Unforeseen Consequences - Chapter 3


                                            >“… That concludes the report on the non-pony who caused the fires at the commercial district. Time is 6:47 AM. In other news, meteorologists have predicted that the heat wave will extend through the winter and into next year. This could lead to catastrophic…”

                                            >It’s kinda amazing how things can go from bad to total trash fire, huh? It was just two days ago when you were carrying on with your life. Living in the slums, doing what you could to get some food on your plate. It was tough, sure, but definitely better than this. At least you had Eris.

                                            >Right now? You were sitting on the backseat of a patrol’s ship, flying through the city en route to… well, you actually had no idea. The social worker didn’t really say much. He just used some weird scanner on you a couple times before sending you off.

                                            >You weren’t in the mood to talk to the patrol mare driving the ship either. Screw her and every other patrol.

                                            >During the trip from the slums to the city, she had tried to make some small talk from time to time. You never said a thing. You were too busy looking through the ship’s window and thinking on Eris to care.

                                            >This view totally sucked, too. Huge skyscrapers blocking the sun, neon signs advertising sodas, chips, and other company garbage as various other ships passed through. You couldn’t even see what was down below thanks to all the stupid smog.

                                            >Your indifference didn’t stop the patrol lady from trying, though. She was way too energetic for that “Guess there’s nothing on the radio but news, huh? What do you say if I just turn it off?”


                                            >You didn’t give her more of an answer than an annoyed grunt. She may act up nice now, but that lady worked for the guys who took away the only real family you ever had. She could go and hug a cactus for all you cared.

                                            >“Okaaay! I’ll take that as a yes…” The lady turned off the radio and adjusted the back mirror of the ship so she could have a better look at you “Enjoying the view? You should take those goggles off, because lemme tell you, squirt. City is on a whole new level than the slums!”

                                            >You rolled your eyes and went back to watch the city passing by. A whole new level she said? Yeah, right. The city sucked as much as the slums, just in a different way.

                                            >The patrol lady let out a sigh as she took a turn at an intersection “Come on, kid. No need to be so gloomy. Think about it, the company is sending you to their best orphanage! That’s pretty cool if you ask me.”

                                            >Good thing you weren’t asking her anything. Tch! An orphanage, huh? What’s so cool about it? Those places are just glorified jails! There’s nothing better than doing whatever you wanted, when you wanted! No orphanage could compare to that… or Eris.

                                            >You quickly wiped the tears that started to fill your eyes. Then, you crossed your forelegs and muttered under your breath.

                                            “If you ask me, this couldn’t have gone worse.”

                                            >“Oh! So you know how to speak! Awesome! Sooo~! Pray tell, do you have a name or should I keep calling you squirt?”


                                            >Dang it! That lady had a better hearing than what you thought! Well, whatever, you weren’t gonna get friendly with a patrol!

                                            “Call me whatever you want, I don’t care!”

                                            “Alright, sheesh! Anyway! Me thinks that it could’ve gone way worse considering that sucker buck you gave to the social worker. He could’ve easily sent you to one of the bad ones at the slums, you know?”

                                            >You angrily grunted as your focus shifted again to the view outside the ship’s window.

                                            “Tch! Like I care about that! All those jails are the same.”

                                            >The lady giggled as she took another turn “Oh! Not this one! Foals in that orphanage are so expensive that only the richest among the rich can adopt them! I’m telling you, kid! You just hit the jackpot!”

                                            >More than anything, you wanted this conversation to stop. You didn’t want to join some rich idiot’s family. You only wanted to see Eris again.

                                            >But… your curiosity ended up getting the best of you.

                                            “Oh yeah? And what happens if none of those filthy rich ponies want me?”

                                            >The lady smirked at you through the back mirror and nodded her head in a hotshot way “Well, you’ll find out soon enough, squirt. Because we just got here!”

                                            >You stood silent as the ship started to drop altitude and go through the thick layer of smog that covered the lower parts of the city. Man, things were way worse down here.

                                            >It’s like anything that’s not high up was in an eternal dusk. You were sure that if it wasn’t for all these street lights and neon ads, then the lower parts would be stuck in a very nasty eternal darkness.


                                            >The ship ended up landing in front of a large rectangular building made of nothing but steel and glass. It really looked like a prison to you. Heck, the hard concrete wall that surrounded the building even had barbed wires on it.

                                            >You didn’t care how much that lady hyped up this orphanage, you weren’t gonna stay there. Not for all the bits in the world!

                                            >You saw a chance to get the heck outta there when the patrol lady hopped off the ship and greeted the two wimpy looking stallions that came out from the building.

                                            >When she opened the door so the two idiots could take you into that jail, you jumped from your seat and head-butted one of those guys so hard that he started bleeding from his nose, making the other one to stand there not knowing if he should grab you or help his co-worker.

                                            >That was it! You immediately started to gallop to a nearby alleyway as fast as you hooves allowed. As your escape was almost complete, you looked back and yelled.

                                            “SO LONG, SU-! Oh, no!”

                                            >The patrol lady had taken out her taser, and before you could jump outta the way, she took the shot.

                                            >She hit right on the target, making you fall to the ground in pain. Despite the world starting to fade away as you lost consciousness, you remember something very clearly.

                                            >Beyond the angry stallions and the disappointed patrol lady, you could clearly see the creepy stallion from a couple days ago, silently giggling and nodding at you.

                                            “W-What… is he…”

                                            >… … …

                                            >… …

                                            >…


                                            >“Good morning and welcome to the Social Safety Inc. Transport System. This automated train is provided for the security and convenience of the new Social Safety Inc. personnel. The time is 08:47 AM. Current topside temperature is 113 degrees, with an estimated high of 120. The Social Safety Inc. compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times. This train is inbound from Level 3 Cell Block to Sector C Test Labs and Control Facilities. Please do not attempt to leave your seat until the train has come to a complete halt at the station platform and the certified security officer indicates that…”

                                            “Dude, I get it. I’m supposed to be some kind of super rare non-pony, but come on! Is it really necessary to put this many guards in this stupid moving tin can? I’m the only…! AUGH!”

                                            >“Keep quiet! You’re not authorized to talk!” How much they really liked to use those stupid prod rods. I wish I could show them how it feels like!

                                            “I’ll show you how I don’t need any stupid…! AAAAGH!”

                                            >I tried to struggle, to at least get a hit at that patrol who shock me like cattle, but the only thing I managed to do was to get tased again.

                                            >They know even with all their gear and armor, I could totally kick their flanks. That’s why they strapped me to this seat and put these electric shackles on me! I bet they were laughing at me behind their helmets. They were all a buncha cowards!

                                            >How much I wanted to resist more. Screw the shocks, I wanted to give these ponies a message! That Eris couldn’t be tamed! But… if I did that, they would just lock me up for good and then any hope to escape and see Res again would go away.


                                            >So for the sake of getting free and my dork, I swallowed my pride and stayed on my seat, grunting and glaring at the guards until this stupid monorail car reached its destination.

                                            >When the car’s door opened, the guards told me to get up and walk out. I didn’t fight them or anything. I just wanted to get over this as soon as possible without any extra electric shocks.

                                            >I think, it was a good thing that I ain’t scared of heights, otherwise I’d have been crying like a little girl the whole time. Why? ‘Cause now I was standing on a suspension bridge made out of transparent glass. It was so far above the ground that everything below looked like a dark pit.

                                            >That wasn’t the bad part. Oh, no! The bridge was kinda cool, same to the super reinforced vault door that it lead to. That thing looked like it could take a bomb like it was nothing. The problem was everything else.

                                            >I hated to admit it, but I it was kinda amazing what these company ponies managed to sneak under everyone’s noses. My amazement didn’t last long, ‘cause I also realized how hard escaping was gonna be.

                                            >Y’see, what I found at the other side of that door was a massive complex filled with tech you had never ever seen before. It was like… being inside one of those sci-fi novels Res liked so much.


                                            >This place had to be underground, dude. I mean, ponies are dumb, but not enough to notice something this big standing in the middle of their city and not ask what the heck is going on.

                                            “AUGH! W-What the heck, dude?! What was that shock for?!”

                                            >The guard didn’t do much other than pointing at the vault door “Walk. You’re not authorized to stand around.”

                                            “Grrrrr!”

                                            >Oh, give me a break! I just got slightly peeved and suddenly I have like five guards ready to make me a Christmas tree! Pffft! These guys ain’t worth my time, dude! Let’s just get over this!

                                            >After one of the guards opened the vault door with an ID card, I went a small metallic corridor where another guard checked that I wasn’t carrying anything. Then that guy opened a second vault door with a different colored ID card that lead to…

                                            >You know, this place maybe was top secret and all that, but the amount of check-ups I had to go through was just stupid.

                                            >Anyway, after what seemed forever, I finally found myself inside of a huge circular lobby. For such a massive evil underground complex, I thought how lame it was that the lobby was really nothing out of this world.

                                            >Like, it had guard sitting on a circular, metallic desk placed right in the middle of the lobby, and the lobby was filled with a buncha screens displaying all sort of boring stuff. Heck, they even had a really big one that covered an entire wall.


                                            >Yeah, I wouldn’t even be bothering about describing all this boring stuff if it wasn’t for a tiny little detail that kinda freaked me out.

                                            “What the heck is he doing here?”

                                            >I didn’t say that loudly, of course. Last thing I wanted was to get a shock for that creepy stallion. You know the one. The guy who gave me and Res the creeps a couple days ago!

                                            >Was he a company worker? I mean, he wasn’t wearing like, anything at all, but no one really seemed to notice him. He didn’t even look like he was working. Guy was just staring at me with that creepy wide grin of his.

                                            >Why did he raise his hoof? Was he pointing at something? Hey! There was an open bottle of soda at the lobby’s desk… Why would he do that? And… was I getting crazier or the screens flashed my name for a second?

                                            >Seriously dude, I was getting so creeped out that…

                                            “AGH! COULD YOU STOP DOING THAT?!”

                                            >“Move. We need to register your entry and you’re not authorized to lose time.” Stupid guard! I will kick his butt one day! I swear!

                                            >Dude, the creepy stallion vanished again. Wish I could do the same…or maybe not. You see, when me and my… rude friends arrived to the desk, I realized something that filled me with excitement.

                                            >That bottle of soda from before? Looks like some clumsy idiot placed it right above a buncha important-looking computers! And guess what?! These stupid ponies forgot to tie my tail!

                                            >So while those guards were too busy filling papers and other garbage, I sneakily used my tail to tip the bottle of soda. Not too hard though, I had to make it look natural.

                                            >AH HAH HAH! It worked! The soda spilled all over the computers causing the screens to display an “ERROR” message, the vault opened and closed without control, and the guards moved their heads around in panic.


                                            >For a couple moments, there was nothing but chaos, and you know? I loved it! Not only ‘cause this would bring a lot of trouble to the guards. No, there was something about this that just made me feel good inside… like I was alive again!

                                            >It didn’t last long, of course. When the guards calmed down, they immediately shifted the blame on me and readied their prod rods all at one.

                                            “Oh, brother! This is gonna hurt, isn’t?”

                                            >I would’ve become a light post right there if it wasn’t for an old, bald pony stopping the guards from kicking my butt. “Gentlecolts, please! All this violence is really not necessary.”

                                            >I think, the ponies with lab coats were kind of the bosses here. I mean, why else would the guards drop their rods and salute that old coot? “Sir! This prisoner caused a malfunction in…”

                                            >The old coot quickly interrupted the guard and stopped the beautiful mess I caused by just pressing a red button located at a wall. “My department clearly warned your team to be extra careful around a non-pony like this. I’m afraid that you have no one else to blame about this incident but yourselves.”

                                            >“But sir! The non-pony! She…”

                                            >“I know. She’s a draconequus. For good’s sake! Did you even read my report?! Of course you didn’t! Now you better leave before I report this carelessness to the director!”

                                            >“Yes, sir!”

                                            >Whoa, dude! Now I really wished I could see through those helmets! I bet the guards were hella angry when they left the lobby! Hah! Now it was just me, the loser at the desk and that old coot!

                                            >“Now that we got rid of those trouble-makers.” The old coot said to me “What do you say if we move on? There’s so much for us to do today, and I rather not waste any time standing here.”

                                            >Which on a second thought, it probably wasn’t that good to me. Like seriously, who the heck was that guy? And why was he giving me such a creep look?

                                            >… … …

                                            >… …

                                            >…


                                            >”Good morning and welcome to the Social Safety Inc. orphanage number seventeen. This automated educational system is provided to introduce all of our new family members to the normative that they will follow during their stay. The time is 10:47 AM. Current topside temperature is 115 degrees, with an estimated high of 122. The Social Safety Inc. compound is maintained at a pleasant 68 degrees at all times. Please refrain from exiting your new bedroom until a certified staff member indicates that…”

                                            “Ugh… s-shut up!”

                                            >You were suddenly awaken by a stupid pre-recorded message. Your head ached like never before and your entire body hurt more than if you had taken up a beating.

                                            >As you rubbed your temples to calm down your headache, you saw something odd. It was a circular metal thing implanted on your hoof, and no matter how hard you tried to pull it out with your mouth, the darn thing wouldn’t come off.

                                            “Meh! I’ll take care of this garbage later! Now let’s see, where did those idiots throw me into?”

                                            >There wasn’t much to say about this place. It was a simple room with two bunk beds, a drawer, a table with four chairs, and an annoying white bulb that didn’t stop flickering.

                                            >Good thing you still had your goggles on, otherwise that stupid thing would’ve made your head ache even worse.

                                            “The orphanage is awesome, she said. Pfft! Yeah, right! My hideout at the slums is way better than this dumpster.”


                                            >Oh! There were also three other foals too. You didn’t really care about those idiots though. It’s not like you planned to make friends with them. Nope! You were gonna escape, and then, you’d find Eris.

                                            >It took you a bit to regain your strengths, but once you did, you hopped off the bunk bed and spit on the floor as you walked to the only door in the room.

                                            >“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” One of the other foals said as he hopped off from his bed.

                                            >It was an earth-pony colt, smaller than you in height, but looked around your age too. Guy was… kinda weird. His coat was of a deep lavender, mane was the same color except lighter, but his eyes though. They had this weird glowy green that you had never seen before.

                                            “Good thing I ain’t you, then.”

                                            >At that moment, you didn’t really care about what he or anyone else had to say. So you rolled your eyes and opened the old metal door with your mouth.

                                            >The colt galloped to stop you from taking another step, but before he could reach you, a beeping noise started to come out from the little circular thing that was attached to your hoof.

                                            >You turned to the other colt who simply shrugged and said with a very complacent tone “Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you"

                                            “What the heck are you talking abou- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

                                            >You were brought down to your four knees by a quick, but stupidly painful electric shock. More than enough to make you want to stay the heck away from the door and want to take that device off.

                                            >“That’s only going to-“

                                            “SHUT UP! I AIN’T GONNA STAY HERE!”

                                            >So you bit it and pulled with all your strengths… which only made the thing to deliver another stupidly painful shock. That didn’t stop you, though. You tried to take it off over and over again. Only to receive the same brief, but painful shock.


                                            When you finally realized that thing wasn’t gonna come off, you fell on your back and started crying for the next couple hours.

                                            >It hurt, man and you weren’t talking about the shocks. You would never gonna see Eris again and there was nothing your wimpy self could do about it.

                                            >You just had to walk away, man! Why didn’t you ignore that kid? Company must’ve got in your track after you beat up one of their precious kids! It’s your frickin’ fault that you were in this jail! It was your fault that the company took away your sister!

                                            >Eventually, the crying calmed down and you were left staring at the ceiling, thinking how much of a frickin’ loser you are.

                                            >That’s when the other guy decided to speak again “Boy! You really are a downer, huh?”

                                            >It really angered you how casually the colt said that. It felt like he was laughing at you from his bed. So you jumped back on your hooves and galloped at him.

                                            “Mind your frickin’ business, man!”

                                            >“Why?” The colt shrugged “Those are the feelings that I felt coming from you.”

                                            >You grabbed the guy by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. You even raised your hoof to make him clear that you weren’t playing around.

                                            “Listen, man! I ain’t in the mood! So you either shut up, or my hoof will make you!”

                                            >“S-Sorry!” The colt whimpered “I-It’s just that… I can also feel a lot of love inside you, a-and I’m really, really hungry, but those negative feelings won’t let me feed…”

                                            “O-Okay?”


                                            >Alright, what that guy said was weird enough to make you let him go and forget about your anger for a bit.

                                            >“Oh, thanks! I thought I was a goner!” The colt stood silent for a couple moments before shooting a wide, naïve smile” So… will you let me feed on your love now?”

                                            “Man… I really have no idea what the heck you’re babbling.”

                                            >“Oh!” The colt exclaimed and repeatedly poked his chin as if he was thinking hard on something “Well… You say yes and I feed on all the juice love that’s stored within you. Simple, right?”

                                            “But how are you…? Alright! You know what? Screw it. Let’s do this!”

                                            >“Thanks! I promise this won’t hurt! Uh… Maybe you’ll want to get comfortable? This’ll probably leave you feeling a bit tired.”

                                            “Getting comfy? I’m already on top of a stupid bed, man! Now do your thing before I change my mind about hitting you!”

                                            >“Okay, okay!” The colt let out a sight and threw a blanket to the one camera that was installed in the room. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

                                            >It wasn’t too bad at first, the guy just opened his mouth and the only thing you felt was barely more than a tickle on your chest. You wish that you had stopped him right there, because things just got horrible from there.

                                            >… … …

                                            >… …

                                            >…


                                            >Dude, what the heck was up with this place? Why there were non-ponies running freely around this techno-office complex? Like, seriously, they even helped the dumb ponies with whatever science garbage that they did.

                                            >Wait… were the non-ponies helping ‘cause they actually wanted to? I mean, yeah, those guys didn’t look angry or sad, but there was something about their eyes. Like, it didn’t feel right.

                                            >And that old nerd. First he’s all like “Oh! We need to discuss something” but then he decides to not speak a single word! It was just weird, I tell you.

                                            >I dunno if it was the right move to do, but I thought that maybe I should try to break the ice.

                                            “Sooo! Who the heck are you supposed to be? I mean, besides a creep.”

                                            >The old coot didn’t answer at first. Like, he just kept looking down, thinking hard about maybe boring science-y stuff “Mmm? Oh! I’m sorry! I was… thinking on everything I must get done by today. I’m sorry, what was your question again?”

                                            “What’s your frickin’ name, dude?!”

                                            >“Oh! That’s right! I’m Dr. Golden Freedom. Is that all you wanted to ask?”

                                            >Dude, this guy. I swear that if I didn’t have these shackles and there was no risk to get another round of shocks, I’d have totally smacked him right in the face!

                                            “You’re not really the fastest mind around these parts, are you? Listen, dude. You said you wanted to talk. So better start telling me what you stupid ponies are doing here or else I’ll…”

                                            >“Violence won’t be necessary, Ms. Draconequus. I’m indeed willing to let you know about the activities we do here. It’s just that I…”


                                            >The old coot’s voice was drowned by a very, and I mean, very loud buzzing noise. Like, I dunno how to put other than a million of angry wasps suddenly appeared inside the office complex.

                                            “Can’t you turn that off?! I’m getting a headache!”

                                            >The old coot didn’t say anything, he just looked with this awry face at the other side of the corridors.

                                            “Dude, what the heck is that?”

                                            >I’m not that good at counting, but I guessed that there were at least twenty of heavily armored guards taking a super large metal container with them to a nearby cargo elevator.

                                            >How large was that thing do you ask? Well, first of all, it wasn’t just any container. Oh, no! It was more like a cage for a wild animal, or that’s what I thought thanks to all the holes it had. As for how large, I think it was the size of a parking truck.

                                            >If I wasn’t already freaked out, what the old coot said sealed the deal “We call them morphers, the latest entry in a long line of disappointments. I’d suggest you to not think too hard about them.”

                                            >I felt a horrible sense of despair as I saw the cargo elevator doors closing.

                                            “A’ight! I want some answers and I want them now! What do you exactly do here?!”

                                            >The old nerd smiled like a little kid and said “Our main goal is both simple and wonderful. Well, at least that’s my particular opinion. You see, Ms. Draconequus, the main goal of every single pony in this facility is to recreate the phenomenon that in ancient times was known as magic.”