Chapter 1 Beginnings
By: ZCD99

-Greasy-

There was a loud buzzer going off from down the hall. “In a minute” I yelled through my sleep.

BZZZZZZZ!!!!

Another buzz, only louder this time, “All right, all right I’m getting up!” I yelled turning of the power to speaker.

“Damn it!” I yelled getting out of my makeshift bed of old rags and straw. “Why is it that they only need these things done during the middle of the night?” This was the thirteenth slave surgery I had done this month and things were starting to get repetitive.

My companion and I both ran an underground surgical hospital for escaped slaves and the very poor who could not afford the proper care. This has been done for over fifty years and was all run from the sewers that ran through the City of Arbor Dale.

“And don’t get me wrong, I mean it’s a simple procedure really.” I stated to no one in particular, “All you have to do is mark around the Cutie Mark, make a quick slice and BAM! Bye, bye slave, you’re free.”

The Surgery was to remove the Cutie Marks of escaped slaves who were branded by their previous owners; the problem was there have been more and more escapees and not enough room to keep them in the patient quarters with the others.

“Well, I better get Rider up and get this show started!” I said, cheering myself up with the thought of more bits in my pockets. We were in need of money to try and pay off our debts to society. Apparently helping others in need was a crime in Equestria now.

It was about three in the morning and the real task was to get Rider, my Griffin assistant up and ready for the surgery. I walked down the damp mossy corridor and looked in to his room.

“Rider... Hey Rider! Get up we got work.” I said as he turned away from me.

“Go on!” he howled at me. “They can wait till the morning. It’s their own damn fault that they went and got themselves put in those camps” he moaned.

I rolled my eyes. “Come on and get your lazy ass out of bed. Think of the bits we could be making.”

He rolled over and gave me a stare with his only remaining eye. “Does it matter? It’s not like we can use them anyway. You know us being wanted men and all.”

“Look,” I said with a grin. “It’s a quick thing and will only take but a few seconds and then you can go right back to bed, honest.”

“Ya, ya I’m getting up hang on.” He said with a grunt pushing him up of the bed.

He turned and sat at the edge of his bed fiddling with his joints trying to reattach the new leg I installed for him last week. It was a new model that I put together, trying out my work with wires instead of old fashion cog and steam. So far it was not a complete success. The New model was silent sure but other than that it seemed to slow down and speed up as it pleased. Some days it would not start and other days it would start without any warning at all. The only good it brought was that it was easier to steal from the local testing facility for new equipment and chemicals.

“Why in Celestia’s name do I have to use the damn thing anyway?” Rider asked after finally attaching it.

“I need you to test it for me so we can try to sell these new limbs to the public.” Wires and electricity was a new technology to Equestria and so far it was not all that great. Only the rich had electrical lights in their homes and that was very few to no one at all.

“When can I have my old cog leg back and trash this garbage? Beside I feel like a lab rat.” Rider snorted.

“It will be some time Rider, just look at the possibilities. We would make so much money out of this and then we could pay our Debts to society” I said.

“The only problem with that Greasy is that they won’t accept our bits no matter how much we give them. We helped slaves escape and were screwed no matter how much we give them.” He said raising his tone.

He pushed passed me and I followed behind trying to catch up. “What’s for Breakfast he said going the complete opposite way than the entry way.

“I don’t know but if you’re not down here in fifteen minutes then you’re out of here!” I lied, knowing that I needed him no matter how annoying he was.

You see he wasn’t only my assistant but he was also my brother. OK, I know not biologically but we grew up together. I remember when my father was in the middle of that surgery. It was raining out and at that time we didn’t have the pipes to run the overflow water out of the rooms. I was trying to get the water out while my father and mother helped a young Griffin give birth. I had seen many births before but this one was different.

I was about ten at the time and I remember that, as I tried to get the water out of the surgery room it was a normal birth. The young soon to be mother were yelling louder than ever and then out of nowhere she just stopped. I thought that it was over and went to see the new baby but as an approached my mother began to yell and furiously told me to leave. I didn’t know what to do untie she began crying and telling me to leave at once. I was then pushed out of the room and sent to my room.

The next morning though my mother came to me and told me what had happened? She had told me that I was going to have a new brother. I was so excited; I never had another pony to play with ever. But she then told me that it would be a Griffin and not a pony. It didn’t matter though I was going to have a brother.

I began to focus I needed to get this surgery done. I walked to the entrance and introduced myself to the pink pony at the door. “Please,” I said, “Come in make yourself at home. I’m Greasy! Greasy Gears! And you might be?”

“Um… Well, I’m Clare.” She said in a whisper.

The Pegasus pony shuffled in, I could already tell that she had carried coal for one of the factories in town by the way she walked and the huge Q13 over her Cutie Mark (Q13 Meaning Quarry 13).

“Quarry work huh?” I said in a grim tone.

She nodded her head at me and I gave her a nod back.

Quarry 13 was the worst of all the Quarries in Equestria. It was an all Mares Facility and it being the Biggest Coal supplier in Equestria it was a constant fight between the heat, weight on your back, and the constant whipping if you slowed down.

“Now,” I said changing the subject, “We need to go over the procedure first.” I told her.

I pulled down a screen with my horns magic and began to show her the diagrams of how the surgery would begin. “First we will be removing your Cutie Marks. This will be relatively painless on account of the fact you will be eating a little Red Root to numb your body.” I explained. “Then we will let the wound heal, and when it is fully healed in about 2-3 weeks your Cutie Mark will come back a little faded, So you will need to come back and I will touch it up with a little Buffalo Ink. Don’t worry it will look good as new. Your leg however, is a different story.”

She raised her head. “You shuffle your feet from the carrying the constant weight on your back.” I explained. “I will need to add steel rods in your hind legs to support yourself.”

“But I walk just fine.” She said

“Yes but the constant weight that was put on your body may have caused your femur to crack.” I explained “This is because you being that of a Pegasus your bones are hollow like bird’s bones so you’ll be lighter and are able to fly.”

She nodded again.

“But that’s enough anatomy class. Are there any questions?” I ask.

“Yes,” she said with barley even a whisper. “How much will this cost?”

As I began to answer there was a pounding from the back room and followed by a booming voice shouting. “You, Slave! What are you doing here?”

“Damn it.” I swore under my breath.