Chapters I was having an average day. My blood had been forcefully taken, I had run on a treadmill until I blackedout, and I was stuck in a dog kennel. Oh, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and I'm in the Pegasus Experiment. I'm 2% phoenix and 98% earth pony. There are other pegasi like me, and we're all kept in a secret place called "Pegasus Inc." I'm planning an escape, and hopefully the others will come with me. We rarely get the chance to talk, but when we do, we use a language that only we can understand. It's an pegasus thing really. We like to call ourselves "The Flock", but we really don't know each other. Heck, I don't even know the others' names. Today is the day where we escape, and I beg to Celestia that it goes smoothly. We had all finished our horrible test for the day, and we were all in kennels right next to each other. We could all stand up, but it was still too small for a regular pony to live in. I quickly plucked a hair pin from out of my mane as I prepared to pick the lock. The "Wendigos" were gone, and everypony had left the building. Wendigos are the nickname for the other pony mutants, but they're 30% timber wolf. They are grotesque and horrifying creatures of destruction. As I picked the lock, the others eyed me with intrest. I tried to give them an inspirational smile, but my makeshift lock pick was in my mouth. The padlock dropped to the ground with a loud clang. I creaked open the door, and picked the lock of the others' kennels. The other pegasi unquestioningly followed me to a nearby vent system, which I knew lead directly outside of the building.
Once everypony was outside, we all took to the sky as we flew away from that hellhole we used to call home. Now out of the dark, I could see everpony clearly. The youngest was a young filly with a violet mane and an orange coat. The next pegasus looked a little confused, but her grey coat and blonde mane was riddled with holes. Finally, there were two stallions. The older one had an lighter orange coat than the filly, but it was still just as bright. His dark blue mohawk didn't move in the fierce winds. The last pony was a black coated, light maned stallion who seemed very determined to not fall behind. I snapped out of my analasis as I realized we should land soon so the filly wouldn'y overtire herself. I dipped my wings forward expertly. One of the main test was my wing power, which was measured by the wind's speed as I flew past a giant fan. I saw a huge forest that looked perfect for hiding, and we dropped into the trees one by one. I looked around, and I counted four pegasi. Nopony was missing.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle." I introduced myself, hoping it would bring the others to do the same. The little filly went first, he entire body shaking.
"M-my n-name is S-scootaloo." she said, then she passed out. Poor filly, she must be exausted. Then, the other mare stepped up.
"My name is Derpy, Derpy Doo! I love muffins!" she exclaimed cheerily, like nothing was wrong. I shook my head, wishing I could be so optimistic. The younger stallion stepped up next, but he didn't look directly at me.
"My name is Thunder Lane, and I'm blind." the last part was almost inaudible. I mumbled words of comfort as the last pony walked up.
"Flash Sentry." That was it. That was all he said. Well, it was better than the ramblings of Derpy. With that done, I began talking again:
"Well, so far, we've escaped Pegasus Inc. and we can all fly perfectly well. What are you planning to do next?" The others looked at me like I was crazy. Had they not planned this far?
"No, we planned it this far. We're staying with you, because you're our leader." replied Scootaloo. I was astonished. A little filly just read my mind. That's crazy, and it gave me the chills to imagine what horrible things she must have seen in the minds of the scientist. The others nodded in agreement, I was their leader. I was tired from such a long day, so I just went with it.
"Okay fellow pegasi, well, let's just go to sleep for now. We have to get going before sunrise though, the Wendigos and science ponies are bound to discover our escape." And with that, I was out like a light. I was barely concious as sweet little Scootaloo cuddling up against my side. I smiled a little and enveloped her in my wing. Derpy and Thunderlane found a branch to cuddle up together, clearly already close. Flash Sentry found a place not far from me to sleep. It already felt like I had known them all my life, but I hadn't really. I think, that this isn't going to be so terrible after all. I fell under sleep's full spell, the wandering thought of why they had no night security barely fringing my subconcious.
As the rising sun greeted me, I saw the everypony else was also waking from their slumbers. I yawned, and stood up. My wings were rested, and my mind was set. All that we needed to do was wake up all the way. Stumbling over to Derpy and Thunder Lane, I quickly awakend them with a quick tap of the wings. I decided to let Scootaloo sleep a little longer. The violet maned pegasus was just too adorable sleeping to disturb. I turned back to my branch and found that Flash Sentry was already awake. To my relief, he had also woken Scootaloo. Seeing my half-lidded and sleepy flock asembled, I began telling them my plans.
"Okay everypony, today we're flying to the nearest town. Then, we'll have to steal some saddlebags that will hide our wings. After that, we will all pick a destination in Equestria and we can go try to be normal." It was nothing fancy or special, but it woke everypony up. Wings buzzing, the excitement was palpable. We had always heard of the outside world know as Equestria, and we couldn't wait to go explore it. Taking to the beautiful sky, we went off towards the nearest town. The nearest town was surprisingly close to Pegasus Inc. It was just a five minute flight, no breaks needed. As we all landed in the outskirts of the town, I motion for them to stay hidden while I tried to nabsome saddlebags. I crept among the shadows as I stalked the nearest house, and it oh so convienently had saddlebags on the back porch. Quick as a whip, I snatched up the five saddlebags. I picked the black one for myself, making sure they covered my lavender wings perfectly. As carefully as I had come, I left. Making sure to leave no trace besides the missing saddlebags. The flock was waiting for me in the exact place I left them.
"Okay guys, pick and choose as you please." I said as I dumped the other saddlebags on the ground. We all let Scootaloo go first, with her being the youngest and all. She quickly chose the pure white one, and I helped her put it on. Then went Derpy, who couldn't decide.
"Well, I love the color blue, but I really like yellow. Yellow is the color of the sun and all, but the green reminds me of...." The rest of her chatter was cut of as Thunder Lane wrapped a hoof around her muzzle. Flash Sentry grabbed the green one and placed it around Derpy's buzzing wings. Once that little ordeal was over, it was Thunder Lane's turn to choose. He picked the yellow saddlebegs, and Flash Sentry took the blue one without comment or complaint. Now that we all had our wings hidden, I lead us into town. Flash Sentry nudged me as he spotted a diner, and I nodded in reply.
We all walked in, and Scootaloo grabbed a map. Shuffling through the saddlebags contents, I found some bits and gum. I gently took the map from the little filly, and opened it wide on the table. There was a little star that said "You Are Here!" in large letters. Flash dug through his saddlebgas as well, and found a few stickers.
"Okay everypony, take a sticker." I instructed, taking one for myself. The others got where I was going with this, and unwrapped their stickers.
"Now, pick a place in Equestria we all want to go." I took my sticker and placed it on the nearby city of Las Pegasus. Thunder picked Manehatten, Flash chose New Pony, Scoots chose San Ponio, and Derpy chose the exact spot we were already in.
"I've always wanted to go to Little Filly, California." she said simply. We all laughed. Derpy may be a little lacking in the mental department, but it was very endearing. A server of the diner walked up to our table. His name tag read "Timber Fall".
"Welcome to Poyus, what would you like this lovely morning?" he asked. I looked around at the flock. They all shrugged. We had never gotten a choice of what we ate before.
"Surprise us." I said simply. Looking a little confused, her wrote it down. Then he left our table to prepare out food. It might take a while, so I decided to get to know the flock.
"Well, let's get to know each other better. As you know, my name is Twilight. I am from the humble town of Ponyville, and I helped organize Winter Wrap-up last year before I got ponynapped. My favorite color is silver, and I was in Pegasus Inc. for a year." It was short and simple, and I thought it was nice enough. After all, I barely knew these pegasi and they decided I was our leader. Derpy inhaled a big breath, and began her rapid fire chatter mode:
"Well, I'm still Derpy, and I'm a mail pony from Ponyville too! I had been at Pegasus Inc. for about three years. My favorite color is neon green, but not like this pine green saddlebag. More like the green of a neon sign!" She finished, out of breath. Before she could start again, Thunder covered her muzzle.
"Well, I'm from Ponyville too. I was a race pony before I was taken two years ago. My favorite color is yellow." he said calmly. I couldn't believe we were all from Ponyville, well, so far anyway. We all looked to Flash expectantly. He sighed and shook hs head. I could understand, he must have a really bad story.
"I came from Canterlot as one of Princess Celestia's royal guards. I was taken away five years ago. It is the biggest blemish on my duty as a royal guard. I failed at protecting myself, and if they were after Celestia it would've been even worse." That shock us all. I didn't know whether to be more surprised about how much he said, or how sad and depressing that must be for him. Still in silence, Timber Fall gave us our food. I tossed him six bits, and he left us alone. We ate our oatmeal in silence, until Derpy decided that she couldn't be quiet for that long.
"Don't worry Flash! We're all your family now, and everypony makes mistakes!" She smiled, attempting to cheer him up. It worked, and we shared a group hug. It was a little awkward with the table in the way, but it was sweet all the same. It was time for us to go. Little did we know, waiting outside was a horrible trap. A trap we were going to escape at any cost.
Outside, waiting for us, was the oh so familiar sight of Wendigos. I sighed inwardly, this was going to suck. Flash and I were the only ones that could really put up a fight. The first Wendigo was slightly bigger than the others, and he had a familiar pink scar across his eye. My brain went into a deep dark place that I had all but forgotten, a place which held my past. Before any of us were experimented on, I knew the pony that ran Pegasus Inc. Or, more accurately, I knew his son. Back then, I didn't know how horrible the place really was. Before me, was Featherweight. He was just a colt! My brain went into overload, and I feared I might go into a state of shock. His sickening smile only makes it worse.
"Well, hello Twilight. Do you like it? I'm the newest generation. They did a rather good job, don't you think?" he asked as I went into a trembling fit. Flash Sentry covered me with his wing protectively. I heard shouts and gasp behind us as the other ponies noticed our presence. Feather gives a half-hearted growl towards the earth ponies, and they all scream and panic in response. Satisfied, he turned back to us. I had gotten out of my frightend state, and had a small plan formed. I was going to run straight at him, and get the others away, while I went back to Pegasus Inc. It seemed to be a good plan to me.
"Please, Twilight! Don't do it!" Scootaloo begs me. I forgot, that filly can read minds. Dang, it was going to work so well.. New plan, just fly the hell outta here!
"747 now!" I commanded, shouting the name of a plane so they got my idea. We rose into the air, and I think we're going to be okay. Then, I hear the yelp of a little orange filly. My blood runs cold. I don't look back, I continue to lead the others away. Derpy flies up next to me, and I brace my ears for impact.
"Great plan Twilight, but they got Scootaloo! We have to save her! I mean wouldn't you want to be saved if it was you? Please Twi, help her!" she begs. I have tears streaming from my face, and they arn't from the wind. She was so young, but I can't risk the others getting caught. I just shake my head to Derpy, my throat being filled with a big lump. I just can't trust myself to speak, so I fly on ahead of them. I take us into a big clearing, a while away from the small town. As we all land, Flash takes note of my tears. In the small time I had known the little squirt, I had grown fond of her adorable innocence. Thunder could sense my sadness, and I knew he felt it too. Only Derpy hadn't caught our contagious sadness.
"We have to save her, right? I mean, she's just a little filly! We can't leave her to those monsters!" she prattled on, outraged. The longer I thogh about it, the more I realized the younger pegasus was right. No pegasus is to be left behind. We had to go back. Back to the evil place of Pegasus Inc.
Flash then does the impossible. He speaks.
"Yes Derpy, we're going to save her. But we first need a plan, and in order to plan, Twilight need quiet." It was most likely the longest sentance he has ever said to this day. Thunder Lane moves up alongside Derpy, and tries to lighten the mood.
"Hey Derpinator, you up for a race?" he challenged playfully, jumping up and flying circles around her like a fly. She knowingly takes the bait, and joins the blind stallion in the sky.
"Win against you? Pfft. Probably the easiest win yet! You barely fly at 2.0 wing power!" she mocks, he messy blonde mane getting in her eyes. Sighing dramatically, I walmked over to a puddle to get a drink. I catch my first glimpse of how I look. A lavender mare with a plain purple and pink mane. Typical, I'm not beautiful in any way. I bow my head down to meet my face in the water, and slurp up some of the liquid. I find my face is not alone, as Flash Sentry's orange muzzle pops into my peripheral vision.
"Can I talk to you Twilight?" he asks. It must have been a rhetorical question, because he took his wing and lead me away from Thunder Lane and Derpy's race. I braced myself for some sort of harshness or begging.
"Now, I don't think we should take the kids back there. I mean, they're just not ready to go back. It's been all of two days. Two! I think I should go alone. Scootaloo needs to be rescued, but we both can't go." he stated, waiting for my reply. I didn't think he should go, but with him being a stronger stallion, I can't really say no.
"Fine. Go now, while they're distracted. Be on the lookout for any Wendigos or other pegasi." I instructed, giving him a salute. I was getting used to him talking, I think it was just a shell that he had shed. He flared his wings, and gracefully spiraled into the sky. It was the most amazing thing, freedom. I took a big breath as I saw the kids had stopped playing had fell asleep. No wonder they were so tired. Derpy and Thunder both had large welts forming on their heads. Must have been a collision. I chuckled, they looked so cute together. They reminded me of my life in Ponyville. No, no! I musn't think of that! It's too late, the memories come flooding back. Me, talking to Princess Celestia. Princess Luna shaking my hoof. My first day as Princess Celestia's student. The letter to go to Ponyville from Canterlot. Meeting Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Making my first friends. The Summer Sun Celebration. Celestia missing. Fighting Nightmare Moon, and winning. Becoming the Element of Magic. Then all the memories stopped right there. That was the summary of my life. Then something happend and I became a imprisoned pegasus. I can't believe I let myself think of them, my old friends. It was a torture I couldn't endure. Tear slipped down my cheeks as I lay down near the kids, hoping that sleep would claim me soon. I saw a shooting star, and I wished that I would forget everything. I knew it wouldn't work, but a small part of me believes it might. It just might.
I was oh so gently kicked awake. I opened one eye, very irritated that somepony dared to wake me up. I saw Flash Sentry, and then all tiredness immediately disappeared.
"I'm so glad you made it back okay!" I said giving him a hug. His dark chuckle was a little strange, but I didn't care. I looked and saw not just little Scoots, but also another colt. I shot Flash a look, but he seemed a little out of it. By out of it, I mean that he was asleep on my shoulder. I smiled, and piled him next to the still sleeping Thunder Lane and Derpy.
"Hey, you. Front and center." I commanded, trying to make it clear I was the leader. Scootaloo came too, leading the colt with her.
"Twilight, this is Lightning Streak. He was just going into Pegasus Inc. when Flash rescued him and me." the orange filly said sweetly. I eyed the telepath suspiciously. How will he keep up with us if he couldn't fly? Why was he here?
"You know, he was still injected with the genes." Scootaloo replied. Wait a second, her mouth didn't move. Dang that violet maned filly. Reading my mind is not good. Bad Scootaloo, no mind reading! She smirked as I thought this loudly.
"Well, welcome to the flock Lightning Streak." I said, giving him a small smile. He looked like he had just met Celestia herself, the sheer admiration was evident. Thinking of Celestia, the sun was doing it's thing as we spoke. Without further ado, I lovingly kicked my flock awake.
"Wake your feathery butts up! We got some flying to do!" I shouted, and I continued to shout until Flash decided he was going to silence me. With his muzzle. He must have still been sleepy because he didn't back down from the kiss. Actually, it was kinda nice. After feeling me kiss back, his eyes fluttered open, and he saw that he was kissing me. An almost invisible blush settled over his cheeks.
"Oh, uh, uh..." he stumbled over his words, and I put a hoof to his muzzle. He quieted, and I ruffled his dark blue mane.
"You, my good stallion, need to get more sleep. Later. Right now, we need to get on the road before any Wendigos find us or something." I said, mainly talking to the flock at large. I took Thunder Lane's saddle bag and took out the rope inside. I tied one end around his neck, and the other end around my back hoof.
"This will do. Right Thunder Lane?" I asked as the light blue maned stallion seemed to doze off.
"Yes, Twilight. I can do fine with this." he replied. I could see into his blankish eyes the embaressment of having to need another pony to get around. With a flap of my wings, I was in the air. Then came Thunder Lane right behind me. I thought he'd be riding my tail, but instead he kept his distance. Derpy came and chatted away with him. I definately think that she had a crush on the stallion. Little Scootaloo tugged Lightning Streak into the air with her. It was clearly his first time flying, because he was all over the place. Even quick little Scoots was having a hard time keeping up with him. Flash Sentry flew up next to the two kids, keeping Lightning in check while keeping Scootaloo under a watchful eye. We made eye contact, and Flash quickly looked away. I smiled to myself. I was going to head to Little Filly first.
"Twilight, you need to go to New Pony." I dropped like a rock in surprise. Thunder Lane came down with me, unable to hold up my weight. Before I hit the ground though, I managed to level myself out enough.
"Twi, you need to watch it. Blind pegasus in tow!" complained Thunder Lane, rubbing his sore neck. I was too shocked to reply. I just heard a voice, that wasn't my own, in my head. Flash Sentry left Scootaloo and Lightning Streak behind, soaring up to check on me.
"Are you okay?" he asked, worry clouding his beautiful eyes. I shook my head, feeling a headache begin to creep up on me. He gently lead me down to earth, with the kids, Derpy and Thunder right behind us. As we landed, I folded my lavender wings up against my body snuggly, hiding them from veiw with my saddlebags. Everypony else but Lightning did the same. He didn't have any saddlebags. So, I dug through Derpy's saddlebag, remembering that she had a sweater hidden in there somewhere. I yanked out a white hoodie, and threw it to Lightning. He put it on, and I was surprised that Derpy had five MORE hoodies. I pulled them all out, wondering how in Tartarus she got all of them. I picked the silver one first, being that it was on top. The next one was red, and Thunder Lane picked it. Then it became a free for all, Flash got light blue, Scootaloo got green, and Derpy got pink. We all put on our sweaters, then saddlebags. Lightning went through my saddlebags. Before I yelled at him, he came out with a knife.
"Mhm! Mhmmm, uhmm." he said, the knife muffling his words. I took the knife from the colt, then looked at him expectantly.
"Maybe if we cut small holes in the sweaters, we can still fly, but we could also hide our wings!" he exclaimed, proud of his own genious. I was fairly shocked that a colt could think of that before I did.
"Good job kiddo. I'll do all the knife work though. Wonder how all this stuff is in out saddlebags. Like we're hoarders or something." I laughed to myself. I first did myself, making small cuts. I was able to squeeze my wings through the holes. I enlarged the holes just enough so my lavender wings could breathe, but still be hidden well. I did the same for everypony else, doing the kids last. I almost cut Scootaloo, because she had been fidgeting too much. Lightning did himself like a good colt. We were ready to go. Nothing could stop us now!