6-Pinkie's Day and The Forest

The sun rose, its light traveling across the vast expanse of space to bring light to the world below it, allowing life to thrive in what would otherwise be a cold, dead world. It also shined straight through the window into Daedalus' eyes.

He rolled out of bed, instantly awake, and surveyed his room. The same room he had lived in for the past six days. There was nothing different, yet he could have sworn something was in there with him. He stopped moving entirely, even his fake heart and lungs, and listened closely.

The floor below was loud, ponies eating breakfast as they discussed their plans for the day. A room over from the lobby, he could hear the sounds of metal clanking as the cook continued to make breakfast. On the same floor as him, he could hear a pony from the neighboring room waking up. Further down the hall, he could hear two lovers whispering words of affection as they woke.

He altered his ears to block out the specific wavelengths of pony speech and focused on what was left. His hearing faded as talking and banging was repaced with the sounds of friction as muscles rubbed against bone, hearts beating, blood pumping, and breathing. There was a source in his room, under his bed.

Turning his head to glare at the inconspicuous gap between the mattress and floor, he allowed his hearing to return to normal, the earlier sounds taking over. In a flash, he had fully turned and flipped the bed, ready to attack whatever had sneaked into his room.

His eyes widened as a pink pony squeaked in surprise at the bed being thrown from over her. She recovered quickly, bouncing in place as she spoke. "Wow, Daedalus, you sure are strong!"

Instantly, his surprised face was replaced with one of minor annoyance. "Pinkie, why are you, wait, Daedalus? You know that's not my name."

With a mask of confusion, his surprise, concern, and tensed muscles were hidden. There was no way she could have known. He hadn't said anything about it, or even given definitive evidence.

Pinkie giggled. "I know its not the name you use, D. What does it feel like being a virus?"

With a snarl, Daedalus was directly in front of her, two tendrils reaching for her as one went to lock and block the door and another closed the curtains. Pinkie tried to jump back in shock and fear, only to stop midair as the two tendrils wrapped around her barrel. Neither were sharp, yet a single thought could cause them to erupt in spikes, impaling the pony in hundreds of places.

"How do you know about that?" He asked fiercely.

"P-please don't hurt me." Was the pitiful, whimpering reply.

Daedalus stared at the cringing pony in his grip before sighing. He let the pony down but kept the exits blocked. "Look, I don't intend to hurt you, but how do you know about what I am. I've told no one."

She looked up at the stallion standing over her as she lied on the ground. Her eyes were drawn to his sides as she watched black tendrils retract into his form. "Its my Pinkie Sense. I can tell things that nopony else can. I know you're a virus and your name is Daedalus, that's it."

With another sigh, he sat down in front of her, his tendrils retreating into his body. "Pinkie, can you keep a secret?"

She perked up at that and sat up to match him. "Yep!"

Shaking his head at her ability to recover from what she just saw, he continued. "Will you promise to keep what you just saw to yourself and not tell anypony?"

"I Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" She went through motion that matched what she said, closing her eye right before her hoof tapped it. "I never break a Pinkie Promise."

He hummed in amusement. "Reminds me of a promise my kind used. Its a bit more violent though."

"How does it go?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a knife in my eye. It means that the one who makes the promise will keep it through death itself." He said.

Pinkie placed her hoof under her chin before replying. "I can understand its importance, but I like mine better."

He chuckled at that. "So do I. Its certainly funnier."

"So what are you?" The pink mare asked.

Blinking at the sudden question and topic change, he opened his mouth, then closed it. "Listen, I don't want to say in case I'm overheard. I'm going to Canterlot tomorrow to tell the Princesses. Will you come with me? You can learn about me and I won't need to risk being overheard."

"Sure, but how do you know you aren't being overheard now?"

His eyes twinkled with amusement as he answered. "Science."

The truth was, the tendril by the door was emitting vibrational waves that were exactly opposite to the sound waves caused by their voices. When the two waves met, they canceled each other entirely. It was something he learned in Physics before he was infected, and was actually the way sound-canceling headphones worked.

Pinkie stood up and the tendrils quickly withdrew into Daedalus' body as he did so as well. She approached him with a smile before embracing him. After a slight hesitation, he returned the hug and whispered into her ear. "Sorry for scaring you, Pinkie."

She giggled lightly before whispering back. "Its fine, Daedalus. I understand. Unless we're alone, I won't call you Daedalus, either."

She let go and stepped back. "If you ever want to hang out, I'll be happy to."

Then she gasped. "How about you come to Sugarcube Corner later and we can spend the rest of the day together? It'll be so much fun!"

"Sure thing, Pinkie."

"I gotta go get things ready, come in an hour!"

"An hour? Wait, Pink, and she's gone."

Shaking his head with a small smile, he quickly put the bed back where it was and made it. Then, he placed his coin pouch around his neck, saddlebags over his back, and headed downstairs.

When he reached the bottom floor, he glanced around to see several ponies eating, as usual. When his sight drifted over the bar, he saw Fire Brand waving him over. He approached the bar and she levitated a letter into the counter.

"Mailmare dropped by and delivered it this morning. Its for you, but she didn't say who from. Go ahead and read it."

He nodded and looked at the rolled up scroll. Seeing that the seal was a hammer, he suspected he knew who it was. Unrolling it and glancing at the bottom, he saw he was right.

He was thankful for a free day, but had no intention to use it to prepare the way she expected. It was convenient, though. "Thanks for keeping this for me."

She nodded with a small smile. "No need for thanks, but its appreciated."

Daedalus nodded, then spoke. "Tomorrow, I'm heading to Canterlot. I should only be there for a day, maybe two, if all goes."

Fire Brand's smile widened at that. "Alright, I won't contact the guards if you don't show up tomorrow night."

He chuckled a little and nodded. "I'll pay for a couple more nights when I come back, unless there's no room."

"Don't worry about that, this inn is only full on Nightmare Night, when ponies come to try to get a look at Princess Luna."

"Good to know, have a good day, Fire."

"You too, Gene." She said as the stallion walked across the room and out the door. She realized something and mumbled to herself as she turned to serve a cider to another mare. "Still hasn't eaten breakfast or dinner here."

Daedalus entered the library to see Twilight levitating several books on the shelves and could hear Spike washing dishes. He coughed lightly and saw Twilight turn around, her face breaking into a grin when she saw him.

"Oh, Gene! Its good to see you. Have you already finished the books you checked out?"

He smiled back at her. "Just the magic one, which I'm returning. The other isn't due for two weeks, right?"

He placed the book on the desk as she checked her ledger, seeing the date. "Thirteen days, yes. Why?"

"I'm heading to Canterlot tomorrow for business and I wanted to make sure I don't miss the deadline. Pinkie's coming, too."

"If you have the time, stop by Donut Joe's. I went there all the time when I lived in Canterlot. I am a little curious as to why Pinkie's going, though."

Daedalus chuckled. "She heard I was going alone and wanted to accompany me. I'm also going to the Corner after this to spend the day with her, her idea."

Twilight laughed as well, smiling at her friend's antics. "Sounds like something she would do. I hope it doesn't bother you. I know some ponies can't take too much of her."

Daedalus shook his head. "It doesn't bother me. She did give me a bit of a scare when I woke up with her under my bed, but she means well."

Twilight gave a firm nod at that. "She always does. She's constantly trying to make ponies laugh. After all, she is the Element of Laughter. Anyway, have fun in Canterlot tomorrow. Coal Dust knows?"

He nodded as he closed his saddlebag. "Yeah, I told her yesterday. She even gave me today off to get ready, although, as I said, Pinkie kind of took over."

She laughed again at that. "You better get going then. She'd be upset if you were late. Have a good day, Gene!"

"You too, Twilight. And you as well, Spike!" Daedalus called out as he made his way to the door.

"Good luck with Pinkie!" Came his reply from the kitchen as the door swung closed.

Daedalus smiled as he saw the townsponies go about their business with smiles on their faces. He set off toward Sugarcube Corner as he thought about his new home. Its so different from Earth, but not in a bad way. Everyone is so friendly and eager to help, especially Pinkie. The mare knows what I am and still wants to be my friend. I love it here.

Then he frowned as a dark thought hit him. Yet what would they do if they all knew what I was. I'd never be able to show Gene's face again. I'd have to start all over.

A small smile came to his face again. Pinkie would recognize me instantly, though. I could definitely count on her as a friend.

Daedalus, within a few minutes, arrived at Sugarcube Corner and entered. The bell above the door rang its greeting as another potential customer entered. Behind the counter stood a blue mare, which Daedalus knew to be Cup Cake.

"Morning, Mrs. Cake. Is Pinkie here?"

The mother of two smiled a little sadly at him. "She's in the back. She won't be able to spend the day with you as wanted. She needs to help prepare for tomorrow if she'll be in Canterlot."

Daedalus hummed slightly as he thought. "Well, why don't I lend her a hoof?"

"You can bake, dear?" She asked, sounding a little surprised.

"Well enough, especially with a pro like Pinkie helping." Came the reply.

She smiled and gestured with her head toward the kitchen. "Go ahead then. I'm sure she'll be surprised."

Daedalus walked into the back to be greeted by the sight of Pinkie dashing around the room, working batches of cupcakes in various stages. Mr. Cake was stuck in the center, being spun around by the party pony's speed. Amused, Daedalus cleared his throat and spoke. "Pinkie."

The blur stopped and she smiled at him, her bright blue eyes shining happily. "Heya, Gene! What are you doing back here? Sorry I'm not able to hang out."

Her eyes turned a little downcast before perking back up. "But you came to me! Are you helping today?"

He smiled, unable to keep said symbol off of his face around her. Her cheer simply was infectious. "I actually am. I offered to help when I heard you were otherwise tied up. Where can I start?"

Carrot Cake looked at the secret virus for a moment before asking an important question. "Do you know how to bake?"

Several memories arose from the Evolved's store of stolen memories, each one from someone who baked either as a job or hobby. "Yes indeed. I know my way around a confectionery shop."

Pinkie bounced past, a tray of pink cupcakes on her back. "Good! You can get started on vanilla-chocolate cupcakes!"

He moved toward one of the counters, spotting the needed ingredients. "How many?"

"Three hundred!"

Daedalus' head snapped back in shock to see Mr. Cake smiling at him. "Think about it this way, if we all finish quickly, you and Pinkie can hang out."

Chuckling, he turned back to his counter and got to work. He quickly began to enjoy a simple, normal task.

Daedalus placed the final tray of cupcakes on the shelf in the magic-powered, walk-in fridge. The spell wrought into the device would ensure that the product would be just as fresh tomorrow, or so Mrs. Cake had told him.

Each tray held two dozen cupcakes and he alone baked six trays worth, plus another dozen. Lining the sides of the fridge, plenty of other pastries were prepared for tomorrow. All the Cakes would need to do is take it out and serve it.

He exited the room, closing the door behind him to see Pinkie wrap her entire tongue around her, cleaning off the sugar and chocolate that had previously coated her. Slightly disturbed, Daedalus shook it off as he approached her. "Well, that was something."

Pinkie giggle-snorted as she replied. "My friends give good advice."

He raised his eyebrow at the seemingly random reply. "Which is?"

"Don't question me. Its just me being me."

He laughed at that. "Words to live by."

Glancing out the kitchen window, he saw that the sun was soon to set. "Seems we won't get that day together after all."

She just smiled. "We're still going to Canterlot, though. Maybe we can visit Donut Joe's after we meet the Princesses."

He chuckled. "Twilight made the same recommendation. Apparently, he's rather famous in the city."

"I can believe it!"

Mrs. Cake then walked in, carrying a small pouch on her back. She walked over to Daedalus and set it on a counter next to him, the bag making a distinctive clinking sound. Daedalus, with a raised eyebrow, asked, "What's this for?"

"For helping out today, dear. You baked nearly two hundred cupcakes by yourself, a feat for somepony whose talent isn't even in baking."

Daedalus shook his head and pushed the bag back. "No thank you, Mrs. Cake. I offered to help under the impression that I wouldn't be paid. That's how volunteering works. Besides, I enjoyed it. Simple, repetitive tasks relax me."

"Are you sure, Gene?" The blue mare asked, looking at him slightly worried.

He smiled in return. "Quite."

She nodded, relenting, and took the pouch back. "Thank you for your help today, Gene."

She left the room, leaving him and Pinkie. He turned to her and started speaking. "I'm going to go. I want to get some things done tonight before we leave tomorrow."

She nodded with the same never-fading smile she always had. "I'll see you at the train station at nine, okay?"

He returned the nod and left, heading for the Everfree Forest. Time for a hunt.

Delta

Daedalus stood on the edge of the canyon in his natural form, that of a human. It was the first time in a week using it, marking his time in this world as the longest time he was ever disguised. He knew Gene Splice would possibly become as much a part of him as his human form was.

Right now, the human was on the edge of Ghastly Gorge, across which was the Everfree. He had found it randomly and the first thing he saw was a Quarray Eel gulping down a deer that passed in front of its hole. The virus had noticed immediately the strong muscles covering the beast and knew it would bring a great increase to his own strength.

After examining his options, he saw that one hole extended out past the cliffside slightly. The roof of the burrow was directly under him, the Eel waiting within.

Daedalus had already retrieved his excess biomass earlier and was now back to full weight, a total of three thousand eight hundred pounds. Due to this, when he stepped off the cliff and reached terminal velocity, he simply smashed through the stone, pulped the Eel with his weight, and continued on to be embedded in stone before the kinetic energy dissipated.

Dissolving and reforming out of the hole he had made, he approached the corpse and quickly devoured it and examined the genes associated with the Eel's muscle development. Isolating the ones that involved the compact arrangement of cells, he implanted them into his virus. Within moments, his muscles began to shift as they rearranged themselves.

At first, his body sagged as the created space had not yet been filled. Then, his skin pulled taunt as muscle cells were produced and filled in the gaps created by the rearrangement. Daedalus, having simply stood still during this procedure, then lifted his arm and grabbed the stone wall. He then proceeded to crush the stone into dust.

I'd say the Quarray Eel gave me a 30% increase on strength by increasing the efficiency of muscle cell placement. Basically, I have more cells within a smaller space. This does not actually mean my muscles are stronger, I just have more of them.

He walked over the hole and quickly jumped across the gorge, sailing fifty feet before he glided the last seventy and latched onto the opposing wall. He dug his feet into the wall with minute tendrils and began to run up the side of the cliff, reaching the top in moments.

He leaped and landed several feet from the edge. The Everfree Forest was now directly in front of him. Daedalus, without hesitation, entered and began walking in a random direction, simply desiring to come across some of the more powerful inhabitants.

As he walked, he thought. So, I have unicorn genes but no clue as to whether or not I can actually use magic. Now that I'm in the Everfree, I might as well test it.

He quickly formed a horn from his head, one that was a deep black in color. As he walked, he searched for any form of unfamiliar energy. As he expected, he found none.

Delving into the information from Disarray, he discovered that once a unicorn earns their cutie mark, they can instinctively reach out and grasp their magic before shaping it into a spell. Before then, a unicorn will cast magic without control, or struggle with casting spells.

Hmm. So the only real way I might be able to use magic is if I get a cutie mark, which is impossible for my species. That's fucking great. I might as well hunt here to gather genes.

Sending out a viral pulse while dissolving the horn, he became aware of two wolves on the move toward him. Probably smelled me. I can't even consume the wolves anyway.

The wolves, which he confirmed as timberwolves, came into sight through the trees and begin howling and growling at him. With a shrug, Daedalus shifted his left arm into a blade.

Darting forward at unnatural speeds, he pulped one from the sheer force his body exerted. His blade sang through the air as the second wolf was bisected. As he expected, Daedalus couldn't consume the wolves as his genes weren't capable of harnessing the materials. He would need the genes of a termite before he could.

A manticore arrived to inspect the commotion only to see a strange being similar to the ground-dogs, except its paw looked strange and very sharp. In its view, the dog thing swung its blade and slashed several trees down and roared at the manticore. The manticore was not cowed by this show and smashed several trees with its tail as it roared back, then charged.

Daedalus met the manticore mid charged and used his powerful muscles to leap clear over the manticore. When he was over the manticore's back, he swung his blade and carved bloody trench down the cat's side, barely missing the spine. The beast recovered and charged again, paws and tail swinging wildly.

He dodged each and every swipe of the rampaging animal. He saw an opportunity and took it, swinging his blade as he jumped, simultaneously cutting the beast's throat and dodging its tail. It fell back as it bled, soon collapsing as it grew still.

Daedalus' leg dissolved into tendrils as it devoured the corpse. When his leg reformed, he continued on, his blade shaking as it integrated the genes and began producing neurotoxins.

Daedalus heard crunching in the distance and charged, coming across two more manticores. He let out a dark laugh as they roared at him.

He charged forward, dropping into a slide as he cut one's leg and punched the other, breaking it. He stopped his slide and stood, watching one buckle with a broken leg and the other collapsing into a heap as the nerve venom did its deadly work. He darted forward again, this time stopping in front of the manticore to dodge a swipe.

The manticore hit him with its tail, knocking him back into a pool of water with a splash. Surfacing, he leaped and grasped its head before tearing it from the shoulders. He landed and instantly consumed the corpse before glancing for the other manticore. He grinned as he saw it struggling to crawl away as its nervous system began to shut down.

He approached it and stomped on its back, shattering the spine and paralyzing the beast from the waist down. A massive roar of pain sounded through the forest. Daedalus grabbed the lion's head and pulled it back, his blade soon placed against its neck. He frowned for a moment before letting it go, turning his blade back into his arm.

A dark grin broke through the frown as he punched into the manticore's chest and ripped out its heart. Instantly, both were consumed as he straightened up and glanced around. Then, he blinked twice and shook his head before mumbling to himself. "Almost lost it there. Need to be more careful."

A cascading sound came from behind Daedalus, causing him to whirl around. Six heads rose from the water, hundreds of gallons of water trailing off with a loud splashing sound. He sighed to himself. "God damn it."

Two hydra heads lunged at him and he leaped back, darting through the trees. The heads quickly lost him and went mad, smashing apart the forest. Another two joined them and that's when he made his move.

Daedalus leaped from the woods and landed upon one neck. He increased the friction of the viral cells in his blade and superheated it before decapitating the hydra, reducing its heads to five. He grew two tendrils from his back to wrap the jaws of another two heads shut.

He then ripped the two heads off and cauterized the wounds with heated tendrils. He leaped off and landed on the shore to see three pissed off hydra heads. Looking to end the encounter, he leaped toward the chest of the beast, dispelling a hundred pounds of mass to exponentially increase his energy right before impact.

He tore through its heart and came out the back, landing on the shore, covered in blood, as the hydra collapsed into the lake, clearly dead. The water turned red as blood surged from the hole. The virus looked down, seeing his body coated in blood before he consumed it all.

Daedalus dissolved into a mass of tendrils as he devoured the hydra, tendrils pulling the severed heads into the body where they, too, were eaten by the man. The water color slowly returned to the natural swamp-green as the blood was filtered from the water. Daedalus wasn't letting it go to was biomatter was biomatter, no matter the source.
Daedalus reformed on the surface, dry, clean, and two thousand pounds heavier. He dispelled his blade and allowed his arm to reform as he went over the new adaptations he had acquired.

Let's see, neurotoxin production from the manticore. Wings as well, but I'll need them much larger since I can't use magic. I also received an overall muscle increase since the hydra could actually turn food into energy rather efficiently. I gained the manticore's reaction time, too. Granted, that was no increase.

Finally, the hydra also upgraded my ability to produce biomass naturally, further reducing my need to eat. I'll have to suppress it now, otherwise I'll had to drop off more weight in the Forest every day. Speaking of that, I now have two and a half tons to leave behind, although I'm taking it to Canterlot.

Turning in the direction he knew the forest edge to be, he set off as the moon reached its zenith in the sky. Luna's light shined down, seeing no evidence of the viral rampage that had happened.

Arriving back in town after shifting into his pony disguise, he quickly made his way to the train station and buried it underground. Come the next morning, he would simply stand in that spot and call it to him. He had already discovered that trains were magical reinforced, something that would help him drastically.

Task complete, he quickly returned to the inn, dissolving into tendrils and climbing in through the window he had left open.