Of Webs and Books

"And this concludes , my thesis on the energy given off by gamma radiation", said Doctor Whooves,

pointing at the board behind him.

In front of him where 10 sleeping scientists, all in different sleeping positions and some collapsed on the floor.

The Doctor sighed, "I over did it again, didn't I?".

" I thought it was pretty good!", said one mare in the back of the room.

The Doctors ears perked up,"Miss. Sparkle? It is quite great to see.. " He looked around in a sea of sleeping comatose ponies,  "a conscious face".

Twilight's face reddened slightly,"I always stay awake in your speeches",  she stammered.

She didn't know what it was about the Doctor but she seemed to freeze up and just.. malfunction. It was something about that messy hair and the ties, that just made her cheeks turn a ketchup color. Something is wrong with me, she thought. I'll have to run experiments She stole a look at Doctor Whooves' dark blue eyes. Maybe later.

"Well, since you have had the bravery to sit through, heaven forbid, my ENTIRE speech!", he smirked at the sleeping scientists. " You deserve the highest of all awards. Despite the fact that, I have no award to give."

He checked their pulses.

"Oh dear, I hope I didn't -", He grinned, " bore them to death". He started laughing.

Twilight double-blinked. The Doctor was nice enough, but if not a tad... mad.

" What say you, to a tour of the Tower?", asked The Doctor.

"I would love to see the rest of the Oscorp Tower! It  is pretty large", remarked Twilight while collecting her books and putting them into her bags.

"Well, then why are you still sitting down?" asked the Doctor," Allons-y Miss. Sparkle!"

Twilight confirmed in her mind, Definitely, mad.

And cute. Her face reddened again.

She got up shakily, hoping not to tip over from the weight of the books. She didn't have the best hoof-eye coordination. Or balance. She flunked gym back in the Elementary Days. She shuddered inwardly. Cursed clumsiness.

"Shall we begin?", smiled Doctor Whooves, " I daresay that you might really enjoy this tour!  Hopefully, you stay awake. "

He did a little prance and started forward, with one last glance at the sleeping ponies.

Twilight decided it was partly the Trottingham accent.

I see what Rarity was talking about Trottingham accents, she thought.

They walked along the Tower's sky view were one could see the growing town of Ponyville.

" There are lots of new buildings being added to Ponyville, am I right Miss. Sparkle?", said Doctor Whooves, as they walked along the Tower's busy hallways, full of scientists busily experimenting and taking notes.

"Yep! Ever since the invention of towers and the television, the town is growing  bigger every day, there are so many tall buildings in the Upper Side of Ponyville.", remarked Twilight, " I can hardly keep track of all the ponies that come through here."

" Isn't one of your friends in charge of meeting new ponies?"

"Oh! You mean Pinkie Pie?" said Twilight, " You know, before I came here, I thought I've seen it all. But then I met Pinkie Pie". She chuckled.

"Don't tell me that she held a party for ALL the new ponies?" said The Doctor incredulously.

" It was probably the scariest month of my life,  shuddered Twilight, "There was a party.... every day". There was a pause

" It was a huge relief when she finally met them all." She grasped her stomach and made a face " One can only have so much sarsaparilla".

Doctor Whooves winked, " It's too full of sass, am I right?"

Twilight giggled. How does he know about that?

Doctor Whooves  said, " That particular pony is so.. so"

"Random?"

"Exactly!", Doctor Whooves stopped at a glowing blue door. He held out his hoof into a space in the wall.

There was a quick scan and the doors opened to reveal a wide room full of gadgets and glowing blue doors.

"This here, is the Bio Cable Room. It has the strength to hold up the heaviest objects in Equestria" The Doctor sighed happily,   "Isn't amazing what science and spiders can do?"

" Yeah.. Science is amazi - wait, did you say spiders?". Twilight looked around apprehensively, as if the creepy monsters were going to ooze over the walls.

"Indeed! They are genetically enhanced spiders made for Dr. Connor's Project.  These amazing little creatures are very misunderstood and hated. I suppose I understand. It is most likely the legs." Doctor Whooves made a face, " Eight is far too many legs".

" Dr. Connor?", asked Twilight

" He is working mainly on cross-species genetics,- you know that one that states that one animal's DNA might benefit another?"

" Oh, really?", remarked Twilight. Interesting .

" He firmly believes that it is possible. I don't think much of it, but," He smiled, " he pays my rent so what else can I say?"

" Cross species genetics, huh?" Twilight was interested in this quizzical topic.

" He'll tell you more about it, perhaps later this week when he visits," answered Doctor Whooves. " He might come tomorrow. Maybe you can come?"

" Sounds great!", exclaimed Twilight. More Doctor Whooves time!   She held in a SQEEE.

Doctor Whooves' watch made a beep sound. He checked it and sighed.

" It seems that Derpy has arrived.", He looked up urgently at Twilight

"I have to get there before she finds the muffin maker in the Staff Room". He bit his lip. " Would it be ok to leave you here for a while?"

" Oh, of course! You just go and secure the muffin's safety!", smiled Twilight, really hoping he thought that was funny.

The Doctor smiled, then turned and hoofed it to the Staff Room, on a mission.

Twilight looked around in the lab. She saw the stretching of the Bio-Cables and the tiny packets they were put into. Hmm, The Doctor said something about spiders. I wonder where they are held. She turned a corner.

"Sweet Celestia"

She saw a large room that was lit by a blue light, which caught the webs in an eerie atmosphere. She stepped in gingerly. She gasped. It was a large room, filled with webs , and translucent spiders. Millions of them. All traveling upward and spinning in the room, gracefully. They rose in big arches. Making the room seem like a giant spider- web. But they seemed so time less and majestic. It was almost beautiful.

I could just reach up and touch them.

She paused.

Did I just think about touching spiders?

"I think I'm going crazy." She muttered as she turned around to examine a especially large one with red and blue spots.

"You know, they aren't soo bad. This one is kind cute!." Her hoof brushed a large cord. It made a dull thud.

OH NO

There was a loud whirring noise and the webs starting to spin. Twilight looked around, her heart pounding.

She whimpered. Death by spiders was not ideal. NOT IDEAL AT ALL.

Suddenly a large clump of spiders fell from the ceiling and the walls-

Right. On. Her.

She gasped and started shaking like a wet dog. Anything to get these monsters off of her. She couldn't see through a blanket of spiders. She shook hard enough to send them flying. Holding back a scream, she made a mad sprint to the door and out of the crazy spider death trap.

Never again, she decided, will I be swayed by cute, blue eyes , to go back in there. Even if it is Doctor Whooves .

Her heart was threatening to jump out of her chest. She already beat her fastest Scared-Silly Sprinting Record by eight seconds.

She was breathing so hard, she failed to notice that a large spider was still on her.

And that seemingly insignificant spider is the beginning of all of Twilight's troubles.

" I think- gasp- I'm -gasp - safe.", panted Twilight. She kept shaking her head back and forth, as if trying to shake the bad memory off.

" Twilight? Are you there?", Doctor Whooves called out.

" Over here!", Twilight trying to remain calm. Serenity now, Twi.SERENITY NOW**

" Oh there you are!" He trotted over. " I'd begun to think the spiders got you." He laughed.

Twilight managed a weak chuckle. Oh, you have no idea , Doctor.

" Well,I think you'd be happy to know that a muffin catastrophe was avoided." He smiled

Ready for the rest of the tour?"

"Actually, I -", She was cut short by a sharp pain in her neck. Remember that spider from before? It found it's mark. It was like a needle prick. A warm tingle spread throughout her back.

" I -- have an appointment-- to,.. aaa.., go, to.", She suddenly felt woozy and disoriented. Her vision swam and suddenly there were two doctors in front of her.

"That's a shame", He looked genuinely sad, " You are still coming tomorrow at noon, right?"

She saw some red. She gulped " I hope so" and dizzily started walking away

She didn't enjoy the trip back too much. Her vison was unfocused. It took all she had to not fall out the windows.  Her head felt like Scootaloo had played a drum solo on it. Twilight kept shaking her head, like a crazy dog and muttering to herself. unaware of the changes being made at that very moment.

Miraculously, she made it to the first floor and out the door. The street was blindingly bright. It was like someone set all of her five senses on fire. They were all set to high alert to light, sound, taste and touch.  She gasped and tried to shield her eyes.

" I - have to get out of here!",she yelled. She was drowning in a sea of noises. So. many. noises!

She hopped clumsily on a group taxi bus. It was like a taxi wagon but built for more passengers.

Her body was changing, as if it was in war with itself. The foreign DNA was slowly making it's way throughout her body, infecting every cell . It attacked her very core. She was changing and it hurt so bad. Every molecule was being taken over and transformed. She was being made for something other than reading books and magic. Made for something more.

The warm tingle was spread all over, like a bubbly hot broth, and she could see everything in a vivid light that gave her sharp head pains and spikes of pain in every part of her body.

She could feel every fiber in the carpet below her, it felt like sandpaper below her. She could taste the smells of the ponies on the bus, the sharpness of perfume and sweat. It didn't seem possible, to taste smell, but she was beyond reason at the moment.

More important things were taking place.Trippingly, yet with agility, she laid, shivering, on a scratchy,velvet seat and fell into a hot, DNA-changing, hoof-twitching, almost coma-like sleep.

And it was anything but relaxing.

Her troubles were far from over.

Oh, No no.

They just began.