Drizzly, dreary mornings made police guard Speedy Bullet miserable. Trying hard not to fall asleep again, the buckskin earth pony sat up drowsily in bed. The cold bedroom of his small cottage was not a comfortable place to be, except underneath the covers. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, finally glancing at the rain spattered window. Raindrops slid down the glass, racing each other and eventually dripping onto the windowsill. It was mornings like this when Speedy Bullet took immense detail on otherwise ignored things.It was, of course, a perfectly normal day, another lousy shift looming ahead of him. Chasing down thieves and burglars, and the occasional escaped mental pony from the Ponyville Hospital, when the security guard slacked off. He didn't understand how security guards could even be security guards without a gun or even just some hoofcuffs.Finally snapping out of his pessimistic thoughts, the sargeant rose out of bed and clopped into the bathroom, officially starting his routine day. Or so he thought.
Speedy Bullet had been working with the Ponyville Police Department for almost fourteen years. His career started when he was just a bubbly colt. It was Bring Your Foal To Work Day. Speedy's father, captain Brave Leap, had brought him to the station to see the place. It was marvelous! The high ceilings, the countless cells with suspects in custody, the emblem of the Ponyville Police Force upon the walls. To a young horse like himself, it was heaven, a happy place. "Come on son, let's catch some bad guys," said Brave Leap. "Yeah! Let's beat up some bad guys!!" said Speedy the colt excitedly.
He trailed his dad to the police car, and they drove off to catch a burglar. It was stunning, seeing his own father fighting the bad ponies and bringing them to justice. He wanted to serve Equestria, and he kept that memory tucked inside him. It was one of his very happy moments.
It wasn't like that now. Reality had taken that happy thought away, leaving Speedy Bullet in the tiny kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee that tasted a lot like motor oil. It probably was motor oil. He drank it down and started to put on his police gear for work. First, his wrinkled blue collared shirt the color of one of the fastest ponies, Rainbow Dash. Then, he slipped on his leather belt, complete with a pistol, hoofcuffs, flashlight, and a fully charged Tazer. He glanced at his stubble in the mirror and reminded himself to shave in the evening. He locked the door to his cottage, and he trotted to work.
Once Speedy Bullet arrived at the police station, he walked into the lounge to pick up his hat. It sat on a hook in the corner of the room. As he put it on his head, two of Speedy's squad members approached him. Fire Volt, the blue pony with a green mane and tail, stood next to a palomino colored unicorn with a brown goat beard. "Hello, guys," said Speedy Bullet in his friendliest voice. Maybe it was a bit too cheerful sounding, because the palomino unicorn known as Starline just said "Quit the sweet candy attitude. The boss needs us in his office.Now." With that, he trotted off. Fire Volt said a soft hello, and they both followed him to their employer's office.
Their boss, a neon yellow pony with a striking red mane and tail, did not notice the police guards as they entered his office. He simply flicked his hears and stared out his window, which had a view of the distant Ponyville. To Speedy Bullet's disappointment, rain still drizzled on the town. After a cough from Fire Volt, the boss turned his head to see his three squad men sitting in his office chairs. "Good morning, Chief Blazes," said Starline and Speedy Bullet. Fire Volt, being a new rookie on the team, timidly looked at his boss. "Gentlemen, you and and some other police guards will help the Ponyville Research Facility with a very important request." Chief Blazes looked proudly among the ponies in front of him.
"What kind of request, sir?" asked Fire Volt. The chief smiled to him and said, " You have been chosen to help transport one of the facility's subjects, which you will help transport to another facility. Once there, you will stay at the lab for a few hours and then return here with reports." Once Blazes was done explaining, the other ponies looked among each other with quizzical looks. What was this subject? An animal? A rare diamond, or perhaps an alien? Speedy Bullet wondered what would happen. "Now, you go ahead and drive to the facility. It's not far, just about 20 minutes away. I'll be waiting." With that, Chief Blazes shooed the three police guards out of the office, closing the wooden door behind him.
As Speedy, Fire Volt, and Starline walked down the hall to the stairs, they wondered about their mission of the day. Would they be risking their lives to transport this so-called "subject"? What was it, anyway? Chief Blazes did not mention that. Either he simply forgot, or he purposefully stayed quiet about that matter.
The three ponies arrived at the large police station's lobby, working their way through the hustle and bustle of the day outside, where their squad cars stood eagerly in front of them. "Well, we'll see what we're transporting when we get there," said Speedy Bullet. Starline just grunted, pulling Fire Volt into his own car. Sirens blaring, they took off to the facility.
Speedy liked to listen to music in his squad car. Whatever song was on, he would sing to. That was his secret. He loved to sing, even though he was rather bad and tone deaf. He turned to a rock song, and began screeching out the words in that tune. It kept him busy on boring rides like this. The long, gray road stretched out in front of him. Through the car mirror, Speedy could see the other squad car, with Fire Volt and Starline in it. Starline was talking to Fire Volt, mouthing out words Speedy could not hear. Though he felt it was wrong, Speedy wondered what they were talking about. "Maybe Star's just bossing him around, that load of manure," Speedy Bullet said as he chuckled to himself.
After what seemed like hours, Speedy turned to a curved driveway. A sign in front of a white building said: "PONYVILLE REASEARCH FACILITY; HELPING EQUESTRIA AND ITS INHABITANTS." A second later, Starline and Fire Volt's car stopped behind him. Slowly, they got out, when an orange unicorn stallion with a darker mane and tail and a white lab coat on approached them. "Well hello there! It's an honor to meet you." As the ponies shook hooves, they introduced themselves. The scientist said: "Well it's nice to meet you, Starline, Fire Volt, and Speedy Bullet. My name, by the way, is Proffesor Formula. I know,it's a very coincidental name." He chortled. "Come now, I should introduce you to our staff and subject!" With an exchange of glances among the police guards, they followed Proffesor Formula into the building.
The hallways of the facility were white, white, and more white. As the ponies trotted down the long corridor, Speedy could obviously tell the whole place was cleaned daily. Even the white ceilings looked fresh and new. Many doors stood on each side of the halls, some with or without windows to peek into. They seemed to hold the future of Equestria, making lives of ponies easier and finding cures for ailments such as cancer. Fire Volt nudged Speedy and said, "I'm kinda nervous, but excited,too. What's it like to transport something important?" Speedy thought for a moment, then said: "It's something that will make you more experienced, that's for sure. Don't worry. You got me. If anything happens, just call me or Starline."
Fire Volt shook his head and whispered: "I don't like Starline. He's pushy and mean. I'll just call you." He smiled and caught up with the ponies, with Speedy Bullet trailing behind him. He felt proud, knowing he was a leader to Fire Volt.
" Well, here we are," said Proffesor Formula. The horses stood in front of a cream colored door that said "ANIMAL RESEARCH AND STUDY". Fumbling with his ID card, the scientist scanned it next to the door. It flashed green and make a beep sound, and the door opened. Starline, Fire Volt, and Speedy Bullet walked inside.
Nervous and his heart pounding, he now knew they were transporting an animal. He heard squcks, jabbers, even some growls and hissing. Speedy and the others found themselves in front of yet another door. They walked inside, and found a frightening subject.
Speedy saw the lagest wolf he had ever seen in his life. It was a male, with a slim, Greyhound-like build, with a thin muzzle and muscle tone all over his body. Silky gray fur covered his skinny frame like a fancy coat. His legs looked like they were built for power, slim and sturdy. His haunches were large and bony. The eyes were very striking as well, a mesmerizing amber-yellow with a cat-like pupil. He stood in a larger than life metal cage, obviously a bit scared, seeing as he was shaking.
"Everypony, meet Shade, our test subject. He's a rare species of wolf we captured as a pup, and he's still growing. It's okay, he won't bite." The wolf called Shade sat down and whined pitifully, only to perk up when Professor Formula stood colser to his cage. "It's okay boy, they're here to make sure your journey is nice and safe," He cooed. Through an opening in the cage, the scientist used his magic to slip on a large collar and a leather muzzle with holes in it, adjusting the straps.
Speedy Bullet felt uncomfortable around the wolf. In fact, he felt uncomfortable around any dog. When he was a colt, Speedy was bitten by a rouge mutt, leaving him with 16 stitches on his back leg and two days in the hospital. Lucky for him, he didn't get rabies. If this wild animal bit him, he wasn't so sure he'd be that lucky not to get rabies again.
"Oh, the transport truck is here!" said Prof. Formula happily. Since the room the ponies were in was near the back of the building, they could see a large black truck standing right outside the door. Three more squad cars from the Ponyville Police Station stood by. "Should we go outside, then?" Fire Volt asked. The scientist nodded. "You go with Speedy Bullet. Starline, come with me, sir." The unicorn police guard stayed with him and the two earth ponies walked out the door. It was still drizzling, but only a few light drops. Speedy and Fire Volt noticed all the unicorn officers entering the wolf room. "Guess they need to use their magic to get the wolf outside," Fire Volt asked. Even though it was rather humid out, Speedy felt a chill down his spine. What if something went wrong? What if the wolf attacked or even killed one of the police guards? He couldn't bear to think about that. The other guards looked around, including the two ponies there. Barbed wire fencing trailed around the vast area of the facility. Two pegasi guards flew up to the truck and opened the doors. Speedy looked inside the wolf's transportation. It was similar to a prisoner truck, but with no metal benches. Instead, it was like a massive cage, with towels covering the bottom and a cage door. The larger doors of the truck, Speedy thought, might be used to protect whatever was inside from escaping. Just like a prisoner. The clinking of chains and fences caught Speedy Bullet and Fire Volt's attention as they saw a busy scene.
The unicorn police guards and five scientists were making a small tunnel with chain link fences leading to the opened truck door. They also had a large plywood door to push the wolf in, so he couldn't back off and run the opposite direction. In Speedy's eyes, he saw this as rather cruel. Being forced into the tiny tunnel and no place to run, and the only way out was to go forward? To him, that sounded mean. He heard Starline's orders from on top of the truck. Yes, he was on the roof of the truck! "All guards, make a straight line along the outside of the fence tunnel. If the wolf tries to escape, you are legally authorized to humanely shoot it." The ponies suddenly looked nervous, and it now felt like a life-or-death situation. A gray figure slowly padded out of the metal cage. Starline used his magic to lead the wolf into the truck from the roof by a leash, while another pony used his magic to move the wood board behind the wolf. The creature's ears were flopped down and his eyes were filled with defeat. Speedy Bullet felt so sorry for him. At last, with a whistle of encouragement, the creature hopped into the truck, and both doors closed behind him. The truck and squad cars growled to life, and they sped off the gravel gruond the the other facility.
Speedy Bullet noticed Starline had gotten off the roof and said: "Let's roll!" They trotted to their squad cars, Speedy Bullet thinking about that poor wolf creature, all alone in his small, caged world.
The drive from Ponyville Research Facility to the facility on the outskirts of Canterlot was very long. Time creeped by slowly, making Speedy Bullet rather irritated. But through all this, Speedy felt mixed emotions about this wolf creature, Shade. This poor animal was treated like a pincoushin; being poked with needles and such. And being plucked from the wild as a pup? The thought of it was too much to bear, but maybe the scientists had a good reason. Perhaps they were doing another project in the forest, and they found an orphan puppy who's mother had tragically died. Or maybe, they shot the mother and stole her child! Could that be? Speedy pondered the ideas that swirled around his head, while he hummed along to a country folk song on the radio.
Luckily for him, Speedy Bullet drove right behind the transport truck that had the wolf in it. Through the small windows on each door, he could see a smoky gray figure pacing back and forth inside. From the looks of it, Shade seemed stressed and anxious. The empathy inside Speedy told him that if he was in a truck like that, going to an unknown destination and fate, he would have the jitters. Outside,the scenery often changed like a movie screen. First there were rolling mounds of hills, then flatlands with wheat and corn. Fat brown lumps of cattle roamed the countryside, grazing and mooing at the passerby. Soon, a large forest took its place, with endless rows of tall,green trees on either side of the neverending concrete road. Leaves of bright green swayed to and fro, dancing in the late spring breeze. In fact, Speedy Bullet's favorite season was late spring. Not just spring, but the late spring, which was setled between spring and summer. In that time of year, it was not too hot, nor too chilly. Instead , there was just a ticklish, soothing atmosphere that made everyone cheerful. By now, the squad cars and truck must've traveled for at least an hour, and almost half an hour to go. From smooth concrete came a dusty dirt road, which was hard to drive through. Stormy swirls of dirt surrounded Speedy's squad car, spinning around and around like a tornado. "This is stupid," Speedy muttered angrily. Luckily, the black box shape ahead lead the way.
To Speedy's relief, a concrete road happened to appear, and he was happy to be back on a real road. After about twenty minutes of boring terrain, a wooden sign appeared. On it said: "WELCOME TO CANTERLOT!" Speedy felt a twinge of excitement inside him. He had never been in Canterlot, home of Princess Celestia! It was beautiful as well, with fresh green grass, well trimmed hedges and bushes, pony shaped topiaries, and much more regal things.
Finally, the line of squad cars and the truck went down a narrow alley to the back of Canterlot Research Facility. The squad cars went down to a small lot ahead, and the truck backed up near a strange tunnel. It was just like the chain link fence tunnel, but here it was a bunch of black corral fences in a straight line that led to an opening. This opening, Speedy thought, was where the wolf would enter into an enclosure of some sort. Curiosity nipped at his brain as the earth pony stepped out of the car.
"Volt, can you just shut up?!" Starline viciously growled at Fire Volt as the three squad members came together. Then, Starlin had to get on top of the truck once again to lead the wolf out. "The staff wants you guys to hold open the sliding door over there, at that wall where the corral tunnel leads to." He pointed his hoof at the opening, which was being held open by some other ponies. "We can do that," said Fire Volt.
As Starline trotted off, the other two police guards met with the other officers at the opening, which was now closed. Two strong ropes with triangular handles on each side. One police pony, who was red and crimson colored, said to them "On my command, pull down the handles, and this door will open. The wolf will go inside there." He pointed at the square opening. The ponies nodded. As Speedy and Fire Volt went into position, they noticed Starline was once again on top of the truck, and the other police guards opened the large doors and cage doors. With the unicorns' magic, they helped get Shade out and into the corral chute. "Now!" The red pony said. Speedy, Fire Volt and some others gripped the handles in their teeth and pulled. After a few seconds, the opening opened, and the wolf slowly crept inside the dark room.
"Okay, close it," said the police guard. Exhausted, the ponies let go of the handles, the heavy door going down with a thump. "Come on, Speedy Bullet, we gotta go inside!" Fire Volt yelled from the entrance of the facility."Coming!" Speedy yelled back. As the truck pulled away and the corrals were taken down, the buckskin pony entered the building to see the wolf.
Once inside, the ponies saw the wolf inside..something. It wasn't a cage, more like a white cell, with a clear window in front of them. Large breathing holes dotted the top. At the corner of the clear display window, there was a clipboard that had Shade's name on it. From a differnent angle, Speedy could see the gray square where the wolf walked in. On the other side was a small room with newspapers in it. He could guess what that was for. Shade himself was beautiful as ever, but looked very nervous. He whined and shook. His muzzle and collar were off, making the wolf look more, well, wild.
"They're calling in two veterinarians to help with the wolf's testing," said Starline as he glanced at the clear wall of the wolf's enclosure. "Why?" asked Fire Volt. Starline rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a wild animal. Vets know this kind of stuff," he said. He went to talk with other officers. Fire Volt looked dejected and put down. "Why does he talk to me like I'm stupid? I just asked him something." Speedy put one hoof around Fire Volt's shoulder. "Ignore him, he just wants to push you around. Stand up for yourself." He smiled and patted his back. Fire Volt grinned proudly and said : "You know what? I'll do just that!" The rookie galloped over to Starline and whispered stuff into his ear. Starline had an expression of defeat as Volt trotted back to Speedy. "Feel better now?" He asked.
"Yep!" Fire Volt replied.
Soon, two ponies with stethescopes on entered the building. The vets had arrived. One pony was a mare, white with an orange mane and tail. She carried a large, long, black box. The other pony was a stallion, gray with black and white streaks in his mane and tail. "Hello, officers and staff," said the mare. She smiled and approached the cell, and got a suprising response from Shade.
The frightened, cowering wolf that was there before seemed to be replaced with a snarling demon. He arched his back, and his back hair spiked up. His eyes glowed a menacingly yellow as he bared his shiny white teeth. As soon as the two vets touched the clear window, Shade barked and growled, making the vets jump and back away. How would they run tests on an unwilling animal like this?
"We knew this would happen," said the stallion. "So, we brought this along." From the black box, the pony took out a slender rifle, which shone in the lights of the lab building. They were going to kill the wolf?! That didn't make sense! But then again, even through all that police training, Speedy did not recognize that rifle type. "This here is a tranquilizer gun, a gun used to fire a drug or medicine into an animal from a distance." The stallion smiled and took out a syringe, with a red puff at the top. He gave it to the mare, who filled it with a clear liquid. She then gave it back to him as he loaded it into the barrel of the gun. He walked over to the angry wolf and stuck the nose of the rifle through a breathing hole. Aiming at the wolf's flank, he pulled the trigger. A sharp snap filled the air, and the syringe was stuck on Shade's leg. He baked angrily at the vet, who took off toward the officers. He slowly started to sway, and seconds later, he was out on the floor, unconcious. "You guys," the mare vet said to Speedy, Fire Volt, and Starline. "You'll help us carry him to the lab using this sling." She gestured at the blue canvas strecher on the floor, which was attached to two poles. You hold them by these handles." She pointed at the blue handles under each pole." Now, let's go in is cage and get him to the lab testing. Quickly." She had a hint of worry in her voice, and the ponies. Scrambled into Shade's cell. Starline used a spell to lift the wolf onto the laid out sling, and they grabbed the handles.
"We will take him to the room down there, around the corner," said one of the scientists. "All right. Let's go." The stallion vet replied. Speedy helped lift the sling off the ground and they walked out of the cell. It took six ponies to lift Shade, with three ponies on each side: three police guards, two vets, and one scientist. The other scientists were behind them and in the lab testing room, waiting. Speedy took this time to mentally study Shade. A silky gray lump in the sling, his paws dangling out the end. His tongue stuck out in a silly way, and his tall pointed ears were flattened against his slim head. Even when sedated, Shade looked beautiful as ever.
They had reached the testing room at last. It was large, with white cabinets and counters on each side. A shiny metal table sat in the middle. It looked very much like a doctor's exam room. A shiny, white tiled floor lay beneath Speedy's feet. They set the wolf down on the table and straightened him out. One scientist pulled out a tray of needles, while another pulled up a canister of what looked like oxygen. He slipped a clear mask over Shade's muzzle and adjusted the oxygen amount. "It's an anasthetic," said Starline. "So he won't wake up during the tests." Fire Volt watched in amazement, like a colt getting his cutie mark. They drew blood, using a syringe to draw up the deep scarlet fluid. They did a physical exam as well, checking his paws and ears. Speedy approached the wolf's face. He looked scary, because his eyes were rolled up showing only the white part, and his teeth were showing in a gruesome way. Shade's deep chest rose up and down gently, and he twitched slightly in his sleep. Speedy Bullet walked into the corner of the testing room next to Fire Volt. The blue earth pony was tentively watching the scientists; poking, examining, monitoring his vital signs under anestheisia. Speedy smiled. Fire Volt seemed fascinated by science. He leaned over to Speedy and whispered: "Do you think wolves dream when they're under?"
"Maybe, who knows? Through science, we could find out someday."
Speedy and the other ponies were now carrying Shade back to the cell in the same blue sling. Starline grumbled the whole time, saying "Man, this thing reeks like wet dog." He then starde with disgust at the sleeping wolf. Fire Volt smirked, and Speedy said in his mind "Maybe you're the one who smells like wet dog, Starline." He would've said that, but he could get his face beaten to a pulp. Speedy still felt sadness and guilt, a mixture of feelings for the poor wolf. He wasn't happy here, he could feel it. He should be in the wild, roaming in the trees, hunting, and supporting a pack. Not being kept in a lab! Anger welled up inside him. These cruel ponies, doing such inhumane things to this poor animal! Speedy Bullet would be overjoyed if Shade could escape into the wild where he belonged. For now, he was in a white cell, still dozing from the sedatives. Speedy watched as the wolf twitched and turned in his sleep, perhaps dreaming of his home in the Everfree Forest. Maybe he still remembered being a pup. Maybe he dreamt of his mother, a kind wolf who protected him and loved him. Thinking of all this, Speedy fought back tears of grief. He should be doing something to help this animal, not just stand here and cry. He blinked them away and noticed the wolf started to open his eyes. He drowsily looked at the lights above him, sneezed, and stood up to stretch his legs. Speedy still knew his fear of dogs. Now that Shade was awake and alert, his heart started to pound. The slim canine stared at him with golden amber stones, gazing into his fear. Slowly, Shade walked toward him. Speedy knew the were seperated by a 3-inch plexiglass barrier, he felt the sweat sliding down his neck as the wolf came very close,so close that the wolf's breathing could be heard. Then, Shade licked the glass in front of Speedy Bullet with his long, soft pink tongue. Speedy felt this wolf was telling him something. Shade must have been telling him: "Help me escape,for I trust you. If you release me from this prison, I shal be forever grateful." Even if he hadn't said that, the gray wolf said it through his eyes. The eyes said everything.
Speedy Bullet had a job:protecting citizens of Equstria. He captured criminals and brought them to their punishments. But he had another purpose: protecting rights. This wolf had no right to be cooped up in here. This animal trusted him, and trusted him to do one thing: help him escape to the wild. Speedy, now leaving the building into his squad car, now had a plan: to release the wolf from this life of emptiness and depression.
