Episode 4
Cold Blood, Part 1
The Catalyst
Over 300 million years ago in the ancient Carboniferous swamps that once covered the earth...not too long after the first primitive amphibians had managed to haul themselves out of the primeval waters and taken their first steps onto dry land...two of their descendants ended up going in two very different directions.
One of them evolved thicker skin and specialised teeth to survive on land. And in time, the ones descended from it began to grow fur, turned warm-blooded, positioned its legs directly underneath to support itself and eventually evolved into the first mammals...in other words: our ancestors.
The other one however went down a very different path...
For instead of thick skin, it evolved shiny scales over its body, and instead of warm blood, it kept it cold, relying instead on the power of the sun to gain its energy. With legs splayed out to its sides and long slithering tails trailing behind them...these creatures eventually became the reptiles that still crawl and slither in the warm jungles and deserts of the world today.
Ever since then, these two lineages had been kept separated from each other, evolving independently and never mixing between one another.
Now however, for the first time in three million centuries of evolution...that was about to change.
Anticipation was high in the Bio-Labs on the 48th floor of the CelestiaCorp Tower.
After countless theories, debates, failed experiments and a fair share of hard work...it was finally time to test the effectiveness of the cross-species-genetics formula that Doctor Silk Mane, with, of course, the help of the interns Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, had created.
The slightly unstable geneticist was beyond ecstatic at the progress she had made, and wasn't even trying to contain her excitement while she watched the little white three-legged mouse in the glass cage in front of her start to breathe in the gas that she had just released into its enclosure.
"In just a few moments, you will all bare witness the true scope of my intellect and the culmination of decades of work, as I, Doctor Chr-ahem, Silk Mane, have finally unlocked the true potential in genetic research! HAHA!" she dramatically announced...not entirely dissimilar to how a stage magician would present their newest trick. "Now, all we have to do is wait until our little furry friend accepts the newt-DNA and regrows her missing limb."
She even had a small audience around to witness the event. Namely Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer and Celestia herself, who were all curiously keeping their eyes on the test subject to see its reaction to the experiment.
"And I assume you can guarantee that the mouse won't die or turn into an unstable hybrid this time, Doctor?" Celestia questioned with a hint of scepticism.
Animal tests may be a necessary part of this kind of research, but that didn't mean that Celestia had to like it. In fact, she usually took steps to ensure the company's lab mice and other animals were taken well cared for and she even forbid many needlessly painful or horrific tests on them for this very reason. Dr Mane on the other hand...she had no such concerns, and Celestia was well-aware of this, so she had to take many more steps to reel the doctor in whenever she lost sight of the company's strong moral standards.
Mane scoffed though when she did it this time, even keeping an annoyed tone in her voice as she assured, "Yes, yes, of course I have. What do you all take me for, some kind of mad scientist?!"
"Actually...yeah," Sunset Shimmer snarked cheekily, earning a death glare from the doctor and an elbow in the ribs from Twilight immediately after doing so.
"Ouch...I was just kidding," she then defended...though she did follow it up with a "...kinda," under her breath a moment later.
"So what exactly are we doing differently this time compared to the other experiments?" Twilight asked in a more professional tone.
"Ha, glad you asked," Mane replied with a hint of pride. "This time I have refined the formula to contain a smaller dose of the Catalyst Factor than earlier to prevent unwanted mutations, factored in the decay-rate-algorithm, and changed from inoculation to gas injection. The risk of unwanted side-effects like last week's experiment is pretty much down to zero now. Trust me...this is gonna be spec-tac-ular!"
"I'm pleased to hear that," said Celestia. "However, we both know that side-effects are hard to predict even by the sharpest of minds. I have certainly seen my fair share of experiments go wrong even when being assured there was no chance they would."
"Oh, come now, Celestia, when have I ever failed anything before?" Silk Mane arrogantly boasted.
Interpreting that question a bit too literally though, Twilight gladly answered, "Well, there were all the other mice experiments in this project so far, plus the numerous times you misspelled the words 'symbiosis' and 'metamorphosis' in your weekly reports, or the time you incorrectly classified a scorpion as a member of the insect-"
"SILENCE!" Mane demanded in a sudden snap of rage, her furious eyes locking onto Twilight's face with the intensity of a hissing cobra. "That was a rhetorical question, you mewling grub! And I do not appreciate lip from some second-rate intern who thinks she's smarter than me!"
Twilight visibly shrunk back from the force of Mane's harsh words. "Oh, sorry, doctor...I didn't mean, well..."
"Second-rate!?" Sunset sputtered, taking a few angry steps forward to confront the doctor who dared to insult her best friend to her face. "If it wasn't for Twilight, you wouldn't have gotten close to finishing this project, let alone be here to gloat about it!"
Silk Mane growled and levelled her eyes at Sunset, who stared back with equal intensity. "Yes, rub it in my face why don't you!? This is my project, not yours! Now, don't think for a second you're gonna get any more credit than-"
"Doctor!" Celestia interrupted with enough authority in her voice to make even the prideful Dr Mane shut up and pay attention to her. "You would do well in not insulting my students...especially when it is unwarranted."
"Unwarranted!? Oh puh-lease! I started this whole project long before you sent them to me, and yet all I hear from your mouth is 'great work, Twilight, you're such a good student' or 'Sunset, what a brilliant idea'. Always 'Sunset this', 'Twilight that', but what do I get? Nothing but scowls and reprimands!"
Celestia let out a sigh, "If I have slighted or insulted you in any way, doctor, then I am truly sorry about that. Your contributions have been invaluable to my company, and your dedication to this project is commendable. However...we aren't doing this for credit or fame. In the end, it shouldn't matter who's name ends up being stamped on this project."
"And what, prey tell, is it that matters so much to you?"
"What matters is that we all work together to create a better future. Not only for us, but also for our children."
"Oh, I...don't actually have any children." Mane informed, clearly missing the point Celestia was trying to make.
Celestia began to slowly walk over towards the cage in the middle of the room. "About a month ago I met the sweetest little girl you will ever meet. An energetic, chaotic little thing, but with a good heart and great ambitions. Unfortunately, after a horrific accident, she had lost one of her legs, costing her the ability to run like she always wanted to. However, if this experiment bears fruit, then she, as well as many other people just like her can get their hopes and dreams back."
She glanced back at the others, "That is what we strive for in this company. Not fame, not money, not recognition, but to help people live the lives they want to live, the lives they deserve to live." Then she looked upon the mouse in the cage and finished her speech, "...and it appears that that future isn't so distant as we once thought," while letting a warm smile cross her face.
Realising the implications of what Celestia had just said, Twilight immediately rushed over to her side to see for herself, and lo and behold, her eyes practically sparkled with excitement when she saw that the once three-legged mouse...was no longer three-legged.
By the wonders of science, the mouse had successfully regrown a fully functional leg without any obvious side-effects...and in only a minute or so at that. Truly, a monumental breakthrough in the advancement of mankind!
Unable to contain her excitement, Twilight squealed,"I can't believe it...IT WORKED!" with her voice reaching a very girlish high pitch as she did so.
"High five!" Sunset offered with a raised hand.
However, Twilight wasn't really on the same page, and instead ran up to her to pull her into a tight hug and then proceeded to jump for joy while repeating "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES, YES, YEEES!"
Sunset actually had to physically push her away to regain her ability to properly breathe, gasping out the words "Easy there, Tiger..." when she did so.
Awkwardly, Twilight calmed herself down and took a step away from her, blushing a bit while uttering an embarrassed "Sorry."
Celestia giggled a little at the sight, politely holding a hand over her lips while doing so. "Hehehe, you have both done a tremendous job as my students, and I'm very proud of you!"
Dr Mane crossed her arms and spitefully mumbled, "How sentimental..." under her breath.
"And to you too, doctor, of course," Celestia soon added, giving Mane a respectful smile. "I knew you had what it took to-"
However, she was then interrupted by an overly cheery voice signing "Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows...pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows..." to which she responded with a curious raised eyebrow.
Silk Mane sighed, then reached into a pocket of her lab coat to take out her cellphone, revealing that the annoyingly catchy tune was actually her ringtone.
She was about to simply dismiss the call out of annoyance for interrupting her boss actually giving her a, in her own opinion, well-deserved compliment...but then she saw the caller ID and immediately decided against that. Instead, she looked at Celestia and excused, "Uh...sorry, but I have to take this."
"Oh, that's quite alright. You're excused," Celestia answered politely.
The doctor then quickly stepped out of the lab and into the mostly empty hallway outside, where she made sure to find a quiet corner where no one would likely overhear her.
Only once she was certain that she was indeed alone and in a secure location did she dare answer the call.
"You couldn't even wait another minute before calling me!?" Mane angrily shouted into the phone as soon as she did though, not even bothering with a hello. "I was just about to have my genius verified by Celestia herself!"
A female voice replied on the other end with an annoyed, "Spare me your ego, doctor. All I want to know is how your little science project is going. How soon can we begin our plan?"
Mane let out a sinister giggle, "Oh, hehehe, you won't believe it, but today's test yielded a one-hundred percent success! We are definitively ready to move forward with no further delay!"
"Finally! I was beginning to think you didn't have it in you...and that I may have released the wrong mad doctor from her cage..." the voice snarked in a pleased yet spiteful tone.
Silk Mane's mood quickly switched to anger at that remark, "Don't you dare call me that again, or I'll-"
"Hahahaha! You'll...what exactly? Heheheh..." she challenged amusingly, as if daring Mane to finish that sentence.
"I'll...eh, never mind!"
"Hahahaheheheh...thought so. Now, as for the next part of your plan, I want...an accident."
Mane took a small break from their conversation to take off her glasses and clean them a bit with the hem of her lab coat, then she put them back on and asked, "Sorry...a what?"
"An accident. A freak of nature, an unknown variable. I want this project to fail in the most spectacular way possible, and I want Celestia and everyone else to know that she is entirely to blame for it."
Dr Mane was almost lost for words, "But...but, but I have spent twenty years on this project, it was my greatest masterpiece...and you expect me to throw all that away just because you say so!"
"Hmm? Yes, that about covers it. What, you have a problem with that?"
"As a matter of fact, I do!" Mane replied, nearly screaming into her phone. "I have my own uses for this project, plans of my own...and I'm not throwing all that away until I've seen it to the end!"
"I'm so sorry to hear that...because you'll have to do it anyway."
"Give me one good reason why I should!"
"Hahahahahehehehehe...how about if I say 'please'? heheheh..." the voice mocked. "...Or maybe I'll tell you that if you don't do it before the week is over, I'll let everyone know exactly who 'Doctor Silk Mane' really is. Your choice."
Then the line went dead...conveniently before Mane could give a response to that.
In a burst of rage, she back-slammed her fist into the nearest wall, creating a loud banging sound in the corridor while leaving a small crack in the concrete in her wake. And for some reason, her eyes seemed to briefly flicker in a faint shade of green when she did so.
"THAT INSUFFERABLE GOBLIN!" she cursed to the empty hallway. "She thinks she can just boss me around like her little flying monkey! The nerve! I'll show her exactly who she's..."
Then...an idea crossed her mind, and her anger soon began to turn to anticipation while a wicked grin began to form on her lips. "...or maybe I can actually get something good out of this...after all, she didn't say how I should sabotage my work..."
Back in the main lab...
"Heartbeat: check, breathing: check, blood toxicity: check, bone density: check, no side-effects detected. It appears...everybody...that the experiment was a complete success!" Twilight happily noted after having checked a monitor keeping track of the test subject's vitals.
"There you have it, Celestia," Sunset commented, currently leaning against a wall close by with her arms crossed. "Looks like we're off to a good start with changing the history of medicine and all, right?"
Celestia took a peek at the monitor over Twilight's shoulder, her greater than average height making it a very easy thing for her to do. "The great Professor Starswirl tried for years to figure out the secret of cross-species genetics, and he didn't even come close. My best scientists have tried for even longer, and still with no success. But then...you two came along and successfully made it work after less than a month. I haven't had any student with minds quite like yours since Starlight and Sunburst left. I see now why he recommended you two for the internship position in the first place."
A bit confused, Twilight asked, "Uh...who recommended us when?"
"Sunburst, of course," Celestia replied. "He is a teacher at your school, is he not?"
"Of course! His lessons on theoretical astrophysics are simply the best!"
Celestia pulled up an office chair nearby and gently sat down on it. "Well, what I may have forgotten to mention was that he was also the one who invited me to Canterlot High in the first place. The science fair you both participated in doubled as an acceptance test of sorts to see if you were indeed as clever as he said you were. And now, I have no doubts that you are both just the kind of students I was looking for."
"That's a bit sneaky if you ask me," Sunset noted, though her tone didn't actually show any hint of anger or offence. In fact, she almost sounded a bit impressed.
"I do have my ways," she replied with a mischievous smirk, even leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs while doing so.
"So does this mean we get to study with Doctor Glimmer soon?!" Twilight beamed. "I mean, she was your student too, and her work on robotics is something else! Not to mention-"
"Actually..." Celestia interrupted with a raised finger for emphasis. "...I'm afraid Starlight doesn't take interns...and she is very adamant about that."
"So was Doctor Mane, and she took us on," Sunset pointed out.
"The difference there was that, believe it or not, Silk actually requested help with this project. Though she was reluctant to admit it, she told me that she had hit a roadblock, and I helped her in the best way I knew how."
"So what's up with Glimmer then? She too good for us or something?"
Celestia sighed, then sat up straight and laid her hands in her lap. "I wouldn't exactly put it that way, but she values her privacy and prefers to work alone whenever she can. She tells me it's to help her think without...distractions...and according to her, other people...count as distractions."
There was a slight hint of regret in Celestia's voice when she finished that sentence though, and it was only enforced by the sad look on her face she briefly showed after she said it.
Despite not being the best at reading social cues, Twilight did take notice of her mentor's small change in demeanour. "Celestia? Is something wrong?"
She remained silent for a moment, then let out another sigh. "It's just...I'm worried about her. Ever since Sunburst left CelestiaCorp, Starlight never made any attempts to socialise with anyone else, not even the people she worked with on a daily basis. She sits alone when on her lunch breaks, spends most of her time in her lab, and she doesn't even apply for leave on the holidays. Lately I've seen her go days without going home or even removing her chest harness..."
"And by 'chest harness' I'm assuming you mean the four robot arms coming out of her back, right?" Sunset asked for clarification.
"Um, yes, Sunset," Celestia awkwardly replied. "That is one way of describing them. And while they are efficient tools in her line of work, lately she has been wearing them a lot more than I would consider to be healthy for her." With a hint of aggravation in her tone, she finished her piece with, "...which I also assume is the reason why so many of my staff have decided to call her 'Doctor Octopus' behind her back."
"I never called her that!" Twilight assured, though a bit louder and a bit more nervously than was strictly called for.
"Sure you didn't," Sunset snarked.
Twilight responded to that by giving her an angry shush.
"It's quite alright," Celestia quickly assured. "I do understand my employees' frustrations with her, even if I don't approve of something as childish as name calling. I have, on occasion, encouraged her to seek out people to socialise with, but...she's made it pretty clear she just isn't interested in making friends."
"That's pretty bad," Sunset realised, doing her best to sound sympathetic. "Any idea why she's acting like that? Because to me, it kinda sounds like there's more to it than just not wanting to get distracted."
"It's...a bit of a long story, but-
Before Celestia could continue, a familiar voice interrupted her over the building's intercom. "Celestia, this is Doctor Glimmer. Would you mind coming over to the tech-labs? I have a couple ideas for the Arc Reactor and need to discuss a few things over with you."
"Speak of the devil, I guess," Shimmer remarked.
Celestia got up from her seat and took in a deep breath...then flashed her pupils a bright smile. "Well, students, it appears I'm needed elsewhere! Congratulations again on your work! In fact, why don't you both take the rest of the day off? You've more than earned it."
"Sure thing, Celestia!" Twilight replied. "And good luck with whatever Starlight wants from you!"
Celestia gave her a compassionate grin, then turned around and left the room.
If there was one place in CelestiaCorp's Bio-Labs where there were next to no witnesses that could implicate you for doing something fishy, then it was the Cold Storage...which, as the name suggested, was a fairly large storage room that was always cooled down to just below the point of freezing, and where a multitude of biological specimens were safely kept for later use. And, as very few people liked to work in a sub-zero environment most of the time, people rarely went in here unless the visit was rather brief.
Perfect for the first step in Dr Silk Mane's plan.
Now, if only she could find what she was looking for in here before freezing to death, then it probably would be even more perfect.
Unfortunately for her, she had been so excited, not to mention impatient, about getting her brand new plan into action...that she didn't even bother putting on something warmer than her lab coat before she walked into the cold (and also slightly dimly lit) storage room. Which, in hindsight, might not have been the best idea she'd ever had.
The second she stepped foot inside, the cold air hit her like a brick wall, and she immediately wrapped her arms around herself to preserve her precious body heat.
"Gah! What is this place built for? Polar bears?!" she complained shortly after.
Now while most people usually kept their inner monologues silent and...well...on the inside, Dr Silk Mane was not most people. No, she knew that the key to brilliance lay in speaking your thoughts out loud as much as possible...as long as no one could actually hear you that is.
Hey, it seemed to work for her, so don't judge.
"Well, never mind that, for as soon as I find what I'm looking for, I'll let everyone know exactly who the true genius in this place is!" she promised in a voice that simply oozed of pride and arrogance...until she grumbled "...provided my hair doesn't freeze off first!"
There were rows upon rows of shelves filled to the brim with all kinds of biological specimens in the Cold Storage Room, though thankfully, everything was neatly organised, and Mane knew exactly what she was looking for.
And as she went through the numbers looking for the one she was after, she continued her monologue with gusto.
"For too long it's always been that little 'Doctor Octopus' who's made all the big achievements around here...but not today! She may know how to make an awkward-looking metal replacement for a leg, but I know how to make it grow back as if it was never lost in the first place! Hahahaha! But of course those insufferable interns are the ones who will get the credit no matter how much that two-faced bitch Celestia says otherwise!"
She even spat on the floor at the mere mention of that name.
"Oh, and that Goblin freak as well. She thinks she can just boss me around like her little errand girl just because she broke me out of prison and set me up here. She didn't even say thank you after I risked my whole cover just to smuggle those stupid weapons out for her! Arghh! I'll show her, I'll show Celestia, and I'll especially show those two little grubs just what happens when you take me for granted!"
After she finished her little rant, her eyes then lit up in excitement when she spotted what she was after.
"...And it seems I don't have far to look, do I?"
She picked up a vial from one of the shelves and played around with it a bit in one of her delicate hands, smiling wickedly as she did so. "Sphenodon punctatus, New Zealand's hidden treasure. The fastest evolving genes I have ever encountered. Such a pity the species is nearly extinct. They are always so fascinating to dissect, hehehe..."
She looked around a bit more. "Hmmm...but I need something else, something more stable but in the same taxonomic class. How about...AHAH!" she picked up another vial. "Eublepharis macularius! Freshest sample here, given their popularity as house pets. Come to think of it, didn't Shimmer own one of these? Eh, whatever. Still...useful, but not fearsome enough for the kind of spectacle I had in mind."
Her smile then turned into one of pure unfiltered sadistic evil when she saw yet another promising vial of sampled DNA. "Mhahahahahahaha...Varanus komodoensis. Huge, aggressive, venomous and an insatiable man-eating carnivore...and even confirmed cannibal. Yes, this will do nicely...very nicely indeed..."
She held up all three vials in one of her hands and licked her lips in anticipation as she stared at them, her mind conjuring up all kinds of nefarious uses for them while she did so.
"With all three DNA samples combined with an intentional overdose of the Catalyst Factor and injected into that of a living human, I'll have a perfect monster to do my bidding! And that's only the beginning. Just imagine what a whole army of hybrids could do for me...ooooooooh, the very thought makes me feel like a schoolgirl again, Hihihi!"
Then, a cold shiver running through her body soon reminded her of where she currently was. "Brrrr! Stupid cold! Now as for who will have the first taste of my little gift...well, the answer to that is obvious now, isn't it? heehe!"
When it came to people Dr Silk Mane didn't like...well, it would probably be easier to name the extremely few people she actually did like...or tolerated for that manner. However, if there were any people who ignited that very special spark of hatred in her heart, then it would be none other than Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer...all because they had repeatedly proven themselves to be smarter than she was.
Mane hated to rely on them to complete her research, she hated to act friendly and respectful to them...and she absolutely loathed that they had to be given the credit for finishing the project that she had been wanting to complete for nearly 20 years now.
So who else would be more suited to play the unfortunate victims of her dastardly plan than one of them? Answer: no one! And that was why she was running to catch up to the two teenagers before they could leave the lobby.
Fortunately for her, the two of them weren't in much of a hurry to leave and even seemed to be in the midst of a particularly interesting conversation by the time the doctor reached them.
"...one good thing about dating Trixie though was that you never had a dull moment when it came to dates," Sunset recounted as they walked, while Twilight gave her friend her full attention. "I mean, with Flash, it was all about catching all these rock concerts or go on romantic bike rides. Trixie on the other hand...well, she saw pretty much everything as a challenge and constantly tried to make every date more...let's call it 'interesting'...than the last one."
"So...would you say that it was a very...eventful relationship?" Twilight asked.
"HA! That's putting it mildly! She took me to Las Pegasus on our second date! The first one was to a Chinese circus, and later we went hang-gliding, road trips, private magic shows, and that's all without mentioning the time we went scuba diving with sharks. With Trixie, you never really knew what she could come up with next. She was always so...mysterious."
"How on earth could you possibly afford all those things?"
"Weeeee...kinda didn't most of the time," Sunset admitted with a small blush and a slightly nervous grin. "You wouldn't believe how many times we got-"
"Miss Sparkle!" Silk Mane's voice called, interrupting Sunset's story before she could finish it.
Both of them stopped in their tracks and turned around to see what she wanted, and were quite surprised to see their, usually extremely arrogant, co-worker approach them with a friendly smile. Although, some might consider it to be a bit too friendly to be genuine...which it definitively was by the way.
"Doctor Mane? What is it?" Twilight inquired.
"I...eh, I just wanted to apologise for my earlier attitude towards you," Mane lied...though well enough to at least make Twilight think she meant it. "I thought about it for a moment, and soon came to realise I wasn't being fair to you."
Twilight's response came in the form of an awkward, "Okay...um, it's fine, you didn't have to-"
"Look," Silk started, running a hand through her long blue hair as she internally had to quench her pride for what she was about to say next. "The truth is...I wouldn't have finished the project without your help, so..."
She quickly reached under her lab coat, took out a small box and held it out for her, "...I brought you this as an apology gift! Pretty nice, huh!?"
Twilight took a moment to adjust her glasses and inspect the strange little box the doctor offered her. It was just small enough to fit in the palm of her hand and was rather sloppily gift-wrapped in pink present paper with a clashing garishly green ribbon messily tied to it. All in all, she could quite easily deduce that it was wrapped up in a hurry.
"Oh...well...uhmm...thanks, I guess," Twilight muttered while she hesitantly took the strange gift out of Mane's hands. "I will...definitively open it...later."
"Good!" Mane affirmed, still giving her an uncomfortably wide grin. "Just, uh...don't wait too long! You'll see why when you open it."
"Hang on," Sunset interrupted, sounding very unconvinced. "What's with the sudden change of heart? And how could you possibly just have that thing ready at a moment's notice?"
The doctor's smile wavered for a split second before she forced herself to keep up her pleasant demeanour. "I...just needed some time alone to think about it, of course! As for the gift...well, that was actually something I had planned in advance to thank you both for your hard work!"
Sunset crossed her arms, "...Then where's mine?"
"Well aren't we being greedy today, Shimmer?" Mane cheekily asked, dodging the question entirely. "Anyway, I have a lot of work to do so...have a nice day and enjoy the gift!"
Before Sunset could get another word in, Dr Mane just turned around and left, practically jogging over to the elevator, almost as if she was in a hurry. To say that she was acting a bit suspicious wouldn't do it justice.
"Well...that was interesting, alright," Shimmer commented.
Twilight was bit too busy inspecting the shoddily-wrapped up gift Mane gave her to respond to that though. After all, it wasn't every day someone just gave her packaged gifts out of the blue like that...especially since it wasn't even close to her birthday or Hearth's Warming.
When she made a move to open it however, Sunset cringed a little and warned, "You know, you probably shouldn't open that."
"Huh? Why not?" Twilight asked after briefly taking her eyes off the box.
"Doctor Mane was acting weird...I mean, weirder than usual. I don't know, maybe I'm just a bit paranoid, but something's telling me that you don't want to know what she put in that box. Call it a gut feeling."
"But we're never gonna find out unless we open it," Twilight pointed out while giving the package a small shake, hearing that something reasonably heavy rolled around inside it.
"I guess..." Shimmer muttered sceptically.
"Hey, at worst it's probably just a prank or something," Twilight reasoned. "Goodness knows I'm used to that after having been friends with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie so long. You won't believe what those two get up to when they're on a pranking spree!"
Sunset let out a chuckle, "Hehe, oh I think I have a pretty good idea. Just...even if it is just a prank, you got to tell me if it's a cruel one, okay?"
"Oh, of course," Twilight assured with a smile...that soon after turned a bit mischievous, "...and then you and I are gonna think of the perfect way to prank her back!"
Sunset pointed a pair of finger guns at her and clicked her tongue, "Right with you, Tiger!"
Later that evening...
As it turned out, Twilight didn't actually bothered to open the mysterious present by the time she got home, and instead just placed it on the living room table while she began to make some tea for the evening instead.
Tea always did have an uncanny ability to calm her down whenever she was feeling overly stressed, and with all the things that had been going on with her lately, she really did need a good stress reliever.
And as she filled the kettle with water and turned the stove on, Twilight let her mind wander through all the things that had been bothering her lately.
'It's been little more than a week, but I still can't get that image out of my head. I know I didn't know Firefly all that well, but it still didn't feel right to see her bleed out right in front of me. What was it? Two, no, three times I threw up that day. Uggh...I should have just looked away or something. It's good to know Rainbow Dash seem to be doing better at least, but it still can't be easy for her. I mean, if it had been Velvet who got shot, then...well, actually, I don't want to think about that. And with the project deadline coming up directly after and Doctor Mane being her usual self on top of that...it's certainly not been doing any favours for my stress levels.'
Another thought then made a dreamy look cross her face, and she let herself smile despite all the stress she had yet to get out of her system.
'Thank goodness for Sunset Shimmer though. If it wasn't for her, I don't know if I'd be able to make it through all this. She's just so...nice, and friendly and cool and gorgeous, and...well, she's perfect. And she's been nothing but supportive to me ever since this whole mess started. I mean, standing up to Mane just to defend my honour, I don't know if I'd ever had a friend quite like her.'
As she poured the water she'd just heated into a cup and inserted a teabag, she let out a happy sigh.
'Though of course would it be even better if we could be something even more than friends...' A blush started to lightly paint her cheeks when her thoughts started to carry on from there.
'...just imagine me and her going on all those crazy adventures she used to go with Trixie, or what if we could spend a romantic moment in the lab. Just us...working alone on trying to save the world together. Or maybe she could just come over here and we could kiss...maybe make out...or...maybe we could go even furthe-'
Her increasingly intimate thoughts then got rapidly interrupted when she heard Spike's voice ask, "Hey, Twilight, what's up with the wrapped present in the living room?!"
A bit flustered, Twilight made a quick effort to collect herself and ask, "What do you mean?! What present?"
Spike walked into the kitchen holding the little package in his hand while eyeing it curiously. "Uhh...this thing. I found it on the table, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't there this morning."
Somehow, Twilight had actually forgotten all about that gift already, and it only came back to her after he brought it up. "Oh that? A doctor I'm working with at the CelestiaCorp internship gave it to me as a thank you gift."
"And you haven't opened it yet?" Spike questioned in disbelief.
"I guess I never got around to it. Sunset thought it might be a prank or something though...so I don't know if I should open it."
Spike put an ear to the box and gave it a small shake. "Well...there is something inside it at least. Sure you don't wanna find out what?"
"Well...I guess I am a bit curious," she admitted against her better judgement.
A burst of excitement flashed through Spike's eyes.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" he asked before he immediately started to tear right through the shoddily-wrapped gift paper and uncovered a small cardboard box with a lid on inside.
Right then and there, Twilight got something of a bad omen about this whole thing. She couldn't tell exactly what it was, but something in her gut told her that this wasn't going to end well. Acting quickly, she shouted "Spike, wait!"
However, that warning ultimately came a bit too late...for by the time Spike could process what she just said, he had already taken the lid off and exposed the box's mysterious contents to the outside world.
As it turned out were the contents in question a strange mechanical canister of some kind, that, when the box it was held in opened, promptly sprayed a small cloud of green gas right into Spike's unsuspecting face.
The smell hit him first.
If you would have asked Spike what the worst smell he'd ever encountered was before this incident, then he would probably need some time to think of a proper answer...but now he knew that whatever that was, it would not even come close to the horrific odour he was subjected to after he opened the present.
In a panic, he dropped the box on the floor and tried to cover up his mouth and nose with his hands in a futile attempt to get rid of the smell.
It was so horrible that it left him in a bit of a coughing fit afterwards while his eyes even started to turn bloodshot.
Out of concern for his safety, Twilight got over to his side in seconds while rapidly asking, "SPIKE! Are you okay!? Does it hurt?! Can you breathe!? Do I need to get the first aid kit?! Or a doctor?! Or an ambulance!? Please tell me!" even going so far as to hysterically shake him by the end of it.
After the poor boy finally managed to clear his throat and regain the ability to speak properly, he was quick to assure, "I'm fine! I'm fine...just...have to get rid of the smell."
"Oh thank goodness!" Twilight exclaimed, sounding relieved. She then took the cup she filled with tea earlier and quickly handed it over to him. "Here, take this!"
Without hesitation, Spike took a hearty gulp of it, then snarked, "Wow, that smell was so bad it even made Earl Gray taste good!"
"Hey, that's my favourite tea!" Twilight objected, allowing a moment of levity to break the tension for a second.
"...And I'm complimenting it...well, kinda."
Still a bit concerned, she asked again, "But really, are you one-hundred-percent okay?"
Spike, as carefree as he ever was, shrugged it off, "Relax, sis, I'm fine. That wasn't even my first stink bomb encounter...though definitively the worst."
"I guess it was a prank then after all..." Twilight surmised with a sigh. 'Note to self: never accept gifts from Silk Mane ever again.'
"Seems so," Spike agreed, taking another sip of the tea to get rid of the smell. "Good thing it wasn't anything worse though."