Fallout: Equestria - Wicked as Synby KsfnChaptersPrologueHugsAlonePrologue"The portal to hell is opened with the incantation of good intentions" "Who all knows about this?" "Only the scientists who worked on the project." "Are they trustworthy? Can they keep secrets?" "I'd trust each and every one of them with my life." "Good. Nopony can know about this." Fluttershy stared at the creature before her. The two were separated by a thick glass window. The creature in the holding cell stared back at her with it's large grey eyes. Not blinking. Not moving. Not even breathing. It was unsettling. Unnatural. The creature was unlike anything that had ever existed in the world. The fact that it existed at all was amazing itself but as amazing as it was, it was equally horrifying. The creature itself looked innocent enough. A little Earth Pony filly with a bleach white coat, long grey mane, silver eyes and no cutie mark. It wasn't the creature's appearance that was unsettling. It was it's actions. It didn't move, nor blink, nor breathe. It didn't even seem like it was alive at all. It just sat there, staring at the glass wall. It couldn't see the two ponies behind the glass, it was a one way mirror. But Fluttershy couldn't shake the feeling that it was looking right at her. "Can she talk?" Fluttershy asked her companion. "Yes." The mare replied. "It's incredibly intelligent. We're not even sure how it learned to speak. It taught itself." The mare, a biologist named Hazel, turned to face Fluttershy and looked her dead in the eyes. "You don't want to talk to it though." She said. Hazel's eyes held a look of abject horror. She had spoken with the creature before and it was not an experience she wished to re-live. "Trust me. You don't want to hear that thing speak." "I'm sure it'll be fine. She's a living, sentient being. She deserves to be treated as such, not locked away like a criminal. She doesn’t even know what she did wrong." Fluttershy moved towards the intercom and pressed the button. "Hello? Can you hear me?" The creature on the other side of the glass didn't move. Didn't react at all. "My name is Fluttershy. I'm the pony in charge of the ministry of peace...can...can you hear me? Hello?" "I can hear you." The filly finally spoke. Fluttershy immediately regretted her attempt at communication. The noise that came from the creature's lips could hardly be called a voice. It sounded nothing like what a filly should sound like. Nothing like what anything should sound like. The voice of a creature that didn't belong in this world. Fluttershy never wished to hear that sound again...but even still, she swallowed her fear and pressed the intercom button once more. "Do you know where you came from?" "No." "Do you know what you are?" "No." Fluttershy stepped away from the glass and turned to Hazel. "How did this happen?" "We honestly have no idea. I guess we may have underestimated the power of your megaspells." Hazel finished her sentence with a small chuckle. "There's nothing to laugh about Hazel. Ponies are dead and the little filly in there is the cause. We’re responsible and we need to figure out what to do." "It's not a filly Fluttershy. Does it sound like a filly to you?" "I know but referring to her as 'it' just doesn't feel very polite." "Polite? You're worried about hurting its feelings?" Hazel's voice began to rise. "We don't even know if that thing has feelings! We don't have any idea what it even is! The only thing we know for sure is that it killed a room full of ponies in less than a second! It's dangerous." Fluttershy shot hazel a stern look. "I don't think she knew what she was doing Hazel. She was just scared. She's just a baby. A very smart, very creepy baby but...a baby nonetheless." Hazel missed what Fluttershy had said. Her attention had turned back to the glass window. Her eyes wide with shock and her jaw hanging open. "What the fuck?" "Hazel! Language!" "Fluttershy...look." Fluttershy turned back to the window. The filly was gone. She'd been replaced by a full grown mare, with a butter yellow coat, long light pink mane, blue eyes and three butterflies for a cutie mark. She'd even sprouted wings. Fluttershy was staring at a mirror image of herself. She pressed the intercom once again. "Why are you doing that?" The creature didn't respond. Didn't move, blink or breathe. "Please answer me! Why are you doing that?" The creature spoke once again and Fluttershy watched as its unnatural, hideous voice spewed forth from her own mouth. "Why am I here?" Fluttershy paused. It had asked her a question, finally. She felt unsure as to whether or not she should even answer it. The entire conversation had escalated to an entirely new level of disturbing. "Why can't I be out there with you?" Fluttershy pressed the intercom button again. "You're in there because you hurt ponies. We need time to..." "What does that mean? I don't know what hurt means." The expression on the creature's face had finally changed. Instead of a blank face it now looked curious. Like a child ready to hear a story. Wanting to learn. Ironically, it looked more childlike now than it had previously. "Hurt means...you caused others pain. You...killed ponies. Do you remember that?" "No." "Well until we know more about you, we have to keep you locked in there. So you don't hurt anypony else." "Is pain what I felt when I touched those bright lights? I didn't like that." "Ummm...well, yes I would imagine." "What do you mean I killed them? What does killed mean?" Fluttershy stared at the creature in confusion. "How did you learn to speak?" The creature began to look more frightened than curious. It finally moved, standing up on all four hooves and moving away from the glass window. "What does killed mean? Please tell me." Hazel moved Fluttershy out of the way and pressed the intercom button. "It means those ponies are no longer alive. They're dead. You killed them. They don't exist anymore." "They don't exist anymore?" The creature looked at it's own hoof, then back up at the glass. "Are you going to do that to me?" Fluttershy hurriedly made her way back to the intercom. "No we're not! We're not going to hurt you!" "Are you going to touch me with the bright lights again??" The creature was beginning to panic. It's features were beginning to change once more. It's skin began to boil and the feathers on it's wings began to fall off. "Please don't! The lights hurt!" It's eyes began to change as well. It's irises disappeared and the color died away leaving nothing but white. "I don't want to be killed!" It screamed. It's unearthly voice echoed in the room. "I want to exist!" All the color in the creature's skin died away, replaced with a sickly white. It's skin bubbled and boiled and soon it no longer resembled any equine shape at all. It became a writhing mass of flesh, screaming incoherently. The boils in the mass took the shape of equine faces. Screaming. Unleashing the most disturbing sounds imaginable. Each mouth widened further as it screamed until it reached it's peak and at that point the face would vomit forth a new one and begin the process all over again. Fluttershy couldn't move. She couldn't scream. Nor could she take her eyes off the horrific sight. The event unfolding before her was far more disturbing than her worst nightmares. And she had created it. This was her doing. No matter how much she wanted to look away she couldn't. As if the universe was forcing her to endure. Hazel made her way to the other end of the observation room to a separate intercom and pressed the button. "Close the shields." A large metal sheet closed over the window and the sound died away. Fluttershy stared at it. Her eyes wide and her lips quivering. She felt tears begin to stream down her face. She forced herself not to blink for she knew if she closed her eyes she'd see it again. "If that thing tries getting out…” Hazel said into the intercom. “...hit it with the flamers again." Fluttershy's shock finally died away. She turned to face Hazel. "You can't do that! You'll hurt her!" "Fluttershy! We have no idea what that thing even is! It's dangerous! We should kill it now and forget about this whole fuck up of a project!" "Please watch your language. And no." Flutter assumed a more assertive stance. Holding her head high. Showing off the years of leadership skills she had gained as a ministry mare. "That is a living creature. A creature we created. We're responsible for it." "Fluttershy, it's dangerous! You didn't see what it did! You don't know what it can do! If it gets out..." "It's just scared. Hazel look at me." Hazel looked into the other mare's eyes. The kindest eyes in Equestria. The physical manifestation of compassion. A creature so benevolent, the thought of ending a life, even one as terrible as the abomination before them, seemed utterly absurd to her. "Hazel I know you're scared. I'm scared too. Everypony in Equestria is scared right now. But we're the Ministry of Peace. We're the ones who have to rise above that fear and not allow it to drive us to do terrible things. It's our responsibility to help every living thing in the world." Fluttershy turned her head towards the window. "Because if we don't, nopony will." Hugs4 months laters "Hazel..." A mare sat slumped over her desk, fast asleep. She hadn't had a good night sleep in weeks and had finally keeled over from exhaustion. "Hazel..." Four months had passed since the incident. She'd been plagued with nightmares ever since. Several nights she had woken up screaming, and each time she closed her eyes the image of the creature was there, burned into her memory. "Hazel!" She was slowly losing her mind. "Hazel! Get up off your fat, lazy ass and get to work! Our guest is here." Hazel finally woke up. She looked up from her desk and spotted the mare disturbing her long overdue and much deserved slumber. "Good morning Good Grief. Good to see you're in a good mood." "Shut the fuck up Hazel. Our consultant is here. Let's see what this chick can do." Hazel and Good Grief began to make their way to the observation room. Along their way they stopped for coffee. Hazel poured herself a cup, added in four packets of cream and six packets of sugar and began to drink it down. "Wow. No wonder you're so fat." "Did something happen to you as a child? Like, were you dropped on your head and it destroyed the manners section of your brain? How did you even get a job working for the Ministry of Peace?" Grief shrugged. "Hey I'm nice! I'm just concerned for your health. You don't need that much sugar in your coffee. You want to end up like your sister?" "Oh please don't." Hazel shuttered at the thought of her sister. The creature in the observation room was almost more preferable than her. "Well that's what I'm saying Hazel! Just exercise a little, watch your diet and for fuck sake wash your damn face! Do all that and you'd probably be really attractive. Be able to pull in some good looking guys for a change instead of the ugly fuckers you usually bring home. Hell, do all that shit and I'll date you. I like you enough. You're just ugly." "Grief, you're the best friend I've ever had." Hazel replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She looked down at the brown liquid in her cup. "Coffee doesn't have nearly enough alcohol in it." After their coffee the pair stopped into the bathroom. They were purposely going as slow as they could to the observation room. Trying to prolong the inevitable as much as possible. They didn't care if they were late. If they were lucky they'd get fired. Too bad neither one was lucky. Hazel looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Good Grief was right. She didn't take very good care of herself. Her dark blue mane was a mess. She hadn't combed it in weeks. Her horn was cracked. Needed to be polished badly. Her breath smelled and there were bags under her eyes. That bugged her more than anything. Hazel considered her eyes to be her best feature. She'd even been named after them. Her bright beautiful, hazel eyes. If she looked at a stallion the right way, they'd fall in love with her instantly. Now their bright, lovely appearance was being overshadowed by exhaustion. Heavy bags underneath and green crust embedded in their corners. If she positioned her glasses the right way it hardly even mattered. She hated those glasses. As far as she was concerned they'd kept her from finding love. They hid her only good feature. Hazel used her magic to take off her lab coat and began to examine her body. She was getting fat. Not nearly as fat as her sister but she'd definitely put on some pounds. Too many trips to burger princess. She was also in desperate need of a good bath. All she ever got were quick showers and they were few and far between. Her dark yellow fur was matted all over. She looked over her cutie mark. A big, Hazel eye. Hazel liked eyes a little too much and her love of eyes had earned her cutie mark. Her curse. It was the ugliest cutie mark she'd ever seen. She wasn't unappreciative of it. She loved her field of work. Studying all the complexities of all the various living creatures in the world and there was nothing more complex than an eye. But did it have to be so ugly? Good Grief was studying herself in the mirror as well. "I'm sorry Hazel. For calling you ugly." Hazel looked to her friend and smiled. She was used to Good Grief's bitchy fits and was appreciative of the fact that she was always quick to apologize. "What's with the sudden turn around Grief?" Hazel asked with a chuckle. "Well I can't really criticize your appearance much when I look like this." Grief didn't look much better than Hazel. The pair shared similar coat colors. Only Griefs was much brighter yellow. They were both unicorns but that's where the similarities ended. Hazel was short and stocky. Grief was tall and thin. Too thin. Instead of eating her anxieties like Hazel, Grief dealt with her emotions by starving herself and it showed. If Hazel looked close enough she could make out the outline of Grief's rib cage. The tall, lanky mare looked in the mirror and sighed. "Maybe we should just date each other Hazel. We're never gonna find anyone else. We're past our prime." "We're not that old Grief. And I'm not sure I'm into mares." "Yeah me neither. I just don't want to end up alone." Grief removed her own glasses and dusted them off with her lab coat. Griefs eyes were almost as pretty as Hazel's. Bright green. Always hidden under her glasses and pitch black mane that frequently fell over her face. It was a shame that both of them were forced to hide their best features. Grief took off her lab coat and began examining her hind quarters in the mirror. She ran her hoof over her cutie mark, a pair of black zig zagging lines that represented Grief's talent for analysis, and frowned. "Hazel, I have no ass." She said. Hazel laughed. "You can borrow mine. I have enough to share." Grief laughed with her friend. "When was the last time you got any?" "A couple months ago." "What?? How?!" Hazel shrugged. "I try to actually have a life. Whenever I get a chance to go out I take it. When I do, get a couple drinks in me and I can usually talk a guy into bed." "I haven't been laid in almost a year!" Hazel shrugged again. "Gotta put yourself out there. It's not hard. Just go out to a bar and talk to ponies. Be a slut. It's fun." Grief laughed. "You're taking me next time!" "It's a date." Grief and Hazel shared a laugh for a moment. It was nice. It had been too long since the two had been able to distract themselves from work. But it could only last so long. Eventually the laughter died away and the two stood there in silence, dreading the moments to come. "Grief...we're stalling." "I know." Grief whispered. "I don't want to see it Hazel. I hate that thing. I don't know how you can stand it like you do." "Fluttershy taught me. You've met her right?" "Only once. Very briefly." "She's amazing Grief. That mare truly cares for every living creature in Equestria. Even that thing." Hazel and Grief left the bathroom and began to make their way down the hall, walking as slow as they possibly could. "Why do you let it call you that Hazel?" "Because it makes her feel better. She's a person Grief. And she's suffering. If calling me that makes her feel better then I'm not going to take it away from her." The two finally made it two the door and paused before entering. "Just remember..." Hazel began. "She's more afraid of you than you are of her." The door opened and the two reluctantly stepped through. "I highly doubt that." Inside the observation room were four other ponies, two stallions and two mares. The two stallions and one of the mares were the only other surviving members of the research team responsible for the creation of the creature. The rest of the team, ten others, had all been killed. The stallions didn't look any better than Grief or Hazel. One of them slouched in the corner, half asleep. The other, stood in the center of the room looking like he was on the verge of an asthma attack. He always looked like that. The other mare on the research team was talking to the consultant over by the doorway. "You two are late." The slouched stallion said. "Stuff it DNA, we don't want to be here anymore than you do." "Your name's DNA?" The consultant mare asked the stallion. "Righteous." "My name is Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Because my parents are assholes. But yeah. DNA." Hazel approached the mare. "You must be our consultant. It's nice to meet you. I'm Hazel." "Radical to meet you." The mare responded. "Fluttershy's told me so much about you." "She has?" Hazel looked over the strange mare's features. She was a lime green Earth Pony with an orange mane done up in one of the strangest hair style Hazel had ever seen. It was as if the mare had never combed her mane a day in her life and it resulted in her mane becoming matted beyond all repair, forming long, thick locks. It wasn't even ugly. It was unique. Pretty even. The mare gave off the strangest scent as well. A foul, smokey smell that somehow managed to be both disgusting and pleasant at the same time. Hazel knew that smell. She'd gone to college. This mare didn't seem very professional, but Fluttershy had vouched for her. Told her that if anyone would be able to get through to the creature it'd be her. And Hazel trusted Fluttershy's judgement. "Yeah. She told me she admired your intelligence and dedication. I can totally see why. I'm really diggin' your vibe." "Why...thank you." Hazel responded. "We should get started. Open the shield." The shield opened and revealed the observation area. The cell had originally been constructed for housing dangerous creatures, such as manticores, who were in need of medical care. It had been since been re-purposed. The room was no longer plain white but had little bits of color plastered all around it. Strange, juvenile drawings of ponies were scribbled all over the walls and floor. Drawings off all the researchers: Good Grief, DNA, Amber, and Cell Wall were littered everywhere. There were numerous drawings of two other ponies as well. More effort had been put into these drawings and they were far more numerous than the others. They were of Fluttershy and Hazel. The creature's favorite two ponies. In the center of the room, working on her latest masterpiece, sat the creature. She looked innocent enough. A bleach white Earth Pony filly with a long grey mane and mismatched eyes. One of them silver and the other...hazel. The fact that she'd intentionally made her eye like that creeped Hazel out to an extreme. The creature was working on another drawing. A picture of Fluttershy. She was coloring with her hair. She had full control over every cell in her body. She changed the ends of her hair into various colors and used them to draw her pictures. She'd been steadily improving. The ponies she drew had finally begun to look more like actual ponies rather than stick figures. The creature learned at an astonishing rate. It was both fascinating and horrifying. "Now, she doesn't react well to new ponies so don't be alarmed if she freaks out. She can't get out of that cell and if she tries we have a deterrent. See those holes in the walls? They were originally intended to release a sedative gas but since that has no affect on her they've been repurposed into flamethrowers. We're safe in here." Hazel was trying to convince herself of their safety as much as she was the consultant. The mare didn't seem to be paying any attention. She was enraptured by the creature in the room. The filly didn't move. Save for the end of her mane, which worked vigorously on the drawing. The filly's lack of motion was almost surreal. Even when other ponies tried to sit still they still made little involuntary movements. They breathed. They blinked. But the filly didn't do anything. The only thing one could compare it to was a corpse. "Trippy." The consultant mare breathed out. "She has no aura..." "Huh?" "All living things give off an aura. Cosmic life energy. She doesn't have one. I didn't even know that was poss...wait did you say flamethrowers?" "Yes." DNA made his way next to the pair. "As a precaution. That thing is dangerous." "Dude, she's a filly." "No." DNA replied cooly. "It's not." Hazel pressed the intercom. "Syn sweetie. How are you doing today?" The filly turned her attention to the mirror and smiled. She rushed over to the to the glass with the enthusiasm of a child. "Mommy!" She'd been working on modulating her voice. She now sounded far more like a filly. It was still off and had a reverberating effect but it was much easier on the ears nonetheless. "I haven't seen you in years!" Hazel chuckled. "It's only been a day sweetheart." "It felt like forever!" The filly pressed her face into the glass and looked to the mare next to Hazel. "Who's that pony mommy?" "She can see us?" The consultant mare asked. "Yes." DNA replied. "We don't know how. That glass is supposed to be one way, but she doesn't seem to care about logic or anything of the sort." "This is auntie Fluttershy's friend sweetie. She's here to have a little chat with you today." The filly seemed almost as enamored with the mare as the mare did with her. "She has a really pretty mane." The filly sniffed the glass. "And smells funny." "She can smell us?!" As the filly stared at the mare her mane began to move. It bunched together and changed from the long straight mane to a mess of locks, identical to the consultant mare’s. "Radical!" "She's really pretty." Syn remarked. "Thanks little one. You're beautiful as well." The mare said into the intercom. As she did the filly began to shy away from the glass and her mane assumed its regular shape. "She doesn't talk to anypony aside from Hazel and Fluttershy." DNA informed her. "She's just shy. We're hoping you might be able to help her overcome that." Hazel added. "Oh that shouldn't be a problem at all. I deal with all sorts of creatures, each one perfect and unique." "You've never dealt with anything like this lady." DNA remarked. "Trust me." "Syn sweetheart.” Hazel began.” You think you can try to have a talk with mommy's friend?" The filly looked back up at the glass. It hid behind it's mane and when it spoke its voice was a barely audible whisper. "I'll try." "Thank you sweetie. That's all we're asking." Hazel turned to the consultant. "Give it a shot. See if you can reach her." The mare moved in front of the intercom and moved to press the button. She paused right before she did and turned to Hazel. "What did you say her name was? Syn?" "Short for synthetic life form." DNA answered. "Okay. Well here I go. Wish me luck." She said with a slightly nervous laugh. The mare pressed the intercom and began speaking. "Hello Syn! Blessings. How are you feeling today child?" Syn didn't answer. Didn't move. She stood with her head hung low and her face concealed behind her mane. "I really like your drawings. They're super groovy." Again no response. The mare moved away from the intercom. "Yeah this isn't gonna work. I need to get in there and work with her on a more intimate level." DNA laughed out loud. "Not happening! You don't have any idea what that thing is capable of! She's dangerous." "Chill out dude. She's just a filly. She won't hurt me." "She's not a filly." DNA continued, the humor gone from his voice. "She's an experiment gone horribly wrong. She's a monster." "There's no such thing as monsters my friend. Every creature is beautiful in it's own way." DNA rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Whatever lady. You're not going in there. I don't want to be the one who has to clean up the mess." "I want her to!" The group turned their attention back to Syn who had moved closer to the glass and was now giving them her full attention. "Please. I'll be good. I just want to see somepony." Hazel pressed the intercom button. "Syn...baby you have to promise me you're not going to hurt her. That you'll be nice. That you won't...freak out. Promise?" Syn nodded. "I promise." "Okay." Hazel turned to the mare. "Please be careful. No sudden movements. Keep your voice calm." "Oh don't worry about it. Calm is like, my thing." "This is a bad idea." DNA said. "I agree." Good Grief joined in the discussion. "Don't do this Hazel." Hazel turned to the other two ponies in the room. "Cell Wall, Amber...what do you two think?" Amber looked over the mare. "I think it'll work. She's never had an actual physical interaction with somepony. It might be exactly what she needs." Cell Wall nodded in agreement. The stallion couldn't seem to stop shaking. "Y-yeah...yeah I think we should give it a shot." Hazel turned to DNA and Grief. "Sorry guys. Four against two. Five if you include Syn. We're gonna try it. Just be ready in case something goes wrong." "What exactly are we going to do Hazel?" DNA scoffed. "Roast them both alive?" "Shut up DNA." She turned to the mare. "Go for it." The mare made her way to the door to the holding cell. She moved the card Hazel gave her in front of the door scanner which gave a beep, and the door opened. The mare entered the cell and the door immediately closed behind her. "Greetings child. I'm Tree Hugger. Radical to meet you little one." Syn began to move away from Tree Hugger. She was visibly shaking. Hazel pressed the intercom. "Syn baby it's okay. She's not going to hurt you." Upon hearing Hazel's voice Syn began to calm down. She ceased shaking and looked directly at Tree Hugger. "It's okay sweetie." Hazel said over the intercom. Syn slowly began moving towards Tree Hugger. She stopped when she was directly in front of her. "Hello." "Hi." Tree Hugger said. Her voice was calm and serene. She smiled down at the filly and Syn managed to smile back. "Would you like to show me your drawings?" Syn nodded. "Okay. I'll show you my favorite ones." Syn began to lead Tree Hugger around the room, showing her all the various drawings she'd made during her imprisonment. "This one is of auntie Fluttershy. She's the nicest pony in all the world." "Yes she is. I've known Fluttershy for years now. She truly is a beautiful soul." Syn smiled and perked up a little more. With slightly more enthusiasm she lead Tree Hugger over to her next masterpiece. "This one is uncle DNA. He's grumpy a lot...but I like him." "Ya hear that D? She likes ya." Grief said as she smiled and nudged DNA in the side. "Shut the fuck up." DNA replied, failing to find the humor in the situation. Syn lead Tree Hugger over to her favorite drawing. "This one is my mommy. The best pony there is. I love her and she loves me." "Oh yes." Tree Hugger leaned down to get a better view of the drawing and ran her hoof over it. "I can really feel the aura of love radiating from this drawing. It's magical manifest." Syn watched the mare as she studied the drawing, enraptured with her. The first pony she'd ever had real physical contact with. She fixated her eyes on the mares unique mane. "Can...can I touch your mane?" She asked. "Of course child. Please do." Syn ran her hoof over tree huggers mane. She giggled. "It feels funny." "It's the result of years and years of spiritual enlightenment." Syn stopped and the smile died from her face. She withdrew slightly, nervous of the question she was about to ask. "Can...can I..." "Don't be afraid child. You can ask me for whatever you want." "Can I...hug you?" "Yes child. Embrace me." Tree Hugger sat down and opened her forelegs, ready for Syn's embrace. "I don't like this." DNA remarked from the observation area. "This is a bad idea. We should get her out of there now." "Shut up!" Hazel snapped. "This is a good thing." Syn slowly moved into Tree Huggers forelegs. At her own pace she wrapped her forelegs around the older mare and settled her head into her chest. Tree Hugger closed in around the filly and laid her head on top of Syn's. "Yes child. Feel the love! Experience life!" "Love..." Syn tightened her forelegs around Tree Huggers torso. The mare followed suit and the two sat in the room together. Wrapped around each other. Syn smiled a warmer smile than she ever had in her life. "This is good. We're reaching her." Hazel said. She turned to Grief and DNA and smiled. "And you two were worried." She finished her sentence with a slightly over exaggerated laugh. In the cell, Syn and Tree Hugger were still intertwined. As they sat Syn's hair began to move. Wrapping around the mare. Embracing her as well. "He he he. That tickles." Syn's smile widened and she tightened her embrace. A little too tight. Tree Hugger began to have difficulty breathing. "That's a little much child. Would you mind loosening up a bit?" Syn ignored the mare. Her hairs continued to move all along Tree Hugger's body. Entwining themselves around her legs. Moving around her face. Tree Hugger did her best to remain calm and keep her composure but she couldn't keep her breathing from quickening or the sweat from rolling off her forehead. Syn continued to tighten her grasp around the mare. She squeezed harder and harder. Tree Hugger struggled for breath. She winced in pain. Syn's hairs moved along her flesh. The ends began digging their way in. Slowly entering her body. Like needles. The hairs on her face began to move towards her eyes. The tips of Syn's mane began to work their way towards the bottoms of Tree Hugger's eyelids. "Let go." Tree Hugger gasped. "Please stop." "Get her the fuck out of there!" DNA yelled. The hairs dug in even further. Crawling beneath Tree Huggers flesh. Worming their way into the space beneath Tree Huggers eyes. Digging deeper and deeper. Syn still smiled. Seemingly unaware of the distraught mare in her grasp. She continued her hug and as she did her back began to boil. There was a pop and four new limbs sprouted forth and wrapped themselves around Tree Hugger. The mare watched as the skin on Syn's neck boiled. Each bubble took the shape of a tiny equine face. Screaming in horror and agony, before vomiting forth a new face and repeating the cycle. Tree Hugger couldn't keep her composure any longer. She let loose a horrified scream. Expelling all of the air from her lungs at once. "GET IT OFF OF ME!!!" Syn's eyes opened. They were no longer mismatched or had any color at all. They were pure white. Syn's smile disappeared and her mouth opened. A voice called out. Not the reverberating little filly voice from before but a horrible disgusting sound, that could hardly be called a voice. Completely in-equine, neither male nor female. Her mouth hung agape and the words spewed forth from her mouth without even moving her lips. "I love you..." "Turn on the flamers!" Hazel shouted over Tree Huggers horrified screeching and the unearthly wail that began to emanate forth from Syn. "You'll incinerate them both!!" DNA shouted. "Don't fire them! Just start them up! We need to scare her off of her!" DNA rushed to the walls and flipped the flamers start up switch. The holes in the cells walls began to glow orange. Syn immediately snapped out of her trance. Her eyes returned to their regular color and she let go of Tree Hugger. Then proceeded to run and cower in the corner. Tree Hugger wasted no time in rushing towards the door. She began pounding on it and screaming furiously. "LET ME OUT!! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!" Grief made her way to the door and opened it. Tree Hugger rushed in and collapsed on the floor. The door closed and the researches attended to the distraught mare. Tree Hugger laid on the floor, crying and screaming incoherently. Any attempt to physically comfort her was met with violence. She refused to be touched. In the cell Syn was screaming in her terrible, inequine voice. "TURN THEM OFF!! TURN OFF THE LIGHTS! I DON'T WANT TO BE BURNED!" "DNA turn off the flamers!" DNA did as he was told. After they were off, Syn collapsed on the floor and began to cry. "I’M SORRY!" She screamed. Her voice was a broken mix of the unearthly howl and the echoing filly voice. She was trying her best to get it back under control. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT! I'M SORRY!!" Hazel pressed the intercom button. "Syn sweetie. Baby, it's okay! You didn't mean to!" Tears began to stream down Hazel's face as she watched the child wail and cry on the floor. Broken and alone, with no one to comfort her. "I'M A GOOD PONY!" She repeated over and over again. "Yes you are sweetie. You're a good pony! We're going to help you! We're going to find a way! I promise!" "I'M A GOOD PONY!! I'M A GOOD PONY! I'M A PONY!! I'M A PONY!!" Eventually the screaming stopped. Syn laid on the floor. Motionless. Eyes wide open. Not moving. Not blinking. Not even breathing. A living corpse. A creature beyond anyone's understanding. The only one of her kind. Completely alone in the universe. Hazel closed the shields. She couldn't bring herself to watch anymore. She turned her attention to Tree Hugger, who lay on the floor of the room. Shaking visibly. Tears streaming down her face and babbling. "It's evil. It's evil. It's not a filly. It's evil. It's a monster." She stopped briefly. Then all at once began screaming and crying again. "For fuck's sake." DNA snapped. "Ger her to the infirmary or something." Amber and Cell Wall carried Tree Hugger out of the room leaving DNA, Grief and Hazel alone. After a moment, DNA broke the silence. "Good fucking call boss." "Shut the fuck up DNA." Grief snapped. Hazel didn't say anything. She pressed her head against the window and cried. Alone8 Months Later Hazel had fallen asleep at her work desk again. She hadn't been to her actual home in over a week. She was beginning to see very little reason to hold on to the place. Work was home now. Spending countless hours taking notes and analyzing data, then ultimately getting nowhere. She'd gained so much weight, she had almost caught up with her sister. She reeked. She couldn't remember the last time she'd showered. Through the stress and the exhaustion, Hazel pressed on. Everyday she worked. Trying to find answers. She had to. For Syn. She was the only who could. Hazel awoke the sound of her computer monitor beeping. Checking the time, she discovered that it was close to noon. She rubbed her eyes and fixed her glasses before turning her attention to the monitor. She was getting a call from her sister. "Great." Hazel mumbled out loud. She pressed the button on the terminal and answered the call. When the video screen came on it was not her sister that Hazel saw. Rather, a little yellow unicorn filly with a long blue mane and the biggest grin one could imagine plastered right on her face. "Hi Aunt Hazel!" The filly practically yelled. "Hey Sunshine. How are you doing sweetheart?" "I'm great! Look what I made!" The filly held a drawing up to the video screen. The drawing was especially well made for a filly of Sunshine’s age. While still juvenile the ponies in the drawing were still fairly detailed. Possessing full color and even rudimentary shading. The ponies depicted were a grey mare and a yellow stallion. The two were smiling at one another and their eyes had been replaced with big, cartoonish hearts. "That's really nice Sunshine. Who's it of?" "This is Mister Sandy." Sunshine said as she pointed at the drawing of the stallion. "And this is Miss Rock." She said as she moved her hoof over the mare. Sunshine leaned in close to the video screen and whispered. "I totally ship them." Hazel laughed. She'd been as surprised as everyone when her sister had announced her pregnancy. The entire issue had caused a rift in their family. While Hazel had tried her best to be supportive, her parents had refused to speak to her sister for the longest time. But when Sunshine was born, all the hostility ceased. The smile the filly possessed could thaw the coldest of hearts. When she smiled for the first time all the anger and resentment melted away and the family came back together. Her sister had succeeded in bringing a little piece of sunshine into Equestria. "S-s-s-sunshshine! Wh-what are y-y-you d-doing!" A voice called from off the video screen. "Uh oh. Busted." Sunshine said. On the screen a new figure came into view. A mare even larger than Hazel. Her dark blue mane was out of control, far worse than Hazel’s on her worse hair day. Her fur was matted and stained and even though Hazel wasn't in the room she still felt as if she could smell her sister’s terrible breath. "Hey Rise N' Shine. How are you doing?" "I'm s-s-so s-sorry Hazel. I h-h-hope S-s-Sunshine d-d-didn't interrupt anything im-im-important." "Oh not at all. I was actually just waking up." "Oh g-g-good. H-how's w-w-work?" Hazel shrugged. "A living nightmare. Wish I could tell you more but ya know...classifed and all that." "R-r-right." "How are things going on your project?" Rise N' Shine stared into the camera in silence for a while. Then she slowly shook her head. "N-not g-g-good Hazel. The m-m-ministry of m-magic sent over a n-n-n-new consultant to h-help out." "Oh?" Rise N' Shine nodded. "Sh-she's awful." "Worse than you?" Hazel teased, adding in a small giggle at the end/ Rise N' Shine didn't react to the teasing, or seem to be aware of it at all. "I d-d-don't even kn-know h-h-how to describe her H-Hazel. She sc-sc-sca-scare's me." "Scares you?" Rise N' Shine nodded again. "I d-don't know wh-what it is b-but there's j-just something ab-about her that's wr-wr-wrong. I w-w-want h-h-her gone." "Oh geez sis." Hazel said. "That sounds awful." Rise N' Shine looked over her shoulder to check on Sunshine before leaning into the camera and lowering her voice to a whisper. "If I s-s-sent S-unshine to y-you could you l-l-look after h-her for a l-l-l-little while?" Hazel shook her head. "Sorry sis. I'm too busy at work. This job requires my full attention. Is she really that bad?" Rise N' Shine nodded. "Y-yes. I'm g-g-gonna see if M-Mom and D-d-d-dad can't t-t-take her f-f-for a wh-while. I d-don't want h-h-her ar-around th-this m-m-mare." "Sorry I couldn't help more." "I-it's o-okay. I underst-stand." Rise N' Shine shifted her attention behind Hazel. "H-hey G-Greif." Hazel turned around to see her friend Good Grief standing directly behind her. "Hi Rise N' Shine." Grief turned her attention to Hazel. "Hey we gotta get going, It's lunch time." "Okay, I'll be right there." Hazel turned back to the monitor. "Goodbye Shine. I hope you get everything sorted out." "Th-thank y-y-you. H-have a n-n-nice l-lunch." Hazel scoffed. "Yeah I wish. It's not our lunch though." "Oh. W-well h-have a g-g-good d-day still. B-bye. L-love y-y-you." "Love you too Sis." "Love you Aunt Hazel! Have a good day!" Sunshine called from off screen. "Love you Sunshine! Thanks for the wake up call!" Before she closed out of the monitor a third, somewhat mechanical sounding and undeniably male voice called from off the screen. "Hazel...while I have not yet...had the honor...of meeting you...I just wanted you to know....that I too...wish upon you...a good day." Then the screen went dark. "Who the hell was that?" "C'mon Hazel." Good Grief said, attempting to coax Hazel out of her chair. "Let's get this over with." "I'm coming." Hazel stood and pulled on her labcoat. Attempted to anyway. "I swear this fit just fine yesterday." Hazel grumbled as she struggled to pull on her uniform. "Yeah you said that yesterday too." Hazel and Grief made their way down the hall to the observation room, making small talk along the way. "So who would you rather do? Cell Wall or DNA?" Greif asked. Hazel made a disgusted face. "Eck! Neither! They're both nasty. If I was gonna do anyone it'd be Amber." "Really? I thought you weren't into mares?" "I'd be into Amber. Have you seen her? How the hell does she do it?" Greif shrugged. "I've told you before a little makeup goes a long way." "Yeah, that's more than a little. So who would you do?" "DNA." "Really? Gross!" "Hey he's kind of cute. And I wouldn't have to worry about him having to stop every ten seconds to catch his breath." "True." Hazel paused to think for a moment. "Why do all our conversations devolve into discussions about sex?" Greif shrugged. "Because this place is boring and sex is interesting." Greif paused as a thought suddenly struck her. "Say speaking of sex, Syn..." "Greif! No!" Hazel snapped in alarm. "That's not what I meant!" Greif corrected, her face going red. "I was just gonna say, is Syn really a girl? I mean, technically she can grow whatever parts she wants so..." Hazel reflected for a moment. "Well technically I guess Syn doesn't have a set physical sex...but psychologically she seems to prefer being referred to as female...honestly I don't know." "Why do you think she stays in that form? The little filly form? Where did she even learn it from?" "Just another one of the million and a half questions we need to answer about her I guess." "Yeah." Greif sighed. "Okay so...if you had to do one of the ministry mares..." The two approached the doors of the observation room. Hazel paused and brought her hoof up to her chin in thought. "Hmmm...well I guess that's a toss up between Fluttershy and Rarity. They both kind of have a sort of...natural beauty about them. I guess I'd go with Fluttershy just because I know her personally but Rarity is a close second." Hazel and Grief scanned their security cards and the door slid open. "I mean c'mon have you seen that mares aaaaAAAAAAAHHH!!" Inside the room, two of the mares’ coworkers were hard at work. On each other. Cell Well had Amber bent over a chair and was thrusting away furiously as Amber was panting in delight. "Holy shit!' Grief exclaimed. Finally realizing they were no longer alone Cell Wall and Amber separated. They stared back at Hazel and Grief in virtual horror, their faces red, both from embarrassment and passion. "What the fuck guys?!" Hazel yelled. "In the observation room?! Really?!" Cell Wall stood. The white stallion tried his best to keep his composure. He turned to the side to hide what he could from prying eyes and reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his inhaler. "I-I um. I..." The stallion stammered. He took a deep breath from his inhaler and was able to calm himself enough to form at least one coherent sentence. "I got to go!" With that, Cell Wall rushed out of the room, trying his best to keep his head down and hide his blushing face. Amber stood up and began to collect herself as well. The light brown Earth Pony mare adjusted her labcoat and then proceeded to fluff her dark brown mane. Amber was several years younger than Grief or Hazel. The mare had only barely graduated college when she had applied for the Ministry of Peace. She had been a star athlete in college and it definitely showed. Where Hazel and Grief were both too fat and too skinny, Amber was neither. She was simply slim. A model of perfection. Everything Hazel and Grief wished they looked like. Amber's embarrassment died away quickly. She held her head high and trotted over to the observation window. "Good morning Hazel. Good morning Good Grief. How are both of today?" She asked as if nothing had happened at all. Grief and Hazel shared a half smile with one another. They were having none of that. The pair walked over to Amber, flanking the younger mare on either side. "Soooo..." Grief began. Amber ignored her. She typed away at her terminal, bringing up her notes from the previous day. "...Cell Wall?" Greif continued. "Really?" Amber continued typing away. Doing her best to avoid the conversation. But there was no escape. "Amber c'mon...you can do so much better." Amber shrugged, not looking away from her terminal. "There wasn't anyone else. This place finally got to me I guess." Greif scoffed. "You guess?" "He's nice!" Amber snapped. "He's always giving me compliments and saying nice things and...it just...I don't know. He's the only one here I can relate too. Everyone else is so much older than me..." "Yeah I get that..." Greif smiled. "...but c'mon. Cell Wall?" "He is a perfectly nice stallion." "But he's fucking ugly." "He's got nice eyes!" "But he got terrible acne." "He's...available." "But the wheezing!" Amber's posture shrunk and her cheeks reddened. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He's huge." Hazel and Grief exchanged surprised looks with one another. "What was that?" Greif asked. Amber's eyes widened and her gaze dropped to the floor. Her cheeks seemed to get even redder and she attempted to hid her face behind her mane. "Huh." Greif began. "Doesn't look that big." "It grows." Amber whispered. "How long has this been going on?" Hazel asked. Amber shrugged. "A month or so." "Well..." Hazel began. "Keep it out of the observation room. Please." Amber shrunk back even further. "Sorry." The door of the observation opened and DNA stepped into the room. He raised his head and sniffed the air. "Smells like fuck in here." Greif laughed. Ambers continued to blush. Hazel sighed. "We need to get going guys. Syn's probably starving." DNA rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever. Right to work. No monkeying around. Got ya." "No sarcasm today D. Please? I just want a nice, stress free day." "Well good luck with that Hazel." Hazel pressed the door button and the metal shield between the observation window and the room opened. On the other side of the window stood Syn, right next to the window, barely an inch away. Her face bore an inquisitive look as she watched them. The previously white room was now a plethora of color. The walls, floor and even the ceiling were covered in Syn's artwork. In the span of a year, she had progressed from stick figures to highly detailed pieces. Her drawings had become so detailed that it was difficult to distinguish between them and an actual photograph. The only areas of the room that were still bare were the areas around the circular vents in the wall. The flamers. Syn stayed as far away from those as she possibly could. Hazel smiled and pressed the intercom. "Good Morning Syn. How are you feeling today sweetie?" The little silver maned filly cocked her head to the side. Her mismatched silver and hazel eyes focused and her brow furrowed in thought. "What was Auntie Amber doing with Daddy?" Hazel stared back at the filly in shock. The shield had been closed. Over the course of time they had discovered that Syn could adjust her her eyesight to allow her see far beyond what any pony is capable of. She could adjust her hearing and smell as well. The one-way mirror served very little purpose, for Syn could see right through it. But the shield had been down. There was no way she could see through sheet metal. "Syn baby..." Hazel began. "..can you see through the wall when the shield is down." Syn shook her head. "No. But I can feel through." "What do you mean sweetie?" "I can feel through it. It's kind of like seeing. Only without any color. I can feel shapes and movements." "Like radar." DNA had moved right next to Hazel and was looking at Syn curiously. He pressed the intercom. "Hey Syn. How you doing today girl?" "Hi uncle D. I'm hungry." "Bet you are. Lunch is coming right up 'kay." Syn looked back to Hazel. "What was Daddy doing to Auntie Amber? Was he hurting her?" "No Syn, they're both okay...they were just..." Hazel took her hoof off of the intercom. "I can't do this Grief. I can't explain sex to her. She's barely a year old!" "Oh wow Hazel. Grow up." Greif scoffed then proceeded to move Hazel out o the way and press the intercom. "They were playing a game honey. A grown up game. They were both having fun. No reason to be worried." "Oh." Syn thought for a moment. "Will you teach it to me Auntie Greif?" Greif took her hoof from the intercom and turned to Amber. "Thank you Amber." She said, her voice dripping with Sarcasm. "This is exactly how I wanted to start my morning." "Sorry." "Would someone care to fill me in on what's going on?" DNA asked. "Well when we walked in this morning Cell Wall was..." Grief explained. "Well let's say he was 'filling in' Amber." "Really? Good for Cell." DNA turned to Amber. "You can do so much better." "Hmph." Amber glared forward and crossed her hooves in front of her chest. "He's nice." "Enough." Hazel interjected. She pressed the intercom. "You ready to eat, Syn?" Syn smiled. "Oh yes! I'm starving!" Syn had finally perfected her voice. No reverberation or distortion. She sounded like a completely normal filly. Hazel typed away at her terminal. There was a loud clanking sound and a small panel opened in the ceiling of Syn's room. Out of the panel a thin clear tube descended downward. The filly stood underneath it, eagerly awaiting her meal. Hazel pressed the command and key and tube began to make a hideous sucking sound. After a brief moment, a thick red paste began to descend down the tube and straight into the Filly's mouth. The group looked on in both fascination and disgust. "That is so gross." DNA commented. "Tell me about it." The group turned around to see Cell Wall had made his way back into the room. The Unicorn stallion looked much better than earlier. His white coat practically glowed in the dimly lit room. His tall, spiky blonde mane looked as if it had been recently combed. He adjusted his glasses then proceeded to take a puff from his inhaler. He stopped next to Amber and blushed. "Sorry about earlier guys." "It's fine" Hazel replied. "Just...not in the observation room. Ever" DNA held up his hoof. "Up top!" Cell hesitated before lifting his own hoof and lightly smacking it against DNA's. "Good job Cell. Didn't know ya had it in had ya." "He didn't." Greif replied. "He had it in Amber!" "OHHHHHHH!" Grief and DNA called out as Amber and Cell Wall blushed furiously. "Knock it off!" Hazel snapped. "Killjoy." DNA said. "So what's the plan for today guys?" "Same as always." Cell Wall replied. "Ask her questions she doesn't know the answers too, then run some pointless tests and pray we get somewhere." "Woa Cell, don't get too excited now." DNA quipped Hazel pressed the intercom button. "Syn, that's enough for now sweetie." She pressed a second button on the terminal and the tube retracted. The remaining red globs absorbed into Syn's bleach white coat and she moved towards the window. "I'm still hungry though." "If you keep eating like that you're gonna get fat." "What's fat?" "Fat is what happens when you eat too much." Syn's face brightened up. "Fat sounds awesome! I want to get fat!" "She can't get fat." Cell said. "I mean...she just ate twice her bodyweight in recycled animal tissue and she's still hungry." Greif shuddered. "Can you please not remind me what we're feeding her?" Syn cocked her head to the side and shot the group an inquisitive look. Hazel leaned into the intercom. "What's wrong Syn?" "Why do you all give me gross looks whenever I eat?" Hazel glared at Greif. "You know, you really need to learn when to shut the fuck up." Turning her attention back to Syn, Hazel began to speak once more. "Nothing's wrong with it sweetie. It's just...different than what we eat." "You guys don't eat ummm..." Syn placed a hoof on her chin and thought for a moment. "...recycled animal tissue? Hazel moved away from the intercom and turned to face her coworkers. "What is happening today? First sex and now I have to explain her diet to her? Fuck today." "You know she can still hear you?" DNA said. "What's the point of the intercom exactly?" "If you want to go in there and uninstall it, be my guest." Syn moved closer to the observation window. "What is recycled animal tissue? Please tell me." Hazel hesitated. She would have to choose her words carefully if she was going to prevent Syn from having another freakout. "Well Syn...it's...it's dead animals..." "Dead? I thought when things die they stopped existing?" "Kind of sweetie. See when a living thing dies it's...it's mind goes away. It stops thinking. But it's body stays behind. Do you understand?" Syn stared at the glass separating her from Hazel for several minutes. Not moving. Not blinking. Not breathing. It was impossible to tell what was going through the creature's mind. She seemed more like a statue than a living thing. A bead of sweat rolled down Hazel's forehead as she began to wonder if she had made a fatal mistake. The glass and the flamers were there in case something went wrong. But there was no way of knowing if they would actually stop her. Finally Syn nodded. "I understand. So umm..." She placed her hoof to her chin in thought. "What's an animal?" "Animals are creatures who aren't ponies." "Ohhhhhh." Syn replied. "So...am I an animal?" Hazel managed to chuckle. "Well not exactly sweetheart. We don't know what you are yet remember? That's what we're here to figure out." Syn shook her head. "I'm a pony. Just like you and Daddy and Auntie Grief and Amber and Fluttershy and Uncle D." "Okay Syn." Hazel said softly. "If you say so." Syn began to wander around her room absentmindedly. Looking over all the drawings scrawled all over the walls and floor. "How did those animals die?" Syn asked as she absentmindedly studied her latest drawing of Fluttershy. "Careful how you answer this one Hazel." Cell warned. "She might not react well." "She'll be fine." Hazel replied. She focused her attention back to Syn. "They died naturally sweetie. Eventually, every living thing dies." Syn's head slowly turned back towards the mirror. Her face held no expression. No emotion. Nothing that could give away what may have been running through her mind. She cocked her head to the side and her silver mane fell over her left eye. Her right eye stared straight at Hazel, wide, unblinking. The same eye, that for some reason Syn had decided should bare the exact same color as Hazel's. "Even me?" She asked. Hazel looked to her coworkers. They all shared the same expression. They were dumbfounded. None of them knew how to answer that question. Hazel nervously pressed the intercom button. "We don't know sweetie. You might not." "But you will?" Hazel took her hoof off the intercom. She watched Syn and even though the filly had no expression whatsoever at the moment, she knew exactly what she was thinking. Looking at Syn now, she once again had to remind herself that despite Syn's look and mannerisms...it wasn't a filly. As much as she wanted to be there for her, to hold her, to hug her, to comfort her, she knew it wasn't possible. She closed her eyes and whispered. "Yes. Someday I will." Syn turned back to her drawing. "And when you die I'll be alone." Hazel opened her eyes again. Her vision was blurred and she had to briefly remove her glasses in order to wipe away the tears that she was trying so hard to suppress. "It's okay." Syn said as she looked at the floor. "I'm already alone."
Prologue"The portal to hell is opened with the incantation of good intentions" "Who all knows about this?" "Only the scientists who worked on the project." "Are they trustworthy? Can they keep secrets?" "I'd trust each and every one of them with my life." "Good. Nopony can know about this." Fluttershy stared at the creature before her. The two were separated by a thick glass window. The creature in the holding cell stared back at her with it's large grey eyes. Not blinking. Not moving. Not even breathing. It was unsettling. Unnatural. The creature was unlike anything that had ever existed in the world. The fact that it existed at all was amazing itself but as amazing as it was, it was equally horrifying. The creature itself looked innocent enough. A little Earth Pony filly with a bleach white coat, long grey mane, silver eyes and no cutie mark. It wasn't the creature's appearance that was unsettling. It was it's actions. It didn't move, nor blink, nor breathe. It didn't even seem like it was alive at all. It just sat there, staring at the glass wall. It couldn't see the two ponies behind the glass, it was a one way mirror. But Fluttershy couldn't shake the feeling that it was looking right at her. "Can she talk?" Fluttershy asked her companion. "Yes." The mare replied. "It's incredibly intelligent. We're not even sure how it learned to speak. It taught itself." The mare, a biologist named Hazel, turned to face Fluttershy and looked her dead in the eyes. "You don't want to talk to it though." She said. Hazel's eyes held a look of abject horror. She had spoken with the creature before and it was not an experience she wished to re-live. "Trust me. You don't want to hear that thing speak." "I'm sure it'll be fine. She's a living, sentient being. She deserves to be treated as such, not locked away like a criminal. She doesn’t even know what she did wrong." Fluttershy moved towards the intercom and pressed the button. "Hello? Can you hear me?" The creature on the other side of the glass didn't move. Didn't react at all. "My name is Fluttershy. I'm the pony in charge of the ministry of peace...can...can you hear me? Hello?" "I can hear you." The filly finally spoke. Fluttershy immediately regretted her attempt at communication. The noise that came from the creature's lips could hardly be called a voice. It sounded nothing like what a filly should sound like. Nothing like what anything should sound like. The voice of a creature that didn't belong in this world. Fluttershy never wished to hear that sound again...but even still, she swallowed her fear and pressed the intercom button once more. "Do you know where you came from?" "No." "Do you know what you are?" "No." Fluttershy stepped away from the glass and turned to Hazel. "How did this happen?" "We honestly have no idea. I guess we may have underestimated the power of your megaspells." Hazel finished her sentence with a small chuckle. "There's nothing to laugh about Hazel. Ponies are dead and the little filly in there is the cause. We’re responsible and we need to figure out what to do." "It's not a filly Fluttershy. Does it sound like a filly to you?" "I know but referring to her as 'it' just doesn't feel very polite." "Polite? You're worried about hurting its feelings?" Hazel's voice began to rise. "We don't even know if that thing has feelings! We don't have any idea what it even is! The only thing we know for sure is that it killed a room full of ponies in less than a second! It's dangerous." Fluttershy shot hazel a stern look. "I don't think she knew what she was doing Hazel. She was just scared. She's just a baby. A very smart, very creepy baby but...a baby nonetheless." Hazel missed what Fluttershy had said. Her attention had turned back to the glass window. Her eyes wide with shock and her jaw hanging open. "What the fuck?" "Hazel! Language!" "Fluttershy...look." Fluttershy turned back to the window. The filly was gone. She'd been replaced by a full grown mare, with a butter yellow coat, long light pink mane, blue eyes and three butterflies for a cutie mark. She'd even sprouted wings. Fluttershy was staring at a mirror image of herself. She pressed the intercom once again. "Why are you doing that?" The creature didn't respond. Didn't move, blink or breathe. "Please answer me! Why are you doing that?" The creature spoke once again and Fluttershy watched as its unnatural, hideous voice spewed forth from her own mouth. "Why am I here?" Fluttershy paused. It had asked her a question, finally. She felt unsure as to whether or not she should even answer it. The entire conversation had escalated to an entirely new level of disturbing. "Why can't I be out there with you?" Fluttershy pressed the intercom button again. "You're in there because you hurt ponies. We need time to..." "What does that mean? I don't know what hurt means." The expression on the creature's face had finally changed. Instead of a blank face it now looked curious. Like a child ready to hear a story. Wanting to learn. Ironically, it looked more childlike now than it had previously. "Hurt means...you caused others pain. You...killed ponies. Do you remember that?" "No." "Well until we know more about you, we have to keep you locked in there. So you don't hurt anypony else." "Is pain what I felt when I touched those bright lights? I didn't like that." "Ummm...well, yes I would imagine." "What do you mean I killed them? What does killed mean?" Fluttershy stared at the creature in confusion. "How did you learn to speak?" The creature began to look more frightened than curious. It finally moved, standing up on all four hooves and moving away from the glass window. "What does killed mean? Please tell me." Hazel moved Fluttershy out of the way and pressed the intercom button. "It means those ponies are no longer alive. They're dead. You killed them. They don't exist anymore." "They don't exist anymore?" The creature looked at it's own hoof, then back up at the glass. "Are you going to do that to me?" Fluttershy hurriedly made her way back to the intercom. "No we're not! We're not going to hurt you!" "Are you going to touch me with the bright lights again??" The creature was beginning to panic. It's features were beginning to change once more. It's skin began to boil and the feathers on it's wings began to fall off. "Please don't! The lights hurt!" It's eyes began to change as well. It's irises disappeared and the color died away leaving nothing but white. "I don't want to be killed!" It screamed. It's unearthly voice echoed in the room. "I want to exist!" All the color in the creature's skin died away, replaced with a sickly white. It's skin bubbled and boiled and soon it no longer resembled any equine shape at all. It became a writhing mass of flesh, screaming incoherently. The boils in the mass took the shape of equine faces. Screaming. Unleashing the most disturbing sounds imaginable. Each mouth widened further as it screamed until it reached it's peak and at that point the face would vomit forth a new one and begin the process all over again. Fluttershy couldn't move. She couldn't scream. Nor could she take her eyes off the horrific sight. The event unfolding before her was far more disturbing than her worst nightmares. And she had created it. This was her doing. No matter how much she wanted to look away she couldn't. As if the universe was forcing her to endure. Hazel made her way to the other end of the observation room to a separate intercom and pressed the button. "Close the shields." A large metal sheet closed over the window and the sound died away. Fluttershy stared at it. Her eyes wide and her lips quivering. She felt tears begin to stream down her face. She forced herself not to blink for she knew if she closed her eyes she'd see it again. "If that thing tries getting out…” Hazel said into the intercom. “...hit it with the flamers again." Fluttershy's shock finally died away. She turned to face Hazel. "You can't do that! You'll hurt her!" "Fluttershy! We have no idea what that thing even is! It's dangerous! We should kill it now and forget about this whole fuck up of a project!" "Please watch your language. And no." Flutter assumed a more assertive stance. Holding her head high. Showing off the years of leadership skills she had gained as a ministry mare. "That is a living creature. A creature we created. We're responsible for it." "Fluttershy, it's dangerous! You didn't see what it did! You don't know what it can do! If it gets out..." "It's just scared. Hazel look at me." Hazel looked into the other mare's eyes. The kindest eyes in Equestria. The physical manifestation of compassion. A creature so benevolent, the thought of ending a life, even one as terrible as the abomination before them, seemed utterly absurd to her. "Hazel I know you're scared. I'm scared too. Everypony in Equestria is scared right now. But we're the Ministry of Peace. We're the ones who have to rise above that fear and not allow it to drive us to do terrible things. It's our responsibility to help every living thing in the world." Fluttershy turned her head towards the window. "Because if we don't, nopony will."
Hugs4 months laters "Hazel..." A mare sat slumped over her desk, fast asleep. She hadn't had a good night sleep in weeks and had finally keeled over from exhaustion. "Hazel..." Four months had passed since the incident. She'd been plagued with nightmares ever since. Several nights she had woken up screaming, and each time she closed her eyes the image of the creature was there, burned into her memory. "Hazel!" She was slowly losing her mind. "Hazel! Get up off your fat, lazy ass and get to work! Our guest is here." Hazel finally woke up. She looked up from her desk and spotted the mare disturbing her long overdue and much deserved slumber. "Good morning Good Grief. Good to see you're in a good mood." "Shut the fuck up Hazel. Our consultant is here. Let's see what this chick can do." Hazel and Good Grief began to make their way to the observation room. Along their way they stopped for coffee. Hazel poured herself a cup, added in four packets of cream and six packets of sugar and began to drink it down. "Wow. No wonder you're so fat." "Did something happen to you as a child? Like, were you dropped on your head and it destroyed the manners section of your brain? How did you even get a job working for the Ministry of Peace?" Grief shrugged. "Hey I'm nice! I'm just concerned for your health. You don't need that much sugar in your coffee. You want to end up like your sister?" "Oh please don't." Hazel shuttered at the thought of her sister. The creature in the observation room was almost more preferable than her. "Well that's what I'm saying Hazel! Just exercise a little, watch your diet and for fuck sake wash your damn face! Do all that and you'd probably be really attractive. Be able to pull in some good looking guys for a change instead of the ugly fuckers you usually bring home. Hell, do all that shit and I'll date you. I like you enough. You're just ugly." "Grief, you're the best friend I've ever had." Hazel replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm. She looked down at the brown liquid in her cup. "Coffee doesn't have nearly enough alcohol in it." After their coffee the pair stopped into the bathroom. They were purposely going as slow as they could to the observation room. Trying to prolong the inevitable as much as possible. They didn't care if they were late. If they were lucky they'd get fired. Too bad neither one was lucky. Hazel looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Good Grief was right. She didn't take very good care of herself. Her dark blue mane was a mess. She hadn't combed it in weeks. Her horn was cracked. Needed to be polished badly. Her breath smelled and there were bags under her eyes. That bugged her more than anything. Hazel considered her eyes to be her best feature. She'd even been named after them. Her bright beautiful, hazel eyes. If she looked at a stallion the right way, they'd fall in love with her instantly. Now their bright, lovely appearance was being overshadowed by exhaustion. Heavy bags underneath and green crust embedded in their corners. If she positioned her glasses the right way it hardly even mattered. She hated those glasses. As far as she was concerned they'd kept her from finding love. They hid her only good feature. Hazel used her magic to take off her lab coat and began to examine her body. She was getting fat. Not nearly as fat as her sister but she'd definitely put on some pounds. Too many trips to burger princess. She was also in desperate need of a good bath. All she ever got were quick showers and they were few and far between. Her dark yellow fur was matted all over. She looked over her cutie mark. A big, Hazel eye. Hazel liked eyes a little too much and her love of eyes had earned her cutie mark. Her curse. It was the ugliest cutie mark she'd ever seen. She wasn't unappreciative of it. She loved her field of work. Studying all the complexities of all the various living creatures in the world and there was nothing more complex than an eye. But did it have to be so ugly? Good Grief was studying herself in the mirror as well. "I'm sorry Hazel. For calling you ugly." Hazel looked to her friend and smiled. She was used to Good Grief's bitchy fits and was appreciative of the fact that she was always quick to apologize. "What's with the sudden turn around Grief?" Hazel asked with a chuckle. "Well I can't really criticize your appearance much when I look like this." Grief didn't look much better than Hazel. The pair shared similar coat colors. Only Griefs was much brighter yellow. They were both unicorns but that's where the similarities ended. Hazel was short and stocky. Grief was tall and thin. Too thin. Instead of eating her anxieties like Hazel, Grief dealt with her emotions by starving herself and it showed. If Hazel looked close enough she could make out the outline of Grief's rib cage. The tall, lanky mare looked in the mirror and sighed. "Maybe we should just date each other Hazel. We're never gonna find anyone else. We're past our prime." "We're not that old Grief. And I'm not sure I'm into mares." "Yeah me neither. I just don't want to end up alone." Grief removed her own glasses and dusted them off with her lab coat. Griefs eyes were almost as pretty as Hazel's. Bright green. Always hidden under her glasses and pitch black mane that frequently fell over her face. It was a shame that both of them were forced to hide their best features. Grief took off her lab coat and began examining her hind quarters in the mirror. She ran her hoof over her cutie mark, a pair of black zig zagging lines that represented Grief's talent for analysis, and frowned. "Hazel, I have no ass." She said. Hazel laughed. "You can borrow mine. I have enough to share." Grief laughed with her friend. "When was the last time you got any?" "A couple months ago." "What?? How?!" Hazel shrugged. "I try to actually have a life. Whenever I get a chance to go out I take it. When I do, get a couple drinks in me and I can usually talk a guy into bed." "I haven't been laid in almost a year!" Hazel shrugged again. "Gotta put yourself out there. It's not hard. Just go out to a bar and talk to ponies. Be a slut. It's fun." Grief laughed. "You're taking me next time!" "It's a date." Grief and Hazel shared a laugh for a moment. It was nice. It had been too long since the two had been able to distract themselves from work. But it could only last so long. Eventually the laughter died away and the two stood there in silence, dreading the moments to come. "Grief...we're stalling." "I know." Grief whispered. "I don't want to see it Hazel. I hate that thing. I don't know how you can stand it like you do." "Fluttershy taught me. You've met her right?" "Only once. Very briefly." "She's amazing Grief. That mare truly cares for every living creature in Equestria. Even that thing." Hazel and Grief left the bathroom and began to make their way down the hall, walking as slow as they possibly could. "Why do you let it call you that Hazel?" "Because it makes her feel better. She's a person Grief. And she's suffering. If calling me that makes her feel better then I'm not going to take it away from her." The two finally made it two the door and paused before entering. "Just remember..." Hazel began. "She's more afraid of you than you are of her." The door opened and the two reluctantly stepped through. "I highly doubt that." Inside the observation room were four other ponies, two stallions and two mares. The two stallions and one of the mares were the only other surviving members of the research team responsible for the creation of the creature. The rest of the team, ten others, had all been killed. The stallions didn't look any better than Grief or Hazel. One of them slouched in the corner, half asleep. The other, stood in the center of the room looking like he was on the verge of an asthma attack. He always looked like that. The other mare on the research team was talking to the consultant over by the doorway. "You two are late." The slouched stallion said. "Stuff it DNA, we don't want to be here anymore than you do." "Your name's DNA?" The consultant mare asked the stallion. "Righteous." "My name is Deoxyribonucleic Acid. Because my parents are assholes. But yeah. DNA." Hazel approached the mare. "You must be our consultant. It's nice to meet you. I'm Hazel." "Radical to meet you." The mare responded. "Fluttershy's told me so much about you." "She has?" Hazel looked over the strange mare's features. She was a lime green Earth Pony with an orange mane done up in one of the strangest hair style Hazel had ever seen. It was as if the mare had never combed her mane a day in her life and it resulted in her mane becoming matted beyond all repair, forming long, thick locks. It wasn't even ugly. It was unique. Pretty even. The mare gave off the strangest scent as well. A foul, smokey smell that somehow managed to be both disgusting and pleasant at the same time. Hazel knew that smell. She'd gone to college. This mare didn't seem very professional, but Fluttershy had vouched for her. Told her that if anyone would be able to get through to the creature it'd be her. And Hazel trusted Fluttershy's judgement. "Yeah. She told me she admired your intelligence and dedication. I can totally see why. I'm really diggin' your vibe." "Why...thank you." Hazel responded. "We should get started. Open the shield." The shield opened and revealed the observation area. The cell had originally been constructed for housing dangerous creatures, such as manticores, who were in need of medical care. It had been since been re-purposed. The room was no longer plain white but had little bits of color plastered all around it. Strange, juvenile drawings of ponies were scribbled all over the walls and floor. Drawings off all the researchers: Good Grief, DNA, Amber, and Cell Wall were littered everywhere. There were numerous drawings of two other ponies as well. More effort had been put into these drawings and they were far more numerous than the others. They were of Fluttershy and Hazel. The creature's favorite two ponies. In the center of the room, working on her latest masterpiece, sat the creature. She looked innocent enough. A bleach white Earth Pony filly with a long grey mane and mismatched eyes. One of them silver and the other...hazel. The fact that she'd intentionally made her eye like that creeped Hazel out to an extreme. The creature was working on another drawing. A picture of Fluttershy. She was coloring with her hair. She had full control over every cell in her body. She changed the ends of her hair into various colors and used them to draw her pictures. She'd been steadily improving. The ponies she drew had finally begun to look more like actual ponies rather than stick figures. The creature learned at an astonishing rate. It was both fascinating and horrifying. "Now, she doesn't react well to new ponies so don't be alarmed if she freaks out. She can't get out of that cell and if she tries we have a deterrent. See those holes in the walls? They were originally intended to release a sedative gas but since that has no affect on her they've been repurposed into flamethrowers. We're safe in here." Hazel was trying to convince herself of their safety as much as she was the consultant. The mare didn't seem to be paying any attention. She was enraptured by the creature in the room. The filly didn't move. Save for the end of her mane, which worked vigorously on the drawing. The filly's lack of motion was almost surreal. Even when other ponies tried to sit still they still made little involuntary movements. They breathed. They blinked. But the filly didn't do anything. The only thing one could compare it to was a corpse. "Trippy." The consultant mare breathed out. "She has no aura..." "Huh?" "All living things give off an aura. Cosmic life energy. She doesn't have one. I didn't even know that was poss...wait did you say flamethrowers?" "Yes." DNA made his way next to the pair. "As a precaution. That thing is dangerous." "Dude, she's a filly." "No." DNA replied cooly. "It's not." Hazel pressed the intercom. "Syn sweetie. How are you doing today?" The filly turned her attention to the mirror and smiled. She rushed over to the to the glass with the enthusiasm of a child. "Mommy!" She'd been working on modulating her voice. She now sounded far more like a filly. It was still off and had a reverberating effect but it was much easier on the ears nonetheless. "I haven't seen you in years!" Hazel chuckled. "It's only been a day sweetheart." "It felt like forever!" The filly pressed her face into the glass and looked to the mare next to Hazel. "Who's that pony mommy?" "She can see us?" The consultant mare asked. "Yes." DNA replied. "We don't know how. That glass is supposed to be one way, but she doesn't seem to care about logic or anything of the sort." "This is auntie Fluttershy's friend sweetie. She's here to have a little chat with you today." The filly seemed almost as enamored with the mare as the mare did with her. "She has a really pretty mane." The filly sniffed the glass. "And smells funny." "She can smell us?!" As the filly stared at the mare her mane began to move. It bunched together and changed from the long straight mane to a mess of locks, identical to the consultant mare’s. "Radical!" "She's really pretty." Syn remarked. "Thanks little one. You're beautiful as well." The mare said into the intercom. As she did the filly began to shy away from the glass and her mane assumed its regular shape. "She doesn't talk to anypony aside from Hazel and Fluttershy." DNA informed her. "She's just shy. We're hoping you might be able to help her overcome that." Hazel added. "Oh that shouldn't be a problem at all. I deal with all sorts of creatures, each one perfect and unique." "You've never dealt with anything like this lady." DNA remarked. "Trust me." "Syn sweetheart.” Hazel began.” You think you can try to have a talk with mommy's friend?" The filly looked back up at the glass. It hid behind it's mane and when it spoke its voice was a barely audible whisper. "I'll try." "Thank you sweetie. That's all we're asking." Hazel turned to the consultant. "Give it a shot. See if you can reach her." The mare moved in front of the intercom and moved to press the button. She paused right before she did and turned to Hazel. "What did you say her name was? Syn?" "Short for synthetic life form." DNA answered. "Okay. Well here I go. Wish me luck." She said with a slightly nervous laugh. The mare pressed the intercom and began speaking. "Hello Syn! Blessings. How are you feeling today child?" Syn didn't answer. Didn't move. She stood with her head hung low and her face concealed behind her mane. "I really like your drawings. They're super groovy." Again no response. The mare moved away from the intercom. "Yeah this isn't gonna work. I need to get in there and work with her on a more intimate level." DNA laughed out loud. "Not happening! You don't have any idea what that thing is capable of! She's dangerous." "Chill out dude. She's just a filly. She won't hurt me." "She's not a filly." DNA continued, the humor gone from his voice. "She's an experiment gone horribly wrong. She's a monster." "There's no such thing as monsters my friend. Every creature is beautiful in it's own way." DNA rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Whatever lady. You're not going in there. I don't want to be the one who has to clean up the mess." "I want her to!" The group turned their attention back to Syn who had moved closer to the glass and was now giving them her full attention. "Please. I'll be good. I just want to see somepony." Hazel pressed the intercom button. "Syn...baby you have to promise me you're not going to hurt her. That you'll be nice. That you won't...freak out. Promise?" Syn nodded. "I promise." "Okay." Hazel turned to the mare. "Please be careful. No sudden movements. Keep your voice calm." "Oh don't worry about it. Calm is like, my thing." "This is a bad idea." DNA said. "I agree." Good Grief joined in the discussion. "Don't do this Hazel." Hazel turned to the other two ponies in the room. "Cell Wall, Amber...what do you two think?" Amber looked over the mare. "I think it'll work. She's never had an actual physical interaction with somepony. It might be exactly what she needs." Cell Wall nodded in agreement. The stallion couldn't seem to stop shaking. "Y-yeah...yeah I think we should give it a shot." Hazel turned to DNA and Grief. "Sorry guys. Four against two. Five if you include Syn. We're gonna try it. Just be ready in case something goes wrong." "What exactly are we going to do Hazel?" DNA scoffed. "Roast them both alive?" "Shut up DNA." She turned to the mare. "Go for it." The mare made her way to the door to the holding cell. She moved the card Hazel gave her in front of the door scanner which gave a beep, and the door opened. The mare entered the cell and the door immediately closed behind her. "Greetings child. I'm Tree Hugger. Radical to meet you little one." Syn began to move away from Tree Hugger. She was visibly shaking. Hazel pressed the intercom. "Syn baby it's okay. She's not going to hurt you." Upon hearing Hazel's voice Syn began to calm down. She ceased shaking and looked directly at Tree Hugger. "It's okay sweetie." Hazel said over the intercom. Syn slowly began moving towards Tree Hugger. She stopped when she was directly in front of her. "Hello." "Hi." Tree Hugger said. Her voice was calm and serene. She smiled down at the filly and Syn managed to smile back. "Would you like to show me your drawings?" Syn nodded. "Okay. I'll show you my favorite ones." Syn began to lead Tree Hugger around the room, showing her all the various drawings she'd made during her imprisonment. "This one is of auntie Fluttershy. She's the nicest pony in all the world." "Yes she is. I've known Fluttershy for years now. She truly is a beautiful soul." Syn smiled and perked up a little more. With slightly more enthusiasm she lead Tree Hugger over to her next masterpiece. "This one is uncle DNA. He's grumpy a lot...but I like him." "Ya hear that D? She likes ya." Grief said as she smiled and nudged DNA in the side. "Shut the fuck up." DNA replied, failing to find the humor in the situation. Syn lead Tree Hugger over to her favorite drawing. "This one is my mommy. The best pony there is. I love her and she loves me." "Oh yes." Tree Hugger leaned down to get a better view of the drawing and ran her hoof over it. "I can really feel the aura of love radiating from this drawing. It's magical manifest." Syn watched the mare as she studied the drawing, enraptured with her. The first pony she'd ever had real physical contact with. She fixated her eyes on the mares unique mane. "Can...can I touch your mane?" She asked. "Of course child. Please do." Syn ran her hoof over tree huggers mane. She giggled. "It feels funny." "It's the result of years and years of spiritual enlightenment." Syn stopped and the smile died from her face. She withdrew slightly, nervous of the question she was about to ask. "Can...can I..." "Don't be afraid child. You can ask me for whatever you want." "Can I...hug you?" "Yes child. Embrace me." Tree Hugger sat down and opened her forelegs, ready for Syn's embrace. "I don't like this." DNA remarked from the observation area. "This is a bad idea. We should get her out of there now." "Shut up!" Hazel snapped. "This is a good thing." Syn slowly moved into Tree Huggers forelegs. At her own pace she wrapped her forelegs around the older mare and settled her head into her chest. Tree Hugger closed in around the filly and laid her head on top of Syn's. "Yes child. Feel the love! Experience life!" "Love..." Syn tightened her forelegs around Tree Huggers torso. The mare followed suit and the two sat in the room together. Wrapped around each other. Syn smiled a warmer smile than she ever had in her life. "This is good. We're reaching her." Hazel said. She turned to Grief and DNA and smiled. "And you two were worried." She finished her sentence with a slightly over exaggerated laugh. In the cell, Syn and Tree Hugger were still intertwined. As they sat Syn's hair began to move. Wrapping around the mare. Embracing her as well. "He he he. That tickles." Syn's smile widened and she tightened her embrace. A little too tight. Tree Hugger began to have difficulty breathing. "That's a little much child. Would you mind loosening up a bit?" Syn ignored the mare. Her hairs continued to move all along Tree Hugger's body. Entwining themselves around her legs. Moving around her face. Tree Hugger did her best to remain calm and keep her composure but she couldn't keep her breathing from quickening or the sweat from rolling off her forehead. Syn continued to tighten her grasp around the mare. She squeezed harder and harder. Tree Hugger struggled for breath. She winced in pain. Syn's hairs moved along her flesh. The ends began digging their way in. Slowly entering her body. Like needles. The hairs on her face began to move towards her eyes. The tips of Syn's mane began to work their way towards the bottoms of Tree Hugger's eyelids. "Let go." Tree Hugger gasped. "Please stop." "Get her the fuck out of there!" DNA yelled. The hairs dug in even further. Crawling beneath Tree Huggers flesh. Worming their way into the space beneath Tree Huggers eyes. Digging deeper and deeper. Syn still smiled. Seemingly unaware of the distraught mare in her grasp. She continued her hug and as she did her back began to boil. There was a pop and four new limbs sprouted forth and wrapped themselves around Tree Hugger. The mare watched as the skin on Syn's neck boiled. Each bubble took the shape of a tiny equine face. Screaming in horror and agony, before vomiting forth a new face and repeating the cycle. Tree Hugger couldn't keep her composure any longer. She let loose a horrified scream. Expelling all of the air from her lungs at once. "GET IT OFF OF ME!!!" Syn's eyes opened. They were no longer mismatched or had any color at all. They were pure white. Syn's smile disappeared and her mouth opened. A voice called out. Not the reverberating little filly voice from before but a horrible disgusting sound, that could hardly be called a voice. Completely in-equine, neither male nor female. Her mouth hung agape and the words spewed forth from her mouth without even moving her lips. "I love you..." "Turn on the flamers!" Hazel shouted over Tree Huggers horrified screeching and the unearthly wail that began to emanate forth from Syn. "You'll incinerate them both!!" DNA shouted. "Don't fire them! Just start them up! We need to scare her off of her!" DNA rushed to the walls and flipped the flamers start up switch. The holes in the cells walls began to glow orange. Syn immediately snapped out of her trance. Her eyes returned to their regular color and she let go of Tree Hugger. Then proceeded to run and cower in the corner. Tree Hugger wasted no time in rushing towards the door. She began pounding on it and screaming furiously. "LET ME OUT!! GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!" Grief made her way to the door and opened it. Tree Hugger rushed in and collapsed on the floor. The door closed and the researches attended to the distraught mare. Tree Hugger laid on the floor, crying and screaming incoherently. Any attempt to physically comfort her was met with violence. She refused to be touched. In the cell Syn was screaming in her terrible, inequine voice. "TURN THEM OFF!! TURN OFF THE LIGHTS! I DON'T WANT TO BE BURNED!" "DNA turn off the flamers!" DNA did as he was told. After they were off, Syn collapsed on the floor and began to cry. "I’M SORRY!" She screamed. Her voice was a broken mix of the unearthly howl and the echoing filly voice. She was trying her best to get it back under control. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO HURT! I'M SORRY!!" Hazel pressed the intercom button. "Syn sweetie. Baby, it's okay! You didn't mean to!" Tears began to stream down Hazel's face as she watched the child wail and cry on the floor. Broken and alone, with no one to comfort her. "I'M A GOOD PONY!" She repeated over and over again. "Yes you are sweetie. You're a good pony! We're going to help you! We're going to find a way! I promise!" "I'M A GOOD PONY!! I'M A GOOD PONY! I'M A PONY!! I'M A PONY!!" Eventually the screaming stopped. Syn laid on the floor. Motionless. Eyes wide open. Not moving. Not blinking. Not even breathing. A living corpse. A creature beyond anyone's understanding. The only one of her kind. Completely alone in the universe. Hazel closed the shields. She couldn't bring herself to watch anymore. She turned her attention to Tree Hugger, who lay on the floor of the room. Shaking visibly. Tears streaming down her face and babbling. "It's evil. It's evil. It's not a filly. It's evil. It's a monster." She stopped briefly. Then all at once began screaming and crying again. "For fuck's sake." DNA snapped. "Ger her to the infirmary or something." Amber and Cell Wall carried Tree Hugger out of the room leaving DNA, Grief and Hazel alone. After a moment, DNA broke the silence. "Good fucking call boss." "Shut the fuck up DNA." Grief snapped. Hazel didn't say anything. She pressed her head against the window and cried.
Alone8 Months Later Hazel had fallen asleep at her work desk again. She hadn't been to her actual home in over a week. She was beginning to see very little reason to hold on to the place. Work was home now. Spending countless hours taking notes and analyzing data, then ultimately getting nowhere. She'd gained so much weight, she had almost caught up with her sister. She reeked. She couldn't remember the last time she'd showered. Through the stress and the exhaustion, Hazel pressed on. Everyday she worked. Trying to find answers. She had to. For Syn. She was the only who could. Hazel awoke the sound of her computer monitor beeping. Checking the time, she discovered that it was close to noon. She rubbed her eyes and fixed her glasses before turning her attention to the monitor. She was getting a call from her sister. "Great." Hazel mumbled out loud. She pressed the button on the terminal and answered the call. When the video screen came on it was not her sister that Hazel saw. Rather, a little yellow unicorn filly with a long blue mane and the biggest grin one could imagine plastered right on her face. "Hi Aunt Hazel!" The filly practically yelled. "Hey Sunshine. How are you doing sweetheart?" "I'm great! Look what I made!" The filly held a drawing up to the video screen. The drawing was especially well made for a filly of Sunshine’s age. While still juvenile the ponies in the drawing were still fairly detailed. Possessing full color and even rudimentary shading. The ponies depicted were a grey mare and a yellow stallion. The two were smiling at one another and their eyes had been replaced with big, cartoonish hearts. "That's really nice Sunshine. Who's it of?" "This is Mister Sandy." Sunshine said as she pointed at the drawing of the stallion. "And this is Miss Rock." She said as she moved her hoof over the mare. Sunshine leaned in close to the video screen and whispered. "I totally ship them." Hazel laughed. She'd been as surprised as everyone when her sister had announced her pregnancy. The entire issue had caused a rift in their family. While Hazel had tried her best to be supportive, her parents had refused to speak to her sister for the longest time. But when Sunshine was born, all the hostility ceased. The smile the filly possessed could thaw the coldest of hearts. When she smiled for the first time all the anger and resentment melted away and the family came back together. Her sister had succeeded in bringing a little piece of sunshine into Equestria. "S-s-s-sunshshine! Wh-what are y-y-you d-doing!" A voice called from off the video screen. "Uh oh. Busted." Sunshine said. On the screen a new figure came into view. A mare even larger than Hazel. Her dark blue mane was out of control, far worse than Hazel’s on her worse hair day. Her fur was matted and stained and even though Hazel wasn't in the room she still felt as if she could smell her sister’s terrible breath. "Hey Rise N' Shine. How are you doing?" "I'm s-s-so s-sorry Hazel. I h-h-hope S-s-Sunshine d-d-didn't interrupt anything im-im-important." "Oh not at all. I was actually just waking up." "Oh g-g-good. H-how's w-w-work?" Hazel shrugged. "A living nightmare. Wish I could tell you more but ya know...classifed and all that." "R-r-right." "How are things going on your project?" Rise N' Shine stared into the camera in silence for a while. Then she slowly shook her head. "N-not g-g-good Hazel. The m-m-ministry of m-magic sent over a n-n-n-new consultant to h-help out." "Oh?" Rise N' Shine nodded. "Sh-she's awful." "Worse than you?" Hazel teased, adding in a small giggle at the end/ Rise N' Shine didn't react to the teasing, or seem to be aware of it at all. "I d-d-don't even kn-know h-h-how to describe her H-Hazel. She sc-sc-sca-scare's me." "Scares you?" Rise N' Shine nodded again. "I d-don't know wh-what it is b-but there's j-just something ab-about her that's wr-wr-wrong. I w-w-want h-h-her gone." "Oh geez sis." Hazel said. "That sounds awful." Rise N' Shine looked over her shoulder to check on Sunshine before leaning into the camera and lowering her voice to a whisper. "If I s-s-sent S-unshine to y-you could you l-l-look after h-her for a l-l-l-little while?" Hazel shook her head. "Sorry sis. I'm too busy at work. This job requires my full attention. Is she really that bad?" Rise N' Shine nodded. "Y-yes. I'm g-g-gonna see if M-Mom and D-d-d-dad can't t-t-take her f-f-for a wh-while. I d-don't want h-h-her ar-around th-this m-m-mare." "Sorry I couldn't help more." "I-it's o-okay. I underst-stand." Rise N' Shine shifted her attention behind Hazel. "H-hey G-Greif." Hazel turned around to see her friend Good Grief standing directly behind her. "Hi Rise N' Shine." Grief turned her attention to Hazel. "Hey we gotta get going, It's lunch time." "Okay, I'll be right there." Hazel turned back to the monitor. "Goodbye Shine. I hope you get everything sorted out." "Th-thank y-y-you. H-have a n-n-nice l-lunch." Hazel scoffed. "Yeah I wish. It's not our lunch though." "Oh. W-well h-have a g-g-good d-day still. B-bye. L-love y-y-you." "Love you too Sis." "Love you Aunt Hazel! Have a good day!" Sunshine called from off screen. "Love you Sunshine! Thanks for the wake up call!" Before she closed out of the monitor a third, somewhat mechanical sounding and undeniably male voice called from off the screen. "Hazel...while I have not yet...had the honor...of meeting you...I just wanted you to know....that I too...wish upon you...a good day." Then the screen went dark. "Who the hell was that?" "C'mon Hazel." Good Grief said, attempting to coax Hazel out of her chair. "Let's get this over with." "I'm coming." Hazel stood and pulled on her labcoat. Attempted to anyway. "I swear this fit just fine yesterday." Hazel grumbled as she struggled to pull on her uniform. "Yeah you said that yesterday too." Hazel and Grief made their way down the hall to the observation room, making small talk along the way. "So who would you rather do? Cell Wall or DNA?" Greif asked. Hazel made a disgusted face. "Eck! Neither! They're both nasty. If I was gonna do anyone it'd be Amber." "Really? I thought you weren't into mares?" "I'd be into Amber. Have you seen her? How the hell does she do it?" Greif shrugged. "I've told you before a little makeup goes a long way." "Yeah, that's more than a little. So who would you do?" "DNA." "Really? Gross!" "Hey he's kind of cute. And I wouldn't have to worry about him having to stop every ten seconds to catch his breath." "True." Hazel paused to think for a moment. "Why do all our conversations devolve into discussions about sex?" Greif shrugged. "Because this place is boring and sex is interesting." Greif paused as a thought suddenly struck her. "Say speaking of sex, Syn..." "Greif! No!" Hazel snapped in alarm. "That's not what I meant!" Greif corrected, her face going red. "I was just gonna say, is Syn really a girl? I mean, technically she can grow whatever parts she wants so..." Hazel reflected for a moment. "Well technically I guess Syn doesn't have a set physical sex...but psychologically she seems to prefer being referred to as female...honestly I don't know." "Why do you think she stays in that form? The little filly form? Where did she even learn it from?" "Just another one of the million and a half questions we need to answer about her I guess." "Yeah." Greif sighed. "Okay so...if you had to do one of the ministry mares..." The two approached the doors of the observation room. Hazel paused and brought her hoof up to her chin in thought. "Hmmm...well I guess that's a toss up between Fluttershy and Rarity. They both kind of have a sort of...natural beauty about them. I guess I'd go with Fluttershy just because I know her personally but Rarity is a close second." Hazel and Grief scanned their security cards and the door slid open. "I mean c'mon have you seen that mares aaaaAAAAAAAHHH!!" Inside the room, two of the mares’ coworkers were hard at work. On each other. Cell Well had Amber bent over a chair and was thrusting away furiously as Amber was panting in delight. "Holy shit!' Grief exclaimed. Finally realizing they were no longer alone Cell Wall and Amber separated. They stared back at Hazel and Grief in virtual horror, their faces red, both from embarrassment and passion. "What the fuck guys?!" Hazel yelled. "In the observation room?! Really?!" Cell Wall stood. The white stallion tried his best to keep his composure. He turned to the side to hide what he could from prying eyes and reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his inhaler. "I-I um. I..." The stallion stammered. He took a deep breath from his inhaler and was able to calm himself enough to form at least one coherent sentence. "I got to go!" With that, Cell Wall rushed out of the room, trying his best to keep his head down and hide his blushing face. Amber stood up and began to collect herself as well. The light brown Earth Pony mare adjusted her labcoat and then proceeded to fluff her dark brown mane. Amber was several years younger than Grief or Hazel. The mare had only barely graduated college when she had applied for the Ministry of Peace. She had been a star athlete in college and it definitely showed. Where Hazel and Grief were both too fat and too skinny, Amber was neither. She was simply slim. A model of perfection. Everything Hazel and Grief wished they looked like. Amber's embarrassment died away quickly. She held her head high and trotted over to the observation window. "Good morning Hazel. Good morning Good Grief. How are both of today?" She asked as if nothing had happened at all. Grief and Hazel shared a half smile with one another. They were having none of that. The pair walked over to Amber, flanking the younger mare on either side. "Soooo..." Grief began. Amber ignored her. She typed away at her terminal, bringing up her notes from the previous day. "...Cell Wall?" Greif continued. "Really?" Amber continued typing away. Doing her best to avoid the conversation. But there was no escape. "Amber c'mon...you can do so much better." Amber shrugged, not looking away from her terminal. "There wasn't anyone else. This place finally got to me I guess." Greif scoffed. "You guess?" "He's nice!" Amber snapped. "He's always giving me compliments and saying nice things and...it just...I don't know. He's the only one here I can relate too. Everyone else is so much older than me..." "Yeah I get that..." Greif smiled. "...but c'mon. Cell Wall?" "He is a perfectly nice stallion." "But he's fucking ugly." "He's got nice eyes!" "But he got terrible acne." "He's...available." "But the wheezing!" Amber's posture shrunk and her cheeks reddened. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He's huge." Hazel and Grief exchanged surprised looks with one another. "What was that?" Greif asked. Amber's eyes widened and her gaze dropped to the floor. Her cheeks seemed to get even redder and she attempted to hid her face behind her mane. "Huh." Greif began. "Doesn't look that big." "It grows." Amber whispered. "How long has this been going on?" Hazel asked. Amber shrugged. "A month or so." "Well..." Hazel began. "Keep it out of the observation room. Please." Amber shrunk back even further. "Sorry." The door of the observation opened and DNA stepped into the room. He raised his head and sniffed the air. "Smells like fuck in here." Greif laughed. Ambers continued to blush. Hazel sighed. "We need to get going guys. Syn's probably starving." DNA rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever. Right to work. No monkeying around. Got ya." "No sarcasm today D. Please? I just want a nice, stress free day." "Well good luck with that Hazel." Hazel pressed the door button and the metal shield between the observation window and the room opened. On the other side of the window stood Syn, right next to the window, barely an inch away. Her face bore an inquisitive look as she watched them. The previously white room was now a plethora of color. The walls, floor and even the ceiling were covered in Syn's artwork. In the span of a year, she had progressed from stick figures to highly detailed pieces. Her drawings had become so detailed that it was difficult to distinguish between them and an actual photograph. The only areas of the room that were still bare were the areas around the circular vents in the wall. The flamers. Syn stayed as far away from those as she possibly could. Hazel smiled and pressed the intercom. "Good Morning Syn. How are you feeling today sweetie?" The little silver maned filly cocked her head to the side. Her mismatched silver and hazel eyes focused and her brow furrowed in thought. "What was Auntie Amber doing with Daddy?" Hazel stared back at the filly in shock. The shield had been closed. Over the course of time they had discovered that Syn could adjust her her eyesight to allow her see far beyond what any pony is capable of. She could adjust her hearing and smell as well. The one-way mirror served very little purpose, for Syn could see right through it. But the shield had been down. There was no way she could see through sheet metal. "Syn baby..." Hazel began. "..can you see through the wall when the shield is down." Syn shook her head. "No. But I can feel through." "What do you mean sweetie?" "I can feel through it. It's kind of like seeing. Only without any color. I can feel shapes and movements." "Like radar." DNA had moved right next to Hazel and was looking at Syn curiously. He pressed the intercom. "Hey Syn. How you doing today girl?" "Hi uncle D. I'm hungry." "Bet you are. Lunch is coming right up 'kay." Syn looked back to Hazel. "What was Daddy doing to Auntie Amber? Was he hurting her?" "No Syn, they're both okay...they were just..." Hazel took her hoof off of the intercom. "I can't do this Grief. I can't explain sex to her. She's barely a year old!" "Oh wow Hazel. Grow up." Greif scoffed then proceeded to move Hazel out o the way and press the intercom. "They were playing a game honey. A grown up game. They were both having fun. No reason to be worried." "Oh." Syn thought for a moment. "Will you teach it to me Auntie Greif?" Greif took her hoof from the intercom and turned to Amber. "Thank you Amber." She said, her voice dripping with Sarcasm. "This is exactly how I wanted to start my morning." "Sorry." "Would someone care to fill me in on what's going on?" DNA asked. "Well when we walked in this morning Cell Wall was..." Grief explained. "Well let's say he was 'filling in' Amber." "Really? Good for Cell." DNA turned to Amber. "You can do so much better." "Hmph." Amber glared forward and crossed her hooves in front of her chest. "He's nice." "Enough." Hazel interjected. She pressed the intercom. "You ready to eat, Syn?" Syn smiled. "Oh yes! I'm starving!" Syn had finally perfected her voice. No reverberation or distortion. She sounded like a completely normal filly. Hazel typed away at her terminal. There was a loud clanking sound and a small panel opened in the ceiling of Syn's room. Out of the panel a thin clear tube descended downward. The filly stood underneath it, eagerly awaiting her meal. Hazel pressed the command and key and tube began to make a hideous sucking sound. After a brief moment, a thick red paste began to descend down the tube and straight into the Filly's mouth. The group looked on in both fascination and disgust. "That is so gross." DNA commented. "Tell me about it." The group turned around to see Cell Wall had made his way back into the room. The Unicorn stallion looked much better than earlier. His white coat practically glowed in the dimly lit room. His tall, spiky blonde mane looked as if it had been recently combed. He adjusted his glasses then proceeded to take a puff from his inhaler. He stopped next to Amber and blushed. "Sorry about earlier guys." "It's fine" Hazel replied. "Just...not in the observation room. Ever" DNA held up his hoof. "Up top!" Cell hesitated before lifting his own hoof and lightly smacking it against DNA's. "Good job Cell. Didn't know ya had it in had ya." "He didn't." Greif replied. "He had it in Amber!" "OHHHHHHH!" Grief and DNA called out as Amber and Cell Wall blushed furiously. "Knock it off!" Hazel snapped. "Killjoy." DNA said. "So what's the plan for today guys?" "Same as always." Cell Wall replied. "Ask her questions she doesn't know the answers too, then run some pointless tests and pray we get somewhere." "Woa Cell, don't get too excited now." DNA quipped Hazel pressed the intercom button. "Syn, that's enough for now sweetie." She pressed a second button on the terminal and the tube retracted. The remaining red globs absorbed into Syn's bleach white coat and she moved towards the window. "I'm still hungry though." "If you keep eating like that you're gonna get fat." "What's fat?" "Fat is what happens when you eat too much." Syn's face brightened up. "Fat sounds awesome! I want to get fat!" "She can't get fat." Cell said. "I mean...she just ate twice her bodyweight in recycled animal tissue and she's still hungry." Greif shuddered. "Can you please not remind me what we're feeding her?" Syn cocked her head to the side and shot the group an inquisitive look. Hazel leaned into the intercom. "What's wrong Syn?" "Why do you all give me gross looks whenever I eat?" Hazel glared at Greif. "You know, you really need to learn when to shut the fuck up." Turning her attention back to Syn, Hazel began to speak once more. "Nothing's wrong with it sweetie. It's just...different than what we eat." "You guys don't eat ummm..." Syn placed a hoof on her chin and thought for a moment. "...recycled animal tissue? Hazel moved away from the intercom and turned to face her coworkers. "What is happening today? First sex and now I have to explain her diet to her? Fuck today." "You know she can still hear you?" DNA said. "What's the point of the intercom exactly?" "If you want to go in there and uninstall it, be my guest." Syn moved closer to the observation window. "What is recycled animal tissue? Please tell me." Hazel hesitated. She would have to choose her words carefully if she was going to prevent Syn from having another freakout. "Well Syn...it's...it's dead animals..." "Dead? I thought when things die they stopped existing?" "Kind of sweetie. See when a living thing dies it's...it's mind goes away. It stops thinking. But it's body stays behind. Do you understand?" Syn stared at the glass separating her from Hazel for several minutes. Not moving. Not blinking. Not breathing. It was impossible to tell what was going through the creature's mind. She seemed more like a statue than a living thing. A bead of sweat rolled down Hazel's forehead as she began to wonder if she had made a fatal mistake. The glass and the flamers were there in case something went wrong. But there was no way of knowing if they would actually stop her. Finally Syn nodded. "I understand. So umm..." She placed her hoof to her chin in thought. "What's an animal?" "Animals are creatures who aren't ponies." "Ohhhhhh." Syn replied. "So...am I an animal?" Hazel managed to chuckle. "Well not exactly sweetheart. We don't know what you are yet remember? That's what we're here to figure out." Syn shook her head. "I'm a pony. Just like you and Daddy and Auntie Grief and Amber and Fluttershy and Uncle D." "Okay Syn." Hazel said softly. "If you say so." Syn began to wander around her room absentmindedly. Looking over all the drawings scrawled all over the walls and floor. "How did those animals die?" Syn asked as she absentmindedly studied her latest drawing of Fluttershy. "Careful how you answer this one Hazel." Cell warned. "She might not react well." "She'll be fine." Hazel replied. She focused her attention back to Syn. "They died naturally sweetie. Eventually, every living thing dies." Syn's head slowly turned back towards the mirror. Her face held no expression. No emotion. Nothing that could give away what may have been running through her mind. She cocked her head to the side and her silver mane fell over her left eye. Her right eye stared straight at Hazel, wide, unblinking. The same eye, that for some reason Syn had decided should bare the exact same color as Hazel's. "Even me?" She asked. Hazel looked to her coworkers. They all shared the same expression. They were dumbfounded. None of them knew how to answer that question. Hazel nervously pressed the intercom button. "We don't know sweetie. You might not." "But you will?" Hazel took her hoof off the intercom. She watched Syn and even though the filly had no expression whatsoever at the moment, she knew exactly what she was thinking. Looking at Syn now, she once again had to remind herself that despite Syn's look and mannerisms...it wasn't a filly. As much as she wanted to be there for her, to hold her, to hug her, to comfort her, she knew it wasn't possible. She closed her eyes and whispered. "Yes. Someday I will." Syn turned back to her drawing. "And when you die I'll be alone." Hazel opened her eyes again. Her vision was blurred and she had to briefly remove her glasses in order to wipe away the tears that she was trying so hard to suppress. "It's okay." Syn said as she looked at the floor. "I'm already alone."
