Chapters Tall metal walls encased the Puzzle. She sat in front of her mirror, it's cracked surface sending back her broken reflection. She just sat, and stared, just like every other day in her life. But then the doors opened and two guards stepped in, standing next to the doorway. A stallion walked through, clearly dressed as a doctor, but he didn't look anything like a pony. He had a long, thin neck with dark grey spots covering his body. His hooves clicked against the cold stone floor, ringing in the air. He carries a tool box with his magic, a sign that he's a unicorn. He had a lab coat on, with his ID reflecting the light in the room. It read : Gira Shinikau Robotic Engineer Staff # 4803. "Gira," she thought, her eyes trailing back to her reflection and away from the stallion. "What kind of name is that?"
'Gira' sat the toolbox next to Puzzle's flank and stopped. He was now just a few hoof-steps away. He reached out and opened the toolbox, removing a thin circle of metal with little metal balls along it, and a screwdriver. He set them down next to Puzzle and waited. He sat down and stared at her, and she stared right on through her reflection. They sat like that for what seemed like hours, until Puzzle finally spoke. "What do you want?" she asked, her voice dry and hoarse from it's lack of use in the past months. Gira smiled at her, and finaly spoke as well. "Hello, Puzzle. I've heard a lot about you!" His voice was cheery and full of happiness.It wasn't deep, like the other guards, but it was a nice mellow tone. Puzzle turned around, facing Gira. "Oh, have you now...let me guess, all the 'Good Things'?" Gira smiled softly and shook his head. "Of course not Miss, I've heard of everything. It isn't a secret here, you know." Puzzle sighed and turned her body away from the mirror and towards Gira. "Yeah...I know..." "Well,"he went on, obviously seeing her sadness, "I'm here for a special little project!" Puzzle froze, her eyes locked on the stallion. Her mind went back, just a few years ago.
The scientist wanted to see what made her tick, so they wanted to cut her up and experiment. Puzzle went along with it, but they didn't give her any sort of pain medication for the surgery, resulting in a young mare tied to a metal table, surrounded be ponies in white lab coats, cutting her open as she cried from the pain...Her mind finally released her, leaving her gasping for breath in front of Gira. He leapt forward, holding her up as her body shook with fear. When she finnaly did regain her mind, she pushed Gira off her forcefully, and curled up in a ball to shiver by herself. "It won't be like that, Puzzle." he said, almost like he was reading her mind. She stopped shivering and uncurled, facing Gira again. "Then what will it be like?" she asked, all weakness leaving her voice. Gira smiled again, obvious to her curiosity.
He nodded towards the metal band in front of her. "That right there is for protection." he said. "For the doctor's that'll enter here. The guards too." Puzzle let this sink in. "Go on..." "When one of the lab personnel's ID cards gets within scanning distance of this little thing," he said, nodding to the metal band. "A small shock of about 7 volts will shock you. Nothing too bad though, just enough to make you twitch." Puzzle stopped. A shock. For safety. On her. For others...
"If I refuse?" she asked, glaring at the stallion. Gira retained his small smile. "Well, there's always killing you." Puzzle stopped. Gira acted so nice when he said that, his voice moving fluidly to say the words. It sounded, natural, somehow. Puzzle huffed. Gira waited for a few more minutes for a response, before picking his the metal band and screwdriver back up with his magic and placing them back in the toolbox. He grabbed the toolbox and stood up, heading back towards the door. "Oh, one more thing, Puzzle," he said, pausing in the doorway. "Red is your favorite color, right?" he asked. Puzzle shook her head, deciding not to respond. Gira smiled. "It may yet be." And then he was gone...
Author's Note
Okay, so, one of you was asking to read the poem that this is based off of, so I'll put it here(after looking for it for weeks on end). Here, read it:
A puzzle
Here I sit
It's a ball
Anywhere...
My puzzle
Build...
Rebuild...
Fire
Gira was startled by the ruffling of sheets. He glanced at the heart monitor. Still a flat line. He perked his ears and turned his attention to the bed. Puzzle was twitching, her eyes opening for only a moment before shutting again. Gira was so startled that he fell out of his chair on to the cold floor. Puzzle sat up, releasing a small sigh as she did so. Her chest leaned forward as she breathed in, a small red wisp making it's way into her mouth. She opened her eyes as she breathed out, her body becoming increasingly frail.
Gira rushed forward to catch her as she crumbled. She shook her head and looked up at him with weary eyes. "Did I fall asleep during our meetings again?" she asked, yawning. Gira was smiling wildly, pulling Puzzle into a big hug as she remained oblivious. "Welcome back, Kid." he said, happy tears streaking down his face.
They were just pulling away when the door was thrown open. Three guards ran in, all standing sloppily in a small half-circle. A scientist walked in behind them, grimacing at Gira and Puzzle. "Ah, Sir," Gira said happily, standing up and walking towards him. "Isn't it wonderful!? Puzzle's back! She actually just woke up,so if you want to talk to her, feel fr-" Gira was cut off by the scientist. "Kill him."
Gira's expression fell. "W-what?" he asked, the guards closing in on him. "You have come in contact with Subject #9, not a very good idea." the scientist went on. One on the guards raised his weapon, bringing it down hard on Gira's head. He fell, holding his head as the other guards tried desperately to pull his arms away from his face. The biggest, the one that hit him, was yelling at the others to keep his still and keep his arms away from his face, so he could get a clear shot.
Puzzle was watching the entire scene in shock. During all the commotion, the scientist walked up to Puzzle. "Hey, let him go! Stop it, he can't fight back!" she leaned over next to the scientist to try and reach them, but fell and hit the floor. From there,she started to sob. "Quit it! Stop! Noooo!" she screamed as the two smaller guards grabbed Gira's hooves and held them down, with the biggest ramming his gun onto Gira's head. Gira stopped moving. As did Puzzle. She curled up into a small ball on the floor, crying.
Puzzle's mane was un-kept, yet silky soft. "Oh, don't worry, Princess." the scientist said, grabbing a hoof-ful of Puzzle's hair so he could see her tear stained face. "I've got a nice, white room for you to stay in. You'll never have meet anypony else ever again!" 'Why me?' Puzzle thought, pulling her head away from the stallion's hoof and placing it in her hooves.
'What did I do?'
"You did nothing...they did..." A voice said, echoing into the far reaches of Puzzle's mind. Puzzle snapped her head up, and her eyes flashed red for a second. "Let me teach them a lesson..."
She shook her head, trying to get rid of that stupid voice. "Go away!" she screamed, burying her face in her hooves. The scientist and the guards turned their heads toward her. The scientist walked up to Puzzle, shaking her lightly. A guard walked over and tried to pick her up, only to be thrown back by an invisible force.
Puzzle stood up, her eyes closed firmly. Her horn glowed brightly, only her blue magic, was now red. Eyes shut tightly, the red magic shot out in tendrils from her horn. Her eyes opened, and the magical tendrils wrapped around the guard closest to her. "Don't just stand there, you idiots!" The scientist said, his face red. "Shoot her!"
Guns raised, the remaining two guards released a rain of bullets on Puzzle. The guards that had been caught in the magical tendrils was used as a shield, and his body was torn and broken before the other guards even realized that they weren't hitting her. "You idiots!" The scientist yelled, running over and pushing the guards towards Puzzle.
'You...' a voice said softly, which caught the attention of both the guards and the scientist. The dead guard was thrown aside, and Puzzle's eyes were shown to be leaking red flames. She bared her teeth at them. 'You...you who hurts the friends of mine are misguided...' Her voice echoed in her throat. As she took a step forwards, and her foreleg was consumed by red flames.
'You...who have broken and hurt me, in the name of your so called 'progress'...' Another step forwards, and Puzzle's front half was eaten by the flame. 'You...you are the meaning of the word evil!' the voice rose to a scream. Puzzle threw her head back, and her magic blinded the three stallions, before the walls of the room burst into flame.
The scientist screamed, running around as his coat caught on fire. The biggest guard came over to help him put it out, only to be hit in the face by his superiors flailing hooves. "Help me! Help me! I'm roasting!" The scientist cried, as the guard ripped off his coat, and threw it into the flame. The two made their way towards the door.
"Bruce, wait!"The other guard cried, stuck under a beam that had fallen on him. "We're buds! Help!" Bruce just glanced at his friend, and walked out of the room.
Puzzle walked over to Gira's unconscious body, the only thing spared by the flames. Puzzle's flame died down, and she lifted him up with her magic. Gira didn't stir in the slightest as Puzzle's red magic swirled around him, lifting him above the flames and out the window, slowly setting him down outside in the outdoor garden.
Puzzle smiled to herself as she walked out, only to fall unconscious. The last remaining guard, Bruce, shot her with his tranquilizer gun. The scientist glared at Puzzle's unconscious form, as other work-ponies rushed about, trying to calm the flames. "What would you like to do with her, sir?" Bruce asked the scientist.
The scientist adjusted his glasses, and looked calmly into Bruce's eyes. "I want her put under constant surveillance, with a magic lock in her room. Also, make sure you find that Gira fellow." Bruce nodded, and walked over to a small group of guards. Slowly, the flames died, and Puzzle was moved even deeper into the facility. In a new room, she smiled in her sleep.
"Hey!" A voice called, awaking Puzzle from her long sleep. "Hey, you might want to get up!" Puzzle looked around, to see only a white room. No pony in sight. "Yo, get up! You don't want to be here when this place becomes ground zero!" Puzzle jumped from her bed and glanced up. A figure could be seen inside the vent.
"H-hello?" Puzzle asked, as the vent rustled. "Yea, what is it?" The figure asked, as the vent was pulled back, and a face appeared. Puzzle yelped, and took a step back in fright. This pony, they, they weren't very pony-like. A large beak adorned the creatures face, and stringy light grey hair fell over green eyes.
The apparent pony-bird hybrid jumped down into Puzzle's room. The creature was a pegasus, and looked to be a mare. Puzzle looked the pony up and down. "What?" The creature asked, her light brown coat twitching under Puzzle's gaze. The creature yawned and a pair of large wings unfurled.
Puzzle had seen many pegasi in the facility, guards and doctors, but none of them had wings this big. "Well, let's just get this over with." The pony-bird said. She held out a hoof. "Hello Miss, I'm Bird!" As Puzzle reached to shake her hoof, she paused momentarily. The clear outline of shackles was imprinted on her coat, yet Puzzle still shook her hoof.
"I'm Puzzle." She said. "Well, Puzzle," Bird said, her eyes glinting with mischief. "We really should be going." Puzzle tilted her head. "Going? Going where?" Bird smiled, or, at least tried too. "Well, you don't want to be around here in half an hour." Bird grabbed Puzzle in her forelegs, and jumped up, spreading her wings, and flew through the vent opening. Puzzle opened her mouth to scream, but Bird, placed a hoof over her mouth.
Bird slowed down and stopped over another vent. She looked through it, before rasping it with a hoof. "Celestia works for Nightmare Moon." She whispered in the vent. A rock hit the vent. Bird's eyes twinkled, and she removed the vent cover. Bird grabbed Puzzle and dove inside.
Puzzle gasped as she fell, only to be let down softly. Onto dirt. Dirt. Puzzle opened her eyes slowly, and was met with a sight that made her eyes widen in surprise. A large leafy jungle surrounded them, with a small pond a few hooves away. Puzzle was just about to open her mouth to ask Bird why they were there, when she was knocked down.
Puzzle lost her breath, and her sight was turned white, before it focused on a face in front of her. "Who are you?" A male voice asked. Bird smiled and threw herself on the stallion. "Jax!" 'Jax' lost his threatening demeanor and grinned. "Bird!" Jax ran over to Bird and tackled her to the ground.
They rolled across the ground and stopped against a tree, laughing all the way. "I missed you, you reptilian goof!" Bird said, grinning at Jax. Puzzle let the two have their moment, while she studied Jax. He wasn't like a regular earth-pony. His green coat was covered in patches of scales, and his eyes were two different shades of grey. As he hugged Bird, his spiky green hair bounced.
"Um..." Puzzle started, unsure if she should interrupt the two's moment. "B-bird?" She asked, shuffling on her hooves. "Yeah?" The beaked pony asked, turning to look at her. "Didn't you say that we had to be going?" Bird stopped smiling, before pushing Jax off of her. "Oh, no!" She cried. "We've been here too long!" Jax looked at her in shock.
"You didn't..." He started. "I did!" She almost screamed. "Jax, grab Puzzle, we need to go now!" Jax walked over to Puzzle and threw her over his back. Puzzle squeaked as Bird picked Jax up and flew them into the vent. It was cramped, now that there was three ponies, but Bird just started moving down the vent. "Jax, come on!" She whispered.
Jax nodded, and pushed Puzzle in front of him. She was confused for a moment, before deciding it was best to just go along with them. As Puzzle and the two moved through the vents, she could hear yelling from vent covers as she passed over them.
"Bird!" Jax whispered over Puzzle. "We need to move faster!" Bird nodded, and let Puzzle and Jax pass her, before opening her wings a little, and flapping them. She pushed the two forwards, faster than when they were just crawling. After what felt like hours, the vent opened up to a large cylinder opening.
Puzzle stopped the group's movement by pushing her hooves against the walls. "Stop!" She yelled. Bird stopped her flapping, and looked over Jax to Puzzle. "What is it, Puzz?" Bird asked. Puzzle ignored the nickname. "Um, there's a chamber." Jax smiled, and nodded to Bird. "Well, we should investigate!"
Bird chuckled and started to flap her wings again. Puzzle tried to stay put, but the force of Jax's pushing and Bird's wings pushed the trio into the vent. Puzzle screamed as they were tossed and turned int he air, until the trio landed near the bottom, where a large fan spun dangerously fast.
"Are you sure you set it?" Jax asked Bird, yelling over the fan's roaring. Bird nodded, and grinned. "Set what?" Puzzle asked, only to be thrown back into the air as the cylinder shook violently. She screamed as she fell towards the fan, squeezing her eyes shut. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity in the vent, Puzzle felt a cool metal grate pressing softly against her coat.
She opened her eyes, and gasped at what she saw. It was outside! Not outside like the indoor gardens, but actual, legitimate outside! "H-how?" She began, her voice shaking. It smelled so different, and yet, so inviting. Bird and Jax arrived soon after, and Bird used her beak to loosen the screws, and kick out the grate.
As Puzzle stood on grass for the first time, looking out into real trees, she saw Bird and Jax in front of her, and knew, she had finally found her own little band of freaks...
Author's Note
So, I was wondering about what to call Jax, because before this chapter, I hadn't thought of a name. So, here's his name's back story. :
A small reptilian-pony hybrid was hatched, and, a few years old, he was beginning to learn how to speak. One of the staff had recently had a foal, and was showing the pictures everywhere, even to Jax. This foal was called Jax. Jax wanted a name, so he started to call himself Jax. Our Jax has never met the normal Jax, nor will he ever. I just needed a creative way for him to get his name.
Also, no, Jax and Bird don't have cutie marks. Only Puzzle.
"Are you sure this is the best thing for her?" a lavender unicorn asked the white stallion doctor before her. The doctor smiled and nodded, still keeping words to a minimum. "Her...ability, could serve as some use to Equestria." the lavender mare gazed on, as if looking through the doctor. A small light blue unicorn filly sat between the two, working hurriedly on a puzzle. She briefly glanced at the older ponies, before drawing her gaze back to the puzzle. "Don't worry..." the doctor said, nudging the filly towards the twin doors. "She'll be fine."
Hello. I am Puzzle. At least...that's what all the people here call me. I don't actually know my name, but I do know this...I'm here for a reason...I need to remember...why I'm here...
"Okay..." a mare in a lab coat said... pressing a button on the control panel before her "Puzzle...we're opening the door to outside. You can go out when you want." A tall steel door in a metal room opened...revealing a small garden of grass. A small light blue unicorn filly stepped out...and walked slowly to the center. The world around her was calm...hiding the inner turmoil inside her mind. Slowly, she sat down...and let her mind leave...
Everything...all my memories are flashing all at once...pictures...sounds...and faces...And all the puzzles...so...many...puzzles...
"Puzzle..." a doctor said, walking into her metal room. "It's time to put down the puzzle..." the small filly sat in a corner, her hooves working heartily at on the puzzle before her. The fillies eyes were blood-shot and drooping, a sure sign of lack on sleep. "Puzzle..." the doctor said, more forcefully. "Put it down." The doctor walked behind the filly and grabbed the puzzle, yanking it from her hooves. "Now, Puzzle!" the doctor said, throwing the puzzle into a nearby corner. The unicorn filly looked up at the doctor, her horn glowing with magic. The doctor was confused for a moment...then the buttons clicked. As did the pain start. She clutched her head, the crushing growing the longer time went on. She let out one bone chilling shriek, and a cracking filled the room. Blood splattered all over the wall, and Puzzle. The other doctors rushed in, dragging the blood soaked filly away from the headless body that was once a living, breathing mare. Puzzle kept her eyes open just long enough to see the body of the mare pass through the doors as it was dragged away...
Why!? Why did I kill that mare? She probably had a family, expecting her to come home after work...what if she had a filly? One filly in Equestria who would never see their mother again...why!? WHY!?
"Okay," the doctor said, starting the tape recorder. "Puzzle, can you tell me what happened?" Puzzle sat across from him, the white walls of the room clashing with her once again light blue coat. "It wasn't me..." she started softly,her eyes blank orbs. "Yes it was Puzzle...you were the only one in the room." Puzzle closed her blank, expressionless eyes and let out a soft sigh. It cut through the silence of the room and hung there, like a towel left to dry. The doctor didn't know what to do, he wasn't the best when it came to filly's especially not ones who've killed somepony. He tried again. "Can you tell me what happened,sweetie? Then you can go back to your room." he said, a fake smile plastered on his face. This did not go unnoticed by the filly. "Why..." she said softly, letting her hair fall into her face to cover her eyes. "Excuse me?" the doctor said politely, still retaining his fake smile. "Why," Puzzle said again, more forcefully. "Do you care...you didn't know her...you don't have to live with the guilt...and you certainly don't have to live with the thought of what you've done." Puzzle pulled a strand of her mane out of her face revealing an blank, pink eye. "Any more questions?" she asked, standing up from her chair. She slowly started to walk towards the door, only stopping when the doctor started to speak again. "Get back here Puzzle. Please..." he said. His smile wavered and his eye twitched. Puzzle glanced over her shoulder for only a second, before continuing towards the door. The doctor's patience wore out and he stopped smiling. "Puzzle, you get back to the table this instant, Missy!" He stood up from his chair and slammed his hoof on the table. Puzzle stopped walking. She was just a few feet from the door when she turned around. Her eyes we closed and her posture showed no sign of fear towards the angry stallion before her.
"No." she said calmly, eyes still closed. The doctors patience snapped and he leaped over the table, grabbing a hoof-ful of the filly's hair and yanking hard. "Get back here, you runt!" he yelled in her face, spit passing onto her light blue coat. Puzzle stood there for a second,her face hidden by the rest of her hair. "Are you listening!?" the doctor screamed, yanking yet again. Puzzle slowly pulled her hair out of her eyes to show them to be a bright, blood red. The doctor got only a squeak out before he crouched over, a pain forcing it's way into his skull. He screamed, blood-curtling as he drew his final breath. The stallion's head imploded, then the blood and bits of brain flew out all around the room. Puzzle stood up, her blue coat once again stained red. She walked towards the exit, a slight smile on her face. Her eyes continued to glow red, until she was back in her room. She never understood what had happened that day.One thing was for certain though...that monster with the red eyes wasn't Puzzle...or was it...?
Author's Note
Sorry for not updating for so long...but here we are, anyway! On with the show.
Everything Changes
Gira kept visiting everyday. He would come in with two guards, sit down near Puzzle, and and take out the metal band and screwdriver. They would talk for an hour, then Gira would leave, taking all that he brought with him. During the time that Puzzle was alone, she would sit and look at the broken mirror, watching as her reflection stared back, broken and cold. Her mind was slipping away. And Gira knew it.
Everyday, when Gira arrived, Puzzle would simply stand and turn towards him before sitting back down. Days passed like this. Days turned into weeks,and weeks turned into months,and months turned into a year. One year passed like this. Then finally, she stopped responding. Puzzle's body shut down from lack of nutrients. It turns out that she had slowly been starving herself, over the course of the year. They couldn't figure out why she did it, she was put into a hunger induced coma. She'd lay there, still and lifeless...for eight months. Everything changed. For her, she was in her deeper consciousness, battling an enemy she couldn't see.She was about ready to let it all go.
Gira wouldn't let it, though. Everyday, at the same time, he'd walk into her room in the infirmary, the same two guards in tow. He'd walk in and sit down next to her bed, and take out the metal collar and screwdriver, placing it on her lap. At the time, the nurse would have her sitting, a way for her body to stay in the norm. It seemed natural. So Gira would sit. And talk. Not about much. He'd just sit there, next to her life-less body and talk to her. He pretended she could hear him, it helped.
By the first month, he had already brought her at least 4 different bouquets. He even had the two guards bring her a get-well card. Then, the worst happened. On the eighth month, exact, her heart went on the fritz. She flat-lined, and the doctor's rushed in with the defibrillator, charging her chest almost at once. But they were to late. Her heart had stopped beating. It was over.
Gira stayed by her body through the night, while the doctor's explained the situation to the scientist. They were just outside the door.
"I'm sorry, Sir," the doctor said, closing his eyes. "We couldn't save your subject. Her heart stopped at exactly 4:38 A.M." the doctor's voice was full of remorse. The scientist's eyes widened. He grabbed his walkie-talkie with his magic and ripped it up to his mouth. "All units, report to infirmary room #18! Subject #9 is in code-red condition!" he yelled to all frequencies, his voice playing over all staffs' walkie-talkies.
Three guards rushed to the room, waiting for a signal from the doctor to enter. What they did was terrible...
