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Ch.1: The Moving2,361 words
Ch.2: The Study2,501 words

Ch.2: The Study

The drive from Ponyville Research Facility to the facility on the outskirts of Canterlot was very long. Time creeped by slowly, making Speedy Bullet rather irritated. But through all this, Speedy felt mixed emotions about this wolf creature, Shade. This poor animal was treated like a pincoushin; being poked with needles and such. And being plucked from the wild as a pup? The thought of it was too much to bear, but maybe the scientists had a good reason. Perhaps they were doing another project in the forest, and they found an orphan puppy who's mother had tragically died. Or maybe, they shot the mother and stole her child! Could that be? Speedy pondered the ideas that swirled around his head, while he hummed along to a country folk song on the radio.
Luckily for him, Speedy Bullet drove right behind the transport truck that had the wolf in it. Through the small windows on each door, he could see a smoky gray figure pacing back and forth inside. From the looks of it, Shade seemed stressed and anxious. The empathy inside Speedy told him that if he was in a truck like that, going to an unknown destination and fate, he would have the jitters. Outside,the scenery often changed like a movie screen. First there were rolling mounds of hills, then flatlands with wheat and corn. Fat brown lumps of cattle roamed the countryside, grazing and mooing at the passerby. Soon, a large forest took its place, with endless rows of tall,green trees on either side of the neverending concrete road. Leaves of bright green swayed to and fro, dancing in the late spring breeze. In fact, Speedy Bullet's favorite season was late spring. Not just spring, but the late spring, which was setled between spring and summer. In that time of year, it was not too hot, nor too chilly. Instead , there was just a ticklish, soothing atmosphere that made everyone cheerful. By now, the squad cars and truck must've traveled for at least an hour, and almost half an hour to go. From smooth concrete came a dusty dirt road, which was hard to drive through. Stormy swirls of dirt surrounded Speedy's squad car, spinning around and around like a tornado. "This is stupid," Speedy muttered angrily. Luckily, the black box shape ahead lead the way.
To Speedy's relief, a concrete road happened to appear, and he was happy to be back on a real road. After about twenty minutes of boring terrain, a wooden sign appeared. On it said: "WELCOME TO CANTERLOT!" Speedy felt a twinge of excitement inside him. He had never been in Canterlot, home of Princess Celestia! It was beautiful as well, with fresh green grass, well trimmed hedges and bushes, pony shaped topiaries, and much more regal things.
Finally, the line of squad cars and the truck went down a narrow alley to the back of Canterlot Research Facility. The squad cars went down to a small lot ahead, and the truck backed up near a strange tunnel. It was just like the chain link fence tunnel, but here it was a bunch of black corral fences in a straight line that led to an opening. This opening, Speedy thought, was where the wolf would enter into an enclosure of some sort. Curiosity nipped at his brain as the earth pony stepped out of the car.
"Volt, can you just shut up?!" Starline viciously growled at Fire Volt as the three squad members came together. Then, Starlin had to get on top of the truck once again to lead the wolf out. "The staff wants you guys to hold open the sliding door over there, at that wall where the corral tunnel leads to." He pointed his hoof at the opening, which was being held open by some other ponies. "We can do that," said Fire Volt.
As Starline trotted off, the other two police guards met with the other officers at the opening, which was now closed. Two strong ropes with triangular handles on each side. One police pony, who was red and crimson colored, said to them "On my command, pull down the handles, and this door will open. The wolf will go inside there." He pointed at the square opening. The ponies nodded. As Speedy and Fire Volt went into position, they noticed Starline was once again on top of the truck, and the other police guards opened the large doors and cage doors. With the unicorns' magic, they helped get Shade out and into the corral chute. "Now!" The red pony said. Speedy, Fire Volt and some others gripped the handles in their teeth and pulled. After a few seconds, the opening opened, and the wolf slowly crept inside the dark room.
"Okay, close it," said the police guard. Exhausted, the ponies let go of the handles, the heavy door going down with a thump. "Come on, Speedy Bullet, we gotta go inside!" Fire Volt yelled from the entrance of the facility."Coming!" Speedy yelled back. As the truck pulled away and the corrals were taken down, the buckskin pony entered the building to see the wolf.
Once inside, the ponies saw the wolf inside..something. It wasn't a cage, more like a white cell, with a clear window in front of them. Large breathing holes dotted the top. At the corner of the clear display window, there was a clipboard that had Shade's name on it. From a differnent angle, Speedy could see the gray square where the wolf walked in. On the other side was a small room with newspapers in it. He could guess what that was for. Shade himself was beautiful as ever, but looked very nervous. He whined and shook. His muzzle and collar were off, making the wolf look more, well, wild.
"They're calling in two veterinarians to help with the wolf's testing," said Starline as he glanced at the clear wall of the wolf's enclosure. "Why?" asked Fire Volt. Starline rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, this is a wild animal. Vets know this kind of stuff," he said. He went to talk with other officers. Fire Volt looked dejected and put down. "Why does he talk to me like I'm stupid? I just asked him something." Speedy put one hoof around Fire Volt's shoulder. "Ignore him, he just wants to push you around. Stand up for yourself." He smiled and patted his back. Fire Volt grinned proudly and said : "You know what? I'll do just that!" The rookie galloped over to Starline and whispered stuff into his ear. Starline had an expression of defeat as Volt trotted back to Speedy. "Feel better now?" He asked.
"Yep!" Fire Volt replied.
Soon, two ponies with stethescopes on entered the building. The vets had arrived. One pony was a mare, white with an orange mane and tail. She carried a large, long, black box. The other pony was a stallion, gray with black and white streaks in his mane and tail. "Hello, officers and staff," said the mare. She smiled and approached the cell, and got a suprising response from Shade.
The frightened, cowering wolf that was there before seemed to be replaced with a snarling demon. He arched his back, and his back hair spiked up. His eyes glowed a menacingly yellow as he bared his shiny white teeth. As soon as the two vets touched the clear window, Shade barked and growled, making the vets jump and back away. How would they run tests on an unwilling animal like this?
"We knew this would happen," said the stallion. "So, we brought this along." From the black box, the pony took out a slender rifle, which shone in the lights of the lab building. They were going to kill the wolf?! That didn't make sense! But then again, even through all that police training, Speedy did not recognize that rifle type. "This here is a tranquilizer gun, a gun used to fire a drug or medicine into an animal from a distance." The stallion smiled and took out a syringe, with a red puff at the top. He gave it to the mare, who filled it with a clear liquid. She then gave it back to him as he loaded it into the barrel of the gun. He walked over to the angry wolf and stuck the nose of the rifle through a breathing hole. Aiming at the wolf's flank, he pulled the trigger. A sharp snap filled the air, and the syringe was stuck on Shade's leg. He baked angrily at the vet, who took off toward the officers. He slowly started to sway, and seconds later, he was out on the floor, unconcious. "You guys," the mare vet said to Speedy, Fire Volt, and Starline. "You'll help us carry him to the lab using this sling." She gestured at the blue canvas strecher on the floor, which was attached to two poles. You hold them by these handles." She pointed at the blue handles under each pole." Now, let's go in is cage and get him to the lab testing. Quickly." She had a hint of worry in her voice, and the ponies. Scrambled into Shade's cell. Starline used a spell to lift the wolf onto the laid out sling, and they grabbed the handles.
"We will take him to the room down there, around the corner," said one of the scientists. "All right. Let's go." The stallion vet replied. Speedy helped lift the sling off the ground and they walked out of the cell. It took six ponies to lift Shade, with three ponies on each side: three police guards, two vets, and one scientist. The other scientists were behind them and in the lab testing room, waiting. Speedy took this time to mentally study Shade. A silky gray lump in the sling, his paws dangling out the end. His tongue stuck out in a silly way, and his tall pointed ears were flattened against his slim head. Even when sedated, Shade looked beautiful as ever.
They had reached the testing room at last. It was large, with white cabinets and counters on each side. A shiny metal table sat in the middle. It looked very much like a doctor's exam room. A shiny, white tiled floor lay beneath Speedy's feet. They set the wolf down on the table and straightened him out. One scientist pulled out a tray of needles, while another pulled up a canister of what looked like oxygen. He slipped a clear mask over Shade's muzzle and adjusted the oxygen amount. "It's an anasthetic," said Starline. "So he won't wake up during the tests." Fire Volt watched in amazement, like a colt getting his cutie mark. They drew blood, using a syringe to draw up the deep scarlet fluid. They did a physical exam as well, checking his paws and ears. Speedy approached the wolf's face. He looked scary, because his eyes were rolled up showing only the white part, and his teeth were showing in a gruesome way. Shade's deep chest rose up and down gently, and he twitched slightly in his sleep. Speedy Bullet walked into the corner of the testing room next to Fire Volt. The blue earth pony was tentively watching the scientists; poking, examining, monitoring his vital signs under anestheisia. Speedy smiled. Fire Volt seemed fascinated by science. He leaned over to Speedy and whispered: "Do you think wolves dream when they're under?"
"Maybe, who knows? Through science, we could find out someday."
Speedy and the other ponies were now carrying Shade back to the cell in the same blue sling. Starline grumbled the whole time, saying "Man, this thing reeks like wet dog." He then starde with disgust at the sleeping wolf. Fire Volt smirked, and Speedy said in his mind "Maybe you're the one who smells like wet dog, Starline." He would've said that, but he could get his face beaten to a pulp. Speedy still felt sadness and guilt, a mixture of feelings for the poor wolf. He wasn't happy here, he could feel it. He should be in the wild, roaming in the trees, hunting, and supporting a pack. Not being kept in a lab! Anger welled up inside him. These cruel ponies, doing such inhumane things to this poor animal! Speedy Bullet would be overjoyed if Shade could escape into the wild where he belonged. For now, he was in a white cell, still dozing from the sedatives. Speedy watched as the wolf twitched and turned in his sleep, perhaps dreaming of his home in the Everfree Forest. Maybe he still remembered being a pup. Maybe he dreamt of his mother, a kind wolf who protected him and loved him. Thinking of all this, Speedy fought back tears of grief. He should be doing something to help this animal, not just stand here and cry. He blinked them away and noticed the wolf started to open his eyes. He drowsily looked at the lights above him, sneezed, and stood up to stretch his legs. Speedy still knew his fear of dogs. Now that Shade was awake and alert, his heart started to pound. The slim canine stared at him with golden amber stones, gazing into his fear. Slowly, Shade walked toward him. Speedy knew the were seperated by a 3-inch plexiglass barrier, he felt the sweat sliding down his neck as the wolf came very close,so close that the wolf's breathing could be heard. Then, Shade licked the glass in front of Speedy Bullet with his long, soft pink tongue. Speedy felt this wolf was telling him something. Shade must have been telling him: "Help me escape,for I trust you. If you release me from this prison, I shal be forever grateful." Even if he hadn't said that, the gray wolf said it through his eyes. The eyes said everything.
Speedy Bullet had a job:protecting citizens of Equstria. He captured criminals and brought them to their punishments. But he had another purpose: protecting rights. This wolf had no right to be cooped up in here. This animal trusted him, and trusted him to do one thing: help him escape to the wild. Speedy, now leaving the building into his squad car, now had a plan: to release the wolf from this life of emptiness and depression.