//------------------------------// // 2. Experiments 10a & 10b // Story: Experiment Saga // by Cinor //------------------------------// Richard Pound In: Experiments 10a-10b “They’re twins, Richard,” Celestia explained. The tenth human to come to Equestria under Celestia’s guidance hadn’t just been one, but two humans. “Well, that’s sure strange. I’m wondering how the spell even works anymore Celestia,” I said. “The spell is ancient, Richard. I could barely cast it, I wasn’t about to ask how it worked.” I guess that worked. She needed, in her words, a hero, and she had gotten one. “Ok. Can you tell me more about the twins?” I asked. She nodded. “They came up with their own names as you all did,” she started to explain. I butted in, “This is my actual name though.” “It is?” she asked, shocked. “Yes,” I told her plainly. “Whatever then. I believe their names were Gemini for the stallion and, well, his sister called herself Gemini too.” “They took the same name?” That was weird to me; even after all this Equestrian stuff. “They were a strange couple,” she said. “Where can I find them?” I asked. “You can find them in the wastelands. They decided that it would be best to stay away from proper pony society. Knowing what they were after all.” I turned to leave, but a lingering question held me back. “Celestia,” I asked,” What do you do with the ponies I send back to you?” “I send them back, Richard. Now hurry along.” I arrived back at the library late at night. Twilight was lazily walking up the stairs to bed, yawning. She stopped when she saw me. “Dick, you’re back,” she said. “How was Canterlot?” “It was fine. I learned about a pair of twins in the wastes that I need to visit,” I told her. “Should I come too?” she asked. “I don’t know, Twilight. Let’s talk about it tomorrow morning.” She turned and finished trotting upstairs. I woke up to an empty bed. The house was dead silent. I got out of bed. “Twilight?” I called, my voice echoing through the house. I slowly trotted down the stairs. The air was cold, like a morgue. As my last hoof hit the floor, I saw a pony sitting in the couch. He looked at me with disgust. It was Big Richard. “Hello, Richard,” he said. “Big? What are you doing here?” I asked. “I don’t know, Richard. All I know is that I’m not anymore.” “But you’re here now,” I said. “Yes, I’m here. I’m not where I want to be,” he said, blankly. It was hard to get a read on his emotions, his thoughts. “Where are Twilight and Sunny?” I asked. “I don’t know. They aren’t my responsibility,” he sneered. “What do you want from me? You can’t be here anymore. Celestia sent you home.” “No Richard,” he said angrily. “This was my home. This was everything I had wanted. You took it away from me.” “I’m sorry. She told me you all had to go. I just-“ “You just what, Richard? You thought that Celestia knows best? Celestia didn’t care for any of us.” “You knew about the others?” I asked. “I didn’t know them,” he said. “I knew that there must have been others.” He lifted his left hoof. The number twelve was emblazoned on it. “I was the twelfth. Which one are you?” I looked at my left hoof, it had no mark. “I don’t have one,” I said. “Then aren’t you just perfect?” he said sarcastically. “You know, when I first woke up here, I thought it was going to be wonderful. I was going to live the life I had always wanted. I was in Canterlot when I realized what was happening. Celestia called me to her room. I was hoping to meet Twilight. She told me she had a job for me.” “I woke up in the Everfree Forest,” I said. He gave me a pitiful look. “I wish I had been so lucky. I could have hid here, but no. The job she gave me, I had no idea what to do. I had to stop someone named Bastion before he could be tainted by some dark spell. Needless to say I failed. I heard when you stopped him.” He paused for a while. “You did better than any of us could have,” he said mournfully. “No, I didn’t. I did what anyone in my place would have done. I saw that I could help and I did,” I announced. “No, you didn’t. You showed us all up. You were the perfect ‘experiment’ she wanted all of us to be.” “I’m not better than anyone. I just know how to solve crimes damn it. I’m a detective.” “You know what? Fuck you, Richard. Fuck you and what you’re doing now. I was living a perfectly happy life here in Equestria and you show up and ruin everything.” A voice spoke from behind me, "Es amigo de verdad. Yo era más feliz aquí. Mi familia me vendió a la Inquisición. Aquí yo soy libre.” The foreign pony was descending the stairs. “You’re here too? This must be some kind of party,” I said. “Do you know what he said?” asked Big. “I don’t,” I admitted. “He basically said that his family ruined his life, like mine did,” said Big bitterly. “I don’t understand why you’re here though. I get that you both had family trouble, but why bring me into this? I was just doing what I was told.” "Cuando se llevaron a mi familia, ellos hacían lo que les dijieron,"said the foreign pony. “That’s true, Julio.” I woke up with a jolt. My coat was slick with sweat, my breathing labored, my heart raced. Twilight had already left to do something. I got out of the covers, desperate for something to drink. The house seemed nearly 100 degrees as I tried to turn the tap on the sink. No water poured out. Must be broken, I thought. I had to find Twilight and Sunny. All I knew was that they weren’t in the library. The town was empty. The shops closed and the doors locked. I walked up and down the streets, looking for the slightest hint of water. The sun was oppressing, high on its orbit through the sky. At last, I heard the sound of running water. I ran to the source. Roseluck stood in front of her shop pouring water all over her plants. The plants had long ago withered. “Roseluck, what are you doing? Where is everyone?” I asked her. She put down her watering can and looked at me. “Oh, hey there, Richard. How are you doing?” she asked, sauntering over to me. “Roseluck, have you seen Twilight or Sunny? In fact, have you seen anyone?” I asked. Roseluck stood in front of me, a strange gleam in her eyes. “I’ve seen the only pony I want to see,” she murmured. She moved to my side, placing her head below me. Suddenly the heat didn’t seem so bad. For a second time, I woke up. The room was unfamiliar and cold. I tried to get up, but something tugged at me hoof. An I.V. system had been connected to me. I took it out, wincing in pain. A small line of blood came from the new hole. I looked around my surroundings. It looked to be a small shack, two doors. A few potted plants lined what shelves the room had. I heard strange muffled sounds from beyond the inner door. I gingerly got up on my hooves and crept over. I put my ears to the door. The sounds of pleasure and moans were unmistakable now. I can get one while they’re surprised, I thought. I kicked open the door and jumped through the threshold. “Stop right there, Gemini!” I yelled. I wasn’t ready for what I saw. It looked like a stallion was having sex with his female counterpart. “Looks like he’s awake, brother,” said the mare as the stallion let her up. “What the hell?” I asked. They ignored my question. “That concoction should have kept you under for longer,” said the stallion. They both got off the bed, circling me. I tried to keep my eyes on both of them to no avail. “Should’ve stayed asleep, Dick,” they said in unison. They kept moving closer and closer. It was making me dizzy. “Why are you doing this?” asked the mare. “He hates us, sister,” said the stallion. “We’ve got something a bit stronger for a stallion like you,” said the mare coyly. I felt something press into my flank. A sharp pain and then numbness overtakes it. I regained consciousness in a very intimate position with Roseluck. Got to get out of here, I thought. I slowly started to pull myself away from her, but she awoke to the slightest movement. “Mornin’, Richard,” she said. “Ready for round three?” Round three? What is she talking about? “No way, Roseluck,” I said. Can’t deal with these dreams right now; I have to stop Gemini. I finished getting all of me away from all of her and stood up. We were in her room. “Come on, rosie. You were awfully insistent about this last night,” she said. Yeah right, last night I was sleeping peacefully next to Twilight. “I’m sorry, but I have to go,” I told her. I turned and trotted out of the room. I made it all the back to the library. Every step I expected to be overtaken by another nightmare. I walked in expecting something out of the ordinary, yet there was nothing. “Morning, Richard. Did you leave early or something?” asked Twilight. She was helping somepony get books. “I, uh, what?” I questioned. Surely this is still the dream. “I woke up and you were already gone. Didn’t you want to talk about going after the twins?” she asked. She had gotten the book down and the stallion was walking out the door. “Didn’t I already do that?” Twilight gave a small chuckle. “Unless that’s why you left early,” she said. “Are you alright, Richard? You look a little sick.” “Yeah, I just need to take a walk real quick,” I said hurriedly. I ran out of door and out of town. I slowly walked the Everfree forest, thinking of what happened . “So… I guess I haven’t gone to the wastelands to find Gemini yet,” I muttered to myself. “Which means… I cheated on Twilight… with Roseluck.” That was an awful lot to handle right now. “I have to ask her what happened,” I told myself. Luckily I didn’t see Twilight on the way to Roseluck’s store. “Hey, Roseluck, what’s going on?” I asked her. She’s standing behind her counter, blushing a little. “Oh, nothing Richard. I’m just tending to whatever flowers got hurt last night.” Oh my. “Yeah, last night must’ve been pretty crazy,” I said. She nodded. “Do you think you could remind me of the whole,” I skirted around using the word ‘affair’, “night?” She let out laugh. “You came by last night after I closed. I was just watering some of my roses. You told me you love roses. You were begging to come in and then, well, you know, we had some fun.” Oh my god, what the hell? “Was I, or did I seem drunk or sick?” I asked her. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she responded. “Nothing, I’m sorry. I’ve got to go for now,” I said, turning to leave. “Wait, Richard,” Roseluck said. I turned back to her. “I want to thank you. No stallion ever really paid attention to me. I’ll see you around ok?” I was back in the forest. “I can’t tell Twilight and she can never find out,” I told myself. “But then aren’t I being a bad husband?” “No, well yes. I’m already a bad husband! This takes the cake!” I rebutted. “What’s the worst that could happen?” “She could kill me,” I said. “Uh, hello?” Fluttershy was coming out a bush behind me. “I didn’t mean to sneak up. I’m sorry, Richard.” Time to think fast. “Oh, hey Fluttershy. You didn’t happen to catch any of that did you?” She turned her head down, blushing a little. “I see how it is. Well, just so you know, you can never tell anyone. Okay?” “Twilight is my best friend, Richard…” she trailed off. “Fluttershy! This is serious. She can’t know, not yet at least.” She scuffed the ground with her hoof. “Please, Fluttershy?” I threw myself to the ground in front of her. “Please.” “Okay, okay. I won’t tell her, but you have to,” she said flatly. “I’m so sorry,” I told her. I knew I wasn’t going to tell Twilight, at least not yet. It was only once. Twilight was sitting in front of library doing something with the garden she kept. “Hey, Twilight. Sorry about earlier,” I told her back. “It’s no problem, Richard. So about the twins, I was just wondering if you want me to go with you,” she said, her back not turning. “I think I should go it alone this time.” Shrugging, Twilight said, “alright, Dick. I’ll look after Sunny.” I walked off to the train station. They were in this shed, I knew they were. It stood near the opening to a gorge in the deserts. It had been an hour’s trot from the station. The shack was small and made of nearly eroded wood. I approached the door, gingerly opening it. It creaked open. I stepped inside what must have been the front room. It had shelves lined with potted plants. The room had a bitter, acrid smell. There was the faint sound of snoring coming from the next room. They must be asleep. I crept to the door. This one opened much quieter. On the bed was a scrunched up stallion. Where’s the twin? Something hit the back of my head, causing me to tumble to the ground. I scrambled on the ground to see my assailant. “Don’t make me hurt you,” I said to the mare. “Don’t you dare,” said the stallion. The stallion grabbed me by the neck. The mare grabbed a syringe and expertly slid it into my leg. Everything went… numb. It was dark in the shack. I had another I.V. system attached to me, this one empty as well. I guessed they didn’t really think things through. I took out the needle. It hurt for only a second. I put my head to the door to the inside. It was definitely two ponies snoring now. I looked for my saddlebag and grabbed two of the pills from it. I slowly opened the door. I had been right, two similar ponies slept together. I crept over to the stallion lest he wake up. His mouth was open in a motion to snore; he swallowed the pill with his inhale. He stopped snoring. I walked to the other side of the bed to get to the mare. As I moved the pill to her, I saw her eyes crack open. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I’m sending you home,” I told her. “We have nowhere to go.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. “Last thing I remember is overdosing. I think that means we died.” “I died too. I’m sure Celestia will take care of you just fine,” I said. She winced. “She hates us for what we are, for our love.” She paused for a while. I’m not sure what stopped me from giving her the pill, perhaps it was just curiosity of what she had to say. “We were pharmacists… back home. But all that stopped when we got into drugs. When we got here, we decided we could be who we wanted, somewhere out of the way where no one would be hurt. I guess Celestia won’t allow that.” Gemini turned to her brother and saw his unmoving shape. She turned back and at leapt at the pill taking it in her mouth. She showed it clenched between her teeth. “I never want to leave him.” She swallowed the pill. Her stopped moving as she hugged her brother one last time. I was exhausted as I stepped into the library. Twilight sat on the couch, not even reading as normal. Her eyes snapped to me as I trotted in. “Hey, honey,” I made motions to say, but she stopped me. “I know what you did, Richard. Let me just say I’m disappointed.” “What are you talking about?” I asked cautiously. “You and… her.” “Wait, Twilight I can explain,” I tried to say. She raised a hoof to stop me. “No, I don’t want to hear it, just… go.” “Wait, bu-“ Her horn flared. “I don’t want to hear it, Richard!” she screamed. “But you don’t understand…” Her magic blew me back through the door. I rolled twenty feet on the ground. I guess I should go see Roseluck.