The Experiment

Chapters

My Grand Plan or Revenge of the Headache
The Demonstration
Pre flight checks and a whole lot of mess
Awakening
Escape

My Grand Plan or Revenge of the Headache

Running, hallway after hallway, it gets boring, if not annoying after awhile. We had passed many rooms; some had more people in lab coats. Others had weird instruments hooked up to tables; probably awaiting the arrival of more 'subjects'.

When one the more brave scientists ventured to try to stop us either the mystery mare or me would buck him a good one. On occasion he would be sent flying back into the room he came out of. There were sometimes however, that he would be sent flying into a wall, with a sickening Crunch. I never thought twice about it, this was a earthshaking ordeal for me and they were responsible. Well, that and we couldn't exactly take any time to maneuver, not wanting any more pursuers. I'd been hit with a dart already, narrowly missing dozens more that flew past.

The effects of adrenaline overload helped overcome the sudden effects the drug might have on me. The longtime effects were still there unfortunately. With every step I can feel my energy depleting. I have no idea where we are going but apparently the girl/mare in front of me does.

Woah!

Same here bro.

We had run into a massive enclosure. There were trees everywhere with bushes and water and... grass, delicious looking grass too... FOCUS DAMMIT!.

The mare kept running and I was forced to follow or else I would potentially lose my guide. I thought for sure we were outside though, given the nature around us. My hopes were dashed by a short glance up, instead of puffy clouds in funny shapes, I saw only metal plating bolted down. We were still in this god damn facility, whatever it was called and wherever the buck it was.

Wait what the hay was that tan thing standing on the grass? "Hey! There are more ponies here!"

One of said ponies waves then goes back to walking around. They seem so nonchalant about the entire ordeal. Didnt they know that they were stolen away and transfigured to meet the horrifying demands of science?

The mare in front of me continues running however. She either didn't see the pony, didn't hear me, or was completely ignoring me. Assuming the latter was correct I slow down to get her attention. Her ears swivel, noticing the sudden change of beat in my foo... no hoofsteps.

"What is it? We need to stay ahead of the security, I don't have the facility map memorized but I'm pretty sure we are nearly at the exit." Her tone is condescending but I ignore it.

"What about the rest of these ponies though? Why can't they come with?" I'm shocked that she was taking self-preservation to these extremities. Bucking evil demented scientists around is one thing, but blatantly abandoning people to the fate you were escaping from is another.

My thought process is interrupted however by her sigh of acquiescence. "Long story short, that's exactly what they are now, ponies. That fluid that guy was about to inject into you? That was the DNA of a true, human, earth horse. They transfigure you and then when you wake up and make a sense of who you are and learn to walk, they inject you to make you complacent so they can test on you. He must have been desperate if he was doing the procedure before you could properly adapt."

She pauses and glances mournfully over at the once human/ponies. "I'll answer any other questions after we continue."

I hear shouts echoing down the hallway we had emerged from. I have been wasting valuable time and a well earned lead.

"Alright," I reply with a sigh of defeat. All of these people, they were pretty much murdered. Condemned to wander aimlessly for the rest of their pitiful lives. How could one human do that to another?

We take off at an instant gallop again, the once loud voices becoming quieter and quieter, as we dash through the rest of the enclosure. Some ponies even join us, thinking we were a herd running through. It broke my heart to see them, smiles on their faces. I started to cry, the human race was a despicable people. I was almost glad that I was no longer apart of them.

My eyes flutter, causing me to snap back to reality. The drowsiness from the dart is still present, and the current situation concerning these ponies has slowed the adrenaline flow. Which reminds me, I look back. Yep the dart is still there.

Seriously, how could I forget that stupid thing was there?

You should probably get rid of it, if there is anymore of that stuff that makes you tired in there it will slowly drain into your body.

His tone becomes more joking. That and the fact that it looks ridiculous! I'm about to faint from laughter, but since i don't need air i dont need to worry about that! His laughter echoes in my head.

I roll my eyes. I glance down the hall, making sure that I wouldn't run into anything. Taking an extra big leap I shook my flank profusely, trying to dislodge my unwelcome passenger. No it isn't a sexual reference to anything.

Hm, I didn't think this mind reading thing could go both ways… Actually it doesn't, which kinda sucks for me.

I look back. I’m overjoyed to see that the dart has popped off. Then I smack into a wall.

“Ow…” Why do I have the feeling I will be saying that quite a lot over the next few weeks?

I plop down on my flank and sulk. If this is what comes from ‘trying’ to escape I’d think I’d be willing to test my chance with the creepy scientist

While I’m rubbing my nose the mare comes up to me again, and smacks me on my nose. The pain is excruciating…

“HOT DAMN THAT HURT!” I launch straight into the air the pain having dulled every other sense, including common sense.

“And it was what you needed to get out of your pitty party. We have to get moving, just because we haven’t seen any guards doesn’t mean they aren’t after us.”

“What’s the bucking rush? We have no idea where we are going anyways. For all we know we could be running in circles for the amusement of security.” I’m back to sitting on my flank.

She facehoofed. I had a feeling that I would be seeing a lot of that as well. "Don't you think I would have planned for that?" I continued sitting on my flank, staring blank eyed at her.

She sighed, "There was a map in my room." I continued my dull stare. "Ugh! You are insufferable! Get off your lazy flank, we have to go!"

I rose to my feet, taking extra pains to go through the procedure as slow as possible. "Maybe if you didn't yell as much I would be more compliant."

Stop being a hard ass Alex, she is just trying to escape.

Shut up you hypocrite, I know your enjoying every minute of this.

Yes I am, that shit was just for my conscience. Please continue.

"If you wont move; I'll make you!" She had maneuvered to my rear and was head urging me, actually making headway across the floor.

"This is… uncomfortable, I would rather run thank you."

'What, not enjoying the treatment? Hmm?'

Unlike you I'm not attracted to mares.

Yet…

Why you little…

And that is when I ran into a door. I'm not shitting you, a Celestia damned door. I blame it on my bodies poor coordination.

I don't know what's worse though, running into the door, or having the guy who just ran out if it pick me up and start running; not to mention adding yet another contingent of guards to our pursuers.

We caught up to the mare who squealed at the sight of the human.

"Can you please…"

"Oh my gosh!" How many times is she going to interrupt me? "Luke! Where have you been?!"

"Can you please put me down now? It's kind of…"

"Sarah, is that you? What the hell have they done to you?"

Dag it! She is already taken. He pouted.

Well yeah no shed tears here, maybe when your not a voice you can date her if they break up.

Also I would prefer if you didn't call by 'the voice’ or by pronouns, my name is…

"…and this is Alex who was supposed to help me escape but so far has not done much." She glared, which was another impressive feat for a pony. I'm not talking about a small glare but a glare that could fry bacon.

"Not my damn fault I can't figure out how to use my horn and wings. AND WILL YOU PLEASE PUT ME THE HAY DOWN!"

"Oh sorry," he didn't sound like it though. " thought you would need some time to recuperate after hitting that door. I'm happy that you finally said so, my arms were getting tired."

"Are you implying that I'm fat!?" I really didn't care; I was just not in the mood to take shit right now.

The pony, apparently Sarah, looked around the 'galloping' human, pun intended.

That wasn't very funny.

And your jokes are?

I consider them to be. He huffed.

"Did you get ANY of that?"

I gave her one of my infamous blank stares.

"Ugh! Why are you so annoying!" She shook her head.

"Not my fault I have a rouge pony stuck in my head!"

She gasped, "What do you mean 'rouge'?"

"I mean he is being very annoying and frankly, he thinks you’re attractive." I rolled my eyes to show that I was not in agreement. "Good thing your with lukey here or he might get a bit more aggressive."

"First off," Luke glared at me. "you‘re NEVER allowed to call me lukey, on pain of an ass kicking. Second," he pauses to punch another unfortunate scientist in the face before continuing. "me and Sarah AREN'T together. While we were both human we hung out for lack of anything else to do."

Oh good she is free, maybe later when we merge we can ask her out.

I dont know what you mean by merge but already i dont like it. 2. Im not interested in mares. Realization DING DING DING!

"WAIT, WHAT! You chose this shit?!" I'm flabbergasted that any sane person would be willing to under go this 'surgery'.

He shrugs, man I wish I could do that, "Yeah we had no homes so when they offered to give us new life we took it, do you blame us? Weren't you taken the same way?"

"No, the ass holes snatched me out of my damn bed where I was enjoying a nice sleep. Next thing I know I'm a fucking HORSE."

"Pony." Sarah corrected.

"Who the buck cares!" I threw up my arms, temporarily forgetting that I was a quadruped.

Cue face plant… right into another bucking wall! Why do these concrete monstrosities hate me so?

Maybe it's your face.

You calling yourself ugly?

Ah, good point, carry on.

I stood up and shook my head, today was just not my day.

Hey! What's that? I looked at a large sign above a doorway.

"Hey look! Storage!" I faced off in that direction, must be the child inside me.

"Alex!" Bah, if Sarah wants to be a party pooper let her crash her own, I'm going to check out storage!

Are you sure that that is the smartest idea?

Hay no it's not the smartest, but it's by far the more fun choice.

The door was locked however. That was a real mood dampener until I remembered pony's back legs were good for bucking.

Thankfully the door didn't need more than one good buck to knock it in. I looked inside to find a treasure trove. Glasses, hats, shoes, knickknacks and other items were all situated in small boxes or cubbyholes. Hey, one mans/ponies trash is another’s treasure right?

"Hey look! It's my necklace and watch!" I found my precious articles in a cubby hole labeled '2539', whatever that meant. “I completely forgot about them, but now they can be put to good use!

My necklace was a simple black leather string looped through a cross made with nails, strapped together with badly corroded metal (Too many showers curse you mom!). My watch was probably my most valuable possession at the moment. It displayed the time date and it was waterproof. For what depth I had forgotten. It wasn’t much but I was just excited to have something to remind me of who I was.

And will be if I had any say in my future.

My joy was cut short by the sad fact that I no longer had fingers with which to handle my effects. I might be able to get the necklace on with my muzzle/horn but the watch would be impossible. My rump hit the floor again. I looked down at the accursed stumps that used to be my hands, which reminds me, how the hay am I supposed to open doors again?

Wait, I've got a bucking horn for Celestia's sake! Why was I saying Celestia again? Oh yeah bucking ponyisms.

Took you long enough, want my help this time? Or are you going to reject me because of your stubborn nature?

Ugh…… fine. I felt a presence at the edge of my mind, as if it was standing at a doorway.

Well? Can I come in? Oh yeah, I metaphorically opened the door in my mind.

Suddenly it was as if I was two different ponies, urgh, people. I hastily threw up flimsy defenses to protect my identity.

Over time the pushing decreased to a throb. 'Sorry meant to keep most of my personality separate, unless those barriers were just a freak out reaction I'm guessing you don't entertain the fact of merging with me?'

If you mean like those people ponies in that one set of fics, no way. If I can get back to my fingered body I would be grateful. If I 'merge' with you I will never be able to go back…

Fine fine, whatever, anyways, open up a tiny crack so I can come in. I carefully made a small hole in my defenses through which came, I'm guessing, him.

”That’s better.” Standing before me, was well, me in my poinfied form.

"Since we don't have much time for introductions I’ll just tell you that my name is Shadow." His voice wasn't deep but it still carried a more masculine tone than my usual voice.

"So, shadow, can you help me? Preferably without losing myself to a merger."

He sighed, "Ugh, it would be a hellavu lot easier if we did but I'm guessing it wouldn't end well without both the participants willing to go through with it. Here you go." A small part of my mind unlocked itself.

"Woah!" A flood of new feelings rushed over me. I could feel the auras around me, including that of my new friends standing over me at the moment. I could feel my newly discovered appendage and its sensitivity to touch.

"Looks like he is in a trance, poke his horn, I've heard those are extremely sensitive." Luke sounded like he was on a P.A system.

What was that about horn touching?

"Oops, gotta go lest part of me gets stuck in here. Until next time!" And then the apparition was gone.

I awoke from my dream like state attached to the ceiling staring down at my companions. Luke was staring up at me like he had seen a ghost, one finger approximately where my horn used to be. Sarah on the other hand was on the floor laughing hysterically. It was good to see that mare finally loosen up for a change.

"Get off the ceiling! What the hay are you doing in here anyways!" Now we’re back to miss grumpus butt again

"I came to check it out." I flopped off the ceiling as the cartoon forces holding me there wore off.

"We don't have time for this! What could possibly be more important than esca…"

"OOOO my iPod and headphones!" Granted I was being a bit annoying but my iPod had all kinds of stuff on it, making it indispensable to me.

I felt Luke's hands reach around my stomach again. "Hay no, your not taking me away from my treasure trove." With that I instinctively tried to gather all my prizes to me, only to find them floating near my face surrounded by gray magic.

I quickly slid my necklace over my head and proceeded to put my watch on. Completely nonchalant about the fact that I was using magic within 3 minutes of figuring out how my horn works.

Hm with your personality I expected it to not take so long, but hey you learned a bit faster than most.

"But, you, you. What?!" Sarah's gaze flip flopped from the floating items to my efforts at strapping on my watch. Which were going a bit better now that I was able to envision the magic being my hands. It was a tight fit but I managed to get it around my leg.

"Oh yeah the pony in my head, shadow I believe."

That is correct, congratulations on finally remembering something important.

"He decided to help me out with that matter." I grabbed a black hoody off the wall and started resizing it by tearing off large strips from the body and arms. "So I can now work my horn though I don’t know how I learned this fast."

‘The fact that I know the spell already and that you’re the most adaptive person I have ever met.’

I smiled as I put on my improved clothing, putting the iPhone and half the ridiculously long headphone cord in with it.

"There now we may… what is that beauty?" The object in question was a tall cabinet labeled Authorized Personnel ONLY

Well that looks promising.

“Do I need to mention that we need to get going?”

“Hey chill, there might be weapons or something in here.”

“Or it could be just a stupid cabinet filled with science junk.” Wow, Luke’s pessimism almost rivals mine at times

Shadow sighed In for a penny, in for a pound I guess.

That's the spirit!

I broke the lock using magic and opened the cabinet. Inside was the most precious thing I have ever seen. Row after row of keys, all labeled for their proper use. I scanned the rack quickly; not really looking for anything special My eyes caught one set of keys in particular though. The label above this set read C-130-E.

What does C-130-E mean? I don’t feel like rifling through your mind to find out what it is.

“It’s a very, very big plane, and with the right modifications, a deadly weapon.” I felt an evil smile cross my face. “I don’t know what the E stands for but I’m sure it will add to the fun.”

“Why are you talking to yourself?” I turned to see them both with a puzzled look adorning their faces. “and why do you have the evil maniac grin pasted all over your muzzle?”

“We, are about to have some serious fun escaping and these keys,” I showed them the item. “are our ticket out.”

“This is most likely going to get us killed isn’t it?” Ah there is his pessimism again, maybe he is worse than me.

“Ehhh I give it a 50-50 chance.”

The Demonstration

A/N - Thanks for being patient, those few readers i have ^_^ Took me long enough to get this out, but it is 51## words long so hopefully you enjoy :D. There are some things that come up that might spark some questions, please comment any and all things that you are confused about, should i have forgotten to explain something important i will fix ASAP

"Your telling me you have come up with an escape plan involving a set of keys and a horrible chance of success?"

"Yep you see…"

"Don't want to hear it. I'll go along with it, but I don't want to hear a word." There's another cut off; you know I'm actually starting to like this girl/pony even though she does cut me off.

"Okay fine, my business is done here so unless you guys want something then lets go." I start towards the door.

"Actually, wait." She quickly scans the boxes, finding the one labeled 72724 she opens it. After rummaging through it all she pulls out a necklace.

"So, don't want to lose yourself either? Is it the usual, 'grandma's gift'?"

"No, it's just a necklace." She passes me in the doorway. "I guess I should go first since I know where I'm going."

Didnt see that coming…

Neither did I.

"Do you know where a airplane hangar is?" I ask, falling into step behind her.

"This has something to do with your crazy plan doesn't it?"

"Most certainly. Now, do you know where it is?"

"50-50 chance I do." She snickered.

BUUURRRRRNNNN

"Hey! It's not that funny. There are no odds when remembering things you either do or you don't."

I thought it was funny.

"I'll tell you if you up your 'odds' more."

"I might be able to put a 65% chance, but it's based off several variables, the biggest being if we get caught by Dr. Creepy or not."

*thump* damn doors!

"I'll have you know my name is not 'Dr. Creepy'," ahhhh shit. "it's Morgan free…

5 bucks he says Freeman

"…mondt, and you three are coming with me." 6 guards appeared from behind him.

Didn't see that coming either. Too bad I we can't just teleport away, unless you can?

Too complicated to teach in a microsecond. I think what you said is correct, we are fucked. Wait he just said fuck, while I keep saying buck…

Matter of opinion, I was merely quoting you. You’re the one with the problem, duh.

Wow these guys are strong. One has a good grip on my wings while the other leads me by my horn. Luke is being held the old fashioned style with his hands gripped behind his back.

Much to my surprise it took the remaining three guards to restrain Sarah.

On the appearance of Morgan, man not as creepy or funny as Dr. Creepy, she took off. One guard had her back leg trying to pull her down while the other was fumbling with his rifle. The last guard was holding up his arms in the expectation of capturing the pegasus.

If I had a physical mouth the jaw would be on the floor. This girl is the most. Please at least ask her on a date!

NO!

Then I will never stop bothering you about it. A large mental >:) appeared in my mind's eye.

DAMMIT, fine. IF we make it out of here, I will ask her on a date. Happy ass-hole?

Very much so.

Finally a small *pfft* was heard and a dart appeared on her flank. Sarah let out a yelp and fell to the ground. They held onto her legs as she struggled. After about a minute she succumbed to the drug and fell unconscious.

Morgan clapped his hands together. "Now that that is finished, I would like to show you what's actually going on here." He gestured towards the door he had just come out of.

The guards ushered us in, Sarah was carried in while another kept a gun pointed at her. They weren’t going to take any chances with her. Morgan was in front of our convoy while the final guard took up the rear.

The room we entered looked like a control room to me; computer consoles on desks were everywhere while a big window overlooked an expansive enclosed area

Apparently the villain is going to monologue for us, want me to try and block him out so I can teach you the teleportation spell?

Nah I want to hear what he has to say, maybe he will be idiotic and give away something.

My eyes refocus on Dr. Creepy, A.K.A Morgan. He is patiently waiting with his hands folded in front of him.

”Are you done talking to him? Then let's begin."

"Wait, you know about him? You said…"

"I lied. Actually I lied about a lot of things. Please hold all questions until I'm done, thank you."

My jaw closed, I'm really starting to hate this guy.

"So as you can see, we are in the control room. This is where we record all the data about the test subjects."

I snorted, thoroughly pissed at the guy. "Why do you need data on improving human life spans?"

"You fell for that crap?" Oh good, Sarah is awake. Must have only been a mild sedative.

She snorted. "Didn't believe it for a second, sure I followed along after a day or two, but after they started injecting me with stimulants I knew it wasn't for the preservation of the human race."

"Very astute Sarah, or should I call you by your proper name?" He leaned in close to her. I wanted to rip that smug look off his face and shove it down his throat.

No, shove it up his ass, a face like his deserves a good mate.

Apparently my anger at his antagonistic action towards Sarah showed because everyone was staring at me expectantly. Morgan smirked again, "Ohh looks like someone is in love." He pulled out a VERY familiar needle, and Sarah visibly cringed. "That's right, one false move and its horse land for her."

My anger subsided, as much as I hated this guy Sarah's life wasn't worth the reward.

"So where were we, Sky Strike?" Sarah tried in vain to look as small as possible. My mouth hung open, she had a pony inside her head too?

"Let the pony in your head drive." Wow that suddenly made sense now.

Morgan turned back to me and shook his head. "You probably have so many questions, but we have no time for that. On to the demonstration!" He looked towards a man at one of the many consoles and nodded his head.

The man typed on the keyboard a few times and nodded back.

"Go on, look for yourself at our great achievement." He gestured towards the window and the three of us were allowed to watch the proceedings on the field.

[Want to hear the inspiration for this?

Youtube Video

well there it is, enjoy the tunes]

Three doors opened on the left side of the field while the whole right side was one big door.

I looked expectantly at both doors, awaiting the arrival of whatever Morgan was trying to show us.

"Stallions and mares, I give you, project Fuse." Morgan's voice was overly dramatic.

Movement! Out of the left doors walked… three ponies, earth, unicorn and pegasus. I gapped as the right door disgorged a tank, a jet and some kind of mech walker with two large Gatling guns attached to it.

A large bell sounded and the jet shot off vertically along with the pegasus. The tank rolled towards the earth pony who in turn ran straight towards it. The Gatling walker thing spun up its death guns and collapsed into a rover type thing. I looked over to find that the unicorn was gone. I frantically searched until I saw it circling with the walker.

How?

Teleportation, duh. Sometimes you really are slow.

I blame you.

"As you can see, each type of pony is going against a different opponent." The tank had fired at the earth pony who nimbly dodged to the side.

A small smoke trail arced from the plane towards the pegasus as it fired a missile. As a missile neared the pegasus ran straight into it, and to my astonishment, caught it and proceeded to redirect it.

Damn, can we do that?

Maybe I can, but you certainly can't.

"Oh shit!!!!!!" The missile was headed straight for us. It exploded against the glass, which caused a boom to resound in the room. When the smoke cleared we saw that the earth pony had reached the tank and was kicking it fiercely.

The term is buck.

A lucky kick to the tank’s treads caved in the wheels, immobilizing it. The tank would be easy prey now that it couldn’t move to get a good shot.

The unicorn had a reflector shield up and was sending all the bullets back to their gun barrels. Though it didn’t seem like it was doing much it was still impressive.

The pegasus however, was playing chicken with the plane. Both hurtled towards one another at excessive speeds, neither showing signs of breaking off.

Several things happened all at once. The earth pony jumped on top of the tank and kicked in the barrel bending it so it was unusable and another missile arced from the jet. The tank then fired a round a second after its barrel was bent; the resulting explosion blew it apart. The unicorn sent a spear of white magic into the barrel of one of the guns of the walker thing, jamming it. The pegasus had caught the missile and had turned it around. Using it to boost its speed he slammed into the wing of the plane, completely shredding it off. The plane spiraled to the ground as the pegasus redirected the missile at the walker thingy.

You need a better name for that.

The unicorn apparently noticed the incoming warhead and disappeared. The missile impacted the mecha-walker a second later.

That was horrible.

The explosion that resulted was far greater than the tank. The windows we were viewing from immediately darkened to almost black. How the other ponies weren’t blinded was beyond me

The pegasus landed next to the unicorn and they walked back towards the left side, joined shortly by the earth pony. That is odd; I never knew what happened to him after the tank had exploded. As a group they strutted off the field through the middle door and out of sight.

“What… just… happened…?” Luke said mystified. Truthfully I was just as confused, he just beat me to the punch.

Morgan turned to the same man, “Please inform Thunderhooves, Firesteel and Starlight that they did a marvelous job as always and they might expect some new recruits if everything goes well enough.”

He turned his attention back to us. “That was what we have been working on for the past 2 months. Weapons, watching that silly show showed us that even though the ponies themselves were not deadly, their bodies were. So, using nano technology, we were able to reconstruct humans into all types of ponies.”

I finally found my voice, “What about me though, I’m a alicorn pony, why not a regular type?”

“Actually we aren’t finished quite yet, see…” He paused for dramatic effect, staring straight into my eyes. “we hadn’t experimented with ALL types of ponies. Doing a bit more research”

More like watching the show for entertainment.

“we found that there was a third type that we had not toyed with. You were and still are our final goal, the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.”

I backed up, trying desperately to get as far away from this crazy maniac as I could. What he was saying repeated over and over in my head. ‘Ultimate. Weapon. Mass Destruction. My slow, backwards progression was halted by a cold, dark wall. Sensing that I could go no farther I tried become one with the wall, pressing myself as flat against it as possible.

“Don’t be so surprised,” He slowly made his way toward me. “each pony was engineered to be particularly violent, your ‘pony in your head’ shouldn’t much different than the ponies in the arena.”

Shadow… you knew about this?

I had my suspicions but yes my natural instinct is violence. Fortunately for you though my dominant personality happens to be humor.

Soooo…

Yeah I’m about as violent, if not more than those ponies that just fought. Hell I wanted to kill Sky, I mean Sarah as soon as she made the first insult. Don’t worry, I’ll try my hardest to make sure they don’t influence you.

My breathing started to return to its normal rate. What the fuck did I do to deserve this karma? I've been reasonably good, well except for that one time, but the rest of it I tried my best to be good to everyone. I had a psychotic pony living in my head, a even more psychotic human trying to turn me into a war machine. My future existence flashed before me in first person view. Standing before a field, filled with the wreckage of machinery. Blood stained the ground, my horn, my hooves and my fur red. I looked up beside me, my mind grateful from the respite of the ghastly scene, only to find that accursed man staring down at me with an approving gaze.

I collapsed put my head in my hoofs and started crying. My inner consciousness retracted into the furthest part of my brain, cutting off all everyone and everything. It was a defense mechanism I had used earlier on in life to cut off everyone else so I didn’t lose control of my emotions.

Well shit I guess this means I have to fix this for you then…

The voice didn’t matter anymore; darkness consumed me as I shut myself away from the outside world.

Shadow’s POV

I felt the connection between us collapse; thread-by-thread of the delicate connection was cut away.

The consequences of complete and total separation were horrifying, at least from his point of view. Since I was the more dominant personality my consciousness would essentially take over the body. Alex as I knew him would be an innocent bystander as I lived the life that he now had.

I would not let that happen. I reached out and grasped as many threads as I could, tying them down to my mind and driving a mental stake into them so they wouldn’t not disconnect.

Satisfied, I contemplated the decision. Since Alex was technically out of commission my morals against assuming control of his body would not be violated. So I felt around for the ‘controls’.

I stood shakily to my hooves that I hadn’t used in so long; man it felt good to finally stand up. I moved my jaw around and explored all my muscles, reacquainting myself with them all.

“Congratulations Shadow! You have successfully assumed control of your host, now all I need is for Sky to do the same and for Luke here to get his own.” He smiled that ridiculous smile. How can someone look THAT stupid when smiling?

I furrowed my brows, “Sarah, I know your still there.” I whispered to her. She looked at me in disbelief. “I'm temporarily taking over for Alex as he is incapacitated, be ready to run when I say.”

“Shadow, you better not be thinking about what I think your going to do. Why would you leave, if you stay you’ll be given an army to command. All for you and at your disposal just give up this silly plan of his and let us have the girl and the boy. They mean nothing to you.”

I hesitated. He hit a nerve with that one; I really did desire what he had to give, but Sarah, Luke and freedom meant a lot to Alex so I would have to pass. That and I was starting to get really bucking annoyed of the ass hole standing in front of me.

“I'm sorry but I’m going to have to pass on that. Now if you’ll please excuse us we would like to leave.” I looked towards Sarah hoping she caught on. Luke still had his arms behind his back but he looked towards me and I saw that he knew where this was heading. Morgan’s Mouth was open in shock; apparently he hadn’t expected me to refuse. Good, confusing your enemy gives you an excellent advantage

His mouth apparently started responding again much to my disappointment. “I'm sorry that you think that, I was really hoping we wouldn’t have to resort to extreme measures, you see for some reason you’re the only alicorn we were able to create. After you they were either earth, unicorn or pegasus ponies. I'm not about to lose my star warrior when I'm this close.”

Well that sucks; I’m the only one on the planet. Can’t think about that right now; have to focus on getting Alex, Sarah and Luke out of here. Think about relationship problems later.

“Please hold him down, I don’t want this injection screwing up.” Dr. Freemont had pulled out a large needle and was flicking the pointy end in preparation.

“Nope!” Hm, maybe him and me are already starting to merge, if only a little.

I cued up my memory for the spells I once new so well.

One of the guards grabbed me around the waist. Not such a good idea for him. I sent him flying towards a wall with a propulsion spell. Thankfully Luke had caught the cue and had head butted the guard restraining him. With his freedom he scooped up an astonished Sarah and followed me out the door.

“Sarah, you have to tell me now. Where is the airplane hangar?”

“I… I… How do I know Alex is still there?” Damn her stammering is cute.

I looked through my minds eye for a moment to find his mind still closed off to the world. Maybe when he comes to himself I’ll have to get him to teach that to me. It would come in handy when… that’s odd. I can’t remember why that would be useful.

“I can’t really prove it, for some reason he has locked himself out of everything and put up a mental shield that I can’t break through. For now just trust me.” I pulled out the keys from the jacket that Alex had insisted on getting. “I know that whatever he wanted to do involved these keys and that we need to get to the hangar, he wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

She glared at me for a moment. I reciprocated with a blank stare. “Fine. Its this way.” She jumped out of Luke’s arms and zipped off to the left.

I wonder what the hay this boy has planned, apparently it involves some sort of plane but beyond that I have no clue.

Sarah sped off to the right, quickly followed by me and Luke. “So, are you really shadow? Or are you playing a prank on us?”

“Yes it is actually me, apparently Alex was very distraught over the fact that he would have to kill anypony. He jokes about it a lot but never actually means to hurt anyone unless he loses control.”

A door opened and I quickly dodged it. I thought about gloating my superiority over the wooden devils, but then remembered my companion’s plight and my mood dampened.

2 sharp right turns later found us in a long hallway lined with crossways. At the end of it was an elevator. Oh precious elevator, your our ticket out of here.

I was about to take a step forward when Sarah put a hoof against my chest. I wasn’t used to such an action but I withheld my temper, she was in charge of this escape. My eyes focused on the ground where I found a maze of red lines. Well damn, didn’t think they’d catch on to us that quickly.

“Thunderhooves, Firesteel, and Starlight report to the topside elevator immediately, be prepared to fight.”

Well there goes that plan. Ah fuck it! Luke yelped as I grabbed him and set him on my back. “Sarah I hope you’ve learned how to fly fast.”

“Don’t do it! We don’t know what will hap…” She was cut off as I burst down the hall, tripping every alarm possible. Luke was barely holding on and Sarah decided that this was better than waiting around for the dangerous trio to show up and caught up to me.

We made it to the doors with alarms blaring in our ears. Luke dismounted me and pushed the button

“Not enough time!” I forced the elevator door open with magic. Normally my magic would have been weak from lack of use, but necessity helped speed the process up a bit. We were about to pile into the elevator when I heard a rough voice behind me.

“Now where do you think your going?” I turned and faced the last 3 ponies I wished to see.

“Well we were about to go and try our luck at escaping but seeing you three has made me wonder if that is possible now.”

They chuckled at this. “You are quite correct, now how about giving up the mare and the man now?”

Some victories have to be made with sacrifices. Some of the threads tightened. Then I was yanked mentally back as a mental wave rushed over me. I was not prepared for this.

Wait, was that who I thought it was? I felt control of the body leave me as ‘I’ quickly hit the button jumped out of the elevator and saluted with my hoof.

“I’ll be seeing you guys later.” WOO Alex is back!

My POV-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I felt shadow’s inquisitive presence. Yes I’m fine now, I needed a moment to reconcile myself. Thank you for taking over for me. Now to deal with these misfits.

I took a defensive stance. All my sadness replaced with broiling anger and rage.

"Hmmm you may be salvageable yet. Even though you let those two escape you could still come back and accept your new role." The earth pony, Firesteel, said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Sorry to break it to you boys; and lady, I added with a bow. But I'm not interested in commanding a horde of ponies."

We were hoping you would say that." He grinned mischievously

Inside central control room-------------------------------

As was I." Morgan grinned; everything was going according to plan. If Alex/Shadow beat his top 3 generals then his orientation into fighting would be finished. If he didn't then he would be brought back so they could break his mind. His friends would then be apprehended.

He laughed. Silly fools, they should not have tried to escape, nobody outsmarted him. Even if they did escape there would be nowhere to go. The facility was located on the remote island of Gehenna somewhere in the 'cursed' Bermuda Triangle. He let out another chuckle. All those pilots and boatsmen never knew what happened. Situated on one of the hills that made up the island's geography was a giant radio antenna that blocked all but the most powerful signals. Even they had not been able to breach the outside while it was online. However they did have a prototype antenna loaded on one of the C-130s hidden in the hangar, it was scheduled for flight that afternoon sometime in the evening. If things kept up though, they might have to postpone the testing until after the current situation has been rectified.

He shrugged, sacrifices had to be made to achieve the ultimate goal. So was the gist of project fuse. Most of the people had been volunteers, Sarah and Luke to name some, while others had to be ‘persuaded’. Those people were the hardest to work with, they had to be strapped down while they broke his/her mind to allow the more dominant pony take over. If the pony was unwilling to assume control the body was injected with a formula only know as H. It gave the subject a huge burst of horse DNA that assumed control of the mind and turned it into that of a wild animal.

His attention turned back to the screen, Shadow/Alex was doing marvelously. Each hallway contained at least a 1 or 2 hidden dart guns that had deadeye precision. Should a patient try to escape they would be hit with a dart and knocked unconscious. They had almost activated them when Sarah/Sky had escaped from her scientist with Alex/Shadow, the fool. He had listened to her whimpers and now was paying for it with his life. No matter, Morgan had arrived just in time to halt the process. Should they need to be activated later they could, he had wanted to see how it would turn out. As it was he was glad he had not, the benefits to having him work in his more aggressive nature without training was beneficial. Now they would have less to work on when he was captured.

He turned his head as one of the technicians vied for his attention.

“Sir you might want to take a look at this.”

“What is it?” What? Had something gone unexpected?

He glanced at the screen; the alicorn standing fiercely in front of the elevator was not the same one he had strapped down to the table only an hour before. His eyes blazed red while his mane took on a more ethereal look. He eyes glared at the struggling unicorn floating a few feet off the floor. His expression displayed no malice or hate, just a small frown, as if disappointed.

“Sir, should I activate turret 3?” the technician asked nervously, the last thing he wanted was Dr. Freemont angry.

“It looks that way.” Morgan sighed, looks like he is a bit more unpredictable than he had first believed. He wanted him to be a killing machine, but he also needed starlight as well and he wasn’t willing to sacrifice her to do something they could do in a testing room.

Back in the hallway------------------------------------------------------

I glared at the offending unicorn in disappointment, she had not put very much of a fight up. After disabling her two comrades it was a simple move of pinning her horn to the floor, completely rendering her inactive. I was slowly choking her into submission. Her struggling form held about two feet from the ground. I moved her closer to me, letting more air into her lungs so that she could have enough sense to hear me.

“One. You do not TRY to hurt my friends. Two. You do not attack me.” My frown deepened.

My concentration broke for a moment at the swish of a panel opening behind me. I turned, still keeping a hold on the unicorn, starlight, but no longer choking her. A small rifle popped out of the slot that had opened, I saw it turn towards me. I grabbed it with my telekinesis and ripped it from its mount, crumpling it up then tossing it on the floor. My gaze returned to the helpless pony floating within my grasp.

“Please no, don’t kill me.” She had gotten back her voice and started crying. “We were only following orders you cant blame us, if we didn’t they would kill us!” Her head hit her hooves as she tried to cover her tears.

I raised my head, looking around the hallway. In a corner I found what I was looking for. A small black sphere hung from the ceiling. I grabbed it and crushed it.

In the control room-------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sir we just lost the camera!”

“WHAT!?” Morgan hurried over to the console, pushing the young technician away from it as he frantically tried to call up an image of that hallway.

Back in the hallway---------------------------------------------------------------------

I set her down, moved by her pleas, my knees weak. She collapsed to the floor, exhausted.

I heard frantic yelling. Looking around for the source I found no trace.

“Aghhh” I flinched, the pain tearing through my head was extreme.

It’s about bucking time! What the buck happened?

“I don’t know.” I was too exhausted that I forgot to think my reply.

One moment I'm helping you beat off these ponies and the next I’m shut out. My anger had been completely drained and I had no visual of what was happening. No offense but your body is engineered in such a way that I’m supposed to be able to take control whenever I want.

“Anger… it’s like a burning desire, an unquenchable thirst.”

Damn, please don’t go all poetic on me, it makes me want to barf. Since you don’t have any food in your stomach and I don’t have a body besides yours… well lets just say it would be awkward.

I shook my head. Where the hell did that come from anyways?

Do you mind driving for a little bit while I gather my thoughts?

Why? You seem perfectly fine.

I walked over to the elevator and pried open the doors.

I turned my head towards the strange appendages attached to my back. For one, I can't fly.

Hm, was wondering why I had to hold those up. He dropped them for a second tripping me. Oh yeah that's why…

Ass…

I try. Glad to see you loosening up though.

Well I can't even work those muscles anymore; unless you entertain waiting for grump squad to wake up?

I liked it better when you were joking around with me. Ah well.

My wings spread wide of seemingly their own accord. He experimented with them for a few moments, twisting this way and that, checking feathers and generally taking FOREVER.

Hey! If you knew how important this pre flight check was you would not be so grumpy. Now I'm actually going to need the entire package, almost everything affects flight patterns, the fact that we are tall doesn't help at all.

Can't you just do some mental magic and unlock it again like you did with the horn? Also, the we is kinda creeping me out.

If a mental being could give a look of astonishment and disgust, he would have. Unlock it?! Aaaannnd buck. You think I can just tell you how to move your wings and then you can fly?

Um… yes?

WRONG! My nostrils snorted. Your horn was just separated by a mental barrier, it wasn't a muscle so you didn't feel it. All I had to do was smash through that mental barrier. The magic works mostly through thought. Wings are a compilation of many different muscles, all doing something completely different. So many things affect flight, I cant just TEACH you how to do it in 30 seconds.

Mind = blown

Fine, i'll just say this, it will take at least two days to teach you. He starts mumbling. …only …mer… ier.

Gonna say it now, nope.

How did you… fine then, lets go.

Pre flight checks and a whole lot of mess

A/N Hello there, im late your mad this chapter was horrid when it came out. I fixed it and all that.... um am i done here?

No...

Oh yeah i have to tell you somethings... As you will notice i started bolding the conversations between Alex and shadow (Alex's parts) to make it a bit easier to read, i will go back before i do anything else and fix the previous chapters of this. Enjoy

END A/N

“Sir we have a visual in the hallway, one of the far cameras is responding."

”Zoom in on him!" Morgan shouted at the poor techy.

The image on the monitor went out of focus for a second then adjusted to sharpen the image. Shadow Alex had turned his back on the unconscious forms of Morgan's top commanders. Each one had months of training in their pony bodies, working with the new consciousness to form a bond that fused the two together. It was the perfect bond between hands on experience and the human aptitude for cunning, deviousness, and planning.

Yet a single 18-year-old boy, with no military training whatsoever, TEAMING up with his pony counterpart, took them down. He had unlocked something in that boys mind, something very important. When he was re-captured they would have a long chat in a private room.

"Sir he has entered the elevator shaft."

The time for harebrained schemes was over, "Switch us to the elevator and elevator shaft cameras then connect us topside. The guards must lock down all aircraft, sea-craft and land vehicles. Those subjects MUST not be able to leave the island!" Morgan, for the first time in his career, was afraid. All his work would be for naught should those people escape into the U.S

”Yes sir! Topside connection initiated, establishing stable frequency."

”Switching to elevator and shaft cameras… now."

All the screens in front of him changed. On one screen he viewed Sky Strike, or Sarah, and Luke. He cursed Sarah and Sky. They were his first failure, where the pony would not assume control of the host. They were an excellent warrior though. That was the only reason why he had kept her around. In fact they had been scheduled to be administered the serum that very day because he had grown tired of trying to break them.

What he saw on the others screens astounded him. He saw blurs as his greatest success zoomed up the shaft to catch up with the elevator rocketing topside. He marveled at the sheer speed that two wings could produce.

”Sir?"

Morgan snapped out of his analysis and turned towards the technician who had spoken.

”The connection is almost complete, should be another minute, maybe two."

Good, usually it takes longer. “Alert me the moment it comes online."

His vision re-focused on the screens. The elevator was just about to reach the top, the occupants oblivious to the fact that they were being monitored. He scanned the cameras for any sign of Shadow, for it had to be him flying not Alex. No matter how special that kid was it took even the most skilled recruits at least a week to complete flight training.

He found them not 3 stories below the elevator. He gaped at how little time it took them to get there. He knew that ponies were fast but going straight vertical their speed was limited. The elevator's max speed, the current speed, was 100mph to ensure the 100 floor climb was quick should an evacuation be necessary. That would have to mean that shadow was capable of speeds in excess of 130mph straight up.

This discovery was met with mixed thoughts. Hopefully they got through to the guards in time to lock down the island. If they didn’t he would lose the one thing that had been pushing him to complete this project. Everything else was just an added bonus.

--------------------------------------------------Alex POV---------------------------------------------

”Almost… there." My mouth sputtered.

I didn't really care that shadow was using my mouth. Given the fact that I could actually feel the strenuous effort he was exerting I actually sympathized with him. If I had to sacrifice my ability to speak to a foreign entity to escape, I would be glad to oblige

Well that's good, how are we supposed to get inside the elevator once we reach it? I could see the contraption above, rocketing up the shaft.

”Bottom… access panel… maybe?" Shadow was out of breath; he had pushed himself to the limit to reach the elevator. If this went on longer, it would be a LONG fall.

”Do you think he will be alright?" Sarah fidgeted. The trip upwards in the elevator had been very suspenseful for her. After Alex closed to doors in a stupidly heroic attempt to save their lives she had not stopped wondering what had happened.

“Don’t worry, if the hour I spent running with him are any indication of how he acts regularly, he is too stubborn to die.” Luke replied. “That or he just a lucky son of a bitch.” He added in a whisper.

“I hope your right…”

“Do you have feelings for him or something?” Luke’s eyebrow rose in confusion.

“No! I… I…” Sarah was saved from the awkward confrontation by something hitting the bottom of the elevator.

THUMP

“What was that?”

A panel near the middle of the floor started to move. Ever so slowly rising up. Sarah and Luke braced themselves for the worst, should one of those pony commander things manage to catch up with them. But it wasn’t an assault pony that tried it’s best to climb with hooves. This intruder had familiar black appendages, a horn and a stupid grin pasted on his face.

“Hey guys! Just thought I’d pop in and say hello, but if you want to leave me hanging that’s cool.” I quipped.

“Maybe I’ll just leave you there for coming up with such horrible puns at such a time as this.” Sarah retorted.

“I would clutch my heart and pretend to be wounded but as you can see my hands, I mean hooves, are currently indisposed of and unable to continue our little game. Oh and just a thought; I’m slipping.” I frantically tried to hold on but my hooves were slowly losing ground. Luke grabbed hold of my forehooves and yanked my upper body in.

“Thanks for the save there. Way to earn some pony points with me.”

“Pony points?” he mumbles.

“Yeah, they are worth absolutely nothing considering that I will most likely forget that I said that to you.” I smiled and Luke just stared in amazement.

For the remainder of our journey, (about 10 seconds after I managed to climb in; of course…) we were silent. Sarah pawed at the ground in anxiety while Luke stood in a corner peering at her quizzically. As soon as the elevator stopped and the doors opened I jumped out and quickly ran to the only place that had lights; what I assumed to be the guard shack.

Now, usually when your escaping you don’t head towards the guys trying to capture you. However, in this case I knew that we would need some kind of assistance in finding the transportation I sought for.

Of course, Sarah didn’t know didly what I was doing so she tried to stop me. “The hay you doing? You can’t go in there! We’ll just end up back where we started!” She shouts.

“It’s a well known fact that guards with nothing to do will either A. Fall asleep, B. Drink themselves under the table, or C. Play cards. I'm hoping the third is true. Now stop your shouting so I can go talk to them.”

Sometimes I second guess whether or not your actually sane.

I'm guessing the latter, since I have a voice in my head.

Hearing no response, I head towards the guard shack. Sure enough I hear shouting and laughing. I take a quick peak and see that they are in fact playing cards, what game I’m not sure, but they aren’t watching the door so that’s to my advantage.

“Excuse me sirs.” Better to play the part of the underling just in case they are total dicks. “Can one of you point me to the hangar that houses the C-130? There is some maintenance that I am scheduled to perform on it.”

They aren’t going to buy that shit.

Shut up! They don’t work like that; they are more interested in their game than they are me.

The guard with his back to the door belches loudly. Yep he is drunk. “I don’t remember any scheduled maintenance.”

Dude he is on to you!

“Well it was a last minute thing and I don’t want to keep Mr. Freedmondt waiting. I forgot to check where it was located and I was hoping you smart gentlemen could point me to it.” I'm being such a smart ass here and I'm loving every moment.

Well I have to admit that you have a talent for doing this kind of stuff. This is wrong is so many ways; they should have turned around and at least looked at the speaker. Why are humans so damn oblivious?

Getting no answer I try to appeal to their interests. “So, what are you guys playing?”

“None of your damn business. Boy, you should consider leaving before you get hurt too much.” The other guards tried to stifle laughter.

I feel heat building in my chest at being laughed at, but I try to keep cool. “Well then, if you’ll kindly tell me which hangar the plane is in I will be happy to leave you to continue your o-so-important game.”

“The Hangar that aircraft is located in is C-3, smart ass. Thought you would have known that. Now I suggest you get your fucking ass out of my sight before I…” He turns towards me while saying this and his mouth unhinges. “Your… your… one of those damn pony experiment things that those nerds are working on.” He grabs the bottle of beer sitting next to him and examines the label. “And you can talk… Jimmy what the fuck did you do to my beer?” He stands up to confront the confused guard when the radio suddenly crackles to life.

“SERGEANT! We have three escapees. Lock down EVERYTHING. Also, be wary of the black one, he shows extreme hostility."

The guy, apparently the sergeant slowly looks towards me. I in turn give him a small wave of my hoof. "Well? Aren't you gonna try and capture me?"

"Uhhhhhh… GET HIM!" He charges me.

My expression changes and my coat pales a bit. I turn tail and gallop out of there as quick as my four legs can carry me.

Shiiiiiiiiiittttt. We are in a tight spot.

No shit. I told you to run. But did you listen? Noooooooo don't listen to the ONLY SENSIBLE THOUGHT PROCESS YOU HAVE!

I found Luke and Sarah where I left them. "I've worn out our welcome guys time to leave. Apparently the guards aren’t very good conversationalists."

They just gawked at the six guards running towards me.

”Paralyzed by fear? Okay then I’ll have to carry you guys. Hopefully I can handle it.”

How the hay are you so nonchalant about this? Also, I wonder when they are going to figure out that they have guns…

I blow past them. Seeing as they still haven't moved I try to visualize picking them up. Much to my joy they are picked up by a dark grey aura. Unfortunately though I can feel a bit of a drain on my energy reserves when I do that. I'll worry about that later.

Or when you collapse from exhaustion. I forgot to tell you that all magic comes at a price.

"Um you can let us down."

I turned to Luke. "Oh um yeah sorry." I release them and they start running alongside me.

FORGOT!?!? What would have happened had I gone overboard and killed myself?!

First off you wouldn't have killed yourself, you would‘ve just gone unconscious. Second; I would have stopped you if you had tried.

“So, your plans with the guards not work out so well?” Luke joked.

“Actually it went perfectly, the buffoons told me which hangar the plane is. It was that damn radio that gave me away though. Hangar C-3 is what we are looking for.” I replied cheekily.

Just like you 'stopped' me from almost killing those three ponies? My thoughts refocusing on a more serious matter

Special case I wasn't prepared for. As I was saying, I figured that you knew but apparently you don't. Picking up something or teleporting or any other magical action requires the same amount of energy as it would regularly require.

Ponies smarter than me at this field explained it in great detail but I didn’t pay attention too much of it. The gist of it is, you can’t skirt physics. Magic still has to obey the laws of nature.

Some snapping refocused my mind again. “Dude you have to stop zoning out like that. We almost passed the hangar.” He points to a giant metal building with huge doors that had C-3 painted in black upon them. “You also haven’t told us what you’re going to do.”

“Only by request of the lady, I’ll tell you once we are in the plane.” I tip my head at the acknowledgement of Sarah.

*PAT PAT PAT*

O joy the guards finally figured out that they have guns. What else could possibly go wrong?’

The gunfire was followed by the sound of screeching metal. I looked in horror as a gigantic bolt at least as tall as me started to slide over the door of Hangar A-1 and A-2. Hopefully they can’t do more than two at a time.

Just had to test it didn’tcha?’ Shadow commented dryly as 2 more bolts were closing on B-1 and B-2.

A few shaved hairs and 2 loud booms signaling the closure of A-1 and A-2 we arrived at the desired hangar.

“Fuck, this is a huge door, how are we going to open it.”

Side door, duh.

“Dude how can you miss the side door sitting right there?” He ducked as a new volley of rounds passed through the thin aluminum above him. He kicks in the small door; man do I miss human appendages, oh well.

Inside the hangar was pitch black. After wasting a few precious seconds finding the light switch and pausing as two more booms signal the closure of yet two more doors. Bathed in light, pristine and new sat the most beautiful thing I had ever seen: a USAF C-130E. How I have wished for this moment, I sat awestruck at the magnificent machine.

Okay lover boy, time to wake up and smell the fresh gunpowder!’ I was given a few mental slaps that gave me a bad headache; however, they snapped me out of my trance.

“This,” Sarah gestured with a hoof at the huge machine that took up almost every square inch of usable space in the hangar. “is our ticket out? Do you even know how to fly an airplane? Like a regular small airplane?”

This ought to be good…

“Nope!” I replied with a giddy smile. A Look of horror crossed her face. “Well I do know HOW to fly it, I just never have.”

“I AM NOT GETTING ON THAT BUCKING THING WITH YOU FLYING!” She screamed.

“Who said you had to go willingly?” I grinned evilly as I picked her up and proceeded to the back of the plane. Pulling the keys out of pocket I wondered how to open the damn thing.

“LET ME DOWN YOU FEATHERBRAIN!”

*BOOM BOOM*

Only two more to go until ours, I gulped. Was this going to be it?

No bucking way I got this close to lose it now. I focused on the back on the plane; relying on sheer determination to guide my magic. I smiled to myself as a hole big enough for me was torn open. Running inside, I take a quick look around before heading up to the cockpit. Luke, finding no other option, climbed in behind me.

“Dude, even I’m not comfortable flying with you if you don’t know how and your flying this dinosaur.” He said with all seriousness.

“Would you like to be strapped down against your will?” He shook his head. “Then get in the co pilot’s seat, I for one am not going back down to that horrid lab. By now it is either death by plane crash or death by science experiment. I'm not willing to leave with the knowledge that I let you guys ruin your lives. Either you come willingly or you come. What do you say?” Even Sarah stopped struggling at my outburst.

Dude, I didn’t know you had it in you to be that hard on somepony.’

I sat myself as comfortably as I could in the seat my back hooves barely reaching the pedals. Thank you Shadow for being a tall alicorn.

Your quite welcome. Smart ass.

As the others strapped themselves in I immediately started up the engines, disengaged the breaks and prepared for impact with the door.

“This is your captain speaking, I would like you for choosing alicorn air for your traveling needs.” The roar of the engines beat down on the windows, the enclosed space making it echo even louder. The plane started to roll forward as I heard another BOOM. “We regret to inform you that we will be starting off with a bumpy ride today folks. Please prepare for impact.” I turned back and saw that somehow Sarah had managed to doubly strap herself in. Beside me I saw that Luke had fitted his properly.

I am truly amazed. You have somehow screwed up your remaining insanity to turn this into a commercial flight. Makes me wish you were under my command back in Equestria. Though your smart ass remarks might get you in trouble more often than not.

I don’t know whether to be flattered or offended, so I’ll be both.

A Warning light went off that the door to the back of the plane wasn’t closed. I dismissed it. The nose tip neared the door and another BOOM was heard. This was it, now or never. The screeching of metal on metal as the bolt slid was lost in the roar of the engines.

The nose cone tore through the aluminum with ease. The front half of the plane had made it safely out when the bolt managed to get close enough to cause me discomfort. I had almost navigated the door when a loud screeching was heard. Sensors all across the board indicated that I had lost control in the back right horizontal stabilizer.

“Luke can you see the tail?” I asked frantically, if we lost the tail we were bucked.

“Yeah it looks fine, but there is a huge gash in the last few feet of the plane.” I winced at the mention of the last part but was glad that complete control hadn’t been lost.’

Maybe I should fly? Since I’m the one who was born with wings? And how the hell do you know all this terminology and crap?

Look, I appreciate the offer but currently I’m busy with something… BUCK, oh well, Mr. Freedmondt now has 1 less lackey. Anyways, I'm perfectly capable of flying this aircraft. I did a VERY extensive report on this particular plane.

I give up, you’re completely insensible.

Unfortunately for us not only did I have no expertise in the matter but I had also lost the horizontal stabilizer, which was going to hurt during take off.

Do you mind if I, “Watch and learn?” just in case? I felt his inquisitive presence again.

Not at all, please join me. I opened a little hole again and this time only his conscious came through. He walked slowly towards me, his expression neutral. I looked at him for a moment before he touched his horn to my head. A bright white flash erupted and I was suddenly back in the cockpit of the plane.

You had better not done what I think you did! No response.

I should probably get going now. Wait where did that thought come from? What if he didn’t merge but just put his consciousness up to mine so he could learn easier? Buck, that’s what he did. Oh well. Better get going.

The aircraft had cleared the buildings and was nearing a expansive grassy hill area.

But, Murphy strikes again as the aircraft creaks and shifts a tad to the left. I look over and see one of the wheels in deflated, flapping uselessly against the ground as I rolled along.

DAMN! They are shooting at the tires now.

I can’t see the runway so I aim for a long patch of pavement that is overgrown and straighten out for the initial build up of the engine power.

I take one final look at the facility and see Morgan standing there, rooted to the spot as gunfire echoed all around him. I don’t know if it was a trick of the light or if I was just seeing things, but I could swear he was crying…

Awakening

“Is he awake yet?”

“No I don’t… yes, his vital signs are returning to normal. How are we doing today Mr., um.” In a more hushed tone he asks, “What is the patient’s name again? Ah yes, thank you. How are we doing today Alex?”

I moan. “My head… why does it hurt so much?”

“That is just a side effect from the transfiguration, don’t worry it will go away soon.” He assures me.

“Oh, well that’s good I guess…” I pause; did he just say transfiguration? I try to move my hand up to my face but find it strapped down, along with my other 3 limbs. I try moving them but they don’t budge.

“Here let me remove those, they must be getting uncomfortable and I’m guessing you want to try out new body.”

New body, well that scratches any thoughts I had about still being human.

As soon as the clasps are undone I try to get up, only to ball up in pain from trying to use muscles that have been dormant for so long. I let out another long moan.

“Administer some more pain killers and record that the subject seems to experience pain after long periods of inactivity.” The scientist says to the other one.

What am I? Some experiment to them? This is either some lucid dream I’m having, which is weird because I don’t even dream that often, or I’m in a seriously bucked up facility with crazy lunatics as doctors. Wait… did I just say buck?

“Nonononono! Don’t tell me you did what I think you did!” I don’t want to believe what has happened, I mean I kind of wished for it for the past 2-3 years but I didn’t want it to happen like this.

“Calm down Alex, everything is fine.” He tries to comfort me, but in his face I see nothing but a monster. Someone who has stolen a child from his parents, only to give them back as some freak of science. He had in fact, turned me into a pony, not a pony from earth mind you, but a pony from Equestria. If this had happened like in the many fics I read it wouldn’t be so bad. Waking up in Equestria, finding out you inhabit a pony in Equestria, those would have been fine. Granted the latter would have been a bit creepy but at least I would be in the company of the same species with the freedom of movement.

Now that im a science experiment they will never let me do anything. I have watched way to many sci-fi movies to not know what happens in this situation. I could be stuck like this forever. Stuck in the body of a pet, a mode of transportation, with no other of the same species to talk or relate to. All these thoughts going through my head is too much to handle. I faint, hoping beyond hopes that it is in fact, just a lucid dream

XxX----XxX

...

"Alex." Ugh there's that voice again, how I wish it would go away.

"Alex." I moan,

"You aren't my alarm clock so leave me alone."

"ALEX!!"

I bolt to my… hooves? "What? What is it?! I'm up I'm up!" I stutter.

"Hmmm I would have thought motor skills would come later but apparently your taking to your equine body nicely." He says happily. The smile on his face fades to a grim frown. "What's wrong?" He inquired.

I felt like bucking him through the wall right then and there. That smug smile doesn’t realize what he has done to me. How about he go turn himself into a pony, see how he likes it. I tense up, preparing to give the blow, but something however pushes that thought away and replaces it with a more rational idea. I sigh, accepting the fact that punting the guy through the wall, no matter how much he deserved it, would not give me the answers I needed.

"What's wrong you ask?" My voice as casually strained as it comes. "Well, first, the last thing I remember is going to sleep in my bed in MY house in MY neighborhood. Now I wake up in a laboratory God knows how far away from my home. Second, I wake up, not as a human; BUT A CELESTIA DAMNED BUCKING PONY!!!"

I ignore my ponyism as my voice begins to get louder “AND YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO ASK WHAT THE BUCK IS WRONG?!?!" I'm almost on level with the poor guy. The thought pops up for moment. Why am I almost as tall as him, if I am a pony shouldn’t I be about 3 feet tall?

The thought is pushed aside as the other entity suddenly makes itself known again. The anger drains away, and along with it, the adrenaline fueling me. Without it, I collapse to the ground unconscious.

XxX--------XxX

I wake up lying down again, re-strapped to the table. I feel minor discomfort on my back but it's disregarded as I hear the doctor’s voice again.

"I hope your awake for good this time, actually, unless you die your here to stay. Right now we are pumping stimulants into you to keep you awake. Before you freak out again I need you to listen to me for a minute." He continues talking, but I'm too preoccupied with my predicament to notice. My ears perk up at the topic of me though.

"We needed somebody that wouldn't freak out about the transfiguration. Someone who wouldn't love it or hate it." Well at the moment the hate option still exists so I wouldn’t go saying I’m the perfect candidate yet…

"We browsed the site," he glances down at his clipboard " FimFiction.net, correct?

I don't know if he expects an answer, but I give him the benefit of the doubt. "If you’re talking about the brony site for fan fiction about My Little Pony, then yes." I just realized, my voice, it has gotten deeper. I mentally shrug, probably another side effect.

"Ah yes, thank you." He continues on, "based on the comments we found and your little biography of yourself, your location did help, as we needed somebody local so transporting wouldn’t be a problem. We decided that you would be a prime subject to test it on."

"Wait, first off. You kidnapped me and brought me to a remote secret testing facility to do tests on transfiguration?" I ask, panic rising as I expect the obvious answer.

"Yes, we did." He answers flatly.

"Second," I realize I'm ranting but I have to get some answers or else I’m going to go crazy, I don’t like being un-informed about the circumstances involving myself. "Why the buck…" I pause at the weird ponyism, but disregard it as I continue. "Do you need to turn people into ponies?"

"I'm glad you asked!" He looks genuinely satisfied so I let him continue.

"We are working on extending human life and possibly going into nature to explore the wilds of our world never seen before!" He is really getting giddy explaining all this to me.

"But again I must ask, why ponies? There are probably many more species that exist for you to 'experiment' with." I wonder incredulously.

"That is an excellent question!" He beams.

How many times is he going to say that?

"I was hoping to get to this topic sooner or later. The thing is, other species are too real for us to use." I'm very confused by this statement and apparently it shows. “Let me explain. When I mean real I mean that they have brains. No, I know ponies have brains but I’m talking about real, non-made up brains. When we incorporate the animal into the machine everything is analyzed, behavior, mannerisms, and actions. Therefore if we try to transfigure someone into a, say, squirrel, they would be incorporated into the squirrel mind, absorbing and mimicking their traits. They would essentially become a squirrel, and we don’t want that." This explanation is starting to scare me.

At least they haven’t actually done this to humans; it's all just theory.

He pauses for a breath and examines my face. Apparently what he sees is comforting because he smiles and continues.

"We picked ponies because they are harmless lovable and are made up completely by humans! Therefore everything would be completely made up, negating the effects should we use a ‘real’ animal." He is quite perky at the moment; I wonder if this is the first time he has been able to explain this…

I for one completely disagree on the subject entirely!

That voice, where the hay did it come from? My face contorts in confusion.

The scientist interrupts my thoughts again.

"Um, are you okay?"

"Yes yes, I'm fine, please continue." I'm still confused as to where that thought comes from though.

"Okay, where was I… oh yes, the pony theory, as I have so creatively named it." I roll my eyes. His expression dampens. "Well at least I thought it was creative. Anyways, all we had to do was upload a video off You Tube and the machine, using the forms provided, created you a body. There are no mannerisms or desires to overcome. You are the only consciousness inside of your current form.

Again I beg to differ on that point. Since I'm here that theory is already disproved.

“Also,” he continues, “we did not do a brain transplant if you are wondering. Your body’s atoms were re-arranged to create the form you are in now. It's the perfect setting for testing the effects the new body might have on a person!"

As my mind tries to wrap itself around the explanation he gave I realize something.

"Your machine created my body from the examples or forms of the ponies in Equestria right?"

"That is correct." He answers, a bit put off by the odd question.

"Then that means you only observed the mares!" I gasp as I struggle to check for my man hood. The voice might be a give away but I want to make complete sure I'm still a male. My head finally twists to a position in which I can see my lower flank area.

A breath that I had unwittingly been holding escaped my muzzle. They are still present and I am in fact, male.

"Ehem!" My attention turns back to the scientist. Man I really need to get his name!

"We took into consideration that you would prefer to be a male and therefore programmed into the system the criteria." He states a-matter-a-factly, as if this should have been common knowledge.

"One last thing before I continue." Is this lecture ever going to end? My back is sore for some unknown reason and my limbs are stiff from inactivity.

"We have already experimented with the other forms of pony." WHAT!?

The shock is plastered all over my face. If they have already experimented with other people then why the hay did they need me?

"We have already experimented with the 'earth' ponies, the pegasus ponies and the unicorns extensively." Where the hay is he going with this?

You'll see in a second. The voice chuckles, 5 bits says you freak.

"So," he continues. "Since we have already experimented with them we assumed we were finished with the testing. That until we realized that there was one more type we had not tested yet."

Oh shit, if he says what I think he is saying I think that voice in my head will win his 5 bits.

3…2…1…

"By your face I can tell you've realized what has happened. We have in fact successfully turned you into what they call a… um." He pauses as he checks his notes once more. “an alicorn of sorts.” He smiles, but he has no idea the ramifications of his actions.

Cue freak out.

I faint, my head hitting the headrest with a low thud

That actually went better than I thought it would. The voice says as I black out.

Escape

For the third time, I wake up on the operating table.

"My gosh, your going to have to stop doing that, it's not good for your health!" Oh great it's that scientist guy again.

"I'll stop fainting," I reply and he smiles. "If, YOU STOP BUCKING WITH MY LIFE!"

His smile is instantly turned into a frown. "I'm sorry, what is the problem?"

The adrenaline is starting to flow again. "You turned me into the most powerful being in Equestria! You know how much responsibility that is? I don't want this power. I'm not like all like you power hungry humans. I can't believe…" my voice cuts off as the realization of what I just said hits me like a sledgehammer. 'Like you power hungry humans.' I had said that, but wasn't I a human?

Haha not anymore you aren't. They made sure of that! The voice, it torments me… but its right. My head droops and I cease my struggle.

This isn't what I wanted! Well sure being an alicorn of all ponies is the dream of most people, but I'd prefer a pegasus. The freedom of the sky is enticing. Yes I would be able to fly using my new body, but I would have the burden of magic also.

My eyes start to water. Now that I'm an all-powerful god of sorts, they will want to keep me forever. I would never be able to go back to my family, my friends, my siblings. Even if I could they wouldn't recognize me anyways. They would just see a wild animal from a fictional T.V show.

Hey, cheer up man. Can't you find any benefits of being in the body of an alicorn?' It pauses, oh, I see now. Yes, I can feel the extreme sadness for the loss of your life. This is a big change for you and looking through your memories I see that you had a happy life.

Well thanks a lot, it means SOO much that you care.

Sarcasm? If we are going to work together we need to be on better terms. The voice pouts.

Wait! The voice, or person/pony thing; it said working together. Doesnt that mean that it is apart of me? Didn't that scientist guy say that no separate personalities would be generated?

Finally guessed it? And yes he did, but being the naive human he is… whatever it was going to say is cut off by the man talking again.

"I know this scary, but I promise you that we are able to turn you back after we administer the tests.

”In the mean time however, I need to give you a shot to help you prepare for the testing process." As he is saying this I see him extract a long needle from the tray beside him. It is, unfortunately, a very BIG needle. My memories quickly flash back to the time I was required to take 4 shots, all within the space of a minute. I was not about to let him any where near me with that bucking needle.

I start to shirk away from him, but remember that I'm still strapped down.

“Nope! Uh uh, I’m not about to let you stick me with that!”

He pauses, “What’s wrong, it is only one shot, nothing to be afraid of.” Something tells me that I should be VERY afraid of the contents of the needle. His voice is just too comforting, yes that’s what doctors are supposed to do but its almost like he is about to kill me.

Suddenly another man’s voice booms over unseen speakers taking my mind off my tormentor and his instrument of doom.

"Subject 72724 has escaped. All personnel on non-priority studies please report to hallway 115. Thank you."

"What was that… wait did they just say ESCAPE?" My brain started gearing up again. If they were just doing tests then why would someone need to escape? Escape implies that they are being held against their will, which implies that they do not enjoy what is planned for them.

I try to shirk away from the man and his needle again. Only to be stopped once more by the straps of confinement.

Perhaps they couldn't handle the pressure? That inner voice 'said'. Also, do you have to give everything a sinister name? It is kind of weird…

No but with you, Mr. Crazy Needle Man and the fact that I’m not even my original SPECIES anymore, I need something to help me keep my insanity

"Don't worry," the ‘doctor’ says, "it's probably somebody who has past history with needles. No need to freak out." Past history? Oh. You mean like me, Because right now I’m deathly terrified and the idea of escape is starting to seem more appealing with every minute.

Well considering the straps…

Thank you captain obvious for that wonderful assessment of my predicament.

More sarcasm? I’m hurt, I really am It tries its hardest to conceal the sarcasm in it’s tone but I’m more adept than most at noticing it

My eyes once again focus on the puncturer of skins. Oh yeah there's that needle again. Couldn’t I just take a pill or drink something? Nooooo it has to be a very painful, very uncomfortable shot in the arm.

Foreleg you mean.

Oh shut up.

The needle goes back to being poised over my foreleg. Once again the speaker blares a message, further postponing the inevitable.

"The subject has switched course and is showing hostile force to employees. Those who are in hallways 100 and 110 please don't not confront the subject. She will be contained shortly." The person speaking doesn't sound so sure about that last part.

While I try to keep my eyes off the needle, I notice is the number on the door.

"100A; wait didn't that guy on the speaker to take cover if you were on hallways 110 and 100?" I asked, hoping to stall off the instrument if for just a few more seconds. I’m very stubborn like that, I realize I’m going to have to accept the shot no matter what, but I’m determined to put it off.

Don’t be such a foal about it. Its just a needle, we had all kinds of those back in… hmm where am I from again? It grows silent, as if pondering the question it had asked.

"Do not worry most likely she will not enter the rooms. Anyways this room has a security bolt on it, she couldn't breakthrough even if…" he is cut short as the door explodes inward with a BOOM.

In the doorway standing backwards, is a tawny pegasus mare with a sky blue mane. I'm shocked beyond no end. The scientist holding the syringe however only briefly glances over before his starts up his procedure again. The mare sees the needle, an expression of fear and shock pasted on her face.

"NO!" She shouts, panic crowding her tone. "Don't let him inject you!"

I instinctively jerk my foreleg away, the needle missing by a fraction. The scientist curses and goes for a second try, this time holding my foreleg still to keep it from moving. Whatever is in that syringe is obviously bad; I can now see the evil grin on his face. The warm smile had had completely evaporated. The only that remained as the needle rocketed to my foreleg was an expression of victory.

“Your too late darling. All he need is this injecti…”

The expression turned from victory to shock, and pain. I feel the pressure on my foreleg diminish. I jerk my foreleg away, just as his grip on the needle fades. It plunges down, impaling itself a micrometer from my skin.

Well that was a bit to close for comfort.

I must agree, I don't hate needles like you seem to but his expression screamed "hey guess what? This mixture is going to do something bad to you!"

Well thanks again captain obvious, I had absolutely NO BUCKING CLUE that the contents would be harmful.

Do I detect more sarcasm? That isn’t very polite of you, treating a guest in this way.

Yeah well you aren’t doing so hot on the polite scale either so shut it.

Touché…

The odd conversation is cut short as feeling to my back right leg is suddenly reinstated and the freedom of movement exists again. I look over to see the strange mare frantically trying to bite through the strap on my right foreleg as well.

As it breaks she gives me that look of 'You’re hopeless'

"You going to try to help me?" I must admit this posture is quite uncomfortable so, with my improved leverage I'm able to break the remaining straps. Trying to get up is a different story all together though.

Dammit! The word courses through my mind a few times as my head hit the floor. The pain is almost unbearable. My limbs haven't been used in so long and having been in that particular position for so long they were as stiff as boards.

Now now Alex, no need to use that language.

O give it a rest you hypocrite.

"Ow…" the word barely escapes my muzzle.

"You have to get up, like NOW!" Is she commanding me? "We have to get out of here, I've stalled them some but your wasting the precious time I've earned for our escape." She looks back to the door, one ear pointing toward it, the other still focused in my direction.

"The reason I came for you is because you are my only ticket out of here! Now, we have to get going!" Her voice is quite authoritative, and I don't feel like arguing so I slowly struggle to my hooves.

I've since accepted the fact that I was a pony and therefore would think and speak like one.

"It's about time!" Ouch, the condescending tone is like a hammer blow. "Hopefully you'll figure out how to run, hay, it would be great if you could fly. I can see though that you haven't even discovered your wing muscles yet." She facehoofs while the scientist on the floor groans. She promptly smacks him and he falls silent.

I take a look at my back to find the two appendages in question trailing limp on the floor behind me

Need a little help?

Not from you I don’t.

I struggle to reach into the part of my mind that holds the information that is so dear to me.

Legs, no. Head, no. Horn, that might be useful for later but still no. Wait.

I probed into an undiscovered part of my mind and I suddenly discover feeling in the odd appendages that I gained from being transfigured. My wings flex and then fold to their sides as if they had always been that way.

I smile proudly at my accomplishment.

Actually I did help you a little.

No you didn’t. I did it all by myself. You have no influence over me at all!

Fine, be that way, if you don’t think I do then watch this.

Suddenly my front legs collapse and I face plant the floor.

The mare facehoofs again. "Let the pony in your head drive, he will probably be better than you at the motor skills." She motions to the door. "Let's get going, this dweeb is probably supposed to check up now and then."

See someone has faith in me!

She hasn’t even met you! If she did she would promptly leave.

Hmph. Actually I’m quite attracted to her. Think you could let me out for a bit so I can get to know her better? He snickers

Im not about to let you… Oh you son of a bitch…

“Earth to strange alicorn, Earth to alicorn. Come in alicorn!” My eyes and brain refocus onto the mare in front of me. I tilt my head to the side as if to say ‘Yes? What is it?’

“We need to get going.” She waves her hoof at the open doors. “Preferably today,

Tell her "ladies first" the voice snickers again.

No only because your sick twisted humor is telling me too.

Actually I got that from you.

I start walking; remember the fan fics that described how a pony walks. Thank god for my adaptive nature. The FL BR, FR BL procedure is soon memorized and I'm out the door, just behind the mare.

"Now that we have mastered that we should probably…" her lecture is interrupted by a shout down the hall. I swivel my head to face the human that produced the sound and see him gesture isn't down a side hall. Some men who are dressed like guards, who appear to be carrying dart guns of some type, then join him. "…start running, NOW!" The mare continues. She takes off in the opposite direction. Apparently the adrenaline is helping my learning process, I'm soon right behind her.

Oh God, when did I ever do something to deserve this chaos?

We are in the same boat buddy, trust me.