//-------------------------------------------------------// For Science -by master18- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 Fluttershy softly tapped on the door to the library, wondering what Twilight could want at such a late hour. She had been at the edge of the Everfree forest helping her animal friends collect nuts for winter when the scroll had appeared. After seeing what it was, she had carefully climbed out of the bush she had hidden in and read it. The scroll was from Twilight, sent by Spike's dragon breath no doubt, and had said something about needing Fluttershy urgently and would she please come late that evening. The door opened, shaking Fluttershy out of her remembering the message. "Oh good, Flutershy, you're here," said Twilight. "Of course! Your message sounded urgent Twi-" Fluttershy stopped when she saw Twilight. Twilight appeared not to have slept in weeks. Her mane and tail were tangled and unkempt, her eyes were darting wildly from side to side, and her ear was twitching uncontrollably. "Twilight, are you alright?" Asked Fluttershy cautiously. "Of course! Never better!" Twilight replied with a slightly crazed laugh "Please, come in!" Fluttershy slowly entered the library and jumped when Twilight slammed the door behind her. "This way, please, follow!" said Twilight, motioning for Flurttershy to follow her. "Twilight, where's Spike?" asked Fluttershy as she followed Twilight down the stairs to the basement. "Oh, Spike's in Manehatten this week," Twilight replied "He's helping Rarity present her new clothing line at fashion week" "Then how did you send me that scroll earlier?" Asked Fluttershy curiously. "I've been perfecting a spell that produces the same effect as dragon breath for sending scrolls," replied Twilight absently, but she clearly had something else on her mind. They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence that stretched on as the stairs led them deeper and deeper into the earth before they stopped in front of a door. "Ah, here we are!" said Twilight with another manic laugh as she opened the door into darkness and motioned for Fluttershy to enter. Fluttershy slowly entered the room and jumped as Twilight followed and slammed the door. The *click* of the lock echoed through the darkness. "Twilight?" Fluttershy asked nervously into the darkness Suddenly, concealed magic lanterns flared to life. Fluttershy squinted into the sudden brightness that illuminated Twilight's lab. "Over here" said Twilight who was standing behind a row of beakers that held various multicolored concoctions. Fluttershy followed Twilight over to a large machine that had many buttons and screens on it, with wires sticking out of it in a jumbled mess. Next to the machine was a metal chair with no back. "Sit, please" said Twilight, gesturing to the chair next to the machine. Fluttershy sat where she was directed and asked "Twilight, what did you want me to help with?" "An experiment!" said Twilight gleefully as she pressed a button on the machine and two metal cuffs clamped down on Fluttershy's hooves, holding her in place. "What kind of experiment?" asked Fluttershy nervously as Twilight began attaching wires to her head and wings. "It all started a week after I became an alicorn." Twilight finished with the wires and began pressing buttons on the machine. "Princess Celestia was telling me all my responsibilities as a new alicorn princess when she mentioned in passing that I'm immortal now. "My first thought was of you girls! How could I be immortal if I had to watch you all grow old and die!" "Oh Twilight, we don't mind" Fluttershy began. "But then I thought, what if we were all alicorns! Then we would all be immortal and I wouldn't have to watch you die!" continued Twilight, ignoring Fluttershy. "But Twilight, nopony but the princesses can create alicorns!" "That's what you think!" shouted Twilight, turning on Fluttershy with a crazy look in her eyes "I've finally perfected a potion that can turn anypony into an alicorn!" she said, laughing crazily as she picked up an enormous needle filled with a glowing orange serum. "Twilight" Fluttershy began nervously, subtly trying to pull her hooves out of the restraints. "Don't worry" Twilight said, noting the look of fear in Fluttershy's eyes "You won't end up like the others" Fluttershy looked where Twilight gestured and gasped in horror. Dozens of dead ponies lay in a pile, their bodies twisted and misshapen, with half formed wings and horns sticking out of their bodies in strange places. She fought down the urge to vomit as she gazed upon the twisted corpses and suddenly felt a stab in her chest. She looked down and saw Twilight injecting the contents of the needle into her body. Fluttershy could feel the serum coursing through her veins like fire. She screamed suddenly as her bones began to shift and change. Twilight watched for over an hour taking careful notes as Fluttershy's body contorted. Finally Fluttershy's screams stopped as she stopped moving. Twilight gazed in frustration at the twisted remains of her friend. A horn had appeared on Fluttershy's forehead, still dripping blood from where it had broken through her skin, but another half formed horn had appeared on her back. Her wings had grown much larger, and a third one had sprouted on her belly. Twilight screamed and smashed the needle in frustration. How could this have happened? She was sure she had gotten the mixture right this time! After a moment, she calmed down and put her friend's body with the others. Then she began peering at her notes, trying to find the problem. She let out a maniacal laugh as she realized what the problem was and began mixing chemicals, muttering to herself and occasionally laughing. Rainbow Dash knocked on the door to Twilight's library. Fluttershy had been missing for three days and Dash was hoping Twilight had a lead. The door opened and Dash quickly asked "What is it Twilight? Why did you want to see me?" "For science" said Twilight, letting Rainbow Dash in with a laugh. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 Rarity knocked on the door to Twilight's library and collected her thoughts. She had been in Manehatten for fashion week over the past week and had returned to find out that Rainbow Dash had been missing for three days and Flurttershy had been missing for almost a week. The door opened a crack and Twilight peered out. "Hello?" She asked "Twilight, its me, Rarity!" Said Rarity, trying to look through the crack to see her friend. "Can I come in?" "Oh, Rarity! Of course, of course!" The door opened wider and Twilight came into view. "Are you alright dear?" Asked Rarity after a moment of shock. "Of course!" Said Twilight, looking a little confused "Why do you ask?" Rarity said nothing and simply stared at her. Twilight appeared to be a strange combination of nervous, tired and frustrated. Her mane and tail were disheveled, with chuncks of it missing, as though she had torn them out in frustration. Her ear was twitching uncontrollably, and so was her eye. Her eyes were barely wider pinpricks and darted around wildly, as though she were worried somepony would see her. After a moment of awkward silence, Rarity asked "May I come in?" "Oh, of course!" Said Twilight, moving to the side to let Rarity in. Once Rarity was inside, Twilight slammed the door and Rarity heard the distinct *click* of the lock. "Would you care for something to eat?" Asked Twilight after a moment. "Yes please, if it isn't too much trouble. I was on the train all morning, so I missed breakfast," Rarity replied, realizing how hungry she actually was. Twilight led her into the dining room at he center of her house and then entered the kitchen, leaving Rarity alone. "Darling, where is Spike?" Asked Rarity. "Oh, he's in Canterlot on royal business for Princess Celestia," Twilight called back from out of sight. "How was fashion week?" "Oh it was absolutely wonderful darling!" Said Rarity, "I won and got to spend time with he premier fashion designers in Manehatten!" She told Twilight all about the different designers and how they had shared their techniques and offered tips on how to become a big name designer. "And Sapphire Shores commissioned an entire new line for her upcoming show!" Finished Rarity, lost in happy memories for a moment. Twilight remained silent in the other room. "Darling?" Asked Rarity, getting up and walking towards the kitchen door to see if Twilight was alright. She was about to open it when the door burst open. Twilight was standing there, levitating some plates and glasses behind her. "That sounds lovely Rarity!" She said with a unnervingly wide smile. "Oh it was," said Rarity as she returned to her seat. Twilight set a plate and glass in front of Rarity, then took her seat and set her plate and glass down. Rarity ate and drank hungrily, not noticing or caring what she ate. I must be hungrier than I realized she thought as she finished the last of her drink. Twilight hadn't said anything, nor had she touched her food while Rarity ate. She just watched Rarity, almost expectantly. "Thank you darling, I hadn't realized how hungry I was." "Of course Rarity! What are good friends for?" Rarity sat for a moment, wondering how best to phrase her question. "Darling," she began, "I must confess that I had anoher reason to visit you today." "Oh? What's that Rarity?" Asked Twilight. "Well, when I got back, I found out that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash have been missing for a few days and-" she hesitated for a moment, then went on "-and they were both apparently last seen here, so I was wondering if you may know anything about their disappearance." Twilight just stared intently at Rarity, not saying anything. Rarity opened her mouth to say something else, but stopped she she felt a stabbing pain her stomach. She looked down, but she seemed fine. "Twilight, what was in that foo-" She screamed suddenly as the pain in her stomach spread like fire throughout her body. It enveloped her entirely, then concentrated in two points on her back and on her horn. She could feel her bones shifting and becoming lighter and she felt two nubs of bone growing rapidly on either side of her back. She screamed again as the pain intensified and her vision went dark. After some time, she couldn't tell how much, she began to become aware of her surroundings again. She had fallen to the ground and a majority of her vision was taken up by what appeared to be Twilight's legs. She looked up slowly, wincing at the pain it caused. "What- what have you done?" She whispered. Twilight appeared extremely frustrated. "How could this happen? The serum should've been right this time!" She muttered to herself, flipping through a notebook she was levitating. "Wha- what serum?" Asked Rarity weakly. She was hardly able to breathe and let her head drop back to the floor, unable to hold it up any longer. "No matter," said Twilight, closing her notebook. "This data should provide me enough information to adjust the serum so it produces a fully fledged alicorn." Rarity winced as a purple aura surrounded her and lifted her into the air. She dimly watched as Twilight carried her down the stairs to her lab. Twilight was still talking, so Rarity focused long enough to hear her finish "-after all, a live autopsy on a test subject should prove most illuminating." Author's Note Nothing much to say about this chapter, so as always, thanks a ton to SOUTH3 for prereading and to ace010101 for introducing me to the fandom! Y'all are the best //-------------------------------------------------------// Epilouge //-------------------------------------------------------// Epilouge "Thank you for inviting us to this picnic darling" said Rarity, using her magic to spread out a red and white checked blanket. "Yeah! This is going to be so much fun!" Added Pinkie Pie, setting down a picnic basket and opening it to release several balloons. "Its nothing girl's," said Twilight, "I just wanted to have this picnic so I could tell you all how sorry I am for the way I've been acting these past few weeks." "Yeah, what was up with that?" Asked Rainbow Dash, looking at Twilight over the top of her sunglasses. "Yeah! You were acting all crazy!" Said Pinkie Pie. "That's not very nice Pinkie," said Flurttershy, arriving in time to hear Pinkie's remark. "No, Pinkie's right," said Twilight, lowering her head in shame, "I was acting crazy. I guess I just couldn't accept that I was going to live forever and have to watch you all die." "Its okay sugarcube," said Applejack, putting a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, "I'm sure that anypony in your place would've acted the same way." Twilight smiled at her and looked around at her friends. "You girls are truly the best friends anypony could ask for!" The six of them hugged and Twilight thought about how lucky she was to have her five wonderful friends. After the six of them hugged, they dug into the picnic. Rarity had brought sandwiches, Appmejack brought some of the best apples of the season, and Pinkie brought tons of sweets, even an enourmous cake that was somehow bigger than the basket she had brouht it in. As they ate, they caught up on what was happening in each other's lives. Rarity had won at fashion week in Manehatten, and she was now one of the biggest fashion designers in Equestria. Rainbow Dash had gotten an audition with the Wonderbolts and would be flying to Cloudsdale in two days for it. Applejack had enough money to raise a new barn and fix Granny Smith's hip. Pinkie Pie had become a consulting party pony and was now the premier party planner in all of Equestria. Fluttershy had gotten a job in the Canterlot gardens tending to the animals, so she was away most days, but she had managed to get time off and vet back to Ponyville for the picnic. As they talked, Twilight looked around at all her friends who's dreams had come true. She had never felt so content. She was considering another slice of cake when she noticed somepony walking in their direction. She looked closely and recognized the gold armor of a Royal Guard. "Hello!" She said cheerfully, waving him over "Come join our picnic!" The guard came closer and she saw that he was carrying a small metal tray with food and a tin cup with water in it. He stopped a few tail lengths from her and looked around at the picnic, his expression unreadable. "Come and join our picnic!" Said Twilight Thunder Charger stopped a few tail lengths from the purple mare. He looked around at the stone walls and floor of her cell and saw that she had somehow managed to scratch cutie marks into the walls. He recognized the cloud and lightning bolt cutie mark of Rainbow Dash and realized that they were the cutie marks of the other five bearers of the Elements of Harmony. The former bearers he mentally corrected himself. The other five bearers and their dragon friend, Spike, had been dead for nearly two months now, and Twilight had been here in her cell since then. He slowly put down the food and water he was carrying and was about to leave when Twilight said "Don't be silly Rainbow Dash, of course he can stay!" He backed slowly away from the mad mare towards the door as she said "Its okay girls, he probably has important buiness to attend to." As soon as he was out the door, he slammed it shut and sealed the magic lock once more, leaving the mad purple alicorn alone with her mind once again. Author's Note I've given up on trying to write the last chapter for this, so I'm going to post the epilogue now. I've actually had this written since before I posted the second chapter. If I ever do end up writing Pinkies chapter, I'll post it, but I don't think I'll end up writing it because I've completely lost my motivation for writing.