Call Me Doctor Octopus (Revised Version)

Hello, there, dear friends. I didn't see you there. Huh? Who am I? Well, I was once Dr. Sunset Apollo Shimmer, a brilliant unicorn scientist with a tan coat and a mane and tail the colors of a blazing fire. Yes, I was once a pony who lived in Manehattan and worked at Tri-Corp Industries, a very prestigious science and technology company. These days, beginning ever since that fateful day in the lab, I've become much more than a mere pony... indeed, I am a new creation. As different from them as a pony to a beast. I am Doctor Octopus, or if you're into shortened names, Doc Ock. Behold, for this is my story as to how the criminal underground came to fear and respect me, along with some of my... allies, but their tales are best told by them.

~

An alarm clock beeped loudly in the apartment of an anthro tan unicorn pony with a mane and tail that looked just like a blazing fire. But, Dr. Shimmer wasn't in bed. Once again she had fallen asleep at her desk, looking over the notes for a  fusion reactor powered by pony-generated magic, or pseudo-magic. Sunset groaned as she lifted her head up, a few of her papers stuck to her face, and looked at the clock on the wall.

It read 8:08.

"Oh, shit, I've gotta get ready!" cried Sunset as she got up, ran to her room, grabbed a fresh change of clothes, which happened to be a tan pair of dress pants and a black shirt among socks and whatnot, and made a beeline for the bathroom. After her shower, Sunset quickly put her clothes, grabbed her disorganized notes, and ran out the door to her car.

~

"You barely made it in time," said a handsome unicorn stallion with a white coat, a dirty blonde mane and tail wearing a black shirt, tan dress pants, black shoes, and a white lab coat with three interlocked triangles over the left breast pocket of said lab coat. His most notable feature was his lack of a right arm. This was Test Drive, on whom Dr. Shimmer had a crush.

"Sorry, Test. You wouldn't believe the traffic," said Sunset as she entered the lab and put on her lab coat. "So, who's all coming tithe demonstration tomorrow?"

"Well, Cadence Mi Amore is representing the newly-established Equestrian Science Reserve, the big boss and the rest of the board are here, too. You know how much this project means to him," said Test.

Sunset gave Test a smile. "Of course I do. The reactor means a lot to me, too. It's my big chance to join the greatest scientists in history. This reactor is a breakthrough beyond the dreams of even Starswirl the Bearded. It's my legacy," she said.

Test couldn't help but smirk. Sunset, brilliant scientist, and, quite honestly, beautiful mare though she was, she always had a habit of becoming wrapped up in her pride. And when you're doing dangerous work like nuclear fusion, that can be deadly. "Well, then, shall we see how our baby is doing?" he asked Dr. Shimmer.

The two unicorns made their way to the R&D lab where the reactor, which looked like some kind of clenched four fingered claw, was housed.

Sunset and Test Drive began running diagnostics.

"Everything looks ship-shape here," said Test Drive, before he noticed a worried look on Sunset's face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that you and I both know that the slightest miscalculation or glitch in the reactor could wipe out half of Manehattan. What if the arms aren't enough to help control it?" said Dr. Shimmer.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're one of the most intelligent scientists in this field. Two years from now, ponies everywhere will ask 'Where were you when Dr. Sunset Apollo Shimmer harnessed the power of of Celestia's sun?'" said Test, making Sunset smile. "Now, come on, let's grab something to eat."

~

That night, as Security patroled the hallways of the Tri-Corp R&D Department, a dark shadow flitered about in the darkness. It appeared to be a mare of an unknown type, which was mostly due to the darkness in the building. She seemed to be wearing a black robe, black pants, black shoes, and black leather gloves.

The mysterious mare slipped into the lab where the reactor was. She smiled underneath her hood.

Well, here's Waldo... it truly does seem like a shame to do this to such a promising breakthrough, the mare thought to herself as she pulled out a special screwdriver and approached the reactor. Then she did something terrible: she loosened one of the screws on the machine.

That should do it, the mare thought to herself, before using her unicorn magic to erase her misdoing from the camera.

The dirty deed done, the hooded mare made her escape.

~

"Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome," said Sunset as she stood before a gathering of some of the most accomplished scientists in the world and Princess Cadence the following morning. "Today, you'll be witnessing the birth of a new form of fusion. If all goes as planned, we'll have safe, renewable energy and cheap electrcity for all. Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce my... assistants."

With a flourish, Dr. Shimmer pulled the tarp off of a harness of some sort. A control mechanism of some sort was installed into the front girdle. There was also a spine sort of thing. But the most intriguing feature of the device was what looked like four metal arms with three-fingered claws that kind of looked like octopus  tentacles.

"These arms were created for the sole purpose of maintaining sucessful fusion, and to that extent are impervious to heat and magnetism," explained Sunset as she stepped onto the platform the arms were on and attached all the pieces to herself. With her horn glowing a bright blue, Sunset activated the harness control mechanism and raised the robotic arms above her head. .

"Well, now that the set-up is out of the way, onto the main event!" said Sunset.

A pale blue light shined over the reactor. Dr. Shimmer made her way over to the machine, her horn glowing eerily in the dark space as she manipulated one of the tentacles' claws to produce a small pincher that proceeded to grab a glowing gem the size of a tear drop.

"Precious Element is the fuel that makes this little science project go. It's among one of the rarest materials on the whole planet," explained Sunset as she grabbed a pair of welding goggles and put them on.

"And here we... go!" said Sunset, typing in a command on a small keyboard.

After a few moments of the Element drop getting hit by lasers, what looked like a small pink sun sat in the middle of the reactor.

"Doctor, we have a sucessful fusion reaction," said a nearby assistant.

Dr. Shimmer wanted to jump up and cheer along with the rest of the crowd. She had done it! She had established fusion reaction!

"Congratulations, Dr. Shimmer. This is a breakthrough beyond the dreams of even Starswirl the Bearded," called Princess Cadence.

Sunset didn't hear a word of it, though. She was too fixiated on her creation. "The power of the sun... in the palm of my hand," she whispered.

Suddenly, someone said, "Do you guys hear something?"

Everyone, except Dr. Shimmer who was too busy attending to the reactor to notice, stopped talking. There was a metalic creaking sound.As Sunset typed commands into her keyboard, there was an abrupt and violent pull on anything and everything metal, save for the robotic arms.

"Remain calm! It's just a small surge! It'll stablize soon!" yelled Dr. Shimmer.

"Let's get outta here!" yelled one of the board members.

Within moments, the only ponies left in the room with the out-of-control reactor were Dr. Shimmer and Princess Cadence. "Doctor, you have to get away from there!" yelled Cadence.

"It'll stablize, it's under contro-ARRRRRRRRGHHH!" screamed Sunset as a bolt of plasma struck her in the back, pseudo-magical energy coursing through her harness and robotic arms in a torrent of pain.Cadence knew what she had to do. She used her magic to disable the electrical systems in the building.

Please, Faust... let it have worked, thought Cadence desperately.

Faust must have been feeling generous that day, because it did. The small explosion sent Sunset Shimmer flying into a wall. The deed done, Cadence passed out.

~

Outside, Dr. Rue, the big cheese of Tri-Corp, stood in horror as fire trucks and ambulences swarmed the building.

"Well, looks like I missed a fun day," said a female voice from behind Rue.

Rue groaned. Behind him was the very last pony he wanted to see. "What do you want, Twilight?" he said, turning to face the founder and CEO of Tri-Corp's biggest competitor, SparkCorp Industries.

Twilight Sparkle, a lavender unicorn with a navy blue mane and tail, both of which had a pink stripe, smiled. "You know full well what I want: Tri-Corp out of the game. And from the looks of things, I'm gonna get what I want," she said.

"Unfortunately, I see this as a chance to recapitalize and expand," said Rue.

Twilight chuckled. "You keep telling yourself that," she said before walking to her Rolls-Royce. Rue sighed. He knew this wouldn't end well.

~

What happened that day demolished half the R&D Department at Tri-Corp. Although the injured were able to make a full recovery, they were traumatized.But, the accident didn't just destroy.

It also created.

Even as she rode in the back of an ambulance, the already brilliant and unique mind of Dr. Sunset Apollo Shimmer was undergoing a transformation. It was creating four new neuro pathways. One for each of the robotic arms on her back.

Sunset Shimmer wasn't just a pony anymore.

She was Doctor Octopus.