The fog stretched on, as if in a desperate attempt to slip out of the lab’s dark clutches. It was useless though. With parts of it still lingering in the shadows, escape was impossible.
Moonlight sliced through the clouds and the night sky, providing the only light around the eerie area.
In the middle of a forested area stood a lab. Protecting the facility and its secrets was a fifteen-foot tall gate with spikes adorning the tops. Guard ponies were also positioned so they could shoot down any possible flying intruders.
Inside the lab, though, was truly where nopony should ever want to be.
Inside, foals were tested on every day. No life shone in their eyes. Reasons for the experiments remained unknown, except for those who were lucky enough to earn the trust of the owner.
If you were to travel down the long and many corridors, you’d hear the screams and shrieks of many in pain. Otherwise, you could peer through the glass of the room that held the little ponies in captivity.
The little ones had tried to escape plenty of times, but they soon found their attempts to be useless. Not worth it either.
They found that if they tried to slip away from their grip, they get a punishment with pain worse than the experiments. So, they gave up.
As they performed their experiments on the foals, some smirked, for they found it rather amusing.
Suddenly, an alarm resounded throughout the lab. Ears perked and eyes darted, searching for the one that had escaped.
Hooves clopped against the hard floor while the filly ran. Her breath was ragged and she was a bit slow since she was so weak, but she continued to persist. It was hard for her to see since her hair was a tangled mess and flew in many directions in front of her eyes. Still, she was able to see through some strands the front door. Almost there. She told herself.
This was the one filly that hadn’t given up. She still believed it was possible to escape.
The chase began once the employees saw her. They chased her and caught her with almost no effort at all.
“Let… me… go…” the filly said between breaths, as if they’d actually do so. The two workers who were holding her by forelegs looked at each other, then back at the filly amusingly before laughing.
“I said, let. Me. Go!” the small pony repeated. This time, she attempted to kick them. It was no use though, for she didn’t have enough strength to kick them hard enough.
“Prisoner C82?” a voice said over the intercom.
“Yes, sir,” the two employees said in unison. The voice sighed heavily.
“I don’t see why you keep trying,” the voice said unamused. “Don’t you realize escape is impossible?” The voice paused, as if waiting for an answer. “Of course you don’t! You actually believe you can escape!” The voice laughed. “You can’t, though, so give up already.”
“Never!” The filly spat. “You may have taken all the hope out of everyone else, but you will never take the hope out of me. I will escape, and once I do, I will report to the princesses about this!”
The voice laughed once more. “Sweetheart, don’t you know that won’t do a damn thing? The princesses and I have a contract.”
The filly blinked. “A-a contract…? What does the contract say?”
“That information is confidential,” It, as she decided to refer to the voice as, said in a stern voice. “Employees,” It began. The two workers looked up knowing whatever came out next was for them. “You know where to take her. Get moving. Make sure she stays in there longer than last time.” The filly’s struggles began as the two ponies began to haul her away, but it was useless with their tight grip.
The owner of the voice hung up so what he said could no longer be heard by anypony outside of the room. “My, that one is certainly a pain.” He sighed. “Though I must admit she can provide quite the entertainment.” He chuckled darkly.
“S-sir?” A shaky voice said.
The stallion turned around. “Ah, it’s about time you got here, my dear.”
“S-sorry. I ran into some—“
“No excuses!” He put a hoof up. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.” He walked around his desk and towards her, putting his hoof under her chin as she spoke, giving a smirk.
“R-right.” She tried to avoid making eye contact, but failed as his eyes caught hers and wouldn’t let them go. He put his hoof down.
“Tell me: What are you here for?” He asked.
The mare blinked a bit at his question and moved her gaze to the ground, but responded nonetheless. “I am here to follow your every order, sir.”
The stallion chuckled amusingly. “Oh, how I love hearing that.”
“S-so, that filly is quite troubling, isn’t she?” She said, trying to change the subject. She chuckled nervously.
“You mean prisoner C82?” The mare nodded. “Oh yes, but she puts on quite a show. Don’t you agree?” The mare said nothing in response. The stallion raised his hoof and slammed it on the ground in anger. “I said, don’t. You. Agree.”
The mare winced at the harshness of his tone, but recovered and nodded quickly. “Y-yes sir! An annoyance she is, but an entertainer as well.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said in a calmer tone. “Now then, I believe it’s time we get down to business. My dear, do you know why I called you here today?”
The mare shook her head, but took a few steps forward, wanting to know.
He smirked. “I called you here today because I think it’s about time we started Project J-604.”
The mare let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “S-sir? Are you sure? I mean, this is a really big project and—“
“You’re supposed to follow all my orders,” he said, cutting her off. “And what I say, goes.” The mare hesitated a bit, searching for something to say, but then nodded.
“Do what you have to,” he said. The mare nodded again.
“R-right away sir!” With that said, she rushed out the door.
The stallion smirked.