Undeveloped Stories and Ideas

Part 1: the Canterlot trial

Chapter 1: To wake up in a dungeon:

Hmm, this can’t be right.

If this drug works, then I should find a band on this blot right around this place, I saw the crystallography that my friend did, this drug was able to integrate well with HSP 90, it should be able to disrupt cell replication quite nicely, but these results aren’t showing anything, I should ask my professor about this.

Oh, professor, there you are, I have the results. They aren’t what you were expecting. Yes, I know how to perform a western blot, and yes I kept in mind the viability of the tumor culture, of course I osmolysed them, how else would I be able to extract the protein at maximum purity; well professor, following a simple procedure like the one you gave me is a bachelor degree skill, you know I’m better than to make a mistake like that; of course I’ll be triplicating the results, this is only a preliminary. What do you mean the worst possible scenario? The drug doesn’t enter the tumor? It doesn’t work? You want me to work on proving negative results???......

NOOOOOO.

Ouch my head.

Darn, the same nightmare over and over again, if people thought publishing positive results was hard, negative results are an actual nightmare, since they need to be verified a lot more times in order to fully refute the theory beyond any reasonable doubt, and I ended up with the worst possible scenario for my thesis.

Where am I anyway? It looks like a dungeon of sort, but that can’t be right. Why would I be in a dungeon? Unless I was kidnapped, well this wouldn’t be too much of a surprise since it is one of the problems of living here, though I thought the military had captured the kidnapping gang a while back…. Hmm I can’t seem to remember. Oh I know, mental check list of things to remember, GO:

My name is عماد نمير, I am 23 years old Lebanese student, and for some reason being a Christian is important, background check.

I am a biochemistry master student who have just presented his thesis. Oh right, I managed to prove that the drug AC13KT doesn’t enter the cell for it to perform its action as an anti-cancerous drug, how silly of me to still have a nightmare about what happened even after all that time, my studies check.

The languages I learned, Arabic check, English check, French check, German check, Italian check, Portuguese? No I’m still learning that so not checked.

My martial arts training, Aikido, Jui jutsu, Iaido, I seem to remember all of them so that is another check.

My piano and violin lessons, my favorite pieces: Vivaldi’s spring and autumn collection for violin, and then we have the revolutionary by Chopin for the piano, playing them all in my mind, also a check.

The last book I read was the last book from the song of fire and Ice series, Arya Stark, Danaeris Stormborn and a bunch of her titles, and Jon Snow…. Oh no, George R.R. Martin how could you!! *sights* Alright then, fan rage is over, that is another check.

Social awkwardness, like failing to ask my high school crush on a date for the twelves’ time, I’ll put a check on that, grudgingly.

Well it seems my long term memory is intact, let’s try my short term memory, what is the last thing I remember? My thesis, I was presenting that to a bunch of professors in the jury, I have two impressed faces, one scowling face, I think I might have cost him some funding with my findings, my professor is smiling slyly, and the last professor had quite a bored look on his face; so that is three out of five, not bad. After the presentation, and answering the fury of questions are over, I ended my thesis proposal with my professor congratulating me on a job well done, I invited him to a fruit cocktail from a near-by restaurant, and that’s it.

Why can’t I remember more than this though? I should be able to remember more than that, my hand feels weird, and so is my chin, I don’t remember having a long chin, this feels like a muzzle… Wait why do I have a muzzle? I look down on my hooves, wait why do I have hooves? And why is there holes in them?

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

I start running around my cell panicking, thankfully, I calm down after a few laps to find a mirror on the door next to me, but what I found left me appalled, “Oh crud,” I look like a black horse with sharp teeth, blank purple eyes, a purple mane and tail, and a horn on his head, I’m covered from top to bottom with bandages, and what is this on my back? Brocken bug wings? “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

I look like something that came out of a horror movie, wait, a Movie: last movie I watched? Can’t remember, stupid thesis took all my free time for an entire year, must be my stress finally getting the best of me, so I’m either seeing things or is it just a dream? I bite myself, “Ouch,” ok not a dream.

“Would yah keep it down? Yah damn changeling!”

….. Wait was he talking to me?

“Uh, hello?”

“Yeah, what do yah want bug?”

I finally got to see my captor, who appears to be an armored Technicolor white horse, that talks? That’s not something you see every day, and in English nonetheless, how quaint, at least I can bring my A-game with him, English is as good as my Arabic these days.

“Salutations and Good morrow to you sir,” my voice sounds chirpy, and has quite a high pitch to it, like I’m having a cold. “I am quite delighted to see such a charming face within a woeful place such as this.” He spat on the wall next to mine in response, maybe I brought my A-game too much, still I probably need to remain polite if I need answers “would you be so kind as to tell me where am I and how I got here?”

The guard, or I’m presuming a guard, looked at me dumbfounded, then a chuckle came out of him, which then turned to a full out laughter, I just deadpanned.

“May I…” inquire will sound too polite, “ask what is so funny?”

“You guys invaded us and you are asking me where yah are? Why that is the funniest thing I have ever heard.”

Invaded? Why is this sounding more and more familiar? I’m guessing I can always use my state of health to my advantage.

“I beg your pardon, but I seem to have lost some of my memory as well, I’m sure it’s not too much of a burden for you to answer my question.”

“Yah talk funny.”

“So I have been told.”

“Alright then, yah’ll be dead soon anyway,” he leaned over the bars, “Yah and yer kind invaded the city of Canterlot, and that is where y’ are being held, the Canterlot dungeon.”

Canterlot? That is a somewhat familiar name.

“And pray tell, where is this Canterlot located?”

“Are yah sure yah’re not makin’ fun of me?”

“I wish I were my good friend.”

He gave me an evil eye, I think my last comment did not go too well.

“Equestria.” He finally said before turning away, muttering something about bugs thinking he is stupid.

I sat there for a while processing what just happened, an armored unicorn horse told me that I am being held a prisoner because my kind, which is apparently a bug like creature, invaded a city named Canterlot, in a land called Equestria. I could have sworn that I’ve heard of this place before, but I can’t seem to be able to remember where it was.