!”

A loud thud was heard.

“What do you mean she’s with you?”

“It’s another lie Celestia told you. Chrysalis used to be an Alicorn.”

“What?!” Twilight barked, her horn no longer glowing.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you tomorrow.” Chrysalis said as she walked up the stairs before finding out what hit the ground and laughing all the way to her room. Twilight and Beta walked up the stairs to find out what Chrysalis was laughing at. They found Luna, who had fallen asleep in the doorway of her own room, right next to Spike’s.

Beta shook his head and walked over to Luna, lifting her up and placing her on her bed. He walked out of her room and came back with a metal bucket and placed it next to her bedside. He then walked back out of the room before closing the door. “She’s gonna have one hell of a hangover.”

Twilight nodded in agreement.

“His bedroom is right there.” Beta said as he showed Twilight where Spike was. “If you want, we can get you a separate room.”

“It’s fine. Goodnight.” Twilight said as she walked into Spike’s room and closed the door.

Beta was in the middle of closing the door to his bedroom when Alpha forcefully took over. And he was furious.

“WHAT THE FUCK, BETA?!” Alpha screamed in anger.

Beta did not reply.

“WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I WAS ABOUT TO LEARN WHY-”

“I knew what you were about to learn, but I was scared.”

“OOOH, BETA’S SCARED, HE’S AFRAID AND TAKES CONTROL LIKE A FUCKING PARENT IF HE THINKS IM IN DANGER!” Alpha said in a mocking tone.

Beta gritted his teeth, doing what he can to control his anger. “Alpha. Listen. To. Me.”

“YOU KNOW YOU AREN’T MY FATHER, YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT? ALL YOU ARE IS MY BEST FRIEND, NOTHING MORE.”

Everything froze for Alpha. For a few seconds, he couldn’t breathe. Once he could, he collapsed to the floor, feeling extremely weak. He struggled to move but his body wouldn’t respond. His eyes fluttered open and saw a ghostly figure standing in front of him. His brown eyes focused on the hair in front of his eyes. It no longer had its red tinge. He writhed in agony as pain erupted throughout his right wing. After the pain subsided to a dull ache, his eyes focused beyond his hair at the ghostly figure sitting in front of him.

Alpha raised his eyes to face the ghost and felt a pang of regret and sorrow. He wished that he could take what he had said back. The ghost’s skin was brown, his mane and tail were red, while his eyes were glowing red. Beta sighed as he looked at his friend, weak and helpless. Alpha knew for a fact he knew the reason why he was tortured instead of killed.

“Where the hell…” Alpha said, groaning. “Did you learn to do that?”

“I always knew I could do it. You calm now?”

Alpha nodded, lowering his head. “I’m sorry for what I said. I felt so close to the end of my search that I was not going to allow anything stop me.”

“It’s fine. I can understand why you reacted like you did.” He chuckled with a smile. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit. Can barely stand up.” Alpha admitted. “If I am understanding this correctly,” He said as he looked up at Beta. “You un-bonded with me just now.”

Beta nodded.

“Can you bond with me again?”

Beta nodded.

“Can other spirits bond with me?”

Beta shrugged his shoulders. “I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“The bond between us is still there. Although I am currently not bonded with you, the bond that was created between us still exists, it’s just dormant.”

Alpha slowly nodded, doing what he can to understand. He struggled as he sat up, his front legs like felt like Jelly. “Why do I feel weak?”

“You are currently experiencing Full Control of your body. When I was bonded, you controlled 50%, I controlled 50%. That’s how I could take over if you were in danger. I was always in control, but I pretty much left you in control of your movements.”

“Are you going to leave me?” Alpha said, somewhat afraid of what the answer might be.

Beta shook his head. “Why would I? To my and your knowledge, you are the only one that is willing to bond with me, let alone bond at all. Instead of hating me, you like me despite the fact of what I have done in the past. You are the only one who I think actually understand me. Why would I throw away some-WOAH!” Beta said in surprise as he fell through the floor.

Alpha waited a few minutes, thinking that it was some sort of joke. “Beta?”

Beta popped up from the floor, only his head was visible. “Yeah?”

“You can faze through solid objects now?”

Beta smiled with glee and excitement. “Yeah, totally forgot about all this.” He said as he flew through the floor and began to float around the room. “Before I found you, this is what it was like for me; just floating around.” He grinned. “I used to have so much fun as I moved objects and scared ponies.”

Alpha smiled as an idea formed in his mind. “Beta…”

“Mhm?” Beta said, enjoying himself as he regained his freedom of whatever he wanted to do.

“You can faze through anything right?” Alpha asked, staring at the wall, his mind soaring past Pluto.

“Yeah.”

Alpha struggled as he pushed himself up with a new source of willpower and energy. The color in his eyes and hair slowly returned to its original color as Alpha regained his body. He had a smile of excitement and curiosity.

“What are you thinking about?” Beta said, turning his attention to his friend.

“We have a way to find out now.” Alpha said, talking to himself.

“A way to find out what?”

Alpha looked up to Beta. “What is in your tomb?”

"Why do you want to know what’s in my tomb?”

“Because you and I both know that your body was destroyed when Celestia defeated you. If that is true, why would a hallway, with your tomb at the end of it, be necessary?”

“Because if it’s not housing my body, it’s housing something else.” Beta slowly thought aloud as the idea formed in his mind.

“And I bet I know what it is.”

Beta stared at Alpha’s metallic wing.

Twilight stood, staring at Spike who was sleeping. If he turned around and looked at Twilight, he would notice that her left eye was glowing neon purple.

And the other neon green.

Chapter 32: A Close Friend's Teacher

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Part 2: Chapter 12: A Close Friend's Teacher

"Come on, Alpha!" Beta said excitedly.

Alpha smiled as he made his way down the flight of stairs and towards the tomb. "You need to calm down."

"You need to hurry up!" Beat replied as he glided through the rock walls. He turned to look at his tomb while he waited for his friend. "Alpha, are you coming?" He said after a few moments.

"Beta…"

"What?"

"Watch this."

Beta looked around to see Alpha halfway down the hallway, staring at a lit torch. He flew to Alpha. "What am I looking at here?" Alpha nodded to the torch. Beta turned his head to look at the torch and watched as it dimmed down to a considerably low state before rising up, spewing fire like it looked like Alpha's welding torch was using Napalm as its fuel. "That's odd. Are you-" Beta stopped talking as he looked back at Alpha.

He was staring at the torch, grinning in disbelief. Breathing slowly, he seemed as if he was concentrating on the flame, as if he was manipulating the flame. The colors in Alpha's mane were pulsating; it would light up until all its colors were in their neon form then would they would dim back to their original dark color before lighting up again. Alpha's breathing and his mane pulsating was in sync with beat. When he breathed in, his mane lit up. When he breathed out, his mane dimmed.

"Beta…" Alpha said without taking his eyes off of the flame.

"You are doing that, aren't you?"

Alpha nodded. The flame, spewing fire like a flamethrower, died down and formed a small sphere of fire.

"You know what? Screw what's inside my tomb, I got a better idea." Beta said after a while. He disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha.

The small sphere of flame extinguished itself. The torch was still smoking.

"Aww, why'd you do that?"Alpha complained.

"Because we are going to go meet an ol' friend of mine."

Alpha raised an eyebrow. "A friend that is still alive?"

"Yup."

Alpha backed out of the hallway and walked to his room. He made his way to his bed and leaned down, grabbing and slipping on his brace, and his bag. He disappeared in flash of red light as Beta teleported him to the peak of the mountain.

Alpha landed on the peak, the snow crunching under his hooves. It was early in the morning, the sun starting to rise as Celestia did her job. "Well then, where to?"

"Tartarus."

"Which is where?"

"We aren't flying there; we can be easily caught if we fly during the day. I'll teleport us there." Beta replied before Alpha disappeared in another flash of red light.

Alpha landed on a stone-made road. He shook his head to rid of the blurriness and confusion before looking up and taking a step back.

Looking down upon him stood the Three-Headed dog Cerberus. He was huge, easily bigger than Celestia when she stood on her hind legs. His fur coat was black and had spikes of what seemed to be made of stone. Its faces looked like the faces that bulldogs own. Its eyes were yellow with red pupils and had a spike collar on each of the three head's necks.

"Oh." Alpha said, his heart beating loudly in his ears. "Hi there."

The head in the middle of the three spoke. "THIS IS A RESTRICTED AREA. LEAVE NOW OR BE PUNISHED WITH INSTANTANEOUS DEATH." Its voice was loud and calm but hoarse. It reminded Alpha of how his voice was after yelling in agony in the Factory; all low and thick.

"To be honest, that has never really scared me." Alpha admitted, pushing the thought aside.

"LEAVE NOW."

"Chill out, C, It's Beta." Beta said, taking over.

"Oh, my apologies." Cerberus apologized to Beta, lowering his voice. "How are you?"

"I am fine. You?"

"Doing good. Finally away from other ponies so it's all quiet and peaceful here. What are you doing here and who's the colt?"

"His name is Alpha, a close friend of mine. Anyway, I'm here to talk to Mr. T, is he here?"

Cerberus nodded. He lifted his paw and pointed back to the platform in the center. "He hasn't left. I have heard what you two have done recently and I have to admit, I am impressed. He will be impressed to see you two as well."

"Thanks. It's nice to see another old friend like yourself, one that is still alive."

"Likewise." Cerberus said with a nod as he moved to the right to allow Alpha to pass.

"One last thing," Beta added.

"Yes?"

"If we get him out of the cage, can he leave Tartarus and come with us?"

Cerberus smirked. "If you can get him out of that cage, you can do whatever you want with him. The cage is made out of your Dragon Metal thingy."

"Okay, Thanks."

Alpha walked past Cerberus and began to walk up the stairs to Beta's friend. After half a hour of climbing up the stairs, Alpha's legs were burning. He got to the top of the platform and realized who Mr. T was.

Standing in a cage that was forged using Dragon Metal, stood a red centaur. He had a pair of black horns that curved outwards then inwards then outwards on the top of his head. Wearing only his black shirt, the centaur looked as if he was in style with the social dress code for centaurs. He was sitting in the middle of the cage, his eyes closed, deep in meditation.

"Who are you?" He said without opening his eyes.

"The name's Alpha." Alpha asked.

"What are you here for?"

"WE are here to talk to you, Mr. T."

"No one has called me that in a long time." The centaur said, opening his eyes and looking at Alpha. "It's nice to hear from you, my pupil. Are you somewhere where I can see you?"

Alpha waved his hoof in the air.

"I'm not talking to you, colt."

"Are you sure about that, Tirek?"

Tirek laughed aloud in disbelief. "You learned how to bond?! You know that is an advanced type of magic that even I don't know how to do, right?"

"Yeah I do. We are here to make you a deal."

"Go on." Tirek replied, happy to be in the company of an old friend.

"Alpha is 18 years old and recently, about two nights ago, we both found out that he was a mutant. Now you and I know that this rarely happens because after the age of 13, the mutant ability usually dies out if it is not discovered."

Tirek smiled. "You actually remembered what I told and taught you." He nodded. "Yes, that is correct. If the pony finds out about his mutant ability after the age of 13, it is not as powerful as it was if it was found before age of 13. It does not grow in power but gets weaker and weaker over time, even if its used."

"How strong is the ability to use magic for a mutant who finds out about it at age 18?"

"On average, based on a study of 1000 mutants who found out about their ability after the age of 13…" Tirek trailed off as he recalled the information of mutants. "I'd say it'd be able to shatter a glass sheet about five centimeters thick, no more. Why?"

"Well, Alpha here had a bit of a meltdown. He accessed his ability when he had three of the four ingredients of what made up my rage."

"Confusion, Realization, Depression, and Revenge. I remember." He said with a nod. "How strong was it?"

"Pretty strong."

"Define strong."

"Strong as in it could easily beat me in a duel."

"Really?" Tirek asked, his eyebrows raised. "Interesting. So what is this deal you are proposing?"

"I was wondering if you could do an evaluation on what he can do and what type of magic it is."

"And what do I get in return?"

"Currently, Alpha and I have an army of ponies and mutants who are against Celestia. You evaluate Alpha and in return, you can join us."

"Alpha," Tirek said. "What do you have against Celestia?"

Alpha reached to his metallic wing and took it off, revealing the remains of the charred wing.

"How did that happen?" Tirek asked, curious.

"Have you ever heard of the Rainbow Factory?

"No, what is it?"

"Long story short, after The Battle of the Victims, Celestia was short on magic and was very, very weak. At that time, numerous pegasi were failing the flying test, Magic itself was rare to find, and the market was in chaos causing the Economy to go down."

"Ok." Tirek said, listening intently.

"Celestia needed a way to regain her magic to stabilize Equestria, so she created the Rainbow Factory. The Rainbow Factory is exactly what it sound like. It's a factory that creates rainbows."

"I understand, but how is this relevant to his missing wing?"

"To create rainbows, you need a source of pure magic."

"So?"

"After the battle, there was an endless supply of flightless pegasi."

"The factory is a death camp?" Tirek asked in suprise and disbelief. "I know that Celestia was daring, but to this extent?" He frowned.

"Pretty much. Celestia found out that the blood inside Pegasus colts were made up of almost pure magic. So she created the Factory and in doing so regained her magic." Alpha intervened.

"This rainbow blood you talk about, do you have any of it?"

Alpha nodded. He opened his bag and took out the jar of blood.

"That's just a jar of blood. I'm talking about the rainbow version you were talking about."

Alpha, without replying, took off the cap. The oxygen made contact with the blood and turned it into its rainbow colored state.

"So I'm guessing that your wing is gone because you were at the factory right?"

Alpha nodded as he gave the jar to Tirek. "Yeah, I used to work in the Metal repairing part of the Factory. A week before my 11th birthday, I saved a mare from hurting herself as she played around with my welding torch. One week later, I was punished for doing the right thing."

Tirek took a sip of the rainbow liquid and slightly grew as he regained power. "May I drink all of this?"

"Not all, but you can drink some."

Tirek nodded in thanks. He took another gulp of the liquid, growing as he absorbed the magic. "Why were you punished?"

"That is a good question." Alpha replied. "I will get back to you on that once I find out why."

"Ok," Annoyed that his question wasn't answered. "but how do you know that Celestia was behind it."

"Because before I was punished I was told that they "had specific orders from the Princess to keep you alive." "

Tirek had already drank half of the jar of blood before giving it back to Alpha. Alpha took it, placed the cap back on and placed it back in his bag.

"Feeling better?"

"Much. Thank you." Tirek replied.

"How does this evaluation work?"

"It's quite simple actually." Tirek replied, his tone of voice higher. "You either shoot a bolt of magic at me to absorb, or I make physcial contact with you and absorb a small amount then, with said sample I can tell you what type of magic you can use. There is a problem, however, with your deal."

"Which is?"

"How are you planning to get me out of here? The cage is made up of your metal."

"I could try…" He said.

"Try what?"

"You said that the magic I did two nights ago could easily beat you in a duel, right?"

"Yeah."

"If I did the same against the cage, would it rip it apart?"

"Maybe." Beta turned to Tirek. "Should we try it?"

"It would give me a sample of his magic. Hell, why not?"

Beta disappeared as he bonded back with Alpha. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, I'm sure." Alpha said as he closed his eyes and brought up memories of his time in the factory. He needed to turn his depression into a rage like emotion. He stood still for five minutes as he searched his memories for something to kickstart his depression.

"Alpha, it's been five minutes. It was a good idea but-"

Alpha's head twitched violently to the right as the memory of his punishment filled his mind. His breathing became quick takes of air; his body seemed to begin to vibrate as Alpha trembled with his newfound source of rage.

"So Tirek, I can't control Alpha right now. He has fully taken control of his body and-" Beta was interrupted as a cone of neon blue magic instantly appeared from Alpha's forehead, firing at the cage. The magic attacked atoms in the metal. The atoms released their bonds with the other atoms and began to disentergrate. The metal was easily chipped away at the cage until only Tirek remained with shards of what was a cage, who was knocked down onto his side by the sheer amount of magic and groaned as he pushed himself up.

"Now about that evaluation, I think you have more than enough of a sample of his magic to check what he can do."

"I think we both know what Alpha can do based off what we just witnessed. You and I can teach him how to use it properly."

"What?" Alpha said, snapping out of the trance he was in. "Teach me what?"

"How to use, control and learn magic."

"Beta can teach you the spells and how to use them." Tirek replied, happy to be freed from the cage.

"And Mr. T can teach you how to duel and fight using them."

"Wait," Alpha interrupted. "I thought you said you taught yourself magic."

Tirek laughed. "My colt, Beta did teach himself magic."

"How does he know you then?"

"I taught him."

"Taught him what?"

"I taught Beta how to fight and duel."

"So," Alpha replied with a smile, amazed that Tirek taught Beta how to fight. Ideas flew through Alpha's mind as he imagined what Tirek could teach him. "Would like to join us?" He said, his voice barely hiding the glee he was experiencing.

Tirek laughed hard. "You ask as if I would turn down this opportunity."

Alpha smiled as Beta teleported Tirek and himself to the Safe-Mountain. Giving Mr. T a room of his own, Tirek thanked Alpha and Beta from freeing him from the prison and closed the door. Alpha, now tired, trotted happily to his room. Once inside his room, he took off his bag and set it aside near his bed. His metallic wing clattered on the ground as it fell from Alpha's hoof. The 18 year old colt was exhausted, having no rest besides being unconscious since two days ago.

With a hop-like jump, the colt leaped upon the untidy bed. He soared gracefully in the air for the few seconds he had. His head hit the white pillow first, it's shape contracting as weight was applied onto the center of it. The poor colt was already dead asleep before the rest of his body fell onto the bed. The body bounced twice as the springs in the mattress absorbed and dispersed the energy transferred onto them.

With the creaking of the bed ceased, the safe mountain was again once quiet, void of life.

Inside the tomb, the legendary, timeworn suits of armor began to pulsate with life, for their creator was near. Gears spun wildly as each suit came back to life and readied itself for use.

Alpha

by PinkMaleWolf

Prelude

Chapter 1: Hell

Chapter 2: An Idea

Chapter 3: Beta

Chapter 4: One Last Step

Chapter 5: A new start

Chapter 6: A Message

Chapter 7: Alpha's Revenge

Chapter 8: "It's much harder to escape than it is to break in"

Chapter 9: Her

Chapter 10: Memories of the Forgotten

Chapter 11: A job request.

Chapter 12: A snowy day

Chapter 13: The Heart of Equestria

Chapter 14: Estefania

Chapter 15: History is written by the Winners

Chapter 16: Charlie and Delta

Chapter 17: The Therapist

Chapter 18: The Battle of the Victims

Chapter 19: The King Unicorn

Chapter 20: The Tomb

Part 2: Chapter 1: Charlie.

Part 2: Chapter 2: A fiend In Need

Part 2: Chapter 3: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

Part 2: Chapter 4: I hate Dogs

Part 2: Chapter 5: Nova

Part 2: Chapter 6: You have been out for 48 hours

Part 2: Chapter 7: Father and Daughter

Chapter 28: An Old Tool

CHARACTER BIBLE

Chapter 29: Every Utopia is a Dystopia

Chapter 30:The Penalty of Homosexuality

Chapter 31: Confusion. Depression. Realization. Rage.

Chapter 32: A Close Friend's Teacher

End of Story