Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratoriesby GuyInTheCornerChaptersChapter 2: Towards the Future!Chapter 3: Welcome to Equestrian Science!Chapter 1: Start Thinking With PortalsChapter 2: Towards the Future!CHAPTER 2: TOWARDS THE FUTURE! Or, The Part Wherein a Fourth Joins the Party Also, possibly, The Train Ride Rainbow Dash looked out the window of the Friendship Express. She watched as the landscape of Equestria raced buy, hardly giving her enough time to look at anything. The constant roar of the wheels beneath the train built a small headache. She directed her view upwards, slowly, watching some clouds pass by, along with a few large birds...wait, those were just pegasi. Still, she watched them pass by, wings beating quickly. She followed them closely with her reddish-purple eyes. She sighed, just wishing that the ride would be a little faster. How long would it take for Equestria to develop some sort of flying vehicle? It would be so much more efficient than a train! "How long is this going to take?" she asked, with a bored tone of voice, turning to Twilight, who had her head in a magically levitated book, "Art of the Sandwich, Vol. 2." Seriously? Who writes a book on sandwiches? Somepony with waaaay to much time on his hands, that's who. Twilight didn't respond to her question. Rainbow followed Twilight's eyes for a bit, watching as the moved quickly from line to line. She hardly noticed Dash calling her, much less staring intently at her. Dash's glare slowly intensified to the point where it may have rivaled Fluttershy's. "Twilight! Twilight! Hey! Are you even listening to me?" "Huh?" Twilight asked, halfheartedly, glancing up from her book. She flipped a page, seemingly rushed. She must have been in a hurry to finish that book. "She asked when we're gettin' there," Applejack said, turning towards the window. She watched a few pegasi fly by...wait, those were birds. Large ones, at that. Her eyes followed their movements across the sky. "Oh, uh, not much longer," Twilight said, turning up from the book. She placed a marker on her page and closed the book slowly and carefully, not wanting to damage it. "Like I said, its just outside Canterlot." She put the book down on a small table next to her. "And look!" She pointed a hoof out a window excitedly. "There's Canterlot! We're almost there. You guys will have a great time!" AJ and Dash trotted over to Twilight and looked out the window, smiling as the huge city came into view. "It looks more beautiful every time!" Applejack exclaimed. A wide grin formed on her face. Looking out at the city, she became filled with excitement. Rainbow smiled, as well. But not at Canterlot. She smiled immensely wider than orange pony's grin, giggling with joy. She pointed at the sky high above the city at a trio of flying blue objects, barely visible against the sky that matched their costume colors. "THE WONDERBOLTS!" she yelled. A few ponies on the train turned and looked at her, brows raised at her fan-mare outbreak. "Omigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigod!" She was practically bouncing with joy, a tiny squee escaping in her fit of joy. "Calm down, Rainbow!" Twilight said. "You've seen them before. "Hay, you've saved their lives!" She rolled her eyes a little, but just enough for Dash to notice she was annoyed. "Yeah, I guess. But still!" She continued to hop with joy. "Oh...one of them is flying away. I wonder where to...?" Rainbow looked up at the one peeling away, making sure not to loose its trail. The remaining two Wonderbolts were waving to their leaving comrade. "I think that's Spitfire. Hey...She's going in the same direction of the train!" "Well, she's flyin' off pretty darn fast, Rainbow. Doubt that ya'll be able to watch 'er." Applejack said, pointing. She glanced over at Rainbow quickly. "Cow poop..." Dash said, sadly. She crossed her front hooves and pouted a bit. Looking out at Canterlot again, Applejack felt a little uncomfortable. Was it just her, or did something horrible happen every time they went to Canterlot? There was the Gala, the wedding...Well, those were pretty much the only times they even went there. But she couldn't help but feel in her gut that something bad was coming. Call it instinct, or just a bad feeling, but it was there. She felt it, for sure. Something bad was brewing. "May I ask where you three mares are heading?" A nearby pony asked, slowly trotting over to the group. She (or he?) was wearing a black cloak and hood, covering herself almost completely. The only parts of her that sowed was a blue horn peeking out through the hood, as well as a bit of her snout. She (as it was now apparent, as her voice was distinctly feminine) levitated a large glass of what appeared to be fruit juice up to her face, gently taking a sip. "We're off to Equestrian Laboratories!" Rainbow exclaimed, smiling. "We're off to test for them. I wanna try out a Portal Gun." "It's Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratories!" Twilight shouted, a little upset at Rainbow's lack of memory. "Get the name right. And on the same subject, its the Hoof-Held Aperture Quantum Portal Device!" Dash waved a hoof. "Whatever." "Tri... Um, I see." The mare said, practically whispering. "Um...I am off to there, too. Tri... I mean, I was looking forward to testing a Gel Cannon." The mare said. "But of course, I also need the money. Badly." The group of friends nodded together. Why is her voice so familiar? Twilight thought. I swear, I've heard it before. The voice sparked something in the back of her mind. Not a bad thing...It just sounded vaguely familiar. It also seemed like the mare's voice wasn't designed to be whispering. It sounded like the kind of voice that should be a loud one, up on a stage. "I thought the Gel Cannon was pretty interesting, as well." Twilight said. "Can I look forward to testing with you, um...What was your name?" The mare bit her lip. "I suppose you can. I look forward to testing with you." "And you name?" Twilight asked, a brow raised. "Um...Midsummer!" The mare said, a worried tone in her voice. "My name is Midsummer..." "Well," Twilight started, "I look forward to testing with you, Miss Midsummer. Would you like to join us? Oh, I'm Twilight Sparkle, by the way." She bowed. "And this is Rainbow Dash and Applejack." she introduced her friends while pointing a hoof at each of them at the same time she said their names. "Hey," Dash said, smiling at the mare. "Howdy," AJ said, with a tip of her hat. "Nice to see...uh, meet you three," the mare said with a nod, biting her lip a bit. She took another slow sip of her drink. "So how 'bout joining us?" Twilight asked again. The mare seemed to avoid some questions. Was she hiding something? "Uh...I guess...?" The mare said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She turned her head, looking out the window. Twilight smiled. "Great!" She extended a hoof towards Midsummer, responded to by a gentle bump from the cloaked mare. Behind the hood, Midsummer was smiling at the display of friendship. This could go well...for a while. She sat up on a chair next to Twilight, looking out towards Canterlot, now behind them. She smiled. She looked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash with a smile, who responded with the same gesture. The train came to a slow stop at a station not to far from Canterlot. The brakes beneath the train made a grinding, ear-splitting screech, furthering Dash's headache. The doors beside the group opened slowly, and the four mares smiled. They raced out the door, Twilight and Rainbow in the lead. Applejack followed closely behind, and Midsummer crawled along slowly. "A lil' quicker, Midsummer? Ah've got a a feeling that at this rate, ya might get there long after us," Applejack said, turning her head back to their new friend. The cloaked mare nodded. "Ok," she whispered, picking up the pace. AJ smiled, changing into a full gallop. Midsummer made another hidden smile, following AJ in a gallop as well. In a few moments, AJ and Midsummer had caught up with Rainbow and Twilight. The two had already left the station, and Rainbow was staring at a building, dumbfounded. Midsummer and Applejack soon adopted the same look. Twilight, however, had seen this building before. In front of the group was a gigantic, pearly white building in a dome-like shape. In large black letters, the title "Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratories" was painted on the front. "Lets go, girls." Twilight said, marching off towards it. A/N: Chapter Two! Yeah! Still pretty short, but longer than the first. Most of the beginning chapters will be moderately short, but as we get further into the story, they'll get bigger. Or I could take, like, a week to write a really big chapter. By Chapter 3, Welcome to Equestria Labs! the chapters will probably get a bit longer. Chapter 3: Welcome to Equestrian Science!The group of four had approached the building further, and the three new to it were currently inspecting the white dome. The dome itself, it appeared, was made out of separate panels, positioned in such a way where an illusion of circular shape was given off. The dome rose a good length into the air, possibly as high as Canterlot Castle, and those who had been there before, such as twilight, where aware it stretched endlessly farther underground. Rainbow hovered not too far above the air, inspecting the building from a higher view. Ascending a bit, she came close to the logo painted in pure black paint on the dome. Dark letters read Equestrian Science Innovation Laboratories, and the said title was extending out from a horseshoe painted horizontally at the beginning of it. If Rainbow had circumnavigated the dome, it would have become apparent to her that the same logo was painted on each side. To Applejack, the building had been even more impressive. She had grown up in Ponyville, and, save the Manehatten incident, had stayed there for most of her life. The Canterlot Castle was probably the largest thing she ever saw, but this dome was far more impressive. She stood and gawked at the building, completely overwhelmed by it. Twilight used some magic to close the surprised cowpony's jaw, as it had hit the floor unrealistically. Midsummer stood in the same awe. She had seen a lot of places and impressive buildings, but this facility took the cake. She didn't drop her jaw, as she had learned to remain unfazed in the face of such things. She shifted her weight from side to side. She bit her bottom lip. Truth be told, it's sheer size terrified her. Twilight shot glances at the other three, grinning smugly. "Impressed, much?" she asked. The two grounded mares nodded in unison, and Rainbow soon landed to join in the nod. "So...Awesome..." Rainbow muttered to herself, bright eyes wide. AJ nodded. "Ya can say that again." She grinned. "Ah ain't never seen a buildin' so big!" Twilight's right eye twitched at her friend's bad grammar, but she had come to live with her accent and way of speaking. "So," she said with a grin, "who wants to knock?" The other three stared blankly at Twilight. Before the other two could step forward to try, Midsummer stepped up and knocked with one hoof. That was out of character, Twilight thought. The resulting boom resounded through the huge dome, echoing on for a immense time. After about thirty whole seconds, the sound stopped. A dome itself shook to life slowly, and a few panels in the front began to move and provide an opening. Behind sat a cylindrical elevator. The three newcomers gulped, and were led into the shaft by Twilight. The panels moved back into place behind the group, and the elevator began down. The elevator raced down a mechanical shaft, the sound of machines working all the while. While the inside of the cylindrical tube was filled with machine parts, buttons and dials, the outside of it was made of glass, allowing it's passengers to watch the facility race by in front of them. The three who hadn't been there before took in every detail of the passing rooms, from the familiar white panels to many buttons and switches and what appeared to be bridges made of pure light. As they got close to the lowest level, the testing tracks began to melt slowly into offices and meeting rooms. Why these were kept at the bottom, the world may never know. The elevator's descent became slower and slower, and soon all the testing tracks had disappeared. The sound of machines vanished, and were replaced by the sound of talking workers and what appeared to be soon-to-be-testers. "I should tell you," Twilight started, "that today is the start of a big project. They're finally showing the public the two AIs that have been running the facility in celebration of their anniversary, so they raised the pay of paid testers and sent out invites to athletes, famous scientists, royal guards, and other ponies of the such to test. Past testers and new ones were also encouraged." She looked to her friends. "That's why I chose today! There's going to be a big conference before the tests start, and the CEO will be making an appearance to introduce some new products." Her friends nodded as she spoke, smiling a bit. "New products?" Rainbow asked curiously. "What kind?" Excitement was in her voice, and a hopeful glint lit up her eyes. She felt her headache being soothed by the smooth sound of the moving elevator, and the soft chatter of ponies outside. Twilight shook her head. "Not sure. But they wanted some more testers for it, so it's probably some new tool." She looked out the front of the elevator as it came to a halt, stopping on what appeared to be the bottom floor. The white panels made a comeback, speckling the room here and there. A few rails ran across the ceiling for robot arms and AI cores. The bottom floor appeared to be a lab as well, taking on the appearance of a large office combined with a testing track. A circular door could be seen at the back of the room, with the company's logo printed on it, but shortened to say, "Equestrian Science." The elvator opened up, and the four walked into the room. "Mighty fancy," Applejack muttered, looking around. The four let their eyes wander, taking in the entirety of the room. Midsummer was fascinated by the machine parts that ran across the walls and ceiling, and that the panels scattered across the room seemed to rustle slowly like they were alive. She swore she saw robotic eyes glaring at her from behind them. But one eye...no, it was a pair of eyes, unlike the others, and appeared distinctly pony-like. The eyes blinked at her slowly, right eye starting before the left, and Midsummer blinked back. When she opened her eyes, the panel had closed and the other pair had vanished. "Odd," she said. She looked around again and followed AJ's gaze. The panels seemed to be a point of interest to her, but Applejack was surprised at everything. She'd grown up on a farm where this kind of machinery was unheard of! She looked at robotic parts laid out on tables behind glass screens, and scientists and workers behind the screens working. Two, in particular, caught her attention. Two tall cream colored unicorns, each with red hair. She only caught a glimpse of their backsides as the walked out a door of the lab and disappeared into another room, robot parts carried above them in a green magic grasp. Rainbow looked around eagerly, jumping with joy rather than gazing silently at everything like the other two. Everything look so awesome! She looked at tables set up with chemicals and robot parts on them, and she caught view a robot hitting itself in the head with a frying pan. Two scientists were trying to calm it down. She chuckled at it. Her gaze moved slightly to a room behind glass, wherein a gold unicorn was talking to an orange pegasus. She couldn't see either very well, as the unicorn had his back to her, blocking out the view of the pegasus. They seemed to nod to each other before the pegasus turned and walked out a door behind her, grabbing an orange and white jumpsuit on the way. New tester, maybe? The gold unicorn turned towards the group and smiled brightly. Using a bit of magic, he opened up the door in the wall and walked out to greet the group. "Hello!" he said in a cheery, yet deep and solemn voice. "You must be new testers!" He bowed to them, oddly enough. "I can't thank you enough for simply being here! Welcome to Equestrian Science!" As if on cue, some of the panels moved back, trombones and strobe lights emerging out from them. A brief fanfare played, accompanied by a light show in a spectrum of colors wider than Rainbow's mane. The golden unicorn stood in a majestic, extravagant position during said fanfare, with his chest out and legs spread out, front right hoof in the air. The fanfare ended shortly, with the trombones and lights retreated back into the wall. When it was done, the unicorn returned to standing in a normal position. Twilight now got a better look at him. The pony wore large glasses with a thick black frame and thin lenses, and had a mop of an unkempt black mane, with neon green highlighting it. His tail was long and swept back, black with the same green highlights. He had blue and red megaphone for his cutie mark, angled upwards with a depiction of sound-waves protruding from them. He had deep blue eyes, and was now using magic to lift a comb to his mane and brush it gently. "I'm taking you're the CEO?" Twilight said, cocking her head and raising and eyebrow. The stallion was certainly extroverted, and seemed more like a spokesperson than a CEO. But she had seen him talking to that test subject a second ago, leading her to believe otherwise. "Why indeed I am!" He said cheerfully, the same solemn tint in his voice. "My name's Loudspeaker, Equestrian Science CEO, Co-founder, chief scientist, and widely-known author!" He stood in the same extravagant position as before, flipping his mane this time and raising his eyebrows "Loudspeaker?" Twilight asked, bewildered. "Loudspeaker as in the guy who wrote The Art of the Sandwich? " She was absolutely amazed. A sandwich maker ran this company? How? "Yes! That's the one! Didn't think anyone even read that...so outdated. You should read The Sandwich: And Anthology of Artistic Methods. Much better." He chuckled. "But that one was good, too." Twilight stared at him, jaw dropped. The other three followed suit. He ran this company, and still had enough time to write huge books on sandwiches? "Now!" Loudspeaker bellowed. "Let me show you around. Follow me!" He turned and walked over to the circular door at the back of the room, then turned back and looked at the group. "Well? Come on!" "I...I'm Twilight Sparkle, by the way," the lavender unicorn added. "and these are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Midsummer." she nodded towards each mare as she said their names. "Nice ta meet'cha," Applejack said. "A pleasure," Midsummer muttered. "Same here," Rainbow said. "NOW!" Loudspeaker hollered, true to his name. "Let our tour begin!" The door opened, and a grey pegasus mare with lazy eyes walked over to the door, wearing a lab coat, to greet the newcomers. "Hi!" she said, cheerfully. "You must be new subjects!" Rainbow stared, wild eyed, at the mare. "Derpy?!" She yelled, incredibly surprised. She fell backwards onto the ground. Chapter 1: Start Thinking With Portals“Equestrian Science?” Applejack said, taking a bite out of a hay sandwich. “Ah can’t say Ah’ve ever heard of it, sugercube.” She chewed the sandwich slowly. “I really don’t care about it,” Rainbow said dryly, a bored look on her face. “Science is for eggheads.” She stared up at the sky, watching some clouds being pushed around by a group of weather ponies. She leaned down and took a bite out of some cake before looking back her latest Daring Do book, “Daring Do and the Journey to Pearl Pyramid.” It was bound in a silky material Rarity had given to her for the sole purpose of protecting her books. She turned the page gently, not even thinking about the consequences of tearing a single page in her perfectly awesome book. “That’s what you said about that book,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes and pointing a hoof at Dash’s book. “Just let me finish. It’s a really neat place. It’s developed some of the most advanced technology in Equestria.” She lifted her own sandwich with some magic and took a delicate bite out of it, chewing slowly. Cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, some peppers…no need to rush the sandwich. She had learned to make an almost perfect sandwich the day before, thanks to the book “The Art of the Sandwich, Vol. 1.” A ridiculous book, but she liked it anyway. Written by somepony by the name of Loudspeaker? Apparently he liked sandwiches enough to make a Ten-volume series about the perfect sandwich. The three friends sat around a picnic blanket on a hill, overlooking their town. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy weren’t able to make it on this given day. Rarity was too busy with an order from Fancypants, Pinkie was foal sitting Pumpkin and Poundcake, and Fluttershy was helping her out. In front of the group of friends sat a picnic basket filled with sandwiches, pastries, and other confections and snack. Pinkie had been kind enough to bake the three some cakes before they left, and Applejack had cooked up some apple pie and other apple-related products, of course. After spending about 15 minutes eating and talking about their days, and a little more, Twilight had decided to bring up a real subject and struck up a conversation about a science lab not too far from Canterlot she had visited the other day. “Science is for eggheads,” Rainbow Dash repeated, using a strong tone, usually not used unless telling somepony a family member had a terrible accident or informing them of some other tragic event. “I prefer adventure. You know, something that’s not boring. Ever heard of it?” She looked Twilight in the eye, raising one eyebrow. “Science is boring.” She continued using a forceful tone, making sure her point got across. “Well, not Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratories,” Twilight responded, emphasizing each and every word in the long name, making sure not to miss anything. “They like to use ponies as test groups. You go there, they stick you in a large testing area with some equipment, and you start moving through testing chambers. I tried a few last week.” She put her sandwich down, now caught up with their conversation. “Ever heard of a Hoof-Held Portal Device? Or maybe the Gel-Cannon?” Rainbow looked at her, dumbfounded. Applejack, taking a large bite out of an apple, looked to Twilight as well. “Ah never have. They sound fancy-like. What are they?” Twilight smiled at the orange cowpony. “I’m glad you asked.” She picked back up her snack and took another bite, making sure to swallow before she opened her mouth to talk again. “They are Equestrian Labs prized inventions, followed by their Artificial Intelligence robots. The Hoof-held Aperture Quantum Portal Device—or Portal Gun, as testers call it—generates two colored quantum wormholes on any flat surface. No matter the distance between them, any object passed through one will come out the other almost spontaneously. No matter the distance between the portals, any object the right size will pass through either seamlessly, retaining any speed, momentum, or other motion forces that were applied to them during or before entrance of the portals. In other words, flying through one at sonic speed would result in you coming out the other at the same speed. Or, on a more realistic scale, jumping off a cliff into a portal on the flat ground and coming out one next to it would result in you flying out the second one retaining the speed from the fall.” Applejack and Rainbow looked at the studios unicorn with shock and awe on their faces, jaws dropped so unrealistically that it would make Pinkie Pie proud. “What?” The earth pony and Pegasus said together. Twilight laughed. “I didn’t really expect you to even understand that. But you get the main idea, right?” She looked at the two, swapping glances from one to the other. “Um…kind of?” Rainbow said. “But I guess it does sound kinda…” She trailed off, becoming inaudible. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” The unicorn put a hoof to her ear and raised her brow. “It said it was…” The rainbow-manned pegasus trailed off again. He eyes darted around. “I guess its kina…” She gulped. “Cool…” “I thought that’s what you would say,” Twilight stated proudly, a smile on her face. “But there’s more! They also built the Hoof-Held Gel Cannon. To date, Equestrian Science has manufactured over seven kinds of special gels, each with a different effect from a range of exploding to being bouncy. Each of these gels are stored in a Gel Cannon, each being capable of being fired from the cannon, which highly resembles a Portal Gun. You follow?” Her two friends nodded. “Uh, Twilight?” AJ interrupted. “Where are yah goin’ with this?” she asked. “Easy!” The unicorn exclaimed loudly. “How would you two like to go with me tomorrow as test subjects!?” She smiled widely, looked intensely at her two friends, awaiting an answer. “Sugercube,” Applejack said. “Ah’d love to, but Sweet Apple Acres is goin through some financial troubles. Ah need to stay here and work overtime—” “Did I mention they pay their test subjects?” Twilight interrupted. She took a bite of her sandwich. AJ stared back at her. “Cash or Credit?” “They’re in between banks. So cash.” Twilight took another bite. “Um…Ah guess Ah’ll go.” AJ nodded at her friend. “And what about ya, Rainbow?” “Um…” Rainbow looked at her friends, conflicted. Science? Adventure? She didn’t know if the two could be combined. “Um…uh…” She was the Element of Loyalty. The choice should be obvious. She took a deep breath. “I’ll go,” she said. She sighed. “Yay!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves. “This is going to be so much fun!” She squeed. “I have to go get myself ready! Bye girls!” Twilight picket up her stuff telepathically and galloped off homeward, giggling with excitement all the way. “What have we done?” Rainbow said.
Chapter 2: Towards the Future!CHAPTER 2: TOWARDS THE FUTURE! Or, The Part Wherein a Fourth Joins the Party Also, possibly, The Train Ride Rainbow Dash looked out the window of the Friendship Express. She watched as the landscape of Equestria raced buy, hardly giving her enough time to look at anything. The constant roar of the wheels beneath the train built a small headache. She directed her view upwards, slowly, watching some clouds pass by, along with a few large birds...wait, those were just pegasi. Still, she watched them pass by, wings beating quickly. She followed them closely with her reddish-purple eyes. She sighed, just wishing that the ride would be a little faster. How long would it take for Equestria to develop some sort of flying vehicle? It would be so much more efficient than a train! "How long is this going to take?" she asked, with a bored tone of voice, turning to Twilight, who had her head in a magically levitated book, "Art of the Sandwich, Vol. 2." Seriously? Who writes a book on sandwiches? Somepony with waaaay to much time on his hands, that's who. Twilight didn't respond to her question. Rainbow followed Twilight's eyes for a bit, watching as the moved quickly from line to line. She hardly noticed Dash calling her, much less staring intently at her. Dash's glare slowly intensified to the point where it may have rivaled Fluttershy's. "Twilight! Twilight! Hey! Are you even listening to me?" "Huh?" Twilight asked, halfheartedly, glancing up from her book. She flipped a page, seemingly rushed. She must have been in a hurry to finish that book. "She asked when we're gettin' there," Applejack said, turning towards the window. She watched a few pegasi fly by...wait, those were birds. Large ones, at that. Her eyes followed their movements across the sky. "Oh, uh, not much longer," Twilight said, turning up from the book. She placed a marker on her page and closed the book slowly and carefully, not wanting to damage it. "Like I said, its just outside Canterlot." She put the book down on a small table next to her. "And look!" She pointed a hoof out a window excitedly. "There's Canterlot! We're almost there. You guys will have a great time!" AJ and Dash trotted over to Twilight and looked out the window, smiling as the huge city came into view. "It looks more beautiful every time!" Applejack exclaimed. A wide grin formed on her face. Looking out at the city, she became filled with excitement. Rainbow smiled, as well. But not at Canterlot. She smiled immensely wider than orange pony's grin, giggling with joy. She pointed at the sky high above the city at a trio of flying blue objects, barely visible against the sky that matched their costume colors. "THE WONDERBOLTS!" she yelled. A few ponies on the train turned and looked at her, brows raised at her fan-mare outbreak. "Omigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigodomigod!" She was practically bouncing with joy, a tiny squee escaping in her fit of joy. "Calm down, Rainbow!" Twilight said. "You've seen them before. "Hay, you've saved their lives!" She rolled her eyes a little, but just enough for Dash to notice she was annoyed. "Yeah, I guess. But still!" She continued to hop with joy. "Oh...one of them is flying away. I wonder where to...?" Rainbow looked up at the one peeling away, making sure not to loose its trail. The remaining two Wonderbolts were waving to their leaving comrade. "I think that's Spitfire. Hey...She's going in the same direction of the train!" "Well, she's flyin' off pretty darn fast, Rainbow. Doubt that ya'll be able to watch 'er." Applejack said, pointing. She glanced over at Rainbow quickly. "Cow poop..." Dash said, sadly. She crossed her front hooves and pouted a bit. Looking out at Canterlot again, Applejack felt a little uncomfortable. Was it just her, or did something horrible happen every time they went to Canterlot? There was the Gala, the wedding...Well, those were pretty much the only times they even went there. But she couldn't help but feel in her gut that something bad was coming. Call it instinct, or just a bad feeling, but it was there. She felt it, for sure. Something bad was brewing. "May I ask where you three mares are heading?" A nearby pony asked, slowly trotting over to the group. She (or he?) was wearing a black cloak and hood, covering herself almost completely. The only parts of her that sowed was a blue horn peeking out through the hood, as well as a bit of her snout. She (as it was now apparent, as her voice was distinctly feminine) levitated a large glass of what appeared to be fruit juice up to her face, gently taking a sip. "We're off to Equestrian Laboratories!" Rainbow exclaimed, smiling. "We're off to test for them. I wanna try out a Portal Gun." "It's Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratories!" Twilight shouted, a little upset at Rainbow's lack of memory. "Get the name right. And on the same subject, its the Hoof-Held Aperture Quantum Portal Device!" Dash waved a hoof. "Whatever." "Tri... Um, I see." The mare said, practically whispering. "Um...I am off to there, too. Tri... I mean, I was looking forward to testing a Gel Cannon." The mare said. "But of course, I also need the money. Badly." The group of friends nodded together. Why is her voice so familiar? Twilight thought. I swear, I've heard it before. The voice sparked something in the back of her mind. Not a bad thing...It just sounded vaguely familiar. It also seemed like the mare's voice wasn't designed to be whispering. It sounded like the kind of voice that should be a loud one, up on a stage. "I thought the Gel Cannon was pretty interesting, as well." Twilight said. "Can I look forward to testing with you, um...What was your name?" The mare bit her lip. "I suppose you can. I look forward to testing with you." "And you name?" Twilight asked, a brow raised. "Um...Midsummer!" The mare said, a worried tone in her voice. "My name is Midsummer..." "Well," Twilight started, "I look forward to testing with you, Miss Midsummer. Would you like to join us? Oh, I'm Twilight Sparkle, by the way." She bowed. "And this is Rainbow Dash and Applejack." she introduced her friends while pointing a hoof at each of them at the same time she said their names. "Hey," Dash said, smiling at the mare. "Howdy," AJ said, with a tip of her hat. "Nice to see...uh, meet you three," the mare said with a nod, biting her lip a bit. She took another slow sip of her drink. "So how 'bout joining us?" Twilight asked again. The mare seemed to avoid some questions. Was she hiding something? "Uh...I guess...?" The mare said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. She turned her head, looking out the window. Twilight smiled. "Great!" She extended a hoof towards Midsummer, responded to by a gentle bump from the cloaked mare. Behind the hood, Midsummer was smiling at the display of friendship. This could go well...for a while. She sat up on a chair next to Twilight, looking out towards Canterlot, now behind them. She smiled. She looked to Applejack and Rainbow Dash with a smile, who responded with the same gesture. The train came to a slow stop at a station not to far from Canterlot. The brakes beneath the train made a grinding, ear-splitting screech, furthering Dash's headache. The doors beside the group opened slowly, and the four mares smiled. They raced out the door, Twilight and Rainbow in the lead. Applejack followed closely behind, and Midsummer crawled along slowly. "A lil' quicker, Midsummer? Ah've got a a feeling that at this rate, ya might get there long after us," Applejack said, turning her head back to their new friend. The cloaked mare nodded. "Ok," she whispered, picking up the pace. AJ smiled, changing into a full gallop. Midsummer made another hidden smile, following AJ in a gallop as well. In a few moments, AJ and Midsummer had caught up with Rainbow and Twilight. The two had already left the station, and Rainbow was staring at a building, dumbfounded. Midsummer and Applejack soon adopted the same look. Twilight, however, had seen this building before. In front of the group was a gigantic, pearly white building in a dome-like shape. In large black letters, the title "Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratories" was painted on the front. "Lets go, girls." Twilight said, marching off towards it. A/N: Chapter Two! Yeah! Still pretty short, but longer than the first. Most of the beginning chapters will be moderately short, but as we get further into the story, they'll get bigger. Or I could take, like, a week to write a really big chapter. By Chapter 3, Welcome to Equestria Labs! the chapters will probably get a bit longer.
Chapter 3: Welcome to Equestrian Science!The group of four had approached the building further, and the three new to it were currently inspecting the white dome. The dome itself, it appeared, was made out of separate panels, positioned in such a way where an illusion of circular shape was given off. The dome rose a good length into the air, possibly as high as Canterlot Castle, and those who had been there before, such as twilight, where aware it stretched endlessly farther underground. Rainbow hovered not too far above the air, inspecting the building from a higher view. Ascending a bit, she came close to the logo painted in pure black paint on the dome. Dark letters read Equestrian Science Innovation Laboratories, and the said title was extending out from a horseshoe painted horizontally at the beginning of it. If Rainbow had circumnavigated the dome, it would have become apparent to her that the same logo was painted on each side. To Applejack, the building had been even more impressive. She had grown up in Ponyville, and, save the Manehatten incident, had stayed there for most of her life. The Canterlot Castle was probably the largest thing she ever saw, but this dome was far more impressive. She stood and gawked at the building, completely overwhelmed by it. Twilight used some magic to close the surprised cowpony's jaw, as it had hit the floor unrealistically. Midsummer stood in the same awe. She had seen a lot of places and impressive buildings, but this facility took the cake. She didn't drop her jaw, as she had learned to remain unfazed in the face of such things. She shifted her weight from side to side. She bit her bottom lip. Truth be told, it's sheer size terrified her. Twilight shot glances at the other three, grinning smugly. "Impressed, much?" she asked. The two grounded mares nodded in unison, and Rainbow soon landed to join in the nod. "So...Awesome..." Rainbow muttered to herself, bright eyes wide. AJ nodded. "Ya can say that again." She grinned. "Ah ain't never seen a buildin' so big!" Twilight's right eye twitched at her friend's bad grammar, but she had come to live with her accent and way of speaking. "So," she said with a grin, "who wants to knock?" The other three stared blankly at Twilight. Before the other two could step forward to try, Midsummer stepped up and knocked with one hoof. That was out of character, Twilight thought. The resulting boom resounded through the huge dome, echoing on for a immense time. After about thirty whole seconds, the sound stopped. A dome itself shook to life slowly, and a few panels in the front began to move and provide an opening. Behind sat a cylindrical elevator. The three newcomers gulped, and were led into the shaft by Twilight. The panels moved back into place behind the group, and the elevator began down. The elevator raced down a mechanical shaft, the sound of machines working all the while. While the inside of the cylindrical tube was filled with machine parts, buttons and dials, the outside of it was made of glass, allowing it's passengers to watch the facility race by in front of them. The three who hadn't been there before took in every detail of the passing rooms, from the familiar white panels to many buttons and switches and what appeared to be bridges made of pure light. As they got close to the lowest level, the testing tracks began to melt slowly into offices and meeting rooms. Why these were kept at the bottom, the world may never know. The elevator's descent became slower and slower, and soon all the testing tracks had disappeared. The sound of machines vanished, and were replaced by the sound of talking workers and what appeared to be soon-to-be-testers. "I should tell you," Twilight started, "that today is the start of a big project. They're finally showing the public the two AIs that have been running the facility in celebration of their anniversary, so they raised the pay of paid testers and sent out invites to athletes, famous scientists, royal guards, and other ponies of the such to test. Past testers and new ones were also encouraged." She looked to her friends. "That's why I chose today! There's going to be a big conference before the tests start, and the CEO will be making an appearance to introduce some new products." Her friends nodded as she spoke, smiling a bit. "New products?" Rainbow asked curiously. "What kind?" Excitement was in her voice, and a hopeful glint lit up her eyes. She felt her headache being soothed by the smooth sound of the moving elevator, and the soft chatter of ponies outside. Twilight shook her head. "Not sure. But they wanted some more testers for it, so it's probably some new tool." She looked out the front of the elevator as it came to a halt, stopping on what appeared to be the bottom floor. The white panels made a comeback, speckling the room here and there. A few rails ran across the ceiling for robot arms and AI cores. The bottom floor appeared to be a lab as well, taking on the appearance of a large office combined with a testing track. A circular door could be seen at the back of the room, with the company's logo printed on it, but shortened to say, "Equestrian Science." The elvator opened up, and the four walked into the room. "Mighty fancy," Applejack muttered, looking around. The four let their eyes wander, taking in the entirety of the room. Midsummer was fascinated by the machine parts that ran across the walls and ceiling, and that the panels scattered across the room seemed to rustle slowly like they were alive. She swore she saw robotic eyes glaring at her from behind them. But one eye...no, it was a pair of eyes, unlike the others, and appeared distinctly pony-like. The eyes blinked at her slowly, right eye starting before the left, and Midsummer blinked back. When she opened her eyes, the panel had closed and the other pair had vanished. "Odd," she said. She looked around again and followed AJ's gaze. The panels seemed to be a point of interest to her, but Applejack was surprised at everything. She'd grown up on a farm where this kind of machinery was unheard of! She looked at robotic parts laid out on tables behind glass screens, and scientists and workers behind the screens working. Two, in particular, caught her attention. Two tall cream colored unicorns, each with red hair. She only caught a glimpse of their backsides as the walked out a door of the lab and disappeared into another room, robot parts carried above them in a green magic grasp. Rainbow looked around eagerly, jumping with joy rather than gazing silently at everything like the other two. Everything look so awesome! She looked at tables set up with chemicals and robot parts on them, and she caught view a robot hitting itself in the head with a frying pan. Two scientists were trying to calm it down. She chuckled at it. Her gaze moved slightly to a room behind glass, wherein a gold unicorn was talking to an orange pegasus. She couldn't see either very well, as the unicorn had his back to her, blocking out the view of the pegasus. They seemed to nod to each other before the pegasus turned and walked out a door behind her, grabbing an orange and white jumpsuit on the way. New tester, maybe? The gold unicorn turned towards the group and smiled brightly. Using a bit of magic, he opened up the door in the wall and walked out to greet the group. "Hello!" he said in a cheery, yet deep and solemn voice. "You must be new testers!" He bowed to them, oddly enough. "I can't thank you enough for simply being here! Welcome to Equestrian Science!" As if on cue, some of the panels moved back, trombones and strobe lights emerging out from them. A brief fanfare played, accompanied by a light show in a spectrum of colors wider than Rainbow's mane. The golden unicorn stood in a majestic, extravagant position during said fanfare, with his chest out and legs spread out, front right hoof in the air. The fanfare ended shortly, with the trombones and lights retreated back into the wall. When it was done, the unicorn returned to standing in a normal position. Twilight now got a better look at him. The pony wore large glasses with a thick black frame and thin lenses, and had a mop of an unkempt black mane, with neon green highlighting it. His tail was long and swept back, black with the same green highlights. He had blue and red megaphone for his cutie mark, angled upwards with a depiction of sound-waves protruding from them. He had deep blue eyes, and was now using magic to lift a comb to his mane and brush it gently. "I'm taking you're the CEO?" Twilight said, cocking her head and raising and eyebrow. The stallion was certainly extroverted, and seemed more like a spokesperson than a CEO. But she had seen him talking to that test subject a second ago, leading her to believe otherwise. "Why indeed I am!" He said cheerfully, the same solemn tint in his voice. "My name's Loudspeaker, Equestrian Science CEO, Co-founder, chief scientist, and widely-known author!" He stood in the same extravagant position as before, flipping his mane this time and raising his eyebrows "Loudspeaker?" Twilight asked, bewildered. "Loudspeaker as in the guy who wrote The Art of the Sandwich? " She was absolutely amazed. A sandwich maker ran this company? How? "Yes! That's the one! Didn't think anyone even read that...so outdated. You should read The Sandwich: And Anthology of Artistic Methods. Much better." He chuckled. "But that one was good, too." Twilight stared at him, jaw dropped. The other three followed suit. He ran this company, and still had enough time to write huge books on sandwiches? "Now!" Loudspeaker bellowed. "Let me show you around. Follow me!" He turned and walked over to the circular door at the back of the room, then turned back and looked at the group. "Well? Come on!" "I...I'm Twilight Sparkle, by the way," the lavender unicorn added. "and these are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Midsummer." she nodded towards each mare as she said their names. "Nice ta meet'cha," Applejack said. "A pleasure," Midsummer muttered. "Same here," Rainbow said. "NOW!" Loudspeaker hollered, true to his name. "Let our tour begin!" The door opened, and a grey pegasus mare with lazy eyes walked over to the door, wearing a lab coat, to greet the newcomers. "Hi!" she said, cheerfully. "You must be new subjects!" Rainbow stared, wild eyed, at the mare. "Derpy?!" She yelled, incredibly surprised. She fell backwards onto the ground.
Chapter 1: Start Thinking With Portals“Equestrian Science?” Applejack said, taking a bite out of a hay sandwich. “Ah can’t say Ah’ve ever heard of it, sugercube.” She chewed the sandwich slowly. “I really don’t care about it,” Rainbow said dryly, a bored look on her face. “Science is for eggheads.” She stared up at the sky, watching some clouds being pushed around by a group of weather ponies. She leaned down and took a bite out of some cake before looking back her latest Daring Do book, “Daring Do and the Journey to Pearl Pyramid.” It was bound in a silky material Rarity had given to her for the sole purpose of protecting her books. She turned the page gently, not even thinking about the consequences of tearing a single page in her perfectly awesome book. “That’s what you said about that book,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes and pointing a hoof at Dash’s book. “Just let me finish. It’s a really neat place. It’s developed some of the most advanced technology in Equestria.” She lifted her own sandwich with some magic and took a delicate bite out of it, chewing slowly. Cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, some peppers…no need to rush the sandwich. She had learned to make an almost perfect sandwich the day before, thanks to the book “The Art of the Sandwich, Vol. 1.” A ridiculous book, but she liked it anyway. Written by somepony by the name of Loudspeaker? Apparently he liked sandwiches enough to make a Ten-volume series about the perfect sandwich. The three friends sat around a picnic blanket on a hill, overlooking their town. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy weren’t able to make it on this given day. Rarity was too busy with an order from Fancypants, Pinkie was foal sitting Pumpkin and Poundcake, and Fluttershy was helping her out. In front of the group of friends sat a picnic basket filled with sandwiches, pastries, and other confections and snack. Pinkie had been kind enough to bake the three some cakes before they left, and Applejack had cooked up some apple pie and other apple-related products, of course. After spending about 15 minutes eating and talking about their days, and a little more, Twilight had decided to bring up a real subject and struck up a conversation about a science lab not too far from Canterlot she had visited the other day. “Science is for eggheads,” Rainbow Dash repeated, using a strong tone, usually not used unless telling somepony a family member had a terrible accident or informing them of some other tragic event. “I prefer adventure. You know, something that’s not boring. Ever heard of it?” She looked Twilight in the eye, raising one eyebrow. “Science is boring.” She continued using a forceful tone, making sure her point got across. “Well, not Equestrian Science Innovations Laboratories,” Twilight responded, emphasizing each and every word in the long name, making sure not to miss anything. “They like to use ponies as test groups. You go there, they stick you in a large testing area with some equipment, and you start moving through testing chambers. I tried a few last week.” She put her sandwich down, now caught up with their conversation. “Ever heard of a Hoof-Held Portal Device? Or maybe the Gel-Cannon?” Rainbow looked at her, dumbfounded. Applejack, taking a large bite out of an apple, looked to Twilight as well. “Ah never have. They sound fancy-like. What are they?” Twilight smiled at the orange cowpony. “I’m glad you asked.” She picked back up her snack and took another bite, making sure to swallow before she opened her mouth to talk again. “They are Equestrian Labs prized inventions, followed by their Artificial Intelligence robots. The Hoof-held Aperture Quantum Portal Device—or Portal Gun, as testers call it—generates two colored quantum wormholes on any flat surface. No matter the distance between them, any object passed through one will come out the other almost spontaneously. No matter the distance between the portals, any object the right size will pass through either seamlessly, retaining any speed, momentum, or other motion forces that were applied to them during or before entrance of the portals. In other words, flying through one at sonic speed would result in you coming out the other at the same speed. Or, on a more realistic scale, jumping off a cliff into a portal on the flat ground and coming out one next to it would result in you flying out the second one retaining the speed from the fall.” Applejack and Rainbow looked at the studios unicorn with shock and awe on their faces, jaws dropped so unrealistically that it would make Pinkie Pie proud. “What?” The earth pony and Pegasus said together. Twilight laughed. “I didn’t really expect you to even understand that. But you get the main idea, right?” She looked at the two, swapping glances from one to the other. “Um…kind of?” Rainbow said. “But I guess it does sound kinda…” She trailed off, becoming inaudible. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you.” The unicorn put a hoof to her ear and raised her brow. “It said it was…” The rainbow-manned pegasus trailed off again. He eyes darted around. “I guess its kina…” She gulped. “Cool…” “I thought that’s what you would say,” Twilight stated proudly, a smile on her face. “But there’s more! They also built the Hoof-Held Gel Cannon. To date, Equestrian Science has manufactured over seven kinds of special gels, each with a different effect from a range of exploding to being bouncy. Each of these gels are stored in a Gel Cannon, each being capable of being fired from the cannon, which highly resembles a Portal Gun. You follow?” Her two friends nodded. “Uh, Twilight?” AJ interrupted. “Where are yah goin’ with this?” she asked. “Easy!” The unicorn exclaimed loudly. “How would you two like to go with me tomorrow as test subjects!?” She smiled widely, looked intensely at her two friends, awaiting an answer. “Sugercube,” Applejack said. “Ah’d love to, but Sweet Apple Acres is goin through some financial troubles. Ah need to stay here and work overtime—” “Did I mention they pay their test subjects?” Twilight interrupted. She took a bite of her sandwich. AJ stared back at her. “Cash or Credit?” “They’re in between banks. So cash.” Twilight took another bite. “Um…Ah guess Ah’ll go.” AJ nodded at her friend. “And what about ya, Rainbow?” “Um…” Rainbow looked at her friends, conflicted. Science? Adventure? She didn’t know if the two could be combined. “Um…uh…” She was the Element of Loyalty. The choice should be obvious. She took a deep breath. “I’ll go,” she said. She sighed. “Yay!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves. “This is going to be so much fun!” She squeed. “I have to go get myself ready! Bye girls!” Twilight picket up her stuff telepathically and galloped off homeward, giggling with excitement all the way. “What have we done?” Rainbow said.
