Crash Landing

by TheUnknownPerson

Experiment #01

"What should we do first..." The Administrator pondered aloud. Her eye disappeared, causing Rarity to gasp. "Fluttershy broke the quickest, but we didn't expect much of anything from her. She's always been soft-hearted, even if she used it to deceive us." She stood as she continued to speak. Fluttershy was here? Impossible! Rarity was confused. She never recalled Fluttershy being missing, nor did she ever notice her disappearance. I'd have noticed her absence in our spa trips... How did she...?

"Applejack was by far the toughest to crack. Exactly what we expected from her, but it didn't make it any less frustrating. You know how stubborn she can be when she has her eyes set on an objective, yes?" The voice circled closely around her, yet Rarity could neither see her nor feel her steps close to her. "Took us almost a year and a half to crack that hard shell, but she was putty in our hooves once we finally broke through, just waiting to be molded into something new." She said. "Quite a shame too, a few more months and I'd have had to give up on her. Cannot waste too much time on the past."

Applejack as well? Rarity was silently cursing herself for losing contact with them for so long.

"And Rainbow Dash... oh, Rainbow Dash." The Administrator sighed, nostalgia in her voice. "She was our perfect little test subject. Hurling insults at us for 'changing,’ begging us to 'come to our senses and stop this.’ You wouldn't believe how many times she tried to escape. Alas, eventually, she broke like the rest of them, but she was the most interesting, by far." Her eye suddenly reappeared in front of Rarity, a black void standing in front of her, with the cat's eye staring straight at her. Rarity's breath became caught in her throat as it rushed towards it. She flinched, tucking her chin into her chest as she squeezed her eyes shut. The creature roared, its thunderous steps bouncing the chair's legs up and down before it suddenly stopped. A hiss of air rushed past her, blowing her mane into her eyes. "Unless you change that..."

Rarity gently opened her eyes, the monster missing, only replaced by The Administrator's eye. Her hooves were quivering, her heart pumping. "W... what is going on?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about that. Just focus on why you're here, rather than what's going to happen here."

"How should I know that? What even is going on here?" Rarity questioned, trying to reply with dignity and confidence, yet her voice still shook despite her best efforts.

"If you knew us, you'd know how." The Administrator chuckled. "That reminds me... tell us, who do you think we are?

"I... I haven't a clue. I cannot see you."

The Administrator laughed, although it was clearly disingenuous.

"We're hurt, honestly. You're fully capable of recognizing on voice alone." She stood, trotting up to Rarity. Before Rarity even had a chance to get a good look at her, the Administrator had already made it in front of her. She touched Rarity's horn with her own, sending a spark into the air.

"Release." The Administrator chuckled before stepping past Rarity. She had stopped struggling against her bindings, barely moving at all in fact. She only blinked and breathed. Her eyes stared into an empty void, not following any particular object or thing. "You'll feel strange since this is your first time with this spell, but it's only temporary." Her eye lightened, becoming a light purple color as it returned to its pony-like state. The clock continued ticking.

Knock-Knock

The Administrator went back to her chair. Nurse Cura entered.

"You knocked, ma'am?"

"We're finished. Gather the subjects in the interaction chamber and bring her there. Use her as an example."

"Yes, ma'am. Right away, ma'am." Nurse Cura quickly began to unstrap Rarity. She pulled her up out of the chair, only for Rarity to collapse into a quivering mess.

"With all due respect ma'am, was such a powerful spell needed on her first day here?"

"Trust us, it's nothing. Her heart rate will be elevated until the spell's effects wear off."

"Yes, ma'am." Nurse Cura managed to get Rarity up onto her back.

"By order of the Administrator, Subjects #002 and #001, please enter the rooms to your right and await further instruction. Subject #004, enter the room to your left and await further instruction."

Alto sat silently at the corner of the small room he and Eclipse had woken up in. The pair had become quiet. The topic wasn't exactly conducive to conversation.

Come on... He smacked himself mentally. You've been through worse than this, say something!

"Cruising misses you."

"R- Really?" Alto chuckled. She nodded with a small grin.

"He misses his 'Bubba.'" She giggled quietly. "We're staying at the summer house now. Ponyville's not as active as Fillydelphia, but I don't mind it, honestly. It'll be a nice little place for him to grow up."

"Good, good." He nodded. "My ma's sister-in-law knows the mayor, I can pull some strings if need something better."

"No, thank you." She waved him away. "The house is smaller than..." Eclipse paused for a moment, staring blankly at the ground. "Than... mom and dad's... b- but we'll manage." She smiled, though her eyes were watery.

"Ma's got some room at her place if-" "No, no," She waved away his offer. "Mom made sure she and dad had life insurance. I have more than enough to keep us good for a while. I've got some for him to go to college or university if he wants. Might have some to go back to the officer academy if I want to."

"Oh, right-" He cleared his throat. "After- um... after it, happened, they promoted me to a Junior Officer. The SO said I was 'one of the best rookies he had ever seen.' Even thanked me for saving you when... Your house..." Alto trailed away from the thought for a moment. He looked up at her. "They said you were great too, better than I was. He gave his condolences to your parents, but I never got the chance to tell you."

"Oh..."

"Y-Yeah, sorry, I-I shoulda-"

"No, tell the old stallion 'thank you' when you see him when we get out. If we get out."

"Aw, don't lose-

The door to their right creaked open.

Maybe she's back? Nova hoped silently as he entered the room. He noticed another pair of ponies inside, one pegasus mare and one earth pony stallion.

"Oh, great..." The stallion's voice was filled with dread. "More weight to carry..."

What's his problem? He questioned internally, but his meek nature didn't allow him to speak against the much larger and muscular stallion. The mare beside him smacked his right forehoof, the slap echoing in the room, yet the stallion didn't even flinch.

"Alto-- Sorry, I'm Eclipse. The stallion standing beside me, who has no manners, is Alto."

"N-Nova." He quietly greeted the pair.

"Thank goodness. Glad there's someone else in this crazy place."

Alto snickered unintelligibly beneath his breath under his breath. Eclipse, clearly annoyed, turned to him, standing up to him and whispering in his ear. "What? It's not like I'm gonna save his lanky flank if there's a choice between escaping with you and him."

A lump had formed in Nova's throat. He hoped it would never have to come to that if they were to ever try to escape.

"Alto!" She punched him in his chest. "What?" He asked as he rubbed his chest. "You know that if it were me or him, you'd choose me in a heartbeat. Besides, even if he did get out over me somehow, he wouldn't survive if there's a resistance or, Celestia forbid, an army. He wouldn't last five minutes."

"That's not the point! He's--"

"Authorization card recognized. Welcome, Nurse Cura."

A piston hissed as the padded panel in front of the group dropped. Nurse Cura was standing at the other side, in a small white cap. She glanced to her right before she turned her attention back to the group of subjects standing in front of her. "The Administrator has ordered that I show you what happens to rebels and 'betrayers.’" Nurse Cura grabbed a small cart to her right and rolled it into the room. Curled up on top of it was the same porcelain mare Nova had met earlier in the day.

"Rarity!" He rushed up to her, grabbing her right forehoof. Her other hooves were visibly shaking, dried tear stains ran down the side of her face, and her mascara had begun to run down her cheeks. A bandage had been sloppily slapped on her cheek atop a small, inflamed cut. Her eyes had become glassy, staring blankly at the ceiling above. "Wh-why-- what happened?"

"The Administrator cast a spell upon her." Nova and Eclipse's hearts dropped. That could've been me... The very thought of being in the mare's position sent a cold chill up her spine.

"She will be in your care whenever she isn't in the Administrator's office."

Nova nodded, although his thoughts were still focused on what he had just seen. Nurse Cura rolled Rarity back out. The panel closed.

"H... Horseapples," Nova swore under his breath. "No... No!" He slammed his hooves against the ground. A few moments of silence ruled over the room.

"You could've saved her." Alto said quietly. Eclipse gasped, covering her mouth as her eyes widened. Nova's darted up to look at him.

"How?!" He trotted up to him, anger forcing his timidness to the side.

"Stay with her, bring her into your room, go to hers-- just never split up!" He spat angrily. "I thought unicorns were supposed to be smart..."

Nova stared at him, furious. "You have no idea what--"

"Okay, okay. Enough fighting, kiddos. Return your rooms. You still have one thing left to do before you can play." The stallion said before Nova had the chance to fight. He silently thanked him as he stood, trotting back to his room quickly, slamming the door behind himself.

"What the hay?!" Eclipse asked. Alto sighed.

"You know what I'm trying to do. It's for his own good."

"But this-- using that poor mare for that, then telling him it was his fault..." She turned away from him, disgusting. "Would you've done that with me if I stayed?"

"That's different-" "Yes or no, Alto?"

"No." He answered. "You are my friend, 'Clipse. The unicorn's weak."

"I was weak." She muttered, stepping back, all the previous aggression coming back to the forefront.

"You were not-"

"Then why couldn't I help them?" She turned up to him. He huffed, searching for the words to comfort her, but not finding them.

"Because I-"

"Alright, foals!" The stallion over the intercom shouted. "Time to head back to your rooms, we have experiments to do!" His voice was hyper, excited.

The pair looked up to the speaker at the corner of the room. She sighed, lowering her head. "We should probably go... I speak to you later." Eclipse headed back towards the door to her room.

"Right, see you-" The door shut behind her before he had the chance to finish.

"... Later." Alto sighed. before he turned to go back to his room.

Rarity stared at the lights above her. The nurse hadn't cared enough to blindfold her, not that she'd see anything that'd be useful to her main objective: getting out of the facility. Her eyes were frozen in place, only staring at the ceiling while occasionally passing by the fluorescent light fixtures and ventilation shafts above.

The cart slowed to a stop. Nurse Cura walked past her. She knocked on a door ahead of them before returning to Rarity. The cart continued on its way, going through an open door.

"What were their reactions?"

Oh no... not her... The Administrator- Rarity remembered her. She remembered how frightened she was, yet, she couldn't force herself up and away from her. Her hooves refused to move.

"Subject #004 was shocked, obviously caring for this one. Subject #002 was troubled, but not nearly as much as Subject #004 was. Understandably, since it was their first time meeting. Subject #001 had little to no reaction. He only looked away, ma'am."

"Good, good. Leave her here. We must conduct our first experiment."

"Yes, ma'am. Do you need any help?"

"Of course not."

"Yes, ma'am." Nurse Cura nodded before exiting, shutting the door behind her. The tapping of horseshoes approached Rarity.

"Oh dear..." She gasped, concerned as she trotted up to Rarity. Rarity recognized her voice as she stopped at the right side of her table, boasting a new white surgical mask, which covered her mouth and snout, only leaving her one, light purple eye to be observed.

"What do we have here?" the Administrator asked as she bent closer to Rarity. Her mane was long but straight and as neat as possible. It was hard to say for certain, but Rarity could somewhat tell that her mane was dark purple with black stripes down the sides. Her bangs slanted downwards, covering most of her forehead and her left eye was covered by a large, black bandage. The rest of her mane and face was obscured by the mask.

The Administrator's horn brightened. Her magic brought a small napkin up to Rarity's face, wiping her running mascara clean from her face. "A mess..." She inspected over the napkin before setting it on Rarity chest. Her eye darkened momentarily, before returning to its previous color. She turned away from her, trotting out of sight, before returning a few moments later with a large nail file. "Don't worry, we won't leave you looking in such terrible condition. You'd hate that, right?"

The file made a small tink against the metal cart as she sat it down beside Rarity's forehooves. The Administrator brought a new napkin up, wiping her mascara clean. Her magic brought one large comb and one small comb up to her. Rarity was almost paranoid at first, afraid, admittedly foolishly, that the Administrator would ruin her perfect mane.

"'That's correct. Down, follow it with the small one, then make a perfect little curl to my left darling. No-- using the small one.'” The Administrator repeated, imitating Rarity's voice. Even going as far as to copy the inflections in her voice. "'Then do the same with my right, but longer, and a small bit larger. Don't trouble yourself about the tail darling, I'll style it myself.’ That's right if our memory serves." She finished with perfect style as if she had done it a million times before.

"Now, let's take care of that pesky horn." The Administrator's magic brought the file back into Rarity's field of vision, as she put away the two combs. She slowly, carefully began to file down her horn. It didn't hurt-- it actually felt pleasant. Like she was at the spa with a dear friend, excluding the dark mare hulking over her and the dark, humid room.

What is she doing? Rarity questioned. This was no torture- no interrogation. It barely counted as an experiment. The lack of any shocks, serums, or surprises was welcomed , although she knew it wouldn't last too long.

"We remember the days where you'd take us to your spa. We were never the type of pony who really liked it, but we enjoyed the time we spent with you." She said, continuing to file away at Rarity's horn.

"See? We can be nice when we want to be." The Administrator turned away from Rarity, continuing to speak as she trotted away from her. "You just have to- ugh-- get on our good side." She quickly trotted back over to the cart, sitting something large down atop it. The object landed with a loud thud. "Unfortunately for you, that would be a near impossibility at this point." Mechanical tinkering filled the room as the Administrator sighed. She turned back to Rarity, a small, metal object floating right beside her head, thanks to her magic. It took on the shape of a cone with two metal rings, one at the base, and the other right before it hit the narrow tip.

What is that? Some- some insidious invention? Rarity pondered. The object didn't look to be anything dangerous. Everything was round, no points, no jagged ends to stab someone with, not even any nails. Everything had been molded together.

"Let's see... that should be small enough..." She muttered to herself as she slipped the device onto Rarity's horn. "There we go. Perfect." The Administrator nodded to herself. She turned back to the end of the cart with a loud bang. Rarity would have jumped if she could move.

"Ah-- horseapples." The Administrator cursed to herself, kneeling down. "Stupid... no, it's still good." She muttered to herself, lifting up the hefty device and waddling it back over to her desk. "Clumsy... get a handle on it!" The Administrator cursed to no one in particular as she turned back to Rarity. Her horn brightened as she lifted Rarity's stiff body off of the cart, placing her back in the same chair as before. The chair was different this time, with a pair of leather straps on each arm of the chair. She strapped her in physically, stepping back.

"Return." The Administrator stated aloud as she touched Rarity's horn with hers. Rarity gasped, suddenly out of breath.

"What- where am I?"

"Our office. Do you remember what happened?"

"I-I remember going to the rooms, seeing the others. Nova took my hoof... but nothing before that."

"Good. Best it remains that way." The Administrator noted, before trotting up to her. She placed a small, balled up piece of paper on Rarity's lap. "Lift that."

Rarity glanced down at it. Her horn brightened as she prepared her magic, but what had become a simple task now seemed rather difficult. Her magic waned in strength, barely surrounding the paper before it died.

"Ugh... I can't."

"It's working perfectly." The Administrator was almost giddy, excited that her small invention had worked. "That object on your horn-- it'll pull you out of focus when you try to use spells. A safety precaution, as you surely understand. We can't have our fun ruined so soon, now can we?"

"Pardon me?! How dare you--" Rarity was furious. However, when the Administrator retorted with a cold stare, her quickly heating blood was bumped back down and cooled.

"Now, what should we try first?"

Nova sighed as he sat against the wall. "That damn earth pony... Alto." He cursed aloud. He's lucky I didn't go off on him.

"Subjects, please enter your pods for the first experiment."

Nova stood. No way to get around it. Not now, at least. He trotted up to the pod. The glass had already started slowly open. It had just enough room for Nova to slip inside. He took a seat and waited. And waited. And waited...

"Subject #001, please enter your pod. Compliance is mandatory." The electronic voice ordered over the intercom. Another minute passed before a loud buzz filled the room. "Resistance attempt detected and logged. Deploying task force..."

Distant pistons hissed as the loud thumping of multiple steps echoed to Nova's room. He could feel the vibrations from the multiple ponies. After a minute or so of yelling, the room calmed.

"All subjects accounted for. Initiating experiment..."

Just get it over with. I need out of here as quickly as I can.

The pod door slowly began to shut with a hiss. Nova sat, waiting for something to happen.

"Just as a piece of advice, honesty will be your best strategy, Subjects #002 and #004. Unfortunately for Subject #001, he's going to be punished regardless of the right or wrong answer. For each question." The stallion's voice was cold and calloused at the end of the sentence, lacking any sympathy for Alto. Nova somewhat agreed, although he most likely did because he was still angry. "One more thing before we start, this experiment is going to be much shorter than the typical one, depending on if you answer honestly or not. Don't get your hopes high thinking that it's going to be this easy each time."

"Switching to in-pod frequency. Casting to: All subjects."

"Protocol: Experiment #01. Hello subject. This is a standardized--" The electronic voice skipped for a moment. "-- for stallions and mares. This is being recorded for research purposes and shall be shared with lab workers and other personnel. Please, audibly answer. Failure to comply will result in punishment." It paused for a moment before continuing. "Warm-up phase. Please note that this will not be counted for or against you, and no punishments will be dealt out as a result."

Thank Celestia.

"Do you like: rock-climbing?"

"No...?"

What kind of a question is that?

"Answer logged. Do you like: Daring Do?

"Of course, they're classics!"

"Answer logged. What is: some of your hobbies?

"Studying magic, walking... what is the point of this?"

"Answer logged. Comment: irrelevant." A quiet beep shot through the pod. "Warm up phase complete. Stage one commencing."

"Is your name: Nova?"

"Yes." He said quickly.

"Correct. Are you a: stallion?"

"Yes," Nova answered yet again. If it was this easy, he was going to fly through it. Static did always say I was good at this kind of thing.

"Correct. Are you a: unicorn?"

"Yes."

"Correct. Are you: twenty years old?"

"Yeah."

"Correct. Stage two commencing." The voice paused for a moment. "Is your sister's name: Static?"

"Yes..."

"Is she: suffering from depression?"

"Who're you to ask that?" He answered immediately, and harshly. A loud buzz sounded throughout the pod Something smooth and round prodded him in his back before the buzz became louder. It shocked him before retracting as quickly as it came. He took a few quick, deep breaths.

"Is she: suffering from depression?"

"Yes," Nova answered with a deep breath.