//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Equestrian Servitude // by gmen15 //------------------------------// Prologue A contradiction, that’s what this room is. This small, cramped space where science has set foot, but not a science of discovery, but conquest. A science of power most people would expect society to shun, when in reality they would salivate at the possibilities. There were no windows, no paths to the outside world. It was dark, dreary, desolate and solitary, a prime place to hold secret government science research projects. Research projects such as the one completed in this very room, proving that sometimes stereotypes are true, even if we'd like to wish they weren't. This is the room where liberty dies. This is the room where slavery thrives. A complex machine was fixated against the back wall. It was composed of a large, glass enclosure underneath a large, oval-shaped generator that was tightly fastened to the ceiling by four metal rods, while two large blades stuck out of it, meant to spin around when the device was in operation. It was tall enough for a small group of people to stand inside while the generator would turn on and drive the machine work its magic, or in this case…science. Lights flashed all over, orange, yellow, red and blue, giving some sense of life in the otherwise dark and dreary area. It looked rather Christmas-like, even though this room’s purpose was anything but bright and jolly. Long, black cords fed out of the machine and into a screen that was placed on a desk. It looked like a thirty-six inch television screen, relaying images back to the viewer; a man. This lone individual sat at a desk, his eyes glued to the screen as it flashed colorful images back to him, contrasting the very darkness of the room. The images were of an entirely new, far off world that was discovered only a short time before. A world that was animated like it was designed from a children’s cartoon, which is exactly what it looked like. The landscape, the creatures living on the other side of the screen, they were all cartoony, all cartoony, yet still living, breathing organisms that did, in fact, exist. It was a miraculous discovery that set the international scientific community abuzz. Cheers were heard, champagne bottles were opened, heck some scientists flat-out streaked down city blocks like college boys pledging to a fraternity. The man behind the desk’s black hair was greasy with sweat. His cold-brown eyes scanned the screen as the cartoon-world’s images flash back to him, giving him a front row seat to observe the daily lives of the different creatures, learning as much about each of them as he could. His rough hands clapsed together over his mouth, elbows on the desk. He had the appearance of a student leaning towards his professor with great interest. A small, sinister smile crept onto his face, illuminated by the light which only made it possible to see the lower half of his face up to the bottom rim of his glasses, giving him the look not unlike a villain from a thriller film. This is his creation, his brain-child, his project, something he’d hoped to achieve ever since he was a small boy with a big dream and a big imagination, a trait shared by most inventors.It was his lifelong dream, and now it was accomplished. Not only that, but the discovery would also be his means to pay back the government for the loans he was given to run such controversial research. He reached out and grabbed a phone that was connected to the panel in front of him. He dialed a number and pressed the receiver to his ear and waited for a response. The reply came in a creepy voice. A voice that sounded like it was coming from a man wearing a respirator. ”Are the provisions made?” “Yes. All I need is you and your men.” ”Excellent.” came the voice on the other end, ”Just have the suits ready for us when we get down there, I’m a man of promptness and delays are my pet peeve.” The man in the chair nodded, but didn’t say anything in response other than: “How’s your face?” For a moment there was no response, only the labored breathing of the man on the other line. The man could feel his pulse elevating, he held his breath in anticipation, too scared to do anything but sit and wait for the man to get back to him. Eventually, his voice was heard yet again. ”Excruciating.” “Listen, I’m sorry again for...” Click….BEEEEPPPPPP The man looked at his receiver as the ventilator-voiced man hung up on him. He lowered the phone back into the cradle and stared at it for a few moments, any glimmer of joy he had on his face minutes before gone, taken by the man with the horrifying, respirator voice. He was now terrified, as if the person he called directly threatened his life. Burying his face deep into his hands, he let out a sigh. He rubbed his temples and looked up at the screen in front of him, still showing the cheerful, happy faces of six colorful equines hanging out with each other like good friends should. His face started to relax as he listened to the little ponies converse with each other. “So, Pinkie Pie, you wanted help with something?” The white unicorn with the purple mane, Rarity, asked her pink friend. “Yeah, can you girls help me bake some cupcakes? Mr. and Mrs. Cake are busy for the day, and I could reeeeaaaaally use your help.” replied the crazy pink one that the man recognized as Pinkie Pie. “Of course, what are friends for?” The violet mare, Twilight said in response before turning to her friends that included Rarity, a orange pony with a cowboy hat, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail, and a yellow pegasus with a pink mane. “Come on girls, let’s go!” “Yeah!” the cyan mare, Rainbow Dash said triumphantly, “Let’s do this!” "Right behind ya partner!" the orange earth pony, Applejack, said with a smile and a tip of her hat. "Um...I'll help too...if that's all right." the yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, stated meekly. "I call dibs on helping with the chocolate cupckes!" Rainbow Dash shouted with great enthusiasm as she flew off, closely followed by her cheerful friends. Once they disappeared from the screen’s view, the man smiled. “You will all be very valuable.” He then reached out and pressed the “off” button, turning the screen from bright, hopeful color to complete darkness.