Author's Notations: I don't like this chapter much.
My Little Pony is a creation of Hasbro, All Rights Reserved.
The sound of our hoofsteps reverberated off of the smooth walls of the long hallway as Orange Meadows lead me deeper into the facility.
"I thought you said that seeing if I could survive in the sun was the last test? Where are you taking me?" I asked, worry evident in my voice.
No response was given, my only answer being the continued hoofsteps that lead me forwards. The sound sent shivers down my spine making me wish I had just took off when I had the chance. Silently berating myself however was getting me nowhere as I quickly found.
Orange Meadows stopped at a keypad next to a rather large door, again punching in the numbers with her snout, the door slid open. The area behind the door looked as though it had come out of a hospital, a large padded table stood alone in the middle of the room, large lamps hung from the ceiling, multiple different machines lined the walls, and finally a small group of carts were positioned by the table cloths draped over the tops, bright tools assorted on the cloth.
The sight that made my jaw drop though, was a scarlet colored pegasus mare lying on the table. Small straps held her to the table ensuring her immobility, though she looked unconscious.
As I looked down on the scene with almost disgusted shock as the doctors carefully and slowly sliced through the mare's belly revealing her insides. A small tap on the side brought me back to reality, making me look to Orange who looked at me with almost apologetic eyes.
"I'm sorry, I must've gotten the wrong room number. Please, follow me" The mare said quietly, her eyes trying to keep from looking towards the surgery below before turning back towards the door.
Shooting one last glance at the mare below, before turning away to follow Orange.
Following Orange had been all to similar to when she had initially lead me to the incorrect room. This time, my mind more wary of the things going on around me as well as what little I could read of the mare's posture.
'Alright, I already knew the was some kind of science institution, a scene like that shouldn't be able to shock me like that did' I thought as Orange rounded a corner, only for me to follow suit. 'It's not as though they just take ponies off the streets and start dissecting them. She most likely signed up for it, or...'
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Miss Sunset had been injured earlier due to an accident in her military training" Orange said, making me jump from the sudden sound cutting through the silence. "She was given a choice between surgery make her fit for service again with a prototype of a new device that was designed to help injured soldiers, or being decommissioned. I believe you can guess her choice"
"I see..." I said, unable to comprehend why she would be in a lab instead of a hospital, but decided to not trouble myself on it.
Rounding another corner, Orange stopped at a door only for me to almost run strait into her. The mare inserted a small keycard into the slot she retrieved from her labcoat before turning and giving it to me. "Alright, I'll need you to remember, your quarters are in room AI234, unless you wish to become lost in the complex and eventually picked up by the night watch, I would pay attention to the signs" She said almost as if she was bored out of her mind. "Now, please go inside and get yourself situated. With good behavior you'll be out in no more than a week, and back to your normal life in... Ponyville was it?" she asked, only for me to sigh.
"It doesn't matter" I said waving off her question, my mood worsened by the news of my 'imprisonment'.
"I see... Well as I said, please get yourself situated, one of my colleagues should be here to pick you up shortly" Orange said pushing the door open with a hoof before moving aside.
"Thank you" I said quietly before walking inside the room the mare offered.
The room looked little different from the one I had woken up in hours ago. A bed was pushed against the wall on the far end, a small cabinet set was in the corner away from that, a small waste disposal unit was in the corner away from that, my guess being used for more than just garbage, and a small shower next to that.
A sigh escaped me as I scanned the small room, thoughts starting to return to when I had been out in the world and how little I remembered of my original home.
'Even with Zecora's memory potion, things are starting to fade away again' I thought walking over to the bed. 'It's not much of a surprise though, as I said this is home'
My eyes lifted up to the ceiling of the small room and out of boredom I started counting the tiles.
'… three hundred sixty six, three hundred sixty seven...' I thought only to be interrupted by a knock on the door which reverberated though the room. 'Uhg... I hate tiles'. "Come in" I said quieter still trying to recover from the sudden boom of sound.
The door swung open only to reveal a dark green unicorn stallion standing behind it, a small clipboard levitating inches from his face only for it to disappear and for him to look at me with almost bored eyes. "Alright, please come with me" the stallion stated flatly, his monotone matching his outward appearance perfectly.
I hopped off my bed and trotted through the doorway only for him to take up the rear. Outside the room I found another two stallions, one being another unicorn of a hazel color, and the other being a pegasus with a color almost indistinguishable form the wall panels. The two stallions seemed to of been in some kind of argument moments before, as the muttered to each other heatedly before giving me an aggravated glance. The two quickly turned on their hooves though and started walking down the corridor only to quickly turn down a left path.
"Ignore those two" I heard the unicorn behind me say, again his monotone making me want to strangle him. "I'll be leading you to the destination". The stallion quickly stepped around me and started down a path leading off to the right.
Unable to think of many more options I mentally marked my room number and started after him.
Doors we passed seemed different somehow from before. Small slits in the tops showed the interior of some, only revealing a small room lit by an odd bulb which emitted an eerie green glow. For what felt like an eternity the scientist lead me down the same long corridor. Before long, the lights began to dim slightly and a damp smell wafted through the air, I took a peek at another one of the open peepholes only to find that the room was pitch black, but it didn't feel empty.
"Almost there" The stallion said making me jump. "I would advise against being afraid as well, some of the patients in this part of the labs tend to be drawn towards it"
My ears perked as an odd sound echoed through the corridor. It was almost as if a horse had whinnied, but it sounded unnatural. I started to walk closer to the stallion in front of me, despite the fact I didn't know him.
After a few moments though, he stopped and turned to a door on his right before opening it and walking in. I followed only to be met by what looked like a large stasis tube like the ones you see in cartoons. Machines lined the walls behind it, and a small panel next to it acted as controls for increasing the temperature and the like.
The figure inside was almost impossible to make out though, as all it looked to be was a pony shaped silhouette with a very white outline around it. As I approached the look on my face changed from fear to confusion. 'I know this pony...' I thought, only for it to open one of it's eyes. The pony's eye was an odd sharp shape for most equines, the only thing I could think of to even identify them was Nightmare Moon's eyes, though the iris was a blue silver color, the pupil however seemed almost nonexistent. It's gaze fell on me for a moment and I felt a cold chill wash through me, sending a shiver down my spine.
'I don't like it here' I thought as I quickly turned back to the scientist. "May I go back to my room?" I asked, only to be met with an odd stare.
"I apologize, but we're going to need to do some tests first, and it's easier to take blood from that creature if we're in the same room. It's only really been stirring much since you've awoken as well, so we can see there's still some kind of connection between you two" The stallion said only knocking my spirit back down.
"I see..." was the only reply I managed to say as the stallion approached the tank and started fiddling with the controls.
Turning back to the creature, I noticed it was still staring at me. This time though, the look in it's eyes reflected amusement, joy almost which only frightened me more.