It can be said that unpredictable events can lead to unpredictable feelings. These events and feelings can be different for each individual. Now, remove the feeling part of the equation, and all that is left is an unpredictable event, or action. Just as an action has an equal and opposite reaction, an unpredictable action has an equally unpredictable reaction. When left to people to react to unpredictable events, there is a simple way that the mind reacts: confusion. Add the rush of adrenaline commonly associated with a near-death experience, and you might as well find a draconequus, and dance with the buffalo wearing tutus.
The darkness began to fade. I could feel my heart pumping, my lungs breathing, my blood coursing through my veins. I could not see, or hear, or feel anything beyond my vital systems. Of course, the more cognitive part of my brain was working perfectly.
All at once, my remaining senses came crashing in on my not-yet-recovered brain. I saw the stable lights overhead. I heard voices, though distant and muffled beyond comprehension. I felt an open body bag half-way zipped up to my torso. I seemed to be on another operating table, though this time not in that black room with white lights.
The doctors working over me seemed to be arguing about something. Somepony slipped something over my horn almost as soon as I opened my eyes. I saw a flash of metal as something that resembled a silver pie cutter was raised over my head. A second hoof caught the first one, which was holding the object, in the way that earth ponies hold things, honestly, how did they do anything without magic?
The second hoof disappeared as another mare tackled the pony to whom the second hoof belonged, and once again the hoof raised the knife that would separate my head from my neck. In the moment that the large scalpel came down, my brain clicked. Remember that rush of adrenaline? Well, now it hit.
I rolled to my left, away from the dangerous hoof, and the blade missed its mark. I sat up and smashed my hoof into the doctor's leg. I felt it buckle from the blow, and the doctor gave a cry of pain. I then yanked the inhibitor off my horn, and threw it away, as a small group of doctors tried to hold me down. I picked up the knife and jammed it instinctively into the doctor's face, right above her eye.
Panic ensued, as some ponies tried to hold me down, while others high-tailed it to the exit. Some few huddled in a corner. I would be a fool to try any more magic in my state than the simple levitation. Even that, in this condition, was risk for a burnout. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I felt it. My magic fizzled, and horn went dead. I would be struggling with a migraine for the next few days.
It was about now that I gained enough control and my senses returned enough for me to be able to see the situation. Ponies were yelling, there was fighting in the room, only about seven ponies were here, plus the one that I had just stabbed, made eight. Likely, it was the eight ponies that had operated on me.
Another thing that I noticed, is that we were not in a medical room. Instead, there was a large incinerator that dominated half of the dark room. The yellow-ish, green-ish, red-ish, blue-ish, fire within proved this to be the recycling room. I had woken up moments before being thrown in. What are the chances?
"Hey!" I shouted over the chaos. "HEY!" I shouted louder, not unlike a police official trying to get the attention of a mob or riot. Considering I was already the center of whatever was going on, getting everypony's attention was easy. "What the hay is going on!"
One of the doctors spoke up as two others picked up the wounded mare and carried her away. "You should be thanking us," she said. "We've just saved your life." The mare then puffed out her chest and pranced out of the room, followed by four of the seven other ponies.
I recognized her. She was the doctor that had spoken out against me in medical. I had let her willingly return to her quarters, as opposed to killing her where she stood. I looked at one of the three ponies that remained, rubbing my horn.
"Stop them, "a yellow mare, she looked to be more senior than any of the remaining doctors, hissed to the other two. They nodded and followed the first four out of the door.
Just like that, I was left alone, halfway in a body bag, in a room with an incinerator, with a doctor who had been trying to throw me in. Forgive me for net exactly being reasonable.
"What the buck just happened!" I demanded.
"Oh, don't mind ol' Snaggletooth. She's a dentist, not a physician. Spends half the time hopped up on laughing gas, and the other half cussing out and lecturing newbies on how many teeth are in a pony's mouth. If she gets to the Overmare, though, we could have a problem," she said.
"We?" I asked.
"Well, us. You and me," she paused, looking me over.
"What is it?" I questioned. I wanted to know what was happening.
"Extraordinary," she said. "A minute ago, you were dead as a doornail. How can this be?"
"I feel fine," I countered.
"You shouldn't feel at all. You should be dead. You took three times the normal amount of the decommission serum." She produced a clip board that was under the trolley upon which I sat and began making notes.
"If you don't mind, I would like to draw a blood sample for testing," she said.
"No," I replied flatly.
"Oh, you're right. Now might not be the best time," she agreed.
I unzipped the body bag with my hooves, and slid my hind legs over the edge of the cart to stand up. Upon doing so, they collapsed under my weight. I fell to the floor with a hard crash.
"Oh, no no no! Don't stand up. Don't do anything. You're stable now, but too much movement could relapse the effects of the serum," the mare said, putting me back on the trolley.
"So, why was that mare trying to kill me?" I questioned once I was back on the trolley.
"Why does anypony kill anypony? Because the Overmare wants it. The Overmare wants you dead, so ponies will go to great lengths to do what she says, even violate our very solemn oaths," said the yellow mare.
"But if I-" I began before I was cut off.
"Look, here's what I'll tell you. Some ponies are nutjobs. You're supposed to be dead. You were given three times normal amount of the mixture used to decommission ponies because the Overmare wanted you dead. She wanted ten times the amount. Fortunately, most of the healing potions are being used to treat wounded. To get the three we had, we had to take them from some poor mares' morning doses,"she explained.
"Wait, what do healing potions have to do with anything?" I asked.
"Well, it's simple. Our formula is just a healing potion with a little bit of sodium chloride and a dash of benzene. Come on, even you had to notice the similarities in the color," she said.
"Just..." I replied, lamely. Healing potions were being used to kill ponies. The realization was humbling. I would never look at those little bottled miracles again.
"Yep, not saying it's right though. I'd say you weren't retired, so much as you were sentenced to an execution. Considering you took the execution bluntly, I'd say you deserve a walk now. Not literally, don't stand up!"
"I-"
"Hoohoo, you shoulda seen the look on the Overmare's face when you closed your eyes. She was certain she was going to be hearing you scream. She loves to torture her enemies. Though with you, it almost looked like you wanted it. She was furious!
"Now you're alive though. I can't explain it. I really would like to take some blood samples later though, after all of this is resolved," she said.
"I don't know what to say, or do. I really was expecting to die," I told her.
"Well, you're not dead now. Your heart rate is unusually high, but you do seem a little excited right now."
"What do I do if I can't walk, Doctor?"
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Doctor Buttercup. Lead physician of Stable 28."
"Overstallion of Stable 28."
"Ah, yes. The nameless studs. Look, if you haven't put this behind you enough to give yourself a name, then it's no wonder why the Ovemare got you what is it... twice now? Remember, three strikes, you're out. I wouldn't push my luck much past once though."
"Alright, that's enough," I said. She shrugged.
"But you haven't answered my question," I added.
"Ah, well. You expected to die. You did, but you didn't. Now you seem fine. Everything seems to be working normally. Technically, you're not under the Overmare's authority, are you?"
"No."
"Well I work for her, so I only have as much authority over you as she does. If I tell you to stay put and not go anywhere, while I leave this baton, that I just happened to pick up off the ground before coming in here, on the bed here, while I adjust my shoes, then that would be the same as the Overmare telling you to do just that," Buttercup explained.
I looked at her, confused.
"Oh, one more thing. Take this scalpel and cut me a bit," she said, banging her foreleg against the metal rack on the edge of my bed. Ouch, that's gonna leave a nasty bruise.
"What are you doing?" I asked, nervously.
"If anypony asks, I fought you and pushed you into the recycler," she said.
"Oh," I replied.
I picked up the razor-edged knife and slid it slowly across parts of Buttercup's limbs and face. She also bruised herself badly on the cart and a table nearby.
"Here's some leg supports that should help you walk and a potion, one of my custom brew. It'll make you completely invisible," she said.
"Why do you have this stuff just in your coat?" I asked.
"Ssshhhh," she replied and winked at me. "If you make it back to your friends and beat our motherbucker of an Overmare, then come see me and we'll talk about that blood draw."
I nodded, and without another word, drank the potion. It had the same effect as an invisibility spell. Thank Celestia I wasn't wearing any clothes.
I ran out the door and down a hall. This was a part of the stable that I had never been to before. With the help of the map on my pip-buck, though, I was able to find my location, and thus my way back the regular part of the medical wing. From there, down a few flights of charred, battle-scarred stairs, and I was back on the right path.
I couldn't help but spare a glance down one of the elevator shafts while I was in medical. It was the one in which that I had cut the security mare's line and caused them to free fall. Their cords still dangled in the empty shaft. I looked below. The stable was so deep that I couldn't see the bottom. The door was still open because of an explosive, likely a grenade of some sort, that had damaged the mechanism.
I panicked as I passed a patrol of ponies wearing infrared goggles. Whatever this potion was, it worked a lot better than typical invisibility spells. My spell can be detected by infrared lenses. This potion can't. That's why Lens Cap had been able to follow me on the cameras.
I slipped past all the guards on the way, ultimately discarding the baton, as it wouldn't do much against the combat helmets being sported by the Overmare's ponies.
"No! No! Please! I wasn't with Gadget! I promise! Praise the Overmare! Praise the Overmare!" A young mare shouted. She was being dragged down a hall towards a closet. I knew what security ponies did when they took ponies into closets. Tide and that other pony had tried to do it to me. I wanted to do something to help that poor mare.
The best thing I could do for her was get rid of the Overmare at any cost. Otherwise, this would be the perpetual life of the stable. The Overmare has more control now than she ever had before. She wasn't going to be giving it up easily.
I watched as the two security ponies dragged the screaming mare into the closet, chuckling to themselves.
"Nooooo-" her voice was cut off when the door closed. I shuddered as I continued on. Similar sights were seen all over the stable. Ponies shied away and hid from those who were supposed to be protecting them from ponies like me. Ha! Ponies like me. I would be the one to save them.
The stable is not the same. In the time since I have left the cells, the stable has changed. For now, it has taken a turn for the worse, but oh Celestia please let there be a chance in tartarus for me to make it better tomorrow. I've died once. I'll do it again.
The potion wore off, once I was under the protective gaze of the four massive triple-barrel minigun turrets guarding the corridor between the two stables.
Wheeeewww. Chapter... 36!? What happened? Where did all the other chapters go? This story really is flying by. I didn't actually expect to write this this week, but here it is. Our hero is back after an unfortunate turn of events. Things should be getting ready to wrap up soon. I say that now... but. Ah well, we'll see.
Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts. Thank you so much for reading.
Brohoof /)