Horizon Falls

Chapters

I. The Suicide Girl.
II. The Detective.
III. The Guardian.
IV. The Captain.
V. The Clubhouse.
VI.The Lead.
VII. The Home Invasion.
VIII. The Bomb.
IX. The Conversation.
X. The Eye.
XI. The Prisoner.

I. The Suicide Girl.

Beneath the darkness of an unending sea, buried beneath the deepest darkness of the cold unforgiving depths of a rising ocean was a cool blue gem of light. The light of the gem had been glowing for a long time; a very long time.

Hidden deep inside the light was a small room. Buried for untold eons, no light had touched its walls; no presence had ever graced its halls. And yet… a small spark of life remained.

A small beeping noise echoed through the room. It continued in rather long extended intervals, once every ten minutes had anyone been down there to keep track.

Suddenly a large rectangle of light appeared and dimly lit the unoccupied room. A series of circles appeared on the screen followed by a small dot that flickered every ten minutes with the beeping.

A loud creaking shot through the room like an explosion. A crack of light cut the room in half like a knife. The creaking returned as the crack evolved into a large rectangular block of light. The screen continued to display its circles and dots as the beeping continued.

A figure stepped into the light. It stood at the threshold for a few seconds before slowly trotting into the room. Two more forms appeared behind the original silhouette. The figure held up a forelimb. The two others stopped and waited just outside the entrance.

The first intruder continued on to the screen of light before stopping directly before it. A smile flickered across the burglar's snout as a light beep filled the room.

“What is that?” a voice asked.

The figure smiled at the screen, “Amelioration.”

«««✧✦✧»»»

Ponyville.
Third Age.
Year of the Seeker.

A loud ringing of a bell signaled the end of another school day. Cheerilee smiled as she watched her charges leave the small school house. She waited attentively making sure all her little kids left the school in relatively safety. A laugh graced her snout as she witnessed a certain group of three fillies run off towards the Apple Family Farm babbling together.

Cheerilee smiled, “Well my dear, I think you’ve dabbled here long enough.”

A quiet rustling noise behind the teacher escalated into a trot as a snow white unicorn mare with luminous crystal blue mane emerged from inside the school. Her features were simple and young. She had yet to win her mark but that appeared to be of little concern to the mare.

“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice flowed softly with an almost unnoticeable scratch in it, “There’s still so much to do. There’s still the art supplies to clean up and the boards need to be put away an-”

“You’re going to be late helping Ms. Sparkle if you stay,” Cheerilee teased in a sing song tone.

The mare frowned, “But there’s still-”

“Would you go already?” she laughed.

The unicorn smiled, “Alright, alright already.”

She trotted back inside and retrieved her saddle bags.

“Bye Ms. C,” she waved, “Same time tomorrow?”

“Same time, Andromeda dear,” Cheerilee waved back, “You have a nice day now.”

“You too!”

Andromeda Nights smiled as she trotted into town. The small village she called home was bustling with activity. Ponies of all types were scurrying about or flying through the air as they went about their business. Stores and shops were all open and conducting their affairs with a cheerful and friendly dignity.

Though she didn’t exactly enjoy the bucolic manner of the village, she had to admit that she had come to love the peaceful and serene atmosphere the small town had. Though there had been a fair amount of excitement, none of it had lasted enough to really disturb the idyllic nature of the valley.

Not that any of it had been too much of a bother. Andromeda doubted any of the ruckuses would even be visible on any of the walls. The sun and moon were just added obstacles to complete visibility.

Andromeda glanced upward. The star was high in the sky. 12:00, high noon. She smiled as she approached the familiar tree house/library, she was right on time. Next to the librarian herself, Andromeda was the most punctual pony she knew.

The bell rang as she pushed open the door. Andromeda smiled. Books were strewn in the center of the room massed together in one gigantic pile. She’d almost forgotten. Today was the day Twilight planned to reorganize the library. The Alicorn herself was sitting near the edge of the room with a collection of books orbiting her skull as she carefully cataloged each one.

“Spike?” the librarian called, “Volume 24?”

A small cluster of books fell off the pile as a small dragon poked his head out before tumbling down the pile and onto the floor holding a dusty volume in his claws.

Andromeda giggled and gripped the book with her magic and levitated it up the Librarian and before poking her with it.

“Ow! Spike! What did I tell you about- Oh! Andromeda! You’re here,” Twilight smiled as she opened her eyes.

Andromeda smiled passing the book to the princess, “Volume 24 of…?”

Twilight stood up and cracked open the volume, “The Encyclopedia of Defensive Spells and Charms. Volume 24: Runes.”

Andromeda watched as the book filed itself away next to other similar looking leather bound novels.

“I take it this is what’s on the agenda for today?” Andromeda asked.

“Yes,” Twilight nodded as she resumed her sorting process.

“In that case, would you mind if I took out the next volume of that ancient language series?”

“Sure. Just tell Spike to make note of it. Spike!”

The light rumbling of books responded followed by a, “I got it already. Yeesh.”

Andromeda opened her saddle bag and levitated the previous volume over and placed among a stack of language books waiting to be filed.

“It wasn’t in that one?” Twilight asked.

“No, not in that one,” Andromeda said as she sat down and created her own orbit of books.

“You still haven’t told me what you’re looking for.”

“I don’t know exactly what I’m searching for. All I know is that I’ll know it when I see it.”

“Well, either way, good luck.”

«««✧✦✧»»»

Ponyville was alive with activity. It was around the time of day where almost everypony had finished the day’s work and was going about socializing or running errands or something of the like. The only ponies who were still working were the shop owners.

Andromeda smiled as she found her house and quickly entered. Ignoring her surroundings she scurried over to her messy coffee table and dug through a mass of papers before retrieving a small notebook and pocketing it. She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. She had plenty of time before she had to be home.

She did one last check of her bags and their contents.

“Okay, language volume, check. Journal, check. Pencils and pens, check,” she said as she mentally went through her list.

“Oh! Almost forgot!”

She bolted to her bedroom and dug through her nightstand before she found a smooth metallic case. Levitating the box into her bags, she gave a sigh of relief.

“Can’t leave without you, can I?”

Now she was ready. She walked out the door of her home, carefully locking it again before continuing on her trek.

Several minutes later, Andromeda found herself smiling as she trotted up the hill along a trail of her own making. No pony in town knew about it as it was only accessible through a certain clearing near the edge of the woods that led south away from Canterlot. And for most ponies, the opening in the trees looked more like a large dead oak.

Anypony passing by in the previous fifteen minutes would have witnessed the peculiar sight of a white unicorn walking into a tree and actually succeeding in penetrating it.

She continued along her trail, humming to herself as she removed her latest language book from her saddle bags. It levitated before her as she removed a small notebook from her other bag and began flipping through the pages as she walked. She reached her desired page and quickly reexamined it. Glyphs and lines that she didn’t understand littered the page, all carefully copied down by her in precise detail. Nothing looked even the slightest bit familiar.

首が切り落とされた好戦的な指定されたきらめくブレード。

トリプル・テクノロジーズと呼ばれるある会社のために動かされました。

さらに階段と呼ばれるものと関連しました。

年を取ったキャプテン意地悪な人は、私に海洋でこの中でこれをしてほしい、今日話します。
幸運にも、ある材料は適切にまったく翻訳しません。
そして、私が恐らく喉を裂いたので企業がこれを使用しないと神に感謝してください。

She frowned and began flipping through her language volume, looking for anything similar to what she had in her book.

As she continued along the trail, the trees began to thin out more letting in more of the suns light. Ponyville could be seen down below and Canterlot up to her left. Immersed in her books, she barely even registered the beautiful surroundings, or the faint rustling of leaves in a nearby large oak tree.

Up above in the ancient and immensely large tree, a large shape was stalking her, watching with hawk eyed intensity. It was large and animalistic yet it moved silently and swiftly as it crept along the branches.

Andromeda barely noticed a thing until the large shape dropped from the tree and landed before her with a loud thud on four of its six limbs. Andromeda dropped her books and fell on her back as she screamed. A large angular head emerged from the shadow of the tree, staring at her with bright red eyes…

II. The Detective.

Horizon.
1098 ATR.

Time Turner groaned as he hauled himself up the ladder back into the surface. He rolled onto the cool concrete surface and vomited up a collection of sea water and supper. He coughed and rotated his head staring back out at sea.

There was nothing but the faint glow of reactor coolant slowly dissipating into the water on a starless night sky.

He clamped his jaw down in pain as he pulled himself up onto his hooves and began limping. He glanced around at his surroundings. He was in a shipyard. The tall stacks of containers gave the entire complex a maze like feel. He began to feel like a mouse in a cage as he scampered along as fast as he could. Tall cranes for moving the cargo stood over watch like sentinels.

Behind him a large cargo airship hovered just above the surface of the water. He heard the fading voices of dock workers and crew mingling as the ship’s payload was unloaded.

He stumbled to the edge of the shipyard. A tall fence blocked his path. He sighed and climbed over it as quietly as he could before flopping over the edge and back into city life.

Bright lights; one thing Horizon had plenty of was lights. He couldn’t tell what district he was in but judging by the activity it probably wasn’t his neighborhood. Various vehicles zoomed down the street, kicking up a faint wind trail as they passed. He waited for a lull in the traffic and bolted across the street.

There were a few apartment building/business hybrid structures on this side of the street as well as few plain old apartments. The buildings were dirty. Clothing hung off the edges of balconies as well as the occasional pony. Between the alley ways was where most of the action here was happening. A few mares and stallions were sitting around an old liquor barrel burning Celestia knows what, warming themselves around the green flame. Various other items were scattered in the alley way ranging from old crates to the dilapidated couch half of them were sitting on. None of the ponies looked like the type of characters Time Turner wanted to deal with. Their outfits said it all as well as the attitude they carried. One stallion wearing a pair of sunglasses gave him a glare followed by the unicorn mare that was rather enthusiastically enjoying herself on his lap.

Her glare disappeared rather quickly and she gave the doctor a grin before licking her lips and tossing her spiky neon blue mane and continuing with her previous activities.

Replicants; he’d seen them before. That would explain the rather promiscuous behavior as well as the nonchalant attitude of everyone else around them. Basic model, almost anyone could own one. All you needed was the bits. Capable of learning and improving, minimal nutrition required, depending on programing it would obey a set of behaviors and commands.

Problematic; not all replicants were as mindless and good many were quite independent.

Time Turner turned with sigh of disgust, squashing his previous train of thought. Still didn’t stop things like that from happening. A loud shrill laugh echoed out of the alley was as he continued down the street.

He looked up. Parking garage, though something told him that wasn’t its current function; unofficially of course. Loud electronic music echoed out of the fifth floor as well as various neon strobe lights and lasers. Cheers and screams of laughter came down with the electronic racket as well as the occasional moan.

A car drove by, its spherical wheels squeaking at an unnatural tone. It approached an intersection and continued on.

Time Turner approached the street corner. He glanced left. Various ponies were walking down the streets though not many. All hardened by living in Horizon. To his right was nothing but the road and the sea beyond.

The street gave an unobstructed view of the higher levels of the city; level 3 Residential districts followed by Level 2 and finally the Level 1; playgrounds of the rich. Strobe lights from the entertainment districts spilled up into the night. Somewhere deeper inside the city was the Horizon Police station.

The Doctor sighed. While the Captain was a nice mare she would not be able to protect him from these ponies. They’d make sure of that, if not through direct contact, through so many legal codes and regulations that it would be cheaper to let him die rather than sort through the mess.

The only safe place now was District 56. Not his home, safe.

Judging by his current surroundings he’d say he was in Section 134, part of the outer ring, Level 4 Residential District number whatever the fuck. Even though his apartment was out of the question there were still several items he needed to retrieve. He sighed. His apartment was still kilometers away.

Sitting there and complaining about it wouldn’t change anything. He sighed and started walking deeper into Horizon…

«««✧✦✧»»»

Two Weeks Later.

“Sixteen are dead; twelve others suffered serious injury…”

Gears sighed as he watched the new feed from the street. One thing the Canterlot Police Department was never prepared for was hostage situations. It was a city with almost no crime so whenever something did happen, no one really have any fuckin’ clue what they were doing.

And the few that did were almost never nearby to make any difference.

“…Medic. Twenty seven year old…” the large video screen said.

Gears let a grin sneak onto his face. Canterlot; they called it the Green City for a few reasons. But he did have to admit the day was a clusterfuck to begin with. Another Princess coronation had spread the local police force thin, allowing for this even larger mess to take place. He sighed. Bad days happened to everyone.

“… Suspect was shot to death by police…”

He turned away from large screen displaying the story above the street and resumed his walk. The rain from the day’s storm rolled off his waterproof jacket easily. The only real crime was his hat had been forgotten at home. Not that it really went well with his current look anyway. Oh well, he had a black jacket to match the hat back at the apartment. His mane, meanwhile, would soak up the water.

He began heading downtown towards the station. This was the fifth time in a month he’d been called down there. Not that he had been doing anything but there were a stack of colds sitting on his desk that he did want to get to at SOME point. Still, this city was just so… he couldn’t find the words for it. Everyone had felt that feeling.

He trotted across a bridge and stopped at the railing before staring down. A river ran under him down and it and a few others like it, cut through the city leading right down the ocean below. The ocean; he laughed. The city was situated just above the water. A massive sea wall was built to separate the cold ocean from the glistening metropolis. Still, if the right kind of storm came along, not even the massive wall would be able to stop it.

Gears grinned before turning and continuing on his route. He soon approached his destination deep inside the city. A tall concrete and glass structure that looked more like it was created by a mathematician than an architect stood before him. He quickly entered it, getting out of the rain.

Canterlot Police Station; desks with dispatchers, offices and officers, typical police business all arranged in a massive information grid. Gears walked over to an empty desk and flopped down in the chair. A sign that read Independent Investigator sat on his rather Spartan desk. The only possession on it was a picture of a young mare flashing a confident grin.

He sighed and turned to his monitor, pulling up an article about the earlier situation that had taken up most of the news so far and began reading through the data. He grinned; typical Green City.

“Detective.”

Gears’ ears flicked and flexed his grey wings. His feathers had an odd blue glow emanating from them though it was nothing uncommon. Almost everyone had implants these days.

“Yes, what is it?” he asked.

A police lieutenant stood before him, pawing the ground impatiently with his hoof, “Sir, the commissioner would like to see you. He’s been climbing my ass for the last ten minutes while you’ve been staring mindlessly at that screen.”

Gears sighed and turned to follow the lieutenant, “If you officers did your jobs correctly I wouldn’t need to stare at pictures of ponies slaughtered on the city streets.”

“The shit I put up with,” the lieutenant muttered.

“What was that asshole?”

“Nothing detective.”

The office was something modern. Various desks sat in a grid like pattern all over the floor marked by modern computer tech all networked together. Various voices were all speaking about the same thing; the botched hostage situation in district 13. As Gears trotted up the stairs a smile crossed him. Unlike most independent contractors in the city he’d actually bothered to leave the accursed place. And the world was a lot different that the Empyreus that had been built here on this island.

The lieutenant led him to the commissioner’s office. The commissioner was a larger unicorn with a buzzed black tuff of mane on his head to go with his brown coat. He was talking with someone only heard by him. The face on the smart glass screen however could be seen.

Gears’ stoic face bent slightly to a grin. Hello Sun Princess.

“Yes ma’am. I understand perfectly. I will. Okay. Good-bye,” he said tapping the implant on the side of his head killing the link.

The lieutenant straightened, “Sir, your Detective Boxer is here.”

“Yes… Thank you lieutenant, you may go.”

He saluted and trotted off. The door closed behind him. The commissioner tapped an icon on his desk and watched as a blue field surrounded the glass room. Gears sat in a nearby chair staring at the environment of the office, giving little attention to its occupant.

“Whadda ya need, Commissioner?” he asked nonchalantly.

He turned and spoke with a deep voice, “Two weeks ago, a yacht for the AnovCorp CEO went down just off the coast of Horizon. Most of the bodies were recovered, the others are assumed to have gone down with the ship.”

He turned rather suddenly, “Horizon?”

“Yes, Horizon.”

“So why are you telling me this?” Gears asked, flipping his mane.

“Because, I said the others were ‘assumed’ to have gone down with the yacht. It’s being kept quiet but there are a number of ponies that are not accounted for.”

He tapped an icon on his desk and the faces of three ponies appeared hovering in 2D in the center of the room. One was a white unicorn with a formally styled blue mane, another was a tan colored earth pony with an uneventful spiky brown mane, and the last was a pale blue pegasus mare with a silky white mane. Gears studied each face.

“These are First Officer Spike Wind, Doctor Time Turner, and Ruby Carver. None were accounted for when the yacht went down.”

“Has the cause of the sinking been determined?”

“Do you want the explanation the City put out or the actual one?”

“Both.”

“Officially, the ship suffered a reactor failure. In reality, the ship was scuttled.”

Gears gave a smirk, “Tell me about the mare.”

The commissioner raised an eyebrow, “Catching on?”

“You tell me.”

“Ruby Carver: daughter to Jewels Carver, CEO of AnovCorp. I assume you can guess the rest.”

“She’s the only one worth anything in terms of leverage.”

“There’s more. She suffers from a rare genetic abnormality where her immune system is completely inactive. Her implants can take care of most of it but her condition is still incredibly rare.”

“How rare?”

“One in a billion.”

“So we have a filly with a rare genetic abnormality who just happens to be the daughter of a powerful CEO. Nothing suspicious here.”

“Just what I was thinking. So here’s the deal: I’m sending you to Horizon.”

“I’m not one of your cops. Why not send one of them?”

“I’m tied with cleaning up the hostage situation. And you’re on my payroll as an independent. So it’s my job to tell you what to do. That… and this one is a personal favor.”

“A favor?”

“Commissioner for Horizon is a personal friend of mine. He’s asked for outside help on this.”

“So you’re sending me?”

“Look, you’re the best detective I have. You’ve seen more than most of these cops here will ever see in their entire time on the force. For this one, experience is one thing that others here don’t have.”

Gears turned and glanced out the window of the office.

“You know Horizon. You know what the city is like. I need a pony with knowledge of the terrain as well as the sense not to get himself killed.”

He turned, “So what’s my job?”

“Get in, find the filly, get out. You’ll be working with the police captain in District 9. She’s like you, a hardass who’s seen far too much. She’s knows better than most. Play nice.”

“No promises. When do I leave?”

“Today. You have two hours to pack your things. I don’t think I need to tell you to watch your back, Boxer.”

“Hardly.”

“Day with the psycho squad, terrorists on the mag lev, the Carvers, you seem to get all the easy assignments.”

“You gave me this one sir; as with the others, just lucky.”

He gave a small grin, “Let’s hope that luck holds. Good luck.”

“Never needed it.”

Two hours later Gears had his saddle bags packed with his necessities and was on an airship out of Canterlot heading south west for Horizon. Below him was a vast unending ocean. Stories were still told even to this modern day of a time when the water was lower. Life had flourished in places just like the one he was flying over. Trenches were once valleys and valleys like this once held life.

But the ‘what ifs’ were things he couldn’t be worrying about now. Dreaming of worlds that never were in times that couldn’t be could get you killed in Horizon; time to focus on the here and now. And more importantly, his destination.

Horizon was an enigma in itself. Once upon a time it had been the picture perfect metropolis it had been designed to be. Built as a self-sufficient abode out at sea to escape the rising tides, for a time it was a utopia. But as conditions worsened, so did everyone else. The city fell into decay. Decadence, technology run amuck, crime, corruption, if you could dream up a social problem you could probably find it in Horizon. Politicians were bought off by corporations. CEOs held all the real power and sometimes even they were merely puppets to the machine.

He checked his implants and weapons. Horizon was not the city where one wanted to be caught without some means of defense. It was a city where the inhabitants would probably kill you for the money in your pocket and then eat your body for the calories if they couldn’t find anything else to do with it.

He laughed at that prospect. One thing the people in Canterlot, even the Sun Princess to a degree, had was a large sense of disconnection. None of them really had any semblance of an idea of what the world outside of Canterlot was really like. Even the cops were rather sheltered. Gears’ only excuse was that he’d been rented out by a bunch of different police forces all over the planet to do odd jobs for them. Work was slow recently so he’d booked himself as a consultant for the Canterlot PD. He figured it’d only be a matter of time before he’d be called back to see something really ugly.

And Horizon was ugly.

Ugly as fuck.

His problem was not unfamiliarity. His boss knew that and felt it a useful thing to have. His problem was the familiarity. He knew Horizon. He knew it all too well…

«««✧✦✧»»»

Horizon from above didn’t look all that different from within the walls. The foundry district glowed with the orange fires of a thousand different hells all producing some product for some city somewhere else in the world. Even in the rain the occasional orange flame from a vent could be seen.

The city itself was roughly circular in shape, the outer districts being more poverty stricken and dedicated more to industry and residence for the poor rather than the more central areas where everything corporate happened from business to residence. The city’s entertainment district and administrative services were also located among the tall spires.

Gears glared down at it all out the rain soaked window. The airship was heading towards one of the outer districts where the city’s main airport was located.

The jets on the old airship rotated to bring the blimp in for a slow decent as the gas was vented out of the main bags and into storage tanks. Landing gear extended as the ship descended.

The airport was a large tower structure made up of a series of large hexangular panels stacked atop each other. They were spaced out so that large aircraft could fit comfortably between them with room to spare. Several large pillars connected the different levels that ran all the way down to the street level and then some. Various aircraft were either docked, arriving, or leaving as the airship approached.

The engines rotated and brought the ship down for a smooth landing.

The ship shook mildly from the impact. Gears unstrapped himself and stood up and donned his hat. He checked his bags and other gear. Hidden underneath one of his wings was a long rifle that could be operated with his hooves. Attached to his right hoof was a small hoof mounted pistol with a drum magazine. With hooves the options were limited for what a pony could use.

“Welcome to Horizon. You may begin to disembark,” an automated voice said. Gears and the other passengers on the shuttle stood up and began to file off the craft. Fortunately Gears had been situated near the front of the ship and was one of the first to get to the gangplank.

He trotted down the stairs, out of the nose of the airship. There were two other ponies in front of him; a mare and a stallion in uniform: guards. He smiled. He always could appreciate the guards. Up ahead, behind a series of concrete barriers and locks that held and separated the airship in its berth from the rest of the port were large homogeneous mixture of races all spread about going about their business. Cargo was being unloaded from a variety of transports all around the port. The smell of synthetic and biological fuels was fresh in the air as well as the occasional whiff of coolant. The port was bustling with activity.

And it still looked and smelled like shit.

He stepped onto the cool tarmac of the airport just as a loud boom split his eardrums and threw him to the ground.

«««✧✦✧»»»

The control tower of the HIA suddenly shook, throwing its occupants to the ground. The glass of the control tower shattered all over the floor as sparks from the various screens and controls flew through the room. Wires and equipment fell to the floor as various ponies, griffons, and other creatures screamed.

Sentinel pulled himself back into his chair and stared out the broken glass windows. Several of the upper levels had large holes in them where a column of black smoke billowed up into the dark sky. Screams could be heard from the tarmac.

Behind him were cries of his coworkers, many cut by the glass or burned when a console exploded in their faces. Blood coated the far wall near the door to the stair well…

«««✧✦✧»»»

Gears burst through the door of his home. A figure was trotting down the hill toward a waiting shuttle. Gears shook his head with a look of worry on his face before bolting down the hill after the figure.

The sounds of his mother’s sobbing faded away into the background as he galloped down the path.

The figure boarded the shuttle. The door closed behind it. He said something unheard before turning to another figure and kissing her.

Gears couldn’t believe his eyes as the shuttle began to rise into the sky. The pegasus unfurled his wings and attempted to catch up to the craft. A jet of CO2 blew the young flier to the ground as the craft accelerated out of the city.

Gears landed with a thud. His vision was blurred by tears as he angrily watched the ship sail away into the sky.

«««✧✦✧»»»

A loud ringing of the ears was all he heard. There was no sound other than the ringing. Slowly his vision returned. A blurry collection of colors slowly focused into a clear image. A charred body was lying right in front of his eyes. The smell of burnt flesh and fuel hit his nostrils.

Vaguely his hearing returned to him in the form of more explosions in the background followed by more screaming added to the racket already going on around him. The vague whirring of the engines on the propellers of the destroyed ship could be heard just barely beneath the blaring of alarms and sirens of the airport’s emergency services. The detective groaned and rolled over. Up above him the nose of the airship was burning. The fires burned as the metal of holding up the nose began to glow red and groan under the stress.

Gears gasped and rolled over onto his hooves and pushed himself away just as the metal frame snapped causing a hulking wreck of metal to collapse down onto the deck. A sway of blood accompanied the brutal crunch of the metal. Even in the chaos following the explosion something registered in the delirious mind of the pegasus; he never could recall what happened to the two guards that had been in front of him.

Gears groaned and pulled himself up onto his hooves, shakily attempting to walk away from the carnage. A loud banging crunch behind him got his attention enough to get him to turn around. A piece of the upper levels had collapsed down onto the remains of the airship.

In his disoriented state the event barely registered as the remaining fuel in the tanks exploded. More screams. He blinked and turned and felt the top of his head. Wait a minute, something wasn’t right here. His hat was missing. Fuck this wouldn’t do one bit. He took a step forward and kicked a small object forward. He looked down. Oh… there it was.

He picked it up and placed it back on his head. He looked around. Ah, the terminal was still a little walk away; past all the wrecked cargo, debris and bodies. All he needed to do was just walk through the gate and then he could get in his taxi and head over to the police station to meet his counterpart. Ah, yes, the one the old commissioner wanted him to see.

He began to haphazardly trot over to the terminal. His saddle bags bounced up against his body as he went. His gun swung on its strap back and forth almost melodiously as he walked.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his leg and turned. A bloodied claw had attached itself to his back leg. The griffin it belonged to did not look to be in too good shape. Half of its face, its gender unreadable at the moment was burned, the other half had a series of small cuts in it from the shrapnel from the explosions.

“Alright,” Gears said hefting the creature up onto his shoulder and walking with the barely alive griffin, “Here we go. Come on, you’re gonna be fine.”

The terminal was still a little ways away in the center of the port. Even through it he could see everyone scrambling away from the scene as emergency officials tried to get into one of the terminals, their emergency codes failing or the door holding up against the meager tools they had brought with them. Unfortunately the one they were trying to open was on the other side of the berth. And it was what just behind the doors of the nearest one that got his attention.

A white van with a black medical cross on it pulled up a little too close to the glass for comfort. Its occupants got out. A group of unicorns dressed in all black suits and… a dragon?

The glass doors to the terminal shattered as a heavy reptilian fist punched through them. Two unicorns trotted through the opening. Two small objects were levitated into the air, surrounded by a colorful aura. One of the blackly dressed unicorns turned and focused on Gears. The device in his aura glowed and fired off a bolt of energy.

The griffon’s head exploded in a cloud blood and skull fragments. Pieces of the previously alive griffon’s skull flew everywhere, a few shredding Gears’ right ear while globs of grey matter sprayed the remainder of his face. Gears barely registered what had happened as the newly dead body fell to the floor in a disgusting heap.

He blinked. Suddenly a few things began to click as the recent gory mess next to him jarred him out of his stupor. The airship he’d moments before just been on exploded, taking most of the berth with it, killing most of the passengers and crew aboard. At the moment there didn’t really seem to be anything other than him, and the ponies plus the dragon in front of him, alive.

Oh, and then something else clicked with him.

He quickly dove out of the way behind a fallen cargo container just as another bolt of light flew past him, heating up the air nearby. An odd smell was in the air that the detective easily recognized: plasma. So these weren’t offensive spells being used on him, of course. No unicorn could generate plasma no matter how hard they tried; and the odds of him running into someone who knew offensive magic, here of all places was slim to none.

“Damn it! He’s still alive!” a voice shouted, “Cook him!”

A powerful, throaty male voice responded, “With pleasure.”

Gears looked up as a sheet of fire shot over his head. He ducked down and felt around his saddle bags praying to whatever gods that might exist in the universe that his rifle was still there. He sighed in relief when he felt the nice smooth carbon grip of the gun. He lay back against the crate and pulled the weapon into his lap and tapped his hoof against the side of the butt. Full magazine, just what he needed.

The flame began to retreat away and soon he was free. He jumped up and looked over the glowing hot top of the cargo container and took a brief moment to note that the entire front of it had melted as well as its contents inside of it, whatever they used to be. He closed his right eye, aimed the weapon at the nearest unicorn and squeezed the lever with his hoof.

Recoil never used to be a problem but considering recent events it didn’t really surprise him when he felt a rather tough kick to his shoulder as a bolt of what looked like lightning arced over to his target. The dark clothed unicorn barely even had time to utter a brief cry of surprise when he exploded in a cloud of red, painting the floor with a crimson paint of blood and other bits and pieces of equine. The dragon raised and arm and covered his eyes as pieces of his compatriot flew in all directions.

Gears took advantage their momentary surprise and bolted from behind his now melted piece of cover towards a sturdier looking concrete barricade. He also took a chance and briefly glanced at his attackers. Minus the dead unicorn there were still four others to deal with as well as that dragon.

The remaining five of his attackers were still in a bit of shock before one of the unicorns barked out an order.

“Forget him! Kill the fucker and let’s move!”

Gears grimaced as he suddenly felt the impacts of weapons against his concrete shield, slowly withering away at it with each hit. He couldn’t stay here forever even unless he wanted to get killed. But if he bolted that damn dragon would certainly burn him to death. Hmm.

He leaned back and scooted himself up against another cargo container that the barricade leaned against. Gears scanned the area looking for anything that could be used. Any opportunity of any kind would be appreciated.

Even in his mildly disoriented state his mind still managed to work something and he gave a small grin. A tank marked with an odd icon of a match inside of a circle with a slash through it was just a few meters away. A few caps were all along the bottom, ready to be hooked up to a waiting airship. And two of his attackers were standing near it.

He readied his rifle, aimed it at the loosened caps and fired his rifle before diving back behind the concrete barricade. A large, deafening boom was heard followed by two screams as the fuel tank detonated, ripping apart a few nearby crates and throwing pieces of sharpened metal into the terminal walls.

He quickly poked himself up over the top of the concrete block and aimed at the head of the dragon that had been punishing him earlier and fired. The bolt arced across the deck and impacted the beast right in its right eye before causing the entire right side of its to explode outward in a pink and red cloud of brains and scales.

While the fires from the destroyed fuel tank burned, Gears got up onto his hooves and galloped away into the maze of wreckage and fire.

«««✧✦✧»»»

Glistening Blade moved through the wrecked port. His magic aura held a small pistol as he hunted for his prey. Things had not gone according to plan.

And now four of his team was dead and the target was still alive.

“B-boss, are you sure we should stay here?” Blast Shield asked.

“What do you mean? We have a fuckin’ job to do. So do it!”

“But b-boss he-”

“Need I remind you what you’re getting paid for this?”

“No b-boss but it’s just that-urgh!” he was cut off as the butt of a rifle smacked into his head, knocking him to the ground.

«««✧✦✧»»»

Gears hugged his wings to his side and dove off the crate. In his front hooves he held the butt of his rifle out. He heard a sickening crack as the carbon fiber stock impacted the head of one of his attackers. His victim fell to the deck like a doll.

The detective put his hooves out, using the fallen body as a cushion to slow his fall. He landed with a jarring impact and staggered to the ground, rolling on his back. A discomforting popping sensation in his right wing alerted him that something was wrong.

“Aagh!” he cried out as he quickly tried to roll over onto his back.

The remaining unicorn turned in surprise and raised his weapon. Gears gasped and raised his rifle just a plasma bolt splashed across the stock of his weapon. The pegasus heard a click as the ebony clothed unicorn squeezed the trigger on his weapon again. At least something fortunate had happened; an empty magazine.

Gears smiled and threw his gun into the unicorn’s muzzle.

“Ugh!” the agent grunted as the weapon smacked him across the face. Gears hopped up onto his hooves and tackled the pony to the ground. He raised his left hoof to strike and thrust down, punching him right in the nose.

Suddenly a jarring impact to the gut sent him rolling. He landed on his injured wing and cried out before rolling onto his back again just as a growl got his attention. A black shape encased in a green aura had launched itself into the air and was descending on him. Gears grunted and raised his right hoof, tapping the device on his wrist and fired.

A quick spray of blue bolts shot up at his attacker, each one splashing over the green aura encasing him.

“Damn,” Gears grunted as he rolled out of the way and onto his hooves just as a heavy weight impacted the deck right where he had previously situated himself. He heard the ground crack under the force of the impact.

His opponent turned to face him and snarled. Gears blinked as he saw the unicorn lower his head and aim his horn at him for a charge.

“Mother-” Gears jumped back as the unicorn kicked his back legs and rapidly accelerated towards him. Gears held up his front hooves and caught the unicorn’s head just centimeters away from impaling him, pushing him back.

“Gah!” he grunted as his back smacked up against the side of a piece of a wrecked airship. He tightened his grip on unicorn’s cranium and began trying to twist and turn it an effort to either break his neck or divert the sharp end of his horn away from his body.

Gears grunted and pushed heavily with one of his hooves, holding the head in place before raising his other hoof and punching the belligerent across the face. His head flew right, missing Gears’ abdomen and smacking into the side of the destroyed ship.

The aura around the unicorn’s body flickered as he held his head and attempted to focus back on his target.

Gears bolted towards another damaged ship. Hoses that connected to the ship were dangling loosely from the side of the wrecked craft of were flopped on the ground like dead snakes. Metal support cables used to anchor the ship dangled all over, some were thick enough like ropes while others had more subtle purposes.

“Ragh!” a voice screamed behind him. Gears turned and sighed.

“Can’t catch a break.”

Glancing up he quickly jumped up and grabbed one of the hoses hanging out of the side of the airship. A cold white gas was spraying out of it. He aimed it right at the face.

“Gah! Aaahh!” came a scream from behind the cloud. Gears dropped the hose and rushed into the cloud of clearing vapor. The temperature suddenly dropped around him. He barely registered this drop before he stopped and turned and bucked out with his back legs, striking the reeling unicorn in the chest, knocking him back.

The cold vapor began to clear as Gears wearily trotted towards the enigmatic assaulter. The unicorn was rubbing his face. Though Gears couldn’t see much of it, the parts he did see were red with what looked like an extreme case of freezer burn.

“Who the fuck are you?” he asked, panting.

“Grrr, the kind of guy you don’t fuck with,” the agent growled.

Gears laughed before coughing. A few drops of blood fell onto the already messy tarmac. He’d inhaled some of the gas.

“And I’m the kind of guy who hunts guys like you,” Gears said walking over towards the still blinded unicorn, “You attacked me first. And I take it you had something to do with the explosion of my ride back there. So why don’t you save me the extra paperwork I’m gonna have to do if I kill you and tell me what you’re fuckin’ doing.”

The unicorn suddenly dropped his hooves. His face was red but not nearly as burned as Gears thought it was. And his eyes were functioning perfectly.

“A job!”

A green aura engulfed Gears and hurled him back towards the airship. Gears landed with a thud on his back in a pile of cables. The unicorn lowered his head and stared poison at him as he prepared another magically fueled charge.

Gears looked around him. Hoses, cables, metal shards, metal wires, baggage, debris in general; there had to be something he could use. A glint in his peripheral vision got his attention. He had it now.

“Rargh!” The unicorn growled and kicked his hooves out as he launched himself at an unnatural velocity, his hooves not even touching the ground. Gears bolted, grabbing one of the nearby metal wires in his mouth and pulling it taught between himself and a heavy crate, hanging out of the cargo hatch of the blimp.

The laws of physics would refuse to be altered now as the belligerent unicorn realized his mistake far too late to correct for it.

Gears closed his eyes as he heard a scream that was quickly cut off by a disgusting squelching and slicing noise. The dull skipping and rolling of a dead body came next that itself was followed by the bouncing of a severed head.

He remained there for a few more seconds before he opened his eyes and releasing the wire. It fell to the floor with a small splash of blood. Gears held a hoof up to his mouth. The wire had cut into his edge of his mouth giving him a small Glasgow smile. He grimaced in pain but decided to survey the situation.

He glanced over at his handy work. The severed head of a unicorn was lying a few meters away, red splashes giving markers for where the head had bounced. A little closer was the body itself, lying limply in a pool of red.

Gears sighed as a dull wind flowed through the port. His hat was missing. He sighed and searched for it. It was lying near the severed body; the lip of it was just barely touching the red that painted the ground. The detective begrudgingly picked it up, ignoring the shock of pain that ran through his wing as he leaned down to life it. He barely even registered the drops of blood that flew up when he set it down on his head.

His gaze returned to the body. He hated this part of the job. He quickly began to rummage through the black suit of his once alive adversary. Pockets filled with extra magazines for a weapon lost during the battle. A small emergency weapon that had never been used and a small ID card.

After carefully inventorying all the items as well as their locations on the body he glanced at the ID.

Agent: Glistening Blade
Access: Tier 3 Clearance
ID: 492920-4934
ASSOCIATED: STAIRWAY
TriTECH Affinity

He cocked his head; interesting. He blinked as the sounds of sirens that weren’t medical reached his ears. Police.

He sighed and glanced at the situation behind him. Dead bodies.

“Paperwork…” he muttered, pocketing the ID and limping over to the still locked terminals.

III. The Guardian.

Andromeda frowned as she stared into a large metal face. The creature’s angular head tilted as it stared at her. But there was something different about it that made it stick out from the other creatures that lived in the forest.

Its body was mechanical in appearance. Thick sections of silvery grey metal plating covered most of its inner workings and mechanics like armor yet still allowed for smooth fluidic movement. It wielded six limbs, two what would qualify as legs and four arms with six ‘fingers’ at the end of each hand. The creature’s head was shaped like an upside down knife with plating that covered its face extending out along its mandible, hiding most of its face from view allowing only the ‘eyes’ to be seen. The head was attached to a medium length neck that it craned forward at the intruder.

Its eyes blinked from red to blue as it recognized that the pony standing before it didn’t appear to be hostile. It extended one of arms towards Andromeda, slowly, like a cat curiously pawing at a ball of yarn.

Andromeda blinked and slowly backed away.

“No! Bad robot!” She fumed.

The machine let out a series of squeaks, pops, and whistles before it backed up.

“Sit…” Andromeda said as she picked up her books and levitated them back into her bag. The machine sat down in a fashion similar to that of a dog or cat before cocking its head at her; sitting down, it about two meters tall. It went to raise two arms but Andromeda shot it a glare.

“That’s not very nice,” the machine said, its voice sounding heavily synthesized, “I’m not some guard dog, you know.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t act like one,” Andromeda smiled.

“Hey,” it said standing up and walking hexapedally, “While you’re down in that little village of yours having fun with that teacher and that new princess of yours, I’m up here guarding our little secret.”

“How do you know she’s a princess now?” Andromeda asked as she turned and resumed walking back up the trail.

“When your existence is confined to crawling around trees like a monkey you learn to listen as much as you can.”

“Huh. And for the record, you jumping down from that tree wasn’t very nice either.”

“Aw come on,” the machine said as it walked with her up the trail, “I get bored up here. Trillions of calculations per second and I just sit up here most of the time watching the sun go up and come back up again, day after day.”

“So that means you don’t spend time at the cave?”

The machine let out a sigh, “I get boooorrrred. Sitting up there hacking into systems I barely understand can get to you. I do take breaks sometimes.”

Andromeda closed her eyes and laughed, “Oh? And what does Aphelion do on his breaks?”

“Don’t talk about me in the third person like that.”

“Oh? So you’re picking up on that.”

“Yes I am.”

“Hmm, so back to the question. What does a robot like you do on his breaks?”

Aphelion let out a computerized sigh, “I walk around the woods up here. Climb trees like a monkey. Go swimming when I can. Paint a bit. I tried sleeping one time but… I guess I don’t have the parts necessary for that.”

Andromeda let out a giggle that erupted into full blown laughter.

Aphelion cocked his head, “If I could frown I would. What’s so funny?”

“Nothing,” Andromeda put a hoof to her mouth, “Just trying to imagine you painting and sleeping.”

“And how is that funny to you?” he asked.

“Look at you. Standing up, you’re like nine meters tall! You have four arms and you walk around like a cat.”

“Yeah and your point is?”

“It’s funny to imagine.”

“Don’t you have your languages to decipher?” he asked.

“Yeah. I don’t understand why you can’t do this, though.”

“Uh, I think you know why. And if you’ll pardon me for saying but I can’t just waltz down the mountain, walk into the library and say, ‘Hello Ms. Twilight. I would like to take out a book on ancient languages. Oh and by the way, ignore the fact I’m a hexapod robot that’s been living like a hermit in the mountain for the last ten years.’ Yeah, that would go over real well with the locals,” he said rolling his eyes.

“You could have easily been up there for longer than ten years,” Andromeda smiled.

“I know. But our relationship and my memory both begin around there so... I’ll stick with ten years.”

“You’re a piece of work, Aphelion.”

“The same could be said about you. And I’ve been wondering. Where did you get that name for me?”

“It sounded cool for a robot like you.”

“Yes I know that, Andy. But that doesn’t answer the question.”

“It’s a word that means a point farthest from the sun. I found you at midnight on the winter solstice so I figured the name fitting. Didn’t get you working until like three months later. I guess I could say you were a problem child.”

“You’re not my mother. You’re just the filly that found me lying in the center of our little facility.”

Andromeda smiled, “And you tried following me home like a dog the first few days I got you up and running. And when I told you to stay, you stayed in the same spot and position until I came back, be it a few hours or a few days.”

“I was a blank slate. And if you recall I picked up your language within a week, as well as several others with the books you brought up AND I know your history better than you do.”

“Brag all you want, robot boy,” Andromeda winked, “On technicality I’m your mother.”

“Yeah, the eight year old tinkerer who found a magic robot buried in a mountain is automatically its mother. Makes total sense.”

“Whatever. You can think that,” she grinned.

“Ha, ha. Let’s just get to solving the mysteries of the mountain before we get too off topic.”

“You started it.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Oh act your age for once.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. I’m your mother, remember?”

Aphelion hung his head, “I’m scowling on the inside.”

“Sure you are.”

“Would you shut up and get working on your books?”

“It would help if the robot with pattern recognition software actually used it for once,” she taunted.

“I do use it. Unless you want to try to interpret all those lines of code written in another language as well as those infernal circles and ovals littering the system.”

“Maybe I do,” she said smugly.

“Be my guest,” he replied.

“Alright, boy genius. Today we switch jobs.”

“Why do you always assume I’m a boy?”

Andromeda blinked, “Well you’ve never indicated otherwise.”

Something that looked like it could be a smirk flashed across Aphelion’s face. His voice changed and lost its synthetic noise and became more fluid and smooth and feminine.

“Oh?” came a sexy female voice, “How about now?”

“Stop messing with me,” Andromeda frowned.

“Aww, come on. Are you gonna start referring to me as a she if I don’t? You know… I don’t recall ever telling you which gender I preferred or even adopted. For all you know, I could have female programming.”

“Well, uh, I just assumed that that’s what you were. A boy.”

“Does it look like I have the parts for that?” he continued, using his newfound female charms.

“You don’t have the parts for anything! Now cut it out. It’s getting weird.”

His normal synthesized voice returned, “Fine, be that way. Just having a little fun is all.”

“Hmph… Do you mind it when I refer to you as a boy?”

“No,” he said smugly, “I never really even knew what genders were until you brought up that weird book with the messy images in it. You always just referred to me as a he or a boy or some other masculine adage. Guess it stuck.”

“You can be such a dick sometimes.”

“Yes mom.”

Andromeda simmered, “You are such a bucking wise ass sometimes. You know that?”

“I know everything.”

“Oh really? Then tell me all about our little secret up the mountain.”

“I have a few theories.”

“Then tell me.”

“Maybe it’s a data storage facility or something. Or possibly an ancient military installation. Maybe it was a scientific outpost.”

Andromeda gave a cocky grin, “Those are all real good theories, but there’s just one problem with them.”

“And what is that?”

“You know exactly what.”

Aphelion sighed, “Humor me.”

“None of those theories explain our little rift.”

“Ha, little.”

“Why would a science outpost need a hole to the bottom of the bucking world?”

“We don’t know how deep it goes, filly.”

“Well before you go into conjecture like that you should at least come up with an explanation for that.”

“Jeez, what crawled up your ass?”

“Nothing. Just that we’ve been at this for almost a decade and we aren’t any closer to solving this thing. It’s a little maddening don’t you think?”

“I guess.”

“Come on, you can’t tell me that you don’t feel it too?” she said staring at him.

“Feel what?” he asked returning her gaze.

“That something isn’t right here! Come on! You most of all have to feel it. Doesn’t it bother you that some eight year old filly found you in the middle of an ancient base embedded in the surface of a mountain? Haven’t you ever wondered where the sun goes at the end of each day? Don’t you want to know more about those oceans at the poles?”

“I guess.”

“You mean that doesn’t bother you?!”

“Not as much as it’s bothering you. I mean, the other things bother me but the first thing doesn’t disturb me as much.”

She frowned, “Explain.”

“Do you ever wonder why you’re here?”

“What do you mean?”

“My situation and yours aren’t as different as you think.”

“Don’t be silly. Of course they are.”

“Are they really? Think about it. I don’t know where I came from. And you don’t have any answers as to where your race came from. These are basic questions that everyone’s been asking since the beginning of time.”

“Hmm, alright point made.”

“And for the record, yes I’ve been able to recognize that something doesn’t feel right. Sometimes when I get bored, I think about just jumping down the chasm and seeing where it goes. Also something that I find weird is that the sun rises from the same place each day.”

“You and me both,” Andromeda laughed.

The pair continued walking along the trail, moving up and around the mountain. Soon they rounded the mountain, Canterlot no longer being visible. The mountain continued up. A steep rocky trail wound its way up the mountain to a dark cave that sat just behind a small rocky plateau.

Andromeda frowned and stared at the rocky trail. She heard her robotic friend sigh.

Aphelion crouched down, “Hop on.”

Andromeda grinned, “Thanks.”

She clambered up onto the robot’s back, resting herself on what settled for spinal plating. A series of spines extended up from his head and stopped just short of her hooves.

“Hold on,” he said.

Andromeda barely had time to settle in and grab one of his spines before he stood up bipedal and leapt into the air. She let out a gleeful scream as she felt the air rush through her mane and tail. Heavy metal claws extended outward and gripped the rock. He leapt up, barely stopping to even climb as he ascended with his cargo. The machine’s arms worked like catapults as he scaled the nearly vertical surface. He eventually slowed down as he neared the entrance to the cave.

The robot climbed up onto the platform and set himself down, letting Andromeda climb off.

She giggled, “That was fun.”

She visibly saw his blue eyes roll, “Come on. I’ve calculated the weather for this side of the mountain. We’re supposed to get rain tonight.”

“Ooh, cozy.”

The pitter patter of steps could be heard as the duo walked along the rocky surface until they came to a large smooth surface.

Aphelion stepped up and tapped the surface with one of his claws. The surface lit up with a collection of geometric patterns and glyphs. A large glowing line ran down the center. A circular rotary appeared on the line. Recognizable numbers appeared on the circles, each ring decreased the number by three, starting from the first nine digits all the way down to the first three.

“Can I do it?” Andromeda asked.

Aphelion sighed, “You did it last time. Let me have a turn. Besides, I have your fat flank a ride up here.”

“Humph.”

He entered a nine number combination before rotating the first ring counter clockwise three times. He entered in the next six number combination before turning the next ring twice clockwise. He entered in the final three digit code before turning it counter clockwise once before tapping the center glowing circle.

The door split along the lateral line and silently opened.

“Let’s get inside, shall we?” Andromeda smiled.

IV. The Captain.

For those of you who have read CyberFire: She's back.

The last stretcher with a sheet over it rolled by just as the medic finished stitching the edges of Gears’ mouth; the stretcher was shortly followed by a unicorn levitating a metallic ice box. A CSI team as well as a bomb squad was investigating the entire terminal of the port.

“Alright,” the medic said removing the stitcher from his face. He pulled out a small spray can and sprayed the edges of the wound before shinning a neon blue light over it.

“Try not to open your mouth too wide for the next thirty six hours at least. Honestly you should be fine after twenty four but to be safe I would wait a good forty eight before washing the stitches out. And your wing was dislocated and broken in two places so it’ll have to stay in that cast for the next few weeks. You should be flying again in about three weeks give or take but I wouldn’t take any chances.”

Gears poked the stitches lightly, “Will these leave any scars?”

“Any cuts like that will leave scars,” the medic said packing up his case, “But any Cosmo in the city can get rid of those.”

“Alright.”

“Police should be by soon to ask you some questions.”

“Alright, thanks doc.”

“No problem.” The stallion stood up and trotted away.

When the security finally broke the safety glass and police arrived, they quickly cornered off the area from the general public and began a rather hasty investigation that was still underway. Part of said investigation was going up at the street level where an airship had fallen from the upper level down onto the street below.

Most of the cops that showed up all had a look Gears had seen before: like they didn’t get paid enough and that every night when they went to sleep they hoped they didn’t wake up in the morning. But unlike the Canterlot PD that could barely deal with a hostage situation, these ponies had experience as well as guts. If they’d been hit with a similar hostage situation they would have no problem killing each one of the kidnappers in the most creative ways possible. Still, in this city you had to be creative and bend or break the rules if you were to survive as a cop.

But that didn’t stop most of them from being depressed/borderline suicidal. Gears figured that’s what made them a success. Well, most of them were borderline suicidal. A certain few had the guts and gall without the depressive attitudes that went along with them.

“Well, well, well,” a smooth yet slightly creaky female voice said, “I’d know that shitty hat any day of the week.”

Even in his current condition, Gears let a small smile grace his face, “Hello Spitfire.”

He turned to get a view of her. Standing before him in a standard police uniform was the Captain of Horizon District 9. She never wore a cap, keeping it clipped to her belt, preferring to let her flame like mane flow freely from her head. Her brilliant orange eyes focused on her childhood friend.

She cringed, “Geez, you look like shit.”

“Feel like shit,” he said indicating to his wing.

“Aw dude! That right there sucks.”

“Meh, it’s not that bad. You were always the better flier than I was. It’s not as crippling for me as it would be for you.”

Spitfire frowned and trotted over to him and started walking in circles around him, “Oh? And what is that supposed to mean?”

Gears scoffed, “I know who you are Spitfire.”

She flicked her tail under his chin, “And I know who you are. Partners in crime remember? But back to the question: what do you mean by that?”

“If you’re still anything like you were last time I saw you, your strong points are your wings. On the ground and in most things that don’t require flying I always beat you.”

She turned around quickly and stared right into his eyes, “That’s debatable.”

He grinned but quickly grimaced as pain ran through his mouth, “Oh-gah! Fuck that hurts! Is it?”

Her frown melted, “Forget it for the moment. Geez you got beat up.”

Gears laughed, “You should have seen the other guys.”

Spitfire glanced over his shoulder at the bloody mess that was being cleaned up. Chunks of a dead dragon were being loaded into a large black bag.

“Don’t worry. I get the idea.”

Gears glanced at the patch on her shoulder, “So you’re the hardass captain of District 9 I’ve been hearing so much about?”

She smiled, “Yup, captain of District 9 now. Moving up in the world. So I guess this means you’re the psychotic son of a bitch detective the commissioner’s been barking down my neck about?”

“Good guess. Someone high up called in a favor and here I am,” he said pulling himself to his hooves.

“Great. So you’re my problem now,” she smiled.

“Yeah. I am. Better start getting used to it ‘cause we have a job to finish.”

“So I can see. Next time someone tries to kill you, try not to make such a big mess,” she said as they trotted over to a squad vehicle.

“I’m sure you’ve done worse with a dragon.”

“I wasn’t talking about the dragon.”

“What then?”

“You cut off traffic for a key part of the city. There’s gonna be a lot of pissed off ponies.”

Gears climbed into the passenger seat of the car, “They can deal with it. I’m sure there’s a few dead bodies inside that thing so if they want to start digging to get it out of the way.”

“Wow, you’re an even bigger asshole than I remember,” she laughed climbing into the driver’s seat.

“I just got a Glasgow Smile within an hour of being in this city. I think I’ve earned the right.”

“We’ll see about that,” she grinned, “For now, let’s catch up.”

«««✧✦✧»»»

“The Wonderbolts?” Gears scoffed?

“Fuck off bud,” Spitfire said as the pair trotted out of the parking garage. It was raining now, or what passed for rain in this part of the planet. The rain was multicolored due to the variety of chemicals mixing in with the evaporated water. Fortunately most of them were benign to flesh but certain types of stone statues were having trouble. The lights from the skyscrapers glowed and bounced all through the water as it fell. Various signs advertising a plethora of services were scattered all about the street level entrances. Overhead, a monorail glided past, a mobile billboard attached to it. A club was being promoted on it though neither Gears nor Spitfire caught enough for a name.

“How’d that nickname come about? The best police force in Canterlot is the Psychological Criminal Profiling Unit or the Psycho Squad as we’re used to calling them. Why not something cool like that?”

“The hell should I know? Word on the street is that some kid started calling us that after Soarin’ helped him cross the street one day. However it got started it stuck like herpes.”

Gears laughed, “Glad to know Soarin’ is at least still alive. I’m surprised his carelessness hasn’t gotten him killed yet.”

“Hey, he’s gotten better in the past few years. And considering he’s still living and it’ll be ten years on Thursday, you’re gonna owe me a round,” Spitfire giggled.

“Can’t believe you still remember that,” Gears said shaking his head.

“I remember a lot of things,” She declared proudly, “I remember the time you fell off that fire escape and broke your leg trying to catch me. I’m the one tail you could never chase.”

Gears cringed, “Wow, ouch, were you waiting all this time to use that one?”

“Maybe,” she said tossing her now wet mane.

“How long did it take you to come up with that one? You must’ve been rolling that one through your head for at least a week.”

“I can be witty when I want.”

“Yeah, sure you can. You gonna remember where you parked or am I going to have to do that for you?”

She blushed, “That was one time!”

“Yeah, one time. And because of it Rapidfire and I got second assholes.”

“Oh come on! Rapidfire says he wasn’t chewed out that bad.”

“I certainly hope you haven’t forgotten where his parents live.”

“So they live on the upper side, big deal,” she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, when he doesn’t come home his parents assume he’s with someone. When I don’t come home I’m assumed beaten, mugged, stabbed, shot, burned, disposed of in acid or raped. And all because you lost your remote and couldn’t locate the damn car.”

“Yeah well you two could’ve flown home.”

“You fly right now and tell me why that’d be a horrific idea,” Gears replied.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” she laughed.

“So what’d you been up two these last few years?”

“Well I’m a police captain now as you can see.”

“I’m not blind yet you know.”

“Yet?” Spitfire asked skeptically.

“If the last few hours are any indication it’ll be a miracle if I DON’T lose one of my senses on this trip.”

“I see the stick up your ass hasn’t gotten any smaller.”

“And I can see your ego hasn’t either.”

“OH really? How can you tell?”

“Trust me,” Gears grinned, tipping his hat.

“Tip that thing again, Neckbeard, and I’ll castrate you.”

“Oh why must my fair mistress be so cruel?” came his sarcastic reply.

“Are you into Sadomasochism now? If you’d like I can help you out there,” she teased.

“Oh will you please mistress? I’ve always wanted you to chop my fucking balls off,” Gears rolled his eyes.

“I have a knife in my pocket if you’d like,” Spitfire grinned.

“Really? That’s how far you’re gonna take this?”

She stopped and reached into her jacket pocket. A large switch blade flipped out of her jacket and into her hoof. The blade was sharp as a razor.

“Wanna find out?” she smiled.

“You don’t have the ovaries for that kind of thing,” Gears confidently replied.

“I don’t know, Gears. You haven’t visited in three years. A lot can happen.”

He turned to face her, “Like what?”

She trotted towards him and leaned in close until their muzzles were almost touching. She grinned and narrowed her eyes.

“Wanna find out, cowboy?” she said allowing a sultry tone to flow forward.

Gears scoffed lightly, “Another time perhaps, cowgirl. Soarin’ will have to keep you satisfied for the evening.”

She reeled back, “Dear fucking Goddesses!”

Gears grinned and laughed knowing exactly what he said, “What?”

“It’s been a fucking DECADE and you STILL haven’t let that go?! How many fucking times do I have to tell you that I haven’t and don’t have anything going on with him?!” she yelled blushing.

“Your face says otherwise,” Gears said pushing all the buttons as he remembered them.

“Oh my goddesses! I cannot believe it’s been this long and you haven’t changed a fucking bit!” she said with a shocked expression on her face.

“It’s only been three years,” he grinned.

“The fuck you mean it’s only been three years?! It’s been TEN YEARS!”

Gears snickered, “And you want ME to believe you’ve changed since I last saw you when you’re still getting worked up over THAT old joke? Holy fuck Spitfire, you may be a bit older than last time but the buttons still work just as I remembered them.”

Her jaw sat agape, “You son of a bitch.”

“Of course I know you’d never CONSIDER doing that,” he said, drawing out the statement with a slight bourgeois accent to it, “I mean, even YOU have standards.”

“I’m not sure if I’m supposed to take that as a compliment or an insult,” Spitfire deadpanned.

“Take it as you will. As far as I’m concerned,” he grinned, “you’re still the same Spitfire I knew three years ago, five years ago, six years ago, nine years ago, ten years, all the way back. You haven’t changed a bit accept for the bars.”

“I hate you sometimes,” she frowned as they resumed walking.

“Sure you do, Captain.”

“Are you patronizing me? I’m a POLICE CAPTAIN. I worked very hard to achieve this position and I deserve the respect that comes with it,” she smiled.

“Sure you do, Captain.”

Spitfire sighed, “And you haven’t changed a bit either, Gears.”

“I guess that was the point of this exercise.”

She grinned and removed her cap from her belt and placed it on her head and buttoned her jacket. Gears smiled.

“It looks good on you.”

Spitfire turned, “Thanks.”

“So what next?”

“You’re an idiot sometimes,” she said shaking her head, “Come on, let’s go get some lunch then we’ll head to the station.”

He flicked her flank with his tail, “Be nice, Captain.”

She blushed, “Start walking asshole.”

“Ooh. Yes sir, Captain Sir.”

“That’s MA’AM to you!”

“Yes mom.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Of course I am.”

The pair resumed their trot down the rain soaked sidewalk.

“And Gears?”

“Yeah?”

“The hat looks nice.”

Author's Note

No, I'm not fucking dead. I have been busy college shit like spending half a thousand dollars to buy books and that's with the discount for buying used books or finally sorting out the fucked up business of getting my test scores transferred to my college. Fuck it's been a busy last few months but I'm getting back into the swing of things. I'm still alive.

V. The Clubhouse.

“The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.”
― Anaïs Nin

«««✧✦✧»»»

“Whoo!” Andromeda cheered as she bounced into the room.

Inside was a large circular room with a high domed ceiling. The floor had a similar array of circles located in the center that extended out to the walls. On each circle rested a glowing orb. Up above on the ceiling was a glowing starscape of unfamiliar constellations and nebula. To the immediate right was an alien console with a deactivated screen while the other side of the room held various other objects from a fridge connected to a small power generator and kitchen space to a hammock hanging from magnetic clamps attached to the wall. A series of paper lanterns floated up above, anchored to a series of lines that ran perpendicular several meters above the floor. Up above them were a spider web of vines and ropes set up by Aphelion. Towards the back of the room was a long hallway that led to another chamber farther down. The hallway had several doorways off shooting from it.

Aphelion followed behind the unicorn as she bounced over to a small desk located in what passed as the left side of the room. Atop it were various stacks of paper with various symbols written all over them as well as some more recognizable languages.

“I thought we were switching jobs,” Aphelion said.

“You know I know nothing about computers,” Andromeda replied as she used her magic to scour through the papers.

Aphelion sighed, “Figured as much.”

He trotted over to console. The console itself was mostly underpowered with only a single icon on it glowing. He raised an arm and tapped it with his finger and watched as the rest of the board burst back to life. The screen itself soon followed and began displaying a series of lines of code. Aphelion stood up and cracked his knuckles before tapping away at the buttons and icons.

“Did you at least bring back the drive?” he asked.

The small metallic case flew through the air. The robot reached back and caught it before placing it into some hidden chamber on his person.

“Didn’t find anything useful on it?” he asked.

“No. Nothing I could use to translate this stuff,” Andromeda replied as she opened up her saddle bag and levitated the books she’d brought on to her desk, “I’m hoping the books I borrowed from Twilight will have SOMETHING I can use. It’d help if I even knew how this language was structured to begin with.”

“For all you know each one of those symbols could represent an entire word,” Aphelion commented as he resumed typing.

Andromeda turned, “What do you mean?”

Aphelion stopped his nearly superluminal typing, “Can I see that journal you brought?”

“Sure.”

The book levitated over to the robot. He plucked it out of the air and began turning to a random page.

“I still find that creepy sometimes,” he said.

“What?” Andromeda asked.

“Here’s a good a page as any,” he said crouching down for the pony to see, “See this phrase right here?”

私が最後に彼女に会ったので、彼女は非常に美しくされます。

“Yeah.”

“That first glyph, instead of being a letter, could really be an entire word. It would make more sense than them being letters and having to draw out these complicated symbols just to make an ‘Ah’ sound.”

Andromeda cocked her head, “So you think they could represent entire words?”

“Maybe. It would make sense. I could easily be wrong but I’m just throwing ideas at you and hoping they’ll stick,” he shrugged, handing the book back.

“Hmm, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Also, you ever consider that maybe one of the other books you found buried in this place has something you’re looking for?”

“I’ve checked a few books and found what I think are three different languages.”

“Three? How can you tell?”

“I said what I think are three different languages. I’m not sure, they could all be entirely one language but I’m not inclined to think so. The symbols in one text that I assume go to one language don’t show up in another. So in other words there’s no cross pollination here. However that doesn’t help me with understanding anything.”

“Hmm, maybe instead of matching one of those unknown languages to the ones you do know, you should try it the other way around. You never know,” Aphelion suggested, "You may find it easier."

“What?” Andromeda blinked.

“Try matching a known language to one of the three unknown languages. You may have better luck than doing it one at a time the other way around.”

“Hmm. Eh, what the hell? I’ll give it a try. It certainly seems more efficient just thinking about it.”

“That’s because you’re not thinking like a programmer,” the robot replied as he resumed his typing.

“Buck off.”

“That wasn’t nice,” Aphelion commented.

“Well you’ll have to learn to deal with it. You only live once,” Andromeda replied as she cracked open one of the language books.

“That statement is generally considered to be used an enabler.”

“The hell are you talking about?”

“An enabler. Something used to encourage negative or self-destructive behavior in individuals.”

“Again,” she replied, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Your statement: You only live once. That statement historically has commonly been associated with enabling negative and self-destructive behavior in others. Everything from the use of controlled substances to unprotected intercourse was justified with the phrase, ‘You only live once.’ Not that it’s a bad dogma but it has become stained by its adoption by stupid people as their motto.”

“Yeah yeah, get off my case on that. It’s just a phrase.”

“I am aware of that.”

“I used it because you do only live once before you die. Better not let stupid trivial things get in the way of enjoying it. It’s a crime really.”

“What is?”

“That we can only live once.”

“Why is living once a crime?” Aphelion stopped his typing and turned.

“Because once isn’t enough. One life is only enough for you to get just a taste of what life has to offer. And it’s a crime that you can experience such beauty, such pleasure and pain, such majesty and light and then be limited to a sixty year expiration date. It’s like taste testing the greatest ice cream in the world and being told that you can never have another. That’s what death is.”

“Death is an apathetic ice cream man?” Aphelion cocked his head.

“Death is an asshole. Life is the greatest party in the universe and Death is the bouncer that taps you and tells you that you have to leave the party and never come back. But not only that, Death is the asshole who tells you that the party will go on without you. Buck that.”

“Some would argue that Death is the thing that gives life meaning, that without it we would all just waste life away without ever doing anything significant. A project without deadlines will never be completed.”

“So buck the guys that live like that. I don’t. And I’m inclined to think that the majority of ponies aren’t procrastinators either. I’d get the project done then read a book, learn to play an instrument, study a dead language, learn higher mathematics, do whatever I wanted. You shouldn’t need a deadline to teach you that life needs to be lived to the point of tears.”

“So what exactly are you saying?”

“Buck the ponies who need deadlines to get them to move their flanks.”

“Are you saying that you want to be immortal?”

Andromeda laughed, “I certainly wouldn’t turn it down if it was offered.”

“Well considering I don’t have an effective limit placed on my existence I would say that it’s not all as advertised,” Aphelion blinked.

“Well you clearly haven’t put as much thought into as I have,” Andromeda said shaking her head.

“Oh? Enlighten me then.”

“The world is too big for only one life. I can never live enough. Buck all the people who say that if lived correctly one life is enough.”

“You do have to admit that there is something to that phrase.”

“There is something to it. But that’s it, just something. There isn’t enough to it. One life will never be enough. I want as many as I want!”

“I am beginning to wonder if you have an unhealthy obsession with immortality.”

“I am not obsessed with it! I just happen to find death a waste. I want to run through forests well past Everfree! I want to fly higher than any pegasus ever could dream of! I want to swim deeper than any fish in the ocean. I want to see cities others have only dreamed of. I want to experience things that I can’t even conceive of right now!”

“That merely expresses a desire to explore and achieve.”

“How about this? I want to live a thousand different lives. No, a million different lives! I can never learn enough, I can never experience enough. Do you understand now? One life will never be enough! Just as youth is wasted on the young, life is wasted on the lazy and stupid.”

“I suppose I can agree with that last part,” Aphelion said cocking his head.

“There’s too much in the world to know, to experience, to live, for only one life to be enough. Even if you live life to the point of tears you will never experience everything, never learn everything, never live everything you can.”

“I doubt one would be able to accomplish a feat such as that with an indefinite life span.”

“That’s the point. Set an impossible goal so you’ll never have any excuse to stop. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for stopping to smell the roses but if that’s all you’re doing then step out of the way for the rest of us who are going somewhere.”

“Even if your mythical destination is impossible?”

Andromeda grinned, “Especially if it’s impossible.”

“Like what we’re doing here?”

“Just like what we’re doing here. We may never understand whatever the hell we’ve discovered here. But I’ll be damned if I don’t try.”

Aphelion shook his head, “That attitude is going to get you killed.”

“So what? If I can’t live forever at least I’ll go out doing something.”

“With a bang rather than a whimper?”

“With the biggest bang possible,” she grinned.

Outside the structure a loud crack broke through the din of their conversation. Andromeda and Aphelion turned. The clouds that had gathered outside were finally preparing for their main event. Another crack of thunder followed that was accompanied by a flash of lightning. Soon the pitter patter of rain could be heard. The air grew thick with humidity.

“Ah, the weather has arrived,” Aphelion blinked.

He returned to the console and pulled up a window that displayed diagrams of the entrance way. He tapped an icon unknown to Andromeda and watched as the doorway glowed with a blue light. Soon the humidity level in the room dropped.

“There we are. Keep us nice and dry without having to close the door,” Aphelion said.

“You mean without having to sacrifice the view.”

“Well… that too.”

“Shall we resume our work?”

“Sure thing, robot boy.”

«««✧✦✧»»»

The glow of the open chamber was not lost to the rainy night. If one listened closely the rattling of leaves would have given away a concealed presence, hiding further along the cliff. Hushed voices as well as the sharpening of weapons accompanied by the rustling of leather were masked by the hiss of the rain and the roar of the thunder.

The binoculars were lowered accompanied by the movement of feathers. Even at this distance the glow from the room was still plenty visible to any creature at the right height.

“Four hours, we go in four hours.”

VI.The Lead.

“In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.”
-Hunter S. Thompson

«««✧✦✧»»»

“Can we go somewhere quieter?” Gears asked.

“Yeah sorry about that,” Spitfire said, “This place can get hectic sometimes. Also doesn’t help that your ride here is now in several places at once right now.”

“That’s not exactly my fault.”

The police station was set up similarly to the Canterlot station. A series of desks arranged in rows from the entrance towards the rear of the room. Two stair cases on either side of the room led up to offices. Farther back were analysis areas and interrogation rooms as well as another staircase. Various screens displaying graphics and reports were scattered all about the station. The occasional news report graced the upper corner of one of the boards. The station itself was a mess of papers and folders mixed in with the din of phone calls and conversation.

“Well you are currently the only one still alive at the end of the day,” Spitfire said as the pair walked through the messy rows.

“You’re not going to question me about it are you?” Gears said as he moved out of the way for a pegasus mare that looked to be in quite a hurry.

“I figured your statement was taken from an officer from some other district at the scene.”

“No.”

Spitfire shrugged, “Whelp, fuck it for now. We have work to do. If someone asks you’ll just be questioned later on. Fair?”

“Typically I like to get things done and over with but seeing as we have other matters to attend to I’ll let it pass.”

“Good boy. Now, SOARIN’!” She shouted.

A sky blue pegasus with a navy mane appeared with a file folder under his wing. He looked a bit frazzled but reasonably competent despite the fact he appeared to have not slept in about two days.

Gears blinked, “Soarin’? Geez you look like shit, no offense.”

He blinked back, “Could say the same for you.”

“Soarin’,” Spitfire said.

“Here you go Captain,” he said trading off the report to her, “Think we can catch a lunch break now?”

Spitfire sighed, “Fine. But you guys go in shifts. We’ve got a fuck ton of work to do.”

“Yes ma’am,” he nodded, “Gears.”

“We’ll catch up later.”

“Sure. See ya,” with that he bounded off.

Gears turned to Spitfire, “What have you been doing to them?”

“You wanna take a look at our crime rate again?” she asked.

“Alright I get it.”

The pair trotted up the stairs towards the offices and turned into Spitfire’s office. Hers was no more orderly than the desks below her. Messes of papers and case files littered her desk and floor. The only orderly thing was her book shelf that had a variety of things that weren’t books resting on it. Everything from a globe to a ship in a bottle rested on it.

Spitfire found her desk and pushed a few papers out of the way before tapping a few icons. The windows darkened and the door locked, effectively sealing the room.

“I ever tell you that all our windows here, both inside and outside, are bullet proof glass?” she asked as she continued her typing.

“No, I don’t believe so,” Gears said as he glanced at a few of the pictures Spitfire had hanging on her wall. He found one he recognized. It was himself, Soarin’ Fleetfoot, Rapidfire, and Spitfire all together. The five of them looked exhausted and covered in sweat but happy.

“Well we do. Some fucker thought it would be a good idea to shoot up the police station two years ago,” she said as she continued her work.

“So you got bullet proof glass to stop incoming bullets?”

“No.”

“Then…?”

“We got it to stop them from leaving.”

“Leaving?”

“Suspect managed to sneak in a machine pistol. You may have noticed that Soarin’ had a few extra scars in his shoulder.”

Gears blinked, “Hadn’t grabbed that detail.”

Spitfire looked up, “Just a warning. You’ve been out of this town for a while. You may find it a far more savage place than you remember. Check your corners and doors.”

“Don’t think you need to tell me twice on that one. Someone did almost blow me up a few hours ago.”

She returned to the file, “Check your corners and doors.”

She cracked open the folder and removed a small manila envelope along with a packet and some papers. She pushed them aside and tore open the envelope and removed a small drive and plugged it into her desk. A screen slide out from the center of her desk. Gears could see a variety of files scattered about through the screen. Spitfire clicked on one and then tapped a few buttons before moving to join the wounded pegasus.

“Display,” she said. On the wall opposite her bookcase a large projection materialized. It was static at first but resolved into a clear security camera image of a shipyard. Tall containers formed a maze on the lot. A form was seen moving across the rows of containers. It limped rather obviously.

“Magnify.”

The view changed to zoom in on the creature. It was an earth pony stallion. He continued limping until he reached the shipyard fence. He scampered over it and onto the sidewalk.

“I assume you’re up to speed so we’ll cut through the bullshit.”

Gears grinned, “Just how I like it.”

Spitfire smirked, “This here is our Doctor. One of the supposedly missing crew members on our little missy’s Yacht.”

“So it looks like at least one of them made it to dry land.”

“Yup. Seems like this Time Turner is good at staying alive which is very good for us if we’re gonna find him.”

“He’s the only one we know of who was on that boat. Closest thing to a lead we have to finding our missing princess.”

“Actually he’s not the lead. At least not right now.”

Gears raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

Spitfire grinned, “Here. Display Diner camera Five. Frame 49858.”

The view changed again to the inside of a small restaurant. It was mostly empty minus a dragon in an apron sweeping up the floor. The door to the diner opened up and Time Turner stumbled in. The dragon looked startled before changing expressions to one of concern. Some inaudible words were exchanged before the dragon helped the injured pony out of view of the camera into the kitchen.

“Anything else from the diner?” Gears asked.

“Camera six apparently was in the process of being replaced,” Spitfire said.

“Convenient.”

“A little too much if you ask me.”

“So I take it the dragon is our new lead?” Gears asked.

“Yup, the lead to our lead.”

“Great. Just when I thought I would never have to see another one of those ugly bastards again.”

“You’re gonna have to be nice on this job. No one else is on assigned to this except us.”

“Really? None of your officers are helping us?”

“Nope. This one is staying small. With all the work we already had to do, MY commissioner wanted to keep this to as small a team as possible to avoid drawing attention to it. Which means I actually have to do things.”

Gears grinned, “I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“Hey, there aren’t many private investigators here who are actually trustworthy. That’s why we brought in someone outside the family so to speak.”

“Really? MY commissioner told me I was getting sent here because I was the only one with experience.”

“Actually it was because I requested you personally.”

“Oh? Miss me much?”

Spitfire shook her head, “Display files 2849 and 2750.”

The view of the diner was replaced by two pictures. One was of Time Turner in his picture for AnovCorp and the other was of the dragon. Thorn was the name displayed under the picture.

“Find the dragon, find the doctor, find the girl. Seems simple enough, right?” Spitfire asked.

“A little too simple. That and I’m kinda worried.”

“About what?”

“Someone tried to kill me within an hour of being here.”

“So? I get death threats on a daily basis. Someone shoots at the station almost on a biweekly basis. Kinda normal here.”

“The part about blowing up an airship is normal?”

“Okay, not normal.”

“The ponies and dragon you guys had to clean up, they were looking for me. Oh that reminds me,” he said reaching into his saddle bag and removing the small ID. He tossed it to her.

“What’s this?”

“That guy who’s head was in the cooler? Picked it up off of him. From what I got from talking to him he seemed to have been hired to make sure I stayed dead if the bomb didn’t do the job.”

“You talked to him and then cut off his head?” Spitfire said reading over the ID.

“No. More like shouting at him and then having him cut off his own head. He was using some pretty advanced combat magic. Fortunately for me the Laws of inertia don’t just stop working because you can use magic.”

“Did this Glistening Blade say who hired him?”

“No. He was too busy trying to smash my head in. But that ID may have something. TriTECH Affinity ring any bells?”

Spitfire frowned, “Not at the moment. Know anything about this project STAIRCASE?”

“Not a clue. But I’m inclined to think that this is tied in with our missing princess.”

“Sure someone doesn’t just have a grudge on you?”

“If they did it would be better for them to have killed me in Canterlot. The police there wouldn’t make it too hard to get away with. And even if it is just a grudge we should be careful. But again, I don’t think this is something personal as much as professional. You don’t send a dragon just to carry out a hit.”

“Not unless you want them really, really, dead,” Spitfire said.

“Nor do you send a team of trained assassins to kill just one guy if it’s only a grudge.”

“Hmm, I’ll agree something isn’t adding up here. It is a little coincidental that you get this job and then are nearly blown up.”

“I get the feeling that someone doesn’t want our princess found. This case seems a bit tainted.”

“Don’t need to tell me that. Just remain aware of it. Corners and doors.”

“And watch your caboose,” Gears smiled.

“And dump the braud,” Spitfire smiled back.

“Let’s just agree to be a little more than careful on this one, okay?”

“Yeah. In the meantime I’ll get someone to look into this… TriTECH Affinity and project STAIRCASE.”

“Cool. I just don’t want to get the shaft on this one.”

“You and me both. But come on now,” She said, “Display off. Let’s go find us a dragon.”

“Don’t ever get a moments rest do we?”

“Sleep when you’re dead. We have work to do.”

“Yes ma’am.”

«««✧✦✧»»»

“District 56 huh?” Gears asked.

“Yeah. This is where our diner is,” Spitfire asked as they drove through the rain soaked streets. The sidewalks were packed with various characters. Neon lights and signs glowed in the rainy night. The streets were relatively packed with traffic. Up above a few small airships zipped by, some bearing advertisements. They approached a bridge structure that held a monorail.

“This place is packed.”

“I know. This is one of the ‘shopping’ districts.”

“You have an interesting way of saying that.”

“Heh, you’re more likely to get mugged in a place like this than anywhere else in the city. Shopping my ass.”

“I’ll be sure to keep an eye on my pockets. So where’s this diner?”

“Up ahead. A few more meters.”

They approached the pylon holding up the track and pulled off the road into a parking lot. Atop a concrete pillar was the small diner. The sign atop the roof flickered irregularly. Between the monorail and the various other buildings there wasn’t much room, giving the whole space the feel of a packed sardine can. Spitfire parked the vehicle and the pair hopped out. Rain water flowed off the track, carving little channels where it impacted. The air under the tracks was dank and smelled of city and piss.

“Now I remember why I left this place,” Gears blinked.

“I know. Smells like gasoline and urine,” Spitfire replied, “Come on, let’s go find our dragon.”

The pair stepped up the concrete steps into the diner. A bell rang as they pushed open the metal framed glass door. Instantly the din of conversation and the smell of freshly cooked food overwhelmed their senses. An earth pony stallion was at the register.

“My kind of place,” Gears blinked.

“Don’t make yourself at home just yet,” Spitfire said clipping her cap to her belt.

They walked over to the register. The stallion paid little attention to them as he glanced down at a bill.

“Hey,” Spitfire said, “Buddy you got a minute?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mumbled, “One second.”

“We’re looking for Thorn. You know anyone by that name?”

Without looking up he yelled, “Thorn!”

A feminine voice with a cocky and slightly creaky ring to it answered, “What?!”

“There are two cops looking for you.”

A deep growl followed, “Fine. Be right out. Stupid fucking bloods can’t give me one fuckin’ moment’s peace.”

The door to the kitchen opened and a light green dragon in a cooking apron stepped out. It appeared to be at least two meters tall by the looks of it, potentially bipedal but more likely quadrupedal. It had a long frill that ran from the crown of its head all the way down its tail. A pair of golden yellow eyes with vertical slits stared at them. Some of its scales that were visible on its chest and left side were discolored. The dragon looked down at the two ponies and growled.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“You’re a girl,” Gears replied.

“Yes,” she snarled, “Now that we’ve established the fact that I am a female can you get to the fuckin’ point?”

Spitfire cleared her throat, “Uh, hi there. I’m Captain Spitfire of the District 9 police department. We’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“What do you want?” Thorn asked again.

Spitfire removed a pad from the inside of her jacket and displayed a picture of the doctor.

“You see this guy lately?”

“Never seen him before in my life,” she growled, “Can I go now?”

Spitfire stared back at her and blinked, “Yeah, sure. You’re free to go. Thank you for your cooperation.”

“Yeah fuck you too, captain,” the dragon replied before turning and returning to the kitchen.

Spitfire turned, “Gears, car now.”

“Yeah.”

The pair quickly returned to the vehicle. Once inside Spitfire removed the black drive from the glove box and plugged it in to the vehicle. Instantly the display of Time Turner in the diner appeared again. Gears himself was looking through the papers the file came with.

“So we’ve established that she’s lying right out of her fire breathing mouth right?”

“Oh yeah,” Gears said.

“Think she’ll talk to us even if we bring up the tape?”

“Doubt it.”

“Glad we’re in agreement. So what do you think will get her to talk since she’s clearly hiding him?”

“If she’s not hiding him she at least knows something about where he is. But I think we’ll need to do a little digging if we’re gonna get her to crack.”

“Agreed. Did you notice those marks on her scales?”

“Yeah. They looked like something had burned them,” Gears replied.

“Yeah. Wanna look into that while I check out her relationship with the good doctor?”

“Sure. Let’s head back.”

Twenty minutes later they were pulling into the police parking garage. Spitfire led the way as they stepped out of the car into the station. The back door was already cracked open. They pair walked into the station.

“Something smells funny in here,” Spitfire said.

“Yeah. And it’s quiet,” Gears said covering his nose with his hoof.

They walked through the empty hallways and up the stairs to the main offices. Spitfire cracked open a door and gasped.

Gears blinked and looked in behind her. Everyone was on the floor unconscious. A fine grey mist was lingering on the floor. Gas. Gears instantly removed a handkerchief and put it to his muzzle. Gears looked to the center of the room. Hanging from the ceiling was a small gun metal grey box. A timer counting down was visible. A thump was heard as Spitfire fell to the floor unconscious.

9…

8…

“Spitfire we need to go now!”

Without thinking he grabbed the pegasus by her tail and dragged her back down the stairs before galloping back down the empty hallways, dragging her with his wing.

5…

4…

3…

2…

1…

A loud explosion ripped through the station, blowing out all the windows as large balls of fire blasted out into the streets. Down below, the flames streaked down into the empty hallways, destroying the walls and doors as well as shattering any glass that happened to be there. Up above the groan of metal could be heard as the entire section of the structure collapsed down upon the station.

VII. The Home Invasion.

“If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again.”
― Malcolm X

«««✧✦✧»»»

“The amount of toxins I have calculated to have built up in your brain by now should be enough to motivate you to sleep,” Aphelion said.

Andromeda pulled her head up from her books, “Well you’re wrong. I’m just exhausted. I went through all my old books like you suggested and used that new method of yours and STILL nothing matched up.”

“There are a plethora of languages in the world to study. You yourself have barely even scratched the surface.”

“Don’t remind me,” the unicorn moaned.

Aphelion stepped away from his console, “Perhaps you should be getting to bed now. A good night’s sleep would do wonders for you.”

Andromeda glanced at him, “Fine DAD.”

She placed a book mark in her book before stepping away from her book and trotting over to the hammock. She dropped her saddle bags on the floor before climbing in. Aphelion retrieved a nearby blanket and placed it over her.

“You go to bed too,” she ordered.

Aphelion sighed, “Yes MOM.”

“I’m serious. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep with you typing away like a machine gun over there.”

“Alright,” He said walking over and deactivating the console.

Andromeda’s horn lit up as she dimmed the lanterns until they were out completely. Aphelion walked over to her hammock.

“Good night, Andromeda.”

“Good night, Aphelion,” she smiled staring at his face, “You look funny.”

She visibly watched the plating on his face shift to form something like an annoyed expression.

“Good NIGHT, Andromeda,” Aphelion said before leaping into the air. She heard the twanging of cables as the robot grabbed the cables and flung himself farther into the ceiling before finally coming to rest on the highest cable and hanging from it and going dormant.

“Crazy bucking machine,” Andromeda laughed.

«««✧✦✧»»»

It was just a few minutes past midnight when they entered. Ten of them. They landed expertly on the plateau before quietly walking towards the open door. Those with magic were wielding guns in their aura while the others wielded blades. A dull buzzing could be heard as they passed through the field Aphelion had set up.

Silently they began searching through Andromeda’s books and papers. Another group was attempting to activate the console. A third moved deeper into the facility.

“Find ANYTHING?!” a hushed voice asked.

Andromeda moaned and rolled over. Her eyes slowly cracked open to see a group of ponies covered in black searching through her papers and books.

“Hey,” she moaned.

Suddenly they turned and stared at her just as another came from behind and put a gag in her mouth.

“Aphe-!” she managed before the cloth silenced her. One of the unicorns immobilized her, locking her in place while they continued their search. Andromeda tried screaming through the cloth to no avail. The sound of a gun cocking reached her ears followed by the feeling of a cool metal barrel being placed against her head. She gulped, sweating cold bullets and silently praying Aphelion was around somewhere.

One of them turned and spoke, “Go check on Swift and Star.”

“Why do I have to go?” A separate voice asked.

The female voice replied, “Because I said so. We need as much on this place as we can get so go check on them before I feed your dick to you on a stick.”

“Oh really? What would you tell Gates?”

“That I cut off your dick and fed it to you. Now bucking go before I make this threat into a promise,” she hissed.

“Fine, crazy bitch.”

The voice left Andromeda alone as the unicorn trotted down the hallway.

“Swift! Star! Boss wants a check in!” He called.

Nothing.

Not a sound.

Not the noise of hooves on the unknown metal alloy floor or even the sound of breathing.

“Swift? Star?” he called again as he moved further into the dark. He trotted slowly and carefully until he reached the end of the hallway. An open circular chamber with a large deep empty hole in the center at least a hundred meters across. A look down revealed the glowing lights of kilometers worth of highly advanced machinery.

“Swift? Star?” the stallion called again as he stared down into the chasm.

Suddenly he did hear a noise and instantly he found it unsettling. It was the noise of an impact of metal on metal. Instantly the dim light from far down the hallway was blocked out by a tall form several meters tall. Two red lights glowed near the top of it. The unicorn turned slowly.

“Swift?”

The form reached out and gave the stallion a push, knocking him off balance and causing him to stumble and fall down the seemingly bottomless cavern.

“Swift!” his voice faded as he fell.

Aphelion glanced down the pit and blinked before turning to the two small unconscious ponies in his hands.

On the other side of the hallway, the unicorn’s call was not lost on the others.

The female pony sighed, “Crimson! You whiny little shit! Stop yelling like-”

A dark form flew by overhead, striking the cable holding the paper lanterns before falling to the floor in a bloody heap. The body of a pony, now in two pieces slid towards the exit of the chamber, leaving a trail of red behind it.

Instantly the female pony’s voice softened, “Crimson?”

Another form flew towards her, causing her and her subordinates to either jump out of the way or merely jump out of shock/surprise. This one skipped along the floor with a sickening crunch each time it hit before sailing out of the structure and off the mountain to the forest below.

The ponies began to gather near the entrance to the semi darkened hallway.

“Crimson?”

One of them raised a revolver and fired it. The sound of the gunshot echoed throughout the installation. But more importantly, the sound of a bullet impacting and bouncing off a hard metal surface echoed back. A few seconds later, the sound of metal quickly sliding across metal followed.

Aphelion charged down the hallway and into the chamber and swiped at the nearest pony to him. This one happened to be the one whose immobilization spell was keeping Andromeda tied to her hammock. Instantly six large scratches appeared on the unicorn’s uniform before Aphelion punched forward with his left upper arm and sent the pony that was now in six pieces out of the mountain.

“Shoot it!”

Guns started going off with booming of the shots echoing out into the night immediately followed by the noise of ricocheting bullets as Aphelion raised his now clawed hands to protect his face. When the shooting stopped he lowered his arms and slammed down with one of them, crushing an Earth pony underneath his large hands.

Andromeda meanwhile pulled the gag out of her mouth and rolled out of her hammock.

The unicorns meanwhile dropped their guns and began shooting bolts of energy at the robot. Three pegasi meanwhile cracked open their bags and removed long rifles and leapt into the air and began shooting.

Aphelion growled and stood up. The plating on his shoulders moved and two rectangular protrusions emerged, locking into place. A second later twelve objects left his shoulders and streaked towards the pegasi. A shower of blood and pieces of flesh and feathers went in all directions. The remaining two remaining unicorns and one lone pegasus all looked at each other turned to run.

The pegasus was fast and was head of his compatriots by a few meters as Aphelion charged after him. Not missing a beat he simply stepped on the two unicorns that died with sickening crunches as well as splashes of blood.

He quickly caught up with the pegasus just as he spread his wings and attempted to fly away. He grabbed the pony by the leg and threw him to the floor. The snapping of bone echoed back into the chamber as he hit.

“Ah buck! Shit!” he cried out as Aphelion placed one leg on him keeping him pressed to the metal floor. The plating on his back changed again a long gun emerged from a long chamber on the right side of his back and slid forward and locked into place and bent down over his right shoulder, aimed right at the pegasus who gulped.

“Hello,” Aphelion growled. Andromeda bounded over next to him with a shocked look on her face.

“Whoa, whoa, there… uh…” the pegasus said with his hooves over his head, “I surrender?”

Andromeda scowled, “Who are you?! And why’d you break into our-”

The pegasus grinned, “Maintenance installation?”

“What?”

“Girly you really don’t know what this place is, do you?”

Aphelion turned, “Shall I vaporize him?”

“No not yet,” she replied before focusing on the pegasus, “Why the buck did you invade and violate our home?!”

“Violate your home?! The buck you call what your robot dog here did you my men?!”

“You broke in here and bound and gagged me!”

“And then you-”

He was quickly silenced when Aphelion flicked his head, knocking him unconscious.

He turned as he retracted his large gun, “Sorry but I was beginning to get annoyed with him.”

Andromeda sighed and glanced at her coat. Splashes of blood colored her white coat red. She glanced back over her shoulder and instantly vomited at the bloody mess left behind by Aphelion’s rampage. She returned to the robot, trembling ever so slightly.

Aphelion ‘frowned,’ “Sorry. They were shooting at me.”

Andromeda coughed, “It’s fine. Just… be a little cleaner about it next time.”

Aphelion nodded and turned to the unconscious pegasus, “What should we do with him?”

“I don’t know. Did you hear what he said earlier?”

“About this being a maintenance installation?”

“Yeah. Seems like he may know something.”

“Well we can’t keep him here,” Aphelion said.

“Why not? We’ve kept this place secret this long.”

“Well, uh, I kinda broke his leg. And unless you know how to fix that we’re gonna need some outside help.”

Andromeda sighed and rubbed her eyes, “Alright, alright. We’ll call the guard.”

VIII. The Bomb.

“There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a suitable application of high explosives.”
-Scott Adams

«««✧✦✧»»»

Spitfire awoke with a light gasp. Her breathing was heavy and rapid. The first thing she noticed was she ached all over, particularly her back and right side. She felt like she’d just flown a marathon and then fallen down a set of stairs the size of the Canterlot castle. Yet oddly she felt warm and somewhat comfortable, ignoring her pain that is. She felt something that seemed to be a thick blanket was placed over her. Her head, she felt, was resting a soft pillow; the kind of pillow that let half of one’s head sink into it.

The third thing she noticed was she couldn’t see.

She groaned and rolled over. The world that returned to her was greyer than she remembered. It also had a ceiling fan. And it was smaller. She sat up and glanced around the room. Grey walls, a screen on the wall opposite her bed. An arm chair sat in the corner to her left near a radiator. A painting stood where the window should be. To her immediate ten O’clock was a doorway that led to another part of wherever she was. To her right she found a cot on the floor and a small table on the opposite wall with a mirror hanging over it. As soon as she saw her reflection she gasped.

Her entire left eye was covered by a white medical patch. Bandages originating from her patch ran around her head. Farther down her body she noticed that her torso was bandaged and her right wing was in a cast. She reached up with her hoof and tapped the patch.

Instantly a stinging pain ran through her head and she retracted her hoof. She heaved as she began to cry. Tears only flowed down one side of her head.

The sound of a door opening and closing reached her ears. A few seconds later Gears stepped through the doorway with bags hanging from his good wing. He still wore his hat and coat but she noticed a long series of stitches running across his face and onto his forehead. The stitches on his mouth were gone leaving him with a permanent smile.

Immediately he noticed she was awake and dropped the bags and ran to the bed. On the table he found a box of tissues and began to dab away her tears.

“Hey, it’s alright.”

Spitfire sniffed and nodded. He handed her a few tissues and she blew her nose.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded, “Wha-what happened?”

He sighed, “There was a bomb in the station. The explosion collapsed the entire building.”

She glanced at him.

“I’m sorry. From what’s known it looks like we’re the only two who made it out.”

“Why-why can’t I remember anything?”

“You went unconscious at the top of the stairs. There was gas.”

“Gas?” she asked.

“I would guess that whoever put the bomb there used the gas to knock everyone out.”

“You said only we made it out?”

He nodded, “I’m sorry. I only had time to grab you and get back down the stairs. By the time the bomb went off we were only back in the basement near the morgue.”

She nodded, “What-what happened to me?”

He sighed, “Again, I’m sorry. You were bleeding out and I didn’t have much time. I got you into the car and we made it here. I had to… operate.”

“Operate?”

“You had a large piece of glass embedded in your eye. I couldn’t do anything but remove it. I’m sorry.”

“Are you saying I’m now blind in one eye?”

“For the moment? Yes. I’m sorry but until we can get you an implant you’re gonna have to deal with it.”

She sighed, “Alright.”

“There is one piece of good news,” he said.

“What?”

Gears gave a small smile, “We’re dead too.”

“What? The hell are you talking about?”

“Most of the bodies were vaporized in the blast. There isn’t exactly a large amount of remains for the police to search through.”

“Police?”

“District 8 has led the investigation.”

“Great,” Spitfire scowled.

“Why?”

“They fuckin’ suck at their jobs.”

“Well that’s good for us. There’s barely any remains to autopsy and since our last recorded position was at the parking garage the police just assumed we were killed in the explosion.”

“Why the fuck is that a good thing?”

Gears grinned, “Because the fucks who did this think we’re dead too.”

“Great.”

Spitfire glanced around the room, “How long have I been out?”

“Five days.”

“Where are we?”

“A safe house. I found it in your car’s database. I had it drive us here.”

“Really?”

“After I pulled the car’s transponder.”

“You had the sense of mind at that time to pull the transponder?”

“Not really,” he smiled, “I’m not that smart. It wouldn’t stop beeping so I tore it from the casing and smashed it.”

“Those are hidden-”

“Under the driver’s side wheel hood. I know. It was just hanging there when I got there so I tore it.”

“Lucky us.”

“Yeah.”

“So what’ve you been doing since I went out?”

“After I got you all bandaged up and stable I did a little background checks on the lead to our lead.”

“And?”

Gears pulled a small pad out of his saddle bag, “She’s a fire drake from Erta Ale region or what’s left of it at this point. She was banished after failing to pass the trials.”

“And the burns?”

“She was burned in the banishment ritual; kind of savage. But she was banished. She made her way around the world as a leach more or less until she arrived here.”

“And then what?”

“Apparently she got sick and almost died.”

“You say almost.”

“Yeah well I give you three guesses on why she didn’t.”

“Our good doctor?”

“Bingo. He found her on the street and took care of her for a few months until she recovered.”

“Guess that would make sense onto why she’d cover for him.”

“Oh yeah. Then a little while later she mysteriously got her job at that diner we found her at.”

“Thinking what I’m thinking?” Spitfire asked.

“Yeah. I’m thinking our good doctor pulled a few strings and got her hired.”

“Hmm. How long until I can move again?”

“A few weeks until you’re ‘fully’ recovered. Why?”

“We’re going to revisit our dear Thorn.”

“Are you sure you want to do continue this?”

“Yes. Why are you asking?”

“It’s just… I’d figure you’d want to focus more on who wanted us dead.”

“I do. And when I find them, I’m going to kill them. And I’m going to do it slowly. But right now our little fire breathing fuck is the closest thing we have to finding them. Find the doctor, find the girl, find the fucks who blew up my station and killed all our friends.”

“You sure about this?”

“I’m sure.”

“Well in that case, relax for a bit while I get some dinner ready. We’re gonna have a lot of work ahead of us.”

“Alright.”

“And in that database, I found a few ‘unmarked’ armories scattered about.”

“Planning on doing some hunting?”

“A little. If I’m not here when you wake up tomorrow don’t panic. We should have all the things we’ll need for this… investigation when I return.”

“Good boy. And Gears?”

“Yeah?”

Spitfire smiled sadly, “Th-thank you for taking care of me, again.”

He smiled back, “No problem. And don’t worry, there’ll be time to mourn after we finish the job.”

“I know. And I wish we didn’t have to.”

He sighed, “Me too, Spitfire. Me too.”

«««✧✦✧»»»

A week and a half later Spitfire and Gears had mostly recovered from their injuries. Spitfire’s bandages around her torso were removed and her fur was beginning to grow back. The cast on her wing remained however while Gears’ wing was settled into a sling. Spitfire’s eye however was a special case with a white medical patch remaining tapped to her head. Her mane, instead of being candle flame shaped was now falling in front of her now very bad left eye. Gears’ now permanent smile seemed to grow creepier as the two realized that the stitches dissolving didn’t mean that they would go quietly. The scars on the sides of his face now bore little indented marks where the stitches had dug a little too far into the skin of his cheek, making the scars look like they almost had teeth.

In the following days they picked up some clothes using a few untraceable cards as well as some other necessities. Gears earlier had to sneak into Spitfire’s now sealed apartment to pick up a few personal effects.

Their safe house was now starting to become a more permanent sort of home for the two as the pair slowly recovered and researched more on their now very personal case.

Gears cracked open the hard plastic case. Inside, encased in a layer of foam was a gun. It was a long rifle with a thumbhole stock and a retractable scope that flipped to the left side of the weapon when not in use. The ‘barrel’, if it could be called that, was considerably longer than his previous weapon and consisted of a vertically resting rectangular section with for the barrel at the end of it. And unlike his previous rifle the gun inside his case was capable of being disassembled and reassembled rather quickly. And unlike his previous weapon which fired plasma arcs, this one fired cold, hard, metal bullets.

He cracked open the stock of the weapon: fully charged. Finding power for the weapon wouldn’t be much of a problem as its batteries could be recharged through solar means or by plugging the gun into any universal socket. Three ten round magazines sat encased in foam as well as what appeared to be a silencer.

Spitfire glanced over his shoulder, “Nice. Not exactly standard issue.”

“I figured it would do the job. Plus my other gun kinda went bye-bye.”

“Just remember, this is a railgun. This isn’t that plasma gun or whatever the fuck that thing was that you used to have. This won’t make people explode.”

“Kinda figured that out. This gets back to the basics of punch holes in something until it stops moving.”

“Kinda, this is a police sniper rifle; modified from the military variant of the SRC-60. It’s designed to go through sixteen centimeters of solid concrete or cut through the engine block of a car. Recoilless and easy to carry, it shoots off depleted Uranium rounds at Mach 6 though any metal that you can get into the chamber will do just fine from nails to ball bearings, though I can’t say you’d get the same kind of stopping power from either of those.”

Gears grinned, “I think shooting anything at Mach 6 would do the job just fine. By the way, how do you know so much about this thing?”

“I read the manual.”

“Sure you did. Anyway, what’re you carrying?”

“AR-33. Battery powered weapon that shoots off plasma balls,” Spitfire said glancing back at her case, “Not exactly as powerful as yours but is certainly easier to carry.”

“Is this what I think it is?” Gears asked holding up the silencer like device.

“Yeah. The gun is recoilless not silent.”

“How does that work?”

“Don’t ask me. It does something with the plasma exhaust but if you’re far enough away from your target they shouldn’t hear a thing. The only downside is that when it vents it adds recoil so be prepared for that.”

“So we’re all set?” Gears said glancing around the apartment that was now filled with cases of equipment and weapons.

“Yeah. Bloody happy now that I lost my left eye and not my right.”

“When we can we’ll get you a prosthetic.”

“Later. For now, let’s go dragon hunting.”

IX. The Conversation.

“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.”
― Benjamin Franklin

«««✧✦✧»»»

The last of the flashes cleaning up the bodies went out with a hiss. Members of the guard that were assigned to… clean up duty vanished with them leaving the investigators and the interviewers. Shining Armor himself was looking over the console with other members of the guard. Others were exploring the chambers further inside the cavern.

Several of the guards were leaving with hard metal cases containing the many of the books that had been found inside the installation. Two others were holding the iron grey and blood red pegasus, keeping him immobilized and silent.

A few tried to restrain Aphelion at first but quickly figured out that was a very bad idea when they found themselves on the wrong end of a rather large gun.

“That’s the last of them, sir,” a white unicorn said to his captain.

Shining Armor turned, “Thank you private. You’re dismissed.”

The pony visibly relaxed, “Thank you sir.”

He quickly galloped off after the squad that had been removing the old library hidden inside the cave and disappeared.

Andromeda, who’d been sitting beneath Aphelion’s protective limbs, sighed.

“When will we be getting those back?” she asked.

Shining Armor turned, “Those books are now the property of the government.”

“What?! But we were here first! We found them! And if I recall, we were he one’s who called you guys here to help deal with him!” she yelled pointing at the restrained pegasus, “Not to come in here and steal all our stuff!”

“Circumstances have changed. Your books are being locked away until further notice.”

Aphelion lowered, the sound of his movement visibly startling the captain, “We want to speak to the Princess.”

The guard captain backed up, “Relax… uh… whatever you are. She coincidentally wants to speak with you two.”

“When?” Andromeda asked.

“At her nearest convenience,” he replied.

Aphelion let out a groan that sounded more like the bending of metal before he lowered himself to all sixes and walked across the room towards the captain. He lowered himself until he was at face level with the captain, letting him stare into the sapphire blue lights that were his eyes.

“We want to speak with her now,” he scowled.

“And so you shall,” a regal voice said from the entrance to the room.

Andromeda turned and gasped. Standing at the entrance to the chamber was the alicorn herself. She trotted into the room and turned to the guard captain.

“Leave us,” she said.

“Your majesty I-”

“Leave us, Captain. And take the rest of the guard with you.”

He sighed, “Yes Princess.”

He gave a glare to the large machine staring him down before ordering the rest of the guard out of the cave. A minute later the unicorn, the robot, and the alicorn were all alone.

The princess sighed, “You two have certainly put me in a weird situation today.”

Andromeda cocked her head, “Your highness?”

“Seems you’ve discovered a dirty little secret here.”

Aphelion turned, “What are you talking about?”

“Do you know anything about this place?”

Andromeda blinked, “A little bit. But not much. I was more focused on trying to translate all those books you and your guard just took away.”

“As soon as I have my Archmages look over them you will get full access to them in the Builder’s wing of the royal library.”

Andromeda cocked her head, “Builder’s wing? What’s that?”

“You don’t have a Builder’s wing,” Aphelion said.

“Yes we do,” Celestia said, “Underground. Hidden. Safe.”

“What is it exactly?” Andromeda asked.

“It contains everything we have on the beings that built… places like this,” she said looking around the large chamber.

“Beings?”

“As I’ve said earlier,” The sun princess said, “It seems you’ve stumbled onto a bit of a dirty little secret of this world.”

“What do you mean by dirty little secret?” Aphelion asked.

She raised an eyebrow, “I’m surprised you of all people are unaware.”

“Him?” Andromeda asked, “Why him?”

“Andromeda, how exactly did you meet this being?” Celestia asked.

“I-I found him ten years ago. I just… touched him and he came to life.”

“Where exactly did you find him?”

“He was…” She turned to Aphelion who simply nodded.

She sighed, “He was slightly buried in the forest floor down there. Princess, can you just tell us what you know about this place?”

She laughed, “You know more about this place than I do but as for him… I can answer a few questions if you have any.”

“What am I?” Aphelion asked rather quickly.

“What are you? The jury’s currently out on that one,” she laughed lightly, “But our best ponies call… beings like you Guardians.”

“Beings like me?” Aphelion asked.

“Beneath Canterlot and in several other sites we’ve found pieces of machines like yourself. We’ve only ever found one complete specimen, if you’ll allow the term, but never one that’s active like yourself. We call them guardians due to the large amount of weaponry found on them.”

Andromeda gasped.

“If I’m right,” Celestia said, “I would say you have more than a few sharp pointy objects and guns on your person.”

Aphelion let out something of a chuckle, “You would be right.”

“Do you have a name?” she asked.

“Aphelion,” he relied.

“Now is that your given name or her name for you?” she asked indicating to Andromeda.

“Her name. I just happen to like it,” he blinked.

“I see… So you know nothing of this place?”

“She had to teach me how to speak if that lets you know anything,” he replied, “Why don’t you answer a few questions now?”

“Fair enough.”

Andromeda spoke up, “What do you know about these… builders?”

“What do we know? Not much. Only that they’ve built places like this all over our country and we theorize all over the world. Their architecture is all over this place as well. We also know they were immensely powerful.”

“Powerful? How powerful?” Aphelion asked.

Celestia sighed, “What I’m about to tell you two will never leave this room.”

“Fair enough,” Andromeda said.

“Fine,” Aphelion replied.

“Alright. Let me answer your question with a question. How do you think I raise the sun every day?”

Andromeda gasped, “But… but don’t you just- I mean- how can’t you?”

Aphelion’s facial plating moved and he laughed, “You’ve been lying for all these years.”

Celestia sighed, “Yes, yes we have been. Luna doesn’t raise the moon either. At least, not directly or by herself.”

“Then… how?” Andromeda asked.

“As I said, we’ve found several of these installations over the years. Some of them just happened to be working.”

“So… what you’re saying is-” Aphelion started.

“Exactly what you’re thinking,” Celestia smiled, “Now you understand the secret of the world.”

“What are you two talking about?” Andromeda asked.

“So… that would explain the pit in the back of this place,” Aphelion said.

“Pit?”

“There’s a large pit in the back of this place that just goes straight down. There are several kilometers of machinery at least down there. So why don’t you tell me just what you know about the world?”

“You’re on the same page as us.”

“We’ve been trying to figure out the purpose of this place for years. Just thought you might have a little something more but… what you’ve told us is certainly… interesting. But perhaps, our little prisoner outside may be of some use.”

“How so?”

Andromeda joined the conversation again, “Uh, before Aphelion, uh, knocked him out the first time; he called this place a maintenance installation.”

“You’re thinking he has a piece of the puzzle?”

“I crushed a whole bunch of these little heavily armed insects who broke in here and tried killing me and my little pony here. I don’t think they came here looking for gum drops and sugar cubes.”

“Alright. Wanna bring him in?”

“Can’t hurt,” Aphelion said.

Celestia nodded and vanished. A few seconds later she returned with the offending pegasus in her magic.

She dropped him to the floor and removed the tape from his mouth.

“-bucking cunt! You stupid bucking, semen colored, piece of-”

The tape returned to his muzzle. Celestia leaned down.

“We’re going to try this again,” She said, “I’m going to remove the tape. When I do you’re going to be silent and respectful. And if you’re not, I’m going to let Aphelion here have five minutes alone with you.”

The robot raised one of his limbs and a few blades slipped out of his hand.

Celestia returned to the pegasus, “Fair?”

He nodded.

“Alright.”

She removed the tape from his mouth and dropped him to the floor. Immediately the pegasus started coughing.

Celestia blinked, “Your name.”

The pegasus wheezed, “Iron… Gates…”

“So Iron Gates, I’m told by these two here that you may know a little something about the place we’re currently standing in.”

He coughed, “I do…”

“Tell us about it.”

The pegasus continued coughing before he returned to his hooves, “No.”

Aphelion growled, “Excuse me?”

“He’ll kill me if I speak of it.”

Aphelion let out a metallic snarling noise and raised one of his arms and released a series of blades, “And I will kill you if you don’t.”

Andromeda put a hoof on the robot. He glanced down at her and let out a form of a sigh and retracted his knives.

“My gods…” Iron Gates coughed, “How the hell do you not know anything?”

“What?” Andromeda asked.

“You’re walking around with a functional guardian. How do you know less than I do?”

Celestia ignored his question, “If you can’t tell us what you know, can you at least read?”

“I told you that he’ll kill me if I say anything.”

“I’m not asking you to tell us anything you already know, just do a little reading for us.”

He climbed to his hooves, “If he finds out I told you anything-”

Aphelion’s back plating opened and the large energy cannon slipped into place.

Iron Gates sighed, “Fine, fair enough. Just-just keep him away from me.”

Celestia turned to the other two, “Would you like to visit the library?”

“Sure,” Andromeda said.

“Aphelion I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to remain here,” Celestia said.

Aphelion shrugged, “Fine. But before you can have her I need to speak to her.”

“Alright.”

Two guards removed Iron Gates and Celestia turned and trotted out. Two other guards remained. Aphelion turned and growled.

“That’s robot for, ‘Get out.’” He said, two rocket pods emerging from his shoulders.

The two guards looked at each other and left. Once they were out of the chamber Andromeda turned.

“So explain what she meant earlier,” Andromeda asked.

“They’ve been lying.”

“Lying about what?”

Aphelion leaned down, “She doesn’t raise the sun.”

X. The Eye.

“Bolt actions speak louder than words.”
― Craig Roberts

«««✧✦✧»»»

“Do stun rounds work on dragons?” Gears asked.

“Usually takes a few shots but yeah,” Spitfire said as she hefted her gun under her wing. In her saddle bags she had several magazines of both nonlethal and lethal ammunition. Gears had his long rifle hanging below his wing with the pieces all disassembled for stealth. Again he carried both sets of ammunition.

“Well if things go bad then this should be loads of fun,” he said.

“Hopefully it doesn’t,” Spitfire said rubbing her good eye and slipping an earpiece into her ear, “Let’s just get this over with.”

“Yeah, the sooner the better,” Gears replied doing the same.

Spitfire kicked open the car door, her gun concealed beneath her wings as she stepped out into the rain. Gears followed though he trailed at a distance. Spitfire trotted up the stairs into the diner ahead of him. She entered the diner with the ring of a bell. The din of conversation slowed to a stop as one by one, ponies glanced over and looked at the scarred pegasus mare.

Gears entered in behind her and got a similar reaction.

Spitfire trotted up the counter and rang the service bell. This time Thorn arrived first. Once she saw Spitfire, her demeanor morphed from irritation to something resembling fear.

Spitfire blinked, “I assume you know why we’re here?”

Instantly Thorn turned and jumped the counter, clearing over Spitfire and sprinting on all fours towards the door. She tackled Gears to the ground who grunted loudly as he landed on his back. The dragon paid him no mind as she continued out the door, accompanied by an explosion of metal bar and glass.

Spitfire turned and helped Gears to his hooves, “Come on, no time to rest, we have a dragon to catch.”

She jumped out the door after the dragon, flipping her gun out from under her wings and firing a burst of stun rounds after the dragon. Just as Thorn went to take to the air the burst splashed across her right wing and shoulder. The dragon fell back the ground with a thud, her wing now numb.

Spitfire kept her gun aimed at the dragon, “You might wanna stop now.”

Thorn growled, “If you think I’m going to give you shit you’ve got another thing coming!”

She turned and leapt into the air and gripped the sides of the freeway support and went into a leaping climb.

Spitfire sighed, “Why do they always run.”

Gears ran up to her, “High?”

Spitfire turned, “Low.”

She turned and bolted for the car while Gears tossed his sling aside and with some difficultly, leapt into the air and followed the dragon.

Spitfire pulled the car out of the parking lot and headed to the nearest on ramp.

Gears followed the dragon, “She just crossed 51st street on Level 2.”

Spitfire pulled onto the freeway, chasing the dragon, “I see her.”

Thorn galloped down the streets with a speed to match most of the cars on the freeway. She jumped a sports car, her claws scratching the windshield. Spitfire sped down the street, weaving between traffic as she chased the dragon. The blaring of car horns followed the two of them as Gears struggled to keep up in the air.

Spitfire opened the window and aimed her gun out the window and fired. Most of the rounds went wild.

“Be careful! You could hit someone! You’re not helping there!” Gears yelled.

“I agree. Bad idea.”

Thorn bolted to the left, causing a car to spin out. Spitfire pulled right and out of the way of the spinning vehicle. Again more horns this time accompanied by the screeching of tires.

“You need to get her off the road before she kills someone!” Gears shouted.

“And how the hell do you expect me to do that?”

“I don’t know! Drive her into a guard rail or something!”

“Fine. I’ll give it a good college try!”

She accelerated the vehicle and pulled up next to Thorn. Thorn turned and growled and shoved the car. The vehicle shook as the dragon impacted the side. Spitfire growled and returned the favor, her hooves gripping the wheel white. She reached for her gun again and shoved it towards the window. A burst of broken glass followed by a stream of blue splashed towards the dragon.

Thorn ducked low, dodging both the glass and the rounds. Up above, Gears watched at the road began to incline as he struggled to keep up.

Suddenly Thorn took a hard right and approached the guard rail. Spitfire was on her tail.

“I think I can catch her!”

The freeway was beginning to head higher into the skyline.

“Spitfire be careful! We’re getting pretty high up here!”

“She’s not getting away this easily!”

She pulled up parallel to the dragon and set the car to auto before climbing into the passenger seat and kicking open the door. Just as Thorn jumped the guard rail Spitfire jumped out of the car and onto the dragon’s wing. The two flew through the air, clearing the gap between the edge of the suspended road and crashing onto the balcony of an apartment, shattering the glass as they slid into the building.

Thorn growled and threw Spitfire off of her as she skidded into the living room of a very surprised family. Spitfire bounced onto a nearby couch and recovered. Thorn snarled and spat a burst of flame at the pegasus who dove out of the way and into the kitchen.

“Spitfire?! What’s going on in there?” Gears called.

Spitfire poked her head up and glanced at the large hole burned in the wall and into the now flaming but thankfully empty bedroom. She glanced towards the destroyed front door and watched a tail flick out of sight.

“Thorn decided to do some redecorating,” she said bolting out of the kitchen and into the hallway out of the complex. Thorn’s large size left several marks on the walls on the ceiling as she ran through the long hallways of the apartment. Spitfire galloped after her.

Thorn reached the entrance to a staircase and turned and spat a large sheet of fire down the hallway. Spitfire gasped and jumped to the left, busting down the door to another apartment just a column of flame shot down the hallway.

“What was that?” Gears asked.

Spitfire poked her head out into the burned and partly on fire hallway, “More fire.”

She galloped out into the hallway and towards the stairs. She glanced up. The scratching of claws on concrete gave her prey’s position away.

“Gears, she’s heading to the roof. Can you get somewhere where you can get a clear shot on her?”

“Yeah. There’s a high rise on the other side of the street.”

“Good,” she responded as she panted galloping up the stairs, “I’ll send her to you. You just be ready and shoot her.”

“Got it.”

Up outside in the rain Gears landed on a rooftop with a grunt. His wing ached from the flight but he ignored it as he spread out a sheet containing the parts of the police sniper rifle and began screwing the parts together.

He slacked the scope into place and locked it down before calibrating it. He opened the butt of the weapon and inserted the power supply. He grabbed the stun rounds and slid them into place before kicking up the bipod and set the gun on the edge of the roof and aimed.

“I’m in place,” he said.

Thorn burst onto the roof and glanced right and left before heading left, in the direction of Gears. Spitfire soon followed and chased after her.

“Good. Can you see me?” she asked as she jumped over a vent after the dragon.

Thorn jumped down to a lower level roof. Spitfire jumped down after her, landing in a puddle.

Gears saw Spitfire bathed in green light through the scope.

“I can see you but you’re not in effective range for these rounds. Keep coming this way.”

“How far?!” She panted as she ducked under a few power lines.

“900 meters,” Gears counted.

“Can you spot Thorn?”

“Yeah, she’s just about 10 meters ahead of you,” Gears said, the large form of a dragon sprinting through the rainy night in his sight.

“Keep tracking her, when she’s in range tell me. You’ll only get one shot at this, target her chest.”

Gears switched to bio sensors on the scope. Instantly the dragon’s heart beat and other bio signs were displayed. The reticle was aimed right at her heart.

“Got her. She’s at 600 meters.”

“Good.”

Gears continued tracking her, “500 meters.”

Spitfire galloped through the rain and jumped over a glass sky window. She could hear the sound of Thorn panting now. Up above, a bolt of lightning could be seen striking the top of a skyscraper followed by the sound of thunder.

“400 meters… 300 meters… 200 meters,” Gears said, “Got it.”

“Shoot her!”

Gears squeezed the trigger and instantly the long arc of a sniper stun round streaked through the air and rain towards the dragon. The round impacted the dragon’s chest, deforming and releasing the blue stunning liquid, splashing over her chest.

Thorn gasped as her front leg gave out in front of her. She began coughing, feeling like she’s just been punched by a dragon alpha. She wheezed and glanced back at Spitfire chasing after her. Spitfire stopped on a higher roof and aimed her rifle and fired.

A stream of stun rounds splashed over the dragon’s back legs. Instantly they gave out. Thorn growled and began to crawl as fast as she could away from the pegasus.

Spitfire lowered her gun and began panting, holding her head, “Shoot her again.”

Instantly a trail of hot air and rain water was visible impacting the dragon’s back.

“Gah!” Thorn howled but still continued crawling.

“Again!”

Another bang followed by another growl. Still Thorn continued to move.

Spitfire sighed, “Shoot her in the head.”

Another brief splash of blue and then the dragon was out, slumped over on the ground.

“Fuck…” Spitfire panted, “She’s got a lot of fight in her.”

Gears slung the gun over his shoulder, “She down finally?”

“Yeah, she’s down.”

Gears jumped and glided down to Spitfire’s roof, landing next to her.

“Good job,” Spitfire greeted him.

“Thanks,” He replied.

A gurgling sound got their attention. Thorn’s unconscious body got their attention.

“I hate to bring this up,” Gears said, “But how are we getting her back to the safe house?”

Spitfire groaned, “Fuck.”

XI. The Prisoner.

Damn I got rusty.

“We are all prisoners but some of us are in cells with windows and some without.”
― Khalil Gibran

«««✧✦✧»»»

“I thought we were going to the Library,” Andromeda said.

“We are,” Celestia said, “But there is first somepony else I think will be useful for our needs.”

Iron Gates glanced at the two guards standing next to him, “Not me this time?”

The three ponies plus the two guards walked into the Throne Room. Celestia stood in the center of the room and glanced to another pair of guards.

“Bring in the prisoner,” she said.

They nodded and left. A moment later, the doors at the far end of the room opened. Two ponies, holding animal restraining poles moved into the room. At the end of both of the poles was a struggling mare. She had a white coat and a blonde mane accompanied with emerald green eyes. She wore a look that combined incredibly irritation mixed with one part of the disturbed with a dash of murderous intent. Her cutie mark was that of a triangle with an eye that behind it had a pair of crossed daggers.

“Let me go!” she growled with a heavy accent, “I am zee kaptain in zee Germane Army! You have no right!”

“Silence!” one of the guards said, pulling her along. She raised a hoof to her neck.

“Zis is unacceptable!”

Andromeda turned to the princess, “What is this?”

The sound of struggling accompanied the Princess’s response, “This is a mare we caught infiltrating the Library.”

“When?” Iron Gates asked, still suspicious of the guards next to him.

“During the changeling invasion.”

“Wait, what?”

The mare stopped struggling against her restraints and turned to stare at the princess.

Celestia frowned, “We figured it out a long time ago, Heinrich Von Richthofen or whatever your name really is.”

The mare named Heinrich growled and stopped struggling. In a burst of green flame, the white and blonde mare vanished and was replaced by an insect looking creature. It had insect wings and, a chitinous skin and large bug blue eyes. A curved pointy horn sat upon its head and a pair of fangs sat in its mouth.

In a burst of green flame, the mare returned.

“Vhat do you want from me?” she asked.

Andromeda shifted uncomfortably, “Princess?”

“Yes she’s a changeling,” Celestia said before returning to the changeling, “You were attempting to break into the library during the invasion. Specifically a certain wing.”

“Ya,” the mare rolled her eyes.

“So it seems we’re on the same page here,” Iron Gates said.

Celestia ignored him, “So then it would be logical to assume that you know something about what’s inside.”

The blonde mare narrowed her eyes, “Vhat exactly are you asking of me?”

Celestia turned to the two guards holding her and nodded. One produced a chrome metal collar and placed it on the mare’s neck. It fit snuggly around her neck and magically tightened so it was incapable of being removed yet still allowed the creature to breathe and eat comfortably. The two guards removed the restraints from the mare.

The earth pony mare blinked and felt the collar around her neck, “Vhat is zis?”

“I’ll make a deal with you,” Celestia said, “You tell us everything you know I promise you won’t go back into that cell.”

“Is zhat all?” she spat, “A pittance. Zhere is nothing you kan offer me.”

Celestia turned to Andromeda, “Care to add anything?”

Andromeda gave a glance, “Are you sure?”

Celestia nodded.

The mare gulped, “Alright. We found a facility of some kind. You can study it if you’ll help us.”

“Hmm, is zhat all?”

“Asylum. You can have it tacked on to everything else,” The princess added.

“And Vhy vould I vant zhat?”

“Your hive is gone,” Celestia said, “They’ve been expelled from this country. In fact they’re so far away that even I don’t know where they are.”

“Ya right. I tink you just don’t have vhat you need and you’ll say anyting to get me to cooperate.”

“Maybe, but do you want to risk that?” Iron Gates spoke up.

“And just vhat are you?” The mare asked.

“I’m in the same position as you. But regardless, we’re clearly not all on the same team here but she is right. Your fellow hive mates or hive mind or whatever the buck you things want to call each other are gone. Even if they survived they are so scattered across the continent that they will likely not survive or at the very least will have a difficult time regrouping. In all likelihood however, your queen is dead leaving reproduction for your race a long shot at the best. So worst case scenario is your hive will be extinct and best case is that they’re all over the place that any hope of regrouping is slim to none. Now you’re free to take on those odds if you want, or you can take the deal they’re offering or you can go back to rot in that cell. Your choice.”

The blonde mare stayed silent for a few seconds before finally growling, “Vhat iz it you vant to know?”

Andromeda levitated her journal out of her saddle bags and opened the book to a certain page with a series of symbols.

“Can you read this?” she asked.

The mare stared at the symbols before looking up, “Yes. I kan read zis.”

“What does it say?” Celestia asked.

“Vell considering you just kopied random symbols onto zis page zere is no real coherence to anyting here,” came an irritated reply.

“Can you translate it anyway?”

“Alvight. Cup, Fish, House, Blue, Some, that’s not even a complete word, The green twelve doesn’t salad a gamma whale. Do you know anyting about vhat you vere reading?”

Andromeda frowned, “No. I’ve been trying to find a translation for months now. I haven’t had much luck.”

“Vell I kan’t say I expected anyting more. Zis language haz been dead for centuries. You von’t find any good translation in zis part of ze world. Even I don’t understand some of zat.”

Iron Gates added, “Then who does?”

“Not anyone in zis part of ze world.”

“Then where?”

For the first time since she appeared, the blonde mare smiled.

Andromeda frowned, “Should we move on to the library now?”

Celestia turned and started walking away from the group, “We should. Sergeant, please escort our guests, all of them, to the library.”

“Where are you going?” Andromeda asked.

“I have some other business to attend to. Don’t worry, I will rejoin you in a moment.”

“Alright.”

Celestia stepped out of the throne room and a few minutes later was in her private study. She summoned a piece of paper and began composing a latter. Once she was done she stamped it with the royal seal followed by another, far less abused stamp before levitating the letter into the air and incinerating it.