Rekindled Clockwork

The first important thing I noticed when I awoke was how hungry I seemed to be, almost like I hadn’t eaten in days. The second important thing, I was hanging upside down above a pit of angry looking sharks, who also looked hungry. Guess it’s going to be one of those days.

Alright Kiwi, you’ve been through this before. Remember what Mom taught you. Straining my neck against the straps holding my head, I analyzed the restraints that were chained around my limbs. Each seemed to be about one through one and one-half inches wide, and one-fourth inches thick. Instead of a typical key lock, these were fitted with a retinal scanner as well as a hoof scanner. There was also the unfortunate matter of my broken right forehoof, something that could hinder me when I did get free...motherbucker.

Okay, we’ll put that on hold for now. Not that I can’t do anything about it. Let’s see if there’s anything more pressing that I need to deal with.

“So ye finally awake, eh?” A voice called.

In the darkness something moved. A pink pegasus emerged from the black wearing a doctor’s lab coat and mask. He pushed a small cart in front of him. From the jumbled mess I made out a surgical knife, a saw, and a cattle prod. As he got closer to me the floor started to close over the shark pit much to my relief.

My body banged against the metal slab as I jumped in surprise. I violently strained against the steel shacks that were holding me down. I cried out, my mouth covered in a new type of muzzle.

His eyes locked with mine. His possessing no compassion, no remorse. Just a cold reflection of the situation I now found myself in.

“Such a handsome specimen.” He said, sliding a hoof through my hair. I snapped my teeth at him. “So like the last one they brought. Was she ye mother perhaps?”

Mother?

I struggled against the shackles in an attempt to grab him, my hoofs coming within inches of his head. Surprised, he jumped backwards knocking over a nearby table full of strangely colored liquids.

“S-so the mention of the mother interests ye, eh?” He said, getting back to his feet.

I struggled to nod, the strap holding my head making it hard. Was it me or were these things getting tighter?

The pegasus tilted his head and gave a smirk.

“Alright youngin. I’ll make a deal with ye.” He bent down near the table, but kept talking. “If you can survive what I’m about to do to you without passing out. I’ll tell you everything I know about your mother’s whereabouts. Deal?”

I nodded.

“Excellent. But I sorta feel bad for ye. Most of the newbies are drugged when they come in, so they don’t get to feel the full extent of any necessary operations. Too bad the Overseers don’t want you drugged.”

Wait, operation? What operation! And who were these Overseers, he’s talking about? Was that unicorn who I was following one of them?

“Pity, I wonder why that would be.” He stood back up, his arms full. In his left he carried a portable welding torch, the saw, and a black blindfold. And in his right, a small metal object.

I screamed when I saw the torch.

“You like? I’m going to use these to fix that arm you busted up trying to outrun the hunters.” He flashed me a smile. “As well as do a couple things to your pretty little head.”

I screamed again.

Still smiling he came over to where I was and dropped the stuff on the floor near my head. The metal slab I was on lowered itself to the ground and laid me flat on my back. Gripping my head with one forehoof he tied the blindfold over my eyes. I couldn't quite see what happened next, but I sure felt it.

Sharp metallic teeth cut into my right shoulder. Searing hot pain overloaded my brain as the nerves began to rip and tear away, I clenched my jaw and screamed bloody murder.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun. It was over.

“Are ye still with me?” The pegasus asked from somewhere to my right.

I growled at him.

“Well that’s unfortunate. Now you have to go through the connection process.”

The connection process?

Connection successful. Errors within acceptable range. Heartbeat slowing down to safe levels. Waking up host.

Huh?

“Okay. We be done.” The pegasus said as he removed the blindfold.

Shivering violently I made the effort to look. There, my arm was good as new. Or was it?

I moved the arm and immediately felt the difference. This one was lighter. That much was evident from how I barely felt it. My body seemed to know it wasn't the one that I had grown up with though.

“So ye like?” A voice said from behind me. “I did exactly what the Overseers asked, if but a few extra changes. Unfortunately I had to make some changes to the body anatomy to help accommodate, like taking out a few of your nerves and your original spinal column. But overall I think it turned out well.”

I didn't answer.

“Why not happy? This arm is way better than old one. And the changes I made to your body is an improvement. What more could you want?”

Why am I not happy? I’m stuck in who knows where. Being operated by a horrible excuse for a doctor. And who knows what he did to me while I was knocked out. All I wanted was to get out of here and find my mom.

Warning. System override in process. User overwriting RF-1 original protocol. Firewall failing.

Suddenly my vision became blurred and reality started to slip away. I watched as my new arm started to move on its own, straining against the shackles. In one deft movement it ripped through and was free. On the other side, my left arm mirrored the process.

“What the-” The pegasus said rushing over. “Stop that. I won’t let-”

I reached up and grabbed him by the neck and squeezed.

“What ye...doing?” He gasped in pain.

In reply, I squeezed harder and brought his face up to mine. I could feel his blood as it coursed through his neck, mere centimeters from my hoof. Clenching my jaw, I pulled tighter on his throat. His whimpers of pain soon turned into sickening gurgles. His limbs thrashed about wildly trying to grab me. That all stopped soon enough with one swift twist of my arm.

Freeing my other limbs I got to my hooves and rushed through a nearby door. And immediately wished I hadn’t.

Bodies, Bodies everywhere. The room was full of dead bodies. A wide array of dismembered and intact corpses lined the entire area. Each one attached to multicolored wires and monitors.

It's dark in this room, although some amount of light filters through from some unknown source. I hear the eerie sound of the mechanical whirring as I take in my surroundings. As I carefully scan the room I find the room actually spans a great deal in all directions.The far walls obscured in shadow, scream of something sinister. All around there are various pieces of machinery. What is this place? A factory or something?

Near the back, something caught my eye. Walking carefully I approached a body that had been encased in a vat of clear liquid. At least a ten feet tall, with a variety of parts thrown together and assembled into one abomination. It looked like someone had taken Frankenpony a little too seriously and had decided to make their own monster. But that wasn’t what had caught my attention.

The body, it was breathing!