The young researcher’s heavy, belated breaths and hoofsteps were drowned out by the alarm’s bellowing sounds.
An ominous message repeated over the intercom for a third time.
“WARNING! Containment Breach…” The alarm continued to blare. Red lights flashed on the ceiling, shimmering off the white walls of the corridor, close to the message’s origin. “WARNING! Foreign Organism Detected in – hallway – number – five. WARNING!”
The red lights reflected off the pony’s widened eyes as she ran down the hallway.
“Please, Celestia PLEASE let there be a door,” she kept thinking as her vision narrowed.
Thankfully, those prayers had been answered. Both of the doors that she came upon looked like magnificent gifts given by The Princess herself.
A quick sound of pressurized air being released permeated the adjacent laboratory’s locker room. The pony feverishly looked for a place to hide as the hermetic door sealed shut behind her. Those quick glances were met with several lockers gently nested against the walls and an entryway to the locker-room showers. No relief was found in the noises from the hallway being muffled by the reinforced door of the room, or its thick glass window.
The earth pony’s eyes continued to dart about. However, her gaze quickly fixated on an open storage locker. In one swift motion the young researcher grabbed the white lab coat, draped it over her body, and hid in a nearby corner.
Sitting in that corner near the locker she obtained the coat from, the pony heard the clock’s ticking hand on the opposite side of the room. It matched her pounding heartbeats perfectly.
“W… Wh… How did this happen?” she thought to herself. “This could not have happened, not in a place like this!”
Attempts to calm those intense, nervous breaths for air were difficult; almost futile. The young researcher thought her heart would never stop pounding as she pulled her tail under the lab coat.
A strange sound echoed in the laboratory’s adjacent locker room, barely audible over the muffled alarm that continued to reverberate throughout the complex.
“No!?!” the earth pony thought to herself as she looked up. Her shallow gaze grew and caused the pony to dart for the nearby locker.
Carefully closing the locker’s metal door, the pony heard a faint, innocent sound; that unique emanation intermingled with the metallic ping the young researcher heard within the laboratory’s adjacent locker room.
That ticking hand on the opposite side of the room was no longer perceptible as time froze for the earth pony. She focused on the drab pale panel of the ventilation duct, and raised her front hooves over her mouth.
It never seemed to end. Those horrid facets, those chilling eyes meticulously scanned the room. Their unsettling nature only seemed augmented in how they brilliantly shined in the slow, dim flicker of the room’s fluorescent lights. The pony carefully watched those eyes through the small slits etched into the locker’s metal door. Her complexion matched the white walls of the laboratory’s adjacent locker room perfectly.
“How can such a creature exist?” the earth pony researcher quietly muttered to herself.
The creature let out an ominous sound – unheard of by the pony – while it persistently scanned the room.
Sweat from the mare’s forehead dripped onto her hooves, and then fell to the locker’s metal floor. The young researcher’s grim look stayed with her as the entity emitted another terrifying sound.
“It can’t exist! A creature like that can’t exist, it’s impossible!” she said under a hushed breath.
In her mind, the earth pony refused to contemplate such a “thing” or how it even came into existence. However, despite her frazzled state, the young researcher knew all too well the possibilities; this place and its purpose made the creature’s existence undeniable.
Only a small bit of relief came to the pony as the metallic sound resumed. Her vision blurred as those heavy eyes finally closed.
Abstract’s sleepless state got the better of her, feeling her mind wander as she remembered her home at the Equestrian Research Institute, a beautiful place that serves as a haven for prominent researchers.
As with all places, there was a dark secret the institute hoped to conceal.
Forbidden from ever gracing the eyes of other ponies was the Alpha Three Laboratory, the Equestrian Research Institute’s most promising research facility. It served as a powerful source for magical and scientific endeavors. Accounts of “successful” research barely, if ever, left the laboratory.
One event had caused the laboratory’s staff to evacuate for unknown reasons. Alpha three’s existence had been forgotten, or some had hoped. That incident left a deep scar in the memories of Abstract’s mentors, Professor Genepool and Scarlet H. Rose. Strangely, those two pony professors appeared to be the only ones to ever know what happened to the laboratory.
Things like “Why was such a magnificent place hidden away?” and other, similar questions pulsed within the earth pony’s mind. “Its research could change pony kind forever,” she thought.
The unicorn professor’s constant refusal to speak of this place fueled the young research pony’s curiosity. A3L’s existence was more painful for Scarlet than Genepool. It nearly brought the pegasus to tears at the mention of “that place". ERI’s A3L was a “horrible mistake.”
“I want to understand Scarlet. I want to know why she and…” a low, deep growl reverberated within the small space of the locker, and quickly rousted the young researcher out of her reminiscent state.
*** *** ***
Abstract shoved the locker’s metal door aside, and then ran into the decontamination showers. The automatic shower heads triggered. After sliding across the wet tile floor, the pony hit the sturdy back wall.
With a quick nervous jerk of her back right hoof, the earth pony hit the shower’s pre-designated wash cycle button as she heard the low growl once more. The young researcher, drenched in warm water, shifted her vision towards her mid section, rolling her eyes as she let out a quiet sigh while she brought herself to her hooves.
Despite the relief she felt at the sound’s familiarity, the earth pony could barely hold the apple slices steady she pulled out of her saddle bag.
Peaking around the corner, the mare saw the hands of the clock move slightly to the right. One minute past midnight.
“What kind of experiment – what kind of THING could devastate such a unique and well guarded laboratory?” she repeatedly questioned herself. “This place has the most advanced magical security containment system. A3L’s own research staff built this place.”
The pony felt slightly at ease after seeing no ductwork in the showers, however, she knew it was more important to calm her frayed nerves. Reminiscing about the past was the only way to sedate them. In those treasured memories lay the young researcher’s so-called “happy place.”
Tilting her head upward, the young researcher leaned against the blue tiled wall as she closed her eyes. A tear ran down the pony’s cheek as she sat down on the wet floor.
Happiness always existed in those early days for the earth pony. However, she felt the strong grip on her memories loosen, painfully remembering the “gifts” her two sisters had. Both were unicorns like their mother and father.
Quickly wiping the tears away, the earth pony fought to regain control. She tightly wrapped her hooves around her chest. Abstract hoped to remember those joyous times with her sisters, both unicorns displaying their magical prowess.
Performances of light and conjuration awed the young researcher as she grew. Illusions were the forte of one sister while the other specialized in conjuration.
As she sat on the wet tile floor, the earth pony smiled as she remembered her sisters re-telling a beautiful story to her. That story miraculously came to life through those colorfully dancing lights. It became even more magical as the other sister displayed her talents in conjuration. The sisters, through their sorcery, made everything unique for the earth pony. Abstract and her unicorn sisters formed a seemingly inseparable bond.
Thoughts of emptiness, sorrow, and desolation ran through the pony’s mind. Control over those memories slipped out of the young researcher’s hooves, running down her cheeks. Despite the fact that Abstract’s sisters happily played with her, she always felt the sadness of her inability to perform magic.
Those dim emotions finally peaked as the earth pony remembered the time her sisters left; both of them going to a place she could never attend. Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns accepted the two sisters. That tearful goodbye was forgotten, or so the young researcher had hoped.
Hatred never existed for Abstract. Instead, she resented the dark void that came from her sisters’ absence. The earth pony wished her sisters the best of luck and well being, but could only give them a false smile when they visited. She knew both sisters would have to eventually leave.
“Why? Why can’t I remember?” the young researcher said, clutching her chest as she continued to cry.
Abstract’s unrelenting grasp around her chest finally relaxed. That “happy memory” finally broke through the darkness.
The Equestrian Research Institute, a prominent school for scientific endeavors, had been born in Canterlot. ERI served as a haven for Equestrians to apply their talents, not just in magical research. It helped the earth pony fill that seemingly bottomless void; she could be among others without limitations. Abstract gained the acceptance she desperately wanted, and her cutie mark in the process of admission.
Touring the halls of that wonderful place, it was too good to be true. Griffons, Earth pony, Pegasi, Unicorn, and other Equestrians existed alongside each other without limits.
Strangely, an even greater joy came for the pony as she discovered a friend and another big sister in Genepool’s assistant and confidant, Scarlet H. Rose.
Just like her tears, the pony’s firm grasp over those elated memories flowed away from her as she remembered what brought her to this horrible place.
“A3L’s power is nearly dead. Good riddance,” a passing pony coldly remarked to an associate.
Alpha three only lasted for five short years, built only 4 years before Nightmare Moon’s return. The complex met its fate by the orders of Princess Celestia, and its existence was permanently secluded into the deepest parts of the Canterlot Archives.
The unicorn professor caught the young researcher off guard in the Canterlot Library. In a hushed voice he briefly spoke, saying “the laboratory should never have existed.”
“Do not ask scarlet, she had endured enough.” Genepool sternly told the earth pony before leaving the library.
Those words went unheeded. Abstract went directly to Scarlet to ask her and the pony left without saying anything. All the young researcher could hear was a quiet, somber cry from the office of the pegasus professor.
The earth pony cautiously peaked around the corner to see the clock’s hands a twelve and thirty one, after awakening from her slumber.
“I have to get back to the shaft,” the young researcher thought as she secured her saddle bag. She let out a quiet, elated sigh of relief. The creature hadn’t come back.
Though her emotions had finally calmed the pony still felt unnerved by the flashing lights and alarm.
“Will that stupid message stop?” she grumbled while rolling her eyes.
*** *** ***
The alarm’s bellowing sound greeted the pony again as she opened the hermetic door, its pressurized sound inaudible. Wanting answers, the young researcher darted for the adjacent laboratory.
A spotless room greeted the pony as the automatic door opened. Abstract surmised the hermetic sealing doors kept the place free of contaminants, but couldn’t help raising her eyebrow at each unnaturally clean work space. All of them appeared ready to perform experiments.
She slowly made her way past the clean tables and saw an object glistening in the back part of the room. Inside was what the pony had hoped to find.
The lamp on the nearby desk rapidly flickered before turning on. Abstract carefully searched through the folders she retrieved from the cabinet, her frown growing. None of it seemed unusual. All the pieces were plain, regular documents you would find in anypony’s portfolio.
One paper fell to the floor as the pony opened another folder. Though it had nothing written on either side, a strange smell caught the pony’s attention. Thoughts of those first experiments as a filly ran through the young researcher’s mind. Abstract held the paper up to the lamp, and then darted for a work station.
Those secrets were finally revealed to the young research pony as she gently held the paper near the burner. Each word slowly materialized. That hunger for knowledge didn’t want to be sedated by that kind of information.
“Celestia…wh – Scarlet, Genepool, I’m so sorry.” The pony said while she raised her right hoof over her mouth. Abstract crumpled the paper and threw it on top of the burner, watching those words disappear from sight, “…results: incurable.”
Those actions in the laboratory didn’t go unnoticed as the familiar metallic ping permeated the laboratory. A dark blur fell in front of the cabinet, the pony’s sense of calm breaking along with the ceiling tile that fell to the floor.
“Sweet Celestia, why is it after me?!?” Abstract blurted out as she darted to the door.
Déjà vu took over the pony’s senses, running down the hallway, her vision narrowing, looking for a safe place within that cursed place.
“Thank Celestia it’s here,” she said.
Luck was on Abstract’s side after finding her way back to the ventilation shaft she used to gain entry to A3L. That luck ran out however.
Catching her first real glimpse of the creature, the young researcher’s eyes quickly widened in horror.
“What are you?!?” the pony shouted in a quivering voice. “What do you want from me!?!”
As it tried to speak, a muffled cry came from the creature’s mouth.
Abstract saw the red lights from the ceiling reflecting, gleaming off the creature’s shiny dark body. Her heart began to pound within her chest again, that overwhelming sense of nervousness returning to the young research pony.
Turning around to buck the panel off the wall, the pony caught sight of the creature flying towards her.
“Those translucent things are wings!”
The creature screamed out in anger as Abstract made her way into the shaft. Those horrible noises echoed down the air ducts as they obscured the alarm’s reverberations.
Throwing the contents of her saddle bag at the creature, the pony narrowly evaded capture.
*** *** ***
“FINALLY!” the young researcher blurted out, her words echoing in the cool open sky of Equestria.
Abstract breathed a heavy, elated sigh of relief as she found herself outside the ERI’s abandoned laboratory, the outskirts of Canterlot; however, those elated emotions darkened as the pony turned around.
“Why did you disobey my directions? Why?” the unicorn professor asked in a stern voice. “I told you not to go down there.”
Scarlet came to Abstract’s side and placed her wing over the young pony’s body.
“Let’s just be thankful she survived.” The pegasus quietly said to Genepool.
The young researcher felt the soft feathers from Scarlet’s wing. She buried her head, profusely apologizing for her actions, repeatedly saying that she was sorry for prying into their lives. Both professors agreed enough damage had been done that night. They reassured the young researcher that the incident would never be spoken of to their superiors.
Scarlet continued to look back at the damaged grate of the shaft. The pegasus pony's tears glistened in the light from the lantern she carried while leading the earth pony back to Canterlot, back to ERI’s building.
“I’m sorry” were the only words Genepool could muster as he blasted the vent. He made sure the deed was done, releasing a second powerful blast of magic to permanently seal A3L’s ventilation shaft.
That night proved a valuable lesson for Abstract. She learned the horrors of a forgotten place, and why there was nothing left for Genepool or his confidant. Both Scarlet and Genepool believed in what they did, yet it never came to fruition.
The unicorn professor grinned at the young researcher while levitating her onto his back. Abstract succumbed to her tired state and closed her eyes, safely resting her weary mind.
“Let what transpired this night be forgotten.” The professor said as he casted a spell on the earth pony.
Scarlet saw the young researcher’s grin, and then looked towards the sky after hearing an unusual, yet familiar sound. Those last words of the night were hard for the pegasus as she turned towards Canterlot, “Goodbye, little one.”