*Disclaimer: I don't own any of the MLP characters or ideas. Rights belong to Hasbro and associated companies*
"Well, well, well… Good to see you awake, Mr. Smith. You were out for quite a while. I was beginning to worry that the dosage of sedative was too high," a man said from behind me.
I tried to respond. Nothing. It appeared that whoever decided upon my captivity took the liberty of restraining the majority of my body onto a cold metallic table and gagging me with some fancy cloth material.
"Ah, don't waste your energy Mr. Smith; I can assure you that you aren't moving or speaking anytime soon."
I looked around. I was in the middle of the seemingly sparse room, minus one rather ominous machine to my right. There were mirrors, or what I guessed to be one way windows on every wall of the space. I couldn't find the source of the voice; evidently he preferred remaining outside my field of vision.
"I suppose a few explanations are in order. Firstly, you were selected out of a group of extraordinary thinkers we have been monitoring. You have the most likely chance of retaining mental stability after we conduct our experiment. The weak minded are often lost, and the extremely paranoid usually self-obliterate. You are a good equilibrium between strong mental capacity and integrity."
Experiment? Lovely, how cliché. Kidnapped only as cannon fodder for some crazy test program that nobody knows about. It's was almost like I had been dropped into some horridly uncreative realistic fiction story.
"You should feel privileged, Mr. Smith. This is cutting edge neurotechnology. Since this machine often induces amnesia up until after the experiment, telling you the plan will hardly make a difference in the results. I will indulge in enlightening you. The machine to your right is a theta-wave amplitude re-calibration mechanism. In short, we control what you dream, on enormous levels too. Unfortunately, subjects are always lucid in said dreams, so mental stability is required. Fear is usually a very influential variable, though. Subjects often experience dramatic 'deviation' when confronted with stressful situations. One of our technicians suggested a cartoon as a starting dream. It will be a good beginning block. The fandom of the show has also provided numerous fictional situations in which to test the level of your mental 'survivability'. We have many goals to achieve in this experiment, but our main is to assess whether it is possible or not to change the very character of a person via a dream."
I didn't like this. It was a threat to my personality as a whole. I tended to be philosophical to a point, but I liked to retain personal attributes. They were going to force me into a different personality… I didn't even have the strength to struggle after such a revelation.
"Well, I would say I have talked enough. A warning though, if you can remember it; try to keep control of your mind, if you don't, chances are Mr. Smith won't exist anymore."
With that, a hand came into view. It strapped some metallic contraption to my head, and activated whatever switches and gizmos would start the thing.
White, a small buzz in my ears, my sense of direction washed away. Great pressure could be felt on every part of my body. The buzz grew into a roaring hiss. The white began to fade. Black took its place. I was scared, for the first time in a long time.
*No, in case you are wondering, my surname is not Smith.*