Of Cyborgs and Augmentation

Chapters

A lab, equipment and preparation.
Pink and Speed
Surprises galore
I'll be back
Stranger in a Strange Land
Peaceful world, foolish world

A lab, equipment and preparation.

Author's Note

This is the first part to Of Cyborgs and Augmentation.
This is somewhat an experiment to see peoples reception of this story.
If it gains popularity, I will definitely produce more chapters to this.
For now, enjoy the first chapter.

A lab, equipment and preparation.

Blackness. It covered everything. It was a symbol of evil and foreboding. The only sounds that could be heard were faint static buzzing and electronic beeping. With this was the sound of footsteps, faint and echoing. The sound bounced off the cavernous room and made it seem eerie, as it dissipated into the wide ebony expanse.

The footsteps grew louder, and as they did so, small florescent bulbs lit up, casting blue light over a thin walkway, made of thin mesh with small metal handrails either side. The steps grew louder again, this time a large mechanised column turned on. Panels with small screens and flickering lights appeared over, casting a green and blue light over the thin slender legs of the person.

Lights flickered on by a larger expanse, the walkway opening out to a platform. Again screens and other monitors flickered into life. Dials and lights appearing seemingly out of no where. What looked like thick power cables snaked along the ground, twisting and turning as they attached themselves to these vast banks of computers. The now loud footsteps stopped by a large metallic box and the feet shifted to face it.

Long slender fingers, covered with pristine white gloves pressed a few buttons and pulled a few switches. A small whine, followed by a long hiss of escaping gas was let out as a large case was opened. Lit up by small lights, the artefacts were revealed. On a small pedestal, was a large robotic helmet. However it was beautifully crafted., not crudely welded together with a welding torch by a fool. Thick contoured metal shone, as it opened out at the top, revealing wires and electrodes, which were sticking out of the top slightly haphazardly, each wire connected to different parts of the top. Some however connected to a small metallic box, which jutted slightly out of the rear of the device.

Two large points, in the shape of ears, stuck out of the sides of the helmet; they looked almost like radar dishes, large and slightly rounded. Two red metal half spheres were below this, which were covered with antenna which pointed upwards a slightly jagged angles. A much thicker one, the base of which was coiled almost like a spring, pointed directly upward. Despite how thin they were, they did not give the impression of frailty, rather a sense of command and knowledge of surroundings.

Attached to the right side of the helmet below the antenna was targeting system; a large circular disk, made of green hardened glass and crawling in electronics. Behind this was a singular robotic lens. Deep red glass, almost ruby in colour, was situated in the end of this device. The left side however lacked these features. Instead it was hollow and it allowed a look in the dark insides, with several electrodes coiling inside the armoured casing. A small monitor above the helmet read ‘Helmet fabrication 99% complete’. Its dim glow illuminated the growing smile on the persons face. It was a mouth with displayed the malicious joy on their face. A small part of the top lip was obscured by a thick bushy moustache, which extended a little past his face.

“After 20 years of extensive research and development, my actions have culminated to this” a voice spoke in a semi-monologue, it was a voice of sophistication, intelligence and a little hint of insanity. “Now all that is left to complete my dream is the crucial life data. I must extract the DNA of my choosing and cultivate it into the perfect being” Stepping forward he looked to a large glass tube. Inside it was a watery like liquid, with thin surgical tubes suspended within. Mechanical arms, glinting in the dim light provided, were splayed around the outside of the tube, leaving a small circle in which to walk around. Large bottles, filled with a variety of different coloured liquids, stood on a glistening stand, along with other surgical equipment and electrical devices. Close to this was yet another large area of computers, however it had a slight difference to all the others.

“Once I activate the portal, I must locate the most physically adept individual, then track them down to harvest the necessary tissue samples” Turning around to their left, a large oval shaped doorway was there. Lights pulsated as electricity flowed into the device. Large monitors were calculating and performing schematics; everything had to go to plan, it had to, to follow the vision and dream of the man who built it. A location flashed up on screen, it was titled ‘Equestria’ and below was a shot of a small town, surrounded what looked like apple trees, a large dense forest and rolling hills with what seemed to be a grandiose city embedded in the rock face. A large blue expanse was above this; wispy clouds hovered just below the bright celestial body that dominated the sky.

Adjusting his glasses, he peered through them with wide blue eyes. He pressed the screen and after inputting lines of code and algorithms, a small pop-up flashed up on screen. ‘Confirm portal connection and acquisition of portal appearance and location, yes or no’ followed by corresponding boxes beneath the two opposing options. It showed the predicted area it would appear in, which seemed to be a small farm road, surrounded by apple trees and white wooded fences. Extending a long bony finger, he pressed ‘yes’. After this, the air was electric, the portal pulsed more rapidly and flashed more violently. Contrasting the ecstatic exterior, a large green mass materialised slowly inside the frame.

“With the way this trans-dimensional portal is set up, I should morph into the most abundant and intelligent species in the area. I have the appropriate equipment for this mission, and with it shall be able to locate and acquire the genetic material of my choosing, whilst being able to return back here if there is no complications”. He shifted his sharp bony face back to the monitor. ‘Portal at 100% completion and stability has been reached’ the screen showed.

Stepping forward one foot at a time, he stood only inches from the swirling vortex of green. “Look out Equestria, here I come” he mused to himself quietly before glancing behind himself, then walking through the void to a strange new world. It remained lit up for a minute or so more after he had gone through, then dissipated. All that was left in the room was a faint static buzzing and electronic beeping. Lights began to shut off automatically; the ones on the walkway shut off one by one, systematically toward the platform, where only the dim glow of the monitor that lay beside the portal, appeared in the seeming endless void of the room. Blackness now dominated again, as every day eventually gives way to the night. It penetrated everywhere and only your whit and courage can save you from the evil and foreboding force that was the blackness.

Pink and Speed

Author's Note

Part 3 to my story.
As the title suggests, this chapter contains Pinkie Pie as well as mentions of other ponies.
Hope you enjoy.

Pink and Speed

Happiness. Everyone experiences it at one point or another. This is certainly true for a land such as Equestria, as joy is dispensed to many in one way or another. One such pony goes by the name of Pinkie Pie. With a genuine smile almost always plastered to her large pink face, she bounces gleefully down the streets of Ponyville. Her large bubbly mane and tail showed off perfectly her happy and bubbly personality to those around her. Turning the corner, she came to Ponyville market, a place for all your general food and craft needs. Lining both sides of the road, shops stretched left and right along the cobbled grey road. Stores of many varieties, all decorated in a multitude of bright dazzling colours. The Sole traders were busily displaying there wares for all the public to see. From magic trick equipment sold by Trixie, to little trinkets and furniture, Ponyville had it all. She beamed at all the shop owners as she passed by, always having there beaming smiles returned back to her. “Hey Roseluck, super duper flowers you got there!” She called out to the nearby flower pony.

“Oh thank you Pinkie Pie. I spent so long getting these looking just right” Roseluck gestured with her hoof at the perfect looking blooms, there stems all the same length and not the flower heads were in place perfectly.

“Well, keep up the good work. Hope to see you later!” Pinkie called back as she began to gleefully bounce down further into the market. It seemed all the residents of Ponyville were out today, and for good reason; it was the best weather conditions they had had all year, not a cloud in the sky (as usual) with cooling breezes making it warm but bearable. Pinkie bounced passed all manner of ponies; she met Sassaflash, taking a well deserved rest from her exercise earlier in the day. She met several colts and fillies playing, including Button Mash, Rumble and Zipporwhill among many others, who all waved at Pinkie as she passed by. One passed a Hoofball to Pinkie, which she returned back to them with ease, resulting in a cheer as it went straight into the net, strung up between two lamp posts. Then she spotted Applejack and a light blue pony Pinkie had never seen before, and she knew everypony in Ponyville, so she was immediately curious.

“Hey Applejack, how is it going on such a fantabulous day?”

“Not bad Pinkie, not bad at all”

“Who’s the new pony?”

“It’s err...”

“Ooh, a guessing game! Let me go first, is it Moustacheo? No, too simple, is it... Saddlebags? Ooh, ooh is it, is it MMPH” Applejack placed a hoof over Pinkie’s mouth to get her to shut up for a second.
“As I was tryin’ to say his name is... What was it again? Stepping forward a little, the light blue pony spoke.

“Well my dear, my name just so happens to be Tarun, Miss... Erm didn’t catch your name Miss”

“Pinkie Pie! P-I-N-K-I-E P-I-E Pinkie Pie! That is my name”

“Well, very nice to meet you Miss Pinkie Pie. Out of curiosity, do you happen to know a pony by the name of Rainbow Dash by any chance?” Tarun enquired.

“Know her, KNOW HER?! I’m one of her super duper amazing bestest friends, along with Applejack here, although you probably already knew that by now”

“Excellent Miss Pie. Do you happen to know where she is in this rather ornate little town you have here, we have been looking around for her for a substantial amount of time”

“Oh, she is out over the fields performing her awesomly amzingly amazing moves for some of her fans”

‘Fans? If a pony that athletic has fans then they ought to be spectacular Tarun thought to himself as he took in this information. “Well, let us head off to there then”

“Wait!” Pinkie Pie blurted out “Since you are new here, I can’t just let go off already. I need to properly welcome you to Ponyville”

“Well that is a very nice gesture of you but I really need to do some important research for my scientific studies” Looking at Pinkie, he noticed that she looked a little let down by this. He maybe a somewhat mad scientist but damn could he feel someone’s emotions. Tarun quickly considered his situation, he had plenty of time on his hands (hooves?), yet he really did not want to waste it in some silly little welcoming party for him. Placing a hoof under her chin, he looked a little ashamed as he looked back at Pinkie“Tell you what Pinkie, what did you have in mind for my celebration?”

Looking a little happier, Pinkie hugged him tightly, so much so his face turned a little red and had a pained expression. “Well, I was going to bring out my celebration cart, filled with cakes and balloons and streamers and also my super duper party cannon. Then I would sing a random song at you and dance a little and we would be bestest of friends”

“Well Pinkie, that is a very kind offer, but it seems a little extreme, especially since I will be gone at night. However I think a cake on its own would be rather pleasant. Is that okay by you, Miss Pie”

“All absolutely, perfectly, tip top by me, Mr Tarun” The smile had returned to her face again and shone at Tarun, making him feel a little better.

“Excellent. By the way, could you make it a chocolate one? I haven’t had one in years”

“Okey Dokey Lokey!” She quipped as she shot off in a Pink blur around the corner, scattering some ponies left and right as she when, which was responded by gradually getting quieter calls of “sorry” as she sped off toward Sugar Cube corner at break-neck speed.

“Heh, heh, heh, schweinhund” Tarun mused to himself quietly.

“Err, could you repeat that sugarcube, I don’t quite understand you” Oh crap, Tarun thought, he forget Applejack was still walking with them.

“Well... Err, I said schweinhund Miss Applejack. It means, erm, a little excitable, you know, A bit over the top really” He breathed a silent sigh of relief, thank God she didn’t understand German or else she would have heard him call Pinkie a pig dog.

“Oh okay then. Well anyway were here now”

Looking in front of himself, he saw a huge open area. It was a large meadow, although lacking lots of flowers still had grass which was a lush green in colour. There was no scrubby looking plants or browned grass, in spite of the usually powerful rays of Equestrian sun, beating down on the insignificant flora below. The cooling breeze was much more profound here, due to the lack of houses in the wide open space. The only distinct noise that could be heard was the excited cheering and clapping of foals. They sat out on the open steppe; there heads flicking backwards and forwards, with ‘Oohs’ and ‘aahs’ every so often. Glancing his head upwards, Tarun spotted what looked like a Pegasus pony, zooming backwards and forwards across the open blue expanse of the sky.

“I keep telling you Sweetie, there is no better flyer in all of Equestria” A small orange coated and purple maned filly almost bragging told to a ivory white unicorn to her left. “She is so good, I bet no pony in Equestria could ever go so fast and look so awesome at the same time” This time she spoke to a yellow filly to her right, who looked almost lost in thought as she glazed up into the sky.

“Ah know Scootaloo, ya keep sayin’ it over and over again to us. We know Rainbow Dash is the best flyer, almost everypony in Ponyville knows that”.

Flipping open a note book, Tarun looked towards the blue Pegasi in the sky and began scribbling down notes furiously. He took trajectories of Rainbow’s flight, made rough assumptions and began to calculate. A look of sheer excitement came to his face as he finished after going over his calculations over and over again. She could fly, on average around Mach 4.5 when she was going on the straightest trajectory. Looking over his shoulder, Applejack looked at his work.

“What in the hay is all that? Also, why do ya look like you stole all the zap apples and gotta away with it?”

“Well, Miss Applejack, by my calculations, I found out that your friend, Miss Rainbow Dash, was travelling at approximately Mach 4.5” Quickly realising Applejack, with her simple mind would not be able to understand what he just said, he quickly restated what he just said. “That means that Rainbow dash was travelling around 4 and a half times the speed of sound, which is extremely impressive”

“Well I think she is about to go even faster. She is gonna do her sonic rainboom”. Looking back up to the sky, he watched as she appeared to be heading into a steep dive. A visible Mach cone was forming around her body as she powered towards the ground. Suddenly there was a massive flash of light, followed by a huge coloured disk. Tarun’s eyes were wide open, this pony has visibly shattered the light spectrum using a sonic boom. Observing the flying body, which now had a rainbow trail flowing from out behind her, he recalculated her speed.

“My God... She is flying at Mach 10...” He mused dreamily as the words drifted from his gaping mouth.

“So, your saying sayin’ that, she is flying ten times the speed of sound?”

“Precisely Marty er I mean Applejack!” He almost stuttered it out, only just realising the joke he had just made.

“Err, who’s Marty?”

“Marty is a old colleague of mine. I used to say ‘Precisely Marty’ to him when we were discussing the finer points of science”

“Well you certainly seem to be excited as a jack rabbit in cider barrel. If you want to talk to her, she will be over by the fillies and the colts. She is has a whopping great ego I tell ya. Lets both go over, as I need to talk to Applebloom about somethin’”.

Happiness was everywhere. Equestria seemed to harbour an immense amount of the stuff in this colourful and exciting land. It especially was with Tarun at this moment in time as he approached the rainbow maned Pegasi, who was soaking up praise and admiration from the young foals who gathered around as she landed in the middle of them. Oh boy was he going to have so fun later in the lab.

Surprises galore

Author's Note

Part 4 to Of Cyborgs and Augmentation.
Sorry it has been so long, I kind of lost some enthusiasm and didn't feel like writing. However after reading the latest comment I felt more motivated to do the next part, so here it is!

Surprises galore

Patience. It’s a virtue. Everyone has there own tolerance and limits they can be pushed to. Right now, Tarun’s was being stretched beyond belief. He was being pushed and shoved around the Ponyville streets like a rag doll; behind him was the person, or rather pony responsible for this. Pinkie Pie’s face was constantly moving, constantly contorting and making movements as she pushed the rather heavy stallion in front of her. She had been waiting for Tarun to come back into Ponyville ever since she had baked him the chocolate cake he had asked for. Now she was impatient and had waited for around 4 hours for him to come back. After all he had been maliciously scrutinising and recording data from what he called “The perfect specimen”, Rainbow Dash. After the fillies and colts had headed off the field, Tarun had insisted that he take some more measures from Rainbow. As these involved proving herself physically, Rainbow obliged, determined to show off her stuff. To say Tarun was impressed was an understatement, he was blown away by, not only speed, but agility, stamina and raw strength. By the time the tests were over, Celestia’s sun had dropped very low in the sky and it was growing rather dark outside.

“Come on, pick up the pace a little bit!” Pinkie yelled, her front hooves pushing hard into Tarun’s plot as she shoved him down the almost empty cobbled road.

“I am going as fast as I can muster, Miss Pie. I can’t run or move very fast with this amount of gear in my bags” Tarun said slowly back to her, almost like how a mother talks to their child when the have been nagging them constantly.

“Well slow poke, we are almost here so can you move a little faster, pretty please?” She spoke in a slightly calmer voice as they turned another corner, passing another cottage with a thatched roof.

“I’ll give you move a little faster” He mumbled under his voice so Pinkie couldn’t hear him properly.

“What did you say?” Pinkie enquired.

“I did not say a thing, must be the wind” Tarun replied, lying easily to her.

“Okey dokey lokey, well we are here now anyway”.

As Pinkie stopped digging her hooves into his rump, the two ponies came screeching to a halt. Now that he wasn’t being pushed about against his will, he finally could see everything without being a blur. He stood before a large house, though quite unlike anything he had seen before. It looked like it was made of gingerbread and sweets. The roof certainly, with icing covering the sides of the confection roof. Small windows stuck out in odd places. No light however shone through the thick panes of glass. Out of the top of this rose what looked like a huge cupcake, complete with pink frosting and candles, rising above the gingerbread roof. Looking at a sign above the door, he saw there was a large cupcake on it and written below it, in bright pink letters it read ‘Sugar Cube Corner’. A small flight of purple steps led up to the double splitting doors, the doors looking like they had been taken from stable.

“Mein Gott...” Tarun mused quietly as he stared up at it.

“Oh, don’t be so surprised at it. Its only sculpted and painted wood silly. It’s not real and I mean, come on, a massive piece of food would not last this long, no matter how delicious and tasty it looked”

“Er, is there anyone... I mean anypony in there, I mean the lights are out and it looks like...”

“Its fine, I live here after all, just follow me, okey dokey” Pinkie excitedly said to Tarun as she pushed open the door.

“If you say so, Miss Pie” He mused after her as they entered the almost pitch black room.

In the dim light of now rising moon, it was almost impossible to make out any details. He could see a few tables and what looked like a counter at the far end of the bakery. On these tables were various shapes which he could not figure out in the dimly lit room. The air was quite pungent with smell of cakes and pastries clinging everywhere. Stepping forward slightly apprehensively, Tarun though he could see a movement or two in the gloom. “Err, Miss Pie, where did you go?” Noticing his bouncy and energetic guide had vanished, he began to put his hoof to the wall, to try and find a light switch or anything. For what seemed like ages his hoof landed on what felt like a switch, which he pushed down.

Suddenly the whole room filled up with light and at almost the same time, ponies sprung from pretty much everywhere. “Surprise!” They all yelled at the same time as they all looked at him with excited faces.

“Just what the hell is going on here” said Tarun, rather annoyed as the ponies began to clamber out of their hiding spots.

From behind a large wooden pillar, Pinkie emerged“Well I really wanted to give you a big welcome and all but you just refused. So after I made the chocolate cake you asked me to make, I went all around Ponyville and gave invitation to everypony that I found and asked them to come here for a super duper surprise party”

“Well...” Mused Tarun “Since you spent such a long time getting this prepared, I guess I kinda have to stay at the party now. So yeah, let the celebrations begin, I guess”

After that remark there was a loud cheering and the party began. Music, though not to the taste of Tarun, began to play. All sorts of food and drinks were around the room on several tables. Most of it was confectionery or pastries of some sort, with the odd savoury here and there. Large stacks of brightly iced cupcakes and golden brown muffins reached up the head of the tallest stallion. A large chocolate fountain with strawberries and marshmallows on sticks was in the centre of the room, though a grey pegasus with a yellow mane had already buried her now chocolate covered face into the cascade of melted chocolate. As well as this there were also oaken mugs containing some sort of frothy drink on another one of the white table clothed tables.

“Wie kindisch” Tarun mumbled to himself as he took in all the different foods on offer. However the mugs did peek his interest a little. Walking over to the table he picked up a mug after dodging around a purple pony who had around 4 cradled in her hooves. After lifting it to his muzzle and taking a sip, he realised it was cider, but incredibly weak cider. It was like drinking fizzy apple juice as he placed the mug back down.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” the voice being so sudden took Tarun off guard. Whipping his head around, he saw standing in front of him a blue, rainbow maned pegasus. She stood in a very casual pose, leaning onto the nearby table with her left hoof. She had a very confident look on her face as she looked at the rather bemused stallion that stood before her. “I hear that you were watching me fly earlier today, what did you think then, did I look awesome, did I look insanely cool.”

“No, you didn’t look cool, you looked bloody fast” He said rather matter of factly. “ Somehow you were flying around 5 times the speed of sound and when you made that huge explosion, you flew 10 times the speed of sound, That’s not cool, that’s down right impressive”

Looking slightly confused, she eventually regained her composure “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment. Any way I have a friend I’d like you to meet.” Looking to her left the blue mare made a beaconing gesture with her hoof at a taller looking mare. She had a purple coat with darker purple mane and tail with pink stripes running through it. Most notably was the fact that she had both wings and a horn, unlike all the other ponies he had seen. With a friendly look she walked towards Tarun, levitating a small paper cup with her magic.

“Who are you?” said Tarun in a rather confused way.

“Who is she, who is she? She is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship for ponysakes. How do you not know who she?”

“Er why, should I know her?”

“Yes you should and, ahh!” Rainbow Dash looked to her side, where Twilight Sparkle had just jabbed a hoof into Rainbow’s side.

“Rainbow, please try not to make such a fuss out of this” Twilight mused in a rather condescending way. She looked to Tarun, almost scanning him. “As you may have guessed, my name is Twilight Sparkle and yes I am a Princess, but you don’t have to address me as such. I gather you were quite interested in Rainbow’s flying skills, so you seem to be a researcher of some sort. But tell me, why are you in Ponyville?”

“Well, erm, I was just passing through this place and I happen to like to do some research, especially on specimen as fit and powerful as she was. On a side note, how come you have wings and a horn?”

“Well, that’s quite an interesting question, with a quite long answer, so I’ll give it you in brief. I was a student of Princess Celestia and she told me to study friendship here in Ponyville. I eventually completed my studies and using some sort of magical powers she turned me from a unicorn into an alicorn. I am also what’s known as an Element of Harmony. I, along with my friends, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity are all bearers. I am the element of magic is you were wondering”.

Tarun stood there with a slightly blank expression, trying to understand what he just heard. Magic? Elements of Harmony? Element of Magic? “So, if you are magical, how powerful are you?”

Placing a hoof to her head, she quickly though about the question the lowered her hood again. “Sorry, this answer will be very vague, but I’m going to say quite powerful. Alicorn magic is much stronger then most unicorn magic I have ever seen. Anyway I can’t really hang out here too long. I promised Pinkie I would be here for a little while, but I have to go and finish off some paper work for the Princess documenting quality of life for ponies throughout all regions of Equestria so she can send ponies to help improve the lives of those less fortunate then ourselves. Thanks for a nice chat and I hope to see you later.”

And with that she placed her nearly empty cup of what looked like juice on the nearby table and trotted out of the door.

“Huh, that was interesting” Tarun said, with an air of amazement in his voice.

“Yeah, she talks a lot, way more then she should do. Well it was nice meeting you and all but I really need to go over to Applejack. She is looking like she wants a hoof wrestle and I’m just the pony to accept” And with that she flew over to the orange earth pony, determination in her eyes.

“Powerful huh, well I think I know what another project later on might be later on, now I just need to get my hands or rather hooves on some of their genetic material and...” As he cut himself off he noticed on the nearby table the cup that Twilight drank from, and close to that was a strand of blue and green hair. A smile came to his mouth. Patience, its a virtue, sometimes, if you wait and be patient, what you desire will come to you.

I'll be back

Author's Note

Part 5 to Of Cyborgs and Augmentation.
This chapter is going to be a little shorter then previous chapters, it is just to wrap up 'Act 1' so to speak. Without further ado, hope you enjoy.

I'll be back

Quietness, at some point or another it will cover everything, a deafening silence that makes you feel on edge or scared by what is happening around you, despite there being nothing around you at all. This was exactly what the blue bespectacled stallion wanted as he cautiously moved down the dirt and gravel path. He had just managed to get away from the party thrown in his honour, managing to eventually slip out of the door after being caught in conversation by many ponies, enquiring about almost everything, from where he came from, his personal interests even his favourite fashion styles by a white unicorn with a purple mane. However none of these mattered as he had secured what he came for and more. In two glass containers on his bulging saddle bags, were two objects. First was a large strand of multicoloured hair and in the second a slightly crushed drinks cup. “Ha ha ha...” the stallion menacingly laughed quietly. “I now have everything I need, Firstly genetic material from Rainbow Dash or something and secondly a drink receptacle containing saliva samples from that Purple Alicorn or whatever she was called. Finally my plan is one step closer to fruition and as a bonus; minus one stupid childish party out of my way”.

Continuing up the twilight lit pathway he drew out a small device from his side. It was rather small and delicate looking. However it had several small buttons and dials either side of a touch screen in the centre of the console. Holding it in one hoof, he flipped a small switch on the right side of the device. Suddenly the screen came to life, bathing the stallions face in an eerie green glow. Tapping a few on screen buttons he then pressed one of the buttons on the side of the device. As he did this, a large radar like dish began folding out from behind the back of the machine. After a series of whirring and clicking a light lit up, telling him that it had finished. A message popped up on the screen ‘Do you wish to search for interdimensional portal exits/openings?’ followed by corresponding buttons. Pressing yes the whole device hummed and whirred, followed by a large green pulse of light out of the back, which kept pulsing in intervals of a few seconds.

Continuing on his way he held the machine out in front of himself. Every few seconds the entire path was awash with this almost alien light. The apple trees either side seemed to rise and fall as they were illuminated by the flashes of bright light. “Hmm, maybe I should have done this in the morning, it would be much harder to see the pulses of the anti-chroniton detection waves. Although it is the dead of night, nobody will see me doing this” Tarun mused to himself out loud as he trudged further down the seemingly endless path.

However he was not the only pony there, as through the tree line, pulling an almost empty apple cart behind him was Big Macintosh. He was much larger then your average stallion, standing around a head above them; to compliment this, he bore a well defined body. Large muscles evidently showed his many years of hard manual labour on the farm. He had just finished up the last of the chores, which his sister had forgotten about when she went to the village to buy some new rope. Applebloom couldn’t help either, on account of getting ponypox, meaning she was too scatterbrained and weak to help out. As the wooden cart bumped and jolted behind him, he was feeling rather bitter at being abandoned to do all the work (heavens knows Granny Smith can’t help) when something caught his eye. At first he ignored it but it appeared again, to which he stopped dead in his tracks and stepped closer to the tree line bordering the road and the rest of the farm.

Unhitching himself from the cart, he crept breathlessly into the tree line, making sure not to make too much sound as he drew closer to the pulsating thing in the road. Getting as close to the tree line as he dared, he noticed a pony he had never seen before. He was certainly much smaller then Big Mac, certainly not much brawn in his scrawny, lanky body; however what he carried made him seem eerie and quite scary. It seemed almost out of this world for the farm pony as he silently and cautiously tracked the pony with his curious grass green eyes, moving slowly and carefully as he moved along. Suddenly the light became a harsher green, then turned yellow as the figure continued on his way.

“Yes, Yes we are close, very close indeed.” Tarun mumbled as he watched a small radar blip on the touch screen. As the dot grew closer to the centre of the screen the light changed again, this time to orange as it continued to fire out pulses. Finally the blip was over the centre of the screen and the light turned solid red as it blazed out the front. “Now for the portal rematerialisation complex” He announced almost triumphantly. Drawing from his satchel he took out an ever smaller device with small prongs on the end of it. Pressing a few simple buttons he watched as, like earlier that day, two beams shot out of the prongs, which traced an oval like shape into seemingly nothing. After a few seconds the beams stopped leaving the mark in the air. Slowly but surely a green swirling vortex began to fill the hole, which again cast an eerie light onto the surrounding area, odd alien sounds emanated from the green blob. The atmosphere was electric with static, causing sparks to flash every so often in the surrounding area.
Mouth agape, (and hair on end with static) Big Macintosh watched this all unfold, just what in tarnation was a portal rematerialisationathingy and just who in Equestria was this odd pony. Looking ahead at the figure, he saw that he had began to put all his equipment back into his bags and was walking right into the green mass that had appeared out of no where. Big Macintosh, full of questions and curiosity decided to get answers to these by being direct. Boldly stepping out from his hiding place, he trotted slowly up to the swirling roiling mass of emerald green which stood in front of him.

“Right, ah will find out who in the hay who or what that pony was and then come straight back” Big Macintosh murmured to himself as he put his brain in gear. Stepping forward apprehensively, he moved closer to the surface of the green mass of energy. Taking a long deep breath, he moved through the mass and disappeared. Almost as soon as he had done this, the sides of the vortex began to collapse inward. It shrank and contorted until it was nothing to suggest there had been anything there in the first place.

Now the deafening silence returned. Almost as soon as it had been abolished before it covered everywhere like a blanket. Yet creatures still slept in the silence, unaware of what just happened, just content with themselves, not even able to comprehend what dangers may lurk ahead for another creature like themselves. For now however, quietness dominated everywhere, until the rooster crows in the morning and the sun rises again.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Author's Note

Part 6 to Of Cyborgs and Augmentation. I really had a lot of fun writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy too.

Stranger in a Strange Land

Surroundings. Everyday they change, even in the most minute detail you experience something that is not quite the same as before. For some, barely anything can happen, maybe just a mug or a stack of paper or even different grid locked traffic. However for two individuals, their surroundings had vastly changed.

All that could be seen in the darkened void of blackness was a single rectangular screen. For the most part, it had just done nothing. Nothing changed or did anything out of the ordinary, just the same files and documents open on the screen, displaying vast arrays of numbers and text almost impossible to understand to the untrained. And yet, it would do something, something other then being idle for the past day. A small pop up appeared on screen. In bold text it read ‘Transdimensonal portal complex generator receiving opening coordinates’. As soon as it appeared, it closed automatically as nearby a flood of green light erupted, casting light upon tall columns of computers, shelves holding various bottles and jars, within those holding different coloured liquids and powders; Light glinted off several metal objects in the foreboding gloom.

The oval frame completely filled with the green swirling mass, as lights on the thick outline of the construct pulsated with blue and white light. A deep hum, which grew louder and quieter every so often, emanated from the device. After a few seconds, a figure emerged from the roiling mass of green. It took the form of a thin, lanky stallion. A fairly large moustache went from one side of his face to the other, complimenting the round lens spectacles he wore. He carried a large saddle bag on either side of his body, both bulging with equipment. On the outside of each were two glass jars, containing a strand of multicoloured hair and a slightly crushed paper cup. Stepping forward, a machine with what looked like several laser pointer activated and pointed towards the stallion. After emitting a small whining sound, it projected a large red screen in front of the figure, to which he just strode on through.

Out of the other side, was something quite different. After getting off all-fours, he stood up on his legs. Like the stallion that came through just a few moments earlier, he was lanky, wore glasses and had a large moustache. His bag had turned into a normal rucksack, although all the equipment was still intact; the curious jars still on opposite sides of bag. The man was clad in a long white lab coat, though it had several blackened sections and some splodges of a interesting brown/red substance splashed all over. He lifted his hands towards his face and looked exceedingly carefully at them. They were still there, just as skinny and scared as before. Taking excited strides forward in his long black boots, polished leather and to military specification, he moved towards a large bank of computers. As he did this, the large red screen shut off, and the device moved back to its off position, the long arm propped slightly up by the wall.

Moving toward the huge pile of hardware, he shrugged his backpack off and set it down carefully on the solid metal floor. Following this, he undid that large straps that held the bottles to the side of the dull brown bag, placing them on the lip of the metallic table in front of him. Pressing a small button on the desk, the entire section of the floor in front of the computer opened up. Just a few seconds later, a large metal chair with leather padding on the inside rose up. The entire chair was made out of one beautifully forged and sculpted piece of aluminium, though it had lost it’s shine. After a few clicks and a long whirr, the man took his place. Pressing a large button on the chairs console caused the entire monitor and hardware set up to come to life. Screens flickered into life, LED’s illuminated, all of which bathed his scared face in a bright glow. A smile grew on his lips, one of an almost insane person as he brought the jars towards something that resembled a scanner. Opening the one with strand of hair, he tipped it out delicately onto the glowing platform, before removing both jars and closing a see through panel behind it, resulting in a satisfying click as it was pushed all the way down. Looking behind himself, he noticed the portal was still active. Frowning slightly he pressed a smaller button on the console, prompting the green construct to shrink and dissipate.

“Now I am all alone, I now have the fun part to look forward to” he mused to himself in almost self satisfaction as he reached for the jars.

But, he was not alone, as moments before the portal shut down, a figure dropped out. A large red stallion pulled himself off the ground and looked around, face with an astonished look upon it. This whole place, seemed so eerie. The whole place he stood on seemed to be mostly suspended, as metal railing bordered many of the areas. Stepping over to the side, Big Macintosh looked downwards, only to be met by a black void, below, above and in front of him. On further looking into the area around, it seemed to be a large metallic pillar holding up a platform with only one catwalk across the vast expanse.

“What in tarnation is going on”he whispered to himself as he continued to take in the strange new world. Pricking up his ears, he could hear a voice fairly close by. As slowly and quietly as he could, he moved toward the source of the voice. As he moved, he passed a large cylinder shaped tank, full of a water like substance. Dull blue light filled it, illuminating the needles floating at the top. They had thin medical tubes attached to the back of each one; these in turn going into several mechanical arms, looking poised and ready. Pressing on forward, Big Mac reached a small metal shelf containing various different surgical equipment. A glinting scalpel, a pair of tongs and most worryingly, a large bone saw next to an object not unlike a grindstone. As well as these, there were several plastic bottles, all labelled in a faint scratchy hand writing. Again, Big Macintosh heard the voice, but this time it was much clearer. Pushing aside several bottles with his large hoof, he poked his head over and saw source of the voice.

“Right, now, scan cellular structures within the strand of hair. I must see the chromosomes within.”

‘Chromosomes? Cellular structures? What in the hay is he goin’ on about?’ Big Mac thought to himself as he peered closer at the screen the creature was looking at. He noticed a large strand of rainbow coloured hair was on their. However, the entire picture started to zoom in. As it moved closer to the end of the hair, more details became defined. Closer and closer in got until it reached the very end of the hair. Big Mac saw it looked like some sort of blob, with several smaller blobs within.

“Ha ha! There it is! A hair cell, perfectly intact. Now, time to extract the nucleus and copy the DNA”.

Big Mac was now going from curious, to being creeped out, to now being fully petrified. Something deep down told him to just run, just get the hell out of there. But he also knew that was no good. The way he had come from had closed up, and running down the long cat walk would get him caught and who knows what would happen. He decided to stay put, and just soak in the bombardment of information that was assaulting his brain.

Again watching the screen, he was aware of new sounds coming from in front of him. A high pitched whirring sound began to emanate from the bank of computers. He noticed on the screen thin needle like devices pushing their way into the cell. They encircled the largest blob in the almost centre, the nucleus. Slowly, it was dragged out and pulled from cell, suspended by the tiny devices which held it in place. They moved it out from the hair and towards a small metal box beside it, behind a thick pane of glass. Inside it appeared that the nucleus was just floating, suspended by nothing as the needle like appendages retracted.

“Now for the last part of the nucleus. Scanning of the chromosomes”After announcing this bright white light erupted from behind the glass. It stayed on for a couple of seconds before cutting out, then repeated again. Transfixed by this, Big Mac watched as slowly on the screen, a long chain began to form. It looked like the monkey bars in playground outside the Ponyville school, but much, much longer with several different coloured pairings forming the ‘rungs’. Slowly it grew longer and longer as it stretched across the expanse of the screen. After a few minutes, the bright light stopped. A pop-up appeared on screen ‘Scanning 100% complete, ready to replicate and generate embryonic stem cell’.

“Wunderbar... We are finally complete with the stage. Now it is time to create the replica, the soon to be superior clone of Rainbow Dash, then after that, comes the body augmentation” A large grin came to his mouth as he looked deeply into the monitor; lifting his hand up to his face, he pushed his glasses further onto the bridge of his thin nose. Then he placed both hands either side of his chair and stood up, an almost giddiness in the way he held his body. Noticing this, Big Macintosh ducked down further, behind solid area which was host to a cupboard. His mind was racing now, adrenaline pulsing through his blood vessels as he sat there cowering, too scared to move. He could hear footsteps close by to the left of himself. Slowly, Big Macintosh inched his way around the side of the shelves to the right of himself. The person strode right by him and towards the large tank Big Mac had seen earlier.

Cautiously, the red stallion backed away further behind the shelf, checking once in a while that he wasn’t going to knock into anything. He continued, heart pounding and sweat dripping from his forehead until he reached a large column of computers, buzzing and clicking noisily behind him. Still hunched over, the dragged himself around it, still listening for that voice which creeped Big Mac out so much.
Striding over to the tank, he opened a small panel at the base of the large glass cylinder. After pressing a few buttons on the touch screen pad, the whole top of the machine began to shift, revealing a much thicker tube in the centre. After hovering above the surface of the liquid for a few seconds, it retracted. Glancing back at his console, it read the following ‘embryonic stem cell submerged in growth promoting solution 100% success, cell dividing at rate of every 2 seconds ’. Again a smile came to the man’s face as he took in these words.

“Oh, we are well on our way to creation of the clone, the copy that will terminate its counterpart and then be the most feared in that pathetic world.”He said in a slight monologue as he gazed into the bubbling growth serum with distinct interest. “Ah, talking to myself used to be so much fun, however, with a guest, it is about to become a whole lot more interesting; isn’t that right, my red equine friend?”

Big Macintosh shuddered at those words, that thing knew he was here and was bound to come for him. He felt the hard cold metal behind him as he tucked in further, trying to get out of his way, but he knew that this would be pointless. He knew that he didn’t want these surroundings to be part of his demise as he braced, hearing the footsteps growing louder every second.

Peaceful world, foolish world

Author's Note

Part two of Of Cyborgs and Augmentation
This time it features alot more pony then the previous chapter.
Hope you enjoy.

Peaceful world, foolish world

Light. Light was a symbol of hope and joy for many. The sun, high in the sky, gave life and warmth to those below its glare. All that could be heard was the light chirping of birds and the occasional rustle of the leaves as a soft cooling breeze pushed its way past the plant matter. It was so calm, so natural in this part of Equestria. The word industrialisation could not be more out of place in a town such as Ponyville, especially not on the farm of Sweet Apple Acres, home of the (allegedly) oldest family in Ponyville. Over the tops of the trees, about half a kilometre, the top of the apple red barn could be spotted, carefully constructed by hoof by all the members of the Apple family on their last reunion. It was calm, serene and most of all beautiful.

A flash of electricity appeared suddenly in the middle of the dusty farm path, blowing small particles of dirt around. A second one appeared moments later, followed by a third and fourth. As the air grew heavy with static, winds began to swirl around as the electricity curled and bolted around whilst they grew larger. In the centre of all this a large emerald green vortex appeared; out of this swirling mass stepped a long slender figure. As soon as his tail had left the portal, it closed and almost immediately the winds and electricity stopped, replaced by silence.

The figure in question was a rather tall, light blue coloured stallion. His facial features was sharp and defined, as shown by his quick eyes and short angular muzzle. A pair of small glasses rested upon this. Below was a moustache, which like his human counterpart extended slightly off his face. His short brown mane and bangs slightly covered his small pointed ears. As shown by his lack of horn and lack of wings, it was evident this newcomer was an earth pony. Instead of wings on his sides, there was two large saddle bags, each one bulging with equipment and gadgets galore. However, in front of his short stubby tail, there was no Cutie Mark. His flank was instead as blank as a the rest of his body.

Breathing in deeply, his chest rising and falling, he surveyed his surroundings. After seeing that he was in no danger at all, he began to dig through the saddle bags he possessed. After a few minutes of rustling, banging and quiet cursing, he eventually drew out a small device. “Now, using this portal rematerialisation complex, I can map out this location for later, once I have extracted the necessary genetic code and material from the subject. This will let me generate the portal in a much quicker time, due to the previous example already making a gap within space-time; now to activate the device” After he said this, two beams shot out of the front of the machine, tracing around the area the portal just came from. He was amazed that he was able to operate the buttons on the machine, despite lacking his fingers or hands. After a short while, a small ding told him that scanning was complete.

“Right, now to input this data into the space-time portal generator and...”

“Howdy there partner, now just who might you be, sugarcube?”

The sudden burst of noise made him jump, as he span his body around the face the person who had almost spontaneously appeared at his side. Adjusting his glasses slightly, he saw a shorter, orange mare of a pony. She was much more muscular than he was, with strong built up legs and barely an inch of fat anywhere, evidently showing she was no pushover. She wore a large brown cowboy hat, which was slightly tattered in the middle and along the left side. Below this was a short yellow mane, which stuck out at odd angles in some places. Below this were her deep green eyes, looking inquisitively at him.

“Erm... I do beg your pardon?”

Letting out a slight chuckle, she repeated herself “I musta startled you ah little, sorry there partner. What is your name?”

“Oh, well its erm...” ‘Oh crap, I have not come up with a name for use in this place yet, use you intellectual mind, think...’ He thought to himself before replying to the farm pony “Its, erm... Tarun, yes that is it”.

Pulling an odd expression, the orange mare looked back at him “Well, that certainly is ah odd name you got there partner. I’m Applejack by the way. I work on one of the best darn tootin’ farms in all of Equestria, Sweet Apple Acres!” With her hooves, she made large sweeping gestures to the rolling expanses of apple trees to her left and right side, as far was the eye could see.

“Well, that is certainly impressive, Miss Applejack; do you know the way to town by any chance?”

“Well sure ah do, I know this way better then the back of mah barn, I have been walking down here since I was a filly, Mr Tarun. As a matter of fact, I need to walk to town to get some more rope for the plough, Big Macintosh just broke the last one when he was working the fields ya see. Come on, I will walk you down there ”. Setting off at a light trot, she began to walk left down the path. Eager to potentially get some information off her, he followed suit. “So, what profession are you working in?” the mare asked.

“Well, you see Miss Applejack, I am a scientist, I conduct experiments to further boost the knowledge of individuals and ultimately help to make the world a better place”.

“ Well, I may not understand most of what you are saying, but it sounds quite important”.

“More than you would ever understand” He muttered under his breath, so Applejack could not hear.

“What was that sugarcube? I couldn’t quite hear you”

“Oh it was nothing, say do you know any athletes around here?” This peaked Applejacks interest.

“Well, you are looking a one fine subject right here ah have you know. The only other truly amazing athlete that lives here, which I happen to know is a pegasus by the name of Rainbow Dash”.

Raising an eyebrow, he looked inquisitively at the farm pony “Tell me more about this, Rainbow Dash”

“Well, she is incredibly competitive, extremely strong and very fast”.
“Define fast” By now, he was becoming more and more interested by the second by the description of this pegasus pony.

“ Well, she is so fast that she can do the Sonic Rainboom, which was almost ah old mares tale until she pulled one off when she was only a little filly. When she does that, I don’t reckon anypony could out speed her, not ever her idols, the Wonderbolts”. Already his mind was racing. A strong and incredibly fast test subject. She fit the bill perfectly for his grand scheme.

“When we get into town, could you possibly show me where to find her, I would not mind observing her, for scientific purposes of course”.

“Fine by me sugarcube; you can bet your boots I would help yah. By the way, did you see a weird green thing along the road, just a little while back?”.
“Oh yes, that was just a little equipment malfunction, it can do things like that sometimes” he mused a little sheepishly to Applejack.

“Well, If its fine then we ain’t got nothin’ to worry about”

Cresting a small hill, the duo looked down into a large town which lay before them. It was a large expanse of cottages with thatched roofs, however, these were completely overshadowed by the angular structure which tower high above the houses. “What is that?” He exclaimed, pointing his thin hoof in the direction of the large crystalline structure.

“That, mah friend, is the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle, you’ve heard of her before, ain’t ya Tarun?”.

“No, can’t say I have”.

A puzzled look came to Applejack’s face “How can you not have seen. Were ya living under a rock when the coronation happened?”.

“Well I happen to be a very busy person you know, I apologise for missing it. Anyway, why get so worked up about it anyway, she is only royalty, what possibly is she to you?”.

A look of anger looked to building on her face, here orange cheeks taking on a light red hue “What is she to me, WHAT IS SHE TO ME!” She yelled at him “I’ll tell ya what she is to, me. She is one of my best friends and she only became royalty a short while ago; Before that she was a student of PRINCESS CELESTIA of all ponies and worked as a librarian before she finished her studies with the Princess. IF you are trying to say that a common work pony, such as myself, could not be in the ranks with a Princess because of my status, well, ya ought to ashamed of yourself! ”.

Looking back to the stallion, Applejack noticed a look of terror on his face, his eyes wide open and his ears pulled back like a dog whimpering; immediately she relaxed a little and started to feel a bit ashamed of herself “I’m sorry for that outburst, I just don’t think I have met another pony who did not know about Princess Twilight and her position”.

“It’s okay, I understand fully what you are going on about. Getting back on track, could you guide me to Rainbow Dash, if you would be so kind”.

“Sure thing partner, just follow me. And, thanks for forgiving mah outburst”.

“As I said, its okay” he reassured her. The two of them trotted off into the town, though only one knew the terrible plan which was being formulated as the sun, high in the sky, continued to rise slowly through the deep blue sky. This large body shone and gave light to many. This in turn gave them hope and joy as they basked and played in the glorious rays of Celestia’s sun.