19 was stuck in a large cylinder filled with a strange orange liquid. His muzzle was covered by a breathing mask of some sort. Through the glass he could see distorted figures of ponies wearing lab coats. Subject 19 saw a patch on the shoulder of the coat that read ‘Division 516’ on it.
“Subject 19 has responded well to the serum,” one of the doctors announced to her fellow colleagues. She was holding a clipboard with a bunch of writing on it. The only thing 19 could make out was Project: Fire Whirl. “He’ll be faster and stronger than any pegasus in all of Equestria.”
“Doctor Paradise Lost, if he was created in this lab, why does he have a cutie mark?” one of the other mares asked.
“We know how we all get our marks. It’s from discovering our destiny. However, we know little about the science behind them. Why we even have our cutie marks in the first place. If the mark itself has an effect on a pony, or if it is more of an identifier than a definer. More research will need to be done on Subject 19 before we can determine why a cutie mark manifested on him. For now, we need to get ready for the general to arrive.”
Subject 19 jolted up in a cold sweat, panting heavily. He instantly knew what had happened. That wasn’t a dream, that was a memory. But it brought up even more questions than it answered. Who was Paradise Lost? Did she find out the meaning of his mark? What was Project: Fire Whirl?
Aqua looked over to him on the opposite side of the train couch. “Are you alright? Looks like you had a pretty nasty nightmare.”
19 shook his head. “It wasn’t a nightmare. It was a memory. I was back in that lab.”
“Okay tell me about the memory.”
“There were scientists in the lab. One of them was called Paradise Lost. I couldn’t see her that well. She was wearing a lab coat, I think it said Division 516 on it. And her clipboard said Project: Fire Whirl. That’s all I could remember.”
“Fire Whirl? Hmm. I think I’m gonna call you that now!”
“You can’t be serious,” 19 deadpanned.
“Yes I am serious. It’s suits you.”
“I suppose it’s better than a number.”
“Well ya you got that right. Also, what’s the deal with your cutie mark?”
Looking down at it, 19 just gave a shrug. “I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping this Dr. Paradise Lost will know.”
“Well we will find out when we get there, alright?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The rest of the train ride was mostly silent, as was the walk through Canterlot once they arrived. The city shined bright through the dark night sky above. Celestia’s sun had fallen a few hours ago and Luna’s moon stood proudly in it’s place. Everything was just so big to 19. The buildings, the hoof traffic was slightly overwhelming considering all he knew was Ponyville. As they traveled through the busy city, the duo ran into something strange.
“Do you even know where you’re going, Fire?” Aqua asked her orange companion.
“Not a clue. But I figure there has to be an entrance to the tunel system somewhere,” 19, or Fire Whirl as Aqua was now calling him.
“Hey, what’s up with all these guards?” she questioned, pointing them out to 19. As they trotted over, they soon realised the reason. The ground had collapsed and destroyed what was probably one of Canterlot’s many cave systems. The collapsed encompassed an entire acre, causing the numerous buildings around it to collapse with the ground, debris scattered everywhere.
“What happened here?” Subject 19 asked one of the royal guards.
“One of the cave systems collapsed,” the alabaster pegasus answered. “This area is still very unstable sir, so I’m going to have to ask that you step back.”
“Do you know what caused it?”
“We don’t know what happened. Now please get back.”
19 gave Aqua a suspicious look, but they both stepped away as instructed. “That can’t be a coincidence. That lab was underground and I’m willing to bet that it’s beneath that wreck.”
“You found the lab, well what’s left of it anyways, so now what?” Aqua asked 19.
“We find Paradise Lost.”
“You don’t even know what she looks like. How are we going to find her in this city? How do we even know she wasn’t in the lab when it collapsed?”
“Because no two ponies have the same name. We go to the library and find the records. Search for her name and we’ll get an address.”
As they entered the library they went towards the bookshelf at the back right corner. The library was deserted due to the fact that it was closing in less than half an hour. Aside from the staff, Aqua and 19 were the only ones there. Once they found the book they were looking for, they laid it down on one of the tables and started searching for Paradise Lost.
“I don’t think we will find it, Fire.”
“It has to be here. This is the only clue we have,” 19 began frantically searching. For minutes he searched through books, tossing every one aside, unable to find Paradise Lost anywhere.
“Is there any other names you can remember?” Aqua asked him, putting a hoof to his shoulder.
“Lost said something about a general arriving,” he recalled hazily. “I never made out a name though.”
“It could be General United Front.”
“Who the hell is that?”
“There was a ceremony not too long after the Sombra War where the princesses made United Front General of the Equestrian Armies. He’s in charge of all our military, only second to Luna and Celestia.”
19 thought for moment, thinking over his options carefully. “I need a way to get him to meet me alone.”
“Well there’s the old castle in the Everfree. No pony ever goes there anymore,” the pink pony suggested.
“That might do nicely. I’ll need to look it over first though. Logic would dictate that if United Front was a part of my creation, knowing I’m running freely won’t sit well for him. I’ll contact him once I’m ready, for now I have to scope out this location. If things go south with our meeting, I’ll need to know my escape routes.” The black maned pegasus searched through the books he had until he found United Front’s address. After tearing the page out he turned to Aqua. “Alright we’re done here. Let’s head back to Ponyville.”